We're Home! & we're happy :)

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of.....normalcy.  And that's a good thing.  We arrived home to 2 wonderful welcoming parties :).  One in Chicago O'Hare with our Chicago family and one here in Morton with our Morton family.  I don't have any pictures of our homecoming simply because I was exhausted and not thinking about it.  (But I know a few of you did have cameras....hint, hint :) ). 

Once we were inside our house and had given Ka Hei the full tour (we had sent him a video tour last spring, but this time we got to do it for real!), located pajamas and gave hugs, prayed and got tucked in, we all crashed.  For a few hours.  And then our bodies thought it was the middle of the day (literally.  It would have been noon in Hong Kong when we got in bed.) and over-exhaustion from jet lag started messing with us.  For about a week we worked to get our bodies adjusted to Central time, but I really can't complain.  Kids stayed in bed...for hours...while they tried to convince their bodies to go back to sleep, and attitudes stayed pretty positive.  We even got started on school-work first thing Monday morning and kids did really well with it! 

Before the summer even started, we signed Lucas and Ka Hei up to play on the same soccer team (with Andrew as their coach).  We didn't know how much of the season Ka Hei would be able to play, but we wanted to have the option since we knew he liked soccer.  Tuesday they had a game :).  They both had a lot of fun - and the next Tuesday they were both on offense and their group worked together to score a goal! 

 

Then Thursday the 19th, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.  Before we left Hong Kong, Ka Hei’s teachers were kind enough to give us lanterns for the whole family as well as information on the Moon Festival.  If you are not familiar with this celebration, think of a holiday similar to Thanksgiving…..minus the turkey…and instead of the pumpkin pie, you have mooncakes!  It really is a time to spend with family, being thankful for the good that has come through the year.  We definitely have a lot to be thankful for!!!  We went around the supper table and each shared something we were thankful for and then enjoyed the traditional mooncakes and tea from another of Ka Hei’s teachers (so sweet of her!).  Then we visited Great Grandma Rassi to introduce her to Ka Hei.  We came home just after nightfall.  Perfect timing for lighting the candles in the lanterns and heading outside to play follow the leader.

Of course, as they were walking around with lit candles in paper lanterns, Ka Hei (who knows what he is doing) is reminding everyone to be careful and go slowly………….and then it happened.  A lantern tipped a little too far, a candle went over and woosh!  the lantern was quickly engulfed in flames.  Everyone gasped in shock as dad ran for the garden hose to douse the fire.  As soon as the danger was past, the backyard erupted with laughter as the kids realized that the person who was no longer holding a lantern was…Mom!!!  Nothing like a little self-inflicted humbling to bring a family together and create memories.

Most importantly, how is Ka Hei doing?  Very well.  First, English - He knew a fair amount of English before we got home, and his English comprehension and speaking are growing by leaps and bounds.  He is BY FAR most comfortable talking with our family (so if you walk up and ask him a question, don’t be surprised to get a blank stare or a “I don’t know” response).  But he understands a lot, for example, a couple days ago he asked me ”what’s that?” (a common question in our house) about a word he had read (he reads English well and had understood the rest of the sentence)…the word was “memorize.”  It took a little work, but I was finally able to communicate the meaning well enough for him to clearly understand it.  So, yeah, language-wise, he’s doing fantastic!!

Emotionally?  Ka Hei’s overall attitude is very joyful.  He has gotten irritated with me when I have pushed him a little in his schoolwork (he has the tendency to give up quickly, but when encouraged to keep trying, he does the work very well), but even that irritation is very short lived and he is back to laughing and smiling.  He is truly a joy to have.  I have wondered though, is he putting on a happy face so we will be happier with him, or is he truly happy to be here, in our family.  Yesterday I got my answer. 

I asked Ka Hei if he would like to write a letter to anyone in Hong Kong.  He excitedly replied that he would.  I showed him where the letter-writing supplies were, got him started, and then I went back to making supper.  He came into the kitchen a short time later, cards and envelopes in hand, with a huge smile on his face and said, “I want write (different people in Hong Kong) because I want them know, I very happy!” 

