themoodyblogger

This was the day after the finalization of the adoption.  It was a day of bonding for us with the boys.  It was over a trip that was arranged to see the original Shaolin Temple.  In and of itself, that’s pretty cool.  It allowed us to see a bit more of the Chinese culture and history and allowed the Z and E bonding to continue.  As I previously mentioned E is with me and Z is with Lori.  Each child sat with its particular favorite parent for the hour and 45 min ride to the temple.  This was fun.  We would play, entertain, and nap.  While in route the weather turned a nasty.  It became cool, breezy, and wet.  After we got there, we went to kung fu/shaolin show.  Fighting styles, weapons, and feats of skill and strength were all shown.  My E Z D boys watched with amazement.  Crackers to eat were a must to keep everyone calm thoughout the show.  From the show we had lunch and then took a tour of the temple and its surroundings.  Remember the wet part, now its misting.  We had to walk 10-15 minute through the misting to get to the entrance of the temple with the boys.  Z didn’t want to be put down, so Lori carried him the whole way.  Luckly at the Wal-mart of China the day before we got a couple of carriers not strollers.  They were a little expensive.  It took a little while but Z got used to it.  I, on the other hand, had Mr. “Can’t decide if I want to walk or carried”.  Up and down, up and down.  Finally, I got him into the carrier.  The misting continued.  We had nice new raincoats for the boys, but for some reason they refused to wear the hoods.  We pull them up, they would push them down.  We they would nod off for a nap.  Our tour guide took us around to all the main structures and described some of the history of each.  In the end, we finally made it back to the bus to head back to hotel, cold and tired.  Regardless, we were there as family so it was all good.  Check the out the pictures from the day.

In China – Bill.

We had the “Gotcha Day” where we signed a Guardianship Agreement.  Well after a days worth of paperwork processing, we received our adoption certificates in other words they are officially ours.  More papers to sign followed that plus a visit to a notary agency.  During the running around the attachment to the respective parent is still in effect: Z for Lori and E for me.  I will have a perfect example of this shortly.  After the paper signage, we went to a Wal-Mart like store call “Lotus” for food and supplies.  We saw all sorts of thing that you would never see in the states.  Back to the example major attachment for the kiddies.  As we were exiting the store, we went through a gauntlet of mall style shops.  Within this mall like section, there was a pharmacy.  Naturally, the Moody’s had to take a picture of it.  In trying to get the camera, Lori had to give me Z briefly to reach the camera for this picture.  He immediately started crying for her.  All of the locals eyes were now on me with the upset little man.  Once the picture was over, I naturally gave Z back to her and he immediately stopped crying.  Needless to say, the locals let out a chuckle.  It reminded me of that episode of Friends where someone just had a baby and Chandler discovered that any time he moved the baby near Monica the baby would get upset.  Z is opening up to me a little at time so all is very good.  Here are some picture to recap a day.  And before you comment I know that picture wise, I am a day behind.

-Bill

This was the big day.  We final got to meet E and Z.  Z came first followed by E a little while after.  If you kinda think about it, they essentially came in their birth order. Z was not a happy camper, but he eventually bonded with Lori.  For me, I have a new shadow, – Lil’ Bro E.  They have both locked on to their favorite parent with D ping ponging it back in forth.  Bringing D was the best thing for the boys and for us parents of three.  Helpful would be putting it mildly.  He has helped corral them, feed them, … well everything except change them.  As you catchup with the pictures, you will notice its a very heart warming experience.  Emotions were at there highest both for the children meeting us for the first time and us meeting them.  As I mentioned Z will be the first child sitting with his caregiver as we approach him.  E will the one shortly thereafter.  Based on our first impressions, he will be our little tornado that runs through the house on a regular basis.  Enjoy….  – Bill

As we might have mentioned we had devil of a time trying to get from Beijing to Zhengzhou.  Flight delay due to fog, then diverted due to smoke. (That’s right I said smoke.)  It was from a field burning and it was apparently close to the airport.  As you realize we made it there.  Here’s a look into what we did during all that airport time. -Bill

I am playing picture catchup.  We been having a little getting a good connection so that we could share a little more.  Here’s what Lori or I posted we did this day.  In summary, as you can see from the pictures we visited one of the best known jade factories and the Great Wall of China (boy to my legs still hurt).  The wall is amazing.  All that stone, all those year, and the labor that went in to building it, wow!

After almost a full day at the airport, we got our babies!

What a wonderful crazy time. We arrived at the registration office around 10 am on 10/10/11. Some children were already waiting. Then, one by one the children, started coming from their different cities. We had to listen close, as they called them by their Chinese name.

First was Zan Feng. He was none too happy. He cried and cried. He kept pointing at the door. Lori finally eased outside with him. He then gave her the biggest smile and said what sounded like “look”, pointing to everything.

The second was Yin Fu. “Fu Fu”. After a brief pout, he walked around like he owned the place. Sneaking crackers and passing them out. He loves running with his big brother and hanging with his daddy.

