Packing

Packing up for our last stop!

Believe it or not ALL the kids got their Visas today!!!  WHOOOOOOHOOOOO!! Onward to Hong Kong!

We had a fairly leisurely day packing up and getting ready for tomorrow's journey to Hong King. Originally we had planned to fly, but Mark decided the 2 1/2 hour bus ride would be easier on the boys (and Gaga)!!! The bus is super nice and air conditioned and we won't be in the airport, lugging our now even heavier luggage!!
I was happy with that decision! Especially since we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn!!

So, I went for my massage today. When I walked in I was escorted to the massage room. I was disappointed I didn't have my camera with me!!!! Rats!! It had a 'regular' potty, and full sized 'rain' shower, a dressing table, wardrobe complete with all the essentials and a lovely robe. It was a beautiful room decorated in warm browns and golds! The sink was gorgeous! It was a red bowl with a splash of white and gold oriental looking flowers sprinkled around the inside edge! It was an extremely inviting room!  Coco, my masseuse, directed me to get into the shower, wash my hair and put on my robe! She was quiet and demure, her English was fair enough for me to understand that! She came back with a hot pot of tea and handed me the cup to drink. I wish somebody else was in there with me because all I wanted to do was giggle! And it only got worse! My cold had escalated so I was already pretty stuffy, but for some reason whenever I do get a message, I get stuffier!! So here I am face down, trying to breathe through my mouth and I think she was asking me about the pressure, I just shook my head yes! (Mark said he nearly fell asleep for his, but I can assure you, there was NO sleeping for me!)  I must have agreed to more pressure!! So THEN, she asks me to turn over, which I did, stuffy as ever! I am not sure what she asked me next, all I know is, I think I got my first boob massage ever!! Seriously!!!! All I could think of is Mark wanting to fall asleep, and all I wanted to do was stay alert!!! It was funny, but my neck and back did feel 100% better by the time she was done!!! Then she served me watermelon slices and more tea and waited in the corner of the room while I finished it!! What an experience!!

Before dinner we met with all the families in a meeting room to get the kids' Visas and say goodbye to the families that we had come to know and love! It was a tearful goodbye! As far as they all have come, there is much work to do with all these little kids! They have come so far in such a short amount of time!! I know that each and every one is destined for greater possibilities than anyone can imagine! After all, Jian is destined to be a Doctor! Or Lawyer, or builder, or captain of a ship! It will be a whole new world waiting to be discovered by all of them!

At dinner tonight we met a couple from England who had just picked up their little girl yesterday. They were sitting alone and of course, Lizzy and I chatted her up! She said in England, it is so much harder to get approved to adopt. They had been waiting for years and years! (also, she was a healthy baby girl and I don't know if that had anything to do with it). They had come alone, so didn't have the advantage of being with a group like we did. Since this was our first rodeo, we didn't know any different. God was watching out for us because we definitely had an advantage by being with other families and realizing we were all going through the same thing. She was very grateful that Lizzy shared with her. Jian is like a different baby since the first few days! He's still bad though!! I am waiting for him to sing himself to sleep, (he is giggling with daddy and mommy right now,) my favorite part of the evening!!

I thought that FaceTime was going to be my best source of communication with my family in spite of the 12 hour time difference, but instead we lose service every 90 seconds and we get frustrated!! Sammy said, "Gaga, I can't stand another day without you!!" My sweet little Drama Queen! Can't wait to see them!!!

Lizzy is in the other room packing while Mark bathes Cash and I hear her say, "I feel like I have 10 kids". Mark yells to me, "you did this 5 times?". Lizzy quipped, "none of us were like this little bulldozer".

We are excited to begin the journey home! Jian has been in and out of the suitcases, packed HIMSELF, by HIMSELF and little shopping bag with Chinese money, snacks and a diaper! Bad and smart!!! That's our boy!! Cassius has been a joy, but is anxious as well to get on the road!! Thank God Aunt Sonny will be there to greet us! She will be the only family Jian will meet till next month when the Ward family (Idie and her family) visit! Then they will come to Maryland in August so we can Baptize him with Havi (Jenna and Neil's adorable new son)!!!

