Being somewhat brave we ventured out of our hotel room the other day and took a taxi to downtown Guangzhou. It seems fitting that we received the very best present ever during the christmas season. We are longing so much to come home. Only 4 more days!
With this video you can really see Chaeli’s personality.
Filed under: , , , , , — cmmaker December 29, 2006 @ 9:54 am
Our guide Cordelia told us that Chaeli’s name Yen Yen (in Cantonese) means someone who helped you when you were in a difficult situation and came to your rescue. Yen Yen can mean different things depending upon the characters but in Chaeli’s case it means a specific thing (someone who came to help you and save you when you were in a very difficult time). For those of you who know us well you know what last year was like for Dan and me. It was probably the most trying year of our lives, and yet over and over again God came to our rescue and was with us. When I heard the meaning of Chaeli’s name I got choked up. Yen Yen will always be a reminder to me of what God did in our lives, and how He gave us the greatest blessings in 2006. Surely He did come to our rescue at a time when we needed Him most.
Today was our group photo day. We lined up the babies in our group on the famous White Swan Red Couch for a photo. The babies started screaming almost immediately! We tried to take the picture as quickly as possible. Chaeli is on the far right. The rest of our group flies home tomorrow morning, but Dan and I have 6 days left here in Guangzhou. I have also included a picture of Mia and Chaeli (both crying) on the red chair. These two little beauties were in the same orphanage together (you might have remembered that). Don’t they look sweet in their Chinese clothes?
Chaeli and I had so much fun today! Dan had to work so we headed off for a Mommy/daughter day around the Island. Having Chaeli is like having a live baby doll. She is so much fun to hold and dress and kiss. I love playing with her. She gives me so much happiness! Dan said it is amazing how he can say just about anything to me now and it doesn’t even phase me because I am just so happy with my girl! Half the time I am not even aware of the rest of my surroundings because I am just so mesmerized by my girl! Truth is we fight to hold her and love her. She smells so good and is such a cuddle bunny! You just wait…you will see what we mean!
Chaeli is really thriving in our arms. Everyday she does more and more and becomes more active (last night we thought we saw a little red chinese dragon in her!) She was a live one that’s for sure and didn’t go to bed until almost 10!
When we first received Chaeli she didn’t quite know what to do with the toys we brought her, but each day she plays with a new one and really explores the sounds and textures of each one of them. It is exciting to see her mind developing and growing. Chaeli also loves to suck on the corner of towels (funny huh?) We think it is a texture thing – probably feels good on her gums. Another thing we have noticed is that when we first got Chaeli she was much more solemn and serious. We rarely saw her smile big enough to show her teeth. But now Chaeli is almost constantly laughing and smiling and her 4 teeth are so noticeably white all the time! What a happy, pretty baby!
We have as much fun taking pictures of Chaeli awake as we do asleep. When I see her sleeping peacefully I think of all those months that I prayed for her when she was in her orphanage in that metal crib. It is so hard for me to imagine that she was alone most of the time, without a Mommy or a daddy. Now when Chaeli cries or is hungry she has 2 people right there to comfort her, but for the first 10 months of her life it was not like that. I still think of all of those babies lying there just waiting for someone to come and love them and take them home. We thank God that He led us to China. We believe it is the greatest blessing we could have been given…like being put on the road to a secret paradise. We were the lucky ones to receive this little girl, and if we could we would take another and another.
Well we are halfway through our China trip with 6 days remaining here in Guangzhou. I can’t believe how far from home we are. I looked at a map of China a day ago and my mind couldn’t even fathom how far away from our little culdesac that we were. We are on the other side of the world, and with the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Sometimes I wonder how we got here to this place and time? I seriously don’t know how my life would have been without the face of Chaeli in it. Everyday that I wake up I look at her and play with her and love her all over again. This adoption story has unfolded in such a way, such a good way, that I never comprehended all it would be. How could I?
