Home Sweet Home

Mei Mei slept right through the excitement

of landing on American soil!

She actually traveled extraordinarily well

considering how ridiculously active and busy

this precious little one is!

Thank you all for praying for us

over this specific concern.

First sight out of the baggage claim gates!

The Gang is FINALLY All Here!!!!

We arrived home late on Friday evening, after a delightful dinner with my brother and all 6 of our kids together at a little Irish pub near the airport. Mei Mei was charming and pleasant through the whole meal, eating off of anyone's plate that would share with her. You know what they say, "Food is love!" And man, the love was abounding in that pub. The rest of the crowd was captivated with the news reports of the capture of the final suspect in the marathon bombing, but we were loopy with joy at being reunited with our kids and exhaustion from traveling for 24 straight hours.

Mei Mei and LadyBug formed an immediate

attachment, within minutes of our arrival and reunion.

Watching this boy of mine fall head over heels in love

with his new sister over the course of their first evening

together is probably one of the most precious memories

I will carry from our arrival.

We finally left the restaurant and drove 2 solid hours, The Boss fighting sleep all the way, through driving blinding rain. I prayed almost non-stop for that whole drive. Unfortunately, Mei Mei slept the whole way home, so The Boss and I took some time to unpack and settle in. Then he headed off to bed and Shaggy, Dr. D and I stayed up with Mei Mei while she wore herself down. I got both suitcases unpacked, a load of laundry started, and a space in the pantry cleared out for diapers and supplies. I was so exhausted but she was going strong and I knew I'd need her to sleep for more than a teensy 2 hour nap, so I pushed through.

Saturday was really low key, napping off and on, cleaning out the fridge, hanging with the kids, and enjoying the time together to re-connect. Mei Mei took some great naps, I think mostly because all the new toys and new games with her siblings were so overwhelming. But the kids are so great with her and it was so much fun to watch them all attach to her in their own unique ways.  Later in the day, my parents stopped by on the way to my brother's house to meet her, but she napped through the whole first visit. So they came back on their way to my sister's house and got a peek at her little impish smile and sweet nature.

We spent all day Sunday "on the go" as it was my brother's last Sunday to preach at the church here in town where he pastors. He was honored and commissioned off to their new church plant in Maryland and we really wanted to be there to honor what God is doing in their lives. I hate that they are moving so far away but so incredibly proud of the call on his life and the way that he and his wife walk that out. After the service and light snacks, we crashed at home for a couple hours and then joined the family again at my sister's for a family dinner. It was a really long, hard day for us and for Mei Mei but whatever wear and tear it took on our bodies, it must have been the "flip switch" that we needed. The three of us slept from 10-6 last night and she's just now waking up from a nice long 3 hour nap. She's regulating to the time change much more graciously than The Boss and I have so far, but it really feels like today was a good turning point.

In fact, I hear her stirring now, so I'm off! I'll post soon about some of the other stuff going on here. To remind myself, I had some interesting observations this morning as the family all slipped into regular weekday routines... hopefully in my jet-lagged state, that reminder will be enough to capture the thoughts that are swirling!

Wrapping It All Up

Wow, we've been trying off and on all day to get our internet connection to last long enough to be able to post here. I can't say that I'm sure the connection will last but I'm gonna try my durndest to make this last post from China a good one. NOT that we did a ton of really monumental stuff but it IS the last post after all.

After a late lingering breakfast at the heavenly buffet, we sat and chatted with friends for a while, enjoying the giggles of the little girls as they played. We felt like we really clicked with this family and we look forward to keeping up with them as we all settle in to the business of regular life outside the adoption trip bubble.

Then we headed back to the room to begin the packing process. Silly me, I can't seem to efficiently or effectively pack unless I empty the suitcase and start "from scratch." So that is exactly what I did. For my clothes. For Mei Mei's clothes, for all our toiletries, for my carry-on. For it all. As I packed, I pulled out excess of things we either didn't use or wouldn't need at home. I gathered them all up and made a bag up for our guide. We asked her to use them for her family's needs or to share them with other coming adoptive families. It's our prayer that the general prescription and over-the-counter meds serve someone well in their times of need. We are terribly grateful that we had no need of any of it, (except the Imodium for The Boss's food poisoning episode!) but also very thankful for doctors who prescribed it as good contingency plans.

While we were bustling about packing, Mei Mei had her own ideas of how to help.  Literally, everything had to be moved to the middle of the king-sized bed - once I discovered that my neatly folded piles of socks and tees were being snatched and thrown into the suitcase across the room. Unfortunately, the middle of a king-sized bed is also pretty much out of reach for me! My body got quite a great "P!lates" style stretching work-out.

Once the clothing was out of reach,

she moved on to the bag of dirty laundry.

No matter that there are at least five noisy

toys scattered around the room.

Putting her little legs in Daddy's t-shirt

armholes is way more fun!

She was temporarily distracted from

the dirty laundry fashion show

by snacks and juice in her stroller.

But only temporarily!

She is totally mocking me.

Lets me put a cute hair clip in.

But JUST when I think, "Oh, YAY! She's gonna leave it alone,"

she smirks and slowly, gently pulls it out.

Even when I keep my expression blank and neutral.

OY.

