Well I realize its been a while since I up a post here but then I also know that most of those reading our travel blog share our days on Facebook.

Shawn is doing well considering that we have only been home 6 weeks now. He pretty much ate and slept well from the beginning and only had a few cry spells the first week or two at home, which is to be expected and I guess I would have been more worried if he did not cry at all. At least we can assume he was loved by his foster family and the nanny at the SWI. He did bring home some pictures of his foster family but he does not look at them much anymore at all.

This will be his 2nd week in school full time. Initially we only went to school for a few hours and Garry or I stayed there to see how things are going and then we transitioned him to afternoons only. Since he had no prior education we opted for Kindergarten and though he should be in 1st grade its more visual and we do not want him to get frustrated that would defeat him being there. Our system works slow here so we are still working on getting his speech services setup. He loves Kindergarten and does well but we are not doing the bus yet. Too much too fast, even though it would be very convenient, but we may as well bring the boys to school and then pick them all up since Sarah gets picked up in the afternoons as well.

We just had his labs done yesterday to run the full panel of tests to establish medical, so hopefully we won’t have any surprises there. We did have his first visit at the CL/CP clinic this past month and we don’t have any immediate surgeries. When Shawn turns 9 he will need to have a correction done to his bite the lower is too far out and his nose bone needs to be extended. He has only one tooth missing so that is good.

His English has been slow but he does understand a great deal when we talk to him. The kids all get along well, we don’t have any issues with the boys sharing rooms and even Shawn and Sarah can play well together when they want to. He is totally over his fear of the big dog, so all in all we are doing well and everything else will take time and patience and TLC.

Happy Holidays
Angie

Wednesday, 10/21 we finally finally where on our last day in GZ and checked out of the Hotel to wait for our shuttle to the train for HK which was to leave at 6 PM. We met with another agency family who was also leaving to come home thru HK and our guide who was bringing us Shawn’s passport and the brown envelope.



Unfortunately just as we where to go thru gate check to get on the train we got a very frantic call from our guide who just attempted to drop of another family at the airport. Apparently she had the passports mixed up and here we where standing to check in for the train with the wrong passport and the scary thing was that even after we asked for the child passport back and the guide over the phone explained what happened the security check did not believe us until they pulled Shawn aside and he confirmed that indeed his name was not that of the child in the passport. I can not believe they would have actually let us pass with the wrong passport. Anybody that recently traveled and knows the ridiculous amount of passport and security checks getting to China via HK and back to the states knows that we could have been in some serious trouble if not caught in time!!

The train ride went well and was a first for both Shawn and Dad, about 2 hours long went by really fast and Shawn did actually sleep a bit on the train.

So basically we did not get to the Hotel in HK unit 1 AM in the morning one because now we missed our train and we had to take the next on 2 hours later but also because we where not told that the train stop we where on was NOT going all the way to the airport, which was where our hotel was. Just another one of those oops and oh sorry we forgot to mention it that we encountered. Thank the lord for shuttle buses from the train to the airport so after paying for another set of tickets we where finally on our way to the Hotel.




Next morning at 6 AM we had to get up and get ready to checkout and in at that airport to catch our flight to Shanghai. As it goes our plane was 2 hours delayed and by the time we arrived in Shanghai where we had to get our luggage and check back in we barely barely caught our international flight. The flight home went fairly smooth other then that none of us really did sleep. Shawn was extremely restless and even fell of the seat once and Dad got a little sleep. Other then that we watched movies for the most part and I said a silent prayer when we finally touched down in Chicago and where able to get our luggage and of to the car we went!! Shawn did much better then expected having to be buckled into the booster knowing how he did not like the seat-belt on the airplane and then went to sleep.

And after I got over the shock of a parking charge on the way out caused by DH mishap and the traffic on the way to the airport 2 weeks ago we where finally on our last stretch to HOME SWEET HOME!!

Blessings Angie

We finally made it back home. We had a long extended exhausting trip home and even the 24/7 rain we had until this morning and a teenager with the flu could not dampen the fact that HOME SWEET HOME is the best place to be.

We had our Oath Ceremony on Tuesday in Guangzhou and met some of the other families at the White Swan to catch the bus to the Consulate. This time it was a bit different since we did not get the brown envelop that day but had to wait until the next day to have our guide pick it up before we leave town.
After the Oath Ceremony the whole group from our agency met at a Chinese Restaurant on the Island to have dinner and take a group picture. It was a very nice gathering and we met a few other great families. One family with another 6 year old boy who was just a bubble of energy from the province with the famous Terracotta Soldiers and another dad that had traveled for his 3 year old son who was deaf who was just the life of the party to cute and oh so determined you just wanted to scoop him up an hug him!

