We are home!

After travelling for 23 hours on planes, trains, and buses and busy airports we made it home! The girls were all wonderful travellers! Zoey and Jada slept most of the 13 hour flight and Kyah wanted to be held and play with everything she could get her hands on. She is adjusting well to life at our house. We have all been so tired that we have not be able to do much. Kyah keeps looking at the suitcases and wondering where we are going next. She seems to make every place her home right now. She cried when we left the hotel and she cried when we left the plane. Poor child is so confused about what her new life will be like. She smiled and laughed when she met Nai Nai and Pa and Nancy and Gabrielle at the airport. She loves to make people laugh! We cannot wait for you all the meet her.

Forbidden City

Kyah loves to make silly faces for the camera!

All Cleaned up

Writing Lesson

Outcome SCO-1.3  Student will demonstrate the ability to scribble on the paper, not the desk.

Baby sitter

The silk market has built in babysitters!

Silk Factory

Here is Jada watching the machines unraveling the silk cocoons.  It was fascinating to see this process.

Bus ride

She loves to climb around on the bus.  Her Visa says she can do this in the truck in Canada until 2013.

Always a snack

Today she wouldn't leave go of a piece of bread.

Asleep in the Crib

Finally!

Last Night

It is Wednesday night and we are happy to be coming home tomorrow but sad to be leaving China.  We had a great two weeks.  Kyah fits into the family perfectly.  She loves to giggle with her sisters and her funny personality is beginning to show.

All three are in the tub while I am typing and I can hear all three having a big belly laugh.  Kyah learned how to splash her sisters and loves every reaction she gets.

Today we went to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. There was a long line of people with their umbrellas waiting to see the body of Chairman Mao.  We decided not to wait 4 hours to walk past his crystal coffin.  It was our first time in the Forbidden City and it was larger than expected.  The red buildings and the gold rooftops stole the show.  Some of the main buildings were refurbished for the 2008 Olympics.  It was not a place for peace and quiet.  The entire time reminded me of leaving Veterans Stadium after a game because of the crowd.   We had to walk whichever way the crowd was moving.

We have Kyah's passport with a Canadian entry visa and a US entry visa.  We also have a paper that proves she is a Canadian Citizen as soon as she lands in Canada!  It is a big relief to have the papers today.  We thought we might have to go to the embassy and then straight to the airport.  We leave Beijing at 4:10 Pm local time on Aug 4^th and land in Chicago at 4:03 local time on August 4^th.

Our entire group went out for supper together and our guide Yulin arranged a magic show for the kids.  After the magic, a dancer who was dressed in a traditional dress danced for them.  We also had a cake and the candle had fireworks in them.  I hope to find some to take home in the AM

 

The Girls

One happy group of girls.

Popsicle

Kyah's first Popsicle!

panda

Nova on the Great Wall

There goes daring Nova to trek around to the other side.  She had to put up the peace sign because all the Chinese people do that in every photo.

Zoey at the Top

Sweaty Zoey made it all the way up the right side of the Great Wall.  Look across the valley at the Great Wall going up the other side of the mt.

Scott and Kyah

Break time on the Wall

Zoey and Jada are taking in the sites while resting at one of the towers.

All of us at The Great Wall

We are ready to climb!

Zoey and Jada on the River Cruise

There were neon lights on all the buildings.  It was a river light show!

Zoey's journal entry about the Houtong tour in Beijing

July 24th we went on a Houtong tour. The bikers pulled us in these carts called rickshaws. They were neat. The bikers pulled us to a tower called the Drum Tower when we entered we saw lots of stairs our guide Micheal (who called himself Micheal Jackson) said there were 69 stairs which is a lot.Then we saw a drum performance it was LOUD! They use the drums to tell time in the afternoon.Then we road the rickshaws again but this time we road them to a Houtong house and by the way Houtong means narrow alley.At the Houtong house we met a kung fu master and his son was learning kung fu too.We also got to see the swords he uses we also got to hold them with him.When we started to leave we saw lots more weapons like one that was full of spikes it liked really sharp.
  This is an excerpt from Zoey's journal that she typed

Tea House

We went to our guide's friends tea house.  Her family has a tea leaf farm in the hills.  She had pictures of herself picking the tea with her family.  She let us try all kinds of different teas.  Her family's green tea, jasmine tea, dragons' tears, ginseng tea and oulong.  It was all very good!

