Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We sure miss the turkey and all of the fixin's...but to be honest, it doesn't even feel like Thanksgiving Day! Instead of the big family feast, we went to visit a buddist temple and a beautiful park. We climbed the 9 stories to the top of a pagoda to see a beautiful view. Daddy carried Fu Tao all the way up and all the way down, even though she is very good at steps! This little girl sure can move! She runs faster than any 15 month I have ever met, and she even alternates feet going up stairs (this info is important to the therapist in me). Oh, and she can even peel her own bananas! Okay, the bananas get a little mutilated, but she can open them quite easily. She hasn't eaten a whole lot for us - I guess that she is sort of on a hunger strike, but when she does eat it is usually fruit, noodles, cookies and crackers. She did eat some french fries at breakfast and some McDonald chicken nuggets for lunch. She is doing a little better today, but she still cries for her mom and grandma. It is heartbreaking. When we are in the hotel room, she grabs our finger and leads us to the door as if to tell us, "Take me home". Poor little one doesn't understand that she is home. She did wave to her big sisters today via Skype, and I know that they will help her to feel more at home. And no worries, little Tao Tao will definitely be able to hold her own! She is a little feisty one! We were able to develop some pictures that her foster family took for us, and there was one picture of her playing with chickens - no lie! She definitely lived in rugged conditions, but I bet she would give anything to go back. Please keep praying for her to love her new home and family. We know that she will, we just hope that it's sooner than later. We had to say good-bye to Meg yesterday...that was very hard. Even though I had never even met her before, I really connected with her. I was very sad to see her go - yet again, more tears shed! She will be coming to the States over Christmas, so hopefully we will see each other - hopefully with a more adapted Fu Tao! All in all, we are hanging in there. We desperately miss our girls, family and friends and can't wait to come home, but we are enjoying China. Thank you to everyone who posts messages to us....we long for more (oh, Camille - I could not find a single can of Pringles in Laibin!). We love you all and hope that you eat some turkey for us! I will try and post more pictures - I know you all want them, but honestly, our focus has been on Fu Tao - we are doing everything we can to help her during her grieving process - we welcome any suggestions!!

Officially ours!

Well, it is official...Lai Fu Tao is officially our daughter! We went to the civil affairs office this morning to pay our fees and put our thumbprints where they needed to go, and that was that! That was the highlight of our day. We found out that we will not be able to tour the orphanage or meet the foster family. That was a disappointment, but we do understand and do not want to cause trouble. Although we feel that it would mean so much to Danielle for us to meet them, we are going to be able to contact the family through the orphanage, and I am glad for that. If we return to China when Danielle gets older, then we can meet the foster family...and we will. We have every intention of bringing her back one day so that she can visit her birthplace. Now for the hardest news...Danielle is grieving very hard. She is so sad and misses her Mama and Nana (grandmother). She cries for them at sleep time, and sometimes during the day, but bed time is the worst. She just fell asleep after crying for 45 minutes. Her little heart is breaking. It is so hard to watch. We try to remind ourselves that this is actually a good thing - she needs to grieve. It also means that she was so loved by her family and she loves them...hopefully she will be able to love us soon too. She hates being inside - especially in our room. She cries almost non-stop when she is in here, so we try and get out as much as possible. She is attaching more to Steve at this point, but does want me to carry her sometimes, and will go outside with me alone. If we are in the room she prefers Steve, but will go back and forth, as if she doesn't know who to turn to. She is so missing her family. It is hard to watch other families with children who are not having as hard of a time. I know the facts and the reasons, but it is still heartbreaking. I keep telling myself that it will get better, but it still doesn't help sometimes. We did get some photos of her first year of life, and Meg just took 2 disposable cameras full of pictures to get developed, so hopefully we will see what is on them soon. Meg has been a God-send. She is such a big help! She ran out and got baby shoes for us last night, as Fu Tao came to us barefoot! The one thing that I didn't pack! Steve and I are both sad that Meg will be leaving on Wed - we will definitely miss her. I have so enjoyed getting to know her - we actually are a lot a like, and I can honestly say that I love her dearly! Okay, I will end on a positive note - Danielle finally ate real food! She has been surviving on bottles and Cheerios, but at lunch today, she ate noodles...from a chopstick! How cute! She really ate a good amount for such a little one! She is tiny - wearing 9 month clothes perfectly. May be getting ready for 12 months soon. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a brief update. Please pray for all of us...Steve and I are so sad for her - it is the absolute hardest thing that we have had to go through. Please pray that God heals her heart - He is the only one that can!

WE HAVE HER!

