Getting Ready For Christmas

Hello Everyone,

Things are going great with Ruthie. She is adapting so well to life in our family as well as in the United States. Because she was raised in an orphanage, she learned at a early age to be independent and take care of many of her needs herself. We are affectionate with her and she enjoys that and she gives us hugs in return.

Earlier this week, she had her first appointment with our pediatrician. It went very well and she is right on target in regards to weight & height. Unfortunately, she did have to have 3 vaccinations, but she did very well. While she was getting her vaccinations, I held her and for the first time, she held on to me very tightly as she cried a little. It was the first time that she held me seeking comfort, so even though it was no fun getting shots, it was a nice bonding moment.

Last Friday, we went to our local elementary school and met with the principal to talk about Ruthie's placement and integrating her into the school. Our meeting went very well. Since Ruthie was in 2nd grade in China, which is equivalent to 3rd grade here, the decision was made to put her in a 3rd grade class even though she is the age of a 4th grader. Since she is small, she looks like a 3rd grader, which helps. The principal introduced us and Ruthie to a little girl that will be in Ruthie's class who is Chinese and came to America 2 years ago - she spoke no English at the time and now can speak English so well. Unfortunately, the little girl does not speak Mandarin (Ruthie's language), but speaks Cantonese. We also met her new teacher who was very nice and visited the classroom. The classroom is made up of 60% native English speaking kids and 40% who are learning English. Another welcome surprise was that there is a kindergarten teacher at the school who is Malaysian and speaks fluent Mandarin, who will be able to help with translation, etc. She spoke to Ruthie and offered to help her with anything, homework, etc.

Ruthie seems excited to start school. She will begin once winter break is over. She gets a little bored when her siblings are in school, but she and I do something special together each day. Yesterday, she helped me to wrap Christmas presents. Then we went Christmas shopping so that she could pick out gifts to give to her siblings and her dad. She had so much fun picking out things. It was amazing how quickly she has come to know each of us and what we like. She was very good at selecting things that each person would like. She needed very little guidance from me.

Each evening, she helps her big sister with the dishes. Ruthie is now eating more American food, but always sprinkles tons of crushed red pepper flakes on top or adds spicy Hunan sauce. She doesn't like cheese or butter. Chinese children are not raised on milk, so oftentimes, they do not like dairy products. We are gradually introducing milk into her diet since it is so important. Our food is so bland for her compared to the really spicy food she was raised on. Todd loves spicy food too, but he is no match for Ruthie - while she can eat a whole meal of really spicy food without taking a drink, he needs to take a drink after 2 - 3 bites of food to cool off his mouth.

This week, Ruthie has wanted to help me cook dinner. She loves to be helpful. She is a good cook too. The other day, I told her we were going to her Grandma's house and would be seeing her cousin and aunts & uncles and she got so excited. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down and couldn't wait until it was time to go. She is so happy to belong to a family.


She is learning English just by being with us. She still speaks mostly Chinese and we communicate with her using both Chinese & English. Todd and I are so thankful that we took time to learn basic Chinese. It has helped so much.

Last Saturday, Santa Claus came to our house to visit the kids. Ruthie knew about Santa Claus from China. She laughed when he came through the door. She did try to pull down his beard, but we stopped her :) The kids and I are putting together a gingerbread house tomorrow and making Christmas decorations. I'm not sure what Ruthie thinks about all of the things we do in preparation for Christmas, but she happily joins in. The only Christmas song that she knows is "Jingle Bells", but she does not know the whole song, so she sings "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle". Too cute!


Well, that is about it for now. I will update you after Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Noelle

An An & Sofie (Kai Kai) Meet Again

Hello Everyone,

Today Ruthie met her best friend, Sofie (Kai Kai) again for the first time in a year. Sofie was in the orphanage with Ruthie and was adopted by my sister and her family last December. We heard lots of things about Ruthie from Sofie, who was so excited to see her again.

The girls were a little shy at first, but that soon passed. They started playing "Go Fish" and that broke the ice. They converse both in Chinese & English. They have been hanging out all afternoon, jumping on the trampoline, playing video games, etc. They look so happy together. I had been looking forward to this day since we first decided to adopt Ruthie back in late January.

This evening, we were on our way to my mother's house for dinner and I had Sofie (Kai Kai) in the backseat of my car along with Ruthie. I asked Sofie if she would tell Ruthie that we were going to their grandmother's house. I assumed that she would tell Ruthie in Chinese. Well, she turned to Ruthie and said in English "We are going to Grandma's house". Too funny! So, I thanked Sofie and then proceeded to tell Ruthie the same thing, but in Chinese.

Ruthie continues to do very well. She is calling Todd "Daddy" and she calls me "Mommy", which is interesting because none of my other kids call me "Mommy". I love it that she calls me that. She is adjusting very well. She and Todd went to sign her up for her drawing lessons at the Chinese school, which will start in January. The class is held both in Chinese & English since the kids speak one or the other language.

She passed by our local elementary school with Todd, who told her in Chinese that that will be her school. She was excited to be going to school soon. She will start school once the Christmas break is over. Her English is growing and hopefully by then, she will be a little further along which will help with her school.

Well, I need to get going now. I will post more later.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Noelle

We're Home!!!

Hello Everyone,

Well we made it. We are finally home!

It took about 25 hours from the time we left our hotel in China to when we arrived in the US, which includes layovers, etc. Ruthie did very well overall on the flight. However, we did have a lot of turbulence over the Pacific Ocean and Ruthie got sick a few times. When we landed in Los Angeles, we had a 3 hour layover. We told Ruthie that we were in America, but I think she had trouble believing it because LA is such a multi-ethnic city and there were people of all colors there.

As we were flying over Phoenix, she looked out of the window and asked Todd where our house was. Once we touched down in Phoenix, she finally believed that she was in America and was very excited. I couldn't wait to get off the airplane to see all of of our family that had gathered to meet us. We had prepared Ruthie for meeting the family when we were in China by showing her photos and explaining who was who. She was not too shy when she met everyone including her two older sisters. Pretty soon, her uncle was chasing her around the airport and she was laughing so hard.

