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)

Nothing special...

I am sending this post via email – just in case we can’t access our blogger in China – this will give us another option to post.  And well… there just isn’t much else to do at this point so, why not???

 

But – the only thing on the adoption front to share is that: our agencies China liaison is here in the US right now at our agencies main office.  She (Lily) tried calling the TA processor last night and the TA processor was out sick – so no new info.  They assured me that they would continue to check…

 

If the attachment works – it is Maylynn in Chinese characters…

 

 

Still waiting...

Yes - we are still waiting... our agency thought that our TA would be here last week - well, that didn't happen:( Our agency emailed me yesterday that they would check on it last night (day time for China). I still haven't heard the results of their "checking" - i am trying really hard to be a patient person and not "hound" our agency for information that they don't have... So, now that we are home from vacation, i am really on edge... whenever i hear an email pop up on the computer, i frantically check to see if it's from Karla! or when the phone rings, i am racing to beat the boys to answer it with the hopes it's Karla. Right know, i just want to hear some good news from Karla!!!

I guess I need to stay busy while He is still working things out for us...

God's Timing

I am so thankful that we are on a family vacation/hockey tournament week right now. I truly thought that this 2nd time around adopting that i would be more patient - i guess God has revealed in me that i still have more work to do with that.

We are busy in Canada and i was concerned last week that if we got our TA while we were gone, then how would i do all of the last minute scrambling of travel arrangements etc... Well, He's answered that with nothing to worry about b/c no TA yet - so, i am able to enjoy our family vacation in beautiful Whistler, Canada. But don't get me wrong, Maylynn is still one of the first things we are thinking and praying about. The minute we wake or get back tothe condo - we are checking email etc... and, i am constantly wondering about the rest of His timing with travel etc... i am slowly coming to the realization that we will not be leaving on the 18th as we had hoped - i am now praying for July, 22nd or 25th (depending on airfare etc.) The longer our TA takes, the less amount of time we will have help with the kids at home b/c my parents will be in Virginia in August. Lance's parents are willing to help out as much as is needed but it would be nice to split up the time between grandparents...

So, we are asking for all of our prayer warriors to be boldly praying for our TA to come through on Monday if that is God's timing:)

A sweet surprise (but no TA)...

She is so stinkin cute! My agency emailed me these new pictures today but no TA:( What were they thinkin??? These pics just make me want my TA even sooner!!! Did i already say that she is so stinkin cute!???

We also got more measurements - i haven't had a chance to convert them yet or compare them to previous ones: 91cm, 13kg, 47cm head, 51cm chest, 16cm foot, 20 teeth.

Just waiting...

Well, it's been a week or so since my last post- so i thought that i'd update on what's been going on...

On the adoption front, we are trying to wait patiently for our TA (Travel Approval). Our agency said this week - we are hoping early this week but we'll see:) Please pray that we hear something today or tomorrow:) We have tentative plans to travel on July 18th but if we don't hear soon about our TA then it may be the following week. Oh, and our airfare has turned out to be a bit more that originally thought:( It may be more like $4500 instead of $3000 that we were planning on... oh well, it's just $$:)

This past week has been interesting - i received final notice that my budget will be cut for my Co-Op preschool program that i oversee and where I teach parent education at the Community College. It has some good and bad things that go along with that: good= i get to be at home more with the kiddos and the bad= Taylor may not get to got to private school next year. We are still praying about this to see what God has planned... Also, on Thursday someone broke the rear window out of my car at the Court Club - luckily, nothing was taken and it was fixed very quickly the next day! Just a little bit of a pain but it all worked out okay...