新年快乐！- Happy New Year!

We enjoyed spending the day with Lily and Anna and introducing our friends, Scott, Kelly and Justin to the Chinese New Year celebration in Seattle.  Sarah and her friend Matt joined us as well. We spent some time at the cultural pavilion waiting for the parade to begin. Lily wasn't afraid of the dragon this year so we were able to get up close. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant in the international district. During lunch, the lions and dragons entertained us with a dance while the fireworks went off.  We wish everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Lily and Anna Start to Bond

We have had Anna home for only 4 weeks and already she and Lily are beginning to bond. Although they have moments competing for attention and playthings, for the most part they get along very well. Lily imitates Ann's songs in Chinese and Anna imitates Lily's songs in English. They love to dance around the house singing away and then rolling on the floor giggling uncontrollably. In spite of their different languages, they seem to totally understand each other.

Settling In

We have had so many people call and email wondering how we are doing since our arrival home with Anna. Thank you for all your messages of interest and concern.
To be honest we have been too busy and tired to think about updating the blog. If getting back to our jobs and all the demands with that was not enough, on top of that we have been busy with the team at Children's Hospital to prepare for Anna's surgery, helping Anna adjust to her new home, and helping Lily adjust to sharing her Mom and Dad and having a new classroom at school.

Anna is making great progress adjusting to a whole new world. Her nighttime routine (thanks to Pamela's dedication) has improved tremendously. It is still challenging getting her to sleep, but it is getting much better. She is eating well and enjoys her play time with Nana Barbara.

Lily is in a new classroom at school, having graduated from the toddler room into an early childhood class. The first couple of days she had trouble transitioning from Mom or Dad into the classroom, but the last few days she has bounced into the room, not even looking back to say a goodbye!

Lily has regressed a bit with her manners after the long trip to China. Sarah, our nanny, asked her one day last week what had happened to her manners. Lily explained, "I lost them in China."

Anna's surgery was originally scheduled for early February, which had us so excited. However, it has slipped into March due to one of the surgeons having a scheduling conflict. We are very disappointed, but have to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have world-renowned surgeons working on Anna.

Barbara and Sarah have been a godsend, helping us with the girls every day. Barbara will be able to stay for another couple of months before moving into her own home, and Sarah will be here to help us through Anna's surgery and recuperation.

Now that things are settling down a bit, we will try and update the blog more often.

Making cookies with Nana Barbara

 

We Are Finally Home

Saying goodbye to China                                           

Becoming an American

First Bath at Home

We are finally home with Anna. It is 2:15 AM on Sunday morning and the girls are up and wired…and not the slightest bit interested in sleep. They are still on China time. Mom and Dad are hanging on by a thread. Sleep deprivation over the last three weeks is taking its toll.

It was a grueling trip home starting at 4:30 AM on Friday in China, and then traveling for over 20 hours. The flights were very easy for Lily as she slept most of the way. Anna, on the other hand, struggled with her inability to sleep the entire trip. John and Pamela have achieved a level of exhaustion that is hard to describe.

Along the way we fought with the airline to allow us to go home earlier than originally planned, due to Anna’s delicate condition, and with security to allow us to take Anna’s medicines on the planes. Pamela took the lead and fought for us so valiantly every step of the way …using her persuasive skills and the emotional tears flowing down her cheeks in desperate attempts to protect her darling daughters. Due to Pamela’s efforts we were treated like VIPS at some points during the trip, especially in Guangzhou where airline employees helped us through the ticketing process, got us through security and onto our plane…even putting us in First Class to Beijing. They seemed to understand and value the fact that we were helping these little girls.

But in Beijing we were totally stymied by airline and security employees who, in spite of our pleas for understanding, Pamela’s sobbing, and doctor’s reports on Anna’s condition, held firm that we would not take the liquid medicine aboard. They seeming cared less about this little Chinese girl who needed help as soon as possible.

