Ok...so I think I have it...

I believe that Jeff has corrected the problem and that we can upload the video so I am posting video of Ainsley sliding and Ellie in the snow too. They really had so much fun that afternoon. We haven't had a lot of snow since..or well any snow since really so I am glad that I got the photos I did. The weather has been cool but not awful and no snow for Christmas. The girls have been enjoying time with their Grammie I and Uncle Adam. It is always nice to have family in town. Ellie went to get fitted for her new orthotics that she will be getting to help correct the fact that her leg tilts inward. She should be getting them in the next week or two and I will take some pics of them on her feet. They are pretty cute:) (her feet and the orthotics:)

Merry Christmas Eve Day

So Merry Christmas to all our friends scattered around the globe. I hope to get some pics up of the girls opening gifts on Christmas but still struggling with the video posting. Jeff isn't feeling well or I would ask him to figure it out. Oh well...our friends the Lukes were here briefly and of course we had a great time. Their kids are like family to us and it is always amazing how quickly they grow up..not ours but theirs! I am beginning to feel old at such a young age! But it was fun to see them. Brian, aka Mr. Luke, mentioned that Ellie was the first Miller child to not initially shun him...I think that's great:) Of course they all now love him and the rest of the Luke family.
Ellie received her Social Security card today! Yea!! Now I will go about applying for her US Passport and get started on the re-adoption stuff..though not certain of all that we need to go with that. She will get fitted for some special orthotics for her shoes on thurs and also have speech therapy, all while meeting her Grammie I and Uncle Adam. They are flying in the day after Christmas and will be here till Sat.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and may we never forgot the true meaning of the season-The Celebration of Christ's birth!

Ainsley's Preschool Christmas Program

So I am trying to figure out how to upload video from our new camera. We used it in China and were able to upload then but now I can't seem to figure it out. Odd...hopefully you will see some video of her Christmas performance because it was great. We actually though Ainsley might not stay on stage as she is so shy or if she stayed she wouldn't actually sing...surprisingly for all of us...not only did she stay but she sang as well. In addition to staying and singing, she also put her arm around a boy! Hmmmm...at such a young age too! It was very cute:)

Well I have tried for about a half hour to upload video...and apparently you either can't upload it from our camera or I am just incompetent. So I will post some photos and be sad that you guys can't see the video I thought was so cute.

Official US citizen

Ellie is officially a US Citizen. Of course she was one as soon as she touched down on US soil but she has received her certificate of US Citizenship and a note from the president. I think I will put it in her scrapbook for her to treasure always..that is when I actually get around to scrap booking again! I used that certificate to and apply for her SS card which we should receive in 10-14 days. After that I will get her US passport and work on the re-adoption process.
She is doing great and we see constant change in her daily. She is gaining more and more sounds and word approximations and seems to like her speech therapist. She has also started PT and will be going to therapy every other week. We are waiting on lab work to come back from the geneticist to see if she has any chromosomal abnormalities though he doesn't appear concerned that she does. He is doing more to rule it out than actually suspect something. She still has more appt that we need to schedule. I fee like I am constantly at either therapy or appt but it will slow down soon and it is all for her benefit.
We are looking forward to our friends the Lukes coming on Sat and staying till Monday and then Jeff's mom and brother from Wed-Sat after Christmas!

Snow!

So we took Ellie out for her first time playing in the snow and she seemed to love it. I got a few cute pics of her and a quick video that I thought I would post. She went down out hill with Ainsley once and fell off. She didn't like that so much but then went down with me three times and loved it. Ainsley must be a bad driver:) Ellie is really doing well and making new strides every day. She can say up, hi, night-night, bye-bye (I think) and maybe one other. We have finished up all of our processing for First Steps and she starts therapy this week. She will have speech on Wed and then the developmental interventionist on Thurs (she is kind of a broad spectrum therapist who works on a bit of everything). She also goes to Children's today to get a PT evaluation to see what they think she needs. She is on the verge of running and her gross motor skills get better everyday. She did topple down the stairs last night. Not sure what happened as we let her climb up and down on her own and I wasn't watching. She wasn't hurt that we could tell though so that's good! Mackenzie has about a week and half left of school before her Christmas break that she is really looking forward to! She has been busy with school, ballet and playing with friends. Jeff too the two older girls to see Suessical at the Children's Theatre this past Sat evening and I stayed home with Ellie. They had fun and I got a lot of wrapping gifts done! Not sure what Ellie thought about it but she did keep trying to sit on the wrapped gifts! Ainsley is doing well. She has been battling allergy stuff for a while and we are still working on finding the right combo to help her. We just started on Zyrtec a few days ago so I will give it a few weeks and see how she does. She has had an everlasting cough that nothing can touch it seems, but last night was better and she didn't wake up thankfully. School is going well for her and she has her Christmas program on Friday night for preschool so that should be fun!

