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!