We're HOME..........

Good bye China.....

Some of my thoughts as we took off from Hong Kong........Jackzhen said "Weeee!!!" It was his first time EVER in a plane!!! I on the other hand was thinking.... Good bye China! Good bye government strong holds, good bye streets full of people, good bye orphanage, good by my limited life and good morning America! Gods mercies are new every morning and this is my morning, this is my family, this is my life! My name is Jackzhen William Qiu Aldrich, I am a son, I am a brother, I am a grandson, I am a nephew, I am a cousin, I am an American, I am a child of God, I am no longer an orphan, I matter,
I am loved!

Flying over Detroit....

 His feet are on the ground, it is official - Jackzhen is an AMERICAN CITIZEN!!!!

Your prayers were felt as we endured our 15 hour flight from China! Thankful that no one got sick during our 2 week trip of "don't drink the water", Jackzhen is bonding so well with each of us, and most importantly that we made it back home safely!

Stepping off that plane in Detroit brought so much JOY to my heart! I am so proud to be an American, I am thankful to be married to such a strong, God-fearing man, and I am thoroughly blessed to be the momma tp these awesome 4 kids!

WE'RE HOME!!!!

more later

~Mandy.....xo

This is only the beginning baby!!!

One day...............

I feel like I could sit here and write all day about the amazing things Jackzhen does! He is such an inspiration to me.  In three short years on this earth, he has endured so much and yet he is still so brave, strong, and confident! There are many times during the day that I allow myself to day dream about where he has been for the past three years, and where I have been for that matter! I play the "what if" game often!!! What if we would have looked into international adoption sooner, what if I wouldn't have quenched the spirit in 2010, what if he could have been with us sooner? But I have to quickly remind myself, it wasn't about my timing, it was about the Lord's! People often say that everything happens for a reason, but there is truth behind that phrase! There is a great reason that Jackzhen became an Aldrich in April of 2012 and I trust that God will wipe away all the tears from our eyes and use this situation, and our little Jackzhen, for his glory! I trust that one day soon he will not grab the hand of a stranger as comfortably as he grabs mine, he won't try to kiss the older grandma-like ladies out in public, he won't stomp his feet and hold back tears when he gets hurt, one day he will stand firm on the word of God and believe the verse that tells him that he IS fearfully and wonderfully made!

Today we used some of our free time to capture some pictures of our little guy here in China! We found him the cutest traditional Chinese outfit and we brought him black dress shoes that went with it perfectly! I have to take a turkey trail and tell you about these shoes for a second!!! When I put them on his little feet this morning, he stared at them long and hard! Then, he stood up and started dancing! We thought it was cute but that was not the end of the shoes in Jackzhen's world! When we got in the van with our guide Cordelia, the first thing Jackzhen told her was "Look at my shoes, they are so pretty!" Those second hand, black, dress shoes, made a bigger impact then I even imagined they would!

Okay off of the turkey trail... :)

We are packing up and getting ready for the long trip home, so it was a nice break to our afternoon! Guangzhou is an AWESOME place for pictures! Every day we take walks through the courtyards and there are at least 2-3 photographers that are photographing a bride and groom! It is just simply gorgeous here.  In case any adoptive families are following our blog, you can take this as my plug to say STAY ON THE ISLAND! It is hard to know where is best if you haven't been here, but this is simply the best decision we made! Okay, on to the pictures.......................

I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see him smile! There were so many pictures that were sent to us during our process, where he has a glazed look in his eyes.  Without being there in person it was hard to decipher if it was how he was, or if there was a story being told.... I think it was most certainly a story, of sadness, discontentment, confusion, because baby - he doesn't look like that anymore!!!  Well off to bed I go, only 35 more hours until we are on a plane bound for AMERICA, the land that I love <3

Momma is happy!!!!

Today we toured the Chen family temple, as in Jackie Chen. It was beautiful, all of the intricate carvings on the walls. We bought some art from an artist there that cuts masterpieces out of paper by just using scissors!!! It was amazing!!!  The doorways in the temple have beams across the floor, Cordelia told us not to step on the beams! Of course I asked why? She said, because it is not polite, at that very second two teenage Asian boys stepped on the exact one we were standing next to!!! It made me laugh but she grumbled hahahahaha! We didn't spend too much time at the temple because, frankly, it is not appealing to 3 of our 4 kids (only Madison really cared) so I just wanted to be done quickly! I told Jason, I may regret rushing the day trips once we are back, but for now I just want to get to know Jackzhen and that is not done adequately with him in a stroller staring at ivory carvings!
One of the most fun things about being out and about with our new little guy is his contagious personality! He breaks out in his awesome rendition of "tinkle tinkle ittle far" almost hourly!!!! His most favorite place to sing is the lobby of the hotel - He likes the ECHO!!! This video was taken in a hallway of our hotel...........