Well, after a Monday morning of going to Walmart to buy diapers and snacks, it was finally time to go and get our little Ah Tao (foster family nickname). We boarded a bus with the Pinson family, Michael our guide and Meg to take about a 10 minute ride to the Lottery Hotel where we would at last get our little one. When we got there, they took us up to the 4th floor where there were a number of "waiting rooms" with couches and toys. We could hear children crying and we all wondered if they were ours! Michael told us that we would probably have to wait for about 10-15 minutes before our girls would come in, but after I snapped 3 pictures, I heard Michael announce SuSu's name! Tears came to my eyes as I saw the Pinson family finally united! And then, "Lai Fu Tao"! I cannot tell you the emotions that I felt! She was crying, but did come to me. Cheerios definitely helped. You could tell how scared and sad she was. We then went outside for a bit in order to get away from all of the commotion of more families being united - what an amazing experience! We went back to the hotel and did some paperwork - Fu Tao fell asleep leaning against me. When she woke up, we took her outside to get some air and food. She loves being outside! Whenever we are inside...she tries to lead us out again. She is definitely going to fit right in with her big sisters! She really was a different girl outside...she was pointing and babbling - we even got some smiles and giggles. I had been kissing her cheek, and one time she spontaneously leaned over and kissed my cheek! All of her reports say that she loves music, noisy toys, to be outside and to laugh - she is very social! We haven't seen a lot of that yet, but I have no doubt that we will. She actually began to prefer Daddy last night! She comes to both of us, but Daddy took her out for a walk, so now she wants him. In fact, last night she fell sleep on his chest and he was freaking out a little! He loved that she wanted him, but really couldn't stand the thought of not being able to move freely! We scooted her over, and all was well. At this moment, BaBa (daddy) and his little one are sleeping soundly. I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that we have our little one and that we are working on bonding. Please keep us in your prayers - we know that you are, we definitely feel them! Thank you and our love to you all!

Check out our "In China" Slide Show!!

Yesterday (Sunday in China) was our last day in Laibin. After breakfast, we strolled the streets for a while before our driver came to pick us up. While walking around, we came across a middle school and an elementary school. They are definitely different than the schools I am used to seeing! They were at least gated, but they were located right in the center of the block with shops all around. We did not go into the complex, because we didn't feel that would be appropriate, but we did take pictures!! We left Laibin a little sad, but completely grateful to have had the experience. I can tell you that visiting Laibin was the best thing that we could have done. We are looking forward to sharing our adventures with Danielle - it is going to be so incredible to tell her how much we loved her birthplace - I hope that she will enjoy hearing about it. Anyway, our driver picked us up as scheduled and drove us all the way to the Majestic Hotel. We were suppose to stay at the Wharton, but we found out right before we left Guangzhou, that the government needed the hotel for something and we got bumped - everyone got bumped! But all is well, the Majestic is absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the hotel we found out Aisha Cooper, who works with us at Hope For Children in Atlanta, was already checked in. So we stormed Aisha's room, having Meg yell stuff in Chinese. I think Aisha was too scared to open the door! We met up with Michael, our guide while we are in Nanning, and the Pinson family to head out for dinner. Once again, we were fed like kings! I have been loving the food...although I will be ready for a nice juicy steak when I get home! After dinner, Steve, Aisha and I went for a massage! Oh yeah!!! It was a fantastic hour long massage for $12!! They found knots on me that I didn't even know I had, but boy do I feel good now! We will be meeting Danielle today at 3:30 pm (2:30 am your time) today! I just can't even believe it! We are going to run out to get some clothes laundered and to get diapers and snacks, but other than that, our main focus will be on our little princess. Please pray all goes well & pray God wraps His arms around her in order to make her feel safe in such a scary situation. We have no doubt in our mind that God has orchestrated the entire process and that He destined Danielle to be our daughter since the beginning of time, but we still want Danielle to feel as safe and secure as possible. Please continue to pray that we can go back to Laibin to tour the orphanage and especially to meet the foster mother. God can do anything - we just pray He wants us to meet the foster family as much as we do!! Thank you all for your posted reply comments (they're very encouraging), love, support and especially your prayers - we couldn't have done this without them!!
P.S. We are having some difficulty downloading pictures, basically because it is taking a ridiculous amount of time. We are having to jump through a lot of hoops to even access our blog! I have sent some pictures of Laibin to a friend, and hopefully he will be able to post them sometime on Mon (your time). When we get back to the States, I will post even more!

