Dedication Day

We had Maylynn dedicated on November 15th. This was a special day - almost 1 year ago we had first seen her picture and knew that she would be our daughter. Now we were dedicating her to our Lord - promising to raise her with God's word with the hopes that one day she would choose to follow Him on her own...

We all went up on stage - she did fine for a few minutes and she allowed Pastor Steve to hold her for a very short time! As you can see, she started crying and the only way i could get her to stop was to bribe her with some gum:) So, i really didn't get to hear the special prayer that was said or anything else for that matter:( But, It was kinda cool because the sermon that day was about Romans Ch.8 and part of the lesson was about adoption! Isn't God's timing so awesome:)

Getting to know Maylynn...

This post may be a little random and not orderly but we decided to brainstorm and share some things that we have learned about Maylynn and what she likes, acts etc... hope that you enjoy getting to know our little MayMay:)

• You can tell what she's thinking by just looking at her face - her eyes & mouth are very expressive:)
• She is a little "parrot" - repeating everything but not correctly
• when she gets an owie - she always insists on a kiss
• if you say anything to her she says "why"
• she pretty much eats anything we give her but she is sometimes a little more selective than 4 months ago. She doesn't finish every morsel on her plate anymore -which is good b/c she is almost wearing a size 4 like her sister (we've gone from 24 months to size 4 clothes in 4 months!)
• she still does the chinese thing when eating soup or anything in a bowl - when she gets down to the end, she'll try to drink it up and push it in her mouth with her spoon:)
• she is very affectionate - loves to give and receive hugs & kisses and telling her m&d "i Love you"
• she likes her babies! and to mother them too by wrapping them up in blankets or stroller them around:)
• she now has her ears pierced like her sister, mom & grandmas
• she loves playing in the bath tub, brushing her teeth & doesn't mind wearing lotion now:) & she is pretty good about me doing her hair...
• she has gnarly bed head in the morning!
• she's so smart & loves to count to 10.
• she likes to sit and color, bead and read
• she will hopefully get tubes in her ears soon. She's had fluid in her ears ever since we've had her home - they tell us that she hears us like we are talking under water -no wonder why her speach is so muffled... fluid in ears & repaired palate...
• she likes to ride bikes & scooters
• when none of her siblings are around to play with she enjoys playing with our dog "oreo"
• all her brother needs to say is that she gets to go play with the "ladybugs" (the name of her class at church) and she'll burst into tears - although, once she's there it only takes 5 min. for her to settle down...
• "be happy" is a phrase that she hears form us alot - she tends to have a sour looking face at times and just needs a gentle reminder to smile and be happy:) she immediately gives us her precious smile that lights up her face!
• When traveling in the car on looooonnnng trips - she like to sleep with her pillow over her face.
• she likes books & puzzles
• her speach is nasally
• she likes candy (who doesn't???)
• she loves it when her grandparents visit!
• when her hands/fingers get cold, she tells us that they are "owie"
• she know almost ALL her bodyparts!
• her belly laugh is so funny & usually gets everyone smiling and laughing:)
• she loves it when her brothers chase her
• her favorite songs are: Jesus Loves me, Jesus loves the little children, ABC's, and Toby Mac's new song "City on our Knees" :)
• She falls down or bonks her head SEVERAL times a day! Brayden enjoys keeping count:)

That's all i can think of right now... i'll add to it later:)

Ladybugs

Yeah! Maylynn is now an official "ladybug" at church. Ladybug is what the 2-3yr old group is called:)

Tuesday morning i took the girls to the club and left them at the "short stop" daycare while i did my kick boxing class (love the class!) This was a "first" for Maylynn to be left with anyone that is not related - she walked right in to play with her big sis and then cried after i said a quick goodbye. But I'm told that she only cried for 5 min - i felt good about the whole situation b/c she had Hayleigh with her:)

So, Wed. night - we/i decided that we should try the church nursery. Hayleigh is not in her class - so i was a bit hesitant but felt that it needed to be done. So, we both went in, i stayed a few minutes to explain to the teachers her language (or lack there of), that she's potty trained and what she calls it (most of the time it is neow, neow (Chinese for potty) but sometimes she says "motty" (English for potty))and that she likes men (a hint for the guy to help out with her;)). I told her good bye and tried to leave - she caught me in an amazing grabbing, fist clinching hold - i hugged her and told her that I'd be back - and the teachers helped to pry her off. I felt HORRIBLE -but i know it is a process and our church life will be so much more pleasant for everyone once she is in her class. After the worship, i snuck back to hear if she was okay and she was. She was so excited to see me at the end - it looked like she had a really good time - i do have to admit she gave me so many kisses that night all over my face when i was putting her to bed - i was amazed but LOVING it! I just let her kiss away...

Please pray that the process is successful on Sunday:)

Pumpkin Patch

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch on Saturday - we went to Job's nursery... a simple nursery with TONS of pumpkins! Not all of the pumpkin patch thrills of farm animals, hay bale mazes - just pumkins and tons of fun being out doors!

Maylynn had fun tromping around the patch and only ended up tripping once! this is amazing b/c she tends to fall several of times a day where ever she is! Brayden usually keeps track of the times that she falls:)

She is definatley attached! I think we are now going to try to leave her in the church nursery - please pray for us that it is a smooth transition!

I got this picture of Maylynn at the hotel for one of Taylor's tourney in Canada - i love that she loves to read and the sun was shining so bright on her...

2 Month update...

Not sure if i'll remember to update this monthly etc. but it just so happens that 2 months ago from today is when we got Maylynn...

I am just amazed at how well she is doing! She has definately captured everyone's heart that has met her. Her smile lights up her face and her cheeks are so unbelievably kissable it's hard to stop kissing her once i've started:) Her hugs are so strong and she is so much fun to cuddle with:) She is very good at repeating EVERYTHING you say - (many times it is not clear but the tones etc. are there) It's so funny - i am trying to teach her many different phrases that are common when first meeting someone - she has "hi" down and "byebye" but i am working on her answering "How old are you?" - well, she just repeats me "how old are you" it's quite funny b/c then i'm trying to explain to her no no no - I say this... and you say this... it is only when i am able to do the same thing with Hayleigh that she kind of understands what she is supposed to do. Hayleigh has been such a good teacher (and bad at times - teaching her bad things - like today she taught her how to stick her tongue out at you if you don't like something - not sure where Hayleigh learned that but i am hoping to nip that in the bud asap!) And when we are trying to holler down to someone to do something etc... sure enough Maylynn is hollering the same thing and no one is able to hear or understand b/c her little voice is interupting etc... it's quite the scene:)

The girls are now separated for sleeping... we started to separate for naps a few weeks ago and that worked wonderfully! they were waking each other up and i could never get to the bottom of it as to who was waking up who! Now Hayleigh is sleeping in Brayden's top bunk at night time as well - they would talk constitanly and keep each other up until we went to bed at 10pm! This new arrangement is working out much better for everyone so far. We do have some space in our basement to finish a room if we need to but not sure where we will but the storage stuff that takes up that space - maybe we can hold off until next spring...

Just as easily as her smile lights up her face, she also has quite the pouter lip! It is rather pathetic and she really "works" it when we are around grandparents and friends! We have been just ingnoring it b/c it seems she is mostly doing it for attention - and she does get it from everyone - i should try to get a pic sometime - it is quite the lip!

She doesn't clean her plate anymore - many times now she will just eat what she likes and then says that she is done and expects to get up and leave the table - sometimes she gets upset but we haver her stay until we are finished or she has eaten a bit more for it to be considered her "meal" :)

She's had her hearing checked and that seems okay but 1 ear had fluid so we are waiting to get that one rechecked -i think?? Her eyes appt. went as good as it could considering her language abilities and her Thyroid tests came back okay. We just have to get her TB test this week at the health dept. and another round of shots on Friday...

