MEDICAL AND PASSPORT DAY

Today we had to get their medical exam and apply for their passports. Unfortunately, I woke up at 2 AM and MaeLynn woke up at 3 AM so we were all a bit tired today. We met with Mr. Li at 10:30 and walked to the medical examination office. We first stopped along the way to get their Visa pictures, but poor MaeLynn couldn't stop crying. Alas, we got her picture but she did NOT look happy.   The exam went pretty quickly, but of course they brought in a few doctors regarding Joshua. He is pigeon chested and they had concerns to discuss with other doctors. But it was odd as they seemed fearful to say anything to us as if we didn't know that he had a heart condition. But when we reassured them that we were very aware of his condition and that, yes, we knew he has a pigeon chest, they relaxed. The worst part of the exam is when we have to hold them to get their TB test. I held Joshua and Phil held MaeLynn, but you still always feel like a monster when you have to submit your child to anything that causes them pain. Yes, they cried a little but were troopers.   Later in the afternoon Mr. Li drove us to the police department where we applied for their passports. Once again it only took about ½ hour, even though there were quite a number of families there. They seem to have this down to a science so that wait times are fairly short.   When we got back home we ate at Lucy's, a popular spot for adoptive families due to carrying a few American dishes. It was fine and the kids seemed to enjoy it. The major milestone, however, is that MaeLynn finally took the initiative to feed herself. She isn't able to hold a fork or spoon as her dexterity in her hands has not been developed sufficiently and she is very use to being fed. However, after I would feed her a few bites, I would feed myself. After a while she seemed to get tired of having to wait for me so she started to pick up the spoon to feed. She didn't have much success but we were ecstatic as it was truly the first time since she came to us that she showed any interest in trying to feed herself.   On the way home we ended up speaking to a very congenial storekeeper. She had excellent English and we chatted for quite some time. She was taken by our stroller and we told her that we have had quite a few Chinese locals come up to us to ask us about our stroller. She said you just don't see double strollers in China. That started us off on a very long and fruitful conversation. She told us that she pays 150/month for her apartment and we probably pay that for one night. She then said for the 10 days that we pay for our hotel, that pays for almost a year of her rent, which by standard is considered a little pricey. She then told us that her daughter lives in her province with her parents and she only sees her twice a year and has been doing this six years. I told her that I watched a documentary on China and it talked about how it is very common for parents to move to the big cities to make money to send home and only see their children once or twice a year for a few days. She said that it is not an easy life but nothing is free in China and if she wants her kids to have a better life she has to have money to get them through school. Phil and I were amazed at the sacrifices they have to do and also became so much more appreciative of the many blessings we've been given.