The only glitch was that one of suitcases did not make it to Phoenix. It made it to Los Angeles because we had to go through customs with it and then recheck it, so the airline is searching for it. Ruthie's clothes were in it along with some souvenirs. Kai's special stuffed dog, that he always sleeps with, was in it as well. I hope they find it, but if not, we are okay.

We all collapsed into bed and slept great. One of the most wonderful, simple pleasures in the whole world is sleeping in your own bed after a long trip of uncomfortable hotel beds. Ruthie loves our two cats. She is always petting them. She is scared of our dogs, so we are taking it slowly with them. Yesterday, we went to Target (my favorite store), and bought her some clothes to replace the ones lost in the suitcase. We then went grocery shopping. She is a wonderful helper. She pushed the cart and brought in the groceries with Todd.

Today our Chinese teacher came by to meet Ruthie and see how she was doing. Ruthie was shy, as she usually is at the beginning, but then started to talk to her. She let Ruthie know that she will be stopping by and will be available by phone if she needs to talk to her or help to translate. Ruthie told her that we were good parents and that she was happy.

We asked our teacher to explain to Ruthie that she needs to tell us if she does not like something and to also let us know what she likes. Ruthie said that she did not feel comfortable doing that. In the orphanage, they are told to be happy with what they are given and not to ask for anything. So, that will take some time to change.

We are signing up Ruthie for a drawing class in our local Chinese school, which is run by the local Chinese church. It is held every weekend. There will be both Chinese & English spoken in the class and the majority of the students are Chinese. Some have been born here, but many have emigrated from China or Taiwan, which will be so nice for her. She will also be able to continue learning Chinese through the school.

Another blessing is that the Chinese church has a library that carries children's books in Chinese. That is so wonderful, because the Chinese books that Ruthie had picked out in China, were in the lost suitcase.

Todd has taken Ruthie to a wonderful Chinese market in Phoenix to pick out some foods that she likes. It is hard to find the right food in our local market and the food at this particular Chinese market comes straight from China, so she will be familiar with the brands.

Ruthie's best friend, (and now cousin), Sofie is coming out this Monday. I can't wait for them to see each other. I will be sure to update our blog to show pictures of their meeting.

We are so grateful for Ruthie and how wonderfully she is adjusting.

We will post more soon.

Noelle

Last Day!!!

Hello,

Well, we finally made it to our last full day in China. Our trips to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City seem like they happened a month ago. We have had a wonderful time and always enjoy coming to China. The first time we came here, when adopted Gracie, I viewed China as just a place to go in order to adopt our new daughter. However, China soon became so much more to me. It is a fascinating place with a lot of beauty. The culture is so different from our European/American roots that there is always something different here whether it is the way things are done to the beauty of the landscape that catches your attention. I highly recommend coming to China to visit.

We spent our morning in the park so the kids could play on the playground. I sat and watched, sipping my Starbucks while Todd walked around the island taking photos of the beautiful architecture, the people & the landscape. We then came back to our room to finish packing. Kind of a boring day.

This afternoon, we got on a bus and drove over to the US Consulate. Although, I have been there twice before, it never ceases to amaze me that as soon as you step into the Consulate, you instantly feel as if you were in any government building in the US. It is kind of surreal when you step back outside into a totally different culture. Anyhow, we took our oath and then received our visa which allows Ruthie to enter the US. Once we land in the US, instead of heading towards the line where the US citizens are to go; we have to go to the line where the foreign passport holders go, because Ruthie has a foreign passport. We then hand the immigration officials her visa packet and then she officially becomes a US citizen. How cool is that?!

As wonderful as this trip has been, we are so excited about coming home. I actually can't wait to step on the plane tomorrow (actually there will be 3 different planes). We leave from Guangzhou tomorrow morning at 11:30 and then fly to Hong Kong, where we will have a 3 hour layover. We will then fly from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, where we will have another 3 hour layover. Then we will fly to our final destination - PHOENIX!!! *From the time we leave our hotel tomorrow morning until the time we arrive at the Phoenix airport, 25 hours will have elapsed.

Ruthie is such a joy and each day she fits in more easily with our family. We had our guide tell her that her friend "Katy" will not be coming with us, as she lives in a different state. That made Ruthie a little sad, but she will be blessed to have two girl cousins close to her age (one of them being her best friend Sofie, who was adopted from the same orphanage last year).

My last "Chinism" is actually kind of sad one. The gender imbalance, while improving in many areas, still exists. China's "One Child Policy" (one child per family), unfortunately means that boys are favored over girls. Because of this, the orphanages are filled with many more girls than boys. Many girls are abandoned at birth and then the parents try again for the much coveted son. Below, is a photo of a preschool class that we saw walking by while we were at the park. I counted a total of 15 children, 6 of which were girls. However, we have seen many more little girls with loving parents around the cities that we have visited then during our previous visits. The old way of thinking is slowly changing, especially in the cities.

Well, I would like to thank you all for "taking" this journey with us. Your prayers, support & comments meant more to us than you will know. I will update our blog periodically, especially during our first days at home to let you know how Ruthie is doing.

We are so grateful that God has blessed us with 5 wonderful children (and a new son-in-law).

Noelle

Christmas Party

Hello Everyone,

We hope all of you are doing well. We are looking forward to seeing you when we return.

This morning, our guide went down to the US Consulate to turn in all of our paperwork. Every family in our group had to stay in their room from 9:30 - 10:30, so if there were any problems with our paperwork, we could be contacted and go down to the consulate. Thankfully, everything was fine. We then met at the White Swan Hotel where we all took a group picture, which is a tradition with adoptive families. The White Swan Hotel is a beautiful 5-star hotel that houses many adoptive families while the US Consulate is processing their visas.

Ruthie with John Blake & Wylie, both newly adopted. The other little boy, Zachary, did not want to pose for the photo.




This is our travel group, (sorry for the fuzzy photo).

