The Johnson Family Blog

She is sleeping in a bed

2008-05-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Thought I would update you all with some very exciting stuff. This weekend she started sleeping in her own bed. She wanted to sleep in her bed for nap. So we let her. At night she didn't want to. Tom and I decided to push it the next day and see what happened. After a couple whines she went right to sleep. Yippee!!! We have our family room back. The night terrors are getting less as well. She had one the first night she slept in a bed. Last night she slept through. She seems really to be adjusting really well.
Her speech is doing really well. She is starting to use two and three word sentences in English. She can sing itsy bitsy spider, Jesus loves me and You are my sunshine. She says I love you, bye bye, this way, potty, eat, victoria did it:), mine:), and the favorite word of a two year old NO!!!:).
We are all doing well and I can actually go out with the three of them with some normalcy. We went to the zoo which she liked but it was so hot we wilted. Then my tropic girl had to deal with 50 degree weather after having hundred degree weather. I know us Californians.
Megan's little personality is coming out. She has a great combination of loving dolls and playing mommy, to being a tom boy and loving trucks. She loves to be outside running around, riding on bikes and scooters. The water table is her favorite thing to play with. If there is water she is excited. She is sweet but can be very stubborn. She loves to see how things work and is always trying to figure stuff out. She is such a perfect fit for our family. God has truly blessed us.

China Earthquake

2008-05-14T06:55:00.001-07:00

I am sure most of you have heard of the devastation in China from the earthquake that has just happen. They know one orphanage in the province has been knocked off the foundation. They are getting updates every day. Communication is hard and so its slow going. Half the Sky is a fantastic organization that helps orphanages and children in China. If you feel you want to donate to this organization here is the link below.
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund

Mother's day and update

2008-05-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone I have decided I am going to try to update about once a week. I don't have an exciting enough life for more than that.:) Anyways Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I hope yours was as nice as mine. Megan is snuggling in my arms as I type this might be an effort for me. Ever since Megan has truly called me Ma Ma in Chinese we have been having night terrors and crying sometimes a couple of times a night. I think she is terrified I might leave her as well. You think about what she has been through its incredible little children still trust. She was abandoned as an infant. She lived in the orphanage about a year and then had a foster mom. Only then she was ripped away from her and placed in my arms. For what she has been through she is doing so well. I am truly amazed by her.

I am tired but I would be with a newborn as well. Tom has been so fantastic. He even took 2 nights this weekend that was the greatest Mother's day gift. I am still trying to get used to three kids. It is so hard. I know having three kids under 5 is just hard but wow I just cannot get myself together. So if there are any of you out there reading this who have three kids with any advice please e-mail me or leave comments I would truly appreciate any advice you might have.

We took Megan to church and they have a family room that we could all go to so that worked well. We are not ready to leave her yet. Matthew and Victoria can still go to there little church and we can at least get her used to going. Megan still doesn't give many kisses. She gives them to Victoria especially but they are still few and far between. I wonder if its cultural they don't kiss or is it just the orphans of China who have this problem. I know reading adoption sites we are not alone. She is definitely coming out of her shell she does these funny little things and sings in Chinese. She also is picking up songs in English. She loves itsy bitsy spider, twinkle, twinkle little star and Jesus loves me. She is also picking up the lay me down to sleep prayer.

Mother's day as I said before was wonderful. We had everyone and I mean everyone at a park over in Canyon country for Mother's day. We had my mom, Tom's mom, Amy, Amy's future Mother in law Peggy and me. Plus we had the kiddos and the dads. We had a nice little party going. We had pizza from Stonefire and then the guys played football. We had an ice fight(with the ice from the cooler.) The kiddos all loved it and thought it was terrific. We even got ice cream from the ice cream truck. Its amazing Megan went from having no one to this amazing family we have. All of them love her so much and I am so proud of all of them for accepting her as part of the fam. Not one of them shows any reservations or lack of love toward her. Not that I expected them to but its so awesome to see our families love in action. We are truly blessed as a family. I included some pictures hope you enjoy them.

Tired of typing one handed I am amazed I did as well as I did. Have a great week and like I said I will update it once a week.

Update!!!

2008-04-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been bugging me for an update. Sorry our life isn't that exciting.:) Anyways a few new things to share so I thought I would write an update. Megan is doing well and adjusting very well. We went to a party with our old newlywed group and Megan did fantastic there. She didn't even need Tom or I in the room with her. She got along well with the other children. She was up from 12-3am in the morning after the get together though. I really think it was to much stimulation for her.

Last week was really hard. Megan is getting a little to comfortable.:) Plus the newness has worn off with Matthew and Victoria so they are not as willing to share. We had a rough Tuesday and Wednesday. I literally could not get anything done. Even if I put laundry in the kids would start yelling at each other. Victoria and Megan would yell at each other to the point I thought they were killing each other. They weren't though they were just yelling at each other. After two days it seemed to calm down. The rest of the week and this week has been better.

My birthday was this weekend, and Megan was so cute she didn't know what she was saying, but she sang happy birthday to me. It was adorable. She also granted me three kisses on Monday the best present I could have gotten. Megan seems to really be bonding with me. One thing we have noticed is the last couple nights she seemed to be having night terrors. She just started, but we know with adopted children its pretty normal. Its so sad to see her crying and kicking and not be able to comfort her. When I try to hold her or pat her back it seems to get worse so I just usually sit with her.

Megan did have her full physical and 5 shots poor thing. They did take a couple of x-rays of her head to make sure everything is okey. Besides that everything is great.

