Jan 2008
Part Two (A)!
18/01/08 18:58 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
The day is here...! Today, we're to get Hope. This
day has been nearly two years in coming -- and, for
some reason, we're not anxious. Not in a bad way,
that is. We are ITCHING to get her in our arms, but
there isn't the emotional "queasiness" we were
expecting. Just a constant, "we're gonna get her!
we're gonna get her!" running through the van on the
way to the apartment.
Backing up a bit... just to provide some degree of tension & anticipation amongst our readers... We settled into the Inn pretty well, and rested well for such a short night. We got to experience typical Chinese plumbing, and we learned that most Chinese western-style (aka American) toilets don't accept toilet paper well, so you don't put it in the toilet -- it goes into the trash can beside the toilet. TMI? Maybe, but not if you plan to travel to China sometime. You'll need to know this. It smells funny, too. Even in hotels. My best friend, who works for Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., says that the toilets were missing something called a "pee stop" (??) -- hence the smell. Plus the plumbing doesn't route down-up-down, like in the States. Oh, and it's all on the outside of the walls, because the Chinese *know* it's poorly constructed & will break. Why make a repair job difficult, eh?
The beds are firm -- I like this part a lot. I sleep on the floor at home quite often (by choice, thank you very much), so a firm bed is a much-appreciated "luxury". It was a pretty good first night in China. I couldn't have imagined it any better -- again, thanks to Leah & PHF.
Ok, back to this morning: we drive into Langfang "proper" (we've been staying in the Development Zone -- all major cities in China seem to have one) and head over to the apartment where the children have been staying. The door is opened, and its just a cacophony. Ayis chattering & laughing, people greeting each other, and Hope screaming -- we initially missed her asking "mama?", as she posed the question of Suzanne to her ayi. Leah heard it, and Carolyn managed to capture it on video (though it's still hard to discern amongst the mixed noises). Nonetheless, she knew "mama" had come to get her. It was just... beautiful.
After tearing her away from her ayis, and leaving her other orphan buddies behind, we headed out in the van again. I don't remember much between the apartment visit & Hope vomiting all over herself -- probably emotions, but likely her super-squeals. This little girl -- and I mean little, she seems so fragile & tiny -- has the lungs of an operatic soprano, and the endurance of Lance Armstrong. Poor, sweet Hope worked herself up so much that she puked out her entire morning. Thrice. The whole family jumped in to get her cleaned up -- a sight that Leah called "just right". Her whole family (that includes Carolyn) offered napkins, wipes, emotional support, and whatever else was necessary to get her feeling better & all cleaned up. She was pretty calm after all that. Probably pure exhaustion...
Still, it was marvelous to look at her in Suzanne's arms. For real. She wasn't just a cute picture anymore. She wasn't just a sweet orphan being sponsored & cared for at PHF. She was real. And really, really, really stinkin' cute. The stinkin' part was the vomit.
We arrived at [someplace I forget the name of and it doesn't really matter anyway] for lunch. Yippeee!!! Our first *real* Chinese meal!! Woohoo! And Hope's stomach was empty, so we could have a chance to feed her for the first time! Not sure that was a considerate thought at all, but it worked out. No more hurling, thank the Lord.
The food was AMAZING. I don't think we'll be able to eat Chinese food in the States again... it's just not the same. Trust me. Ask Suzanne, Carolyn, or any of my children & they'll tell you the same. And the Chinese people serve in such an impassioned way: Caedyn bumped a ceramic spoon, which hit the floor and shattered; one of our waitresses virtually dove to the floor to prevent Suzanne from even trying to clean it up. When Suz offered her assistance, the waitress vehemently refused. And these ladies don't get tips! Completely different from the "you're lucky I'm here to serve you at all"-attitude that we receive so often in the States.
After lunch, we headed back to the Inn. Hope at some point upon our return, latches onto my hip. And she remained there for the next 48 hours -- she's a daddy's girl already!
to be continued...
Backing up a bit... just to provide some degree of tension & anticipation amongst our readers... We settled into the Inn pretty well, and rested well for such a short night. We got to experience typical Chinese plumbing, and we learned that most Chinese western-style (aka American) toilets don't accept toilet paper well, so you don't put it in the toilet -- it goes into the trash can beside the toilet. TMI? Maybe, but not if you plan to travel to China sometime. You'll need to know this. It smells funny, too. Even in hotels. My best friend, who works for Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., says that the toilets were missing something called a "pee stop" (??) -- hence the smell. Plus the plumbing doesn't route down-up-down, like in the States. Oh, and it's all on the outside of the walls, because the Chinese *know* it's poorly constructed & will break. Why make a repair job difficult, eh?
