GZ day 2

We left Nanjing on Friday evening (China time) and got to Guangzhou late Friday evening (which was around 11:00 a.m. E.S.T.). The Victory Hotel in Guangzhou was very nice.

We were overlooking the courtyard. The room was beautiful, with a sitting room and its own PC with free internet. Therefore, Jiliang could watch her Chinese Tom and Jerry DVDs I bought her at the Chinese supermarket in Nanjing while I checked emails. The other members of our group were at the famous White Swan hotel. It is a Five Star Hotel that houses many adoptive families. They have the well-known Red Couches where people pose their adopted Chinese children. Our guide does all of the adoption business at the White Swan and it is more suitable for Jiliang. We decided to move to the White Swan after the 2nd night for the convenience and to have a hotel with space to run and play for Jiliang. It is huge and has adopted children's playroom. The price is not much more. There are some other perks too, so it evens out.

I want to reiterate how late we arrived on Friday. We had to take a later flight to Guangzhou, because we weren't going to have Jiliang's passport in time for the original flight. On our first morning in Guangzhou, we had to be at the Victory Lobby at 8:00 a.m. to go with the other families to get our Visa pictures taken. It was within walking distance. (We didn't make it to breakfast in time, because Jiliang was so tired, and I didn't want to pay for room service.) After pictures, we went to get her physical.

The adoption clinic was full of mosquitoes. I was warned by my travel clinic not to get bit, because they carry Malaria in those parts. Of course, I got bit, and then my guide gave me his Tea Tree Oil to use.

Jiliang did very well at the clinic. It was so fun to see all of the other adoptive Chinese children. Most of the children I saw had a special need of some sort. The children were all so beautiful. It was amazing the compassion and love between the parents and children. These amazing children were glowing as they were held by their new forever families. I felt so inspired knowing that hundreds of these amazing children were going to have a chance at a successful new start and a real family.

Moreover, I found that every parent's story of how they arrived at choosing their particular child and/or their child's special need was unique. Many people will tell adoptive parents that their child is "lucky" to be adopted by us. I can speak for myself, but I can also speak for many other adoptive parents as well: We are the lucky ones. These children come to us by no mistake. I believe that it is God's Plan. Through the adoption, we learn many life lessons, but most importantly, they teach us about compassion. I have never felt so much love in the air since I have arrived in Guangzhou, what I refer to as Adoption Central.

After the medical, Jiliang had to get her TB test. She cried a little, but did amazingly well. Three people would have had to have pinned T.J. down for something like that. They didn't even give a Band-Aid afterwards. It was peculiar. What seems so obvious in the States was a not a common practice here... Band-Aids. We blotted the blood of our kids pokes, and some other adoptive parents that I met on the flight from Nanjing supplied Jiliang with a Hello Kitty Band-Aid, which made it all better.

Afterwards, I requested the prescription for Jiliang's bronchitis. The doctor agreed to give her an antibiotic, but it ended up being Bufferin, and was nothing more than a medicine to calm a cough. She is doing better and it's possible that the coughing could be asthmatic or heart related. However, she is doing very well, has a lot of energy, and doesn't seem to be restricted by her play. She knows her limits.

Afterwards, we had exactly 35 minutes to walk back to our hotel, get the necessary paperwork (still packed in my suitcase from the late night before) and walk from the Victory to the White Swan to fill out paperwork. No time for lunch. :) I grabbed some snacks for Jiliang.

I met Peter, my guide, at the White Swan at 11:30 a.m. He told me to meet him at the 2nd floor Conference room. It was a huge area and I went to the only conference room. Then, he was in the lobby. I was so nervous about missing him and not having his cell number yet. Luckily, I found him. The paperwork was horrendous. He walked me through it, but it was just a lot to absorb. We ended up fininishing in about 3 hours! Jiliang stayed right there the entire time. We ended up finalizing more business and switching hotels. Peter was so wonderful about getting me into the White Swan and switching everything with the two hotels. We got back at the hotel at around 4:00 p.m. My poor girl was such a trooper.

Peter made me laugh so hard. He told me not to mention to the first hotel that I was switching to the other hotel. I assured him I would not. I asked him if I should get a taxi from one hotel to the other. He told me that I could just walk my luggage down one at a time. I have 5 bags. :) He told me to check in at the first hotel and not check out of the 2nd hotel until I made my last trip back for the last luggage. The hotels are around 4 blocks away. There are not sidewalks the entire way, so you have to walk in the road. I was dreading that morning jaunt. I thought, "At least I will get some good exercise".

Shortly after, another adoptive mom (Kelly Rumbaugh) from my Christian adoption community, Loving China's Children, contacted me by phone. She was also in Guangzhou too. She adopted a beautiful 14 year old girl and will be adopting another adolescent girl this Wednesday. I was able to meet her daughter, and her guide and friend, Angela. It is a small world. Angela and Kelly have the business together, Ladybugs 'N Love from Above. I sent Jiliang's ophanage care package through them and worked closely with Angela, who went above and beyond to make the experience better than I had ever imagined. I met them at my hotel and we dined together at Lucy's Bar. We ate outside in the warm weather and had a wonderful time. They pointed out some of the local places to check out for meals and necessities. Kelly and Angela are both veterans of the China Adoption world.

Jiliang and I both checked in early last night. I woke up to mosquitoes buzzing in my ear. I turned on the light and saw them swarming around Jiliang's warm little head. I found that the slippers they give you are bundled in plastic make nice flyswatters. I took pride in my first kill. Then, my second. I couldn't sleep, so I started mosquito stalking. I felt like a mother bear protecting her cub from a vicious predator...any of those nasty creatures could carry malaria, you know. :) Finally, I started to drift off, but awoke to a bad dream that Jiliang fell and cut her head. I roused when she started to move around and cry in her sleep. I turned on the light and saw blood on the sheet. I frantically searched her for any injuries as she's crying to go back to sleep. It turned out that she had smacked a mosquito in her sleep and its blood when all over the sheet. Yuck! The nasty thing was still alive. Disgusting. It is very hot and humid in Guangzhou right now.

I asked for a 6;30 Wake-up call, but it never happened and there was not a clock at the Victory Hotel. However, at 7:34 a.m., Peter called and said, "I called a car for you to get your luggage at 8:30, so you be down there at 8:30 and he will take you to the White Swan. Don't be late, because he has other places to be." I jumped up, packed everything quick, showered, ordered my baggage downstairs,, got Jiliang ready and jumped into the cab. Peter checked me into the White Swan and then went back to the Victory to have breakfast and check out. Check-out was by noon, however, they locked me out of the hotel room. They assumed that since I took my luggage, I was gone. I wanted to double-check the room for anything possibly left behind.

I made it to the Shamian Christ Church (Shamian Island) at 10:50. The service was amazing. I really needed that. I was really stressed about my flights and another missing document.
At the church, a lovely Chinese woman introduced herself and took Jiliang under her wing. She was so sweet. We saw Kelly, Show-Chung (spelling?), and Angela at the service. I prayed for help with all of the loose ends of this trip to come together. Angela and Kelly offered to help me arrange my flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai. That was a huge relief!!!!! Leah and Scott and working to speak with Delta on Sunday afternoon (Michigan time), so I cannot book my connecting flight until I hear from Leah or Scott.

I spent hours on the internet and phone trying to get through to Delta Airlines to switch my airlines and leave on March 5th, instead of March 7th. I can't book a flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai until I figure that all out. It also just happens that Delta's phone lines were down today, due to the weather.

