Home a month!

I can’t believe that we have been home a month already! Elsie is changing so much every day. I have been back to work for three weeks and in that time her and daddy have become the best of friends. (She does run to greet me when I get home though) I am so grateful that at least one of us is able to stay home with her for a few months.


She loves all the brothers and sisters she has met. Charlie even babysat while Brad went to the dentist. And Heather is trying to talk me into letting her babysit. Pretty cool, huh? She also loves to play with her 15, 12, and 7 year old nieces. She hasn’t had a night terror in over a week. She wakes up happy. Most of the time she goes to bed happy. A few days ago she went to visit her sisters as work where she was the belle of the ball. Tomorrow she is going to a princess party. To say she is popular is an understatement. She does wear me out….maybe I’ll lose a couple of pounds chasing her around?! I am so in love with this little girl.  God is good!!

Back to work tomorrow :(

It is so hard to believe that we have been home for more than a week.   I swear I can see Elsie growing physically.  Definitely emotionally.  She smiles and is more confident every day.....sometimes a little too confident.  She is doing so much better with daddy too.  She still prefers me, but he can do more with her, which is good because I have to go back to work tomorrow.  I don't know which one of us it will be harder on, me or Elsie?  When we started this process I was a spry 48 year old.  If someone had told me that I would be 52 before we finished, I would have never said yes.  In the beginning, I said yes somewhat grudgingly.  Brad said he thought that God was calling him to China adoption and who am I to question God?  I thought, come on, I already started over with Brad's kids, do I really need to do it again.  Now I can't imagine my life without her.  I wondered if I could love her like my "own" kids.  Now I lay and watch her sleep and wonder how I could have ever doubted.  She is so amazing!  And smart, yeah I know every mom says that, but she picks up on things so quickly.  She was barely walking when we first met her and now we have to run to keep up with her.  We thought she would be so lost not understanding what people said to her and yet she learned her American name before we left China.  She loves the computer.  Yesterday she picked up Brad's camera and held it just the right way to take a picture and pushed the correct button.  We went to the store on Friday and she even picked out the clothes she liked. She is more comfortable with her family, and it is a big family, every day.  She is the perfect fit.

We're back

We are finally home.  Today was the first chance I had to look at the blog.  Unfortunately, two of the days did not post.  I think it was because the picture files were too big.  One was from Nanchang a couple of days after we got Elsie and the other was the Red Couch day.  And to think I got up at 3am to do the posts for noone to see.  I am attaching the Red Couch pictures here now. For those of you who are not familiar with China adoption, the Red Couch is a couch at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou where all adoptive families have pictures taken before coming home. Elsie was sooo good all day that day, EXCEPT during the picture taking. She was not happy about sitting there by herself. She wasn't much better when we set her with Emily. Emily is 9 months old and is the daughter of our travel companions. She is a very happy baby. I hope she and Elsie will keep in touch over the years to come. 
Elsie got to meet three of her siblings last night.  Heather and Sabrina at the airport and Charlie at home.  She even let Sabrina hold her.    She met  her nieces today.  Seems a little odd for a 21 month old to have a niece almost 15 doesn't it.  She loved them all, but seems especially close to Courtney.  So far, it has been a great day!

On our way home!

Yay, we are finally on our way home....at least we will be in a few hours.  It is about 4am here and this will be our final post from China.  We will be leaving for the airport at 7am (which is 6pm Wed night for all of you back home) .  It will take us a total of about 36 hours before we get back.  We can't wait to see our family....and to see how the blog came out.  It has been an adventure of a lifetime and we will cherish every moment.  Last night on our last night here we went out for Japanese food.  I have been so amazed at Brad's bravery!  He is usually so reluctant, but since we have been here, he has tried German (liked it), Thai (hated it) and Japanese (loved it)....oh yeah, and a little Chinese as well!  Although, we miss our Americanized Chinese food.  We have also had a wonderful time with our travel group, which consists of just us and the Smiths.  We have had such a good time getting to know them and spending time with Emily.  Thank you all for your prayers and support......signing off one last time from China!

One week today

We have been parents to this beautiful little girl for one week today!  She has come a long way in that time. We went from wondering if she would ever smile to hearing full belly laughs.  God is good. Today was our consulate appointment.  This is the appointment that all our other plans were made around.  Well, we didn't even have to go.  Our guide,Rebecca (who is awesome by the way) did it all.  So we went shopping on the island......alot of shopping.  Elsie made a friend at one of the shops, the one where we spent the most money.  Wait to you see what we had made.  It is a secret for now as it is a gift.She was actually quite popular wherever we went.  We also spent quite awhile just walking around the island looking at these cool bronze statues they have everywhere.  For dinner, we met up with the Smiths to go to a German restaurant on the island for dinner.  We think we are going to try the Italian restaurant tomorrow.  Guangzhou is a beautiful place.  On Shamian Island, which is where we are is dug up these days due to the all the work being done to prepare for the Asia games taking place here later this year, but it is still quite a place to visit.  Only a few more days until we come home.  I think I am ready.  We miss our family back home and can't wait for them to meet their new sister/aunt/granddaughter/friend. Red couch pictures tomorrow....

