Well, I have to admit that Jet Lag must now be setting in. The group of us that came into Beijing early are WAY to giddy about everything. Do you how it is when you get so tired that everything becomes funny. Well we are there. Hannah Grace has been sleeping extremely well, but even so, we are still tired.
Yesterday, we needed a diversion from what was going on and I thought it would be interesting to see what was on TV. Maybe find a channel that had children's shows or cartoons, so I let HG control the remote. She skipped through most of the channels quickly like a well seasoned remote control user and finally stopped on what? Soap Operas. What!! Yes, apparently she has seen them before, because she began to point to the screen and began a lengthy explanation in Chinese of what was going on. While I didn't understand it, I imagined it went something like this:
"Well you see, BaBa, that is Joe and he is married to Sue but she is secretly seeing Bob who works at the store down the street. Kevin is their next door neighbor and he is running from the law for stealing money from his ex-girlfriend's father in law and his real name is Sam."
I know that is not what she said, but sometimes you just wonder. She is a delight beyond imagination. Today we went to the Great Wall and it was amazing. It was a long trip so we entertained ourselves with stickers. I never knew that taking paper and putting a little sticky glue on the back of it could be so much fun. While most people would put stickers on paper or some other surface, I have quickly learned that it is far more fun to cover yourself or someone else from head to toe with them. Hannah Grace has not yet been introduced to Facebook, so she has her own system of "friending" someone by stickering them with stickers of butterflies and flowers. It started with MaMa and BaBa and she quickly made her way throughout the bus sharing this great gift with everyone. When we arrived at the Great Wall, I was no longer sure if the stares that I was getting was for being a way to white boy from the South with a beautiful Chinese daughter or if it was the flower sticker that was hanging from my nose or the heart that was now on my ear. I am sure that all the stickers will not be found until my shower tonight.
I am having way too much fun and loving spending time with Charity and HG, but I miss the boys and the rest of my family. Just seeing them via Skype every day or two is not enough, but I know it is all part of the process. I love the fact that HG comes to the computer and says "Gie Gie" which means big brother. She loves seeing and talking to them and pulling out the pictures and calling them by name. It is amazing how quickly it seems as if she has always been part of our family. And in our heart she has. HG was born the time that we began this process. God had a perfect plan from the beginning and it is great to see it come full circle. Thank you God for making what seemed an impossible task at the beginning, possible through the power of prayer and faithfullness.
Andy
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Our girl is smart!!!!!
Sorry about yesterday. Even though we really did nothing we were exhausted!!!!! We sat around & waited at 3 different offices for each new step to be completed so we could officially call Hannah Grace a "Morris." But, it's now official!
Yesterday we started introducing HG to her new name. We are quite the site. Two WHITE Americans running around shouting Hannah Grace Ma Lijun to this hysterical little Asian girl everytime we want her to look at us.
Two days ago we had our free day. Joy took us to the bank to wire our money to the orphanage then we walked to the supermarket when Mama found her a three pack of Snickers with bonus batteries!!!! As a marketing person, gotta love that deal. Andy had us rolling as he demonstrated what the board room meeting must have been like when they decided to package the batteries with chocolate. Yes, those of you who know my thespian husband - be happy to know he is entertaining the group on a regular basis. We are constantly laughing at his comic relief. Our group is getting along so well. We are all really beginning to feel comfortable with each other. What a pure blessing. (I am just thankful that there aren't any weirdos with us. LOL) We will really get to meet & know the other 5 fams today. We will be touring with them for the next couple of days before they go on to their provinces. Then we will meet up with them in GZ.
Yesterday after we got back to the hotel. Andy & Miss Priss decided to have a litle English lesson. Oh my she's smart. She already can count to 3 & she understands the concept. She knows the word ball from 2 days ago & she can point to several facial features. She will say eye, nose,(sometimes she says Noah because we've taught her the boys names now too) mouth which doesn't sound just right & she says ear, but of course there isn't an R sound. Since she's gonna be a Southern girl, we'll have to work on that. Wait to you hear her say ball. It's the funniest thing. She already is taking after her Mama in that small 4 letter words should have at least 3 syllables if you live below the Mason Dixon line.
