One Month Already!

I cannot believe today marks one month since we have had Brayden with us.  Part of me thinks "that went fast" but another part of me thinks "it seems like he has been with us much longer".  This boy definitely keeps us on our toes and makes us all laugh every day.  It so great to see him learning things every day.  It's also great to finally feel like we are settling into a routine and he is getting use to his new life.  Those first few days home were hard but I know now that the tiredness and lack of sleep made it all seem more hard than they were.  Brayden struggled (and still does some) with bedtime.  He does not like to be seperated at all from Bradley at night.  In the hotel in China they were in the same room but not right next to each other.  But since coming home he thought he had to be practically on top of Bradley.  Bradley is such a trooper.  For the most part he lets Brayden be where he wants to be at night.  Luckily Bradley is the cuddley type.  On the weekends Bradley likes to have some space and sleep by himself on the floor in our room so Kennedi volunteers to sleep in Bradley's bed next to Brayden.  Problem comes when Brayden could really use to go to bed earlier but he will not go without Bradley and Bradley doesn't want to go to bed early.  I am hoping we can slowly seperate their beds and he will get more comfortable sleeping on his own.  Until then, we will keep doing what we're doing.  Brayden has been in school since the Thursday after coming home.  He was ready to go (was really bored at home all day) and has enjoyed it every day.  Last week he started going to the after school program and has enjoyed that as well.  His classmates were prepared by their teacher that he would be joining the class and so they were all excited and welcomed him with open arms.  He had friends the first day which was a relief to Kennedi who said that showing him around was going to be "very hard on her and will make her have a bad day".  Haha, that girl!  Because he came in at the end of the quarter, the class was doing benchmarks and then had a week of early release due to conferences.  So this is the first week he has had a "normal teaching" week.  His teacher has been assessing him on where he is and he is being pulled out for ELD.  He knows his letters pretty well (with the exception of a couple) and knows many of their sounds.  He can do the math with the class but seems to not know what any of it means.  He has a hard time counting in English passed 20 and so we are practing that as well.  This has been his first week of homework and we are doing basically kindergarten work to set that foundation.  It takes some convincing to get him to sit down and work on it at night but once he gets going he tries hard and is willing to work on whatever I ask him to do.  He has this week been in trouble by his teacher as well as his after school teacher for not listening and making too much noise in class.  He is getting way to comfortable and pushing his limits to see what he can get away with.  When someone doesn't speak English it is hard to make them understand why they can't do something.  Both teachers, and myself, used the translators and tried to explain to him the best we could that he cannot do that.  Today was better. :)

He absolutely loves his brother and sisters and whenever they are not home he asks for them many times and wants to know when they will return.  When he sees them after school he is so excited.  He loves Sriracha hot sauce and puts it on anything and everything.  Spaghetti, french bread, fruit, corn, etc., etc., etc.!  He will eat pretty much anything and often way too much of everything.  He has changed our computers to some Chinese stuff that I can't figure out how to get off.  He loves computers and video games and we have had to limit his time on them.  He loves riding the scooter (doesn't know how to ride a bike yet) and is really good at shooting the basketball.  His favorite English words are yes, no, I don't know, good morning, okay, good night, hungry.  He has facetimed his friend from his orphanage who lives in Washington and lights up when he does because he can finally talk to someone in Chinese.  Seems like all they do is yell at each other but they are so excited to talk.  We took him to the Fresno Fair this last weekend to see Katelyn and her pig and he wasn't too impressed with anything there.  Couple weeks until Halloween and next month we are going to Disneyland so we will see what he thinks about all that.  :)

Next week we visit the doctor for the first time.  I'm sure we will be referred to have his hands and arm looked at.  Hopefully no shots will be given at this visit.  I may just request we wait on them if so. 

So blessed that God chose us to be this boys parents.  It is going to take some time and learning on all our parts but he fits so well into our family.  Can't imagine life without him and we wouldn't have him if it weren't for many of you!  Blessed.

