A big Anna update!

 

 

Tomorrow, it will be ONE MONTH since Anna walked into our lives in her scratchy, yellow party dress and too-small pink flats.  At the end of this week, it will be three weeks since Anna first stepped foot in her new forever home in Texas.  Also, as of Friday, Anna will have completed her first week of Pre-K.  I think it's time for an update!

Anna's personality:  Anna is generally cheerful and cooperative.  She loves to be a helper.  She seems to know quite a bit about cleaning house, folding laundry, and shooing away kitty cats.  She and Isaac the cat have had to come to an understanding, and they seem to have called a truce.  Although Anna has no formal language of any kind, she has no trouble getting her point across.  If she wants something, she persists until you understand.  If you understand but say no, she can give you the what-for like no child I have ever seen.  Anna is easily bored; most toys and activities don't hold her interest for long.  However, she LOVES to play outside, and the first sign that I think she really connected with a meaning is the sign for "swing."  She will stand at the back door and sign swing until you agree to let her go outside to play.  She has picked up a few other signs, but right now, we are combatting her busy nature.  She is just not too interested in signing just yet.

The medical situation:  We have discovered that, although WE think Anna should be on the fast-track for all medical intervention, hardly anyone is in as much a hurry as we are.  Anna has had one audiology appointment, where they opinined that she has "moderate hearing loss," which means Anna should be able to hear with assistive devices and perhaps even speak someday.  A second opinion from a speech pathologist who is also an audiologist indicated that, perhaps, the inital evaluation was overly optimistic and Anna may not hear in that range.  Anecdotally, we range from thinking Anna has no hearing at all to thinking she may have some hearing in her left ear.  Anna has an appointment next week to clear out her ear canals (they are impacted) and to see about addressing the fluid behind her ears that are preventing movement in her eardrums.  Then, we should be able to have her re-tested for a better idea of what her hearing loss really is.

The dental situation:  Her teeth still look pretty awful.  Anna has a consult with our family dentist tomorrow that will hopefully outline a plan of attack for Anna's dental needs.

The educational situation:  Currently, Anna is in a Pre-K classroom that includes regular education children and ESL children.  A special education aide is assisting Anna in the mornings.  Anna cries each morning at drop-off, but the school reports that she has a good day each day.  We hope that, at some point, Anna will receive additional services.  Right now, we are navigating the maze of doctors, referrals, testing and Special Education.  Thank goodness that certain members of our family are well-versed in Special Ed procedures and legalities!  I can't imagine being a parent on this journey without any background or support.  One of the hard things is looking around the room and realizing just how behind Anna is - through no fault of her own - simply because she has not had any meaningful access to language.  The other 4 year olds are writing their names; Anna doesn't even know she has a name, much less what her name is.  I am so eager to see how much progress Anna will make.  She is a bright girl, no doubt about it!  I predict that it will take her some time to catch up, but when she does, there will be no stopping Anna.

The attachment situation:  Anna seems to be bonding well with each member of our family.  At times, she and Lucy can be rivals, but at other times, they seem to be adjusting well to one another.  Anna loves Amelia, and Amelia, who is not the most compassionate of human beings, has really surprised me with how merciful and compassionate and helpful she has been with Anna.  As for the adults, adding another child has taken some adjustments on everyone's part, but it's typical stuff.  We all love Anna and are amazed by her resilience, strength and tenacity.  She really is someone special and we often sit in wonder at why the Lord chose to rescue her out of her situation and put her into a time and place where she has every opportunity before her.  In the end, we may never understand why some children are born into good circumstances, and others are not, or why some children are rescued out of dire circumstances, while others waste away.  I can't pretend to understand.  I can only say that I trust the heart of the Father, and I believe He loves ALL the children of the world.  That's not a platitude....that's just a place of simple acceptance of things I will never understand.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support of our family.  Anna has been a blessed addition to our home, and she is stretching us all and helping us to grow into our new roles as her advocates.  I expect to have many exciting and wonderful things to report in the weeks and months ahead.

-Amy
 

Home Sweet Home

We are home, and things are good.  We are all jet-lagged in a big way, especially the children.  It's kicking our tails this time around.  We are struggling to stay awake during the day and trying not to be hoot-owls at night.

We learned that Anna loves to swing, and she signed swing back to us just as soon as she could.

