Lexi plays the "drums":
We get the official adoption certificates!
Sophi uses her feet!
At the orphanage:
Sophi's playroom:
Some like their leis...
...some do not:)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Pics
Jesi sings Sophi to sleep:
Lexi plays the "drums":
We get the official adoption certificates!
Sophi uses her feet!
At the orphanage:
Sophi's playroom:
Some like their leis...
...some do not:)
Lexi plays the "drums":
We get the official adoption certificates!
Sophi uses her feet!
At the orphanage:
Sophi's playroom:
Some like their leis...
...some do not:)
Long Day...
As you have counted your blessings and expressed your gratitude for all that you have been given, have you ever listed the sit-down toilet as something you are grateful for? I have truly come to appreciate this taken-for-granted amenity over the past few days. While the squatty potty is somewhat of an improvement over the outhouse, it just cannot compare to the comfort and convenience of the porcelain throne we enjoy in the western world. Teri’s unfortunate prediction proved unpleasantly prescient and within less than 24 hours I was cursed to encounter a toilet tragedy which slightly surpassed the foulness factor of Christi’s incident with Lexi the day before. But let me start from the beginning…
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a LONG day. We decided to visit the orphanage in Luoyang. This had been Sophi’s home for basically her entire life. Lexi had been under the supervision of the same orphanage, but was in foster care for most of the time. While we were in Luoyang, the plan was to visit the nearby Longmen Grottoes (check out pics on Google-it’s quite an amazing site). Since the drive to the orphanage was 2.5 hours one way, we knew we were in for a long day, but we decided the opportunity to visit and take some pictures of the orphanage was worth the effort. Someday, those pictures will give Sophi a sense of where she came from.
The ride out to Luoyang wasn’t too bad. Long, but relatively pleasant. There was some interesting scenery, including the yellow river. We also saw caves in many of the surrounding hills which, we were told by our guide, still serve as homes to some of the poorer people in the area. Once we got to the orphanage, it was a sobering experience. The condition of the orphanage was pretty good. The staff seemed genuinely interested in and concerned about the children. But any time you have children without parents, it is a truly heart-wrenching experience. Christi, Jesi and Graci handed out the candy leis made by our friends in Herriman and the kids just LOVED them! They had big smiles for us.
We were able to visit the playroom where Sophi had spent most of her days. We also visited the bedroom where she slept. There were probably at least 30 cribs, all lined up and made beautifully. But the poignancy of those many children going to bed, night after night, without a mommy or a daddy to tuck them in made this a scene I will long remember. Are there perhaps a few more families who could be blessed by inviting one of these little souls to come into their home? Sophi was definitely ill-at-ease throughout the orphanage visit, but when we went into the bedroom, she really freaked out. She was very mad and howled until we left the room.
At the end of the visit, the orphanage director met with us and thanked us for adopting these special children. She gave us a nice gift (a long, hanging scroll with Chinese lettering). Then she took all of us out to a nice lunch. At lunch, Lexi had to use the bathroom several times, and it was becoming apparent that she wasn’t feeling great. After the meal we traveled the short distance to the Grottoes. There was a lot of walking during the Grotto tour, so we strapped Sophi into the hip carrier we brought. She was attached to me, and she was NOT happy. She screamed and yelped for the bulk of the tour, but I kept her strapped in. A lack of arms makes it quite difficult to carry a child, due to balance issues and her not being able to hold on at all, in addition to the fact that there is no natural “gripping place” under the arms to grab on to. So we stuck with the carrier and Sophi continued to let us know she did not like it, not one little bit.
