Yesterday my sweet husband had flowers, lilys of course, delivered to our room. They are beautiful and smell wonderful. What a blessing he is.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
My Sweet Husband
Yesterday my sweet husband had flowers, lilys of course, delivered to our room. They are beautiful and smell wonderful. What a blessing he is.
Thursday Morning
Hi everybody! It's 4:30 in the morning here (yeah I slept much better last night-went to bed at 9:00pm).
Yesterday afternoon went very well. We went for our foot massages at 3:30. What an experience! We rode in a taxi. It was Harrison and Zeke's first taxi ride and might be their last. The traffic here is unbelievable. It's almost as if there are no lanes. Buses, cars, motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians all ride together constantly weaving in and out of traffic. If three vehicles will fit in one lane fine, if only 2 will fit thats OK too. I felt we would surely kill someone. They use their horns constantly. When we got where we were going we had to cross the street. That was another scary expereience. Traffic has the right of way, not people, so you just have to start walking and hope they stop. Our guide went in front of us so I guess she would have gotten hit first.
The massage was quite interesting. They pounded are feet and legs literally. I have sore places on my back from the "rubbing". It was still very cool and worth the $15 dollars to relax (through the pain) for an hour.
Lillie Mei pitched a fit at dinner and wiggled her way out of her high chair. Once the food came she ate like she was starving again and stayed in the chair. She ate dumplings, rice, noodles, and watermelon. Somebody back home needs to start learning how to make Chinese dumplings for this child! She loves them! After dinner she took a quick bath, downed her bottle, and has been asleep with no crying since 8:30.
She's starting to babble a lot. She can crawl very well and I think will walk within a week or 2. As for her measurements--I think her weight is accurate-about 18 pounds. The 12 months clothes are mostly big on her--I should've brought more 9 month outfits. I brought a little sewing kit with me (mostly for the little scissors) that happened to have a tape measure in it. Kirk measured her head with it and the number he got was much bigger than what we were told. Based on that number, she would be closer to the 20th percentile on the growth chart. She seems very smart. I think she is going to be just fine intellectually. She will have a medical exam at our next location and it will be interesting to see what they say. I know God has answered our prayers in so many ways.
Today we are visiting the "countryside" to get a taste of a more rural area like where the babies are from. It should be interesting. Then we are going shopping for porcelain. Jiangxi Province is famous for its porcelain so I'm excited to get Lillie Mei a tea set and do some more shopping. The guide said we could expect to pay about $40 for a hand-painted tea set or $15 for a machine-painted one! After that we are taking the kids swimming in the indoor pool here. It is beautiful and they are very excited--at least Harrison and Zeke are--not sure about Lillie Mei.
There are a couple of e-mails I want to respond to and since I can't e-mail out forgive me for doing it here.
Jennifer--love the pictures of Abby!!! I think Lillie Mei will be right there with her in the kitchen cabinets. I think we may be in trouble when they get together!
Kelly--Noah is adorable sucking his thumb! Thanks for the pictures. I'm glad you are getting some rest!
Dee Dee- Congratulations! We read the Digital Courier and are so happy for you--we didn't even need to vote early!
Lisa R., Donna, Jennifer, Kelly, Liza,and anybody else with little ones--e-mail me the size of the babies' feet in cm (if you want squeaky shoes) and let me know what colors you would like. We will get those in Guangzhou next week.
Amy- sorry about the pizza--not sure what happened there. I'll be praying for you in just a couple of hours--you'll do great!!! I think giving the Mission Friends shirts is a great idea! Thanks again for filling-in for me!
I think that's all for now! We'll have pictures and hopefully video later--the camera died yesterday. Love you all!
BTW-Lillie Mei just woke up and I put her in bed with her Daddy--she went right back to sleep!
Yesterday afternoon went very well. We went for our foot massages at 3:30. What an experience! We rode in a taxi. It was Harrison and Zeke's first taxi ride and might be their last. The traffic here is unbelievable. It's almost as if there are no lanes. Buses, cars, motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians all ride together constantly weaving in and out of traffic. If three vehicles will fit in one lane fine, if only 2 will fit thats OK too. I felt we would surely kill someone. They use their horns constantly. When we got where we were going we had to cross the street. That was another scary expereience. Traffic has the right of way, not people, so you just have to start walking and hope they stop. Our guide went in front of us so I guess she would have gotten hit first.
