Congrats on TA for our friends

Pretty much our whole family is overcoming sickness right now... Emma is on antibiotics but the rest of us seem to be getting better with vitamins and OTC medicine. Everyone is doing alright, just not 100 percent.

Good news today is that our friends Donnie and Heather Thompson just got travel approval and will be heading over to China to pickup Drew right after Christmas and should be back home by Jan 10th which is quite the Christmas present.

You can follow their journey at: http://thompsonslatestmiracle.blogspot.com/ and pray for them to be healthy and strong. We traveled at this time of year when Lily came home and it was pretty cold during the North China part of the Journey. They will be staying in the same town that we were in to pick up Emma a few months ago and will have the same guide that we had which is pretty cool.

Family Friday

Sorry, we boycotted "black friday" and just had a nice family day.  It is disgusting to me how people act all to save a couple dollars. 

We took Emma to her first movie "Bolt" and she handled it pretty good.  Probably because there was food... For our friends in Tallahassee do you remember mugs and movies?  They have a bunch of those in TX which is really fun but surely contributes to the TX waistline conspiracy. 

She liked the movie but not all of it, there are some intense action scenes that are pretty loud and she would be happy to skip those parts. 

We had cousins Hannah/Jill/Madison with us for the day which was great.  Everyone took turns with Emma and she seemed to really enjoy the day. Lots of laughs and smiles.  We drove through the Grand Prairie lights which was fun, www.gptx.org and came home to have smores in the fireplace. 

Emma is trying to say more words and is continuing to get more and more comfortable. 

Thanksgiving pictures

More pictures of November

Happy Thanksgiving

Emma had her Doctor appt today, she was absolutely great about it.  She opened her mouth for him and let him check the progress.  He said it looks perfect and she can eat anything so we have much to be thankful for.  We stopped by build a bear workshop on the way home because her sister has one and this seemed like the right time.  

They are playing with them together and just put the bears to bed.  Very cute!

Will get some new pictures posted soon, have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

pics from last week

18 hours too many in car

We went from Tallahassee up to Durham NC for my cousin Kelle's wedding and it was also a family reunion for us.  Emma got to meet my Mom and my side of the family which was probably pretty overwhelming for her but she did really well.  Could you imagine if a bunch of people you have never seen before knew your name and talked to you like you were family?   Has to be a little tough., but not as tough as driving from NC to TX non-stop.... Um, don't recommend it but the thought of another hotel just was unbearable, we had to get home.

Jonah helped drive and when the girls finally fell asleep things were better, that is until we had to get gas in TX at 3:30 am and Emma woke up.  She did not fall back asleep with 97 miles to go. 

Anyway, tough trip on everyone but definitely worth seeing friends and family.  There were friends and family that we did not get to see on this trip but hope to remedy that soon.  Jonah took lots of great pictures so I will post them as soon as I get them off his camera.  By the way.... 1.89 gas when we got to TX, much better!

Emma's first time in Tallahassee

We traveled to Tallahassee and were able to attend the TFWAC (Tallahassee Families With Asian Children) event at Tall Timbers. Kevin Robertson hosted and was his usual incredible self. He organized games, bonfire, hay ride and beautiful weather... the guy is perfect and it is always wonderful to see them. Quick story about this guy Kevin, the night we were moving 2 years ago from Tallahassee to Texas I had put the moving truck up against the front door of our house. We filled the truck and then I pulled it out onto the street so we could put the van on the car carrier, click here to relive with us.

Okay back to the story, so as I drive the fully loaded very very heavy truck off the front lawn I run over the water meter connection to the house and bust the pipe. After a full day of packing and schedule to leave first thing in the morning you can imagine how inconvenient this little setback was. It is a bit of a blur now but all I can remember is Kevin Robertson coming to our house very very early in the morning and repairing the water pipe somehow so it was all repaired and we could take showers before driving to TX. Yeah, he is my hero but wait there is more. He learned Chinese so that he is really pretty fluent, I mean he certainly does not know every word but he can definitely hang with someone who only speaks Chinese and keep up the conversation really well. The thing that makes that so cool is when they adopted their third child from China she was actually a teenager and did not know much english, so he has always been able to speak to her in Chinese and if he is not your hero yet, hold on. One night we went over for a visit and he and his teenage daughter are sitting on the couch. He is reading a childrens book in chinese and she corrects him on anything he gets wrong... then she reads an childrens book in english and he helps her with words she needs help with. Oh man, that was so cool to see and we definitely need to get a statue made of this guy in town.

Right then, back to Tall Timbers... so Emma got to meet a bunch of people that have been waiting to meet her for three years and she had a blast. Here are some pictures of right before we left Texas and then some of the night and a visit to Church today at the Tallahassee Chinese Church.



She loved playing with the kids and really just enjoys everything we are doing. Some things Emma still does not like in order of how much disdain she has for it: going to bed, sitting in car seat on long trips. Yup, that is about it, everything else she just seems to enjoy and does not fuss about and cries pretty rarely. She mainly cries sympathy cry's whenever her big sister starts crying. She has been pretty happy... she sang all the way to church and plays with everyone that will pay attention to her. She ran around with the girls at Tall Timbers and had a great time. They had watermelon so that was a hit, she enjoyed the hay ride and most of all like playing ring around the rosy with the girls. Her mouth still seems to be healing well and we are being very careful about what she eats. We met a little boy at Tall Timbers who recently came home and will be getting the palate surgery soon, it was nice to be able to tell them about our experience and hopefully help them be more prepared then we were.

This week I have to work pretty hard all day everyday but if I don't get anything posted we will catch up at the end of the week. Melissa is great about taking pictures and will tell me stuff to post.

Watermelon is back!

We visited both the ENT and Surgeon for 2 week post op visits yesterday and got good reports from both dr's. Emma has tubes in her ears and all is well with them, we don't have to go back to him for another 6 months. The surgeon for her palate says it is all looking great and she can begin to eat soft foods. The blender can begin to get some rest... this morning Melissa gave Emma watermelon and it went over very well.

It is really interesting the way the palate heals, if you look in there it changes from day to day... one day there is a sort of skin looking stuff on the sides and then next there are "trenches" and the next there is some green looking stuff. Melissa said she does not want to look anymore. Emma was really good with the Dr. and opened her mouth for him and did not seem to have any apprehension about the day at all. If I was in her shoes the moment I saw the hospital complex I would begin to try and get away... speaking of which, Emma showed me a new talent last night. I was taking her to "night night" and she was so displeased with this proposed action she twisted in such a quick interesting way that I almost dropped her. We are used to her being sorta wobbly but this was a very deliberate twister type of action that took me by surprise.

Both Melissa and I could not help but laugh (under our hand) but we looked at each other and were pretty amused by this creativity and strength. She is strong and each day seems to be getting stronger and more comfortable in our family. Melissa also said yesterday that we really needed Emma, our family was getting boring and she has spiced things up. That is the understatement of the year!

