Dinner: Party of 8

All of us together :) 

So long Hong Kong

We were in Hong Kong for about 24 hours. We arrived Thursday afternoon and now on Friday evening are sitting at the Hong Kong airport.

I have been really happy with our accommodations and our last hotel was no exception. It was attached to a 7 level shopping center. Tons of restaurants and shopping, we were able to pick up snacks from a grocery store and I also managed to find my favorite drink, that I can only find in Asia. 

We all the restaurant choices, we ended up at outback steak house. We have had lots and lots of Chinese food and it was nice to order burgers and pasta. But frankly eating out has gotten really old and managing three children at a restaurant has been a challenge. I'm quite happy to be bidding adieu to eating out. 

Of course the highlight of our stay in Hong Kong was having William sealed to us in the Hong Kong temple. Wow. 

The first time I attended this temple was in 1998 with my roommate and college friend. I just loved it and little did I know, almost 20 years later I'd be there to have my son sealed to me. 

It was a little hectic when we arrived because we realized we forgot to bring the adoption decree. So Dave and Jacob took a taxi back to the hotel to get it. 

Spencer, Will and I all waited in the youth center until they returned. I got to dress William in white. It was the same white suit each of his older brothers wore. I'm so glad I brought it, it made it very special. 

The temple president, President Wong,  preformed the sealing. He was born in Hong Kong, so it made it so special to have a native Chinese member of the church seal Will to us. He seemed genuinely happy and touched by our adoption story. Spencer and Jacob hot to watch the sealing. 

Spencer remembers, "The words at the front of the building said 'Hong Kong temple'. I remember when we went inside I felt a really peaceful feeling. I knew this was the day that William would be sealed the to us. I remember feeling happy. I remember seeing lots of flowers and people in white. William was so happy when he played with me. I want to remember this feeling from the temple because it will be a long time before I get to go back to the temple. "

Jacob remembers the fountain in the front of the temple. He also remembers all the men wearing white suits. He says, "It was very nice. My favorite part was how peaceful it was. It was super fun and exciting."

After the sealing President Wong had our family all stand together and look in the mirrors that represents eternity. I could feel Ella, Luke and Zoe with us. Our beautiful family, eternal.

The road has not be easy and there are still many hurdles and pitfalls ahead. But I know we have the power of His spirit to guide us along our this marvelous and unexpected journey.

For time and all eternity

William is ours, for time and all eternity. We were sealed in the Hong Kong temple this morning and my feelings are very tender.

China knows how to shop

Our hotel in Hong Kong is attached to a 7 level shopping center. Wow. 

Last day in Guangzhou

Karla's been doing a great job documenting the trip on the blog but also thought I'd chime in. 

Yesterday was our appointment at the US Consulate for Will's visa. Everything went relatively quickly, though it was still kind of chaotic. Imagine standing around with ten or fifteen other adoptive families in the lobby of the department of motor vehicles, waiting for your turn to come up to the glass window, while hordes of kids are running around screaming, and you get the idea. Eventually we had all our interviews and got everything squared away. Will's visa should be ready at the end of the day today (Wednesday) and then we will be good to go to Hong Kong.

After the consulate appointment, we went to Shamian Island, which is where we stayed five years ago for Jacob's adoption. It's a former colonial enclave with lots of beautiful architecture from the time the British and French had their trading ports here. Very beautiful old-growth trees in the parks and some tourist shops. We ate at Lucy's, which is an American-style diner that sprung up several years ago to cater to adoptive families when the consulate was nearby. The consulate has relocated but the restaurant is still there and we enjoyed hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. It was kind of fun to retrace our footsteps from Jacob's adoption (and Karla's footsteps from two years ago with Ella). After lunch we went shopping for some souvenirs and got caught in a monstrous downpour that soaked everyone (Will had a shade on his stroller that blocked some of the rain). We were glad to get back to the hotel and dry off.