Copied and pasted from The Vickerman Family Happenings (Posted on Sept.10)

The girls continue to act like sisters - I think Hayleigh still wishes that she was the only princess here sometimes. We are trying to "catch" Hayleigh being good and reward her for doing nice things, playing nicely etc... "Be nice" is the phrase in our house lately:) I really think that Hayleighs special time at preschool and gymnastics will be the very best thing for her - Maylynn was sure happy to see Hayleigh at the end of H. first day of preschool - it was so sweet and i could see that H. was a bit surprised to get all of the hugs from M.:) Maylynn is still learning the ropes but she is sure catching on. Her receptive language seems to be very good! I asked her in english where many of her body parts are and she did a GREAT job pointing to them! She was very pleased too:) She is such a sweet heart - we just love her so much! Tuesday she had a Dr. appt with a plastic surgeon to look at her cleft palate. He said that it looks repaired but a little short - so that is why she sounds so nasaly and will need speech therapy. He said that when she is much older, she'd probably have another surgery but nothing for a while. Since we were in Richland, we headed next door to the hospital to have MORE BLOOD drawn! I did not want to do it and almost didn't!! But, we did... and she cried her little heart out again for the 3rd time! this time she cried for Brayden - so sweet:) When we got home, as soon as she saw Lance - her lip drooped down and she held out her little owie - she did this routine for everyone in the family - it was quite the show:) Everyone was gracious to her and felt sorry for her:) lol:) Get this though! We got a phone call tonight that we have to have MORE BLOOD DRAWN AGAIN!!!! Apparantly a thyroid test that we just had done - one was pos. and one was neg. so - she has to get another! ugh!!!

New updates at our family blog...

The Vickerman Family Happenings

Mom's gotcha week!

This past week has been fabulous! Lance has enjoyed being able to walk and do things without his "cling-on" and I've been enjoying my new daughter:) She has kissed me, hugged me, snuggled with me, ran to me with open arms, let me take care of her when she's hurt - it has been such a joy! She has also been bonding alot with the kids - which is fun & sweet to see:)

We are not ready to let our "bonding & attachment" guard down yet though - Lance and I will be the only one holding her for the next few months... it is so important for her to understand that we are her only mommy and daddy forever!!

Maylynn's Gotcha Moment

So... here is Maylynn's gotcha moment - it is totally opposite of Hayleigh's :( The person holding the camera is our guide and at one pt. during the taping he had to run over to get a document.

 

 

Home SWEET Home! - Aug. 6th (part 2) & Aug.8 update

So... the plan was that we'd meet our family at Brayden's last swim meet but Hayleigh and Taylor (and i think maybe gma V.) couldn't wait - so, they too met us at the airport. It was so sweet to see Hayleigh FINALLY meet her LONG AWAITED sister - although she had just woken up from a nap in the car and was a bit overhwelmed and a little shy. We headed over to the meet - we had thought that Maylynn was going to have a fit getting into the carseat but she pleasantly surprised us with just a little "delayed" complaining:) As soon as we got to the meet, we snuck up on Brayden - he was happy to see us but a little embarassed by all of my hugging and kissing in front of his friends;) We then sat down with gpa v. to wait for Brayden's events - it wasn't long before Hayleigh wanted to go swing - there were 2 little swings just waiting for them - She quickly took Maylynn's hand and they were off - it was such a precious sight. They played almost the entire time together - just getting to know each other - it was so heart warming to see:) Maylynn also instantly accepted Taylor too - she quickly jumped into his lap! soo cute! I could see in Taylor's face that he too was pleased:) After the meet we grabbed some Little Ceasar's pizza (ohh - that pizza has never tasted soo good -yum!) we also had to make a pit stop at McD's for a few little gems:) We came home to a beautifully clean house!! It was so wonderful and i know that gma & pa V. and the kids worked really hard! The kids were eager to see what we had bought for them in China - then they had fun getting to know thier new sister. They really enjoyed hearing her sing her little songs etc...

Maylynn has done a MUCH better job adjusting and accepting the fact that she is not going to be living in Lance's arms. She does prefer the boys in the family but she is slowly warming up to me. I have been in charge of ALL of the care giving for her (and Hayleigh) Actually, it has been very helpful having H. show Maylynn that there is nothing to cry about while taking a bath, getting dressed, brushing hair, teeth and going potty - Maylynn actually understands now that this is a part of life and is accepting it. Our first night was alittle rough - M. woke up around 1:30 and cried and cried (i think for Lance) but he wasn't going to be coming - soon H. woke up and i told her to go get in bed with daddy -she quickly took me up on that but M. was a little more ticked that she was stuck with only ME! She had alittle fit for about 1-2hrs. (my touches or voice only made it worse - so i just rolled over and pretended to sleep - it worked!) I stayed with her until morning - i didn't want her to wake up again and be frightened with no one there. Last night went much better - both of the girls skipped their naps for the day and was asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow! and they didn't wake until morning - woohoo! I am praying that is the case for tonight -so far so good = 2 girls asleep:) Also, the past 2 nights i've had both girls in my lap for books - M. loves books - she just sits so good and listens - it amazes me b/c how can she understand a word i'm saying? - i'm hoping she is soaking all of the language in.

Tonight (Aug.8) we went to the neighborhood park and the girls had fun playing on the slides - well, we started a thing where when they went by they'd give me five, the next time it was 10 and the next time H. gave me 10 and a hug and M. quickly followed -it was so sweet - i just soaked it in - it was actually the very first time that SHE came to ME and gave me a hug and a little sweet pat on the back - she did it 3 times! I'll never forget this day:)

She is doing so much better but we are being very careful about who offers to hold her. We won't be putting her in the church nursery for a few months, or leaving her with a sitter - we really want her to understand that we are her main caregivers and the people that she needs to attach too. So, please don't be offended by us requesting people to not to offer to hold her - there will be a time but not yet:) The boys are loving her to death too and love to hold her and she'd prefer that they'd hold her instead of me but they have been so understanding to not hold their arms out to her when i am holding her. They have had plenty of opportunities to sit with her or carry her around though - H. too! although the "big sister" novelty is slowly wearing off and while they have a great time playing together there are times when M. just wants H. to leave her alone. And there are times when H. has a bit of jealousy - H. also has been extra sensitive so, i've been smothering her with hugs and kisses!! (Lance has too) Actually, the boys have been great in including H. in their playing with M - they are the best big brothers. I am just so amazed at them! Honestly, they really weren't too keen on the idea of adopting again but their hearts have QUICKLY changed! They love M. so much and Brayden even asked us yesterday if we could adopt again - our answer to that was "our table is full :)"

Maylynn has definately made a difference at our house and each day is getting better.

Also, i really want to thank EVERYONE for their prayers, words of encouragement and kind gestures through out our journey. Adoption is not as easy thing - as you have read there are good times and bad times - i hope that i've been "real"enough to convey that. Even though we recieved our daughter 2 weeks ago - i have been in a deep valley and am so grateful for the prayers and scripture that has been shown to me - i really feel that He has been reaching His hand down to me and slowly - day by day - drawing me closer to Him and pulling me out of that valley again. Thank you so much Jesus - you are my rock.

This Adoption journey is now over but the story continues as a family - "The Vickerman Family Happenings" blog will be taking over. I will be occasionally posting to this website if something only applies to Maylynn and her adoption or adjustment. Thanks for following!

