More about the Chinese New Year...

If anyone wants to follow the traditions today or Sunday. I found this on Wikipedia:

Fifth day of the new year-Today (Friday)
In northern China, people eat Jiǎozi (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子), or dumplings on the morning of Po Wu (破五). This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on this day, accompanied by firecrackers.

Seventh day of the new year-Sunday
The seventh day, traditionally known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.
It is the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat.

Grace will be so dissapointed that she isn't really turning 11 on Sunday (here in America anyway)! Gee, how should we handle that argument??!

Have a great weekend!

The Year of the Ox!

Grace has been greeting us all with "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" and has just been so excited about the New Year. We have our decorations up and Kirk came home Monday with a red envelope filled with coins and chocolate for her. She was very pleased and bowed to him. I decided we should do something special, so I made our favorite birthday cake (chocolate, of course) and we put some candles on it. It's not traditional but she knew we were celebrating and that's what mattered!

I understand that the first 15 days of the New Year (the first day was the 26th-yesterday) are spent celebrating, so we will have to make sure we continue the fun for a couple of weeks. Sunday night should have been our big New Year's Eve Celebration, I missed that but now I know! Come to think of it, Grace was a little put out Sunday night...maybe that's why!

We do have a party this weekend. Saturday is our Utah Valley Chinese New Year Party. It is always fun and will be especially fun to bring Grace to her first party with our local adoptive families. It will be the first time she's been with so many other Chinese children since she left her country too!

If anyone has some traditions they want to share, please let me know!

Zachary Wins School Geography Bee!

Zach with the moderator, his teacher (Mrs. Walker) and me, Olivia and Eliza


Yesterday Zach participated in the National Geography Bee at his school. He was hoping to win but with all the kids in the A.L.L. (Advanced Learning Lab) program there, it was a little harder. Some of the questions were super hard and others were easy. I'm always surprised at how little the children really know about the world around them. Zach has always read about all different parts of the world though and although he's not a nut about geography like Kirk, he still has more knowledge than most kids his age. The winning question was about Zach's area of expertise: the Aztecs! He's always loved learning about the Mayan's and Aztec's, so when they read that question, I knew he would win!

After school, Kirk and I packed up Zach's camping gear for the Klondike Derby. The scouts go up the canyon nearby and have a fun winter camping experience. (It doesn't sound fun to me but they love it!)
The rest of us and Grandma Earl, went to Draper for the open house of the new LDS Temple there. We didn't get a picture in front of it as we were trying to stay in line for the tour but we did pose in front of a beautiful picture of Christ afterwards in the chapel next door. If you are in the area, you can get tickets online at LDS.org.

Guess who's great idea it was to put Kirk in the middle? Oh well, trust me, it is a beautiful picture of Christ at the tomb.

My Little Kitchen Helper

Eliza just loves to help in the kitchen! She is helpful in many ways actually (too much usually). Things she's offered to help with lately:

wash the dishes

do the laundry

mop the floor

drive her brother to school

(some are more possible than others!)

Favorite thing to say:

"I'll do it!"

"Like me!"

"And me?"

Her cute apron was part of a set of aprons from my AWESOME sister-in-law Debbie. She heard me mention at Thanksgiving that I would love a cute apron and was going to try to make some. She made one for me and all three girls! They are so pretty and she is a quilter, so they are very nicely made. Thanks Debbie! It really was "exactly what I wanted."

Grace's First Glasses!

Now she's ready for school!

I took this picture before school this morning. Yesterday afternoon I was told the FedEx shipment with her glasses didn't make it. I'm afraid I was rather terse with the girl who called when she told me she understood my frustration with waiting for over two weeks for them to come back from the lab. I replied "No, I don't think you do !" Then, I proceeded to tell her how this was our first concern when we brought Grace home and also that I could tell she had a hard time getting in and out of the car and walking in new surroundings. I almost started crying, I was so upset. I would have been less harsh if she would have said: "This is unacceptable. We will find out where they are and call you right back." I wanted action and an apology not "Oh, they should have been here. Maybe they will come tomorrow."