At one point in the tour, Lexi and Jesi both had to use the bathroom. Christ took them into an outhouse-like bathroom that had only a squatty potty. Fortunately for Christi, she had a leftover napkin from lunch, so all was not lost. It was later on in the day that I had my “make-me-want-to-cry-to-mommy” moment with the girls. Everyone had gone up a huge staircase to view the largest and most famous of the cliff carvings. Everyone except for Lexi, Sophi, Graci and me. Sophi was still unhappy. Lexi suddenly asked to use the bathroom. I was going to just have her wait until the rest of the group came back down and I had some more help. But poor little Lexi started crying and was doubled over in pain. This was not like her at all. So I did what I had to do. I handed Sophi to Graci and took Lexi to the bathroom. As I walked away, Sophi was howling to beat the band. We garnered more than our usual share of confused looks. I didn’t have any wipes or toilet paper with me because the backpacks were with the group at the top of the stairs. I found myself in a squatty potty rest room with a little girl who had a VERY unsettled stomach and no toilet paper except for the used stuff in the waste basket that Christi had been forced to use the day before. What goes around, comes around, and now I am truly penitent for laughing at Christi’s plight.
The rest of the day wasn’t much better. The drive home was very long. My knee had developed some sort of problem that made it very difficult and painful to keep it in a bent position (like the kind of position you find yourself in when riding in a Chinese van that has about 8 inches less leg room than your average economy class airplane seat). By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. I was feeling exhausted and a bit discouraged and kind of gave up. I just laid down on the bed and didn’t do much else the rest of the night. My dad went and got some Chinese take-out. (True story, not just a bad joke☺.) Christi put the kids to bed. I got up when the food came and ate too much. Then I got up two hours later and brushed my teeth. Then I got up about 15 times in the night with an upset stomach. Christi had a brutal headache all night. Lexi woke up with a cough. And Sophi doesn’t have any arms. Oh, I guess we already knew that. But you get the picture. It was a rough day and night.
Today has been much better. We’re all feeling at least somewhat improved. We didn’t have to go anywhere, so we slept in, went swimming, went to dinner and didn’t do much else. We’re in much better spirits. I even returned Christi’s favor and volunteered to get Lexi Li and Sophi Bre to bed while she and my dad took the girls shopping for a few Zhengzhou souvenirs. Can’t believe we’re leaving tomorrow!
Well, I must say I am more in love with these two little girls than ever. Challenges? Many. Lack of sleep? Indeed. Unbelievably beautiful grins from my girlies? Too many to count! Random “I love you, baba”s from Lexi? Several times a day. Waves from Sophi’s toes with a smile that competes with the sun? Priceless! I am a blessed man, and my greatest blessings call me (sweetheart and) Daddy!
Jer
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a LONG day. We decided to visit the orphanage in Luoyang. This had been Sophi’s home for basically her entire life. Lexi had been under the supervision of the same orphanage, but was in foster care for most of the time. While we were in Luoyang, the plan was to visit the nearby Longmen Grottoes (check out pics on Google-it’s quite an amazing site). Since the drive to the orphanage was 2.5 hours one way, we knew we were in for a long day, but we decided the opportunity to visit and take some pictures of the orphanage was worth the effort. Someday, those pictures will give Sophi a sense of where she came from.
The ride out to Luoyang wasn’t too bad. Long, but relatively pleasant. There was some interesting scenery, including the yellow river. We also saw caves in many of the surrounding hills which, we were told by our guide, still serve as homes to some of the poorer people in the area. Once we got to the orphanage, it was a sobering experience. The condition of the orphanage was pretty good. The staff seemed genuinely interested in and concerned about the children. But any time you have children without parents, it is a truly heart-wrenching experience. Christi, Jesi and Graci handed out the candy leis made by our friends in Herriman and the kids just LOVED them! They had big smiles for us.
We were able to visit the playroom where Sophi had spent most of her days. We also visited the bedroom where she slept. There were probably at least 30 cribs, all lined up and made beautifully. But the poignancy of those many children going to bed, night after night, without a mommy or a daddy to tuck them in made this a scene I will long remember. Are there perhaps a few more families who could be blessed by inviting one of these little souls to come into their home? Sophi was definitely ill-at-ease throughout the orphanage visit, but when we went into the bedroom, she really freaked out. She was very mad and howled until we left the room.