After a hard-core hour and a half of packing and cleaning up, we met Vicki and her sister Kelly, along with 2 of Vicki's daughters for lunch. She and I have been reading each other's blogs for years now, having found each other by way of  No Hands But Ours and Ni Hao Ya'll and our common interest of parenting adoptive children with hearing loss. They are here adopting Claire, a delightful and spunky little girl with a quick smile and a blooming, blossoming heart. Her daughter Ava came along for support and is so sweet and loving - I got a hug before I was even properly introduced the other day!

It's 7:20 p.m. here in Guangzhou. We are staying in, finishing up the random left-over foodstuffs and finalizing travel plans. Please pray with us that we get bulkhead seating for the extra space and the baby bed it offers. Once she falls asleep, she sleeps through pretty much anything. (For example, the crazy loud radio alarm we didn't know that she set for 6 a.m. today when she was playing with the clock last night. Sigh. On our ONE morning to sleep in a bit!) It would be awesome to have that break for our arms.

Daddy lovingly bit off the skin of this apple

(I inadvertently threw out the plastic knives I found when re-packing!)

for his little bit. She LOVED chowing down on it!

Hopefully, all the random left-overs sit well on her tummy

and fill her up at least till we get in the van tomorrow morning!

So, that's it. Our last day in China. Nothing terribly exciting except that it was all spent getting ready to come HOME! Oh, how I love that word. HOME. Hugs and kisses from my gang. Familiar germs. Land of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, uncontaminated chicken and eggs, and drink-able water from the tap. OH! And coffee with sugar-free hazelnut creamer in a great big Tigger mug.

I'm not a complicated momma and these simple things of my life will be even more treasured than previously. Especially when enjoyed in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by my gang. I can't wait!!!!!

We are Here!

Good morning from Beijing! We arrived to the hotel sometime around 4 p.m. Beijing time. We took just an hour or so to get settled, making our smoky but fancy hotel room into "home" for the next ten or so days. But by 5:45, as I said on Facebook, we couldn't stand up straight or think clearly at all anymore.

We fell into bed and slept hard till about 11 p.m. I got some water and my medicines. I was hungry but not enough to make my way down to the hotel restaurant. So by 11:30 or so, we were heading right back to dreamland again. I woke feeling mostly rested and refreshed at 3:45 and took a shower. The hotel is called King Wing Hot Springs Hotel because of the mineral hot springs that feed the shower systems. These springs are touted to have amazing medicinal and health benefits.... all I know is that after more than 48 hours it felt really great to shower and start the day. Even at 3:45 a.m.

It's now 5:40 a.m. and we're heading down to the buffet breakfast before meeting our guide, Dion, for the trip to the orphanage at 6:30. For a NON MORNING MOMMA, these last two days have been quite the exercise in "manning up!"

Some of  you might recognize Dion's name as the young man that came with the Living Hope International China Angels tour group in 2010. He's now employed full-time by Living Hope Adoption Agency and will be our adoption facilitator for the duration of our time in Beijing. Please pray for us all, as there are not a lot of adoptions from Beijing and this particular process is new to both him and to us. He's a delightful young man, very engaging and solicitious of our needs and questions.

Here's a few pics of setting up and "nesting" hotel-style. We'll be busy most of the morning with meeting Mei Mei and getting adoption paperwork finalized. Hopefully by the time you all wake up on Sunday morning, we'll have some pictures of our "Gotcha Day" up to oooh and aaaahhh over!

Thank you again, for all the love and support and care you all have shown us - we are keenly aware that we could not have done this without all of you and the many gifts you brought to our journey!

Yes! I teared up when I walked in and saw a crib set up

next to our bed. So cute!!!

Her dresser drawer full of pink and flowers!

We set up a food station for all her treats.

And realized we didn't bring much for us

to snack on. Going to have to hit the market

today for diapers and some instant noodles!

I am a diaper bag momma again.

Note the dum dum lollipops....

a staple of most moms who adopt toddlers, I've heard.

Can't hurt, I guess!

Follow Along!

Here's the skinny on our travel itinerary.

We'd love for you to "join" us for the trip.

4/5   -  Leave home and fly to Beijing

4/6   -  Arrive in Beijing

4/7   -  Leave the hotel at 7 a.m. to meet get Mei Mei at the orphanage offices.

After “Gotcha” is done, we head to the Civil Affairs office to complete the paperwork. 

4/8   -  Rest, spend the day getting to know Mei Mei

*Rest. That cracks me up. It'll be more like a crash-refresher course

for The Boss and I on life with an almost 2-year old. BOOM!

4/9   -  Go to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the adoption certificate!

After she’s officially made a new little Gang member in China’s eyes,

 we go to the passport office to apply for her passport.

4/10  -  Rest, shopping, or local tour

4/11  -  Rest, shopping, or local tour

4/12   -  Rest

4/13   -  Tour The Great Wall

How many folks get to say that they've walked The Great Wall

twice in their lives?! We are so blessed!

4/14   -  Rest

4/15   -  Fly to Guangzhou

Hoping to be there in time for dinner with some of the families

in our on-line group with whom we’ve been “in process” for months now!

4/16  -  Take Mei Mei for her medical check up, visa photo, and final visa paperwork

Please pray for this appointment.

We want NOTHING to hold up the finalization

of processing her visa. If there's any concerns about her health,

they would address it here.

4/17   -  Go to the US Consulate for our “official interview” and group oath

4/18   -  Mei Mei’s Visa should be ready to go, allowing her to leave with us

4/19   -  EARLY morning flight from Guangzhou to Beijing and then Beijing to home!

