A Daddy's Thoughts....

Hello outside world!

Yes, Baba does exist….. he just doesn’t get to be on the computer because Mama posts at night. So he gets to read his latest Steven King novel and sleeeeeep! Lord knows I need it!

So here it is… I played it smart and hopped onto the laptop as soon as we walked into the room so Ohilda couldn’t absorb it again for the evening, and I told her it’s MINE for an hour and to go away! HA! No just kidding… but I did say I could use the time to say a few things to the Babas who will be coming to this beautiful country of China.

I don’t know how many of you future Baba’s go through our postings each day, so I’m gonna condense for you the things we’ve done and the things to expect. So Mamas out there go get your future Babas and tell em to read this post!! Because I’ve got some great tips for you!

But first of all, I just want to say that through all the little things that seem to drive me crazy.. ( especially the ‘statues’, (explanation coming soon ).. ask my mother in law! ) nothing compares to seeing that beautiful little girl whose pictures you’ve been looking at, and who’s videos you’ve been catching glimpses of for a year or more. When Anna Grace walked into the hallway as we were waiting for the elevator to open, my heart actually leaped! For a split second the world didn’t exist and my little girl and I were standing alone right there! She…. Is… ADORABLE!!

And her little giggle… man, I’m telling you, I’m going to be beating boys off of her with a stick! And even though she’s not spoken a word of English to me I’ve feel I’ve been with her from the day she was born. My life with her and the rest of my kids is going to be the reason God placed me here on this earth. But the one I miss the most is Amanda…. My little muttonhead. She’s my baby and I miss our true conversations and our wrestling matches. Amanda I’ll see you soon!! Give AJ a kiss for me!!

VIDEO CAMERAS AT THE READY!

Ok guys, like I said, here’s some tips for all of you husbands out there who don’t keep up with all the things you’ve been watching your wives run all over the place for!! She’s got all that under control, your job is to take video! DON’T MISS A THING! The wife will kill you! Ok maybe not, (because I’m still alive), and yet I must have had 5 times that something awesome we walked into that if I had the video camera at the ready would have been so cool, and oops! Missed again! We bought one of these mini DVD recorders that record directly onto the disks… very cool. BUT!!! I learned that from the time you power up the DVD player and get it ready for actually recording is about 5 secs. After those 5 seconds, your wife will be saying…” Did you get it ? Did you get it ? “ YIKES!!! And there’s nothing worse than saying…” Ummm… sort of…”, because she knows you missed it, and the recorder will only get the look on your wife’s face when you say that! Yes, have your video recorders fully charged and at the ready, like a Marine with his sword at his side, ready to snap to attention!

COFFEE??

If you drink coffee like I drink coffee (Most people have blood running through their veins, I have Maxwell House coffee) then do yourself a favor…. Bring a BIG COFFEE MUG!! A travel mug is best! Because here they serve you a coffee in a thimble! It’s a cup that’s about the size of a Nyquil medicine cup! GULP! It’s gone! ARGH!! This is my second time here, and it’s the second coffee cup I’ve bought… and it’s a beauty!! So if you’re a coffee drinker like me, bring a big travel mug! Just don’t fill it before the airport…. The FAA will absorb that too!


OUR GOTCHA DAY

Our “Gotcha Day” was awesome. Each time God played his silly tricks on us and had us see the kids as soon as we walked into the buildings (And yes… my video was at the ready… I didn’t miss a thing). But the pictures you’ve been seeing and the videos you’ve been getting pieces of are NOTHING compared to this moment. Anna Grace was so quiet and cautious…. And deep inside you know its going to be so hard for such a pretty little girl to… in a flash, realize her whole world is going to change, and the people she’s grown up with and has been intimate with are gone, and your heart breaks. But I can tell you guys with every fiber of my being that when she comes around and you watch that little China flower open before you, and she starts to see you as Mommy and Daddy, oh man! And when you take her back to your room and actually get her to fall asleep, and you’re looking at this little girl who you’ve flown halfway around the world is right here with you, sleeping peacefully, you’ll just stare and stare and stare because you just can’t believe that she’s yours! Every crazy thing you’ve been through is so worth this one moment. For this trip it was doubly spectacular, because I have my first adopted son, Kai, here also. So they were sleeping side by side… and I thought my heart was gonna burst!

THE STATUES!!

This is the one thing that is so eerie, but if I didn’t give you guys a warning, you’d probably hunt me down and shoot me. As you walk around town, you’re going to notice that EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT YOU! “ Is it my hair? Is my hat on straight? Did I leave the room WITHOUT MY PANTS?? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?? “, you wanna scream! My mother in law and I have have been working on this subject very hard, just for you guys, and we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the STROLLERS!! Yes, its not the kids, it’s the strollers! We had one person ask us why these kids are riding in these things and not walking! Hmmmm….. maybe because THEY’RE BABIES!! Babies that weigh a TON in the hot humid weather after about 10 minutes! HA HA! But this has nothing to do with the statues.

The statues (my mom in law and I made this up… it fits) are the older women who will stand there and stare at you and your kid. These older Chinese women will stand there… not for a few minutes, but FOREVER!! And they will stare and stare and stare until they build up the ability to speak to you in Chinese, in which you probably won’t be able to answer. Don’t be intimidated! She just needs to know how is it you and this child are together!! So here’s a tip!!! Ask your guide how to say the word "ADOPTED"!! It’s … well… I can’t spell it in Chinese, but the word sounds like you stepped on a cat’s tail.. lin-MEOW!! So just say “ LINMEOW! BABA! MAMA! LINMEOW!! BABA!! ME BABA!! Please spare my life and don’t attack me! “ So don’t panic when the statues arrive! My wife says they call them the clothes police…. There’s no way around them except to stay in your room. And you can’t do that!

I had a moment I’d like to share with you. My Mom In Law wanted to shop for fabric for my sis in law here in Hefei, so off we went out into the public, to an area that’s like a outdoor mall. Open shops everywhere, no cars driving through… very nice shopping area. But I digress. Anyways, here we are at this fabric shop, and my wife AND my mom in law AND my guide go in and shop, leaving me outside with the kids AND the dang strollers from hell....All by myself. After 2 minutes, I could see them from a mile away, the statues arriving. The next thing I know I have 15 ( yes… 15! ) statues standing round me. And not one of them was speaking to me…. Just STARING at the kids and me!

All of a sudden, someone flipped a switch, and all 15 were arguing with me in Chinese, and I had not a clue what they were saying! As it was picking up momentum, a middle-aged well dressed man tapped me on the shoulder and said in broken English “Are they twins?” See, here in China, twins are very good luck, and Kai and AnnaGrace look so much alike! So I said “ No no no….. he’s from Yiwu, she’s Hefei! “ “Ahhhhhhh… aha hah hah ahha….” And that ended it. The crowds dissipated and I was breathing again. But you want to talk about one panicked American there!

Well I have to wrap this up, my wife wants the laptop AGAIN….. sheesh! I hope I was able to help you guys out a little bit anyways! There’s so much more, but those are the ones that came that I felt you’d notice right away! Oh one more thing! Don’t be standing alone with your kids and your mother in law….. one set of statues thought we were husband and wife, and I thought the wrath of God was coming our way until they understood she was the baby’s PO-PO!! HAHAHAHA!

Take care and God bless all of you who do God’s work each and everyday!! Because adoption is the most beautiful act God ever created just for us!!

