Monday, February 19, 2007
We are home!!!
Two nights ago we finally arrived home. It was a pretty good trip except for the delays. Kayli is a seasoned flyer and she did VERY well. Michelle and I are very tired and Kayli is still on China time. She slept all through the night when we got back but last night was a different story...she was ready to play when we were trying to sleep. Anyway, we are happy to be home and are ready for Kayli to get adjusted. Hopefully we will be able to bring her around and show her off soon. I am sure that when she gets adjusted she we be ready to meet her public. Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Wow what a difference a child makes!
This little girl is such a joy to our lives. She keeps us laughing with her laughter and "cheesy" smile. She is so cute (but that comes from a biased father). She is making major leaps everyday to catch up with her age group. Just in the past few days she has gone from being very sedate to laughing and giggling, to avoiding bedtime by showing something new she can do...spinning in the crib, rolling over and making herself laugh, I think she may even start running tomorrow. She has taken to us quite easily and, as predicted by our facilitators, she will start trusting us by showing us what she can do as that trust builds. I find that works that same way in God's family as well. As we put our faith and trust in Him, we will desire to do more for Him. I can't wait to see what she will do in the next few days.
Now, on a side note. I have seen some rather interesting things in China. Because Chinese New Year is this weekend, we have been able to see a sampling of the celebration. I cannot believe how much more they put into that celebration. For most of us, New Years is a one day deal. Woohoo, it is a new year, let's make some kind of commitment that won't hold through tomorrow. This is a two week celebration for a lot of people. The day we got Kayli, some of the Chinese people were headed home for what they call "reunion day." People who have worked all year, mothers, fathers, grandparents, whoever go home to see their families and present them with gifts and their earnings for that year for the family to live on. I could not imagine spending time away from Michelle and Kayli for that long just to make money for the coming year. But this celebration from what we can see has a lot of similarities to how we would decorate for Christmas. I have seen thousands of Chinese lanterns and fireworks, several outdoor shows, even now someone is programming a laser and light show outside our hotel for this weekend that literally surrounds this little island we are on. Amazing and very cool for a tech guy like me.
Onto the traffic here in China, Carl S., I may not complain about the way you drive ever again (OK maybe not). These people have no regard for traffic laws, pedestrians, other cars or the fact that there is a building with in milimeters of the side of their cars. The interesting thing is that in the time I have been here, I have only seen one accident, no scratched cars, much less dented ones. These people don't multitask while they drive, which is good because I am sure someone would be killed. When we were in Nanchang the other day, however, I did see on the news of a 1000 car pile up in the town we were in and a 60 car pileup in another location. One of these accidents delayed our getting Kayli by a few hours but I am glad she wasn't in a vehicle that was involved nor were we. I have a little website for you to go to if you want to see what we have been through during driving around town, YIKES! The song "Kung Fu Fighting" is the background music for this but you might as well put in Nanchang driving or Beijing driving. I refuse to drive in situations like this...I would be one of those statistics you hear about on the news everyday. Here is the site...enjoy! http://sccreightons.us/morgan/video.htm
Now, on a side note. I have seen some rather interesting things in China. Because Chinese New Year is this weekend, we have been able to see a sampling of the celebration. I cannot believe how much more they put into that celebration. For most of us, New Years is a one day deal. Woohoo, it is a new year, let's make some kind of commitment that won't hold through tomorrow. This is a two week celebration for a lot of people. The day we got Kayli, some of the Chinese people were headed home for what they call "reunion day." People who have worked all year, mothers, fathers, grandparents, whoever go home to see their families and present them with gifts and their earnings for that year for the family to live on. I could not imagine spending time away from Michelle and Kayli for that long just to make money for the coming year. But this celebration from what we can see has a lot of similarities to how we would decorate for Christmas. I have seen thousands of Chinese lanterns and fireworks, several outdoor shows, even now someone is programming a laser and light show outside our hotel for this weekend that literally surrounds this little island we are on. Amazing and very cool for a tech guy like me.
