Red Thread to Marysville

Aidan's 4th Birthday & the End of the Summer

2010-08-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Aidan's 4th birthday back in the middle of August (I know, I know...why am I only now posting this? No excuses other than procrastination). As you can see, it was a baseball theme. He requested it. Guess dad's influence is rubbing off. Julie made the awesome baseball cake you see in the picture above.

It was a nice little gathering with family and friends. Kurt's mom (a.k.a. "Grammie O") came up from California for the week and joined in the festivities, too.

And here's the boy doing his magic disappearing cake trick.

Today's is Labor Day, so we're enjoying a day at home before the significant happenings this week ... Aidan starts preschool and Lily starts kindergarten!

This summer was exceptionally busy for us ... speech therapy twice a week for Aidan, occupational therapy for Aidan once a week, Kurt went to Nashville for a high school youth conference, we all went to Montana for a few days to visit Julie's sister and family, amidst other church and family activities. We spent a lot of time outside, too. The kids love to play in the water ... we have a little kiddie pool and slip-n-slide (which I almost killed myself on while demonstrating to Lily how to use it). They also love to ride their bikes as much as possible (another milestone: Lily's training wheels came off this summer).

People usually complain about how busy things get for them in the fall with school starting. For us, it seems as though it's quite the opposite. We can finally take a breather.

A Graduation, a Recital, and a Birthday

2010-06-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

The end of May and beginning of June were chock full of some important milestones and events in Lily's life.

She graduated from preschool and is well on her way to being ready for high school...um, I mean, kindergarten.

And here is the ballerina after her first dance recital.

And finally, here is the pigtailed one with the new doll she received for her 5th birthday.

California Trip Recap

2010-05-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

The plan was to take off for our trip to California after church on the last Sunday in April. Plans changed when I came down with a nasty stomach bug the night before. I spent the night in the bathroom. I'll spare you the rest of the ugly details. There was no way I was going to be able to preach on Sunday, so our deacon filled in for me at the last minute. I emailed him my sermon the night before, just in case.

Monday the 26th we headed out. I was feeling a tad bit better and was praying that the Immodium would do its job. It did. We stayed the night in Medford, OR. Lunch the next day was at In-N-Out Burgers in Redding, CA.

Here's a picture of Aidan enjoying his first In-N-Out experience.

Lily, too, enjoyed her meal...until she caught my stomach bug and threw up in the car just as we were coming into Merced, CA. We spent the night there after cleaning up the mess in the car. Lily threw up a few more times before bed but slept the night through and was fine the next morning. Kudos to the folks at the Holiday Inn Express in Merced. After telling the gal at the front desk that we were originally going to stop in Fresno but had to pull in here because our daughter got sick in the car, the manager came over, laid a coupon down on the counter (offering a night's stay for $64), and said, "Give 'em the 'sick kid' rate." That was greatly appreciated.

Wednesday April 28 we pulled into Rancho Cucamonga and "Grammy O's" house. As you can see in the picture above, one of the places we couldn't way to get to was Golden Spoons Frozen Yogurt.

"Shu Shu" ("uncle" in Chinese) Mark stopped by Wednesday night since he was working in nearby Ontario. Mark is a lifelong friend of mine, best man at our wedding, and one of Aidan's baptismal sponsors.

The weather at mom's was spectacular. Here's a smogless view from her front yard looking north at the San Gabriel mountains and Cucamonga Peak.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lily. She tried on my mom's cowboy hat and strolled around showing it off. Don't you just love her disinterested model look?

Thursday was a day to rest and relax following our drive down. I also had to make a trip to mom's doctor (my doctor some 20 years ago). I thought I had a blood clot in my left heel. It was very painful, hot to the touch, and I couldn't put any weight on it. The doctor said that it wasn't a blood clot but was "cellulitis," a bacterial skin infection. I told him "I thought cellulitis was an old person's disease." He gave me a wry look and said, "Well..." I knew what he was implying. Antibiotics and heel cream was what the doctor ordered.

Friday April 30 was set aside for Disneyland. My foot felt a whole lot better so I didn't have to hobble around all day. We met some friends there who work for Disney. They have a daughter Lily's age and a son on the way soon.

Aidan loves "choo choo trains" so he was thrilled to get to ride one right off the bat.

And here's another glamour shot of Lily taken on the carousel in Fantasyland.

The kids wanted to ride in the monkey cage on Casey Jr.'s Circus Train. Thought that was appropriate.

Jillian (our friends' daughter) and Lily don't seem too concerned that they're just about to be eaten by Monstro.

Aidan loved flying with Dumbo.

It's a Small World was next. I loved this shot with "Stroller Central" in the foreground.

Lily wasn't so freaked out about meeting Mickey Mouse this time. Aidan, on the other hand, was definitely uncomfortable and was clinging for dear life to mama.

He got over it quickly as soon as we hopped on the Autopia.

One big kid and one little one.

Lily couldn't wait to get to Minnie's house. Here she is with Jillian.

The kids forged ahead all day long at the Magic Kingdom. I was surprised how well they did, especially Aidan, considering it was the first time he'd gone without a nap. We arrived at 9 am and didn't leave the park until about 9 pm. But once we were in the van, they were both fast asleep within two minutes.

Saturday brought another visit from "Shu Shu" Mark along with around 50 other family members and friends.

Sunday May 2 we went to church with mom. Her church has a nice little grotto on one side of the breezeway.

One last shot before leaving "Grammy O's" house. We headed out after one last In-N-Out Burger with mom. And fortunately, no one threw up in the car or in our hotels on the way home.

Lily's "Gotcha Day"...4 years ago today

2010-04-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are, the moment Lily was placed in my arms four years ago today.

And here's the girl today before we headed off to Red Robin to celebrate her "Gotcha Day" anniversary (that's our custom on Gotcha Day...the kids get to pick where they want to eat). The dolls were bought for Lily when I was in China. We have more gifts stashed away to give her and Aidan on their respective celebrations until they turn 18.

You've come a long way, baby...half way across the world! We love you!!!

Aidan's First Gotcha Day Anniversary

2010-03-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, Aidan Tianzhen Onken was placed in my arms. He was a little bit heavier than Lily Ping was, since he was 2 years old and Lily was only 10 months old. But it was no less joyful.

As is our family custom today on Gotcha Days, we will give Aidan a little gift I brought home from China just for this occasion, and Aidan gets to choose which restaurant he wants to eat at. Looks like we'll be going to Fanny's in Marysville for breakfast. At least, we think that's what he said. Speech therapy continues on a weekly basis at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Julie and Aidan were just there yesterday for a post-operation visit with the surgeon. His upper lip is healing just fine.

Here's a picture of me and Aidan not long after he was placed in my arms in China one year ago today.

And here's Aidan from this past weekend. We went to a nearby park since it was such a warm afternoon for March in the Northwest. Aidan got to fly his first kite (not the one in his hands, his was much smaller).

Pics from Surgery Day

2010-03-01T20:44:00.001-08:00

Here's Aidan getting ready for surgery with his puppy. Lily has her pink "Pup Pup." We call Aidan's little friend "Blue Pup." He also had a Matchbox motorcycle with him that dad gave him that morning.

And here's Aidan getting some last minute hugs from mom and dad.

At the October surgery, they gave Aidan some medication to relax him prior to surgery and the anesthesiologist carried him back to the operating room. This time they decided not to medicate him until they brought him into the operating room, but part of the deal was bringing dad back. That was an interesting experience, having never been in a "real live" operating room before. On the other hand, it wasn't the easiest experience watching your kid's eyes roll back in his head after breathing in the "bubble gum flavored air" ... and then having to leave him there asleep on the table.

Aidan is schedule to have his stitches removed this Friday. After he heals up a bit more, we'll post some pictures for you. It's not a pretty sight right now, so we'll forgo any pics of him until later.

The "old" Aidan is back

2010-03-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

I think we have our "old" Aidan back. He's no longer stoned out of his wits from the oxycodone. We stopped giving him that last night, and now he's only on Tylenol. The glazed look is gone from his eyes. He's not as agitated as he was. Most of the day today was spent very still in front of the TV watching Caillou on Sprout...his favorite show and apparently very comforting for him. By the time I got home this afternoon, he was playing with our backgammon game pieces and his wooden train set. We've had a few very slight giggles from him here and there, but tonight he managed his first belly laugh since before his surgery. For some reason, it was the tail of one of his stuffed animals that he thought was just hilarious.

Day 2 after surgery

2010-02-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Aidan returned home yesterday around noon. The night after his surgery was fairly easy compared to his first surgery. Aidan slept well. I think part of his ease was that he didn't have to wear arm restraints this time. I, on the other hand, only got about 3 hours of sleep. Besides being concerned about my son and being woken up by the nurses coming in to check his vitals, the poor little guy we shared a room with suffered loudly from time to time. Not sure what his condition was.

Julie stayed home from church with the kids today. Aidan's pain is controlled with meds. However, it seems like he's still pretty uncomfortable. He's on a combination of Tylenol and oxycodone, for the time being. We're going to ween him off the latter ASAP, since we're pretty sure it's causing him to act a bit stoned.

It's next to impossible to keep a three year-old corraled. Nevertheless, that's what we've been trying to do. Considering that prior to the surgery, Aidan often would pick at his lip, he isn't doing it now. But it's all we can do to keep him from running around and falling or bumping his lip with a toy ... or a wall. It's also a challenge keeping his sister at bay and playing gently around him.

The swelling on his lip has gone down a little bit. It also has a nice bluish bruise-like tint. Obviously, he hasn't been able to smile, so we're not sure if his adorable dimples will return, or if they were wiped out as a result of the surgery. And Julie and I both have said that there's a part of us that will miss his cute little crooked lip. That was the Aidan we first met and fell in love with. Still, the fact remains that part of the reconstruction was reattaching the upper lip muscles, and this will be beneficial to him in the long run.

