Ethan

This is Ethan. He was one of my special few when I was here last. He was giggly and really little then so I kind of couldn't resist him. Now he's a toddler. He is definitely very curious about everything. He loves to walk around and look at everything. It seems like the only thing to tempt him into my lap is chocolate or his bottle. :) he loves to go on the tricycle and use his feet to push himself all around starfish. He loves his nanny. You can see the bond between them. That nanny has been here for a long time. He loves that jacket he's wearing in the picture. He cried when we had to wash it. The kids all seem to have one thing that is mind of theirs. A pair of shoes, a jacket, a toy. Something they can call their own. I was so excited when I learned that Ethan was getting adopted sometime in the near future yesterday. It made my day. 

Love you all!

Charlotte

Today was definitely my day with Charlotte. She is a cutie. She's 2 years old and loves her best friend, Jane. She goes from being shy to outgoing constantly which is a lot different from last time. She wouldn't let anyone touch her except for her nanny then. She has the sweetest nanny. Her nanny takes the time to put Charlotte and Jane's hair up in pigtails as often as they'll let her. She likes to help more than be helped and it's super sweet.
We got to Skype with her parents today which was quite a treat. After I told her we were looking at mama and baba she immediately started pointing and saying mama and baba. :) Then she kept saying thank you and hello a bunch to. 
I'm feeling better again but knowing my past luck I'll be sick again tomorrow. :) Maybe not. 
We just had some baked potatoes. As we can't find any ranch here I had to settle for butter. It was super yummy anyways. :)
As of today we have been here for 2 weeks. 3 more weeks to go! I can't imagine how attached we will be then. Xander saw me today while he was sitting in his high chair. He put his arms up and pointed to the door and said mama. He wanted me to take him to grandma! He only wants something to do with me if I'm his ticket to her. :) It's really sweet to see how he's bonded with her.

Hugs and kisses from us at starfish!

A semi normal day at starfish

I had a horrible time sleeping last night. I woke up after getting 5 hours of sleep and it took me 2 hours to finally get out of bed. :) I went to take my shower but the hot water wasn't on even though it was already 8. So I ate my breakfast. Right as I grab my yogurt out of the fridge Mila, Jane, and Charlotte walked in. When you have food all the sudden you are their best friend. I fed those 3 girls 3/4 of my yogurt and ate another one later in the safety of my room. :) They were super sweet saying "xie xie" (thank you) over and over. It was hard to resist. I have totally given up on the shower. The only way I can be semi happy is if the whole time I'm moving the water from cold to hot. Then it is kind of warm. After my shower I didn't feel so good so I took some allergy medication. Well, I ended up with a fever and the chills. It's weird because I usually don't get sick that often and all the sudden I'm getting sick a bunch. I did feel a lot better after a 3 hour nap. And some more yogurt, toast and apple juice. The apple juice here tastes like cold apple cider. Everything tastes a little different here. 
Molly and Carole left us today to go back to college leaving us with a lot of food. Our numbers are going down but we have people joining our ranks. Stephanie, one of Amanda's good friends, joined us to help with Amanda. We have more people coming next week. Amanda is not going to continue her treatment in China. She surprised everyone when she was talking on the phone and said that she couldn't do something because she would be in the US. I think she'll leave on Thursday. She's planning on going to Nashville.
All the sudden while I was resting on my sick bed I heard kid music blaring through speakers. Curious as I was I had to see what it was. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw a group of volunteers dancing and singing with the kids. Just think of the wiggles and make the people Chinese and you have it. All the kids were dancing and Mila and Isaac were really getting into it. Then they brought out the creepy pink bug character. Freaked out Joy and Isaac at first but then they were fine. It was fun to see the nannies interacting with the kids so much. 
Mila has figured out how to turn on the wiggles on my iPod. She turns it up all the way and then leaves it somewhere random in my room where I can hear it but am to lazy to go turn it off. I have those songs stuck in my head along with the Chinese ones from this afternoon which are worse since I can't understand them. :)

