General update contd part 3!

Well we made it home on the 28 June and we were happy to just potter around!
We were getting ready to visit Keith's Mum and introduce Alice to her on the the Sunday and were about to head out the door when we got a phone call from the Meals on Wheels woman who had found Ann on the the floor in her kitchen and she had been there for at least 18 hours!
We later found out Ann had not fallen and had laid down and waited for Keith to visit as she knew we were home!
She was in hospital for 2.5 weeks and finally it was decided that she would not be returning home and had to be admitted to a nursing home. Her mental state is very fuzzy and sadly she can't remember what she had for lunch with in an hour currently she is recognizing us but that is only a matter of time.
It has been very hard on Keith and he is suffering big time.
Which then has impacted on my work so now I am going to take 14 weeks paid parental leave so I will return to work in November. This has meant a drop of income and increase in childcare costs so means we are watching our pennies!
Also to through into the mix is Alice doesn't sleep very well!
And she takes so long to drink a bottle! 1.5 hours yesterday!
Then just to compound everything is Emily's eye infection flared up yet again! And she has had emergency surgery her eyelashes sit on her eyeball. So they cut away a little of fold of skin under her lower lid. This was successful but did take 3 days to get an emergency slot. So poor Emily did really well the lucky thing was it was during a holiday period so that gave us a little reprieve.
So all in all the household is now just getting back to normal! what ever our new normal is!
We have visitors arriving today so it will be great to catch up with them and introduce Miss Alice to them!
And also as this week closes here in NZ we are looking forward to the Olympic games. Makes me want to buy a plane ticket today to head to Beijing!
Hugs and have a safe and happy weekend!
Ruth

We interrupt this general catch up!

Here is Miss Alice being Oh so Cute this morning! Enjoy!

A general catch up contd!

We made it to Beijing and was great to catch up with everyone in Beijing and to see Julie our guide from 2004 waiting for us at the airport!
Today we also took Emily to the SOS Dr and got some more cream for her eye it was still getting infected and the said that she should have surgery to fix the eyelashes from touching her eye!
They also looked at Aiden who had got a Sty developing in his eye and were very rough with his eye and he nearly cried he did scream as the Dr grabbed his eye and twisted the lid to get a good look!
3000RMB later we left with medicine. It was a lovely facility and wouldn't hesitate to go there again!
That evening we caught up with the group but it very fractured! It will be an interesting week! Emily was so pleased to see Maia and it was great to see all the new families.
Sunday we went to Tianmein square and then onto a acrobat show in the evening that was great.
We went and bought Prams on Sunday night after the show and that was great we have two Strollers so Emily can have one! we also did some shopping for Maia's birthday will head back to the children's store again but we did lost and ended up asking a police officer for directions and then getting a taxi! MacDonalds for dinner that night!
Monday was a down day and was great to go exploring! we went out shopping and saw a few bits and pieces found the silk Market I so want to spend some time in there! took the train to get there and back!
Tuesday Vicky and I headed to CCAA and that was an experience we finally got there after the taxi driver getting lost several times!
We collected the CCAA Elder respecting books and then headed home in another taxi!
It was a truly amazing experience sitting in there waiting this is the place that matched Alice and Johnny to our families it was a bit surreal!
There was also a hiccup with our Visa's and we needed to pay more money so that was all sorted and Julie ended up putting the extra on her Visa card!
Wednesday we went to the Great Wall it was lovely to see Emily identify with it! we walked up to the top area after struggling I so wanted to quit! and Emily was going to be nightmarish to get down and I was right we had tears and tantrums all the way down and several times I stopped with her and threw a mock one too much to the delight of several hundred Chinese people!
It was so hot and I was thinking about all the stuff we had to do to get ready to head home!
Thursday was a whirl wind of packing and heading to the airport. It was anxious because the check in attendant thought Alice's paperwork wasn't right!
We so wanted to get on the plane!
When we finally did we sat on the plane for 2.5 hours before we had permission to take off! well that meant we missed our connecting flight home and we ended up being into Hong Kong very late the airline did arrange us with accommodation and that was helpful but no changes of clothes and almost not enough formula for Alice!
So finally we boarded our plane home and we were relieved to land in Auckland only two more flights to Dunedin! we were rushing to get them and only made it by the skin of our teeth!
It was great to see so many people at the airports and it was so great if slightly surreal to be home! Lee had left us food in the fridge and had tidied our house from top to bottom so appreciated!
Also all the flowers and gifts we recieved for Alice over the next few days was also appreciated!

A general catchup!

Life here has been a hectic round of stress inducing complications which is why I never finished with all the stories from China! Blogger being down and uploading photos so slow in China and now we are home safe and sound life has become extremely hectic!
So here is a catch up!

