Hope in the Hospital

On Sunday we woke up at about noon. Becky had been aware that Hope had been sick during the night and thankfully Misty and Carmen had been there to take care of her. When we had been up for a while we realized that she was not improving. We had an appointment with her pediatrician, Dr. Timothy who is a member of our church, for Tuesday but knew that she needed medical attention right away. We called Dr. Tim at home to tell him that we were going to take Hope to the Emergency Room and he called back to tell us to take her directly to a room that he would have prepared for her. We were grateful to not have to go through the Emergency Room routine.

When we arrived at the hospital Dr. Tim was there right away and had to prepare Hope for an IV. She was dehydrated again, a little worse than in San Francisco. The Doctor listened to her lungs and ordered a chest X-ray. He also looked at the X-ray she had done in San Francisco for comparison. The X-rays confirmed his diagnosis that she had pneumonia in one lung. He had to put the IV in her foot and Becky held her and tried to comfort her. It was very difficult, Hope was hard to hold, and it is a helpless feeling when you don't know if your words of comfort to your child are understood. Dr. Tim was very gentle and did as good a job as was possible, but Becky worried that the trust we had been trying to build had suffered a major setback. Afterward Hope would turn her head from us when we spoke to her for about an hour.

Hope was very lethargic, a far cry from the happy smiling, singing little girl of a week ago.

It was difficult to see her like this. No matter what hopeful dreams we had there was almost a regretful feeling that we had brought a lot of stress and confusion into this little girl's life. At times fear would come, what if this was something that she couldn't recover from? We prayed with our doctor, and with each other. Later, Pastor Steven and wife Angie came in and prayed with us, and the next day Pastor Jonothan our senior pastor.

Doctor Tim assured us that several hours of the fluids would perk Hope up. Becky and I slept in the room with Hope, Becky on the bed with her and me in a sleeper chair. At three in the morning we were still wide awake, I guess we were on China time. We finally slept about two or three hours, and the doctor came in fairly early to check on Hope. Sure enough Hope did look better, but was still listless all day. On Monday night I went home at about sundown and fed the cows. Becky slept on the hospital bed with Hope in the crib for part of the night and with her the rest. On Tuesday Hope was looking better and the doctor said that if she ate and drank and could hold down her food she could go home.

Texas or Bust

I'm sorry for getting behind on the story and the photos but I've got a bad case of jet lag and Becky has her hands full (and arms). When Becky and Hope arrived at the airport we barely had time to get a little breakfast before time to board the Dallas bound plane. Somehow they changed our seating and separated me from Becky and Hope by about ten rows. The very back seat was empty and we three moved there. Hope went to sleep after we reached cruising altitude and slept most of the way. The trip seemed very short this time. All of our exhaustion was being replaced with joyful anticipation of seeing our family again and introducing them to Hope.

Becky, Hope, and I were as usual the last ones off the plane, and Jewell was waiting on the ramp for us. We all walked to the baggage area and saw part of the family headed to meet us. Not everyone who had been there the day before was able to make the trip again. We would have had a really big crowd if they had. Hope was not feeling well and clung to Becky. I'm sure it was overwhelming to her to meet so many new people, but the family could not help but want to get close. We totally understood.

Carmen, Ben, and Sunnie had made some welcome posters. Misty, Caleb, and Tyler were there along with Bethany and Tillman, Jewell's husband. Also there were Janet, Becky's sister in law and her daughters Raina and Kaila from Oklahoma. They were there the day before and spent the night at our house to be able to stay for the homecoming.

We had sort of planned on stopping somewhere to eat together, but everyone could see that Hope was just not up for it. We headed for home and Janet, Raina, and Kaila took the exit to Oklahoma. Mom had soup and cornbread ready for us at her house, and we stopped and grabbed a couple of pizzas for the grandkids. It was Hope's first time to have to sit in a baby car seat and she didn't like it, but finally accepted it. She was feeling worse and threw up twice on the way home.

Misty, Carmen, and Sunnie spent the night with us to help with Hope. Becky and I had so little sleep in the last three days that we were afraid that we would not wake up if Hope needed us. Hope slept with Becky and woke up sick several times during the night, and the girls tended to her.

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A Hard Trip Home Part 3

When we reached the motel in San Francisco, we were exhausted but elated to be back in the USA. We wanted real American food and glasses of ice with tap water or tea or cola. We had meal vouchers from the airline that were good at the hotel restaurant and Becky and Jewell went down to start supper while I kept Hope in the room for a while to give Becky a rest. I took Hope down after 15 minutes or so and Becky finished her meal and tried to feed Hope, but she seemed to have lost her appetite. Becky and I looked forward to a full night's sleep and hoped to be fresh in the morning for the last leg of the trip to Dallas.

By the time we were getting ready for bed, Becky began to notice that Hope felt like she had fever and her cough had returned. I thought so too, but didn't think it was real high. I walked about a quarter mile up the road to a convenience store hoping for diapers and a baby thermometer and found neither. I was thankful that we packed an umbrella, it rained steadily all the way. We asked the front desk if they had either in the hotel, and surprisingly they had thermometers, little cardboard disposable ones. We used one and it showed that Hope had 101.8 fever under her arm, so it calculated to 102.8. We had baby Tylonol that we had been giving Hope in half doses earlier in Hefei, and we now used it full dose. In a while Hope's fever was down, but just a couple of degrees.

Becky and I agonized over what to do. Our greatest desire was to get Hope home as soon as possible, but what if she had some infectious disease that the people on the plane would be exposed to. We remembered the Chicken Pox incident in Guangzhou and we scoured her belly and back for signs but found none. Our greatest fear was that she had something serious that would require hospitalization in San Francisco, or t0 be quarantined from traveling by air. We discussed the possibility of having to rent a car and drive to Texas. We held Hope in our arms and prayed for her and Becky asked that the Lord would show us what to do.

Hope's fever went down a little more and we tried to interest her in eating. She took just a little bit of a bottle and refused her favorite Chinese snack sticks. I found a wrapped cookie that was part of an airplane meal and offered her that. It was a Pecan Sandie shortbread type cookie and we were pleased that she ate one entire cookie and a few bites of another. We got her to drink a little water but she turned down orange juice which she usually liked. About a quarter hour later I noticed Hope scratching her hand. I took a look and there was a row of welts across her wrist that looked like ant bites or bee stings. We checked further and found them on her other hand, and then on her ankle and calves.

