Thursday, 5/15/08 1:00 PM

I have no idea what day it is, so I decided I better write a post with that title. When I tell you I am exhausted, there is NO WAY to say it emphatically enough to give it justice. Let me try to explain.... Have you every swam so much in the ocean when you were little that you try to sleep at night and feel like you are still rolling in the waves? Or imagine yourself being wrung out like a washcloth, every last drop squeezed out. Or being squished by a big huge truck wheel? All of those things are how I feel and more! But yet, it is a happy kind of exhaustion, and the kind I know will pass in time. I always thought that my biological labor would be the worst exhaustion I ever felt, but no, not true. this is worse and longer (although I do look better J). Luckily, Ling is an EASY child to take care of!!! EVERYTHING we do with her she loves and participates in willingly. She is amazing. Today for lunch I fed her plain tuna from a pouch and a chocolate protein shake and a bowl of maple brown sugar oatmeal and she ate it all and said/signed "yum". She is all smiles, and yet has quite an insistent way about her if she wants something. She doesn't like to be separated from anyone, and if I take her to the buffet or some other place, she goes back to get Matthew or Daddy and tries to get them to come too. She is VERY strong and we have to be very firm if we don't want to or can't go..... She is immediately distracted when we say "Key! Key!", as she loves to carry it with her and open all the doors.

Ling had another bath today and likes the water very much. She is content to splash around for about 20-30 minutes. I was a little concerned about her getting the water into her mouth, but that doesn't seem to be a big problem.

Here is an update on the Lizana family, from Linda, as their family and friends are tuning in to our posts to see what's new. I will get their photo card and share pictures of them later. I don't seem to have too much on my cameras of them.

Everything is fine with them. Qing Ge is doing great, although the language is a bit of a barrier. He is very knowledgeable and seems to understand exactly what is what. He is learning a few words of English and attempts to repeat everything we tell him. I was showing him some pictures that we took of our family and he pointed to me and said mother, Eric father and Matthew and Mary Alice brother and sister. He likes to play with Matthew and is very sociable. His foster family is coming to the hotel tomorrow to say "Good bye" to him. Our guide, Grace, recommended this and feels it will help him to adjust. He seems very happy.

Here are some more photos from our trip to Chaoyang yesterday. I know I said only Eric was going to go with Ling (she had to go to get her photo taken for the passport) but I felt very sad about missing the orphanage visit and not being with Ling. I was only going to stay because Mary Alice did not want to go at all and I thought it would be hard on her. I ended up insisting that we all go and I am glad I did. We took Dramamine and that helped us not feel carsick. Thank goodness.

This is a picture of the Chaoyang Train Station. We have no idea what the policeman standing there does. He is standing on a circle in the middle of the road and did not seem to be doing anything in particular.

The driving here is crazy and chaotic. There are not many seatbelts (the van had none) or car seats and all kinds of bicylists and pedestrians everywhere. No one wears helmets or seems at all concerned about safety. People stand and ride in the middle of the street, even between lanes! there are no patterns to the crossing of the street, and people just cross at random. The cars, busses and trucks seem to all be looking for the people, but do not slow down just keep moving and the people move or ride out of the way. No one is doing any sudden movements, just slow transitions in and out of the way, like a symphony. The van we were in made many u turns, right in the middle of the street, whether or not traffic was coming. Also, he stopped in the front of the place we were going whether or not there was a space. We stopped at a rest stop on the way to Chaoyang and the entry was blocked with HUNDREDS of trucks, all carrying various goods like live cattle, pigs, logs, leather etc. and the driver just passed the entry and WENT IN THE EXIT, against traffic, pulled right up to the building and we all got out to go potty. Speaking of potty, they were, in fact all squatty potties and no, no toilet paper (or soap) to be found. I stopped Ling just before she was about to go and said "wait! I forgot the wipes" so we ran outside and back to the van to get them and then ran back. I don't know how she is so understanding, but she knew just what I meant. The bathrooms were fairly clean and not so bad to use, a little stinky, but not too bad.

