Family Visa

Family Visa
Originally uploaded by The is's.

Hello to all,
First off I would really like to apologize for not posting everyday like we thought we would be, without a computer in our room we have to borrow one from another family or use the business center, and that means having good timing, with a new baby, that is not happening.

We have made great strides with Laney in just the short four days we have had her. At first Kevin could not get near her or she would scream. But she is smiling at him, letting him kiss her, and they even went to get me a coffee down the street, this morning while I was getting ready for the day. She is becoming a very happy baby.

She is eating more now too. Laney has a bowl of conjie (rice soup)for every meal along with some solid foods. She has done all the things a healthy baby does and has added some strong smells to them as well. It has been alog time since I had to change a nasty diaper, but I am soooo happy to do it.

We have gone on some tours, today we went to a buddest temple,(when you have seen one you have seen them all) a craft store, where we bought several pearl bracelets, and tea sets. then to a very old home. We took pictures of a painting done on a grain of rice!!

We are missing home badly and cant wait to eat a Taco Johns again!!! (boys you know what we mean, Wed. are just not the same right now)

As you can see, We are still doing the paperwork to bring Laney home, we got our Family Visa done and Laney's passport picture taken. We also hade her medical exam done, boy was she mad!!! There are three areas to the exam and by the time she got to the hearing and eye exam, she was screaming to bad the doctor did not think she could hear the squeaking ball to test for her hearing, and continuted to squeak it in her ear as we walked out the door. I would have been screaming too.

All in all it has been a wonderful trip, If the boys could have been with us it would have been heaven on earth. Today I found myself crying as I watched my daughter sleeping in my arms, and one of our guides caught me. The CCAI reps are the tops, and I cannot express to you how wonderful they are!! They remembered Kevins Birthday on their own and got him a wonderful cake!! Let me tell you, we will forever sing the praises of our Father in heaven for our family and for directing us to CCAI!! We will be using them again for sure!

Well my time is up, I hope to post again soon, and thank you all for your prayers, Kevin has said he feels them, I must say, I feel tired!!
Love you all

Wesley I miss you sooo much!!! Keep up the great work on your school work and the paper route I think of your wonderful face everyday!!

Austin, My Little Austin boy, Oh how I want to kiss you, I do soooo want to see you and hear your voice, I can wait to see you with Laney!! You two will get along like peas and carrots!!
Love Mom

First Glimpse

First Glimpse
Originally uploaded by The is's.

This is the first sight of Laney coming through the door.

Click on the picture to view more photos.

Blessed Day +1

After we got to Guangzhou, we had to wait for a day and then we had to wait until two in the afternoon to drive over by bus to meet the babies. Tina was about a basket case when we got before we got there. As soon as we got there it was a matter of minutes before they started bringing the babies in the door. We had to wait until third to last because of the alphabetical order but it was so fast it was all a blur. We all took turns passing still and video cameras around the room and back as everyone got their babies. Laney did not cry at all. She was calm and looked at us both and then looked around the room. She was so calm and about fifteen minutes after she fell asleep in my arms for a half an hour or so while we met the director of the orphanage and the head nanny. Her main Nanny brought her in and scooted out without saying Hi or identifying herself. We were just amazed at how God had Blessed us on this day and everyone had a fairly smooth match. Later and today she has chosen Tina for her comfort more and will come to me when she is distracted and let me carry her for a few minutes. She was having a rougher day today and realizing that her Nanny isn't coming back but we have been able to make her smile some too today. Well I'll cut this short today and try and get some pictures uploaded. We're having trouble with it so far.

We are in GUANGZHOU!!!!!!!!!

Hi to all,We are finally in Guangzhou. We will not got the babies until tomorrow at 3pm. We were told the babies have to travel about 6 hours to get to us, and will be quite tired. We got to the hotel and found the crib all set up and waiting for our little Laney.

We just spent two days in Hong Kong and had a nice time, but we are still struggling to get used to the time change. We had several tours and saw the gate to Jackie Chan's house. His house number is 99. We were told that people have to pay for any numbers that they want here in China as there is such a signifigance to what they all mean. 99 means Long Long Life. The word is he paid over a million US dollars for his house number. We also got a picture of his "Star" on the Avenue of Stars. (same thing as the walk of fame in Hollywood)

The plane ride here was very short and smooth. Lots of culture shock!! I am having a hard time not wanting to close myself up from all the crowds and sales people. Well the big day is tomorrow!!! and we will have plenty of pictures for you on that day.

Riding the Balto express

WOW!! Well we are on our way, one day early, but we are on our way. We were not planned to leave until today, but the weather in Gillette kept deteriorating. God was watching our backs, and had my supervisor call us at home, as we were still packing and trying to clean house to keep the chaos down when we returned. Thank you Jeanette for letting us know about how bad it had gotten. She encouraged us to call the airport and see if we could get out a day early.

God was before us and we were successful at doing this with no extra fees. Our Boys were in a bit of shock from all the rushing around and Roxie(our dog) is probably still trying to make sense of what happened. We made it to Denver around 5pm, got to the hotel and had a bite to eat. Now we are trying to keep busy as we do not depart Denver until 7 tonight. I could probably tell you where just about every store and resturant is in the airport by the end of the day.

Hey this works, we have to go, see you in Hong Kong.

Happy Birthday Laney

What a great day!!! We had Laney's Birthday/shower yesterday after church, and it was a wonderful time. We are truly blessed to have such a great Church family! They have been our support and encouragement through the two years we have been working on this adoption, Words of "go for it!" and "Thats is wonderful!" and "Is there anything we can do to help?" With all their prayers and Love, we have taken each step fully trusting in our Lord for all to work out!

They are sooooooo excited we will have to issue a quarantine on our home once we return. I have Stephanie lined up for guard duty on the front porch, no one can stand up to her 95 lbs.

Laney did turn 1 yr yesterday, and we have a birthday cake waiting for her in the freezer once we get back home. The women who put on the shower did a wonderful job and I can't thank them enough!! I did show the National Geographic film "China's lost girls" and there was not a dry eye in the house. Including me, and I have seen it about 50 times. (I usually watch it after I repack her bag!!! Ha Ha)

The film really helped with alot of questions that many people have. If you don't have a copy I would recommend getting one.

We also got a print out of our flight plan today. We will secure them tomorrow and have several "appointments" through out the week between our travel agency and our adoption agency, before we leave on the 17th. It will be a busy time getting ready!!! We will be flying overnight and arrive on the 18th at 7:45 am. We will not be getting Laney until the 20th, but would love your prayers for peace and comfort for all involved.

We may not post until we reach Hong Kong so be patient, and God Bless!!!!