Be home soon!

Hey everyone,

Had Mike do an entry for me just in case I couldn't get on before we head out.

But, everyone is finally asleep, and we are 99% packed to fly out early tomorrow morning.

Wow, what a journey this has been. I think it is going to take awhile for everything to really sink in. I am so ready to come home, but it is also bitter sweet. This is the birth place of 2 of our children. I wonder how things will go for Logan, new faces, smells, foods and language. I know that he will grieve for what he knew, but I also know what things will look like on the other side when he gets there.

All I have to do is look at Mia. She is so happy, healthy and secure with us. I know Logan will be too. He has an awesome life before him. Freedom to become a follower of Christ, unlimited educational choices, excellent health care, freedom from being stigmatized as an unwanted member of society. And, a family who knows that they have been blessed by God to have him as their son and brother.

And he is so blessed to have all of you in his life. Once he catches onto this concept of unconditional love, there will be no stopping this kid.

Today Logan became an American citizen, and will have legal status once he touches American soil in Detroit. As I looked around the consulate, I saw about 60 children who are about to begin a completely new life in the next few days. It was a very short swearing in ceremony, but a great one.

We have been asked by many if we will be back to do this again. I can honestly say that we have no plans to. We are very content with our family, it really feels right. But we have also learned that our plans are not Gods plans. I never thought I would be a mother of 4 children, much less of 2 born across the world. Pretty stinkin awesome!

Can't wait for ya'll to meet the little man, guard your hearts.....he is a real charmer. And no, ya'll can't have him either.

See ya soon!

Love,
Claire

Hasta la vista, baby!

Due to popular demand (I assume), I have decided to post on said "blog". Tonight we ate a hearty meal of rice, noodles, orange chicken, and second-hand smoke from the table next to us. This was a relief to our stomachs, because it wasn't McDonald's or that other place.

We fly out tomorrow morning at around 8:20, and so, for customs, we have to wake up at 4:30. Ok, heres one- we fly out Friday morning at 8:20, fly for a total of 30 hours, then land in Orlando Friday evening. Yes, it's creepy. I don't know if it's devine intervention, aliens, wormholes, alien wormholes, or magic. I haven't put my finger on it yet (I'm open to suggestions).

Today we went to a "Consulate" appointment, where we sat for an hour and a half, got our photos checked, and raised our right hand and took an oath that "All of the information was correct and we have not lied to the government of the United States." Then we came back to the hotel. My mom took me shopping and I found some ballin' Nike's for $20 (who knew I wore a size 44?). Then we went to a Asian restaurant for dinner (see paragraph 1).

So that's about it. That's my "blog" post.

Signing off from Guangzhou, China for one last time. (...or is it?) [CLIFF HANGER!!]
-Mike and the rest of the fam.

PS- My mom wants you all to know that Logan gave her a kiss. Finally.

Stir crazy

Hey ya'll!

It has poured rain all day. We did get out for lunch and some shoe shopping. But had to come back when it really picked up.

One of the moms in our travel group found a store that has nice name brand tennis shoes for a great deal. We took little man, and his little feet and bought two pairs. He loved picking them out.

Mia got a pair of those annoying, I mean adorable squeaky shoes. I thought we would make it through the trip without buying any....silly me.

Thank God we have our consulate appointment tomorrow, we are ready to come home. It has been a fantastic trip, but two weeks in just one city is a little too long. It is beautiful here, but hard to be in a place where your brain doesn't understand anything it sees or hears for an extended amount of time. Like I said before, it has given me an excellent idea of what is to come for Logan. It can be pretty intense.

Hope all is well, we are stir crazy..but doing great. Every day we settle in as a family of 6 more and more. Mia and Logan are acting like they have been together forever. The love-hate relationship is in full swing. They are learning how to push each others buttons, and really enjoying it. I think I might need a good pair of ear plugs when I get home.

Love ya'll,
Claire

Pictures

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

Love,
Us

Just hanging around

Hey ya'll!

Today was another great day. Very easy and laid back.

We had group pictures in the lobby this morning, then we came back to our room and watched Kung Fu Panda. Very cute flick.

