Our Best Day Yet!

Our best day yet!  It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do to improve our dispositions. And I'm not just talking about Willow's.  But speaking of Willow, she was happy, content, played peacefully with her sister, gently irritated the pets, and sat patiently in her car seat as I ran a few errands with her and Poppy today. In fact, both girls took great naps today, almost simultaneously, while Annie and Victoria ran out as mother and daughter to do a little shopping. What a fun day.

I put a little slide show together of my trip with Barret up to Poppy's finding place on the blog (scroll down and look on the right hand column for "Pathway to Poppy's Finding Place"). These are a few of the sights we saw on the way to her place of discovery, as well as the actual finding spot itself.

The picture to the upper left is of Willow reading her favorite book about kitty cats, and the one's below are of the two little ones helping Annie wash her car.

Tomorrow will be our first visit to our church since leaving for China about a month ago. Everyone's been so kind and gracious toward us. When we came home from the airport last Saturday, the Smith's were at our home carrying balloons, flowers, posters, food,... you name it. We've then been served with a dinner meal every night this week, freeing us up to love on Willow and adjust to our new addition to the family.  We're so thankful for the lovingkindness poured out to us by our lovely family at Grace Bible Church.

Warmly in Christ,

Tom

On Leg 1 of 10,000

This picture of Willow was taken yesterday, right after her bath (she loves her baths). She's a pretty happy camper here (sort of looks like a smiling Kung Fu fighter wielding the dangerous weapon of a soft, cushy bunny rabbit). In fact, yesterday was one of her better days since arriving home. However, according to Victoria, today isn't quite as happy for this sweet thing. She slept fairly well, again awaking around 12:30 or 1:00 a.m., this time comforted by Victoria while I tried to catch up on some much needed rest. I guess Willow finds more comfort from her Momma than she does her Baba (which is natural, of course) because she seemed to cry less with Victoria last night than she did with me the nights before. She didn't get up again until about 9:00 a.m., and only then because she was forced to wake up because of an errand Victoria had to run. Apparently Poppy's been a little tired today, showing signs of being jealous of Willow and exhibiting some general naughtiness.

We understand that it could take months before a full adjustment with Willow is complete, so until then we enjoy each moment, being encouraged by the grace our loving God is giving us, and patiently loving on her as she blossoms through life. As Victoria said today, we're "on leg 1 of 10,000, but... willing to run".

Warmly in Christ,

Tom

A Quick Update

Poppy looks like I wish I could look; sound asleep on the couch without a care in the world. She's still a bit whacked out by the new time zone, but seems to be recovering better than her little sister.  On the other hand Willow has managed to consistently wake up every night since we've arrived home, usually around 1:00 a.m. or so.  We saw some improvement last night as she was only awake from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m.  I am surprisingly energized given the lack of sleep I've had.  I keep telling everyone that I know I'm going to hit a wall sometime, but it's yet to appear. No doubt it's right around the corner.  

Matriculating back into work hasn't been as draining as I thought it would be.  My associates and colleagues were very kind to me while I was gone and exercised extreme restraint on the e-mail front.  For that I am very grateful. I work for the best people and the most wonderful company in the world.  

Today was a rewarding day with the girls.  They seem to be returning to their old selves, and this gives us some peace and comfort. This is kind of a fun picture taken today of the girls. Remember what Poppy said while at the Summer Palace in Beijing?  "Momma, ice cream make tears go away."  There's nothing like an ice-cream cone on a warm day, especially when it's enjoyed next to your sister.  We love these little munchkins.  

Warmly in Christ,

Tom

A Tragedy Beyond Imagination

This is an incomprehensible tragedy (click on link below). It was this man and his vision for adoption that the Lord used to draw us to adopt Poppy and Willow. Our hearts break, all of them.

www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/TUNEIN/80521174/1005/ENTERTAINMENT


Sober, so very soberly,

Tom

Our Yao Qiao

So, as I predicted, last night was a little rough in some ways, but much progress was made in others. The good news first; Victoria and Poppy finally got a decent night's sleep and seem to be feeling much more like themselves. The not as good news is that Willow woke up @ 1:30 a.m. (went to bed about 8:30 p.m.), so I took her out to the family room to be with her and let the rest of the family sleep. She cried off and on for over two hours. I'm convinced that she has a "combination burrito" ailment of jet-lag, residual cold recovery and a bit of some stomach adjustments to all of the foreign foods she's now eating (which are quite different from China, of course). So with all of that time in the dark morning hours, I did a lot of thinking and praying. Aside from feeling and caring for Willow, my mind just couldn't shake the trip Barret and I made almost exactly one week ago to Poppy's finding spot several hundred kilometers northwest of Guangzhou, quite near the Hunan Province boarder. I found myself mesmerized by the natives there (Yao) and praying for them as I looked out of my family room window under the light of an almost full moon. These are a fascinating group of lovely people, so I thought I'd share with you some details about them (information I found on the Internet) and the type of culture our little Yao Qiao (Poppy) came from:

More than two million Yao people live scattered throughout the mountainous regions of southern China, where they have dwelled for the past 2000 years. Yao tribes also live in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, and often refer to themselves as Kim Mien, or "men of the mountains."

