We are HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well.....................it took forever and an eternity to get home, but home is where we are!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! The plane trips were a bit hairy at times, but we got through them. When we arrived in Chicago, we found our flight to Columbus was cancelled! Yikes!!!! We were so longing for home, that news like that was not welcomed very happily. We were given top priority standby for another flight, after Paul gave them our sob story. Nevertheless, we got on the plane. Unfortunately, the weather was horrible, so we sat for a long time. We finally arrived in Columbus with bags in tow. When Xiao E saw her new brothers and sister, she became a different little girl. She was happy and playful. She had a blast exploring the playroom and all around the house. She has done extremely well. She seems to have changed her attitude towards mama, which is a blessing. I think the competition with the other kids had something to do with that!

We continue to struggle with the language barrier and accepting "no" as an answer. I don't know if anyone told her "no" before. She really has quite the meltdown when we have to tell her "no." She will have to learn that one pretty quick.

Paul and I are facing these days with JETLAG! We must be getting old! Xiao E is doing ok with sleep. We have been keeping her awake during the day (although she really needs to nap), so she sleeps during the night. Hope we catch up on sleep soon. Everyone can deal better with change when they have plenty of rest.

Derek, Daniel, and Aslynn had a great time with their grandparents while we were gone. They had very busy schedules. Grandma and Grandpa are pooped, I'm sure. We are so thankful they did so well with us gone. We missed them dearly!

Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement. We know that all the prayers have gotten us through so far! I'll try to keep the blog going with some updates and pictures. It seems to be a good way to let all of you know how things are going!

We are in Guangzhou!!!!

We made it to the final leg of our journey. Time to work with the U.S. Consulate. Praying that everything goes smoothly. We got to see Xiao E's orphanage staff, etc. one more time before we left Changsha. It was very good for Xiao E to see them one more time. We got some pictures that will be special to her for years to come. She did very well after seeing them. She had her usual sad time, but seemed to still have a good evening, which has been her best time of the day so far.

We left our dear guide, Susan, at the Guangzhou airport (as she was going on to visit in the States). That was probably the hardest on Xiao E, as she had grown attached to her during the week. Xiao E did have terrible motion sickness on the flight. Guess the one up-side to not wanting mama is that daddy and our guide, Susan, had to deal with her getting sick. :) Guess we will be looking for some motion sickness medicine before we fly home. We met our new guide, Helen, and off we were to the White Swan Hotel. It was so nice to finally run into other adoptive families. Shaiman Island hasn't changed much since we were here 2 years ago. Weather is absolutely beautiful, although the air is EXTREMELY polluted. Xiao E struggled as we got here, as she was trying to attach to our new guide, who is her best lifeline for language. She was pretty somber with us today. We took her to the cars you see in the above picture that kids could ride on in the park. After a few spins, daddy had spent enough money and was done. Xiao E was NOT! Try explaining to someone in another language that it is time to get off a fun toy car, and see how that goes! :) She pitched a huge fit. We had a captive audience. She went off on Paul. Luckily, a store owner we recognized from our last trip (who speaks good English) was walking down the road. We asked him to explain to Xiao E that we would ride the cars again, but we were done for now. She seemed to settle down when he talked to her. Thank goodness!

Tonight, she has been (and still is) extremely keyed up! She let mama give her a bath again. She even let mama walk with her and her baby (in a stroller) up and down the hallway. Unfortunately, she isn't wanting to sleep tonight, and after such an early morning, Paul and I are ready to sleep!:)

Tomorrow we go to get her "medical exam" and visa picture taken. Hopefully, we can do a little shopping, too. Mama has not been able to spend money yet. Hopefully, Xiao E will be cooperative. I want to buy her a pair of shoes, but haven't figured out how to get her to take off the pair she HAS to wear ALL the time to see what fits. I'll have to be tricky!

Thanks again for all your prayers. Coming back to the comforts of home will definitely help Paul and myself deal with Xiao E's transition much better. We aren't looking forward to the snow, however! We leave here Feb. 16 EARLY and get home Feb. 16 around 5 PM........sounds like a short flight, but unfortunately, it takes FOREVER!!!!

Maybe when I wake up, they'll be gone!!!!

This is depression at its best. Here is a typical part of the day for Xiao E right now. She wants to get up on the bed and just forget about what is going on. She has to stay in her coat and shoes, of course. We aren't sure why she chooses to sleep that way on the edge. Perhaps it is so there is no room for mommy or maybe just she can get down quickly when she wants. She does sleep in the same bed with mama at night, no problem.