This was the last straw. As the welts grew bigger almost as we watched, we got dressed and bundled Hope up. I called the desk and asked them to call us cab to take us to the nearest emergency room. We woke up Jewell next door and gave her the boarding pass that I had been carrying for her and agreed that she would go ahead in the morning and make her flight even if we didn't get back in time. Within ten minutes were in the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in South San Francisco.

At the hospital the doctor determined that Hope was already somewhat dehydrated. He ordered blood samples and a chest x-ray. He asked us where we had come from and how Hope had been in the ten days that she had been with us. We told him, and explained how much we needed to be able to make the flight to Dallas. The welts on her hands had almost gone away, maybe they were an allergic reaction to the cookies, or caused by the fever. He assured us that he would help us, but he wanted to give Hope a round of IV fluids to help her make it to Dallas. He didn't find anything that would forbid her from traveling. It was getting on toward 6AM when they started the IV. and we decided that I would take a cab back to the hotel, repack our bags and get them to the airport while Becky and Hope finished up at the hospital.

It was a mad dash back to the hotel, pack the bag, search the room for something that I was sure to forget, and get them to airport. I actually made it back in time to get on the shuttle with Jewell back to the airport and she helped me with our five check-in bags and three carry-ons as well as hers. If you have ever seen that TV show, The Amazing Race, I think that I may know how the contestants feel. About a half hour after we got the bags rechecked, Becky called the cell phone and said that she and Hope would be leaving the hospital in about half an hour. I told her which door to come to and Jewell and I waited.

A Hard Trip Part 2

The trip from Hong Kong to San Francisco was long, boring, and tiring most of the way. Hope obviously didn't feel well, and Becky and I didn't get much rest. Unlike the flight from San Francisco to Beijing which was all daylight, it became dark shortly after we started and stayed dark until about 2 hours before landing. There were about a half dozen other families with new children and the airlines put us all at the rear of the plane. There were quite a few vacant seats around us, and the aroma of dirty diapers filled the air frequently.

The trip became a little less boring right at the end. About thirty minutes before landing the pilot came on the intercom with an announcement that went something like this: "folks we have been informed by the tower that we have unusual weather conditions in San Francisco at this time and they are not allowing any aircraft to land. We are going into a holding pattern with several other craft and if we are allowed to land it will be on the "Tens" which are only used during strong east winds. Since international planes usually come in fairly low on fuel we may have to divert to another location for refueling." OK, I'm thinking, how much later will we be? No matter, as long as we stay safe. A little while later, the pilot comes on again,"well, folks since we're low on fuel they have decided to put us at the front of the pack, so we will be landing in about five minutes." Now, I'm really thinking, we are the first plane today to land on the "tens", and we get to be first to see how it works.

The next five minutes seemed a lot longer than that. The plane made a turn and started descending. The farther down we went the rougher it got. We heard some pounding on the lavatory door. We learned later someone was stuck in there when the plane started pitching and yawing. Several times I thought that the landing would be aborted, and just when I thought the worst turbulence was over it started again. Becky and Hope were two seats away and I told Becky to tighten her belt and hold Hope really tight. At about that time Hope threw up all over her and Becky. Finally we felt the plane come through into smoother air and soon wheels on runway.

Becky had dressed Hope earlier in a cute little red dress with a blue bow in her hair, the closest she could get to red, white, and blue to celebrate Hope becoming a citizen when we landed. Now she had to take off the pretty dress, clean Hope up and put her in her pajamas. I held Hope and walked around the plane, while Becky washed up and changed clothes in the lavatory. By now, it was just us and the stewardesses on the plane. Our big celebration would be dampenend a little bit.

No matter how wrung out we felt by the flight we had just completed, it was a very emotional event when we went through the new immigrant line and Hope officially became a citizen of the greatest nation on God's green earth. After we got through customs and Becky had anguished over whether we should have declared the snacks we had in our carry-ons we tried to leave our checked bags at the airport, but they wouldn't let us. We had to claim all our luggage and carry it to a motel that the airline had provided for us. We waited for over thirty minutes under a small awning that wasn't quite big enough to keep the cold rain off, for a shuttle to the motel. We had used our cell phone on the plane to tell the girls back home that we had landed and found that the E-mails we sent had not arrived, or had not been read. Almost our whole family was in Dallas waiting for us and we would not be there for 24 more hours.

Ronnie

A Hard Trip Home for Hope

It has been a long 72 hours or more since we left China. We are home, but Hope is sick and we are with her in the hospital. We brought her in on Sunday afternoon after calling Bro. Tim from our church who is Hope's pediatrician. He had her admitted directly to a room, and she is receiving fluids IV. She has pneumonia in her right lung, slight ear infections, and has had diarrhea. Here is a synopsis of what has transpired since our last post.

On Fri. morning at 6 Am China time we had our luggage in the hall of the White Swan and we went to eat breakfast at 6:30. We checked out at about 6:50 and got on the bus to the Guangzhou airport at 7:00 with about 12 other families. I tried to take in all of the scenes of China on that bus ride, knowing that I will probably not be back again. It was a little bit sad, thinking that 10 years from now, I will probably remember more about China than Hope. Our guides, Jason and Kathy did a great job, making sure that we had all of our documents for customs and immigrations. We got off on schedule and landed in Hong Kong at about 10:40.

Our flight to San Francisco was supposed to depart at 12:40, but we were informed that it was delayed until around 4:30 PM. We immediately started trying to phone home but found that our calling cards would not work in the airport's payphones. Another family loaned me their card and it wouldn't work either. I called the airport help desk and they told me that I would have to buy a calling card from the airport, that only theirs would work. I went to a currency exchange booth and found out that a calling card cost 50 dollars American. In the process of trying pay phones I had noticed an internet kiosk with six laptops available. We decided to send E-mail to the kids about the delay since it was about noon in Hong Kong, it would be before daylight back in Texas.

We sent three different E-mails figuring that at least one would be read before the family back home started out to DFW.

We had a free lunch on United Airlines due to their delay, and finally about 2 PM they posted the departing time and gate for our flight to San Francisco. We went to the gate and waited. We noticed that Hope would not each well at lunch, but figured it was the stress. We boarded the plane at about 4 PM. We were leaving four hours late and were told that there would not be a connecting flight from San Francisco to DFW until 24 hours after our original time of 10:40 Friday, PST.