Afterwards, we all went out to lunch together with our travel group. We had a really great time together. I did a little shopping later and found a little art gallery/shop, which had some very nice items (not the typical souvenier stuff sold at most of the other shops). It turns out the the shop is a charity shop that donates a portion of their proceeds. I asked them what their charity and they told me that it was the Chenzhou Orphanage in Hunan. Well guess what? That is Ruthie's orphanage. There is a large certificate from the orphanage thanking them for their regular donations. I found some unique items that were very nice and affordable.

Later, we spent part of our afternoon, beginning to pack up for our trip home. We needed to check whether or not we needed to buy another suitcase for our souveniers/gifts. But, it turns out we didn't need too.

Traditionally, travel groups meet for one group dinner at a local Thai restaurant on the island. Well, our group opted to have a little Christmas party. We volunteered our room, since we have a mini-suite. We ordered Papa Johns's pizza and the parents were all in the living room & the kids were in the bedroom. The kids watched "Rudolph" & "Frosty the Snowman" on our DVD player that was hooked up to the television in the bedroom. Everyone had a wonderful time and it was so fun to see all of our kids having so much fun together. The photo below, was taken just before the kids got up and really started to have fun :)

Ruthie had a great time with her friend Katy and the other kids. She is already acting like a caring big sister. The kids were all playing with Gracie's new ball, which was hard for Gracie. So, Ruthie got the ball for her. She also loves wrestling with Kai. Ruthie also had fun holding the new baby of one of the family's. She will be great with her new little cousin, Finley.

Tomorrow, we go to the US Consulate to take our oath and then will receive our visas. That is the last & final step. Yeah! We will then finish packing up and will leave our hotel at 9 am on Thursday morning, (6 pm Wednesday evening AZ time). We are so looking forward to coming back home.

My "Chinism" for today is in regards to elementary school. There is an elementary school right across from our hotel window. We can see the children in their classes; they are so cute in their royal blue pants, white shirts & red scarves around their necks. School is compulsory for all Chinese children, but parents have to pay out of pocket for it. The government pays for a little of it, but the rest is very expensive according to our guide. Anyhow, school begins at 8:00 in the morning, the kids are let out for a 2 - 3 hour lunch break, where they go home. Then they come back and some of the classes go until 8:30 at night.

Well, Ruthie just fell asleep on my side of the bed, next to Todd. It is so wonderful to see how well she is bonding with us. We told her that we will be leaving for the US in 2 days. It is important to us to build her trust in us, so as much as possible, we want to let her know what will be happening ahead of time so that she can prepare herself. When we told her we were leaving in two days, she jumped up and said "Yeah". However, there is no way for her to know the total reality of how much her life will be changing. When I think that it took only about 9 days for me to get a little homesick for the US, knowing that I will be going back. But, I can only imagine after the "newness" of her new home in the US wears off, that Ruthie will get homesick for China and more familiar surroundings. Her journey is just beginning. We are only coming to the close of "Chapter 1".

Thank you again for taking time to read our blog and your emails of support.

I will be "talking" to you for only one more time from China - tomorrow.

Noelle

Shamian Island

Hello,

Today, I thought I would talk a little bit about the part of Guangzhou we are staying in. Guangzhou is a large Chinese city that used to be called Canton. We are staying in a section of Guangzhou, known as Shamian Island, which was a very important area in terms of the Chinese trading during the 18 & 19th centuries between the British & French. Both Great Britain & France built trading houses and grand residences here during that period. There are now, old colonial residences from that time that emanate a sense of former granduer - think of Pirate of the Caribbean with large, old trees with moss hanging down. The island is bordered by the Pearl River and a man-made moat.

It is popular for the local people to practice dancing, Tai Chi, badminton (it is huge here), and also for wedding photography. Today, I saw 3 brides with rented dresses with jeans and tennis shoes on underneath. There are beautiful hotels, small shops and a elementary school. There are also two 7-11 stores and a Coca-Cola store.

Our schedule today included a visit to the medical clinic for Ruthie's physical, which is required for her visa to the US. That was an experience in and of itself. The clinic run by China. The first thing you notice is that the doctors wear the old-fashioned band around their heads with the circular mirror in the front. The nurses wear the old-fashioned caps. The examination lights and the chairs are very old looking (like from the 50 & 60's). But, some of their equipment is very modern - for measuring height and weight, they have you stand on what looks like a scale. It reads the height & weight electronically without the nurse having to do anything other than have you stand on it. It gives the reading out loud.

Ruthie had a basic physical today at the clinic, along with the other kids in our group who are being adopted. The doctor spent a lot of time giving her vision tests. They used a variety of corrective lenses to help to improve her sight and had her retake the vision tests. I am looking forward to having her vision tested back home to see what kind of treatment she will need.

Once we finished at the clinic, we all went to the playground. You form a special bond with the families you travel with on an adoption trip. We have been blessed to be traveling with 3 great families. The adults had a great time talking while the kids played together on the playground. Ruthie has really enjoyed playing with Katy (the other 9-year old in our group). Katy gave her a traditional red thread bracelet and Ruthie just loved it.

Ruthie is doing very well in fitting in with our family. We are careful not to make too many demands right away because there is such a steep learning curve for someone who was raised in an orphanage and totally different culture from ours. We are gradually introducing social norms and rules to her, but realize that we need to be patient and do it gradually. She is watching us closely and learning so much.

She really likes playing with Kai and they have a lot of fun together. She is helpful with Gracie as well and they have some fun together as well. We spend time each day doing some homework. Below is Ruthie practicing her name.

*For those of you who know Gracie - she loves the wooden snake she bought last summer in Williams, AZ. She spends a lot of time just playing with it on hard surfaces. We brought it with us and it was so nice for her to have it while we are in such a different place. Well, Todd accidentally broke it 2 days ago. Gracie was very nice about it. I was going to have to try to get another one from the little store in Williams, BUT, while shopping this evening, I found another one in a shop here on Shamian Island. YEAH! Gracie was beside herself, she was so happy.

