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Last Day in Guangzhou

It's almost 4:00pm here in Guangzhou and it's our last day here. We are waiting for our guide to bring Isaiah's passport with his entrant Visa to the US. He is picking it up from the Consulate today as well as dropping off our dear friends, the Lockwoods. We were quite sad to see them go. We have had a great week with them and have loved getting to know them better. We have a lot of things in common, so it makes us perfect traveling buddies.

I still have my death of cold. Feeling quite miserable actually. I'm coughing and can't breath through my nose. Isaiah's cough is better, but he still has a runny nose. He is acting quite normal though and is very much a typical 2.5 year old. He continues to amaze us and we laugh at him often. He parrots everything and cracks us up. He rides well in his stroller and can destroy a plate of stir fried broccoli in no time flat. We are SO ready to be home and Seth is anxious to get back to Bangkok. While it will be very hard to say goodbye to him on Saturday, it's much easier knowing that he is excited about getting back home too.

We leave in the morning for Hong Kong. We will be taking the train to HK and staying all night there. We made reservations today and we hope that it's not the Motel 6. Our time in China is coming to a close. It's been a tough trip. With not feeling well and being so far away from our girls and Zachary, it's been harder than normal. I like everyone to be under one roof. We are about to go out to dinner. I'll leave you with a few pics of us and Kevin, Sarah and Michael Lockwood. We also did the infamous red couch picture today. I'll try to post some of those tomorrow.

Can't wait to see you all!

Update

We are doing well and we are so ready to come home. Isaiah is terrified of the pool and get in the water for anything. The WS has a great pool and it really stinks that he is so afraid. I have come down with some sort of a head cold and cough and Pat is dealing with stomach issues. Pray for all of us as we are not feeling too well and ready to get home. Each time that we skype with the girls, it gets harder and harder to be away from them. And I am sure that Max, the man dog, is missing his Mama terribly. I miss him too.

Isaiah is doing well. He will not let me comfort him in any way when he is upset. But, he lets me do everything else for him. I take him to the bathroom, feed him, dress him, help him brush his teeth, bathe him, etc. But, comfort, not a chance. If he is upset, he only wants Pat around. He got up about 4 times during the night last night but wouldn't let me get him out of the bed or pick him up at all. I have had the conversation with many adoptive moms that this can happen and you can expect it to happen to some degree. Sometimes it's much worse. Jadyn wouldn't let me have anything to do with her for 3 days. It was extremely difficult. Even though I am experienced in this area, it doesn't become any easier. It's just plain hard to see him sad and then be pushed away by him. But, at least he is seeking Pat for comfort. But, I'm still sad. I'm trying not to let it get to me, but I must admit it does at times.

We went to a large market yesterday that is off the island. It was quite interesting and is very "China". If you want to experience the culture of China, you have got to get off the Shamian Island. We walked through a large medicine market which was filled with things such as dried sea horses, herbs, mushrooms and plants and spices. Everyone wanted to sell us saffron. The market also had a very large "pet" section. Yes, that is what I am telling myself, they are pets and nothing more. They do have shops that sell pet food, so that is a bit encouraging. A lot of the dogs were pure bred dogs, schnauzers, golden retrievers, poms and poodles. There were some long haired and siamese looking cats also. So, they were all pets, I am sure of it. I hope.

Our paperwork is being delivered to the consulate today and we will go for our consulate appointment tomorrow. We are shopping for a stroller that is decent priced for the trip back home. We have one borrowed while we are here now. He is just too heavy for us to carry around and he prefers to be carried over walking. But, he rides in the stroller great. Never an issue so far.

Prayer requests:

Continue to pray for healing of Isaiah's little heart and that he will allow me to comfort him.
Pray for our health. I am not feeling well and Pat has had some stomach issues. Isaiah is developing a little bit of a cough and had a little stomach trouble this morning.
Pray for safety on the trips home for us and for Seth. He will be leaving for BK the same day we leave.
Pray that Isaiah does well on the plane home.

We love you all and miss you terribly. We will be home Saturday and cannot wait.

Update

I don't even remember where I last updated, so if I miss anything, just hop over to Pat's blog. He is doing a better job that I am with updating.

We are finally in Guangzhou, thank you Jesus!!! We are so glad to be here and to be at the White Swan. It holds some very sweet memories for us and Pat and I both got a little teary eyed just talking about it. We had to check out of our hotel at 2:00 p.m. in Changsha and our flight didn't leave until 8:00 p.m. We went to lunch and killed some time there. Before too long, it was time to leave the hotel for the Civil Affairs office to pick up Isaiah's passport and then headed to the airport. Believe it or not, it really wasn't miserable. Isaiah did absolutely great. The only major hitch we had was that he would NOT under any circumstances sit in his seat on the plane. Pat said just let him sit on my lap until someone told me that he couldn't. They didn't, so he sat there the whole time. We arrived at our hotel at 12:30 am after an exhausting day.