Oh - i almost forgot! I can finally share her "confidential" details now that the adoption is final!
Chinese name: You Ru Shui ( i think it (Ru Shui) means peaceful water) You is her surname/last name
Born: April 17, 2007
Found on May 24, 2007 and placed in the Guilin SWI on May 26th, 2007
Placed in foster care on July 25, 2007
Repaired cleft palate surgery in April 2008

Home sweet Home! - Aug. 6th (part1)

Warning - a long rambling post... :)

That was the longest day since maybe about 4 yrs ago (when we brought Hayleigh home):) We are so glad and thankful for all of the prayers! We were a little wearrie when we woke up and saw that it was raining and then soon found out that it was because of a Typhoon - great! I mentioned our worries to our guide and he said "no problem! unless it thunders and lightening" and about 10 sec. later - yep! Thunder and Lightening - great! Our drive to the airport was rather quiet - mostly concentrating on the roads and weather and praying that we would still be able to leave. We were also seranaded by Maylynn's singing - she loves to sing (although she's not singing words -chinese or english- just making her own sounds up to the tune) it is very cute and she loves it when i sing with her:) We made it to the airport with perfect timing and we were quite the sight to see - after we made it through our first of oh maybe 15 security checks for the day, Lance's arms had given out and he wanted M. to walk - well she didn't want to so i carried her screaming through the airport in China - we got several looks (and this wasn't the first time that it had happened for the day - smile:)) we made it to the gate - i set her down and guess what - she stopped crying... our first flight was only about 3 hrs. and not too bad - we were bummed that they had ran out of the more "american" type of dinner and we didn't get much to eat - but Maylynn didn't eat all of her monstrous meal so i had a few nibbles of her leftovers - it was a good thing too. Maylynn sat in Lance's lap for pretty much the whole time - we were able to get her to sit for a few moments here and there doing coloring, stickers and eating. We also had enough time for our connecting flight out of S. Korea to Seattle - no amazing race today - horray! but we were quite the sight again - Maylynn didn't want to walk but needed too and she did but we got several looks again. She is very strongwilled... Our flight to Seattle was about 9 1/2 hrs. - we sat very near the back of the plane and it was very turbulent and just plain wiggly! I started to get sick - i have never gotten airsick before but i felt like it was coming - they soon served dinner and oh my goodess was that unbearable!! I had to get up and sit in the bathroom for about 5 min. but didn't get sick - when i had returned, Lance and Maylynn were done with their meal and was ready to walk around a bit - so i quickly jumped into his seat (near the window) and remembered that i had some air sickness bands in my backpack from 4 yrs. ago! Whoo hoo! I slipped those puppies on and sprawled over 2 of the 3 seats - put my mask on - propped up my pillows and tried to go to sleep - i think that i did and i felt much better when i woke up. But then L. was super frustrated with M.'s clingyness - he ended up walking to the back of the plane again - i soon followed and told him to go to the bathroom and i'd take her - she complained and cried but was so tired, she quickly gave up and was asleep in my arms for the FIRST time - woohoo! I loved it and didn't want to move for the rest of the flight but we had about 6 hrs. left and my arms were already burning after about 20 min.:( soon after i carefully moved my way back into the seat without changing her position at all - she woke up:( and crawled back into her daddy's arms but we were able to keep her laying in the seat - thank goodness!!! About 2 hrs. before we landed they served breakfast - i was so excited and hungry by then but by the time they got to me - they had JUST ran out of the omelette - i was sooo tired and rather hungry that i just started to cry - i couldn't turn the tears off... the stewardess felt bad and gave me some other things to nibble on which turned out to be good enough:) I felt so weird crying about not having food but it had happened 2 times in the same day!! Anyway, we soon made it to Seattle - we were hoping to make an earlier flight to Pasco but we didn't make it:( We had to go through immigration -which we weren't really sure what line to be in - the lady at the consulate told us that since our child was a foreigner that we had to go through the foreigner line but there was just the American and visitor line -so we got int eh visitor line - we were standing there watching the American line zipping through and our line was inching along:( soon a gaurd guy saw us and asked us if we were americans but if we were just returning with our daughter -we said "yes" and he pulled us out of line and zipped us to the next open station - we were so happy that i almost started to cry again! Then when the passport immigration agent stamped all of our things etc. he told us to go to another stations to process Maylynn's paperwork - then he said "Welcome home" tears started welling up in my eyes - it was such a sweet sound to hear - i loved it and the agents were so friendly (in China you feel like you shouldn't smile or look at the agents) anyway, we made it down to the next station about 20 min. later they stamped Maylynn's passport and she was now a US citizen!! woohoo! We then had to go get our luggage and go through customs - we felt like cattle herding through the gates to the officer - we gave her our information and she too said the words! "Welcome home!" I love those words!:) We then had to drop our luggage off to be put back intot he luggage area to be put on our plane and then we went through a few more security checks and by then it was 2:00. We had a bit to eat and freshened up a little bit (mostly Maylynn - she was a wreck!) She fell asleep again while we waited for our last flight - we were a bit nervous b/c there wer TONS of people at our gate - we found out that some other flight were delayed b/c of mech. problems. About 10 min. before our flight was to board- they made an announcement that they had to delay this other flight some more but were possibly going to switch out the plane with a different one - Lance and i quickly started to pray that it wasn't going to be our plane! and it wasn't thank goodness! We boarded, left Seattle and before we knew it we were landing in Pasco!! We were so glad to be home! We came home to family and some special friends - what a wonderful sight to see - loving and familiar faces!!! We were Home!!!

stay tuned - more to come tomorrow...

Pr-yers please

we just found out that there is a tropical storm "Goni" that is moving toward China in the next 48 hours.  We will have to fly over it hopefully  - so please pr-y for safe travels!
 
And keep pr-ying for the Scruggs family: http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/  they are still waiting for a decision on whether or not they will have to leave thier new daughter.

Guangzhou - Aug. 5

Sassyness and tantrum 2's!!!  That was the theme of the day... so, i'm sure you can imagine how ready we are to go home:)  She still prefers Lance over me - but now i think it's more of a "power kick" thing - whatever... her "spoiled world" with dad is about over and her life will be changing yet again when we finally become 1 family again - i cannot wait to see my kiddos:)
 
Today we had a late breakfast (enough to get us by without having lunch) - afterwards, we took the traditional red couch pictures - she did a good job sitting somewhat still and smiling;) I was then anxious to get packing and organized while Lance and Maylynn played in the playroom. We decided to have Maylynn take an early nap - b/c we all know what happens when she doesn't get her sleep!  She's worse!! YIKES!!! we woke her at 2:30 so we could meet the shuttle to go to the US consulate for our FINAL step!  We couldn't take any cameras, cell phones or electronics - don't ask me why??? It's not that big of a deal... we all just submitted our final paperwork and then as a HUGE group took an oath that all of the information that we gave was the truth - they then gave us the "brown envelope"  It has a special seal on it and cannot be open until we go through immigration in Seattle.  As soon as her feet touch the ground she will be a US citizen:)
 
I also took a picture of our favorite "western" restaurant "Lucy's"- we ate there tonight - it was very pleasant - especially b/c Maylynn had a tantrum:) smile:)
 
Anyway, i'm exhausted, emotionally tired, worn out, easily cry and just plain ready to go home!  Please pr-y for our flights (no turbulance) and that we make all of our connections without running through the airports...  We are hoping to be home in Pasco around 5pm but if we can get on an earlier flight WE WILL!! However, we have to go through immigration with the other 500 people that i'm sure are wanting to come to the US tomorrow:)

Guangzhou - Aug. 4

Today was our consulate appt. day - we didn't have to do anything for it, just our guide - he had to turn in some paperwork etc.  We now will go to the consulate tomorrow afternoon to do some swearing in stuff in order to get her visa - then we are coming home!!! woohoo!!! we are soo anxious to get home - we are so tired of being here... ready for some normalcy - our little Maymay is definately a little spoiled here -but that will be a rude awakening to her when we get home!  She can definately throw some good 2 yr. old tantrums! and we've seen some more "sassiness" out of her today (more so when we are with our guide???)- we are trying to nip that in the bud as quick as possible:) 
 
Can't wait to get some good huggins from my kiddos at home!!  I miss them terribly:)
 
We didn't do too much today - just trying to pass the time away... after bkfst - we went swimming - it was a good thing we went when we did b/c it was kind of rainy and dreary later today... she's really liking the kiddie pool:) then we took a nap, played in the playroom and met our guide DAvid for dinner.  Instead of going on the traditional river boat dinner cruise (which we did last time and did not enjoy it) he took us down the street for a very good chinese dinner - it was delicious!!  It was nice and cool after dinner so we took a nice walk - Maylynn really enjoyed watching some people playing badminton in the park - it is very popular here... Now we are back at the hotel for our night time routine.
 