We wonder how it is that Chaeli can keep giving us so much when we came here to give it all to her? I say it all the time, but Chaeli is my best gift ever. My beloved sons will always be my sons, closer in to me than any, for they were a part of me from the beginning, woven of the very fabric of me. But Chaeli is my surprise gift, brought to me later in life, by the mercy of a loving God. She is my black pearl from the pearl river, made so far far away from me, but nevertheless completely mine. She was not my design. I could not fashion her even if I tried. She was made by a much more beautiful face. A gentler heart. The fingertips of God painted her every detail, exactly for me. Heaven knew my secret longings and gave me more (much more) than I was even asking for. My present is miraculous. She is the voice of hope, the kiss of youth, and the beauty of sweeteness being poured out. Every time I hold her I am reminded of how much my Lord loves me. That He would give me all of this… It is too much for me to take in. I am overwhelmed by His love.
Chaeli has brought out such feelings in me, emotions that I didn’t even know I had left in me to give. Every morning it pours out of me, new and full again. She is my precious little girl and I care not that I had to wait so long to receive her. I would start it all over again if I had to. Chaeli was worth the wait and I know now that those 22 months were a small sacrifice for what we were soon to receive. She is the water we thirsted for. Nothing could have quenched our hearts like her. It was always Chaeli. My heart crashed against every wave of the sea on my way to her. I was being drawn to the little Yen Yen who was waiting for me. I tell Danny all the time that I will never leave this little girl. She will never be without me. It is hard for me to even turn from her. I want to see her face always before me for she reminds me how great our God is. We love you all and look forward to bringing our girl home very soon now. She is really crawling all over the place! I wish I could keep her just as she is for all of you to see but I’m afraid this little girl is in a big hurry to experience it all and to catch up on everything she has missed!
I thought you would all get a kick out of this. I was in the narrow hallway of our room, bending down to get something out of the drawer when Dan squeezed by me and said, “So how’s my girl?” I stood up and said, “Oh I am doing great baby.” Dan immediately started laughing and replied back, “I wasn’t talking about you Sheila. I was talking about Chaeli.”
Filed under: , , , , , — cmmaker December 27, 2006 @ 10:30 am
Hello Everyone!
Today was Chaeli’s medical exam and she did great. We found out that her weight was 16.8 pounds. She really is a little baby still. I just love how tiny she is. The doctors said she was healthy and her little chubby cheeks, arms and legs display that well. If you could all remember to pray for Chaeli’s little cough. Last night she started coughing a croupy cough (it was the first time we had heard it). The pollution in the air here is really bad. You can see it hanging thick like smog. We tried to keep Chaeli indoors for most of the day, and headed for a local mall here in Guangzhou. Dan has made a post below about our day.
Chaeli continues to convince me that I have been given the best, happiest, cutest, most cuddly baby in all of Asia. Spending time with Chaeli is like playing with a favorite doll that you can’t put down. I cannot get enough of her.
We love and miss you all very much!
Sheila.
xoxoxo
Internet access was down for the last 18 hours so we are delayed in posting for today. We have had some downtime today and took the opportunity to go, where else? Shopping! Sheila had her toes done and we enjoyed a good cup of coffee at Starbucks at the 6 floor fashion mall in downtown Guangzhou. When you go in to get a pedicure here, you really get a pedicure. There was a very talented male nail artist there who painstakingly painted delicate beautiful flowers onto Sheila’s toes. She said it was the most beautiful art work she had ever seen on a pair of toes! She can’t stop looking down at them (and neither can Chaeli…she is already a girly girl).
China is changing so fast you can tell by the mingling of the ancient with the modern. Here in Guangzhou buildings are springing up everywhere along with businesses to support the masses of people that live in this city. Almost 10 million people live in this city. Traffic is not so bad here as cars are not as abundant as bicycles, though I suspect that is changing fast as a new middle class is emerging and the standard of living is increasing. They recently passed a law forbidding motorcycles from entering the city because of the traffic problems they caused by careless drivers.
There is a craving for everything Western here, from fashion to technology to even fast food. Ask most of the local Chinese and they would tell you they’d rather go to KFC or McDonalds than eat traditional Chinese food, even at the expense of a weeks wages. It seems to me the US has been successful in exporting its culture for China is eating it up as fast as they possibly can. I just hope the Chinese culture, which has survived for almost 5 thousand years, will not dissapear through this process.
The English language is triumphed as the language to learn in order to have the competitive edge in the job market here. They even have a game show on Chinese Television that judges contestants who speak the best English, and awards them with prizes and gifts. I have to admit that it is pretty humorous to listen to some of the contestants structure their sentences. I’m sure the locals feel the same way about me as I try to utter a jibberish thank you in Chinese by saying, “Shea Shea.”