I am in Houston today doing some work and we will be traveling to Florida in a couple days for work and to see family and friends. We thank God for the good report from the doctors and thanks to each of you for your support of our baby Emma and our family.

It's a small world after all

We will find out on Wed if Emma can start eating normal food again. Everyone is tired of liquid diet... Emma actually seems to be getting used to it as of this morning but we are all very sick of blending everything she eats. Thankfully we bought this incredible blender before our trip to China. It is "Breville" and has this crazy little bowl at bottom with special little blender parts and it is much quieter than our old one at really blends well including ice. Wish I could get paid for advertising for them but figured we should share our wealth of knowledge regarding kitchen appliances. Need advice on a vacuum? Just ask, very happy with ours for two years so far. Iron? yeah, that too.

Okay, back to Emma... she is doing great and has not stuck her hands in her mouth at all. Everything seems to be healing fine and her breath is beginning to not smell like an open sewer. No offense Emma if you are reading this in 2020, it was not your fault, we have heard different theories. Could be general anesthesia "coming out of system" or could be the anti-biotics. Dr told us it was because there was food particles inside her mouth that was making the smell. Whatever it was we hope it will soon be something we can laugh about.

I have got a busy week this week, have to travel to Houston on Thursday and we will be heading to Florida this coming weekend for work. Emma will get to see our friends and family in Tallahassee and we are all looking forward to it.

Both Emma and Lily are at art class right now and I am taking lunch break to update blog since I noticed it has been about a week. Don't have pictures to post right now but should have some good ones over next couple weeks.

One interesting thing to note, I am using Google Analytics on the blog now and it shows where people are visiting from etc. and found that a family in Sweden is linked to our site so I left a comment for them and she quickly replied. They are adopting a little girl from the same orphanage as Emma and she also has a cleft lip/palate. How cool is that? What is even cooler is my step mother was adopted, her parents were from Sweden and her step mother is living in Sweden now with family.

It's a small world after all!

Doing okay

Wow, still tired but all is well. Wanted to post some pics of pre-post surgery and just say that we are doing okay.



Before surgery Emma really handled things well and enjoyed the last moments of being able to suck on her hand. The hospital had great play areas for Emma to play in prior to surgery... then afterwards she was ready to play again. We were home day after surgery by noon. Rough few days but honestly she handled it all with such grace. She takes her medicine with little fussing, wears her no-no's when necessary with a little more fussing. Enjoyed visit from her cousins this weekend and is basically back at it 100%. The only thing slowing her down is not being able to eat normal food yet. Still on liquid diet, but again... she is handling it so well. When I get some sleep I will update with more details since it is pretty cute how she eats.

Back home

It was a tough day because Emma was just miserable. Overall she is recovering very well and continues to impress us with how she handles things. 

At the hospital she was doing so well in the morning that we got released earlier than expected.  There were hours of the day where Emma simply could not be happy or comfortable no matter what.  We did our best and everyone loved on her and played with her.  She is eating well, watered down yogurt and her protein shakes are favorites.  We know the next two weeks will be challenging when it comes to food but whole family is being helpful.  Trying not to have the old foods she enjoyed within sight and nobody is eating in front of her. 

Lily is being very good with her sister, she would do things with her arms and hands and Emma would copy every move.  Emma went to bed around 8 and our biggest concern of her sucking on her hand was completely unfounded.  Emma has not once stuck anything in her mouth and out of habit a couple times when we thought she was getting ready to insert hand she caught herself and put her hand down. 

So, day after surgery and she really is doing amazing, home and in her own bed fast asleep.

Her tone and voice does sound different now, pretty cool!

Discharged!

All well, headed home!

Long night but Emma is great

Melissa stayed in bed with Emma and I was on little pull out couch.  Basically little to no sleep and things got bad somewhere around 4:30 and we got a little radio flyer and went for a walk.  Emma did not want to end the walk for hours.  We just went around and around.  She is going to the bathroom perfectly, drinking perfectly and right now is sitting in the radio flyer with shoes on ready to go home.   Food is on way up so hopefully that will give her something to do and pass time until dr gets here and starts release process. 

She is really doing amazing and the way she talks is definitely different.  She repeated "I love you" really well and said "no" really well every time we tried to go back in room and stop our long walk.  Mom and Dad were a sight I am sure. 

She just pulled her little hospital band off her leg.  Every time she gets a little bit more of the hospital off her body she seems happier.  The iv is the last thing she demands to be removed.... Hopefully soon.

All tucked in

We were able to go back with Emma in recovery, the nurse was asian which was nice we think.  Again, not like other recoveries we have been in, room was small and we were only ones in there. 

She was still bleeding a little and some blood came out from nose and mouth.

we were only in there about ten minutes and then moved to room by 3:10 cst.  Took a little while to get settled but things are going smooth so far. 

Emma is drinking out of a cup and had oral tylenol with codeine.  She has an iv for fluids and anti-biotics and is laying on me in bed mostly sleeping.  The hospital also got a new cleaning lady :). Melissa and her lysol scrubbed our room from top to bottom.  I warned her that they are going to keep moving us to new rooms to get free cleaning. 

We brought some toys and our own little cd player with calm music Emma likes and the room is great.  I just ordered some broth and since she is doing so good drinking we know she must be hungry, close to 24 hours since she ate. 

Melissa did a great job packing, Emma has her own blankets, toys, cups etc.
We are told that the numbing medicine they use on her palate for surgery will wear off and this evening may be rough.  The only pain meds she is getting is the tyl/cod every four hours so we shall see.

Thanks again to everyone for e-mails and comments of your support and encouragement.  One thing for Andy and Amy --- please send us an e-mail, we don't have your email address (Melissa lost it!).

All done

Surgeon just came out and told us it went perfectly, we should be able to go back with her in about five mins. 

He said she had plenty of tissue (sometimes a concern) and he is very confident about a two week recovery. 
Worst part now may just be her not being able to suck on her fingers for comfort. 

In surgery

Emma did better than Melissa so far (Emma got drugs and Melissa did not). She was almost asleep before going back and everything went smooth.  While writing this the ENT surgeon came out, tubes are in... She had fluid behind both ears (explains the hard flight back to usa probably). 
He told us Emma was pretty much asleep when they put her under general and was peaceful. 

They are beginning palate surgery now and should take at least an hour. 

Just as a side note, the way everything was handled today was really great.  We played in a big playroom until they were about ready, then Emma had the "goofy juice" rolled to surgery. Emma sat in Melissa's lap on the bed as they rolled down. Love the way this is done compared to previous experiences with our boys having surgery.  If you have a choice, I highly recommend a childrens hospital, wonder if they will take adults? :)

Long day

Finished all the appointments and Emma handled them all really well.  Mom and Dad are in worse shape.  Emma did her hearing exam and we had final meetings with ENT and craniofacial surgeons.  Everything is in order and ready to go.  We leave the house around 9 in the morning again and surgery is scheduled for 11:30 I think.  We have to look at all the paperwork because right now it is a bit of a blur. 