Upon touching ground again,

Mei Mei will be the newest (and cutest) US citizen!

You can follow all these adventures by going to the "Networked Blogs"
button on my left sidebar, to follow through Facebook's apps.
I have my blog linked to automatically post on FB when I publish here.

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Please pray with us and for us over the following things:

• for healing for This Momma's terrible congestion and sinus infection!
• for The Gang to feel confident and secure in the care of their family members
• particularly for Baby BlueEyes and Li'l Empress, as they are the youngest
• and most prone to feeling anxious and sad at our absence
• for smooth routines and protection over all parts of our home and our vehicles
• for Mei Mei's heart to be ready to receive our love and become a daughter
• for safe travel and smooth, glitch-less connections and paperwork

Thanks to you all for the love and support you've shown us in this long journey to our girl. The next time you hear from This Momma, we'll be in China!!!! Can't wait to share the journey from there.

Signs, Signs, Signs Everywhere

It's a busy beehive here at The Gang's house.... 

signs of the big events of April are all over the place! 

 Someone was working up a creative

and memorable way to ask his girlfriend to the prom.

She said, "Yes" by the way. Or rather, CHECKED "yes!"

Aren't they just adorable?!

(Special props to Dr. D for allowing us to be included

in this special moment. We're missing the actual prom

because of our trip.)

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Someone has been working up a count down

to help a couple little someones grasp the visual

the events of the coming weeks.

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

That same someone has also been working

on a very simplified and streamlined visual system

for a "particular" someone to feel the security of consistency

and expectations of both her behavior and boundaries

while we travel.

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And that "particular" little someone has been

enjoying window markers as a means

of expressing her love for her "hol" Gang.

 "I <3 my hol famule"

Sigh.

I know. How cute is THAT?!

A Few Friendly Reminders

Just wanted to remind you all that the Wild Olive Tees fundraiser for our adoption journey will end tonight. The family code (WHITNEY407) will be disabled at midnight. Or there-abouts.

Cuz I don't nearly expect those sweet gals over at Wild Olive Tees to sit around till midnight waiting to "flip the switch" - they are busy gals with hordes of kids and they need their rest. Heh :)

But anyway, that's the wrap.

Thank you all, again, for sharing, for purchasing, and for praying.... 

Details of our pending trip should be coming in sometime today.

And I'm proud to say that the To Do list took a major hit this weekend. I'm exhausted but I plowed through a lot of the administrative stuff of preparing to travel!

Finally, I'm taking entries to the give-away for Your Big Story till midnight tonight. It's a great story and you really ought to be sharing it with friends. It would make a super Easter Basket stuffer gift. Really, so perfect! Come, read, share! It only takes a minute!

The Momma Is Goin' To China!!!!

Great news for The Gang!!!!

Yup, we've received our Travel Approval.

For those of you NOT in the adoption community, this is the approval our agency needs to seek the Consulate Appointment. That's the moment we'll walk onto "American Soil" for the first time since leaving home and pledge before the US government representatives that all of the information and processes completed to that point are true and accurate still. It's fairly non-formal but VERY emotional for the newly formed family. The consulate employees do a really nice job of making it special with their kind words and personal touches. I have fabulous memories of Li'l Empress's Consulate Appointment.

The agency then takes that Consulate Appointment date (CA) and backs up on the calendar to make travel plans based upon the requirements of Mei Me's province for paperwork processing. (Can I just interject that I am SO glad to be at the end of the crazy paper work process?! Ugh. This paper chase can drive even the most level-headed woman to the brink of insanity. And I've never claimed to be even slightly level-headed!)

We should hear from our agency either Friday or Monday about which CA has been secured in our name. We're really praying for 4/15. Even if that means we'd leave in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, YA'LL!!! Because a CA on 4/15 minimizes the financial burden of being in Guangzhou during the height of their International Trade Fairs. The Fairs begin around that same time and last two full weeks. So airfare, hotel costs, EVERYTHING in Guangzhou skyrockets in price.

For those of you in the adoption community, you know that this is the generally accepted signal to mommas far and wide to begin FREAKING OUT and feverishly throwing things in and out of suitcases.

Yeah. That. I really need to start packing. The Boss is the Master of the Packing List.

I'm the shopper. And the two don't mesh very well, very often.

That's not even considering the panic and adrenaline

of the fact that we may be leaving in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, YA'LL!!!!

Pray for us. Heh.

That's A Wrap!

As the day for our departure to China draws near, I wanted to let you know that our fundraising effort with Wild Olive Tees  will end on Monday, March 25th. That will be the last day that you can purchase a tee, using our family code (WHITNEY407) at the check-out page, as a coupon code in order to  count it toward our total percentage earned for travel expenses.

If you feel led to give one last big shout out (on F@cebook, on your blog, in your networks of friends or among family), you should feel free to do so! It's not too late. You can share the link to our blog, give out our contact info, whatever. If you have questions, please contact me by email or by private message on F@cebook. Just be sure that they note our family code (WHITNEY407)  for the check-out process if they share the info or if they purchase.

We are greatly humbled and appreciative of the many, many folks who have helped us get the word out about these tees and the purposes behind them. We have been huge supporters of the team there at Wild Olive Tees from their inception. We believe in their mission and in their methods, not just for our family but for the amazing ministries that they support and the many, many people that they have helped in the efforts to build strong families. I can promise you, once we are home and find out about friends who are fundraising with them in the future, The Gang will be sportin' the tees!