One of our drivers last week heard his sweet song and told our guide that it would take his entire life to learn all that Jackzhen already knew!!!! I thought to myself, likewise buddy!!!! Haha - another comical sound is when he sings his ABC's, he is doing SO well with his English and repeating us, and we have found that singing is the best way for him to learn! He can already sing the first 6 words to Jesus loves me, SUCH a sweet sound!!! Maybe he will do a solo once back at church ;)

I am truly amazed at Jackzhens knowledge! He was from a very poor city in China, but by Gods grace his orphanage was adopted by Half the Sky! This is an organization that brings teachers and resources into orphanages to help give the children a foundation. Typically, Half the Sky only enters larger orphanages, however, in 2005 a little girl was adopted there.  Her father is a board member with Half the Sky and pushed for them to take on Wuzhou! This was the reason that Jackzhen has teachers that taught him, cared for him, and loved him! I am so thankful that God allowed those little puzzle pieces to fit together so nicely...

For lunch today we went to McDonalds!!!!!!! I have never been so happy to see one of those in my whole life! We were eating lunch and enjoying our conversation with our guide Cordelia when I decided to open some ketchup for Jason.  I thought I opened it enough before I squeezed it, but apparently not!!! It flew and hit Jason, right smack dab in the middle of his white polo shirt! If you know me well, you know I can not hold back a good laugh! I laughed so hard I almost pee'd my pants, I must have laughed for a good 7-8 minutes, it was HILARIOUS!!!! I looked down at Jackzhen and he had big eyes, he was so confused! I felt awful or carrying on like a monkey, so I told him "Momma hun gow shing" (means momma is happy) and he smiled and said "MOMMA HUN GOW SHING, HAHAHAHAHA!" So thankful for the little words that help him understand us better! Jason wore his backpack on the front of his chest for the rest of the afternoon - LOL...........

Well that is it for today, sorry this is so jumpy! Tomorrow we are heading to the Guangzhou Zoo! I will try to find joy in staring at caged animals, I WILL ! ! ! !

 

This is a tusk!!!!!! AMAZING really, such detail....

This art is embroidery!!! Not my style but SO neat to look at....

 

 My obedient boy...... haha

 The progression of ivory carvings!

 The first step before he cuts out the drawings......

 Such a talented man....

 and this guy does masterpieces with ink and his hand! Amazing landscapes without a brush!

 Ancient Chinese bed! Look closely at the pillows! I am still not convinced the really used those!!!??? They were ceramic boxes, seriously???

 toooo bright out hahahaha

 McDonalds here we come!

 The ketchup massacre!!! hahahahahahahaha

 

Mommy is HAPPY - OHHHH OKAY, I can eat my fries again!!! Oh and this was Jackzhen's first happy meal :) Note the corn, it is an option instead of fries!!! 

 

 Had to snap this picture! Jason is forever asking for no mayo, no onions, no this, no that, and I always tease him that he is so high maintenance, and China doesn't change him any!! This was the lady sending back his burger because it has onions on it hahaha -

Sunday and Lizard Tea !

Today we went shopping Ann, my pal from the Red Thread! She was the sweet lady that got me so many updates on Jackzhen! I was so excited about meeting her!!!! We started off our day with a LONG walk to the Jade and Pearl Markets! She has a few wholesale stores that she frequents and is able to get better prices on things.  The kids were all happy about a morning walk and we were off!!!  First stop on our shopping tour was a 4 story "mall" for Happy Lamb and Grey Wolf cartoons.  Jackzhen is always singing about the characters on the show and it only comes on at 5pm each day.  I told Jason that buying some of  DVD's would help distract little man on our long journey home! We found 2 different ones that had a combined 300 episodes on them, SCORE!!! We also bought a few other movies for the other kids because they are only 4 U.S dollars over here! We then headed to the pearl market where we went shopping for the girls and gifts for family and friends!!! We got some amazing deals and I got a beautiful double black pearl necklace,  oh boy was that FUN :) :) :)  It is moments like that I can see Jackzhen is a true Aldrich. We must have been in the pearl store for an hour and he sat there content just being with Daddy and Mason! After we filled our bags with some pearls we went to a few other stores along the way.  I told Ann I was in search of a Chinese star for my nephew, and her eyes got REALLY big as she suggested I buy him a compass!!! LOL - I am trying Grayson Cole!!!