Delays

Their flight leaving Hong Kong was delayed 4 hrs causing them to miss their flight from San Francisco yesterday. They are scheduled to arrive home today around 4:00pm. Hope is not feeling well please pray for her. Also, please pray for their safe return home.

Hope's Family

Coming Home

We are on our way to the airport to meet the newest member of our family. We will post pictures from the airport and home as soon as we can.

Thanks for all the prayers and continue to pray for our safe journey home.

Hope's Family

Thursday in Guangzhou

Thursday in Guangzhou was another big day. After breakfast we took a cab to Li Wan Plaza to go to the pearl market, for the second time. The first time we went with Kathy, our guide, and now we felt brave enough to go on our own. Kathy wrote us a note to give the cab driver and told us the fare would be about 9 to 11 yuan. She told us to hail a cab when ready to come back and just show that cab driver our hotel room key with White Swan logo. When the cab driver pulled over and let us out we noticed that the area didn't look the same as it did on Tuesday. I got the stroller out of the trunk and paid the driver, and Becky, Jewell, and Hope got out and there we were, lost in a city of eleven million and it looked like about a tenth of them were massed in our immediate vicinity.

We all looked around and came to the same conclusion. We were not where we were earlier in the week with our guide, Kathy. Hopefully we were close. We noticed a McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and KFC within walking distance and they were certainly not noticed on our first trip. We walked about a half a block to what seemed to be something like the pearl market and went in. It looked a little like the place, but it was not. We walked all the way to end of the building that opened out into a large courtyard, but this obviously wasn't the pearl market. We asked one or two passing by, but they didn't speak English. Two teenage girls and a boy came by that could speak a few words and we tried to ask them, showing them the note from Kathy. They shook their heads yes, this was Li Wan Plaza, but couldn't help us find the pearl market.

I turned on the Panda Phone and called Jason to ask for Kathy's number. I walked back outside so I could describe landmarks. Kathy happened to be with Jason and she took his phone, and began asking me how much the cab fare was. I guess she was afraid we might quite a ways farther off than we were supposed to be. I was telling her how much, when Jewell came outside and told me that the teenagers had returned and said they would show us where to go.I handed the phone to the boy and let him talk to Kathy. He hung up and gave me back the phone, then he and the girls led us back through the building, across the courtyard and into the back of what we knew as the pearl market. We thanked them and offered 20 yuan as gratitude, but they wouldn't take it. Once again we were impressed with the friendly actions of the Chinese people we have met.

After Becky and Jewell had purchased their wares we went to the McDonald's to eat, The food was good, chicken tenders and fries. I ordered two fried pies that I thought were apple and blueberry, turned out to be pineapple and sweet taro. After lunch we caught a cab and went back to the hotel. We had to go with all the group to the American Consulate in what I think was downtown Guangzhou about a half hour away for the visa for Hope and swearing the oath to care for her. It was handled really well by our guides, and was pretty mundane except when you realize that it is part of what makes Hope legally and forever our child.

When we got back to Shamian Island at about 4:30 Becky and Jewell went on their last minute shopping frenzy. I would say that they were spending money like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair-----to drunken sailors that is. We came in after dark and ordered pizza and pasta for supper. Becky is finishing packing now, trying to stuff 40 cubic feet of souvenirs and gifts into 20 cubic feet of luggage. Hope has had a bath and is asleep, and I'm trying to stay out of Becky's way. We leave for Hong Kong very early in the morning. We will be on planes and in airports for at least the next 24 hours. Please pray for Hope to make that long Hong Kong to San Francisco trip OK. You may not hear from us for a few days, unless Misty posts more pictures at times. Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us and encouraged us in this great adventure. For us and Hope the adventure is still to come.

Ronnie

Wednesday in Guangzhou

Another eventful day in Guangzhou. Today was consulate appointment day. The way the agency does it is that the guide goes to the American consulate for us with all of our signed, official documents in hand. We had to stay in the hotel room during the time of the appointment in case there were any discrepancies in our paperwork, in which case we would be called and advised of what we needed to do. Our guide called at about 11:50 to tell us that the appointment was over, all was in order, and Hope had been approved for a visa to get into the United States. When we touch down in San Francisco Hope will have full American citizenship.

There is one situation that is a little troubling. Two adopted children in another agency's travel group have come down with Chicken Pox. They and their parents will not be able to leave China until they are deemed no longer contagious. Every family now has fingers crossed that their child will not break out. We have not knowingly been in contact with anyone in that group. We have an immunization record for Hope from her orphanage, but can't remember if it says that she has been innoculated for Chicken Pox. We can't look at it right now because it is at the American Consulate and will be returned to us tommorow. Pray. We want to go home on schedule.

Today was "Red Couch Photo Day". It is a longstanding tradition at the White Swan Hotel for adoptive families to have their child's picture taken on one of the red couches in the hotel lounge overlooking the Pearl River. We will have photos to post showing the chaos. All the children are really cute. The biggest, toughest part of the tradition is the children's group photo. It is sort of like trying to herd cats, getting that many little ones to sit still long enough for a picture. Hope was probably the oldest baby there and also the biggest baby. She refused to participate in the group picture and started to pitch a fit.

We used the stroller again today and most of the time Hope was as happy as a lark. We did a lot of strolling and exploring while Mom and Jewell spent their time in dark, dank little hole in the wall shops.Hope gets a lot of attention from the locals. Many stop to talk to her and tell me how pretty she is. Apparently Hope's skin color is considered a rare beauty in Guangdong province. One local told me that the people of Anhui where Hope comes from are bigger and have lighter, clearer skin. I do notice that the local people around Shamian Island tend to be very small and remind me of the Vietnamese people. The people here are very friendly and personable. They smile and say hello often.

