The past...

We received a huge treasure yesterday. The lady that is over the foster care system in Kaycee's province sent us a cd with 5 photos of her as she was growing up. Included with these pictures were also the foster care write ups, which includes things like when she got teeth, etc.

I cried and cried...

In Kaycee's short little life before she was with us, she was...

abandoned at 1 month old, stayed in the orphange for about three months, went with one foster family for a little over a year and then with another foster family for about four months. I can't imagine what this little girl has gone through..my heart hurts so bad for her.

Also, she has two very deep scars on her upper arms. They should have been stitched. They are the same type of scar located at the same place on each arm. In one of the photos, the scar is somewhat fresh. It was when she was about 9 months old. I can't imagine what it was...it makes me sad.

I think that the reality of her before us has hit me. Here she was, all alone, can't hear and she is being shuttled around from house to house, bed to bed, etc.

I know God was with her, He was also by her side. I just wish I could have been there from the beginning also.

tales from the red couch

Today is the Consulate appointment. Actually we don't even go to the consulate, our facilitator does. She is there now. We have to stay in our room from 11:30 to 12:00. If we receive a call...that is not what we want. It means there is something potentially wrong with our paperwork.
Speaking of paperwork...our agency gave us the wrong paperwork so I had to go to the consulate yesterday to get it fixed. So the chances of us having a phone call are pretty good. In addition, our agency gave her the wrong Chinese name. They used the wrong character for her name. So all of the paperwork I filled out, has the wrong name on it...AAGGHH!!
BUT on the other hand, Kaycee is a bright little girl. She is full of laughter and life. She has learned a couple of new signs. No one can tell she is deaf. However, I watched her play with some other kids and she stood back away from everyone else. This could be because she was in foster care and was the only child or it could have something to do with her hearing, or maybe it is just her personality.
Anyway, everyone says she is a beautiful baby! We met one Chinese man on the plane flying here that was amazed we would adopt a baby that was deaf. "Did you know she was deaf when you adopted her?" It was a very sincere question, not meant to hurt. But it goes to show that she probably would not have had a very good life here...
We went shopping last night for minute and will try again today. When we left Fuzhou it was 101 degrees and about 49% humidity. Here it is only 93 degree with 47% humidity. But really, you can tell, it is much more bearable here than in Fuzhou...
We took pictures on the "red couch" last night. The little boy she is with is John Jones. He is absolutely adorable, Darla. He has cheeks you could pinch forever and this morning I waved to him and he just smiled and gave a huge wave back!
We miss everyone dearly and can't wait to get on the airplane back.

Independence Day

For some strange reason, the 4th just isn't the 4th in China! :) But we are all doing really well.
Kaycee is starting to show some signs of grieving. She cried a lot more last night when we were trying to go to sleep. In foster care, they have the kids sleep with them, so that is what she is used to. I am not ready to fight that battle yet, so that is where she is sleeping! Right beside me. But she is a good sleeper. She had a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon and slept another 10 1/2 hours last night.
We went to a park on Tuesday and then shopping. That is what the pictures are from. Then yesterday, we went to her orphanage. All of the nannies were happy to see her again and happy to see her with her family. They all loved her, and talked to her. It was good to see that but very sad to see the other kids in the orphanage.
This orphanage is for special needs kids, some like Kaycee are only slightly special needs, while others are severe. There were only about 60 kids in the orphange, but most of the others are in foster care. It was clean and it was evident that the nannies loved the kids. They knew all of their stories! The picture of me, Kaycee and the orphange director is also included.
I am not sure of our plans today. I think we are going back to the park, with the other family that is here. I am homesick for my family.

We will be getting Kaycee's paperwork back tomorrow from the Chinese. That will be a really good feeling!

Introducing Kaycee Abigail Xi

It has been an incredible whirlwind since we left!!
We got to Beijing on Saturday and met up with some other adoptive parents there. On Sunday, we went to the Great Wall, the square and the forbidden city!
Then my mom and I were supposed to fly out on Sunday night, but after waiting for about 4 hours at the Beijing airport, the flight was cancelled!!! That is a complete story in itself!
HOWEVER!!!
WE HAVE KAYCEE!! She is beautiful, full of life, and very easy going! She has three words in her vocabulary and there is hearing there!!! The first word out of her mouth when she saw me on the road was MAMA!!!!
She is very happy, loves her stroller and slept for 11 hours last night! Of course, she went to sleep at 5 p.m. but oh well!
All of our paperwork was completed last night and it is a relief! As far as the Chinese government is concerned, Kaycee is ours!!!