Our favorite thing this summer!

Our favorite part of our summer was when our friend Ben Huff came to visit! He came in late July. We had a blast traveling California and showing this Mississippian around! He still likes Mississippi better but we tried!!! We met Ben in China. He traveled to China with his parents to pick up his little sister using the same agency that we did! How blessed we were to have him as part of our group. Now he is known as the biggest big brother of our household! Come back soon Ben!

Our girl is 2!!!

Happy Birthday to Rebekah! Our girl is 2! Our "Little Bit of Heaven" has truly added so much joy to our family! We are continously amazed at how incredible our Lord was when He choose us to be this little one's family.

6 months and Happy Birthday!

She must be getting enough to eat!

Can you believe it? We have had Rebekah for 6 months! The social worker has been busy filling out her 6 month report as we have been busy keeping up with this little one! Her nick name is "Little bit" and that she is! She is truly a "Little bit of heaven"! The past 6 months have not been all heaven...though I have made the realization that any meaningful relationship goes through it's ups and downs. The hardest part about adding Rebekah into our mix is homeschooling the other 3. Needless to say, that is why I have not posted since we got back. The end of the year in June almost did me in as far as keeping Rebekah happy and teaching the others. Summer was very enjoyable but busy. The beginning of the school year came...ordering curric., etc...Now, here we are at 6 months and I can say I feel like the cloud is lifting!!!! Rebekah is doing amazingly well! She says about 20 words, but who's counting. She runs and is starting to jump, LOVES her big brothers and sister, LOVES LOVES LOVES her dad! (It took a while but adores him now!) She started out, when we got home, not napping. Now she naps at least 2 hours! That is good for the other kids that are shooled at home! I knew the "bonding" had happened when I held her up in front of the mirror and said, "Do you look like me or Jeff?" I must say she talks to our dogs like me!!!! "Ge ou-a-hr!" (Get out of here, in a very stern voice) She has done well in the nursery at church, though this is still tremendously scary for her. She spent the night at my mom's house one night without a tear! The other kids were there but she didn't care...she followed Grama Peggy everywhere and cleaned with her! This seems to be her favorite activity. You won't catch me complaining!!!! ( Thanks Grandma Peggy and Grampa Sam for a much needed time away without kids!) Maggieann had a hard time in the beginning feeling the sting of not being the baby anymore, but now she is starting to enjoy having a little sister. I predict that in another 6 months the girls will be best friends!

Phew!

These past 2 weeks have been a blur. I finally crashed last night! I went to bed at 7pm and woke up this morning at 6am. Rebekah is doing well! Sean continues to give me an update on his feelings for Rebekah....minute by minute! Maggieann had decided that her little sister is something to be proud of too! She was feeling a bit displaced this past week, but last night she realized that Rebekah does not cry anymore at night and decided that she loved her! We went camping at a Koa with our church this weekend. What fun!!!! There are 200 of us that go. We basically take over KOA. The kids rode their bikes everywhere. Rebekah and I stayed at our cabin but had many visitors. The last night there, Sean tried to climb out of the top bunk IN his sleeping bag still! Maggie also woke up and crawled into bed with us. Rebekah had been very cold the night before so she was already in bed. 4 of us in this tiny bed ALL night. I think that is why I crashed last night! Maggie got her first big ouch! from a bike crash! She still loves her bike!
The past week has been a bit overwhelming. I am learning how to teach school, drive kids to their respective activities and keep a 1 year old happy. Not always easy. I alos started teaching piano again this week. I only had half of my students start this week...probably better for Rebekah who had to learn that Mommy is distracted a bit and she could not play the piano while someone else is playing it! We have managed to get some good schooling in! Rebekah is happy in her high chair or playing...the other 3 are very distracted watching their cute little sister. Something I am sure will fade in time. Again...not complaining, just something I have to deal with! Rebekah has been determined to not take more than a 30 min. nap. AGH! I can't get much done in 30 min. She takes this nap in the morning and then wants to sleep late in the afternoon. I think the orphanage did not write her schedule correctly. She does not take 1 nap...she takes 2. Well, we have been trying to switch her rythm to 1 nap a day...hoping that she takes a longer nap tomorrow!

That is it for now! I have enjoyed a bit of quiet time and the kids are coming thru the door telling me about their clubs this evening! I will update soon. Thanks for reading if you still are!

Tricia

We're back!

For anybody still trying to keep up with these world travelers!

We made it home on Thursday at 3:00pm. What a plane ride home. Rebekah did wonderful despite the feeling in my arms towards the end of the trip. She slept off and on! We were in the airport at 9:00 and thru customs at 9:15! It was sooo good to see smiling faces. Our dads came to the airport to take us back to the hotel where the kids and grandparents stayed. It was wonderful to see the kids! Sean grew an inch, lost 2 teeth, and was blond and tan. I almost didn't recognize him. Maggie was beautiful! Jeremy was TALL! Rebekah was a bit shy as most people would be! We enjoyed some conversation and sharing of stories and then had a bite of lunch. Rebekah did manage to squeeze out a few smiles. We had the grandparents drive us home for fear of falling asleep while driving. We pulled into the driveway, got out of the car and looked at Jeff...he had an eye that was swollen and gucky stuff coming out of it! He was also having a hard time breathing since the day before. He went to the doctor the next day to find out he had bronchitis and pink eye.

Rebekah was not afraid of the dogs. she just barked at Rag's. This was a relief. That night Maggie could not take her eyes off of her! Finally, she told me that R had to sleep in my room because she had been crying all night! Yes! Jet lag is for the birds! Jeff has been miserable, Rebekah has been up all night, and I have been adjusting just fine...but with a sick and tired husband, all of the work has been up to me! He is making up for it now that he has been better for a few days!

Rebekah has been finding her place in this family. She is such an angel! I am so blessed that the Lord has chosen us to raise this little one! May we honor Him by the way we take care of her!

Loads of Love
Tricia

The Last Day!

