Oh No! Now I have market fever!

A pretty mellow day on the agenda. All passed the immigration paperwork
test. Lily checked all the paperwork here and it was done in 1/2 an hour
in total. She went to the embassy for us and she paid with her credit
card so no one had to go. The girl gets things done and very very
efficiently. We will pay her back of course.

With that looked after we headed off to the YaShow market. I had not
really enjoyed it like D did before now, but today all changed. Much nicer markets in Beijing. We headed downstairs where we were told the shoes were. Lolah had a blast but I was a little concerned because so many people were asking her questions and I knew they were about her adoption. She often looked uncomfortable. I finally gave her our tag that explained our story and let her show interested people if she wanted to. She was quite cute wielding the power. She grabbed a pair of sandals that were purple and white with tons of fake gems on them. Totally princess! We distracted her and hid them. She was easily distracted by a pair of tall black fashion boots. The girls got some class. I am so happy she has some "pretty" in her. She just about flipped when we saw nail polish and bought her a bottle. She immediately pipe up tzee tzee momma and off she skipped. She carried that bottle of nail polish for the entire time we were in the market. We could not convince her to put it in her or my pocket. The hour and a half passes like 5 minutes. Then we were off to the next market and we hit the toy room. What a blast. I believe we are
going back as a group and I will hit the clothes floor.

I have an issue I want to mention just in case someone reading this is coming to China and has a quezzy stomach. "horking" Oh my goodness.

There is clearing your throat and spitting then there is horking. The chinese people HORK. It really does not matter where you are you will hear someone working on some agressive phlem release. We were sitting in our room with the door open because it was 90 degrees. Numerous times D would mention how disgusting it sounded and it doesn't even phase him at home. I am particulary sensitive to this while dining and often this is when I heard it most. I can tell you the time we were out for dinner at the buffet and an elderly lady was working something up. I almost lost
what little dinner I had consumed. Excellent at consumption control. I have not had an appetite while I am here and this is one of the reasons. Maybe this will toughen me up.

On to something a lot more pleasant. The minute we arrived back in our room she was eager to get her nails done. How fun was this. I think the picture tells the story. After an extended drying time. She was off to do laundry again. Our very own laundry service!

Tomorrow it is Forbidden City and Tianmenan Square.

Later
Janet

PS.Hello again. I know I already posted today but I am doing this more for Lolah.

On the day we went to Lolah's orphanage we were given a tour of the
property near by that the orphanage shared with a seniors building next
door. This property was on top of a hill with a paved road leading to it. On the way up we were following Penny, the liason officer and the Orphanage director. We were passing by a site where a building obviously had been taken down. I asked what had been there. The liason officer did not answer that question but he did tell us that a building was once there and it had to be taken down because it had a huge crack in it after the earthquake. D and I were quite taken by the comment and started our own conversation about it. We were both so happy Lolah's building was not affected. After we had heard about the earthquake at home we both commented on how we prayed God would protect Lolah and the other children in her orphanage. We were in awe of the fact that it had affected a building so close to her yet she was safe. Penny later told us that the children were likely evacuated from the orphanage and slept in tents.

To tie this together, move ahead to yesterday on our way home from the Great Wall. I asked Lily if she would ask Lolah if she remembered the earthquake. Lily told us that yes she did remember. Lolah told Lily that all the children were crying but her. She was not crying. The nannies had to carry all the other children out because they were so scared but not her. She ran out all by herself. Lily asked if they slept in tents and she said yes.

This little girl has been through so much in her young life. It is no wonder she is so grown up in so many ways. I could not help but wonder if the nannies told her she was big enough and had to walk out seeing she was the oldest and most able. Sort of the "suck it up" approach. Just a thought. We are just so thankful she was kept safe.

Great Wall

Another beautiful day 21 degrees. A GREAT day for climbing the GREAT Wall. We managed to hike to the top. Apparently this makes D a man. According to chinese proverb, you ar not a man until you have climbed to the top. Well done D.