Matthew and Victoria are doing well. Victoria loves having a sister and would love her to share a room with her(so she thinks:). Megan still wants to be on the couch but she will at least get into bed during snuggle time at night. I signed Matthew up for Kindergarten in the fall. I can't believe he is going to Kindergarten.

Well that is about it. I will try to update it more often but with 3 kids running around I am first exhausted and secondly trying to figure out the craziness that ensues with having three of them.

Megan's first trip to the Beach

2008-04-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

It was the perfect day so I grabbed the in laws and headed to the beach. It was sunny in the 70's and gorgeous. Megan loved it and had no fear of the water. She wanted to go deeper and deeper. She is going to be a beach girl. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

The Kiddos

2008-04-13T10:12:00.001-07:00

Some family fun

2008-04-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. In sunny California we had a wonderful sunny weekend. The temperatures went from 70 to 90 degrees. It was really nice. We got the water table out and the kids and I(Wendy) got soaked. Megan had her first ice cream. Which she said was yummy. Mr. J(Tom's dad) came and helped us build some planters to plant a vegetable garden with the kiddos.

All in all its been a great couple of days. Megan is sleeping great now. Except for the occasional cry out in her sleep she is doing fantastic. She is saying lots of words although I don't know is she knows what it all means. Whatever Victoria does or says she repeats. Mr. J played school with them yesterday and she said the whole alphabet with the other kids. Plus counted to ten. It was so cute. I can tell she really understands us alot. I know she doesn't when she keeps saying yes to something she shouldn't be saying yes too.:) Or I give a choice of milk or OJ and she says yes to both.

The great news is the doctor says we don't have to worry about her. We will of course keep watch on her as she grows up but as of now there is nothing to be concerned about. She is healthy and developing well. Yippee!!! We are so happy.
I included a couple of pictures for you to enjoy.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy

2008-04-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

She slept through the night!!!

2008-04-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

She slept from 8:30pm to 7am. Straight! Two nights in a row. No waking up no screaming. Just some peaceful sleep. Megan is doing well for the most part during the day. She really misses Tom but she is bonding with me more. She is really jealous of the kids now if I am paying attention to them and not her.

The hardest thing I am finding right now is how much to discipline her and how much do I need to bond with her. Obviously hurting the other kids is not okey. She throws all out temper tantrums. I tell her know but I don't think she understands that I am saying no to the temper tantrum. Its a hard fine balance. That is my worse issue at this point.

Megan can say thank you now. She repeats a lot of what Victoria says but has no idea what she is saying yet. As we are speaking Victoria and her are singing happy birthday. Last night they were both on their rocking horses. Victoria and Megan for the most part are getting along fantastically. They love to play together chase and peekaboo. They sing together and were sitting at their table eating and cooking a meal together. They were so cute. I will try to load some pictures today. I have to run but just wanted to write a short update.

Family get together and first day home with megan(Alone)

2008-04-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Megan met my(Wendy's) side of the family last night and she had a ball. She loves her cousin Ellie. She actually cried when she left. It was sad but good. She is an outgoing little girl ready to play with anyone who will play with her. Dad took some pictures and I included them in the post. Ellie is the big girl holding Megan. The other two are Matthew and Victoria. Matthew is hiding in the second picture. Silly guy was being a typical boy.:)
Last night was my night to stay up with Megan. It actually went pretty well. We got her to bed at 8:15pm and she woke up at 10:30pm. It was my job to put her back to sleep so I got her back up on the couch and started to rub her back. She started to freak out and kick and scream. I thought she wouldn't settle down, and I would have to go get Tom, but it went suprisingly well. She cried for about 5 minutes for baba. She wouldn't let me rub her back but she did let me sit next to her and she went back to sleep. We repeated that at about 5:30am. She slept til about 7:30am this morning.
Most people wouldn't think that was very good but that is fantastic. Just think two weeks ago if I came near her she would kick, bite or hit me. Bonding takes awhile. One thing we are learning. They don't just trust you or attach to you. Once they do though its amazing they really care about you. No hugs and kisses yet. The cat got one but we haven't yet. That is okey I have heard of kids not giving real hugs and kisses for 6 months to a year. We give her plenty though.
Today well its gone fantastic. I can't even believe it. Megan said baba was in the bathroom. I think she thinks he is still in there. That is pretty funny.
This girl can eat. Let me tell you what she had for lunch. I started with one piece of leftover chicken, rice, and grapes. She had three helpings of rice and one more helping of grapes I thought she was done. She threw a temper tantrum and I couldn't figure out why. She wanted more. She ended up eating 2 more servings of grapes, a tomato, a piece of pizza and a couple of strawberries. She is going to send us to the poor house if she continues to eat that way.:)
I haven't gotten her down for a nap yet but its been a great day so far. It has far exceeded my expectations. Gotta run. Wish me luck in getting her down for a nap.

We all slept!!!

2008-04-06T12:36:00.001-07:00

Thought I would just update you all on the progress. Megan last night slept through from 9pm to 7am. She woke up at 11 wide awake but with a little bit of coaxing we were able to get her back to sleep for the rest of the night. I am doing the same thing, so I think the time difference is getting to all of us.

Tom and I are actually awake and somewhat rested. Hallelujah is all I can say. Megan is doing well. She has decided the couch is her bed. She won't even go upstairs unless she is going to take a bath. So we decided if that is what makes her sleep right now then that is fine with us. We read this adoption site and this doctor said we are in the "do what you have to" phase. That is basically how we feel right now.

Megan is really warming up to me. When I leave she starts crying for me and gets upset. That is huge progress. The only problem is she wants both of us to be with her, so we will see how tomorrow goes. Tom goes back to work tomorrow. I feel confident for the most part but there may be some crying tomorrow we will see.

