Lydia has adjusted well to her new surroundings and her new family. She seems happy most of the time and has been sleeping well.
Sarah has only had one decent night's sleep since we've been home, though.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
We're home!
Sarah's mom and Sarah's brothers and their families all met us at the airport. There was much rejoicing.
We are now safe at home!
Thank you all for the many prayers!
We are now safe at home!
Thank you all for the many prayers!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Arrived safely in Hong Kong. Fly to U.S. tomorrow morning.
(Tuesday) We got Lydia's U.S. visa from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou this afternoon. We took a van to Hong Kong. We leave in the morning for OKC via San Francisco.
Can't wait to get home and get back to our new normal.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Finished with U.S. Consulate Appointment
(Monday) Steve, Sarah, and Lydia went to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou this morning while Jonathan stayed at the hotel with Rachel and Caleb.
Everything went smoothly at the consulate and back at the hotel. We pick up Lydia's visa tomorrow afternoon then take a van to Hong Kong.
Everything went smoothly at the consulate and back at the hotel. We pick up Lydia's visa tomorrow afternoon then take a van to Hong Kong.
Rest of the crew finally made it to Guangzhou....
(Saturday morning) After a very swift trek through check-in and security at Xi'an airport, Steve, Jonathan, Rachel, and Caleb had their flight to Guangzhou delayed for 7+ hours. They finally arrived at the hotel in Guangzhou at around 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
Caught a couple hours of sleep before heading out Saturday morning to go to the ChimeLong wild animal safari park (tickets and transportation had already been paid for and couldn't be refunded, so we stayed with the original plan).
It downpoured rain most of the day but was an enjoyable excursion nonetheless.
Caught a couple hours of sleep before heading out Saturday morning to go to the ChimeLong wild animal safari park (tickets and transportation had already been paid for and couldn't be refunded, so we stayed with the original plan).
It downpoured rain most of the day but was an enjoyable excursion nonetheless.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Sarah and Lydia arrived safely in Guangzhou! / Xi'an crew visited the Xi'an City Wall
(Wednesday evening) After a delay leaving the gate in Xi'an and excessive times on the taxiways both in Xi'an and Guangzhou, Sarah and Lydia are safe at their hotel in Guangzhou.
Steve, Jonathan, Rachel, and Caleb visited the City Wall in Xi'an (an 8-mile wall around the original city of Xi'an, constructed 600 years ago). The wall is surrounded by a moat and originally had a drawbridge that was closed up every night.
As a fortification, the Xi'an City Wall is much more impressive than the Great Wall. It is 40-feet wide at the top (wide enough for a 3-lane roadway) and 40-feet tall.
Here is Steve, Jonathan, Rachel, and Caleb on the inside of the north gate of the City Wall. The building in the background is the main gate tower, which sits on top of the wall directly above the north gate.
Another view of the main gate tower.
A bride and groom were having professional photographs taken at the inner gate. (Note the groom's posture.)
After the trip to the City Wall, the Xi'an crew had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Rachel and Caleb sat in the window sill after dinner waiting for a personal tour of the kitchen.
The hostess offered us a personal tour of the kitchen. We had to wear chef hats while in the kitchen (they let us keep the hats).
Steve, Jonathan, Rachel, and Caleb visited the City Wall in Xi'an (an 8-mile wall around the original city of Xi'an, constructed 600 years ago). The wall is surrounded by a moat and originally had a drawbridge that was closed up every night.
As a fortification, the Xi'an City Wall is much more impressive than the Great Wall. It is 40-feet wide at the top (wide enough for a 3-lane roadway) and 40-feet tall.
Here is Steve, Jonathan, Rachel, and Caleb on the inside of the north gate of the City Wall. The building in the background is the main gate tower, which sits on top of the wall directly above the north gate.
Another view of the main gate tower.
A bride and groom were having professional photographs taken at the inner gate. (Note the groom's posture.)
After the trip to the City Wall, the Xi'an crew had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Rachel and Caleb sat in the window sill after dinner waiting for a personal tour of the kitchen.
The hostess offered us a personal tour of the kitchen. We had to wear chef hats while in the kitchen (they let us keep the hats).
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Sarah and Lydia are on their way to Guangzhou
(Wednesday afternoon) Sarah and Lydia are headed to the Xi'an airport to fly to Guangzhou. We made the decision a couple weeks ago to split up at this juncture of our trip. This way Sarah can take Lydia to her medical appointment tomorrow (Thursday), which has to be done in Guangzhou. By getting that done on Thursday instead of Saturday, Lydia's TB test results will be finished prior to Monday. That way we were able to request a Monday appointment at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou (which we were granted). With a Monday Consulate Appointment, we will get Lydia's U.S. Visa on Tuesday and can take a van Tuesday night to Hong Kong to catch a Wednesday morning flight home.