The one time that Hope gave trouble about the stroller was late in the evening when we were getting ready to walk with our group down to the Cow and Bridge Thai Food Restaurant. We were early and decided to take some pictures by the hotel waterfall. Hope was in the stroller and happy and we took her out for pictures. When it was time to meet the group we put her back in the stroller and she didn't like it. She had a walleyed, kicking, screaming fit. I pushed her around a little but she kept up. We went toward our group and met Jason, our guide. Hope was still wailing to beat the band. We told Jason that we were going to take Hope back to the room and order pizza. We felt that it would not be good for Hope to give in and take her out of the stroller when she was testing us. We got in the elevator and went to our floor. Before we made it to our room she hushed. We turned around and went back to the elevator and before we got back to our group she was happy as could be. No more trouble the rest of the evening, just smiles, waves, giggles, and happy singing. Pray that we we will have wisdom to help her make this transition to a whole new world.

Ronnie

Making Progress

LOOK BETHANY SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I TOOK AFTER MY BIG SISTER BETHANY

HOLLYWOOD

Today, (Tuesday, Jan.22) in Guangzhou has been a day of momentous events. First of all it was a free day, no adoption work to do, so we slept until about 8:00 and had breakfast at a leisurely pace. Then it was time for Becky and Jewell to do some serious shopping. We have been discussing how to get Hope to allow me to hold and carry her more and to ride in a stroller. It has really been wearing on Becky having to carry her nearly everywhere. When I woke up this morning I really prayed fervently for some kind of change. What we decided to do was borrow a stroller from a shop next to the hotel and put Hope in it and push her in an area with fewer people to hear her wail and see if she would settle down after a good cry. We would never do anything to add to the trauma she has been through, but we had a feeling that in this case she might be using tears to get her way. If we could see that she was genuinely scared of the stroller we would get her out and return it.

Sure enough, Hope resisted when we put her in the stroller and began to wail like a banshee as we walked down the sidewalk. One pair of parents with their year old baby offered words of encouragement as we passed. I pushed and Becky and Jewell walked alongside trying to comfort Hope. I was almost about to suggest giving up when we noticed the crying was tapering off. Could it be? Was she starting to accept it or had she just run of energy to cry? Within a few minutes it was all over. Hope now loves the stroller. We pushed her all around the shops. While Jewell and Becky haggled with shop clerks Hope and I enjoyed the sun and sights of Shamian Island. Tonight after supper we walked around the shops in the hotel and Hope laughed hysterically when I pushed her in circles and side to side.

We all came back to the room at about 7:30 and Jewell and Becky wondered if they could sneak away to the store next door for a few more gifts, we are running out of shopping time. I told them to go on and I would try to keep Hope occupied. We had a DVD that Becky had bought of Kiddie cartoons set to children's songs in Chinese. I played it on the laptop and fed Hope small pieces of soft peppermint for about forty minutes until they returned. Hope made it just fine. She realized that Becky was gone fairly soon, but didn't get too worried. After Becky was back Hope put on quite a show, playing, singing, and wearing Mommy's sunglasses. Once again we are thankful for our network of friends, family, and church that are praying with us for this little girl's healing and peace of mind.

P.S. Hope came to us with one pair of sneakers that were about 3 sizes too large. As of today she has 7 pairs of new shoes with built in squeakers.

Ronnie

Hope's first doctors appointment

A busy day in Guangzhou China. We took Hope Marie for her Medical Exam. Two children in another adoption group have come down with Chicken Pox, so our guide, Kathy changed our appointment time so as not to expose Hope to the virus. We went at 08:30. The weather outside was delightful, just cool enough that long sleeves or a light sweater felt good. There were many people out exercising in the beautiful park in the middle of Shamian Island where we are staying. It was a nice walk to the clinic, but a little tough on Becky because Hope would not let me carry her. in the office Hope did well, crying only when the nurse took her from Becky's lap to weigh her.

When the exam was over we strolled back toward the hotel and stopped in Starbucks where Becky had a latte. We had pizza from Papa John's for lunch and it was a welcome change from Chinese fare.After lunch Becky went for an appointment to fill out forms for Hope's visa and I stayed at the room with Hope. Jewell went out for some shopping. For about 15 minutes Hope didn't realize that Becky was gone and played happily. When she began to hunt Becky she would go to the front door and knock and kick lightly. Then she would go to Jewell's adjoining door and do the same thing. After she realized that Becky was gone she was somewhat subdued and played with less enthusiasm. After a while I noticed she was swaying as she stood against the bed and she was practically asleep on her feet. I laid her on the bed and she roused a little but I opened her Peter Rabbit book and read a few sentences and she went sound to sleep.

Jewell came back about an hour after Hope went to sleep and while she was showing me what she had bought Hope woke up crying. I picked her up and brought her to look out the window and she allowed me to comfort her and continue holding her until Becky came in about 10 minutes later. This was a major breakthrough. For a while after Becky returned Hope shunned her and pouted a little bit. No telling what thoughts and emotions are going on in that little head. Later in the evening we went out to eat and shop, and once again Hope would allow only Becky to carry her. Oh well.

I never knew I could be loved this much in such a short time says Hope Marie

I LOVE MY DADDY

HOPE AND DADDY TIME

I LOVE HAVING MY PICTURE TAKEN

OK MOM

I LOVE ALL THIS ATTENTION

THUMBS UP

I LOVE MY MOMMY

MY FIRST VISIT TO STARBUCKS

SO MUCH LOVE

Jewell is trying something new

Pictures of Gaungzhou

View from the 10th floor of the White Swan in Gaungzhoe

Hefei to Guangzhou

I am beautiful!!!!!!!!!

I have plenty of room to grow.

Jewel, Becky, Ronnie and Hope

I love to brush my teeth but do not like my bath!

Things are happening so fast now that it is hard to post to the blog and be current, so please forgive us if we are a little behind. It helps that we are a day ahead of USA time I guess. On Sat. morning China time we went to the airport in Hefei to head for Guangzhou. It had snowed lightly thought the night and was snowing steadily in the morning. We were concerned that our flight might be delayed or cancelled, but thankfully it was on time.Our guide Yisha was very proficient in helping us get into the terminal and checked in. We were dreading the bus ride out to the plane, ( we were packed in like sardines last week and now we had Hope who only Becky could carry) since Hefei is a somewhat small airport, but were even more thankful when we found that our flight would be pulled up to an enclosed boarding ramp. We arrived early and waited in the departure area for about 45 minutes. Our seats were all in the fifth row, but we decided that we would wait until everyone else had boarded since we were so loaded with carry ons and a little girl.

