Catching Up

We just got back from the First Annual Hope Family Reunion at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Eight families that adopted from the same institute in China got together to let the kids reconnect and for new connections to form between our families. All the families keep in touch via a Yahoo account, so it was nice to finally meet some of the families we have got to know over the computer. I asked Madison when we got back yesterday if she had fun and she said yes, which I already knew because she seemed to have a great time while we were in Kentucky. I thought it may be difficult for her to leave her friends, but she seems to be doing okay.

She is however, very nervous about her surgery on Thursday. John and Madison have sore throats from traveling, so I pray that will not be a problem come Thursday. They are up seeing our ear, nose, and throat doctor right now... I need to finish laundry and repack, so I'll keep this short for now.

Surgery

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on here, so thanks for checking back in with us. Madison had a doctor's appointment at the Shriner's hospital in Minneapolis this morning, and her surgery date is set. Unfortunately, the surgery isn't until July 29; we were hoping it would be in a couple weeks. We put her name on a waiting list in case someone cancels their surgery before then. We also talked to the social worker at Shriner's; she said she would see if she could do anything to make the surgery sooner. Madison was hoping to be walking on her own two feet/legs when she started high school, so she was very disappointed. I will start Reading Recovery training in August, so that is another concern. I thought I'd have the June and July to take care of her and make trips to Minneapolis for fittings and physical therapy.

Madison has learned so much English since last summer that our interpreter, that Shriner's provides, did not have much to interpret today at the hospital. It was, however, nice getting to know the young man, Zhi, assigned to us. He came to the States when he was thirteen like Madison, so we had plenty of questions about his experience of learning the language.

We will see another doctor tomorrow, but I don't think there will be anything to report on that since it will not have an impact on the surgery. I will, however, keep everyone updated as to any changes.

Madison and Grandma Vicki

This is after Madison's dedication at church on March 1.

No School!

Madison started school full-time today. She said it was ok except for one class. She even road the bus from the middle school to the school where I work with the help of her friend Sabrina. I'm so thankful for all the students who will be helping Madison learn her way around the big, three story building. Today was also my first full day back to school since leaving for China in early January. I'm exhausted, so Madison is probably just as tired.

Madison had her first American school lunch...I don't think she was too impressed, but I was told she ate the potato wedges, fruit, and cookie. She didn't eat the hamburger, which I knew she wouldn't since she doesn't like meat. One of the first things she told me after school was that she was hungry, so I quickly dug out a box of Cheez Its that I keep handy in my classroom.

We dedicated Madison at church yesterday. She was quite puzzled as to what was going on. I didn't tell her in advance because she would have balked at going up in front of the congregation. Although, she did say "No!" very loudly before we convinced her to get up and come with us. I only have one picture of the day, since Madison DOES NOT like to get her picture taken, but it is a good one of her and her wai po (maternal grandma).

New Beginnings

Madison started school on Tuesday. She will be going for three hours for the first two weeks, and hopefully, if all is goes well, she will start full-time after that. She is basically working on English and also has an art class. Her ELL teacher is surprised at how much Madison does know especially since Madison didn't get to attend regular school in China. Madison is making friends even with the language barrier. There are some great girls in her class that have offered to help Madison get around school. As a mother, I was so glad to hear Madison talk about her friend Sabrina.

In some regards, Madison is your typical teenager, she does not want to get up in the mornings for school, and she was very happy when Saturday finally got here. John woke her up yesterday after he got ready for work and then I had to go up two more times to finally rouse her up. She likes to say, "No school, sleep!"

It has been remarkable at how fast Madison is learning English, we use the translator less and less when going through our daily routines since she has learned these words, phrases, and sentences. This morning I asked her if she wanted to go with me to yi ma's (my younger sister's) or stay home with dad and Sean. She understood everything and quickly decided that she wanted to go with me. We have been using Mandarin words for family, because it is hard for Madison to remember who is who or what their relationship is to mom and dad. In Mandarin, instead of calling both sets of grandparents, grandma and grandpa, they have specific names for each one. For example, my mom is wai po for maternal grandmother, and John's mom is nai nai for paternal grandmother.

Madison is very funny and loves to laugh. The other day while Madison and I were at the dining room table, I would occassionaly look out the window that was behind Madison. Each time I looked, Madison would turn around and to see what I was looking at. I started to tease her by saying, "Made you look!" She quickly caught on, unfortunately, because now she does it to me. Last night, we were in the car and Madison pointed out the window and told me and John to look at a cat, when we both looked for the cat, she started laughing very loudly because she "made us look."

