Were Home!

We arrived home safe and sound on February 13th to a wonderful welcome by friends and family at the airport. It was so good to see everyone. Jasmine is doing really well and is adjusting to her new home and new family remarkably. We had another birthday celebration a few days after we got home. Thank you everyone for such a warm homecoming and for all your visits, presents and best wishes. A special thanks to our neighbours who held a Welcome to the Neighbourhood party for Jasmine! We will sign off here and begin our new life as a new family!
Jim, Janice and Jasmine

On our way home!

We got discharged from hospital yesterday afternoon, headed back to the hotel  and the three of us slept for 6 hours. We slept until midnight and through supper. She had a snack and her medicine and played for an hour then she went back to sleep. She is still recovering and not eating much. We still have jet lag, so we have been up since then.  They say it takes a week to get over the long flight and that we lost a whole day so hopefully we will get back on track soon. No fever so we are hoping to get home today. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that we will get home this evening. Flight arrives at 7:24 pm. Dare we say it "we will see you soon" ?!?! 

Marriott Hotel

The hotel upgraded us to a nice suite on our arrival to Canada on Thursday and gave her some welcome to Canada gifts. How nice of them to do that for us

Too sick to enjoy our nice room

Jet lag and fever. Not a good combination 

First Birthday

Trying to play on my birthday but I am a little too sick.

We got a smile :)

Thanks to Health Promotion Aunties for the pretty ladybug and flowers. My first birthday gifts

The staff on paediatrics sang Happy Birthday and brought  gifts. We are receiving wonderful care here.

Photo album, piano and puppy dog from the hospital staff.

Of course we will call him Simon.

It ain't over til it's over..

Well we arrived in Toronto on Thursday night and we thought we had sent our last post. Jasmine had a fever when we arrived and we were all jet lagged on top of it. We spent all day Friday treating the fever. She also had a cough for the past few days. Flights were getting cancelled in Toronto due to the weather so we weren't sure if we were going to get home on Saturday.  On Saturday morning the fever had subsided and she seemed to be doing better and our flight was on time so we headed for the airport. Just as we got to the airport the flight was canceled and we got in a very long line to rebook. Took a look at Jasmine in the stroller and noticed she was shaking and her color was dark, lips purple. Figured she was spiking a temperature so gave her some Tylenol but she continued to shake and her color wasn't improving. No chance of getting a cab so we called an ambulance who took her to Etobicoke General. Spent the day in Emergency, thinking it was a flu. Stomach became swollen so they offered to keep her overnight. Kept pumping her full of Tylenol and the temperature kept going up. So we are still in hospital and she is now being treated for a Urinary Tract infection. Temperature still climbs up and she had a few more episodes of the shaking and color changes so we are waiting for the antibiotics to do their job. Not sure when we will get home. Thanks for all your comments on the blog. We just had a chance to read them since we couldn't access the site in China. Your comments and wishes overwhelm us and we are so thankful for the support of family and friends and very touched by the comments made by those who know us only a little and wish us the best. Her  first birthday today.  Happy Birthday precious daughter! At least we are together, still the best birthday and the best of all gifts. We love you and will take care of you always.

Day 12 Good Bye China

A very eventful day today. Jim went to Tiananamen Square and The Forbidden City. Today Jasmine became a Canadian citizen (yeah), and then we all went to our Good Bye China party. Jasmine loved watching the magician. Yulin gave them a scroll written with their Chinese name and we had a good bye cake. Tomorrow we leave for Canada around 7 pm and home on Saturday. What a journey this has been. A huge thanks and a hug to Maria and baby Ian for posting our updates and pictures. Forever grateful. We will see you all soon and want to thank you for following our blog and sharing this wonderful dream come true for us. Can't wait to read all of the comments we hear are posted to our blog. This story will be a part of Jasmines life book and you will all be part of her "Forever Family". We're bringing her home!

