Final Visit

Today was a very emotional day. It started off with our first day of actually seeing the sky. Yesterday's rain cleared off the smog, so it was a nice treat for the final day. We spent the morning playing with the kids and putting our handprints on the wall. It all came together beautifully. We worked through lunch again, so got to spend a lot of time with the kids.

We had a birthday party for the kids in the afternoon. We gave them gift bags and had the most beautiful cakes you have ever seen. Unfortunately they looked better than they tasted. Not that they were bad, but I think we were all hoping for a little taste of home. Just 3 more days!

I thought I was going to be able to hold it all together today when we left, until I saw the nannies crying. I didn't expect that at all, so I lost it. It was so difficult to leave them behind, but know that we shared many smiles and laughs together. Who knows, maybe I'll be back...

Tomorrow we have a 5 hour bus ride back to Shenyang and then we fly back to Beijing. We will do some touring there on Saturday, so I will try and post that night. So long from Chaoyang!

Day 4....

Sorry Mike, but I lost my heart today! I snuggled with the sweetest little guy today, and he just hangs on for dear life. He has an unrepaired palate, but just came out of the hospital for an ear infection. He whimpers in pain quite often and my motherly instincts kicked in. If I sat down at all he would cry loudly, so of course, I gave him what he wanted. My back is paying for it now!

Today we did not leave the orphanage at all, as we wanted to work on painting through lunch. You can see the progress we made from yesterday and it is beautiful. The nannies and director love it, and keep pointing out new places to paint. We were to have potatoes for lunch, but instead they fixed us a huge spread! They grow all their own veggies at the orphanage, as well as have chickens and pigs. Also, one of our team performed a magic show. They brought in some of the elderly from another building on the grounds and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The film crew and newspaper journalists were here again today. We actually each received a newspaper from the day before where we were on the front page. The headlines read "Blue eyes help, black eyes smile." We had to chuckle, as only about 6 of the 21 of us actually have blue eyes. But hey, the message was great. The article mentions how we play like big kids! We were also on the 10:00 news last night and received quite a bit of coverage.

Speaking of last night, we went back to the folk dance and joined in this time. We bought fans from the gentleman from the night before and just jumped in with the group. The local people loved it and we gathered quite a crowd afterwards. So along with my sore back, my calves are feeling it.

Check out this picture of the baby diapers. They are made out of a thin cotton that they tie around the waist. It makes for a quick change, but not much barrier for when you're holding the babies!


We were thankful for the rain today as it cleared the air up a bit. Just one more day left here and our time is done. At least for now....

Day 3 at the orphanage

What a busy day we had today. We started off by meeting the kids at a local amusement park. Definitely not Disneyland! I found out the older child I've been hanging out with is not a boy afterall, but a girl. Oops! She found me as soon as I got off the bus and she grabbed my hand, dragging me towards all of the rides. She had such a good time. We were also quite the show there for the locals, gathering a lot of attention (not to mention the news crew there). The nannies brought snacks of leechy nuts, bananas and mangoes. Hmmm....

We spent the afternoon at the orphanage, again, followed by news cameras. We the afternoon doing crafts and playing with the kids. The teens are doing some wonderful artwork on the walls to brighten the place up. Late in the afternoon I spent time in the nurseries with the children who don't seem to get much time out of their cribs. It was tough, but such a blessing to be able to bring a smile to their faces of hear them laugh out loud. I got video of each child so that I never forget them.

Last night we had a wonderful experience on the streets watching a local folk dance. There were probably 50 dancers ranging from 50-70+ dancing to live music for about an hour. Afterwards we clapped enthusiastically for them, so then they gathered around us for quite some time asking our guide questions. It was wonderful to interact with the locals like that. When we complimented the horn player, he went and got his horn and played an encore just for us while an elderly man and woman danced. They went on for around another 10 minutes. Not easily done in this heat and humidity, thrown in with a bit of smog.

This was an exhausting but exhilerating day. Hopefully my high energy level lasts a couple more days!

Orphanage Day Two

We were unable to post yesterday, so I will try and get you up to date. Also, there are two links on this page that you can view pictures on. Click on the Chaoyang trip link and the other Crebbin family link to read other entries and photos.

Yesterday was a great visit. We were greeted by the kids anxiously awaiting our arrival outside. We spent the morning on the grounds playing with the parachute and on some playground equipment. This boy of around 8 grabbed my hand and had the biggest grin on his face. We had played together the previous day. He seems to have CP and also gets picked on by some of the other children. From his enthusiasm I am thinking he doesn't spend much time outside. Despite the heat and humidity, everyone had a lot of fun. The newspaper was there too taking pictures, so we might be in the local paper today. Tomorrow, when the air conditioners we bought are delivered, the local TV station is supposed to be here. Wow, we'll be famous!

Yesterday afternoon I spent snuggling with a boy who is probably around 2 and spends most of his time in the crib. He also seems to have CP. I would hold him and make these kissing noises which would make him crack up laughing. I will try and post some pictures of me with these boys, but I'm using someone else's photos since mine aren't downloaded to this computer.

To those that have asked, yes, we are standing in the bathroom stalls in the previous photos. We were cracking up laughing and the Chinese women didn't know what to think of us!

First Day Orphanage

Hey all, we made it to Chaoyang safely, but tiredly. We are unable to view the blog, but can post, so forgive me if it doesn't look right on your end.

Today was our first visit to the orphanage. In the morning we mainly got a tour of the building and hung out with the kids. I won't go into detail now, but at times it was tough to hold the tears back. We left for a lunch break and rest, then came back for an afternoon visit. This felt better because we were able to have more access to the kids, out of their cribs and rooms. We spent around 3 hours just playing with them. It was such a joy to see them laugh and smile. They especially liked to have pictures taken of them.

I am going to try and post a couple pictures, so hopefully it works. I appreciate all the prayers that have been going out. Please keep it up!
From China with love,
Toni

Signing out....

I'm getting ready to head off to Oregon today, as I have a 7am flight tomorrow morning to SF, then on to Beijing! My sister in law will meet me in Portland, and we'll meet up with the rest of the team in SF. Please keep us in your prayers....pray for the heat and humidity to not be too miserable, team unity, travel safety, and that our time with the children and nannies is meaningful.

I am not taking my computer, but I will try and post here if I get the chance. Our team leader, Liz, will be keeping a blog of our journey, so if you want to follow along, you can do so at http://visitingorphanschaoyang.blospot.com/

God bless

4th of July

We had a great time celebrating the 4th! We met up with Grandma and Papa at a park in Everett. We also went to the fireworks show back home. We were smart and brought earplugs for Jaelyn. The only thing that would've made it better is if Kellen had been there. He'll be home from Mexico on Saturday. Enjoy the slideshow.