tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21594822747188682312024-03-05T10:24:06.345-08:00The Johnson Family: Journey to 'Ava Grace'"An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." -Ancient Chinese ProverbJoey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-84206370126044544172011-12-29T06:29:00.000-08:002011-12-29T06:39:50.057-08:00Christmas to Remember!We have had such a great time enjoying family time together as a family of 5 and with our extended family. Ava Grace is learning many new words these days and is starting to talk more and more. She says (and understands now) Mama, Daddy, Coco, Jace, ball, whoa, up, down, baby, cookie, bye-bye, night-night, hey, cracker, chips, go, teeth, bath, and most of all MILK- that girl lives by her MILK! She loves taking baths, and playing with her baby dolls. Her hair has grown to about 2 inches now and is getting thick too. We are able to comb it some now and when she gets up in the morning it is a wreck! She can feed herself pretty well but is in the stage where she is being pretty picky- she loves some yogurt, noodles, rice, soup and just recently, cereal like Lucky Charms and Raisin Bran with milk and now starting to enjoy chocolate too! She has grown to love chocolate and cookies over the Christmas season. Most of the time she will just look at food and shake her head no, but recently she has been watching us eat something and will try a little sometimes. She likes to do it on her terms though- that will be her strength in life!<br />
<br />
We celebrated her 2nd birthday with a ladybug party at our house. All of her cousins came over and her best buddy Landon too. Mommy baked a big ladybug chocolate cookie for her party and she wouldn't touch it at all. She just wanted chips- and it didn't matter what kind. She tends to eat good one day and then not much the next. <br />
<br />
At her last checkup, she had gained 4.5lbs since we came home on Aug 31st. She is now on the growth curve for height and weight. She has filled out all around and is really walking and doing everything she wants. She stays on the go.<br />
<br />
It has really been great to see how much she has changed since we got home, and really great to be able to share our story with many people- not so that we get the attention but so that others can see how great adoption really is for children that need a home. It is really our hope and passion that we can inspire others to look into adoption because it really gives these children so much more than you can imagine. It is a family sacrifice, but one that is well worth it! I recently asked the boys if they would do it again know how they have to give up toys or things and attention from Mommy and Daddy and they said they would- that means a lot to us! We have been really careful to try and have individual time with each one of them often- it is hard on us but means so much to them and prevents anamosity amongst them. We have been so blessed by this whole experience!!! And we are so very appreciative of all the support our immediated family has given us- it has been unbelievable! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqjpIPzXCfwhQ9lw8Hkw4ao4ubRlFovBvFAP6hH1CFTgcnhntrohwOiZAnnBbYinZfOIZmWJDSO6km3iGa3gHiLlqzr_JL9wzTzekZ_u4mYHP0M3I-Aouy6QXMQiXkZHsX0FXH2EysuI/s1600/Birthday+Princess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqjpIPzXCfwhQ9lw8Hkw4ao4ubRlFovBvFAP6hH1CFTgcnhntrohwOiZAnnBbYinZfOIZmWJDSO6km3iGa3gHiLlqzr_JL9wzTzekZ_u4mYHP0M3I-Aouy6QXMQiXkZHsX0FXH2EysuI/s320/Birthday+Princess.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3o4sZBTTD0zLwncOBSciwBOj39tB7zMbVURGqFwpYrKadzgMAYR0kapOyo6mEisvaqL3MkVSqWmL6b1jE3Zqx3l9wOxOQmizTpps6er4J0BywEB3RW_GHchAXq4FjxN0LZvFHNTSfoU/s1600/My+Little+Ladybug.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3o4sZBTTD0zLwncOBSciwBOj39tB7zMbVURGqFwpYrKadzgMAYR0kapOyo6mEisvaqL3MkVSqWmL6b1jE3Zqx3l9wOxOQmizTpps6er4J0BywEB3RW_GHchAXq4FjxN0LZvFHNTSfoU/s320/My+Little+Ladybug.JPG" width="180px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPshVVHS_63zbmUJQsXBAUfVegoxD7FbkJIjJbDfsyXxQoKFxS5Y44aZXhW2M7zlSDsJHOcOMAYVwUUx4jTVkzw5E-tWEZJ2PXMl8XijrXRh7j9z-QF1yob_daiP9OmPow5Mr4PyKl2Q/s1600/Santa+girl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPshVVHS_63zbmUJQsXBAUfVegoxD7FbkJIjJbDfsyXxQoKFxS5Y44aZXhW2M7zlSDsJHOcOMAYVwUUx4jTVkzw5E-tWEZJ2PXMl8XijrXRh7j9z-QF1yob_daiP9OmPow5Mr4PyKl2Q/s320/Santa+girl.JPG" width="180px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CucXmh1vzS0p21tS_qIcWdwT3oJt-0boolikFmsQ0NV_H3UiNO4ITpduzOc8P2AJS71wTxchHhaQDHHyC1nUO4MbHJMULzB2z1-RQziZW57JZPmYQUQYim40QaE9CuvSLnFc7nwmYd8/s1600/Mommy+and+AG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CucXmh1vzS0p21tS_qIcWdwT3oJt-0boolikFmsQ0NV_H3UiNO4ITpduzOc8P2AJS71wTxchHhaQDHHyC1nUO4MbHJMULzB2z1-RQziZW57JZPmYQUQYim40QaE9CuvSLnFc7nwmYd8/s320/Mommy+and+AG.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-32016896028281387762011-10-05T14:14:00.000-07:002011-10-05T14:14:20.638-07:00Finally Home and Settling In!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">After an long, stressful, yet wonderful adoption journey, our new daughter was safe in our arms, tucked into her crib (that we had to put together and set up as soon as we got home, as we found she was WAY too small for the twin bed we had decked out so beautifully), surrounded by the dearest, most sincere family/community we have ever known. God delivered her from poverty and abandonment back into a family, no longer alone in this big world; now wanted and loved and welcomed with great fervor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The End ………Not!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">We have been home a little over one month now, and our new life as a family of FIVE is glorious and blessed beyond measure, but the first 2 weeks home were …….hard ….to say the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were exhausted beyond measure ….hence no update on our joyous homecoming until now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Let me catch you up ….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">We left our hotel room in <city w:st="on">Guangzhou</city> on 8/31 at 6 am, and arrived home in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">North Carolina</place></state> 28 hours later, with Joey and I getting absolutely no sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was excruciating, physically exhausting, but our kids did so well on the journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys and Ava slept for a good part of the trip (except when the seatbelt sign came on and the strict stewardess told us to pick her up out of her comfy, cozy cradle she was sleeping in and hold her).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we stepped onto the ground in RDU and saw our parents, it was the happiest moment of my life!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cried tears of joy and pride for our new daughter as I saw their faces see her for the 1<sup>st</sup> time, it was indescribable …..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We told our friends and extended family not to come to the airport, as we weren’t sure how Ava Grace would do, seeing so many faces, and not sure if we could take it after 28 hours of travel, but looking back if we could do it over, I’d have everyone there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We missed everyone so terribly ….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">For the first week, we were jetlagged terribly, and Ava Grace, who had been sleeping through the night in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region>, had a fever for 5 days and was up and fussy a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When visitors came, which we wanted because we missed everyone so, she was terrified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could palpate her fear, her trembling, as she clung to Joey or me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was the happiest little thing with just us, but as soon as someone came by, which was often, she would cling to us and often cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was difficult, but I understood her fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had just taken her from all she ever knew, a place of security, from a room of babies and nannies and strict routines, where she was left either in her crib all day, or in a walker, to a strange house with lots of places to roam around and get lost, with “western” people coming over and trying to pick her up, and most likely wondering who was going to take her away next. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the dreaded “mommy guilt” for my 2 boys, which was totally not necessary, as their worlds’ were blessed beyond measure as they always wanted a lil sis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not mention they have lacked for nothing in their lives!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But yet, it still came ….. I cried some, was sad a lot when they were at school, and thought often, “what have I done to them and their world as they knew it”??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well I tell you what we did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We exposed them to something they could not comprehend before seeing it firsthand ….poverty, needs beyond comprehension, heartbreak, orphans, special needs children, other families following God’s call in the adoption community, a HUGE history lesson on China with all of our siteseeing, and most importantly, taught them God’s love for orphans and people in need, and how we must listen to Him and be obedient to what He asks us to do.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">But if I may, let me tell you something: If you are intrigued by the “idea” of adoption, with the crescendo storyline and happy airport pictures and the sigh-inducing family portrait with the different skin colors and the feely-feel good parts of the narrative, please find another way to see God's kingdom come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cannot just be into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adopting</i>, you must be into <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">parenting</i>.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what it’s all about, parenting a new child, one who you have not nurtured for the 1<sup>st</sup> few years, one who may be damaged, abused, neglected …..And you must <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">parent</b> them, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Love </b>them, no matter what.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I recently read this from a fellow adoptive family on the subject of adoption….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>“It is hard, hard, intentional, laborious work. Children who have been abused, abandoned, neglected, given away, given up, and left alone are shaken so deeply, so intrinsically, they absolutely require parents who are willing to wholly invest in their healing; through the screaming, the fits, the anger, the shame, the entitlement, the bed-wetting, the spitting, the rejection, the bone-chilling fear. Parents who are willing to become the safe place, the Forever these children hope for but are too terrified to believe in just yet. </em><a href="http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2011/08/17/im-not-done-yet" target="_blank"><span style="mso-ansi-font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #665137;">But "yet" is a powerful word</span></span></a><em> in the context of faith, if we are indeed to believe in the unseen and hope for what has not materialized.”</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I thought this described the “work” of the first few weeks, or possibly months, following an adoption, so very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, our life is wonderful now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ava Grace is no longer fearful of being taken away from us or of us leaving, and her “adjustment” period seems to be over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love her so very much, every day the love grows more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">So let me tell you about her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is so full of personality!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She makes the funniest faces, mimics everything we do (which her brothers LOVE), laughs wonderfully, has learned that you dance when you hear music, that we have to brush her teeth </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">, has learned what bath water feels like (yes, she’d never been submerged in a bathtub of water- we video taped her 1<sup>st</sup> bath as it was soooo sweet to see her face), loved to walk her brothers into their school and wave at ALL the kids, loves playing in our church nursery with kids her own age, and really likes to “show off” for new people!