flats, fixing fingers, freaking out, and freaky eyes!!

Yesterday, well, yesterday was just one of those days.
In the morning, Micah and Kevin went to the stollery, where Micah had surgery on two of his trigger fingers. This was much needed, as Micah could not unbend his middle finger for the last half year. Surgery went well, Micah is a real trooper. However, a trip to the ER was made last night as Micah's hand was bleeding and needed to be closed and rebandaged.

Kevin has a severe case of pink eye, in both eyes. I thought perhaps he got into the medicine cabinet at the hospital, he is a father of five kids, I thought maybe he needed something to take the edge off...he he...no just pink eye.

Noah had his first van ride since the airport. We opened the bubble we live in, and well, he was not a happy camper. As soon as I was out of his sight, opening the van door on the other side, he was in panic mode. And cried the whole time in the van... on top of that, I got a flat tire. In Kevin's car, not the van, but than my poor red eyed husband, recovering son, son who hates vans and their sister had to come to my aid. So glad Kevin knows how to change tires...phew....

So, perhaps in writing it does not sound too bad, but yesterday, kindof sucked...today is better.....

So, I leave you with photos of Micah before surgery and after, and of my red eyed sweety our cutesy pie having a nap this morning!!

flip flop, kerplunk

It seems like more than 15 days ago that we first met our youngest love. Though we are still getting to know Noah, and know it will take some time, it seems like already we so deeply know him, and love him...like he really has grown in our hearts, long before we knew of him, and even long before we decided to adopt....like a mother, waiting to get pregnant with her child..loving the dream of her child...than the baby in her womb, and than the baby in her arms.

The title for this post, is really to do with our jet lag/time change. Noah was awake 3 and a half hours last night. I was informed by the International Adoption Dr. today, that sometimes the more your child attatches to you the more often they will sometimes wake up to check if you are there. I am often be waken by a little boy climbing on me with his big brown eyes staring into mine. I LOVE it!!! I love his chubby cheeks, his upside down moon eyes when he laughs. He mischevious grin and personality. I love that he wants to be carried by mommy and daddy. I love that the other four are head over heels for their new brother. God is good!!

helping with the housework

Nothing quite as fun as playing with a box and your sister!!!

a very loved little bros...

settling in

Noah has been getting to know his brother and sisters, and better know mommy and daddy. Noah is a busy toddler, who is quite hungry, and loves to be carried around by mom most of the day.

Because he is missing his palate, Noah has fewer sounds than kids his age. He is starting to say mama(I like to think he is calling my name, but that might be a mothers wishful thought) Today he signed eat, which helps us know what he wants.

Tonight, Noah began what is often referred to as grief in an adopted child. Noah has lost everything he has known for the last year and a half, language, smells, sounds, foods, caretakers, other orphans who lived with him. So, tonight, I held our little boy as he grieved the loss of life as he knew it. It was heartbreaking,and exhausting. But, he needs to do it. And so, we will hold him for as long as it takes, and remind him, we will never leave him, no matter what.

And tomorrow, a new day will begin, we will laugh, and play, snuggle and cuddle, and if needed, we will grieve.

Noah sleeping on mommy, thank goodness for carriers

playing with his sisters...one of Noah's favourite games, knocking over the tower.

Not so sure about the swing

We are home

Noah was amazing on the flight home. We left our hotel at 1:30 pm on March 15. We boarded the plane at around 5:30 pm. Noah was restless, but fell asleep about two hours into the flight, and than slept around 7 hours. He tossed and turned, but slept. So, it made the flight seem really fast. We arrived in Vancouver at 1:50 pm on Thursday March 15(making up time-love it)but ended up being stuck in immigration for some time, and missed our flight home. We flew standby the next flight home, and arrived at the gates in Edmonton a little after 8.
We had family and friends to meet us, what a wonderful arrival for us.
Noah is laughing with his siblings today, and has figured out how to climb the stairs, now, down is proving a bit tricky, but we will figure it out.
He had his first Canadian walk with Dad and Micah. Our guys had a good time!!!