Matthew and Victoria are having some issues but doing pretty well. Victoria had a hard time with us being away, but I don't think she has a problem with Megan yet. :) I am sure it will come. She loves being the big sister. I took her grocery shopping to have girl time and she helped me get the groceries. She wanted half an apple instead of sliced. Megan and her have to sit together at the dinner table. There has been a few little Megan stop it or no Megan's but so far so good.

Matthew is old enough now he liked it for about a day and then he was ready to send her back. Sounds like me with my little sis(Love ya Amy):). We know its completely natural and we are really trying to let them feel comfortable expressing there feelings with us. Tom had big boy and daddy time today which I thought was great.

Megan gets to meet my parents today and Auntie Amy and her cousin Ellie. Tom's parents have already met her. We will see how she does with a little group before I get a big group together.:)

We are home

2008-04-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

After an exhausting flight we are home. Tired and worn out we now have to adjust her to this time. Tom and I have both slept about zero hours and had two wednesdays. Needless to say we are exhausted. Tom finally just gave way to exhaustion so after a brief nap I am up for duty til 3 am. I really hope Tom can just get a full night sleep and she falls asleep before them. Right now she is wide awake and no sign of stopping.
She has got to be going on fumes as well. Poor thing. She only got 3 hrs on the plane which means she is going to crash not sure when. Things they don't tell you about adoption and note to others. I think this is worse than the grieving. You are exhausted and if you have other kids who didn't go with you they are on regular time. I am going to have to sleep when she sleeps.
So if you don't hear from me for a few days that is why. Okey best be off to play with her.

Our last night here

2008-04-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

We are heading home tomorrow. Wow I can't believe its come to an end. We are excited to get home and get her acclimated. She is almost an American Girl. When we turn in her Chinese passport at LAX she will be American. We went to the consulate got her passport. Swore that all the info was correct that we gave them and that was it. We got her visa and came back and went to dinner. We had Thai food again in China which is hilarious but really good.

For the first time today she preferred to sit with me on the bus instead of Tom. I can't believe a little over a week ago we had this very frightened, grieving little girl. Wow, you should see her now. All smiles and laughter. Playing. Even learning a few english words. The difference is incredible. I am sure we are not done, there is still a lot of bonding and crying once she gets home. The adjustment is not that easy, but it is amazing.

We want to thank each and everyone who has prayed for us. Each and everyone who followed a journey. I truly felt God at work here and its amazing. Like I said at the beginning be patient with us but we will do something for you all to meet her. Pray for us on the trip home and Megan on this long plane flight. We are coming home Matthew and Victoria. We love you all.

Wendy

A few more pictures

2008-03-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

These photos are just a couple of different things. The first is a bunch of school kids were coming up and practicing english. They would ask "Hi, how are you? Would you sign my book? Thank you very much. Bye" It was so cute. The second was a shot on shamian Island, of people playing in the park. They love to play badmitton and Hacky sack. They had all these little parks in the middle of the road. It made it lush and beautiful all around. The third was the laser light show across the river from us at night. The blur on the water is one of those cruises.
Its been raining today so we hung out in the play room with a bunch of families. This afternoon we have an afternoon tea buffet and the famous red couch photos. We got our white swan barbie (No mom you can't sell it on ebay:).) Tomorrow is our last full day here. We are anxious to get home to our other kiddos but this last part of the trip has been really nice.
Megan has been doing great today with me. She let Tom leave and she didn't cry. We play and she loves the song "Open shut them". She is even trying to sing the english words as well. She is taking a nap now. Megan still needs Tom for night time and naps but we are starting to bond.:) Her cough is much better now. Tom and I are fighting something, but we don't know if its just tempature and smoke, or if we have the same cough thing she had.
I will upload the red couch photo later today. Talk to you all soon.

Pictures

2008-03-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would post a bunch of photos.

Megan is eating chicken nuggets and starbucks. The American Girl.:). The foggy river picture is our view from the hotel room. The blue/green building is starbucks.

What a beautiful night

2008-03-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our first night in Guanghzou was beautiful. We had a great Thai dinner with our travel group and then we went and played by the river with all the kids. I will upload the pictures later but thought I would update the blog since Tom and Megan are asleep. Poor Tom he has to get up with Megan because she won't let me comfort her yet so he is tired.

We had a great day yesterday. We went walking around Shamian Island which is just beautiful. We got some silk dresses for the girls. Megan needed some shoes so we got squeaky shoes. Every time they step it squeaks. They are great because I know where she is when she loves to run off from us. Its all in fun but I am not taking her to a department store any time soon.:).

Megan is really warming up to me. I can carry her most of the time now. Chase after her and she keeps going instead of running back to Tom. The most hilarious thing she did yesterday was decided to use our toilet as a squatty potty. She was trying to climb up on the potty her self so I was holding her but I didn't realize what she was doing. So she got up squatted on the potty and went. The only problem is she was squatting the wrong way and the pee went everywhere. I wish I could have video taped it, it was classic.

She still loves her squatty potty. We went to the restaurant last night and she wanted to go three times. I got her in the squatty potty and I didn't know what to do with a little kid. Its hard enough for me to go. She just knew what to do. She squatted way down and just went. I was really impressed. I am really glad I didn't bring Matthew and Victoria along they would have freaked out. :).

The hotel has a Mattel play room and it has all sorts of toys to play with. Megan was scared at first, I don't exactly know why but once she got the hang of it she did great. Its great to have since its raining here. Not hard just heavy mist alot.

