Monday - Adoption Day

What a difference a day makes!

Chloe Grace woke up Monday morning smiling and happy. She brushed her teeth with more skill than I expected. She let me have a turn brushing them also. She still didn't want to take off her dress. I showed her some things I brought for her. As soon as I pulled them out, she looked at them & turned and walked away. So, we happily wore the dress again. Definitely not a fight I'm willing to take on at this point. She won't go to college wearing this dress!

We went down to breakfast & she ate everything we offered her - eggs, watermelon, cantaloupe, bacon, rice cakes & a dumpling. I don't know where she put it all! The staff in the hotel restaurant kept coming up and talking to her & asking us questions about her. They are used to seeing babies being adopted, so they had a lot of questions about us adopting her at this age. One girl even asked if we knew she was 4 when we came for her!

After breakfast we met the other 5 families that are in Chongqing with us in one of the hotel conference rooms to fill out our adoption paperwork. Then one person from each family went with one of our guides, Michael, to the bank to exchange & wire the money for the orphanage donation & civil affairs fees.

While Steve was gone taking care of the money, Chloe Grace and I went back to the room to wait. She started pulling things out of her backpack. I went to sit next to her & she let me look through some of her things. I found in there a photo album from the foster mom of the foster family & children. There was also a note from the foster mom with her email address if we decide we'd like to keep in touch, she said she'd love to know how Chloe Grace is doing.

We all met for lunch at noon. Michael and Alison took us to a place that served Sichuan food. All the local restaurants they've taken us to serve the table family style. There's a big lazy susan in the middle and the food just spins around until what you want arrives at your spot. Again, Chloe Grace ate everything I offered her - beef & rice, broccoli, green beans, steamed dumpling, rice cakes, watermelon.

After lunch we went to the Chongqing Civil Affairs office to make our adoption official. We had to put our fingerprints on our signatures on the paperwork we had filled out earlier that day. We had to answer that we promised to care for her until she is grown. Then we received our certificate & took pictures with the affairs officer, the orphanage director & our guides.

The rest of the afternoon we stayed at the hotel. There is a play scape out by the pool, so I took Chloe Grace to play while Steve brought dinner back to the room. She enjoyed playing there. She's such a silly girl! She's giving hugs and kisses. I tried again to get her in the tub. Again, we stood in with the dress on. This time I washed her a little bit & she was fine with that. I was careful not to get her clothes wet. When she got out I showed her a nightgown I brought her. That did the trick. Off came the dress & on went the nightgown. She didn't cry at bedtime at all. She went right to sleep around 8:30. It's now 7:45 Tuesday morning & she's still sleeping!

I tried to add some pictures, but keep getting an error message from blogger. Hopefully I'll be able to add them later. We have a fairly light schedule today. We're going to see where the two rivers in Chongqing meet - apparently it's a good place to take pictures. Then we're heading to Wal-Mart. They say it's 2 stories...can't wait to see it!

She's Here!!

Feeding Mommy marshmellows

Meeting Daddy

Meeting Mommy

Alison, our guide, called us at 3:30 and said "Your baby is here." The children were to be taken to Alison's room & we were to meet them there. Her room is just down the hall from ours, so our walk was short :) I was anxious and nervous, but so ready to meet our girl.

The door to Alison's room was open. Inside were Michael, another one of our guides, and the director of the orphanage where Chloe Grace lived before she went to foster care. The director was talking to her when we walked in. She looked at us and came over to us right away. She hugged both of us & went back to sit with the director. Alison and the director were telling her in chinese that we are her mommy and daddy. She came over to us and hugged us again and went back to the chair where her bag was sitting.

She brought with her a pink backpack. I still can't tell you exactly what's in it...she's very protective of her things and that's fine. That little bag is all she has and if she needs to go through it every now and then and zip it all back up, I'm glad to help her. She really didn't seem sad. We talked to the director and had the chance to ask her some questions. At the foster home, Chloe Grace slept with the foster mom. She sleeps all night, except the foster mom gets her up around midnight to use the bathroom so she won't wet the bed.