Saturday in Laibin

What an absolutely INCREDIBLE day we had exploring Laibin! Having Meg as our "tour guide" gave us the best experience ever - to interact with the Laibin people and to experience the "real" Laibin. We started out our day with a delicious authentic Chinese breakfast in the Laibin International Hotel (remember, no Western influence here at all!) and then we were able to talk to Steffi and Liz via webcam. It was so good to see them! They keep asking where Danielle is - it will be fun to be actually able to have them all meet! Our first stop of the day was to finding Danielle's finding spot. When Danielle was abandoned, she was left on a bridge head - and it turns out that the bridge was only about 3 blocks away from our hotel. When we found it, we were so grateful to see that it was heavily travelled. There was a city park on one corner, stores on 2 corners, and a corner with well-maintained "rest area" with a lot of ricksaw taxis parked nearby and lots of people! We don't yet know the exact spot, but maybe when we come back to Laibin later in the week, we will be able to get that information. It was a very emotional moment, where all of us shed some tears. I can't help but think about Danielle's mother...all of the emotions that she had to be feeling then and even now, wondering whatever happened to her daughter. Every time that we have crossed that bridge, I wonder about that day and I wonder if she does too? Does she work in one of those shops? Does she have to cross that bridge & pass that spot every day going to/coming from work? We will never know. I also can't help but wonder if Danielle was abandoned mainly because of the cyst on her neck. She was about 1 month old when she was found, and maybe her family knew they would not be able to pay for her medical expenses and wanted to give her a chance. There is not health insurance here...if you have a permit to live in the city, the city will pay a fraction of the cost (about 10%?), but getting treated for a simple thing like a common cold could easily cost $100 (which is a lot of money in China). If you have moved into the city illegally from the country you cannot even go for medical help because 1) you probably couldn't afford it, and 2) you run the risk of being shipped out of the city. We have been learning a lot about the socioeconomics of the Chinese people, and we can't help to wonder if this played a huge part in Danielle's abandonment. We then strolled through the city park and were followed by 3 little girls...who giggled all the way. We were able to take a lot of pictures of people in the park (with their permission) and we were the object of photo taking ourselves. We were kind of like celebrities to them! The school-age kids would say hello, and laughed at us when we would say "ni hao" (mandarin for "hello"). Many were curious to see the "foreigners" and they were even more amazed when Meg started talking to them in "excellent chinese". We think an older man, the curator of the park, may have called the police out of concern for the "foreigners" taking video, photos & causing such a stir with the people. When Meg noticed the police showed up, she told us it was time to keep moving. Steve really enjoys talking (with Meg's help) to anyone showing interest, and it was unfortunate we had to go. We caught a cab to the train station in order to plan a way back to Nanning. We went through a very poor area of the city. The train station itself was full of poor and homeless people. We even saw a man openly shooting up with heroin right in front of the bus station. Well, the train didn't pan out - only hard seats available, and Meg told us that is something we did not want to experience. Our next idea was to hire a driver, so outside we went to the rows of taxis. Once outside, people started walking toward us - very curious about us, I guess. But when Meg said, "Let's get out of here" - we did. We hopped in the first cab and we were gone! The driver drove us to the orphanage, where we were able to take a few pictures of the outside of it and the store fronts around it. It was a very non-descript building - it just looked like a regular store front. We couldn't help but wonder if our daughter was actually inside. Our driver then suggested taking us to a brand new "scenic area / tourist attraction" about 30 minutes outside of the city, and we jumped at the chance! We drove past beautiful condos in a gated community - all for government officials only - and through a few small farming villages. Quite a comparison! The countryside was beautiful (except for the haze of pollution) and very poor. It was like we were watching a PBS special - water buffalo pulling carts, people washing their clothes in the river, run-down houses, people cooking outside...was Danielle from this part of China? We will never know. We got to the park, which turned out to be a kind of outdoor musuem dedicated to Pangu. The ancestors of the people here are credited with the origin of this mythology regarding the creation of humanity. They believe in a mythical story about 2 twins (a boy and girl), who were sent down from heaven with the purpose to procreate and therefore, started the human race - like a Chinese Adam and Eve. Meg had a little bit of difficulty understanding the story, so we are going to check it out some more later. It turns out, we were the very first foreigners to visit, which was a big deal, evidenced by the following we had. The tour guide was ecstatic to be able to share with us this rich history. We took a boat ride and toured the grounds. One girl, Qin Yu Wang (a junior in high school) followed us around and liked to practice her English with us. Everyone was so nice and wonderful - we had an amazing time. On our way back into the city, we decided to stop at the city square. It was quite pretty and bustling with people. Again, 3 little girls followed us around - they asked us where we were from and after we told them "America", they said, "Oh, we are from China." How cute is that?! We grabbed another cab back to our hotel, and went to a tea house right in between our hotel and "Danielle's bridge". We spent a couple of hours tasting different teas and talking with the shop owner & his employees. It was a great experience! Steve and I bought a tea set and some tea - very yummy tea, I might add! After a little down time, we then went out for dinner at the Laibin Grand Hotel - and it was, again, very tasty! I am actually enjoying the food more than I thought I would - at least most of it! We then ventured through a night market right across from our hotel. We bought some dried fruits, candy and jewelry...we even got to see (get this Bumpa) a kung fu presentation by a group of Shaolin priests (just like Grasshopper)! At one point (while we were talking to the monks), I realized that we were totally surrounded by at least 50 curious Chinese people (mostly men). This was a little unnerving, especially since I was wearing our money belt (no safe in our hotel room). But they were all very friendly and just wanted to get a glimpse of the foreigners. Many people (most) have never actually seen or met any Americans...Laibin is just not the main place tourists visit. The city only has a population of about 40,000, but we loved it! As you can see, we had a very busy but gratifying day. I am so glad that we decided to come and explore Laibin. We are so thankful that we have had the experience that we did - to experience the real Laibin. Meg and the talents God has given her are a gift from Him. We are so grateful to God for how He put this trip together for us. It was great to experience Danielle's birthplace the ways we did. Steve would prefer to stay here the whole time. If we had a guide from the city, we would not have seen and felt all that we did!! Thank you God for giving this to us and to Danielle - it will be so amazing to be able to share this day with her when she gets older. (We promise to post pictures soon - experiencing technical difficulties)