Kai’s, AJ’s, Amanda’s, Adam’s, Tito’s, Nicole’s and now.. ANNA GRACE’S BABA!!


Scott

Pictures to hold you over....

I truly have not had a waking moment where I can find the time to post the details. We are having good and bad moments. Today we went to the park and she cried all the way there while I held her and calling out for "YeYe" (grandfather), which is what she called her foster father. My heart was breaking that all I could do was hold her and try to reassure her that it would be alright.

Some moments are glorious and her smile makes my heart glow. I wish I could freeze those moments in her mind and erase the very sad ones.

Here are some pictures of our Adoption Day yesterday, our visit to the countryside and visiting the Hefei zoo this morning.

Tomorrow we visit the orphanage and her foster family. Please pray for our sweetheart. May God bring peace into her heart and that she realize that we love her endlessly.

The first time ever I held you.

This is a short video clip of the first time I held our sweet baby girl. This was after over and hour of coaxing and trying make her feel comfortable.

You can watch it by clicking HERE.

UPDATE: PLEASE RETRY THE LINK. I HAVE MOVED IT FROM GOOGLE TO DROPSHOTS.

Anna Grace Is Ours Forever!

I am so sorry that it's taken this long to post. It has been an amazing, yet incredible day. Our beautiful and sweet girl is in our arms forever. I have received all 50+ emails asking for details and pictures...so here they are!


I do understand if you just ignore the details and scroll down to see the beautiful Miss Anna Grace (presently called FengQin - pronounced fong chin).


I started waking everyone when the 5:30 wakeup call came in. By 7 a.m., we were showered, dressed and out the door for breakfast. We are staying the Hefei Hilton, which is very nice.


After breakfast we came upstairs to pack the necessary items to take to the Civil Affairs office with us. We then met our guide at 9 a.m. sharp and were on our way. I was beyond excited. That drive, now for the second time in my life, is something that is pretty indescribable. To know that you are on your way to be presented a child you have only adored thru pictures and those dreams will now be realized.


It was a short 15 minute drive from the hotel for us to get there. The building is a large 20 story modern building with two entrances. The rear entrance has a gate that you can go into the parking lot and there is the front entrance right off of the sidewalk with a security card. Both entrances meet in the same place, the elevators.


We arrived there, thru the rear entrance, at about 9:15 a.m.. I asked our guide if the babies were there yet, and I was told that they would be arriving at 9:30. We got out of the car with Kai, his stroller, our backpack, lots of cameras and an armful of gifts. As we are waiting for the elevator, our guide suggest to us that we take one last picture of our family before the big change. So, we pull out the cameras and begin to pose while she takes the picture.


All of a sudden, thru the opposite door we had entered, a nanny came in with a little guy who was just hysterical crying. I immediately knew that he was being adopted. Then more nannies started coming in. All of a sudden, a lady I recognized from pictures walks towards the glass entry doors. She was the assistant director of Hefei SWI. Holding her hand, was the most adorable little girl. She was wearing an orange ruffled shirt with a butterfly embroidered on it, and white and orange matching capri pants. She wore socks and walked in squeaking away with cute, little, red sandal squeaky shoes! I yell out, and let me reiterate the word yell, "THERE SHE IS!!!" My Mom jumped about 10 feet but I wanted them to see her in the midst of the commotion of nannies, families, guides and babies in this small lobby waiting for the elevator doors to open.


I immediately head in her direction. The AD (assistant director) kneels next to FengQin and our guide tells her that I am her Mama. The AD then tells Anna Grace to come with me and Anna Grace looks at her like she's lost her mind. No way, no how. The elevator door opens and the AD heads inside with Anna Grace in tow. We all follow into the extremely crowded elevator. Scott has this huge backpack on and is pushing Kai on the stroller. He stands at the door of the elevator where I had already secured my spot next to Anna Grace and the AD and says, "I'll take the next one". I think, "The hell you are!" And grab the stroller and drag into the already bursting at the seams elevator while Scott follows shoving its passengers within inches of each other. It was only 2 floors....they'd survive.

We all bail out of the elevator and head into a room filled with long desks and chairs. Everyone finds a private spot to sit in around their child and their nannies. Anna Grace's nanny did not go, only the AD. The AD sits and then places Anna Grace on her lap. I kneel before her and gently reach out to rub her arm. She pushes my hand away. The AD pulls out a cookie that Anna Grace had in a little package and unwraps it for her. She starts munching away, but no doubt, keeping an eye on the looney woman who keeps invading her space. The AD is wonderful in telling her that I am her Mama and we point to Baba, GeGe, and PoPo. No dice. She wants nothing to do with any of us. I then reach into the diaper bag and pull out the little Asian doll. She holds it for about 30 seconds and declares it is not worth going to us for. She puts it down. This went on for about 30 minutes. We tried everything and she would just break down hysterically at the thought of being told that I was going to hold her.

So, the AD hands me a candy and tells me to open it and give it to her. I do. Then she signals for me to pick her up. Oh my Lord. The screams could've been heard in Florida. It broke my heart. She was literally shaking in fear. Her body trembled. I just couldn't hold her like that. I hand her back to the AD and thank her but tell her that we prefer to wait until she is more comfortable. We continue to try or another 15 minutes. Anna Grace remains firm in her conviction that she wants nothing to do with us. I even moved away and let Scott try. Nothing. She would stare at Kai, but no interaction whatsoever. When she wasn't hysterical, it was just a stoic face.

Finally the AD needs to leave. She signals for the guide to entertain FengQin while she grabs her purse and slips out. The guide begins speaking to her in Chinese and all of a sudden when the AD grabs her purse to leave, Anna Grace again screams at the top of her lungs, her body lunging towards the direction that the AD had gone. The guide picks her up and trys to comfort her. The scenario remains the same, except that now it's not the AD, it's the guide she won't leave to go with us. So, we had to make a decision because we had tried for over an hour. Paperwork needed to be completed and almost everyone was gone. The guide said, "Take her into the hallway and try and distract her. I will stay here." I tell Scott, who is videotaping this entire thing I am going to hold her and go into the hallway. He heads out in front of me. The guide peels Anna Grace off of herself and hands her to me and the wailing and grieving cries resonate throughout the entire floor.

I remember when I received Kai, a little girl that was also from his orphanage was pretty much the same. Being taken to the window helped calm her. I look around and notice that at the end of the long hallway there is a window. So, I head in that direction. We get to the window and after a couple of minutes the screams begin to subside and are now replaced by sad, deep sobs interchanged with heavy sighs. She was literally shaking like a leaf. Her entire little body was shiverying and I could feel her little heart pounding against me. I continue to whisper to her in Chinese that it's ok, while rubbing her back. She calms down a bit. I then walk away from the window and start pacing the hallway. I realize she is looking into every open doorway searching for a familiar face. So, I sit on the floor of the hallway against a wall. I straddle her legs around my waist, having her face me and I pull her close. We sit there while I rock her. Her sobbing stops and is now just the deep sighing. We sit there for about 20 minutes. Just she and I. I pray over her and begin to sing. I can tell she is exhausted, but she won't go to sleep.

My Mom had been watching Kai. She comes over and kneels next to us. I ask her to see if Anna Grace wants to go with her. So, my Mom reaches out her arms to her. Anna Grace pulls back and tightens her hold around me. A good sign. We stayed there for another 10 minutes, then I get up and head back into the room where by now, everyone had left except for our guide and us. She sees the guide and begins some quiet crying again, but nothing compared to before. I continue to whisper to her that it is ok and rub her arms and back. She quiets down again.

