Jude's Adoption Video

I finally got around to making Jude's adoption video. Maybe one day I'll get around to adding him to the blog header!

Sorry the airport video at the end is pretty blurry....it's the best I had!

Check it out!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

We. Are. Home!!!

I have to say, Jonah and Jude are awesome travelers! Both boys did great on the flights....they were much better than I anticipated, especially considering Rush was not seated with the rest of us. No one would switch seats for us, so the two of us switched off some here and there and it worked out well. I do not enjoy 24 hours of traveling though....even if things are smooth sailing.

And now....Jude is an American!! He became official when we came though customs in Newark.

It was awesome to see the girls and the rest of our family welcoming committee at the airport with signs and hugs. And then to come home to food...and coffee! Reagan is obsessed with Jude, and Rylie is obsessed with Rush. :) Jude is doing well....exhausted considering he had about 4 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. He fell asleep pretty quickly along with Jonah and Rylie. Reagan has been pretty emotional tonight.....she keeps asking us not to go back to China. It breaks my heart! I know the trip is rough on them at home too.

Now to start the next part of this journey here at home.....

Hong Kong Saturday!

Oh man, I love this city!!!

Out hotel connects right to the subway station, so this morning we walked over and caught the train into central Hong Kong. The subway is gorgeous and so easy to use!

Now that's an Apple Store!

We then hopped on a bus and headed up to The Peak....there is a cable tram that takes you up a mountain to an area with a viewing platform of the city, and lots of shops and restaurants. We had lunch and hung out for a few hours. Jonah was pretty impressed with the views, which are amazing, even despite the cloudy conditions today. We went there on our last trip as well and had much better views, but regardless of the weather, it really is breathtaking!

One of the old cable trams

The observation deck is on top of this building

Beautiful Hong Kong

The weirdest mascot in the world. It was actually a little amusing....no one wanted anything to do with the "foot" other than a few kids here and there. There was one point in which it was surrounded by a group of kids who started to yell and taunt it!

Then we headed back to our hotel and let the boys swim in the pool here at our hotel. We weren't sure how Jude would react, but I'll go ahead and show you......

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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(Sorry for the poor quality of this video, and that it loops. I am tired of messing with it!)

Needless to say, he was MAD when we got him out!

We splurged a little bit and ordered roomservice for dinner in celebration of our last night before heading home. So, now we pack up and leave in the morning! I am dreading our 15.5 hour flight (yikes) but so looking forward to getting home and seeing my girls!!!! I can not wait to squeeze them!!

Thanks to all of you who followed along on this amazing journey to get Jude and bring him home. Thanks for your prayers, support, and encouragement along the way. This has, yet again, been a long road, but it has been a little easier to travel thanks to you!

We absolutely and completely praise God for again bringing us to this path, providing for our every need, choosing Jude as our son, and seeing us through every challenge, struggle, and moment of the past 13 months. He is so faithful and loves us so extravagantly!

Next stop....the USA!!!!!

Should I stay or should I go? Rush's perspective on leaving China

It's a really long trip. It's a really long flight. It's a lot of nights to be away from loved ones. By the end of both trips to China I certainly have had a deep longing to be home. To see my girls, to drive a car, to get a cup of Dunkin' Donuts Cinnamon Spice coffee (first thing I'm doing when we get home). Things we often take for granted during the day-to-day routines of life gain significance when you are on the other side of the planet.

I also can't wait for Jude to become an official citizen of the United States when we land in Newark on Sunday afternoon. For him to become a part of the greatest nation on earth and to enjoy all the rights and privileges that come along with carrying the title "American". I'm especially thrilled for him to meet his sisters, grandparents and extended family. To carry him off the airplane and into the terminal in Richmond knowing that at the end of that long tunnel a small crowd of folks will be there waiting for him. I'm excited for him to be able to explore his new house, to meet his dog, to crawl on the floors of the home in which he will grow up. I can't wait to take him to church, out shopping, to the bus stop, to restaurants, to my kid's sporting events...just to show off the newest addition to my family.

I just can't wait to be home.

