Leaving on a jet plane...

Don't know when I'll be in Hong Kong/China again. Come on, sing it with me!

Good night. Even better morning. No pictures though. Thanks again to all who have helped out in so many ways. You know who you are and we do too. My next posted photo will have 3 kids in it!!!!

We're in Hong Kong!

We made it!! We had our consulate appointment and got Mia's passport and Visa. She is ready to enter the U.S. We didn't have any problems going through the China or Hong Kong checkpoints, and Mia was in a great mood on the bus.

Tomorrow we leave the hotel early and our flight leaves at 11:25am (Hong Kong time). We should get into Richmond Friday on Continental Flight 2740 from Newark, NJ at 5:22pm. Come and catch that first glimpse of this beautiful girl - but forgive us if we look like we've been up all day and night. I can't wait to get my hands on my boys!!!

Here is my last photo of Mia from this side of the world. See you all soon!!

WE ARE OUTTA HERE!

Good bye China, hello Hong Kong!!! (We think-still waiting on a final call from the Consulate!!) What a huge relief! I can't even tell you. All I have to say is Der is the man and Helen is the woman (Der and Helen are our facilitators in Guangzhou and they have lived up to their reputations)! They were on this situation and I have never heard so much loud, intense Chinese talking in my life. Der was on the phone with the consulate in one of the families' rooms while we were all there. Ten minutes later, we were back in the clinic for our 3rd full examination. No fever. No bumps. No problem. The medical report was sent to the U.S. Consulate and we still await the final word. However, it really sounds like we are good to go. I will post differently if that is not the case, but I wanted to go ahead and write this just in case we get a call to be downstairs in 5 minutes or something.

I won't be completely relieved until we get that call and actually head to Hong Kong - but this is pretty good. Bags are getting packed and Mia is sleeping - exhausted from yet another medical exam. She will be thrilled to learn that she has another one in the states for the 30th.

I wish I had gotten a picture of Mia today, but it just wasn't a picture taking kind of day. Too much stress and tension in the air. But she did look really cute - denim dress, pink shirt, and pink tights. Since I don't have a picture (yet), I'll post a video from the other day. Enjoy - and I'll try my best to post again after we get to Hong Kong.

P.S. It is now 2pm and we are supposed to leave the hotel at 2:45pm. Still no call from the Consulate. We are all packing up as if this is going to happen. Keep fingers crossed!!!!

Bump in the road...

I know you want to scroll to the pictures, but we have some important news first. What was supposed to be a routine last day in Guangzhou, has turned out to be quite stressful. It appears that this chicken pox thing is a very big deal. We were called to a meeting this afternoon with representatives from the US Consulate (they issue the babies' visas). We (along with another adoption group called Holt) may not be able to leave on time. The CDC is reviewing all information, but right now the children who were exposed to the 2 kids with the chicken pox cannot leave the country. The consulate people did not have the information about our children being vaccinated and cleared twice at the clinic. They did not have our dates of exposure and other information. The consulate is supposed to relay that information to the CDC right away. All we can do now is wait. It appears that one parent may be able to leave on time. That will be Chris, if it comes down to it. We are all very nervous and upset right now. Some of the parents in our group are looking into chartering a plane to get us out of here, because the concern is that our children will be on a commercial flight with lots of other people. We just don't know anything right now but it is highly likely that we will not be coming home on Friday. I hate it - but it is out of our hands. Please pray that the CDC reviews this new information and gives us permission to leave soon. Tensions are high but we are trying to keep a positive attitude. At the very least, I hope that Chris can make it out as scheduled. I will post new information as we get it.


Our group photo today (before the consulate meeting)

No worries on her face!!!!

Isn't this beautiful?!!!

Our happy girl sporting her new (pink) outfit!

Love you Jacob and Zach - and doing everything we can to get back to you!!!!

Yun Tai Garden (3 more days till home!)

Today we went to Yun Tai Garden. It was really beautiful and a nice day to get out. Mia was a little cranky this morning, so she is not smiling in very many pictures.

All bundled up because it was chilly.

Tea pot with running water.

Tribute to the Beijing Olympics.

These are the little olympic characters - we see them everywhere.

Mia with her toothbrush.

We had to go back to the clinic this afternoon to get double-checked for the chickenpox so that we could all get cleared to leave the country. She was in a good mood until she actually had to be seen by the doctors. But - we are chickenpox free and ready to come home!!!

Wiggle worm!



No fever! Check out the nurse's hat.

I don't know how he could hear anything!!

Hair cut day (day 8 with Mia)

The day started for me with a 6am run. After convincing the door man that I did not want to go to the health club and that I actually wanted to go outside, he reluctantly let me go. It was still dark so I ran by the river where there are lights. There were people out there doing Tai Chi to Chinese music - very cool. I saw a man getting out of the river from a swim. I only saw a couple of other runners and I got lots of strange stares, but it was a 100% better than the treadmill and very entertaining.

At breakfast we were told by a waitress that Mia would be "more beautiful" if we cut her hair. She expressed "cut her hair" by making the scissor motion across Mia's bangs with her hand. I promised not to cut it myself, so we ended up at the beauty salon on the 2nd floor of our hotel. She was a wiggle worm on my lap, but I think the lady did a pretty good job of evening some of it out. Judge for yourself.

Being silly on the bus coming back from yet another shopping trip.

Turn up the volume for this video. She is a giggle box!!!

Sunday trip to the zoo (day 7 w/Mia)

We had a beautiful day today for a trip to the zoo. Mia continues to warm up to Chris gradually each day (as you can see in the photos below). Her tummy seems to be feeling a little better. We are ready to come home but trying to take in as much as we can while we are here.

She watched me brush my teeth and decided she would try it herself all day at the zoo.

Unfortunately, they were cleaning the grounds around the Panda exhibit, so he/she was in a dark cage. We really couldn't see it very well.

This is a typical smirk. At first glance, it is a grin. But upon closer examination, she's not really happy with you. I can't wait to cut her hair - but I promised Wendy (my sister) that I would not do it myself! :-)

Playing with daddy on the bed.....progress!