Seven Kids!

I wish I could write a glowing report of how today went; however, that would be a lie. Knowing what I know about Kunming though, I was prepared for this.
We met and finalized YunLong's adoption today, much to his chagrin. (He has been in the same foster home for 8 years.) The orphanage staff showed up at his foster home today and took him. They told him they were taking him to the city (he lives just outside in the suburbs) to go to a park and that they would bring him home later. He had NO idea he was being adopted, and was completely lied to, to boot. He never even got to say goodbye to his foster mama and baba, or his older foster siblings...an older brother who is a police officer and a sister who is getting married soon. The nanny (who is a virtual stranger to YunLong, herself) was very mean to him...yelling at him and threatening him if he didn't stop crying and asking for his foster family (at the police station where Jane, our awesome guide, convinced them to use the faxed copy of our TA, which they normally won't do.) She also let the nanny know that that was not the way to talk to him, and comforted him and assured him nothing bad would happen for crying.
The afternoon was quite difficult. He's grieving hard, of course. That being said, I did get him to laugh some this evening, showing him photos on the computer and even a video of Bo singing on the Wii Guitar Hero game. He is smart as a whip, and the cutest (and tiniest) boy. He did give us a real scare earlier today at the Carrefore (like Walmart) store. As soon as we arrived, he took off running up the escalator/ramp thing. Fortunately, he stopped at the top, and was just being a boy...looked like something fun to do. He went in and took his shower tonight and got in his pj's, but came out sobbing again, crying that he wanted to go home with his mama and baba. We feel so bad for him. What is already a terribly difficult thing, was made so much more difficult by what they did to him.
Kara XiaoMei is sweet as can be. She is helpful and independent, but not in a bossy way. She smiles her beautiful smile at us, and so enjoys going shopping and clothes and all things pretty. What a delight!
Please, continue to pray for our little guy. He's hurting so bad.

Kara is Officially Ours!!!!

Well, it’s official! Kara XiaoMei is officially a member of the family! After breakfast, we headed to the local CCAA/Notary office and finalized her adoption. Again, Kara was so sweet. She had to verbally agree to the adoption, which she did, but then teared up (so, of course, I teared up.) Our guide is translating the answers from the orphanage director that we had brought. We’ll be spending the afternoon at a park, and then heading to the airport. We’ll be flying to Kunming tonight, and meeting Ross YunLong tomorrow.
Crazy schedule!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Our meeting with XiaoMei went so well! She is a sweet, quiet girl, and very pretty...such a sweet smile. We had a pretty quick appointment at the local CCAA office, during which she was obviously very quiet, and I’m sure scared and quite shell-shocked after her 3 hour car ride. It wasn’t until the directors of her swi left that she started to cry. We left the office, having signed the harmonious bonding period papers, and then went straight to the Carrefore shopping center to get her some necessities, like clothes, and shoes, as well as some fun things for her.
It became quickly apparent that XiaoMei is a girly-girl! Her favorite color is yellow, and she loves hair pretties. We were all getting pretty hungry, so we finished up shopping (after 1.5 hours) and went to the noodle shop right next to the hotel. Jane, our guide, left us there with meals ordered and plans to meet up at 6 PM to head out for dinner.
After lunch, we went back to our room for some “getting to know you” time. Even though we don’t speak the same language, we managed to have a nice afternoon, going through XiaoMei’s new things, doing Barbie hair (XiaoMei is good at braiding hair) and coloring. She even let me paint her nails! XiaoMei and I then watched a dvd we had bought her of a famous Chinese musician/actor and BaBa took a nap. I even got a laugh out of XiaoMei by making fun of Bo’s snoring!
At 6:00, we headed out with Jane for some dinner and it was actually cool out, so we bought XiaoMei a sweater. The area around the Confucius Temple is lit up, as are many of the pagodas, and it’s just beautiful. We’re now back in the room, XiaoMei is getting a shower, and I’m planning on hitting the hay. I’m exhausted! But thrilled with how things are going, so far.
Night, y’all!

Oh, my goodness! What a whirlwind. We left home for the airport at 5:30 AM Sunday and flew to San Fransisco, and with just a 1 hour layover, hopped on our plane for Beijing. That flight was about 12 hours, getting us there at around 2 (Beijing time). We had about 3 hours, so we grabbed a quick dinner at the airport, and then headed to our gate for our flight to Nanjing, Jiangsu. That was another 2 hours, plus a half hour drive to our hotel, putting us there around 10 PM. All of this totalled about 27 hours travel time, so we were *very* tired by the time we arrived. We called home, and hit the sack.
Her in Nanjing, we’re staying at the Mandarin Garden Hotel, and it’s beautiful. And although we loved the Jin Feng Hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi (where we stayed with Ellie), this hotel has a much prettier view out front. Our daughter has probably left her swi in Sucheng City, Suqian District, since it’s a 3 hour drive for her. We are going to head down to breakfast, our first non-airplane/airport food in 2 days, and then we’ll be leaving for to meet our daughter at 10 AM!!! We are so excited to finally meet her, and have her join our family. And we’re so grateful for all the prayers. We only just learned of her about 6 weeks ago, but she’s already taken her place in our hearts and the hearts of our children. The fact that we were able to get all the paperwork done in time, with all the different government agencies involved, is a testiment to our good and faithful God.
More to come!

Thank You

I just want to take a moment to thank all the men and women (especially my brother and sister) who have served this nation. Your sacrifice is not taken lightly. We thank God for your willingness to serve and protect our freedoms.



This was taken at our neighbor's home after Hurricane Charlie in 2004.

So much drama!

I'm not even gonna run down all the drama of late, but let's just say...WHEW! It's all worked out now...all the paperwork is in China, and we're good to go!

I know it's really lame to not be able to see any photos, but I don't think I'm able to post any just yet, but seeing as how we're leaving for China in 9 DAYS, you'll be seeing the kids soon enough :)

Bo is back from his two weeks on the road, and now it's time to ready the rooms (which we're shuffling a bit) for our new additions. We have this three day weekend, and then Carissa and Nathan will be flying in. We wanted her to come a little early to get a feel for the area, as well as allow Annie and Ellie to get reacquainted with her.

Our tickets over and back are booked, and our in-country itinerary is being worked out now. We are getting so excited, but with it is trepidation, knowing how difficult the coming weeks and months are going to be. But, it's all worth it, and we can't wait to bring our kids home!

Mary's at it, too!

Whatever talents I may (and I use may very loosely) possess when it comes to sewing, Mary far surpasses. She bought this pack of fat quarters, and wanted to make a purse out of it. She couldn't find any tutorials that I've saved that she liked, so she decided to make it up as she went. With very little input from me, she created this little, lined purse. She's awesome!



Fat Minnie looking on.