We are finally home!

Hello everyone! I am writing this post at 4:30 in the morning after the 4th time putting Emma Kate down for bed. We are all having a difficult time adjusting to the 12 hour time difference and Calvin and I are really struggling with this night time lack of sleep. We feel a little like zombies! We know this will pass but when we get to nightime, the seconds tick by so slowly and the fatigue sets in. We really need your prayers right now for this. I know parents do this everyday but we are just overwhelmed by it. The great thing is that Emma Kate gets up in the morning with a smile on her face ready to greet the day.

We brought the dogs home this morning. We have everyone keeping their distance but Emma Kate does not seem to be scared and the dogs don't seem to be scared either. We hope this continues to go well.

Well, I better go and try to get some sleep. Hopefully Emma Kate will sleep until 7 or 8.

Last Day and Night in China!

Well, here I sit posting to the blog on our last night in China. It is quiet in the hotel room because everyone else is asleep. I am wide awake but should be in bed. We have to leave the hotel at 6am which means we will get up at 4:30. I am not sure how little Emma Kate will like that! She always wakes up a happy baby so I hope that tomorrow is the same.

It is the last night in China for us and I have to say it is bittersweet. We are so ready to be home in our own space, in (somewhat) control of our time (can I say that with a baby?), eat at home and not have Chinese food for awhile. I realize that as we are so anxious to "go home", this has been the only home that Emma Kate has known and that we are taking her from that. We have all tried to soak in the culture, sights, sounds, and people of China. Our plan is that when our kids are old enough to beneift from it, we will do a heritage tour/ visit of China.

The past few days have been busy and hot. We had our consulate appointment, applied for the girls Visa's for the US and done some shopping. We received the girl's official paperwork for immigration in the brown envelope. This brown envelope is sealed and cannot be opened until we arrive in the US. For us, that will be Seattle. Once we get to Seattle, we will go through immigration, hand them the brown envelope and once they are done with the paper inside, Emma and Sylvie will be officially a US citizen. That is pretty cool!!!
We went today to the White Swan hotel and took some pictures. The White Swan Hotel has become famous for adoptive families. Someone started the tradition to dress their newly adopted children in Chinese clothing and take their pictures on the red couches. We wanted to participate and so we did! You will also see some pictures of the girls in matching outfits. We took these photos at our hotel. Stephanie and Brian brought Emma Kate a gift and it was a dress that matched Sylvie's. The girls were so cute!! Sylvie LOVED having her picture taken and growled and smiled at the camera; Emma Kate was not so cooperative. She was not sure about all the pictures and wanted off the couches! I will post a few pictures from the past couple of days.

Red Couch photo at the White Swan

Too cute; growling and laughing

Out for the afternoon on a hot day

Sylvie trying on squeeky shoes

Emma Kate's hair; long in the back and short in the front. Calvin says "It is business in the front and party in the back!"

That is it for now. I really must try to go to bed. I know it will be a REALLY long day tomorrow. Please pray for a smooth, easy flight with the girls. We hope that they will not be too restless and get some sleep on the plane. Much love to you all!

Busy keeping babies happy!

I know you are all checking the blog so I just wanted to do a quick update. Really not much is going on. The babies are getting much more comfortable with us. Emma Kate is teething so she has been inconsolable at times. Thank goodness we have the baby orajel. The adults have all been having some stomach issues due to food I guess. Yesterday was my day and that was fun. I am feeling a little better now but could really use a good nights sleep. The ladies of the group have an appointment for foot massages this afternoon. I am really looking forward to that. We are off to entertain the babies and to check out some shops. I will try to post some pictures later.

Today we had free time in the morning and we just kind of hung out at the hotel and relaxed. In the afternoon, one person from each couple had to go to Mable's room and work on paperwork. We were in there for about 2.5 hours.
Here are a couple videos from today with the girls playing in the room.

 

Well, I have been trying to upload a 2nd video for about an hour now. Let me try it in another post. Maybe I can only do one video per post if they are bigger files. If you don't see another video post, I was not able to do it or just ran out of energy for the night.

Tomorrow morning, Erica and Katie leave for Japan for a couple of days. Then Katie is off to Art Camp in Napa Valley. We will really miss their company and they have been so helpful with the girls. The rest of us will go to the local zoo in the morning and then have a free afternoon. We really have not done much shopping here and we do want to do some of that. We will need to do that in the morning or early evening because it gets so hot.

Guangzhou!

