Long time no post.

Sorry that I have been slacking onmy posts. Jude keeps Mama hopping from before the sun goes up til when the sun goes down, and then some! He is doing amazingly well, but it has been an adventure. Let's see...... His cousin Ian came to stay and that was a huge help. Jude thinks Ian is awesome and follows his lead. Then his cousin Hannah (age 5) came to stay for a few days and that was great as well. They are more on the same level. And they look like 2 peas in a pod! We went to the swimming pool and he had a blast! We have been back several times. Mama is not crazy about wearing a swim suit, but it wears out the monkey and he always needs a nap on those days. Woohoo for Mama!! We also have been to the park and he really likes that as well. Jude now is the proud owner of a bike and matching helmet. Grandpa is in charge of bike repairs and upkeep and Jude frequently has things he wants looked at on his wheels!!

We are venturing out more and more, but mostly we stay home. Lots of time with Mama. Jude is learning to be an American kiddo. We watch PBS and color and play ball outside. He loves tohelp Mama with vaccuming and laundry. He still is working on being gentle with Cookie the Chihuahua. Lambert the poodle is like Jude's brother. They love to aggravate each other!! They both enjoy itbut it drives Mama crazy. Why can't we all just get along?

My little guy has learned how to work the VCR and we watch bits of Cinderella and Tarzan often. He also loves music. Meal times take considerably longer if the stereo is on because he has to get up and dance between bites of food!! Likes Country and 80s music, as well as Kids Bible songs in English as well as Mandarin.

Still sleeping with Mama, or at least in Mama's bed. Between Jude and Lambert, they is not much room for me!! I usually sleep in Jude's room or on the couch!! No rest for the weary and I know that's right!

The jury is still out on when I will send him to school. He is doing well with the ABCs and counting, as well as colors and shapes. I have no idea what I am doing, but I do try very hard to be a good Mama for my little monkey man.

Tomorrow he will get his first American haircut. Well, technically, his second I guess since he took a huck of hair out with his safety scissors today. Right in front center. Total bald patch about the size of a quarter. Such a poppet monkey, isn't he? :)

All quiet at the Alexander Ranch

First, let me say that I am really glad to be home. Secondly, Wow is it different now that Jude is home!!! I have lived alone for 10years. Just me and the dogs. Man, are those days over! I have my shower time down to less than 90 seconds. Forget makeup. While Jude is asleep I am always torn wheter to read or clean or sleep or just enjoy the peace. But we are having a blast! He has some sleep issues and a pretty hard core tantrum at least daily, but things get better each day. I know it has to be really scary and frustrating for him. Everything is new to him. EVERYTHING! Tonight he actually played with his bath toys and wanted to stay in the tub for a bit. He was used to only showers at the orphanage and certainly not all the fru fru bath stuff that Mama has for him. :) He eats a lot so hopefully he will put some weight on that tiny body soon. He still isn't sure if he loves or hates Cookie the Chihuahua, but it is improving. We still go over the concept of "gentle" quite often. Lambert still is staying at my friend Kim's house, but I miss him terribly. I have been talking about him a lot to Jude and showing his picture, but it is likely gonna be a pretty ugly homecoming for ole Lamby. But I think tomorrow will be the day and we will just get it over with. Full steam ahead!!! Tomorrow Jude has his first appt with the doctor for a well child exam. I hope that goes well. And his cousin Ian is coming to stay for a few days as well. Ian is 8 and Jude is so like him in personality. I am hoping Ian will be a good influence. (My family will laugh out loud when they read that!) Today we only ventured out for a very short wlak and that was fine. (We didn't see any dogs or cats.) The only other place we have gone is Walmart. After a while Jude was crabby and yelling he was tired. Well, duh, Cara!! Isn't that everyone's reaction to a trip to the Walmart? :)

We are finally home!

