Friday, May 22, 2009

There is no place like home!



Thankfully, we arrived home late last night, after a 4 hour hold up in Tokyo. We are still tired, but so so happy to be at home. Getting in our own bed last night, was as nice as winning the lottery! Thank you all for your prayers.

Miss Lilly is loving her new house. She has been exploring all over the place! There is one picture of her right before we left China, and one of her playing in her room today! Everything is great so far!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Last few days in Guangzhou.





Hi everyone! we have enjoyed our last few days in Guangzhou. Today we did some shopping and took Lilly to the pool. She did not want to get in but had a fun time trying on her bathing suit and taking pictures. She also brought me two rubber bands and a brush today. That translated into " I want piggy tails". She doesn't have much hair so I tried my best and she was thrilled! I can not express how ready we are to come home. We miss Lauren and Landon, our house, our bed, our pets, everything and everyone. Please everyone pray for us on the flight home. We have no idea how Lilly will do. She is not fond of seat belts, I tell you that! I can't wait for you all to meet her. She is so sweet and good.. You are all going to love her!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Arrival in Ghangzhou







HI all! We arrived in Ghangzhou on Saturday. We love it here! It is close to paradise. It actually is more like a resort and actually feels like we are on a vacation. The hotel is called the White Swan, and it caters to adoptive families. There are two pools, and a playroom with toys for the adoptive families. The hotel is on an island. Our room overlooks the lake. BEAUTIFUL!

Lilly is doing better everyday. I can't even describe to you how sweet she is. She is quiet and shy, but also talkative and active. She draws beautiful pictures, and she is super smart. She listens well, and has a funny sense of humor. We are blessed beyond measure to be the parents of this angel!
Lauren is updating the blog for me. For some reason there is a block on the blogger site. So I might not be updating as much as usual.
We are having fun! Home soon!



Friday, May 15, 2009

The Park?





Well today we went in search of the "park" we were told about. I guess in China a park is not the same as in America. We were let out at the "park". All we saw were flowers and a walkway. No slide, no swing, no sand, just flowers...FUN! I guess we will wait till we get home to go to the real park and have some fun. So we walked around awhile. It was 100 million degrees! We did go to Starbucks. It was good. Yin enjoyed Oreos, and we enjoyed coffee. Then just to waste time we took a golf cart ride around the lake that we toured yesterday. After that we had lunch at a Pizza Hut. Then we saw a Toys R Us. It was so fun to watch Yin's face light up when she saw all the toys. The Toys R Us here, is small. Very small. Wait till she gets home!

All is well and good! We fly from here to Guangzhou tomorrow at 11:00, so we will be there around 2. Hopefully it will be more fun than this place!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

New clothes!



WE CHANGED CLOTHES!


Thank God! I have never been so excited in my life! I know that is stupid, but it means to me we have conquered a major milestone. It's not just about the stinky clothes, it's about her trusting us enough to allow us to change her. It's also about leaving a small part of her past behind. She did not necessarily want to change, but she did not cry either. So all is well! Thank God for Baba! He changed her, I was too scared to upset her. She will do about anything for Baba.

Also the picture above is her blowing bubbles out the window. She loves it! When she saw me taking the picture, she said "CHEESE" : ) We are heading to the park soon! Thanks for all the prayers. Keep praying because I am sure there will be more issues ahead.

Here and there.



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This afternoon we went to Haagan Daz for Ice cream. It's so funny to watch her try new things. She loved it of course. : ) Baba told her he does not share his ice cream with many girls. Oh and we shed one shirt...yah! She had on two, so we got rid of the pink one. Maybe a little each day? She also liked getting her picture made with Ronald McDonald. I tried a Big Mac today and it tasted the same.

The picture of the large building is our hotel. The round part at the top is a revolving resturant. The picture of Starbucks is for my dear friend, Janelle, so she knows if she ever gets brave and brings her son, Camden, to China she can still have her coffee. : )

Tomorrow is a free day. We might get brave and take her to the park if it is not 100 degrees. Later!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Touring the Tea Garden and West Lake





Today we toured the Tea Garden. The tea plants are grown on the mountain side. The city we are in, Hangzhou is known for good tea. They showed us how they pick it, then prepare it. We got to try some. It was good. I bought some if any of you want to try it when we get home. She told us it has many health benefits. After that we walked around the West Lake. It is beautiful! There are wooden boats you can take out, and many people were flying kites. It was a beautiful day today. Overcast and cooler than usual so we enjoyed our walk around the lake.

Yin is fine. She acts very distant when we are in public. I am not sure why. When we are in the hotel room, she is talkative and active. We are ready to get to Guangzhou. We are going out exploring later, so I will post more then.

((HUGS))

Out and about..





This afternoon was pretty boring so we went out and explored the city. We found a Papa Johns, which is a nice sit down restaurant in China. Yin had spaghetti, then rice, then cheese sticks. She liked it. That's where we ran into the squatty potty, which Yin mastered with no problem. : ) Then we went to the department store and Yin showed us three times a dress she wanted, so we got it. Of course, she will not put it on still....ugh!

