Bringing Lily Home

Lily had surgery

2009-11-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

Someone reminded me today that I have not blogged at all about our experience here in Cincinnati. It was easier to just put status updates on facebook for our other children and my co-workers to read so I never got around to blogging. I took some cute pics (but forgot the cord to download) and I do have a lot to share, but for now we are still working on getting home. But I promise to update when we get back.

Short version-- We arrived 2 weeks ago Sat and Lily was admitted to the hospital Monday morning for prep- Tuesday was surgery and then the waiting began. Finally last Friday (what they consider Day 10) we were allowed to leave the hospital provided we stayed in the local area. We see the surgeon in the morning to have the catheter removed and then we can head home- either quickly if there are no problems or after a few hours if there are concerns-- either with or without a cath-- but we can't wait to get home!

We did get to meet Ren's parents and we will have to update you all on that. Ren is the little boy we met in China asking to go home with his friend- Xiaowan (Lily). He is so handsome and sweet and has grown so much since coming to live with his family here in Ohio. We are excited to be able to see them again when we come back to Cincinnati for follow up.

We have been so blessed during our time here to reconnect with our friends at Mariemont Church (we met them in August when Lily was here for testing). The Pastor and his family have been so kind to open their home to us. When Lily was in the hospital we stayed right across the street at the Ronald McDonald House (AMAZING PLACE!) but before and after we have been at the Pastor's home enjoying their INCREDIBLE hospitality. God has such an amazing way of putting people in our lives at just the right time to encourage us. Pastor Denis and his wife Marianne are such great representatives of christian love and we are so thankful for their friendship.

So please pray that tomorrow goes well and we can get home quickly. Please pray for Lily's continued healing. She is still having pain and moving a little slower. Please pray that the surgery will be a complete success and that she will enjoy all that life has for her.

Thanks for following along on our journey!

Glenda

Planning for Surgery

2009-08-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Looks like we will be haeding back to Cincinnati the end of Oct/ early Nov. for Lily to have surgey. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. I will try to post some updated pics soon. The girls are growing so fast and they are so much fun! Lily is so protective of Kylee and they both talk about "My family." They are such a gift and I cannot imagine my life without them!

Lily is recovering

2009-08-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

We talked with the surgical team and then they took us back to see Lily and she still had her eyes closed but she was screaming and fighting the nurse. I was able to hold her and they gave her something to calm her down and she settled down. It is hard to see her so upset and we are convinced that she has had some very bad experiences in the past with medical staff, but the team at CCH was wonderful and helped a lot. We are letting her rest at the hotel and watch cartoons until we go back for 2 tests this afternoon and then Friday we have one final XRay and then meet with the doctors. again and make plans for surgery and follow up care in the coming months.

I am not sure how much I am comfortable sharing here, but the short answer is that there were several possible scenarios and overall ours was good news. As far as the surgery in China- it saved her life but did not do much else good for Lily so she will definitely have to have surgery. The prognosis is very good for a full recovery and the goal is to have her potty trained by next year's start of school. She will need two teams in surgery to address different aspects so we have to check all the various schedules to find a time that will work with our schedules hopefully soon enough to give Lily time to recover from surgery and begin the potty-training work. We will know alot more tomorrow about that-but he did say that they are booking a few months out now so we have time to catch our breath and I can focus on the new school year and getting everything going well before returning.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I wanted to share something cool that happened. Yesterday we had the afternoon off for fun at the museum and then we realized that it was Wed. pm and looked to see if there might be a worship service somewhere. Most places I called did not have anything- or had classes- We were hoping for a kind fo "First Wed" but one of the big churches here does "last Wed" so I had all but given up. I read about an interesting church online and loved the Pastor's page and testimony so I called and left a message at the church to ask about Wed pm but did not expect anyone would call back in late afternoon...but they did and we went. The Pastor's son has been interning at the church and led in a really sweet time of worship. It was so refreshing and Lily was skirmy but we go through it and we were so glad to be able to worship. It is always so amazing to us that no matter where we go we can find believers who become family right away. The Pastor has lived in Japan and China and was so great to talk to. They invited us to stay with them when we return and one of the members invited us to dinner this evening. Everyone was so welcoming and kind. They prayed for Lily and for us all. God is so good! What a blessing to have such a warm welcome in Cincinnati! We also met someone from Charleston, SC at the hotel. Please pray for her husband who is here for cancer treatment.

Thanks again for the prayers and support. We miss you all and we are ready to come home soon!

Waiting...

2009-08-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

We got up early this morning to come for Day Surgery. Lily did very well- just a little anxious but they let us give her some meds to calm her before going back and then we stayed with her while they put the mask on and she did very well and went right out. We are waiting for the doctors to come out and let us know what is going on....We just got paged,,gotta run..