I had dinner with Kelly, Show-Chung, and Angela. We had a great time watching some Chinese Opera-style comedy at their hotel. I got to tour the area near their hotel, which was so neat to see. The alleys were filled with spices and pets. What a treat to see some of China in all of its richness. We had some awesome Chinese food and then Kelly and her daughter walked Jiliang and I back to the hotel. What a great night. God is good and he is definitely putting the right people in our path.

Just a sidenote: Kelly has children with various special needs, including a son with a heart condition, so she has been very helpful to me in regards to Jiliang's heart condition.
Jiliang is the sweetest little girl I have ever met. She only talks to me, however. She talks in Chinese of course. Even so, I know what she is saying, if even I don't understand the words. When there are other people around, she doesn't talk or smile. Hopefully that will change. When Kelly and Angela went down to get some take-out Chinese, Jiliang came alive and warmed right up to Show-Chung. She kept bringing her things in the room. She giggled, talked, laughed, jumped, played, danced, sang and sat on her lap. When the adults came back, she went back to her reserved self. She is warming up to Angela and Kelly too, but she feels safe around another child. She knows that another child is not going to take her from Ma-ma.

Jill :)

In GZ

Hello everyone.

We made it to Guangzhou safely. Our plane was an hour late to Guangzhou, but it was safe. Jiliang fell asleep just before the plane took off, and she woke after it landed. We are not staying at the famous White Swan, but have the option to do so this week. We are staying at the new portion of the Victory Hotel. It has a PC in the room with free internet!!

It is a cute room with the little sitting room with a beautiful couch. It seems very comfy and nice. Tomorrow will be a busy day, so I may not email until tomorrow night. Jiliang has a physical tomorrow, and no shots that I know of, except a TB test in her hand Pray that all goes well. I am going to see if Scott can arrange with Delta for us to come home early. Everything is costly and I miss T.J. and want to get her home to have her bronchitis and heart checked out. She seems to be doing very well, however.
Love,
Jill :)

New Photo's

GZ & Photo's

I am counting down the days to homecoming. I will not focus so much on uploading pictures, but will update you daily. The pictures are becoming a nightmare to upload. Jiliang keeps touching the laptop and it takes forever to upload. I think she's messing up the uploads, and cannot do it while we're out. China has a key holder that controls the electricity, so when you're gone you don't want to upload, because they power shorts out. :) My Photobucket pictures are out of order and missing pictures. I will try to send some individuals every day or two. Keep us in your prayers. Prayers are helping. :)
She is a little more demanding, like your typical three year old kid, but she is wonderful and sweet too. I forgot how demanding a 3 year old is.
Love,
Jill

Heading to GZ

I think that my flight leaves at 7:00 p.m. (China time). I think it was switched to 7:00 p.m. to allow for any passport delays today. Everything is on schedule. I attached a document with my recent updates on our trip.
Love,
Jill :)

6:42 a.m. , Nanjing, China

Yesterday was an interesting day of sight-seeing. We went to the famous Massacre Museum in Nanjing. It was a tour filled with much remorse and sorrow. During World War II, the Japanese intended to conquer all of the Asian countries. They massacred thousands of Chinese men, women and children. In Nanjing alone, The Taking of Nanjing was a brutal massacre and in only 6 weeks, they slaughtered 300,000 Nanjing (or Nanking) Chinese people. It was truly horrific to see and read. This museum is an important part of Chinese History and people come from all over the world to see it. It is the Unforgotten Holocaust of WWII. The Americans played a role in stopping the Japanese we delivered the Atomic bombs. It left me with a heavy heart.

Upon entering the museum, I was instructed to drink from Jiliang’s water bottle, which was in my purse, as I am trying to keep her hydrated. Fred said, “You must drink the water to show it is not poison. They wouldn’t want anyone to try to sabotage the museum.” I drank the water, more fearful of how suspicious it would appear to Chinese officials if I didn’t , than the fear of getting her bronchitis. Fred instructed me to tour the museum, and he was going to meet me on the other side in 55 minutes.

A guard came up to me and asked me in Chinese if Jiliang was mine. I said yes, “She is my daughter,” pointing to her and I. He smiled and nodded and motioned something to assert that he had a daughter or that he had her age or that looked like her. I could tell that he was trying to tell me something kind.

After about 45 minutes, I took Jiliang to the bathroom. One side had your typical Chinese stalls, and the other side had toilets. I was okay with using the Chinese bathroom, but the one I chose was really dirty. We went to a toilet and I wiped the seat with my tissues, and laid tissues on the seat. Jiliang refused to sit on the toilet paper. She pushed it in the toilet. Finally, every bone in my body quivered as I did what I have never done before, and T.J. will attest to this: I wiped the seat really good, and I sat her on the potty.

We rounded one more corner, and I was certain that we were nearing the end of the museum. Then, we saw Fred. He told us that we had only finished half of the museum and there was still an outdoor portion. It was normally a 2-3 hour tour. Fred gave me the quick Cliffnotes, and we sped through the remainder of the museum.
After the Museum, we went to an embroidery factory when they spin silk. They actually spin silk from gold. I thought that was only in fairy tales. The embroidery factory is known worldwide. Fred asked for a woman to give me a private tour. The embroidery was exquisite.

After hours of touring the city, Jiliang started to become a normal three-year old. She became a little naughty in the embroidery place, and started to grab all of the little purses that I was observing. She wanted to throw them all on the floor. Of course, she did the ‘ol three-year-old grasp on one. Let us grab one, and when Mom grabs my hand, I will use the other hand to launch the other ones on the floor. She did NOT succeed. I took her in my arms and looked her in the eye, and said “No”. Then, I said, “Now, I carry you.” Eventually, I told her that I was putting her down and that she better behave. She complied, so I think she understood. It was a little awkward doing that in front of people, because they do not know what I am saying to her and it probably sounded worse.

Fred informed me that the Travel Approval document arrived at the hotel today, as scheduled. Thank you, Leah and Scott, for coordinating that amazing feat. Next, we went to the Notary Office. The kind Chinese woman, Chen, had my notarized adoption papers needed for my adoption business in Guangzhou. I also need one set for myself and another set to complete my adoption in The United States.

After the business was complete, we ventured off to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant. Fred asked what type of Chinese food I liked. I prefaced my response to the fact that American Chinese food was much different, but told him that I ate: Sweet and Sour Chicken with pineapple, Almond Chicken and Sesame Beef. “Sweet and Sour Chicken with pineapple?” Fred replied. “That is Cantonese food.” He told me that he would see what similar dish he could find.

In this particular area, most of the Chinese restaurants had closed at 2:00 p.m. After our third jaunt down the brick-paved walkway, Fred found another restaurant. We were seated, and then Fred pointed us to a washroom for Jiliang. This time, they only had Chinese stalls, so I held Jiliang over the receptacle and she went, dangling in a squat position in the air. Success!

Fred had taken the liberty of ordering for us. He told me that they did not have the chicken (the other chicken was too spicy), but he ordered potatoes, beef, seafood and Tofu. I asked what kind of seafood it was and Fred told me that it was whatever they decided to put in there. He asked for everything not spicy for “the baby”. The waitress brought hot water, but no tea, so I watched Fred drink the water and did so too. Jiliang had her water bottle and she only drinks the bottled water. As I sat and waited for our food, a pipe from the rafters dripped on me.
Fred made a comment about the wait. He inquired about the wait to the waitress. Shortly after, the plate of potatoes came. They were Julienne sliced potatoes, stir-fried with some peppers. They were so good! They must have been sautéed with chicken broth or something. Then, the rice arrived. Jiliang loved the potatoes. However, I have not been able to get her to eat rice. Maybe she ate in often in the orphanage.