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I know this post was long, and I will try to post new pics! But time has been hard to come by with a new little one who likes to get into alot of new things, haha!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfkHRYGLN7WDCGTSJ-tqwJl_fortiOiMvglJDS-iFgX0gxgdaHHaGDGRoHRafxRyIpvGNkQl_RhL_zlvg44XkhfucDOnt1dFcj8tuWbL8sb01xMknzrlqgFEqaVWSSSaauNQ1YkXuZsg/s1600/Me+and+AG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfkHRYGLN7WDCGTSJ-tqwJl_fortiOiMvglJDS-iFgX0gxgdaHHaGDGRoHRafxRyIpvGNkQl_RhL_zlvg44XkhfucDOnt1dFcj8tuWbL8sb01xMknzrlqgFEqaVWSSSaauNQ1YkXuZsg/s320/Me+and+AG.jpg" width="191px" /></a>All dressed up for church!! She loves accessories! yay!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7dovL49NR38TCmxFDaM_mrPTf99ydK_v7QgSWdAnTrJkqG_El-303sLynX_5uGKjsumpvFMvvGeG3DehAr-KBGjCCQR3H6_PEbtJ9lAdS25Pyrv6hGkTsSlVuqDwEeNo3eMZjoqPTLg/s1600/287303_234621203254925_100001211422399_693481_732644424_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7dovL49NR38TCmxFDaM_mrPTf99ydK_v7QgSWdAnTrJkqG_El-303sLynX_5uGKjsumpvFMvvGeG3DehAr-KBGjCCQR3H6_PEbtJ9lAdS25Pyrv6hGkTsSlVuqDwEeNo3eMZjoqPTLg/s320/287303_234621203254925_100001211422399_693481_732644424_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1nQn-YYbKZ-DtXXuJGHtG3v69jGqOarpwnukr47nuB47T-Tzot_oi4oqTHWH3jwZhCpaYF0p3jgcGwKZpw-zwI38NJO0RqjTStvbTnZcMBmRpl43E_fWTmGefppNFf2yGkdfaQj5mm0/s1600/338084_234615163255529_100001211422399_693437_943570072_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1nQn-YYbKZ-DtXXuJGHtG3v69jGqOarpwnukr47nuB47T-Tzot_oi4oqTHWH3jwZhCpaYF0p3jgcGwKZpw-zwI38NJO0RqjTStvbTnZcMBmRpl43E_fWTmGefppNFf2yGkdfaQj5mm0/s320/338084_234615163255529_100001211422399_693437_943570072_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78VyvOKw9hN-ggQpWZQ6VPYjOU4MIb5EV27MuJeLBMz2LQNNDn8CDOCVbGSTkeZeyGD42YwlcpvzfVeUNWmsPA1aqtG7eJweHQnjmfcreO5RGD_2BjZhLgmr0iRWu5FEV5XowSCUNzAw/s1600/338084_234615176588861_100001211422399_693440_103795217_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78VyvOKw9hN-ggQpWZQ6VPYjOU4MIb5EV27MuJeLBMz2LQNNDn8CDOCVbGSTkeZeyGD42YwlcpvzfVeUNWmsPA1aqtG7eJweHQnjmfcreO5RGD_2BjZhLgmr0iRWu5FEV5XowSCUNzAw/s320/338084_234615176588861_100001211422399_693440_103795217_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a>We get this moody look often, she is something!! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGqxm5iRE2hPoI5fw990A1DkMf5LuiJb6Ezfvo1rg9zeBFJkym33JzaUB0tn5UUI0O_TV3dOQiAJjqLj8KdyytTPAo77qtEAiUJu-qnBYWBYdZcPAbQxlE9x8Y1gFm3iE-HiEEM1GdCc/s1600/338420_234618396588539_100001211422399_693461_1306841770_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGqxm5iRE2hPoI5fw990A1DkMf5LuiJb6Ezfvo1rg9zeBFJkym33JzaUB0tn5UUI0O_TV3dOQiAJjqLj8KdyytTPAo77qtEAiUJu-qnBYWBYdZcPAbQxlE9x8Y1gFm3iE-HiEEM1GdCc/s320/338420_234618396588539_100001211422399_693461_1306841770_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9vM0keGsH0eVRF9kJxo0Vda-Inc-AXCOX89ZZMVrSQwT8UzeXj018ekNz9-9XaS57cd9ti_A695wSA38pTgOYyJMthgVj4WZxKlOdzDhws9RKhh9CG3vlkVeja3PjcR5k08uowys8lY/s1600/338420_234618399921872_100001211422399_693462_1653356896_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9vM0keGsH0eVRF9kJxo0Vda-Inc-AXCOX89ZZMVrSQwT8UzeXj018ekNz9-9XaS57cd9ti_A695wSA38pTgOYyJMthgVj4WZxKlOdzDhws9RKhh9CG3vlkVeja3PjcR5k08uowys8lY/s320/338420_234618399921872_100001211422399_693462_1653356896_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We have to take new pics, as her hair has grown and she has gained 2 lbs!!!</div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-20438866166084217702011-08-28T17:11:00.000-07:002011-09-02T18:28:33.633-07:00Day 11- August 28, 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ygfjs2gLKKeOynTYJVzId8c3TiaxngD4HtuVVtH1dZ3dNPLs38eNkjg8_bUaXyvMJAx7c0-w4k7uxP0SI2ZGND_UNDYw3He1aSWPa9qjdB_ACmJK-fN6e_xgd0YGI5R2qe_Pm68XlEI/s1600/cotton%252Bcandy%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ygfjs2gLKKeOynTYJVzId8c3TiaxngD4HtuVVtH1dZ3dNPLs38eNkjg8_bUaXyvMJAx7c0-w4k7uxP0SI2ZGND_UNDYw3He1aSWPa9qjdB_ACmJK-fN6e_xgd0YGI5R2qe_Pm68XlEI/s320/cotton%252Bcandy%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4O0BzGnuuNzLVITWjkJijGjCHFNfba2GSNP9Num1KGUiF8tXpr4ate5Ed518xPDNKmTQ0dplHy1EKZDqwSV5n5xt1wQ_kF7aLsQ6JnnzYPqmhoDslIbO9prpp2fq1Kl5OBGpWKK-3E0/s1600/exercise%252Bpark%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 466px;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4O0BzGnuuNzLVITWjkJijGjCHFNfba2GSNP9Num1KGUiF8tXpr4ate5Ed518xPDNKmTQ0dplHy1EKZDqwSV5n5xt1wQ_kF7aLsQ6JnnzYPqmhoDslIbO9prpp2fq1Kl5OBGpWKK-3E0/s320/exercise%252Bpark%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7l1DQ2hXCA9Il2g-kgrADhaoxR9yX2c0kmavGiG9ytXiWlrL8vNMEWjcwv9w75-Fn8xcufHCDoUqDHE_GTDZYH_T9RFS1-SwcH9qXRG19vnTp1NCSInai5c06LBtCAcHs1ptCN_sPNw/s1600/favorite%252Bpasttime%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7l1DQ2hXCA9Il2g-kgrADhaoxR9yX2c0kmavGiG9ytXiWlrL8vNMEWjcwv9w75-Fn8xcufHCDoUqDHE_GTDZYH_T9RFS1-SwcH9qXRG19vnTp1NCSInai5c06LBtCAcHs1ptCN_sPNw/s320/favorite%252Bpasttime%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Is it time to come back home yet???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WE ARE READY FOR SURE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all kindof tired of being in a foreign place, not being able to speak to anyone and not knowing what we are eating and where we are going either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess we have to stick it out another couple of days and then we are homebound.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Today we just had a fun day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to an art museum where local artists are there doing paintings and writings and such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pretty neat to see it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were able to pick up a few souveniors along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys were pretty bored with it too but found them some neat things for buying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AvaGrace, well, she loves her stroller and squeaky shoes that we bought here for $5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Next we went to an amusement park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There they had rides and cotton candy and lots of children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it is Sunday, so everyone was off for the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not seen any difference here as far as Sunday being their religious day or anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The park was mainly for smaller kids and Jace and Collin weren’t that into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did like the section that had some exercise pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of places here have little stations to stretch your body and get you to move a little more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not that strenuous for you but more of massages and stretches for your body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is neat.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YYq01IltT2wYryGqYIykkY6tegL-U1zrxYkFAq1b25djKYAFmTsWEz08OLvfygnnMiNXeCfPK3ADUxOzN365TlaB3TNIpd-dEEDcCMLVObL6Hy4gfsOK1RY_vn_f6BSO6Wlsko6HVUM/s1600/art+museum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YYq01IltT2wYryGqYIykkY6tegL-U1zrxYkFAq1b25djKYAFmTsWEz08OLvfygnnMiNXeCfPK3ADUxOzN365TlaB3TNIpd-dEEDcCMLVObL6Hy4gfsOK1RY_vn_f6BSO6Wlsko6HVUM/s320/art+museum.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Chen Clan Temple (now art museum)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoTQ0f5mJsTxYMdXI1mHgyC7J5fsyCbSiHVN-jVvAWvYX0DTc873nG8cpeTKYvTsn6_xKV7XFh6Zc-UcqLGGNFAsSaI_X-EbFeO3vp5yt-HLVsX1r8I3X8kHrAz1Ys2pJLmv-svfmbsM/s1600/jace+souvenir.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoTQ0f5mJsTxYMdXI1mHgyC7J5fsyCbSiHVN-jVvAWvYX0DTc873nG8cpeTKYvTsn6_xKV7XFh6Zc-UcqLGGNFAsSaI_X-EbFeO3vp5yt-HLVsX1r8I3X8kHrAz1Ys2pJLmv-svfmbsM/s320/jace+souvenir.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a>Jace getting a glass with his name painted in the inside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Next we ate lunch and got a ham and cheese sandwich, chicken wings, and spaghetti.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was all pretty good- they said it was a Chinese and western- style restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It filled an empty spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">AvaGrace is taking to the boys much better now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been going to them and teasing them some and they are eating it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are really glad to see that now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has learned to walk on her own since we got her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first few days we walked her around by the hand, but now she walks where she wants in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys have been playing legos, playing on computer games, and catching some movies while we have been letting AvaGrace walk around the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-40107071093377344462011-08-28T17:06:00.000-07:002011-09-02T18:23:41.518-07:00Finally in Guangzhou!!<div>Oh we are so happy to be on our last leg of our 3 city journey in China. We took our 1st airplane flight with Ava last night, and she did good. She slept in Joey's arms, so his arms fell asleep, though! Guangzhou is just beautiful! Very tropical weather, lots of green, and best of all, sunshine! We have had fog, rain, and hazy days until now. We traveled to Shamian Island this am for her medical exam, and saw lots of other adoptive familes there! And we have several families staying in The Garden Hotel with us, so we don't feel so isolated anymore. The island is a very pretty place, we shopped and ate lunch at I Love Lucy's, a popular diner that serves Americal style lunches. I had a grilled cheese and, Oh, how it tasted so good! <var id="yiv735244873yui-ie-cursor"></var>We met a family from Raleigh here to adopt a 3 yr old daughter, what a small world :) </div><div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZnClzQVkkv5pmnFa5x2cLH7lMGCEu2yO-eP6VqOjyxn3tElu7RKyHRqXuC64XYJXEL391dOGP3nk5F2Rop0ff-svmMSchmjaUhTRDY1YQgeUn0wra6v6PRpGX_IUXCwHztPOwN7iL08/s1600/bit+of+paradise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZnClzQVkkv5pmnFa5x2cLH7lMGCEu2yO-eP6VqOjyxn3tElu7RKyHRqXuC64XYJXEL391dOGP3nk5F2Rop0ff-svmMSchmjaUhTRDY1YQgeUn0wra6v6PRpGX_IUXCwHztPOwN7iL08/s320/bit+of+paradise.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Yay! Food we recognize :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9B3jn3AfwPrqac_5mZpMrLUFfKeNUyR7pRgGlBSL1KkgKhCsZv4SX2J9YwLhl3xP3n5rorjLgUQZGzntMBsWcGRYDi32b_FRNVUDG9BV3K3d3gtTb5mKlplOC4rPJkVSP6LfXBK682I/s1600/garden+hotel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9B3jn3AfwPrqac_5mZpMrLUFfKeNUyR7pRgGlBSL1KkgKhCsZv4SX2J9YwLhl3xP3n5rorjLgUQZGzntMBsWcGRYDi32b_FRNVUDG9BV3K3d3gtTb5mKlplOC4rPJkVSP6LfXBK682I/s320/garden+hotel.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Outside The Garden Hotel</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK-sOc9NQMCu_gNfi1dZHSF8EdGVWtGLEaD-ZoJ6Rda_CU6gvTQEypgpw0yC0iQ0cjE734KE2N23Mk-agcjcyuR2N1XeK74XK1ttavmS6UpbSQpAemRg_b9_Ht17-Ui3lv2FUXpj7dXA/s1600/jj+n+coco+eating+shrimp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK-sOc9NQMCu_gNfi1dZHSF8EdGVWtGLEaD-ZoJ6Rda_CU6gvTQEypgpw0yC0iQ0cjE734KE2N23Mk-agcjcyuR2N1XeK74XK1ttavmS6UpbSQpAemRg_b9_Ht17-Ui3lv2FUXpj7dXA/s320/jj+n+coco+eating+shrimp.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a>Jace and Collin braved this meal, and ate their shrimp whole!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Ava Grace likes to sit in her stroller now, thank goodness! She feels comfortable and will even fall asleep in it if she's tired. She cried the 1st several times we tried to put her in it. The boys will have more free time here in Guangzhou, and they are thankful for that. We have an outdoor pool we plan to take them all to, are going to a small amusement park tomorrow, and to a safari Monday after her consulate appointment where we take our oath.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Day 10- August 27, 2011</u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We have arrived in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Guangzhou</city></place> and it is nicer place than the other two places but it is hot here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This place seems less crowded and people are not as pushy here- a little more civil all around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all really tired and today we had an easy relaxing day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to take AvaGrace for her medical exam and that was it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is one place to get these exams done for adoption children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did we know that everyone else had beat us there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we walked in the waiting room was overflowing with American families all with adopted Chinese children. It was pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the nice thing about where we are staying right now too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see families just like us at breakfast and in the hallways here at the hotel and we are able to talk with them and share experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From those conversations we have the best story- or maybe we are just a little biased!