Anna went to church for the first time today.  We were so blessed to see so many in our church family embrace and welcome Anna.  For now, Anna will go to Sunday School with Lucy so she can experience things she's never done (puzzles, playdoh, magnets, etc.).  I am helping as Anna's one-on-one coach, which is absolutely necessary at this point.  Anna loved Sunday School and did very well except for the sitting in the chair part.  When the pastor announced Anna's presence, she did the double-wave with both hands.  You could use many words to describe Anna, but "shy" would never be among them!

I'm wondering if Anna may need glasses -- she often gets up from her chair or reaches for materials to get a close look.  Soon enough, we will have medical appointments for Anna -- teeth, eyes, general checkup, and of course, ENT/Audiology.  We will report back once we know more!  In the meantime, please pray that we will cross paths with the right people who can guide us and be a part of helping Anna to thrive.  She is SO capable -- I want her to have anything and everything available.  That's my heart for her, but it may not be what's best, so please pray that we will use discernment and wisdom in all our decisions for Anna.  It should NEVER be about what is best or easiest for us, but what is best long-term for Anna and her future. Once Anna has words, though, I'm betting we'll hear alot about what she thought, what she endured, and how she perservered.

This photo is me mastering the triple-popo - carrying 3 weary, in-needof-attention babies at once.  When Isaac the cat claimed his piece of lap real estate, I thought that the only thing we still lack was a marching band of kazoos coming right through the front door. 

We're HOME!

We're home! 

4 adults, 3 children
7 checked bags
7 backpacks
1 baby bag
1 stroller
1 van trip to Hong Kong (4.5 hours because of road closures and traffic)
6 hours of sleep
8:00 a.m. - arrive at airport
10:25 a.m. - take off time for 15 hour international flight to Newark
5 hour layover in Newark
Board Newark to Dallas flight  - sit on the runway for 2 hours
Newark to Dallas - 4 hours
Arrive in Dallas at midnight, collect luggage, check into hotel
3 hours of sleep
8:00 a.m. - arrive at airport for flight home
1 hour flight to Lubbock

WE MADE IT.

Anna is officially a U.S. citizen!  The USA may never be the same again, hee hee.

Funny:  Anna is very good about expressing her wishes, and we have even had her order the waitstaff around at restaurants.  She figured out the flight attendant call button got her service, and since she rang it three times before takeoff, it had to be disabled for the duration of the flight.  That's our Anna!!!!

Thank you to the friends and family who met us at the airport to welcome Anna and brought us dinner!   You have blessed us with your friendship, prayers, and taco support!

Wednesday - a trip to the island and visa issued!

Wednesday has been a full day!

We started our day as we have every day, with a scrumptious breakfast buffet at the palace (otherwise known as The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou).  My non-eater in the US, Lucy has scarfed down many things in China that she usually turns away.  Her favorite, though, is something we can't find in the US - congee.  It's kind of a rice soup/porridge, and Lucy loves it.  She has eaten it every morning - spare rib congee, vegetable congee, wild mushroom congee, chicken congee, fish congee, seafood congee, and corn congee.   Amelia also enjoys the breakfast buffet and especially loves the eggs cooked to order.  Anna loves the fruit -- this girl can chow some banana, watermelon, peaches, oranges, and lychee fruit. 

"Popo" is Lucy's leftover Taiwanese vocabulary for "carry" -- when she wants to be carried, she tells me, "Mommy popo."  This morning as I was fixing her hair, she told me, "Mommy, Lucy popo Jesus and Jesus popo Lucy."  This was startling to me because we had not been talking about God or Jesus or church.  But Lucy was insistent: "Mommy, Jesus popoed (past tense) Lucy."  I still don't really know what she was talking about, but my heart was certain that Lucy had an encounter with the Lord.

After breakfast, we headed out to Shamian Island.  In the old days of China adoptions, adoptive families always stayed on the island at hotels that catered to the needs of adoptive families.  The streets were lined with little shops ready to sell parents Chinese dresses, toys, and all manner of souvenirs.  In the past few years, however, the American Consulate moved off the island, as did the adoption medical clinic.  There is little reason these days for families to stay on the island, and as a result, most agencies put their families elsewhere.  This has caused business to dry up on the island.  A Western restaurant well-known to adoptive families, Lucy's, still remains, as do a handful of souvenir shops, a few restaurants, a couple of large hotels, a 7-11, and a Starbucks.  It was a very different place this time and a good reminder that time marches on.