Greetings from home in the USA!! Happy to report there is now one more citizen. The 3 flights and 24 hours it took to get us here were no picnic, but we made it! Jude did pretty well. Had a little trouble sleeping on the 12 hours from Tokyo to Detroit, but he was trooper. We had to literally run to make a couple flights and the folks that work in Customs and Immigration Services were unhelpful to put it mildly. Thankfully, my brother and his family was there at the gate in KC to welcome us home! Jude didn't quite no what to think about the whole thing at first, but by the time we made it to the cars with all our luggage, he had decided he really liked his new family! His cousins were a big hit, just as I knew they would be. Ian taught Jude how to draw stick figures on the ride home. Nathaniel was soaking up every bit of Chinese I could teach him so he could make Jude feel more at home. Hannah was so excited to finally meet her new cousin that the very first thing she said when she saw us was "I'm sitting by you and Jude in the car!" Apparently there had been quite a bit of debate among the kids on who got this prized position. Jude and Hannah are about the same size and both have fine features. I just know they will be mistaken for twins more thatn once! :)
Jude was very excited to see his new home or jia in Chinese. And the look on his face was pure joy. He started in on his room ful of toys right away. He is still sleeping in my bed, though, just for a bit longer til he is settled. Today we played and played. But the biggest news of all is that he met my Chihuahua, Cookie. Started out terrified, and his Poppy wanted to take Cookie back to his house right away. I don't know who was more apprehensive! But Mama knows best, right? After a few hours of watching her out in the yard, then on the deck then feeding her treats and finally getting up the nerve to pet her, I though that was a great start. But my little guy is full of surprises. Once he was all tucked into bed he asked if Cookie could come into the bedroom with us! So in she came, just to sleep on the floor. She wandered all around, no doubt looking for my other pup, Lamby. But then she settled right down on her pillow beside the bed and went to sleep. Then Jude followed her lead and fell asleep as well. Amazing! Now I have to say that good old Lamby may not be such a fast friend. He will be so excited to meet Jude and will no doubt want to jump and lick and play. Uh, I don't think we are quite yet to that level. But it just has to be soon because I miss my Lamb dog like crazy and I know he would never hurt Jude. We shall see what tomorrow brings. The little neighbor came over to ask if Jude could play but he brought over his poodle, and Jude was havin none of that!
Jude is so smart. You can actually see him learning all the time. Torrow I think we will get out the play-doh and also maybe set up his play tent in the living room. Eventually we will venture out of the house, but I want to wait til he is settled just a bit more.

Last day in China

Tomorrow we are headed home!!!!! Yesterday we went to the Amercian Consulate for the swearing in ceremony. Lots of sitting around and waiting for a very unceremonious ceremony. No pictures allowed. Grandma and Grandpa waited outside. Raised my hand and swore that all the paperwork submitted to the US government was truthful and accurate. That's it. No "I will be a good mama" or anything. Kinda a let down but who cares? That was the last official thing to attend!

Yesterday morning we went to the electronic market. Huge and crowded. Stall after stall of electronic stores. Must have been over 100. Then bartering through a translator. Very tiring but I got a DVD player for Jude for the plane ride home (with an extra battery).

Today we have just bummed around the island. All the shop owners know us by now. It is so lovely here. I hope to come back someday. We have been eating at the Cow and Bridge restaurant next door every day. Last night we had fresh coconut milk. Holy cow, Batman! Delicious! We will really miss eating Thai food once a day. It just isn't quite the same back home. But aside from that, I am so ready to be back in the good old US of A. Miss my house, miss my bed and miss my dogs. Jude is getting better about the dog issue. By better, I mean he no longer screams when he sees one. Still a long way to go with that.

We will leave the hotel at 0530 tomorrow morning for the airport. Ugh! Mama really hopes he sleeps well tonight! Our flight leaves around 8am for Tokyo. About a 5 hour flight. Then from Tokyo, we fly to Detroit. 12 hours!!!! (explains the DVD player, right?) Once in Detroit, Jude with have to go through Customs and at that point he will be a US citizen!! Then we fly to KC where my brother and his family will meet us and drive us home!! I can't wait to see Jude with his cousins! I also can't wait to see the look on my brother's face when he hears Jude singing "Jesus Loves Me." :)

Next post will be from home!! Woooohooooo! Thanks for all the prayers and keep them up as we travel tomorrow. With the time changes, August 19th will last 38 hours for us!!!!

Shamian Island Rocks!!

Greetings from Guangzhou! This city is in the very southern part of China, very near Hong Kong. We are in a section of the city called Shamian Island. We love it!! Our hotel, The Victory, is very nice and there are tons of little shops all around the neighborhood. I love to barter and I am getting better every day! We took our scummy clothes to a nearby laundry yesterday afternoon. We were pleasantly surprised when we picked them up this morning! All pressed and individually wrapped. And it was cheap!!! Can I take a Chinese Laundry woman home as a souvenior? Do I have to declare that?