In a final desperate act, John laid Anna on the floor and pulled down her diaper and showed the airline and security employees the seriousness of Anna’s condition…an exposed bladder surrounded with red and infected tissue. As Pamela sobbed uncontrollable, one of the security people let out a screamed gasp and nearly fainted. Almost immediately the others thrust the medicine into our hands and gestured for us to go through to the plane as soon as possible.

Upon our arrival in Seattle we took a taxi straight to Children's hospital where Anna was thoroughly checked out. She was seen by an internationally known surgeon who will reconstruct her bladder and her female organs, and the orthopedic surgeon who will reconstruct her pelvic bones. We were provided with a much better understanding of the difficult months ahead for Anna and for us. But we were also given a great deal of hope by these dedicated professionals who are committed to giving Anna as normal a life as possible.

Just as Lily’s life has been saved, Anna’s will be dramatically improved. Just as Lily has blossomed into an extraordinary person, so too does Anna have that same opportunity.

Today Anna suffered another setback as she became ill and dehydrated. It turned into another trip to Children’s Hospital and 3 hours of evaluation and treatment. She was successfully hydrated and we were able to get her back home tonight. She is feeling much better tonight…almost too good. It will be difficult getting our Chinese girls settled down tonight. They will probably end up in our bed, snoring and kicking and tossing to and fro. But they will be close to Momma and Baba, and feel safe and at home. Our loss of sleep is a small price to pay as we bond with our precious little daughters.

Here is a Link to Our Pictures

Please enjoy the photos of our journey to China to bring home Anna Lin:   http://ourjourneytoannalin.shutterfly.com/ Enjoy!

A Quiet Day on Shamiam Island

Families that endure the long process of adopting children from China end their adoption journey in a place called Shamian Island.  It's a small island in Guangzhou, a city of around 11 million.  It is the location of numerous consulates in beautiful old historic buildings.  The island feels like a blend of Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC.  The stone pedestrian streets are tree-lined and contain many sculptures.  After experiencing Beijing, Nanjing, and similar cities it is an oasis in which to bond with your child before finally receiving a travel visa and heading home. Okay…it's January 2010.  Shamian Island is being prepared by the Chinese government for the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games later this year.  The oasis has been turned into a construction and noise nightmare.  Buildings (including our hotel) are covered with scaffolding and tarps, and sealed in by rusty metal barriers.  Our windows are covered with tarps that block any view and almost all sunlight.  The streets are being dug up to bury pipes; walking areas are clogged with piles of debris; water is cascading down from the sides of buildings from power sprays removing dirt from the stone edifices.  Jack hammers pound into the evening as our babies try to fall to sleep.  As we pass by, shop vendors work extra hard to lure us into their shops to spend a few yuans; seemingly being starved as their shops are hidden from view by the construction activity and debris. Pamela has been looking forward to enjoying dinner at a Thai restaurant that we frequented the last time we were here in Guangzhou.  Last night I found what I thought was that same restaurant and went in to order take-out.  The girls were already asleep in the room, having enjoyed a dinner of Subway tuna sandwiches.  It turns out I was in the same location, but the restaurant had changed hands and names.  But Pamela was looking forward to Thai and so I was determined to provide a good Thai dinner. As I scanned the menu, I realized that this would be more challenging than I had supposed.  The menu was many pages long and contained many strange offerings… six different pigeon dishes, three ways to enjoy ostrich kidneys, seven dishes centered on a fish head; fins; a variety of organs.  What was I to do?  Pamela was back in the room, salivating for a tasty meal after working so hard to get the girls fed and asleep. As the two young Chinese restaurant hostesses (all dressed up in Thai costumes) stared at me, wondering what the hell was taking me so long, I went through the menu again and again..backwards and forwards.  Finally I identified 3-4 items.  As I went back and forth I stuck a finger into the page.  Sometimes when I went back, I wasn't sure what I had selected.  Did I really think Pamela would like that? I returned to the room with great trepidation.  But I did good!  My selections turned out to be very tasty, and Pam was happy with her dinner.  And after enjoying our meal together, we tucked the blankets a bit tighter around our two little daughters and drifted off to sleep.  One night closer to getting home. We've uploaded pictures to Shutterfly.  Check them out at http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=c48fa2440d0130626d9889752d9a603cGood night!

