March 7th

Hi everyone, we're back online.  A big thank you goes out to my sister Kay for taking the time to put the past however many posts on the site.  We didn't know that certain sites were blocked over here, so it was a mad scramble to figure out what to do once we leaned that we weren't able to do it ourselves. 

As we started our journey home today it took some time putting things back together after living out of a suitcase for the past 16 days or so.  It worked out alright because we had to wait for Tovin's travel Visa until after 4:15.  With the extra time we were able to get some pictures of both Tovin and Addison in traditional Chinese dress...notice that is in singular form, not plural...you can thank me later Tovin!

As you can see the infamous Red Couch that so many adoptive families have taken pictures on while at the White Swan hotel (what used to be the main hotel for adoptive families while in Guangzhou) has been replaced by a Green Chair at the Garden Hotel, or at least that's where we took some pictures of our two little one's all dressed up.  

 

The petite Chinese lady, the one seated next to the two large Caucasians with the asian kids in their laps, is Grace.  She is one of five awesome guides that helped us while we were here.  She is part of the China Lifeline Children Services adoption team.  All five of them were great people, wonderful guides, and a blessing to have as part of this journey.

Before our van ride to Hong Kong which is just over three hours, we went for a stroll outside around our hotel to burn off some energy and to try spend our last 48 Yuan ($8.00 US dollars) before we left.  We did a pretty good job of estimating our purchase at the grocery store, leaving with less than 60 cents worth of Chinese money - which we donated to one of the homeless gentelman we saw.  We are leaving China with absolutely zero Yuan, not even a 10 cent bill.  Yes, they have bills all the way down to the US equivalent of less than six cents, crazy.

Half way through our walk this afternoon, Tovin was pointing at the stroller and Addison, you can see what that resulted in.  Up until this point Tovin had been held by Jen or I everywhere we went; you might have noticed in all the previous pictures.  Addison was more than willing to let Tovin get buckled in with her and to our surprise didn't ask once if we could just carry him instead of him riding on top of her.

Being that Tovin has spent almost three years in an orphanage, one of the ways he comforts himself is to make noises with his throat, tongue, and mouth.  You might think it was cute if you heard him, but it's actually really sad.  What it means is that likely this is what he learned to do on his own to sooth himself; it probably was the only way for him to comfort himself when he felt lonely, anxious, sad, or scared.  Most likely no one was there to do it for him, to rock him to sleep, to cuddle with him, to just be there for him - the typical orphanage scenario.  The minute that he was set in Jen's arms we started rocking him and singing to him...and we haven't stopped.  Every opportunity we have we are holding him, rocking him, singing to him in the hopes that it will be a signal to him that everything is ok, and that he now has someone that will be there to do this comforting for him.  Today when he was riding with Addison he started making sounds, and before Jen or I could start singing, Addison started in with a good old rendition of Old McDonald, real soft and gentle in his ear.  Tovin stopped making his soothing sounds almost instantly and started humming along with Addison's song; it was a precious moment.

Hong Kong is our last stop before we leave tomorrow morning for home.  What an experience this has been!

Before we get home and back to normal life we wanted to thank some very special people who helped us through this journey.

We want to thank the two adoption agencies that helped us along on our journey to Tovin.  New Horizons out of Blue Earth, Minnesota was very kind to do our home-study for us.  They are a great agency to work with, and we hope to work with them again in the future - Tovin might be a middle child, who knows?  Also, Lifeline Children Services out of Alabama.  Wow, they are amazing!  Their China team is top notch, they were always willing to answer our questions and to help us through our journey.  We know that we were showered with prayers from both of these agencies!

To Heidi from New Horizons, it was great to get to know you!  You made the home-study portion of our adoption enjoyable with your great personality!  We will see you again soon!

To Lisa from Lifeline, Thank you for helping us find Tovin, and having faith that we would and could receive PA from China!  What a miracle!  Tovin is truly a blessing to us and our family!

Mallory and Karla from Lifeline...I'm not sure we could thank you enough for all you did for our family!  We felt like we were your number one priority.  We really appreciated your quick responses knowing that you had so many other families to focus on as well.  We look forward to meeting you this summer on our way to our adoption reunion for Addison.

Mary, Meko, Grace, Lily and Rebecca, (Lifeline's China Team)...Thank you for being our fearless leaders while we were in China.  We always felt well prepared and cared for.  We saw the love you had for all the children, and we thank you for that.

To our travel mates, Jay and Sheila, I know that we have said thank you a zillion times, but really Thank You so much!  Greg, oops I mean Jay, you were our pack mule and carrier of Addison when Jen's shoulders could take no more.  You made Addison giggle when she was tired, and you always had a napkin ready, ha! ha!  Thanks for always taking the extra napkins off the tables at the restaurants, and also for taking the blame when something spilled.  Auntie, thank you for loving Addison so much.  There were many times that she needed you and you were right there for her.  Thanks for making her adventures fun and exciting.

To Tovin's grandparents, thank you for the support and encouragement throughout this journey.  We are very fortunate to have parents that see the blessings that adoption can bring to a family.

To Addison, what an amazing big sister you are to Tovin, and a beautiful daughter inside and out to us.  You showed so much maturity and grace for being almost five years old.  You were a trooper on this journey, we are so glad that you were with us!  On this journey to your brother you faced many of your fears head on...you can now go on any moving walkway, up and down any escalator, stand by statues as well as painted animal figures, and order Chinese food with amazing manners.  Also, your laughter and kind spirit helped put Tovin at ease many times these past two weeks.  He looks up to you, and I can see the love his already has for you.  We look forward to watching your relationship grow stronger.  We love you so much and we are so proud of you!

To Tovin, we are just getting to know your spirited personality, and we love what it brings to the family!  We can't wait to see the Tovin we have after you have your surgery.  We will need our running shoes on, and we can't wait to chase you around!  Your soft and gentle side is so neat as well.  You love to cuddle, and to have your face, hands and feet rubbed anytime the Rosebud comes out.

Finally to Tovin's birthparents...we will never know who you are, but we will get to know you though our son.  Please know that we will take very good care of him, help him through life, and teach him about your love for him.

Thank you for being with us for our special journey to Tovin,
Love,
The Kainz Family.  Jason, Jen, Addison, and Tovin.