We are in Cincinnati

2009-08-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

We finally arrived in Cincinnati about 2am Tuesday morning (after working all day and then driving). Lily was a great traveler- only cried a few times about wanting to get out of the carseat. Tues morning was a little tough getting up early and trying to find our way to the clinic. I had mapquested the main campus but when they sent the updated itinerary 5 minutes before we left town, I did not see that the campus was changed to their Liberty campus and although there was a "map" it was not oriented to where we were staying and we had no idea. We had a GPS so we headed out thinking we would be fine- picture this- it is raining and miserable on top of it all-- and the location is not in GPS so I went by things we read online and eventually arrived (only 5 minutes late--but with too much stress!) At one point we were trapped in a fast lane and could not take the exit we wanted and had to go a few miles to get out and then turn around, but in the end, we made it and the place was very nice.

It was a tough procedure for Lily but the child life specialist was amazing. They had a Dora DVD and lights and toys to distract her. At first she seemed like she was going to be fine, but as soon as we laid her on the table, she started crying and resisting. It was not fun but she did deal better than she could have. It was hard to watch her cry, but they got the procedure done as quick as possible. After that we were all pretty wore out- Lily fell asleep as soon as we got into the car so we just grabbed something to eat and went back to our hotel to rest. It continued to rain all day but we did venture out in the evening to get some exercise walking around the mall (a block away) and we brought back a cheesecake factory dessert- yummy. We like the hotel the hospital helped set up for us- it is a suite with a full kitchen and hot breakfast. The pool is small and outside and it is kind of chilly to us so we have not tried it out.

This morning we had the ultrasound and tried to prepare Lily as best we could. It was pretty simple but she still cried and had a tough time but she was consolable. We know that she has two kidneys and a uterus, but we have to wait for the doctors to give all the info. Then we were free for the rest of the day so we went to see the guest services and they gave us a welcome pack and free tickets to the Cincinnati Museum. So we went and toured the dinosaur exhibits and went through a cave and an iceberg and played with lots of fun things and went into the Children's museum to play for a while. Lily had a lot of fun and kept Dad on his toes. I wish I had brought the camera. Now Dad and Lily are sound asleep which is why I can type without "help" from Lily.

Lily has done well but she keeps asking for Kylee. It is nice to see how close they are. Lily is so protective of "my sister." Lily is handling this all better than I had imagined. She is very resilient and I think she is enjoying the one on one time with mom and dad.

Tomorrow we will be going very early in the morning for the day surgery to evaluate all that Lily will need to have done. Then the afternoon will have two extensive tests. On Friday we do a final XRay and meet the doctor to discuss all the findings. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish the testing this week. I will update when we can.

Old Pics from March 2009- Kylee in Wedding

2009-07-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

I realized I never posted these pics and they are so cute so here goes....

The Fourth, Family and Fishing

2009-07-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

The girls had a blast celebrating the 4th of July in Pennsylvania. We went to the Simmons Family Reunion at the Simmons Family Farm. Bo grew up on the farm and has such fond memories of his life there living right beside his grandparents.

The older kids loved riding quads and motorcycles all over the farm and they fit in some volleyball and games. Most of all Kylee and Lily loved the fishing! My Dad has trained them well in that. Uncle Ed helped Lily catch some fish and he was amazed at how she would hold the fish and then go get another worm to get back to fishing. Kylee loves to fish too and had fun with Dad...but she is not interested in touching fish or worms!

Summer Fun

2009-06-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Sisters having fun!

Daddy had to give a demo so they'd know what to do on the slip-n-slide.

Here are some pictures of the girls having fun today with their Dora slip-n-slide.

Kylee's Birthday Pics-- finally posting!

2009-06-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

Lily with Grace

Kylee and Grace

Kylee's new bike from Grandma and Grandaddy

Mrs. Becky shares how to be a real princess

Dress up time

Blowing out the candles

Kylee is 4!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-17T05:43:00.001-07:00

On Sunday we had a birthday party for Kylee and on Monday, June 15 Kylee turned 4. She is so excited to be 4! She has grown so much and come so far. She is such a sweet and smart and beautiful girl! I cannot believe that we have celebrated 3 birthdays with her.

We had a party at Grandma's House and Kylee had a few friends come play in the sprinkler and the pool. Kylee wanted an Ariel (little mermaid) party (again). I hope next year she will want to try something new.

I am looking forward to next month when we can finally celebrate a birthday with Lily. Lily did so well with the party and still talks about "Kylee's birthday." She did fine at the party with Kylee getting presents and all but they have had a few squabbles at home about whose toy is whose and being hesitant to share. Lily was heard saying "share" several times throughout yesterday!