Dennis, Me and Rebekah, Mary Davis and Ruth Eliason
Jeff and Rebekah or Maggieann
The Girls with our Barbies
Rebekah and her doll

We had breakfast with Mary, Ruth and Dennis this morning. We had trouble moving; the bed is so hard and Jeff was having trouble breathing this morning. That must mean it is time to go home! After waiting for this trip for soooo long, it is hard to imagine that tomorrow we will be on a plane and wrapping this part of the adoption up! I can't say I'm dissapointed. What a trip! Breakfast was great at the all you can eat buffet. Dennis went back 4 times. I don't think he has ever been to an all you can eat place like that. Rebekah got banana in her hair again as well as french toast all over her arms. Did I mention how excited I was to come home? Atleast at home, R can get as messy as she wants...easier to clean up. After breakfast we had a few last minute gifts to shop for. We took some pictures of the statues around this place and then back to the hotel to chat a little more with Ruth, Mary, and Dennis. After saying our goodbyes to them, we were of to the American Consulate to take an oath! This is the final part of our adoption. It was really neat to be on a piece of America in another country. The oath was just to swear that all of the information we have provided has been true. It still made me cry...what else is new. Then back to the hotel to take a picture of most of the group and pack. Jeff had to go to our guides room because there was some misunderstanding dealing with our tickets from GZ to Hong Kong. We almost could not come home! That would be tragic. Rebekah must feel the excitement for it took her a long time to go to sleep. Can't wait to see my kids, let alone everyone else. Well, off to bed. Tomorrow we have to have all of our bags outside of our door at 5:00am...that is 2:00 in the afternoon on Wed. for you. Our plane lands at 9:30 am on Thurs. Isn't that strange? Our plane takes off in Hong Kong at 12:30 Thurs. afternoon but we get home at 9:30 Thurs. morning.

Jill and Blake, expect us home around noon. We don't mind if you are there or not. If you are not there...thank you soooo much and we will call to get the key.


Kids...you better get ready to be hugged.


Next time we post we will be home!!!!!! Give us a few days to get adjusted to the time. I am sure the next few days will be a blur for us!

Loads of Love to all
Tricia

A Little Peice of Home

Today we gpt up really late this morning. Rebekah slept until 8:30. I think the only reason she woke up is we were moving around. It sure will be nice getting her home on some sort of routine.



We had to be in our rooms from 10:30 to 12:00 while our guides went for our Consulate Appointment. All went well because the only phone call we received was on saying it was ok to leave our rooms and congratulations, paperwork is now officially over!!!!! We put Rebekah down for a nap and thought a nap sounded good for ourselves too when the phone rang. Mary Davis and Ruth Eliason were here with our spiritual adoption match Dennis. We woke R up and went to the lobby to say hello. What fun! Dennis was checking in when I ran right up to him and hugged him! I think he was taken by surprise. Mary asked him if he thought we were nice and he said nicer than he expected! His english is great! All of us talked for an hour and then Jeff and I had to leave so we could go on our tour.



The Pearl Factory was wonderful. It is in a very large area of jewelry wholesale. You could buy different jewelry at the different cubby holes and make what we see in America. We bought some pearls. BEAUTIFUL! Some I will hold on to and pass down to R.



We came back just in time for dinner with Ruth, Mary, and Dennis. After emailing and praying for this young man it is finally nice to know what he sounds like! What a great guy. He is studying to be a writing teacher in his home town. He wants to go back home to help take care of his mother. His mom had back surgery and after having a job lifting 100lbs everyday, now she can only lift upto a pound. Dennis's dad and brother do not take care of her, just leave her alone in their home....the brother and father live in the shop where they sell hardware. Jeff is taking Mary, Ruth and Dennis out for a walk to see the lights of the city right now. R was so tired she fell asleep quickly so I thought I would catch up on the posts!

Tomorrow, we go to the Consulate and say our oath! Then pack for home! Can't wait to see you all!

Loads of Love
Tricia

Daddy's girl, almost!

Hey all! Today was a day of great joy! Rebekah went with Jeff to Starbuck's this morning without me! They were gone for a half an hour while I got laundry together...by myself! She did not cry, kick, or scream! She is even more of an angel now!!!!!

The group went on a tour of 2 temples. We decided against this one. We wanted to walk the town and see what was around the hotel. That meant spending money! We started by taking a taxi to the department store. The department stores in China are about 10 stories high. One floor is all one thing...i.e. shoes. There are little compartments owned be different people. If you buy something in one compartment, you have to pay the cashier at the front of the store, go back and get your item that you bought, and then shop some more. Very inefficient but works for them. I found a bathing suit! Very nice but in China I am a Large. Have to get used to that. We ate lunch at McDonald's. They serve corn and vegetable soup at McD's. Rebekah loved the chocolate shake! Jeff decided he does not like McD no matter which country it is in!

After lunch we took our lives into our own hands and rode a taxi home. We all had medical check-ups today. We were in the 2nd group so we were able to putsy around a little bit more. At our doctor's visit, everything went fine. We had 3 stations to visit. The first one was measurements. R is 19 pounds and 29 inches long. She is the oldest in the group but not quite the smallest...pretty close though. The second was ear nose and throat. Everything fine there. The third was overall medical. The doctor checked her out, took us into another room with other doctors sitting around behind computers and told us....she is perfectly healthy! They were literally scratching their heads trying to discover why R is on the Speceial Needs list! We know why...The Lord is bigger than governments and orphanages and He wanted her in our arms!

Then , on our way home, we wondered the city again! Very nice city. This city seems to have more hope! We found out today that because they are so close to Hong Kong, they have a bit more freedom, especially when it comes to religion. GZ has 5 registered Christian churches!

Well, off to bed. R is needing some holding and reassurance. She didn't have any tantrums all day! We are learning. I am not sure which one....both of us!

3 more days!

Tricia

Things are looking up!

Hey all

We had a very busy day again. We had breakfast downstairs in the hotel. Incredible spread, and the coffee was good!

Oh! Jeff has truly lost it...right now he is wondering if I see the same thing in the mirror as he does....it is so time to come home. We have been upside down for too long! Back to the day....

