Our Child Waits

A Busy Day!

2008-01-22T05:26:00.000-05:00

Today (Tuesday) has been a great day! We took a trip to the Guangzhou Zoo and had a blast. We left the hotel at 9:15 and returned at about 12:30. It was the perfect amount of time and Reid did great. Actually, all the kids did great. The weather was a bit cool, about 62 degrees, partly cloudy and breezy. We were just happy to be out of the hotel and off the island. We got to see lots of the traditional zoo animals, including a bunch of monkeys which turned out to be Reid's favorite! We got to drop crackers to a bunch of monkeys in the monkey pit and he thought that was the bomb. We finally had to tell him no more crackers so we could leave and join the rest of our group that had walked on without us. Reid enjoyed being a big boy and walking by himself (even if only for a short bit) which was a good thing, but it did slow us down considerably as you can see from the picture of us maneuvering the steps. I think we were always at the tail-end of the group, but we didn't mind. We were experiencing another first with our little boy.

When we got to the elephants, I think Reid got scared. That animal was really big and really close. I would have been scared too if I was a small fry staring up at that thing!!
Needless to say, we didn't stay there very long .

It wasn't long after that we decided Reid had to ride in the stroller..... he was getting tired and so where we.

In an effort to keep him amused, we pulled out the big guns - a sucker! It worked like a charm. He rode the rest of the way through the park and was almost asleep when we arrived at the front gate, ready for departure. It was perfect timing! Butch headed to the concession stand, bought a Pepsi for the two of us and we hopped on the bus and headed back to the hotel, our home away from home. We had decided on the ride back that we would just head straight to lunch at Lucy's as soon as we returned. A quick bathroom pit-stop and we were off....

When we got to Lucy's it was busy - Chinese babies everywhere. We ordered a beer (for Butch and myself) Malaysian fired rice (yummy!) and corn on the cob for Reid. It was another first for him. He loved that corn! You can tell from the photos that he takes his eating very seriously. He can pack away some food. It took him a few minutes for him to figure out how to best eat the corn, but he managed quite well. He polished off both ears and was quite proud of himself and of course, we made a big deal about it! We are having so much fun with him and I think he's enjoying us, too! He realizes we are the best gig in town.

After a filling lunch we headed back to our room for some R&R. Nap time was easy today, we were all exhausted. We put the little man down on a big comforter between our beds and he was out like a light. Butch and I were right behind him. We snoozed until our phone rang and that was the end of our rest. Thank goodness Reid slept on... the boy could sleep through a bomb going off. That's a great thing 'cause at home things are loud.

After our nap we had restored our energy and needed to burn some off. We headed for the playroom and had a blast. We remembered to take our ball with us today which was helpful as there is only one in the playroom. As you can see, Reid really enjoyed himself. He laughed and laughed. He ran around, climbed on me (you can see the pain), climbed on Butch and laughed some more. When we left I was pooped! I'm so not as young as I used to be....

Dinner tonight will be another trip to Lucy's. It's cheap and an easy walk from the hotel. After dinner we will return for a bath and bedtime. Hopefully he will fall asleep without an incident. We don't like the Chinese meltdown. He makes this really ugly face we have dubbed the "rat face" and we don't like seeing the "rat face." It's the same face he made on Gotcha Day and we'd prefer to never see it again.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. We can't access the blog to read your comments, we can only post. I had a friend copy and paste some of the feedback into an e-mail for us - it made our day. If anyone wishes to communicate with us, feel free! We have internet service and can check e-mail, which we do a few times a day. We'd love to hear from you. We feel so fortunate to be able to share our amazing adventure with all of you.

Love from China!

Down Time

2008-01-21T00:44:00.000-05:00

We have a lot of down time in our schedule here in China and we are over it! For those of you that know us, we have a hard time in the "chill out" department, so you can only imagine how we must feel. There's not but so much you can do with a very active toddler before he gets bored and wants to move on to the next adventure. He loves the playroom here in the hotel, but we would prefer an outside park with grass. We can't wait to go home.

As Reid becomes more comfortable with us, his little personality seems to blossom. He has become even more active which makes it difficult for us to take good pictures. Thank the Lord for digital cameras and the magic "delete" button. I feel like I'm constantly snapping photos in an attempt to get a few good ones. We have managed to get a few really cute pictures of this amazing little boy which may help you get a glimpse at his amazing personality. He plays hard and he sleeps hard! We love nap time!!

One Week and Counting....

2008-01-17T23:52:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe we've been in China for one week. Today marks the half-way point and honestly, I can't wait to go home. We are enjoying our stay. The White Swan Hotel is lovely and the park nearby is beautiful, but it's just not home. I get very tired of the store owners trying to coax us into their shop so that they can show us every piece of junk they sell in hopes of making a sale. I have stayed away... far, far away, but will have to venture in as we get closer to departure date. We need a few things and I'm not sure I will be able to find them cheaper anywhere else.
It's also hard to believe that we've had Reid for 4 days. Everyday brings a new development in his personality. He's quite the funny little man. I think he'll fit in nicely at our home. He's also very active not unlike other toddlers. It's just been so long since we had one running around the house that I had forgotten how fast they can be. Life should be interesting when we get back home.

Since "Gotcha Day" we have been busy with appointments. On Tuesday we had to return to the Provincial Civil Affairs building (where we received the children) so we could register the adoption paperwork. There had been 48 families (not all with our group) that received children on Monday and we had been warned that the process for the registration would take longer than usual because of the large number. We all had to go through the same process. Thank goodness this particular floor was bright and colorful and offered things to keep the kids busy. Reid and I played ball with this shiny thing that looked like a big plastic Christmas ornament. I thought it was odd, but hey, it worked... kept him busy for a while. I think we were at that appointment for at least 2 hours which really stretched my patience. Thank the Lord that about the time my rear-end went numb from sitting on a very short stool designed for a toddler, our name was called and we could get up and go to a different room for our "interview." These interviews (2 total) didn't take too long, but gave us just enough movement to get the blood flowing to the lower half. :-) While we were waiting, Butch pulled out the camera and snapped some pictures. We discovered that Reid, while he doesn't mind getting his picture taken, he's not happy with the flash. Not a good thing if you want to take pictures at night or in low light, but we seem to be making it work. I think by the time we get home, he'll be quite adjusted and won't mind the camera, flash and all. So, once we were done at the Registration Appointment, the adoption was complete in the eyes of the Chinese Government. Reid is ours!! It was well worth the long wait to know that we are officially his forever family.......