There are many other families who are adopting and it is fun getting to know some of them. We met a family from the US who are adopting a precious little 9-year old girl. She is from Kai's orphanage in Hangzhou. She is very small for her age, she looks about 7 years old. She has a severe heart condition and cannot walk far distances, so her new parents push her in a wheelchair. I found out after speaking to her father today that she may only have 2 years to live. They are hopeful with surgery, that she will be able to live, at the most, 10 more years. At that time, they are praying that there will be new cardiac procedures so that she can survive longer. I was so touched by this. This little girl is so friendly and so fragile. It is obvious that she has bonded so well with her new parents. Her new dad carries her on his shoulders all around and he is such a proud dad. Please include her and her family in your prayers.

Tomorrow, we are all going out to dinner at the local Thai restaurant with the rest of our group. The next day, we travel to the US Consulate to take our oath regarding our adoptive children. We then will be leaving on Thursday morning.

"Talk" to you all tomorrow.

Noelle

Shopping in Guangzhou

Hello,

Our day began with Todd meeting with our guide to fill out the US visa paperwork. So, while he was doing that, the kids and I worked on some homework. For Ruthie, I wrote out her name so that she could practice writing it. Well, she filled out the entire page with her name; about 25 times. She is very willing to learn English and is already incorporating it into her everyday language.



She is also not using chopsticks as much. She is now only using them when she eats noodles. I loved the fact that she uses chopsticks, but understand that she is emulating us and is not using them as much. She continues to do very well.

Okay, today I went out into the city of Guangzhou with my personal shopper, Ann. Oh boy, did I have fun. She met me at our hotel and we took a taxi first to the shopping street which is kind of a swap meet with a roof. It was a real Chinese experience. I purchased some items there and had fun looking around. Ann did all the negotiating for me and she was tough. She got me great deals. It is kind of hard for me to bargain because the items are already relatively inexpensive, so I feel guilty for trying to pay less.

Our next stop was at a marketplace, which is kind of like 4 floors of a really nice swap meet. This was where the best shopping was. I had prepared myself ahead of time and brought my list for Christmas shopping. There are silk shops, home decor shops, toy shops, jewelry shops and tons more. There are also shops where you can by real designer purses and wallets (okay, they were really knock offs). The quality was quite good because most of the items we buy in the US is exactly the same thing. The difference is that in China, it is about 1/8 of the price. My father, who loved swap meets, would have been in absolute heaven.

I had given Ann the list of what I wanted to get and she would make a beeline for that particular store. So, I would hurry to keep up with her, but would pass so many other little shops that I wanted to see, that it was hard. We did double back a few times. The Chinese people take negotiating very seriously so Ann would sometimes nudge me to keep me from acting interested in a particular item while she was negotiating the price.

We had to take a taxi to the next place, where they sell DVD's and CD's. I wanted some DVD's & CD's in Chinese for Ruthie. So we went to an electronics place. It was indoors and there were individual stalls where the shops were set up. We went to a vendor that Ann knew and she led us from her shop inside the store to a little house in a dark alley, just outside of the store. I started to get a little worried, but Ann said that all the Americans come to buy the copied DVD's and they were in the house. It was interesting, because there were lots of people in this little house buying DVD's. All the DVD's I saw were already released on DVD, but they were in little plastic sleeves with the movie label on the front. Ann told me that they sell the copied DVD's for 5 yuan each (approximately .75 cents each).

I asked her if they had original movies (legal DVD's) and she said yes, but both she and the shop owner were confused about why I would want to buy the legal DVD's. I told her that I was more comfortable buying the legal DVD's and then I told her my husband was a police officer and she said that she understood. We went back into the store and bought legal copies of DVD's (in Mandarin (Chinese)), for Ruthie. I bought 9 Disney movies, 3 Hello Kitty movies, 10 Tom & Jerry movies (they are really popular in China), and 6 Barbie movies. Ann helped me to pick out three different 3 CD sets with Chinese songs for Ruthie that were popular with children. With her negotiating power, I paid $31 for all of it ; the movies and CD's. I honestly thought it would be a lot more and I was willing to pay it because I think it will be nice for Ruthie, once we get home to have them, especially when she is surrounded by nothing but English television, music, etc.

My personal shopper, Ann cost only $31 for 3 1/2 hours of shopping, which was money well spent. I had such a great time and I hardly spent anything. I got some great Christmas shopping done.


While I was shopping, Todd took the kids to the park. Kai had playing ball with 3 Chinese boys. It didn't matter that they couldn't speak each other's language. *Kai is wearing the short-sleeve red shirt.
Tomorrow, Ruthie has to go in for a physical, which is a requirement of the US government. They will be giving her a eye examination and will hopefully be able to tell us more about her eyesight. The examinations are done by Chinese doctors. She really squints from time to time, especially when she is focusing on things a few feet away.

Last night, as she went to sleep, she arranged her two dolls right next to her.

We are still having a nice time, but are really looking forward to coming home. We ordered Papa John's pizza for dinner and will then probably watch some games. Ruthie loves playing games. "Go Fish" is her absolute favorite. Right now, her favorite Chinese program is on and she is dancing around like the happy girl she is.

My "Chinism" for today is toilet paper. For some reason, toilet paper is at a premium here. Many regular restrooms do not have toilet paper, so you need to bring your own. In hotels, even nice ones, you only get one smallish roll in the bathroom. They leave no extra roll for you in case you run out. You need to call for housekeeping to supply you with another one if you run out. *In Beijing, our guide told us that some regular people make toilet paper and sell it, but you do not want to buy it from them because you do not know what material it is made of. On a related note - Gracie was so excited to use a Chinese "squatty potty" the other day. Some public restrooms have both Chinese & Western style toilets. However, some only have the Chinese style.

Two "Chinisms" that I particularly like is that you do not tip taxi drivers and you also do not tip at restaurants.

Thank you again for your prayers, comments & support. We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Noelle

First Day in Guangzhou

Hello Everyone,

Well, we finally made it to Guangzhou. We left our hotel in Changsha at 7:30 this morning. Ruthie seemed just fine and did not seem sad to leave. In fact, she was rather happy. She was so excited when she saw the airplanes at the airport. We said our goodbyes to our guide, Daphne and then got on our plane to Guangzhou. Ruthie was fine saying goodbye to Daphne. She actually seemed ready to go on to the next stage in our adoption adventure.