Ps. Sheryl - we were able to find Mtn. Dew in the bottle - i hope that's okay - we don't have access to anyother stores to find a can... see you soon!

I love you...

OH!!! i forgot to share the best news!!!  for the past few days, i have been able to tell her 'I love you - wo ai ni" and she hasn't buried her head into Lance and cried!! Tonight after i said it, she actually let me kiss her on the nose and she smiled!  So sweet:) What a change in the past 7 days!

Guangzhou - Aug. 3

Just the usual -wasting time away so we can go home day...
 
Although, there are a few things to report:)  Last night, it was the cutest thing!  Lance had read Maylynn books etc. tucked her in and layed with her for a few minutes.  Soon after, he "snuck" off the bed and crawled next to me - she kinda peeked over but never whined about it - soon after that, she started singing -she sang for about 20 minutes - it was soooo sooo cute:)  Usually at about 8:30 she is ready for bed and simply falls asleep - we ar thinking that she had some extra energy b/c she ate a Magnum bar (remember those my PHF friends:)) anyway - we didn't taste her's until she was done and found out it was coffee flavored -hmmm...
 
So, she went to bed late and woke up early (had an accident:() and proved to be very tired this morning - so were we.  Breakfast was successful again but then we went shopping agian at the mall to the pearl factory etc.- she was a bit out of hand and a few time was quite a little you know what! She  hit me and screamed very madly at me - i wasn't going to let her get away with it and firmly told her no etc... We bought a few things including an extra suitcase:) Some of the deals aren't too great here though - some things i think that i can get at walmart for the same price:) except for pearls and the chinese essentials;)  After lunch we all took a 2 hr. nap - it was wonderful and my sweet girl has been back!  We went swimming again, dinner at Lucy's again and Magnum bars on the way back to the hotel (Maymay had vanilla icecream though:)) Now we are watching her video that she LOVES!!! and sang last night:)
 
Oh - i almost forgot - her TB test was negative but we just found out about a family here with the postivite TB test nightmare!  You can visit there website at:http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/  and please pr-y for them - we cannot imagine what they are going through!
 
Tomorrow we have a lazy day - our guide goes to our consulate appt. tomorrow and will meet up with us later to take us to dinner.  We were supposed to go onthe river cruise but we did that last time and do not want to do it again:)  So glad that we have an option to not do it!
 
sorry no pics today:(

Guangzhou - Aug. 2

Today was fairly uneventful... We met our guide at 9:30 and he took us to the ChenTemple.  We had gone there 4 yrs. ago but this time David (our guide) explained more to us - last time we were just let loose to figure it out on our own.  It was interesting... Afterwards, we went to the toy market to do some shopping for our precious gems back home:)  This was a "wholesale" market and no bartering there - We were fairly successful:) Tomorrow after we get Maylynn's tb test read (which looks good to us) we will go to the Pearl/Jade Market.

 

This afternoon we had a fairly successful time taking her swimming - there is a baby pool that we hung out in - i wanted to take some pics but they wouldn't allow it around the pool area...

 

She is such a good player - it is so much fun playing with her during our little "play therapy" sessions:)  She loves to copy my marks when coloring and whenever we are done playing with anything - she is SO good about cleaning up and putting her things away!  Oh and she loves the stacking cups - i've never seen any child play with them as long as she does - they've been a hit too:)

 

Maylynn is doing better - we are starting to think that her little crying/whining fits are out of habit now.  I've been able to do pretty much everything for her/with her -she'll cry a little bit but it's kind of a dramatic cry and she easily stops when we are done getting her dressed or help her go potty etc...  we try not to make a big deal out of it - we'll console her and tell her it's okay etc... but then we move on.  Like i said in an early post - we pick and choose our battles...

 

We've begun the countdown until we go home :)

Guangzhou - Aug. 1

Yesterday was actually a really bad day - i had my break down moment last night and just let it all out -it felt good, my heart was so broken... Maylynn definately went backwards yesterday but today was an exceptionally NEW day!  We saw so much more of her personality today and it is precious!  We thought for sure she'd be whinny and crying miserable all day b/c of her shots but that was not the case.  She kind of sat by herself for breakfast, smiles, playing with me, blowing me kisses, playing peek a boo, playing ball, dancing, singing - granted there were a few times when she'd try to resist me... we are now keen on when she is just being dramatic or a power struggle:)  So, we pick and choose the battles;)

 

I gave her bath this morning and was able to do pony tails today - so darn cute!! We had a wonderful breakfast here - i think that the 4 lbs. that i lost last week i will be gaining this week - although, we are still sweating about 2 lbs a day - no need to work out to break a sweat here! It was wonderful to see so many Americans at breakfast - some familiar faces from Nanning too... We met Rebecca (guide) at 9:30 for Maylynn's medical exam.  Before the exam we had her passport/visa picture taken - i was able to get a cute smiling picture - then we headed to the medical exam.  The examiners were very good with her and understanding (better than when we were there 4 yrs ago) The last stop was the shots and TB test - we thought she was going to have 6 shots but only ended up with 4.  We had quickly said a pr-yer before this step and we were so pleased to hear that she only needed 4 shots -still that is 4 too many that we wanted to do here but unfortunately it is mandatory and we cannot opt out of it - it had to be done to complete the adoption and get her visa.  The CDC and NVC require this for Hague families;( Hopefully, they will change this for others int he future.  She didn't cry with the TB test but there were tears flowing for the shots - we had to wait there for about 20 minutes before we could leave.  So far she has not had any reaction to anything - we did give her tylenol this afternoon and evening just in case:)  We have to go back Mon. morning to look at the TB test spot.

 

Lance and Maylynn found the playroom and had a great time playing while Rebecca and i finished organizing paperwork.  After lunch Maylynn and Daddy napped while i took the laundry down to get done and did more shopping:) After naps, we treated ourselves to Starbucks! - very expensive though and probably won't do it again... Then we headed back to the playroom - it was fun watching Maymay play with the other kids - she was so good with them.  It's funny to see people's reactions when we tell them her age - she looks more like 3 to us and this is what everyone else thinks too... In the playroom, there is a picture of her playing with another 2 yr. old girl and Maymay is about 1 head taller than her:)  But Maymay's speech is more like a 2 yr. old  - so who knows??? When Maylynn told us she was done playing we headed back to the room and played some more - coloring, stickers, ball, and with her new musical toy - i got some very cute video of her dancing:)  We had a nice dinner at an italian restaurant at the other end of the island and now we are back at the hotel for our night time routine.  Like i said, today was a great day:) We are looking forward to more fun times tomorrow - we think we are doing some touring with our guide.

 

Thanks so much for all of the pr-yers and comments - they are so encouraging:)

 

ps. don't forget to check out the pictures on the shutterfly website:)

Guangzhou July 31

Not too much exciting stuff going on today... We left Guilin and said our goodbyes to David this morning - we arrived here at the White Swan hotel around 2pm.  We love it here - feels very familiar... we went to Lucy's for a late lunch - please keep pr-ying for Maylynn - she hasn't eaten much today and seems to take steps backwards on the days that we fly:( it's been a rough day:(
 
We have her medical exam tomorrow morning at 9:30.  She is supposed to get 6 shots! and 1 TB skin test!  It brings tears to my eyes to think of what she has to go through tomorrow - this is a new rule in place from the US National Visa Center.  They have just started to require the orphans to have all of their shots here at 1 time and children over the age of 2 have to test negative to TB.  In the past, this was the parents responsibility to do once we got back to the US under the expert supervision of our pediatricians. We are not happy about what is going to happen tomorrow.  Many people have written letters to senators and congressmen - we plan to when we get home...
 
That's all for today... thanks for all your pr-yers - we need them!
 
Ps.  we were able to skype home this morning and it was wonderful to see the kids - we miss them soo much!

