Oct. 18th - Finally on our way home!!!

Hi - I am so sorry that I have not been better at updating this blog.  While in China our oldest daughter was sick the first week we were in China.   Then when we got Molly two weeks ago - she was sick - so we had two sick kids.  Then on Friday the 11th - I got sick.  So between all of that and then living out of a suitcase, washing clothes in a sink, not being able to use tap water and then of course get to know Molly and entertaining Madelin - at the end of the night I was wiped out and just did not have the energy to update.

I will go back and fill in the last few days in the next week or so.  But for now we are finally home!!!  The night before we left we had a group dinner with our guide at Lucy's - it is a western style restaurant on the island.  Then Greg and I finished up some shopping and then headed back to the hotel to pack everything for the trip the next morning.  We all went to bed about 10:00pm.  The kids feel asleep right away and Greg too but I could not sleep.  I kept thinking about the flights home and wondering how in the world both of my kids were going to make it thru the long flight from Hong Kong to Chciago?  I finally fell asleep about 2:45am - which was just in time for Molly to wake up screaming.  And then at 4:00am is when we had to wake up.  Uhhhh!!!  Can you say tired!!!

We met in the lobby at 6:00am and the second I got there and started talking with Nelson Molly threw up all down the front of me!!!  What the heck is going on with puke on this trip???  Of course all my clothes were packed and already loaded on the van on the bottom of the pile so once again I am flying covered in throw up.  Lovely!!!  The bus ride to the airport was pretty quiet - everyone was really really tired.  All the babies and Madelin fell asleep on the way.

We arrived and then the airport craziness started.  We all got carts and loaded our bags and tried to find our ticket counter.  It is nothing like the US airports.  Most airports have their check-in areas in the front of the airport so you dont have to take your bags very far.  Well here you have to walk at least a mile and the ticket counters are all over the place.  I still cant figure out how you would find your counter.  If Nelson would not have been with us I am not sure we could have figured it out.

Once we found the counter we realized the lines were very long and barely moving.  All of a sudden one of the reps came over to us and put us in our own line.  If he would not have done that I am not sure we would have made our flight.  We had to go thru one area and tell them if we had anything to declare.  Then thru the departure card area - this is where we got stopped - we got pulled aside for some reason - they really did not ask us many questions just kind of looked at our paperwork and then at our passports then at our paperwork and back and forth.  After that we had to go thru security which took about 45 minutes.  Then had to walk about a mile to the gate.  We made it about 10 minutes before they started to board.  The flight to Hong Kong was short about one hour.  We landed in Hong Kong and I have to say it was so beautiful there.  The water was on one side of the airport and the mountains we on the other side - it was so beautiful - I felt like I was on a movie set or something.  In Hong Kong we had to check in with United in a holding area - they told us the flight was oversold so it was going to be full.  The women that helped us was so nice and helpful.  Then we had to go thru another security check point and then find our gate.  This airport was huge too.  We found our gate and then we had about 10 minutes before we could board.  The gate workers came over to us and told us they wanted us to board first.  So we got on the plane and got settled in for the 14 hour flight.  The staff had made an announcement if we could board quickly we might be able to leave 10 minutes early.  Next thing we know they are paging a passenger over and over.  They finally tell us that one passenger is not on the plane but his bag is so they have to take all the bags off until they find his and pull it so we were going to have a delay.  Soon after that we noticed that the power kept going on and off in the cabin and it was getting really hot on the plane.  Soon the pilot came on and said that we had a maintenance problem they were trying to fix.  They would update us in 1/2 hour.  Well now the plane is getting very hot - it was about 95 degrees in Hong Kong - and the plane felt like it was 120.  People started getting very uncomfortable and complaining.  They came on the PA and said they knew it was getting hot but they were doing their best to resolve the problem.  Well now another 1/2 hour goes by both of my kids are soaking wet with sweat and starting to not look good.  I started to walk Molly around the back of the plane.  By the time I got back to the seat I noticed Madelin was sleeping - I think it was because it was so hot.  I felt awful for both kids and us for that matter it was not fun.  We ended up leaving about 1.40 minutes late which had us worried about our connection.

The plane ride actually went better then we thought.   Not that is was fun or anything like that it was just the kids did really well and the crew was wonderful. I have not had that kind of customer service in probably 20 years from an airline employee.  It was such a breath of fresh air to actually see the flight attendance enjoy their jobs.  They all loved Madelin and came back all the time to check on her and give her treats.  I think we walked off the plane with about 20 packs of Milano cookies.  She thought she was pretty hot stuff.  Somehow the whole crew knew her name - neither Greg or I told them - but they all called them by their names.  Madelin slept a lot and made pictures and listen to her IPOD.  She was so good.  Molly was a little wiggly and wanted to be on my lap the whole time.  Greg would walk her once and awhile to give my arms a break.  She did not scream but once.  Yahoo!!!  I was shocked.  She really did great and was smiling at everyone.  Everyone kept saying what a happy baby she was.  And I was thinking to myself when is the big melt down going to happen???  But it really never came.  Amen!!!

Finally we made it to Hong Kong - we actually got there on time.  Shocking after such a delay.  We got off the plane and had to go thru immigration - we have to get in the non-american line because Molly has a Chinese Passport.  Of course this line is much slower.  We finally made it thru but are starting to panic a little because we dont have much time to make our connection.  Then we go get our bags - which took forever and one of our bags did not show up for a very long time.  Everyone else in the group went ahead with out of because they were worried they would miss their flight.  Then we had to go thru Costumes and again we had a special area we had to go thru.  We had to wait their while they finished our paperwork for Molly.  Then our bags had to be screened again.  Then off to the transfer station.  This is when they told us one of our bags tags was coming off so we had to get in line to get it re-tagged and then get back in line to put it on the belt.  Finally we got all that done then we had to find the train to get to our concourse and then once again thru security.  We actually had to fun a little because it was getting close to boarding time.  Finally we made it to our gate I had just enough time to brush my teeth and change Molly's diaper then we boarded the flight to Des Moines.  It was hard to believe that we were going to actually arrive on time in Des Moines.  

We arrived in Des Moines and that is when Allison and I started to fall apart.

Sat. Oct 11th

Oh no now I am sick!!!  I feel awful today and Nelson wants me to stay at the hotel now.  This being sick stuff is a total drag.  Not sure if I will be able to leave the hotel until we fly to Guangzhou.  Uhhhh.

Tonight Nelson did take Greg, Madelin, Molly and I to a local Chinese Restaurant.  The rest of the group does not like Chinese food - which I think is totally nuts because some of the best food I have ever eaten is in China.  Of course we are not eating the funky stuff that China has to offer.  We of course were the center of attention there too.  That is one thing about the Chinese they are very odvious - pretty much just stop and stare at you.  In the US we are very curious and will watch but most the time try not to just stare.  We had a great dinner with Nelson - it is so good to see him again.  But I must say I am ready to use a fork again!!!

Friday Oct. 10th

Today we are driving to Poyang.  We had asked the orphanage if we made a donation could we then come and see the orphanage?  They said that they were in desperate need of baby clothes and if each family brought clothes then we could come see the orphanage.  Well on Monday the orphanage director told our guide that they wanted more money for the donation fee that all families have to pay.  Our guide said that we could not do that because the CCAA's policy had not changed yet for the higher amount.  Basically the director then said we could not come visit the orphanage.

Well on Thurs. night our guide got an interesting call from the director of the orphanage.  She said that if each family donates $100.00 - $200.00 each plus our clothes donation then we will be allowed into the orphanage.  All the families decided that we would go ahead with the donation so we could at least have a glance at where our children have lived for the last 10 months.

So we left the hotel pretty early - it took us about 3.5 hours to get there.  It was interesting to see the country side - and to see how the majority of Chinese people live.  We saw many farmers because it was harvest time for their rice.  The roads were covered with their rice being dried.  It was a pretty bumpy ride, some of the roads were not in the best shape.  We saw tons of water buffalo and cows, lots of small villages and villagers with small fruit stands.  There were not many gas stations along the way - like in the states.  Most people get around by bikes which we saw tons of.

When we finally reached Poyang I was surprised that is was a bigger city then I thought.  There were so many people - it was a little overwhelming.   Now we had the task of trying to find the orphanage.  In the smaller cities it is hard to find things because a lot of the roads are not named.  So our driver had to stop a few different times and ask the local people where the orphanage was.  Finally we found it.   The Social Welfare Institute is actually a retirement home and then there is also an orphanage.  When we first arrived there was just one person standing out front of the orphanage but soon there was a large gathering of people wondering what we were there for.  The director came out to greet us - she told us that we could take as many pictures as we want of the outside but no pictures were allowed inside.  In front of the orphanage there were rows and rows of laundry hanging and on the porch of the orphanage there were small baby beds sitting in the sun.  Soon all the nannies came out to see the babies - they were talking and talking and then all of a sudden it was clear that they had no idea who our babies were?  Hmmmm.  So we started asking questions and that is when we found out that all our children had been in foster care!!!  Not sure why all our paperwork said she lived at the orphanage.  That part is very frustrating to me - because children in foster care vs. an orphanage have different needs and I am not sure why they would not have told us that up front.  But at least we know now I guess.