My friend Cherie

My friend Cherie (Porter) Landry just passed away. She was one of my closest friends in junior high and high school and she will be missed so much. Since graduating from high school, we have gone our separate ways across the country. She stayed in Maine to go to college and I left to go to OH. But over the years we have still stayed in touch and kept up on each other's lives. She would call every once in a while as would I. Though we hadn't seen each other in several years, we did our share of e-mailing to keep each other up on our lives. In the time after graduating, I married, moved to PA and then KY and had kids and so did she...moving from ME to TX and then most recently to MD. She married her husband Dan and had a beautiful little girl named Dana Simone, who is close to turning 2 and looks just like her. Every time I look at her most recent picture on our refrigerator, I am moved to tears. As I think over the years of our friendship, I am amazed at how blessed I am to have had her in my life and how blessed Dana is to have had her as a mom. Though there is sooo much more that I could say about my friend I will save it to write down in my own journal. Cherie, you will be greatly missed...I can't believe I have to say goodbye to you so soon. I love you...

More pics from thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving with my family in SC. It was nice to spend time with family and for Ellie to meet some of her new family too. She did really well. Not so excited about the 6 1/2 hour trip there and back but the in between part was good. We have found she likes hats and loves to carry purses..who knew! Thought I would post a few pics of our time there and back. Hope everyone else had a wonderful thanksgiving.

First Steps Evaluation and more

So Ellie has had lots of appts or so it seems that way. Our First Steps Coordinator met with me on Thurs morning before Bible Study to do paperwork. She got us going into the system and then the evaluator that Ellie was to have called us the same day! I couldn't believe how fast they moved! She did an evaluation of Ellie and told us that yes she does qualify for services through First Steps. She is recommending Speech Therapy as well as a developmental interventionist that will help Ellie cover a little of all aspects of therapy apparently. She will do a little OT, PT and various other things. We still have her scheduled for a PT eval and will start PT with her also since the international adoption clinic recommended that. I hope we can get her started with actual therapy soon. She phases out of First Steps when she turns 3 on Feb 14. We will have a meeting with Boone County and they will tell us about their services and what we are entitled to probably within the next few weeks so that we can also have her evaluated by them and get her into preschool once she turns 3. So lots of phones calls and paperwork and assessments. But Ellie is really doing well. Today we had a minor breakthrough. I will classify it as major if she does it 2-3 days in a row! We have been very consistent in being sticklers about her using her sign language words that we taught her to get her cup or get up to the table for meals. She has to sign please or more for us in order to get into her booster seat or to get more of something. This has been a BIG ordeal as she has thrown temper tantrums each time at meal times. Often is has taken longer than an hour to actually get her to sign to us even though we know that she can sign and that she knows what it means. So she has missed breakfast several times and had dinner late. The social worker said that we really need to be consistent with this as it is the only method of communication we have other than her just fussing for it since she has no speech. This has not been easy to do but we have done it. Today, I am happy to say that it only took about 5-10 minutes at breakfast and lunch!! Drastic progress and she signed them several times without us showing her the sign first..also great progress. We shall see if it continues but she is doing well. I took some pictures of her in jammies that her Auntie Kim gave us from China. We have had them for a couple of years because they used to be Ainsley''s PJ's when she was 2. I thought the pics were cute. And I put two clips in her hair so that you wouldn't think she was a boy! I also included a picture of her in a pink hat that used to belong to a stuffed animal. It really doesn't fit her head but she has claimed it as hers! And then one picture of her in her carseat which she likes only some of the time..the beginning some!

Ryan Hall

I got an e-mail from a friend of mine with a link to a God-Tube video about Ryan Hall. He's the 25-year-old rookie who won the US Olympic Trials and is headed to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
I don't normally post any of these things and rarely do I forward but I was so touched but the video that I thought I would post it here. Hope it touches you also.
Don't forget to scroll down and pause the background music before playing the video.

IAC visit

Yesterday was our visit to the International Adoption Center for Ellie's thorough exam. And thorough it seemed to be. We saw 1 nurse, 1 resident (I think), 1 occupational therapist, 1 social worker, 1 researcher, 1 doctor and 1 lab tech. All of that makes for a long visit. But Ellie did great. We don't have the official findings yet as we still have some tests that we need to run. But the general assessment seems to be that she is quite delayed. While this may be daunting news for us, I am choosing to take a more positive approach in thinking how amazed we will be in 6 months to see all the progress that Ellie has made! We are waiting on calls from a developmental pediatrician and a geneticist. They want us to see both of those as well as get Ellie into KY early intervention program, which is called First Steps. I have already called them and got her into the system. I am waiting for some paperwork and for a phone call from the person assigned her case. I also need to schedule her for a PT evaluation. So I am waiting on her report to be received by Children's to finalize that...hopefully we can get her going in some therapy soon or I may need therapy! She has been doing great all things considered however...her sleeping habits so far as amazing. I only wish mine were so good! I have some pics but the camera is in the car so I will post them later. Just wanted to update you all on Elli's progress. She is eating well, sleeping well and seems to love the kids. She has been smiling a lot lately and LOVES to be swung upside down. Or really swung in any manner which is of course Jeff and I have no problems with as Mackenzie and Ainsley like to upside down too!

We are home!!!!

