Drawing the Blog to a Close

I haven't posted in awhile, mostly due to the fact that I've been  busy  with my new family and settling in comfortably to a new routine.  Partly, I've been deciding what to do with my blog. 

Since we've been home from China, it's like Nevin has been here from day one.  It took him only three nights to turn his cicadian clock around to our time-- sleeping from 8pm to 8:30 am, with an hour nap in the afternoon.  It took about a week for him to stop from panicking if I left the room into another.  It took about one day to be drawn to Heather and Dylan, and Dylan may I add, loves Nevin wholeheartedly.  Heather, well... she does love him, but between Nevin and Heather exists a true sibling rivalry...although they share a bath every night, and she does adore him.  He is more jealous of Heather than Dylan, and I'm currently attempting to curb his biting of his sister when I give her attention.  It seems to be working, despite his objections and sobbing when I do so.

The new routine didn't take long for the entire family to adjust.  What amazes me is how Dylan has taken this entirely different role than I had anticipated!  He has become a responsible little man-- offering to lend a hand, wanting to feed Nevin a bottle, fetching a wipe here and a kleenex there, being a spy and feeding Mummy information.  He has also decided to keep his room clean, and bringing his dirty dishes to the sink-- something I had never imagined. Nevin sees Dylan as a role model and playmate. He sees Heather as a playmate, but competition.

We all love our Nevin, and the grandparents are now able to start their bonding with their new grandson. 

David and I watched the three of our kids in the tub together tonight, and can't believe how long ago China feels.  When we were there, it felt like an eternity to be away from home.  But now, it just feels like another blip in our life line.  

We watched them all stand up in the tub, and I couldn't believe the stretch of Dylan, who will be five in just nine days. I said to David, "Do you remember that little man in the bath seat at the old farm house, having baths all by himself, and how tiny he looked?"  I've just recently put away a pile of clothes that are too small for him, as I did Heather and now Nevin...who is barely squeezing into his 18 month clothes.

Eight years ago, we were uncertain if we could have a family. And here we are,  adoring our three children splashing in the tub.

Which brings me to a encounter yesterday while picking up Nevin's portraits.  The woman who was ringing my order up, looked at Nevin and put two and two together. She asked me, "How long have you had him?"  I wasn't certain how to answer her as I felt a tad bit uncomfortable the question.  I answered politely, " He's been my son for over six weeks now."

She shook her head, and I thought for a moment she was disapproving, but she became slightly emotional and said, "You are a super, super human being for doing what you did." 

I didn't know how to respond.  I thought, "REALLY?"  I said thank you and left but was scratching my head.....

David and I are not super, super human beings for adopting this little man.  Anyone can adopt.  We are not special people, no more special than anyone reading this blog.  It doesn't take a special kind of person to adopt.  There is a place in everyone's heart to open to an orphaned or needy child. You just may never tap into it.  But if you do, there is one orphan in this world who will be happy that you will. 

If anyone is the super, super human being it's Nevin. And Dylan.  And Heather.

And so, I will draw this particular blog to a close.  It was in fact, a travel blog through our adoption journey to Nevin. It was something I wanted to blog for Nevin, particularly. 

I will be starting a new blog, a personal blog on myself, motherhood, and plans for my career after being a stay at home Mom (SAHM).  If you are interested in following along, please leave a comment or email me, and I will add you to my list.

I thank you all for following along this incredible journey.

And now, on with our life.

My first day at the park in my new home town!

HOME AT LAST!

What a journey its been! But I must declare, there's no place like home!

The great wall was wonderful. When we finally made it back to hotel, my pace quickened as I knew this would be our last night in China. 

The three of us slept well-- actually slept in a bit,. Our day began with hearts racing for the big day ahead.  We had breakfast, took a leisurely walk outside.  Walking outside is no walk in the park-- for fear of traffic, and I had enough of the odors emitting from the sewers.  I was yearning for the smell of our farm. We headed back to the hotel to pack.

The day went by quickly as did the wait to board the plane.  I would have lost a hundred dollar bet leaving the runway in Beijing....I didn't cry once.  I was a little teary in the airport mind you, when a young Asian guy was strumming his guitar one aisle over from us. The sound of his guitar (pardon the pun here...) struck a cord in my heart.  I started to sing Leaving On A Jet Plane to Nevin and got a little choked up.

The flight was perfect, as was Nevin.  He was such a good boy, and slept from 9:30 straight through until we had to wake him up to land.  He was so patient, and so sweet.  And I did have a good little cry when we land on the runway at Pearson.  HOME! HOME!HOME!!! I couldn't wait to step off on to Canadian turf!

I welcomed Nevin home and smothered him with kisses.

My Dad met us at the airport, and it was so wonderful to see him. As was introducing him to his new grandson.

We were on the 401 around 8pm and stopped at Tim Hortons.  We let Nevin burn off a little steam as we still had a good hour drive home. He cried almost all the way to Barrie and then fell asleep. Pulling into our driveway held as much excitement as it did leaving for China.  I've never loved my driveway so much.  When I got out of the car at 10:30pm, there was a light mist in the air and it smelled heavenly! I could smell worms in the dewy grass!  What a beautiful aroma, and I took about twenty deep breaths.  My Dad looked at me like I had two heads.  I told him I was just breathing in what I've been missing for weeks.  Beijing could never smell like this.

Nevin never woke up. We brought him in the house and laid him on the couch, figuring he would wake up soon.  There were four ogling grandparents adoring him in the living room. I ran upstairs, stealth silent yet frantically fast, to see my kids. They were both fast asleep and angelic and beautiful and perfect and healthy and looked like they grew while I was gone!  I laid gentle and silent kisses on their entire faces while they slept, smelled their hair and said goodnight.  We had missed them beyond words.

I went back downstairs to see my new son, sawing logs on the couch. Family left shortly after, and we watched over our son as he slept until 2:30 am. Then we played with him, and showed him around the house. He was unsure, and never let go of his Mummy until the children woke up. He cried when our 100 pound German Shepherd, Ace, licked his face.  But now, he's grown quite accustomed to him.

He stayed awake all day. Then went down at 4pm and slept straight through until 4am.  Down for a nap at 11:30 until 3:30 and then down for the night at 8pm.  He has shown incredible resiliency, an outstanding sense of humour, his tender and gentle nature, and his need for comfort, trust and attachment.  At this time, I would say his adjustment has been beyond anything I could have dreamed of. Many people have been saying he is so lucky to have us and what a wonderful life we can give him.  I say, we are so lucky to have Nevin, and what a wonderful life he has given us. The same applies to Dylan and Heather. 

Life, here we go again!!!! What a blessed journey!


Look at me!!! First Class, AND Caillou with my own headset? SWEET!

Some of the Proud Grandparents!!! Shhhh...

The Great Wall, Ya'll!

Watch your step

(a late entry due to internet failure in China)

I have to begin my blog entry by saying that our babies went through so much travelling today, and I give them the credit they deserve being thrown off their schedules.

Our van left with all the families in our travel group for the first time since we've been in Beijing. It was great to have Allison and Tim with their daughter Lily with us today, as they have been cooped up in their hotel room coping with a sick little girl since we arrived back in Beijing. And being first time parents, they are dealing with these challenging issues, in addition to being in a hotel room in very foreign country, with flying colours. I can only imagine how much they wish they were home.

(ONE MORE SLEEP!)

The first leg of our trip lasted about an hour, during which Nevin had a medium-sized melt down from fatigue and most likely fed up from being in the van for an hour....as were all the babies and families. One thing we've learned about Nevin is that he is strong willed. My, oh my! He is going to fit in with his brother and sister...

Our first stop was the Beijing Jade Factory. Our factory guide explained the differences between soft and hard jade, and the variances of colours. I had always believed jade was green. Not purple, yellow and blue. The factory store was enormous and we only had about half an hour to shop. I could't take it all in that amount of time. I felt pressured and being in a group made it that much worse. The jade in this factory was top notch, top graded jade. And it was very expensive. I was actually more interested in the sculptures-- but they were too large and heavy to bring back home. I left the store Jadeless. But was okay with that decision. We are coming home with a new son, and that is the real reason why we were in China. Priceless in comparison to Jade....it is a belief in China that Jade is considered to be priceless....

