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Thursday morning, time to let Rose and Lily visit their new school. Jasmine got on the bus at her regular time, but the other 2/3 of our new crew were scheduled to be there at 9:00 AM. So I did the normal weekday morning here. Flip the overhead light on, bang the walls “time to rise and shine” sort of stuff. Shortly after the girls got up I let them know, ( thank you Google translate) that today was the day they would get to see and go to their new school. I had thought about telling them the night before but thought maybe it would make them a bit excited, based on their reactions when I told them they were going to school I think we made the right choice. You wouldn't believe how their ... read more

The girls have had over a full week now here in their new home. I'm not sure the first week really counts after all the fun we had with the plumbing. Our adoption agency tells us the first week or two can be the hardest part of you're adoption journey. Part of that comes from having everything laid out for you while you're in China, having representatives there to hold your hand, then getting on the plane to come home to you're on your own now, the new child or in our case children, having to adjust to their whole world changing. Then you can add jet lag on top of all that it can make for a very stressful time. I will have to say, they weren't kidding! Last week was pretty tough on all ... read more

I know it's be long spell since I updated the blog but for those that haven't heard there is a reason. Saturday morning we awoke to a stopped up septic system. Without going into the gory detail I will say it was pretty bad here and I don't want to every have to use a wet/dry vac for that job again! Ewwwwww. Now imagine the fun trying to explain to our new daughters why they can't use the facilities here and having to make a run to my sisters house as a group for that purpose. (Thank you Janet and Ike!!!) So if having to deal with jet lag wasn't enough here's the icing on the cake (not that I would want a cake with this kind of icing). That was how saturday started, then the ... read more

Well here we are, back home and the girls first day at their new home. I've got to say this is going to be on of the hardest things our girls are going to experience in their lives. I can't imagine what it would be like to be 9 years old and some stranger show up and take me away from everything I've ever know. However....Rose is smiling more then I've seen her smile since she joined the family. You can tell she really loves her new home. Lilly is still smiling like she has been since we first met her so she's kind of hard to read but she loves the cats here. Daisy (cat) really doesn't like to be held, which Lilly wants to do, but she still hangs around to let Lilly pet ... read more

*Note I started this on the way back from China but didn't get to finish until Friday morning. Sorry, I know that's an old cliché but it just seemed to fit leaving China. First time leaving Guangzhou back in 2004 we were delayed over 2 hours and missed our connecting flight to San Francisco. This time, guess what....delayed almost about 2 hours again but we did make our connecting flights out of Beijing. There was some kind of problem with loading the cargo, don't think it had anything to do with the passenger baggage since they had several skids of large crates they were loading when we boarded. It's funny, sometimes even though you don't speak the language you can figure out bad news. The flight attendant came over the speaker, said something in Chinese and ... read more

We got back home about 12:30. It's late, I'm tried but had to wind down for a few minutes before I try to catch some sleep. I'll post more later!... read more

Not much I can add to what Jasmine said. Tonight is our last night in China, have to be up and moving by 6:00 AM in the morning. Our flight isn't that early but 2 other couples do have to be there for an earlier flight so to save money on the bus we're all leaving together. Taxi's are cheap here but not buses and all our luggage isn't going to fit into a cab. BTW for anyone that hates trying to stay under the 50 pound limit in the states, it's only 44 pounds here so it makes it tough to get 3 weeks worth of cloths and stuff in a suitcase under 44 pounds. So hopefully the next time we get to post it will be in the state. Ready or not here we ... read more

The last day in China . )-: I'm really gonna miss China . Well, I'm also glad I'll see my family and friends . I want to ask Mrs. Goad if I can bring something we got in China to show everybody. I'm not gonna say what it is you have to guess what it is. (-: If I can , I'll bring it the next day . I'll give you a hint . . . They come in pairs. If my grandpa is reading this tell grandma we have a special gift for you guys. When we first got to China it took about a day. But this isn't gonna be a day coming back. Because we get to time travel . . . Hey , thats what dad said. I think it has something ... read more

No pictures this time, we were supposed to leave our camera's and cell phones at the hotel. That was the last thing we needed to do here in China to complete the girls paperwork. Our CCAI rep's will be going by there tomorrow to pick up the girls passports with the required visa's. Also the “brown envelope” that all adoptive parents bring back with them. We're not supposed to open it only give it to the Immigration people when we get back to the states. I'm not sure I'll be able to get much more in the backpack since the amount of papers for both girls has grown quite a bit since we arrived. I was kind of disappointed with consulate piece. 1. They moved from Shamian island to some huge office building back into the ... read more

WE ARE DONE WITH ALL OUR PAPER WORK ! Were heading home on Wednesday . I'm excited ! I can't wait to see all of you . When I get home it'll be late at night. When I wake in the morning it'll be March then a few days later one of my brothers are coming back to Virginia because he moved to Florida . I really love him . His name is Bryan . I'm also love sister in law . Her name is Sara . I wish see all of you right now! (-: P.S. I'm sorry I didn't mention you the last blog post Bryan and Sara . )-: I just don't see you guys that much. Love you both!... read more