After lunch we headed to the pool while most of our travel group headed to the American Consulate to have their exit interviews. 10 of the 12 families fly out tomorrow...wish it was us! But, we don't have our appointment until Thursday morning, and fly home on Friday!!!!!!

We have really loved our time in China again, such an amazing country with such deep history. But, we are ready to come home. Especially Mia. she had a break down this morning, crying and asking to see her puppies. " I wanna go home. I miss my puppies. Logan can come to, can we go now?" She has done fantastically on this trip.

And little man....oh my!!! He is just all over this swimming thing. You will never guess that he has only been in a pool for a week. He can tread water and jumps in from the side. Of course we make him wear his swim vest, but we are amazed at what a water bug he is. He absolutely adores hanging out with the older boys in our travel group. These are some wonderful and seasoned big brothers. There are about 30 children ( bio and adopted) from 15 years to 13 months. Many of the families are returning for the 2nd,3rd and 4th adoptions. Quite a wild looking group.

Today was another great day. He is becoming more comfy with me, we did some hugging and hand holding again. He looks like he has been with us forever. He did break down in tears this morning, and let Bart and I just sit on the bed and love on him until he felt better. Not sure what brought it on, but it wasn't a surprise. I'm sure there will be more. He is one brave little guy.

Well, it is almost 9 pm here, and Logan has been asleep since 3:30. We tried to wake him for dinner, but he is out cold. I think he really needs it, I know that after a few emotional days in a row that I am exhausted, and I think this past week has been just a teeny bit emotional. (:

Miss ya'll! 3 more days!!

Love,
claire

Amazing day!!!

Hey,

We just finished a very busy day of site seeing, shopping and a travel group dinner.

Everyone is in bed, and I am headed there soon. But I had to sit down and post about how AWESOME God is. We have been praying, and I know so have many of you, that Logan can feel our love and feel that we are his forever family. I think today was the beginning of an answer to those prayers.

I woke up and just felt like today was a new day, everything just felt right. I headed off to correct some paperwork at the American Consulate, and had to actually have Bart come and get Logan so I could go. He followed me out of the door! I know this sounds silly, but it is huge.

After I got back, we went for lunch then on a group outing. There was some hand holding, a few hugs and lots of smiles.

Towards the end of our group shopping trip, God put these 2 angels in our path. We were walking past a small shop, and Logan began talking with the two shop ladies there. He usually says hi and a few other things, then keeps going. But this time he was having what looked like a deeper conversation. I headed over, and couldn't imagine what the next 1/2 hour would hold.

The shop owners in this part of town speak excellent English, so one of the women began to tell me what they were talking about. She said that she asked him his name, where he was from and other questions.

Well, it seems that it was never really explained to him that we were his mom and dad. That he was a part of our family, our son. She said that since he grew up in an orphanage, he knew the names for mom and dad, but really had no idea what they meant. That he was ours and we were his. He thought we were just watching him and we lived in a hotel.

She spent a long time explaining all of this to him. She then told him, as we told her, all about his new home, his room, his dogs and that he would be leaving China in 5 days to go and live as a family. He was very quiet while she talked, but smiled a few times.

I am in tears by now, and Bart is just firing away with things we would like for the lady to talk with him about.

Logan was also asking questions. He was most concerned with why we were calling him Logan. So we listened as she told him that we knew his real name, but that when you go to America, your parents give you an American name. We asked if he wanted us to use his Chinese name Li Ghu, instead, and he said no...he liked Logan, just didn't know where it came from.

She then talked with him for a few more minutes, and then told us that she had asked him if he liked us and wanted to stay with us or the orphanage. She said that he said he wanted to be with us and did not want to go back to the orphanage.

We asked if he had any other questions, and he asked about his room again, and the dogs. He also asked the lady to ask if we could buy some ice cream. He likes eating ice cream with us.

After some of the most heart felt thank yous I have ever had, we headed next door to the 7-11 and got whatever ice cream Logan wanted. One of the other families was there, and had heard most of the conversation. They were choked up also.