The massage was quite interesting. They pounded are feet and legs literally. I have sore places on my back from the "rubbing". It was still very cool and worth the $15 dollars to relax (through the pain) for an hour.
Lillie Mei pitched a fit at dinner and wiggled her way out of her high chair. Once the food came she ate like she was starving again and stayed in the chair. She ate dumplings, rice, noodles, and watermelon. Somebody back home needs to start learning how to make Chinese dumplings for this child! She loves them! After dinner she took a quick bath, downed her bottle, and has been asleep with no crying since 8:30.
She's starting to babble a lot. She can crawl very well and I think will walk within a week or 2. As for her measurements--I think her weight is accurate-about 18 pounds. The 12 months clothes are mostly big on her--I should've brought more 9 month outfits. I brought a little sewing kit with me (mostly for the little scissors) that happened to have a tape measure in it. Kirk measured her head with it and the number he got was much bigger than what we were told. Based on that number, she would be closer to the 20th percentile on the growth chart. She seems very smart. I think she is going to be just fine intellectually. She will have a medical exam at our next location and it will be interesting to see what they say. I know God has answered our prayers in so many ways.
Today we are visiting the "countryside" to get a taste of a more rural area like where the babies are from. It should be interesting. Then we are going shopping for porcelain. Jiangxi Province is famous for its porcelain so I'm excited to get Lillie Mei a tea set and do some more shopping. The guide said we could expect to pay about $40 for a hand-painted tea set or $15 for a machine-painted one! After that we are taking the kids swimming in the indoor pool here. It is beautiful and they are very excited--at least Harrison and Zeke are--not sure about Lillie Mei.
There are a couple of e-mails I want to respond to and since I can't e-mail out forgive me for doing it here.
Jennifer--love the pictures of Abby!!! I think Lillie Mei will be right there with her in the kitchen cabinets. I think we may be in trouble when they get together!
Kelly--Noah is adorable sucking his thumb! Thanks for the pictures. I'm glad you are getting some rest!
Dee Dee- Congratulations! We read the Digital Courier and are so happy for you--we didn't even need to vote early!
Lisa R., Donna, Jennifer, Kelly, Liza,and anybody else with little ones--e-mail me the size of the babies' feet in cm (if you want squeaky shoes) and let me know what colors you would like. We will get those in Guangzhou next week.
Amy- sorry about the pizza--not sure what happened there. I'll be praying for you in just a couple of hours--you'll do great!!! I think giving the Mission Friends shirts is a great idea! Thanks again for filling-in for me!
I think that's all for now! We'll have pictures and hopefully video later--the camera died yesterday. Love you all!
BTW-Lillie Mei just woke up and I put her in bed with her Daddy--she went right back to sleep!
Zeke's Post
This is Zeke talking-mom typing.
Hi everybody. I have been having so much fun. I miss ya'll. Katherine asked some questions and we can't e-mail so here are her questions and the answers-
1. What is the GROSSEST thing you had eaten? I won't eat anything gross.
2. What is the WEARDEST thing you had seen? My daddy.
3. What is the COOLEST thing you had seen? Lillie
4. What is the TEST thing you have seen? not sure what you meant here
5. What are the TOILETS like? They are in the ground but in the hotel they are American toilets.
To first grade at Trinity--Lillie is very nice. I hope you will be looking forward to seeing her and I will be looking forward to showing you and telling you all about my adventure.
Your friend, Zeke
Hi everybody. I have been having so much fun. I miss ya'll. Katherine asked some questions and we can't e-mail so here are her questions and the answers-
1. What is the GROSSEST thing you had eaten? I won't eat anything gross.
2. What is the WEARDEST thing you had seen? My daddy.
3. What is the COOLEST thing you had seen? Lillie
4. What is the TEST thing you have seen? not sure what you meant here
5. What are the TOILETS like? They are in the ground but in the hotel they are American toilets.
To first grade at Trinity--Lillie is very nice. I hope you will be looking forward to seeing her and I will be looking forward to showing you and telling you all about my adventure.
Your friend, Zeke
A Much Better Day!
Today has been so nice. After my last post at 3:00 this morning, I went back to sleep for more than 3 hours! I felt so much better. At 9:30 we went to a pavilion where someone important used to live. The building was beautiful and the boys had so much fun playing in the gardens area. Afterwards we ate lunch and it was good! Lillie Mei ate her weight in dumplings (not much chance of me being able to make those at home), steamed egg, and watermelon. She is still offering me food. Today she took part of the dumpling out of her mouth and insisted I eat it--I faked it:0).
