Great Wall, Pandas, and Mcdonald's

I have talked about fostering before.  I wanted to give a warning to those who may be considering it as an option.  This may be treading over ground that I have gone over before.  If it is, sorry.  As a foster parent, you have responsibilities when a child comes into your house.  You have to bring them to the doctor within 24 to 48 hours.  This is so they can document things like cuts and bruises.  This is very hard to do with the insurance they have.  Not only that, if you are a working parent, does your employer give flexibility to your schedule?  The reason you want this documented is because people out in society might see these "red flags".  They are trained to call in an investigation if they see them. An investigation is not fun.  The department has to take all outside complaints and investigate them.  The funny thing is that it does not go both ways.  We had a child that we thought the parent was abusing during v...

Thanks for following my blog.  I have been doing this as a tale to share with my children and others from around the world.  I hope to share the experience of adoption and travel.  I want to give people an idea of what adoptive parents go through.  I also hope to share the pictures we take.  Over the 4 adoptions, I have not had many people ask me about it.  This way I get to share.  Maybe one day I can get this published.  I would call my book Eat, Pray, Adopt.  Just joking!  I was thinking of something like The Adoption Trilogy.  I think that would have a problem, unless we adopt 3 more times. I am happy with sharing this blog.  I would like to know more about the people who read this.  Feel free to comment.  If not, I wonder if people are actually out there or is it just computer systems faking the hits to make me feel good about blogging.  If you don't have a comment about the content, just leave me a Hello ...

So I know this does not follow our adoptions, but this trip and one to France happened in between our adoptions.  After our first trip, we had received credit from Southwest Airlines.  We only had a few months to use the credit.  We took a look at their flight locations.  We settled on Buffalo, NY.  We did this due to it's proximity to Niagara Falls.  Neither of us had ever been there and we wanted to see another wonder of the world.  We had already visited the Great Wall of China.  We arranged for our tickets. At the airport, we rented a car and drove to the Falls.  The area around Niagara is like Myrtle Beach, Seiverville, TN (Dollywood) or I-Drive in Orlando, FL.  It has eateries and tourist shops/attractions.  The main attraction is the Falls.  We walked around and looked at them.  The kids loved it.  Funny thing is once you are done, you try to find other things to do.  We don't gamble and the shops are al...

When adopting, this is a term you will learn about.  It mainly comes from children that are over the age of 3.  The prevailing wisdom is that if they do not form a bond by age 3, they may never form that bond.  Our first child was perceived as have RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder).  She liked to play by herself, she did not show emotions, etc.  They even thought it might have been Autism.  After many years, we did not even believe that one.  In the end, it turned out to be a brain injury she suffered as a baby.  Her symptoms mimicked other disorders. Getting back to RAD.  Our third daughter has it.  We knew from seeing her in China that there would be some issues.  I think that came from all of the children we saw when we were foster parents.  She displayed this sweet wholesome side, but you could see it was an act.  I think this came from the orphanage.  It was part of her survival skills.  Over time, we hav...

Now a word of warning when you talk to people about adoption.  Especially when your children are special needs and from another country.  I don't know how many times I have had to bite my tongue when someone makes a rude comment.  Just the other day, I was talking about our new daughter.  I was talking about her possibly needing surgery when she gets home.  This person says that she does not think the health care in the US should have to cover costs for this.  This is my child she is talking about. This was not the only time.  Another time, a person asked why I adopt from China when there are all the kids in the system in the US.  I don't think that is an appropriate thing to talk about, especially when were going to China to adopt a child.  Not only that, but we have adopted from this country.  So, I would have to say the response to that one would be that I have done both and if you are so concerned, get into fostering and adoption. ...

On this day 9 years ago, we were having Thanksgiving dinner with our families in North Carolina.  We gathered our things in our suitcase.  The next morning was going to be early and interesting.  We had never been on a flight that lasted more than 3 to 4 hours.  After eating the Thanksgiving food, we were prepared for sleep.  Looking at all of our bags, I was concerned about how I was going to carry all of them after getting Michelle. Next year will be 10 years.  It's also the year our little girl turns 10.  She might be celebrating her birthday with her new sister.  Both are born on the same day.  At least it's a date I can remember.  I have a hard enough time keeping all of the birth dates straight.

