So close...

At the hong kong airport- awaiting our on time flight! Here's to hoping it stays that way!
This little girl has a new found energy- as well as a really cute, albeit loud, voice. So this plane ride ought to be fun!
Birmingham airport 9:45 pm or bust!



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Goodbye and goodnight!

I can't believe it's our last night in Guangzhou! Tomorrow we take a 3 hour van ride to hong kong, spend the night there, and fly hong kong to Chicago-Dallas-Birmingham on thursday (or kind of 2 Thursday's with the time difference...). Now for anyone following this blog during our china travels, I'm sure that makes you as nervous as it makes us. That's a LOT of flights with a LOT of connections. Soooo... Clearly we need some prayer here. We should arrive in Birmingham on Thursday night at 9:45pm on american airlines. If you want to come to the airport to meet us, we just ask 2 things:
1. Check our flight arrival time before you come... The odds aren't in our favor for an on time arrival ;)
2. If you don't mind waiting down by baggage claim so we can hug our boys first! (not that we are expecting a massive crew at 10pm at night!! but you know...)

So down to business... Today we had our consulate appointment, where we take an oath to love and care for Mamie, signed some papers and got the visa rolling. We will get her visa tomorrow at 3:30 and we are free to come home! It was a neat little process, but no cameras are allowed inside. So we took our picture in the lobby and headed off to lunch. Charles deemed a celebratory meal at the Irish pub with some friends. And that is what we did! Then nap, play, dinner and bed. Nothing too exciting... Just trying to prepare Mamie for home! Where there is no daily excursion with 14 of her closest friends, no buffet breakfast, not total freedom to do whatever she wants... She may be pretty bummed to realize the reality of her new life!

In case I can't blog again before we leave, here are some Mamie milestones:
1. She started walking by herself today- without holding my hand
2. She let Charles hold her for about 3 seconds- twice... Now we tricked her into it, but it still happened
3. Her personality is busting out- she is quite a character, feisty and sassy- but also very sweet. Just praying her activity level stays at a minimum until we are done with plane rides. Please.















And on that note... Good night!

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China skip day

Last night we took a dinner cruise around the city. It was pretty cool- all of the buildings here are lit up at night. So this gave us a chance to see all of it! Most importantly, Mamie got to wear her new adorable dress- made by the mom of her orphanage friend as a baby gift and her squeaky new shoes that fit both feet. Maybe she new she was fancy because she walked all over that boat! Or maybe it was that the shoes actually fit. Or that they squeaked. Probably the latter.

We got back really late, so today we really just relaxed all day. We slept in, had a late breakfast and played in the room. We made up new games and she would laugh hysterically! After lunch, we were supposed to go to the zoo, but we all really needed a nap instead. Playing in the room has worked wonders in getting her to come out of her shell. So china skip day it is!

Several of you have mentioned how this looks like the "perfect" adoption. And i will say its pretty darn close. Its not always easy... We have our moments, like sheer terror at bathtime- so just don't mention her stinkyness and greasy hair at the airport- we are choosing our battles. But in all seriousness, this is what we prayed for, for 17 months. That God would prepare this little girl's heart for us. That bonding would come quickly, and that Mamie would fit right into our family without missing a beat. I think it's what all adoptive parents pray for... And they don't always go as well as ours has so far (note the emphasis on so far). But we are truly blessed and very thankful.

Now if you will excuse us, we are off to Starbucks.





Look at those shoes!









She loves oranges! Do they eat the peel in china?



Charles favorite part of the cruise









Our little monkey loves bananas



Her very own lunch- the fruit plate. Quite a lunch.

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Shop til you drop

And that's just what we did today. Pearls, jade, dresses, shoes, gifts.
We covered it all. And Mamie? That girl can shop. She happily played in her stroller ALL day. No fussing, until 3:00 when she crashed hard! I asked Charles if he thought she would stay perfect... So easy and compliant forever. He just laughed. Well a mom can dream right?!




Playtime. She can stack some cups I tell ya...


Chinese version of lawn mowers... Hedge clippers



Watching them cut grass



Dinner last night at Mexican restaurant with other lifeline families



Pearls and I mean a lot!






Mamie and her friend shopping for jade






Lucy's- the adoption restaurant :)






Creating a "chop" for Mamie for later on in her life



SHOES! All those precious shoes behind us. And thankfully they are cheap! Because I lost one of her shoes on the airplane... And not only that- her feet are 2 different sizes, so we have to buy 2 pair of each!

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Delayed Progress

The story of our travels.

When I said in my last post I loved Nanning, I didn't mean this much. Our short little 1 hour jaunt to Guangzhou, turned into a 6 hour delay. Our flight was supposed to be at 5:50 pm. It left at 12:45 am. We finally got into the hotel at 3:00am. Really do I need to say anymore?

So onto the more important thing: PROGRESS
Our daughter is amazing. We watched this frightened and lifeless child be transformed before our very eyes. Where 2 days ago, we had seen 1/2 of a smile- she now doesn't stop. Where we hadn't heard her little voice, she is now saying a few words and giggling. Where she would hardly look at a toy, she can't get enough of her family photo album. Constantly pointing to each family member and making us say each name over and over. And where she would only look at us with her head down, eyes peering up, she now looks up for me to kiss her constantly.

I absolutely can't believe what the Lord can do in the life of the lifeless in 24 hours. I'm beyond overwhelmed.
I have so many verses running through my head, I can't write them all down.

He leads us beside still waters and restores our soul
We are a new creation in Christ- the old is gone and the new has come
He has come so that we may have life and have it more abundantly!!!!!

How amazing that these words look completely different to me now. This is the heart of adoption. This is life in Christ.

I'm dying for you to meet our precious, Mamie "Joy". We never knew when naming her, but God knew :)




Beginning of playing












Our travel friends and our guide David at the airport. A very long day at the airport.






Doesn't she look different?! And this at 12:30 am. She NEVER slept (or fussed!) until we got on the plane. Apparently she had stored up her energy for several days for this very moment. Totally content and playing the entire time!



This morning at the medical checkup. Oh boy can she eat. And looking at the family pictures.





And she is so tall, she didn't fit on the baby measuring table. Her feet jammed into the end of it.

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