Sunday in Guangzhou

It's Sunday evening here in China; it's warm on Shamian Island and a bit humid.  Today we visited The Six Banyan Buddhist Temple, offered incense, and prayed for the health of our children.  After our tour, we opted to strike out on our own and crossed the river from Shamian Island to the streets across the Pearl River lined with shops. This was an immersion into the "real" China on a Sunday afternoon crowded with shoppers.  The first street was lined with shop after shop of dried herbs, animals, fungi, roots, and many things that we didn't recognize.  The locals stared at us with curiosity, wondering why we would be there with two Chinese children in tow.  The next street offered displays of snakes, frogs, eels, turtles, scorpions, and all other sorts of other treats waiting for a favorite recipe.  Next we entered an area filled with pet supplies and pets of all sorts, including kittens, puppies, birds, and hundreds of different fish.  That was actually hard to see, as the animals were not seemingly well. Finally we entered an area reserved for live and dried animals, from chickens and pigeons to muscles, turtles, skins, organs, bones and feet. At the end of the last street we suddenly encountered a pedestrian street crammed with shoppers and an endless line of retail shops.  Overwhelmed with this mass of people, we retreated into a Holiday Inn (of all places) and had lunch.  We then made our way back to the island winding through streets clogged with families enjoying the Sunday afternoon free time; cards games, repairing "ancient" bicycles, and snacking from white Styrofoam containers. Tonight Anna joined Mommy and Lily in reading books for the first time.  She even amazed us by joining Lily in counting to ten in English.  And what was really wonderful is that Anna went to sleep without crying for the first time.  We were offered so much wonderful advice after last night's blog post, and tonight some of that advice worked like a charm!  Both girls are snug and asleep and Mommy and Daddy have some time to ourselves. John and Lily are both feeling better and we owe it to the Chinese medicines from the White Swan clinic and the wonderful Wong family from the bay area who shared their US meds with John. How can we thank you?! Tomorrow we go back to the medical clinic to read Anna's TB test. We are hoping for good news. Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts. Eric, we love you and miss you very much.

We are in Guangzhou

As we approach the 9th day of our China journey to bring Anna home, some of the sobering realities have set in.  The dreary rain here in Guangzhou symbolizes our mood tonight as we try and ease Anna into sleep just as we have each night.  She is seemingly very relaxed and happy all day, but as bedtime arrives the nightly agony begins.  It is as if a river of pent up emotion is suddenly released, and for 60 to 90 minutes the screaming, crying, and angry behaviors emerge.  As hard as we have tried, we've not figured a way to sooth her.  It's not until she reaches an extreme level of absolute exhaustion does she finally succumb to sleep. We will never know what is going on inside that little head; what fears and demons haunt her from past experiences.  We've been told so little about what she has been through, and don't really know how much of that is even accurate.  So we imagine the worst, and feel so ill-prepared to help this little soul through this scary and confusing time.  We are doing our best and are trying to allow some self-forgiveness.  In the darkest moments when we feel so helpless we remind each other that, after all, we stepped forward to save this little girl when no one else did.  We know in our hearts that as overwhelmed as we feel at this moment will get through this as a family.  And we will do all we can to release Anna from her fears, her demons, and the horrors that have been imposed upon her. On to our progress through Anna's adoption….today Anna went through her Hague medical exam, and was required to have seven shots.  That was a lot for anyone much less a child!  But in spite of that she handled it very well.  She was proud to show Baba her seven butterfly bandages when she returned.  After that, Lily and Daddy visited the White Swan medical clinic to get medicine for Lily's bronchitis and Daddy's sinus infection.  They hope this will help them feel better soon. Our Chinese friend Ann delivered diapers and snacks today… thank you, Trena! This was so helpful as we have not had the energy for a trip to the local Wal-Mart. We're once again regulars at Lucy's Restaurant… but miss the gang from our 2008 trip.  Tomorrow it's off for some sightseeing and more bonding time as a family. Sue,  Elvin is our guide and he is wonderful. He says "Hi"!  Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts.

