We are still alive!

Dwain left the cord to our computer at the apartment in Beijing. So, we have had very little contact with the outside world. However, the cord arrived today in the mail. Yeah! I will be slowly updating the blog in my spare time. Here goes….

Saturday, April 21 – To Maggies’ House We Go
Today we went to Maggie’s home. The girls were excited to play with Meishe and her toys. Jonathan really liked her husband. I think he was also quite taken with Jonathan. He was much better this time. Last time we were here in Hefei he was recovering from a motorcycle accident. After visiting for a while we went and met Maggie’s mother-in-law for lunch at a local restaurant. The same one as last time. However, there was no hot pot (ox stomach cooked in duck’s blood…yummy!) this time. At home I wish I had more time to eat. However, when we are at local restaurants here, I’m so thankful my 3 children keep me busy helping them eat! The busier I am, the less time for me to eat WHATEVER it is they are serving. Anyway, we enjoyed our time together. That evening Kim, Maggie, and I went to a local shopping area. It was so hot and crowded. Remember, this is Saturday night in China. When we got back everyone was in bed. It’s only about 6:30, guess it will be another early morning. Tomorrow we are going to see Granny Zhang and Qiao!

Sunday, April 22 - A Special Visit
We woke up early again this morning. For the second morning in a row we ordered room service…cheese pizza! Who cares if it’s 4 am in China, it’s about supper time at home! We took the kids swimming around 7 am. After that we cleaned up and went to the breakfast buffet around 9:30. It rained all day. We just played and rested the remainder of the afternoon. At 5:00 Qiao and her little boy arrived. Qiao is Granny Zhang’s daughter. She is the one who handed us Anna Brooke the day we got her. We were excited to see her, however we were also sad because Granny Zhang wasn’t able to come. She had hurt her back and couldn’t come. We were able to call her and talk to her a little. We had a fun visit with Qiao and her son. She was very happy to see Anna Brooke. She gave Anna Brooke 2 sets of beautiful earrings. Anna Brooke loves them and keeps asking when she can get her ears pierced. It was a special evening and we feel blessed to have spent time with Anna Brooke’s “extended family.” Tomorrow will be a busy, emotional day. We go to the Dong Xi Vegetable Market, Anna Brooke’s Orphanage, and Meishe’s school. We miss you all!

Updated News Flash - 2nd tooth pulled in one day!

Anna Brooke has now lost four teeth!

Will the tooth fairy find us in China?

NEWSFLASH....Anna Brooke lost her third tooth today! Her first top front tooth was pulled by Dwain at 5:30 am this morning. The other one is ready and she is going to let Kim pull it tomorrow. Granny and Linda where are you when we need a tooth pulled? Anna Brooke has decided she likes the tooth fairy better than Chinese traditions. In China they throw the tooth up on the roof for good luck, or something like that. No money, what a rip off!

Well, we made it to Hefei yesterday. It was a short flight, but a tough one. All the kids ears bothered them. Anna Brooke had a hard time. Her allergies are terrible here. In Beijing there are some kind of trees that have things that fall and make it look like it is actually snowing at times. That plus the pollution is giving her a tough time. I guess all of that made her ears worse. She was looking pretty bad at the end of the flight and feeling like she would throw up. Maggie, our dear friend, was waiting for us with flowers in hand. Her daughter Meishe was with her. She is 5. She calls Anna Brooke her American sister. She was allowed to leave school early to come meet us. Her Grandma had bought her new clothes and shoes for our arrival. We came to the hotel and slept for a few hours (we had been up since 3:30). We then met Maggie and she took us to see the new section of Hefei. What a ride, a hot bus and lots of bumps equals a family feeling yucky! The new area is nice, however it was farmland. The local residents were forced to move. Maggie told us that they were given new homes that were the same size as their old ones. I said that they must have a hard adjustment. She says most are happy because they have a new home and a bathroom. Hope they are.

