A Daddy's Thoughts....

Hello outside world!

Yes, Baba does exist….. he just doesn’t get to be on the computer because Mama posts at night. So he gets to read his latest Steven King novel and sleeeeeep! Lord knows I need it!

So here it is… I played it smart and hopped onto the laptop as soon as we walked into the room so Ohilda couldn’t absorb it again for the evening, and I told her it’s MINE for an hour and to go away! HA! No just kidding… but I did say I could use the time to say a few things to the Babas who will be coming to this beautiful country of China.

I don’t know how many of you future Baba’s go through our postings each day, so I’m gonna condense for you the things we’ve done and the things to expect. So Mamas out there go get your future Babas and tell em to read this post!! Because I’ve got some great tips for you!

But first of all, I just want to say that through all the little things that seem to drive me crazy.. ( especially the ‘statues’, (explanation coming soon ).. ask my mother in law! ) nothing compares to seeing that beautiful little girl whose pictures you’ve been looking at, and who’s videos you’ve been catching glimpses of for a year or more. When Anna Grace walked into the hallway as we were waiting for the elevator to open, my heart actually leaped! For a split second the world didn’t exist and my little girl and I were standing alone right there! She…. Is… ADORABLE!!

And her little giggle… man, I’m telling you, I’m going to be beating boys off of her with a stick! And even though she’s not spoken a word of English to me I’ve feel I’ve been with her from the day she was born. My life with her and the rest of my kids is going to be the reason God placed me here on this earth. But the one I miss the most is Amanda…. My little muttonhead. She’s my baby and I miss our true conversations and our wrestling matches. Amanda I’ll see you soon!! Give AJ a kiss for me!!

VIDEO CAMERAS AT THE READY!

Ok guys, like I said, here’s some tips for all of you husbands out there who don’t keep up with all the things you’ve been watching your wives run all over the place for!! She’s got all that under control, your job is to take video! DON’T MISS A THING! The wife will kill you! Ok maybe not, (because I’m still alive), and yet I must have had 5 times that something awesome we walked into that if I had the video camera at the ready would have been so cool, and oops! Missed again! We bought one of these mini DVD recorders that record directly onto the disks… very cool. BUT!!! I learned that from the time you power up the DVD player and get it ready for actually recording is about 5 secs. After those 5 seconds, your wife will be saying…” Did you get it ? Did you get it ? “ YIKES!!! And there’s nothing worse than saying…” Ummm… sort of…”, because she knows you missed it, and the recorder will only get the look on your wife’s face when you say that! Yes, have your video recorders fully charged and at the ready, like a Marine with his sword at his side, ready to snap to attention!

COFFEE??

If you drink coffee like I drink coffee (Most people have blood running through their veins, I have Maxwell House coffee) then do yourself a favor…. Bring a BIG COFFEE MUG!! A travel mug is best! Because here they serve you a coffee in a thimble! It’s a cup that’s about the size of a Nyquil medicine cup! GULP! It’s gone! ARGH!! This is my second time here, and it’s the second coffee cup I’ve bought… and it’s a beauty!! So if you’re a coffee drinker like me, bring a big travel mug! Just don’t fill it before the airport…. The FAA will absorb that too!


OUR GOTCHA DAY

Our “Gotcha Day” was awesome. Each time God played his silly tricks on us and had us see the kids as soon as we walked into the buildings (And yes… my video was at the ready… I didn’t miss a thing). But the pictures you’ve been seeing and the videos you’ve been getting pieces of are NOTHING compared to this moment. Anna Grace was so quiet and cautious…. And deep inside you know its going to be so hard for such a pretty little girl to… in a flash, realize her whole world is going to change, and the people she’s grown up with and has been intimate with are gone, and your heart breaks. But I can tell you guys with every fiber of my being that when she comes around and you watch that little China flower open before you, and she starts to see you as Mommy and Daddy, oh man! And when you take her back to your room and actually get her to fall asleep, and you’re looking at this little girl who you’ve flown halfway around the world is right here with you, sleeping peacefully, you’ll just stare and stare and stare because you just can’t believe that she’s yours! Every crazy thing you’ve been through is so worth this one moment. For this trip it was doubly spectacular, because I have my first adopted son, Kai, here also. So they were sleeping side by side… and I thought my heart was gonna burst!

THE STATUES!!

This is the one thing that is so eerie, but if I didn’t give you guys a warning, you’d probably hunt me down and shoot me. As you walk around town, you’re going to notice that EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT YOU! “ Is it my hair? Is my hat on straight? Did I leave the room WITHOUT MY PANTS?? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?? “, you wanna scream! My mother in law and I have have been working on this subject very hard, just for you guys, and we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the STROLLERS!! Yes, its not the kids, it’s the strollers! We had one person ask us why these kids are riding in these things and not walking! Hmmmm….. maybe because THEY’RE BABIES!! Babies that weigh a TON in the hot humid weather after about 10 minutes! HA HA! But this has nothing to do with the statues.

The statues (my mom in law and I made this up… it fits) are the older women who will stand there and stare at you and your kid. These older Chinese women will stand there… not for a few minutes, but FOREVER!! And they will stare and stare and stare until they build up the ability to speak to you in Chinese, in which you probably won’t be able to answer. Don’t be intimidated! She just needs to know how is it you and this child are together!! So here’s a tip!!! Ask your guide how to say the word "ADOPTED"!! It’s … well… I can’t spell it in Chinese, but the word sounds like you stepped on a cat’s tail.. lin-MEOW!! So just say “ LINMEOW! BABA! MAMA! LINMEOW!! BABA!! ME BABA!! Please spare my life and don’t attack me! “ So don’t panic when the statues arrive! My wife says they call them the clothes police…. There’s no way around them except to stay in your room. And you can’t do that!

I had a moment I’d like to share with you. My Mom In Law wanted to shop for fabric for my sis in law here in Hefei, so off we went out into the public, to an area that’s like a outdoor mall. Open shops everywhere, no cars driving through… very nice shopping area. But I digress. Anyways, here we are at this fabric shop, and my wife AND my mom in law AND my guide go in and shop, leaving me outside with the kids AND the dang strollers from hell....All by myself. After 2 minutes, I could see them from a mile away, the statues arriving. The next thing I know I have 15 ( yes… 15! ) statues standing round me. And not one of them was speaking to me…. Just STARING at the kids and me!

All of a sudden, someone flipped a switch, and all 15 were arguing with me in Chinese, and I had not a clue what they were saying! As it was picking up momentum, a middle-aged well dressed man tapped me on the shoulder and said in broken English “Are they twins?” See, here in China, twins are very good luck, and Kai and AnnaGrace look so much alike! So I said “ No no no….. he’s from Yiwu, she’s Hefei! “ “Ahhhhhhh… aha hah hah ahha….” And that ended it. The crowds dissipated and I was breathing again. But you want to talk about one panicked American there!

Well I have to wrap this up, my wife wants the laptop AGAIN….. sheesh! I hope I was able to help you guys out a little bit anyways! There’s so much more, but those are the ones that came that I felt you’d notice right away! Oh one more thing! Don’t be standing alone with your kids and your mother in law….. one set of statues thought we were husband and wife, and I thought the wrath of God was coming our way until they understood she was the baby’s PO-PO!! HAHAHAHA!

Take care and God bless all of you who do God’s work each and everyday!! Because adoption is the most beautiful act God ever created just for us!!

Kai’s, AJ’s, Amanda’s, Adam’s, Tito’s, Nicole’s and now.. ANNA GRACE’S BABA!!


Scott