My post, Sometimes Adoption Makes Me Sad, was published at We Are Grafted In today.
What a privilege to be part of an adoption community that honors Christ while talking about the realities of adoption.
We are all done in Hangzhou as far as paperwork and appointments so today was a free day.
Poor Bob succumbed to CCS, China colon syndrome. He also had a fever and decided to stay in bed for the day. I also think he was plumb wore out!
Joshua and I went solo for the day and I was hoping this would be good bonding time.
We decided to go to West Lake and ride a boat out to the man made sland. West Lake is surrounded on three sides by mountains and is bordered by the city on the other. I learned that the lake is no deeper than a few meters. I hope to have more pictures later but two things happened as we boarded the boat. One, my camera battery died. Two, in this humid environment, the camera lens fogs over frequently and results in foggy pictures.
It was Joshua's first time on a boat. Rewarding doesn't begin to explain how I feel when I am allowed to experience the firsts in a child's life. The island was beautiful. Joshua loved feeding the ducks and large Koi fish. We emptied out all our snacks we had brought as he was having such a good time.
After a while, he got very quiet. I mean VERY quiet. He would not tell us why. I am concerned how we will know when his breathing or heart are hurting him as we have yet to learn his thresholds of activity. I guessed that he was worried about Bob back in the hotel and/or the heat was bothering him. It is extremely hot and humid in Hangzhou and Joshua already sweats because of his condition. Seeing him shut down like that made me cry. I told our guide to let him know that it is okay to be worried or upset and that we only want the best for him.
After the boat ride, we went "shopping" again as we could walk to the Carrefour. Since we did not have a time table, we browsed the store. We took Joshua to the food section to check out the variety of food. Oh, we laughed when he made it very clear he did NOT like the smell in the fish section. I thought it was cool to see all the different kinds of fish, he thought it was gross. We bought a few treats for home and some soda for Bob's stomach and headed back to the hotel.
Since Joshua was all done for the day, our guide ran down to KFC and got him a chicken sandwich and fries. He polished off every single morsel.
After checking on Bob who was still sleeping it off, we headed for the pool to try out those goggles.
Any kid who has his picture taken that much deserves a little justice.
We had our first "moment" in the pool Joshua decided to try out some screaming. To give him credit, there was a cool echo and he laughed after each screech. We worked it out later when I made my point, in very poor Chinese, to please not scream.
Is he a goofball or what? He really is as cute as he looks.
Happy to report that Bob felt better by the end of the day and bounced back beautifully. Very glad we had our own little personal drugstore-to-go in the suitcase. It served us well.
Tomorrow we pack up and head to Guangzhou, China for the second week of our adoption trip. Joshua will experience his first plane ride. We have tried to prepare him but who knows what he thinks is going to happen.
I'll let you know how he does.
Friday proved to be an emotional day for lots of reasons.
I posted on the Book of Face: "Not only do I LOVE this kid, I LIKE him, too."
So true! Joshua is a delight. He has a sense of humor. He is smart. His smile melts my heart.
Friday morning we went to Carrefour to do some shopping. Joshua wrote on his info sheet that he liked origami, drawing, and shopping. When Joshua saw other people in the pool with goggles, he decided that it what he needed. When our guide asked what he wanted to look at, he was clear about what he wanted. It is fun to give him whatever he asks for. I hope he enjoys the spoiling while it lasts! He put them on as soon as we got back in the taxi. Joshua is very interesting with his "things." After adopting 5 others, I have great respect for how kids feel about what belongs to them.
His legs are bitten up with mosquito bites. They are all old and healed over. I believe that Asian skin is similar to our African American kids in that the scaring looks different than Caucasian skin.
We were back to the hotel by 10:30am to meet up with some other Americans. We had a wonderful visit and since they speak Chinese, they took us to lunch at a "local" noodle house. The real thing, folks, the tiny eatery was behind a plastic curtain you find in walk-in freezers! The noodles are made to order from scratch for each customer and there were only 5 or 6 tables crammed in a small area. I loved it! Two American families with a bunch of kids caused a bit of a stir and as you can see from the picture, we had an audience while we ate. There were more people on the other side standing around watching us. Joshua knew exactly what he wanted and he was happy because his main diet is noodles with a capital "N".