Fred expressed his impatience in the wait. He got up and went to the back. I thought maybe he saw someone he knew, but he was telling them to hurry up and bring the food. He came back and said, “Maybe there is only one cook working.” Soon after, they brought the beef platter. It was a sweet beef with mushrooms. It was delicious. I was almost full when the seafood arrived. It looked beautiful and was more like a soup. I could see crab meat, which I like. Fred said it had crab meat, little shrimp and nuts and Tofu. He said, “It is almost like a soup. It is very good. You can give some to the baby. It digests very well.”

The seafood dish was good. Jiliang loves fresh crab meat. I am not as fond of seafood as the beef, but it was very good. I picked out the Tofu. I was glad that the beef arrived first. We finished our meal and ventured home.

When we got back to the hotel, we went to the clinic. Jiliang has croup or bronchitis. I was expecting to pay over a hundred dollars. The doctor checked her out and said that she had bronchitis, which was not uncommon for orphanage children. I asked about an antibiotic and he said that would be too strong. He gave her some Eastern homeopathic medicine, called Shedan Chuanbei Pipa Gao.

Actions and Indications:
Moisturize and relieve cough, remove sputum and alleviate asthma, It is indicated for the treatment of cough, dry nose, dry swallow, itch of throat, dyspnea and feeling oppression over the chest which caused by dryness-evil.
Composition: Snake’s Bile, Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae, Follum Eriobotryae, Rhizoma Typhonii Flagelliformis, Radix Pladylcodi, Mentholym, Assistant material, Sucrose, mel.

The doctor was kind to me and only charged 53 Yuan, which is only about $7.85 in American Dollars for the medicine and the doctor’s visit. Upon departing, he said in translated Chinese, “A little bit of Eastern meets Western medicine.”

As soon as Jiliang and I got back to our room, I gave her the medicine. I thought it smelled good, but she spit is out. It is a thick consistency like molasses. I gave it to her again and he cried, but I got it in. She was all sticky from the medicine, so I decided to give her a bubble bath. After about 15 minutes, she spit the medicine from her mouth into the tub. She was crying in the tub and I was determined to give it to her. I was going to call Jenny, a nice lady at the hotel who said to call 24/7. However, there was a knock at the door. Our sweet, Chinese housekeeper was there to bring us the paper and turn down our bed. I solicited her help. I pantomimed how she was coughing and went to the doctor. I showed her the bottle of Snake bile concoction and asked if she could translate to Jiliang to drink it. My poor baby. She obediently drank it slowly, gagging. We gave her sips of water to wash it down, but she did it on her own account.

We called home, which was about 8:00 a.m. in Michigan. Scott had already left for work, so we called my parents. She said “Papa, Papa, Papa” to my dad. T.J. said hi to her, and my mom was able to say hello. I informed them that we were flying to Guangzhou today at 3:30 p.m. We will arrive at the well-known adoption Hotel, The White Swan, in Guangzhou. I hope that they have a swimming pool.

In the evening, we packed our things together. Jiliang enjoys opening all of my mini chocolate bars and taking a bite off the edge and putting them back. It reminds me of my unsuspecting younger sister at that age.

Well, we are getting ready for breakfast. I don’t know what to do about my luggage. Not everything fits. I hope that the flight to Guangzhou goes well for Jiliang. This may be her first time on an airplane. Our flight leaves at 3:30 p.m. and Fred said that we only need to arrive a half hour early. I told Fred that in the States, we have to get there hours early. I told him that I would feel better if we got there earlier too. He said that would not be a problem.
Jill :-)

More Photo's from Jill

These pictures are posted below but could not delete or change settings to make them fit - so am re-posting them so you can see.

Lavonne-2-24-10

Other Stuff

Map of the area where Jill is staying in Nanjing
The Grand Hotel in Nanjing (5 star) with lots of great restraunts
The basic room Main Restaurant

4:00 a.m., Nanjing, China

The Confuscist Temple Market (at night)
second view
Nanjing Bridge
1st Bridge built over the Yangtze River (from 1997 to 2001)
Nanjing Wall - (details)

We are doing very well. Yesterday, we toured parts of Nanjing. My tour guide, Fred, is from Nanjing and he took pleasure in showing me these historical and proud areas and achievements of his city. Escaping from the modern day city life did me wonders, and it helped Jiliang and I both overcome a little of our cabin fever. We toured the Nanjing Bridge, the Nanjing Wall, The Confuscist Temple Market.

In the morning, we ate our continental breakfast (which was actually a 5 star buffet that you might see in Vegas). Jiliang would not speak to anyone. She does not talk in public, even to me. I told Fred that she talks so much to me at the hotel. Of course, it is in Chinese, so I cannot understand. She was not eating, nor was she the previous morning. I think that is not a morning person, but neither am I. I feel happy that she talks to me. I am only trying to determine what is going on in her head.

As soon as we sat down, the waitresses brought Jiliang a sweet roll. Shortly after, the waitresses noticed that she was not eating, so they brought her rice porridge and started to feed it to her. I said, “Congee!” They did not know that word and brought me a sign that said rice porridge. When Fred showed up, I explained that she had some diarrhea the previous night. The waitresses they brought more food on platters: meat sausages, ham, noodles and more. I felt for my poor little girl and prayed that she did not get sick. Fred told them to hold off on the meat and explained that he needed more rice and noodles, because she had a few bouts of diarrhea. They were so sweet and heartfelt. They listened to Fred. By the way, Leah, I am using chopsticks now. Jiliang can use them too (she is learning). I tried using chopsticks years ago with no success; but I just picked them up a day ago, and I am using them well. I think I am doing it backwards, but I am at least doing it. :-)

Nanjing is a large, historical city for China. Fred was able to share the sentiments, pride and history of Nanjing with such honor. Hearing him speak about China reminds me of why I fell in love with China in the first place. What I admire about China is their dedication to hard work, family and education. Housing is pricy in China, as it is in many places. The Chinese people spend everything else they have on their children’s education, medical and bare necessities. They want the best for their children.

When we were at the Civil Affairs Office yesterday, I saw many beautiful children with various special needs. Many of these children would be cast aside in Chinese society. Without judgment, I feel that many Chinese people could not be able to give these children the full lives that they so deserve. They may not be able to provide medical care to a child with a heart defect, or give a child with a special need the advantage that they need to be successful in China. Chinese families give so much to their families, leaving so little for other pleasures that we take for granted in other parts of the world.

I have been privileged in my own life. I have never wanted for food, housing or transportation. I came from a middle class family and both of my parents were hard-working Blue Collar workers: factory workers. They gave everything that they had so that my sister and I could lead full, happy and successful lives.

These last few years, my husband and I have struggled to make ends meet. When T.J. had colic and I had medical complications in 2004-2005, I eventually left my full-time dispatching job in 2005. I did so to take care of our son and to have surgeries to recover from child-birthing complications. I went back to college, we started an international adoption; thus, we struggled more. It eventually led us to a place where we had to struggle financially and work multiple jobs. Honestly, I was a little angry about it. In reality, we were still rich, compared to many people who share this earth with us. We had food on our table, a roof over our heads and wonderful medical insurance. We had our families to guide us. Now, more than ever, I have my faith to comfort me and pave the way for me. We are so blessed. Truly, I feel that everything in life happens for a reason. I believe that I needed to understand what it felt like to want to know my daughter’s needs. I am still learning, but I feel that I can parent her differently than I may have if I had gotten her when she was a baby. When you believe that everything happens for a reason, it is uncanny how your journey suddenly starts to make sense and everything seems to have a purpose.

