Free Day

 Today has been my favorite day so far in China. We had nothing to do today but just be together and get to know Emily a little bit better. We went on a few long walks, which was so nice! I don't know what happened, but we woke up to blue skies today! We haven't seen anything but smog since we arrived in Henan, and today the sky was blue! The air temp was cool, and being outside was just lovely!

 We found the most beautiful park just down the road from our hotel. I think we will spend a lot of time there. It was big and so super beautiful. Em slept most of the time.

 Our hotel is really nice. Really really nice. There men in coat tails at every door just waiting to open it for you. This is the lobby. The flowers are so pretty!

 Something in Emily changed today. I don't know what it is, but her eyes came alive today. Big eyes! When we were matched with her, we knew she had developmental delay, or delayed mobility. We didn't know exactly what to expect with that. She spent the last five months in a charity, with a lot of one on one help. We hadn't received any updates on her, and I was praying so much that she would at least be sitting up when we got her. When they handed her over to me two days ago, she was dead weight. She was exactly like a newborn. She couldn't hold her head, nothing. It scared me to death. Her eyes were empty, she flopped everywhere, and she only wanted to lay down. I seriously wondered if she was even in there. Where was that powerful spirit that I had felt. She came around a little bit after we got into our room. She started making eye contact, smiling and even laughing, but most of the time, her eyes were vacant. Yesterday was rough for her physically. She doesn't like having to be upright. It's hard for her. She really has no muscle tone at all. But she was upright the entire day. We ran non-stop.

Today, those eyes were bright! She held her head up all day, by herself. She rolled all over the bed and back. She sat up straight in the stroller, and held herself there for several minutes at a time, and she used her arms to play with a balloon. I can't believe the difference two days has made. This spicy Henan girl is going to be just fine. She's got some coping mechanisms that have kept her going for her whole life, and little by little those are turning into trust, and her will is getting stronger by the hour it seems like. She is going to shine!

Emily LOVES Gary! Many of the kids here will have nothing to do with their new mothers. They only want the Dad. I am so lucky that she likes me too, but she LOVES her Da! She looks for him, kisses his face about off, rolls over to him every chance she can, and stares into his eyes. He was feeding her and looking into her eyes and when he looked away, she would pull her head back until he came back to her, then she would give him the biggest smile, and keep drinking. When I'm feeding her, every time Gary would talk, she would look for him and smile so big. 

Today was great. This girl is making such progress every day, physically and emotionally. Heavenly Father has blessed us so much! We prayed and prayed that she would know we were coming for her, and that she would be prepared, and it could not have worked out any better! We are so very much in love with this girl. There is no question in my mind that she always was meant to be our daughter. I am so thankful that we listened, and that we came for her.

Zhumadian

 Today was super long! We started bright and early in the new stroller.  She slept all night and was very happy this morning.

 We went back to civil affairs and finalized our adoption. She's ours!! Then we hiked up 7 stories to a too small stuffy room where we had our adoption certificate notarized.

 We got to come home for just an hour, then 3 families, a guide, a driver, and 3 newly adopted babies climbed into a minivan and made the 3 hour trek to the babies orphanage city to apply for their passports. One of the weird things that I've noticed in China is no car seats. Anywhere. Babies are on laps in the front seat. Crazy. So off we went. The drive went well. It's odd with Emily not knowing what she likes or doesn't, or how to comfort her, or how she does on long long long car rides. She did well though. They all did. After we applied for the passports (all of 30 minutes for that long drive) we asked to go to the girl's orphanage. For whatever reason, they were not keen to take us there, but finally consented to letting us see the outside of it. It's in an obviously very poor part of town. It was an interested city all the way around. There were blocks and blocks of skyscrapers in some form of construction. All empty and abandoned. It was very dirty, with trash all over the streets and sidewalks, and not too many people or cars. Nothing like Zhengzhou.  Anyway, the orphanage was huge, pink, and nice. It was surrounded by gardens, and seemed peaceful. We saw the window of her room, which overlooked some giraffes sculptures in the garden. It was very emotional to go there. I didn't think it would be. There's a very lovely sculpture in front (this photo) of a woman and a baby. They told us the writing on the base said "mother's love". It was beautiful. We were all so grateful that China had a dozen fewer orphans today.