At the end of the visit, the orphanage director met with us and thanked us for adopting these special children. She gave us a nice gift (a long, hanging scroll with Chinese lettering). Then she took all of us out to a nice lunch. At lunch, Lexi had to use the bathroom several times, and it was becoming apparent that she wasn’t feeling great. After the meal we traveled the short distance to the Grottoes. There was a lot of walking during the Grotto tour, so we strapped Sophi into the hip carrier we brought. She was attached to me, and she was NOT happy. She screamed and yelped for the bulk of the tour, but I kept her strapped in. A lack of arms makes it quite difficult to carry a child, due to balance issues and her not being able to hold on at all, in addition to the fact that there is no natural “gripping place” under the arms to grab on to. So we stuck with the carrier and Sophi continued to let us know she did not like it, not one little bit.
At one point in the tour, Lexi and Jesi both had to use the bathroom. Christ took them into an outhouse-like bathroom that had only a squatty potty. Fortunately for Christi, she had a leftover napkin from lunch, so all was not lost. It was later on in the day that I had my “make-me-want-to-cry-to-mommy” moment with the girls. Everyone had gone up a huge staircase to view the largest and most famous of the cliff carvings. Everyone except for Lexi, Sophi, Graci and me. Sophi was still unhappy. Lexi suddenly asked to use the bathroom. I was going to just have her wait until the rest of the group came back down and I had some more help. But poor little Lexi started crying and was doubled over in pain. This was not like her at all. So I did what I had to do. I handed Sophi to Graci and took Lexi to the bathroom. As I walked away, Sophi was howling to beat the band. We garnered more than our usual share of confused looks. I didn’t have any wipes or toilet paper with me because the backpacks were with the group at the top of the stairs. I found myself in a squatty potty rest room with a little girl who had a VERY unsettled stomach and no toilet paper except for the used stuff in the waste basket that Christi had been forced to use the day before. What goes around, comes around, and now I am truly penitent for laughing at Christi’s plight.
The rest of the day wasn’t much better. The drive home was very long. My knee had developed some sort of problem that made it very difficult and painful to keep it in a bent position (like the kind of position you find yourself in when riding in a Chinese van that has about 8 inches less leg room than your average economy class airplane seat). By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. I was feeling exhausted and a bit discouraged and kind of gave up. I just laid down on the bed and didn’t do much else the rest of the night. My dad went and got some Chinese take-out. (True story, not just a bad joke☺.) Christi put the kids to bed. I got up when the food came and ate too much. Then I got up two hours later and brushed my teeth. Then I got up about 15 times in the night with an upset stomach. Christi had a brutal headache all night. Lexi woke up with a cough. And Sophi doesn’t have any arms. Oh, I guess we already knew that. But you get the picture. It was a rough day and night.
Today has been much better. We’re all feeling at least somewhat improved. We didn’t have to go anywhere, so we slept in, went swimming, went to dinner and didn’t do much else. We’re in much better spirits. I even returned Christi’s favor and volunteered to get Lexi Li and Sophi Bre to bed while she and my dad took the girls shopping for a few Zhengzhou souvenirs. Can’t believe we’re leaving tomorrow!
Well, I must say I am more in love with these two little girls than ever. Challenges? Many. Lack of sleep? Indeed. Unbelievably beautiful grins from my girlies? Too many to count! Random “I love you, baba”s from Lexi? Several times a day. Waves from Sophi’s toes with a smile that competes with the sun? Priceless! I am a blessed man, and my greatest blessings call me (sweetheart and) Daddy!
Jer
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
They are officially ours! (Plus a couple more pics)
Today is the day that Sophia Breanne and Alexis Li officially became part of our family! There is no turning back, and we are soooo grateful! As the 12 families in our group gathered around in a circle and heard it declared that the adoptions were official, my heart just swelled inside with such a peaceful, joyous feeling. Adoption is the most beautiful, Godly experience. We are blessed!