china adventures

Today was quite a busy day. First of all I didn't get a lot of sleep because I was busy trying to make sure I woke up on time. At 6 I finally woke up at the right time (not 1 or 3). Then I headed to take my shower. So, I found out what is worse than a cold shower. My water changed from scalding hot to freezing cold every 5 seconds. It sucked. I'm starting to hate that shower even though it is the only way I can get all the spit up and stuff off. Anyways the reason for this early getting up is we got to go for a little girl in the local group for our church's baptism. We had to go to a resort about a hour away. It was fun to get to know the people and everyone was very nice. Oh and we had donuts. Anna was a cutie and reminded me of our Hannah. I guess all 8 year olds act alike. :) Then we went for an amazing American lunch with Patrick. French fries never tasted so good. After that I got to go see Amanda. She's doing pretty well and it was fun to see her. I love Amanda. She's an awesome woman and my hero. I would love to do what she's done. I would in a heartbeat. 
When we got back it was already 4 so I spent time in the baby room. Angel was awake and super smiley. She did manage 2 poopy diapers for me in the whole hour and a half that I held her. Then she fell asleep and the nannies therefore became in charge of her diapers not me. I then went into the blue room and played with Lexie and Angela. Angela was super whiney and Lexie was being super sweet and giving me tons of hugs. Lexie and Michelle are getting adopted tomorrow. We will definitely miss them. I got to meet Michelle's parents today and her older sister who is three. They are an amazing family and Michelle will love her sister. It's really cool to meet the parents who will be adopting a child who you have loved and cared for and prayed for a family to be touched and adopt them. I have lots of respect for those families. I know it's hard at first with the adjusting. 
I got a lovely dinner cooked by the Chinese dudes. The new one that I haven't met thought I was Chinese and Patrick explained that I was half Asian. They were very nice. You can't help but like a guy who can cook good food. Except the Chinese haven't gotten the whole "I can't take another bite" thing yet. :)
Tomorrow I'm planning on helping all I can with the adoptions. Im so excited to be a part of he most important day in these girls' lives. I'll definitely do some catch up blogging when I get home. Let me know of you want to hear about a baby in particular. I try to write about them but seem to have lost track of which ones I have. :) 
BTW project learn all the babies' birthdays is going well. Luckily there are a few birthday twins. :)
Miss you all!

more china news

Hello! So I found out that I enjoy sleeping much more when there is heat and I seem rather happy when I wake up every hour. I know. Weird. Also I found out about Coco. She's in the hospital with pneumonia. We're hoping she feels better soon. 
I started out this morning in the blue room with Geoff. He was super and happy and giggly. He laughs at everything! He and Justin are a good pair since they are both so easily entertained. I play with both of them often. Then I got to do some skyping which is always very awesome. :) I spent a lot of time in the isolation room today. Angel was actually awake for 2 hours straight! Of course as soon as I laid her down so I could eat lunch she fell asleep. Immediately. I held David and Noelle a lot too. Dawn seems super happy in her bouncer and refuses to smile when she's out of it. Oh well. Lunch was amazing minus the mushrooms, but grandma ate mine so all is well. :) 
This little boy is Isaac. He actually answers to his Chinese name too which is something like Ne Hur or Nehor. He is a cuddly boy and reminds grandma and me of my cousin Lance. We call him our Chinese Lance. :) He always comes up to us for hugs and gives them to all his foster siblings. Don't forget the kisses! He will take the time to feed Anna and the smaller babies too. When I had door duty he came over and sat on our laps just cuddling us. So sweet. He's in the red room, but spends most of his time out in the courtyard. It's hard to believe that the little baby that was here when we came last is now him. It's weird to see all the babies walking that we're just sitting up. To compare ages. Mila went around with my camera today without me knowing. All the sudden she came up to me with it and handed it to me. She had taken pictures of babies and a ton of this one blue stool. Good pictures too. This girl will need a camera. :)
The hot water didn't come on today so I went without a shower. Plus the drain was flooded sink would have to do the whole fill up the bowl and dump it on your head over the sink thing. So I put my hair up and washed my face. The water is freezing here. I hope it works tomorrow otherwise I have to take a cold one which will ruin my day. I love nice hot showers. 
My allergies are really acting up here like they did last time. It's no fun and I always have to take breaks to splash cold water on my eyes and blow my nose. Ugh. I rather be hiding those babies. 
It's good to feel super loved. Whenever I walk out of my room one of the kids will yell "jie jie!" and I get about 6 coming over for a hug. Mila is definitely my replacement for Lilly. Same age and very much alike. Except Mila doesn't know I make pies yet. :) Plus I don't know what "pie maker" is in Chinese. That is what Lilly calls me. 