We gave her a full dose of Dramamine this time and it really knocked her out. She tried sleeping, but got really frustrated with the fact that she could not really stretch out to sleep. She ended up sleeping on my shoulder.

We were met by our guide, Jason, at the Guangzhou airport. Jason was our guide when we adopted Gracie, back in 2003. He was very nice to Ruthie and made sure she was doing okay. She held on tightly to my hand through the airport, but did not seem nervous. During our ride to our hotel, I was reminded of how beautiful this part of China is. It stays quite warm, even in winter and there is tropical vegetation all over.

We are staying at the Victory Hotel on Shaiman Island in Guangzhou. We chose the Victory over the White Swan Hotel, because we could get a suite for the same price as a regular room at the White Swan.




Coming to Guangzhou came at a good time for us because Kai & Gracie have been getting homesick. China is so different; the sights, sounds & food. They have had a really nice time here, but are starting to yearn for things that are more familiar. The area of Guangzhou that we are in is kind of a slightly Americanized China. There are many adoptive families here and there are many stores and businesses that cater to these families. It is also a beautiful area that you can walk about freely and do not need a guide to help you get around.

Best of all, there is a Starbucks next to our hotel. It is so weird, because as soon as you walk inside of it, you could be anywhere in the US - you would have not idea you were in China. We will probably come here frequently. We ate lunch at Lucy's, which is a restaurant that serves good American food along with Chinese food. We ordered Ruthie stir-fried noodles, which is a favorite of hers, but she also tried Gracie's Quesadilla, french fries, Kai's pizza and Todd's onion rings. She liked them all, but the onion rings.


The weather here is great. It is warm and you can wear short-sleeves in the afternoon. We met up with the other two families that we had started out our trip with in Beijing. It was fun comparing notes from the past week apart and meeting their new children. Gracie & Kai had so much fun seeing the other kids again. All of the parents in our group are amazed at how quickly our kids have bonded with other, but we figure it is because they are all in a foreign country and it is so much easier to bond with kids who speak the same cultural background and speak the same language. When the other families met Ruthie, they both kept commenting on how beautiful she is. Of course, I agree.

Ruthie has been such a joy. She is so happy and really loves being with Todd and I. She is really bonding with Gracie & Kai and has been quite helpful with them. She also decided to help me to unpack everyone's suitcase today. She always shares her dessert with us. She is really starting to use English a lot now. She is repeating sentences now and is gaining some simple comprehension.

Tomorrow, we meet with our guide to fill out the US paperwork to apply for a immigrant's visa. I am meeting with a personal shopper who will take me around Guangzhou and will negotiate for me and take me to the right places to shop where you can find high-quality goods. What a wonderful way to do Christmas shopping :)

Well, that is all for now. We will write more tomorrow.

Noelle

Our Last Full Day in Changsha

Hello,

This is our last post from Changsha. We leave early in the morning for Guangzhou. Our flight takes off at 9:30 am. We will spend the rest of our time in China in Guangzhou where we will have Ruthie's visa processed so that she can enter the United States.

The more we eat together, I am learning what Ruthie likes and dislikes - especially at the breakfast buffet. She went along with me and chose what she wanted to eat. She likes bacon, sausage, carrots, Chinese noodles & eggs. She also loves corn; they serve it on the cob and in true Chinese style, she picks out the individual kernels with her hand and eats them. She also likes sweets.

Yesterday evening, we went bowling. Our hotel has a bowling alley and we had so much fun. Ruthie loved bowling and Todd was great teaching her how. Well did you expect? We are all great bowlers! Okay, not really. My score was 42, Ruthie's was 23, Gracie's was 6 & Kai's was 3 - (Todd is much better than the rest of us, but I can't remember his score). But, it was fun. The attendants gave Gracie & Kai bowling pin keychains and they gave Ruthie a bowling ball keychain. While we were playing, the kids had so much fun bowling using their keychains, that they did not want to finish the real bowling game.

Today, we went on a trip to the Hunan Embroidery Factory to see them create beautiful works of art. They use extremely fine strands of silk to create beautiful pictures, they look like they were painted. While we were there, Ruthie was talking to our guide, Daphne, about our trip to Guangzhou tomorrow. Daphne was telling her about it, and then discovered that Ruthie assumed that Daphne was going with us to Guangzhou. She was upset when she found out that Daphne would not be with us. She would not talk to us or Daphne, even when asked questions. She did not want anyone to hold her hand or touch her, she just withdrew into herself. I felt so badly for her. Although, Ruthie has been bonding with us, Daphne is very important to her and is her link to all that she is leaving behind. Ruthie obviously was scared.

We had been prepared for something like this, but it was still hard to see her upset. When we got back to the hotel, Daphne came up to our room and asked Ruthie if she wanted her to translate some letters for her. These letters were emailed to us from her friends from the orphanage that had already been adopted and are now living in the US. They really helped a lot and some described how happy her friends were with their new parents living in the US. Thank you so much Sofie, Yu Mei, Bo Bo & Xiaolan!!! Your letters made such a difference.

Daphne also talked to her about what to expect when flying, Ruthie has never been in a plane before, only a train. Daphne also spent time talking to her about other things. She explained that we will have a very nice guide in Guangzhou (Jason), who also speaks Mandarin. Ruthie was happy to hear that Jason also helped with the adoption of some of her other friends.

Later, we asked Ruthie what she wanted to do for the rest of the day and she said that she wanted to help pack her things and hang out with us. After Daphne left, we looked up photos online from our Yahoo Group that has photos of her friends in their new families that have been adopted from her orphanage. She loved it. Then we showed her photos from our oldest daughter's wedding earlier this month. She recognized many of the people from other photos we had sent her in the orphanage; her two older sisters, her brother-in-law, her grandparents, aunts & uncles. She really liked looking at those as well. Later, she asked to watch "Frosty the Snowman" as she ate her noodle soup, below.