this was from 20 June 2008
Alice is a delight very shut down which is to be expected but the
depth has been interesting and the fact that she regressed very far
was interesting to be so quiet and placid! She is so beautiful very
fine bone structure. She has such long fingers and long feet which
are very fine!
Emily has had some tough days and the orphanage visit to Alice's was
tough! She thought we were going to give Alice back! Even though we said we wouldn't it wasn't until we were heading home till she relaxed!
On the way there to Fengcheng city which was only 50km away but on a
national road a bit like a dirt back road in a van that was very bumpy. Alice had slept most of
the way woke looked like she wanted a bottle I gave her about half!
Then my darling beautiful daughter did the most amazing burp and then powerchuck before I could do a thing! and it was revoltingly rancid! All over my top,singlet, pants and bra I was covered she only had it on her shirt!
She has been in a sling on most outings for attachment and it was
working well that was covered too! I had bought a change of clothes
for her but not me and I stunk! It is so much easier to get a baby
clean after sick rather than an adult!
So after 4 minutes driving we pulled over into an area where there
was some houses and the guide asked if we could use the back of the
house to change baby and me! well I didn't have a change of clothes
so I stripped off in the middle of China down to my bra shoved a hose through My bra to remove all the vomit well as much as possible and
then washed my top shirt and put that back on the singlet went in the vomit bag along with my singlet! I felt naked even though the guide and Jean said I wasn't! What amazed Jean was I was so calm and
methodical also the fact she said she should take photos of it! I so
okay! But none were taken the local farmers of the area all came for
a look at the big white woman almost naked standing in a very small
part of there house!
For Alice I think it was motion sickness we moved up the van and from then on she was fine! I stank! Then I had to go meet the director and the foster mother so I have had amazing adventures that have been told around the world already!
I only cried when I said goodbye to the foster Mother. Alice is such
a delight and more and more of her personality is showing you can see how much she loved Alice and the foster mother slipped Keith her
phone number.
So we have contact also we gave her my business card!
Yesterday was just sightseeing but was well over 30 degrees too hot
and we got a chop and Calligraphy done for Alice!
Well I will sign off I can't wait for you to meet Alice Sandra Min
Shu as I am sure you will not want to give her back so is just so
precious like all our children!
I am so glad we have done this again! I have barely cried a tear and
the difference this time is amazing!
We have all been on an amazing journey!
Emily is a lot shaken but doing well and Keith has to learn she too
needs to regress! Aiden is in love and realises even more how tough
it can be to be a parent! So hopefully he will delay those desires
for a lot longer yet!

We pack tonight for our 6am start to Beijing!
And I think the internet is even harder there! so I will try and
email and keep the photos coming!

June 16 Adoption day day 9

Today was paperwar day! Today was the day that Alice became our daughter and that we promised the Chinese Government that we would never abandon or abuse her! We also were privileged enough to watch around 15 families receive their new family members! It was truly amazing! I also caught up with 4 woman who I have emailed on and off now for almost 3 years! It was truly amazing one of them received twins! It sis great watching all these families walking around in a daze!
Alice was a trouper and we finally got back around 12 after visiting the notary public and police station for passport! So we are set for the waiting game! Tuesday was meant to be for paperwork but end up being free so we asked to go and visit the park we will see what happens. Alice slept through the night and has been an angel has a huge amount of fog there we also asked our guide to organize dresses and that was sorted out late Monday pm! we ordered two sets of clothes a size 2 and 7 for now and 4 and 9 for later Keith got a tie and Aiden designed himself a vest! $1390 yuan later! They will arrive on Thursday in the afternoon!
Dinner again at the restaurant! It was a buzz with babies which is quite a different feel!
We meet a couple here adopting a special needs boy but there really isn’t any major need obvious and you feel like you can only ask so many questions they are opposite the hall from us so you never know!
Amazing also to observe the different family style to forming attachment and some families just don’t get it!
Hopefully in time they will!

Nanchang! Day 8-9

Saturday we went to get the supplies for the coming days and took plenty of cash so that we had enough money to pay for everything as China still is mainly a cash society however we noticed much more cash machines which we can access cash from home!
We did mental planning for the day ahead and wrapped gifts and sorted out my head! It was amazing to have a complete day free before Alice came it allowed us to re claim each other after Emily’s SWI visit we also organized laundry to be collected and processed. A bit disappointing considering the cost and that it wasn’t in a whiker basket like last time! The hotel is so well appointed and is about 15 mins from walmart and 6 yuan in a taxi! We meet up with the group for dinner and then an early night we also looked for a room to receive the girls in as we didn’t want to met them in the hotel room and that was great! We found one but since it was a restaurant they wouldn’t hire it out so in the end we used a room in the business centre it was like a huge board room! We also meet a lovely family from Santa Monica Marcia and Cris who were adopting their second child a 4 year old and they have a 4.5 year old their new daughter was a special needs child and they still had waited almost 2 years to receive her!

Day 9 Sunday



We checked out the board room and agreed to meet there at 4 pm as the girls weren’t scheduled to arrive until about 4. we also went for a walk and Aiden got some dvd’s and so did Emily still looking for Dora the explorer!
Will check out Walmart!
Then we went back and sorted out clothes and tried to get sorted and waited and waited! It was all a bit surreal in the end we went down with all the stuff but we had left heaps of stuff behind so in the end we had to get more passport photos done at the civil affairs building on Monday! When they asked us for our passports and money for formula I just about cried as I had left that upstairs! So a mercy dash was made even though I had photocopies etc!
Well it wouldn’t be our family with out it!
Alice was quiet and came easily to us she smelt hot and musty she had just been picked up from her foster mother’s house at 1pm and then bought to the city with 3 other children. 1 went to another hotel and then the two girls came to the Gloria and we were united forever at 4:30 just as we had set up the video camera and still needed another 10 minutes to prepare!
But I was so shocked to see Alice as she had grown so much! She looks like a little girl not the baby in the referral photos! She is very long and has the finest of fingers. Aiden and Emily were so excited that they forgot and fought over her! I suppose it is very great to be loved! She was in shock and never cried at all!
She did once we got to the room only because I picked her up to change her nappy and she peed all over me and I popped her onto the potty and as soon as she had finished she screamed!
Well at handover we did most of the paperwork we would normally have done at the Civil affairs building which was great as it meant that the next day there would be less!
We all went back to our rooms and I removed Alice’s clothes after about an hour and we went down to dinner! I didn’t wash her or her clothes and popped her clothes into a snap lock bag to help retain the smell!
We went down to dinner there were a number of new families there and more coming in over the next day to receive their new children it has been a really emotional day finding out some small information about our latest daughter!
She co sleeps we were told and we popped her into her cot at 9 pm and she is still asleep!
We rang Sandra and Sergio after we received Alice and told them all about her!
She is such a sweetie!