Then amazingly, they called back shortly after getting an earful from me, to let me know they just arrived by US mail! Oops, I guess the lab forgot to ship them overnight. GRRRRRR! For some reason, the girl who shipped them off to the wrong lab in the first place and was so un-helpful on the phone didn't happen to be there when I came in to the office. Really, I am a very patient person and had been very nice about the whole wait, but this was ridiculous!

As you can see, Grace looks just adorable in her new glasses though (and her cute new earrings)! She is quite proud of herself and should be able to see much better now.

School, glasses, and singing...

First, school:

Grace was pretty happy at school this week. She is in a 4th grade class and it is all English speaking of course, with the exception of one boy who is also adopted from China. Olivia has reported to me that she is always with friends and happy when she sees her at lunch or recess or in the halls. At the end of the school day, she runs to me for a big hug!

The only problem so far has been our carpool. With the addition of Grace, I now have 4 different trips to school. She and Olivia are at the same school but different times. Zachary, is at the same time, but not the same school! Kirk is about 30 minutes earlier than Olivia and in jr. high. (When the weather is nice, which has only been fall and spring the last couple of school years, we ride bikes or walk.) I tried to start a carpool for Grace with neighbors to help me with the drive and also to help her have another child to walk with to and from the class. Yesterday was our first day to have their family drive and she was OK going with them, but NOT coming home! I had to come pick her up after she started crying and balked at going home with the other children. Oh well, I guess I learned not to push things to fast. The neighbors were really sweet about it though and brought her over cards and pictures that said "We are sorry you were sad today" and "We want to be your friend". Everyone has been really warm and welcoming to Grace.

About the glasses:

I was really annoyed to find out Grace's glasses went to the wrong lab for her lenses! Now it has been 2 weeks since we ordered them. Hopefully they come on Monday so she can see better and have an easier time getting in and out of cars, walking on steps, etc. This was our major concern for her when we got home and it has taken much longer than I expected.

Our singing plans:

Unfortunately, I have been fighting a sore throat and sinus problem this week. This morning I woke up and felt really dizzy and sick. It must have affected by ears and balance. We had to postpone our recording appointment for this morning since I couldn't even get from one room to another. Hopefully I'll feel better quickly and we can still record our songs this coming week. Until then, here is another recording of Grace teaching a song to Kirk's class:

Grace's Talent...

Grace loves to sing. Here she is at Kirk's school last week!

Saturday, we are going to a recording studio to make a CD of Zachary and Olivia singing and also Grace's favorite songs. She has so many and they are just beautiful! I wanted to record her quickly before she forgets any of them. Fortunately, we have a good friend and neighbor who is letting us use his studio. I had planned this a month or two ago just for recording Zachary and Olivia but added Grace when we found out she is talented at singing as well. Also, I realized how fast children forget their favorite songs if they don't practice and hear them often. Kirk could take a copy of Grace's songs to his Chinese class so they can learn a few songs.

I've also been thinking it would be nice to make her CD available to others who might want to have these songs for their families. We would love to sell a CD of her songs along with her stories and poems and then put part of the profit (assuming we could sell any of course!) to "Grace's Grant." This would be a $4000 grant that would go to helping an older child from China be adopted. When we first looked into adopting Grace, we were not prepared financially, silly people, we didn't see into the future very well. A family who just loved Grace, but couldn't adopt her wanted to help her find a family and offered a $4000 grant! I'd been praying that we would find a way to start the process of adoption and it was just a miracle. (One of many surrounding her adoption!) We are so grateful for the help at that time and would love to help another family.

It will be good to record Zachary before he gets any older too. He has always had the sweetest voice and I don't have any great recordings of him singing, although he has sung in several musicals. He is starting to think he has to sing lower even though he has an awesome boy soprano voice still. I know it won't last for long!

