Our visit to Laibin and the Xingbin SWI

Yesterday we traveled 2 1/2 hours to Laibin and Xingbin (shin bin) SWI. This is where Maddie's orphanage and finding place were. David our guide arranged a van for John, & I our girls, Paul, Chuck and Karis. Karis is Maddie's little China sister. They are 2 weeks apart and both from Xingbin. We left at around 8 and arrived around 10:30, it was a long drive in the rain. It was scary driving down the highway without seatbelts and carseats. We had no choice but to just hold on tight to the babies! On our way back when we were stopped at a light we were rear-ended. It did not do any damage, but did startle us. Please keep praying for our safety. Laibin is a very mountainous area with beautiful trees and rocky hill sides.

It was a very humbling experience, the area where the orphanage is was very poor and dirty. There were children returning from school and walking through mud holes and down dirt streets. The directors and nannies are doing an incredible job, they are making the very best out of a difficult situation. There are no children in the orphanage right now, they are all in foster care. They currently have about 25 children in foster care. The SWI also cares for the elderly and infirm. We saw many elderly people sitting around eating and playing games. They had a small medical center and a physical therapy area where their special needs children come back on Sunday's for therapy.

The nannies and directors were so gracious with the girls. They truly loved them. It is so reassuring to know that she has been loved while she was waiting to be matched. We are starting to see the love we are giving returned. It is a truly remarkable experience, she is just blossoming before our very eyes. She could not roll over when we she was placed with us. Now, 4 days later she is rolling over front to back and back to front with no problem. I have had to work with the girls a little. They expect her to be able to do the things a 9-10 month old should be able to do. But, in reality she is at about where a 6-7 month old is developmentally. Mentally she is right on target, she is very bright. When you show her something one time she has it. I have every confidence that she will be caught up by her first birthday.

Our visit to Walmart!!!!

We made a trip to Walmart today. That was an experience! The Nanning Walmart is in a 3 story building; the 1st floor is a high end series of boutique shops, the 2nd floor was groceries and the 3rd floor was clothing and household items. We purchased some snacks and a few toys for Maddie. The girls had a great time picking out candy and Maddie had a great time playing with it! The girls had KFC for lunch and ice cream from McDonalds!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel. We have enjoyed visiting and letting the babies play.

We found out we get to go to Laibin tomorrow to see where Maddie lived her first 9 months. We will get to see her finding spot and her orphanage as well as see the local markets and village. Our guide David is going with us as are Paul, Charles, and Karis. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity, but am also a little nervous about going. Please pray for Maddie, I hope she will be okay with going back.

Alert!!! Cuteness ahead...

We had a little photo shoot in the hallway today. The girls were getting some great smiles out of her. She has done so well with joining our family, but you can just see she is slowly coming out of her shell. It's like the sun is coming out from the clouds and it looks like it's going to be a bright sunshiny day!

It's official...

she is stuck with us!!!! We signed her official adoption decree today. In the eyes of China she is ours forever!!!! We had a wonderful day meeting with officials and taking care of all of the necessary paperwork. It was so fun seeing each of these beautiful girls forever joined together with their families.

We had a great night with her. She woke up at 1:30 for a bottle and went right back to sleep. She slept between John and I all night in a slightly larger than twin sized bed. It was cozy but reassuring to have her right there with us all night.

She woke up a little bewildered, but quickly remembered who we were. I guess she has decided that we are okay. She has been so brave and just the sweetest little thing the past several hours. She does not like to be put down or have her diaper changed. We are just fine with holding her as much as she needs. After 5 years, we don't even want to put her down.

We met for breakfast at the hotel this morning around 7:30. It was a completely different scene from the morning before. John ordered a round of congee for all the babies and then we were in business. Congee is a rice porridge they serve for breakfast. At night they add a little meat and chicken broth to it.

We then met in the hotel lobby at 8:30 to start our day of paperwork. We went to the notary office and signed her decree and promised to never abandon, neglect or abuse her. I teared up when they asked that statement. She is just such a precious little one and we feel so blessed that we were chosen for her.