As we get ready to wrap up this part of our adoption journey, it's really important that you all know how much we appreciate YOU. Your support of this effort, your kindness in sharing the project, and your purchases have NOT gone unnoticed. There's no way that I can posssibly thank each one of you in person, as it turns out that I don't even know some of you. But you came alongside us, heard our hearts, and rolled up your sleeves to help. Thank you for that.

I pray, for each of you that shared the fundraising links, purchased a tee or gave a gift beyond that, that the Lord show Himself richly to you in ways that minister to the needs in your own life. That He uniquely come down and fill the tender places of your heart with His Spirit and flood you with His love and His mercy. For that is surely what you have shown to our family. May His generosity and compassion return your gift to you one thousand times over, as only He can do.

Article 5

The end of last week was quite a whirlwind in our adoption paperwork process. Our visa application was logged in to the National Visa Center, assigned a case number, and cabled off to the CCCWA (Chinese offices for adoption processing) IN.ONE.DAY. All on Wednesday, March 6th.

We were still breathless from the excitement and trying to wrap our brains around what our timeline could now look like, when our agency contacted us on Thursday to say that our Article 5 (the packet of paperwork for all that visa stuff and stuff meant to trigger the travel planning process) had been dropped off already by their in-country contact in Guangzhou. WOW.

So you can imagine our surprise and delight and utter terror when I say that our Article 5 HAS BEEN APPROVED!!! And is ready for pick up by our in-country contact for movement on to the Travel Approval stage of the paperchase. (Click on the highlighted link in that sentence above for an explanation of the process called Article 5.)

WHAT?! Whaaaa?

Yes. What is supposed to take a "standard" two weeks has been graciously expedited. To TWO.BUSINESS.DAYS.

OMIGOSH.

We KNOW that the Lord has intervened to show Himself strong. He has brought many kind and wonderful folks to come alongside us, not the least of which has been our Congressman's assistant. She's been so diligent and persistent and is almost as excited as we are about this whole trip.

But yeah. So now, I gotta get packing. And list-making. And cooking. And list-checking.

Current travel approvals are running as quickly as 7-10 days. Departure is usually about 2 weeks after that. The agency is working on it today (see step 12 below on the handy-dandy visual!). Like, now, today.

Gaaaaaahhhhhh. We're going to CHINA, baby!!!!

The Next Big Step

Well, the day has arrived. Today, Shaggy boards a plane with the other members of the team they have dubbed "Team Thaibodia" for the "Outreach" portion of their YWAM experience.  We F@cetimed with him last night, to chat, say good-bye and pray together as a family for his team and for him. NEVER in all of my life have I been so incredibly grateful for the technology that allows interactions such as this to occur. While I greatly dislike the inability to hug his neck and kiss him as he journeys off, I am so thankful that he got to hear our prayers over him. From Li'l Empress's prayer for safe travels all the way up to Dr. D's prayer for them to be used by God to The Boss's prayer for anointing and power in sharing The Gospel, the time together was sweet and one I will cherish in the many days ahead while we are missing his physical presence here in our home.

If you could, please pray with us for his team. There are 13 young people from YWAM Arvada heading out today to spend a month in Thailand and a month in Cambodia. They are being led by a young gal named Molly. Please pray with us for the following things:

• safe travels in each leg of their journey
• unity, health and physical protection for their team
• spiritual wisdom and discernment in light of all the new experiences they will have
• great opportunities to show the love of Jesus to the teams they are supporting and the work they will be doing themselves
• deepened intimacy and strengthening of their own personal faith journey as they follow the path God has set them each upon

Please also pray for the teams that Shaggy's team is partnering with while in-country. The work these teams are doing include things like campus ministry, ministry to victims of human trafficking and caring for orphaned children. There is much opposition to a lot of what the teams do each day, it's truly a supernatural spiritual battle they must face daily. Pray for strength and clarity in the face of the evil and opposition they face in their mission.

I have an update letter written by Shaggy that I would be happy to email to you if you are interested in what he has experienced and learned thus far. And the team leader will be sending weekly updates that I'd be happy to share with you and your family. Please just email me at the gmail address connected to this blog.

Thanks for praying with us for our boy. We are so proud of him and his passion to follow Jesus' calling on his life. My momma's heart would ask that you also pray for us who are left behind. There were quite a few tears here last night, as it sunk in to the littler kids that their big brother would be flying across the world today. It's a lot to take in and they are doing a great job of supporting him and praying for him. But we all miss him terribly. And all our holiday activities have that little tinge of missing him kind of lingering in the background. Thanks for that, too.

You are Cordially Invited...

My sweet friend Joslyn, strikes again!!!! Several weeks ago, I attended an Open House at her home, intending to pick up some new mascara for Lady Bug and myself, have some intelligent adult conversation and play with a bit of pretty jewelry. By the time the night was over, Joslyn had fully talked me in to hosting a big holiday event. And her friend, Karoline (of Premier Designs Jewelry) offered to join in. By the next day, we had two more home-based businesses on board and pretty soon, we were trucking! We've been busy all week gathering links, confirming participants and going live on Facebook.