After returning to the hotel, we promptly headed to "Lucy's" for lunch. It's a fun little dive that is very near the hotel. It's very "western." They serve a few Asian dishes like fried rice and noodles, but mostly they have American food like hamburgers and grilled cheese. We soon discovered another food that Reid likes - chicken quesadillas. Yep, he's so gonna fit into our family! We sat on the patio, under an umbrella and had our lunch before returning to the room for a nap. Well, Reid napped, Butch did homework and I blogged. It was a good use of two hours. That night we went to a local Cantonese restaurant. That was different! We were the only white people in the place and nobody in there spoke much English, but we managed. We had an amazing meal. I think it was my favorite so far. We had hunan beef, sweet & sour chicken and fried rice - oops, I almost forgot about the spring rolls. Reid LOVES him some spring rolls. I think he'd be happy eating nothing but spring rolls. I'm gonna have to learn how to make these fine little delicacies... I hope Rusty can help me out!

On Wednesday we went to apply for Reid's passport. We traveled by bus to to the Chinese passport agency which reminded me a lot of DMV. We were told to go in and take a seat - again, there were lots of those same families there waiting to apply for passports for their children, so we had to wait, but not too long. Jason (our adoption agency rep.) called our name, handed us some paperwork and took us to the front of the line. We waited for a free counter and proceeded with caution. Chinese officials of any sort look scary. We presented our passports and paperwork and waited a few seconds for the lady to hand us a document. Done! That's it? No thank you, no nothing? We got up and made room for the next people in line. About the time we finished, it was time to go. Back on the bus (I'm beginning to see a pattern here) and to the hotel. Later that night all the families met in the lobby and went to get Chinese food at a nearby restaurant. It was yummy!

Thursday morning we went shopping at a local department store. Not a lot of killer deals, but we did manage a few purchases. We got back in time for lunch and a very short nap before heading to the nearby photo shop to get the kids pictures taken for their visa applications and no, I don't mean credit card.... After that we took a short walk to the local medical clinic (yuck!) for a quick physical. It was a lot like a sports physical, but Reid hated it all the same. The minute the doctor stuck the thing in his one good ear to have a look-see, he wigged out! Things went from bad to worse when that same doctor put the tongue depressor in his mouth. Yikes, we still had two more stations to get through. Could we make it? I don't see how.... At least we know he has a healthy set of lungs! When we finally got done, Reid had a big 'ol case of the ass. He was not happy with his new mom & dad! He wouldn't look at Butch which lasted for a couple of blocks and then, poof, the attitude was gone! Thank God! It would have been a really long night, if not. We headed back to our room and called it an early night. We ordered Papa John's Pizza to be delivered to the hotel and made some Ramen Noodles for the little man. Now let me take a minute to describe this fascinating scene.. I hope I can do it justice. The bowl of Ramen came from local convenience store (market) and I purchased them so I'd have something to feed the machine in a pinch. When we decided to stay in the hotel for the evening due to cold, rainy weather, we figured Reid would enjoy the noodles more than the pizza. I added boiling water and we waited for the noodles to cook. When they were done, they filled the bowl. As you can see from the picture, the bowl is rather big. It would be enough to fill me up. We watched in amazement as this pint-sized China-man began to slurp down the noodles. He kept eating and eating until that bowl was empty! Yep, empty. I could not believe my eyes and then he wanted to try some pizza. Wow, he's gonna be expensive! Can't help but love those cheeks, though. We finished the day as we usually do - laughing, of course!
We are having a ball!

Gotcha Day

2008-01-16T01:29:00.000-05:00

For those that are unfamiliar with the term "Gotcha Day," it is the day that an adoptive family actually receives their child. It is a really big day! For us, it happened on January 14, 2008 in an unassuming office on the 9th floor of the Provincial Civil Affairs Office in Guangzhou, China. We knew when we arrived in Guangzhou that we would not receive the children until 4:00 p.m on Monday because most of the baby girls were coming from an orphanage 7 hours away. There were 2 boys and 13 girls that would be handed to their forever families that day and we were fortunate that Reid only had to travel about 2 hours. We also knew that we would be the second family to meet their child, so we would not have to wait with anticipation as long as those other families. What a blessing!

We arrived by bus at our destination and made our way to the dreary office where we all took a seat and made ourselves comfortable. Butch and I were informed that Reid had not arrived with his caregivers, so we would need to wait to receive him. Probably would be after the other girls. No problem, we'd waited this long... A few moments later a bustle of activity began to take place and Chinese people started filing past us (at a very rapid pace) into the adjoining room... they were carrying the babies and oh, a child walking.... hmmm.... it took me a minute to process that I had just seen the back side of our new son. He had arrived and we would still receive him second! Woohoo...

And so it began... The first family got their little boy... it was precious! Oh my, now it was our turn. We knew that he did not like strangers and we were gonna give him space. I hadn't even considered how he would feel with all the other families standing around looking at him... it did not look good! His caregiver came out with him and he froze! Next came the tears. The more upset he got the faster she spoke. I wish I knew what she had said to him. We stood there a few minutes trying not to crowd the young man, but we had to move so that the other families could get their kids. Hmmm, this might be
interesting.... I scooped him up which was really hard considering the amount of clothes he had on paired with a really big belly. As you can see from the picture, he did NOT want me to touch him! So, off to another room we went... Reid, kicking & screaming, the scream only an orphan can produce. I have to say, thank the Lord we had experienced an orphan scream before that moment because I felt very prepared for the episode that was unfolding. When we got into the other room, things went from bad to worse. We decided it best that he not see the caregiver again. It would be best for him to go "cold turkey" so to speak and he soon began to realize that she was not going to come to his rescue. All he could do was sob. I felt really bad for the first family who had gone in there to get acquainted with their child because when we arrived things got really loud, quick! Needless to say, they didn't stay long.