I wanted so much to see the Real people of China, because to me they are so beautiful. When we drove back streets of Nanjing, I was able to capture the essence of the Chinese people. I am referring to the ones who carried the heavy loads of goods on their bikes just to sell enough to feed their families for a day. I took numerous pictures of the impoverished areas of China and it humbled me, and made me realize how blessed I am. It is no different than an American family who works hard to put food on their table, but in China it is right there in the open. I thought the people were beautiful and the sights off the beaten path were picturesque. It warmed my heart to see such hard work and dedication.

The Confuscian Temple Market was a magnificent sight to see, because of the Chinese New Year decorations. I was so excited, because it looked like the China Town that I have always longed to see. Even as a child, I have been attracted to Chinese lanterns, Chinese Dragons, Pagodas and many other Chinese symbols. I feel like I waited my whole life to experience this part of China, and I did today. It was so magnificent. I will share many pictures of these sights as soon as I can.
I have been eating Chinese food for most of my stay, and it has been very enjoyable. I have to admit, however, that I have been eating food at a Chinese Five Star Hotel but I am trying to protect my body from the unknown. I have tried many foreign foods and true authentic Chinese foods. I am not, however, trying anything raw.

However, today, Fred suggested that we eat at a McDonald’s at the Confuscian Temple Market, and I gladly obliged. I ordered a cheeseburger for Jiliang and I. Honestly, I get a little carsick, and after being in cabs, on a city bus and a subway, I just wanted what I wanted. Walking it off and eating always cures that. Somehow, Fred managed to order one Cheeseburger for “the baby”, a chicken sandwich and a fish sandwich. Fish or chicken just didn’t sound good at the moment. I told Fred that I really wanted a cheeseburger and that I could pay for it, so he got me one. He asked if he could take the other sandwich home to his family, so it didn’t go to waste. In retrospect, I felt a little bad about that.

We went to the Confuscian Temple and Jiliang came alive. It was very colorful and there were many artistic animations and statues. It smelled fragrantly of inscence. I thought that Jiliang was going to climb over this little fence to the crafted flowers. She smiled and ran around. Yet, she ran up to a statue of a student of Confuscious and I feared that she was going to bend the hand off of it. That could have been very bad and unlucky I guess.

There was a man at the temple writing poems about one’s name. I had him write a poem about Gao Ji Liang (Gow Gee Lee On).
This is the poem he wrote for her in about one minute, translated into English by my guide, Fred:

There is clear water running on the high mountain.
The lucky star flares on the whole world.
The girl is the most outstanding in the study career.
She definitely will be the high ranking official in the future.

We ended our temple experience by sitting for some folk music entertainment. I videotaped it to replay for her back at the hotel.

Jiliang reminds me so much of Scott, it is funny. She is also very much like T.J. in her mischieviousness, as he was as a three year old. She was a perfect angel all throughout the tour. No three year old that I know would have ever lasted that long on a tour. The Confuscian Temple market was the end of our tour. After seeing the temple, she became more comfortable with Fred, as she has with me. She decided to be very naughty. She held each of our hands and would lift her feet and swings from our arms. We were all tired, and nearing the busy street. I asked Fred to tell her that if she didn’t stop and walk, that he was not going to hold her hand. She loves Fred. I don’t think he understood, but we arrived to the cab shortly enough.

Fred had to gather some paperwork from me to schedule my intercountry travels. While we were taking care of business matters, Jiliang spilled her bubbles for her singing Happy Lamb bubble blower all over the chair in our room. After Fred left, I called the front desk to ask for some assistance. I felt really bad and didn’t want it to leave a soap stain. They said up an attendant. I said, “I’m sorry” in English and showed her the bubbles. She motioned as if to say, “No problem”, shrugging it off. She smiled and flipped the chair cushion over, looking at me as if to say, “See, no more problems.” We laughed, I thanked her, and all was well.

We ventured on to eat dinner in the hotel again. Jiliang is really showing her Chinese culture about layering clothing. She insisted on wearing her new pajamas under her outfit. She ended up with four shirts, two pajama pants, a pair of jeans and a coat. Yesterday, I did not tolerate it as much. I encouraged her to peel off the layers. Today, she cried for me to put more on. I realized today that it was truly important to her, not just as a cultural thing, but at an insulator for her too. That is what she is used to wearing. I can gradually change that, but it is not fair to her to change things so quickly on her. That is all she knows. Therefore, she looked like the child from The Christmas Story as we went to dinner.

There is another adoptive family staying next door to us in the hotel. We see them every time at breakfast and dinner, which is peculiar, because we have never eaten at the same time.  Their little girl is crying a lot. Whenever I see her with them, she looks so happy and she is absolutely glowing and smiling. She has a special need too, which is a limb difference. She is beautiful beyond words. They expressed that she cries at night. She does not want to go to sleep. She will only fall asleep if one of them is holding her. I told them, “Maybe she is afraid that when she wakes up, you will not be there.” I can tell that she loves them both very much. It is their first child, and I told them that my first child was colicky and I understood that it was very hard. I assured them that it was very normal and that it would get better. They are very nice people. I told them that I would love for our girls to play together, but explained that Jiliang had been coughing.

Fred has an eight-year old daughter. He asked to bring his wife and daughter to meet Jiliang at our hotel in the evening. I happily accepted. His beautiful daughter, Tiana, had just finished a violin lesson. She came to our room and met Jiliang. The family brought two puzzles, a Chinese Snow White book and a dog toy for Jiliang. His daughter played her violin for us and it almost made me cry. I thought that it was a thoughtful gesture of kindness.

Jiliang was so tired that evening. She is an outdoor girl. When we get back to the hotel in the evening she cries. After Fred left, she knew what was next: bedtime. Last night, she tried to dispute bedtime. I pointed to the bed and she got as far away from me (literally on the edge of her side) as possible. She cried a most grievous cry. She didn’t want me to hold or kiss her. She just cried herself to sleep.

Last night, she cried before I even sent her to bed. I tried to look at a book with her, so she could attach bedtime with something happy. Honestly, I think she was just overly tired and needed sleep. She cried a sad cry and slowly started to fall asleep. It was painful to see her sorrow, but I felt comfort in knowing that she let me hold her, stroke her hair and kiss her as her cries went into dreamland. I slept too at 8:30 p.m., which is why I am up writing in the quiet, wee hours of the Chinese morning. My little Angel sleeps softly as my fingers hit the keyboard.

God Bless you All! Keep us in your prayers. I will be in touch.

Jill :-)

6:00 a.m., Wednesday, Nanjing, China

If you are looking for info on Gaoyou - here are two links that are full of interesting facts on the area that Jill is at:
Half the Sky in Gaoyou
Gaoyou - Wikipedia

Here is Jill's post to me today - it is a long one....


Hello everyone,
We are doing well in China. I haven’t been able to write as much, because I have Jiliang now. She is also very enamored by my computer. I am shocked that she is letting me type now. On the first day, she was comforted by the video of her orphanage staff on video. Now, she likes to see pictures of herself, Mama, China, Baba and T.J. (da gu gu?). Every time I get the computer out, she thinks it is for her.

