On the Way Home

 The Krosley kids before 27.5 + hours of travel back home.

We met some American friends in China...

Friends-
The last leg of the Krosley's trip home was cancelled. They were supposed to be home tonight (Friday) at 10:49pm and now will return tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:01am on United Airlines flt 4099 from Newark to St.L. There are rumors of a few folks gathering at the airport to welcome them home. If you do come, prepare to see a travel weary but happy family! Upon returning home from the airport, they are planning on catching up on lots of sleep and hunkering down for a while. If you would like to drop off a meal to this sweet family, Shayne Phillips is coordinating them: shayneandjayphillips@yahoo.com. While visitors to their home are usually welcome, the Krosleys are going to need a few weeks to settle in and help Luke acclimate to his new family and home. They love their family and friends and want to show Luke off, but are wisely choosing to put Luke's needs first. Thanks in advance for your understanding and prayers!
Signing off-
Elizabeth Ward

A fun night out for some

 

Sometimes parenting is a blast! Rob, Lauren and Kevin at midfield for a playoff match.

Meanwhile, sometimes it is not. Pam was back at the hotel cleaning poop out of undies and carpet.

 Adventure in Canton.

Immigration at the US Consulate- check!

Folks, we have a swimmer!

 The pool at the Guangzhao Marriot.

Walking home from dinner.

Today we went to Shamian Island.  It's not a real island but it feels
like you have been transported to the Carribean or Key West.  All of
the architecture is French and English.  This is home to the White
Swan Hotel where many adoptive families stayed because the American
Consulate used to be there.  We stayed here for the whole 2 weeks when
we adopted Andrew because he was from this province.  Everyone who had
spent a week in other provinces would come to the island and say,
"You've  been here all along?  You don't know what it's like out
there.  This is heaven!"  The streets are lined with tropical trees,
flowers, little parks and quaint shops.  Many of the shop owners speak
a little English.  It's relaxed and safe.  So much different than the
rushed, urban pace of most of China's cities.  We did some shopping
and ate at the famous Lucy's Cafe.  Not great food but nostalgic.  The
White Swan has been under construction for years and based on what we
saw today won't be open any time soon.  The consulate moved, so much
of the adoption traffic did too but many families come by bus or taxi
to see what it's like.
 
Right now we are having nap time.  Then we will try the pool again and
go to dinner.  Tomorrow is our consulate appointment.  We will go to
turn in our paperwork and swear that we will raise Luke as an
American.  They will give us his visa to go home and as soon as we go
through customs in Newark on Friday night, Luke will be an American
citizen! I wish we could go home right after the consulate appointment
but they make us wait for 36 hours to leave the country.
 
I know you have been praying for Xiaoyang (I wrote Chaoyang before but
it was wrong, same pronunciation, though).  He was actually smiling
today and hasn't cried at all so far.  Big progress!  Thanks for your
prayers.  Luke is still coughing and now his nose is involved.  A few
times, he coughed and sneezed at the same time.  He looked totally
confused and then started to laugh!
 
He is showing an ornery side.  He gives a little grin that makes his
upper lip disappear and you know he's up to something.  The only time
he has been stubborn is when we try to get him to eat.  He gives that
grin and won't open his mouth.  Today, I would stop trying and start
to feed myself and he would yell, "Mama!"  When I would look at him he
would open his mouth wide and then slam it shut as soon as I got near
him with the food.  He would laugh along with the whole family.  They
all got in trouble for this!  We have some table training to do when
we get home but we won't worry about that now.
 
Thanks for your prayers.  They are life-savers!

Memories of fun in China

 Our Rosie.

 A grudge match.

 There is a lot going on in this photo.

 Watching the Cards game on MLB.tv

 Ella, Katherine & Andrew.

Lunch at Lucy's

Yum.

Pets? Food?

Follow the Leader.

Pictures from a visit to the Chen Family Temple

Greetings from Holland- or at least a Dutch themed park

 Big shoes.

Well, it took almost an hour of slow steps toward the pool before

Luke was comfortable with the water to not cry. By the end, he 

was almost enjoying it. 

from Kevin via Elizabeth 

Hey guess what? They have great Chinese food in China.

Dumplings for breakfast!

 Fun in the park!

 Is that a Subway bag in Katherine's hand? Couldn't be.

 With Sophie- the greatest guide ever!

 Brothers and sister collecting baggage at 1:00 am.

Here is a glimpse of our last two days:

Went to the park.
Nap time/packing time.
Off to the airport.
2 hour delay on Tarmac in Shenyang because of typhoon in Guangzhou.
4 hour flight to Guangzhou.
 
It's now 1am. Everyone is exhausted but in good spirits. Luke may
never sleep because of a 2 hour nap on the plane.  The hotel is
gorgeous and so clean!  Soft beds!
 
Please pray for Yang Yang (Luke). He got the Krosley cold and is coughing.
We have his medical exam for clearance to enter the US in the morning.
 
Off to bed!

