Last Post From China

The boys enjoyed their last day of shopping on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. This picture was taken at the famous White Swan Hotel.



Happy siblings . . . well, Lilli is hungry, so you can see her look of displeasure :)


This is the aftermath of The Escalator Incident. You can read about it in the post below.



Daddy and his little princess have been enjoying more time together!



We never get tired of sleeping Lilli pictures. :)


Well, we're leaving Guangzhou tomorrow after a lovely few days with our travel buddies. Some of our group left today, and it was sad to see them go, but we're so happy that they are on their way home. We have an amazing group of families from all walks of life, taking these sweet children home to a new world in America.

Lilli's TB test came back negative, which I was not expecting, and we praised the Lord that she didn't have to have the x-ray. There were two children in our group that had to have the x-ray, but thankfully those came back negative. One more hoop successfully jumped through.

We have spent the last couple of days relaxing, shopping, and just getting to know Lilli better. At least for right now, she is very easygoing and loves to play little games with us, like pretending to give us something then yanking it back. She is letting the boys pick her up and hold her for a few seconds, and they are thrilled. Eric is able to hold her now too, although she thinks his kisses are still too prickly!

I told some of you jokingly that if you heard of an incident in China involving a red-headed American boy, it was probably the Istres! But we actually did come close yesterday. The group went to an upscale mall to a Thai restaurant, and the mall had about six levels. As we were leaving and going down the many escalators, Eric and Eli were in front of us. Suddenly I heard a "POP" and saw Eli fall. Eric grabbed Eli and swung him away from the bottom of the escalator, which had grabbed and eaten Eli's left shoe! So scary. And he wasn't even goofing off, it just got caught. The escalator was turned off and a bunch of guys in uniforms were standing around pointing and talking gruffly in Chinese. Our guide said they were going to have to call an engineer to come and fish the Croc remains out of the escalator. So, we left. Nothing more to see. Our guide took us to a Chinese store like Walmart called the Trust Mart. We found Eli some new sandals and all was well.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon we have our swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate at 3:00, then we'll board a bus to Hong Kong, where we will spend the night. Then, Thursday morning we'll begin our long trek back to the good ole U.S. of A., stopping in San Fransisco and Denver before making it to Nashville about 11 p.m. We expect our total travel time to be about 26 hours. I'm tired just thinking about it, but we're ready to head home. Several of our travel buddies are also on the long flight to San Fransisco, so I hope the time will pass quickly.

Thanks to all of you who have followed along our journey and who have lifted us up in prayer; never have we felt the Lord at work more than during this experience. We have so much more to tell, but fatigue and a tight schedule kept us from doing more right now. I'm sure y'all will be sick of hearing about our trip before we'll be tired of talking about it. It has been a wondrous and awesome experience, and I can't wait for y'all to meet Lilli Grace Yingjiao Istre. She is a dream come true, and a living testament to the work of the Lord.

Tennessee, here we come!

P.S. Eric's trip is complete. He finally got to play ping pong with some native Chinese guys.

A Few More Pics

Eric and Jacob are happy from filling their bellies at the breakfast buffet in Guangzhou.


The proud parents are glad to have each other as traveling buddies! We couldn't do this without each other!

Kickin' It in Guangzhou

We arrived in Guangzhou late Friday night and had to be up early the next morning for the children's medical exam. Since Lilli is mostly a velcro baby to me, I decided to go it alone. The appointment went fine, but it was really crowded in the clinic, with all of the fifteen children in our group, plus other adoption groups, plus Chinese people who needed the clinic's services. Before we could get in to see the doctor, Lilli had a blowout all over her and me and the floor. I rushed to the bathroom and changed her on the floor, wiped myself up as best I could and made it through the rest of the long appointment without incident. She did fine during the exam; it was really basic. As we were leaving, I felt something warm on my hip. Lilli's diaper had leaked again. Oh well, I guess she was marking her territory? All I can say is, Chinese Huggies are just not the same. I'm wishing I had brought more American diapers.

After I got back, Eric headed off to do about two hours worth of paperwork to secure Lilli's American visa and citizenship. The boys and I were glad to not have to do anything, and watched some Chinese tv while Lilli napped. Supper was KFC. Fried chicken never tasted so good!

Sunday was a fun day, as we got to go shopping. Shamian Island is a small part of Guangzhou that has a lot of Western architecture and influence, and also a lot of small shops with lots of goodies. It's beautiful, reminds me of what Charleston and Savannah look like. We enjoyed looking and buying. The boys got kung fu outfits; I'll try to post a picture. We're going back tomorrow to get the results of Lilli's TB test, and hope to buy more stuff!