I will post pics when I remember to download the pics.

Pics from Whit's Pilot Graduation

2009-06-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

We went to Oklahoma in May for our second son, Whit's graduation from pilot training. He is also going to be flying a KC-135 (like dad and big brother) but he will be stationed in Wichita, KS not in Japan with his brother.

I finally downloaded the pics and wanted to share some with you all.

6 Months Anniversary of Official Family Day

2009-06-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that 6 months have passed since Lily officially became part of our family. yesterday we thought about our anniversary of Gotcha Day- the day we first met Lily and how she was so sad and afraid and wanted her nanny. Then the next day when we returned she was happy to see her nanny but content to be with us as well.
Fast-forward 6 months and we have the most incredible little girl in our home who is outgoing and funny, who loves to snuggle and hold soft blankets and stuffed animals. She is very busy and keeps us all on our toes and she has won the hearts of Grandma and Granddaddy so much so that they watch her every chance they get and bought a little pool and swingset for Kylee and Lily to enjoy.
We cannot imagine that Lily was ever not in our lives. She fits in so well and we are so grateful to be able to be her "forever family" (a favorite saying around our house these days).
I will try to post some before and after pics to show the drastic changes.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Pictures of the girls

2009-02-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

I forgot how much we hate having portraits made...maybe because Kylee has been so easy and having one child to photograph is so much easier. Lily is much busier and had the best smiles right after the pic was taken.

Bo and I couldn't help but think of all the crazy times trying to get 4 children to all look at the camera and smile and how Whit always goofed around...just like Lily. They just love to have a good time and never let anything get them stressed...while everyone around them gets stressed!

So here are some pics taken of the girls... they are such beautiful girls so even though they are not the best pics I had to buy the CD so yes we have permission to post these pics...hope you all enjoy.

Lily Grace Xiaowan Nanna is a US Citizen!

2009-01-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we got Lily's certificate of Citizenship in the mail. It is official-- she is a US Citizen. Lily is doing so well. She is such a delight. Lily and Kylee played all day Saturday and got along so well. It really is different having tow little ones to keep up with and it definitely causes me to "feel my age" but it is so much fun. We had a nice visit from a friend and her beautiful 18 month old daughter adopted from Guatemala. The girls had fun playing and us "older moms" laughed about how much harder it is to get off the floor after playing. All in all it was a fun day with lots of giggles, smiles and hugs.

Over the weekend, Lily even gave me a kiss when I asked for it. It happened twice and has not been repeated, but it is a start. A few days ago she leaned over and kissed me when I was not expecting it and that has happened a few times, but normally she will not kiss me when I ask her to. Sometimes she will turn her cheek to me for me to kiss her, but she is pretty stubborn. So I was thrilled when she actually gave me a kiss when I asked for it. She really is a sweet little girl and she was so happy to see Daddy come home on Sat. I think he is enjoying having her as a little buddy and Kylee will look at her and say, "She's just a little Whitney." Wonder where she heard that???

For those who don't know what that means...it translates into she is a happy-go-lucky, busy, looking for something to get into, messy, smiling while doing something she shouldn't- toddler who we hope will grow up to be as kind and successful and loving as her big brother, Whit. And Kylee is taking on the role of big brother, Bryan- the smart intellectual who tattles on the little one and tries to deal with the constant copy-cat from the little one who wants to be just like her. She is compliant and sweet and eager to please and we hope that she grows up to be like her brother, Bryan- smart, successful, and loving...and it would be cool if she wants to be a pilot too!

Lindsay is doing better

2009-01-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Lindsay had her procedure this morning and it went well. We are hopeful that this will improve things for a while. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Update on Lindsay

2009-01-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for Lindsay. I am sorry that I have not done a better job of updating you. Lindsay was able to see a doctor here in SC so we are thankful that we did not have to make another trip to Fla. She is having some issues that need some intervention. So this morning (Friday 1-9-09) she will go for outpatient procedure under anesthesia. She may even have to do this one or two more times, but if it is successful, it will mean that she can continue to heal without further invasive surgery. Please pray that she does well today and that she will be able to get better and enjoy life. Also pray that she can feel much, much better for the start of her nursing school program next week.

Thanks again for your support!