Just wanted to let you know that we arrived home safely. Thanks to Roni and Beau for picking us up at the airport and getting us home and thanks Roni for dinner! Thanks go to Susie, Aleisa and kiddos and Patty and kiddos for meeting us at the airport. It was sooo good to see some friendly faces to welcome us home! And thanks goes to my friends Julie and Sophia who turned on our heat and left food for us in our house! You guys are all great! Thanks so much to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers and gestures of love. I am REALLY tired and need desperately to head to bed but jeff won't let me go till at least 7:30. I may just throw a tantrum like Ellie and see if I get my way! The kids did fantastic on the flight but mom didn't fare so well. I wasn't able to sleep and am sooo tired. Jeff didn't sleep either but seems to have a whole lot more left in him. I have already told him that if we every adopt again, we are all staying home and I am sending him over to do it all as he seems to handle everything and adjust to travel so much better than I! He's scared that I said the word again I think!:)
We are just really glad to be home in our own space and get Ellie adjusted to her new digs. Will post again when I feel more coherent. I think there were also supposed to be pics for our last post from Guangzhou but jeff will have to fix it as I think they are saved on his laptop.

Last Post from Guangzhou

So....here we are on our last night in China, and what a crazy and amazing 2 weeks it has been. We've had lots of amazing experiences, some incredible high points, and some pretty low points at times. But most of all, we have been blessed to bring Ellie into our family.

Living with 3 kids for 2 weeks in a hotel room, in a different culture with different foods, customs, and even smells has been a challenge, to say the least. But we have learned to rely even more on God for our moment by moment patience and enjoy our time here.

We have also caught maybe a glimpse of God's love for us as we see Ellie each day. While we were in a helpless situation spiritually, God swooped down and paid for our wrongs. Then He adopted us and allows us to call Him Daddy. Sometimes we resist, we fight against Him, and don't really even understand the things that He wants for us. Ellie has no idea that we are trying to help her when she throws tantrums and fights against us - she has been in a place so lacking freedom and love that she doesn't really know how to interact and receive love and affection. The patience and love of our Father help us learn these things, and we pray that we can give even a small portion of that love to Ellie.

We have seen Ellie grow from not interacting at all and saying nothing on day 1, to playing, smiling, saying "ba-ba", "da-da", and "up" in just a few days. She loves to explore new things, and I can't imagine what is going through her mind as she takes in the thousands of things she has never seen before. She still has a long way to go, but we can't wait to see her blossom in a more stable environment once we get home.

Today we did a bunch of just hanging out. We talked with some of the other families in our group after breakfast for a while. Then came back up and worked on packing. We have everything packed and ready to go! We got more ice cream this afternoon, then went off to the US Consulate, a 35 minute ride, to make our appearance and say the oath to get Ellie's immigration paperwork and her visa to enter the US. Then back to the hotel, give Ellie a bottle, and back to Lucy's for dinner. And, of course, and after dinner ice cream. Then we took some pictures on the famous "red sofa" at the White Swan.

Wake up call is at 5am, then leaving the hote at 6am for an 8:30 flight to Toyko. From Tokyo to Detriot, and then back to Cincinnati at 4:30PM. By that time we will have been up for 23 1/2 hours :-( Please, please, please continue to pray for us as we are travelling. Especially that we each can get some rest on the flights and that Ellie doesn't throw too many tantrums :-)

We hope to see many of your soon! We'll try to keep posting as we get back to normal life in Burlington. It will be facinating to see how Ellie changes each day, week, and month......

Monday....Patriots Win and Other Stuff

Everyone is ready for bed after another day in Guangzhou. The exciting news today is that our guide, Connie, took our paperwork to the US Consulate today and everything was ok'ed with no problems. The only "official" thing remaining for us in China is the oath we take Tuesday at 2:45PM.

We spent most of the morning in the hotel room waiting for Connie to call, either with questions from the consulate, or letting us know everything was ok. She called around 11:30ish to let us know everything went well.

Oh, I almost forgot our exciting morning of "watching" the Patriots/Colts game on ESPN.com this morning. We woke up around 7am, just in time to see that the Pats were down 13-7 in the 3rd quarter. We continually hit refresh on the Gamecast screen (it was not updating in realtime for some reason :-( It wasn't quite as exciting to watch the Pats come back via a computer screen, but pretty cool to see Brady and the boys get it done anyway. I've got 3 words for this year's Pats....Best Team Evah!!!

Anyway, we ventured out around noon for the park and some ice cream. We found some great ice cream bars for 3 or 4 yuan (40-50 cents) and hung out at the park for a long time playing. We went back to the hotel for Ainsley and Ellie to get naps while Kenzie and I went out for some shopping and "daddy and daughter time." Steph sent me out to buy the rest of our souvenirs because she doesn't like bartering....she feels bad asking for a lower price and walking out if needed...I love the challenge :-) After shopping, Kenzie and I bought our favorite drinks, Sprite, and hung out in the park for a while. We came back just as everyone was getting up from naps and decided to hit the cold pool again.

This was the first time we all went, and we had no idea how Ellie would like the pool. She didn't like it at first, but warmed up to the water after a few seconds. I attached a few pics of everyone at the pool today and Ellie getting warmed up with Steph.

Tonight we ordered out for some Papa John's pizza...my favorite. Then we when back out to get just a couple more things in one of the shops and, well, more ice cream. How can you beat ice cream for 50 cents?