Guilin July 30 - Orphanage visit

Today has seemed to be going even better so far... right now Maylynn is napping with her baba:) We'll see what the rest of the day has in store for us:)

 

It really helps when she gets all the sleep that she needs:)  This morning she did better when Lance had to shower - i held her for most of the time and then eventually she was calm sitting on the bed waiting for Lance to get done.  It's a fine line on whether or not i should let her be or be near her or hold her- i'm pr-ying about that.  I just want her to feel safe with  me too... Anyway, breakfast went better today too - She actually sat in her own chair to eat.  Lance helped to feed her and i sat across from her... Then we were on our way to the orphanage.  We told our guide that we were okay to meet the foster mom if she wanted but ne siad that the director said that the foster mom was too upset and so we weren't going to meet her... We arrived at the orphanage and instantly the director was there to greet us.  She is a very nice lady - her name is Fu.  We also spoke with a nanny there and she walked us around the grounds.  We were dissappointed to find out that they would not let us into the orphanage b/c of the swine flu (they are crazily over cautious here with that whole thing - commercials about it too!)- not too sure why we were there - Maylynn was a bit upset when we arrived - not sure if she recognized it or what - Lance tried to get her to play but she didn't want too.  While he was trying to play with her, i asked to meet Meiyang.  She is a precious 7 yr. old that is going home to her forever family in NC very soon.  Her mom asked me to relay some information about them and to let her know that they will be there for her very soon.  This was the very best part of the trip!  I was even able to meet her foster mom.  It was a wonderful experience - i was crying just telling her about her family - Meiyang is very excited but nervous too - she has been with this foster mom for the past 5 yrs.  We were able to visit for about 15 minutes with them - you'll see some pics of her and her foster mom on my shutterfly site.

 

Maylynn did fine leaving the orphanage- i guess that she didn't really spend much time there - only once a month for check ups etc... oh- we also can't figure out her special need.  The director said it was a cleft lip - our papers said a cleft palate - we can't see anything on her lip and from what we can see her palate looks okay. ???? We'll have our dr's check it out at home - won't that be fun! ;)  We did find out that Maylynn had a

 

After the orphanage visit we were dropped off at the "Elephant trunk" rock thing - i wasn't able to get any pictures - we had to pay to get a better look - and we didn't want to do too much walking (we were already dripping with sweat)  we did walk back towards the market area in the city center  - i bought a few other things adn then we went to KFC for lunch.  We are now back at the hotel to nap... She is doing much better - not as histerically upset as previous days - she does say that she misses her mom - it's very sad - i just wish that she would accept me as her mom - soon, very soon - is what i'm pr-ying...

 

Maylynn woke up from her nap upset again.  It makes me so sad that i can't soothe her and be the mama that she is wanting...  After about 30minutes, she started to calm down and we decided to sit down and play.  We had a fabulous time!  We started out slow with books - she really like the book of our family members - we went through it several of times and she started to repeat what i was saying "gege ai ni, jie jie ai ni, etc..." it was so sweet:) then we moved onto stickers and then playing with the balls - this was when she really lit up and was all over the place - it was wonderful!!!  Then she remembered that we had playdough that we tried to get her interested in a previous day - boy she had a great time... She is so darn cute and it is precious the way she is very meticulous about cleaning up after herself (did you hear that kids??? ;)  When we were playing balls, if she knocked something over - she'd immediatley stop to clean it up and then would carry on playing:) 

 

We met David for dinner for Chinese - i told him no more KFC or McD's!!! If Lance didn't like what we ate then he could starve or eat in the hotel later:)  My stomach could not take that stuff anymore!!!  We had a wonderful chinese dinner: our favorite: sweet & sour pork, fried rice, pan fried dumplings, rice noodles & deep fried pumpkin strips -yum yum!  Dinner went great too - Maylynn sat between me and Lance and i even helped feed her and she asked me to too! It was wonderful:) So many more smiles today:)  AFter dinner we took an nice stroll along the river - now we are packing up to get ready for our flight tomorrow to Guangzhou - this is the last stop but will be there until Thursday... We are ready to go home:)

 

Ps. our internet connection is soooo slow!  i am having a hard time getting pictures to upload today:(

Guilin July 29

More baby steps... we left Nanning at 6:30am -ugh- too early and Maylynn is not an early riser!  When she is tired everything is much worse:(  She did great on the plane though - Lance sat at the window, then her seat (which was empty b/c she was on his lap the whole time) and then me across the aisle and David (our guide).  It was a really quick flight - she was happier on the plane than in the airport etc...  she colored with me and fed me some crackers:)  She fell asleep on the way to the hotel in Guilin and when she woke up -she was CRABBY.  Our room was not ready yet - so we decided to go eat at the hotel restaurant but Maylynn apparantly didn't want that - she cried unconsolably.  So, we went up to the room and nicely asked the cleaning lady to hurry:)  By this time - Lance had had it! We had talked earlier about maybe in a few days for him to just leave and her to have to put up with me:)  Well, this time was now!  Since she was already upset about something -we decided why not now:) The cleaning lady was a little concerned and wanted to hold Maylynn - i told her no and asked her to leave - nicely:)  She had a great crying fit - nothing that i'm not used to with dealing with at work at CBC;)  I wouldn't put her down and just held her and told her that i loved her (in chinese) and that i was her mama (pointing to me) I tried the soothing Chinese phrases and then when she kept carrying on - i just told her no (bu)  She finally gave up - we layed down ont he bed together and watched some cartoons - i continued to keep my hands on her - rubbing her back or her hair:) she didn't want me to but when she tried to take my hands off - i just told her no and she stopped... Lance ended up calling after it was quiet for awhile - i told him to go get some lunch and we were fine.  Then i remembered about the "Learn to sing and dance with Mei Mei" - LOVE that video - big hit!!! (Hayleigh loves it at home too) We layed on the bed and watched it - it was so sweet to see her eyes light up to songs that she new - she kind of sang a few words with a bit of a smile - she even did some hand motions to twinkle little star:) very precious!  Then Lance came back and she was back in his arms - things were a little better than before... We all went down for lunch - we were able to get her to turn from L.and face the table to eat her noodles!  After lunch we were hoping to walk around Guilin - but it started to rain! big bummer - we were stuck in the hotel - BLAH!!!!  But Maylynn (aka Shui Shui) needed a nap - she's been napping now for about an hour - i am pr-ying that she is happier when she wakes...

 

Cont'd... Luckily after her nap, the rain had stopped and the sun was out - YEAH!!! So, we strapped up maylynn in the Hip hammock and off we went.  We are staying at the  Guilin Bravo Hotel and out our window is a beautiful lake and park.  We took off exploring the different pathways - beautiful area with bridges etc... (i'll try to post some pics on the shutterfly site) We were scheduled to meet David at 5pm.  We did and walked to the city center - David was able to get Maylynn to walk too!  She was so cute - we could see some of her personality coming out - swinging her arms etc... Lance was in 7th heaven not having to hold her!  We did some shopping and got a few things that represented her area... a love ball, a book of Guilin, and a chop with her name.  Maylynn also did some shopping - she's a good shopper!  she got a bracelet for 1 yuan! unfortunately, it broke on the way home:(  For dinner - you'll never guess where we ate!!! yep! McD's - ugh - Lance does not want any chinese food so we've been eating there more than we eat it at home!  Maylynn loves the ketchup - she ate a few fries too!  After dinner we headed back to the hotel in a taxi.  This is our second time in a Taxi - we've never been in a taxi before and now 2 times in China - my last trip here in NOv. i got to ride in the subway - i guess China is the place for new experiences! :) Anyway, i was able to get some smiles out of Maylynn and captured it on camera too! *The picture above is that smile! * Our taxi was only 9 yuan = $1.50ish - well worth the ride!  We said our goodbyes to David for the day - which was upsetting to Maylynn - it seems she is a bit attached to David - we are not surprised though, she can communicate with him etc... it's only a few more days and her world will be rocked again... since she was upset - we decided to go ahead and give her bath together (mostly me though) - we didn't get her out though until she stopped crying - even though it was only about 15 seconds of not crying, she did it and i got her out and her dressed - she did okay - we settled down to watch some tv - i sat next to L.and M. and held L. hand - she didn't like it but we did our usual - "guai guai = calm down/it's okay", "bu=no", "wo ai ni = i love you" and "hun hao = very good".  She seems to listen very well - and did calm down.  It seems that our "Daddy going out to lunch by himself intervention" helped a little bit.  I'm sure tomorrow will be really upsetting to her and we will just let her cry it out - that last thing we heard is that the foster mom will not be there - she is much too upset still - i can understand and am willing to let what happens - happen:)  We meet David at 9:30am to leave for the orphanage - so at 6:30pm please - start pr-ying for little Maylynn (aka. Shuishui:))

Baby Steps Cont'd - Nanning July 28

So... the afternoon was 1 step backwards but maybe 2 steps forwards now????