So, why do Steve, Jonathan, Caleb, and Rachel need to stay in Xi'an? Well, we won't get Lydia's Chinese passport until Friday. So, the Xi'an crew will stay behind to shuttle her passport to Guangzhou on Friday. Sounds a bit complicated, but gets us all home sooner.
So, why do Steve, Jonathan, Caleb, and Rachel need to stay in Xi'an? Well, we won't get Lydia's Chinese passport until Friday. So, the Xi'an crew will stay behind to shuttle her passport to Guangzhou on Friday. Sounds a bit complicated, but gets us all home sooner.
Sarah's update
Sarah here:
Steve has been doing the blog posting so far. I have not had a few minutes to sit and type. Or when I did have a few minutes, I was instantly asleep. But it is 5:30 in the morning here, dirty laundry is soaking in the bathtub, Rachel is wandering around getting a snack and now is laying back down. Everyone else is asleep. (I hope, Jonathan and Caleb are in another room, so I am hoping they are both asleep.)
Things have been going pretty well here. The first couple of days Lydia has been quiet and sad. She was in an orphanage with relatively very few kids, so I think she was very loved and cared for. I think she is greatly missing her old family and totally does not understand why she is forced to be with these weird looking people who don't even know how to speak correctly. She has alternated preferring me or Steve. The first day she would not look at Steve. Yesterday she cried every time I walked close to her. I fed her dinner though, and held her as she went to sleep.
I was really praying that we would begin to see the real girl, that she would begin to be herself. Well last night I was doing something like washing dishes and I heard her laughing in the other room. Jonathan was playing with her and she was just cracking up! All evening she was happy and acting like a two year old (like pushing the dvd player screen down when the others were trying to watch it). She still tried to hide behind Jonathan when I got close, but we are getting there!
She eats like a champ, pretty much anything. She has been well fed! She is rounder than Caleb or Rachel.
As for physical problems, I am still worried about hydrocephalus, not because of anything I am seeing except a large head, I am just going to worry until we get home and have a ct scan. She is walking very well. However, Her eyes are not tracking correctly. We had seen this in some pics, but did not really have any info about this except that "it is not a problem." So, it is not a problem, she sees and functions, but something is definetly going on. They do not track together all of the time, most of the time. Sometimes they look like they are working together. A little I have learned about this is that I think it is treatable and it might be worse when she is tired, so I presume also when she is stressed. So maybe it will improve a little as she is less stressed being with us, but we will just have to find the right dr to help figure this out. A new specialty that we haven't visited with yet to add to the list of specialists we know now.
We are not doing as good a job taking pics this time. Each one of us has a kid in our hands or arms all the time so it has made pic taking more difficult. I am still glad we brought the little ones even though it is hard. It would be so hard worried about them at home without us. This trip was never meant to be a vacation........
More pics to come. Thanks for praying for us and following along.
Steve has been doing the blog posting so far. I have not had a few minutes to sit and type. Or when I did have a few minutes, I was instantly asleep. But it is 5:30 in the morning here, dirty laundry is soaking in the bathtub, Rachel is wandering around getting a snack and now is laying back down. Everyone else is asleep. (I hope, Jonathan and Caleb are in another room, so I am hoping they are both asleep.)
Things have been going pretty well here. The first couple of days Lydia has been quiet and sad. She was in an orphanage with relatively very few kids, so I think she was very loved and cared for. I think she is greatly missing her old family and totally does not understand why she is forced to be with these weird looking people who don't even know how to speak correctly. She has alternated preferring me or Steve. The first day she would not look at Steve. Yesterday she cried every time I walked close to her. I fed her dinner though, and held her as she went to sleep.
I was really praying that we would begin to see the real girl, that she would begin to be herself. Well last night I was doing something like washing dishes and I heard her laughing in the other room. Jonathan was playing with her and she was just cracking up! All evening she was happy and acting like a two year old (like pushing the dvd player screen down when the others were trying to watch it). She still tried to hide behind Jonathan when I got close, but we are getting there!
She eats like a champ, pretty much anything. She has been well fed! She is rounder than Caleb or Rachel.
As for physical problems, I am still worried about hydrocephalus, not because of anything I am seeing except a large head, I am just going to worry until we get home and have a ct scan. She is walking very well. However, Her eyes are not tracking correctly. We had seen this in some pics, but did not really have any info about this except that "it is not a problem." So, it is not a problem, she sees and functions, but something is definetly going on. They do not track together all of the time, most of the time. Sometimes they look like they are working together. A little I have learned about this is that I think it is treatable and it might be worse when she is tired, so I presume also when she is stressed. So maybe it will improve a little as she is less stressed being with us, but we will just have to find the right dr to help figure this out. A new specialty that we haven't visited with yet to add to the list of specialists we know now.