Then back in the van and off to the great wall, another good leg on our journey, and it seemed the babies took turns at their cry fest-- but could you blame them? At one point, all the parents went into fits of laughter- part because the babies were actually rotating in melt downs and partly absolute exhaustion.

Our guide took us to a more picturesque entrance to the Great Wall (can you imagine a more "picturesque" view ? REALLY?") The benefit to going to this entrance is there are hardly any crowds in comparison to the first. However, the flip side to that statement is the pitch to one section of the wall is literally about 85 degrees. Once we stood at the foot of that particular stair case we decided it was too dangerous to take Nevin. Besides, neither of our knees nor backs would be capable of the journey carrying our new son. So we took turns climbing to the first lookout. When I reached the half way mark of this steep pitch, I actually came down a few steps-- fearing the pitch and the height! I am not normally a person who fears heights, but I did feel a sense of vertigo and the need to lay flat on the ground to save my life. After convincing myself that I am in China, at the Great Wall... just turn around and DO IT! I took a deep breath and hid my line of sight under the brim of my hat and grasped the side rails, and slowly took each step. I was in no rush (except that I needed to be down to let David have his turn and take Nevin...all within 45 minutes to meet our guide and families on the bus....). My legs burned, and I could start to feel the adrenaline rush through me as I realized I was close to the first tower. When I got to the top, and felt safe to look up, my knees started to shake when I saw the view. Of all the pictures I took, none of them could do justice to what my eyes actually saw. The wind picked up and blew a sensational force of wind in my face, I let out a scream (with a smile mind you) and the moment was so profound, that all I could say was "wow" about fifteen times. There was an elderly man sitting behind me on the ledge, having a cigarette, and looking sombre, as if it was his last moment on earth. It is said in China that a man is not a real man until he has walked the Great Wall. It would explain why so many domestic tourists come to the wall. I felt the urge to give him a high five, but just offered him a small nod and he nodded back-- as if to say, "yeah, this is pretty cool..." It was then I realized this would be our last night in China, and felt a little emotional when I thought of Nevin. This would be his last night in his homeland.

Many young Chinese people wanted to take my picture with their groups and spoke to me in their limited English and I attempted to speak to them in my very limited Mandarin. They were very pleased when I spoke to them, and even more so when I held up the peace sign with them....something I've seen all the young Chinese people do in all the pictures they take.

Then I looked up and decided I wanted to go higher, as I thought the view would be more outstanding. And it was. Thoughts of wanting to pack a tent to walk along the thousand or two kilometers of Great Wall. But that would be absolutely impossible as I don't believe my legs would let me.

On the way down, I was as careful as possible...fearing how dead I would be if I tripped. And in that thought, young teenagers were tap dancing down the steps in the middle of stair case....whizzing past me like I was a senior citizen. I got to the bottom where David and Nevin were and we switched turns. As I stood there for about 15-20 minutes I could feel the lactic acid rushing through my legs, and I started to shake. I forgot to mention that I wanted to count the stairs as I went up, but lost count at 36 from the fear.

The weather was so perfect-- the sky was the clearest blue, no smog and we could see the mountains for miles and miles and miles, the wind was cool and the sun was warm. We were disappointed we had such a limited amount of time to enjoy the wondrous scenery.

We loaded on the bus with babies that were beyond their naps, and drove to the Friendship Store for lunch for another traditional Chinese lunch. It was very good. I shopped a little, as it was within a Cloisonne factory. I didn't buy cloisonne, but silk clothing. I made a deal with the manager...as I wasn't sure I could dicker, but she approved of the offer. Nevin was right on the cusp of happy and angry. But he enjoyed playing with the babies while Mummy finished up her transaction.

Back on the bus to meet heavy traffic with tired babies. It is moon festival here in China, and the traffic was insane. We got back to our room just before 5pm and decided that since Nevin didn't have a nap, to keep him up a little and put him down for the night. He went down around 6:30pm after a fun bath and a bottle. Hopefully he'll sleep through the night.

At 8:30, I will meet our guide in the lobby to receive the scroll we ordered by a master artist of Nevin's Chinese name. We also ordered three chops for all our children in their English names, and Chinese names. I asked our guide if she will translate the Memory Book our orphanage made for Nevin and will record it on our DVD Handycam. We have discovered that the orphanage Nevin was from was sponsored by an organization called Half the Sky Foundation-- a very reputable organization that provides funding and essential care for the orphans. We also discovered that we were the only family to receive such documentation, and makes me more excited to hear the content of the book in English.

So tonight, its packing!

Tomorrow, several families are interested in seeing the Olympic Village, but we are going to stick around the hotel for some down time before our big journey back to Canada. There is a shopping centre across the street we haven't been to so we thought we'd do a little shopping.



Nevin, you'll soon be home.

Our gang from Canada, Children's Bridge Families (left to right)
Quin, Paul, Meredith, Scott, Kate, Jennifer, Alex, Me, Nevin, David, Allison holding Lily, and Tim. What a wonderful group of people! 

A Busy Two Days

Yesterday all the babies and parents headed to the SOS International Clinic, right across the street from the Canadian Embassy.  A very clean and westernized looking clinic, open 24 hours, staffed by international doctors-- including a Canadian doctor who went to McGill, looked after our children. Nevin was a very good boy, and was among the very healthy babies adopted in our group.  It was a long wait, but all the babies were very tolerant, and kept busy in the children's play area.  All of the parents were impressed with the clinic.

We headed back to the hotel and put our babies for a nap, and the Mommies went to the super store next door to the hotel to do a little staple shopping.  I bought an extra suitcase to take home the sundries and souvenirs, which cost about $18 CAD, some new shoes for the kids, and a pillow for the plane ride home.  We are flying first class, and the only thing to make the flight nearly perfect would be a nice pillow, especially if I am to sleep with Nevin on the way home.

In the evening, we ventured to a theatre and watched a Chinese Acrobat performance, and the babies were mesmerized. The parents, including David and I really enjoyed the entertainment.  Just before the show, we walked through an art show and marvelled at some of the Chinese paintings.  As we nearing the end of the display, there was a gorgeous painting of three young Chinese boys rough housing in a Chinese garden. Our guide commented on the irony of our three boys, who were standing in front of the picture.  Not only have we been the centre of attention as westerners, we are among the very few families who have adopted boys, which is rare. I wanted to buy it, but it was too big, and at that point in the day, fighting off jet lag and the thought of arranging to have it shipped overwhelmed me a tad. Maybe when we take Nevin back to visit China, I will look for it then.

Today was a little cool and rainy-- not the best weather to visit the Summer Palace, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  We went through too quickly, and only saw a small portion or the Forbidden City.  My favourite part was walking through the Summer Garden.  It was breath taking, with the most stunning, ancient looking cedar trees, and everything beautifully manicured.  The cobble stone walkways were intricately designed into art themselves. I could have stayed there all day, but it was too cold, and the babies were getting wet and shivery.  If we were here a few more days, I would have gone back.  We just did not have enough time. 

The most fun during the day was being accosted by the street vendors in Tianamen Square.  We all had so much fun being harassed and teased by the vendors, and looking at their tourist trap items for sale. Who doesn't want a Chairman Mao wristwatch?  We did make some purchases, some fun things to take back home, but the most fun was listening to the offers the vendors were pitching at us.

In the evening was our dinner provided as a courtesy by our travel agency here in China.  Our guide and driver took us to a real Peking restaurant, the name translated was The Big Pear Peking Restaurant.  And let me tell you, it was the most delicious Chinese food I have ever had.  The only thing I didn't eat was the scrambled eggs with some sort of shell fish, possibly even eel or octopus.  Not really sure.  But everything looked and smelled wonderful.  And nothing came to the table with a head on it, so that we were all pleased.  It was a good night of laughs and banter with all the families, and the babies did really well.  Nevin had eaten a lot during the day, so he nibbled on his tofu and enjoyed playing with Mummy and Daddy.

Its like we've been Nevin's parents since the day he was born.  Both David and I continue to gain his trust, and he is quite attached to the both of us.  His gigantic belly laugh is a daily occurrence throughout the day, and he generally is a very happy boy. We feel so blessed to have a lovely new son, and cannot wait to take him home on Thursday to finally get settled with his forever family.

