Home at Last

We arrived home around 10:45 on Wednesday, July 20. As we walked off the plane, Lizzie became an official US Citizen. Pretty incredible. I have many posts to still catch-up on, but I thought I'd write about our flight home, being home, and then I'll back-post the others.

Lizzie did GREAT on our adventure home. We left Guangzhou for the airport on Tuesday evening, July 19, around 7 pm. Our plane was delayed for 1/2 hour, and took off around 11:15 PM (scheduled at 10:30) and arrived in Hong Kong just after midnight. We just missed the Delta counter to get our boarding passes for the next day because the plane was delayed, and we hadn't planned to find a hotel room. So, we spent the night in the airport. Lizzie slept a solid 6 hours in her stroller, I slept on the seats just as long. My dad can sleep anywhere, so he did fine, too. Jake and my mom played games and slept about 2 hours.

We finally received our boarding passes, headed to the Delta Lounge for some food and drinks, and then took off for Tokyo at 8:30 am. During our 2 hour layover in Tokyo, we took showers at the Delta Lounge, ate some more, and caught our flight to Utah at about 12:30 PM Tokyo time. The flight was 9 1/2 hours, which Jake (after taking 2 sleeping pills), my dad (no sleeping pills) and my mom (1 sleeping ill) slept the entire time and were surprised at how quickly the flight went. I, on the other hand, slept for the first hour until Dinner was served, and then Lizzie woke up and I held her the rest of the time. I couldn't get anyone to wake up enough to help me, so I'd just have to leave her sitting in First Class crying while I used the restroom. I tried to hand her off to Jake one time because I was sooooo tired, but he was so asleep he let her fall off his lap onto the floor. Needless to say, she was good, but just never fell asleep enough for me to feel like I could fall asleep. She didn't fuss unless I walked away, she ate and drank well, played, laughed, gave lots of hugs and kisses, but just didn't want to fall asleep...until 1 1/2 hours before we landed. I finally kicked Jake out of his seat and sent him to a vacant one in the row in front of us, and I let her just sleep in my chair until we landed.

She took everything in stride as we came off the plane, though she was very tired. Because we were early, the rest of the family was just arriving to greet us. She took to the kids right away, thanks to Grandma Anderegg's Bee Balloon that she was able to hit into the kids. It made her laugh so much. After that, she was willing to let them each hold her as long as I was in sight.

My Sister, Aimee, brought her daughter, Aubrey, and my 3 to the airport. She is moving to New Hampshire on Monday, so it's probably the last time I'll see her. Man, she's been amazing, helping me with my kids while trying to get things ready to move. I hope to see her Saturday evening briefly, but it depends on how Lizzie is doing. It was so good to see her! I will really miss her!

It was so good to see my kids, too. I have really missed them. They've been a lifesaver, playing with her and letting me get laundry and house catching-up done. They're helping to change diapers, get wipes, play games, feed, and bath her. They're the best. My Monkey Boy said that it seems like I love Lizzie best, but he knows it's just because she needs me right now, and he understands. I am so grateful that he expressed those feelings. It created an opportunity to share with him my feelings, and my love for him. I had the opportunity of just cuddling with him for a little while, and it was good for both of us.

The Lord has been a part of our journey the entire time, and I am so grateful. I miss my friends and wonder how they are adjusting. How is Benjamin, Ellie, Allie, Will Hudson, Jenna, Tien, Tyson, Nellie and all of the others? I have photo's of each of the families on Gotcha Day and Red Couch Photo's, and experiences I want to share about them. We made some great friends whom we will always treasure. What an incredible experience to share with so many really neat people! I will be forever grateful for their faith and their examples.

Well, I need to go spend some time in the scriptures before Lizzie wakes up. My time is precious! Dad has the kids out playing today at Trafalga, and they went to see Harry Potter last night. Jake is such a great dad. He asked if I was OK staying home with Lizzie....oh, I'm really OK with that, especially knowing the other 3 are having a fun time with their awesome Dad!