The beds are firm -- I like this part a lot. I sleep on the floor at home quite often (by choice, thank you very much), so a firm bed is a much-appreciated "luxury". It was a pretty good first night in China. I couldn't have imagined it any better -- again, thanks to Leah & PHF.
Ok, back to this morning: we drive into Langfang "proper" (we've been staying in the Development Zone -- all major cities in China seem to have one) and head over to the apartment where the children have been staying. The door is opened, and its just a cacophony. Ayis chattering & laughing, people greeting each other, and Hope screaming -- we initially missed her asking "mama?", as she posed the question of Suzanne to her ayi. Leah heard it, and Carolyn managed to capture it on video (though it's still hard to discern amongst the mixed noises). Nonetheless, she knew "mama" had come to get her. It was just... beautiful.
After tearing her away from her ayis, and leaving her other orphan buddies behind, we headed out in the van again. I don't remember much between the apartment visit & Hope vomiting all over herself -- probably emotions, but likely her super-squeals. This little girl -- and I mean little, she seems so fragile & tiny -- has the lungs of an operatic soprano, and the endurance of Lance Armstrong. Poor, sweet Hope worked herself up so much that she puked out her entire morning. Thrice. The whole family jumped in to get her cleaned up -- a sight that Leah called "just right". Her whole family (that includes Carolyn) offered napkins, wipes, emotional support, and whatever else was necessary to get her feeling better & all cleaned up. She was pretty calm after all that. Probably pure exhaustion...
Still, it was marvelous to look at her in Suzanne's arms. For real. She wasn't just a cute picture anymore. She wasn't just a sweet orphan being sponsored & cared for at PHF. She was real. And really, really, really stinkin' cute. The stinkin' part was the vomit.
We arrived at [someplace I forget the name of and it doesn't really matter anyway] for lunch. Yippeee!!! Our first *real* Chinese meal!! Woohoo! And Hope's stomach was empty, so we could have a chance to feed her for the first time! Not sure that was a considerate thought at all, but it worked out. No more hurling, thank the Lord.
The food was AMAZING. I don't think we'll be able to eat Chinese food in the States again... it's just not the same. Trust me. Ask Suzanne, Carolyn, or any of my children & they'll tell you the same. And the Chinese people serve in such an impassioned way: Caedyn bumped a ceramic spoon, which hit the floor and shattered; one of our waitresses virtually dove to the floor to prevent Suzanne from even trying to clean it up. When Suz offered her assistance, the waitress vehemently refused. And these ladies don't get tips! Completely different from the "you're lucky I'm here to serve you at all"-attitude that we receive so often in the States.
After lunch, we headed back to the Inn. Hope at some point upon our return, latches onto my hip. And she remained there for the next 48 hours -- she's a daddy's girl already!
to be continued...
Part Two Might Have to Wait...
15/01/08 23:05 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
OK -- so, I wasn't able to make it to part two yet...
sue me.
Our time just ran short. The updates would've come more readily, save for the inconsistent internet connection where we have been staying these past couple of weeks, my being sick for the latter half of the trip, and dealing with all of the running around we've had to do for the adoption part of things. Still, at least we've done some...right? Please keep reading this site for the final updates, as well as our first few weeks/months with Hope. We will continue to update you on her health, our family & home situation, et al, as often as we can. If you ever feel the urge, drop us a line sometime!
Be blessed!
Charlie
PS -- I have updated the gallery with several more photos... please take a look & enjoy!
Our time just ran short. The updates would've come more readily, save for the inconsistent internet connection where we have been staying these past couple of weeks, my being sick for the latter half of the trip, and dealing with all of the running around we've had to do for the adoption part of things. Still, at least we've done some...right? Please keep reading this site for the final updates, as well as our first few weeks/months with Hope. We will continue to update you on her health, our family & home situation, et al, as often as we can. If you ever feel the urge, drop us a line sometime!
Be blessed!
Charlie
PS -- I have updated the gallery with several more photos... please take a look & enjoy!