Tomorrow its the Great Wall of China and then the Jade Factory, where I am hoping to make a special purchase for ME! I cannot wait until the evening to PACK FOR CANADA!

Goodbye Inner Mongolia

Emotions snuck up on me again yesterday as we prepared for our leg back to Beijing.  Our hearts fluttered when we saw our children on Skype, even more so that the trip to Beijing meant just one more airplane ride back to Canada.  I also had a heavy heart knowing that we would be taking Nevin from home province-- but then again, leaving made him feel more like he was really ours....like coming home from the hospital with a newborn baby.

Traffic was crazy in Hohhot City Centre, but it seemed our driver drove with some caution and kept his speed below the flow of traffic when we hit the highway It was as if he were keeping the safety of the baby in mind.  Not only were we escorted by our guide, we were met at the airport by two of the Nanny's from Nevin's orphanage.  We upgraded our flight back to Beijing to first class for an additional 1250  Yuan, a reasonable amount for the extra space for our son's first flight.  And the Nanny's helped with the translating and ticket exchange. As we were passing through the security check point, Nevin's Nanny began to cry and waved to us.  It struck me profoundly, and I found myself standing in the doorway blowing kisses while fighting back the tears-- and I was losing. I stood there as long as I could, until I couldn't see them anymore....it was like I was in a heart wrenching scene of a movie. 

David came through the carry on baggage-xray and we started to walk to our departure gate.  Then my tears were too hard to fight back, bottom lip quivering, about to have an ugly cry.  I just tried to breathe, and kissed my new son's head and held David's hand.

Our departure was about 40 minutes delayed due to air traffic congestion.  Hummm.... traffic congestion in the sky made me a little nervous. I took the opportunity to change a diaper and feed Nevin the last of the rice cereal I brought from Canada.  He ate the entire package since Monday. Did I mention he likes to eat?

Nevin seemed to enjoy being in the big seats, and didn't fuss a bit during take off.  He looked out the window and watched quietly. As we flew over the breathtaking mountains of Inner Mongolia, Nevin and I sat at the window and waved goodbye to his birth province.  The view was incredible.  Mountains were poking through the tops of the clouds and stretched as far as I could see. I only wished we had the chance to see the country side and grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and to be closer to the mountains.  David wanted to ride full gallop on a horse in the grasslands....maybe he can do that with Nevin when we go back for a homeland visit.

The flight was quick, and smooth-- except for the airplane I saw pass over top of us....hummm traffic congestion in the sky....The flight was almost too quick, and Nevin was remarkable--as if it was just another van ride somewhere.  We touched down just an hour later. But I wished we could've just kept going to Canada.  

Another family from our travel group arrived just 15 minutes after us and their baby was sick.  He had been throwing up for over 24 hours. And then we learned that another family from our group took their baby to the hospital and had been on IV fluids with a bronchial infection.  I felt badly for them, and lucky at the same time. Nevin is as strong as an ox, and healthy (knock on wood).

And on to the new hotel.  A lovely hotel, but the travel company cut corners again and put us in the small rooms.  Our other family couldn't even put the cot in the room for their older daughter.  It was late in the day, we were all hungry and decided to deal with it the next day.

This morning I was up just before 5 am.  Still turned around from jet lag.  Showered, Skyped and ready for breakfast before 7am.  Breakfast was more westernized here in Beijing, so there were more familiar offerings.  The dining room was beginning to fill up with families from all over the world with their new babies, most of them girls.  It seems that our families were the only ones who adopted boys.

Our trip to the Great Wall was postponed, as half of our group had sick babies, and one family were on their way back to the clinic to have their baby checked for pneumonia. So David and I took Nevin next door to a giant supermarket.  We stood like two dummies not knowing where to enter, and not entirely sure we were allowed to go in. It almost looked like a Costco idea....like a membership store.  But once we were in we enjoyed looking at all the Asian products, spirits etc.  We picked up a bottle of wine, and NEW CASTLE BROWN if you can believe it, some rice cereal, milk and some little crackers that nearly burned our face off! We had the very same type of cracker the night before, but of course, can't read Chinese. David and I took a couple, casually eating them while we were chatting--  and at the same time, our eyes popped from our heads, desperately trying to find something to drink. They were so hot! We laughed insanely for about 20 minutes.

So the afternoon agenda was changed to a trip to the Silk Market.  Oh My God!  You've never seen anything so crazy.  Five floors of booths filled with anything you wanted to buy. The sales people were very aggressive, actually touching me and grabbing my arm.  One even tried to take Nevin from me when he was fussy.  Don't touch my baby!  Nevin did well, and fell asleep in Daddy's arms.  I bought a few pieces of traditional Chinese pj's for the kids, and other trinkets, and some beautiful wall scrolls in Chinese calligraphy and art work.   We ended up in the middle of a small brawl when a local attacked one of the sales girls.  He was a big guy and I got bumped in the arm by the hooligan.  I was more concerned about Nevin but he was fine.

We headed back to the hotel with plenty of  bags, tired and hungry. My head was spinning a bit from the jet lag.  We ordered room service, which was very good, and then it was about an hour of paperwork in the hallway with our guide.

Tomorrow its off to Immigration at the Embassy for Nevin's medical.  We are there from 8:30 until noon, as there are many other families attending as well.  In the evening, we have tickets to attend the Chinese Acrobats, which is said to be marvelous.  I can't remember what else is going on this week, as all I am looking forward to is seeing the wall, and packing to head home. I miss Dylan and Heather tremendously.

A Little Home Sick

The three of us slept in and realized we were late in our blog time to see the kids.  In a panic we logged on to see our silly twerps perform in front of the computer camera, pulling faces and delivering anecdotes in a manner only little children can.  Both David and I are truly grateful for Skype, and its helped tremendously in times when we miss them badly.  And Nevin is enjoying seeing family as well, reaching for the screen, pointing waving.  Its also getting him used to some new sounding voices.  He enjoys seeing the kids, and getting accustomed to his grandparents.

Breakfast was a long, leisurely meal as we hadn't and tours planned. We did roam the streets in the Muslim populated area and took some interesting contrast pictures-- ie: Kentucky Fried Chicken with a Mosque-like building in the background.  We decided to enter a low end shopping centre to see if we could find Nevin a new pair of shoes, as the ones he was wearing from the orphanage were a little tight.  Way up on the fourth floor we found a shoe dealer and he fitted Nevin with a pair of cool led-flashing-lights shoes.  We haggled a bit with him, but he was still smiling after we bargained so we know we didn't pay his bottom dollar.  In the end it cost us about $6 for a pair of shoes.  Its a strange concept that I was unaware of-- bargaining in nearly every shop.  I learned that lesson too late in a tea house on the street when I purchased a tea set for Heather.  The price was on the box and I gave him the store owner the money and he looked at me like I had two heads. I was confused, and didn't realize he was waiting for me to haggle with him.  Then he shot me a big smile and laughed all the way to the back of the store to get me my change.  Obviously, I paid his top dollar.  When I realized what happened the deal was already made.  And really, for a few extra measly dollars, I made this guy's day. Kind of like the taxi drivers when you insist they keep the change, they just cannot fathom why we would pay more than what it costs.  I tell my guide that in North America, it is customary to offer a tip when we feel the service provided is above normal.  And in my books, here in China, if the driver gets me to my destination alive and unscathed, I will give him a tip!  At least now we are trained to haggle when we go to Beijing today.

As we were leaving the shopping centre, a fabric store caught my eye and I went up the stairs and left David and Nevin for a moment.  The stairs were high and we didn't want to carry Nevin up in the stroller.  I looked around and was met with kind smiles.  When I headed back to the stair case David was being surrounded by curious locals.  I had remembered in the morning to bring a piece of paper provided by our adoption agency with Mandarin phrases written in Pinyin and in Chinese characters.  So at least we could offer the phrases we knew how to speak and when we realized our pronunciation was poor and the locals were struggling to understand, we could point to the Chinese characters for them to read.  They were all delighted to learn we adopted Nevin and we were his new parents.  David said they literally gave him the thumbs up.  When I came back, Nevin was uncomfortable with the crowd we had drawn and began to fuss and reached for me.  I lifted him up, with everyone watching, and put him in my sling and he hugged and snuggled into my chest.  The curious crowd reacted like I pulled a rabbit out of my hat.  We said goodbye and we were off.  Within minutes, Nevin fell asleep.