The Evening After

2010-02-26T21:44:00.000-08:00

Aidan had been awake for a while this afternoon. Had some applejuice and applesauce. Didn't stay down long. First time he ever vomited, so I think the whole thing freaked him out a bit. He had been pretty calm until that moment.

Julie headed home around 7. At that point, Aidan and I watched some TV and videos on my laptop. The TV here doesn't have Sprout, so Aidan can't watch his favorite shows, especially Caillou. What was funny was that once he got his hands on the remote, he turned to ESPN and started watching a basketball game. He actually seemed to enjoy it. Either that or he just wasn't in the mood to care. Probably the latter. We hardly ever watch basketball at home.

So I finally went to the Sprout website and we watched some video clips there. Tried YouTube and found a whole bunch of Caillou episodes there. Aidan managed to watch them until about 9:30. I finally told him that it was time to try going to sleep. As soon as I took the computer away and adjusted his bed, it didn't take long before he started to fade. He's sleeping soundly now. Let's just hope it lasts until his next vitals check. Or his tiny roommate's next session of loud fussing and crying.

Aidan's Second Surgery

2010-02-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Aidan's sleeping soundly right now following his second surgery. This one was to repair his lip following his palate repair back in October. He's all stitched up and pretty puffy, but he's certainly taking it all like a trooper.

We arrived at the hospital this morning around 10:30 for a 12 noon surgery. Everything started right on time. After meeting some of the medical team who would be caring for him, I was invited to come back to the operating room to be with Aidan while he was given the anesthesia. I had to suit up in some protective gear (pictures to follow). We laid him down on the table, and I watched as the anesthesiologist offered him "bubble-gum flavored air." It wasn't long before Aidan's little eyes rolled back and he was fast asleep.

The surgery itself was about a 2 and a half hour procedure. Aidan arrived in his room around 3:30. If all goes well, we'll be out of here by noon tomorrow. That's the plan, anyway. Julie will be heading home soon to relieve her mom who has been on "Lily duty" today.

It's the Year of the Tiger

2010-02-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Break out the red envelopes, oranges, red banners, new clothes, dragons, lions ... and don't forget your Tigger doll, since it's the Year of the Tigger ... um, I mean, Tiger.

We were invited to a Chinese New Year celebration in Everett tonight. Most of the families who attended were also adoptive parents (some were neighbors and friends). The potluck meal consisted of some delicious Chinese cuisine and one Alfy's pizza. The hosts also provided some entertainment for the kids ... decorating a dragon, story time (led by a neighboring mom from up the road in Granite Falls), firecrackers (actually, it was bubble wrap which the kids stomped on), and a dragon piñata. Our kids were tentative about getting involved in the activities, which was fine with me. The crowd got pretty riled up around the piñata. Every time even the smallest bit of candy dropped to the floor, there was an immediate swarm of rugrats diving forward, elbowing and shoving one another to get their mitts on the sugary morsel.

We have a new year celebration of sorts three times annually in the Onken household. The first is when the liturgical year begins the First Sunday of Advent, usually at the end of November of beginning of December. Then comes the civil New Year on January 1. And when the second new moon after the winter solstice arrives (usually in early to mid-February), we get to celebrate Chinese New Year.

So, "Happy New Year!"

"Congratulations and be prosperous!"

Or, as they variously say it in China:

Xīn nián kuài lè!

Guò nián hǎo!

Gōng xǐ fā cái!

Gong hay fat choy!

Suì suì píng ān!

Nián nián yǒu yú!

A Whole Host of December Pictures

2010-01-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

We just celebrated Epiphany last Wednesday, and managed to put all the Christmas decorations away on Thursday. Now it's time to catch you up on all our December activities and celebrations.

Aidan's First Advent and Christmas

2010-01-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

Here's Aidan opening up the first door on our Advent calendar/tree. The kids each got to open a door every other day, finding either a tasty or fun treat inside.

At the Bethany December Brunch

2010-01-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

Early in December each year, our adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services, hosts a brunch for local families who adopted internationally. Here we are in front of the tree in the church where the brunch was held.

St. Nicholas' Day

2010-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

"Daddy...Mama...what is this doing in my shoe?"

Treasure on St. Nicholas' Day

2010-01-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Lily and Aidan showing the candy, coins, and oranges they found in their shoes on the morning of St. Nicholas' Day (Dec. 6).

Lily decorating the tree

2010-01-09T07:40:00.001-08:00

Kids in the Creche

2010-01-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

Our two crazy kids climbed under this throw on one of our chairs. It made it look as if they were part of the Nativity scene. This picture inspired my Christmas Eve sermon, which I entitled "Seeing Yourself in the Stable." You can read it over at my church blog by clicking here.

Can't wait to tear in to those presents!

2010-01-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

Aidan and his stocking

2010-01-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

Lily and her stocking

2010-01-09T07:34:00.001-08:00

Kids, Dad, and Grammie O

2010-01-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed having my mom up from California for a couple weeks over Christmas and New Year's Day.

New Christmas Clothes

2010-01-09T07:32:00.001-08:00

Aidan seems happy to pose, but Lily looks she's copping the attitude that says, "Just take the picture already!"

Oh, PUH-LEEZ!!!

2010-01-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

Lily' and her baby's new ballet clothes

2010-01-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

Lily loves her dance lessons, so it was only appropriate that her favorite baby "Lexi" have some dance clothes of her own.

Aidan's New Bike

2010-01-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

Aidan is the proud new owner of a "Lightning McQueen" bicycle. He's still got a long way to go before he can successfully pedal it. His leg strength isn't quite yet where it should be.

Brother, Sister, and the New Bike

2010-01-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

Dad loves trains, too

2010-01-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

Not being the handiest of fellows, I was pretty proud of the fact that I was able to put this thing together. What little boy doesn't love a train set under the Christmas tree? This little boy in the picture sort of likes to play with it, too.

Word to your snowman!

2009-12-02T19:19:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Have a funky, get-down, kind of Christmas!

2009-12-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Merry Christmas Medley

2009-12-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

2009-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Career Choices

2009-11-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

At lunch today, Lily made some career choices.

"Daddy," she said, "when I grow up and get a husband, I'm going to live in Hawaii."

"Oh, really? And what are you going to do there?" I asked.

"I'm going to live in Hawaii, but I'm going to work in China," she replied.

"What kind of work?"

"I'm going to take pictures of childs [sic] in China and send them to parents who want babies so they can see them for the first time."

I thought that was a very sweet sentiment. However, I don't envy her commute.

Dressing up for the Skating Party

2009-10-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

Every October our church has an annual "Skating Party" at our local roller rink. Here's the kids in their outfits, and it was the first time Aidan was ever on roller skates (although it seemed like the skates weighed more than him). He did a fine job ... with mom's and dad's help, of course.

Paintin' Pumpkins

2009-10-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

We had some fun the other day painting pumpkins to prepare our porch for those nocturnal visitors tonight.

Here's Aidan showing off his masterful brushstrokes.

And here's the rest of us in the studio ... I mean the dining room.

Just a reminder that today's the day in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany and the Reformation got rollin'.

The final product ... a real Picasso!

And here's the next Mary Cassat with her latest work of art!

Four Falls at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

Thought this would be fun to share. Here's evidence that our little princess is truly growing. This is at the pumpkin patch which we visit every fall here in Marysville. The picture at the right is from October of 2006 and the one on the left is from our visit today.

Aidan's doing well... and a trip to the pumpkin patch!

2009-10-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week since Aidan's surgery. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, even with the pain medication, and had some trouble sleeping at night. We couldn't figure out if it was due to being in pain or the congestion that still seemed to be bothering him since before his surgery. We can tell that he's also getting frustrated not being able to feed himself. He's still on a soft diet and not allowed to feed himself for fear of poking his newly reconstructed palate with a utensil.

Upon the recommendation of the folks at Children's Hospital, Julie took Aidan in to see our pediatrician. She ended up prescribing an antibiotic. So here we are, two days later, and Aidan seems to be much better. He seems to be finally getting back to his perky self.

Here's evidence below at our visit to the pumpkin patch today.

Lily picked out a pumpkin. Actually, that's not the one she picked out. It just was convenient for a pose.

And Aidan was just wondering, "Hey, can I have a refill on this fine hot chocolate?"

Our tradition of measuring Lily at the big ruler at the pumpkin patch continued this year.

And this time Aidan got the chance to be included in one of our family traditions.

Thanks to all the folks at Seattle Children's Hospital

2009-10-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough good things about the people at Children's Hospital. Every single person - from the surgeons to the interns to the nurses to the orderlies - has been tremendously caring and compassionate and showed the utmost concern to my son and to my wife and me. I suppose you have to have that kind of "bedside manner" when you work at a place like this. Here, it does not come across as feigned but completely genuine. Visits to the hospital are not always pleasant, and this makes the less pleasant visits...oh, shall we say, more "palatable"?

Only one VERY minor complaint. I wish they had the Sprout Network! My son loves it! But we managed with PBS Kids.

Mashed potatoes down the hatch!

2009-10-14T13:20:00.001-07:00

And that means that Aidan probably gets to go home before the day is through. Up to this point he's only had a few ounces here and there of apple juice and a little bit of chocolate milk. Then for lunch today he had almost a whole bowl of chicken broth. But before he goes home, the goal was to see if he could handle some solid yet soft food. The mashed potatoes did the trick. Now, if he keeps it down, discharge is right around the corner.

Recovering from Surgery

2009-10-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

Nice luxury room at Seattle Children's Hospital. Wireless internet, too. But it's no consolation when you have to listen to your son cry and moan after surgery. Tubes and wires are connected to his arm, along with the restraints to keep him from picking and pulling and probing.

Julie is at his bedside while I type this. The nurse just arrived with some Tylenol. Jello is on the menu, it sounds like. More liquids and soft foods for the next two weeks.

We're thankful that the surgery went off as planned. The congestion we heard was not much of a concern after all for the anesthesiologist. We've been here since 6 AM this morning. Aidan left our arms around 8 and he got to his room a little after 2. About an hour before that, I was summoned to the recovery room because he was apparently inconsolable once the anesthesia began to wear off.