Preschool

2009-01-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

On Monday Lauryn went back to school and Mom went back to work. Kylee was anxious to get back to Preschool and Lily LOVED Sunday School so we thought we would give Preschool a try. She did great! So she is now in Kylee's old class- the Tiny Turtles- with the most amazing teachers- Mrs Kim and Mrs Diane. She is doing so well and seems to love playing with other children. I think that the preschool at the orphanage was a good experience for her so Lily looks at it as a good thing. She cried for a few seconds when I left her this morning and it broke my heart-- she hugged me and cried so pitifully- I almost couldn't leave her. But before I could get to the door she was settled and I know that she will have so much fun!
Lily seems to be adjusting very well. I am not naive and know that attachment is a long process so we are monitoring each day to adjust to whatever she needs but for the moment Lily seems to be adjusting to life at the Nanna's house. She is a cheerful, smiling little girl with a fun personality. She is very stubborn but that means she fits right in and will be resilient and strong. She is independent but is allowing me to comfort her and do some things for her. She has given a few kisses but mostly says "no" or wipes our kisses off. She was able to say "Bye" to daddy as he left for work and hopefully she will be like Kylee and the short periods he spends away from home will help her to see that he does come back and that we always will.
We are so thankful for our family and how God has blessed us so richly. We are adjusting to the change of pace and all the mess that comes with toddlers and the sibling jealousy- I feel like a rock star when Kylee and Lily fight for mom! I still can't believe that we are so fortunate to be entrusted with these beautiful children. Life is Good!

UPDATE ON LINDSAY: Thank you to everyone who has asked about Lindsay and prayerd for Lindsay. She is home but not doing as well as we had hoped- some complications from surgery that we are hoping will heal. Please continue to pray for her.

Christmas and Family Pics

2009-01-02T05:48:00.001-08:00

Lily enjoying Granddaddy's birthday cake!

!st trip to Chuck E Cheese

Whit is loving this!

Kylee and Bryan

Grandaddy has a new baby!

Some Pics from the Trip

2009-01-02T05:36:00.001-08:00

Pics from the White Swan

White Swan Playroom

Our Last Day in Nanjing-- went shopping and saw Mickey Mouse!

Great View from the Great Wall

First Day

Great Wall before getting Lily

I finally got Mom's pictures downloaded so here are some more pics!

My Husband is amazing!!!!!!!!

2009-01-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

I just had to write something about my amazing husband. He planned a night away for our anniversary and took me downtown. We ate at my favorite restaurant and walked downtown and heard bands and even watched some improv. We spent the night in a beautiful suite at Lodge Alley Inn and had an awesome time catching up after a crazy month of us going different directions.

Lily did great with Grandma...not sure if she will want to come back home with us. But nice that my parents are enjoying her so much and she is enjoying them. Kylee got to spend the night with Lindsay and even got a trip to Chuck E Cheese so I think everyone had a great start to the New Year.

Now we will head to my Dad's to celebrate and to wish him a "Happy Birthday". He was the 2nd New Year Baby born in Columbia many years ago. He also has a brother born on Christmas and one on Ground Hog's Day. His mom liked to have babies on holidays! My Dad is a loving encourager and friend. I am so thankful for all the ways he encouraged and guided my life! Happy Birthday Daddy!

So Happy New Year to everyone. May God richly bless you in 2009 and May you seek to please Him and follow His will for your life. May you risk the normal and the comfortable to find the passions of your heart- placed their by God- fulfilled in the coming year. Life is amazing when you step out and follow!

Settling In...and Happy Anniversary!!!

2008-12-31T05:29:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Christmas with the whole family and then Bryan headed to Slovania to go snowboading with some friends and we headed to Florida so Dad and Whit could watch Lauryn (and the Stratford Varsity Cheerleaders) perform at the half-time show at Champs Bowl in Orlando. She did a great job and Mom, Lindsay and the little girls tried to watch from the condo but the half-time report pre-empted the show so we were disappointed.

On Monday we took the girls to Seaworld since Whit had a free pass for being active military. We had a nice time, but forgot how much harder it is to be in a park with little ones. Kylee and Lily enjoyed the Shamu show and playing in Happy Harbor. The weather was amazingly beautiful- in the 80's. Whit and Dad managed some rollercoaster time while the girls played. Lindsay was a big help and took Kylee on some rides and switched and let me take her while she watched Lily. Lily is still not feeling the best- has a rash and was a little overwhelmed by the park. They had a sandplay area and I discovered that Lily hates sand. She will not walk on it at all! I hope she gets over that cause mom likes to go to the beach.

Then we drove home and got in late Monday night. We are finally settling in to our life at home...dreading having to adjust to going back to work and leaving Lily and Kylee. Dad goes back to work tomorrow (the 1st) and mom goes back on Monday. Fortunately Lily LOVES Grandma and will be very happy to spend time with her while mom works.