During our venturing, we headed down another back street-- there are some neat little stores in those back streets and we felt fairly safe.  It was a dead end but there was a Christian church back there!  A woman came out of the door a greeted us with a big friendly welcome in Chinese.  I wonder if she thought we were coming to visit the church or maybe have an offering of some sort, but we were simply curious travellers.  I thought it best we didn't go inside without our guide, so with a friendly goodbye in Mandarin and letting them know we were from Canada (again the rabbit out of the hat reaction...) we decided to be on our way.  We enjoyed looking in the windows of the stores on the way back to the hotel.  Beautiful bakeries, many scooter and bike stores....and then it hit us.  We couldn't wait to get back to our room to pack for Beijing.  Although we still have some other sights to see and the real shopping is yet to come, we both have had our taste of the Inner Mongolian culture (although I still would have enjoyed to see the grasslands and witness how life is out there...that is the true Inner Mongolian culture).  I am growing a little tired of the food in our hotel.  Now we could venture out to eat, but having Nevin with us, and drawing a crowd like we were Brangelina, we chose to mellow in the comfort of our hotel.  And we both crave to smell the air of Canada, even Toronto wouldn't be so bad right now!

So today is a big day for Nevin-- he is leaving his home province, only a small part in his great journey to his new home. We should be in Beijing just after 2 pm China time.  Our agency has switched our hotel when we return, so it will be a fresh start to the last leg of our China journey.  The restaurant offers a wide variety of cuisine, including Szechuan, so it should be a culinary adventure.

Good bye, Inner Mongolia! We'll be back one day.

Shopping

(As I write this blog, David is giving Nevin his bath, with me out of sight. Big step!)

Nevin woke up cuddly and snugly with Mummy as we Skyped our family. He enjoyed some bottle and off to breakfast we went.  He ate all of his green bean con gee and whatever else I put in his mouth.  Not once has he turned his nose up on anything I have given him.

Barbara, our guide, met us in the lobby with our driver and off we went to SHOP!  She brought us to the Inner Mongolian Mengsheng Cashmere Products Mill-- where all of the products are made by hand. They even have a food processing plant.  We had a tour of the factory and met some of the factory workers-- mostly women.  They were very friendly and were paying much of their attention to Nevin, offering smiles, coos and compliments.  The factory produces many of the products representing the culture of the Inner Mongolian people.  Surprisingly, both David and I have found the culture to be similar to our natives in the prairies.  We bought jewelry, clothing, and a few traditional keepsakes David and I picked for Nevin's treasure box.

After touring the main factory we toured the grocery outlet.  Now I must declare at this time that neither David nor I have felt the ill effects of weird food or bacterial mysteries-- without thinking I had a cocktail with ice cubes...no problem, and I have wet my toothbrush nearly every time with the tap water and I have not died. So, when there were samples of the Hohhot cheese, comprised of mutton and goat milk, we decided to be daring and stand on the ledge of digestive recklessness.  It was a lovely tasting cheese, a little sweet and salty and the texture was very dry.  One sample was brown, and I was deeply curious why. Apparently it was mixed with chocolate of all things.  It was actually quite lovely.  I chose not to buy a package as I could not be sure it was pasteurized, and I wasn't sure if my iron gut would be so iron-like had it been infected with listeria. I had Barbara translate all the other foods that I could not identify-- plant or animal?  We really felt like we were in a different world....

I did come away with several purchases, one of them being a popular drink they refer to as tea milk.  Its comparable to our Chi latte but only milder and sort of ovalteen like, but not so geriatric tasting. I think it might be nice cold.

Nevin fell fast asleep in my arms in the van, and we put him down in his crib when we got back to our room.  He slept soundly for two hours, and when he woke, he reached for me and fell asleep on my chest for another 15 minutes.  Then, the wild child awoke from within and he played like he was our son his entire life.  His delightful, deep belly laugh erupted when David tickled his tummy-- I managed to capture that laugh on video.  He played and played and sought David's attention for two solid hours.  He came to me in between to be picked up, but always went back to David.  It was assuring that he allowed his Daddy to feed him a bottle, and they hung out on the bed together like two old pals watching television.

I'm sure it won't take long to fall asleep tonight after being so active all afternoon.

Tomorrow is a free day for us, nothing planned.  The weather is very windy, rainy and cool. So everything will depend on the weather. If we end up staying in, I may go to the spa on the third floor for a back massage while Nevin has a nap.  Dude!  He's 33 pounds!  So glad he loves his stroller as it has given my back some rest.  In fact, he loves it so much, he white knuckles the safety bar with a death grip when the wait staff brings the high chair. He's eaten his last three meals in his stroller, right next to his Mummy.

And now, the count down is on for Canada!  Seven more days! Yay!  Can't wait to squeeze my kids, smell their skin and hair, and hear their voices.  My little goofy cherubs....I think Nevin is going to fit in with them just fine.

Exploring...

Nevin ate a big dinner last night!  I ordered lasagna and I think he ate half of it.  It was more of a saucy and cheesy dish, not quite like we are used to in Canada.  After dinner, I was feeling the effects of jet lag and decided to take our new son out for a walk up to the shopping centre where David found a new stroller earlier in the day.  I am finding that if I walk outside during those jetlagged moments, it really helps me get through. Again were getting plenty of attention.  Many people curious about how we look, and in general, people are drawn our baby.

In front of the shopping centres (which are enormous and bunched together) were plenty of beggars and street performers, and children with ailments begging for money.  It made me feel a little sick to my stomach to see it actually.  We are used to seeing beggars on the streets in Toronto, but none of them look like these people.  They are filthy and sickly looking.  There were two little girls who were contortionists and performing gymnastics.  Bare feet, and again, very dirty.  David said they were there earlier in the day, and we were out around 7:30pm, so they must have been there all day and during the evening.  Their mothers were near by supervising and collection money. I said to David that someone must tell Cirque De Soliel about these children. They are talented little children.  Right between them was a young boy who had what appears to be spina bifida and a badly deformed spine and lower extremities. He was on a skate board, begging for money.  And as we were walking his mother gave him toilet paper and he rode his skateboard over to one of the trees planted in the sidewalk to (I can only assume as I didn't stay to watch) relieve himself in the soil.

I looked down at Nevin in his stroller and was overcome with emotion with the thought of what his life may have been like if he had never been left at the orphanage, or if he had never been adopted and been sent out on his own once he reached 15-- the age limit for life in an institution.  At that moment I was very proud to be his Mummy, and told him what wonderful things are waiting for him.

We headed back to the hotel and gave Nevin another wild bath!  No problem with bath time!  There is no doubt that he is settled very quickly with us, and the attachment continues to both of us, although he stills prefers Mummy for most of the comfort.

We Skyped my best friend before bed, and I had to excuse myself towards the end of the conversation as I was dead tired.  And David and I were in bed asleep before 9:30 and slept until 6:30.

In the morning, I had to wake up Nevin so that his big brother and sister could Skype him.  I get really excited when I know I am going to see them! Nevin is responding to seeing their faces with laughs and giggles. And he met is Nana on Skype this morning as well.  We then had to hurry and shower, and head down for breakfast and be in the lobby for 9am.   It was raining and the temperature was cool-- which I was thrilled!  What a relief from the heat.

Our tour of the Inner Mongolian museum was incredible.  And again, we attracted about as much attention as the displays in the museum.  Two women asked if we could get our picture taken with them.  Another woman followed us around, as Nevin was a little fussy, and I figured he was wanting a bottle.  He kept reaching for me in the stroller so I picked him up, and the woman nearly took him from me.  I think she was just trying to help, but really lady!  Back off!!! I'm a Canadian woman and get  your hands off my baby! I was polite mind you....I thought of my sister in law during this moment.  Enough said, right Kelley?

We walked out to the hallway and found a place to sit, and the woman again followed us out to watch .  I fed Nevin, and she stood there watching. Smiling and cooing at Nevin, but REALLY!

