Welcomed Home!

One of the MI cousins--Raegan

Brent's Brother Brad and his wife Bradi

Welcomed at Harrisburg Airport

by family and friends

Hanging out in her 

new bedroom

Checking out her baby doll

Bedtime snack--noodles

We're home!  YEAH! It feels so great to be home. We arrived at HIA last night around 8pm. All our flights went smoothly. Our last connection home from Detroit was delayed 1 1/2 hours. I almost had a break down at that point. I just wanted to be home! We had a layover in Detroit, MI so Brent's Brother Brad, his wife Bradi, and their daughter Raegan (sister Sydney was with her grandma) drove 2 hours to meet us. What a very special time! Alissa loved her new cousin Raegan. She ran all around chasing her. It was so sad to have to leave them. Thanks guys for making the drive to see us. It meant the world to us! Then came our welcome at HIA! And boy was it a welcome! We were greeted by our parents, my brother Jon, his wife Becky, my nephew Ethan, my niece Emma and several of our friends and their children. My dear friend Alicia made t-shirts up for the adults and kids in our gang. They had a pic of Benjamin and Alissa and it said Welcome Home Alissa & Benjamin. What a special touch! Alissa kept going up to every one's t-shirts and pointing to her pic along with her brother. Alissa enjoyed running around after her new friends and cousins. As Alicia said, she'll fit in just fine with the crew at the beach! The best was whenever she ran around with her friends she always kept mom in sight to run to for a great big hug! Next came the car seat. Car seats are not common in China. In fact from what we heard they are hard to find there. She was fine when we first strapped her in, but once we started driving she started to scream. It felt like a very long drive home. We arrived to our house to flowers, balloons, gifts, and signs from our family and wonderful neighbors. The yard was even mowed! That was so kind of you!

 Once home we took her in to see her room. She seemed to like it. It was familiar to her from the pictures we sent. She was excited to see a backpack like the one we sent to her (we bought a 2nd one to have here at home in case the foster parents kept the one we sent.). We weren't sure that she actually saw it, but when she walked into her room she picked it up and showed it to me saying American Mama (in Chinese). It melted my heart! Next it was time for a bedtime snack. I made her noodles and she ate them right up. The best was Brent and his granola (he couldn't wait for a bowl of cereal, we didn't eat or drink any milk while in China). He gave her some, but she didn't seem to care to much for it. She proceeded to take another spoonful and put it in her leftover chicken broth and then eat it. Granola in chicken broth yum yum! We headed to bed around midnight. I slept on Alissa's bedroom floor. She only woke up twice during the night. I was able to get her back to sleep without too much trouble. The 2nd time I actually fell asleep in her bed. I woke up with her asleep hugging me. Another heart melting moment. We crawled out of bed around 10:30 this morning and have been trying to keep busy not sleeping. Alissa did nap for an hour this afternoon. Of course that was when the grandparents and my brother and his family were here. She did sit and watch Tom & Jerry with her cousins and even shared a few animal crackers with them. That made cousin Emma feel better, because she was hurt that Alissa didn't hold her hand Friday night at the airport. (So cute) After supper this evening she got to meet some of the neighbors. The kids were so excited to see her and she was happy to ham it up for them. Alissa fell asleep around 7pm tonight so I put her to bed for the evening. We'll see how tonight goes. We are borrowing Jon &  Becky's baby monitor so I don't have to sleep in Alissa's room. Brent is excited about that! Well, I am feeling pretty beat. So it's time for bed. Thanks to our family and friends for your welcome home! I know I sound like a broken record but we appreciate all your kindness, prayers, and well wishes. We are humbled! And yes, to all those who are wondering we are planning on continuing to blog. We have family and friends (and new blog friends) from all over that would like to follow our continuing journey, so to be continued.....

Good Night!!

One Last Update...

Red couch picture

Officially ours! After our consulate 

appointment and getting our visa

Well this post is a rather bittersweet one. While we are so excited to return home it is sad to leave Alissa's country and the friends we have made on this journey. Today we took pictures on the red couch here at the White Swan. It is an adoption tradition. We dressed Alissa up in a red Mandarin dress we bought for her. What a beautiful little girl!  Afterwards we finished up some last minuting shopping. After lunch it was back to our room. Alissa took a good nap before we had to wake her for our consulate/visa appointment. At 2:45pm we were off. There we got Alissa's visa and took our oath. We now can come back into the country! Our last supper we enjoyed with 2 other Guangxi families--Italian again. It was great!

We just wanted to take this time to say thanks to everyone for their comments on our blog, emails, and prayers. You'll never know how much we have appreciated them! Thank you so much for following along on our journey. It's been an experience of a lifetime. We have been humbled by your following of this journey. God has been so faithful to us! We can't wait to see you all soon. Next post...from good old Lititz, Pa! We love you guys!