We all talked outside for awhile then they let us go into one of the rooms where some of that babies were.  It was a small room with about 6 babies in it.  Some where in little cribs and some where on the toilet chairs.  They all were so sweet - I just wanted to grab them all and run.  We were able to touch and talk with the babies I just pray that they have parents coming to get them soon.  Then the director wanted to take us to her office and this is where we gave them our cash and clothes donation.  The staff was all there as we presented the gifts.  They were all surprised at how many clothes that we brought and so happy.  Our guide Nelson told them that Madelin's preschool had been collecting outfits and raising money to buy outfits for the children of the Poyang SWI.  We also gave them a few pictures of the students that ran the lemonade stand and some of the kids holding up the outfits that they bought.  The staff thought it was so neat that the majority of the clothes donated came from other children.  They thanked us over and over and wanted to make sure how much they appreciated all your kindness toward the kids at the SWI.  Thank you again.

Then one of the foster mom's showed up - she watched Scott and Kim's daughter.  He could not come on the trip because he was sick.  The foster mom was very disappointed and so was the little friend she brought too.  She had two children in her home one was Ella and the other was a little albino boy that would also be adopted in the next two months from an American family.  He was so cute and the foster mom said that he and Ella were very close.  Now we had quite a crowd outside the orphanage all trying to see us and the babies.  It was nice to be able to see the orphanage but also very sad.  We are thankful we have some pictures to share with Molly wen she gets older - but seeing those kids still waiting for families will always be stuck in my mind.

We all loaded the bus and then took a small tour of the city and then stopped for lunch at a local restaurant.  We were in the center of Poyang and I dont think many westerners come around here because we drew very large crowds here.  It was almost a little uncomfortable because we could not understand what they were saying to us.  The more you looked around the more people we would see that we watching us.  Even in all the buildings there were groups of people at each window pointing at us.  We finally reached the restaurant along with a large crowd of people that started to follow us.  When we arrived at the restaurant they were going to seat us in the main dining area but because of all the extra people watching us they ended up putting us in a private room on the third floor.  It was nice not to have a crowd watching our every move.

Once we were seated they brought tea for everyone - I did not notice that they put a hot cup of tea right in front of Molly.  I did not notice because I had Madelin on the other side of me who was talking to me at the time.  Next thing I know Molly is screaming because she knocked the hot tea cup over and the hot tea was all over her lap.  I quickly picked her up and yanked off her pants.  The owner of the restaurant brought in some kind of special cream they kept saying - it was for burn victims they said.  Poor Molly had first degree burns all over her lets.  I feel so guilty - but I did not see the waitress put it down.  Who in the world would do that anyway.  Guess they do things different in China.

When we were all done we got back on the bus and started off on our long drive back to Nanchang.  The van on the way back kept over heating so we would have to stop often and let it cool down.  Here they just stop the car in the middle of the road.  I was a wreck each time they stopped because of all the other traffic I was so nervous we would be hit from behind. 

It was an emotional day - and one that I am kind of glad is over.  But I will never forget the children still at the orphanage.

Thurs. Oct. 9th

Today is Walmart day - I am so bummed I cant go because Molly is still so sick.  So I send Greg and Madelin to try and find some clothes for Molly.  We have nothing that really fits her.  I have advised Greg when in question ask Allison for help.  It will be interesting to see what they come back with.

I am going a little stir crazy being here at the hotel.  Thankfully we did get a suite so at least I can move around a little.

Today we find out that Scott is now sick.  Man I swear our whole group is falling apart.  This is my first trip to China where everyone is getting sick or having some kind of issue.

The group is also going to the Pagota today - this is one of my favorite places in Nanchang - I am sad I wont be able to go.  It is so beautiful there plus there is lots of shopping.  This is where we plan to get our chops.  It is suppose to be one of the best places to get them in China.  In 2004 we got ours in Guangzhou but once home we realized they really did not work.  So we are excited to get one for each of us here.

Greg and Madelin came back with the outfits - apparently they did not have very many small clothes there.  But they did find a few things that will work until we can get home and do some shopping.  I am also hoping we might find a few things in Guangzhou.  We also have been looking for paper towels but I guess they dont use them here.  Can you even imagine?   

Molly seems to be feeling a little better later in the day.  She is smiling more and is starting to trust me more and more.  Today she finally laid her head on my shoulder for about 3 minutes.  She is also a thumb sucker - which I totally love!!!

Tonight I am starting to not feel good my throat is killing me.  I am hoping it will go away by morning.

Wed. Oct. 8th

Well today was a hard day around here.  Molly is very sick.  The poor little thing really does not feel good.  Today our guide Nelson thought it would be best if Molly and I stay at the hotel and try and get her some much needed rest.  This whole experience has been bringing back lots of memories of when we finally got Madelin -  she was very sick also.

Molly took a great nap in the morning and then we played and played - but since she is not feeling that well she just kind of sat there and let me do all the work.

She wants so bad to put her head on my shoulder when I hold her but the trust is not there yet - so when she does she realizes wait a minute I dont really know who this lady is.  And then pulls back quickly.

We also are having some issues with the orphanage.  Originally we asked if we could come and look at the orphanage but they said no.  Then we asked if we donate something like an air conditioner, heater or washer would they let us come and visit?  They finally said yes if we brought with us baby clothes 0-12 months in size.  All the families agreed and brought clothes.  Well then yesterday we had to pay our donation fee - well the orphanage director said that instead of that amount they wanted two thousand more dollars.  Over the last year there has been talk of the CCAA raising their donation amount to the amount this orphanage was requesting however they have not changed the policy yet.  So our guide told the orphanage director that the policy has not changed so my families cannot pay the higher fee.  She said that they really wanted us to pay the higher fee and if we decided not to that we would not be able to visit the orphanage.  All of us were pretty upset.  Of course we knew that things could change once we got here - because we are in China and that is how things work but it still was a sad moment for all of us.  We all talked as a group and decided that we were not going to pay the higher fee because we were not 100% sure that money was going to go to the kids.   So on Friday we will drive to Poyang and see the orphanage from the gate - and that is where we will leave our donation clothes.

This evening was not fun.  Molly and the other babies are having poop issues.  Poor kids.  Molly has been trying to poop from noon until about 9:00pm.  You can see how much pain they are in which just makes me sick to my stomach.  We even when out to dinner tonight our family and Nelson and in the middle of the restaurant Nelson wants me to hold her with her back on my chest and my hands holding her legs about the knee and then he wants me to say push, push, push and make grunting sounds.  We are already feeling like all eyes are on us so there is no way I am going to do that.  But when we get back to the hotel Nelson and the doctor decide she needs to have an enema.  Oh man I really dont want to do this but at the same time she is in so much pain.  This was the worst night so far.  So Nelson gives her the enema - I wont go into lots of detail but after about 15 min. some of it is out but then all of a sudden we have tons of blood.  I mean tons of it.  I see Nelson turn white then I see Greg he turns white and I start to cry.  I am asking Nelson what is going on???  He said he did not know this has not happened before.  And now Molly passes out cold.  He calls the doctor immediately and he rushes over.  Molly has not moved in about 10 minutes.  I have been trying to wake her up but nothing is working.  The Dr. arrives and he checks her out and says that she is okay he said that this can sometimes happen and since the blood is very red we dont need to worry.  He said that she passed out because she was so tired from all the hard work trying to poop.

After the Dr. leaves I run down to Allison's room she let me use her panda phone so I could call our Dr. in the US.  I get thru to Dr. Uthe and she asks me a series of questions and she thinks that Molly will be okay.  She said yes the other Dr. was correct that this can happen but the part that concerns her is that blood in the potty or stool can be symptoms of the melamine.  She told me that it might happen again tomorrow but if it continues to happen we need to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

Tues. Oct. 7th

We had a decent night with Molly - she did wake up a few times but for the most part slept.  She did pretty well today - we were a little concerned since today we went back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the paperwork.  But she did pretty well.  When we arrived we saw the Poyang Staff sitting there but Molly did not seemed phased.  We got our family photo done and then we had a meeting each family with the Civil Affairs Staff to make sure we had the correct child and that we were willing to take care of this child as our own and offer education.  Of course we all agreed and then we were off to the Notary and the Passport Office.  Then we had the afternoon to ourselves. 

She did pretty good today but she is sick.  We have been trying to keep her well so we dont have to go to the hospital.  She wants Mom all the time.  Madelin some times can make her stop crying if I leave the room - so that has been helpful.

Scott's mom is sick again now she is throwing up - everyone is very worried about her.

Each of the girls are so darn cute and each have their own little personality.  It has been fun getting to know them.

We have been busy

Well I need to spend sometime posting - but we have been pretty busy here.  I just posted some pictures of Molly from the beginning of the week.  

Molly has been really sick.  We need prayers.  We almost had to take her to the hospital two nights ago.  I am doing everything I can to get her better.  I don't want to take her to the hospital if we don't have to.  I know they will put an IV in her head (yes I said head - that is how they do it here) and I don't want to do that.  I have been spoon feeding her water trying to keep her hydrated.  And I finally found something she would eat - steamed egg.  Very interesting dish.  Last night she seemed to be doing a little better I am very anxious for her to wake up this morning to see how she is doing.

We leave for Poyang in a few hours.  I am praying that Molly is feeling better so we can go - this might be our only chance to see the city where she is from.  We will be dropping off all our clothes donations at the orphanage around 11:00am.  The trip will be along drive 3.5 hours each direction.

We have had lots going on in the last few days around here - I will try and post more over the weekend.

Madelin is doing pretty well - she is swimming everyday so that is helping I think.  She does not like me being with the baby all the time.

I have been up since 2:00am - I think I am getting sick.  My throat is killing me - hope I dont have strep.  Started taking meds though just incase.

More to come.

We Have Molly - part two.