On the way home from the museum broke my heart.  Nevin is actually cutting four teeth as I've discovered.  Three on the bottom and a molar on the top.  He suddenly tried to stuff both his hands in his mouth and started to howl in pain.  It was a blood curdling cry.  I felt tonnes of guilt as I had forgotten to put the Tylenol in my bag this morning in the flutter of getting out the door in time.  What was interesting about this incident is that he reached for both of us for comfort while he was struggling with the pain.  He cried all the way back to the hotel, and allowed us to provide whatever means of comfort we could provide for him.  I did cry with him, as I couldn't take the pain away and it ripped my heart in half to see him like that.  Still now while I'm writing this blog, I get a little teary.  He's my son, and I couldn't take away the pain, and it hurt me terribly.

When we got back to the hotel, we couldn't get to the front door.  There were cars everywhere.  All I wanted to do was get my little boy in teething agony up the room so I could take care of him.  We finally got to the door and realized there was a wedding at the hotel and the bride was standing in the lobby.  She was beautiful and was wearing white.  I thought red was the traditional colour of choice for brides in China, but obviously this was a bride with westernized fashion sense.  She was beautiful and her groom was very handsome. Nevin was distracted and stopped crying and we went up to the room to dig for medicine.

David was playing with Nevin on the floor (which Nevin LOVES to do with his Daddy-- it is so sweet to see him playing with David, and he does reach for him to be picked up) and we heard what we thought was fireworks.  And sure enough, they laid a pile of fireworks just below our window at the driveway of the hotel and lit them.  Some were flying right in front of our window!  It was exciting and Nevin wasn't sure about all the noise.  Its a tradition to set off fireworks for a  wedding.

He went to sleep for his nap without much problem as the Tylenol provided some relief.  Tomorrow, we have a shopping day planned with our guide and I will be sure to bring our meds and maybe even give him a dose before we leave.  I don't want him to go through that again, our poor little guy....or should I say, our poor BIG guy!

Notorization and Registration, and Stuck To Mummy!

Nevin slept very sound through the entire evening- whimpering only once when he wedged himself width-wise in his crib. I turned him around and never heard from him throughout the rest of the night.  I had to wake him so he could meet his big brother and big sister on Skype!  Dylan was thrilled and truly excited to see Nevin, especially after talking and preparing for his arrival since May.  It was so good to his beautiful face and that charming and adorable smile. It did tug at my heart, as did speaking to my little miss, Heather, and hearing her say "I want you Mummy!"  Now that we have our Little Inner Mongolian Prince, all we want to do is get on that plane and take him home.

Today began with an early start. I was up at 5am, eager to shower and prepare Nevin's paperwork and baby things for the busy morning ahead doing MORE PAPERWORK! I feel bad for all the trees we've axed-- hopefully recycled paper was used. After I Skyped our family (the internet is playing some havoc with the video at times, but at least we can hear), we stuffed our new son in an outfit he may wear one or two more times, and headed down for breakfast.  He enjoyed sitting in the highchair, which gave Mummy a break as Nevin has made it perfectly clear that Mummy is currently his favourite person in the world and wants me to carry him constantly. The Peanut Shell Sling is a must have commodity for a bigger baby or toddler.  And he loves being in it.  It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so darn hot and if our drivers had air conditioning in their vehicles.  The locals are quite used to this climate--evident by their wardrobe-- no shorts, and many of them wear black pants or shirts and long sleeves!

Nevin ate a good range of foods.  We did get a schedule translated into English for us regarding his routine.  And most of his meals were noodles, milk, juice, water.  So, this morning I decided to offer some yogurt with peaches, millet con gee with warm soya milk (its like a porridge) some soft bits of potato, noodles, watermelon and oranges.  He ate from everything I offered, but really loved the con gee and yogurt.  The breakfast buffet has plenty of Chinese vegetables prepared in a fashion we are used to for dinner.

We had just minutes to meet our guide in the lobby and ventured to the Shangrila hotel for tonnes of paperwork and official document signing, finger printing and Nevin's foot printing.  During the proceedings, the children mingled only slightly, and surprised me in that matter.  I thought they would be drawn to each other, but they all clung on to their new families.  They were even stand-offish, especially Nevin, with the Nannies.  I thought that they would be reaching for them. But it was the exact opposite.  It was at that point I had realized Nevin was certainly bonding with us, and wanted to stay in my arms.

I asked our guide to translate Nevin's name.  Although his Chinese name is written Yang Yumeng, it actually has a different meaning written in Chinese characters.  It was then one of the Nannys  came over and told us she was the one that named Nevin.  I became very emotional, especially after our guide translated for us that this Nanny loved him very much.  She said one part of his name represents the year of his birth which was the year of the ox. The other part indicates new growth of spring grass to provide nourishment for growth and a prosperous life.  Again, the tsunami came, as I was unprepared for the emotional impact it had on me.  We exchanged email addresses and she requested that we send along an update every once in awhile, and invited us to return for a visit when he is older.

After we signed many more documents and were interviewed by one of the officials, he shook our hands and the adoption became final.  We were the last family in the room.  Nevin had fallen asleep in my arms, and the air conditioning was turned off.  I was sweating like a farmer. As we were gathering our things, Nevin's Nanny came and presented us with a Chinese ornament from the orphanage, a beautifully scripted document in Chinese calligraphy for the orphanage donation, and a jade pendant with an ox carving on a red neck lace with some delicate beading as a gift from the Nannies.  Again with the tsunami!

At that time, it was getting close to Nevin's lunch.  We headed back to our hotel and fed Nevin some fortified baby cereal with fruit and he was ready for a nap.  However, he wanted to fall asleep in Mummy's arms, as he's decided he's quite comfortable and secure with his Mummy.  I do love to see him reach for me, but I may have to visit the hotel masseuse to make it through the rest of the trip.

Tomorrow, we are headed to the Inner Mongolian Museum.  I am hoping I can send David up to the shopping centre for a stroller first. Although at this point, I doubt Nevin will even want to go in the stroller.  Maybe Daddy can buy Mummy a stroller that I can sit in and he can push us both around!

It was discussed earlier today among our families if we wanted to accept an invitation to visit the orphanage in Baotou.  The drive is 2 hours, and none of us wanted to make the trip without a car seat for our kids.  The drive is long, hot, and certainly not safe.  We politely declined the offer.

When we return with Nevin, Dylan and Heather for a homeland visit, Nevin will have the option if he would like to see where he spent the first 16 months of his life.  I'm sure it will be emotional, but he did have Nannies here that cared for him.

GOTCHA!!!!

Believe it or not, last night was a good night's sleep for both of us.  I felt well rested and nearly adjusted to the jet lag. We made our way down for a lovely breakfast buffet-- a perfect blend of western favs and Chinese/Mongolian cuisines.  After breakfast, we headed to our room to pack a diaper bag and bottle in preparation for our son's arrival. Early. Tick. Tick Tick. One of my Mother's favourite says, "Hurry up and wait."

Our guide came to meet us, and there we sat in the lobby and watched the busy street of Hohhot rush by.  A miracle that no one was hit by a car, really. Medians are merely an option.

After two hours of intense waiting, our guide received a call that the babies had arrived at the Shangrila  Hotel-- the same hotel we had met our American friends the night prior.  There had been a traffic jam in the city centre and the babies been delayed.  We dashed out and caught a cab and headed straight for the Hotel.

As we walked in the door, hands sweaty and butterflies gone wild,  David and I could hear the babies crying. They were now in the arms of their new parents, scared and exhausted from the long drive from Baotou. As David and I tried to see through the welling tears in our eyes, one of the Nannies turned around with Nevin.  He was confused, and alarmed by all the other babies, not knowing what to expect.  They handed him to me after I brought him the tiger his Auntie Kelley and Uncle Brian bought for him. I took him from the Nanny.  He was very upset and it completely broke my heart.  I managed to sit down with him and make some eye contact and he continued to cry. I let him cry for a bit and offered him his bottle.  He took it from me and did not push me away.  I assume the babies were very hungry and thirsty.  He started to calm down and after about 30 minutes he quieted down and began to give in to me.  He was just too tired to fight.  Nevin let out some big sighs and each time he did, he sank deeper into my arms and chest. He was hot with three layers of clothing on...

By the time we had finished our paper work, he was exhausted, but calm.  We got into the cab (no seat belts, no car seats) and with a little help from a guardian angel, we made it safely to the hotel.  He slept for nearly 4 hours.

