Oath Ceremony!

Today we had the official "Oath Ceremony" with all the other adoptive families we've met here in Guangzhou. It was a very important day...but no pictures were allowed in the room. Bummer. It was very fun to see all the families complete this long journey together. We've all come from different cities for different children but we have so much in common. Love. It's such a blessing to my heart to see the Gospel in action. How similar God's love for us is. When we were completely unaware He sent His Son to Earth, a very foreign land, to save His people. We did nothing to deserve it. We didn't even know it was going to happen or how important it was for us. He paid the price. He made the journey. He did it all. While we were still sinners. We are never as grateful as we should be. Adoption is similar. Not nearly on the same scale but similar in a human way.  None of these kiddos know how wonderful their lives are going to be. 

Emma just told me that yesterday my pictures didn't post so I'll re-send them. Sorry:)  

Tomorrow we're off to do some more shopping with some friends and then we leave for Hong Kong.  We wish we were heading home to be with our family but we can't get a flight out so it's Hong Kong. We think we'll have a lot of fun there. I'm thinking DIsney! 

Talk to you all tomorrow! Jen

 

 

More fun.....

We have really been enjoying ourselves here on Shamian Island. There is such an energy of excitement here! So many families growing right before our eyes and everyone is so happy! We're making some new friends and sharing our stories and new children! The food here is great and the weather is warm! THe Victory Annex seems to be the best place for adoptive families to stay. We have a huge room and so many American neighbors. Liam is already a bit spoiled:) Ah well.... there will be time enough for training at home. He is very bright and can already write his American name!! He showed us last night at diner on his placemat! SO AMAZING! 

We went to church yesterday. It was so nice to worship with other believers. We made some friends there and spent the day touring a local herbal market. I'll post some pictures of it..... it looks more like a pet store... it's so different. Scorpions, dried bat on a stick, snake skin, turtle, dried lizard, some small fish... yummy.  They also had a pet market. That was very cute. Lots of puppies and kitties but Steve wouldn't let us touch... you know he's a bit of a germ-a-phobe... He thought we'd catch something odd:) It was fun anyway.. Liam really liked the baby ducks. I think Steve was afraid of the bird flu...

Today we went to the US Consulate to ask for a vaccine waiver. I think it'll be granted! Praise GOD! 

We went shopping for some clothes for Liam and let me tell you, it's not easy to find western-style clothing here. I just couldn't buy anything that he couldn't wear at home and man it was hard. And expensive..  but he looks so cute! 

We had lunch at IKEA! That was an unexpected treat:) It's a really nice store and the food was almost the same as home. The mashed potatoes were just plain old boiled potatoes with sweedish flags stuck into them:) Other than that it tasted the same and the lingenberry juice was replaced with "craMberry" juice. Too funny! 

Please be praying that we can get a flight out of here on the 1st and that Liam's visa is ready by the 31st. I am so ready to hold my four other babies!! I miss them like crazy! 

We love you all so much and can't wait to get back to see you all and share our new blessing with you! He is truly an amazing little boy. More than we even thought to ask for. Talk to you soon. Jen

 

 

Guangzhou

Our trip on Friday to Guangzhou was, thankfully, uneventful. Liam slept all the way here on the plane:) Although people continually snuck to the bathroom to smoke,the plane never caught fire.... 

We stopped at the Taiyuan History Museum on the way to the airport and that was rather interesting. The Chinese culture seems to have started in Taiyuan or at least in Taiyuan.

Our room here is very nice and the food is great. There's a Starbucks around the corner and down the street is a burger joint!!!! We sat outside and ate burgers and drank beers with another adoptive family staying here. It was really nice to talk to some other English speaking folks:) It's really beautiful here. Unfortunately, they have the entire island torn up to renovate for the Asian Games this November.  We have to jump along muddy paths and try to avoid falling rocks... but it's still much nicer than the last city:)

Today we'll go to church here. We are both so looking forward to worshiping our Creator. We didn't realize how truly blessed we were in every way until this trip. The service will be in English and Chinese! I can't wait! 