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HaHa!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way, it is pretty different than where we have been before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Our facilitator here is named Jack and he knows his stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has everything lined up for us here already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the medical clinic we were the last family to get there, but somehow Jack got us to be the next one to start the medical visit- that was awesome!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She checked out ok and then we had to kill about 2.5 hours for the clinic to complete the paperwork so Jack could pick it up before we left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked along the streets and did some shopping and then went to the park so the boys could play on the playground. We ate lunch at a little restaurant there and Mandy got a grilled cheese and said it was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got cheeseburgers, looking for something like home here, but they tasted really strange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jack picked up the paperwork and then picked us up and we went back to the room for some freetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We played in the room all afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys enjoyed a little time playing with their Chinese legos that we bought in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Shanghai</city></place> just before we left to come here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took a nap and then went out for a stroll beside the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found a convenient store and bought some drinks and snacks for the room and then stopped by to get a bite at the McDonalds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just like home!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great! We miss home some kindof bad and are really dreading the long flight home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the flight to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangzhou</place></city>, daddy had to hold AvaGrace as she slept the whole time and it was tough to do on that small plane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are ready to get back for sure.</div><br />
<br />
</div></zzzbody></zzzhtml>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-50510632320461693552011-08-27T07:18:00.000-07:002011-09-03T12:04:18.094-07:00Pictures<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5dRYsgvEngdJWvW_OLUdjF1UErD9zhjo8iV03kBOgcfDKSv6RI-Sd76dzM0w7Gmx4Y_ZmfvpYFzE3FYd3HJ2F3Tuwctv26fXDcjY6ZDhp8uShSCY0R3yviUCVITdM4jJSjgUgduhnW8/s1600/sweet+laugh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5dRYsgvEngdJWvW_OLUdjF1UErD9zhjo8iV03kBOgcfDKSv6RI-Sd76dzM0w7Gmx4Y_ZmfvpYFzE3FYd3HJ2F3Tuwctv26fXDcjY6ZDhp8uShSCY0R3yviUCVITdM4jJSjgUgduhnW8/s320/sweet+laugh.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div>What a sweet laugh!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDR_tTGZFtw-Lpfn_rEMaTXt8TR4wIvum4tr2P7viptcbDIZERGs2XSi0ep9v9k05dGlFgQklh0dKZ5v2AhO87fljKg5hDSmtytzUTHWjddFur8ZOn21ObViB7Uk91Xfx0o7iUc0bRgY/s1600/daddy%252Band%252BAG%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDR_tTGZFtw-Lpfn_rEMaTXt8TR4wIvum4tr2P7viptcbDIZERGs2XSi0ep9v9k05dGlFgQklh0dKZ5v2AhO87fljKg5hDSmtytzUTHWjddFur8ZOn21ObViB7Uk91Xfx0o7iUc0bRgY/s200/daddy%252Band%252BAG%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a comfortable ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0OaaM-qTioaM5VCUPJC6oYOiWwrPhLyzOy21X51eadhbXU0_7g_kVn9-FHsWFzwy4QoO-po-gxv0lChhkE5pLzv0SSOqc2exZYGdlb7JmqYnrjISw-3aUh8gEpUFHLla2EbvlV1IiwE/s1600/hospital%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0OaaM-qTioaM5VCUPJC6oYOiWwrPhLyzOy21X51eadhbXU0_7g_kVn9-FHsWFzwy4QoO-po-gxv0lChhkE5pLzv0SSOqc2exZYGdlb7JmqYnrjISw-3aUh8gEpUFHLla2EbvlV1IiwE/s320/hospital%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quick medical visit for a "favor", but Ava was not sick :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMoXL6L9Tfg39CrQ86dzYEYNysl517V8vc1Zu8okSgo_jQTlqtP-P2kcxX9HIm4f0KpVYlRpu13XFTZE-UL4qhivq_Qte8i72pGCGcHvYCJq_41bnZ8yVqiwNOFWFpTH0cuD8pHH9QNk/s1600/Collin%252Bon%252Bskywalk%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMoXL6L9Tfg39CrQ86dzYEYNysl517V8vc1Zu8okSgo_jQTlqtP-P2kcxX9HIm4f0KpVYlRpu13XFTZE-UL4qhivq_Qte8i72pGCGcHvYCJq_41bnZ8yVqiwNOFWFpTH0cuD8pHH9QNk/s200/Collin%252Bon%252Bskywalk%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a tall building, huh, Collin?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtPrA72GqnLK69bCwTkzoBdp6vVsVUMswk_0TsUuWFBLIieEaGcG2Rl_8n4unaNauHleDZvt3K-ZvGXhInl_cmgQGInCQPbrLxfOBVzxaHwOf3fqTOZqqw71Rf_3-eoNtiksuV17oIp0/s1600/momboys%252526AG%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtPrA72GqnLK69bCwTkzoBdp6vVsVUMswk_0TsUuWFBLIieEaGcG2Rl_8n4unaNauHleDZvt3K-ZvGXhInl_cmgQGInCQPbrLxfOBVzxaHwOf3fqTOZqqw71Rf_3-eoNtiksuV17oIp0/s320/momboys%252526AG%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A happy group</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="goog_1491548615"></span><span id="goog_1491548616"></span>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-78565642473148886262011-08-25T16:47:00.000-07:002011-09-02T18:15:14.255-07:00Day 7- August 25, 2011<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZ8ABbe0ohsiwAtj2oWYiyUdZ-Ndp8wfAIC4USex_k9ZZ9ixVl_zg6Zu3-zthWqtKuGadgu-1PikLQlMfiBhlIOsqUabmhSQhk57GCuN-GLE3EJdqYIsIScrCbtH7Z0c2IyeRQcT4Sjw/s1600/boys+at+temple+pond.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZ8ABbe0ohsiwAtj2oWYiyUdZ-Ndp8wfAIC4USex_k9ZZ9ixVl_zg6Zu3-zthWqtKuGadgu-1PikLQlMfiBhlIOsqUabmhSQhk57GCuN-GLE3EJdqYIsIScrCbtH7Z0c2IyeRQcT4Sjw/s320/boys+at+temple+pond.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div>The Buddhist Temple<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosKs_fbrpythkIlw_jT7QT5tnuAgTQQSvMvOQ8O4lQShhjEF8sUfmgCl2ThIT5KXQuVMTEdmGZxjhAoz4uQ6seYkg9WfIiub-SPNiTY-A6aA8bBs4q2KK41Npx76ixxjsSDMeCwntuSs/s1600/finding+place.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosKs_fbrpythkIlw_jT7QT5tnuAgTQQSvMvOQ8O4lQShhjEF8sUfmgCl2ThIT5KXQuVMTEdmGZxjhAoz4uQ6seYkg9WfIiub-SPNiTY-A6aA8bBs4q2KK41Npx76ixxjsSDMeCwntuSs/s320/finding+place.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div>Where our sweet girl was found at 1 month of age.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyQ_LLscC6_S0DYeNiwUF8B3e98K25JchxBHitKVGEnr2PfEqkskREPhsWPcd90TIEjvv1MBT5RnrNSMteg2s8dX9paNQu6TAYr9ZOR5ELVgFNf9T8s20w3NdN0VFGuRkzAA94ZNpSh0/s1600/jace+and+fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyQ_LLscC6_S0DYeNiwUF8B3e98K25JchxBHitKVGEnr2PfEqkskREPhsWPcd90TIEjvv1MBT5RnrNSMteg2s8dX9paNQu6TAYr9ZOR5ELVgFNf9T8s20w3NdN0VFGuRkzAA94ZNpSh0/s320/jace+and+fish.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1CEPxJwNPrEvU0y2CrdBQkDJ0_QIsPB8Bve5DJiXAibJX4FRyMOyQ0NNEntJ-zRni7bQEjr-P3EhwrOAWTXgo7RZR_k6QoNyMERLXsxsjDqizyBzodhNOGamuJ30PiEp_HxxzLjV3UM/s1600/out+cold.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1CEPxJwNPrEvU0y2CrdBQkDJ0_QIsPB8Bve5DJiXAibJX4FRyMOyQ0NNEntJ-zRni7bQEjr-P3EhwrOAWTXgo7RZR_k6QoNyMERLXsxsjDqizyBzodhNOGamuJ30PiEp_HxxzLjV3UM/s320/out+cold.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><strong>Out Cold!! long day?</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Miss Personality</strong></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk-qxmIXjw0kSUwVgL80nz5SecGf6OzqAs-XYRLYc6ZJwt8lbtcGDVeZkLoti0McssGlo8EXfPsx6HRKv-FvDAYJuV6izRGG559L3TXBC7D_kVA7JRJ8Ovme-FG6Te9OqLFmh9dsm3Uw/s1600/personality%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk-qxmIXjw0kSUwVgL80nz5SecGf6OzqAs-XYRLYc6ZJwt8lbtcGDVeZkLoti0McssGlo8EXfPsx6HRKv-FvDAYJuV6izRGG559L3TXBC7D_kVA7JRJ8Ovme-FG6Te9OqLFmh9dsm3Uw/s320/personality%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mommy & me</strong></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEsqPVJgJTQIYoCcrX4YYyxpiEhLqtUtWazKm19yRsEZbU5gsuTPzEygGGvtX9APiWNYFSatyBDdLFwa-F0DkPo_9lAGXkpNrEeb5G4xMIFOU7Oc4YLv_pu8rmUhEejx387tPgW2oAK4/s1600/Mommy%252Band%252Bme%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEsqPVJgJTQIYoCcrX4YYyxpiEhLqtUtWazKm19yRsEZbU5gsuTPzEygGGvtX9APiWNYFSatyBDdLFwa-F0DkPo_9lAGXkpNrEeb5G4xMIFOU7Oc4YLv_pu8rmUhEejx387tPgW2oAK4/s320/Mommy%252Band%252Bme%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Today was a rainy day and filled with a couple of tours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We told the boys that and they were over it before we started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been very patient but “they just wanna have fun!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truth is, we are kindof that way also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh well, they sucked it up and went with the flow like we did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we were off to tour a famous Buddist temple here in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Shanghai</place></city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the way, we had a great moment to share what Buddists believe and how it is different than Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a good conversation between our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also shared how it is important that we understand where little AvaGrace is coming from and her culture history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The temple was very elaborate and our guide explained how everything they believe relates back to nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AvaGrace was not feeling it today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was cranky and didn’t know who she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think in the end she wanted mommy the most and today was officially a very good mommy day for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, everyone wants mommy when they are not feeling great and that was great to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mommy just has a hard time carrying her everywhere and it can be a bit much for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We went to another silk factory (same as our department stores back home) before lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we ended buying mommy a little piece of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region> (pocketbook) and a set of placemats with matching chopsticks for our future Chinese dinners at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">Next we headed off to lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lunch was great today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything was recognizable and good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sweet and sour chicken, soup, rice, fried chicken, fried fish, grilled pork with bamboo shoots and zucchini, and of course watermelon for dessert- that is always the dessert but it is not as sweet as ours back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">After lunch we went to the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Shanghai</place></city> museum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was located on one side of the People’s square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was some amazing bronze, pottery, calligraphy (what they call their writing here), paintings, and furniture in there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It showcases their long history and how talented these people are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some pieces are more that 4000 years old and still preserved very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me think about our American history and really how short lived we have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">We thought we were done for the day after the tour- and Lord knows we were spent after looking at pottery and such for more than 2 hours- but we had a special treat along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were headed to the place where our little AvaGrace was found when she was a month old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The place was at a huge hospital in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Shanghai</place></city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We realized just how this mommy cared for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We feel like she left her here at this particular hospital because this hospital specializes in dental work according to our guide- and the mommy knew she needed that type of care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our guide asked everyone along the way to find the exact place she was found so we could go there with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found it and were able to take some pictures there with her now. That was very special for us and we got a little emotional seeing it and thinking about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">After that, we headed back home for a little free time, packing up, and PIZZ HUT PIZZA!