Leaving on a jet plane

Well it is 6:30 pm here and we are waiting for our shuttle to take us to the airport for a flight to Hong Kong and then in the morning we will leave for home!!!! This has been a wonderful experience but oh how we miss the good 'ol USA. It is kind of sad to leave Lily Jane's homeland and maybe someday we will come back to visit. There is a group of 21 girls here doing a homeland visit and they are in high school, that could be us one day. For now we are headed west!

Today we took the traditional red couch pictures where the kids all dress in traditional Chinese clothing. Lily Jane Had to be spoken from her nap so needless to say she was not too happy about the whole thing but I have included a photo, it really was cute! We will see you all soon!



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USA

Well tomorrow night at this time we will be getting ready to board our flight to Hong Kong and then the next morning at 9:20 we will leave Hong Kong for the USA!!! We are so excited but also so nervous for this very long flight home. Please say little prayers for us because it is going to be a very long trip! Last night for dinner I ordered a PB&J for dinner! It was 8.00 and it was the best money we have spent! Needless to say we are very ready to be home! Today we went to the pearl market, I have never seen so many pearls in my life. Lily Jane had her first true melt down! Funny thing she likes to be fed and I forgot to feed her before we went! Trust me this is not a mistake I will make again!

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments they have really helped us to get through! We miss everyone and can't wIt to see you all and let you meet our little princess!

Sorry it won't let me post picture tonight?? You will just have to see her in person! Love to all!


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Progress??

Hello all. Today we have had a restful day! Lily Jane slept until 9:00 this morning and then went down at 11:00 for a 2 hour nap. This trip is not for the weary let me tell you! I guess she is making up for lost sleep! It was 4:00 before we ever left the hotel to go wander around. This area is beautiful and we were able to do a little shopping at all these little stores around here. Tomorrow I have my meeting at the US Consulate and then Tuesday I should get Lily Jane's Visa.
I told mom today that I think we have already made Lily Jane rotten! She wants to be carried everywhere and she came to us holding her own bottle now she hands it to us to feed her...is this progress? :0

She really is very good and it is so funny how different she looks because she smiles now! Even one of the ladies in our group commented how different Lily Jane looks now. She loves to be tickled and play little games but there is one huge problem... She will not keep a bow in! She thinks it is so funny to take it out and hand it to us. I can't wait for all of you to meet her! Just 3 more days!


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First flight

Sorry I haven't been posting but we have really had problems connecting to the Internet. Yesterday we left our hotel at 2:00 for a 6:00 flight to Guangzhou. Apparently there was a tropical storm and we spent 6 hours in the airport waiting. As a new mother I failed because I was not prepared at all with food and formula for an entire day! However Lily Jane did great it was me that was about to lose her mind! In fact we had 8 families and about 12 children and they did wonderfully! Our flight finally left last night around 10:30. We got to bed around 2:30 and then back up at 8:00 this morning for a Lily Jane's medical examination. I am not real sure what they really did during the examination but we passed! We have started thinking that she doesn't even have a cleft palate but none of the doctors really spoke English so we will just have to wait and talk to the surgeon at home. I can't see a hole in the top of her mouth but she has the tiniest little mouth and I can't get a good look at it. This afternoon I took her to the pool and she loved it!! Yeah! She even went under a couple of times (not on purpose) and she laughed! She really has the sweetest personality and today she was really belly laughing when we were playing with her. It is just amazing what difference 4 days makes!
It is really beautiful here it reminds me of some place like Charleston, SC. The buildings are beautiful and there are so many parks and some people speak English which is always helpful! :). We are very homesick and just can't wait to see everyone and eat a cheeseburger! The 15 hour flight is heavy on our minds! Lily Jane did well last night on her first flight but 15 hours is just a really long time to sit in one place. keep us in your prayers!
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Dorm life

Well today is Thursday and we are all stir crazy! We are waiting for passports from the notary's office and we are just hanging out in the hotel. It really reminds me of living at Keeneland Hall during college. We are all sitting in the hall on the floor watching the babies walk up and down the hall in their squeaker shoes. I am sure the other people on our hallway are as ready for us to leave as we are. Tomorrow we fly out to The Whit Swan hotel which everyone says is so nice and more people speak English there. It is just really hard here to communicate with anyone and even shopping really isn't fun because you have no idea what you are buying. Here are a couple pics.


