Our Journey to the East

Home

2012-01-16T06:01:00.002-05:00

We made it home safely on Saturday morning.

I will be working on moving over the posts from China to this site in the next couple of days. I will also be adding some more posts that I did not get to while we were in China. So please scroll down and enjoy our trip to China!

Two More Days

2012-01-11T06:41:00.000-05:00

Only two more days and we will be going home!!!

Sorry I have not posted the last two days. We have still been out and about but we are just done. When we have returned to our room the past two days we have either just watched tv or took a nap. I will do some posts with pictures soon.

Two days ago we visited the Chen Family Temple and then went to check Makinley's TB results, which she passed.

Yesterday we visited the Guangzhou zoo and I highly recommend this. It was lovely. All of the animals were up and about so we got a lot of good pictures and video.

Today we are going back to the island to walk around and then head to the store for some last minute supplies.

Tomorrow at 8:30am is our Consulate Appointment, then we have nothing more to do until we fly out Friday night.

Like I said, we are ready to go home.

Orphanage Visit

2012-01-08T07:36:00.009-05:00

Today has been a very emotional day for us. It was wonderful to get the opportunity to visit where Makinley has lived for the first three years of her life. It was wonderful to see the children and how very happy that they are. But there are so many. Zhongshan orphanage is home to 500 children that need forever families and that is heart wrenching.

We were not sure how Makinley was going to react going back to her 'home'. She did so much better than I could have EVER imagined. She did not cry or fuss at all. She stayed in her stroller and just watched everything happening around her. I think that the stroller actually made her feel like she was in her own little bubble. Every time some one came up to her she would just sit back and turn her head. She did not respond to anyone except Ms. Zhong at the end of the visit. She did look at her nanny (ayi) and listen to her when she talked to her, but she would not let anybody touch her except me. My baby was very brave today. Honestly, I do not know how these sweet children do this. Everything changes for them. Their whole life as they know it is now different. I have no idea what she must have been thinking today as we went back to Zhongshan. She always seemed to know that I was not going to leave her. She never seemed scared, just a little nervous again. Honestly, the only time that she is not nervous is with us in the room. Then she just talks, giggles and plays away!

We brought 250 DumDum lollipops to pass out and the children absolutely loved them. The older kids swarmed us for them. Everyone was very appreciative. It was a good choice for a treat because all the children can have them and enjoy them. As we passed out the lollipops we were able to meet many of the children that have families in the process of adopting them. They were all beautiful. All the children were beautiful. They all touched my heart very much.

In the baby room we were told that most of the babies had families adopting them. Most were healthy so they were being adopted domestically, which was wonderful news! Ms Zhong told us that she has 400 families in the process to adopt children from Zhongshan!! That total is domestic as well as international. That seemed like a very large number to me. It was great news because it means that these children will have families.

Zhongshan orphanage is rated the best orphanage in China. The government has put a lot of focus on Zhongshan and it is very clean and well maintained. I am so glad that this is where my daughter was. She received physical therapy while she was there and it is very apparent that they have worked with her.

As we were passing out the lollipops to the older children a group of girls grabbed the list with the names of the children that I needed to get pictures of and started finding children for us to take pictures of them. They were so cute and they were so very helpful. We got to see 12 of the 14 children that we had on the list. The other two are in foster homes. They were asking what the names next to the children's names were and I told them that was the Mama or Baba's (daddy) names. They were asking how to say them and then Journey, my friend's little girl, kept telling everyone, "Your Mama's name is ..... Your Baba's name is ......" It was very cute. Then they would ask, "Who was my Mama?" because they wanted to say the name correctly. It was so fun to be in the center of the chaos of children.

The older boys (ages 5- 13) kept asking Ms Zhong, "When are you going to find me a Mama and a Baba?" There are so many boys at Zhongshan. I told her that I have already been telling people to adopt boys because they fill many orphanages since most people only want to adopt girls. Ms Zhong told me to tell them to adopt the boys at Zhongshan!

The children are obviously well cared for at Zhongshan. They eat well they have beds and clean showers and classrooms. There is still something significant missing...a connection. My sweet girl did not connect to anyone at the orphanage, not one. Out of all of the nannies that have taken care of her for three years, not one of them did she really give the time of day to. Not one of them did she let touch her. She let Ms Zhong hold her but not until the end when we were leaving. She refused her the entire visit up until that point. So while this is the best orphanage, there is no love connection. This only a family can give to these precious children.

So my heart is heavy tonight as I will never forget the faces that I have seen today. The sweetness in each of their smiles and the tender hugs they desperately ached for.

All the nannies gathered around

Makinley's Nanny

Makinley's bed

Passing out lollipops

The girls looking at our list

Ms Zhong and Makinley

Pictures of Z Kiddos

2012-01-08T06:35:00.002-05:00

I'm going to post pictures first of the children whose parents will be looking to see if I got pictures of their children. Then I will post about our visit. The kids were all beautiful and wonderful!

Shopping Day

2012-01-07T06:33:00.004-05:00

Today we spent the day shopping and walking the old street markets. We are very fortunate to be with only one other couple right now so we have had a very nice time getting to know each other and our guide, Kelly, whom we had as a guide the last time we were in Guangzhou. We have learned a lot about China culture and for the past two days our guide, Kelly, has taken us to two very amazing places to eat. They definitely do not cater to westerners at all and Donny and I get to try a lot of different foods because she just orders for the group and we eat it. We have tried things that we would NEVER order for ourselves. But the last two lunches have been the best food we have had since we have been to China. She orders about 5 to 7 different dishes and we all get to try some. For those of you who do not know my husband, he does not eat anything. Yet, he has tried nearly all of it and he has actually liked it. Our guide tells us that what we have eaten with her is like their home cooking. No chinese food in the US tastes like this. It is much better here. It is Cantonese cooking. As good as it was, we would not go back on our own. We would not know how to order what she did. The first place did not have a menu!

For all of my Z family, we are visiting the orphanage tomorrow!!! I am really praying that I will get to meet all of your beautiful children!! I have 14 kiddos to see!! I will post pictures as soon as I can. Love you all!

Makinley did amazing today. She does not whine or fuss, even though we go past lunch time sometimes and miss nap. She is a wonderful, lovey, happy little girl. She is slowly letting go of some of her fear when we leave the hotel, but she is always ecstatic to return to our room. She is very comfortable here with us. We just love her so much!

Red Couch

2012-01-06T08:32:00.004-05:00

While we were on Shamain Island today we went into the White Swan (mainly to stay warm). Even though the hotel is closed, the first two floors are open with their shops and restaurant. That meant that we could get our "Red Couch" pictures.

Sleeping is also getting better, thank you all for asking. I think we are on a normal schedule now. Makinley has slept great both nights too.

We LOVE the emails! I try to respond, but I know that there are several that we have read that I have not responded to. I am sorry, but please keep emailing us. We are half way through the trip, but we are already ready to go home. Our children are missing us a lot too and that makes it hard. Your emails give us something to look forward to in the mornings and evenings.

For the Z families, our guide is trying to set up a day to visit so when I know I will let you know. Or guide was sick so we have had another guide the past 4 days. Now that she is back she will set up the visit.

Medical Exam

2012-01-06T07:30:00.006-05:00

We headed out this morning for Makinley's medical exam. It was the coldest today that it has been since we arrived here, and it has been cold most days. Today was raining and cold...brrrrr. My girl is a trooper though. She is doing so well bonding with me. She even gave me kisses this morning on her own when I got her out of bed..swoon..what a lovie!!!

So we arrived at the medical clinic and she was extremely nervous, again. As soon as she saw the nurse and the doctors in the white coats she totally lost it. Screaming Mama, Mama, Mama and flinging her body all over the place. A bit like she did for me on Gotcha day. It took me and a male doctor to try to hold her down just so he could check her heart and her body. We were not doing so well at keeping that little buggar still. Did I mention before that this child has super human strength. Our poor guide tried to help me hold her for her ear check and was shocked at how strong she was. So we screamed and pitched a fit through the whole exam. You can only imagine the TB test....but as soon as she was done with each station I was able to calm her down. The rest of the afternoon whenever we would enter a building (for lunch or shopping) she would get so paniced. Poor baby.

She also decided today that Daddy was not one of her favorite people. Poor Daddy. But this evening he got her in the tubby and has been playing with her for awhile with the bubbles and toys. I guess he is on her good side again.

We found another food place in the hotel called Food Street. It has all chinese food and it is actually pretty good. It really is reasonably priced too. We have eaten there twice now. Our guide will be showing us some other restaurants nearby tomorrow. Although it is just too yucky to go walking outside right now anyways.

This is a normal sight. People carrying oversized loads balanced on their bikes. It just amazes us.

She is Ours!

2012-01-06T06:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had to return back to the civil affairs office to do some paperwork that would make Makinley legally ours. I was worried about the car sickness. And I was worried as to how she would do going back to that place of horror for her. Well, the Dramamine worked. What a HUGE praise!! But my baby was deathly scared when we got in the van. We went up the elevator and she was so very nervous. Once we got there she settled down a little and we were able to do the paperwork. It is official now. Wan Chun Ying is an orphan no more!!! She has started her new life and she is now Makinley Faith Chun Ying Sloan!!! She is our girl...finally a Sloan.

After we left the civil affairs office we went to the Carrefore for some groceries. It is similiar to their super Walmart. We bought some things for the children back home and then headed back to the hotel. It was a good day after all. I just wish that she had not been so terrified.

Her first McDonald's

Meeting Makinley

2012-01-04T07:24:00.010-05:00

We are settled in back at the room and everything is going so much better than we could have imagined. Especially with how it started......