The drive home deserves a post of it's own, but as it happened today, It will get posted today! The babies were less than excited to be back in the van. So were the adults.  Gary brought strawberry filled oreos to share, and the baby in front of us loved them right up, then barfed them up all over her dad who was trying to keep his own lunch down as his wife hurried to clean her up. We were making the best of it when Emily decided that that would be the best time to completely flush her entire system!! There wasn't a spot on her that didn't have poo on it! Poor little dad in front of us was cracking jokes, and trying to keep positive. I've never laughed so hard. The van smelled like a sewer!! It was so funny! These families that we're traveling with are the best! It was a long nasty ride home, followed by showers all around, and an entire tub full of laundry. Yes, hand wash. It's like $6 per article of clothing to have it done.  

We're glad today is over. Tomorrow, we have nothing!! It will be nice. We are so thankful for this baby. We love her sooo much! She is getting stronger by the hour we feel like. She eats like a champ, and grinds her 4 teeth like it's her job! We have decided that she is most certainly turning 1 and not two. We asked the orphanage director today how old she was and she said "The doctor said she was younger too. The police record is what we have to go by." We'll have to sort that one out. love love love this baby!

Emily Amanda

Today was the best day ever!! I was almost too nervous to eat breakfast, the boy on the other hand, perfectly collected! There was so much nervous anticipation in the air, it was tangible. The government building where we would collect our children was only 15 minutes away from the hotel. When we arrived, there were already 2 children there. Our children came from 5 different orphanages all across Henan. We all cried when we saw the first two families love up their babies. Our girl was in the second set. I didn't recognize her with all of that hair!! It was so incredible to hold her. It was truly one of the happier moments of my life! It felt just the same as holding my other girls for the first time. How long we have waited for, and how much we have loved this girl. Finally, to be with her was amazing. She went equally well to both of us, and was smiley and laughed, and was so pleasant! She didn't cry at all!

She really came out a lot when we got her home. We put her in the tub and Gary got her laughing hard, and out loud. It just melted my heart! She laid down on the bed and put herself to sleep. It was so funny! She woke up and saw me there and her eyes got huge and she screamed!! It didn't even last 5 seconds, and she was smiling again.  She has been perfect tonight. She eats likes a champ, drinks her bottle beautifully, and is sooooo cuddly and happy. She loves kisses, smiles easily, and laughs out loud. I'll write more tomorrow. We have our orphanage visit and won't be back until quite late. I may not be able to post tomorrow, but I'll try.

 waiting to go in

 Our little girl

 So tired after her long drive to get to us!

 Her first smile

 All tuckered out!

We love this girl so much!

Zhengzhou

Sorry, no pictures today, but we will more than make up for it tomorrow when we get our girl! Today has been another day in the Twilight zone. We landed in Zhengzhou around noon and it was so foggy, you couldn't see the runway. As we taxi'd up to our gate, we could see the plane directly next to us, but not the one next to it. I was  regretting not packing my jacket as it looked quite cold outside. When we left the jetway, and entered the airport, I kid you not, it was foggy inside, and hot and totally muggy.  It turns out that all that "fog" was totally pollution!! We arrived at the hotel mid afternoon and it looked like early evening. You couldn't even see a hot spot where the sun should be, just thick white smoke. You can't see the tops of buildings, and you can only see about a block ahead of you. It doesn't smell like you would think it would, but many of the locals wear masks. It is unreal that people live this way. No sun, no moon or stars, not even sky! Unreal.  I took pictures, and might post them tomorrow.

