tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52455019941791915202024-03-05T15:14:06.235-08:00He said, "Go."After being home only eighteen months with two new ones, we are returning to China to bring home our fifth child. He said, "Go." And so we are going. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-63838778292862837222012-12-30T23:24:00.000-08:002012-12-30T23:24:19.103-08:00The End<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
China
blog 2012 is done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a wrap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I go any further, let me address the one question that I
know is on everyone’s mind and we have been asked a lot since arriving home….will
there be a China blog 2013?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We aren’t planning on one but we didn’t plan
on a 2012 blog either so your guess is as good as mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will say this, Mason really needs a
brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boy can braid hair and
friendship bracelets like nobody’s business and is the perfect brother to all
his sisters but he needs some additional testosterone here in the house.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one thing that I do know is, Dan
and I feel lead to do more in the area of adoption and orphans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>
part is what we are seeking clarity on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More as in being mentors or advocates?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More mission trips?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giving more
of our time or giving more financially to orphan causes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being adoptive parents to more???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just not a question that I can answer
yes or no to right now so like us you will just have to wait and see.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following will sound a bit like an Oscar speech and I
would totally be one of those celebrities who goes on so long they have to que
the music when giving an acceptance speech but there were so many people who were with us during this journey that I must thank…..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to thank Karin, Noelle’s advocate, and all waiting
children advocates who have the passion to advocate for those who do not have a
voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t imagine how much longer Noelle
would have waited had it not been for Karin’s involvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noelle had been waiting on the shared list
for almost two years by the time we found her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you to our family members that supported us in this
journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of you may have secretly
thought we were crazy but you kept it a secret and loved and supported us
anyways.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Byrds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh wow,
what on Earth would we have done without you?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mike & Magan, thank you for loving our kids as if they were your
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for being the “fun”
parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know Mason thanks you the
most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as far as Mikah and Mason go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are totally in on that whole arranged
marriage idea you got goin’ on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you to Jerry Jay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thank you for the hilarious good morning emails that you sent us in China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care how many times I see a picture
of a dog answering the phone it’s hilarious every time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hello.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes, this is dog.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to thank Kelsey for taking the time to be my Blogger
and Facebook editor in chief.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A huge thanks Chris and Kristin, our fellow travel mates
while in Guangzhou.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You two were such a blessing to us and
Noelle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for being such great
listeners and fun dinner pals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Promise
to stop in and say hi the next time you’re in Portland.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many thanks to our Remember Nhu House church for feeding the
Byrds, our kids and us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Thank you to those of you that lifted our family, Noelle, Dan and I up in prayer. There were days that it was the prayers of many that sustained us and helped us get through the day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much love and thanks to my Man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thank you for being the voice of reason during my many moments of just
pure insanity during this journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
love your heart for always wanting to do the right thing and for being obedient
(and we both know that this was a journey of obedience).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t imagine going through five adoptions
with anyone but you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love you, Danny Boy
Meister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
These photos have nothing to do with this post other than
it’s not only the end of this blog but it’s also the end of 2012 so I thought
I’d post 12 of my favorite photos from 2012: <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5WsiXCD_QCx5nQTflv7ESENlIzGUQDpGan6qCkBHWWNTNaOYsDgyO9lfvfPlWadLBdWZQ20Lwa9jATfFwsDDOjOaAcpGYuBJjGI_MTIQal6JsZGnNNlllAmcA5xq6nHpI3to7QXcl5Y/s1600/blog+2012+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5WsiXCD_QCx5nQTflv7ESENlIzGUQDpGan6qCkBHWWNTNaOYsDgyO9lfvfPlWadLBdWZQ20Lwa9jATfFwsDDOjOaAcpGYuBJjGI_MTIQal6JsZGnNNlllAmcA5xq6nHpI3to7QXcl5Y/s320/blog+2012+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12.) Little One was a princess this year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hgA9cdlgIWkOnObaCpffPFbcrCCILaEvomCGFPFe-ayhcXgUHN6Yme-Qk2OY-NB5ugaSjK6NjM8LZgK4SeiNCUixndX5U-Rl250lk4_DD62U4y5lDlFLkp7mUGXzbq2visG0v1xoS1w/s1600/IMG_20120808_182909-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hgA9cdlgIWkOnObaCpffPFbcrCCILaEvomCGFPFe-ayhcXgUHN6Yme-Qk2OY-NB5ugaSjK6NjM8LZgK4SeiNCUixndX5U-Rl250lk4_DD62U4y5lDlFLkp7mUGXzbq2visG0v1xoS1w/s320/IMG_20120808_182909-2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11.) It was Bonich who said it best, "Hey folks, it's Honey Boo Boo's Asian cousin."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1iICrB1lXjkIPTIJBFotSMR82fknsa3daSuIV25aJSGjHESbkFhsQxpNmKSOmUgBp9YxwDBff_1QsADHfeQ-eZ5-cAhODb8MQiERXqLbe8sde93hQN-WQwpslECVyWrEHZDhegMHVCCI/s1600/blog+2012+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1iICrB1lXjkIPTIJBFotSMR82fknsa3daSuIV25aJSGjHESbkFhsQxpNmKSOmUgBp9YxwDBff_1QsADHfeQ-eZ5-cAhODb8MQiERXqLbe8sde93hQN-WQwpslECVyWrEHZDhegMHVCCI/s320/blog+2012+2.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10.) My Man. Just as handsome on the inside as he his on the outside.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Ck2KGF3NR2345bfergQKdNfSTzOVVvrIDh1MgOPHnK-_zUQgG9eGOJBuHophaS10mgoEbblUEc9WgkQgHHVJ_teOlSaUxjUrUu560PNbslOOVaf_QYPy4zoVXlj20Ljai3EmQ_kqEe8/s1600/blog201211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Ck2KGF3NR2345bfergQKdNfSTzOVVvrIDh1MgOPHnK-_zUQgG9eGOJBuHophaS10mgoEbblUEc9WgkQgHHVJ_teOlSaUxjUrUu560PNbslOOVaf_QYPy4zoVXlj20Ljai3EmQ_kqEe8/s320/blog201211.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9.) Saying goodbye to Willamette's newest bear cat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-uyY16P23osvw197OyCzqnvTMDQYXFkULF4Pm74E1mUOTocOA2yTyhPyRAvjAcZ82ofrJi_HBPN9e4IqollYpIRE2zuD-gzSTLZVvIrrq2I2BNpsFJOqopBBjSIWHd9km2-5Xw6z0OQ/s1600/100_1009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-uyY16P23osvw197OyCzqnvTMDQYXFkULF4Pm74E1mUOTocOA2yTyhPyRAvjAcZ82ofrJi_HBPN9e4IqollYpIRE2zuD-gzSTLZVvIrrq2I2BNpsFJOqopBBjSIWHd9km2-5Xw6z0OQ/s320/100_1009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8.) She wanted a picture with me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2UXFL4AqN2hwTzkuByL_5KWjFNWs3K6CwugFoyrbOOSznMnhE4WjVEagJnXUISg-gg1zK3ZyottLV5nfbwXuT3-unCk0oHCYSqujj6tkEKTcQ2dxoMbQU-jzb6zc-oVMl5tU6saUN6c/s1600/blog+2012+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2UXFL4AqN2hwTzkuByL_5KWjFNWs3K6CwugFoyrbOOSznMnhE4WjVEagJnXUISg-gg1zK3ZyottLV5nfbwXuT3-unCk0oHCYSqujj6tkEKTcQ2dxoMbQU-jzb6zc-oVMl5tU6saUN6c/s320/blog+2012+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7.) He cleans up well.