Hello there, we have been home one week now which is hard to believe. We are sitting by the fire with the girls checking out our friend's blog who is in China right now. Their daughter Matti (Yuanqing) is from the same orphanage as Amelia (Huanqing). Looking at the pictures on her blog is crazy because we were just there.
The group that is in China now will meet their children on Monday, February 2. Our prayers are with them as they meet them.
Amelia is doing great! She has bonded very well with all of the kids. Yesterday I had my first trip out of the house with her to Target. Frank took her to the movie store on Tuesday. She was so excited seeing all the toys. It was fun to watch her.
We are still struggling with jetlag and Frank and I have colds. I hope that this is over soon I have to much to get done and being rundown does not help me at all.
I am so glad to be home. It was a long trip but well worth it.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
We made it home!!!!!
All I can say is thank God me made it home. Our flight home was interesting. Turbulence was so bad at one point that the pilot got on the loud speaker and said, "flight attendants down". It was a little scary especially standing up holding the baby and feeling like the plane dropped thousands of feet. Whew, it was crazy. Folks were laying all over the floor because they couldn't make it back to their seats. Frank included. He was holding onto the wall, telling me to sit down. The flight attendants assured us that we were safe just dodging potholes in the sky.
It was really a rough flight but thank God, we made it. That was my prayer; please God, let us make it home. Amelia did pretty well on the flight. She only cried a few times but slept most of the way home. Much different from when we brought Hope home in 2005. She wouldn't sleep, had double-ear infections we found out later. By the grace of God, we made it home and it wasn't to painful. Time seemed to fly by which was good. We sat at the very back of the plane which made for extra room to stretch and stand up. We managed to get two passengers to switch seats with Dom and Frank so that we could all sit together.
We made the flight from Chicago to VA by the hair on our chinny chin chins. Two hours was not enought time to make it through customs to our flight but again, God saw us through. I was getting a little nervous about missing our flight and to top it off, security asked to check the babies juice and food. They did not seem to be on the same time crunch as us. The guy in customs took his sweet little time getting 11 families through customs. I tried to remain optimistic but by the time I got to security and the guy asked to test the liquid in Amelia's cup, I had enough. I didn't have any time to even put my shoes on as I hurried to our gate which seemed miles away. I even had to take Amelia out of the stroller, take her coat and shoes off. Needlesstosay, I am not ready to go through that again.
I felt a breeze and Frank and Mike were running past me to the gate. Thankfully, they waited for us. We have the Montgomery's to thank because they were wating on them because their daughter needed oxygen on the flight home. They were the last ones on the plane behind us. I am so thankful that we were not bumped onto another flight.
Amelia became a US Citizen in Chicago once her little feet hit the ground. We did get a picture. After all was said and done, we were greeted by all the kids and a few families that we know. That was nice.
Amelia bonded really well with the kids and has made herself very comfortable. We are still jet lagged but hopefully in a few days we will be back on schedule. Thank you all for your prayers we really appreciate it. Please continue to pray for us as Amelia bonds with family and friends.
It was really a rough flight but thank God, we made it. That was my prayer; please God, let us make it home. Amelia did pretty well on the flight. She only cried a few times but slept most of the way home. Much different from when we brought Hope home in 2005. She wouldn't sleep, had double-ear infections we found out later. By the grace of God, we made it home and it wasn't to painful. Time seemed to fly by which was good. We sat at the very back of the plane which made for extra room to stretch and stand up. We managed to get two passengers to switch seats with Dom and Frank so that we could all sit together.
We made the flight from Chicago to VA by the hair on our chinny chin chins. Two hours was not enought time to make it through customs to our flight but again, God saw us through. I was getting a little nervous about missing our flight and to top it off, security asked to check the babies juice and food. They did not seem to be on the same time crunch as us. The guy in customs took his sweet little time getting 11 families through customs. I tried to remain optimistic but by the time I got to security and the guy asked to test the liquid in Amelia's cup, I had enough. I didn't have any time to even put my shoes on as I hurried to our gate which seemed miles away. I even had to take Amelia out of the stroller, take her coat and shoes off. Needlesstosay, I am not ready to go through that again.
