Sightseeing

Keith and Will had a free day, so they went sightseeing with the other families in their group. I can't add much as to what sights they saw, Keith sent pictures but no explanation as to where they were taken. I'm just happy to have the pictures! You can tell it's warm and tropical in that part of China. I don't see Leapster in any pictures, looks like Will is playing with a yo-yo in one photo. Keith says Will has figured out the games on the I-Pod. Smart boy!!!!

Tomorrow they go apply for Will's Visa at the American Embassy.It takes two days to process, but when they do get it they are free to go! Sadly there are no direct flights to the States, the boys will have to fly back to Shanghai, spend one night there and then catch their flight home.

Will's physical

Yesterday, Will had his physical and received two immunizations. Not too bad, I've heard of some kids having as many as eight! As you can see there are alot of parents and children waiting. Looks like Will found a new electronic device, the I-Pod he's holding. We have a translation APP. on it called Jibbigo. Keith says they have been using that quite a bit.

The other picture is of Will in flight from Shanghai. I wonder what he's thinking?Then again maybe he's just thinking,"What's for lunch?". It will be interesting to get him home and find out!

Keith also says Will is starting to be a little naughty. Oh he stops when Keith tells him too, but sounds like he's starting to act like a real boy and test his boundaries.

Goodbye Shanghai!

Well, right now my boys should be on an airplane for the next chapter of their China Adventure. They should arrive in Gaunzhou about 12:30 am our time. hope Keith remembered the gum for Will. I've heard the pressure is even worse for Asians because of the placement of their ear canals.

But before they left, I received a couple more pictures of my boys out and about on the town. Remember the game, "Where's Waldo"? Well in the picture of Will nearly falling off a guardrail~not a good photo op. choice Keith~see if you can find the leapster. It took me awhile and I didn't find it until I zoomed in. So Keith almost lost our boy, but Leapster is safe and sound!

Will and Liam Skyped last night

I think one of the highlights of this time, is that Will was able to connect with a dear friend from Shanghai. Liam was adopted several months ago and the two boys were able to catch up. I'm sure it was a great encouragement to Will to be able to share some of his feelings with his friend who has been through the same situation. Will told Liam he was" a little scared, a little not scared", completely understandable feelings. Liam told him about the long plane ride home to America. However, it sounds like most of the call centered mostly on typical "boy talk" the joys of bike riding and rollarskating, Liam introducing Will to his brother, telling Will about school, showing Will his broken foot, ect... Hopefully when Keith and Will settle in the next part of their trip, the boys can Skype again. Will is the boy pictured on the computer screen, Liam is sitting with his headset on, ready to take his call.

Speaking of which, they will be leaving Shanghai in the morning for Gaunghzou (formally Canton). This is where the American Embassy is. Will will have a physical, any immunizations he needs, apply for his Visa, and take an Oath to our country. The minute he lands on American soil he will be an American!

They will have to wait for the Visa so they will go on more sightseeing with the guides and other families. The weather there is fantastic, everyday is forecast upper 70's and sunny! Lucky dogs, but I guess Keith earned it.

Pictures

There's hope for Keith yet. In the wee hours of the morning (afternoon in China), he sent some pictures. The one of them at the podium is when Jilei officially became William Jilei Knisely. One is Keith signing the stacks of papers required for the adoption.

He's offically a Knisely!

So Will was officially adopted yesterday. Sorry, no pictures, Keith continues to have technical difficulties, so I'm scrapping the bottom of my barrel for pictures. This was from the day he got Will, Will is on the left. I'm going to have to start drawing my own illustrations, if he doesn't get me some pictures soon. If you ever saw my art, you know you don't want to see my stick figure illustrations!

Today they have on their own. They are going with the other Bethany families to a museum and out to eat. Tomorrow is more sightseeing. They have to stay in Shanghai until Friday when they will receive Will documents so they can travel on to Gaungzhou were they can get Will his passport and Visa to come home. That process takes another week.

Fun things they have done so far, a pillow fight in their hotel room. Found out Will does not like "Tighty Whiteys", as in underwear.Keith's assignment for today is get that boy some boxers! And apparently lots of horsing around in general. Lucky Will he had the FUN parent come get him! I would be spassing out about pillow fights. Yes, when Will gets here I can see I get to play the part of the "Bad Parent"~cut to ominous music. But I'm glad they are having fun in general and Keith says it's still sunshine and roses~wait I think I hear that ominous music again!

Gotcha Will!

Keith got our boy! He said Will really likes the Leapster he brought with him. If you don't know, Leapster is a handheld electronic game device. What's different about it from other similar toys is that the games you play are educational. My hope was that he would like it and the games will help with his English. Keith says he knows how to count in English and he's going to town on the Batman game~which multiplying and dividing. Keith said Will really liked the spicy food at the restaurant they ate at yesterday. He said the orphanage staff said Will was pretty quiet with adults, which has been true so far. I'm most impressed with, Keith said Will went and took a shower without any prompting, if only my 13 year old would do that! Tomorrow they go through the final adoption ceremony. Will is on the left wearing grey, the other boy is Jay who is also being adopted. The other picture is Keith (on the right) and Jay's dad, Kurt. I thought the Dads did a great job co-ordinating their outfits! LOL~Please forgive the Mommy humor. Thanks, Katie for the picture!

12 hours from now................