I am so excited to unveil the big event here now, too. I'm even more excited to tell you that those of you who are not local to me can participate, too. Yes, it's true: You are ALL invited! You can also check out the "public event" here.

Isn't this invitation simply gorgeous? I'm always so impressed when folks can create graphic designs like this.  I'm also incredibly grateful for the time and effort that was put into this beautiful invitation and the support that each of these participants is lending to our event.

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If you are here by way of the Christmas Frenzy linky event, thanks so much for stopping by. If you don't know what a Christmas Frenzy linky event is, stop by over there and check it out. And thanks to the Richards family for helping families get the word out!

If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact me at the above email (which is also the email attached here to my blog. And if you are the praying sort, we'd appreciate your prayers for a successful event for all of us.

Home Sweet Home

A few weeks ago, I asked you to pray for a couple families that were traveling to meet their new children. I don't know if you followed their stories or not. Two of the families are home and the third should be soon - pray for them: they are scheduled to travel home during the bulk of the storm that is threatening the majority of the South and East coast.

In the meantime, you MUST go HERE
to see an answer to prayer now at home,
settling in and being loved.

You can also go HERE
to peek in on a re-cap
of a family's first meeting.
What a story!

Both homes, fuller and richer. Both families, reveling in the sound of new, sweet giggles. Luxuriating in hugs and kisses. Drowning in joy. Something beautiful, indeed.

This Is A Big Week

Okay, time to get your follow on. There's some seriously exciting happenings going on this week for some of my favorite bloggers.

Love, Laughter and Laundry has left the country. They are winging their way to Ethiopia to add two more precious baskets to their already huge laundry room, in the persons of little Amelia and Levi. Please, head over and give them some big congrats and pray for their attachment and bonding to be smooth and blessed by God.

Bushel and a Peck just got another sweet little apple to add to their bushel basket. Little Keira is adjusting, but slowly; and is grieving heavily over the changes she's experienced these last two days. Please pray for them, as they are also physically sick with bronchitis and other respiratory stuff. It's a hard way to travel, and they are weary. (Note: this is a Shutterfly-hosted travel blog, so you may not get to comment on the site if you don't have a Shutterfly account. I haven't totally figured it out yet. But to see pics of the darling new Keira, you can stop by their regular blog, here.)

Finally, one of my most faithful readers and commenters, known to you all around these parts as Aus, is leaving first thing (by that I mean ridiculously, un-earthly early!) tomorrow morning to finish their chase to little Chase. These folks are traveling with two of their daughters, also adopted from Korea and China. They are also hosting a separate blog aimed at kids who wish to follow the journey and get in on the adoption and travel fun.

So click away. Pray for their first days to be full of grace and compassion and love. Pray for strong, secure attachment. Leave a comment encouraging their hearts and spurring them on to continue even in the hard times. Follow their journeys. Visit the beautiful lands of China and Ethiopia, vicariously from the comfort of your own chair. Through the eyes of families longing to welcome these precious ones into their hearts and their homes.

Please bless them with your comments - you'll never know how much the comments and kind words encouraged us on the days we were most homesick and weary of being away from all that was familiar.

And Pray.

Mixin' It Up

When The Boss and I were newlyweds, traveling together was an adventure. It represented a chunk of solitude that we didn't often have readily available on the everyday. Between his two jobs, the crazy hours at my job, our volunteer youth ministry hours, and plugging in to our new young marrieds' group at church, we had a pretty busy life. Breaking away together to go visit the parents or other college friends was a double bonus: time alone together in the car sandwiching time with loved ones. We had a couple traditions we followed for every car trip: he stocked up on hot coffee in his super-sized mug, I grabbed a big bag of Cheetos to share, and we packed all our favorite 80's music (tapes !) for the road.

Now, when The Gang travels together, especially for long car trips, we have a whole process we follow to ensure that no one gets too antsy, too hungry, or too bored. "Entertainment bags" are packed, drinks are readied, personal music devices are charged, books are stacked. But there's one thing that all my Gang members really look forward to, one thing they all cheer for when the bags are packed. One thing that they count on as our unique way of traveling together.

The Gang's Travel Snack Mix

Here's a loose rendition of the ingredients. Feel free to add, substitute, or delete whatever suits your family's preferences. Go crazy, have fun. It's really more about making a tradition or a memory that binds you all together. And, well, it's also a lot about keeping everyone occupied. In a healthier way than gallons of coffee and big bags of messy, greasy Cheetos!

The Gang's Travel Snack Mix

Goldfish baked pretzels
Goldfish whole grain crackers
M&M's or chocolate chips
Raisins and/or Craisins
Dry-Roasted Peanuts

Mix together in whatever proportions best meet your tastes. Scoop into individual zipping sandwich bags. Pass out when the crowd gets restless. Enjoy the happy contented sighs. And Daddy's relief that another hour can pass on the road without bickering or grumpiness!

(Incidentally, I occasionally mix something like this up for game day treats too. I also have a great crock pot recipe for a cereal snack mix that I can share. Maybe next week, for the Sunday football frenzy!)

:)

Now This is More Like It!