Praise the Lord!!!!!!!  

Hong Kong Day 14 & 15–All packed up and ready to go

Our real last day in Hong Kong was full of packing in the morning.  I was determined to get done as fast as possible so we wouldn’t be stuck in the apartment on our real “last day” in Hong Kong. So, as soon as I stuffed and weighed and then stuffed and weighed again, we headed down to good old Prince Edward Station – our MTR gateway to the rest of Hong Kong.  First stop Yue Hwa Product store.  We were told before coming to HK, that we should try and visit this 7 story store because it has everything from authentic Chinese teas to traditional Chinese clothing to fun ping pong paddles.  I could have spent more time there, but anyone who knows Andrew well, knows that 30 min is his shopping max :(.  So, all too quickly I was being prodded toward the cashier and out the door.  Next stop, Kowloon Park.  A beautiful Park in the midst of Kowloon, with fountains, a maze and serene walkways.  Our kids enjoyed playing hide-n-seek in the maze while Andrew and I rested on a nearby bench.

We decided to spoil ourselves for supper and headed back to the Italian Pizzeria in Tsim Sha Tsui that we had enjoyed a week before.  The views and the pizza were truly memorable!

That night, after we went back to the apartment, we got everyone showered and then pulled out our special treat.  Frozen fruit-flavored mooncakes!  Gladys was so sweet to give them to us on Gotcha Day and we wanted to enjoy them on our last night in this amazing city.

 

  The next morning we got up early (5:30), threw last minute things into the lighter suitcase and rolled out….in 2 groups….we couldn’t fit all of us, plus our luggage into the elevator at the same time.  We walked 20+ min (in the heat…dressed for the cold airport…ugh) to get to a handicap accessible metro station so we wouldn’t have to haul 4 - 50 pound suitcases down multiple flights of stairs. 

We had to switch train lines several times, but eventually we made it!  And we were greeted by Ka Hei’s best friend and his mom, Gladys and 2 teachers (Miss Liu and Miss Fong) from his school who all wanted to see him off and wish him well.  It was heart breakingly sweet!  Ka Hei loved seeing them there.  What a gift!!!!

And then we were off….our first leg was Hong Kong to Tokyo – 4 1/2 hrs.  Once we got to Tokyo, we worked our way to the Admirals Lounge (remember those tickets??) where the helpful staff was completely befuddled – further confirming Mom’s statement that American doesn’t typically hand out day passes.  We were starting to wonder what they would do (as they read over our cards and invitation letter multiple times) when they said, “Sorry for the wait :). You and your children are welcome!”   Woohoo!!!  We enjoyed our on-the-house snack break, electrical outlets and down time immensely as we tried to communicate to Ka Hei that our travels had just begun!

Hong Kong Day 13– WONDERFUL day at Ocean Park

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect way to close out our time here in Hong Kong.  True, we don’t leave until Friday (by 6:30 am), but I have 7 people to pack up, and that will take some time.  I’m hoping we are able leave the apartment and do something in the evening today, but we will see :).  Right now I have us nearly packed and I’m trying to catch up this blog.
First off, I had little to no desire to visit Ocean Park, but Gladys told us that Ka Hei would love to go, so we officially scheduled it into our time here and told Gladys, and she told Ka Hei, and then there was no backing out!
We took the MTR train to Admiralty Station on Hong Kong Island, hopped on a double decker bus (another ‘want to do’ on my list :) ) straight to Ocean Park and got there 10 minutes before it opened.  Perfect!

Ocean park is kind of like, small version of Great America meets small version of Sea World with Pandas.  We first stopped at the huge, beautiful aquarium.  We spent lots of time in here, enjoying the fish, sting rays, hammer head sharks, etc. 