I miss my East coast peeps and can't wait to see them! Someone at the dinner table asked me if it will be hard to get back to work after being here in China! Had to laugh, I can't WAIT TO GET BACK TO WORK! I work with the most awesome, hard working, purpose-driven women in the world!!!

Now we are really ready for bed and I hear the familiar little voice singing. The wheels on the bus..... SWEET! SWEET! SWEET!! Love it!

Lizzy came in my room just before putting the kids down with Mark and decides she will have me try some homeopathic nasal dryer  or some such thing. She instructs me to sniff and dispense. I did it in one nostril and thought I would choke to death between being stuffy and laughing myself silly! We were both out of control laughing and choking! You really had to be here to appreciate this one!

I am thanking God constantly for His many blessings and graces. I am filled with His love and glory as I watch it in full bloom!!

I ask that you say extra special prayers for our Elizabeth Ida as Wednesday is the day they do the lumpectomy. We are looking for yet another miracle for our DeCesaris family!! We need it, are praying for it and expecting it!!

Afraid to drink the water??? Drink beer! Never liked it before! I think I may be a fan!!

Brothers!

farewell

Cash in his flip flop socks

Ready to go home!!

Saying goodbye, but not without one last game!

Whoo! Hoo! got my VISA! Ready to go! 

Pasta boy! 

It's good to be headed home!

Consulate Day

One step closer to taking Jian home!!! Today the parents took their babies and signed more papers and got 'sworn' in. The Visa's are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow evening!!! Amen!!

I kept Cash and the Bradford kids with me in the hotel. This is how Gaga babysits...hand each kid an IPad and viola! Quiet, good kids!! The Bradford kids are the sweetest kids ever and are from West Virginia! Say 'Gaga' with a southern accent! So funny and cute! So, when their parents came back thanking me like crazy, I was embarrassed! Ha!

Cash and I had a lazy day and hung out in the hotel all day! I am getting a cold of all things!!! As much "stuff" as I have been taking to prevent EVERYTHING,  you wouldn't think I'd get ANYTHING! And with Lizzy spraying something that smells like Vicks Vaporub to clean the air every day, one would think we could kill all the germs in China!!!! If you know Lizzy, you know we have it all going on here!
So we  watched some hotel TV and played games on the iPad. He is very competitive and feels sorry for me since I am not all that good at iPad games, so he helps me out! I think he worries his Gaga just doesn't do very well on her own! He is so loving. We had fun today.

At 4:00 Lizzy came back saying she found a 'mall' we could walk to! She seemed pretty excited so we headed out!!! We only had an hour before we had to meet our group for dinner! An hour???? How much damage can I do I an hour??? Pretty much!!! It was fun, I put my bargaining studies (since my last shopping experience) into practice!
Made out dang good!! Bought some ADORABLE little dresses for my littlest nieces!!! In my favorite color! LIMEGREEN! Can't wait to see those cuties in them!

We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner (you know you've stayed too long when you find your favorite restaurant!) again. Grace, our guide here, brought us there the first night and we all fell in love with the eggplant dish! Yummy!!  They say that it is made with peanut oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce (which I do believe is in nearly every dish!) it is DELICIOUS! We also became fans of the string bean dish. They cut then into quarter inch pieces, with about a ton or two of garlic, peanut oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce (surprise!) and a touch of hot chili pepper!! Very yummy!!!

Mark made time to finally get a massage! He has been lugging heavy luggage and heavy Jian AND Cash around! He already has neck issues, so it was overdue! He walked in looking like a new man! Relaxed! He said he almost fell asleep! Today I was thinking that he has seen to our every need and how grateful I am for him. But, of course, there is no end to his generosity and caring! Here is the best part...he said "I got you and Lizzy a massage or 2, so go whenever you want"!!!! So, it's 10:30 here in China and Lizzy just walked in the door from a very relaxing massage session! She had to wait until Jian fell asleep! She's had our little two ton wrecker truck on her front or back almost  constantly!! He's getting a little better though!!He's so adorable when he sings himself to sleep! I will hit that spa TOMORROW!!