Today we are going to the vegetable market, Anna Brooke's finding place. Will probably be very busy because it is Saturday. Should prove to be quite the experience. We hope the lady that we met before will be there. (She is the one that found Anna Brooke as an infant.) Later today we will go to visit Maggie's home. Hope all is well at home. We miss you. Keep us in your thoughts! Heidi

Busy Day

Today has been a busy day. Sarah Hope and Jonathan finally went back to sleep at about 6:30 this morning and slept for 2 more hours. Anna Brooke never went back to sleep after getting up at 3:30. She lasted all day until we got back and crashed at 5 pm. (We all crashed!)





We went to a local mall to a Starbucks (Kim HAD to have some coffee) and then went to a local restaurant for lunch, great food! Yes, they even had veggie dishes that I loved! We then walked around Tian'anmen Square and took pictures, showed Kim the entrance to the Forbidden City, and walked through some beautiful parks. Once again Jonathan caused a scene wherever we went. I think his picture is on every cell phone in China by now.



All the young girls want to hold him and have their picture made with him. Our family even caused an accident today. Two older ladies were looking at us and had a bike accident! Thankfully they were going slow and weren't hurt. We heard them laughing.



After all that we went to the Pearl market and then home. We were so tired and running behind so we skipped the Great Wall. Hopefully Kim can visit there before she goes home. Tomorrow we leave here at 7:30 am and fly out at 10:30am to Hefei (Anna Brooke's hometown). We can't wait to see Maggie and her family, Anna Brooke's Granny Zhang, and visit the orphanage. Got to go finish packing.
Heidi for the gang

We're here and up at 3:30 am

We're in China. While walking outside Anna Brooke said she smelled a Chinese smell. Those of you that have been here know the smell. It's one you don't forget! The kids were great on the way over. They actually slept some off and on. Dwain and I were both able to get about 2 hrs each too. Our first night here the kids woke up at 1:30 in the morning.

They played until about 4 and then went back to sleep. We had to go to the local police department yesterday and register to let them know we are staying in an apartment. All went well, Jonathan charms all, he waves and blows kisses. He says hey and even hello in Chinese some. Of course they are all taken by the girls too and can't figure out why they don't respond when they talk to them in Chinese. Last night we went to the acrobat show.
All of the kids loved it. Sarah Hope keeps asking if we can go back. When we returned the girls quickly changed into their bathing suits and entertained us all with their acrobats.




Our apartment is large and nice. When Dwain told me we were staying in one that is usually for students coming in and out I thought he meant the whole complex was English speaking....WRONG, however their is one American family on the next floor. Many of the apartments are businesses. It is pretty quiet at night. Except for our kids playing in the wee hours of the night. Washed my first load of clothes tonight, holds about 1/2 the amount ours does. Dwain and the kids hung them out in the glassed in area. They have been warned that their clothes will now be very stiff and scratchy. No dishwasher here, except tonight Kim and Anna Brooke washed them well. We have to use hot, CLEAN water from the water tank to wash everything. We never turn on the facet except to wash our hands (then we use Purell after washing our hands) or clean out the sink. So, everyone at home, go brush your teeth with the water from your facet , smile, be thankful, and think of us!
Well, guess I had better go and see if anyone is ready to go back to bed. Tomorrow is busy, taking Kim to the Pearl Market, Silk Market, Forbidden City, Great Wall, and who knows what else. Friday morning we fly to Hefei. Take care, we miss you all. Keep the thoughts coming for us! Love, Heidi

2 more days

Just 2 more nights before we head out. Our flight leaves RDU at 7:40 am Monday morning. We'll miss Grandma, Grandpa, Grannie, YehYeh and all the rest of our family. This is a picture of Jonathan from last week.

I just returned from San Antonio Thursday night after attending the Joint Council on International Children's Services National Convention. It is also included a medical convention on Wednesday and our M.D. friend Brad Davidson from Hershey was along. It was great to visit the Alamo, but also to meet folks from all over the country, many who are leaders in orphan care around the world. We held the Global Orphan Care Initiative quarterly conference call on Wed. afternoon and then Paul Singer gave the JCICS keynote address on Thursday morning before I headed back.

Looking forward to visiting many of our friends in China! We will also be carrying supplies for LWB (cleft lip bottles), 2 schools (thanks for everyone that donated stuff) and several orphan care projects. Hopefully Heidi will keep you updated here and I will try to take a few good pictures!