Next day:

The medical exam went well.  We went with 4 other families from our
agency and there were many other adopting families at the medical
office.  Luke was amazing! He went to every station totally relaxed,
chatting with the staff, submitting to the exams.  The last station
was a tb test.  This is where all the other kids started screaming.
They took him into the room and wouldn't let us come.  It was totally
quiet and when they came out the nurses were smiling and laughing.
They said that when Luke saw the needle he said (in Mandarin) "Don't
worry.  It will just be like a mosquito bite."  No tears!
 
We are so happy to be in Guangzhou! It's so much prettier here, very
tropical and lush.  It's like a breath of fresh air. We really needed
a change of pace as homesickness was setting in. There are so many
adoptive families at the hotel. It's almost like the old days at the
White Swan.  It's also good to be with other families in our group.
One of the families we have bonded with a bit more since we met the
mom Angela in Beijing last week.  She is traveling alone.  Her husband
is in the Air Force and they have custody of his two sons, 11 and 16
from his first marriage, a baby they adopted domestically two years
ago and this week she adopted two unrelated boys.  One is Chaoyang
(same name as Luke's orphanage). He is 8 years old with a very rare
skin condition where he has no defense to sun damage.  He is covered
with what looks like black freckles and probably already has cancer in
several places.  He was not prepared for the adoption by his orphanage
and is so sad.  The look on his face makes me cry!  Please pray for
Chaoyang. The other boy is Chaozhen.  He likes his new name Dean.  He
is 14 and has cerebral palsy.  He loves life!  Angela was told he can
walk but he needs much more help than she thought. With 2 boys on her
own this has been difficult.  Rob has stepped in and has really been a
big help to Dean.  What a blessing!
 
There is also a single mom with a 9 year old girl adopted 3 years ago
and they just adopted a 4 year old girl.  A mom traveling alone who
has already raised 3 boys and now has a very strong-willed 5 year old
girl. And a mom traveling with her mother who just adopted a 2 year
old girl named Ruby who looks malnourished and underdeveloped.  She is
the only non-special needs child in the group and she is sicker than
most.  Please pray for Ruby. She reminds me of Andrew when we met him.
 
Kevin and the kids went to the beautiful outdoor pool this afternoon
while I put Luke down for a nap. They had a great time.  Luke is
coughing his head off every time he lays down.  The only way he is
getting to sleep at all is with a little bendryl.  I did not bring
cough medicine because I don't really like to use it but I guess I
should have.  Please pray that he improves soon.  If he's not much
better by tomorrow, I may give him the Z-PAC we brought just in case.
 
Thanks for all your prayers.  We can really feel them!

from Pam via Elizabeth

 

Biding Our Time in China- and what the heck is Beauty Goat?

The first video is the gotcha video from Monday! In the next one, Kevin and Luke play with a puzzle. We get to hear Luke's voice!

 Rooting on the Cardinals- they have needed it!

 This is of Luke and Beauty Goat and the Ball. The camera's flash made him close his eyes three times!

 All the boys lovin' video games- of course.

 The final picture is of the Krosleys with Steve, their former guide from the last two orphanage trips.

Today is our last day in Shenyang and tonight we fly to Guangzhou.
This morning we will meet with our friend, Steve and his family. Steve
has been our guide on our Visiting Orphans trips so we are excited to
see him.
 
Since we got Luke's passport on Wednesday, two days early, we have
just been killing time.  Sophie took us to the Shenyang museum
yesterday.  Not exactly the best place for a 4 year old.  Then we had
lunch at Subway at the new, beautiful mall we found and then rest time
at the hotel.  Then we went back to the mall for dinner.  As we walked
through the mall, Andrew spied a Lego store so we ran up to see it.
It was just a toy store but it did have a doll we have been looking
for.  Luke has a favorite cartoon called Pleasant Goat and Big Big
Wolf.  They had a couple different goat dolls.  When we showed him one
he actually gasped- it was so cute! He hugged it tight. Sophie said
baba wants to buy it for you and suddenly Luke let go and said no, he
didn't want it.  After some conversation we found out that the
particular goat we showed his was called Lazy Goat and he wanted the
pretty girl goat called Beauty Goat.  Ladies' man already!  So we got
beauty goat, complete with pink bows.  He put her to bed last night
and made us all whisper!
 
After dinner, the boys played a rousing game of catch.  You should see
this kid play!  He is incredibly athletic!  His clubbed hands are not
a hindrance in any way.
 
As I type this, Luke is laying next to me, having just woke up,
rolling around, grabbing my arm, typing with me, flirting.  Sometimes
when I tell him no he says, nonononono! He thinks its hilarious!  He
has learned a few English words but he has taught us more Chinese.
Since language is still an issue, we are still calling him Yang Yang
(pronounced Yong Yong) most of the time.  Sophie told him his other
name is now Luke but he doesn't respond to it.  We will give him
whatever he needs and right now that is his Chinese name.
 
Right now, I need to go pack up and get ready for the day. We are
ready to see Guangzhou and a change of scenery.

from Pam via Elizabeth