Jada's new Outfit

Jada loves looking at all the different fans, para-sails and umbrellas.

Zoey Loves Shopping

So many China dresses to choose from!

Zoey and Kyah

Kyah hanging out with her big sister Zoey!

Nanny Nova

Kyah loves hugs from Nova.

A day in the life of Guangzhou China

We are loving Guangzhou! It is a beautiful city with lots of trees, flowers and the Pearl River running through it. At night the city is so lit up with lights flashing, lights hanging from the trees and flashing in apartment windows. Our hotel room is on the  34th floor and from our window all we can see is high rises for ever. Our guide told us we are not even in the downtown area.
Kyah had a really good day today. She ate 4 small bowls of congee for breakfast, watermelon and a banana. At lunch she ate two bowls of chicken congee and half a container of orange juice. She had yogurt and rice cereal for supper. She is so small that we really want her to eat! After eating all that food we could not keep up with her she wanted to walk through all the stores, go up and down stairs and pull everything off the shelves in the stores. Zoey and Jada think she is so funny! She does not like it when you tell her no or try to take something from her. She got lots of souvenirs today as she would not put down the little things she picked up.
She cries when she comes into the hotel room. She really likes to be on the move. She loves to look out the bus window at all the sights. She says words when she sees something but we are not sure what she is saying. She loves when a lady in a store picks her up and starts to talk to her. She will do everything they tell her to do. She went for a swim in the pool this evening and she loved it. She has no fear! She did not like having a bath or getting her teeth brushed.
We went to a traditional tea house today and sampled tea for all kinds of health benefits. It was great! The lady showed us pictures of her farm where she grows the tea. We were in the old part of canton city in Guangzhou. There were people out playing games, ladies sitting in large circles talking, people sewing clothes right in the street, laundry hanging everywhere and lots of happy people. We really liked this area.
It is really hot here. It was 37 degrees today. Jada really does not like the heat or a lot of the food. She misses home a lot. Zoey is so proud of everything about China. The rest of us are doing great! Nova is a great help and we could not be doing as many things if she was not here!
We miss you all!

Take Out noodles

Kyah's personality is starting to show.  She is very well natured and lets you hold her, change her, sit her on the couch or put her down to stand.  For the most part she is very quiet.  At least compared to Zoey and Jada in a hotel room.  Kyah will giggle when her sisters are fooling around. She likes looking out the window at everything.  Sitting on Zoey and Jada's lap in the bus she was amazed at all the sites.

 If you put your hands out and make a "come here" motion, she will waddle over to you.  Kyah doesn't chew very well but she can slurp up noodles!  She wants to flop over backwards when you pick her up.  It always brings out a big smile.

  When Zoey or Jada leave the room, she will point and say  "DHAR"  which is like the Cantonese word for "there".  If Marcy leaves the room her little bottom lip will sometimes start to quiver.  She had some noddles for lunch and we tried to give her some formula in a bottle, but the battle lines were drawn.   She is now asleep for an afternoon nap.

 

 

 

Meeting Kyah!!

Yesterday was Kyah's Gotcha day!! It did not go as expected but the most important thing is that Kyah is now with her family!!

We left the hotel yesterday morning at 5:00am to head to the airport for our 8:30am flight. We were all so excited to be heading to get Kyah! When we arrived at the airport we discovered that NO flights were leaving because of a severe thunder storm the night before. We were delayed at the airport (with thousands of other travelers and 2 other families leaving to meet their children) for 5 hours.  Finally at 1:30 we were on our flight heading to Kyah! We were supposed to arrive in Guanzhou in the morning and meet Kyah in the afternoon but poor little Kyah had to wait for us all afternoon. We were so late arriving that when we finally arrived in Guangzhou at 4:30 our guide Joanna said that Kyah and the directors from her orphanage were waiting for us at the hotel. It was a long drive from the airport to the hotel with the antipatation of meeting her but as soon as we drove into the hotel Marcy saw her through the window! Kyah is very tiny but absolutely gorgeous! She only cried when Marcy washed her hair last night in the bath. She has been really good and fits into her new family perfectly. She went to Marcy immediately and continues to follow her around the hotel room or watch what she is doing. She easily went to Scott and ate supper last night on her new daddy's knee. Zoey and Jada are beyond excited to meet their new little sister and love helping and playing with her! 