Xuzhou Orphanage Visit

We had the pleasure of visiting Anna's and Lily's orphanage in Xuzhou and were blessed to be able to spend time with the other waiting children. We brought Christmas treats for all the children and the orphanage sponsored a meal for us with Anna's friends. We spent some in the children's room where Anna spent the past 2+ years of her life. We also took Lily back to the rooms where she lived as a baby.   Ms. Tang, director Chu and Lily's old nanny who speaks some English toured us around town and took us to Anna's finding spot.  Anna was found in the corner of the train station where you purchase tickets. The building has since been torn down. She was very weak and cold and scared. We were told that she has memories of being left and she was sad for a long time. It was clear to us that orphanage staff tried their best to make her safe and loved. They prepared her the best they could that we were coming to take her home.   Ms.Tang didn't let the day go unnoticed by the press. The TV station and two newspapers were there to greet us. We were given a plaque by the City of Xuzhou stating that we were "honored friends" of the city.  This is the first time that a foreigner has received this honor. We were told that the city dignitaries, the doctors and orphanage were so happy that Anna will be getting the help she deserves. They were also touched by the fact that both our adopted daughters are from Xuzhou.   It's been a long and emotional day and the girls are tired.  Anna grieved for a long time tonight and finally fell asleep in my arms.   My dear friend Trena set up a site for friends and family to view more pictures.  Please login to http://annablock.shutterfly.com/

Lily Then and Now

Being at the Nanjing Civil Affairs office this week brought back memories of when we hugged Lily for the first time. Hasn't she changed?

Anna is Ours

Five months ago today we asked the China Civil Adoption Affairs if we could adopt Chu Fang Ran. Through the support of the Chinese Government, the Xuzhou Social Welfare Institute, the United States Citizen and Immigration Services, The National Visa Center, our wonderful China Adoption Coordinator, our home study Social Worker and the other Xuzhou families; Anna Lin officially became our daughter today!  Oh, and we received TA on Christmas Day.It was waiting for us at the Nanjing office yesterday. (No comment J) The mountain of paperwork, numerous signatures and the fingerprints of John, Anna and myself solidifies that Anna Lin is our daughter forever. After the ceremony in the Civil Affairs office, we spent some time at the Nanjing orphanage with the other family in our group.  We then celebrated with lunch at Burger King. For all of you that told us Anna is a tiny little thing…we invite you carry her for awhile.  She is a solid girl!  Most of the clothes I brought her are too small and her feet are very wide so the shoes don't fit either. And this girl can eat! At breakfast she ate 6 dumplings, 2 fried eggs, 4 pieces of toast, a bowl of noodles, 3 yogurts and 2 glasses of orange juice. Our guide took me to the department store to buy her some clothes and a stroller. Anna's condition makes it very uncomfortable for her to walk and it hurts when we hold her. She likes riding in the stroller…I'm convinced she thinks she's VIP being pushed around in her special car. The smile has not left her face although we have had a few testy moments with her. She's getting to know Lily and they are working through the process of living together as sisters. She's also learning to bond with us.  Last night I crawled in bed with her to give her a hug. We spent several minutes in silence just looking into each other's eyes. Anna pushed back the covers and unzipped her PJ's and took them off.  She then reached for my top and had me remove it. She wanted to hug skin to skin. We lay in each other's arms for awhile and she slowly drifted off to sleep.  She looked so at peace with what is going on in her life. We are just amazed at how quickly she is fitting into our family. Pamela Block pamela.block@yahoo.com http://johnpamelablock.blogspot.com/

Fw: Fang Ran Is In Our Arms!