Sunday in Guangzhou

Today was a very good day!  Elsie had another diffcult night Saturday and I had to hold her for several hours, but when she finally fell asleep, she was good until morning.  We started out our day with the breakfast buffet.  We noticed that Elsie didn't eat at much as usual, but still plenty for a 21 month old.  She was much better natured with Brad too.  We met our guide and travel partners for sightseeing and shopping at 10.  We went to the Temple of Six Banyan Trees.  It was really interesting.  There were several temples for the different Buddhas...Chinese, Thai, and I forgot the other one.  The smell on incense was really strong and there were lots of worshippers bringing very unusal (by my standards) gifts. We were offered the option of having the Monk blessing of the children, but since we are born again Christians, didn't feel quite right about a Buddhist blessing. From there we went to Liwan Square. for shopping.  We went to the wholesale pearl market. Our guide told us that it is traditional for parent to give a strand of pearls to their daughter on either her 16th birthday or her wedding day.  She said the strand we chose was very good quality.  They redid the strand in front of us, making sure that each pearl was tied separately.  We then chose our clasp and they made us a complimentary pair of matching earrings.  We spent quite a bit there, but it was so much fun.  Elsie wasn't crazy about it or about having daddy carry her.  All the women in the store were paying attention to her and holding her.  From there we went to a store that sold silk dresses, where we bought a few to bring home.  After that we went back to the hotel as the babies were both a little cranky.  Elsie fell asleep before lunch so I left her and daddy to take a nap and adventured out on Shamian Island.  First I took the laundry to a little store just outside the hotel.  Then I bought some shirts and robes...then I had to come back to the hotel because I was running out of money! When i got back Elsie and daddy were still sleeping.  In all they slept about three and a half hours.  Naturally she was starving when she finally woke up.  We fed her in the room and she has been the happiest baby ever since.  She played with daddy for a very long time.  Then we all went out shopping on the island together (and spent ALOT of money).  She let daddy hold her the whole time without screaming!!!!!  When we came back to the room, we had Papa John's pizza delivered to the hotel and ate it while we watched HBO on TV.  Best of both worlds.  We of course bought something else for Elsie and she was in a very playful mood all evening.  What an awesome day!!!!  Consulate appointment tomorrow.

Guangzhou

Sorry about no post yesterday, but I do have alot to report.  Yesterday was our best day yet....so far.  We left for the airport about 2pm.  Elsie seemed very apprehensive on the van ride to the airport.  I wondered if she was thinking about the last time she had a ride that long, which resulted in us taking her away from everything she knew.  When we boarded the plane, she seemed like a different little girl.  She absolutely loved the plane.  She and daddy had a lot of fun feeding each other Cheerios.  After landing in Guangzhou, we were greeted by our guide, Rebecca.  She is very enthusiastic and answered questions I didn't even realize I had.  We took a walk after checking in to the very beautiful White Swan hote.  We had a western dinner at a place on the island called Lucy's.  Elsie was in such a good mood.  She played with Daddy and even kissed him and called him Baba, which is Chinese for Daddy.  Thank you everyone who prayed for us yesterday! This morning, she had her physical.  She didn't particularly enjoy it, but she was fine a few minutes later.  Right now she and her daddy are playing with stacking cups on the bed.  God is good!

Walmart China

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Day 3

You know I don't really know which day in China this is since it took us so
long to get here. So I am just counting the days since we got Elsie.
Today was a good day. We went to Wal-Mart China and to a porcelain set.
Nanchang is famous to it's porcelain. We bought a tea set and a few small
gifts. Now we just have to find a way to get it into our luggage so we can
bring it home. Elsie smiled more today. She is still skiddish around
Brad though. It is very difficult for him. She does let him feed her
though. She has quite an appetite.
The picture of Elsie kissing me was actually taken by Sabrina during our
Skype session this morning. Isn't technology cool!
Two more days here in Nanchang and then on to Guangzhou. I am really
looking forward to that as the weather and been so damp and cold here.
Women on the street come up to you and adjust your children's clothing or
scold you if they think they are not bundled up enough.
More tomorrow.....

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Day 2 with Elsie

I had a hard time sleeping last night. Brad and Elsie, on the other hand,
both slept like babies. After breakfast at the hotel, we went back to the
room to Skype Sabrina and call Ben. We went to a famous Nanchang pavilion
after that. Just as we were about to leave, we wet through all of her
clothes. After a not so quick change we met the guide and the Smith's in
the lobby. It was very damp and windy here today. She did not enjoy the
walk, but at least she let Brad carry her. I have lots more to say but she
is having a fit right now. more tomorrow...

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Gotcha Day!

