Monday in GZ

We started off our morning with another yummy breakfast at our hotel.  Seriously, nothing beats the breakfast here!  The biggest buffet of really excellent food!  Ella Grace always starts off her day with a ham, onion and mushroom omelet (she eats the entire thing), a side of tofu (she loves it!), and maybe some yogurt if she's still hungry, and a bottle of soy milk.  She's usually pretty happy at breakfast time!

When we got her dressed this morning, Brad pulled out her green shirt and hairbow, and she seemed really happy about the green.  She studied the shirt and kept laughing with excitement over her shirt for today!  It was so cute to see her show some preference!  She still pulls her hairbow out like crazy, but this Momma is persistant, and keeps putting it back in!  ha!

Ella Grace in her favorite shirt!

After breakfast, we had our TB test read, and all was well with that!  We then got to go over to a really fun shopping area out onShamian Island!  We were able to buy most of our souveniers out there, and Ella Grace is now the proud owner of some adorable squeaky shoes!  The area out there is VERY adoptive family friendly, and the shopkeepers are used to seeing many families, because there is a huge hotel that has serviced adoptive families for several years.  After being out there today, we would have much rather stayed out there than where we are, even though the hotel is older.  There were SO many families all over the place, and a cute little park to walk through.  We plan to go back tomorrow to enjoy some more time over there, and take Ella Grace's picture on the famous "red couch" at the White Swan Hotel.  We also want to eat at Lucy's, too!

 Family Picture in the Park

Statue outside of Lucy's

We came back to the hotel and ventured out a few minutes to get a few more souveniers for family, then came back to the hotel for a while.  Tonight, we met a family from our travel group, and went out to eat at a fast food Chinese restaraunt.  We had to ask for a menu in English, and we did pretty good in ordering, considering there were no pictures to look at on the menu.  I ordered a safe fried rice dish and Brad ordered a fried noodle dish.  Both were very good.  We then walked back to the hotel.  We figured that we walked at least a mile today, and my muscles are screaming at this point, but it was so much fun to get out!  My leg is feeling so much better

 Dinner out with the Walton Family

Tomorrow is a BIG day for Ella Grace!  We have our consulate appointment, which makes Ella Grace an official US citizen!  Our official business in China is officially over in China tomorrow!  Her visa will be ready on Wednesday, and we will be free to leave China!  4 more nights and then we begin our journey home!  Can't wait!!

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Sunday in Guangzhou

Today was a city tour of Guangzhou.  Brad and Ella Grace met the group in the lobby and off they went!  Their first stop was to a concert hall, that was very familiar to Brad.... it's where the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma sang about 15 years ago, when we came to China the first time!  Brad was really excited to see the place again and to get to stand on the stage again!  Wonderful memories for him!

Brad and Ella Grace on the stage

Concert Hall

 Travel Group in front of Concert Hall

Next they were off to the Mountain of the Goats.  Brad enjoyed the time spent with the travel group, and after they returned to the hotel, we all went to lunch together.  We are blessed to have a Chinese speaking Dad in our group, so they took us to a close by Chinese restaraunt, where we had Dim Sum.  The food was amazing, and it was so nice to have someone ordering for us who knew what everything was.   I never would have tried the foods we ate, just from the looks, but because I knew what it was, I ate it and loved what I ate.  I did NOT try the pig ears, but all the men ate them.  No pictures of lunch, as our camera battery had died by that time, but hopefully we will go back with them, and we'll get pictures next time.  We are thoroughly enjoying the fellowship with the two other families who are with us.  We feel so blessed to be with such a wonderful group of people!  We wandered around a small shopping area, but I wore out really quickly.  It's such a bummer being on these crutches here, when I want to get out with the group so badly! 