United States Consulate Appointment

Today we had our final appointment for our adoption of Brayden, the US Consulate.  Just us and two other families from our group had appointments today so our three families headed out this morning to the Consulate.  At the appointment you are sworn in and it is there that they approved Brayden's immigration to the US.  They collected paperwork from us and will issue his Visa by tomorrow so we can leave on Friday.  Once we land in San Francisco he becomes a US citizen.  After the Consulate we headed to the bookstore on the subway.  We haven't taken the subway before so that was a new experience for us and it wasn't as crazy as I had imagined.  He told the guides at the store that he already knows everything and doesn't need any books.  Oh really?  We'll see about that in a couple days.  Haha.  After we returned from the bookstore we had lunch and then took the boys down to swim at the pool.  They had a great time playing in the pool.  Brayden doesn't know how to swim so he just stays where he can touch the bottom.  After the pool Brayden climbed into my bed and fell asleep.  He is use to a 3 hour lunch with a nap and so this past week and a half with no nap has wore him out.  We only have one more day here, one that has no appointments or places to be.  I think we will take our time getting up and down to breakfast, take a walk over to Walmart to buy a cheap suitcase to get all our purchases home and maybe some yummy Chinese snacks, and then pack up our belongings (which I have already been packing here and there).  We are then planning to head to the 3rd floor tomorrow night for some Tepanyaki for our last dinner here in China.  We have enjoyed every moment of this trip (except for the day with the shots) but are so very ready to be home.  Brayden was excited when I told him only one more day here and is very excited that his grandma, grandpa, and sisters are picking us up at the airport.  He told our guide Sarah that he thought the plane would land right by our house and drop us off...haha, I wish.  He seems excited to be going home with us which is a good thing.  It is so amazing how God knows which child belongs to your family, even across the globe.  Can't wait for you to meet him!  Xoxoxo

China Day 10

What brides are carried in the day of their wedding from

their house to the groom's house. Bradley and FuYu.

There were hundreds of school children out here today. 

They loved coming up to us and practicing their English.

The group (above) and the kids (below)

Today we all headed about 45 minutes away to Lingnan Impression Park.  Here we were able to see some Chinese acrobats perform.  These acrobats are always amazing.  Also at the park was a play area for the kids and a few shops.  We enjoyed a couple hours there watching a couple of performances and walking around.  These last couple days I have been thinking about how different this trip was compared to our trip 4 years ago.  All the sightseeing has been different and we have enjoyed each outing very much.  The traffic here seems much more organized than I remembered (maybe I am just use to it now after being here twice and to India once), there are more expensive cars on the roads (we saw a Ferrari fly by us a couple days ago and there are plenty Lexus and Mercedes, etc.), and there are hardly any bike riders here in Guangzhou.  We have gone out more on our own and are comfortable leaving our hotel. Also last time the majority of our group were adopting healthy younger children.  This is very uncommon today with adoptions in China and so this time here our whole group were all special needs children.  It's so neat to see so many families who look past these disabilities and choose to adopt these children regardless.  I don't even see Brayden's disability any longer, he can do anything and everything.  There is a family in our group who has adopted from China now 9 times and this time adopted another child with dwarfism.  He is the friendliest 14 year old and always says hello to you.  There is a family who adopted a girl with downs syndrome and there are boys with missing hands and club feet.  To us, they are precious children God made and gave to us to love and care for.  However, whenever we walk out in public (especially as a group) we always draw a crowd of adults staring at us; not staring at these white people in China but staring at our children and clearly talking about their disabilities.  Here in China where disabilities are not accepted.  Praying that one day this country can look past the imperfections and see the possibilities and love these children for who they are.  We have truly enjoyed our time here this trip and getting to know the families in our group.  Our guides have been nothing but outstanding and go out of their way to help.  We will miss them when we go.  Now off to try the Mexican restaurant down the street Tekelas (like their spelling of Tequilas? Haha). 2 more days here then we head for home!

Another Day of Outings

 Guangzhou Pedestrian Street Market

 Fish Anyone? How About Turtles?