She opened her backpack and pulled out a bag of marshmellows. I helped her open them and she immediately shared them with Steve and I, which I thought was a very good sign. The couple of times I was able to peek in her bag, it looks like some of the things we sent her in the care packages are inside. She also had a baggie with gifts for us in it that the foster mom must have sent. By the time Chloe Grace started pulling them out, the director had left so we couldn't ask her. Steve received a necklace, which he was allowed to wear. I received a bracelet, which I wore for a few minutes and then she decided to pack away again....maybe I have to earn it back??? There were also little boxes for each of the kids that she didn't want to open. She packed it all back in her bag.

When we were ready to leave Alison's room and return to ours, she took our hands and left happily. I brought a set of magnetic dress up bears, so when we got to the room I pulled it out and we played with that for a while. Around 5 we decided to see if we could find somewhere to eat. We left the hotel and wandered around about a 5 block area for half an hour. I felt lost and overwhelmed. A lot of people stared at us...we look different, I get that. But we were alone and couldn't find our way back to the hotel. I had a card in my purse with the hotel name and address on it, but we couldn't understand anyone we asked for directions! We finally found the grocery store we passed when we left the hotel. We went in and looked around. We left with a six-pack of Pepsi and 3 bananas. We were able to get back to our hotel from the grocery. When we got in the lobby, 3 other families from our group were there with Alison about to go to dinner. They got a good laugh at our 40 minute ordeal, only to return with Pepsi and bananas! And by then, we could laugh about it, too. We made it to Pizza Hut where Chloe Grace ate 3 pieces of cheese pizza. She did great at dinner. She sat still in her chair at the table, but was still smiling at everyone and seemed happy.

We got back to the room about 8:30 or so. As soon as we walked in, Chloe Grace went for the marshmellows in her backpack. After 3 slices of pizza, I didn't want her to end up sick, so when she went to play with the dress up bears, I took the marshmellows out and put them up. I asked her if she wanted to take a bath. We went into the bathroom and she took off her shoes and climbed in the tub, dress & all! When I tried to help her take off her dress, she kept saying no. So I took her out, dried her feet & figured she was pretty clean anyway. I called and talked to the kids at Steve's mom's house. They're doing well. As I was talking on the phone, Chloe Grace was playing with the dress up bears some more. She cleaned it all up and went to her backpack. Steve was watching her and said to me "She's got tears in her eyes". I gave him the phone to talk to the other kiddos and went over to her. She had big crocodile tears running down her little face and was trying to zip up the backpack. I helped her zip her bag and picked her up and held her. She stared wailing, calling out for "Mama Wang", her foster mom. She cried and cried and cried. I was so sad for her. She got down off my lap, put on her backpack & shoes and grabbed my hand. She led me to the door, wanting to leave. I told her no, we weren't leaving and took her back to the couch. She screamed and cried, pushing me away. It was so hard to see her grieving so badly, her heart was broken. She wanted to go home. She doesn't understand yet that she is home. I took the backpack off and put it on the couch next to us. I just held her as she cried. Every now and then she'd start pushing and hitting, but she finally just gave out. She laid on my shoulder and cried herself to sleep. She's been sleeping all night so far - it's almost 5 am now. Jet lag stinks! I haven't slept much. Between the jet lag and a squirmy 4 year old sleeping next to me, I've tossed and turned most of the night.

As hard as it was to see her in so much pain, it isn't a bad thing. She needs to grieve the loss of all she's known to be able to move foward with us. It's comforting to know she loves her foster mother so much. It means she's able to love us, also.

I'm curious to see how she feels when she wakes up in the morning. I guess we'll see in a couple of hours.

Our trip so far....

Steve at the top of the Great Wall of China

Forbidden City

The Great Wall


Things have gone well so far. We've been so busy and I've been so tired that I haven't given many details, so I'll catch up now while I have some down time.


Can I just say that the flight from Detroit to Tokyo was the absolute longest 12 hours of my entire life!! And in a week and a half I get to do it all over again - only this time with a 4 year old in tow. I hope she's a good traveler!