Tomorrow morning is group picture time. Then in the afternoon we have the oath. In between, we will start packing for the looooonnnnngggggg trip home on Wednesday. We are so looking forward to being in our own house, with our own beds, room for everyone to run around, and some sense of "normal" back in our lives. But let me assure you that we are NOT looking forward to a 4 hour, 12 hour, and another 1 hour flight to Tokyo, Detroit, and then to Cinci. Please be praying for all of us....especially that Ellie will be able to relax and sleep on the flight....I can't imaging how hard

it will be for a 2 year old who has always been able to do what she wants within the confines of her orphanage room.

Ok, I'm off to bed soon. We'll probably post one more time Tuesday. Thanks again for your support and prayers!

Guangzhou-Day 2

We woke up at about 7 this morning which was great! I(Steph) didn't of course ....that would be way to much to ask...I think I was up at 4ish but the rest did so that was good. Someone knocked on our door last night incessantly at like 9. I finally went to the door, even though we had already gone to bed, to find that it was the turn down service. I had to REALLY explain that we had already gone to bed and didn't need the turn down service. He seemed a bit confused and perplexed but tonight when we came back from dinner they had already done turn down so I think they got the gist that we go to bed early!

Today we had a great breakfast. I took Mackenzie and Ainsley up to the room before Jeff brought Ellie up as they needed to use the bathroom. Apparently after we left, Ellie managed to throw up/burp up her food. I am thankful for missing that pleasant experience but Jeff sure is amazing!:)


We were off to a Buddhist Temple this morning. This is very much a part of the Chinese culture here..and often the kids get blessed by a monk. It was interesting but a bit sad to see how entrenched the Chinese people are in praying to idols that will do nothing for them. I am so glad to know that my God listens and hears me when I pray. We then went on to a shopping place for some local goods. The prices were a bit steep so we didn't end up buying anything. Though I am sure the quality of everything was great, you pay for great quality stuff. So we decided to pass on those higher ticket items and just get some local stuff near our hotel. Once we got home and had some lunch in our room, Jeff stayed with Ellie and Ainsley while they napped and Mackenzie and I went out shopping. I was able to get some outfits for the girls, some small things for the girls and some gifts. I spent too much money according to Jeff's bargaining standards so I sent him out later to get some more stuff knowing he would probably drive a harder bargain. I have come to realize that I am not good at wheeling and dealing but Jeff is...it really boils down to the fact that 1. I don't like confrontation 2. I feel badly for the people and that I am insulting them. I also took Mackenzie to the pool and she had some fun swimming for a little bit. It was very cold but she did get in the water. We then came back from the pool, Jeff went out shopping and the girls got up from their nap. We had dinner at Lucy's again which was good and did some final wheeling and dealing on our way home. We are now getting the kids ready for bed and off to sleep we go! Tomorrow we have to be in our room at 10 and wait till our guide, Connie, calls us to let us know about our consulate appt. We don't have to go but Connie actually goes for us and petitions for us. So we have to stay in our room and wait to hear if the consulate has any questions for us or if everything is ok. The last picture posted is of Jeff next to his new company car...or so he dreams. Actually he is standing in front of it as I am pretty sure they wouldn't let him in the door:)


Post more tomorrow!

In Guangzhou....

Sorry for not getting post up yesterday....we were busy getting caught up on sleep, doing paperwork, and exploring the hotel and area around the hotel.

Friday night was our flight from Hangzhou to Guangzhou. Ellie did great on her first flight ever. Check out the picture of her hanging out in her seat. She got pretty fusy at the end of the 2 hour flight, and then fell asleep just as the plane touched down. Mackenzie and Ainsley also fell asleep a few minutes before landing.....great timing. They were all pretty upset when we woke them up to get off the plane. Our flight was late, as was the flight of another family being picked up at the same time, so we didn't get to the hotel in Guangzhou until somewhere around 11pm Friday.


Saturday morning we slept in a little and then hit the breakfast buffet in the hotel. It is awesome....especially for people who have been in some smaller Chinese cities all week. They have some great American breakfast foods....fried eggs, french toast, omlettes, fresh fruit, bacon, scrambled eggs.....it was great!


After breakfast we were off to get Ellie's visa pictures and then her visa physical. The physical is pretty basic....height, weight, check her ears and hearing, read her medical history and ask us a few questions about what Ellie is doing. Here is a picture of the clinic.

After the physical Steph and Ellie went back to the room to rest a little. I took Kenzie and Ainsley to a little playground and then we "explored" the hotel. We are staying at the White Swan hotel. It is beautiful...I think it may be the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in. Here are some pictures of the view from our room.


We tried to swim in the pool in the afternoon. It was about 80 deg in the air, but I think the water was 50 deg. It was freezing! Needless to say, we didn't stay in the water very long. We got out and laid on the chairs in the nice sunshine. Mackenzie looked over at me and said "this is splendid."

I had tons of paperwork to do at 3:30. The girls all took naps as I went to the lobby to fill out paperwork.

We had dinner at "Lucy's", which is an American food restaurant just down from the hotel. The whole area around the hotel caters to American families here adopting. Lots of little shops and that sort of thing. And a Starbucks just around the corner.


We are off to breakfast, then some sightseeing with the group today. Hopefully we'll post more pictures later tonight.