Actually, "time marches on" phrase might be a good theme for this trip.  I was sad in Chengdu to see very little of the old, quaint China.  There were hardly any street food carts, no pedicabs (rickshaws), few teeny shops.  Now there are big shopping malls with stores like Cartier and Gucci, and fast food establishments like KFC and Starbucks abound.  I love Starbucks, but I hate to see one standing where I bought a corn-on-the-cob from a charcoal grill on the back of a bicycle just a few years ago.  Things cost more, too. 

A few years ago, a dollar was traded for about 8 RMB.  Now, it's about 6, and every day things like food and goods cost more.  You used to be able to feed your family of 4 a nice meal for $5-8 U.S. in a local Chinese restaurant, and for about $2 per person in an American chain.  This time around, it was still cheaper to eat out in China than in the U.S., but nowhere near as cheap as it used to be.  This time, I bought bottled water on the street for a little less than $1 U.S. Before, you could get 4 for $1 U.S.  Other goods were more expensive.  I priced a simple umbrella stroller (not brand name, not even sturdy) at the Wal-Mart, and it was around $50 U.S.  (I didn't buy it!).  When I was there in 2006, I bought a sturdy umbrella stroller, a pair of shoes, a coat, and a cart full of groceries for a little over $50 U.S.  I guess inflation is the name of the game everywhere!

Anna had a good day today.  She is giving and receiving hugs, looking for us with her eyes, and is doing much better at sitting on the bus or van, sitting at breakfast, and being in the hotel room.  This is not to say we don't still have a long way to go, but if we can see this much improvement in such a short amount of time, it makes us all hopeful for the strides Anna will make at home with more boundaries, consistency, medical care, language helps and preschool.  She's going to make it, and when she proves what she is capable of, I know we are all going to be amazed at Miss Anna Joy XiaoChun!

Our day ended with the arrival of Anna's U.S. visa  - hooray! - and a van trip from Guangzhou to Hong Kong that was fairly miserable because of stop-and-go traffic, closed exits, and a driver who insisted there was no place to stop to use the restroom.  That, plus a 4 year old and a 2 year old who had to ride on laps (yes, battle over which laps) and who had not had naps made the trips loads of fun for the adults.  It was only 4.5 hours of our lives.  We arrived in Hong Kong very late and very hungry, which was unfortunate since the only place to eat was the hotel restaurant, which was very expensive.  At this point, we just ponied up the funds, ate a lackluster, ridiculously pricey meal, and called our time in China done.  Homeward bound!!!

Tuesday in Guangzhou

Tuesday is Consulate Day!  The adoption is final on the Chinese side, but until the United States officicially declares that the adoption has been completed in accordance with the Hague Agreement regarding international adoption/child welfare, which both the United States and China have signed, Anna cannot legally immigrate.  Once the US Consulate has reviewed everything, Anna will be issued an immigrate visa.  The visa should be issued tomorrow, and then we are free to leave China.  The law under which Anna is immigrating allow her to gain automatic United States citiznship  on her entry into the country.

As of this writing, we have completed our trip to the Consulate -- no photos allowed!  There were maybe 15 families there at the same time, all in the final steps of bringing their new children to the U.S. What  blessing to see a room full of children who are no longer orphans!  Most of the children I saw had some kind of special need, which is not surprising since non-special needs adoptions are at a virtual halt.  The special needs represented were many -- limb differences, blind, cleft lip/palate, Hepatitis B+, and many others.  The most special needs most of the children had, however, was the need for a family, and I was so proud of the Americans I saw opening their hearts and homes to children from all over the world.  There were several families there who had children not only from China, but from the United States, Guatemala, Vietnam, and Ethiopia.  There were so many beautiful families there on display, all showing that family is not only about DNA or even geography, but about love and commitment.

Later in the day, all the families in our travel group took a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  The dinner was not so grand, and we were soaked with perspiration, but it was a fine way to end our day.  We have many photos of that event because Amelia AiChun was the camera-holder.

Photos from Monday

Here are the photos from our Monday in Guangzhou, and our second trip to a Chinese zoo that ended with us being rain-soaked.

Quick update - no photos!

Sorry - no photos with this update because I'm just too darn tired to wait for them to upload.