She should be in surgery for about an hour and then we get to spend the night with her in a private room.  So far we are extremely impressed with the hospital and staff.  I will write more tomorrow when we have more time. 

She can't eat past midnight and only clear liquid until 9, will pick update from hospital.  Last night with cleft palate!

Pre-op

We are all registered, Emma is doing great so far.  She had pictures taken including with a mirror inside her mouth and right now we are finishing up with a lady that came in with a big doll dressed in the clothing Emma will wear tomorrow and we are just playing with all sorts of toys, stethoscope, little sticky wires, mask etc. etc.   Not sure if they do this at every hospital but it is amazing.  Emma has no apprehension being here.  We seem to come here to play.  Not like hospital visits we are used to.  They also give her a little doctor set to take home and play with.  Melissa was smart enough to get an extra one for Lily so they can play tonight and hopefully tomorrow will be peaceful as well.

She is doing great, we are about halfway through the day.  Still have to get hearing test and appts with surgeons. 

Doctor Doctor Doctor

Today we leave the house by 9:00 to make first appointment at 10, then we have 11:15, 1:30, 2:00 and then a hearing exam and follow up taking us pretty close to 4 or 5.

Today we will get details of what time we report for surgery tomorrow morning. Yesterday Emma slept in a little late after not sleeping all that well the night before. Praying for peace during these next few days/weeks.

Blessing Shower

Posted by Melissa... her first blog post!

While in China, a sweet new friend e-mailed and asked if she could have a 'blessing' shower for us when we got home with Emma. Could she......well

yes! what a kind offer!!  The occasion was wonderful. The ladies so dear,

the cake perfect and the gifts....the gifts.....oh the generosity! The love!

WOW.

I took Emma along and she did great! No one pushed themselves on her...these ladies are wise too! So Emma felt comfortable to walk around and even play with one of her new toys with some of her new friends.

Just another example to me of how God is right here with me taking care of everything. showing His love to me and our family through others........even in Texas, especially in Texas. :)

Thanks to our Texas friends

Melissa and Emma went to a baby shower that some wonderful friends here in TX held for them.

It was really amazing and incredibly generous of them. We have been so blessed by the friends that we have here in TX and in FL as well as family from around the country.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.


Thanks to the Heather, Denise, Martha, Susanna, Jene', Donna, Shelly, Julie, Kether, Elizabeth, Brenda, Jeana and Chelsea for making it like Christmas at our house.

There is a little movie of us all making lots of music, Emma loves it. We also took a little outing to department store and a new shopping area in Cedar Hill. It had little play areas and a big water fountain for the girls to play in. Battery died on the camera so sorry we missed those pics. We have role reversal going on, Lily wants to be in the stroller and Emma wants to push... the store clerks found it quite amusing.

Few more days until surgery, all is well and it was a really nice weekend. Thank you again family and friends for your support and practical demonstration of love to my wife and children. It means so much.

Preparing for Surgery

Nice week, Lily and Emma have been playing on trampoline with Jonah. Jeremy has been spending time with Emma and she loves playing with him. Both Lily and Emma seem to enjoy wearing goofy outfits and hats so we are letting them. They are having a nice time outside getting some sun. Emma is also making friends with our cat... at first she would just scream any time it walked in the room.

All of this is leading up to surgery next week, we can't help but be a little apprehensive, things are going so well with Emma and we don't want to lose any ground with her bonding and comfort with us.

Anniversary

18 years ago today Melissa and I vowed to eachother to love and cherish till death do us part.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think our life would be like it is ----  but thank God it is!  We are more in love today than ever before. It has not been easy but as Melissa says "nothing that is really valuable or precious is ever easy".  Through good times and bad Melissa has been there for me and I am a very blessed man to have her as my wife.  She is a wonderful mother to our children and has proven herself to be selfless and deeply dedicated to others, from her family to friends and much to my chagrin, to many strangers.  If you know her then you know what I am talking about. 

I am the luckiest man alive and am looking forward to another 18 years... Minimum. 

Melissa, I love you... Happy anniversary!

"No" is such an easy word and over the last couple days Emma has mastered it.  It helps in so many ways, do you have to go neow neow? "No" (shaking her hand) and she says it with gusto. 

Lily asks her if she wants to take a nap "No" with extra gusto. 

She also is getting along with the animals better, pet the kitty and does not scream when dog is close.  So, lots of growing. 

We took a couple bike rides today, I braved Target again with them.  Emma liked a little doll that has a potty seat and when you press a button it sounds like the doll says neow neow pee pee and throws her hands in the air and says "yay" so Emma would copy the doll.  Pretty cute. 

Second bike ride was on a really pretty bike trail that goes by multiple playgrounds so we stopped and played at each. 

Jonah worked with Grandpa and was hankering for italian at new yorks best pizza and pasta.  Really good food, Emma and Lily shared fettucini and loved it. 

The day ended with us going to introduce Emma to the fish at Joe Pool lake which is past a park, that had a sign about a petting zoo.  So I pulled in and found out it will open next week but while we were there we played on more playgrounds by the lake.  Finally home for another bath. 

It was a nice weekend and this week we have only one dr appt (wed) as we get closer to surgery on the 16th.  I think we got some good pics so I will try to post later or in morning. 

Tubes

So today we had ear nose throat specialist appt.  Pretty much everyone that walks in that office gets tubes from what we can tell.  They recommend putting tubes in same surgery as palate repair.  We are going to do research and would appreciate your thoughts.  There has not really been anything negative that we have heard about them but you gotta be a little skeptical when an office visit that nobody really did anything costs 1200 bucks. 

Sigh, but I was glad to see the office had free pastries from pharmaceutical reps. 

Yeah, another rant is coming on. 

What is most important is Emma's health and that is what we are focused on.  Next week she has an appt with our family doctor and will have blood work done.  She is keeping a fantastic attitude and we are proud and amazed at how well she is doing.
Tonight I took the girls for a bike ride (Emma has a "cocoon" on back of my bike) and we rode to target and back.  Then she wanted to ride Lily's bike.... We have to get her a little three wheeler quickly. 

Quick update on Jeremy, he is up to 21 hours flight time and is about to take his test and start solo flights so that is a big milestone.  He said about 6 of his 8 touch and go's were perfect.  The other two were just a tiny bit too much but if you were landing you would not know the difference.  Instructor seems impressed with him and says he is way above average. 

Whirlwind

Last couple days has been very busy, we took Emma to her Dr appt and things have been moving very fast since then. Her surgery to repair the palate is Oct 16 which only gives us a couple weeks to get everything done. Today she visited the dentist and he was amazing. Really great with Emma and I have never ever seen a dentist appt like that. The room is basically a big play room, they let us in early so we could play with her with all the toys that are there. Then very slowly as she is comfortable you ease her to the chair, well... she went to the chair on her own and jumped up. The dentist helped her "brush her teeth" but while they are brushing he is doing the examination. He counted the teeth, checked the cleft area and made sure there were no cavities. He said her teeth look fantastic and she is cleared for surgery (if there is infections or cavities they do not like to do the palate surgery).

