A Little Update!

It’s been an incredibly eventful couple of days. I’m sorry we do not always have the opportunity or time to get online. I’ll give a quick overview of the last few days. Wednesday-the day after adoption day we traveled 4 hours by bus to Dalian which is Landon’s home city. If you look on a map it’s a coastal city down at the bottom of the peninsula, west of North Korea. Dalian is a beautiful modern city. The architecture is amazing, it reminds Michael and I of Boston, lots a brick buildings with amazing sky scrapers, also a beautiful park in the center of the city. At night the outsides of the buildings are all lit up. The people are very kind; they seem to be fascinated and pleased with the idea of adoption. We went directly to the government office to apply for his passport. Michael got sick on the way there. I think he may have overdone the Korean barbeque the night before. We ran into Wu Fai and his family again at the government office, his new daddy was sick as well. Michael’s lasted about 24 hours. Thankfully he is feeling much better now.
Thursday was a very special day for us, probably the most emotional for me. We had the opportunity to visit his orphanage in Dalian. I had seen pictures of it online so I knew a little what to expect. It is definitely one of the nicer orphanages in China. Everything was very clean, they were expecting some reporters to arrive after we left. We found out that Landon was in foster care for a year
at age 3 then back to the orphanage, he has been with a different foster family for the past 6 months. They do not come to the orphanage when they are in foster care, and their official education doesn’t start until age 7 at a different location at a school for older children. I think he has had very little schooling. He can write his numbers but that’s about it. He is eager to learn and is copying our English very well. He also likes his new name, but of course it’s going to take a little time for him to always respond to it. The orphanage was a peaceful place very clean and pleasant. We were not allowed to take pics of the children, but did get many pics of many of the rooms. Wu Fai’s family did the tour with us. We found out that he and Landon actually had beds next to each other. Wu Fai was obviously attached to several of the nurses there, giggling and letting them play and hold him. Landon did not seem to show any emotion or attachment toward any of the nurses. Perhaps Wu Fai had spent more time there??? I allowed him a little more freedom here inside the orphanage to wander on his own, but he kept finding me and holding tightly to my hand. When it was time to go we were outside the front doors for a while talking with the nurses and taking pictures. Landon on his own accord went and got on the bus two times, we brought him back out for pictures. He was obviously ready to get out of dodge. With interpretation on the bus home we asked him if he was going to miss the orphanage. It was a definite no. We also asked if he was going to miss his foster family. Again, a definite no…He will miss his friends, but he clearly understands they’re at their foster homes. After lunch at Pizza Hut –(puts American Pizza Huts to shame)- we spent the rest of the day at the beautiful central park. Landon thoroughly enjoyed riding a water bumber boat with dad. Kennedy’s having a great time. It’s wonderful to have the girls here.

Friday, bus ride back to Shenyang. Stopped at convenient store for snacks and potty. The toilets here are squatters. Takes some getting used to. Landon enjoyed his snack of seaweed and dried fish and oreos- or something similar. I tasted the seaweed and about chucked. We’ll have to stock up on this before we come home, he loves it and it’s very healthy.

Back in Shenyang for one night, the hotel is so nice here. You can sure feel the Olympic spirit and excitement in the air. So many preparations to prepare for all the tourists. Today is 12th , the Olympic torch will pass through on the 16th. We are flying back to Guangzhou today to meet up with the rest of the group. Did I tell you that there is another family from Redding adopting. We were shocked when they did introductions…but we have not had time to talk with them yet. Love you all and please keep praying for our safety and health. The driving and traffic is crazy…Landon is still have issues with diarrhea- so many new foods for him. Every night is like a 13 course meal. We are moderating his diet, but it’s hard to know what is causing it. I wish you could see him eat! Have you read any curious George books lately? Well that about sums it up… He was so sweet last night. Pat asked him if he received hugs and kissed from his foster parents. He said no. She asked him if he liked having hugs and kissed from mommy and daddy. His face lit up and he said yes I like it! One thing he has been doing is if he sees us kiss, he will run over give us both a hug and want a kiss from each of us. He knows he has a good thing going!!!! I’m out of time, we have to get the airport. I will post pics tonight. We will have free available internet in Guangzhou.