Photo's will be coming....I promise! Keep praying for our family! They've been working miracles so far, and we still need miracles as we adjust. We love you all!!

Guangzhou

With Daddy

Playing in the Fountain and Discovering Water

Enjoying our new little addition!

We are here, and we've had our "Physical", and she passed. No fever, things look great, they took copies of her medical records from Zhengzhou, and a happy girl today. She weighed in at 13.3 kg, that computes to 29.9 lbs. Yeah, that's what I'm feeling! Ugh. They said "she's very healthy", and everyone around us says, "big baby". But, oh so cute!

We had lunch with Sherman, my dad's business associate and friend from China (he flew down to meet us), and spent time walking around, allowing her to discover things. She loves to touch leaves, has learned to love the water (so surprising-I think our swimming experience on Thursday, where we just let her dip her feet in until she chose to get in with Jake and I helped. Now, she cries when she has to get out of the bath), and enjoys trying new things. She'll put anything in her mouth we feed her, she just may not keep it there.


It's a beautiful place, so many places to just walk along the Yellow River. This is a much nicer area of China, very clean, peaceful. We love all of the statues they have! And the little shops to buy souvenirs. I love listening to them sing (there was a choir practicing), playing music, drawing, and practicing Thai Chi. I love all the bronze statues representing children. I will take more photos of them! I like this place! (And we don't have any tours we have to go on, though we may choose to.) I am glad to be here and have the pace slower!

Zhengzhou-Last Day

On the bus, heading to the Airport
I had to try the had on and she didn't want to take it off.
The sunglasses have become another toy!

Dad, Apple, Rita, Mom, Jake, Lizzie, Me, Ysha
Our Tour Guides in Zhengzhou
I cannot tell you how invaluable these 3 ladies were, especially Ysha. You learn to love them and admire their hard work. They are all so grateful for the families coming over to adopt the Children. Apple has a 2 year old son, Ysha a 13 year old daughter, and Rita is 3 months pregnant and is hoping for a girl!

We woke up, had breakfast, and then Lizzie was ready for a nap, so Jake and I headed to "Healthy Massages" and had a deep muscle massage. Not a great idea just before flying-we hurt, but I feel great today. They used their feet, and it was really cool. You wear these PJ's and they put a sheet over you, and then stand on your back holding onto these poles above them. It was worth the experience for $20-great money for them when you consider that the really wealthy earn 200,000 RMB, which converts to about $30,000 in the US. So, for them, they earned 128 RMB.

Then, the excitement began! We headed to the airport (on the bus) and found out our plane had been delayed at least 1 hour. After 2 hours, we boarded, pulled out about 45 minutes later, and then sat on the airplane, grounded, for another 2 hours. Finally, we had permission to leave, and we were able to check into the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou around 12:30 am, approximately 6 hours late. Now, you have to remember that we had 14 families with toddlers, and they make you empty out all of your bottles before.

Lizzie did really well. We played at the playground at the airport, she fell asleep for a while why we were grounded (bad weather in Guangzhou), and played on Grandma's lap while flying. She threw everything she could find, covered herself and me in OJ, and pooped through all her clothes on Grandma's lap. I'd brought 1 change of clothes for her, but not 2. Needless to say, I changed her again as soon as I had my suitcase, and she was asleep by the time we arrived at the hotel. We all slept in! Oh, to have a Toddler again! I do not know what I'd do if my parents were not here! They've been a lifesaver in keeping me sane, even when I feel like loosing it!

Zhengzhou City-Learning to Walk

When they have Lizzie to us, she wasn't walking on her own. She hasn't been taught or encouraged, so we've been doing it. She will practice and practice on her own, so determined. It is awesome to see. She still prefers to hold our hand when we are out in public, but she has walked up and down our hotel room hallway, and she is getting so much greater. I think that the walking will help her trim down, and then it will be easier to walk! It's amazing what a little one-on-one can do for a child who has never had it! Oh, and maybe a pair of squeaky shoes!

