Lydia Hope
Monday, 1st June, 2009
Gotcha Day!!!
We thought it would be difficult to wake up early today with jet lag, but surprisingly, we were all up and ready to meet our wonderful guide Susan at 8.20 am. Our family drove to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Lydia at 9.00 am. We arrived early and she was not there so we waited nervously and excitedly for her arrival. Before we even had time to think, she came through the doors in the arms of the woman who oversees the Foster Care program and was handed to me immediately!! What an amazing feeling, peace and joy I felt at that moment!! I could hardly believe it was happening and our precious little baby began to cry..... and cry......!!!!! Poor little thing must have been shocked by my blonde hair! Jeff and the children gathered around and managed to console her and eventually make her smile and laugh. Daddy held her next and then each brother and sister and she would cry at first with each one and then quickly stop!! I have to say she is such a sweet baby and so precious. It is a good sign that she did cry because it shows that she has been attached to her Foster mother. I am blessed that she has been smiling and laughing within a few minutes of meeting her because I was not expecting to see her little personality come through just yet. She is even quite a comedian and was purposely putting the baby bottle lid in her mouth to make us laugh!! She is very aware of everything around her and seems to have become fond of her siblings already. Another surprise is that she has actually taken to Ma Ma!! I thought she would only want Ba Ba, her Daddy but by the end of the day she would cry for me when I was not holding her. We also officially adopted her today..... so she is now Lydia Hope Chan Yuan!!! It has been a long day and we are tired but so thrilled and blessed beyond words that we have adopted this child. God has been so good! Thank you Father!! Thank you to those who have been praying for us and for this day especially. I cannot wait to share more about her in the coming days!!!
Tuesday 2nd June, 2009
Many Firsts
After an adventurous day with Lydia, experiencing many ‘firsts’, she is absolutely worn out and fast asleep in her bed. I have decided that I will probably post in the evenings when she is sleeping because I do not want to spend any of her awake time on this blog! Our day has been full with many precious moments of seeing Lydia’s personality shine through and also realising how much she is becoming attached to us already!! We are truly so thankful for the gift of this child entrusted to us from God. We are moved by the miracle of adoption which is taking place in our hearts. From the moment we saw her come into that room and held her for the first time, we knew it was right. We are all doing well with the jet lag and so far everyone is healthy. We ask that you continue to pray for wisdom for us each day to know what it is that Lydia needs and also for continued good health and attitudes.
So I will try to capture as much of this day as possible and I hope that you will visit the photo album and see some of the many ‘hundred’ pictures which were taken today!!! Last night she went to bed at 7.00 and slept until 7.45 am this morning. She did cry out a few times during the night but I did not get her out of her cot and she went right back to sleep. Finally the next morning when she did awake, she just looked at me and put up her arms, (so sweet) and did not cry like I was expecting her to! Everyone was still sleeping, so I fumbled around trying to make her a bottle of milk without waking anyone. We had an easy morning today because we were not meeting with Susan at all since all our paperwork was finished yesterday. (She is trying to get her passport earlier so that we can leave for Guangzhou on Thursday instead of Friday and visit the UK Embassy before the weekend. We are praying that if this is God’s will this will happen.) There have been several times when Lydia has cried when I have been holding her and called for Ma Ma. I know that she is crying for her Foster mother and grieving her loss. It is so sad to hear her but I know that it will pass eventually. She has certainly had a preference for Mummy and cried whenever Daddy would hold her, but by the end of this day, as you will see from the pictures, we had such a break through. Daddy was actually allowed to play with her on the floor (first time she went down and crawled, then stood up by herself while holding something) and then took her bottle from him and fell asleep in his arms!!! There is a very happy Ba Ba here tonight!
Not long after waking up and taking some of her milk, Lydia began to cry and I believe that reality had begun to set in that she was here with us. I decided that since she was crying anyway, I would pop her in the bath with her sister Eliana and literally take her out again. Much to my surprise, she did not fight me and stopped crying immediately when she felt the water. What a joy to see her enjoying bath time!! She splashed and giggled and played with her sister and did not seem like she wanted to get out but the water began to get cold so I had to remove her. Now we know what to do when she cries again! We just made it to breakfast this morning before they finished serving and Lydia had scrambled eggs and some bread which she loved. For such a little poppet, she certainly can eat a lot! I still need to try and weigh her on the bathroom scales here but she seems petite to me. Much smaller than I was expecting. After breakfast, we decided to try out the wonderful baby carrier which I won from Denise, (Maggie Mae’s Mummy) last year. It took the two of us to get her into it and she was crying already but after a few minutes she completely settled down and is loving being in there!! Praise the Lord!! It does make it easier for me to carry her and our times of bonding are so valuable. I had to include a picture of it just for Denise to see and I know that you will all see her in it quite a lot on this trip!! We headed to Green Lake for a walk around the park and the children experienced their first real day of what it must be like to be famous. We were continually stopped and asked if ALL FOUR (they would hold up their fingers) children were ours!! They were amazed! Our children are doing well with all the attention and they are absolutely in amazement of everything they see. Isaac just about broke his heart when he saw a man begging with just shorts on and his ENTIRE body was burned so severely that it pierced you heart with compassion for him. Caleb has decided that he wants to learn Chinese because he is fascinated with the language and frustrated that he can only say a couple of things! Eliana is learning what is it to be Lydia’s little Mummy and has been so helpful to me!! While at the park, we could not resist a peddle boat ride on the lake which was quite entertaining to say the least!! Finally we made our way back to the Hotel, which is very nice, and had lunch with the wraps and bread and bananas from breakfast!! (I am sure we will be sick of this before the week is over!!) Later we went to the top of the Hotel where there is a rotating restaurant and we had hot drinks and cake, ( much different to our cake back home, but the children still enjoyed them!) For dinner we ate in the Hotel again just to be on the safe side and had the special Yunnan noodle soup. I took out just the noodles for Lydia and we watched her eat them for the first time....... sucking up the little pieces I cut up, into her mouth like she had been doing this for a year!! She REALLY enjoyed them and ate a large plate full! This evening was when Lydia finally allowed Jeff to hold her without crying and when we saw her crawl all over the bedroom floor. She is agile and able to almost do the splits!! She is fast when she crawls and incredibly inquisitive. She tried to put her own shoes back on, then grabbed everyone else’s and began pulling clothes out of the suit case! It was as if she suddenly lost her fear of being on the ground and she wanted to now explore everything she had seen while being in my arms for the last few hours!! What a precious time it was. But of course for Daddy, it was being allowed to give her the bottle before bed and fall asleep in his arms that was the highlight of his day!! She is not walking yet but taking steps while assisted and she pulls herself up!! It may not be long if she continues to progress this quickly with us!!