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mandy was determined to have pizza tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was one the phone for about 30 minutes and came back in to say it will be delivered in an hour with a Coke!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were we in paradise or what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make it even sweeter, it was cheap too, only 90 RMB which translates to about $15 (large pizza, 1.25 liter of Coke, 2 slices of pie, and delivery by bicycle).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are headed out tomorrow to pickup our notarized paperwork that we paid for and filled out last Monday and then to the airport to fly to another place called <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangzhou</place></city> (said as “GuangJoe”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will leave there next Wednesday to come back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div style="right: auto; text-align: center;"></div></zzzbody></zzzhtml><base target="_self">Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-40122963071081501782011-08-24T18:21:00.000-07:002011-09-02T18:08:57.353-07:00Day 5 & 6- August 23 & 24, 2011 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Day 5 - August 23, 2011</u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Today started out as a test of our patience and sort of like the honeymoon was over for little Ava Grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She woke up and did not want any of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like the vacation was over for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After about 30 minutes she realized we weren’t leaving and then she was all ‘lovey’ again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was so much more relaxed than the first day we got her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been a real trooper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our first activity today was to go to Adoption office and then to the Notary office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the adoption office, we had to go through the interview process and explain why we were adopting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a little intimidating but was quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of waiting and the kids did great occupying themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then had to go and take a picture of mom, dad, and Ava Grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found out that this picture was used on the official adoption certificate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with our friends from <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Wisconsin</place></state> again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is funny because neither one of us know where we are going or what the next steps are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just see each other along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s very funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left the adoption office and went to the notary office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here the notary is much more important than in US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here they are the official recorders and the only ones that do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we met up with our friends again at the notary office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we took the oath, which was basically an agreement that we would not abandon or abuse our little girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She basically read the requirement to all of us together and we had to shake our head or indicate yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were presented Ava Grace’s passport that had only her Chinese name on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a cute picture there that was taken weeks ago and she is showing off her 2 front teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did great being patient the whole time and the boys are continuously playing with her and trying to entertain her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today she was reaching for them and playing games with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a welcomed site because the first day she wanted nothing to do with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is mimicking them with funny faces and sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She picks up quickly and is very smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">After the notary office, we went to lunch at the Bunder (I think that’s right but it’s a boardwalk that showcases the river and beautiful buildings all around central <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Shanghai</place></city>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lunch was great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had fried chicken, spicy bamboo shoots with chicken, rice, cabbage, soup, and fried pork (seemed a lot like chicken fried steak though).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys ate great and have been great at trying new stuff at each meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We fed Ava Grace some rice with soups mixed together to make it a little easier going down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a good eater and will tell you when she’s had enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far she has taken almost 2x as much formula at each feeding and eater much more from the table than we were told she was eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think she has gained a pound already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right after lunch we took a tour down the boardwalk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We asked the guide if it was going to be a long tour and he said no justa short ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we didn’t take a stroller or carrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, Ava Grace fell asleepas soon as we got going and the short tour lasted more than an hour!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daddy’s arms and back were give out but by the end of that and couldn’t wait til we got into the van again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there we took a stroll through the French Quarter here and it was composed of many small stores and galleries down narrow, run-down alleys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was nothing fancy but was a very neat atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was another 30 minute tour, but this time we had her in the stroller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were some beautiful pictures there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing that really sticks out in our minds is how artistically talented these people are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can create some fabulous works of art here. By this time we were give out and ready to just relax in the room and let the boys play with their little sis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We asked our facilitator how they usually treat sick people here and he took it as we thought Ava Grace was sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He made a call and said that he arranged for us to stop by the hospital to get her checked out since the van drivers wife was a nurse there and it wouldn’t cost us anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We insisted several times that she was ok and it wasn’t necessary but he wasn’t hearing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we played along made it another opportunity to see a hospital up close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurses and doctors there were fabulous and had a big heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We finally made it back to the room after another long day and the boys finally got to play with little sissy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did great and didn’t overwhelm her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is getting much more used to them now and now reaches out to touch them and interact with them more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are lapping it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOqzEwxuaZ2qWF_yZtirhw4pqvdKPwAeRboWyt4K9IrJMIDpwU6a1j3xETyfjpz4hIu918qezStfgWn-lBHLq65ySdJQtJPfXZ296ASzL5Jr1LBI7lSrR_ikNc9AosVPgkVM4cWY3qIk/s1600/adoption+office.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOqzEwxuaZ2qWF_yZtirhw4pqvdKPwAeRboWyt4K9IrJMIDpwU6a1j3xETyfjpz4hIu918qezStfgWn-lBHLq65ySdJQtJPfXZ296ASzL5Jr1LBI7lSrR_ikNc9AosVPgkVM4cWY3qIk/s320/adoption+office.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEYGz9Q_oyErpks5TK3j_GoA3hedGTLEb2-gad_aFG4tw7GCEmcEfzXlz7AsXlLAZI5s9NQKJdUsm912a7jOeVX3fwExB4Sn5xwgx2UJ7u7EbpI2J-9his383FzyweHFigvwSXt396xM/s1600/bunder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEYGz9Q_oyErpks5TK3j_GoA3hedGTLEb2-gad_aFG4tw7GCEmcEfzXlz7AsXlLAZI5s9NQKJdUsm912a7jOeVX3fwExB4Sn5xwgx2UJ7u7EbpI2J-9his383FzyweHFigvwSXt396xM/s320/bunder.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLjMsjEouM2ncrpw1twWD0tK2CDW3lzk7APN55COPcRGhJvzpVTDIKZyat-v7oVvrVHxKqjcQxdmlnV_KcpsMyu03xv-s7yOVh7tnSMBGtk0g-GHrCDrXHMtaXL6EjKsd8N_wZT5Fcms/s1600/daddy+and+AG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLjMsjEouM2ncrpw1twWD0tK2CDW3lzk7APN55COPcRGhJvzpVTDIKZyat-v7oVvrVHxKqjcQxdmlnV_KcpsMyu03xv-s7yOVh7tnSMBGtk0g-GHrCDrXHMtaXL6EjKsd8N_wZT5Fcms/s320/daddy+and+AG.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Yk7ZfxOK6yVB2qYnPb81bQ8gLFtN5YPp8i2l__pTV46VUFu67_Ug8t-70dLUJS1TFd93Am-ilP5XzGoz0kEbj0BCj9BGthHNE6pqdp_3cTdXMiZGzjqXj2NM7V4eDhXDSHaS-MIvv_0/s1600/french+quarter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Yk7ZfxOK6yVB2qYnPb81bQ8gLFtN5YPp8i2l__pTV46VUFu67_Ug8t-70dLUJS1TFd93Am-ilP5XzGoz0kEbj0BCj9BGthHNE6pqdp_3cTdXMiZGzjqXj2NM7V4eDhXDSHaS-MIvv_0/s320/french+quarter.JPG" width="240" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Day #6</strong> <strong>Aug 24, 2011</strong></span></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaEZRKFcnobyZaRiPCBvQRU_SiD3A8-5nutsG2dn5rOd9xcHYIHTXYMOB4L8OgvoPAfU90HMS2MR2npBBGz4A2aitAcWY6oUwQQnLd5nkKi2DmKXdbCJMhTLJK7UmM3VV4C2y06aga0I/s1600/Jace%252Bthe%252Bdaredevil%255B2%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaEZRKFcnobyZaRiPCBvQRU_SiD3A8-5nutsG2dn5rOd9xcHYIHTXYMOB4L8OgvoPAfU90HMS2MR2npBBGz4A2aitAcWY6oUwQQnLd5nkKi2DmKXdbCJMhTLJK7UmM3VV4C2y06aga0I/s200/Jace%252Bthe%252Bdaredevil%255B2%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jace braved the challenge of this fine dining</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgT2jBWxerV_arV0N0KEj5Nx18uh8tqhodB_j3GjSv9NEGa2OH9mAyhb9ZmmMU9dscoA-8NoF82YGJvjlKOP4TfkZtoYReaxZQnYHPE5-9cCo0jkcoHzAmPjRSE39BjXOiKPdujoWG_M/s1600/fish%252Banyone%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 217px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 321px;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgT2jBWxerV_arV0N0KEj5Nx18uh8tqhodB_j3GjSv9NEGa2OH9mAyhb9ZmmMU9dscoA-8NoF82YGJvjlKOP4TfkZtoYReaxZQnYHPE5-9cCo0jkcoHzAmPjRSE39BjXOiKPdujoWG_M/s200/fish%252Banyone%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">Today was a little more relaxing than any of the previous ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No paperwork, no appointments, just tour of TV tower and <place w:st="on">Pearl</place> factory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we started out around 9:30 this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to the TV tower which is about 1500 feet tall from the best we can interpret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had about 250 floors- that is the highest we could go anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has a skywalk to walk out on and glass floor so you can see under your feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was incredibly high and gave the very best views of the beautiful city here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was AWESOME!