Olivia loves to sing and has been singing since she was tiny. I remember when she was just 4 or 5 and the boys would ask her to make up a song about ponies, or fish or whatever they could think of and she would do it on the spot! We all love music and most of us love singing. The rest are happy to listen. Yes, Grace came to the right family!

Ready for school!

We spent last week getting Grace ready for school. After all the doctor and dentist appointments, we visited Olivia's class and finished all the paperwork for Grace to be ready for school this week.

Visiting Olivia's class for show and tell.

Olivia and Grace sang for music class.

The next day, Grace came to Kirk's Chinese class. The loved asking her questions and she sang a song or two. She was so proud to teach the class a short song.Kirk just LOVED standing up with Grace as she was introduced to her class, as you can tell!

Today is Grace's first day at school. Hopefully, all goes well. There is one other boy who was also adopted from China in her class. He and his mom came to visit Saturday. They are in our adoption group and have adopted 4 children from China. The principal and staff have been so warm and welcoming to Grace. I've been impressed with their treatment of her. I think she will be watched out for at her new school. If her glasses would come in soon that would be even better!
I'll try to update later on her first day at school.

One week home with Grace!

Wow! This last week just flew by. It has been a busy one, especially for Grace. Last Friday, we took her to our optometrist. She desperately needed glasses. She has an eye that turns which is likely caused by her poor eyesight. She also has astigmatism (sp?). (I'm usually in bed by now, so don't notice my spelling!) She picked out some cute glasses in purple and we hope to have them this Friday.
Monday, she went to the pediatrician and the dentist. Both involved some poking and prodding but she was pretty brave. She now has her necessary immunizations for school and we also learned she has no cavities! Tuesday was lab day at the local hospital. A TB test is required before she starts school. Then in the afternoon, we went to the orthodontist to find out how soon she would need braces. At least this appointment was painless and she even got a cookie at the end. Plus, we found out it would be next year before she could start braces.
It was a little slower today, no appointments! We did take the cameras we brought home of pictures from her SWI though. Since our visit didn't happen, the director kindly offered to use the cameras we had sent (but that didn't get there in time) to take pictures of her home, school and family and friends. She loved looking through all of them. I wondered if it would make her sad, but she didn't seem to have any problem, just excitement.
We all love Grace and she seems to reciprocate the feeling. She is a great singer and also love to recite poems and stories. Never a quiet moment around this house!
More later...
Stephenie

Home for the Holiday!

New Years Eve...ready to open their pj's.

Yes, we made it home for New Years Eve. The flight home was much shorter since we were able to fly into Portland rather than through Minneapolis. Then it was just over an hour flight home from there. It was also nice to have a visit and a place to sleep at Larayne and Steve's. They were very kind even though they had to get up at 3:30 to get us off to the airport yesterday! (I know I wouldn't be excited about that, but they are not the type to complain.) The kids even got to play with Isaiah and Connor, Larayne and Steve's grand-kids who they stayed for a week with this summer. It just worked out great and we realized what a blessing it was to come home when we did, considering the bad weather a week ago.

When we drove up to our house, it looked just like the picture we sent Grace (deep snow and blue skies). It couldn't have been more perfect! How did I know to send that particular picture way back in September? She loved seeing her room and took a tour of the house before we headed off to Grandma's to see her and Eliza. Eliza seemed to be unfazed by a new sister, hey, she's just one more person to boss around and that's good for her! We opened our usual "Christmas Eve" gift...pajamas. Since we missed Christmas with Eliza, we decided to open gifts with her on New Years morning. Grace didn't really know how to open a gift but she had several willing helpers. She will learn fast in this house. Eliza is so proud of her ability to chew with her mouth closed and tries to show Grace to do it "like me!" Hopefully she doesn't drive Grace crazy when the other kids head off to school this coming Monday! As soon as we can have all her shots and a pair of glasses, she'll be ready for school. Maybe even by the end of next week.