Butch leaned over to me while we were trying to get him to settle down and said, "Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Ferguson, it's a screamer!" We had to keep our sense of humor....We had planned for this....we were prepared! We had faith that everything would get better. And so, the great stand-off began. We tried everything to calm him down - food, new toys, balls, drink....nothing worked. Finally, we decided to just get up and move away from him. The best thing would be for him to have some space. The picture below is a snapshot of what happened when we got too close. We positioned ourselves far enough away from him so that he would realize we weren't gonna hurt him, but stayed close enough in case he did something to hurt himself. It was a very strange situation. The other families felt so bad for us. I had several moms give me a hug and tell me how sorry they were... hmmm, sorry? I guess I could see that. I'd feel sorry for someone experiencing what we were experiencing, too. What can you do? Can't send 'em back... Just give him space... He screamed, cried and whimpered for 1.5 hours, the whole time we were in that office. Finally, everyone had received their children and interviewed their caregivers... the moment of truth arrived... We had to leave! OK, at this point he'd stopped crying and the thought of trying to get him out of that building and on a bus made me kinda sick. We can do this. No big deal, right? First, get the coat on him. Not as hard as I thought because he never wanted to take it off to begin with. I think he figured it he put the coat on then he'd get to go back to where he came from. Boy did we have a surprise for him. It took a while for us to all file out of that little office and get in line with all the other families to wait for an elevator. So far, so good. We made it to the ground floor and out the door just in time to take this picture before reality set in. Reid realized we were not headed in the direction he wanted to go. I bet you can guess what happens next? He started to have a melt down. Butch picked him up and carted his chunky butt off to the bus... most of our group was already on board when the screamer arrived in full whale. I'm thinking to myself that these people are really gonna hate us by the time we get to the hotel, but what can we do? We sat at the very back of the bus, the best place for a screaming toddler. Finally, he settled down to a whimper and I figured I'd give the Teddy Grahams one more try. I unzipped the backpack and pulled out the small plastic bowl that stored them and popped open the top. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. He took one and ate it. The rest, they say, is history... the snots and tears that is! He ate a few and fed us a few and about 15 minutes into our ride back to the hotel he was laughing. Yes, I said laughing... the kind of belly laugh that makes everyone around you laugh, too. By the time we were back to the hotel, everyone in the group was amazed at the transformation that had taken place. They could not believe that this was the same child. We, of course, were beside ourselves. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad afterall. When we got back to the hotel it was pushing 6:30 and we needed to feed the little man. Afterall, it takes a lot of energy to have a meltdown. We decided to give Reid a quick bath and put on his PJ's before heading down to the hotel buffet for a bit. I had a required meeting to do paperwork which didn't allow me any time to eat. I ordered something for Butch to take back to the room for me and headed off to meet the others leaving my two men to fend for themselves. I returned about 20 minutes later to get Butch's signature only to discover that Reid was still eating. That boy can pack away some groceries. Butch said maybe we should take him back... claim we couldn't afford to feed him. Nope, not an option. I am quite taken with this bundle of energy and he seems to really like us, too. I can't wait to see his personality emerge.

When we got back to the room it was about 9 p.m., bedtime. It had been a really long day for all of us. I headed to the shower as the guys headed to the bed. Butch put Reid in my bed (we have two twins in our room) until he fell asleep. It wasn't too long before that little guy was snoring.. (he's got a bit of a cold) and shortly thereafter, so were we. I think we were all exhausted - it had been a really big day! Reid now has his FOREVER family. God is good!

We Made It!

2008-01-14T00:27:00.001-05:00

The term "We made it" has so many different meanings for us. First, the basement project got finished just in time for us to get Reid's room painted, or should I say, for our friends & family to get it painted. This story is amazing, but I will describe it in detail at a later date and add the pictures for those who have been following the progress of our basement/stairway remodel project.

Second, we got our very last minute travel details worked out and were fortunate enough to find a flight that was well within our budget. When you book any flight with less than 7 days to departure, the rates go up... we were lucky that our travel agent found us a Continental flight that was actually $300 cheaper than the United flight another travel agency wanted to book us on.

Third, we raised all the money we needed to finish this adoption!!!!! Woohoo!!!! God has been so faithful in this area. He gets all the glory! I had no doubt we would have what we needed when we needed it.

Fourth, we actually made it to China! We left Charlotte on Thursday and flew to Newark where we took this silly picture then hopped on a really big plane and headed for Hong Kong. It was such a long flight, just under 16 hours and when you are sitting in the economy class at the back of the plane you can't help but dream of how it must be for those people in business class. I was sandwiched between Butch, who had the window seat (not a good place to be if your 6'2") and "sleeping beauty" on my left. That guy, though nice enough, had a raging case of halitosis (really bad breath!) and must have taken a sleeping pill because he slept 90% of the flight. This posed and interesting situation for Butch and I as we promised Erin (our nurse friend) that we would "ambulate" (get up and walk around) about every two hours. This was do-able for the first 4 hours, but after that, we were trapped for about 4 hours until I just couldn't take sitting any more. I woke that man up and got out of that seat! I was going nuts, felt like a caged animal and my feet were swelling! The flight was hot (which I thought was me just having "hot flashes") and there wasn't enough water being passed around - we were dehydrating! From that point forward I decided that sleeping beauty would just have to be inconvenienced and made him let us out. Not my problem! His short self should have volunteered to switch with my tall husband if it was such a big deal, right? The in-flight entertainment system on the plane was quite impressive... we had over 258 selection to choose from - t.v. shows, movies, games, music... It kept me busy just looking at the selections... Hopefully it will keep Reid entertained on the way back home. We arrived in Hong Kong (quite a nice airport) at about 7 a.m. our time (8pm HK), exhausted ( I think I slept about 1.5 hours total on the plane), but excited to be at our final destination! We were the first family to meet the agency rep - Matthew, who was an really nice guy. He explained to us that there were many members of our travel group arriving very soon so we would wait until they had all gotten there before going to the hotel. No big deal, we are used to waiting! It was a good opportunity to begin meeting the others as they arrived.. tired and ready to get to the hotel. After a short bus ride to our hotel, we got all the families checked in and finally went to bed around 11:00 HK time (10 am est)... We were pooped! We had been up for 17 hours and had gotten just 2 hours of sleep before that, so to make sure we would actually sleep, we each took a half of a Valium and hit the hay knowing we had a group tour that started at 8 am the next morning! The bed slept good (I think), but the pillows were firm blobs of foam that would not give at all. Thank goodness it was only two nights.. I could make it that long! Saturday morning came. We had breakfast, hopped on a bus and headed off for our tour. We headed to the top of Victoria's Peak to get a view of the city & harbor from the highest point in Hong Kong. It was breezy which made it a bit cool and there was still some fog hanging around, but it was better than the rainy forecast that had been projected. This is a picture of Butch and I with Matthew. The view from here was magnificent!