I have talked about how I discovered Chinese Music.  It was due to our second adoption.  Our daughter was 7 and I wanted to get music she could listen to.  When I started listening to it, I discovered that I liked it.  Even without knowing all the lyrics.  On the third adoption, I found Jay Chou.  I really liked his music.  Try some of these out.  I like the melody and the words.  Angie even sings to them, not just the English words. Janice Vidal is an artist that the person at the music store suggested.  My kids liked some of her songs.  Cookie Can was a favorite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28HDfwbtgtw Even if the World had no Fairy Tales https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZoeYbI_xjk Another artist I found on Youtube is Janice Tsai.  Shuo Ai Ne has a really catchy beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOBQgUZnceg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cEpgttgjx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7DIIG0ykk https...

On our many journeys to China, we did get to stop in Japan twice.  Unfortunately, it was only to switch planes.  I wish we would have been able to get out of the terminal and explore, but that was not to be. Our first visit to Japan was in 2005.  We were already excited, nervous, etc.  Once the plane came to a stop, we had to go out on the tarmac and enter a door.  In America, when we switch planes, they did not do a security check for a second time.  They probably assume that if you are on a plane, you were checked by the TSA.  In Japan, you have to go through another check before meeting your next plane. We corralled into the terminal.  It was tight.  Wall to wall people.  We went up some stairs and headed towards a small room.  At first, Angie and I did not know what was going on.  When we saw the metal detectors, we knew.  The room had two to three check stations.  All carry on bags had to run through the dete...

When my wife started her driving career, she drove a small Chevy Cavalier.  She could not have a vehicle like that anymore.  It would be too small.  Since we started adopting, the sizes of our vehicles have increased.  Before this last adoption, Angie was driving a Dodge Journey.  This vehicle was okay.  It was too small for our needs.  The kids were cramped in the back.  They tended to fight about the close quarters. Angie started looking at new vehicles.  She started with a Ford Transit.  Our neighbor has one and it looked roomy.  So she drove over to the dealership.  She found the vehicle she wanted.  She did her research.  On the lucky day, she went over to deal with them.  I probably should have warned them that she gets practice by bargaining in China.  They did not want to deal.  They were going to give us a low ball offer on her trade-in.  They did not want to come down much on the price ...

It was a hot day in Guangzhou.  We had spent the day walking through the shops looking for bargains.  The kids were getting tired.  They all wanted to go back to the hotel.  We started down one of the many streets that led back to the White Swan. Kiersten was 7 years old.  She did not speak English.  Most of the time, we thought that she thought that the guide was going to adopt her.  We kept asking our guide if Kiersten knew she was coming home with us.  She got along well with her new sisters.  The played like they had been friends for years. As we were walking down the road, we stopped and looked at some of the small stores and vendors that littered the road.  At one point, we decided it was time to get a drink.  We tend to be thrifty.  So we bought a bottle of Gatorade to share.  Angie started passing the drink around.  Since she did not give it to Kiersten first, she started to get angry.  She starts yel...

Of the three adoptions, only the first one was with a big group.  It was probably the one where we did not feel we were being judged.  When you do adopt, the agencies try to lump groups together.  It cuts down on costs for the company and the parents.  Fewer parents mean that you have to pay more for the amenities, like your guide. Our first adoption, there were about 7 to 10 families.  We did a lot of things together.  I wish we had been able to do more sightseeing, but it might have been due to lack of sights in Jaingxi.  We shared an experience of a lifetime.  We still keep up with most of the families through Facebook.  We have not seen anyone in person since the adoption, except for a family that is in the same town.  That was only once.  I guess everyone was too busy.  I think we may be trying for some kind of 10 year reunion. Our second adoption, there were 3 families.  We did more sightseeing on this trip becau...

Within the same week, Angie and Kayla were tired.  I did not want to lay down.  I wanted to explore.  I put Mia in her stroller and walked over to the park.  This time, I decided to go up a big hill to see one of the monuments.  It was a nice walk.  At the top, I could see some more of Guangzhou.  Once we left this area, we headed in a different direction.  We found a soccer stadium and other park buildings. Since I was exploring, I went down a different direction.  I guessed that if I went a certain direction, I would hit the main road that the hotel was on.  At the bottom, I found another park.  This park was the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Memorial Hall.  After a look around, we found the main road and walked back to the hotel.