Priceless Pictures

View from our hotel room 

this morning

Venturing out for

some shopping

Playing with my hair at breakfast

Hanging out in our hotel room

this afternoon

Snacking in an inner tube 

another family gave us

Enjoying some ice cream after

supper outside our hotel. It

was a beautiful view with all the lights!

Having some crazy fun with brother

before bedtime

I love her smile!

Today we awoke to flooding in the streets here. Apparently it was due to the water surge from the typhoon that went through. According to the people here they haven't seen flooding like this in years. Many of the shops were flooded. It was such a sad scene. Once the rain slowed down we ventured out. We found some shops that we could get to and were glad for the business. The funny of the day was when I took Alissa outside a shop (she was getting a little restless) and all of a sudden she pulled her pants down and started to squat. Oh no! I quickly pulled her pants up and ran back into the hotel for a bathroom. Good news...we made it in time! After shopping we hung out in our hotel room. Brent took little nap (or tried to with all the laughter and giggling). He came down with a head cold yesterday. That would be a prayer request that he would feel better and the rest of us don't get sick! This evening we enjoyed an Italian dinner with 3 other families we were in Nanning with. We really have enjoyed each other's company during our journeys. Alissa fell asleep during dinner again tonight. She has done that the past 2 nights. The problem with that is that she is pretty crazy then at bedtime. It doesn't help when Daddy buys us all ice cream after supper. Oh well! Benjamin had a fun time tonight with his sister. She was tackling and hugging him. She had the best belly laugh again tonight! Each day Alissa seems to love us a little more. Her hugs, smiles, and I love yous just melt our hearts. Tonight was another tearless bedtime. Brent and I just said ever since Nanning the bedtime tears have stopped. It seems as if the new location has helped her. It's also unbelievable that we have been here for almost 2 weeks already. Where did the time go!?! Tomorrow we have a group picture in the morning and then our consulate appointment in the afternoon. We will post one last time tomorrow night. Well the time now is for bed! Brent's poor nose needs a rest! Take care, until next time!

A Burger & Fry Kind of Day!

Mattel Playroom in the 

White Swan Hotel

Alissa & I enjoyed some playtime

while the boys had playtime at the pool

Aren't these the cutest kids!?!

What a great day! Just some highlights of our day. This morning we enjoyed a yummy breakfast buffet at the hotel. Oh to have western foods like french toast, omelets, and even tator tots! Alissa ditched her noodles after tasting a tator tot. It was fun to meet up with the families we were with in Beijing at the beginning of our trip. It was  also fun to meet and talk with other adoptive families. The people here are very friendly. We feel so welcomed here a lot like Beijing! We had some time then to walk around the streets here and look at the shops. Everybody had a sale just for us only today. This afternoon was Alissa's Visa picture and then medical physical. She fell asleep 15 minutes before that so she was not happy to be poked and prodded. Can't say I blame her. Benjamin wanted to swim so while the boys swam the girls went to the playroom here. It was a fun to see her run around and smile. This evening we went out with another family (Frank & Christy we have really enjoyed getting to know them during our time together) for dinner to Lucy's. Lucy's is an American style restaurant. We chuckled at the American Apple Pie on the menu. No pie for us, but cheeseburgers and french fries all around! Alissa again ditched her noodles, this time for the fries. That's my girl! The evening ended with paperwork and a tearless bedtime. Yeah! The only tears were for her Mommy while I was out going over paperwork. Brent & Benjamin kept opening the door for her to look down the hall for me. It will certainly be a while before I can leave her, and that's fine by me! Tomorrow is our last full free day, unfortunately it's to be a rainy one. For those of you that haven't heard there is a typhoon going through China. We are just fine, it's going south of us but we'll still have some wind and rain. Nothing to worry about at all! God has been so good, this storm is going right through the Nanning area where we just came from. On a funny note we have a little nose picker on our hand. Today she laid beside Benjamin on the bed picked her nose and then proceeded to put her finger in his mouth and laugh out loud. He laughed the first time, until she kept trying to do it over and over again. How do you not laugh at that!?! That's all for now from China. Missing you guys at home! Take care!

Powerful Prayers...

Princesses and prince of Guangxi

Finally at the White Swan

Enjoying breakfast

This one is a quick post... We made it safe to Guangzhou last night. We couldn't have even dreamt that our evening would have gone as well as it did! She was mesmerized by the plane. When we arrived at the hotel she was happy and laughing. There were no tears at bedtime either. What a testament to prayer! Thanks for your prayers---we felt them!

Today was Visa pic for Alissa as well as a med exam. She wasn't to fond of that. Of course some shopping too. Have to run--we're off to supper at Lucy's. American burgers and fries. Yum Yum! Take care until next time!

A Day Of Firsts...

