Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Katie!

Katie turns 3!

Katie turned three on Sunday.  We have all been sick and Ryan was at a soccer tournament, so we are going to celebrate this next weekend.  I'll post pictures of her party sometime next week.

Katie had her first illness.  She started running fever last Sunday, so I took her to the doctor on Monday.  She had strep throat.  She felt fine after only one day on the antibiotics and her temperature returned to normal.




It has been a really rough week for illness at our house.  First Trevor had an eye infection.  Katie had strep.  Ryan threw up last Wednesday and missed his 3rd day of school.  Travis got a cold.  I got strep.  The doctor called to tell us Katie has giardia (parasite that is being treated with antibiotics).  Travis shared his cold with me.  Spencer got strep and is still out of school today.  Please pray for us to get well soon!

First Doctor's Visit

Our first visit with the International Adoption Clinic was yesterday.  I was a little disappointed with the visit, and felt that our pediatrician would have done as much or more on our first visit.  They were much more focused on the emotional part of the visit, and Katie is not having attachment/bonding issues.  I guess if she was I would have been grateful.  I was hoping that I would get more answers on her physical condition, but the exam was not even as thorough as our yearly exams with the pediatrician.  They did draw blood and we'll get those results back at the next visit in four weeks.  They will also set up an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist at UAB so that we can find out if she'll need more surgery.   

There's No Place Like Home

The boys made this sign for us to welcome us home.

After two days of travel, we finally made it home on Saturday.  I was so glad to see everyone at the airport, especially Ryan and Spencer.  We have had such a wonderful group of people praying for us and supporting us. We couldn't have done this without all of you.

I wanted to also give an update on how Katie is doing and how she is adjusting.  She does not like our dogs at all, which is somewhat of a challenge.  We try to keep them in another room or outside, but there are times that she sees them and she will scream.  It's gotten a little better than the first day, but not much.  We're trying to take this very slow and allow her to warm up to them at her own pace.

No longer do we have to worry about bath time.  I was able to get her to sit down in the bath last night, and then today she wanted to get in the water at the pool.  I was so excited!  She was the one who actually initiated it and was laughing and playing.







She loves her brothers, and they are very quick to meet her demands.  We're going to have to work on teaching them to say "no" to her.  She is already telling them what to do, which is kind of cute, but will grow old quickly.  I've been very impressed with their patience with her and the love they show her.  And, they've endured watching Dora for her.






Travis has gone back to work and she is doing great with me now.  We took a picnic lunch to his work today and she was fine when it was time to leave.  She wants me to hold her a lot more than she did before.

I ventured to Target with all four kids, and lived to tell about it.  They were actually pretty good.  Katie loved riding in the shopping cart and was excited when I put goldfish crackers in the buggy.

We laugh often at her English.  We've decided she's  Chinese Italian.  Everything she says has an "uh" on the end.  "Goldfisha"   It's really cute.  She repeats everything, so we have to be careful about what we say.

Trevor and Spencer seem to be having the hardest time with the adjustment.  Spencer is not liking the fact that he's not the youngest anymore, and I think Trevor is just cranky from jet lag.  They have been fighting more today than they have in a long time.  Please pray for them as they make the adjustment.

First Sunday at Church

While you're at it, please pray for all of us.  Things are going really well, but that doesn't mean things are easy.  We're all still making adjustments and I'm sure issues will arise over the next few weeks.  Thanks!

Cancelled

Our flight has been cancelled. We will get in at 12:25 pm tomorrow. We were able to get a hotel at the airport and will get some much needed rest. Say a prayer for us.

Delayed

I just wanted to let everyone know that our plane is delayed. We will not get in to Huntsville until about 11:45. You all are still welcome to meet us but I understand that is really late for everyone to be up. At this point we have been up over 24 hours and I'm so ready to be home. I'm not very happy! I can't wait to crawl into my own bed and sleep in tomorrow morning. Haha. I have a two year old now- they never sleep in.

Hong Kong

We have arrived safely in Hong Kong.  The train ride was relaxing and both Trevor and Katie slept during part of it.  I was able to read without getting carsick, so that was nice. 

We did tour one of the older parts of Guangzhou this morning.  It was very beautiful there.  There was a group of school girls that were walking behind us and taking photos of the silly Americans. :)

We will leave at 11:50 a.m. tomorrow.  That is 10:50 p.m. your time.  Please say lots of prayers for us as we travel.  It will be a 14 hour plane ride with a two year old.  Then a 7 hour lay-over in Chicago.  Then we will finally make it home! 

Can't wait to see everyone!

Packing

Today started very early.  We had to be in the lobby by 7:45 a.m. to go to the U.S. consulate.  We took an oath on Katie's behalf stating that all of the documents submitted were true to our knowledge.  We will be able to get her visa and passport back tomorrow.  We were done by 9 a.m. and able to get a little breakfast from the buffet before we met the rest of our group and headed to the zoo.  

It was extremely hot and Katie had not gotten enough sleep last night, so she was a little grumpy.  She did love seeing the animals though.  Our guide, Lily, was impressed with how many of the animals she could name, all in Chinese, of course.  Lily would translate for us.  Katie talks a lot and will sometimes say several sentences in Chinese, and I feel bad that I don't understand what she is trying to tell me.  Her English is coming along really well though and she repeats everything we say.  I do have to share that we saw a liger at the zoo.  I've heard from a very reliable source that they are bred for their skills in magic.  LOL.  They are actually a very beautiful animal.

We said goodbye to the Maddox's today.  We may see them in Hong Kong, although we won't be there for very long.  I shed a few tears after they left.  It has been so nice to have friends on this journey with us, and has helped us not feel so homesick.  The McClure's will leave sometime tomorrow, but the remaining families' schedules are all different, so we said goodbye to them today as well, just in case things are hectic and we don't get the chance to see them again.    We will tour tomorrow with the Olivet family before we leave for the train station.  Our whole travel group has been wonderful.

Katie is bonding better everyday.  She still only wants Travis to hold her when we are out, but she wants me to put her down for her naps and to bed.  She also sat with me at dinner and we shared an ice cream cone after that.  We found out today that she loves Legos.  Trevor has hundreds of them and brought a few with him.  She doesn't ever try to put them in her mouth, but she dumps them out of the container and puts them back in.  We're going to have to work on eating better foods when we get home.  Katie has quite a sweet tooth and doesn't eat any meat at all.  She will eat noodles and rice, as well as yogurt.  We're going to add in some veggies and try cut the meat into tiny pieces for her.

This may be our last update before we get home.  We will take the train to Hong Kong tomorrow and spend the night.  We're almost done packing, and Travis is amazed that I've gotten it all back in the suitcase.  I'm not sure if we will have a chance to send an update before we fly out on Friday.  Everyone is welcome to meet us at the airport, but I just want to warn you that we aren't letting other people hold Katie just yet.  She is still adjusting and we don't want to confuse her by passing her around to other people.  Our plane is scheduled to land a few minutes after 10 p.m. Friday night.

We want to thank everyone for all of your prayers and for following us on this incredible journey.  So many of you have done so much to help us, and we are so appreciative.  

Ryan and Spencer, we can't wait to see you!  We love you and miss you!