 

We went for a walk soon after lunch down the other end of the lake - Maylynn started out in the stroller - Lance put her in it while i was out of the room - we walked for about 20 minutes and then Lance said something to her that struck her sadness and she only wanted him to hold her for the rest of the walk - it was very sunny and very humid - we enjoyed some ice cream but by the time we got back to the hotel we were literally dripping with sweat - i know now why they are so skinny here - they sweat off the excess fat:)  I have lost at least 4 pounds so far!! woo hoo:) and i love weighing myself in kilograms:)

 

Since we were so hot - we decided to try swimming.  Well - she didn't like that too much... Lance was really bummed:( I really feel sorry for him - he is wearing out... So, we headed back to the room and decided since she wasn't happy with us anyway to go ahead and pop her in the tub.  she was so sweaty from yesterday's ordeal and today's walk- yuck!  She wasn't too crazy about the bath -cried but oh well... Lance and i gave it to her together.  When she got out of the tub - i told Lance to go ahead and walk out and i'd finish her up (she wasn't happy anyway and it gave him a 2 minute break) 

 

She finally settled down and then we were off to dinner.  This dinner was alot better than last nights!  We actually got to sit and eat together - before the dinner came we (mostly L.) played - she even gave a little giggle:)  she really likes her cell phone - another big hit! Then she pretended to feed lance some dinner.  Dinner actually came and she ate (in L. lap) - she loved the noodles.  I kept telling him that he needed to eat too - i had the feeling that once she finished that she was going to be all done and ready to leave... sure enough - something triggered and she was upset... he took her to look at some fishtank - she sometimes likes piggyback rides -so cute:) i finished my dinner and then he came to try to eat - luckily he was able to eat some. 

 

Instead of heading back up to the room - we decided to go sit down by the lake.  We had a really nice time - we played some more with her phone and then at lollipops together:) We were really having a great time - then the bats came out! yikes! we (I) quickly walked back to the hotel!  so here we are... i'm blogging - b/c i can and Lance is laying down with Shui Shui on his tummy watching Chinese cartoons... We leave at 6:30 am for Guilin - wish us luck with this airplane ride (only 1 hr.) and our time there.

 

When she gets really tired, she is very sad for her foster mom and all she wants to do is have Lance hold her standing up - not sitting or laying down - standing up - needless to say he is getting REALLY worn out:(  This afternoon while trying to get her to nap - he just couldn't hold her anymore and just layed on the bed - she did everything she could to pull him up - eventually, she gave up and layed down next to him and closed her eyes for a little bit - enough to get a little bit of rest... I truly feel sorry for Lance and he is getting frustrated but i told him to remember that she is grieving- what if we were to lose someone and that at least he CAN hold her and he can do things with her and she won't cry -she needs him... truly, my heart is broken and i deep down i am sad too but i know that she will come around eventually- and i am just so happy and grateful that i am here with her and soon enough she will understand that i am now her mama:)  We are still wondering if we should take her to the orphanage with us on Thursday - if anyone has any advice - please share it with us:)

It's official... and baby steps:)

Last night she was fairly content in Lance's arms watching Chinese cartoons.  We were able to put PJ's on her and a pull up (just in case) -she came to us in panty's:):):)  The night went great - she slept soundly from 8:30 and we woke her at 8am to skype home.  Hayleigh, Taylor and gma & pa B. enjoyed seeing her - they were able to see the half of her face peering up over Lance's shoulders.  Lance got her dressed -i was able to help just a little bit and then we headed down to breakfast.  We really weren't sure how this was going to go - last night at dinner she cried the whole time and L, had to bring her back to the room early... But, she was a hungry baby girl - we were soooo pleased - an answer to pr-yer!  Lance got her a plate full of watermelon, a banana and some cereal congee.  While he was back at the table feeding her - i got my b.fast and his - our usual omelette!!  She ate really good - she loves watermelon and the omelette. Whew... 1 meal down:)  we were so worried about her not eating anything last night - so glad that she did today...

 

After bfast we headed down to the civil affairs office - the same place that we got her - as soon as we walked into the room with the other people in it from yesterday - she instantly started to cry.  Lance ended up walking the dark hall with her and was able to get her to giggle - things were starting to look up:)  It was soon our turn to take our oath to promise to take care of her etc... and to let them know that we did want to adopt her.  We had to sign several of documents and also put out thumbprint next to them -then it came time for Shui Shui (Maylynn) to stamp her foot - it was a struggle but i think it got done - L, has red ink all over him... 

 

Then we were off to the Notary.  Luckily, we were the first family there.  Maylynn really started to relax in the van on the way there and in the waiting room - she has started to look at me and with the help of the guide and Lance, she has been interacting more with me but in L. arms of course:) that's okay - baby steps!  In the waiting room, she actually told us that she had to go potty - so L. got to take her. We weren't sure how she'd do on the western toilet but L. said that she did great!  We were having a great time playing - she was feeding me etc.  Then the other people came and instantly she started to cry:( so we left the crowded room and she was okay... After we signed a few papers there we were done and headed to McDonald's!

 

Lance actually got to eat his lunch without Shui shui on his lap:) She sat in the high chair and loved her french fries - she loved them even more when i gave her the ketchup!  She's going to fit right into this family!!!  McD's was a hit! :)

 

Now we are back at the hotel - we've played with her a bit - she sosososo smart!!!! I'm not kidding!  She really catches on quick to things.  We got her to sign "more" if she wanted some more M&M's (big hit too!!) and we got her to walk across the room to ME to get them!!! Shocker!! but baby steps:)

 

Right now, we are getting ready to take a walk - maybe swimming and then packing for our trip to Guilin.  Thanks so much for the comments! They are really encouraging:)

 

Gotcha

Wow! What an afternoon it's been!

 

We headed down to the Civil Affairs location.  It was an old hotel that the government was renovating - it was quite interesting - the path that we walked down was between wood panels - lots of construction going on.  We headed upstairs and  there was no one in site and very dark - we wondered if we were in the correct location.  After our guide made a phone call, he said that yes we are okay -just early.  He soon called housekeeping and led us to the waiting room.  We anxiously watched out the front windows hoping to see a glimpse of Maylynn.  Instead we saw about 8 other families arriving to meet their new daughters.  They soon made their way up to our waiting room - they were all from Canada - Children's Bridge Agency.  We all nervously chatted with each other while waiting for our girls to show up - anything to quickly pass these last few moments.  Then their guide came in and said that everyone needed to wear masks- WHAT - CRAZY!  I did not want to put it on but another waiting mother said that i should so she could get her baby - we did but then quickly removed them after the babies once arrived:)  Our guide said this was not necessary.  The Canada's group children came in first so we were able to record and take some pictures of a couple that we had just met.  Then we heard it was our turn - moments before she came in David (our guide) mentioned that she really likes men - this is not uncommon - many times the children like one or the other more.  Well she REALLY likes men!  Lance (not me) had to peel her off of the nanny and she just nuzzled into him - we both told her over and over again "Mama loves you and Daddy loves you - in chinese"  but she wanted NOTHING to do with me - everytime she peeks up and sees me - she buries her head into Lance and cries.  She cried alot!  We tried lollipop, toys -everything but she just had her head buried and wasn't coming out.  It was hard to get the family pic for her adoption paperwork - it 'll be interesting to see how that turns out.  We made our way back down the crazy hallways to the van to head back to the hotel. On the way back to the hotel, she fell asleep...poor thing - has gone through soooo much today.   We worked on some adoption paperwork and will have to meet at 9am to complete the adoption - i think she's a keeper;)  She is so very sad - she's been wailing and crying and very upset.  We tried to eat dinner down in the hotel restaurant but something upset her and she wasn't able to stop crying - she kept crying for her mama -unfortunately not this mama but her foster mama.  Lance has been able to give her a few cheerios but she is totally attached/clinging to him.  It is going to be a very interesting night.  Please pr-y for her and us.  These next few days are going to be hard.  We are wondering if it is a good idea to go to her orphanage or not - please pr-y about this too...