I am so thankful for our family. Today is our 28th weding anniversary and we could not have imagined how our life together would turn out...but it has exceeded all my hopes and dreams. Two young kids who fell in love and couldn't stand to be apart (he was in the military) took a leap of faith and pledged to love each other forever- 28 years ago. I had to finish high school and we both had college in front of us. Today we both have Master's degrees. We took the harder path to education but we managed to get it done together!
As young parents we had two beautiful boys who filled our home with love and non-stop action...they still do! We are so proud that both of our sons have followed in Dad's footsteps to pursue a miitary career andare finishing pilot training. Both are handsome, Christian young men who have excelled academically and in every other way. We are so proud to be their parents. Then once Bo had college behind him and was an officer/pilot in the USAF our girls came along. Lindsay who has had so much to deal with physically throughout her life with medical challenges and yet is pursuing nursing and wants so much to be a missionary nurse and help children around the world. She is an amazing young woman of faith and determination and continues to struggle to be all that God wants her to be. We are sdo proud of her and know that she will do well and please God. Then we had Lauryn- our baby- we thought- our baby for 13 years. She is our joy!!!! She brings fun wherever she goes and continues to excel academically and as a leader. She joined with Mom in a heart for abandoned babies as a 10 year old and all of our lives have changed as a result.
So now we are "older parents" with two beautiful asian daughters. What a blessing to have so much love and to be surrounded by such amazing children. We never could have guessed 28 years ago where this all would lead but I knew that the man I loved was amazing and that he loved God too and he would lead me on an adventure and I have not been disappointed!

Bo- HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND THANK YOU FOR 28 AMAZING YEARS TOGETHER!!!

WE ARE FINALLY HOME!!!!

2008-12-22T13:21:00.001-08:00

We are so happy to be home! Tired, but happy. After a night in Newark, we had some frustration with the hotel shuttle-- Last night the driver said he would take us at 7:30 and that we would have plenty of time to get to the airport by 7:40. I went down about 7am and they confirmed that there would be a 7:30 shuttle. I got all our bags down and waited and waited and saw the driver and he said, "I don' know where the driver is, it is time for me t get off work.: and he walked out. So it was almost 8 when the driver pulled up and by then I had loaded everything onto a cart so we got on and he drove to the train station and then to the airport! Then there were no skycabs to help so again I was pulling luggage and stroller and kids. had to take a few suitcases a fewsteps and then pull another...very frustrating...and I was concerned about time. We were told there was one spot, but the rest were standby until a few minutes before the flight left, but Praise the Lord we all made it onto the morning flight and now we are finally home. I will write more when I can...gotta run.

The Day that Never Ends

2008-12-21T22:24:00.001-08:00

Well we got up at 7am China Time on Sun morning-- 6pm Sat EST... it is now after 1am on Monday morning and we are heading to bed....in Newark. Our flight was over two hours delayed leaving Beijing and then we landed in Newark but spent a good hour or more on the runway waiting for a gate to open up because of icing problems. Our flight to Charleston was cancelled so we headed to immigration-- Lily is an American now!!!!!! Then through customs and then to a huge line of people waiting to find out about connections. That was miserable. The girls were SO GOOD on the flight but tired and hungry and we were trying to keep up with all our luggage that we had hoped not to see til Charleston. Sometime before 11pm an agent gave us vouchers for a hotel and some food and we caught a shuttle to the hotel. We missed having our guide to help us around the airport! I laughed when the bathroom was out of toilet paper--felt like I was back in China...we had to pay for the luggage cart-- missed the free ones in China. I have to say the service was superior in China. When our flight was delayed they t out drinks for everyone...whereas in our long wait to get a connection...nothing!
And now we will try to sleep a few hours and go to standby for a flight to Charleston...not sure if we will make it home. The only guarantee they could give us is for Christmas Day going to Columbia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE PRAY that we get home!!!!!!! Bo is leaving early in the am to go back to Florida and Lindsay should be getting out! We are so grateful! She may beat us home afterall.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURYN! Sorry I couldn't be there for you. I will never forget the night you were born. You are such a great daughter and I am so proud of you. Hang in there and I will be home soon!

Glenda

A Note from Grandma

2008-12-21T01:06:00.000-08:00

Hi,
This has been a great experience for me. Lily is so precious, I would not have missed it for anything. She really stays close to me. I pray she will take well to her new home and family.
It is amaziing how we seem to understand each other so well. God has truly blessed us with two beautiful girls. I am so thankful for them and know God will use them for His Glory.
We have been delayed at the airport, but at least we are on our way home, just be a little later.

Keep us in your prayers...See you soon-- Grandma

--Way to Go Grandma! First blog post ever...first trip to China ever...My mom is such a trooper...she has been an amazing companion!