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOIw9LMXNRQBMirjt_pS4M63XkJ1Wuf-vk1QEvuB5L8YDAtb148HBOZRXk5e1KgkqF70Dr4bb_yQI_L5Rmq0uvR_wUiEoamyVwDRmxdwQQ_EjqmGaPEWG8-UDsEEN7vlioIIDyUqVlcM/s1600/IMG_20120625_092328-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOIw9LMXNRQBMirjt_pS4M63XkJ1Wuf-vk1QEvuB5L8YDAtb148HBOZRXk5e1KgkqF70Dr4bb_yQI_L5Rmq0uvR_wUiEoamyVwDRmxdwQQ_EjqmGaPEWG8-UDsEEN7vlioIIDyUqVlcM/s320/IMG_20120625_092328-2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6.) My very own Pinkalicious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7hcoydzfxVEBa2jtAAADjxF4uLVZFB4hYW6aJdSnqo5X8WRcCEdCK3dOIsPCRZBOLT-PJO-PUuSR8Qvevc0dbP0keg4banSQbl7Z_3LR8BDKbVwraPhKzjXgqgPrOBF7VaX1DJ4_7wA/s1600/IMG_20120811_223335-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7hcoydzfxVEBa2jtAAADjxF4uLVZFB4hYW6aJdSnqo5X8WRcCEdCK3dOIsPCRZBOLT-PJO-PUuSR8Qvevc0dbP0keg4banSQbl7Z_3LR8BDKbVwraPhKzjXgqgPrOBF7VaX1DJ4_7wA/s320/IMG_20120811_223335-1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5.) Saying goodbye to TCU's newest horned frog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4arWuvUmDrbzdQFydVHLHIpyVA0T0ZpRKgZni3cDh8XAMLpRgSoG385VTdyD5LYhijDElBBTKKQzKKNlRLhAjHgyRMhJ85C1tZgFLxj2Nk4JtocYxWYM0dmigWUt_OTIiuasNmPkmwU/s1600/IMG_20120403_173003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4arWuvUmDrbzdQFydVHLHIpyVA0T0ZpRKgZni3cDh8XAMLpRgSoG385VTdyD5LYhijDElBBTKKQzKKNlRLhAjHgyRMhJ85C1tZgFLxj2Nk4JtocYxWYM0dmigWUt_OTIiuasNmPkmwU/s320/IMG_20120403_173003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4.) I thought it was Mason who was most excited about his first day of baseball practice but really it was Dan.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGQ4jZikp-9xKDmEFcTP4AhV28GFOSYFfjZ_z9QbbbF5eCfFxcR8UD2WaTIXnLW4sZIobMjQ7EsjmjK_fDc49sbQ4kWdjAotPhH5qiChbMnZ2lbU1W7WeZoCMBiIIIfUHeOu1pfYkslA/s1600/DSCF1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGQ4jZikp-9xKDmEFcTP4AhV28GFOSYFfjZ_z9QbbbF5eCfFxcR8UD2WaTIXnLW4sZIobMjQ7EsjmjK_fDc49sbQ4kWdjAotPhH5qiChbMnZ2lbU1W7WeZoCMBiIIIfUHeOu1pfYkslA/s320/DSCF1102.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3.) It is without a doubt the hardest thing ever not having her like me but seeing how much she loves her daddy is a very beautiful thing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrkJKld8I6G0cwDQGpcA7k1G1rglWZnPhIXI1PP0Q3T9QL9Ar1l3wYW6rL39GCdE24-AxO-67SLxvUg8MQAr6YPtR0XctnSoUXKfCUwSmLh2i7PnOkM5DSArNwfk43u1BncXyO1NFsF8/s1600/2012+blog+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrkJKld8I6G0cwDQGpcA7k1G1rglWZnPhIXI1PP0Q3T9QL9Ar1l3wYW6rL39GCdE24-AxO-67SLxvUg8MQAr6YPtR0XctnSoUXKfCUwSmLh2i7PnOkM5DSArNwfk43u1BncXyO1NFsF8/s320/2012+blog+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2.) It's not often we get a non-scrunchy smile from our little gal. This is one of my very favorites of her.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1YwoilhArS3C0Cf716HnijSO0oKELbGuNKIVaSunP3V5rLllmMS4lZcvZMvn50MzHQ3jtSVQdqup-Mgeg9cZuJUjHbygvjFpR5tfOG1cECr7Pk5AMal_VupcvP1S9EjNSW_TaBy5gHM/s1600/blog+2012+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1YwoilhArS3C0Cf716HnijSO0oKELbGuNKIVaSunP3V5rLllmMS4lZcvZMvn50MzHQ3jtSVQdqup-Mgeg9cZuJUjHbygvjFpR5tfOG1cECr7Pk5AMal_VupcvP1S9EjNSW_TaBy5gHM/s320/blog+2012+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1.) The picture that stole my heart just 47 days into 2012.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Thank you again for being with us during this journey.</span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">With love and blessings, </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Danae</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The End</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-3013849977637217772012-12-19T17:31:00.000-08:002012-12-19T17:36:06.684-08:00Life Rules<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I forget how many Life Rules there are for new-to-the
country-little-ones to learn:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stickers do not go on car windows</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toilet paper can be flushed and does not go in the garbage
can.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sharpies are only to be used on paper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stickers do not go in hair.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do not feed the family dog anything unless you ask me or
Daddy first.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dog food is just that, dog food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not people food.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stickers do not go on the wall.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the toilet paper that gets flushed not balloons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do not spit out gum that you are done with on the sidewalk,
on the floor of the car or put it on your dresser.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Curling irons are hot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use a Kleenex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use a Kleenex.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When pointing, use your pointer finger and not your middle
finger.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stickers do not go on the flat screen tv.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Life Rule for the Mama with a new-to-the-country-little-one:
no stickers.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-35408526001501590802012-12-16T23:47:00.002-08:002012-12-16T23:47:44.885-08:00First Week Home<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our first week home has come and gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall it went really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noelle has started to reach out to me for
affection and comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After our time in
China I thought for sure it would be awhile before I saw any so for it to happen so quickly was very encouraging.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzEr62TuQ4Qn6vTeNsjVdu3Z7JAegLjlLNODUyODJDfyrTRgZz0kG8v2YnbVNr8BL_plvncHqeXQCMWdmpDcya9dCDhyphenhyphenAbfNGaSS7b8vA7jv6gfcHKjjLII9wb4pyH9JYeGHt80Yvs-s/s1600/DSCF1494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzEr62TuQ4Qn6vTeNsjVdu3Z7JAegLjlLNODUyODJDfyrTRgZz0kG8v2YnbVNr8BL_plvncHqeXQCMWdmpDcya9dCDhyphenhyphenAbfNGaSS7b8vA7jv6gfcHKjjLII9wb4pyH9JYeGHt80Yvs-s/s320/DSCF1494.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She seems to love being a part of a family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enjoys her older sisters and brother
quite a bit but the jury is still out on Reagan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She isn’t exactly sold on her younger sister
and I think it’s safe to say that Reagan feels the same way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few odds and ends about our new little girl…..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She loves her room but can you guess what it is in her room
that she loves the most?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
dresser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She practically hugged it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first few nights after we tucked in
the girls we would hear dresser drawers opening and closing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went in to see what the noise was and
there she was in the dark, rearranging everything with a huge smile on her
face.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She completely won her daddy’s heart over by asking for
seconds (which was a first) of his homemade taquitos and guacamole.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pretty sure she is keeping the Clementine orange business in
business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She literally eats at least 10
a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is starting to expand her
diet and is finally including meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
38 pounds (& that is after gaining 1 pound since getting her) the girl
needs to seriously get some meat on her bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWVjJJ2UWGQQGRmMr918_9TWM7n1xXFzjUmjykvDHj3RDMwrpsKblMsdpf90xyCuKLA69DCl20wzs9j33zRrlDCZdj_SmpEP0rnrM6GQAoIRbtqcEdrOMpOP_YlD3A8JT01Z4SEYT76Y/s1600/DSCF1472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWVjJJ2UWGQQGRmMr918_9TWM7n1xXFzjUmjykvDHj3RDMwrpsKblMsdpf90xyCuKLA69DCl20wzs9j33zRrlDCZdj_SmpEP0rnrM6GQAoIRbtqcEdrOMpOP_YlD3A8JT01Z4SEYT76Y/s320/DSCF1472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In China
she wore the same clothes every single day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She would not wear any of the clothes we brought so I wasn’t sure what
to expect when we got home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
arriving home she only wants to wear her new clothes and wants nothing to do
with her China
clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I would be happier
when this happened but I actually find myself a little sad that she has already
started distancing herself from her life in China.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She can say…let’s go, I’m hungry, I’m full, brush teeth, pee
pee, Mason, Reagan, Bonich, Kanika, Buddy, Christmas, her abc’s and count to
20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her printing is amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will go to school this week but only for
15 minutes each day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is meeting
with a teacher that will help with her reading but I think being able to be in
a classroom with no other children will help get her ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are taking it slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gets very nervous and anxious when we are
at the school and actually backs up and just freezes when children come toward
us but I can tell she really does want to go to school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wears her backpack when we take Mason and
Reagan even though she is not staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After I drop off the kids, she and I walk the halls of the school so that