Now, Aidan just needs to have his mouth heal and get used to eating and drinking and talking with his reconstructed palate. He also had tubes put in his ears to drain some of the fluid that was there, evidently a common occurence in cleft palate kids. Another surgery is on tap sometime in late winter or spring to fix his lip.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. Thanks also to two good friends who stayed with us during the surgery and to another who stopped by to visit. You are very much appreciated! Thanks also to the surgeons, nurses, and staff at Children's Hospital. Everyone has been so kind and helpful.

Julie will head home this evening to be with Lily (thanks to Julie's parents for staying for a few days) and will return in the morning. I get to stick around at the hospital tonight and try to comfort Aidan the best I can. Hopefully, Aidan can go home tomorrow if all goes as planned.

Surgery Day...we hope!

2009-10-12T20:41:00.001-07:00

If all goes well, Aidan will have his cleft palate repair surgery tomorrow morning. He seems to be a little congested which might prevent his surgery from happening. We go in tomorrow to Children's Hospital in Seattle at 6:45 am. If they determine that everything is okay, then the surgery will go as scheduled. We ask for your prayers on his behalf. We promise to post an update one way or the other.

Staycation, Part 3: Aquasox Baseball Game

2009-09-02T22:11:00.001-07:00

We were overdue for a visit to Everett Memorial Stadium to see the AquaSox play. They are a short season, single A minor league affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

We were overdue, I say, because I had a gift certificate that I had been hanging on to for over a year. Just didn't get a chance to get to the stadium and use it. Today was the day.

And it was Aidan's first baseball game. He thoroughly enjoyed it. Or is that look of pleasure due to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand and the beer ... uh, I mean, the apple juice in the other?

I've never seen someone get so thrilled over a corn dog.

Here's a shot just to prove that there really was a ballgame going on. We left right after the seventh inning stretch and the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," so I can't tell you the final score. What I can tell you is that the Vancouver Canadians were slaughtering the AquaSox.

But the score didn't matter to Lily. All she cared about was her corn dog, which she continued to nibble on throughout the game. Here she is all bundled up. It gets a little chilly at the ballpark after the sun goes down and the breeze from the Sound starts drifting in.

Both the kids did great. They both sat reasonably still for a four and three year-old. What a difference a year makes, too. I took Lily to a game last year, and she was up and down and back and forth and could not sit still for a moment. I think we lasted all of three innings and that was all I could handle. Tonight was actually very pleasant and enjoyable. Hopefully the kids will continue to like this grand old game. Their not-so-grand but definitely-getting-old dad would be disappointed if they didn't.

Staycation, Part 2: Evergreen State Fair

2009-09-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to Monroe for the Evergreen State Fair. Started the day off with a pony ride. Surprisingly, Aidan didn't freak out, considering his emotions around animals range from skittish to berzerk. He got right on "Cinnamon" but it took some coaxing for him to put his arms down and actually touch the saddle horn.

Lily's an old pro, showing her brother how it's done. Let it be known, though, that Aidan did manage a moderate "Yee-haw" as he dismounted his steed.

Painted board with cut outs for faces! Gotta stop for these!

Always have to go see the animals, especially the momma pig and her piglets.

Here's Lily and I getting ready to go on the kiddie roller coaster. Too bad the shots of the ride didn't turn out. Lily's face was one of pure joy throughout. While we were waiting in line, I whispered to her, jokingly, "I'm a little scared. I might pee my pants." She giggled, turned to mom standing below, and yelled out in front of everyone, "Mommy! Daddy said he might pee his pants!" Thanks, kid.

Brother and sister enjoying another ride together.

Momma and Aidan taking a train ride.

Aidan did not throw Momma from the train.

And finally, here's Lily and I with our vegetable creatures which one of the exhibits invited us to make. Not sure what the point of all that was. Seemed like a lot of food was going to waste. But Lily just HAD to make one, so that was our last stop before we headed home.

Staycation, Part 1: Imagine Children's Museum

2009-09-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a "stay"-cation this week instead of hitting the highway and taking a road trip. We're staying at home and doing things nearby (along with an overdue project from my "honey-do" list I'm trying to squeeze in). Last Thursday we went to the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett. Lily and Aidan tried their hand at firefighting ...

... in addition to having fun on the slide ...

... not to mention learning all about paleontology ...

... and cosmetology.

And when we got home, Aidan had to shave again, since the job by the gal at the salon didn't meet his approval.

(Don't worry ... that's just a toy razor. Although the shaving cream was real. Gillette Foamy. My favorite.)

Aidan became a U.S. citizen today!

2009-08-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Aidan is not quite 3, and he already had to have a trip to juvy.

The day started out at the Snohomish County courthouse, but when our lawyer arrived, he discovered that there was a slight mix-up. The judge scheduled to handle our case was not present. He was about a mile or two away at the Juvenile Justice Center. So we had to jet over to the other facility to complete Aidan's readoption. When both parents travel to adopt in China, the child becomes a US citizen at the US consulate before returning to the states. But when one parent travels, as in our case, the child must be readopted here in order for the child's citizenship to be completed.

Here we are with the judge after swearing that all the information we provided was true. It was a very brief, but joyful ceremony. I'm sure that this is one of the more pleasant moments for judges and other court staff. Aidan had a great big grin throughout the process and had our attorney and the judge chuckling.

Albert Lirhus was the same attorney who handled Lily's readoption.

Both Julie's parents and my mom were present for the occasion.

Proudly waving the flag.

Afterwards, we headed to the Everett waterfront and had lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant. We probably should have had a typical American hamburger, but we were in the mood for tempura and yakisoba.

Aidan was so glad his Papa was there to have fun with him.

And here's just a cute shot of my girls that I had to include. Behind them is the view from the restaurant where we ate.

Aidan's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Aidan doesn't turn 3 until tomorrow, but we celebrated his birthday yesterday afternoon. We had a number of friends and family over for snacks, cake and ice cream, games, and tearing into gifts. We decided to go with a "car" theme, since Aidan likes little toy cars. Had to use the Disney paraphenalia from the movie "Cars" since that was readily available, although our family has not seen the movie.

Here's Aidan digging into his cake.

And here he is digging into his presents. His favorite ended up being the musical card he got that plays Rascal Flatt's "Life is a Highway." He carried that around all afternoon opening and closing it to get the music to play.

We played a few games, including the classic "Drop the Clothespins into the Milk Bottle" (our bottle was an empty Paul Masson wine carafe. Shhh! Don't tell anyone).

Lily tied for the best score.

Grammie O (Kurt's mom) flew up from California to celebrate with us.

And we were all pooped by the end of the day.

Today we have a court date in Everett to finalize Aidan's readoption and to celebrate his becoming a U.S. citizen. Stay tuned for more pictures!

More Summer Fun

2009-08-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

The rain and cooler weather has returned. We had a stretch of unusually hot and dry weather here in the Puget Sound. During the hottest week, Julie and the kids went down to stay with her mom and dad who live a little over an hour south of us. They have a daylight basement which stays much cooler than the oven which our house becomes on hot days.

Not only did the kids stay cool, but they got to stay with Grandma and "Papa." Aidan especially just plain loves his "Papa." It's as if I don't even exist when Julie's dad is around. In addition to the fun around the grandparent's house, they also had the chance to ride the carousel at the Auburn Super Mall.

We also have news regarding Aidan's surgeries. His first one is scheduled for October 13 at Children's Hospital in Seattle. We'll certainly be posting more information as that day approaches.

Living it up at the waterfront and the pool

2009-07-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

We went to the Mukilteo waterfront yesterday. After an early lunch of fish and chips at Ivar's, we just HAD to have some ice cream. What better way to start your day at the waterfront? By the way, I know that Aidan looks three sheets to the wind, but I promise, we did NOT spike his Pediasure. A friend of mine says his family calls it an "ice-cream stupor."

Brother and sister on the playground at the waterfront.

As you can see, it was a glorious day in the Northwest.

After naptime, we set up the pool in the backyard.

We've had the sprinklers out already this summer, but this was Aidan's first time in the pool.

What do you think? Does it look like he's enjoying himself?

Both this shot and the previous one are my favorites of the bunch. For this one, I tried to get the kids to pose and smile in the pool, but Lily ran toward the camera and this is what I got. Rather serendipitous, I must say.

And now, for something completely different!

2009-07-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

That last video I posted was, of course, very silly. But now, here's a very serious one. Enjoy hearing a virtuoso performance from the duo of Lily and Aidan on the piano.

Just having some fun with Jib Jab

2009-06-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Lily helped me with the "casting," including my mom and Uncle John.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

A Trip to the Zoo for Lily's Birthday

2009-06-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today was Lily's 4th birthday. After breakfast at IHOP in Everett, we dropped my mom (a.k.a. Grammie "O") off at SeaTac airport. Then, we drove back north into Seattle for a surprise visit to the Woodland Park Zoo. The weather here has been glorious for weeks (Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!!!), and we wanted to take advantange of it. Above you can see Aidan, me, and Lily in front of the flamingo exhibit. You can't see it, but I, also, am standing on one leg.

There was a play area where you can experience some animal habitats. Here's me trying on a turtle shell for size. I found it to be claustrophobic.

But Aidan seemed to like it.

So did Lily.

Here's Lily Ping with her pal King. Kong, that is.

And in this shot, the gorilla is the one in the front, in case you were wondering. Aidan was a little freaked out by the statues. After seeing the real gorillas, I think he thought these, too, were real.

"Can I pet the kitty, daddy?"

Here's a lovely flower and our son Aidan. Oh, yes, and a blue orchid, too.

Aidan dug the cookies. (Not out of the garbage. I meant he liked them.)

And Lily slurped down her refreshing "Itsakadoozie!" popsicle.

Aidan and Lily busted a move while listening to the funky music coming from the loudspeakers.

Our fearless safari leader made friends with another zoo animal, as you can see.

We also stopped by to check out the elephants.

The zoo also had a very cool (no pun intended) penguin exhibit.