Our next step was to pay our fees and meet with the orphanage director and nanny. After a few more questions it was time for photos. We were very impressed with the staff, they genuinely cared for Maddie and Karis. It was very apparent in their actions and words that they truly love these little ones. We were able to visit with the nanny and ask a few questions. It was nice have that time with them.

After the exciting morning we headed back to the hotel. We ordered Pizza Hut and relaxed in our hallway for the afternoon. John and Maddie had a great nap and the girls and I risked our lives to run to the grocery store for diapers and formula. It is a bit like playing frogger to cross the street. We are getting better, I hope by the time we get to Guangzhou we are experts. I have heard it is a necessity!

We went to dinner as a group and celebrated our wonderful day! We are now just hanging out in the room, trying to get Maddie to stay up just a bit later. I will leave you with some photos. I promise to post about Family day soon. I am still wrapping my mind around the whole experience!

We have Maddie!!!!

I will post more tomorrow but I want to at least get the photos up since that is what you came for anyway.

It could not have been a better day, today was a complete answer to prayer. She didn't shed a tear and just came to us so willingly. At this point she thinks John is best, but I am gaining since I offer banana puffs.

We are trying to get her down for the night so I will keep it short. Check back tomorrow for more cuteness!!!

We are in Nanning

It is about 1:45 in Nanning. We are about an hour away from leaving the hotel to go to Maddie. We just returned from the store and purchased some snacks and a stroller. It was a fun experience for all of us. We are having fun with our group and are so excited about today. I will post photos as soon as I can. I still don't have blogger up, so you will have to put up with email updates.

Hong Kong

We spent this morning on a tour of Hong Kong. The weather was perfect for sightseeing. We visited Stanley market and purchased a set of chops for Maddie and a few decorative items for our home. We then went on a tour of a jewelry factory, a boat ride to see the house boats, and a scenic tour of Victoria Peak. We were able to get some great photos of HK, unfortunately the smog was very heavy today. This limited our visibility. We have done okay with the air quality until today. We all have sore throats from being out in it all day. In the photo of HK with the trees down at the bottom you can see the smog. From our vantage point there were buildings as far as you could see, in the photo you can see only the buildings closest to us.

We then went to a Dim Sum lunch with our guide. They served several types of dumplings and noodles. It was one of the best meals we have had since we have been here. We finished off our tour with a walk through downtown HK. It is an amazing city with very unique sights and sounds. As we were walking down Nathan Road today, every 2-3 feet someone was trying to sell you a fake watch or a tailored suit. It is interesting to see the contrast of the very wealthy and the working poor existing so closely together.

The girls finished off the day with a swim in the pool. We are all enjoying the warm weather after our frigid winter. It was about 70 here today, we were in short sleeves most of the day.

We are really enjoying our travel group. They are all very nice and it's nice to connect with some of the people we have visited with since the beginning. McKenna and my friend M.'s(guangximom - RQ)daughter L have hit it off beautifully. They are having a great time together. I was so glad that M and I hit it off as well in person as we have online. Nice to have a close person to go through this journey with. We are now less that 48 hours from meeting Maddie. It feels surreal to be this close. John and I both find ourselves looking at the little children we meet on the street wondering if that is what Maddie will look like at that age or is she that size. Answers we will soon have.

Disney day two...

Our second day at Disney was great fun. We started out the morning with a fabulous breakfast. We were all starving after sleeping thru dinner! John has been very adventurous with our meals. He even tried sushi this morning! The girls and I stayed with waffles and scrambled eggs! We visited all of the characters we could find and then rode space mountain a few more times. Lexi was still an object of attraction as well.

In the afternoon we headed to our hotel to meet with the rest of our group. We are staying in the beautiful Hyatt Sha Tin. It is several paygrades above what we usually stay in. It has the most amazing shower, I would stay in for hours if I could. I finally can post photos so I will post a few from Thurs. and Friday at Disney.