Our days are full of highs and lows right now. Today wasn't bad. Xiao E definitely is feeling more comfortable with baba. We went on an outing to Hunan University with our guide, Susan. Xiao E did a good job of holding both of our hands, and she did not seem quite as attached to Susan. When we got back and Susan was gone, she went into her crying/pouting/sleeping routine. After she slept awhile and got bored, we went out for a nice walk. That went very well. She held both our hands again. We watched some kids playing and bought some treats/snacks. We actually got to sit and have a casual cup of coffee and sweet milk. Of course, Xiao E had to sit with baba and kept mama at a watchful distance. :)

After coming back to the room, Xiao E allowed mama to give her a bath again. Never even asks baba to do that. She seems to relax a bit. After she has mama rub lotion on her and get her in her pj's, she has to have mama put her hair back up just they way she always wears it. She will put her hand up there to check to make sure I'm doing it the same! What a hoot! Good thing it isn't too complicated. Baba decided to go out for a bit tonight to see how she would do without him here. She decided she was going to sleep if he wasn't going to be here. She did just get up to go to the bathroom and did get caught up in the moment having a little fun! We brushed her teeth, etc. Then, back to bed she goes. Of course, it really is way too early for her to go down for the night, so I am waiting to see how long it takes for her to get up.

Please pray as tomorrow morning at 9, we go to meet the orphanage director and staff. We feel like it would be good for her to see them one last time, have her see us with them, and to be reassured by them that this is going to be ok. Yes, we anticipate a bunch of crying, etc., but we really see that anyway!!:) We are going shopping with the staff, as they have picked out a "filter" of some sort for us to purchase for the orphanage. They want to host us for lunch. We are not allowed in the orphanage, as it is not open to the public. I do believe they will take some pictures for us. They are very accomodating.

On Sunday, we fly to Guangzhou!!!! I think leaving this hotel and all will do Xiao E wonders. This place gives all of us some bad memories. The weather should be nice enough to do a bunch more outdoors. We love to shop there, too. Hoping we get a chance. We are grateful to all of you keeping us in your prayers. Sounds like our brood at home is doing well. We are so proud of them!!!! Until next time!

One step forward, three steps backwards!!!

Well, we have officially turned a beautiful little almost four year old's world upside-down! It has been pretty rough for Xiao E to accept the fact that she will not be returning "home." "She likes it at the orphanage," she tells our guide. She says "She can't understand baba and mama!" She holds on tight to any Chinese person who communicates with her. How frustrating for someone so small. Who am I kidding? It is frustrating to me to not be able to communicate to people at MY age!

Yesterday and today have been rough. Xiao E spent some time talking this morning to our guide and our guide reassured her about mama and baba, but Xiao E can play the game of cooperating to get her way.....out of the room to find her way back home! Poor baby! After this morning, she really got tight with our guide, Susan, to the point of rejecting anything mama did. Mama has had a tough time dealing with that emotionally, but knows that this too shall pass. Xiao E is more accepting of daddy for the most part, because he has no real competition. But......as soon as things looked like they couldn't get any worse, back in the room, daddy got Xiao to have mama open some candy for her, etc. and mama got Xiao E to sleep for her nap. She knows that those kinds of things are mama's "job." Needless to say, the more we can limit her access to Chinese people to do things for her, the more she needs us! We are staying in the room for dinner tonight and have nothing on the schedule for most of tomorrow. We'll see after that.

Xiao E is sleeping right now for her nap with her shoes and coat on. Won't let us take them off except for bath and bed at night. As soon as she wakes up, she has to have everything right back on. She doesn't even want a different outfit. At least she likes baths!!!

Please continue to pray for her to feel trust and peace with us. I think, until she has to adapt to us back in the states, this part of the journey will be rough. I hope being around other children, too, will not be so boring. There are still no other adoptive parents at the hotel, and they are used to many. What luck! Please continue to pray for Paul and myself, as emotionally, this is so hard for us! We feel like we are causing her pain, yet we know in our hearts that we know the bigger picture. We still feel blessed to have her and can't wait for her to be happy. We know she can be, as we have had some good times, too. She is a ham and full of energy when she wants to be!

Until next time!