I will try to add some more tomorrow. Happy New Year everyone!

Going home

Well, our trip to China is almost over. In just over 3 hours, we will be picked up and taken to the airport. Then we arrive in Portland 2 hours before we left. Gotta love that International Date Line. We've loved our time here in China, but we are all very ready to go home. Everyone misses Eliza, our extended family and cats, our friends, our house and our community. Probably in that order, too!
We will be staying with my sister in Portland overnight. If you must have a long layover, it is nice to have it in a city with a relative that likes you (or at least can't think of an excuse fast enough).
Before quitting for the night, I'd like to thank many people:
Amy in Germany whose financial help got us started with this adoption. Her support and aid is very very much appreciated.
Family who helped us so much with our daughter Eliza while we were gone. Grandma Carol and Grandpa Albert who came from Missouri and were so good to her. To Grandma Earl who has had Eliza with her for the majority of the time. For my sister-in-law Debbie who gave Grandma Earl and Eliza a break from each other and made Eliza feel so special.
Our great neighbors who have taken care of our cats and our house while we have been gone. It is nice to know that we could do so.
My brother Doug for driving us to the airport early on a Sunday morning. My sister Larayne and my brother-in-law Steve for picking us up in Portland, letting us invade their home with six (probably) cranky, sleepy, and stinky people, then taking us back to the airport at 4 am. My brother Bruce for picking us up in Salt Lake City and getting us home, finally.
I'm sure I'm forgetting many people and I couldn't even name them (you) all if I tried.

THANKS FROM ALL OF US!!!!! WE APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW

Church and Tienanmen Square

We went to church yesterday. It was fun to go on the subway and try to remember the building from two years ago. The government allows religion, but not proselyting. Therefore, the services for international and domestic groups are separated and cannot co-mingle. Interestingly enough, our services which are normally all in English had speakers that were from China originally and spoke in Chinese (with translaters for the rest of us). So Grace was able to have much of her first Christian experience in a language she could understand. She was very good and two of the women talked to Stephenie about adoption. They both were very taken with Grace and so Stephenie gave some information to them. If either are reading this, "Hello and welcome".

We came back to our hotel and ate at a hot pot restaurant. The kids were cold from the walk to/from church and this made them feel better. Then we got back on the subway and went to Tienanmen Square. This was one place that Grace really wanted to see. In many ways Mao is like their George Washington and it was impressive to her. We wandered about the grounds and had a great time until Stephenie and Zachary started freezing. We then went by subway to a nearby mall to eat and warm up. We had dumplings and curry pies. They were both really good.

We finally came back and worked to get our trip to the Great Wall today started a little earlier so we could go to the Forbidden City afterwards. This is our last day in China, so we have to do as much as possible. We put the kids to bed so we could get up earlier for our last big push.

Hong Kong and Beijing

As Stephenie said, we went to Hong Kong on the 25th. It was a whirlwind visit since we didn't have much time. I kept getting conflicting information on how to get there. First just getting from our hotel to the railway station or bus station. Then how much each portion would cost. How the money would work in Hong Kong. Times to get there and back. And we were flying early the next day being another concern.
Finally Stephenie convinced me that they boys would go with me and we'd do the best we could. I told them that I didn't know exactly how everything would work, but we'd try. By this time it was 10 am. We left for the railway in a taxi and it was MUCH less than the hotel people said it would be. (I think they like to "arrange" travel, if you catch my drift). We made it to the station and the next train leaving was at 2 pm. So we decided to take it (knowing the last train back was at 7:30). We got on the train fine and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to Hong Kong. We all dozed on the train, but got in before 4. I exchanged some Yuan to Hong Kong dollars, then we bought our return tickets immediately then went on the underground to the main Hong Kong island. We just went to the first stop and got out. We wandered around a 6-8 block area just enjoying blue skies and people who didn't stare at us. Obviously there is more diversity in Hong Kong.
We then took the underground back to the main station and back on the train to Guangzhou. When we arrived there are taxi agencies right in the station trying to get you to use their taxis. They were telling us how far we wanted to go was very expensive and quoted us 120 RMB for the ride. I knew it cost 40 RMB from the hotel, so I walked away. Another guy followed us saying 80 RMB. We kept walking to the taxi area and just chose the next in line. 38 RMB. Always use the meter and never negotiate or have someone else arrange your travel.
We then got back to the hotel and immediately went to Pizza Hut for food. We had Chicken Curry over noodles and Beef Curry with rice. Not the typical Pizza Hut fare!
Although the video doesn't show it, the Harry Potter movie with the bus must have been based on Hong Kong. Double decker buses going past each other at 50-60 mph. WOW! I took this video after the buses had red lights in both directions, so they didn't have time to build up velocity. And there would at times be many more.