Then after breakfast we went to get the babies Visa photo...better known as "wisa" photo. That lead us to the many shops around. We didn't get that much time to shop because church started at 11:00. Wow! What an incredible experience. To be on the other side of the world and experience my daughter's first church experience at one and a half. There was standing room only. A ton of babies. The hotel staff says that there are over 50 families here adopting! Many of them had to go to church because of Easter. When the pastor asked who was here for the first time half of the church raised their hand! Many of them did not know it was Easter. There are no signs of Easter except for a big huge Easter Bunny display in the hotel. It was very moving to sing the same songs in two different languages and know that this is probably the first time my daughter is hearing them. Words could not express the feeling of gratefulness knowing that this sweet little girl will know this Jesus that they were talking about all because the Lord led us on this journey. If she had been left in China, even if she had been adopted by a family here, she probably would not grow up knowing who Jesus is! Powerful moments. Jeff was able to translate many of the songs...at least he thought he could. He figured out the word for crucified and Lord! It was incredibly cute and endearing! Maybe he is becoming Chinese!

After church we went to lunch at Lucy's again. Jeff had to leave early to fill out even more paperwork in our guides room. I think that was the last of it. At least I hope so...you'd think after 2 and a half years of what seems like constant paperwork, it would be done by now! Nope! After the paperwork was done, we met up with everyone for the red couch photos. For those of you that don't know what that is, almost everyone that adopts in China gets a picture on a red couch in the White Swan hotel. We got individual family photos, individual baby photos and group photos. The babies were all flashed out by the end of our time.

After the photos we went to The Cow Bridge restaurant. It was a Thai place. Very yummy.

Now we are back and Rebekah is sleeping. She had so many tantrums today. Jeff says that she is showing her true colors! Sean, she is going to give you a run for your money. Not that you have tantrums anymore, but she might win the Title!

I imagine it would be hard to not understand what your parents are saying and not to get your way. We bought her some squeaky shoes. She loves them. They are shoes that squeak when she walks on them. When I couldn't hold her up she would double over and walk with her hands on the ground and butt up in the air. So funny! Wish I could grab the recorder fast enough. So sorry.

That is all for now. Tomorrow we opted to not go on the tour of the temple and such. It will be nice to just walk around this area at our own pace!

Thought this was funny. We were given this Barbie as a gift for staying at the White Swan. It is a blonde Barbie holding an Asian baby.

I love you. I miss you. Can't wait to hold my other three kids in my arms.

Happy Easter

Tricia

The Last Part of the Trip

Boy are we ready to be home!!!! We are in Guangzhou! We took a 1 hour flight to get here. Rebekah was a dream!!! She has not been drinking her bottle without throwing it up but took a water bottle on the take off. It was like she knew she needed to clear her ears. We definitely have a keeper! Then, after trying to keep her awake on the bus to the airport with no success she fell asleep again on the plane just in time for the landing...which kept her ears from hurting. I am amazed.

Sorry I did not post yesterday. We had an extremely busy day. We got more papers, went shopping for things made in Nanchang, had to pack all...including the things we bought. That took forever. We had a group dinner, the last with our precious guides, and a birthday party! Phew! Rebekah also had a terrible day. She wasn't feeling great and was overly clingy to me....just when I thought she was fallin for Jeff. I was a little overwhelmed. What have I gotten myself into. How am I going to handle this little one when we get home...You know, all of the first time mommy blues. I fell into bed only to have Rebekah wake up again off and on through the night. She must still be a bit stressed. Who wouldn't at 11/2?

Today has been a ton better. Rebekah is feeling better and letting Jeff hold her a tiny bit...allows me to go to the bathroom by myself! What a world of difference when there is hope that I won't be the only one to take care of this baby! Our luggage was unbelievably heavy. Jeff managed to get it all in the suitcases we brought. Thanks to our great guides, we didn't have to pay over weight baggage fee! These guides were incredibly good to us! We have a full schedule. Tomorrow, we do the last of our paperwork, more visa stuff, the famous red couch photo. The next few days we will be waiting for that set of paperwork to go through and touring Guangzhou while we wait. The White Swan is an incredibly nice hotel.

We will post pictures tomorrow. Debbie, I will not say anything about Brian's golf game! The Mommy look that you wrote about is actually sheer terror. I have forgotten the things that 11/2 year olds do like temper tantrums. WOW! They call the girls from South China "spicy girls" because of their temperaments. R definitely fits that category!

Only 5 more days. Tomorrow is Easter. "He is Risen Indeed". Hopefully we can attend church! We will post pictures tomorrow. Talk with you all tomorrow! Enjoy some Easter eggs for us!

Tricia

We're Off to Guangzhou

Good morning everyone. It's 9 am on Saturday the 22nd. We received Rebekah's Chinese passport yesterday. It's official now, she can travel. It's funny that our youngest is going to be the first international traveler. Lucky kid. We finally had a chance to go do some shopping in Nanchang. Nanchang is known for its porcelain. Some of the pieces we saw were absolutely beautiful. Of course the day we finally get to go for a walk down the porcelain street it was pouring down rain. It still made it a lot of fun. Before it rained I kept thinking the rain would be nice to clean the city like we see at home. The air is clean, the streets and sidewalks are clean... yeah, that didn't work so well. Instead of being dirty and stinky now it is just muddy and stinky.

We had our last group dinner in Nanchang last night. It was one of our friends birthdays so we had a cake and sang happy birthday for him. The candle was awesome. I'm going to see if I can find a couple to bring home. During dinner Tricia handed out Easter baskets to each family. It was pretty cool. Everyone was appreciative. Everyone laughed too when we told them they were getting them early because we were trying to make room in our suitcases.

After dinner we went up to the hotel room and started the process of packing. Needless to say I don't think we are going to make the weight limit on this trip. I think it's going to be ugly... After we were packed and had Rebekah down I had a chance to go play ping pong with some of the other people from our group. We had a blast. (No Brian, it was not full contact ping pong) It was the coolest thing. We had our own personal ping pong assistant. His job was to stand there and help us with anything we needed. I never once had to get my own ball when it missed the table. He always had one ready, and he didn't just hand it to you, he would present it holding it with his fingertips in the palm of his other hand and bow as he presented it to you. I am truly spoiled now.

Rebekah woke up at 4:30 again this morning screaming with another night terror like Sean used to do. She was totally asleep and just screaming. It only lasted for about an hour. She and I are still working on the bonding thing. Tricia and I have worked out a pretty good plan though. I think it is the one advantage to her not liking me yet. When she gets fussy, starts crying, and won't sit in Tricia's lap she just hands her to me. I get her totally freaked out screaming her head off, it only takes about a minute, then I hand her back to Tricia. Once she is back in Tricia's arms it's like the world is perfect again. She snuggles into Tricia's shoulder and starts smiling and giggling. It's nice to know I'm needed. I'm sure Tricia would like it to be the other way around. We keep trying.