We passed a few interesting vendors along the way.  The most interesting was the herbal markets, where they sell dried snakes, lizards, frogs, scorpions, all for herbal remedies.  She said that they use them in soups and teas, oh dear I can't imagine some chicken noodle lizard???  We also passed a section of market where they sell animals, this time they were alive and being sold for pets! Jackzhen was amazed by the cats.  I told him that the kitty says MEOW!!!! and he liked that.  He kept saying MU-YOW MU-YOW!!!

After the mall we stopped for something to drink because it is H-O-T out! It feels like Florida in June - I really can't believe how hot the days are because the evenings are enjoyable.... After our little break we went to a little temple.  It was nice to take in the culture and Buddhist belief for ten minutes.  Until now we have turned down any tours and chances to see any temples, but since it was a quick stop on the way I thought it would be good to take a glimpse.  We saw numerous Buddhas and giant statues and honestly I left feeling sick - It was a great conversation starter for us and the kids, but seeing with our own eyes the reality of a false religion was just about to much for my already emotional self....  I told Ann that seeing these things made me sad and she couldn't understand why.  I thought it was obvious, there is NO hope in burning incense, throwing money at statues, kneeling before an idol, where is the hope of tomorrow? Thankfully we were done with that little detour in about 15 minutes, but it will be a lifetime of memories and prayer filled moments for these people here! 

After about two and a half hours we were done shopping, Ann got us a taxi to avoid having to walk back to the hotel.  The drivers don't like to drive from the "mall" to the island because it is too short so the driver agreed to do it, but he charged us 10 yuan extra.  It didn't seem like much to us, the cost was 20 yuan, which equlas about 3.25$.  When I told Ann to tell the driver thank you, she looked at me and said - he is charging us 10 extra yuan, I WILL NOT say thank you!!!  I had a big laugh at that one, and the driver had no idea what was going on... hahaha When we got back to the hotel we went to the Deli Shop, a famous place to eat near the White Swan hotel, but just like the White Swan, it too was closed.... We then went to the hotel restaurant to eat lunch, what a strike out! I told Jason we have yet to sit down and eat a meal that I thoroughly enjoyed - ughhhhhhhhh losing weight in China is a plus, I guess - I just want a SALAD (washed in clean water) and a big plate of NACHOS!!!!

We walked around after lunch and ran into some new friends, have I mentioned how nice it is to do that while we are here??? We then headed back to the room for Jackzhen's nap - the kids don't love the time in the hotel room during nap time, however I think it is a good down time for each of us!

That is about it in a nutshell - Sunday is over and I am beat!!! Off to bed we go..............

Meeting Ann of the Red Thread....

 Lizard on a stick anyone?

 Here kitty kitty kitty

 I call this a "mall" because it is indoors but there is NO air conditioning... Our last guide Shi Shi said that we were spoiled to feel that way and maybe she is right, but mold does like to grow in conditions like this, so I think I would rather call us wise!

 The pearl lady stringing my new pearls - love them :)

 My 1980 buddy :)

Pictures that say so much....

I have a very long blog post that I can't wait to sit down and type, but I don't have the quiet moment I need to gather my thoughts, soooooooo - I thought I would share some pictures from the last few days that mean sooo much to me! Hope you like them!!! xo 

A tender moment while we swing....

No one makes him laugh like his Daddy!!!

She is such a good big sister and taking on the roll so well.  This picture is a perfect example.... She packed two lollipops before we left for our walk in the park.  She wanted to be able to share with Jackzhen when he got fussy!

This was taken on our 4.5 hour bus ride to Wuzhou - I had wrestled Jackzhen for the first 3 hours of our trip and then Jason took over.  Jackzhen loves to watch daddy and Mason play this game on the kindle, and I love his expression and the way he is holding Jason's hand!

This next series of pictures on the blue background are simply my favorite! Jackzhen's shirt reads "I'm going to change the world!" and he is standing in front of what use to be the East Bus Station of Wuzhou, the place where he was found 3.5 years ago! Yes my boy, you are going to change the world, because you have already changed ours...... for the better! xo

A new memory for you in this very spot, son!

Jackzhen's foster mother, she has given him a wonderful start and we are forever in debt to her!

A perfect memory for Jackzhen one day! The red thread will never break....

Finally, the stairs! To those of you who have seen the video of Jackzhen when we first started this process, these are the stairs that he was walking down! I could not fight back the tears when I saw them!