Anna's TB was clear - yahoo!  Tomorrow, we have Anna's visa appointment with the American consulate in Guangzhou.  This is our last hurdle to clear before we can travel.  The appointment is tomrrow (Tuesday), and if all goes well, we will be issued Anna's travel documents on Wednesday.  We are scheduled to leave Guanzhou Wednesday night.  We will drive to Hong Kong and spend the night, and we will depart Hong Kong for our long flight on Thursday morning. We arrive in Dallas later Thursday evening and will make it into Lubbock on Friday morning.  Woohoo - we are in the home stretch!

Anna is doing much better.  She now knows how to latch on when being held.  She knows how to give and receive hugs and kisses.  She knows how to hold hands, and tonight, we went out for ice cream, and she was able to sit and eat her treat and then walk back to the hotel without running ahead.  This is huge progress!  Today was the 1-week mark.  I think we will see improvement each day.  She isn't signing much, but we think she still hasn't caught on to what we are trying to show her. 

Lucy did great today.  She signed "go," "stop," and "sit" to Anna and taught Anna how to hold her hand.  Even when Anna hit Lucy, which, sadly, happens a lot, Lucy was kind.  Amelia is my director of air traffic, usually too much so.  If she would stop trying to control the younger children, things might be a little easier.  I know she means well, but really, she is a bossy pants!

Please be in prayer for our flight. Anna is not easily occupied or entertained, and 15 hours on the plane has the potential to be real torture for all involved.

Big Burch hugs to everyone!

We are in Guangzhou!

We left Anna's provincial city of Zhengzhou yesterday evening and arrived in Guangzhou, where all American adoptive families are required to travel to complete the immigration process.  Our hotel in Guangzhou is a palace!  Seriously, we have never stayed anywhere this nice.  When I heard that this is where the agency put all the families, I was a little grumbly at the expense, but now that we are here....oh, what an oasis!  Lucy was asleep when we arrived, but she awakened long enough to exclaim, "oooh, a castle!"  Our rooms are beautiful and big with enough room for the children to play.  There is a huge swimming pool that is absolutely gorgeous.  They have a playroom here, and even a library with English reading materials.  The service here is impeccable.  I've never received such wonderful, efficient, easy service anywhere, ever.  This hotel has been a real treat for the Burch Family!

Anna had her immigration medical examination this morning.  The purpose of the exam is to make sure Anna's special needs match her referral information and also to make sure she is free of infectious disease.  The great news we learned today is that none of the doctors we saw (three total) believe that Anna has cerebral palsy.  We think she may have had a mild form at some point, but she is definitely able to walk, climb, run, jump, take the stairs, balance, etc.   The ENT doctor who examined Anna said her outer ears and inner ears both look normal based on a regular exam.  She urged us to take Anna to a specialist in the US who would be able to do more sophisticated testing to tell us more about Anna's hearing loss and its cause.  She repeated this several times, as if we were only weighing the possiblity of seeing a specialist.  We assured the doctor that we would do everything we can to help Anna.

Amelia, Lucy, and Anna had a great day together.  There was lots of progress on that front.  Actually, we saw progress on all fronts with Anna today.  She even sat and ate a whole meal (granted, she was in a high chair, but still -- for Anna and us, this is progress, and we will claim each victory!).  Anna is having to learn how to play.  It appears that she has never had toys, and playing 'pretend' seems new to her.  She is learning to play with pretend food and a baby doll.  We also bought inflatable swimming rings that were the hit of the day even though we can't swim for a couple of days because of Anna's TB test.  Speaking of that, we need you all to pray for a clear TB test.  If it comes back positive, someone has to stay in China with Anna until she is cleared for travel, which could take weeks.  We know one family that had to leave their new son for several weeks with a foster family and make a second trip back to pick him up.  PLEASE pray against this for Anna and for us.  We all want to be on that plane on Thursday.

Our travel group here in Guangzhou is full of wonderful people.  There is a family here who adopted a little girl two years ago, and they are here adopting another 3 year old, so they will have two 3 year olds.  Both girls are just precious!  There is one family who lives in Chengdu, China, where Amelia is from.  They are adopting a 2 year old that they have been fostering.  We had dinner with them tonight.  What a sweet family! The last family is a couple with two grown children who came to China on a mission trip and met a boy in the orphanage.  They are now adopting this 13 year old boy who is wheelchair-bound.  This young man has the MOST delightful personality and he even speaks beautiful English.  He will be a wonderful addition to their family.