more china related things

Today Molly, Carole, and Feng moved into our room because we were told that a family was coming to volunteer tonight. Well they aren't coming today but we just gained 3 roommates and they are already proving themselves. They figured out how to fix our heat. We were in a unheated bedroom before which I didn't really mind. Lots and I mean lots of Chinese volunteers came today. We ran out of tags. I found where the diapers are stored too. Boxes up to the ceiling! 
It's super windy today in Xian. We stayed inside but we are planning on going downtown this weekend. I spent the day with Angel and Noelle. They were both super happy. At one time the nanny came and said to me in English: you please change nappy. I was super confused and thought she wanted me to lay angel down for a nap. Then I realized that she actually wanted me to change her diaper and that she didn't learn English from americans. 
Ali and I have been experimenting with Jack. We will say hello and he'll repeat it. Then we started saying Hola to him instead. He caught on. Then Ali confused him and said a long phrase in Spanish to him. He tried to repeat it back and it was adorable. Now jack in trilingual and I'll teach him Korean tomorrow. :)
Highlights of today: Mila hugging and hiding behind me out of shyness when a bunch of volunteers came, isaac dancing to the music on our iPods, lexie letting me hold her. 
This picture is of grandma with Xander. Xander won't let her leave him alone. It's really cute. We found out he likes banana bread.
Tried something new today. Oatmeal with strawberry flavored milk and craisins. Not bad. BTW cucumber lays chips are not good. At all. Smell like cucumbers too. 

Miss you all! I'm really wanting to Skype some people right now. Love you all too!

Miss Robyn

Hey everyone!
This little baby is Robyn and she is one of the 7 that came in the early fall. She's around 5 months old and a very happy girl. Her nanny loves her tons and she loves her too. She always has to see her nanny otherwise she's not happy unless being held. She has tons of smiles and hands them out freely.
Amanda gets to leave the hospital tomorrow but she isn't coming here. She will stay with a friend and if she wants she can come visit for a day. She really misses the kids, but we know this is best for her health. 
I got to cuddle Bryant today and he was super happy. I hope he keeps improving because he definitely needs a lot more chub before I stop worrying about him. 
I figured out how to make Dawn laugh today. She's really ticklish on her chin. It's the first time I've heard her laugh. She's such a happy girl and really does enjoy some special time. Grace was laughing a bunch too today.
I did a lot of laundry today and organized their laundry room a little. They keep the clothes there for grabbing and the nannies seem to have such a hard time finding a certain clothing item in a certain size. I still have got a lot to do, but it looks a lot better.
Some Chinese people stopped by during my door duty with tons (and I mean it) of boxes of diapers. They wanted to take a picture with the "foreign volunteers" so I felt special. Door duty was a little boring but I got to read a lot of my book. I also got to talk to Marshall and Ali. They are American and volunteering here, but staying at a different place. Really fun people. A Chinese guy asked me if I was Chinese and lived in xian today. Yeah. Don't think I look that chinesey. But I took it as a compliment and after it was translated to me responded with " I don't speak ANY Chinese" in Chinese. He thought it was pretty funny. 
Watching babies can get tiring sometimes, but if I rest while they have nap time I seem to be able to give 20 kids piggy back rides again. Michelle loves me to throw her up in the air and give her about every ride that exists. Yeah. I'm super tired. Laundry gives me something to do while I rest. I also clean up all the toys during naps and after bed. It's a lot easier then all the organization at my house. There is a bin. The toys go in it. Well, I'm going to go do some more laundry. You go through a lot of baby clothes and burp clothes here. :) Love you all and miss you tons! 