We are not doing as good a job taking pics this time. Each one of us has a kid in our hands or arms all the time so it has made pic taking more difficult. I am still glad we brought the little ones even though it is hard. It would be so hard worried about them at home without us. This trip was never meant to be a vacation........
More pics to come. Thanks for praying for us and following along.
Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an ...
On Tuesday, we were able to visit the excavation site of the Terra Cotta Warriors. These are life size warriors that were made of clay about 2,200 years ago by the first emperor of the Qing dynasty. Every face is unique. About 6,000 warriors have been excavated and reconstructed (only one of the 6,000 was completely intact).
Here is Jonathan next to a replica of a terra cotta warrior and his terra cotta horse.
Here are a couple pix of the excavations with the reconstructed warriors.
Here is one of the seven "generals" excavated from the site.
Here is Jonathan posing as a terra cotta warrior.
Here is Rachel as a terra cotta warrior.
After such a long day, Lydia fell asleep on our way back to the hotel.
Here is Jonathan next to a replica of a terra cotta warrior and his terra cotta horse.
Here are a couple pix of the excavations with the reconstructed warriors.
Here is one of the seven "generals" excavated from the site.
Here is Jonathan posing as a terra cotta warrior.
Here is Rachel as a terra cotta warrior.
After such a long day, Lydia fell asleep on our way back to the hotel.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Civil Affairs appointment ... it's official!
We had our Civil Affairs appointment this morning (Monday) -- our adoption of Yang Rui Xue (now Lydia Ruixue Trost) is official!
Here is our picture with the notary after signing all the documents. BTW, his shirt says, "I've lost an electron. Are you positive?"
Here is Lydia getting her footprint taken for the official documents.
Here is our picture with the notary after signing all the documents. BTW, his shirt says, "I've lost an electron. Are you positive?"
Here is Lydia getting her footprint taken for the official documents.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Gotcha Day!
Happy Mother's Day!
We met Lydia at the Civil Affairs office in Xi'an at about 5 pm local time.
Lydia was very sad to be saying goodbye to the nannies who have cared for her for her entire life.
She cried a lot, but calmed down a bit, then fell asleep during the 45-minute drive back to the hotel.
She has been doing better the last few hours. She had some fun playing with Caleb and Jonathan this evening (Rachel was asleep).
We were able to Skype with Silas this evening so he could meet her. Rachel just woke up a few minutes ago (just as it was time to lay Lydia down for the night).
We leave early tomorrow morning (Monday) to go back to Civil Affairs to finalize the adoption.
We met Lydia at the Civil Affairs office in Xi'an at about 5 pm local time.
Lydia was very sad to be saying goodbye to the nannies who have cared for her for her entire life.
She cried a lot, but calmed down a bit, then fell asleep during the 45-minute drive back to the hotel.
She has been doing better the last few hours. She had some fun playing with Caleb and Jonathan this evening (Rachel was asleep).
We were able to Skype with Silas this evening so he could meet her. Rachel just woke up a few minutes ago (just as it was time to lay Lydia down for the night).
We leave early tomorrow morning (Monday) to go back to Civil Affairs to finalize the adoption.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Arrived Xi'an!
We arrived in Xi'an a few hours ago and are checked into our hotel.
We will be traveling to the Civil Affairs office in a few hours for Gotcha Day!
In Beijing, we had to take a bus to the other side of the airport to board our airplane.
We will be traveling to the Civil Affairs office in a few hours for Gotcha Day!
In Beijing, we had to take a bus to the other side of the airport to board our airplane.
Our plane at the gate in Xi'an.
Rachel and Caleb were glad to be back on the ground after a particularly turbulent flight.
The Great Wall and Olympic Park ...
Steve and Jonathan went sightseeing on Saturday. They visited the Great Wall, a Jade "factory" and Olympic Park.
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| Jonathan wanted this ship made of pure Jade. It only costs $62,000, but that includes free shipping! It took the craftsman 3 years to make it. |
Friday, May 8, 2015
Arrived Beijing!
Here is Rachel in front of the plane we took from Chicago to Beijing:
Here is a Mother's Day exhibit in the Beijing Airport. We will get Lydia on Mother's Day!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
In Chicago, waiting a couple hours before we board our flight to Beijing ...
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| Apparently it's more fun waiting under the seats. |
And we're off......almost
Storms in OKC last night moved our flight to later in the morning which was too late to catch our flight to Beijing. So we are leaving through Tulsa (same distance from our house as okc) and going to Chicago to Beijing. The fun part is that we get to meet in person 2 families that I have "met" on fb and travel with them. More to come, just wanted to give an update while I am not sleeping in my house.
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