Back to the hotel for lunch. Wow, can these boys eat! (When Fu Fu is not playing with his.) Right now, their favorite foods are rice congee, fruit, and Goldfish crackers.

Naps were an adventure. Then, dinner at the Italian restaurant in the hotel. D was so excited. Pizza, finally! He deserved it, too. He has been such a trooper this whole trip. I have seen a strength and compassion that I know I did not possess at his age.

From Zan’s memory book given to us by his orphanage representative:

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea; even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:9-10

PS: WordPress is still down on our computer. Pictures later!

Hi everyone!

Wow, what a fun-filled day yesterday! We visited a Jade factory, the Great Wall, ate some awesome food (ox soup), and watched an acrobatic show.

In the words of D, “This is the best day ever!” D has been a trooper and pushed himself physically. However, Mommy and D went to bed without dinner, again.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. This blog comes to you from the wonder that is Lori’s Kindle. WordPress, like Facebook, has been blocked from from our computer and phones.

This is all for now, as this blog method is very slow. See you in Zhengzhou (pronounced Jung Joe)!

Hello All,

And I thought yesterday was tiring.

Today we met the other families that will be adopting children along with us.  I believe it is about 12 families.  We began the day at breakfast where D met another friend.  Together he and his new friend found instead of snails yesterday, it was earthworms today.  Now imagine three Moody children running around with any critter they can find.  Scary, no?

After breakfast we met our guides George and Cindy.  They gave us a little history of Beijing on our way to our first stop at older park of the city known as a hutong.  FYI – hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, or traditional courtyard residences.  Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.  Oh did I mention that got to this area by rickshaw carriage.  If you don’t recall what those are, there was a Seinfield episode with Kramer about it.  We were explained how the homes in this area have been handed down from generation to generation and have a history dating back to the Zhou dynasty.  We were introduced to a retired physics teacher who told us all about her home and its history.  Once informed that Bill’s mom was also a retired teacher, the nice lady informed us that on our next visit I must bring my mom so they can “talk shop.”  From there we rode back by rickshaw to the bus and proceeded to the silk factory.  There we found out about how the silk is prepared from the cocoons and fashioned into a thread to make cloth.  Very interesting.  Oh did I mention worms, silk worms that is.  Of course D wanted to hold some of them and the lady at the factory allowed him to do just that.  He was in heaven.

Lunch was at a local restaurant on a big lazy susan  full of goodies.  After lunch we walked from the restaurant to Tiananmen Square.  As you can see by the photos, the national holiday still is going on to some extent.  Lots a people around the square.  We saw their version of the Capital, the National Museum, and many of the other building surrounding the square.

Next we walked through the Forbidden City in all its historical glory.  It was amazing of the scope and size of it all.  It’s hard to imagine all the work that was involved in building it.

It was a lot of walking that left all but one in the Moody Family wanting to go to sleep as soon as the hotel appeared around the corner.  Well someone had to tell everyone how the day went.  As the day was ending, we tried to wake the D-man for dinner to no avail.  Realizing it was futile, Lori decide to go back to sleep leaving Bill to seek dinner on his own.  Let see, Bill on his own in Beijing …hmmm

Greeting from Beijing.  We made it here safely about 3 hours ago.  Its about 5:15pm here.  We had a minor issue in Houston with continental forcing us to check our carry-on luggage due to claim that there was no room on the plane for our carry-on.  It was to the point of us having to take various papers out of one bag to put into another thinking we were good.  Well they checked that one too. Argggghh.  That bag had our vital adoption papers and our boarding passes for the Beijing leg.  At that point the TSA controls whether the bag can be allowed back on the plane or not and the usual answer is no.  After thinking it through a little, I caught up with one of our flight attendants, pleaded our case about the importance of the papers.  He spoke with the flight crew, who spoke with the TSA.  We were granted access to the bag briefly to get what we needed and they checked it on to here.  In our brief discussion with the TSA guy, we found out that his sister adopted from China and that he was glad to help out.  As much grief as those guys get, they were a Godsend today.  The Houston continental people not so much, but with a whole lot of divine intervention in worked out.

Will post some pictures tomorrow.

Bill, Lori, and Davis

We have been in a process of cleaning out before the boys get here. I am finding pictures of D when he was little, pictures of Bill and me when we were first married, little notes, craft projects, etc. Reminiscing is fun. It can also be sad.

I can never go back. The baby D is gone. The toddler D is gone. The younger me is gone. Poof. But do I really want to go back there? Sometimes I think I do, but I really don’t. My relationship with Jesus was nowhere near as vibrant then as it is today. Going back would mean sacrificing that.

I think about my sweet D. How these boys coming are going to turn his life upside down.  But isn’t our faith like that? Upside down? Less is more. Least is greatest. Empty is full. Death is life. Sometimes turning your life upside down is exactly what Jesus wants you to do.

I cannot hold so tightly to our past that I do not embrace God’s present. I cannot hold so tightly to our past that I do not move into God’s future. The best is yet to come!

Love, Lori

1 Corinthians 1:23 NLT So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Matthew 20:16 ESV “So the last will be first, and the first last.”