Feng Caiju 

Jasmine & Yulin

Peking Duck

Officially Canadian!

Chopsticks

Tiananmen  Square

Day 11 Shopping Day

Today Jasmine and Daddy stayed home for a rest and mommy went shopping with the group all day. First we shopped at the Silk Factory, amazing how they make silk from the silk worm. Bought some clothes for mommy and dresses for Jasmine. Then we shopped at the Pearl Market where we bought pearls for the babies. Chinese tradition is that you give a pearl to you daughter on her graduation day or her wedding day. I picked out the pearl and they made her a pendant. Oh and Dragon Lady bought a black pearl for mommy. Daddy enjoyed his day with his new daughter. Ate Subway, tastes pretty much like ours minus the veggies which we don't eat when we go out. The lower levels of the Pearl Market are all local venders so you have to haggle for a good price or you will be totally ripped off so Dragon Lady haggled and haggled and bought a bunch of stuff. These markets are quite the experience. Tomorrow mommy stays in with Jasmine and Daddy gets out to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City which is another 3 hour walk in the cold.

Pearl Market

Jasmines Pearl

New Dress

Silk worm cocoons

The silk is spun and stretched

Silk worms

Day 10 The Summer Palace

We spent a good two hours walking outside at The Summer Palace. This is a huge area of temples and courtyards and a man made lake which the Emperor used as a retreat. His wife the Dragon Lady was all about her luxuries and loved to spend the Emperors money so all the husbands have been calling their wives Dragon Lady since yesterday because we have all been spending too much money in the markets. It was so cold, had to take a hot shower when we got back to warm up and a cup of Tetley(brought from home). Jasmine slept in the stroller for most of the walk. Some of the older kids who were living in the orphanages loved running around and had a lot of fun with the group. I am not sure if they went on outings before so the smiling and the laughing was overwhelming to us and they didn't mind the cold at all.  We have noticed that all the children are easy going and pretty tolerant of everything we are doing. When we go to the restaurants to eat they all sit up in their chairs and eat with us, and boy can they eat! Sometimes we hear someone (no not the parents haha) having a meltdown, but it is usually when we are on a long bus ride or in the busy markets. Jasmine was hard to settle during the night. She has 7 teeth and cutting more. We think the bit of routine we had established in Nanchang has been disrupted with all the touring and she never gets to finish her naps because we keep getting on and off the bus. We are looking forward now to coming home.

Everything decorated for Chinese New Year throughout the city and our hotel

The Summer Palace

Day 9 The Great Wall

Busy day today, we were out for 7 hours. First we went to the Jade Factory and then to The Great Wall. It was cold. We bundled her up and Jim was able to climb quite a ways up with her. I couldn't go as far. Her feet were chilly but otherwise she was warm and loved it. It is really slippery coming down and the steps are all various heights and widths. Not made for size 10 shoes so he had to take his time. Families can purchase love locks and have them engraved to attach to the chain anywhere on the wall as you climb. After that we went for lunch, drank some rice wine (that stuff is potent), they should have given us that on the wall, we would never have been cold and then to The Cloisonné Factory. On the drive back we saw the Olympic grounds and the famous birds nest where China hosted the games opening ceremony. That is really something. She is all tired out now and gone to sleep. She is doing really well with us and she calls me Ma and is also the Chinese word for mom. She seems to love sticky rice and steamed eggs which our guide ordered for the kids lunch. All the children are doing well with their new families. A couple of them were sick and needed antibiotics. They are all different ages. Some are older  (5 years) but I think Jasmine is the youngest and there are just as many boys as girls. Another outing tomorrow!

