Update

I am so sorry that I am not updating more often for our out of town friends. Life has been very hectic. Hamilton has started preschool. His language is improving tremendously. He likes school but does not like to separate from us. I am back teaching and Bill is taking half days of vacation. He takes Hamilton to school and picks him up. Then I trade off at 3:00 and he goes back to work. What a crazy life, but it works. In January we will begin having a babysitter for the afternoons. Yes, he still sleeps with us. We have been advised to continue the family bed through the holidays, most likely until February or March. It is getting better, although last night I woke up with a soccer ball on my chest. He has a hard time separating from toys also! We are just thankful that he sleeps! We were told that many adopted children have significant sleep disorders. So we feel blessed. 

I am including random photos from play, Thanksgiving, Al/Auburn game, etc. 

The hardest adjustment has been time. Our family is used to teenager activities, and we are having to slow down. I have no idea when I will complete Christmas shopping! The weekends are filled with playing, carpooling big kids, or going to games. Will and Elizabeth are also finding it much more difficult to study with a 3 year old brother. However, I see each week things getting easier. The best news is that Hamilton has not hit or scratched in the last week or two! He also is not throwing food! These are huge blessings. 

Thank you for your continued prayers, 

The Bennetts

tubes tomorrow

Our ENT called this morning and had a cancellation for tomorrow. So Hamilton is getting tubes at 5:45 in the morning. He has mild hearing loss and fluid in his ears. Apparently, this is common for children with a cleft. Please pray it goes smoothly and safely.

The pictures are of his first trip to the zoo. We went with our neighbors. Alice, Amelia, and Eli. Eli is getting a brother from Hamilton's orphanage in China soon. Hamilton loved the zoo and has been talking about monkeys all evening. He saw more animals than monkeys, but zeroed in on the monkeys. He loves to be in open spaces where he can run. 

First Day at Church

Here are pictures from Hamilton's first day at church.  We took him to the service with us and then I went with him to a 3 year old sunday school class. He did really well. He sits as long as there is music. But of course is not interested in listening to a story, because he does not understand. He sat better in church in China. But it was fun for him to meet more people who have been praying for him.

Tomorrow, we go to the ENT to schedule his surgery for tubes. He already has an ear infection, so we are anxious to get the tubes soon.  Then next week we go to the cleft clinic and general surgeon. Too many doctor visits for the little guy!! 

We have had a great day today! I think we are all feeling less tired and grumpy. Bill and I are also getting a little more used to life with teenagers and a 3 year old. It is action packed for sure!

Halloween

Hamilton loved Halloween. We dressed him up in his traditional chinese attire. Our neighbors, Lydia, Alice, and Amelia, also dressed in chinese costumes. They were so cute! We ate pizza with our neighbors and then went to around 10 houses for candy. He figured it out pretty quick, but would stop every time he saw a ball. He got a little mad at trick-or-treaters who came to our door, because he thought I was giving away his candy. 

update

We are settling in. The time change and sleeping with a three year old have really been tough this past week. We went to the International Adoption clinic Monday. We were there 4 hours! I think we will now know for sure that Hamilton is completely well. We met with a counselor, speech pathologist, doctor, and had an ultrasound and 5 vials of blood taken. Needless to say, he was not too happy about the blood. He had obviously had that done before. He recognized the band that goes around the arm and began screaming. The appointment went well, though. They said he is attaching very well. They are more worried about trauma and stress from being put in a new home. They said the busyness and hitting are from trauma or stress. The busyness helps keep his mind off of it. Typically kids are either withdrawn or busy. We are glad to have busy. We also are stuck with the family bed for a little while longer. We are hoping he bonds quick and can move to his own bed sooner versus later. Last night we slept with his head on one of us and his feet on the other- very nerve racking, but he has to be touching someone! I especially enjoyed the couple of nights that he chose Bill over me. 

Bill asked that I make a disclaimer over the dryer photos. We were in the room with him when we took the pictures. He has not gone back to the dryer since, but uses the den curtains to hide behind when he wants a quiet spot which isn't very often. He loves to be in the room with us. Will and Elizabeth are huge helps when they do not have too much homework. 