We dropped Sean and his new girlfriend off at the movie theater last night, and later, while we waited for them to come out, Madison took on her little sister role perfectly by practicing kissing sounds and saying "I love you." It was so hilarious.

While Sean and his girlfriend were at the movies, we took Madison to get her ears pierced, which she wanted to do. However, when it came time, she held both our hands very tightly, tensed her whole body, and gritted her teeth. I felt like she needed a bit of rawhide to clamp down on. We were afraid that she would not get the second ear pierced after experiencing the first, so we had two people at each ear and they pierced on the count of three. Now she has beautiful, sparkly flowers on each little, red earlobe.

Baby Shower

Here we are at Madison's shower given by my very dear friends and co-workers at Inman Primary School in Red Oak, Iowa. Madison hates to get her picture taken, so she is giving me an unfavorable look in the picture with just the two of us. She got lots of wonderful gifts and even though it may have been hard to tell, she really enjoyed herself.

Madison went to her first high school basketball game last night in Shenandoah. Oddly enough, they played the school I work for and Madison's new school, Red Oak. My niece and nephew attend Shenandoah, and it was my nephew Koby's last game to play the drums in the pep band, so I had to support both sides. I think Madison truly enjoyed the excitement of the evening. She clapped when Shenandoah scored and scowled when they missed the basket. I tried to explain that we were playing her new school, but I don't think she understood. It won't be long until she knows she is really a Red Oak tiger.

Madison has been poked and prodded...again. She went to the dentist on Wednesday for a brutal cleaning...there were tears..., the eye doctor Thursday morning, and the doctor that afternoon. She DID NOT like getting her blood taken and quickly grew tired of the x-rays. We are checking into what, if anything, can be done to correct her hip area and left leg. I'm not too sure she will want anything done, since she does not like shots or anything that may cause even the slightest pain. I suppose none of us do, but it will be a huge decision if surgery can correct her leg.

The two people with me and Madison at the shower are my mom, Vicki, and my sister, Theresa.

Weekend Update

Madison and I went shopping on Saturday with my mom, sister, neice, and Mikelle. Madison loves to shop, but she got tired walking so much at the mall. Come to think of it, so did I.

We went specifically to J. C. Penney so that Kyra, my neice, could purchase a new comforter she's had her eye on. Madison also showed me some comforters that she would like too. There was only one problem, she just got a new comforter last weekend for her birthday from my mom. I tried to explain that she did not need a new comforter along with many other things she wanted throughout the day. I did get her a couple new shirts and a belt, and my mom got her some things from Claire's. Hopefully, she will soon learn that when we go shopping, we don't buy whatever we see that we want.

The school I work at is throwing us a shower tomorrow. I'm not sure how I can explain what a shower is. Madison may think it's another birthday party.

We took Madison to church for the second time yesterday. John told Pastor Jeff that he has succeeded in boring two cultures during his sermon. Thankfully, Jeff and John share the same kind of humor, so Jeff wasn't insulted. I also hope Jeff wasn't insulted when Madison kept looking at John's watch to see if noon was getting any closer, when church usually ends.

Well, I have to go to work today for parent/teacher conferences. Fortunately, my mom is coming over to stay with Madison until John or Sean get home. Even though she is fourteen, I don't think she's ready to be left alone.

Madison's 14th Birthday

Madison turned 14 on February 4! We celebrated at Godfather's Pizza with Mikelle, Sean, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins. The ice cream cake looks small in the picture, but it fed everyone at the party. She got lots of presents including new bedding, a Nintendo DS, games for the DS, a big pink stuffed animal that now sleeps beside Madison and Sponge Bob, lots of fingernail polish, some nail clippers, and a file so she can have lovely nails, a bracelet, and a hair straightener.

John's birthday is today so I made his favorite dish, lasagna, and Madison picked out a small cake when we went grocery shopping today. It was just me, John, Sean, and Madison here for supper since Mikelle had to work. It was quiet, but nice. Earlier, after Madison and I returned home from the store, I signed John's card and asked Madison if she wanted to sign it. She said no and informed me by using our hand-held translator that she already had something for John. So, after we ate our cake and ice cream, Madison gave John a card she had made, and she even had a little present all wrapped up for him. She wrapped it using left over tissue paper from one of her presents. The present was a little figurine of Madison's from the Monkey King, Pigsy. The Monkey King is a Chinese legend. While we were in China, we got to watch the T.V. series about every day, since it was another of Madison's favorite shows. Even though we have missed out on a lot of her growing up, we are getting to experience her youthful innocence and generosity. Happy Birthday Madison and John!