She slept about 1/2 hour and then the doctor came.  They wanted to wake her up which of course I was totally against!!!  But we ended up waking her up and she actually did much better.   She was still curious and still looking for her nanny but not screaming.  Although now when ever I leave the room she screams!!! 

All the families met in our living room to work on paperwork.  We also got a few things from the orphanage that we were not expecting.  One was a small picture book with about 10 pictures of Molly that we do not have.  And the other was her finding ad in the actual paper.  A finding ad is placed in the local newspaper after a baby is found with the childs picture and what she was wearing and how she was found.  I guess it is just to make sure this child was truly abandoned.  When I see these I alway get sad because on the same page of Molly's finding ad is about another 60 babies.  I is hard for me to process I guess.

The other thing that we found out tonight was not very good news.  We were all pretty upset about it.  But Nelson told us that the orphanage Director had asked us for a much higher donation instead of the policy amount.  Nelson was confused because the donation fee is set- now there has been talk and rumors flying around that the fee is going up but the CCAA has not changed its policy yet.  He said that the policy still is the lower amount.  They said yes but they are asking for the higher amount which is MUCH higher.  He said that we would be happy to pay the fee but we will pay what the policy states - the director then said that if we pay the higher fee we can come and see the orphanage on Friday but if not then they would not give us a tour.  How sick is that?  We were all pretty mad - especially because they had told us if we bring a clothes donation that we would be able to see the orphanage.  I keep reminding myself that this is China - and they do things different here.  But it is so frustrating because the only reason we want the tour is so we can have documentation of where our daughter lived the first 9 months of her life.  This is only for our girls - and it makes no sense to me why they would not want to help an adoptive family get as much info on our girls as we can get.  But again we are in China.

We are still going to give all our family donations along with the WHP clothes donations on Friday but we will have to leave them with the guard at the gate!!!  

Then about 8pm Greg came into the bedroom and he said that Carol (Scott's mom) was very sick and they want to take her to the hospital.  He looked very worried - and then he said she is very upset and sitting on her bed crying.  Molly and I went down to the room and she was just sitting there crying.  I felt awful - I sat down beside her and put my arm around her she started sobbing saying she was so scared.  I told her I know she is scared but everyone is so worried about you and if you need to go to the hospital then that is what you need to do.  The hospitals here are nothing like the ones in the States and it is very scary especially when you first see one if you not expecting it.  I told her that if Uncle Nelson thinks it is best to take her to the hospital then she should go - I promised her that he would take care of her and not let anything bad happen.  I have known Nelson for the past four year and he is a wonderful caring man that would do anything for our children and all of us that adopt.   Her son Scott was in the hall - I wanted to go with her but I knew I could not because I had just gotten Molly and I really am working on bonding (especially because of all the issues we had the last time).  She whispered to me that she wanted Scott to go with her.  So I went in the hall and talked with him and he said he would go if we could watch their daughter Ella.  I know he was so torn - he did not want to leave Ella but his mom was so scared.

So we thought we had everything worked out and then someone threw out the idea (cant remember who) what about calling your doctor?  So we tried to get thru but non of our Panda phones would work calling the Dr.'s office.  So Scott called his wife in WI. on SKPE and she got all the info and called the Dr.'s office. 

Meanwhile as we wait for the Dr. to call Greg brought a bottle down for Molly and guess what???  She drank it!!!  Yippee.  And it was our soy formula that we brought from home.   China formula is very sweet so we put a little sugar in it and then will gradually reduce the amount of sugar each time until she is used to our formula.

It was getting very late so I told them I needed to put Molly down and see if I could get her to sleep and then I would come back.  Got back to the room and changed her and put PJ's on and laid her in the crib and she was out!!!  Another yippee!!!

Back to Scott and Carol's room - the Dr. had called and told her a few things he wanted her to do before she went to the hospital - so I told them I was going to bed but if they need me just let me know.

The next morning (Tues.) I woke up at 4:00am - could not go back to sleep so I thought I would hop in the shower before everyone got up.  Big mistake - it woke both girls up.  We we had some play time on the bed before getting ready.  Madelin said the funniest thing while we were hanging out.  She said - mom this baby thing is really not working for me!!!  So funny - yet I know she is hurting a little.  So we talked for awhile and she seemed to feel a little better.  Then off to breakfast downstairs.  Got a bowl of congree (rice and water) and sat down and before I know it Molly has ahold of the plate that the hot congree is sitting on.  That was a close call - I just about had the whole bowl all down the front of me.  Which would have meant more laundry to do in the sink.  Yuck!!!

We met in the lobby and signed some papers before heading off to CAO.  It is interesting here any time you sign a legal document here you have to also seal it with your thumb print.  And it has to be in red ink.  I said something to Nelson about this - and he was shocked that we don't do that in the States.

Then at 8:30am we were back on a bus weaving in and out of traffic on our way to the Civil Affairs Office to finalize the paperwork.  We arrived and there were a few other families there too finalizing their paperwork to.

We Have Molly

Sorry it has taken me awhile to post I am finding having two kids, laundry that I have to do in a sink, having no running water that we can use other to wash our hands and living out of a hotel a little hard to juggle.  Not to mention getting to know the newest member of our family.

Anyway we left the hotel yesterday about 3:15pm and headed to the Civil Affairs Office which is about a 30 minute drive from the hotel.  Driving here is nuts!!!  Basically they do what ever they want - I think if they have rules they must make them only to break them.  They have lines on the roads but I have not figured out what they are for.  Nelson says that the line in the middle is to show what side of the road you are supposed to drive on.  But I have yet to see one direction of traffic stay on either side of that line.  Pedestrians do not have the ride away here - however you would think they do by the way they just walk out in front of traffic - even big buses they just walk out infront of them and then the bus slams on its breaks or the person stops walking and misses the bus my mer inches.  It must be some kind of art or something.  We have all decided this should become a sport - it sure leaves you on the edge of your seat.

It does not help that we have determined that Madelin has a bit of motion sickness so we have to sit where she can see out - which means that Mom has to sit where she can see out.  Our driver laughs at all my noises and comments now.  Actually I think he might be trying to make me wet my pants or something.

We get to the Civil Affairs office and have to go to the 26th floor - the elevator is a story in itself.  There is a fan on the ceiling with some kind of electrical box just hanging from the ceiling and wires everywhere.  We are assuming their are no building codes here.  Ha Ha.  We walk into a large room where there are about 30 other families some have their children and some do not.  There was a group there from Spain and then another American group.  Nelson tells us where to sit and then all of sudden he says there are your babies.  They were sitting off to the side of the room with their nannies.  Just hanging out with no idea that their whole world was about to change.  We all scramble for our cameras and camcorders all of a sudden this is starting to feel real.  I look over at Allison (travel partner and good friend) and I see she is starting to cry and shake a little - so I know that is not the direction I want to be looking.  It is not acceptable to cry in public for the Chinese (at least that is what they tell us).  I am trying to hold myself together because I really want to see Molly for the first time but I decide to pause I realize this is the last time that it will be just me and Madelin - and all of a sudden I am already missing her.  She must be feeling the same thing because I look down at her and she says Mom are you sure you want to do this? (In a smart *$% tone.) wish you could have heard the way she said it- I felt like   Then I burst out with laughter.  I guess that was enough to pull myself together.  She grabs my hand and we start to go over.  I saw Allison's baby Lea right away - so I look back and see if Allison sees her - she has the camcorder rolling but her hand was shaking so bad I will be surprised if she got any footage.  Then I see the Diring's baby - oh man she is cute - reminds me totally of Madelin when we got her.  There were about 7 other babies but I did not see Molly.  A women was siting on one of the coffee tables with her back to me - slowly the women's head turns around and I realize it is the director - she sees me and then turns her who body around.  I look in her lap and there is Molly chewing on her name tag.  At first I did not thing it was her because she was very tiny.  After seeing the last updated referral pictures I thought she was big for her age - mostly in length.  Madelin went up to her and of course had to touch that hair - oh my it is very corse and sticking straight up - I call her my little porky pine.  We could not hold them yet because of a little paperwork that needed to be done.  We have to sign a 24 hour agreement to take care of this child.  Once that was done she was handed to me.  Now remember in her paperwork it said that she was very attached to her nanny and when strangers come around she screams!!!  She did not scream - she just kind of looked at me and kept chewing on her name tag.  I was shocked she is so small, complete opposite of how Madelin was.  She just kind of looked at me and then would turn her head and look for someone.  After awhile she realized that someone was not coming back and let me tell you this child has a set of lungs on her!!!  She started SCREAMING and trying really hard to get away from me.  Poor thing she was so scared.  And to be honest at this point I was a little scared too.  I started walking around the room with her that seemed to help for the moment but not for long.  Then the next thing I know Madelin is crying - so I am trying to comfort both of them yet inside I want to cry too.  Madelin looked so sad and it was the saddest cry I have ever seen come out of her.  I felt like my heart was being pulled out of my chest.   Greg finally picked her up and tried to comfort her but she just sobbed and was saying mommy, mommy!!!  Meanwhile I have Molly who I am so excited to meet and finally see and hold and she is having none of it.   All of a sudden I notice that my kids are the only ones that are crying in the whole place - so what is that about 33 kids all under 12 months old, all just meeting their parents for the first time and no one is crying.  Hmmmmm.  That part was a bit comical to me at that moment.  So we hang out for about an hour - yes the whole time my kids are crying.  Then our guide Nelson says okay now we need to get pictures.  I just look at him - with a look that says are you crazy!!!  I am also thinking is it about 500 degrees in here.   At that point I knew I needed to get Molly out of there.  So he said okay we go back to the hotel.  Once on the bus both kids settled down.  Madelin could sit next to me (although she was warn out - like a rag doll and staring no blinking (totally reminded me of the day we got her). I had my arm around her the whole time - I said over and over Madelin I love you.  I would make her look in my eyes.  I just said it over and over again and would hold her tighter.  Molly was pretty interested at looking out the window so I had a few minutes that I could concentrate on Madelin.  Once we got back to the hotel the screaming started all over again.  My heart was aching for her too - I know she was so scared and grieving for her nanny. I would just walk her around and sing.  Nelson finally came to our room and he wanted to try and feed her.  But she wanted nothing to do with that.  The nannies had told us that the girls were really hungry because they had been on the bus for 3.5 hours before we got there.  We had brought all our own formula due to the tainted formula issues they are having in China.  But we knew that she might not take to the formula.  Nelson wanted us to try Chinese formula and also a Chinese bottle so he and Greg took off to the grocery store.  They came back and we tried many ways to try and feed her - our bottle, a chinese bottle, spoon feed, with a dropper, on our finger - but she was not interested.  He bought her cookies (which are actually crackers) but not interested.  He gave her banana but not interested.  I decided to go in the bedroom just the two of us and try and calm her down.  I laid her on the bed and wrapped her in one of my shirts (so she could get used to my smell) and then started layering the blankets - kids here wear lots of clothes and they use lots of blankets at bed time.  All of a sudden she cried herself into a coma.  Ha Ha.  She was asleep.  Yeah.  Now I could look at her - well at least her face. 