she can get more familiar with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
is always excited to lead the way to Mason and Reagan’s classrooms and the
library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think she is slowly getting
ready and will be ready come the first of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my favorite things about older child adoption is
watching them discover common everyday things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like microwave popcorn, the washing machine, a can opener, going through
a car wash, the water and ice dispenser on the fridge, an electric pencil
sharpener, the garage door opener or the switch for the gas fireplace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The look on Noelle’s face when making these
discoveries was truly priceless.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will tackle a few medical issues this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will go in for a full evaluation of her
eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thought she had some vision in
her right eye but it was evident during the medical
exam that she can only see light out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She desperately wants glasses, she is always grabbing mine and if we are
in a store she will ask to go look at the glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw our pediatrician and the doctor
brought up some issues we knew about but she also brought up some others that caught
us by surprise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd093U9SaynLPPEKMYtghxA6lChPbNxRUNCm53cBgxI47tRLzsjErKnA8v9V5Y5HEgjuHoebn1SHAoJBtV1fOLVNT0Z7AcSjvgcXN2lUNnigyS70ZVmZZ63ImKeyOXPIY0uAaiZ4EUFM0/s1600/DSCF1428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd093U9SaynLPPEKMYtghxA6lChPbNxRUNCm53cBgxI47tRLzsjErKnA8v9V5Y5HEgjuHoebn1SHAoJBtV1fOLVNT0Z7AcSjvgcXN2lUNnigyS70ZVmZZ63ImKeyOXPIY0uAaiZ4EUFM0/s320/DSCF1428.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(No, those are not my glasses. She pleaded for them when at the store and I gave in thinking it would be fun to have play glasses which I thought I had clearly explained to her via charades and broken Chinglish. Can you say, Major Mom Fail? She got home and was so disappointed when she couldn't see any better.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Noelle is full of spunk and sweetness with a dash of
sass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the perfect fit for our
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BGeXVA7aSso2VQaTRyRHDeLrCFC3JseVZI6mnebi4GB8GzMrCV7InNmfXF1gUnGSCS2oN3uxZVGW-4O09UbAJQ2WS6pWeRoqTzJJ50LM0c4a4ndalyOB0OWXbsU7Uzn8hh4tFFo988k/s1600/_DSC4348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BGeXVA7aSso2VQaTRyRHDeLrCFC3JseVZI6mnebi4GB8GzMrCV7InNmfXF1gUnGSCS2oN3uxZVGW-4O09UbAJQ2WS6pWeRoqTzJJ50LM0c4a4ndalyOB0OWXbsU7Uzn8hh4tFFo988k/s320/_DSC4348.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-90690287761179411732012-12-06T08:09:00.000-08:002012-12-06T08:09:11.789-08:00Last Post from China<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">China 2012 is done.<span> </span>In less than 12 hours we will be on a plane headed home.<span> </span>In a weird turn events Noelle is very excited to be going home tomorrow.<span> </span>She
has been dancing around our hotel room, asking to see the plane tickets
and telling our guide how excited she is. I haven't seen her this
excited about anything the whole trip so this is big happy surprise.</span></span><div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t have a lot to say in this last post here in China .<span> </span>There will be no deep thoughts.<span> </span>I think I’ve hit a wall and am just really China ’d out.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I thought I’d post some pictures that did not make the cut for the blog.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span>Thanks for following this part of the journey with us and THANK YOU all so much for the love and prayers you sent our way.</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv245949933MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQxVB8NARbgA6M2WclxgStkK6WDA75G0J7lo-LUAUz203OMNH9ERTyZutsB88fxBP93H5P65Ow3EcsMXM0eoEazUEk34yFHlDbOLyondJfKc54DVUzhQp0EDhmNRlRKg0GxCg-gpSlQc/s1600/100_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQxVB8NARbgA6M2WclxgStkK6WDA75G0J7lo-LUAUz203OMNH9ERTyZutsB88fxBP93H5P65Ow3EcsMXM0eoEazUEk34yFHlDbOLyondJfKc54DVUzhQp0EDhmNRlRKg0GxCg-gpSlQc/s320/100_0871.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotcha Day Smiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbKOlS5vteDepXBxgYoRLeba9ayY_RP6djN04a7f-Pm4XRGBiHmWeQXBRfyf7Z_lS6FUh6l2mYGfu7QbIp80rGNp97fVv-VRAuQZWmNJ_pdmMffD54T96OFnklhEbacggUQ3hryV-tqA/s1600/100_0947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbKOlS5vteDepXBxgYoRLeba9ayY_RP6djN04a7f-Pm4XRGBiHmWeQXBRfyf7Z_lS6FUh6l2mYGfu7QbIp80rGNp97fVv-VRAuQZWmNJ_pdmMffD54T96OFnklhEbacggUQ3hryV-tqA/s320/100_0947.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terra Cotta Warriors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXYMY6hnqcfLcPVyeM3Moh_c-EaLd8kmbT8lAH9MOF5aqc_bTrHLqR4bMSIzjzjvT4t_wAkBRh21ODUgK_cBvIVpwCublhMbQjPp2OveQYu_QZuWXvyDfKQGaPIEAgj6uxugEQX2Vfs4/s1600/100_0960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXYMY6hnqcfLcPVyeM3Moh_c-EaLd8kmbT8lAH9MOF5aqc_bTrHLqR4bMSIzjzjvT4t_wAkBRh21ODUgK_cBvIVpwCublhMbQjPp2OveQYu_QZuWXvyDfKQGaPIEAgj6uxugEQX2Vfs4/s320/100_0960.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOkcg-uUc10XHRFxJABr3uHBbSRNTK7zoobOsnBC5YWOYDATznJEnRyi0seBk-aSt8TUBw12NMdZka12Jkj_J1fkAZW6-K66n8mDUIlU6JT6LyK1Ghtk5kQLTlo0lsOmtbxuRIY28R0w/s1600/100_0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOkcg-uUc10XHRFxJABr3uHBbSRNTK7zoobOsnBC5YWOYDATznJEnRyi0seBk-aSt8TUBw12NMdZka12Jkj_J1fkAZW6-K66n8mDUIlU6JT6LyK1Ghtk5kQLTlo0lsOmtbxuRIY28R0w/s320/100_0961.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqt-3jKbTZi1YRZxsJ42o1Us6P69NnbQHeLX7UNp0F430LqTMLxax4p2CS3j7XDavrJAuYVhSK_OJl9i5hgUY8AmGLY1Sq7Mrp5mwsYn4CQv9gYP7vV6yCTyhxE4FiQo3llwUOTDbAn0/s1600/100_1141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqt-3jKbTZi1YRZxsJ42o1Us6P69NnbQHeLX7UNp0F430LqTMLxax4p2CS3j7XDavrJAuYVhSK_OJl9i5hgUY8AmGLY1Sq7Mrp5mwsYn4CQv9gYP7vV6yCTyhxE4FiQo3llwUOTDbAn0/s320/100_1141.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan started talking to these guys and he asked them where they were
from. They said, "South Korea. You know, like Gangham Style?" And
then of course we just had to take a photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf1W0m_0vH8s8_JNO7V8dwHBhqgLhGoEB2_8YUfrde4khnd9zTUo1i4FE8M3whwgADJiz2tMPAKnK-flk-jTKqGxGNjVXKBoGvcgky2T8GiJtbR4iDwhURSaA2eDbhIp_8KQ0GuCc7PE/s1600/100_1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf1W0m_0vH8s8_JNO7V8dwHBhqgLhGoEB2_8YUfrde4khnd9zTUo1i4FE8M3whwgADJiz2tMPAKnK-flk-jTKqGxGNjVXKBoGvcgky2T8GiJtbR4iDwhURSaA2eDbhIp_8KQ0GuCc7PE/s320/100_1154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So not only is this the best picture of the three of us but it also
shows you that I packed and wore something other than that purple
jacket! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QdWCJ7vv1_VLxt7Tnpq0Z1NIfyphe3uFYoMiHsZRxwC6DYhyphenhyphenSkkHn8zXTJwxdyfzVt00wDJXM2oSbnO5tnwRdxFnvdG8xaM9E1ip2YgvmZ_GhGvpQhz_oot3Jk5cQBEaKOA3ppx5js8/s1600/DSCF0905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QdWCJ7vv1_VLxt7Tnpq0Z1NIfyphe3uFYoMiHsZRxwC6DYhyphenhyphenSkkHn8zXTJwxdyfzVt00wDJXM2oSbnO5tnwRdxFnvdG8xaM9E1ip2YgvmZ_GhGvpQhz_oot3Jk5cQBEaKOA3ppx5js8/s320/DSCF0905.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Shaanxi guide, Tom (in front), his in-laws and "sweet" daughter, Candy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSG5SUq2FZOGj95Pu-_TZziTeRkh7W50QchVLeGOtb_R3yxQwBGr_IpKxhviun67picGt2SG29jYuriEYu8luVA_eFchwD5xRaE6_k6c13aAdzwKNzefFLuSRmnVPsdK1fMSTnq4oI5M/s1600/DSCF1129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSG5SUq2FZOGj95Pu-_TZziTeRkh7W50QchVLeGOtb_R3yxQwBGr_IpKxhviun67picGt2SG29jYuriEYu8luVA_eFchwD5xRaE6_k6c13aAdzwKNzefFLuSRmnVPsdK1fMSTnq4oI5M/s320/DSCF1129.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican Food via the subway with my favorite Mexican</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmQqWSw0OfGpldgbu44OdF6Mk_WAF5ZKSHRuULDIQbEnBkTp5a4YGlW0blEiNClobXZ9h8XZhU3xJAvQeqrQyNZp7L38CEzRWjY3DbFmtiz_nJb6V21_c4djAyWnaJltQIrqpHSLlXIk/s1600/DSCF1171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmQqWSw0OfGpldgbu44OdF6Mk_WAF5ZKSHRuULDIQbEnBkTp5a4YGlW0blEiNClobXZ9h8XZhU3xJAvQeqrQyNZp7L38CEzRWjY3DbFmtiz_nJb6V21_c4djAyWnaJltQIrqpHSLlXIk/s320/DSCF1171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Consulate Appointment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRfdaq_WzFDK8op5yhJQR42Nfyu4x3uQZLobLpqZeeUwTFEDo_6mgwLsZlGE6gZUco5J0GEeqJkgE3CdjWrtiUfIJleJbV2Mo68R5ncs5xdSHO5lm_grXJ4SdXledzhw-gHdPyXBJ8wY/s1600/DSCF0597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRfdaq_WzFDK8op5yhJQR42Nfyu4x3uQZLobLpqZeeUwTFEDo_6mgwLsZlGE6gZUco5J0GEeqJkgE3CdjWrtiUfIJleJbV2Mo68R5ncs5xdSHO5lm_grXJ4SdXledzhw-gHdPyXBJ8wY/s320/DSCF0597.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are sooo many Beaver fans here in China!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-43434657585067609882012-12-04T12:54:00.001-08:002012-12-04T12:54:38.272-08:003 More Days<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We are alive and well. I’ve gotten some emails inquiring if we are okay and yes, we are! I’m sorry for not being a better blogger. There just isn’t much to report. We are just buying time until Friday which is only 3 days away, not that I’m counting down or anything.