First Kiss

First time letting the sunglasses 

on even if they are on upside down

First time being pushed by Benjamin

in a shopping cart at Wal-mart

First piggy back ride

No first here, just an incredible 

nighttime picture

So here we are again with our daily update. Today was such a great day.  A lot of progress was made today. There were no organized plans so we were on our own. After another never a dull moment breakfast (Alissa loves to lay all over the floor in the restaurant and make her presence known) we headed to the mall across the street. On the way there when I was bending down to help her with her sunglasses she planted a kiss right on my chin. So sweet! We enjoyed some shopping in the mall as well as Alissa enjoying a nap in Mommy's arms! After the mall we made our daily trip to Wal-mart. I have been to Wal-mart more times here in China than I have in the states in the last 6 months. Crazy what you'll do for entertainment. After the mall we came back to our room. Alissa enjoyed tickle time with brother as well as piggy back rides from Daddy. Next was what blew my mind. Brent was on the computer and Benjamin was watching Tom & Jerry (Alissa loves it too!) when Alissa came up to me touched my hair and skin and then sniffed me. Thank goodness I put deodorant on this morning! It was as if she was OK with me now. Next she proceeded to tear paper into strips and wrap them around my arms while talking away in Chinese. There we were playing pretend together, I just don't know what. Oh how sweet! After hitting the swimming pool again we headed back to the mall with another family for dinner. To end our evening we went back for our nightly entertainment to you guessed it--Wal-mart! This time I was the entertainment as the boys insisted that I have the tour through the seafood/meat dept. I didn't dry heave once when Alissa puked on me, but the smells and sights we saw! Lets just say I tried hard not to breathe or let my supper behind. 

We just finished packing up our suitcases. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel at 11:45am. We'll enjoy a lunch together and some time at a park. We'll be heading off to the airport at 4:30pm. Our flight is at 7pm to Guangzhou. Please remember Alissa and our family at this time in your prayers! Thanks so much for every one's encouraging words and prayers for us. Tonight was about the same as last night for Alissa. I'm reminded over and over again (I now see why we had to read the books and watch the scary videos that we did! :-))that this just shows she has attached before in a healthy way. If she has done it before she'll do it again! Little by little we're seeing that each day. Well that's all for today. I don't know that we'll be able to post tomorrow night. Just thought I'd give you a heads up so you don't need to sit by your computers and hit refresh, refresh, refresh.... Just kidding, no I'm not because I know that's what some of you do! That's why we love you all so much! Thanks again! Take care!

Catching Up...

Noodles for breakfast!

Green Hill Park

"Yeah I'm Daddy's Princess, the Mei Mei (little sister), 

but I'm also the boss!

Checking email with mom

Peoples Park

" Hmmm, what can I get from my Daddy now?"

Rock star found some fans at People's Park

The ever famous squatty potties--this one's for you Daddy!

Think they'll catch on at home!?!

Giggle tickle time with brother

So I guess you all were wondering where is the next post!?! Well, here it is. And guess what, you're stuck with me Kristin this time. So sorry! The funny man needed a break and thought it would be best for this post to be from a mother's heart. I'll get back to that in a bit. 

Yesterday we visited Green Hill Park. It was a park that you actually paid to visit. Because of this it was absolutely beautiful! The park was exactly it's name--a green hill. There were palm trees, flowers, grass areas, and lots of places for Alissa to run around. The smiles on her face throughout the day were priceless. After the park we stopped at a store for ocean pearls. Guangxi is known for these. Benjamin found a cool jade rabbit to wear around his neck (he was born in the year of the rabbit). 

 Today we enjoyed some time at another park--People's Park. This is a free park. It was a cross between Long's Park and Knoebels Park. What a trip, we were mobbed by people coming up to our group touching Benjamin, pointing to our noses, and talking about our Chinese children in Chinese. Most people seemed happy, however there were a few that weren't so happy as told by the expressions on their faces and hand gestures. Alissa loved feeding the fish, sliding, and playing in the sand. Afterwards our group went out for a wonderful Chinese lunch. After that we headed back to the hotel and had fun swimming as a family. Then it was off in a taxi to a bookstore. 