more chinaness

Today I was back to holding babies which is a lot more entertaining than sitting in bed doing nothing. Today was a really fun day. It's hard to believe that we've haven't been here for a week yet and we are already so attached to the babies. Xander is very attached to grandma. He likes me but will start crying if she's around and not holding him. It's really sweet but I would love to have some time with him too. :) Marianne has been walking around with the support of high chairs and such this week and tonight she took her first steps unsupported. The nannies were all very excited and cheering for her. We all were. I have learned all the babies', in the isolation room, names except one of the girls. The nannies can't seem to decide what her English name is but her Chinese one I believe is An Choi Le. Bryant is looking like he's getting some chub on his cheeks and looks a little better than when we came. I hope he'll keep improving. Coco was in the isolation room for a little this morning because she wasn't feeling to well. She wasn't too happy about it and so was Jack. Those two are the best of friends. We entertained Coco by turning on music on one of the cell phones. American music like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift and something that reminded me of kidz bop. I don't think Coco likes Taylor swift because she threw down the phone when it started playing You Belong with Me. I swear that phone almost broke into a million pieces. Angel was super cuddly and happy today. I got tons of smiles, but every time I brought out the camera she would get this serious face. This baby is David. He is one of the Christmas babies. Even though he has a more serious cleft lip I have never seen a baby finish his bottle that quickly. Which of course is a good thing. He loves to look around at everything if he is being held. Apple, the driver, finally made an appearance today. He recognized me and was super excited that I came back. Still the same super happy guy.
To all skypers: I would love to Skype. The kids really seem to enjoy it too. Just let me know before so I can make sure I am somewhere that has Internet connection. :) I don't want to miss you. 
Miss you all tons! 

starfish day #4

On Friday night I started to have a sore throat which really sucks because it makes my Chinese sound worse than it already is. So on Saturday it was a no little baby day. Saturday night I had a fever so today is a no babies day, if that's possible. I don't have a fever but I don't feel totally ready to hold and chase little kids. 
Mila found out that the iPod takes pictures and now knows that there are 3 cameras for her to find. She keeps on coming in and asking me to play with her. I think she understands now that I'm not myself and has not come in my room for the last 30 minutes. :)
Grandma is playing with Xander today while she's not doing laundry. The cook is gone so Xiao Liu is cooking leaving the laundry room without a laundry doer. Xander is super cute. The babies have such different personalities when they are not in a high chair. 
This baby is Dawn. She's still in the isolation room. She has spina bifida and I think her legs might be paralyzed since I haven't seen her use them for anything. She's 5 months old and is the happiest baby. She's very squeaky. Every once in a while she'll make a squeaky sound. I hope that's not bad. She's beautiful and reminds me of Xander and Bella. 
Miss you all! 

Starfish Update #1

Hey everyone! So, I worked on learning babies names and have found a way. If you pick up a baby while it's screaming then the nanny will give you a bottle that has a number on it. Then you go to the chart and see which baby you are holding. Or you could ask the nannies, which works too. :)
This is Coco and Kay Louise. Whenever Kay Louise starts crying Coco will ask me to put her on the couch and Coco will start stroking her head and talk to her really sweetly saying things like don't cry. If any kids come that Coco thinks will make her cry again she'll yell at them. I wonder if her being so nice to the small ones has to do with the fact that she was older when she was in the isolation room? Coco is walking but doesn't trust herself too well yet. Her and Jack are good friends and Jack will yell something to her and she'll laugh and say something back. It's super cute!
Justin, Angel, and Noelle would have to be my babies so far. They are all super cuddly and fall asleep when you hold them. Justin had a cleft lip and is 8 months old. He reminds me of Mia. Noelle has a cleft lip and is 3 months old. Angel is missing a few fingers and is 3 months old too. They put up charts with all the babies' birthdays on it so I'm working on memorizing it. :) 
I felt a little sick last night but feel much better this morning. It's the only day that I have woken up past 4:30. :) I think I'll keep away from the babies. If that's possible. Mila has started coming into our room looking for stickers because I gave her one. She likes to hand them out to everyone, nannies included. Then she figured out how to use my camera and my iPod while I was putting the stickers up high. Those are up high now too. She does take good pictures and is very gentle with the camera, but I don't want to lose my camera in China again. She has started yelling for me super loudly whenever she wants to get a sticker, which is every 5 minutes. Yeah...
Grandma has spending most of her time in the red room. The police came yesterday to register us all. Now we are legal. :) I love their police uniforms here! This police man was nicer and stopped and played with Mila for a little, mainly because she wouldn't leave him alone, while we filled out our forms.
Miss you all!

