Arrived in Zhengzhou

I woke up on June 15 feeling awake, and energized, and like myself. We packed up and headed to breakfast in the hotel. Today we all said the food at breakfast seemed more appealing to. One, we had learned a few trick of the trade - like they will make you an omelet if you can find the cook that speaks English, and some of the food was a little less scary as we'd now been exposed to it for a few days, and for once, I didn't start my day feeling queasy so I was more apt to trying things. So all in all, it was a good start of the day.

More families arrived to join our group. There are 3 or 4 families in our group that I had connected with on FB before we arrived in China, so it's been fun getting to know them. One's daughter is at the same orphanage as Kai, just the SWI side or government ran side; and another couple's son was cared for at Maria's Big House of Hope, where Kai was briefly when he was really little, we believe before 8 months old. We chatted and got to know the new families

The other families here are just wonderful. I have really enjoyed getting to know them, know their families, hear their stories, and several are back for number 2 or 3. And one man is back - his wife if home with their other kids - he's back adopting number 8. He is grounded is nothing like what I think I would have imagined. He and his wife just truly believe that this is what they are called to do. He works two full time jobs in software consulting, his wife has a medical background. AMAZING. And he's been a great help to us, he just joined our group yesterday - as the Beijing leg of the trip is optional - more for families to get acclimated to the time change. But already, he's a friend and mentor.

We loaded up on the bus, went to the airport, (side note while I'm thinking of it: our CCAI guides are just wonderful, they have made this entire trip go seamlessly so far: they checked us in and out of our hotels, give us tips on when we can and can not barter, where to go eat and not to go eat, arrived early to the airport to get our boarding passes... and the list goes on). We had 11 families by the time we were at the airport headed for Zhengzhou. As usual, Kainan thought the planes were awesome and flew wonderfully. We then got on the bus and headed to our hotel, the Crown Plaza - which was about an hour or so drive on a tour bus; not bad. During this time our new CCAI guides walked us through the next 24 hours....when we get Kai...and all the paperwork, trips to Walmart, etc that we can expect....can I just say "information overload".

Our hotel is beautiful. This was where we were most concerned about and I must tell you it's one of the nicest accommodations we've ever stayed. It's newly renovated, and unlike just a few months ago, the AC works great!

We got settled in, eat at the hotel restaurant - which was really good, and then I unpacked while Jason headed to the bank with the CCAI reps and a representative from each family to exchange our money into Chinese currency, RMBs. The exchange rate is 6.14 RMB for each American dollar.

When Jason returned, he and I walked with the group to Walmart, while Kainan hung with grandma and grandpa.
 

Some where in the middle all of this a special piece of furniture arrived to our surprise...

So Kainan tried it out for Kai...

The walk wasn't bad, not close, but not bad...what was bad however is the smog in the air. My eyes, and lungs stung from the pollution. Seeing people walk the streets with hospital masks was not unusual here (we really didn't see this in Beijing). But being outside was not enjoyable for me on this walk. And you have to watch out for scooter, bikes and cars...it's not the US, pedestrians don't have the right a way...it's an each person for their self mentality. Walmart was interesting, full fish on ice for purchase, hanging meat, strong smells...but the crowds, type of people you find at Walmart, lines...all pretty comparable to what you'd expect at your local Walmart. We grabbed some formula that we were told Kai is use to, and some snacks that were were told he'd be familiar with; we grabbed Kathy some Coke Zero (diet soda around here is hard to find, it's Coke Zero, that's it); me some red wine; and Jason planned to pick up some beer. We all agree that when you are out to eat, to drink your options are tea, regular soda, juice, beer or wine. The soda started making my stomach hurt with all the sugar, and tea and juice we were a little leary of, and we were told unless we knew the water was bottled, don't drink it. So of all the things we've drank, beer has been the most satisfying, followed recently by our find of the coke zero. Thank goodness for the Seven 11 that has bulk bottle water, that's our typical choice, but sometimes we just don't have that with us. And I brought a ton of Crystal Light options, so that's helped a lot.

After Walmart, we got back to our room, headed to dinner a while later. There's an Italian restaurant in our hotel - which I found a little odd - but had heard from other families that it was really good. We ordered pizza and Coke Zero, could we be any more American? And then headed to our rooms to get ready for the big day...less than 24 hours we meet Kai.