 Scorpions and Seahorses

 Shamian Island

 Finally Got Some Starbucks

 Lucy's...A Popular Spot For Westerners To Eat

This morning we met at 9:00 and headed back to the adoption medical clinic to have Brayden and the other adopted kids' TB test read.  All were negative, thank goodness!  After that we headed to Shamian Island, a popular shopping spot for adoptive families.  The area, as you can see from the pictures above, is very European and lined with trees.  We grabbed a Starbucks and then walked around to the shops.  Finally we headed into a shop called Jenny's and as soon as we entered I remembered it very clearly.  We had shopped there 4 1/2 years ago with Kennedi.  Today we purchased some squeaky shoes, a farmer's hat for Bradley (as you can see above), a plaque with a bible verse on it in English and Chinese, and a Chinese/English bible for Brayden!  Now he can read the bible even before he learns English.  So happy with that purchase!!  I then had the lady ask Brayden if there was anything from China he wanted to take home.  At first he told her no, that he didn't want us to spend any money.  We had her ask again and then he settled on a Chinese Chess set.  Yesterday we purchased a regular chess set and so today we purchased a Chinese one.  After those purchases we were done so we headed back to our meeting spot which was right where Subway was.  We decided to stop in for some lunch.  It was my very least favorite meal so far, it just did not taste right.  Mark and Bradley ate their's and Brayden didn't want a sandwich.  Oh well.  After we all met back up we loaded the bus and headed back to the hotel.  We have spent the afternoon hanging out and relaxing.  We were going to head out for dinner but it just now started pouring with thunder and lightening.  This is the first storm we have had while here.  Will make for an extra humid tomorrow I'm sure.  So, needless to say, we are staying in for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow is another free day.  It seems like we have had many free days.  It's all because you have to wait days in between each step (days for passport to be processed, days to read the TB test, etc., etc.).  It has been nice to spend these days though bonding more with Brayden before we head for home.  3 more days!!!  Love and miss you all!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears...OH MY!

What a difference a day makes!  Today was much more low key than yesterday and there was no anger or tears involved!  We headed out with the other families in our group to the zoo this morning.  The zoo was much nicer than I remembered 4 years ago.  They must have done some improvements.  However, it was so stinkin' hot today and we all must have lost 20 pounds just from sweating.  Our whole group was hot and miserable by the time we were done there.  Air conditioning never felt so great.  I don't think I could ever live where it is so humid.  When we returned we grabbed some lunch and then Bradley and I went shopping with Ann from Red Thread China (she has a business here that sends packages to children in orphanages from their parents when they are waiting during the adoption process and will also take you shopping when you come here).  We went to the silk shop and also, as you can see in the pictures above, Bradley found some LEGOs at a toy store.  So he and Brayden are working on putting them together.  Brayden is back to his normal self and is no longer complaining of a stomach ache (although I had to have our guide talk to him about stuffing his mouth so full of food, haha).  He was able to Face Time one of his friends from the orphanage this morning who returned home to Washington on Friday, which he enjoyed very much!  I am ready to get home and begin our new normal.  Only two things stand in our way...our appointment with the US Consulate (Wednesday) and to pick up his passport and visa (Thursday).  4 more days! 

Tough Day All The Way Around

 Medicine from the Clinic

 Adoption Medical Exam

 WenYi's Orphanage

 It was fun seeing the countryside on our way to the orphanages.  Lots of fish ponds.

 Brayden with one of his Nannies

 They almost knocked him to the floor, they were so excited to see  him!

 Picture with some of the kids and a couple Nannies

 Where he did his homework

 Brayden's Bed

 The little ones were so cute!

 Brayden and his computer teacher (his favorite class)

 Their school bus

Below is Brayden and Ms. Zhong.  She has been so great

letting us Skype with him and you can tell she adores these children.

