Stinkin' Cool...Stinkin' Cold!

It was so cold today that we bundled little Cory up in multiple layers to keep him warm. We quickly figured out that we didn't need to be worried about keeping him from freezing. This little guy is a matchbox! He almost immediately fell asleep when we got on the Great Wall and didn't wake up until the last 5 minutes or so of our sightseeing. As you can tell, Cory hasn't quite developed an appreciation yet for being on one of the Seven Wonders of the World! We do know that he has a healthy appreciation for his Mommy and his Meat though! In fact, as soon as he woke up, he raised his head, looked at Mom and said,"Ma-Ma...meat!" We all just started laughing. All of us really are aware that this little boy has truly added so much joy to our family! God has blessed us with a new addition to the family that couldn't have fit more perfectly if we would have chosen from a book of personalities! We praise God everyday for how amazingly the Bickfords prepared Cory for his new home! We are looking forward to coming home and can't wait to share the blessing of this heaven sent angel!

During part of the day, when we were on the Great Wall, the wind was blowing in one direction and then 10 minutes later it began blowing the other way! The cold whipped at our faces until the stinging sensation felt like little knives stabbing into our already numb faces. The thrilling realization that we were on the Great Wall of China quickly distracted us from the pain of numb fingers and faces. The way that we managed to continue enjoying ourselves was by constantly reminding each other that this was a once in a lifetime experience and we should make the most of it!
Did we mention that there were a lot of stairs? I know that some people imagine that the Great Wall stretches in a straight line across China, but that is definitely not the case. The first thing we noticed when we got on top of the wall, was the rising and falling of the path. The twisting, turning, rising, and falling proved to be an excellent workout! At one point, each individual stair came up to the top of my Mom's knee! Merriella had a very difficult time climbing these!

As much as our family has enjoyed this trip, we are ready to come home. Our stomachs are quite past ready to have American food. We are exhausted and anxious to sleep in our own beds! I also think that our family has had enough airplanes for some time now! 7 is quite enough for the 18 days that we have been gone! We can't wait till we are back in the United States and get to share our stories with you in person. Most importantly of all, we look forward to sharing our newest addition with you! God Bless and thank you for following our journey to get Cory! Thanks for your prayers and support! We love you all and will be home tomorrow!

Snakes on the Plane, What's on Aisle 6?

Dad Reports, or Rambles: Laura and I have been laying low in terms of this web log. Both of us have been fighting allergies and colds since we arrived in China. Some OTC medications help a little; lack of sleep, not at all. Cory also developed a cough so the doctor who examined him for his visa prescribed an antibiotic. It’s a powder that comes in little 125 gram packets – four fifths of which is mixed in solution for each dose. Other than the cough, he’s doing exceptionally well. He loves airplane rides!

While receiving Merriella from the Shantou orphanage was a joyful experience for us, it was different with Little Haohao. We feel a incredible joy along with profound sadness that a couple who love him very much experience pain and loss at releasing him to join us. Sunday at their House Meeting was very emotional for all of us. Dave and Susie did a magnificent work preparing him for the transition to our family. They are a lovely couple serving G faithfully. Little Haohao recognized us at first sight and has shown none of the distress that Merriella felt during her transition last year. Cory loves his Mommy and prefers to be with her over any of the rest of us, yet he obviously is comfortable with all of us and enjoys his big brother and Merriella tremendously. He is very wary of people he doesn’t know. The Chinese people we talk to (in our limited abilities) are impressed that he understands both English and Chinese.

In America, major retail chains deliberate whether they will greet customers with Merry Christmas! In China, I see "Merry Christmas" and hear the following (among others) all over the place: “Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Silent Night”, “Away in a Manger”, and “Oh Come all Ye faithful”. Interesting.

If you’ve ever communicated in another language, you know translations don’t always fit quite right: On the flight from Guangzhou to Beijing, our flight attendant announced something in Chinese, then followed in English for the 6 foreigners (us!) aboard: “soon we will be serving snakes.” We were relieved they served snacks after all. In a Beijing supermarket, the aisles are labeled in Chinese with English sub-titles. On one side of aisle 6 are various “chips”, while the other is “crack”! While some things don’t translate smoothly, others come through with painful clarity: One Guangzhou shopkeeper with a puzzled look on his face asked, “you adopt a boy?!” I responded yes. He examined Haohao in the stroller, saw no apparent problem, looked back at me and said, “He not very good boy...” It was part statement, part question - a qualitative assessment. If a boy were available for adoption, something must be wrong with him. I said, “Oh yes, he’s a very good boy”. And a wonderful boy he is: bright, beautiful eyes, a contagious smile and a cute sense of humor. And he’s got a big family of people who love him and pray for him – in China, the U.K. and in the United States. Some of you know how Merriella has been saying that she’s never been to China. This morning she told me, “I once went to this China by self!” (that's "by myself"). I responded, “Really?” Then she said, “Yeah! I was waiting for you and Mommy to come get me!”. There are many children still waiting. God is big and sovereign over all things. It’s probably a good thing to ask, “How big is God in my life today?”. It’s been a long trip and we are eager to take Cory home. Thanks for your love and prayers.