This morning we got up and hit the ground running. After breakfast, we had to meet up with our guide and the other couple that is here with our agency, the Lockwood's, and head to have the boys medicals. Isaiah had to have 6 shots (yes, I said SIX) and a tb skin test. Let me just tell you, it was brutal. It was horrible. I wanted to hit someone. We were concerned that it would set us back some with our attachment but it really has not had any effect on him.

Isaiah is doing really well. His grieving is much less and his attachment is right on target. He is much more attached to Pat and almost always goes to him for comfort. He lets me do things for him, but most of the time he wants Pat to comfort him. He has blown our minds. He is so stinking smart and is such a flirt. All of the people on the island keep saying "he is SO handsome". Well duh, we can see that. He is running a fever now and has a brand new fresh dose of Motrin in him. His little legs are really sore and when he got out of the stroller, he couldn't hardly walk. I'm hoping that the Motrin will help him stay cool and more comfortable. He has the sweetest smile and is just such a monkey. We laugh and laugh at him and are completely head over heels in love with this little guy. Thank you for praying for him and for us, they are certainly being felt.

We are waiting on Seth to get here. He is somewhere in the air as we speak. We are excited about him being here with us this week and can't wait to spend that time with him and have him get to know his new little brother. Isaiah is going to love him.

We are going to a temple tomorrow and then will head back to the island to spend the rest of the day. We are praying for a restful night and no more temperature for little man.

Thank you for checking in on us and for loving on our family. We love you all!

Amy

Day 3 Update

Big Eyes = Big Tears

We made it through day three and are actually heading into day 4. I am a little behind on my posting as you can see.

One thing we have learned is that the bigger the eyes, the bigger the tears. When Alyza Kate cries, he tears will soak you. Same goes here. Isaiah cries these huge crocodile tears and then just stream down his sweet little face. Day 3 was much more tough for him and therefore for us. It was a day of pretty intense grieving. He has such a broken little heart. Please pray for his precious little spirit. He looks so longingly out the window or goes to the door and cries such a mournful cry. It is really one of the most pitiful things I have ever witnessed. Pat and I both cry with him and comfort the best we can. One good thing though, he is seeking us for comfort. He is not fighting us when we attempt to comfort him, so the trust building and attachment signs are beginning to be there.

We received a letter from his foster mom with 3 pictures including one of the family. She wrote the sweetest letter which we had translated yesterday evening and we understand so much more his grieving and tears. In the letter she said that he had lived with them for over 2 years and that he was an active and clever child. She said that he was luck to have a family. She said that they loved him and would miss him very much. She also asked than in a half a year later if we would send them a picture of him so they would not worry about him. She signed their name and gave me their address and their telephone number. What a priceless gift to have for him. This woman has been his mother for 2 years. In his little heart, she is his mother and I am not. And, I understand completely. It is with this in mind that I grieve for him as I witness his precious little heart in such pain. Even though you know that this is by far the best thing for him and that he was created to be a our son, it still brings to mind thoughts such as why does it have to be this way?

We went to dinner at McDonald's last night and he had his first taste of a happy meal with chicken nuggets and fries. He ate all four of his nuggets and then he and Pat shared a McFlurry. Pat said that he was going to get Isaiah a McFlurry but I'm not sure who enjoyed it more. When we got back to the hotel room, the switch flipped again and he laughed and played and had a wonderful time. He climbed up on my bed and laid down on my pillow. I laid beside him and he whispered and turned toward me and laid on his side. For those of you with adoption experience you know how huge this is. I got up to check my email and he continued to lay there until he went to sleep. I slipped him in his bed and he's still there now. He woke up one time, raised up and whined a little, I told him "mama is right here" and he settled right back down.

Just pray today that he continues to be more and more comfortable with us. Pray for peace in his little heart and that God will comfort him. He is so precious and we love him so very much.

We are going to an ancient university today. Yesterday we went to the embroidery factory and to a memorial park. Pray that we don't burst into flames today. It's hot and I hate hot. :)

Thank you for caring about our sweet boy and for praying for him and for us. We love you all.

Oh, and by the way. If you read about a water shortage in China, it's because I let him squat on the bathroom counter and turn the water off and on and he has flushed the toilet approximately 847 times since we have been here.

Pat, Amy and Isaiah

Day 2 Update

Today, we had to be at the Civil Affairs Building at 9:00 a.m. to make everything official. We arrived early and were the first ones there. Being there before other families arrived certainly was to our advantage. We were the first ones in and the first ones out. We went into the first room and had our official family photo made. We then went into another room for our "interview" which consisted of the following questions.