Miss Yin is a Daddy's girl for sure. I thought the picture was cute of Matthew and her holding hands. Of course the picture of Sephora is for my sweetie Lauren. I miss my kids so bad! I can't wait to get home! Love you all!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Carri four and new shoes!





We went to the CarriFour today, which is like Wal-Mart. I can not even begin to describe to you how many people were there. Anyway, we got tons of stuff for Yin. Movies, books, Barbies, clothes, shoes, and underwear. So far she has only put on the shoes. Thats progress right? : 0 They light up, which I am sure will be great for keeping her awake at night, since she won't take them off!

She likes playing in water in the bathtub, but she will not dare take her clothes off. She also loves Oreos. Somethings are universal. : )

Much love!

Happier Yin!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Its official.....and the honeymoon is over.



Well the morning started off perfect. Everything was great, no trouble. We went to the officials office again, and finished the paperwork. She is officially ours.The picture above is at the official ceremony. She was really being a ham for everyone. Even more of her personality was coming through. Then when we came back to the hotel the guide had her change clothes and she broke down.....for a long time. She completely rejected Matthew and I. The guide says this was normal, and she talked to her for awhile, but she still cried. Eventually we put the clothes back on her and she was fine. I know.....I maybe should not have, but I just thought she wasn't ready yet to let go of her past. I am sure I did the wrong thing but it was so sad to see her sad. She might be wearing those clothes to college...
Oh and the picture of the grass roof is for Paw Paw Jerry. Matthew says you might want to start a roofing/lawn business. : )

Much love!


A few more...



She laughed and laughed blowing the bubbles today! Then she enjoyed some potato chips....the whole bag. The first picture is when she got the camera and took a picture of her baby. She loves hairbows and jewelry. And baby dolls and Barbies. Much love! So far she is doing better than I ever expected!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Here she is!




Well I was all nerves this morning. By the time we got to the Civil Affairs office I was about to hurl. : ) The orphanage staff was almost 2 hours late bringing her there, which actually helped calm me down. Then she walked in. I was expecting the worst but I won her over quickly with Smarties. She was hungry. They had her dressed so pretty in the beautiful Chinese outfit. Everything she had on was brand new. She loved playing with all the things we got for her while Matthew and I did paper work. The orphanage staff told us she is advanced for her age (they may tell everyone that : ) and that she is a perfectionist, and she is independant. Who does that sound like? Then when it was time to go...she wasn't so sure. Then we took her to KFC and got our first smile when we gave her French Fries..the way to this girls heart is through her stomach. So far so good...no tears. Right now she is very carefully coloring a page in her coloring book. Thanks for all the prayers! So far so good.

Happy Mothers Day!



Happy Mothers Day! I wish I was at home to celebrate with my Mom and my kids, but I am not. I hope we are never ever apart on Mothers Day again! I love you Mom Lauren and Landon. We arrived in Hangzhou today, and I can't believe how hot it is! WOW! Its like Florida.

The first picture is for Landon....its duck. Yummm....Just kidding I did not eat that! The second is for Wendy. I had to come all the way to China to confirm it but I found it in writing! Angelo is a saint! : )

I gotta get some sleep because tomorrow I become a Mom to three! XOXO!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Touring Beijing




Okay, we learned so much about China today! More than I know about America I think. We really like it here. The people are so nice, and many of them where very interested in us! I can't upload too many pictures on blogger, so I tried to sum the day up with three. We toured the Forbidden City, and yeah it is big like a city. Then we had lunch and went to The Great Wall which I did not get very far up, but I took a lot of pictures. We also drove by the Birds Nest from the Olympics. Beijing is BIG! Now we are waiting on a Papa Johns Pizza...I hope its good! We are worn out from so much walking and tomorrow we get up at 5 for our flight to Hangzhou. Much love!


Friday, May 8, 2009

View from our hotel in Beijing

We Made it!

We are here! Finally! The flight from Charlotte to Washington was really small and we didn't like it too well. The flight from Washington to Beijing was LLLOOONNNGGG but they were really nice to us and everything was great on the plane. The food wasn't too good though. The cool thing was there were little personal TVs in front of you with headphones. You could listen to satalitte radio or watch one of 7 movies...or Hannah Montana. : ) There were storms in D.C. so we were delayed leaving there....then for some reason we had to keep circling in Beijin got land. Which made me sick feeling. Then the airport was blazing HOT, and there were a million lines. Anyway, all in all everything is okay. We are at our hotel now, and are exausted! Tomorrow we go to The Great Wall and The Forbiden City. I love you and miss you already!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009


In less than 24 hours we will be on our way to get Lilly. We are are filled with anticipation, joy, stress, and a lot other emotions! : ) The lady at United just told us we may not be able to sit beside of each other on the plane...PLEASE pray this is not the case. I need to sit beside of my sweet hubby so we can share this experience together. I am already stressed enough! This will be my last post before we go, so CHINA here we come!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Where in the world is Lilly?


I thought it would be helpful to post a map of where in China Lilly is currently.Lilly's orphanage is in Jinhua City in Zhejiang Province. A province is sort of like a state. We will fly into Beijing on Friday, and do some touring. On Saturday we fly to Hangzhou, the capital of her province. We will spend almost a week in her province before we fly to Guangzhou to finalize the adoption.


The count down is ON!