Hey Autumn - Joy our guide is from your area. We talked quite a bit yesterday about Nanning & your province. We asked a lot of questions & she asked about you, even though she doesn't know you. She was glad to hear that one of her "sisters" was doing so well.
Boys - after HG spoke to you guys on the phone, everytime she'd see the computer she opens it up & says "Gie Gie". She's looking for you guys. It almost made her mad one time when Dad was on it & you guys weren't there. I had to distract her. I really think she likes you. Her face just lights up when she mentions you all.
We can't wait to see you on the 20th. We love you more than you can imagine.
Yesterday we started introducing HG to her new name. We are quite the site. Two WHITE Americans running around shouting Hannah Grace Ma Lijun to this hysterical little Asian girl everytime we want her to look at us.
Two days ago we had our free day. Joy took us to the bank to wire our money to the orphanage then we walked to the supermarket when Mama found her a three pack of Snickers with bonus batteries!!!! As a marketing person, gotta love that deal. Andy had us rolling as he demonstrated what the board room meeting must have been like when they decided to package the batteries with chocolate. Yes, those of you who know my thespian husband - be happy to know he is entertaining the group on a regular basis. We are constantly laughing at his comic relief. Our group is getting along so well. We are all really beginning to feel comfortable with each other. What a pure blessing. (I am just thankful that there aren't any weirdos with us. LOL) We will really get to meet & know the other 5 fams today. We will be touring with them for the next couple of days before they go on to their provinces. Then we will meet up with them in GZ.
Yesterday after we got back to the hotel. Andy & Miss Priss decided to have a litle English lesson. Oh my she's smart. She already can count to 3 & she understands the concept. She knows the word ball from 2 days ago & she can point to several facial features. She will say eye, nose,(sometimes she says Noah because we've taught her the boys names now too) mouth which doesn't sound just right & she says ear, but of course there isn't an R sound. Since she's gonna be a Southern girl, we'll have to work on that. Wait to you hear her say ball. It's the funniest thing. She already is taking after her Mama in that small 4 letter words should have at least 3 syllables if you live below the Mason Dixon line.
Hey Autumn - Joy our guide is from your area. We talked quite a bit yesterday about Nanning & your province. We asked a lot of questions & she asked about you, even though she doesn't know you. She was glad to hear that one of her "sisters" was doing so well.
Boys - after HG spoke to you guys on the phone, everytime she'd see the computer she opens it up & says "Gie Gie". She's looking for you guys. It almost made her mad one time when Dad was on it & you guys weren't there. I had to distract her. I really think she likes you. Her face just lights up when she mentions you all.
We can't wait to see you on the 20th. We love you more than you can imagine.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
DId I Mention?.....She's A Girly Girl!!!!!!
The flashlight & slinky are her favs right now.
Trying on all her bling
We don't think she has ever had a french fry - she really liked it!!!More Memories for Family Day
Alrighty. So I just woke up. I really could & should sleep some more but I know this might be the only time today I can get on here. Plus my body is sore from this bed. It literally hurts to sleep on my side it's so hard. For 4 years now I've heard people talk about the hard beds - no one can prepare you for this reality. WOW. Oh another quick point of reference for those of you getting ready to come. The Beijing government has decided to go green. And in this attempt they have decided that they will fine any establishment that turns on AC when the temperature is below 28 C. Our lobby has air conditioning, but that's it. It's crazy. We have the air circulating in the room & then we keep the window open to pull in some cooler air. Just a warning - don't bring the travel size deodorant, it WILL NOT BE ENOUGH!!!! ;0)
There were so many things that I didn't get to talk about with our family day. I want to journal it all so I never forget it.
When we left the SWI, we went back to the hotel to eat some lunch. This girl can eat!!!! She ate an entire bowl of adult sized noodles, two roles, about a 1/4 of Mama's lasagna, some of Baba's duck, most of Baba's chocolate ice cream (she's my girl!) and still wanted some more. She hasn't refused anything we've offered her.