We arrived at the Civil Affairs building and waited for Ms. Zhong (orphanage adoption director) and the nanny to arrive with Makinley. We saw them come in as they were explaining to our guide that she got sick on the ride there. They tried to clean her up a little and then we were the first ones to meet our child. She started to walk out and as soon as she saw us she started to walk backwards. Ms. Zhong took her hand and gently led her out. She tried to walk right by us so I jumped up and went to see her. Then it happened....complete melt down. Worse one that I have ever seen. My poor baby didn't just cry, she SCREAMED!!!! She screamed and fought with me for so long and so hard that I thought that she would get sick aagin. Finally she settled down and stopped crying after what seemed like forever. She allowed me to hold her tight, as I had been doing the whole time. She is so shy and timid even with Ms. Zhong. If anyone spoke to her she just lowered her head and turned her head to me. Daddy was a nono until about 5 minutes ago when he started playing cars with her and now he has her laughing. What an incredibly cute laugh she has.

On the car ride to the store she got sick again, so we told the guide to take us and the other couple with us back to the hotel. So she has already christened me as her Momma by throwing up on me. :D

When we got back to the hotel we headed straight for the room so that I could get her soiled clothes and her incredibly stinky diaper off. I know that the last thing you should do right away is take them out of their clothes, but I did. I had to. They were extremely yucky! Next bad thing to do is the bath, and yep, I broke that rule too. Into the bath she went. She was amazed! Then Daddy added bubbles and she was in wonderland! She has obviously never been in a tub and has never seen bubbles. She stayed in for quite some time just playing away. Daddy went to do some paper work and I just watched her smiling and laughing away. After tubby we got some lotion on (another moment she loved) and then put our jammies on.

She has been amazing ever since. She has played with her toys, laughed at cartoons and even danced to the songs. She has jumped because she was excited and she has discovered that she likes Cheerios. Oh, and Skittles too! Thanks for the heads up on that Angela. Although they brought some from the orphanage too. She has even learned how to drink out of a sippy cup. That was very humorous to watch. All this and she has only been with us for three and a half hours. She is actually doing better than even Ashlyn did when we met her. Praising God for answered prayers.

Daddy waiting to meet Makinley

Poor baby was scared to death

Only Seven Hours

2012-01-04T06:20:00.011-05:00

It is very surreal to think that we will be meeting our sweet girl in only seven hours! We are very excited and just can not wait to see who she really is. Please pray for Makinley. This will be the scariest day of her life. She has lived at the orphanage all of her life and she knows nothing else. She will be traveling 2 hours to get here. Pray for God's protection and a peace to fill her. Let her just 'know' that we are her family. We prayed these things for Ashlyn when we adopted her and God was truly faithful. Praying for that same outcome today.

So, many of you have emailed me and asked where we are staying. We are at the China Hotel (Marriott). Last time we stayed at the White Swan. This hotel is only 10 years old so it is a lot newer and more modern than the White Swan was. The room is a little larger than our room at the WS, but it is prettier and we have a regular king size bed this time instead of two twin beds that were low to the floor. The bathroom is nicer too. However, the location is not as good. We would much rather be on the island again. Here you are in the city. There is a park across the street with a tunnel that runs from the hotel to the park. We have not seen it yet. I am sure once it warms up and is not raining (it is suppose to rain tomorrow and the next day) that we will go over there with Makinley. There is also a 7-11 attached to the back of the China Hotel, for those of you that will be staying here soon. We bought our water and snacks there.

So as soon as we get back to the room and get settled in I will try to post pictures of our Family Day! Then, of course, we will be skyping with our children back home so that they can meet their baby sister.

Love the emails!! Thank you all for praying for us and supporting us!

Yun Tai Garden

2012-01-03T06:17:00.003-05:00

This morning we were able to visit Yuntai Gardens. It is a beautiful park with amazing flowers and trees from several different countries. We spent about an hour and a half walking around this peaceful park and enjoying the cool weather this morning.

Most of you know how much I love rose gardens. Well imagine my surprise when we turned the corner and saw the largest rose garden that I have ever seen. There were thousands of different kinds of roses. Most were as big as my hand! And the smell was absolutley amazing! Needless to say, we stayed at that part of the park for awhile.

As far as sleep goes, that has not improved. I woke up this morning at 2am and never was able to go back to sleep. Donny, however, did sleep better. He slept until 6am this morning. The night before I think he only slept a total of 2 hours. So we are hopeing that tonight we will both get a good amount of sleep since it will be our last night without the baby!!!

The two little girls asked me to take their pictures. They were so cute and giggling the whole time. They practiced a couple of english words with me.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Our Trip So Far

2012-01-02T06:13:00.002-05:00

On the first, we ended up spending most of the day in our room. We had a very relaxing day just catching up on some reading and watching tv. We headed out to find some lunch and walked around the city for a while. We ended up coming back to the McDonald's next door to the hotel for lunch. It actually tasted just like McDonald's to our surprise. We do not typically eat at McDonald's but it was a decent lunch, none the less.

After lunch we realized that we definitely need to find some restaurants around the hotel because we did not want to end up eating McDonald's for two weeks! Unfortunately there are no other restaurants that we would eat at around our hotel. There are a couple of local restaurants, but we have learned in the past that if the guide does not recommend it, you should not go there. We ended up eating dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel. Our dinner, which consisted of a not so good club sandwich and a not so good hamburger, both with fries and a drink, ended up costing us $40 (US). That was rediculous and now we are back to only having McDonald's.
Today we met up with our group and headed over to Shamain Island for some shopping. It is our favorite place in Guangzhou. Last trip, our hotel was actually on the island so there was a nice place to walk and a handful of good western restaurants to eat at. We could not wait to get to eat at Lucy's again. The food was great and the atmosphere is wonderful. We sat outside to eat lunch and watch all the people in the park. This was one of the things that we have missed about our last trip to China.

On the way back to the hotel our guide told us that Papa John's delivers to the hotel and the delivery charge is only about $1(US). So guess what we ordered for dinner tonight :D

Tomorrow we will be sight seeing and we will post some pictures. Donny did not remember to upload the pictures from yesterday, so sorry, no pictures for this post.

Sleep has been our problem. We have not yet adjusted to the time difference. On the first day we were tired by 3:00pm and finally went to bed at 9:00pm. We only stayed up that late because we had to wait until 8:00am to call back home. There is a 13 hour time difference. Hopefully we will do better tonight.

Thank you for all of the emails. We read them a couple of times a day. We are so excited when we see one in our inbox. Keep them coming. They make our day!

We Made It and Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T06:04:00.009-05:00

After 24 hours of flying yesterday we finally made it to Guangzhou at 8:45p (China time). We were really looking forward to celebrating the New Year China style only to find out that they do NOTHING for New Year's Eve. Nothing...nada...zip!!! They only celebrate Chinese New Year which will be in a few weeks for them. So we were a little disappointed. We had hoped to see one spectacular fireworks show. But in the end it was ok because after we skyped the children at home it was 10:30pm and I was going to bed.

We actually slept very well last night. I made it to 5 am and Donny some how made it to 7 am. We have just been hanging around the room this morning. We are looking forward to celebrating New Year's with our kids in a little while. We are going to skype so we can all be together for the countdown. That's better than any fireworks display!

Our schedule is all out of whack since they changed the holiday days around, so we don't know what we will be doing on what day. We do know that we meet Makinley on January 4th, but the rest is still being determined. I think our guide said tomorrow we would be going to Shaiman Island to shop, but we still have not heard what time yet. When we know, I will post it. (My daughter likes to follow along and know what we are doing and when).
Hope you all have a wonderful New Year's!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we will be on a plane to China!!

This will be my last post until I return after the 14th of January.

If you would like to follow our trip please click on the link below:

http://www.journeytome.com/journal_view.cfm?journalid=3438

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.

Update: Change of Plans

2011-12-28T19:33:00.002-05:00

We just received word as to why our Gotcha Day was pushed back a day. It seems that the Civil Affairs office decided not to reopen from the holiday until January 4th.

Change of Plans

2011-12-28T16:13:00.000-05:00

I just received our final itinerary at it seems that the day we meet Makinley has been moved to January 4th.

Feeling very sad right now.

I hate leaving my children and knowing that I will be sitting in China for three days before I can even meet her (when I could be home with my children) is kinda yanking at my heart.

I know that God has a plan. And I will enjoy the time alone with my husband. It is just a long time to be away when you have littles and bigs at home.

Good news is, we do leave in two days. I know I will feel better when I get there. I am just already missing my children and I haven't even left.

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-28T09:15:00.001-05:00

And the plan for the day is packing.

Well, at least to finish packing.

I will be shopping for food for those we are leaving here and then I will be washing clothes and finally finishing up the packing process.

I have to say that as excited as I am to get Makinley, I am also so very sad to leave my children here for such a long period of time...AGAIN!!

I know I will feel better once we actually get there.

The 25 hour flight is not helping in the excitement area.

You all know how much I LOVE planes.

I still can not believe that we only have two more days!

Don't forget to follow us here:

http://www.journeytome.com/journal_view.cfm?journalid=3438

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-27T08:24:00.000-05:00

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it??

Only four more days and we will be on a plane!!

I am so ready to meet my baby girl.

China, here we come!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-25T10:33:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-24T12:35:00.000-05:00

Praying you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve with your family and friends!

One More Week!

2011-12-23T17:55:00.001-05:00

One more week!

I can not believe that there is only a week left!

More importantly, I can not believe that our Makinley will be home in three weeks!!!

So if you want to follow our journey while we are in China, we will be using this site:

http://www.journeytome.com/journal_view.cfm?journalid=3438

Just click on the link above and it will take you to our page.

Or you can go to Journey to Me and click on adoption journals. Then you just click on Journey to Makinley and it will take you to our page.

We will be posting every day so try to keep up with us...

