A chat with Ginny

One of the things we've noticed in the past few days is how Ginny tries to mimic adult conversation.  I'm not fully sure if what she is saying is Chinese, baby talk, or perhaps she's speaking in tongues :)  Still, it's quite hilarious, as she will often laugh at her own self doing it (and yes, that's laughing and not screaming you're hearing at times).  I captured this video just after supper (forgive the very poor lighting) to give you a glimpse at just how adorable this is.

Songs in the night

Ginny's internal clock is  a bit messed up.  She was up at 4:00 a.m. or thereabouts this morning.  However, one good thing about it was that she was happy, I mean REALLY happy.  She was singing little songs that were a mixture of baby talk and Chinese.  She was climbing back and forth from our bed to the floor.  The songs she were singing had varying rhythms to them, and it sounded like she was experimenting with all sorts of sounds.  So, although we weren't crazy about the hour, we were tickled that she seemed that happy.

This afternoon she was back to the "Mommy only" mode, not having much to do with anyone else.  Bonnie from next door has been visiting with Nathan, and she has been fascinated with watching these "older kids" at play.

Sharon's stomach is still a bit quirky, and I'm still battling some sort of virus/head cold combo.  Hated to miss church today, but thankful to work at a flexible place with people who can step in when needed.

Welcome Home

We're home!

And very glad for it as well.  I (Chris) picked up some sort of virus on the plane ride back and have done nothing but sleep since I've been home.  I've also I slept until 2 pm until Sharon made me get up.  After all, I do want to be able to sleep tonight.

The long plane ride back actually went very smoothly.  Ginny has had no tantrums or bad spells at all any in the past couple of days, and was generally good-natured the whole flight.  In fact, when she was bored, she would reach her tiny hand between the seats in front of her and gave me, Nathan, or Pepaw a playful pinch, and then laugh.

The only delay we experienced was in the final light from Newark to Charlotte.  The plane had a mechanical problem that delayed our leaving about an hour.  At one point the pilot told us they were waiting on an adhesive to dry before they could take off.  I was thinking "Adhesive?" Hopefully it wasn't something like say,
the wing" that needed to be glued on.  Then, when we landed, all of the lights in the plane went off.  Completely off, no emergency lights, etc, so we' fumbled our way to the exits.

We were glad to have several families from church greeting us with signs and balloons at the airport when we arrived.  That really made our day, and Ginny reacted very well to all of her doting admirers.  We made a fast food stop at Cook-Out on the way back in, but shortly after getting home, we pretty much were all tired, and hit the hay.  We were concerned about how Ginny would react to the cats, and she has been skiddish a bit, especially last night.  Today, she's been better, though, and will tolerate them being in her personal space more.  She's been playing with blocks, toys, and puzzles, and has been copying what Nathan has been doing around the house.

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers.  We'll keep posting to this blog, although perhaps not as frequently as during the trip, obviously.

First Day in Guangzhou

We have arrived on Shamian Isaland in Guangzhou China and are staying at the White Swan Hotel.  It's a pretty ritzy place, but as many have noted before, it's packed with adoptive families just like us.  Today wnet by really fast, but was filled with a lot of highs and lows.  The days started off early (after only 4 hours sleep because of a late plane arrival from Shanghai) which resulted in an exhausted Bridges family and a very grumpy Ginny at breakfast.  First on the agenda was the passport photos and medical tests, a few blocks away from the hotel.  The medical examination place was packed with people.  However, despite a very early morning and very grumpy Ginny, she actually did well during the tests themselves, until the end, when she was just ready to be outside and "lost it" a bit.  She did get good reports on all of her tests, though.  Not long after this when we went out for a bit again, she zonked out and got a 2 hour nap in, the first real nap she's had all trip.  SO, therefore, the rest of the day was pleasant with a cheery Ginny, and therefore happier Mommy, Daddy, and brother as well.  We had a long paperwork filling-out session this afternoon as well to go through, but I believe that may be one of the last big rounds of paperwork we'll need to contend with on the trip.  We had dinner at the famous "Lucy's" which is an American style restaurant a block away from the hotel.  We went with all of the Great Wall China Adoption Families, and had a great time of food & fellowship. 

I'm the computer guy

So far, most mornings Ginny wakes up about 4:30 am (I think the orphanage got them up at 5).  This morning, when I got out of bed, she came over to me and pointed at the chair next to the computer as if to say, "This is your spot.  You need to sit here."  She acutually had me lift her up to sit in the chair a bit as well too, which is a big step not because she let me do it, but because she so far has had no interest in chairs, beds, etc.  She pretty much just sticks to things within her reach, but I think she's starting to have an interest in that.  Maybe this is a step in getting her away from sleeping on the floor.  We're due to have a crib in Guangzhou, so we may have to go backwards a bit since she's enjoying this freedom of no bars and boundaries in the room.

She's also been making the pucker face this morning (like the one we posted from the orphanage a while back).  She knows its funny too, because she smiles when she does it.

Sights and emotions

From what we've percieved, Ginny is experiencing many or the stereotypical behaviors institutionalized children often experience.  The first day she was very friendly and open to everyone, the second not so much, and now the third, she's now focusing all of her attention on Sharon.  The rest of us today she just tolerates unless we are doing something entertaining or interesting.  But we expected some of this, and are treasuring every smile or giggle that comes alternating with the occassional tantrum or whine.  After all, bonding involves expressing the full range or emotion and need, and we've definitely had a sense of her "feeling" us out in the last day or so.  She has realized that she now can enjoy the freedom of walking around in just a diaper while we're in the room.  Now on the flipside, she now HATES wearing clothes when we prepare to go out, and lets us know this very clearly.  She also protests loudly when you take anything from her, not matter what it is.  Toys hold little or no value to her, but her "currency" is snacks.  Her stacking an organizing activities have continued, and she has a weird fascination with shoes.  Even walking around with a diaper, she insists on putting her shoes on, and she likes to take everyone's shoes in the room, puts them in a pile, and even sorts by who they belong to.

Now that you've heard some of the more "bonding" news, here's some of the other activities today.  We started the day seeing YuYuan Gardens and the shops and stores that surrounded it.  Very nice architecture and really neat people watching.  One very odd thing was that we heard a man on a traditional Chinese instrument playing "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder."  Our guide reccommended that we not buy anything in the shops there since Guangzhous will be cheaper, but she did say that the silk in Shanghai would be very good quality compared to anywhere else, so we picked up a scarf and a tie, and I actually haggled.  Not intentionally, mind you, as that's not my style, but I ended up saying no enough that it eventually dropped to half-price. 

We then drove to the riverfront to a beautiful view of the Shanghai skyline.  We took some pictures and enjoyed seeing the Pearl Tower and Bund on a beautiful sunny day.  I felt for Sharon, as since today Ginny wouldn't let anyone else hold her, so she's quite spent from carrying her around.  After that stop, we stopped in a "Belks" style department store to get a few outfits for Ginny (since she's definitely still in 12 mos. outfits still).  However, imagine a Belks with 12 stories.  Yes, I said 12 stories.  They actually had a pretty good toy section there, including Transformers, however, they were much higher than even US prices.  (But yes, we still bought one....or two).  They had a six-foot tall Optimus Prime which was cool.  Sharon didn't have too much luck with outfits, because the clerk wasn't too helpful. 

After this, we drove past the hospital where Wu Jin Jun had been adandoned.  We just stopped to take a few pics.  It's actually not far from our hotel. 

Tonight we're having dinner with a seminary friend of mine, Tammy, who lives in here in Shanghai now. Keep praying for us, as these days of transition have had their share of tough emotinal moments, but some really cool rewards too.

Assembled and ready (well, mostly)

Well, here are our tools for the journey.  Our ambitious plans of going totally by the onebag.com ideals went out the window a bit. but still I believe we've done well for a family of three.  Our biggest fear is weight limits in-country, as by our measurements, we're right at or slightly over what the in-China flights we'll have while there list as the max.  I can see us needing to buy an extra bag while there, "creatively redistributing", or at worst having to pay a weight penalty.  The only bag not packed is the net-book, as it's stuck downloading a movie for the plane ride from Amazon, which is proving to be SLOW.

We did have a panicky afternoon, as we were missing an item that we still have yet to found.  It's nothing crucial for the adoption or travel, but it's something major enough that will most likely worry me until I find it.  Pray it will turn up!  I'd LOVE to have that peace of mind.

Well, we're up at 2am tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get a bit of shut-eye this evening, and hopefully a little more on the plane.

Blessings!

Squatter

Someone's ready to go.

I hate to disappoint him, but I think the airline will frown upon transporting animals this way.

Care Contents

Here is a picture of the contents of the care package we sent a few weeks ago to Ginny in the orphanage. We used Ann at Red Thread China to forward the package, and we received confirmation a week or so ago that it had arrived there. I had just forgotten to post this picture until now, since Sharon had taken it and I forgot it was on the camera! Anyway, we hope our little one is enjoying these gifts. The green book with the butterfly cover is actually a photo album filled with pictures of our family and friends. You'l notice that we also included a stuffed toy version of "Hunter" our cat, as well.

Hunter likes my new haircut.

Hunter likes my new haircut.  Hunter also likes to lick the tops of noses.  So, if you come close to him, be prepared for a sandpapery display of affection.  And he won't stop either, for at least five minutes if you let him.  This is especially important to note if you are sleeping and he's in the room.  It's not uncommon to wake up with a red nose where Hunter has licked the entire epidermis layer off.  (exaggeration, mind you).

Oh, and back to the haircut.  As has been my practice the past few years, I tend to get my money's worth at the barber.  But this time, I certainly don't want to have to worry about hairspray or a brush in China, so this low-maintenance doo will suit me just fine overseas.

Grant Hopes....

Just wanted to post a quick note for those of you following our journey to say that we received notification that we are in the final stages of being considered for a grant.  This particular organization I had not heard of at all before beginning our grant research a few months ago, so needless to say that we were stoked to learn of this news.  We would REALLY appreciate your prayers as we have been told a decision should be made by November 23rd.  The decision has moved to a regional committee who will determine the amount of the grant based on our need and availability of funds.  We're encouraged, but not trying to get our hopes up too much either.  This would really help reduce the debt load we've incurred by having to travel quicker than anticipated as well as ease the burden financially on us caused by Sharon needing to be out of work for a while.  

Visas & More

Earlier this week, we got our passports back with visas.  One more step closer.  This week has went by very fast!  And we're exhausted!  Really, in theory, the only thing we're waiting on at this point is to get our solidify our intra-China travel, pack, & go!

We had sent a care package about a week or so ago, and found out today through the tracking number that it has arrived in China, although it hasn't got to the hand of Ann at Red Thread yet, who we're using to forward the package, as well as add a few items to it.  We're also uncertain as to when (and if) the care package our agency sent on our behalf arrived at Ginny's orphanage, so I plan to check on that Monday.

We've started a bit of a running packing list to keep us organized as we begin the packing process.   Our goal is to only check two bags (one for us and one for the kiddos) and carry-on everything else.  I'm optimistic that we'll be able to pack relatively lightly.

For a week or so, we were told that there was no one else from our agency planning to travel at the same time as us.  But over the last few days, we have learned there may be as many as four or five other families that will be in Beijing and Gunagzhou along with us.  So here's a shout-out to you guys if any of you are following our blog!  Also, we learned that two families will be on two of the same flights as us.  The companionship and support may come in handy on an adventure like this.

One Crazy Dream

Yeah, it's obvious I've got China on the brain.  Last night I had a crazy dream.  I figured I would record it here to go back later and see if anything matched up.  In my dream last night, I dreamed about the journey to China and visiting the orphanage.  Here's a list of the crazy things (and some kind of normal things) that I witnessed.

• Our guide did not pick us up at the airport, and we were forced to find our way to the orphanage ourselves.  When we did meet the guide(s) later, they were rude, uncaring, and basically just college kids wanting to earn an extra buck.  I complained very loudly to them about this fact.
• Although our guide didn't pick us up, mysteriously my F-150 appeared and we used that to drive around.
• On the way to the orphanage, we stopped and tried to buy three adult Rottweilers from some people selling them in a parking lot.  We decided against it when we found out they wanted $40 each for them.  
• When we arrived at the orphanage, we waited about an hour to see Wu Jin Jun.  When she came out, she knew who we were instantly and could speak short English phrases.  She was chatty and very social, always wanting to hold someone's hand.  She only cried once, and it was because she thought she did not have enough hair-bows in her hair.  And she did have hair in the dream.  (Incidentally, she has been described to us as being shy and introverted, so this doesn't match up)
• We got a tour of the orphanage, but I somehow fell behind the group and was left to wander around myself.  The rooms were very small, but had plenty of toys.  I even found one of the toys we had sent in our care package, but it had been slobbered on by other kids, so I left it.  
• The orphanage had a parking garage and a security booth.  The security guard was a tattered red-headed American lady who acted like she hadn't seen another American in a long time, and flirted with me.  
• There was a large staircase in the lobby of the orphanage that went upwards into the floors with the rooms.  When you reached the top of the staircase, you had to get on your hands and needs in order to duck into the opening to get to the hallway that led to the rooms.  
• The paths on the outside of the orphanage grounds had no logical direction to them.  They curved and twisted, made U-turns for no-reason.  There was also a Wipe-out style mud pit that you could jump into, which a few of the teenagers in our larger group decided to do.  I think there was also a mud-slide.  
• There was a computer in the lobby that had a few games on it.  That's where Nathan stayed the entire duration of the dream.  
• As we got ready to leave, we me three friends from a former church I used to serve at: Rebeca, Eugenia, and Ricky Alvardo.  

Now, most of this is preposterous, so that's why I decided to share it.  But who knows?  Some of this could be prophetic.

I may come home with a Rottweiler. :)

Looks like a Thanksgiving in China!

Well, our agency did get its hands on the I171.  We still haven't seen it yet, but NBC was able to fax it to them.  Our agency was able to quickly get us a consulate appointment for November 30th, and from what I hear we were fortunate, as it seems consulate appointments are filling up fast.  So, what does this mean?  It means we will celebrate Thanksgiving with our new daughter, Ginny!  We will leave on November 18th (Thursday) and be gone for about 15 days to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.  We are scheduled to return December 3rd (Friday night late).  This couldn't have fallen at a more perfect time, as it will get us back in plenty of time for all of the special music programs at the church (not to mention get Ginny home before Christmas).  I just got off the phone minutes ago from booking the flights (Continental with a connection in Newark.) We had to use some creative financing to purchase the tickets, but the prices were so good, we didn't want them to get away!  I mailed in our loan paperwork today as well, but it will be 7 days before we secure those funds.  Sharon has already requested her family leave from work.

More later, and thanks for the prayers!

A Smile to Melt Your Heart

This was the surprising smile we woke up to this morning via email.  We were excited to receive our update from the orphanage in Shanghai, where our little Ginny (aka Wu Jin Jun) is waiting for us.  All in all we received 6 pictures - the others showed her at play doing things like playing with toys, looking at pictures, etc.  So far, this is the only real "smile" picture we have, so its a precious treasure.  Then, there was this photo:

Not sure what this pucker was all about, but it made us giggle.  We also received an update on her growth and the answers to a few questions.  She is growing, which is good news, but VERY SLOWLY.  Still, progress is progress.  Sharon, who is in charge of the "mommy research" (clothes, nutrition, etc), compared the measurements we got and says she may possibly still be in 12 month clothes.  That's pretty tiny!  One of the most interesting things mentioned (that we didn't ask for) was about her little bald head, saying her hair was very thin and slow-growing.  Now, we hear its common in orphanages for them to shave heads (for lice prevention, maintenance, etc.) but this has us thinking there may be something else here (nutrition, etc.)  Nothing to worry about, but an interesting mystery nonetheless.  The report said her intelligence development was still normal, and reiterated that she appeared to have no major health issues and that 2009-2010 were very good years for her, despite much of 2008 being in the hospital.  

We're still waiting on the I-171H, so keep praying there.  We have asked our congressman to intervene, and that office has agreed to make contact on our behalf.  I think I'm almost caught up on all of the key paperwork that we've had to work through in these past few weeks, but I'm sure more is ahead.  The next major obstacle is to get our monetary affairs fully in order for the trip, should we travel in November.  I'm still not optimistic there, but God has done some interesting things as of late, and may yet again.  It's in His time, after all.  

Again, please think about helping us with the fundraiser project mentioned in our earlier post.  Thanks to those who have helped thus far!  We've also submitted about 5 grant applications, so keep those in your prayers while those applications are being reviewed.  

You're not going to believe this but....

We got our travel approval yesterday.  Seriously.  Our travel approval.   In days, not weeks or months, from our LSC.  Strangely fast.  But hey, not complaining here.  This puts us in a dizzy tailspin, as we could possibly travel in November.  However, there's one glitch:  A little piece of paper called the I171H we're still waiting on. If we had that in hand, we'd definitely be traveling in early November.  But, being that's still MIA, the chances seem slim that would happen.  Of course, stranger things have happened (like say, getting your Travel Approval just a few days after your LSC).  I have made a couple of attempts these past few days to contact the NBC (not the TV network, the National Benefits Center) to check the status again.  I'm hoping to hear back from a specific officer there in the next few days.

So, here's the travel info in a nutshell (as I understand it).  We MUST travel on or before December 9th or our travel approval will expire.  If it does expire, it's not the end of the world, but it would delay things several more weeks as we'd have to apply for travel approval all over again.  So, please focus your prayers on the I-171H document for us.  God keeps whispering to me that His timing is perfect, and I trust Him that it is.

Other good news:  Ginny will be receiving her first care package from us in the next few weeks.  Our agency sends a small care package (included in our fees) on our behalf, and we get to include a picture and a note (which will be translated.)  We'll be sending a more personalized one in the weeks ahead.

Our next immediate project is Visa applications for us (plus Nathan) and my parents, who have decided to join us on this adventure.

Please pray for that I171H!  And please consider helping with our fundraiser! (http://bit.ly/cRquB5)

LSC Surprise

Well guess what?  Do you remember the thing that was supposed to take 30-100 days?  It took 12 days.  Wow.  That had caught us by surprise totally. What this means in the long and short of it is that we could potentially travel in November.  It's doubtful it will happen that smoothly, as there are still a few other obstacles to clear first.  One of the things that has taken longer than we anticipated was the renewing our our I-171H,, which is US immigration paperwork we need to bring our daughter home.  The government has just added a new agency (there's a surprise) to handle adoption related immigration issues based at the National Benefits Center, whatever that is.  This change in the system has seemed to slow down getting that document finished, which actually should have gotten here before the other things we've had come in.  Still, the max wait on that document supposedly is 90 days, and we're still a few weeks away from it being that long.