Then we hit a couple shows – the bird show was primarily in Cantonese, so while Ka Hei laughed and knew exactly what was going on, the rest of us were pretty much in the dark until a bird would come flying onto the stage.  I had to think, it will probably be a while before Ka Hei will really be able to enjoy “shows” and long conversations and such in the US.  Until then, he will feel like we did….like he’s missing out. :(  The next show involved acrobats, didn’t have any talking and was just fun!

And today was definitely a day for fun.  Kayla told me she was determined to make a connection with Ka Hei, so today she offered herself up for piggyback rides, and all kinds of fun and Ka Hei definitely enjoyed spending time with her!  Major kudos to Kayla!!!

We were starting to get hungry, but had some difficulty finding a place – one had a good variety of food, but was $200 HK (like $25 US) a plate, and another only had items like fried squid….hmmm.  While we were looking, we stumbled upon the panda house :).  I’m pretty sure I have never seen a panda in person, so it was pretty cool!

Then we found a restaurant with some Chinese and some Western food.  Perfect!  The sweetest little old lady took care of us, making sure we got the food we wanted.  Ka Hei chose spaghetti with the rest of our kids and he loved it.  Timothy was tickled purple because spaghetti is his favorite meal, and now we know it can maintain a regular place on our menu :).  It’s all those important things, like eating spaghetti, that really matter to 14 year old boys ;).
Time to hit arctic world and all the walruses and sea lions:

And then we went on some rides – a roller coaster that Ka Hei said was ok and then bumper cars!  We all laughed so hard!  It was pretty clear that my crew (you had to be 12 yrs to drive a car) has had more bumper car experience than most of the rest of the bumper car drivers there. So the real goal was to zip around, run into each other and NOT get stuck in a pile-up of bumper cars that couldn’t figure out how to go in reverse. 
Next up – roller coasters and water rides!  *I want to state this next part with some understanding that #1, I am not talking about Hong Kong residents (nearly everyone we have met has been so helpful, kind and polite) and #2, I am not trying to make a sweeping statement about Chinese tourists, it is just our experience.*
When our family lined up for the big tube water ride, we were not expecting a cultural experience, but we got one!  As we stood patiently in line, people started pushing their way past us….hmm…we thought….must have some relatives up there that they got separated from.  Then more people…wait just a minute…they’re just cutting in front of us because we’re dumb enough to let them!  At that point, Andrew and I grabbed hands and spread out across the chained-in line we were in.  I got careless for a minute as we rounded a corner, left a couple inches between myself and the post…and squeeze! a woman got through! and then beckoned to the people behind us to join her.  I quickly moved to grab hold of the chain as the people pressed in.  But, between my firm stance and the “are you serious” looks Andrew and I kept shooting backward, the press subsided and I was never dumb enough to let go of the chain again!  On the next water ride, Andrew and I noticed an older woman and her daughters (I’m guessing) pushing their way through people, coming up behind us.  We took up our “bodyguard” positions and then Andrew decided he had had enough.  He turned around and said, in a firm but kind voice, “Are you waiting to ride?” One of the women nodded yes.  “We are too.” She gave him a surprised look, as if the thought had never dawned on her, and then stepped back a bit, giving us some much appreciated space.  Crazy!
Here we are, soaked, after our water ride :)

We watched a dolphin show (it was good, but I’ll spare you the pics) and then went on a fantastic roller coaster.  It was different than anything we have ever experienced before because we were literally doing huge vertical drops down the edge of a cliff straight toward the bay.  It was so cool!

Ka Hei isn’t much of a rollercoaster fan.  I think we really stretched him by asking him to go on it once.  When TKL&A wanted to ride a second time, we didn’t push the point with him and instead Andrew and I sat out and watched and talked about how big the drops were with Ka Hei.  There were several times that Ka Hei wanted to tell me more about what he thought about the ride, but couldn’t find the English words to do it.  So, he would try for a bit and then say, ”I can’t say it in English.”  I felt so bad for him!  Thankfully he didn’t let it get him down, but smiled and moved on to the next thing :).
The park closed at 7 and at 6 they started shutting down the rides to move people toward the front gate. Andrew and I got to practice our “Line Guard” one more time as we boarded a train that went through a mountain from one side of the park to the other.  At the park exit, we watched a light and water show that was truly incredible.  It was so well done!  The music, water, lights, fire!!, fireworks…it was all incredible.  Ka Hei had never stayed late enough to enjoy the show before, so it was new to all of us and we all loved it!