Tomorrow, Ella Grace has her TB test read, and from what we can tell, her test is negative, so all should be fine there.  We also have a nurse in our travel group, so she's looked at the kids' arms and so far, they look great!  After TB test reading, we may try to do a little shopping on Shamian Island.  We hear that is where the good shopping is, and we are still looking for some shoes that will fit Ella Grace... hoping to find the famous "squeaky shoes" tomorrow, and a traditional Chinese dress for Ella Grace.

Thanks for following along on our journey, and thanks to my friend, Sally for keeping this blog updated!  I get to read all of your comments in my email, so it's fun to hear from all of you!  It will be so nice to have this entire trip journaled through this blog!  Every day done here, is another day closer to HOME, and we can't wait!

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We made it to GZ!

After a short flight yesterday, we made it to our final week!  Can I just admit to you that I'm beyond ready to be home?  We are beginning to feel like we've been here a month instead of just a week!  Ella Grace was a crazy woman on our short flight!  The only way I can describe it is to say that she is definitely in the "busy toddler" stage!  She was standing up, sitting down, pulling down the tray table, putting it back up, sitting on the tray table and fighting the seatbelt when it was required to have it on!  We are going to have to work on a serious bag of tricks for the long ride home.  We have discovered that she loves books, so we are going to load up on a few, as well as some new toys to keep her attention.  She was pretty happy for the most part, other than the seatbelt.

Reading airplane safety manual

Ella Grace eating while sitting on the tray table

Today, we woke up, at an incredible breakfast at our hotel (okay, so I will miss that every day) and met with two other WACAP families to go get the kids' medical exams done.  It was such an incredible sight to see all the parents who showed up with their children to the clininc.  God is moving and bringing babies home to their forever families, and seeing so many families packed into that little clinic was my favorite part of the day!  We met families from all over the US.  Little Miss sure wasn't impressed with the doctors or nurses, but seeing her reach for her Daddy for comfort was also a wonderful thing.  She knows he's safe and will protect her.  After having her height, weight, ears, nose, throat, and overall checkup done, she had her TB test done.  I will admit that I teared up and left the room while they stuck my baby.  I know she'll go through alot more than that when she gets home, but it was painful to watch. 

Ella Grace and Daddy in clinic

After our medical exam, us and one other family decided to go to lunch.  Since the restaraunts are a little bit of a walk away, we decided to borrow the hotel wheelchair.  This sweet family in our group went to lunch with us, and then we decided to be brave and they wheeled me all over the place.  We went up two flights of stairs, with Brad and Don pushing me up a middle section ramp.  Can I just tell you, we were quite the sight to behold.  We wandered all over the place, carrying crutches, pushing me, and we never found the store we were looking for!  What a sweet family, to want me to be a part of wandering around.  We enjoyed our time together, and are enjoying having other families in this city to do things with. The Waltons  (who went on the escapade with us this afternoon) are right next door to us in our hotel, and our other family are on another floor, but we plan to go eat with them tomorrow.  Everyone has been so sweet and so accomodating to my sill leg, and we feel privileged to be part of such a caring group!  I'll try to get a picture of us with the other families tomorrow.

We came back to the hotel room, and Ella Grace was thrilled to be out of the carrier and was ready to play.  I can't say enough, how much joy and sweetness she brings to our lives already!  I can't wait to share that with her brother's and sister and all the wonderful people who have prayed for her and loved her before she ever came home!  She is a true gift!

Silly Ella Grace!

Brad and the group are heading out tomorow for a city tour.  I'm going to sit this one out, trying to not slow the group down too much!  

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Last Day in Nanchang!!!

We are coming to the close of our first week of this journey!  While we will remember this city forever as the city that we received Ella Grace, this city doesn't really have significance to her and the path she has been on since she was born.  She was born about 2 hours from here, and has spent the last 3 years of her life in Beijing, in a wonderful facility, where she was loved and cherished by the workers as well as many people around the world.  We had no idea, until we got here, that she was not in the orphanage that she had been turned over to at the time of her abandonment.  For some reason, the orphanage never shared this information with our agency, and the reason we never got any substantial updates, is because she wasn't AT the orphanage!  She was in an American run facility who takes care of children with special needs and funds surgeries for them, which was the case for our Ella Grace.    She received SOOOO much love there and was prayed over for the past 3 years.  Just further proof that God has had His hand on her throughout her whole life, which we knew already, but being able to see it for ourselves has been such a blessing! 