14 and counting

Today was pretty awesome. I played with Charlotte and Jane for two hours right after they woke up. Grandma went and visited Amanda. We ventured out and did some shopping. China has so many more Oreo flavors than the US: mango/orange, raspberry/blueberry, etc. Pretty interesting. We got a cherry cake for my birthday which we will have once bedtime routines end. It's super pretty and looks pretty yummy. On the way home a bunch of teenage girls got on the bus and started looking at us like they were super excited and kept on saying americans. :) Mila has started pulling me around more and when she wants me she'll yell jie jie (big sister in Chinese). Super loudly. I got to Skype with some awesome people today and that really made my day. For future skypers: if you Skype between 7-9 pm most of the babies will be taking naps. Miss you all! 

Living up the Starfish life.

We made it to starfish safely without any problems! We got here around 10 pm yesterday, so we went right to bed, which helped us not have problems with jet lag. Today I woke up at 5 to a baby crying a lot. Mila told me his name is Justin. He's super cute and reminds me of Mia. He might be a favorite. :)
Elise greeted me by chucking her shoe at me because she only wanted to see her nanny. 8 babies were in the hospital this morning and Elise and Gary joined them this afternoon. We are 2 out of 4 volunteers staying at Starfish so we have the big volunteer room all to ourself. Things are a little crazy, but it's getting better. It's really cool to see how much chubbier the babies that were so tiny are now. Chris is big and is getting plenty of love from an older couple that spend lots of time with him. The isolation room is full of 8 little babies plus Seth and Grace who are not so tiny. One of them is super cuddly. She's a favorite but I kind of don't know her name. I don't know all of their names but I'm going to work on it tomorrow. Coco is so much different. She's walking and she very talkative and giggly. Charlotte has changed from being super shy to super outgoing. She thinks everything is super funny. Mila and Chloe are the two kids "in charge". They go around and make sure everything is going all right. Coco likes to help them. It's so much fun to be here again. Tomorrow we are going to go shopping and we might go to the muslim market. I'll send more updates along with some pictures. It's dark and the kids are all sleeping so no picture today. If anyone wants to Skype or FaceTime us while we are over here email me and we'll give you our Skype id. Thanks for all the help with getting donations! They really appreciated it and the babies are already putting everything to good use thanks to Xiao Liu. Miss you tons!

Cute picture...

I just found this adorable picture of Ethan and Mia from this summer. Is that smile cute or what!

Flower and Garden Show

For the last three years I've helped out at my Grandpa's mason bee booth at the flower and garden show up in Seattle. I started out as the cashier and last year I focused more on the whole talking to people thing. I wasn't planning on going this year, because it looked like it would be during my trip in China. It turned out to be the week before I left, but I decided that I would just let Autumn do it and spend that week preparing for my trip instead. The day before the show started the lady who was going to come help everyday wasn't able to, so I got the job instead. I only did Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday because my mom wants Saturday. It was super fun, but it's looking like this will be the last year we do it. Yesterday Morgan and Sis. McLaughlin stopped by the booth and totally made my day. Now I have the weekend off and get to make sure that the girls don't kill the kitties and that they don't get lost. :)

Change the subject (kind of). Last night they decided that it was about time to name the little kitty which has made itself at home at my grandparent's house. They did the whole everyone put your name that you want it the bowl and we'll draw out 3 to vote on thing. Well, those three belonged to some little girls and they were getting their feelings hurt because someone voted for a different name than theirs. So the little kitty's name is Amber Rose Peanut Butter. Now all the little girls are happy and a little cat has a way to long name. Nickname? Can't do that because it'll hurt feelings too. I think I'll just call it "the kitty". :)

Donations for Starfish!

   

Here is our picture of everything we've gathered for Starfish. Definitely more than last year. There are a lot of receiving blankets there in the back. We were stacking them and then kind of made it like a hill so you could see most of it in the picture. After some more packing we were able to fit almost all of it in our bags. My mom will send what didn't fit while I'm over there, so we'll get it while we're there. Those starfish babies are pretty lucky to be getting all of this amazing stuff.  Thanks to everyone for helping me get all of this stuff. I definitely couldn't have done it without you.

                                         

Update on Amanda...

Please keep Amanda and the Starfish babies in your prayers. We just got another update. They are trying to send Amanda to the U.S. or Europe so she can get the best medical attention as soon as possible. It sounds like she has stage 4 lung cancer which has already reached her skin. She needs medical attention really soon. Please keep her in your prayers. This amazing woman has saved so many babies in the last 7 years and we hope that we can get the medical assistance that she needs. 