I feel like I'm rambling as I sit here recapping yesterday, it's 4:30 am here and I've been up about every two hours since 10:30 pm. I'm not sure what time I fell asleep cuddling with Kainan, as when I woke to check the clock the first time and saw it was only 10:30, I thought I had slept the full night. I finally decided I'd like to have you all up to date, as I'm thinking the next 24 + hours is going to feel like a whirlwind.

So today, we leave the hotel at 9:30 am and babies start arriving, one by one at 10 am. In our group, babies/ children will come from eight different orphanages, bringing our 11 families 12 children. Children/ babies in our group are both boys and girls; one or two families have been in process since 2006 (their little girls are not Special Needs); the youngest child in our group is 17 months; and the oldest is 7 years old. Every story is amazing, and touching, and so relatable. I feel we are among a group of the most kind people. And some of our conversations have left me with tears of joy; or jaw dropped shock; but all blessings; all beautiful testaments of love.

If you are anxious to see what today will bring, I encourage you to check out our agency's CCAI Gotcha Day video - https://www.ccaifamily.org/Videos/GotchaDay/GotchaDay.aspx

This video depicts exactly the government official's building we'll go today to meet our son. We'll post pictures and video of our experience soon.

We aren't exactly sure how long we'll be at this location today, as it can vary based on how long it takes for children to arrive. Nannies or the Orphanage Director will bring our children to us. We then sit and bond in the mass chaos. Then go back to the hotel to begin our family. We'll do lunch at the hotel; and then we have a meeting for some paperwork at 3 pm.

That's all I know for now.

Thanks for following our journey.

All our love, the Capps

Great Wall and so much more...

June 14 - The Great Wall and Acrobat Show
 

We began our day with the hotel breakfast and then to the Great Wall. It was a super hot day and the sun was bright and it was a clear day, as far as visibility goes. We had brought a backpack and a carrier so Jason started out with Kainan on his back and me with the overpacked backpack. We decided we try to climb as far up the wall as we could. There is a stair way, but picture this: 95 degree weather, about 30 pounds on your back, a stair way about 12 feet wide (on the largest mouths of the walk way), crowds comparable to Time Square, age ranges climbing this wall from 2 years old (yes...with mama in tow...no idea why) to 80 years old, uneven stairs...some about 6" high to the next step up and some up to my knee to the next step, construction on the stairs going on latterly as we walked up, so some stones weren't even secure, men were taking up half the walk way and not really moving out of your way to get up, and steep, so steep that you really did need to hold the hand rail to get up, but sometimes there were so many people that would just stop suddenly to take a picture, catch their breath, etc) that we'd make a quick dash to the middle, brace ourselves, take a few steps, and then grab the railing again. We all started up. Mike, our official photographer, stopped to take pictures and Kathy told us to go on and she'd wait for Mike. They made it up a little past the construction part of the stairway, just shy of the first tower, and decided to head down. Jason and I made it up to the first tower...but as we got to the top, one of the dad's from our group got overheated and wasn't doing well. I took Kainan on my back and headed back down; and Jason stayed with another dad from our group to help escort the dad that got overheated down. It was pretty scary, but all made it down safely. 

Once everyone was down and safe, we had about 40 minutes before we were to load the bus to lunch, so I shopped around the souvenirs.

We went to an aluminum factory where they make what looks like porceline vases, but the material is hard aluminum and not breakable. It's a unique product of this area, and the process to make the vases, and other items out of this technique was quite impressive. We toured the factory and then headed up stairs to a restaurant. We eat family style, and the food was so good...so welcomed. I was starting to think I wouldn't find anything this whole trip that would satisfy me, and Kathy was feeling the same. We eat, and visited with another family. 

We then headed back to the hotel for an hour rest before heading back out to the acrobat show. Kainan has done great. He slept a little later on this day, but had no nap, and was on the go with us like a trooper. The acrobat show was really cool, and Kainan LOVED it. We took lots of video of the show for Kainan and Kai to have.

We then headed back to the hotel, grabbed a bit to eat at the Noodle Restaurant next door, this time a little more familiar with what to order, and had 2 meals in one day that we enjoyed. I have to say, my body doesn't love the food here. I now feel a bit better and have been able to actually eat food; but my body feels swollen from all the carbs, starches, oils, salts and sauces that I'm not use to. I'll just have to deal with that in two weeks.

We headed to bed, and prepared for our trip to Zhengzhou the next morning, where we meet Kai. I have to say that as much as these past few days have been truly experiences of a lifetime, I'm already exhausted, and it feels like we've been here for over a week already.

Thanks for following us, and please continue to pray for us, as the real reason we are here is only two sleeps aways.

