We are the Rylands Family: Tom, Angie, Colin, Connor, Cameron, Cooper and Tommy. This blog chronicles our journey of adoption. Our adopted sons are from Shenyang, Wuhan, Chongqing and Changsha, China. Join us as we trust God and see what He has in store.....
It was short and sweet, a little less formal than the one for Connor in Chongqing.
Afterwards, we were taken to the Orphanage where Cooper has lived.
It is on the 13th floor of a large highrise building.
We arrived upstairs where we saw a reception area
The staff had asked if I was willing to interview some children and try to find families for them
Of course, I was happy to agree.
I will work on a blog post for these children soon, but in the meantime, here are a few snapshots. Get ready, these kids were CUTE!
TOLD YOU!
After about an hour of interviewing and videotaping the children on their list, we saw Cooper's room.
Then once we were ready to leave, we were told that we were being invited to a special luncheon by the Director of the Changsha Civil Affairs Bureau. He had called ahead to ensure that he was able to meet Cooper's family.
You see, our little rock star? Apparently, quite a favorite in Changsha. You should have seen the way everyone scurried about as soon as the Director's chauffered towncar came on the grounds.
We joined them for lunch and half expected a TV crew to come barreling in!
He presented Cooper with a special gift that was purchased by his wife, specifically for Cooper.
It was an officially certified jade necklace with his birth animal (sheep) engraved on it.
Not sure I am ever going to get it off his body!
Next, and much to my surprise, the Director presented a gift to me.
Apparently, it is from a famous and very old kiln in Changsha.
It was very nice and thoughtful.
Then there was the feast...
This was just the starting line up...
The poor ladies in the kitchen were hoppin', let me tell ya! They worked so hard and the food was so good that I ran back there on the way out to say thank you!
We sat for well over an hour while folks around the table were talking and toasting, toasting and eating, and toasting some more. I mean it was a sight to behold!
Once all the fanfare was finally over, we walked out and loaded up the van. As we were driving away, the Director of the Orphanage was crying. She looked so very sad to see him leave!
It was heartbreaking.
He is a wonderfully sweet little child, especially for one so very pampered. Time will tell what sort of challenges we will face, but today was a special day for him and I am grateful that he was loved so much. The Chinese culture approaches "parenting" in a very different way than most Americans, but in their way, they were showering him with affection.
I pray that each of our sons will feel just as loved and treasured by us as Cooper did today.
Thanks to all the people who have been faithfully praying for our family during this time.
It is making a difference and we are most appreciative!
What a pleasant surprise! We just received three short videos of our sweetie pie!
(Note: if you receive these blog updates via email, you will have to log onto the internet and go to the blog to see these videos. It won't work from your email.)
Here he is introducing himself, telling his age and reading a story.
Here he is jumping rope. Ok, maybe he is not the master rope jumper that his big brother Cameron is, but he gives it his best effort!
Here he shows off his bed-making abilities and then asks if he did a good job! Wait till you see his little "ta-da"! move at the end...
Just love that God has provided a little glimpse into his life. We were told that he did receive our note and pictures and that he was very excited. The orphanage is not willing to arrange for us to skype with him, but maybe later when we are closer to travel.
Ok, the cooing can commence. Go ahead, you know you want to...
We had the best visit with the orphanage staff today in Wuhan. Cameron was quite a celebrity.
So many things happened that I am not sure I can even remember them all, but I will try to share the highlights.
When we first arrived, the Nannies began asking why our son was not dressed well. Ok, it was in the 50s, he had on jeans and a warm fleece jacket. I wasn't even wearing a coat and I am always cold.
Anyway, the head nanny even lifted his pants leg right in front of me to see if he had a pair of long johns under his jeans. Seeing none, she immediately sent someone to go get him a Coat! LOL Little did I know at the time that they do not have heat in most of the buildings, so they always dress in layers. The children that I saw in class were still dressed for the cold outdoors even though they were in their classrooms. Coats buttoned up and all.
Almost immediately after our arrival, Cameron's best friend came RUNNING across the court to see his buddy. I didn't even have time to get the video camera ready. LOL
They never left one another's side the entire time we were there.
Trevor seeing his family for the first time in his new photo album
A former teacher saying hello to Cameron and hearing about his friend coming home as well.
Have we seen these Angry Birds before? Hmmm....
What makes this reunion even more sweet is that this beautiful boy now has a family of his own! And not just any family.... a family that just happens to live in OUR TOWN!! And they are dear friends of ours! That's right. Cameron and Trevor will see one another again soon. Well, not soon enough for Trevor's new Mom & Dad, but soon. We suspect that they will be able to bring him home in around 8-9 months if all goes well.
I had the privilege of delivering a care package to sweet Trevor and seeing his face light up as he looked at his new family- complete with a Mom and Dad, little brother & sister, and four wonderful dogs!
In addition, I was able to see another dear friend's child- Sweet Jenny.
She is super pretty and smart! She, too, is coming home to Charleston soon. We are all so blessed that the Lord orchestrated this very unusual collection of children to come "home" together.
Now if all I was able to do today was to allow Cameron one last visit with his friend, or to deliver care packages to these two children waiting to come home to Charleston, the whole day would have been a huge success.
But, there was so much more to this trip. We were able to get the staff to allow me to meet and spend time with three other children who are paper-ready and waiting for their families to find them.
Each one of these children is so special and I would love to speak to anyone who might want more information about them. I also have video clips of these three that I would love to share with an interested family.
First, there is "Matthew". Matthew is 10 years old. I did not get to spend as much time with him as he had to head back to class shortly after our arrival, but he was so handsome and polite.