Today at 2:15 PM Xuzhou time at the Nanjing Civil Affairs Office, Fang Ran was put in our arms.  She handled the transition so well.  She took in everything happening around her while babies from several other orphanages were joining their new families.  Most were crying loudly as their whole world was changing.  Fang Ran took it all in with measured curiosity and calm.  But it wasn't long before she cracked a wide smile and cuddled in our arms.   It was very clear that Ms. Tang and the orphanage staff had prepared her so well for this moment.  Through our guide we learned that she was very well informed on what was about to happen in her life.  We learned that she understood clearly that she would not return to the orphanage, and was very happy about that.  During the transition today it was so fascinating to see her accept her new Mom and Dad so quickly and say goodbye to her caregivers of the last 2 years and two months since she was left cold and alone in a dirty and crowded train station.   It was very clear to us that Fang Ran was loved by the orphanage directors and staff.  This was made especially clear when the deputy director traveled to Nanjing for her transition, which was not the norm.  We learned that she had been a favorite of his and he was very concerned that, due to her rare condition, she would never be adopted.   As Pamela described to the orphanage directors how the surgeons in Seattle would be able to help Fang Ran live a normal life, tears streamed down their cheeks.  They knew we would take care of her, but hadn't realized how we could help her live a normal life; help her look normal, and even have her own children. They were grateful and elated.  The orphanage directors were overcome with emotion, embracing Pamela several times as tears rolled down everyone's cheeks.   Lily handled the situation so very well too.  She wasn't sure at first about sharing Mommy's lap with her new sister, and seemed perplexed about what was happening around her.  But she took it in stride without crying or being fussy at all.    This evening Lily is still a bit perplexed, but seemed to understand that her new sister really needed her help.  She introduced Fang Ran to Little Bear videos and to bath toys.  Fang Ran come to life.  She was zipping about the hotel room touching everything she could reach.  She was fascinated with each new thing she saw for the first time.  She found her voice; and we discovered she loves to giggle.  Sometimes she giggles for no obvious reason.  Sometimes she just lets go with a scream. It seems to be an expression of pure joy.    She was so wound up that she resisted going to bed well after her bedtime.  She wanted to just sit in Mommy's lap and sing her songs.  When we finally decided she needed to rest, she was very unhappy about going to bed until Mommy laid down and held her tight.  It wasn't long before she fell into a peaceful sleep, knowing she was with part of a family that would care for her and love her forever.   Tomorrow Fang Ran will become Anna Lin, and will officially become our daughter and Lily's sister.   PS- Scratch the peacetul sleep part.....Welcome to reality... Daddy's been trying to calm her down for the past 2 hours while I try to get a post up!   We'll set up shutterbug tomorrow and post more pictures.  We really need some sleep!

A twelve hour flight… a missed connection….an unexpected night in Beijing without a guide….a crazy taxi ride through the crowded city….getting through the train station with 4 duffle bags, 3 back packs, and a tired 2 year old...2 economy seats in a completely full train with Lily on our lap for 8 hours was all worth it! In a couple of hours we will walk into the Civil Affairs office in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China to bring our 4 year old daughter home. We are beyond exhausted but so happy that this day is finally here.

Lily Rides the Santa Train

Lily met Santa for the first time last Saturday.  She didn't quite know what to think about that!  But she complied with our urging to sit on his lap, and smiled for a picture.  She had fun riding on the Snoqualmie Railroad Museum train and drinking her first cup of hot cocoa.  It was a very cold day which added to the Christmas spirit.

We’re Coming Anna!

We've been so busy trying to push our paperwork through that we haven’t had a chance to provide an update for awhile. On November 30th, four days after we learned Anna had been hospitalized, our official “Letter of Acceptance” arrived from china. This is the document that we sign and return letting China know that we would like to move forward with the final phase of adopting Anna. Our FedEx driver joined in the celebration. We signed the document and turned it around that same day.

Next comes a flurry of more paperwork that will eventually grant us the approval to board a plane and head to China. Anna's surgeon and pediatrician have both advocated our behalf based on some new medical information that we've been given. Our agency is doing their part and the CCAA is cooperating to help us get Anna home ASAP. Everything is being processed via "soft copy" allowing us to work through the paperwork in days instead of weeks.