And for Sara, who hand delivered our special blessing to us, THANK YOU, so much for the love you and your staff have given to our Ella Grace over the past 3 years!  We are so fortunate to have met you, and now to be able to be in contact with you and to help support the wonderful work that you all are doing! 

Gotcha Day with Sara and our family

Little girl started off our day, by refusing to go to sleep until 2 am.... yes, that's right!  She had a late nap yesterday, and slept for about an hour, and we paid the consequences last night!  She wasn't fussy, but was giggling and laughing and ready to play!  Brad finally got her tired by pulling out the hair brush and brushing her hair for about 10 minutes.  He then put her in her crib, where she FINALLY dozed off.  We were worn out!  We all slept until 8:40 this morning.  Thankfully, we didn't have to meet our guide until 10 am.

We spent our last full day here by taking a trip to a porcelain shop.  This region is known for it's fine porcelain.  We found a few things to bring home!  We also then went and found Pizza Hut, where we enjoyed some YUMMY pizza, and got a little taste of home!  We came back and have been waiting on our final documents to arrive from the Notary, as well as our laundry to return from the laundry service who came to pick it up.  Brad just came back from KFC, bringing back our dinner and came in the room all excited.... he was standing outside of KFC, trying to hail a cab for a ride back to the hotel.  He was unsuccessful, so started walking, and a man who had been watching him, who was riding a motorcycle, motioned for Brad to jump on the back, and he gave him a ride back to our hotel!  Missed that photo op, but it made Brad's day! 

Brad & Ella Grace in front of Porcelain

Good night for the last time from Nanchang!  We can't wait to get to Guanghzou, where we will meet up with our travel group and get to know some families from our area!  We've got to repack all of our gear and hopefully get some good sleep.  Ella Grace had a 5 minute nap today!  We are hoping she will be ready for sleep by 8:00.... I know we will be ready!  We have a short hour and a half flight tomorrow, and can't wait to see this next hotel we will be staying at.  The one we have been at here has been awesome, and it looks like the next is going to even out-do this one!  Should be fun!

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From the Guy Who Stole Her Heart (Her Daddy)

I wanted to let Brad share his thoughts from this process.  Didn't figure you wanted to hear about another day spent in the hotel room, from the Mama!  This girl absolutely adores her Daddy, and it makes my heart soar to watch them bond and grow closer! 

Ella Grace laying on Daddy's chest

I don't even know where to start with all of this.  The Lord has been teaching me so much about Himself and His love for me through these last few months.  How can I even begin to articulate what He is doing in me through this time?  I'd sooner be able to dissect a rainbow and describe for you the splendor of the color spectrum as it explodes into all of its glory - to the praise of His glory and grace.  These are the things inside of my heart: a love that is being refined, as the Lord reveals how much He loves me, and as I watch it spill over unto this precious child that is my daughter.

My heart is so full.  I feel like I am singing a song that can only be heard and understood in heaven.  I don't know the words even while my heart is its author in response to all that the Lord is teaching me.  It is beautiful and continues on as an underscore amidst the daily diffculties and irritations.  That didn't begin this week in Nanchang.  That began the day I chose her, well, we chose her, and said this is our daughter.  Actually, it began the day He chose me, and redeemed me, and called me His own, His child, of no merit on my part, just an inexplicable lavishing of His love and grace into my life.  It began the day He made me an heir to the riches of God's glorious grace.  He has just used this event to allow her to be the overflow of God's love in my heart; the overflow of His grace, really.  I can't contain it, nor can I describe it.