Well, it is official! We have a little girl. Elsie Xiao-Nuo was brought to
the hotel lobby around 1pm. She had been due for an 11am arrival but due
to the heavy fog, she did not make it until 1. We had just sat down to
lunch in the hotel lobby with the family that was traveling with us when
our guide came in and let us know the babies were there. We immediately
left our lunch while the guide told the restaurant staff that we would be
right back with them. Elsie was not very happy when the orphanage director
handed her to me. When I passed her to Brad she wasn't any happier. The
orphanage director said she had been sick in the car so they had to remove
some of her many layers of clothing, but instructed us to make sure she had
more on than the remaining 2 layers that were left. She was also hungry.
Brad fed her congee, steamed eggs and a little banana. She quieted down
immediately when we began eating. We did not have much time for lunch
however, because we had to go to the adoption office and then the notary
office. She hasn't cried again, but hasn't smiled yet either. I think
she's close though!

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We're Here!!

We arrived in Nanchang last night. We left Manchester at 6:33 am January
2nd . Three hour layover in Newark and then a 14+ hour flight to Shanghai.
We ended up trading seats with a woman on the plane who was separated from
her children. The armrest did not lift and having my fat body in there for
well over 14 hours was not as pleasant as you might think. We landed in
Shanghai at about 2:30pm on the 3rd. From there we had an almost 7 hour
wait for our next flight. We had to switch terminals and find the right
place. Seems weird to be the foreigners. We were picked up by our guide
in Nanchang about 11pm. The ride back to the hotel was like being in a NYC
taxi, but we made it. We crashed not long after we got in. As of this
writing we are approximately one hour from being parents to baby number 8!!

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snow!

I have to say I am an absolute wreck today.  We are scheduled to leave on Saturday at about 6am.  As scheduled, that puts us into Elsie's province at about 11pm on the 3rd.  We are supposed to have her the following morning.  I just heard the weather forecast.  It is supposed to snow Friday through Sunday.  I don't know what will happen if our flight is delayed.  I have bee trying to reach our agency for about a week about last minute questions, and they haven't gotten back to me yet. I would appreciate all the prayers we can get right now!
On the plus side, we did get all our new money.  Credit union called last night as it came in a day early, yay!  We are almost all packed...Brad and I do have a few differences of opinion on what we should and should not take, but maybe it is just because of the high level of stress right now.  I will be so glad when this is over and she is home with us.

5 days until we leave!!

We leave in 5 days.  Since worrying is what I do best, I have quite a list.  At the top, is that our new money that we need is not in yet.  Our credit union ordered it special and they said they are "pretty sure" it will be new......but I can't get it until Wednesday afternoon!  Thursday is New Year's Eve so they close early, Friday is New Year's day so they are closed and we leave way before the sun comes up on Saturday!  Then, am I packing the appropriate clothes for the weather?  Enough clothes and the right size for Elsie?  Will it be snowing when we leave? The list goes on.  Plus I have to train my boss to do my job while I am away.  Think I should color my hair too, because it is getting grayer by the minute!

Testing remote access

Ok, so I have heard that I can't post directly to the blog, so I am trying to do this remotely. I guess I will know in a couple of minutes if it works. This has been a trying week. It started when Brad noticed he had a flat tire just before leaving for work. He went to have it checked/repaired...again. Had to get a new tire. A couple of days later, he was going to take his parents Christmas shopping and his brake light came on. He figured he should get it checked and get an oil change so the car would be in good shape before we left. You probably guessed it, he needed new brakes and rotors. Two days later, we decided we needed a diversion from all the trip planning and decided to go to a co-worker's Christmas party. Just before we left, we noticed it sounded like it was raining in our basement. Yep, burst pipe. Next we get an email from our agency saying that they made in error when telling us our when we could leave China and that we had to stay an extra day, so we had to have our plane tickets changed. Not cheap. Called the bank about the new money we needed to take with us. They had previously told us it would take about a week, but guess what. Maybe not. They did order it, but she says no way to know until the day it is supposed to come in. December 30th, just before we leave. So after the worst heartburn I have ever had, today I feel much calmer. We are leaving in 10 days to get our little girl and everything else doesn't really matter. God will see us through!
Oh, and I am posting a picture just to see if I can do that remotely too.

Consulate Appointment

Ok, today has been bad and good.  Bad because we know that we are not going to meet Elsie this year. But good, because we finally know when we will.  We will travel the beginning of January and will meet her on the 4th!  I guess I have to confess that most of my reasons for wanting to go this month were pretty selfish.  First, I just really want her, plain and simple.  Other than that, it would have been really cool to get the tax deduction this year.
Now we have a little more time to prepare.  We will be home for Christmas and will have that time to spend with the rest of our family.  The stress of being taken away from everything she knows will be hard enough on Elsie without having to deal with the added excitement of a holiday.  I guess God knows what He is doing!  I have learned to be patient over the past 4 years, but I am really getting a little tired of it.

Up to this point.....

We have been in the process of this adoption for 4 years.  We have talked about a blog for awhile now, but neither of us really knows what we are doing.  Hopefully you will be able to read everything.
Our dossier was logged in at the China Center for Adoption Affairs on 3/27/06.  On October 26th of this year (2009), we received a referral for a beautiful 18 month old little girl.  Her Chinese name is  Fu Xiao Nuo, but her new name will be Elsie Xiao-Nuo Bowden.  She will our eighth child.  She will also have 3 neices aging from 7-14 years old!