Afterwards we came back to the room and she's asleep now after a little bit of a temper tantrum. She did throw up twice today but she's OK now I think her tummy is just adjusting to everything.
At 3:30 we are all going to get foot massages. An hour long massage costs less than $20! The men and women are trading off watching the children. Then dinner at 6:30 so we'll have some down time before bed.
Things are starting to become routine. It still takes me 15 minutes to pack the diaper bag (I'm a little out of practice)!
We'll post more later!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
What a difference a day can make!
Hi everyone,
It's 3:30 in the morning here and I'm wide awake so I thought I'd give you all a little more information.
Thanks again for all of your comments. They are wonderful and mean sooo much.
The last time I posted we had finished all of our offical meetings for awhile. Boy have things changed since then! I can't even tell you how hard the past 2 days have been. Monday, Gotcha Day, was so draining. I found myself allowing doubts to enter in. As much as I adored Lillie Mei, I was just so exhausted (I have yet to have more than 5 hours of sleep in one night) and overwhelmed I just wasn't sure I could do this. Monday night Lilllie Mei cried herself to sleep and then woke up in the middle of the night crying for almost an hour, I just felt so sorry for her. She was obviously grieving and missing her foster mother (we did find out for sure she was in foster care).
Then yesterday morning she was just so quiet. She didn't feel well. Her nose has been running and she is very congested. We couldn't get her type of formula on Monday either so she wouldn't take her bottle. The way her mouth is she can't really close it around the bottle and suck. She would eat a little at the meals but nothing substantial. We finally gave her gatorade so she wouldn't get dehydrated and she did a little better with that. When we got back from the appts. she seemed very tired so Kirk got her to sleep while I took the boys to lunch. When she woke up she was reserved, wouldn't smile at all, cried when we tried to give her bath, and seemed lethargic. I was worried about her. We went ahead and started her on antibiotic and got ready for Wal-Mart.
On the way to Wal-mart we she cried the entire time. She didn't want anyone to hold her and nothing seemed to help. We knew we were getting her formula at Wal-mart but decided to try another families formula on the bus. She drank it and fell immediately asleep. She slept the whole time we were in Wal-mart in Kirk's arms (our backs and arms are getting stronger).
Wal-mart was a nightmare--imagine the day before Christmas, so crowded! You had to take a smooth escalator to the second floor, and the line was impossible to get through to get to it. People were pushing. It smelled horrible! The registers are even closer together than ours and it was extremely hot. On top of that we were stared at the entire time. Blue eyes are a rarity here so Zeke and Harrison especially get stared at.
The good news is we bought 5 bags of formula, diapers, wipes, bibs, four canned drinks, a bag of snickers bars, a can of chips, and it was less than 30 US dollars!
By the way in Beijing at a convenience store we bought 4 waters, a diet pepsi, and a candy bar for about $1.75.
Anyway back to Lillie Mei. After Wal-mart we came back to the hotel and our guide ordered Pizza Hut pizza for us!!! The best meal we've had and the only time I've eaten enough to be full. Lillie Mei did OK during the meal. She walked (with my help) around the room a little but didn't interact with the other babies and didn't really smile a whole lot. She ate some cheese pizza and drank some water.
When we got back to the room, she became a different child! She laughed and had us laughing for a solid 30 minutes! She turned into a little monkey. It's like the fog lifted and she really came around. I am so thankful! She seems to have a mischevious personality. She likes to hit and then laugh about it! There is a "3 day rule" with adoptions. They say it takes that long for the babies to adjust--I believe it. After her comedy routine, we put her pj's on, gave her a bottle and put her in her crib-no crying at all. That was 8:30. She's just now stirring a little, sneezing and coughing.
By the way her offical name is Lillie MeiFei Wilkerson. Her foster mother called her Mei Fei (pronounced May Fay) so we wanted to keep that whole name. We'll still call her only Lillie or Lillie Mei but she definitely recognizes Mei Fei as her name.
We'll try to post the video of her laughing again later-only Kirk knows how to do that. I tried to video it on my regular camera and post it (the Silly Girl post) and it didn't work, but I really want you so see it.
God is so good, he has watched us every step of the way. I am so thankful God lead her to us.
