Legally Mina!

I am having serious issues with my internet connection tonight.  I have all these great photos of today, but I am having a heck of a time posting them.  Here is one for now and I will just add another post with only photos as soon as we are back up and running.    Our Adoption of Mina is legal and final in the eyes of China!!!  We have to stay in this Changsha until her passport is issued on Friday.  There was a heap of paperwork to be done at the Civil Affairs office.  Mina was so funny..... honestly, there were several adoptive families there and she ran around to all the kids and was playing and laughing.  This one little boy,,, Mina would hold out her new favorite toy ( a baby einstein music thingy) to him and as soon as he would reach for it she would jump and scream, but with this impish little smile.  Of course she wanted his toy train and her toy.  It was very cute, she walked around like she owned the place,  she played with plastic cups while we filled out the paperwork with the officials, and even was charming her orphanage assistant director.  She is quite a character, and laughs really easily.  She is giving Marc a hard time today,  She only likes him when he takes her for walks outside.  She fell asleep on him twice in a carrier while he was walking the busy city streets.  She loves to be on the go!  Every time we go to a restaurant, the ladies surround our table and play with and feed Mina she is quite the hit,  we don't have the heart to tell them that we REALLY want to do it ourselves. We had about 6 ladies circling our table all through dinner last night. I will tell you we must be a sight to see.  When we are walking the street or when went to the shopping mall down the street, people take no issue with stopping and staring at us.  It is a little uncomfortable, we feel like a bit of a freak show.  People will stop, point, gather their friends and just stare...  Some seem very nice and they com up to us and talk to Mina,  she loves when the local people speak Chinese to her and she usually talks back a bit... Some is baby chatter, some are words, but it is sooo cute.    We have had the "clothing police" ladies, checking to make sure that we have Mina properly layered for 70 degree weather, which I was told by my guide is at least 3 layers.  One woman was very upset by the baby carrier Marc was wearing Mina in and wagged her finger at him and tried to pull on Mina a bit to situate her, she "clucked" her tongue at him and was not very happy.  It was so cute to see a bunch of school children walking down these crazy busy streets to get to their class,  They all said "hello" to us and when I took their photo this one little girl turned around and stuck out her tongue, What a cutie pie.  Too funny.   I also had to add some super cute photos that we took of Mina just looking out the hotel window to the garden down below.  She is such a beauty!!

We our blessed beyond Measure!

Meet our Daughter..It does not get any cuter than this! I have no words to give this day justice.  I will cry like a baby if I try to put words on it anyhow, and I am too exhausted.    We now have the 4 best kids in the entire world!!  I have spent the last several months very hesitant about being excited about this adoption process.  There is no hesitation left.  We have our daughter, She is so precious!  This day has been the dream that I have been to scared to dream.  Mina was pretty upset when we first met, which I completely expected.  It was heartbreaking to watch her hurting, and not be able to fix her pain.  She stopped crying when we got into the van to come back to the hotel.  She seems like a real busy body and is very curious to everything going on around her.  We came back to the hotel and she started to come out of her shell a bit,  she loves all the toys we brought and is very attached to a stuffed "prayer bunny" that I had sent her months ago in a care package.  (I need to get a few more of them as soon as we are back in the states). It is about 70 degrees outside and this girl had on about 5 layers of clothes.   Amazingly by dinner time she was loving the people and beginning to smile and laugh with us. And boy can this girl eat. Our first meal together and she ate rice, bone soup with turnips, broccoli, spicy beef & asparagus,  So much for picky eaters.  She will definitely fit in well with our crew. She is a tiny little thing, I am shocked.  We came back to the hotel, did paperwork, ran to the market to get some formula and drinks, and then came home and put her in the bath,  which she absolutely loved!! She was amazed by the bubbles and seemed like she would have played in the bath for hours.  We dried her up and I rocked her for a few minutes, put her to bed and she was out!!!  Now to see if she sleeps through the night.  

Honestly the day could not have been any better.  I am trying to throw in all the facts of the day without writing a novel, but I can't believe how amazing the last few hours have been. 

Our prayers have been answered beyond comprehension.  We are so blessed.  

Oh, by the way, she is just the cutest little thing, and has some Chinese words.  I wish I spoke Chinese 

so I new 

what she was saying.  When we were at the market she squealed and was saying something, but I haven't a clue.  Our guide recognized a few of the words at dinner.  It is soooo cute. 

