Red Couch Photos

Bethany families at the White Swan. I think we are all going home in the morning.

All of the Bethany "Babas"

Andrew is 2nd from the left top row.

Awwwww. Andrew and AJ. They came from the same orphanage. AJ spent most of his time in foster care but the boys are familiar with each other because our familes spent 7 days together in their province. We did not ask them to do this so this is an extra special picture!

A River Boat

I'm not quite sure what this guy was collecting but as these tufts of green stuff floated up he scooped them uinto a net. He also scooped up trash if he found it.

Medical Exam

They give the kids a medical exam before leaving China. Andrew did a pretty good job of cooperating. Today we received his visa after taking an oath at the United States Consulate promising that all of our information was correct pertaining to his adoption. Only one more full day here and it will be time to come home. We are ready.

Yeah~I'm able to post again

Entry gates at the orphanage.

Beautiful garden at the orphanage

I honestly can't remember if this was part of the grounds of the orphanage or a garden we toured later. They were similar.

Orphanage playground

Front Gate Suzhou Social Welfare Institute

Childrens play area at the orphanage

Orphanage Tour

Andrew and his best friend

Suzhou Social Welfare Institute
Childrens Building

Yesterday we were able to visit the orphanage. Andrews best friend is going home with his family in December. Oh how I wish that could be said for all of the children here. There are over 300 children up to age 16 living here. There is also an old folks home on the premises. We were able to visit Andrews room. It was filled with little beds. The kids were napping at 11:30am which is sort of weird for kids over age 3. Andrew started to remove his shoes. I think he was pleased when everyone laughed and he realized he didn't have to take a nap. It appeared that most of the kids were disabled. A couple severely. I actually took the hand of one of the little ones as he/she reached out to me. I'll never forget the feeling of that cold little hand. There was not a dry eye in the room. There were some smiles but mostly distant stares. After that we peered into the nursey which was wall to wall cribs. Andrew seemed comfortable through most of it. I think he looks a little concerned in the picture because he is unsure what will happen next. We were not allowed to take photos indoors. They brought his little friend outside for the pictures. We were also served a traditional lunch and were allowed to ask questions. I really didn't have any. Soon we were off to do a little touring of the Suzhou City. Andrew happily hopped on the bus waving and saying "bah-bye". One of his first english words. We were gratefull for this because we sense he misses someone at the orphanage.

Technical Difficulties

Hello everyone. Sorry I haven't updated the blog but seem to be having technical difficulties. I'm having my son give you this message from our computer at home since nothing goes through from here. Things are going as good as can be expected. I will update when possible.

God Bless~Tom & Heather

FP3 player

We downloaded some Chinese childrens music onto a FP3 player and Andrew really enjoys it. He listens to the songs that are in English too but when the Chinese music comes on he starts to move with the music. Very cute! By the way, FP stands for Fisher Price.

The Pool

We thought we would check out the pool. The water was too cold for Andrew and he was afraid. Soon he was asleep in my arms. Must have been nap time.

Here Andrew is sporting his very fashionable(required) bathing cap. It never got wet. when I took it off of him he threw it across the room. :-}

bonding time

While in this carrier Andrew played with my hair, offered to feed me, looked into my eyes and kissed me. The locals really stared because they probably think he is too big for this.??? they probably think we are are crazy foreigners.

Taking a stroll around the hotel area.

The Adoption is final

Today we went back to the civil affairs to finalize the adoption. We were given 24 hours to make sure we wanted to continue on. Andrew was happy to see his nannies again but ran back and forth between us. He was very excited to show them his sunglasses, comb and sippy cup. He did cry a little when they left. I'm glad that he loves them. He seems like a loyal little guy. Later he gave me a great big unsolicited kiss which of course made my day.

Our newest family member

What a day! Andrew was not at all happy about all of this but is quickly warming up to us. We took the train from Shanghai to Nanjing. There were a couple of stops along the way and guess who got on the train? Andrew and his nannies. Tom told me Andrew was on the train and I didn't believe him at first. Sure enough about 10 rows up there he sat. Then we had to watch him get off the train and disappear into the large crowd. A short time later we met up again at the civil affairs office. There were 2 little boys and lots of tears. One of the nannies was very kind and concerned about the boys. We will see them again tomorrow to finish up the paperwork. We just hung around at the hotel for the rest of the day. We are with another family who has a boy from the same orphanage. We let the boys explore the lobby but that is about it for today. Please welcome Andrew Youxuan Porter.

Shanghai Ocean Aguarium

Jelly Fish
Pretty Fish

We enjoyed Shanghai's ocean aquarium today. A scuba diver fed the sharks while we there. The penquins were very cute. They swam around very close to the glass like fish would if they thought you might feed them. We also went to the Bund, Nanjing Walking Street, and The Super Brand Mall. Those are very big shopping areas that attract tourists and locals alike. The Super Brand Mall is very similar to the Mall of America and the Bund & Nanjing Walking Street sort of reminded us of Nicolette Mall. We are not interested in that kind of shopping so little time was spent there. This was a very long day for us and ended with a wild cab ride back to the hotel.

Pearl Tower-Shanghai Lights

A view from The Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai

Pearl Tower Daytime
Pearl Tower at Night
Everything lights up at night including the cruise boats
This mini-McDonalds serves icecream only

At 1,535 ft high, the Pearl Tower is the tallest completed tower in Asia, and the 3rd tallest in the world. For those of you who know Tom well, you know he was not able to enjoy the view from the top of this tower.

Huangpu River Cruise

We have fun looking at signs in China as quite often the translation is a little off. What they meant to say was no swimming according to our guide. We enjoyed a river cruise today. The weather is in the 80's and humid.

Haungpu River Cruise

Look at all the people! This is just a normal Sunday afternoon. It's absolutely unbelievable how many people live here. China's top 5,000 wealthiest live in this area on the river. There is such a mixture of wealth and poverty here.

A Palace in Shanghai

Today we did a little touring. This palace was built by a son for his parents. The rock was all brought in and is significant because only the wealthy were able to do such things.

We made it to Shanghai China

We arrived at the Jianguo Hotel at 5:30pm after our looooooooonng flight to China. Everything went as planned. Today is a free day, meaning no guide so we will just explore the area close to the hotel. We will be here for 5 days before we get on the train headed for Jiangsu. We will meet our little guy in Jiangsu's capital city Nanjing on Oct. 22nd. Stay tuned as we will update when possible. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Tom & Heather

We received a little update on Andrew

Our little guy has grown.
weight = 14.5Kg (32lbs)
height = 91cm (35.8 in)
head circumference = 50cm
feet = 13.5cm
chest = 52cm

Our feathery friends

We have been enjoying some new visitors on our lakeshore this summer. They were here 2 years ago but we missed them last year. We are glad to have them back!