I know that most of you are wondering why no one really explained to Logan what was going on and who we were. We asked our guide many times if he really knew what was happening, if she could talk with him and ask if he had any questions, what did he want us to call him.... and after some hesitation.... she would say a few things to him then tell us that he was fine. Our mommy/daddy radar was right, he wasn't understanding what was going on.

I'm not saying that this has now turned mine and Logan's relationship into a fairy tale mother-son thing, but he does seem more open to me tonight.

We spent awhile before bed looking at pictures on the computer of things at home. He loved seeing his room and would pet the screen when Oscar and Gabby's pictures came up. He was really excited about his bike too.

Just awesome. Thank you God. He is a precious little boy who has some healing to do, but he is ours. And hopefully after today, he understands that a little better.

Hope all is well at home. We miss ya'll, but all is good here.

Love,

Claire

A few zoo picutres

5 days left!!!

Wahoo!

I just realized that we have 5 days left until we fly home!

We are enjoying our time here, and our travel group is really nice, but we are ready to come home.

It is awesome to travel over here, and be in the culture, but my brain is dying to hear and see what it is used to. At least we are getting a good idea of what life will be like for Logan when we get home.

And speaking of little man.....what a water bug! We spent two hours swimming this afternoon, and I don't think he got out of the pool once. Both little ones are exhausted, so we gave them and early dinner tonight. It isn't even 7 yet, and Mia is out cold.

We did some more sightseeing today. Went to the Chan family heritage house, pretty interesting, then to a tea house. That was a different experience. We sat at tiny tables and drank tiny cups of Chinese tea. Not to be rude, but we were thankful that they were tiny cups!!! Tasted pretty much like grass,really!

After lunch we hit the pool. Things are going well with the rest of the family, but that Logan and I aren't bonding well. He wants very little to do with me as the days go on. Yesterday did not go well, and I took it personally. It looks like I have some work ahead of me. For now, I am hanging back and letting Bart handle him unless he specifically asks for me. It happens a few times a day, so I'll just go with that. There is another family here who adopted a 6 year old boy also, and they are having an even tougher time with him. All of the girls seem to be doing really well, who knows?

But, he is a keeper. He is very sweet, not aggressive or physical. He is starting to take on his role of big brother too. He was hovering over Mia in the pool, trying to pull her back to the steps. And I'm sure you can guess how that went over! Looks I''ll be working on attachment stuff when we get home. Plus, there is always good old duct tape. I've heard it is the rage in the RAD therapy circles. (:

Am off to get ready for bed, I have an appointment at the American Consulate tomorrow morning to fix a misspelling in Logan's Visa paperwork. Guess whiteout isn't an option, I get to redo a bunch of papers.

Hope all is going great at home. Here are some pictures of our orphanage visit, zoo and other crazy things.

Love,
Claire

Running a muck

Hey everyone,

Sorry about not posting for a few days. It has just been really busy.

Plus, we received an amazing gift from a friend at church who works for Marriott. He was able to get us an upgrade on our room this evening, and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome. We now have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room!!!! This extra space is such a blessing.

Am off to finish unpacking. I have lots of pictures and will post them tomorrow. All is good here. Logan is such a little man, he does everything that Bart and Mike do. And Mia imitates him, it is pretty funny.

He is picking up a few English words, and answers to Logan right away. He doesn't like PDA, but is more open to it in the room. I think he is pretty in tune how men are in this culture, he is very business like when we are out and about. Sometimes we poke at him just to get a reaction.

Hope all is going great at home. We miss ya'll !

Love,
Claire

SUNSHINE!!!!!!!

Hey, June 20-21sth

The sun came out yesterday!!! Very cool because it came out just as we were leaving the orphanage.

Yesterday was our visit to where Logan has been living. It was bitter sweet. We were greeted by his nanny of 3 years. We toured about two hallways, and an outside play area. We were not allowed to take pictures of any specific children, but did get a few group shots of his classmates.