Getting around China

We are doing well in Beijing. The weather is so hot and humid. As soon as you walk outside you are wet and sticky. We went on a walking tour to the Temple of Earth. Walking to the temple was an experience in its self. The cars do not stop for pedestrians, they drive on the sidewalk to keep moving. The bicycles do not look out for people either and they are everywhere on the streets, sidewalks etc. A lot of the bicycles have electric motors so they are not going slow when they come up behind you. Our walk to the temple of earth was crazy. At one point as Marcy was trying to get across the street with Jada there were cars coming both ways people everywhere and an older lady came up on a bike and Marcy knocked her right off. We could not stop laughing. In usual Nova Scotia fashion we apologized to the lady who had no idea what we were saying but she smiled at us anyway and took off again on her bike. Nova and I saw a blind lady walking down the street with an old cane. That was very scary to think how she would get around the streets of Beijing.
We have had some great meals while we are here. The dumplings are always a favourite with the girls. They love the long noodles with bok choy for breakfast. Yesterday we went to a restaurant for lunch that had many different types of fish in tanks (turtles, catfish, carp,crabs, flounders). We went to check out the fish while we were waiting for our lunch to come and saw a worker net out a fish, put it on the floor and then step on it with his heel to kill it! We were glad we hadn't ordered any fish!
Yesterday we went to the Silk Market. What an experience. You have to barter for everything you want. It is hard to even look at anything without the workers come at you and asking you if you like that, what size, it is top quality, whats your best price. Scott loves to get them going and he usually does get a good price for things. Nova was getting good yesterday at beating them down.

One more sleep until Kyah comes!!!!!

Getting around China

We are doing well in Beijing. The weather is so hot and humid. As soon as you walk outside you are wet and sticky. We went on a walking tour to the Temple of Earth. Walking to the temple was an experience in its self. The cars do not stop for pedestrians, they drive on the sidewalk to keep moving. The bicycles do not look out for people either and they are everywhere on the streets, sidewalks etc. A lot of the bicycles have electric motors so they are not going slow when they come up behind you. Our walk to the temple of earth was crazy. At one point as Marcy was trying to get across the street with Jada there were cars coming both ways people everywhere and an older lady came up on a bike and Marcy knocked her right off. We could not stop laughing. In usual Nova Scotia fashion we apologized to the lady who had no idea what we were saying but she smiled at us anyway and took off again on her bike. Nova and I saw a blind lady walking down the street with an old cane. That was very scary to think how she would get around the streets of Beijing.
We have had some great meals while we are here. The dumplings are always a favourite with the girls. They love the long noodles with bok choy for breakfast. Yesterday we went to a restaurant for lunch that had many different types of fish in tanks (turtles, catfish, carp,crabs, flounders). We went to check out the fish while we were waiting for our lunch to come and saw a worker net out a fish, put it on the floor and then step on it with his heel to kill it! We were glad we hadn't ordered any fish!
Yesterday we went to the Silk Market. What an experience. You have to barter for everything you want. It is hard to even look at anything without the workers come at you and asking you if you like that, what size, it is top quality, whats your best price. Scott loves to get them going and he usually does get a good price for things. Nova was getting good yesterday at beating them down.

One more sleep until Kyah comes!!!!!

Crossing the Pedway to the Pearl Market

Sea of Bikes

This photo was taken near the entrance to the Temple of Heaven.

Temple of Heaven

We were all so tired that by 7 pm in Beijing we went to bed. The girls had slept a little on the plane. Around 2 am there was a thunder and lightning storm that was loud it woke us up. We were all up at 2 am. The girls played in the room and we waited for 4 hours for the breakfast room to open at the hotel.Nova had a much better sleep and was happy to have ear plugs and her own room.   After that, we took the Subway to the Temple of Heaven.  It was so crowded on the subway.  We looked at our watch and it was 8:00 AM rush hour.  When we arrived at the Temple of Heaven, we were greeted by a sea of bicycles.  After purchasing the and pushing our way through crowds of people we entered the most beautiful, peaceful, clean and uncrowded park. The people in the park were doing tai chi, getting together to sing, ball room dancing, playing a hacky sack game with feathers and a spring, a version of badminton and a lot of people were meditating. It was so great to see all this going on. We of course attracted a lot of attention. People stare at us where ever we go. They want to know if Zoey and Jada are China girls when we say yes they give us the thumbs up and thank us for looking after their children that were abandoned. The Chinese are so  kind, gentle, generous and peaceful people. We love being in their country. After we left the park we went to the Pearl factory. What a place 10000's of knock of items and the workers coming at you saying give me your best price. Scott loves to barter, Nova and I have some practicing to do before we get better. We will go to the Silk Market today. We had a wonderful supper last night with Yulin and Faith our tour guide. We are not sure what we were eating but it was really good. We walked around east Beijing after supper and saw all the Friday night life. People singing and dancing on street corners, girls getting ready to go, babies playing in front of their buildings with split pants on. Every time we leave the hotel it is so interesting to see how the Chinese live. Today is Jada's Happy Adoption Day. It was five years ago today that we met Jada for the first time.
We hope everyone is well and we miss you all!