Speaking of the TB test, this is a new requirement for anyone over the age of two. If the test comes back negative, no problem. If it is positive, which sometimes happens after a child has been vaccinated, then a chest x-ray must be done. If the x-ray is clear, no problem. If the x-ray shows TB, the U.S. will refuse entry until the TB is cured. This is a several month regimen of drugs. I know of one family who, as far as I know, had to leave their child behind until the treatment is done. I don't expect this to happen to us, but would sure appreciate prayer for a clear negative result on the skin test tomorrow (Monday afternoon in China, would be early Monday morning in Tennessee).

The boys are still having a great time and are wonderful with Lilli. She is tolerating us very well right now, and seems happy to have all the adoration. We might have a little empress on our hands! She is accepting of our attention and seems very happy most of the time. Hard to believe she's only been with us a week.

Oh, and a big big thanks again to my little brother Joe, who faithfully posted our messages and pictures when we couldn't access the blog. We emailed him and then he took care of the rest. He deserves much thanks for going out of his way for us. Love you, Joe!!

Zai jian until later!

More Lilli

We bought Lilli some squeaky sandals, very popular in China. She had a good time trying to walk with them on.



Like the rest of us, Lilli is enjoying the yummy breakfast buffet in Guangzhou. Her favorite thing is rice congee, which looks like the Chinese version of grits.



Eric says, "And in this corner, weighing in at 18 pounds, the Chinese Connection, the Beast from the East, the Kung Fu Panda, Lilliiii Bal-bo-aaaa!!!"


She spent about two hours crawling around on the floor with the boys, all the while clutching this plastic bag that a swim cap came in.



I'm so glad the boys are here! They love Lilli so much and will do anything to make her laugh. I think she likes them a little, too. :)

Lilli Grace

A smile from our precious girl.

Last Day in Taiyuan and Trip to Guangzhou

Lilli loves to be outside, even if it's in a van riding to the airport.


Walking at Yingze Park. We gathered quite a crowd of onlookers and picture-takers;we felt a little like Brad and Angelina and their bunch. :)


Behind us is the wellspring at the Jinci Temple.


This is a teenager swinging Eli around and around on the streets of Taiyuan.


Sweet Lilli napping after a long morning of activities. We are so thankful that, at least here in China, she is a good sleeper.

In Guangzhou

We've been offline for several days due to technical difficulties and busyness, but with some help from a travel buddy (thanks Mike!) and a more leisurely schedule, we're back. Today is Sunday in Guangzhou and we will be here until Wednesday, when we leave to spend the night in Hong Kong, then home at last on Thursday.

We lost several good posts about our days in Taiyuan, but maybe we'll have time to tell our stories later :) Just a couple of things:

Taiyuan is one of the most polluted cities in the world, as Shanxi province is widely accepted to be the most polluted province in China. Every day we were there, there was a gray haze over everything. We finally found the park we were looking for, and it was a neat place. There was a lake and a little amusement park inside, and lots of walking trails. Many people stopped to take pictures of the funny-looking family with so many kids. On our way back to the hotel, we were stopped by a group of teenaged girls with cell phone cameras. They were squealing and laughing as each of them took turns taking their pictures with us. Then, one of them scooped Eli up in her arms and just swung him around and around right there on the sidewalk. It was funny. Teenagers are teenagers everywhere, I guess.

On our last day there, we visited Jinci Temple, one of the oldest and most important cultural sites in China. Despite its modern history as the coal mining industrial center of China, Shanxi province is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, with a history that goes back 5,000 years.

At last it was time to leave Taiyuan and head to Guangzhou to meet up with our group. I was concerned about how Lilli would do on the flight, but as long as she had her little biscuits in each hand, she was great. She is really doing well with us so far. We are able to communicate more with her, and she has learned a couple of signs, like thank you and want.

Every day she opens up to us more, and her referral paperwork was right: she does have a ready smile and she is, so far, very patient and gentle. We are enjoying getting to know her, and the boys especially are in heaven when she smiles at them.

We will try to post some pictures if we can figure it out!

Lilli's Birthday!

Day 5--Lilli's Birthday!

We started this day with an early morning appointment to finalize some paperwork. The orphanage director was there, but the nanny was not. Lilli was clearly stressed to be back in the same room where we received her the day before, but made it through okay. We were uncomfortable because she was and when it was over, we were glad.

Since we had no plans for the rest of the day, we decided to get some lunch. Somehow we ended up at a South Korean restaurant, a very interesting dining experience. I'll leave it at that.

Then, the boys decided to play ping pong in the special room downstairs. After getting special shoes and socks, they were ready to go on the court. They do take table tennis seriously in this part of the world! Then it was time to check out the swimming pool. The language barrier makes everything take about three times as long to accomplish, but eventually we figured out that the boys needed to wear a swimming cap and take a shower before entering the pool, which was filled with older women. Luke made the most of it and practiced being Michael Phelps.