While Nevin was napping, I headed out with our guide to made a bank transaction to give to the orphanage for tomorrow.  It was a horrible excursion in the sense we couldn't find a bank easily that cashed American Express Travellers Cheques!  After four banks, and five insane, white knuckle cab rides later, and a bit of hiking through some side streets of Inner Mongolia, I made it back to the hotel room in time for Nevin to wake up. I must admit to feeling extremely vulnerable-- walking the back streets of Hohhot with a guide that I really didn't know, with a large amount of cash. My advice to anyone is to cash those cheques at the airport if you can.  I remember saying that to David, but he suggested there must be banks we can cash them in at.

When Nevin awoke,  he weepy at first, and a bit apprehensive. But again,  let me have control of his bottle and allowed me to feed him.  It is a good sign that he is attaching in some form to us already.  I made him some fruit and rice cereal, and again, allowed me to feed him.  We went down to the dining room and had dinner.  He really had some good bonding time with both of us, and actually reached for Mummy several times during our first day of bonding.  The picture of me on the floor with his cheek stuck to mine was something he did.  He really wanted to cuddle me and leaned into my face. It made for a tender moment.

The evening continued  remarkably well and I braved the notion of trying to bath him.  When we undressed him completely we noticed a large bruise on his left buttock and some discolouring on his lower lumbar.  We made note of it and notified our director of the adoption program just for documentation.  We wanted to be sure someone made note of it in case there was some question during the immigration medical before we leave for home. As it turned out, it was a Mongolian birth mark-- very common.

Our hotel maid left a large baby tub in our room and Nevin just loved it!  He splashed and giggled, and enjoyed the stacking cups we tossed into the water.  He played a good 45 minutes with his Daddy, making a good start for attachment.  It was a pleasant surprise to see him eating and drinking, and enjoying our company.

Before his bedtime we were able to Skype some of our family as it was 9:15pm here and 9:15am in Canada.  I didn't get the chance to see my son who was at school already, but got to see my daughter.  It broke my heart to hear her telling me she needed me, but I diverted her attention to her little brother and she managed to throw him some kisses.

I forgot to mention that Nevin is over 30 lbs!  He is so heavy and solid.  David figures he'll be the first Inner Mongolian to play defense in the NHL.  I brought half 12 month clothing and half 18 month clothing.  Its pretty much a given that his 12 month clothing may be donated to the orphanage.

Just before I put him down I fed him a bottle- half formula half Hohhot dairy milk. He had about half and looked like he was ready for bed.  So around 10pm I put him in his crib without much of a fuss.  I stood at his crib, giving him comfort and reassurance, rubbing his back and head, and he fell asleep holding on to his little blue puppy that Heather picked out for his care pack we sent in June.

Tomorrow we are heading to the Shangrila Hotel to do paperwork and notary public documents. I am hoping we get a chance to head to the big shopping centre to get a stroller!  I have a peanut shell carrier that Nevin loves being in, but, oh my aching back, that boy is heavy!

10 more days and we'll be on our way home!  We miss Heather and Dylan terribly.

Ni Hao from Hohhot!

Our flight was very fast. No sooner did the flight staff hand out drinks and snacks (which we passed on), we were starting to descend to prepare for landing!

The sad glitch is that we are not getting Nevin until tomorrow morning at 11:30.  Its okay really, as it gives us another night to adjust ourselves to this time difference.  Our hotel here in Hohhot is a Holiday Inn, but it is absolutely lovely! Our room is very modern, super clean and very big.   In Beijing, however, our guide is arranging for all of our families to be moved to a better and bigger floor when we return.  The rooms were just too small.  It "used" to be a five star hotel, but has gone down hill a bit, according to one family with us who had been there 3 years ago.

We are planning to go out and find a drug store to get some bottled water, but we're terrified to cross the street!  Stop signs and lines on the road are purely optional here.  I can't believe there aren't dead pedestrians all over the road. Traffic is erratically. In fact, I'll take the DVP at rush hour any day over the street of Hohhot! Our drive to the hotel was frightening to say the least. And looking into passing cars, children are sitting on the laps of adults in the front seat!  Our van didn't even have seat belts in it.  And smoking is pretty much everywhere.  The only place I haven't seen people smoking was in the airports and I don't recall seeing anyone smoking here in the lobby of the hotel.  I must say, I've never seen a "No Spitting In Elevator" sign until today.

Just after we checked into our room, the attendant rang our "door bell" and brought in Nevin's crib, all made up, a baby tub and a little Chinese traditional potty.  Too cute! We thought briefly Nevin might be arriving after all, but it wasn't the case.

So tonight we are hoping to meet with a family I met online. These are the people from the US who are adopting a little boy, same age and same orphanage as Nevin.  We both get our boys tomorrow.  There are five babies from the orphanage being place with their families tomorrow, all from Baotou.

BEIJING!!!

We're finally here! And with some help from Aline, she is entering this information until we can open our blog spot account.  There are some Internet issues here, and maybe we'll have better luck after we get to Hohhot today.

We spent a few hours in the Maple Leaf Lounge enjoying some free bar and lunch.  Although the flight was delayed by 45 minutes, we boarded quickly and had clearance to take off immediately, so as it turns out, we were only 10 minutes late arriving in China. Apparently, the entertainment system on board had a glitch, but thankfully, was repaired. Thirteen hours on a plane without tv? Could've been ugly.   We saved our pennies and booked executive class, and let me say, it was very nice, and worth every penny.  The only thing that would have made it perfect was my own pillow.  I may buy one for the plane ride home with Nevin.  He'll be sharing the seat with me so we'll need to be as comfortable as possible.

We arrived in Beijing and nearly fell over from the heat in the airport.  No air conditioning.  It was stifling.   We were met by our guide and the other couple from Renfrew and took a van to our hotel.  I was warned about the way people drive in China. Oh my goodness!  There is no room for error or manners for that matter when on the roads and highways.  No helmets for motorcycles, scooters, including the children riding on the back.  It was very hazy due to the smog.  Our guide pointed out key buildings on the way, including one large building that had just been rebuilt from a fire last year.  Apparently, during last year's moon festival, they lit fireworks inside the building.  Fireworks = fire, people...

After we checked in, and feeling completely turned around as this would be getting close to the time we'd be getting up with the kids, it was actually dinner time.  But we didn't feel hungry. So we took a walk around the corner to a large shopping mall (they're everywhere) and went to the drug store to pick up some water and two cokes.  There is free water in the hotel room but the bottle are small and we drank those through our eyes just by looking at them, we were so thirsty.  There are larger bottles in our room but they are 30 yuan a piece. Very expensive.  We got two large bottles of water and two cokes at the drugstore for 13 yuan.  Worth the walk.  People were flying these LED lit kites much higher than most of the big buildings.  Some of them had LED lights all the way up the string and the kites were glowing!  It was exciting to see.  The smells wafting up from the sewers is pretty strong every now and again.  But for the most part, I'm surprised how very clean everything looks for a city so big.  The airport specifically was very shiny-- mind you terminal 3 was the new terminal built for the Olympics.  The floors were so shiny it looked like polished granite.

So its nearly 7 am now.  We are going to shower up, head down for breakfast and head off to the airport this morning for 9am. Our flight is booked to leave for Hohhot at 11am and arrive at 12:05.  Then it off to the hotel where we will meet our Nevin.  My emotions have been fairly good, except when we were taking off from Toronto.  I cried down the runway and during take off-- the thought of actually leaving North America, leaving behind our two beautiful children, and the reality of going to China to get Nevin came over me like a Tsunami.

We maybe holding our new son in just six hours.  Hold on little man, we're almost there!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

We are leaving tomorrow for China!  Ahhhh!!!!

Today was rather uneventful-- a few loads of laundry here, tidying up there, and tonight a bit of packing and we're ready to go! 

My Mom came over today for a nice long visit, and had dinner with us.  It was so good to see her before we leave, especially now that she is feeling well.  She is very excited to see her new grandson!

So I will say Zai Jian for now, and I'll post when we are settled in our hotel in Beijing before we depart for Hohhot.  The weather in Beijing on Saturday is forecasted 31 degrees! 