We are going to the Pearl Market today see if we can find some good deals. I guess they are known for there Pearls. Megan is from as seaside city who specializes in pearls. We thought it would be cool to get her one. We are hoping to go on a river cruise the next couple of nights. They do a laser show off the river and thought that would be really fun. We will see.

Our paperwork is done we are just waiting for her visa and we will be leaving Wednesday your Tuesday so its coming up. We love you Matthew and Victoria and we will be home soon.

We Passed!!!

2008-03-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Megan had three doctors look at her and then they said she passed. All her pox are scabbing and we get to go home on time. Plus we are not lepers anymore we can participate and all the groups activities. So I will start actually start posting pictures again. Now that we can actually see more than our hotel room:).

We are on this really beautiful island that was occupied by the french and british so the buildings are a lot like Savannah, GA. Its so nice here. Very, very humid and for us hot but we feel free again.

Of course now Megan has seem to have gotten a cold on top of her chicken pox. We took her to western doctor. It was so nice. I will have to say the Guangzhou staff for Holt is so nice here. The head person took us personally to the doctors. Got her some cold and cough medicine. The clinic even came and got us and then brought us back. I could have hung out in Guangzhou longer but we will be so happy to get on an airplane and come home. Yipppee!!!

Megan is doing fantastic. She didn't like the doctor but that was to be expected. She told Catherine(our guide) that she didn't want to get shots. Catherine told her not to worry and what they would be doing, but she was still upset. She has adjusted to the new place, and she is warming up to me more and more every day. She jabbers a lot I just wish I could understand her. We have our games that we play and we enjoy them. She says Mommy, Daddy and Megan. She has no idea that is her name yet. We are working on that. I better go play with her but just wanted to update you all.

We are in Heaven!!!

2008-03-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

We made it to Guangzhou and it is beautiful. Not that I can see much of it at night.:). We have a riverview and its all lit up. The hotel is gorgeous. We love our suite and they have a perfect little bed for Megan. So we can actually stop sleeping on couches. She has fallen asleep poor girl was so tired. She had a long day and no nap. I can stay here if I need to a little longer:). Hopefully that won't happen. We have our medical exam tomorrow so everyone start praying. She looks better as far as the scabs go so we will see.
We had a breakthrought today. Megan and I are bonding. She is letting me take her potty again and we played alot. Its amazing how every day she just makes huge improvements. She is such a crazy two year old though. Running around and a wiggle worm. She is driving poor Tom crazy and there is nothing I can do to help him. Its late and we are hungry so we are going to scrounge something to eat. Hope you all have a great day.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and writing me e-mails I so appreciate it. I needed it the last couple days. I am feeling much better now thanks to all the love we are feeling.:)

Progress slow and steady

2008-03-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

We don't leave til tonight for Guangzhou so I thought I would drop a note. We went to a ethnic museum today and learned about the main two ethnicities of this province. There are over 56 nationalities in China. That is amazing. We got some souvenirs of her people. Its amazing to me how many people still live here.

Things are going really well with Megan. Last night she went to sleep without any grieving for her foster mom. She is now smiling a lot and acting very playful.

Megan is still a daddy's girl, but she is starting to attach to me also. This afternoon she finally let me take her to the potty and is playing with me often.

Let me just tell you what an amazing little girl Megan is. (brag time) She is fully potty trained and stays completely dry during the night. She blows her nose by herself and is extremely skilled at eating by herself with a spoon. We though there would be some developmental delays, with her spending the 1st 9 months in an orphanage, but there are none. As hard as it is to adopt a child who is attached to a foster mother, if it wasn't for that attachment, she wouldn't be as well adjusted as she is. She is still a little spoiled and prone to tantrums when she doesn't get her way, but we'll have plenty of time to work on that when we get back to the US.

We miss everyone and cannot wait to return home. As much as we have enjoyed our time in China, noting beats being in our own home and in our own bed. If all goes well with her medical appointment on Saturday we can leave on Wednsday. Please continue to pray that all her pox are scabbed over by then.

Last day in Nanning

2008-03-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

We fly out tomorrow to Guangzhou. I am rather relieved. Being kind of locked up is getting to both of us. Megan is doing so much better though. She really has attached to Tom. She follows him everywhere. I have gotten smiles and raspberries. I can't do anything for her though. She is all about daddy. He left to go get us some food and she cried for him. Which is really fantastic.
I know that sounds weird but my attachment will come.
There isn't a lot to write about since we haven't done anything. I am asking for prayers. Lots and lots of prayers. Tom and I are feeling anxious and upset about having to stay longer away from Matthew and Victoria. We are feeling a little like lepers.

A rough night and bonding with daddy

2008-03-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well they warned us the nights were bad. Last night was really bad. She cried and screamed for an hour and a half. Megan actually got all of her stuff she had from the orphanage(one little bag), put her shoes on, and kept leading us to the door saying something in Cantonese. I think it was take me home to mama. At least that was the jist. There was nothing we could do. It was actually kind of horrible to feel so helpless. She finally hid behind the curtain with her little bag and cried herself to sleep. We got her in bed and slept til about 2. She woke up crying and wanting nothing to do with me. So now she is velcro baby with Tom. She won't let him go or get out of her sight.

Today she has been really good. Won't let me near her but she loved going to Walmart. Her foster mom spoiled her when she wanted something she got it. We were a little scared taking her into walmart but she didn't want anything except for some weird cracker things. Probably the equivalent to goldfish in America for kids. Walmart was not as cheap as we thought it would be. It was still very interesting.We got her a couple of outfits since I brought a lot of 3t and she really wears 2t stuff. I brought some dresses but we already got scolded for having her legs not fully covered so we got a few more long sleeve tops I think I have enough bottoms.