Emperor Hao Enters the Forbidden City

My new little brother is sometimes quick to express his disapproval when he doesn't get what he wants right away. On those occasions, we refer to him as Emperor Hao. This came to mind when we were carrying him across the uneven sloped cobblestones into the Forbidden City. Being winter, there wasn't much of a crowd with which to contend. The Emperor used to live in the Forbidden City and it is huge! We walked, and walked, and walked. Did I mention that we walked a lot and the Forbidden City is enormous? Even in the dead of winter the gardens are amazing with the layout of the statuaries, various pagodas, carvings, and paintings. Did I also fail to mention that it is freezing here in the winter? Hannah, Merriella, and I took some time to take a picture on the "Bridge of Harmony!"

Pop Quiz for Today: How many people can fit in a Chinese subway car? Ans: do the 3 taboos: stop, stare, and point. Our family must not look like the average Chinese family. Sometimes they even ask to take pictures with us. Dad once responded that he would do it, but the it was going to cost them 10 yuan (which is the equivalent of $1.50). The Chinese were stunned when he said that. Then he told them he was kidding and took a picture with them. My dad especially enjoys taking snapshots with crowds of people in the background staring at us. The Chinese people are very pleasant though and are quick to exchange smiles with us as we all work to communicate with gestures and mutually recognizable words. Dad's Chinese hasn't improved much in the past 2 years. He stillThere's always room for 10 more! Everywhere we go, people will can't speak Chinese. When he tells souvenir hawkers "no" they come on even stronger. He must have what Abraham Lincoln called the "yes" face.

Translations from foreign languages are not always crystal clear. In the supermarket, "nourish food" means vitamins. If you go in the "perfume" aisle, you'll find air fresheners for your bathroom, kitchen, or basement. At the swimming pool, a sign says, "no frolic." We're confident that means horseplay is strictly forbidden. Of course, the Emperor could do anything he wants in the Forbidden City. In the above picture, we are staring at a sign that says, "do not pick the flowers." There's only one problem there are no flowers! Not to worry, we left the dirt intact.

By the way, Merriella and Cory are doing quite well with each other. Their colds are much improved. Cory is quite the little trooper. He is very attached to his "ma-ma" and doesn't appreciate it when she leaves the room without telling him where she is going! Cory has been quite the addition to our family and we look forward to introducing him to all of you. He is truly a little angel! Merriella and Cory love playing together and Merriella's eating habits have actually improved since we have gotten Cory. They have developed a game that motivates them both to eat. One won't start unless the other has taken a bite. Merriella quickly takes the lead and takes the first bite so that Cory will begin to eat.

Goodbye Guangzhou!

Merry Christmas from Guangzhou, China! It isn't beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but there are Santa Clauses everywhere here. Large signs everywhere announce "Marry Christmas, Marrow Christmas, or Merry Christmas!" Store clerks wear Santa clause hats, Rudolph antlers, and Mrs. Clause outfits! There are Christmas trees all over the place though! We have yet to walk into a shop where there aren't English Christmas carols playing. We even happened to hear a Chinese version of Jingle bell rock. Some of you are wondering if they celebrate Christmas here and to answer your question. Yes, they do recognize this holiday, but they don't celebrate it exactly how Americans do. The weather here certainly doesn't cooperate for a White Christmas. It's so warm here, it feels like summer!

Grandma is returning to the states tomorrow an she will be sorely missed when we view the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City. It has been a pleasure to be with her this trip and we are thrilled that she was able to be part of Cory entering our family! We have made some memories that will last a lifetime and look forward to sharing our stories with you! Cory is doing well. He still isn't acting quite like himself since he does have a bit of a cold! My dad has already pulled a back muscle from lifting the little tank! My dad says, "he weighs more than an artillery round." The first words out of his mouth when he wakes up in the morning are, "momma, gir-gir, me-me, milk, and MEAT!!!" Bath time is his favorite part of the whole day except for when he is eating his meat! Merriella and Cory have turned out to be best buds and they hold hands everywhere they go and Cory gets very upset when Merriella leaves the room without telling him where she is going. Merriella is quite the big sister and loves to play the role of mommy. In fact, she now calls herself a "big girl" and calls Cory a "baby!"