Yesterday, I walked with her from our hotel.  She quickly fell asleep and so I kept walking - in a straight line so I could find my way back.  Before long, I was strolling through the memorial park that commemorates the beginning of China's Red Army.  It all started here in Nanchang.  I pondered the irony of this pastor walking through such a place.  I wondered what was being said of me.  It was clear, that I was a spectacle in such a place, this somewhat blonde-headed, blue-eyed man with a Chinese baby strapped to his belly.  I smiled and nodded a lot and continued to stroll along with my arms wrapped around my sleeping beauty.  I wanted to breathe this moment into the depths of my being, so that I will never forget.

With each adoption, the Lord has shown me more about Himself and more about myself.  The former is breath-taking and the latter causes me to dive more deeply into an ocean of self-relinquishment.  Maybe it's just my age (40), but this one, more than the previous three, has so gripped me.  It makes me want to keep going, just so I can see how much more of me I can give away and how much more of Him I can understand.  There's never enough of either of those things in my life.  What a glorious blessing is mine to be sharing this life with Shelly, Caleb, Jacob, Allyson, Ella Grace, & .......(ya never know with us!)

If our story has touched your heart in any way, the greatest way you could respond is to personally do something about the millions of orphaned children on this planet and adopt.  We had thousands of reasons why we couldn't do this (and they all had President's faces on them), but we proceeded in obedience to God's leading in our lives and He has provided through the entire process.  We'd love to talk to you about how to get started.  Chasing the Spirit through the fields of inexplicable is a beautiful thing.

Family pic at restaurant

 SuperGirl being walked by her Daddy

Daddy & Ella Grace Hands

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Tuesday in Nanchang

There's not alot to report from Nanchang today!  Today has been a day of resting and hanging out in our hotel room.  Brad has ventured out twice with Ella Grace, first to go to Walmart and KFC and is now out on a walk for a change of scenery for her.  She doesn't seem to mind the boring days and we spend lots of time playing and figuring each other out!  I would say that our bonding process is going well.  She definitely prefers her Daddy over me, and last night after I brushed her teeth, she was so mad at me that she wouldn't even let me console her.  She sat in my lap completely rigid.  It's okay... she's going to learn to take her comfort from me in time, and I'm just loving every second of seeing her bond so well with her Daddy.  When they came back from KFC today, she looked right at me and said "Mama".... which made my heart burst!  She came right to me, so maybe she missed me a little bit!  :o)  I doubt that she has had much contact with men, and I think that makes it easier for her to bond with him.  I am just another female in her life right now!  We introduced signs for eat and drink today, and so far, eat has clicked.  She has signed "more" and "eat" together, so we know she's getting it! I don't think very much was required of her where she was... she was definitely babied, but she is capable of so much more and we can't wait to see her take off in communication!  There are times we feel like we have a 9 month old on our hands (especially in the eating department) and other times we are fully aware that she is a 4 year old little girl.  The blessing in the baby stages of her, is that I feel like the bonding process with be stronger because we are able to meet her most basic needs, and she HAS to rely on us for those.  And, feeding her a bottle is a wonderful time of bonding, as well! 

Don't know if I shared this before, or not, but you remember how I broke my leg?  Well, it was from sliding down the stairs on a box of cheerio's that we had bought for our trip.  Well, we tried some of those cheerios out on Ella Grace and guess what..... she HATED them!  Spit them out immediately!  We have laughed so hard about that... if she only knew how badly I wanted her to love those things.... would have made the fall worth it!  HA!!!

Here are a few pictures from our day!

 Having some serious conversations on her phone!

 Watching the traffic below our hotel!  If you've never been to China... there is absolutely no way to describe the traffic here, you just have to experience it for yourself, but it's amazing to watch (not so fun to ride in, though!)

Sweet hands in her Daddy's hands!  Have I mentioned that she's just adorably tiny? :o)

Ready for another day!

