Photos from China

 

On the airplane ready for takeoff.

 

About halfway through the 15 1/2 hour flight.

 

Final pic of the Mason Three.

 

Eden having fun doing her favorite thing... in China!

 

Meeting Zoey for the first time.

 

Eden doing some artwork in our down time.

Sisters getting to know each other.

 

Eden and Zoey with their grandmother, Roberta McWhorter, who joined us again this time around.

 

Our entire adoption travel group.

 

Zoey and Keri feeding the fish.

 

Eden and Zoey at the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens.

 

The Mason Four at the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens.

 

Zoey on our orphanage visit day.

 

Standing at Zoey's finding spot in front of the orphanage.

 

The Masons down by the Pearl River with the Guangzhou skyline behind us.

The Orphanage Visit

Hubby Gene here once again. I'll talk a little about our orphanage visit on Friday, though I am sure Keri will post her perspective at some point. We drove from Guangzhou to Maoming starting early in the morning--departing at 6:30 a.m. It's about 5 hours to this neighboring city to the southwest. This is where Zoey was found and lived her life up until a few days ago.

Maoming is much smaller than Guangzhou. It's filled with tens of thousands of people on mopeds. I've never seen so many motor scooters. We got to the orphanage just before lunch time. The staff led us up to the fourth floor playroom, where we met many of the caregivers. We got pictures of several children whose Lifeline parents asked us in advance to contact. We gave out some care packages to these kids and talked with the orphanage director.

Then we met Zoey's foster mom. It was really a rather unemotional experience, which surprised us. Zoey cried when she and some other teachers left the room, which was one of the few times she has showed any kind of great emotion, so we took that as a good sign. We gave her foster mom a gift and soon left the room. Our travel group had gathered some money and given it to the orphanage and they showed us the large pile of diapers they were able to purchase with the money.

The orphanage was comparatively nice, based on others Keri and I have seen around the world. They kids had good food, a roof over their heads, indoor plumbing and obviously had some good education resources. They took us to Zoey's preschool classroom and we saw her little chair with her Chinese name printed on the back of it. Her former teachers played with her there a few minutes.

Finally, they took us around front to Zoey's "finding spot"--the place where she was abandoned. We posed for a picture there, but neither Keri nor I felt like smiling. Zoey is abandoned no more, so we felt that we kinda checked that off our bucket list and were soon ready to move on. The orphanage director treated us to a nice lunch, and then we started the long ride back to Guangzhou.

I should mention that about 2/3 of the way back the headlights went out on the bus, so the driver kept going, on the highway, in the pitch black dark, and we were all scared to death. Keri started singing "Jesus, Take the Wheel" to lighten the mood and after some prayer and nail biting we arrived safely back at the hotel. I was gonna do room service at that point, since we were so tired and it was around 8:00 p.m., but we found out a room service hamburger was $30, so I opted for McDonald's instead.

The orphanage visit did shed some light on Zoey on the behavioral side. Honestly, though, we will have to wait until we get home to get her on a regular schedule and begin addressing her needs in earnest. The visit was really just a puzzle piece for us, and hopefully God will show us how this fits in her personality and behavior as we get a few months down the road.

Zoey is really a sweetheart. We love her smile and her laugh. She readily reaches for Keri and has begun repeating English words when we read to her. When she goes bathroom she says "bye bye" to her poop as it goes down the toilet. Keri has pulled out some matching outfits, which Eden just loves, and we've gotten lots of great pictures.

Today (Saturday) is more paperwork and finalizing matters before Monday's U.S. Consulate appointment. Just a few days left now before we hit the airport for home. Keri and I are both ready to be back in the States. We continue to ask for your prayers for us for safe travel, for Zoey's bonding and for God to be honored through our actions and speech here on the other side of the world.

