Latest Pictures

Six Banyan Tree Temple.

Do you think there is any American influence in China?
A unique way that Ashlyn has found to feed the baby.
Finding dinner, those are live scorpians in the red tubs. How do you know which ones to pick?
Large Budhas in Six Banyan Tree Temple.
Walking in the local market, so you think that Dawn & Ashlyn stand out?

Alexandra is doing much better, and back to herself again. As Adam would say "The Flood Gates Have Opened!" My happy little baby girl is back. She's smiling and playing and exploring again. She is also starting to eat more table food. Before she would only drink from her bottle. She was never fed any other way. She really likes the French Toast in the mornings. We have to break it up before giving it to her in pieces because she only has one tooth in the front bottom, and two teeth coming out.

Yesterday we toured the Market in Guangzhou. How interesting it was, and how glad I was that I had went. This place was further out from our little area of Westernization and beauty. The tour allowed us to see a new part of China. Our tour guide said we were going to the pet store and herb stores. The sights were amazing. You would think that since I'm from Louisiana and Cajuns can just about eat anything that nothing would surprise me. I think the Cantonese people from this area got us beat. We saw so many interesting things. A lot of fresh herbs and spices being sold on the street. I saw a bag full of snake skins and asked my guide what they were used for so she asked the local people, and they use the snake skins to cook with in soups. I'm assuming this is to make a broth and aid flavor. We saw many shops with baskets full of scorpions, frogs, and turtles. In one store they were boiling a turtle that was on it's back kicking around. And then we would pass by an area with cages stacked on top of one another with chickens. Why should this seem odd to us since they do the same thing in the U.S. it's just not out on the streets for us to see. There was one store that had chickens and rabbits in the cages and then on the top cage were two cats. We can only assume. I hadn't noticed at first, but my guide, who I may tell you about later, pointed it out to me. She is from Beijing and doesn't practice a lot of the local habits here in Guangzhou. She would ask the locals questions that we had many of times because this was not her background. Anyway there were chopping blocks in front of some stores. I know this sounds crazy, but I'm sure this is one of the reasons why Chinese people are so healthy. Everything is fresh and I'm sure there is no such thing as preservatives or additives. Adam was so bad he said that maybe this is what she meant by Pet Store, but it was not. In some areas there were puppies and fish for sale. The puppies were sooo cute. I had asked about how much they cost and the answer was around $40 to $50 dollars. If only in the states. And yes, Ashlyn wanted one, but we told her no.

In this area, we did not see hardly any westerners other than our group. We got a lot of stares and smiles. Our guide had given each of our families a personal card in Chinese stating why we were there and that we were adopting a daughter from the area and that we loved her and were bringing her back to the states with us. I had one Chinese couple that stopped to talk to me and asked me about Alexandra, and they told me that they had adopted the little boy that was with them as well. And then there is Ashlyn, they love her. I was told that she would be the American Idol here and she is. They are all fascinated with her hair and sometimes, the people will touch her face. I'm told that Chinese people are very superstitious and that if they touch her face, they believe that it is good luck. It's strange because in the mist of all of this, never have I felt afraid or in any danger. I had even taken Ashlyn and her friend Graham to the park the other day by myself, which was a few blocks away and we stayed there for a couple of hours. I was totally content, but observant at the same time. We had a few locals come and ask if they could take pictures. One of the things that we try to do is take Ashlyn to the park every day or go walking during the evening. I even tried out some of the adult equipment. I would do more, but I'm lacking my workout clothes, and I've been looking around for some. I started to do a little Yoga in the kids play area, but Adam was a little embarrassed so I stopped. I really need it because my back has been giving me problems. Only because I'm not doing my weekly stretching.

The beds here are super hard because they believe that it should be hard to keep the spine straight. Believe it or not, they don't bother me, and Adam actually likes the beds. I don't know if I will have time or not, but I'm still hoping to get a massage or acupuncture done.

We also ate at a Cantonese seafood restaurant last night. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but it was really wild. In the front there was a display of what you could order. There were sandworms, frogs, snakes, crabs (which I like), crab beetles, and eel - they were all alive in cages. Not to mention a lot of other things to choose from that I can't remember right now. But anyway this was all in the front, but when you got to the back, the restaurant was really nice and big. Everyone enjoyed the food and since people with the adoption groups go there, they will get a special meal that the rest of the public doesn't get. NO SEAFOOD, just the regular chicken, beef, pork, and veggies. All of the restaurants, with the exception of one, seats us at a round table and then they put the food down on what I think looks like a lazy Susan and everyone just takes what they want from the dish. It's funny because I very seldom ever try anything that's meat, but I will try the vegetables. And many of the people are the opposite they will try the meat, but are scared to try the vegetables. I'd rather take my chances with a plant, than an animal. Oh and hardly any of the restaurants have napkins.