All our love, the Capps.

New Hope, Experience of a Lifetime

Yesterday, June 13, we started our day with a 40 drive out to New Hope. As we departed the center circle of Beijing, I couldn't help but think how much it reminded me of Time Square. Then it was highway most the way. When we arrived, Mary Beth Chapman just happen to greet us at the door. We all looked at each other, thinking she look familiar, but then she said her name, and Jason knew. It took me a minute, but when she said her daughter Stevie Joy was around there somewhere, as well as Showy...I think my jaw may have dropped. I told her I had read her book, Choosing to SEE, and felt like I knew her and her family. I shared with her that her book was a turning point for me in our decision to move forward now rather than later with adopting. I have to tell you, right then and there, this was my own star struck moment. And then it got better. She called up the stairs and told Steve Curtis Chapman to come down and meet some friends, and moments later, we stood there chatting with the Chapman's like we had known them forever. It was a surreal and amazing moment. I'm not one to get caught up in "meeting someone famous"; but for me, in that movement, it couldn't get any better....but then it did.

We were then greeted by Steven's manager, she took pictures of all of us with the Chapman's. They were all in town shooting a promotional video for Show Hope, their nonprofit organization in Franklin, TN that supports 75% of Robin and Joyce Hill's funding to do all the great care for China's special needs children - children, that with their care, have the opportunity of a better life.

Then Robin Hill came down the stairs. Robin and Joyce Hill opened New Hope 15 years ago, with the goal to treat every child that came through their doors as their own. I had just read their book too; so I can't tell you how shocked I was that Robin was taking us on the tour himself. Then he asked if we had met Joyce yet. Joyce had been ill for seven years, then last year had a stroke, so when he said she was there...a lady stronger and more inspiration that I really have words to explain, I was thrilled. We went in and visited. We all sat down. Shared about Kai, and Joyce pulled up his file (which she is sending us), and shared some pictures of him from when he arrived at 8 months old. He was a smily and precious baby then too. She talked about Kai's surgeon, and said he was one of the best of the best for cleft repairs. He came from Hong Kong. The time with Robin and Joyce was a memory and experience of a lifetime. Just amazing.

Robin took us all on a tour of New Hope. We saw the room Kai eat his meals - and even saw some of his friends that we recognized from photos eating, including the little girl called Gwen, that we sponsor. We walked the hallways Kai walked, we saw his bed, we saw his preschool, we saw the playroom where he spent most of his time, and we saw the playground. We all walked the grounds of New Hope, and Kainan played outside on the playground Kai played on. 

Kai's when he was here.

The experience was beyond memorable.

Our CCAI rep had arranged for the van that drove us out to New Hope to take us to meet up with the rest of our group. This is where we got to take a rickshaw ride (a cart that we sit in pulled by a man on a bike). We saw how many live in China. We could see people working, people in their homes cleaning or mending cloths. I don't really have the words describe what we saw...and as I look back at my photos, I'm not sure I really had the opportunity to capture it all...I'm hoping to post some pictures later that I believe Mike took to capture a lot of this.

We had lunch in the home of a local family that raises pigeons. We're pretty sure that's not what we eat for lunch. Just kidding. We all tried everything they brought out. There was a lot of dishes, and we sat with another family, so we enjoyed our meal and conversation.

Afterwards we took our rickshaw back to the where the bus was parked. We headed back to the hotel to rest. When we got to the hotel room the hotel staff had left Jason with this beautiful box full of cookies, and a notes wishing him well on his Birthday. It was signed from Lucky Wang...needless to say, it gave us all a good laugh.

No car seats for kiddos.

So far, we have all been blessed with good health. Kainan has been such a trooper. He has fallen asleep on the van ride out and back from New Hope, but when woke up, bounced back pretty well. He had gotten up at 3 am yesterday and had had no nap up to this point. The rest of us were a little tired, but doing well too. I personally have been struggling with the food. The fried food looks the most appetizing, but I know my stomach will be in for a world of hurt eating it. I am a little less adventurous with trying things than I normally would be with all the warnings we received before we left and the fear that I'll be sick at the start of this trip and not be much fun or helpful. So I've eaten a lot of protein bars and rice - so my stomach doesn't feel great. Even the hotel food was a bit questionable for me, and McDonalds only had fried chicken or burgers. I eat a lot of watermelon for breakfast yesterday and do my best to at least get a taste of something new.