Day 2 & 3 with Zoey

It's mommy here...enjoying some much-needed down time after a morning of sight-seeing, a great lunch with our travel group, and a long nap!  Gene did a great job filling you in on the details of our day yesterday.  We saw more of the same laid-back, complacent Zoey Faith - a 180 degree difference from Eden's medical appointment with her adoption.  She screamed when they weighed her...Zoey just went with the flow - not a wimper or a flinch.  After the visa medical appointment we went and had a family picture taken for the adoption decree...I think.  All the paperwork runs together - and Gene has been appointed the "paperwork person" while in China.

Zoey is doing great...small progress each day.  It's amazing what 24 hours of family living does for her.  The first night I tried to read "Goodnight Moon" and snuggle her right before putting her in bed and she literally didn't even know how to be read to.  She kept yanking the book, furiously flipping through the pages...much like a baby would instead of a 3 1/2 year old.  Snuggling is definitely a new concept and when I tried to lay her back in my arms she looked everywhere but me - zero eye contact.  I followed the exact same routine last night and this time, she was much calmer and sat still during the book.  When I laid her back to "rock" her she made some eye contact and relaxed into my arms.  It filled my heart with hope and joy to see her enjoying my affection, even though she has no idea yet how to return it.

I can't wait for everyone to meet her (even though it will be a while).  Adorable doesn't begin to describe her.  She is sweet and has a smile that lights up the room.  She has a little prance/swagger when she walks that is so cute!  Part of it I'm sure is her physical delays because she walks on her toes and kind of arches her back and leans her head back...but it is cute!  I call it the Zoey swagger.  She is not verbal yet...except at night she whispers to herself in bed while she "rocks" herself to sleep.  She is repeating a few words back but not much.

Today we went to the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens and she loved feeding the fish.  My favorite part was the "Sun House" where they grew orchids...beautiful!  The rose garden was also lovely.  Tomorrow we will head to MaoMing City to visit the orphanage.  I cannot wait to see where Zoey spent her first 3 1/2 years.  We should meet her foster mother as well and I'm looking forward to meeting her and hopefully learning more about Zoey from her.  It is a long drive...so we will leave at 6:30 a.m. and not return until tomorrow night.  Thankfully, all 4 MaoMing families from our group are going so we are taking the big bus with reclining seats!  The kids will get to eat at the orphanage and we will get to see how they used to sit and eat their meals.  It will be interesting to see how Zoey reacts.  I'm not expecting much emotion from her but you never know...she might surprise us.

We dressed the girls alike today in the cute leopard-print outfits my Aunt Ginger bought them in OK.  They turned heads everywhere we went and we got some great pictures in the Gardens.  I love them both and am so proud to be their mommy.  My sweet Eden amazes me and seems to grow more lovely and mature each day.  She is an amazing big sister and is so delighted that Zoey is now beginning to let her help her.  My mind cannot fathom what my Zoey has endured.  While I have no reason to believe she was ever mistreated physically...the lack of having a mommy has taken an incredible toll on her...especially with her laid-back personality and developmental delays.  These 2 factors combined with orphanage living created a perfect storm in her little life.  I am, however, grateful for the great care she received by orphanage standards. 

I am so thankful that God, in His great wisdom and grace, placed her in our family.  Being her mommy will stretch and grow me in ways that parenting Eden haven't because they are so different.  There is NO way I can give them both what they need apart from His guiding Spirit and grace, energy, love and endurance.  I feel nervous for what lies ahead.  But I also am reminded of God's answer to the Apostle Paul's pleas for an easier life: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."  Paul then said, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Over the past several weeks, I have been reading the book "Anything" by Jennie Allen.  A few days before we left for China I read a portion that God has seared into my heart and mind.  I believe it was Him preparing me for what He has called me to do in this season...so I will leave you with her words:

"When you turn your life over to a living God who sees need, who loves desperately, the way He chooses to pour you out will be as unique as the way He formed you in the womb and placed you in your space on the earth.  Some of our anythings feel flashy and fancy, but most of our anythings fall in secret places.

What we once did in order to matter or to bee seen we forgot all about.  We matter and are seen because of love.  Because there is an object to our actions, we move and love and restore not to matter but because we have been moved, loved, and restored.  Radical acts are not the goal; we are truly moved by a Person, in love with Him, with Christ.  And out of that love comes a willingness to trust and hand over our lives.  Out of that, Jesus, because He is merciful, leads us to the unique places where we can give our lives away."