There is an awesome Thai restuarant next door called Cow and Bridge. Dude! Fresh snow peas in garlic sauce and all kinds of neato fresh fruit drinks. Jude likes the watermelon juice best! But I think the banana is mighty tasty. He is helping me to improve my chopstick skills. Today we got him a stroller(which he loves!), even though I think my poor back has already formed a hump!! Loves to be carried and I have a hard time resisting the chance to squeeze my peapod. Right now he is napping. We went for a walk this morning and saw a group of ladies dancing in the park. Jude loves to dance so he joined right in. That kid can really get his groove on. Gets that from his mama (a shaker from way back). Everything is lovely on the island and many people speak english. We miss our guide and driver from Shenyang, but we are doing okay on our own. There is a guide from the agency to help with paperwork, thank goodness! Tomorrow morning we are going to the electronics market to spend some yuan(as in "yuander where it all went) and then in the afternoon we will be going to the Amercian Consulate for the swearing in ceremony. :) I was told that there are no pictures allowed during that. Jude will likely be pleased with that as I am sure he is sick of posing. Several families from our agency met today at the famous White Swan Hotel for the traditional kiddo photo on their red couch. Well, after a billion photos, JUde was overwhelmed and headed for the hills. He sat in a corner and rocked himself, scared to death. But Mama fixed it all with several hugs and kisses. The agency reps then really put the pressure on to finish the photos and I had to put the "smack down", so to speak. I said if he wanted more pictures then fine, but if my kid was gonna freak out then forget it. Jude comes first. Not somebody's scrapbook!! I finally agreed to sit behind the red couch and hold his hand. After 60 seconds he got up and ran around to me. I said "That's it." We packed up and headed out. I mean, really, does the kid need any more issues to tell his therapist about in a few years? With me for a mother, he will have plenty of issues already!!! :) Don't mess with my boy. I am one tough mama. ;)
Well, I think I will try to shop just a bit before the monkey wakes up. (Don't worry, Poppy is watching him.) We decided yesterday that not only is he a poppet and a monkey, he is POPPET MONKEY. That is the most rare kind of monkey, you know. I had to come half way around the world just to find a poppet monkey of my very own. :)

Goodbye Shenyang.

We are just about to leave for the airport. We are flying to Guangzhou, which is our last stop in China! We are staying the Victory Hotel and a lot of American families stay there. I hope to meet up with some folks I have met through online groups and out adoption agency. We will really miss Shenyang and our guide, Sarah. Traders Hotel has been excellent and the staff has treated us like royalty. We had a blast shopping all around the neighborhood. We discovered yesterday that Walmart in only 2 blocks away from the hotel! Don't ask why we didn't realize this sooner!! Silly Americans. :)

Yesterday Jude got a present form Grandpa. A harmonica!!! He loves it. I mean loves it! He thanked Grandpa (Lao Ye) about 5 times and even bowed to him. Then he played and danced around. It is his favorite toy so far. And now Grandpa is his buddy.

We also went to an underground shopping mall yesterday. It is just as big as the mall at home but the halls are very narrow and the shops are tiny. In the center is a food court. Very cool. Mama can't really shop much for clothes though. My size here is 2XL. Not great for the ego! :) I have lost a few pounds here in China (probaly from sweating all the time) but I can't buy any cute pants in my size!! I am like an amazon woman here. I did find a swimsuit today at Walmart and I had to indicate to the clerk that needed a "big" one. She nodded and found an XL. Pretty funny, huh?

Better go catch up with Jude and the folks. I will post next from Guangzhou!

Rainy day

Rained all day today so we mostly stayed in until this afternoon. Then we went to an International Christian Church that our driver found for us. There were people there from all over the world that are in Shenyang for one reason or another. But we were very sad to find out that our guide, Sarah, and our driver, Mr Chong, were not allowed to atttend the service with us!!! It is illegal for Chinese to attend church services with foreigners apparently. There is a service earlier in the day just for Chinese, but no foreigners. Crazy and so sad. We take so much granted, don't we?
Jude was angel during church and they sang Jesus Loves Me just for him. He knows almost all the words already!! I sing it to him at bedtime. :) He loves music and singing.