3 Day Recap

I finally have Internet access!!!

We were so proud of our girls, they endured the flight beautifully. We did not hear one complaint, have one tear, or anything. They could not have been better travelers.

 

It is about 55 right now, after a long frigid winter John & I are in heaven. John, however, is the only one in shorts.

 

We arrived in Hong Kong at about 6:30 Thursday morning, we collected our bags and proceeded to go thru customs and immigration. We then braved a taxi ride to the Disney resort and checked in early. We were so excited to have a shower, its the little things that make life wonderful!

 

We then proceeded to the park and enjoyed the rides and people watching. We however were the object of the watching. Lexi is having to adjust to staring and pointing. She caught one group of girls taking a photo of her hair, she is handling it with grace. We rode Space Mountain, Dumbo, and Buzz light year along with a few shows. At about 2:30 the time change started to really affect us, so we headed back to the hotel for a nap. We were planning on going back to the park for  the fireworks and more rides, except we ended up sleeping until early morning! We must have been really tired!!! I guess that is what happens when you miss Wednesday completely!

 

It is starting to sink in that we are really here. I find that about every 5-6 hours my eyes start welling up and I have to fight back the tears. I guess I really must not have believed this was really going to happen. John & I were talking about how hard it is to be this close to her and yet we still have a bit more waiting. We are just really focusing on spending this time enjoying our trip and our girls.

 

I will post photos later, still working out the bugs...

testing email

Just a quick post to check my settings for clogging via email.3 more sleeps and we are off to China!

We leave Tuesday!!

We received our consulate appointment this morning and were instructed to be in Hong Kong on March 11th. We will receive Madelynn on Monday March 14th and then fly home on the 26th. We are in awe that we are traveling so quickly. Tommorow is 1 month since referral and February was a short month. Only God!

I will post our full itnerary once it is availble to me! I have tickets and am ready to travel!

TA and an update!!

We were notified yesterday morning that we have received travel approval. This means China has officially invited us to come to China and pick up Maddie. We are now waiting on an appointment from the US Consulate. Once we have this appointment we can book our flight and go to China. They have requested dates that correspond with us leaving the 9th or 11th and the 16th or 18th. Bet you can't guess which one I am hoping for!!!!

We received an update for Maddie, with photos. She looks so good! She has grown so much, she is now 18lbs and has 2 teeth. I was stressing over whether her clothes would be too big or not, turns out they will be perfect. That is unless she has a major growth spurt!!! The have moved her to foster care, I hope that will be a good transition for her. I hurt for her for all the changes she has endured in her short little life. One thing is for sure, this will be her last family change. We are keeping her FOREVER!!!!

I am so thankful to have more photos of her, but now I really want to get on that plane! NOW!!!!

Referral Day reflections

It has taken me 2 1/2 weeks to fully process all of the events of February 3rd, when we saw Maddie's face for the first time. I still find myself in shock that we finally have been matched with this sweet little girl.

We were able to take the call with our girls, A was with us by speaker phone, as she was in school that day. My parents and John's mom were also able to join us. We had requested our call for 12:10, so John could be home for this very special phone call. The girls and I got up early that morning and finished school in record time. I then spent the rest of the morning cleaning and pacing the floors. Finally, at 12:00 John and our parents arrived. I then spent the next 12 minute wringing my hands worrying that they might not call or that we had been skipped.

Finally at 12:12 the phone rang. It was Beth from CCAI and she asked if it was a good time to call. I told her it was a perfect time to call! The next 7 minutes and 46 seconds were a blur, we were shocked at how young she was, we had been expecting a 14-18 month old. After we finished with the call we all gathered around the computer and watched Miss Maddie's face appear on the screen. To say it was love at first sight is an understatement! I felt bad for A, as when we saw the photo we were all screaming. We kind of forgot about her on speaker phone. We quickly hung up with her and sent her photos.

We spent the rest of the day just staring at her photo and sharing our wonderful news with family and friends.

