Leaving Tianjin

I had to miss a day on posting because the last day has been spent mostly in traveling. Our trip to the Great Wall had to be cancelled because we awoke to another day of snowfall in Beijing. The roads looked to be a little dangerous and our guide confirmed that they were getting slick on her way into the city. We decided to make a short trip to the grocery store so we would not have to venture to far away from the hotel today. Eddie picked out his usual as well as some Fudge. He is certainly like most kids in that regard. But the really neat thing is that he is always excited to share his prize possessions. I noticed that when we went to the Forbidden Palace also. I was cold because I had no hat or gloves, but Eddie quickly shared his hat with me since he had a hood on his coat. Although, he has an independent streak, he has a BIG heart.

One highlight that we had waiting for us on Thursday night though was the instructor that we met who knew both Chinese and American sign language. Eddie really has a tremendous head on his shoulder and that was certainly on display when Mr. Wu came back for a second visit. He has such a way in communicating and had a real knack for understanding Eddie. They conversed at great lengths, first in CSL and then ASL as Mr. Wu instructed Eddie on the signs that were the same and some that were different. Even after I had tried to learn ASL over the last few months, Eddie picked ASL up much faster than me. In fact, after Mr. Wu had given Eddie a deck of playing cards that were in ASL, Eddie was quickly giving me lessons on the conversions of each term. Watching those two work was really a sight to see. This has probably been the most enjoyable part of our trip is having Eddie be able to “say” everything that he wanted. I also had Mr. Wu share with Eddie more about our family and the messages that we wanted him to know as he arrived to his new forever family.

Friday morning had us up early. We had to make the drive back to Tianjin where we had to pick up documents, dropped off some clothes and gifts back at the orphanage and then had to pick up Eddie’s passport from the police station. We finished around noon and had time to stop in a local Chinese fast food restaurant for some of the best eating that we had in awhile. It was some type of pancake wrapped around a meat filling. After quickly gulping down our food, we headed to Tianjin airport for the afternoon flight to Guangzhou where we would finish out the week. There was a sense as we left the Tianjin airport, the city where Eddie had spent his whole life that he was excited and a little scared about what this beginning meant for him. As he watched those jets take off, he knew that he too would soon be on one for his trip to America.

Eddie really liked the security checks and preparing to board the plane. As soon as we got on the plane, you can only imagine what he wanted to do first; he wanted to see the bathroom like all other kids (even though he had just used it before he got on). Since our seat was the first one behind first class, it was cute seeing little eyes peeping through the curtain to see what the other side did when they flew. He really was mesmerized by the things that he saw as we took off on our 3 hour flight South. After arriving at the airport and being dropped off at baggage claim, Eddie was amazed at how the luggage came out from so many different directions. I really thought that he was going to crawl through the little whole in the wall to see where it was all coming from. I think that I was more relieved than he was when it finally came out.

Our new guide Connie, met us as we exited baggage claim. Connie is a special guide because she was part of the China team that worked so hard to finish up the last bit of paperwork before arriving in China. She went the extra mile to make sure everything was completed and to complete what she herself termed “a miracle.”

Tomorrow we will begin this last leg of our journey to bring Eddie home. Eddie has a medical checkup in the morning and will get his picture made for his visa. Guangzhou will be a little different than Beijing as it is suited more for the Western taste. In fact, less than 10 feet from our hotel door is a Subway and not far down the street is a very Western Lucy’s restaurant.

As always, thank you for the prayers and support. It is certainly felt in your post and comments. We love you all.

Eddie and Jimmie



I will post pictures soon!