After the crazy and slightly nauseating adventure of this morning, we got Aidan down for a long (late) nap and rested in the room with her. We got refreshed and recharged and headed down to the play room to let Li'l Empress burn off some energy. The play room, sponsored by Matel, is chock full of all kinds of great toys. Aidan was really excited by the majority of the toys, but by far and away she was most captivated by a Fisher Price toy that had mirrors, lights, music and a really good beat. That's my girl :) She's gonna love Mommy's iPod with Bose speaker docking station - at full blast when we dance together to David Cook, Keith Urban and Third Day. Throw in a little Josh Groban and Michael Buble for some class and my girl will be rockin' the house right along side of me!

Come on everybody, let's sing!

We met Brittany, Bayley and sweet Addie and walked to this great little Italian place for Wednesay's dinner. By then, the waters had receded back to their places. The rain had washed most of the debri off the streets. Shopkeepers were out in full force, drying their wares and luring in gullible travellers. The restaurant was crammed full of people, likely adoptive families like us, anxious to get out of their hotels after a long day. We heard earlier that the owner was a gentleman from Capri, Italy and that the food was very authentic. We heard right! All 6 of us thoroughly enjoyed the meal and it was really fun to be surrounded by families who were all celebrating their blessings right alongside of us. In fact, behind us was a group from Bethany Christian Services, including a couple from Lancaster County, not far from us. Turns out, we have a mutual friend, one sweet SH who has been faithful prayer and encouragement support to me during the long wait to Aidan. SH had told me to look for this couple, and until they introduced themselves after chatting about the Lord and all He's done for us, I had completely forgotten their names.

The famous White Swan, as viewed from the shopping thorough-fare

After dinner, we strolled back along the main shopping street. The thorough-fare looks like a tropical resort town, with beautiful architecture and iron scrollwork. It reminded The Boss and I of a long-ago trip to Tampa. The palm trees were swaying and the streets were bustling with tourists, adoptive families, and business people catching dinner after work. We stopped by an adorable little shop called the LadyBug and got an adorable two piece traditional red silk outfit for Aidan. Suitably royal for her royal cuteness, don't you think? We also stocked up on diapers and wipes, having found formula earlier in the gift shops of the hotel. Brittany and Bayley went off to find a new suitcase and we met them later for the traditional photo session on the red couches. I learned about this late in the game, but it seems that there is a tradition among guests at the White Swan to dress up their new children in traditional silks and pose for photos on the beautiful red couches. We couldn't figure out exactly which couch was "THE" couch, as the hotel lobbies are all equipped with red couches. So we chose the ones down by the play room in front of two gorgeous Chinese silk painted screens.

Pretty little Empresses

Hey, girl, gimme a high five!

We ended the evening quietly after parting ways with Brittany and her girls. They had some serious packing to do, as they had to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. to catch a flight to Hong Kong and then on to Newark. Please pray for them - they only had one hour in the huge HK airport to catch the flight to Newark and once in NJ, they have an 8 hour layover till they can get onward to Maine. That's a long, long 30+ hours with a toddler who has already experienced a ton of change this week and last. We haven't heard yet about how they did on the connection, but we should know soon. Our guide has offered to help us out with some alternatives, if that connector is too hard to make. There are some options we can work on.

While you are at it, pray for us - that same leg, minus the 8 hours in NJ will be US in just two days. I can't believe I just typed that! In two days, we will be on our way home, to the sweet arms of our gang. To our own soft beds and clean water. And to a steaming Tigger mug full of hot coffee with sugar-free hazelnut creamer. Oh, I can hardly wait!

Oh, and Uncle TS?

Happy First Day of Fall - belated.

I know I missed it. But I was, well,

in China and I've been a little busy :)

All you CCC'ers, make sure

Pastor T knows I gave

him a shout out here

with our traditional annual greeting :)

Thanks!

Guangzhou At Last

We have had a long day. Little Miss woke up with us at 6:30 a.m. for our early flight out of Xian, and Did. NOT. Nap. till we got here to the White Swan at 3-ish. She did great on the flight however, laughing and making friends all around us. She was enthralled with the tiny baby across the aisle. I swear, that little guy was the size of LadyBug's baby dolls! She kept pointing and saying "Wah Wah" which our guide in Xian told us means baby. Incidentally, she also points to the baby food jars and says that. And then tries to kiss the wah wah on the jar. While I'm feeding her. Makes for some messy jars!

So, we are here. We settled in, re-connected with Brittany and Bayley (our LH friends from Beijing) and went with them for a great American meal at Lucy's (yes, it's as fun and full of Americans as my forum friends all said it would be!). We also visited the play room here in the hotel. We've already met two other Christian families from the West Coast while our babies all played. And now we are taking showers and getting to bed early for some real sleep. Tomorrow is our medical exam, where the doctors check Aidan's records and clear her for the final steps with the US Consulate. We'll also have to re-stock on things like diapers and formula and wipes. I'll be able to share more later about the hotel, Guangzhou, and Shamian Island (where the hotel is situated).

Before I forget, several of you have emailed me to ask about the formula that Aidan is using. We had gotten the report in July that she was on stage 2 Nestle formula, so that is what we brought from the States with us and also what we re-stocked with in Xian. It does not appear that this formula is among the tainted milk products. However, because of the nature of Aidan's special need, we have renal testing and evaluations on tap for her future anyway.

You see, when a baby is developing in utero, the ears and the kidneys form and grow at the same stage. Because Aidan's right ear is not fully formed, the doctors at CHOP will do a complete examination of both of her ears as well as extensive reviews of her kidney function. In fact, her first appointment with the International Adoption program will be within a week of returning home to the States. From that appointment, we will work with the docs to chart the course for any medical treatment or testing she will need. Plus, we've been in touch with our doc quite often these past 4 days, with how stuffy and cough-y Aidan had been.

