Goofing off!

Lance and Wade have had some hilarious times playing around on Lance's computer doing photo shop. Here they switched hair. Lance also managed to lose an ear. Amazing how different people look with different hair. Wade doesn't care for this picture but I wish you could have seen them on the floor sitting together laughing so hard!Things continue to go well here. Wade has really enjoyed so many new things. He has taken to our western food quite well. The other day he poured himself a huge glass of milk for breakfast. When he first got home, he didn't like it. Now it is no problem to have him drink milk. He also enjoyed two bowls of cereal with strawberries the other morning. He loves ice cream and has had it almost everyday. I am not too impressed with his favorite flavor which is green tea ice cream. He is lamenting the fact that we are now out of this flavor. We still do have chocolate which is a close second. Tonight he asked me what we were having for dinner and I told him Taco Soup and showed him a picture. He got excited and said that he liked that. How would he have ever had Taco Soup before? I guess he just liked the look of the picture. He did chow down on the soup at dinner too. Lance and Elise were off of school for the past two days because of conferences so Wade had some playmates. He has not started school yet and I am hoping for next week. We are waiting to be contacted by the principal for a final confirmation on his acceptance. He is really excited to start school yet a bit anxious about all of the English. We think he will do well once he gets going. He absolutely loves anything that has to do with the computer and lets us know how to navigate if he is watching over our shoulder. He is currently doing typing games with English words on the computer next to me.

We are again so pleased with how things have gone in the adjustment for all of us. This is what we asked people to pray for. God is good. Wade fits in well here. He is happy and comfortable. He is laughing and making me laugh. He willingly does chores that I ask him to do. We are in training mode but he doesn't mind being corrected. He wants to please. One of his biggest objections has been the dentist. We have made two trips so far with a third scheduled for Sunday for fillings. I don't blame him, who likes the dentist? He got a cleaning with a fluoride treatment and some sealant done on four of his molars the other day. It was all he could take. I saw tears for the first time. We stopped for the day and said we would do the other molars another time. He will start orthodontics in May. Oh my, he hasn't seen anything yet....

I think I am falling in love....I can't wait for everyone to meet him!

Tomb Sweeping Day

Today was a traditional holiday in China called Ching Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day. The people are supposed to go and visit the graves of their ancestors, cleaning them up, leaving decorations and setting food out for their ancestors to enjoy. Many families will picnic at the grave sites. Today on our bike ride we encountered a small cemetery and recognized the streamers on the graves as part of the tradition. Everyone had the day off of school or work so we made plans with our friends the Liptaks to take a family bike ride out to the ocean. It was a beautiful day and everyone made the long trek without complaint. Wade did just great, staying at the front of the pack most of the time.

At our destination we snacked and chilled out on the wall facing the sea. So many ships were coming and going and the airport was close by as well. Lots of locals were there watching us more than the ships. There is no beach anywhere in sight but I am not sure that you would want to swim in that water anyway.

The long trip to the sea and back was lined by many flowering plants and trees. People were out working in the many gardens we saw. We were quite a group and the cause of numerous, long stares by local people. For one, we all had helmets on and the locals don't wear bike helmets. They get a kick out of seeing foreigners in out of the way places - but who are those three Chinese children with them? They truly must wonder.....

As I mentioned previously, Wade is a big Spiderman fan. Today we put up some things in his room that we had purchased months ago for him. He was absolutely delighted! I couldn't be happier that my purchases for him would be so well received.

Happy Easter

A very blessed and happy Easter to everyone - He is risen, He is risen indeed! Spring is in full bloom here in the neighborhood and all around Shanghai. We are enjoying the beauty and new life all around us. Wade's new life with us continues to unfold with new experiences for him everyday. Yesterday Rich involved Wade in making grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone at lunch. He really seemed to enjoy being taught how to make them but more surprisingly, he enjoyed eating it more. The Chinese typically do not eat sandwiches or cheese but he has taken to these things quite readily. I have been asking him to drink a little bit of milk at lunch and dinner and he has obeyed (sometimes holding his nose). We are trying to have him work into these things. He has probably had a deficiency in calcium among other things so with the change in diet, we expect to see him sprout up quickly.

I asked him to help me make the pizzas for dinner and once again he jumped right in following all of my instructions. He said he liked all of the ingrediants (mushrooms, onions, green pepper, ham, pepperoni) except the olives. We made him a customized half of pizza with only a few olives (we are making him at least try these things). When it was time to eat, he didn't even notice the olives and went back for a fourth piece full of olives!

