Brothers

Someone gave Liang (now Joseph) a nice Lego set....while he loves
Legos, he waited until brother came home and asked him to help out.

Thanks!

I have been following blogs for over a year, especially those
involving older child adoption...
I want to say thanks for the things I learned along the way....Thanks for telling me that kids rub their faces in the watermelon rind
after they are finished eating it....
he did exactly that....Thanks for reminding me that these kids don't ride in cars very often
and might get car sick....
he does....Thanks for reminding me of the cultural differences with spitting and
snorting....I knew it, but the voices of experience ring louder than all
the "experts" in the books we read.Thanks for discussing the possibility of him needing to call someone, so
we could be prepared when he asked to make a phone call.Thanks for mentioning that some orphanages almost never use the stairs,
but instead use the elevators...stairs are going much better now after 3
weeks.Thanks for mentioning that I might not fall instantly in love, that it
takes time, and you may feel as if you are baby sitting at first....Thanks for mentioning the need for food constantly at first....that has
tapered off quite a bit.I have another post about the things I wasn't prepared for, but I'd
better get to bed so I can enjoy another day with the family God gave us.

He Called Me Clever

We are home a few days...yesterday I was catching up on things and
decided to make a batch of cereal (granola). Liang was watching,
sniffing and asking for translations, after I was finished he asked for
the translator and the word was "cleverness"
Made me smile.
I am in awe of homeschooling moms...how do you do it? I am trying to
keep him busy and catch up on the laundry and baking, not to mention the
dirty corners. He would be happy playing computer games all day with a
bit of scooter riding in between, but this mama knows that isn't the
best....
We didn't have a curriculum lined up before he came home, simply because
I really didn't know where he was at in terms of grade level. I am in
the middle of enrolling him in an online charter school.

Today he read part of "Go Dog Go" not that he comprehended all the
words, but he could sound out the words.
I will be glad for the days that little sister is in school, it is hard
on my brain to stay on HIGH alert making sure there are no problems.
When the others are home, so is daddy so I have some help. So far we see
nothing inappropriate, but I guess it will be awhile before we can relax.

Little sister is not real happy these days, she is getting over the
fever/cold she had the last few days and probably still suffering jet
lag makes for touchy feelings "mommy he frowned at me" "no deary, he
was just trying to figure out what you are doing"
Liang does not like when the girls cry, the other night when big sister
started over something he gave the "time out" sign and said "no sister".
God allowed us to find a doctor, who speaks Mandarin and takes new
patients, and has an office only 20 minutes away. We saw him today and
sees no medical issues other than his feet and hand.
He has a great sense of humor, it will be fun when he can understand all
the table talk, he seems to have the same kind of humor we do.

We Are Home!!!

Well, we made it! As far as I can tell, we didn't lose anything (not
even any kids).
We arrived at our local airport (about 10:15PM) and were met by my
parents and our oldest son and his girlfriend. Liang knew that "grandma
and grandpa" were coming and he immediately pulled out his photo album
and asked my mom which picture was her. Didn't realize the G-ma's look
alike.
We had about an hour drive to our home, when we got close I tried to
tell him...but when we started in our street he sat up and pointed at
the first house that sort of looks like ours....He was a little unnerved
when we drove in our long dark tree-lined drive, but when he saw our
house and our son standing outside, he said "ohhh! family!" This momma
is going to say that it was a pleased tone of voice.
He did a quick tour of the house and picked up everything ( I didn't
realize how many little things were laying around), but by 12:30 every
one but mom was in bed...they slept all night and some of them slept
till 11AM.
After breakfast of cereal and milk!!?? (first time?) I sent them outside
and Liang found the scooter. I could tell he had never been on one, but
by evening he was doing pretty good.
The swing also seemed to be something new.Last night didn't go as well....people were not sleeping! Faith has a
fever and everyone was wide awake before 6AM....so finally at 6AM I told
them to get up and we made pancakes.
I sent the others off to church and Liang, Faith, and I stayed
home...next week will be soon enough, but I was looking forward to
church again.