We are getting ready to leave Nanchang and fly to Guangzhou. This will be the first big change for Rebekah since she has been ours. She will experience her first plane and a new hotel room today. We'll see how that goes.

Thank you for all your comments. It's wonderful to know the support we have. God is truly amazing. I see it everyday when I watch Rebekah and think about all she has been through in such a short period of time. Even with all that she can still laugh and smile.

We are off to get breakfast now. Talk with you all again soon.

Love you all, Jeff

Allright, I am taking orders. How many children do I come home with? These little girls are the most remarkable children. Put in your order now!!!!! (I really wish it was that easy!) All of the 13 children adopted in this groupp have all changed so much. It is neat to see what a little bit of love and attention can do. What an amazing baby the Lord has blessed us with! She has changed so much in the last few days! This morning she woke up with a smile! She is also letting Jeff hold her for minutes at a time...that is better than running away from him!!!! Right now she is talking to me. Her babbling has even changed!!!!!

Today, we went on a tour of the temple here in town. It was beautiful! At the top of the temple we got to see a show. People were dressed in traditional costume and sang and played traditional instruments. Very wonderful. Rebekah loved it! After the temple we went to another Chinese lunch! The food was really good!

We are still waiting for Rebekah's passport and visa. That should come through on Friday. Today the paperwork from the notary will be here. Jeff will go tonight to check it out and make sure everything is correct. There are so many people in this city working for us right now...unbelievable. We have officials doing paperwork, guides, laundry people, etc.....you would think we were some kind of famous person. The trip to the temple was interesting. We had a crowd of Chinese people following us all the time. I was able to talk with a man at one point. He couldn't understand why I wanted this baby! They all think americans are so nice....I think it is more than that! Someone bigger is in charge!!!! He knows what wonderful creatios He made and how they need mommies and daddies! and brothers and sisters....It is quite sad...everywhere you go you don't see very many children. In America you see more children than adults. Here, you see children more like every 5th adult.

Enough commentary....We are with some really neat people. Most of us are going to church on Easter together! Mary told us where to go! We are all looking forward to that! Tomorrow we will do some shopping!

Rebekah is havig a meltdown so must get going. Kids...I miss you terribly. Jan, I look forward to seeing you in the palm tree. Sherrie....I'm a Rebekah junkie too....Actually I watch a lot of adoption blogs...pretty amazing stories. I'm so blessed the Lord choose us to walk this journey. Thanks for reading all. Your comments are great.

Loads of Love
Tricia

Visiting Fuzhou

Yesterday afternoon we had a fun day of getting to know Rebekah. She is saying words in Chinese. I know this because she'll say it again in the same context, but I can't repeat the same thing to the interpretor so I don't know what she is saying...however, yesterday her babbling sounded a whole lot more like english!!!! Today, we think she has said Daddy, Mama, and Uh! for Uhoh! She will drop something and put her hands on her face like the guy from Home Alone! It is really cute! She constantly has to be touching me. She is doing better with Jeff...she is liking him as long as she is touching me! In fact, last night she was scream crying in her sleep. Finally after a few hours of interupted sleep, she came into bed with us!!! She cuddled with Jeff the rest of the night...(Don't tell her that though!) She is a wiggler and neither one of Jeff and I can sleep when she is with us so I am hoping those bad dreams will go away tonight! After her nap today she was sitting on my lap when she turned her head quickly to me and made kissing sounds with her lips....I bent down and she kissed me! Sometimes, she gets this look on her face like I am the best thing on earth! It is really neat to watch her learn that I will be here! Yesterday I sat her down on the floor and she started to cry. So I came back to pick her up! She smiled then pushed out of my arms so I sat her back down on the floor...she cried so I picked her back up...she laughed a laugh like "that is really neat...I cry and you come to get me!"

We went to Fuzhou today and saw her orphanage. We were not allowed to go inside. Infact, we were shooed away after a few moments of being in the front. I was surprised. It looked a lot more run down then the picture made it look. The town is smaller than the one we are staying in now. Parts of it had a lot of construction going on. It was nice to see the town where she has been for so long and get pictures for her memory book, but I was very disapointed to not get to go in to the orphanage. It would have been pretty traumatic for Rebekah though if we had gotten to go inside. I don't think she remembered the outside. Seems to me my little girl has never been outside from how quiet she gets now when we do take her. One lady came out of the building to go into another and shouted out her nick name like she was happy to see Rebekah! From what we are seeing of Rebekah's personality, she probably demanded as much attention as she could get from the nannies in Fuzhou. She is also very sweet so my guess is she was a little princess there....as much as one could be in a place like that! I am grateful that she is a bit demanding. You can tell she was taken care of very well and had a strong attachment to her nanny.

Let me tell you a bit about our trip into Fuzhou. The rest of our group was going into their city today and since they have the largest number, our guide had to arrange a personal driver for us. This morning we were told that the city did not have an available tour guide or translator so a college student was going to help us! Her name was CeCe. Fuzhou was only an hour and a half away. It was nice to see the countryside. We saw farmers working in the rice fields with actual water buffalo. The countryside was lined with grave sights. The houses seem to be bigger in the country and yet I don't think my guide understood my question when I asked how many people lived in one house. Now the driving......We spent more time driving on the wrong side of the road than the right! I am amazed we made it home without a scratch. There are huge pot holes everywhere. Both Jeff and I...and Rebekah...hit our heads on the ceiling of the car many times because of the potholes. We thank God that Rebekah fell asleep (did I mention how wonderful it is to finally have a child that falls asleep in the car?) on the way there. The ride home was terrible. She threw up because she was car sick! (The translator also got car sick!) When we arrived in the city, the driver had to ask for directions to the orphanage. We asked about 5 different people. Once they stopped to ask a few police officers. The driver got directions from them that lasted 15 minutes...and a map (which looked like an arrow to me) and we still had to stop to ask someone else. We finally made it there only to get shooed away. We did manage to get a few pictures and especially a picture of the gate where she was left.

