Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos


TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly wait to wake up in the morning and leave. Even though we have a HUGE day of travel, I still can’t wait to officially leave.

Today we had our swearing in ceremony which allows Mia to become a citizen when we land or something like that. We had to take an oath in a room with about 100 other adoptive families. It was nothing big but it was a cool thing to be in that room at the US consulate and have everyone take the same oath at the same time. We also got Mia’s official visa. It is in her passport and she looks so cute in her little picture. We also got the “official” brown envelope that we cannot open or even think about opening. It is for the customs officials to open when we go through. If we open it bad things happen—not sure what but they warned us not to open it.

After the Consulate appointment we came back to the hotel and started packing. We then went and took our red couch pictures and then went to dinner. OUR LAST DINNER!! I took some video as we walked home of the town. I also took some of our hotel lobby. We are now trying to get Mia to bed so we can finish packing.

We have an early morning. Our luggage is being picked up from our room at 8:30am and then we meet our guide in the lobby at 9:30am and then we go to the airport in Guangzhou. Our flight leaves at 11:30am and we arrive in Hong Kong around 12:15 or so. We then have a 4 hour wait until our flight takes off to take us form HK to LAX. We leave Hong Kong at like 4:20pm on Friday afternoon and we arrive in LA at 2:20pm on Friday afternoon. We gain a day plus 2 hours—cool!!!

So, we need some major prayers for Mia on this long journey. She and I both have caught a little bit of a cold and she has the stuffy nose and I don’t think is feeling 100%. I of course being the prepared mom I am came with a supply of baby Benadryl to drug her on the flight home, but pray that she actually sleeps and does well with the descent. She had trouble the one descent we had into Guangzhou so we pray the 2 descents we have tomorrow will be ok on her ears.

We are really looking forward to finally getting home. I can’t wait to see the boys and all our friends and family. Laila, Cassie, Mom and Dad, I will call you in our morning which will be about 4pm Thursday your time to make final preparations for you to pick us up. Remember to get my car out of the shop if you have not already. I am sooo looking forward to seeing you all and I guess this will be my last post in China.

As I mentioned, this has been an amazing journey that has taken the better part of 2 years. It has had its ups and downs but has lead us to the final piece of our family—our little girl. When I reflect on why we could not get pregnant for so long and the long bumpy wait that started at 6 months and extended to 19 months and then being skipped—it just culminates in a perfect wonderful divine plan that God intended us to find the final link to our family half way across the world. All in his perfect timing. I am so thankful for this experience and every bumpy part of it. I am so thankful for Mia’s foster parents and the wonderful care they took of our little girl for the first 6 months of her life. Mostly, I am so thankful for Mia’s birth mother and the sacrifice she made by giving Mia up. She lovingly placed Mia in a pink padded outfit and wrapped her in a blue blanket and put her in a place she was sure to be found. Mia was healthy and well taken care of. We will never know the reasons why Mia’s birth mother gave her up but we do know that she was loved and in turn is an amazingly beautiful little baby who is happy, playful and a joy to be around. She is everything we ever hoped for and more. We are eternally grateful to her birth mother, her foster parents and the support she received from the Yueyang County Orphanage.

I will update our blog as soon as we are home. Thank you to all of you who supported us on this journey. It has been amazing and we are so thankful for all of your love, prayers and support. It has been felt half a world away.

With Love and Gratitude,

Christy

Mia Day 11

Sorry there are not more pictures today. We kind of forgot to take our camera out. Sorry.

Mia loves her mommy too!!

Notice the bowl of rice congee. The girl could live on congee. It is pretty much soupy rice.

This was so funny I had to take a picture of it. She was totally pooping at dinner and literally was grunting and pushing and turned bright red. You can kind of tell in this pictute. Totally funny!!

She is pushing in this picture also. Oh how cute!!!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Today was nothing much. We just did the same things we normally do and that's about it. Sorry-- nothing special. We had our consulate appointment which consisted of our guide taking the paperwork to them and them approving it and then us waiting in our room at 12 noon to get the call that everything went well. That's it. So, that was the big activity of the day-- Whooo Hoooo!!! Before that we had breakfast and Mia napped. After that we went out on a walk, came back to our room and Mia napped. One cool thing happed while Mia was napping the second time I got to leave Kev with Mia and I went shopping. We have pretty much seen everything out there, but it was nice to go out on my own. Got a few things for the boys but nothing special. After that we went to the Thai place again for dinner and then came back to put Mia to bed. Our life at this point is so very simple, but there is a pleasant happiness in the relaxation of the mundane. Totally different than anything we are use to at home. But, I must say, WE WANT TO COME HOME!!!! We are just so ready. We were ready 2 days ago and now that we are this homesick we can think of nothing else. I don't think we are alone in our sentiment. We have spoke to so many others who feel the same way. I think the last 3 to 4 days of this trip are very hard for most. That is the time where you are pretty use to your baby and doing well and done with the whole Chinese food thing and missing the comfort of our lives back in the US. I don't know how celebrities and those who travel a lot do it. I cant imagine living out of a hotel. Even thought all our hotels have been very nice, it is not home. I am soooooo sick of eating out I can hardly stand it. One more meal at Cow and Bridge or Lucy's is going to kill me (2 popular restaurants in Guangzhou). I just want some good normal home cooking. I want to Bar B Que at our house and sleep in our bed- not the rock they call beds here. Oh the comforts of home!!!! There really is no place like it. I don't what you all to think that we are not or have not enjoyed our trip. It has been a trip of a life time and getting our little Mia has been the most amazing thing next to giving birth to our own boys---- BUT and a big BUT, we really miss home and everyone and everything that goes with it!! OK, enough of a tangent-- I will move on.