One funny story...we are pretty close to the elevator and I kept hearing a door slam most of the night! Jian had a terrible night sleep so Lizzy took him out at some crazy hour of the night! The next day she said all that noise I was hearing was some 'ladies of the night'!!!!! Seriously?!? This is a super nice hotel and there are about 40 adoptive families with their babies here!!! No wonder Jian couldn't sleep!

Keep praying for our families here. Austin, Sarah, and May Lin are starting their journey home tomorrow!
And keep praying for our Elizabeth Ida!!

After bath playing with Daddy

Babysitting Gaga style

Is this kid Chinese???? 

Jian went to the closet to get his and Lizzy's shoes to go OUT!!

"Dear Sir, Get me outta here! I'm anxious to get home and meet my family! Sincerely, Jian LaHive"

Don't touch my stroller OR my Pringles!

This kid is a comedian!

Sarah, Austin and May Lin!!! They have 2 little boys anxious to meet their sister waiting at home!!!

Regression?

"First, I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world." Romans 1:8
How appropriate to read this morning as I think if all these families in China and all our families at home! I thank God for all of you!

Today, like every other day, starts out very early! Cash crawled in bed with me as Mark, Lizzy and Jian ( the earliest riser) set out to get STARBUCKS!! Yep, Starbucks in China!
After breakfast, we were scheduled for a 9am tour of Gangzhou Six Banyan Pagoda. We toured the ancient Pagoda, which was very beautiful, colorful, and filled with gorgeous vegetation. Of course, it was very hot! I am not a sweater, but I felt it drip all the way down my back. It reminded me of my wedding day 41 years ago, the hottest day of the year in a church with no air conditioning!! HOT!! HOT!! REALLY HOT! We did a stop to do a little "shopping"! Just a little. Probably was a good thing it was so hot, cause it was too hot to shop!!!

Our little 'bull in a China closet' needed to get out before he broke something! It was a china store!! But, little Jian, seems to have a shoe fetish!! The ones he came in barely fit, so Lizzy found something for him in Zhengzhou in Walmart! Yep, a Walmart in China! So, now that we are in the china shop in Guangzhou, he spots a shelf of shoes and his daddy couldn't resist him! Now he is working on his shoe fetish!

A meltdown of a couple of our babies on the way back to the hotel  (including Jian) made us think we were regressing, but not really! He gets more playful with Cash everyday! He has no fear, so he takes off quickly! He actually loves his stroller (new concept) so much so that when he was walking with Lizzy, and Mark let Hollywood Jenna use it, he went off!!! MELTDOWN!!!

Every opportunity Cash gets to make a 'purchase', he asks to buy something for his GIRLFRIEND at home named Jenna! Told me he loved her more than me and that he was going to marry her! He bought her earrings, a picture with her name in Chinese on it, a bracelet and a PROMISE ring!!!!! He keeps talking about her, so I asked him what he loved so much about her and he said she was pretty!!!! Well, I said that is just not good enough! So he said she was sweet. Even though he said there were 2 other boys who she liked, he thought he would just seal the deal with this PROMISE ring! Really?!?!!

We all had to meet in the lobby for family pictures at 4:30 just before dinner. This is the funny thing! ALL the babies and all the babies siblings dressed in traditional Chinese attire with the exception of Jian!! He wore an all-American football jersey!!! The kid is Americanized! He ate pasta for dinner! I will send pics so you can see all these families.

We met a women today who had 4 girls with her all dressed alike! She adopted 2 of them on this trip and has 2 more at home with the dad! She was a quiet, demure woman! I would have been pulling my hair out!!! Again, all these kids have some kind of special need, even if very small! God bless her!!!

We met a man in the elevator and he has 6...4 adopted!

