Medical exam & Guangzhou (Saturday)

Here we sit (on the group W bench :-)  ) [random song reference] in the health clinic with 10 other families with Holt International. Everyone is from the US except, of course, all the kids. It’s fun to have the other families to talk to, but also a little strange. China isn’t supposed to be this way. You know, not very Chinese.

Ca seemed to have fun with most of the health checks even making the third doctor laugh. She was a big distraction to him while he was filling in the forms - talking away at him - so much so that he had to actually tell her to wait. We all had a good time together. Her vision appears to be excellent, and she isn’t colorblind. They have a fabulous non-verbal vision test - hands of various sizes, with the fingers pointing in various directions. The nurse points to a hand, the child matches the direction of the fingers. Very impressive. Her final stop was to have blood drawn for a TB test. To keep the drama to a minimum, she goes alone - no parents, no interpreter, no Holt staff. Just the nurses. For many kids this is very traumatic, and we prayed and had candy ready for Ca when she came out. It turned out to be no big deal. She was in and out in 3 minutes, and she got a band-aid. No tears at all and not even a grimace. Totally blew us away. The nurse must have told her to apply pressure to the band-aid because she walked around arm extended squeezing the inside of her elbow for a good ten minutes. That’s pretty remarkable for a kid her age. God is caring for our little girl.

"Peeky, Peeky, Baba!" (Daddy was taking the photo)

Several of the families were substantially delayed arriving in Guangzhou yesterday. Those families who were affected by the typhoon had the worst trouble mostly because of more violent weather in that area. Some people didn’t arrive at the hotel until 3 or 4 am. We feel especially bad for these folks because they all have very young kids. We saw one 4 year-old passed out with his head on the dinner table.

In-hotel dining is very convenient and absurdly expensive. Yummy breakfast buffet is again included, but dining in the same restaurant for lunch or dinner can run $50 USD/person. So we go out - and thanks to Holt’s many years of experience at this hotel, we have many good recommendations for restaurants. We had dinner tonight at a restaurant that “has no name” according to the Holt staff - “the noodle place with the green roof.” Some of the best food we’ve had in China, fed all 4 of us for about $10 USD. We’re already plotting what we’re going to get there tomorrow! And a plus, Ca found 2 different foods at the same meal that she would eat… noodles and onion bread! It’s been funny because she’s been so selective about which foods she’ll eat (or even try) and super-selective about the temperature of the food. NOT COLD. Apparently, eating or drinking cold food or water will actually kill her. But also not too hot. She has either a sore or a scar on her tongue, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s been burned in the past by something too hot.

Another "Awwww" moment

Finally remembered to take a photo of our awesome food!

Our cutie & her yummy dinner

We love soup!

a funny statue outside a restaurant we walked by

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. On the way, we passed a small jade shop that Isaac had been interested in. The plan was that the boys would go to the shop and give the girls a head start on bedtime. Ca was really not keen on the idea of missing out. E wanted to take her back, but Ca really wanted to go in. E’s adoption training kicked in, and she decided to let Ca go in for a quick tour and then head home. Fortunately, the store was pretty boring, so Ca was happy to leave after a once-around. Up to the room, Ca asked E if it was time for a bath - it’s become a bit of a ritual, even if we’ve already showered after swimming. E replied they’d just do lotion, unsure of how that would go over, prepared to be flexible. Ca was delighted, and hummed the start of Edelweiss, the song E’s been singing to her while they put lotion on after bath each night. 

(as a side note - when we talk about ‘asking’ and ‘replying’, nearly all of our communication with Ca consists of motions and noises, with a handful of Chinese words thrown in. For our sweet little chatterbox, we imagine this is somewhat frustrating, but it gets the job done 90% of the time. When she’s talking to a Chinese speaker, we often know what she’s saying just from a few key words and her mannerisms. It’ll get harder at home, we’re sure.)

As we were finishing lotion, the boys came back with a Kinder treat, which we shared. Then they were going to head to the lobby to give some space for Ca to fall asleep since our new room isn’t a suite. As they were getting ready to go, Ca went to the door and put on her shoes, and we expected a fit. Fortunately, some zooming noises on the way to the bathroom helped a bit, but Ca wasn’t interested in the typical synchronized brushing routine we usually perform. Pouting and refusing to brush. So E went ahead and brushed her own teeth, making funny faces. Ca tolerated - barely. Then, when E was done, she asked Ca if Mama could brush her teeth for her (emotionally preparing for the likelihood of dirty teeth) - and surprisingly, she cooperated. About halfway through, Ca took over and finished a thorough tooth-cleaning. What a blessing!  E chose not to fight the Ca-wants-to-sleep-in-E-&-B’s-bed battle tonight - the plan is to move her when we go to bed - and she was asleep in 15 minutes. Thank you, Lord!

Please keep praying for us - we’re aware that as things have been going well, we’ve been lulled into a bit of self-dependence. We want to be more aware of our need for our Heavenly Father, and more aware of His hand in our success.