God's priorities are beautiful, and they trickle down into invisible spaces...into neighborhoods and families and friends and strangers.  He will call us to pour our lives into the cracks around us, and sometimes into cracks far from our doorsteps.  But wherever He calls us, we pour, not wishing for a larger crack or a more noticeable one, or even the one we were expecting.  Truly knowing our beautiful and terrifying God will make us willing to do anything."

From Atlanta, GA to Guangdong China - my anything in this season is a little girl who is orphaned no more.  In the coming months I will pour my life into hers with fierce love and determination, stopping at nothing to see her healed and made whole by her Creator.  God is teaching and changing me through her life...and I am humbled.  Loving and serving Christ, my husband, and my 2 girls fills my heart with joy and love.  It isn't a fancy life...but it is wonderfully fulfilling if I remember for Whose sake I do it.

Love you all...please pray for tomorrow to be all that Zoey needs it to be in order to begin to heal and attach to us!

Day One with Zoey

Hello friends...this is Keri posting.  Zoey is napping and Eden is at the pool with Daddy so I have a few moments to try and collect my thoughts on becoming a family of four.  First and foremost, we are grateful...grateful to be here, at this place, at this time.  The Lord performed a miracle getting us here.  My sweet husband worked tirelessly for 2 years to get to this little girl.  Many of you gave sacrificially and prayed for us...and here we are.  The adoption became official this morning when we returned to the Civil affairs office...but let me back up and give you details of yesterday from mama's perspective...

We got up and had our paperwork meeting with Rebecca (our Lifeline person here).  She was AWESOME!  She did a great job of managing our expectations and she even knew some of our kiddos because of Lifeline's partnership with MaoMing.  She actually warned me that Zoey would not like me, or anyone for that matter, because she doesn't do well with strangers.  Part of our paperwork meeting was having the schedule and information about our children that the orphanage sent translated so that we would know what questions we had when we met the orphanage director later on.  Miko (another Lifeline worker who lives here) sat and translated for me.  We found out Zoey's daily schedule, food she eats, bathroom and sleeping routines, and some information about her development and personality.  She was described as delayed, which we knew.  She was described as peaceful and quiet, slow to react, language delayed and cognitively delayed as well as small in size.  We knew most of this before we came.

So, after paperwork we gathered our "bag of tricks" which for us included a Tigger pez despenser (HUGE HIT), Puff snacks, water bottle, and a couple of toys.  Armed with paperwork, cameras, and butterflies in my stomach, we set off for the Civil Affairs office.  Once there, we were herded to sit and wait.  They called all MaoMing families up and started literally pulling the kids one by one out of the playroom and thrusting them at us.  It was chaotic, surreal, and somewhat funny looking back.  Zoey came out last.  I will never forget that moment as long as I live.  Gene, Eden and I were waiting and they shoved her out and she walked out grinning from ear to ear, looking around, having (I'm convinced) absolutely no idea what was going on. She was just looking all around and grinning.

I finally got her attention and took her hand and walked her over to the side so we could officially meet for the first time.  Mother and daughter, father and daughter, sister and sister, grandmother and granddaughter...finally we were on the same continent, in the same country, in the same province, in the same city, in the same room.  Her reaction was so completely different from our experience with Eden that I was taken aback.  Earlier in the day we found out what "foster care" looked like for her.  She spent her days in the orphanage, and had several other children in her foster home...so there is not the strong attachment Eden had with her foster mom.  Plus, Eden lived with one family from 3 months until we got her at 19 months, and Zoey didn't go until she was 2.

Zoey did cry a little bit yesterday, but not enough in my opinion.  She is sweet and funny, but I can tell we have a long way to go to teach her to attach to anyone.  She is cooperative and playful.  She never resists and doesn't seem scared of anything (baths, strollers, new surroundings/people, brushing teeth, changing clothes).  When we are in the hotel room she is much more engaged.  But when we leave the room she completely zones out...it may be just too much for her - or that may be how she normally is...don't know yet.  What I do know is that this little girl THRIVES with one-on-one attention.  She delights in it.  She craves it.