Sheila and I have become more and more bonded with Chaeli everyday. It’s as if she has always been our daughter. Words cannot express the joy we feel to hold this child in our arms. If you have been following the blog and looking at the pictures you can see that in Sheila’s face. You can’t fake this kind of love or joy. It comes from deep inside of you. I can’t wait for Chaeli to meet her 3 older brothers. She will have a life changing impact on their lives, and they will have the same on hers. It is going to be a wonderful life with all 6 of us together.
When we were out shopping today, Chaeli (in typical fashion) managed to attract a crowd of Chinese women (old and young alike) who come up to us cooing and giggling over our daughter, asking us if they could hold her and parade her around. You’d think she was their daughter. In a matter of speaking I guess she is, as she represents the very best that China has given us. It makes us feel good though when she turns to us and puts out her hands for us to take her back. Sheila especially loves this.
One of the pleasures I have while feeding Chaeli is the way she looks up to you with her big dark pearl eyes and stares at you, really studying your face.
Chaeli has really begun to like her baths. When Sheila first put her in the bathtub with her, she wasn’t used to it, but now she quietly lets us submerge her in the warm water without any fussing. The best part is when I get to cuddle her up in a white fluffy towel afterwards. She then takes a piece of the towel into her mouth and chews on the corner.
When we started our adoption process there were many things that I prayed for and wrote to God about in my journal. One of them was that He would watch over Chaeli and lovingly provide for her all the days that she was in an institution away from us. I prayed over and over again that the people who were with Chaeli would love her, touch her often, and show her favor. How many times over the past 2 years that I tried to imagine who Chaeli was, where she was living, and under what circumstances she was abandoned. These are things that every adoptive parent thinks about, and these thoughts haunt you in the middle of the night and make you ache for the child you do not have.
When I recevied my referral of Chaeli so many wonderful things were answered for me, like what she looked like, how old she was, where she was found and the name of the orphanange she was taken to. It was a great day of relief and celebration when we finally got to look into the face of the daughter we had longed to see. And here we were today, now in China with our daughter in our arms, and yet another great wave of rejoicing being poured out on us. Once again, our cups were spilling over the top.
Today I saw Chaeli’s orphanage and her finding place and what I experienced at both of these palces has left me exhausted from the sheer emotion of it all. It has taken me several hours of “coming down” before I could even type about our expereinces there. It was like secret doors that had been locked were finally being opened to me and I was invited into the holy places where my daughter had been nurtured and cared for all of those months of my waiting for her. I will tell you that there is so much emotion in Dan and me right now that we do not know how to even write. Today was a day of tremendous blessings for us, as many mysteries about our daughter were answered.
Every adoptive parent wants to believe that their child is being well cared for during the months that they are away from them, and that the orphanage that holds their child is a good and nurturing one where child’s needs are being met. Things like cleanliness, good food and water, a loving staff, a stimulating environment etc. are things that every adoptive parent hopes for. That their child would be held, kissed, loved, favored and called a special name by their caregivers would be icing on an already dream filled cake. What we saw today in our orphanage was the cake, the icing and the fufilling of all our prayers answered for our daughter Chaeli. To say that her orpahange was a good one is to not say enough. Chaeli was well provided for, but what was more incredible was that she was extrememly loved and was very special to MANY of the nannies in her orphanage.
The drive to Chaeli’s orphanage took us about an hour. We traveled with another family from Wisconsin named Dave & Robin, and their daughter Mia who was in the same orphanange with Chaeli. Mia and Chaeli both arrived to the orphanage in February of this year, and both were given families a week ago (in December – only days apart). It was a unique experience to take these girls back to the orphanage together, knowing that they probably spent every day of their 10 months together in very close proximity there. When we drove up to the orphanage we were all in awe of how beautiful it was. The gate and the court yard were immaculate, and were beautifully painted. There was a large, colorful palyground outside (like one you would see in a park at home) and the grounds were all very clean and pretty to look at. All four of us knew immediatley, upon driving up, that our girls had recevied excellent care there. When we walked into the Qingyuan Social Welfare Institute of Guangdong Province, we were amazed at the landscaped grounds, the pools of water and overhanging trelleses that surrounded the immediate garden area. The Director walked up smiling like a host who was greeting the guests of a very important party. She began shouting “Yen Yen! Yen Yen!” as her face lit up and she recognized our daughter standing there with us. She was followed by several of the nannies who were dressed in pink coats running (and I mean running!) across the court yard toward us, yelling out “Yen Yen!” and clapping their hands as they ran. It was one of the most overwhleming, emotional reunions I have ever witnessed.