BEIJING

We had an incredibly busy day here in Beijing.  We are really enjoying the culture, sights, and food (except for one particularly strange pork dish we just had)  I think our guide likes the fact that we are loving the different foods.  We first went to the Forbidden City toured and learned all about the different dynasties and Emperors.  I will confess I knew close to nothing about all of this before today.  Then we went to lunch and walked the steps of the Great Wall.... Exhausting at best.  I was surprised by the amount of people at both places, and the steps of the Great Wall are tall and steep.  We had to stop a few times and catch our breath.  The view was absolutely amazing.  

Most importantly this is my LAST post without a picture of Mina!!!!!  We had to pinch ourselves a few times today... it seems very surreal that we will be meeting our daughter tomorrow.  We are racked with nervous excitement.  Every time I saw a small child today, I almost teared up.  

Please keep our little Mina in your thoughts and prayers, as she has no idea that her life is about to change,  Please pray that she accepts and bonds to us quickly.    We are all about to fall over tired right now. Tomorrow is sure to be one of the most amazing days of our lives.... We will keep you posted.

Greetings From Beijing!!!

We made it,  we are here safe and sound!  Everyone who knows me well knows that I am a very nervous flier. So I feel like a million bucks right now because a big part of my stress is over. Even though I haven't slept in over 48 hours.  The flight was actually not so bad.  It was the flight from home to Newark that really almost made me toss my cookies.  It was very bumpy and I think I squeezed all the blood out of my poor husbands hand.  Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers,  I really felt them over the last day.  I will post pictures of us on the Great Wall tomorrow!!!  And that should be the last of the boring post, because we will have our Baby!!!!!Oh, and just want to forewarn all of you that are not too familiar with these blogs. I can only post from here but can not view what I am posting so you will have to forgive me if it doesn't look so great for the next few weeks.  I can also get my email if anyone needs to reach me, or at least I can here in Beijing.    Yeah! We are so excited. 

We're on our Way!!

We are going to China baby!!! Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels and for our sweet baby girl to receive us well.  Here we are, so excited to scoop her up and love on her and the poor thing has no idea that we are even on our way.  We have done so much to prepare our homes and hearts, and yet she is so innocent and unaware.  I have been praying for months that she feels our love and bonds with us quickly, but I also know that I have to prepare my heart for her fears.   This is quite a journey we are embarking on and right now it feels a little surreal.  Here is my best attempt at showing just a glimpse of our packing woes.   I act like I am going camping or something.  There is a little bit of everything in these few suitcases.    We will be in the air all day on Friday so if you think of us today please keep the 3 of us in your prayers for our safe travel.  I can't wait to be updating this in a few days with photos of our baby girl.  So long for now!!! We will update you in a day or two.  Thanks everyone for your amazing prayers and support!!!

Hanging with Mickey & Shamu before going to Grandpa & Abui's house

I just got back late last night from Orlando!  My little kids are staying with their grandparents while we go to China to pick up our sweet littlest one (Crazy tough for me to leave them in FL. while we travel to China, I know this is God's plan for our family so I trust that he is in control.  It is still very difficult for me not to have these guys with me 24/7).  We of course had to do a stop and hang with Mickey and Shamu for a few days before leaving.  My good friend came with me and we spent a few days at the parks and hanging by the pool.  I can't believe how blessed the 2 of us are with amazing kids.  Honestly 2 girls with 3 kids under 5 and virtually no meltdowns and all smiles, Even with the crazy long car trip & a 14 hour day at Disney world.  We are very lucky Mama's...  

I miss my little one's painfully already and just can't wait to be back home with the entire family!!!  

Princess Date Night

Father/ Daughter Date Night.... so sweet...  They had such a great time.  I took a ton of video too, and can't wait to make a little Movie (ever hear that Cinderella song by Steven Curtis Chapman... it is going to be a tear jerker) .. Papa took his little princess to pick out a new dress, and they had a great night...  I could cry looking at these pictures.....

We spent a lazy family day having a picnic in the park.  We wanted to soak up the family for a few hours before we left for Orlando & then CHINA!!!!  Of course I had to take pictures....

Sibling Rivalry

This picture is worth a 1000 words,  These 2 kids love each other to pieces, but boy do they "butt heads"  they are so much alike!  Both very much know it all's.  I love this photo, because you can see the love, but you can also see the never ending debate.  I never thought that with a 9 year age gap we would have sibling rivalry, but I wouldn't change a second of it. 

Logistics & Randomness

The Logositics of moving a family of 6 (and a dog) through the final phase of the interanational adoption process includes just to name a few of the details. 

