A Forever Family We Shall Be

August 15, 2007..

Oh, who would have guessed, who could have seen

Who could have possibly known? All these roads we have traveled, the places we've been Would have finally taken us home..

There are those who think families happen by chance

A mystery their whole life through. But we had a voice and we had a choice We were working and waiting for you..

No matter the name and no matter the age. No matter how you came to be. No matter the skin, we are all of us kin We are all of us one family..

So here's to you, and three cheers to you.

Let's shout it, "Hip, hip, hip, hooray!"

For, out of a world so tattered and torn,

You came to our house on that wonderful morn.
And all of a sudden this family was born
Oh, happy Adoption Day!
Happy Adoption Day, by John McCutcheon

As if you couldn't have guessed.. today was Adoption Day! The day that Fu Peng, an orphan, became Asher Kyle Fupeng Manubens, and gained an entire family. So he's officially ours now.. we get the pleasure of taking him home with us, raising him, teaching him, sending him to college and watching him grow up. What a huge, yet awesome responsibility!

Our second day with the happy little man went great! There's really no other way to describe him other than happy! He's just happy all the time. =) How ironic his name means happy, huh? He's 100% boy, so there are times when he can get really rowdy and we have to remind him to calm down. It was hard because today we spent a lot of time inside doing paperwork, and he got quite bored! He's one of those kids who needs to be outside all the time, running and and playing. I can't wait to get him home so he can run around with the dogs and the little girls.

Asher did acquire his first boo boo today. He and Ian were wrestling on the bed and he scratched his face up on the corner of the bedside table. Poor guy started crying, but boy was he mad at Ian! It took a few minutes of him calming down before he would let Ian get near him. So, he's sporting a nice scratch on his face.. but thank goodness it happened AFTER we signed the adoption paperwork! =)

After completing the adoption paperwork, we came back to the hotel and had lunch. The restaurant was set up buffet style, so Asher grabbed noodles, carrots and then went straight to the dessert table! I had turned around for just a second, and when I found him he was convincing one of the waiters to give him some fruit tarts. He was working on adding #3 to the plate, when I had to put a stop to it. He did enjoy eating the two that managed to make it on his plate though!

After lunch, we headed over to an ancient palace here in Shenyang. I don't remember the name of it, but it was a smaller version of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The emperor of China used this palace in Shenyang as a vacation home. At least, that's what I think the signs said! They were mostly all in Chinese!
The boys had a great time running around the palace.

The Boys- Ian, Asher, Steven and Andy

Views of the Shenyang Palace

Our guide Chelsea, her son Steven and Andy.

Mom with our fabulous guide, Hannah.



A blend of the old and the new




He's just figured out how to hide his face when I want to take his picture!


The boys wrestling..

Funny story.. as you know, Asher has a very small bladder. And it didn't fail that as we were walking through the palace, he had to go potty. So Dad took him to a toilet and let him do his business. Well.. Dad didn't anticipate the type of business he would be leaving in the toilet. And of course, the Chinese bathrooms don't have toilet paper. It's a do it yourself society here, folks. Luckily, Dad found a lady outside the bathroom who handed him a roll of teepee so Asher could finish up his business. But nothing is for free, including a few sheets of toilet paper! I think it only cost about $1 yuan though.

Anyways, for dinner, we stayed at the hotel again. I've been up for going around to the local restaurants and eating there.. but it was raining so we had to stay inside. Mom and Ian opted for a traditional American hamburger. Asher went straight for the dessert.. but ended up choosing a beef and noodle dish. Dad and I have been the adventurous ones, so we went for an assortment of Chinese dishes, and they were delicious! We had spicy chicken with chili powder and then a rice dish with tomato sauce and some sort of beef. It sounds kinda gross.. but it was actually pretty good!

Ian was falling asleep at dinner, so we went back to the room and both he and Mom decided to stay behind while Dad and I took Asher on a walk. Our destination? The Starbucks just a few blocks down the street! Getting there was fun as we navigated our way through Chinese traffic which included cars, buses, people and bicycles! I'm sure we looked hilarious to the Chinese.. us Americans running to cross the street. The Chinese people just walk, even if the cars are zooming past them! We finally made it to Starbucks and enjoyed a little taste of home. Asher had his first taste of a frappachino and he quickly forgot about the grapefruit juice he had asked for. He's got the cutest smile on him and when he flashes it, it becomes very hard to say no! He's quite the charmer and ended up drinking quite a bit of my drink. One the way back to the hotel, I nearly got run over by a bicycle! You'd think the sidewalks in China would be safe.. but they're just the same as the roads! If the road is blocked, cars just use the sidewalk. And there's no speed limit for bicycles, because one hit me in the arm as it went past!

Back at the hotel, we were finally able to get the webcams set up and had our first successful "visit" with the kids! Asher was still quite confused by it all, but he enjoyed yelling into the camera and even sang a few songs for the kids.. including Esther's famous "Mama Hao."

Well, that's about all I have for today. Tomorrow, we are heading to Dandong which is the city Asher is from. It's about a 3 1/2 hour bus trip and we will spend two days there applying for his passport, visiting the orphanage and even climbing the Great Wall! I'm going to bring my laptop to the hotel, but I don't know what the internet connection will be like so you may not hear from us until Friday night. But, let's hope we have an internet connection over there!
Goodnight everyone!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has left comments on the blog and through e-mail. I haven't had time to respond to everyone, but we really enjoy reading them. So, keep them coming!!

P.S.S. Cole Pruim- I'll try to get some video uploaded of Asher speaking in Chinese..maybe you can tell me what he's saying! =)