Lillian

My last post was intended to be my last post from Hangzhou but since I have some time I wanted to dedicate a post to Lillian. Now many of you who read this blog may not know who Lillian is..there may be some who do but I would venture to say most don't. Lillian is the director of our adoption agency, CAWLI or China Adoption With Love, Inc. Though we had some contact with Lillian stateside, most of our time was spent either via phone or e-mail with Meg, one of the social workers with CAWLI. We have liked our agency a lot and have been impressed with the way most of our adoption has been handled. Like any agency, CAWLI is not perfect but they have been pretty close for us. It wasn't until we reached Hangzhou that we realized what an amazingly special woman Lillian really is. She called us before we received Ellie to check on us and then called us again that night. We expressed our concerns to her as we had several the first few days. She called us every day since then, sometimes twice a day to talk and see how things have been going. She talked us through some of our issues that we were experiencing, offered us some suggestions and then made sure the doctor was sent via airplane to make a visit just for our peace of mind. Not only did we feel her concern for us but we felt it for Ellie. I can tell that Lillian truly loves these children and cares about their well-being. It has truly touched us and blessed us and I can't even begin to convey to those out there how much her presence has meant to us over these last few days. Lillian..you are the best! Thank you so much for caring for the children in China and for taking great care with the families that you represent. May God bless you for all that you do in China and across the world!

Last Post from Hangzhou!

We had a great day yesterday except for getting Ellie to sleep! She apparently wanted nothing to do with going to bed last night. We kept her awake past her "normal" bedtime at the orphanage and that must have wired her up. We watched a light show at West Lake in Hangzhou and it was amazing! Patrick took some video this night before so I hope to get the remaining pictures and video from him before they leave today. We went shopping at the local market yesterday and got a few things but weren't able to get all that we wanted as Ellie melted down and we needed to go. I am still on the search for squeaky shoes and a few other things. Hopefully we will get some shopping done in Guangzhou. Today we meet Patrick, Kim and Moyer for breakfast and then they have to leave for the airport:( Once again they have been amazing and we will be sad to see them go. On a happy note though we opened the shades this morning and saw a glimpse of sun!!!!! We haven't seen sun since before leave Cincinnati so this is amazing! Hopefully we will see some nice weather in Guangzhou. We need to pack up and get all the girls cleaned up for out trip today. We are meeting Kevin, our guide at 2 for finalization of last minute details. I believe we get her passport today so that we can travel with her and then our flight to Guangzhou leaves at 6:30. We may not post tonight from Guangzhou but will definately post tomorrow. I believe she has her visa physical tomorrow morning!

I am posting a picture of Moyer and Aunt Stephie...isn't he adorable? For that matter...I think we are both pretty cute:)

Thursday Morning!

Well Ellie was wide awake this morning at 5:10 am. Mackenzie and Ainsley got up at about 5:45. I got some good sleep last night which was great. I did wake up multiple times but I was able to go back to sleep which was good. I was in bed by 6:30 last night as I was not feeling well. Everyone else ate at KFC but I was so sick I threw up there...I am pretty sure I was experiencing dejavu as the same thing happened when we were in China the last time. I was pregnant with Mackenzie and KFC's mashed potatoes were the only things that sounded appealing. We went there and I promptly had to throw up..of course they don't have the traditional bathrooms that we have but squatty potties. I can assure you the experience wasn't pleasant and not one I wanted to repeat. Fortunately I ended up getting sick in a KFC bucket and not the bathroom. Jeff walked me back to the hotel with Ellie and got her ready for bed while I crashed on the bed. I think I was out because I remember nothing till waking up at 11:30 or so. We all got a pretty good night of sleep and feel good. We will be getting ready and heading to breakfast at the buffet here at the hotel. One might think that the Western Restaurant serves Western food...but then you would be mistaken. Their selections for breakfast are quite amazing! Nothing like you or I would probably envision as breakfast foods. Though they did have some amazing potatoes yesterday morning that were great. They did have bacon and eggs too which allowed Mackenzie and Ainsley to survive. We are having some R&R today and packing up our stuff. We are leaving one suitcase open for stuff today and trying to get everything else packed up. Hopefully we will have a great day with Patrick and Kim and Moyer as they will be leaving tomorrow early afternoon. We will be VERY sad to see them go as we have had soooo much fun with them. It is difficult when you live in different countries to see each other often though we have seen quite a bit of each other the last few years. But it is always a bit sad since we know it may be a while till we see them again, especially with the so VERY cute Moyer! Patrick and Kim have been lifesavers for us on this trip and though I know that God would have worked in out even if they weren't here I can't even tell you how thankful we are that they have been here for us. They have done babysitting, translating, encouraging, shopping and a plethora of other things. I think Patrick has kept the Chinese people a little more honest since they knew he could speak Chinese. Patrick and Kim's Chinese is amazing! We have told them that when they adopt we will come over and be there for them and do some translating too. They are encouraging us to stay away:) Just kidding. We now realize why people adopt in groups. There is a definite need for community when you are in a culture so foreign from your own. I just wanted to post to let you know I am doing better and that I have been so encouraged by everyone's prayers for us. I have definitely felt them in the last few days and needed them. Please continue to pray! ,I want to post the video that Jeff mentioned yesterday of the Chinese kids saying Hi to the girls...it was so amazing. The girls were done wanting pictures by the end of the day!