We do appreciate your prayers and support. PLEASE email and comment on our posts. It gets pretty lonely there, even when you are busy all day long. We loved all of the emails and responses last time and we look forward to seeing who is following along with us. We read EVERY ONE OF THEM!!!

Also, please pray for us as we will be meeting Makinley on January 3rd at 2:30pm China time. That would be 1:30am at home (eastern time zone).

Love you all and have a very Merry Christmas!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-22T09:20:00.000-05:00

I had a very hard time sleeping last night.

I kept waking up and lists would start running through my head.

Things to do for my business.

Things to remember to pack.

But mostly, I kept dreaming/thinking about the day I will meet my sweet baby girl.

Praying that God wraps her in peace and security that day.

Praying for an easy transition for our family.

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-21T09:57:00.002-05:00

Single digit!!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

And with only five days until Christmas it has been a bit busy around here!

I am missing my sweet cheeks. I so can not wait to meet her!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-19T09:53:00.000-05:00

Almost there....

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-18T10:56:00.000-05:00

I have a friend who just visited the orphanage today, but she was not able to see Makinley. I am a bit sad, but I do understand. We will be there soon and they wanted to focus on seeing children that still have to wait for their families a bit longer. Praising the fact that there were 11 children on the list for her to go visit. That means 11 children will have a family!!

My emotions are a bit here and there the past couple of days. It is my favorite time of the year and right after Christmas we get to go and get our baby girl. I am not feeling overwhelmed, just like I can not focus on one thing. I want so badly to enjoy Christmas with the kids. I also want to be as excited as I was when we were leaving to get Ashlyn. It is kind of weird how I feel.

I will be happy when in 12 days I am getting on one of many planes to FINALLY head to China. I am also looking forward to celebrating the New Year alone with my husband in China. Who gets to say that they were in China on New Year's Eve!! After all, they did invent the firecracker!!

The Number of the Day is......

2011-12-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Thirteen more days!!!!

TWO WEEKS!!!

2011-12-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

I need to finish packing.

I guess that with the holidays I have just not been totally focused on the fact that in two weeks I am getting on a plane and traveling half way around the world.

It just seems very surreal to me.

So blessed to be on this journey again.

It is absolutely life changing!

How Many More Days???

2011-12-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

That's right, just 15 more days!!

Let the Countdown Begin!!!

2011-12-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

Because we only have 16 more days until we get on a plane to China!!!

And because I am ready to start the count down!!

How Many Days????

2011-12-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

That's right, just twenty-one more days and we will be on a plane to get our precious baby girl!!

Here is our itinerary for the trip:

December 30th: Fly to Guangzhou, China

December 31st: Land in Guangzhou at 9:00 pm (8:00 am home time) and celebrate New Year's Eve!!

January 1st: Free Day

January 2nd: Free Day

January 3rd: Meet Makinley at 2:30 pm (1:30 am home time)

January 4th: Civil Affairs for adoption paper work

January 5th: Visit Makinley's orphanage

January 6th: Medical exam for Makinley and visa picture

January 7th: Yuntai park

January 8th: Yuexiu park

January 9th: Chen Family Temple

January 10th: Get Makinley's passport

January 11th: Free Day

January 12th: American Consulate appointment

January 13th: Get Makinley's visa and fly home

January 14th: Return home to our family!!

We are so excited and can not wait to meet our baby girl!!

One Month From Today....

2011-12-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

In exactly one month from today we will be meeting our sweet baby girl!!

I am so excited, I can not even stand it!!!

Twenty-seven days until we leave for China.

I am so ready to go!!!!

We Have a Date!!

2011-11-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

I just finished booking our tickets for our flights to China and then home!!

I am honestly so relieved that this part is over. It feels so good to know exactly when you are leaving and when you will be coming home.

I do hate that we did not receive the consulate appointment that we wanted, but God knows best. What it means is that we will be spending two extra days in China and will be gone a total of 15 days from my sweet kids. Last time it was 17 days, so this is definitely better. But I was REALLY hoping for 13 days.

So we leave on December 30th and return on January 14th. Nine days after we return Makinley will celebrate her third birthday with her family at home. Right where she belongs.

How Cute Can Cheeks Be?

2011-11-22T16:41:00.001-05:00

I actually dream about those cheeks!

Feeling Better

2011-11-21T13:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, so our TA did not come on Friday and needless to say it was a very bad day for this waiting Momma.

But I am definitely feeling better today.

I have Thanksgiving to prepare for....

Orphan Sunday to prepare for......

Oh, and my agency told me that my TA came today!!!!!!!!

Yes, I am drastically relieved (and that is an understatement)!!!

So we put in to leave on December 31st and we are waiting to make sure that we can get our Consulate Appointment. Then I can book my flights and it will finally be 'for real"!
(Those of you waiting or who have waited know exactly what I mean by that.)

Prayer of an Adopting Momma

2011-11-17T18:07:00.003-05:00

Please, oh please, let our travel approval come tomorrow!!

Waiting For Travel Approval

2011-11-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

Last week was a great week because everyone ahead of us waiting for Travel Approval actually got theirs. So we are NEXT!! I am really hoping that we will be getting the call this week letting us know that our TA has arrived.

When we get the call we will be letting our agency know that we want to leave on December 31st. Your trip is based on your Consulate Appointment and all of the Consulate Appointments that we would have taken to go before Christmas have been filled up. That is why we are asking for a later trip. We do not want to be gone so close to Christmas and leave our other children at home. We will be leaving the first available day that we can after Christmas, and that just happens to fall on December 31st.

It will be very hard to not have Makinley home for Christmas. Especially with us travelling so soon after for her. I just want to touch this little girl so bad that it hurts. I want to hear her voice and see her smile. I want to know her cry and be there to comfort her. I want to rock her to sleep and tell her how much I love her. I want to see her interact with her Daddy and siblings when we get home. I just want to know who she is.

My mind has a very hard time wrapping around the fact that my baby will be three years old and I know nothing about her. What she likes. What she dislikes. What makes her happy. What makes her sad. How she goes to sleep at night. What foods she enjoys. How she plays with other children...etc. These things CONSTANTLY roll through my mind EVERY....SINGLE...DAY. There is not an hour in the day that my thoughts do not turn to this sweet little girl. I've said it before, I do not know how you can love some one so much and you have never even met them. God is so amazing that way. He opens your heart to a love that you could never fathom obtaining on your own. A bond of the heart. My heart is definitely locked to this child. The same way it was when I had not yet met our Ashlyn. I am always wanting to know what she is doing. I almost automatically look at the time to figure out what time it is in China. Being 12 hours different, she is almost always sleeping when I check the clock and I just pray over her as I envision her sleeping in her crib in an orphanage half way around the world.

Look at What I Got This Morning!!!

2011-10-28T10:13:00.000-04:00

Oh, I can not WAIT to go and get this little munchkin!!!

What a smile!!

My heart is just gushing!!

The Ups and Downs of Adoption

2011-10-24T16:10:00.001-04:00

My sweet friend is in desperate need of prayer today. She will be travelling to Ch*na in a couple of weeks to pick up her little boy. Problem is, China might say no. You can read her story on my family blog here.

As for our ride, we are now waiting for our Article 5 to be issued. The pickup date should be November 2nd. Then we wait for our Travel Approval. Last week Travel Approvals were issued anywhere from 10 days to 27 days. The latter was because of the holiday. So we could POTENTIALLY leave on November 19th, November 26th, or December 31st. Yes, welcome to the world of adoption.

Needless to say I am in high gear. I have started collecting some things for our trip and the suitcases will probably make an appearance next week. Packing for Ch*na is unlike any packing I have ever done. It is utterly exhausting. But it does get me excited!

I am waiting for an update on Makinley....hopefully it will be tomorrow.

Sent with a Prayer

2011-10-13T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is the part of the process where I finally feel like I can breathe. All of the final paperwork was shipped to China last night by our agency. Now we wait for our Article 5 to be approved. Then China will issue Travel Approval. Now my brain needs to switch to packing mode because we are leaving soon to go and get our baby girl!!! If the process goes as it has been, we will be leaving on December 31st. That is only 79 days from today!!!! I have a month and a half to pack and buy everything for the trip because I refuse to be concerned with that over December. The only things that I will need to pack after Christmas is our clothes. Time to start making sure that I have enough clothes for Makinley. I can not wait to see her chubby little face. I am so very excited!!!!!

Almost There

2011-10-11T10:04:00.000-04:00

We just received notice that our approval was cabled to Guangzhou on October 6th. We are still right on track. At this rate we should get our travel approval by mid November. Then we can book our flights for Decemeber 31st!!!! We're coming, baby girl!!!!

One More Step Checked Off

2011-10-03T10:01:00.000-04:00

On Friday I received a phone call from our agency that our I800 was approved on Wednesday, September 28th. Only three more steps and we can start making plans to go get our sweet little girl! We anticipate leaving on December 31st and meeting Makinley on January 2nd. Hopefully everything will continue to go smoothly.

One of Those Days

2011-09-21T15:24:00.000-04:00

You know, one of those days when you just seem to go from one thing to another and not really get anything done. One of those mopey kinda days. Not because anything is wrong, but just because.

Well, I am having one of those days. It is now 3:00 and the day is almost over and I know that I have been doing things all day, but I just can't say that I was able to scratch anything off of my list or really recall actually DOING anything today. Hmmmmm...gotta get up and do something significant...I know, like the laundry! That way I can tell my hubby that I did do SOMETHING today.

LOA!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

I got the call! I got the call!!

We have our LOA...which means....that we will be able to get Makinley before Christams!!!!

Thank you, all, for praying for us. We should get our Travel Approval in November and then we will be booking our flights to go get our baby girl!

