Day 5: Its all Official

Elsie is officially a Whitacre!!! We are so excited and thankful to finally get to this point in our adoption. Our girl is forever ours, no longer an orphan or just a number in a very large orphanage, but a loved and cherished daughter.

Yesterday was a very long day. We spent over 8 hours going from the Civil Affairs Office to the Notary’s Office to the Police Station to apply for her passport. Phew what an exhausting day, with many tears shed and not just from Elsie. I know we have to do these things to finalize her adoption paperwork and I know the signatures all need to be in place to make everything official, however I wish it could be done in another way. It was very upsetting to have to take a newly adopted child from one office to the next. Everything was so new to her, new people, new sounds, new parents….it was all too much on this little girl who had just spent the last 4 years of her life inside the walls of an orphanage. Mid way through the day I had just had enough, thankfully my wonderful husband held it together for all of us. I think I was most upset because it was hard seeing your daughter so upset but there was nothing we could do about it because we had to finish all the paperwork.

It all came to a head when we were at the Police Station of all places, and Elsie had to get her picture taken for her passport. We stood in the lines, got her picture taken, went to a new line stood there and then were told her picture wasn’t correct so we had to do it all over again, all while she was crying and very upset. We took Elsie back to the tiny room to get her picture taken again, and I told the guide to tell the man that was taking the picture to take it fast because as soon as I would let her go to sit down, she would cry. And she did, but he didn’t snap the picture quick enough, so I got her calmed down again, and we sat her down again and he took another picture, and told us he couldn’t use it because there were tears in her eyes. By this time we had been in the room for over 20 minutes trying to get a picture. We went thought this several times. Then all the guides came in, and all the women from the orphanage staff came in too to talk to Elsie and try to calm her, but all she wanted was for me to hold her, but they wouldn’t allow it. She just sat in this chair with tears streaming down her face, and I did all I could to comfort her. We had to get a single picture of her, by herself, all without tears. I seriously thought I was going to have a panic attack and Jon was going to end up in a Chinese jail cell, because after several pictures and getting her to calm down and sit in the chair again the man taking the picture kept telling us it wasn’t good enough. At one point I turned around and Jon was gone and I thought the guard took him, because before Jon was standing behind the man taking the picture and he could see that her pictures were clear and looked good. So he didn’t understand what was wrong, and Jon spoke up to the man a several times, but he couldn’t understand English and we couldn’t understand what he was saying. I found out later that Jon eventually stepped out of the room and stood on the other side of the wall to pray. We were all so frustrated and there were about 9 people all in this room the size of a small closet all trying to get a little girl to take a decent picture, only 2 of those other people could understand English……. And everyone but us all spoke Chinese. It was Complete chaos. And then 2 more people came into our tiny room, and these two looked like higher up police officers, I didn't know why they were there, maybe because we were taking to long,  or what they thought they were going to do to help the situation, but the one lady did come over and speak softly to Elsie. This lady was to only Chinese person that actually spoke what sounded like softly and kindly to Elsie, while she was talking to Elsie, I remembered that she liked to watch the video on my phone of her getting her birthday cake, so I played that for her and she finally stopped crying, we held my phone above the camera…..and they finally got a good picture of her free of tears, snot, and slobber! Praise the Lord, Jon and I scooped up our daughter and got out of that little room as fast as we could, and finally were able to finish processing her passport. It was almost laughable because after all that we had to go and get a picture of the 3 of us together. They didn't show us that picture, but I'm sure it was a doozie, Jon and I both were sweating, red faces, and frustrated; Elsie had red eyes, a red nose and I'm sure looked like she was in shock. After that our entire group was finished and we were finally able to go back to our hotel room. The van ride back, Elsie just sat on my lap, traumatized and just hugged me tightly all the way home. She was exhausted, and I was thankful that she found comfort in me.

Two good things came from this day 1. The fact that all her paperwork was finalized and 2. she knew Jon and I were her comfort place, she knew after only being with us for two days that we were hers and she didn’t want to go back with the ladies from the orphanage. Because when they spoke with her she would cry and want me to hold her. Through all the chaos today, it somehow helped to bond the three of us even closer. We were exhausted by the time we got back to our room. We ordered a pizza from the hotel for dinner and were in bed by 6:00, as I write this Elsie is still asleep. She has been sleeping for twelve and a half hours now. Today we pray is one that is filled with more peace and less chaos. We hired a personal guide to take us to her finding spot and they said they will also take us to the police station that she spent a few months in. We are hopeful that this police station experience is much different then the one we had yesterday.