We stayed in HK for two nights and bright and early Sunday (6 am wake-up call) we got ready to head to the airport for our in-country flight to Guangzhou. Our flight was scheduled for 10:30 and it went off without a hitch. We got to our destination just fine! We were met in the airport by the Guangzhou reps for CCAI, Jason & Kathy and they took us by bus to our final destination, The White Swan Hotel. The picture to the left was taken in the lobby. I think I look like I've flown halfway around the world and haven't had enough sleep, yet. This place is really nice. There is a beautiful waterfall in the lobby (picture to the left) and the staff is exceptional. The facility is much nicer than our HK hotel... I'm thankful we get to spend the rest of our trip right here. We were quite happy to get to our room and get unpacked! Our stuff found a home and we settled right in. We were given instructions on changing money, so we did that and met with some other families and headed off to lunch. This was such a fun time. It allowed us to get to know each other and already we feel like a family. It's so amazing! When we returned to our room we found a crib..... reality set in! We'd have Reid tomorrow. Wow!

It's Monday in Guanzhou and today is "D-day" or Dang Day as Butch is calling it! Today we get the kids! Everyone is quite excited... there are even two, first time parents in the group. I'm so excited for them! You can see how nervous they are and excited all at the same time. There is another couple here that has three children, two of which are about Kyle and Mackenzie's age and another that is 10. We all get along so well.

I think that just about covers it! We will be boarding the bust to the Civil Affairs Office in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We will be the second family to receive their child and we are very fortunate that Reid only had to travel 2 hours to get here. The other little boy in our group is coming 3.5 hours and the rest of the girls are coming about 7 hours. I can't even begin to imagine what that will be like for those precious little girls. I can only pray that they will be calm and rested for their families and that their families will be able to handle whatever may happen.

Stay tuned.... pictures of Reid will be posted soon!
Blessings from China,
Mandy

Happy New Year News

2008-01-01T08:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was just another day... Butch and I set out at about 9:00 am to run some errands. We stopped for breakfast, went to his office to ship some materials he needs in California next week, got our second Hepatitis B shot, went to Sam's Club, dropped off an unexpected donation to our adoption fund with our pastor, stopped by the bank and then came home. It was a marathon event... we got home at about 4:00 pm and had a bunch of things to do here before going off to some friends for a few hours in the evening.
I was just getting ready to take down the Christmas tree when my cell phone began to ring. Butch was closest to it, so he answered it. The girl on the other end identified herself and said she was calling from CCAI, our adoption agency. As soon as he said it, I knew what the call was about - our travel approval. Woohoo! So he asked her to call back to the home phone so we could both be on a line. I went scrambling for the cordless phone and some paper as I knew I would need to write down some info... before I could get by bearings... The phone rang and we were off!

The conversation went something like this...
OK, I have some questions to ask you and we need to talk about travel dates...Which would you like to do first? "Questions" replied Butch... OK, questions it is... So she asked some basic questions regarding our paperwork, visas, etc. and then we moved to the REALLY important stuff... travel! So the next thing out of her mouth was, "well we have a group leaving on the 10th" and I broke out in laughter! What do you say to that??? The 10th? That's only 11 days away... Oh my! Butch finally had to tell me to stop as he could hear nothing in the phone but my hysterical laugh... Breathe!!! .... I regained my composure so we could resume the conversation. The next option for travel (and the last for January) was the 17th. She went on to explain that if we traveled on the 17th, we'd be traveling by ourselves as their was a rather large group leaving on Jan. 10. Hmmm.... what to do? It's New Year's Eve and the agency will be closing early and WE have to make a decision. I asked what time they would close (thank goodness they are in Colorado) and if I could make some quick calls to get some preliminary pricing for flights and I'd call back with an answer within 1 hour. Yep, not a problem!!! Butch was already calling friends asking them to pray for us... this was huge!

Oh my gosh!!! My head was spinning (and still is) and needless to say, I abandoned all hope that the tree would come down in lieu of finding out how much is would cost us to travel to China. If we didn't travel with the group, we would not be able to take any tours or benefit from the group rate... Hmmm.... seems like a no brain-er, but those airline tickets could blow this whole thing out of the water. I made some calls, hopped on the Internet and Butch called United Airlines and his boss to run this past him. All is good! Airline tickets are well within our budgeted amount and his boss said "Go!" Our visas came in weeks ago and we have all our necessary documents... What was holding us up? Nothing!!! We will travel with the group leaving on Jan. 10!!! Oh my!!

I called back to CCAI and told them to add us to that travel group and I think they were shocked that we chose that date. No problem, we'll request the consulate appointment for you and let you know when that will be so you can finalize plans. So, we wait... until the end of this week to hear when we will go to the consulate and then we will know how long we have to stay in China. We are praying that their first or second request will be honored so we won't have to stay an extra 5 days. If this is the case, we will leave on the 10th and probably return on the 25th or 26th.

WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!! It feels good to share this news. We are so excited!!