I have read so many times how when you finally meet your daughter, all the tears and frustrations during the wait do not matter anymore! While we do not ever forget the lessons we have learned through the wait, it is so true that in that moment when the child you have been praying for is placed into your arms, all the pain is washed away. Please be encouraged that for those of you still waiting for the desire of your heart to be fulfilled, it WILL come to pass!! Our hearts are so knit together with Lydia Hope already and we feel as though we cannot love her anymore..... but I know that tomorrow is another day where we will learn more about her and grow to love her even more than we do today!! How incredibly amazing this is!!
I cannot express how wonderful it is to know that so many of you have been following and praying for us while we are here. We have read all the comments and are so thankful to Sarah for making it possible for you to all follow along!!! I cannot wait to share with you our day tomorrow!
Wednesday 3rd June, 2009
Flowers & Fun
Just when we think it cannot get any better.... it does!!! We are just amazed by how this little girl blends right into our family. We have had another wonderful day with her, seeing her personality more and more and we feel like we are beginning to understand what she needs. Last night she woke up screaming at 3.30 until 4.30 am and although she was not crying the whole time, she would not go back in her cot. I am quite sure she is teething because she is drooling so much and chewing on her hands during the day. I was so afraid of waking everyone, especially Eliana who is in my room and the boys are all in a connecting room. However they slept through it but I have felt tired all day and dozed off later when we we were relaxing outside by the pool. Did I mention that Lydia has 6 teeth? I also measured her and she is 30 inches long, (76 cm). I tried to weigh her on the scales but it looked like she was about 7 kg which cannot be right! Isn’t that about 15 lbs? We shall find out her actual weight at the Medical hopefully.
This morning we had to get up and get going because we were meeting Susan at 9.00 am. She took us into the City center for some sight seeing. It was also sight seeing for the locals as we found ourselves once again surrounded with many questions being asked. Fortunately we had Susan there this time to translate for us. The indoor flower market was very beautiful with both fresh and dried flowers for sale for an amazingly cheap price! Afterwards we visited a Jade factory and the children were able to see different carvings made of Jade. I believe we were the only customers there at the time and this place is very big, so we must have had about 30 sales assistants following us around, trying to encourage us to buy something! We concluded our day out with another visit to the Wal Mart which is bigger than any other one I have ever been to. We needed more water and a teething ring for Lydia. There are the most unusual things to buy there! You must see the pictures in the photo album to see just a sample of what the children gagged at today!! We were tempted to purchase a few things and bring back as gifts for our friends back home!
In the afternoon, the sun came out full force and so the children went in the pool swimming while Lydia and I sat in the shade and watched... and then slept! The weather here has been rainy since we arrived although it has still been warm. However the pool here was not warm apparently but it did not stop them from having a great time. Later in the afternoon we made our way upstairs to the rotating cafe for hot chocolates...... everyone was still cold from the pool and Susan came and met us there with all our necessary paperwork completed so that we can fly to Guangzhou tomorrow night!!! Thank you Father! It is certainly an answer to prayer and something they do not normally do but because Susan really stressed that we need to get to the UK Consulate on Friday, they agreed!
Lydia has eaten so well again today.... scrambled eggs and noodles for breakfast..... (don’t ask, when in Rome.... right?)....... rice cereal, cheerios, bread, banana and some delicious congee which is basically rice soup and very good! She has a couple of bottles of milk a day also. I was given a feeding schedule from the orphanage but it is a little difficult to keep to. It says she goes to bed at 9.00 pm but that has to change! I am looking forward to getting her home to give her British food and home cooking and I am sure we will begin to see her gain weight. She is such a little sweet girl! Oh we love her so much!!! There are so many precious little moments with her again today. I will leave you with one of them. I was showing her some of the baby books we brought over and one of them is a scratch and sniff book. So I was showing her what to do and then she took the book and began sniffing the pages herself except that she was blowing her nose instead!!
Jeff has added a video of Lydia under the link heading which says ‘Movie’. If you have not already visited it but would like to, then that is where you will find any videos of this trip. Jeff does plan to add more daily and he is busy working on the Gotcha Day video which he hopes to post by the end of the week.
We ask for your continued prayers. Our children are getting really tired with too many late nights and they are having trouble falling asleep. They are doing so well considering but we do not want them to be so exhausted that they are irritable with each other. We hope that once we get to Guangzhou, we will finally be in the right time zone!! We are so looking forward to meeting the other families. Thank you for the prayers you have already offered for our family. It is encouraging to know that there are many friends and family interceding for us during this time. I have to say, that it is very difficult to spend time really praying, (which we expected) and this is why we are so thankful that you are covering us in prayer!!! We are so grateful for all that God has done and is doing and will do!!
Thursday, 4th June, 2009
Last Day in Kunming
We made it to our Hotel in Guangzhou this evening at about 10.00 pm so you will have to forgive me if this post is not as long!! The children are all asleep after another very busy day touring Kunming. We were blessed to travel to a Minority village which is a replica of what a real one would look like. It was interesting especially for the children who were fascinated by their clothes and life style. I keep thinking how amazing this is for them to visit China with us; not just for the incredible gift of adoption but also to see one of the most diverse countries in the world. They have seen images which will forever be sketched upon their minds and I wonder how God will use this time in China, in their lives personally.
Lydia has been such an angel again! We are in awe of this little blessing and how well she behaves for us!!! She slept all night long last night and never woke up once so you can imagine how much better I feel now! She is getting used to her high chair now, we had a little fussing the first time, but now she will sit and eat everything we give her..... except stewed apple, that did not go down too well!! I skipped the noodles this morning for her breakfast!! She enjoyed her scrambled eggs and also an American style pancake and then cheerios. I am probably finding the most difficult thing of all is giving Lydia a more varied diet. I know that things will change drastically when we return home and she will experience many new tastes. Our guide Susan told us not to give her too much dried food and we have only been giving her some things like the cheerios but I think she is ready for so much more. I have wanted to respect all that Susan has said and even made sure that we were not offending anyone with bare legs and arms, even though it is hot!! Hence, Lydia has been wearing long sleeves and trousers, but now that we are here, I think I will do as we do in the west!! Plus it is much warmer here than Kunming.
