September 28

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of the boys having fun!

Home!

WeiLong is a wonderful boy. He has fit into our family much, much more quickly than we ever dreamed. His personality sparkles and has added so much fun and laughter to our home. What a precious little gift from God he is.

School started about 10 days after we got home. We have WeiLong in kindergarten for now, and he is the smallest boy in his class even though he says he is 7 yrs old. He loves school and is doing well. I will try to go to school soon and take a few pictures of him there.

WeiLong seems to feel right at home here. He is enjoying lots of new experiences and loves each one. He teases his sisters, but they tease him right back and there are no problems with them. I took him for a check up and he had to get shots before he could start school. That was the first time I have seen him cry and it nearly broke my heart. I had to hold him down for the shots.

He is so small. I had to buy size 4T clothes for him, and they're even kind of big. He weighed 37 lbs when we got home, and has gained at nearly 2 lbs. He eats my southern cooking, but prefers Chinese food. I try to cook it at least once a week. He tastes each new dish and pronounces it either "hao" or "bu hao". I love the "hao chi" which comes with a thumbs up and sometimes even a hug. If the dish is "bu hao chi", he doesn't complain, but doesn't eat much of it either. The food at school is usually "bu hao chi".

WeiLong greets me with a hug and kiss each afternoon when I pick the children up from school. And he chatters away, telling me about his day. Somehow he is able to make himself understood. At first his teacher was "bu hao", but now she is "hao" and he gives her a hug and kiss each afternoon when he leaves. She's wonderful, I love her too. What a blessing to have good teachers, what a difference they make in the lives of our children.

WeiLong told me he has had one year of school. He can add and subtract. And he can even sound out the pinyin of a Chinese word if I show it to him in my dictionary. He talks on the phone sometimes with WeiFu and with a couple of other Chinese friends. He told me no one else at school speaks Mandarin but him. He is learning English pretty quickly. He understands more than he speaks. But his skills at acting things out are unsurpassed. He keeps me laughing all the time. What a character he is.

He loves superheroes. We got him a red superhero outfit and he loves it. Last weekend I took them to the mall and had to ride the merry-go-round 6 times. I thought I was going to be sick! I had to close my eyes and just hold on.

Life is sweet at our house. And there is never a dull moment. But there are lots of messes to clean and clothes to wash and baths to give and dishes to wash. I'm busy, but very very happy.

Guangzhou

Sorry, we were so busy in Guangzhou that I didn't get time to post. So, I'll just put up some pictures here. It was the normal GZ experience. Visa photos, physical exam, and consulatge appointment.

The boys loved our guide, Elvin. He was wonderful with them.

He translated some of WeiLong's comments to me and they are hilarious. The boys were so excited about their first flight. When we were finally in the van on the way to our hotel in GZ, they kept pointing out the window at the airplanes coming in for a landing. WeiLong insisted that the planes were so tiny, no way people could get on them! Then he asked why they were standing still in the air, not moving. We tried to tell him that they were moving, but so far away it was hard to tell. He would never believe us. We had to laugh at his insistence.

During the whole time we were in GZ, he insisted on sitting in the seat right behind the driver. And he kept talking to him. Elvin told us he was urging the driver to overtake every car on the road. He would say "You're no good. Go faster. Overtake that car. Faster, Faster". The poor driver. When we stopped at a traffic light, WeiLong couldn't understand why everyone was stopped. When the driver explained that we must all stop when the light was red, WEiLong said he was telling a lie! He told the driver "Bump that car in front of us, he'll move. If he doesn't, just bump him again, harder!". We laughed and laughed, even the good natured driver had to laugh.

WeiLong was so excited when we were finally going to get on our plane to go home. He couldn't wait to see his new Baba. I have never seen such excited little boys in my life. They made the long flight much more fun than it would have been otherwise.

I sat next to WeiLong and the girls sat just in front of us. I will admit that the long flight completely wore me out. I was very tired when we got to LAX. We passed through customs without any problems, but it was difficult getting everyone out of the international terminal and into the domestic departure area. We were so glad to see Jeri's husband, John. What a relief to have another adult to help guide us through the crowds and to take the little boys to the potty! We had a rather long layover in LA, and by the time our flight to Dallas was called I was totally exhausted.

That flight seemed to last forever! But we were so thankful it was our last one. The poor Riddicks had to rush off once we landed to catch their Austin flight.

I was so glad to see Gary! It is so good to come home after a long journey. To see you home and loved ones. To rest and talk with them. Just like Heaven, I think. Honestly, I think it will be like that when we finally enter the Pearly Gates. We will meet our loved ones who have gone on before us and have a wonderful time with them.

Guess you can tell we were all glad to be home! And it was made even sweeter by having our little WeiLong with us. What a precious little boy.