The call came to board the plane and people massed in front of us. About that time an older Chinese woman began to point to us and say something to the young man beside her. The young man walked over and in broken English said that they wanted to help us board the plane He took two of our bags and parted the way into the crowd to lead us into the ramp and all the way to our seats. He explained to us on the way that he was studying English at school. We were so thankful for him and his Aunt's generosity.

The flight to Guangzhou was just a little under two hours and Hope did fairly well, except for the descent which made her ears uncomfortable. We tried to give her a bottle to suck, but it didn't last long enough. Deboarding in Guangzhou was hectic as usual and we made it OK except for one problem that we discovered after were in our hotel room. In the rush to get out of the airport we had carried away someone else's big blue suitcase almost just like the one that we bought two days before in Hefei, and left ours. We felt terrible about it for the poor soul whose luggage we had stolen. All that was in our lost case was big winter coats and stuff that we didn't need in the warmer conditions in Guangzhou.We called Jason, our guide and he called the airport and made arrangements for us to me to go back on Sunday aft.and exchange bags.

On Sunday morning we had a great breakfast in the hotel amidst about fifty other adoptive families. At 10:45 we walked down the street to the interdenominational Chinese-English Christian Church. It was a very moving experience. They sang one of our favorite worship songs, "Knowing You, Jesus" in English and several in Chinese.The church was packed with the great majority being Chinese, with a dozen or so foreigners like us, most with little Chinese babies. Hope was very good. I think she likes to hear music and singing. Later in the afternoon we had a small breakthrough with Hope. I came in from the airport and she was having a full blown wailing fit because she was tired and needed a nap and Becky was laying beside her on the bed. Becky suggested that I might try holding her and comforting her instead of Becky just giving up and letting her have her way. I picked her up and just hugged her close and walked her around the room doing my best to soothe her. Surprisingly she began to settle down and allowed me to hold her for the first time. Within two or three minutes she was nodding out and I held for a little longer and laid her on the bed. She slept for over an hour while Becky and Jewell went and took care of some adoption details.Since then she has not allowed me to hold her again, but we are willing to be patient, realizing that she still is in the middle of a traumatic experience. We will take whatever progress we can get, even if it is one step forward and two back at times.

Ronnie

TanTan (AKA Hope)

TanTan (aka Hope) is really coming alive and testing her bounders. Maybe for the first time in her life she can be herself and it is ok. We were talking to them on line Saturday morning and Sunnie would say Hi TanTan and she would repeat anything Sunnie said. Sunnie is going to be a wonderful niece and great help to Aunt TanTan. She really enjoys seeing her self on the web cam she will blow us kisses and even kiss the camera. She enjoys being the center of attention which is great for our family because we are all about spoiling her and paying for it later. She still will not let Dad carry her but he is winning her over letting her put bows in what little hair he has. She is laughing and has learned several new words.
We spend about an hour maybe longer on line with them each day sometimes twice a day. For any family reading this who is about to make the journey of a life time invest in a web cam for you and your family who is patiently waiting at home. It allows your family to become a part of your child's life from the first day they become yours and seems to make the time fly by.

Someone from China will be posting pictures soon.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

TanTan's big sisters and family,
Carmen, Bethany and Misty

Thursday in Hefei

Hope's first bottle with her new family. (The orphanage still fed her this way so we need to continue until we visit the pediatrician...also it is proven to help with bonding and attachment) Hopefully Miss Hope will not need this bottle any longer once her body adjusts to her new diet of Texas food. A little of Uncle Red's "Hell on the Red" Hot Sauce should fix her up just fine.

We all have cabin fever. The temp. outside has been around freezing all day and about sundown it started to snow again. I walked over to the KFC about four blocks away and brought back lunch for Becky, Hope, Jewell and myself. Someone asked in a comment who Jewell is. Jewell is my(Ronnie's) cousin. She and her husband Tillman live just about a half mile from our home in Texas. She volunteered to come with us to China way back when we were first planning this. She has been a lot of help and a lot of fun.

We all started out walking to KFC and the plan was to put Hope in the stroller and after she cried for a moment or two we figured that she would settle down and enjoy it. No such luck. She cried when we put her in it and would not stop. We were starting to get looks from passersby and we gave up. Becky and Jewell took Hope, (TanTan) back into the hotel and I continued on to KFC. Hope still will not let me carry her. Actually Becky is the only one who can do that. She will hold to Jewell's finger and Becky's while walking, but not to mine. She will only allow Yisha our guide to hold her for a little while at times.

Once again I find myself trying to win the heart of sweet young thing with big brown eyes. It worked with her Mama, so I am not going to give up. Tonight TanTan is amazing us with feats of brainpower. Becky looked at a book with her called "My First Words" and TanTan could repeat very well several words including grandma, baby, truck, tractor, cows, bananas, and birds. When she opened the page that had pictures of food she bent over and acted as if she was eating.

Later she played with her stacking cups, her other toys, and played a game with me of kicking off her shoe when I put it loosely on her foot. She had such fun playing that she didn't want to go to sleep at bedtime and Becky and her had their first showdown. After raising the roof for about five minutes she conked out listening to her little wind up lamb that plays the tune "Jesus Loves Me". She is asleep now and we are almost packed for our trip to the south of China tomorrow. We are looking forward to warmer climes.

Ronnie

The View From Wolf Hill Pictures

There are more pictures of Hope Marie on the The View From Wolf Hill blog at the following link.

http://theviewfromwolfhill.blogspot.com/

Hope, Mom, Dad and Jewel are leaving for Guangzhou on Saturday (our Friday evening). This will be Hope's first plane ride please pray for them.

Love,
Hope's Big Sisters Carmen, Bethany and Misty

Pictures....

I'm going to post some pictures. Ronnie and Hope are taking a nap. We still plan to call her Hope but right now it is TanTan which is what they called her at the orphanage. This afternoon we will be going to the orhpanage here in Hefei. I'm sure it will be life changing for us as has this whole experience. The orphanage where Hope was raised is a couple of hours away and there is snow and ice everywhere so we are grateful to get to visit this one.

We talked with the girls this morning (night time there) and they want more pictures so I will try to just post a lot and come back later to comment on them.


Becky

Wo Ai Ni

That is Mandarin for "I love You". It is missing the tonal symbols above the three words but it is pronounced :waw eye nee. I realize that my Texas accent nullifies nearly everything that I try to say in Mandarin, but surely this is so simple I should be able to do it. However when I say it to TanTan, (Hope Marie) it doesn't get even a flicker of a response, just that inscrutable expression that the Chinese are known for. Those big darkbrown eyes don't give a clue that it had any meaning.