Waiting....

2008-12-21T00:49:00.000-08:00

It is Sunday evening here and we are waiting at the airport. Our plane was to board at 4:20 pm for a 5pm flight but now they are saying 6pm boarding at the earliest...which means we may not make our connection to Charleston tonight...which means I won't see Lauryn on her birthday and Bo is supposed to leave out early to go back to Lindsay...always a million details!

We got up early and checked out and went to Beijing International Christian Fellowship. The service was awesome-- loved the worship! Unfortunately our guide could not come with us...you must have a foreign passport to enter. They had a worship leader from Australia today and it was very worshipful. On the way to the airport, the driver asked our guide questions about it and it was nice to hear her (what I could understand) talk to him about church and Christmas and he asked me about praying and the concept that people here would go to a temple to ask for something and I explained that although we do ask for things, prayer is more about talking to God and thanking Him for all He has done and worshipping and adoring Him.

We arrived about 1:30 pm and have been waiting since. The girls did great at church and are doing well now...hope that holds out for the plane. Lily has not napped today so hopefully she will sleep most of the trip. (I know- wishful thinking). It has been so amazing to watch her grow and blossom each day. She has the aweetest smile and will "kiss" me if I have gum in my mouth! We are anxious to get home and can't wait to see everyone. Please pray for us that the details come together and we can sleep in our own beds soon.

Love to all-- Glenda

PS-- Bo please follow up on our flight and arrangements if we are not going to make it in and I will call you as soon as we land.

Ready to go home

2008-12-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice day...visited a Hutong village and had dumplings with a local family...went to a free market to bargain and then to KFC for dinner. It was fun spending the day with Lily and the girls did great! (I will post pics from Mom's camera when we get home and get her cord to download)

We are all packed and ready to get some sleep. We will get up and go to church and then have lunch with Lily and go to the airport. We have heard that Newark has lots of snow so pase pray that we are able to get in and on to Charleston-- there is only one flight out for the day once we get into Newark and we are so anxious to get home.

Lindsay looks much better today. She is slowly but surely recovering. We hope that we can all be together SOON. Keep us all in your prayers for safe travels. The next time I update the site will be from HOME... after some sleep!

Love to all--Glenda

We made it safely to Beijing

2008-12-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

It was nice to have our guide, Lily, waiting for us and to introduce her to our Lily. She took us for a nice lunch on the way to the hotel and we rested a little and are getting ready to go to an acrobat show. Lindsay looked better when we spoke this morning as we were leaving the White Swan. I hope that she is awake soon so we can get an update. We are getting closer to home! Can't wait for you to meet Lily!

Our Last Day in Guangzhou

2008-12-18T04:28:00.000-08:00

Today was a little strange not having our travelmates around. Many families left early this morning, but there were a few other families at the White Swan and we managed to have a nice relaxed day. We finished up some Christmas shopping and enjoyed visiting with Judy. She is an amazing shopowner. Her and her husband have a shop that is off the main area and business has been slow for everyone with the slowdown in China adoptions. We visited their shop the past two days and enjoyed getting to know them. The shop is not hard to find...if you are in Guangzhou, go to the block past Lucy's and turn left and go about 1/2 way down the block and you will see Judy's. She has the best prices without having to do a lot of bargaining and she is so genuinely kind. We had some great discussions about life in China and her decision 3 years ago that changed her life. She said that she has only read the book that we enjoy the second time now...She also introduced me to her american friends who live here and we talked about life in China and how they have adjusted. Meeting Judy was a highlight of our time in Guangzhou. I wish her much success.

Mom is helping with baths so I need to go. We leave VERY early in the morning to fly to Beijing. Our friend and guide, Lily, will meet us at the airport and has some fun things planned to keep us busy til we fly out on Sunday. We could not find a way to get home sooner and believe that there is a reason that we need to be here and we will make the best of it.

Thank you for your prayers for Lindsay. She looked better today. (I LOVE SKYPE) She had to start over with liquids and they will see if the blockage corrects itself. Please continue to pray for her and for Bo as he feels the pressure of the things that he planned to take care of at home and Lauryn who was counting on someone being home with her. I am looking forward to Christmas with all the children. Lily is very similar to little Whit- full of energy and smiles and laughter, always finding some trouble to get into. I think the kids will have a blast with her. Hope to see you all SOON!

Pics right before she dropped the camera!

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Famous Red Couch Photos

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Photos are courtesy of my travelmates.... We got all dressed and I took a pic in the room and Lily grabbed the camera from me and went running to the door where the floor is marble and dropped it on the floor.... Honey, I warned you... Miss Lily is a little busybody!