After we brought her back yesterday we played a little, bathed, ate, and went to bed.  She slept great...but has pretty significant repetitive rocking in her sleep.  I'm assuming it's self-soothing habits from long ago and have no idea what to do because Eden didn't do that.  She woke up happy and smiling this morning.  Ate a great breakfast and then we went back to Civil Affairs to finalize the adoption.  Hasn't cried a bit today...once again, that's not normal.  Any "normal" 3 1/2 year old would be freaking out if they were just taken away less than 24 hours ago from everything familiar.  Eden grieved so hard, and Zoey not at all so far.  So, we will just take it day by day and let the experts at the International Adoption Clinic help us when we get home. 

I'm gonna be transparent here for a minute...I'd rather her be grieving.  With Eden, her grief was so deep that I knew she was very attached to her foster mother.  What I see in Zoey - and it is WAY too early to know for sure - is a little girl who has never truly attached.  She has definitely been well cared for physically.  She has been played with and watched and fed.  I am so grateful for that.  But she is so detached...from everything.  She watches and observes us - which is good.  But I honestly think if I let her, she would sit and play by herself all day long.  When I sit in the floor with her she lights up like a Christmas tree.  When we are alone in the room she will look me in the eye and somewhat engage...but out in public she completely closes down.  Some of this could be her developmental delay...not sure yet.  I do sense (once again too early to know for sure) that there is a true delay there and not just normal orphanage delays.

Oh, and she will eat until she makes herself sick.  So we will have to work on that, too. 

Overall, we are doing wonderfully.  Eden has been incredible.  Loving, patient, kind, and helpful.  Zoey won't engage her much but definitely isn't mean to her.  I think she's more used to playing around other kids than with them, which is typical for her age.  I know it won't be long until she loves her big sister.  I'm thankful there are 2 little girls and 2 little boys Eden's age who are biological kids in our travel group so the siblings are having a great time together while mommys and daddys focus on new little ones.  As usual, my mom is selflessly serving us however we need her to.  I am so grateful for her!

That's all for now...need to get her up so she'll sleep tonight.  Thank you for your prayers.  Love you all!

Ready to Be Home

China has been outstanding, unbelievable, enjoyable, eye-opening, glorious, fantastic--adjectives, adjectives... there are just not words enough to describe this experience. To leave the USA as husband and wife and now to be a family of three and have this adorable, wonderful, precious little girl to call our own. Well, I'm glad we took pictures and video because my head is just too full right now to comprehend it all.

But people, we are so ready to be home. I think it really hit today that although this has been the experience of a lifetime, we have at this point absolutely no desire to stay in this hotel room one more minute. If it was just me and Keri I think we could get our second wind and dive into the local culture here in Guangzhou. But since last Monday little Eden has been our focus and it's just taken the wind out of our world-adventurer sails.

I want to be in a place where all my possessions are not in a backpack or suitcase. I want to not worry about my toothbrush getting squished against my razor and having little face hairs in it that I have to clean off before I brush my teeth. I want to actually use the faucet water in the bathroom instead of doing everything out of a bottle because the tap water smells so bad. I want my bed--the soft one with 3 pillows just for me. I want to eat by going to my own refrigerator versus deciding which Chinese restaurant we want to venture out to.

Most of all, I think Keri and I both want some quiet. Eden needs it too--just some simple routine in the day to keep all the distractions out. This whole city is just eye-candy all the time. I think after our Consulate appointment tomorrow we're gonna just walk from there straight to the airport. We just keep thinking, "If we can just get to the plane." If Eden throws a tantrum for 15 straight hours on the flight home it doesn't matter, we'll just keep saying "only 15 hours left, only 14 hours left!..." Can you tell we're ready to be HOME!?