Sophi and Lexi are doing FANTASTIC! We are completely enamored with them both. The biggest struggle I have had is not being able to hold them both at the same time, as I am so in love!
Lexi is almost constantly smiling, and her smile is huge! Yesterday she had me in tears as she was just shaking and nervous around us for the first little while-- it just broke my heart. But now she is comfortable and happy. I had to wake her up this morning, and she was so sweet when she heard my voice. She still had her eyes closed, but she immediately smiled as I told her I loved her. She has the sweetest disposition, and giggles a lot! She has the funniest little walk-- we will need to work on it. But other than that, she seems developmentally on target and continues to amaze us at all she can do. Today we went shopping at the Lotus center. This is essentially a Chinese Walmart, but bigger. While we were there, Lexi became agitated and we realized she needed a bathroom. I took off with her quickly to find a restroom. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast, that I forgot to bring the backpack, which had toilet paper and wipes. Most public restrooms in China don't have toilet paper. Well, the bathroom itself was NOT great, and when I realized I didn't have toilet paper, I panicked. Lexi's tummy had been very upset, and we really needed toilet paper, if you know what I mean! In China, people don't flush their toilet paper down the toilet-- they just put it in the trash, so as not to clog up the sewers. So I looked down in the trash and did the only thing I could think of-- I grabbed the some of the used toilet paper. UGH. To make matters worse, there wasn't soap in the bathroom. I tried not to think about what I had just done, and went to meet the rest of the group. But, alas, Lexi needed to go again. THIS bathroom wasn't as nice as the first, as it was flooded. So not only did I have to again use USED toilet paper, I got the bottom of my pants wet as well. Oh, and my scarf too (as I was leaning down to wipe her.) Just lovely. Jeremy got quite the laugh out of my experience.
Sophi is just amazing. EVERYONE is in love with her. She waves her little foot at people and they just eat it up. Today we bought her a bottle that has handles, and she was sooo excited. She can use her toes to pick it up and give herself a drink. It's such a blessing, because she was having such a hard time learning to use the sippy cup we brought for her. Sophi is smiling more today. Almost any time that we smile at her, her face will just light up with the sweetest smile. As we were skyping with the kids today, she said her first word-- "ge ge," which means "big brother." I think that made the boys pretty happy! Other than that, she has only said the word "ball." She's usually just very quiet and soaking everything in. She's become quite spoiled and will cry if we aren't within a few feet of her. (:
Jet lag has been AWFUL for me this trip. Today was the first day I felt semi-normal. I don't do well on little sleep, and when I get overly tired, I can't sleep well. I was so excited tonight to feel like I could blog without literally passing out at the computer. I'm hoping it will get even better tomorrow, and we'll be able to post all kinds of fun pictures!! The internet connection is VERY slow, and I don't have it in me tonight.
Love to you all-- thanks for your prayers and comments and support. These girls have our hearts. They are amazing, and we know without a doubt that Heavenly Father has placed them in our family for a reason, and is watching over us right now. We do feel overwhelmed at times-- and I don't know how in the world I'm going to do it all when I get home and am more on my own. But I have to trust it will work, as I know these girlies are supposed to be here with us. (:
Feeling so grateful...
Christianne
Sophi and Lexi are doing FANTASTIC! We are completely enamored with them both. The biggest struggle I have had is not being able to hold them both at the same time, as I am so in love!