This is such a huge undertaking! I probably say that with each blog, but it is! None of this process is easy! You are pretty much in your hotel room more than half the time. The kids get bored easily and Jian ONLY LIKES IT OUTSIDE, although I think since he and  Cash have started to rough house, it's a little better. You can go on the tours and walk the streets but it is summer HOT here!  Did I say it was HOT here?? Tomorrow is the trip to the consulate to get SWORN IN!!!! You can't bring anything with you! No cameras, no purses, no phones, no anything but a diaper for your baby! I VOLUNTEERED to stay behind with Cash and the 2 other Bradford kids!  We are going to the pool!

It is comforting to be in it together! This is an incredible group! A much larger group of parents and babies came in yesterday and it is amazing what a difference a week makes in the whole bonding process! You could see the frustration on their faces and worse, you could hear it!!

Here is what I love the best about being here in China....every night I get to hear Jian sing himself to sleep! It is the sweetest sound!

Continue to please pray for these families. Please pray for my niece, Elizabeth Ida, my heart is with her!!!

All our families and babies

Cash drinking apple juice but he says it looks like beer!

Chinese art class in the pagoda

Cash and his new buddy Connor

Cash and Mark at the pagoda

How cute is he???!!!!

Gaga and the boys

                                   Jian is signing 'clean up', but I never saw any clean up going on!

                                               Hollywood Jenna taking a turn in Jian's stroller!!

                                                                    Brotherly LOVE!

                                             STINKER! STEALING CHINESE MONEY!!!

                                                            Perfect moment captured!!

Impromptu kiss for Daddy & I caught it on camera! 

Lahive Family minus Jian.. he was with Josh (quietly!)

                                                      That would be McDonald's french fries!! 

Turning a Corner

It's time for bed and Lizzy and Mark are getting the 'boys' ready for bed! I love the sound of that and I know they do too!! In my adjoining room, I hear Cash talking about a "a 5 year old kid that pushed me into a bamboo bush and made me cut my knee!". I'm hysterical because he is freakish about a little scratch let alone the palm sized scape he has! Mark is trying to make him laugh and not be upset about it as he sprays an anti bacterial spray on it!! It is NOT working!!! "don't hurt me daddy!!" this is too funny! Not really, but it's good to be Gaga and just listen in!

Meanwhile, our little Mac truck, Jian, has definitely turned a corner! He had a great day! We went to the 'pearl market' today and he fell asleep on Lizzy, in and out of cabs, walking in the rain, in and out of 'stinky' buildings and he was GOOD all day!!!

Why does it 'stink' so bad here???? Maybe because babies don't wear diapers but rather this strange contraption they call an outfit with a cutout for their little behinds and if they are boys, their  little  peepees' out! How strange is this concept!?!?Lizzy and I have analyzed this every which way imaginable and can't make sense of it! They teach the kids to squat wherever, whenever!!! Seriously!! I can't help but stare and wonder!! I wish I had the guts to take a picture! Maybe I will by the end of the trip!!! If you have never seen it, you would be as shocked as I am!

Jian's pictures really don't tell you how adorable he is! He bounds out of his fresh bath naked and cute as ever. He grabs 'French fries' in a can and starts eating like he skipped dinner! His hair is so course, wild, and black. His little dimples surround his sweet bud-like lips, his bottom lip is fuller than the top, I suspect because of the cleft lip on top. Oh my goodness, I can't stand it!! I love this little naked body! He has legs like my daddy! Thick! He went from Chinese noodles at every meal to McDonald's fries, Pringles chips, PASTA, greens, spicy foods, and edamame! I don't think they will have any trouble transitioning him to Lizzy's cooking! It seems he likes things room temperature, even water. As we Americans are asking for cold bottles of water, cold beer, cold soda, he prefers warm! Yuk! That is what he is used to and no air conditioning! He gets extra clothes and long sleeves so we don't die of the heat!! Lizzy asked him if he kissed Gaga goodnight. He comes over to me still naked and instead of a kiss I got a French fry! I squeezed him and just marveled at his beautiful skin!