We still have lots to do around here... the tree will come down today and the Christmas decor will get packed away... the hairballs will get cleaned up and the house will get back to some sort of order. The focus will then be getting the basement painted. We will probably work on that today as well as getting Butch ready to leave for California tomorrow. He'll be gone 'til Saturday and isn't real excited about that, but what are you gonna do?

Will post more as I have time... I think it's going to be a crazy 9 days... soooo much to do, so little time!

Progress is messy!

2007-12-30T20:39:00.000-05:00

Well our basement/stairway project is taking shape. I think we've been at it for almost three months and I can finally say that I see an end in sight! Woohoo!!!! I thought it would be good to show you how the project has progressed since the last update at the beginning of demolition...

The picture to the left shows the new stairway. These are thirteen of the MOST BEAUTIFUL steps I've ever had the pleasure to walk up and down. Jim and Butch struggled with getting these into place. It took many trips to Lowe's, relocating septic lines (twice) and having the HVAC guys come move the trunk line to finally make way for the new stairway. Their hard work has really paid off... we have more stairs and a shorter rise which makes them easier to maneuver and gives us more headroom as you step into the basement space which is only 7' tall. Huge improvement!
Now, for the "man cave" as we have affectionately dubbed Kyle's new room. We had Butch's cousin Kathleen, her husband, Kelly and their son, Daniel volunteer a weekend for the cause. (Thanks guys!!!) They came up bright and early from Greenville, SC and gave a full day to studding in half of our basement to create a new room for Kyle. We felt so blessed to have them do this and it just happened that they came the weekend I had all those shots and felt so terrible. I wasn't able to help like I wanted, but I did enjoy catching up with Kathleen while the guys went to work doing their thing. At the end of the day, all the walls were set in place and our friend Terry came and ran the electrical for us. Another blessing!

When the electrical was in place Butch and Kyle installed insulation into the walls before the drywall went into place. We have been having Kyle help out as much as possible so that he can take ownership of his new space. In theory this is a great idea, but for a 15 year old, it's not such a pleasant experience. He'll get over it!

Now, it is important to point out that Butch has been suffering from a terrible case of tendinitis in his right elbow. This is very inconvenient when there is so much work to be done so, we hired some drywall guys to come finish the room - paint ready. Before they could get to work, I had a project to complete. The stippled ceiling
needed to be stripped around the edge of the room so that when they were ready to finish the drywall, they could do so properly where the walls meet the ceiling. As with any project I undertake, it's all or nothing.... so I spent all day Sunday (the day before they were to come) stripping the ceilings... the WHOLE basement ceiling AND the foyer, too. It wasn't a hard project, just messy. I thank the Lord for our Shop vac because it helped tremendously with cleaning up this mess. When I was finished, the ceilings were in great shape, as you can see. The drywall guys added some extra mud to them and we are good to go.

So, as you can see, Kyle's room has taken shape. The guys took about three days to finish the drywall and though I had to go back and fill in some areas that had little air bubbles, it was a whole lot better than having to do it all ourselves. They project was finished Friday 12/21 and as a result of the sanding we experienced a "White Christmas" inside our house. I had to spend two full days cleaning up the drywall dust and I can certainly think of ways I'd rather be spending my days (4 days before Christmas) than cleaning up that mess! However, when all is said and done... I'm glad to have the majority of the project complete and the little bit of sanding left to do is minor and shouldn't make too big a mess. Things to be thankful for!

We purchased paint this weekend for Kyle's new room and I still need to decide on the foyer color. Just too much to think about right now.. maybe next year. (ha-ha) The next step, after a quick sanding of my handy work, is to prime the ceilings and walls and then get busy painting. Butch has to travel next week, so hopefully I'll have the "man cave" painted when he returns on Friday. Once that's complete, Butch and Jim will install the doors and the trim and Terry will come back and finish a few electrical things and teach me how to install recessed canister lights. I can't wait. I have big plans for this house and it involves changing out our current lighting and adding more!!!

OK, I think you have a better understanding of what's been going on at our house... once the basement is finished and we get Kyle moved downstairs, I'll put my efforts to re-painting the room Reid will have. That will be fun and not too messy!

Blessings on our Fund Raising efforts!

2007-12-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

God is good and his timing is perfect!
As you know, when we accepted the match with Dang Hui Zhou, we immediately faced an expedited travel schedule as well as a deficit in our adoption fund. We quickly began working on raising money to help offset our financial shortfall and I am pleased to say, have had great success! We continue to be amazed at how God has prompted people to give so freely and we are truly humbled. We are reminded daily that this adoption is not about us, but about the Lord we serve and a little boy in China who will grow up knowing Him.

In the past month, we have had several donations made to our fund totaling about $5,000. We were also given 4 cases of the "The Little Gold Book of Yes Attitude" by Jeffrey Gitomer which Butch has sold for an additional $1,885 toward our goal of $12,000. This was a huge surprise and a great blessing. We currently have 19 books left to sell, so if you know of anyone that would like to have one of these easy reads, please contact us so we can get one to you. We are selling them for $15... Oh, did I mention that Mr. Gitomer signed each of these books?

Right before Thanksgiving, we began selling "making a Dang difference" T-shirts and quickly had to place a re-order. We currently have about 72 shirts to sell and hope that we can finish-up this part of our fund-raising real soon. If we sell the remainder of our shirts ($20 per shirt) we will add about $1500 to our fund. If you'd like to get a shirt for yourself or someone you know, visit our website for more info. The shirts have already raised about $1,000....

All this being said, we have raised to date, $10,050!!! We are almost where we need to be. The cool thing is I have had no anxiety about this deficit. I had complete faith that God would provide what we needed to make this adoption happen. He is faithful!

I'll post an update on the basement tomorrow along with the pictures to show you the progress. It looks amazing!

It's here!

2007-12-27T20:54:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I'm a little behind in my posting, but what do you expect? I've been slow to get things out since I started blogging, why change now? ....

We received our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) on Saturday, December 15. FedEx arrived unexpectedly with an envelope while I was at work and Butch quickly called me. He said that some paper came from China and it looked like a car title. I was so excited and shocked! I had been waiting for a phone call from our agency, but instead, they sent an e-mail which I didn't get until after the fact because I was too busy to start-up my computer. I don't care how we got notification, I'm just glad that we got it... We signed the acceptance letter and sent it back to CCAI who forwarded it back to China.

