Passport'd-Up and Visa Ready

In our loving care, we now have a Chinese National, with a United States entry visa. Today we had our last official office visit and it was at the US consulate of Guangzhou. This office processes one third of all international adoptions (worldwide). On behalf of our little Cantonese cutie we took an oath. We swore to the accuracy of all documents and information provided to the United States government with the primary intent of securing entry and automatic naturalization upon clearing United States immigration. For us, and millions of people around the world, this remains a privilege that we do not take for granted.

For this auspicious occasion, the sunshine peeked out of its winter hiding for a couple hours. We had a nice sunny bus drive through several sections of Guangzhou. Fresh off hosting the Asian Games in December, the city looks pretty good. There are a couple of very impressive new high rises that would rival the flashy sister to the north, Shanghai. With Spring Holiday rapidly approaching, there is also beautiful potted orange trees dotting the streets and plazas. Val keeps threatening to pick a couple off the vine. Despite the size, the city does have some real charm and the tree lined streets are well cultivated and cared for.

Our day out ended with a dinner-out with our travel group to Cow and Bridge, a very good Thai restaurant on Shamian Island. With the exception of our darling child, all the kids were well behaved and we had a great time. The stress of the chase is now over and now we are all just gearing up for the final push for home. The restaurant was full of families we had seen earlier in the day at the consulate. As I looked around the room I was overwhelmed by the stories unfolding at each table. Kids of all ages and sizes, bound for new lives, dining with their new parents, brothers and sisters, grandmas and grandpas. Over the last few weeks we have witnessed levels of selflessness that are not common in our daily grind. Some may say that we have done a wonderful thing by taking Lena and Marin into our family (to the benefit of Val and I as much as Lena and MiMi). But this pales in comparison to dozens of people we have met over our stay here. We met Robin and Coleman who have adopted four kids and also do charitable work training fellow physicians in North China; or Sally who we met today, with four adopted children and her husband at home, here on her own in China (second trip in seven months) bringing home her new six-year-old darling daughter with Down syndrome. Special needs kids as the second or third addition has been the norm. Just as heart warming, we have also met several new parents, with their five year dream finally coming true. Daily we have met individuals who are going through this arduous process yet again, the third, fourth or fifth time to provide a child with a loving home and family. Today at the consulate we learned that 67% of children adopted from China in 2010 were special needs --compared to 40% when we adopted Helena in 2008. This trend is continuing in 2011. To employ an over-used word, this trip has been inspirational (as well as thought-provoking).

On the lighter side of things, we have really enjoyed our little travel group. Really nice people with enough laughter to keep us all sane. Laura and Diane (pictured at the front of the table) have kept their senses of humor and a few of their quips come to mind.
When I complimented Laura on her fantastic collection of unique jewelry, she said, "Its what separates us from the animals". Also, when they found out that a 40oz bottle of beer was only $0.79, she said we would be losing money if we didn't buy it. We will treasure all of our travel buddies.

Red couch picture tomorrow... we're in the home stretch!