Lolah was a trooper. She probably climbed 60% of the way up. We counted the steps up to 10 in english and then started again. We were very close to the top when D asked what time we were to be back at the bus. Neither one could not remember because we were so excited to climb the time did not register. He wanted to go back down so we would not keep the other families waiting. We were only 3 sections from the top. I was determine to finish so Lolah would have some bragging rights later on in life. She deserved it. So up we went and it was worth every step. I put her on my back for the last 3 sections. It was not hard on my back but boy did my legs get a work out. Decending with jelly legs was quite a feat. Thank goodness D didn't have them as he carried her all the way down. EVERY step. Maybe because he is a Real man now.

She is using english more lately. It will be no time before she is chatting away in english. Honestly it appears the language is not a barrier by the amount and the rate at which she speaks to us. She gives us a wink the odd time after she has chatted and we seem perplexed. She a little cheeky but oh so cute.

We stopped at the Jade Factory on the way home. We had no intention of buying anything but we decided to buy Lolah a little pendent. We will give it to her for a special occasion when she is older. Very intersting watching the men and women working away on the beautiful pieces.

Lolah did not have a nap and she is tired after that huge climb. We decided because it is 4:30 that we would try and stretch her until 7:00. So bring on the activities. I decided to try on her cute little bikini that I had brought along for her. Well did her face light up. Did I mention our room has been 90 degrees and the air conditioner does not work? Rough at night time to sleep. A picture was certainly a must so as soon as I pulled out the camera she struck a pose. Oh my goodness, how cheeky is that pose. This is obviously not her first time doing this.

We filled the sink with water next and she must have played for 45 minutes. After this she walked over to me holding up a pair of her underware from the dirty laundry pile. I knew what she meant so I gave her the OK. Off she went to the washroom to clean her undies.

Next she came to me with a pair of socks. Ok and away she went. Next my socks, then D's sock, then my shirt. She allowed me to help with the shirt and she asked me to hang each item as they we washed. She washed those clothes like my mom did when she did hand washing. She knew exactly how to rub the clothes. This took up probably another hour. Then it was snack time with poppa. He was eating almonds and she, being the eater that she is, buddied up with him. I was as usual served my almonds while I was typing. Making sure all are cared for.

I do believe it may not be a huge problem as she does come to me often for help. She is getting better at allowing me to cream her skin after her shower. She is not so keen on the cream but puts up with it. I was saying to D we could not have asked for an easier transition. The other families here are shocked as well. She will hop on my lap at random, snuggle with D when she feels like it. Check out the picture
of Poppa and his girl. She is so comfortable with us. She wants us as her parents and has been a part of the decision, not to mention the ability to comprehend to some degree. We believe this is why she is doing so well.

D has gone to get dinner and yes it is KFC once again for them. I am not sure who is happiest. You be the judge.

Leevi and Simon it sure was great talking to you today. We really love you and miss you. But it is only 4 more sleeps and we get to give you huge hugs. I had to work so hard at keeping my composure when we called, so it was a short call.

Free morning, paperwork is being checked. Then off to the market tomorrow.

Love
J,D & L

In Beijing

Hello everyone.

We have arrived and without issue. Penny told Lolah where we were going and Lolah did become sad after we were in the van on our way to the airport. She was telling our guide that she would go to Beijing for a little while but would return to Xi'an to play with Penny soon. Penny was very very good to her. Whenever Penny was around, Lolah mostly wanted to hold her hand and be with her. We understood this and allowed it as she could communicate with Lolah. Penny always made whatever we did fun for Lolah even sightseeing historic sights. She was quiet after that and came around once we arrived in the airport and had a ride on the luggage cart.
She teared up again as we said goodbye at the loading gate, but we talked of food and she recovered quickly.

We bought her a bowl of noodles and were very wrapped up in her eating with the chop sticks. We decided to do a quick bathroom stop and then head to the plane. Lolah and I went in and decided to use the handicap without a door as opposed the the squatters with a door. While I was still using the washroom Lolah faced started to light up and she started saying something then repeating her name. It was then I realized she was being paged in Chinese. She was quite thrilled to hear her name over the pa system. OOOps it was last call again for boarding the plane. We just made our flight on our way to Xi'an also. We had not even sat down yet and the plane was backing up.

