Birthday Dinner at the Banana Leaf!

My 50th birthday was Thursday.   I have dreaded this day for years, but I figure that being in China and having our Consulate Appointment for Samuel was as good a day as any to celebrate it.  (I mean, if I HAD to!)  The day started rather poorly, as it was an extremely difficult morning with Samuel, and then later I accidentally put my phone in the pool and it's been dead ever since.  (Sigh.)  

But that evening we went to a very fun restaurant called the Banana Leaf, where there is live music, and the younger members of the audience get pulled into the entertainment.  (See my post from our 2013 visit here!)  We had two other adoption families with  us, and it was lots of fun.   And yummy!  Every night Samuel wants "meiguo cai" (American food), but tonight we had Chinese for mama's birthday.  (He liked it, of course!  Haha.)

Me and my Caylie!

Three of my guys.  Samuel did not want to be in the photo.  (I have to trick him sometimes!)  And I don't know why Justin is making that face.  Just Justin being Justin.

Me with my sweet friend Sherry.  We met on Facebook awhile back, as we knew we'd be traveling at the same time.  She and her family welcomed a beautiful 2-year-old girl.  We had lots of fun and great conversation with them!  (I will have more pics of the rest of Sherry's family as soon as she sends them to me.  Ha!)

Caylie and Sherry's daughter Chloe got to be great friends, too!

 These pictures are blurry, but they were take in the midst of a lot of noise and fast dancing, haha.  You get the idea.  (And no, you will not see Samuel in a single one of these photos!)

Jim took some hilarious video that I will try to add when we get home.  :)

Shamian Island

Yesterday we went to visit Shamian Island, a beautiful and peaceful place with a rich history.  (You can read about it here and see my post from our last trip here!)  We were planning to take the subway or two taxis, but ended up going with our regular driver and guide, Judy.  We bought several souveniers and gifts that were made locally.  

Last time we were here Caylie did not like the statues, but this time she was more than happy to take pictures with them!

And, of course, Justin always is, too.  

Some of the beautiful trees and buildings on the island.

I had to take a few shots of this, since Caylie would not line up with the children on our last trip to the island!  This time Samuel didn't want to, either, but you can see him in the third one.  (I had to be sneaky!)

There is no trumpet-playing on Shamian Island.  Sorry, Keelan.

People playing badminton.

And a game that looks like ping pong, but with bigger paddles and without a table.

Our guide Judy with Samuel.

Keelan with some new friends.

There is also lots of exercise equipment.  Samuel wanted to try this one.

One of the churches on the island.  

Lucy's is an restaurant on the island featuring American food.  We haven't eaten there yet, but many adoptive families do.

This is the White Swan hotel, where many adoptive families used to stay in the early days of Chinese adoptions.  It's been closed for renovations for several years, but it looks like it will open again soon.

These trees are so cool.

When we got back to the hotel, we went to Samuel's favorite place!

Cousin Rich Visits, Too!

My cousin Rich has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, so it's fun to see him when we come to China.  (Here's the picture from 2013!)  He came to visit us at the hotel on Sunday.  We sat around and talked and the kids entertained us all, of course.  It was pouring down rain, so Jim, Keelan, and Samuel braved the weather and went out get pizza for dinner instead of all of us going out.

Dr. Caylie's giving Rich a shot.  She's gotten quite good at those!

And here she is discussing a very long story, complete with pictures, from her notebook.

Samuel surprised us with how long he was able to sit and color in a coloring book!  Usually he is extremely active and doesn't give attention to anything for very long.  (We're not looking forward to the long plane ride home!)

All the kids with Rich.  Some being sillier than others.  :D

Thanks for coming to visit us, Rich!

Donald and Amy's Visit

Yesterday we had a very fun visit from some very special people in Samuel's life.  Donald and Amy are the couple who were the main caretakers at House of Grace until this last March, and were Samuel's foster parents for the first 10 months that he lived there.  (May 2014 - March 2015) They are godly people who loved on our boy and taught him from God's Word and what it means to pray.  We consider them Samuel's spiritual parents, as our Father used them to plant seeds of Truth in his heart and spirit.  They have been a blessing to Samuel and to us, and we love them a lot!

We have stayed in contact with them since they left House of Grace, and plan for Samuel to continue his relationship with them, as well.  Through our adoption process, Amy has been faithful to speak much Truth from Scripture to me in the moments of turmoil and stress!  I am so thankful for her!

They live in Hong Kong now, and took the train to Guangzhou to meet us at our hotel.  I had a WeChat message from Donald when they were close, so Keelan and I went down to meet them.  Jim and Samuel were already downstairs, so it was fun to see the look of surprise and joy on Samuel's face when he saw them.  He acted shy for a minute or two, but soon clung onto Donald as though no time had passed.  (It had been 4 months since they'd seen each other.)  We went up to our room and talked for awhile before heading out to lunch.

I took a couple of shots of this scene and I'm posting them both because I love it so much!

We went to a Chinese restaurant with no English menus.  (The best kind!)  Amy and Donald ordered for us, and Jim, Keelan, and I were very adventurous and tried the beef stomach, lung, and intestine.  (Yep, really.  I've outdone myself this time.  On our first trip I was proud of trying eel and crocodile, ha!)  There was a lot of yummy noodles and soup, too.  And of course, hilarity ensued.  

Amy and me.

Donald and Samuel deciding on the order.

Yummy and fun lunch!

After lunch we went down the the pool.  The kids swam while we sat on the edge and Samuel splashed us.  (I might as well have gotten in the water, as wet as I was!)  It was a good time of visiting and sharing about our boy's past and future.  Then we came back upstairs and had a time of prayer for Samuel.  I am so very grateful for these people and their heart for the Gospel, for orphans, and for our boy.  Our Father has blessed us so much with these relationships.

A very fun day full of blessings!  We are planning to see Donald and Amy again on Thursday in Hong Kong.  We will be there for one night before flying home on Friday.  

Medical Appointment and Other Stuff

On Friday we took Samuel to the medical appointment that all adoptive kids have to go through. He was weighed and measured, eyes tested, TB test done, and at one point had to go behind a screen with the doctor for an exam.  I'm sure not sure how thorough that was, since it only lasted a few minutes.  The TB test is always a bit of a worry, since a positive test will require the child to stay in China extra time for treatment, but Samuel's turned out just fine. 

 We were also planning for him to have at least 3 vaccinations (required to leave China), but fortunately his shot record was very thorough and up-to-date, so he did not have to have any.  We had promised him ice cream after the shots, but got it anyway!  Children under 10 can get a waiver to have vaccinations done at home, but over 10 they have to be done here.  We were thankful that it turned out the way it did.

He

I posted a similar picture two years ago.  This is the alcohol vending machine in the lobby of the medical building, haha.

Samuel with John, one of our terrific guides.  

And after we got back to the hotel there was more Uno playing!  Samuel wants to play Uno every time we are in the room, and asks everyone, "Play?"  

And there is always time for game-playing on the tablets, too.

That night we went to The Italian Restaurant.  We'd been there once before on our Caylie trip.  Samuel spent most of the time talking to the wait and cook staff, and trying to help them set up their buffet.  

Yummy spaghetti!