Guangzhou and Grief

This post was more difficult for me to write. And really, its harder to know where to begin as there are some really good parts and some definite hard parts. Adoption is like that. There are such beautiful and affirming moments, that take your breath away. But to be an orphan comes with brokeness.

Kameron is a really great kid. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. And this whole process has been going much better than we expected. We prepared for Kameron to grieve. But we saw no signs of it. That is, until we left Kunming.

After traveling to a new city in China he has never been to (Guangzhou), then first thing the following morning-- a doctors appointment with 3 required shots, followed by mom leaving without him to grab some take out for dinner.. Our sweet boy fell apart. And it was rough, for all of us.

Now, I have to stop here and say that Jesse.. did amazing. He was very calm and loving with him during a very difficult time. It made me fall in love with him, all over again. We reached out to our guide, trusted friends who have walked this road before, and prayed a ton.

This morning, started out rough as well. At breakfast, mom couldnt contain her frustration anymore, and cried. It had been rough for all of us. 

Soon after breakfast, he started relaxing a bit more. He started being his happy and playful self again. Grief is hard. You don't always know how or when it will show it's face. And sometimes, its out of nowhere and very sudden.

Then we were taken by our guides to the Pearl and Jade Market. It was a huge, multilevel mall that sold jewels of all kinds. It was interesting, seeing so many booths filled with families pouring tea, eating meals, as they manned their shop.

The multiple levels at the Liwan Market. And lots of escalators (which Kameron loves and we rode lots of).

Jesse and Kameron at the Pearl Store. They would sell you strands of many different kinds of pearls. It was a bit overwhelming, the amount of choices there were!

Then, our boy insisted on buying mom a gift. He had seen my wallet and found a perfect accessory for it. He was so delighted when he asked, "do you like it?" And I said, "I do! Very much so!"

Kameron's gift for mom. A butterfly. 

Then we went to Shamian Island. What a neat place that is! We did even more shopping and gift finding there. We were thrilled with our finds there! Kameron found more gifts. This time for his brothers and for his daddy...

The necklace he gave Jesse has a special circle that means "happy family." And yes, that's Jesse in a tuxedo t-shirt. He wore it to get Kameron to smile today. Kameron liked it a lot.

Shamian Island was full of people taking pictures with multiple statues like this.

Shamian Island. Complete with a Starbucks. Jesse and Kameron await their order.

Multiple views from Shaiman Island in Guangzhou. This is the Pearl River. This city is the 3rd largest city in China. You can drive nearly 2 hours and still be in Guangzhou.

Kameron trying some of dad's grapefruit soda. Soda (and chocolate) is less sweet here than in America.

Watching the koi at the koi pond.

There were lots of model photoshoots. I snapped this picture because people sometimes give US odd looks. I can't remember the last time I walked around wearing wings and had handlers... :)

Then we had lunch at Lucy's. Which is pretty much a China Adoption right of passage. They had good western food and Chinese food options. Kameron loved their spicy chicken wings and seafood soup. Jesse got chicken tenders and I got fish and chips. We resumed our typical family style of eating, where we each order something, and share.

After a busy day of sightseeing and some shopping, Kameron was elated to go to the Toy Market with his daddy and another adoptive family who also had adopted their daughter from Kunming. The two of them came back with an impressive amount of toys for very cheap. And to see them talk about the place and how amazing (and inexpensive) it was.. We could tell it was an excellent choice, and really helped us see more of Kameron (and Daddy's) love of play and bonding.

So now, Im sipping oolong tea in our hotel.. watching my two guys in China play and build Lego's together. And I'm feeling incredibly blessed.

And speaking of this hotel.. It's beautiful and ginormous...

Thank you for your prayers, warm wishes, kind words and encouragement. And please, keep them coming! They have helped keep us going through struggles with grief, jet lag, and missing our 3 boys at home (like crazy).

Boys... Only 4 more sleeps! :)