She is like a typical 3 year old, testing me and vying for my attention. When she wants my attention, she plays her Ling doll. She presses the buttons and waits for me to say the Chinese words. She gets upset when I say no to her. She cries, and I try to keep a straight face and point to what I want her to do and make sure she follows through. Yesterday, she threw something on the floor, next to the trash, and I told her to pick it up. She wouldn’t do it, so I gently did a hand over hand with her and said, “Yeah, nice job.” I know that was to get my attention, because she is an utter neat freak.

When Jiliang woke up on our first morning together, I was getting my hair ready in the bathroom. She ran out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She just looked at me, like, “Okay, it is you.” I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She went to bed in the butterfly pajamas that T.J. colored for her. When she woke up, she had blue hands. I looked at them, and she had a look on her face like she was going to get reprimanded for getting dirty.

I put her new red coat on her. She let me. She cried when I put her red hat on her. Then, she followed me to the door and down the elevator. She barely ate at breakfast – maybe one bite. When we were in the cab, I asked Fred to tell her that she was staying with me. I think that he was confused.

At the Civil Affairs Office, we arrived before the Gaoyou staff got there. I could feel Jiliang’s heart beating through all of her layers of clothes and coat. The place was full today. Everyone was very nice. The Gaoyou staff was shocked at her happy disposition with me. The ladies were afraid to let her see them, and I encouraged them it was okay to enter. They said that Jiliang is not usually comfortable and open with strangers. She backed away from THEM today. They each wanted to say goodbye to her. It was very sweet. One of the ladies told me that Jiliang was afraid to go with her, and when she held her, she wanted me. They explained that she was staying with me, and then she warmed up to them. They said, “wow” when they saw how she was sitting happily with me. It was obvious that they really loved her and wanted the best for her. The Orphanage Director gave me a book about adoption from Gaoyou, which I wanted to buy; however it is in Chinese. It was sweet. He also gave me a postcard book from places around Gaoyou. I will cherish that. I gave them their gifts and a specially wrapped gift of Cathy Luick’s handmade Jiliang earrings. They were touched that I had a special gift for her.
They told me that the two marks on her stomach area were from a recent heart monitor she had before they brought her to me. They also told me that she loves picture books and loves to ride a bike. They were so happy that I bought Jiliang a bike! I have to laugh, because it was one of the few things that I knew about her and bought it to make her feel welcomed. If they only knew how hard the wait was.

I did discover that she had NOT had any heart surgery in China. I thought she had a partial intervention or stint. I also found out that her bald patch is part of her birthmark or scar. Her hair is not going to grow back. I will buy some hat for now. However, I spend the afternoon with her without any hat, and got a lot of unnecessary stares, glares and smiles. That makes me sad for her. You want to spare your children any unnecessary stares and pain. Scott is totally okay with it. He said, “Let’s just worry about taking care of her heart first, and then we will worry about the hair.”

On day one, she didn’t eat much. Yesterday, she didn’t eat much at breakfast, before the adoption. After the adoption process, she was told that she was mine. She has been eating and drinking non-stop. She ate with chopsticks at lunch and I was so shock I started to cry and laugh at the same time. We had the embarrassing hands-down-the-pants moment at the 5 star lunch buffet. I don’t blame her. She insisted on dressing herself, but had her underwear and leggings on backwards under her pants. Then, she picked her nose at the table and I showed her how to use a tissue. I showed her how to “blow” her nose in the hotel. At the restaurant, they gave her a highchair, but I insisted she NOT have the tray. I am probably breaking a ton of social rules. That doesn’t seem appropriate to eat off of a try. She made no mess at the table! What got on the table, she cleaned up immediately. She used every napkin at the table to touch up her face. She also wanted to learn how to use a toothpick.

In the afternoon, we went for a walk around the block. It is safe her, but there is not much to see. Each building has a guard, and there are police everyone. After we went around the block, I am assuming it is because the entire street we on is nothing but banks. There is no shopping nearby. Fred took us to the grocery store the day before. He told us we could walk there if we needed something. He also mentioned that the streets in China were kind of “like playing chicken”. It’s true. With a child, I have no interest in playing chicken with cars, bikes, mopeds or busses. He also mentioned that traffic has no direction. Drivers go the opposite way on the road. Drivers cut up what appears to be sidewalks and skinny one-lane alleys (but they make 2 lanes). I feel like I am in Chicago (minus the language barrier), not Nanjing in China. I am truly a country girl and have never been a city girl. My sister Leah reminded me of our Boston trip. At first, I was so disappointed in Boston, and by the end of the trip, I missed it, and looked back and wished I had enjoyed it more.

As for Jiliang, she has been calling me, “Mama” since day one. She is sweet, funny and mischievious. I am having trouble getting her to say any English words. She cries when she wants something or can’t do something. Unfortunately, it is the same cry for everything, so often it is something as simple as her pant leg being bunched.

Yesterday, she had an upset stomach or bathroom issue after she woke up from a nap that I made her take against her will. I am assuming that she overate or ate some Chinese food at lunch that her little body was not used to. It could have been stress too. I gave her a bath to calm her down. That is what I learned from T.J. She calmed right down. However, her little toes had a purplish tint to them. That is the heart condition. It scared me. Luckily, she is totally potty-trained. She has never had any bathroom accident, and I think she would be mortified if she did. She is fine now. However, I think that she has croup. I found out that there is a clinic here in the building. I might take her there. However, I know that croup is benefited by fresh air. She gets a physical too, in Guangzhou, so I might wait it out, but I don’t want there to be any delays in getting her home.

Yesterday, we had the bathwater back up in the floor, and they came to snake it out. In this building, you cannot let the bath water out fast or fill it up too much.  In the evening, the most God-aweful smell was coming from that drain at 8:00 p.m. It smelled like vomit. I called because I was afraid it would back up. They put a chemical in the drain and were so nice about it. They probably thought I was crazy. It was warm outside, so I had the window open. Jenny, the hotel person, who is sweet as can be, asked if the baby would be okay with the window open. In China, they layer kids like crazy and worry about the babies getting “chilled”.
This morning, we are sight-seeing. Fred explained to me yesterday that typically only babies and toddlers use a stroller. I don’t think that he understands that she has a heart condition. Yesterday, when we walked around the block, I picked her up so she wouldn’t step in something wet. I heard her panting softly, like a child with asthma, minus the wheezing. If we do a lot of sight-seeing today, we will take it easy, and try to get a stroller. If not, I will carry her, because she is so light. If it’s too much, we will call it a day.

Today, my little Chinese alarm clock woke me up at 6:00 a.m. God Bless her. She whimpered, like, “I don’t want to go back to bed”,  so I said, “Let’s get up.” She started her morning drinking a bottle of water. Then, she colored in her Elmo coloring book and blew bubbles out the window.
For Scott, stock up on bubbles, oranges, bananas, pears, Ramen noodles, Skittles and hats or cloth headbands. She hates the hard headbands I got her. I think they hurt her head.

As for me, I am looking forward to getting out of this hotel. And honestly, I am homesick. I miss my husband, I really miss T.J. dearly, and I miss the comforts of my own home, even though I often call it a shack. It is home. I can’t wait to get Jiliang home. She is going to love T.J. “Mama”, she says, as she just peeled a banana herself. She is so self-sufficient. I can’t wait until we can talk to each. Hopefully it will help having T.J. around. However, she does sound cute in Chinese. I told the orphanage lady that she talks a lot in Chinese and she was surprised and said, “She only talks to people she is familiar with”. That melted my heart, of course. I will leave you with this: She sounds like the little girl in Monsters, Inc., who I always thought had the cutest little girl voice.

Jill :)

Presenting..... Jiliang our daughter!