Okay, so tomorrow we go see the ENT to see if tubes are needed in her ears, they are sometimes able to do that during the palate repair so it will be good to know. She will have another appt next Wed and then pre-op Oct 15 and surgery on the 16th. We are both able to spend the night in the room with her and if she begins taking fluids the next morning we will be able to bring her home.

Once again thanks to friends and family for prayers and e-mails and everyone who is commenting. Sorry if we are not responding that well... we are trying to keep the blog up to date as best we can. Here are some more pics!

First Dr appt

Tomorrow we take Emma to her first appt, Melissa was told we will meet with speech therapist and then her Dr that is cleft specialist. They will take pictures and we hope work with us on a plan to get palate repared asap.

Emma is really blossoming and we pray that tomorrows schedule of events will not send us back two steps.  Melissa gave her a baby doll today and she loves it.  She is taking care of it, feeding it, singing to it, just hanging out with it and really nurturing which is great to see.

The girls took another long bath and played for over an hour.  Lily continues to be fantastic with Emma and we are very proud of them both.

Settling in

We had a nice few days together since last post, got some new pictures to share. Emma is really settling in and we are beginning to take some quick little outings but after the outing we had today I am ready to stay home for awhile!



So before my story let me explain the pics above. Jonah and I took Lily to a fishing day at a park so Emma and Lily were playing with toy fishing poles before we went. Lily caught a fish (pic is on Jonah's camera so I will see if there are any good ones and post later). Emma really enjoys playing with hair bands and putting them on as bracelets. Since Emma likes water so much we saw a little tikes water/sand toy for half price so we had to pick it up for her. She decided she would rather sit in it than stand beside it. Works for us for now. We took an outing to Grandma/Grandpa's house and she did really well, notice the sunglasses and sitting down crossing her legs? Very cute. She did pretty good... found a picture of herself that Grandma had on her table, that was interesting. She stared at it for a little while, Grandma made her a juice. She made a scrunchy face when she tried it (we usually water it down, she is not used to straight up juice I guess). Everything is fine so far right? Okay, that brings us to this morning.

So, we have breakfast... rice and eggs with the mandatory watermelon. Emma has quite a bit of watermelon, and I think before we take a little outing she went potty but it is a blur now. We go to Home Depot (see picture of girls in the big cart) and all is going swimmingly. They use the little steering wheel to direct the cart and daddy swerves it all over the store to giggles from the girls. We check out plants, a lovely little plastic pond that would be great in the backyard for lots of water. We look at bathtubs for holding water, specifically I was looking for one of those bathtub mats to make sure you don't slip and fall in tub but we have one of those big tubs and the only ones we can find are for the standard rectangular tub. I digress... back to the story, Lily enjoys looking at all the cool new sinks they have and we continue to talk about water. It is around this time that Emma tells Daddy "neow neow" which means I need to go potty daddy. I tell her "no Emma we have to go home". I am so stupid.

So, next door is Target and all seems okay, Emma is doing fine and I think we can just stop by there real quick to look for this bathtub mat. Yeah yeah, all you mothers are just sitting there with that little smirk on your face because men are so stupid.

We have a lovely time in Target, no bathtub mat that will fit our tub, (I have forgotten about neow neow) and Lily asks to go to toys. Emma and Lily both enjoy toys for awhile and then I think Emma tells me again... neow neow? Oh, yes honey... lets go neow neow. I am telling Lily we have to rush home, she tells me "no daddy, Target has a family bathroom, we can all fit in there" brilliant idea, thanks Lily. We rush up to the front and Lily shows dad where the bathroom is. It's locked, we knock, no noise and it looks like light is off. I quickly search for target employee, ask him if he can open the door. "That lock is bad and it is broken, you can use the employee bathroom by the pharmacy". Um, Emma is getting a little anxious and I can tell. I am jogging now with Lily (I have abandoned cart, it is only slowing me down) We make it to the employee bathroom, it is locked. OHHHH I knock... hear some noise, after an excruciating 30 seconds the door opens and Emma is really beginning to shake and want to go in. Neow neow and I am trying to use all the Chinese I know... hada hada (we think that means, it's okay) and dui boo chi which is sorry or excuse me... yeah feeble. So, we get in, I clean and line the toilet and I reach down to ---- yeah, there she goes, all over the floor. All over the floor, all over the floor. So, Lily says "can we go back to toys now? She does not have to go anymore" um, "no" so off we go out to the car. I take off her wet bottoms and line car seat with paper towels. Emma and Lily take another bath and I am pretty much done taking the girls out alone. Melissa is standing over me laughing as I write that.

I think we will try to keep this blog up to date as best we can with stuff like this that you may not really enjoy reading that much but Lily consistently goes to the old website that detailed her homecoming and it basically is like a diary with lots of pictures that she really loves looking at. Lily and Emma have been sitting at the computer looking at pictures from the past when the boys were younger and showing Emma all sorts of family history stuff. So, I am going to try and document things as best I can and am encouraging Melissa to begin posting as well so her perspective is captured.

Have a great week!

Adjusting

Lily is being a fantastic big sister and really enjoying having Emma around. Melissa and I are still trying to adjust to the time shift and added activity in the house. We are tired, hoping to catch up on some sleep tonight. Here are a couple pics from today and a short movie clip of Lily and Emma.

Emma went to sleep pretty quickly tonight. Lily, not so much. It is 12:30 here and she is tired but just will not fall asleep yet, here are just a couple pics from today.

Home, day 1

Melissa let Emma and daddy sleep in a little late.  Lily dressed her up in a little princess outfit and they are cruising around on a cute little car that my friend Melanie got her.  Last night me and Jonah went by Albertsons (new rant brewing for self checkout only option for buying food after 29 hour travel day).  We got watermelon and fresh fruit etc.  This morning Emma had fresh eggs and rice made by chef mom and of course fresh watermelon.  Jeremy hung out with her so she is getting to know her big brother.  He cleaned the house and made us a welcome home sign with a welcome home Emma cake.  It was great to see him and wish he could have gone on trip with us.  For others contemplating taking your kids with you we are strong proponents.  If they are young our son Jonah is ready to hire himself out for free trips to China :)

Home

This morning when the alarm went off and we jumped up to get to Guangzhou airport was 29 hours ago.  That is a long day, we left China Friday morning and arrived in Dallas around 9 Friday night but oh my do we feel exhausted.  Poor Emma just cried before takeoff and the ONLY thing that finally helped was Melissa singing Bible songs to her.  The people sitting near us were getting frustrated but after a good 20 minute screamfest Melissa sang her to sleep. 

So, just landed in Dallas and Jeremy is picking us up.  We are going to sleep for a couple days.  Thanks to all who have been praying, commenting and following our journey.  Emma Faith is finally home and we are blessed.

Emma moments away from legal US citezenship

We just touched down in detroit so as soon as we step off the plane Emma will legally be US citizen!

