Settling In

Boy, it feels great to be home! Several days after arriving home from China, we packed for our annual family trip to the cabins. I would have loved to have just stayed home, but it is the kids' favorite vacation. Lyra was also doing very well so we decided to go. It was really a great week. The kids played and played constantly with their cousins - Lyra got to meet my entire family and had a great time swimming, taking hikes, sliding, swinging and riding a pony (that's right, she insisted on riding the pony with our help after seeing the others kids take their turn - and did not want to get off!) She really is a brave little girl! My mom taught her the "Bring Home a Baby Bumblebee" song with motions which Lyra throughly loves - just ask her to perform.

Lyra is still not talking (other than "Eh, eh" while pointing) but seems to be walking and running a little better. She has decided diapers are the way to go right now which is fine for now. We had an unexpected trip to the doctor today which showed a 1 pound weight gain in 2 weeks - that is really great since she is severely underweight, even on the Chinese charts. So we will continue the formula 3 times a day. Lyra loves most food, especially noodles, fruits and veggies. She went crazy for Harry's mom's spaghetti the other night! Lily is adjusting - doing well at times and struggling at others. She delighted in playing dress-up with Lyra today and even shared one of her Sleeping Beauty nighties with Lyra tonight so they could match. The boys are pretty much in their own world but think Lyra is "really funny". We are really blessed with a great family and appreciate the prayers for our children.


This week starts with lots of house cleaning to get rid of the piles that have accumulated from school ending, birthday parties, China and the family vacation. We also have numerous medical and adoption business to attend to this week. And the weeds kept growing while we were away and my raspberry bushes are producing several quarts of red raspberries every other day. It's going to be a busy week! We are just so thankful to start getting into a regular routine.

Home again, home again jiggety jog

Hooray! We are back home again in Indiana. The trip went amazingly well, considering. Lyra was able to sleep some on each leg of the trip. She came off the plane ready to meet her new siblings. Lyra spent the evening playing and romping around our living room - she fit in perfectly. Lily did a great job sharing her new birthday toys and showing Lyra how to play "Tea time". Lyra slept poorly but that is understandable considering the travel, time change and new bed. We will pray for better sleep tonight.

The Girls

Lyra "getting" Tristan

Lyra playing tea

The boys and their Fuwa (Olympic mascots)

Ready to be home

We have tried hard not to think about home too much but to enjoy our time with our new daughter. Through your continued prayers, we have felt an amazing peace throughout this incredible journey. But waking up this morning on the last day, we are done - just get us home. We miss our other kids so much.

Today we will take group pictures this morning and then go to the American Consulate this afternoon for the official oath taking. This extremely important appointment on which our entire trip was scheduled around looks like this: They pack as many families as possible into a small room, everyone raises their hand while someone in the front murmurs some words about taking care, never abandon, etc - I could only hear about half of it last time. Everyone agrees and we all leave. Very anti-climactic. However, it is the last step and we will be getting her visa to enter the US this evening.

Tomorrow morning will start bright and early. We will leave the hotel around 5:30am for the airport to start the longest day of the year for us. 25 hours later we will be staggering out of the Ft. Wayne airport at 6:20pm on the same day! This last leg of the trip is a true test on the strength of your marriage. Happy Anniversary to us!

Thank you all for your support and prayers during this journey. You guys have been an amazing support group with your encouaging emails and prayers. We have felt the peace the passes understanding as we stay in the middle of a foreign country with a new 2 year-old daughter. You are all appreciated.

Weekend in China

We have had a couple days of relaxing here at the White Swan. Lyra continues to do pretty well. She has decided that potty training is too much work - fine by me - and just comes to us patting her diaper when it is wet. We have plenty of time to work on that later. She is learning to understand more words but not using many yet. Lyra loves the swimming pool - she spent several hours there yesterday in the water and playing around. She likes to mimic others which means she gets really wet and we have to keep a really close eye on her.

The food here has been wonderful. There are several really good Chinese places close by. We ate with several families last night and broke down to order Papa John's pizza. Tasted the same.

We have been doing lots of paperwork but have lot of free time. I am meeting a local guide this afternoon to show me the places to get good deals and unique items here in Guangzhou.