• 3 Homes
• 6 Hotels
• 1 Kennel (sorry Maggie)
• 15 hours in a car
• 3 hours on a train
• 40 hours of airplane travel (with a Mama who hates flying)
• 8 Cities
• 2 Countries
• 7 Suitcase (& yeah I am packing Light)

I will be taking the little ones to FL to hang with Mickey Mouse for a few days, so we can have some quality time. (Poor Papa has to work). Grandpa & Abui are going to pick the kiddos and the dog up in Orlando and take them to their house in South FL.  I will come back home for 1 day and then Marc, C, and I  leave for China!!!  

And for the Radomness:  This has been one of my favorite things to see over the past few months, since through this process you are always waiting for the next step, seeing my agency's # on the caller id is a good thing,  it means Progress!!!

     

How about this for a nice mommy moment.  I walked in the family room a few days ago and all 3 of the kids are hanging out watching TV. Big brother was spending time with his little sis & bro, watching Max & Ruby.  I love little moments like this!  

One on One time

Our little ones go to preschool on alternating days, by design.  This way I get to spend a little one on one time with each of them.  This week has been a little bittersweet, as we are very excited to be going to China to pick up Mina, but we are going to miss our little ones in a very bad way. Yesterday J.C. & I went on one of your picnic bike rides.  We pack a picnic and I strap him in this old school bike seat, we ride for a few miles then stop at the big neighborhood swings and have a picnic.  This is one of his favorite things to do, and I love hangin' with this kid, he is such a character and no one can make me laugh like this little guy.  Now my big girl on the other hand, she is  a bit more serious.  If you ask her what her favorite thing to do is hands down she will say, "CRAFTS".  We spent today making these cute bow holders for all of the bows we made last week.  Not many 5 year olds could handle an Xacto knife and a glue gun like this kid, but she would take over the household and not miss a beat if we would let her.  She always has at lease one crafty mess going, but we both really love fussing with this kind of stuff.  Our one on one days will change a bit as soon as we are home from China so I am really cherishing our time these days. 

YEAH BABY, HERE WE COME!!

MINA, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!! in 25 days we will be holding our new precious daughter!  As the little kids would say in 25 "sleeps".  I just can't wait.  Hold on baby girl, Mama's coming!

HOLY COW,  WE GOT OUR TA (TRAVEL APPROVAL) ON MONDAY AND TODAY WE HAVE OUR CA (CONSULATE APPOINTMENT).  This is very exciting stuff.  Marc is busy trying to find the best flights for us right now,  We will be leaving on March 21st, which is C's first day of spring break, which means he can go on this amazing trip with us and only miss 5 days of high school.  Yet another amazing gift in this process!  Can you believe in less than a month I will be posting pictures of the Great Wall of China again, but next time, we will be standing on it!!! Outrageous!  My bags are nearly packed and I am busting with excitement.  I am forcing myself not to freak out about the flight, since I HATE to fly.  Thank God for modern medicine!  I will be comfortably "sleeping" the entire way.   

Mina's Room

Ok, here are a few pictures of Mina's room...  I had so much fun decorating it,  although I am not completely done,  I still need to get a mattress in the crib and finish off a few things. I am hoping to get some pictures while in China for her walls. I painted her crib, which has been the same crib that all of my kids have used, I was REALLY over the light oak color, so I painted it white and "shabby'd it up a bit"  although you can't really tell in the photos. Right now it is more of a packing station (hence pictures of only one side of the room).  Everything we are starting to collect for our trip, suitcases, baby clothes (the fun part), gifts, snacks, medicines.  It is a multi-purpose dumping ground of sorts.   We are getting very excited for our upcoming trip.  We are really hoping to travel in Mid-Late March.  It would be great if "C" was on spring-break,  that way he will only miss 1 1/2 weeks instead of 2 1/2 weeks of classes, it will make all the difference for him making up all of his work and tests.   Hopefully I will post again very soon with news of our travel dates!  

Yeeeeeeeeeeeee-Hawwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!

We got our LOA!!! Which means we are going to get our Little Girl... This is the biggest WAIT in our adoption process, and now it is O-V-E-R!!! Those who know me well ,know that I have been a shell of my former self waiting, and waiting for this... and now it is here!!! I am in shock.... Thank God!!

It is bitter-sweet, because a dear friend who has really helped me through this process, should have gotten her LOA along with mine, but it wasn't in the package, I am keeping the faith that it will come as soon as Chinese New Years is over and that we will still tavel together... I am very sad and I know if rolls were reversed she would feel the same way... We just have to travel together, we have matching outfits for our girls for goodness sake!

