Jackson started crawling today too and thanks to Skype, we were able to see him in action. It was wonderful to see! And as you can see from these photos, this little firecracker gets around pretty well too. Soon they will be together, the way it was meant to be! So long for now! |
So finally here we are - all packed up and ready to go home!! We leave here at 9:30am to catch a 12pm flight to Beijing. We arrive there at 2:50 and then head out on the long flight back to the US at 6:35pm (China time)! That will be 6:35am EST so when you wake up on Friday morning, think of us and say a prayer that the flight goes smoothly. We arrive in Washington, DC around 7pmEST (on Friday night) and then into RDU just before 11pm! It will be a long trip but we are ready, armed with toys and cheerios and just the desire to get home! Today we went to the US Consulate office to do the "swearing in" ceremony. There was nothing glamorous about it. We did it as a group with many other families, but I have to say that I got a bit teary-eyed as we repeated the oath. It was the final step in our adoption of Lia and I couldn't help but to get a bit emotional. We have a daughter! This has been almost 4 years in the making and here we are - only a few hours from bringing her home! It still is a little surreal. We weren't allowed to take pictures but I'll always remember the moment. This really has been a good trip. It has been well organized and relatively easy. We have enjoyed the culture, the people and getting to know all of the wonderful families in our travel group. It has been long but it has been a great experience that we are so fortunate to have been a part of. China will always be very special to us because this is the birthplace of our daughter, and what a precious gift she is to us and to our family. I do know that the first thing we are going to do when we get home is love on our sweet dog (who we know will be awake!) and peek in at our precious baby boy who we've missed more than we thought was possible. We'll also have big hugs for my Mom who selflessly moved into our house and took care of both of them for the past 2+ weeks. She had lots of help from other very special people (and we appreciate all of them so very much too!), but she was the one who gave the most, and for that we are forever grateful! There are many other thoughts and emotions running through my head right now but I need to try to get some sleep - we have a long trip ahead with a 10 month old and then a big transition back into the real world - so this could be the last decent night's sleep I get for a while! A few pictures will follow, and then hopefully I can get a few more up after we get home and get our bearings. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers along the way. God is SO good and we feel so blessed! Much love, Steph, Chris and Lia |
After dinner tonight we all got together for the girls to play for a bit before bed. We got some funny pics of the girls but this one is of Lia and her buddy AnnaElise. The two of them, along with Bella (in picture in a previous post), were all in the same room together at the orphanage. Their cribs were along side of each other so they've been together since the very beginning. It's funny, the 3 of them are also the most mellow and shy of the group. Don't get me wrong, they all have their moments (!), but overall, they are the most reserved of the group. They are also the 3 youngest. |
Apparently the fountain picture with all of the families is also a tradition, at least with our agency. Here is ours. We're so happy to have been a part of such a great group! |
Xi Xi and Bob are our guides and have been wonderful every step of the way. They have taken us everywhere, ordered our meals, and responded to any special requests any of us had. They even had to take one of our Dads to the Chinese hospital while we were in Changsha. The Chinese hospital isn't a pretty sight or so we were told, but it was a successful trip for Tim, our travel mate. He got the help he needed to finish the trip with his wife and new daughter. . Bob and Xi Xi also negotiated things for us, educated us on Chinese customs, food and historical events, and even waited in lines on many occasions so we wouldn't have to. They also did all of our paperwork and facilitated our adoptions, So they did much more than translate and coordinate, even though those were an important factors as well. They told us that we were the most unusual group they have had in that we actually wanted to go out to eat every night and do "local" things. We never ate in the hotels at dinner (except on the very first night) and were always looking for new things to try. And each night, they came through with something new and interesting. We kidded that they would be happy when we were gone b/c we made them work too hard, and they were probably tired of seeing our faces - day in and day out! But they never seemed to mind and truly seem to care about all of our girls. Lia loves both Xi Xi and Bob and they will always be very special to us.Even though our agency has officially closed and we are the last group to travel with them, we will keep in touch with Xi Xi and Bob and will always be thankful for the important role they have played in helping us complete our adoption and making our time in China as easy as it could have been. (Thanks to Betty and Patricia too for their hard work in putting this into motion!) |