We then had to go to the notary office for paperwork. She stole the hearts of those there. The woman was mighty taken with her. She gave her candy, which I told her she could eat one piece because I didn't want her getting the desk all sticky. Well, she stuffed the rest in her pocket for later & has gone back to it little by little (there was a lot of candy.) Even this morning, she got into the bag where I had stored away her clothes to try & keep the smell, she had to get the candy out - it took us a while to figure out what she was doing, but she knew. She then folded her clothes away ever so neatly & said xie, xie.
The woman offered her to go home with her because she had a son at home & HG said okay. Uh oh. I immediately said NO, you are coming home with me! She asked HG if she wanted to fly in a plane to go meet her brothers & she said yes, so I think we are getting back on track. The woman came around the pick her up & kiss her. She was shocked at how much she weighs (35lbs. we weighed her) She immediately started rubbing her belly so Hannah Grace thought she needed to show off her big tummy. She has obviously done it before because she is very proud of her tummy. She will stick it out proudly along with a huge grin quite frequently.
It was a long first day for us. We decided to order in pizza. Again, the girl can eat. She ate almost 2 full pieces. One of our travel mates' was celebrating his birthday & someone sent him a birthday cake. So, he came by everyone's room to share. Well, you know who got some & which two big people didn't. LOL
She LOVES the bath. She can't get her clothes off fast enough. I was worried about that, but no worries here. Once she got it, she dove her face straight in like she was diving in a pool. YIPPPEEEE. Boys, we have another one on our side to help plead with Daddy about the pool!!!!!!! She wanted to get in when we were getting in the shower. It was hard for her to understand that she already had her turn. LOL
Bedtime was easier than we expected. She is so hot, she wouldn't keep her covers on. She immediately pushes them away. I wasn't sure what our routine would be. But we've worked it out so far. She gets in. We pray, we try to read a little, & then Mama sings. The first night it took her a while. So, I just rubbed her face trying to help make her eyes close while I hummed. Eventually she gave in. That's when I went to get on the computer. Then the fun begins. I am guessing we will have some night terrors/tremors to deal with. She was so active. I've never seen such a fitful sleep with a child. Last night was better. It only happened at 12 & 2 for the major stuff, but she still tossed & turned alot. If you seen bruises when I get home, that's what it's from. She gives a mean left hook. She slept quite a long time. Baba even woke her up at 6:15 because he couldn't stand it any longer. LOL
Now that she is liking the carrier, I don't know if Andy updated, but she willingly wants to get in it now. She is molding more to our bodies when being carried, which makes it so much easier to take her. It was so hard at first. She was acting like she had never been carried before. She was stiff as a board. So, hopefully this is a good sign.
I told Andy when she was seriously shutting us out that emotionally that was harder on us, but physically easier than the tantrum she can give. I haven't decided which I would rather have. When she was pitching her fit about that carrier I thought the Chinese govt. would show up & raid our room for the torture that we were imposing on her. That's one face I will never forget. It wasn't fear, it was horror.
Did Andy tell you about our video? We got so excited when the girls were coming in to meet us that the button got pushed twice & we actually don't have footage of when she was introduced to her. A couple of weeks ago I would have been mortified at that (at the time that was the most important thing to me). But, God has given me a peace about it. We've asked the other families & they are going to copy us what they got. Hopefully some of them will have some of it & we should be able to hear ours since we were the first ones. When we had the boys, we chose not to film the actual birth part. That was something that we were able to experience & treasure personally. So, I am looking at it that way. Hannah Grace's birth into our family is something that her Mama & Baba will never forget.
Thank you for all the comments. It is good to hear from home. Andy's been keeping me posted on who says what on Facebook. You will never know how much all your words mean to us. KEEP THEM COMING. It helps keep us going. I now know how important it is, so I will make sure to "talk" to those of you coming in the future.
