PIctures from 4/12/10

Gotcha Day

We picked up Lydia this morning. It was pretty rough, very emotional. Neither Rob nor I got much sleep last night, therefore, we are very tired. Lydia's foster mom was present as well, and this made it hard on Lydia - she would have nothing to do with us. I know that this is very hard on her foster mom, too for it is very apparent she loves Lydia very much and has done such a wonderful job with her – we included her in our prayers this morning to start the day. Lydia counted to 100 in Chinese for our guide, Grace. She seems happy now, loves to laugh and talk, and is very expressive. We know that there are many rough days ahead and are curious as to how she will react tonight. She told our guide that she wanted to go home. Grace told her that she was going home and she replied, "No, I want to go to my China home." Our guide says that she speaks like an adult – very fluent in Mandarin for her age. When asked if she likes to dance, she replies, "yes, but it's hard to dance in my red boots." (She came to us in very fashionable red boots – with rhinestones). It’s hilarious; she thinks that we understand her! We just shake our heads in agreement. It is very apparent that she has hydrocephalus (even more so than we’d expected) and her little eyes are crossed. When she colors, she holds her book very close to her face, and we are anticipating a significant vision problem due to her strabismus. Even so, she is very precise and stays within the lines when she colors. The boys have been simply awesome with her. They are being very attentive and she loves the attention from all of us. Thank you for your prayers, for God has been gracious!!
The weather here has been awful today – rain and wind this morning, followed by even higher winds this afternoon with a Chinese dust storm outside. The high today was in the lower 50’s, but we were instructed to stay in the room today, anyway, to bond. The rooms are uncomfortably cool, but when the family accompanying us had the hotel manager contacted, they were told it’s “out of season” to have the heat on! We get a chuckle, too, each time we walk into the bathroom and see the “Be Careful of Landslide” signage which depicts a man slipping on a wet floor. We’re having the experience of a lifetime in so many ways!
We're hopefully going to bed early tonight and sleeping more than 3 hrs. I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow.
Love,
Detra

Tianjin-Lydia's City

We arrived in Tianjin today. As we entered the city by the train, we saw the many apartments that looked as though they were hundreds of years old. It became real that this is the city where our daughter was abandoned. It is cold and dark, reminding us both of Gotham City! The city is very different from Beijing, and the people look different. I look at the people all around us and I see both very short and very tall. I look into their eyes and wonder where their hope lies.

Tianjin is a city with over 9 million people. Cars, buses, and bikes all fight for the right away. We see no speed limit signs and no stop lights - chaotic to say the least. After we check into our rooms, our guide, Grace, takes us for a walk to the shopping area. We walk amidst all this chaos and get gently scolded for running across the road. Pedestrians are not given the right of way here in China. Her instructions to us are to walk and stop, walk and stop, allowing the cars more accuracy as they attempt to prevent hitting us as we cross.

As we walk in the cold to the hot spot in Tianjin, we stop off at local shops to see the specialties the city people love. Our first stop is a shop sporting a favorite baked good. I’m not sure of the name right now and honestly, it didn’t look like something that I would ever eat. However, Rob’s a little more ambitious. He purchases one piece for all of us to share. It was actually not bad and we bought more to take back to the room, wanting to have some for when we get Lydia. As we make our way down the street, we see many stores, really nice stores - not like the stores that we experienced at the market in Beijing.

Just off the main street is a row of local food vendors, and our first stop is roasted lamb; pieces of lamb on a skewer cooked right there on a grill while we watch. I, of course, am very reluctant to eat; however, once again, Rob jumps right in. The lamb was delicious!! Our next stop was Chinese pizza, then fried squid, fried (“stinky”) tofu and last an ice cream cone (yes and it’s freezing outside). The lamb and squid were our favorites. We, too, took our allotted Pepto Bismol upon returning to our hotel room. As it became dark, the lights lit up the night. It was a beautiful sight!

The family that we are traveling with is just wonderful and we are so thankful to the Lord that He has chosen us to be together as we meet our daughters today. I, again, cannot sleep. Therefore, I’m up trying to get my thoughts straight. Once again, it’s 2:20 in the morning and poor Rob is trying to sleep with the light on over the bed.