We left the Hotel in Kunming at 2.00 pm and made our way to the airport. However on the way we stopped at a Tea House and had such a wonderful experience there. We have been to one in GZ on our last visit which was also good but the tea in Kunming tasted so fresh!!! Only Caleb , though he tried, could not drink the different varieties but Isaac and Eliana loved them!! We tried jasmine, Oolong (sp?) Puer and Yunnan black tea and of course we purchased some to bring home! (I still cannot resist my Yorkshire Tea though!!) It was certainly bittersweet leaving Lydia’s home land and I did tear up at the airport at the reality that we were taking her from all she has ever known to a place which will become her home and be all she will remember. We hope that she will desire to return here when she is older and share God’s love with her people!!
The flight was delayed and a little bumpy but Lydia slept the entire way and never fussed once. I was worse than she was!! ( Did not take my meds in time!) When we arrived in Guangzhou, Linekar met us and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see him again. It was literally like meeting up with an old friend!! He was with us during our last trip and supported us through that time. For him to see us back again with our whole family, encouraged him greatly! He is a great Liverpool Football Club supporter. Jeff has invited him to come over to England someday and promised to take Linekar to a live football match!
So here we are in Guangzhou, a very emotional place for us in so many ways. It is like coming home this time because things are so familiar here now. The children are so excited to be here after seeing so many pictures and we all cannot wait to meet the families tomorrow!!
By the way, our little baby girl gave us all kisses today!! And she even gave our guide Susan a kiss too! We are overwhelmed by our treasure and growing to love her more and more each day! I wonder what sweetness she will bring into our lives tomorrow!! Once again, thanks to all of you who are leaving comments and praying for us every step of the way. And as for not writing much tonight...... I guess it is just not in my nature!!! Poor Jeff is falling asleep at the side of me and it is now 12.30 am!! Goodnight...... or Good morning, depending upon where you are!!!
Friday, 5th June, 2009
A Day To Recover
Everyone slept until 8.30 this morning, except Jeff who woke a little earlier. We were in need of the rest after our late night! We did not make it down to breakfast until after 10.00 and everyone was ready to eat at the very large and interesting buffet here at the China Marriott Hotel. Our Son Isaac was especially impressed because he loves the “all you can eat” meals! We were so stuffed that we did not need lunch later. Lydia tried her first oatmeal and we all had freshly squeezed water melon juice! It was very good. I love that there has been a British influence over the years and that there are baked beans for breakfast with sausage, bacon , eggs and grilled tomatoes!!! The breakfast is included so we are making sure we make the most of all they have to offer.
Lydia slept well all night but Isaac is not feeling well. He always gets a sore throat, hot head and cold body when he is over tired. We have given him medicine all day and hope that he is feeling better tomorrow. We put the boys to bed at 7.30 this evening which is really early for them but they certainly need the sleep. Poor little Lydia did not do so well when it was bedtime. I think she went past it and then she cried and cried, high pitched wailing and sobbing. I am still undecided as to whether it is her teeth coming through or she is grieving. She is now fast asleep looking as beautiful as ever!! We are so blessed to have been chosen to be her parents and that the CCAA matched this specific little girl to our family. She is so perfect in every way and delights us with her funny antics, her laugh, smile and sweet personality shining through. We are learning every day how to take care of her, and although it can be challenging at times, we are enjoying every moment!
Today at dinner we learned that she LOVES spinach and could not stop eating it. She even impressed her siblings who are amazed that she likes it so much! We also learned that she LOVES the pool and did not mind getting splashed and splashing everyone else! She still LOVES her bath every time we put her in with her big sister. She discovered a new game with a blow up beach ball we brought along for her to play with in the pool. It has caused just as much excitement in the room as it did in the pool! Eliana made up a new game with the ball which you will see in the photo album for the day. Lydia absolutely LOVES her stacking cups and she tries to stack them inside each other. Knocking down the stacked tower has been such a delight to watch. I know Jeff has video of her doing this which he wants to put up for you to see. He has also added our Gotcha Day video on the Welcome page. If you do not have quicktime you can download it for free. You cannot watch the video without it.
This morning we drove to the UK visa center and spoke with someone about her visa. They were able to give us the package we sent to them nearly two months ago but are still not able to begin processing the application until we give them Lydia’s Chinese passport. This will not be until after Tuesday when we receive her US visa. We have told them that we need the UK visa by Friday but they cannot confirm anything for us. We just rest, trust and hope in our Lord to work on our behalf. If we feel it necessary, we may just visit the UK Consulate, who make the decision and ask them for their help. This is a different office to where we submit her visa application. It is in God’s hands!
This afternoon we took the children swimming and they loved the pool here far more than in Kunming because it was warmer. In fact, the weather is warmer and they experienced real humidity for the first time today. So glad that there is a pool to cool down in. As you can see from the pictures, even Lydia joined us for a swim. This evening we ate in the hotel in a restaurant we have never been to before. It has food that is affordable but we certainly had a riot trying to order. Some things turned up on our table which we were sure we never ordered..... anyone know what “cowhells” are? Please let us know if you do!! Jeff was not about to try them because the meat was hairy... never a good sign!! The bread they serve here is good and squishy and all four of our children ate several pieces, especially dipped in the condensed milk they brought out with it!! There were also things on the menu like; noodles with pigs knuckles, congee with pigs blood and pig tripe and double boiled turtles, chicken heads, eel and many other things I do not remember now but they were not something we would see on the menu back home!
It really is such an experience to be here in so many ways. We have met one family with AWAA who have just adopted their fourth daughter from China!! They are all so beautiful! We shall meet the rest of the families tomorrow bright and early at breakfast because we all have to meet in the lobby at 9.00 to go to the Medical Examination tomorrow instead of Sunday. Thank you for your continued prayers. God is good!!!
Saturday, 6th June, 2009
The Medical Exam!!!!
Before I begin to write anything else, I just want to say that Lydia’s Foster Mother must be such a loving and kind woman. It is evident that Lydia has been loved on with many kisses!! She knows how to give kisses to us and she was blowing kisses to us the next day after we met her. She is so loving and sweet. I wish so much that we could have met the woman who has been looking after our daughter until we could travel to China. I will always think about this woman and of course her birth mother who will always wonder about her little girl. I know I am not the first nor the last woman to wonder these things! It is amazing how God knits our hearts together with women we have never met! I do not know if I mentioned this before, but we did find out that Lydia was in Foster Care for the last 6 months and they did move her into the orphanage just the day before we met her. She is doing so well considering all that she endured this last week. We continue to be so overwhelmed by God’s hand of blessing upon us when we know we do not deserve it. It is ONLY BY HIS GRACE we are here in China with Lydia.