We left Tokyo an hour late because of storms in Beijing. That put us arriving at 10:30 pm. At that point Steve and I had been travelling for 27 hours. I was so tired I probably couldn't have spelled my name! We got our luggage (no lost bags...yeah Northwest Airlines!!) and loaded the bus to the hotel. There were 9 other families that arrived in Beijing with us.


We checked into the hotel. It was VERY nice - 5 star, which I don't think I've ever stayed in before. The drain backed up in the shower and flooded the bathroom floor. We called the front desk & they sent an engineer to check it out. He said he couldn't fix it until the next day. Well, that wasn't going to work, Steve hadn't had a shower yet. So, at 1:30 am, after 27 hours of travel, we got to change rooms. Thankfully, the rest of the stay was uneventful. The breakfast buffet was amazing! Jarod - you'd have loved it...they had apple pie stuffed french toast. It was so yummy! They also served baked beans...I passed on that deal!


Saturday morning we left the hotel at 8:30 and went sight-seeing. I didn't get much sleep Friday night - maybe 3 hours. I was so tired! Steve climbed as far as you are allowed up the Great Wall. He said it was wonderful. It was a little cloudy Saturday afternoon, so the view wasn't as good as it would be on a clear day. I climbed some stairs of my own - off the bus, to the gift shop and back on the bus :)


On the way back to the hotel we passed the "Birds' Nest" where some of the Olympic events will be held. Signs and souvenirs are everywhere for the Olympics.


Less than 2 hours until we meet our sweet girl!!

We made it to Beijing!

Well, we're at the hotel in Beijing. It's very nice. I'm so tired! I'll update with some pictures after our sight-seeing tomorrow.

We appreciate all the prayers said on our behalf for our safe travel. Please continue to pray for us and the other 19 families in our travel group. Pray that we would all continue in safety as we receive our children on Sunday (and Monday for some families). Pray that we will help the children through this transition as they grieve the lives they'll leave behind.

Our last supper

I have so much left to do yet to be ready to be away for two weeks. My list keeps getting longer instead of shorter. The kids are with my parents, so I have no excuses for things remaining undone!

Last night was our last meal with our children as a family of five. The next time we meet around that table, there will no longer be an empty chair. Instead, a sweet little 4 year old girl will be sitting there. It's finally happening....she's coming home.

4 days and counting....

Just a few more days until we're on the plane.....

I'm as anxious as ever to see my girl.

June 29th will be Chloe Grace Day!

Our in-country travel schedule arrived today. Our flight leaves Austin at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, June 26th. We have 2 connections to make and will arrive in Beijing on Friday, June 27th at 9:35 pm. Saturday, June 28th we are touring Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City & the Great Wall (we're going to the section with no tram....of course we are!). Sunday, June 29th we leave Beijing at 8:20 in the morning and fly to Chongqing. It's a 2 1/2 hour flight, so that puts us arriving in Chongqing a little after 11 a.m. There are 5 other families in our travel group going to Chongqing as well. The children will meet us at our hotel Sunday afternoon. We'll stay in Chongqing until Friday, July 4th. That evening we'll fly to Guanghzou, where the US Consulate is located, and stay there the remainder of our trip. Our flight home leaves Guanghzou on Wednesday, July 9th at 8:20 a.m. We arrive back in Austin, still on Wednesday because of the time difference, at 5:15 p.m.

7 more days until we're on our way....10 more days until we meet Chloe Grace.

Packed and Ready To Go!

Our suitcases are packed, our plane tickets have been purchased, arrangements are in place for Jarod, Madison and Jason…there’s nothing left to do but GO TO CHINA!!!  8 more days until we’re on that airplane to get our girl.  Wow – in a week and a half we’ll be with her.  I can’t believe our travel time has finally come.  Hold on Chloe Grace, we’ll be there soon!

Confirmed Travel Dates

We heard today that our consulate appointment is confirmed for July 7th. That puts us departing June 26th and arriving back home July 9th. Just a few more weeks!!