After church we went out to eat at Pizza Hut. This is an "expensive"
dinner in China and very popular on dates. The staff was all dressed up like pirates for some reason that is still not clear to me. The menu is also a bit different. The veggie pizza has corn and pineapple on it. And since it is a one trip salad bar, the Chinese take great time and care with making their salad. One woman was at that salad bar for maybe 15 minutes layering cucumber slices around the edge of her bowl. Jude likes pizza but he LOVES spaghetti. Mama can handle that dish no problem. Boil water and open jar.

He was so tired and went to sleep in about 5 minutes. We are doing great and he is like a little learning sponge. Grandpa is now okay since he shaved off his beard. :) Tomorrow we plan to just wander around in the shops near our hotel. Hopefully it won't be raining. But we did discover that Jude loves umbrellas. He had so much fun just playing with our cheap travel umbrellas in our room today! He also can find a million uses for empty plastic bottles. :) Very creative. I am still amazed at how much he is like my nephew, Ian. If those two team up, the rest of us don't stand a chance!!! :)

Busy day

Okay, what a great day! This morning we went to huge park. Jude went fishing for the first time and caught a goldfish. He wasn't really sure if he liked that or not! There was a big lake at the park and some paddle boats, but he is too unpredictable for that right now. :) I will post a picture of a water attraction, I guess you would say. I don't know what to call it but basically it is a huge clear plastic bubble with a zipped opening. A child gets in and they blow air into it and seal it!!! It floats in the lake with the kid inside!! Can you say "death trap"? That's what Mama called it. Our guide didn't understand why I thought it was so bad. Like sealing your child in plastic and setting them afloat is just a fun day at the park. Uh, okay. Think I'll pass.

But anyway, the park was fun. We saw a puppy and Jude wanted to follow it from a distance. But then the pup (maybe 5 pounds) started to come toward us. Jude completely freaked out and took off running the other direction and screaming. Whipped past me and Grandma, but Grandpa got him. He was beside himself!! This is going to be a problem at home. In case you don't know, Mama has 2 dogs. Definitely need to work on this issue. :) We were very popular at the park. Three times people came up to have their picture taken with me! It is like being a celebrity. But without the $$$$$$.



This afternoon we went to Walmart. It was 3 or 4 stories and jam packed. Our guide said "It isn't very busy today." Imagine the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. Now multiply that by 3. And people stand right up against you. No concept of personal space since there just isn't any space to spare! But Jude got to ride in a cart shaped like a car and he had a blast. He also picked up a couple new toys. ;) We bought 2 carts full of food and stuff and a new copy of the latest Harry Potter book (my ine was in my packpack that was stolen) and it all was only 600 yuan. That is less than $80!!!! And 200 yuan was for the book! (I was only half way through and I need to know how it comes out!) We bought tomato flavoered potato chips, as well as cucumber flavor. But we passed on the Shrimp Flakes.

Jude is simply amazing. He loves to sing and learn new words. He has been refusing to take a nap, although I know he had one every day in the orphanage. Throught the guide, I asked him why he wouldn't nap even though he admits he is tired. He said he is just too excited and happy to sleep! So sweet. And I also asked why he seems afraid of Grandpa. He said he was afraid of his beard! Apparently beards are very uncommon in CHina. So when we got back to the hotel, Grandpa promptly shaved it all off and let Jude feel his smooth face. :)

Jude also told our driver today that he loves us all very much! He is so cute!! Always gives mama a drink from his water bottle and tries to feed me. He eats and eats and eats! He will try most anything and he makes the funniest face when he hates something, such as honey. He is a joy. Just a joy. :) Oh, I think they are closing the computer room so I will post pix in the am.

We got the passport!

Tonight we were able to get Jude's passport! Our guide, Sarah, spent much of the day back in Jude's hometown of Anshan at the police station trying to get the passport finished. We needed it by Tuesday so we can leave this province. So we are ahead of schedule!! That means a nice relaxing weekend of leisure with no worries of a beauacart nature. Tomorrow we are going to visit a park so Jude can spend some of his endless energy supply. Then we get to go to the Walmart!!! I am so excited to see how it is different from. I bet one thing will be exactly the same: I will spend too much! Jude is fast asleep so I can enjoy some computer time. He was so exhausted that he went to sleep in about 30 seconds tonight. He doesn't want to miss a thing so he really fights sleep. But if you can get him to hold still for just a minute, he's a goner. Sleeps from around 7pm or so til around 3am usually. Then off and on til 5am. That's in my vasr experience of 5 days being his mother! :) He eats and eats and eats. I don't know where he puts it all because he is tiny. My fingers can fit around his upper arm with no problem!! He weighs 40 pounds. One strange thing (forgive me if I already told this) is that he loves to wash his hair. Maybe 5 times a day!! Even if it is just with water. Loves it!! OK, something seems to be biting me in this computer room (no doubt because I am so sweet ;) so I'll sign off now. Gotta get some sleep cause 3am comes pretty quickly these days!