The medical exam turned out to be a really fun experience for us!! It was an opportunity to really meet the other families who are all lovely!! There are four families who have adopted SN children and five who are NSN. The NSN families have little girls who are are all babies under the age of one! It is precious to see them all with their new families and we are so blessed once again to enjoy a miracle take place before our eyes, except this time, we get to be a part of the miracle too!!! Lydia cried during her examination which I expected!! Everything seemed okay but then the exam is not as in depth as it would be back home. She is 29 inches long and weighs......... an amazing..... 18.2 lbs!!! Well I was surprised because she does not seem chubby at all. We think she is just right and perfect in every way. Afterwards we were taken to a very large department store which had seven floors and was not cheap. Prices were like back home so as far as shopping in China, that is what we call expensive!! We are waiting to go to Shamian Island for the bargains!!
This afternoon, Jeff took our oldest three swimming again and I stayed in the room while Lydia slept. She is such a good sleeper..... right now that is.... we just do not know how she will do when we fly home. Jeff returned with the children and then he went to the two hour long paperwork party which was basically a time to fill out necessary documents for the US visa. The children were able to play in their room and when Lydia woke up after her two hour nap...(loving that).... we played with her and she entertained us once again!! She ate her first box of raisins and had pureed pears and pancakes today for the first time. Later at the Japanese Restaurant in the Hotel, she had her first ice cream and she is now officially a member of our family, ha, ha!!!! She loved it, in fact this baby girl loves pretty much everything we give to her.
Isaac is feeling so much better, thank you for praying!! Our children are doing so wonderful on this trip and we keep telling them how proud we are!! They have been so fascinated by all that they have seen that it has distracted them from any tensions that arise between them! Lydia has become the center of their focus and she is entertaining them far more than their toys!! I am sorry if anyone has tried to leave comments on yesterdays post. I do not know why you are unable!! We have had so many issues this time with the internet and are unable to get on line in our room even though we have paid to do so. We have not been able to check email except in Starbucks and still cannot get on blogger at all. Hopefully comments will be working on this post! Jeff is trying to put the many videos he has taken of Lydia up on the blog also. Again, he is struggling because of the internet.
So we have been here in China for almost a week tomorrow!! Just over another week left and we will be very ready to come home then. We are enjoying every moment and there are still so many places we want to take the children to see. Tomorrow we are sight seeing again; Folk Art Museum and Tea House in the morning. What a delight it will be to take them to these places!! I love to watch their faces as they experience the culture here!
Hey, Jeff here, I have just tried to add this video directly to the blog entry, please let me know if this works, thanks. This is all new to me, I am learning on the fly. This is a video from Day 4, back in Kunming. If this works, I will be able to get more videos up on the blog, thanks.
As I was downloading these pictures tonight I was just thinking about how much we are doing the proud new parent thing, and how you just might be getting tired of us taking all these pictures of our daughter, but all I can say is I can’t help it, I AM the proud new parent!!!!
Sunday, 7th June, 2009
Sightseeing and Shopping
Our day began early again with sightseeing to the Museum to see embroidery and hand painting, (and I mean literal painting with the hands), bone carving and some beautiful architecture. We visited this museum last time we came and it was probably our most difficult day in terms of grieving over our situation. Today was so different. It was so wonderful to share our memories with our children. Next stop was the Tea House again where we sampled many more different kinds of tea. Lineker our guide was telling us that in China, they do not go to the Supermarket to buy tea but to a tea house where they sample varieties before buying. I thought what a wonderful idea this would be in England!! Someone needs to open up a tea house where it is served for people to try and then purchase their favourite!
This afternoon, I had a wonderful opportunity to go shopping with two there adoptive Mums here, Chanda and Sherri. Both are in our travel group and Chanda’s blog is linked in the main blog site. I have been following Chanda’s journey for quite awhile, so it has been so much fun spending time with her and Amelia. Anyway, Chanda had ordered a shopping tour guide with Ann from Red Threads and it really was so much fun. We all took our babies along with us and raced across down town via the sub way and taxi’s to the pearl and Jade market and other little market stands selling just about everything. It was incredible and so unbelievably cheap. I bought a dress for both girls for only two pounds 50p each!! (My British family and friends will understand how cheap this was!!) I could have purchased so much more but would never have been able to carry it all! The pearl market was worth seeing and I would recommend visiting this while you are in GZ. Although I did not buy any pearls myself, I know that they were much cheaper than any you would buy in the West! I wish I had taken the camera to get pictures and video to show you all! Perhaps we all may be bold enough to venture out there one day this week before we leave. I know that Jeff and the children would be really fascinated. I felt like I was on the set of a movie the whole time!
Lydia is opening up to us all more and more every day and she has even allowed her Daddy to hold her today without crying!! Major break through! She is so funny and imitates actions and sounds. She keeps trying to stand up by herself and I know that she will be walking not long after we return home. A little more space and she will be off and I have a feeling that she is going to be far more active and into things than my other three were!! She is so friendly with strangers for the most part and even blew a kiss to the man serving in Starbucks today!! He was pleased I can tell you! On the way back to the Hotel with Ann next to her in the taxi, I realised that she knows how to play “rock, paper, scissors”!! Ann began to play with her and she knew just what to do and began laughing!! I asked Ann to teach it to me in Chinese so that I could play it with her also.
Everyday is another adventure together, learning new things! I really never expected this experience to be this wonderful and although things are not perfect, we are enjoying all that the Lord is unfolding before us every day. Tomorrow is our Consulate Appointment at 9.30 am but Jeff is actually going with Lineker to see if they are able to expedite her US visa so that we can have it asap. We shall stay at the hotel in the morning until he returns and then in the afternoon, our group is going to one of our favourite places..... Shamian Island!!! We are so looking forward to this! We look forward to seeing Jordan again and bringing Lydia to meet him! I can’t wait for Eliana to see all the brides for herself! Hopefully we shall have many pictures to share with you all tomorrow.
Monday, 8th June, 2009
Shamian Island
In case you are wondering if we gave our baby girl some coffee...... it was a chocolate cream milk shake which we bought for the children and let Lydia taste a little!!!! And as you would imagine, she loved it!! She is doing really well with the straw.