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We
haven’t done much and if I blogged what it was that we have been doing
it would read like the movie Ground Hog Day because that’s what life has
been like lately.</span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfxXdOzr0PtEs7fv3l5_4m718y6ni5uG2gpJxnK4A1t3yU8Ob1RTP6d_4rUcfzI8t9TCJuUqhyUEIruqC_rMwNszcJtvEvraqkV_nMNd2t_MFpvsFa5vdKjDELhkMog8szbTEHHeTde4/s1600/DSCF1152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfxXdOzr0PtEs7fv3l5_4m718y6ni5uG2gpJxnK4A1t3yU8Ob1RTP6d_4rUcfzI8t9TCJuUqhyUEIruqC_rMwNszcJtvEvraqkV_nMNd2t_MFpvsFa5vdKjDELhkMog8szbTEHHeTde4/s320/DSCF1152.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wake
up, eat breakfast, return the room, hope for an appointment to waste
time, if no appointment walk the streets of Guangzhou, stop in at the
7-11, say hi to clerk who knows us almost by name, buy some Ramen
noodles, return to the room and watch Chinese soap operas. That has been our life for the last couple of days. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last night we did venture out with our travel group. We
were all trying to meet up for dinner with another family that is
staying at a different hotel (The Garden Hotel, WOW! and Colleen if you
reading this, you weren’t kidding about that place:). The line for a taxi was very long and was going to take too long so we as a group decided we would take the subway. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QZhJyr2iRr_pEXm6YlzaG7cvhZqk7QTpsJsXrW20b3KIYqbkfaFrxKRrzf3tWvtSJq5s-g5JTjLim37Ho5OCSgsKLUQJKe4WB2gh00lc8n8K-uVlgkR9HoG4ypQ4V3uKebKpSPL-ooU/s1600/DSCF1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCKTiOlcxSSW9vLef0wz4p7cOBrZtQSQ5M4DcRew6ObW5nJzjCe8KfMjk0-SX65CwwnCjyxFmUrGAF8jadfJDUK2aFRTXzbWoeWPFCOG2DMoT-g5r8vfZZML3tbTuFl4DeZPU-8KItLs/s1600/DSCF1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCKTiOlcxSSW9vLef0wz4p7cOBrZtQSQ5M4DcRew6ObW5nJzjCe8KfMjk0-SX65CwwnCjyxFmUrGAF8jadfJDUK2aFRTXzbWoeWPFCOG2DMoT-g5r8vfZZML3tbTuFl4DeZPU-8KItLs/s320/DSCF1107.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Me, Noelle and friend, Kristen, braving the subway!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1354652608089_295" style="font-size: large;">Let me just say that was an experience. I have never been on a subway and I’m okay if I never have to go on one again. I have never in my life seen so many people smashed into such a small space. I was worried about Noelle the whole time as she really does not do well in crowds and the crowds were insane. I’m
sure to the locals we were a site for sore eyes; 20 whities with our
Chinese children in tow, all holding a piece of white paper that our
concierge had given us with our hotel name and the name of the other
hotel written in Chinese in case we got lost or separated trying to
navigate the Guangzhou subway system. It was quite laughable but we
all made it. As much as we all said we enjoyed
the experience/adventure not one of us took the subway home, we waited
for a taxi…no matter how long it took.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjB8UyqoZQYiFxCDRO3k-qv2MoetoX9XMJF1lrGZcRw1fiYFTK9uYKihFPi8YnxJTlEfWXDhaoiVPGNP2cF1ieWhPRptUYJOul1sk1hTm7ri84d__es1SVVGWSgtCfa9pV7tjzKtmfmA/s1600/DSCF1167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjB8UyqoZQYiFxCDRO3k-qv2MoetoX9XMJF1lrGZcRw1fiYFTK9uYKihFPi8YnxJTlEfWXDhaoiVPGNP2cF1ieWhPRptUYJOul1sk1hTm7ri84d__es1SVVGWSgtCfa9pV7tjzKtmfmA/s320/DSCF1167.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Whatever you do, DO NOT LET LOSE THIS PIECE OF PAPER. This was our lifeline last night.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Noelle is still very fond of her Daddy. She and I have had our moments; both good and bad but the bad isn’t bothering me as much as it did a few days ago.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today we headed over to Shamian Island<span style="font-size: large;">.</span> The island is where all adoptions took place up until the last year or so. Many of the stores and shops have closed down and the streets are very quiet. While there we wanted to see if one of the shops was still open that we hung out at last year. It’s a shop owned by a woman named Judy. Last year she and I talked for hours about life, Jesus and family. I admit I had
selfish motives; her shop was one that always had really good air conditioning so it was easy hang out at. As soon as I walked in she smiled and said, “You’re back?!” and hugged me. I couldn’t believe that she remembered me. I
thought maybe she was full of it and just saying she remembered me
trying to get me to buy something but she remembered Mason and Reagan. I couldn’t tell if she had good or bad memories of them but she definitely knew who they were.</span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBOECKLDJyHQhroOpv-WEkBvLNS2U_zR5KDa1hW5r9c_s4ZetWP8w72vBWM-14xQ-kKCxjST3utbpsAKCb_S-E5aP-Gvpnwa3CrbRZhKP3dL79fhLujpRtMghFfAhXbvAKLA5WBnxC0o/s1600/DSCF1145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBOECKLDJyHQhroOpv-WEkBvLNS2U_zR5KDa1hW5r9c_s4ZetWP8w72vBWM-14xQ-kKCxjST3utbpsAKCb_S-E5aP-Gvpnwa3CrbRZhKP3dL79fhLujpRtMghFfAhXbvAKLA5WBnxC0o/s320/DSCF1145.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Me and Judy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">And speaking of those two….only 3 more days!</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks
to those of you just checking in to make sure we were ok and letting us
know you were thinking of us. We can feel the love, thank you.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ehr0DAA0k4uFq6lSH20sHhe-BA3tST3TYARqEyg4q-RU2hvIcwem677d6SGL0sb6gzLAaCGAg9teT0hkiSPfgamEzoNxxCG5wEW3re2DfzYCL3L60U1KaPk5gD7RoACHqIieLPw7raM/s1600/DSCF1153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ehr0DAA0k4uFq6lSH20sHhe-BA3tST3TYARqEyg4q-RU2hvIcwem677d6SGL0sb6gzLAaCGAg9teT0hkiSPfgamEzoNxxCG5wEW3re2DfzYCL3L60U1KaPk5gD7RoACHqIieLPw7raM/s320/DSCF1153.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The statues represent the modernization of the Chinese woman. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QZhJyr2iRr_pEXm6YlzaG7cvhZqk7QTpsJsXrW20b3KIYqbkfaFrxKRrzf3tWvtSJq5s-g5JTjLim37Ho5OCSgsKLUQJKe4WB2gh00lc8n8K-uVlgkR9HoG4ypQ4V3uKebKpSPL-ooU/s1600/DSCF1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QZhJyr2iRr_pEXm6YlzaG7cvhZqk7QTpsJsXrW20b3KIYqbkfaFrxKRrzf3tWvtSJq5s-g5JTjLim37Ho5OCSgsKLUQJKe4WB2gh00lc8n8K-uVlgkR9HoG4ypQ4V3uKebKpSPL-ooU/s320/DSCF1154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She is pretty darn cute.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-55087899250742703112012-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:002012-12-01T00:05:28.048-08:00Baby Steps<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We flew out of Xi’an yesterday without any problems.<span> </span>Noelle was frightened at the airport.<span> </span>We’ve noticed that she gets very scared in crowds.<span> </span>She held onto Dan's hand with a death grip the whole time at the airport and she put on her game face.<span> </span>We knew she was scared and she had tears in her eyes but she held it together.<span> </span>She loved the plane ride and thought the free meal was the greatest thing ever.<span> </span>I am so proud of her.<span>
</span>I know yesterday was a lot for her to take in but she marched through it like a champ.</span></span><div class="yiv1017478323MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1yccqbYBx5VgOFSCAH_zF2Cyx52sZHG3VeZgYuf0Y4AnbN2IC-TxGP6UCsQUop3bCZTCa7U_sR6aldjcDTC-IiTdOMVnmQRVGAiPP9yugFzCpUK10Nd7KsZxxatpXEcqOFCK4zRqGno/s1600/100_1013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1yccqbYBx5VgOFSCAH_zF2Cyx52sZHG3VeZgYuf0Y4AnbN2IC-TxGP6UCsQUop3bCZTCa7U_sR6aldjcDTC-IiTdOMVnmQRVGAiPP9yugFzCpUK10Nd7KsZxxatpXEcqOFCK4zRqGno/s320/100_1013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We’ve also noticed that mornings are not her thing.<span> </span>It’s like she wakes up and realizes that this is not a dream so we just give her some space.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today we had her medical exam.<span> </span>It was very chaotic with a lot of people and once again she froze and wanted to stand in a corner with Dan.<span> </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She and I have had some baby steps in bonding…</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday while waiting for our flight she came and stood next to me and asked Dan to take a picture of just her and I.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-uyY16P23osvw197OyCzqnvTMDQYXFkULF4Pm74E1mUOTocOA2yTyhPyRAvjAcZ82ofrJi_HBPN9e4IqollYpIRE2zuD-gzSTLZVvIrrq2I2BNpsFJOqopBBjSIWHd9km2-5Xw6z0OQ/s1600/100_1009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-uyY16P23osvw197OyCzqnvTMDQYXFkULF4Pm74E1mUOTocOA2yTyhPyRAvjAcZ82ofrJi_HBPN9e4IqollYpIRE2zuD-gzSTLZVvIrrq2I2BNpsFJOqopBBjSIWHd9km2-5Xw6z0OQ/s320/100_1009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday I was trying to read a flat screen at the airport to find our gate.<span> </span>Dan and Noelle kept walking but Noelle stopped told Dan that they needed to wait for Mama.<span> </span>She would not walk any further with him until I caught up to them.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And today she and I played with Play Do for two hours and enjoyed each others company.<span> </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, I am thankful for baby steps.</span></span>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-11072634608335015672012-11-30T11:08:00.001-08:002012-11-30T11:08:30.686-08:00Her Final Goodbye<div class="yiv1195683264MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday we went to Orphanage. It was a good visit but a strange visit. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">When