True Children's Home

Save for the day when we took Marin into our arms, this may have been the most treasured day of the trip. We had the pleasure, honor really, of visiting the True Children's Home in Dongguan, about an hour and a half drive from Guangzhou. Dongguan is a VERY industrial, factory town that is oppressed with smog. In fact it is the heart of industry in the Pearl River Delta. The Pearl River Delta being the place of origin of almost every manufactured thing all of us own. As you look out over the vast expanse of gloom, to factory after smoking factory, the thought of light, sunshine, a bright spot of any kind is the furthest thing from your mind. You simply can't believe that hope can exist here. But, in fact, it does. The True Children's Home is located in a rather nice gated complex within the city limits. The home is actually two, three-bedroom apartments across a common hall from one another, housing ten to twelve kids each. One apartment is for young babies, usually prior to surgery, and the other for older babies and toddlers that have either recovered from surgery or are in need of ongoing care. Mikel, the home's director met us at the front door. We were invited into the main living room of the "toddler house" and were greeted by ten happy kiddos all in the hands of their smiling nannies. Marin was in Val's arms and as we entered the room hands went up in all directions to greet her. We sat her down and she immediately started playing and smiling with her buddies and the nannies, who ooh'd and aah'd over her. She was so content, and we left her in good hands as we took a tour of the facilities. Each home has three bedrooms with three to four bright white cribs each. Every room was clean and welcoming with colorful paint and cheerful decor. A small, clean kitchen was located off the main living area. Mikel also pointed out a wall in the apartment where the kids' treatment records, feeding schedules, and medications, were posted. She also explained a colorful family tree of sorts, that is utilized to track the status of all the children under TCH's care. In addition to the home residents, this charity also places kids in foster settings before they can be formally adopted. After the tour we joined Marin on the carpet with her peeps. The nannies were friendly and warm to us, although we could sense their bittersweet feelings about Marin leaving with her forever family. Marin came back to use willingly, but not necessarily eager to leave. It was exactly the response we wanted, Marin's willingness to go with us, but doing it with fondness for those who had fostered her. We were touched by one special little boy with spina bifeda, who asked the director if he could come home with us too. She gently told him to be patient; his family is on their way, and they truly are, having already adopted two special needs kids from the True Children's Home. We would love to show you the pics we took for Marin of her happy aunties, brothers and sisters, but for privacy reasons (requested by TCH), that will have to wait until you come meet Mi Mi in person. :)

The most intriguing member of the staff was Mikel. She is the twenty-something, maybe early thirties, West Virginian who was teaching English in China when she found herself the director of this small, but very demanding enterprise. She is uniquely suited for the job and seems to have the passion, drive, and energy for this program. She is so selfless as a young, single woman, in a job that never sleeps. These people have chosen to make a difference in these little lives, one baby at a time, and they do it so well. We feel so fortunate to be directly touched as beneficiaries of this care. They have four programs: Foster care for the babies whenever reasonable and possible, home care within their twenty-bed facility, surgical care, and community outreach. The outreach program is so important, to help moms who love their babies but don't have the resources and support to keep them in their own homes; the all important outcome being a reduction in the rate of child abandonment.

We traveled back to Guangzhou very touched by the inspiring people we met today. The experience reminds us of what Mother Teresa once said, "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

Cruising the Mighty Pearl

With less than a (business) week till we depart, our time is now spent trying to find things to do while we wait for our consulate appointment on Wednesday. We had a few errands to run today, mostly restocking our formula and beer supply (both staples of good parenting). Then we killed some time in our room and the playroom while our daughter decided NOT to take a nap. She was happy-go-lucky until it was time to board our river cruise tonight, then she had a minor melt down. This didn't last long and she predictably passed out in mid-screech about five minutes into her tirade. After we set sail, she woke up ready to party on the boat, so we all headed up to the Lido Deck. We had a nice ninety-minute float that included a decent dinner and time to chat with our fellow travel families. The highlight was Guangzhou all lit up with holiday lights. It was particularly fun to see the White Swan from the river's perspective. The ole girl is distinguished landmark. The views from the upper deck were impressive, but Marin's favorite part of the voyage was the juggling clown in the dining room.

We were also excited to finally see Jason, our CCAI guide from three years ago. He and his current group were with us on our cruise. We shared lots of pictures of Helena as a big grown-up four-year-old, and also introduced him to Marin. He is now married and still happily working for CCAI. We mentioned to him that we thought we remembered he was dating a girl, when we were here last time. And with a twinkle in his eye, his reply was "yes, I think a few girls, but I picked the right one to marry."

Please excuse the runny nose pictures but we thought they were too cute not to include. We also included a picture of one of the orange trees, which are all over town, and are a sign of the upcoming Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival to the locals. People were out in droves today, doing their holiday shopping. The stores are packed with all of them playing the same Happy New Year sound track. By the time we leave, we should know the words by heart.