The *Official* Part One
15/01/08 11:00 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
Well, here's the first official "play-by-day" record
of our journeys in China. I hope to get everything
updated before we re-enter the States, but... we'll
see how time permits.
So, Friday, January 4th we landed in Beijing International Airport (PEK) -- the local time was around 4pm. We had a very nice flight: the stewards & stewardesses were constantly flying down the aisles feeding us & delivering drinks and hot washcloths. Between the sleep (which we got very little of), and the incessant feedings, combined with the children's cooperation, the flight went by a little faster than we expected for a 17 hr jaunt. While in Chicago, we came across two other PHFers -- John & Desiray Christen. They were on their return flight to China to continue working with the orphans there. That was pretty cool!
When we arrived in Beijing, John helped us locate the PHF drivers, since we weren't too sure how this was all going to work out. Blessings just continue to pour out of this journey! That made it VERY easy for us to get moving to Langfang (where PHF is located). The hour-ish van ride was a very sleepy one, to be sure!
Upon arrival at the PHF campus, we were pleasantly greeted by Leah Zimmer -- she's the Guest Relations Coordinator at PHF, plus she writes the Heartbeat Newsletter -- she was much taller than we pictured, but oh-so-friendly (which we kinda did expect, BTW). Though we had originally requested one 8-person room, Leah granted us an additional 4-person room which turned out to be all-too helpful! Yet another blessing!
My best friend, of over 26 years, arrived in China shortly after we did -- he experienced a delay departing from Dulles earlier that day (imagine that...) Our group was nearly complete!
We unloaded a little, but quickly found ourselves in deep need of some deep sleep. After getting the kiddos & Carolyn in bed, Suzanne & I quickly crashed -- after all, our adventures were to begin bright & early @ 8am the next day!!!!! Yikes!
We *all* loved the Inn of Eight Happinesses! It was just... "home"! We didn't experience any feeling of "culture shock", or anything while staying there. It was WONderful! Thanks PHF!!!
So, Friday, January 4th we landed in Beijing International Airport (PEK) -- the local time was around 4pm. We had a very nice flight: the stewards & stewardesses were constantly flying down the aisles feeding us & delivering drinks and hot washcloths. Between the sleep (which we got very little of), and the incessant feedings, combined with the children's cooperation, the flight went by a little faster than we expected for a 17 hr jaunt. While in Chicago, we came across two other PHFers -- John & Desiray Christen. They were on their return flight to China to continue working with the orphans there. That was pretty cool!
When we arrived in Beijing, John helped us locate the PHF drivers, since we weren't too sure how this was all going to work out. Blessings just continue to pour out of this journey! That made it VERY easy for us to get moving to Langfang (where PHF is located). The hour-ish van ride was a very sleepy one, to be sure!
Upon arrival at the PHF campus, we were pleasantly greeted by Leah Zimmer -- she's the Guest Relations Coordinator at PHF, plus she writes the Heartbeat Newsletter -- she was much taller than we pictured, but oh-so-friendly (which we kinda did expect, BTW). Though we had originally requested one 8-person room, Leah granted us an additional 4-person room which turned out to be all-too helpful! Yet another blessing!
My best friend, of over 26 years, arrived in China shortly after we did -- he experienced a delay departing from Dulles earlier that day (imagine that...) Our group was nearly complete!
We unloaded a little, but quickly found ourselves in deep need of some deep sleep. After getting the kiddos & Carolyn in bed, Suzanne & I quickly crashed -- after all, our adventures were to begin bright & early @ 8am the next day!!!!! Yikes!
We *all* loved the Inn of Eight Happinesses! It was just... "home"! We didn't experience any feeling of "culture shock", or anything while staying there. It was WONderful! Thanks PHF!!!
Chinese Miami
12/01/08 21:45 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
We're in Guangzhou! And, man, is it HOT!!
We got here yesterday (Friday afternoon, CST), having come from -5˚C in Beijing/Langfang to 31˚C in Guangzhou was a shocker! Man, we were sweatin' rice cakes when we got off of that plane (carrying a winter coat for each of us, wearing long pants & multiple layers of clothes...). We've been run a little ragged w/ appointments, scheduled dinners & social time (always hated that), and needing to get some laundry done w/o a laundromat nearby. So, please forgive the lag in updates.