We ended the day with sandwiches from Subway and more sundaes at home with the ice cream left over from Lily's party on Sunday. Earlier, Lily got four "high fives" and a pinch to grow and inch. She made sure to reciprocate on my backside throughout the day.

Lily said, "I can't believe I'm four!" I can't either. It seems like it was yesterday when she was just a little 10 month old baby being placed in my arms for the first time.

Lily's "Ice Cream" Birthday Party

2009-06-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

Lily turns 4 tomorrow. We celebrated with friends and family this past Sunday afternoon. Lily requested an "ice cream" theme.

Here's one of the crafts that the kids made.

And here's Lily's conehead mother demonstrating one of the games ... who can balance a cone on their head the longest while walking.

Here's Lily's birthday sundae.

After everything was cleaned up (well, almost everything), it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Kurt's mom, otherwise known as Grammie "O," was also in town from California to help us celebrate. She heads home tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Lily! We love you!

Aidan Adjusting and Adapting

2009-05-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. If that's the case, then the above ought to tell you how well Aidan has been adapting and adjusting to being a part of our family ... and how Lily is adapting and adjusting to having a little brother. Aidan seems to have slid comfortably into our lives, as if this is where he belonged all along.

We gather every night for bedtime prayers in Lily's room and sing and pray ... that is, after they get out all the "sillies," of course. Brother and sister say good night to each other. Aidan's "good night" consists of a breathy "nigh-nigh" with hands folded together by his head. Thankfully, we are able to lay him down in his bed and he goes to sleep without any problems (it's Lily who still calls out for mommy and daddy several times before she goes to sleep). We don't even have to hold him or sit with him anymore. That went by the wayside a couple of weeks ago, and our spines are grateful.

Aidan's still getting a bottle with PediaSure in the morning and evening, but he's become quite adept at using a cup now. He still can't get a good seal on his mouth, so some inevitably dribbles out on occasion. For the most part, however, he does a good job keeping his chin at just the right angle so he doesn't lose too much liquid.

A couple of weeks ago we had an appointment at Children's Hospital in Seattle. We met with a host of doctors, nurses, and surgeons getting us prepared for Aidan's upcoming surgeries. He will have his cleft palate repaired first, sometime in July or August, if all goes according to plan. Then, after that heals (approximately 3-6 months later), he'll have his upper lip and gum line reconstructed. When he turns 7 or 8, he'll have another surgery.

The first Sunday in May our congregation held a shower after church for Aidan. We greatly appreciate the love and support the people of our church have shown us. We were "showered" with clothing, gift cards, toys, and a money tree to help with some of Aidan's upcoming medical expenses. One of our church members made and decorated two beautiful cakes for the shower. One had a baseball diamond on it, the other (above) had Aidan's name in Chinese characters plus more baseball stuff.

Thanks for checking in with us!

Easter with the Onken's

2009-04-13T22:13:00.001-07:00

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration at church this past Sunday. Here's Aidan and Lily posing in front of the "memorial garden" which our congregation puts in the chancel every Easter.

Aidan really seems to be adapting very well. As you can see, he's even learning to smile on command whenever the camera comes out.

The picture below was taken last week, but I just had to share it with you ... my three favorite people (four if you count "John Candycorn" ... that's the name Lily gave to her stuffed monkey which you can see over Julie's right shoulder. How did he get the name? It's a long story).

The Baptism of Aidan Tianzhen Onken

2009-04-05T21:06:00.001-07:00

Here's Lily and Aidan getting ready for church today, where Aidan was received into God's kingdom through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. He was given the new birth through water and the Word and was forgiven of all his sins. We fully expected a freak out at the font, but it didn't happen. Julie lifted Aidan so that his face was looking toward the water. I poured the water on his head, and he started to giggle. It was a moment of pure joy, even though he probably thought he was simply having his hair washed. Good thing he likes baths.

It's always a privilege to be the hands that deliver this precious washing to anyone, both child and adult. But it's a special honor to baptize your own children. As it was with Lily, so it was with Aidan. I had a hard time choking back the tears, especially this time when it came time to ask his sponsor the questions in the baptismal liturgy. He and I have been friends almost since birth. (Two of Aidan's other sponsors were not able to be present.)

After the baptism and brief naps for the kids, we had a small gathering of family and friends at the house. Aidan and Lily wanted to play out back, and we let them, seeing as it was a warm day here in the Northwest.

Below you can see Aidan dragging our "sidewalk chalk" wagon. He eventually pulled it into the grass, the same grass which he was skittish about walking on yesterday. We took him outside and realized he had probably never seen nor walked on a lawn before. He stopped at the edge of the slab and would not step out onto the grass. He just looked at it and giggled. I finally had to pick him up and set him down in the grass. He didn't freak out, but it was obviously an entirely new sensation for him.

Tomorrow we head back to the doctor's office, or as Aidan calls it, the hellish torture chamber. We took him there on Friday to have him examined by our wonderful pediatrician. She ordered a lot of labwork to test for various conditions, so that required a lot of needle poking and blood drawing. Needle-less to say, this didn't go over well. The poor little guy was traumatized. We'll see how he responds tomorrow when we approach the front door of the office.

First Day Home

2009-04-01T21:38:00.001-07:00

Aidan was a pretty good traveler on the way home today. Or was it yesterday? Last night? I'm toast after a marathon trip. It hurts to think about it. 3 hours from Guangzhou to Beijing. 11 hours from Beijing to Seattle. He had his moments, but overall he did fine. He slept somewhat on both flights. In fact, on both flights he was out not long after the plane took off. Must have been something about the motion that lulled him to sleep.

Then came the moment when Aidan got to meet the rest of his new family live and in person. Here's Lily greeting her new brother. We all have a lot of adjusting to do, but I think things went quite well, all things considered. As soon as we got home, it didn't take long before Aidan and Lily were playing together. And Aidan seems very comfortable already with Julie. He let her hold him right away, comfort him when he fell, and he even let her put him to bed tonight. That was not always the case with Jan when we were in China. For example, no one else but me was allowed to push him in the stroller (unless we tricked him into thinking I was pushing, but as soon as he looked back the jig was up and I had to get behind the wheel again).

Here are the weary travelers at SeaTac International with Aidan's new sister. Jan was the right person for the job. Her parenting expertise, wisdom, and "mom instincts" were invaluable, not to the mention the fact that she is a great friend.

And here's the rest of the welcoming crew...Julie's mom and dad Marilyn and Marv, yours truly and his kids, my mom Wanda, Julie's brother John, and my aunt Sue. My mom and aunt arrived not long after our flight landed, so we were able to meet them at the airport.

And here's a shot of Julie and Aidan.

Julie and Lily had a scary moment on the way to the airport. Below you can see the aftermath. They were involved in a multiple car accident on the freeway. They escaped without a scratch, but Julie is still shaken up, as you can imagine. Of all days for something like this to happen!

And here's our own home version of the red couch photo. Okay, so it's brown. Whatever color it is, it feels great to be home with my family. And the story's not over (is it ever?). We'll keep you posted along the way on Aidan's progress with our family and give you updates on all his upcoming surgeries and treatments. Keep checking back. Thanks to all of you for following us, for your prayers, and for all your encouraging comments, whether they were here on our blog, on our Facebook pages, or on the phone. And now ... I'm going to bed.

Last Day in China

2009-03-31T06:12:00.001-07:00

Today is our last day in China. It's hard to imagine that we may never see this place ever again. We've talked about doing a "heritage tour" someday. But that's many years in the future. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? It's quite possible that circumstances won't allow another journey like we took these last two weeks.

But this one was wonderful, exhausting, joyful, frustrating, exhilarating, and emotional all at the same time. I remember feeling the same things when we traveled to receive Lily.

This morning Aidan and I went to the Guangzhou Zoo with the Newell family. Jan didn't go since she wasn't feeling well. That's the crew below among the crowd of school children gathered to see the aquatics show. You'd have thought we were celebrities, with all the school children's eyes brightening while waving and shouting, "Hello! Hello!"

We didn't have much time to see the whole zoo, but we did make sure to visit the Panda exhibit. Below is a red panda. There were several walking around in their pen. We were disappointed, however, with the other panda exhibit. As you can see, he was lying down behind bars, looking rather forlorn.

The elephants, on the other hand, were out in full force. I managed to get a nice shot of this beast.

Aidan fell asleep on the way out. He seemed to enjoy seeing all the animals. He sat very still at the aquatics show. But this trip, I'm sure, has been exhausting for him, too.

After lunch, we had our famous "red couch" photos at the White Swan. All the adopting families and travel groups have their pictures taken here before they go to the consulate to receive the visas for their children.

And we kept our custom of dressing our child in overalls. Back when we adopted Lily, no one told us it was a custom to dress your child in traditional Chinese garb. So, we dressed Lily in overalls. It's become a running joke in our family about poor "Farmer Lily." We certainly couldn't break tradition and dress Aidan in something else.

Therefore, I present to you "Farmer Aidan."

Here is a shot of me, Aidan, and Shiyan Zeng, our facilitator for Bethany in China.

And here is a picture of all the families who eventually arrived in Guangzhou from all the various provinces.

Not long after this, we headed to the US consulate, received our child's visas, and had them sworn in as US citizens (except for those of us who came without our spouse...until we "re-adopt" them in the states, our children are considered "resident aliens"). It's quite an emotional moment when you walk in and see the American flag. It's hard to hold back the tears. It's even harder when you realize the magnitude of the moment...that your child is finally coming home and your life will never be the same.

I need to go to bed. It's approaching 10 pm on Tuesday night and we have to be on the bus and ready roll at 6 am. We'll see you all on the other side of the pond. Keep checking back. We'll continue to update you on Aidan's progress, our family adjustments, and his surgeries when they happen.

Aidan's First Date

2009-03-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Aidan went on his first date yesterday. He's quite the lady's man, you know. He waves bye-bye to all the shopkeepers and blows kisses their way. They all say he's so cute, but I think he knows exactly what he's doing. That's Leah Newell, his new pal, new daughter of our best friends in China (click here to read their blog, if you missed the link in an earlier post).