We visited Shamian Island this afternoon for what turned out to be a really lovely day. We visited with Jordan and he remembered us from the first time. He was so excited to meet Lydia and our other children. We also visited one of our favourite shops which sells scrolls with scripture and other beautiful pieces called “A Gift From China”. There are so many different things to buy and we do plan to return here again this week because it is such a relaxing place to just spend time enjoying the Chinese culture and see so many other families adopting also. This is the place where many newly weds come for their wedding pictures, so we were able to take Eliana’s picture with one of them. I discovered a new shop which sold the famous squeaky shoes which really do squeak!! Watch out all those back home because you will hear Lydia before you see her! I bought several pairs because they are the most unique and sweet little shoes and sandals I have ever seen and they only cost me.... two pounds, four pounds and six pounds each!!!! (If either of my Sisters want me to get my Nieces and Nephews any then please leave a comment and let me know their shoe size!!) Lydia is only just a size 3!!!
We had planned to have dinner at Lucy’s with Chanda and Jason but would you believe it, it was being refurbished! Chanda remembered reading on someone’s blog about a really good Italian Restaurant on Shamian Island so we all headed off hoping to find it. And we did! And it was really good! The chef was a real Italian man who hollered at his staff and made some amazing pizza and pasta. So for those of you waiting to travel to China who would like a change from Chinese food while you are here, we HIGHLY recommend this place. It is called, “La Dolce Vita”.
If anyone has any advice to offer for us regarding Lydia’s trouble sleeping at night, I would love to hear from you. Last night she woke up at midnight and did not finally settle until after 5.00 am. We are not so sure if it is just teething because during the day, she never cries with her teeth, only dribble a little. She is literally a different child at night than she is in the day. She usually only wants Mummy in the day time but at night when she begins screaming and I pick her up to love on her, she pushes me away and squirms to get out of my arms. If I put her back into her cot, thinking that she wants to go back to sleep, she screams even louder and wants me to pick her up again. It is only when Daddy holds her does she finally settle. Last night he held her almost the entire time. Then after she was asleep back in her cot, she would wake up suddenly screaming again. This is unlike any screaming I have ever heard. We have given her medicine and teething gel, milk, water and lots of cuddles. Nothing seems to be working so I thought I would ask those of you who have experienced this what you think it may be. Do you think she is grieving? She is asleep right now and we are hoping that she stays asleep all night but we are preparing for another screaming session!! During the day, she has no problem going down for a nap. It is just the night time which is so difficult.
Thank you for any advice you can offer and thank you for praying for us during this time, especially for the sleepless nights!! We are getting tired but are still having a wonderful time here with the other families. We do not want to miss all that God has for us during this time and we pray that we can be a light in this very dark place. Please pray also for the visa application which we hope to submit tomorrow. We should pick up the US visa in her Chinese passport at 10.00 am and then drive to the UK center to submit it with the paperwork. We have told them that we will need the visa by Friday at the latest.
It has been a week already since we met our lovely Lydia!! She has warmed to us and changed already and we continue to see her personality every day. There is always something new. It is so much fun to see Isaac, Caleb and Eliana hugging and loving on her and sometimes they just do not want to stop kissing her. We are so thankful to have them here with us and I am sure that she has warmed to us far more with them being here, than if we had come on our own. One more week today and we will be on our way home.......
Tuesday, 9th June, 2009
Visas and Goodbyes
Firstly I want to thank all of those who left comments for us with some wonderful advice about Lydia’s distressed sleep. I was so glad that I asked you for help because last night was another difficult sleepless night for us and when morning came, I was able to read all the words of wisdom which gave me such hope. I am comforted to know that we are not alone and even though I have been following so many blogs for the last few years and read about this happening, it does not make sense until it happens to you. I never really understood what the “crying unlike anything I have ever heard before” was really like until I heard it for myself. It pierces the heart (and ears) and as a Mother, I feel absolutely helpless! It seemed so much easier with our other three children when they woke up crying because I just nursed them and they were immediately comforted. This time I do not know what to do, other than hold her and love her as she fights me in my arms. You have all encouraged me so much to just do whatever we need to, to make her comfortable. Last night I kept thinking how we were setting ourselves up with bad habits by allowing her in our bed when ever she cried, but you have helped me to realise that this is okay and adoption is so different in every way, therefore, everything else will be also. I knew that there would be challenges and had prepared ourselves for the worst in many ways, but this crying at night has been something I could never have prepared myself for!! On the whole, she is such a happy and delightful baby all day long that I am not worried about any attachment issues she may have with our family. I think she is doing exceptionally well considering we have only had her in our family for a week! Therefore, I will be praying for the same grace from God which helped many of you to make it through those sleepless nights, to help me also. I know that God will teach me so much through this, especially about myself. So thank you again!!! I will re-read the comments and should anyone have anything else they may want to add, please do not hesitate!!! And thank you for your prayers.
This morning we drove from one place to another for Visas. First we went to the US Consulate to swear an oath before receiving Lydia’s US visa in her Chinese passport. Then we immediately went to the UK application center to submit her paper work for a settlement visa. Later in the afternoon we drove to the UK Consulate to meet with someone in person and ask if they would “please” have our visa issued to us by Friday. They seemed like they will accommodate us and said they will call as soon as it is ready. I am still hopeful and trusting the Lord that there will not be any problems!
Today we had our group picture taken and everyone was so kind to work around our crazy schedule so that we could be a part of this also. I would have hated to have missed this!! The families are all so wonderful and we have had so much fun with them, sharing stories and fellowship together. Two families fly home tomorrow so we went out for dinner in the evening with almost everyone from our group. We went to the restaurant again in our Hotel which served us the Cowhells but this time we knew what to order so it was a much better experience! Jason, Chanda, Ava and Amelia are leaving tomorrow!! Chanda and I had quite a lot of email contact leading up to our trip here and it has been such a blessing to meet her in person. They have been such an encouragement to us in so many ways and they have such precious daughters!!! Eliana and Ava really hit it off from the moment they met and little Amelia is absolutely adorable. Jeff really made her smile this evening at dinner!! This adoption community is really amazing!! God puts people together from all parts of the world and knits our hearts together through adoption. I have met so many precious friends through this community and the support from those who have been there, done that, is priceless.