We pick up our girl in the morning at 9:30. There are 12 of us picking up kids, 9 girls and 3 boys.  4 of them are first time parents, 2 are picking up their second Chinese child, 1 family is actually getting two kids, one in Zhengzhou, the other just outside Beijing. They are a fun group. It's going to be quite chaotic the next few days with all these new babies, and paperwork galore. We all have to travel to our children's various orphanages to apply for their passports. Our orphanage happens to be 2.5 hours away. Bummer! There are 3 other families going to our orphanage with us. It's going to be a day.

Everyone is anxious. Everyone is somewhat nervous. There is so much anticipation in the air, we can't sit still. It's a weird feeling. We all talk about our kids, their special needs (all are special needs), how we came on this journey... and on and on. It's all that's on our minds.  We got new updates on our kids today just as far as their schedules. Our girl's made us laugh. It said "she won't eat her rice until we sprinkle it with sugar." And she is supplemented with sugar water 3 times a day!!! I think if she has any teeth at all, they're going to be trashed! Our guide said "That is a very bad habit! You don't do that!"

We went as a group to WalMart today. That was funny. Everyone trying to figure out what we needed and what kind of formula to buy, and diapers, and juice. Everyone was offering suggestions about things we might need and want in the next coming days. I tell you, anticipation is running us right now. So, next post will probably have little writing as we will have our girl to take care of. We'll post a lot of pictures, and as much text as I can fit in.

We can't wait! One more sleep, and I don't think we'll get much!

China

China is a really cool place. There is so much history. With only two days in Beijing, we really run non stop.  We started quite early this morning and went to a Jade factory. It was ok. Then we went to the Great Wall. Holy Cow! The Great Wall of China is truly magnificent! It was so amazing. We hiked up for an hour, then back down. It was freakishly steep in some places, and by the time we got to the bottom, we were all wiped out completely! I loved it! It's difficult to describe how cool it really is. We left there and went to the 2008 Olympic Village. We saw the Bird's Nest, and the Magic Cube. There are some really beautiful sculptures there, loads of people, and tons of crazy food vendors. In the evening we went to a Chinese acrobat show. We saw 8 motorcycles in a little wire cage ball. Crazy. Of course a million 60 pound Chinese girls that fold themselves in half. And, if you're doubting that we saw a dozen girls on one bike all holding fans, you would be wrong. We totally saw that.

I'm anxious to get moving and get our girl. These days have been nice, and we're getting used to the time change, food, and people. We have people taking our pictures constantly. It's funny. We're all nervous and antsy to get our kids, and it's making everyone a little.... I can't explain it. We just want our kids already!! We've been working towards this end for months and months, a months! Let's get on with it already.

We fly to Zhengzhou in the morning, then one more sleep until we get our girl. We so can't wait!! 

Beijing

We arrived in China and started with a bang. We went to Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Old Beijing. It's an election year here, and the city is decorated  for it. There are these amazing sculptures of flowers all over the city. We went on a rickshaw ride there, and got to go into a local person's home. It was awesome. She had an amazing garden, and huge crickets in little cages. We are so super tired. Our group is really nice. We're still trying to figure everyone out, there are several families. There is very much anticipation among all of us to meet our girls. It's sooo close now. two more days.

On Our Way

Tonight is our last night in our own bed as our little family of 5! My emotions are running so thick right now, I can barely breath! My next post will be from Beijing! In less than a week, we will be a family of 6! I can't wait to get this little girl in our arms, finally!! I feel like she's been part of our family for such a long time already, but to hold her, and love on her, I truly can't wait!

We have the most amazing parents, family, and friends that are going to take care of our babies at home. It has been a lot more difficult to leave than I anticipated that it would. It's going to be great though.  I'll for sure post every day from China, and as many pictures as I can, with a shared laptop, and the ipad!

We cannot wait to share our girl and our experience in China. It's going to be amazing, I can tell.  It's like parenting in another dimension. You have no idea how amazing being a parent is until you become one. And I think we know that our adoption experience is going to be epic, but we can't understand it fully until we've been through it. Just 5 more days to baby girl #4!

love love