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took it all in for quote a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we went down a ways and to an arcade that the boys really enjoyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great for them- they have been so patient the whole time and I was glad they had a little while in there to play some games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We finished at the TV tower by walking through the museum there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was huge with many models of what times were like in the older days and explained the history here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was nice but way too much for us to take it all in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Next we went for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyday before today we have had the very best food you can find here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we went to a very formal place and got the meal we had been worried about getting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were many items there that we couldn’t figure out what they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mandy liked some soup that we had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed to have some eggs stuffed with some kind of meat and some clear chewy things that she said was dumplings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When our facilitator came back to get us after lunch she asked what was in some of the dishes- BIG MISTAKE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dumplings that she liked were tendons and the meat was some kind of mixture of meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see her getting sick by minute-haha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a chicken foot on one of the plates, no other chicken parts that I could recognize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They brought us fish and yes that was easy to recognize because it was the entire fish- eyes and all just on a plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was actually pretty decent if you could get past him staring at you while you ate him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say, we didn’t eat very much for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate our rice which is always a safe bet here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; right: auto;">We toured a pearl factory and while Mandy shopped the boys and Ava Grace stole the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have many young girls working in the factories (same as our department stores) to sale items to people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They love children here and kept telling us that we have a great family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course we agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everywhere we go they say Jace looks like Harry Potter and they just pull Collin with them to show off his blue eyes to all of their friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the pearl factory we bought Ava Grace a pearl bracelet and necklace to give her when she gets older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ladies there couldn’t get over how much she was attached to her parents after only a couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kept saying we were very lucky and we realize it is not luck but God’s grace that helped us in this union.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUW130ERyWPeT3dNdy29FpdMAKJ4x0Y0ZOiOah5-99IcS50XC5oFCiSOiVY-HyT4pnNM3Z_fo36R7hTcN440u60ToyR3esA0DQqXL4QP_ow3QjHEVXtRQ8tcxF2C3lGNNTtgENg68LEY/s1600/Johnsons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUW130ERyWPeT3dNdy29FpdMAKJ4x0Y0ZOiOah5-99IcS50XC5oFCiSOiVY-HyT4pnNM3Z_fo36R7hTcN440u60ToyR3esA0DQqXL4QP_ow3QjHEVXtRQ8tcxF2C3lGNNTtgENg68LEY/s320/Johnsons.JPG" width="240" xaa="true" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Since we didn’t have much lunch today we decided to go out to eat for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to walk out on the streets around the hotel and came across a KFC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were happy to finally get another taste of home, but after we got our food, we found out it was not the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chicken was not the same chicken we have at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how it was different, but it was very.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of us could eat our sandwich, so we got a sundae and headed home for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">When we got back we tried to keep Ava Grace up a while to see if anyone would Skype us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She started playing hard and was talking up a storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is really coming out of her shell now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight we were able to put her in the boys laps and she was just touching their hair and faces and loving on them. We even got her to kiss them on the cheek for bedtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is warming up to them pretty good now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t see them as a threat but more as friends and playmates now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-45673232783283759202011-08-23T05:40:00.000-07:002011-09-02T17:54:16.820-07:00Meeting Ava Grace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQrmrOAUwJIUz8_3_OZVvn2r6KV3ETE7VSGMlOxazIa4LiXu1JnqkZ9gBhBDmOPnYA08W4j6wqCh9cyIyH-MhnsUudQ1uvFK91jOejGua7fUu-vKcnih5VWd5X-jDfUlZ5gq87XT-2iw/s1600/Jace%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQrmrOAUwJIUz8_3_OZVvn2r6KV3ETE7VSGMlOxazIa4LiXu1JnqkZ9gBhBDmOPnYA08W4j6wqCh9cyIyH-MhnsUudQ1uvFK91jOejGua7fUu-vKcnih5VWd5X-jDfUlZ5gq87XT-2iw/s320/Jace%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:20:41 -0700 (PDT)<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gotcha Day!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">What a day today!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to get our sweet little girl today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an awesome experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We felt so blessed just by her acceptance of us from the first minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had been waiting for this moment for a year and here it was all at once it seemed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The setting was not special at all- we were sitting in a conference room and as soon as we signed the last piece of paperwork, they said something to each other in Mandarin and then a lady walks in with our little AvaGrace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came right to us almost immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an answer to many prayers!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her caregiver got emotional when she saw it and said it was a sign from God and that the last 2 weeks she had started preparing for us and she saw that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed almost perfect the way she received us at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so relieved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We asked the caregivers some questions, they gave us a great photo album of her and her days growing up to now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were shocked by how much they really cared for her and had taken care of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our facilitator did a great job translating for us and he even video taped the whole meeting her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After we met her, we came back to the hotel for about 45 minutes and then were scheduled for a tour of Chinatown in Shanghai.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was at the same time she was supposed to nap, so we trekked out with her and she caught a little nap on our shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw some more fabulous temples and ate at the best place we have been so far- Chinese food that is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The absolute best meal we had was yesterday when we ate at Pizza Hut- that was much needed to keep us going here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good Chinese place today only served dumplings and it was so crowded, we just stood over people eating until they left their table and we jumped at their seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the way it is everywhere here- driving, walking down the street, buying something, anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Chinatown we stopped by the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Walmart</i></b> to get some formula, snacks, and some Coke!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That stuff holds us together here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hot tea and warm water just don’t cut it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we came back to the hotel for the night and tried to relax for the evening and get to know our newest family member a little more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have found that she loves formula, has to have something in each hand all the time, and has some personality!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been an incredible day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow we have to sign more paperwork and sit in on interviews. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div></div><br />
<br />
</zzzhtml><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFojV5BByCj1bk3t7NPhSifOMyA9IAjOz7_l4uAKkaFrV5tH3Pyy3Pm4wcMGKMX_V5uRPK1THav_C4UPHks_aFRYiS05puZ7_Rjz7dzo6mThkhyV-cWzgfoD7QlUIXqWDjMHPwaidT7s/s1600/daddy%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFojV5BByCj1bk3t7NPhSifOMyA9IAjOz7_l4uAKkaFrV5tH3Pyy3Pm4wcMGKMX_V5uRPK1THav_C4UPHks_aFRYiS05puZ7_Rjz7dzo6mThkhyV-cWzgfoD7QlUIXqWDjMHPwaidT7s/s200/daddy%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An immediate attraction to each other</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEYG7uzEHWrB48ePFxbJZh7uWHTO6Y8fH8FR1Gt_lc1a9oHV45FJVgDAI6h6JsHdHH1t9c-seAsPH2xZdMCVT1vWGy4JIwdeE8BgRU3-4UZxBHYDcweIXMdTsV8Xdj0t3WkqvuXsqW08/s1600/JJ%252B%252526%252BCJ%252B%252526%252BAGJ%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEYG7uzEHWrB48ePFxbJZh7uWHTO6Y8fH8FR1Gt_lc1a9oHV45FJVgDAI6h6JsHdHH1t9c-seAsPH2xZdMCVT1vWGy4JIwdeE8BgRU3-4UZxBHYDcweIXMdTsV8Xdj0t3WkqvuXsqW08/s200/JJ%252B%252526%252BCJ%252B%252526%252BAGJ%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my brothers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Day 2</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We had another full day of sightseeing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we went to the Great Wall, then to a Jade factory, next to a copper factory and to get some lunch, to a pearl factory, then to get a quick glimpse of the Olympic Venue for 2008 in Beijing, then to tour Summer Palace and end up with an Acrobatic show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Today was a long day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left the hotel at 8:30am and didn’t return until 7pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went non-stop and gained a wealth of knowledge of the culture here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Great Wall was definitely one of the wonders of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was incredibly massive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We only went out on one small part of it but it was unbelievable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was amazing that anyone could build something so huge!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The steps were very uneven and definitely not up to code.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One step would be 4” high and the next 12”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The climb was straight up it seemed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course there were so many people climbing there that you couldn’t move without being touched and rubbed against and bumped into the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Collin and I climbed up a long way to the top of the section we were at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mommy and Jace decided to go back a little early because of the crowded steps and the fact that when you get halfway up it seemed like you were hanging off a 10-story building- get that dizziness from that height.