Both Mia (aah aah as they called her in the orphanange) and Chaeli (known as Yen Yen) were picked up, kissed over and over again and were passed around from one nanny to the other. There were some girls who were dressed in pink coats who were watching from a distance what we were doing, and in all of the excitement of our visit, were waved over to come and see the girls. These young women (we were told) were the cooks and assistants, who would (on a daily basis) go up to the baby rooms and spend their breaks playing with the babies. They told us that each one of these girls had a favorite baby that they would call “their baby.” It was apparent who these girl’s babies were as they ran up, held their babies and even turned away crying from the emotion of it all. Mia’s caregiver actaully walked away with Mia in her arms to compose herself before coming back to us. Chaeli’s nanny grabbed her and held her and kissed her over and over again in a familiar way, lughing out loud saying “My Yen Yen, my Yen Yen.”
We were all crying as we watched the orphanage staff come running up to recevie our babies back in their arms, knowing that for each one of them this would be the last time they would see the girls. The director is the one second to the right who is holding Chaeli.
Dan video taped while I stood by smiling with such joy that God had heard and answered yet another one of my prayers…Chaeli had been very much loved as a baby here.
The Director of the orphanange was a wonderful, loving woman old enough to be my own Mother. She kissed and held our babies and you could tell that she really “knew” them. She escorted us upstairs to the room where Chaeli & Mia lived for their first 10 months of life, and yes, she even showed us where they slept. She had saved each of the girl’s cribs (with their names still on them) and she pulled them out of the store room and pushed them right to the place where they had been just a few short days ago. We placed Chaeli in her crib for a moment and she spread out like she remembered it well. She never cried once when we were there.
The baby room where Chaeli lived was well lit and was very colorful with music playing and nannies feeding and kissing the babies when we walked in (the entire staff was very affectionate). The babies are all on a very tight schedule and everyday they get music time and outdoor sunshine time with the nannies. The Director takes a lot of care in providing the best for her babies and she let us go freely all around the room. This next part is going to be difficult for me to write about, but with the grace of God I will do my best to blubber through it so as to give you the same blessing that was given to me and Dan today.
When I entered Chaeli’s nursery room I was overwhelmed by all of the babies. There were cribs everywhere, and in every single crib lay a beautiful, perfect, sweet faced, child of god. It was as if China’s most beautiful children were all placed in that one room. I was so overtaken with emotion that I left Dan’s side immediatley, and without even asking permission of the Director or anyone in the room, began walking around touching the face of every single baby that I saw. As I bent down and looked into the little itty bitty eyes I knew that there was a waiting family (somewhere out there) who was praying and longing to hold this very baby. I touched their faces softly and told each one in a whisper that Jesus loves the little babies and that He was with them, watching over them. I said a prayer for each one and then I moved to the next crib and did the same thing all over again. There was this one baby girl in particular that smiled at me like she already knew that what I was telling her was true. She knew and was holding onto that truth until the day that loved came to take her home. I went back to that baby and that crib several times and everytime that I did she smiled up at me and I teared up over her.
The nannies and Director were holding and cooing over Chaeli. I was glad that they were, because the number one thing that I wanted to do was to reach out and touch and love those babies who were without parents. There were so many of them – maybe 40? And yet each one I would have galdly taken in my arms, out those doors and into our home. There were the most amazing, beautiful babies. Every single one would have taken your breath away. I am crying so hard now as I type this blog that I wonder if any of this will ever even make it home to where you are. I cry because I think of how I have the room for these children in my home, and at my table, and in my heart. I have the room (like so many of us do) and yet here they lay waiting for someone to pick them up and to take them in.
I must tell you about the nannies at Chaeli’s orphanage. Think of the most humble, serving women that you have ever laid eyes on and then think some more. These nannies were so genuine, so real and so kind. They were not just doing their job – they were loving their job and it showed.