Zhengzhou City

I feel like I didn't take near enough photo's of the city as I should have, but where we stayed, The Crown Plaza, was a much nicer area than she would have been from, and there were so many tours and things to do, that we decided to skip them (it was the birthplace of Kung-fu, which would have been cool, but was another long bus ride, which she does not like-and a museum which is not good for toddlers).

But, we did have a wonderful day off walking the streets, shopping at the local Wal-mart (much different than ours-it is 3 levels, but it was cool) where we actually found a pair of slip-on shoes for Jake, and walking the pathways. We love the green pathways they have along the river, and the parks with the exercise equipment. As nice as it is to see all of the touristy sites, what we like best is seeing the people, shopping in their shops, trying to cross the streets, and getting a glimpse of how they live. We did enjoy a local 7 Eleven's ice-cream bar, which was much cheaper than the $10 per scoop at the hotel! It melted so fast that we had to keep helping her, and ours were melting just as fast. It was so hot! But, she loved it. While we were out, we had several people ask us if she was ours. They are all so surprised and impressed. They think she is lucky to be going to the US. We think we are lucky to be bringing her!

Most people who own shops in Zhengzhou live in them, so you'll see them eating breakfast or lunch outside, their beds in the back. There are so many more cars than there were, so the pollution is bad, but so many people still use bikes. Most have switched to electric bikes and/or scooters. You'll see a dad driving with a mom holding the baby behind him, or a grandma with a daughter on the back and a child on the handlebars. You'll see men or women working with huge loads on their bikes, delivering water bottles or boxes. They are such a hard-working people!

Ysha, our guide, said that everyone lives in very small apartments, except the really wealthy who own a home that is not attached to anyone. The wealthy can also have more than one child because they can afford to pay the penalty. Many of the children abandoned because of a medical need is done because the people just cannot afford to have their child's needs met. I think this is what happened with Lizzie. Many are abandoned just after leaving the orphanage if born with a condition. One of the little girls in our group was left near the heart surgery unit just a few days old after being born with a heart condition.

As we drove and walked around, I kept wondering where it was that she was born, where was she those first 3 months. Her finding ad (the one the government places before the child can be released for adoption) said she was tiny, tiny eyes, and was found in big puffy clothes & wrapped in a red blanket. I wish I could have that blanket. So precious. Red is so symbolic in China, she must have had someone who loved her very very much.

I love this city and will always remember it. I hope to go back one day and share it with her in the future. It will always hold a very special place in my heart, and I'm glad we took a day to enjoy it!

Zhengzhou-Sign of the Day

So, this came from a T-shirt. Because they don't read English, they will put random words on their T-shirts. We've seen it all over, but it makes us laugh. I'm sure we do the same thing with Chinese Characters, and they laugh!

Ma Ma and Kisses

Yes, she is saying Ma Ma, and I've received a couple of kisses. She's even saying Da Da a little here and there. She doesn't know how to kiss, so I get the lips together on the forehead, or the open mouth on the mouth, but I'll take them however I can get them. It was nice after a tough day!

We also bought a stroller and went for a little walk. She loves it and my back loves it. Her daddy picked it out, and Grandpa bought her a white stuffed bear to go along with it. I let her sleep in our hotel room until she was good and ready to face life again (4 hour nap). And, Jake experienced a Chinese hair cut (2 washes, a cut, and another wash). It took about an hour, but it looks good, and most importantly, it's clean!

Zhengzhou-Visiting the Orphanage

We had the opportunity to go and see Lizzie's orphanage. I was pretty confident that the experience would go smoothly, and didn't anticipate the emotional toll it would take on all of us. It is hard to write about, but it is also good. It was much nicer than I anticipated, but very draining and sad. I'll write more about our experience at the bottom of this post. First, the photo's (the fun part).

In front of the Orphanage
(Children's Social Welfare Institute-CSWI)

Lizzie's Finding Place
This is just outside of the CSWI gates, under this tree. She was found on November 9, 2009 at an estimated age of 3 months.