.......Sigh............

2011-08-29T16:37:00.000-04:00

That is just how I feel today. It is also raining and gloomy looking outside....to match my mood.....sigh...

Today is day 41 of our wait for LOA (Letter of Acceptance) and do not get me wrong, I know that is not a long time, it just 'feels' really long today. The wait right now for where I am is 49 days. Not getting my hopes up though because there are still a lot of people ahead of me waiting for theirs. It also probably would not bother me if I didn't know that there was a deadline for getting her home before Christmas. We are coming dangerously close to that line. Feels like de ja vu from Ashlyn's adoption...and we missed the deadline and had to go a month later than we should have. Same scenario here.

I also know that God's timing is best. I just REALLY wish that He would let me know when that was. If he tells me that it is going to be later I would be ok. I could prepare. I know it sounds silly. Why don't I just plan for the latter and if it comes sooner..Yay!! I would love to do that, but my Momma's heart can not let go of the hope. So I just torment myself.

My heart has also been hurting for the people that have waited way too long for their LOA. One is at 125 days!! We waited 107 for Ashlyn's and that was way too long! I know how they feel...totally defeated. They want so much to go and bring their babies home. I do want them to get theirs before I get mine. I have waited before, I can wait again.

I just need to focus on the fact that in 5 months Makinley will be at home with us, where she belongs.

Update on Makinley's Leg

2011-08-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country. ~ Proverbs 25:25

I just received news that Makinley's leg is fine. The brace is being used to help her walk better. Right now she walks with a gait. It breaks my heart that it hurts her to walk in it, but what a blessing that she is in such an incredible orphanage that has the ability to help her with the treatments that she needs. We are truly blessed!

Now come on LOA!!!!!

Update ~ Heart Ache

2011-08-15T10:47:00.000-04:00

Actually, the update is that there is no update yet.....sigh.....

Maybe we will hear something on Makinley's leg tomorrow.

Please keep praying for our little girl.

Heart Ache

2011-08-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

I received new pictures of Makinley yesterday from my sweet friend, Annie. She is adopting her precious little girl and was visiting the orphanage. In the pictures I noticed that Makinley has a brace/cast on her leg. I am trying to get information about what happened to her. I know that she is at an excellent orphanage, I just want to know what happened. My heart just aches that she could have gotten hurt and I was not there. This poor baby has gone through so much pain in her life that it just aches my heart. I need to get to her and bring her home so that her Momma can take care of her. I REALLY need to hug my baby girl.

I LOVE Email Lately!

2011-08-05T08:39:00.001-04:00

Thanks to another family who was visiting the orphanage, I received this in my email this morning!

I am forever grateful to all of the families that have gone before me and take great efforts to get me a picture of my child who hates her picture taken by strangers. She constantly shakes her head 'no'. Out of 5 pictures, this one was my favorite. (Even though her mouth is full of congee).

I can not wait to go and visit Zhongshan so that I can pay it forward and give such amazing blessings to those who are waiting for their children.

On another note, I am still having dreams about Makinley every night......sigh.......I really pray that we will be able to get her before Christmas. My heart is just not complete when a part of it is on the other side of the world.

Random Thoughts

2011-07-31T11:33:00.000-04:00

No updates. We are just in "wait mode" for the next couple of months. If we can get our LOA (letter of acceptance) by my birthday (beginning of September), we still have a shot of making it this year to get our baby girl. It would take a miracle because that would be less than two months of waiting for LOA and the trend is longer than that right now. But I know God can do miracles....we will see if that is His will.

Feeling a bit somber the past few days.

Yesterday was Ashlyn's birthday and as the party was winding down my thoughts were shifting to her birth mother. Was she thinking of Ashlyn? Was she wondering what ever happened to the baby that she left on the hospital steps so that she could get medical attention? She could not care for her. She could not feed her. Does God give her a peace that her baby is being cared for? I hope so. I pray that her birth mother has a peace that the baby she left four years ago did make it and is thriving. I know that every abandonment story is completely different. I am not trying to say that every birth mother gave up her child in love. I know some do, but I also know that some do not. We have purposed to only give our daughter information that we know to be true when she comes to us later in life with questions. We do not want to presume anything. It is not our story. However, in Ashlyn's case there are specific things that we do know. We will be able to share precious information (as little as it may be) with our daughter and then she can fill in her own blanks with what she feels is right.

Makinley has been in my thoughts constantly this week. I have had vivid dreams with her in them multiple times this week. I am not a dreamer and even when I do dream I tend to not be able to recall them. Every dream is about me going to get Makinley, but they are all different. There is a common thread though. She totally accepts me in each of them. Weird, because I watch her in videos and think that she will have a hard time adjusting to strangers. She doesn't seem to like them very much (gives me a giggle at how she has responded to friends who have tried to get pictures for me).

Anyways, China seems to be tugging at my heart more than usual lately. I pray for many things, but especially for us to be able to get our baby girl soon. I can not wait to get back to China.

Update on Makinley

2011-07-20T14:17:00.000-04:00

I just received an update on Makinley. Yes, we are doing the Snoopy dance here!!

Let me start out by saying that Makinley is a year and a half younger than Ashlyn. She is three inches shorter than Ashlyn. She weighs 2 pounds less than Ashlyn. And her foot is two shoe sizes bigger than Ashlyn's!! I don't know if that last part is correct. Back in February her foot was almost 5 inches and now it is supposedly 6 inches! That means she went from a shoe size 6 (same as Ashlyn at that time) in February to now a shoe size of 9!!! Is that even possible in 5 months???!!!

Anyways, along with all of this wonderful information we also received TWO NEW PICTURES!!!

Love, Love, LOVE these pictures!!! She is actually smiling and not crying in them (hee hee). But doesn't she look so big?

This was her picture back in February. Sniff...sniff....she looks like such a big girl now.

Ok...let's get this process moving! I want my baby girl!!

We Did It!!

2011-06-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow our Dossier will be on its way to China!!

Our (BIG) part is finally done. Now we wait on China and the US to finish the process. At this point we could still travel this year. It is looking like end of November to beginning of December. We would like to be able to leave by December 3rd so that we would be back the week before Christmas. If that doesn't happen then we will probably be leaving December 31st (the week after Christmas). We just can not miss Christmas with our kids at home. But at least we are one step closer to meeting our precious baby girl.

Almost There

2011-06-27T12:52:00.002-04:00

I just received word that my authentication papers are heading back to me today. Woo Hoo!!! That means that I will be sending my dossier to China this week. It will leave my agency's office this Friday!!!! One more step behind us. One step closer to Makinley. Hopefully we can still travel by end of this year.

Best Gift EVER!!!!

2011-06-24T17:46:00.001-04:00

My friend, Heather, was at Makinley's orphanage last week and she was able to get some video of my Makinley!

Thank you, Heather, for taking the time to get this video for me. It is ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!!

She didn't want her picture taken. What a mess my baby girl is!!

Timing is Everything

2011-06-21T14:39:00.000-04:00

I was pondering our travel to China to get our precious baby girl. I really want her home before the end of the year, not in January! I know that there is a good chance that we might have to travel in January so I decided to find out when Chinese New Year was for 2012. I really don't want travel to be around then because all offices shut down for weeks during the celebrations. We ran into this problem when we were adopting Ashlyn. We ran into Autumn Moon Festival instead of Chinese New Year with her adoption and we could not travel for a month after we were suppose to because of the celebrations.

Soooooo......Chinese New Year is on January 23rd. Makinley's birthday. Please, oh please, let me get to her before they shut down for the celebrations. I will be devastated if I have to miss her third birthday.

Adoption is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

Status Update

2011-06-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I will be sending off all of my documents for my dossier to be Authenticated. It is the last step in the process of getting my paperwork together. After these documents are returned to me, I will be sending a great, big package to my agency and they will then send it off to China!!

It was taking about four months from the point that the package was sent until we would be able to travel. We were thinking that we would be travelling some time in November. Now the process has slowed down and the Letter Seeking Confirmation has gone from one month to three months!! This now means that we probably will not be travelling until January. YUCK!!

Only God knows the exact day that I will meet my sweet Makinley. I trust in Him and I know that His timing is perfect...even if it doesn't feel like it.

Approval

2011-06-06T12:20:00.002-04:00

I just received our approval for our I800A!! It took 49 days for them to approve it. On to the next step!!

Half Way There

2011-05-13T14:04:00.001-04:00

Today is day 31 of waiting for my I800a. The wait is running about 45-55 days right now. That means that we are more than half way through the wait for approval. On day 39 we go on vacation and don't get back until day 52. Sooooo, what I am praying for is that when I return that my approval letter will be in my huge pile of mail waiting for me. That would just make my day!!

The next step is getting my final papers certified and authenticated. Then I will send my dossier to my agency and I am calculating that my dossier should be to China by the end of June. That would be soooooo great!

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T11:28:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day was very nice at our house this year. It is one of my favorite days of the year and I always look forward to it. My amazing husband knows how much it means to me so he always stretches it out for a whole weekend. I love my man!

This year was a bit low key. I like it that way. Just having a weekend to relax and do nothing if that is what I feel like. Unfortunately this year my kids were not feeling well, so that is the reason that things were so low key. Sometimes God just allows our house to get sick so that we stop and just be still. It was a blessing to have such a peaceful weekend. And, yes, my kids are feeling better now. It was our bout with the "summer" cold.

I had a lot of time to myself. A lot of time to reflect. A lot of time to really see the blessings that God has given to me in being a mother. I also felt the sting that I felt two years ago. The sting of knowing that you have a child that is half way around the world from you and not with you where she belongs. It is very hard for moms to celebrate Mother's Day and to not have a child with you. Especially a young child. That does not even know that she has a Momma. I felt very blessed and sad at the same time.