Friday we flew from Nanchang to Guangzhou. The flight was about an hour long but I was so nervous about how Emma would do. What a different experience for the girls. It went very well. There was a little crying with the altitude changes but both girls did very well. We were taken to the Shifu Holiday Inn which is VERY nice. We requested a suite so that when Emma is napping, we could close the bedroom door so she would have quiet. This is by far the nicest hotel we have stayed in on this trip. I think it is because it is the newest. The other hotels were nice but this is nicer. Last night for dinner we were really tired and did not want to go out and find something to eat so we ate at the hotel. The have a dinner buffet and Calvin was loving it as we all were. He was like a kid! There was french fries, bread, cheese, fresh cut fruit, different meats and seafood, sushi, desserts and more. It was very good.

I am writing this on Saturday afternoon/ evening. This morning, we went to get the girls visa pictures made and have their medical exams done. We all did well and passed with flying colors. This morning when I was dressing Emma I noticed that she had a boil on her shoulder. It looked terrible but it did not seem to bother her. When we met with our guide Mable this morning, I showed it to her. She said we would let the doctors and nurses look at it when we had the medical exam. I am not sure I can even describe the inside of the place where we had the medical exam. There were probably 50 families in there with multiple people in each family. We moved from room to room to get various things checked.  Thankfully it was cool inside because it was hot outside! They do a variety of things there. They weigh, measure and check temperatures, they meaure head circumference, check the spine, the ears, throat, and hearing. We showed the boil to one of the nurses/doctors and then there was lots of scurrying around. Apparently this is very common with children in hot places with little to no air conditioning. We actually saw some of the children in the orphanage the day we visited that had some boils. We needed to get it drained and we were given the choice to do it there or go to the hospital. We did it there. Boy, was Emma Kate mad at being restrained. I don't think it really hurt but I was holding her arm to keep it still. She was really crying and turning red and sweating. After we were done, she seemed fine and recovered to her happy go lucky self. We will look at it tomorrow to make sure it is okay. While there in medical exam offices, we met several families that had children from the same orphanage. Two of the girls we figured out were in Emma Kate's room. That is pretty cool! We are going out to eat some Chinese food tonight. Tomorrow we have some free time and paperwork to do. Calvin and I have both had some head congestion/ sinus issues and Brian and Stephanie have had a bit of a stomach bug. I think we are all on the mend and just pray the girls don't get sick.

Here are some pics from the plane ride and the medical exam visit.

Sylvie's first plane ride!

Emma Kate's first plane ride!

The calm before the storm

Tomorrow we have a free day for part of the day. We also have to do paperwork tomorrow so one person from each couple will go with Mable and do paperwork. That should be lots of fun! Not sure I will have any pics for tomorrow but we will see what I can come up with!

Last day in Nanchang

Sorry it has been a day or so since I posted. I used to be so good organizing my time but throw a baby in the mix and I get way off! Yesterday we went to the orphanage. It was a long day!!! The trip took 2 hours each way and the roads were TERRIBLE. I can't even express how bad the roads were much less the way people drive here. I can't believe we don't see bad accidents at every turn. There seems to be no traffic rules except that the more aggressive driver gets to go their way. You might call it organized chaos! Pretty scary when you are holding a baby in your lap. I feel lucky that we got to go to the orphanage but it was sad to see where our girls lived and all the other children there waiting to be adopted. I know you guys want to see pictures so here are some from yesterday.

Emma Kate slept most of the way              Katie and Sylvie

Sylvie and Brian                     Sylvie and Steph

 

The lady holding Emma Kate is her nanny in the orphanage

 

The lady holding Sylvie is her nanny

After we were shown around the orphanage, they feed us lunch. It was very good.

The entrance to the orphanage

Emma Kate's finding spot was at the entrance of the orphanage

Sylvie's finding spot was at a senior citizen's home entrance

Fun in the hotel room

Today, we went to a porcelain shop. Nanchang is known for it's porcelain. We also visited a tea shop and tasted some different teas and we went to a local market.

Not sure what to expect in Guangzhou but in Beijing and here in Nanchang, there is so much traffic and constant honking. And the heat...have I mentioned how blazing hot it is here in China in the summer? For those of you who know me well, I just don't love the heat. Oh well, maybe it will feel cooler when I get back home. We are looking forward to changing cities but I think we are ready to come home and settle in.

My brother heads back home tomorrow via Hong Kong. We will miss him. He has really enjoyed holding the babies! Have a safe trip home Douglas!!!

I will try to post some more videos sometime soon. I am off to bed. We will have to eat breakfast, pack up and head to the airport by 12:30 tomorrow. I think the flight is about an hour and a half and should be a test to see how the girls do on the flight. It should be interesting. I am a little nervous about it. Wish us safe travels. Love to you all!!!