Life has been so busy, we have not had time to update. I hope to add pictures this weekend. 

First Day Home

Hamilton had a great day today. He played outside a lot and took a very long nap. After dinner Elizabeth went looking for him. She could not find him, and then saw him sitting in the dryer in the laundry room. So we had to send pictures. 

pictures from homecoming at airport

Our US Citizen

We are finally home! We had a very long day yesterday. We left our hotel at 4:00 pm October 21 Us time and landed in Birmingham at 6:15 October 22. 26 hours flying with a 3 year old went very well. He slept a good bit. The main fits were during take off and landing because he did not like the seat belts. China does not require them for cars, so he is not used to being strapped in. We flew 4 hours from Guanzhou to Tokyo, had a 1 hour lay over, then 12- 13 hours to Atlanta. We talked our way into bulk head seating!!! It was great. However, our flight from Tokyo was late, so we missed our connection to Birmingham by 5 minutes. I was so tired and frustrated, I got little angry with the receptionist. In Atlanta, we went through visa check, immigration, customs, re-check baggage, and security. Then had to wait stand by for 2 flights, but we boarded the second one at 6:30 which was only 2 hours later than our original flight. The man at customs was so kind! He said I am not sending you through the baggage check line because of the baby. 

When we landed in Birmingham, Bill, Will, Elizabeth, Jim, Jami, Brooks, Linden, Laurel, Dear, Sophie, and Dionne were waiting!! Elizabeth had been at a football game, so she had on her cheer uniform and pom poms. Guang Guang started waving at everyone when he heard them cheering. When we got to our house, there were probably 50 or so people waiting for us in the street cheering!! Guang Guang started clapping. He loved the attention! He did great. He stayed in my arms for a little while, and then got down and started playing with all of the kids. He played basketball, soccer, and football in the front yard with tons of children. I will send pictures of this out later today. I need to download them. 

We ate dinner around 8:30 and put him to bed around 9:30. He slept with Bill and me because he is used to the family bed. I guess we will work on that next week. I realized that he has not seen a house before. People in China live in apartments for the most part. They are typically one or two bedroom apartments. Our house is not big, but we thought he might be scared. He woke up at 11:00 and 3:00 crying and officially woke up at 5:45-- not too bad. He woke up happy and talking to BABA, dad, for the first time. He has been playing outside with BaBa and Jie Jie (Bill and Elizabeth) this morning. He spent an hour playing in a puddle!! We will try to give another update tonight. 

The last day before travel!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

We are so tired packing has been tough. Guang Guang has settled down, though, just in time for a new big transition!! We are figuring each other out. We are learning more mandarin which helps a ton. I also concluded today that he likes Asian men but not Asian women. He will give strange men five, but hit Asian waitresses and shopkeepers. I do not know what is up with that, but it is nice to have figured it out.

Today we swam and finished last minute shopping. We also took pictures on the famous red couch at the White Swan. From what I understand you usually take the pictures with your group, but we were a single family- wish Fischer was here to take it with us!! His hat was a gift from his orphanage. It is traditional for Mongolians.

After dinner we wanted to have our picture made with our favorite shopkeeper, Jordan. Thomas said he needed one also with 3 women. Beth also got a cute picture of YeYe and LaLa in traditional fishermen's hats.

Now we are headed to bed. We will wake up at 5:00am and fly to Tokyo at 9:20. I think we leave Tokyo one hour after we arrive, tight change over. Then we fly 10- 14 hours to Atlanta. It was 14 hours coming over, but Tyler said it was more like 10 going back. We are hoping for the shorter flight! In Atlanta we go through Immigration and customs and then head to Birmingham. I have to go through the non-citizen immigration with Hamilton. However, the paper says that when he lands in Atlanta, he is officially a US citizen. How cool is that??? We loose 13 hours or so tomorrow. We leave at 9:20 our time and land at 4:30 your time, but it is 24 hours of traveling.

See your tomorrow!!!