Aidan was overheard saying, "The lady will have congee, but I'll have to have finger foods, since I'm not as good with a spoon as she is. And if you don't have any finger foods, that hairy goon taking the picture will just feed me."

This shot was taken at Lucy's cafe, an American's best friend here in China. So far, I've had their cheeseburgers, fries, fish and chips, and chicken quesadilla. They also have a decent sweet and sour chicken. Tonight, however, we went with the Bethany families to the excellent Cantonese restaurant across from our hotel.

Aidan is sleeping on the bed right now. Bedtime was much easier than the last few nights. He has refused to go to sleep unless he is on my shoulder with me walking around the room. If I lay him on the bed or in the crib, he goes berzerk. He kicks and hollers and rolls himself off the bed. He thrashes and rams his head into the side of the crib. I couldn't let him hurt himself, so I had to pick him up. Last night I had to call in the relief pitcher, also known as Jan. She came in and tried to get him to sleep (to no avail, by the way) while I took a walk and de-stressed. My back had just about had enough, so I decided to try a different tactic tonight. This time I sat quietly with him on the bed, watching some cartoons (in Chinese...not even sure if they were for kids...could have been the Chinese version of "South Park" for all I know, but it settled him down). After a bit, I made a bottle for him. He slurped it down and we went back to the bed for more cartoons. He was leaning against my chest, and I could see his head starting to bob and weave, so I laid him down on his back on the bed and laid down next to him. He didn't protest. Not a single whine nor whimper. He rubbed his eyes, scratched his chin, and closed his eyes, and that was all she wrote.

Now, I'm sure this won't be our usual routine when we get home. But I had to do something about my aching back which turns 44 in just a few days.

Tomorrow we will visit the Guangzhou Zoo with the Newells. In the afternoon we have the famous "Red Couch" photos and go to the US consulate for the final steps before we leave China and head home.

I know I'm cute. You don't have to keep telling me.

2009-03-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 29, 10:13 pm

Here's Aidan visiting the play room again in our hotel.

Today we met with Shiyan, our Bethany liaison, and went through all the paperwork for the US consulate, checking and rechecking to make sure all our paperwork is in order. I complimented our guide Jack in an earlier post, but I need to compliment Shiyan, too. This process is very stressful, as you can well imagine. Shiyan is the right person for the job. She is always so calm and she has a very soothing voice that puts you at ease. I don't know all the details of her job, but I'm sure that it is tireless, coordinating all the adoptions in each of the provinces, meeting with the families and answering all sorts of questions, and poring over the paperwork we hand her to make sure that everything is just as it should be before she takes it to the consulate. I'm sure all the Bethany families would agree with me that we are so grateful for the efforts she makes to help us bring our children home.

Visa Pictures and Medical Exam

2009-03-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 28, 10 pm

Yesterday the rest of the Bethany families arrived. I'm still not sure how many there are ... seven or eight, I think. This morning we all walked across the street from our hotel to get our children's visa pictures taken. Following that, we proceeded to walk to the north side of the island to the medical examination facility.

Here are Aidan and me walking into the room where the adopted children are examined. The information gathered here is then written on a form which is submitted to the US consulate. By the way, is my hair really thinning that much in the back? Guess that's what parenthood does to a guy. Or is it just old age?

Aidan is thinking, "I have a sneaking suspicion that something really bad is about to happen. Why is this idiot holding me smiling?"

And here he is screaming bloody murder. Even Aidan's best friend (as of today), the green plastic spoon, could not console him. Good thing you can't see his face here. It was not a pretty sight. We have the whole scene on video, too, to embarass him in front of all his future girlfriends.

This evening, the Bethany families were scheduled to walk over to Lucy's and have dinner together. We all gathered in the lobby of the White Swan, but it was pouring down rain. And not just pouring. It was like someone was in the clouds dumping buckets of water. Thunder. Lightning. Blowing wind. The doorman was talking to someone in Chinese, holding up four fingers on his hand. Jeff Newell said, "I think he's telling her that a category 4 storm is approaching." We waited for a while to see if it would let up. It did a little, and so the hearty souls who waited it out tried to go. Didn't last long for us. Jan had an umbrella covering her and Aidan, but the streets had turned into a flood zone. Me? I was completely drenched in less than 30 seconds. Needless to say, we headed back to our room and ordered in Papa John's pizza. I felt sorry for the poor delivery guy, though, riding up on his little scooter in the rain squall.

It's hard to believe that we only have three more days here. When we first arrived, it seemed like an eternity was ahead of us. Now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Can't wait to get home and start working on bonding as a family and introducing all of you back home to this new little guy. He is indeed quite a character as you will see.

Got Yogurt?

2009-03-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the Neighborhood

2009-03-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

We took a stroll around the neighborhood this morning. Here are some of the sights we saw. First, some dried seahorses...

dried frogs...

dried snake skins...

hooves of an animal whose species I could not determine...

and live scorpions.

These are shots of our trip to the Qing Ping Market just north of Shamian Island. It is an open air market in an older neighborhood in Guangzhou. It has blocks and blocks of stalls where all kinds of "delicacies" for eating and for traditional Chinese medicine are sold. Here we are with the Newell's in front of the entrance to a more modern portion of the market.

And below are some additional pictures of some of the activity we observed.

When we finally got back to Shamian Island, we decided to stop at a familiar establishment for some refreshments. Notice Aidan in his stroller saying, "Finally...a place where I can get a decent cup of coffee and a scone or two!"

Aidan is napping right now (it's Friday at 2:30pm). He had a rough night last night. Lots of tossing and turning. He's had a bit of a cold, which I think sounds worse because of his cleft palate. However, at 2 am last night he woke up crying. I felt his head and knew he had a fever. Took his temp and it was 101, so out came the kid's tylenol. He finally got back to sleep but it continued to be a restless night. This morning he seemed to be back to his old self, albeit a little tired, but he was smiling and active, climbing all over me, running around. It wasn't cold outside so we figured it was okay for him to go on our little excursion. Besides, it gets a little tiring just sitting around in your hotel room all day.

Today was the last day we will see "Uncle/Shu Shu Jack." He came by and gave us some of the final paperwork that he has been in charge of procuring along with their translations. I thanked him and gave him one of the gifts we brought as tokens of appreciation. We are sorry to see him go and will miss him. Jack was so incredibly friendly, helpful, entertaining, knowledgeable, and compassionate. You can really tell he loves what he does, helping families bring home these beautiful children and giving them moms and dads who will love them and care for them.

Shiyan, our Bethany liaison, arrives later today and will be with us the rest of our stay here. A number of other Bethany families should also be arriving today from various other provinces, so our group suddenly will grow from two families to a whole bunch...I don't know exactly how many.

Morning History and Culture Lessons

2009-03-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday, March 26, 2:15 pm

This morning we received our own personal history and culture lessons from Jack as he took us to Dr. Sun Yatsen's Memorial Hall and the Guangdong Folk Art Museum. Here we are in the picture above in front of Dr. Sun. Below you can see me and Aidan in front of the folk art museum.

We had the chance to sit down and have some delicious Pu-Er tea in one of the gift shops. I didn't know how much preparing and serving the tea was such an art form in and of itself.

Here's an example of some of the intricate stone carving on the facade of the museum. It once was the property of a wealthy family clan.

On the way out of the museum grounds you can see the contrast between the old and the new.

Here's Aidan in his new stroller. He got that big grin on his face when "Uncle" (or "Shu Shu" in Cantonese) Jack and I would pick up the stroller and carry him up and down the stairs. He also crashed out in the van on the way back to the hotel. I laid him down on his back in the crib about an hour ago and he hasn't moved since.

I thought these places were called "Information Booths."

Whatever, dude. This trip has been "way out."

I almost popped a local right in the nose

2009-03-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 25

At first, she made me get teary-eyed when I recognized what she was trying to say. A split-second later, I was furious. I almost popped the old woman in the nose. But I kept my passions in check and refrained from creating an international incident.

What happened?

During our excursion through the department store earlier today, a woman looked at Aidan in the shopping cart and pointed to his lip. Then, with a look of disgust on her face, she looked at me and made a gesture as if to say, "This one's no good." Jack saw it, too, and said, "Some people!"

That was the first time I'd seen anything other than approval of adopting a child here whom others may see as less than perfect. But what really is "perfect" after all? We live in a broken world and things don't always work, or in Aidan's case, develop the way they are supposed to. But that doesn't lessen his value as a human being. And the more time I spend with him, the more I realize what a precious gift from God he is.

But there's a part of me that still wants to pop that lady in the nose. God forgive me.

More Business, then Shopping

2009-03-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 25

This afternoon we went to the Public Security Bureau to receive our Adoption Registration Certificate. It was a brief in and out appointment in downtown Guangzhou. After that, Jack took us and the Newell's to a large department store to do some shopping. We stocked up on diapers ... which somehow are not staying on Aidan's tiny bum but have been working their way down his pants leg. I have yet to figure out how that's happening. I'm not that out of practice putting on diapers, am I? We also bought a small stroller, which we thought would come in handy in the airport on the way home. The little shops on Shamian Island loan adoptive families strollers, so we had been using one up to that point, but we found a nice, simple, affordable model in the department store.

Here's a shot of Jack fumbling with a display that somebody knocked over. Nobody claimed responsibility. That's Anne Marie Newell in the foreground at the right.

Below is the famous "jerky" fruit, as we thought it was called for several years after our first trip to China. Later we discovered that it is called dragon fruit. Ask me or Jan someday to describe for you our experience with jerky/dragon fruit when we got Lily in '06.

Aidan and Auntie Jan posing amidst the produce.

Here are our best friends in China, the Newell family, and our guide Jack.

I can't speak highly enough of Jack, or "Uncle Jack" as we have begun calling him. He has been a great help for us and is wonderful with the kids, too. On our way to the checkout stand, he offered to push our cart, saying, "It's okay. I have a license to drive one of these in China."