Lexi is almost constantly smiling, and her smile is huge! Yesterday she had me in tears as she was just shaking and nervous around us for the first little while-- it just broke my heart. But now she is comfortable and happy. I had to wake her up this morning, and she was so sweet when she heard my voice. She still had her eyes closed, but she immediately smiled as I told her I loved her. She has the sweetest disposition, and giggles a lot! She has the funniest little walk-- we will need to work on it. But other than that, she seems developmentally on target and continues to amaze us at all she can do. Today we went shopping at the Lotus center. This is essentially a Chinese Walmart, but bigger. While we were there, Lexi became agitated and we realized she needed a bathroom. I took off with her quickly to find a restroom. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast, that I forgot to bring the backpack, which had toilet paper and wipes. Most public restrooms in China don't have toilet paper. Well, the bathroom itself was NOT great, and when I realized I didn't have toilet paper, I panicked. Lexi's tummy had been very upset, and we really needed toilet paper, if you know what I mean! In China, people don't flush their toilet paper down the toilet-- they just put it in the trash, so as not to clog up the sewers. So I looked down in the trash and did the only thing I could think of-- I grabbed the some of the used toilet paper. UGH. To make matters worse, there wasn't soap in the bathroom. I tried not to think about what I had just done, and went to meet the rest of the group. But, alas, Lexi needed to go again. THIS bathroom wasn't as nice as the first, as it was flooded. So not only did I have to again use USED toilet paper, I got the bottom of my pants wet as well. Oh, and my scarf too (as I was leaning down to wipe her.) Just lovely. Jeremy got quite the laugh out of my experience.
Sophi is just amazing. EVERYONE is in love with her. She waves her little foot at people and they just eat it up. Today we bought her a bottle that has handles, and she was sooo excited. She can use her toes to pick it up and give herself a drink. It's such a blessing, because she was having such a hard time learning to use the sippy cup we brought for her. Sophi is smiling more today. Almost any time that we smile at her, her face will just light up with the sweetest smile. As we were skyping with the kids today, she said her first word-- "ge ge," which means "big brother." I think that made the boys pretty happy! Other than that, she has only said the word "ball." She's usually just very quiet and soaking everything in. She's become quite spoiled and will cry if we aren't within a few feet of her. (:
Jet lag has been AWFUL for me this trip. Today was the first day I felt semi-normal. I don't do well on little sleep, and when I get overly tired, I can't sleep well. I was so excited tonight to feel like I could blog without literally passing out at the computer. I'm hoping it will get even better tomorrow, and we'll be able to post all kinds of fun pictures!! The internet connection is VERY slow, and I don't have it in me tonight.
Love to you all-- thanks for your prayers and comments and support. These girls have our hearts. They are amazing, and we know without a doubt that Heavenly Father has placed them in our family for a reason, and is watching over us right now. We do feel overwhelmed at times-- and I don't know how in the world I'm going to do it all when I get home and am more on my own. But I have to trust it will work, as I know these girlies are supposed to be here with us. (:
Feeling so grateful...
Christianne
Monday, December 6, 2010
Pictures!!!
Ready to go get the girls!!!
Anxiously waiting...
...and waiting.
There's the van.
Here comes Lexi!
Precious first moments:)
Here comes Sophi!
Anxiously waiting...
...and waiting.
There's the van.
Here comes Lexi!
Precious first moments:)
Here comes Sophi!
We Have Them!!!
Where to begin? Wow what a day. What a sacred, blessed, exhausting, unbelievable, precious, unforgettable day. We have them! These two darlings we have worked for for so long are now ours.
This is the biggest adoption group (by far) that we have ever been a part of. There are 12 families. So today at the building where we all received our children, it was a bit chaotic. But it was way better than I expected. Most of the kids were happy (or at least not crying). Our two girls were part of the last group to arrive. So for an hour and a half we were able to watch other families receive their children. We helped video and take pictures. Christi was the lookout for vans/cars coming with one or two more kids. My dad was overwhelmed. Before we even got Sophi and Lexi, he came over to Christi and asked, “Why didn’t you prepare me for this?” He had envisioned a pretty sterile transfer of a child from one person to another. He was not prepared for the fact that when a child becomes part its forever family, the Holy Ghost is present, impressing on those who are there that this is an eternal and important moment. My dad knew that the spirit was strong when a child was born into the world. He was not prepared for the overwhelming spirit that is present when a child is adopted and meets his or her parents for the first time. When there are 12 such meetings at once, it is an amazing day!