Finally getting the babies -

We made it to Nanchang with no problems.  The hotel is about 1/2 hour from the airport. We are staying at the Gloria Hotel - I stayed her in 2005 with some friends of mine that were adopting.  It is a nice hotel - they provide cribs for the babies, little bath tubs and strollers for us which is very helpful.

Our room is beautiful we are very happy that we decided to go with a suite here too.  The room has a nice living space with a couch and some chairs, a tv/entertainment center and a dining area.  There is a kitchenette also and then a large master bedroom.  We have two baths this time which will be nice because the other families will be able to hang out here with us and let the girls play.

When we walked into the room the first thing I saw was the crib!!!  Okay it is starting to feel a little more real.  I just stood there staring at the crib for about five minutes.  Madelin kept saying Mom why are you looking at the crib?  We actually leave the hotel in about 30 minutes to head over to the Civil Affairs office where we will meet the girls for the first time.  Today will be a short visit.  We will sign a paper saying that we will take good care of Bo Wan for the next 24 hours.  They make sure we are the right people and then they will give us Molly.  The process should only take about 10 minutes.  Then we will come back to the hotel and hope she will not be to scared.  We will try and get to know her and hopefully she will start to feel comfortable with us.  Although her paperwork said that when a stranger comes in the room that she screams!!!!  Yikes.

Tomorrow we will go back to the Civil Affairs office and finalize the paperwork.  We will be in Nanchang for 8 days - this is longer then normal.  Usually we would only be here for 5 days.

So we leave soon - guess I better figure out how to make a bottle again.  Pray that it goes well.  We are so excited and just cant believe this is finally happening!!!

Finally it is Oct. 6 2008!!! Today is the day.

Finally today is the day.  I just cant believe it.  We had a wake up call at 4:00am - however I woke up at 2:09am and just could not go back to sleep.  Madelin woke up about 3:15am - so needless to say we are all up and ready to go.  We have a few things left to pack but at 5:00am a porter will come and pick up the bags and we will be off to the Beijing Airport.  Yippee!!!

It is hard to believe that after 3 years and 4 months that this is finally happening!!!  I keep thinking about all the tears we have shed over the last three years and all the ups and downs while we waited.  The wait seemed never ending.  However today as I sit in my hotel room I am just plain FREAKING OUT!!!!  I have a ton of emotions ranging from excited, happy, scared, nervous, a little sick and of course the feeling of not being prepared.  We also are starting to remember all the things that come with a baby - like diapers - wow that is going to be a shock to go back to.  And bottles, formula, spit up, naps, taking tons of stuff with you everywhere and working your schedule some what around her.  BREATHE!!!!   I keep telling myself this is all going to work out and the only reason this is finally happening is because this child is supposed to be apart of our family.  I pray this morning for Molly (Bo Wan) that she enjoys her time with her nannies this morning and that the trip to Nanchang (3.5 hours) is not too hard on her.  I pray that she will one day know how much we have alway wanted her. Greg and I knew we would come back for another child well before we even started the paperwork for Madelin.  We pray that she feels our love right away and that even though she is scared that she is open to us.  We pray that this day is not as hard on her as we think it is going to be.  

In a few hours we will finally have you in our arms.  I just can't wait!!!!

Oct. 5th - Our last full day in Beijing

This morning we did not have to get up as early.  We had breakfast in the dining room and then met in the lobby at 8:30am.   First off to the zoo to see the Pandas.  That was the only part of the zoo we were going to tour since our day was pretty full and the zoo is very big.  It was raining most of the morning.  The last couple of days have cooled off a lot - we have actually been a little cold.  The pandas were so cute.  We caught a group of them at their morning feeding - they looked so playful as they ate their bamboo.  Some just lazing around on their back with their belly pilled high with bamboo.  They were so cute - Madelin really got a kick out of watching them  I did learn today that only baby pandas have white and black fur.  When the panda gets older their white fur turns brown.  I did not know that.

Off to the Summer Palace.  This was probably my favorite spot so far.  It was so beautiful and the pure size of it I just cant wrap my mind around.  When we first walked it you see this massive lake that was man made.  We got onto these beautiful dragon boats and sailed across the lake the Palace - which was so beautiful.  We will add pictures so you can see.  We walked up to the top of the palace which included which felt like about 600 stairs and the view was breathtaking.  We ended up walking back thru the long corridor which was amazing.  We of course learned more about the different emperors and their wives and concubines.   The emperor also had the most beautiful boat I have ever seen - he had it made to go fishing on.  However he made the boat out of marble which made it very, very heavy, in fact it was so heavy that it could never be taken out because it would sink.  I thought that was so funny!!!

We then stopped at Uncle Nelson's house - his wife Nancy and his son Tom invited us for a snack and to visit.  There are so many high rise apartment buildings in Beijing.  He lives on the 11th floor in a very nice apartment.  In China it is customary to take off your shoes - but you usually have something on your feet like slippers.  His apartment had a long hallway the first right was a spotless kitchen with a stove with two gas burners and then a little bit of counter space and under the window was a small sink.  They also had a decent size fridge.  They don's usually have ovens in a standard apartment or house.  His flat was spotless.  There was also a small bathroom the next door down from the kitchen.  At the end of the hallway there was a large narrow living space.  They had a dining room table that fit four, a couch and two chairs alone with an entertainment center type built in.  He had lots of books on his shelves some were albums that families had sent him of the children he has helped bring home.  There was one book called When China found America - this one gave him a chuckle.    Then Tom showed us his room - it was spacious with a large bed and a desk and night stand.  They must like snoopy because he had a few things snoopy in there.  Tom is 14 years old and also plays a traditional Chinese instrument.  Cant remember the name - but have the name at home.  Across from his bedroom is the laundry area where they have a washer and a nice counter space.  Nelson and his wife let us see their room as well - again very spacious with a nice size bed and entertainment center.  All the bedrooms had large windows in them.  They also had a nice size bath off their bedroom.  No bathtub here!!!  Off the nice living room area they had a wonderful enclosed balcony that had plenty of room.  They do not have dryers here so they usually hang dry all their things on their balconies.   They treated us to some very yummy treats cookies and pastries.  And his son Tom gave us a wonderful show with his traditional Chinese instrument.  Nelson said that he started playing when he was about 3 years old.  It was so wonderful that they opened up their home to us and a treat that we will not forget.

Then back to the hotel for lunch - today was peking duck!!!  They way they eat thisis very interesting.  They take a tortilla like shell - which is made of wheat, it is see through, then you load on the duck which I think is roasted then onion and cucumber and then a brown sauce and then you fold it up kind of like a burrito - but it is much smaller.  This was a hit with the group.  Of course all Madelin wanted was dumplings.  That is her favorite.

Then we had about 1.5 hours to rest and start packing.  We met downstairs again at 3:00pm to go to a local tea shop.  They actually tell you about the history of tea and you get to sample about 6 different teas.  We always find this so interesting.  Madelin seemed to enjoy herself as well.

Tonight we went to a Acrobat show which was at 5:15pm. Once we parked we walked about 6 blocks to the show and on the way he showed us a kindergarden - as we were walking by we noticed that some kids were in there.  I asked Nelson about it because it was Sunday evening - I thought that was very strange.  He told us that a lot of children actually go to school 5 - 6 days a week and actually sleep there too.  He said that families are very busy working and some people don't have a grandparent to help watch the children so they end up putting the kids in a school for long periods of time.  Very sad to us - but I need to remind myself that just because we do something one way does not mean that it is right.  We all have different ways that we live our lives - this one just happened to shock me.  We had a wonderful evening and these kids are just amazing at what they can do with their bodies.  We found it hard to watch at some points as they were bending and moving around.  It was painful to watch but at the same time we could  not keep our eyes off of them.  This was probably Madelin's favorite part so far.  She had a smile on the whole time.  We met a wonderful group of women from Sydney Australia - they were great.  The group of women have been friends for years and years and every year they pick another country to visit and explore.