Heres the only picture I snagged today, once we were back to our room, Elsie climbed up on the bed and laid down next to her Baba!!

Elsie's Gotta Day

Elsie’s gotta day was not what we expected. Through the entire paperwork process we would always pray for the best but prepare for the worst.

We left to meet our Elsie at 6:30am, along with another family who was adopting a little boy from the same orphanage. It was so nice to have another family there with us as the nerves set in on the hour ride to her orphanage. After about an hour drive, we turned off the main road to a very congested side street and then all of a sudden we saw the very large orphanage and knew we were there. We were then quickly ushered inside, there I saw the entry where they would take all her pictures, from when we would get an update. We were they quickly told to go into a large conference room and were not aloud to look around or go any where else. We know the orphanage that Elsie is from is very large with a lot of children, however the entire time we were there you never heard a single noise. Not a cry, laugh or any other noise. It was silent.

 After signing several papers, we could hear voices out in the hallway, and all of a sudden Elsie and the other little boy appeared! The nannies brought her over to us and she kept yelling “Mama Baba, Mama Baba!” She gave us both hugs and kisses and said several things to us in Chinese, however we couldn’t understand her at all. She was very happy and seemed to be very aware of what was going on. We think that they really prepared her for our arrival. Not what we expected at all, we had been preparing for a very shy little girl who would probably be crying and screaming when she was forced to go with us. We got the complete opposite, once she took hold of Jon’s hand she was very happy to go out to the van with him. She walked out the doors of her orphanage and never looked back and didn’t shed a tear. The other little boy who was adopted by the other family was the same way. He is 10 and was very excited to meet his family and new sister!

Officially making her ours!

Our Elsie!

So much joy in this picture, it perfectly describes exactly how we were feeling when we met her!

 Walking out of the doors of her orphanage! 

But once we got in the van and started driving, after about 20 minutes the little boys went very pail and closed his eyes and then all of a sudden he got sick, he was very car sick. During the same time he was getting sick, Elsie started crying and pointing to her stomach. Then she started sobbing and shaking her head no, and she wanted Jon. She sat on Jons lap and cried all the way to the Civil Affairs office. It was very hectic and hot. We convinced the driver to roll down the window so we could get some fresh air, but he wouldn’t pull over. We asked him several times to pull over so we help the children but he just continued driving, that was very frustrating!  We thought Elsie was going to get sick too, however she never did. Both of our families realized that our children had probably never been in cars before and it was too much for both of them, because once we got inside the Civil Affairs office both of them were back to their smiling, happy selves again. Once we were at the Civil Affairs Office, we once again filled out more paperwork!!

 

Elsie's little hand print! 

Once we were finished at the Civil Affairs Office they took us back to our hotel. On the car ride back, Elsie sat with her eyes closed the entire time and eventually fell asleep, because it was her nap time.  By the time we made it back to our hotel we were all so hungry, so we walked down our street to a restaurant that had Western Style foods and ate a very good lunch. The entire time it just seemed like a dream to finally have her in our arms and see the other family with their son at the same time. What a joy it was to see both of their personalities come out!!

Elsie is attached to a picture book that we sent to her a couple of months ago. She rode all the way back to the hotel with her hand over Pacey's picture. 

We spent the rest of the day in our room, just playing and enjoying getting to know our new daughter. She is a very sweet natured little girl. I really wish we would have learned some Mandarin before we left, we didn’t expect her to be as fluent as she is, but the phone translator has been a big help!! Now that we have her, I am just ready to go home, but we still have a couple of days here in Beijing to finish paperwork and then on Thursday we hired a guide to take us to her finding spot and the police station that she spent some time in. Then on Friday we will fly down to Guangzhou for her medical appointment and consulate appointment, and then finally on Friday we start our journey home!

 

Thank you all for the prayers for our entire family, we defiantly appreciate them and can feel them covering us and Elsie. We ask that you please continue to pray for her health while we are in country and that she continues to adjust well to Jon and I. She is a true treasure and a gift, and we cannot wait for everyone to meet her!

Day 2 Little Flower and The Great Wall

New Day and The Great Wall

Its Sunday here in China and we got the honor of delivering the medical supplies and sleepers to the babies at Little Flower this morning. Our guide picked us up early and we drove about an hour out of the inner city, when we were driving we knew we were getting further and further away from the main part of the city when we started noticing fruit farmers all along the road and then all of a sudden he said we are here. I think being an American and what we expect something to be like is completely different then what is actually going on in the world, at least this has been my experiences in other countries. I love learning about new cultures and reading about other parts of the world, but when you see things 1^st hand it changes you. As we pulled up to Little Flower the people across the road lived in tents and were farmers. And when I say tents I mean, these people live in homes with tarps for walls and work very hard harvesting their crops so they can provide for their families. It was very surreal seeing such a differences going from the inner city of Beijing, which is very nice and modern to this.