Working Out The Kinks and Glitches

Three more sleeps! And only two more days to tidy up the last minute details.  I'm having some issues with my internet server here out in God's country-- where we are surrounded by over 200 acres of farm and a satellite connection that provides 1mbps measly download speed.  They are having technical issues with several of their websites. Get this!  Air Canada .com and .ca and Skype!  So I can't get on the websites to check my flight status nor can I Skype properly!  I'm sorry server, but you can come and get your outdated dish equipment cause I'm switching as soon as I get back from China.  (notice how I omitted the swearies...this is a family blog).

Tomorrow, I'll bring my laptop up to my Dad's place to check out the connection with his DSL to make sure that is indeed the problem.

So, with that aside, I scored a bit of a jack pot (which I am returning....) with the bank today.  I went to get my Chinese Yuan I ordered and my travelers cheques. When I got home I discovered there were extras cheques in my envelope to the sum of $600!  I called the bank when I made the discovery but they were already closed. I left a message for our Assistant Manager to call me in the morning.  Big oops for the bank.

Tomorrow, Dylan heads back to Senior Kindergarten, of which he is bursting with excitement!  We'll take him to school on Friday and say goodbye (oh dear) and take Heather to my Dad's and say goodbye (oh dear x2). 

Then its off to the airport!  I can't wait to get there and meet our friends from Renfrew who will be joining us on the flight to China.  We plan on meeting for lunch, which will help the three hour wait go by as I'm sure we will have plenty to talk about.

Tomorrow, its back to the bank and return the bonus $600 (how did that happen anyway?) and if it doesn't rain, I'll hop on my little John Deer lawn tractor and tear up the yard.  Then I'll take Heather for a ride around the property-- she loves her tractor rides! 

My last post will be Thursday night to say goodbye, and hopefully, if all goes as planned, I will be posting when we arrive Saturday night in Beijing-- which will be morning for you. 

Tonight, I'm thinking of Keaton's Mummy and Daddy who are leaving for China in the morning.  We will be meeting them in Hohhot on the weekend! Safe trip Kevin and Christy!  And many warm thoughts to Cadence's family who are there now! You'll be home soon Stacy!

10 Days To Go!

Today, I am so tired I could curl up on the couch and sleep away the day.  Hard to do with a two year old jumping on my head.

My Mom stopped over today (still can't believe she's back in the land of the living...) and brought me some salads and sandwiches. Something I wasn't expecting, but she wanted to pay me back for the homemade tapioca and egg salad  I brought to her in the hospital during her comeback.  It's become a hospital tradition with my Mother and I. Almost an inside joke now, really.  It was a nice lunch and visit.

So on my To-Do list today?  Pretty easy actually-- I'm wrapping and labelling some gifts for the kids tonight.  I bought a little present to open for just about every day we are away. Yesterday, I wrapped all the gifts bound for China.  It is a custom in China to exchange small gifts, so I decided to wrap some of my CD's I cut in 2003 (wow that seems like ages ago now...) in red tissue paper and gold ribbon-- two of the most desired colours in China.  I will give these to the Nannies, guides, etc.  It looked like Christmas on my kitchen table.  The kids were curious and wanted to help, but were really in the way.  So I took a long piece of red tissue for each of them, cut a small strip of ribbon, taped it on, got a bingo dabber from the craft bin and made a big "H" and a big "D" on the tissue paper. Voila!  Two Super Heroes with red capes!  They ran around the house looking for helpless parents and house pets to rescue from fires, stranded in trees, and other creative mayhem!  It bought me lots of time to finish wrapping and do a little packing. 

The Super Heroes made an encore appearance this morning at breakfast. Blessed be the inventors of tissue paper and bingo dabbers. 

Maybe tonight I'll be so tired, I might actually fall asleep without thinking too much.  One can only hope.

The Friends We Make Along The Way

Sleep is becoming scarce these last few evenings for David and I.  With minds racing, imaginations running wild, and ticking off to-do lists in my head, we are finding ourselves waking frequently and restless.  Eleven more days...so much to do!

And we aren't the only ones--last evening I made contact with a family from Renfrew, Ontario who are adopting through our agency, and we are travelling together!  In fact, we are thrilled that we are flying on the same flight to China and back. They are flying down from Ottawa and we'll hook up at the airport for lunch.  They are adopting a little boy from a different province than Nevin.  So we'll fly into Beijing together, part ways to our sons' provinces, and meet back in Beijing the week after.  And there are three other families in our travel group as well. They arrive the day before so I imagine they maybe waiting to greet us at the hotel when we arrive. 

I look forward to meeting these families and their children.  I think its so important to help nurture the roots of our kids. 

Hohhot is where we will be travelling to receive Nevin.  I had wondered why not go right to Baotou, but I realized last night Hohhot is the capital of Inner Mongolia, and is where all the official documents, passport etc will be completed for Nevin before we can leave for Beijing.  As it turns out, a couple I met on a yahoo group adopting specifically from Inner Mongolia will be in Hohhot the very same time as us.  In fact,  her son is only a few days older than Nevin and from the very same orphanage.  Its most likely our boys are playmates, so I really want to maintain contact with that family.

In eleven days, there is a little guy in Baotou who has no idea a family from another country will be coming for him, and taking him away from everything he has known, and bringing him home to a new life.  My heart bleeds for him, bursting with love yet aches for his loss.  I hope I will be a good Mummy.

Why No Post?

You'd think that with just a little over two weeks until travel date I might have been posting a bit more lately. 

Near tragedy hit our family hard last week.  We nearly lost my Mother on Thursday. Thankfully, my brother found her in what appeared to be a stroke.  The next day the internist was talking permanent brain stem damage. I cannot explain the terror my family went through.

However!

Three days after the incident, she began to rally somewhat. From being in a state where she didn't know her children, to acknowledging us, and showing some emotion. To today-- the doctor releasing her from ICU into a regular ward...and her watching Paranormal Activity on a portable DVD player.  She is nearly fully recovered and no permanent brain damage, confirmed by MRI.

It wasn't a stroke, but poor perfusion due to renal failure and low blood pressure = poor blood supply and oxygen to the brain.  She's been through several major medical catastrophes this past year, and I am amazed by her strength.  I thank the stars and the higher power, the doctors and nurses for this one for sure!  It just wouldn't have been right if she didn't meet Nevin.

Now we can focus on our trip, and finish the small details before we go. 

Two weeks and two days!

Three Pancake Sundays To Go!

The days are starting to pick up speed in their passing to our travel day.  Yesterday was my Mom's birthday so we planned a lovely dinner at one of our favourite local restaurants- The Olympia Gardens in Penetanguishene-- Mediterranean and Greek Food DELISH!  My brother and sister in law and one of my Mom's best friends joined us for dinner and we all had tickets to see Tap Dogs at The King's Wharf Theatre.  What a great show! Having some elements reminiscent of Stomp, but all Tap. It was a perfect evening.

I had spent the day at an estate auction just in town-- one of my favourite hobbies.  I came away with some antique books (no surprise there...) for my husband's collection. There were a couple of nice treasures in the pile and I'm sure we'll have fun researching them.  Didn't find any antique children's books this time (my niche).  I love everything about an auction including the people that attend them.  That's half the fun!  And of course, the auctioneer provides most of the entertainment with his quirks and anecdotes.  Always good candor. I had bumped into some old family friends and proudly showed off pictures of Nevin I had stored on my iPhone.  Sheer excitement ran through me with the reality of just how soon we are going to China.

Saturday, my four year old son had the notion to go camping in the yard.  So my husband set up the tent near the fire pit, and we set up all the sleeping bags. I brought an armful of my daughters stuffed animals and dollies, and a bag of marshmallows to the "camp site".  It went quite well for an impromptu camp out, really. My daughter ended up coming in the house to sleep in her own bed around 9:30pm, but Daddy and Dylan slept out in the tent all night.  I heard them come in the house just before 7am.  Daddy thoroughly enjoyed the "guy" time spent with his son....a proud Daddy moment.

This morning was pancake Sunday-- a weekly tradition here at the Campbell house.  I have made pancakes from scratch with real maple syrup every single Sunday (with the exception we are away) since I can remember. It made me think-- after today, only three more pancake Sundays until we go to China.  Just can't wait! I wonder if they make pancakes in China? Nevin, sure hope you'll like Mummy's pancakes!

Soups, Sauces and Casseroles! Oh My!