Lance and Wade have had some fun times of connecting with each other. Here they are checking out the Guiness Book of World Records. There was a lot of chatting going back and forth in Chinese as well as giggling so I just had to snap this shot.

Our dear friends from our (not so) small group wanted to welcome Wade home. Our friend Carol ordered these lovely Easter/spring cupcakes and a welcome message for Wade. Everyone was so wonderful in greeting him and rejoicing in his arrival after waiting with us for almost a year. Wade was a bit shy and overwhelmed, but I pray that he sensed God's love for him through these precious brothers and sisters.

This morning we began our Easter celebration with a big breakfast. Yes, we broke out the pancake griddle and proceeded as if Wade would enjoy them as much as we would. Rich had the pancakes going and was adding chocolate chips in some as well as dried blueberries in others. Wade was at his side. I was cooking the bacon and had my fingers crossed that he wasn't grossed out by a family favorite. The other kids were getting the table ready and pouring the juices. We sat down for our feast and Wade was given a pancake in the shape of a W. He didn't hesitate a bit with the pancakes and enjoyed the breakfast as much as we all did. Seems as if he isn't afraid to try new things and has found out that he likes most of what we eat so far (except the milk).

After breakfast, Lance took Wade outside and introduced him to all of the toys in the garage. It was precious seeing Lance teach him some new things such as hopping on the pogo stick and throwing a football. I am positive that he had never seen an American football much less thrown one. His determined spirit comes out again as he trys these new things. Later he got to go swim at the fitness center. The swim coach was there giving lessons so we set Wade up to begin to learn how to swim next week.

We celebrated Easter at our afternoon service at our church, Abundant Grace. It was a beautiful service for us, but poor Wade didn't understand too much of what was going on. Yesterday we had bought him a children's Bible story book in Chinese and brought that along. He read it for a little bit during the service and Rich pointed out to him the Easter story. He managed to doze off a bit and fidget a lot. We had a baptism service after church which we stayed to watch and celebrate with our friends. Madelyn, the daughter of our friends the Liptaks', was baptized. We had a friend who spoke Chinese to explain to Wade what was going on during the baptism. We all went out to celebrate at an Indian restaurant afterwards. It was a great evening that finished up with a game of "Wahoo" as our Grandma Kiest would call it. A game that used dice, marbles and a game board was perfect for Wade with no English required. Before bed, I once again gave detailed (charades) instructions on how to wash in the shower. This morning we heard him get in the shower but figured that for the 30 seconds he was in there, he probably didn't get that clean. Oh the joys of parenthood.......until tomorrow.

Keeping Him Busy

The kids were off of school today for Good Friday. It was a nice, cool spring day with some good outside opportunities. Wade wakes up happy and before coming out of his room, he makes his bed and gets dressed. He asks us the night before what he should wear the next day and lays it out. Breakfast food may continue to be a challenge as he doesn't like milk, yogurt or cereal. Lance made chocolate chip pancakes and he wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. Lance tried to persuade him because Wade loves chocolate but to no avail. I decided to try scrambled eggs and toast. He gobbled that up! No problem for him taking a vitamin either. Wade had said he liked basketball, so the kids decided to give it a try with him. He didn't really know how to shoot, but he had a wonderful coach in Stacia showing him how. He is just like Lance in that he loves to be outside constantly moving. The picture below shows him showing off his cartwheels to Mom.

It was also time to give the roller blades a try. He went grocery shopping with me today and was a great little helper pushing the cart around. He was admiring some roller blades in the store so I thought I should get them out when we got home. We have several pairs around and knew we would have one to fit him. He was thrilled but had obviously not been on skates very much. I just walked around with him enjoying his enthusiasm. He will be wildly whipping around on those in no time.

I also surprisingly found out that he knew how to ride a bike. Where did he learn? At his foster home years ago? His school? The orphanage? Some day I will find out. He just hopped on and away he went with the kids to the sports center. I have really been enjoying all the things we have been doing. A whole new world has been opened up to him. Today we also went to the sporting goods store to buy him a new pair of shoes. He was so easy to please and so grateful and so happy with what I choose for him (with his input)- what fun. Now we don't have to worry anymore about all the black marks his old cheap shoes were putting on the badminton court yesterday (you should have seen the two of us cleaning up the black smudges with kleenex after our game).