Everytime I would turn a corner or bump into another nanny I would hear a shout of “Yen Yen!” and they would come running to hold and kiss her. Chaeli’s nannies were very affectionate toward her and they all knew Yen Yen. Our guide and translator (Cordelia) told us many times that Chaeli was a favorite of the orphanage staff, and that became apparent by how many ran up to hold her and touch her one last time. I was so proud of these Chinese women and how well they were caring for the children. I don’t know that I would have been able to do all that they were doing if I was in the same circumstances. My heart would have been crippled with emotion.
After leaving the orphanage our guide took us to the finding place of Chaeli…The very Banyan tree she was left under by her birth mother.
The tree was known as a Grandfather tree which is a tree that blesses and protects little children. Chaeli’s Mother obviously chose this tree for the very reason that she wanted her daughter’s future to be a bright one. When we got out of the van and walked over to the tree I saw several signs posted on the Banyan tree.
I asked Cordelia what the signs said and she began to translate them to me. She was reading the signs and then she stopped suddenly and looked up crying. I didn’t know why she had stopped so I turned to her and saw her crying and just knew there was something left on one of those papers. Cordelia was so choked she couldn’t compose herself, so I walked over and held her, crying myself and said “What is it Cordelia? What does the tree say?” She finally told me that the sign on the tree said that this tree was a special tree because it would watch over little children who were left here and would make sure that they were blessed with good lives and were cared for. Cordelia told me that Chaeli’s mom obviosly chose this tree carefully because of its meaning (to find a Grandfather Banyan tree was very rare indeed). Cordelia then showed me where someone had been coming (quite regularly) to pray and light incense on behalf of their baby under the base of the tree. There was even a make shift shrine there. I knew in my heart that Chaeli’s mother lived nearby and that she went to that tree often, praying that the child she had left there would be blessed. Now I was crying uncontrollably too as was Dan. Cordelia told us that this particular area was a very affluent area (it was on the east side of the pearl river). The Banyan tree was right where the map said that it would be and it was the only Banyan tree, clearly marked.
Try to imagine, if you can, standing under the very tree that your daughter was abandoned under by her birth mother that you will never know. I shook with emotion as I held Chaeli there.
Even though her mother was praying to a tree for the safety and the future of her child, I knew that the mercy and the unfailing love of the one true God was hearing her and lsitening to her prayer. I will never forget what I saw there or the signs of love that were left behind for Chaeli to someday hear about. It is almost too much for anyone to take in, all in a single day. As we pulled away, Dan turned with his camera to video out the back window, the last glimpses of that marvelous, protecting Banyan tree. There was not a dry eye in the group. We had found Chaeli’s Banyan tree and had felt the presence of her mother who left her there, and who obviously loved Chaeli very, very much.
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart.”
Jeremiah 1:5
Praise God for setting Chaeli apart and for saving her for us. He was with her every step of the way, from her Banyan tree, to her orphanage, to her miraculous and amazing journey to our arms. We are filled with joy over the presence of our long awaited daughter.
When Love Takes You In, by Steven Curtis Chapman. Enjoy.
Some of you have asked who the music artist was that was used in our video. Her name is Rita Springer, and the song is called “Oh how you love me.” You can purchase this song through the itunes music store for a dollar + change.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to video-tape her in concert. You can check out Rita Springer, live in concert by clicking on the picture below.
Today was another wonderful day, falling more and more in love with Chaeli. We woke up early just to look at her and play with her before we left for our city tour.
Chaeli is really remarkable because she lets you kiss her (over and over again) and love her (as much as your heart desires) and she never pushes you away.
I cannot believe how God has made and designed this child, especially for me & Dan. I wish you could see the way that danny looks at her. He is head over heels with Chaeli and it makes me cry when I see him look at her the way that he does. He doesn’t even look at me that way, nor should he. Chaeli is in a camp all by herself. A camp that we call the love of God.
Chaeli has been saying Momma and Daddy quite often now, and everytime she does we pick her up in the air and twirl her around! Oh the joy for Chaeli is a great joy indeed! I never would have imagined something so precious as her coming into our lives at a time when we thought we were past raising babies. She has made turning 40 a youthful, fun remembrance for me and I think I have only begun to see what she is all about.
