Adoption Adventures: Getting John

We arrived in Guangzhou on Friday, Dec. 3^rd at 10:30 pm.  Our 2 ½ hour flight went well (thanks for your prayers)!  John’s ears did fine…however, flying with a toddler for us was a whole new experience.   I was on my hands and knees 5 times during the flight looking for dropped toys and socks.   John’s digestive system was off so we learned quickly that a change of clothes even on a short flight are new essentials to pack in the carry-on luggage.   I was thinking today that if John wrote a blog about us, he might say that he was sure hoping to go to parents who were already trained! 

John is physically very strong.  His legs are as thin as a bean pole but “cut”.  He impressed our group of parents in the airport by pushing a metal structure that is used to determine the size of acceptable carry-on bags.  He pushed it so far that he got us both in trouble with the patrol people.   Due to this feat, he earned the new nick-name “ The little man”. 

He enjoyed riding in the luggage cart (see photo). 

Going to breakfast in the White Swan hotel on Sat. morning was an emotional experience for me.  The hotel has for years catered to adoptive families and at any time there are approx.  400 American families staying in the hotel as they finalize their adoption at the US Consulate.   This means there are 400 darling Chinese children to look at during breakfast!  One couple walked past us with 9 month old girl twins who they had been waiting for for 5 years. 

These 400 families cram into a very small medical clinic and visit three different stations for brief medical exams.
  

John is what the Chinese shop worker called a “busy boy”.   He is so curious and interested in what is happening around him.  When one of us is feeding him, he will get distracted if the other one of us is making noise of any kind.  The cabinets don’t have locks and he knows which one contains his food…so guess where he goes in his spare time??? (see photo).

He is not only a “busy boy” but he is also proud of his work wit toilet paper…!
 

We rejoice that we are seeing more of his beautiful smile as he gets to know us.  He really eats up affection; he will lean into getting kissed and even come back for more.  

Please continue to pray for our health and protection– the smog has been hard on our lungs the entire trip and it is really affecting Ron presently.   I managed to twist my ankle and burn my hair the first day we were here…well, you get the picture…