China is doing so much to prepare for the Olympics. They are so proud the fact they are hosting. Everyone in China is excited. They are selling Olympic items all over the place. Taiyuan City airport is being upgraded to be used as a back-up for Beijing. New consruction is everywhere, especially in Beijing - I can't see how it will be done in time but you never know.

We leave for home in 2 days. We will miss China but are so ready to get home! Happy birthday, Lily! You are going to look so big as a 4 year old. And Alex, you are going to look so big and tall as a 6 year old. Tristan, you look big and tall all the time! We love you guys and are so thankful for the friends and family who have been helping out. Can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

A few more pictures

More pictures, finally

Aaah, The White Swan!

It feels almost like coming home. We stayed at the White Swan Hotel 3 years ago for our entire adoption trip with Lily. It is so easy to get around and everyone in the local shops speak English. Time for shopping!

We are having a great day today. Everyone had the best night of sleep yet.

Lyra had her medical exam this morning and had a great report. They had two doctors listen to her heart and lungs and pronouced them good. She is 9.2kg or 20 1/4 pounds and 32 inches tall. We ran into Elsie, our guide from CHI 3 years ago at the medical exan clinic. Harry has such an incredible eye for recognizing people! She remembered us and we showed her pictures of Lily from our album. A doctor stopped by to look and pronounced her very beautiful!

We have more paperwork this afternoon and are hoping to post more pictures soon. It is good to see all our group back together again. All the babies are so cute and doing well with their new families. The first weeks are always difficult.

Miracles on a Rough Day

We have had such an amazing trip that a bad day was bound to come eventually. Friday was that day. It started with a poor night's sleep for all which meant a grumpy baby. We had nothing planned all morning so we decided to that Qian Qian to the pool which she loves. Harry took her while I packed up.

As I was packing I realized that I couldn't find my NTI mouthpiece. For any of you that have TMJ (jaw problems), you realize what a vital thing this is. I wear it at night to prevent clenching and helps me to sleep. On the ice breaker question, "What is the one thing you have to take if on a trip?", my NTI is always my answer. I am trying not to panic because in my world NTI=sleep. Harry and I searched for two hours. We took everything out of the suitcases, searched every crevice in the room and considered the possibility that Lyra might have thrown it down the toilet. Finally I had no where left to look but to God. Prayed that this would not ruin the rest of my trip, to please allow me to sleep and that a miracle would to nice.

At noon we left for the airport. Lyra was very tired by now but there was too much to see and do to sleep. She had a large crowd around watching her scamper around the airport, mimicking people who walked by. By the time we got on the plane, she was overtired with no chance of sleeping. Every cry would bring on the stares of all the other passengers, seeing what we were doing. It was hard as many people were trying to take her from us and she was willing to go since she was really tired of us. I hit a really low moment as the culture shock and lack of sleep caught up with me. Harry took Lyra and I tried to sleep but could only feel sorry for myself. After some really sad thoughts, I turned to God for help. After my prayer, I realized I needed to "buck up" - being a mother is hard work but it is the job God has called me to do. I stood up from my seat to see Lyra sitting with the Chinese gentleman behind us and then refusing to go back to Harry. They were encouraging her to tell Harry "Bye-bye". This is a normal for their culture but really inappropriate for a newly adopted child. So after a few minutes I took her back, screaming, and spent the rest of the time playing and encouraging her. It is really hard for Lyra since she knows and likes us but she can't understand us and we don't look like anyone she has seen before.

On the van ride to the hotel, she finally gave up and fell asleep. As evening approached, I unpacked everything but could not find my NTI. I was dreading sleeping without it but kept expecting a miracle. I even shook its little box half-expecting God to have put it back in there. As I climbed into bed, my foot stepped on something hard - it was my NTI - just sitting there on the floor! So I tell you this long and pathetic story of a weak human to glorify God and His miracles! He shows Himself and will support you in His own time and with His wonderful sense of humor.

Mama and Dada

What a delightful day we have had! It is finally starting to click with Lyra (or Qian Qian as we are still calling her) that we are more than just different caregivers. Lyra will no longer go up to anyone but seems to be more exclusive for Harry and I. She is really starting to open up and play with us. I bought some Chinese children's songs and she danced and acted so silly when I played them.