Tomorrow morning we're heading to get a group photo taken of all the adoptive parents & kiddos, then *finally* getting some church time (yippee!!). Afterward, the day is completely ours -- woohoo!!!!
I may try to start the play-by-play recap & analysis for you all during some [much needed] downtime tomorrow. We'll see. It's been difficult getting things done that we want to get done whilst juggling the eight of us (a lucky # in China, BTW), and trying to be everywhere we're supposed to be *on-time*... praise God we've been doing well on that part, tho!
Jae & Caedyn continue to be the stars of China -- Jae'll be featured on FaceBook pages of about 600 Chinese women & young ladies in the next week -- while Kai-Le Hope has continued
progressing in her comfort with the family. She
has laughed out loud with everyone at least a
few times now, and has walked down the streets
holding the hand (pinky, actually) of each one
of the girls, Suzanne, Carolyn and myself. She's
fallen asleep on Taylor, Carolyn, Suzanne and
myself at different times, and bedtime continues
to get much, much less painful. Hallelujah!
Carolyn is, quite simply, amazing. She has seen the best, and the complete worst, sides of the McElvy fam, and endured it with smiles. Little Yang-Yang has latched onto her with an iron grip, and has been Hope's pacifier for the last few days, when needed. She's been great helping us get ready in the mornings, and has just done SO much. The Chinese people have even asked her how much she gets paid to be the ayi (Chinese nanny) for so many children! Heh.
There's a Starbucks around the corner from our hotel, so Suzanne is doing great
She's such an awesome mommy -- I'm glad she's the mommy for my children. I did pretty stinkin' well grabbing this lady, huh? She's been a little worn-out with all the fuss, muss & tussle, but she's hung in there. When I was laid out for a day with a major head-cold & sinus congestion, she kicked me into bed for a while, took the kiddos into the other hotel room & let me rest. She's just wonderful!
Taylor & Peyton have been great -- as usual, eh? Peyton has maintained her stance that she "[doesn't] want to leave China", despite the ongoing squat-pot issue. I think her bladder is starting to adapt... Taylor hasn't freaked totally about being in every Chinese person's photo albums, yet. We've been stopped a few times to get pictures taken with people, or to have our picture taken for their enjoyment. Today, we, quite literally, stopped traffic as folks continued to gather around our rather large family, and pet, ohh & ahh over our children. I thought the taxi behind the guy stopping to gawk was going to have a conniption while honking at him! (It's a one-lane, one-way road outside of our hotel.)
Well, that's all for now. I'm having the time of my life, and I love watching my family grow -- in size and together. What a blessing this trip has been!!
Singing praise,
Charlie
We got here yesterday (Friday afternoon, CST), having come from -5˚C in Beijing/Langfang to 31˚C in Guangzhou was a shocker! Man, we were sweatin' rice cakes when we got off of that plane (carrying a winter coat for each of us, wearing long pants & multiple layers of clothes...). We've been run a little ragged w/ appointments, scheduled dinners & social time (always hated that), and needing to get some laundry done w/o a laundromat nearby. So, please forgive the lag in updates.
Tomorrow morning we're heading to get a group photo taken of all the adoptive parents & kiddos, then *finally* getting some church time (yippee!!). Afterward, the day is completely ours -- woohoo!!!!
I may try to start the play-by-play recap & analysis for you all during some [much needed] downtime tomorrow. We'll see. It's been difficult getting things done that we want to get done whilst juggling the eight of us (a lucky # in China, BTW), and trying to be everywhere we're supposed to be *on-time*... praise God we've been doing well on that part, tho!
Jae & Caedyn continue to be the stars of China -- Jae'll be featured on FaceBook pages of about 600 Chinese women & young ladies in the next week
-- while Kai-Le Hope has continued
progressing in her comfort with the family. She
has laughed out loud with everyone at least a
few times now, and has walked down the streets
holding the hand (pinky, actually) of each one
of the girls, Suzanne, Carolyn and myself. She's
fallen asleep on Taylor, Carolyn, Suzanne and
myself at different times, and bedtime continues
to get much, much less painful. Hallelujah!
Carolyn is, quite simply, amazing. She has seen the best, and the complete worst, sides of the McElvy fam, and endured it with smiles. Little Yang-Yang has latched onto her with an iron grip, and has been Hope's pacifier for the last few days, when needed. She's been great helping us get ready in the mornings, and has just done SO much. The Chinese people have even asked her how much she gets paid to be the ayi (Chinese nanny) for so many children! Heh.