We, finally after almost 2 hours, leave the Civil Affairs office. We stop at the store to buy some diapers and some snacks, etc. While we are walking thru the store we get stopped 3 times by locals asking if Anna Grace and Kai are twins. Anna Grace is about 1/2 inch taller than Kai. Their resemblance is pretty astounding. I believe she is heavier than Kai. She just fits into 18 months clothes and is wearing about 24 months, which fortunately is what I brought. Her feet are pretty big and she is pretty tall for a 2 year old.

After the shopping, we go into Pizza Hut and have some lunch. She puts down a slice of pizza and a cream of chicken soup. She still remains very stoic. Scott and Kai start fooling around and giggling and laughing. She watches every move that we make. I start playing with her and she tries really hard not to crack a smile. She is usually succesful. When she can't hold it, she will then turn her head away so that I can't see that she is smiling.

We finished our meal and head back to the hotel. Due to my poor sleep last night, and the mental exhaustion that we've all been through, I suggest we all nap. I lay next to her and Kai on her other side. I begin to rub her head, and within minutes she is sound asleep. She slept for over two hours.

We then got up and headed towards a park just a couple of blocks from the hotel. Lotus Park. It is a beautiful park filled with lakes and amusement rides. The kids are both in their strollers. Again we get stopped and asked if they are twins. I have a picture of them taken on a swing and we go to an old playground for them to go on the slide. The stoic look is a bit more relaxed by now, especially when she slid down the 10 ft. slide with her Baba.

One poignant moment today was when we were at the park. We were strolling thru the beautiful gardens and I hear a very faint sound. I tell my Mom and Scott to stop speaking a second, and we realize that it is Anna Grace....singing. It was the sweetest thing. I leaned down to listen closer, but she stopped. She didn't sing anymore after that.

We came back to the hotel, and had dinner at the Noodle Shop on the 2nd floor. I gave them both a bubble bath, which she again was not too crazy about. No tears, but just not happy. We then gave Baba his Father's Day gift and then I put them both to bed. Kai fell asleep on our bed and I moved him to the crib. She fell asleep in my arms, clutching her dolly. I will keep her in our bed in case she awakens. I want to be right there.

She truly is a gift and a blessing. She seems so very sweet. I especially love how she looks at Scott when he carries her. There is no doubt that she will have him wrapped around her finger, if she hasn't already. A few times today he has out of the total blue said out loud, "She is so sweet and beautiful". I have wondered many times today what her true personality is like.

Kai is very sweet with her, although for the most part, not too interested. He has shared his toys willingly. I think they will grow up being great friends. She loves to see him up to his antics, and as usual, he loves the attention. :)

We are so very thankful to our Lord for leading us to Anna Grace. Her being a part of our life has made us complete.

Enjoy the pictures. I will try and put up some video of the gotcha moment. If I can't get it up tonight, I will do so in the morning. Again, thank you all for your prayers. She is doing well and we hope with each passing day she realizes we are here forever and love her unconditionally.

I'm in labor!!!

OMG!! It's 5:15 a.m. here. I really thought the last post I wrote would be the last one before us seeing Anna Grace. But, I've tossed and turned to the point that I think I've rubbed the threads out of the sheets. Kai, my Mom and Scott are all snoring away. I wish I could scream to everyone..."WAKE-UP!!! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOO CLOSE TO HOLDING ANNA GRACE?" UGH! What's the matter with these people? Or should I be asking, "What's the matter with me?"

I am not at all nervous or anxious. I am excited. Excited in the same exact way that I was excited when I was in labor with my other children and I had FINALLY reached 10 centimeters (epidurals helped...so no pain) and they said, "Now, we're going to push. In a little while now you will be holding your baby." The funny thing is that I feel like the doctor is not in the hospital yet so they don't let you push! heh. Ok. I must sound like I've lost it. But I'm so ready.

I still have gifts to put together and my pants to iron, but I don't want to start making noise quite yet. Trust me, soon!

As I lay in bed, I keep thinking what should we do first when we see her? Should I give her the little Asian doll I brought her? No...food! Food is good. I think I will come in with Oreos and cheerios in hand, and then reach out the doll. So many planned scenarios going thru my brain. But then I remember being told that Kai was on the 6th floor and we walk into the building and he's smack in front of me. Every plan flew out the window.

Ok. It's now 5:25. I REALLY can't wait any longer. I'm gonna turn on a couple of lights and I know Kai will be the first one up. I will let him do the rest. :)

::DEEEEEP BREATHS::::: Will she be wearing bows or barettes? Will she be in a dress or pants? ::KEEP BREATHING OHILDA:: Will she smile at us at all?

Can you tell I'm killing time till the clock strikes 5:30? I figure it's a nice round figure to wake someone. HA!

I'm really gonna try not to cry too, when I see her. What if she calls me Mama? OMG!! Then I know the damns will break and I will probably shove Scott in front of me!

Ok. It's 5:29, considering the time it takes to publish this, it will be 5:30. Thank you all for listening to my rambles. GOTTA GO PUSH.....THE DOCTOR HAS ARRIVED!!!!!

Next post will be with my daughter next to me. (God willing).

UPDATE: Sorry....just had to post this. I am falling over laughing. As soon as I clicked publish, the phone rang!! It was our wake-up call. Scott thought that I might over sleep so he asked for a 5:30 call. Aaahhh....men! Ya gotta love 'em. Off to shower.

The Best Father's Day Gift!!

First, I want to wish a very happy Father's Day on this incredibly special day to all of the Fathers out there, including my own very special Daddy whom I am spending the first Father's Day ever, away from this year, but for a very good reason and his new granddaughter is probably the best Father's Day gift he will ever receive. I know that Scott is dying with anticipation to get his "gift". :)

Before I go into receiving Anna Grace, I want to quickly recap the day yesterday. I say quickly because I fell asleep at about 10 p.m. and now it is 1:00 a.m. I REALLY need more than 3 hours of sleep. I have not been feeling well. My stomach has been bothering me a bit. PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS TO PASS. I want to be able to enjoy every second with our new daughter without being ill.

Ok, back to YiWu. After my last post, we went to breakfast and then met our guide in the lobby. We told him about our change of plans and he was fine with it. We took Kai over to the People's Park across the hotel and we strolled through the park, attracting onlookers every where we went. I did see so many beautiful children, and with each little girl I saw, my heart beat stronger and louder. My almost every thought now is being consumed with the first meeting of our baby girl.

At the park, there were several groups scattered throughout singing and playing instruments. It was beautiful. We'd stop and film it and Kai watched with intensity. At one point, we were approached by an older lady who knelt down before Kai and he immediately hid his face. I asked him not to be rude and to say hello, but he refused. Then she kept looking at me over and over and saying, "Pa? Pa?" I had no clue, since we were on our own what she was saying. Later at the hotel, Tony explained that she was asking if Kai was scared. I'd say he probably was. This journey has brought much closure for him also and with each situation that arises, he realizes that we are his family and that he has nothing to fear, we will never, ever leave him.

After visiting the park, we went back to the hotel and met Tony and Mr. Jia and Kai's entourage of bellboys and desks clerks. It was funny because people were asking who was "Kai-Kai" and then looking around since all you heard in the large room was "Kai-Kai, Kai-Kai". When this first occurred, Kai felt like a celebrity and hammed it up. Now he is getting used to the celebrity status and just sticks to those he knows.