Another thing I didn't want to forget - thunderstorms. OH MY!!!!! We thought West TN was something. It was cloudy yesterday & then suddenly we heard thunder unlike anything I've EVER heard - probably magnified between all the tall buildings. It poured for about 5 minutes & then the sun was out. It was clear. You could see the blue sky & it looked like nothing ever happened. I was reminded of that because it just now thundered - LOUDLY!!!! & there is not a sign of clouds coming in. WEIRD.
Sweet dreams boys. We are hoping to call you again when HG wakes up. She is doing so well on pronouncing your names. She is copying alot of what we say now. She has about 10 english words that she can say. AMAZING how smart this girl is. We love you. Missy left a msg that said you guys were beaming at church tonight. I am so glad that you are proud big brothers. I know she is just gonna love you guys.
There were so many things that I didn't get to talk about with our family day. I want to journal it all so I never forget it.
When we left the SWI, we went back to the hotel to eat some lunch. This girl can eat!!!! She ate an entire bowl of adult sized noodles, two roles, about a 1/4 of Mama's lasagna, some of Baba's duck, most of Baba's chocolate ice cream (she's my girl!) and still wanted some more. She hasn't refused anything we've offered her.
We then had to go to the notary office for paperwork. She stole the hearts of those there. The woman was mighty taken with her. She gave her candy, which I told her she could eat one piece because I didn't want her getting the desk all sticky. Well, she stuffed the rest in her pocket for later & has gone back to it little by little (there was a lot of candy.) Even this morning, she got into the bag where I had stored away her clothes to try & keep the smell, she had to get the candy out - it took us a while to figure out what she was doing, but she knew. She then folded her clothes away ever so neatly & said xie, xie.
The woman offered her to go home with her because she had a son at home & HG said okay. Uh oh. I immediately said NO, you are coming home with me! She asked HG if she wanted to fly in a plane to go meet her brothers & she said yes, so I think we are getting back on track. The woman came around the pick her up & kiss her. She was shocked at how much she weighs (35lbs. we weighed her) She immediately started rubbing her belly so Hannah Grace thought she needed to show off her big tummy. She has obviously done it before because she is very proud of her tummy. She will stick it out proudly along with a huge grin quite frequently.
It was a long first day for us. We decided to order in pizza. Again, the girl can eat. She ate almost 2 full pieces. One of our travel mates' was celebrating his birthday & someone sent him a birthday cake. So, he came by everyone's room to share. Well, you know who got some & which two big people didn't. LOL
She LOVES the bath. She can't get her clothes off fast enough. I was worried about that, but no worries here. Once she got it, she dove her face straight in like she was diving in a pool. YIPPPEEEE. Boys, we have another one on our side to help plead with Daddy about the pool!!!!!!! She wanted to get in when we were getting in the shower. It was hard for her to understand that she already had her turn. LOL
Bedtime was easier than we expected. She is so hot, she wouldn't keep her covers on. She immediately pushes them away. I wasn't sure what our routine would be. But we've worked it out so far. She gets in. We pray, we try to read a little, & then Mama sings. The first night it took her a while. So, I just rubbed her face trying to help make her eyes close while I hummed. Eventually she gave in. That's when I went to get on the computer. Then the fun begins. I am guessing we will have some night terrors/tremors to deal with. She was so active. I've never seen such a fitful sleep with a child. Last night was better. It only happened at 12 & 2 for the major stuff, but she still tossed & turned alot. If you seen bruises when I get home, that's what it's from. She gives a mean left hook. She slept quite a long time. Baba even woke her up at 6:15 because he couldn't stand it any longer. LOL
Now that she is liking the carrier, I don't know if Andy updated, but she willingly wants to get in it now. She is molding more to our bodies when being carried, which makes it so much easier to take her. It was so hard at first. She was acting like she had never been carried before. She was stiff as a board. So, hopefully this is a good sign.
I told Andy when she was seriously shutting us out that emotionally that was harder on us, but physically easier than the tantrum she can give. I haven't decided which I would rather have. When she was pitching her fit about that carrier I thought the Chinese govt. would show up & raid our room for the torture that we were imposing on her. That's one face I will never forget. It wasn't fear, it was horror.