The Wuxi Girls with their Jie Jies

The Wuxi Girls

Please Pray for Lindsay

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Lindsay's surgery was to be minor and she should have been discharged by now, but we just talked to Bo and Lindsay continues to be in a lot of pain and is throwing up bile so they have ordered a CT and XRay. Please pray that they find out what is going on asap and can fix it so that she can begin healing. Also please pray for me as I am having a hard time with being so far away and not being able to see her. I dreamed about trying to get to the hospital last night and to wake up and find out that I need to be there is making the time here difficult.

I have been trying to fix our tickets since we got our firm travel dates and now I really want to try again to come home sooner, but my and Kylee's tickets are from NWA points and Lily's tickets are bought through Cotinental- so that we are on the same flights but it is impossible to get them changed together. I am not sure that I can have Lily on a different flight so it makes it more challenging. Please pray that if there is some way to get home sooner that we will be able to do so.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. It means so much to us all!
Glenda

Tuesday 12-16-08

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Playing at the white Swan Playroom- The Wuxi Girls and Kylee

Playing at the Park

Pics from Monday 12-15-08

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Not sure if you can tell from the pic but people were all gathered around and feeding fish from a bottle. The fish came to the top to drink from the bottle...amazing!

These are scenes around the White Swan Hotel.

Good News from Consulate

2008-12-15T21:01:00.001-08:00

We got a call from our guide that everything went well at the US Consulate appt. and we are set to go to the Consulate tomorrow afternoon for the swearing in for Lily. Then we will get her chinese passport back and her visa to come to the US along with the paperwork to become a US citizen when we land on US soil in Newark, NJ.

Things have gone smoothly and we are enjoying our time, but we are anxious to get home. Mom misses her pillow...and Daddy too. I am missing all my children- Lauryn at home with friends and Lindsay in the hospital with Dad helping, and the boys in Oklahoma....and of course I miss Bo too! I am looking forward to having everyone together for Christmas.

Lily is a handful and has lots of smiles and laughs and is busy as can be. She loves to copy her big sister. She is also pretty good at cleaning up-- She was putting her socks in the drawer this morning- too cute!--- so we are hoping that sticks and Lauryn doesn't rub off on her (lol)!

Well we are off to do some Christmas shopping on the island.

Love to all-- Glenda

12-15-08

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We started early this morning with Lily's passport photo.

Then we headed to the medical exam. Lily did well with the medical exam...not too happy about it but that is to be expected. The doctors seemed a little unsure about her but we assured them that we understand her need. I am so anxious to get her to Cinncinati. We may have to go sooner than we had hoped.

Comments

2008-12-14T06:32:00.000-08:00

I was beginning to think that no one was around, but Bo let me know that no one could leave comments unless they have certain blogger or google accounts. I have fixed that now so that anyone can comment- even anonymous- which was the only way I could do it on my "test" So if you are like me and need to pick anonymous- then in your post please say who you are and leave your comment. I am looking forward to hearing from you all.

Lindsay is doing well

2008-12-14T03:28:00.001-08:00

Many of you have asked about our older daughter Lindsay who had surgery on Friday. Dad and Grandad were able to be with her and after surgery we were able to see her and talk to her using skype. I love skype! It is free computer to computer voice and video calls. I wish I could have been there for Lindsay but she wanted us to bring Lily home and encouraged us to go ahead and not make Lily wait any longer. She is in Florida at the Cleveland Clinic and it is a great hospital and we know that she is being well-cared for. This was the end of several surgeries for her and is the most minor of them all. She should be ready to start back to nursing school in January. Thanks to all of you for your prayers for her. (PICTURE: Lindsay on our mission trip to China in May 2008)

We made it to the White Swan-- The Disney of China

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GETTING READY FOR BED!

The Girls with Jordon- He wrote their names in chinese characters!

We are so happy to be in Guangzhou. I always said it feels like going to the Epcot World Showcase and even more so this time. The room at the White Swan is beautiful and the service is incredible. I am very pleased with it all. Strolling the streets again brought back such fond memories. We dropped off our laundry and it will be all nice tomorrow before noon. We went to Lucy's for dinner and enjoyed seeing food that looked and tasted familiar. The lights here at night are so beautiful and the pace is so relaxed and enjoyable.

Lily is doing great. She did awesome on her first plane ride...might have another pilot in the family! Kylee is always great! I am so blessed to have such good travelers and such adaptable children. Lily still prefers Grandma, but I am fine with that since it has given Kylee time with mom and time to transition and the jealousy has been very, very minimal. More and more of Lily's personality comes out as she sings and repeats everything...just still really quietly She is so smart. You name something one time and she has it. She sees Kylee getting undressed or dressed and she starts to do the same. She can pretty much do it herself...very independent.