Gotcha Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!!!!!!! 3PM finally came, and we were off to Civil Affairs. Shortly after we arrived, we heard that Xiao E was on the 1st floor elevator. We were on the 3rd floor. We heard from an earlier phone call that Xiao E was doing well and excited about coming. She was accompanied by Director Yao and a few other staff personal. She came in loaded with treats (bribes), smiles, and kisses for her new mama and baba. The orphanage people had her perform several things. Paul tried to get some video, but he was soon wisked away to fill out a few papers. Then, he got to "play" while I signed some stuff and went over Xiao's schedule. It was not until I (Jackie) showed her a carebear that says some things, that Xiao E showed some fear. Turns out that ever since she saw a doll with its head separated from its body, she HATES dolls and such! Who would have figured. I tried to put it away on a bench, but it "talked" again. Finally, someone who could translate the situation explained the story.

The director answered a few questions (I had a ton more), and took a few pictures. Then, she and another gal decided to distract Xiao E with throwing something in the trash and made a mass exodus without her seeing. Xiao E did NOT like that. She wailed for a time! She cried on the way out to the taxi. We went to a store, and she settled there, as she picked out a pair of shoes she wanted (boy are they ever something......pink tennis shoes that light up like mad). Not mama's pick! She also decided she wanted a little toy drum, a coloring book, and we picked a dvd of songs for her. I bought one pair of pants out of desperation for her, as she seems much bigger than we thought. She is very SOLID! I brought 3T's, but am not sure that 4T's might have been better. We'll see what fits tomorrow.

She cried the way home in the taxi and screamed going into the hotel. Our guide came to our room with us, and for a while could calm her a little by talking with her in Chinese. I think that was the biggest shock for her.......mama and baba don't speak chinese. They don't understand what she is saying! Our guide finally sneaked out, and all was well. She loves to color. We played. She has asked to go back to the orphanage several times. That is what we think she is saying. She says it over and over. Daddy went to bring in some food, which she ate some of. She would rather eat junk!

We were surprised they give her "formula" (sweet milk) a couple times a day at almost 4 years old. She did happily take a bath (the first we could get her to take off her coat and her 100 layers). She was so HOT! She played in the bath. She let me put on her pj's. She was anxious for me to get in the bed with her, and after she drank her milk, she cuddled in. Her bedtime is at 9. She stayed awake quietly looking around for about a half hour and fell asleep. Hopefully, she will sleep all night!!:) We have an early morning at Civil Affairs to complete the adoption. Hopefully, she won't wake up freaked out!

Will keep you posted. Have lots to fill our time with now.

We are in Changsha!!!!!

Well..........................after a long day (or was it 2?), we arrived in Changsha around 10 PM Feb. 4. We traveled from Columbus to Chicago to Beijing to Changsha all in one day (or was it 2?). We had easy flights and no problems in the airports. Paul does have an eye infection, so we pray that it clears up soon. He did have a doctor at O'Hare airport take a look at it (in their clinic). He gave him eye antibiotic drops. They seem to be helping, but Paul is unable to wear his contacts and is wearing his OLD glasses that really aren't his right prescription! I am his "seeing eye dog!!" He has been resting a bunch with his eye shut to see if that helps it improve.

Today is Sunday, Feb. 5, and it is cold and rainy! Our guide, Susan, is a real sweetheart! She is looking after us carefully. She even is afraid for us to cross the streets by ourselves. She has arranged for someone to walk us across for dinner tonight, as she is not staying in the hotel since we are not in a large group. We did a little paperwork today. We meet our guide at 3PM tomorrow (Monday, Feb. 6) to go to the Civil Affairs office to meet Ava Xiao E. Our guide did say she heard that Ava is VERY ACTIVE, so we will get to find out what that exactly means tomorrow!!!! :)

Our hotel, The Gold Source Hotel in Changsha, is nice. The room is comfortable. We are just relaxing today. Can't really do much venturing out as the weather is not good. Also, not everything is open today, as CNY festival is still finishing up, so some things won't open until maybe tomorrow.

We seem to be the only caucasians around right now. Boy, it is different (but maybe a good opportunity) to be the minority somewhere. Lots of stares! There should be other adoptive families coming in later, but because of CNY, many agencies probably didn't have groups come until next week. We were the only caucasians on the flight to Changsha last night. Got lots of stares. A maybe 10 year old Chinese girl was ticketed to sit next to us on the plane, and did at first. She seemed to know several people entering the plane, and as they did, she would start laughing and pointing to us, like she was thinking it was funny to be sitting with these two foreigners. Lots of conversation we didn't understand going on around us about the whole thing. She finally chickened out and since the flight was not full, decided to move. :) We were semi-glad, as we were both DEAD at this point and took it upon ourselves to nap for the 2 hour flight, so we could focus on finding our guide at the Changsha airport.

Will try our best to keep you posted on our fun here!