As we were greeted at the gates of Little Flower we delivered the 3 bags of supplies to the main nanny and then waited as our guide asked if we could come in and get a tour. The nannies were very kind and excited to show us their rooms and the children. Lille Flower is very different from an orphanage. They had different rooms where the nannies lived and took care of an average of 3 children, they said each nanny took 12 hour shifts with their designated children. Paceys orphanage had 35 babies to 1 nanny. If that can give you a visual as to how different it is at Little Flower. After we looked in a few rooms, we  were taken to the main play area, which was very active with many children in there playing. After washing our hands and sanitizing, they allowed us to come in and play with the children. Our driver and guide even came in and asked if they could play with the children too. We spent a lot of time just holding and praying over different babies. One little baby, who was content laying by himself, I picked up and held, I assumed he was around 6 months old, he had no muscle tone or head control. He would just stare into my eyes, and finally he smiled at me and I noticed he had several teeth, so he had to be older. We asked our guide if he could ask the nannies about him for us, and we found out that he was over a year old, and was sent to Little Flower because his orphanage was very large and he wasn’t growing there because they had too many babies and he couldn’t eat fast enough during feeding times, so he wasn’t gaining any weight instead he was losing weight and needed desperate help. After holding him for a few minutes he started crying and I knew he wanted down. He wasn’t used to being held so much and was used to just being alone, and I didn’t want to make him too upset. So as soon as I layed him down he stopped crying, I prayed a special prayer over this precious child, that God would help him grow and someday his family would come for him.

The toddlers in the play room were quite different and very active and excited to play with us. The boys flocked to Jon and soaked up every bit of attention from him that they could. If we could have scooped up every single one of them and brought them home with us we would have, but we know that wasn’t possible. I pray that every single one of those precious children are adopted and loved by a family for the rest of their lives. I will also be as bold to say that I hope Christian families would be moved to adopt, weather its domestically or internationally. These children need homes, and as believers in Christ we need to do more. There is a statistic that only 5% of practicing Christians adopt. Can you imagine the impact on childrens lives if that statistic grew and more Christian families actually stepped up to adopt? Can you imagine the impact that would have on this world?

I have a shirt that I bought from another adopting family that says “Faith over Fear” I wore it on our airplane ride, because I am deathly afraid of being on a plane and I repeated this phrase several times to myself during the flight, “Faith over Fear” I pray this as well for future adopting families that their Faith in what Christ is leading them to do is so much greater then their fears!

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it- they will be blessed in what they do." James 1 22-25

 I could have stayed all day with the children, but we couldn't so after we went to visit the Great Wall. What a beautiful sight to see, and experience!! 

After the Great Wall, our guide took us to our 1st authentic Chinese restaurant. Yes you read that right our 1st authentic Chinese meal. When we adopted Pacey we'll admit it, we were big chickens and too scared to eat authentic Chinese. We lived on our daily breakfast at the hotel, which included an omelet bar and cereal. And then where we were at last time we got away with eating most meals at Subway, McDonalds or Lucys (which is a Western Style restaurant). Our guide was so kind and taught us about traditional customs when eating. We 1st shared a bowl of rice, green beans and tofu(something neither one of us had ever had before, but tried it anyways, we didn't want to be rude)! Then the main meal came out with Sweet and Sour Pork and Pepper Chicken. It is very different here how you just put the main meal in front of the entire group and just pick from it, you don't have individual plates!! Jon and I had a very funny moment when our guide asked us if we wanted coke to drink and we said yes. He okay we share, and came back with a 16 oz coke for all 3 of us to share!! Jon and thought that was so funny!!

On of the most delicious meals I have ever had!!

Day 1- We made it!

Hi all!! Well after a long day of traveling we have finally arrived in Beijing!! Our flight and hotel experience has been much less eventful this time around then it was with Pacey. I feel like a seasoned  traveler now...ha!! Not too much to report on today except jet lag is in full swing!! Last night we got to our hotel around 4:30 on Saturday night we walked around and checked out the facilities and then ate some snacks for dinner and crashed around 6:00. I was back up again at 3:00. But I was so thankful to get some solid sleep!

Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors...I will blame them on the jet lag! Here's some pictures of our drive in. The smog here is awful, and the sun can't really shine. The tree leaves look grey and of course it's hard to take a deep breath! It saddens me that people have to live and breath air like this day in and day out!


                 our flight


Notice the sun, and also the fact that we are not in a lane but the shoulder, gotta love driving in China!!



Today our guide will be picking us up at 8:00am and taking us to Little Flower to deliver the medical supplies and all the baby sleepers we collected! The day before we left a lady donated two Trash Bags full of sleepers and we were able to add them to the bags we already packed. When we weighed the suitecases they all weighed right at 50 or 49 pounds!! God is so good and His timing just amazes me!! After that we will go visit the Great Wall and end our evening with dinner with friends from Texas that we've met on Facebook!! This family is adopting a little boy who is 10 years old and he is from Elsie's orphanage. The friendship I've made with his mom is such a God thing and I'm so thankful that we could travel together and get to finally meet after all these months of exchanging messages!! On Monday morning we will travel with this family to get our children!!!
Our internet is spotty right now, so I will try to update as I can!!

Adoption Labor Pains

I know I haven't blogged in a while, I think my last one was actually in China while we were bringing Pacey home! I didn't think I would blog through this adoption due to the high demands of having 3 kiddos and being in the process of bringing another one home,  and fundraising, but as I was doing the dishes this afternoon I felt that I needed to write this down so I wouldn't forget it later, anyone who knows me knows how easily I forget things!

I've decided that if anyone wants to adopt they should be ready to battle for that child every. single. day. until that child is placed into your arms. Be ready to battle Satan day in and day out for that child and the things he throws at you. A few years ago (okay maybe more then a few years) while I was doing my student teaching my mentor teacher told me at the end of a rough day that you can choose to cry or laugh during hard times but to always choose joy, even if its through tears. And this has always stuck with me. 

So this weekend we had a big 2 day craft fair that we were doing on Friday and Saturday and on Friday morning I noticed that our freezer was not working and things were melting!! I did what I usually do in situations like this and call Jon and tell him fix it because I have no clue what is wrong, so he said I'll look at it when I get home. By the time we left for the craft fair the frig side was also getting warm. I decided there was nothing I could do about it now and went on my way to the craft fair and wouldn't you know it as I'm driving to the craft fair I hit a pot hole (okay more like a crater) and as I pull up to the craft fair, I can hear that I'm dragging something!! As I go to park a huge chunk of the bottom of my van falls out and what do I do, stop, pick it up and throw it in the back of my van and continue on my way!! I have no idea what fell off my van, I just prayed that when we went to start it that night after the craft fair, that it would start again! And it did!! When we got home from the craft fair, I find a very frustrated husband who just says the frig is dead!! Did I mention that on the 2nd day of the outdoor craft fair, we had an awful thunderstorm that started off with high winds. As I'm sitting under our tent with my mom, sister and nephew, all buckled down and holding onto a side of the tent for what was probably 45 minutes so it wouldn't blow away, I went back to my choose to cry or choose to laugh, and just laughed it off and I knew God would protect us, as He always does. After the storm about half of the craft vendors packed up and left, but I was determined to stay, even if I only sold 1 brownie that was 50 cents more that would go to Elsie!! In the end we can choose to get mad and upset when things don't go our way, or we can choose joy and know that God will work it all out and we might not know how or why He does something but it will always work out in a way to glorify Him!

Seriously with all we have been through this summer, well these last 7 months since we started our adoption, now all Jon and I can do is cling tighter to the mighty God that we know is always with us. We have been through unexplained weird illnesses, unexpected surgeries, sick children, the passing of both of our beloved dogs Titus and Moses within a month of each other, being told that we need to replace our entire roof and siding due to wind damage, getting a call about a month ago on a Friday night to from the Director of our agency to tell us that our daughter has been sick for some time now and now has some new medical needs that we need to prepare ourselves for, and an entire host other fun things I'm sure I'm forgetting about. A lot of these "fun things" have brought me to my knee's on many days wondering if we are even strong enough or able to make it through all this.

 But this morning as I stand in my kitchen watching the repair man try to fix our frig, I realized that our God is so much bigger then all of this. He is so much bigger then any diagnosis, broken household item, or illness, or really anything that Satan tries to throw at us. If we have Christ as our foundation, the rest is all just things that we have to get through like the high winds, we just need to buckle down and know it will all end soon, because in the end when we get to hold our sweet Elsie in our arms all of this will just be a distant memory, sometimes Jon and I refer to this as our "Adoption Labor Pains!"