Onto the traffic here in China, Carl S., I may not complain about the way you drive ever again (OK maybe not). These people have no regard for traffic laws, pedestrians, other cars or the fact that there is a building with in milimeters of the side of their cars. The interesting thing is that in the time I have been here, I have only seen one accident, no scratched cars, much less dented ones. These people don't multitask while they drive, which is good because I am sure someone would be killed. When we were in Nanchang the other day, however, I did see on the news of a 1000 car pile up in the town we were in and a 60 car pileup in another location. One of these accidents delayed our getting Kayli by a few hours but I am glad she wasn't in a vehicle that was involved nor were we. I have a little website for you to go to if you want to see what we have been through during driving around town, YIKES! The song "Kung Fu Fighting" is the background music for this but you might as well put in Nanchang driving or Beijing driving. I refuse to drive in situations like this...I would be one of those statistics you hear about on the news everyday. Here is the site...enjoy! http://sccreightons.us/morgan/video.htm
Sunday, February 11, 2007
The red thread
Today I asked my mother to write the blog entry. I am truly beyond words...but check the site and podcast for pictures and video.
February 11, 2007
Eric asked some time ago if I would add to the blog – he was thinking I would possibly add some historical facts about the places we are seeing in China. I agreed but somehow that part never got done, even though I have spent the past nine weeks checking out the information about China and Jiangxi (Kayli’s province) in particular. It just never came together.
This morning in the hours where I found it impossible to sleep in our Beijing hotel, in the hours before our departure for the city of Nanchang, in the province of Jiangxi, I found myself thinking again about something that China adoptive families often mention, an old Chinese saying about a red thread; it is a theme you will see again and again as you look at adoptive family websites.
Perhaps it came to mind once again after our lunch yesterday in a Chinese restaurant, where there were singers and dancers performing traditional dances for us. At the end of our stay there, they tied a piece of red yarn to each of our wrists. In the dim light of our hotel room this morning, I could see my red thread sitting on the night stand inches from my face and the saying came to mind. I have seen several variations of it, but it goes something like this:
There is a red thread that connects the hearts and lives of those
who are destined to meet. It may bend or twist but will never break.
This saying has nothing to do with Christians really; it is an ancient belief of non-Christian origin. Those of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ know a similar truth: God has a perfect will and a perfect plan for each of our lives.
What does this have to do with Kayli Madison Ling Alexander, our newest family member? Although the Chinese belief is about the red thread link between Kayli, Eric and Michelle and the Edge and Alexander families, we know that God Himself brought Kayli to us as surely as we have ever known anything in our lives.
We knew when, after many years of the disappointment and heartbreak of childlessness, Eric and Michelle made the decision to adopt a child from China. They felt very clearly God’s leading in this decision, and they knew that God already had a child in mind for them.
This was nearly three years ago when they began the paperchase. There were so many, many obstacles in their way throughout the process:
Eric, of Philippine / US military base birth with a US State Department birth certificate, needed multiple copies of his birth certificate. You’ve heard of an act of Congress? This was it.
Michelle, of the smooth, soft hands, had no fingerprints as she was re-fingerprinted multiple times.
A state agency lost one of their precious documents when authenticating their document file, requiring a new document and re-authentication of the file.
Three trips to Washington, DC for authentication there.
And when the paperwork was finally complete, the wait began - the six month wait that turned into month after month of slowdown in the adoption process in China, until finally, fifteen months after the dossier was logged in at the CCAA, we got word that a match had been made. In God’s perfect timing, he brought news of Kayli to us, even as we waited to leave for my mother’s funeral. As Eric mentioned in his letter to Kayli, it was joy on the heels of deepest sorrow.
We knew when Eric and Michelle got the call that day that this was the child He had sent. We knew when we saw her picture later that day, and we have known in the many weeks since that day that she is God’s child for our precious son and daughter-in-law. Today, the day we have waited for, prepared for and prayed for these many months, we have held her, talked to her, played with her, and we know she is God’s child for our family.
It has nothing to do with a red thread – it has only to do with God’s will for this child, for her new parents, for her adoptive family. I will keep the red thread given to me yesterday, not as a reminder of the ancient Chinese saying, but as a reminder of the blessed journey that brought Kayli to us and of the perfection of God’s will. Welcome to our lives, Kayli-girl! You have been in our hearts for a very long time!
February 11, 2007
Eric asked some time ago if I would add to the blog – he was thinking I would possibly add some historical facts about the places we are seeing in China. I agreed but somehow that part never got done, even though I have spent the past nine weeks checking out the information about China and Jiangxi (Kayli’s province) in particular. It just never came together.
