We're home!

Wow, I've never had such a long travel day in my life...and I've been to China 4 times before this! Actually I should probably say "days" because we travelled for 32 hours straight. We ended up driving home from Cleveland (a lovely 4 1/2 hour trip) because there was weather out East and our plane wasn't coming in. In the end, our plane did end up beating us by about an hour but it was worth the gamble to drive because otherwise we would've had to stay over night in Cleveland and then come home in the morning. It's 3 am and Katrina can't sleep. We're all completely exhausted and fatigued so hopefully the next few days will bring lots of sleep and patience. Joe immediately found Katrina's John Deere in the garage (a little Gator that she can drive) and wanted to try it out. He is currently sleeping on Jacob's bottom bunk. We're a little nervous leaving him down there but I think we'll hear him if he calls out. We're looking forward to a night in our own bed with no kids around! I think the kids are all ready for some space too.

Last Day

The last day of our trip finally arrived. I think we found the perfect way to end. After a leisurely morning we strolled down to breakfast. After breakfast we called our new friend/independent cab driver who took us from the train station to the hotel yesterday. He was kind enough to take us to the other side of HK Island to a place called Stanley. Guy and I had fond memories of Stanley when we were here before we picked up Katrina. There is a great market there...miles and miles of fantastic deals. Unfortunately shopping with 5 children is not always so fun-especially in the winding alleys of a HK market. It's just as well because we could've all gone home with new wardrobes if we'd had all day to shop, then we'd have to buy more suitcases, then we'd be over weight at the airport and have to pay an over weight fee. So I guess it all worked out all right after all. Also, we didn't lose any kids in the market so that's good! We headed to the beach after shopping. There were only a few other people there and the water was fantastic. We thought ahead enough to have packed our swim suits (thank goodness). We spent about 3 hours hanging out at the beach swimming, playing in the sand, catching fish (with ziplock bags--man, those things are good for so many things!), and finding shells. It was just right. Joe played in the water with us, caught fish with Jacob, and happily played in the sand. We showered off at the beach, air dried, and had some delicious dinner. After a bus ride back to our hotel we packed things up again and we're ready to go home! I think Joe understands what's happening tomorrow but how do you explain to a 5 year old how long a 13 hour plane ride really is? We're hoping all goes well. He is so excited to go to Michigan he couldn't get to sleep tonight. He went to sleep wearing the Superman pj's we bought him at the market today and sucking his thumb (he may need some dental work).
Thanks for checking in with us and reading our blog.
Zai Jian!

miracles

This is an evening to remember! I was able to view our blog, I was able to open flickr in English, and I was able to add pictures to flickr! Wow!! Please check out our new pics!!!!

Hong Kong

Well...we finally made it to Hong Kong today. The trip is winding down.
We left from Guangzhou this morning around 10:15 and had a 1 1/2 hour train ride to HK. The train ride was quiet and relaxing. It was a beautiful day which we were all happy about b/c we had a lot of rain in Guangzhou. We had a late lunch after getting to our hotel and then had some "quiet time". I think the adults took naps while the kids played--but they played quietly enough for us to sleep so that was considerate of them! We spent the afternoon and evening taking the tram up to Victoria Peak here on HK Island, taking the Star Ferry over to the mainland for supper, and taking the ferry back over and then a taxi to our hotel/home sweet home. There is a laser light show here each night at 8:00 (I guess that's HK for you!) which we were able to see on our return ferry trip. It was cool!
Everyone is doing well. This is our 4th hotel so considering that, I'd say the kids are doing extremely well. Every day has been an adventure and they have been real troopers. I'm so proud of them. Joe is doing quiet well. Traveling is just so much different than being at home. It's his 3rd hotel with us. He must be wondering what is going on. I've asked several people to explain to him in Chinese what is happening when and where. We have a paper chain (one of our kids favorite things-we always have them for countdowns to birthdays, trips, whatever) with an airplane on the last day so he can count the days. But still...he is 5 years old. He has continued to be whiney and wants to be carried all the time. Poor Guy has sore shoulders from carrying him around on them all day long! We are planning to make the most of tomorrow here in HK. Hopefully the weather stays nice. Friday morning we'll have breakfast here and then head over to the airport for the very, very long trip home.
The kids miss Sadie most of all and are also anxious to sleep in their own beds (the beds at the White Swan in Guangzhou were like rocks!) and have a little more space than a hotel room.
I'm going to try to get to our flickr site once again. I think I did get a few pics up last time.
Our hotel here in HK has nice-n-fast internet. Just like home! Also, I'm posting this FROM OUR ACTUAL BLOG!! I haven't seen it in weeks! Thank goodness for Hong Kong!