Gotcha Moment with Jiliang









1) At the Store - she was quiet and not very happy looking

2) Watching the computer on the bed - her Gotcha moment

* she is so smart! she learned how to hit the space bar and mouse to replay the video over and over. Everytime she got close to the end of the video she would hit the mouse or keyboard.

3) Her new doll

** I only show you the photo's of sorrow #3 - so that you can appreciate the depths of her trust in me...she took a huge leap of faith in opening up to me. I had to earn her smiles !!












1) First Time Smiling (I cried when she smiled) :-)


2) She is showing off her artwork


3) She will love to do art with T.J. on his easel !! I am soooo excited !!
(it was so worth the wait to see her smile)

Warming up and the smiles get bigger and bigger!!

Sorry it took so long to get these out. I didn't have a chance to send them during the day and was going to wait until she went to bed. Then, I fell asleep. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and decided to it then. It has taken me a while to write this and try to upload the pictures. However, I am having trouble uploading pictures here, due to the internet connection. I took over a hundred pictures. I wanted to upload them to am going to upload them to Snapfish to post pictures and videos, but may not be able to do that until I get home. Let me send out this message first and then I will send pictures next. She is a doll!

In the beginning, she grieved and rejected me for about 6 hours and wanted to leave me for every Chinese person she saw. She did not speak, just a soft whimpering grieving cry. She is a food hoarder. Presently, it is 2:43 here and she is sleeping. I wanted to write, post and send pictures earlier, but have not had a chance. Once she turned into a smiling, happy child, she was wound up and I could not get her to sleep until 10:00 p.m. China time. So much for her 8:00 bedtime.
She had a bald head and an unclosed fontanelle, both of which concern me for her sake. However, both are things that I knew about and that Scott and I are both okay with. I don't know why her head is bald. It is possible that she may have had a recent procedure or IV fluids in her head, would would explain the two round red marks on her thorax and the red spot on her head (it looks like a possible IV injection site). However, we are open to the fact that she may have a bald spot from her birthmark. Either way, she is so beautiful to me and Scott.

She turned into an active, smiling, happy child and a little mischievous too. This happened after 4 p.m. and I got her at 10 a.m. I will place a post for you to post. Here are a few pictures. She is beautiful and I am in love with her. She likes me now too, but it was not love at first sight for her towards me. LOL. At least I was prepared for that. Her nanny was not there, and she was very attached to the other caretakers and director. The director emphasized that she was very "smart", and he is very correct. They spent a lot of time with her and I could tell that she was attached to them and they truly loved her and wanted the best life for her. They left a pretty green sweater for her, and it was a security sweater for a long time. I think that her nanny may have given it to her. Her actually nanny was not there. I don't know why, but she did know the other people well. If her actual nanny had been there, I don't know how I would have gotten her out of there.

After getting her at the Civil Affairs office, our guide, Fred, took us to the Chinese Supermarket. It was neat, and they had two floors and an escalator where you drove the carts up. Certain things in the store are consigned, like the fruit, certain cereals, jewelry, souveniers. You have to pay for them separately. When we got to the checkout line. I would never have known. I kept asking her which things she liked and she just accepted each thing and put it in the back of the cart. It was a very neat store and played Chinese New Year music throughout the store.
She had several layers of clothes on. She was sad to see "Uncle Fred" leave the hotel. She was sweating from head to toe. Slowly, I peeled each layer away. She was most reluctant to let go of her red shoes. I gave her a bubble bath, and she didn't mind. She washed her little self with a washcloth. I brushed her hair and she liked the Panda barrettes at first and wanted all 4 in her hair, but they barely stayed in. Then, she pulled them all out and put on her red snowhat. It was a sad moment for me, because I realized that she has been taught to cover up her bald spot, even though she may not know why. I don't know how to deal with that if her hair doesn't grow back, because I think she is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, bald spot and all, and I don't want her to develop a complex. At the same time, I don't want her to get stares. As a parent, I need to learn the best way to parent and love her in that aspect.

When we got back, I showed her some bubbles and she learned to blow bubbles really quick. Unfortunately, the bubbles were cheap Valentine knock-outs, and don't work when they get halfway empty, but she is not easily discouraged. I found that she LOVES coloring. Afterwards, we went back to coloring. I started to watch her Gotcha video. She heard the nannies talking and leaned over to watch. I downloaded it for her.

Also, around 1:00 we ordered room service. The girl could not take my order over the phone, because she spoke very little English. She was so sweet and sent a staff member to personally take my order. Jiliang was sad when the attendant left. Then, she started to color and seemed a little more content. However, when the attendant brought the food, Jiliang when she walked out the door. She tried to open the door to leave with her. She didn't want to eat the dumplings or rice that I bought her. They were wonderfully palatable to me while she chose to color!

She became very sad, especially when I folded her coat. She thought I was throwing her coat away! She cried and grieved. I lost it and I cried, because it was heartbreaking to see her grieve. At one point, I held her and I could feel her heart racing. It was scary. Luckily, that was short-lived. I showed her the video of her Gotcha Day. She was comforted by seeing her nannies. She yawned and yawned, and it was around her normal nap time. I laid the laptop in the bed. She laid down and watched, but did not fall asleep. I wanted to sleep. :) Then, she continued to eat these orange cookie-crackers. I was afraid they would make her sick. She was still grieving, and she ate each one slowly. Then, I made her put them on the nightstand. She didn't like that. She was clinging to them, because it was her security blanket, so to speak. She understood. Every time she would finish a cookie, she would cry, and I would give her another, one at a time. She got over that.

I tried to fold her clothes later in the evening, and she didn't know what I was touching them for, and cried and clutched them. Especially her shoes and green sweater.

She recognized my husband and son in different pictures. She was looking at a photo of T.J. and said, "Ji Ji" and I rejoiced thinking that was her nickname. Then, she said, "Baba" for all Scott's pictures and Ji Ji for all of T.J.'s pictures. She said "Baba" on the phone to Scott, which about made him melt. He can't wait to meet her! "Can you come home sooner?" he asked.

Suddenly, she came out of her shell. She grabbed the bubbles and SMILED. I got it on camera. She smiled more, she giggled! She kissed her Ling dollie that speaks Chinese. She colored. She blew bubbles out the window and laughed and hammed it up while I took photos. When I didn't take photos, she nudged my camera to say, "Get a picture of this!"

I tear up writing this, because I feel so unbelievable happy that she found happiness. When you see her sorrow, it brings deep joy and privelege to see her elation. She even picked up the phone to pretend to play phone and I wondered if she was trying to call "Baba" Scott, because it was right after we got off the phone with him. By the way, she was all smiles on the phone with you, Scott.

The rest of the evening was spent playing, blowing more bubbles, investigating food in the room. She peeled about 4 oranges herself. Each time, she would give me half of the peeled orange. She likes bananas too. However, she didn't like the banana chips I bought. She LOVES chocolate. She put my Dove chocolates in her Panda sweater pocket and gave me an equal amount. I am not sure if that was intentional or not.

We went for a walk in the hotel and investigated each floor. She stayed near me. At one point, I thought she was going to race me, so I started to run and play, and she thought that I was going to run out of her sight and fear struck her face.
She opened up a lot and is speaking a LOT of Chinese. I thought she was quiet. :) She is a sweet, wonderful, active, mischievious, SMART girl. She picks up things very quickly. If I demonstrate something once, she will do it. She understands so much. She absolutely LOVES her Chinese Ling doll. Thank you Katherine St.
Clair!!!!!! She loves to hear me talk in Chinese! After she warmed up to me, she was elaborating on what the doll said in Chinese, very fluently. She looked at wait and waited for me to speak the Chinese words and would prompt me to do so each time. I wonder if she is thinking, "Okay now, you are going to learn MY language."
She is such a joy. She has so much personality, love, tenderness and MISCHIEVIOUSNESS. She will fit right in with her big brother, T.J. He is the king of mischieviousness.