Tonight we will go to dinner on our own! Tomorrow we are going to a temple. Friday we will go to do some shopping! Oh! one more funny thing. We ran out of t.p. last night so Jeff called down to the front desk to have them send some up. Housekeeping came up with stationary and envelopes! Not a nice way to take care of that kind of business!!!!!

Hope all is well at home. Thank you for your comments and prayers. It is really encouraging to receive so many comments. Makes us feel "at home". Continue praying that Rebekah will soon like her daddy. Mom...the kids have cereal all the time for dinner! The only time you don't need to tell me what they have had for dinner is if it is ice cream!!!!! Jan, thank you for the tips! We knew what you meant the first time!

Only one more week and then back home to the routine!!!!! Can't wait to start "normal" life!

Loads of Love

Tricia

First Checkup

We just got back from Rebekah's first check up. He checked her breathing and heart and said everything sounded okay. He looked at her ears and said they were okay too. Her throat was a little red which goes along with the cough she has had since we received her. It does sound like it is getting better. The only thing the doctor found to be deficient was the soft spot on the top of her head just above her forehead. He said it has not totally closed. He said that normally by 18 months this should be closed and was probably due to a lack of calcium. Otherwise he said she appears to be very healthy and that she has no other signs of calcium deficiency. He is going to prescribe some vitamin A and D for this. We should get the medicine this afternoon. Here is a photo of us with the doctor and a picture of her sleeping. She took a 2 hour nap today. It was wonderful. Maggie, do you see her little bear with her. She loves it. Earlier today she was playing with and hugging her little bear.

Talk with you all soon. Love Jeff

The Day After Gotcha Day - She is Officially Ours!

Good morning to all. It's about 6:00 am here in Nanchang, China. Sorry we didn't put out a post yesterday but we were just too tired.

First I want to say hi to the kids. Mom and I miss you guys so much. I'm glad to hear you all are having fun with Gma and Gpa. Happy St. Patrick's Day. We can't wait to see all the things you are wanting to show us. We are excited for you guys to meet Rebekah. She's a lot like you all were when you were her age. She is peaceful, cute, timid and a complete angel as long as Mom is holding her. Once she sees me she begins screaming, kicking and fighting. I know she was meant to be our daughter. It only took Maggie 4 years before she liked me, I wonder how long it will take Rebekah... We can't wait to see each of you, hear your voices, and hold you all in our arms. We love you!

After we all received our daughters Sunday evening they wanted us all in the lobby by 8:00am the next morning to begin the final paperwork. That meant we had to be up and downstairs for breakfast before that with enough time to get back to our room and make sure we had all our paperwork ready. Nothing like a challenge for a new family with a new little girl you have only known for about 12 hours. Lucky for us she slept peacefully through the night. We heard some other parents talking about how their daughter screamed for a couple hours. We have truly been blessed so far. Today felt like Mission Impossible, if we chose to accept our mission we were to visit every government building in Nanchang. Did I mention how bad they drove in Beijing... that was nothing compared to Nanchang. Tricia and I actually sat in the front seat of the bus today so we could see where we were going... Tricia said she didn't want to do it again. I loved it, I kept throwing my hands up in the air and screaming... it was like an E-ticket ride at Disneyland.

Our first stop was to the Jiangxi Province Center of Adoption Service. This was our longest stop of the day. Here we had to make our final payment to the Chinese Government, about $7,704 RMB ($1,070US). Once this was completed each family had to weight for their turn to sit down with a Chinese official for an interview. They asked us questions about how long we had been married, how many children we had at home, what we did for a living, what our plans were for her education and if we promised to never abandon or harm her. It was very strange. After the interview was completed we exchanged gifts. It seems that every step in the process requires us to give someone a gift. After our interview we got to meet the director of Rebekah's orphanage. He gave us a colored brochure about her orphanage. It looks like a really beautiful orphanage. We found out that Rebekah's orphanage is about 1 1/2 hours outside of Nanchang. Evelyn says if we would like to she could probably arrange for us to take a ride and see the orphanage. We gave the orphanage director a gift, I'm sure he will look beautiful in the silk scarf we gave him. We also gave him a gift to give to the foster family that had taken care of Rebekah for a while. With the help of Evelyn our CCAI guide we were able to talk with him and ask any questions we had. We learned that she has been trying to walk now for the last 2 months. While we were waiting for the other families to complete their interviews, Rebekah took her first 3 steps on her own. Everyone in the room was laughing and congratulating us.

(I hope this video works, I've been having some trouble uploading it)

As you can see it was all a little noisy and chaotic. It was all just a little too much for Rebekah. Just before we were leaving she finally crashed in Tricia's arms. Tricia was in heaven... until she remembered how here arms felt after holding a sleeping baby forever. After our visit here it was off to two more government offices. We had to stoop at the Notary office where they asked us similar questions and we had to sign some more forms and give the official another gift. After the notary we went to another office where they took a digital image of Rebekah for her passport. While we were waiting in the lobby Tricia and I got to talk with a local young Chinese woman. She asked us a lot of questions about why we chose to adopt a little Chinese girl and if we already had children at home. She kept saying how lucky this little girl was. She spoke very clear English, we learned that she was an English teacher in a small village outside of Nanchang. She said her village was famous for having the sweetest oranges in the region.

At last we were done and had a chance to return to the hotel for a few hours. We had lunch in the hotel restaurant then went to our hotel room and played with Rebekah. She loves to play with these little cups that she can stack on and in one another. She loved knocking them over after I would stack them and would just start giggling. If I tried to get to close she would quickly retreat into Tricia's lap.

Our next big adventure for the day was to WalMart. It's amazing how excited we all are to go to WalMart. None of us can stand it at home but you'd think were a bunch of kids in a candy store waiting to go to WalMart. We had no idea what were in for... We knew we were not in Kansas anymore. WalMat here is a two story superstore. There are two WalMarts in Nanchang with a population of 4.4 million people. Think about it, that makes for a lot of people. According to Evelyn, this was one of the easiest trips to WalMart, she said you should see it on a Friday or Saturday, that's when it gets busy. I can't even begin to imagine. Everyone in the store was staring and pointing at the crazy Americans buying everything in the store. We all had carts full of diapers, water, cookies, crackers, and anything else that reminded us of home. We learned that Diet Coke isn't sold by the six pack or twelve pack like in the states, it's sold by the individual can. A twelve pack becomes very difficult to Carry this way... but we managed :-) Some of the sites and smells were very interesting. Did you know you can buy cooked chicken wings, cooked chicken necks, and even chicken feet in WalMart. There were some other things that we saw too that were just unidentifiable. I now know the true meaning of UFO, Unidentified Food Object.