Tomorrow will be our first really relaxing day with nothing on the schedule. We are hoping for some better weather here.... it was raining all day today, ( but still really hot), which did not matter too much because we were in and out of buildings anyway. The children all want to use the pool again and there is a Zoo and a park we want to take them to one day. We know that this week is going to pass quickly and we want to make sure we do not wish away the time but enjoy every moment!! As much as we would love to adopt again if the Lord called us to do so, it is unlikely we will be back to China for a long time. This road to Lydia Hope has been so very long and challenging and I am certainly in no hurry to begin the process again!!! I am enjoying every moment with my sweet baby girl and I am loving the fact that I am not waiting for any “A”s anymore!!!! Or anything else for that matter!! Just for the Lord’s return!!!
Goodnight and God Bless.
Wednesday, 10th June, 2009
Park and Pool
We returned to the Hotel for lunch, (bread and cut meats which were left over from our breakfast) and we discovered that Lydia really likes smoked ham. Not sure if we are all very keen but she devoured it! I am beginning to tell that she is putting on weight and it is hardly surprising with the amount she eats continually. She is not a fussy baby at all with her food and I am interested to see how she does when we return home. After lunch, we played with her in the room and finally managed to get a picture of her kissing Ma Ma!! She is kissing us all the time and sometimes she does it without even being asked! But she is so quick and it is hard to capture that moment on camera. It melts all our hearts when she does this and I soon forget our sleepless nights together.
The pool was very welcoming for us today and Lydia could hardly wait to get in!! This was only her second time and she enjoyed it just as much as before. In fact when I took her out for a little while, she made it quite evident that she wanted to get back in again. I think we have a water baby. Lydia also took a few steps on her own today!!! She has been getting her balance by herself and standing on her own. Today, she took several steps and fell into my arms and clapped because knew she was a clever girl!! It will not be long until she is off and running and I do believe that the new shoes are helping.
As for our night last night. She woke up again even though we started her in our bed, (me and Eliana share the bed in one room) and began the crying. I tried to comfort her but again she would have none of it. She thrashed and pushed me away and then Jeff came into our room because her crying must have finally woken him up and he took her into his room. She immediately stopped crying and slept with him all night. The only problem which arose the next day was that she has started to prefer Daddy now and made that very evident. So Jeff made sure that she spent as much time with me all day. There was one moment at the pool when Jeff went to the bathroom and she began to look for him. When she realised that he had gone, she began to cry and scream and BIG tears rolled down her face!! It was so sad. When he returned she settled back into my arms again. She did not necessarily want him to hold her but she wanted to know he was around. I am so pleased that she is bonding with her Daddy but I have seen that at times she is preferring him to me which may have something to do with the nights she is spending with him. So this evening, I purposed to put her to bed. I have been letting Jeff do it for the past few nights because she seems to do better with him rather than with me. Everyone left the room and it was just the two of us and as soon as she realised it was me, she began to fight me and cry and then scream. She kept looking at me with those big brown sad eyes and trying to tell me that there had been someone else looking after her for so long and now she was gone!! I know that I remind her of her loss and I now know that the crying is because she is grieving far more than teething. It is so, so sad. But I determined to persevere and keep holding her instead of giving her to Daddy. After about 20 minutes, she finally realised that I was going nowhere and I kept telling her over and over that I loved her. I even quoted scripture like some of you have suggested and I will try singing to her next time as well!! I prayed for God’s help and she finally relaxed in my arms and went to sleep. I believe that it was so important that I hung in there tonight with her and I will do so again in the night when she wakes up again!!! Thank you for praying and for your continued great advice!! I look forward to ordering the book which has been recommended as soon as I get home!!! I know that I have so much to learn and I am so blessed that there are many of you who have gone before me and are able to help me now that I am experiencing these things!!!
Thursday, 11th June, 2009
Another Day in Guangzhou
To be honest, all my days are beginning to roll into one now as we pretty much have a routine going!! Breakfast buffet which is never boring and so much fun to see all four children tucking in and enjoying every mouthful. The fruit is so good and the freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juice is great to wake up to!! I keep telling the children that they had better not expect this to continue when we return home!! We will definitely miss the breakfasts but as for the other meals, we are getting ready to return to English food!! Believe me, I never thought I would say that because I do love Chinese food and I love to try other flavours. Even Isaac asked if we could have something else other than Chinese food for dinner!! Today has been the first day I have felt ready to return to a normal schedule and to western life. I am eager to see Lydia in her new home, meeting her new family and friends back in England. Yet at the same time, I am enjoying every moment here being in her home land and savouring every experience so that we will have so much to share with her when she is older. I am having such an amazing time here compared to last time and I know that in just a few more days, we will be leaving this all behind and beginning another journey with our daughter.
We have had another day of rain here!! It did stop for a while in the afternoon so we took a taxi to the Carrefour which is similar to a Wal Mart and stocked up on baby food and snacks. It took us a little longer without a guide to hurry us through the many floors but we were able to take some interesting video for you to see what the grocery stores are like here. There were “live” things for sale and one of them had escaped while we were there! Papa Johns Pizza was right next door so we thought we would have a change from the local delicacies and went inside. It was Lydia’s first taste of pizza and she really enjoyed it but what doesn’t this girl enjoy these days, I mean really, she eats and eats and stuffs so much in and swallows it so fast without chewing! I am going to have to teach her some manners!!
Later in the afternoon, Jeff left the room with the boys and Eliana to go swimming and Lydia lost it again. She looked around the hotel room for them and sobbed. Again I have read about this but it really hits hard when you experience this for yourself!! She did not want me and pushed against me but then when she thought I might put her down, she would cling to me for dear life. She is so confused and hurting and all we can continue to do is love, love , love her and then love her some more. I know that it will not be like this forever and the important thing to do is not take it personally which I have the tendency to do. I am expecting things to get worse when we return home but I have great hope that eventually she will become more and more secure with us.
Last night was a good one!! It was just Lydia and I in the room all night long, in the same bed. When she woke crying just after midnight, I quickly held her in my arms and it was only five minutes later when she fell asleep. She did not fight me nor did she scream and through the rest of the night, she would moan and cry gently and I would just tell her that I was there and I loved her. There were some really special moments of her putting her arm around me and snuggling closer to me for comfort. Every time, she realised that I was right there, she would settle back to sleep. I was so glad because Jeff and the other children were not disturbed and so were able to sleep fairly well. I am of course still very tired but it is worth the lack of sleep.