Security pains

About to leave Guangzhou... After multiple security checks including one on the actual ramp to the plane.  Unbelievable. 

So, this first leg is to Tokyo and is 4 1/2 hours then we have a 2 hour layover. 

Lily and Emma are both doing great, Melissa Jonah and I are beat.

Packed and checked out

We checked out of room tonight and are all packed.  Have to have bags outside of room at 5:20 in morning and we get on bus at 5:45 so early travel day.  We are scheduled to land in TX after 9 friday evening. 

Last Day

Went to the zoo, US consulate... the Director of CCAA from Beijing was there, first time he has been down to see ceremony in new facility which has been three years. Heading to last dinner with our travel group at Lucy's. Here are some pics from Jonah's camera.

new pics

Almost done

All the paperwork went to consulate today, all was approved so today we took it easy. Emma seemed to have a fever so we have discovered Emma strongly prefers to not take any medicine.  I am wearing most of it, so had to change right before we are headed down to take the red couch photo with our group. 

We will go to an italian restaurant tonight that is supposed to be wonderful.  Will try to post pics again tonight.

Picture and Physical

Today we are taking it easy, breakfast then walked with group to take photo for consulate appt I think.  Then to little medical clinic so Emma could get measured/weighed, ear/nose/throat checked and other measurements and basically a little check up.  She was perfect and did not cry at all.  Most other kids fell apart during this (Lily fell apart 5 years ago during this portion of process). 

We stopped by starbucks on way back and just relaxed.  We are resting now and trying to keep Emma on a nap schedule (not working).

Tonight Jonah and I are going to go on river cruise and Melissa offered to watch the girls. 

Will try to post some pics tonight.

Paperwork day

Today we did US consulate paperwork and Meliss and Jonah went to big jewelry mall while I played with girls a the hotel.  

It is last day of mid-autumn festival and last night was really lit up. Full moon and kids were walking along river with moon lanterns and eating moon cakes. 

I am feeling pretty exhausted today and am trying to rest now. 

Shamian Island

Started the day at breakfast... Melissa was crying for joy because of all the chidren getting ready to go home.  Lots and lots of kids.  Then we took laundry, bought a stroller and took a walk.  Me and Lily got a vanilla bean at starbucks and Melissa got a vanilla frapp.  We walked around the park, saw lots of people getting wedding photos taken and enjoying the beautiful island.

Stopped at some shops and got clothes/shoes for the girls.  We are about to go to Lucys for lunch.  Jonah went on tour and we are about to hear about it.

Starbucks

We made it to Guangzhou without anymore incidents.  Thanks to Yisha for helping overcome all obstacles. 

Grace met us at airport and we all collapsed in the bus. Arrived at White Swan and are all relieved to be at last portion of trip. 

Just had our dinner, papa johns delivery.  There is a starbucks, 7-Eleven and room is nice and cool.

So, all is well and we are going to just relax this evening and probably skip tour tomorrow and continue to recouperate.

Watched Ike news on cnn international as it hit Galveston.  Good to see us news but sad to see the destruction and flooding.

OMG

So, we are almost to airport... Can physically see it and an old man on a moped full of cabbage runs into our bus. No joke, after at least 25 mins of chaos and 3 police cars driving right by finally an ambulance comes and takes him away. Seemed okay, just old and bruised up. We change buses and rush to airport... Plenty of chaos trying to make plane.  Craziness with luggage, security and stress galore.  We are on plane taxiing now.   Talk to you from guangzhou. 

Last meal in Zhengzhou

Girls slept well, this morning they were all snuggled together, Emma woke up first and then Lily. Very sweet peaceful morning. 

We are all packed and sitting at breakfast.  Emma likes the congee best (we mix in eggs and veggies). Lily likes steamed bun with meat, beans and a funny red fruit with white insides and black specks (seeds).  Jonahs favorite thing is meat bun and friied rice.  I like a sorta hash brown thing, the cheese is amazing and doughnuts.  Melissa likes steamed bok choi and her english breakfast tea she brought from usa the best. 

We will be on plane around 10 heading to guangzhou and it is 2 hour flight.  This will be Emma's first flight so please pray for her to have peace. 

Ouch

So today is about over, it is 8pm friday night and we leave for guangzhou first thing in the morning. We had a bright idea to spend the aternoon shopping so took a cab to an area Yisha recommended.  It was great, big four story bookstore.  Got books for Emma, movies for Lily and game for Jonah. 

Then hit a 6 story department store.  Huge, basically a mall in one store.  Movie theatre, gymboree play zone, multiple other kid zones. Workout gym... Then floors of stuff.  Melissa got a couple outfits for Emma.  All sounds fine so far right?  Oh yes, got some mooncakes, the mid autumn festival is this weekend and everyone liked the peach mooncake. 

Ok, here comes the ouch - if you ever visit Zhengzhou and expect to get a cab around 6 just forget it, no really... We tried for a good 30 minutes and then started walking while trying to get a cab.  Well we just got back to the hotel and never got a cab. It was miles of enjoying the streets of pain.  Every intersection is a game of chicken.  Every step is a game of chance.  Jonah had a hard time finding any videogames here and we determined its because life is a videogame.  Ever played frogger on hardest level?  Yeah. So we are pretty beat... Going to get showers/pack and sleep.

Pictures and Video from last couple days

Here is pictures and hopefully video of the girls from our time in Zhengzhou getting to know each other better as a family (with a picture of Jeremy until we get back home).

Scenes include us just hanging out, walking streets of Zhengzhou and checking out local shops. Eating at little coffee house nearby that we highly recommend (get the beef strips plate, first item on "fast food" items. It is kinda like a fajita plate but tastes amazing. Local veggies, rice and beef that is really really good.

For Jonah's birthday we went to Oktoberfest, big feast, hilarious German musicians and Everyone sang to Jonah and we had a great time. German Oktoberfest in China in September. Gotta love it.

Thank you family, friends and visitors (and rant)

Melissa and I just want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of our journey.  You may be a family member or friend or possibly someone we have not met yet. Thanks for your prayers, thoughts, e-mail and comments. We apologize for not having time to reply to all emails and comments but we are reading and enjoying them all.  Your encouragement helps us during the tougher times.

It is the first sunny day in Zhengzhou, we are going to take a walk up the street and just check out some local shops. The biggest challenge with walking up the street is the persistent stares, it does not seem to be rude to just look/point and talk about you.  Little unnerving but Melissa pointed out we do the same thing in America but we try to hide it and look away when noticed.

------ end of pleasant blog post-------

Read on for rant or just skip if easily offended


Culturally the people are "different" but there is so much americans could learn from this nation full of history, tradition and wisdom. I was talking with our friend who is the guide for this trip (and our last five years ago) and asked her what are the reasons for such low crime and lack of road rage in a city of such poverty and obvious need for freaking out driving in these crazy roads.  I was hoping to hear something we could import to the us and lower crime in our world.