Tomorrow, we head for colder waters as we board a flight to Beijing! It's time for all of us to pull out our winter coats again! I'm sure we'll have adventures from the plane. We usually do! Especially when you have to take a 3 year old to a bathroom on the airplane. Talk about crowded! The easiest part is getting in, the hard part is how to get back out!

We enjoyed our last day here in Guangzhou and spent the last portion of the day packing suitcases. My mom has been so patient this trip and hasn't lost it once. My dad, Hannah, and I yet again went out into the city streets at night and had a blast just looking around. We had amazing daughter and dad bonding time! We made a special trip to a Chinese restaurant to order Cory chicken fried rice! Wow! That must have been amusing for the Chinese people to watch! Did I mention how hard it is to convey what is desired when one person only speaks Chinese and the other only speaks English? It is demonstrated how disastrously it goes by how well our food order turned out at McDonalds! Our "chicken" tonight turned out to be tofu and the "fried rice" was steamed instead. Oh well. Cory loved it anyway!

For those of you who were wondering, all of our paperwork is completely done and the last 4 days that we have here in China are going to be spent touring the country! Cory received his formal visa and passport that grant him permission to leave the country! My parents took the oath that all the information they have given is truthful and received the packet with all of his papers that finalized his adoption! The Consulate appointment went very well today from what I heard. The 4 oldest stayed at the hotel and we also did some touring while Cory, Mom, and Dad finalized the process with our guide! We are so excited and blessed to have this little boy in our family! He truly is a walking sunshine wherever he goes! Well, until next time!

Making Memories...

December 17th dawned, and it was time for Cory to have his medical checkup. This was necessary in order for a visa to be issued granting him permission to enter the USA! He has been coughing for several days, been wheezy and unable to sleep at night. Since he's awake at night, mom is awake constantly with him. Merriella has also developed a slight cough and a little bit of a fever, not unlike Cory. The doctor at the medical station prescribed an antibiotic and a cough syrup for Cory. The medical exam clinic even has a separate room for the children who are being adopted out of the country. After the appointment, my parents met up with us on Shamian Island right next to Starbucks!

The rest of the morning was spent walking about! Our final shopping was being done on the island so that we wouldn't have to go back the next day other than to pick up our laundry! Along the way, we met several adoptive families that were back in China for the 2nd or even 3rd time. It has been nice to talk with them and hear their life-changing stories as well as share our adventures of adoption with them. We have even managed to exchange a few addresses and created lasting bonds with a few people! Hearing other family's stories can be both a blessing and an encouragement!

The rest of the night was just a blur of humorous stories that would take hours to tell and many diaries! Although, we did have our first outing here in Guangzhou to a restaurant! We went to Lucy's! The food was fantastic and our stomachs couldn't have been fuller by the time we were completely finished eating! While out, Cory and Merriella made us almost choke on our food with how humorous they were to observe while they ate! Colin and I both ordered chicken noodle soup and the portions came in bowls the size of a small circular table! They were huge! Cory and Merriella were given a grilled cheese sandwich to split, but Cory immediately opted for my mom's Chinese style rice! I don't blame him, the kid is smart and very tasteful! Hannah ordered pizza and finished of the whole plate! My dad and my grandma (both being the carnivorous people that they are) insisted on having beef and quesadillas. Cory has a peculiar habit of sucking the heads of his broccoli off before finally eating the stem portion! It was quite amusing to compare his eating habits with Merriella's! After finishing of supper, we took a lovely walk back to the hotel! My dad, Hannah, and I yet again went out into the city streets to shop around a little bit! That really was a blast! It's truly like shopping in an outdoor mall! Life-changing stories that have changed our entire outlook about certain things will be told when we return to the USA!

Give Me A Little More...

Our family had another amazing encounter with the Chinese people today, when our limited Chinese and their minimal English understanding fused, causing us to have a slight mishap. Not to worry, it makes for a good story that we will always remember! Ever had an experience where someone thinks you said one thing, but you really said another, and the other person feels stupid when the real meaning of what was said comes out? Hannah, my dad, and I had a similar adventure when we decided to drop in on our friends at McDonalds!