After we found diapers and plastic containers on the first floor we headed back down to the first floor where we found the waters, sodas, cookies and all the good munchy stuff. One of the highlights for everyone and their trip to WalMart was the ride down the escalator with the shopping carts. Everyone was worried about going down the escalator with their baby's only to discover that the escalator and the shopping carts were magnetic. It was really cool, we were all taking pictures... crazy Americans. It's amazing how some items you can just tell what they are even though you can't read a word. Oreos are one of those great items. I've never been so happy to see an Oreo. As we were leaving the store I realized why they were all laughing at the crazy Americans buying everything... you have to carry it all. They don't let the shopping carts go past the door. We almost had a catastrophic bag failure with all those stupid diet cokes... Sitting here now sipping my diet coke it was all worth it.

It's time to go now. I've been trying to finish this blog now for 5 hours. We have to go see the doctor for her adoption checkup. We'll post again later. Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts, and comments. It's been fun being connected with you all from half way around the world.

We love you all. Jeff

More Gotcha Day pictures!

Now off to bed for me. Jeff and Rebekah are already asleep! Hopefully it stays that way! I just couldn't go to sleep without posting. Thank you for your prayers!

Loads of Love
Rebekah's mom!

We got her!

What a day! Rebekah is now in are arms! What a wonderful day! Just like Jeff said, we went down to the meeting room to get baby tips, etc. for an hour and a half! Then, we waited for the babies. I saw the Hoppes baby come in...they are a family that was on the Special Needs list as well and had the same Log in date (LID) as we did. What a cutie. Our two babies were the only ones that came from different orphanages. The others came from the same orphanage! Then, I looked over in the hallway and there was a little girl holding on to a man's hand tottling around! I knew that face. The other 11 babies had not arrived so they shooed us into our waiting room. I am my mother's child and I could not wait behind the door. I was bouncing around! I knew that girl was ours! What a beautiful girl. Evelyn, our guide, said that we could get her! We were the first! The Hoppes had not come down yet. When they handed Rebekah over to Jeff, the cameras started to all flash. This frightened her! She started to cry...but not for long. She calmed down so we waited around for the other babies, then went to our room. Rebekah had been scratching at her neck so we took off her clothes to find a heaet rash! I wanted to put lotion on her so we gave her a bath and lotioned her up....all is well. Jeff had to go down stairs to fill out more paperwork so Rebekah and I played on the bed. She loves her new toys and I even got her to smile and laugh! She is incredibly beautiful and more than we ever imagined! She is not quite walking but real close! Here are a few pictures and if I can figure it out...a video!

Loads of Love

Tricia

Gotcha Day - 3 Hours and Counting...

We just arrived in Nanchang and were wisked away to our hotel. We are waiting for our bags to come to our room. They are going to take all the bags to every room and let you pick them, seems kind of strange... We will see our little girl in 3 hours. We have to meet with the group at 3 pm to have a 1-1/2 hour meeting about things to expect and gain an understanding of the differences between how Americans take care of their baby's and how Chinese people take care of their babies. Did you know they begin potty training at 15 days old... that's gotta be a messy process. I'm hoping it's gone well.
We arrived in Nanchang to find God had blessed us once again with rain. It seems that every major event in our life God has brought unexpected rain. Maybe it's to match the tears on Tricia's cheeks.
I have been to a lot of places in the world and I have never seen people on the road as crazy as they are here. The lanes and traffic signals are merely a suggestion. Even the big double yellow line in the middle of the road is there as a suggestion. It just appears that they honk a little longer when you cross it. I have to say though that the people in the cars are not half as crazy as the pedestrians and the bicycleists. These people are just plane out of their minds.
What we have seen of Nanchang so far is amazing. It is very foggy and wet right now and difficult to see. Our tour guide says that Nanchang is 90-95% farmers and very poor compared to Hong Kong where we just came from. Nanchang is not a tourist destination and many of the locals have never seen westerners. She says we will draw crowds. We have our window open and we can hear the city and all its life. Someone has just lit off a whole string of firecrackers like you see in the movies, this is sureal. It's amazing how we can be 1/2 way around the world and things can sound the same from above and yet so different. The smells and sounds all seem to blend together. I wonder if God sees, hears, and smells the same things all blended together or is each sight, sound, and smell distinct and just as amazing. We are truly blessed to be here and experiencing all that we are. We owe so much to so many of you that I can't even begin to thank you enough.
Thank you for your prayers and comments. I can't wait to share more when we get home. We'll keep you posted as the day progresses. We hope to post pictures tonight... we'll see how the first day of transition goes.
Love you all. God Bless - Jeff
P.S.: Could you please sign your responses, they all come as anonymous and it is sometimes difficult to tell who the comments are from, thanks.
P.P.S.: Mom, Dad and the Kids where are you? We have not heard from you in over 2 days. Hope all is well.

While you were sleeping!

This is a Magpie for our little Maggie! We miss you darlin'!
Finally a Starbuck's. I have a feeling it will be a long time before we get a good cup of coffee again and it has been a long time since we have had a good cup of coffee...notice that I got a Grande!!!
The floating restaurant at Fishermen's Village.
Patrick is our guide.....very funny. He calls himself an irish man. He has a 10 year old son named Jeremy. Seeing that I have a 10 year old son named Jeremy and my name is Patricia...I told him we must be twins!!
Our new friend Ben Huff. He is 18 and his parents wanted to go back to the hotel to do some laundry. We were "obeying" the Hernes and staying out of the hotel so we brought this sweet Senior in HS with us! He is from Mississippi and can't wait to meet his new little sister tomorrow...Mia Grace.