Todd went to go to the playroom with the younger kids and asked Ruthie if she wanted to go (she loves going there), but she said she wanted to stay with me and pack. She helped me pack Kai & Gracie as well. She has been very happy & affectionate all afternoon. We worked on her English dictionary for a little while and she seems to enjoy doing it. Right now, she is in the hotel room next door playing with the daughter of the other family traveling with us. Their daughter is 8 years old and was adopted from China 5 years ago. Although, they don't speak each other's language, they are having a lot of fun.

Below, is a photo of Kai at the embroidery factory next to a beautiful embroidered piece.


Well, I had better get going, our pizza just arrived. We have it very good here - the concierge orders your pizza from Pizza Hut, then sends a bellman in a taxi to go pick it up and bring it to your room. All of that for a total of $13 including tip. *Pizza Hut does not deliver here in Changsha.

Below, is a photo of us with the happiest doorman you will find anywhere. Many of you who have been here before will surely recognize him :)

"Talk" to you soon from Guangzhou.

Noelle

Visit to Martyrs Park & Xiang River

Hello Everyone,

We hope all of you are doing well. We have now been in China for a week now and are starting to miss the little things from home, such as a soft mattress, ice in drinks, being able to drink tap water, etc. The mattresses in China are hard and you cannot drink the water from the tap.

We went out to dinner last night at a Chinese restaurant, right next to our hotel with the other family in our group. We really like them a lot and have fun on outings together. Their new son, whose name is Wylie, kept showing me his new sneakers that light up when he stomps his feet. So, every few seconds he would run over to me and stomp his feet so that I could see the lights. He is so cute and is 4 years old.

We are having a great time getting to know Ruthie. She is a very sweet girl. We are at the stage now when she is testing us to see where her boundaries are, but she mostly responds well when we tell her yes or no. Daphne, our guide, said that she is impressed at how well Ruthie is adjusting, but said that Ruthie told her that she woke up 4 times last night, but was able to get back to sleep. She said that each child responds differently to the upheaval that adoption brings in their lives and sleeplessness is one symptom.

At mealtime, Ruthie uses chopsticks all the time. She discovered that she likes bacon and was trying to pick it up with her chopsticks, so Kai showed her that she could eat it with her hands. Today at breakfast, she started to use her knife and fork. She was using her knife to cut up her breakfast sausage & also her carrots, but she didn't use a fork to stabilize the food, so it was a little harder. She had a ball, and cut up everything in very small pieces and then had fun seeing how many pieces she could put on her fork.



When we go out on outings, Ruthie spends time with Daphne, holding her hand and talking to her. It is a respite for her - being with someone that she can talk too and that understands what she is saying. However, she does come and hang out with either Todd or I from time to time. Today while we were visiting the Xiang River, she saw people fishing and rushed back to me to bring me over to see. You see, one of the photos that we sent her in the orphanage is one of me catching a fish and she remembered that. She asked me (through Daphne), if we would take her fishing. I said we would take her fishing to the same place in the photo next summer (Williams, AZ).

Ruthie brought out her scrapbook/photo album to show me last night. We showed her Rachele's, (her new older sister), photo before she spoke to her on the phone. She did not want to look at the orphanage photos, she just skipped over them to look at the photos of our family. That is a good sign that she is bonding with our family. She has really bonded well with Todd & I and plays with Kai sometimes. The kids are all taking turns tickling each other right now as I am writing this.

Last night I was putting lotion on Ruthie's feet, which are small and very cute, but noticed that her large toes were misshapen. All of her toenails were bent over the top of her toes, so that you could hardly see them. The toenails had a lot of ridges on them. It looked like she had been wearing shoes that were way to small for a very long time. So, we checked the pair of shoes that she was wearing when we got her with her new ones and there is a difference of about 3 full shoe sizes. We are pretty sure that her toes will adjust to wearing normally sized shoes, but we will have our pediatrician look at them just to be sure.

Ruthie brought a disposible camera with her from the orphanage and we got the photos developed yesterday. The orphanage officials took photos of her and her friends and other people at the orphanage. We weren't sure if we should show her the photos right now, or if that may make her really homesick so soon after leaving the orphanage. So, we asked our guide, Daphne, who has 10 years experience with adoptive families. She recommended that we wait until we are home to show her the photos, which is what my instincts were telling me. From the photos, you can tell that they really cared for her.

We have noticed that she has difficulty seeing things from a distance. She squints quite a lot and seems severely near-sighted. We knew about that she did have an eye condition and have a referral to a good pediatric opthamologist when we get back home. Her eye rarely wanders and I have only seen it happen once.

Ruthie loves to laugh and she is wonderful. She loves to turn our lights off and on in the room. She did think it was so funny to turn off the bathroom lights when someone was in there (just like Sofie (Kai Kai). She also loves to push the elevator buttons and open our room with the room key (card). Todd lets her carry the room key around when we go out and she takes the responsibility seriously.

She absolutely adores her little Barbie doll, Kelly. She had to tuck her in bed last night. Today, she took her doll and all of her accessories and put them in her jean pockets. She took out her doll while we were out at the park and had me hold one doll's hand while she held the other. So, picture Ruthie & I walking through the park holding a little 3" doll between us, or just look carefully at the photo below.


We had a great time at Martyr's Park in Changsha. It is a very large park with beautiful grounds. It is very popular with many of the local people. We saw people doing Tai Chi, couples dancing, women dancing with fans, artists with their watercolors and it was a beautiful day. I got stopped again by two people who wanted to take a photo with me. For many Chinese people, they have never seen a Caucasian person or only very rarely. They were very nice and courteous - my days as a "celebrity" will be over as soon as I return home :)



We are nearing the end of our time in Changsha. For this part of the adoption process, we need to stay in the provincial capital (Changsha), of the Hunan Province, which is where Ruthie is from, for approximately one week. The adoption was finalized 2 days ago, but we have to stay until the end of the week for the adoption paperwork to be completed by the notary and also to receive her Chinese passport, allowing her to travel to the United States.

We leave on Saturday morning on a flight to Guangzhou, which is a large city just north of Hong Kong, if you are looking at a map. We need to stay in Guangzhou to complete the requirements of the United States. The US Consulate is located in Guangzhou. We will have to apply for her visa, allowing her to travel to the US. We will be staying there until Thursday, when we will board a plane for home!