Well... We can't import it, it is not from any laws, it is not from video cameras, it is not from security systems or police presence.  Nope --- it is steeped in tradition and culture.  Everyone is taught to treat others the way they want to be treated.  Hmmmm... To love your neighbor.  So, I want to send a letter to every lawmaker and encourage them to go ahead and try something crazy... Back when the ten commandments were taken out of schools stats show that our crime rate went nuts.  Go ahead congress, let's try a tiny little 100 year experiment and teach our children the ten commandments and see what happens.  In the big picture 100 years is nothing.  Sorry for the rant but you have to see the stark contrast between how people handle life here and in the us. 

I highly recommend everyone able to come to China for yourself and experience it.  Maybe every lawmaker should do it... For about 3 weeks, and while here why not give a child a home.  Oh, well... Most lawmakers pro bably would not meet the requirements.  Can't have police record, can't be overweight, can't be divorced, can't be single and have to have a stable home and family.  Well now, I might just be on to our primary problem in the US eh?

Thursday morning in China

Just wanted to post a quick update and will try to get pics up later of our Wed. 

We had a nice day, pretty relaxing overall... The only "event" was going to the provincial museum.  It was really amazing and Emma is getting more at ease with us every day.  If you want to see her laugh there are a few ways; 1. Tickle her tummy 2. Lay her on your legs while you are sitting and let her throw her head backwards and my favorite 3. Tell her "no" or "boo" in chinese.  This was the one that made her laugh most of the museum trip.  Yeah, we are in a museum where they have artifacts that are thousands of years old that are truly amazing and Emma wants to just run around and climb into exhibits etc.  "Emma, NO, Emma, BOO!... Boo yow, (Emma says, haahhahahahahah) and climbs into thousand year old exhibit in blatant disregard for daddy"

Well, nice to see her smile and having fun.  Today we may try swimming and see how that goes. 

We ate lunch at "new island coffee" kinda fun place.  The chairs are couches and it is very pretty/relaxing place.  Jonah got something really good, mine - not so good.  Got girls little bowls of soup than ended up being huge bowls of noodle soup that all five of us could barely put a dent in them. 

Emma loves rice and is really picky right now with food.  She likes what she likes, is open to trying anything but if she does not like it then she will not eat, end of story.

This will change at home :)

Lots of hours just hanging out in hotel hallway and letting the kids play together.  Lily especially enjoys playing with a big beach ball and singing/dancing ring around rosie with Lily and Avery.

Another day in Zhengzhou

Today was pretty cool, Emma is getting much more comfortable with us and beginning to act more like a toddler.  This means she is testing boundaries with us which she really did not do on day 1.  So we are saying no or "boo" a whole lot more and sometimes she listens.  :)

She had bowel movement which is great sign, all seems to be working as it should.  There is definitely some sort of challenge with walking and balance, Melissa has read that sometimes the cleft can have an effect on balance so we will check with doctors upon return.

Jonah and Lily went swimming in pool and Lily had a blast. Will try to take Emma sometime tomorrow.  We went to a local restaurant outside of hotel and fed 9 adults and 5 children for about fifty bucks.  What a country.  Emma ate all remaining watermelon in China.  Hoping they import more for tomorrow. 

It is around 3 am wed morning and I am the only one awake which is good.  Everyone had adjusted well, now is time to start praying for the return flight because I know that will be interesting. 

We fly to Guangzhou on Saturday, going to local museum today (Wed) so just thur and fri to get out of the way!

Pictures

Here are some of the better pictures from Melissa's camera. Jonah took a bunch on his so I will get those transferred and uploaded tonight probably.

Emma is asleep, she ate all the watermelon this place had... loves rice, noodles, veggies and more than anything - watermelon. Lily was the same way.

Great morning

Thanks to all who prayed for us.  Really great morning, Emma spent time snuggling with Melissa and I spent time snuggling with Lily, then we went to breakfast.  We took a walk after and are about to go get her a sippy cup and new shoes.

Hoping we can get back by 1 so Emma can take nap and I can post pictures. 

Prayer

Here are things I am praying and covet your prayers for us:

- bonding - specifically that Emma will quickly bond with each of us (Melissa, Lily, Jonah and Sean).  So far she is really only wanting to be with me and Jonah and from our last adoption I know how heartbreaking this is for Melissa and Lily.  Pray that today when Emma wakes up she will long to be held by Melissa and Lily as well.

- Lily's heart - she is understandably having a bunch of different emotions during this time and is very sensitive right now.  Pray that she will be secure in her place in the family and be strong and want to help Emma feel safe and loved.

- Time to pass quickly for this part of trip.  There really is not much to do, no kids playroom... this is not a city you would EVER come visit as a tourist so nuff said.

- Melissa to be strong in health and have wisdom for meeting both Lily and Emma's needs. 

Emma is sleeping/snuggling beside me and she seems content and happy.  Earlier she was sucking her fingers a little and seemed to be stirring.  I tried asking her if she needed to go potty but I keep forgetting how to say it in Chinese. 

That is the hardest thing right now, she really understands full sentences but not a word we are saying.  We are doing are best and trying to sign and introduce key english words but not sure what is best thing to focus on right now. 

Sorry about lack of pics, just can't do it yet.  Check Andy and Dave's blogs on the left, they posted some pics I think and may have pics of Emma.

Adoption official

Just left notary official office and Emma is now officially our daughter by China law. 

Once her feet hit us soil then she will officially be us citizen.

It was a long day with lots of walking and hot buildings with offices on 5th floor and no elevators.... Sigh

We are done and in hotel room just enjoying Emma and not doing anything else.

She is drinking milk and just sitting in my lap.... Pics later. 

Photo and registration

Ummm... Ouch

Had to walk a few blocks to photo center, mild rain and construction/mud and what's that? Oh, a giant hole in the road while me and Emma are looking at a leaf she just dropped.   Yeah, I fell... Held Emma up and sacrificed my leg and hand, she gave a tiny little cry for about two seconds and so far that is the only cry we have heard from her. 

Did photos, saw other families and now it is raining... So, walk a few more blocks in rain, mud (avoiding holes this time).

Now we are sitting in registration office and doing paperwork etc.  Emma sat on Melissa's lap and they played, leaning back laughing so we could see her pallette... Really not so big, we are both very happy to see. While we were walking Emma wore my hat and we hummed little songs, she is very very cute!

Emma is here

We have to go do paperwork and all that but we are in room together as family and all is well. 

Two babies are born

Its a boy... and a girl!

We are still waiting for Emma but it has been great to watch our new friends family grow before our eyes.

Beijing Day 2 Pics

So, as we "labor" we are all trying to keep occupied and wait for the minutes to pass... Here are some pics from yesterday.

Being patient

So, here is the scene... Within an hour or two three families are about to give birth in a hallway of a hotel.  Lots of energy and excitement.  And Amy says "and I am fully clothed, I like this". 