We woke Kainan up around 5 pm to go for a walk and he was not happy with us. We really want him to get on a bit of a schedule,and sleep later so he's not so wore out or run down. It took a bit, but he finally woke up. We just strolled down the streets. Stopped in a children's store. It really reminded us of NY. I tried bubble tea here. It's a favorite of mine back home and is a Chinese tradition, typically found in China towns. I liked it, but tried their more traditional version...I felt a little off afterwards, so I probably won't be having a second. We tried to find dinner. We walked to a mall that we were told would have lots of choices. However, there were so many choices, and to us, all looked the same, that we just walked in circles for a hour before deciding to give up and go back to the hotel. Then I saw McDonalds, and thought maybe Kainan we enjoy that. We went, and that's when we discovered they only had fried food. We then went back to the hotel. I think I mentioned before that this hotel has a bounce house. So we ended the night with beers and wine for all of us; and Kainan meeting new friends in the bounce house.

Women's toilet at the mall... Yep, got to try this baby out.

Our hotel in Beijing

St Joseph Cathedral - found it interesting to see an old Christian church in China, where Christianity is not prevalent.

We had been told that eating at the hotel was very expensive. We thought that this may become a better option than trying to find something on our own...but when I asked the cost of the meal per person we were told 268 RMB, or about 45 dollars, so we won't be eating here...if you remember, our meal at the noodle restaurant yesterday was 20 dollars for all 5 of us.

I think that covers most of yesterday. I know my cohesiveness of this writing is less than great, but I'm just trying to document it all so I don't forget.

Today we head for the Great Wall and then hope to catch the acrobat show. Two more days until we get Kai.

Thanks for following along. 

****sorry for the poor quality photos. iPhone 4 is the easiest to load to the blog.****

Much Love, the Capps

Off to China

So for those of you that have been reading along previously, I you'll notice I had been writing to Kai. For the purpose of our trip over the next two and a half weeks, I'm going to switch up my audience to you all.

June 11, 2014
Our trip started off with a serious adrenaline rush. Our friend Josh was kind enough to pick us up at 4 am to head to the airport. Kainan, Kai's installed carseat, Jason, Josh, two enormous suitcases - that carried the boys, Jason and my entire two week belonging, a large suitcase jammed packed full of donations - thank you everyone, the largest carry one suitcase we could bring, a backpack and shoulder bag (purse/toddler bag/last minute items/ toys); all were carefully packed into our Infinite QX56. This left a very small corner in the back of the care for me. We had a car service take Mike and Kathy and all their luggage, which was considerably less than ours.

Then we were off....

We arrived at Kansas City Airport at 5:05 am Central Time with a schedule flight of 6:55 am. We were lucky to arrive that early as we had to take a few detours on the way there due to construction on ramps. Jason and I had no idea were we were going, but so thankful Josh knew his way. As soon as we got to the United counter a lady looked at us, looked at Kainan, and went into emergency mode. At first we didn't know what was going on as she pulled us to the side, yelled down the counter at another agent that was helping Mike and Kathy that they need to make the gate stop and get us another flight. It was then we learned that our flight to Chicago had been cancelled. She rushed to get all five of us re-routed to San Francisco and on a 5:45 am flight. We rush to security and made it through by 5:30 am. Then when we asked which gate, an agent said it on the other end, and you better run, they are closing the doors now! So we ran. When we got their, our guardian angel flight attendant was a the gate making sure they held the door for us. And she kept reiterating it wasn't our fault. Have a great trip. When we got on the plan, it wasn't packed, and the front 5 seats were all open. We hopped on, all sitting together. Amazing!

When we arrived in San Fran around 7:30 AM Pacific Time, we had a 4 hour layover. We walked to our gate, then when looking for some breakfast. During all this craziness, I can not express how wonderful Kainan handled it all. No complaints, no crying...just go with the flow the whole time.

When we got to our gate we had more time to wait. We finally had a moment to take some family pictures. And although at the time we didn't realize, a couple we asked to take our picture turned out to be in our travel group here in China.

I don't have a ton of good things to say about an 11.5 hour flight. It seemed longer than 11.5 hours. But Jason, Kainan and I managed to switch enough seats around to all sit together. Mike and Kathy were in the row in front of us, but not next to each other. Kainan was asleep about as soon as we walked on the plane. I think it was the loud white noise sound, the fact that he didn't sleep at all on the way to CA, and that it was nap time for his little body. He slept for the first 5 hours of the flight. I was in and out during that time. Jason and Kathy said they didn't sleep much at all. We had several movies, non that were great, but at least it was something. We really didn't pull out our iPad to entertain Kainan til the end of the flight. But during our entire flight, Kainan was so good, handled it better than all of us really. People around us kept telling how great he was too.