 

ps - i tried to post a video but it's not working...

Anticipation...

That's what our whole day has been so far.  Anticipating the rest of the journey that G. has had us on for the past year - anticipating the moment we first see Maylynn - anticipating how she'll react to us and us to her - anticipating how the next 24 hrs and 24 years will go... ANTICIPATING! So many feelings going on right now - but mostly excitement!  We will be meeting our guide around 2:30 (11:30pm your time) and then we are supposed to get Maylynn around 3:30.  After we get her, i think we will just be coming back to the hotel to get to know each other.  I guess that we have 24 hrs. to decide if we want to keep her.  So, then Tuesday afternoon we will go back to the office and finish the paperwork to get her passport etc...

 

This morning we were able to skype home and talk to Taylor, Hayleigh and gma V.  Brayden is on his way to camp with his buddy Aidan - we are hoping that he has a great time - it's the first time he'll be at a camp away from home without dad as his counselor. After breakfast, we took a walk by the lake.  It is a very nice walk but it's very hot and humid - we went swimming afterwards (love the pool here - it's perfect temp) I think i've been swimming more here these past 2 days than the whole summer at home!  The weather and trees (palm & banyan) really remind me of Hawaii.  We are just cleaning up now and preparing what we will take to meet Maylynn (her little backpack with a few toys) and about 5 gifts for the officials etc...

 

There was an interesting newspaper article here the other day about some areas in China encouraging qualified couples to have a second child as "an effort to tackel the burden of an aging population."  Here are the "baby rules: The rule restricts only 35.9% of the population, mostly in medium-and large-sized cities, to one child.  But urban couples who are both only children can have 2 children.  In rural areas of 19 provinces, couples are allowed to have a second child if their first is a girl.  This applies to 52.9% of the population.  In addition, more than 11%, mostly minority groups, is free to have 2 or more children."  Our guide also said that domestic adoption of healthy children is really popular here but not of special needs children.

Nanning July 26

We woke up early today - i was anxious to see if my pictures had uploaded. I was having troubles with the internet last night -well... we were so dissappointed b/c the internet to the hotel was down.  We were supposed to Skype home to the kids - we knew they were waiting at home so we decided to call on our cell phone instead.  We added the international calling plan before we left but i'm not looking forward to the cell phone bill next month.  It was wonderful talking to all of the kids though:) It sounds like they are having fun with family and friends.

 

After breakfast, we met our guide to venture out to the country.  It is so fun just driving around and watching the people.  The countryside was so amazing.  We actually got to experience pictures that you see of China in the rural areas.  We brought a bag full of candy to hand out to the children and old people.  They really enjoyed that - so did we:) We saw so many people working VERY hard planting rice, washing clothes or selling their crop at the local market (even fresh meat).  The people were very friendly and the scenery was awesome.

 

We then headed to get some lunch at Pizza Hut and now we are back at the hotel.  We plan on swimming and having dinner here.  Tomorrow, we will probably take a walk around the lake which we see from our hotel window and then meet David around 2:30 to pick Maylynn up at 3:30!  We can't wait - we are pr-ying that we will have a easy transition and that she will accept us - it is going to be much different than when we got Hayleigh - we are preparing for the worst but definately hoping for the best!

 

Ps - I was able to upload the pics from yesterday and am working on todays.  The internet is very slow and "time's out" - ugh... very frustrating... You can see the pics at Maylynn's backup blog

Nanning July 25th

Thanks for the P's!  I feel much better!!  Just jet lag stuff.  We went swimming in the hotel pool - it's outside and just the temp. that i love!  We swam for about an hour - it was very relaxing! 
 
We met David (Melissa - did you guys have him as your guide?), he's great! He took us to McD's as we hadn't eaten anything for a loooong time -can't remember when we had a meal last... it tasted good - David thought it was funny that i ordered a happy meal -but i wanted to toy for Maylynn:) Then we ventured to Walmart to get some water, snacks and candy to take to the village tomorrow.
 
I am so excited - we get to go to the countryside! Please pr-y for no rain! The clouds looked threatening but no drops;)  The weather here reminds us of Hawaii - very hot and humid. There are even palm trees and banyan trees like the ones we saw in Maui last summer. Anyway, around 10am we will be heading out in the wonderful airconditioned van - love the van!! It's very similar to the one's at PHF and Harmony House.
 
After Wally world, we walked around the downtown area and also walked down to the park and saw the river filled with houseboats - the families live in them year round. 

The Amazing Race...

THat's kind of what our trip seemed like!  Just kidding - it did cross our mind at one point though:)
 
We left Pasco with no problems - a little late though, Our layover in Seattle was filled with calls to Taylor.  He called and said that he was sick, so we had Lance's parents go get him a week early - he's home now. Our flight to Korea was really nice - Korean Air was very nice and comfortable!  We watched 3-4 movies each and took some naps when we could.  This was when the "race" began - we landed late in Korea.  As it was we only had 1 hr. to change planes. We quickly got off the plane (as quick as you can when you're in the back of the plane...) then everyone had to stop and get our temps. taken - thank goodness we were good.  We found some other people that were catching the same flight, so we kinda followed them and tried to figure out where the gate was together.  The airport in Korea is HUGE - HUGE- HUGE!  Very nice but HUGE! We new our gate # but couldn't figure out how to get there - we had to aske serveral people.  It was funny (now) we'd ask someone where - they'd point to a direction, so we'd run to that spot and then ask someone else and then RUN to that spot!   It was at least 1 mile - no kidding or exagerating!  We were running as fast as we could - we only had 15 min. until the flight was supposed to leave!  I was worried -b/c at several locations inthe airport we went through temp. taking machines - i was hoping that it wasn't up b/c of the running. We never were questioned on our temp at all anywhere! Praise to Him! By the time we got to the gate - i had an asthma attack and was crying etc... it was ridiculous!  They got me some water and i was able to calm down - then they let me get on the flight:) This flight was very nice too - same carrier and plane to Beijing.  We were worried about not making this connection in Beijing.  But everything went great - immigration, our luggage made it etc!! We found the domestic connection for Southern Airlines to Nanning - we had to ask people where to check in - it's funny - i thought the lady said to go to I4 to check in but there were not "I's" aisles only up to G - so, since we were in the right area - i asked someone else and she said - yes - I 4 and then pointed to the "F' area - i guess F must sound like I in English - too funny:) Anyway, we got checked in was all set.  We got to our gate just in time only to find out that it would be delayed 2 hrs!  So, we sat around and i started some conversations with some girls - from what they were wearing, it looked like a group of kids from a school.  so, in our conversation i asked where they were from - they said Guilin!  I started to cry.  i showed them a pic of my kids and of Maylynn - they seemed to understand a little bit... anyway, our flight made it here at 3am - 12pm your time, which means that we traveled about 30 hours!  I am a bit jet lagged today and could use prayers that i feel better. 
 