Most of you know that this is a special needs adoption and Lily has a bowel issue (called anal atresia). The closer we came to travel the more I began to fear what it might be like. But her need is very manageable. Twice we have given a tiny amount of imodium and that has helped tremendously. The baggies to close up the diapers was great idea -- THANKS friends for the heads up. Other than that nothing slows her down. She has a great appetite. She is a lot of fun. I hesitated to share about her need online but if it will help others to consider children with this need, then it is worth it. I am so in awe of how God has built our family through almost 28 years of marriage (Dec 31) and now 6 children who each fit so well into our family and fill my life with such incredible joy!

Tomorrow is the medical exam and pictures and beginning the US paperwork. We are all pretty tired and will probably turn in early again. Thanks again for your prayers. Your comments and encouragement mean so much to us.

Saturday 12-13-08

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Today has been a fairly restful day. We decided that we better go back to Walmart for diapers and snacks before leaving (we are low on diapers esp), It was VERY different than when we went the other day. It is like the USA and Walmart on a Sat times 10!!!! It was so crowded and people had samples everywhere. I let Lily try all the strange stuff and of course she loved it!

Wamart has a KFC so we had some lunch and then went exploring. We wondered around outside and found some play area where it seems they were promoting baby formuka so they had balloons and a jump castle and such. Kylee jumped right in and had a ball. They even got a picture with Mickey Mouse! (Grandma brought the camera today so I can't download til we get back home).

By then the weather turned strangely cold and windy and it was quite cold so we slipped inside and found floors and floors like a huge malls with high-end clothes- very NY City like-- too expensive for me. Then we wondered around until we found the line waiting for a taxi back. There were people everywhere and we had to wait for a little while. It was an experience! But we made it back safely...and now we are playing and resting. The girls did not have a nap today and yet they were precious angels. And now they are sining together. Lily can sing the chinese "Two Tigers" song and "Mama Hao". We are playing run to Mama and back to Grandma and give hugs and kisses and she is really loving on Mama now. She is singing along with Kylee to "The Wheels on the Bus" not sure if she ever heard it but she is a quick learner and her little voice is so sweet!

Sorry no pics but I will get more tomorrow.

2008-12-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Friends are heading to Guangzhou

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Lily (XiaoWan), Kylie, Karli (NaNa), Breda, Kylee, and Lila (Hebei)

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More from Dinner

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Lily with our guide, Sandra

CELEBRATION DINNER 12-12-08

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We have Lily's chinese passport and all of the adoption documents! Our agency took us out for a celebration dinner. The other two families left this morning- Sat 12-13-08 to head to the White Swan in Guangzhou. We had a mixup and understood that we should plan to leave Sunday and have non-refundable tickets so we will stay til Sunday morning here in Nanjing and then head to the famous white swan hotel. Then on Monday we will begin the US side of things to get a visa to bring Lily home.

The restaurant was very nice! (Bo- it was the one that I walked in and checked the menu and decided not to go to when we went to the Japanese-like one). It was a neat experience. The food was very tasty...not what we are used to eating, but good. They do not have our "chinese food" favorites but the flavors are good and I can eat pretty well with chopsticks now. Lily ate the most we have seen her eat!

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Ming Tomb Area and Zhongshan Mountain National Park

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Ming Tomb Scenic Area- 12-12-08

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Lily with Grandma-- You willl notice unless we want a shot of Lily crying then she is contentedly seated with Grandma!!!

This is near Ming Tomb... we were on our own without a guide so not too sure what we were seeing but it was a fun adventure. We had no idea how huge the place is or we would have planned for the whole day.

This is Drum Tower- a short walk from the Hotel. We enjoyed buying some nice things from Lily's province for her to have when she is older. The prices were more reasonable than the Nanjing Museum gift shop.

More from the Museum

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Nanjing Museum- 12-11-08

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Hello From China

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I could not get our pictures to post so I decided to start a new blog to see if that helps. I will post the pics from our orphanage visit on the 10th, Nanjing Tour on the 11th and random things from our day on the 12th.We are awaiting news about Lindsay's surgery so please continue to pray. Lily is definitely a Grandma's girl, She has her laughing now and playing non-stop. Her personality is starting to blossom. We are so blessed to have another smart and beautiful daughter from China.

Glenda

Visit to the International School of Wuxi and Taking the Bus

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Our Earliest Photo of Lily

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Wuxi SWI

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Lily's friend tells us he wants to go home with her

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Lily's bed

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Her picture on the bulletin board

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Crying for her Nanny

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Visit to Preschool Room at Wuxi SWI

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