We checked out of the hotel, loaded our bags and headed to the Christian church. Ralph, thank you for the email advising us of it. It ended up being the "Buddist temple" we had passd with Tony. heh. We arrived at about 9:45. The main church was a huge, about the size of two movie theaters, hall. And it was standing room only. The service was in Chinese. We asked our guide to inquire about the English service and we were led to the third floor of another building.

As we walked up the third flight of stairs, we heard singing. It didn't sound like English to me, but everyone said yes and we entered the room. It was a classroom with a 4 person group up front; two singing, 1 girl on keyboard and one man playing guitar.

The service was beautiful and I received yet another affirmation. One of the praise and worship songs we sang was "Shout to the Lord", which is the "lullabye" that I sing Kai and AJ to sleep with and will be singing every night to Anna Grace.

A few minutes after the praise and worship ended they asked new comers to please stand and introduce themselves. We did and we were able to praise God out loud and thank him for the journey and for our beautiful children. It was so heartwarming to be in the midst of so many children of God from all over the world, praising and worshipping one God. It affirmed that we are one body in Christ. The singing group was from Nigeria, the pastor is from South Africa and there were Germans, of course Chinese, a lady from New Zealand and Americans in His midst. It was beautiful.

At the end of the service, I had a young girl, probably in her early twenties come to me and tell me she was from Hefei, in Anhui province, where Anna Grace is from. I could not help but wonder if that is what her birthmother looked like. It was a wonderful service and we are so happy we went.

After the service we boarded the van loaded with our luggage and took the 2 hour drive to Hangzhou airport so that we could head to Hefei.

When we arrived at the airport, there was a 4 hour wait. We ended up eating the worst meal of our trip. We ordered $5 US bread and jam sandwiches and Scott ordered a $7US apple juice, which we have not let him forget. All in all, the meal at the airport cost over $55 and was horrible!!!! We just had to laugh.

It was finally time to check-in, pass security and go to our gate. Shortly afterwards we board a bus that takes us to our plane waiting on the tarmac. It was a small 26 passenger puddle jumper that smelled of years of sweat on the worn plane seats. It was ok. We would manage and it was only an hour.

We arrive at the airport, which was not much bigger than YiWu's airport and our guide, Doris, is waiting. A young girl with a sweet smile. We were originally expecting "Mr. Ding", who was a seasoned guide, but we have heard that he has since moved to a management position and now assigns the guides. Doris crosses the yellow customs line to assist us as we try to expain to the person at the one carousel that we are missing our stroller. She intercedes and a half hour later, the stroller is found and we are on our way.

Now, I can get to the part of my feelings of being in Hefei and knowing not only that my beautiful daughter is less than 30 minutes from where we are, but that in a matter of hours now, she will be forever ours. She will be Anna Grace Fengqin Bombardier. I can't wait. The thought of being the mother to three very little ones terrifies me at times, but I feel that God has equipped me and that both, Scott and I, are on the path that we are meant to be on. Then, I look at her sweet face in the pictures that I have. I think about how everything in her life is going to change. For those that have not adopted, when you receive your child, please keep that in mind. EVERYTHING in that child's life will change. From the food, to the smells, to the people, to the language, to the culture, to even the type of clothes that they wear. They will be made anew and leave everything they have ever known behind within minutes of being walked into a government office or a hotel room to meet their new parents. I cannot even fathom how scary that must be.

Before I close with my message to Anna Grace, I want to thank everyone reading for your support, prayers, emails and comments. It is overwhelming to see how many people are following our journey and I have not felt alone for one moment since we arrived in China. I have heard quite a few times from emails and comments that this has been a spiritual journey and I could not agree more. I have seen Jesus in so many faces that I can no longer count. I feel like I'm on a retreat, but instead of being still....I am retreating to His world and He is our tour guide. He has led us to the very places He has wanted us to be and I pray that we have been obedient in what He has asked of us. Thank you all again for walking down this path with us.

Our guide is meeting us in the hotel lobby at 9 a.m. and Anna Grace should be in our arms by 9:30 p.m., EST. Please continue to pray for Anna Grace, and also for Kai, that he accept his Mei-Mei with as much love as we accepted him into our arms. We are blessed to have each and every one of our children.

Amanda, AJ, Tito, and Adam....

We are just hours away from meeting your sister. I hope you are all as excited as we are. I can just envision her joining into the chaos and craziness that we call our home, and loving every minute of it. We were told she is very introverted, but then again so was Kai and we could not have a more social butterfly now. May she feel the love that you are sending through the miles.

I miss you guys so very much!! Tito, happy Father's Day, sweetheart!

I love you all as much as the whole wide world.....and back again,

Mom

*************************************************

My sweet Anna Grace,

In less than 8 hours from now, I will be before you, looking into those beauiful, almond shaped eyes and hopefully kissing those precious rosebud lips. Nine months ago, you were just a dream. One that I didn't know would ever come true. We were told that you would belong to someone else, but our Lord knew you would be ours before He even created the earth. We just had to continue to walk on faith and allow him to lead the way. He did, and that is the reason we are here now, just hours from holding you for the very first time.

There are so many things that I want for you out of this life. But more than anything material in this world, we want you to learn the unconditional love that your Heavenly Father has for you. That same love was given to Him by His Blessed Mother, and we shall give to you now. We are honored to be blessed with you and will love you always. You are no longer a little girl in an orphanage in Hefei, you are a daughter, a sister, a niece, a granddaughter and I am sure you will be a friend to many. Always follow your heart and do what you feel is right, regardless of what the world around you tells you. God will never, ever let you down and if you are obedient, He will keep His promises. We are a living testimony to that because here we are, waiting to be blessed with the most beautiful little girl in China.

As I told your brother before we picked him up. We are now a family, and as a family we will make it together through every struggle and challenge that you are faced with. And when the cross becomes to hard to bear, we let it go and let God carry it for us.

Your Baba, Po-Po, Ge-Ge and I are filled with anticipation as the hours count down. I can't sleep because the thoughts of your beautiful face fill every corner of my mind arousing my senses to the pont that I could almost smell your hair and feel your soft skin. It is only hours now, my little one. Hang in there. Your wait has come to an end. It is now your turn and you will no longer have to see your friends leave with their forever families while you are left behind. You are front and center now, and will remain that way for life, along with your precious other siblings.

I love you. May you be dreaming this very moment of your Mama and Baba surrounding you with love.

Forever your,

Mama

So much to say!!!

It is now 3 a.m. here. I fell asleep with Kai at 7:30 p.m. (that was the lastest I could hold out). My guys are snoring behind me, which is great because it allows me to gather my thoughts from this day.

After my last posting, I was floating on air!! I woke the guys and we met downstairs with our guide. We all hopped on the bus and he said we were going out to the "far" countryside where we would meet with elder farmers and visit a small village in a farming community.

We drove about an hour in the same direction we had started, except this time we headed in a different direction. Don't ask. I just sat there and watched us pass water buffalo, little shops, fields and fields of crops and rice and kept pinching myself. We are in China!!!!! Gosh, as I write those words, my eyes tear up. I am so incredibly filled with emotion. Ok...deep breaths. I am running on battery for the laptop since Scott had packed most of it and I have to get thru this as quickly as possible, and you all know me and details. :)

Going back to the van. We traveled for about an hour. This time, my previous visions were most on target. We bounced in our BUICK bus down the dirt paths, entertwined by bits and of what used to be a road. We were obviously heading up a mountain. The curves and twists made my motion sickness kick in, but I managed to focus on my breathing and pulled out my Seabands. It also helped that the landscape was a majestic splendor of lush, green mountains surrounded by lakes and dotted by small fishing boats with fisherman casting their nets. It looked like something out of a movie.