Sleeping arrangements for Will have been a challenge on this trip. There are so many families staying at this hotel that there are no cribs available, so Will has been sleeping in the king bed with us. You would think that would give enough space, but he is a sprawling sleeper and his favorite nocturnal activity is to paw at you, try to get his fingers up your nose, and so forth. Karla has borne the brunt of this the past few nights since he simply will not settle down *at all* when I am in the bed. I gave up last night around 10 pm and went to sleep on the couch, and she was stuck with him and his off-and-on nocturnal adventures all night. I think the kid is in for a rude awakening when we get home and he's in a crib, but we don't have the resources here to force the issue so I guess we're just delaying the inevitable. But it's all good. He is not a great sleeper but all things considered it could be much worse.

Today is another off day while we wait for Will's visa. We'll probably go to the pool and the older boys may go back to the arcade in the mall across the street. I think they'll enjoy it but as far as Karla and I are concerned, we are just marking time. One more day until we drive to Hong Kong; two more days until we're at the Temple, then one more day after that until we get on the plane. We wish it were time to go home and see our other kids. But that will come soon enough.

Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Free days

Sunday and Monday were both free days for us here. No appointments and just family time.

On Sunday we went to church. There is an English speaking branch here Guangzhou. It was pretty small, maybe 20 people. We are here during the summer holiday and most people were gone. I guess there are a lot of English teachers that work here during the school year and travel home for visits during the holidays. 

Sacrament meeting was 45 minutes and then there was a second meeting that was 45 minutes. At the Sacrament meeting they said during the holiday it was "self service" and any help would be appreciated. 

Since Will was on Dave's lap for the whole meeting I said I'd take him to primary with me to see if I could help there. If Dave is not in sight Will is happy to be with me, but if he thinks there's a choice.... Dave every time. 

The church was held in rented conference rooms at the Ramada hotel. So I took the boys to the primary room,  a couple of conference rooms down and Dave stayed in the first room for a combine relief society and priesthood meeting. 

As I left, William reached for dad and cried for about 30 seconds then was fine. Me and the boys went to primary and sat in the first row. I told the primary president I'd be happy to help. There were 8 kids. The president asked me to lead the music. I lead the music for about 10 minutes, then it was time for sharing time. 

It was a great lesson about the 10 leapers and gratitude. Then the kids had a chance to color. And before you knew it 90 minutes was up and we were catching a taxi back to. The hotel. 

We met some nice people there. There was a nice family who just arrived for a 3 or 4 year stint working for the US Consolate. The family had 5 kids and was Maryland. They had lived an a few exotic places. 

Dave also met a brother that was moving to Nanning. He said when he was there he attended church online. There is a "virtual branch" that meets each Sunday throughout China. I hadn't heard of that before. 

So,  Sunday was a great day. Honestly it was almost like we were at home. Spencer and Jacob got a little antsy and on each other's nerves...  So it was just like home. 

Monday was another free day. There is a huge... HUGE 8 level shopping and entertainment complex right next to our hotel. So we planned to see movie. However we didn't see any family movies and the boys saw an arcade right when the elevator opened on the 7th floor. Jacob gasped and ran towards it.

So, the morning was spent at the arcade. I think the boys had fun, but it was really warm and by the time we left everyone was feeling kind of wilty. 

There was a grocery store in the basement, so we grabbed some supplies and and ice cream cone on the way back to our hotel. We had noodles for lunch. We have had noodles almost every day and Spencer informed me he's getting tired of noodles....  Wait until your college years young friend. 

The afternoon was spent on minecraft and star control. A perfect fun and relaxing day. We finished it with dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. Our local is ideal, we are surrounded by everything we could ever want or need. 

Today should be a great day. We complete Will's citizenship process (until it becomes official when we touch ground o  American soil.)  Then off to Shaiman Island and gift shopping. 

Can't hardly wait. We gave 2 1/2 days left in Guangzhou. One day closer to home. 

Father and son

Karla 

Hello Guangzhou!

We finally made it!  After a 2 hour delay in Lanzhou we climbed aboard the leg-cramp express and were off... after another 2 hours sitting on the plane. Yes, you heard me right, 4 hours of waiting with three kiddos while the blood circulation was slowly being cut off from my legs. And I'm not even 6'5".

