Video - Bringing Grace Home

We've been home from China with Grace for a little over 3 months now and Grace has been an absolute joy and blessing.  Many friends and family have been a part of her journey home and continue to be part of her life here, Thank You!


This video is a surprise for Amy at Christmas and I also wanted to share it with all that have asked about how Grace has been doing.  As I look back on it, there's no way to adequately explain our experience these past few months, but this video gives a glimpse. We feel so blessed that God lets our family be a part of the Grace's story!
-David

Getting Closer to Home

Thanks to so many of you that have been praying for us and helping take care of our boys back home. We are only a day away from beginning the trip back home and although we've had a great experience here in Guangzhou we are certainly ready to get back home!

Grace continues to open up a little more each day. She's beginning to understand that if she expresses herself, even by crying, she will get some attention and have her needs met.  That's an extreme change from a week ago when we met her and she was simply content to be. Although we know she was cared for, she just didn't have very much personal attention.  

This past Friday, on our 5th day with her she finally shared a smile with us! She whipped back into serious mode as soon as she realized what she had done, but since that day she eases it out more and more. Now, you must understand, its only reserved for certain people, and Dad isn't one of those yet.  If she sees me looking when she smiles she'll narrow her eyes immediately and act as if she regrets letting me catch her. Tons of personality and a strong little will inside that tiny, quiet body.  She's developed a great bond with Amy and Grace will crane her little neck in whatever direction Amy goes if Amy needs to go to the next room or to get up from the breakfast table.

We've spent the weekend enjoying the Chinese culture as we have awaited our medical exam results and final appointments Monday. We enjoyed the city zoo, a local park, riding the subway system, and visiting a cultural museum where we saw things like a man who made skillful art by dipping the side of his hand into a plate of ink.  Everything from exchanging money to ordering pizza is an adventure!

We had our final appointment at the U.S. consulate this morning and the small paperwork glitch was worked out.  Grace's medical exam report came back ok and  now we have only to wait for the delivery of her U.S. VISA and some immigration papers that will be delivered to us at our hotel tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.  I should point out that if ever you find yourself in a foreign country and you deal with our U.S. government or military its most often the case that you are profoundly proud of and thankful for our country. The U.S. consulate was a beautiful building and we were treated wonderfully. 

After getting our final documents we will take a 4 hour van ride to Hong Kong where we will fly out on Wednesday morning at 11 am. (That would be Tuesday night at 10 pm central time)  We'll go through SF and Houston before arriving back at around 8:15 Wednesday night.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support! Please pray for a great trip home for Grace in the plane and continued grace and energy for Amy as Grace and I both prefer for her to do most of the 'mom' work.    

David

We got a SMILE!

David just sent this photo over and we had to share! Grace has flashed her first smile and it is precious!

Grace Update!

Hey Friends!

We just wanted to send out a quick update. We have finished up a lot of our appointments like getting the Chinese passport and medical exam as of today (Thursday night). We have an appointment on Monday with the U.S. Consulate and we are also awaiting our medical blood test results, which we pray are all cleared.  On Tuesday, we get Grace's U.S. visa and will leave for Hong Kong. 

Between appointments we've enjoyed some great family time with Grace at the pool, enjoying Cantonese cuisine, and shopping in the local markets. Tonight we went down the Pearl River on a two-hour dinner cruise. The city's skyscrapers and neon lights go on for what seems like miles and miles. 

Grace has opened up more to Amy, but is still so shy! She loves to suck her bottom lip when she gets nervous and seems to use her hands and fingers as her favorite entertainment.  I think both of those are conditioned from her time at the orphanage. Her smile count is still a big zero, but her trust seems to be steady with us. She takes everything in and expresses a lot with her eyes. She's shown she's intelligent in a number of ways, but hesitates in expressions at this point. I'm afraid she's going to have to get used to attention with the chubby cheeks and precious eyes she's got. Not to mention the attention Daniel and Robby are going to give her. They almost came through the phone on her when we Skyped the family tonight. 

She loves being close to Amy and if she's ever on the ground walking she immediately holds her hand up for someone to hold. She loves Kix cereal. Only problem is that it takes her two minutes to eat one of them.  She will take 7-8 bites out of each one. She does the same with most other food too. She could eat for an hour and still not be full because she is so deliberate.  

We're off to explore the Guangzhou Zoo by way of the Metro Subway tomorrow. It should be another adventure.  Thank you for the prayers! 

David

Meet Grace!

Hello Friends!

Thanks for your prayers...meet Grace!

It has been a blessed day for sure and so amazing! God answered our prayer for peace and assurance for Grace as she was brought to us and we were able to assume care of her. She held onto me and was content to just sit on my lap. She did not act afraid at all but was not very expressive either. She was just completely chilled! After leaving the Civil Affairs Office we went straight to the equivalent of Walmart. Yes... that is where our guide took us. We were able to get any additional things we might need to take care of her. Grace did awesome! 

   

Once we arrived at the hotel, David had to complete some paperwork while I got to stay and play with her. We read and ate snacks and she is already beginning to learn the sign for more! She likes to eat! Then, we went to a local Chinese restaurant and that girl ate some rice. I must admit it was the cutest thing watching her eat. She knew exactly what to do and did not want a grain of rice to fall on the table. (Hoping she can teach my boys a few table manners! :)

    

She fell asleep in my arms tonight while I sang some of my favorite worship songs. What a blessing! So thankful for this sweet girl and the way God made her. Praying for great appointments at the Civil Affairs Office tomorrow and for continued great bonding. That she would open up to us and begin expressing herself even if it means crying!

   

Excited for the next 9 days and looking forward to bringing her home to our boys, family, and friends. 

 So thankful for each of you and love you!

Amy

Update from China!

Hey Friends!

Greetings from China!  We wanted to let you know that we are doing great! We are getting adjusted to the time zone and excited to be meeting Grace tomorrow for the first time! Yesterday we spent the day in Beijing with three other families that are adopting. We saw Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City which was quite impressive and full of history. 

After that we traveled to the Great Wall and hiked a section. It was so steep and a great workout. The Great Wall was so spectacular and the views were amazing!

 I raced the boys in the picture to the top. They are with their parents and are adopting a little girl who has been with Grace. We feel so blessed to be together and pray that the girls will be a comfort to each other and help ease the transition! 

We flew to GuangZhou this morning and have had the day to get adjusted to our new hotel room which will be our home until we leave. There is a beautiful park across the street and we look forward to exploring it with Grace soon. We will meet Grace around 2:30 tomorrow. 

Pray for a great meeting and transition!

Amy

Waiting!

   The Spring has been such a wonderful time for our family but continues to be so busy. We have two birthdays to celebrate just this weekend. Robby is so blessed to have so many friends from church that were born within a month of him and so this is birthday season for us. All of that to say, I have just not had time to sit down and write anything in my blog.
   But, today I had to write because I just got word from our adoption agency that all of our paperwork was approved by China and all of our paperwork was logged into their system on 4/16/2012. We sent all of our paperwork off the Wednesday before Easter and these last few days I have been so anxious to hear something. I sat down to study the Word this afternoon and it was so good because I was just telling God that I trust Him and know that however long it takes, He has a plan. I felt a great sense of peace and finished studying. After studying, I turned on the computer to check email and I had an email from our agency. God is awesome and He sure knows how to confirm to me His plan.  From this point on, we are officially waiting. We will hopefully receive a referral within the next year. Thanks for checking in on our journey!