Praying for all of the Mommas that are waiting for their children. Praying that the wait will end soon.

Fingerprint Appointment Complete

2011-04-29T15:27:00.000-04:00

Today we were able to walk in and get our fingerprints done. Thanks so much to all of you who let me know about this. I was bummed that our appointment wasn't until May 20th. Now it is all taken care of. Praying that our I800a is approved quickly.

Fingerprint Appointment

2011-04-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

I just received notice today that our fingerprint appointment is scheduled for May 20th. This is the next step in obtaining our I800a. I would love to get it done sooner (ya know, to speed up the process). Can any one fill me in on information about walk-ins? I had never realized that you could do this until I saw it on Rum*r Queen.

Thanks guys!

Over the Moon!!

2011-04-17T15:44:00.000-04:00

So we thought that the picture that we received yesterday was fabulous and then this morning I received this......

So happy that others are going to Makinley's orphanage to adopt their children. Love that while they are there they think of me and get me these amazing gifts....glimpses of my baby girl.

I think that we have watched the video 100 times already. I think that every time I try and will it to be a little longer.

Sleeping Angel

2011-04-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

We have a sleeping angel sent straight from Heaven!

And she sucks her thumb!!

I was given this picture by a friend of mine who just travelled to the orphanage to meet her son.

I love our Z group!!

Here We Go...(Again!)

2011-04-07T08:51:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday I resent both of my packages. Funny how paranoid I was that I was missing or forgetting something! I think I checked and rechecked the packages several times to make sure that everything was there and I had done everything right.

So now we just sit and wait. The BIG part for me is done. All I have to do now is get documents certified and authenticated. After that I will send my dossier to my agency. Hopefully this will be some time by the end of June. I am really praying that our dossier gets to China by end of July.

Now we just sit and wait...aaahhhhh....the fun part. (Tons of sarcasm in my voice).

My BIG Ooooooppppsssss!!

2011-04-04T12:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday the mailman arrived with a package for me. "Wow," I thought, "that was fast!" I should have known better. Anytime you get stuff back from the government fast it is probably NOT good news. It wasn't. The documents that I sent off to be certified were returned to me because they were missing my marriage certificate. Uuuummmmm...no they weren't. The certificate was the 4th page in the batch of documents. Now this in no way holds us up, but it cost me a pretty penny to send them off and then I also paid for them to send them back!! Now I am starting all over. What a waste of money!! That was entirely frustrating.

But wait, another package...this one from USCIS!!! Wait, it is too thick to be a letter stating that they were processing my application. UUuggghhhhhh.......everything was sent back!!!!! I apparently, in my very organized speediness, forgot to SIGN the application...hubby too!!!!!! Uuuuggghhhhh!!!!!!!! Now this DOES hold us back. This process is taking 60 days, and because of my mistake I cost us a week!! THAT STINKS!!!!

So now that I have vented, I am going to start all over and send off my I800A application. Please let it take less than 60 days!!!

My Precious Baby Girl

2011-03-23T17:51:00.002-04:00

Today, my baby girl is two years and two months old. She is waiting for us in an orphanage half a world away (literally). My heart so longs to hold her. I pray that this journey to her does not take too long. But any time away from your child is just too long.

Today I received six pictures of my baby's birthday party. We sent her a cake so that she could celebrate her belated second birthday. She turned two right before we actually found her. Four days before to be exact. I am so looking forward to celebrating her third birthday at home with her next year. At home...right where she belongs.

Yes, she does have dots of icing on her cute little face.
(Her nanny put them there.)

Yes, she is wearing a Santa hat the reads,
"Merry Christmas" in English.

Yes, these pictures were just taken
this week...in March.

I absolutely adore everything about these wonderful pictures of my beautiful, chunky-cheeked baby girl!

Homestudy Approved!

2011-03-21T12:58:00.000-04:00

I was just notified that our agency has approved our Homestudy!

After I get a copy in-hand this week, I will be mailing it off to USCIS with our I800A application. It is taking them anywhere from 45-60 days to approve this. Praying for 45 days or less!

At this point it is looking like we will be travelling around November of this year!

How It All Began

2011-03-11T08:00:00.075-05:00

Back in January, my husband and I were having a conversation about our family's future and where we thought we were going. We knew that God was leading us to add to our family again, but we were not exactly sure how He wanted to do that. We had conflicting directions and for months we had gone back and forth on them trying to follow God's lead. We were actually finally putting our finger on the direction that we felt we were suppose to move in when Donny told me that even though we were moving in this direction God was telling him we were suppose to adopt.

To back it up a bit, we have always felt that we would adopt again. We knew when we were adopting Ashlyn that this would not be the last time we would walk this road. We actually were praying for our "other" little girl while we were in the process of adopting Ashlyn. There were many times that I would feel so burdened for this child that I would just cry. I told my husband on several occasions that I felt like we were leaving our daughter in China. (In actuality, we were. Makinley was born the year that we adopted Ashlyn). I also wrote in my journal that I would never forget her. I would go back for her. I would fight for her.

So after our conversation, I was having a casual conversation with a dear friend of mine and was asking her about the process to adopt in China. I run an adoption and orphan care ministry and I like to stay informed so that I can answer people's questions when they come to me. Somewhere in the midst of our casual conversation I was scrolling through the Waiting Child list. All of the sudden I saw the most beautiful face and I stopped on her information. Her information read: VSD, brain injury at birth, and high muscle tension in the right side. Ok...any other moment in my life I would have said, "OH...ummm...this is not going to work for our family dynamics at this time." And then I would have just moved on....but I didn't. It did not scare me off. That in itself is a miracle. I could hear God whispering to me, "It's not what it seems." Over and over for the next two weeks I would hear this. It was always washing over me. Knowing that sometimes these sweet kiddos are tagged wrong I asked for a little more information. Then I talked to my husband.

That evening I presented all of the tiny bit of information that I had. We both agreed that this could be God leading us to adopt her, but we were definitely not sure. We would ask to review her file and see what happens. Now in being truly honest, we were both thinking that something in this file was going to tell us "no" that she was not our daughter. But we both knew that if we did not adopt this little girl, God was still trying to tell us something.

We received the file on a Monday and I poured over every little detail about this sweet baby girl. There was a lot of it too. Out of all of those medical reports, pictures and even a video (I know, a video, unreal isn't it?), I could find absolutely NOTHING wrong with this child. Except for her description...HIE...lack of oxygen to the brain at birth. Ok, I'm not gonna lie, we were scared to death! We looked up all the information on HIE, and folks, it's not pretty. Ninety percent of children in the world born with HIE have severe handicaps and severe mental retardation. The brain just can not go without oxygen. If this child's issues were minor like they seemed, she would be in the ten percentile in the world for not having severe issues from the HIE. MIRACLE!!!

We needed more information (since her file was from 6 months ago). With it being smack dab in the middle of Chinese New Year, we were going to have to wait. WAIT....not my favorite word. We did a lot of praying. We did a lot of crying. Well, I did a lot of crying. Then more praying and more crying. How was this going to affect our happy little home? How was this going to affect our children? We still have two little ones at home...3 and 4 years old. God, really?!? But there was that whisper, "It's not what it seems." I could not ignore it. So after MUCH talking, we decided that if she could walk, we could do this. We felt very good about that. We kept saying over those two weeks (which by the way felt more like two months) that at this point God was going to have to show us why we should NOT adopt her.

We went to church on Sunday, right before Chinese New Year was going to end. We were hoping that we would be hearing more information on her that week. That day God met us at church. He spoke so loud and clear I felt like He was about to shake me. When I left church that day I had my answer. We went home and I told my amazing, obedient to the Lord husband what God had spoken to me and he just smiled. He said, there is our word that we were waiting for. Want to know what He said to me? Well in our class the message was on fear. Hmmmmm....I have never been so fearful in all my life. But more fearful of making the wrong decision and letting God down. Fear is not from God. God has shown me time and time again in my life that His ways are always better than mine and that He is not going to harm me or my family. Yes, it may be extremely hard to walk the road He calls us to, but it is always worth it. And it is always the best way. He wants to give us blessings. I knew in my heart that if this was where He wanted us to go, He was going to bless us with it. I have faith in my God. He loves me greatly. He told me that morning that I needed no other information on this child. I was to trust Him and follow where He wanted our family to go.

So that Monday we told our agency that we had to decided to adopt Makinley with no other information than what we had. That same morning more information on our baby girl had arrived from China. She was WALKING!! She was TALKING!!! WOW!!!!! That is all I can say, WOW WOW WOW!!! God just wanted us to follow in obedience before He showed us that she is indeed a MIRACLE child.

We received all of her hospital papers from her birth. All of the papers from the NICU hospital she stayed at for a month were included also. We know her China mom was 40 weeks pregnant when they had to give her an emergency C-section to get the baby out because the baby was in distress. Who gets this information???? There were many more details that God allowed us to know about our daughter. I am in awe. With what we see in her information she now falls into the 2 - 3 percentile for HIE of children that have very little affects from the lack of oxygen to the brain.

What I am hoping is that our story will give someone hope. I pray that someone reading this will take a leap of faith and adopt a child that seems to be to hard for them. In the end, we chose this route because God told us that this little girl needed a family. And that our family needed this little girl. I pray that this helps someone to trust God and follow in obedience.

Where is Makinley?

2011-03-10T08:24:00.001-05:00

Makinley is in Zhongshan, Guangdong.

The province right to the left of hers
is where Ashlyn was born.

Guangdong is where the American Consulate is located, so on this trip we will be spending two weeks in Guangzhou, Guangdong.

One week for province paperwork, and one week for American Consulate paperwork.

Please Pray

2011-03-10T08:19:00.000-05:00

Today in Yunan, China a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit.