At our request, we received our daughters about 10 minutes apart. Lexi was the first to come in. We saw her get out of the car and be escorted up the stairs by the orphanage staff. She shuffled her feet and had to be pushed in the room. Right inside the door we greeted her and led her to a nearby couch. Since we first decided to adopt Graci, I have spent hours studying Chinese. I am nowhere near fluent, but I can say enough to really help during the first few weeks of an adoption. The first ten minutes of our time with Lexi today made every second I have spent studying Chinese worth the effort. I was able to hold her hand and say: “I am your daddy.” Then I would put Christi’s hand in Lexi’s and say “This is your mommy.” I did the same with the girls. I told her I loved her. It sounds so simple, but I really felt like my ability to say these things in words she could understand helped to build a bridge and enable her to love our family much faster.
I cannot tell you how completely and immediately Lexi melted my heart. This is one special little girl. She has an innate goodness and sweetness about her. She was almost completely quiet at first, but has really opened up throughout the rest of the day. I can’t tell you how happy she makes me and all of us. Several times throughout the day I put her hand up to my face and said, “Ba ba” (Daddy). After I had been out for awhile, I came back to the room. Again I took Lexi’s hand and rubbed my cheek with it and said “Ba ba.” This time she responded. She said, “Ba ba, Wo ay nii.” That means, “Daddy, I love you.”!!! I was exstatic. Lexi is beautiful and wonderful. I can’t wait for as many of you as possible to meet her.
Ten minutes later, Sophi was brought into the room. She was a little less patient with the whole “I’m about to rip you away from everything you’ve ever known” routine. She fussed a bit at first, but quickly figured out that Christi and Graci had Cheerios and Cheerios are good. By this time I was rocking Lexi and singing to her, so I didn’t hold Sophi right off the bat. When I did hold her, she warmed right up to me. At this point, she seems equally happy with Christi, my dad or me. She doesn’t seem to like children as much as adults, but she can be good with them.
Sophi is also just precious. She has a pretty stoic expression most of the time, but from time to time she will light up a room with her smile. When one of us looks over at her after not having looked at her for a bit of time, she will give us this 1-2 second grin that makes her entire face smile. It is so cute! Christi got Sophi to walk a few steps tonight. That’s exciting!!!
All in all, today couldn’t have gone a whole lot better. Both girls are adjusting to being here and having some genuine fun. There wasn’t too much crying and Sophi and Lexi both seem to like each of us. We are truly, truly blessed. I wanted to add pictures tonight, but I have literally fallen asleep three times in the last 45 seconds. I NEED some sleep. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!!
Jeremy
This is the biggest adoption group (by far) that we have ever been a part of. There are 12 families. So today at the building where we all received our children, it was a bit chaotic. But it was way better than I expected. Most of the kids were happy (or at least not crying). Our two girls were part of the last group to arrive. So for an hour and a half we were able to watch other families receive their children. We helped video and take pictures. Christi was the lookout for vans/cars coming with one or two more kids. My dad was overwhelmed. Before we even got Sophi and Lexi, he came over to Christi and asked, “Why didn’t you prepare me for this?” He had envisioned a pretty sterile transfer of a child from one person to another. He was not prepared for the fact that when a child becomes part its forever family, the Holy Ghost is present, impressing on those who are there that this is an eternal and important moment. My dad knew that the spirit was strong when a child was born into the world. He was not prepared for the overwhelming spirit that is present when a child is adopted and meets his or her parents for the first time. When there are 12 such meetings at once, it is an amazing day!