There is an old expression used in full gospel churches, "it is better felt than tellt". I believe that will be the case for Hope Marie. Right now she is starting to feel more love than she has ever known. This is not a slight against the nannies that cared for her, they did the best that they could in tough conditions. We, unlike the nannies will be able to devote full time to loving Hope Marie, and we will be able give her all of our heart. In just three days we are already seeing the power of love in action. She opens up a little more each hour. Tonight we got the first laugh out of her. I'm sure she must think that her new daddy is crazy, I smile and laugh trying to get her to smile and when she does I almost cry.

Ronnie

She Is Ours...Officially

Our Precious Hope Marie



A Winter Wonderland greeted us again this morning.

Tan Tan all ready for adoption day.
Asleep in Daddy's arms! (right now that is the only time she allows anyone but me to hold her)
Our Meeting with the Notary who is similar to a Judge in our government.
Photo with the Director of the orphanage that was home to Haui Dong Tan for the first three years of her life.

Today was adoption day and I was overcome with emotion as the documents were finalized and I realized that she was now our daughter forever. From the day we were approved on May 11, 2005 she has been our daughter in our hearts but now on January 15, 2008 China has declared it so. We are so thankful to the Peoples Republic of China for trusting us to raise this precious little girl. We are very thankful for our Agency Chinese Children Adoption International and for the China Center of Adoption Affairs for making this possible. We are also thankful for our supportive family especially our daughters and to Jewell who so unselfishly is supporting us in every way and taking most of these precious pictures that we will treasure always.

Most of all we give Thanks to the Lord for blessing our family with another precious daughter...Hope Marie

More Pictures of Gotcha Day

Mom and Dad have not had a lot of extra time the last two days, but they are all four doing wonderful. We are attaching a few pictures. Please feel free to leave them a comment.

Love,

Hope's Big Sisters Bethany, Carmen and Misty

A Day To Remember Forever

Our bags are packed ready to go meet Huai Dong Tan.Hotel lobby waiting for time to leave to get our little girl

Well I tried but the tears started before we even arrived.Our guide and adoption facilitator smiling... she is very sweet and helpful.

Outside the civil affairs office where Hope was waiting for us.



TanTan had already arrived and was in the room when we arrived. I knew her recognized her immediately and the nanny then brought her around to us.

Jewell said this one is for you Misty...

Today has been incredible. God's peace that passes understanding has really kept our hearts and minds, including Hope, who we now know has been called TanTan by the nannies at the orphanage. We are calling her TanTan as of now and will gradually introduce the name Hope to her. She is a "mama's girl", although she will let me hold her for a while if Mama's not too far away. Hope was very calm at the civil office where we met her for several minutes, then had a complete meltdown with loud crying and profuse tears. After the nannies had calmed her a little, they slipped out without her knowing. One of the nannies was crying. We appreciate their care for Hope and the love that they feel for all of the children they care for, which has to be spread so thin.

We left the office a few minutes later and rode to the hotel and Hope was quiet and looking around at the city scenes and us. She has settled down amazingly this afternoon with only two crying episodes, once when she got her bath and shampoo, and again when the doctor came and examined her. She has a slight rash and some congestion in her upper chest. Other than that she is in good shape. Jewell and I walked to a nearby supermarket with Yisha, our guide for a few groceries. When we came back we met Becky and Hope walking in the hall. Thanks to everyone, friends, church family, and anybody who has been praying. We are amazed at how she is doing. We know that there are still hurdles ahead, but with your prayers and God's answers we will make it.

Ronnie

January 14, 2008 Gotcha Day

Hope is beautiful. We got to see and hear her on online tonight. She enjoyed seeing herself on the web cam especially after Mom put a pink bow in her hair. She kissed Mom and was really bonding with her. She kept watching and smiling at Dad. She already has him wrapped around her little finger. It is such a blessing God really answered prayers. Please continue to pray for all of them. Pictures will be posted as soon as Mom can put her down.

Love,
Hope's (aka Tan Tan) new sisters, brother-in-laws, nephews, niece and grandma.

***January 13, 2008 We Are So Excited

We just arrived in Hefei the capital city of Anhui Province. This is the city where they will bring Hope tomorrow. The orphanage is in Huainan about 2 and 1/2 hours away. Please pray with us for her safe journey to us and that the presence of the Lord will give her peace today.

This is what awaited us when we arrived at the Hotel. Of course I cried and Ronnie grinned a lot when we saw the room. A crib, Hope is 3 and will probably NOT sleep in that crib but anyway it is so symbolic of her arrival in our lives. They also brought a stroller for us to use.

Not much time to even think got to get some sleep.

Hey Family We LOVE You All Very Much!!!!!!!

Becky

***January 13, 2008 (the 14th in China) Dad And Mom Get HOPE Today!!!!!!

January 13, 2008
I just spoke to Mom on line (yahoo im is great.) She is unable to access the blog from Hefei.
They leave the Hotel for to get Hope at 9:00am China Time which is 7:00 pm our time today. Please pray that Hope has a safe journey from her orphanage to her MOMMY AND DADDY, it has been snowing there which may cause some delays. They are going to call us as soon as they can and then when they get back to their room we are going to get to see her and hear her by web cam (can't wait).

Mom said when they got to their room in Hefei Hope's bed and stroller were waiting for them in their room. The Guide Yisha came by and brought formula .... actually powered milk, a panda bear from Josh and Lily at CCAI some cookies for Hope and their name tags.

Anxiously waiting on Wolfhill,
Hope's sisters, brother-in-laws, nephews, niece, grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins

PS: If you would like to leave a comment please click on the comment section under the post.

***January 12, 2008 Headed to the Great Wall

Not much time this morning. We are going to the Great Wall. Just wanted to say we miss you all and love you before we leave. Caleb, Bradley, Ben, Tyler, and Sunnie remember that we pray for you every day and love you very much. To our Girls and their hubbys we love you, take care of each other.

We live in a wonderful country...America!!

China is beautiful the people are so very interesting and hardworking. I have so much in my heart to share just no time...