GoodBye China

It is our last morning in China. Last night our adoption agency had a party for the children and parents. Noah recieved a scroll with his Chinese name on it. Something we will always cherish.
Our time in China has been amazing. We are so happy to finally have Noah in our arms. He is a blessing to us, and we are seeing his personality a little more everyday, as his grief and fear make way for joy and accepting our unconditional love. We are so ready to see our other kiddos, it has been hard being away from them, but we needed this time to really concentrate on Noah.

So as we say farewell to China, we say thank you...for your prayers, words of encouragement and support. They say it takes a village to raise a child,and in this instance it truly has taken a village to bring our Noah home.

In Psalm 68:6 God tells us that He puts the lonely in families. Noah is the perfect fit for us. In the sadness of Noah's abandonment, God had a plan, and he used this girl and guy, and there kids and found the perfect family for a little boy half way around the world. God, thank you for giving us our little boy!!AMEN

wed forbidden city

today we walked by tianeman square, but, it was closed up, as there are some large meetings with official occuring at the moment. We headed to forbidden city, which is huge. I must admit, I am exhausted, and just ready to come home. It was beautiful, but I probably did not appreciate the culture today as much as I should have.

tuesday silk factory and pearl market

Tuesday, we spent some time at the silk factory. It was neat to see how the silk is extracted from the silk worms cocoons. The silk was beautiful,and if you have lots of cash you can buy some beautiful quilt covers. we stuck to the smaller items. Noah now has a baptismal outfit, and all his sibs have something to match

The pearl market was insane. The bantering for a price is exhausting,and you are literally aproached by every merchant, right in your face.

Tuesday Medical appointment and Beijing Zoo

Half of Monday was spent at an international clinic, getting Noah examined by a doctor for his sponsorship forms. Although Noah's weight is in a good range, the doctor told us that Noah has had "empty calories" and is malnourished. Noah's legs need some fat and muscle put on them. He has not had enough toddler exercise, and has been lacking protein in his diet. We will be working on all of these things once we get home. We alsoasked why Noah's stomach is so large, and that is likely due to a parasite. Otherwise, he is a healthy boy. On a sidenote, the doctor is a Christian, so we had a good conversation with her.
In the afternoon we went to see the Pandas, thinking of the kids the whole time. I cannot get used to pushing through the crowds to see things, so sometimes missed seeing the panda's. They are large animals, that are lethargic due to there bamboo diet(flown in from sezuchan province)

Great Wall Pics

Before the trek up

as high as Noah and I went, Kevin kept going!!

summer palace pics

Jessica meeting a new friend at the summer palace

summer palace

In front of the man made lake

stone boat

Sunday March 11th The Great Wall

Today we visited the Government run jade factory. The pieces were absolutely stunning. Kevin and I thought the vases were a good price, until we were told the prices were in US dollars and not in Yuan. oops. Than off we went to the Great Wall, it was quite the sight. The Great Wall is over 3000miles long. I walked up a little ways, but had Noah in the front carrier,so headed back down. Kevin continued up as far as he could in our aloted time. He managed to take some gorgeous photos. Unfortunately, I am unable to upload photos today, and will try again tomorrow.
Noah is an attention getter. I have been told a few times I look part chinese(by the locals), and also that Noah has the same shaped eyes as me. I was even asked by a man in broken English, "Do you love him?" "yes, very very much" I answered.

saturday march 10 the summer palace

yesterday we started the morning out with official paperwork. In Beijing, we do the sponsorship and Visa side of things. Noah will need a physical done on Monday by a doctor.

In the afternoon we travelled to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was built outside Beijing by an emperor to escape Beijing's summer heat. A man made lake was added for extra cooling and beauty. By its size it is hard to believe it is man made. The lake also delivered the emperors right to their palace gates. In the center of the lake an appealing temple was built for the dragon of water. This dragon was thought to control the rivers and rain so during droughts or floods the emperor would bring sacrifices for this powerful dragon.