His teacher was very sweet. Logan's class is sponsored by a foundation called Half the Sky, so we were blessed with a big book full of pictures of Logan over the past years, and each page has documentation on it. We will have to get it translated soon. It is truly a treasure. After visiting his class, we went to his room. He shared it with about 6-8 other kids, We also got to look in on some of the little ones, and I got to hold the most precious babies. Of course I asked if I could have a few, and they laughed. Our guide looked at me like I had 3 heads. She is young, no kids...doesn't quiet get the whole mommies always loving babies thing.

After our tour, it was really hard to read Logan. He was quiet on the way to the hotel, but he seemed ready to go. He was extra glued to Bart for the rest of the day, and wanted to sleep with Michael last night. But he seemed good this morning.

Mia did not like the orphanage at all, she asked to leave a few times, and was gluey most of the day also. When we went shoe shopping, she would not let the lady help her, she said that the lady was going to take her. I said absolutely not! I would chase the lady down.

After lunch, we hit the pool. It was really a nice break. Logan seems to love the water and told our guide this morning that he went swimming and " even the baby can swim!"

We went to the Guangzhou Zoo this morning and then got totally lost while we wandered around this afternoon. You should see the looks we got!! People would actually count and hold up 4 fingers and point to the kids. A few older ladies would just laugh out loud. Again, not sure it was a good laugh!

Even after 2 trips to China, it still amazing to walk around and see such a different way of life. I so appreciate all that we have back home. Of course the good, and even the bad. Our bad looks pretty good after 6 days!

I can't even imagine what must be going on in Logan's mind. His little eyes search everywhere. He is sooo curious about how everything works. I wish we could communicate much better with him.

OH!! We just got a message from the front desk! We are moving rooms! A friend of Bart's from church works for Marriott, and he has been able to get us an upgrade to a suite. It will be soooo nice to have some more elbow room. So....I am off to pack.......

June 21st

Good afternoon!

Hope all is well. We are back from Logan's medical check and a quick trip with the travel group to the grocery store.

We have a few more hours of paper work to do this afternoon, then we are all done with that! Bart is going to take the kiddos to the pool. He is off at the gym, and Logan doesn't like it one bit. He just finished a temper tantrum, and is now playing with the phone...trying to call Baba ( daddy in Chinese)

He is pretty frustrated with not being able to communicate with us. But the rest of the travel group is here now, and there are some older kids for him to play with. So hopefully he will like that.

There are a few older boys in the group, and it seems that their little men are pretty attached to the dads too. Thankfully we don't have any of the physical issues that a few have, at least not yet. Logan isn't a hitter or pincher. He does yell out loud when he gets frustrated, sometimes buries his head but all in all he is doing well.

Off to rescue Livy from her new little bro. Seems he doesn't want her to watch a dvd right now.

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire

Still raining.......

Good morning!

It is still raining here, but all is good.

Yesterday was a quiet day, just one appointment that took longer to get to then actually have. But, now Logan is not just officially ours, he is legally ours. what's the difference? Not sure! But we are keeping him either way.

Just wish that he would come out of his shell and interact with us a little more. NOT!!!!!!!! This kid doesn't have a shy bone in his body. I was washing some clothes in the tub yesterday, and he screamed," MAMA!!" stripped of all of his clothes and started to help me. It was quite the bonding moment.

After we were finished, he went a straighten his shoes, and refolded his clothes and Livy's. I did tell the other kids to take notes.

After our laundry day, we headed out to find something to do while raining. We found a store with some bikes, and let the kids ride around for awhile. Yes, another day of breaking Chinese social norms! We also bought a soccer ball and some other toys and headed to our hotel's gym to play.

We were playing in the hall, and that didn't go over well with the cleaning ladies. Michael was pretty done with this whole trip yesterday. Not sure who said they were ready to go home more, him or Mia? My favorite comment of the day from him was, " I feel so poor playing in the hall."

Today we are headed to Logan's orphanage. Not sure how this will go, but our guide talked with him, and he seems to understand, and want to go back to say some goodbyes. A few people have asked us to check on their children to be adopted, so I will try my best to do so.

Hope all is well at home. We miss ya'll!