we arrived the doors t<span style="font-size: large;">o the building were open and there was no one in
the lobby </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">so Little Miss decided she would be the tour guide and went right over to the elevators pushed 3.<span> </span>The tears were in her eyes the minute we pulled into the parking lot.</span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzAeINQ-pHd561LGS63tm9-hWIuVd7fNi3ONXm2XxXEPIH3Q0qWuWNfSdahbkQZTmcUEikP7smzC5EhSXKW06ArTxO01LHggs8WGzvbl7I1negONzDJrbFKEQGqBO_t-B_23XvIGYKk9A/s1600/100_0974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzAeINQ-pHd561LGS63tm9-hWIuVd7fNi3ONXm2XxXEPIH3Q0qWuWNfSdahbkQZTmcUEikP7smzC5EhSXKW06ArTxO01LHggs8WGzvbl7I1negONzDJrbFKEQGqBO_t-B_23XvIGYKk9A/s320/100_0974.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Noelle's Orphanage)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<so 3.="3." and="and" be="be" decided="decided" elevators="elevators" eyes="eyes" guide="guide" her="her" in="in" into="into" little="little" lot.="lot." minute="minute" miss="miss" nbsp="nbsp" over="over" parking="parking" pulled="pulled" pushed="pushed" right="right" she="she" span="span" tears="tears" the="the" to="to" tour="tour" we="we" went="went" were="were" would="would"></so></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once we got on her floor a little boy saw her and ran into a room and yelled, “Xiao Xu!” The nannies came running out and appeared surprised to see her. As soon as she was in their arms she started crying and they started crying. They all huddled around her and were talking softly to her trying to calm her down. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dan and I just stood there trying to interact with some of the children. There
were two children that we specifically wanted to see; her best friend
and her friend, Jake, who will be coming home to the US in January. Neither one was there. Jake was at school down the road and her friend was somewhere in the building. They told us they would go look for her friend and that maybe we could go see Jake at school.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dan and I started taking pictures and were then were told that we could not take any pictures inside the building. </span></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjC9Zf5nt6hjh4j-UvLxwddF7FpbE-nFaiIfXa4cXoTi-HGBQYGwDhGlN691K32JiiWt3NjFyUguV8hJpLsbWFzwMX0XVhi8tDnAiifhhP-Gl6vlrRTnAKfruEA1q5wvSgNNI6L6e4gg/s1600/100_0967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjC9Zf5nt6hjh4j-UvLxwddF7FpbE-nFaiIfXa4cXoTi-HGBQYGwDhGlN691K32JiiWt3NjFyUguV8hJpLsbWFzwMX0XVhi8tDnAiifhhP-Gl6vlrRTnAKfruEA1q5wvSgNNI6L6e4gg/s320/100_0967.JPG" width="213" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Noelle sharing her snacks)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, prior to going to the <span style="font-size: large;">orphanage</span>, we walked down to a supermarket and picked up some snacks. After
Noelle had calmed down with the help of the nannies she put her
backpack on a table where all the children were sitting and started
pulling out all the snacks that we had bought the day before. Dan and I had no idea that she had packed them in her backpack. She had also brought some of the toys we brought her and put those on the table. It was a very sweet moment but a very emotional moment for me. To see her heart for her brothers and sisters she was leaving behind. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few minutes later her friend arrived. The girls embraced and cried. This is where the visit gets a little chaotic. I was too busy helping the children open their snacks that I hadn’t noticed the director had arrived. She was not happy that we were inside the building. We found out that she only authorized a visit outside of the building. The visit was quickly shut down and I did not get any pictures of Noelle and her friend.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivs4DefczfoiqLrQJvwMx6dVyinKPNR3Hp-6yeQakz81XKhfehf3wpxNNUO4-HKO1NsAULs9CrGAkJCJjM-1XDMD00nM2QYWAwBPYhEZZbBCp80nZZ8BHicpHPMfLCpKk1QlJvNxcdOok/s1600/100_0979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivs4DefczfoiqLrQJvwMx6dVyinKPNR3Hp-6yeQakz81XKhfehf3wpxNNUO4-HKO1NsAULs9CrGAkJCJjM-1XDMD00nM2QYWAwBPYhEZZbBCp80nZZ8BHicpHPMfLCpKk1QlJvNxcdOok/s320/100_0979.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were told we could visit Jake but the visit would take place in our van. So we drove down to the school with a nanny. Once we got to the school we were instructed to stay in the van and the nanny went to get Jake and brought him to the van. I had some pictures that I delivered to him from his Mama<span style="font-size: large;"> and</span> our guide made small talk with Jake. He and Noelle quietly said goodbye to each other and then he was whisked away. The whole visit from the minute we drove up to the orphanage to driving away was about 20 minutes. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">As we drove away I had a couple of thoughts….</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ok, that was a really weird visit.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Was it worth it? 20 minutes? </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Did she get what she needed out of it?</span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaqmA24lgNp_aH-Kgx1Cru86sDbuRmKhKHc47dWn7M87E39Yjcvb2Ag63U0qTAPSC9L96S0wtjFrHxQhjUGPx_PJU4WwU2asr73RIT3syrle15kdgqEN33bXJl591qUGR_BuvrR9QF-E/s1600/100_0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaqmA24lgNp_aH-Kgx1Cru86sDbuRmKhKHc47dWn7M87E39Yjcvb2Ag63U0qTAPSC9L96S0wtjFrHxQhjUGPx_PJU4WwU2asr73RIT3syrle15kdgqEN33bXJl591qUGR_BuvrR9QF-E/s320/100_0968.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Noelle and Jake)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were about half way home when Noelle stopped crying and started initiating interaction with us. Her smiles were back. I guess she got what she needed in those short 20 minutes and as weird as it was it was worth every minute. She remained in this sweet happy mood for the rest of the day.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today we head to Guangzhou . Dan and I are looking forward to a change of scenery from the COLD and smog to the hopefully...sunny and less smog. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
know many of you were praying for us and some of you crazy people were
even fasting for us…we can’t tell you how much we appreciate all the
love and prayers that are being sent our way. Please continue to pray for us as we are only halfway done with the trip. Only 7 more days!! I <span style="font-size: large;">m</span>iss my Mason and Reagan so much.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">On
a side note…for any of you reading this that are familiar with Bonich’s
story, does this totally remind you of Bonich saying goodbye to family
and giving things away and having closure?! It's almost identical! </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJnwR4LAmidqtDYTBwNJw-fgh3NVGN2sLxi1xaOKqP6YB0iKcIuXqoo07DvmdM5d9e0dwRP_iyYbmS8dQCejUWLaHlNK_MEHHkvJ3H8z-cM_Cwz1bGbqV1EU25_nhyxu2pHj3Xrq_nsI/s1600/100_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJnwR4LAmidqtDYTBwNJw-fgh3NVGN2sLxi1xaOKqP6YB0iKcIuXqoo07DvmdM5d9e0dwRP_iyYbmS8dQCejUWLaHlNK_MEHHkvJ3H8z-cM_Cwz1bGbqV1EU25_nhyxu2pHj3Xrq_nsI/s320/100_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-37284212567863429792012-11-29T07:53:00.001-08:002012-11-29T07:53:47.958-08:00Grief<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s been a rough couple of days here in Xi’an.<span> </span>I know that grieving is part of the process and I know that it is healthy but gosh, it is so painful.<span> </span>Our little gal is grieving and it is heartbreaking.<span> </span>She is hurting and there is nothing I can do or say to help her.<span> </span>Yesterday