There's a Starbucks around the corner from our hotel, so Suzanne is doing great
She's such an awesome mommy -- I'm glad she's the mommy for my children. I did pretty stinkin' well grabbing this lady, huh? She's been a little worn-out with all the fuss, muss & tussle, but she's hung in there. When I was laid out for a day with a major head-cold & sinus congestion, she kicked me into bed for a while, took the kiddos into the other hotel room & let me rest. She's just wonderful!
Taylor & Peyton have been great -- as usual, eh? Peyton has maintained her stance that she "[doesn't] want to leave China", despite the ongoing squat-pot issue. I think her bladder is starting to adapt... Taylor hasn't freaked totally about being in every Chinese person's photo albums, yet. We've been stopped a few times to get pictures taken with people, or to have our picture taken for their enjoyment. Today, we, quite literally, stopped traffic as folks continued to gather around our rather large family, and pet, ohh & ahh over our children. I thought the taxi behind the guy stopping to gawk was going to have a conniption while honking at him! (It's a one-lane, one-way road outside of our hotel.)
Well, that's all for now. I'm having the time of my life, and I love watching my family grow -- in size and together. What a blessing this trip has been!!
Singing praise,
Charlie
I'm Taking Over...
10/01/08 22:30 Filed in: Humor | Mommy Stuff
OK -- Suzanne has been really busy doing Suzi stuff,
so I'll be taking over this blog until further
notice...!
Suzanne has just been filling her time with fun stuff like changing diapers, nursing the boy, playing with the kids, feeding the kids, playing with PHF kiddies, snuggling orphans, practicing Chinese -- did I mention changing diapers? In her stead, I will update you guys as to the haps here in China. I'll start later today/tomorrow (depending on what hemisphere you're reading this from) & give you a daily play-by-play.
Be on the lookout! Updates coming soon & often!
Best!
Charlie
Suzanne has just been filling her time with fun stuff like changing diapers, nursing the boy, playing with the kids, feeding the kids, playing with PHF kiddies, snuggling orphans, practicing Chinese -- did I mention changing diapers? In her stead, I will update you guys as to the haps here in China. I'll start later today/tomorrow (depending on what hemisphere you're reading this from) & give you a daily play-by-play.
Be on the lookout! Updates coming soon & often!
Best!
Charlie
Our Very First *Real* China Post!
07/01/08 22:34 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
OK -- so, "soon" was more like, "much, much later"...
Sorry!
We all got hit with the "jet-lag + run-run-run + pay+pay+pay" thing really hard. Really hard. Here's the short version: we got Hope on Saturday, after arguing with the orphanage extortio-- er, director, for about an hour over how much we were going to "donate" to the orphanage (this is an actual fee, required for the adoption -- never understood how it became a "donation"), and running around digging up the proper amount of Chinese Yuan (RMB) to pay the man. Nonetheless: WE HAVE HER!!!!
Suzanne is such a much better writer than I am, so I'll let her tell the whole story as soon as she decides to type it here, rather than write it in her journal... heh. Meanwhile, enjoy the Gallery that we've put up. There're over 200 pics to share so far, and more to come. Not all 200 will be immediately available, primarily because I'm pooped. Enjoy what you get...
With love!
Charlie
We all got hit with the "jet-lag + run-run-run + pay+pay+pay" thing really hard. Really hard. Here's the short version: we got Hope on Saturday, after arguing with the orphanage extortio-- er, director, for about an hour over how much we were going to "donate" to the orphanage (this is an actual fee, required for the adoption -- never understood how it became a "donation"), and running around digging up the proper amount of Chinese Yuan (RMB) to pay the man. Nonetheless: WE HAVE HER!!!!
Suzanne is such a much better writer than I am, so I'll let her tell the whole story as soon as she decides to type it here, rather than write it in her journal... heh. Meanwhile, enjoy the Gallery that we've put up. There're over 200 pics to share so far, and more to come. Not all 200 will be immediately available, primarily because I'm pooped. Enjoy what you get...
With love!
Charlie
We're HERE!
05/01/08 04:24 Filed in: Travel &
Prep
Wow -- we're really in China... amazing! Suzanne will
be posting entries & pics soon.
Xijian!
Charlie
Xijian!
Charlie