Giving herself kisses!  Can't wait for the day that she's more willing to share those with Mommy and Daddy!

She LOVES to have her hair played with and brushed!  And I love playing with and brushing her hair!  We make a great team!

Monday in Nanchang

Today we went to the Civil Affairs office and we are officially Ella Grace's parents!  What a blessing!  After a quick trip to the notary (not really sure what that was for, but it seemed official), we made a trip to Walmart to get a few snacks, water and a few things for Ella Grace.  She will not chew anything, so we are having to figure out foods that she can eat.  She will take soft foods and mash them with her tongue to the roof of her mouth, but she won't eat things that we would normally eat or things with much texture. Out of desparation, we bought some baby food, and she loved it!  So, we at least know we can get some veggies in her!  Her chewing is going to take time and therapy, but she will get it eventually!  She also has to be fed, and will NOT take anything from our hands.  It has to be from the spoon/fork, and most of the time it has to be quickly fed, or she lets us know that we aren't doing it fast enough!  ha!  Brad taught her the sign for "more" this morning at breakfast, and she caught onto the idea very quickly!  She was so funny at lunch, because she gets stubborn and sometimes doesn't want to sign more, but we kept encouraging her and by the end of the meal, she would just keep her hands in the sign of "more"!  She's got things figured out!  We have heard her call herself "Ella" today, and when one of us leaves the room, she says "Baba" (Daddy in Chinese) or Mama, looking to see where we went.  She spends alot of time snuggling with us and we just stare at each other.  The more we seem to do that, the more she seems to come out of her shell.  We bought her little cell phone at Walmart today, and she was so cute playing with it this afternoon, talking and laughing up a storm!  She's just so much fun to watch, and we find ourselves just sitting and taking it all in.  We have a down day tomorrow, NO appointments!  We are excited, as we are feeling like we are hitting a wall on our tiredness.  We were both awake at about 3:30 this morning, trying hard to fall back asleep.  By the time we adjust, it will be time to go home and start over! 

She's definitely itty bitty!  We brought some 4T clothes and they are just HUGE on her.  We also brought size 7 shoes, and she needs about a size 3.  I'm glad we decided to mostly pack Allyson's 3T's from last year. 

We got to skype with the kids this morning and introduce them to their new sister. It was absolutely wonderful to see all of their faces!  We miss them so very much and are counting down the days to HOME!!!

Here are  a few pictures from today!  

Official Family Photo taken at the Civil Affairs Office

 In her fancy new hat from her Auntie M

She loves to pull off her hat and laugh and laugh at her accomplishment!

We'll just go with the bow!

We have also seen her, today, pull up on furniture and cruise all around the room.  She is really close to standing up on her own from her sitting position on the floor.  She has amazing strength for such a soft body.  Her limbs are all really soft and VERY flexible.  We thought maybe she had NO muscle tone, but she has shown that she does have some strength  Her favorite thing to play is with the baby doll we brought her.  She undresses the baby and "washes" the baby.  She then covers the baby with the blanket.  She's very sweet to the baby, other than trying to rip it's hair out!  ha!

Also, one more story.  We met another family just down the hall last night, who received their son yesterday, who seems to be around 2 years old.  He and Ella were in the same home for a while, but he recognized her and came running to our table jabbering in Chinese, and the one word we could understand that he kept repeating was "Ella".... he recognized her.  We were so touched!  We are grateful that she was familiar with her name before we got her!  She also goes by "mao mao" (pronounced like cow), which means kitten. When she came to the Childrens Home, she was so tiny, that they started calling her their little kitten.  She answers to Mao Mao more than her name!  Pretty stinkin' cute!

Okay, back to bonding with our girl!  We thought she would take a nap this afternoon, but she's more interested in playing, so we'll just go with it!  I wish you all could see her with her Daddy.  She just really LOVES him!  Who can blame her, though, right?