Tomorrow we have our swearing in ceremony at the US consulate. That is where we take an oath and Mia gets sworn in. Just like the US, we are not allowed to take any cameras or videos in the place or even have them on us so unfortunately we will not have any photos of the ceremony. After that we will try to get our "red couch" pictures. I want to get them with a few of the families that we have traveled with this whole time. There are about 5 families that we have been with since Changsha, so I would like to get a picture with all of them. I would also like to get a picture of Mia with the 2 other babies from Yueyang county. They were all in foster care out of the same orphanage so I would like to have that picture as a memory. After that we pretty much need to start packing. We leave for the airport in Guangzhou sometime in the morning (late morning) on Friday and we fly to Hong Kong. Our plane leaves Hong Kong around 4pm and we arrive in LA at 2:20pm on the same day (Friday). I am so looking forward to landing in LA. I just miss everyone so much and to be close to home will be so awesome!!

Anyway, that is what is up with us. I will write more tomorrow.

Mia Day 9- STARBUCKS!!!!!

Sorry again that there are not a lot of pictures. Today was a lazy day of doing nothing much. We did make our first rum to Starbucks which was a wonderful experience. It is a really nice Starbucks with a fireplace and all (not that we need it since it is almost 100% humidity here in Guangzhou all the time). It was fun just having a snack and coffee and realizing. Other than that, we didn't do much besides a little more shopping.

Mia is doing well. Last night we tried out the "let her cry it out" theory and it did not work. She cried and cried and we let her go for a long time but finally we realized it was not working plus our hearts were breaking listening to her. So, the second I went beside her bed, she was fine. So we took her to our bed and she went to sleep within about 10 minutes. It is frustrating but it is hard to start implementing new schedules and routines when you are halfway across the world living in a hotel. So, we will do all that when we get home and she is in her crib.

As you probably saw from the pics yesterday that Mia got her first pair of squeaky shoes. They are so cute on her and she loves to jump up and down to make them squeak.

Other than that, we are so anxious to get home. We miss home and the boys and our friends and family soooo much. We only have 2 more days and they could not go by fast enough in our opinion. Don't get me wrong. We like China and it has been a wonderful experience, but we really miss home and just want to get back to normal.

Anyway, I will try to take more pictures today and maybe some video. I will post more later.

Ethan and Owen, Only 2 more days and we will be getting on a plane to come home to you. I can hardly wait. We miss you both so much and we cant wait to get home so our family is all together. We love you boys a ton and Mia is so looking forward to meeting her brothers. We will see you soon!! YAAAAA!!!

Love mom and dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mia Day 8

Hi all,

Sorry we are a day late on our posting but we cannot see blogger here in China. Literally, we cannot see anyones blogger here so I cannot post. So, Lai, my friend, is helping me get all this online but sorry for the delay.

Day 8 was the medical exam. It was an amazingly thorough exam that ruled out every possible disorder Mia may have--- NOT!!!! It was a very simple exam that they pretty much looked at her ears, nose eyes and called it good. Of course our little one got the seal of approval and she passed her medical-- Yaaa!!

After that we went just hung out and relaxed. We have done our fair share of shopping and today we are going to go to Starbucks and relax there for a while.

Mia is doing great. Everyday she is blossoming more and more. It is truly amazing how sweet and adorable our little girl is. The only issue, as I mentioned before is that she does not go to bed easily. She cries and cries. We have been thinking that she may need a pacifier but I have been hesitant because I don't want her to be a 4 year old with a paci hanging out of her mouth. Mommy finally gave in last night and our guide found one that is shaped like her bottle and we tried it for the first time and it worked well. At first she fused and fussed but when she finally realized she could suck on it, everything was good. I was worried it would fall out of her mouth and she would cry, but she did OK with it. She slept 12 hours and happily woke up at 8:30am. So, I guess our girl will be a paci girl. I'm going to try to restrict it to only nap and bedtimes.

Anyway, all is well. We are totally homesick and want to get to our boys. We miss them a ton!!! We are saying an extra prayer for Amy (sister in law) and Brad (brother) as Amy will be induced at 6am Tuesday morning. We are praying that delivery goes well and that Savanna comes out healthy. We are sure Amy will be fine as this is her 5th-- Yes, 5th!! We cant wait to get home to see our new little niece and new little cousin to Mia, Ethan and Owen.

Ethan and Owen, It was fun talking to you tonight. We miss you and cant believe we only have a few more days till we see you again!! OH HOW I CANT WAIT!!!! Have a good day at school tomorrow and we will see you soon. WE love you a ton!!!

Mommy and Daddy

A Missed Blogger Day- Day 8

Sorry guys but for some reason here in China the blogger is down. We can pull up all other internet sites but we cannot pull up anyones blogger. It is very frustrating so I am going to try it this way. Hopefully this will post. The video is in a new format because this way is easier to post this way. Just click on the thumbnail and you will be able to see that video. Here it is:

My Recent Shots