The kids decided to go bowling and of course Wade was very excited to go (another thing to keep him moving). Evidently he beat Lucas' friend Caleb the first game. He continues to display a sweet, determined spirit. I hope that applies to school as well. He will have testing and an interview next Tuesday at his new school, Yew Chung International School. We are excited about this school because of their intensive English program for kids who speak little or no English.

Wade also continues to reveal his computer and internet abilities. He was waiting for me to come out of my room this morning so that he could show me some Spiderman costumes that he had pulled up on the internet. He will certainly hold me to the deal I made yesterday at the dentist. He will need supervision for sure on the internet as he is too smart for his britches.

His First Day at Home

The first thing Wade wanted to do today after eating breakfast (he didn't like the oatmeal I had prepared for him) was to get the 3D Spiderman puzzle that he saw on his desk last night. He is just wild about everything Spiderman. We had gotten him a few things for his room not fully understanding his interest in the super hero. He can't wait to put up the 4 foot Spiderman applique on his wall. We also have a stuffed Spiderman that will hang upside down from the ceiling. I couldn't tell him to wait until I finished my breakfast so we dove into the puzzle. He did a great job of figuring it out with only minimal help from me. Upon finishing it, we went to his room to proudly display it on his shelf. Even though Wade is 12, he is small and emotionally about 9 or 10. He was in the 4th grade at his school. He is so sweet. We are enjoying having a "younger one" around who gets so excited about the little (or big) things in life. Wade doesn't have his school testing until next Tuesday with tomorrow and Monday being holidays. The kids went to school today so it was just the two of us. Wade had told us that he liked badminton so I decided to take him to play at our sports center. He is definitely a skilled player. We really had it out on the court! He was smacking that birdie so hard and way deep into my court. I was definitely getting some exercise. I can only imagine that he picked this up at his school. He also enjoys ping pong too and with a table in our family room, he has already played several games. Rich was surprised at how good he was at ping pong.

The fun was over after we ate lunch because we were headed to the doctor for a physical and to the dentist for our first orthodontic/dental consultation. He definitely was scared. He asked me if they were going to prick him in the finger. I told him I didn't know (I actually thought they would take a full blood draw, but didn't say that of course and even if I wanted to say that, I couldn't in Chinese anyway.....). He didn't understand why we had to go and see a doctor if he wasn't sick. In Chinese society, they don't do well visits. He was fidgety and kept asking the nurse and doctor questions. I went to a newly opened international clinic and we saw the head of pediatrics there. He was a very kind man and spent a lot of time with us. He patiently answered all of Wade's questions and listened to him complain about being there. Wade was an unhappy camper about how long the visit there lasted-he wanted to go home. But..... we left there and headed for the dentist. He asked me if they were going to pull a tooth. I said I didn't know but hoping they would pull a very bad looking tooth out. You may wonder how we communicate so well. I guess I am pretty good at; predicting questions, understanding enough Chinese and understanding sign language. Anyway, this appointment was going to be a shocker for him. The dentist really wanted this bad baby tooth to come out. It was hanging by a little bit of gum and it was an easy pull with no anesthesia. Wade was terrified and tears were coming out of his eyes. The doctor did not want to make him do it and gave him the option. He was so good with Wade explaining everything very patiently. I told him to tell Wade that in our house, you put a tooth under your pillow and in the morning find money. Since Wade had gone to get some xrays, the doctor delivered that message for me. He came back to me with a message from Wade. Wade said that if he let the doctor pull his tooth out, would I buy him Spiderman clothes? I agreed of course and then he agreed - deal made! He was still afraid, but went ahead with it. It came out with no effort or pain and little blood. Next he had to have impressions made for an orthodontic consultation (yes, my 5th child with braces!). It was unpleasant to say the least but he mustered the courage and made a LOT of faces in the meantime. He was a trooper today. I made an appointment for his cleaning, fluoride treatment, sealant and fissure filling for next week. I bet he can't wait to go back to that place.

It was a much more enjoyable evening for him that included a Spiderman X-box game with Lucas, funny face making on the computer with Lance, a game of Dutch Blitz with Stacia and Chicken curry with rice for dinner (he went back for seconds without asking). I am so glad that he seems comfortable and happy with us. The Chinese is flowing here and the Chinese-English dictionary is getting a lot of use. I am learning several new words each day. Wade is saying more English words everyday. The doctor said he would sound like a Michigander by the time he was 14. It has been another good day by the grace of God.