This morning in the hours where I found it impossible to sleep in our Beijing hotel, in the hours before our departure for the city of Nanchang, in the province of Jiangxi, I found myself thinking again about something that China adoptive families often mention, an old Chinese saying about a red thread; it is a theme you will see again and again as you look at adoptive family websites.
Perhaps it came to mind once again after our lunch yesterday in a Chinese restaurant, where there were singers and dancers performing traditional dances for us. At the end of our stay there, they tied a piece of red yarn to each of our wrists. In the dim light of our hotel room this morning, I could see my red thread sitting on the night stand inches from my face and the saying came to mind. I have seen several variations of it, but it goes something like this:
There is a red thread that connects the hearts and lives of those
who are destined to meet. It may bend or twist but will never break.
This saying has nothing to do with Christians really; it is an ancient belief of non-Christian origin. Those of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ know a similar truth: God has a perfect will and a perfect plan for each of our lives.
What does this have to do with Kayli Madison Ling Alexander, our newest family member? Although the Chinese belief is about the red thread link between Kayli, Eric and Michelle and the Edge and Alexander families, we know that God Himself brought Kayli to us as surely as we have ever known anything in our lives.
We knew when, after many years of the disappointment and heartbreak of childlessness, Eric and Michelle made the decision to adopt a child from China. They felt very clearly God’s leading in this decision, and they knew that God already had a child in mind for them.
This was nearly three years ago when they began the paperchase. There were so many, many obstacles in their way throughout the process:
Eric, of Philippine / US military base birth with a US State Department birth certificate, needed multiple copies of his birth certificate. You’ve heard of an act of Congress? This was it.
Michelle, of the smooth, soft hands, had no fingerprints as she was re-fingerprinted multiple times.
A state agency lost one of their precious documents when authenticating their document file, requiring a new document and re-authentication of the file.
Three trips to Washington, DC for authentication there.
And when the paperwork was finally complete, the wait began - the six month wait that turned into month after month of slowdown in the adoption process in China, until finally, fifteen months after the dossier was logged in at the CCAA, we got word that a match had been made. In God’s perfect timing, he brought news of Kayli to us, even as we waited to leave for my mother’s funeral. As Eric mentioned in his letter to Kayli, it was joy on the heels of deepest sorrow.
We knew when Eric and Michelle got the call that day that this was the child He had sent. We knew when we saw her picture later that day, and we have known in the many weeks since that day that she is God’s child for our precious son and daughter-in-law. Today, the day we have waited for, prepared for and prayed for these many months, we have held her, talked to her, played with her, and we know she is God’s child for our family.
It has nothing to do with a red thread – it has only to do with God’s will for this child, for her new parents, for her adoptive family. I will keep the red thread given to me yesterday, not as a reminder of the ancient Chinese saying, but as a reminder of the blessed journey that brought Kayli to us and of the perfection of God’s will. Welcome to our lives, Kayli-girl! You have been in our hearts for a very long time!
Friday, February 9, 2007
Hello from China!
What a ride! I am experiencing some technical difficulties with this blog -- all of my menus are in Chinese and I am not exactly the one to ask to translate it. Anyway, we finally arrived late Thursday evening at least it was here. We hadn't slept much on the plane so we were able to go to sleep pretty quickly. The podcast is still a work in progress, I had a few issues with the power in the room last night (tripped a breaker, blew a fuse or something like that). Anyway, after changing rooms and finally getting to where I could work on the website a little, I was able to post several new pictures. I did not have any time to edit them though for size so they may take a little time to load. The events of the day were: The Great Wall (which is a whole new blog entry by itself), the jade factory, the silk factory, the Summer Palace, and my favorite -- One of Living Hope's orphanages. The Children at the orphanage did a little show for us and were very friendly and had smiles for everyone. It was great.
Once I get the podcast up I will have a little bit of video of the outside of the Olympic arena for the 2008 games which looks like a ball of twisted metal but an interesting design nonetheless. We are going to be parents tomorrow, Sunday, and we are VERY excited -- I am sure it will be hard to sleep tonight (maybe). Keep checking back and I hope that you will be able to see some of our adventures in video soon.
Once I get the podcast up I will have a little bit of video of the outside of the Olympic arena for the 2008 games which looks like a ball of twisted metal but an interesting design nonetheless. We are going to be parents tomorrow, Sunday, and we are VERY excited -- I am sure it will be hard to sleep tonight (maybe). Keep checking back and I hope that you will be able to see some of our adventures in video soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)