The 'pearl market' was not what I was expecting! Another 'stinky' building and HOT! They have little fans that they point to us crazy Americans so we will be comfortable. They really are gracious people. While that is true, I still wanted a bargain and they are not bargainers. I thought about my sis, JoAnn and wondered just how she would go about it! She is much better at it than I am! I am so bad  at it that when I got back to the hotel to look at my 'goods', I realized I didn't get what I had 'bargained' for!!! Lizzy and I marched right back over (a cab ride and back into the 'stinky' building) and they apologized and made it right! JoAnn would have been proud of us!

We had to get back to the hotel to get Jian's blood test results for the tuberculosis test by noon. I thought we already had it, didn't know we were still supposed to be worried about that! Ignorance is truly bliss! It was negative, just as I suspected!!! Did they think we were going to leave my grandbaby there! Gracious but funny people they are!!

We saw our other families this morning, but no more hall parties since we are scattered throughout the hotel!!

Thank you Jesus for this much calmer day! Each day becomes a little easier and a little better!! Certainly less meltdowns! Cash is transitioning as well from only child to ready made 2 year old brother! A 2 year old under normal circumstances can be challenging, but imagine one you didn't raise to this point! I think what is making the biggest change is Jian himself. I think he is realizing we are his peeps and we are NOT leaving him. Lizzy got up to get something from the dinner table tonight and he started to whine for her. Mark pointed to Lizzy's seat and explained to him that mommy would come right back to her seat, although he never took his eyes off  her, he totally understood and stopped whining!!! PROGRESS!!

"I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4 This was perfect for today as we teach our children  to walk, talk, and live by His word.

For all those following me, thank you! I would humbly ask you to storm heaven with prayers for healing for my niece, Elizabeth Ida, whose was diagnosed with breast cancer while I am here in China. She is a 33 year old, amazing woman, with amazing strength of character, amazing grace, amazing faith and amazing talent. She is a treasure in our family and has a long road to hoe! Pray for miraculous healing and strength for her and her mom and sisters! Thank you prayer warriors!!!

Cash bought earrings for his girlfriend! (that's another good story!)

French Fry Boy , fresh from his bath!

                                           Going to the Pearl Market! That was an adventure!!

Going through Gaga's drawers

Jian loves Pringles too!

Mommy and Jian... happy, happy!

Noodle boy!

View from the 11th floor; that pulley is for window washers.. no scaffolding. Yikes!

Noodle brother

Clinic Day

Today started out at the crack of dawn, since I didn't sleep much last night, it didn't take much to get me going. It was about 5am when I heard something (besides crying and screaming) and it was the sweet sound of Frere Jacques (French nursery rhyme)! of course Jian was just forming words that don't make sense, but he most assuredly had the rhythm and the correct scale! And he was getting louder and louder. So precious! He came bounding in my room to see me when he finished a few verses.

Actually as sweet as the singing voice is, the crying voice is screeching!! Wowzer! It is very interesting to see how each parent handles the meltdowns. Since they are part of the process, they educate the parents on how to handle them. You are supposed to hold them close and reassure them, all while they are screaming and crying! Jain closes his eyes during his meltdown and goes into another zone! Plus he weighed in today at 33 lbs! A wriggling, screaming 2 year old equates to a lot of work on the part of the parents! Lizzy is crazy strong and crazy in love with Jian, and she makes it look easy. All these parents are "in it, committed, devoted and in love" with their babies. Mary Kay says you can do any unfun thing for a short amount of time! Some moments are so unfun!!! One minute one of them has a meltdown and the next minute their singing Old McDonald and melt your heart and you remember why you are here! I loved watching Josh pick up his little Drama Queen Bella off the floor when she had a meltdown, held her close to his chest, all the while telling her how much he loves her and soothes her till she quiets down!  Watching Tina calm down Hollywood Jenna is another sight to take in! These are AMAZING HUMAN BEINGS!  God is happy today! Ok.......