Major Meltdown

OK, so this is motherhood. Jude and I had a battle of wills this morning over a nap. Boy, there is a lot of pressure to show who is boss! But there is a new sheriff in town and her name is Mama. :) My little man is sure stubborn, so I guess he takes after his mama already. Today we went to a huge book store across the street. They actually had some children's books with English as well as Chinese. Much cheaper than Barnes and Noble but no airconditioning. Gotta go! Little man is getting restless. Trying to dismantle the printer. Man, he is EXACTLY like his cousin Ian. Good thing he is cute!!!! Just teasing, wouldn't trade him for all the tea in China. And there is a TON of tea here! :)

Glad to be back in Shenyang!!

Whew! Just got back to Shenyang, the capital city of the province, Liaoning, and man are we glad to be back. The last two days we were in Jude's home town of Anshan. No bueno. Hotel and the town in general were like the twilight zone and not in a good way. The hotel was an OVEN. Sorry, but we could not post from there. We did however get to go to Jude's orphanage yesterday. That was a very hard thing to see. All those precious angels with out homes. It was clean and the kids were well cared for, but very austere. I never saw the nannies hug the children at all. When we took out a sack of little beanie babies, we were swarmed!! The kids were every where, pushing, taking things from each other, mass hysteria. The nannies didn't react at all. That explained a lot to us about JUde's behavior. He has not concept of social graces. He was never taught how to be out in the world. We took him to a gocery store (huge, by the way) and he had never seen so much food. Today he had ice cream for the first time. LOVED IT! He is like a toddler in that all this is completely new to him. But he is simply amazing. So sweet and so very in love with his mama. My parents took him for a walk about 5am today so I could maybe finally get some rest. He had a melt down, screaming for mama. So now he will rarely let me out of his sight for even 2 minutes. He had to sit in the bathroom while I showered! Just not completely sure this whole thing is for keeps yet. Even though has had absolutely nothing of his own his whole life, he is extremely generous. Brings mama water and food very often. Sleeps with mama. Eventually :) The hotel here is very very nice and the staff is great. There is a jumbo store right across the street and also a street market right outside. One thing we don't do is cross the street. You just cannot imagine how people drive here! Dude, seriously. It is just unreal. There are soooooo many people!!! This country has ONE BILLION MORE people that the USA. Yeah I said MORE. Packed and stacked everywhere. And humid. Much more that even Missouri! ;)
Jude is picking up english already. He loves to sing. We sing Jesus LOves Me, ABCs, and The Muffin Man over and over. He already knows the tunes and some of the words. And he can say his #s up to 6. Just learned that today! I taught him to rub his tummy and say "yummy" when he eats somethin he likes. So Smart. Grandma is running out of tricks to entertain the little prince so I better get on with it. I will be able to post everyday from now on as long as he can give me a few minutes away!! :)

We got my boy!!!

Yesterday was "gotcha" day! My boy is simply awesome. He took a few minutes to warm up to me but the bubbles broke the ice. Already very attached to his Mama. :) Took a trick or 2 to get him to sleep last night, but then he slept most of the night. Has to wake up Mama if a sock comes off so I can put it back on his little tootsie. Today we are off to his home city of Anshan for more paperwork. We'll see how the 1.5 hour van trip goes. He needs to be "busy" all the time!! My Jude is perfect and I am so very blessed! Hopefully I will post more tonight! :)

Today is the day!!

Today is "Gotcha" Day!!! We will be leaving the hotel with our guide, Sarah, at 10 am. The drive to the Civil Affairs Office is about 30 minutes and then we will meet Jude at 10:30 am!!! Back home that will be 9:30pm. We arrived in Shenyang yesterday and it is BIG!!!! About 4.3 million residents, a bit larger than the entire population of Ireland! It is the capital of Liaoning Province, which is right above North Korea. Our hotel is very nice with a capital nice. I will try to post some photos now so later we can post what everyone really wants to see. (My boy!) :)

Leaving Beijing!