So, thanks for the kind inquiries and prayers for her safety. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such a community of support. Even on the days when there were multiple distractions and oppositions leading up to this trip, we felt such prayer covering by all of you. When the milk recalls were being announced, I was of course concerned (and quite a few of my blogging friends are being effected by this), but I felt such peace and safety in knowing that My Father has His hands on all of this story.

And because I know you can't stand a day without pictures, I'm throwing this one in for ya, free of charge. She shows all the signs of being well-loved and cared for by her foster parents, and gives out these sloppy open-mouthed kisses rather freely. Additionally, she is showing all the signs of being another Daddy's girl, just like her big sister :)

The 8th Wonder of the World!

The trip to the TerraCotta Soldiers Museum started with a stop at a local pottery making site, where they make the replica warriors for sale in the gift shops. We got the obligatory Soldier shots, which totally cracked Miss Aidan up - she really got a kick out of seeing us appear up there and the other tourists got a kick out of her delight. Complete with smiles, giggles, and kicking feet.

I'm pretty sure the real soldiers didn't grin like we did, but who could help it?! We knew it was gimmicky, but it was fun.

This worker is closing up a the stone and coal-fire kiln with local clay. Just like they did when the original soldiers were being crafted. Emperor Chin had all these soldiers made to protect him in his afterlife, confident that he was going to rule over all the dynasty from there, too. Pretty cheeky of him, eh?






Here are some replicas in different stages of being dried. Our guide at the factory said that many people buy them in various sizes for yard or garden ornaments, and that some Chinese restaurants in larger U.S. cities buy them for guards at the door to the restaurant. Wouldn't one of those look crazy in our front yard?! Those adorable new neighbors of ours might wonder what they've mortgaged themselves into :)


The replicas get pressed into molds and dried in separate halves for a little while. Then they are pressed together, dried some more and fired in kilns like the one above for 4-5 days at 900 degrees F. They are made hollow like the originals to allow them to dry adequately without blowing up in the kiln.








In the gift shop, Aidan was the center of attention. One sweet Canadian lady stopped and wanted all the scoop on our sweetie. Turns out, she adopted domestically in Canada 47 years ago. She commented that Aidan was a lucky baby. When I said that we felt like the lucky ones, she agreed - and said that adoption will do that to you!


From there, we hopped back in the van and drove to the museum. Along the way, we passed many roadside stands of farmers selling pomegranates and corn. The pomegranates were huge. It was hard to get good pictures, as our driver was clipping along.


We also saw the man-made mountain that houses Emperor Chin's tomb and underground castle. It's the biggest tomb in the world and has been left untouched by archaeologists. Jo mentioned that this is because there's not technology available yet to help archaeologists open the tomb and preserve its contents quickly enough given that it was covered and sealed in 210 B.C. I kinda like the idea that the site is left untouched - it lends itself to the mystery surrounding the man and his empire. Did you know that he tried to keep the building of the TerraCotta soldiers and guards for his tomb a complete secret? He forced the soldiers and farmers and peasants into slavery to build all of this for his empire and at one time there is thought to be over 700,000 workers involved. Sadly, when one got sick or died, they were often thrown right into the pits with the soldiers they were creating. The whole story gave me shivers, thinking of the parallels to the Israelites and their slavery in Egypt. Greed and power look the same, all through history even through current times, don't they?




This is Pit One, the largest and most populated of the three pits. In this pit alone, there are over 6, 000 soldiers in varying stages of repair and restoration. It's not likely that they will ever get to restore all of them. We came away from this particular pit astounded at the breadth and intensity of one man's vision for his kingdom. Each soldier has a different face, carved and formed by the life-experience of the worker who crafted him. Some of them were stern and harsh, some were watchful, some were scared. You could see all the ranges of emotions. There are four different ranks represented in this museum, but this pit was mainly infantry man and some cavalry soldiers. We learned that these clay soldiers all carried real weapons of the Chin dynasty. When the emperor died and the local farmers and peasants revolted, they broke into these pits, destroyed the soldiers and stole the weapons for their uprising.








The TerraCotta Soldiers were originally unearthed by a common farmer while he and his family were working their fields and digging a well for their family in the mid 1970's. We saw the original location where he was digging in the corner of this pit. Imagine, if he's dug just a few more feet away - this whole treasure might still be under layers and layers of sand and dirt. These buildings were built right over the original pits and their finding locations. There are three pits, named in order of their finding.


We bought a book in the gift shop and got the autograph of the farmer. He used to allow pictures and conversation with a translator. But Jo said over the years that has become wearisome for him and he's very rude to tourists. So they just have him sit there and sign book after book. The books are available in about 10 different languages and are quite beautiful.

This is a completely restored general, one of only 7 that they have been able to find and fix up. He was so stately and imposing up close! According to the ties on his front and shoulders, he is the equivalent of a five-star general.

This is one of two miniature bronze chariots found in Pit 3. One was for guarding the Emperor's spirit and the other was for escorting that spirit to the afterlife. The fine, intricate detail on these horses and the chariots was truly a sight to behold. It's easy to see why this site is considered the 8th Wonder of the World.