After Walmart we went to Mcdonald's. Megan had her first chicken nuggets. She seemed to really like them. Tom and I have been living off a lot of power bars here. The food around our hotel is a little sparse.

That has been our day so far. Megan is going down for a nap and then we will probably go to the park later today. Hope all of you are having a great day.

What a difference a day makes

2008-03-25T01:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a completely different day. Oh I am not going to say its been perfect. When she woke up she cried for her foster mom. We got her settled down, and we went to the Civil affairs office. There we met one of the caregiver's from the orphanage. You could tell the caregiver really cared for Megan. We thought Megan would break down and cry when she saw her, but she stayed in my arms and didn't really care. That was a big breakthrough. We are officially her parents now. We promised to love her and never abandon or abuse her. That is a no brainer.:)

We went to a beautiful park today and walked around with her a little bit. People were not to happy but we stayed away from everyone but had to get her out. When we got back to the hotel she started to cry again. The other two couples are having the same issues. They want to be out and about. If they are locked inside to long they get feisty and start crying. Its hard on us since we are trying not to get to many people exposed by her.

We came back to the hotel and wow she all of a sudden came out. She is intelligent and into everything. I mean everything. Baby proofing in a hotel is a little difficult so our eyes are constantly on her. We got plenty of raspberries and lots of giggles. The only thing she doesn't like is the word no. Its hard we are trying not to say to much at this point, but there are a couple things she does. So redirection is our main goal. She loves to throw things which is not great. She thinks if hilarious. I don't want her doing that to Matthew and Victoria so we are trying to stop it.

She was very spoiled, and it is going to take some undoing. She is bonding very well with us. She even called Tom "baba", which is daddy in cantonese. She won't say mama yet, but she called her foster mom that so that is okey.

We are going to Walmart tomorrow. I can't wait to see what it is like. Have a good night.

Hello from Nanning

2008-03-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Megan is still asleep so I thought I would take a few minutes to write about yesterday. Once we got off the plane yesterday our guide was there with the bad news about Megan. She said they would have to quarantine us. We were not sure what that meant by that. For a bried moment we panickWe got on the bus and basically we have to stay away from the other adopted children. They don't care what we do as far as the rest of Nanning goes. Its an American Consulate rule. I don't want anyone else to get it anyways so that is fine with us.
We got to the hotel and Jane our guide became our personal guide.:) Kind of nice. So the other people went to the civil affairs office to get there children we got Megan in our hotel room. I actually preferred it that way. We were caught off guard because we didn't have our presents ready. So I raced into the other room and wrapped them while Tom talked to the orphanage workers. They were so sweet. They had already taken Megan to the doctors and got medication for her so we don't have to do anything like that. The Chicken Pox don't seem to bad.
She brought her in and she said mama and baba and was just kind of checking us out. Once the caregivers from the orphanage left the crying began. She threw an all out crying, kicking, screaming. We tried to hold her at first but she is such a small little girl I just sat with her and let her cry. She did this 45 minutes saying she wanted to go back to mama which is her foster mom. I am so glad she loved her so much. Usually the bonding is so much better. After she subsided they took our picture and did some paperwork. We are going to the Civil affairs office this morning to do some more paperwork.
After our guide left we could tell she was exhausted so we got her some dinner which she woudn't eat. So after some prodding she let me take her clothes off and get her into a bath and put some nice clean pj's on. She then fell asleep in my arms around 6:30pm. She woke up once around 9:30pm but then went back to sleep in my arms. She now has entered the velcro stage with me. Poor Tom she won't let him come near her. We both feel its better since he has to return to work, so its better its me than him. So that is it in length. Just continue to pray for her and us. Thank you it has worked for me. I have never been so peaceful, calm or patient as I was yesterday. I needed it, so thank you.

We Have Her

2008-03-24T03:37:00.000-07:00

We have Megan and she is currently going through a rough, but normal adjustment period. The Chicken Pox don't seem too bad at this time, so we are hoping that we still can make it back to the U.S. as scheduled.

Things are kinda hectic right now so there is no time to post any pictures. Hopefully there will be time tomorrow.

CHICKEN POX!!!

2008-03-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we arrived in Nanning this morning and came out of the airport to discover that we will be in quarantine because Megan has Chicken Pox. She came down with it this morning. We will be meeting a sick little girl so I am asking for all the prayers we can get. We are just hoping we can get home on time. Gotta go, meeting her in an hour.

Last day in Beijing

2008-03-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

What a long emotional day. We went to orientation this morning. They spoke about the process and how everything works. Interesting tidbits and then they hit us. One by one, updated pictures of our daughters started popping up. We had to guess which one was ours. I did pick out Megan right away. I started crying and Tom will admits to getting misty eyed.:) They gave us a beautiful silk bound book with all of her updated info. She looked so much healthier in the photos this time and happy. She weighs 26.4 pds and 30.7 inches. Okey grandparents and Auntie Amy, you can go shopping now:). They said her foster parents spoiled her and bought her everything she wanted. Uh oh we are in trouble:). After we were done we ran upstairs and posted her picture. We were so excited.:) See post below.