Lily is coming to the realization that she will be sharing mommy and daddy soon. This weekend we were running around preparing to make room in our hearts and our home for another special daughter. We bought some matching "sister" clothes as well some things that are just for Anna. Lily was a great sport except for one pair of "horsey" PJs that we bought for Anna. She wants them too. So, Pamela will be going back to the mall to purchase a 2nd pair. We'll put them under the tree. We hope we can maintain the balance of making Lily feel special and helping Anna discover what it's like to be a part of a family.

We hope that we can enjoy the next 2 to 3 weeks of being a family of three before we welcome our beautiful little Anna into our lives. I asked our agency on Friday when they thought we'd be traveling and was told with a miracle we could be hugging Anna the first week of January. We believe in Christmas miracles! Do you??

Counting down the days until we travel!

Giving Thanks for Lily Mei and Anna Lin

We learned that Anna Lin was admitted to a Xuzhou hospital this week, which caused us great concern for a few hours.  After quickly sending inquiries to our agency we learned that it was only a minor infection.  We were very relieved, but this latest occurance increased our desire to get her home as soon as possible.

We later recieved pictures of Anna in the hospital, and it was clear she wasn't in distress. These pictures along with the several others we've  received from other families who've recently traveled to Xuzhou have put our mind at ease. It was a Thanksgiving gift to know she was doing well.

Our other gifts were to have Eric join us for dinner and, of course, having our second wonderful Thanksgiving with Lily.

Anna's 4th birthday was October 30th.  We sent her a box with gifts, pictures, and party favors, and the orphanage had a very nice party for her.  The picture of Anna holding up her birthday card and a picture of Lily and her mom in the pumpkin patch is really special for us.  What a wonderful smile she has!!  We can't wait to hold her in our arms!

Halloween Fairy and her Ladybug

Lily Discovers That Boys are Different

Lily has had her share of challenges with potty training, the only area of development that was a bit slow for her. But recently she has made great progress and rarely has "accidents" any more. And she has taken an active role at school in supporting younger children in their use of the potty.

She came home this week and exclaimed..."boys have peanuts". When asked what girls have, she didn't hesitate..."Girls have bagines".

A Message to Anna

This past week has been filled with excitement for Xuzhou families. Three families are currently in China with their new Xuzhou daughters and son and many more are preparing to take the trip in early November and the coming months. For the families waiting it means we get updates of our precious children with whom we are getting to know and love through pictures and stories of the families who have just hugged them half way around the world.

When we traveled to bring home Lily in May 2008 we had a list of waiting families and were able to talk to and hug the children at their families request. It’s become a tradition that when a family travels to Xuzhou, we try to meet with all the children and send “special messages” to let the children know their families will be coming for them shortly. Many of these kids are home now and we’ve had the pleasure of watching them blossom and flourish. Now that I am once again waiting, I understand how special the orphanage visits are to the waiting parents.

Our Anna has been at the SWI for the past two years and has witnessed many of her friends become united with their forever families, including Lily who was her Xuzhou sister before we even knew it! Anna’s best friend April and her family visited the orphanage last week to say “goodbye”. The girls hugged and Mark promised Anna we would soon be coming to take her home too. You can read the story on Lisa’s blog.

http://ourmishpacha.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-6-nanjing-trip-to-xuzhou-orphanage.html

John teases me that I when I want something, I put my whole heart and soul into it. And I want to get this little girl home with all my heart.

10 weeks ago today, we were told by the China Center of Adoption Affairs that we were pre-approved to move forward with the adoption of Fang Ran. I moved mountains and raced through the paperchase in record time. As of today, we are DTC!!! - our paperwork is in China. Our paperchase is over and now the wait to travel begins!

It's Pumpkin Time, Lily!

During Lily's second annual trek to the pumpkin patch, she helped us pick pumpkins that represented Daddy, Mommy, Nanny, Grandma, Eric, Anna, herself, and Misha. She helped us arrange all these pumpkin characters on the front porch next to our straw-filled scarecrow. Every morning, as Dad backs out of the driveway to take Lily to school, she waves goodbye to all the pumpkins and to the "silly scarecrow".