Happy 18th birthday

So much could be said,
so many plans to be laid.

As in the past we said,
Do not wear plaid!

Our wish for you as you stand at this new frontier,
is that you make the most of life, knowing there will be tears.

Tears from us for you,
Tears from you for who knows, you?

Our blessings go with you, throughout your life,
As we have been blessed in our own lives.

One day our journey will end in this plane.
Yours will go on beyond in to a future we do not see.

Have courage, knowing you were loved,
turn and love others.

Someday, perhaps you will say to a child of yours,
something like this.

Remember.

Fourth down

Our dear son, Jie Jun:

Four years ago today  you joined our family of five making us a family of six.

The blog title of that day was titled Gotcha Day - a day like no other.  While that was true our adventures together since them have also had like moments.

Our hope is that your life is filled with many such days.  We hope that you will take full advantage of opportunities laid before you, while keeping true to your own ideals of family, truth, honor and duty.

We are humbled to have had the opportunity to parent you, to love you, to be a part of your life, to hopefully instill in you values to last a lifetime.

Cherish your youth, enjoy life.

May you always find happiness, though sorrows may come.

Trust God.

First weeks of Family

When I first came to my family in America, I had trouble seeing very far without squinting.  Things at a distance were fuzzy, so I squinted a lot.  This is how the world may have looked to me.

Before I left China, Mama made an appointment for me to see an eye doctor.  While my world was not black and white, but in color, glasses gave me clarity, unknown to me in China for a long time.  Sporting goofy glasses with Dad and my new brother, Yu-Hsuan.

Then came a day for dressing up, family pictures.  Early morning, we went to a large building with loud music, some people on a stage in the front playing instruments and singing.  Part of the time the people around me, including my family sang songs from words on a paper or on screens on the wall.

This lasted about an hour and afterward, Mom and I rode in Mom's Blazer home.  We went one way while Dad, Tian, Yu-Hsuan and Star went another as we wondered who would get home first.  Mom and I turned the corner near the house and saw Dad's car coming from the opposite direction.  Dad turned into our street first but we were close behind.

Mom and the kids

The kids and Dad (who does not look too good)

King of my hill

My family, all six of us!

Goodbye China - Hello America

Shopping Sunday morning after breakfast in an up scale mall in Beijing we ran across this item.  Tian is fussing - come on Dad, take the picture.  My camera had been set on movie style so changing it quickly was not immediately recognized as needed doing.  Since the video had grumbling and less than happy talk on it, visitors will just have to imagine and take the photographic images instead.

So while you can be dissed in Guangzhou's dealership - 

no pictures (inside) one can take a picture of a toy model without grief.

Chinese architecture always amazing

Building inside of building through glass in lower left corner

Lived in look, our room at Poly Plaza Hotel

Scenes in route to airport

Journey to America

Waiting to depart Beijing for Dulles (Washington) flight of 13.5 hours

First picture of the 4 children together 

Tian, Jiejun, Yu-Hsuan, Star

passed out Tian, happy brothers, shy Star

HOME - in my new bedroom

FAMILY - mine

This concludes the travel portion of our adoption of Jiejun.  The blog will continue with life in the USA in his new family in the weeks and months ahead. 

Beijing - Great Wall

Driving from Forbidden City toward lunch and Great Wall, we passed this structure, named Dragon's Head, one of five buildings built to resemble a dragon for the 2008 Olympics.

Jade boat, carved from a single piece of jade

yours for only $61,000.

Shell of complex started as a Disney like park

ran out of money to build on unrealistic projections of amount of business that would be generated - too far from much of anything else.

Station on our climb of the Great Wall

for those who are often interested in where they are

One of the youngsters climbing with us (23 yo)

Two guys who had cycled to the Great Wall from Beijing

55 km to the east

Not making it to the top due to time constraints

we got this far

Surrounding scenes taken with telephoto

Climbing down

Interesting signs

Fine time to be questioning one's sanity

Parting shot at dusk

The cube from the 2008 Olympics

opening ceremonies inside

Bird's Nest and Cube

The Bird's Nest

Not quick enough - bus got in the way

Street scenes near Olympic site

Thus ended our tour of Beijing sites.  That evening we went out with a couple from California we had met that morning.  They would be adopting their child the next day.  Of the group of six, two boys and four girls would soon make America home ranging in age from 10 months to Jiejun at 12 years, 3 months.

We went to a place called Dough something, which was a noodle place inside a mall having a face lift about two blocks from our hotel.  We could not speak Chinese nor they English, other than Jiejun talking a mile a minute to them, so we ended up pointing at pictures and hoping for the best.

I selected something that looked like meat, noodles and rice and some sort of green stuff.  Excellent choice - chicken on rice with noodles and some sort of green stuff that appeared to be something like spinach, just different but good.  There was also a small dish of pickled something that was quite tasty along with a cola drink.  Tian and Jiejun got something similar best I could tell, with the three of us eating for about $7.