Fixing feet

Here is Trent with casts on his legs. This is the second set of casts to fix his club feet. He got his first set on Monday, Oct. 6 on his first doctor's visit. He got his second set on Monday, Oct. 13. He also was scheduled for an MRI, but did not go through with it. He had the sniffles so the anesthesiologist decided to postpone it until Nov. 26. They wanted to check his spine with the MRI because the doctor had a similar case with another child who turned out to have a spine problem. He doesn't think Trent has this problem but he wants to check just in case.

Trent will have this set of casts until next week, Monday, Oct. 27. He will probably have a couple more sets of casts. After that he will probably need some surgery on his feet and then be in some braces for a few years.

Baptism

Today, Sunday Sept. 21, Trent was adopted again. This time he was adopted into God's family through baptism. It was a busy day at church as he was one of three children to be baptized in the late service. We are very happy now that he is God's child as well as ours.

Here we are in our matching attire from China (except for Kyle - it is just his tie). Trent's sponsors are his aunt, Connie Meyer and his uncle and aunt, Ryan and Dawn Hollman. They weren't able to be with us physically but we thank them (and everyone else) for their prayers of support.

Safe at Home

Just a quick note to let you know that we arrived safely back home.

Going to sleep

Q: What is more difficult than getting one child to sleep at bedtime?
A: Getting two children to sleep, especially when they are in the same room.

We are definitely having our bedtime challenges on this trip. On his first night with us, Trent went out fairly soon, but he had a big day then. He hasn't gone to sleep quite as well since. We try to get him to sleep at 8 pm but it has been 9 or even 10 o'clock when he has finally zonked. Of course, he is not quiet when awake which doesn't help his big sister fall asleep either. She also wonders why she has to go asleep when her little brother isn't.

In our bedtime struggles we did discover one thing. The other night we tried to cover him with a little blanket to encourage sleep. Instead he pulls the blanket over his head and starts to play peek-a-boo. At least he is responding to us and is developed enough to play this game.

Red Couch

Not much happened yesterday, Tuesday, Sept. 2. We had the consulate appointment in the morning. Usually none of the family has to go; it is just the guide. However, we made a little goof on one of the official papers and it just happened to be one that is notarized so it couldn't be corrected. So, Linda went along with the guide to clear things up. There was no problem and all of our American paperwork went through. We did a little shopping in the afternoon, but mostly took things easy. Everyone is eager to finish here and head on home.

This morning, Wednesday, Sept. 3, we took a stroll over to the White Swan hotel to take pictures on one of their red couches. The red couch picture is an adoption tradition. In China red is a lucky color.

Here is our new family on the red couch.

Here we are in front of the waterfall in the White Swan lobby.

Trent pictures

We flew from XiAn to Guangzhou on Sunday afternoon. Every American adopting from China has to go through Guangzhou because this is where the American consulate is that issues visas for the adopted children. There is not a lot to see in here and by this time most people are tired of sightseeing or just plain tired. We are no exception. We will be here three full days to finish the American side of the paperwork, mostly for the immigration visa.

On Monday we took Trent to a clinic for a quick checkup as required for his visa. It is also good to double check his medical report from the orphanage. It is a fairly quick process as they have a lot of children to process. There are three 'stations' to check his various medical conditions such as weight, height, hearing, sight, etc. There were no surprises. Obviously his club feet checked out. They also indicated he was somewhat developmentally delayed as was stated in the orphanage medical. The doctor told us that it is related to his club feet. He is not able to walk so that part of his brain is not yet developed. Also, it has delayed some of the motor skills with his hands and arms as the area of the brain that controls these is interconnected with the area that controls the feet and legs. It took a little less than an hour, including the short walk from our hotel. We were a little surprised at how quick it was. With Nora we waited for quite a while at the clinic and there were a lot more children. Since Nora's adoption there have been fewer American adoptions from China and we figure adoptive couples did not want to travel during the Olympics.

That same day, Linda and Connie went shopping for a new outfit for Trent. The little guy certainly looks sharp. Linda also got a new outfit for herself, a matching dress for Nora, and a matching tie for Kyle.

On a less pleasant note, Grandma was not feeling well on Monday. We were somewhat worried about dehydration so Grandpa and our guide took her to an American clinic in the city. The doctor thought it was a virus and gave some medicine to help with the symptoms, not much else they could do except wait it out in bed. Today on Tuesday she is feeling much better but is still resting up. We hope she is well enough to attend the swearing in ceremony at the American consulate on Wednesday afternoon.

XiAn city wall

On Sunday, Aug. 31, our plane to Guangzhou was not scheduled to leave until 3 pm so we had some time in the morning to see one more sight in XiAn, the city wall. The current wall was rebuilt in 1370 AD. It has been kept up over the years and is in very good condition today. There are four original gates although they have added several more in modern times to improve traffic.

This is one of the guard houses above one of the original gates.

As you can see, this wall is fairly level and goes for quite a ways. It forms a complete rectangle around where the old city was. We only walked for about 40 minutes, 20 minutes one way and then back.

The van ride to the airport was interesting also. Our guide pointed out a number of burial mounds visible from the highway. Most are for lower level officials and generals. The countryside around XiAn seems almost littered with the mounds. Probably only a small fraction have been explored.