Lyra does not speak much but is babbling more. I asked Shirley if she is speaking any Chinese and she laughed and said, "No, just baby talk." At the restaurant, the server asked Shirley something after one of these babbling rounds and Shirley laughed again. She told us, "She asked if she was speaking English!" No, she is just speaking Lyra language.

So we are working on several things with her. My heart was overwhelmed a couple times today. She was taking a bath this morning and Harry was watching her. I called a question into the bathroom for Harry and Lyra started saying, "Mama? Mama?" Of course I had to come in to confirm and celebrate. At the orphanage, we were given a couple new pictures of Qian Qian as a baby and Shirley asked her to take each picture to her Mama. She immediately brought them to me! We are working on getting her to speak "Dada". Lyra seems to know he is "Dada" but has trouble making the sounds. She understands Mandarin perfectly and obeys Shirley and others when they give her commands. Unfortunately we can't speak well enough but she certainly understands "No", now.

The orphanage visit went well. We were able to take several pictures of the outside. We also spoke with the director and she was able to fill in some gaps. I had gotten the disposable camera back that I had sent the foster family. I had the pictures developed and asked if they would give the extra copy to the foster family. They were able to identify people in the photos for me. They also commented what a good girl Qian Qian is. The director said she is the first one to not cry when at the orphanage - being with new parents in a new setting. She thought she would do very well.

Qian Qian is eating well and seems to really like her bottles. She is also still mimicking me - she insisted on having her toenails painted! She also refuses to use her diapers and tells us everytime she needs to go potty. I really had no intention of potty training her but she seems to have made up her mind. I still put diapers on just in case.

We are so thankful for all our children. The rest of the kids seem to be doing really well at home - Tristan, Alex and Lily, we love and miss you so much - can't wait to see you next Wednesday! Hugs and kisses! Father, thank You for blessing us with such a special family. Our hearts just get bigger as our family grows. Please continue to help this little one You have allowed to join us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!

Happy Birthday to our favorite 6 year old in the WORLD!! We love you. Eat some chocolate cake for us!

Taiyuan City

This is our third morning here in Taiyuan City, the place of Lyra's birth and her life for the last 2 years. It is a small city, our guide informs us, of only 3 million people (that's about the population of Chicago). It is know in China for having many historic places, famous noodles and as the coal capital in China.

Coal: The first thing I noticed when leaving the airport is the strange smell. Almost like something burning but not quite. It also made my nose tingle/burn a bit. Coal dust. The entire city is enveloped in smog and coal dust from the coal mines outside of the city. All surfaces in town are covered with a thin skim of dust making things dirty and slippery. It makes Harry's allergies react. It is coats the inside of our noses to make it black when we blow them. It won't miss that part of the city.

Noodles: They are incredible. We have been eating with Shirley, our guide, every lunch and dinner and she is able to order incredible food! We normally go to the Little Shanxi Hotel restaurant across the street. We get noodles, a vegetable and a meat and bottled water for all of us for less than $10. I don't think we have ever finished the portions. We are getting quite good at chopsticks. All those Chinese nights back in Indiana are paying off. Our guide jokingly threatened not to eat with us if we made a mess when she first saw us turn down the forks but then complimented that we did quite well.

Traffic: The streets are very dangerous to cross if you are not Chinese. They know the unofficial rules that govern when it is safe to cross and when to stay still. I just watch Shirley and do what she does. There are also tons of bicyclists that weave in and out of the car traffic, just inches from cars. It looks so dangerous but I have not seen one accident yet!

We leave for Lyra's orphanage in an hour. It is an hour ride outside of town. We have a great driver who is very friendly but speaks no English. We have really been spoiled having Shirley with us. Thanks for all the kind emails and comments. Lyra is still doing very well. She took 3 baths yesterday and begged for more. Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou.

Tristan, Alex and Lily - we love and miss you. See you in a week!

More pictures

We are still having some photo IT problems but I have a few to add.

It's official!