Compass

Its crazy how fast the days can get away from you! Today is officially our last full day in China! I am so excited to get home, we all miss Addi, Colton, our family and friends so much. These last 3 days, we have been trying to keep ourselves busy so we don't get too stir crazy just sitting in our hotel room! Yesterday Pacey had his US Consulate Appointment, and everything was finalized!! Wooohooo he's officially a Whitacre, and as soon as our plane lands on US soil, he'll be the newest and cutest American citizen! 

Finally everything is finalized and finished! 

These past few days we have kept ourselves busy by taking a lot of walks, enjoying dinners with new friends and fellow adopting families, and getting things ready to head home! Pacey has made a new friend named Tyson. When we walk to dinner, Tyson likes to push Pacey in the stroller. They had so much fun playing together these past few days. We were sad to say goodbye to our new friends last night, as they left for home this morning. 

Buddies!

I've been reflecting so much these past few day's about how God threw us into this journey that we never expected to be on. About how big our God really is and how much he has protected and provided for us throughout this entire journey. And how if we would have said "No" when we felt that nudge from Him to adopt, all we would have missed out on. It could have been so easy to say, no, were not the right couple to do this, its too scary, too many unknowns, so many ways to say no. But we didn't all because we wanted to be obedient to what we were feeling God placed on our hearts. I keep thinking that God had to bring me all the way to China, for me to finally get it...He will always be there for us no matter what. It won't be easy, but as long as I continue to whole heartily follow my God, then everything will be okay. He has shown me so much thought this entire journey, and I just pray that I never forget the lessons He has taught me, and that I never stop learning and growing in Him. 

Sometimes, I still find it hard to believe that Pacey is here in my arms or asleep in the crib next to me.  We looked at his pictures for so long, that it never seemed like this day would finally come. But it has and we are so blessed by this little boy. Before I took on the full time job as a professional grant writer and adoption paperwork filler outer and garage sale organizer....I used to enjoy running. When I would run I would always listen to the same songs. I had a song in my rotation that I put on there for each of my children. And each time it would come on, I would spend that time thinking and praying about either Addi, Colton, or Pacey. 

Pacey's song is Compass by Lady Antebellum. The first time I heard this song, I knew it was my connection to him and for so many reasons. And last night I turned it on and sang it to him during bath time. Some of my favorite lyrics to the song are "We're really not that far apart. So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when your lost. And you should follow it wherever it may go. When its all said and done you can walk instead of run. Cause no matter what you'll never be alone. Never be alone." That part of the song hits me every time. Even when he was in China alone, I was always with him and he was always with me, every minute of every day. The part in the song when it says, "when its all said and done you can walk instead of run." I always have this image of him running someday around our back yard at home, laughing and playing with his brother and sister. We still have a lot of unknowns for him and his legs, but I know God has a perfect plan for him. And no matter the outcome, God made Pacey perfect in His image! "Cause no matter what you'll never be alone. Never be alone." Never again will Pacey have to spend endless hours in a crib by himself. Never again will Pacey have to cry with no one to come to comfort him. Never again will this little boy have to know what it means to be alone. He is a dearly loved son, brother, grandson, cousin, nephew, and friend. And I am honored to be his mommy. 

Day 12- Safari Park

Today we visited a Safari Park about 40 away from where we are staying. All I can say is that if you ever have the opportunity to come to southern China, you must go! It was unlike anything I've ever been to before. It puts our zoos to shame! We started off taking a train ride for about an hour seeing a variety of animals, and the only thing that separated us from the animals, was a small ditch...and sometimes there was nothing at all....absolutely amazing! So many different kinds of animals and the highlight for me was feeding the giraffes! I was also very proud of Jon we accidentally found ourselves in the rainforests bird cage...Jon was okay until about 5 tiny yellow birds swooped down by his head, then all I heard was, "you and Pacey can stay in here as long as you want, but I've had enough!" Anybody who knows Jon, knows that he adores birds...okay maybe adores is not the correct word!

Yes this is a real bear and the only thing separating us from him is that green patch of grass! 

The tigers. They were throwing raw meat at them, to keep them distracted as we drove by in a little train! 

Looking so laid back and innocent! Jon did zoom in on this picture! 

The giraffes! 

One of the elephants during the elephant show!

Feeding the giraffe....look at that tongue! 

There are 3 baby pandas at the park, they we're born about a year ago...they are just too cute!

The mama Panda and one of her baby's!

There is just something about his deep brown eyes...they captivate me!