So now to the part of the post from a Mother's heart. These past 2 days have been especially hard for me. Last night Alissa had her hardest night yet. We have found that around 7pm each night seems to be the time she misses her foster parents the most. This is when it starts to get dark here. Today we kept busy and limited the nap to ease this time. Still at 7pm she began to cry. As a mother my heart breaks for her. I feel as if we are living in a fish bowl here too. People are always staring at us, quick to approach us to admire our American son, and correct us with our Chinese daughter. It is no exaggeration when I say we are the only foreigners here (along with the rest of our adoption group) in Nanning. It's hard when people come up to Alissa and start to talk to her. This am at breakfast a lady talked to her about her American Momma. We caught the American Momma part, but of course we don't know what else she was saying about me. Tonight at supper the waitress was talking to Alissa because she was frustrated by something. Along came 3 other ladies whom then told me that Alissa didn't want my help. I smiled, took a sip of my soda, and fought back the tears. I try to be the best mom I can to her. It just doesn't always feel that way by the reactions of people here. From what we have heard there haven't been many adoptive families that have stayed at the hotel we are at right now. Don't get me wrong, Nanning is a beautiful city! I know I can speak for us all when I say we are looking forward to heading to Guanghzou on Monday. There we will stay at the White Swan Hotel with many other adoptive families.  It's just been painful not to be able to console my precious daughter at times, and live in a fish bowl. As I enter this post, I sit here and watch my beautiful baby girl sleep in my bed. My heart is so full of love for my daughter! God is so good and he has shown his faithfulness to our family. Please pray for...continued strength, good health, grieving for Alissa, and our flight on Monday. We will be flying out Monday 7:40pm to Guanghzou. This has been Alissa's hardest part of her day since we've had her. Please pray for us as we make this flight. Well, I'm sorry for the long winded Mother's post for today! Just giving you a glimpse of a Mother's heart. Until next time...Take care and we love you all!

Love Sick!

Well, I thought I would post tonight while the family is asleep, so I don't have to get up early to post. Never did like mornings! Well, this morning started with pee on the floor as I mentioned in the previous post. But, nooo, it didn't stop there! We left shortly after the post for breakfast and to tour Nanning city the historic section by visiting a bird and flower market which were amazing and then a historic park with many ancient Chinese customs. In other words, a tourist trap, but a cool one. Well first we went to the market and Alissa seemed so tired and quiet, all she wanted to do was be held, which we didn't mind and we chalked up for another great bonding moment. The only problem is that it wasn't that at all. We just got back on the bus after Daddy splurging on his girl and buying her and mom matching bracelets that were hand tied in front of us. We sat down and Kristin was holding out both of their arms just telling me how beautiful the bracelets looked and thanking me for being such a great husband, (Its my post, so I can exaggerate a little) anyway, she was adoring me, when all of a sudden that precious little daughter who was so cute eating watermelon for breakfast now was projecting watermelon all over herself and thankfully Kristin. She is yelling for towels, wipes, anything, and me now being the dumb, stupid husband was fumbling thru the bag she brought along looking for something, anything. She didn't seem to want to believe me when I said there wasn't anything there. Go figure! Well I was saved by 3 other moms handing about everything but the kitchen sink to help. What a way to start the morning!

After that we went to the historic park where Kristin decided to stay with Alissa in the bus while she slept. While at the park Benjamin and I learned about these neat beautiful handcrafted balls that people usually hang from their rear view mirror. When I found out that they were called "love balls" or "balls of happiness" I couldn't wipe the smirk off my face as I bought six! I triumphantly returned to the bus to make things right with my new found balls!LOL  Kristin wasn't as amused and I think she will kill me when she reads this post.

Well we returned to the hotel for the afternoon off. I decided to read up on the word for poop as I was warned by several comments, and thank goodness I did because I had my new daughter standing there yelling at me in Chinese that she needs to poop! I quickly picked her up and yelled for Kristin to help. I told you today was a zinger. Well we didn't end up doing much because she threw all up over Kristin again in the room and then went to sleep. We just had laundry done and it looks like we will need another order. Oh, they returned our clean laundry today and told me the bill was $1,200 yuan. This would be about $200 U.S. for about 15 pieces of clothes. Well what do you say to a Chinese man who doesn't understand what I'm saying that I think he's crazy. Well, I started counting out the bills knowing I didn't have that much on me, when he started to laugh and tell me I misunderstood, all he needed was $120 yuan or $18 U.S. I sighed a breath of relief and decided he was a good man after all. Sorry for the side bar. I'm getting a little carried away tonight, so I better wrap this up. Alissa did throw up a final time around 6 pm and all over Kristin again. I think she is getting over dry heaving at the sight of vomit now. Anyway, the rest of the night we did play and have some fun moments together as evident on the pictures. She adores Benjamin as you can see from the picture of her watching him journal. She then finished the night with some severe homesickness for her foster parents. It was heart wrenching as she mourns their loss. Cindy our Bethany case worker, came and helped a little by talking to her in Chinese and finding out what was bothering her. I can't say enough about Bethany and the Chinese people they have helping the children and parents bond with each other. We even got a call in the evening by the head person over here that arranges all the adoptions with Bethany families. They take such good care of us and they are always trying to help us learn as much about the culture as we can so we can help our daughters as they get older. God has been good to our family, but Alissa doesn't know that yet as she weeps each night and her foster parents I'm sure are crying themselves to sleep also. Please pray for Alissa, her foster family, and the people here in China that are forced to give up their children because of the one child policy and the lack of resources to support more children. Blessings to all of you.