As soon as we got to Beijing, we met up with that couple that took our picture, as we realized we were all in the same group. We headed through immigrations, then got our luggage, and then through Customs. All pretty painless. As we walked through Customs we immediately saw our CCAI Representative,Alice. She escorted us to the bus pick-up and a large tour bus came and pick us all up. We got on, and met two more families in our group. On the 40 minute ride to our hotel, our CCAI Rep went over all the ins and outs that we needed to know for the night and the next day. The group is heading on some tours and then heading to Old Beijing, where we'll go on rickshaws rides through town and then have lunch in a local family's home. We will be passing on the morning tours so we can go to New Hope, where Kai spent most of his rearing. A trip we've been waiting for for a long time! But our CCAI rep set us up with a van to take out there (we'll have a driver, don't worry...I know I was when she first suggested the idea). The driver will then call her when we are leaving and we'll meet up with the rest of our group in Old Beijing.

We got to our hotel and our CCAI reps had us all checked in when we arrived. The hotel is beautiful. Probably one of the nicest, or equivalent to, than I have ever stayed. We were told we could use the pool in our downtime, but swim caps are required. I'll take pics to post later today. We all got settled in - we have adjoining rooms, and the room sizes are comparable to room in the US. I was prepared for them to be smaller, so a nice surprise. Then we decided we'd just head next door to a suggested noodle restaurant. It was the first time I truly felt out of place. We looked at the menu, than goodness for pictures, and really small English print, thought for the most part, I still wasn't sure what it was. Mike, Kathy and Jason order a noodle dish. Kainan and I were planning to try everyones, and have fried rice and dumplings. The noodles were good; but their bowls were HUGE. Kainan and I just tried everyones food and that was more than enough food. We really weren't sure about drinks - probably my biggest fear hear is the water if not from a bottle, so we had cans of Sprite, all 5 of us. Really because we saw someone next to us had it on the table, so we pointed. I should have taken a picture, but we had so much food, and to be honest, we weren't that hungry. When our bill came, it came out to be about $20, for all 5 of us.

We winded down our night by coming back to the hotel and there was a bounce house Kainan had his eye on. He went and jumped for about 20 minutes. Remember, he slept most of our flight, so we was actually doing the best of all of us. Then we came back to our rooms and got ready for bed. I think we were in bed by 9 pm. And that ended June 12.

I'm sitting here writing all this at 4 am. Kainan woke at 3 am hungry and wanting to get up. I got him some snacks and turned on the iPad. After laying there for a few, I realized I too was hungry and awake. So I started typing.

We can head down to eat at the hotel breakfast at 6 am. We have to be downstairs for our van at 9 am. And we'll get to New Hope by 10 am.

I will keep periodic updates on FB. And try to recap the day here.

Thank you all for you support and prayers. It really is great having you all follow along with us.

All our love, the Capps!

LOCC Sponsor Update: Date recieved May 29, 2014

On May 29, we recieved our quarterly sponsor update of you. All I can say is you are "all boy"; and you and Kainan are going to have a ball together! The report was created on April 3, 2014.

You are gaining weight, and growing taller. All good signs!

Here's what your nanny's had to say:

Kai has really good character. Every time you see him, he will smile at you. He is also very naughty. Once nanny took him out to play. He untied nanny’s shoe tie when nanny did not pay attention to him and smiled at nanny with naughty face. Now, he learned how to ride rocking car. He loves riding it when he goes out. No one can grab it from his hand. He is good at playing. Moreover, although he is naughty, he will sit beside nanny quietly and listen to the cartoon books that nanny reads to him occasionally.

A Visual

Here's a visual of our paper 'race' to meet Kai. Almost to the finish line! 12 days!
* barrowed from another adoption mom.

We're the Lucky Ones

I would like to share another mom's most recent post from her blog "Finding Mei Mei" with you. It's not short, but it is dead on. Maureen has a gift for words. And although you may not be connected to her story, like I, as this is the story that I have followed through our entire process...and I would even say somedays is what I clung to for inspiration and hope. I do think the message is important to share.

I want you to help me share how lucky we all are to have Kai in our lives. He's not the lucky one, and I don't want him to grow up feeling he is lucky to have us, or that he owes us gratitude. Jason and I feel that we are the lucky ones that God blessed to be Kai's parents.

http://www.findingmeimei.blogspot.com/