This province is in the southwestern part of China on the border of Myanmar.

So far 22 people have died and many other are wounded. Hundreds of buildings have collapsed.

Please pray for these people.

Paper Work...How Quickly We Forget!

2011-03-07T17:30:00.003-05:00

So I just spent a bit of time...can't remember how long....putting together my paper work for my I800A. Everything is done and waiting for my Home Study to be finished and approved.

Driving full steam ahead to get to my baby girl. I refuse to be delayed by anything on my part. On the other end, well, I can not control how fast everyone else goes. Praying for a super fast adoption journey!

Pre-Approval!!!!!!

2011-03-03T13:17:00.001-05:00

It is with unbelievable honor that I
introduce my 6th child

Makinley Faith Chun Ying Sloan!!!!

(Her chinese name is Wan Chun Ying)

Born on January 23, 2009

She is in the

Children's Welfare Institute of Zhongshan City

Guangdong, China

Isn't she just gorgeous!!

Care Package Number One

2011-03-02T17:03:00.000-05:00

We are currently awaiting our Pre-Approval from China for Makinley. We are anticipating that it will be arriving any day now. In the mean time, I have gathered some items to send to her in her care package. For Ashlyn's first care package I sent her a toy, an outfit, a photo album, a blanket and some candy for her foster family...along with some cameras, of course. With Makinley being in an orphanage I did not know exactly what she would be able to keep for just herself, so I limited it to a teddy bear and photo album of her new family. I am also sending candy for the kids and candy for the nannies. As always, cameras are in there too.

As far as our paperwork goes, I am almost done with our home study. We have a couple of items left and then it will be sent to our agency once it is all written up. I am very happy to have this part almost done. It is the most tedious part of the whole process.

Having now started an adoption two different ways, I must say that this way seems so much more unnatural (if there is such a thing as natural). I guess when you do this part first without a referral, you have time for the anticipation to build. By the time you receive your referral you have been waiting for a while. This time around we were not waiting to be matched. We were not even thinking about adopting right now. God told us that this was His plan for our family and in obedience we stepped forward. So having her pictures and just now starting the process seems very off. It also seems like everything is going way to slow. In actuality it is about the same pace as last time and is moving fairly well. It just seems so SLOW!!!!!

I know, I need patience. I don't feel impatient, but I guess I just want it to move along...as we all do.

Letter of Intent

2011-02-16T22:25:00.003-05:00

I just finished sending off all of the information for our Letter of Intent to adopt Makinley from China. It's funny how you forget how much PAPERWORK you have to do. I am just exhausted. I think I'm going to bed now.

But before I go, I will give you a teeny bit of information on Makinley. She is two years old and she is living in an orphanage in Guangdong, China. That's it! No more info tonight!

You know I love you!

Guess What?! I'm Back!!

2011-02-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

Today we officially began our second adoption.

We were not looking to adopt at this time, but it looks like love found us.

I came across the most precious baby girl on the shared list, again, don't know why I was looking. Since Ashlyn's adoption I have never once looked at any list (mainly for this reason - I know myself VERY well). She was a Special Focus child with multiple special needs. She had a particular special need that normally would have made me say "nope, we can't do that need at this time. Not with little ones at home." God obviously had other plans because He kept whispering to me that it is not as bad as it sounds.

I will share our beautiful story soon, but because we have just started the process, we can not share any information on her. So for now, I will keep you in suspense. Trust me, it is quite an amazing story. As soon as I can I will share.

So here we go...I am so excited!!!

So Long for Now

2009-11-15T10:44:00.002-05:00

This will be my last post to this blog.

It was always my intention to set this blog up for people to follow our journey. But beyond that, I wanted a resource for people who were looking into adoption or going through the process themselves. It helped me greatly during our adoption process to be able to look at other blogs to see how the process would take shape. I hope that this blog will help encourage and give direction to others the way that the blogs I follow have helped me. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. I had lots and I want to be able to answer any questions/concerns that I can.

If we ever travel this road again, I will use this blog for that adoption as well. In the meantime, please fell free to join us at www.tummytickles.blogspot.com to continue to follow our amazing story that God is creating for us. We are so excited about what He has done for us, and what He has in store for us in the future! See you at Tummy Tickles and Goofy Giggles!!!

We're Home!!

2009-11-12T21:23:00.001-05:00

Sorry this is a couple days late in coming, but I got sick after we got home and this is the first day things feel somewhat "normal".

After 4 plane rides and 25 hours of travelling we arrived home to a group of wonderful people that wanted to welcome Ashlyn home. It was a great moment because I finally got to see my kids after 17 days of travelling. Ashlyn reacted so well to them. She recognized them from their pictures in the photo album that she had of us. It was the best reaction, far better than we ever could have hoped for.

So now that we have been home just shy of a week, I can say that things are going well. We have some things to work out, but,in time, everything will be just fine. Last night she slept through the night for the first time since we returned home. The 12 hour time difference has really messed up her sleeping habits. In China she would sleep from 8:00 at night until 8:00 in the morning and take a 2-3 hour nap. Here she was waking up at night because it was nap time to her. I think we have finally gotten past that problem.

She is not too fond of the dogs. At first she was terrified of them and screamed everytime she saw them. Yesterday she tolerated them in the house walking around as long as they did not get too close. We are making progress every day.

She will not walk around the house without having a death grip on someone's leg or hand. We are hoping that she gets more comfortable in the house and feels like she can walk around on her own. She has a lot of fears that we are helping her through. She exhibited this even in China. This poor child has been through so much. I pray that God will give her a peace about her new family and home.

Last Day in China!!!!!

2009-11-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

We woke up a bit late this morning and after talking with the kids we went down to breakfast. I have spent this morning packing to come home!! We have a little more shopping that we want to get done today, but that is all that is going on with us today.

I did give Ashlyn some Benadryl because of our colds/allergies and it did not do much as far as making her tired....I guess it isn't going to help me much on the plane, but it does make her stuffy nose better.

Other than that, we will be getting up early tomorrow morning to catch the plane to Hong Kong, then San Francisco, then Charlotte, then H..O..M..E!!!!!!!!

So, good-bye from CHINA!! We'll see you when we get home!

Here is our flight info in case you are wanting to be at the airport.....US Airways flight 1471 to arrive in Tampa at 9:43 pm on Saturday, Nov. 7th.

Oath Taking Ceremony

2009-11-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

Not much to post today. We woke up late and went for a walk after breakfast. Then we went to our Oath Taking Ceremony at the Consulate. It was about a thirty minute drive there. Once we were there we waited with about 20 other families to do some paperwork and then take our oath as a group. It was really a neat moment. We then headed back and went to dinner with the two other families left with us (the other two families went home today). We went to the German restaurant on the island and to our surprise it was really good. I would have to say that it was one of the best German restaurants that I have ever been to. Dad, you would have LOVED it!!

Anyways, no pictures today...we didn't take any. You can't take cameras into the Consulate.

One more day and we go HOME!!!! I hope tomorrow isn't too long. There is a sightseeing to a Garden, but I don't think we are going to go. We are just about done at this point. Seventeen days is a very long time.

The Open Market

2009-11-04T21:19:00.001-05:00

This morning we went for a walk into an open market in Guangzhou. We had to go off the island to get to it. It is very typical of the open markets all over China where people go to purchase food, herbs for medicine, pets, etc. It was extremely interesting and was alot like what we imagined it would be. The smells here are very distinct and the market is no different. If anything it is amplified in the market due to all of the open bins of food, spices and herbs. It was definately a very interesting walk and we are so glad that we were able to see this side of China.

The weather warmed up a bit today so we were able to get outside more. We all are feeling better today. Ashlyn can say "Uh oh" now when something drops. She is really coming along. She also waves "hi" and "bye" to everyone we pass now that speaks to her (which is almost everyone). They all think she is so cute...we agree!

Tomorrow we will go to the Consulate appointment for our oath taking ceremony. Then on Friday we will get her visa to come home. Only two more days left here...we are ready to get home.

Happy 30 Something Birthday

2009-11-03T21:18:00.002-05:00

Ok... Last night I ate way too much at a Cantonese restaurant. I paid my dues today, so I'm done with Chinese food for the rest of the trip. All three of us were feeling under the weather today, so we spent the day in the room. Gretchen ordered a birthday cake this afternoon. It was a good looking cake, but it was covered with fruit, even in the icing. Not exactly our idea of a traditional cake, but it was nice none the less.

It's great to be one day closer to coming home. China is a wonderful place, but we are ready. Guangzhou is a bit more westernized than other parts of China. We don't get the curious stares we did in Nanning, and the food is much better. One thing that is hard to adjust to is how dirty everything is. The air is typically so polluted there are very few days you can see the sky. The water is a dark brown color, with debris constantly floating by. Yet we are told everything is much cleaner than it was just a few years ago.

Sorry we don't have much to speak of today... Pretty slow day. Tomorrow, we head to the open market. It should be interesting, since they sell everything that should or should not be eaten.

On a side note: My nephew, Chris, goes into surgery in a couple of hours to deal with a bone infection. Please keep him in your prayers.

Take care.- Don

Visit to the Temples

2009-11-02T21:16:00.001-05:00

This morning we headed out to a Buddhist Temple and the Chen Family Temple. The Buddhist Temple was pretty, but it was just not for us. We did, however, enjoy the Chen Family Temple, which was a home owned by the wealthiest family in the city and later became a meeting place. It has never been used for any religious purposes.

The wood carvings were beautiful. It is all opened to a big courtyard full of plants and Bonsai trees. It is a very relaxing place to be. We really enjoyed strolling around the home.
Ashlyn is doing better today. She has not had a fever since this morning and she was in a much better mood today. She even allowed Daddy to hold her a bit more today.