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They thing that really strikes us as surprising is the uncleanliness of everything we have seen and how trash is just thrown on the ground most places and poor people are rummaging through the trash cans all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Jade Factory was very cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people have an amazing artistic ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They could carve most anything in that Jade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learned the different grades and colors of Jade and how to tell if they are valuable or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course the boys both had to get a piece and so they each got a necklace with their zodiac sign on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jace’s is a snake and Collin’s is a goat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Next we were able to see how they make the elaborate copper vases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is still amazing what they do with their artistic abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a good lunch that was served family style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris, our facilitator here, got us some chicken and bamboo shoots, some sweet and sour chicken, then we had rice, cabbage, some spicy soup but who knows what was in that, and they gave us some American comfort food of french fries- although not like the ones at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch we stopped by to buy an ornament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We had some extra time to kill so we stopped by a pearl factory and learned how they make the freshwater pearls and the different grades and types of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mandy really wanted to get some so that one day we could pass them along to our little AvaGrace when she gets older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we bought a nice necklace of black pearls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Mandy was shopping, Collin and I were getting talked about in Mandarin by the other girls and manager there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all liked to hear us speak English and theirs was not that great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They couldn’t understand where we were from- had never heard of <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">North Carolina</place></state>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Olympic venue tour was a drive by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris asked if we wanted to stop by there to take some pictures and we said sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They pulled off on the side of the road and told us to go take some pictures- not exactly what we were expecting but it was ok since we were wiped out already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">They sped down the road a ways further and dropped us off at the Acrobat show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pretty good and lasted about an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got a couple of Cokes and a bag of microwave popcorn for RMB 30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was about $5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris told us our flights were at 10am the next morning and they would pick us up at 7:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We are so shocked by how dirty everything is here- trash everywhere and places where people got sick right there where everyone is walking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The housing is little shacks everywhere- we were not expecting that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me they have a major issue with the population and it is evident everywhere here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris confirmed the one child policy that was started back in the 80s and said that the rich people just pay the fine like $200k and have as many as they want here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also said that some families would have 2 children if both parents are in the one child policy ruling.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Driving is total chaos here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were laughing that we would never be able to get around here if we had rented a car and tried to drive ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are really no lanes, no turn signals, and no rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our van driver uses on foot on gas and one hand on the horn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that if you stick your nose out in front of someone, you have the right-of-way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am amazed we haven’t had a wreck or killed anyone walking or on a bike yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact one time today, we were behind a line of cars and the driver just started driving on the other side of the road. It is wild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people here walk that way too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No personal space issues for them, just us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been nice to see their culture and their ways from a first hand experience though.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsF-atQWQ2ASWBkGwOiMFBGlVk9O0S57pU-15GODXwFcLcI6vAor8Aty3KRmwNm3mWLKDg-SeqMHRSj4pdrDBwvgA4hpOMpvP8JKd84ygdG0cN-QIBsR7xZ4dQxgAUwNfBgOPC3EKYGog/s1600/crowds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsF-atQWQ2ASWBkGwOiMFBGlVk9O0S57pU-15GODXwFcLcI6vAor8Aty3KRmwNm3mWLKDg-SeqMHRSj4pdrDBwvgA4hpOMpvP8JKd84ygdG0cN-QIBsR7xZ4dQxgAUwNfBgOPC3EKYGog/s320/crowds.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhipxPn8BI3k_NoLyPWjEv6XjFV_nn2jN9m9w2H-6772_NzrAWJbiW27tb2_4JZwMAr-hEzO1JuC1Hp05PKc5y9ZbSbuE9vYj_T44oWNE2ZeHt1re7rFrepDLGUbjAEa_MCODtr_Jdd7M/s1600/great+wall+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhipxPn8BI3k_NoLyPWjEv6XjFV_nn2jN9m9w2H-6772_NzrAWJbiW27tb2_4JZwMAr-hEzO1JuC1Hp05PKc5y9ZbSbuE9vYj_T44oWNE2ZeHt1re7rFrepDLGUbjAEa_MCODtr_Jdd7M/s320/great+wall+2.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIyCfRbYCg7ntDgaJectHgIiHBbarfjQhWopmqmXBdN6Yfb_b2S4IsFoOr16J_hPykAihxcGDLMoi0ItSVzcOM9tHFzVlA3GNNiDx53jVMqUivC1Ec-nAsn1riOgdbzRHCaIRuNxMCdk/s1600/Greatwall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIyCfRbYCg7ntDgaJectHgIiHBbarfjQhWopmqmXBdN6Yfb_b2S4IsFoOr16J_hPykAihxcGDLMoi0ItSVzcOM9tHFzVlA3GNNiDx53jVMqUivC1Ec-nAsn1riOgdbzRHCaIRuNxMCdk/s320/Greatwall.JPG" width="240" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KQepu3U1BOpDe9oI46KuRvLN8aswItW6bqezzb5u-E_QdNXvGLty9FnbbRd3la8TiQUOmyDf9xg_vrz_G_CzQ09JOcooBOKLRk-hSx3rZm6tN4bbxio97s4NpiTsQU9FUgrhn67usCo/s1600/olympics.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KQepu3U1BOpDe9oI46KuRvLN8aswItW6bqezzb5u-E_QdNXvGLty9FnbbRd3la8TiQUOmyDf9xg_vrz_G_CzQ09JOcooBOKLRk-hSx3rZm6tN4bbxio97s4NpiTsQU9FUgrhn67usCo/s320/olympics.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-13072349431745172132011-08-20T05:05:00.000-07:002011-09-02T17:42:49.932-07:00We arrived in China<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYrsuYeG45MQVmGIhGlEjhOXN_L_fVrL8tFd83t9vy84JReb280huWuARXZeIJXaEe5fxxhMLG5hHdYdbyx61cC3pikrdhPQpLR0kToa1zvtF1AwOEc2sWHZZipV1SWFRQH7qV5bxDV4/s1600/Forbidden+city.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYrsuYeG45MQVmGIhGlEjhOXN_L_fVrL8tFd83t9vy84JReb280huWuARXZeIJXaEe5fxxhMLG5hHdYdbyx61cC3pikrdhPQpLR0kToa1zvtF1AwOEc2sWHZZipV1SWFRQH7qV5bxDV4/s320/Forbidden+city.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJonQEEFAGxT0AOb1E4eRopdVURNKXrjgeY6-QwxgJZJYQvfBPHWe-IA5J3LrTHy9JGeYkXFRa9vJETG8YLPQzAJnElXdnYHOQPERCytBK5uc9Ty86cUffvZh8DhpS6hZSfZ1QGR-CIc8/s1600/Daddy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJonQEEFAGxT0AOb1E4eRopdVURNKXrjgeY6-QwxgJZJYQvfBPHWe-IA5J3LrTHy9JGeYkXFRa9vJETG8YLPQzAJnElXdnYHOQPERCytBK5uc9Ty86cUffvZh8DhpS6hZSfZ1QGR-CIc8/s320/Daddy.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsqNLW-Sw4syRAqSNdrjsig7LouZ46Ju1ssEvs0uLxI2C556GMx9nLT8k0mKzqeI7mfStWUd_9_AmjYUlReeWfNjrGrUCv53dCrvBw0SC8BhHTpBBg_b5tC6kiE6xsgQ4NKna491dRO4/s1600/Lunch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsqNLW-Sw4syRAqSNdrjsig7LouZ46Ju1ssEvs0uLxI2C556GMx9nLT8k0mKzqeI7mfStWUd_9_AmjYUlReeWfNjrGrUCv53dCrvBw0SC8BhHTpBBg_b5tC6kiE6xsgQ4NKna491dRO4/s320/Lunch.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPklq4rKngzHhdnYjMSjOTuSOoL8FbKWLaWxx5O1WssBfyYSIsvZyJqtQUHgnBUbEN8S5n2QCBrliF5qlVR6s3mwAXD38cMEyGctacdxUcxbNDgXuhywDSRm4BzjpLZ9D2tXuNx9fC4e8/s1600/Rickshaw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPklq4rKngzHhdnYjMSjOTuSOoL8FbKWLaWxx5O1WssBfyYSIsvZyJqtQUHgnBUbEN8S5n2QCBrliF5qlVR6s3mwAXD38cMEyGctacdxUcxbNDgXuhywDSRm4BzjpLZ9D2tXuNx9fC4e8/s320/Rickshaw.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; right: auto; text-align: left;">We had a big day. We are finally here!! We were trying to get adjusted from jetlag but we also had a few tours to do. Mandy and Collin couldn't sleep on the plane but about 3 hrs :( We started out at 10:30 am after arriving at out hotel room at 2am, and we all felt pretty good. We toured the Tienamen Square and were able to see all the huge important govt buildings. Then we walked to one side through the Imperial Wall and went into the Forbidden City. We were amazed at how huge the place was and it kept going and going. We walked for 3 hours and we were dead by the time we got to the end. We found out that the people here don't have any "personal space' rules and they will just walk up to you and right in front of you. People stared at us like celebreties and pointed and took out picture, some even walked to us and touched Collin gently and smiled. The driving is insane!! Look out if you are trying to cross the street. I was amazed that no one got hit by our driver! He was relentless and used his horn more that the brake!!! They then took us to a REAL chinese restaurant- I knew it was that cause Mandy asked for an eggroll and they just looked at her funny- they had no clue about that here. The bathrooms were not very welcoming either with just a hole in the ground. We were able to ride a rickshaw for a Hutong tour of the ordinary peoples housing- it was pretty poor living. Then we went shopping at the silk factory and then to see the Kung Fu show here and that was amazing!!! That was really cool. We are up this morning at 4:15am here- we were all out last night at 7pm (that was the time we finally got home from all the touring). This morning we are off to tour at 8:30am and hopefully a little better prepared for all the sightseeing. We are still amazed that we are Beijing, the Capital of China!!</div><div align="left" style="right: auto;"></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-71311537352258551392011-08-16T18:43:00.001-07:002011-08-16T18:43:16.061-07:00Title: We’re Almost There Sweet Girl!!<div class="yiv1195766822MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My Dear Ava Grace, </div><div class="yiv1195766822MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span> </span>We are packed for our journey across this earth to meet you baby girl!<span> </span>And we have a whole bag of lil clothes, socks, shoes, hairbands, stuffed animals, snacks, bottles, sippy cups and books for just YOU!!<span> </span>We have prayed so long to finally meet you, for the Lord to keep you safe, and here we are about to leave in 24 hours on this wonderful journey to hold you for the first time!<span> </span>We are praying for you, that you will be prepared to meet your forever family.<span> It won't be much longer, sweetie. <var id="yiv1195766822yui-ie-cursor"></var></span>We love you so much ……Mommy</div><div> </div><br />
Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-65820963413696679032011-08-09T18:47:00.000-07:002011-08-11T14:57:47.513-07:00Ava Grace, You are So Loved!!And that is as FACT!! Our family and friends "showered us" with their blessings this past Sunday, and it was an adoption celebration to remember!!! We feel so very blessed by the outpouring of love and support for our sweet girl. We got EVERYTHING we needed, plus some more! Folks who came ate some authentic Chinese cuisine, practiced with chopsticks, and could learn to write their name in Mandarin if they wanted. Michelle, Donna, Kristie, Heather, Sue, Sloan, Tammy, Janie, Ben, Mom ...... a HUGE thank you from our whole family for putting all this together and making it so wonderful!! We love you all :)<br />
<br />
Countdown to seeing our girl is ON!!! <br />
<br />
8 days til we leave for China<br />
13 days to see Ava Grace and squeeze her so tight!!Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-83467660797240320992011-08-02T04:05:00.000-07:002011-08-02T04:05:50.683-07:00CAWe got the email yesterday letting us know our official Consulate Appointment is set for 8/29. We were VERY disappointed that 8/22 was not available :( So ..... this means we officially leave 8/17 for China!!! YAY! We are booking flights today! This is our non-descript itinerary, details will be filled in soon of each day.<br />