Welcome Home Wade!

Well today was a BIG day for Wade! He was going home to Shanghai to live with his new family and he just couldn't wait to get on that plane. First things first though, and we had to finish up some paperwork business at the government notary office and then apply for his Chinese passport. There was a lot of waiting around and he was quite board. After the business was complete, we headed to the airport to purchase his plane ticket. We were not able to purchase it ahead of time, because they needed to see his adoption certificate since he doesn't have his passport yet. We arrived three hours ahead of our flight time so we had a leisurely lunch and hung out. I think Wade was about to burst the whole morning. I did not imagine the extent of the excitement and happiness that he would have over joining our family. It has been a dream. God gets the credit and He has truly answered bundles of prayers.

You can see he won't stop smiling! I didn't have to coax him today. This was the best flight I have had in a long time. He said "Whoa" a hundred times and everything was amazing to him - especially the meal they served us on the plane. He thought that was incredible. He observed every movement of the plane and the mechanics on the wings. He loved the sunset and how high up we were. He kept pointing things out to us and saying, "Mom, look". I am still getting used to this little guy calling me "mom". From the time the adoption was final, he started calling us mom and dad. This morning I came out of the bathroom and he was awake in bed. He gave me the heartiest "Good Morning, Mom" I have ever received. He is not afraid to use what little English he knows. He will just fly with his language acquisition once it gets going. He has been a joy and a delight. He is so eager to please us and listen to any and all instructions we give him. When we got home tonight, he was wide-eyed in wonder. He continued his "whoas". Lucas and Lance were eager to show him his room. The girls made a name plate for his room door with his name in Chinese characters. He loved the spiderman things we had for him in his room. He is a BIG fan and wanted to work on the puzzle right then and there. I told him "ming tian" (tomorrow). He had a snack, played ping pong with Dad, helped us unpack and very willingly took his shower and brushed his teeth. When we said it was time for bed, he said "yes". So far, we are so very impressed with this young man. There is a lot for him to learn, but he is so eager and smart. His adjustment is going well. He likes us! We love him!! Time for me to say goodnight. This whole experience in the past week has exceeded our expectations and each day will be a new adventure that we look forward to.

A Mom and Son Day

Today Wade and I spent the day together. Rich went in to the Beijing office to work today while we enjoyed some more Beijing sites. It was a cloudy, foggy day but very mild and comfortable. Wade would have been much happier going to Happy Valley amusement park but being a mom, I insisted that we see a historical site so that Wade could remember some important things about his home city and country. I had the guide explain this to him. We walked through Tianamen Square and then went in to the Forbidden City. Our guide did a good job of explaining the history in stories that Wade could relate to. It was quite crowded with Chinese tourist groups so he wasn't able to get a good look into some of the buildings.

He doesn't particularly like having his picture taken, so we often had to coax him into smiling or laughing. We caught this one just right.

After we left the Forbidden City, we headed to the local silk market to see if we could shop for some clothes and shoes for Wade. We found several things but these Beijing shop owners were not willing to bargain like we do in Shanghai for the same stuff. I must have been wearing my 'Sucker' sticker on my forehead today. I even had the guide with me confirming my appraisal of what prices to offer. I did get Wade a pair of jeans but was unimpressed with shopping in Beijing. We left there to join Rich at his office building for a lunch together. It had started raining so our outside plans were a bit squashed. We tried a mall that sold kids clothes, but found out the selection was poor and the prices high. Wade tired of the shopping pretty quickly (typical guy) so we came up with a plan to visit an oceanarium. This was a more local place with no other foreigners but plenty of Chinese tour groups. It was a nice diversion on a rainy day but not the most impressive aquarium. As we were leaving, Wade was asking the guide about tomorrow and going to Shanghai. He said he didn't want to say goodbye to Beijing.

We returned to the hotel afterwards to wait for Rich to finish up at work. Wade read to me from a book we had bought for him the other day. He seemed to be reading so well in Chinese. I was impressed. I was also very impressed with him as I got out a word find puzzle book in English and he knew every letter and found all of the words on the page. He showed determination and never got frustrated even with the hard ones. Like Lance said, "he is smart". Tomorrow morning we pick up our adoption registration papers and head to the notary office and police station to apply for his passport. We fly back to Shanghai to start our new life 'at home' tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait for all our friends and family to meet him!