We continued up the mountain side until we arrived at a small village. There we got out and although we received a few stares, for some reason, it was not as obvious at when we are in the city. Kai was put on the stroller and immediately, Mr. Jia came and took off with him. It REALLY made me nervous because as we were videotaping and just walking thru the same shacks and broken down 1 room homes with dirt floors, he had turned the corner and taken off with him. Fortunately, Scott was closer and saw this and bolted around the corner with him. It is amazing how those two have hit it off. Mr. Jia loves children and is truly a child at heart, with a Nascar driving degree!! Kai senses that "kid" in him and goes with it! The two exhaust me.

I will stop here one second to just mention that Kai is doing great. I think a little too great, sometimes. He is non-stop energy and we are having a difficult time settling him down when "quiet times" approach. I totally understand that the time change, the language, the food (which he being such a good eater is having not much to do with), and the people are all "new" to him again. His attachment to us is definitely secure. Thank you, Jesus!!! He pretty much sticks to us and to Mr. Jia. He will go with Tony on ocassion, but that's it. He wants the security of his Mama and Daddy!!!!

I digress, again. Back in the village, we see women or men sitting in dark rooms which stand for shops. No light, but yet there is electricity. I am imagining because it is daytime they feel there is no need for it. The shops consists of food, both already prepared and small groceries. Behind each shop there are alleys with buildings, small buildings behind them. Not many windows. As we are walking up this alley, to our right is a river with a wall behind it behind fixed and then more fields for as far as we could see. Now, I seem to see dogs everywhere. :) The day was warming up so they lay on the streets or in the shadows of the alleys to keep cool.

We finally get to the top of the hill and we gather around this small doorway. Three older men are on the steps seated outside. I see Mr. Jia give them 20 RMB, which is equivalent to less than $3. I ask where we are, and Tony informs me that we are in a small YiWu museum from the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, we could not video or take pictures inside. The "tour" lasted maybe 5 minutes. It consisted of 5 rooms, some bar, some with incredible woodwork engraved on the ceilings and doors. These rooms surrounded a courtyard. For those that have been to China, you can compare it a miniature scaled Forbidden city, without the renovations. The wood was evidently exposed to the seasons and weather beaten. But the beauty of the work done was something that could not be erased by the thousands of years of rain and sun.

We left there and began to head back around the corner to where our car was parked. There really wasn't much to see, except for the interaction with the people. that I just loved. I saw a few children, here sadly, they were mostly boys. I did see a lady pulling a cart behind her bicycle. She saw me and came up to me because I had my camera in hand. I then noticed that seated in the cart was an adorable little girl. Her face dirty, nose runny, but even with that her beauty made you gasp. I pulled out my camera and spoke to her as she stared intently. Her mother or grandmother, since they usually care for the children while the parents work, quickly tried fixing her hair and nudging her to smile for the camera. I spend a few minutes there since there was no guide to interpret, smile and move on.

I walk by a dark little store. In this store there are a man, a woman, and a small little boy, (maybe 2 years old) seated behind the counter. Again, I am so in love with these children, and he was just precious. The family was not smiling so I was not sure if I should approach or not, but my gut tells me to say hello, "Ni Hao". Then all of a sudden huge smiles break out on the parents' faces. My sign to move forward. I kneel before the little boy whose mother is pushing him towards me. He shyly tries to hide behind her, in which he succeeds, but not before I was able to take a couple of pictures. I so wish I knew that I would have been more prepared and brought candy for these children. Again, with no interpreter, I stay for another couple of minutes nodding and smiling as they are speaking to me as if they've known me forever and I wave goodbye and leave.

We all finally reach the van and head back out. I notice that we are going back in the same direction and figure we are heading back to the hotel. But then we turn off on a different road. This one had a lot of brush on either side, which kept scraping against the car. The dirt path seems to not have been traveled by car very much. At the end of the path, there is a clearing and then we head towards the same time of small shacks we had just visited. We park close to them. There were no shops here, only a few small buildings, with rusted tins roofs, strapped down and moldy walls surrounded by dirt alleys.

Again, I ask, '"Where are we going now?" Tony says, "Mr. Jia would like you to meet his mother." My heart broke. This young man who was so filled with life and who for the short 3 days I have spent with him has never not been wearing a smile, lived in these conditions. We were honored that we were worthy enough to meet his family. I asked who was here. Tony explained since Mr. Jia's english is so poor, that his father had passed away. and that his brother worked in a bigger city and it was just Mr. Jia and his mother living here. He was the provider.

We continue to walk downhill and turn off to the right. We enter this vey small tin roofed home. It was obvious that when it rains, water runs down the sides of the wall because it was very humid in the home and the smell of must filled the air. There was a small broken couch to my right. No cushions and a piece of plywood to sit on. The even tinier kitchen had a cooktop and a sink. Behind it was a small room filled with pieces of wood, obviously for fire and dead palm froms. He then asked us to step into the next room. There, he pulled out some rusted little aluminum seats and wiped them clean for us. He insisted we sit. I was so moved by the actions of this young man in making us feel welcome to his home. We sat in the a circle on the little stools. Behind us was a full size mattress covered by a large mosquito net that was held up on all 4 corners with strings from the surrounding walls. Mr. Jia leaves the room. I ask Tony where his Mother is, and he is said, "She works in the field behind the house. Mr. Jia went to get her and to bring you some peaches."

A few minutes later. In walks this older woman. The many years of sun in her face had obviously taken its toll on her skin. She was very wrinkled, with a couple of teeth missing, but a smile on her face that made the dim room glow. She immediately started speaking in very loud Chinese. Tony translated that she said she was so happy to have us in her home. Mr. Jia then walks in with a basket full of green peaches. We at first thought they were apples. She heads to the small kitchen behind him. Then, she comes back in the room with a bucket filled with some sort of (I was told the name but could not capture it) prepared, tamale looking treats. They were wrapped in wet lotus leaves and held together by string. She reaches into the bucket and immediately starts passing them out. I politely refuse, as does my Mom and Scott. My heart feels so bad, that I just couldn't do that. I reached out and took one and thanked her. She smiles then bends down and grabs another from the bucket and start quickly unraveling it, all while speaking at what seemed to be record speeds. She then hands the small package to Kai and tells him to eat it. I take it from him and peel off the lotus leaves.

(By the way, it's 4:10 a.m. and now I have a wide awake Kai playing by my side...heh).

Inside, there is very sticky rice. I ask Tony what is in it and he says, "rice and sugar". I take a bite. Very bland, but I guess it's filling when you have nothing to eat. Scott then agrees to try some and we have Kai try some. She smiles again as we tell her it is very good. She then starts passing out the green peaches and gives us a rusted peeling knife to scrape the peels off. It wasn't the fact that it was food we didn't eat, it wasn't the fact that the place was falling apart, it wasn't the fact that the utensils would be something found abandoned in a field....it was the fact that this woman, this family LITERALLY has NOTHING and between she and her son, couldn't find enough to give us! They were both scurrying around offering all that they had to make us feel welcome. Their actions completely humbled us. It reminded me of the scripture of Mary and Martha. If I could have wiped her feet at that moment I would have.