Speaking of staring, before we got Joshua, we were glanced at as foreigners. We did not see many foreigners but our guide said that Hangzhou was a popular place to visit and it was not uncommon to see people from other countries. However, once we got Joshua and were pushing an Asian child in a stroller, we were outright stared at. Doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it makes me think about how he will feel when we get back to rural America where we live.
Next stop after lunch was the Notary office to get the final documents we would need from Hangzhou. We picked up his Chinese birth certificate and other paperwork that went along with his orphan status. Orphan no longer!!!
Our guide works very hard checking and re-checking all our paperwork. I cannot say enough about our agency and the people who have helped us with the adoption! They are fantastic.
After the notary, we were allowed to go and visit the orphanage where Joshua has been living. It was hard to tell how he felt about being back there. Our guide said most kids are excited to show off their new parents to their friends and classmates.
The orphanage in Hangzhou is beautiful. The grounds are immaculate as is the facility. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have adopted from this social welfare institute. We were welcomed by the staff who all made much of our Joshua. It was very heartwarming to see the staff all smiling and they greeted him and knew him well. 
Joshua took us to his classroom to meet his classmates. A photographer accompanied us taking lots of pictures, documenting the visit I guess.
He wanted to wear the goggles. Who cares, it makes him happy!
His class did a presentation for us and then they presented Joshua with several gifts.
We had the privilege of visiting with the "other" Joshua and taking pictures for his family who will be traveling imminently. We got to tell him that his family was coming very soon.
Good-bye Hangzhou orphanage. I will never forget what you did for our Joshua. 
This is the first cat we saw. Our guide said there are plenty of stray cats around.
While we were waiting for a taxi we watched traffic. They sure load up the bikes.
The city is extraordinarily clean. Many workers stand out in the middle of traffic and sweep the trash up in the street.
After we got back to the city centre, we decided to go to Pizza Hut for dinner.
He loves his Daddy. Our guide said it is common for kids to attach to their fathers first because they make them feel safe.
The end of the day meant laundry in the sink. Joshua is a good helper.
What a day!
God sets the lonely in families.
We are grateful that Joshua is a forever part of ours.
We headed back to the Civil Affairs Office for the official adoption on Thursday. We arrived at 2:30 per our appointment. Our guide was very busy running up and down the stairs doing the last minute paperwork. We received official permission from the Civil Affairs office to visit the orphanage. That was something I didn't know. The orphanage does not give permission, the officials in Hangzhou do.
While we waited, Joshua asked Bob to color with him.
Bet you can't tell who's is whose. (I am lost on the grammar in that sentence.)
Joshua has the camera again.
Outside the room.
Out the window. Interesting parking in the city. If you have to leave in a hurry, you are out of luck.
Where the ceremony will take place.
What I learned today? China is all about hurry up and wait. That is not necessarily a bad thing since I tend to be a little impatient. I am enjoying the "go with the flow" mentality. It is actually relaxing. Also, in a big city there are things, like traffic, that are out of anyone's control.
At 4:55, we were starting to wonder if the adoption was going to happen since they close at 5:00. We found out our paperwork needed a certain person to give his chop and he was in a meeting. We have a wonderful boy. Although he was a teeny tiny antsy, he did so well with the waiting.
At long last we had our ceremony and this beautiful little boy officially became Joshua Fankang Peterson.
To celebrate we went out for noodles.
Fun menus. Here is one for our cowgirl.
And this sounds delicious.
A memorable day, all the way around.
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings that we have.
Feeding the ducks and the coy fish.
I meant Koi fish.
What a delight! He LOVED watching to see who would get each crumb.
We stopped for a bit to watch some musicians in the park. I like the sound the one on the left makes. Viv told me the name but I'm afraid my Chinese retention is limited unless it applies to bodily functions like potty and hunger.
After the park, we got some ice cream and Popsicles. Joshua was shutting down and seemed sad so we tried to perk him up by going shopping.
We are in the fish department. He made it very clear with gestures and noises that he did not like the smell. I didn't need any Chinese to know he was saying, "Get me out of here." It was super hard not to laugh, okay we did.
We have not actually gone here......yet. Oh, gag me. But the photo op was too good to pass up.
Tomorrow we leave Hangzhou at 8:30 and head to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou.