Every day we go on a little tour somewhere, which I am really glad because it helps the time go by a little faster, plus we get to learn a little more about the culture here. Today we visited a small Buddhist Temple within the city, and we got a little background information on Chinese religion, etc.... It is legal for the Chinese people to practice any religion they choose, unless you are part of the communist party, then you cannot practice any religion. Communism is your religion. The five most common religions in China are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, and Daoism. I was a little frustrated because we took a travel seminar before coming to China, and apparently the person who gave the seminar hadn't been informed of all the changes that had taken place since she came, and we were advised not to bring or wear anything that showed we were Christians. This really aggravated me to know that I was misinformed because I would have definitely wore my cross necklace and earrings that I wear often. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject.

I have a ton of books that I haven't had a chance to read yet, and was really annoyed with myself today for not reading my book of World Religions before coming here. Sometimes I think when people are afraid it can be because of their ignorance. Anyway, we toured a small Buddhist temple in the area. Most of the Buddhist temples are in the country because the monks are to learn and they are taught not to have any worldly desires, and the hustle and bustle of every day life would be a distraction. I did learn that Buddha was a prince and that he was sheltered from the outside world and that when he became older he escaped to learn what the world was like and got a glimpse of poverty and suffering. The story goes that On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one. I learned that all the gods around were one deity but with many different facets. Buddhist also don't believe that it is not their duty to convert others to their beliefs because your fate is already determined. It is also believed that you can practice the beliefs but not necessarily be a Buddhist. All of the gods were different sizes and looked different, but I thought it was interesting that one of the biggest ones, was the god of fertility. The people pay their respects by burning incense and offering food. I asked our guide who ate the food and she said the monks did. it was kind of strange because in one way this is there religion, but in another way it is looked upon by the people as being mystical. Our babies could receive a blessing from a monk. I choose not to participate only because I did not know enough and I could not bow down before the statues, but Adam, Ashlyn, and Alexandra did receive the blessings.

Pictures from Friday

This is a park near our hotel, Ashlyn wants to go there every day.

Alexandra really loves her Mommy.
Todays tour, the Chen Family Temple.
Daddy's little girl, already has her college picked out.
Alexandra gets so tired walking around.
Inside the Chen Family Temple, notice Ashlyn and her friend Graham, who is in 4th grade but about the same size.

American Idol - Everywhere we go people want to take pictures with Ashlyn. Her blonde hair is a big hit. We always get the same questions - "Pretty Girl, How Old", 7 we say, "So Tall" is the response. She has to take at least 10 pictures a day with the locals.

The older sisters from our group. From the Left: Ashlyn - 7, Jencie - 5, Emma - 5, and Graham - 9.
Us at the Yun Tai Garden.

Adam & Ashlyn at the Yun Tai Garden.
Dawn and Ashlyn really LOVE the Chinese toilets.
Alexandra thinks that Dad is sooo much fun!
This is how Dawn & Alexandra get around town.
Our home in China for 3 weeks!!

Our Little Girl

I thought I would share a little more about my daughter - she came from Maoming Orphanage. And I was able to speak to the Orphanage's director and one of the Nannies through a translator. I was told that her orphanage was not a welfare institute, meaning that it was strictly orphans there. Some of the institutes have places of the elderly and people who cannot care for themselves. Her orphanage mainly consisted of special needs who will never get adopted. These children mainly have issues like cerebral palsy.



The Nannies and most Chinese people believe in layering the children's clothes. They believe that this will stop them from getting colds. When I got her, she had three layers of clothes on. So they made sure to tell me to keep her covered. It's wild because the weather here is like it is in Houston and you will see babies bundled up, and people wearing jackets and long sleeves. I don't think I recall seeing any Chinese people wearing shorts. Oh, I forgot to mention that I haven't been following the advice given. I carry a blanket, but would definitely not layer her clothes.



We were given her feeding schedule and her sleep schedule. And I found out that her means of comfort besides her thumb was a blanket in her crib. Which explains why when we got her the first day, Ashlyn pulled a bunch of stuff out of her crib and these blankets that are used like padding in the middle came out. They were kind of nasty looking, but she wanted it and whimpered when I took it away from her. But after she fell asleep I put it back where it belonged and did not give it to her again.