One more thing (although there are so many things I could write about her and about today), the ophanage staff took pictures on one of the disposable cameras - approximately 17 pictures. They gave me a receipt for the cake and I thanked them. They said that they told her she was being adopted and explained it to her, and also show her our pictures. They explained that she was getting a big brother and that he was looking forward to meeting her.

I will write more as soon as I can. Please know that we are both very well. Please pray for her safety and smooth travels. Please know that I feel very safe here in China. We will be going back to the Civil Affairs Office in the morning to finalize some adoption paperwork for China's side. I will also be telling them that I want to keep her. It seems a little silly, because I adore her, but that is the procedure. When she sees her orphanage staff tomorrow, she may grieve some more. I can handle that, although I pray that she copes well for her sake. I can't imagine her grief. On Wednesday, which is the day after tomorrow, we will be sight-seeing in Nanjing.

Thank you and God Bless You All!!!!
With Love,
Jill :)

one more update from Jill

Hey everyone! I am getting Jiliang in at 10:00 a.m. or 9:00 Michigan time. I received a faxed copy of my TA at the hotel from Scott. Scott and my sister are going to work together to make sure the TA original gets in the mail Monday morning. Hopefully that works, but either way, I am bringing Jiliang back to the hotel after I get her! So excited. Thanks for your prayers. They are carrying me through. I will post pictures of us, even if it has to be after she goes to sleep.
Love,
Jill :)

5 more hours for Jill

Photo's:
1) This is the actual orphanage name and details.
2) The Orphanage
3) Map of the Province and location

It is about 10 PM PST and i checked the time that Jill has on the blog.... and it is 5 AM - so in 5 hours (about 3 AM PST or 6 AM EST) Jill will be meeting her daughter for the first time.

Thank you for the prayers she has felt them and the answers also. With all the challenges and delays she has experienced on this adoption journey, God has faithfully provided and answered the desire of her heart.

He (God) knew long ago that this little girl was placed on Jill's and Scott's heart and as they moved along on this journey - they came to a place when it was time to be matched and the love grew in their hearts. This little girl was their daughter forever. The drive to reach that goal grew and the passon grew. Now nothing will stop Jill from meeting her daughter. Along this journey Jill's faith has grown and again today the provisions God has given confirms that with faith all things are possible!

What A Funny Day!

I appreciate all of the prayers. They are coming through, so please keep praying.

Today was an interesting day. I got up early, even though I didn't sleep the night. Getting up early is a big feat for me, so GO ME. :) If you understand how I am NOT a morning person, you will understand.

The breakfast bar at the Longmen Hotel(Best Western) in Shanghai was awesome. They had the best croissants, and breads. The coffee was good. I also ate steamed cauliflower and dumplings for breakfast. I would have filled up more, but I wanted to meet my contact in the lobby at 7:30 sharp, so I quickly ate and left. I am used to American continental breakfasts, where you get a piece of toast and juice if you are lucky. I walked in and LiPing met me. He asked if I had eaten and I said yes. Then, he said that he didn't eat, and that he was going to go eat, because we didn't need to leave until 8:00.

In the meantime, I was trying to check out and pay for my hotel. I asked for my luggage to be brought down before I went to breakfast, but they didn't understand me. After about 10 minutes of trying to check out and get my baggage, a Chinese lady asked to translate for me. She was so helpful. She gave me her business card and asked to get an update about my daughter via email and told me not to take the train, because it was very hard with luggage.

LiPing met up with me and we headed to the bus station. He also told me that they use buses as the transportation in this scenario, and also mentioned how luggage is a major inconvenience, as you must carry it a long ways and he would not be able to guide me. We talked about some interesting China facts. He said that diversity in Shanghai has come a long ways. In the 1990's, when Americans came to adopt, a group of people would gawk at them and follow them. When they would turn around, they would follow them the other way. He also told me that it has been a long time since he has taken a family to Gaoyou to adopt. Half the Sky foundation is at her orphanage, which is a wonderful asset to her child development and care, so I feel very blessed that I am a recipient of a Gaoyou girl. We talked about how the numbers of American families coming to adopt in 2009 has dropped 80% since 2003. He also told me that many domestic families were adopting the non-special needs babies. China is altering their mindset about adoption and some people are choosing to adopt over bearing children. The Chinese have an advantage over international adoptive parents of not having to go through the CCAA.

LiPing took me directly to my bus. He escorted me to the back seat, where it is customary for female to sit. We rushed the entire way after he ate breakfast. I thought it was hilarious that he waited and then we rushed. Driving here is more hectic than Chicago. People make their own lanes and drive down the center. At one point, LiPing stopped in the center of the road, and got out to ask where to park for the bus station, since the front side of the bus gate was locked. He helped me get my luggage and we had to run up two flights of steps to get there. I could never have found it without him. He escorted onto the bus, and bid me farewell, stating, "I thank you for adopting a Special Needs Child from China."

On the bus, we watched two movies in Chinese. The first one was an old Jackie Chan movie from the 80's. I not only knew by Jackie's youth, but from the clothing styles and the Chinese man in the movie with the curly mullet. The people on the bus were laughing and enjoying it. It was a funny movie, and it made the time fly.
Midway through the trip, we breaked at a rest stop. I tried to ask the driver if I could stay on the bus. He didn't understand any English, so after several gestures from me, he gestured a letter "t" with his hands, telling me it was a time-out break. He was very kind and patient though. I tried to ask how long we had, and he had no idea what I was asking. Another man told me we could eat and gestured to eat. He pointed me in the right direction. I kept scoping out the bus, to make sure it wouldn't take off without me. I tried to order food, but no one spoke English. There were no pictures or menus to gesture what I wanted. When I talked, they giggled like school girls and walked away. One girl had no non-verbal gestures to express that she didn't speak English, and just kept repeating herself in Chinese. I nodded, said thanks, and walked away to get some munchies next door.
I saw my first toilet that was a porcelain hole. I actually thought it was pretty cool, because who wants to sit on dirty toilet seats anyways? I am thankful that it did have doors on it. However, not everyone uses the doors.

The bus driver came and got me...Thank God! The other man that had been sitting next to me told him where I was. I thanked him all the way back. If he had left me, I would have never made it to Nanjing. The ride was nice and the seats were very comfortable. It was about a 3 1/2 hour ride, and I even took a small catnap.
Fred met me at the bus stop. (He is actually in the picture of the painting with the children holding hands - he's in the bottom left corner.) We walked several blocks before we found a cab. Fred stopped a cab in the middle of the street when no one was stopping. We were holding up traffic. Fred and the cabby talked loudly back and forth, with much animation, about where to put my luggage. It didn't fit in the trunk, and Fred wanted to put one in the back seat with me. Finally, the cabby got out and made the luggage lie down in the trunk. The trunk wouldn't close, so he just left the trunk door wide open, flapping back and forth. I was praying that my luggage would not fall out.

I enjoyed seeing many lanterns and decor for the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New ends on Feb. 28th. Nanjing was very festive.

