Journey: to the island

Yesterday we went with one of our agency families to Shamian Island. For previous adoptive families, like my sister, this is where the White Swan Hotel is located and where the American Consulate used to be located. In the past, all adoptive families would stay on the island during their time in Guangzhou. Now the consulate has moved across town and the White Swan is undergoing MAJOR reconstruction. We wanted to visit the island though because we have heard how beautiful it is and what good shopping there is to do.
One thing is for sure -the island is beautiful!!! There are beautiful plants, trees and flowers everywhere! It is a popular place for wedding pictures and we saw at least a dozen brides while we were out and about. We ate at Lucy's, which is a western type restaurant. We got a yummy hamburger and fries. David loved his grilled cheese sandwich, a true American kid :) We also enjoyed the shopping as well.
Today we visited the Chen Family Temple. It was very beautiful and there were several artists working on their crafts. We also visited old Guangzhou which was neat. We managed to get caught in the rain, now I know why the hotel provides an umbrella in our room. This afternoon one of my parents former international students came to see us. It was fun seeing Lu again! After her visit and a nap for David we went to the playroom and David got to play with his new friend. They had lots of fun playing and David especially enjoyed the little slide and the bouncy toy. He's going to wonder where our playroom is at home and what new place we will go to each day-poor kid is going to be disappointed that we won't be going somewhere new each day!!
Tomorrow we're going shopping with a personal shopper. Not sure how excited the guys are about this putting but my mom and I are ready to shop!
I know y'all want pictures some from the past few days so here are a few... :) Have I mentioned I cannot wait to be home?!?

Journey: to the Zoo

Today we went with the two other families from our agency to the Guangzhou zoo. It was a nice day despite the very high humidity. The zoo has a lot of great animals to see and the only disappointment was that the panda house is under construction so no pandas! David's favorite part was running, climbing up and down stairs and yelling :) He didn't seem too interested in the animals, except the giraffe which he got to feed.
We walked to a noodle and rice restaurant by our hotel for lunch. It was very yummy and David really enjoyed eating the rice. He was so tired that nap time came very easily today. Steve is doing a tub of laundry while David naps- a whole new world of traveling with a toddler!! There is a playground at our hotel that we will visit after nap time.
It is hard to believe that we have lived without David for so long! He fits right into our family!! I am so thankful to have my mom and dad here with us. They are so wonderful with David and have helped us tremendously!! One thing we were told was that David was a bit of an introvert, well we haven't seen that part of his personality yet! He loves to watch people and talk to other kids. He is very curious and wants to know what is going on around him. So far his favorite snack is peaches or pineapple and he'll try pretty much anything the first time. Today he loved the rice at lunch!! We are so anxious to bring him home!!!

Journey: hello from China!!

Hello from China!!!

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to blog... Figuring out how to use my iPad to blog, getting pictures uploaded and finding wifi plus chasing after a very active toddler haven't been very easy. The GREAT news is is that we have David and things are going very well!!! We are in Gunagzhou now and enjoying it very much. There are so many blog posts to write about our trip so far but those will have to come later. 

Today we went with the other 2 families in our agency group to do visa pictures and medical examinations for the American consulate. We are very happy and so blessed to report that the doctor didn't hear any heart murmur and he believes the hole in his heart has closed on its own-Praise The Lord!!!! We feel so blessed to have David in our lives!! He is a bundle of joy and full of smiles and laughter!!! 

Thank you so much for your prayers during our trip!!! We have felt them in so many ways.

I'll try to blog again later this week!!! 

Journey: Itinerary

Tomorrow is the day... I think I may have mentioned that before :) Today has been somewhat blurry as I'm trying to get things together to be gone and to bring home our child! We both worked today and I was there physically but mentally I was going over my list- packing list, things to get done around the house list, shopping list- I love lists! My suitcase is almost packed and one bag for New Day is ready to go. The cameras are charged, adoption and travel papers ready, books bought for my kindle and reservations confirmed (again). Now all I have to do is sleep and wake up tomorrow and get to the airport- I took some sleeping meds and hope they kick in :)
I've been overwhelmed with messages and prayers from friends and family- THANK YOU for covering us in your prayers!!! Tomorrow is going to be a very long traveling day. Please pray for safe flights and that they are on time. We'll land in Beijing at 11:30 pm (Beijing time- 13 hours ahead of Waco) on Thursday night. Our itinerary is posted below.
As we've prepared for David we have been so blessed by friends and family who are anxious and excited to meet David. Our wonderful Sunday School class hosted a shower a couple of weeks ago and it was awesome! Many of the families in class have been on this journey with us from day one and we are so very thankful for their friendship!!!! Words really cannot express how much we love our class!! My sister and mom gave a party for me in GAs last Wednesday night. We teach 4th grade girls and they were so sweet! They asked awesome questions about us bringing David home and wrote notes for me to read while we're in China. On our classroom world map, David's picture is taped to China :)
Some pics of my fun!

Awesome Sunday School Friends!!!

Love this quote!!

Aren't they cute!

A FUN GA night!!

Here is our tentative schedule:

April 17- Wednesday: fly from Waco to DFW to Chicago to Beijing. It will be a LONG day. The Chicago to Beijing flight is 13 hours- wow!!

April 19- Friday: visit New Day!! Meet our friends in Beijing at Tsingua University- can't wait to see them!!