Did Andy tell you about our video? We got so excited when the girls were coming in to meet us that the button got pushed twice & we actually don't have footage of when she was introduced to her. A couple of weeks ago I would have been mortified at that (at the time that was the most important thing to me). But, God has given me a peace about it. We've asked the other families & they are going to copy us what they got. Hopefully some of them will have some of it & we should be able to hear ours since we were the first ones. When we had the boys, we chose not to film the actual birth part. That was something that we were able to experience & treasure personally. So, I am looking at it that way. Hannah Grace's birth into our family is something that her Mama & Baba will never forget.
Thank you for all the comments. It is good to hear from home. Andy's been keeping me posted on who says what on Facebook. You will never know how much all your words mean to us. KEEP THEM COMING. It helps keep us going. I now know how important it is, so I will make sure to "talk" to those of you coming in the future.
Another thing I didn't want to forget - thunderstorms. OH MY!!!!! We thought West TN was something. It was cloudy yesterday & then suddenly we heard thunder unlike anything I've EVER heard - probably magnified between all the tall buildings. It poured for about 5 minutes & then the sun was out. It was clear. You could see the blue sky & it looked like nothing ever happened. I was reminded of that because it just now thundered - LOUDLY!!!! & there is not a sign of clouds coming in. WEIRD.
Sweet dreams boys. We are hoping to call you again when HG wakes up. She is doing so well on pronouncing your names. She is copying alot of what we say now. She has about 10 english words that she can say. AMAZING how smart this girl is. We love you. Missy left a msg that said you guys were beaming at church tonight. I am so glad that you are proud big brothers. I know she is just gonna love you guys.
And on the Third Day they . . . Rested
Charity tries out the Ergo carrier
Lunch at a Chinese Restuarant. This is definitely not China Pan in Jackson, TN
Waiting to exchange money at the bank
Can I pull off this look or what!Well, I think I successfully loaded the pictures in reverse order, that is why Charity handles this stuff and not me. Well, since I went to bed early last night, it was Charity's turn tonight. So my duty is to update everyone on our day. It was definitely an eventful day to say the least. Our day started with breakfast at the hotel. It was so sweet. Every time that one of us would go to get something from the buffet, when we started to return, Hannah Grace would yell "MaMa" or "BaBa" from the other side of the place when she saw us coming. If my heart had not already been transformed into mush already, that would have done it.
We then spent a good portion of the morning exchanging our money. They meticulously inspected every bill to make sure that it was clean, crisp and never been used. And of course, he had to be an intern!! So what should have taken a short time, was somewhat lengthy.
We then ate lunch at an Chinese place which was nothing like our Chinese places in Tennessee. Apparently the people that run those places in America, never actually lived in China, because we had food that I have never seen before. Hannah Grace loves to eat and is not picky at all. I have decided that when we get home, that the three picky people in our family (Charity, Heath and Noah) are going to go where they want to eat and Elijah, Hannah Grace and I are going to enjoy the variety of food that Jackson has to offer!!!
We returned to the hotel and the fun began. The afternoon started well and I thought I would have some fun. My two lovely sister-in-laws gave me a pocket translator that you can type in an English word and then it gives you the Chinese word and then says it. Since it was near naptime, I thought I would type in the word "sleep" and play it for Hannah Grace so she would know it was time to take a nap. She immediately began to give me "the cold shoulder", because that was not what she wanted to hear. I got the cold shoulder for a while and then thought I would "help" things out by trying to make her lay down. That was not happening and the first cry since we got her began to flow from her eyes. Mommy comforted her, but it was a good 30 minutes before she even looked at me. Luckily for me, she was diverted by throwing a ball, so all was good again, until we tried to get her to use our carrier to tote her around. She would not have anything to do with it and we quickly learned that this girl has some lungs when she wants to use them. I am positive that everyone on our floor heard what I am sure sounded like slow, painful torture. This time she was mad at both of us, so we both got the cold shoulder. We tried to comfort her and after a while she calmed down.