Buying Jade

Ship made of Jade

Day 8 Beijing

Citizenship paperwork with Yulin

Arrived in Beijing late last night. Nanchang airport was easy, no problem  getting her through security but she was wild on the plane, she never stopped singing out to people and dancing and bouncing around in my arms, being silly the whole way. I think she was overstimulated. She slept for an hour on the bus to the hotel then she was up for the night. Not good flying late when it's bedtime. Also new crib, just a plywood board covered in fabric for a mattress so it was different to her. Had to build it up with blankets. We ended up swinging her in the blanket to get her to sleep. Had to meet Yulin at 10 to do our paperwork for the Canadian Embassy to get citizenship before we enter Canada so very little rest last night. The other families were delayed last night until 3 am and have no luggage. I thought we had a rough night. So we have been sharing diapers and clothes today. All the babies are tired today. We both have chest congestion and are not feeling well.  Had to start the antibiotics we brought. Some families went to the Beijing Zoo but it is cold and Yulin said to wear everything you brought, so we decided to skip the zoo. we go to The Great Wall tomorrow and we don't want to miss that. Instead we went to the grocery store and to buy a stroller, the hotel lent us one in Nanchang but not here so we haggled a better price and bought it. Jasmines referral information says she was in a swing bed so in Nanchang we tried rocking her in our arms but she wants to lie flat and spread her arms out to the sides so we found the stroller settled her better. Wish we had it last night.  After the store today we went to McDonalds for fries. Good to eat something that tastes like home!

Day 7 Leaving Nanchang

Our last play date

Gonna miss Katie

Bye bye Nanchang

Mary taking us to airport

Well this is our last day in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Feels sort of sad taking her away from her home province. Really smoggy here today and our throats are sore so we are staying inside. We leave at 7:30pm for Beijing. Her first flight. She even has an aeroplan card in her name. We're just waiting on our guide to bring us her Chinese passport so she can leave with us. Not likely we're leaving her behind anyway! The worst part about leaving is that we have to say goodbye to the other families we met here who have been so helpful and supportive, especially our New York friends Janine, cathy and baby Katie. We will try to keep Jasmine and  Katie connected.  This plane ride will be a test run for the long flight back to Canada next week. We arrive in Beijing tonight around 10 pm so we are hoping her sleep is not too disturbed. We have been really lucky so far, she is making this adjustment easy on us. Usually around day 2 we have been told to expect her to have an unconsolable crying episode but we have had her five days now and so far no meltdown. I guess her age helps. We feel like we had her forever, and when we think about the times we wanted to quit but something was driving us on we believe that someone was her. She must have been our destiny! Beijing tomorrow.

Day 6 The People's Park and shopping

Our forever family spot

The Peoples Park

Her Chinese name (Feng Caiju) written in water by a man in the park

We went out without the snow suit again. When we went to the store
to buy porcelain and I was inside the store, a lady gave Jim a chair to sit down. He thought she was being kind so he sat down and then she told him off in Chinese while she pointed to the sleepers. Bound to happen. Too funny!

Walmart

Our laundry came back in this basket all folded, pressed and in these plastic bags

I could get used to this laundry service

Jasmine likes the laundry service too!

We have come a long way in 4 days. This is the first time she fell asleep in my arms without crying and the first time she held my finger to go to sleep

We had a lovely walk in the park, the park is huge. People here know how to relax and most women retire at 40, sounds good to me. So many people were doing Tai Chi, fan dancing, playing Mahjong or singing. Lots of kids around since they are on winter break for a month. We talked to the locals and Jasmine loved all the people. Next we went to buy porcelain. Nanchang is known for its porcelain. We bought her a porcelain dragon, she was born in the year of the dragon, a couple of tea sets and porcelain writing pens. Then we went to Walmart. Holy cow! Walmart is very busy, got juice, more formula and another snickers bar! I don' know which they had more of, customers or stuff! Mary brought us Jasmine's birth certificate in the afternoon and her medical records. We found out that she was the only child in her foster home. Foster families get paid about 100 yuan for fostering, roughly 17 dollars a month. We won't get to go to Fengcheng to meet the foster family or go to the orphanage. We took a bunch of pictures this evening in the hotel lobby at the spot where we received her on Monday, where we became her forever family.