she threw things that we had brought her in a pile and took what she
had came with and sat in a corner of our room and sobbed.<span> </span>She cried off and on for quite a few hours yesterday.<span> </span>If
she
saw Dan or I moving towards her to try and comfort her she would turn
her back to us or put her hands up to stay away so we sat on our bed and
watched her cry. It was beyond horrible. I felt helpless. I finally
had to leave our room and go down to the hotel lobby.</span></span><div class="yiv933396719MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today was a little better.<span> </span>She
cried a lot of the day and told our guide she wants to stay in China
but late this afternoon there were some smiles and even laughter. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve been through this before with some of our other children but it doesn’t get any easier.<span> </span>Noelle is also the first of our kids to decide that she doesn’t like me and that is a new one.<span> </span>Dan was always the bad guy but now it’s me.<span> </span>I like being the good guy much better.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We need your prayers.<span> </span>Tomorrow we are going to her orphanage.<span> </span>I’m more than <span> </span>nervous about it but I know that we need to go.</span></span>
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</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please pray:</span></span></i>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For our little gal….she is so hurting right now.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv933396719MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Dan and I…the doubts are creeping in and they need to go away.</span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For me...I find myself taking her not liking me personally. </span></span>
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<div class="yiv933396719MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For tomorrow…let it be a good visit and provide Noelle with some closure and or a little more peace.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibpC7XuVsCnG7q1DmO1oQrot8Jn1YFadhapttUzSwMgFkIVeFfLHnW1XVNDaxRIScDeAK_dVGLeCIAYR-G58DAW4zM6Qt5nas6nvv6g__1_ap4D8-00dSbW43Bt-Ib1Owa0tBaypQjso/s1600/100_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Friday…we leave her province.<span> </span>She will get on her first airplane and we head to Guangzhou for the second half of our trip.<span> </span>This comes a day after her orphanage trip and I’m worried about how emotionally fragile she could be.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-61461509471637943122012-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:002012-11-26T09:30:06.148-08:00Day 3: Hurry up and Wait<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today was that kind of day.<span> </span>We had to go to the bank to exchange more money which is quite the ordeal here.<span> </span>We
had a scheduled appointment back at the adoption affairs office for 2
o’clock to finalize Noelle’s adoption so Tom, our guide, thought it a
good idea that we just head over there and wait for the appointment.<span> </span></span></span><div class="yiv973397672MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_446">I wish I had taken some pictures of this building.<span> </span>You
would never know from the outside of it that anything adoption takes
place in it. When you enter the lobby you are certain that you’re in the
wrong place. No heat or lights are on.<span> </span>The only thing lighting the place up is the little but of sunshine peering through the windows.<span> </span>It’s
all tile and with very high ceilings and so when you talk everything
echoes so then you whisper and that sounds even stranger.</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_449">Then
Tom leads you to the creepy elevator and you know that someone has been
there because the floor mat in the elevator had changed from Sunday to
Monday.<span> </span>Such a weird detail…they took the time to change the floor mat in the elevator?</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv973397672MsoNormal" id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_451" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> </span>
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_452">You take the elevator to floor 6 and when you get out on floor 6 you feel like you’re in some sort of Stephen Kin<span style="font-size: large;">g</span> Novel.<span> </span>It’s very eerie, still no lights and no heat.<span> </span>And because we were early, the adoption office was locked and closed.<span> </span>Tom just had us wait right there in the lobby of creepy floor 6 for 45 minutes and chat about Gone with the Wind.<span> </span>I’m not kidding.<span> </span>He
just read the book and wanted to talk to Dan about it which was
hilarious because Dan is soo not a reader but luckily he has seen the
movie a number of times so he pretended he knew what Tom was talking
about!<span> </span>Meanwhile, Noelle and
I are playing hide and seek in the creepiness of floor 6.<span> </span>I’m sorry for the overuse of creepy; there just isn’t any other word for this floor 6 or this building.</span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4AJPUwQvIFC2l6LAyrgT6ZNIiHu21cqRVUnpOBB93nBAbndnQcBiNKWPIsnDwPYOZ362eNIvhaJLmvoj-NmYznyMDkwgKyFiCvcvPDjc354i0p38nteE4YeLTR8dCfyCBjTUzhyixQ0/s1600/DSCF0775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4AJPUwQvIFC2l6LAyrgT6ZNIiHu21cqRVUnpOBB93nBAbndnQcBiNKWPIsnDwPYOZ362eNIvhaJLmvoj-NmYznyMDkwgKyFiCvcvPDjc354i0p38nteE4YeLTR8dCfyCBjTUzhyixQ0/s320/DSCF0775.JPG" width="320" /></a><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_456"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_455">2 o’clock finally came and we could get down to business.<span> </span>During the appointment we had to answer a few questions about ourselves and Noelle.<span> </span>Noelle had to sign in Chinese that she accepted this adoption and write her name.<span> </span>This
is the thing, Noelle doesn’t write Chinese all that well for Chinese
standards and they kept having her rewrite her name and acceptance
comment because she wasn’t writing the Chinese characters correctly.<span> </span>I
was more than a little irritated with them for being so picky but our
gal seemed to think it was fun and for as boring as this appointment was
I can see where maybe it was for her.<span> </span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv973397672MsoNormal" id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_404" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_403">I
don’t know why I’m telling you this additional boring detail other than
I just can’t get over how weird this office was but the only toy that
they had in there for kids to play with were one pair of <span class="yshortcuts cs4-visible" id="lw_1353950218_0">roller skates</span>.<span> </span>Yes, roller skates!<span> </span>And
since all the other children were babies Noelle got have the roller
skates all to herself and didn’t have to share any of the fun that
roller skates provide.</span></span></span>
</div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were finally finished and Noelle is officially ours.<span> </span>Today she officially became a Meister right there on floor 6.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLO0MWOQotd9v1GS9RmO-oYgZAT7WsqK6ZTcsM8ycGsloqcltL4Kpmdakdsu0hChy0AQ6CLUiiVEgdxaToQak2bT_6cOpnVJ_7PKiCLm2S2BYDNoEKhIZOH20ffkn1_WmXLjjWesNRAc/s1600/DSCF0754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLO0MWOQotd9v1GS9RmO-oYgZAT7WsqK6ZTcsM8ycGsloqcltL4Kpmdakdsu0hChy0AQ6CLUiiVEgdxaToQak2bT_6cOpnVJ_7PKiCLm2S2BYDNoEKhIZOH20ffkn1_WmXLjjWesNRAc/s320/DSCF0754.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv973397672MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
then headed out to have her passport picture taken but apparently you
don’t just have your photo taken anywhere you have to have it taken at
the passport office which is across town.<span> </span>We got there, took the picture and waited for 30 minutes.<span> </span>Once
her picture was approved, SHE had to sign her name again on the
passport application and once again her Chinese characters were not up
to snuff and once again Noelle just smiled and had fun practicing her