Not every day is going to be just peachy, right?  God doesn't give you more than you can handle, right?  Today was just one of those days.  It really began at about 1am when Brayden was not sleeping and pointing to his stomach.  This is where the language barrier posed a problem.  I thought he was telling me he was hungry.  This kid eats so much and so I figured he thought he needed something to eat. This went on pretty much all night long and I just kept telling him to go to sleep.  We all woke up around 6:30 and I told Mark to just take the boys down for breakfast instead of waiting for me to get ready because I "knew" Brayden was hungry.  I had barely stepped out of the shower and put some clothes on when Bradley came back to the room saying Brayden was sick and they were headed to the clinic and to meet them there.  I called our guide Sarah and threw on a hat and headed down.  We got up to the 4th floor where the clinic is and had Brayden checked out.  Turns out he is just eating way too much and having a problem digesting.  $100 later we were out the door with two meds for him.  We came back to the room for a few minutes to talk to the girls back home and then had to head out to his adoption medical appointment.  This has been the worst part of our adoption process both times; my least favorite.  The place is small and crowded and you have to go room to room getting your paper signed off (ENT, weight, vision, blah, blah, blah...).  We went through all these things smoothly and then Sarah called us over for the S.H.O.T.S.  Brayden started freaking out and sat his butt down on the floor.  It was myself and the two guides with him.  It took all three of us to pull him up off the floor, sit him on one guide's lap, and the other guide and myself tried to hold his arms down.  I'm surprised he didn't try and bite me.  It was horrible.  You are not in a closed room.  Everyone was watching and he was screaming and kicking.  Finally the nurse managed to get his 4 shots in.  Once he was done he was so extremely mad at all of us and wanted nothing to do with any of us.  He didn't even want Sarah (whom he has become buddies with during our time here).  It was time to go and he took off through the medical area full (and I mean FULL) of people.  I had to run to keep up with him.  He was out of there and if he could I believe he would have taken off running.  He had a water bottle and kept hitting things and would hide behind doors and we had to pull him out.  It was down right horrible.  By the time we got to the bus my head was pounding.  We finally got back to the hotel, still with a mad boy.  We decided that Mark would take Brayden and head over and pick up some lunch and bring it back.  Mark was not in the room trying to hold him down so he wasn't made at him.  By the time they got back he was better; not his normal happy self, but better.  We ate lunch and then met Sarah to head to Brayden's orphanage.  Since we had to hire a driver, we decided to go with the Scott family and visit both orphanages at one time and split the costs of the driver since the orphanages aren't too far from each other.  We first stopped at WenYi's orphanage.  It is a very small place and WenYi didn't want much to do with it.  We saw a couple areas and then she was ready to go.  Then we headed over to Brayden's orphanage.  I knew it would be hard for him to see his friends and nanny's again but I didn't know it would be this hard.  As soon as we pulled up, tears began to swell up in his eyes.  He clearly already missed the place and the people there.  Each room we walked into, everyone in the room would shout YONG!!!  They were so happy to see him and he would cry even more.  It was tough.  He called the director of the orphanage who was not there today.  I was told that the director treated Brayden like his own son and loves him very much.  You could tell the feeling was mutual.  The orphanage is very nice and big.  Much better than I could imagine.  Yes, it is still an orphanage with no mom or dad for the children BUT the children are certainly loved very much and taken care of as well as they can.  The children were all so excited to see Yong again.  Some were in computer class.  This is Brayden's favorite class so it was good that he could see his friends in there and see his computer teacher again (they have computer class every Saturday).  We spent a good deal of time there.  I don't even know how long; at least an hour.  We got to see his desk, his bed, and where he learned to dance.  It was very neat to see where he has called home all his life but so very sad to see him so upset.  My heart breaks for him.  Even though his life here wasn't ideal and lacking the love of a family, it was his life and he loves the people he had to say goodbye to.  So much heartache for a 12 year old boy to have to go through. By the time we left Ms. Zhong had cheered him up and gave him a big bag of snacks and drinks to take with him.  We said a final goodbye to his home and family, got in the van to drive the hour and half back to the hotel.  What a rough day.  Sick, shots, and goodbyes.  At least we are ending it with the happy boy we had yesterday.  God is so good and provides all we need to get through these tough times.  Praying tomorrow is another good day with the happy, funny boy we have come to know.  I have some great pictures from today but had a hard time getting them to load.  Will try and load them tomorrow.  Thank you friends for all the prayers for our new son.  5 more days!