Then back to the hotel to finish packing - we have a very early flight to Nanchang.  Our bags have to be all packed and ready for pick up at 5am. 

We get the babies tomorrow around 4pm.  Hard to believe this is finally happening.  Tonight will be a hard night to sleep I am sure.  Tomorrow our lives are forever changed.  We are praying that all girls adjust well.

Oct. 4th - more touring.

Well today started out less eventful then yesterday thankfully.  Madelin is feeling better - still very congested - which we are now starting to wonder if it is from the think smog.  Of course we all wake up about 3:00am ready to go for the day.  So we have been trying to force ourselves to go back to sleep.  Today we met in the lobby 7:30am with a full day of touring ahead of us.

First stop the Jade Factory.  Stopping at the factories are my least favorite thing to do.  It is like high pressure sales with about 10 people breathing down your neck.  But we also know that we want to get something for our girls because Jade is China's most precious stone.  In fact all the Olympic medals were made with Jade.  So each medal had either gold, silver or bronze with Jade on every singe metal.  Our guide told us that hundreads of years ago the emperor always carried Jade with him.  It was always something he had in his hand.  It was actually used as a sort of currency back them.  We ended up getting a pendant for each girl with the chinese symbol of double happiness on it.  Then I got a jade bangle (bracelet) for myself - these are very expensive but it is tradition to hand it down from generation to generation.  Due to expense we will have to purchase a second one on our next trip so both girls will get one years down the road.

Then off to the Great Wall.  This is always an exciting day for us.  The Great Wall is truly a must see for everyone.  Madelin had made two goals at the beginning of summer.  One she wanted to climb to the top of the Great Wall and the second she wanted to learn how to swim so she could swim by herself in China.  And now we can say that she has accomplished both.  This part of the Great Wall is not what you would expect.  It is straight up and all stairs!!!  The climb is very hard - all the stairs are different sizes and the slope is so steep.  Most of the group made it about 1/2 way up the first main climb.  Madelin and Greg made it up to the top to the first main town.  I still cant believe she made it that far.  The weather was pretty cloudy so our views were not always the best.  The the pure beauty of this place is breathtaking.  The rest of us were waiting toward the bottom and then all of a sudden it started to rain and really hard.  I was so worried about Madelin and Greg because they both did not have a jacket.  But they finally appeared and not sure how but they were relatively dry.   It was very crowded here today also - but today is the last day of Holiday so the city should clear out tomorrow.  The Wall is about a 4o minute drive from our hotel thru the country side.  We drove thru small towns.  They use every piece of land they can to farm.

We then drove to another site - we cant remember what it was called.  Something like Heavens Palace?  Again this place was masive. The only thing that we can remember is that the emperor was the only one allow there for the ceremony.  There was tons more but Greg and I both cant remember a darn thing.  How depressing is that.  Guess we need to start drinking a tea we learned about - that helps with memory.  But the funny part is that I cant remember what the name of the tea was either.  Ha Ha.  It is getting late I guess.

Next stop Confucian Temple - this place was built by an emperor after confucius died.  Confucius was a Chinese Philosopher who taught his students the value of honesty, fair dealing and respect for the law.   Once again massive in size and very beautiful.

Can you tell that history is my thing?  Not!!!  I usually go straight to the gift shop - but here there is not a gift shop.  

More swimming of course.   This night we ordered room service in our room.  We have ordered just about every night fried rice with egg and then something else too.  We had not had a problem up until last night.  When the meals arrived the rice and egg dish was different it had onion in it - which is not a big deal because we all love onion.  However we took a couple of bites and then realized that the onion had not been cooked.  The biggest no no for a foreigner (westerner) to do is to eat a vegetable that is not cooked!!!  So we immediately called room service back and asked for a new dish of rice and egg.  But about 45 min. went by and nothing.  We we called again - but still nothing.  Then Greg said lets just order a new one so he called and ordered a new one but we finally gave up about 8:40pm.  The language barrier can be difficult at times and this was one of those time.  

The next morning we told Nelson about what had happened - the next thing we know we have two ladies at our door one with money and one with a large plate of fruit - both saying how sorry there were for the mistake.  It was very nice of them to do that. 

Day - Oct. 3rd Touring in China

Well the morning started out a little scary for us.  Madelin had a hard night - she has a pretty bad cough and is congested so it is hard for her to sleep.  She kept telling me how hot she was - which she was really sweaty but had no fever.  I ended up getting up at 5:00am to get ready and then all of a sudden I heard her crying - I run into the room and she was completely soaking wet - her hair was dripping with sweat and she was like a rag doll.  We tried to get her to drink as much water as possible but she just was limp and could not even hold up her head.   We were very concerned as she sat/laid on the couch as her eyes kept rolling back in her head.  Greg ran to get Uncle Nelson our guide.  He came to the room and said we were going to go to the hospital.  Greg and I are panicked as we run around the hotel collecting what we need to go to the hospital.  All I kept thinking is prepare yourself because I have had a few friends that have taken their kids to the Chinese Hospital and I have heard it is very scary - nothing like what we are used to.

We gather all our stuff and scope Madelin up and start heading downstairs.  In the elevator Nelson says he has decided he wants to try and get her to eat before going to the hospital.  At first I was a bit irritated because I have never seen my daughter this way and I was so scared - it really seemed like something terrible was wrong.  So we head into the dinning room - where we are the center of attention because I am carrying this limp child in with her ams, leg and head hanging down - not to mention she is soaking wet.  Nelson says to me I think her blood sugar is low!!!  We must get sugar into her right now.  He gave her a big bowl of congree (rice porridge) and started emptying sugar packets in it.  Then filled a glass of water and filled it with sugar - we started to spoon feed her these two things first while Nelson went to fetch more sugar.  He brought back to the table taste with tons of jam, a danish covered in frosting, orange juice and watermelon.    After spoon feeding her the congee and drinking some orange juice she started grabbing food herself and shoving it into her month.  Over just a few minutes her color started to come back and then she started to sit up on her own and the strangest part the sweat was all of a sudden just gone.  She was back!!!  It was so scary - we have never had a blood sugar issue before.  But after emailing home to a few friends they all emailed me back saying these things can happen during travel.  Yikes!!!!

Madelin and I were going to stay at the hotel but she insisted that she go touring with the rest of the group.  So into the van we go.  First stop Tian'anmen Square. This week is a holiday in China - which means all the tourist sights are jam packed with people.  We wish that we could explain how many people were at each of these sites.   We tried to take pictures to show you but I dont think a picture can even show what we experienced this day.  It was so crowded it was very hard to take decent pictures due to the crowds.  There we beautiful flowers everywhere some left over from the Olympics and others for National Day - China's Holiday.  The space is masive and truly a site that everyone should see.   The crowds were so big that Greg had to carry Madelin on his shoulders for long periods of time because she was getting trampled.  It really was a bit scary at times - we were just in this sea of people - moving along just hoping that at some point you could get out.

Then off to the Forbidden City - again this site is truly amazing - the size of it is truly mind boggling.  It takes several hours to walk thru the grounds.  We took about two hours our guide said if you wanted to see everything it could take two full days.  There is so much history here it is hard to keep all the stories straight.   The courtyards are breathtaking and the architecture of the sturctures are amazing.  We saw the emperor's living quarters, garden, library, courtyard for events, eating area, thrown - the list goes on and on.

The other thing here that makes my head spin is that everything has a meaning.  Turtles mean long life, cranes we think are prosperity, lions are a symbol of power.  All the buildings have ceramic animals on the roof line to protect the buildings against fires and the number of animals varied depending upon the importance of the building.  Only the emperor's buildings could have nine animals.  So we spent all day counting the number of animals on each building.  The stories and the endless meanings just go on and on and on.  One thing we have learned is that we really need to study more of China's history so we can pass this down to Madelin.  Her knowing her heritage is so important and we want to be able to share this with her.

After hours of walking we headed back to the hotel for a Chinese style lunch and then of course Madelin was off to the pool for a couple of hours.

The evenings are free so we can do what we want.  We have been ordering our meals in and then heading to bed about 9:00pm.  Of course we are still waking up at 3am ready to go for the day.

Greetings from China - writen on Wed. Oct. 1st

Hi Everyone - well we made it to Beijing yesterday (actually two days ago) about 3pm.  The flight was really long and a hard one - it must be age because neither of us remember struggling with the flight that much on past trips.

Madelin did pretty well for the most part.  She did get sad about 1/2 way thru - I think at that point she was ready to get off the plane.  She cried a little saying how she missed home and wanted to go back.  But over all she did great!!!

That is until we landed.  Okay for those of you that know our family well you know that we have never experienced throw up with Madelin in all four years we have been together.  Well I can now say we have experienced it!!!

So the flight lands - everyone gets up and crowds the aisle.  I am standing in the aisle trying to get my bag out of the over head along with the other 5 thousand people.  Madelin says Mom - I turn around and she puts her head on my chest.  I thought she was just tired and then all of a sudden she starts throwing up.  I was covered from the neck down along with the seats, floor, some of our bags and the unlucky couple in front of us.  Thankfully they did not speak English so I had no idea what they were saying to me!!!  Ha Ha

She seemed to feel great after that.  I on the other hand am a sympathy puker - I hear it, smell it, see it - then I am in trouble.  So I had a very hard time - I could not change my clothes until we got to the hotel.  I think that was the best shower I have ever had in my entire life!!!