Tonight we had dinner at a Cantonese restaurant and to our surprise the food was very good! We ate dinner with the other 4 families in our group. They are a neat group of people and I really hope that we can stay in touch with them once we get home. One of the families in our group actually lives a couple of miles from us!! What a small world!!

Tomorrow is Donny's birthday, so don't forget to wish him a happy birthday!!

Jade Market and Pearl Market

2009-11-01T21:14:00.001-05:00

Ashlyn woke up this morning with a fever of 100 degrees from the shots. I gave her some more Motrin and it went away, but while we were out shopping it came back. She is cranky, probably because of body aches. The good news is that her TB test is flat as can be. What an answer to prayer, since she received the BCG when she was an infant. This usually produces a false positive TB test and then they have to do a chest x-ray to check for TB. She is having absolutely no reaction to it!! We are extremely happy about this.

Yesterday we went shopping around the island and bought lots of neat things. Donny even found a 7 eleven that serves icees! We were able to find everything that the kids asked for. They will be very happy when we get home.

Today we went to the Jade Market and were able to get quite a few things there including a gorgeous tea set for me.

Then we were off to the pearl market. They hand string the pearls for you and hand make the earings. It was a really neat experience. Thank goodness Ashlyn is such a good shopper because we were out for hours!!

The rest of the day we will probably just hang out here since she is not feeling well. We are going to dinner with our group tonight to a really nice Italian restaurant on the island. Tomorrow we will be sightseeing all day. We are having fun, but we are counting the days until we get home to our babies.

Hallowenn and Shots

2009-10-31T21:13:00.002-04:00

......LOTS and LOTS of shots!!!

This morning we went to the Medical Examination Office to get Ashlyn's medical checkup done. She passed everything and weighs 19 pounds! Woo Hoo..we put a pound on her so far! Then it was time for her TB test and her vaccinations. She needs to be caught up on her vaccinations in order to receive her Visa to enter the US. She received a total of SIX shots this morning!!
S..I..X!!!!!! And they s..l..o..w..l..y gave them to her one at a time. It was pure torture for her and her poor Mommy and Daddy who had to watch. Our poor guide was holding on to me so tightly too. I could tell she felt bad for her as well. Ashlyn was in my lap and I was holding her as tight as I could and Kelly was holding me as tight as she could. Like I said, it was pure torture.

After that we went to lunch at Lucy's. It was delicious. Donny had a hamburger and I had a club sandwich, both with french fries. It was nice to feel a little closer to home.

Most people speak English here, since all the Americans come through Guangzhou to go home. It is where the American Consulate is located. It is very pretty here to. We are on an island next to the Pearl River. All of the old buildings and gardens have a very European feel to them, since the Europeans built the buildings here long ago.

Shopping is much better here too. Very specific to tourists. Yes, Lianna, we found you a silk dress today. I know that is the first thing you will ask (smile)!!

So now I am off to do paper work while Ashlyn sleeps. She did well on the plane ride here. A bit fussy, but it was dinner time / bed time by the time we made it here.

We are having a great time, but miss our kids alot!! At least we are half way home.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Oh, I did get to meet my bloggy friend, Diane, and her sweet Tia at the medical exam. Poor little Tia had to get 7 shots today. So unfair!!!

Off to Guangzhou

2009-10-30T21:11:00.001-04:00

Today has been a quiet day. We ate breakfast, took a walk around The People's Park, and now Ashlyn and Gretchen are taking a nap before we leave. I'll never get over how everyone stares when we walk by. As we walk down the street, there is not hardly a person that doesn't suffer from whiplash as we walk by. I would say its like being a celebrity, but its probably closer to being someone who is eight feet tall and not famous. Curiosity aside, the people are very friendly and hospitable.

Nanning has been a very memorable place. It is a city filled with young people. The streets are alive all hours of the day and night. The pace is fast, everyone is going somewhere, so you don't see much loitering outside of the park. However, the park seems to embody the culture in many ways. The sounds of music fill the park as choirs sing, instruments play, and people dance. It is really amazing to see the arts on public display in so many ways. These are people who are often too poor to eat more than once a day, and they embrace life in amazing ways.

The influence of the U.S. is clear hear as well. All of the clothing here has English words or references to America. The news is constantly speaking of relations between the U.S. and China. There is significant pride in their country, and respect by the U.S. is symbolic of their prosperity. The NBA is extremely popular, with all of the TNT games being rebroadcast on CCTV in Chinese. Even the stores and restaurants play American music.

I'm hoping Guangzhou has better food. Its not been that bad, but I have had all of the fried rice I can handle at this point. Outside of Pizza Hut, there really hasn't been any other positive food experiences. Those of you familiar with my typical meat and potatoes diet should not be surprised. When I get home, I intend to grab a tall glass of iced tea with ICE (since we can't have any here)!!!

-Don

Visit to Qing Xiu Mountain

2009-10-29T21:09:00.001-04:00

Alot of you have asked about the temperature here. The temperature has been in the high 80's while we have been here, although it is warming up today. The humidity has been high the past two days so we are sweating as we walk around. It is a lot like back home.

Thre is not a lot of AC in some of the stores and businesses, but the hotel has AC and it is fine. The climate is very much like south Florida...like the Miami area.

Ashlyn continues to do well. She has become a bit more attached to Mommy than to Daddy, but she still does well with him. It is when she thinks he is going to take her from me that she gets fearful. I don't think that she had much interaction with men. All of her caretakers have been women.

Today we went to Qing Xiu mountain, or Green Mountain. It is called Green Mountain because there are more trees and vegetation there than anywhere else in Nanning. The air is alot fresher up there too. At the top of the mountain is a 9 story pagoda. When you climb to the top you can see all of Nanning (that is, if it is not too smoggy). We were fortunate today. It was the least smoggy day since we arrived. We actually could see the sun...not the sky, the sun. I don't think they ever see the sky. It is much more smoggier here than in Beijing. They moved the factories out of Beijing's city limits a couple of years before the Olympics so the smog is much better now. Our guide there told us that about two years after they did that, she saw the sky for the first time in her life!! Can you imagine!! They don't get to see clouds or stars!

Tomorrow we are on our own. Then we take a 6:45 flight to Guangzhou tomorrow evening. Please be praying for Ashlyn as we fly an hour to our next destination. I think that she will do fine. She loves to ride in the van.

By the way, she loves fried rice!! She ate it for dinner last night and lunch today. Mommy can make that! Thank you, Jesus!!

A Day in Nanning

2009-10-28T21:08:00.001-04:00

Ashlyn continues to do well. We are still calling her by her Chinese nickname ~ You You (prononced Yo Yo) and throwing in Ashlyn on occasion. She responds to both so we will just keep doing this for a while. Yes, now we have a No No (Noah's nickname) and a Yo Yo. Too cute!

She again slept through the night and is doing very well with this transition. I got her to eat two jars of baby food for dinner last night, so that was very good. She tried some of my noodles (one tiny piece at a time) and was doing good then the texture of one of the noodles hit the back of her throat and she started gagging. So no more noodles after that.

After her nap yesterday we took her to the People's Park right around the corner. It is an amazing place to go. We wish we had one of these near us. People are all over the park doing fan dances, Tai Chi, Latin Ball Room dancing and there are also singing and instrumental groups. It is a very neat glimpse at the arts in this area. It doesn't matter what time of the day, these things are always going on. It is a huge park on a big lake that has walking paths. This is where the people of the city come to relax. Lots of people with lots of babies. There is a children's amusement park in the park. There are big rides, like bumper cars, ferris wheel, games, etc. We have been there the past two days. I am sure we will continue to visit until we leave.

Today we were suppose to go to Ashlyn's birth town, but we decided that a 6 hour, plus riding around the town, car trip would be a bit too much for her. So instead we went to the Minority park and bought some gifts for the kids. It was beautiful and we got some really beautiful pictures.

After that our guide took us to the mall where Donny has been stocking up on DVDs. You can get them here for 3 US dollars a piece. He bought movies that are not even out yet in the States, like GI Joe and the Surrogate. You are probably thinking...But they are in Mandarin. Every DVD here asks if you want to watch it in English or Mandarin. He says he's not done shopping for DVDs yet. He's getting as many as he can.

And lastly we ate at Pizza Hut again today for lunch. The cheese pizza tastes the same as the cheese pizza back home. All the other pizzas had wierd things on them, like corn and other things you would not get back home. It's funny that pizza is the least thing they have on the menu, most of the menu is Chinese type foods.

After she wakes up from her nap I am sure we will be heading back to the People's Park for another stroll. Donny is determined to get pictures of all of the people staring, especially now that we have her with us.

Talk to you again soon!!
~ Gretchen

PS...Aunt Donna, the 12 month clothes that we brought for her fit her as long as they are dresses or elastic waist. If they are not elastic waist then they need to be 6 - 9 month size. Even with the elastic waist we are still pulling up our britches a little. She is so TINY!!

Amazed by Our Baby Girl

2009-10-27T21:06:00.001-04:00

We are absolutely amazed at how our baby girl is reacting. There has been absolutely no fear in her at all. She is taking a nap right now so I wanted to write to you all about our experience so far with her.

First she has not shed one single tear the entire time she has been with us. When we met her in the room she came right to me because apparently her favorite book was the photo album that I sent to her back in April. She knew who we were!! God is so good!! What an answer to prayer. She has been completely comfortable with us the entire time and NEVER wanted to go back to anyone else. In fact, she pulls away from them. She goes to both Donny and I without hesitation. It is just amazing. It is like she has just been waiting on us to come and get her. She knows that she belongs with us. When we went down to make the adoption official this morning and she was with the people from her orphanage again, she wouldn't let Donny put her down.