A Fun and Tiring Day

Steph and all 3 girls are already asleep tonight - they were out by 8pm. We had a fun day together today. Ellie started out pretty cranky this morning. We were concerned that she was taking a step backwards in the progress she made Tuesday. Then we went upstairs for breakfast. She downed a ton of food, and seemed to perk right up. We talked with the US doctor this morning over breakfast, and set up a plan for a physical at 2pm. Then we headed off for some sightseeing. Kevin, our guide, took us on a fun boat ride on West Lake in Hangzhou. We all had a blast. Ellie did really well on the boat and walking around the gardens at the lake. I posted some pics of the lake and a video of some Chinese children saying hello to Mackenzie and Ainsley. Mack and Ainsley were like rock stars today - everyone wanted to get their picture taken with the cute white girls and everyone was staring at them. I think Kenzie enjoyed it, but Ainsley got tired of all the picture requests. Tough life as a rock star..... Then we were off to lunch at a nice Chinese resteraunt, and then did a little shopping at a silk shop. Found some cute outfits for the girls. I think the highlight of the day was when we got back to the hotel. We let Ellie walk around in the hallways with the girls. She LOVED it. This was a big step for her to run and play with the girls in the hallway - interacting, giggling, and having lots of fun. Check out the cute video of her in action. She had a physical after that. Dr Jerry basically concluded what we expected. She is making more and more progress each day, and it is impossible to say what delays are from being in an orphanage vs. a mental or physical problem. He was very encouraged with her progress overall. We hung out with Kim, Patrick and baby Moyer this afternoon and evening. We took a walk out to get some KFC, and Steph started feeling a little sick and very tired. I brought her back to get some rest with Ellie while Patrick and Kim took the other 2 girls to see a water fountain/light/music show. And now we are all in the room to hopefully get some good sleep tonight...... Please keep praying for Ellie and her progress. Also for Steph getting the rest she needs - she woke up at 3am today and needs to get more sleep than that. Our plan for Thursday.....lots of R&R. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Wednesday

Well..we are all up bright and early. I believe the 3 girls were up at 5:15 and so I decided to turn the light on as the room is pretty small. Jeff was definitely wondering why I decided to do this but once the girls are up pretty much impossible to keep is dark and quiet. I tried to post last night but wasn't able to get on so I will post this morning and maybe try again tonight. Yesterday was rough but we did see some progress with Ellie. She did a lot of mimicking of us and had some good time with both myself and jeff. We attempted to get a hearing screening done at the hospital but it was crazy. Terrifying to say the least! Hospitals in China are nothing like hospitals in the US. Our guide had the orphanage director come down and one of Ellie's nannies, who pretty much took Ellie from us. By the time they actually find the hospital, which apparently they didn't know where it was, I was pretty upset. The hospital had people EVERYWHERE...the lines were insane and even though it was like 11:30 we wouldn't have been able to get in till the later afternoon. Jeff and I decided not to do the hearing screening and just come home. We finalized the adoption from China's standpoint yesterday and she is officially ours. We all napped yesterday which was great and we were able to locate a fan which helped me sleep some last night. Ellie seemed to do better last night with some of her self-soothing behaviors which was good also. We will see our travel group doctor this morning at the breakfast buffet which we have yet to go to...we have just been eating in our room. Hopefully he will be able to give us some encouragement and suggestions on what to look for for with Ellie and how to best help her start to come out of herself.

Scared, Nervous and Ellie

I know that may not be the best way to start out the blog but today has been a pretty emotional day. We were very excited today to finally meet Ellie. The orphanage people were a little late, so we were there first. When they brought Ellie in and I got a glimpse of her I was initially excited but to be honest also terrified. As I watched her interact and then as my friend Kim talked with her nanny I became more concerned. We were initially told she spoke 2-3 words back in May and I was assuming that probably her vocabulary had increased. When Kim was talking with the nanny that brought her she said she says absolutely nothing. She also looked to me like a down syndrome baby. I pretty much shut down emotionally and was completely overwhelmed. Jeff and our guide got us through the paperwork...and the language barriers. We asked a few questions and then it was done. She wanted nothing to do with me and arched her back a lot which I am still concerned about but finally we were able to get pictures done and headed back to the hotel room. She seemed to calm down and was interacting a little better in the room. But as soon as we headed for dinner at the buffet upstairs, it was more crying and arching her back. We have decided to spend the next few days staying low-key and keeping her environment as consistent as possible to see how she adjusts. Ellie got a bath tonight and played with the girls. Mackenzie and Ainley love her, and she started to interact with them some. We are still concerned about her lack of talking, and plan to talk with the doctor on the trip but haven't yet been able to reach him. Please continue to pray for wisdom and guidance for us. I am pretty scared and nervous but have to trust that God is in control. I am also exhausted so please pray for rest for all of us.