I purchased a shirt from Adoptionbug.com that says “Blessed by Adoption” and on the back “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us…with every spiritual blessing in Christ…. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” Ephesians 1:3-5 I love wearing this shirt for it is a constant reminder of my adoption. As we enter this new phase of our lives, we know that the Lord is with us. Our prayer is that we continue to rest in this assurance and that we follow in His will.

May all the glory be given to Him!

Love to all,

Detra

We are praying for the Swearingens as we are also praying for Lydia's family she has had for 6 yrs.

What a day we had!!

We knew this would really be an eye opener for the boys and here it is the second morning and we start out with Psalm 118:24 - This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let me explain...first thing this morning we blow a breaker in our room. We are thankful the boys have a room across the hall. We have no lights, therefore, I go across the hall to get ready. My Chi burned up and the boys can not get on Facebook or text their friends lol.

After a rocky morning, we experience a wonderful, all you can eat, breakfast. Rob was more daring than the rest of us and so far he hasn't gotten sick. He did run back to the room and take his allotted Pepto Bismol tabs. They were right when they said to try to eat a lot for breakfast. So far, we haven't been that excited about the food. As Peter says, it all smells the same, the food, the hotel, the bathroom...need I say more??? So thankful for the snacks that we brought.

Next, we were off to Tinanmen Square, The Forbidden City, and The Great Wall. It was a full day, but the weather was beautiful! We have such a fun group! We have a group of 6 families that we are with here in Beijing. We will all leave tomorrow and go to where our children live and stay in this location for 5 days. Then, we will all meet up again in Guangzhou. Our group all brought their children, so this has been so much fun for our boys.

We're still working on downloading pictures. The only way we can blog is to go through Rob's work account. It's crazy, because this doesn't always work either. It is now 2:30 in the morning. We have no problems falling asleep, just staying asleep.

We will ride a train to Tianjin tomorrow. A trip that usually take 2.5 hrs now only takes 30 mins. The train goes 220 kilometers/hr - should be interesting!

Hopefully, I will be able to get on tomorrow and have pictures.

Love to all,
Detra

We're in Beijing

We made it and we're exhausted!! We ran to a grocery store and bought some water. Now, we're off to bed - may I add a HARD bed. Matters not, very thankful to have a bed to sleep in tonight! The boy's room is across the hall. Kim the walkie talkies are working great! Tomorrow we go sight seeing - it will be a long day, however, an exciting one!
Love
Detra

One more day and we're off!!

There are so many emotions roaming through this house; emotions from being really excited to fear. I don't see how the boys are able to focus on their TAKS tests. Slowly but surely, we are getting it together. The house won't be perfect, but it never is. Lydia's room is the only room ready :)
We are leaving for the airport at 3:00 Thursday morning (thank you Ryan and Jennifer). Wonder if we'll get any sleep tonight? Then, I remember that we'll have plenty of time to sleep on the airplane :)
We would really appreciate prayers for our trip and for Lydia. Please pray that the Lord prepares her to meet her forever family and that He draw her close to Him. She will be taken from the only world she knows, her foster family, her language, and her country. We will be meeting her on April 12th at 10:00 am which will be 9:00 pm April 11th here in Rockwall.
Jayne has sent me a Bible verse that I will carry with me - thank you Jayne!!
Love to all,
Detra
Fear not, for I am with you;be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you,I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isiah 41:10

Four More Days...

I can't believe that we leave in 4 days. The suitcases are on our floor and the only one packed is Lydia's. The weight limit has us all concerned. Fortunately, the hotels in which we are staying will wash our clothes. We've heard that it's really cheap. So, we'll have the same clothes on in all of our pictures :) Thanks to Brad P - we stocked up on peanut butter and crackers and yes, we'll make sure to pack them in our "checked in " luggage.

We found out that we will be traveling with a couple from Kansas. They are also traveling with their two children (7 & 9). Their little girl, Jade, and Lydia live in the same city. We were excited to hear that we would be traveling with another family and also excited to find out that they are both nurses.

We are very thankful for so many of our friends that have been encouraging throughout this process. We appreciate your prayers!!

I hope to be able to update this blog once we are in China!!

Much Love,
Detra