It was a long ride home, about 1 1/2 hours, and Little Empress was well beyond her nap time. However, as you can see below, that did not deter her from silly games and funny faces. Oddly enough, I think I have a picture of all 5 kids with their pants on their heads now, too! Some more recent than others, right Dr. D? :)

It was a gorgeous day for all the walking and sight-seeing we did and we feel as if this particular tour gave us a deeper appreciation for our daughter's culture and heritage. We were especially pleased to learn that the famed panda bears are found in the mountains around Xian, and so we bought a delicate little porcelain and bamboo tea set as a gift for Aidan to remember her province. It's painted with scenes of a little panda family. And yes, boys, we got you all your very own TerraCotta soldier. Just not big enough for the front gardens. Believe me, there's no soldier mighty enough to guard that against all the weeds I hear Grandpa has been pulling for you! :)

We just heard from Jo that Aidan's passport will be ready for pick up at 3 p.m. today! Praise the Lord. That means that we can catch the early flight out to Guangzhou (which incidentally falls over Aidan's nap time!!!) and settle into the famed White Swan well before dinner time. We're very excited to begin the next leg of the trip. However, it is a bit bittersweet, as we know that this means Aidan will be leaving all that is familiar to her. We smell differently, we act differently, and we speak differently than everything she's ever known. At least while we were here, she's still had plenty of Xian-ian exposure and attention. We are so grateful for this beautiful land that our daughter came from, but we know this moving on is God's plan for all of us. We feel honored that He chose us to be the ones to walk her through these big changes into her new life!

Since we have to leave the hotel so incredibly early tomorrow, this will be our last post from Xian. We hope you have enjoyed our journey, the good the bad and the ugly, as much as we have enjoyed sharing it with you all! Pray for smooth flights and a sleeping baby tomorrow, please :)

Friday's Site Seeing Wrap Up

Okay, let's get back on track with the beautiful scenes from around Xian. Below is the drum tower, followed by the bell tower across the plaza. These towers were used in ancient times (remember, the city wall around Xian was built over 600 years ago) to signal the opening and closing of the city gates at the beginning and ending of the days. They were also used to send other warning signals or announcements of sorts throughout the city. We walked from our hotel to this plaza area on Friday afternoon, after our visit to the South Gate and the City Wall and after Aidan and The Boss got a good nap. No matter how tired I am, I can't seem to sleep in the afternoons here. The Boss on the other hand, sleeps every time we sit down on the couch for more than 4 minutes :)

Below is the De Fa Chang Dumpling restaurant. Check out the banner announcing their title under the Chinese characters. No small amount of pride there!

The courtyard in front of the restaurant and its neighboring stores was full of people enjoying the cooler air and breezy evening. There were vendors with kites, fans, t-shirts, hats, and all kinds of toys. Little kids were riding their bikes and it seemed as if everyone was watching the Western couple with the gorgeous Chinese baby. Everywhere we go, we get smiles and nods, questioning glances, and even some older folks patting the baby and making eyes at her. She smiles away, clapping and waving - as if she's used to the entourage.

This is the entry way to the dumpling restaurant. None of the dumplings shown here are real, but meant to show interested diners all the different varieties available. Our guide, Jo, had called ahead to make a reservation for their "dumpling banquet" and specified that we preferred nothing too exotic or "scary." Yes, she used the word "scary." I didn't even ask what she meant, but she offered anyway: no animal organs, no frogs, and no dog. Yes. She said dog. What a great start to a new culinary adventure.

This is a big, golden dumpling. No, Shaggy, it is not real and you cannot take it home and eat it. :)

Here are our non-exotic, non-scary, non-dog dumplings. They were filled with everything from chicken and peppers, to veggies and tofu, to pork and leeks, to walnuts with almonds and brown sugar. My favorite was the pumpkin and roast pork dumpling. The Boss liked them all. Aidan liked the pork and leek ones. I cut them up in tiny pieces and she picked them up a little at a time between bites of mashed bananas and green peas. Funny story: even the waitresses here noticed that Aidan ate non-stop from the time she sat down till we left. This girl has earned that little belly she's sportin'!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am totally impressed by The Boss's bravery in sampling all the new foods put in front of him. I am equally impressed with his chopstick skills - he has not left one meal hungry and uses those things almost like the natives! I excuse my lack of dexterity and gracefulness by making sure I'm cutting up food for Aidan all the while that I'm feeding myself. Can't very well cut up a dumpling with chopsticks, now can ya?!

It was a great experience. We are a big dumpling loving family, so this was a special treat for us to be able to enjoy. However, I must agree with our guide, Jo, on this: the dumpling banquet is a fun experience to be able to have. But at the end of the day, the common man's dumpling of pork and veggies is my favorite. Steamed, fried or boiled, just dunk me one in a bit of soy sauce or teriyaki and I'm a happy gal.

Next post, I'll share our amazing day at the TerraCotta Warriors Museum. It was a long drive out there, but well worth the trip. We loved every single minute of it.

Finally, thank you all for your prayers for Aidan, and for The Boss and I. We woke this morning feeling refreshed and Aidan is less stuffy. Her cough is still fuller than I'd like, but we are pleased with her progress. We should be fine for the 2 1/2 hour flight to Guangzhou on Tuesday. Please pray that her passport is processed and finalized early tomorrow to allow for our flight out. The tickets for that flight can't be purchased till we have the passport finalized.