Within 20 minutes of meeting her she was smiling at me. This was before we had gone back up to our room. Once in our room I had her laughing. What a cute laugh. She is EXTREMELY ticklish!!

We did find out that her cleft palatte has not been repaired. This means that she does not eat much..probably why she is so tiny. We will have to have her surgery probably in February. She can not use a bottle, so I have to feed her with the scoop from the powdered formula. She drinks well from this. I did bring a sippy cup with a silicone tip that she can bite to get fluid out. She finally figured it out today, so hopefully she will get use to it enough for me to put the formula in it. She has only eaten fish congee (like a watery rice porridge) and some bananna her whole life. She also nibbles on cookies that are thin. She could eat more if she wanted to, like scrambled eggs and such. So last night after she had eaten some Gerber graduates snacks I thought I would feed her some eggs. I found out quickly that she does not like texture. She spit the bit of egg on the floor and BEAT it with the water bottle. I emphasized beat because she demolished that egg. I don't think there was anything left when she was done with it. We were laughing so hard. She just looked at us and gave us her signature toothy grin..too cute!

After we got back to the room she spent the rest of the evening just playing around. Looking at her books and photo album and playing with her baby dolls. We skyped with the kids and that was really fun! Then she took a bath which she also LOVES. I took her out and put her in her new jammies. What a princess! She LOVES clothes!! She stroked her clothes and kept looking at them in the mirror and smiling. Daddy is in T R O U B L E!!!

From there she laid on me and went straight to sleep. She slept from 8:30 until 7:00 when we woke her up this morning. After we got back from lunch today I laid down with her until she fell asleep and then I put her back in her crib. Donny and I looked at each other and he said, "This is too easy."

I know it will get hard, but we are so happy that she is so content and comfortable with us right now. She is such a love!

Lastly, the orphanage gave us two gifts today. One was a photo album. The other was the clothes she was found in. One of the articles was a hand crocheted sweater that a memeber of her birth family must have knit for her. What a treasure God has blessed us with!!

Ashlyn is Finally Ours!!

2009-10-26T21:05:00.001-04:00

We met Ashlyn for the first time at 3:30 this afternoon. There were 4 other families also meeting their children at the same time. As you might imagine, their weren't many happy children. Ashlyn was the exception. She recognized us from the photo album we sent her and was immediately comfortable. She was smiling within minutes in her mother's arms. The Lord truly blessed us with a wonderful introduction.

Also - Gretchen wanted me to point out that she is wearing a 6-9 month outfit we sent her a while back. It is falling off of her. We just weighed her and she weighs 18 pounds!! And I thought our other kids were small...
Donny

Only One More Hour

2009-10-26T21:03:00.000-04:00

....and we will finally meet Ashlyn!!

Thank you all for the comments. They mean a lot when you are half way around the world and you can go all day and not see another foreigner.

The people here are super nice and extremely helpful. It is very upsetting to think that if things were switched they would not get the same treatment from people in the States.
I am a sight to see, apparently. I have never been looked at so obviously in my life. It is quite funny to actually see people walk by, break there neck looking and then actually come back and stare to make sure they are seeing what they think they are seeing. Blondes are quite a sight to them. Even with that they are not being rude, just super curious. Wait until they see me carrying Ashlyn around tomorrow. That should attract even more attention.

So in one hour we will be heading down stairs to a room to meet Ashlyn. ONE HOUR!!! I can not believe that it is finally our turn. I have followed so many of you to get your children, that I can not believe that it is now my turn. I am super excited!! Donny is doing great. We are so ready for this.

Next post will be with amazing pictures of our baby girl...until then...

Beijing-Yesterday

2009-10-25T21:02:00.002-04:00

What a day we had yesterday... We haven't adjusted to the time yet, so we were up at 4:00 AM the last two days. So here's what happened yesterday.

First Stop: Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. The sheer size was much greater than anticipated: From Tianamen Square through the Forbidden City was several miles long. I would guess there were over 100,000 people there. There were about 10,000 people in line to see the tomb of Chairman Mao. It is very difficult to believe the Forbidden City is over 600 years old.
It takes a while to adjust to the dense population. Everywhere you go, people are bumping up against you. The roads are crazy. There are no traffic laws, only recommendations.

The Great Wall was amazing. Climbing the Great Wall was a lot harder than it looks. It climbs straight up and down the mountains, so most folks don't make it more than a few hundred yards. By the time we got down, I was DONE.

We also had the opportunity to drive by the Bird's Nest, and the Water Cube. They are much larger in person than I thought they would be. However, neither were more impressive than Beijing Int Airport. It was constructed for the Olympics and is an amazing piece of work.
~Don

To add to Donny's post...The Great Wall is VERY difficult to climb. Every step is a different size. Most were about two normal steps high. Some went up to my knee!! And it went STRAIGHT up!! I was impressed with the people that built it and then those that had to walk it all the time. My legs were killing me! Donny made it a bit farther than I did. I think he made it farther than anyone else in our group. He made it to the last tower at the top before the pagoda. He got some amazing pictures up there.

We were in a group of 12 families in Beijing. Everyone is so nice and it was fun being with them all for the day. Nine of them went to one orphanage today and us and two other families went our seperate ways to our own Provinces. We will meet back with them on Saturday in Guangzhou.

Nanning is beautiful (as far as the landscaping goes). There are tons of flowers and flowering trees. It is about the same climate as Miami. Lots of Hibiscus and almond trees. Lots of other flowers that we have in Florida and some we have never seen.

While the landscaping is beautiful, the people here are extremely poor. The housing is very, very poor. It is a huge contrast from Beijing. In fact, besides the traffic and bikes I would not even be able to compare the two. We do love this beautiful city and all of the people. We are humbled by God opening our eyes to the great need here. We are so blessed to live in America.

So tomorrow at 3:30 pm our time (3:30am your time - Monday) Ashlyn will be brought to our hotel for us to finally meet her. We are extremely excited and don't know if we will be sleeping much tonight, her crib is sitting next to one of the beds. She will be taken from her foster family tomorrow morning and then make the three hour drive here to us. Please pray for protection over her precious little heart. This will be the most traumatic day of her life.

Thanks for all of the comments. We love reading them. ~Gretchen

A Very Full Day

2009-10-24T21:00:00.001-04:00

We just got back to our room at 7:00pm. We have been up since 4:30am this morning. We both agree that we don't think we have ever been this tired before. I asked Donny to upload pictures for you and he groaned and said he was too tired. We are waiting for room service,, then we will skype with the kids and then go to bed. We have to be up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to catch the bus to the airport for our plane to Nanning. We don't have anything to do tomorrow once we get there so we promise a long post tomorrow with pictures.

We did have a blast today. China is amazing!! It has been so much more than we ever could have imagined. What rich history we saw today. We are so blessed to be here.

Well food's here, so we will post again tomorrow. Good night.

We are FINALLY Here!!

2009-10-23T20:59:00.001-04:00

After a seven hour delay (Yes, I said SEVEN hours!!!) we finally arrived in Beijing at 8:30 pm China time. It is now almost midnight here and we are going to try to get some sleep. We will be leaving in the morning at 8:30 to visit the Great Wall, Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. We won't be done with the sight seeing until 6:00pm, so it will be another LONG day for us. Fortunately we are looking forward to this long day..unlike sitting at an airport for 7 hours getting on and off the plane....it was bad!

Thanks for all of your comments. We really enjoy reading them.

Delayed at Newark

2009-10-22T20:58:00.000-04:00

Our flight out of Newark has been delayed by two hours. We will now be leaving here at 2:00. That means that we will not get to Beijing until around 4:00.
We will keep you posted.

We Leave Tomorrow

2009-10-21T20:57:00.001-04:00

Today is the last day we will have at home with the kids. We will "sneak" out tonight after they are all tucked into bed (minus my 14 year old ~ he stays up too late). We have a 7:20 flight out of Tampa tomorrow morning and we will fly to Newark for a short layover. After that it is almost a 15 hour flight to Beijing. We will arrive in Beijing at 1:50 pm on Friday (1:50 am Friday for everyone at home).

Please pray for safe travel and good health for us and the kids at home while we are gone. Please also be praying for Ashlyn. We will get her on Monday at 3:00pm (3:00 am for most of you). This is going to be a huge transition for this precious little girl. We have all fallen in love with her over the past 7 months, but she has not been waiting for us. This will change the world as she knows it and I am sure that she will be terrified. We are praying that God will give her an amazing peace and just know that we love her and that there is security in us.

So...off we go!! I will post again on Friday (since we will be flying ALL DAY Thursday).

This is IT!!!!!

2009-10-21T09:22:00.002-04:00

Today is our last day home with the kids.

Tonight we will spend the night at a hotel near the airport so we can hop on a very early flight.

From this point on I will post at www.youbelong.net/ashlyn

I'll be back here in 17 days (or so)!!!

Can You Believe It?????

2009-10-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

2 DAYS LEFT!!!!!

The Number of the Day is.....

2009-10-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

The Number of the Day is....

2009-10-18T10:34:00.002-04:00

Ok...this is the first time that I am sitting at this computer updating our countdown and have a great deal of butterflies in my stomach!

We are packed, except every day things, but I still feel like I have so much to do, even though I don't. I feel like I am forgetting something...WAIT...that would be my children!!

I am really feeling the Mommy heart tugs now. I HATE the fact that I will be leaving them for 17 days! It really makes my stomach upset. I am not worried about them. I am just going to miss all of those hugs and kisses. Hope skyping with them helps!

And here is what you have been waiting for...our link to follow us on our trip.

www.youbelong.net/ashlyn

I will post it the next few days so all you have to do is come to this site to click on the link to get there. Or, you can add it to your favorites. (I think you can even subscribe to it..don't remember).