Eden needs a schedule. Seriously. Today she was just a maniac. I was beginning to wonder if she was bi-polar. She just went and went and went all day. There was no stopping her. She had a morning nap, but our schedule this afternoon meant she skipped her afternoon rest time. Then we had a dinner cruise to go to this evening that our facilitators arranged and that ended at a little before 9:00 p.m. Late, late, late by Eden time. She got so far beyond tired that she just stayed wired until we got back to the hotel room. She just jumped up and down and wiggled and giggled and went INSANE for about 5 straight hours. She needs some quiet and some routine.

This is likely our last post until we arrive at home, so here's the answers to the questions folks have asked us by email. What we need at home are clothes for 12-18 months--Eden is much smaller than we were told and so most of the clothes we have are too large. The medical paperwork they gave us was incorrect and so we have to adjust. Diapers for a 21 pounder are also much appreciated. And any kind of food is great too. Honestly we're so frazzled from the travel and baby at this point I hope we can remember where our house is when we get there.

Keri and I and Eden will be arriving in Birmingham on Wednesday, August 1, at 10:26 AM on United Flight 7820 from Chicago. Keri and I plan to put Eden into seclusion for a while after we get back on the recommendation of our adoption agency and behavioral specialists so she can get settled in to a more normal life and get to know us a little better. So she will not be out in public for a while. If you wanna say "Hi" to Eden we hope you'll meet us at the airport, as that's likely the only time Eden will be "out" for at least a few weeks.

If our travel plans change drastically I will attempt to update them from the airport in LA or Chicago, but basically we're in the air for 21 hours plus a few layovers. In fact, let me apologize in advance for our appearance at the airport as Tuesday will be a 37-hour day for us. I may be a little sticky and stinky. Keri will look great, though--she always does. I just have this issue with ear hair--but I digress...

Thanks so much to everyone for all the emails while we've been away. They've been a great blessing and it's been a pleasure and honor to share this experience with you. One more night in the hotel... we can make it!

A Wonderful Day in China

Today we had a shopping excursion to the local mall. It was quite large. Eden did really good today and was cracking herself up all morning. She likes to move all the time. Either she was in the stroller movin' along or she wanted out to walk. Mommy or daddy holding her only held passing interest now, like if it got her closer to something she wanted to investigate. We bought some gifts for friends and had lunch at Pizza Hut. It's just like Pizza Hut in the USA, right down to the Supreme Pan Pizza we had. Of course, if you want pizza with corn and salmon they have that too.

After lunch we tried out Benedryl on Eden for her nap. We have a 15 hour plane ride in 2 days, and wanted to see if a small dose would help her sleep. It did and she had a great nap and two relieved parents. It seems we might indeed have some help if she has trouble sleeping on the plane.

The pics today are indicative of typical Eden happiness. She's just turning into a genuinely fun little girl and we just love her more and more and more every day. A week ago we could not yet imagine life with her, and of course today we cannot imagine life without her. What a blessing!

The highlight of the day, however, was meeting with some friends from the USA who are here in Guangzhou. It was good to see some familiar faces and talk a little about the adoption, the culture and what it's really like to live in China. Of course, we've only seen a small portion of the country, and frankly the nicer portion at that. It's really just about impossible to explain what it's like here in a blog--most things you expect to see are familiar but the way people live and interact is so different than we know. Our friends were able to put some words to what we've been sensing since we arrived. They also gave us the best meal we've eaten since we've arrived in China!

Folks, I'm here to tell you that China doesn't have some of the comforts we know and there are of course many issues here that a country of 1.3 billion has to deal with, but they are ahead of us in a variety of ways. The entire city seems to be "under construction" with cranes dotting the skyline in all directions. In fact we've seen that in every city in China. The entire country seems to be in the process of being rebuilt before our eyes. It's wonderful to know that as we grow to understand China over time our family is now connected to China in a way that will last our entire lives and that we will be a part of the future of this country.

Oh, and one more small miracle. Bath time tonight was great. A few tears to start out, but then the fun began as she started playing with her bath toys. And of course she was completely adorable. Thank you, Lord, for the big and small things.