The longest corridor in the world was constructed so the emperors could travel under a roof from the palace to some of the palace gardens. The corridor is over 720m long. It contains thousands of paintings. No two paintings are the same.

The gaurds asked me if Noah was our son, we said of course "yes". They were quite enamoured with him, and it allowed for a great photo opportunity. It caused great concern to our guide who thought we were in trouble.

The emperor's ship symbolized the emperor's relationship to the people. The emperor was like the ship and the people like the water supporting the ship. One arrogant emperor built a stone ship in the lake to say he did not need the people. He was simply above them.

To end the day off, we went to a local restaraunt and had wonderful food. We had duck, including the bill and all parts. And to finish deep fried banana. Noah continues to impress us with his appetite. He is a very hungry little boy.

Noah's personality is emerging, as a sweet, humorous, even tempered little boy. We also realize, Noah needs to learn how to play, although they said he played with toys at the orphanage, it seems he has had little exposure to them. He enjoys wrestling with his dad, and truly enjoys playing, eating and bathing!!!

A Day In!

Yesterday, we spent the day in the hotel. We had a chance to go to the park, but it was cloudy and cold. And, I was not feeling so good. I started taking prescription antibiotics, and am now feeling much better. So, we walked around the hotel, and Noah ate, and ate, and ate, and played, and played and played. As for bathing, third time was a charm(with bubbles of course) we finally got him to sit in the tub.
This morning was Noah's first morning waking up, not being confused where he was. It will take time, we know that. He still has his moments of extreme sadness, but very far and few between. Perhaps it will happen at home, we do not know. We have a little boy who loves to play, and get into everything

Kevin and Noah playing ball

finally, in the bath.

checking out the fish in the hotel lobby

tidbits

many of our updates are not always in the correct timeline. On Kevin's post, you can click on the picture and it will appear. As for the restaraunt, we fed Noah with chopsticks, we are improving at using them. I am not on the China diet after all

Wheat and figs are the main agricultural products grown in Henan, therefore they eat noodles here and not as much rice

Noah is a very hungry little boy. We have heard some kids stop eating, but, Noah is enjoying all of the food. I think this is the most amount of solid food he has had in his life. He loves eggs, yogurt, bananas, noodles, and we dis
covered this morning, that he really enjoys a french cake, which had a very rich coconut flavour
He has also been sleeping very well, he sleeps with Kevin and myself. He sleeps the best when I keep my hand on his feet.

Henan Provincial Museum

Yesterday we visited the Henan Provincial Museum. The museum is visually striking, a massive chinese shaped ziggurat. Henan province has a rich history. Situated on the central plains this province influenced and was influenced by its many neighbours.

The museum is filled with intricately fashioned bronze work, ceramic from the Ming dynasty, and jade carvings. The pre-bronze age inhabitants also did some amazing work with bones.

Henan was once filled with elephants although there is no more room for elephants with the current population topping 100 million.

For lunch we ate at a local restaurant. Dining and dashing is never an option in this establishment given the maze we negotiated to reach our private dining room in this multi story restaurant. Highlights of this meal included local beer in 500ml beer bottles and octopus legs in the noodle dish we ate. An amazing egg plant dish was everyone's favorite!

grocery shopping

we braved the Zhengzhou streets and went shopping at the Lotus shopping centre. It seems bikers and pedestrians are almost always nearly getting hit, no one flinches. There seems to be few accidents here(we see more in Edmonton)
The customer service in the stores is amazing. The large population needs to be employed. Everywhere we go, it seems that there are an abundance of employees. The general populations seems so young, on the subway, out and about, it seems the average age is 18-25.
It was Noah's first trip to a store in his life, he seemed a little awe struck.