At the same time, I don't want to leave. I know that when the wheels of that 777 lift off from Hong Kong on Sunday morning there is a good chance I won't return to China for a very long time. Maybe never. I certainly hope this isn't my last visit to this amazing place, but I realize the costs and logistics of visiting again are somewhat overwhelming. Life happens. Kids grow up, they need braces, the heat pump breaks, the roof leaks, tuition is due. Mentally I am preparing for the possibility that I will never see the birthplace of two of my children ever again.



China is a place so monumentally different from home that it does little good to try to explain it in words. Language, religion, customs, sights, smells, government, food -- it's all different. But what China has taught me is that different is good. It's not always better, but it is good. Good to experience. Good to witness first hand. Good to learn from. There are of course things about China that I don't particularly like and many things I have seen here break my heart. But I have to push past the overbearing communist party, the centuries of customs and traditions that devalue children with special needs, the lack of liberty the people of this "People's Republic" possess.

What I find when I am willing to do so is a place of supreme beauty and an amazingly unique people. A nation with breathtaking landscapes and an equally inspiring rich history. Most importantly, I find a country that allowed me to step foot onto its soil and scoop up two children and make them my own. I cannot adequately express the gratitude and appreciation I have for the gifts the people of China have given me. No amount of money, no token and no words can repay this nation for my daughter and my son. This country and these people are so special to me. I will never forget my time and the memories I have made here. Now and forevermore a part of me will remain in this ancient land.


I so badly can't wait to get home. I so desperately hate to leave.

In Hong Kong!

It was another rainy day in Guangzhou today, so we just hung out and packed up. We met our guide about 3pm and headed to the US Consulate to pick up Jude's visa, passport, and paperwork for him to enter the US. Then we headed to the train station to catch our train to Hong Kong.

Holy. Cow.

I will never get used to train stations in China. Never.

To say the phrase "mass chaos" seems to be an understatement.

There are no lines. There is no order. Only pushing and shoving and trampling and rushing.

It doesn't help that they don't let you board until 10 minutes before the train leaves.

With 2 adults, 2 kids (one of whom does not walk), 3 backpacks, 1 camera bag, 1 shoulder bag, 3 huge suitcases, 1 rolling carry on, and a stroller....and about 5 escalators....well, it's craziness.

One lady in our group tripped and fell at the top of an escalator....which was packed. It was almost tragic. No lie......bad times.

Anyway, we safely boarded the train, rode for about 2 hours, caught a cab to our marvelous hotel, and here we are. We grabbed some dinner here at the hotel, and now, at 10pm, we just got the boys to bed.

Tomorrow, we'll hopefully do some sightseeing, although they're calling for showers all day. :( Bad come to worse, we'll hit up the indoor pool, do some luggage rearranging, and call it a day.

The boys are doing great! I told Rush tonight that I feel a little guilty having Jude. He is such a happy guy, I just can't help but feel bad for his birth family. They're missing out on so much. He is amazing and just brightens our day in every way possible. I'm sad they couldn't experience him and all the joy he brings. But I sure am glad that we get to. I can't wait to introduce him to our family and friends!

This afternoon at the train station, we said goodbye to our guide, Kelly. I really cannot say enough about this lady. She is flat out awesome. We really have come to adore her over the past 2 weeks, and were so sad to say goodbye. I think a good guide can really make or break your trip, and she completely made ours amazing. I am so grateful we were placed with her and will miss her tremendously!

Slow Day

This morning, we headed to the US Consulate for our appointment so that they can issue Jude's entry visa into the US. It sounds like a much bigger deal than it really is. Basically, you take an oath that all the information you have provided is truthful, go up to a window, sign a paper, and that's it....almost the equivalent of going to the DMV, only on the other side of the world.

Anyway, tomorrow afternoon, we can pick up Jude's passport and visa, and then hop a train to Hong Kong. :)

Today was a rainy one here, so we really did nothing. We were back at our hotel by 9:45 this morning and didn't even leave the room until about 5pm, when I thought I was going to go crazy. All we did was take a quick walk to the 7-11 just down the block, and then make laps around the lobby. Jonah has been begging for pizza, so we had the hotel concierge call and order us a Papa John's pizza to be delivered for lunch...it was just like home, but it was probably the most expensive pizza on the planet!

I don't even have any pictures from today to share.