Thank you for all your prayers!!

Kem

From The Home Front

I thought I'd share briefly a little perspective from the home front. They have now been gone for 16 days, and return in 2, not that anyone is keeping track. They are 13 hours ahead of us here, so we've been able to skype with them usually twice per day. Once in the morning, and once in the evenings.

Will and Elizabeth have been real troopers. They have been adaptable, willing to jump in and help more, put things up without being asked multiple times (usually), have worked hard on their school work, and they have maintained great attitudes. They are really excited to officially welcome the newest Bennett into his new home.

2 major accomplishments:

1. Even though Kem left in the peak of the rush for the last week of Will and Elizabeth's grading period, neither saw their grades suffer, and Will even moved one of his classes up a letter grade.
2. I managed to make 2 critical phone calls today: first, I believe I've found where I can get some lamb for Hamilton's dinner on Thursday night. Secondly, I was able to locate someone to clean our house on Thursday before their arrival.

I believe we are now down to only one more "skype", which will be Wednesday morning for us and evening for them. Wednesday evening for us they will begin their journey home.

We appreciate everyone's interest in following their progress, and appreciate your prayers and encouragement along the way. Especially be praying for their trip home.

Sincerely, Bill

It's Official!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Today Guang Guang became a Bennett!

It rained all day so we slept until 10:00 this morning and then we played in the Swan Play room. At 2:45 we met many other families and rode a bus to the American Consulate. Guang Guang was so excited he fell asleep on the bus ride. Isn't he precious!! There I stood in a line and showed passport pictures to prove our identity. Then everyone in the room stood and took an oath saying that all information provided on the adopted child was true to the best of our knowledge. Now when he lands in Atlanta, he will be an American citizen. Isn’t that amazing!

They took our cameras, so there are no pictures. But we did take a couple on the front steps of the building. There is one of Thomas and Guang Guang.

Then we ate at Lucy’s again. It is by far the least expensive restaurant on the island. Guang Guang ate 6 lamb kabobs again!

We do not have many pictures or much to report today. We have on more day here and can not wait to be home. I am dreading the flight, though. Please pray we get bulkhead seats. That has still not been accomplished.

Thanks for your prayers,

Kem

Note: We are so excited to have Kem, Hamilton, and Beth return to us on Thursday! I feel sure the flight will take care of itself in regard to seating. I am going to focus my prayers on a safe flight for all and happy return to the USA! I also pray God will be with Hamilton as he begins his new life in this foreign country which will, of course, be his home. I pray Hamilton will feel God's love and the love of his family and numerous friends as he begins his new journey! Let' just rejoice in the fact God led this child and this family to be united and they are almost home:-) Counting down the hours now! Dear

Our last Monday in China!

Monday, October 19, 2009

The embassy appointment went great. Everything was approved without a hitch. Thomas just handed our paper work to a person behind a window. She looked through it, and said okay!! So, tomorrow we take the oath, and Guang Guang will officially be Jacob Hamilton Zhou Bennett!

After our nap we took a taxi to Pedestrian Street. It was a very busy street lined with stores and jewelry malls. Will, we took a picture of McDonald's and KFC for you. We did not eat there though because it was extremely crowded and overwhelming. We were going to go to the zoo, but another family told us it was not that great. They have one panda that is a lazy panda.

Guang Guang had lamb kabobs for dinner. He ate 6 kabobs!! Bill, I think you will have to learn to grill lamb chops and kabobs.

The store owner who told us about church is Jordan. We have been in his store almost every day. He ordered something for Laurie and told Beth to tell her a couple of days ago. After leaving the restaurant we were talking about when to go get the chess sets, we heard him behind us. He had spotted us on a different street from his store and chased us down to get Laurie to purchase her items. We got quite a laugh.

I am attaching pics of the fish in the buckets. I think I told you all about them. The seafood restaurants have either tanks of fish or buckets of fish. You choose your fish and they cook it for you. The buckets had eel, turtles, crabs, and various fish. It was interesting. We chose not to eat in one of those restaurants.