This is the room that Lizzie (Zheng Lan) spent her first year. They take the kids to another room (hers was the pink room below) until it has been determined that they do not have family to claim them, and then move to one of the rooms like this one. This was her crib until she left, and then it was given to a new baby. As they grow older, they are moved around. Most of the kids in this CSWI are placed with Foster families, so there aren't as many. There were 3 families with our group who had children from this orphanage, all had been placed with a foster family. Below are photo's of the CSWI, a therapy room like the one in which she would go, and some of the other rooms, including the "pre-school" room, and the street outside the orphanage where Lizzie was found.
Now, let's see if I can do this without crying. Lizzie has an ear-infection, so she was really tired and emotional to start out the day. The bus ride was about 40 minutes, so she was pretty upset, and she didn't like showing up to the place where she had just left. When she was given to us, they gave us a book with several photo's of her, and some of her foster mom. She is such a sweet looking women, lucky Lizzie. We recognized her outside the doors as we approached, and without thinking, I approached her. Lizzie saw her, reached out for her, her Foster Mom took her to give her a hug, and then she did not want to come back to me. They had to tell her Foster Mom to give her to me and leave immediately. Jake said she left crying, and I took Lizzie into the center crying uncontrollably. What a traumatic experience for the poor girl. I just held her, but we had that really difficult crying day inside the orphanage. So many of the workers and nannies wanted to say "Hello" to her. But they asked them to all stay away so that I could settle her down. I found a corner, and just sang to her, rocking her. After quite a while, she finally fell asleep and let me put her in Jake's arms. She woke up just as we were leaving, so I took her outside as soon as possible and let Jake and my parents finish the tour. While she was asleep, I was able to see where she had been. While I was rocking her, Jake was able to ask many questions. It was bitter-sweet. So neat to see everything, but so emotional. My poor little girl. My heart aches for her and all that she is going through. It has been a very very tough day.

When we arrived back, she wanted me to hold her, and she cried some more. I sat and sang her to sleep....all the songs about Jesus I could think of. I stopped once to tell Jake something, and she pulled my head back to her ear, so I sang more. She has now been asleep for 3 hours, which has been much needed. She is just starting to wake up. I love this little girl so much. I hope she can feel that. It is worth all of the pain I am going through physically and emotionally. I pray Heavenly Father will continue to be with us.

Now, onto the cool stuff we learned. Lizzie was very very small when she was abandoned (hard to believe) and was in the orphanage for about a year before being placed with a foster family. In order to help with the adjustment, they bring them back to the orphanage 2 weeks before they are placed with a family (hence the reason she didn't want to go back there, probably thought I was going to leave her there, too). She lived in the country with her Foster Family who had 1 child of their own and 2 other orphans. She spent a lot of time outdoors without sunscreen. They told us that is why she is so dark, and that we should keep sunscreen on her.

The doctor's feel like she is fine, that she will not have any more problems, but that we should meet with a US Doctor to have her evaluated. They said to make sure and have her head and ears checked. I know she can hear, but they recommended tests to make sure there is not any hearing loss.

The orphanage receives an average of 20 new babies each month, most of them with special needs. There were 4 albino babies that we saw, which are very rarely kept by families. We have one family, Katie and Ryan, who adopted one Lizzie's age. He's so cute. There were some tiny little babies. They only sleep 1 per crib, if possible. This orphanage has been really updated over the past 5 years due to Henan Kids International, an organization through our agency, CCAI, that benefits the CSWI's throughout Henan. It is rated a 9 out of 10. Henan Province adopted out the fewest number of children for many years, but now is one of the top (14 kids in our group, and 1 other family with another agency just this week).

You can't help but leave and want to do something for those left behind. I wish I could have just sat and held each of the babies individually and sang a song to them. It was a very humbling experience. "If ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me." I'm glad we went, but we cancelled our touring for tomorrow so we can spend the day playing and bonding. We need it!