We are staying at the same hotel we stayed at 4 years ago - so we feel like we kind of know where we are.  Nelson our guide picked us up at the airport and drove us here.  It was very funny to watch Nelson and Greg trying to get our luggage in his tiny car.  Madelin was in heaven because this was the first time she got to ride in a car without a seat belt or car seat.  Mom was nervous to say the least.

It is very warm here - and the smog and humidity is very heavy.  We ended up getting a suite so we could have a little more room - which has been really nice.

We did have a man at the hotel that was very curious about us.  In the elevator he kept looking at me then at Greg and then at Madelin then back to me and so on.  Finally he said to me is she yours?  I said yes she is my daughter.  He looked very puzzled and then said that is very strange because she looks Chinese!!!  Then Madelin said yes we are Chinese Americans.  We walked off the elevator and I could not help but laugh - I looked back one more time before the doors closed and there he was shaking his head trying to figure the whole thing out.

We ended up going to bed about 7:30pm last night.  Madelin was still on the move but Greg and I were very tired.  Greg slept a little on the plane but I could not sleep at all.  Everyone slept well last night.  I did not think the beds were too bad here - but Greg said he woke up a lot because he hurt from the hard bed.  If he things these beds are hard - he is really going to feel it in Nanchang - those were the hardest beds I have ever been on.

This morning we got up and went to breakfast - lots of curious people there.  Its amazing to me how many people they have working in one place.  We had 6 people that would check on our table - so we pretty much had a staff member the whole time we were eating.

Then we all went for a walk and then to the local grocery store to pick up some drinks and some flip flop like shoes so he can take Madelin to the pool.  We then came back to the hotel and Madelin and Greg went swimming while I worked on setting up the computer.  If you want to use the swimming pools here you have to wear a swimming cap.  Madelin thinks that is the coolest thing.  Greg on the other hand has said I am not allowed to take pictures of him with his cap.  Total bummer!!!  Ha Ha.

The bad news is that Madelin is sick.  She woke up with a stuffed nose and now is loosing her voice.  I have some meds with me but not tons.  She is sleeping right now.  Her spirits are up even though she does not feel the best.

The rest of our travel groups should be here in the next half hour.  I plan to go downstairs to meet them.  Tomorrow we start touring.  Can't remember what we are doing tomorrow.

Tonight we are going to take Madelin bowling - they have an alley here in the basement.  It is the same hotel we stayed at with our first travel group.  It is bringing back a lot of memories.

We are so ready for Monday to come.  We just want to meet Molly.  Please keep up the thoughts and prayers.  We are so excited and of course very nervous.  We just hope she adjusts well to our family.  Madelin is seeming a little more excited about getting her sister.  Although she did ask me this morning while I was laying in bed with her - she said Mom you and I make such a great team why do you want to adopt another kid?

We will update more as we can.

Kari, Greg and Madelin

WE ARE LEAVING FOR CHINA!!!

We finally got our TA (travel approval) on Sep. 18th and then we requested our Consulate appointment that night for Oct. 14th.  Our consulate appointment came back on Sep. 11th - but Oct. 14th and 15th were full so our consulate appointment is now on Oct. 16th.

We Leave here on Tues. Sep. 30th and fly thru Chicago and into Beijing arriving on Oct. 1st.  Uncle Nelson is going to meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel.  The rest of the group will leave their cities on Oct. 1st arriving on Oct. 2nd.  We will tour Beijing for four days then leave on Oct .6th to Nanchang where we finally get to meet our daughter.  Then on Oct. 14th we will fly to Guangzhou where the US Consulate is and this is where she will get sworn in as a citizen of the US.  Finally home on Oct. 18th.

We are very excited for the trip.  Missy moo is getting excited I think too.  We will celebrate her 5th birthday in China one day after we get sissy.  

We did get some bad news last week.  Our daughters orphanage has confirmed that she has been drinking one of the brands of formula that has been tainted with the Melamine (plastic).  She was taken to the hospital a few days ago for testing and we are told that she is fine for the moment.  We are very concerned for her and the other children.  We have been meeting with a few doctors in our area trying to get a medical plan in place for when she returns.  All of them are concerned at this point.  This is very serious - the Melamine has been causing kidney failure along with a ton of other problems.  We know she is going to have to have a series of tests done when we get back and sounds like this could be on going.  The whole thing is very sad.  Please we are looking for many prayers for our daughter and the rest of the children in China that has been effected by this.

Yippee - we got our referral yesterday.

Monday afternoon just about the time I was trying to put Missy Moo down for a nap the phone rang.  It was one of our travel partners.  She said have you got the call?  I said what call?  She said the call?  I said no have you?  She said yes they just called us and we have a baby girl!!!  At this point I start shaking and I am thinking oh my gosh it is finally time.   We hung up and I called DH immediately but could not get thru.  So I waited which felt like about an hour which in reality it was maybe one minute.  Then I called a good friend of mine.  I told her oh my gosh our travel partner got their referral!!!  She said did you?  I said not yet!!!  We both started to cry.  Then all of a sudden the other line rang.  I said I have to go it is them.

I switched over and it was Mary E from our agency.  She said are you having a good day?  I said yes are you?  She said yes, do you want to have an even better day?  I said of course I do.  She said you have a little girl!!!  Her name is Bo Wan and she is in Jiangxi Province and living at the Poyang SWI.  She is 8 months old!!!!  The conversation did not last long - mostly because they only had limited information because the paperwork still needed to be translated.  She said do you want to come in for the paperwork and picture.  I said yes - then she said I will see you in a few minutes.

I kept trying to call my DH - but he was on a conference call at work.  Finally I could not take it and called his assistant and asked her to place a not in front of him to call hom immediately.  He called home and I said we have a daughter!!! 

We are thrilled beyond words.  And to be honest I think we might still be in shock.  I think when you wait that long 38 months so far from start of paperwork to referral we started to think maybe it was not going to happen.  To be honest I am not sure if I will believe it until maybe we are packing, or on the plane or maybe not until they place her in our arms.

Last night was a blast!!!  One of our travel partners came over with their referral and then a ton of our friends and their families.  We ordered pizza and some of the moms brought desserts and we all just hung out on the deck and visited and of course oohed and aahed over the babies.

After everyone left a good friend of mine called crying and saying did you get referral?  I said yes.  I said I tried to call you but only could leave messages.  She said she had been out at the fair with her girls all day.  Then she asked if she could come over.  I said of course.  I was so excited that they were coming because they were the ones that were missing at our pizza party and I kept thinking about them.  Then her husband surprised us and came over too - he drove all the way from their house (which is about 20-25 minutes away) then his wife and kids showed up shortly after.  It was so fun to have them here!!!

After that we realized that we left our original pictures of Bo Wan at Kinko's.  How sad is that we had our daughter for about an hour and then leave her at the store.  Ha Ha.  By the time I got home it was close to midnight.

Oh ya and the other funny thing that happened was that Missy Moo was so excited about being a big sister - she said mom I am so excited what is her name?  I said Bo Wan.  The she started belly laughing and then stopped and said ya but what are we really going to call her???  It was hilarious.

It was a wonderful day and one that we wont forget.  Now of course we just want to go get our daughter!!!!

 

Referrals are in Europe?

One agency in Europe is saying that referrals arrived today and the cut off is Jan. 31, 2006.  Not sure what to believe yet.  We should have a better idea if it is true in the next few hours.  The bad news is if referrals do come today in the United States - we probably wont get ours because our agency is not open on Monday's and Wednesdays.  How depressing is that???  After waiting almost 31 months what's one more day right?

We had a nice weekend.  Friday we had our adoption potluck here - it was a great evening and the group size was perfect!!!  At the end of the night a few families stayed a little later and we watched part of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  I love seeing all the girls playing together and of course they just keep getting bigger and bigger.  I never noticed how fast time goes until Missy Moo came along.  The years just go faster and faster.

On Sat. we worked around the house and got some painting done upstairs.  Then on Sunday DH and Missy Moo went to the state fair - which Missy Moo was so excited about.  They had a great time and she was all smiles when she got home.

Last night we had dinner with some dear friends of ours Barb and Fred - we host with them when international guests come to our state.  They had 4 Japanese Students and one teacher staying with them.  The boys were in High School.  At first Missy Moo was not too sure what to think of them but it did not take too long before she was flirting and asking them to play with her.  The boys were really great with her (although I think they might have acted the same way even if Missy Moo was not here).  They played down on the play set for 1.5 hours they were playing monster.  One of the boys was the monster and then the others were trying to save Missy Moo from him.  She just thought that was the best!!!  Although the one thing that DH and I got from this was that we will NOT be hosting any boys when she gets a little older.  Could it be possible that I saw my 4.5 year old daughter flirting with all these young men?

It was a nice evening and a pleasure to have met these young men.

One Rumor Just Posted Late Today

Well, Rumor Queen  posted this evening that several agencies have said that the CCAA sent packages out on Aug. 7th.  Of course no one really knows what is in the packages - but everyone is assuming that it is referrals.  Agencies are saying they expect them early next week!!!

Not sure really what I think at this point.  We sure don't want to get our hopes up again - but at the same time we want to believe it so bad!!!  Time will tell.  We have a busy weekend so hopefully we will know what is going on next week.

Still no good rumors!!!

Well we are still waiting and waiting some more.  I thought for sure we would here something this week but now I am not so sure.  Over a week ago there was a rumor that matching had begun and then a rumor this week that they only have made it thru to Jan. 27th - which would only be two days worth of referrals.  The last couple of days have been hard, we just want to know something. 