A New Post Is Here!

I don't know if anyone is checking the blog any more since I haven't written for a week now, but I've heard that perhaps there may still be people checking up on Madison.

We are still trying to find food that she likes. Breakfast is no problem, she likes cold cereal, poptarts, eggs, toast with jelly, hash browns, and she even had oatmeal today (cinnamon roll flavor). Last night we had spaghetti. She just had the tomato sauce without meat on her pasta and ate it all. She didn't want seconds, but she ate three slices of garlic bread. We don't have any problems with desserts either, so obviously, she has a sweet tooth.

Tomorrow is Madison's 14th birthday. We are having a party at Godfather's in Shenandoah with mine and John's family. I hope she is not too overwhelmed, but she has met most of the people that will be there.

We took a tour of Madison's new school this afternoon. She didn't seem nervous and didn't have any questions afterward. We are starting her in 7th grade on Feb. 17, and she will go from 8 A.M. to 11 A.M. for the first couple of weeks before starting full-time. The majority of her time will be spent learning English. When she goes full-time, she will have art, band (hopefully), and keyboarding. At first Madison did not want to do band because she thought she'd have to sing, but we cleared that up real quick. I work with Madison's ELL teacher, Sonia, at the primary school, but she also works at the middle and high school. Fortunately, Sonia will be able to devote quite a bit of time to Madison each morning.

I just read this out loud to John and Madison heard her name and pointed to herself. I can't wait for the day that we can talk back and forth. I'm sure she looks forward to that day too when she can tell us how she's feeling, what she wants, etc.

Day 6 at Home

Madison got bored at home yesterday, so we went shopping again today, looking for things for her room. She doesn't want one style or theme, so her room will end up being a hodgepodge of colors and decor, but it's her room, her little haven.

Madison has been watching Sponge Bob Square Pants and found a big, stuffed one at Target today. It is now sitting beside Madison on the couch and has been close by her side since we got home. I tried to get a picture of her and Sponge Bob, but she kept hiding behind him.

We ate lunch at Hu Hot today thinking Madison would enjoy some Asian cuisine, but she did not and neither did the rest of us. Surprisingly, it made me miss real Chinese food. Madison does, however, like Blizzards, so she, John, and Mikelle enjoyed them on the ride home to make up for the disappointing meal.

I made tacos for supper, hoping that Madison would like them, but she stuck to her veggie tendencies. She ate lettuce, spicy tomatoes, and Doritos. She tried ground hamburger with taco seasoning and grated cheese, but she made it clear that she did not care for either one. I'm going to have to make her her favorite Chinese dish...scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Thank goodness she likes eggs, but she can't live on them alone!

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ADVG/612~SpongeBob-SquarePants-Posters.jpg

Shopping

Mikelle, John, and I took Madison shopping for some new clothes yesterday. I thought she may not like shopping because of all the walking around, but she went through all the racks of clothes and said yes to this and no to that. Mikelle found out how frustrating it can be to shop with an opinionated person and said that Madison was worse than herself. Apparently Madison likes gem studded and sparkly clothes. She tried in vain to get a shirt that I already purchased for her before I went to China, I guess she likes it. I had to go put it back on the rack when she wasn't looking.

We received some special gifts in the mail yesterday before going on our shopping trip. We would like to thank the generosity of Teresa Euken's wrestling cheerleaders from Red Oak for selflessly giving Madison their Aeropostale and Old Navy gift cards. Once we got to Mall of the Bluffs, we made a bee line to those stores. Thank you again girls!

Meals are going to be a challenge. I made baked chicken, rice, green beans, and prepared a bowl of fresh fruit for supper last night. She didn't like the chicken, so all she ate was veggies and fruit. It's hard for a midwesterner not to include meat in a meal, I felt like I was starving her. Kyra, my neice, who's a vegetarian, will have to help me to know what to feed this poor girl, since she's not too fond of meat either!

Home!

We are finally home! That was some trip coming back. I believe we spent almost 27 hours either on a plane or in an airport. I mentioned a couple in my previous blog who were on their sixth adoption from China; it was actually their seventh! We traveled all the way to Chicago with them. I can't imagine doing that trip that many times with a toddler! They either have a great passion for these children or they are just insane.

Madison was almost giddy at the Guangzhou airport; perhaps she was overcome with joy because her day to leave and start her new life had finally come. We enjoyed more Starbucks at the Beijing airport, much to John's chagrin...he had to wait for us to slurp them down before going through security to get to our gate. We had plenty of time though, so Madison and I were in no hurry. We wanted to enjoy our frappiccinos.