Becky

I admit that I wasn't to keen on coming to Beijing, it's really cold. But, I'm so glad that we did. Yesterday we took a rickshaw tour through a Hutong. A Hutong is a neighborhood of back alleys with dwellings in courtyards behind walls. We went through areas that people have been living in for over 400 years. Words cannot describe it, we will post a bunch of pictures later. Also, the food in the pictures was delicious. It was in a restaurant like none we had ever seen, hidden in courtyard, with individual private dining rooms. We had Kung Pao chicken, cabbage, sweet and sour pork, beef with celery, and soup.

Ronnie

***January 12, 2008 Happy Birthday Misty!!

We climbed the Great Wall of China to celebrate your birthday, just wish you could have been here with us. We love you Misty and are so very very proud of you. Happy Birthday.

Love Mom and Dad

Well we did it. We went to visit China's Great Wall. I'm sure that everyone knows the story so none of that...just that it was as awesome and I thought it would be and am so glad that we went. By the way......drum roll please. Ronnie made it to the TOP, at least to the top of the section that everyone hopes they will be able to climb. I knew he could do it and I knew that he would. I went about 1/3 + of the way up not quite half and Ronnie and I of course started talking about the boys and said " how far would they have made it by now?" Ronnie said all the way up and back down again. Jewell waited at the first section guard tower and I went back down to where she was after seeing Ron make it all the way to the top.

More later we have to pack and get ready to leave for the airport by 8:30 am. After we get settled in at the new hotel tomorrow evening we will try to spend more time on line catching up on emails and on posting. We have about 7 to 800 pictures already. This time in Beijing was for seeing the sights and getting our sleep clocks on China Time and that has been very easy actually. They say the tough time is coming home and returning to USA time.

Hope must stay 2 more nights in the orphanage and then her little world will change forever, even though we know that it will change for the better....she may be scared and upset. Please pray for her. Our prayer for her is still that she will feel God's peace around her and transition to our care with the least amount of upset. Thank you so much.

We are very excited....here waiting for our precious Hope.

Happy Birthday again Misty...you and your sisters are the reason we know we can handle this. You are all so very precious to us.

Becky

***January 11, 2008 In Beijing

All I can say about this day is that I am very tired my foot hurts and Ronnie is already snoring...so I have got to get some sleep. Pics tonight more words tomorrow when my brain is actually working.

Tomorrow The Great Wall. Cold, Cold, Cold, If the wind is blowing ....then no cable car and we will have to climb it!!!!! I think I can.....I think I can.

Love and miss you all Becky

***January 10, 2008 We Are Here!!

After all a girl needs her stuff...........3:00 AM Wednesday morning. January 9, 2008 heading to Beijing. First stop DFW.We got through customs and through the security screening and that is a story for another day.

Going to meet Hope Marie

Ronnie bording the plane at DFW.
First flight to SF.Did someone say Global warming...I don't think so!!!!! Somewhere over Alaska

This is our chariot that brought us from San Francisco to Beijing.

We had just arrived in Beijing in this picture. It was a long long flight. If we seem really happy it could have something to do with being OFF of that plane!!

They are telling me I have to wait in this silly chair for 2 more days and then get back on a plane to get to Hope...
After arriving in busy busy Beijing we had a light supper and tried to stay awake until bedtime. Our internal timeclock are a little bit confused

Just a quick post. This has been an incredible day. We arrived in Beijing about 4:15 pm China Time (2:15 AM Texas Time) We left DFW right on time at 8:04 and got to San Francisco on time (whenever that was Ha) and promptly went back through customs and onto that Giant Jumbo Jet that brought us safely to Beijing. We are so Thankful to the Lord for our safe journey here to the homeland of our daughter Hope...Huai Dong Tan. Monday morning China Time we will be united, more about that later.

We had some turbulence on the flights not really bad just pretty rough. We had a rough time getting any sleep and that stretch from San Francisco to Beijing was very long, over 12 straight hours of flying 6029 miles and that is just from SF. At one point the temperature outside the plane was -85. Beautiful scenery. I will post a couple of pictures...more later...we need rest.

Family, we love and miss you be careful stay safe and kiss yourself on top of the head (guys).
until our Lord bring us all safely home again together with Little Miss Hope Marie.

Friends, thank you for your prayers and we love you.

Tired, and a big day of touring Beijing tomorrow...so glad the Great Wall will not be until the next day.

Becky

***January 9, 2008 The Journey Of A Lifetime

Our Blog will look a little different while we are in China. Each day will show as a separate post, under the same date; January 9, 2008.

Please leave comments. We will treasure them and also please pray for us and for Hope.


Thank you,

Ronnie and Becky

***January 9, 2008 ON THEIR WAY

Dad, Mom and Jewell called around 12:00 today to say they had arrived in San Francisco and would be leaving there in about 1 hour for their flight to Beijing. The flight will take about 13 hrs. they should be there about 1:30am our time. They will tour Beijing on Friday and Saturday then on Sunday they will fly to Hefei and on Monday they will receive Hope. In Texas time they will receive Hope around 8:00pm Sunday night our time. Please keep them in your prayers.

Patiently waiting big sisters,
Misty, Carmen and Bethany

Travel Approval And Consulate Appointment! YES!!

Hope, your sisters and niece are anxiously awaiting your arrival and Sunnie really thinks you need some Hannah Montana pajamas!!

Our travel approval from China has arrived at CCAI and today we got word that our appointment at the American Consulate in Guangzhou has been confirmed. We can leave for China in a few days to bring home our sweet Hope Marie. It really seems quite unreal that the day we have been waiting for since our approval to adopt over 2 and 1/2 years ago will soon be arriving, the day we make Hope a part of our family...officially. We are so blessed. Just knowing that the little girl known as Huai Dong Tan who has lived in the orphanage since she was 2 days old will have a family...our family...makes every moment of the long wait just a bump in the road. She will be loved and we are all so thankful to be chosen to share our lives with her.

We already love you Hope, and know in our hearts that God wants you to be our daughter...forever.

The scripture Ronnie chose for the title says it all.

His Perfect Timing

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!!

Things are happening very fast now!! We may be leaving on January 9th to bring Hope home. Wow. We should know later this week a definite date, but our Travel Approval from China came yesterday and we received a call from our agency to see if we would be still be interested in traveling that soon. The 9th and the 16th are the most likely departure dates for us. Please pray for us and especially for Hope that when her little world is turned upside down and the only life she has ever known is changed forever that she will be covered with God's peace and comfort as we bring her home to her forever family.