When I planned my trip I never expected something like this to come up. They really need all the help they can get at Starfish right now. It makes me wish I could stay there longer than a month. These past few days have been crazy. 

On a happier note, we were able to fit most of the many donations in our baggage and are going to try again later this week with some vacuum packing. 

A big thank you to everyone that has helped by bringing over clothes and baby supplies and for the prayers  in Amanda's behalf. 

Here is the message they sent out:

Dear Starfish Friends and Family,

As you know, our Executive Director and beloved friend Amanda has cancer, and is in great need of immediate, top quality medical care.

We need to get her to a modern facility /hospital in the United States or Europe as soon as possible.

We are urgently asking each of you for a very specific kind of help. If you or someone you know has contact with a top senior level administrator at a quality cancer center, please let us know immediately. We need to know if they would be willing to let Amanda come and receive the complicated care she needs – pro bono - as their way of helping a person who has given the past 7 years of her life saving hundreds of babies through donated, medical care. Perhaps they would be willing to now do the same for her. This can only be the very highest level of hospital contact – we are short on time and need answers immediately.

If you, or someone you know, has this kind of highest level connection to a top cancer care center, please contact Patrick McLaughlin as soon as possible, at:

Patrick
917-494-7691 or paddymac0130@gmail.com --any time of the day or night -- time is of the essence.

Sincere thanks,
Patrick and the Starfish Board

Hillsboro Argus

On Friday we had a visit from a reporter about my last China trip. We talked for a while about different babies. Big thank you to Jill for e-mailing us and letting us know about it being in the paper today! Since we are in WA and don't get the newspaper anyways we would have totally missed it. Here's the link: http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2012/02/forest_grove_teen_plans_return.html

Amanda update: They found that the cancer hasn't spread anywhere yet which is really good news. 

Amanda

We just got another e-mail from China. The doctors have determined that Amanda has cancer. Please keep her in your prayers.

China ramblings...

{Angela}

We leave for Washington tomorrow morning. That's our first stop before China and we'll be there for a week until it's time to hop on the plane. I'm getting more excited and freaked out each day. To think that in one week I'll be holding babies...

Today church was different. Mainly because I had to play the organ a little last minute and I didn't pick out the hymns until this morning (I know, bad decision). After the first verse of a hymn I have this bad habit that makes me stop focusing on the notes and my mind wanders off to other things. That ended up quite a few mistakes while I tried to find my spot. :) It was my last time seeing my best friends for the next month and a half and we were at church for an extra 1/2 hour giving hugs over and over and over. 

Now I'm packing for the next month and it ,seriously, takes a lot of thought because you can only take so many clothes and you have to choose ones that you won't get sick of after a couple weeks. 

I promise a picture of all the donations gathered together once I'm in Washington. And there will be tons of stuff. I will definitely blog while I'm gone, even though I'm going to have to trust my mom to blog through my e-mails since it's hard to get on certain websites when you're in China. 

Also, we just found out that Amanda has been in the hospital and they are doing some tests. I don't think she's home yet. I imagine things are pretty busy at Starfish, so please keep her and the babies in your prayers that all may run smoothly. I know how crazy it is there when she's gone for a hour or two, so this has got to be a super crazy time. 

And the birthdays at the Kang house begin...

February always starts the birthday craziness here. Today is Chloe's birthday and she's ten. Happy birthday, Miss Chlo-ella! She couldn't hide her smile when she walked down at 6 a.m. (what are you doing that early on your birthday?) when she saw an awesome shelf for by her bed on the counter. Other presents she has to wait for since that was the only one we couldn't wrap. :) 

Only 5 more birthdays until we get somewhat of a break. Me, Autumn, Elise, Lilly, and Dad. Because I need another countdown, 2 weeks until I get to go to dances! But I am missing 3 while I'm in China and then there isn't another one until May. I'm kind of bummed out about that. 

We now have too much stuff for us to bring to China and have to get extra luggage! Since Grandma got her visa, I'm not worried everyday. Now I have something new to worry about: all our luggage is not going to fit into a taxi. And I hate finding taxies in China. Luckily, we have Apple. That takes care of one. The other one... I'll let him take care of that. :)