Gotcha Day and a New Heart

I was working on a post of pictures to show you of Gotcha Day. I appreciate all the prayers and well wishes. I spent quite sometime on Skype with dh, Joseph, and Banana. I couldn't bear to turn it off. I wish I were holding my little boy. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to finish the post. In the midst of editing pictures, I was interrupted.

The call came and my sister is going to have her heart transplant today. I am going to be with her at the hospital, so the Gotcha Day post will have to wait. Please pray for Missy, pray for my family, pray for the donor and family as well.

Whew, what a day!

Killing Time

How exactly does one pass the time when they know their spouse is half a world away meeting their new son at this moment? I know I am needed here, but I wish I were there...

Then and Now

Then:

Now:

The first few days of dh and Banana's trip to Joseph are very similar to the first few days dh and I spent in Beijing to pick up Juliana. The most notable difference is that we were there in a mild December, they are there in a bitter January. It was cold when we were there. I can't imagine how difficult it is to try to do any sightseeing in the bitter cold weather they are facing.

The main goal of these first few days is to get out and move so that your body can adjust to the time change before you add taking care of a new child to the mix. Beijing has a lot of attractions, unfortunately most of them are outdoors. The last few days dh and Banana have visited Tienanmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and the Olympic Village (this is the only attraction we didn't go to last year). Poor Banana complained on Skype last night (her early morning) that her feet hurt from all the walking they had done, and that was before the Great Wall. When we spoke early this morning (about 7 PM China time), she had fallen asleep in her clothes in the middle of praying the rosary with Dad.

In some ways I know dh would like to visit new spots in China. I am thankful, however, to have been to these places. It allows me to feel more a part of the trip. They even went to the same crazy restaurant that served us this last year.

Sure enough they served it again this year. Dh did not bother trying it this time around and although my Banana is a fish eater, she still didn't brave it.

Since we had seen most of these places with the adoption group last time, dh spent the first few days on his own. They went back to the places we had gone, but they did it on their own in an effort to see a little more and not feel rushed. Yesterday was their first day with the group and apparently Banana really enjoyed that (she is like her mother in that regard, I also enjoyed meeting other adoptive families), there are quite a few children traveling with their families. Banana likes to talk and I think she is enjoying making some new friends.

Our group in Beijing was about 30 families. This group is considerably smaller. I think there are just under 10 families, six of those families will be traveling with dh and Banana to Zhengzhou tomorrow (tonight our time). They are at the point in the trip where the excitement to meet your new child really starts to build. Juliana was given to us the same day we traveled to Chongqing, but Joseph will not be brought to them until Monday (Sunday night our time). I know dh is anxious for this and although nothing will compare to having them all home, I am excited to Skype with them and to hear dh and Banana's impressions of him.

Strengths and Weaknesses

After all the cajoling to post on the blog, dh has found that blogger is blocked in China. We knew this was a possibility, but since we had no trouble on our last trip we were hopeful he would be able to post this time as well. It looks as though I will just have to do my best to update from here.

Thankfully, dh is a technical kind of guy and he is able to upload his pictures and videos so we can see them each evening. Technology is definitely one of his strengths. It is amazing how quickly we can see their trip. It is also amazing to talk to them each day with video and yet we are half a world away.

Photography and video recording are not one of his strengths. While we were sleeping dh and Banana visited the foster home in which Joseph has spent most of his life. Dh took 3 pictures of it. He was trying to take more video, but had a few snafus. I think he was turning off the record button when he thought he was turning it on. As a result there is very little good video of the home. There is more video of his taxi ride then of the foster home. There are just some things you need Mom for... this is one of them.

Dh said the home was amazing. Somehow I knew it would be from the pictures on the Internet. It is run by an Australian couple whose hearts went out to these orphans in China. Many, many of the children they care for do not survive. Still they keep the home in fantastic condition. They started with only three children and now have four buildings full of orphans.

Here is an excerpt of a message dh sent last night:

Good news and bad news about the visit to the Hope Home. Good news -- the visit was absolutely +wonderful+. The children are well-cared for and the facility is spotless. You can tell they love the children in their care. Robin took us on a tour. He told us that many special needs children are considered too sick to recover. The Hope Home takes in some of these children. Of those that come to the home, 40% survive. It's really amazing work they do.