John embarrassed a waitress at the Beijing airport too or she embarrassed herself. John was wearing a t-shirt that said father in Mandarin and as she was handing him the bill, she said something to a co-worker about his "ba ba" (father) shirt. Jokingly, he asked her why she was talking about him and his shirt. She didn't think he'd figure out that she was talking about him. Her face got all red and she hid it with her hands. She'll probably think twice about talking about a foreigner again when he or she is close by.

The Beijing to Chicago flight, of course, was very long. Madison slept a lot, but she also watched the Disney channel in Mandarin and we played SkipBo. She listened to music too. Apparently she likes 80s music (John's influence), because once when I looked over at Madison and John, they were both jammin' to it with their headsets on; their heads synchronized, keeping time with the beat.

Madison had her first Mexican food today. I thought she'd like the spicy chicken, but she nixed that and the refried beans. She did, however, like the rice (I guess that's not too much of a surprise) and the chips and salsa. After lunch, we hustled down to Howard's Sporting Goods to get her some new tennis shoes. Let's just say, her feet really needed to breath and her old shoes did not allow for that.

Madison got to meet John's parents at the airport last night, and we all went to Perkins before coming home so they could have a chance to visit with her...or look at her and ask us questions and talk about our trip. Mikelle, Sean, Madison, and I went to my mom and step-dad's today and she also met my sister, Theresa and her daughter, Kyra when they came over. Madison especially liked playing with my mom's two cats and moving the infrared pointer so the cats would chase it. She was probably pretty bored with us, since she couldn't understand our conversation. Although, she had to know we were talking about her a lot since we'd say her name and look at her.

This is getting to be quite a lengthy post, so I'll write more later.

John got a couple of pictures of Madison without her knowing. She doesn't like to have her picture taken, so we have to be sneaky to get them.

We have our clothes picked out for tomorrow, our bags packed, and will soon be getting ready to sleep one more night on the hardest beds we have ever slept on. Madison will probably think her new bed at home is way too soft. I hope I don't find her sleeping on the floor in her bedroom.

There were several groups of Americans at the U.S. Consulate this afternoon, all picking up visas for their new children. It was quite a sight seeing all those adopting families and little ones getting new mommies and daddies. One family was on their sixth adoption from China and others were on their second and third. Wow!

This is my last post from China. We can't wait to get home and see Mikelle and Sean and for them to meet their new sister. We also can't wait for you to get to know Madison too. Thank you for coming along with us on our special trip to China. We will continue to post after we get home to let you know how Madison is settling in.

Our Last Day in China

Last Friday it felt like we still had a long way to go before we could leave China and now it's hard to believe we will be leaving tomorrow. It will be good to get home and get into a regular routine again, even though I don't look forward to cooking. For some reason, I haven't missed that at all.

We went to the Six Banyan Trees Temple. It was more like a museum, so there were lots of artifacts to look at. I enjoyed that, but as you can see in the last picture, John and Madison were ready for a rest. John was showing Madison how to use the camera.

While we were at the Temple, we met a group of Americans who were oddly enough from the University of Nebraska on an agricultural trip. The lady I was talking to gave Madison a University of Nebraska pencil and pen. John told them, however, that would not make us Husker fans. It truly is a small world, and it was nice seeing midwesterners.

We are going to lunch with our guide in five minutes, then later, we will go to the U.S. Consulate to get Madison's visa...the last hoop to jump through. Tonight, we're ordering Papa John's pizza. Mmmm, I can't wait!

P.S. Please forgive my format, for some reason my spacing is not showing up when I post.

Madison has had a rough morning. She's been poked, prodded, and jostled around at the "physical examination". Unfortunately, she had to get four shots. She took it very well, but she did hold up four fingers and looked at us incredulously. Madison rolled up her sleeve, but before the nurse got ready to give the shots, John pointed to his behind to indicate that's where she was going to get the shots. Madison quickly turned to our guide to ask if that was true. Madison will soon learn to not always take her Dad so seriously.

When we returned to the hotel room, we found a Barbie with a Chinese baby as a gift from the hotel and Mattel. I guess all adopted children at the hotel get this present because we seen a Chinese toddler with American parents at the doctor's office with one. At first, I thought Madison might think she's too old for a Barbie, but as you can see from the picture, she really liked the dolls. I pointed to the baby and said that was Madison and Barbie was Mama. If only I had those measurements!