We check out tomorrow around 3pm, which is 3am for all you folks at home, and should be in Hong Kong a little before 7. It's about a 2 hour train ride. We'll hang out there until Sunday morning when we fly home! We should arrive about 6:30 Sunday evening. Jude will officially become a US citizen when we go through customs in Newark before heading to Richmond.

It's hard to believe we're wrapping up this part of the journey. This really has been a GREAT trip, aside from the sickness we experienced. Our new son is amazing and makes us smile almost all day long (although he is starting to show a little willfulness!), Jonah has been a real trooper and has gotten to experience a totally different culture, we had an awesome guide who really went out of her way to ensure a great time for us, fun travel mates, and a renewal of our love for our country and adoption in general. We are so very blessed!

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

Memorial Hall and Local Neighborhoods

Today, we visited the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. It is a large beautiful blue pavilion that I remember seeing on our last trip, but we never visited it. I am so glad we did....it was very interesting!

The hall was built as a memorial to a man named Sun Yat-Sen, who hails from Jude's hometown of Zhongshan. He was born to a Chinese farmer, later became a medical doctor and a Christian, and helped stage the uprising in 1911 which brought down the Imperial form of power in China and ushered in the Nationalist form of government, which reigned before the Communist party took over. He is called the Father of the Nation, and apparently, in each large city in China, there is a road named in his honor.

Anyway, it was an interesting building to visit and an even more interesting history lesson. Our guide was a history major, so she has lots of great things to tell us about! Now we totally have to rent the movie "The Last Emperor" when we get home!

Afterwards, we went to a noodle restaurant for another delicious meal. It is really helpful that our guide takes us places and just orders a bunch of food for us...she certainly has picked some good dishes!

This afternoon we headed back, once again, to the neighborhood behind our hotel. I wanted to be sure to take some pictures of it, although, I must say, I was very self-conscious about taking pictures there. For starters, we stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone watches us as we walk down the street and it made me feel a little like an intruder. No one was nasty to us at all...I didn't want to exacerbate any feeling that I was invading their privacy or anything by taking pictures left and right....so I took a few and left it at that. Anyway, we've really enjoyed walking down there. We love getting a feel for "real" China, away from the tourist stops, and this has been a perfect spot for that. Kids come up to us just to say "Hi" and giggle and run away when we say "Hi!" back. It's hilarious. We're so glad our guide showed us the area when we arrived...we were thrilled to turn the corner and see this staring back at us.....

It's a rather busy place, especially around dinnertime. Farmers bring in fresh produce to sell, everyone is out and about visiting with their neighbors, buying food for dinner, running errands. There was a lot going on, but you could also tangibly feel the sense of community there. It's been one of our favorite parts of this trip.

Mailboxes

Tomorrow, bright and early, we have our appointment at the U.S. Consulate, which in turn issues Jude's visa on Friday so that he can enter the U.S.A.!!!

Everyone is doing well. There's not too much else to report! Another adoptive dad here today said that he feels like every day is Groundhog Day....repeat, repeat, repeat. It's starting to feel like that, even though we've seen some great things. For a good week, we've felt like we're just killing time. However, as much as we are ready to come home, it is a little bittersweet. Who knows when/if we'll ever be back here, to Rylie and Jude's home country. I appreciate it so much, and while I desperately wish conditions here were different so that no child was ever abandoned, that is not the case. We are so grateful that we have had the opportunity to expand our family in this manner, and we are so thankful to this nation for allowing us to do so. It's been an amazing to experience this culture, so vastly different than ours, and it makes us appreciate the good ol' US of A all the more. As our guide said, "You have so much freedom in your country." How often we forget.

Botanical Garden and "Red" Couch Pics

Today we headed to the botanical gardens here in Guangzhou. I forget the actual name of it, but it is a place we also went last time we were here. I must say, the Chinese know how to create parks and landscapes that are absolutely beautiful. There are many parks around and each one is very impressive...lush and gorgeous.

Jonah was born in the year of the Monkey, which is totally fitting!

This garden is a little unique in that there are areas with cartoon statues....Mario, Angry Birds, Snoopy, and others, which is a little *different* I guess you could say, but whatever. Jonah enjoyed them!

The kids in our group....Jack (3 1/2), Jude (21 months), and Tinsley (2 1/2)

Then we headed to lunch at an Italian place....which was deserted, but delicious!