But of course we are keeping busy.  From Aug. thru about Jan. we always get so busy.  This week DH helped in our neighborhood garden and then last night was our neighborhood National Night out.  Tonight Missy Moo is so excited because we got invited over to Sandy's house for swimming and dinner.  Sandy is the women that owns and runs the swimming program that Missy Moo has been taking swimming lessons at.  We are in love with this family - they are so nice and you just want to be around them.

Thurs. night we have to get prepared for our Adoption Potluck on Friday and we need to make sure we have everything we need at the house for Sat.  On Sat. the road in front of our house will be closed for repaving all day.  Sat. we plan on painting the upstairs room that they just about have finished now.  Sunday Missy Moo and DH are going to the fair - Missy Moo is so excited about that.

We are praying like crazy that referrals come soon.  They just have to right?  I will write more soon.

BUSY WEEKEND

Well it is finally Sunday night and I am just sitting down for the first time all weekend.  We had a really nice weekend but it was a little busy.

We worked around the house on Sat. and had to finish moving all the stuff out of the craft/play room.  Then Sat. night we went to dinner at our travel partners home.  It is always fun getting together with them and so much fun.  Both our girls play really well together and it is always nice to catch up.  They smoked burgers and brats for us - it was really good.  Of course my husband (DH) is now ready to smoke some meat.

Then Sunday we had some errands to run and we ended up getting two night stands for the master bedroom - we could not believe it we found them at Costco.  I actually saw them last week and thought they looked very similar to one of the pieces we have in the MB.  Then DH and I went to look at it today and he noticed the name - HOOKER - which is the same name of that piece or furniture.  We ended up bringing them home - they match very well - but I think they are a little big.  Our neighbor came over and did not think they were to big and seemed to like them.  The thing I like the most is they are big which means you can put pictures and lamps on both of them plus they both have three big drawers - so lots of storage.

We also worked on cleaning the house today and organizing a little.  Like the master bath and closet I spent lots of time finding places for everything.  Then I also finally cleaned out the upstairs bathroom (the one we used to use) and moved everything down stairs.  We got rid of lots of stuff.  I gave all the unused hair products and lotions to my good friends teenage daughter - she was so excited.

Then tonight we were invited to one of friends homes for dinner - they live just down the street which was nice.  They prepared a wonderful dinner and their daughters grandmother even came for dinner.  They told us the best news tonight - and that is that they have decided not to move!!!  I am so excited about that because our girls love to play together, they are both adopted from China and just get along so well.  I wish both girls would be in kindergarden together this next year.  But Madelin missed the cut off by 21 days.  So she will have to wait until next year.  It was a beautiful evening and we got to eat outside and talk.

When we got home we had a message from our neighbors to the east of us.  They had invited us to come over for dessert tonight.  We were so bummed that we were not able to go over.  We really enjoy them and our kids play together very well.  

We had a few things to finish up around the house before BH&G comes to take their scout photos in the morning.  Missy Moo also has an appointment at her preschool in the morning with the head teacher.  She is so excited to her teachers.  Well thats it from here. 

ARE WE NUTS????

Well we have decided to put a wall, closet and door upstairs in the new addition to make a bedroom for the baby.  We both have mixed feelings about it - after putting the addition on last year I don't think any of us are ready to have people working in the house again.  But we think putting the baby there makes the most sense that way she/he can share the bathroom with her sister.

So tonight we have lots to do to get ready.  We were just told today that they are going to start tomorrow morning.  Yikes!!!  We have to clear out most of the play room so they can set up their saws up there.  Plus we have a dinner party here tomorrow night so lots to get ready for that tonight too.

Anyway I just cant believe we are starting another project.  Please pray that they stick to their 3 week schedule.  We all know how that usually works.

Some Good and some bad news.

Well referrals landed in Europe on Friday and the bad news is that it looks like we missed the cut off by ONE day!!!  But the good news is that we are next.  Not sure when referrals will come out due to the Olympics starting but at least we know whenever they do send them we are next.  Yippee!!!

We had a great 4th of July weekend.  We spent it with DH's family, they live on the Mississippi and his small town has a great 4th of July celebration.  It was a great weekend and most of his siblings and their families made it back less his two brothers in Memphis.  It was great to see everyone and see how big all Missy Moo's cousins have gotten.  I am just amazed at how fast time is going which I can really tell when I see how big all the kids are getting.  We got back late Sat. evening and today just worked around the house and ran a few errands.  The weather this weekend was fabulous.  Friday it was sunny and about 75 and Sat. was sunny and 85 - both days no humidity!!!  

Way too long since I have posted!!!

Well it has been a very long time since I have posted.  Not really sure where the time has gone but all of a sudden I realized it is July 1st and I have not posted anything since April.  Yikes!!!

In April we hosted a group from China - it was a musical group, there were two men and three women.  They arrived on April 10th and stayed with us for one night and then went to another city for a few days.  Came back to us on April. 16 - 21st.  We had the two men stay with us - although it did start off a little rocky.  When my daughter and I went to the airport to pick them up the two men that were suppose to stay with us seemed a little upset that they were going to be staying with us.  They argued for awhile but in the end came home with us.   They were very nice men - Lin was in his 40's and he was the teacher of the group.  Wong was probably about 21 years old - his english was very limited.  Lin said he did not speak english but he did very well.  His son is 14 years old and one of the best piano players in China - he will be in the States in Aug. competing.  The group over all was nice - but we are always glad when the Chinese leave.  Not really sure why - but they always seem to be a lot more work then the other countries we host.  

MAY - was a very busy month for us.  Our fingerprints expired for the third time.   How depressing is that!!!  So we had to go downtown again to CIS and get that taken care of.  We have decided this will be the last time we do that no matter what.  We figure if we don't have our child by the time they expire we are not going to renew them again.

We also hosted a man from Moldova in May.  He was with us from May 1st thru May 20th.  His name was Ghenadia and he was here with E-Government he was a doctor but also works for an insurance company in Moldova.   When we said we would host we really wanted someone that spoke english mostly because he was staying for such a long period of time.  It is so much easier when they have some basic english skills.  Well, he did not speak english when he got here - which in the beginning we thought it was going to be a very long three weeks.  But after about 1.5 weeks he started to understand more and more.  We had a great time with him.  Plus we found out that he liked to do yard work.  He helped DH with a few projects outside which was so helpful.  DH even wanted to know if he could stay the whole summer - he kept thinking of everything he could get done outside.  Ha Ha.  The other thing that we really enjoyed about him is that he was willing to do just about anything we wanted and would try anything we put in front of him.  He really wanted to experience America.  He said this will probably be his only opportunity to come to the US and he wanted to do everything that we did.  He even took a turn at mowing the yard with the riding mower.  He really liked that.

We hosted a dinner here one night with the whole group.  What a blast - it was a really great evening and everyone had a great time.  But man can they drink!!!  I guess they are a break off of the USSR and I have heard the Russians are big drinkers.  Anyway the night was a blast!!!

They also had a farewell dinner downtown for all the host families before they left.  That was  great evening too.  They cooked for us all Moldovan foods and of course we drank some more.  They sang traditional Moldovan songs to us and then the dancing began.  It was a blast!  Our daughter was right in there learning all the dances too.  It was a sad day for us when he ended up leaving.  But hopefully we will stay in touch.

In May we also finished off the school year and gymnastics - which she will start back up in the fall.  She started swimming which we are very excited about and she has been doing great.  That is the big activity this summer we are trying to concentrate on that his summer.  She loves jumping off the diving board and diving off the side of the pool.

I have also started the 100 Good Wish Quilt - wow what a project that has been.  The good news is that I found the women that actually made the quilt that I am trying to make.  Her name is Gerry and she is in California - she has been very helpful and even told me which book the pattern is in - which is making things a little easier.

JUNE - has also been busy.  We had two graduations in the family this year.  My husbands niece graduated at the beginning of the month and then my nephew graduated on June 13th.  I just cant believe he is out of high school.  Seems like it was just yesterday when he could come and stay the night is my little apartment when he was two and three years old.  Time sure is flying.

The other good news in June was that referrals came out and they actually made it thru 8 days.  That is amazing because the last few months it has been 3-5 days each month.  So they are now up to Jan. 20, 2006 - our log in date is Jan. 26, 2006 - so we only have six days left.  We hope to get a referral in July or Aug.  But of course we really have no idea when we will get it - but that is what we are hoping for.  

Also we have had awful flooding in our city and around the whole state.  It has been awful - we are so thankful that our home did not take on water this year.  So many of our friends had flooded basements and lost so much.  It has been very sad.

JULY - well today is the first day of July - and we are really starting to wonder if we are going to get a referral this month or not.  We are hoping they will be coming some time next week so we will no.  If we don't get one this month we are at least hoping they will get thru Jan. 25th - that way we know for sure we are in the next batch.

Last week Missy Moo's China sister and her mom came to visit and the weather was just awful - lots and lots of rain.  We ended up going to the mall one morning.  We went in to Pottery Barn Kids which was having a great sale some of their stuff was 50% off.  So yes I broke down and picked out bedding for our daughters room!!!  I still cant believe I did that.  But 50% off - how can that be passed up right?  Now if we have a boy - he is going to have to be a very secure boy because he is going to have pink bedding.  Ha Ha.

We also found a contractor that is going to build a wall for us upstairs and a closet for the babies room.  It would have been so much easier if I would have figured out I wanted to put the baby up there when we put the addition on.  Seems like I always take the hard road though.  We are hoping he will be done by the end of Aug.  I am just hoping that once they get started that they will keep coming until the whole thing is done.  I really don't want this project to carry on for 9 weeks.  Not looking forward to all the dust again and people in and out of the house - but it will be nice when it is done.