We are very excited about our day tomorrow. The three of us, and our representative Grace, will travel an hour and a half southwest of Guangzhou to visit Marin's previous digs, the True Childrens Home. We have a list of questions and and we hope to have lots of good info to share in our next post.

Pearl Market and Playtime.

Just a quick post today since its late here. We had a fun morning at the wholesale pearl market. Its the size of a very large, multi-level shopping mall with primarily pearls and beads for wholesale distribution. Unreal. As you can see from the colored beads picture, the quality may be variable. We bought a little something for me and the girls from a "reputable dealer" according to our agency representative. We are hopeful that we won't get home to find the paint coming off the pearls. I'll let you interpret the pic of Justin and Laura for yourselves.

We forced Marin into two naps today, a bit of a battle since her nap schedule has been off since Gotcha Day. Paperwork and other obligations seem to always fall during nap time. Her cough is no worse and maybe a tiny bit better and she is sleeping quieter tonight, sounding less and less like a sleestack (not sure I spelled it right, and only those of a certain age will get the reference anyway).

Included a couple of cutie-pie pics just for fun. We know you only tune in for the pics of Miss Marin anyway. :)

Familiar Sites

Today was a "tour the city" day, with no scheduled meetings related to completing the adoption process. After our daily breakfast buffet, we piled on the bus and headed to Seven Banyan Temple. Places like this put what we like to call the old, old country into perspective. Erected some 1500 years ago, the temple avoided destruction during the cultural revolution in the late sixties by hanging posters and banners of Chairman Mao at and around the entrance. One can only imagine what the landscape looked like at that time. Now, the remaining two banyans and temple are smack dab in the middle of town, with the temple and courtyard surrounded by high rise buildings. Despite the neighbors, the temple grounds are a very peaceful place and we enjoyed a little solitude. The babies received a traditional blessing from one of the monks and we watched as many of the area Buddhists left offerings of incense and fruit.

Next stop was the Folk Art Museum. This historic structure was built years ago by one of the biggest families in China. Over the years it has been a number of things including a college. It is one of our favorite sites from our last visit and we thought a lot about Matt, Kristi and Ruby and the multiple trips we made to find the right "souvenir" in 2008. Today we enjoyed some new exhibits and even got out of there with most of our Yuan in our pockets.

We had a brief follow-up with a doctor after our compulsory exam yesterday. We won't bore you with the details but will say that little Marin checked out okay and she also rivaled her big sister in the "good patient" department. The day did include some mentionable parental stress, and little episodes like this really bring home the miracle of adoption. The instant love and concern you have for this little being in your care is immediate. It is real. It is intense.

In an effort to "equal out" the parental bonding, we changed things up on Marin today. Daddy got her up, fed her, changed her diaper, and strapped her to his chest. There was remarkably little resistance from Mimi and things seemed to go swimmingly. This all changed when Dad tried to relinquish his charge for a quick trip to the boys room. That's when mommy had a little ego check as Marin rejected her outright. We humored Marin for a while, but at some point told her enough was enough and told her "you will talk to your mother." After this didn't work, Val tried another tactic and took off the hat she was wearing. That did the trick. Who knew that Marin was just expressing her fashion advice and trying to tell her mommy that her hat was "so last year."

Tonight we were ALL buddies and after a day of inconsistent naps and feedings, Marin is snoring peacefully in her crib. Tomorrow, we will try to improve on our feeding and napping schedule and we will both leave our black hats at home.

Meet Our Families.

Although we technically have seven families in our CCAI travel group, there are only four of us currently in Guangzhou, as the others are still in their respective provinces finalizing their provincial paperwork and getting acquainted with their babies. This has given us lots of opportunities to get to know our small group a little better. Having a small group also means things take less time when only four families are being processed (passport photos, doctor visits, etc).