Ok the computer died before I could hit send!! We didn't have a convertor (the electrical outlets are different here) so I had to wait. I have ore to say now but I don't have time! I'll post more later! Jen

 

 

The Park

Yesterday was alot of fun. We decided to leave our guide behind and brave the streets of Taiyuan on our own. That was the best idea yet! We had so much fun! We went to the park, which is basically a small amusement park, complete with ferris wheel, merry- go- round, electric boats, an underwater world and so much more. We had ice cream and rode rides and walked around the lake. The people were so friendly and a few even asked us to get our picture taken with them. That was pretty funny. I have a picture of it that I'll post. I jumped out and took one of our own:) 

I'm pretty sure it was Liam's first time on a merry-go-round. He loved it! I can't wait for summer when Kings Island opens up. He will be a riot! 

We had dinner at McDonalds. I have never been more thankful for a double cheeseburger. By the way, in China McDonalds delivers and Pizza Hut doesn't. Everything is backwards over here:)  

Today we fly to Guangzhou! Hooray for warm weather! I'll post from there! Love you all! Jen
 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com

 

Ping Yao

We spent a wonderful day in Ping Yao.  It was such a nice break from the City Life. Ping Yao is an ancient city full of beautiful temples and rich heritage. Many of the families living there are direct descendants of the Ming and Ching(its spelled with a Q actually) Dynasties. People still travel from all over to pay respect to their "gods" It's very interesting.( Graven image has taken on a whole new meaning.) The architecture is gorgeous . The people are adorable. The food was amazing. It was one of the highlights of our time here in Taiyuan. Liam and Steve had a lot of fun with their new wooden swords. I think Liam thought it was real. He was afraid of the dogs there at first but once he got his sword he was armed and dangerous! If a dog would come close to him he would swing his sword and say Hiya!! and they would run:-) He is definately a character. 

Today I got my first voluntary kiss from my sweet little man. My heart nearly burst. He took my face in his hands and kissed me on the lips. It just doesn't get any better than that. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. That is the greatest blessing ever. 

Today is absolutely gorgeous! We're heading down to the park for some fun! We love you all and miss you! Talk to you tomorrow! Jen
 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com

 

Celebrating!

Yesterday was a day of fun and celebration! We went to Pizza Hut for some yummy American food and I think Liam had his first Coke! He was so funny! The fizz startled him and he made the funniest face but once the initial shock was over he held on to that cup for dear life The brownie and ice cream were pretty popular too but the coke was the winner. 

We went to a bakery and he picked out a cake and when we walked out the door he turned to me and put his hands up for me to hold him. That made my day. We immediately saw an older man selling balloons on the street so we ran to buy one from him and I have never seen any child anywhere more thrilled about anything! He was jumping up and down saying shushu shushu!! (thank you) and giggling like I've never heard before. The balloon salesman was so tickled by him. It was precious. Liam was so happy about his purchase that our shy, quiet boy smiled at everyone we passed and said NIHOW!!! NIHOW! and waved! Steve caught it on video. I haven't laughed that hard in weeks! He is such a great kid!

Today we're going to visit the ancient city of Ping Yaou (spelling??) Looks like a good time and it's out of the city. I am so done with city living and it seems like it'll be a nice break. I hope there's some open area for Liam to run. He is such a giggler. We laugh because he does- even though he's usually making fun of Mamma and Babba's Chinese. He repeats us and just cracks himself up! Then he makes fun of our English and repeats us so well but with such an ornery little smirk that we all just burst into laughter. He definitely belongs to the Hunt Clan. He is everything that we hoped he would be and so much more. God is so good to us. We're just overwhelmed with His goodness and love for us. What an honor and blessing to be entrusted with another one of His precious children.  

Time to wake the boys and get moving! We love you all and miss you! Talk to you soon, Jen

 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com

 

It's Official! He's a Hunt!

Today our little brood grew by one more, officially. He is a Hunt through and through. And legally ours! Praise GOD!! He is adorable. So far still no tears. He wanted to sleep with us so in the tradition of all other Hunt children he got his way:-) We all slept well and he woke up smiling. I just love this little guy. His daddy is pretty smitten as well... 

