Little Bits of Catch Up

I'll try to catch you up the last 2 days since I skipped yesterday. Sorry there was no post, but I believe you got photo's at least, which are the most important part!
Yesterday, Monday in GZ, we had a free day until our dinner cruise at 6. We did a little shopping and and as always, sitting in the park. We love to just sit somewhere shady and let Jia watch all the kids. She usually will wander a couple of feet from mama and really takes things in. She is so curious!
All the families come to the park and excercise, ride bikes, ride ripsticks, we see a LOT of hacky sack and badmitton. The park area is ALWAYS full! Yesterday there were some boys riding a bike and I'm not sure what happened but they all started working on it. Then the mom was helping.. they were kicking on it and couldn't get it to work. So Jack rescued them! I think their chain guard was bent and none of them could bend it back enough. Always the mechanic....
Last night was the dinner cruise... from about 6:30 to 8. It was really nice we enjoyed our evening very much! We shared a table with the lone boy in the group, ChiChi, and his dad and grandma. Jia even shared her cell phone with him!
Today we took the traditional red couch photo. I knew that as soon as I stepped away from Jia, she would cry. Most red couch photo's I've seen though look like utter chaos... ours was no different! The babies are all adorable! In the photo of the babies, there is Nola, Mae, Mia, Megan, Brenda and Chi Chi (Conrad) and Jia on the bottom. We thought all the crying girls would keep Chi Chi away from girls for a while! He was such a big boy!
Tonight we had dinner at Lucy's with Jeff, Jennifer, Matthew and Megan. They are the family that has been with us since arriving in GZ and we really enjoy spending time with them. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and stopped in the park for a while. There were several kids playing on the slide and Jia was really enjoying watching them. I decided to see if she'd try the slide. Just yesterday, I would not have tried this, but tonight, she did it! Over and Over and Over again! She loved it! Such big smiles!
This evening she has been wonderful! I was downloading pictures on the computer and she got her stickers back out... she was sticking them on the desk and just singing and talking! She was in such a good mood. Finally Grandma Mellanie woke up and got on Skype... Jia talked her leg off and even talked to Grandpa a bit. She just loved it! Everyday more and more of her personality comes out. She is such a silly little girl that is so happy and loves to smile. She's very ticklish and loves to imitate mommy. She can say no-no very clearly and loves looking at her book of photo's with the boys in it.
Speaking of the boys... Jadeth is holding down the fort at home, but Jacen and Jory have been at Grandma adn Grandpa's. They've been busy swimming and fishing and maybe mom will add a couple of photo's of them for you today as well!
Tomorrow we meet our group at 2:45 to go to the consulate. Molly had our big appointment today and when we met for the red couch photo's she said all went well! So I think tomorrow is not a big deal at all... we'll just pick up Jia's passport with her Visa in it. Sometime tomorrow, I have to pack everything. I haven't quite figured out where it's all going to go and how I'm going to do it with a 3 year old that's 2 steps behind me. I guess it will get done though! We're excited to get back to Hong Kong then on home on Friday. The time in HK in the beginning went so slow, but since we've got Jia, time has flown by. Tomorrow we must say good bye to our friends we've made here... the sweet ladies from the Consulate office we see at breakfast everymorning, the lovely Jenny from Jenny's place who invited us to church and of course our friend Jack. We just love Jack and will always think of him and wonder how he is. All but 2 families will be traveling all the way to Minneapolis with us, so that is a great comfort!
Enjoy the pics!
JMS

Going on Dinner Cruise... talk to you later....

Rain Rain Go Away

We attended Christ Church this morning and it was really awesome! The service was in Mandarin and English. We didn't understand a LOT of it, but they did sing a couple of songs in English and then the sermon was translated.
About 1/2 way through church, it started just pouring and the wind blew so hard it blew branches out of the trees. By the time church was over, it was just a light sprinkle. So we headed to our end of the island, got Subway on the way and spent the rest of the day inside! We took a big nap and have just looked at books and had a very lazy day.
As always, Jia is such a good eater! She will eat anything and a lot of it! We haven't had any problems feeding the girl at all!
Since it was so rainy, there's not much to share today. We did get a picture of Jia before church in one of the little dresses that I made for her... it's huge on her, but still cute. The other pictures are from last night. I got out some stickers that I brought for Jia and it didn't take her long to figure them out! She was peeling the backs off and throwing them on the floor, then stuck the stickers all around the end table. She did this for at least 30-40 minutes... just completely entertaining herself! She is just such a little doll.
We got a few more smiles today, but today was rough for her because she likes to GO! This AM was better... didn't seem to take over 5 minutes to get woke up and stop crying. Everyday is better and better. she is such a good little girl and is picking up so many new things. Today we were eating on the bed and I picked up some crumbs and put them on the towel... she kept doing that after I did. It was cute!
We are so entirely thankful to have been able to take it day by day and to be almost done here. It's really lovely and we've enjoyed our stay, but we're ready to be home! Tomorrow (Monday) we don't anything going on until the dinner cruise in the evening. So hopefully the rain will stay away so we can visit the park and do some shopping. I also want to try and get pictures of the island for you all to see.
A note to all my blogger friends... since blogger is blocked, I cannot see your blogs and I'm hoping all is well with you! I'm especially wondering about little Lucey Lu! Jia reminds me so much of her, especially when she grins!
And my work friends... I've heard from Stephanie and Dr. T and Beth... I hope the rest of you are just too busy at work to leave a comment! I hope things are going well, but that you still need an optician in a few weeks! You should see all the cool glasses people here wear. Especially the guys! They are all so trendy and cool looking! I'm so proud of them for choosing such stylish eyewear! I wish people in Missouri would catch on!
Thanks for all your comments! We enjoy waking up to them each day!
I hope to have more pictures tomorrow...
JMS