John is sawing logs right now, but when he wakes up, I think we'll go to Subway for lunch. We already hit the Starbucks on the way back from the doctor's office. I think Madison liked her caramel frappuccino, because she's trying to suck up every last drop. I hope to go lounge around by the pool this afternoon and look out across the bay at the boats passing by, maybe I'll even sip on a Maitai-ha ha.

Guangzhou...Finally

We arrived in Guangzhou around 10:15 last night and got to bed at midnight. Madison has to get a physical this morning and maybe some shots before traveling to the U.S., and our guide will apply for the visa. We are glad to be in a warmer climate; it was around 60 degrees last night. Our guide told us there is a Subway and Starbucks near the hotel. We can't wait for a sandwich, and I can't wait for a mocha latte!

Last Day in Beijing!

We got a call from our guide before lunch. She said that she was on her way to another police station to pick up Madison's passport and that her agency is working on booking our tickets on a flight. We are all packed, so I sure hope we are definitely leaving. I don't want to unpack in the same hotel room.

John is feeling worse today and I think running a little temperature. Madison still has a bad cough and sore throat, but no temp. Together they will probably get everyone sick on the plane.

Hopefully, my next update will be from Guangzhou.

Sunday...Day 392

This the Wangfujing Grand Hotel we're staying at in Beijing. We're hoping to leave this hotel tomorrow. We will if we get Madison's passport, so pray that will happen and we can stay on schedule.

Madison is still not feeling well today, so it's good that we didn't have any plans other than vegetating in our hotel room. She's taking nap now and hasn't eaten too well. We'll order in for supper and continue to watch Warm Grass or Warm Spring or Spring Grass, whatever the name of that soap is...take your pick.

John and I just finished watching some clips from Britain's Got Talent, so now we will have to find something else to watch. Sorry there is nothing too exciting to relate today.

Saturday-More Sightseeing

This military guy is guarding Chairman Mao's Mausoleum at Tiananmen Square.

John with the familiar sight of a Tiananmen Square building in the background.

We went to Tiananmen Square today. It wasn't scheduled on our sightseeing tour, but since we are here for a couple of more days we asked if we could go there. I did a little research yesterday because I couldn't remember the specifics of why it was in the news years ago. It was actually 20 years ago this year that students wanted to mourn the death of a politic figure. I'll let you do your own research if you want to know more. Amazing how time flies.

We went to a restaurant and had dumplings today. Dumplings are different here of course; I think we had four plates of dumplings that had four different kinds of fillings. The ones filled with lamb were pretty good.

John and Madison have scratchy, sore throats today, so we stopped by a drug store on our way back from lunch to get some medicine. John tried to get Madison to say throat this morning, but she didn't want to try. So, after she took one of the awful tasting longes (sp?), John told her, through our guide, that he would have gotten the better tasting ones if she would have tried to say throat. It was only then that she attempted to say it. (The "thr" is difficult for Chinese to say since they don't have that in their language.) I don't think she will want to take any more of the medicine even if her throat keeps hurting.

I'll give three guesses what we are watching on television right now... If you guessed a soap opera, you're right. Yesterday, was very sad, a little girl's rabbit died on the one that's on now.

Day 8...Waiting in China

We got some disappointing news at lunch from our guide. We will not be leaving Beijing tomorrow morning because we can't get Madison's passport today. We will probably get it on Tuesday, which is the day we had scheduled our visa appointment. Our tickets to fly home are for the 22nd, so needless to say, we need some prayers that we will be able to get things done so we can come home on time. Don't get me wrong, Beijing is a wonderful city, but we are getting tired of living in a hotel room...and watching Madison's soap operas.

Picture: Lori with Madison doing an English lesson.

When we finished our lunch today, we were visiting with our guide, Sylvia, enjoying our time out of our hotel room. However, Madison was chomping at the bit to leave so she could get back to watch Warm Grass, so here we sit. We did try to prolong our stay at the restaurant, but to no avail. Thankfully, we can play Bubble Shooter, that seems to keep me and John busy for long periods of time.

Seriously, this time with Madison has been a great way to get comfortable with each other. I believe we are building a good relationship with her and hopefully, she can move easily from bonding with us to attaching to us. At her age, this may be a longer process, because of never having to attach to anyone before. On the other hand, she has been waiting for a family for a long time, so perhaps it won't take too long.

Well, I'm missing out on what's going on in the soap, so I'll let you all go for today. Please continue to keep us in your prayers; they are very much appreciated!