A day at the zoo

We were able to go to a wild animal zoo about 40 minutes outside Guanzhou. We went with another family from the same adoption agency. Part of me really liked it because we could get really close to the animals. Unlike zoo's in America which keep animals behind plexiglass and bars, here the will come up to you pretty close. They let you feed the elephants bananas, toss bread to the bears, and plants to the giraffs. On the other hand, as you might imagine, when you get a few teenagers, some bananas, and elephants together, they think it's funny to whip a banana pretty hard at them. I have to admit, when the elephant opened up it's mouth, I tossed one to him, only to hit him on the head-bad aim! But it was not malicious. Watching some other people, it seemed that way. All in all though, it was a good experience.

We are still amazed at the boy we now have on our hands. He is the most flexible little guy. We were at the zoo for 5 hours, and not once did he complain or whine. In fact, he was able to sleep even though the humidity was pretty thick today. Liz and Will are really stepping up to help which is much appreciated. Something about Will's antics bring out the stinker in Sean too. Oh boy....

Yea, that's a chicken!

First off, how many people can you find in this photo?


The stroller is a big hit now. Sean was allowed to have the baggie of cereal all to himself if he sat nicely in the stroller.

This is what happens to my glasses, my camera lenses everytime we go outside.
We went shopping today and all got glasses. We pick them up tomorrow, so we'll see if this whole process actually worked. If so, we each paid $50 a piece for lenses, frames, and a Chinese eye exam.
Last thing to note, we left the "island" today and headed into a real Chinese mall, thus the eye glasses purchase. But as we strolled around, people kept looking at us, as if we were celebrities. We were told this would happen, but it's a funny thing when you experience it. Liz and I were waiting outside a toy store with Sean in the stroller, and three teenage girls walked by us once and went around the corner. A minute later, they came back and the one girl pulled out her cellphone/camara and started taking pictures of the three of us. I gave them peace symbol which they seem to love, since I see them doing it all the time. I told Dawn, if I weren't married, I found the perfect way to pick up chicks.

Run-in with the law

What has day three in Guangzhou brought us? The kids and I took Sean down to the lobby so we could watch the cars go by outside. We were told Sean likes to go outside, and sure enough,he was pulling me by the finger outside, so away we went. We ended up sitting on a small step by the front entrance, when I was rather quickly told by hand motions I was not allowed to sit there and just loiter. At least that's the way I took it. My first run in with the law. This young man was dressed in a "military" uniform, so it must be official, right? I later asked our facilitator who was that uniformed man? "Oh, he's the supervisor of the bell-hops."

Later, we went inside a Starbucks to cool of (Have I told you it's humid here? Oh yea, I think I did). After finishing our drinks, I noticed the signage above the mugs they were selling said something in English and Chinese. I thought, "this would be interesting to have a photo of, not sure why, but I thought interesting. So I take aim with my camera and I get a quick and firm, "Excuse me sir, no picture taking." My second run-in with the law. I guess they are worried I might pirate the logo or something.

I may be clarifying a point here, but our guide said 70% off all the "Made in China" product is here in Gaungdong province. Shantou city, where Sean if from, I have learned is the richest city in the province. They make the higher end things like air-conditioners, fridges, microwaves, ect....

On another note, for those who have been paying attention to Chinese adoption issues, your well aware things have slowed considerablly for getting a newer born child. When we started the process, we were told the wait was 12-18 months. Almost three years later, we figured something else was up. Thus our switch to special needs children. Our guide has told us the Chinese government has recently passed a law that say the farmer, the people in the poorest parts of China, can now send their children to school and the government will now pay for it. The people in the cities still have to pay their own way, but not the farmers. Thus, they do not need to put the children up for adoption since getting them an education has been one of the biggest problems they face. Also, take this with some perspective, but one orphanage ran out of kids because they were not geting anymore kids. (Of course, a country with a billion people, I'm sure there are orphanages that may not be running out).I think that's good. And, we are seeing signs around town that are basically asking for people to donate to help the Chinese people to adopt their own kids.

The only thing we did today was go to the police station and get our official adoption certificate. Tehnically, Sean is no longer a Chinese citizen. And until we land in New Jersey, he's not technically an American Citizen either.
Last thing, as I write, Sean is finally sleeping in a crib by our bed, and not in our bed. That's good for several reasons, but one is that Liz won't sleep on the floor tonight. Alright, time to go to bed. Oh, and the child sleeping the stroller didn't last too long. He doesn't like it at all.

One step further

Day 2

Well, we were wiped by 9:00 pm.. I let him fall asleep in my arms as I sat in the chair. Slowly but surely I crept into bed and he slept there until 4:10 am. From that time on it was fitfull moving around trying to appease him. He doesn't like being moved around a whole lot.

I mentioned in my last post that we go to the Civil Affairs Office todya. Dawn reminded me why we do this. We had from last night until this morning to decide whether we want to keep him. I can't imagine what goes through peoples' minds that say no, we are giving him back. I think there are a few extreme cases.

Well, gotta get to breakfast. Please keep praying. Sean is a good boy, but he is still just sad, which makes me sad for him. Thanks

I have a warrior!

WE GOT SEAN! Wait until you see the boys hair doo. Here's the long and the short of it. We were driven to the Adoption Civil Affairs Office, waited with about 40-50 other parents, and each was called rather rapidly, and a child was laid unto there arms. Well, at least the parents who got infants. Those kids didn't seem to really care. However, our little An En (Sean's Chinese name, and pronounced Uhn-Uhn), is able to walk, so the care giver stood there with him, and basically we had to pick him up. Dawn tried, but apparently Sean reached more for me, so I took him. Our facilitator/translator said this might happen. And for at least a half hour, the poor guy just cried from the depths of his soul. This is what I have dreaded since getting here, and my heart ached with his. For two years, people who really did love him and care for him, the only people Sean has known, just left him with strangers. It was one of the sadest things I've been apart of for sometime. He finally fell a sleep in my arms for the ride back to the hotel. He hasn't cried since but still looks at us with suspicion. We went to dinner tonight and on the walk back I put him down and he held my hand and walked himself. Yes, my arms get a rest.

He still looks at you, makes eye contact, then turns to look at something else. We got two smiles out of him: One when I wiped his hands with a wet-wipe-maybe it tickled, and the second when we stopped to watch cars go by. We were told by the orphanage worker he likes to watch the cars go by, so he may be our "car" guy.
As I write this, we are back in our room, and he is standing by himself-maybe pooping :) That's a good thing, right? Will seems very concerned about him. He's told me several times I need to change his diaper. I think Will is very interested in being a big brother. Liz thinks he's the cutest thing.

Well, I pray we are off to a good start. We shall see what tonight holds. Tomorrow we have to leave at 8:30 for the Civil Affairs Office again and be interview several times as to the fact that yes, we do want Sean. Is there anybody who gets to that point and says, "no, I think I've changed my mind." Maybe there are. The other family we are with was joined with their 7 year old daughter. My heart goes out to them too. This young girl has been with a foster family for 4 years, again, the only family she has known. How did this family tell her they could not keep her? This is when I just wish families could stay together as God designed. But I am glad there are people out there willing to give of their heart and give these kids a family.

Well, here are some shots of our new son