Quick Prayer Request

all the bags are packed...I think. I hope I am not forgetting anything. We leave for the airport at 5:40. Please pray for us if you think about it...we have 3 airports and 3 flights to make our way through. we hope to be home tonite by 10:15...lotta miles to go ( more than 10,000). It stresses even experiences flyers, not to mention children who do not do this very often.

Autumn Moon Festival

Today we left the hotel about 9AM with our guide Elvin and went to Shamain Island. We did a whirlwind shopping trip in the rain and humidity. As Elvin expressed it, we "helped the Chinese economy"
I bought 3 coming home Barbies for other people....didn't get one for Liang....somehow I don't think he would be impressed.
After  a quick lunch at Subway....we were craving sandwiches (other than PB&J) we left for the book store
When we pulled up, my first impression was that there must be some festival going on, there were a LOT of people coming out of that building! AND going in!

We were in search of bi-lingual books, we found them on the 2nd floor...spent less than $30. Bought 7 Bearenstain Bear Books and 7 other books like Tom Sawyer, Aesops Fables, Charlottes Web, a joke book (Liang's 2nd choice) after he almost had a melt down over the toy aisle. I would have loved to spend all day, but I was honestly afraid I would lose a kid!  It was crazy.

Tomorrow we get Liang's visa and we try to fit all the stuff back into 7 suitcases....I have a feeling we will be visiting the suitcase store tomorrow....

We Skyped with Liang's friend that was adopted before him and they chatted for about 20 minutes....
Then we dove into the mooncakes that we hauled along from Beijing....the pineapple ones were great, the bean paste ones....um to use DH's words   "tastes like the inside of a closet"   Zeke asked how in the world daddy would know that.
Happy Autumn Moon Festival....no moon here tonite, but lots of happy families out there

Consulate Appointment

Well the US will be issuing 45 more US visas after today's ceremony.
Our guide went to the Consulate this morning and submitted our papers and this afternoon we appeared at the consulate ceremony. It was a bit faster than normal, guess because of the Mid-Autumn festival.
Tomorrow will be a free day so we hire a guide to go shopping, we did not get the mementos for Liang that we bought the other children, plus I have some orders from other people...so we will see what we can find.
We also want to visit a book store to hopefully get some bilingual books for Liang....he does read well, the way it sounds, so I want to keep him reading something until he transitions to English.

Today during the Consulate appointment Liang pulled a tooth. He has been complaining about his teeth and I assumed that he had cavities... here it looks like he has 3 loose teeth!  Maybe that is all the problem!? I hope
Earlier we told him to just pull his tooth and he almost had a fit....not sure what he thought we were saying....we had the guide talk to him and explain that WE won't be pulling any teeth that is his problem/job and maybe he didn't realize that he could pull them out before they fall out...not sure.

Did not get much rain today, but it seemed to have poured during the night...didn't hear wind or rain, so I guess I was sound asleep.
Chris for the Weaver's

Something I Never Saw Before

The exam room completely empty...we were the only adoptive family for the afternoon.

Medical Exam

Medical exam was Monday...we managed to get out of there with most of our dignity intact ( the physical exam was the most traumatic). Only 3 vaccines and they recognized the TB test performed in BJ.
We were  "observed" for a half an hour afterward and then we were free to go...

The doctors took a second look at his feet and held a consultation that I believe involved discussing how the feet could be repaired....poor boy's eyes got big and he started firing questions...apparently no one had ever discussed repairs...I don't know...we were going to save that conversation until we actually knew our options...hopefully it broached the idea and he has time to get used to the idea.

My husband said it also might have been good that the idea was introduced by a Chinese doctor.