We Arrived in China!

After 22 hours of planes, buses, taxis, security checks, showing passports and trying to get comfortable in small spaces, we are at the hotel in Beijing!  Zoey and Jada were excellent travelers.  Journals, sticker books, a borrowed DS(thank you Sandra) and in-flight movies kept them entertained.
Our hotel is on a street that is lined with restaurants that have beautiful red hanging lanterns above the sidewalks.  We hope to be awake tonight so we can see them when they are lit.
We walked around the area and we are not in a tourist area.  We are immersed in the local culture.  There is a local open air market in an alley way with dragon fruit and other exotic fruit.  There were turtles, raw ducks with the heads still on, dried hot peppers and an man was making fresh long noodles.  Long noodles = long life!
There is a vision that sticks in my mind from the first day.  It is the mix of old Beijing with the new.  A man is a business suit was standing next to his bicycle while a worker was sitting on the sidewalk fixing his brakes.  It is a site that you would think you would see all over Beijing, but next to his tiny gray repair shop is a bright yellow and red McDonald's with an ice-cream bar selling cones and McFurries on the street.  Is there anywhere in the world to get away from fast food?

Quote of the Day
   While walking down the gray sidewalks and seeing all the workers, people on bikes, horns honking, red letters and Chinese characters Jada looks up and says "I don't remember being born in a place like this!

Fwd: We Arrived in China!

After 22 hours of planes, buses, taxis, security checks, showing passports and trying to get comfortable in small spaces, we are at the hotel in Beijing!  Zoey and Jada were excellent travelers.  Journals, sticker books, a borrowed DS(thank you Sandra) and in-flight movies kept them entertained.
Our hotel is on a street that is lined with restaurants that have beautiful red hanging lanterns above the sidewalks.  We hope to be awake tonight so we can see them when they are lit.
We walked around the area and we are not in a tourist area.  We are immersed in the local culture.  There is a local open air market in an alley way with dragon fruit and other exotic fruit.  There were turtles, raw ducks with the heads still on, dried hot peppers and an man was making fresh long noodles.  Long noodles = long life!
There is a vision that sticks in my mind from the first day.  It is the mix of old Beijing with the new.  A man is a business suit was standing next to his bicycle while a worker was sitting on the sidewalk fixing his brakes.  It is a site that you would think you would see all over Beijing, but next to his tiny gray repair shop is a bright yellow and red McDonald's with an ice-cream bar selling cones and McFurries on the street.  Is there anywhere in the world to get away from fast food?

Quote of the Day
   While walking down the gray sidewalks and seeing all the workers, people on bikes, horns honking, red letters and Chinese characters Jada looks up and says "I don't remember being born in a place like this!

This is an Excerpt from Zoey's "Kyah" Journal

On the 20th we're going to China and one of my Mom's girlfriends' is coming.  Kyah lives in an orphanage by the China Sea.  This is a picture of her, and by the way her name is Kyah Song.  I am so excited to meet her.  So is every-one else.  It's going to be a looooong flight because it will take 14 hours and that' a loooong time on a plane and one thing for sure I hope my ears don't pop.  Because when your ears pop they hurt so that's why.  All of the Tilfords including me think she is cute.  Cuter then the prettiest flower and her smile is cute too.  None of us know if she'll look like me or Jada.  She is starting to look like Jada mostly.  But her hair color looks most like mine.
By Zoey Tilford

Photo 2 of Kyah

Getting Ready for our Trip

Hi all,
 We are practicing using a blog for the first time.  We want to figure everything out before we go.