We are headed in the little bus designated to our 6 families and Jian has no idea what he is in for!!! He is innocently sitting on Mark's lap singing 'The wheels on the bus'. He knows this tune very well, too!! How cute is he!?! I try to snap pictures when he is giggling, smiling or teasing! When the meltdowns come, they come BIG time!! In between, he is a cut up! Lizzy and I went down to the front desk to exchange money for our trip to the Pearl Market tomorrow. I put my exchange money in my little wallet and (not thinking he could possibly unzip it) and stupidly handed it to Jian. We were walking leisurely through the lobby and the hall where all the little boutiques were, just attempting to wear him out! He gave us this little sly grin (how could a Chinese baby narrow his eyes any more than they are, I do not know) but he does just before he is about to do something he thinks is irresistible! He took off laughing and giggling with Lizzy and I running after him. He was laughing to hard, money spilling out, Lizzy and I (mostly I) out of breathe!!! He is a stinker!!!

So we arrive at the clinic and as we waited in the foyer of this huge building, a truck stopped in front of the building with 4 armed guards, armed with big rifles!!!! I think it was the Chinese version of our Wells Fargo trucks. Seriously I was a little nervous, especially since the boys were running around and they were headed inside the building!!! They were serious faced and scary looking! I just wanted to get OUT!

We headed up to the clinic and all the 2 year olds (just 2 in our group) had to get a blood draw for a tuberculosis test! If God forbid they had it, they were not getting an OK to come home! The parents could not go in for the test, so what do you think Jian did?! Poor baby was all sweaty and sobbing and it only took about 3 minutes. Each baby had to go to 3 more health stations. ENT (ear, nose, and throat), heart/lung check, and weight/height station!

So we found out today that we got a half baked baby! Yes, that's right! Seems like our little Jian, who is not so little at all, had a whole in his heart (unbeknownst to Mark and Lizzy) in addition to his cleft lip and palette and his hypospadias! One of the dads is a Dr. and as we were talking to him he said that some babies have a hole in their heart at birth or cleft palette or hypospadias because they don't  finishing 'cooking'! Jian is impatient and was anxious to get on with it!  So he came out before he was done!! So there you have it, Jian is half baked!

On another note, they said the hole closed up in his heart (my personal opinion is that that hole was filled with his new family), his cleft palette is closed (so we think they made some of attempt to fix it), and the Dr. who looked at his peepee said he doesn't have the hypospadias!! Jeez! Of course, when they get to UCLA they will have everything thoroughly checked out! He stills needs who knows what, but minor for now! For now is he a singing, half baked, lovable, sweet, irresistible, baby boy!!

All of our kids got a clean bill of health including our miracle baby, Lena! She is like a different baby since she spent a few days  in the hospital and her mother giving her constant care! Annalise said the hospital had no air conditioning, no vending machines, no place to get a bite to eat, no place for her to rest her weary body, nothing we are used to in the states! We are a spoiled country! Don't you love being an American!!!

From there we did some local shopping with our band of babies. We get lots of attention everywhere we go and for the most part, the people of China are very gracious! The nurses at the clinic were great with the kids and very excited that we wanted to take their pictures! They loved that! I can't stop saying what a humbling experience this has all been! Cassius has been an amazing kid, he continues to impress everyone. One of the dads was quizzing him on the state capitals. Cash didn't know any, HOWEVER, he asked Mark to download some map game that teaches you these things (I was terrible at it, his dad had to help him cause he got frustrated with me!), and he said he can't wait to show Austin what he knows! Yes, he is an amazing kid!!!

Until the paperwork is complete and we get Visas for all the babies, we will be here!!! I miss my family and my main man so much!!! I can't wait for him and my big fat Italian family to meet him!!

Nurses at the clinic

                                                                Drama Queen Bella!

                                                                          Fries again??

                                                 Mark and Jian singing 'the wheels on the bus'!

                                                        Lizzy and Jian! He loves to eat!

Brother time

LiNa couldn't hold her head up 10 days ago!

love McDonald's fries

Tired Mommy