I kept asking Tony to thank her for us. That we were so honored to be her guests. She smiled that beautiful, toothless smile again. I also told her that she should be very proud of her son. She has done a very good job raising him. She proudly reached over to her youngest son and rubbed his head. These people were amazing. I know I've used that word 100x, but I can't seem to find another word to describe them. They are filled with humility and humbleness. They offer you all they have, when they have nothing. Yet, we...or let me not generalize, I have so very much and can't bring myself to give everything that I have. I have learned so much on this journey, from these people. God has melted my heart and is remolding it. I pray that he continue to humble me and lead me to the work that He wants me to do.

We begin to gather our belongings to leave and in again walks Mr. Jia's mother. This time with a small bag. She quickly begins to fill the bag with the leftover lotus treats and the peaches. Mind you, they brought out about 10 peaches for 4 people! She then leans over to Scott and pushes the bag to him, while Tony explains that she wants us to have them as a gift from her. My heart is just about breaking. I know that she obviously needs this food so much more than we do, and yet it would be an insult not to accept. We humbly thank her again over and over for her generosity. She again smiles widely.

As we walk into the sunlight from the dimly lit room, we ask if we could take a picture with she and her son. She shyly agrees. Another treasured memento for us to have. We then give her a hug and thank her and begin the walk up the dirt path towards the car.

Normally what I am going to mention is not something that I would say but again, I want to journal for my children so that they can someday see how their actions can mean a thousand words, and how humbleness and humility are one of the best qualities that we can be graced with.

As we are walking up the hill, I ask Scott to give me some money for her. He hands me his backpack and I reach out and take the money out. We all get into the car. "Mrs. Jia", as I call her now, is standing beside Tony as we are preparing to leave. I walk over to Tony and I grab Mrs. Jia's hand and place the rolled up bills in her hand. She looks down. I close her palm so that she could not see how much it was, but she has already realized it was money. She hesistates and shakes her head. I turn to Tony, while still holding her palm closed, and tell him to please tell her that we insist. That it is a gift from us and it would be our honor for her to accept. I know the Chinese people are very proud and I expected her immediate reaction of saying no. But once Tony translated, she understood and tears streamed down her eyes. I give her a big hug and ask God to bless her and her son. We get in the car and drive away with my heart feeling like a raisin. This journey has been so much more than just bringing home a daughter.

Our family with Jia and his Mother.

Green peaches and lotus treats

The countryside
Building a wall by the river
A sweet boy playing with rocks on a bridge

The little boy in the shop at the first village

The small kitchen in Jia's house.

We returned to the hotel after our visit to Jia's house. I then napped for an hour while Scott and Kai went to explore our hotel. At 6:00, my Mom, who had also napped, joined us and we went to eat at the hotel restaurant. The food was excellent.

We all then headed back to our rooms where right when I was ready to hit the sack the phone rang. It was our in-country facilitator touching base. We thanked her for coordinating such a special visit to Kai's birth city and reiterated how wonderful our guides were. She then told me that she had spoken to the orphanage and that our sweet girl is definitely being prepared for our arrival. She said to expect her to be introverted and shy. She knows her "new mama" is coming and has agreed to go with us "for a little while". Bless her heart. I thank God for preparing her to give us a "chance". Please continue to pray for her adjustment.

I can't believe we are so close to holding her!!!! I am giddy with excitement!!!! We are all already madly in love with her but I know that it will be ooooohhhhh, so much more when we actually have her in my arms. It was so hard seeing so many little girls in YiWu and not ache for mine. WE ARE READY!!!!!!!

This morning we were to go see the YiWu Commodities market. Thank you to the YiWu group moderator for advising us of the Christian church here. We are going to Tony to change our plans so that we could attend service there. Then we head out for the 2 hour drive to Hangzhou in order to catch the flight to Hefei. It is bittersweet to leave our son's birth city. It has been a completely blessed 3 days here and we are leaving with so much more than we came. There is not one thing I would change.

Ily, thank you for everything. So glad that AJ is wearing you out!! Get used to it, soon that will be you. I love you!

Amanda, AJ, Adam and Tito....

I miss you guys so much!!! Hope everything is going well. I will call you guys in a little while. Keep praying for our journey and for your little sister. I can't wait till you are all together.

Remember that I love you all, as much as the whole wide world....and back again.

Mom

Truly a miracle!

It is now 11:20 a.m. here. I finally fell asleep at 1:30 and was wide awake by 6 a.m. We went down to a delicious breakfast and met with our guide, Tony and the amazing Mr. Jia, in the lobby at 8 a.m. to head to some countryside villages.

When we were told that we were going to visit the outskirts of YiWu, I envisioned a very poor part of the province of Zhejiang. I pictured farm workers out in the fields (which we did see) and poor children walking the unpaved roads in their bare feet.

So, we all hopped in the van for the journey. As we were driving, I ask our guide if he knew of a local Catholic or Christian church we could attend tomorrow before departing from YiWu. He said, "Church? Oh...no church here. Only Buddhist temple." So, I was a bit bummed because I can't even remember the last time I didn't go to church on a Sunday. I think it was last year when we were leaving Beijing to head to Kai's province, actually. Anyways, that sort of bothered me, but I let it go and figured God would understand.

We begin the drive and slowly the big office buildings and commerical hustle and bustle starts disappearing. We start being surrounded by the most beautiful, green, mountaineous landscapes. But, instead of seeing the small shacks that my mind's eye had pictured, we are seeing townhouses and beautiful apartment buildings. I'm speaking apartment buildings like you would find on the ocean in Florida. I was a bit surprised, to say the least. The guide explained the Zhejiang province is a very rich city. That yes, there are poor people as in all places, but that even the farm workers make a lot of money. They purchase these beautiful homes as a family (several generations together) and they live there while the grandparents care for the children and the sons go to work in the factories.

Then as we move further into these villages (we are now about 45 minutes from downtown YiWu) we start noticing Mothers with their small children. Yes, I said...children, not child. It blew me away and truly made my heart dance with joy to see families with 2, 3, and even 4 small children running and playing.

Finally, we stop in the vicinity of some small shops. My Mom gets out first and immediately we begin to draw a crowd. The first lady that came up to us was holding a beautiful little boy, maybe a year old. Then I look down by her side and standing next to her are two more little ones. These little guys were possibly 5 and 3 years old. I asked if they were her children. Our guide interpreted and I knew by the proud motherly smile on her face that they were! We chit-chatted a little bit and we started to move on. I figured that we would head to the shops, but our guide went in the other direction, moving towards these beautiful two and three story townhomes. I ask him if these are owned by the government. He said no. They were privately owned by families. Each townhouse belong to 1 family. We were pretty flabbergasted because they were stunningly beautiful, with rose gardens out front and wide marble steps that led to huge doorways surrounded by large columns and marble beams. It was almost hard to believe that this was the countryside.

So, now we start walking up and down the streets. Mr. Jia is pushing Kai on the stroller. My Mom and I each armed with a video camera in the front and we are following by our guide and Scott who was taking pictures. I comment something about not having seen one dog in YiWu, and everyone sort of laughed and we moved on. We turn the corner and my Mom said, "Hey look! A dog! No...2 dogs!" You'd think we'd have found Bengal tigers. We were so excited to see these two dogs behind these beautiful irons gates that led to a courtyard surrounded by red roses. The fragrant smell of the roses were in the air. The weather here could not have been planned better. It is in the low 70's, sunny and absolutely beautiful. All of a sudden, a man walks out of the house where we are standing in front of the gates. He notices us with cameras and says something in Chinese. I sort of move away from the gate figuring he is telling us to move on and stop video taping his house. Then our guide walks up from behind and starts speaking to him. Tony, the guide, turns to us and says, "I told them that your son is from YiWu. He welcomes you to his country and his home. He would be honored if you would come inside and maybe have some tea." We all just stood there pretty much dazed.