What a difference 24 hours makes! Yesterday we were nervously sitting in Taiyuan, waiting to meet a little girl we had only seen in pictures. The amazement, joy and inexplicable happiness we felt when Lyra walked in the door all by herself wer almost overwhelming. She is doing so well. She is very tiny for her age - less than 9 kg on our bathroom scale - that's less than 20 pounds in the US, but she seems very healthy. I'm thankful I brought mostly 12 month outfits. Her personality more than makes up for her size.

She seems fairly comfortable with Harry and me. Lyra sees Harry as a big toy to play with and me for everything else. She does not like to go to slept easily but we are working on it. She did take a 3 hour nap yesterday and slept 8 hours last night so we aren't complaining.

Lyra also forgot to read the manual on "What newly adoptive toddlers don't like" because she is trying everything out. She loves to mimic me so I just show her what I am doing and then she insists on trying it. So she got a wonderful bath this morning and would not get out of the tub without a few tears. She also brushed her teeth and went potty on a Western toliet. She had been partially potty trained in split pants where she basically went around with a bare bottom and would cry a little to let her caregivers know it was time to find the squatty potty. Most kids are terrified of Western toliets but she decided to try it out successfully. We still keep her in diapers because she only gives about a 10 second warning.

She was an only child in foster care and was very well loved. This also means list list of favorite foods includes Coke, Sprite and chocolate.

Please continue praying for this precious little one. It is so sad to see her wake up, peak at us and then close her eyes tight, trying to pretend we aren't there. Or perhaps thinking if she goes back to sleep, she will awake to familiar surroundings. She has a good appetite so we are going to try to fill her with as many healthy calories as we can. I put her back on formula 3 times a day to start beefing her up a bit.

Today we spent with the Notary and Registrar back at the Civil Affairs building. Today, June 11th, Lyra official became our daughter. She was very tired and fell asleep on the way back to the hotel which has given me a chance to catch up here. I will try to post some pictures from today if I have more time.

First Pictures

Here are a few of the pictures from yesterday!

Waiting patiently (kind of)


Here she is! The orphanage dressed her all up. She even has a wonderful smelling rose in her piggytail!

We've got her!!

The Setting: Sitting on couches at the Civil Affairs Building: Taiyuan City

The Players: Harry, Robin, Shirley (FTIA guide), and our driver

The Scene: A white van pulls up to the front steps of the building. Out walks a very small girl dressed in a beautiful white and green dress accompanied by several orphanage officials.

After waiting for Lyra to arrive for about 30 minutes, we jump up and start snapping pictures through the windows of the building. In walks this little girl all by herself. She slips on the slick floor but quickly recovers. She walks right up to us as brave as can be. After a quick potty break, she allows me to hold her hand to take upstairs to the adoption room. Lyra is happily munching on "Prawn crackers" and discovering what I have packed in her fancy pink purse. Soon she is on my lap while Harry signs lots of papers. When it's my turn to do paperwork, Lyra easily sits with Harry. He discovers that she is very ticklish and laughs quickly.

We quickly discover that she "wants what she wants". She is very spunky and funny. It's amazing how quickly she is adjusting! We are very blessed. After lunch she was very tired and Harry was able to rock her sleep. She has had some sad moments but is doing very well overall! Thank you for all the prayers - they have made this journey so much easier.

Of course all of you are dying for pictures but we are still having some technical issues. We hope to have them solved by tomorrow. You'll have to check by and see.

In Shanxi

We made it to Taiyuan City late last night safely. We meet Lyra in 45 minutes! We are having internet issues but will post more later.

The Great Wall, Jet Lag & Culture Shock

Sunday was an amazing day for site-seeing in Beijing. Our group travelled to one of the famous gates in the Great Wall and had 1 1/2 hours to climb around. The stairs climb up at very steep angles at times and have guard houses every so often. Our guide said most people try to get to the 2nd guard house so you can get a certificate saying you climbed the Great Wall. She said a few go to the 3rd or 4th if they really try hard and you would have to be crazy to go to the top. Harry and I turned to each other, our eyes met and we both thought the same thing, "We are so crazy enough to get to the top!" Without words, we just nodded at each other and started up. It was really crowded as today was Chinese Dragon Boat festival so many people are on vacation. It was also really hot and the steps are uneven. We took frequent stops and climbed slow and steady but we made it to the top. Later, we visited the Summer Palace of the Emperor and took a ride on a Dragon Boat.