At our request, we received our daughters about 10 minutes apart. Lexi was the first to come in. We saw her get out of the car and be escorted up the stairs by the orphanage staff. She shuffled her feet and had to be pushed in the room. Right inside the door we greeted her and led her to a nearby couch. Since we first decided to adopt Graci, I have spent hours studying Chinese. I am nowhere near fluent, but I can say enough to really help during the first few weeks of an adoption. The first ten minutes of our time with Lexi today made every second I have spent studying Chinese worth the effort. I was able to hold her hand and say: “I am your daddy.” Then I would put Christi’s hand in Lexi’s and say “This is your mommy.” I did the same with the girls. I told her I loved her. It sounds so simple, but I really felt like my ability to say these things in words she could understand helped to build a bridge and enable her to love our family much faster.
I cannot tell you how completely and immediately Lexi melted my heart. This is one special little girl. She has an innate goodness and sweetness about her. She was almost completely quiet at first, but has really opened up throughout the rest of the day. I can’t tell you how happy she makes me and all of us. Several times throughout the day I put her hand up to my face and said, “Ba ba” (Daddy). After I had been out for awhile, I came back to the room. Again I took Lexi’s hand and rubbed my cheek with it and said “Ba ba.” This time she responded. She said, “Ba ba, Wo ay nii.” That means, “Daddy, I love you.”!!! I was exstatic. Lexi is beautiful and wonderful. I can’t wait for as many of you as possible to meet her.
Ten minutes later, Sophi was brought into the room. She was a little less patient with the whole “I’m about to rip you away from everything you’ve ever known” routine. She fussed a bit at first, but quickly figured out that Christi and Graci had Cheerios and Cheerios are good. By this time I was rocking Lexi and singing to her, so I didn’t hold Sophi right off the bat. When I did hold her, she warmed right up to me. At this point, she seems equally happy with Christi, my dad or me. She doesn’t seem to like children as much as adults, but she can be good with them.
Sophi is also just precious. She has a pretty stoic expression most of the time, but from time to time she will light up a room with her smile. When one of us looks over at her after not having looked at her for a bit of time, she will give us this 1-2 second grin that makes her entire face smile. It is so cute! Christi got Sophi to walk a few steps tonight. That’s exciting!!!
All in all, today couldn’t have gone a whole lot better. Both girls are adjusting to being here and having some genuine fun. There wasn’t too much crying and Sophi and Lexi both seem to like each of us. We are truly, truly blessed. I wanted to add pictures tonight, but I have literally fallen asleep three times in the last 45 seconds. I NEED some sleep. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!!
Jeremy
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Hi Everyone, This is Christi's mom. We just had a phone call from China. The kids here were so excited. They have been so anxious to actually talk to them. Christi wanted to post a link her friend sent her for all to watch. Click here for link. Then click here2 for a really neat interview with the actor in the first video. THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your support!!!!!!
Gotcha Morning...
It’s Monday morning, and in less than two hours we will be holding Lexi and Sophi in our arms! It is a very exciting, terrifying, surreal feeling. Walking into our room late last night and seeing a crib here made me want to jump up and down and go and hide at the same time! Two at once!!! How did we get so blessed???
The jet lag has not been fun, and last night was quite the experience, being how we were sooooo very tired and yet had so much on our mind that we couldn’t sleep much. I kept dreaming that I was late to meet the group and I didn’t have the gifts for the orphanage ready and worst of all, I didn’t have make-up on. LOL. When I finally woke up for good, Jeremy rolled over and said, “Are you going into labor, honey?” The excitement was palpable, even in our exhausted state.
I can’t wait to find time to tell about all our experiences with Graci’s sweet foster family. We have LOTS of fun pictures to share, but the computer connection is slow and I’m sure we’re going to be crazy busy for the next couple of days.
We will of course share news of today as soon as we are able. (: We’d love your prayers for us and for our two new girlies, who have no idea what’s about to hit them. We have prayed specifically that they will feel the Holy Ghost comfort them and let them feel peace. We hope for the same for us!