All in all, it was the perfect, kid-friendly, fun-packed way to end our time here :).  And now that I have us all packed, we’re going to head out and see a bit of the city one last time before we fly home. 

See you soon!

 

Hong Kong Day 12– Part 2

Last night had some hard moments, but thankfully, God brought us through and today was a wonderful day full of laughter and many good memories.  Thanks so much for your prayers for Ka Hei!!! 

Here is the Gotcha Day Post part 2 :) -

We decided to spend Ka Hei’s gotcha day playing games together – because we love to play games, and walking market streets – because these market streets are so Hong Kong…i.e. We don’t have streets like these in Small town America :).  We also wanted to have a light day today, because tomorrow will be a huge day.

We started our market walk in the bird market:

 

From what I understood from Ka Hei, he has never seen any of these markets before, so it was fun to share something new with him :).  All of us were floored at all the birds, especially all the different kinds that were for sale on this street.  And of course, what kid isn’t fascinated by grasshoppers in zip-lock baggies (to feed the birds, of course :) )?

Next up, the flower market:

  

Ka Hei was so sweet as we walked through this market.  He pretty quickly picked up that I enjoyed looking at the flowers, so he started pointing out flowers that he thought I would really like :).  We would walk along and then I would hear, “Mom!” I would turn to look and he would smile and point and say, “Pretty.  You like?”  I would assure him that I did and then we would walk a bit further.  After a while, he would point out flowers and then ask me what they are called in English.  He is a quick learner because a bit later he would point at flowers and ask if they were the name he thought I had told him – often he was right!

Finally the goldfish market:

This market is different because all the fish tanks were inside stores (not outside the stores, or in stalls, like the other markets had their items).  It was fun to see the variety of fish that were for sale and then incredible prices.  Some fish were multiple hundreds of dollars – for one fish!

At the end of our market walk, we got some ice cream and then started the walk back to our apartment:

Hong Kong looks just a little different than our dear hometown.  Mostly, I think Ka Hei is going to wonder where all the people are!

Hong Kong Day 12– Gotcha Day

Today we made our regular commute to Ka Hei’s small group home for the last time.  When we arrived, he was ready to come with us….and we had a wonderful day, but I wonder what is going through his head right now.  He did not eat a good supper and just acted a bit different than the happy-go-lucky kid we have been with the last week+. 

….(20 minutes later)…

Well, now I know.  About 20 minutes ago Lucas came to us (he and Ka Hei had been playing together in their room) and said, Ka Hei just asked me, “Are you happy?”

I (Lucas) said, “Yes!  Are you?”

Ka Hei responded, “I am sad.  I miss home.”

Andrew & I immediately went into their room where he looked at us completely normally and since I’m sure we had concerned looks on our faces, he asked “What?”  I rubbed his back, we asked how he was…”ok,” he responded, and then smiled to reassure us.  He’s not going to say a word to Andrew and I.

Right now he is in the shower.  I have a bunch of pictures from our great day today (we went market walking)….but frankly, right now I don’t feel like posting them. 

I’d just like to ask for your prayers.  Prayers for wisdom.  Prayers that God will wrap His arms around Ka Hei & give him hope.  Prayers that he will let Andrew and I in, so that we can help comfort him as well. 

For a while (very possibly a long while) this is going to be hard.  Really hard. 

Ka Hei with one of his 3 sweet “Aunties” who have loved and cared for him the last 2 years.  Just one of the many people he is missing.  Lord Jesus, please help! 

