Random Moments

Nicholas in his new Chinese outfit with a dragon on it!

Zoe in her new authentic Asian dress-YaoYao has one to match!

Giggles and smiles are coming more often now!

The girls still asleep after sleeping with Mommy!

Myla-our bright and curious one!

YaoYao loves to explore now that she is secure enough to walk around without being held. Like I mentioned, we knew she could walk but didn't see it for several days because she wanted to be held constantly. She is soooo smart-knows the remote works the TV, knew the doorhanger that was on the ground went on the door and attempted to put it on, stacks cups, puts the lid back on the water bottle, she is so small sometimes we forget she is 16 months. Developmentally, we feel she was at a great advantage having been cared for by her "grandma" and "grandpa"-not biological of course.

We were told she stopped eating when she had to go into "orphanage" life for 2 weeks while her caregivers were away. She eventually adapted they said, but her "grandma" cared for her so much, they wanted her to come back to live with them. She has been eating since day one for us and it has only gotten better. Tonight the menu was bananas and rice followed by a bottle. We pray when we get home, she will continue to eat. We know of several children, that the transition to the US is the hardest and many times will stop eating.

YaoYao and Mommy waiting for the medical exam. She was such a trooper. We were grateful our guides took us early-we were the first group to arrive. When we left there were over 30+ families waiting in a line down the hall. It was crazy!

Myla with her proud Daddy at the Market

Sharing our moments!

Very proud Ge ge!-Big brother!



Isn't she a doll baby!


Hanging out in the hotel room in Langzhou-having lunch on our little table-we were very tired of the hotel food. Club sandwich with or without an egg on it??? That is the question!! You never knew which you were going to get-despite your efforts!



Aunt Angie, me and Yao Yao at the Museum in Langzhou-bones of a mamouth!


Nicholas entertaining his baby sister! Sweet Ge Ge-big brother!



Can't get enough kisses!


Mommy and her precious princesses!

A couple more pics

The boys hanging out with their sister! Sweet times! They are so proud of her-reminds me when another sweet little girl came into the family. They couldn't keep their hands off of her and now they want so badly to care and comfort YaoYao! Precious times!

The Director kissing YaoYao after we signed all our papers!!

Brief Gotcha Story

Just a brief story of our "gotcha" moment. We were to meet the babies at 2 in the afternoon. We arrived to the hotel around 1:40 and were to take our bags to the rooms and go to a meeting room on the 2nd floor. As we were waiting for our room keys, I turned and saw two nannies holding babies. I could hardly believe my eyes! I first saw my friend's baby Robin and quickly glanced to see the face of the 2nd child. She was wearing a hot pink hat and had on a dark red quilted jacket and jumper. When she turned to look our way, there was no mistaking it was our sweet YaoYao. I was so caught off guard, all I could think to do was grab my Iphone and start videoing and taking pictures. Ethan and Zoe quickly walked up to her and the nanny. I wasn't sure if I could hold her or not. I haven't watched the video, but I am guessing she began to cry.

We were then sent to our room to gather the items we needed and then went to the meeting room. YaoYao was crying and we were to fillout several pieces of paper for preparation for our appointment the next day. It was hard to not be with her, but she was entertained by her sweet brothers and sister and her Aunt Angie out in the hall. At some point, one of the nannies put her down and she began to walk! That is when I began to booohooo! Up until that point, there were no tears, just pure excitement and awe at our beautiful child. She had grown so much, but was still so petite!

After all the paperwork-maybe an hour, we were able to sit and ask the Director questions. I will share more later of what the Director told us about YaoYao!

We have our baby GIRL!

Daddy and his baby girl!

Proud aunt Angie!!

This will be a brief post as we are exhausted but elated that we have our sweet Myla PeiYao forever in our family today! She is precious and full of life and personality. She has a little hair that is sticking up all over especially when she is hot from her crying. She fits perfectly in her 12 month old clothes we bought her and SHE IS WALKING! We were so excited to see that! Although she is 16 months old, many children are delayed several months. So much to say-kids LOVE her and it seems already to be a competition of who gets to help her be happy and give her the toys. It was like bees to honey the first several hours. She ate well for us tonight more than expected as we were told when she is very upset she will stop eating all together. She even had probably what we would be her first french fry! We are praying she keeps her appetite. Tomorrow paperwork! Temperatures in Lanzhou were 1 degree Fahrenheit! I have never been where it is so cold. But we were not out very much today and are praying the temps will warm slightly. I hope to post more soon. We continue to appreciate your prayers for good health with the weather being so cold and temps inside being quite warm in places.

We hope to post more soon!

It is so real! Here is our precious, amazing, determined, beautiful girl!

We are in China

I can't begin to tell you how amazing it is to be back in China and know within the next 24 hours, Myla will be in our arms. We have had two wonderful days of touring Beijing. Aside from one brief episode of illness probably due to hunger and all the travel, all 6 of us are well. Yesterday we toured the Summer Palace and climbed the Great Wall. It was beautiful and COLD! But my kiddos are troopers and withstood the cold long enough to climb to the highest tower you could see from the ground. Zoe kept saying "will we ever get there?" as her little eyes peaked through her hat and gater up to her nose! The wind was a bit strong and it was COLD at the top, but what an amazing trek to get to experience with all three kids.

We started the day with a church service only open to foreigners. It was an special time of worship and preaching as we prepare our hearts for our new addition and what the Lord has planned in this year. We also went to the Forbidden City, and the pearl market. Oh, forgot to mention we went to Jade Market yesterday and my sweet hubby agreed to purchase two jade bangel bracelets to pass on to the girls when they are older. It is a Chinese tradition we are excited about sharing with both our girls. We had the traditional "duck dinner" and I was so excited to see another family who was with us this summer in Qingyang. We ended our night with a Chinese acrobat show which was amazing. If you know my kids, you know they (Zoe and Nicholas) were attempting to perform all the flexible bendy moves they saw tonight. Too cute and hilarious!

Sorry for the brief post-I hope to add pictures in the next day or two. Tomorrow we will leave the hotel at 5:20 a.m. to go to the airport. We will fly to Langzhou where we will meet our little YaoYao shortly after we arrive-possibly around 2 p.m. we are told. We are hoping to purchase CD players on the way to the hotel to give to the director. Zoe's Kindergarten class collected money for Jesus's stocking and we are excited to get to present this gift to him. I truly CAN NOT believe the day is here. We have waited over 3 years for this day, and over 6 months to see Yao Yao again. I know she is going to be so big and just as beautiful! She will be in our arms forever, no more distance, no more adoption worries, no more waiting, WOW! The day the Lord ordained before the beginning of time-it's here and it is real. Someone pinch me I think I am dreaming! So many emotions, too many to share when I desperately need some sleep.

Thank you for your prayers, please continue to ask the Lord for good health and for Yao Yao as she will certainly be grieving over the next few days and weeks. Our God is faithful, He will comfort her and give her peace!

We love you all!