Love,
Claire

Good Morning! Quick update

Ok, day 4 of rain......and we just realized that there is major flooding along the Yellow River.

News doesn't travel fast when you can't speak the language! Just wanted to let ya'll know that we are fine in the city. And our guide said that the orphanage is fine too. (We will be going there on Thursday or Friday.)

We have a slow day today, no appointments until 3pm. We will head out and explore as soon as Logan is done folding his clothes. Seriously, he took everything out of his drawer, and is refolding it all. I'll post pictures later.

Well, looks like we will be here for awhile, he just opened Livy's drawer. If he gets to Michael's....will never get out of here.(:

He is doing really well this am. We spent some time coloring and smelling each other's feet. He is taken by Livy's hair and braces.

Hope all is well!

Love,
Claire

He's offically ours!

Hey everyone!

We are doing great! Logan is a total riot! ALL boy. He is helping us to shatter most Chinese social norms. Going up the down escalator, swinging on those fancy red velvet ropes at the front desk and racing the kids everywhere. Look out Mali, Jake and Josiah! You guys are going to love his total lack of fear.

We went to the pool this afternoon, and little man just jumps right off the edge into the pool. Ok, I hear you....so? What's so great about that, he's six. Oh great, she's bragging already.(;

BUT... the kid has never been in a pool before! Thankfully he had on a swim vest, so he came back up and the look on his face was priceless. I had to turn around so he didn't see me laughing at him. Bart was right there, and just wanted Logan to see what happens when you just jump in.

Well, this morning started off early. We went to the Civil Affairs office at 8:30 to sign the official adoption paperwork, then we went to a dept. store to buy some smaller shorts and some smaller tennis shoes. No luck finding underpants....I don't think the kids wear them here. He didn't come with any, and I got funny looks when I asked for them. Actually, we are getting funny looks all over.

We were out for a walk this afternoon, and a woman with a baby came up to us. She spoke English very well, and said that she just had to ask if all of the kids were ours? We said yes, and she just laughed. Not sure it was a good laugh either.

But, Logan seems to be doing well. He is really into Michael and Bart. Ok with Livy and Mia, and not really into me at all. So, I am just taking things slow. I think I'm going to have a different attachment process this go. Mia is doing so well with this whole thing so far.
She has been such a trooper, very proud of her. I am sure she was made to be the littlest one, she even let Logan push her in the stroller today.

Well, I have a room full of hungry people. So, we are going to grab a cab and grab a bite.

Hope you enjoy the pictures, and hope all is well.

Love,
Claire and crew

We've got him!!!!

Wow. Where do I start?

Do ya'll remember when I said that Logan had the look of just bring me home old lady?

Well, he is a total keeper. Just amazing.

We first saw him when we were going into the civil affairs office. We were early, and saw him getting out of his van with his nanny. We rode the elevator together, just staring at each other. We smiled, he looked a little scared.

When the door opened, his nanny took him into another room for a few minutes, then brought him back out. He was so brave for a few minutes, but as he realized what was going on, he got really upset. We spent some time playing cars and coloring, but when it was time for the nanny to leave, he broke down. Bart had to hold him to keep him from running after her.

I was no help. My heart split in two. Our guide suggested that I stop crying, it might be making him nervous. Something silly about Logan reading our facial expressions for reassurance. Blah,blah,blah. We were taking him away from all that he knows and the fact that he was upset about it was fine with us.

So off we went, loaded into our van, and headed for the hotel. He was quiet, but very interested in what was going on. We showed him the room, and his clothes. He looked through some toys and just like his little sister.....he went right for his SHOES!!! Ripped off his pretty pink sandals and put on his Speed racer light ups. Then when the hat and the sun glasses. We got a thumbs up and a hint of a smile.

We headed off to bribe him with some McDonald's. He dove into his food and we got more smiles. We played with our food and straws and pretty much broke a few social norms. But Logan was having fun and that's all that mattered.

We came back to the room and guess what!!!! He started to straighten up!!! OHOHOHOH YEAH!! I finally got one like me!!! He also really started to warm up, laughing and playing.