We have been busy since you've been sleeping. Thank you everyone for the wonderful messages. They are so encouraging. Mom, I am glad your foot is in a slipper! Sonja and Chris...you taught us well! We are enjoying our trip a lot thanks to your tips! Sanders...we are enjoying the time before we receive Rebekah but I do agree with you Jill and Blake...the itinerary is going a bit slowly! Dad, it has been fun dreaming about where you have been. I am sure this place has changed quite a bit. We'll have to exchange notes! Well, here is the scoop for the day.

We woke up this morning at 3:30am. Our bodies still think we are in America. Actually Jeff is the one who woke us up. He got up so he could hop on the computer and outline everything that our guide told us about this place. What an engineer. He truly loves this place. I got up at 5:00am. YUCK!!! ..Anyway, we were down eating breakfast, eggrolls and noodles, at 7:00 and starting to meet some of the other families. There are 60 of us total! 30 of us are going to Nanchang. We divided into groups and got on the bus for Victoria Point. BEAUTIFUL!!! This is where we found the Starbucks!!!! the coffee in Beijing was terrible and so was the coffee this morning...I loved this little peice of home in this far away land! After seeing the sights we hopped back on the bus to go to Fisherman's Village. WOW! These people NEVER go on dry land. They are born, live, work, marry, have babies, and die on these boats. We got a tour of the village. This is where we saw the Magpie. Then off to a jewelry factory. Lovely things but a bit pricey! Then we went to another shopping area where they have many discounted things. After that we went for lunch. YUM! We had dim sum and more traditional foods. Very fun. We sat with 4 other families. This is where we came to know Ben Huff. What a sweet boy! His parents asked him where he wanted to go for his senior trip and he said all he wanted to do was to get his baby sister. We then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon walking the streets of HK. Phew! Another whirlwind of a day but so excited we have had the chance to see all of this in such a short time. Tomorrow we fly to Nanchang AND get Rebekah! We don't know the time yet so I probably won't be able to post until very late! We can't wait and we are very nervous at the same time! Please pray for our littlest one that she will have an easy transition into this family. If she could only understand what is happening and understand how many people are waiting to love her....We are truly thank ful for you all!!!!!

Loads of Love
Tricia

The Wirlwind!

Yesterday we were picked up at the hotel by our friend John at 9:00am. Jeff and I had very little sleep seeing that our bodies thought that we should have been awake. However we were a bit more rested than the night before. John and the driver took us to a Jade Factory...very nnice but a little too expensive for us at this point...then to the Great Wall. What a sight. Jeff climbed to tower 4. I only made it to 31/2 because of my cough. My lungs were burning. After the wall we got a quick tour of Beijing starting with lunch at a Coissine Factory then to the other side of Beijing to the Temple of Heaven and a Pearl Factory. Phew!!!! i was exhausted by the time we made it back to the hotel. This morning we were awake again at 4:00am which allowed us to go to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City this morning and leave for the airport at 10:00am. Jeff did a wonderful job leading me through the city like he knew where he was going. We did make a wrong turn at one point but we were able to see the Hutongs a little closer to see how the prople of Beijing live. Our flight to Hong Kong was pretty uneventful...except for the bagged vegetable preserves that were served with lunch! We have not met any of our group yet. Most are flying in later!

Just 2 more days until we meet our little one! Can't wait!

Kids, we miss you! We loved your message and are glad you are having a good time! Thank you Debbie and Gene for taking good care of them. I hope Maggie has recovered!? Sean, Beijing has police men that specialize in a form of Karate! Don't mess with them! Jeremy, we saw a few Ferrari's! Never thought we would see those here! Mag's ...I met a girl today that you would be great friends with!!!! Wish you all were here!

Tricia

The Longest Day Ever!

We are here! We arrived at SF airport this morning at 8:00am. The flight left at 11:00a.m. We arrived in Beijing at 2:30pm! 11:30pm your time! Wow! We are tired!....but still ticking. Our guide "John" met (can't pronounce his name) us at the airport right after we met another family adopting through the same agency. I am amazed at how many people wanted to help us out. There was a woman with her three children that Jeff helped with her baggage. She lives here now but graduated form San Ramon High School (my schools rival). She told us to call if we needed anything...as well as another man we met on the plane who comes here often...like our friend Mary Davis! He gave us numbers to call if we needed anything. Very comforting to know we are being taken care of! Well, this is taking me way too long to write this because my brain feels fuzzy...we are off to walk around and stay awake! Our guide is going to pick us up at 6:30 and take us to an acrobat show. Anything to keep us awake so we can adjust to the time. We will post tomorrow...hopefully with pictures!

Tricia

We Need Food!

We finally made it to SF. We had to repack the bags 3 times!!!! The first 2 times they were too heavy! Now we have everything evenly distributed and very organized! When we got to the hotel we got absorbed into the computer and researching the great China!!! We forgot all about our tummies! (Something you can't do when the kids are with you...right kids?) Well, off to eat and get some rest!

Leaving for San Fran

March 10, 2008

We have been waiting for today for 2 years and 3 months! Now that it is here, we are ready! My mom and dad took the kids last night home to Fresno. They will be dropped off with the other grandparents this afternoon. Please pray for health. Maggie has a stomach problem...all coming out the other end (if you know what I mean!), Jeremy has a bad cough. So far Sean is o.k. This was not in our plans though! The kids are not supposed to be sick when I am gone! The Lord will keep them safe though while we are off finding the other child and bringing her home! He held Rebekah for this long in His arms while we couldn't be with her so now I have to entrust the other 3 to Him who knows all!!!!

Jeff and I (I should say my mom) managed to get all of our things in our bags! We even enjoyed a little date last night to start things off right! It was nice to actually be out of our home without children and come home and not pay a babysitter! or have to take her home!

Pray for the health of this family. Thank you for all that you have done for us! We feel so blessed... to be on this journey and have the kind of support you all have given!

Final Travel Plans!

We received our final travel packet yesterday...and then our computer stopped working! I'll put the calendar on the side of the posts. We are so excited! Only 6 more days until we leave and 12 more days until we hold Rebekah in our arms!

Travel Plans!!!

We now have travel plans! I was dissapointed to know that our group is meeting in Hong Kong instead of Beijing. Well, Jeff and I decided that we will leave a few days early and go to Beijing first!!!! I have been teaching the kids about China's history in school and so this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Who knows when we will get back there! We will be leaving March 11 for Beijing, March 14 for Hong Kong, March 16 for Nanchang (where we will pick up Rebekah!), and the rest of the travel plans we don't know yet. We will be coming home on the 27th! Just in time for KOA! KOA is when the whole church goes to a KOA campsite. WOW! Now for the packing and details of leaving the house for that long, kid's plans, dog's plans........