The Swan Room

2009-03-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, March 25

This morning after breakfast we took Aidan to the Swan Room. This is a big room on the first floor of the White Swan Hotel specifically for all the adoptive kids. Aidan had fun there, with Dad chasing him around. He seems to be relaxing more (Aidan, not Dad, although I am relaxed to a certain degree) and acts more energetic. We are also hearing more sweet little sounds, coos and chirps and other indistinguishable syllables. And I can't wait to have you all hear his sweet little laugh. If I remember correctly, the original paperwork said that he is "quick to smile" or something like that. They sure got that right.

This last one is one of my favorites so far. It's a little out of focus because I was the one taking it from close range. Aidan can't seem to get too far from me, although he's not afraid to go to Auntie Jan. He shadows me when I'm walking around the hotel room. This morning in the Swan Room, I grabbed one of those bumpy little balls and went and sat on the sofa. A few seconds later, Aidan did the same, climbed up and sat next to me copy-cat style. It was a heart-warming moment that I couldn't let pass by without a picture, and I just happened to catch his infectious grin.

A Quote From Jack

2009-03-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our guide Jack is a super nice guy. I really like him. His English is superb. He actually works for a different agency, but helps our liaison Shiyan since she can't be in so many provinces all at once. This experience has been quite different. Last time we were in a group of 21 families. This time it's only two. We get a lot more personal attention. Although having said that, even in the big group Shiyan was always available and was so kind and helpful. Shiyan joins us on Friday. She has already called us several times to check in and ask how things are going.

So here's the quote from Jack, who is Chinese and lives in Guangzhou. On our drive back from the civil affairs office yesterday, we all got to talking about Chinese food. Guangzhou is also known as Canton, hence the term "Cantonese" cuisine. Jack said,

The Cantonese have a saying: "We eat anything that flies, except airplanes ... we eat anything with four legs, except table and chairs ... and we eat anything that swims, except boats."

Bedtime #2

2009-03-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 25, 5:00 am

No, that's not a reference to anything I may have found in Aidan's diaper. Last night was his second night with us. He didn't go down as easily as the previous night. I had to hold him like Jan did at naptime yesterday. But he laid down against me in a chair and he settled down nicely. After about 10 minutes he was sound asleep. I made my move to the crib, crossing my proverbial fingers. He stirred and opened his eyes when I laid him down, but he quickly settled back down again and went right back to sleep.

Aidan slept the night through. We think he has a cold. He as a pretty good little cough, no fever, no drainage from his nose (do cleft kids have nasal drainage?)...but none of this really seems to phase him. He doesn't whine or complain. He sleeps soundly. He woke me up several times coughing last night, but he goes right back to sleep. We're going to keep an eye out and determine whether we need to make a visit to a doctor. Right now we're playing it by ear. Too many idioms, I know..."keep an eye out," "play it by ear," I'll try to cut right to the chase next time. There I go again.

This afternoon we return to the civil affairs office to pick up the completed paperwork, then Jack, our guide, is going to take us to a shopping mall.

As far as China is concerned, he's ours now

2009-03-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 24, 3:45 pm

Technically, until today we were only temporary guardians. Now, as far as China is concerned, we are Aidan's parents. We completed the paperwork and fees this morning at the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Department. All adopting parents must be interviewed twice, explaining why you want to adopt and promising that you will not abandon or abuse your child, but will care for him and provide the best possible educational opportunities for him.

Jan took pictures for me at the office, but I left the memory card in the computer back at the hotel room. The shots instead are stored on the camera's internal memory, but I can't upload them without the cord, and that's in Marysville in a little Rubbermaid container in the hall closet. I'll have to share those later.

After our return to the island, we walked with the Newell's over to Starbuck's, then took our kids over to the play area in the center promenade. Aidan and Leah had the chance to walk around a bit and stretch their legs, but they mainly just looked around and watched what everyone was doing. Then, we went back to the hotel for lunch and naptime.

Naptime didn't go so well. Aidan did not like getting put in the crib for a nap. That was the first time we heard him cry other than the first few moments when he was placed in my arms. I rocked him and held him on my chest ... he was quiet, but his eyes were wide open. He sure showed signs of being tired, but I think he's also getting used to his new temporary digs and wasn't sure of what was going on. I tried to put him back in the crib twice, but each time I started to lay him down, he would jerk, wake up, and start crying again. Finally, I called Jan to come rescue me (she had gone back to her room and I had to go potty), and she managed to get Aidan back to sleep. That's where he is now as I type this post.

Here are a few more shots of our day thus far, minus the pictures from the civil affairs office.

Check out Aidan's new baseball cap. Can't start too early creating a fan. (Julie's going to see this post and say, "Hey, that's not the outfit that goes with that hat!" She's right...he has a cool baseball outfit ready for another day.)

And here's Aidan on the playground, not quite sure what to do.

And finally, from a storefront window on the way back to the hotel ... Who needs Barbie when instead you can have "Betty" and "Bertha"?!?!

Gotcha!

2009-03-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

Monday, March 23, 9:15 pm

Well, here we are on Monday night, and the newest addition to the Onken household is sound asleep in his crib. Now, I can take some time to tell the world about it.

This afternoon around 2:00 we headed to the Guangdong Civil Affairs Department. It was just us and the Newell's, the other Bethany family who received their daughter in another part of China. Our guide, Jack, took us in a small van to the building and walked us through the whole process...all the paperwork, introducing us to our children, meeting the nannies, helping with the fees and donations. I was also able to interview one of Aidan's nannies and get her answers on tape, with Jack translating of course.

When Aidan was placed in my arms, he cried for a very short time. His brow was furrowed for the rest of the afternoon, looking around at all these strange faces, wondering what was going on. When we got back to the hotel, we and the Newell's met with Jack in my room to fill out some more paperwork in preparation for tomorrow's meetings. After that, I finally had the chance to video call Julie on Skype to introduce her to our new son. Even the in-laws got dragged out of bed (they're staying with Julie over the weekend) to join in the fun...although seeing my father-in-law in his skivvies was a bit much. If I remember correctly, it was a bit before 2 am back in the states, but we didn't want to wait until morning.

After that, we introduced the Newell's and their beautiful new daughter Leah to Lucy's Cafe. Both Aidan and Leah scarfed down bowls of chicken congee. Leah was able to feed herself. She's a bit older than Aidan. Apparently, Aidan was still being fed by his caretakers back at the orphanage, so I spoon fed him. But after seeing Leah so adept with the spoon, he decided to try it. Needless to say, his technique needs some work. The spoon usually got tilted well before the congee made it into his mouth. We also gave him some of our fish (both Jan and I had fish and chips)...and Julie will be happy to see that Aidan has already been introduced to the joy of french fries, although I'm not so sure that he was completely thrilled with them, like our daughter.

We headed back to our respective rooms after a stop at 7-11 across from the White Swan for some more bottled water. The rest of the evening was spent playing and bonding with Aidan. He is a playful little guy, with a little impish, mischievous spirit about him. Already he likes to throw every toy he gets his hands on. It also didn't take him long to start grinning and giggling with us (that came a few days after Gotcha Day with Lily). He has the cutest little breathy laugh, probably due to the cleft palate issues. He doesn't say any recognizable words, just a few sounds that may be Chinese words for all I know, but I can't understand them.

A couple of months ago Julie sent a care package to Aidan (via Ann at Red Thread China) which included family pictures in a little photo album. We were given all that back. When we opened it up to look at it with Aidan, he pointed with recognition at Julie, and grunted and looked at me. He also looked at my picture and looked right back at me. I get the feeling that his nannies were prepping him along the way and telling him that these people were his new "baba" (Chinese for daddy) and "mama" (Chinese for, well, that's a little obvious, don't you think?). And Aidan's first real sounds he made with us was when Julie's image came up on the Skype video call we made. He pointed right at Julie and made some sort of sound. I really believe he recognized her face. We'll see if all that preparation time pays dividends in the end with the transition when we get home. It sure did with Lily.

After giving Aidan a bottle (which he still used at the orphanage...our opinion is we'd like to get him off of that soon, but we're not going to rush it...good bonding time), I put his jammies on him and we played for a bit more and finally put him down around 9 pm. He stood there in the crib just looking at me. I decided to purposefully lay him down. He didn't protest. He knew it was bedtime. I went over to start typing this post, and after about 5 minutes, I heard some whimpering. I thought to myself, "Okay, here it comes." But the waterworks never started. Maybe that will come later. I went over and comforted him a bit, he quieted down, and a few minutes later his eyes were shut.

So now it's time for me to hit the hay after an exhilarating and exhausting day. And we still have over a week to go. Enjoy the pictures below of our first day with Aidan.

At the Guangdong Civil Affairs Office, moments after Aidan was placed in my arms.

He was scared, but seemed to trust me a bit, as he leaned his head onto my shoulder.

Here he is back in the hotel room, with some new clothes and pants falling down. He's a scrawny little guy. Not much of a bum to hold up his trousers.

I think this kid is "toadally cute," don't you?

No Onken child goes without getting introduced right away to French Fries.

First bottle on baba's lap.

One More Hour

2009-03-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Monday, March 23, 1:10 pm - One more hour before we leave for the Guangdong Civil Affairs Department where we will receive Aidan. I was pretty calm and collected up 'til now. I'm starting to get a little jumpy. Maybe it's the Diet Coke, I don't know.

About an hour ago I got the call from our guide Jack for final instructions before we meet him and the other families we will be with. The Newell family, a Bethany family with whom we have been corresponding via email, just arrived from Beijing and Anne Marie came to my room and introduced herself. They had not yet heard from Jack and so I filled them in on what was going on.

It's the middle of the night for all of you back in the US, but my first duty is to video call Julie on Skype (what a great thing that has been!) no matter what time it is, per her instructions. As soon as I can, I'll be posting pictures for the rest of the world to see.