After a nice lunch we headed out for more touring. Today was perfect, beautiful weather and blue skies. We went to the temple of heaven and Tienamen square. I enjoyed it but I think all of the adoptive families including us are just anxious to go meet our daughters. That is all we did is talk about it with each other. It was a nice day. We came back and decided to go for hot pot. Kind of like fondue but with soup and a sauce. We had it last night and loved it so much we went back. We are getting better with chop sticks but its nice when a restaurant will give you a fork and you don't have to get all messy.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We are leaving for the airport at 5:00 am and flying to Nanning. After a three hour flight and checking in to the hotel, we will be off to the Civil Affairs Office to meet our new daughter. Yippie!!!!

Megan's updated picture

2008-03-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

We had our orientation today and they gave us an updated picture of her. We are so excited we want tomorrow to be here NOW!!!:)

Rickshaw Ride Video

2008-03-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Another full Day in Beijing

2008-03-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the Acrobat show. The show was incredible. The costumes were incredible, and they were standing on rollers, sometimes holding 4 or 5 people on top of them. There was a bicyclist who had I would say 8 to 10 people on them at once. We went with another couple we will be traveling to province with, so we got to know them a little. We are going on this incredible adventure together. We even survived the ride home with them.:) When your life is on the line you really bond quickly.:) I don't know if I have mentioned this the drivers are insane. When lanes and traffic lights are options, and people are standing in the middle of the road it gets a little crazy.

Today we went to The Great Wall. It was really incredible to stand up there. It was really foggy though so we couldn't see the views, which we were a little disapointed but it was still incredible. Its amazing how many things ancient people built without any of the modern machinery we have. We walked up to the really steep part but didn't go all the way to the top. We had time constraints but wow did we get a workout just doing what we did.

I had to use my first squatty potty. We included a picture of one. I managed. Not as bad as I thought but really not the preferred way of going to the bathroom.:) Its amazing how all of the vendors are so forward. They just pull you into their shops and really push their products. We feels so bad because we are bargaining with them for such small amounts in U.S. dollars, which means even less for them.

After we left the great wall we went to the Colonaisse(spelling?) factory. It was amazing how they are made. They are actually copper not porcelain. After they are fired they smooth them down. They make beautiful vases and pottery. They were beautiful. There was a restaurant across the way that we ate at. Again the food is far exceeding my expectations. I am going to learn how to cook this way. I could eat this way all the time.

We came back to Beijing and saw the Bird's Nest and the Cube where the Olympics will be held this summer. After that we went to the Hutong. We went on a rickshaw ride and then went to a man's house there and was able to speak with him. He was an older man and he was just so happy and loved talking to us. There houses are little and sparse but the courtyard they live around was beautiful with birds and goldfish. He once had 40 people living in this tiny courtyard and as Americans I could not imagine it. He said he missed having all those people around. He said it was like a party all the time. It was so fascinating to experience how they really live.

That was our day in a nutshell. We are going to grab some dinner and do a little shopping. Tomorrow is orientation and we get updated information about Megan. I cannot wait. We are ready to get our little girl. 48 hrs from know we will have our little girl in our arms.

We are taking a rest between sight seeing

2008-03-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

We had a really great day!!! We went sightseeing, and getting to know other couples who are adopting from Holt. Today we went to The Summer Palace and The Forbidden City. It was freezing today. We are from sunny California, so to us it was freezing. The Summer Palace was beautiful. They dug this lake and it was not only beautiful but huge. I can not imagine how they actually dug a lake by hand that is incredible. The Summer Palace was where the empress lived for the summer. I could spend a few summers there:).
We went to this family style restaurant and had a wonderful lunch. I did not expect to like the food in China so much, but we have loved it so far. The most hilarious thing about the restaurant was the restroom . The sinks were red butts sticking out(yes you read that right). You had to lean over to wash your hands. We all thought it was hilarious. I made it today without using a squatty potty. I was very excited.:)
The forbidden city was incredible. We could not get over the size of it. It just kept going and going. Their history is very rich, and I am fascinated with it.
A lot of people have been complaining about there beds. I will admit they are very hard but I almost like it. We slept really well but were awake at 3am in the morning. We are doing well today, as far as jet lag. Although, Tom is now asleep taking a nap. We are going to see the acrobat show tonight and then off to the great wall tomorrow.
Oh Melanie by the way Happy Birthday!!!

Our first adventure

2008-03-20T02:54:00.000-07:00

Tom and I, in our attempt to stay awake, went exploring the wonderful shopping area of Beijing. It was right down the street from our hotel. First thing we noticed is drivers and pedestrians only use stop signs and cross walks as suggestions. It's a little scary to cross the street. So we latched on to a crowd who looked like they knew what they were doing, and made it safely across.

Dad, I found two McDonalds right in the area we are staying. Ahh they even had Big Mac's but who wants a big mac when you are in Beijing:). So we found the exotic food market section and there were locusts, cockroaches, scorpions still wiggling on the sticks. We tried what was supposed to be chicken. Pretty good, but a little to spicy.

The people in the market place were amazingly agressive. They would literally pull you into their store and start trying to sell you things. There were some awesome things but nothing we want to buy yet. It was crazy trying to walk through the market. If you made eye contact you were pulled in.

After exploring we went to a famous restaurant that served Peking Duck. Really good but we realized how culturally ignorant we are to their customs. The waitress did not speak a lot of English, but did help us out on how to eat it. It was fantastic. I will be safe if I eat Peking duck every night of the trip. We really liked it.

We are off to sleep. Its 3am now Los Angeles time and we are definitely feeling the jet lag.:)

We are here!!!