First Night in Hangzhou

Well, we are up after our first night in Hangzhou. We got in last night around 6ish. Our guide came to pick us up and we found out that we have a different guide. His name is David and he seems nice. Not sure why we have a different guide..it seems he said something about the other guide being too young? No idea. We also met up with our friends, Patrick and Kim Smith and their baby Moyer who is tooo cute. It was great to finally get to see them. They will be here all week with us helping us out. We really have no idea what the week is going to look like but you can pray as I am a bit nervous and not sleeping that well. We were all up 6 this morning but I was awake much earlier...3 something I think. We will be meeting our guide at 1:30 and meeting Ellie at 2 I believe. We will then do some paperwork for her passport I think. Not sure what they day will look like but excited to finally be meeting Ellie! Last night on our way to our hotel, we were stopped at a stoplight and we saw a guy run down the middle of the road chasing after a taxi. After watching him catch the taxi and hit it...loudly yelling...in Chinese of course..and then opening the taxi door..our guide looked back and said that the taxi apparently had hit him! He seemed no worse for the wear as he was able to run after the taxi but what do I know! He obviously was expressing some extreme displeasure with the taxi guy...my guess is there were some Chinese expletives involved though since I don't swear in Chinese I don't really know!
Our room isn't very big..we were thinking that it would be much bigger so you can pray we make it. 5 of us in a little room...with only 2 twin beds...not sure how it will all play out. That's about it for now. I obviously hope to post later today once we get Ellie but not sure if we will have the time or not. We will post some pics as soon as we can!

Good Morning from BJ!

We are up bright and early this morning. I woke at about 5:15. Not sure why but I did. I slept a bit more last night. The girls each woke once but went right back to sleep and then at 6 everyone needed to go to the bathroom so we have really been awake since then. Jeff is still in bed but he handled the girls last night when they woke so that was nice. I am feeling a bit more rested. We spent the day yesterday just hanging out, relaxing and talking. Sue took us to a Chinese restaurant and we had LOTS of great food. I am pretty sure the girls didn't think so though! Chinese food has never been their favorite but it makes me glad that we packed some American food just in case! Mackenzie ended up coming home and eating PB&J. Mackenzie did try some of most of what we gave her though which is improvement. Sue ordered these awesome green beans and I could have eaten the whole platter. And then there was meat sticks, rice, sweet and sour chicken, chicken with peanuts, Chinese french fries (apparently they are hand cut with a cleaver but are REALLY thin)and some bread. Ainsley promptly fell asleep about 10 minutes into the meal. She almost fell off her chair! So I held her the rest of the time. Then a Chinese woman came up and started talking to me about Ainsley. Sue didn't know what she was saying either but we think she wanted to get Ainsley a mat to sleep on and put her down..however since I had no idea where she wanted to put her, Sue sent her away after several attempts to communicate with me. One would think the completely lost look on my face would have given me away!:)
We were all in bed at around 8:45 last night. This morning we are going to get ready and head to church with Matt, Sue and their other house guest Pam who is here on sabbatical from Taylor to do some teaching this month. We will have lunch, pack up and head back to the airport to fly to Hangzhou. We will try to post again tonight to let you all know how it went! We meet up with Patrick, Kim and Moyer this evening in Hangzhou and they will be there the rest of the week with us!!!! We are so excited! I would post some pictures but then you would all know that we are still in the same clothes we flew in...pure laziness..but they are so comfortable:)

Hopefully you will all hear from us tonight in Hangzhou!

Beijing!

We have finally arrived. Actually we arrived late last night but were too tired to post then. Everything went very well all things considered. The kids did fantastic and we had a good trip. I am not a fan of flying as I get quite motion sick. So by the time we landed in BJ I was ready to be done and never get on a plane again but hopefully I will have recovered for tomorrow's flight! Our flight from Tokyo was delayed by about an hour and a half so we didn't end up getting into BJ until about 11 pm. Our friends the Bassetts, who we are staying with, picked us up and got us back to their place safely. Thank-you Sue and Matt!! We are here today and will probably be relaxing and getting caught up on sleep. Jeff and Mackenzie just got up at about 11:15. Ainsley and I have been up since 8. Actually Ainsley woke up several times and so I didn't get nearly as much sleep as Jeff. The girls didn't sleep much on the flight. Ainsley slept about 1 1/2-2 hours and Mackenzie 45 minutes. Ainsley actually fell asleep under the chairs at our gate in Tokyo. I got a picture of it and will post it. It is pretty cute! That's all for now. We will post tomorrow sometime! We are thankful for all the prayers and for arriving safely. Only 2 more days till we have Ellie!

Travel Day!!!!

We're at the Cincinnati airport waiting for our flight and wanted to make one last post before we leave.

Here is a picture of us just before we left the house this morning. Hopefully our next post will be from Beijing.

See you then!

Getting ready to travel

Well I thought I would post even though I don't have any exciting new pictures to add. I am learning to use the video on our camera since we have decided to bring only our digital camera with us. I like the video feature that it offers and both Jeff and I want to keep everything simple and just enjoy the time we have in China with Ellie.
This weekend will be spent doing last minute stuff and packing. Seeing exactly how many suitcases we will need to bring, etc. So it will be busy but at least we have several days next week to do any last minute details. We have already taken care of many things so I am feeling pretty good about the next few days. We leave on Thurs morning from Cincinnati but have quite a bit planned before that happens. The girls have a birthday party, school, ballet and Awana. So lots to do but time will fly as it already has. I can't believe we have less than 6 days left!! Actually 5 full days till we leave! Please keep us in your prayers as finish packing and especially as we head to China at the end of the week. My biggest concerns that you pray about are the girls and how the handle the long flight and jet lag. Adjusting to Ellie and her adjusting to us and handling the jet lag for me. I always seem to be hardest hit by it and I am not sure why that is but pray that my internal clock can at least semi-adjust!