Then on Friday the 4th we received our Letter of Approval and translated documents from CCAI. We also received 2 more photos of Maddie. We have had so much support from our family and friends. We can't wait to share our journey to Madelynn LiRu with all of you.

Now we are waiting for our Travel Approval, after that comes from China we will request a Consulate Appointment. After these two A's are obtained we will then book our tickets. We can't wait to get on that plane!

Where in the world is Maddie?

I thought it would be helpful for our friends and family to see where Maddie is living. She is in the Xingbin Social Welfare Institute in Laibin City in Guangxi Province in Southern China. She is not in foster care, but all reports of the orphanage are very positive. This has made waiting to travel so much easier to endure.

We are still hoping to travel in Mid-March, we are getting more anxious as time is passing. We just can't wait to have her in our arms and learn everything about her. If I could get on a plane today, I would.

More photos...

We received our Fed Ex package today with 2 more photos, her medical information and all of our official paperwork. We quickly checked the yes box and signed the necessary forms. The package is all ready for Fed Ex to pick-up on Monday.

It was so fun to see a little smile on her face. I have spent most of the day just staring at these three photos and scrutinizing each detail. We have noticed that her left eye lid is a little droopy, just like mine. She has rosebud lips just like our three girls. It is so fun to wonder what features they looked at when they matched her to us. Whatever they used it was perfect.

Here she is....

We are delighted to announce the referral of Madelynn Li Rue. She is residing in Guangxi Province. She was born on May 23, 2010. We are over the moon in love. Can't beleive this day finally came. More pictures to come tomorrow. Sigh... I'm in love...

It's a girl!!!

She was born on May 23, 2010. She is in Guangxi Province, in orphanage care. Will post more later!!! She is soo stinkin' cute!!!

Matches Received!!!

Our agency is reporting that they have received referrals for May 30th, 2006! That is us!!!!! We will get our call tomorrow around noon!!!!

Referral Broadcasting Systemt

This is a special alert from the Referral Broadcasting System.

From the Referral Broadcasting Center Wed. Feb. 2nd, 2011, 9:00 A.M..

The existing Referral Watch has officially been upgraded to a Referral Warning for the members of the May 2006 DTC group by the Referral Broadcasting Center.

This Referral Warning is in effect for all of North America for the next 7 days. Disturbances in the Pacific jet stream indicate the departure of the silver stork. Further, several North American agencies have hinted that the silver stork may have already departed Mainland China.

Those whose dossiers are part of the Referral Warning area should take urgent and immediate steps to be sure they can be reached at all times; including such drastic measures as affixing your cordless phone or cell phone to your head with duct tape. It is also strongly recommended that you have ample supply of paper, writing instruments and tissues nearby. If you receive the Referral call while driving, immediately pull over to a safe spot off the roadway to prevent unintended injury to yourself or to others.

Be aware that once an actual referral post appears on RQ from a referral call within North America, conditions on adoption forums will dramatically decline for the remaining waiting families. Take appropriate steps now to prepare your heart and mind for an extended wait. Remember that your Agency Worker might be in an important meeting and unable to call for another 15 minutes; or the traffic Gods may have the DHL driver whose truck contains your referral packet held up in traffic. Rest assured that a swarm of ladybugs will swoop in and remove the roadblocks. These situations are completely out of your hands.

Those who are up next for sharing Referral news on this list should take notes now to be sure you provide your fellow listmates with appropriate information. Do not attempt to remember by heart what you need to post once you are under the influence of Referral Call Brain. Please post your child’s name, birth date, and SWI location; as well as the age of child requested. Use of special characters such as #, $, %, &, @, or ^i^ in your Referral announcement heading is left to your personal discretion and preference.

> - END OF MESSAGE - Referral Broadcasting Network

I copied this off of another adoptive parents blog. (Waiting for Chloe) I thought is sums up our waiting experience and all the emotions involved!!!

Phone Calls in Europe!!!

Here we go!!!