Hong Kong Day 11–a visit to our apartment

Today Ka Hei got to see our apartment for the first time.  Throughout our time here, Hong Kong’s Social Services has had some parameters set around what we could and could not do with Ka Hei.  We understand they want the best for Ka Hei, so we are very willing to work within these guidelines, but the fact that he could not visit our apartment was kind of hard.  You see, because there are 8 children in Ka Hei’s home, it gets crowded when we are there too.   And yet, we could not come to our apartment.  So, from the moment we pick up Ka Hei until we take him back for bed, we have been on the move.  And while we have enjoyed the things we have done and seen, it gets exhausting to have so little down time.  In light of all this, we decided it would be good to just stay here for the day to have some time just playing with each other.

When we picked up Ka Hei, we got a surprise.  His luggage was already packed and ready to go.  He still will not stay overnight with us tonight, but he was eager to get his things to our apartment :)  :)  :) !  And he has a lot of things - a big suitcase, 2 big backpacks, a shoulder bag and his violin.  At first, our younger kids quietly asked me, “Why does he have so much?”  Then I asked them, “If you were told you would be leaving everything you know, and you could only take the things you pack…what would you decide to leave behind?”  They were a lot more understanding and willing to lug things through MTR stations after that.  It is pretty sobering to think that all the material goods he has in the world are now sitting here in our apartment.

We had a really good, relaxing time together.  Here are the boys playing Mario Cart against each other:

Eventually, we had to leave and take Ka Hei back to his apartment….but this was the last time!  Tomorrow is the last day we will make the roughly 30 minute commute to Ka Hei’s small group home (8 kids) because today (!!!) is Ka Hei’s last day there.  Tomorrow, quietly, without any fanfare, this little boy will officially have parents (custodial parents, because we can’t legally adopt him for another 6 months, but in my view, that’s just a difference on paper, not in real life).  Wow. 

Now, because we have been asked what our commute is like, I thought I would show you.

First we walk down 3 flights of stairs and exit our gated apartment building.  Here we are at our door (on a different day – we didn’t have any rain today, so we didn’t need our jackets) and then looking at our apartment buildling (the green one on the left) :

We walk past the building that has the blue awnings and continue down that street.  When we begin our journey, there typically aren’t a lot of people because we are staying in a less congested area.  We pass a bakery that has delicious breads, egg tarts and pineapple buns.  It’s also where we found pig-in-a-blanket type rolls that our kids really like.  Then we pass a meat and vegetable market.  We always have to check how many pig legs they get in that morning, and how many have sold by that evening :).

(Yes, the pictures are out of order, but I thought they looked better grouped this way rather than 2 verticals, then 2 horizontals).  And those 2 long skinny things at the top right of the rack are the pig legs.

Anywho, shortly after the market, the sidewalks begin to fill up with people until we eventually arrive at Prince Edward Station.

(sorry - the sun was just behind the station, so the picture isn’t too good)

We swipe our Octopus cards – every person has their own card, it records where we enter the MTR system and deducts money from our cards as we exit (it’s like a debit card) .  Then we head down two sets of stairs and get on a train to go to Kowloon Tong (on the MTR map below, we started at the far left of the green and are heading a few stations to the right).  

 

When we arrive at Kowloon Tong, we walk through the station (and a lot of people) to get to stairs leading up to an outdoor platform.  There we board a train going to Tai Wai.

At the Tai Wai station, we ride an escalator down a flight of stairs, walk through the station, exit and then head to a different escalator across the street.  This escalator takes us up to a sky walk (there are a lot of sky walks in Hong Kong so pedestrians don’t have to interfere with vehicles).

These 3 signs are very important:  The First tells us which section of the sky walk to take to get us to Ka Hei’s estate.  The Second is the name of his apartment building, and the Third means we will NOT be walking on nasty spittings on the streets (or skywalks) of Hong Kong :) & based on what I’ve heard from those who have visited China…that third sign is a true blessing!

So there ya have it.  Probably too much detail, but I really want to remember this daily journey after we get home.  The fact that we made it so many times is a real testament to the care and concern Ka Hei’s social workers (especially Gladys) have toward him, and their desire to help him transition into our family as smoothly and joyfully as possible.  We are so thankful God placed them in Ka Hei’s life!