We Miss You!

Hey everyone,

I haven't posted since we picked Eden up almost a week ago. It seems like I've known her for so much longer! I just wanted to take this rare, precious few minutes this morning while Eden is still sleeping to tell everyone back home how much we (Keri, Nana and Gene) miss you and love you and can't wait to get home to you. I'm so thankful that Gene is such a good "blogger" because if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have heard a peep out of us since Eden arrived. Literally every moment of my day revolves around her (I know you other moms get that). It's like the newborn stage of "figuring out" my child with the 19-month-old attitude, energy and budding independence thrown in together.

Plus, the language barrier which causes my sweet angel to SCREAM what she wants like I didn't hear her use Chinese the first 3 times she said it. It's a wonderfully beautiful and rewarding challenge parenting her. She is indeed a "happy nut" as her referral paperwork described her. My favorite thing about her right now is that she cracks herself up (I do the same thing and my friend Alisa thinks it's so funny when I do it). Eden will do something that isn't even funny and then start dying laughing at herself, which then causes us to laugh at her which perpetuates the cycle. I think she just loves to make people laugh.

I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in a few months once she moves through the grief process and we see more of her true personality. She is so precious, yall. Pictures don't even begin to show you how beautiful she is, inside and out. She communicates a lot through her eyes, which photos can't capture. She wrinkles her little eyebrows which her Nana LOVES. Well, she just woke up so I better wrap up. I am SO ready to get home. Can you imagine having a toddler with no schedule and eating out EVERY meal??? Yikes! I love you all and can't wait to let you all meet Eden. You have prayed her into our lives and I am eternally grateful for each of you. See you soon!
Love,
Keri

Oh the Drama!

Another fabulous day in China getting to know our new daughter, Eden! On tap today was a medical exam required by the government as we near the time of our Consulate appointment. Eden has gotten pretty happy-go-lucky in the last two days, but just like any child who goes to the doctor's office, she was none too happy when the actual poking and prodding arrived. The whole thing took like 30 minutes.

Thanks to Nana (grandma), Eden was also sporting a fashionable and inexpensive stroller today. Our specialists recommend holding Eden as much as possible to begin the process of getting good eye contact. Well, we've had that from Day One, and since Eden is having no problems connecting with us, we opted to give her a nice place to sit with wheels and give mommy and daddy's arms a much-needed break.

We did some shopping--actually a little too much time-wise. Right after lunch Eden had a complete meltdown. We're talking a raging, heart-pounding, screeching, wailing, gnashing of teeth, hold-nothing-back tantrum and grief session right in the middle of the street in downtown Guangzhou.

These times are really a tough balance for mom and dad, because the idea is to let her grieve even though some of this is not grief but just a 19-month old being a 19-month old. Also, we want Eden to find her comfort in Keri first to help establish the mother-daughter bond as quickly as possible. Eden's reaction during the tantrum was interesting--she held out her arms for me or Nana, but not for Keri. So, the fact that we would not let anyone but Keri comfort her made the tantrum last a lot longer. It breaks our hearts, but it's building hers.

The afternoon was bountiful with paperwork. Nobody will be able to say of our child that she is not well documented. If at age 25 she wants to apply to be a construction crane operator for Moru-speaking people in Sudan on nights and weekends, we've probably already filled out a form for that. This evening the whole lot of us (7 families in all) had dinner at a Thai restaurant nearby.

Probably the most fun of the evening was after dinner when we headed back to the hotel and took Eden to the playroom downstairs. She had fun playing with balls, getting tickled and running around in her squeaky-shoes. (The squeaky-shoes are like a staple in China--everybody has them and all the little kids go squeak-squeak-squeak when they walk. It's quite entertaining for them and for us.)

Finally, bath time--another meltdown, but not quite as bad as a few nights ago. I think Eden is getting her sea-legs under her and learning, slowly, to trust us. Honestly, we're pooped and she's pooped, and it's just about bedtime. Both Keri and I agree that overall today was not a great day for Eden, but they'll be good ones and better ones, and that's just fine by us.