Chinese characters.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGOGIOFIIxLu40tv92u1C0Yh2BjMGwrT3sEVu5LWYJU7mi_88o-EXDrxx8G_-fajPaCACB6s537WdOmEmc9lQNieBZpjUAoUK7mTwjzPkqk3DmBVRi3rx8Tt6zes80ddTkGaffS4SS4Y/s1600/DSCF0788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGOGIOFIIxLu40tv92u1C0Yh2BjMGwrT3sEVu5LWYJU7mi_88o-EXDrxx8G_-fajPaCACB6s537WdOmEmc9lQNieBZpjUAoUK7mTwjzPkqk3DmBVRi3rx8Tt6zes80ddTkGaffS4SS4Y/s320/DSCF0788.JPG" width="320" /></a> Even with all the hurry up and waiting going on today, Noelle was all smiles and still seemed to like us.<span> </span>She was particularly fond of her daddy today.<span> </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_462">Sorry for the long post of nothingness….it was one of those days.</span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_459"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_459">Tomorrow should be a fun day.<span id="yui_3_7_2_5_1353950179742_458"> </span>We are heading out the see the Terra Cotta Warriors and to visit some museums.</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFOOwX9mOAlcvO5te5lpJPb2GMe9lWhz5eFu3eaQmuDJzTrbIwRhgmOgrXzFit6pne_n6Xqe83Pq0WaR0nyet2r7Ew6Op1Qodr-fWTO8J4bUH5entmxwIV1lenAHw3z5z8QZxriOa_UM/s1600/DSCF0779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFOOwX9mOAlcvO5te5lpJPb2GMe9lWhz5eFu3eaQmuDJzTrbIwRhgmOgrXzFit6pne_n6Xqe83Pq0WaR0nyet2r7Ew6Op1Qodr-fWTO8J4bUH5entmxwIV1lenAHw3z5z8QZxriOa_UM/s320/DSCF0779.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1353950179742_372" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the director of Noelle's orphanage. She was there when Noelle arrived 8 years ago and gave Noelle her Chinese name.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-14887303561888424022012-11-25T20:13:00.001-08:002012-11-26T09:30:22.534-08:00Day 2: Forever Ours<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sunday was only a day that HE could orchestrate. It started with Dan and both waking up at 1 in the morning and could not get back to sleep. It wasn’t nerves or anxiousness that was keeping us awake. We were up calm and excited to meet our girl.</span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We got into Xi’an around 11:30 and were set to meet Noelle at 4:00. We fell asleep and woke up with only 10 minutes to get ready before Tom, our guide, was d<span style="font-size: small;">ue</span> to pick us up.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSptofXhaR_mzN_k_yOiHVOFJ4YzFr3Yro_YaxsdlzpVwefolQ8qvF2Fzjj009wUKbZ1vksU_mag_UHE7V_6G-LDHXIUEy1qx8-vaOvHlYgM0DX23_0L-3DFmdgmK4mwMgpa5WthhRiU/s1600/DSCF0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSptofXhaR_mzN_k_yOiHVOFJ4YzFr3Yro_YaxsdlzpVwefolQ8qvF2Fzjj009wUKbZ1vksU_mag_UHE7V_6G-LDHXIUEy1qx8-vaOvHlYgM0DX23_0L-3DFmdgmK4mwMgpa5WthhRiU/s320/DSCF0657.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">When we got the adoption office there were 3 other families from other agencies waiting. We were there for about 5 minutes and then Tom stepped aside to look at some of the paperwork. Then women just started walking in the room with babies. The room was quite small to begin with and all the extra bodies in there made it cramped. More
women walked in the room and because there was really no room for them
to go anywhere they just stopped in front of Dan and I. I looked down and there she was! Right in front of us. They
didn’t recognize us and were trying to
get the attention of the official as to where Noelle’s parents were so
Dan tapped one of them on the shoulder and said “Baba, Mama” and pointed
to Noelle. They told Noelle who we were and she just smiled. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDjLXVaNPLZcwIUPJHaMyShXQicoLjoc8C6jsYvZy5GmW_CffkbRCpqmh0u1z43swb45kFvP2HIDEza1EDfFlhn4B8BvOjmptLbyg1nvEcUZOyEIkFGdCzK1w8uAvcVndht-bO_03XdU/s1600/DSCF0664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDjLXVaNPLZcwIUPJHaMyShXQicoLjoc8C6jsYvZy5GmW_CffkbRCpqmh0u1z43swb45kFvP2HIDEza1EDfFlhn4B8BvOjmptLbyg1nvEcUZOyEIkFGdCzK1w8uAvcVndht-bO_03XdU/s320/DSCF0664.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">She reached out to hold my hand and just smiled the whole time. It was evident that she was very prepared and VERY loved by the staff there. The
director of the orphanage generally only brings one additional staff
member but she brought 4 because they are so “in love” with her. They gave us a photo album of Noelle and it was clear that the clothes that she had on were all brand new. I think it was more difficult on them saying goodbye than Noelle saying goodbye. When it was time for them to leave Noelle just smiled and said “bye bye.” The girl was ready.
Not one tear<span style="font-size: small;">;</span> nothing but smiles. When we were leaving the office she grabbed mine and Dan’s hands and we were off<span style="font-size: small;"> -</span> just like that. When we got in the car, Dan and I just looked at each other and said, what just happened? Do things like this really happen this easy? We aren’t naïve. We know that this is adoption and adoption is a roller coaster but yesterday was the perfect Forever Family Day.</span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><i>
</i></span></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few observations about her:</span></span></i>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVX6LCSiHR0xPMXLRTEknF554m798aW9j6W2uyTVvUDIM8WtSiKgsQ8sYZ832tpSRvQV4qVxG7LQZIBavVkwRbtAheriQta9xsJgvWRenVzanfaWLwmHDqZvsig1eU_zx5NBxPJEEc228/s1600/DSCF0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVX6LCSiHR0xPMXLRTEknF554m798aW9j6W2uyTVvUDIM8WtSiKgsQ8sYZ832tpSRvQV4qVxG7LQZIBavVkwRbtAheriQta9xsJgvWRenVzanfaWLwmHDqZvsig1eU_zx5NBxPJEEc228/s320/DSCF0673.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">She’s not shy. We
went to a restaurant last night and when she had enough of her
non-Chinese sp<span style="font-size: small;">eaking</span> parents not getting the job done with what she
wanted, she got out of her seat and went and found an employee and told
them she wanted.</span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember how much the nannies loved her? Well I think someone was a bit spoiled and got whatever she wanted. She likes to have smile stare downs when she wants something. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The girl has a stubborn, I can do attitude. She doesn’t like help doing anything so that is something that we are working on even on day two.</span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div class="yiv1878186271MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you all so much for lifting us up in prayer...they are being felt!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-34082300973815619632012-11-24T17:54:00.001-08:002012-11-24T17:54:31.687-08:00Day 1: Sightseeing & Prayer Request<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We made it to Beijing!<span> </span>Our flights were uneventful and we even landed early at every destination.</span></span><div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Today we got up early and took a separate sightseeing tour from our travel group.<span> </span>We set off to see Tiananmen Square and the Palace Museum.<span> </span>Since
everyone in our travel group arrived a day earlier than us they had
already done that part of the tour and were off to climb the Great Wall.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So Tiananmen Square is big.<span> </span>I don’t know what else to say.<span> </span>Our
guide, Dan Dan, was very sweet and knowledge but she talked so fast
that I couldn’t really grasp a lot of what she was saying. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmqHejXsdmES_gbMUfr1hcX57IVp9LIPtR6qy6ANoac7WJSOWCaptf92Z9SyMpjU9j1ge9eAlqRO5jlpyWMnqZP23hvpS0YIrjgJMlrkV7VE6QetH0TnPNTd1qbURm1n3tMn7cZpksaE/s1600/DSCF0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmqHejXsdmES_gbMUfr1hcX57IVp9LIPtR6qy6ANoac7WJSOWCaptf92Z9SyMpjU9j1ge9eAlqRO5jlpyWMnqZP23hvpS0YIrjgJMlrkV7VE6QetH0TnPNTd1qbURm1n3tMn7cZpksaE/s320/DSCF0575.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Dan Dan the guide, not my guy, Dan Dan, also loved taking pictures of Dan and I.<span> </span>Whenever
we came to a landmark or just something she thought we should take a
picture of, she would take a picture of us from every. single. angle.<span> </span>In
the three hours we were with her I think she took more photos of us
than we took of just the two of us on our whole last trip to China.</span></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhUsA3LTgOE8PREml4YO0Oamt3wxb5L4iiQZvlMSvEbVEMcBLmwPUPQXfwdzKFp4cmlGKaNkWX4tPpXmOJFJM6Jr2-bAYHZNYe6GTuT7nt4a2Y9udBHDT-YDJsDrMssuVCQuljPriwi0/s1600/DSCF0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhUsA3LTgOE8PREml4YO0Oamt3wxb5L4iiQZvlMSvEbVEMcBLmwPUPQXfwdzKFp4cmlGKaNkWX4tPpXmOJFJM6Jr2-bAYHZNYe6GTuT7nt4a2Y9udBHDT-YDJsDrMssuVCQuljPriwi0/s320/DSCF0585.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Prayer Requests</span></span></i>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Tomorrow we become parents once again.<span> </span>We will leave Beijing at 7:45 am.<span> </span>We will fly to Shaanxi, Noelle’s province.<span> </span>We will drop off our belongings, exchange money and then get her.<span> </span>We still do not know specific times or any other informatiioin but today is Noelle’s last day living in her orphanage.<span> </span>Life as she knows it changes tomorrow.<span> </span>As exciting as one would think it should be for her, just think about for a minute.<span> </span>She does not know any other way of living. Her orphanage is