Now we wait, but not for much longer. We are in the home stretch. Once China receives our signed LOA, they will issue our Travel Approval (TA) within 2-3 weeks. I'm hoping that by the second week in January (at the latest) we should have our TA and can purchase our airline tickets. We are planning on travel toward the end of January, but know that this is not set in stone... We are wanting to get to China and complete the adoption before the Chinese New Year which is in February. We are ready to bring Reid home and don't want to wait a day longer than we have to.

A Commercial Break!!

2007-11-26T16:01:00.000-05:00

After some serious brainstorming we decided that selling t-shirts would be a great way to raise money for our adoption. So once we found a really cool printer-guy, we had to figure out what our t-shirts would say.... we wanted them to be funny and play on Reid's Chinese sur-name... "Dang". It didn't take long for Butch and I to decide on a catchy little saying and then the real work began. I'm not that great with Photoshop, but I worked my way through it and finally came up with a design that is hip and trendy. Our goal: create a shirt people would actually want to buy.

The result... a rich brown, 100% cotton shirt with lime green lettering that is appropriate for both genders. I might be kinda bias, but I think they Rock! Our amazing printer-dude says that they are "stupid cool." I think that's saying something, don't you?

So, it's with great excitement that I announce the arrival of the Dang T-shirts!"

The catchy little saying, "making a Dang difference" is the perfect play on Reid's name as we are making a difference in the life of this one little boy and the people that purchase our shirts will be making a Dang difference, too. Also, we have made the t-shirts available for purchase on the website in hopes that we will sell even more!!

We were so excited when the shirts arrived Wednesday before Thanksgiving. By today, which is Monday, we have sold quite a few t-shirts, only have 1 size large, which has forced us to place another order with the printer. How cool is that? Of course, we are being very cautious with our ordering because we don't want to be left with t-shirts. Afterall, this is a fund-raiser and leftover shirts means we lose profit... and we can't have that.. We need to raise enough to cover airfare...

If you are interested, here's the link for the Dang T-shirt Sale http://www.ourchildwaits.com/The_Dang_T-shirt.html. Visit the website to place an order or give us a call... If you are local, we'd be happy to get them to you so you won't have to pay shipping. Also, PLEASE share this link with your friends and encourage them to buy a shirt... $20.00 can make a HUGE difference!! No, $20.00 can make a "Dang" difference!!!!

Will keep you posted on the progress of this sale! Your support is appreciated. Thanks!

TP-II

2007-11-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

We are one step closer to travel as of Friday, 11/16. We received our Travel Packet 2 from our agency which means that our paperwork is in the Match Room in China and our Travel Approval is right around the corner. Yippee!!
So, what this really means is that we might just get to travel by the end of December. This is great news as we had pretty much given up hope that we would travel anytime before January. Well, we are good at adapting and changing gears on short notice, so here we go! We will slip into overdrive and get Kyle's basement room finished, Reid's room painted and all the things we need in order to bring home a toddler.... Quite honestly, my head is swimming and I'm a bit stressed, but I refuse to let all the "to do" things make me crazy...
Our immediate focus is getting our Chinese Travel Visas. I will send off our passports and Visa Applications tomorrow and we should have them back by December 1st. We also have a stack of new forms that need to be notarized and sent to our agency which will also be taken care of tomorrow. Two things off the "to do" list.
I will begin making the packing list as well as a list of things I still need to purchase for the trip. I have already gotten all the gifts we need to take with us to give to the officials and caregivers. It know everything will all get done, but I love having a list. I like seeing the progress as I check off the items on the list. I'll share the lists as soon as I get them started.
More to come... stay tuned!

A Human Pin-Cushion

2007-11-18T20:34:00.000-05:00

In preparation for China there are many things that must still be done. Immunizations are high on the "to do" list as they are a requirement for our travel. Friday I had to go to the Doctor for a sinus infection and thought I'd inquire about their ability to give me some of the "routine" immunizations I need before I go to Passport Health next week and pay an a-la-Cart fee for every shot they give me. I was surprised and very happy that they could do many of the shots I needed, so I rolled up both sleeves and prepared myself to receive five, yep, I said 5... shots. I got an MMR, DPT, Flu, Hep A & B and a script for Augmentin for the sinus infection. I have to say, I now have a new appreciation for the crabby behavior of babies & toddlers after receiving their shots. By 10:30 Friday night I started with a fever and couldn't shake the chills. I went from bad to worse as Saturday arrived and I had a throbbing headache, a very sore right arm because the nurse put the DPT shot in the wrong arm, an even higher fever than the night before and pretty much felt like I had been run over by a truck. I felt so bad that I was able to sleep right through the loud sawing and pounding that accompanied the remodel project in the basement (right under my bedroom). Finally, a little relief come Sunday morning... Hallelujah!!! Still haven't gotten back my appetite, but that's not such a bad thing. This is a heck of a way to add to my Weight Watchers weight loss... down 4 pounds since this past Tuesday... woohoo!!!

Stair Pictures

2007-10-22T21:34:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd share some of the photos taken while the stairway project was getting started. Don't you just love the flowered wallpaper? It's coming down tomorrow!

Butch actually bagan the demo process the night before..

Jim is our lifesaver! He has been such a blessing to us and our words never thank him enough!

Will post some more pictures later.