<br />
Wed. 8/17 Flight to Beijing<br />
Thurs. 8/18 Arrive in Beijing (sightseeing)<br />
Sun. 8/21 Travel to Shanghai<br />
Mon 8/22 GOTCHA Ava Grace!!!<br />
Friday 8/26 Travel to Guangzhou<br />
Sat-Sun Medical Exams<br />
Monday 8/29 CA (Visa issued for her)<br />
Wed 8/31 Return Home!!!Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-87894869314291714222011-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:002011-07-29T12:45:52.305-07:00TA!!!!<strong><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Can you hear me shouting for joy all the way over there?? If so, its because we just got a wonderful call from our case worker telling us they issued us Travel Approval (TA) today!! Praise the Lord!!! I was on the way to the grocery store and Joey had JUST texted me asking if I'd heard anything yet, and I of course texted him "nutten"!! Pulled into the parking space, kids in the back seat, and she called!! I screamed and they screamed, and then we had to call daddy back to tell him the good news, then call the rest of the family! So I just completed my longest grocery trip ever, and came home with hardly any groceries cause I couldn't concentrate on a thing!! We are requesting a consulate appointment (CA) for 8/22 and will find out if we got it, and all the other travel itinerary by Tues or Wed of next week. If we get that appt, we'll fly out on 8/10. <span style="background-color: yellow;">That's less than 2 weeks away!! </span>Whew ....lots of emotions right now, and lots of packing to be done!!</span></strong>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-38654057708728067162011-07-26T10:34:00.000-07:002011-07-26T10:34:15.825-07:00Culture Shock!!I've learned alot about the Chinese culture over the last months, and found this info compiled together in someone else's blog who is also adoption. It made me laugh, and was enlightening, so I thought I would share some of what I learned.....<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Cherry Cream Soda';">Did you know you can train a baby to be potty trained at 4 months? The Chinese believe you can! The Chinese diaper a child until around the age of 4 months and then babies traditionally wear split pants. The split pants are like buttless chaps and their little bottoms are free to the air. The babies are fed and after waiting about 30 minutes the children are either held over a pot or strapped to a potty chair and wait for the inevitable to happen. Sometimes the adult makes a hissing sound to alert the baby to let go. Here are some images of babies in split pants.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2Ac7nj8c6q_wmbMgrui1hbsnyHDbOQC2p4LjLHZ7B_dZ1ZVAZh-Nt8oJBAAKVNrvOEjrQZvs3Ab8P8sQ2324YjbaqI-7kYYHJIprhNqc453Mq6ec1EKw1XY_jQYwigAS7aZxdk2X_cs/s1600/splitpants.jpg"><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype></span></a><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2Ac7nj8c6q_wmbMgrui1hbsnyHDbOQC2p4LjLHZ7B_dZ1ZVAZh-Nt8oJBAAKVNrvOEjrQZvs3Ab8P8sQ2324YjbaqI-7kYYHJIprhNqc453Mq6ec1EKw1XY_jQYwigAS7aZxdk2X_cs/s1600/splitpants.jpg" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbVbjl69hjB3Sv32voMUFlO45rOYX9gKfclMk-W4cyX0csrhYVw11Yv5x9RRME4morJun4YPWcpYeeXFn12wNFw5NOFUm4hNbB4I2SxR_sKM0XDQpUM86Lyaqr5pyz0ID18B6EXqGvy4/s1600/splitpants1.jpg" /></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Cherry Cream Soda';">Can you feel the breeze - I think I would get kind of chilly! Parents also make their formula thick and cut a large hole in the nipple of the bottle so the mixture sort of falls out of the bottle - the babies rarely have to suck.<br />
It is also common for children to publicly urinate and other things in public. The chinese believe that children's waste is pure and not harmful. There are horror stories of people going to upscale shopping areas and seeing a child being held by the parents over or near a trashcan or bush and letting it fly! But, I guess when you have to use a squatty potty a bush doesn't seem so bad. Here is a typical squattly potty that is found in most of Asia. I am so looking forward to using one of these (insert sarcastic tone here).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFtfP4ajxEpW43PE10et7OHUY1igtqtD5nwO7gVtxzjrdJYcT_C8_32xvBu-8sBmQaQk5-Pi0YP5KIQa_hUGCA5_96qhyphenhyphenUn9Cu6adNIGiAxl8ZbOWY5Ftz5AtgY4uzpFgASwWdnkOB30/s1600/squatty+potty.jpg"><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFtfP4ajxEpW43PE10et7OHUY1igtqtD5nwO7gVtxzjrdJYcT_C8_32xvBu-8sBmQaQk5-Pi0YP5KIQa_hUGCA5_96qhyphenhyphenUn9Cu6adNIGiAxl8ZbOWY5Ftz5AtgY4uzpFgASwWdnkOB30/s1600/squatty+potty.jpg" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus8dUW8DOHc3gLiN0nPxGGq9pz_BLDQE-2c0Q7kRG0-OfhRV2YVrO7TTon364Ew45D1gBEubykgyW6-rCKI8eZAVwSqVDxdy7gLGM23mDh4W8KQwfM9KNQARn8uUfCB4vp06iZ6Gow6Y/s1600/spuatty+potty.jpg"><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><shape alt="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus8dUW8DOHc3gLiN0nPxGGq9pz_BLDQE-2c0Q7kRG0-OfhRV2YVrO7TTon364Ew45D1gBEubykgyW6-rCKI8eZAVwSqVDxdy7gLGM23mDh4W8KQwfM9KNQARn8uUfCB4vp06iZ6Gow6Y/s1600/spuatty+potty.jpg" id="_x0000_i1028" o:button="t" style="height: 150pt; width: 99.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><imagedata o:href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus8dUW8DOHc3gLiN0nPxGGq9pz_BLDQE-2c0Q7kRG0-OfhRV2YVrO7TTon364Ew45D1gBEubykgyW6-rCKI8eZAVwSqVDxdy7gLGM23mDh4W8KQwfM9KNQARn8uUfCB4vp06iZ6Gow6Y/s200/spuatty+potty.jpg" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/GCPE-B~1/LOCALS~1/Temp/44/msoclip1/01/clip_image004.jpg"></imagedata></shape></span></a><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus8dUW8DOHc3gLiN0nPxGGq9pz_BLDQE-2c0Q7kRG0-OfhRV2YVrO7TTon364Ew45D1gBEubykgyW6-rCKI8eZAVwSqVDxdy7gLGM23mDh4W8KQwfM9KNQARn8uUfCB4vp06iZ6Gow6Y/s1600/spuatty+potty.jpg" /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Cherry Cream Soda';">Sometimes the potties are nice like the one on the left, and sometimes they are a hole in the ground. Basically you just go in and assume the position, use it, and leave...notice no TP.<br />
<br />
Spitting is pretty common and alot of caucasians have been told to watch out or you might get spat upon. This is not out of rudeness on the part of the Chinese. We use a kleenex, they spit on the floor. I have been warned by many people to not be surprised, scared, or insulted if a Chinese person just picks my kid up, feeds her, or scolds me because of how I dress my daughter. The Chinese consider a child a treasure and people are free to play with them at will. They also believe children should be bundled or dressed in layers until an older toddler and feel the right to scold those that don't. Since I have lighter hair and lighter eyes I have been warned that lots of people will want to have a photo taken with me. In a land of darker skin and hair, a caucasian is a rare sight.<br />
As lax as their personal space is, there is a formality to sharing dinner and showing respect. Do not accept a dinner invitation from someone if you do not plan to or cannot reciprocate with an equal value meal sometime later. The same with gift giving. It is rude to drink before your host does at the dinner table but it is ok to burp out loud. You also do NOT want to clean your plate because the host will continue to think you are not full. You must sample everything but not take the last bite. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjCQI2bu2pxn-d1OKBXYaiv3yYJrgE-KRFHY7KnTkOlpGqbL8Tj03cefJuWirMQ41Kodf5b4oGmdfdC2N-ZY3mkmi42HClcSsmV8sSdF6a_Gx6gNllKziGoHT9TxNEFIIXdTlUDqgZdQ/s1600/tablemanners.jpg"><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #90cda9; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span>Don't be insulted if your hosts askes you why you are so fat or how much money you make. The questions are not meant to be rude, but a show of concern to the guest from the host!<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></b><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Cherry Cream Soda'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">We are so ready to experience this culture and ALL it has to offer. These mentioned are only a few of the cultural differences I will experience and do not encapsulate all that is China. And we may not experience all of this as Ava Grace's welfare institute is in a big city with real toilets, yay!! We just have to remember not to drink the water, ask for no ice in my drinks, and only brush my teeth with bottled water.</span></b></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-12630471292430698022011-07-20T10:04:00.000-07:002011-07-20T10:04:14.038-07:00Article 5 !!!!!Praise the Lord!! Our Article 5 letter was sent to Beijing yesterday, meaning we should get TA (travel approval) within 3 weeks. I can hardly believe we are getting this close. We had our "travel call" yesterday, which was a 2 1/2 hour conference call that our agency gives to families approaching travel. It cleared up a lot of questions we had, and I feel so much relief now knowing that their facilitator is literally with us from the time we get off the plane in Beijing, to Shanghai, to Guanzhou (not in the hotel room with us of course, lol). All of our hotel stays are booked thru them, along with our sightseeing tours we have to do while there. So ....a lot of my stress has gone down, just a little :) Now I can focus on bringing our sweet baby girl home and being ready for that.<br />
<br />
Celebrated our youngest son's birthday last night! Happy Birthday, Collin, what a big 8 year old you are ..... and what a great big brother you will be soon!!Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-8372923883199714452011-07-18T12:24:00.000-07:002011-07-18T12:24:25.022-07:00Raising Funds to travel!!!To all my friends and family who have already graciously bought a fundraiser T-shirt, we thank you so much! It makes me so happy to see folks wearing them here and there, and they are such a witness to others about adoption. If you have not bought a shirt, and are wanting to, please go ahead and do so, as we are very close to traveling to meet our little girl. (simply click on the shirt link to the right). We will most likely close the fundraiser by August 1, so spread the word to please help send us to China and buy a shirt. We get 1/2 of every shirt sold, and we have raised only $200 so far. We have a long way to go, but we know the Lord is in control and it will all work out to His glory.<br />
<br />
Praising the Lord for His provisions already,<br />
MandyJoey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-51508529054107763032011-07-15T12:32:00.000-07:002011-07-15T12:32:23.930-07:00Do's and Dont's in AdoptionI read these early in our process of adoption, and wanted to share them now so we can all learn a bit before bringing Ava Grace home. I hope this will help our friends and family know why we may seem "over protective" at first. I share this with love ...<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">The following is a list of Do's and Don'ts that has been provided to adoptive parents to help family members and friends understand what to do to be supportive, and what not to do. We hope you find this helpful... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><br />
Do... <br />
<br />
1. Trust the parent's instincts. Even a first time parent may notice subtle symptoms that well-meaning family and friends attribute to "normal" behavior. <br />
<br />
2. Accept that attachment issues are difficult for anyone outside of the parent to see and understand. <br />
<br />
3. Be supportive even if you think everything looks fine to you. <br />
<br />
4. Allow the parents to be the center of the child's world. One grandfather, when greeting his grandson, immediately turns him back to his mom and says positive statements about his good mommy. <br />
<br />
5. Tell the child every time you see her what a good/loving/safe mommy/daddy she has. <br />
<br />
6. As hard as it may be for you, abide by the requests of the parents. Even if the child looks like she really wants to be with Grandma, for example, <b>she needs to have a</b> <b>strong attachment to her parents first. Something as simple as passing the child from one person to another or allowing others, even grandparents, to hold a child who is not "attached" can make the attachment process that much longer and harder. Some parents have had to refrain from seeing certain family members or friends because they did not respect the parents' requests. </b><br />
<br />
7. Accept that parenting children who are at-risk for or who suffer from attachment issues goes against traditional parenting methods and beliefs. Parenting methods that work for many children can be detrimental to a child with attachment issues. <br />
<br />
8. Remember that there is often a honeymoon period after the child arrives. Many children do not show signs of grief, distress, or anxiety until months after they come home. If the parents are taking precautions, they are smart and should be commended and supported! <br />