Please pray for our UK visa. They called today and needed some more information from the US Consulate which has now been emailed to them and we are hoping they will issue it for us tomorrow. Otherwise, we are up a creek without a paddle!!! I know that Jeff will feel like he can fully relax when we have that visa and know that we can return to England!! We trust that God is working all things together for good!! This was the sweet message in my Devotional yesterday and I wish I had the time to write it out for you because it was so good. God reminded me how He has been working and is working our situation out so wonderfully and perfectly even when it looked like there was no way things could ever bring Him glory. In His perfect time, He has orchestrated every detail in this adoption and every turn and twist in the road was meant to be. This is what hindsight is all about. It’s seeing things so clearly once we are no longer in the situation but above it. I know that it is cliche but I have to say it too...... Lydia was definitely made for our family and she fits in so perfectly in every way. We are so thankful for the Lord bringing her into our lives in the way that He did, even though the circumstances in which He worked were so painful. God does work ALL things together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose and as long as we abide in Him, He will produce the fruit.
I know that you will be praying for our visa to come through tomorrow and also for endurance for me with these sleepless nights. I cannot tell you what a comfort it brings knowing that we are being covered in prayer. I am finding my quiet times with the Lord are not as often as I would like and I am hoping that once I return home, they will resume again as normal (smile!) Oh the Lord is so good...... all the time...... and He is with us always!! What a great comfort this is. I keep reminding myself how this is the probably the first time that Lydia is seeing Jesus and hearing about Jesus. And I cannot wait to share more about His goodness as soon as she older enough to understand!!!
I pray that the Lord will bless all of you for your faithfulness to pray for us and follow along with us while we are here. And thank you for your sweet comments, they really do bring us so much comfort!!
Friday, 12th June, 2009
Photo Shoot at the White Swan
I want to thank the LORD for ANSWERED prayer because this morning we received a call from the British Consulate to come and collect Lydia’s settlement visa.... it was processed and ready to go!!! What a relief this was for us. So we hopped into a taxi, (or crammed into it, with no seat belts I might add....... side note, today when I actually tried to put on seat belts on the way to Shamian Island, I was told not to!!!) ....... and we drove to the Consulate for her Chinese Passport with the visa inside. Yeah!!! We feel like we can relax now and really enjoy our last few days here. So thank you for your prayers!!! God is so faithful and has provided for us yet again.
To celebrate we headed over to Shamian again because we just love it there and we still had more gifts to buy and squeaky shoes!!! (Hannah, I bought William a pair of squeaky shoes and for Amelia a pair of really cute sandals but hers do not squeak. Her size stop squeaking which I am sure you will be glad about!!! Bethany, I bought Natalya a pair of squeaky shoes..... hers will squeak loudly and will be great fun at Church!!!!)
We had such a fun day there and I especially loved a couple of shops which we never visited last year. They are right next door to each other. One is called Sherry’s which is where we bought the shoes from. Right next door is Jenny’s place which has some really beautiful gifts!! But what I loved most of all is that Jenny is a believer and she asked us if we were and then became so excited and hugged us and wanted to give us many free items. She was the sweetest lady ever and I highly recommend her and make sure that you tell her that you are a Christian also if you visit her shop!! She is located on Shamian Main Street, just further down from Starbucks and A Gift From China. I have a picture of her in the photo album.
Speaking of photos, we just had to take the children to the famous White Swan Hotel for pictures on the Red Couch..... or couch’s because there are actually many of them!! It was so much fun and they loved the waterfall there and all the statues. It is an old hotel and very quaint and definitely worth a visit if you have never been. Another family in our group, is still here in China. They fly home tomorrow and then we will be all alone for just a couple of days. This is the family, Tracy, Amy and their four adopted daughters who are absolutely stunning and so much fun to be with!!! They also came to Shamian so we met up for dinner with them at the Italian Restaurant because they had not eaten there yet!! Lydia ate her way through a very large plate of spaghetti with butter and became so greasy that she couldn’t even hold her bottle. (See pictures for evidence!!) I am going to weigh her tomorrow and she if she has gained anything in the last week!! She is eating continually and loving everything we give to her. She has been such a sweet girl today and letting both Daddy and Mummy hold her without fussing at all. She allowed me to give her bottle again tonight and did not cry at all and last night she never cried, only wriggled all night in the bed. She finally woke up at about 7.30 am for her milk. I would say that was a good night!! I slept a lot better, not completely sound because I am aware that she is there and I do not want to squash her!!!
We have just two more days left and are praying that no one gets a fever or any other illness!! Isaac has had a strange rash all over his back which we are not sure is an allergy to something, due to the heat, due to sun cream which has bug repellent in or due to a virus he had last week when he was not well!! We are just praying that it goes away and that we all remain healthy so that we can return home!!! We are so close to the end of our time here! We continue to be so blessed to be here and not once have the children moaned that they want to go home!! They have been such troopers the entire time and we have never regretted bringing them here once!! What an incredible experience this has been!
Saturday, 13th June, 2009
Guangzhou Zoo
What an exhausting day we have had today!!! As we looked back on the pictures for today’s album, we realised why we are so tired and why Eliana was falling asleep at Lucy’s on Shamian and why Lydia was fast asleep by the time we arrived back at our Hotel!! It has been an incredibly, humid, sweaty and wet day with rain and thunder and lightning!! I do believe that even British weather is not as bad as this at this time of year!! We have been drenched all day from both the rain and the sweating and I must add that Lydia is the most sweatiest baby I have ever seen!! She sweats out of the top of her head and I am told that this is quite normal for Chinese babies. Within minutes of being outside, her hair is wet through and she is drenched!! I have never seen anything like it. Our pictures of us today, start out with everyone nice and dry at breakfast and then during our trip to the zoo, Lydia’s hair is plastered to her head, Jeff is absolutely soaked from a combination of rain and sweat and my hair goes nice and frizzy!!
I have to say that if you are able to visit the Zoo during your visit to GZ, it is worth every penny! It costs seven pounds for the entire family ($11) but there is an extra cost if you want to see the Sea World Show which was very good. Our children had an amazing time. There were bears, Panda bears, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, tigers, other wild cats, monkeys, sea animals and reptiles. There were a few surprise species there which were not advertised...... rats everywhere, big black and brown ones!! We also found it interesting that there were pomeranian dogs in the Zoo!! Perhaps these are an endangered species now!! We were the only Western people there and felt at times like we were the ones in the Zoo. I cannot count how many pictures Eliana has been asked to pose for! She will seriously be in withdrawal when she returns to England.