Slower Day's on ShaMian Island

Things are slowing down for us now. All we had to do today was paperwork. Jia is pretty fussy in the mornings, I don't know if she wakes up disoriented, not knowing where she is or what. But this AM we spent an hour probably fussing and unhappy. But the girl loves to go! As soon as we start putting stuff in our bag, she's all happy and following us everywhere! She is still such a good eater and has begun to feed herself in the last day or 2.
Each day more and more personality is emerging. I think she's has a tiny bit of OCD too! She just cracks me up! At breakfast yesterday, after wiping her hands she was wiping the high chair tray and she was meticulous about it. She spent a lot of time getting one corner of the tray very clean! Tonight she dropped some rice on her tray and picked up each grain of rice and flung it back in the bowl. She doesn't like her hands dirty or things on her clothes, but she does wipe her nose with the back of her hand... she will totally fit in with her brothers!
There are 7 families now that the others have joined us after getting their daughters in their other provinces. So today we met in Molly's hotel room to fill out all the paperwork for the consulate. Only one parent had to do this, but Jack isn't fond of paperwork and Jia won't leave my side, so all 3 of us went. Jia was the only child there and it took 2 full hours. She stood right at my knees the entire time and kept looking at my paperwork, almost like she was making sure I did it right! She was so incredibly good! She just stood there watching me and every once in a while she'd thumb through the stack of papers. I just can't tell you how good this girl is!
Anyway, we had supper in our hotel dining room and then took a walk. It was on our walk that we figured out a sure fire way to get smiles. They have been very few and far between and totally random. We had no idea if she would laugh or cry at us. But tonight I lifted her high in the air and said "Wheeeeeee" and she got the biggest grin on her face! Every time after that she would grin great big. I think Jack was able to get a couple of pictures of her smiling.... it's so precious.
She is just such a joy and so, so good. She's perfect! Tomorrow, we're going to attend the church on the island. Jenny, from Jenny's place, invited us and she's excited we're going! Then Monday night, our group is planning to take a dinner cruise and see the lights of Guangzhou. Tuesday is totally free and Wednesday we're meeting to take the official 'red couch' photo at the White Swan. Then we'll go to the consulate and take the 'oath'. Not sure what all that entails, but if it's like everything else, no big deal. We just will be able to pick up Jia's Visa. Then we're taking the 9AM train on Thursday back to Hong Kong. We'll spend the night near the airport on Lantau then leave Friday at 8AM! We go back through Japan, then Minneapolis and on to KC. 3 of the other families are on our same flights all the way to MN, so that will be nice. We arrive in KC at 5ish... so 8AM to 5PM, plus the 13 hour time difference.... you get the picture! We'll be so tired!
Anyway... not much happening the next few days. But we'll continue to work on those smiles and keep you all posted! Thanks so much for all your comments. It really helps to feel connected to home. We truly do enjoy reading them each morning when we wake! Keep them coming!
Good night!
JMS