home. The sights, sounds, smells and noise will be so foreign to her.<span> </span>Two
white people are now her caretakers and the one she gets to call mother
has been sick and sounds like, Dixie the local bar fly. (Seriously, my
voice is pretty bad. Our guide last night asked me if I wanted him to
take me to pharmacist to look at my throat) </span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Please pray:</span></span></i>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">that her heart is prepared.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">she is ready to have a Mama and Daddy.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">that she will let us comfort her and love her.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">that Dan and I can handle the grief that she will most likely experience.<span> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv295770328MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">that we know the right things to say and do.<span> </span>There won’t be a lot of what we can say so pray that she will just know that we are there for her.</span></span>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-30229060885355480112012-11-12T15:39:00.000-08:002012-11-12T15:39:15.502-08:00All About Noelle<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aiXPRg5bEE-VAQiu_Ij9SafQs9yFaIYPmUct-qEhthdpjfa87YCVNkT8t7i2raL0NwuPnrBiMk3gouXGt9Ip0XX5_UkMq0y67POjbt580ACUJo2weMnUkPJWdkWHyqubUCU56RTi1no/s1600/noellebaby1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aiXPRg5bEE-VAQiu_Ij9SafQs9yFaIYPmUct-qEhthdpjfa87YCVNkT8t7i2raL0NwuPnrBiMk3gouXGt9Ip0XX5_UkMq0y67POjbt580ACUJo2weMnUkPJWdkWHyqubUCU56RTi1no/s320/noellebaby1.jpg" width="225" /></a>Noelle was born on February 28, 2004 in
the Shaanxi province of China as Qin Xiao Xu. Qin is her last name and
her first name is Xiao Xu, pronounced She-ow Shu. Noelle was abandoned
at 3 months old and is currently residing at Xianyang City Social
Welfare institute.<br />
<br />
Noelle was born with scoliosis and is post op
for cataracts. We have been told that she does not attend school but
attends preschool because her eyesight is poor. <br />
<br />
Our last update
in May with Noelle’s measurements indicates she is very petite; she
weighs 38 pounds and is 42 inches tall. Reagan at 6 years old is 37
pounds and is three inches shorter. Both Dan and I are concerned that
there could be more to her health than what we have in her file.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT0-yv6BUnnQmlT9gm_GykUVxIWeBOHYUzNBDI_ocZbuHv1tP-aCTwl787GJmIshg-VqcvQTot4eLi8p7LQAzxj5MVMYy_Hu2NSkwARxsN2GEw6ktI9Q_tjAWjJlcIPiXKgSGJTAFhC8/s1600/Qin+Xiao+Xu+3p%252B%25C3%25A7%252B%25C3%25A72012-2-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT0-yv6BUnnQmlT9gm_GykUVxIWeBOHYUzNBDI_ocZbuHv1tP-aCTwl787GJmIshg-VqcvQTot4eLi8p7LQAzxj5MVMYy_Hu2NSkwARxsN2GEw6ktI9Q_tjAWjJlcIPiXKgSGJTAFhC8/s320/Qin+Xiao+Xu+3p%252B%25C3%25A7%252B%25C3%25A72012-2-22.jpg" width="320" /></a>She is described as a talkative girl who likes to dance. “Because of
her spine condition she is not the best dancer but she does not let that bother her. She is the leader of the dance group.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FcaT1PHvsydzKuMTsDgttEY4pB-5ND2a_zu1QPzOpJqr6Dn0-PqHlJFKPPYaI01rcGhpOyo3SZhXRFlHPH5rREwo2daWEA6FhnOl_OlpcSbrCTFtR5GGKhio5a8GB_aipilyf3cbjO8/s1600/noellerosepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FcaT1PHvsydzKuMTsDgttEY4pB-5ND2a_zu1QPzOpJqr6Dn0-PqHlJFKPPYaI01rcGhpOyo3SZhXRFlHPH5rREwo2daWEA6FhnOl_OlpcSbrCTFtR5GGKhio5a8GB_aipilyf3cbjO8/s320/noellerosepic.jpg" width="320" /></a>Recently,
I was able to get into contact with a family that was in China getting
their daughter who is from the same orphanage as Noelle. They offered
to take some photos of Noelle. I just have to share what they wrote in
their email to me:….” Can I say she is the sweetest little girl ever?
We wanted to take her with us--but we are so happy she is going home so
soon. She is precious."<br />
<br />
<center>
We are counting down the days until we get to meet our precious, talkative, dancing daughter.</center>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZT5FO1s-_dW4gKEAQFzgIqvL5aHqppcaPduH_ZqVhIIS_fY_2ul5_Q-Zd0kAUxkVhzffpB-jZDFIjR5xrZuYs4IA9rS1nc4IiFgs1ufak59AOyaot_dSXbCRzRYSFOmeHNmuctpq0kqs/s1600/2012-11-08+11.11.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZT5FO1s-_dW4gKEAQFzgIqvL5aHqppcaPduH_ZqVhIIS_fY_2ul5_Q-Zd0kAUxkVhzffpB-jZDFIjR5xrZuYs4IA9rS1nc4IiFgs1ufak59AOyaot_dSXbCRzRYSFOmeHNmuctpq0kqs/s320/2012-11-08+11.11.28.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245501994179191520.post-84159503064366946002012-10-29T21:09:00.000-07:002012-11-20T10:11:30.411-08:00Finding NoelleI'm often asked how we found Noelle or how Noelle found us. There were twists and turns in finding our little gal but here is the short version:<br />
<br />
Back when Dan and I finally accepted the fact that were going to be parents
of five, we both had the feeling that <b>WE </b>were supposed to be the ones to find our
child. Ummm, ok.<br />
So we asked ourselves:<br />
How exactly were we going to go about that?<br />
What were we
even looking for in a child...boy/ girl and what special needs?<br />
And how on Earth would we explain to our agency that we
didn't want them, the professionals, looking for a child for us and that we, Dan and Danae, regular folks living in the suburbs would do that part of the process? <br />
<br />
We prayed daily asking God to lead us to our child. And we started looking. I
hate writing that down and I hate the way that sounds..."looking" for a
child but it's exactly what we started doing.<br />
<br />
I follow a waiting child advocating group that is very
busy. I rarely review, much less read the messages, because there are just so many of them but one
day as I was scrolling through the messages one of the subject lines caught my eye. The word was 'scoli'. I
knew scoli was short for scoliosis and it's not a special need that I often see
listed for waiting children. Our Bonich introduced us to scoliosis and has had
not only one but two spinal fusions to correct her curve. We are all too
familiar with scoliosis so when I saw the subject line I had to read more. The
subject stated '4 year old girl, scoli'. The age thing was about the
only thing we did know...a child older than Reagan but younger than
Mason so basically 7-9 years old. I knew that this little gal was not the
age we were looking for but I wanted to read more. When I inquired about
her file I was told by the person who was advocating for her that she also had
a file of an older girl with scoliosis if we were interested. As much as the sweet four year old tugged at my heart, Dan and I knew that Reagan needed to be the youngest in
our family and so I inquired about the older girl that she had the file on. <br />
<br />
Within
minutes of sending an email requesting information on the older
girl I got a reply. I opened it up and could see there were several
photos attached. I just randomly clicked on one of them and this is
what I saw:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnmh91FgPINI5eaEO3orTdJ5kYQ93lZ5hJ1KLLUUuLXWSRXqbrcpoHGLpcWu3X5czlgiGpd_kZzqLLl5KFQRgDU1CWzy8UsE1J5XUCWVtYq56WjmO8OkF2Ghu9eo83CcMVmymUuVFAhs/s1600/212.3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnmh91FgPINI5eaEO3orTdJ5kYQ93lZ5hJ1KLLUUuLXWSRXqbrcpoHGLpcWu3X5czlgiGpd_kZzqLLl5KFQRgDU1CWzy8UsE1J5XUCWVtYq56WjmO8OkF2Ghu9eo83CcMVmymUuVFAhs/s400/212.3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Did your heart just skip a beat like mine did? I saw her and
I knew. I knew she was the one, she was to be our fifth. I can't
explain it, I just knew. I was more than a little nervous to show Dan
because I knew his heart was going to melt and then it would be
real....we would really be on this adoption journey once again and to be
totally honest, it really freaked me out. <br />
<br />
You already know how this part of the
story ends. I did show Dan the picture and just as I expected, he
said we found our number five. <br />
<br />
Karin,
the advocate for Noelle, has an advocating
website for children with scoliosis:<br />
<a href="http://www.journeytojunfen.com/web/do/site/photo?ID=703162" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.journeytojunfen.com/web/do/site/photo?ID=703162</a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
And that precious little four year
old who led me to Noelle? She is still waiting....could she be yours?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549961453295603758noreply@blogger.com1