Thursday,
August 16, 2007
Well folks, this is my last post. Tomorrow afternoon we go
to the consulate to take our oath and get Lucy’s visa and
passport. When we get back, a small group of us will be
leaving for the airport. China has been an amazing
experience. Coming home with this beautiful child is
nothing short of a miracle. We experienced the subway
system today. It’s like an airport, all clean and shiny. I
was hoping to get a little deeper into the nitty gritty
China experience. The large cities only encompass 30% of
China’s population. Some day I would like to travel this
country more fully, bring the whole family back for a
homeland tour when the kids are older. There are 56
different ethnicities in China, Han being the majority.
They call Chinese children adopted by Americans,
“bananas”. They say this is because their skin in yellow
on the outside like the Chinese but they are white on the
inside (their personalities) like Americans. It is not
meant to be derogatory. I think they believe, as we
parents do, that these children were destine to join
certain families. Thus, they have a predisposition toward
the American lifestyle.
I am sure you are wanting to here about Lucy. She has been
a bit crabby today. I am coming down with something and
have a sore throat. I am wondering whether or not she is
getting sick again too. I will be incredibly glad to be
home and in a normal routine. Lucy is the happiest when
around other children. She loves one of the big sisters
here. I am guessing the girl reminds Lucy of an older
child at the orphanage. Lucy doesn’t laugh a lot but
Natalie can get her cracking up. I am hoping that Lucy has
a similar response to her brothers. As you can see in the
pictures, Lucy is much more willing to try a few new foods
now and doesn’t immediately gag on anything that isn’t a
liquid.
I will continue to update this site. I will try to have
something up by Tuesday of next week and then I will
update monthly thereafter. Thanks again to all of you for
your support, prayers, good wishes and loving messages.
And thank you for sharing in this journey. If anyone has
questions about international adoption or about orphans in
China. Please feel free to contact me and I can share more
of our story. We were told that between three and four
million babies are abandoned in China annually. Many never
survive to see their first birthdays. Lucy was a lucky
one, just as we are lucky to have her bless our family. It
was heartbreaking to leave all those beautiful babies
behind in the orphanage.
Cade and
Coby,
Good guess guys. I was thinking of the dog because that is
the Chinese zodiac sign that Lucy was born under. In China
they have a special calendar that assigns an animal to the
year you were born. Cade your animal is a snake. Coby,
yours is a monkey. Mommy was born in the year of the tiger
and daddy is a dog like Lucy. There are a total of 12
different animals. Maybe we can check a book out at the
library when I get home to learn the rest of the animals.
One of the things I love about China is all the bright
colors. The rice fields are a bright green and they use
lots of red which is a symbol of happiness. When mommy and
daddy got married, I wore a white dress which most people
in America do. I saw a beautiful bride here and she was
wearing red. That is the tradition in China. Guess what I
had for dinner. JELLYFISH! It was kinda squishy but good.
Today, the animal that I am thinking of is the stork. You
have to guess why. I love you both very very very very
very very very very very very very very MUCH! |
|
"Let's go home mom!"
"Mom has already introduced me
to American cuisine---the Poptart"
"Everything has to pass the lick test
before entering my mouth"
"I don't care what you say,
I am not going to take a nap!" |