We leave on Thurs. for my husbands parents place to celebrate the 4th of July.  The town always does a nice parade for the kids and they have a carnival at the park and a great fireworks display - so we are all looking forward to that.

Well that has been what we have been up to.  We are crossing our fingers about referrals - it will be a long week or so.  But hoping they come next week.

Referrals came out today.

Finally more referrals came out today - the bad news is that it was only thru Jan. 9, 2006.  That is only five days worth and really only two days worth because of the weekend.

But the good news is that we are at least five days closer to our child.   So now we have 17 days left before it is our turn.  At this pace we are thinking that we would get our referral in July or Aug. which of course is right around the Olympics.  We are praying that we get referral before then but at the same time just hoping we get referral this year.  This process has been so up and down and every time we think we have it all figured out then something else changes.

The other interesting news is that our agency just sent out a letter saying that the Director has just resigned.  Hmmmmm.  So my question is did she really resign or is she just jumping off a sinking ship???   They are not replacing her but plan on running a one person office.  Again - hmmm?  What's a little more stress right?  More on this later I am sure.

Today we ran around town all morning then met some other adoptive families at Costco for lunch.  Everyone was having a really nice time and then all of a sudden one of the little girls took a dive on the floor head first.   One of the Dad's brought her over to us and she had split her chin open.  I felt so bad for her and her mom - they were both so scared.  So we gathered all the kids up in a shopping cart just to get them to our cars then I drove the families mini van to the children's hospital where the Dad met us.  They ended up there for a couple of hours but then wanted to take her to a facial specialist that was at another hospital.  My car was still on the other side of town so another family took me back there.  We then filled out an accident report at Costco and then finished our shopping.   We got a call about 7:30pm tonight saying that they were finally on their way home.  The cut had actually gone all the way to the bone and she had five stitches on the inside and twelve stitches on the outside.  But her parents said she did great - what a little trooper.

We have some friends of my husbands over for dinner tomorrow night.  Then Sunday sounds like we will be heading up to DH's brother's house for a few hours. 

A BUSY FEW DAYS

On Good Friday we got a call from DH's brother telling us that their Grandma had passed away that morning.  As soon as DH's got home he called his brother and he said that in the morning she had breakfast and then was complaining it was hard to breath.  And then shortly after she passed away.  We are so sad that she is gone but at the same time we know that she was ready and that she had lived a full life.  She was ninety six years old - and had a very large family.  She will be missed!!!

Easter was a wonderful day with our friends. We had a brunch with about 20 people here at the house.  It was so fun.  There were six families here including ours.  It was a very relaxing day and great to have time to catch up with everyone that was here.  The kids all of course had a great time.  Then we had an easter egg hunt which was a huge success with the kids.  They all had so much fun running all over the place.  It was the first year that we found every egg.  But I have to say that when the easter bunny was hiding the eggs outside in the early morning, it was snowing!!!  I could not believe it!!!

On Monday DH had to go in the office for part of the morning.  Missy Moo and I had a couple of errands that we needed to run.  Then we came back and started to pack for our trip to DH's home town for the wake.  We ended up leaving about 1:00pm - we also picked up DH's cousin's wife - she needed a ride back.  She studied the whole way back and thankfully Missy Moo took a great nap.  When we got there we dropped DH  off at the wake and then took his cousins wife to her kids.  Missy Moo and I headed over to DH's parents house.  When we got there we found out that most of the family had just left for the wake.  Although most of the kids stayed at the house while their parents went to the wake.   The bad news was that a couple of the kids were not feeling well.  Poor Emily really did not look like she felt good.

After the wake we went to DH's brothers house for awhile and talked with his family and one of his other brothers.  Then we headed to our hotel.  We used to always stay in town but they took down the only motel in the town so now we have to drive about 30 min. away.   We got to the hotel about 9:00pm.  Missy Moo wanted to go swimming so DH took her swimming while I got our stuff unpacked.  They got back to the room about 10:00pm and then we had dinner.  Yes, we had been so busy that we did not have dinner yet.  Lights out was about 11:00pm - very late for Missy Moo.

The next morning DH took off to the funeral.  I then got ready and got Missy Moo going.   She was so tired and it took forever to get her moving.  We finally got out of the hotel and stopped at a local store for some milk and nylons (which I had forgotten).  But buy the time we got out of the store we were very late.  It was 10:10am and the service started at 10:30am.   I drove about 80 MPH to get there on time.  I got there at 10:25am but had a very hard time finding parking.   The good news is that we made it on time.  Yippee.  The service was really nice - I actually learned a lot about Grandma that I did not know.  Plus it was so amazing to see everyone from her family there.  It really was amazing to see how many kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren she had.  

After the service there was a lunch provided - which was really nice to have some time to see and talk with everyone.  We headed back home about 2:30pm.

100 GOOD WISH QUILT

Good news - we are now at 95 quilt squares for our 100 Good Wish Quilts for both girls.  

This past Sunday I spent part of the afternoon organizing all the quilt squares that have been arriving over the last week or two.  As I was documenting each squish and who it came from all of a sudden I started adding it all up and we are t 95 squishes (squares and wishes) per quilt.  Yahoo!!!  I still cant believe it - two weeks ago we were at 48 squishes per quilt and now to be at almost 100 per quilt is just amazing to me.

We are on Spring Break here this week.  But next week Angela is going to start helping me with the quilt and putting it together.  I am getting very excited.  I just hope and pray that I can do it.  Now the fun part will start, piecing it all together should be really fun.

Thank you to all our family and friends that helped with this huge project.  We know that this was an unusual request on our part and we are so thankful that you all helped us with these quilts.  As soon as we have them together we plan on sending everyone a picture and a thank you for all your help.

Our Visitor's from Tajikistan

We have just had a wonderful week hosting two men from Tajikistan.

They arrived  just over a week ago on Sat.  This is the first time that we got the facilitator of the group.  Shawn was fluent in English which was so great.  We felt like we really learned something from this group.  Then the other man could speak just a little english but was such a kind man and he really tried to communicate with us while he was here.  

The first couple of days we spent time together getting to know one another.  Not to say that everything was perfect - we did have a few cultural issues right off the bat - but in the end I really feel like we all had a better understanding of one another and both our cultures.

Missy Moo had such a great time with our guests.  They both were so great with her.  She had lots of attention the whole week.  Her and Shawn had a special relationship - he called her strawberry and she called him bear.  

On Wed. the little one broke his foot.  I felt so bad for him.  This was his first trip to the United States and he ends up stuck in our house the rest of the trip.  Poor guy!!!  He did his best to communicate with us and Madelin and him did a great job of communication.  Its funny how children don't even notice the language barrier.

We learned how to make traditional Tajikistan bread and a traditional dinner Och - which was really, really good.  But I have to say both the bread and the Och was such a process to make.  They were both so good though.  I think I could probably make the Och - but not sure about the bread.

We had a going away party on Friday here at the house - there was about 18 people show up.  It was a wonderful evening.  I really hope they enjoyed the night as much as we did.

The week went by so fast - we are so sad that the experience is over.  They will always be welcome in our home.  We really feel like we have expanded our family and will always think of them as our brothers.  We could not have asked for a better week.

Finally Our Friends are home with their Daughter!!!

I forgot to post the most exciting news.  Our friends  got home last Friday with their daughter  from China.

Thurs. was a whirlwind of a day around here.  We were so busy all day I dont think we got home until about 4:30pm that night - just in time to get Missy Moo ready for swimming lessons and leave by 5:30pm.  DH took her to the pool while I went and picked up a balloon and a stuffed animal for our friends arrival tonight.  Then I rushed to the airport.  When I got here I found out their plane was a few minutes late so I visited with many other families and friends that had also come to celebrate their arrival.

Soon the family appeared at the top of the escalator.  It was so exciting and emotional.  Every time I go to the airport to meet a family that is coming back from China - it brings so many memories of our experience with Missy Moo.  I always find myself standing there crying.  It was so exciting to see them bring this little girl home.  She is three years old and the sweetest little thing.  She was so sweet just watching everyone that was watching her.  I could not help but think what do you think she is thinking with all these people and kids watching her.  For a family that had been traveling over 24 hours - they all looked so good and their daughter was such a trooper as we all talked and hugged for about two hours.

Finally DH and Missy Moo showed up.  Missy Moo was not as excited as I thought she would be.  She actually was not interested at all in meeting their little girl or even saying hi to our friends.  This wait for her sister has really taken a toll on her.  She wants her sister to come home so bad - and I think seeing them with their daughter was hard because she is so ready for it to be our turn.  When I was watching the family arrive - I have to admit it was the first time that I really let myself feel something with the adoption.  And I all of a sudden realized how tired I am of the wait.  It really has been a long road and so emotional.  I never in a million years thought we first would be waiting this long - but second, I never thought the wait would take so much out of me.  But it really has.   This June will be three years since we started the process.  And when we started we thought the wait would be about 7 months.  Each month the wait got longer and longer and now I am realizing how much a toll it has taken on all of us.

We hope and pray every day that our child comes home soon.  

Our friends daughter has been doing great since they got home.  She shares a room with her sister.  She might go to the same preschool as Missy Moo next year - different age and class but same school.  They went to the schools fundraiser on Tues. night and they said she did great.  It really is just so exciting to watch a family come together thru adoption.  We are so excited to get to know her and include her in our lives.  Welcome home Sweet Girl!!!