The next part of the story is for my dear friend Peg. Peg, you told me several times before coming that you felt God had a miracle in store for us when we arrived in China. YOU WERE RIGHT!!! The next occurence could be nothing more than a miracle.

After Scott, my Mom, and I looked at each other, we all agreed that we would take him up on his hospitality. He opens the huge 10 foot black, iron gates and we all walk through. Up the marble steps that led to the beautiful rich mahogany doors embedded with etched glass. As we enter his home, we notice the marble steps that led to the dining area. Above us hung a spectacular chandelier. We stand and I move forward and thank him for his kindness in inviting us into his home. He says something, and the guide points to a wall and says something about "Buddhist". I didn't understand exactly what he was saying, but I let it go. The homeowner then leads us to the living room off to the right, where we are seated on theses magnficent wood benches, which had a luster that was almost like a mirror.

He is very excited to see us. Sitting on one of the benches, is a beautiful little girl. He introduces her as his niece. Then he goes to the table on the other side of the room and brings my Mom a small black book. She looks at it not too sure of what it was. The guide said, "I believe it is a Buddhist bible". Hmmm...I didn't think Buddhists had bibles, but then again what do I know. I want to add here though, that our guide is a very young man, 21 years old, and the little bit we spoke of religion he did not seem to understand, hence not knowing about Christian churches in the area.

I then glance over to the other side of the huge room and there is a framed picture of the crucified Christ. I was then totally confused. I stood up and went over the the homeowner and asked our guide to interpret. I said, "I'm a bit confused. You are a Buddhist, but you have pictures of Jesus?" He stopped and laughed. Then he said, "No...no. I am not Buddhist. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior." Then, in English he said in a loud tone that reberverated through the large room, "Hallelujah! AMEN!!" Scott, my Mom and I had to pick up our jaws. He then asked Tony to translate. He continued by saying that we are all God's children and that we, and he and his people and family, are one body in Christ. Then he turned to me and said, "You are my sister because we were both adopted by the same Heavenly Father." It took about everything I had in my power not to start crying. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so very alive in this man. I hugged him and agreed. I again thanked him and said that there was a reason why out of the million people in YiWu, we travel to the outskirts of the city and happen to walk by the one house where we see the only dogs we've seen since we've been here. Again, there are no coincidences.

I then ask him where he goes to church. He said, "We gather here in my home. God is where your heart is when you can't go to listen to his word elsewhere." AMEN TO THAT!!! I had been feeling so blue because I could not go to church, and instead here was a man, of a different culture and country, being used by our Lord to affirm to me, that I didn't have to be in a church for him to know that I worshipped Him. What an affirmation!

We all sit again and he steps out of the room. Comes back with about 6 cream popsicles for everyone. He insisted that we all eat ice cream. His kindness and generosity was blowing our minds. We told him that we were back visiting YiWu, but that our true reason for being in China was because we were there to bring home our daughter now. He said..."Wait!" Then he stood up and went to a drawer where he pulled out a DVD. It was in Chinese, but had English subtitles. I thought, "Yikes. We have to watch a movie now." But of all a sudden, this familiar tune starts to play. The lyrics were in Chinese, but I knew exactly what it was. The video was playing the song How Great Thou Art while it told the story of a young girl who had, of all things, extremity deformities (like our Anna Grace, but much worse) and how she has crusaded the world bringing God's word to those that did not know him. At that point, I just couldn't hold back and the tears streamed. We all sat there watching the video and singing in both Chinese and English the hymn, How Great Thou Art. Now if that isn't a miracle....I just don't know what it is. Again, another affirmation from God that us adopting another special needs child is His doing and our blessing.

In the midst of the tears and the singing, his wife had come out. He explained to her that we were from Florida and about Kai and Anna Grace. She said she was so happy for all of us. Then she left the room, only to come back with a huge bowl of watermelon for everyone! The funny thing is that watermelon happens to be my very favorite fruit. I didn't eat it in China last time because I was told by the health department when I went for my shots that I shouldn't eat it. They said that the watermelon here is purchased by weight and that many times it is injected with regular fawcett water in order to make it heavier. So, on our last trip, and thus far on this one, I pass by the table filled with bowls of watermelon every morning at breakfast and never eat it.

I digress. I immediately thought "Oh my gosh, watermelon. What do I do?" But, there was no doubt in my mind that the Lord had brought us to this house, to this family, he would protect us from getting ill. I then look at Scott and he says to me, "Honey, eat it. We are breaking bread." So, we all ate watermelon to our hearts content. Shortly afterwards, she walked back in with a huge bowl of the largest raspberries I have ever seen. At that point, between breakfast, the ice ceam and the watermelon, I just had to pass.

We had been there about an hour, and if we got to see nothing else, that truly made our trip today. We all get up and start saying our goodbyes. I ask them if it would be ok to a take a picture with them. They happily agree. Then we ask if he has a computer, considering the house he is in, but he says no because it corrupts the children. :) But, he said, can I please give you my address and phone number. If you ever come to China again, you must stay with us. He then scurried over to a desk where he wrote down his name, phone and address. We agreed to send him copies of the pictures. I also gave him our address and phone number and email address. He told me he has two grown sons who live there, but are away with his brother.

Just as we are leaving, I am led to ask him if he would join hands with us and lead us in a prayer. You could tell his heart was honored to do so. We all join hands, Tony and Mr. Jia, included and he leads us in one of the most powerful prayers I have ever heard, and I don't know a word he said. I thought I was the only one that was one huge goosebump, but afterwards Scott and my Mom told me that they felt as if Jesus was standing in our midst. I know He was. What an amazing morning. We are in the room for a nap now and later this afternoon we will meet at 2 pm in the lobby to go visit some farmlands, I believe.

Heavenly Father,

We thank you so very much and give you all of the glory, honor and praise for allowing us to see your face in those whom are total strangers to us. Those who do not speak in our tongues, who do not share in our world, yet they, as we were reminded so clearly today, are our brothers and sisters adopted by your loving son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We thank you for giving us the experience of coming to this beautiful country to do your work and be so blessed by it. We thank you for your love and for the warmth and hospitality that we have felt from every soul we have met here. We ask you to pour your blessings upon the family that we met today. You have taught us through your word that the lest we do for our brothers and sisters, we do for you. We take these humble teachings that you showed us today and will incorporate them into our daily lives, especially when we arrive back home.

Thank you Lord for being in our lives.

In your name we pray, and in the words of our new friends, "Hallelujah, Amen!"

A very proud Mama of three!

The 3 story townhouses on the outskirts of YiWu City

Kai's new little friend, Mei Lon

Our brothers and sisters in Christ

A farmer working the rice fields

Our First Day in YiWu City

It is now Friday night here. Scott, Kai and my Mom were out like lights by 6:30 p.m. I stayed awake until 8:30. It is now 11 p.m., and I can't sleep.

We arrived in the small (for China standards) city of YiWu at about 11:15 a.m. We were quite surprised, being that this is China's most largest wholesale trade center, how small it was. The population here is presently less than a million people. The weather here is beautiful and not hot at all! We're loving it.