First Flight

Hello,
Well as you can see from the picture Liang was very excited about his first "fee-jee" ride it was an excellent flight w/ just a few "bumps". When we woke up it was raining and I was concerned that the morning would give way to more rain. But by 3 PM it was  clearing and the sun was peeking through.  He had a bit of discomfort on descent, but the gum did help
Our guide Elvin was waiting with a big sign that said "Weaver Family". Our hotel was not as advertised so this morning we booked rooms in the adjoining hotel...we are in two rooms now, but very nice.
The weather is very humid and the pool doesn't open until 18:30. Liang is very excited to try it, but I wonder how it will go.
Tomorrow is the dreaded health exam....Elvin said our TB test that was done in Beijing is recognized by the US so we won't have to do that again PTL. He looked over his vaccine records and thought he looked pretty up-to-date, but we will see what the officials say. For those of you unfamiliar with the wonder Hague agreement, the US decreed that all children entering the US being adopted from a Hague convention country MUST have all their vaccines up to date, meaning that some children end up getting a whole bunch of shots all at once. And there is no Dr. that is familiar with them making the decisions. Makes for a big headache for some parents, but Liang seems healthy and I hope we don't run into any problems.


Thanks for your prayers, we navigated the airport with just a bit trouble at security, their metal detectors are more sensitive...I breezed through US customs with my barrettes in my hair and childrens' craft scissors in the backpacks....We are minus the kids' scissors and I was poked and prodded by a female security guard...she had to feel my entire money belt...
Ahh well at least we were early and had plenty of time to get to the gate....Liang was sure he could not walk that far until he saw a restaurant in the distance....then it was like a carrot in front of his nose.  The boy needs to have food all the time or he gets a bit anxious...gonna take some getting used to.
I hope it is a passing thing, cause this momma sometimes forgets  things and my be empty handed in the middle of Wal*art...could create a scene....well ain't the first time.

Just 5 more sleeps...Faith is ready for her own bed, but Hope would like to stay.

Pictures

I realized that I did not explain some of those pictures....the pictures are a bit grey, but that is exactly how the day looked.

Even with the threat of rain and the clouds there were still lots of people. When we arrived it looked like a whole train of umbrellas ascending the steps.

The Whole Family

A nice family from NZ had their guide take a photo of all of us

Smiles

Love the smiles we catch every now and then

Great Wall and More

Yesterday we had two visitors. We fly halfway around the world and actually have guests coming to call! The first was the in-country facilitator for our agency and the second lady was the in-country facilitator for our last adoption....she rode in a taxi for 2-1/2 hrs across Beijing to visit us!!!I was humbled! She probably got home after 10pm and had to teach classes today.  (Yes Laurie and Terri, it was Li)
We had a wonderful visit and they each talked to Liang a bit...the verdict...he is a very smart boy...  I made a bit of a mistake and pulled out the original referral to show the facilitator something we were discussing...and Liang saw his picture and made a grab...he read the papers and laughed, he said he didn't know most of the stuff that was written about him, said it was like reading about someone else. ??? OK....

We visited the Great Wall today...JuYong Pass (sp)  we did not have to walk far from the bus park and we could climb up or down from there...Liang would have kept going, but I know he will suffer later, so we allowed the older two to climb the 399 steps (Zeke counted)   We did not suffer any carsickness, Dramamine and prayers are working.
Almost saw our first tantrum today...food..when we came back from the Wall...the snacks we had eaten on the bus were long gone. I had planned to go out and grab something and bring it back to the room..Faith had a breakdown about mom leaving w/o her, so I stayed and Ray went....Liang was wandering around looking in the cupboards, but all the "good" snacks are gone. He said "mama" very pitifully and held his belly and said "eat!" I said "hang on" and he proceeded to roll around on the bed and say "eat" like a 2 y.o..... I walked out and went into the kitchen and fried up some leftover rice w/ some of his hot peppers....I believe he has that feeling that Karin Purvis talks about....something is telling him "I'm gonna starve"   we will need to have healthy food around ALL the time

For those of you that are getting this by e-mail I hope I am not sending too many pictures

