busy days...busy boy...

Let me just start by saying I'm pretty sure bonding is ocurring....
I haven't been able to blog because "someone" has been keeping me very busy.

First let me introduce you to our travel group from our adoption agency.  These are the people we have been hanging out with--13 families all together.  We saw eachother the 1st 2 days of our trip, then all split up and went to get our kids and then since Friday we've been together again.  It's fun to bump into them in the hotel, out to eat, around town, etc and we do some touring together.

Yesterday (April 3) we went to a 100+ year old art museum.  The Museum itself is a work of art.

this is chinese "finger painting"  You should see the final product, you'd never believe it was all done by hand.

Sometimes when we go to these kind of tours we have found them to not be very kid friendly.  I think they are organized more for the parents to get a feel for the culture which is a good idea in theory.  But, seriously, a bunch of babies, toddlers and young children that have been through what they have been through in the past week, are not always the best candidates for a "boring" museum.  Our boy had a meltdown.  So, the pictures are not as thourough as I would have done if this trip had been all about seeing the sites.  We LOVE this kind of rich history, but our priority is our boy.  We recovered, but it was a tad rough there for a while.

I do think we made up for it however because later when we got back we went to a park no far from the hotel.  We found BOATS!!!  Oh my goodness, I thought he was gonna pee his pants with excitement...

We had one VERY happy boy driving an electric boat with his dad.  In the middle of the ride he just reached over and gave Peter the biggest hug and kiss for helping him drive the boat.

THEN....it happened the "show pee ya" words came....we were on a boat!....now what???  That's right, he pointed to "over the edge of the boat"....ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....ok......so we found a corner of shoreline and hid behind a building and right there he  "peeee ya'd" right off the side of the boat---!!!  This habit has got to stop, but I don't know where to find bathrooms here, so for now...it is what it is.

and then there was the bubble blower

and a few sites around the park

this makes us chuckle....some things just don't translate literally, but it's even carved in granite!  We think it means "keep off the grass"...but we're not quite sure.

and to top off the night we ordered Papa John's Pizza---and Both Boys were happy---ok mom and dad were ready for it too!

oh, and this one is for Ms. Sharon.....

Given the choice at the grocery store between Coke, Sprite or Pepsi....he chose....

PEPSI!!!!  and I got him to say it and this is what it sounds like

"Pep a say"

my gift to you my friend!

On to today....April 4, 2011--more Guangzhou

On Saturday we had our medical exam as you may have recalled.  All the kids have to have TB tests in order to be allowed into the U.S. In most cases this is not an issue, however, some kids to react.  If they do, they may be kept for treatment.  We were really not too concerned, until yesterday, when Lucas's remained red and today there was a hardness to it.  The measurement that makes them take the next set of tests is 10 mm.  The nurse has to measure the "hard" area and if it is more than 10mm he would need a chest x-ray.  If he doesn't pass this, then I don't want to know what else.  Since he wasn't showing signs of unhealth, I think she new he probably was ok.  BUT, she measured it and it was 10mm.  Our guide told us she wrote down 9mm....Thank you Jesus!  We don't want him to be treated or his health to be determined here in China.  We will take care of it as soon as we get home.  We will ask if there is any concern, etc.  But, that was a close call.  

After that brief moment of stress, we all as a group went shopping near the infamous White Swan Hotel on Shaiman Island.  I did a lot of shopping and Lucas has figured out that if he likes something we tend to buy it.  OOpS!  We have begun to say "no" so don't throw us under the bus quite yet as examples of bad parenting.   

One thing he picked out today that made us crack up more than once was a pair of sunglasses that flip up.  Oh my goodness is he cute in them.

This is called a "chop"  It is a traditional signature type stamp.  It is made of stone and can be intricately carved on the top, but the stamp itself can be anything you want it to be.  So we had some made with the boy's names on them (oh and this is a spoiler alert I guess for Isaac's girlfriend).....It is then tradition to use red ink for the stamping, so we bought that too.

(this pic is in honor of Peter's mom Emma--we found a sweet little store in her name)

After all that shopping what's a family suppose to do, but hit good ole Mickey D's for dinner.  Lucas does not like the hamburgers (can't say I blame him) but French fries and ketchup are a big hit!

and that's about it for today.  We appreciate all your prayers on our behalf and all the love and support in all your comments and emails.  We miss America and cannot wait to get home and get normal life underway.  Yet at the same time I cannot help to think about our boy and compare my desire to get home and away from all this "foreign" stuff to what he is going to go through when we get there.  I have about had it with people staring at me and gawking.  I've about had it with not understanding what people are saying around me. I've about had it with food I cannot read or understand.  I've about had it with .....the list could go on.  This morning I was running through all of that in my head and realized  "this is what he is going to feel like Times 10!"  I'm so sorry.  I'm so sorry that he will have to go through all of that.  And I know kids are reselient but I have a new empathy for his plight when we return.  I hope I can remain empathic with him as he adjusts to more change.  In the meantime we will try to absorb as much as we can while we are here and help him as much as we can as his new life begins.

Love you all very much

heidi