Tomorrow is a shopping day. One of the other dads figured out today why we have to stay for 2 1/2 weeks in China--apparently we have to spend a minimum amount on souvenirs before they let us come home. If only we had known! Seriously, every establishment in every city in China ends with a gift shop at the exit. Walking out of the medical exam this morning I half expected to see a display of silks, jade jewelry and porcelain tea serving sets.

This morning we saw the White Swan Hotel in all it's glory. When you see the scale of foreign adoptions as we did today, the abandonment of children in this country really comes into focus as a critical problem. I'm praying opportunities will continue to open up for the Chinese as well as other nations to help stem the growing surge of orphan children. This is a worldwide issue, not just here in Asia.

It appeared today that this entire 28-story skyscraper was built with the singular focus of processing adoptive parents and their adorable Chinese children. They are EVERYWHERE. I kept asking people with children where they were from. Indiana. Idaho. Ohio. California. New York. Georgia. Alabama. Tennessee. Texas. Kansas. Washington. Nevada. Breakfast this morning looked like the Romper Room convention. The tables in the restaurant were already set up with high chairs. Party of three and baby? Right this way... There was a whole baby food section at the buffet.

Guangzhou, Keri said, is like the Las Vegas of China. There are lots of neon lights. There's even laser beams coming from the bridge over the river at night. It's definitely the nicest of the places we've been so far. The neighborhood around the hotel is very walkable and has lots of interesting shops and restaurants. The people are very friendly and open. And most of them will be happy to give you a "special discount" on jade jewelry. Tomorrow we also get to see some friends from the U.S. who are now living in China and we're really excited about that.

Four days to go until we're home!

Moments and Miracles

Eden really came out of her shell today. Man, we have a full-on toddler on our hands. Today was a real turning point for her personality-wise and she opened up big time. We had lots of smiles, giggles, grins, tickles and frolicking around. I think it was by far our happiest day and filled with many fun and memorable moments. But let me tell you about one absolutely miraculous one...

This morning we were preparing to leave Wuhan for Guangzhou. We left the room and headed to the elevator and as we got on the elevator there was a Chinese woman getting off on our floor. Keri did a double-take as the doors closed and we went down to the lobby for breakfast. Could that possibly be?...

By the time we hit the lobby we knew something was probably up. Keri, Eden and her mom went on to the restaurant while I went back up to grab Eden's pictures from our room (all the families put their kids' pictures on the door of the room since we were all staying on the same floor). By the time I got back to the lobby, I spotted the Chinese lady we passed just outside the lobby talking on her cell phone. She walked around the side of the building and spotted me out of the corner of her eye, then walked quickly away from me.

Now, understand that in the city we were in, we knew going in we were not going to meet Eden's foster mom. But Keri had been praying that by some miracle we might meet her. By the time we got to China Keri had stopped praying about this, but she had asked others to pray for this as well.

We met up again in the restaurant, which has a long glass wall on one side. I brought out the picture of Eden we had, which has a woman's arm in the photo wearing a white blouse with flowers on it. The very same while blouse that this Chinese woman standing outside the hotel was wearing. It hit all of us in an instant--this was Eden's foster mom and she had come to see us.

Keri ran outside and approached her with Eden's picture. She was a little scared, I think, that we would not want to see her. We did not know each others' language but pictures and smiles were exchanged and she eased a bit understanding that we were honored she cared enough to find us and come by to see if Eden was okay. She had come not wanting us to discover her and just peer in from a distance. I pointed at the dress in the photo and her dress--she smiled, "Ah!"... so that's how they recognized me. At this point, Keri and the foster mom (we never actually got her name) were in tears. Keri hugged her and said, "Waa-Eye-Nee, Shee Shee" which means "I love you. Thank you."

Without really thinking, she asked me to run in and get Eden, who was just settling down to breakfast with Keri's mom. We embraced, let her hold Eden for a minute and took a picture with her. She pulled out her cell phone and excitedly called her husband to tell her she had met us. She held the phone up to Eden's ear to talk, but Eden was a little dumbstruck by the experience. Then she pointed to us and told Eden in Chinese, "This is mommy, and this is daddy."