This is a picture of a hospital. I first thought it was where Ling was found, but Nanny told me she was found in Jianping County, about 3 hours away. I have no idea where it is or which direction.

This is a picture of the Chaoyang Mountains. It's very beautiful!

Matthew cannot get enough of Ling. Even when she puts her slimy cracker hands out to him and offers him a cracker, he gobbles it up lovingly. Watching him with her makes me know that the effort to bring him was worth it.

This is amazing. This is the Quilt that Ling was found with. The Nanny brought it to me yesterday. It is so thick and velvety. The backing is hand stitched. I will cherish it always. I can only imagine how much her mother loved her and how incredibly difficult it was to leave her. Grace, our guide told us that the choices in China are limited to two for people wanting to have another child, and both are considered "punishments". Her parents wanted to have another child after Grace and they were told that they had two choices if they did. One was to quit their jobs (and therefore not have enough money to raise the child) and the other was to pay a big fine. They chose to pay the fine and paid 3000 yuan to keep him. This was the equivalent to 6 months of the family income and a huge sacrifice. They chose the fine and she has a younger brother that she loves very much, although when she was mad at him when she was young she teased him by calling him the nickname "three thousand"! :)

This is Mrs. Liu with Ling. She is the assistant director of the orphanage and the Nanny that brought the girls to us. She talks very loud and very fast in Chinese and she seems to laugh at me a lot. I think she thinks I am silly and funny as I am so small and I try to talk in Chinese. I guess I am not saying things very well. She has been very helpful to us and seems to care about Ling very much. She said the nannies are said to say good bye the girls but are glad they get to have a loving family.

This is Ling getting her photo taken for her passport. The people here were funny, they even combed her hair to make it look just right. They make the children all wear the same shirt for the photo. It smelled terrible, like it had never been washed, Yick. Bao did not like it. She cried!

This is a photo of the street corner, near the photo place. The areas were all blended together, nice next to run down. The places that most people lived in looked like some of the worst things we would ever see at home, but somehow people survive here.

This is our visit to the orphanage (we could not go inside due to their worry that we would spread hand, foot and mouth disease to the children. The blonde girl on the right is in our Chaoyang video. She is very sweet and shy. We bought her a pretty shirt as a special gift. There is another young teenage girl who is blind and we bought her a pretty shirt, too. They go to school and will be able to wear them there.

This is a photo of the older folks that live at the SWI. I showed this woman photos of Ling's room at our home and she was very interested in them. She said lots of stuff to me and Ling, and held Mary Alice's hand very tight, and said a huge string of Chinese to her, smiling the whole time. I think she was very happy that Ling had such a sweet sister and a lucky life.

This is a good photo of the entry gate to the SWI. We stopped here to give them the gifts.

We split up for lunch today. Eric went with the kids and the Lizana's to McDonald's. Matthew was very happy!

They have some really cool buildings here. At night they light up all around and all the way to the top. Some blink and flash. It's a lot of stimulation. I have been too tired to enjoy it.

This is a picture of me and Ling, after lunch today, getting ready for her nap. She loves the routine I have set up for her, washing up, rocking, singing and snuggling. She is like a newborn in many ways, and we are learning each other. I brought a pillow case from home (for my comfort smells) and she loves to be covered with it. She is just about to fall asleep her for her nap.

This is us at breakfast. She loves to eat and is really good with her fork. I wish I had brought a bib, but that is one thing I forgot and I couldn't find one at the store the other day.

An aside point. I bought a new camera before we left for China and am so glad that we have two along with us. I never realized how the kids taking pictures from their perspective would add to the well-roundedness of the trip! I really appreciate that now, although there are too few pictures of Eric and I will have to see that he gets in here now! He is the glue that holds us all together and he is so enjoying his new daughter!!

In a little while we are going to venture out shopping again, to Walmart and some other stores. We have to walk everywhere we go, or take a taxi. It is quite an adventure.

I know this post was long, so I hope it wasn't too much to read. I could never have written this much yesterday. I was falling asleep while typing! I love to read your comments, each and every one. Thank you so much for leaving them. Nothing is too small to say and I revel in it all and share them with the family!