Diane is seen here with her three-year-old daughter on Gotcha Day. I have never seen such a quick bond and this little girl, Jessica, is happy and playful as well as being a little pistol, just like any three-year-old. Diane's husband is at home in Boulder, CO with their seven-yr-old, but brought her good pal, Laura (a.k.a. Sherpa Laura). She is pictured with me in the red coat and is a perfect travel companion. While Diane is busy running around after Jessica, Laura is her support staff, laundry doer, stroller fixer, and all around good friend with a very positive attitude to boot.

Chris and Suzanne from Memphis are pictured here with their daughter, Abbie, who was adopted from Kazakhstan eight years ago, as well as their new addition, Emma. Abbie too is a wonderful travel companion for her parents as they all get to know their new family member. Emma doesn't think much of Dad yet, however, he has a fan in Marin and she flirts with him whenever she gets the chance.

Chris and Kristin, seen here soon after their Gotcha moment, have two boys at home in Colorado(ages 9 and 11). Their daughter, Jenae, also prefers mom but dad continues to bribe her with food... it will work eventually :)

And that brings us back around to us and Marin. She still isn't feeling well and appears to like the consistency of one person to cuddle all the time. So, you guessed it, Dad is not currently her favorite. The advantage for him is that gets to go to the bathroom by himself whereas Val has a little velcro attachment. Justin is taking it in stride and sometimes it seems like Marin is just experimenting with how far she can push her new Mommy. She is still coughing quite a bit and we may be on the verge on antibiotics with her worsening cold --although its likely a virus and we are trying to wait it out. Tonight she is resting soundly after her big day at the doctor's office for her visa physical. You can tell from the pic that she was having an off moment, but she managed to be back to her happy self after a nap. Yesterday we were beginning to wonder if she was just going to be quiet kiddo, but today she has turned on the charm and babbled our ears off. She has even said Mama and Dada in the past 24-hours, music to our ears!

Hide-and-Seek and other hotel room games.

We are getting to know this little girl just a little better each day. Her personality reveals its little gems a bit at a time. This morning, she was adamant in watching the CNN financial report while Justin changed her diaper. We we're told that she regularly watched Baby Einstein (in English), but they didn't mention she also liked Bloomberg Report. Her granddads will be so proud!

Hanging out in our room she spontaneously started doing some yoga (downward dog), which later turned into a game of hide and seek. We caught her spying on us from her crib (during what was supposed to be nap time), and then when she noticed us noticing her, she immediately headed for the corner of her crib, dropping her head down like an ostrich --while sporting a big grin on her face. We have yet to hear a laugh, but have had plenty of little quiet coos and giggles.

Unfortunately she is not feeling 100%. Her cold has gotten worse over the day and she is really congested, but this doesn't seem to dampen her sweet disposition. She curses us in Mandarin when we bring out the "snot sucker" but this animosity quickly fades. She has also been tugging at her ears, which we fear is a little ear pain. So she is now on occasional ibuprofen and I have a feeling she is going to need a steam-bath. So itspizza night in the hotel room. Sorry, no parties.

We are officially done with the "Chinese side" of her documentation and we are now moving toward her American immigration side of the paper chase. We included a typical scene from one of our many meetings. Funny, we work so hard getting her established with her Chinese identity and passport, just to have her become a US citizen as soon as we clear customs in San Francisco. Our prize is now in this final chase, her visa, so we can bring this little bundle home.

Thanks to all of you sending e-mails and blog comments our way. It's such a nice thing to wake up to in the mornings, so please keep it coming. Although we are surrounded by 15 million people, we are still a bit lonely for family and friends. Your kind words remind us of what blessings we have awaiting us at home.

Thanks to Nana and Granddad, we Skype with Helena about once a day and she has been a little trooper. We miss her so, and she appears to be growing every day. Unbelievable that she was this small when we first met her. We miss her a little more each day and try to block it out so as not to eventually lose it. Ten more days to go Lena! BTW, we weighed Marin this morning with the help of a luggage scale and shopping bag. 18 Lbs of pure sweetness.