Hi Everyone!
It's Sunday night here. This morning we attempted going to an English service at the local Catholic Church but then when we got there there wasn't really an English service after all. We did sit in the church and have our own little "thank you God" time. Today Joe was not such a happy boy. Let's see...some words might be whiney, cranky, spoiled? The poor kid, I can't imagine what's going on in his head but today was definitely not his best day yet. He wants to be carried all over but he is really heavy! He must be about 8 or 10 pounds heavier than Katrina but they are about the same height.
We did do some shopping around the hotel today and found some good bargains. We also went to the "walking street" here in Guangzhou and it was crazy!! Shop after shop after shop after alleyway and stair cases full of absolutely everything. It was a very fun cultural experience but pretty tiring too.
It was a little rainy here today so we're hoping for some more pool-friendly weather tomorrow.
That's all for now.
I'm going to attempt adding pics to the flickr site but I don't really know how to change the screen to English so I'm not very hopeful I'll have any success!

Guangzhou and swimming

Well, it's Saturday night here in breezy Guangzhou. A typhoon hit the cost north of here so we're getting the left over wind, which is nice because it cools things off a bit. We arrived here yesterday after a very long day of travel....again. We took off from Changchun on what we thought was a 5 hour flight to Guangzhou. Much to our surprise, they announced the landing after only 2 hours! Hmmmm we thought, where are we landing?? Turns out we had a stop over in Hangzhou. After 40 minutes on the ground and some people getting off and on, we took off again for another hour and a half to Guangzhou. Life is just full of surprises!
The biggest news here is that we got Joe in the pool!!! Hooray!!! Jan talked him into taking his socks off the afternoon we arrived (not sure he ever really had bare feet before) and he even let her dip his feet in the pool. After dinner last night we put a swim suit on him and he actually went in. He liked it so much it got a little dangerous (b/c he cannot swim!). Today I went in a shop in the hotel and bought him some swimees (arm things) and off he went. I think he was in the pool for 2 hours this afternoon and loved every minute of it. How cool is that?
The other news is that he passed his medical exam with flying colors but wouldn't smile for his visa photo because he was mad we wouldn't buy him a truck. I told Guy there is no way I can take him in Target when we get home because he wants us to buy everything he sees and gets very pouty, even fake cries sometimes, when we say no.
Everyone was once again over-tired tonight so hopefully we'll have a quiet night so everyone is rested up for tomorrow. We plan to go to an English service at a local Catholic Church and then probably do some shopping and swimming in the afternoon.
After an excruciating paperwork checking session this morning I think we have everything in order to complete the adoption and get Joe on the plane with us!
Thanks for your comments. Gabby, I'll make sure Margaret reads yours tomorrow morning.
I hope some of you were able to view the pics my awesome niece Tammi set up. I'm going to try again tomorrow with the whole picture thing. There are many more English speakers/understanders around here.
Take care everyone and thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Pictures!

Hi everybody - since I am the DeVries' house and dog-protector for the time being, I have somehow also gotten the privilege of figuring out their picture situation. Ann finally figured out how to post a few pictures on to Flickr. Instead of adding more pics here and making this page load slower, I added her captions and will direct you to the flickr site for the the pictures of their adventures in China. Click here to see pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13880587@N04/. There are already some great ones of Joe!
Sharing the adventure,
Tammi Talen