Our flight was uneventful. She enjoyed looking out the window and stayed awake the entire trip. She grabbed a 10 minute nap on the bus ride to the hotel and then stayed up until 1:30.

This morning was absolutley beautiful again. All 4 families had breakfast together and it was so great to have someone to talk to. We have great families here with us. Another bonus. I had to scoot up to the room for a moment and by the time I arrived back at breakfast Lolah had met another little girl who came with her family to meet her brother. Within 5 minutes the were doing "cheers" ( Lolah leading in chinese) The next thing I know they both tongue to tongue. Whow! that was fast! Not such a good idea since the Paige was thowing up on the bus last night. It does not take Lolah long to make friends, then start telling them what to do in a very stern authorative way. She was telling Lily our guide today that she has to help look after the other children here because she is the oldest, as she grabbed a stroller to push. Have to work on this.

We decided as a group to do a short trip today as we were all tired. So paperwork in the am then a short trip to the Bird's Nest and Water Cube. It is so sureal standing next to these Olympic venues. Lolah was shouting out what they were in Chinese and our guide was translating. She told the bus driver to stop , then said let's get off. She did this numerous times, I guess we could not get there soon enough. She really enjoyed the Bird's Nest. We all agreed that it was not as big as it looked on tv yet still amazing. They charged 50 yuan each to enter. The place was very very busy. Go figure the chinese turning an Olyimpic venue into a profit making tourist sight. Great way to pay off the building. Beijing has
16.8 million people. Everyone will likely pay to see it as they were not allowed to be around during the Olympics. Pretty lucrative.

Dinner was at the hotel in a private room. It was very nice. We all chose some items and sat around a large table with a massive lazy susan in the middle and shared a dinner. Lolah , Zachariah (3.5)and Trey (2.5) ate us all under the table. Nan those chinese kids can eat, cleft palate or not.

We then all went up one floor to have immigration pictures done. Lily was great in having the photographer come to us considering it was 7:30pm and the kids were all very tired. Nice job Lily. She also squeezed us in the Water Cube without a wait through her connections. The girl knows what she is doing.

Darryn and Lolah are sleeping and I should be as we are going to the Great Wall tomorrow. I have requested we visit the section with the smaller steps. And we are looking forward to seeing it. Difficult to believe I am saying this about us. The Great Wall and we are going to climb part of it. Very Amazing. We are also going to the Pearl Market.

Chat again tomorrow

Janet

Xian City Wall

Today we walked to the city wall. It is a wall that surrounds the city centre. The wall is 14 kilometers long and has a moat that is also 14 kilometeres around the outside of the wall. The weather the entire time in Xi'an has been excellent. We rented a scooter and rode the entire wall around the city.

Very interesting to see that the city inside the wall is eventually going to be all historic and all the high rises are going to be outside. We bought a copy of a famous original painting in the museum on top of the city wall. We both really liked it and yes, Darryn even bartered there.

We are off to the airport at 6:00pm but we were concerned for Lolah because she needs a nap each day. So we rented our room for half a day and she is now napping and Darryn is off to the market again to see if he bring a vendor to his rock bottom price.

Lolah had her first tears last night. For a gal who has such a robust laugh and loud voice she has the weakest saddest cry. It broke our hearts. I think she was just over tired as it was bed time when it occured. She cried for about 5 minutes as I hugged her and then she was ready for a joke or a distraction so she would not have to go to bed.

I will post a few pictures from today quickly before we leave.
Talk to you soon from Beijing.
Janet, Darryn and Lolah

Terracotta Warriors

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Woke up today to beautiful bright sunshine and a little cooler. It has been 96 hours since we have met Lolah and it feels like we have known each other forever. The bonding is unbelievable. Our guide told us today that the staff and directors yesterday could not believe how quickly and well she has taken us as her parents. So many chinese people have asked Penny how long we have been together and they too are shocked. We know why and we are thankful. She is a ray of sunshine. She is very very quick to smile and takes every opportunity to be the joker.