When I first brought her to our room, I totally freaked out, because we are given one day to have our child before we officially decide to adopt her from China. Even though that night we went to our guides room and signed papers, which were the official papers. Anyway we are given this time frame to check out the children, etc. Even though I knew the minute that they put her in my arms that she was mine and I would never give her back. But when I undressed her on her back to my distress where what looked like several bruises all over her back. I nearly passed out and got sick to my stomach, but thank God for my husband because he reminded me of the Mongolian Spots that are common among Asian babies. I knew this, but for all motherly purposes totally forgot at the time. So she is okay. It just looks like she's been abused, and we were told to have our pediatrician record this so that it would be documented that she had this in case someone decided to call CPS. I can't say I would blame them.



Anyway she seems to be bonding very well. She is mostly attached to me, but at first she only wanted Adam. And now she will go to all of us at one time or another. The next day after we got her she was smiling and playing. She's also very light. It's hard to believe that she will be a year old next month. But she seems to be on track developmentally. She likes to walk with assistance and she has taken a few steps on her own when we reach out to her.



But the last couple of days she began to have it rough. She hadn't had a bowel movement since we had gotten her and I had noticed her straining and crying on several occasions. Poor baby. So we tried some tea that was recommended and did not work, and then a couple of suppositories (Adam had to do it), and that didn't work. And then one of the mothers suggested an enema. Good Lord!! If that hadn't of worked we were taking her in to the doctor. Yep, Adam had to do that too, but I got the honors of having the latex glove and offering assistance. I felt so bad for her, but it seemed to work. So now she's sleeping like an angel, and I'm hoping that she will be back to the happy baby that she was before she started feeling bad.



So far she has been wonderful. We've figured out that when it is her nap time to just put her in her crib and she will go to sleep. No crying. Imagine that. I hope she stays that way. And she sleeps through the night. I'm praying that this experience does last. I know that when I had my children in the hospital, they were angels too, until I got home. Adam says they turned into vampires because all they wanted to do was stay up all night and cried when they didn't want to go to sleep, but I'm praying Alexandra will be different.



Her cries are something else. If I'm not looking at her, I would have no way of knowing she was crying. She just makes a little noise and has this real pitiful look on her face. Unbelievable. But I have a feeling that once she gets to the states her little American friends unfortunately will show her how it's done.

She's officially ours in China

Yesterday we went to the Chinese office of Civil Affairs and officially adopted our daughter. She is ours. I thought I would give you some information on Alexandra. The name given to her was Nan Qi Yu. (Nan is her family name this name probably came from the orphanage, Qi means our well hope to her, and yu means happy). She was born the year of the pig, which is the Chinese Zodiac. The Pig is a fun and enlightening personality blessed with patience and understanding. People born under the sign of the Pig enjoy life and all it has to offer, including family and friends. They are honest and thoughtful and expect the same of other people. Pigs can be perceived as oblivious or gullible because they do care about others so much that they will do just about anything for a friend in need.
I have a lot more to share, but my time is limited because we are going to the store to purchase things we may need for our daughter. We are so much in love with this little, girl and like all of our children, she is something else.

We got her!!

WE FINALLY HAVE OUR BABY.

She is beautiful, and of course already a Daddy's girl. Everything went well and she cried very little, unlike most of the others. Dawn cried most of all. She is very small, unlike the rest of our babies.

Just to let everyone know, we are able to post blogs but not read the comments from here. We encourage you to add comments for Alexandra, we are going to save this blog for her. If you want to comment to us directly you can e-mail Dawn at her normal e-mail address (dawnmanuel@comcast.net), we are able to check those.

Ashlyn changed her first diaper and she is feeding her, her first bottle.

Alexandra is currently teething and sucks her thumb. She will be 11 months tomorrow.

Our Tour of Guangzhou

We have just returned from our tour of Guangzhou to take a short nap before we leave to get our baby. (Like that's really going to happen).

I had to blog about the tour. We are on an island in the middle of Guangzhou and where we are, it is absolutely beautiful. There are a lot of Western buildings in the area, and where our stay is the area has no resemblance of where we came from, Beijing.

Today on our tour, which is a Monday, there were several people outside enjoying the day. The weather is much like that of Texas, but without the humidity. We saw couples that were taking wedding pictures, older people doing Thai Chi, ballroom dancing, a children's playground with an adult playground next to it. Can you imagine instead of sitting on a bench watching your children play, you could just be a few feet away playing yourself. I thought this was a nice concept and pleasant to look at -children playing and adults playing as well on exercise equipment next to the playground. Even though it's not like the exercise equipment that we are used to seeing in the states. We also got to see what I think was the military, training outside. It looked just like our military, but they were Asian. There was also a group of older adults all singing together like a choir. And we saw a lot adults playing this game that looked like hackey sac, but it wasn't a ball, instead it was something similar to the hackey sac, but it had feathers on it. It was nice to see adults playing and having fun like children.

In China, because of the over population, the average age for retirement for females is fifty, and for males it is fifty-five. So that is probably why we were able to see so many older people enjoying the day.