Chris

Quick Post

A few people have asked about our accommodations. We are at the Beijing Century Towers (google it) it is just inside the East 3rd Ring Rd. Our agency asked that we at least be that close to the center of the city. We are in an apartment hotel. I think they do have single regular rooms, but what caught our eye was the 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room and washer for under $100 per night. I don't know if that price is year round, but it was perfect for us. Now it is not 5 star...you have to be a little bit comfortable figuring things out on your own. Not everyone speaks English and we use a lot of sign language and the few words we know.
The hotel is not spanking clean, but not something I couldn't fix myself.
We came w/ some cleaning supplies...
The internet is extra as is breakfast...breakfast...20RMB per person and internet 30 RMB per day.
Today we are off to the Great Wall, unfortunately we seem to have chosen a cloudy rainy? day...well hopefully we don't get sunburned.
Keep praying for the rest of our trip, I hope GZ goes as well as the BJ part has.

Life in our "House"

Today we decided to walk a little farther and explore, but Liang could not handle it...does anyone know if there is a medical condition that would cause extreme sweating? He can barely go outside and he is soaked.
Anyway daddy and brother went with Liang to the book store for a dictionary...he informed me that he needs a dictionary to do his homework fo about $2 we have a new Chinese dictionary.
The rest of us walked around the block and were stared at all the way...ah well we are funny looking.
It is hard to keep them occupied, I found some Lego type building sets and that is occupying some time.
For those of you from our last travel group, Li did contact me and said she would like to stop by sometime...didn't hear back on a date yet. Yikes, how do you entertain when you are out of your territory? Guess we can offer Coke...
We are offcially tired of noodles...so tonite we will check out a restaurant that we found....see what we decide.

Today the girls pulled up all the kitchen chairs and played church...wonder what Liang will think of church.

Gottta get a picture of the meat stands and their fly chasing fans....maybe next time.

well I guess I'm getting a fried brain..not much more to write...oh the weather...definitely more smog...we all feel it in our sinuses, and apparently so do the natives...the blobs on the sidewalk were more frequent today. The anti-spitting campaign did not eliminate it.

Chris

Introducing.....

JOSEPH LIANG GAO WEAVER   today he officially became a Weaver...it also happens to be our 24th wedding anniversary.
The let down in China is that there really is not much of a ceremony with the adoption. Our adventures today involved going to the registration office and picking up the adoption certificate, then taking it to the Notary office, which is  huge building full of busy people. All the people in that  section of Beijing have to go there for registering a purchase of land or apartment, or any other business.  We left there with 15 booklets....5 abandonment certificates, 5 birth certificates, and 5 adoption certificate books w/ the translations.
Then it was off to the police station to apply for a passport..i never was in a NYPD precinct house but this is a big building. Everyone in this area that wants to apply for a visa or passport need to come here. The orphanage director and our guide took Liang off to get his passport photo and I sort of wondered if they would ask him any last minute questions. After a while they brought him back and the director said something to him (he was smiling) and Liang gave him a gentle shove away as if to say "go on"  He came and actually waited patiently until all the papers were finished. (he doesn't like waiting any better than the rest of them)
I really wonder what the cleaning ladies say to him sometimes, but today I caught that one was asking if we are Americans and then something else...probably about adoption.
He seems to introduce us with ...pride, definitely not hiding behind me.
Today the girls and I went shoe shopping....we spent $25 and got 6 pr, no they are not high quality but they filled the qualification of souvenirs that won't just set on the shelf. Then we spent too much on the fixings for spaghetti, about $14 but I don't think we could go out and buy it for that....spaghetti is not on the cheap food list in Beijing. On the way back I heard " Mamiya!" My mommy ears immediately scanned the sidewalk thinking the troops had come looking for us...but then I looked waaay up the 14 stories and there were 2 heads sticking out the window of the balcony...my new son and hubby! ( BTW safety is "operate at your own risk") 

Someone asked about the weather...it is in the mid-80's and sunny..actually very clear for Beijing
Oh and Liang handled the drive just fine with the Dramamine and gum (?)

New words include..."careful" grandmother, grandfather, OK, let's go,

Isn't He Handsome

A good one of him finally, he fits in with our boys! Oh I did bring more than one shirt, I washed and he pulled out the same shirt again...typical!