The Terracotta Warriors are amazing. Considered the 8th wonder of the world. We were very thankful to have Penny with us as she loves history and we benefitted from her knowledge. Having our very own guide has been such a luxury. The warriors were found in 1974 when a local farmer was digging a well. He was there today signing copies of a book about the warriors. Leevi and Simon I am looking forward to snuggling up with you and reading all about them.

Darryn was eager to head off to barter at the market again and Lolah needed a nap. I was sporting a nasty headache so Lolah and I settled in for a nap. She falls asleep quite quickly. I was just about sleeping when I heard a knock at the door. It was Penny she had all our paperwork except Lolah's passport which will be ready tomorrow. The little girl is
OURS. Yeah:) She is officially Lolah Eve Xiaoya Shutt.

We decided to eat some true chinese food for dinner and asked Penny to write some items down that we could order. To save that Darryn suggested we just do a buffet and we could then choose what we wanted.
Settled we were going to a dinner without a guide. We took a little walk to the restaurant and stopped by a shoe store to look for shoes for Lolah. We found a cute pair of black shiny dress shoes for her. Darryn went to pay the 60 yuan which is about 9 dollars while I looked for the boys. Lolah came running over to me with a grin as big a The Great Wall and said tzee tzee momma (thank you momma) and gave me a hug. She is so precious. I spoted another pair of pick and white ( yes PINK and white) that were 50 yuan and showed them to Lolah. Her face lit up when the sales clerk presented them to her. She tried them on and we ditched the yellow issued shoes and kept the new one on. She chattered away and smiled. We then headed to the restaurant and she looked down at her new shoes the whole way.

We were really hungry by now as we skipped lunch and headed up the stairs to enjoy some fine chinese crusine, Or so we thought. I knew we had made an error in judgement when the only thing I recognized were fish heads on a platter, octopus legs, live crabs (one was crawling out of the bowl) shrimp moving their antenae thingys and little fish swimming is a large serving bowl. Oh well too late we had paid and had no way of communicating to them we had changed our minds. Our waitress gave us a big wide grin and I think she knew she was just as sunk as we were because she could not speak a word of english. Oh well chalk it up to adventure. Time to go see if we can find something that we might be able to keep down. We returned with 1/4 corn on the cob, rice, vegetable sushi and a little square pink dessert. It was a start. The waitress was trying to communicate something to us but it just wasn't working. An english speaking patron shows up at the request of the management about 15 minutes into our dining experience to ask us what kind of broth we wanted. Oh we get it. You get a pot and burner to cook your food. Ok so that explains
the live bait on the buffet. We choose mild and carried on. We found
some cucumbers, peanuts and a few other things to eat. I decided to venture out one more time to see if I could try something new but not too crazy. I returned to the table with a crab. As I was walking back to the table it started to crawl off my plate. I was laughing so hard by the time I got to the table I thought I'd wet my pants. Darryn joined in the laughing and poor little lolah did not know what to think. Eventually she joined in also. I could not longer control this little guy so dropped him into the bubbling pot of mild broth with no intention of consuming it.
Lolah was busy eating rice as she always seems to enjoy. We wanted to get some protein into her so we all went out to look. I was going to carry her so she could point out what she would like. She did not fair much better than us other than she decided to have a hard boiled egg. We returned to the table and she promptly pressed down on the egg and rolled it on the table to crack the shell. It cracked all right and oozed all over her. It was a raw egg. Oh we ge it , cook you own egg in the pot of bubbling mild broth. The egg was all over her legs and the chair. Enough of this let's go. All in all we laughed more than we ate.

Tomorrow we have the morning of free time. We check out by noon and then have a Xi'an city tour and hit the market if there is time left before we go to the airport for a 9:05 pm flight to Beijing.

Not so sure about a post tomorrow but will be sure to do one the nest day.

Love Darryn, Janet and Lolah

Photos to go along with BaoJi Visit

BaoJi Visit

Well, we are back and once again amazed by God's goodness to us. Lolah was unscathed by the whole trip. Actually she rather enjoyed it. She was allowed to be the candy fairy to her friends and this was huge for her.