For dinner, we decided to celebrate Lilli's birthday American-style and headed to McDonald's. She experienced her first hamburger, fries, chicken nuggets, and Coke. Loved them all.

This was the day we got our first real smile, and it lit up our world. She is an amazing survivor of a child, and we feel so blessed to have her.

Day Six

Today we went to Walmart, a day we have all been looking forward to. It didn't disappoint, as we found all kinds of fun things to see and take pictures of. Our favorite part was finding Oreos and Lay's potato chips. We bought several kinds of chips, including mango, blueberry, and kiwi. But our favorite was the American Classic style. Yummy, just like home. The others tasted gross to our American palate. But we really like the strawberry Cheetos! We did, however, choose not to buy the seaweed pringles or shrimp pringles.

Later in the afternoon, we tried to find a nearby park, but ended up getting caught in the rain. Trying to make the most of it, we saw a KFC across the multi-laned street. Eric got into the spirit of the city and crossed against the light with Eli, almost getting hit by a bus. I was too timid and got caught in the middle of the intersection with Lilli, Luke, and Jacob. We made it across after several cars and bicycles and mopeds swerved to miss us. We walked up the steps to the KFC, ready to celebrate our escape from near death. It was under construction and was not open. Doh!

We had dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel and it was the most memorable experience of the day. Lilli, who wasn't feeling well early in the day, was feeling fine after our long walk. She loved looking around at all the hustle and bustle of the big city. At dinner, she amazed us all by smiling and playing at the table. I leaned over to give her a kiss, and she turned her little face toward me and put her lips on mine. I just knew it was a fluke, so Jacob came over and gave Lilli a kiss. She did the same with him, and with Luke, and with Eli, and with Eric. We were all crying in our dumplings. That this little one could mimic our love to her after only two days is a work of the Lord, I just know it. I know she doesn't truly understand our love yet, and we know we have some long days ahead and setbacks to be had for sure, but this was a sweet, sweet day for our family.

Lilli Pictures

We Have Lilli!!!

We have Lilli!!

We flew out of Beijing at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning and landed in Taiyuan (tay-you-ANN) about an hour later. We met our guide at the airport and our driver, Mr. Yang, loaded up our bags and drove us about an hour to the hotel in downtown. You would not believe the driving here. It is total chaos, bicycles, mopeds, and pedestrians walking amongst the cars and trucks like it was no big deal. Cars are constantly swerving in and out of lanes, and nobody uses blinkers. Eric got video of it. It's quite scary!! I will never look at Nashville drivers the same way again.

We only had time to drop our bags at the room and it was time to go to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Lilli. It was such a strange feeling. When we got in the car, Eric said he felt exactly like he had just gotten on a thrill ride at the amusement park and it was heading up the hill. It was a good description.

We got to the office a little late, and the rest turned into a blur. Jacob was doing the filming for us, and Eric had the camera. When we walked into the room, Lilli was already there, sitting between her nanny and the orphanage director, eating a cookie.

The rest of the time was spent signing a lot of papers and we were able to ask the nanny a few questions about her schedule and things that she likes and doesn't like. Then it was over, and we were back in the van, heading to the hotel.

Lilli has done really well so far, but she is so very sad. Everything she has ever known is gone, and she doesn't know why. It is hard for her to look at us, but she is accepting food, and by bedtime, she was feeding each of us bites of her cookie.

The orphanage director told us through the translator that she is lucky to have three brothers that like her so much already. I was thinking, you have no idea!

We found out there is a McDonald's within walking distance of the hotel and Eric, Luke, and Jacob went off to get us some comfort food in the afternoon. A Big Mac has never tasted so good to me! We have enjoyed trying all the Chinese food the last couple of days, but it was time for some "home cookin'", ha ha. Eric said it was quite an experience. While Beijing has a lot of international visitors, especially westerners, Taiyuan does not, even though it has a population of about 3 million. We are looking forward to exploring this city this week and seeing more of "real" China.

We were all so exhausted from the day's events that we fell asleep one by one around 7. We totally skipped supper and slept in our clothes! It's now just before 5 a.m. and we've all been awake since about 4. Except Lilli, who we are watching sleep peacefully on the bed.

Our family of six is together!

The Great Wall, and Luke's Birthday

The Great Wall, and Luke's Birthday

On Sunday, we went to a church run by the International Christian Fellowship. It was nice to worship with believers from all over the world, but I personally felt a little uncomfortable and unworthy to be free to worship there, when so many who are from China don't have that right. This church was only open to foreigners, and we had to show our passports to gain entry.. I don't know, it just felt strange.

The big event of the day was our visit to the Great Wall of China. It was truly awe-inspiring. The mountains rise up suddenly just outside of Beijing,and the sections of wall run up the side of the mountain and alongside the ridgetops. So many interesting things to say, but it was an unreal experience, and so wonderful to see my boys climbing a wonder of the world.