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Above is Lily Jane with another man in our group that she just loves. Shr laughs for him all the time.

Hello from Grammie in China

Hi, this is Grammie Janie. What a wonderful experience Julie and I are having learning all about Lily Jane and she learning about us. We know we love her and like what we see, but I think she is still trying to decide about us! I was worried when they said she didn't like loud noises. I thought Julie and I were already out in the cold. Come to find out noises don't seem to bother her.

We have such a great support group with us in the families and the agency that makes all this happen. We couldn't be happier, except to get back to the USA, Kentucky and be with all of you. Next Wednesday we should be on our way home. God has blessed us over and over this past week, and I know He has so many wonderful plans for the future.

We will be moving again on Friday to our next stop near Hong Kong and Julie will have more papers to sign. Keep praying.




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On the move!

Wow what a difference 24 hours makes! Lily Jane is on the move! it was so funny yesterday I tried to get her to walk and nothing, she would just sit and really not even move. So I have carried her everywhere today, up 6 flights of steps to the notary office, all over the hotel, to lunch, and then we got back from shopping to get diapers and formula and we lost our key to get back into the hotel room so we were sitting on the floor because I couldn't carry her any longer. So I was having her stand and then sit, kind of making a game of it and the bell hop came and opened the door for us. I leaned down to pick up the bags and I look up and Lily Jane had already walked into the room! What...she walks??? Now she is walking everywhere (a little unsteady I have to say) and she hasn't stopped. At dinner she was entertaining us, I just couldn't believe that this is the same little girl as last night. We were able to Face time with Daddy and then Jeff tonight and she Was moving around so much I could barely keep her in the picture. She has been smiling and laughed out loud tonight when I was tickling her. It has been so wonderful to see her enjoying herself even if it just for a little while because yesterday was just miserable for her!
I have enjoyed reading all of your comments so much and several of you commented about that she needed a bow in her sprout. Today we had a bow minus the sprout. I have to ease mom into the sprout.
I have tried to write back to many of your comments but the Internet is very spotty here and most of the time my responses don't post-mom is having the same problem. Tomorrow we have a free day and I think we are going to go to a near by park for a while. Now I am going to bed, hoping for a more restful night! Goodnight!






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She's Mine!

About 10:00 this morning I took the oath to care for An Ning and to never abandon her, they took our picture and gave me the official adoption paperwork! She is my baby!! It has been a crazy but wonderful 2 days! Yesterday when we got her she didn't make one sound until last night around 7 when I put her in the tub. And then she just made a faint la,la. I was really worried because I knew she would be sad to leave her nannies but I thought she would cry, instead just a sad blank stare. She wouldn't reach for anything or give any indication that she could do anything. Poor little thing is covered in huge mosquito bites and heat rash. She was the last child of the 8 to get there yesterday. When they brought her in her hair was up in 3 sprouts all over her head along with this horrible heat rash. So I started calling her sprout! Mom wanted to take her hair down but I thought it was kind of cute so we left it up for her official pictures :). She started eating Cheerios immediately and hasn't stopped. They said her nickname is Ning Ning and when you say that name she will look towards you. As of now she is not walking but she can sit up.
Today after a lot of work she smiled at me and let me play patty-cake with her. She is tiny! The 9 month clothing is working best for her right now but if she keeps downing Cheerios at this rate she will be in 12 months in no time.
I really don't know what is going on with her cleft palate they first told me it was already repaired but then today told me they can't find any indication of that and her little mouth is so tiny I can't see anything. Hopefully we will continue to make progress and she will be more willing to let us look into her mouth. Last night was a long night she cried a lot in the night , kind of in her sleep. It was the first time we had heard her cry, it was very pitiful. She is napping now and hopefully tonight she will feel a little more comfortable!
We sure appreciate all of your prayers, comments and support. It really is so nice to hear from all of you, we are a long way from home and we are feeling it! We do have a wonderful support system with the other families that are here but nothing beats friends at home!So far mom and I haven't suffered jet lag and the food has been fine. We are here in Zhengzhou until Friday when we fly to the next town which I can't spell right now! Here are some pictures of my beautiful daughter and mom's granddaughter.



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Gotcha!