Tengwang Pavilion

Today we went to the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang. It is just beautiful and sits on the Gan River. You can go up to the 6th level and see out over the city. Not sure if I have mentioned this before but it is REALLY hot here in China. Nanchang is one of the hottest cities. Hot with high humidity. Here are some pictures from our afternoon.

We ate lunch at a chinese restaurant after visiting the pavilion then we went back to the hotel. Both girls were tired. Katie gave Emma Kate a bottle and Emma Kate fell fast asleep. She is not the only one who took a nap!

Tomorrow we are going to go to the orphanage for a visit and to see the girls "finding spot". This is the area where they were found and someone took them to the orphanage.

Videos

Okay, here is a video of Sylvie from dinner tonight (sorry it is a little dark) and one of Emma Kate at the hotel playing when we got back.

Sylvie

Emma

Much love to you all and continued thanks for all you love and prayers. We really appreciate that!

Short video of Emma Kate

We gave Emma Kate a bath tonight and she seemed to tolerate it! It is wonderful to have such wonderful seasoned help with Douglas and Erica. Katie is really loving being with her new cousin. I took a short video of her after her first bath with us. It is really hot today. We went to the Jiangxi Province Adoption Center and there was very little airconditioning inside and we were all so hot. Next, we went to the notary's office. Then we headed to Walmart and bought some items for the babies. We are going out to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant and it will be interesting to see how it tastes. I will try to get a video of Sylvie and post it later. Enjoy!

The girls!

Hi Everyone,
We thought we posted some pictures last night via the email post but it obviously did not work. Those posts will probably show up sometime. I know you guys are ready to see the girls so here are pictures from when they brought the girls to us. We choose to all be together when they brought the babies. It was very chaotic when they came. There were around 5 people that came in with the babies into our hotel room. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I will try to post a video sometime soon. I am not sure how to do that but I will try.

The babies have arrived!!!

Bringing Emma Kate to us

Sylvie cried a little when they brought her in.

We think one of these ladies is the nanny and one is the director.

Looking at Emma Kate's finding ad.

Steph, Sylvie and Brian

Uncle Doug with Emma Kate

Stephanie with Sylvie

 Both babies slept through the night. We all had breakfast this morning and now the girls are napping. We have an adoption appointment at 2pm today! I will post more later.

The Great Wall and Tomorrow is the BIG Day!

Hi Everyone! Today we went to the Mutianyu portion of the Great Wall. It was about 1.5 hours from Beijing. We left early this morning and spent several hours there. Unfortunately it was a rainy day so we had to be careful not to slip. The rain and clouds also made the visibility very poor for picture taking. Despite those things, it was still really impressive and exciting to be there. We took a sky lift up to the Great Wall from the area where we were let out. It is interesting that there were many vendors that were peddling their wares. They did not bother us too much when we were headed up to the wall but when we came back they were very aggressive and pushy. After the Great Wall, we drove back into Beijing and went to a restaurant that serves Peking Duck. That was just one of the dishes we had and it was all wonderful!!! Our guide Cindy has just been fabulous. Brian and Calvin have met with a tailor and he made items for both of them. He came Thursday night and measured them. Calvin wanted a sport coat and Brian wanted a suit. Jonny, the tailor, came back Friday night with an almost complete product and fitted them for sleeves and pant legs. He brought them their finished products tonight and it is just amazing the low cost and great quality and quick turn around. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Calvin being silly (imagine that) with our guide, Cindy

Carving the Peking Duck

 Jonny (middle) with Brian and Calvin in their new clothes.

Tomorrow is the big day. We have had to repack our bags and filter some of our stuff to others for their suitcases because China has a limit of 44 pounds per bag for their domestic flights. We knew we were over. We will see if this helped tomorrow. We leave for the airport at 9 am. Our flight is at 11:30. We will check into the hotel and probably have a little time before we meet our girls. It will only be me & Calvin and Brian & Stephanie getting their little girls tomorrow. I think we are all a little nervous but very excited. Please pray that things go smoothly for us and that our girls transition easily and are not too stressed. I know that once we get the girls, we will have limited time for computer time but I will do my best to post each day, even if it is just a few pictures. So far, it seems that late evening works best for me because I am a night owl but we will have to see. I know you guys can't wait to see Emma Kate and we can't wait to meet her either. Okay, I need to try and get some sleep. The beds here is China are like sleeping on a cement floor. The good thing is that we are exhausted at the end of the day which helps us ignore the hardness of the beds. Tomorrow our little world will change! Love you all and thanks for your prayers!