Since the White Swan Hotel is now closed for renovations, the infamous adoption "Red Couch" pictures are a no-go. So, we got the boys in their traditional outfits and took some pics in our room, which probably worked out just as well.

Taken by Jonah

This evening for dinner we headed back to the Chinese neighborhood behind out hotel and braved another local joint. The food was delicious....and it only cost us about $4.50 for 3 huge plates of food!

Good news....I'm feeling a little better! Still coughing a lot and a little congested, but this morning I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a truck. The bad news, now Rush is feeling bad. We can't win, can we?

Anyway, tomorrow to kill some time, our groups is going to check out a Pavilion nearby and then have lunch and that's all that's on the agenda. Thursday, however, is our Consulate Appointment, Friday we get Jude's visa and then hit the railways to head to Hong Kong.

Jude is doing amazing. He is so stinking lovable and really is just such a content little guy. When he gets upset, he gets over it quickly. He makes the most hilarious faces and just could not be any easier at this point! :) And that's all with him being a little sick! We are so thankful that he is part of our family now and we are feeling so blessed!

Buddha

I'm gonna be honest.

I don't know a heck of a lot about other religions.

Buddhism being one of them.

It's the biggest religion in China. One that Jude was intimately exposed to. His foster family was Buddhist, and he frequented the local temple with them to worship.

It makes my skin crawl. You know....being that we're down with Jesus and all that.

Well, today we visited one of the oldest Buddhist Temples in Guangzhou. It's history dates back 1500 years. It is called the Six Banyan Trees Temple, but the 6 trees are no longer there, although there are a few.

This is "Smiling Buddha" or "Happy Buddha" and is usually the first

Buddha you see when entering a temple.

It's the home of about 15-20 monks. And a pretty happening joint for a whole lot of worshippers.

Lining the streets surrounding the temple is shop after shop selling small Buddha idols, incense, fruits, flowers, and other items to offer as sacrifices. Beggars also lined up outside of the temple entrance. Apparently twice a day the monks clear out the sacrifices and give them to the beggars.

There were multiple buildings on the grounds, each containing one or more Buddha. The people systematically go around, burn incense, and worship each Buddha. I didn't realize there was more than one Buddha. Nor did I realize there were male and female Buddhas. Each one represented different things, like the past, present, and future, or luck, or health. People gathered in one building and sang chants with the monks. One building (where we were not allowed to take pictures) allowed people to offer gifts in honor of relatives who have died in hopes that they would then bless them.

These 3 Buddhas represent the past, present, and future.

This is a female Buddha.

We were offered the opportunity to receive a "baby blessing" from the monks. We declined.

Overall, I have to say it was interesting to see. But it made me all the more thankful that we can bring Jude home and teach him about Jesus.

Our next stop was the Chen Family Academy, a place we visited on our last trip to China. Unfortunately, Jonah wasn't feeling well, so I stayed on the bus with him and let him take a little snooze while Rush, Jude, and the rest of our group went inside. Basically, it is a large building that was built in the late 1800's by the Chen Family, a large and wealthy family in Guangzhou. It was used as a gathering place as well as a learning facility for the people in their village. In the 1950's the government took it over and now it is used as a folk-art museum. It has extremely intricate carvings on the roof, which are very impressive to see. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take some more pics!

Then, we headed back to the Island for lunch and some down time.

This afternoon, we got some paperwork together for our guide to give to the Consulate and then we headed across the street to check out another park.

This park surround a large lake and had various sections to it. On a side note, the Chinese know how to do a park. Their parks here are gorgeous! There were sections for playing ping-pong, playing badminton, exercising, rides for kids, even an area for people to bring their pet birds and hang their cages in the trees!

Don't have a dog? Bring your bird to the park!

J-man checking out a mean ping-pong battle!

Tomorrow is another free day. I think we're heading back to the Island yet again just to hang out.

We're starting to hit the wall. As much as we love exploring and seeing China, this long trip is starting to take a toll. We're ready to come home. We miss the girls. We're tired of being sick! We're just ready to start the next phase of things. We've got a ways to go though, so we're trying to make the most of it!

Just thought I'd add this picture in....I don't know what tree this is, but they're everywhere and beautiful! It's also the official flower of Hong Kong.