Passing Time

We passed the time today with Uno and and Ping Pong and walking around the streets close to the hotel...decided to give Liang's inner ear a rest today...tomorrow it is off to the Notary

Oh and lots of eating...

Early Days

Good morning!
We slept well last night. today we would have liked to go to the International Church in Beijing, but as I understand, it requires an American passport to attend. Liang does not have any passport yet.
This morning at breakfast we had a nice lady serving, the same lady as the first morning. She is very friendly and told me I have a big heart...asked how many children born to me...bossed the children...served extra toast and juice. This morning she gave us a gallon of juice to take to our room and also a loaf of bread...PB&J for lunch!  If only we could find good milk here!  Mixing dry milk just doesn't do it unless we make hot chocolate.
I am listening to the Uno game as I type...I soon can't tell which of my children is doing the talking...he is very good at imitating...
We are bonding over food and games...we will go out for a walk later...the traffic is much less on a Sun AM...I guess the city does slow sometimes...
I'm sending pictures of my "twins" one with food...blueberry jam and bread (he picked out the blueberry jam yesterday)
and a picture of the "lifesavers" we brought along...he is reading the Bible story books...not sure what he thinks

Chris

Just Us

Hi,
We are headed off to bed, today we tried to Skype with a friend of Liang's but the connection was too slow and we could only chat a little bit. His friend decided to be shy and did not talk much.  Little disappointing
We broke out the Uno cards and learned more English, he is imitating us very well and gets the tones...whines and all...down pat. I hope he picks up usefull phrases and not just "stop it" and "mooom!"  Actually he did very well with colors and the idea of the game.
He was a graceful looser and a gracious winner....hope that stays
Ate at Pizza Hut, our most expensive meal yet...the sodas were almost half the bill. 250 RMB...divide it by 6.8..my math stinks this time of the night.

Tonite we schedule a Beijing Acrobat Tour....was worth the carsickness  (Liang) the squatty potty, and being late)  Poor Liang takes after his daddy, he gets car sick and Beijing traffic can't ever be smooth.  We managed not to disgrace ourselves, but he was really wishing we hadn't gone...but perked right up when he was back on firm ground.

Last night Faith had us up with a night terror/temper tantrum...not sure what it was, but I'm sure the neighbors thought something awful was happening.
Lasted only about an hour.

Specific prayer requests....We have lots more driving and flying to do...pray the Dramamine works  and for the girls....something about being here might be triggering some "stuff".

Enjoying the Fruits of our Shopping Trip

We walked out after breakfast and found a bookstore...Liang found some school books that he wanted....couldn't refuse that!  Also an oragami book for $3.  I snapped some sidewalk pictures...and found out the camera was slower than I figured and got pictures of my feet instead!
We found a fruit stand and bought some little apple type things w/ a seed inside...the translator called them "early" also some apples and peaches things we can peel.

He sat down and did a few pages of his new books.

This boy can eat!!! 

Chris

Day in pictures

I need to upload one picture at a time since it is much easier to post via e-mail. I find the proxy server too slow, or maybe it's the connection
Here are Hope and Liang listening to Horton Hears a Who...sharing the same set of ear buds...not sure how much he got out of it.
I wonder if he notices all the double takes we get while out on the side walk...they check out his hand and his family, and his walk.

The view from our Window

Beijing can be bright and sunny

Poor Liang sweated bullets today...I think he walked more than is normal for him...his feet hurt a little tonite

more pictures...one at a time

My little kitchen....I was cleaning up, so excuse the mess

2nd day as a Family

It is easy to please little boys, feed them...and buy them yo-yos.

 

we replaced the pink girl shoes today and I was amazed...he "pretend" pouted when we said no to the car, but was overjoyed when we bought a yo-yo. Disappointed when the yo yo did not have a string...it had been stolen out of the box.  Daddy saved the day by going back and buying 2 more...they are quite amazing little toys for 5 RMB...ball bearings and everything.

While dadd was out he asked "daddy na-li"?  and was happy when daddy showed up with bags...but I think he was happy to see daddy too.