Back to the Hotel and Jeff took the older three swimming for an hour while Lydia and I spent some time bonding in the room together. She improves everyday and seems more and more attached to us both now. She does not seem to have a preference at this time, but ANYTHING could change especially when we go home. Once again, she slept well and only woke for about 10 minutes crying but not screaming. She went right back to sleep after I had loved on her. Lydia did the sweetest thing in the morning when she woke up. She sat up in bed and looked at me, smiled, then leaned over and kissed me without even being asked!! I was still trying to open my eyes and after that, she brought tears to them! We cannot wait to bring this little precious pumpkin home to meet our family and friends. Whatever will she think?
This evening we went back to Shamian for dinner at Lucy’s which is western style and caters to adoptive families. Lydia had her first mashed potatoes which went down well and we all had grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers and a curry!! A little taste of home and I have to admit that we are now ready to go home!!!! We returned to the Hotel just in time to see the last AWAA family other than ourselves, leave for the airport. They have been such an encouragement to us. Isaac, Caleb and Eliana will certainly miss them tomorrow at breakfast. We are all alone now and very glad that we only have one more day here. We are so happy that God intervened when we were first looking to stay here in GZ until NEXT FRIDAY to help the UK Consulate with the Visa!! As it turned out, Jeff was unable to stay here in China longer than 16 days because he is a Pastor and then the UK Con were able to process the Visa quickly for us anyway!! I am so glad that God sees ahead of us, closes one door and opens another!! At this point we cannot imagine staying here any longer!
We are going to try and and visit a church tomorrow morning on Shamian. We are not sure what it is exactly and depending if we can all be ready in time, we shall go and investigate. Hopefully our last day will be much more quiet than today and I will be able to finish all my packing.
Just two more sleeps....... now we are counting down the sleeps to go home!! Soon we will not be counting anything anymore!!!
Sunday, 14th June, 2009
Last Day in China
To be honest, these last two weeks have gone by quickly. We are now on the verge of leaving Lydia’s birth place with so many memories in our minds and hearts. God has touched us all in such a special way and blessed us with the most unforgettable experience. Of course the highlight has been meeting Lydia finally after the many months of waiting to see her face for the first time. She has been worth the wait in every way and we would do it all over again for her!! Every time we think of the day we met Lydia, it brings tears of joy to our eyes. God has been so good to us and I will never forget all the lessons He has taught us along the way. And I will never stop telling others about the amazing God we serve!! I have seen, as we have loved on Lydia even when she has fought against us, how we are like this to God. All He wants is to lavish His love and blessing upon us and yet we kick and scream against this. I know that there have been times in my life, even after becoming a Christian, when I have wrestled with His love for me and not wanted to accept that He could possibly love me as much as He says He does. Yet He does, in spite of our mistakes and right now, I am so overwhelmed by His love for me. I am so thankful for such a blessed trip!!! For the gift of a child who was born of another woman, whom we will always pray for and wonder what she was like. For Lydia’s Father who also will never know his daughter; for him we will pray too!! I am so thankful for sharing this experience with our children and giving them the opportunity to see a different world and understand better, their sister’s place of birth. I am so thankful that Jesus went before us and made the crooked places straight and has worked out every detail for us and especially the visa. I am grateful that He has kept us all healthy and safe and allowed us the blessing to share our lives with many other families here. I am thankful for my husband who has endured this journey with me through very difficult times and with so many tears and frustrations along the way. I could not have continued on had it not been for him. I am so thankful for all the support and prayers from our family and friends who have stood with us during those dark days of many unknowns, who have encouraged us with words of wisdom and kindness and who have never judged us but loved on us continually!!! Thank you!!!
Our last day here has been one of the best!! We were able to visit Shamian Christ Church this morning and it was one of the most memorable experiences ever. To stand with many other believers who were Chinese and a few other adoptive families from the west also, and to sing our praise to Jesus was the icing on the cake! It brought tears to me eyes and I was so overcome with emotion with being there and this entire trip! Jenny form Jenny’s Place was there and she was so excited to see us!! What a precious sister she is. We took some video which I am sure Jeff will try to down load at some point. What a blessing to get to attend!! I am so glad that we went and it felt so good to be in Church after missing it for the last two Sundays.
This afternoon we went to the pool for a last swim. The weather was much better today and it did not rain until closer to the evening, so we were able to spend a couple of hours in the pool. The children have really enjoyed this. Lydia cannot get in the water fast enough and she shakes her head, “no” when we ask her if she wants to come out. She even tries to put her face in the water. The children have been so sweet with her every day. Isaac likes to make her laugh and Caleb sneaks up on her and gives her kisses. Eliana is so gentle and such a little Mummy. We have had no signs whatsoever of any jealousy from her while we have been here. I was so afraid that she would feel rejected after being the Princess for so long but she has been incredible. I hope that she continues this way when she is home. By the way, I weighed Lydia again yesterday and she weighs 17 lbs!! Last Saturday at the medical, they told me that she weighed 18 lbs which I was surprised at!! I had been weighing her at the two hotels we have stayed at and she only weighed about 15-16 lbs so I am not sure if the weight at the medical was correct!! It is evident that she has gained weight since we met her almost two weeks ago!! She is 29 inches long. I guess we will not know for sure until we take her to our family Doctor. I am just happy that she is eating and beginning to fill out her pyjamas which were so big on her at first!!
Everything is packed and we are all set to leave tomorrow morning!! Our bus for Hong Kong leaves at 7.00 am and takes about three and half hours but this is with the two main stops at the Chinese border and then Hong Kong. Chanda wrote about this bus trip on her blog after she returned home last week and said it was a night mare!!! So please pray for us!!! We have to take off all our bags so that they are checked and then get back on the same bus, twice!!! Our flight leaves at 2.00 pm and should take about 12 hours to London. I know that you will be praying for us and especially my fear of flying!! It will be Lydia’s first time on a flight that long so we are hoping that she does well. We arrive in London at about 8.00 pm and my Dad and step Mum, Nikki will be meeting us there!! We cannot wait to see them and for them to meet Lydia!! That night, we will stay at their house and then drive up to my home town where my Mum and sister and her husband and four girls live. We shall stay the night with them so that they can spend some time with Lydia also!! Then we shall drive a couple more hours north to our home!! Yeah!! We will be so thankful to drive into our village.... home, sweet home!!!
I will try to post on our main blog and let you know that we have made it safely home as soon as I am able!!
Thank you again for your prayers for our travel tomorrow.
Monday, 15th June, 2009
Returning Home from China
We have made it home safely! Now that we are back from China I will once again be writing on my original blog site. There is also a slideshow with the pictures of our homecoming.