Drinking Tea in Henan

We tried some delicious local green tea, along with candied tomatoes(which were delicious by the way)

It is official

our pic after the official adoption, with the department head of adoption in Henan province

Getting to know him

I am having trouble uploading pictures from our hotel. And will try again today. Noah is doing very well, considering his whole life has been turned upside down. He has experienced the many firsts, a trip to the grocery store, sleeping with mom and dad, eating new foods. Being kissed and cuddled constantly.
Noah is doing very well with the changes. He makes wonderful eye contact, we are starting to see that he has a good sense of humour. He is starting to get into everything(so we know he is getting more comfortable) He now will hold his hands out when we hold ours out to him.
Yesterday we officially adopted Noah, it was very moving. We also applied for his Chinese Visa in a very smoky Notary office.
I am appreciating the clean air of Canada while in China. I started on amoxolyn today, not sure if the pollution is making my lungs and throat burn, or if I need antibiotics.
Today we go the the Zhengzou provincial museum, and after that out for lunch. Noah is eating well. He does well with soft food. When we get a look his palate is wide open, He does have a lot of trouble with his bottle, so, I am very thankful we brought a cleft lip and palate bottle.

Noah

Yesterday at 240pm we arrived at the Chinese Registration Office. We arrived with two other families. The first family's boy was already there. It was neat to see them meeting Henry for the first time. About 5 minutes later in walked some officials carrying Max. It was wonderful to watch my friend Jennifer(we have gotten together before this trip) her husband Patrick and their daughter Sarah meet little Max. It was very emotional moment, as I filmed this beautiful family. As I was filming, Kevin says, "Jessica, there is Noah" My heartbeat faster, in a very surreal moment of my life. Fully bundled in his 3 layers, toque and scarf. He was carried by his officer, a young man. As soon as they put Noah down, he started crying. We gently walked up to him, to give him a few minutes. I than picked him up, he cried a little longer and then stopped, and really looked in utter shock. In the three hours at the office, we started seeing a little of his personality. He giggles and laughs, he loves to knock over towers. He loves little trucks (hooray he and Micah will have so much fun together)

He went to sleep very well beside us last night and slept till 5 this morning. He ate TONS at breakfast. We do notice that he is showing signs of malnutrition, but know with time, that too will pass.

We are so in love with this little boy, I love that he laughed today when he burped...that his eyes close like a moon when he laughs...that he is such a smart little boy...so few things we know about him....and so much to still learn.

He has scars, I will never know the stories about why he has a scar on his head, or over his eye. Why he has so many little scars on his tiny body. But, we can tell the orphanage took care of him wonderfully. People have nothing here. Diapers and formula cost as much as home, and most people make around 7000 a year.



So, in two hours we will be signing the official paper work. He will be adopted....

Lama Temple-Sunday March 4

Kevin and I took the Beijing Subway on our own, and had a great experience. We trecked to the Lama Temple. It was a sight we had never seen before..the smell of incense was very strong.

We made it

A pic with kevin, myself and our rickshaw driver

Well, it has been a wonderful adventure so far. We arrived safely in Beijing on Friday march 2nd at around 5pm. Our guides have been absolutely wonderful. We flew in with two families, so it has been nice getting to know them. Today we went to Hutong and The Drum Tower. We also exchanged our American Money for the orphange fee.

chinese money makes you feel rich. Kevin walked out of the bank with a huge swack of cash. We were so thankful to a friend for getting new bills, as we did not have to worry about the bank not taking any do to the bills condition.

The second picture is in hutong, in someones courtyourd. This home would run for around 1.5 million dollars.

Kevin climbing the stairs to the belltower

Besides that we had hotpot, you cook meat and veggies in broth. It was delicious.

I was hoping to meet up with a friend today, but we both seem to have phone numbers we cannot use. I am hoping our guide can help me with that tomorrow. As this friend has been a wonderful support through the adoption journey. So hopefully we can meet up tomorrow.

Many people smoke here, my lungs and throat are burning. Glad I brought prescription meds, as I am not sure what is creeping up.
Good night everyone. off to bed.