I ran out for groceries to feed this bunch ( found out you need to ask for and pay for a bag) when I rattled the door knob...I heard Liang saying "Mamiya"  and he was yanking the door open.  He pulled out a kitchen chair right away for me.

There are some other boys who will have to step up the pace to keep up with him. :^)

 

Actually I think Hope and Liang will suffer the most with sibliing rivalry...but Hope has a rivalry bone..

 

We continue to be blessed...he just seems happy! He repeats phrases....uses the translator....and tries to imitate his brothers...

Ben was jumping to touch the ceiling....so Liang tried it too .

 

 

If your child can read...

If your child can read buy a translator...it has been invaluable...more later...we are off to replace the pink girls shoes with something equal to this amazing child...honeymoon I know, but I'm loving it.

We are now a family of 8!

---

Hello!

God is good! I am officially amazed at the goodness of God!  Guess I should know by now!

This morning we were off at 7AM drove about 40 minutes to the orphanage. Did some paperwork, then suddenly I looked up and there was Liang! He smiled a little tentatively. We gave him his backpack with cars and a motorcycle, after he looked at his stuff. He showed me a small flashlight clutched in his hand it was the flashlight that I had sent with the Newsomes about 5 weeks ago. It looked scuffed and it was used....

After he looked t his stuff, he asked if the stuff was his and if he was allowed to give something as a gift to one of his friends that is still at the orphanage?

He picked out the motorcycle....it was a small yellow one from Walmart, it had a button on the back that lit lights and also made engine noises...I hope walmart still has one when we get home because I really think he picked out the thing he liked best.

They told us they talked to him quite a bit about adoption before today, because a few children from his class have been adopted lately.

We went to KFC for lunch, he picked that over Mc Donalds or a dumpling restaurant.

We had ice cream cones afterward...

It's amazing how well the translator gadget works for us...and the bits of Mandarin that we learned before we came.

He seems to have no problem sharing as he shared his smarties that the girls gave him...made sure mama had a seat... denies that his feet hurt him, he has the prosthetics yet...have not gotten a good look at them yet.

My mind and heart are full....oh, we also have another person in the family that gets car sick....he didn't actually, but warned us that he might, so we sat him in the front w/ a barf bag....

BTW I am unable to read my comments at this time because of our server's great firewall, not china's So if you have comments you can e-mail me direct at  raychris@emypeple.net

We landed in Beijing

Well we made it! The flights really did go amazingly well. The weather was clear, the children waited to break down till we were in our rooms. God truly 

did have His hand in this.

When we landed we found that we meet Liang tomorrow morning at 8AM. 8PM EST for most of you.

Your prayers are appreciated....most of us slept very little in the last 24 hours and might not be on our best behavior

chris for the Weaver's

We Got to the Airport

Good morning!

We got out of the house at 5:10 AM and are waiting at the first airport then the long flight to Beijing.

So far I can't think of anything we forgot... I think...

Thanks for your prayers

Packing

Yesterday I spent the day packing and trying to organize my thoughts....this is the packing room...also known as the "little living room".
I think we may actually be able to fit everything in 6 checked bags and 2 carry-ons. Everyone will have a back pack...but we will see what all I can think of to pack tomorrow, maybe we will end up with another suitcase.

Pray for us, the girls both said they have sore throats this morning and I have a scratchy throat. It will not be very comfortable on the plane with the dry atmosphere, but if that is the worst we deal with...

I am trying very hard not to think about....leaving our oldest son at home
                                                           .....what Liang must be thinking today (if they even told  him he has a   family
                                                           .....what if I forget something important?
                                                           ..... I think most of you  can imagine with me.

I just keep holding on to that picture of one of God's angels escorting us through all the hurdles and hoops we will jump in the next couple of weeks.

T- 5

On my list for today...make a laptop cover with out zippers or metal....

Think this will work?
I am a bit stressed there are people from our agency telling me two different things...what is my job and what is their job...one more to hand over to God. I need to sleep.