leaving Changchun

Well, it's Thursday night here. One last post in this crazy room full of gamers smoking away. I've once again attempted posting some pics on line but I don't think it worked. (Tammi, I just emailed you with pic numbers and the site but I don't think there will be much there.)
We had a slow day here and we are ready to move along. We went to the city square to fly kites but there wasn't much wind. We swam this afternoon but couldn't get Joe to even put his toes in! We are leaving the hotel tomorrow moring at 6 am for an 8:20 flight to Guangzhou (about a 5 hour flight). We will miss our Holt rep who has been helping us here. Her English name is Jenny and she has been fantastic. She is very good with Joe and I know he will miss her too. She's been able to communicate things to him that we just can't. Simple things a 5 year old needs to know like how long we'll be at the hotel, when we're going to the USA, the fact that he needs to share, swimming is safe and fun, etc etc etc.
He is still a happy kid but we did get some tears today when the whole idea of sharing came up. He does have a few things to learn.
Thanks for everyone's comments!
(we did not get Gabby's)
I'll try to post from Guangzhou tomorrow night!

Siping

Hi Everyone,
It's been quite a day here in Changchun. We took a 2 hour bus ride to the Siping Orphanage. Jenny, our Holt rep here, talked with Joe yesterday to see if he wanted to go back to say good bye to his foster mother and friends. He said yes so off we went...with some trepidation. It turned out to be a great visit. He was able to show us off to his friends and show us around the place. They had about 6 tiny babies, about 10 toddlers, and about 10 older kids. There were four workers there when we visited. We had brought some gifts from home and Joe helped us hand them out. We also gave him pens to give to his friends. His foster mother was very sweet. She even called his foster father while we were there so he could say good bye again. All in all it was a highly emotional day but well worth it. I think in the long run it will be good for some closure for him. It was clearly ok with his foster mother that he go with us. He told her he would go to the best university in the States and then buy her a motorcycle.
He is such a good-natured kid. Almost always a smile, even when we have no clue what he is saying. Thank goodness for the crucial words I know in Chinese like bathroom, hungry, thirsty, let's go, good, come here...
We know the hard days will come. We're just hoping it isn't until we get back home. Everyone is getting ready to be home again. Eating out all the time gets old. We did get Pizza Hut tonight which was really good. Poor Maria will probably never eat Chinese again, even though everything we've had has been fantastic! (the Chinese food here, I mean)
Tomorrow we are going to a kite flying park. Not sure if we're supposed to bring a kite or watch the kites...
We will fly down to Guangzhou on Friday morning. Hopefully we can get some pics up from there.
Thanks to those who have left messages.
Wan an he zai jian (good night and good bye)

Hello Everyone,
I just spent an hour trying to communicate the fact that I want to upload my photos but I have failed. Sorry, I really wanted to get some pics on line but just can't seem to find someone who understands what I want and can accomplish it!!
Our first night with Joe went very well. We were all extremely tired so I guess that helped. He keeps asking when we will get on the airplane and go to the USA. It's going to be a while but that's hard to communicate to a 5 year old. We went to a park this morning where the kids played and got super dirty. We had McDonalds for lunch which was comfort food for Maria, even though we never eat it at home. Many of us took a nap after lunch. Joe fell asleep sitting up on the bed so I just tipped him over and he stayed asleep for an hour. All in all I'd say things are going extremely well. He seems to be rolling with what's happening. I think we're all sort of anxious to go home and just start being a family. It's hard to do that in hotel rooms. Tomorrow we are planning to go to Siping and visit the orphanage. Jenny, our local Holt staff person, asked Joe if he would like to go back. He said yes, but he doesn't want to stay there. I guess that's good. Seems like a lot of power to give to a 5 year old so we're praying it's the right decision to bring him back to say good bye again to his foster mom and friends.
That's all for now. I need to go rescue Guy. He and his mom took 5 kids to the pool (mostly used for lap swimming...no so much like a hotel pool in the States). Joe seems afraid of the water...guess we need to work on that one.
Hope everyone is well. I'll keep trying to get some photos online...
He is every bit as cute as the photos posted already!

Hi all, Just a quick update (its been a long day). We met Joe at 9:30 AM and have been doing paperwork and other activities all day. He gets along with all of us - love electronics (GameBoy, Leapster,Camera,etc.). He cant wait to go to America. Communication is hard but we are managing. All are in bed now and we are looking forward to a good night sleep (we hope). We will try to post photos on Tuesday. Miss you all!