Today we visited a Buddhist temple and really got to see the heart of the Chinese people for the only God that they know. The Chinese people are so humble and so genuine in their worship. As I watched them bowing over and over again to Buddha, and lighting incense so that their prayers would be received and heard, I got choked up. I stood very close to them and silently prayed for God to bless each one of these noble, excellent people with a knowledge of Him. There is a hungering darkness here and you can feel it in this place.
I have so much love and respect for Chaeli’s people that it is hard for me to even write about it. They are some of the loveliest human beings that walk on the face of this earth. I am proud of Chaeli’s heritage and where she comes from. I know that I could not have produced a Chaeli myself. It took the lovely Chinese people to give me such a gift, and the hand of the Lord to send me here to receive her. Praise God that I heard the call and that we came.
After the temple we visited some beautiful art shops and had a chop made for Chaeli with her Chinese name on it.
There was also a local artist who pained with only the side of his hand and did the most incredible images. He actually had one completed of a Banyan tree along a river in Guangdong with the Gunagdong mountains behind it. As most of you know, Chaeli was found under a Banyan tree along the Zhouxin river in Guangdong, so the Banyan tree is very, very special to us.
We bought this painting from the young man and will have it framed in our house so that Chaeli will always know her roots and how it is that God brought her to us. God bless the Banyan tree! Everytime we see one here in China we remember Chaeli and we photograph it in honor of her life and how she came to us. This child has such an incredible story already and we have only known her for 4 days now. That is almost too much for me to think about because it feels as if we have always had Chaeli.
Today is Christmas Eve in China. We have a dinner planned with the group of families that we are traveling with. It is a very good group of people. There is a couple named Dave & Robin and we have really become fond of them and their little girl Mia. Their daughter is also from the same orphanange as Chaeli and guess what??? Tomorrow, on China’s Cristmas Day, we are going to Chaeli’s orphanage to see where she lived for the ten months before we received her. This has been a long awaited dream of mine and I am so excited to go! What a gift to even be invited into the orphanage because there is never a guarantee that this will be possible for adoptive parents. I can hardly wait! We will see hundreds of babies tomorrow morning, waiting for homes and families of their own, knowing that their are aching parents out there right now who are connected to each one of these children – who are just waiting for permission to come and get them, like we came and got Chaeli. It is going to be a very touching, moving day as we look into places we have never been before. Please pray for our visit tomorrow, that God would grant us favor to go in and to hold and love and touch these waiting children as much as possible. We want to see where God is, understand the things He cares about, and join Him in where He is moving on this earth. We know for certain that He loves the little children in China…We want to love them on them too.
Before I end this blog today I ahve to tell you about the “foot” massage that I experienced yesterday with our fun group. We had a 70 minute appointment for a foot massage that was in actuality an ENTIRE body massage! They rubbed our heads, shouldres, backs, hips, arms, legs and feet in the most amamzing way that I have ever experienced massage before. I couldn’t talk or move for the entire time! We were served tea and fruit and our feet were placed in large barrels of very warm water while Chinese herbs were pured into the basins. As we soaked our feet they rubbed and massaged and chopped at our sore, strained, muscles. It was delicious! All of that was only $6 – hard to believe I know. We would have handed them our entire wallets if they had asked, so great was their massaging techniques. Why is it that the Chinese do everything so well?
Well I must sign off today becasue my little Yen Yen has woken up from her nap and this is my favorite time when I can pick her up and be right there for her when she opens her eyes.
I love you all and am enjoying your postings so very much! Be blessed this Holiday season!
Love Sheila & Dan & Chaeli.
(P.S. Someone please tell my boys to write to their Mommy & Daddy before too long. I miss my sons voices!!!!!!!!!!)
Filed under: — cmmaker December 23, 2006 @ 11:59 pm
Some of you have been trying without success to post to the blog. I went ahead and modified the user settings so anyone can post now without registering. Please let me know if you are still unable to post.
They keep us pretty busy here with the different departmental government visits and paperwork, but they always manage to throw in a nice detour to the local Starbucks, shopping plaza or jade market afterwards.
Sheila will post more later today. For those of you who are sick of the baby pictures I’ll throw in some local site-seeing images later.