April 20- Saturday: Tour with GWCA to Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square

April 21- Sunday: Fly to Urumqi City (David's home city)

April 22- Monday: MEET OUR SON!!! It will be around 9 or 10 on Sunday night in Waco. Please pray for David and the transition to our family. He is going to be very sad and it will be difficult day for him.

April 23-25: Do paperwork and sightseeing in Xinjiang (the province)

April 26- Friday: Fly to Guangzhou

April 27- Saturday: Medical appointment at American Consulate

April 28th-May 1st: Tour around Guangzhou including a shopping trip with a guide!

May 2nd- Thursday: Oath Taking Ceremony at American Consulate

May 3rd- Friday: Pick up David's Visa for return to America

May 4th- Saturday: Fly to Beijing and introduce David to our Tsingua friends!

May 5th- Sunday: Fly from Beijing to Chicago, Chicago to DFW, DFW to Waco. We are scheduled to arrive at 3:50 in Waco. I'll post on facebook if the time changes!

I am hoping to blog and facebook while we're away. We will have a guide with us in each city (thank goodness)! Once we meet David he will stay with us!

 

Thank you again so much for your support and prayers!!

Cin ;-)

 

 



Journey: Travel Week!

This is THE week! The week we TRAVEL!!

 

3 more day, THREE!!! It is totally unbelievable that in 3 days we'll get on a plane to travel to China to meet and bring home our son!! It's very surreal right now and I'm not sure when it will feel real- maybe when we get on the first of 3 planes this Wednesday, maybe when we land in China, maybe we we see our son for the very first time in person. I've been planning this trip since 2007 and since October 3, 2012 I've been waiting to hold David in my arms. The past 6 1/2 months have sometimes gone by quickly and other times so darn slow. I have a feeling the plane ride might be painfully slow :)

My feeling are all of the place nowadays... one minute I'm so excited I can hardly stand it and then the next I am anxious about traveling, David's adjustment, becoming a mom for the first time- Oh My! I've had to start taking something to help me sleep because the past couple of weeks I haven't been getting much! It is crazy to think about how much our lives are going to change in the next few weeks, finally! God is Great and has provided for us in so many ways, from amazing support from our family and friends to financial provisions to make the trip. His ways are perfect and His timing of our family is as it should be- awesome!

This weekend is being filled with adoption related work. Steve has been very busy grading exams that he gave on Thursday and Friday. He is also giving the yard one last mow before we leave. All of our adoption and travel paperwork is in a file ready to go. David's car seat is in the car and I'm taking it to get inspected tomorrow. His stroller is put together and the suitcases are ready to be filled. The next three days will be busy with last minute prep including laundry, cleaning around the house, work and finalizing work related projects, and of course- packing! I'll update the blog with our itinerary before we leave and I hope to blog while we're away!

One last look at David's room- ready for a little boy!!

Some of what has to be packed... fun times!

baby gate upstairs

Journey: a Last Update from New Day

13 days till we leave for China!! The days are going by very quickly which is good although getting everything done in time is going to be hard. Each day I've been able to cross something of my to-do list which is a good thing.

We got our Visa's in the mail so  travel document wise we are good to go.

Our agency has made our inter-China arrangements with flights and hotels. It is very cool to see all the arrangements in print!!
This weekend we'll be busy "toddler proofing" around the house. Sounds fun doesn't it :)
Steve is staying very busy finishing up his classes before we leave. We'll get back in time for finals and then he'll have a break till June 4th.
We got our last update on David from New Day. I spoke with the director and the great news is that he will stay with his family until the day before we meet him in Urumqi. I was really worried about them sending him back early and having to go through two major transitions in such a short period of time. He'll travel to Urumqi with someone who he knows from New Day- another praise!!

Dear Friends,
We hope this note finds you doing well, and that you enjoy reading this month's update.
David (Calvin) is 1 Year 7 Months Old.
David (Calvin)'s foster mom wrote this update:
David has learned new words to say such as “dad”, “mom”, “brother”, “grandpa” and “grandma”. Other words that he has learned are “thanks”, “here”, “there”, “chicken”, “shoes”, “lamp”, and “water”. He always says “goodbye” in English to dad when he is leaving home for the day. He has fun each day and particularly enjoys eating his meal while in my arms. He always kisses me to show me how happy he is!
David likes to run in circles and one of his favorite things to do is to walk around in our shoes. He likes it when we cheer him on when he is walking around in our shoes and will watch us in anticipation when he has our shoes on.


(This information is intended to provide a personality profile of the children, not a developmental/medical profile.)
If you ever have any questions, please let us know. Thank you for your continued support.
Blessings,
New Day Staff

Journey: THIS Month!!

The Segura Ladies

April is THE month! In 16 days we'll be leaving for China and in 21 we'll be meeting our son. I can't believe that it's really happening. I hope the next 16 days will fly by! My LIST is almost 2 pages long and I'm getting things crossed off as quickly as possible.


We've booked our flights to and from China and our agency will be booking our flights within China. We do know that we'll spend 3 days in Beijing, 6 days in Urumqi, and the rest of the time in Guangzhou.


Cheryl made a perfect wreath!

 The pictures today are from a shower that my sister and some friends gave for David. It was delightful!! I can't wait to have him home and see him playing with his toys and dressed in his cute outfits!! April 22nd cannot get here fast enough!!



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