"He is a handsome boy, is he okay with you?"
"He has a problem on his abdomen, is this okay with you?" (He had a hernia repaired at 6 months)
"He has a problem with his right arm, is this okay with you?"

Needless to say, we answered yes to all three questions, signed a few papers including a statement saying that we would not mistreat or abandon him, stamped our thumb prints in red ink over our signatures, did Isaiah's hand print (the left one) and he was ours. "Congratulations, you are his official parents" Thank you mam, but we became his official parents when we opened that file the end of November and knew that this was our little boy.

We went into a conference room where the orphanage director and the notary were having a smoke. They finished their cigarettes and we signed a few more papers, paid our orphanage "donation", received a nice certificate thanking us for making a "donation" to the orphanage and we were finished. While we were doing the official stuff with the notary, the orphanage director called his name "HongHong" and motioned for him to come to him. He turned his head and wouldn't look at him. He tried another time during our time their and he again, turned his head. He did not want to go back to the orphanage director at all. We asked him about a scar on his back and we were on our way back to the hotel.

All in all, it's been a great day. He was very sad when he woke up and we were still there. I know in his little heart that he wanted to wake up somewhere else. Namely, back with his foster mom. He then has had a few episodes of crying earlier in the day. He will be playing, start staring into space and then began to cry. He's cried as long as 30 minutes or so. He has had a great afternoon. We got a stroller from the hotel and walked to an electronics store to buy a disc for our camcorder. It is 187 degrees or something like that. But, he enjoyed the ride and being out of the hotel. We got a poop in the potty today, hooray, and he has told me everytime that he needs to go to the bathroom. Meal times are great, he is a great eater. He enjoys eating and sits in his high chair without a problem. He loves vegetables.

Just pray for peace for his little heart. We have prayed over him several times and just asked God to supernaturally give him peace in his little heart. Sometimes he just wants to get out and cries looking out the window. Believe me, he understands that somewhere out there is the only life that he has ever known. He was well taken care of and obviously loved by his foster family. She wrote us a note and enclosed three pictures, two of him and one of the three of them. How priceless is that? She took the pictures on all three cameras and enclosed them as well. She also included an outfit and the toys that we sent him. The only thing that we did not get back was the photo album, which is the one thing that I am so glad that she kept. It makes me feel as though she wanted a photo album of the family of "her boy".

We had a great night last night and are praying that we have another one tonight. He is showing more and more personality and is getting to be quite a pill. What a ride we are in for. :)

We are headed to the embroidery factory tomorrow to get out and do a little sight seeing. We are looking for ways to pass the time. This is immersion in Chinese culture and we have to point at pictures to order in the restaurants outside the hotel. There is no western influence at all. I have seen one KFC and that's it. Will update more tomorrow. Thanks for checking in on us and for following our journey.

We love you all!

We've Got Him!

AND HE IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!! Excuse me while I sing the Doxology!


Here is the update that you all have been waiting to see!!!

Isaiah arrived at the Civil Affairs Building in Changsha a little late due to traffic. My nerves were shot by the time they got there with the children. There were two other families in the same room with us, one from Spain and one from Holland. All three families were getting special needs boys. We recognized Isaiah right away. He was the oldest and BY FAR the most handsome. All of the Chinese women in the room kept repeating HE IS SO HANDSOME!!!

He is just amazing. His transition has been an answered prayer. He cried, which is to be expected and cried once we got back to the room. He is terrified of elevators.

After getting back to the hotel and coming to the room he cried for a bit until I got a package of noodles out of a bag. I showed him the noodles and literally, it was like the flip of a switch. He started smiling and has not looked back. He did cry while I bathed him, he was pretty scared of that but bounced right back when I dried him off and put his clothes back on him. He is absolutely just precious and is so incredibly handsome. As you can see from the pictures, he has beautiful big eyes. After his bath, I turned the lights down and laid him on the bed beside of me. It took about 1 minute for him to be asleep. So now, he is quietly napping while I am sending you this email. Pat has gone to exchange the money for the adoption fees and gone to look for a disc for our cam corder.

God is good and we are blessed beyond measure. I put on my necklace that has "Hope" on it because truly, it is through our adoption into the Father's family that we have hope. It was through the adoption of Isaiah Yang Hood that he also has hope. He will be loved and treasured forever, just as we love our other four. I simply cannot put into words the joy and anticipation of watching this little guy become more comfortable with us and soon learn to trust us as his Mama and Baba. This child was created before the beginning of time to be our child. We are truly blessed by our Father and are humbled that we are called to be his Forever Family.

Thank you friends and family for praying for us. We'll update more soon, but for now, enjoy the pictures!

We have skype opened all the time and you can communicate via email if you would like. We have free internet, so we keep the laptop on all the time. Can't wait to hear from you all!!!

(Ashley, go ahead and post this too)

We love you all,
Pat, Amy and finally Isaiah Yang Hood