Tomorrow we leave for our oath ceremony at 2:45. I sign something, and then he is officially a Bennett! We will do this with many other families we have met here.

Language Barrier ....

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Last night we ate at Lucy’s and Guang Guang ate lamb. He also had a fit - see the picture of him squatting. We are now leaving him when he starts fussing. We just walk away a little bit, and then give him a hug afterwards. He is an adorable mess!

This morning when he woke up he put on his swim trunks. I tried to get him to change but did not push although I knew that I should because he would think he was going swimming. I was right. As soon as we entered the restaurant, he began screaming and hitting and kicking. Everyone watched us and it was the worst fit yet. Even other adoptive parents were asking us if this was normal. He truly thought he was getting to swim. He eventually calmed and ate a good breakfast. Then Beth and I took him to his first church service. It was in mandarin. We were told it would be in English also, but were given the wrong time. But we enjoyed it. Hallelujah and Amen are spoken the same, so we got a little bit out of it. The hymns were pretty. The church was full and we were put in an over flow room with video. Guang Guang did great. He sat when the pastor asked everyone to sit down- in mandarin of course. I was able to buy him a bible in mandarin and English and a praise CD in mandarin for 60 yuan or $10.00 total.

We then came back to feed him lunch and I tried to get bulkhead seats on our flights home. I have to try again later. That would be a prayer request. The last flight was a disaster, so I am very nervous about our 24 hours of traveling home. The bulkhead would be great because he kicks the seat in front of him. He seems to like to have pressure in the bottom of his foot when he is tired. He pushes them into me at night-very comfortable!! Ha!

Later, Beth and I took him on a walk while Dad and Laurie went to the Canton Trade Fair. Beth and I saw the poorer side of the island. The people who live here appear to be wealthy. However, on our walk along the river we saw men bathing in the river. They took off the clothing they were wearing, washed the clothing, and then washed themselves. They stood on steps that went into the Pearl River which is very brown and dirty. Needless to say we weren’t planning on seeing naked men as we went for a little exercise! Beth says we got a Chinese Chip and Dales show for free. We also saw a young boy smoking a cigarette. They must start early here.

On a serious note, tomorrow is my appointment with the embassy. I leave at 8:00 and the appointment is at 9:00. Remember, Thomas likes to be early. Beth and Laurie will keep Hamilton for me since he does not have to go. This will be the first morning that I will not be with him when he wakes up but he will have a fun morning though. Please pray the appointment goes smoothly. This is the final step of the adoption. We have a swearing in ceremony on Tuesday- but that is just a formality I believe.

I need to go, Hamilton just threw the camera and we need to try to fix it. Frustrating!!! (:-))

(When I just spoke with the girls and Hamilton, he had also just burned his hand on a hot light bulb! He was definitely hurting and beginning to get very unhappy. I am sure the language barrier is one of the things leading to his "disruptive behavior" and he will be very obedient once this is no longer an issue. Dear :-))

Saturday Memories.....

Saturday, October 16, 2009

The TB test was negative!!! Yeah! That saved us a little money and hassle. If it comes back positive we have to pay for a chest x-ray and wait for those results. The clinic was packed today with people were waiting outside to go in. But we were able to walk right in and have a nurse look at Guang Guang’s arm. That was great!

He woke up not feeling great, just fussy and clingy. But after a little motrin, he was back to normal. We are guessing that he feels achy from the vaccines. After the clinic visit, we played at the pool. There were other children, and Hamilton loved playing with and beside them. He has great play skills, is very social and copies what the big kids are doing. There is a wall that some of the kids were swimming through. I sent a picture of him going through it. It took two of us to help him because he cannot swim yet.

He takes a nap every day, so after the pool we napped. Beth worked and I attempted to exercise. I did fine yesterday, but today felt dehydrated. Beth felt funny yesterday when working out. We are not sure if it is altitude, climate or what. Hohhot was in the mountains, so we knew we all felt funny because of the altitude.

