Wedding Crazies and Stuff

Last week we flew to New York for my sister’s wedding (pictures to come soon). Saiya did great on the plane, as usual. We spent a few days in Boston with Chris’s cousin and took a day trip to the New England Aquarium. We met up with Jeanne and Annie (Wei Ying) and her family at the Aquarium. All the kids had a blast! I am so amazed at Annie’s progress! She has come so far developmentally since the last time we saw her. She and Saiya had a great time. Poor Saiya fell asleep on the way back to the Aquarium from our favorite little Chinese place in Chinatown.

We also stopped by our agency, CAWLI, for Lillian to meet Saiya. I can imagine that she places dozens of children out of state that she never has the pleasure of meeting. So we stopped by and spoke with her about our second adoption and what we are looking for. She showed us how the Chinese system works and we sorted through some potential referrals.

I was a little shocked that none of her other families are looking at the same age group as we are. According to Lillian, they are all looking for babies. It’s such a shame since adopting an older child can be an amazing experience. The Chinese child referral system is vast and complicated. I do not envy Lillian’s position. She tries very hard to match families with suitable children. The whole time we were there, she kept thanking us for understanding how difficult her job can be. I’m shocked that people DON’T understand how hard her job can be.

After Boston, we headed to Albany for my sister’s wedding. We rented a house in Warrensburg which we shared with my sister, mom, brother, our friend Melissa and her son, and my sister’s two kids. It was very comfortable! Much better than getting four or five hotel rooms. The wedding was beautiful and Saiya did a great job as a flower girl!

We took the train home. All the kids were great, but I don’t think we will be doing that again anytime soon! Three adults and four children on a train for 24+ hours is way too much!

While we were on the train, Chris received news that his grandfather passed away. So he is leaving today to head to Indiana for the funeral. So we went from a wedding to a funeral in the period of a week. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon, this month has been hectic, stressful, and sad. I’m ready for September!