But, that's all behind us now. We're in Guangzhou and I love our accommodations. It's a two bedroom apartment. I did 7 loads of laundry today, 7. It feels fabulous to have clean clothes. No more waking up digging through your suitcase looking for the lease dirty shirt.

Today was Will's medical appointment for his visa/citizenship application. He did great. He only cried for the first 30 minutes he didn't see Dave. When we were at the medical appointment a man with Dave's same hair color and glasses walked by Will. He burst into tears and reached for him. He kind of walked by (with a little girl in a stroller) and said "hi dude" and kept walking. William kept reaching and voiced his displeasure loudly.

He eventually calmed down again and we finished the exam. They took general stats, height, weight (22. 8lbs) and head circumference. We also saw an ENT and a general looking over with reflexes, skin, joints, and an issued diagnosis of his special need (club foot and finger and toe deformity). It was not too busy and went smoothly. I even had time to feed him a bottle and he fell asleep in my arms on the way home.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. Dave and the older boys did some exploring and got us a few things for the kitchen. Did I mention I love this place. We have a washer and dryer, fridge, microwave,  3 TVs, wooden hangers and tons of space. If we have to live here for a week...  This is the way to go. They also have a breakfast buffet.

Spencer and Jacob have been good helpers. We plan to take them to Shaiman island. There are tons of souvenir shops and the famous  "Lucy's" restaurant (we have eaten here on every trip). We got hand carved wooden swords for all our boys 2 years ago with ella's adoption. The swords have been well loved and taped together several times.

I have loved sharing this experience with Spencer and Jacob. They truly remind me of how much I love being a mom. I miss Ella, Luke and Zoe. I can't wait to see them next week. Just 6 days to go! 

Hainan Airlines Strikes Again

Long time blog readers will remember the great fun we had with Hainan Airlines back in 2014. (Short version: awful service, not one flight on time, and a complete failure in Beijing airport leaving Karla and Ella stranded for an extra day.) We never would have flown them by choice again, but this was the one leg of the journey our agency arranged for us, and of course they had to choose Hainan. This time was not to quite such catastrophic proportions, but still an ordeal. First, their computers didn't have Will's lap fare on file, so we had to pay an extra 200 CNY (about $36) that I believe we have already paid, to get him a ticket. Somewhere, some Hainan chump is enjoying a ribeye at our expense.

There were delays due to weather in Guangzhou (thunderstorms) but in typical Hainan fashion, they did not announce this. In English, or Mandarin. One is left there at the gate, with a sinking feeling that Something Is Wrong but no information at all, and no effort by the airline to give any assurances at all. We had to rely on the kindness of a Moldovan grad student to ask the gate agent. The waiting at the gate wasn't too bad, but we had another 90 minutes sitting on the tarmac. Will slept for about an hour. But for the rest of the time he was on my lap, wiggling and climbing and hitting and squirming. He tore up an in-flight magazine and the only moment of peace was when he took a bottle. Karla took him from me for about twenty minutes so I could eat some noodles, but that resulted in him screaming at the top of his lungs.

Here we are:

Yes, you can see another special Hainan feature, the 29-inch seat pitch! A good three inches shorter in coach than most American carriers. Karla's knees were touching the seat ahead and I had to sit spread-legged with my right knee out in the aisle and my left knee jabbed into Jacob's leg (thank goodness I could steal some legroom from him).

Spencer, on the other hand, had no complaints about the seating, though after 16 hours of the AVOD on the Asiana flights on the way over, he was not too excited about boring old short-haul flight offerings:

We finally made it into Guangzhou at about 9:00, four hours later than scheduled. Between the waiting and the actual time in the air, this was a fairly miserable seven-hour stretch.

But, the good news is we are here and everything is going well. Our accommodations in Guangzhou are great and Will had a great medical visit today. We're going to track down the English-speaking branch for Church tomorrow but other than that, it's a quiet few days until our consulate appointment on Tuesday. We're looking forward to just hanging out and bonding with Will some more.