We have met a lot of families today ad it is so much fun talking with them. Many are on their second or third adoption. One man is adopting his fourth child from China and has four biological children. The eight are between 2 and 13. He was here last November adopting their third. (So I guess one a year.) Another family has two from China and four biological. The families are from all over the country and traveled to various provinces. One family was able to visit their child’s orphanage and take photos and video of children being adopted by friends. The orphanage also had a dinner for them. I wish we were able to do that. But I am thankful to have met the foster mom. I have emailed her while here. Her daughter in law speaks English and she replied that her mom has cried for days. So, please keep her in your prayers. That was difficult to hear. However, a mom at the pool said that the children are not able to remain with the foster family forever, eventually they go back to the orphanage or boarding school. It has been nice to talk with other moms who have similar fears, excitement, etc feelings as I do. So far, I think I am the only mom with out a husband here. But I have met one dad with out a mom. Beth is a great substitute!!! And Laurie and Dad are huge helpers. One mother said she has had her closest bout of post-partem depression after adopting. She said she did not struggle after pregnancies, but she has older children also, and her daughter is non responsive. The fear is what have I done to my family and my other children? Will everyone adapt, bond, and become a family? Her children are on the trip. It is scary; however, it is all in God’s plan.

I keep reminding myself that. My fear is that Hamilton will turn our home topsy turvy, which I know he will, so it is legitimate. I just have to remind myself that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and take it one day at a time. I have forewarned that everything needs to be put up high, but I am not sure Bill and the kids fully understand. Beth and I find things missing every day. We look and typically find them in a “normal” spot. Hamilton likes to clean and play pretend. Today I lost my book. He had put it under the bedside table on top of a stack of magazines and books from the hotel. Beth found it finally and I never would have looked there. His hitting is better. I am learning to give him a few minutes to show me what he wants and to pick my battles. We also borrowed a stroller from one of the shops. He loves it, and there are less battles on the streets when he is contained and happy being pushed.

Several people have asked when I will start calling him Hamilton. Here we call him Hamilton occasionally. There are so many words he needs to learn. And the transition is so difficult, that I am hesitant to take his name away. He refers to himself as Guang Guang, which makes it more difficult. I have talked with several other families with older children. They all say that they will begin calling them by Chinese name plus American name once back home, for example we will call him Guang Hamilton and eventually drop the Guang or use it as a nick name. He says Guang Guang all of the time, so right now I am stuck using it also.

It has been much harder to blog here, because he wants attention. Right now he is taking a late nap. I feel like I am rambling because I have the time to fill you in on our days. Sorry if too much information. He is waking up now!

I miss you all! Myra, it was good to see your face this morning on Skype.

Love,

Kem

Late post for Friday -- Sorry! Just received :-)

Friday, October 16, 2009

We ate pizza last night- what a fantastic treat. Guang Guang ate three bowls of olive dip with crackers -- that was his dinner. I ordered him noodles, but that was not what he wanted!

Today was an easy day. We went to breakfast, the White Swan playroom and the pool. It was so relaxing.

After meeting, observing, and speaking to other adopting families here, I realize how blessed we are that Hamilton was with a loving foster family. The children from the orphanages are withdrawn and distant. They are also very little. Many have a distant stare in their eyes. I spoke with one mom from Wisconsin at the pool. She has two sons ages 9 and 11. Her daughter is so withdrawn. She is 18 months and is not sitting up. She is very clingy. I think the slapping, kicking, and throwing may be easier to deal with in the long run.

It seems to be mostly a language barrier problem more than anything else. Also he is 3!! But we are so fortunate, that he is responsive, happy, and giggly. He really is fun to watch. He is very neat and he cleans our room each day! Hamilton also observes everything and he knows where we keep everything in the room and will go through cleaning spells. It is very cute.

Beth and I heard about a church service here on Sunday. They have a mandarin service and an English service. One of the shop keepers told us about it and we are going to try to find it on Sunday morning.

Dad and Thomas went to a huge trade show today called the Canton Fair. Dad has many new ideas for his businesses! They had a great time while we swam.

Keep the prayers, emails, and we miss you all!