Another good piece of news -- they had a special scrap book put together for Joseph which they gave to us! It's wonderful and has many new pictures from his time there. I can't wait for you to see it.

Now the bad news -- I looked at the pictures and the video. I realize that my video skills are horrible and I'd starve as a photographer. I thought I'd take more video of the home to give you a better idea of what we were seeing. I see maybe one or two seconds of good video in the whole thing. In a couple cases, I accidentally left the camera running. I guess I'll just need to apologize to Joseph 20 years from now.

Perhaps we can blame the fact that there is no picture of Joseph's crib, but there is a picture of the Lambourghini car shop on being overtired. The ten minute footage of a Chinese cab ride is unexplainable :)

Please continue to pray for the travelers. Banana is taking some time to adjust to the time change. Apparently after not sleeping on the long plane ride, she is now trying to sleep the day away. Here's hoping she's getting a good night's sleep right now.

They Made It

We had a short conversation via Skype this morning from Beijing. It is unbelievable they can be so far away and yet we can video conference as though they were next door. They both looked pretty tired. Banana only slept a few hours on the long flight to Korea.

I would have joked with them about how tired they looked, but I am pretty sure I looked almost as ragged. The dog was up twice, Juju was up twice, Bophie tossed and turned all night. I am really dragging today. I guess some of my exhaustion was my own fault, the Orange Bowl was on and I couldn't help myself, only a few more nights of college football.

Yesterday, the girls and I made a chain counting down the days until our family is reunited. This morning it looks longer than it did last night. We have a few appointments tomorrow so that should make the day go a little faster. It also means I need to get a better night's sleep tonight.

Ninety Years Without Slumbering

DH here... a short post at 3 AM (Columbus time) from the Incheon airport. We made it to South Korea! Our flight to Beijing leaves in an hour. Hannah slept for a few hours on the flight over, but she still looks exhausted. She's holding together well, however, and still wants to walk around! I want to find a warm dark place and sleep. :)

P.S. I brought a few Twilight Zone episodes along on this trip to China to pass the time. It just so happens the one I'm watching now is called "Ninety Years Without Slumbering" and seems very apropos. :)

All My Bags Are Packed....

I'm ready to go. (Notice I can quote the lyrics to "Leaving On a Jet Plane" and still not feel compelled to post a picture of a jet. Dh would not approve.)

My bags aren't packed and technically I am going nowhere, but I have managed to finally finish packing dh and Banana. Before dawn tomorrow they will be off to bring home our son, our newest family member. It has been quite a ride this week. It seems if it could go wrong, it did. As if booking last minute tickets, packing essentials for 19 days in two suitcases that can't weigh more than 40 lbs, gathering every essential document, and rounding up medications for whatever ailment Joseph may have or ailments dh and Banana might incur, were not enough we had a host of other things that demanded attention.

My sister has been having more complications and is back in the hospital. The dog has some sort of bowel issue that I hope dh has taken care of. The van door started acting up. Then last night Bophie woke me up in the middle of the night with an ear ache. I spent today trying to tie up all these loose ends, finish laundry and packing, and carting four girls to the doctor and three different stores.

I think the addition of some boys will be good for my house of girls. There were lots of tears tonight as everyone was sad at the thought of missing one another. Banana is excited, but already missing her mom and sisters. Bear and Bophie are sad about Dad and Banana leaving, and Juju just cried because we put her to bed. Poor dh has seen quite a few tears already. I am trying to keep my hormonal emotions in check, with some success. However, I just don't have it in me not to shed a few tears myself. The femininity in this house is overflowing. Almost three weeks without him. Three weeks when I am just over 36 weeks pregnant. We are crazy.

When I really get worried or anxious, I look at this little face and I know we are doing the right thing. It will be a long few weeks, but in three weeks when we are all united again as a family, with the blessing of Joseph's presence, we will quickly forget tonight's fears and anxieties.
Please pray for the safe return of my travelers and our newest family member.

** I am trying to convince dh to post during his trip. He is worried about time and such. Please let him know he needs to update at least a few times so we can hear how it is going. Banana may even be able to put up a post or two with his help. We did invest in a new mini laptop for this trip. It should get some use, right?