The Countdown Begins

Well...today marks the 2 weeks left before we travel day! As I was laying in bed last night trying to go to sleep, all I could think about was Ellie..and what we still have left to do...and then Ellie again....and then how we were going to get all of our stuff from the airport to our friend's home in Beijing..and then Ellie. I fluctuate from excitement to nervousness at the drop of a hat and don't know when the next time will be that I have a decent night's rest. Unless is is within the next few days from pure exhaustion. Jeff has been gone right now for 9 days. He has been in Italy and France on business while I am at home keeping the fort held together. Some days it feels like I am duct tape and some days only scotch tape, but overall the days have been ok. That is until yesterday. He was supposed to come home yesterday but unfortunately his plane has some technical problems so they weren't able to leave. Why can they not send another plane? Who am I to question...apparently they just can't. He was supposed to be home at 3 in the afternoon...then I got a message on the machine saying there were technical problems and it wouldn't be till after 5 when he got home. Then he called at about 1:30 our time...7:30 pm his time to tell me the bad news....not coming home today. He apparently will be home THIS afternoon at 4. My day then seemed to drag because I miss him and his sanity...and 9 days without his sanity is a LONG time if you know what I mean! Ainsley has been telling me "you hurt my feelings mom" in a VERY loud voice multiples times each day. One would ask...what exactly is it that I did...did I yell at her? Did I take away all her dollies? Nope...apparently anytime she gets in trouble and I have to tell her to go to her room hurts her feelings. This could be a LONG life for her. So anyway...I didn't get to bed till late as I was up doing things and I couldn't sleep and I was up with Ainsley at least twice...and as I lay in bed, not sleeping, all I could think about was Ellie. So I LOVED reading my friend Jennifer's post from yesterday. I didn't read it until this morning, after a what felt like an entire night of being awake thinking about our adoption, and it was a great encouragement to me. I haven't asked her if I can copy some of it but hopefully she doesn't mind...

I have to believe this dream was just a little bit of encouragement from God to start on this journey I feel might be our hardest yet. As Greg and I talk about how tough her adjustment might be, we do the research on her medical, emotional, and physical needs, and I think about all the tedious paperwork and numerous logical issues ahead, I feel overwhelmed. It didn’t help today as I was trying to engage a social service provider for our home study, I was “blown off”. The reason left on our voicemail was “we don’t service Smyrna”. I know that’s not the real reason, you don’t just not provide a service to one town…I had felt things go downhill when I said Tessa was 9. It would not be nice of me to reveal who this home study provider is, but now that I’ve read through their website, I have to wonder if they are in the business for the “right” reasons. I did ask once this afternoon “God, is this a roadblock telling us to stop?” Yes, we could stop right now- no money has changed hands yet, no commitments have been signed- it would be so easy to just stop here. In adoption, there are many points at which you can exit. But- you can’t just stop when you are called. When you are called, you press on knowing you will be given the tools, endurance, knowledge, and funds to move forward. When you are called, your mind and body get tired with the workload, but your heart stays focused on bringing home the child. So, I made another call and waited for an answer. The answer came from a social worker with another agency who, after I filled in the blanks on our situation, laughed and said my husband will have a lot to deal with “with all that estrogen in his house”. I guess I know who will be doing our home study!

So Jennifer, thanks for your encouragement to me and all those out there wondering why they are adopting. God has called us to this little girl and no amount of fear, sleepless nights and chaos will change that fact. We are excited and blessed that He has allowed us to do this and will be just as blessed if He allows us to do it again one day. Only two more weeks to go till we bring you home, Ellie! We love you so much and look forward to the day we can hold you in our arms and call you ours!

Patriots Rock!!!

So though the experience was not close to the joy of childbirth or the anticipation of adopting our little girl from China...it still was an amazing night. Jeff and I acquired tickets to go see the Patriots play the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati for the Monday Night Game of the week. It was amazing!! For all of you Bengals fans out there..sorry...but for all you Patriots fans...go PATS!! It was my first ever live NFL game and it was soooo cool. The lights, seeing live ESPN coverage, and of course seeing the Patriots in person. I am still in amazement. I prayed and God answered. We were not spat upon, jeered (too much), thrown up upon nor did we have beer poured on us. So overall I think the night was a huge success. I am sure that had we had tickets higher up in the stadium maybe it would have been a bit rougher for us. However, I was practically spitting distance from Tom Brady and wow...so cool. We were four rows behind the Patriot's benches and I got some pics of Belichek, Bob Kraft, Brady, Bruschi and Randy Moss. I could have gotten so much better shots but of course my camera died shortly after turning it on. Amazing that we had the camera in the first place for any of you that know me well...I have resorted to placing it in my purse wherever we go so that I don't forget it. Which leads us to the night's problem of having the battery die. since it is in my purse all the time I forget to charge the battery!! If I take it out to charge it I then forget to put it back in my purse and the vicious cycle begins again. I am pretty sure my friend Jill would be HIGHLY disappointed in my lack of picture taking ability. I probably ought to take classes from her or something but alas...
Anyway, it was an amazing night of football and fun and I am so thankful for the experience. I think Jeff had fun too:)