After a long day on the 16th of December, Cory was crying and Merriella was fueling his fussing. They were both calling out for meat and expressing their desire to have a hamburger from McDonalds. Everyone else was starving as well, but no one except the 3 youngest seemed to be interested in fast food. Chinese style noodles sounded more like it! But, considering that my dad, Hannah, and I wanted to tour the town anyway, we decided it wouldn't be so bad to just take a walk and go out for a walk on the crammed city streets! That in and of itself is an adventure worth keeping in one's memory! Anyway, when we arrived at McDonalds, we decided to attempt to order, but not without using the dumb people's menu. When we began to order, we realized that all the hamburgers came in meals. We only wanted the burgers. We carefully explained to the food handlers that we didn't want the MEAL, we just wanted the burger. She gave us the thumbs up and immediately began yelling something we obviously couldn't understand across the room. Almost immediately, the Chinese people began laughing and pointing at us. We didn't figure out until later why they were laughing at us!

25 minutes later, we got back to the hotel where we were greeted by the 3 youngest starving children. Colin quickly dashed out of the room to devour his "double cheeseburger." Not more than a minute later, Colin was back in the room saying, "couldn't I at least have one piece of meat? By the way dad, this isn't double cheeseburger, this is double cheese!" Apparently, the people at McDonalds thought that we had said, "give us no meat!" Sure enough, we opened all the burgers and they were minus the meat portion. (That would give reason for the previous laughter at McDonalds!) We hurriedly walked the 15 minutes back and got our orders fixed so that the few carnivorous children that are in the family could have their daily meat intake! All in all, we got a great taste of culture just from that experience!

The earlier portion of our day was spent at the Yan Tai Garden! The weather proved to be perfect for touring! It was in the upper 70's and everyone was wishing that they had brought shorts, myself included! It was phenomenal! The flowers and scenery looked like they were out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine! Vibrant colors all around proved to be a perfect location for pictures! Believe me, we have enough to make our own V-7 novel! After spending most of the day in the gardens, we went back to the hotel room where Cory, Merriella, and my mom attemted to take a nap. Nana and Colin stayed at the hotel and relaxed while the adventuresome 3 went out onto the pedestrian zone to do some shopping! Exciting stories to tell there as well, but not enough time or space is available! I'll write about more of our adventures later! We send our love to those of you reading this blog and those of you who are unable to do so!
By the way, Cory is still doing amazing! He has healthy attachments with everyone, but he is a mommy's boy!!!

Hear, See, Speak No Shopping

We have seen the most amazing assortment of cool boots here. Hannah and I were interested in having a pair, so one day, my dad, Hannah, and I went out on a shopping trip to find some. Note to self: foreign money spends faster than American currency! Along the way, we did some sightseeing. We saw the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower in the center of this, the former imperial city of China. It was so cold outside that we decided to stop along the way for hot drinks to warm us up. We stopped at... guess where?!? Starbucks! On the way out, we decided to sip on our drinks while sitting on a bench outside of Starbucks. Merriella decided to say, "nee how" to a Chinese woman. Thinking that Merriella spoke Chinese she attempted to carry on a conversation with her. My dad rushed to the rescue explaining to the woman that Merriella didn't understand. In a short moment, we had a gathering of over two dozen people who were curious about a number of things including: 4 westerners with a chinese girl; the man with three daughters(!); which region of China Merriella was from; and what brought us to China. The crowd kept getting bigger and before long, people were questioning if I was the mother or if my grandma was. Dad's 10 chinese words were of little use since 5 of them are hello, airplane, thank-you, yes and no. After finding a woman that spoke both English and Chinese, we were able to convey to them why we were in China. Many of them were perplexed. The Chinese are more likely to stare, come very close and ask direct questions than Americans. All in all, it was an amusing thing to see a family of Americans trying to communicate with a woman who only spoke Chinese! What a sight!
Nana had the experience of a lifetime as well, when on the way back to our hotel she attempted to tell a chinese taxi driver who spoke no english how to get around in his home town. Dad also had a conversation in the pool hot tub with a Chinese man who was attempting to give him Chinese speech lessons! With every attempt my dad made to fix his grammatical errors, the man just spoke louder, more dramatically, and further inside dad's personal bubble! That went splendidly! Did you know that a chinese word has 4 different meanings depending on the tonal inflection? One word in particular might be "mother" or "horse"!
Only a few of our many adventures have been recorded thus far, some of them will have to be told in person when we get back home!