We decided that we would try something we recognized for supper and headed 4 blocks to the KFC. Well, I don't know about you, but where I am from a block is only a short distance. Well, not so true in China. I should have trained for the Half-Marathon a couple of weeks ago. It was not that bad except for when you are carrying a 35 pound little girl.
We finally made it to the KFC and ordered. I had chicken wings which were decent and Charity had what she thought was a chicken sandwich. I always thought that the Col. Sander's secret recipe was the coating on the chicken. Not so in China. The real secret is what in the world that was on her sandwich. It had peas and carrots inside the chicken and I thought my poor wife was going to lose it. She was a trooper and ate the french fries and we headed back to the hotel. Hannah Grace was tired so she took a bath and went to sleep. I sit here in the dark staring at a way too bright computer screen watching the two girls in my life peacefully sleep and I know that all is well in the world tonight. I know that the boys will feel the same way I do right now when we return. I would do anything to protect them and so will they. So tonight, I sleep thankful for the two girls in my life and the three boys that are half way around the world. Life is good and so is the God that I serve. I often think that no one deserves to be as blessed as I am. Thank you God for showing your favor on me and my family.
Andy
We then spent a good portion of the morning exchanging our money. They meticulously inspected every bill to make sure that it was clean, crisp and never been used. And of course, he had to be an intern!! So what should have taken a short time, was somewhat lengthy.
We then ate lunch at an Chinese place which was nothing like our Chinese places in Tennessee. Apparently the people that run those places in America, never actually lived in China, because we had food that I have never seen before. Hannah Grace loves to eat and is not picky at all. I have decided that when we get home, that the three picky people in our family (Charity, Heath and Noah) are going to go where they want to eat and Elijah, Hannah Grace and I are going to enjoy the variety of food that Jackson has to offer!!!
We returned to the hotel and the fun began. The afternoon started well and I thought I would have some fun. My two lovely sister-in-laws gave me a pocket translator that you can type in an English word and then it gives you the Chinese word and then says it. Since it was near naptime, I thought I would type in the word "sleep" and play it for Hannah Grace so she would know it was time to take a nap. She immediately began to give me "the cold shoulder", because that was not what she wanted to hear. I got the cold shoulder for a while and then thought I would "help" things out by trying to make her lay down. That was not happening and the first cry since we got her began to flow from her eyes. Mommy comforted her, but it was a good 30 minutes before she even looked at me. Luckily for me, she was diverted by throwing a ball, so all was good again, until we tried to get her to use our carrier to tote her around. She would not have anything to do with it and we quickly learned that this girl has some lungs when she wants to use them. I am positive that everyone on our floor heard what I am sure sounded like slow, painful torture. This time she was mad at both of us, so we both got the cold shoulder. We tried to comfort her and after a while she calmed down.
We decided that we would try something we recognized for supper and headed 4 blocks to the KFC. Well, I don't know about you, but where I am from a block is only a short distance. Well, not so true in China. I should have trained for the Half-Marathon a couple of weeks ago. It was not that bad except for when you are carrying a 35 pound little girl.
We finally made it to the KFC and ordered. I had chicken wings which were decent and Charity had what she thought was a chicken sandwich. I always thought that the Col. Sander's secret recipe was the coating on the chicken. Not so in China. The real secret is what in the world that was on her sandwich. It had peas and carrots inside the chicken and I thought my poor wife was going to lose it. She was a trooper and ate the french fries and we headed back to the hotel. Hannah Grace was tired so she took a bath and went to sleep. I sit here in the dark staring at a way too bright computer screen watching the two girls in my life peacefully sleep and I know that all is well in the world tonight. I know that the boys will feel the same way I do right now when we return. I would do anything to protect them and so will they. So tonight, I sleep thankful for the two girls in my life and the three boys that are half way around the world. Life is good and so is the God that I serve. I often think that no one deserves to be as blessed as I am. Thank you God for showing your favor on me and my family.
Andy
Day One Summary Video
Here is a quick video of our first day with Hannah Grace. Sorry it is not more "professionally" done, but hey, I'm in China. What do you expect.
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