We have met several other families with amazing stories: the lady in the hallway today who is here alone adopting a 12-year old girl and a 2-year old girl.  She has four other children at home, all adopted from China, all with significant special needs.  Her eyes filled with tears as she described how the Lord has called her to adopt.  There was another family we met today who have teenagers at home who came to China to adopt a 4-year girl who is blind.  We met another family with children at home who are here adopting a pair of 3-year old boys, each of whom is missing an arm. We have met families adopting older children and younger children, boys and girls, minor special needs and significant needs.  We have been so moved as each family shares their story.  Adoption is such a special thing, and the China adoption community is a community like no other.

It's very late here, and we are hoping to get to attend a church service tomorrow.  I will try to post some photos from the past couple of days.

A little taste of WalMart

Yes, friends, Wal-Mart is in China.  We have trekked there nearly every day in search of one thing or another.  Like the U.S., the store has groceries and daily necessities as well as clothing, toys, and most anything you might need.  However, there are some things that are, well, a little different.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

"Anna not touch my...."

This is how Lucy begins nearly every sentence.  "Anna not touch my..." fill in the blank.  Lucy does not want Anna touching anything that might possibly belong to Lucy.  Lucy and Anna even had a throw-down yesterday, with Anna doing the chihuahua chew, where she bares her little teeth and growls, and Lucy doing her best gorilla imitation, where she towered over Anna, puffed out her chest and growled back.  It was comical and yet a little sad.  Lucy is very seldom angry, so it's a little unnerving to see her react this way.  Even so, I know it's normal two-year old business when she sees someone honing in on her still-recently-established territory.

We have commandeered Lucy's stroller for Anna.  Lucy is heavier to carry, but she is less squirmy, and she knows how to latch on (boy, does she!), so she's easier to maneuver being carried than Anna is.  Lucy has also lost some of her wardrobe to Anna since Anna is much smaller than we anticipated.
Most of what we brought for Anna (sizes 4 and 5) is too big.  Anna is a little taller than Lucy, but she's extremely thin.  I have cinched the size 4 shorts down as far as they will go.  Even 4T bike shorts hang on Anna's skinny frame.  Yesterday, I sent over some of Lucy's 3Ts to my mom for Anna.  Today, when we arrived to breakfast, Anna was sporting one of Lucy's shirts.  I figured Lucy would never know the difference, but Lucy is paying attention!  She spoke right up -- "That's MINE!"

Our day was downhill from there....Anna testing EVERY limit placed on her, and our usually easy-going Lucy sobbing over the tiniest of slights.  Add one overly-helpful Amelia AiChun trying to set things right among the younger set, and well, you have the picture.  The good news is that this time around, I am not letting any of it rock me.  I know this is normal, and I know it will get better. 

This time, I am the one assuring my mother and father that all WILL be well -- maybe not immediately, but eventually.  The LORD did not bring us this far to do anything except to cause us good things.  He intends to prosper us, not harm us.  His plans for us a good plans.  These good plans are for all of us, the children already in our lives and this precious waif who has just joined our family.

I wrote the beginning of this post earlier in the day.  Later in the day, we were telling Lucy about how Anna can't hear and how we need to be kind to Anna.  Lucy looked lovingly and her treasured stuffed kitty, then tentatively made her way toward Anna, where she pushed kitty into Anna's arms as a peace offering.  It was the most precious, beautiful thing!  My mother cried.

Later in the day, I lost my confidence about our ability to handle all of Anna's needs and found myself in tears at the thought of trying to properly integrate Anna into the family and being able to give her everything she needs.  She is so behind in every way, especially just in daily life business.  We have not seen positive signs yet even about her ability to bond.  Still, we TRUST the one who showed us Anna's face, who brought her into our lives, and who has numbered our steps.  It seems SO completely overwhelming at the moment, but greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.  Anna will make it, and so will we.  We cannot fail -- too many lives are at stake.  Amelia, Anna, and Lucy are gifts that our family never even knew to ask for, and yet, our Father, in His infinite wisdom, has called us out and chosen us to shepherd these little hearts.  Their souls are important to Him.  They have purpose in His kingdom.  We will prevail.  It may just be a long, bumpy road.

Please pray for us all.  Prayer makes the biggest difference.  We beg for your prayers.

Here are some photos from today.