We arrived in Baoji City after a 2.5 hour drive. Lolah slept for 1.5 of it. She woke up looked around and immediately recognized where she was. She began to chatter away telling how to get there. The driver did not listen to her but he maybe should have as we did get lost a few times.

She is a bright light. The closer we were the more excited she became. Oh by the way I had stuffed her purse with candy last night. Once we arrived she hopped out of the van grabbed my hand as I was headed in the wrong direction. She pulled me along around the corner and immediately I saw the slide her referral picture was taken on. Emotional moment, but kept in check.

Once we arrived at the front gates some of the nannies were waving to Lolah from the 3rd floor window. She shouted at the top of her lungs I AM HERE! and charged for the front doors. As soon as we entered the building we could hear children shouting Xiao Ya, Xiao ya...and she replied in Lolah style very loudly I am coming, I am coming.

She ripped up those stairs so fast we could barely keep up. She ran into the play room and started handing out the candy. She worked the room like a little mother. She missed one little boy who could not walk so I pointed him out to her. She handed him one and stuffed one in the bib of his pants. I started to unwrap the one in his hand but a tiny pair of hands grabbed it so quickly and abruptly out of my hands. Survival of the fittest and he was not the fittest. Poor little thing. This also explains why Lolah grabs from us.

After we toured the orphanage we found out that we were going to her finding spot and drive by the police station but could not take pictures at the police station. We took some pictures at the hospital. We do not know exactly where she was found so we clicked away. Lolah needed to use the washroom so we were directed to use the emergency room washrooms. One would think they would be clean, WRONG! Once again I was in a squatter.

Actually the smell in the whole emergency room was exactly the same as the bathroom. Again, bring your own wipe, and make sure you hit the hole or
your pants will get wet. Lolah piped up nice and loud in the next stall
(in mandarin) I did not pee on my pants.

Now we were off to lunch. The staff was taking us out to lunch as we had made a donation and that makes us friends. This was needless to say very very special. They ordered traditional Baoji snacks and when they were finished a bowl of noodle soup was delivered. I asked about a Tsing Tao and they said no not good beer. You need to have a Baoji beer. Next thing you know we have a large bottle of beer delivered. They poured it for me and I took a sip and it was warm so I passed the responsibility onto Darryn. The assistant director smiles and talks away and smiles , we both smile , pause and look at Penny for feedback. She says "bottoms up". Darryn chuckles and takes a sip and the assistant director downs his.
They fill his glass, he smiles and talks away and looks at Darryn and It's Bottoms up again! Very funny. Everyone talking mandarin and D and I just smiling and taking it all in. Each of them took turns toasting us and Lolah. I teared up twice, their words were so kind.

Oh I forgot to mention the lady who guards the orphange walked up to us as we were waiting in the van to go to lunch and brought todays issue of the Baoji newspaper and guess whos picture was on the front page. Lolah was along with all the children from her room. A local company had donated money to the orphanage so the paper took a picture. It was taken Nov 23rd her gotcha day and was printed the day we visited the orphanage. Had we left 5 minutes earlier we would have missed it. Just someone watching over her and taking care of a new treasure for her.

By the way she had absolutely no issues with going to the orphanage, she knew she was JUST visiting and was going back to the hotel. She did not remember the hospital at all(her finding spot). She was priceless.

How priceless , let me ramble on about it. This is for you to enjoy but it is also for Lolah. After we returned to the hotel she found the barrett and hair assesories bag. She chatted away and pulled my head down, and started clipping barretts in. She fussed away for about half an hour. I then gave her a package of stickers and that kept her busy for half an hour more. I found scissor next and she cut paper into tiny little pieces for over an hour. Remind you of someone Karen? After some tickle time, she is very ticklish she cleaned up the whole room. Everything had to be put away. First in ziploc then in drawers. Folded everyones pj's and put the dirty laundry in the closet. She is truly a little mother.

Too funny Darryn is looking at a book with her and he said "tree" and she pipes up "four"

I learned how to say I love you today, wa eye knee , so I tried it on her and she just came running over with her arms open and gave me a hug.

I could go on for hours but I better call it a day and tuck her in.
We leave at 9:00 am tomorrow for the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Love
Darryn, Janet and Lolah