Getting "Reid Ready"

2007-10-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

As we are still waiting for information about our pending travel to China, I thought I'd share with you how we are passing the time.... First, we started going to the gym. We are so out of shape and the reality of chasing after a toddler is looming. We thought it was time to get a handle on our fitness and off the the Aquatic Center we went... as a family. The kids enjoyed learning how to use the weight machines as well as all the cardio-equipment and we are trying to make it a family affair. Hopefully, we will all be able to chase after that little guy without sucking wind. Next, the basement remodeling project is in full swing. We have dubbed the new space "the man cave" as Kyle's room will be down there... hopefully sooner rather than later. The big remodel began with the steps leading to the basement because the old ones were unsafe. Jim (a contractor friend) came to our rescue! He and Butch ripped out the old steps two Saturday's ago. As with all our projects, the step-redo became much bigger than we thought it would be... Once the guys started laying out the new steps, it was quickly realized that the water lines and sewer pipe to our bathroom would need to be moved. No big deal.. just another trip to Lowes and a few more dollars in supplies. Oh, did I mention that the HVAC lines had to be removed and we still don't have A/C to our bedroom? Hopefully the Heating and Air guys will come run new ones them tomorrow. Yippee!!!We call this whole preperation process "Getting Reid Ready." It is the mantra we are using as of late.... We have a long way to go and a short time to get there, but I am confident that we will be "Reid Ready" when we leave to bring him home! Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

We are LID!

2007-09-19T23:38:00.001-04:00

The first thing I learned when we began this Chinese adoption thing is that I had a lot to learn and I don't mean about the process. The biggest challenge I faced wasn't when my documents would be back from the Secretary of State or when we would receive our 171H from the Dept. of Homeland Security, my biggest challenge was learning what people meant by LID, LOA, LOI, DTC and of course, TA.

Here's what I discovered... LOA AND LOI are pretty much the same thing, though they can happen at different phases of the adoption process, depending upon which adoption program you are using. LOA stands for the "Letter of Acceptance" and LOI, "Letter of Intent."
We submitted an LOI to the CCAA when we accepted the referral of Dang Hui Zhou. This was done before our dossier ever went to China.

Next comes, DTC.. "Dossier to China." This is a big one.!! This means our paperwork is done and off to it's final destination. Woohoo! After DTC comes LID which stand for "Log in Date." This means that the CCAA has entered our dossier into the system and we begin the "official" wait. So, that's it! Not as complicated as I had thought.

Well, we are officially logged-in (LID) as of September 12, my mother-in-law's birthday... Happy Birthday, Dreama!
Now we wait. The next step is "TA" which stands for "travel approval" and that's pretty clear. Once we receive the "TA" we will be outta here within about 3 weeks. How's that for fast?

As for the waiting part, I'm fine with it, but Butch's isn't doing so well. I think I should let you in on a little secret about him, he doesn't like surprises! He prefers things to be planned and the "not knowing" is killing him. I must admit, it would be nice to know when we will travel as we would save some serious money by purchasing airline tickets in advance, but that's not how Chinese Adoptions work. I think a big part of Butch's issues stem from the fact that he needs a vacation! We didn't get to go anywhere over the summer and he needs to hold on to his remaining vacation days in case we travel before January. I think that pretty much stinks for him, but what do you do? I just keep reminding him that if we don't go in December, he will pretty much get the whole month off.... I hope he can make it.

That's the long and short of what's happening with the adoption right now. We are excited that our dossier is in China. We are one step closer to bringing Reid home.

Been Busy!

2007-09-11T21:46:00.000-04:00

I guess by now you have figured out that I'm not the most consistent blogger on this planet. We've had a lot going on this past week, so as we have been waiting for our dossier to get through critical review by our Agency, I have been neglectful in updating my site. So sorry!

Well, here's what's happening.... Our paperwork got sent to China on Friday and we received an e-mail today confirming that it had been delivered to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs, today. Within one week, or so, we should have our official LID - which is log-in date. Once we get that, then we officially start the wait. Since we are adopting a Waiting Child and have already been matched with him, our dossier gets moved to the top of the list. What that means, I can't really say. I just know that the process will go much quicker (2-4months)for us than for the others that are waiting for healthy girls. I feel a bit of pressure at this point, but there isn't much we can do except continue to get our grant applications turned in and think of creative ways to raise some more money.

As for our remodel plans, we received some great news last week. We don't need to spend gobs of money waterproofing the basement. Yippee!!! That is a huge blessing and speaking of blessings, a friend is going to help us straighten the basement steps. Jim, thanks!!! Hopefully this project will begin in a few weeks. We will then address the basement and figure out how to best configure the space to give Kyle a room and to provide additional gathering space for the kids. It makes my brain hurt just thinking about all that needs to be done, but I refuse to stress over it!

So, as we grow closer to the end of this phase of the journey, I ask for your continued prayer. We still have a long road ahead of us with a few hurdles that must be cleared. We are certain that this is where God has called us and we certain that he will work out all the details.

Blessings,
Mandy

It's a long one!

2007-08-30T21:57:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted an entry, so this will probably be a long one. You might want to grab a glass or mug of you favorite beverage and settle in for a long read. Hold on, here we go....

At last update, our church agreed to accept tax-deductible donations on our behalf. What a blessing! I had to update the website to reflect this new turn of events and I did so pretty quickly. A few days later, after speaking with my mother-in-law, I realized that the ChipIn link did not accurately reflect the progress of fund-raising efforts, so I decided to add a thermometer. Well, I thought this would be an easy thing to do..Not! That stinkin' little thermometer took me 8 hours to create. Yep, you heard me right.. 8 hours. If nothing else, I am determined! I think it turned out quite nice and it serves it purpose. Please, take a look. I want to know that someone has checked it out. Also, while you are at the website, take a minute and sighn the guestbook. We would love to know who's been checking out our site!

Speaking of that little thermometer... I want to shout out a big Praise!!! We have collected $3,250 from friends, family and complete strangers for the "Dang" Adoption Fund. This money will be used to finish the adoption of our little boy. Woohoo! Please keep sharing our website link with people you know. www.ourchildwaits.com Also, be sure to check in often to see the progress being made. God is good!

Now, I'd like to give a quick update on the dossier thing. Currently, our paperwork is in the "critical review" process at CCAI. Hopefully, our dossier will be sent to China by the end of next week. Let's all pray! When our dossier gets to China, that's when the 2-4 month clock starts tickin'. I have a feeling that we will travel sooner rather than later, but only God knows. I think it is wise, however, for us to plan on the shorter time frame. It will keep us from running around trying to get things done at the last minute.