Agriculture is the chief activity of the mountain-dwelling Yao. Even though they occupy land up to heights of 12,000 feet, they have ingeniously adapted to their landscape by carefully constructing terraced rice paddies that hang off the sides of steep cliffs.

The Yao have their own language, Mein, but it is only spoken by about half of the population. In fact, some of the Yao do not speak Mein at all, but one of many other Chinese languages.

The family unit is very important to the Yao, and divorce is a rare occurrence among them. Although some marriages are still arranged by parents, that choice is now generally left up to the young couple. The groom is usually 16 or 17 years old and his bride is perhaps four years older.

The Yao live in "extended family" situations, or with many relatives. Each house usually has a number of rooms where individual family units sleep, and one common area where meals are shared. The oldest male is considered to be the head of the household.

Traditional Yao costumes are made out of coarse blue or black cotton fabric that has been brightly decorated with multi-colored embroidery. Women's costumes are always elaborate and are accented by large, colorful turbans. Yao men usually wear a short, side-buttoned jacket with dark blue, loose-fitting trousers; a black skullcap; and a wide sash tied around the waist. Both men and women enjoy wearing silver jewelry, particularly necklaces.

The Yao religion is a combination of ancestor worship and exorcism. ("Ancestor worship" is the practice of praying to the spirits of deceased ancestors for help and guidance. Exorcisms are used as a means of "casting out" evil spirits that are believed to be inflicting illnesses.) Religious beliefs of the Yao also compare to popular Chinese Taoism. They recognize 18 "chief" deities, in addition to a host of "minor" gods, supernatural beings, deceased heroes, and nature spirits. "Good spirits" would include the spirits of their ancestors, as well as "household deities," i.e., the "Door god," the "Stove god," and the "Fireplace god." Evil spirits would include jungle demons, valley demons, and city demons. Small altars for spirit worship are located inside Yao homes. Finely painted portraits of the 18 deities are preserved on scrolls and kept on the spirit altars. They are taken out and placed on display during special ceremonial occasions.

Although agriculture is the chief activity of the Yao, they often cannot produce enough of the staple foods, such as rice, to feed all the people. Though the Yao are very much aware of the spirit world, they are actually suffering from spiritual famine. There are only a few thousand Yao who profess to be Christians.

I found this to be very illuminating. It's a miracle that we have Qiao Qiao (Poppy) in our home, as it also is with Willow. We're blessed!

(BTW: The picture above is of the general area where Poppy came from.)

Warmly in Christ,

Tom

Swimming Upstream

So, you might be wondering how we're feeling right about now, a little more than 72 hours after returning from Asia with our two little ones? I found this picture on the Internet which pretty much sums it all up for us (in fact, this was a direct quote from Victoria to me this morning); "Swimming Upstream". Not necessarily because we have two very needy tykes sauntering throughout the house right now, but because we simply cannot seem to get onto a time zone that coincides with the rising and setting of the sun in California. These poor girls are suffering through some of the most painful jet lag I've ever witnessed, which is cause for great consternation for Victoria and me. For three nights in a row now our sweet, precious packages of "plant-life" (Poppy and Willow) have woken up at about 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning. Willow's only way of communicating with us is to cry, while Poppy's a little more sophisticated and says with a soft voice, "Dad, I'm not tired. Can I get up now?" One night Annie took care of Poppy during the wee-hours of the morning, while Victoria sat with a dazed glaze among the girls last night just waiting for them to get tired enough to fall asleep again. And what about me? I guess it's my turn tonight. And wouldn't you know it? During the day Poppy and Willow naturally want to sleep, and when they do go down for a nap (and it's usually a long one) and Victoria tries to wake them up, it's sort of like trying to bring a toy doll to life; they're limp and unflappable.

Well, we're still encouraged in the midst of our exhaustion, and look forward to the day when we can get onto a fairly normal sleep schedule. I read this from Oswald Chambers yesterday, "... we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there." I wish we were not tired, but I thank God that we are.