Arrival in Zhengzhou

Short flight, about an hour... Interesting in-flight meal, two slices of bread and mystery meat - nothing else, no mayo/mustard... Nothing

About 50 minute drive to hotel, this is not Beijing.  Extremely industrial, huge factories - huge.  It is raining, we checked into 5 star hotel, crown plaza.  Very nice, they have cuban cigar room and tonight is oktoberfest.  Very funny to see the Chinese locals in german beer maid outfits. 

This is last night without Emma, Melissa is nesting and getting everything ready.  Lily is "nesting" in the crib. Little concerned about her courage remaining in Beijing but we are letting her just do what she needs to do.  She is laying in the crib and I think will probably fall asleep shortly and we have not had dinner yet.

Went to the bank to change the fees from us into Chinese rmb.... Exchange rate is 6.7 and largest Yuan bill is 100 so quite a wad of cash to walk out of there with.

Everyone is very polite but americans are not as common here, especially with little english speaking chinese girls so we are getting lots of stares.
I will try to get some pics up tonight. 

Alternate perspectives

So... Since I am dropping the ball on updating the blog pictures and since we have two families with us I thought you might enjoy seeing the trip from their eyes.

http://moriahmei.blogspot.com

http://ameimeiforavery.blogspot.com/

China courage

After another day of Lily being very outgoing and comfortable and actually going out of our sight multiple times Melissa said "Lily left her courage in China 5 years ago and on this return trip has found it". Now we are hoping she will bring it back home with her. 

It is Sunday morning now, we are about to go try and get close to birds nest and water cube on our way to airport.  We fly to zhengzhou (gin-joe) around noon and this is our last day without Emma. 

So yesterday on our way back from Great Wall we stopped for lunch and our tour guide setup a birthday party for me.  In China if you see someone with noodle soup and an egg on it you know it is their birthday.  So, I had noodle soup and she got a big birthday cake with my name on it. The candle had a little flower that basically was like a torch, it blooms into four more candles and has little habby bday song in it.  Yeah... And the whole place sang to me and I had a little crown (sorta like burger king crown).

We got lots of pictures but won't be until tonight to get them posted. 

Driving back to hotel we got a glimpse of the birds nest, it is truly massive structure.  Paralympics opening ceremony was last night and lots of excitement around the games. We have seen the athletes in our hotel, at tour sites etc. and China is doing a really good job of hosting.  The chinese tv is showing touching stories of people who have overcome serious car accidents and battled depressiona and overcome to compete.  Very cool to see. 

Last night I got massage including foot... Very painful but very good idea after climbing great wall.  The family was a tower of support for me... Not!  They just made fun of me, no respect.  Melissa took the kids to mcdonalds (she had promised they could go once while in China... They are never allowed in usa) Jonah and I went for a walk and just sat and watched all the commotion on the streets outside the hotel.  It was really great to just sit and take it all in.  We walked over a bridge towards a mcdonalds I got a big mac with a vanilla sundae.

We woke up around 4 am to the loudest storm I have heard in awhile.  Strong thunder/lightning for a couple hours.  We watched some chinese looking discovery channel type of thing with huge wasps.  Then a chinese sit-com with kids over acting about some gross smelling soup.  It was fun, we made up what they were saying and had a nice morning hanging out together. 

Got a little breakfast. Lily had more of her "critter soup" and we are sitting in the lobby just hanging out. 

Gonna go finish packing for our travel day, cheerio.

Great wall bday party

Yeah... So, just got my first bday present.  Jonah bought me a "I climbed great wall" plaque inscribed with my name and todays date.  Pretty sweet.

I can say that after climbing it five years ago in the winter and now climbing in the summer... Neither is fun. Next time we really must come do this when it is around 68 degrees. 

But the best part is I am sitting here after climbing it and posting this while sitting on the Great Wall. Lily and Avery are playing and having ice cream and Jonah is taking the liberty of legally buying some Chinese beer and having a little party on the Great Wall.  Sigh

Pictures a'plenty and will get them posted tonight.

Big huge long day in Beijing

Photos for the day are on the little picasa stream over on the left of the blog page for family getting this by e-mail. 

After breakfast we met the other two families that are in our travel group, fantastic people who you will be getting to know over the next two weeks and I will introduce them later.  We all jumped on the bus and headed over to Tiananmen Square and it has really changed since last time we were here.  Lots of Olympic showcase items and new fountains in front of the Forbidden City.  The Paralympics are just beginning so there is a bunch of activity related to tours and families being here for the events.  

We walked through the Forbidden City and Lily started to get some time with Avery, you will see her in the pictures... very outgoing, very friendly... very cute.  She is a couple years younger than Lily but she really has wisdom.  Within a couple hours she had our shy Lily going up to the front with our tour guide and hanging out with others which was a pleasant surprise.  After the Forbidden City we went to Lunch.  Lots of unique dishes and everyone loved it.  We continued to get to know the other two families.   The Leong and McLaughlin families are both from Colorado and share many common interests so we can tell this will be a special time, special group.  

After Lunch we visited a silk factory and got to see exactly how silk is made, Lily and Avery continued to bond and got to hold the silk worm cocoons, play with the silk and basically get involved in every part of the tour they could.  They spent at least ten minutes watching a woman do some intricate embroidery... really amazing, think about a 4 and 7 year old just standing right next to someone for ten minutes watching sewing.  I was impressed.  Next up was visit to Hutong where the houses date back hundreds of years and are courtyard in the setup.  Families would live together (4 generations) and we were able to visit a very kind family who served us tea and showed us wonderful hospitality while answering questions about life in Hutong.  This tour took place by rickshaw, which was 2 persons to a carriage with manpower provided by bicycle.  Very interesting... fast, dangerous, fun.  We enjoyed it very much.

Next we went to an acrobatics show which was over the top... all of the performers were less than 20 years old and the youngest was 5.  Too much to explain and it would be totally lost in blog format.  You can check out this video to get an idea but it is not the same show.  By this time I was beginning to fade away... actually nodding off while there is this huge show with loud music and like 50 girls all making this huge pyramid on one bicycle as it rides around the stage.  So next we went to dinner and had famous Beijing Roast Duck and lots of other treats that were wasted on me.  I was ready for bed, and here I am doing this post while everyone else has fallen asleep.  See what I do for you?

Tomorrow we head to Great Wall of China, get some lunch, go to Jade factory and dinner... then check out olympic village (or maybe that is next morning, can't remember)

Okay, have a nice day everyone while we get some sleep.

Breakfast in China

We had a nice breakfast and are about to go on tour... Will post details and pictures tonight!

Checked in and getting ready for bed

CCAI met us at airport with a fantastic guide and a small bus.  It was just us in the bus so there was plenty of room to stretch out.  Getting our bags was no problem, getting through customs was no problem and everything went without a hitch.  We mentioned to our guide that we drink a lot of water and he stopped and bought us a bagful, very nice guy and will be part of the great wall tour so we will see him again.

Internet for laptops is not working as it should be we are not going to mess with it toniight.

So, as of this post it is about 11:30 at night and we are so tired that we are just going to crash. 

Tomorrow starts with "american breakfast" at 7:30 and then the guide will meet us at 9:00 with two other families to take tours.