Okay, my Chinism for today came from our breakfast. We are staying at a 5-star hotel and the breakfast buffet is wonderful. There are both Chinese & Western food choices. Yesterday, one of the Chinese choices was "Pig's Blood in Bean Curd". Also, there is an area where you can make your toast and select from a choice of Jams & Jellys. The selections are: Strawberry Jam, Grape Catsup & Tangerine Catsup. Of course, they are not really catsup, but jelly.

*We are having a little difficulty responding directly to emails. I am sorry. Please keep emailing though, we can read them. So here are some quick replies:

Humphreys - yes we have seen the "Willy Wonka" doorman and will print off your photo for him.

Brittney - we would love to have you spend the day with us after we get home. Yes, I think she will like the watch.

Chenzhou Older Kids Group - thank you so much for your emails and advice.

Thank you all for your comments, prayers, & support.

Noelle

Shopping Day

Hello Everyone,

Well, we have been having a great time in Changsha with our new daughter. Today, we went to the local department store so that we could buy her some clothes and other basic necessities. The reality that Ruthie came to us with nothing but the clothes on her back is really hitting home. She needs clothes, toys, books, etc.

Department stores in China are set up differently then in the US. For example, in the children's department, there are at least 20 different smaller areas, each selling children's clothes. They are divided by the brand name. Each area has a sales person that follows you around every where you go. Once you decide what you want, they will take the item and fill out a ticket with the item # and the cost. You then leave the item behind with the salesperson and go to one of the cashier stations and pay. They then stamp the ticket and give you a receipt - so you then go back to where you purchased the item.

Doesn't sound to hard, does it? Well, once you have collected 3 different tickets and pay for the items, you have to remember where you picked out everything, which can get confusing.

We started out shopping for clothes for Ruthie and it was soon apparent that she was getting a little overwhelmed. In the orphanage, she had very little choice over anything, so it is common for children who have been raised in an orphanage to have a hard time when faced with choices. So Ruthie went to the children's play area with Todd and the other kids and I finished shopping for her.

In addition to a few new clothes, I also bought her a backpack and some pens, pencils, etc. Todd took her to the book section to let her pick out some books. We let her pick out 5 books because we figured it will be difficult to find children's books in Chinese back home. She picked out a Disney Princess book with all of the stories in Chinese. She loves reading it.

Later, I went to the play area to get her and took her to the toy section. She picked out a little Barbie doll (the ones that are little girls), that came a little bed and some play food. She was in heaven. When we got back to our hotel room, she couldn't wait to open it up and has been playing with it for a long time. Each time we leave the room, she has to make sure her little doll is safe in it's bed. It is bittersweet to see how excited she is with so little.

One thing that she picked out was some small puzzles. They were very small and only 12 pieces. She had a very hard time doing them, she couldn't understand where the end pieces went. It was obvious that she had never done a puzzle in her life. Todd spent 5 minutes with her and she got the hang of really fast. She completed the others very quickly.

She has set up her backpack with all her pens, pencils and new books. She likes looking through it and reading her new books.

She loves watching movies with us. We brought our portable DVD player with us and Todd connects it to the hotel TV. So far, Ruthie has picked out the Barbie movie we brought and also Rudolph.

Ruthie also loves to sing. She is always singing a little song. She also sings Jingle Bells in Chinese. She knows our alphabet song and Happy Birthday as well.

So far, we have not seen any signs that she is homesick. Today, Todd went out to the store and she asked to go with him and they had a great time. She eats anything we put in front of her, but will probably be more vocal with her likes and dislikes as she becomes more comfortable with choosing things. Our guide, Daphne, is very impressed about how well Ruthie is adjusting. She is beginning to test her boundaries, but is good when we correct her. She does not remember being in a traditional family setting, so our rules are very foreign to her, but she is adjusting very well so far.

While Gracie & Kai were doing their homework today, we worked with Ruthie with her English dictionary. She is very willing to learn English.

She has a great sense of humor and is always laughing. She is very shy when she first meets new people. She is graceful when she moves and is very loving.

Tomorrow, we are going to a large park in Changsha and will then go bowling here in the hotel.

We will post more tomorrow. I know I always say this, but we really appreciate all of your comments and emails. As I speak, Ruthie is already in bed and has put her new backpack on top of her pillow.

I hope you all are doing well.

Noelle

Fun at the Park & Lunch

Hello Again,

Today, after our appointment at the Civil Affairs Office, we went to a local park, about a 30 minute walk. I love it when we get to walk through the city. There are so many different sights & sounds. Usually wherever we go, Ruthie likes to hold my hand or Todd's. Todd was taking turns holding Kai & Gracie while we were walking. Then he gave Ruthie a piggyback ride.

For those of you who have not traveled to China, I want to tell you that crossing the street is no easy feat. Actually, it can be downright scary. You are usually okay if you are crossing at the light, but if there is no light and just a crosswalk, BEWARE! Basically, crossing the street is done by dodging cars, taxis & motorbikes. Pedestrian right-of-way is a completely foreign concept, even in a crosswalk. Basically, the cars have the right-of-way ALL the time.

We went to a very nice park. To get into many of the parks, you have to pay an admission fee as you can see in the photo below. It is probably not a bad idea, the parks are well taken care of and vandals cannot get in easily.

The kids had fun at the park playing on the equipment.



While we were there, there was a bride & groom having their photos taken. In China, brides usually rent a Western style wedding dress for pictures. So, we saw the bride who was all made up, holding up her dress as she walked - she was wearing jeans and boots under her dress. A few minutes we saw the same couple in traditional Chinese dress for additional photos.

Later we went to a dumpling restaurant and got a private room to eat in. We went with the other family in our travel group. Our guide ordered a variety of dishes for us. The other family we are traveling with have adopted 4 children from China; 3 daughters & now a new son who is 4 years old. They brought one of their daughters, Katy, with them who is 8 years old. Ruthie was initially shy with her and wouldn't even look at her. Today, while walking from the park, they were holding hands.