Hi Everyone,
It's Sunday morning here and we're off to Changchun this morning. I can't view the blog for some reason but I'm assuming these posts are getting on. Can't remember what I wrote last...On Friday we went to the Great Wall. We took a cable car up to the Wall and climbed from there. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cloudy so visibility was only about 20 feet! Oh well.
Yesterday we visited Tiananmen Square and got accosted by vendors. We did get some cool stuff at great prices though! Margaret, Jake, and Maria were very popular. One young couple asked Margaret to hold their baby and took a picture of Margaret and the baby together! Jake and Maria were also photographed several times. A few days ago at the Forbidden City Jacob even got a kiss from a 20-something Chinese girl! We also went to the Temple of Heaven yesterday. It was very busy so much of the cool stuff about it we weren't able to do. For example, there is an echo wall but there were so many people trying to get it to work we couldn't really experience it. I guess now everyone has another reason to return to Beijing someday!
We will meet Joe tomorrow morning at 9:00 at our hotel in Changchun. That's 9:00pm Sunday night for you Michigan people so send some prayers our way then if you can!
I'll write more later....

Friday night: After an extremely long day we are all safely back at the hotel. It has been cold and rainy all day long. We went to the Great Wall but it was so misty and cloudy we couldn't see much. Bummer but I guess that leaves a reason to go back again someday! We visited a cloisonne factory to see how it is made. Very labor intensive! Now we know why it's so expensive! We also visited an old neighborhood in Beijing called Hutong which was cool. We even had rickshaw rides. The traffic was terrible on the way back so it took forever. The kids are all tucked in bed and we're about ready to head there too. Tomorrow morning we have a meeting with Holt (our agency) and then a little touring in the afternoon. We heard it's supposed to be sunny too which will be nice because it's been very cloudy and rainy since we arrived.

Ok, never mind the end of the last post. I figured out how to show the comments after I read them. I guess I learn something new every day!

Hi Everyone!
We safely arrived in Beijing last night. We got to our hotel around 4:00pm (Beijing time) so that made it about a 24 hour trip from our house to our hotel. We are 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time so I guess that means we're living the future over here and I'm typing this after living though a day you haven't even woken up for yet!!
Everything is going well. We all slept fairly well and did some touring today. We first visited the Forbidden City and then the Summer Palace. It was a little rainy but I guess it's been really hot so we gladly took the rain because that also meant it was cooler outside.
Tomorrow we will go to the Great Wall and Hutong Lane (famous shopping street).
On Saturday we have a meeting with a Holt Rep. We fly up to Changchun on Sunday.
So, all is well. Everyone is healthy and happy. Jan took a family picture of us at the Summer Palace but Margaret insisted it wasn't really a family picture and we'd have to get one of those later in the trip when it's really a complete family. How sweet of her.
I think we are going to try to get some Peking Duck tonight. Yum!
Love you all, and thanks for commenting. For some reason the blog isn't showing the comments. If anyone can tell me how to change that so they show on the blog page, please let me know. We can read them but they just don't show by our posts.
Bye from Beijing,
Ann, Guy.....

We're off!!! Hoping to get a few hours sleep before the 4:15 am alarm...
Whatever we forgot we'll get in China (probably cheaper with no import necessary!).
Thanks everyone for your prayers. We truly appreciate it.
Hope to post again once we get in to Beijing on Weds. night.
Guy and Ann

Hi Everyone,
We're packing!! I'm going to get Maria and Katrina's clothes packed tonight. They're easy because their clothes are small. Hopefully we'll get Margaret and Jacob's packed tomorrow, then ours on Sunday. To add to it all we've got some projects around the house we're trying to finish! We'll be in Beijing in 4 days!

It's Tuesday, Sept. 4. Everyone started school today and everything went well, although we had some tired kids tonight! We are hoping to start packing tomorrow. In 11 days we'll meet our new son!!
We're trying to finalize travel arrangements and get things organized around here.
Thanks for visiting our blog! Please, leave us a message to let us know you were here!
Guy and Ann

August 30, 2007
Ok, here goes our first post. We officially have plane tickets and have started packing lists! First, though, we need to get school started for Margaret, Jacob, Maria and Katrina. We are so excited and quite anxious about our trip. All of our anticipation, planning, praying, and waiting, waiting, waiting, will finally be over. We are praying that God prepares us and Joe for our first meeting.