yet another busy day

Today we were free until 2 PM, but it was still very busy! We had breakfast in the hotel, then skyped with the boys for a while. Jia LOVES to go, go, go... so after that we headed out to take our laundy to be done and look for white squeaky shoes!
We ended up at Jenny's place and spent quite a lot of time there. Jenny and her husband are Christians and had many Christian gifts to look over. Jenny is also a Maoming girl! So she gave Jia a free fan and an American flag and an olympic flag. She also gave me a free bracelet, the beads on it mean 'happy family'! She was so kind, we helped her with some English words on an email she had and she was very grateful! We'll probably stop back in there a time or 2 before leaving!
At lunch today, Jack and I were both fortunate enough to receive a few smiles from Jia! They were precious! She's changing everyday and is just truly amazing. Today she fed herself for the first time. One thing most people comment is that Jack is left handed. Well, when Jia was feeding herself, she put her phone ( the one she always has with her! ) in her right hand and put the spoon in her left to eat. She continued to use that hand... so I think our girl may be a lefty! It must be pretty uncommon here so I think that's pretty neat!
After meeting our group at 2, we went to Liurong Temple, Six Banyan Pagoda. It is a world famous ancient temple. This temple is over 600 years old. The people burn incense to Buddha and have their babies blessed by the priests. Jack and I know Who got us to where we are and we politely refused to participate. I must say I was worried about offending Molly, our guide, but she really didn't seem to mind. Jack went in one building but Jia and I stood outside. We did go in the temple area and it was very beautiful. That's where the picture is of her sitting on the rock. But all I could think about was not so much 'offending' our God, but breaking His heart after He's answered so many prayers on our behalf. It would've been so easy to just participate and go along, but neither of us could do it. We just told Molly we were Christians and believed in the one God. She understood.
After the visit at the temple, we went to the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. It is a very ornately carved hall displaying many different works of art from Guangdong. It was very interesting and an important part if Jia's history.
After the museum, Molly took us to a shopping mall to buy good quality items for keepsakes. I can't tell you what I bought to give Jia in the future, because then she would know! But I can tell you we were able to purchase a few high quality gifts that will be able to be passed down generation to generation and are all representative of Guangdong. They will be precious keepsakes!
We wrapped up our evening by having dinner at Molly's home. Her husband is an electronic engineer and he cooked for us! He does not speak English, but understands it pretty well. He fixed a traditional Chinese dinner and her mom fixed us porridge like she made in the country. It was a very nice evening and we are so honored that Molly opened her home to us.
That brings us to now... I'm the only one still up.... blogging! Jia passed out as soon as we got home. Jack walked to the 7-11 and bought us snickers and now he's out. So now it's my turn!
Oh, I wanted to add... the picture of Jia where I'm beside her is in the shopping center adn that's about all the further I'm allowed from her. She is doing better with Jack everyday and we know soon he'll be able to help care for her. Until then, he's doing a wonderful job taking care of me, getting me this, or that, fixing my plate, etc since I always have the baby on my lap!
Goodnight Friends!
JMS

Oh Uncle Hobbie.....

Little Jia wants a laptop!!!!! She loves to sit on my lap, well technically she won't get off my lap, but she loves to push buttons and pull cords on the laptop!
Today we drove 4 hours each way to Maoming City. That is where Jia and Megan (the other couples daughter) are from. Jia was in MaoGang and Megan in MaoNan. We were not able to visit MaoGang, as it was 'under construction and inconvenient'. But we did get to go inside MaoNan with the other couple. The Director and the Vice sat down with us and gave us boiling hot tea as an extension of their hospitality. Jeff and Jennifer were able to find out more about Megan's life there and ask questions. The Director gave the 2 girls and Matthew (Jeff and Jennifers 5 year old son who is with them) a little piece of jade on a 'red thread'. It was very sweet of him to include Jia.
We then got to walk by the babies rooms and look in. It was nap time, so we couldn't interact. Most were sleeping. But the nannie's did come out and see Megan and they showed her parents where her bed was. They were able to take some photographs together as well. As we went down the 3rd floor hall, I walked by a baby without even noticing it. I was looking in all the windows and when we stopped and I looked back, I noticed a baby lying on a cart with sides about 6 inches high. It was so quiet and still, and honestly out of place, that I passed right by it. I had Molly ask why it was out in the hall alone and she said it had just been brought in this AM and was under observation before putting it with the other babies.
The director said there were about 60 babies there currently. It was so incredibly sad. After our visit, the Director and Vice led us to McDonalds where we grabbed lunch. We ate it in the van and drove to where Megan was found. Jeff and Jennifer were able to take some photo's at Megans finding spot.
When we left, we had intended to drive to MaoGang, but it is quite a distance from MaoNan, and we weren't going to be allowed in, so Jack and I told Molly we didn't have to go. It was so hot and the ride was horrible. I was afraid Jia might recognize the place and it just didn't seem worth it.
We at least got to see MaoMing, where she is from. It is a relatively small city, only 400,000 compared to Guangzhou's 30 million! It was really crazy and I cannot even begin to describe the traffic. Our prayer life has reached a new level because we seriously take our life in our hands each time with get on the road! Our drivers have all been wonderful, but the others are not. And there are not carseats!
Jia also had her first chicken nuggets today and LOVED them! Oh great... at least Jack and I were an even team against Jacen and Jory,now they have us outnumbered. They always want to eat at McDonalds!
Tomarrow, we are free until 2 PM! WOO HOO!!! We will probably get up at 1 PM! Molly has 5 other families coming in the morning she must pick up at the airport and get settled. Then she taking just our 2 families to do a little sightseeing, the pearl market and then to her house for dinner. Her husband is cooking for us! Also, we'll get to meet Molly's mom. Molly just got back from taking her mom to visit her grandparents the day before Jack adn I arrived, so her mom is still staying with us. Molly is wonderful and I'm so honored she wants to invite us into her home and to meet her family! She wanted to do this before our group got too big! From now on, there will be 7 couples.
Anyway... we are sooooooooo tired! I cannot even begin to tell you. And I wish I wasn't so picky about spelling and punctuation or I would've been done 30 minutes ago. I'm so tired I keep hitting all the wrong keys!
Until tomorrow.... Oh! I forgot to tell you... Jeff and Jennifer pointed out that today marks the 1/2 way point of our trip. It's all down hill from here. Thank God! It's been wonderful, but I"m so ready to get home to Dr. Pepper and Oreo's and Milk!
JMS