Now we await our Travel Approval (TA) it usually comes in about 3 weeks.. then we will get our dates for travel!!! I can't believe it!! I will keep y'all posted!!

Prayers for Mina

I am asking everyone to say a prayer for our Sweet girl waiting for us in China... China has seen horrible storms in the past few weeks leaving much chaos, and Millions of people without power or access to food.
The Mother instincts in me are in full swing.. I want so badly to care for my baby and make sure she is warm, safe, and fed... I have been praying and worrying about her. (Yeah, I know these things shouldn't go together. but I am a wreck when it comes to my kids) I did get some good news today... Someone with a connection to her orphanage called and got word from her foster family that "she is doing good" not much information, but this process is surely not full of reassuring information, so that is good enough for me right now. Mina lives in the Hunan province, one of the worst hit by the storm.. You can see it here on the map. I have posted pictures of people dealing with the storm close to where she is living now...

I also had high hopes that we would recieve word this week about our LOA, which is just the next step closer to traveling to go get our girl... Once we recieve our LOA we travel in 5 or 6 weeks . So again I had high hopes at the beginning of the week, and have heard nothing. Also China pretty much closes down next week for Chinese New Year celebration.. So I most likely won't hear anything for a while.. So needless to say my Mommy nerves are SHOT!
I usually post more Happy Hearted things here on my blog, but it has been quite a while and wanted to throw out there that this is where we are now with our adoption/waiting journey. Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement and support.


A young Chinese villager holds a snow covered shovel at Zhangjia village at the Jiangsu border with Anhui province, Friday Feb. 1, 2008, in Nanjing, China. Snow storms that have battered many parts of China over the last three weeks have killed at least 60 people and caused billions in damage,. the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday

My Big Girl!

My Baby Lost Her first Tooth!

I can't believe it! My baby Girl! All of these little milestones are starting to add up- She's not a baby anymore. She couldn't wait to call her Papa to tell him- now we wait for the tooth fairy! Being a kid is so magical! I just love it.

Our Snow Day!

It didn't snow much, but it sure was enough for my kids to have a blast!!! you can tell there is barely any snow under their sled but it was enough to get it going... We had a fun morning....We woke up early and got out to play before school... The kids actually put a jacket and boots on over their jammies so they could hurry out the door. Hopefully we will have another snow day before winter is over.... Or we will have to take a road trip. So much fun!

Making Room for Mina!

We have been busy around here making room for Mina! Since our two little ones insist on sleeping in the same room even though they have had their own rooms for years...we decided to let them officially share a room so we could make room for their new baby sister. They are so excited about their new sister and talk about her all day every day. They are full of questions an I love it. They of course wanted to "help" paint their new room and thank goodness they didn't balk at the fact that we really needed them to paint the closet. They worked very hard and were very pleased with themselves and their new room. When we went in to check on them right before we went to bed -we found them sleeping in the same bed!!! The do, of course have their own beds, but this is how we found them. So cute. I know most kids want their own room... but not these two. I love that they are so close.

This week I am having TOO much fun decorating and getting Mina's room ready. I have a feeling it won't be long before she is piled in with these two. I will post a picture of Mina's room soon. It is almost done, and I am loving it... Shabby Chic China style.....if you can imagine...I will be sure to post it!

Sunny South Florida

So we packed up the whole crew and headed down to Florida to spend time with our families. My mothers health "scare" turned out to be more serious than we thought, she ended up having triple bypass open heart surgery! Needless to say we spent the majority of our trip back and forth to the hospital. Thankfully she is recovering well. Thank God for modern Medicine, simply amazing. We did squeeze in some family time and the little ones had a blast with all of their cousins. We actually got to spend an afternoon on the beach without the kiddos.

We "thought" we forgot our camera battery charger so I have a unforgivable lack of pictures for our trip. Very unlike me... We found the charger when we were home and unloading the car. What a bummer that I don't have more extended family shots.



Who'd would have thought....that a roll of packing tape meant to throw off what was actually inside of a present would become the biggest hit for all of the kids. First they taped up their big brother and then all of the cousins got into the action.


A bunch of the Cousins went to Build-a-Bear and got to choose their own bear and outfit. Their Christmas present to each other... They had a great time and what great memories for them.

We really have to teach J.C. how to smile without looking like he is in pain.

These kids all get along so great. It is amazing how they just know they are related. They have such a huge bond. I just love it!

How cute is my neice!!! She melts my heart. Never has one child had so much personality. She cracks me up! I love this kid like one of my own.