When we first started this site to document our journey to our precious little girl, Ronnie wrote a post titled "The Journey of a Lifetime." Now that we are just about to leave on that journey I thought I would share the same story with you again. It is quite lengthy and I am not that great a writer but the words are from my heart.


In the spring of 2004 the Lewis Family who were at the time working in China as teachers visited Harvest Time and shared with our church much about their experiences in that country.

Mrs Lewis worked in an orphanage in China and she presented a slide show and commentary about China's one child policy and it's effect on the children of China especially the little girls born to families there. We had also heard previously from our daughter Bethany about these little girls when she attended a presentation while in high school that touched her heart and she still to this day says she feels such compassion and love for them. (hmmmmm)

In reality China's one child policy, the age old preference for having a son to carry on the family name and also because traditionally in the Chinese culture sons care for parents in their old age has created an environment where little girls born there are not wanted. A lot of baby girls in China are abandoned. Of course there are many different reasons for this besides the before mentioned preference for sons. China has a huge population to feed and oftentimes families just do not have enough resources to support more than one child even if they were allowed to have more.

Little girls in China are not valued and while over the past few years they are working to change that, it is still a reality. When Mrs Lewis showed a picture of a very long row of baby girls in little seats as she explained more about the plight of children in China she mentioned that China had opened it's doors to international adoption several years ago and many of these little girls and some boys were finding their way into the homes and the hearts of American families, many many of those homes were Christian homes.

When you think of it...we are the adopted sons and daughters of our Lord. He made a way for us to be a part of His family. Mrs Lewis closed by mentioning that if you had a place in your family for one of these little abandoned children to consider International Adoption from China, that if you had room in your heart and your home what a blessing this could be for your family. We knew at that moment that we had room in our home and especially in our hearts.

Now, when you look at our family from the natural point of view you see a couple who has raised three beautiful daughters who they are very proud of and who are married to good men and have in turn blessed our family with five precious grandchildren. Time to sit back and put our feet up, enjoy our blessings, and relax...not exactly!! When God tugs at your heart and places a desire there He eventually makes His plan for you very clear. He did just that with us. We never would have imagined that He would give us the desire to raise another daughter for Him.

At the time we were in our early fifties and ready to slow down just a bit, but God had other plans for us. I looked at Ronnie and said "we have room." He knew as did I at that moment that if there were any way to make it happen we would bring one of those little girls into our home. It was just that simple. God very often manifests His will in the lives of His children just like that. You may not see the end result or how in the world it will ever happen but you know very simply in your heart that He has placed a desire there that cannot be filled by anything other than His perfect plan.

It would be great to say that we simply did what He asked us to but it was just a bit more complicated than that! First of all after the service I visited with Mrs Lewis and learned a little more about the process, and the costs involved. It was staggering. Undaunted we went home and that very day went to the computer and searched out the website of one of the adoption agencies she mentioned. Right away we saw that just maybe we were too old ... Dissapointed but still with a feeling in our hearts that for some reason God had touched us with a great compassion for these children, I decided that He had called me to pray specifically for these little girls and boys.

At Christmas time that same year 2004 we talked with my cousin who lives nearby and told them how we had been so touched by Mrs Lewis's message that day about the little girls in China, funny how God works...recently Carla who is a court reporter had worked in the courtroom when a couple who had adopted a little girl from China went before the judge to get a Texas issued birth certificate for their daughter...and she was also touched. The Lord had also been working on Ben. They had two children and really wanted more.

About three and a half months later our phone rang one night and Ronnie answered it. I heard him talking and saw him smiling and saying things like " that is wonderful" and "it will be a girl" and "is that right?" Of course my thoughts were "someone we know is having a baby...who? " When Ronnie got off the phone he simply said "that was Ben and he and Carla are adopting a baby girl from China!" For about five seconds my heart was so full I thought thank you Jesus for bringing another little child from there into a Christian Home when Ronnie completed the sentence with, "Oh yeah, Ben also said that the agency they are using said that they will allow you to apply for adoption from China through the age of fifty-five!" Bombshell.........right when I thought that I finally knew why God had given me such a burden for these little girls...He surprised me again.

I had been praying for the little girls in China and I must admit that I was a little bit relieved as the months went on that my comfortable empty nest was still an empty nest. My heart once again soared. It was like that comfortable feeling flew right out the window and was replaced with excitement and expectation of what was ahead. I also knew at that moment that I was just one half of this marriage and that I could not presume to know how Ronnie felt. We talked for a while about how excited we were for Ben and Carla and then barely touched on the other facts that had been revealed to us that night. I went to bed knowing in my heart that I could not say anything at all to try to convince Ronnie that we needed to seriously consider this step for our family because if God was truly speaking to me (and I felt certain that He was) He would speak also to him.

The next night after supper I was in the living room and Ronnie was in the kitchen when I heard him say..."Hey Becky, come in here I have this adoption agency that Ben and Carla are using pulled up on the computer...I want you to look at it with me!" Praise God. When two become one God never speaks to one of you without confirming that through the other.

We applied a few days later, were approved on May 11, 2005 and then the extensive paperwork, costs, and wait began. At the time we applied the total wait from application to having your child home with you was about one year, which seemed a lifetime then. Because of a series of cirstumstances that are complicated to explain and also still not completely clear the wait began to increase for those who wanted to adopt children from China. We waited, studied and learned what we could about what was going on. Our wonderful agency kept us informed and answered all our questions as best they could, but it was not in their power to change anything. Finally after two and a half years of waiting we were matched by the China Center Of Adoption Affairs with a precious little girl who was abandoned when she was two days old one week and a half before Christmas 2004. So when we were talking with Ben and Carla at Christmas 2004 this little tiny baby girl was being cared for by an orphanage in Anhui Province, in the Peoples Republic of China and our God wanted her to be our daughter.

We may be leaving as soon as January 9, 2008 to bring little Huai Dong Tan home to be with her forever family. We will name her Hope Marie and are so very thankful that God has trusted us again with one of His precious children. You never know when you get up on Sunday and head for church how God might decide to change your life forever... in just a moment ....in the twinkling of an eye...give you the desires of your heart... desires that you did not even know you had.


Becky