2008-03-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone just wanted to let everyone know we are here safe and sound. Tom of course got us to the airport early as normal. Once our check in was done at LAX which took a total of 20 minutes, we sat in the airport for three hours. After a grueling 15 hr flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, we had a three hour lay over in Guangzhou. From there we took a 3 hour flight up to Beijing, where we were met by a guide and taken to our beautiful 4 star hotel. The only problem is that it is 12 in the morning Los Angeles time and only 3pm in China. We want to go to bed:). It feels weird we skipped all of Wednesday and now it is Thursday here. We are going to relax and then go sight seeing so we can try to stay awake til after dinner. Will write more later.

Today is the Day!!!

2008-03-18T07:50:00.001-07:00

Well it's finally here. Our waiting has finally ended. We are flying to China this evening. We have about 24 hrs of flying time. I(Wendy) hate flying so pray for my nerves to be settled as we fly over. Don't worry if we are not posting we are probably still traveling for a couple of days:). We have experienced all kinds of emotions from excited, nervous, scared, and back to excited. We can't believe its finally here. We will post in a couple of days. We think we have everything packed. Oh well at least they have our favorite store Walmart there. HEHEHEHE!!! We have a couple of things left to do so will be back in a couple of days. Love to all our family and friends.

Itinerary for China

2008-03-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Mar/20 Thursday

Arrive in Beijing

Mar/21 Friday

Go on tour of Forbidden City, Summer Palace.

Mar/22 Saturday

Go on tour of Great Wall & Hutong Lane.

Mar/23 Sunday

9:00am orientation in Hotel Meeting Room

Half day tour of Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven after group lunch.

Mar/24 Monday

Arrive in Nanning

3:30pm Child handoff in Civil affairs office. Get Megan:)

Mar/25 Tuesday

9:30am Adoption registration in the Civil Affair Bureau,

Notarization in notary office

Optional shopping.

Mar/26 Wednesday

Optional activities arranged by Holt.

Mar/27 Thursday

Optional activities arranged by Holt.

Mar/28 Friday

Going to Guangzhou

Mar/29 Saturday

9:30am-10:30am paper work-checking in Hotel Meeting room then medical check

Mar/30 Sunday

Optional activities arranged by Holt.

Mar/31 Monday

Visa appointment

Apr/1 Tuesday

Oath-taking ceremony

Apr/2 Wednesday

Coming back to USA

Travel Dates

2008-03-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

We got our travel dates!!!! We are tentatively planning to leave March 18th so we can do some sightseeing. We have to be in Beijing by the 22nd of March. Our orientation is March 23rd and then we fly down and get Megan the 24th of March. We spend 4 days in Guangxi and then end up in Guangzhou for the rest of the time. We will be coming home April 2nd. Now I have to pack because we are leaving two weeks from tomorrow. Yippee!!!!

TA!!!!

2008-02-29T06:06:00.001-08:00

We recieved our Travel Approval yesterday. We are finally getting there. We will be getting our travel assignment hopefully today maybe monday. So check back to see when we will be going to China. Hopefully it will be toward the end of March.

Megan's room

2008-02-11T18:13:00.001-08:00

Megan's room is all done and we are ready. Thought you guys might like to see it. Come on Travel Approval.

LOA!!! Yippee!!!

2008-01-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

We got our Letter of Approval today. Yippee!!! Come on Travel Assignment. We should be traveling in the next 2 months. We can not believe it. Megan here we come.

Megan Anne

2008-01-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

We included a couple more pictures of Megan. We have been LOI officially 30 days now. Hoping for LOA soon.
The first two pictures are when she is about 12 months old. The second one was about her second birthday. Hope you enjoy.

Christmas Letter 2007

2007-12-31T07:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends:

Can you believe another year has flown by and we are at the end of 2007. We hope your year was as good as ours and we would like to take this opportunity to fill you in on what has been happening with us.

In our first draft of this letter, we wrote that it would likely be another 2-3 years before we finalized our adoption of a little girl from China. Well, that has changed. A few weeks ago, facing an ever increasing waiting time, we told our agency that we would be open to adopting a child with minor and correctable health issues. Well, last week our agency called us to see if we would be interested in looking at the file of a 2 year old girl named Guo Si Meng. She was born in the Guangxi province of China. She was born December 3, 2005. We won’t bore you with all the medical details, but our pediatrician has assured us that she is healthy and is developing well. We wish we could travel to China now to bring her home, but it will likely be 3-5 months before the Chinese government lets us. We are going to name her Megan An once the adoption is complete.

The second big thing is in October we bought a house. It is a 4 bedroom 2 ½ bath house with a nice size back yard in a very family oriented neighborhood.

Matthew turned 4 this year and is turning into such a big boy. He loves pirates and was one for Halloween. He is really beginning to like soccer and wants to play in the local league next year. Wendy started home schooling him this year and he has already begun to sound out words. There is a huge community of home schoolers in the Santa Clarita Valley and we have started to get involved in it. They have park days, field trips, clubs and classes for the different age groups. The biggest issue we have with home schooling is what to do with Victoria?

Victoria will be 2 ½ at the end of December and is becoming a vivacious and outgoing little girl. Her favorite color is pink and she absolutely adores her big brother. She can’t wait to be a big sister and has offered to share her toys with Megan.

That is our year in a nutshell. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless you and your family this coming year.

Easter

2007-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great easter. We went to our church who had an awesome celebration service. The kids got there easter baskets filled with a couple of toys each. We went up to Mr and Mrs. J's (Tom's parents) for dinner. We had 12 people there which included all of my family, my sister's boyfriend, his mom and one of Tom's parents friends. We had a wonderful dinner complete with Lamb and mashed potatoes and an onion/cucumber salad. It was all very yummy. Hope you all had a great Easter. May God bless all your families.