Living for Jesus One Day At a Time,

Tom

Finally... A Family of 7!!!

THIS (to the left) was one of the first things our weary eyes laid upon when we pulled up to our home in our jam-packed Honda Pilot, filled with luggage and seven very happy Kruggel's. This, together with all of the tidying little Miss Annie could do to make our home absolutely adorable and welcoming almost brought tears to our eyes. More than our home's appearance, it was the thought that counted (as with all gifts and acts of service) as Victoria and I contemplated the extraordinary amount of effort and care Annie put into making the first entree into our home as a family of seven the most memorable one we might ever imagine. This is our Annie-girl, whom we take no credit for whatsoever and of whom we're so very proud.  "WE LOVE YOU ANNIE! No one will ever replace you!."  And Austin, you gave us one of the greatest gifts we could have ever asked for; driving up from graduate school during a busy quarter, and being with us and loving on Willow as you did, and will.  You're the best!  We're so proud of you.  And to Barret, our superhero these last three weeks, we have cherished the love and service you've given to us while traversing China for Willow.  Your sacrifice has greater, far reaching impact than you will ever really know.  And sweet Yao Qiao (Poppy), we couldn't love you more. You're our sweet little pop-tart, whose creative character has blossomed in our eyes in the presence of your Mei Mei, Willow."

So how do I sum up our first 36 hours together as the "Kruggel Six-Pack + 1" (more)? Rather than attempt to journal the events of our time, it's perhaps more apropos to journal the feelings of our time (which can never be fully articulated in written form).  Pondering the past, I never dreamed (nor did Victoria) that I'd be the temporary recipient of five blessed beauties to laughingly love and treacherously tear over.  I remember thinking when I first thought that Victoria even liked me (long before we contemplated marriage and became engaged) that I was the most fortunate man on the planet that someone as wonderful as her would even give consideration to me.  And that was just the beginning of what has now flourished into a "match made in heaven" (cliche, I know, but a rather profound quote from Victoria's grandmother, Vera Mae, at our wedding ceremony which gains more meaning with each passing day knowing all the more the providence and power of the Almighty).  We've been married now for over 25 remarkable years and seen the gift of God grow our family to what you see here (as we lay on our bed surrounding a jet-lagged and not-feeling-so-well Willow Rae).  So how does all of this feel?  It feels like this,... like, why me?  I know it's often been asked, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  But, I continue to ask myself, "Why do good things happen to bad people?"  God said, "There is none righteous, no not one."  (Romans 3:10b)  My answer, "I simply do not know why." But for the grace of God go I.  

On a very practical level, "How does it feel?"  It feels exhilarating, and at the same time terrifying.  What an honor to be in a place and position, because of Him, to endear children into our home.  This is exhilarating.  And at the same time, what a scary thing to be in a place and position, because of Him, to endear children into our home.  This is terrifying (especially at our place in life). So, "What do we do?"  We keep the big picture at the forefront of our thinking, both in the joyous and in the sorrowful times, remembering that we're here to "give, until there's nothing left" (as my son Barret quoted in a recent blog; the best blog entry I've read thus far, in my personal opinion). All of this for the sake of my love, Jesus, and to bring home as many into His Kingdom as possible.  

This morning, I pulled my family aside in the backyard and sat around our patio table, with the sun rising in the east, a cool northwesterly wind, birds singing in the background, and green creation all around us, and said to my three eldest (Austin, Annie and Barret), with Victoria of course (the two little ones were sleeping), "I/we need you.  I/we NEED you.  Don't let what God has given to drive us from one another, but to guide us to one another." For us, this is family, and this is what it feels like to be right where we are at this moment.

We're happy, yes, but we also realize that we have a very long haul ahead of us.  We're "girding our loins", so to state, and ready to cross into the battlefield of sacrificial love and service.  This is what God has called us to.  

Humbly Basking in the Love of Christ,

Tom

P.S. - We love all of you so much.  Thank you for joining our journey to Willow Rae.  We're here with her because of you, no doubt.  We don't know how we can ever express enough heartfelt and sincere gratitude for you, your support, encouragement and prayers.  We will continue to post from time to time, although it may not be on a daily basis going forward.

 

Home At Last!

This is Annie and I am just here to say that I cannot even begin to tell  you all how wonderful it is to have my sweet family home. Life is back in the house and I love it. Its been an amazing day...lots of napping and lots of smiles. : ) The Kruggel clan is finally united...as a family of seven. 