Tomorrow's the Big Day

2009-03-22T03:44:00.001-07:00

Sunday, March 22, 6:45 pm - The paperwork is ready. The money is in order. The thank-you gifts (chocolate and lip balm) are ready to be delivered to the orphanage workers. Tomorrow afternoon is "zero hour" when we finally receive Aidan Tianzhen. Now, the question is, "Am I ready?" Part of me feels very confident ... Mr. Experienced Dad. Another part of me has no idea what he's doing ... Mr. Cross-that-bridge-when-we-come-to-it. Then there's that part that is totally freaked out. I don't have a name for that part, but I know I don't like it. Thankfully, Jan is along on this journey to tell me what to do when I freeze up with that deer-in-the-headlights look.

On a lighter note, my faith has been restored in the Italian cuisine available in China. After last night's craptacularly bad spaghetti, we tried a place with REAL Italian food tonight. It was dynamite. I had lasagna. Jan had spinach ravioli. We ended the meal with some terrific gelato. We will definitely be back. Ciao for now! I mean "Zai Jian!"

Sunday Morning on Shamian Island

2009-03-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Jan and I went to church this morning at Christ Church Shamian. It was all in Chinese. Didn't understand a word. Could have used the gift of interpretation today. However, they projected the words of the hymns and a few parts of the service on a screen with some English words, so we were able to speak the Apostles' Creed in English while everyone else confessed the faith in Chinese. That was pretty cool. We also recognized the music to "The Old Rugged Cross" so we sang along in English on that one, too.

We were amazed at the number of people who crowded into this average sized church building. There were at least 350 people, probably more. There was also an overflow room in a side building with the service projected on a screen, so there must have been more people in there, as well. We were also surprised to see a large number of younger people in their teens and twenties...and not just sitting there moping, but actively involved in the service.

Not sure what kind of a church this was. With a name like "Christ Church" I expected it to be Anglican, but the order of service seemed more like a traditional American evangelical church service with Scripture readings, prayers, and traditional hymns.

On the way out we met a charming couple. The woman's name was "Na Na" (sp?), and she was from Guangzhou. Her husband Joe was from Ghana. They were a pleasure to briefly talk with and invited us to come again. Didn't have the chance to tell them that we won't be in town all that long, but it was nice to be greeted by such friendly faces. Needless to say, it was meaningful to be in church on Sunday morning with fellow believers in Christ on the other side of the world.

Here are some shots outside the building before we entered. We arrived around 9:15. The building soon filled up not long after that.

Shots of Shamian Island

2009-03-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more shots of Shamian Island taken on our walk today.

First, a group of musicians and singers performing traditional Chinese music in the park.
Next is an example of the architecture on the island and two varieties of poinsettias growing ... outside, mind you. When's the last time you saw that in the Northwest?

Assorted pics from our walk.

This was a shoe store we ran into that sold shoes with Mickey Mouse all over them. Couldn't tell if they were actual Disney products. Didn't see the TM sign anywhere.
And I couldn't make heads or tails what their sign meant. "MICKEY IN TRIP ... shall we in trip? feel so happy." Somebody interpret for me.

And finally, the ubiquitous Starbuck's. We didn't buy. Only walked in to smell. Tomorrow we may indulge for a taste of Seattle in Guangzhou.

Another Not-Quite-Lazy Day in Guangzhou

2009-03-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 21, 7:36 pm - Considering last night's sleep was less than stellar, I managed to make it through the day feeling pretty good. This morning we went to the bank to exchange traveler's checks and some US cash into Chinese yuan (or RMB which stands for "renmenbi" and means "people's currency). We ran into a snag when we were informed that the bank only exchanges traveler's checks on Mondays and Fridays. Seeing that we needed the money on Monday for some of our adoption fees, that posed a problem. They gladly exchanged our cash, but we had to find another way to exchange the traveler's checks. Fortunately, the hotel desk was able to do it for us, so our concern was short-lived. Besides, we may have had time to do it at the bank on Monday anyways, but our experience so far with the bank here is that things move very slowly, therefore we didn't want to chance doing things at the last minute on Monday.

Next we went to the business center and made photocopies of necessary documents which we need to present to the proper authorities. While waiting for help, we met some nice folks from the Bay Area who were both adopting their first children. I felt like the experienced old man since I'd walked this path before. We also met a mom from Pennsylvania and her new son later on in the day. It's an amazing thing, how you have an instant bond with these people whom you've never met and with whom you have nothing in common except adopting children in China, and you can easily strike up a conversation with them and see how they exude joy.

And now I've just had a strange sense of Deja Vu. I think I remember feeling some of these same feelings and thinking these same thoughts the last time around. I may have even blogged about them. Guess I'll have to dig around in some old posts and see.

Finally, we hit the streets again for some more relaxing and shopping. I am not a good shopper. I need to know exactly what I want before I enter a store. This is not easy here with so much variety, and with shopkeepers breathing down your neck, telling you that your baby cannot do without this, or this, or this, and how you will like this, or your wife will like this, and how they will give you such a good price. 50% off today only. Business has been so slow. I really like you, you nice. Your cousin, she look like a teenager. You want this? You drive a hard bargain. I cannot sell that to you at this price. How about this much? You want two? Three? Come on, you buy three, I give you good price.

Actually, it's not all that bad. It's kind of fun, haggling with them. It's part of the game and all good-natured.

After more strolling around the island, we ended our day at a restaurant next to the hotel. I can't tell you the name of it, and that's as it should be, because the food was underwhelming. We thought we were at a great Italian place that one of the Bay Area dads recommended to us. But I don't think this was it. We did order spaghetti, but Jan and I decided that it was, in her words, "Craptastic." It was edible, but had a real funky aftertaste that even mango ice cream and a Diet Coke could not kill. I liked it less than Jan did and could not even eat half of it. Thank the Lord for peanut butter M&M's.

I must still be on Pacific Time

2009-03-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday, March 21, 7 am here. I thought I was in the clear with this whole jet lag thing. After being up for 28 hours while in transit (with just a few cat naps), I went to bed early Friday morning around 1 am but didn't sleep a real sound sleep. Last night, I hit the sack around 8:30 and went right to sleep. Victory! Or so I thought. I was wide awake at 11 pm. I laid there and laid there, trying to get back to sleep, but to no avail. It didn't help that my mind was racing about all the upcoming events here. Around 2 am I picked up a book and read for a bit, and around 3 am the eyelids started to get heavy again. The next time I awoke, it was 6:30 am, and here I am. The breakfast buffet and the coffee are calling my name.

Just a clarification on one of the pictures in the last post. Don't let me give you the impression that Jan and I flew business class. We were in coach. That was just the nearest sign with the name of our airline on it (which was Hainan Airlines, by the way).

I received a fax yesterday from our Bethany liaison here in China which gave us a more detailed account of our agenda. One of her assistants will be contacting us here soon and the plan is to receive Aidan at 2:30 pm on Monday, March 23. That will be 11:30 pm on Sunday night back on the West Coast.

Strolling and Shopping

2009-03-20T03:35:00.001-07:00

Friday, March 20: Here's Jan and me before we boarded the plane on Wednesday. I'm sure we looked much more chipper then than we did today. We were both feeling tired, yet we still managed to get out and stroll around a bit and even began some of our shopping. The plan is to get most of it done before we receive Aidan on Monday.

Here's a shot of that great breakfast buffet at the White Swan Hotel. This isn't even the half of it. There are several other sections with an amazing assortment of foods.

Ran into these two fiddlers during our walk around Shamian Island, where our hotel is located. Wish I had brought my fiddle along. I would have fit right in with these two old codgers.

Shamian Island is acutally a little sandbank island in the Pearl River. It is separated by a small channel from the rest of Guangzhou's busy streets which you can see behind me in the picture of me and the fiddlers. It feels like more of a resort than part of a city whose metropolitan population is approaching 10 million. Below are a few shots of our stroll around the island today.

And here's my "coach" Jan with another pal she ran into outside the entrance to our hotel.

We ended the day with a couple of burgers at Lucy's, a friendly little American-style cafe a short walk from the White Swan. We ate outside since the temperature was quite pleasant, although you can feel the humidity. Thankfully it wasn't as hot today as we were expecting. That's me leaning against the "Lucy's" (although you can't see it) sign ... leaning not because of the Tsingtao, but because I'm ready to head back and relax for the rest of the evening, ready to recharge for tomorrow.

We Made It!

2009-03-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

We made it! We arrived safe and sound in Guangzhou. The plane rides from Seattle to Beijing and then from Beijing to Guangzhou were perfect. The shuttle ride from Guangzhou airport to the White Swan hotel was treacherous. That was my first experience in a small vehicle like that on the roads in China. I don't think there are any rules on the road here. Nevertheless, we managed to get in around 11:30 pm on Thursday night. We were quite exhausted and ready to turn in.

Our hotel rooms are adjoining and overlook the Pearl River (we're on the 9th floor). Last night it was very beautiful, with the lights on the buildings on the other bank reflecting on the water. This morning (Friday the 20th), it's not so pretty...it's a very gray and hazy morning. We're expecting very hot and humid temperatures today...and the next day, and the next day. Well, Jan is waiting for me to go downstairs for a late breakfast. Today we plan to relax, get adjusted, look around, and start doing a little shopping if we're up to it.

By the way, we saw this sign in the Beijing airport. Can any of you tell me what this means? The best I can figure is "Watch out for radioactive children. They may try to scare you, and the girls only have one leg."

Bye, Daddy! Go get Aidan!

2009-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here's Julie and Lily waving goodbye to me. I will miss them terribly...but thanks to technology we're going to try to keep in touch. Our laptops both have webcams and Skype loaded and ready to go. Thanks for your prayers. My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to have more posts as soon as I am able.

Last Minute Preparations

2009-03-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Packing's almost done. Just a few more things to get squared away in my suitcase and backpack. Today we need to run through the paperwork one more time to make sure everything is in order. We also plan to make some video and audio recordings of Julie and Lily talking to Aidan. When we went to receive Lily, we played a cassette recording of Julie talking and singing to Lily which we played every night at bedtime. Hearing Julie's voice seemed to be helpful in recognizing Julie when Lily got home here in the US, so we thought we'd do this again for Aidan. This time, we also plan to make some video, since I'll be taking my laptop along.