Our new kitty

2007-04-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family and her name is Tinkerbell. We call her Tink for short. She is a crazy little kitten who loves to play and snuggle. She is a Ragdoll and we got her from a local breeder. She is a seal point and has gorgeous blue eyes. The kids love her and love chasing her up and down the hall. She loves every moment of it. Victoria is constantly screaming excitedly "kitty, kitty." Here is a pictures of the kids and the kitty enjoy.

Snow/hail?

2007-01-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

Whatever it was we had fun. A couple of pictures to enjoy. Its a rare for sunny California.

Merry Christmas!!

2006-12-29T06:45:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a quiet Christmas Eve at our house. We had 9 people for dinner and served an Italian fare. We had a Happy Birthday Jesus cake and sang to Jesus. We talked with the kids about the true meaning of Christmas and then it was time to get the cookies and milk out for Santa. Wendy helped Matthew write a letter to Santa. He asked for Woody from Toy story and all sorts of other toys. The kids got to bed at a decent time and we got to bed ourselves, knowing we had a busy day ahead of us.
Christmas we awoke to Matthew ready to see what Santa left him. We opened our stockings at our house which Matthew did get his Woody from Toy Story. We then went down to Wendy's mom's house. We had 14 people there. Tom's parents and brother were there. Wendy's parents, grandparents, her sister and her niece Ellie were all there. It was a little crazy. We got through the presents with relative ease. We had a fun day playing with all the toys we received. Having kids is so much fun we can play with all their toys. Ellie and Matthew both got roller skates so they were working on that. Victoria got a baby doll and wouldn't put it down.
Amy's new boyfriend joined us for dinner so we had 15 for dinner. We love it coming both from a small family. For all of you who were there thank you for making our Christmas special. Have a wonderful New Year to all of you. We will write soon.

The Johnson Family

Monterey/Carmel

2006-12-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

The Johnson side of our clan decided to go up to Monterey and Carmel for a couple of days. We are showing Tim(Tom's Brother) California. The kids were great on the car ride and we got up there Tuesday afternoon with time to explore Carmel. We walked around the town a little bit and then went to the beach. We had so much fun exploring the beach. The kids(with our help) climbed a tree. Matthew, Tom, Mr. J and Tim went up and found a couple balls from Pebble Beach. They also climbed up and stood on Pebble Beach Golf Course. Meanwhile Victoria and I looked at every single little rock. I think we went about two inches in about half an hour, there were so many rocks to look at(maybe we have a future geologist in the family:)).
We were all tired so we went back to the hotel and relaxed for the evening. Well, the kids did not do well sleeping in one room with us. So we were up from 2:30 on. We decided to do the aquarium and head home. So with a lot of coffee/caffeine we headed to the aquarium.
The aquarium was so much fun. We had a blast. Victoria kept saying fishy. Everywhere we looked there were fishys. Matthew and I looked at the Jellyfish which we both loved. I think Matthew and Victoria loved the penguins the most. They were really cute. We had lunch there and saw sea otters and seals playing in the ocean. Oh I love it up there. Alas the kids, Tom and I were tired so we headed out for home. Tom's parents and Tim decided to still stay another night. We arrived home safely with little fuss from the kids and have now gotten a great nights sleep. Hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Wendy

Christmas Time is here!!

2006-11-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, Christmas season for the Johnson Family has begun. Matthew, Tom and I set up the tree yesterday. We had so much fun. What a joy to have children in the house and experience the magic of Christmas through their eyes. Matthew understands it completely this year and he loves it. He does understand that this is Jesus's birthday and not Santa's this year.:) Victoria squealed with glee over the Christmas tree and loves dancing with our dancing Santa. Just thought you might enjoy some pictures.

Wendy

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

2006-11-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Tom and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. We teamed up and cooked a great meal together. Tom did his famous orange sweet potatoes and I did a cornbread stuffing. I don't think our families have decided on a favorite stuffing recipe. So feel free to send suggestions if anyone has one.:) My parents and Tom's parents were both there and my sister Amy joined us as well. We wanted to stop and thank all of you who are in our life mean so much to us. Thank you all of my family and friends. We love you all. Hope you enjoy your weekend. Here are some photos. You can see we had some fun.

I will tell you who is in the photos since all of you might not know. The first one is Tom and Mom looking up black friday sales. We did pretty darn good. You will have to wait til Christmas to see what we got. :) Mr. J/Tom's Dad is in the fore ground. The next is of my sister and Matthew playing together. The last is of my Dad/Papa with Victoria. Hope you enjoy.

Love,

The Johnson Family

Bridgeport

2006-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, its beautiful and 74 degrees here. Sorry east coasters but it is beautiful:). Matthew, Victoria, and I went to the park and enjoyed some time looking at the ducks and walking around the lake. Thought I would share some adorable pictures I captured. Hope you enjoy.

Matthew's Birthday

2006-11-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

We finally celebrated Matthew's birthday on the 30th. My sister Amy brought a beautiful dinosaur cake that set off the mood. We had so much fun. Matthew got a big boy bike with training wheels that he loves. he also got a few trucks which he plays with all the time. We had so much fun and now my big boy is 3 years old

HALLOWEEN

2006-11-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a lot of fun for the kids. Matthew was a fireman and Victoria was a Princess. We went with the Matthew across the street and some other little kids in the neighborhood. The thing I think is amazing is that people don't open doors anymore they just leave candy on the doorstep and when its gone it is gone. Matthew completely got it this year and couldn't wait to get candy. Victoria was sick so we didn't dress her up on halloween because it was to cold. We went to a fall festival at my niece's school so we dressed her up there. Included is a picture of them on Halloween.