I felt a breeze and Frank and Mike were running past me to the gate. Thankfully, they waited for us. We have the Montgomery's to thank because they were wating on them because their daughter needed oxygen on the flight home. They were the last ones on the plane behind us. I am so thankful that we were not bumped onto another flight.
Amelia became a US Citizen in Chicago once her little feet hit the ground. We did get a picture. After all was said and done, we were greeted by all the kids and a few families that we know. That was nice.
Amelia bonded really well with the kids and has made herself very comfortable. We are still jet lagged but hopefully in a few days we will be back on schedule. Thank you all for your prayers we really appreciate it. Please continue to pray for us as Amelia bonds with family and friends.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
So Long from Guangzhou China 1/22/09
Well, the end of our journey to China is upon us. It is hard to believe that we will leave the country once known to our daughter. So much has changed for both she and our family. We leave with mixed emotions but ready to be at home with our other children that we love and miss so much.
It is our desire to visit China again with our daughters Hope and Amelia and to share with them the wonderful memories that we have shared here.
Today was a fun-filled day of group photos in the lobby of the hotel, a trip to the Guanghzou Zoo which was very nice. After we returned from the zoo, it was time to visit the American Consulate. This is necessary so that we can finalize the adoption on the China side. We took an oath and after a few minutes we congratulated each other on being the parents of our children adopted from China.
There was more shopping and gathering as well as packing. We leave in the morning for the airport at 6:00 am. Bell boys just came to our room to take our luggage. It is now 9:30 pm our time. We are just about ready to go.....I guess. Long day tomorrow with a 5-6 hour layover in Shanghai :{ The only good part about this is that we will have other families with us to pass the time away.
Please pray for our flight and for Amelia she has not been feeling well the last few days and has an infection. Thankfully, we have an antibiotic that we started today. We finished up the night with dinner in the city with a few families that we have met along the way. Friendships for a lifetime, through adoption. A great time was had by all.
Dominic and a few of the youth went for their last night on the town to the local bowling alley. I think that they all had a great time here in China and experiencing life in a different way. Well, so long for now and we look forward to seeing our families and friends.
It is our desire to visit China again with our daughters Hope and Amelia and to share with them the wonderful memories that we have shared here.
Today was a fun-filled day of group photos in the lobby of the hotel, a trip to the Guanghzou Zoo which was very nice. After we returned from the zoo, it was time to visit the American Consulate. This is necessary so that we can finalize the adoption on the China side. We took an oath and after a few minutes we congratulated each other on being the parents of our children adopted from China.
There was more shopping and gathering as well as packing. We leave in the morning for the airport at 6:00 am. Bell boys just came to our room to take our luggage. It is now 9:30 pm our time. We are just about ready to go.....I guess. Long day tomorrow with a 5-6 hour layover in Shanghai :{ The only good part about this is that we will have other families with us to pass the time away.
Please pray for our flight and for Amelia she has not been feeling well the last few days and has an infection. Thankfully, we have an antibiotic that we started today. We finished up the night with dinner in the city with a few families that we have met along the way. Friendships for a lifetime, through adoption. A great time was had by all.
Dominic and a few of the youth went for their last night on the town to the local bowling alley. I think that they all had a great time here in China and experiencing life in a different way. Well, so long for now and we look forward to seeing our families and friends.
Follow up from Djuna's Heart post
We went to Shamian Island to walk around and shop yesterday. While we were there, we saw several western looking couples and we smiled and waved etc. One couple whom we have never met actually called Djuna by name and said dJuna, dJuna...Djuna looked back and said its Djuna and smiled. They were from Hawaii and recognized Djuna from her blog. It was amazing, Djuna really knows people all over the planet. We laughed and talked with them for a few minutes, Don and Brandy are here adopting a baby girl named Lily from Guangdong. They were really nice folks and they had their son with them also.
I still cannot believe it.
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