Please pray for the boys, especially Zeke, he is worried about his friends picking on her. Children are very curious and I know he will get some questions and she will get some stares. Harrison is doing great as a big brother, other than arguing about doing his homework, he has been great on the trip. They fight over holding her and love to make her laugh. Yesterday when I asked Zeke to watch her while I got a diaper he said, "Yes ma'am, I love her!" That pretty much sums it up for all of us!
Sorry for the typos and errors, did I mention it's 3:00 am?
Love you all!
Tiananmen Square, etc.
If this works, this video is of "Tom" ,our guide in Beijing, teaching us about Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. Tom was a great guy!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Lillie Mei
I just wanted to let you know a little more about Lillie Mei's personality. They call the girls from Jiangxi province spicy girls b/c the food is spicy and so are their personality. Lillie Mei is living up to that title. She is very wiggly. She also is very persistant. When she is eating cheerios she'll try to give you one and will hold it up to your mouth and grunt until you take it. She also seems to enjoy cleaning (yeah)! She loves to dump the cheerios out and then pick them up and put them back into the cup. She began hitting me in the face today and then laughing. I know it's a bad habit but I didn't scold her b/c it was so great to her laugh. I did try to distract her though. She also tried to bite me once today while playing.
She can stand up and walk around with our help but hasn't walked on her own at all. We haven't seen her crawl either. On our paperwork it said her favorite toy was the walker so I'm guessing she has had little opportunity to walk on her own.
Today we have been to three different appointments and she's officially ours just not a U.S. Citizen yet! We eat lunch in just a little bit, then have a break in our rooms then we are going to Wal-Mart and dinner. Enjoy the pictures!
Thank You!!!
It's 2:30 in the morning here and we're awake! Lillie Mei finally cried herself to sleep about 9:30 with Kirk rocking her while standing up. I think she's grieving. She just woke up about 1:00 with a dirty diaper. She's also very congested. She's finally taking a bottle though so that's a good sign.
I decided to check my e-mail and blog and am just so overwhelmed by how many people are praying for us. I can't described how blessed I feel right now. Of course, I'm an emotional wreck but so thankful for all of you. Lillie Mei will have the greatest gift when she gets to read all of your thoughts and prayers when she's older.
Harrison and Zeke are doing great. Zeke fell asleep really early last night and Harrison wasn't far behind. They were awesome yesterday. I was a little worried about their reaction b/c all of the other babies aren't special needs but they are sooooo proud of their little sister. They are awesome big brothers.
OK I've got to stop crying now and try to get back to sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow w/ more forms to fill out, 3 government offices to go to for forms, and some shopping with the group.
Thanks again, we love you all and so are blessed!
I decided to check my e-mail and blog and am just so overwhelmed by how many people are praying for us. I can't described how blessed I feel right now. Of course, I'm an emotional wreck but so thankful for all of you. Lillie Mei will have the greatest gift when she gets to read all of your thoughts and prayers when she's older.
Harrison and Zeke are doing great. Zeke fell asleep really early last night and Harrison wasn't far behind. They were awesome yesterday. I was a little worried about their reaction b/c all of the other babies aren't special needs but they are sooooo proud of their little sister. They are awesome big brothers.
OK I've got to stop crying now and try to get back to sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow w/ more forms to fill out, 3 government offices to go to for forms, and some shopping with the group.
Thanks again, we love you all and so are blessed!
A little more about Lillie Mei
Today was one of the most exciting and exhausting days of my life!
We left our hotel in Beijing at 8:00 to go to the airport, flew to Nanchang, had 20 minutes in our hotel room and then left to get the babies.
There were 5 other families getting their daughters with us and it was so chaotic, emotional, and crazy! Just watching those families was a tremendous blessing.
Lillie Mei arrived about 15 minutes later. She came right to me and was very calm. Unfortunatley she smelled of urine and was so dirty it broke my heart. Within 15 minutes Kirk got her to smile!
We got back to the hotel, had less than 45 minutes to give her a bath and be back down to dinner. She did great during the whole process including the bath. At dinner she banged her stacking cups and threw Cheerios :0) She did eat steamed egg. Right after dinner I had to go fill-out paperwork. At this point Lillie Mei had smiled, laughed, and had not shed a tear. However, when I returned we discovered she can cry and is still crying off and on. She's soooo tired and I think missing her nanny. She won't take a bottle possibly b/c we have the wrong kind of formula. Kirk is trying to calm her now with little luck.
Please pray that we can get her to sleep and that we can find the right formula tomorrow--they didn't have it at the store nearby.
Sorry--no video right now but a few more pictures.
Love you all!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
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