Still Digging Out!

I haven't posted in a few days.......just too many things to get accomplished!  Many of you who have been here know the drill......trying to settle in, unpack, do mountains of laundry -- all while incredibly jet lagged!    We are, thankfully, getting back to some sort of routine and we all slept relatively normal hours last night.  Ally is the Champ -- goes to bed at the right time and sleeps 10 hours!  What a blessing!  

Not a long post today......just wanted to put up this picture of the Chinese officials who came on the airplane when we flew from the US to China.  I think I already blogged this, but they took everyone's temperature with a forehead scanner -- so it took about 90 minutes or so before we could get off the plane.  Don't know if they're still doing this or not, but if you're traveling anytime soon, this is what you may experience!  At the end of the day, it was all worth it!

New US Citizen!

We arrived at Newark last night around 5:30pm.....after about 24 hours of travel.  Those of you who have done this before know the drill.  Actually, we were more fortunate than other adoptive families that we met along the way because many of them still had another flight within the US to get home.  We had a 2 hour car ride to CT, which wasn't too bad -- especially because we could all sleep!   Our day started the morning before around 6:30am when our guide picked us up to go to the Guangzhao airport.  Continental airlines did not have Ally's lap seat (even though I'd called days before to book it) -- so that was a real hassle both at the Guangzhao and Beijing airports.  But - we got through all that and took two flights to get home (first was on China Southern).  The girls both are such good travelers - such a blessing. We had extra room for Ally to lay down and sleep on the long flight, which also was a good thing. She's a great sleeper!  

The picture is of me taking her to her new room for the first time last night.  We were jet lagged and tired - so pictures aren't extensive -- but at least you can see that we're home.  The journey was amazing and it all really hasn't set in yet that Ally is really ours and we are really home.    It became a bit more real this morning when we took Lindsay to school......she was excited to see her friends and excited for everyone to meet her baby sister.  Everyone at Lindsay's school just loves her so much (which is why we love the school!) and they all couldn't wait to meet Ally.  It was her first warm welcome to CT!

We will keep posting during the days ahead......I think Michael may put some of his photography on that we just didn't take the time to post while we were gone. He's an amazing photographer and really captured some great moments.  I would also again like to thank my friend, Gayle, in St. Louis.  If not for her - we would not have had the blog and couldn't have shared our story with you.  One last word for today ......I know many of you following along are waiting for your little ones from China.  My encouragement to you today is -- don't give up!  It will happen at the right time -- and the wait is all worth it!  Cheryl

A Real Family Day

This will be our last post from China. We had a wonderful day of just being a family, as you can see from the pictures. After breakfast, Lindsay went swimming in the rooftop pool at the hotel . It was warm and Ally and I cheered her on from the deck. It was good "kid time" for her. She has had to hang with so many "grown up " things this trip......We are praying Ally is at least half the traveler Lindsay is!

We were picked up by our guide and driver in the afternoon and taken to the American Consulate, where Ally's paperwork for her visa was completed. We took the oath - and just like that - the adoption was final! She will be a US citizen when we go thru customs in the US at Newark. Not a very glamorous place -- but it will look like heaven to us by then, I'm sure!

Thanks to all of you for following. Your prayers, kind words, etc., mean the world to us -- especially a world away. We couldn't ask for a smoother trip - one we've been determined to enjoy every day. We are embedding these memories in our brains - and writing down the Lord's faithfulness to us at every turn.......so we can pass these memories on to Ally (and remind Lindsay of them). It's hard to believe we've only had her in our family for a little more than a week.....she just fits like a glove. More when we get back to the US..Cheryl

Today was a day that was mostly free for us. Our guide, Judy, went to the Consulate to do all our paperwork and called right before noon to say it was completed and they had no questions. That's good news because it clears the way for today's ceremony there which is for Ally's citizenship. We're looking forward to that and so hope they'll let Michael take pictures. Speaking of Michael and pictures, the first one on the blog is of Michael at a paper shop yesterday (with a worker). We had the guy in the photo write Ally and Lindsay's name in Chinese characters on really nice paper. Many of you know that Michael has written in a journal every day since he was 19 yrs old......anyway, he loves paper and writing and was fascinated with this shop. It took quite a bit of doing to get them to understand the girls' names, but we eventually got it completed. After that we had a great lunch with our friend, Melissa, then off to more shopping. Even Lindsay bought 2 bracelets, which she is very proud of. She also scored a couple more Chinese dresses -- she just loves them. We ended up at Melissa and John's house........an apartment on the 39th floor of a skyscraper. The picture of Ally is at their house.......Ally is looking at pictures of our family and our dog, Major. Melissa and John have a French Bulldog that sent Ally over the edge at first......which concerned Michael because Major is a permanent fixture in our family. But - this dog was little, had a high-pitched bark and moved really fast -- I think all that scared Ally. Major is a black labrador and much more quiet and gentle (although he weighs almost 100 lbs).....so we'll see. Another adventure awaiting Ally in CT.

The last picture is of the street next to our hotel. As you can see, there's lots of nightlife and, again, shops for anything you could ever want. We enjoy just walking at night and taking it all in. Can't believe we have just one more day here........Cheryl

A Fun Day With Friends

China Dress

We drove to meet our friends from CT who have lived here for a few years now -- what a treat to be with people from home! Went to lunch at a great place - and then shopping! To a market where you could buy anything you needed. As you can see, one of Lindsay's major purchases was her "China dress". She had a couple of these that I bought on a business trip to Beijing a few years ago, but they are too small. We bought Ally a little pant suit - she'll have to grow into hers. There is also a massive electronics market -- anything you could ever need in that area. Michael is going back today - probably to purchase a new lens for the camera (he REALLY needs it you know!). Seriously, he can get it for about 1/2 the price he would pay in the states - and needs it for his business.
Back to a little more shopping tomorrow with our friends. Our guide is at the Consulate completing paperwork for us today - and hopefully, won't need our help. Our friends here have promised us homemade lasagna tonight. As you can tell, we're really enjoying our trip.....although we're anxious to start our new life at home, we will miss this place. It's so interesting and overwhelming at the same time. Many of you have asked for more pictures of dad (and the whole family).....we'll have to work on that. Thanks to all of you who have posted comments.....especially Lindsay's friends. She misses all of you!