I know that there is a lot of poverty here, and people who live hard lives under the circumstances of a poor country that is over populated. But what I saw here today were a lot of people enjoying life and living in the moment. It was very peaceful and nice to see. And from talking to the tour guide a lot of people will come here to enjoy themselves, and the scenery is a daily occurrence. I don't think I will ever forget the beauty.

I almost forgot to mention, that when we came back to our room we had a gift from the hotel on our desk. It was Barbie holding an Asian baby with a sign saying Going Home.

We're still counting down till GOTCHA!!

Gotcha Day!!!

Today is the day. We will be leaving to get Alexandra at 3 pm. It's so hard to believe that I will be getting my baby today.

We are staying at the famous White Swan Hotel. This is where most of the parents who are adopting babies from China stay. It is a very beautiful hotel and every room has a baby bed in it. Thank God we are all in the same situation because I have a feeling that when night comes the halls will be filled with the sounds of crying babies. Maybe by some miracle we will be the exception.

At breakfast this morning we were surrounded by couples everywhere with little Asian babies, and some had older Asian siblings with them as well. They obviously had decided to come back to adopt another child again. Each table had a baby seat. It was amazing to see.

Well I am hoping for the best, and realizing that my child has probably never been outside of the orphanage nor has she probably seen an American face before (they refer to us as people with big noses), so I'm praying that the experience isn't too traumatic for her or myself for that reason. Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am a very emotional person. So I'm praying that when the time comes that I won't fall apart from a mixture of feelings.

So the next time I post on my blog there should be pictures of our baby girl.

Pray for a smooth transition, and for my patience, because the waiting is the hardest part, even if it's only for a few more hours.

P.S. I forgot to mention that this morning Ashlyn had volunteered to stay up and take care of Alexandra so we could sleep. I love my kids sooo much. They never cease to amaze me.

I'm So Proud

This is the Forbidden City. There was a lot of history, and it was beautiful. The Last Emperor was filmed here. The tour took around three hours. There were tourists from all over the world. It was unbelievable. At the bottom, the pictures were of the Great Wall. Ashlyn and Adam did very well, they climbed all of the towers except the very last one because they had run out of time. It was unbelievable how high the wall was and the steps. The steps were all different heights. One minute I barely had to lift my leg and the next I'm having to step almost to my waist. And the most amazing thing was while we were hiking up, there were workers replacing the steps in the process. Here and there. And I saw a few women walking the stairs stiletto heels. A lot of the Asian women wear high heels. And unfortunately I wasn't able to do the whole wall. For some reason I thought the first tower was the top so I was very disappointed when I realized that I was only a fourth of the way up. But you can see from my picture that I am high up.

Well today we are heading out to Guangzhou, and tomorrow we will be getting our daughter. YAY!!!!! No liquids of any kind on carry-ons so lets pray that our luggage arrives safely with us.

I'll post some more later. We are all really enjoying ourselves here and learning about the culture. There is so much to write about. Believe it or not, I am starting to miss American food even though there are American restaurants here.

Oh, and I almost forgot we were able to ride by where the Olympics are going to be held this year.

Pray for our flight to Guangzhou, I heard that it can be rough.

We're Here

YAY, We're here in Beijing. My intentions were good to blog everyday, but jetlag has got the best of me. We were up at 3:00 am this morning, and our days are filled with tours. We are staying at a nice hotel with the exception of the AC. I really wanted to try and get acupunture done here, but I'm not sure if I will have time. We leave in a few minutes to go to the Great Wall. How exciting!! I would have never imagined in a million years that I would be here with Adam and Ashlyn. Amazingly enough, some of the families here were able to bring several family members. Like five or six in a group.

We went to the Panda zoo, and the Summer Palace, lunch, the pearl store, Temple of Heaven, and the Tea House. The Tea house was Ashlyn's favorite because of the pee pee boy. I had to buy some tea because of the Pee pee boy. I will have to do a presentation when we get back home, but I don't think my presentation will be as exciting as the one the young Asian ladies did.

Oh, and bringing Ashlyn to the restroom was quiet an adventure in itself. I had to hold on to her while she was sliding everywhere holding her hair up and praying she would not fall in the hole in the floor and of course she had to make stinkies. I hope she learned her lesson to try and go at the hotel. If you have not been to an Asian or European country, you may not know what I'm talking about. But I will try and do my best to take a photo so you can see what we have to use.

Well I need to go for now. We are off to the Great Wall.

Please help take care of my boys, and continue to pray for us we are having an adventure.

Two more days and then we get Alexandra.

I will do my best to keep everyone posted and next time I will have to tell you about the driving around here, and the emphasis on beauty.

Well I'm off.

Love,

Dawn