We arrived at my 5 star hotel. Fred told me he would meet me in a hour to fax documents to Jiliang's orphanage. I realized that I did not have the Travel Approval document, which I distinctly remember packing!! Fred told me that he didn't know if the adoption process would continue without it. It just happens to be the most important paper of all. It turned out that when I rearranged some things in my luggage, it didn't make it back into the bag. Therefore, Scott is going to fax it to my hotel AND Fedex it morning with a rush put on it. That was such a scary feeling, but I believe that everything is going to be okay. I just have to trust that people are praying for me and that I have come too far to let something like that keep me from getting Jiliang. However, I still bring leave with her tomorrow.

I checked out the hotel. I was interested in getting a hair trim for myself. While looking, I found the spa. The sweetest young man was behind the desk, and he giggled himself silly when I started to speak. The pedicures and massages are really cheap! I asked about bringing Jiliang in for a pedicure, but he had no idea what I was saying. I was practically pantomiming it out, and he just started laughing, and I did too. Then, I just said, "I'll come back later." At least now I know how frustrating and scary it is to not know how to verbally communicate. I thought that I understand from working with ESL students, but it is definitely paralyzying and isolating. That will certainly give me some insight into Jiliang's perspective.

I am currently getting ready to catch some zzs. It was warm all day and I actually had to turn off the heat and open a window to cool off. It's still only in the 50's, but it feels great to me. I have been watching a fireworks show all night from my window. I can see and hear fireworks all over the cityscape.
It is 2024 hours as I write this. I will be meeting my daughter at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning at the Civil Affairs office in Nanjing. That is only 12 hours and 36 minutes until I hold my little girl. I am so excited.

Please pray that my document comes through and doesn't delay our homecoming. I also pray that tomorrow will not be too scary for Jiliang, now "Gee Leanne".
My Aunt Barb pointed out one for cool thing about Jiliang's name. It sounds like Jill or Jillian. It also sounds like Le (for Leah) and Anne (which is my mom's middle name). Therefore, my daughter will have a piece of all of the Harvey girls' names. How sweet is that?

Thanks for the love and prayers!!!
God Bless you all,
Jill :)

TA update

Scott found the TA at home. I shuffled some stuff around to make room, so I could carry it in my laptop bag, and apparently it didn't make it back into the bag.

Scott needs to fax it tomorrow to my hotel and after I confirm receipt of the fax, he needs to FedEx it faster way on Monday morning. The guide suggested to have Beijing send a new one and he checked with a contact from China who said to have Scott mail it. Your prayers must be helping.

Hopefully, that will do the trick. Lavonne, it makes me feel better that they have pulled it off before, so now I know they will have to work with me. I still get her tomorrow. It's funny because I could have left on the 5th out of Guangzhou, but wanted a flight back out of Shanghai (non-stop) and so I padded my time, just in case there were any delays getting from Guangzhou to Shanghai.

Keep praying!
Thanks! The panic has wore off.
Jill :)

Urgent Prayers NEEDED N O W !!!I

I have a huge problem! I cannot find my TA. I packed it on Thursday night and double-checked it on Friday, but thought that maybe it fell out when they were inspecting my laptop bag or fell out at home. Scott is looking for it at home. The guide says that they need it for the adoption, and if I can't find it, they may or may not let the adoption proceed. I cannot find it and I am a nervous wreck. What do I do?

Everything has been going well up until that point. I need prayers please. I am supposed to get her at 10:00 a.m. in China time tomorrow, but I need this form for the registration the following day. I have a copy of it on my email, but obviously they need the original. How could this happen? I triple-checked everything before I left!

Thanks,
Jill

Jiliang's pronunciation (Part B)

I found this very endearing.

I asked Sandy (my guide and facilitator for the evening) how to properly pronounce Jiliang's name. According to her, Jiliang is pronounced almost like Jillian in American. It sounds like "Gee-Lee-Anne". She said we were fated for each other, because our names are so similar. Ji means "lucky" and Liang ("Leanne") means Lotus flower. I cannot wait to meet her.
Jill

Thanks Lavonne for posting these. Thanks everyone for your prayers.
Love,
Jill :)

I am in Shanghai - part A

I am in Shanghai!
I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Shanghai. It reminds me of Chicago. It is a very modern city, with the exception of Chinese characters everywhere. I have been told that the Old Downtown Shanghai has a more architectural and cultural flare that you might see in Chinatown, back in the States. The major portion of Chinese New Year can come to an end and many Chinese families return back to work Monday. Shanghai does not celebrate Chinese New Year with as much decor or flare as you might see in the city I will be visiting tomorrow. Many of the areas outside the larger cities celebrate Chinese New Year for the entire 15 days. I am hoping to catch a glimpse of that. The ride to Nanjing will be very urban as well, but a more cultural feel.


The flight from Detroit to Shanghai was uneventful and smooth. The service was awesome. I sat next to two nice Shanghai women. Unfortunately, I had a middle seat, so I was unable to sleep on the plane. I was afraid to sleep anyways. The lady behind me was snoring and I was afraid I would talk in my sleep, or start drooling.


I was very impressed with Delta Airlines. They provided plenty of food, snacks and beverages. I enjoyed being able to watch movies. I watched 4 movies in a row: "All About Steve" (very cute); "Four Christmases" (cute), part of "The Hangover", (sorry Scott, not my kind of funny); and The Time Traveler's Wife (so-so).

Getting through customs and claiming baggage was a cinch. Wan, a lady who sat next to me stayed by my side throughout everything. Sandra, my guide, met me and was so sweet. She took me to my hotel and checked me in. Sandra is Adam's niece, and Adam is our agency's China contact. Tomorrow, Sandra or her father, LiPing, will take me to the bus station. I will take the bus to Nanjing, which is not too far. It is another large city.


I don't really feel like I am in China yet, except for the hotel staff speaking in Chinese. A call to Scott took about 30 minutes to make. I didn't know the country code and they wouldn't give it to me. A girl came to my room and keyed it in. It didn't work, so she called the front desk and it sounded like they were arguing and yelling back and forth about how to do it. The girl seemed frustrated, because she was clicking her pen back and forth. It was awkward and unusual, but I thought it was particularly comical. There were probably thinking, "Doesn't this American girl know her own phone number?"

I am ecstatic to have internet access. In China, there are restrictions on certain sites. I cannot post to my blog, but my dear friend Lavonne is updating my blog for me.


I figured out how to operate the odd looking hot pot to make tea, and boy did it boil fast. They also sell some adults things in the rooms so casually, like we sell Fritos or Snickers bars. The streets are packed with honking cars, and I hear nothing but cars nine floors up. It will be interesting to visit Nanjing tomorrow for another interesting experience.

Unfortunately, the orphanage visit is tentative. There is a chance that I may not get to go, because some of the orphanages don't want to risk the children getting H1N1. I really hope that I can see her orphanage. I am going to request it, so please keep that in your prayers. I want to step foot in the place where she grew up and give her a chance to show me and say her goodbyes.

As for me, I am taking everything in stride. I made it here with no problems, and I am just unwinding for the night, and munching on Girl Scott cookies. :) This morning was a little stressful, trying to remember everything. Yes, I did forget a few items, but nothing I can't live without....well, except my coat. :) Yes, go ahead and laugh. It was warm this morning with the sunlight beating down on our car, and I left my coat in the back seat of the car. Now, I need a new coat. Honestly, I am not sad, because I have three coats and they are all over 10 years old. This particular purple one I do love, even though it's missing buttons and the zipper doesn't work half the time. And it truly just smells old. Tomorrow, I get a new cheap coat!

I will write back when I can. Thanks for the prayers! I am so excited!!!
Jill

I am in Shanghai!

Shanghai

The Hotel Extra's