Joyfully...so joyfully,

Annie

Check back tomorrow cuz I am gonna post more pix and more news about Willow's first day back at home. 

P.S. I am happy to report that Willow definitely initiated a kiss from me today...it was the greatest thing ever...

Mission Accomplished!

A leisurely breakfast, some packing, and the purchase of just one more item from China comprised our morning activities, right before we checked out of the hotel and prepared for our U.S. Consulate appointment in Guangzhou. A 45 minute bus ride later, and we were joined together with 44 other families from the United States and their sweet little Chinese children, all waiting to be sworn in as U.S. Citizens. At that moment, after months of paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, waiting, and more paperwork and more waiting, Wu Hui Xuan became naturalized and is now legally able to come into the United States as our daughter and heir to all of the rights granted to us in our country, but rarely do we give them a second thought. Our mission is accomplished, and now the lifetime privilege of loving Willow for the rest of our lives, but now as a Kruggel just begins.

More than raising Willow, it's the marathon trek home that causes us the greatest consternation at the moment. It already started today when after Willow was sworn in, we hopped onto a bus, went to the Guangzhou train station and worked our way through the complicated process of trying to catch a train to Hong Kong in a foreign country where we don't speak the language. After barely making the train, dragging too many over packed bags for any of us reasonably handle onto the train, and traveling another two hours, we made it to Hong Kong. But that was just the beginning. We then had to find our way to a bus station to catch a shuttle to yet another train that would then take us to the hotel near the airport. We made it to the airport, and then walked for what seemed like forever to the hotel, again with all of our heavy bags hanging off of us. What a sight we must have been to all of those that were not foreigners. And through it all, our girls were very helpful (in spite of Willow's double ear infection that we just discovered this morning). It's now about 12:45 a.m., and we're finally in our hotel room. I ran out and grabbed a couple of burgers for the family, and we're going to get some shut-eye before we head out to the airport in Hong Kong tomorrow morning so that we can meet up with our two eldest, who we miss to death. They'll pick us up at San Francisco International on Saturday morning. (Odd, we leave Hong Kong on Saturday morning and arrive in San Francisco earlier in the day than when we left.) We'll need your prayers as this will no doubt be our most difficult leg of the trip.

I'm going to sign off, and we'll go "radio silent" once again until we arrive home. Until then, thank you for your support, love and encouragement. This has been the trip of a lifetime for us. We love China and are sad in so many ways to leave it behind. Zaijian China!

Warmly in Christ,

Tom

Give Until There's Nothing Left

Hey all. This is Barret again. I thought I could do one more blog before we head home. Well today was just right out a good day. I really wanted to enjoy one of our last days here in China and I definitely did. The day began with a little bit of sleep-in time which I loved of course. We then enjoyed our breakfast buffet at the hotel while sitting by the river. After resting awhile in the room, we went out to take a walk. We got a few gifts, went to the famous Guangzhou Starbucks, and just enjoyed walking around on a hot day. We soon then went out for a quick early dinner next to the river. After that we met up with our friends, the Thompson's, and went on a Pearl River night cruise. It was a great day!

The girls were alive today and we saw some of our first real action of them bonding. At breakfast they were running around together and playing and then when we went back to the room, they kissed each other while playing. It was very fun to see them enjoying each other so much. We got to enjoy our dinner to the utmost as both of the girls were asleep! Yes! It was a great dinner. I especially enjoyed the day mainly because I got to be with some of the people I love the most in this world and everyone was in a good mood and the girls were happy.

I also wanted to talk about yesterday when we went to go see where Poppy was abandoned. I was in awe of the entire trip from the scenery, to the lunch, and most importantly where Poppy was left. It was eerie to be standing exactly where Poppy had been abandoned long before we ever knew her. It was so cool and I will remember that experience my whole life. I told my dad at the end of driving for almost 13 hours total, "The trip was totally worth it dad, but barely!" The drive was just dreadful. There were no roads so it was very bumpy and I got a little sick and that is why I have to say it was barely worth it. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change that day for anything in the world.

Today I was kind of in a reflective mode as I often am at the conclusion of long trips. There was a brief time on the cruise boat that I was the only person on the top level. I was soaking in the beauty, the memories, the feelings, and the Lord. I just stood there and thanked the Lord for such a great trip. I started to pray that he would help me with my finals coming up in a couple weeks and then it hit me to stop always praying for things where I will gain. I listened to a song in the car ride that just reminded me that until the day we die we need to give until there's nothing left. It reminded me that many times we pray for our own gain. Not even knowing, that's what I was doing. Not that praying for the Lord to help me in school is wrong, but I just wanted to remember to ask the Lord to help me give my life to others, to pour myself out for the good of others! I do not think that it absolutely means to give money and belongings and palpable things, but rather to give your time, your love, and your effort so that others may know that you are His. And that is a main teaching I will try harder to live by every day. I want to give my life to others for my Father. The first time I ever learned what this really meant was last year at San Quintin, Mexico. I love to put my effort in play here and everywhere. I will give until there is nothing in me left.

