BEIJING

Today we went to Beijing - ostensibly to see the Olympics. I went to the Atlanta Olympics with Katrina (the day of the bombing). We saw a diving competition, but the most fun we had was walking around the Olympic center, buying pins, seeing entertainment and just being part of the festivities. Apparently the Olympics have changed greatly since then. All the festivities are contained behind wire fences. Only event ticket holders are allowed in. So we stood outside taking pictures through the gate with the other regular Chinese folk. Of course, we also occassionally became the subjects of pictures - see the family that asked to take a picture of their little girl with Ric (and later wanted a pix with the little girl, her mother and Ric). This has happened several times since we have been here. I don't get it at all. What could they possibly write as the caption -Chinese looking boy with American parents? or American boy, looks like us?...We smile and co-operate. As you can see, Jerry managed to track down a fellow worshipper of Manchester United. Thats Andy standing in front of a church where they were taking Chinese wedding pictures (thats when they dress in rented western looking wedding garb just for pictures, the day before the actual Chinese wedding). Ric is poseing beside the different official Chinese Olympic uniforms since 1996. If you look closely in the picture of the four of us you might see the Olympic flame in the background.
The very first picture is of the boys on the highspeed train (217 miles per hour) we took from Tianjin. It was amazing! The inside was like a plush airplane with assigned seats that reclined and stewardesses who brought a cart with water. There is also a restaurant and an internet bar - all this for a 27 minute train ride !! And the ride was as smooth as silk, with never a sense of the real speed you are traveling. It took longer to buy the tickets and get to the train than it did to get to Beijing.
Tomorrow we pack up and fly to Guangzhou. I am more and more certain as I search the internet that Andy has some kind of syndrome, but he is a sweet, loveable guy. As I was stressing about it again this morning, I read this :"Don't put conditions on God. Don't say, Lord I am willing to do this and that, but I refuse to cooperate if you want me to do anything outside this criteria. .........Does your life really belong to God or to yourself?.....God knows how to best use your life to glorify Him. He knows the special gifts he has given you and where you can be most effective for his kingdom. Will you obey our Lord and go where he sends you, do as He asks?........There is no time to waste. Your days on earth are few.....ask the Lord of the Harvest to show you how to proceed, and he surely will."- Brother Yun

Purple Ice Cream

After breakfast this morning we made another visit to the notary and then per our request (okay, my request) Helen took us shopping. First we stopped at a small shoe store and bought some addidas to replace Andy's ill-fitting canvas shoes as well as a matching pair for Ric and sandals for Andy. For anyone looking for stock to invest in I would recommend addidas - they now have a big presence here in China. It appears they designed China's beautiful Olympic outfits. We also ran in an addidas store but the jackets alone were almost 100 dollars! Then we went to Chinese cultural street which you see in the pictures and bought outfits for the boys to wear to our next party at the Chinese restaurant. We kept trying to find Olympic things but were told that everything was already sold out.
We had lunch at a Chinese food court where we got a mountain of food as usual although Jerry and I are eating very little the past couple of days because our bodies have begun to react to the change in diet. That was the reason we didn't join Ric and Andy eating purple ice cream covered with fabulous dark chocolate (I did take a bite, the ice cream was an unidentifiable fruit flavor).
We spent the afternoon in the hotel room where Ric and Andy have a blast - in fact , Andy isn't always the little soft-spoken compliant thing we met the first day.
On the subject of his name - We thought at first we would call him Wei Wei and then Andy Wei and then Andy so that there would be an easy transition. However, I noticed at the orphanage that everyone seemed to call him by his full name Zheng Li Wei. Since we can't really do the tones when we try and say that he pays absolutely no attention. (Helen told us that the Wei in his name means fort, unlike the Wei in the orphanage director's name which means flower....we might be calling him flower for all we know)...consequently we call him Andy, although he doesn't really respond to that either, at least Ric knows who we are talking to. :-)
I didn't mention yesterday that we had a great lunch and visit with Robert and Amy Moore. Robert has been voluteering at the orphanage for 8 years so he knows Andy. We are grateful to have been able to meet them before they move to work with another orphanage. Robert's family used the ATI curriculum as we did, in fact his brother was in an Alert unit about 10 before Jay. Robert first worked with ATI's orphan program in Russia. Amy's dad is Little Bear Wheeler, who is very famous in homeschool circles.

China says he is ours !

Today we visited the provincial office, a notary, the police department and promised them to take good care of Andy and never abandon him and signed many papers and he gave his fingerprints and now, according to China at least, he is ours. We have to wait now until they finish processing his Chinese passport.
Andy continues to be a smiley, happy boy and he and Ric play very well together (or at least side by side).
One of the books I read (The Children, old but I highly recommend it if you are adopting) said that this is about the time I would start having worries about the uncertainties ahead. I am a pretty average person so I am having them right on schedule. Today they center around the unusual shape of Andy's head - is it from the way he slept as a baby, or could it be something worrisome?...I have been encouraged when I remember how amazingly Travis and Lindsay handled their recent concern about Henry's heart. Lindsay said "I gave myself completely over to God's plan for myself and my family." So much wisdom from such a young woman. It is the very best thing any of us can do. Thank you all for your prayers.

GOTCHA DAY !!!

After breakfast our guide, Helen, escorted us to the orphanage. As orphanages go, it must rank as one of the nicest - absolutely clean, freshly painted in bright colors, kid friendly. We had to wait a few minutes while the staff finished a meeting. While we were waiting we read a note from Andy's foster mother which primarily listed all the foods he likes which include just about everything. Then we were taken to an empty room and told to sit on two stools. The director walked in with Andy and as you can see from the pictures, he was, at first, a little apprehensive. We hugged him, handed him his backpack and he promptly got out the cars and sat down on the floor and began playing with them. We joined him. From that point on and for the rest of the day he has been all smiles. I believe he must have been very well prepared but I am still wondering if he understands this is permanent. We went out to lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant and the boys have played in the room the rest of the day. We have lots of room for balls , giant balloons and the myriad of other toys we brought. They did lay down for a short while this afternoon and watched some of Cars but neither one slept. Andy rarely speaks-when he does, it is with a very deep gravely voice. I am guessing that has something to do with his cleft which is supposedly fixed. Cheryl and Lui Bo both spoke to him on the phone today and he seemed to understand them but only sort of grunted in response. We are headed for their first bath together with lots of bubbles and letters....

Breakfast with Ric's family

Pictures from Ting Jiang

1- Sidewalk Dentistry
2- Jerry, Ric, and Chu - Beware of motorcycles while shopping
3- Ting Jiang Business District
4- Catherine Spurs the Ting Jiang Economy
5- Catherine and Ric and a Bicycle Taxi