By this time I am completely exhausted and ready to fall over. Harry, however, is feeling great. Harry is blessed on how he handles jet lag. He sleeps a lot on the plane. When we get to the hotel late at night, he sleeps 8 hours. He sleeps on the bus rides, he takes nap anywhere and feels prefectly fine the first day out. I, on the other hand, normally sleep poorly on the plane, sleep a few hours here and there during the night or naps and generally am a mess. It is going much better this trip but it is still really hard to switch your internal clock 12 hours quickly.

Today (Monday) we have an easy day. The rest of our group is leaving at 9:30am to go to their individual provinces to meet their children. We will miss them as we have already made friends in just a few days. Our plane does not leave until 8:30pm so we have the entire morning to ourselves. We are thinking breakfast, workout, massage - it's our last baby-free day. We then go to China Care with our new guide, Shirley. Shirley will then travel with us to Taiyuan City. I asked her if she had ever been there before. "No," she said, "but you will be safe with me!" (Uh, eek?!) Earlier, our guide Catherine told the group that going to the provinces is good because you get to see the real China. She said especially the Shanxi group(us)will have good dose of culture shock. We have been preparing for this and plan to really enjoy Shanxi with God's help. If we expect Lyra to adapt to our culture, we must certainly try our hardest to understand hers.

Prayer requests: Please pray for Lyra as she is taken from foster care in the days leading up to Tuesday's adoption and pray that my body will get some sleep so I can help Lyra through her transition.

Saturday in Beijing

We spent Saturday as typical tourists in Beijing. Our hotel is very Western and used to having foreigners staying with them. We started the day with made to order omelets from there breakfast buffet. Our group then took a bus to Tiananmen Square that was filled with tourists - it was huge! It can hold up to 1/2 million people. We then toured the Forbidden City, an enormous area full of plazas surrounded by the palace structures. Later, we went to a Chinese acrobat show which was simply amazing which was a good thing as we were getting VERY tired.

Now for the exciting news. We all received updates on our children from FTIA. Lyra Yiqian likes playing with balls and forks, peek-a-boo, and she can dance! Not so sure about the forks thing but really cool about the dancing. She can speak in 2 word sentences and can count to 25. She is still in foster care. They say she is very outgoing, gets along well with our children. She is sometimes impatient and is shy in front of strangers. They call her Qian Qian. She is still taking formula so I am now kicking myself for taking the bottles out at the last minute!

I will post more pictures when I have time to download them. We are heading to the Great Wall of China today and the Summer Palace. Thank you for the prayer coverage. Everything is going really well.

Safe in China

We are finally here! My mom picked us up at our home yesterday at 8am, and 27 hours later we arrived at our hotel. The flights went pretty well (delays, mechanical problems, lots of turbulance but we made every connections and arrived safely). We are planning to see parts of Beijing today. Our hotel is beautiful with every possible amenity. So far Beijing reminds me of any large Western city. We are looking forward to seeing it soon in the daylight.

Last post from the US

I thought I would begin my last post from the US with a picture of the last time we will only have 3 children. Our bags are packed, bills paid, lawn mowed and a hundred other details taken care of as the big day approaches. I just wanted to thank all you prayer warriors out there who have really made this last week and a half very peaceful. I'm happy to report the yearbook is complete (yeah!) so Harry is officially done with the 2007-2008 school year!

The kids have been very energetic the last few days - they know something big is up. Alex said tonight, "Tomorrow is going to be a sad day, isn't it?" I agreed and talked about what to do if he gets really sad and all the exciting things he is going to do in the 2 weeks. He agreed, gave his mischievous smile and said, "It's going to be an exciting week, too!" Give my kids a little extra love if you see them while we are gone.

Both grandparents have the "Anderson Kids Itinerary" and all the clothes in the drawers. We are so blessed to have wonderful and supportive families on both sides who live really close. Keep them in your prayers, too. See you in CHINA!