As far as communicating with Ruthie, we are doing okay. We mostly communicate to her using Chinese phrases. However, now and then, she will ask us a question that we do not understand. Our guide, Daphne, has been great helping us with the translation. She also talks to Ruthie to make sure that she understands what is going on, answering her questions, etc. Daphne is usually with us until the later afternoon. She then calls our room in the evening to talk to Ruthie to see if she has any questions or if we need for her translate anything for us.

Okay, I noticed a totally cool thing about Ruthie today. She is left-handed!!! Woo Hoo!!! I have always wanted at least one of my children to be left-handed like me and now I have one. I guess that means that we can stop adopting now :)

Okay, my Chinism's for today consist of the following photos. One thing I want to point out is that Christmas, here in China, is not a religious holiday, (except for the Christians here), but rather a commercial festival. This year, many of the Christmas decorations consist of the 2008 Olympic logo and the mascots as some of the photos below show. *Behind the mascots, is a huge Christmas tree.

Some of the Christmas decorations are typical Western style, but some are a little different as the photo below shows.
Cars driving on the sidewalks can be a problem and you always have to be aware of what is going on around you so you don't get run over. But along this street in Changsha, they put up barricades so that the cars don't come up on the sidewalk. *Notice Daphne, Ruthie & Katy up ahead.

Here is photo I took of an apartment complex and the courtyard. Notice the fish hanging on the line on the right side.

Lastly, a stone elephant is not just for decoration, but can also be used as a place to dry your mop heads.

When we viewed the comments that people left on our blog, we received 3 comments from some of Ruthie's friends who were adopted last year. I will get them printed off and have our guide translate them for Ruthie. Thank you so much for sending them.

Well that is it for now. We will be visiting a department store tomorrow morning to purchase some more clothes for Ruthie. We only brought a few clothing items for her until we knew for sure what her size was. We will also let her pick out a backpack for herself and some other items.

I will "talk" to you all soon.

Noelle

Adoption is Finalized Today

Hello Everyone,

Ruthie did great last night. She slept very well in her little bed between our two beds. She was happy this morning and came over to hug me. The clothes we brought her fit perfectly (size 8 in pants & size M in shirts for those of you who have asked). When she saw us brushing our teeth, she brought over her toothbrush so she could brush her teeth.

She did well at breakfast with us. We were told that since she had little experience making choices in regards to food, to just pick out her food for her. Kids from orphanages can often be overwhelmed when faced with too many choices. The breakfast buffet at our hotel is absolutely wonderful and she ate very well. She did get nervous when Todd would get up to get food, until I pointed out to her where he was. The same happened when I got up to get food.

We went back to the Civil Affairs Office in order to finalize our adoption with her. We were asked questions and had to promise never to abandon or abuse her and to lover her as if she was born to us. She was asked if she wanted us to be her mother & father and she said yes. Todd and I had to sign the official document and also put our thumbprint, using red ink, on the document. Ruthie had to put her hand print on the document stating she wanted us to adopt her. Below is a photo of her putting her hand print on the document.

She then was able to see Mama Wang, the assistant director of her orphanage. It was obvious that they had a special bond with each other. Before Mama Wang got there, Ruthie would keep looking out the window to see if she could see her coming. Ruthie did very well with her and did not cry and was happy to stay with us. We gave Mama Wang our gifts and donations along with letters and packages that we brought from the other older girls that had been adopted from the orphanage before. Below is a photo of Ruthie waiting for Mama Wang and us with her.

We are off to the park to play and then to go out for dumplings for lunch. I will write more later.

I hope you all are doing well.

Noelle

Our First Day

Hello,

It is still our first day with Ruthie and she is doing great!!

It never ceases to make me sad when I see how little our kids had when they came to us. Ruthie only had the clothes on her back and a small plastic case with photos we had sent her, pictures of her friends at the orphanage and some of the small gifts we had sent her. *Smith Clan - her favorite photo was the one of all of us in Williams, it was dog-eared from all the times she had looked at it. She had fun picking out the family members.

So far, we have found out that she is not too picky with her food and she prefers vegetables to meat.

She is extremely curious. She has figured out how everything works in the hotel room. She has opened all the complimentary toothbrushes, combs, etc. I stopped her from opening the complimentary razor:) She is fascinated about the bathroom sink and the faucet - she keeps turning it off and on and tried to figure out how to get the stopper in the sink out. I get nervous every time she goes into the bathroom, but so far, she has not done anything wrong.

She likes playing with American coins - stacking them up. She found a Chinese coin on the floor and gave it to me. Ruthie & Kai spent time working on a sticker book together. She also likes to joke with us. She totally has a sense of humor. We were playing with balloons with her and she took out one of her barettes and put it on the back of her head and attached the balloon to the barette, see below.

Another interesting thing is that she loves organizing things (like mother, like daughter). We brought a small "Hello Kitty" scrapbook/photo album. She had so much fun deciding what should go where. There is also a small playroom in the hotel. We spent some time there with the kids. They have a lot of large dolls in the room (they are actually quite ugly). She organized each doll, putting all the boy dolls in order and then the girl dolls. She then had to brush the hair of each one.

We are expecting her to grieve over leaving her friends and nannies at the orphanage, especially once the "newness" wears off. But, she is a wonderful little girl. Tomorrow, we go back to the Civil Affairs Office in order to complete the adoption. The adoption will be final tomorrow and she will be ours forever!

One of the older girls at the orphanage did her hair for her today. It was a very intricate hair style, requiring tons of rubberbands. It was kind of sad taking them out so that she could take a shower, but she said it was okay. She does like chocolate and has asked me how to operate the remote control, as is evident in the photo below.

Our guide recommended that we make sure that at least 2 of her meals each day be Chinese food, so that the culture shock is not too great. Another important thing is to limit our outside activities for the next two days, especially her exposure to other Chinese people. This helps her to bond with us. We had to do this with our two previous adoptions.

Our guide asked her if she wanted to sleep in a roll-away bed, but Ruthie said that she would rather sleep on the floor between our beds. She has set up her bed and feels secure there.

It is a small area, but she really likes it. It must help her to feel secure.

Well, that is all for now. I will update you tomorrow. Thank you for your comments. I love reading them.

Noelle