Next we met "Willow". This girl made my day! Her smile was out of this world. Seriously, she was too precious for words. She wants a family so badly. The Nannies told her that I was there to help find her a "Mama and Baba" of her own.
Lastly, we met this amazing spitfire- "Stewart"
Stewart is 5 years old and beyond cute! The first thing he did when he ran into the room was lay a big ol' kiss right on my cheek! His hug was so precious. He is smart (wait till you see his Video!!) and affectionate.
A little lipstick mishap...
I have a video of him riding his bike also.
It was such an honor to be able to meet these children and I pray that my visit will somehow help their "forever families" find them soon!
Today we met our guide and headed out to the Shenyang Orphanage where Colin has spent the last few years. We had several "to dos" for the day. First and foremost, we wanted to see where Colin has lived and meet his caregivers. We also wanted to deliver a special gift to a little girl who's new parents are waiting for her in the states. Last, but certainly not least, we wanted to see if we could get any updated information on two boys who are on the shared list from this orphanage. I am pleased to say that we accomplished all of this and much more!
We were there at the SWI for about 3-4 hours today. We received such an amazing welcome. Ms. Tan, the assistant Director was so accommodating and warm. We arrived at lunchtime so we went to the "cantine" first and enjoyed some large dumplings with beef and carrot, steamed eggplant & garlic, and corn porridge. My critique? (For what that could possibly be worth?) The dumplings were delicious. I especially like the soy sauce/garlic combo they use as a dip. The porridge was pretty tasteless. The eggplant was served cold, so I did not care for it, but Tom loved it. Colin was right at home and had 5-- count them--5 dumplings (these were big people! I ate one). For a thin boy, he has a massive appetite! It was great to see him eating so well.
Just as we were getting ready to return our dirty trays, George, our guide told us to stay put. He indicated that the Chef was preparing something special that he wanted to share with us. Huh? We just ate! So, we sat there for a bit and then the chef and his assistant emerged and set up a special table with about 8-10 chairs.
So, apparently, as the details emerged, there were two distinct reasons for this "celebration". The sous chef that I mentioned before was a student that had finished high school but had not been adopted in time. He wants to be a great chef. So, the orphanage staff was working with him to teach him to cook. There were two TV cameras there (I think they had been there for 7 days and this was their last day). This special dinner was a fun way to conclude their time. They were hosting a contest of sorts. The two prepared 4 dishes. The Directors of the Orphanage and our family were to be judges and taste each dish. We were told to guess which chef, teacher or student, had prepared each dish and which we liked the best. Before we began, the chef gave a moving speech about Colin and how happy they were that he was going to have this opportunity of a better life. George translated each portion for us. The staff were so warm and obviously loved him and were happy for him. Here is a short video clip of this exchange...
The gentleman speaking English is George, our guide for this week in Shenyang. I believe the older "chef" may be a TV anchor. George referred to him as "the anchor".
After this time in the dining hall, we were escorted to Colin's dorm and met the lady who was in charge of all the "older children" in that dorm. She has worked there for 25 years she told us, although Tom teased her that she must have started at age 5 because she was so young. We got to see his old room, meet his roommate, and tour the classroom and lounge areas. We saw the trees, swing and piano that we had seen in update pictures received earlier.
Colin in his dorm room
Colin's bunk
Colin with his roommate
Most special was the album of older photos and written updates that the dorm director gave us. It was a treasure to my Mother's heart to see his growth and to see such a happy boy. All his friends made posters for him with good-bye messages and hand prints. They will be great to decorate his very plain (at the moment) room at home.
On the right, the woman who was in charge of the dorm. She was very nice!
Here he is with several of his friends...
His caregivers were obviously fond of him.
After we left the dorm, my video camera died. UGH! So, I had to think fast. I may never have the opportunity to come here again and I promised updated photos to a mom who was waiting for a little girl from Colin's orphanage. So, we went to Ms. Tan's office and Colin charged the camera on her computer while we talked about these other shared list kids.
I was able to get enough "juice" for the camera to get these pics. Here I am delivering some special items for a sweet little one. She was too precious! Ya'll, when I opened her envelope for her, there was a beautiful card with photos of her family. When we opened the card, she said, "Mama, Papa, and whatever passes for "sisters" in Chinese! LOL George was able to get her to do it again so that we could get video of this sweetheart for her parents to be.
Delivering a very special package to this sweetie from her waiting parents
Lastly, we sought out two special boys who have been waiting for families. One has Microtia (deformed ears and potential hearing loss). He was born in 2005. Ms. Tan allowed us to meet him and take photos so that we might find him a family. I have to say this little boy was so adorable. The teachers said he wanted to be a chef! He was playing chef for us when we visited and he and Tommy played in the pretend restaurant.
This next little one has fused fingers and some deformity of the feet. He was born in 2007. It appeared to my very untrained eyes, that all his knuckles and joints were in tact. So far as I know, he would need surgery to correct the feet and hands, but his special needs seemed very manageable and more than likely, completely correctible. He was full of energy and seemed happy to play with his friends. He was friendly and greeted us immediately when we entered the room.
These are both beautiful little boys who had smiles that lit up the room! Please join me in praying for them and in advocating for them to find loving families who will cheer them on.
I think has been my favorite day of the trip yet. (Aside from the actual adoption being completed). It was so nice being able to see a bit of our son's history and to see so clearly that he was loved and cared for by the staff there. He was one of the lucky ones. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this very special young man.
Tomorrow we will receive all of the final paperwork translated into English and then we set out to see more of this big city. We hope to see the location where Colin was found as an infant, go to see the political statues and then the Imperial Palace in the afternoon. More later friends! God Bless,