Scott was quite impressed by the expertise of our pilot. We landed (for you pilots out there, excuse the terminology - I have no clue what you call it) and were rolling down the runway when all of a sudden we did a U-turn on the same runway. I was pretty impressed and he didn't even have to do a 3 pt. turn. heh. After we did our turn, we noticed rows and rows of hangars. In each of them were old Russian mig jet planes parked. Probably 20 of them. It really gave me a reminder of where we were. Then, our China Southern flight finally stopped on the tarmac as the big stairs were slowly wheeled up to the exit door.

I have to say that this is the smallest airport I have ever been to, including the Dominican Republic and Cuba. We walked into the building and had no choice but to stand in the one baggage claim carousel that creaked and squeaked with each round it made. Scott pulled our luggage of the belt (and yes...he pulled all FIVE pieces) and we headed about 5 feet out the door, where we were greeted by two joyful gentlemen, our guide, Tony (spelled Toony) and our driver, Mr. Jia. Tony (sorry I just have issues misspelling names so for now he is Tony), introduced himself. What a charismatic and charming young man. It turns out he has only been in YiWu for about 6 months and is a student studying English and International Relations. We all immediately hit it off. Kai took mostly to Mr. Jia who has become his toy.

We arrived at the only 5 star hotel in this small city. The lobby was beautiful and the rooms, although small, are very comfortable. The minute we walked into the lobby we were swarmed (in a very nice way) by staff coddling and playing with Kai, who was hamming it up. I would hear "Kai-Kai" from every corner of the large lobby, as he would run from corner to corner and stopping just short of every person who was holding out their arms for him. Then he'd look to make sure I was still around. A very good sign of attachment. :)

We had about an hour and a half to settle in. Tony had told us to meet in the lobby at 1:30 to tour the city. We came into our room and I stood by the large windows that overlooked the city. Our hotel is right next to a People's Park that seems so inviting and is just beautiful to see. We plan on going there with Kai tomorrow. But, what I wanted to share was the overwhelming sadness that came over me when I stood there peering over miles of hundred of apartment buildings. I couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Kai's birthmother is in one of those at this very moment. To be so very close to the woman who has given me one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received and yet not to know. Then this sadness overflowed to Kai and Anna Grace. I envisioned my sweet son being the one standing there. Filled with thoughts and unanswered questions about his biological family. There is nothing I could do that can bring about any change to either of them. The only thing I could do was ask our Lord to somehow fill their hearts with the knowledge that they were brought into our lives by the almighty creator in His perfect plan. I also prayed for their birth mother's peace. After a few minutes, I had to walk way from the window because it was too much for me and the thoughts of all the "what ifs" just permeated by being.

I then put a reluctant 3 year old Kai down for a nap. He fought me all of 1 minute before the eyes rolled back and he was sound asleep. He napped for about an hour until I had to wake him to go meet Tony in the lobby.

We arrived in the lobby on time and again Kai was met by his entourage of fans as bell boys, doormen and front desks clerk all came to greet the little Emperor. This time he was half asleep and not quite as entertaining. We boarded the minivan and headed to tour the city.

As most of China, the traffic was unbelievable....and the driving was comical. I can't say I was used to it, because there were moments that I was gripping Kai so hard as we squeezed through spaces that I thought were not humanly possible, that his arms were white from blood constriction. And yes, again, I was so impressed by the expertise of our Nascar drive, Mr. Jia.

The city itself is beautiful. Typical China, but to me, the buildings represented a different era of architecture. We did get out and walk through shops and spoke to a few locals. The warmth and the welcoming attitude of everyone we have met, as in our first trip, goes beyond any foreign country I've been to. I truly am so honored to be the mother of not 1, but within a couple of days, 2 beautiful Chinese children. I love the country, the people, the history and the culture. I am enjoying and taking in every second of this journey and I know in my heart that it won't be our last. It may be the last in which we bring home a new daughter or son, but when we leave here, we are leaving a piece of our hearts and I want to make sure that our children always feel proud to be Chinese-Americans.

I learned something new today! When we were driving from the airport to the hotel, my Mom mentioned to me that seated in her row were two men from Iraq reading a paper which appeared to be written in Arabic. I asked if she was sure that they were from Iraq, she said yes. So, whatever. It was just small talk and it was forgotten.

During our tour of the city, we are traveling down a busy street with lots of traffic. Eventually the traffic comes to a halt and we are at a standstill. As I was taking in every opportunity that my senses would allow, I notice how many Muslims there were. I mention it to Tony and he says, that is why we are in traffic. About a block down the road we passed an absolutely magnficent and beautiful mosque. There must've been thousands of Muslims leaving services. Tony then mentioned that YiWu has a very large Iraqi population. They have their own "village" in YiWu. He said that shortly after the war began in Iraq, they began to immigrate to YiWu because of the small commodities and were able to become very successful, therefore attracting more immigrants. I would have never imagined an Iraqi oasis in the midst of a China city. Go figure. And it's God's children all living in one world. :)

And lastly, before I sign off, I want to answer a couple of questions to emails that I have received. One is really not an answer, but someone wrote to me telling me that they feel like they are physically here with us because of the amount of detail that I give in my postings. I thought I might've mentioned this in the beginning of the journey, but who knows with the sleep deprivation and the anxiety we (I) had.

My journal entries with Kai and AJ's birth were very similar. I know for reader that it may feel like a book and I understand if you just scroll down to the pictures, but this is such a huge moment in our lives and something that although engraved in my brain, it may easily allow for small details to slip through the cracks. Therefore, I try to journal as much as possible so that years down the line I can go back, and my children can go back, and relive every moment as vividly as possible. I have so very little to offer them about their lives prior to our being in it, that if I can give them this as a gift from the moment that I first held them, how can I not?

Someone wrote to me and asked about what "good" Scott saw in our losing our suitcases. Yes, my husband the eternal optimist. It was funny that I was asked this because amidst the turmoil of the case of the lost suitcase, I sat on the bed last night and asked him, "Ok! How do we glorify God for this?". He had an answer! Wanna know? He said, "Oh honey! It is so obvious. What do enjoy doing most when you are under stress?" I couldn't think of anything. "He said, "Of couse, SHOP!!! Now you can say that God allowed you to be blessed with an entire new wardrobe on your last trip to China!" Aaahhh.....what a man I have. He knows me well.

Again, thank you to everyone for your emails, well-wishes and prayers. I have been so very moved to read the comments, guestbook entries and private emails from everyone. I have felt every prayer said, and I thank you!!!

Blessings and love to all from YiWu City, Zhejiang Province.

Ohilda, Scott, PoPo and Kai (soon I will get to add Anna Grace's name on here!!!!!)

Amanda, AJ, Tito, & Adam:

Again, blowing you kisses. I'm so wishing you were all here with me, especially as we approach the day your baby sister is forever ours. I know you are with me in spirit. I love you all as much as the whole wide world.....and back again!

Mom

The Mig fighters lining the runway.

The very small YiWu City airport.

Kai and his new friend, Mr. Jia.

The view from our 20th floor window.

Is Kai's birthmother out there somewhere within our view?

Kai and Daddy checking out the cool view!

A typical side street in YiWu City.

In front of our hotel.

The only 5 star hotel in YiWu.

Mom (PoPo), risking her life, crossing the street.

Our sweet boy after a day of touring.