Next she pulled out a picture of her family for us to keep. It was really a "God moment." We could not believe it. Something we had prayed for happening right before our eyes. She walked off and Eden got a little upset. She turned to come back and comfort Eden, but this time mommy instinct told Keri not to let Eden go. Instead she took Eden up to the room for a little bit to cry it out (actually it did not last very long at all, she was back down in 10 minutes). I gave her my email address, she smiled again, nodded thank you, and was gone.

For a little while after that we were just beside ourselves. We second-guessed a little bit as well. Should we have let her see Eden and Eden see her? No, it was the right thing to do, and it gave Eden some closure (I know that doesn't make sense for an 18 month old, but really, Eden at that age can comprehend the difference between someone disappearing/dying and someone letting go, even if she can't express it in words yet). Yes, we decided, even if we had to start over with Eden today, it was worth it. And what a blessing to know this woman cared enough to seek us out. You could tell she just had a wonderful love for Eden and really missed her. Words can't express our gratitude to this wonderful foster mom and to know years from now we can tell Eden we had the opportunity to meet her and thank her... God is just too good!

I'm not going to post that particular picture on the blog to protect her identity, but that's a treasured shot we will keep away until the day when Eden starts asking questions and we can pull it out and honor her foster mom's legacy by telling Eden about her.

As for the rest of the day... Well, like I said, Eden just blossomed today. We really believe that seeing her foster mom had something to do with it--seriously, it was like a light switch was flipped after that. Now, she's still grieving, and later in the morning we had a good tantrum and grief spirt, but she was markedly healthier today emotionally than any other day since we met her. I kept looking at Keri saying, "Is this the same sad little girl we adopted a few days ago?" She had us cracking up wearing sunglasses, talking on her Winnie-the-Poo cell phone, and toting her backpack of toys around the hotel halls.

Before lunch we received her passport and our adoption certificate. It's official--she's ours! Then after lunch it was off to the airport. Oh, we did stop by this little banzai tree museum first because we had some extra time. Same story there... sweltering, oppressive heat, ancient Chinese history. We got some fun pictures though, and the 30-minute tour ended, appropriately, in front of an air-conditioner cooling off until the bus arrived.

By the way, about the airports.... Every city in China either has a giant, ultra-modern, beautiful airport or is building one. Guangzhou has one, Beijing has one, Wuhan is building one. I've never seen such nice airports. They are all HUGE and made of glass and just go on and on and on. The nicest airports I've ever been in have all been in China. Folks, we got to do something about our airports in the USA--I mean these folks are just so far ahead of us in the concourse/gate area/moving sidewalk department. It's sad, really, for us. Oh, did I mention they were crowded?

We arrived tonight in Guangzhou, and will be here through Tuesday. We have a medical exam for Eden, then some paperwork for the American Consulate, then our appointment and "swearing in" on Tuesday morning to finalize Eden's citizenship for the USA. We are staying at the White Swan Hotel, which is kinda famous for China's adopting families and apparently well known in general. It is ultra-nice. There are pictures of Richard Nixon and George Bush (Sr.) staying here in the guest book. The mattresses however are still rocks with sheets on them... oh well.

Eden just dozed off. She's had a very active day--in fact, she just plum wore us out. I'm contemplating some kind of crash-fitness program to get me into shape. Even watching her today was tiring. I kept wanted to open her up and see what kind of nuclear reactor was generating all that energy. Many China adopting families say this last leg of the trip is a turning point, and that was certainly true for us today. We're looking forward to leaving on Tuesday (which, by quirk of time-zones, will be a 37-hour day for us as we circumnavigate the globe for 20 hours) and arriving in Birmingham on Wednesday morning.

Tomorrow we're gonna catch David Platt's message from last Sunday on the iPod. He's in the middle of a teaching series on prayer, and what a great sense of joy to be in the middle of many answered ones today.