And now we are in Beijing. Good flight on a brand new airplane, but we had to sit at the gate for an extra hour. No reason given except that no planes were coming or going. Probably a software glitch. Anyway the flight was great and Rose met us at the airport. We checked in (another story) and went to dinner with Rose. Then we watched "Dr. Who" on the computer and went to bed.
Everything is great and everyone is happy. And most happy that we are going home soon. I just try to remember that we are going home, but Grace is leaving everything she knows forever. Puts my feelings in perspective at times. But I really do miss Eliza.

Caroling in China...

OK, so right now it is actually Christmas Day here and at home so we can all celebrate together! We talked to Eliza on Christmas Eve, this morning for us, and she let us know we've been gone for a long time. I have to agree and I would love to be home too!

We met a family here yesterday who are from Sweden. They just adopted a little girl and we started talking here at the hotel. She was talking to me about how hard it is when they've waited so long for this baby to have her accept only the mother's help. She only wants the mom and cries when she can't be with her. I did talk to her about how many others have told me this happens a lot. But it is still really hard to handle! For me, just the reality of being so far from home and the magnitude of how everything was going to change was difficult. Also, you can only guess as to what your child will really be like! They are first time parents and very stressed, especially being away for Christmas. We aren't new to this and I was just as stressed! It has not been an easy thing to do and from others in our group, it wasn't easy for them either. I just had to rely on my faith that we were doing the right thing and everything would turn out.

We walked them over to Shamain Island and shopped a bit. They hadn't been there yet and weren't sure of the way. Later in the day, Zach and I were putting our treats together when we had the idea to take them a treat bag and sing at there door. So, we got to go caroling in China! We all went to their room and sang, not too loudly, Merry Christmas. They asked us to come in and visit since they were lonely for people to talk with and so were we! It can be hard to feel so isolated from others who speak your language and know what you are going through.

It made our day to spread some Christmas cheer and we have some new friends now! I guess no matter where you are you can have the true spirit of Christmas by remembering what it is really about. We had a few gifts for each other and Santa left something for the kids, but it was not the big production we have usually. Everyone was happy and we had fun finding things here for each other.

I'll let Mike post all about their day in Hong Kong later. He and the boys went and the girls and I stayed here to rest and pack for tomorrow. It's been nice actually and we knew it would be too much for the girls, plus too expensive for all of us to get there and back! They watched a couple of movies and we ate at McDonalds for lunch and Papa Johns for dinner. Just what they wanted and easy for me. (I should get an award for eating at McDonalds two days in a row!) Oh well, it's just a meal and we've had many good meals here. The breakfast alone should be enough for the whole day!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas Day!
Stephenie

Christmas is everywhere!

We don't want anyone in our family to forget it is Christmas. We miss Eliza and are excited to go home and show her our new family member.

Steph: I took this picture before we left, thinking it might be nice to see Eliza with the tree. Isn't she just as cute as can be? I do miss all our holiday traditions together, but we will still have a Christmas when we get home even though it will be New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas