Going Home!!!!

My wonderful husband is packing us up today (and trying to make everything I brought, plus what I bought, fit into our suitcases!!!!)  His engineering skills are paying off. 

 



 

 

 



It is now 12:45 Thursday in China.  We will get Caleb's visa at 4:15... and at 5:00 today we will be leaving for Hong Kong!!!!! Our flight is at 12:45am Friday.  Please pray for safe travels and for Caleb to travel well.  He sees us packing up today, and I am sure he does not understand what we are doing.  He is a little clingy today and wants to be held.  Please pray he understands that we are not leaving him and we are ALL going home.

Consulate Appointment and Shopping!

Our last major appointment was today, we went for our consulate appointment today with 4 other families in our group.  There along with lots of other families, we took our oath and submitted our visa documents.  Tomorrow Caleb's visa will be picked up and we will be ready to go home. 
That afternoon, we went shopping at Shamian Island.  It was beautiful!  They were renovating the White Swan Hotel.  We went into many of the shops there and met some very nice people.

 

 

 

 

 

For supper, we found a Japanese resturaunt.  THAT was interesting!!!!!

But Caleb loved it!

He still likes feeding himself.

 And he likes a clean mouth.

He went through LOTS of napkins.

 



Going on a Boat Ride!!!!

Tonight we went on a boat ride on the Pearl River.  Caleb loved this!  He kept hitting my arm to get my attention so he could show me the water and the boats.  He was Excited!!!! 

 

 Caleb is cool in his sunglasses!

 

They told us at the orphanage that he did not feed himself because he was very slow.  At the orphanage they need them all to finish at the same time, so they just fed him.  Well, I have been feeding him and cutting his food all week thinking that he needed me to.  Tonight, I fixed his plate and put it in front of him.  I turned around to go get him a napkin, and by the time I got back, he had already eaten half his plate... ON HIS OWN... with a fork!

 I think he enjoyed using the fork and feeding himself.

Day 6, 7, and 8

Hello, this is Ian once more.  I'm going to try this blog deal again.

The last few days have been busy.  It's hard to believe that we've been here over a week and only a few more days until we get back on a plane to head home.  I'm actually looking forward to a 3 1/2 hr flight to Korea, 5 hr layover, and 14 1/2 hr flight to Atlanta!  Well, at least I think I'm ready for that....

So, on Saturday we spent part of the day doing medical checkups for Caleb and the other kids in our group.  Simply put, it was a mad house.  Tons of people in a small place with crying kids.  Caleb did great though, even when he got stuck in the arm for a tb test.

This was one area, the other two areas were just as packed.

Caleb weighed 10 kg when we got him on Monday.  By Saturday, he weighed 11 kg.  The boy likes to eat.

Right after his tb test shot.  He didn't like it, but he was over the pain in like 2 seconds.  He's tough.

Back at the hotel room, he was good to go.....

Sunday was a shopping day.  Christy, Kyleigh, Caleb, and I really enjoyed this.  We worked together as a team; Christy and Kyleigh did the shopping, Caleb kept me company, and I paid the bill.  Awesome team work!

Kyleigh and Caleb got Chinese outfits.

   

On Monday, we had a quick stop at the medical building for a followup on the tb test (all clear!) and then we went to the Guangzhou Zoo.  Christy probably doesn't want me to say this, but I got to.  We saw (get the tune in your head)....Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!  

We had a good time, but it was hot and humid.  We really enjoyed the AC once we got back on the bus.  Well that's a run down of the last few days.  Thanks for everyone's prayers and support. Our God is an AWESOME GOD!

Day 5

Hey, this is Ian and this is the first time that I've done this blog thing.

Day 5 with Caleb was a very emotional one for all of us because we visited Caleb's orphanage, and then we traveled to the location were Caleb was abandoned and found when he was 6 months old.   We started out with an hour ride to the orphanage in Foshan City, Shunde district. The orphanage building was clean and organized, and the staff there were very friendly.  The kids were excited to see Caleb again and also to see us.  All the children, around 40-50 kids, were special needs children.  It was really heart breaking to see so many kids there that need loving parents.  This was a small orphanage and one of several in the city.  We couldn't take pictures of any of the children, but here are some of the orphanage.

The Entrance to the orphanage

The playground.

This is Caleb's old crib.  

When he saw it, Caleb grabbed on to Christy really tight and started to cry.

He didn't want to go back to this crib!

The classroom

The playroom

The medical room

Caleb waving goodbye to his friends and orphanage for the last time!

Next we traveled to the location that Caleb was abandoned at.  It was near a busy intersection and at the foot of a bridge entrance.  We didn't know the exact spot, but as I looked around, I was drawn to this particular spot.

As we left this intersection and began to cross the bridge, we saw a spot where two people where sitting.  This is on the back side of the above picture.  I had the overwhelming feeling that this was where our little boy was abandoned and then found.

This was a hard day to see these places, but it was necessary.  We now have a glimpse of Caleb's past and will be able to share this with him when he is older.  Christy and I are excited that God is allowing us to give Caleb a future filled with love, security, and hope.  I've felt God's presence numerous times this past week, and it is assuring and comforting that He has orchestrated so many things to bring us to China to take this little boy home with us!

Day 4

 

 

The Chen Clan Academy

 

Our supper!

Caleb likes Cheerios and Fries!

 

 

 We found Mexican food in China!!!!!!!!!!!!

They made fresh guacamole in front of us.

It was GOOD!!!

 

 Kyleigh finally got her some tacos!

The food here was really good!!!