12 hours from now Keith should be united with our son! They are to travel to the orphanage at 9am Monday morning~which will be 9pm Sunday night here. Keith went to the China Bank yesterday and got his money exchanged, he also got the correct adapter for the laptop. I'm praying he can get online and send some pictures, but frankly I'm not sure if he can. He has Wi-Fi in his room and I tried talking him through it last night, but it's almost impossible with him there and me here. We did practice a bit before we left, but it's alot different doing it here with me sitting right next to him and him 1/2 a world away! I know the important thing is he's safe and our boy will be home soon.
I'm attaching a few pictures of Will's orphanage.

The Eagle has landed!

I'm running out of witty (or less than witty) titles. But Keith called and he arrived safely. The Panda Phone we rented~it's a cell phone for China~ was clear as a bell. Keith said he didn't sleep at all on the 15 hour flight, so he had been up about 26 hours when I talked to him. It may be good in a way, it's nighttime in Shanghai, so if he sleeps now, he should wake up on the right schedule. At least that's my theory! The only problem we have is recharging the laptop. It needs a 3 prong adaptor and the ones we bought are only 2 prong. Hopefully someone will help him get the right one. But for now he just needs some sleep!
The pictures above are a map of China, the red dot is Shanghai. And a couple more photos from yesterday, saying good-bye to Andy and Caitlyn.

Elvis has left the building!

Actually Keith has, not so sure about Elvis. Anywho, Keith is in Detroit right now. His flight will leave there about 3:30 this afternoon. He should arrive in Shanghai about 6:30 Sat. night (Sat. morning here). It's funny, we left him at the South Bend Airport, the kids and I had lunch, stopped at K-mart and the CVS store, and by the time we got home I had a call from Keith that he was already in Detroit!
Here's some good-bye pictures from this morning. I bought a disposable camera so we would not have to dig out the digital from the carry-on bag. Looking at them it reminds me why I love my digital camera so much. Sorry for the poor quality of the photos.
I have some prayer requests though: Safe travel of course, that we didn't forget anything vital (like I told Keith as long as he gets there with the money and documents, anything else is replaceable in China), that Keith and Will have a good adjustment period, or at least one without any major issues, that the kids and I have no major issues ourselves, and the last one is alittle selfish~Please pray Keith will not have problems e-mailing me pictures. Up until this week Keith had never even done an e-mail or logged on to the internet. And I really need a picture fix to get through the next two weeks! Oh and someone mentioned a typhoon??? Better go check that one out! Bye for now,

Keith's Itinerary

So we now have Keith's schedule and what hotels he will be staying at. Please note these are pretty swanky hotels for the Knisely's (sorry Will we don't usually stay in these kind of hotels!) the travel plans are all made through our agency, they assure us by sending a large group of families (there are 17 families altogether) at a time they get a better rate. They also choose hotels that have English speaking staff and good service. So anywho, the pictures above are The Yue Shanghai Hotel, and The White Swan Hotel. Here's his Itinerary:
10/22 Leave South Bend airport 11:45 for Detroit, leave Detroit 3:30 fly non-stop to Shanghai.
10/23 Arrive Shanghai at 6:25 pm
10/24 free day - Sleep!
10/25 Get Will in the morning! This will be his "Gotcha Day!"
10/26 Adoption registration and notarization
10/27 They have a free day
10/28 Sight seeing, The Bund,Huagpu River Cruise and the Old City
10/29 Receive all documents and fly to Gaungzhou (formally called Canton), check in to the White Swan Hotel.
10/30 Medical exam for Will at 9:00 am. Some children receive many immunizations at this appointment. Hopefully Will's will be up to date and he will not have too many shots.
10/31 Sight seeing folk art museum and Yuexiu Park.
11/1 Visa Appointment
11/2 Go to the American Consulate to take oath at 2:15 pm
11/3 Pick up Will's Visa at 2:15. They are done!!!!
11/4 Fly back to Shanghai and stay at the airport hotel
11/5 Fly back to the good old U.S.A.
11/5 Basically they get to do the 5th twice, they cross the international dateline arriving in Detroit, flying back to South Bend and into our arms 4:45pm

Our "Pretend" son no more!

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Another parent said it best, after so much time it almost feels like they are your pretend child. Honestly, it does feel that way, but the realization is sinking in that this young man, with his own distinct personality, will soon become a part of our family. How frightening it must be for these children searching for their place in a family unit. Struggling to make their needs and fears known in a culture and country so foreign to anything they have ever known. Such courage these children have to make this leap into a strange new world.

By the time Jilei arrives, a year and a half will have passed since we first began this process. With each adoption comes it's own challenges, but this adoption journey has been a real test. It's many twists and turns, and long uphill struggles,made us weary at times beyond what we thought we could bear. But in Christ's arms we found comfort and strength. We reminded ourselves we are not the ones who are suffering, it is these children, without family, living in a country where children have no value beyond what they might provide to their parents and government, with no ever loving God to provide them love and relief!

So we write to Jilei and send him packages and pictures, hoping this will give some reassurance as he waits and no doubt wonders. Above is a picture of bedroom, he will have the top bunk, Andy the bottom. In three weeks Keith will leave to meet and bring Jilei home. I haven't said it lately but Keith is my secret hero. I would be such a mess if I had to travel overseas. As passionate as I am for these kids, I really don't know if I could do it. On the other hand Keith is quite confident to pack up and head out to the great unknown. But God matched us perfectly, I do the paperwork, and Keith does the travel. Truly a match made in heaven!