Some of the excitement about this stage of the journey is that some of the secrecy of the file is lifted, and we are a bit more free to share information about our little girl, including pictures, etc. in the weeks ahead.  We'll also be able to send her a care package.  For some reason, Sharon has told me I am not allowed to send her a Transformer.  I am still baffled why she would deny me this request ; ) , but life goes on. 

And as most of you know, especially those who have adopted internationally before, we have quite a bit of dough to raise.  We feel confident we have enough resources to "borrow" our way to China, but we're hoping to minimize that as much as possible through grants, gifts, and other creative ways.  We are in the process of talking with Michelle Dancy about a fundraiser through her business, ThirtyOne Gifts.  More on that Later. 

Now off for a mad dash of document signing and mailing.

Pre-Approval here!

Much quicker than I expected it, we received an email from our agency today that we had received our "Pre-Approval" or "PA" from China.  This is a document that simply indicates China is aware of our intent to adopt this specific child, and that they will begin the process of getting things in order towards that end.  I actually didn't expect this to come so soon, but thrilled that it did!

The next document we'll be waiting for is called the "Letter Seeking Confirmation" or "LSC".  This is a letter I'm told that basically asks in a Regis-like way "Is that your final answer?"  Basically it's confirming our desire to proceed.  Our agency says that it has been taking between 30-100 days from this point to receive this for other families.  Again, because our paperwork is in order, we don't feel it will take that full time, but knowing our luck, we'll be the first for it to take 200 days.  Yeah, I know I can be a pessimist sometimes.

Meanwhile, we've been going crazy on the grant front.  I'm almost finished with my third grant application, and should have everything I need to send these three off by the first of next week.  Those of you that pray, I'd ask you to concentrate some prayers towards this process for us right now, specifically that we may be blessed with being a recipient for some of these funds.  Still, we know God will provide as He always has.

China Adoption Update March 2010

Some of you who may be new to reading our blog may not realize that we have been in the process for three years now adopting a child from China. We started early in 2007. At that time, the wait was 18 months. But, due to a series of unforeseen events and some things that are still a mystery to me, the wait has jumped from 18 months in three years to 46 months. Even with three years behinds us, that means that it will still be another year before we would travel to China to get our child. In the past few months we have began to consider being open to a child with a minor or correctable special need from the waiting child list. In our last home study update, we had it amended to include being open to children of this type, so we've partially laid the groundwork. We have had contact over the past year or so with multiple individuals who have had successful experiences with adopting a child with a small need like this, and we've began looking at this list a little more seriously in the past weeks. We still believe that everything is in God's timing, and are really in no hurry, but we have began to lose faith in the process which at one time was one of the most predictable and stable of all of the international programs. Sharon and I are both getting way too close to 40, and with Nathan turning 7 this year, a sibling relationship in which they would be close in age is looking less likely.

To add "expense to injury" the long wait has caused us to have to update our immigration paperwork once again. The first renewal only costs us our home study fees, but the second update (what this would be) is not, meaning this will cost us twice as much. Overall, after all of the updates and cost increases that were unexpected, we look to be paying about $5000 more than what we originally budgeted. So, there's another faith step in this for us, that being trusting in the Lord to provide financially for us.

This Tuesday we'll be planning on attending an online webinar about the waiting child program to help us understand that process a bit better. Thanks to everyone who are praying for us, and we asked your continued prayers as we have some decisions to make and some financial hurdles in getting there.

China Adoption - where we are (sigh)

We get an update as to the status of our adoption "dossier" about once every month. As of right now, sadly we still have about 16 months to go before receiving a referral, which would be July of 2010. This is a couple of months further than what we had been anticipating - we had thought May. And since you usually don't travel until a month or so after that. This may mean we wouldn't travel until August, which would be a horrible time with Sharon and Nathan needing to start a new school year. Things could change, but the wait has been getting gradually longer and not shorter for over a year now. When we started, the wait was supposed to only be 18 months. It is now 37 months. This is somewhat sad news for us, but it does give us more time to save money and make other preparations.