We're Packed and Ready To Go!

We had a really good last day in Guangzhou. We took the kids swimming this morning and Emma loved the pool. Mavery was so cute just sitting and watching the older two play, but never got more than her feet wet. I think Isaiah and Emma would have stayed all day.

We ate lunch at the hotel and rested a bit before the red couch pictures and our trip to the Consulate. Isaiah and Brit stayed at the hotel for some brother/sister time and Jeff and I took Emma for the swearing in. Everything went fairly quickly and Emma will be an official US citizen when she steps off the plane in Minneapolis.

We ate a the hotel's Chinese restaurant tonight for our farewell dinner with Mark and Shannon. Emma must have known it was her last meal here because she ate more meat than I've seen her eat all week. I don't know where she put it but she definately enjoyed every bite. We have so enjoyed our time with Mark and Shannon and the Crawford's. We're going to miss them so much. It's hard to say good-bye when we know Emma and Mavery have been so close, but we'll always keep the girls in touch.

I've made my last shopping and snack run and think I'm ready to close the last suitcase. I know we'll be back someday either to visit friends or bring our kids back to their homeland. We'll miss the people here, but are so ready to be home and with our friends and family. Good-bye from China!

Much love--Leigh
PS I got to kiss Emma on the forehead tonight without a shove or a grimace...that's by far the best "gift" I could have received before I left!

Catching up

We had a really relaxing morning staying at the hotel and waiting for the phone call from Connie to say that all the paperwork went thru the Consulate interview without any hitches...and it did. Tomorrow afternoon will be the swearing in and all will be official on the US side of the things.

Emma and Isaiah had a really good morning wrestling and hanging out with each other. They are so funny together. Emma can easily take Isaiah down (much like Brit used to do Blake) and he thinks it is so funny...at least for now!? Emma continues to let her guard down with me more and more, especially when we're just being silly. She'll still "catch" herself every so often as if to say "oh yeah, I'm not supposed to like her". We're trying to keep the bathroom time (potty breaks and baths) to just me and her and she is fine with that. I can't wait until her hair grows out and we can have girl time fixing hair.

Our trip to the safari park and zoo yesterday was really nice, hot, but nice. The kids loved seeing the animals, especially the pandas. The other family we are in Guangzhou with got to ride the elephant at the park. I loved watching Jerrilea and Ella as the elephant would spray people with water. I really wanted to ride, but Isaiah said he'd probably cry and I wasn't sure about Emma since she was so tired by that point. We did love feeding and holding the baby tiger.

Emma is so funny and I love to watch her come out of her shell. Tonight we were saying "your welcome" in Chinese and Emma kept repeating us when all of a sudden she blurted out "your welcome" in English as clear as a bell. We all started laughing and she just had this proud as a peacock sort of look on her face. She loves to eat as much as Isaiah. Some of her favorites are spaghetti, chicken, watermelon, apples, and bread.

We took some really cute pictures of the kids around the hotel today that I'll try and post later. I can't believe we'll be headed home in less than 48 hours!

Much love--Leigh

We're in Guangzhou

We arrived in Guangzhou about 8:30 last night and to our hotel around 10:30. It was a long day for the kids without naps and with such a late flight, but they did great. Emma did really well on her first flight, other than the moment Jeff though she was going to puke...but that passed and she was fine. We are just praying for smooth flights and no air sickness for the trip home! She was so excited when she saw the plane and loved having her own personal television so she could punch buttons.

She's had a really good day today and seems so much more herself. The medical exam went really well and all the doctors were so kind to her. She did so good with her eye exam. She could see the fifth line from the bottom, which is really good. Her left eye couldn't focus on the chart, but she responded a little to the light. Everyone comments on how beautiful her eyes are and, of course, we agree! We also took her to the clinic in the hotel for her cough. They think she has bronchitis and gave us some antibiotics to get us thru the rest of the trip.

I wish I could catch Emma crinkling her nose and covering her mouth when she gets tickled, it's just too cute. She loves to put her little ladybug wrist purse on and walk with her arm up like the little princess she is. It's so fun to see more of her personality coming out as she gets settled with us.

She has been waking up at night screaming, but falls back to sleep. We just keep praying for her peace at night. She goes to bed really well, but between the coughing, night terrors, and falling out of bed (she had rails on her bed at the SWI and we now have a bed next to the wall so that should help), it's never really restful.

We are so glad to be in Guangzhou and in a hotel that has some room for us to spread out. I'm also looking forward to shopping while we're here...it's just so much easier and more peaceful on the "island". I'll also try and post some pictures from Emma's medical exam and the plane. Isaiah wants his friends and Mrs. Bromwell to know he misses them and can't wait to see them and tell them all about his trip.
Thanks for all the prayers that have gone up for us. We couldn't do this without all our prayer warriors at home!

Much love--Leigh

About Emma

I know my posts have been pretty short and sweet this time, but between two little ones and internet problems I haven't been able to much more. I wanted to take a minute and share some more about Emma before I'm interupted again. I really am always amazed at how our China kids leave all they've ever known and embrace us the way they do. I look at my own struggles with new things and change and have nothing but admiration for how brave they are. Emma is no different. I know she has so much she's experienced before us and that all those things will always be apart of her. She has been such a little trooper in all of this. I do see her "coping" with all these new things in the only way she knows how. Sometimes it might be a shove, withdrawing, or anything else that might test this new family and the world she's been thrown into. Other times she's just wanting to hold a hand, share something with us, or comfort Isaiah when he's sad (which has been several times over the past 2 days).

She is really funny, but in a much more covert or quiet way. She was playing stickers with Isaiah today and he put one on a blank page. When he turned to get another one, she turn the page over. He looked at the page with this question on his face and Emma quickly turned it back over and giggled. Isaiah and her both just started laughing. They'll definately give each other a run for the money.

She has struggled in her relationship with me, but we have made some headway. Last night was really good for us. I was listening to my Chinese words and phrases CD and let her listen. She really liked it and would repeat all the phrases, but added to "boo shir" (no) to most of them. I would say it like she said it and she would laugh. Pretty soon she was sitting next to me and calling me mama, which hasn't happened since the first day (she's pretty much ignored me). It so blessed my heart. I know it must be so hard for her to just let her guard down and embrace, when she doesn't know that this is really forever and is still grieving the loss of her Jinhua family.

She also grabbed my hand today when I was walking down the hall and held it until we reached the lobby, so I know we're making progress.

We toured the lake this morning and it was really beautiful. We also ate at a really good Chinese restaurant. We hope to visit the silk market tomorrow before we leave. Our flight doesn't leave for Guangzhou until 6:30 and we have to check out of our hotel at 2pm, so I'm praying the girls do okay during the wait. I would just continue to ask for prayer for Emma to be more settled and that we can communicate without her getting too frustrated.

I apologize for not getting pictures posted from the orphanage visit...they were erased from our memory card by accident, so I'm really thankful Shanoon was with us. I may not get another post up until Guangzhou.

Much love--Leigh

(the above pictures were from our visit to the lake and with our guide, Peter)