We had several other activities that I hope I can describe later, but tonight (it's 10:06 p.m. Sunday night in Beijing) we are repacking our stuff and getting ready to meet Lilli Grace in the morning. We have to leave about 5:30 to catch our flight to Taiyuan, which leaves about 7:30. It's a one-hour flight, and we are scheduled to meet Lilli around 10:30 a.m. For anyone who's keeping up, that will be 9:30 p.m. Sunday night in Tennessee.

Also, Luke turned ten twice today, once on Beijing time and once in "real" (Tennessee) time. He had a great day climbing the Great Wall and learning about several different Chinese art forms as we toured around. Our guides, Rosa and Maggie, and really, all of our travel group, were so loving to him today. Rosa and Maggie even arranged for a birthday cake during dinner. It was a great day for a great kid. :)

So I hope to be posting lots of pictures of our baby girl tomorrow! The internet service there is a little sketchy, though, so if there is no post, you'll know why.

Love to you all, and thanks for your continued prayers. We are really feeling them!

Day 2 in Beijing

Day 2 in Beijing

We had a very full day today. After breakfast, we drove to Tiananmen Square. Even though I've seen it on TV many times, I couldn't get over the size of it (over 10,000 square meters, I think). You could easily fit a million or more people there, and I think a good chunk of them were there today! So many people, mostly families on vacation, it looked like. A long, snaking line of people, probably ten thousand or more, was quietly waiting their turn to pay their respects and file past the body of Chairman Mao, which is housed in a huge building at one end of the square.

We saw the Chinese congress building and most famously, the Tiananmen Rostrum, the big building with the picture of Chairman Mao on it. You can see it behind us in one of the pictures.

Then, we walked through a tunnel that was built under the large highway that runs between the square and the entrance to the Forbidden City. The highway is 16 lanes wide.

The Forbidden City was massive. I can't even describe how huge it is. The outer gates are bigger than most castles, I think. It took us about twenty minutes to pass through the two outer gates and courtyards, and that was just the section for the emperor's offices. The first emperor began buidling the Forbidden City in the late 1400s, and it was the home of 24 emperors. The reign of emperors ended in 1911 and the city was opened up to the public.

The boys were all awestruck to walk where the emperors walked. It was a very surreal experience.

One funny thing that has happened several times is when Chinese people want to take pictures of you. Actually, the boys have had this experience several times. One lady grabbed Jacob's arm and I thought she wanted him to take a picture of her, but she wanted to take his picture with her young daughter. A man grabbed Eric by the arm and stroked his nose and started smiling and laughing. I don't know what the nose was all about, but then he pointed to Eric's arm and then his beard. I think he was impressed (or amused) by Eric's hairiness. Most Chinese do not have much arm or facial hair. I snapped a picture, it was too funny.

Luke has had his picture made a few times, too, and I've seen people take pictures of Eli. They are quite interesting to people, apparently. And I must brag on them, they are really getting into the experience. They are trying the food (well, Eli's not too happy about that) and trying to speak to people in Chinese, and just soaking it all in. It has been great to see them experiencing the culture. They are good ambassadors for Hickman County!

As we were leaving the Forbidden City, we saw several people begging. It was sad for us and we didn't know what to do. Our hearts went out to them, but our agency and guides had instructed us not to give anything. It was a difficult moment. One lady followed Eric; she had a small child in her arms, about one year old, and he kept his hands together the whole time, like he was praying. The lady kept walking alongside him, even after he repeatedly shook his head and said, "Bu yao, xie xie (We don't want to give, thank you). He didn't know what to do, so he called for our guide, Maggie, who is Chinese. She told the lady, "He told you he doesn't want to give. Leave him alone, please." Then the lady said some words really fast in Chinese. Eric asked Maggie what she said, and she said, "She say bad word to me!" and laughed. She told us that most of the people in that area are not really destitute, it's how they make a living. She even doubted that the child belonged to the lady. Still sad, though.

After the Forbidden City, we had lunch and then we visited a pearl market, where a lady explained how pearls are made and even showed us some oysters. She gave the boys two pearls each. We bought a small strand for Lilli and they made a necklace and bracelet for her that she can make one longer strand as she grows.

Then we went to the Summer Palace, the vacation residence of the emperor. It was so crowded and we were so tired of being shoulder to shoulder with people that we didn't take many pictures. We were just trying to survive it. It was very beautiful, though, I can imagine how peaceful it must have been for just the emperor and his people.

After dinner, we came back to the room and pretty much went to bed. On Sunday, we're going to church and then to the Great Wall! It is Luke's birthday, and I hope we can do something special for him. That sounds weird . .. . what could we do that's more special than taking him to one of the ancient wonders of the world?!

Enjoy the pics from this busy day! Should be uploaded soon!