I'm Back!

Ok, so I've been back for a while now. But I'm just now getting to this. I'm over jetlag now. yay!!! And, now Caleb is home too! yay. He's such a cutie and is perfect for this family. He's strong-willed too and fits right in.....so, praise God he is finally home and now has a family who loves him more than he's ever been loved in his entire life. God works in incredible ways. What a way to make a difference in more than just 8 lives. God bless!

Well, I'm in Hong Kong now. We're on our way home. Yesterday, we took a ferry over to the island. It was so neat. We went over just as the sun was setting. We walked around a little bit and ate at the Outback Steakhouse. We had a fun time. This morning, me and my dad will leave for the airport and then be on our way back home. We miss you all. Caleb is doing so wonderfully. Hopefully me and dad leaving won't confuse him too much.
Note: Those pictures posted are completely out of order, I was just trying to put some more pictures on.

Well, China has certainly been a memorable trip. I've learned alot about everything. Yesterday we went to Caleb's orphanage, it was something i'll never forget. The first room they took us was the baby room. They were all in cribs being neglected with multiple screaming. We came on haircut day. All of the babies heads were shaved and there was only stubble on them. It was completely heartwrenching to see such malnourished children without anybody to hold them. All the workers just walked past the screaming babies as if they weren't there. My dad's heart was broken and couldn't leave the room without trying to calm down this one screaming little girl. That was a hard place to be. Then they took us to a floor with all the handicapped children. They looked so pale and malnourished. We were told this was the #1 orphanage in all of China. It's hard to believe that there isn't a place in all of China that cares about children. We then went to Caleb's foster home where he stayed for about 5 months. That was neat. The lady who took care of him was very emotional. What an experience it was.
Of course, Caleb is still as cute as ever. But, let's say he's excercising some strong will inside him. He's had some temper tantrums lately. I just remind my mom that i was practice, and now she's an expert on strong willed children. :)
Well, we miss you all and have been praying for all of you as well.

Love you Josh, have fun at homecoming and congrats on the Academy.
Peter and Yuri, stay out of trouble and be ready for one boy that will have fun taking apart all your toys. ;)

Hello all,
We've been having a great time here in China with my new brother Caleb. He's such a cutie and has opened up entirely. He loves both his mama and his papa but is definetly a daddy's boy. He talks alot more now and occasionally uses english which is wonderful. We've seen both sides of him, the happy, cheery, laughing one, and the hyper. annoying, obnoxious one.
Yesterday we had fun doing lots of shopping and found many movies. It isn't illegal, by China standards, though I'm sure it's breaking some American copyright laws. But for only $2, we couldn't help but buy some. I also bought some pearls for when I'm older which will be very nice.
Today we went to church and met a Christian family of 10 kids. They had a little boy as well and we had fun talking with them. They have 4 bio and 6 adopted now. In about an hour, we will go with our guide to an electronic market and hopefully get Josh his desired portable hardrive.
We miss you all and I will try to post more pictures next time. Thanks for the prayers.
Love,
Noel

My new brother

We have Caleb. He is so wonderful and amazing. He’s such a beautiful and fun boy. We received him yesterday, he cried for the first 15 minutes and then quieted up in my mother’s arms. He then came to the hotel with us where he sat around looking at the toys. After finding a favorite toy, he warmed up a bit to us. He ate dinner and then took a bath, which brought on some more crying. He slept wonderfully though. He has a bit of a cold though and some nasty bug bites, but he’s wonderful. One thing about him is his hair. He has a cowlick on his head that causes his hair to naturally form a Mohawk. He’s so adorable and so incredible.

Today, he slowly warmed up to us. We took him to a park where he enjoyed the slide. That brought us all closer to him. Dad had him laughing in no time. He has a cute laugh. At lunch, I started to realize how annoying he can be. Wow. Lol. The one thing I’ll remember about that lunch is when I reached over to touch his arm, and grabbed mine instead and pinched it while laughing at me get mad. He sure has a sense of humor. I love him so much nevertheless and he constantly has us laughing. This afternoon, at the hotel, Dad and him were having a blast. Caleb adores Dad and already has quickly realize who Mom and Dad are and will even come to them with arms open. He has adjusted so quickly with so many changes. He just yesterday and today got in the car for the first time, got parents who don’t speak his language, saw a river full of water, saw a puppy, and saw so many new things. We love him so much and he knows it.

Tonight, we went out to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant with him. So many people stare at you when you have a Chinese baby and you are a westerner. At the restaurant, I thought I’d just say, I ate cow tongue to find it actually tasty, but discontinued eating simply because it was cow tongue and looked like tongue. I also ate some other questionable meat that may have been either lamb or snake according to my parents. Pretty interesting.

Also today, we went past a pet market on our way to the hotel. Quite different from what we would expect. I saw many buckets full of scorpions of all sizes. I thought I was going to die. I also, though expected big ugly dogs, saw the cutest puppies that no body should ever even think of eating. They were too cute and I wanted to take them all home.

Today has been so incredible, I can never explain how wonderful it has been. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds for us and for our little Caleb. Also, I’d like to say that he is officially my brother, we made it official this morning.

I love all of you guys and can’t wait for you to meet my new brother.

Also, another note, we found a church in English in town to go to, another blessing.

Thanks for all the prayers.

We're in Guangzhou!

We are in Guangzhou now! Yesterday we arrived at the hotel. The rooms are enormous and we have two. The bathrooms are the size of a small bedroom. It’s very nice. Our hotel is right next to a major shopping street and the shopping is great and very cheap.

Yesterday, when we got here, Bob our guide took us out on the street and showed us around. Bethany and I are so overwhelmed by all the shopping and all the great prices. Lol. We don’t know what to do. So, after eating a great Chinese dinner, we went shopping. We’re excited and are already planning more shopping trips.

But, for the best thing, we get Caleb today. We’re very excited and can’t wait. It will be a big change for all of us.

The area we are in is incredible. We are living in a 5 star hotel that is like a huge apartment for over a week and the people directly next to us are living in apartment homes 1/3 the size of our rooms with little food and clothes. It doesn’t feel right and is very different from anything I’m used to. These people need prayer and need to know the hope of Christ. Please pray for the Chinese people and their government. They need prayer. They live with so many superstitions and belief in luck, they need true hope, because it is what they seek. Also, pray for the missionaries in China, that they may be well and reach these people.

The internet is expensive, so don’t expect personal e-mails, though I’ll try. I’ll make as many blogs as possible. But don’t forget to go to my parents’ blog to get more and different information as well. It is calebadoption.blogspot.com.

Yesterday was so exhausting. we went to the forbidden city, the summer palace, tianahamen square, a silk factory, and to an acrobatics show. beijing is very unique but also very polluted. my throat is already sore and now tastes like dirt from all the pollution in the air. there is an actual haze in the air and across the sky because of it. but most importantly, the people live in such a different way. they live in communism and believe it is the best way. they were literally brainwashed as children into believing that they loved all these things. but at the same time, they are restricted from free religion, having as many children as they want, and many other things. they live their lives in an entirely different way. they view the world differently. we even had some people come up to us and take pictures with us, 'foreigners'. they call american teenage girls, "american dolls". please pray for them, that they can find true hope in God, instead of in a false government.
today, we're going to the great wall and to the 'common mans' home for some tea. (another tourist spot)
tomorrow, we leave for guangzhou and we get him in that afternoon, i'm thrilled and can't wait.

love, noel