Miss you all and can't wait to get home to see everyone and get back into the old California life.

In Him,

Barret

Abandoned, But Not Lost

We (Barret and I) made it! After seven log hours of treacherous driving over mountains, through jungle areas, between tiny villages, around rocks, and crossing rivers, we found the exact spot where our little Qing Zu Qiao (Poppy) was abandoned a little less than three years ago. The journey was half the excitement, but when we saw these beautiful people of the minority Yao tribe, many whom still wear their traditional native attire, we were stunned by the remarkable facial features that resembled Poppy's. We photographed a grandmother and her grandchild who we thought looked so much like our little Qiao Qiao that we couldn't stop staring at them. They were kind enough to let us photograph them (see photograph to the left). Poppy certainly lived among some lovely people for six months of her life, and also among some of the most beautiful terrain we've ever seen. The picture in the upper left hand corner marks the spot where Poppy was abandoned, and where she was also found. She would have been wrapped in some blankets and placed, early in the morning, on either side of this road. Needless to state, it was a bit eerie being there, standing in the very place where it all started for us Kruggel's with this remarkable gift from God.

The girls all stayed back (a wise choice), and are zonked out in bed right now. In fact, it's about midnight and I really need to hit the hay myself. I'll try to write and tell you more tomorrow about our exciting adventure to find Poppy's home town, but for now I'm going to call it a day. We're (all of us) exhausted. (Barret and I spent over 13 hours in the car.)

Thank you for praying for our trek. It was dangerous driving conditions, to state the least, and we're glad to be back with our family.

Gratefully in Christ,

Tom

A Mixed Bag

Today was a mixed bag of wonderful treats for all of us. Willow slept in until about 8:30 a.m., allowing Victoria, Barret and Poppy to enjoy a peaceful breakfast. I joined them for a few moments before Barret and Victoria headed off to the market to do some shopping. I guess the pearl deals were remarkable, but Victoria didn't bring enough Yuan, so she intends to return tomorrow to make a few deals. I stayed back on Shamian Island (next to the Pearl River where our hotel is located) and went for a long walk with the girls and did some swimming in the hotel pool. The girls were in heaven on both excursions and seem to be getting more and more used to one another. (I think the adjustment to being a sister is greater for Poppy than the one for Willow.) We spent the rest of the afternoon together as a whole family, went on some walks and got ready for an adventuresome dinner at the local fish market. Not only was the market full of all the smells your mind can imagine (and some they cannot), but we were able to actually pick out the cuisine we wanted cooked for dinner. First, we bought some eel, then some local shrimp, and finally some scallops; everything alive before taking it to the restaurant to ask them to cook it for us. What an experience and what tasty delights (although I'm not sure all of us Americans would find the entrees as desirable as the locals)!

Right before we headed off to dinner, we ran into another adoptive family from the Bay Area that really warmed our hearts. They (about our age) had just adopted two older (13 & 14 years old) sisters from another province, and had shared with us the miraculous story of how God had placed on their hearts such a strong desire to adopt that they, like us, just couldn't shake. I found myself to be in good company when I heard that he told his wife, right after mutually agreeing to adopt a few years ago, that "they would have eternity to rest, but now we have much work to do". Now that's a man after my own heart.

For those of you curious about the local church in China, I've attached a few photographs that you might find of interest. Note the structure and the signage announcing the services and Bible Studies. I've been to this church twice now, and find it to be quite evangelical. Very exciting!

Tomorrow is day of our exciting excursion to Poppy's abandonment site. Barret and I will make a day of it, leaving all the girls behind (too tough on the little ones). We're thrilled to have the privilege of going to a place where very few Chinese nationals even go. We'll take plenty of pictures and try to forward them to you upon our return.

That's it for now. We now hear that the death toll of those impacted by the Chengdu earthquake is rising by the hour. Please continue to pray for these people. Between this disaster, the heavy Holiday snows, the Tibetan protests, the hand-foot-mouth disease, the recent train wreck, and the Olympic torch protests, this country has been through and suffered a lot.

Warmly in Christ,

Tom