G'night

Now we are in Beijing

My email did not get out of Japan so both posts are within minutes but we just landed and it is 9:20 pm thursday night.  Now to get through customs etc. Will try to post before we go to sleep. 

Japan

That was a quick little flight (not) but we did land early.  We have to change planes and will get to Beijing in a few hours. All was well, Lily slept for a few hours, Jonah slept a little.  Melissa and I tried but did not succeed.  We will sleep tonight (China night, your morning) and try to get used to 12 hour different time zone quickly. 

Boarding the 747

Long line to get on, we have 3 seats on left side of plane... Lily has the window, then Melissa and I am in aisle.  Jonah is sitting next to me across the aisle in the center section. This plane is not as nice as the one we had five years ago.  No individual movie screens and seems smaller but who cares it is taking us to Emma. 

Oh, and Donna asked if Melissa shared my desire to spend night in Tokyo.  At lunch Jonah said it would be cool to stay in Tokyo tonight... (Well tomorrow night) and I heartily agreed and Melissa was not on board.  However she now says "just so we have Emma on the 8th I don't care" and now she is pointing out all the cute babies on the flight. 

Talk to you from Tokyo. 

About to land in st paul

Lily loves flying... She was enthralled by how the land looks like a big garden and loves looking out the window.  Next flight is in a couple hours and will take us to Japan (none of us have ever been to Japan... I secretly hope we get delayed overnight so we can check it out).

Wheels up, we are in the air and on the way!

The day has come

We got up nice and early, Jeremy drove us to DFW and we have checked in (checking agent was duly impressed with luggage quantity and weight).  Went through security with no line and no problems.  Now we have to sit patiently at the gate for a few hours.

Last days before trip

Today we triple checked the "check list" to make sure we have all the paperwork and everything packed that we will need. The US airline on international flights allow each passenger to have two bags checked in weighing less that 50lbs per bag. So technically we could take 400lbs of stuff in eight bags but I think you can imagine what kind of hassle that would be lugging around China and trying to fit into taxi's etc.

Melissa has successfully gotten everything into three bags that will be checked and each is less than 50lbs per bag. This includes toys/gifts for the orphanage so this is really a miracle. Tomorrow is our last day in the USA... we fly out first thing Wed morning!

Yesterday Mat and Beth had a going away dinner for us at Patricia and Gary's house. Luci, Daniel, Caleb, Savannah and Jeremy/Jonah were there. It was nice to spend time together before going out of town.

Newsflash - not Emma related

Jonah got his drivers license today... We are very proud.  He did amazing.

In China itinerary

9/4 - Check into Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing and relax

9/5 and 9/6 - Tour of Beijing (last time this included Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Great Wall. we are hoping to see Olympic venues like the Birds Nest/Water Cube etc. {SEAN BDAY}

9/7 - Fly from Beijing to Zhengzhou and check into the Crown Plaza Hotel in Zhengzhou

9/8 - Meet Emma Faith in person and receive her into our family!!!!!!!!!! Rest of day is paperwork, registration, notary, photo's etc.

9/9 and 9/10 - Spend time with Emma, free time in Zhengzhou

9/11 - Receive notary docs and keep spending time with family

9/12 - {JONAH BDAY} Receive Emma passport

9/13 - Fly to Guangzhou and check into the White Swan hotel

9/14 and 9/15 - Enjoy Guangzhou and the Mid Autumn Festival or "Moon Festival" and continue to bond as a family

9/16 - Get Emma her visa and physical

9/17 - US Consulate Appointment

9/18 - Oath at US Consulate (receive Emma's visa packet)

9/19 - Fly to Tokyo and then back to the other itinerary posted

Packing

So... this is what it looks like when your perfect wife packs for China... the hard case on the left should be open, sorry. It has toys and gifts for the orphanage that some wonderful people donated.

Travel info

Well I thought it might be interesting for folks to know our itinerary:

Sep 3, Leave DFW at 10:15 am, arrive in Minneapolois at 12:49 pm (2 1/2 hour flight)
Sep 3, Leave MSP at 3:00 pm, arrive in Tokyo at 5:25 pm (12 1/2 hour flight)
Sep 4, Leave Tokyo at 6:35 pm, arrive in Beijing at 9:35 pm (4 hour flight)

We will be in Beijing for a couple days and I will put another post with in China itinerary later.

Sep 6, My birthday!
Sep 8, Get Emma!
Sep 12, Jonah birthday!

Sep 19, Leave Guangzhou at 8:20 am, arrive in Tokyo at 1:55 pm (4 1/2 hour flight)
Sep 19, Leave Tokyo at 4:15 pm, arrive in Detroit at 2:45 pm (11 1/2 hour flight)
Sep 19, Leave Detroit at 7:11 pm, arrive in DFW at 9:01 pm (3 hour flight)

New pictures!

We just got a couple new pictures from our agency!

Packing for real

Olympics are finally over so the really important stuff with China can happen.  We got our final travel packet and the final itinerary.  It has been such a long process this time but the reality is we are leaving in just ten days.  Suitcases are being filled and we are getting things organized for the long plane ride. 

Jeremy starts his second year at UTA tomorrow and will be staying home to care for the home and pets while taking classes and working.  The rest of us will bring Emma home.  Finally home, we will do our best to post updates and pictures, please pray for our family.  Specifically we ask for prayer in following areas: Emma's transition, Lily"s adjustment.  Everyones health and energy level.  Communication with Emma. Obviously finances!!!

Getting closer!

We are getting excited, just a couple weeks to go.  Still preparing the girls room and packing for the trip. Watching the olympics has been a great way to enjoy China and help pass the time before we go.

This is first post using "e-mail" so we will be able to put updates online via e-mail while on the trip.

Sean

More pics of the girls room

Travel information

Today we bought the plane tickets. We will be leaving Sept 3 and coming home with Emma Faith on Sep 19 2008!

Pics of girls room

So... this is the great letters we found at Hobby Lobby, Melissa is looking for fabric to glue onto each letter, we have EMMA as well, then she wants to hang each name above the girls bed.

Just trying to keep up with the times

So, let me first explain the situation. We kept www.joyshine.net/lily up and running for years and it served the purpose well... but I have to face reality, I am not keeping it up to date.

In the mid 2000's everyone began changing over to blogs to publish the type of content that we want to publish. Basically upates about our family and pictures about our life growing together.

To be completely candid with you, I don't like blogs... I just really don't like them. Now Melissa spends half of her life reading blogs so I think she is probably sold on the idea. I am normally a guy that is fine with change... career, house, city, state, country I can roll with the change. But blogs just have not done it for me. I am more interested in the content and not really the "container" or the vehicle. Yes, I have owned a few porche's and my wife is beautiful so it is not that I don't have an appreciation for those things but when it comes to content on the internet I have avoided blogging entirely.

Well, now I am posting and am going to go see if picasa will upload photo's as easy as it looks so while we are in China we will be able to easily put updates and pictures online.

Thanks for reading!