I am off to do a lot of paperwork but I wanted to quickly give you some pictures and to let you know WE GOT HER! I do believe she is in shock which I understand. Please continue to pray for her. She


really hasn't made a peep. Thank goodness mom packed her suitcase with Cheerios because she seems to love them! She is napping now and I will give details later but for now here are some pictures. This was an incredible experience!


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Gotcha Day Eve

Well in about 12 hours we will be getting on the bus to get Lily Jane. It still doesn't feel real! I received a little more info on her today. It says she is a good sleeper but that she is afraid of strangers and loud noises. So tomorrow is going to be very traumatic for her. Please pray for her that she will know that we have nothing but love to give her and that she is safe in our arms, the loudness part she may just have to get used to! :)

We went to Wal Mart tonight and that is an experience that I just don't have the words to explain. Needless to say we got a lot of stares and we went in with a list of things we needed and basically only came out with water. It is very different here than Beijing. No one speaks any English at all. Mom kept trying to tell the bell boy something and I said mom he doesn't understand you and she said "I was speaking very clearly". We aren't in Kansas anymore! We are headed to bed, tomorrow Is going to be an awesome day. I will try to post pictures of my sweet baby girl!


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Bootcamp

Wow they have really shown us Beijing! We went to the Great wall yesterday and we are feeling it today! Between the heat (98 degrees, with 88 percent humidity) and the straight up, uneven steps we really got our work out! The wall is 5000 miles, and less than 1000 steps we were DONE!

Then on to Olympic Park to see the aquatic center and the Bird's Nest which was really impressive. Lastly we went to an acrobatics show. We are now packing up to fly to Zhengzhou where tomorrow we will get Lily Jane tomorrow! I must go now to catch this flight. Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday- Lunch was yummy, check out the fish!



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Education

Well we made it through our first day of tours and boy did George (our Guide) give us an education on Chinese culture and their society's class rankings! We rode in a rickshaw along a beautiful river and park. Then went to a commoners home- very interesting, then on to Tiananmen Square and the Forgotten city. Needless to say we were exhausted and came back to the hotel and slept until 10 pm. We are so tired we didn't even eat dinner. Tomorrow we will see the Great Wall, the Olympic area and tour a jade store. Everyone in our group is so nice and we are just all so ready to see our children- 3 more days!!! Here are some photos from today.


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We're here!

Well we arrived last night about 10:00 just as planned. The rep from CCAI picked us up just as planned and brought us to our very nice hotel. We are getting ready to go meet other people in our group to do some tours. Not sure how long we will last but we are trying! It is about 6:45 am. Will post more later hopefully with photos of some of our tours!


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Everything but the kitchen sink!

Well some how,some way all of this stuff is going with us to China! It is hard to believe that this little girl who has had nothing to call her own could possibly need all of this but she might need something and we want to be prepared! For once I can honestly say I have not overpacked for me, really I only packed 6 outfits for 16 days, poor person beside me on the flight home!
We leave tomorrow for the adventure of our lives. I just want to thank everyone for all of their love and support. Hopefully I will get to keep posting from China and get to share these memories with you. Please say a prayer for Lily Jane, her whole world is getting ready to be turned upside down! I just pray she can feel the love we already have for her!
Here is a photo of my packing nightmare! Space Bags please work!




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It's Official!!

I received my final travel packet and phone call last night! We are traveling next Wednesday the 15th! I can't believe this is all finally happening and I get to go get my little girl! Now I need to kick it into High gear and get everything ready...where to start? Thank you for your continued support and prayers, we need them!


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Travel approval

I got an email from my adoption agency and they have presented us with 2 options for travel in JUNE! That is in just a couple of weeks. Boy do I have a lot to do! I guess next week they will let me know for sure and we will start booking our flights. I just really can't believe it is here and feeling so real! Here is a photo of her about a year ago.



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Waiting...

Right now I am waiting to get my Article 5 and then I will get my travel approval.  So I patiently wait and try to get the baby's room completed and figure out how to pack for 17 days for two!  Very exciting!!!

Our Journey Begins...

This was the picture I received in December of Lily Jane.  She is 10 months old in this photo.  I just want to kiss those cheeks!!

Lily Jane

Here is the lastest photo of Lily Jane.  I love the hair!  It just needs a bow!  I can't believe how she has changed in the last 5 months.  I can't wait to get her home.

Testing, testing

This is my first attempt at blogging so be patient with me! I want to be able to share this exciting journey to get my little girl with all of my friends and family. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!