<br />
Don't... <br />
<br />
1. Assume an child is too young to suffer from emotional issues related to attachment. <br />
<br />
2. Underestimate a new mother's instincts that something isn't right. <br />
<br />
3. Judge the parent's parenting abilities. What looks like spoiling or coddling may be exactly what the child needs to overcome a serious attachment disorder. Parenting methods that work for many children can be detrimental to a child with attachment issues. <br />
<br />
4. Make excuses for the child's behaviors or try to make the parents feel better by calling certain behaviors "normal". For example, many children who suffer from attachment issues may be labeled strong-willed by well-meaning family members. While being strong-willed can be seen as a positive personality trait, this type of behavior in an attachment-impaired child may signify problems. <br />
<br />
5. Accuse the parents of being overly sensitive or neurotic. They are in a position to see subtle symptoms as no one else can. <br />
<br />
6. Take it personally if asked to step back so the parents can help their child heal and form a healthy and secure attachment. <b>You will be asked not to hold the child. This is not meant to hurt you. It is meant to help prove to the child who her mommy and daddy are. Up until now the child's experience has been that mommies and daddies are replaceable. Allowing people to hold the child before she has accepted her forever mommy and daddy are can be detrimental to the attachment process. </b><br />
<br />
7. Put your own time frames on how long attachment should take. One mother was hurt when she was chastised by a relative who couldn't understand...after all, the child had been home six months. <b>It could take weeks, months, even years. Every child is different. </b><br />
<br />
8. Offer traditional parenting advice. Some well-meaning family members will tell a new mother not to pick the child up every time she cries because it will spoil him. A child who is at-risk or who suffers from attachment issues must be picked up every single time she cries. She needs consistent reinforcement that this mommy/daddy will always take care of her and always keep her safe. <br />
<br />
9. Fall into the appearance trap. Some babies/toddlers with attachment issues can put on a great show to those outside of the mother/father. What you see is not always a true picture of the child. Even babies as young as 6-months-old are capable of “putting on a good face” in public. <br />
<br />
10. Lose hope. With the right kind of parenting and therapy, a child with attachment issues can learn to trust and have healthy relationships. But it does take a lot of work and a good understanding of what these children need.</span></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-13571569053759665062011-07-14T19:14:00.000-07:002011-07-14T19:14:39.465-07:00Only 1 more month!!!I can hardly believe that we may be holding Ava Grace in our arms in a little over one month!! The anticipation, excitement, anxiety, and longing just to hold her, are all so similar to all the feelings I had when I was pregnant with Jace and Collin, my biological children. For those of you who have never adopted, it's hard to explain the love the Lord puts into your hearts for your children hundreds of miles away. I can tell you that the emotions I felt in the last trimester of pregnancy with our first two biological children are the identical emotions I feel right now. And the longing I have to hold Ava Grace right now is even more intense than the longing I had with my first two pregnancies because Ava Grace isn't safe in my belly but hundreds of miles away where I can't protect her. But my loving Father is holding her safely in His arms. And He is giving me bits of encouragement each day through friends, family, and blogs of others adopting also. I just read today of a family visiting Shanghai Children's Institute where they just adopted their 3 yr old daughter, and they spoke of how much the nannies loved the children, and how well taken care of they all were. That's where my sweet girl is!!! Praise the Lord for His mighty hands in taking care of her there!! Goodnight, and thank you for all of your prayers, please pray that God prepare Ava's heart for her forever family, and prepare our heart's as well ....Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-30099940965937510322011-06-27T17:38:00.000-07:002011-06-27T17:38:00.831-07:00NVC Letter!!!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">YES! We received our National Visa Center letter today!! Whahooo!! Now our agency requests an Article 5 to be issued, which takes approx. 3 weeks, then we wait for Travel Approval (TA). We also fed ex'd our own visa applications to travel today! We couldn't be happier, and the final countdown to meeting our little girl is <strong>ON</strong> .....</span></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-69511417519309431352011-06-23T17:27:00.000-07:002011-06-23T17:27:42.739-07:00Care Package #2OK, so I know we just sent Ava Grace a little care package about 2 weeks ago, but I got to thinking, "Why didn't I send her any pictures of us"?? So you can guess what I had to do .... send another package, right?? YES! So Ann from Red Thread was so kind to get another package together with pictures I sent of all of us, labeled in Chinese with our names, Mama, Daddy, and big brothers, so she can start seeing us. I am so glad I did this, even though she is young :) So you'll notice the book is not in English on the front, as it should be. It was supposed to read "Who Loves Baby?" on the front, but Ann told me they were all out of English ones and only had French. How funny is that, that in China, they only had this French version?? Anyway, here are pics of the package that she should receive tomorrow, it included some donations to her orphanage....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Hs6xN11uaXbb71TFjVYyXn5zjSLhEWKR1ucI7TpQ_HftgTlNtTUWc6p1iSMuH_hInNIV4yv4_tP3Kud0u0UkyqShsp9c_8aLCcDxtc_XFo-0i9usRkbgGd5m794ORqKf3ZLRL5f2qJM/s1600/care+package+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Hs6xN11uaXbb71TFjVYyXn5zjSLhEWKR1ucI7TpQ_HftgTlNtTUWc6p1iSMuH_hInNIV4yv4_tP3Kud0u0UkyqShsp9c_8aLCcDxtc_XFo-0i9usRkbgGd5m794ORqKf3ZLRL5f2qJM/s320/care+package+2.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06Ze9_cWLZ28T2BalYu5NdB46MdXDiudBBcfGOSg-6ABlgnO2HzvFyldUcaKUBmpn8N42bwFjyHnX5_4ZTBr4K4wAcQZnUneuO-fHgfvnE2fCUf3A1qXowfnASXIhAKkb3VXAMql2qqE/s1600/photo+care+package1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06Ze9_cWLZ28T2BalYu5NdB46MdXDiudBBcfGOSg-6ABlgnO2HzvFyldUcaKUBmpn8N42bwFjyHnX5_4ZTBr4K4wAcQZnUneuO-fHgfvnE2fCUf3A1qXowfnASXIhAKkb3VXAMql2qqE/s320/photo+care+package1.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-58163559913720556652011-06-16T10:33:00.000-07:002011-06-16T10:33:07.009-07:00I800 is here!!!!Just wanted to let everyone know we are ONE step closer! We got a call from our babysitter at home that our I800 approval came in the mail today, YAY! And praise the Lord for this! Now .....we wait 1-2 weeks to get a letter from the National Visa Center (NVC letter) that will go to the consulate in China to apply for an Article 5 (part of the steps to her her VISA). My case worker still says we should get travel approval by mid August, and travel about 2 weeks after that, so we are looking at Labor Day travel :) Praying for sooner, though. Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-86475513089088716062011-06-08T11:06:00.000-07:002011-06-08T11:06:37.328-07:00Gifts!!!We also wanted to share what we did this week as a family! We sent Ava Grace a care package through Red Thread. We found a wonderful lady in China who has a heart for orphans and puts together these fabulous care packages for the families far away to send to their waiting child. Ann from <a href="http://www.redthread.com/">www.redthread.com</a> put this together and translated a letter we wrote to Ava Grace's caretakers. She will receive it this Friday or Saturday!!! I would highly recommend this company as it has a great reputation. This is the package before she boxed it up .... PJ's, outfit, board book, camera, blanket, candies for her caregivers, doll.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZvsqmzWtvImuAThLyIngiCke19PIwGb4GD0XlXWkL2Vvrdbtj5u7H5KdYa6S7scFLWPGvPJPMIm3lmYQ743ut09oePMetSQwed7MCmHC7blZ0I6B4q2eWnTGp1KLSxr_vfplQP9HRBg/s1600/feng+yi+zhen5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZvsqmzWtvImuAThLyIngiCke19PIwGb4GD0XlXWkL2Vvrdbtj5u7H5KdYa6S7scFLWPGvPJPMIm3lmYQ743ut09oePMetSQwed7MCmHC7blZ0I6B4q2eWnTGp1KLSxr_vfplQP9HRBg/s320/feng+yi+zhen5.jpg" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-32909195000562135312011-06-08T10:55:00.000-07:002011-06-08T10:55:03.026-07:00Updated pictures!!!We got a special surprise this week! Our adoption agency sent up some new pictures of our sweet girl late Monday night. These were taken just last week. I was on a fieldtrip with Jace in the outer banks of NC when Joey texted me the new pics, and I got quite teary. The new haircut, and sad eyes made me long for her so much more. Can't wait to hold her in my arms and finally see her smile ..... Here she is ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsXcoa8nbS458y5Miet49WZoAGh-JAs81iW1AN_IrK08ruMVzSf2kFFvSni0FmA8Hkz-9h-A5lLipgTkuDAQF2Jb7jUR76IOSWC9VzBRpeTk4ujIuR4XZO2aGjj2PDqsj-ReyDKnkBjM/s1600/Yi%252520Yi%252520-%252520Lindsay%252520Pic1%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsXcoa8nbS458y5Miet49WZoAGh-JAs81iW1AN_IrK08ruMVzSf2kFFvSni0FmA8Hkz-9h-A5lLipgTkuDAQF2Jb7jUR76IOSWC9VzBRpeTk4ujIuR4XZO2aGjj2PDqsj-ReyDKnkBjM/s320/Yi%252520Yi%252520-%252520Lindsay%252520Pic1%255B1%255D.JPG" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqi0jaBXD0ZJrwAJU8ooiIqQq1uBFfoKJ4ZkYxr80CdYhPlIIHOY0_v07a4jPArO3JjtgZBeUnBg0MNRNRXWuHK70CUO7J4iLbM9HCJWeBcFcH8UHrNWj6lMf4U4YOsBjUpUqSR-0C84/s1600/Yi%252520Yi%252520-%252520Lindsay%252520Pic3%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqi0jaBXD0ZJrwAJU8ooiIqQq1uBFfoKJ4ZkYxr80CdYhPlIIHOY0_v07a4jPArO3JjtgZBeUnBg0MNRNRXWuHK70CUO7J4iLbM9HCJWeBcFcH8UHrNWj6lMf4U4YOsBjUpUqSR-0C84/s320/Yi%252520Yi%252520-%252520Lindsay%252520Pic3%255B1%255D.JPG" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div>Is she just adorable or what?? bitter sweet for mom, here, to see those big, brown eyes .... would have been easier to see a smile, one day soon though .... We love you!!Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-23677626847542839802011-06-03T14:34:00.000-07:002011-06-03T14:34:19.107-07:00A Little HumorI found this humorous on another family's blog adopting from China and wanted to share ...<br />
<br />
You might be adopting from China if:<br />
<br />
13. You own new children's clothing in 2 sizes, for two seasons, for a child you've never met.<br />
<br />
12. You know that waiting for China has nothing to do with dishes.<br />
<br />
11. You've been "expecting" way more than 9 months.<br />
<br />
10. You're as hormonal as a pregnant woman without the weigh gain--well, maybe with some weigh gain.<br />
<br />
9. You've been fingerprinted four times and have never committed a crime.<br />
<br />
8. You practice squatting while going potty to perfect your aim.<br />
<br />
7. You practice strapping large amounts of cash to your body without wrinkling it.<br />
<br />
6. You have a crazy obsession with Skype, Blogger, and Chinese adoption sites.<br />
<br />
5. Letter combinations such as LOA, LID, TA, LSC, PA, SWI, CWI, SW, SN are part of your everyday vocabulary.<br />
<br />
4. You can stock a small medical clinic with the "just-in-case" medicine and first aid supplies that are in your suitcase.<br />
<br />
3. You know that I-800 and I-767 are NOT highways.<br />
<br />
2. You study Mandarin phrases like a college student cramming for finals in hopes you will have something to say to your daughter.<br />
<br />
And .... <br />
<br />
1. You love someone you've never met with all of your heart.Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159482274718868231.post-72178476646854856472011-05-25T10:22:00.000-07:002011-05-25T10:22:32.522-07:00Stork Visit!!<span style="color: red;">The stork (Fed Ex delivery guy) came to visit me at work this morning!! China sent our Letter Seeking Confirmation for us to officially sign and send back saying we will be Ava Grace's parents :) I have been in a cloud all day of emotions. We are so very blessed that this letter came about 4 weeks early, and it came today on my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Papa Ed!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">This is a HUGE step in our adoption, now we wait for our Article 5 which is the last step to get Ava's visa and then travel approval. We are waiting on an updated picture of our sweet girl, which we expect in 2 weeks or so. Our whole family just CANNOT wait for our travel approval to come!</span>Joey and Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429852718323985529noreply@blogger.com3