Taylor, Parker, Xander, and Elli—love you to pieces. Wish you were here! Can’t wait to bring your sisters home and enjoy our best Christmas ever! Be good for Grandma and Grandpa and know that you are in our minds and hearts all day.
To all those who have helped us get to this point—all our love and gratitude. We couldn’t take on something like this without the support of such good family and friends. Thank-you.
Love,
Christianne
The jet lag has not been fun, and last night was quite the experience, being how we were sooooo very tired and yet had so much on our mind that we couldn’t sleep much. I kept dreaming that I was late to meet the group and I didn’t have the gifts for the orphanage ready and worst of all, I didn’t have make-up on. LOL. When I finally woke up for good, Jeremy rolled over and said, “Are you going into labor, honey?” The excitement was palpable, even in our exhausted state.
I can’t wait to find time to tell about all our experiences with Graci’s sweet foster family. We have LOTS of fun pictures to share, but the computer connection is slow and I’m sure we’re going to be crazy busy for the next couple of days.
We will of course share news of today as soon as we are able. (: We’d love your prayers for us and for our two new girlies, who have no idea what’s about to hit them. We have prayed specifically that they will feel the Holy Ghost comfort them and let them feel peace. We hope for the same for us!
Taylor, Parker, Xander, and Elli—love you to pieces. Wish you were here! Can’t wait to bring your sisters home and enjoy our best Christmas ever! Be good for Grandma and Grandpa and know that you are in our minds and hearts all day.
To all those who have helped us get to this point—all our love and gratitude. We couldn’t take on something like this without the support of such good family and friends. Thank-you.
Love,
Christianne
Saturday, December 4, 2010
10 AM Sunday morning
OK. We're starting to get accustomed to the time change. Yesterday was a great day with Graci's China family. It is so sweet to see just how much they love Graci. Their faces lit up when they saw her at the airport. They are so attentive to her (and our) needs. They are so generous, constantly giving us gifts and providing all of our meals and lodging. China Mama made more of the beautiful hand-knit sweaters for Graci and Jesi.
In March of 2011, Graci's China brother is getting married to a beautiful girl named Ting Ting. Jesi absolutely loves Ting Ting, and is her constant little shadow while she's here. We saw their "pre-wedding" pictures. These were hands down the best wedding pics we've ever seen. For about $350.00 US, you get a full day photo shoot with 10 different outfits, professional make up and hair, and then they put together a professional, photo shopped portfolio in 3 separate books that make you look like professional models. Christi and I want to come back just to do a photo shoot someday.
We were able to visit both sets of Graci's grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles. This was the first time we had met several of them. Their joy at seeing their little "Ling Ling" again was very apparent.
Last night at about 8 pm, their family was still going strong but the 5 of us were about loopy from exhaustion. We finally said we had to get back to the hotel, and we were all asleep in minutes once we got there. Had a long sleep last night, and now we're feeling a lot better!
So far, I have only had time to post from my phone. Tomorrow we should have time to get the computer going and add some pics!
In March of 2011, Graci's China brother is getting married to a beautiful girl named Ting Ting. Jesi absolutely loves Ting Ting, and is her constant little shadow while she's here. We saw their "pre-wedding" pictures. These were hands down the best wedding pics we've ever seen. For about $350.00 US, you get a full day photo shoot with 10 different outfits, professional make up and hair, and then they put together a professional, photo shopped portfolio in 3 separate books that make you look like professional models. Christi and I want to come back just to do a photo shoot someday.
We were able to visit both sets of Graci's grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles. This was the first time we had met several of them. Their joy at seeing their little "Ling Ling" again was very apparent.
Last night at about 8 pm, their family was still going strong but the 5 of us were about loopy from exhaustion. We finally said we had to get back to the hotel, and we were all asleep in minutes once we got there. Had a long sleep last night, and now we're feeling a lot better!
So far, I have only had time to post from my phone. Tomorrow we should have time to get the computer going and add some pics!
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