Awesome awesome awesome time here in Beijing. Yesterday we climbed the Great Wall!!!! Man, was it hot. But awesome!!!! We also visited the Summer Palace and walked the longest corridor in the world. (My feet can attest to that!) We learned how cloisonne is made and toured a jade factory. The food is excellent. We had Peking Duck last night. Tons of construction everywhere to get ready for the Olmpics next summer. The CHinese people are very friendly and surprised when I smile and speak to them on the street. Hey, folks, I gotta be me!! Never met a stranger, even in China! :) Flying to Jude's province, Liaoning, this morning. We will likely not see many Americans there. All ready I am a novelty it seems, lots of looks and one lady wanted her picture with me!! We are all so happy to be here and cannot wait to get Jude tomorrow! Time to go check out. Missing home a bit already. (Again, please kiss my puppies for me!)

Beijing!!!

Greetings from Beijing! After a loooong flight, or actually several flights, we made it. Didn't get to bed til midnight last night, but up early today to go to the Fobidden City and Tianamen Square. Then we an awesome lunch at a local woman's home and had a rick shaw tour around a residential area. We also visited a silk factory and a Chinese Wellness Clinic. Oh and a Governement Tea house where we tried 5 types of tea, all delicious. We had supper at a local place with our guide, Jenny. Very interesting!!! The best dish was raw julienned potato in garlic. The food is just amazing and of course nothing like the Chinese food back home. So far no one has gotten a sicky tummy, but we a re taking pepto and tums just in case. I had some locally brewed beer today that was lovely. :) We also each had a foot massage this evening!! So nice after running around for 2 days. Having a great time, but anxiuos to get my boy already. That will happen on Monday. Tomorrow we will see the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. (I will try not fall off of it!) Off to bed now. Missing everyone already and especially my puppy dogs. (Please hug Lamby and Cookie for me!) Will try to post pictures tomorrow.Nighty, night! :)

Off to Bejing

We are off to Beijing. Will get in to Tokyo and then right off to China. Arriving at 9:40 pm so will likely go to bed and not find a computer.

TA baby!!!

Today I recieved Travel Approval from the Chinese Government! This is the last big step!! I will be traveling in early August. Tomorrow I will find out my exact dates and more importantly Jude's "Gotcha day", which is the day that I will finally hold my boy for the very first time. It is so close that almost can't wrap my head around it yet. I am so very blessed! On my way Jude!

LOA! LOA! LOA!

My Letter of Acceptance arrived at the agency today! This is a huge deal! The agency will overnight the LOA to me to sign and then I will zip it right back to them. From there the LOA will return to China and then we just wait for the Travel Approval, which should arrive in about a month! This letter is a step that the Chinese Govt just added in January and it really is just to stall, in my opinion. It just basically says that I do want to proceed with the adoption of this child. Well, as my 8 year old nephew would say, "Duh!" (Although I frown at him when he says it!) So I am one gianormous step closer to my Jude today and so very thankful!

Waiting and waiting and waiting.

The waiting continues. This is day 54 into the official wait for the LOA (letter of acceptance) from the Chinese govt. Meanwhile, I am working on Jude's room, sorting a TON of clothes my SIL gave me (Thank you Valerie!). The mural in his bedroom is coming along nicely. I am also working on a scrapbook about the whole process. Anything to leep busy. I do watch the blogs from the agency (Harrah's) like hawk to keep in the loop. There are so many awesome families waiting for their peapods ,as well. Next week I will be helping with VBS at my church and looking forward to be around all the kiddos as it does seem to sooth my soul. Keep sending up those prayers folks!! Oh, and I did get a short message from the head nanny at his orphanage yesterday saying he is well and just waiting for me. :)

That's my son!

What a blessed day this has been! A family traveling to Jude's orphanage to get their new daughter got to see Jude!!! The wonderful nannies there made sure that Jude was home from school (which is 3 hours away from the orhanage) in order to get the package I sent for him with this family!!!! He saw my picture and looked up with his toothless smile and said"Fu Mama!!" He is well cared for and happy and very excited about the adoption! I cannot tell you how amazing it was to read that post today! Such a surprise! That makes the waiting just a wee bit easier. A huge THANK YOU to the Frasers for taking Jude's package to him and sending me such great news!