Our guide is very nice - his name is David.  We were so excited to see him at 3am! He took us to our hotel at the "Nanning Wharton International Hotel" - not The Majestic.  He said this one was better - and it is really nice!  I'd like the ac to be a bit more powerful but oh well.  We are not doing much today - good thing b.c i feel like staying in bed... we might try the pool.  David is coming back for us aroun 3:30 to take us to Walmart and dinner. We will be seeing the countryside tomorrow - looking forward to that! We get Maylynn on Monday afternoon!  He is going to change our plans too - we will be flying to Guilin on Wed. to visit her orphanage, finding spot etc... and then will fly out to Guangzhou on Friday.
 
We will try to post more later... Many blessings to you all - we miss the kids terribly - please pr-y for us.

Bags are packed...

Our bags are packed and kids are taken care of. I think that we are ready to go!

We have so many mixed emotions... excitement, worry, anxious, happy, sad - too many to list... We've ended the day with church and it's just what we needed - it really gave us a sense of peace knowing that everyone is praying for us and God is with us. He has gotten us this far in less than 1 year and He will be with us to the end. We can't wait to meet Maylynn - all day, we'd say "this is the last time we'll be sitting at this table as a family of 5..." this is the last time we'll be at church as a family of five" etc... it's so amazing to imagine our family being 6 people. If you would have asked me 8-10 years ago - i'd say that you're crazy! But, God has put adoption in our hearts and Hayleigh has been such a blessing to our family - we are sure that Maylynn will be too!

That's all for now from the US - not sure when we'll be able to post again - possible the 25th... (which might be your 24th)

Oh - please pray that no one on our plane (specifically anyone in the rows around us) has the swine flu - we do not want to be quarantined! We will be wearing masks! :) The people at the store thought i was nuts buying them - oh well, maybe we are but we don't want to get sick on the way there...

Our Itinerary

Here's the scoop:

• July 23rd: 9am leave Pasco to Seattle to Korea to Beijing (on Alaska and Korean air) we arrive in Beijing at 8pm and catch a flight to Nanning at 10pm - please pray that we make this connection!
• July 25th: 1am arrive in Nanning & check into The Majestic Hotel (5 star)
• July 27th: Gotcha day!
• We are hoping and praying that sometime between the 27th & 30th that we will be able to go to Maylynn' orphanage in Guilin.
• July 31: Fly to Guangzhou & check into The White Swan.
• Aug. 1: Maylynn's medical exam :(
• Aug. 4: Consulate appointment
• Aug. 5: Take our oath & get Maylynn's visa!
• Aug. 6: 12pm fly to Korea and Seattle (on Korean Air) then Alaska Air home - we are scheduled to arrive at 5pm but will do our best to catch an earlier flight if we can!:)

In between all of these appointments there will be lots of time for playing and sightseeing.

Busy, busy, busy

This is kind of a test post from our laptop that we will be bringing - i want to be sure that it works!
 
We are just busy with preparations for the trip today.  Lance is home finishing up a big disciples cross order - what a huge blessing!  It will help with the additional expenses that seem to creep up... He's also taking care of car and house issues as well as, getting some daddy time with the kids - he's such a wonderful dad:)
 
I am busy running errands today (so glad L. is home so i can do this) bank, shopping for gifts for our precious gems at home, last minute stuff etc...
 
Some unexpecting blessings too: someone from church missed out on donating some cleft palate nipples for our mission trip last NOv. - so, she is dropping them off for us to take to Maylynn's orphanage!  What a blessing - i can't wait to give it to them - i also have some clothes and medicince that i will give them.  Also, some dear friends have unexpectedly donated some $$ to us too - Huge blessing! Thank you to everyone!
 
I am super emotional these days - cry at anything - crying right now as i am typing - blah!!  i don't remember being this emotional with Hayleigh - i guess i already know what a blessing that she'll be to our family:)
 
Later - i'll post our itinerary...
 
Many blessings
Kirsten<>< 

He CAN move mountains!!

I was in shock this morning when my agency emailed me this email:

Hey Kirsten…

We have confirmed your consulate appointment in
GZ for August 4, 2009.

Based on this date, you will need to
be in Nanning on July 25, 2009. You will be responsible for making your flight
arrangements all the way to Nanning.

Based on your consulate
appointment date, you may leave Guangzhou after 6:00 pm on August
6th.

Please know that based on all of the current changes in the
consular process (additional shots, TB testing, etc…) we are encouraging
Lifeline families to seek out airline tickets with liberal ticket-change
policies.

Please e-mail me your itinerary as quickly as you can.
Once I have your itinerary, I will be preparing your cost list for your
wiring.

As always Kirsten, I am here if you need me or if you have
any questions! I will be fedexing your paperwork to you this afternoon.

So - this is a quick post! but i wanted to share our awesome and amazing news!!! We have so much to do - finish packing and then arrangements for our other 3 precious gems here at home - we are so thankful to have wonderful family and friends that will be helping us out!

Please pray for peace for me this week:) and protection for our trip, God's hands to be at work in EVERYTHING (at home and away).

I can't believe that in 1 week she will be in our arms!

A Might God!

Wow! I was going to wait until 3:00 today before posting my previous post but I guess I just needed to get all of that out. Maybe I should have waited but I guess it also give everyone an idea of how emotionally taxing it is to adopt. What a rollercoaster it’s been today!  I just gave up all hope that we could travel anytime soon and Guess what happens!  Our agency called me about 30 minutes ago to let me know that “It’s here!” our TA showed up!!  I could not believe it!!! I still can’t!  We are still hoping that He can move some mountains though… We won’t know until Monday (or Tues.) of our consulate appt.  We’ve requested Aug. 4^th – with the hopes that we will leave next week.  Or, Aug. 18^th – so we can see our boys for a week before we are gone for 2 weeks…  Crazy – Crazy – Crazy!

 

So – WE NEED OUR PRAYER WARRIORS TO PRAY FOR AN AUG. 4^TH DATE AND AIRFARE/FLIGHTS TO GET US THERE AND BACK.  Well, that’s what I want and hopefully, that’s what He wants – So, I guess a better prayer would be to pray for His will to be done above all else but if you’d like to pray specifically for the Aug. 4th date that would be good tooJ!!!

I'm done...

Emotionally – I can’t take this waiting anymore.  It is very discouraging.  I’m am at the point that I need to put this whole adoption out of my mind right now or I am going to go crazy.  But, I don’t’ want to put it out of my mind though b/c a part of me feels that I’ll be putting Maylynn out of my mind too and I don’t want that – I just want her home. 

 

My agency hasn’t been able to find anything out from the TA lady.  Lily (our china liaison) said that the TA lady was out sick all week – well, since we didn’t receive our TA yet –that must mean that our papers are probably sitting on her desk waiting to be signed.  And if the papers are on her desk waiting to be signed, then we will not be leaving for China next week.  This is super upsetting to us.  We were so hoping to be leaving tomorrow – I guess He has something else planned for us.  We don’t know what and it will only be revealed when He wants it to be.  Right now we can only see the bad – the earliest that we will be able to go now is Aug. 8^th (due to the fact that my parents will be gone the 1^st two weeks in Aug and we need their help and the fact that the boys will be away at camp and we don’t want to be away from Taylor for 4 straight weeks) – also, airfare is higher in August (we thought the airfare was high in July – I guess we were wrong – not sure how we will make up the difference??) and return flights from China are also difficult to find (so, who know if we will be able to come back right when we need to??)

 

I am having a real hard time finding the good in all of this – I sure hope He reveals His plan soon.

 

So – I’m done posting until I have something good to report… and I don’t expect anything good until who knows??? Maybe next Friday????  In the meantime, I am going to try to have fun with my kids for the next few weeks of summer – I just wish that Maylynn was here too!   

 

BTW – if we weren’t a new Hague family, we would be home with Maylynn right now – many that got their LOA the same day we did and are under the old process i-600 are there and back with their childL

 

A friend posted this on FB today – I think it was for meJ

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)