Consulate Appointment Approved!

We have all of the documents approved and have an appoinment for the Consulate!!!! This means we can start finalizing travel plans!!! I am so excited. We will be in Hong Kong on March 14th and leave Hong Kong for home on the 27th. More updates later.

Immigration comes through!

We got our I171h!!!!!! This means we can travel! I called CCAI today to see what to do next about our immigration paperwork. While talking I found out that if we get our I 171h this week we can travel with a group leaving March 13. Shortly after I hung up the phone I saw our mail truck go by. It rarely gets here before 3:00pm. Not thinking we would get anything today I opened up our mailbox and there it was. Of course I screamed!!!! Then the kids screamed! Jeff is now the one to be in panic mode! The next thing we need is our Consulate Appointment and we can book our airline tickets! Thanks for praying. WOW! The Lord is sweet!

TA!!!!!!!!

We got our TA yesterday! This is the document that says Rebekah is ready and can come home!!!!!! She is ours!!!!!!! Exciting. But now we are waiting on our USCIS (immigration office of our country) to sign a form for an extension. Something we have already done...just an extension. I can't get a hold of anybody to let me know when this will be filled out so the kids and I went to Representative Dennis Cardoza's office yesterday! The woman who took my info said she would handle all of it and she has done this before! We are hoping to get this info by the end of the week so we can join a group that is traveling together! Pray for this document that it gets signed today and mailed out today! I am learning a whole lot in this process about our government but I am finally ready to start learning about our little girl! Thank you for ALL of your comments! And to think.....the Lord choose this mom who is not very patient!!!! Growing pains hurt sometimes! (Labor pains too...maybe that is what this is! This is an extremely LONG labor...just wish she'd be born! HaHA.)

The New Look!

My blog got a face lift! This is fun trying to be computer savvy!

Well, yesterday was pretty frustrating! I have not received our I171 yet and we should be getting our TA any day. I called our social worker and at first she wasn't going to do anything for us. After a bit of persuasion she gave us the website for uscis. The website said that you need a receipt number to check your case. I don't have that! Then, the "chart" said that they are only through Oct. 17 07. That would mean another month before we get ours. After a few panic tears I called our social worker again...she left for a meeting so the dear Karen Ashby sent me to someone else! She gave me a list of things I need to do, included is to call Senator Feinstein's office to get the paperwork moving! All of these legalities and I have NO CONTROL. Kind of hard for a mommy to not be in control of one of her babies! The Lord has been sweet. My mom called today and picked me up a turtle. She had no idea what happened yesterday but picked up a gift for me. Turtles have special meaning between my grandma and me. She passed away shortly before we started this process. She would give me a turtle at every "hard" event in my life! All of my "growing pains" have been marked by turtles! Wasn't that sweet of our Lord to bring me a little sentimental gift to let me know that all is under His care! That is what this is - another growing pain! It is all in His time and I need to feel these emotions for I think they are a part of the bonding process...but I still need to trust in the Lord. One blogger has said it like this...To China In God's Time...TCIGT. So I will call it all joy and wait on Him...the Giver of all good things...including a little girl in China who will someday call me mom!

Rebekah's home...for now!

Well, if I could jump into this picture I would! Looks like an elegant building for an orphanage! Soon, we'll get a picture of us standing in the front of this place!

Figuring out this blog thing!

Well, here we are at day 40 something. The Chinese New Year really slowed things down. I called CCAI today to see if they have heard anything...they said no! They seemed to think that our TA will be here next week! The Lord has had us wait for 2 and a half years, I guess I could wait another month! I am hanging on to March 20 as Gotcha Day! If I could hold onto a day than I won't sit and stare at the computer anymore....sometimes I think I will find her in here! As much as I am looking, I can't find her!!!! Anyway, this is a way I am learning to Trust the Lord for His timing. AGHHHHHHH! I am not fond of the discipline process! I hope it will produce maturity in me. If the Lord does that then....BRING IT ON!

I was thinking the other day how many people think we are crazy for doing this. We thought we were too. However, we have an opportunity to bring another child into a full relationship with the Lord Jesus! How awesome is that. This was definately not a "build your family" project....some days, especially since I started Homeschooling, I can barely keep track of the 3 children I have now! However, if the Lord thought we could handle another child and love her into the Kingdom...then so be it...and I am honored! Honored that the Lord would think us capable of such a task. Many people say..."what about college?" Yes, we have thought about how we are going to provide! and yet if the Lord could provide this little one half way around the world with a forever family, can't He provide for her future as well? I have been thinking I would rather bring a child into this family that SO loves each other and the Lord than have a beautiful house...or more toys...or a new car, etc. I would much rather care for these children that the Lord gave to me in such a way that will lead them to live their lives in a glorifying way to the Lord than have a life full of "world travels" or luxury! When I meet the Lord face to face I'd rather be worn and tattered from the work that I have done to further His Kingdom than show Him pictures of my luxuries lived in this life! Thank you for your prayers. Continue praying for this transition. Pray for Rebekah that she will be as prepared for us as a 1 and a half year old can be! Pray for the children that we have to leave here. Sean is already trying to hold back the tears when we talk about our trip! He will have a hard time! Praise our precious Lord for bringing this one into our lives! and allowing us to experience this miracle!

February 15, 2008

I can't stand it anymore. I stay at the computer thinking I will find Rebekah in here! We should hear any day now when we are to travel. It is very cold in China....much colder than her province usually is. I just want her home so I know she is safe! Isn't it amazing at how I have grown another heart and I don't even know her. I was thinking the other day how the
Lord must feel waiting for us to come to know Him! He must be "sitting at His computer" counting the minutes in anticipation how we will meet! The only difference is He already knows the circumstances and the date!

The boys and I dropped MaggieAnn off in Chowchilla...my mom and dad are taking her camping this weekend! She was so excited to go! It will be a little quieter without her. I will miss her this weekend.

All right, I will turn the computer off now and stop looking for my little one in here. I do have to live the rest of life!