Ok, so that leads me to getting things done. We have a friend from church coming over Sunday to look at the steps to our basement. They are steep and make a sharp turn... we feel that they should be straightened out so that they will be safe and easier to use. This means a project - the first of many for this older home. Since we will need to move Kyle to the basement as we only have three bedrooms, this project becomes our top priority as does finishing off the basement. (Anyone interseted in working for food?) We need to add walls to make a bedroom and closet. Sounds easy, right? Not! We have block walls and they are below grade. There is evidence that moisture has seeped through at some point in time and we need to make sure that that doesn't happen when we put up the walls. We've been getting estimates, the good news is it's fixable, the bad news, it costs! Hmmm, in the grand scheme of all that we are spending right now, the cost of this little project is but a drop in the bucket. It's all good and it will get done!

So, keep praying for us. Pray that we get the basement finished so Kyle will have a bedroom that doesn't have creepy, crawly bugs littering the floor. Pray that we can find a company to do the waterproofing that is reasonably priced. Pray that the steps can be straightened out without a lot of expense. Pray for God to provide all the things we will need for Reid once we get him home. Just keep praying!

Blessings,
Mandy

Big News!

2007-08-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

Butch and I received another confirmation today that this adoption is God's will... We had coffee this morning with one of our pastors and we received fantastic news! The three pastors agreed that our church, The Gathering would partner with us for the adoption and accept donations on our behalf. Woohoo!! We just love our church and it's not because of their decision to help us out. We love our church because it has a heart for missions and this decision is reflective of their desire to follow Christ.
So, this big news means that anyone feeling called to make a cash donation to our adoption fund can receive a tax deduction when they make a check out to the church on our behalf. Wow! I can hardly believe it....
Ok, so I now have to go back and change the website a bit to reflect this amazing new development, but that's no big deal. Hopefully I will have the update finished and uploaded to the site by Monday. Pray for me. It takes me a long time to do these things and I need to get it done quick.

Another cool "God" thing that happened today goes hand-in-hand with the church news. Yesterday, I mentioned in my post that I was working on adoption grant applications to try and get some money that way. Well, the organizations that make grants as well as our church all want to pay funds directly to our agency. No big deal, right? Well, come Tuesday when I send off the dossier to our agency, we will only owe them travel expense money which will total around $2,600 (max). Needless to say, I spent the better part of the day trying to wrap my brain around how that would work. If we need to take $5,000 cash (yes, I said cash..) with us to China, then how would a grant and donated money help us out if it needed to be paid to CCAI??? Hmmm?
I decided the best plan of attack was to make a call and within a matter of minutes I had my answer. CCAI could set-up a payment schedule for the second agency fee and the post placement deposit as long as we had it paid-in-full before we travel. Not a problem! So, any donations collected or grants received can be paid directly to our agency because we will still owe them money. (I never thought I'd be so happy to be in debt.) The rest of the money in our adoption account would then go toward our "cash" requirement as well as airfare. That would work! It's amazing how fast God just made my concerns dissapear as He worked it all out for us. He's so cool that way. He's been with us through this whole process and will see it through to the end. I take great comfort in knowing He's in control.
God Rocks!!!!

The Waiting Game

2007-08-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

Our life right now is a waiting game. Our dossier is at the Chinese Embassy right now and will be picked-up by the courier on Monday. That means that Tuesday is the official end to our "paperchase." Later Tuesday, when I get the dossier off to CCAI, we will begin the wait again...

To pass the time and make myself busy (not that I need to create projects for myself) I have been researching non-profit organizations that offer adoption grants. It's amazing how many there are. Last night I printed 8 applications which I must now get filled out and submitted so that we can be considered. Our expedited travel will make it necessary for them to make a quick decision... Again, we wait....

A Monkey Off My Back

2007-08-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

After we made the decision to adopt Dang Hui Zhou, I decided that we should create a website to share the exciting news. Notice the "I" part. Butch thought it was a great idea, but I would be the one doing all the work as I am more gifted in the IT department and that's not saying much. I set out on this new endeavor, lost, because I knew nothing about building a website. One thing's for sure, we have no money to create an adoption website, so, what's a girl to do? Surf the internet, of course! I soon discovered that Yahoo has a free Sitebuilder which would allow me to create a website complete with pictures and music. Could this be true? A website builder for dummies? I decided to give it a try, afterall, I have nothing to lose, right?

Well, I am pleased to say that the website www.ourchildwaits.com
is officially up and running. I must confess, it took much longer than planned, but the outcome is amazing. I only struggled with adding one song because the file I downloaded from iTunes was not compatable with the Sitebuilder program. Go figure, just my luck! The solution, make a mad dash to the local Christian Book Store, buy the Ginny Owens CD and upload it from there. Guess what? It worked like a charm and I now have an amazing CD I probably would have never purchased.

Now that the monkey is off my back and the "Dang" website is complete, all that is left to do is sit back and see how God will use this site for His glory. Be sure to check it out and share the link with your friends and family.

That's all for tonight. Sleep well!

Almost Done!

2007-08-13T21:21:00.000-04:00

Great news.. our dossier is done, well, almost!

Today I sent off our documents to D.C. where an adoption courrier (The Assistant Stork) will hand-carry our papers through the final phase of the "paperchase." For those that are unfamiliaer, a dossier is a collection of documents (birth & marriage certificates, financial statements, medical documents, etc.) which present our qualifications for adoption to the Chinese Government. These documents go through a process of being notarized, authenticated by the Secretary of the State in which they were notarized and then finally they go to the U.S. State Dept. and then through the Chinese Embassy for a final stamp of approval. Needless to say, this has been a tedious and time consuming process that is about to come to an end.

So, what's next? Glad you asked.... When we receive the dossier back with final authentication then it goes to our adoption agency who will review it for mistakes and then it's off to China. Wow, that's hard to believe! In as little as two week from today our dossier will be ready to travel to it's final destination... China. Once there, the clock starts ticking. We will receive travel approval or "TA" in 2-4 months. Do the math and that will put us traveling to get our son sometime between October and January. There are so many things to get done before that happens, but for now we will focus on getting our dossier off to China.

More later.

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

2007-08-02T18:26:00.001-04:00

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.