We're heading to Pizza Hut to celebrate! He's a big eater so I hope they have party size! We have so much video but I don't know how to post it by email. I'll see if I can give it another try later! I'll try to be better about posting.... it's just so darn fun to play with him I can't seem to pull myself away until I fall asleep:) Love you all! 

By the way ....he's teaching us Chinese with his picture books and laughing at out pronunciation. He is so smart!
 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com

 

HERE HE IS!!!!!

Yesterday we woke up early and headed out to meet Liam! What an awesome day! We were standing outside of the civil affairs office and we saw him coming down the hall. When he got close enough to see who was in the hall he got a huge grin on his face and said BaBa! He is a daddy's boy for sure! It was the sweetest thing ever. He likes me too but whatever baba does, Liam does. If steve gets a drink of water so does he and he smiles at his baba as he does it.  He hasn't had any tears yet... a few quiet moments but mostly laughs and smiles. He played with Emma and Ethan on skype last night for about an hour. You'd have thought that they had known each other all their lives. So far it has been a very easy and fun time. He's sleeping next to baba right now... I may sneek a quick picture if I can. He is so precious. And SMART! He walked in to the hotel room and picked up his magna doodle and started writing his numbers and then his whole name in Chinese Characters! That is amazing! That is so hard:) He already seems to be understanding what we say most of the time...  I was trying to talk to him in Chinese just by saying the color of his markers and he said to me "Good job, Mama" like he was encouraging me oh my goodness. I could just eat him up!  Our guide is just amazed at how well he's doing and at how intelligent he is. She keeps saying things like "You have gotten such a son! He is so very smart!" And of course, we agree:-). Sorry if I sound like I'm braging....I'm just so proud of him. Oh, I almost forgot, our translator asked him if he would like a new name and he said yes. She told him we would like to call him Liam and he said that he liked it and has answered to if ever since. I don't know what's normal in this situation but I wasn't expecting that. What a neat kid. 

I can't thank you all enough for all of your prayers. There is no doubt in my mind that your prayers have made a huge difference in our lives. This little boy hasn't a shadow of fear! Praise the LORD!

Today we head back to the CIvil Affairs office to finalize the adoption paperwork. Then we wait for his passport and on Friday it's off to beautiful Guangzhou. The smog here has gotten worse. Much worse than even in Beijing or Tianjin. You can't even go to the park or take a walk or your throat burns and your chest hurts within minutes. So we're looking for something fun and indoor to do. We love you and miss you all! Jen
 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com

 

Taiyuan

Today was so nice. Even though we weren't able to meet Liam today we really enjoyed Taiyuan. The sun was shining and the people are so friendly and smiling. We had lunch at a delicious lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant. The entire menu is in Chinese characters and if it weren't for our translator Emma we never could have eaten there. It was the most delicious noodle dish I've ever eaten. That made me happy because the food here in the hotel is really not great. Our translator is a very sweet girl but not a Christian. Please pray for her. She's been asking many questions and Steve has spent hours talking theology with her. Pretty cool. 

We went to the Chinese Super-Market. That was really fun. I loved looking at all the different products there. Some of them are just like ours but others are so different. We took video but people get nervous when you're white and strange looking and you start taking pictures of things.. I might get more courage tomorrow and just do it anyway. It's a great experience. 

We finally get to meet Liam tomorrow at 10am. Please pray for him. I'm sure he's going to be scared. I am so excited that I'm having trouble thinking straight:) I'll post with pictures tomorrow as soon as we all settle in. Love you all! Jen

The pictures are of- Taiyuan from our hotel window, Steve and I at the Forbidden City, Me eating noodles, Steve and I at the Forbidden City, the Forbidden City, Steve, Sharon and I with Cathy the pearl dealer. 
 

Jennifer Hunt

Steve

Olivia

Austin

Emma

Ethan

Liam

 

http://www.yangquanorbust.blogspot.com