Plus, while Lily's napping today, I'm going to make a recording of some of my "famous" bedtime stories for her to listen to while I'm gone. Dad's stories are much better than Mom's. Mom will admit that, and Lily will certainly give you her opinion on that.

Follow Along With Us

2009-03-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

I just added the new "Followers" gadget in the sidebar at the right. Feel free to click there and add your name to the list. It'd be fun to see who's checking our blog out.

Packing Pile

2009-03-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

Well, this is the pile so far of what I'm taking on this trip. Notice it's all kid stuff. Pull-ups. Clothes. Sippy cups. Pedialyte. Formula. Stuffed animal. Etcetera. Oh, wait, I see a deodorant stick, a bag of M&M's, and a jar of instant coffee. Those are mine. And all three are definitely essentials, right? But I'm a little worried about fitting the rest of my stuff in.

9 days to go!

2009-03-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we updated the blog, we've been busy preparing for the trip to China. We are probably at about 75% ready. Our paperwork is almost done, the shopping is pretty much done, and the packing just got started.

Today was fun because we met with Jan, my cousin who is traveling with Kurt to get Aidan. It was good to sit with her and Kurt and go over our goals, packing lists, thoughts, etc. Since I'm not going, it makes me feel better to get everything "off my brain." We then went shopping and found some great walking shoes and a new backpack for Kurt. When we got home we received our China itinerary which gave us the daily schedule in China as well as our lodging info. We are so happy that Kurt and Jan will be staying in the White Swan Hotel as they did last time. It's a really nice hotel and it's nice to have the "familiar" while in China.

Two weeks from today Kurt will hopefully have Aidan in his arms. March 23rd is our "Gotcha Day" (though it will be March 22nd here with the time difference :)) We are so thrilled and thankful to be bringing Aidan to our family. Lily is getting very excited to have a little brother.

Kurt promises to blog as much as he can from China. He is taking his laptop this time, so it will be easier to communicate since he won't have to leave his room. I'm excited that we both have web cams and Skype so that we hopefully will be able to talk to and see each other live.

Thanks for continued prayers, we especially ask for prayers of continued good health for Aidan and the travelers and for safe travels. We'll keep you posted...

Aidan, here we come!!!

2009-02-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

This morning we got the news that we have a consulate appointment in Guangzhou on March 30, and then, this afternoon, the email arrived giving us our travel options. Jan (Julie's cousin) and I will be heading out 4 weeks from tomorrow (March 18) to bring Aidan home. Our plan is to arrive in Guangzhou a few days before we receive Aidan so that we can be refreshed after the long trip, better prepared to take care of a 2 1/2 year old. We should be returning on April 2. We will continue to keep you posted as our departure approaches, and of course, I plan to blog during the trip as much as possible.

Wonderful Pictures of Chinese New Year Celebrations

2009-01-29T22:01:00.001-08:00

From the Boston Globe's feature "The Big Picture." Click on the link below to view the pictures.

Chinese New Year - Welcoming the Ox - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-25T21:26:00.000-08:00

2009 is the Year of the Ox. Here's hoping we'll also see a bull market!

Picture credit from Gift: A Gift e-Shop

Aidan's Adoption Update

2009-01-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Just thought we'd update you on our journey to Aidan. We received our official acceptance document from China on Jan. 6th and sent it back right away. Now we wait a month or so for our travel invitation which includes our U.S. consulate appointment. Then, if all goes well we will travel in March. That's the best guess from our adoption agency. So, in the meantime, we keep busy getting his room ready, reading lots of books/websites/blogs on toddler adoption/cleft palate issues/attachment issues. Lily is very excited to bring Aidan home, she is really looking forward to being a big sister. In fact today she drew up her own adoption paperwork, called it her "China report" and said it would help for Aidan's adoption. It was so precious. We'll keep you posted, especially when we get the travel dates.

Chaos in the Creche

2009-01-06T09:39:00.001-08:00

Lily has a kid friendly nativity set that she can touch and handle. We added figures to the creche in the days leading up to Christmas. Baby Jesus was added on Christmas Eve, and today being Epiphany we added the Wise Man (the set only came with one). As you can see, things didn't go so well. The Wise Man knocked Joseph over, with Mary looking on aghast. The shepherd looks anxious to go tell it on the mountain. The Baby Jesus somehow climbed up to the top of the inn. The only one doing their job is the angel, who still seems to be singing "Gloria in excelsis Deo."

Lily at Christmas

2009-01-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

Here's Lily in her Christmas dress.

Sledding...or is it "bucketing"?

2009-01-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

We'll eventually get this kid properly outfitted. One thing at a time. This year it was mittens. Next year it'll be a sled. In the meantime, a plastic washbasin had to suffice. Here we go, down the driveway.

On the Prowl

2009-01-03T00:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

Here's Lily imitating a neighborhood "friend" after one of our latest snow falls.

Just to prove we're not really bad parents after all

2008-12-14T15:16:00.001-08:00

You may not remember last year's snow pictures, but we sure do. We felt sure we had traumatized Lily forever, making her wear way-too-big latex gloves over her cloth gloves. This year, we were prepared, thanks to Julie's mom ... Lily has some nice waterproof mittens to wear as we played in this season's first snowfall.

Issues with Domestic Adoptions

2008-11-15T07:17:00.001-08:00

Of course, we decided to adopt internationally. Click here to read an interesting article which describes current issues with domestic adoptions here in America.

Meet Our New Little Guy

2008-11-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

Drum roll, please. Here are the pictures of Aidan Tianzhen that we received via email.

We went to see our pediatrician the day after the referral arrived to show her all the paperwork we received. Aidan seems to be small for his age and may need several surgeries over time for his cleft palate. As a result of this, he will probably need extra therapies and dental work over the years. We will also have to deal with more language issues since Aidan has had two years of hearing Chinese as opposed to the 10 months that Lily had. Also, with an older child we will have to be more sensitive about attachment and bonding issues.

We're overjoyed at the thought of Aidan joining our family. We ask for your prayers as we continue on this journey to get him, and prayers for Aidan as he waits for us.

It's Official

2008-11-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

It's official. We received word today that we were approved by China to go ahead with the adoption of our new little guy. That means two things. First, we have to wait for the letter of acceptance and travel invitation from China. As soon as that all goes through the proper channels, then we will be traveling to get him. Second, it means that we are free to give more details about our son.

Our son. We weren't quite prepared for that. Not that we didn't think this was a possibility, since many more special needs children from China are boys. But we had a name for another girl picked out already and hadn't even been thinking about boys names. Not to mention that we've been saving all of Lily's clothes. Lily offered to share her clothes, but we explained that boys don't wear girl's clothes.

His name will be Aidan Tianzhen. His given name is Guan Tianzhen, and so we will use Tianzhen as his middle name. He is from Dongguan city in the Guangdong province. As far as we can tell, Tianzhen means "naive" or "innocent," but that's all we could find out by "googling" it. I'm sure we'll learn more later.

We've already been to the pediatrician to have her look at all the paperwork we received and for her to evaluate Aidan's condition as best as she is able. It looks like he has already had surgery to repair a cleft lip, but he will still need surgery for a cleft palate.

We don't know yet when we will travel. More than likely it will be after the new year, but there's a remote possibility it could be around Christmas time. That would figure...I was gone to get Lily during Holy Week and Easter. It would only be appropriate to be gone on another high feast day of the Church...not exactly easy times for a pastor to be gone from his congregation, but I'm sure God will work things out.

We've Been Chosen!

2008-10-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

We didn't think it would be happening this soon. It hasn't even been a month yet since our special needs paperwork was filed. But Julie about had a heart attack Thursday morning when our social worker called and said that a child has been assigned to us. Even our social worker was surprised that it was so fast. It's a 2-year old boy in China with special needs. He has a cleft palate. We will give you more information and pictures when we are able.

Cheerios for Jesus

2008-10-20T12:22:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday morning, Lily and I are having Cheerios with Reese's Puffs mixed in. We do this to cut the sugar content while still enjoying a little bit of "fun" cereal.

Then came the following exchange.

Lily: "I no like Cheerios. Why put Cheerios in, too?"

Me: "Because Cheerios are good for you."

Lily: "Why?"

Me: "Because they have oats in them. Oats are good for your heart."

Lily: "I eat Cheerios, go down into my heart, Jesus eat my Cheerios."

More Paperwork for #2

2008-09-25T08:10:00.001-07:00

This week we've been filling out and filing more paperwork for adoption #2. As you may already know, we have expressed our willingness to adopt a special needs child, or "Child of Promise" (COP) as our agency calls them. The process for adopting special needs children from China has been modified, so we needed to fill out some more paperwork for the new process. Rather than bore you with the details, suffice it to say that things are still in the works. As of now, our wait is about the same...about two years...but that could change if we are matched with a "COP."

And thank the Lord for scanners and email. That sure makes all the paper shuffling a lot easier.

More Pics from the Fair

2008-09-08T20:35:00.001-07:00

Here's Lily and Daddy. That's Daddy putting on a good face...he was getting a bit queasy.

Lily learned how clothes were washed in the "olden days."

Finishing out the day with an ice cream dip all over the face.

We weren't even out of the parking lot before someone nodded off.

A Day at the Fair

2008-09-08T20:30:00.001-07:00

Lily went to the Puyallup Fair with her Mom and Dad and Grandma and Papa Hepola. She got to sit in a miniature fire truck.

Then she picked out her very own "hog" to ride.

Here she is getting ready to ride the kiddie roller coaster. I think she's saying to the other girls, "Do you really think is such a good idea?"

Driving is one of Lily's favorite activities. This beats those cheesy fake cars with shopping cars attached at the grocery store.

At first, Lily and Papa were going to go down the giant slide together. They made it all the way up the stairs, and then started back down. She wanted to go down with Daddy instead.