Today being a rather blah day, I jumped deep into the kitchen to cook up some delish home dishes-- comfort food that we can "git stuck inta" (as my husband says with his Glaswegian accent) when we come home from China.  I can just imagine craving the good cooking of home while we are away...although I will enjoy the exotic (not too exotic) cuisine while we are gone. 

My Mom sent home some ham and the bone from dinner the other night, so in the pot went the bone.  My homemade split pea and ham soup is chocked full with potato, carrots, celery, onion, spices and ham.  With the other hundred pounds of ham I had, I made a yummy ham casserole made in layers with sliced carrots, corn, egg noodles, and yes-- you guessed it-- ham, a package of Italian grated cheeses, a can of ready made Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (anything that has the name Campbell attached to it has got to be great!), parsley, tad of nutmeg and bread crumb topping.

And the spaghetti sauce is done.  I put one aside to use for the lasagna I'll make tomorrow.

I've included a few pics of the gifts nature has provided to us on our property.  We live on 260 acres, lots of maple trees for maple syrup, crop growing fields, but on the five or so acres just around our house grows hundreds of wild raspberry and blackberry bushes.  They are everywhere!  I am willing to offer some of my blackberries to anyone who will share with me your morels.  Still haven't found them yet here on our property, as they are quite elusive.  Thousands of wild leeks, mind you.

So while all that is simmering and cooking, I had David haul up all of Dylan's 12month - 18month clothing.  I want to wash them all before I hang them in Nevin's closet and tuck them away in drawers.  They were previously in the old basement of the old farm house and they have just a faint whiff of the old place, despite being in the new house for a year and a half. In the wash they went.  It was a fond walk down memory lane to see Dylan's baby outfits-- all of which look hardly worn.  He had so many clothes that some were never even on him. I can't wait to see them on Nevin. 

And to report on the Aligote wine from the other night, I didn't enjoy it as much as the Chateau Des Charmes Aligote. It may have something to do with the minerals right on the Niagara Escarpment. 

Yummy Wild Raspberries and Blackberries on Our Farm!

 Way To Be Organic!

September It Is!

After a few days of nail biting and restless sleeps, our Letter Seeking Confirmation and other important documents from the Ministry were delivered via Purolator just after lunch, and not a second too soon!  Talk about cutting it close!

It was sent off today via rush courier to Beijing-- phew!

Our flights are officially booked- departing September 10 and returning September 23.  David pointed out that this will be the second time since 9/11 that we will have flown on 9/11.  We came back from St. John, New Brunswick on 9/11 in 2006 when I sang at the Canadian Country Music Awards, Song Writer's Circle. Dylan was just crawling then and only 10 months old.  So much has changed in 4 years.  Dylan starting Senior Kindergarten and Heather starting Nursery School. And in six weeks we will be holding our third child.

So I went out and bought a fine bottle of wine to celebrate tonight.  I visited Chateau des Charmes in Niagara on the Lake on my birthday and tried an Aligote. Although it always makes me think of Cirque de Soleil, it was a beautiful wine I had never heard of.  I had initially went to the wine store looking for one of my favourites--Mission Hill Winery but sadly, they did not stock it.  But I did see a French Jaffelin Bourgogne Aligote.  None of the staff had tried it, but I thought since there is only one particular vineyard in Ontario that can grow Aligote, this has to be good.  I'll let you know how I enjoyed it.

So, this evening, I will raise a glass of Aligote, and David will raise a glass of Malbec and toast to Nevin and our departure to China in six weeks!

tick tick tick

I spoke with our travel person at the agency today, and the plan is we are going to wait one more day to see if our letter comes from the Ministry of Ontario tomorrow.  With that information, we should know if we are China bound in September or October (we are praying for September).

Good news is that Air Canada dropped its airfare today for September and October travel!  More money to shop, I say!

Today the heat has been suffocating here.  I filled up the little pool for the kids, turned on the sprinkler before 9am.  I left mid-morning to get Uncle Brian his birthday gift, and stopped at the dollar store to get the kids some loot and travel stuff.  I am planning to put together a big loot bag for both of the kids filled with crayola, colouring books, toys, chocolate, and many of their favourite things while we are away.  I was going to give it to them the night before we leave, but I thought it might be fun to send them on a scavenger hunt with the grandparents...leave little notes with hints and pictures. They love those kinds of things...especially if there is chocolate at the end of it!

Now, I'll try to get some sleep tonight and see what tomorrow brings. Breathe.

Tender Moments

It was a busy few days, hectic actually.  After being notified of our first tentative travel date to China, it turns out it was miscalculated and we were left feeling a little disappointed finding out we may not travel until October.  Sigh.

As it turns out, there are three other families from our agency traveling Sept. 10, and our travel assistant made a call to China. They can accommodate us in that group, or wait until Oct 7.  Our agency is going to see where our paperwork stands with the Ministry of Ontario on Tuesday, and then we find out if we will indeed travel Sept 10.  Our Travel Notice is given to plan for travel 8-10wks following our Letter Seeking Confirmation.  In the US, they wait until they get that letter and book travel two weeks later, sometimes one week later.   Here in Canada, travel booking is done within that 8-10 week window, as they know the letter will arrive shortly before the 8 week time frame.  Now if  you're confused, you'll know how we've been feeling for the past few days with the following information.

They are allowing us travel, however, it is most likely we will be passing by our Travel Notice as it is arriving here in Canada and we are flying to China.  What that means is that once the letter arrives here in Canada, it will be processed and couriered back to us in China at our hotel.  The only risk by doing this is there is a slight possibility we may end up staying 1-2 days extra in China.  David and I discussed this and we both are willing to have our son a month earlier and stay an extra few days, than having to have him stay in the orphanage another month.

This isn't final yet, as we will find out on Tuesday at the end of the day.  Which means-- we could be leaving for China in six weeks! AAHHHH!

So you can imagine with all the extra talk we've been doing about Nevin, the children are well aware that Nevin is coming home soon.  And as I was trying to have a quiet moment to think about everything today with a cup of tea, my two year old daughter came up on my knee for a cuddle.  One look at her, and there's no way anyone could say no.  She kissed me and snuggled in, and my heart sank.  I said to her, "You know Mummy is going to miss you so much when we go to China."  She played with my hair and answered, "I'm going to miss you too, Mummy." Then she added (word for word, no joke--), "I'll be so worried about you Mummy."  What a sweet little girl. I'll be an utter and complete mess when I say goodbye to them.

The weekend was filled with little moments like these.  David's Dad and Step Mother came up for a "sleep over" last night.  We don't often see them, as they live in Orangeville, and Nana Evelyn is 88 years old with some health problems and ambulatory issues.  It was nice to chat with her about the adoption, as she adopted her two children 55 years ago.  Adoption back then consisted of parking your car two blocks away, out of sight, walking to the door, taking the child, some paper work and that was it!  Can you imagine?!  So she was very keen to learn about the process, especially all the details in China.

Dylan's Grandad was very proud to be here today, as Dylan mastered riding his bike without training wheels!  It couldn't have been more perfect, as I know there is a strong pang in his heart when he can't be here for all the special moments.  Dylan and Heather both being winter babies, Grandad and Nana Evelyn have missed many birthdays because we live in a fairly active snow belt. So I think Grandad was rather chuffed that he was part of this feat accomplished by his first grandson. He gets the same tear in his eye when he looks at his grandchildren as David does when he looks at his children.  Lets face it-- none of us ever dreamed we'd have three children.

So after they headed back to Orangeville, Dylan headed to his Grannie's for a sleepover, Heather went for a nap, and I started organizing Nevin's clothing and baby stuff for the trip.  Its a little early to pack, but I have the same overwhelming and compelling feeling of NESTING.  Its exactly the same as when I was in my last trimester with the kids, only I'm not as big as a tractor, and I don't pee a little when I laugh or sneeze!

Dylan Masters Riding A Bike Without Training Wheels!!!!!

LETTER SEEKING CONFIRMATION!

We got the call!  Two weeks early even! Our agency said this is the fastest any client in the agency has received their Letter Seeking Confirmation.  Which also means we could be travelling in the middle of September!

At this very moment, we are taking turns calling family and sending out emails.

I will post our LSC tomorrow as it is expected to arrive via Purolator in the morning. 

I just wanted to shout from my virtual roof top to everyone!