Hugs Angie

Monday already and our last few days in China we decided to finally make the trip to the zoo and since the weekend was over we knew if we go right away in the morning there would not be to many people yet and we can enjoy the zoo. We arrived there right after leaving the island this morning where we had to go for Shawn’s TB results. The TB results came back AOK!! So we are good to go here. Also later that day our guide called us to inform us our visa paperwork and interview went well and we are go for our Oath Ceremony tomorrow afternoon.

We arrived at the zoo shortly after 9 AM and we pretty much spend most of the morning into lunch time there. We walked all over the zoo seen all kinds of animals some the first time even for Garry and I and even thought I do not believe Shawn has ever been to a Zoo he did know what most of the animals where and he was amazed over how big some of them where in real lift such as the giraffe. The only part that was a tad upsetting to me was when we walked by the cat area and here they had about half a dozen Pomeranian dogs each by its own in cages with a sign saying "Pomeranian" as if they are wild zoo animals, what????? I am still not getting that one but seeing those cute dogs like that just broke my heart!
While at the Zoo Shawn also did have a melt down when he wanted to go one way and we decided that we are going another way. He most certainly did not like it when I told him no and he plunged himself on the ground and had a fit.

After he decided that he was done fussing we did go to the SeaWorld portion of the zoo which was quite impressive and bigger then we expected from the outside. We got to watch a mermaid swim in one of the big fish tanks; a diver feed the fish and stingrays as well as a diver that feed the sharks in another tank. It was very clear that the aquarium was the winner in Shawn’s book he loved watching the fish and he clapped his hands when the diver feed the sharks.

Afterward we went back to the island, picked up some laundry at Judy’s ate lunch at Lucy’s where we got to say hello again to another family that we knew from Shenyang that adopted a 10 year old boy. All in all we had a pretty good day until Shawn had a melt down again in a store close to the hotel where the lovely ladies handed him a toy that the mean mommy told him he could not have. So he decided once again to have a fit and boy that child does not like not getting his way. Hmmm, live and learn he eventually will so we let him fuss and continued to walk on. Oh the looks we got not just being two white folk with an Asian boy but oh now that child was having a cry on top of it. It does not bother me and I have to chuckle sometime over the looks one gets. Like at the Zoo today when this lady looks at Shawn then Garry then me trying to figure out what she was looking at hahaha It is unfortunate that there is so little education about adoption in this country.

By the time we got to the hotel and I took him up to the room he decided that it was really not doing him any good grabbed the remote and started to watch TV. Still all in all a very good day that we ended with a plunge into the pool, which may I add Shawn did love but was wayyyyyyyy tooo cold!!!

Hugs Angie

The day started out kind of slow we took our time getting up this morning and Shawn is getting much better about not being in such a rush to get dressed he actually sat on the bed for a while and played in his PJ’s where before he would get up and want to get dressed instantly. We called the kids this morning and he actually did say hello to Samuel on Skype so we are taking baby steps and things are moving into the right direction. He is a very smart little energetic kid not at all introverted like his paperwork says. He walks really well when we go places, he eats really well when he likes something and oh he does not like it when we say no and he will test how far he can get.

Today he got a daddy’s first when we where at the camera store and he as he does all the time just had to touch every single thing in reach. So Garry tabbed his hand and said no and here comes Shawn swing and smacked Garry pretty good on the hand back. Well Garry very clearly told him uhmm kiddo that’s not ok we do not hit Mommy or Dad and this time he slapped his hand. Shawn sure did not like that and dropped down on the floor in the middle of the store fussed a while to no impress here and then we where able to move on.


He loves to play sitting on the floor with the cars he has here and the bunch of farm animals generally either with Garry and I sitting down with him as well. Shawn is clearly starting to recognize a few things as well. We have not bothered to worry about anything numbers ABC’s related yet I figured there is plenty time for that once we get home.

Now that we have a camera we will be able to take some ne w pictures as well. Tomorrow we have a very early start on the island first to have Shawn’s TB test checked and then I think we are done for the day. Tuesday we have our oath ceremony at the American Consulate.

Hugs Angie

Today we spend a good portion of the morning shopping at one of the local market / dept. stores with Ann from Red Thread and I was able to knock off a good portion of my shopping list, really mainly I wanted some traditional dresses for Sarah, some tea for Mom. We are getting a chop to add to our collection for Shawn on the Island and we picked up traditional jackets for Dad and the boys we really got an awesome deal compared to what we paid two years ago for Sarah’s dresses on the island. Live and learn I guess then we did not know any better.

I also found a set of shorts for Shawn since the ones we brought would fit with the exception that our little big guy has literally no waist and even the 5T’s fall of him lol ok and try finding a belt here I gave up and found two pairs of shorts for him for like $3.75 a piece can’t beat that. All in all he was a trooper thru 3 hours of power shopping after Ann explained to him that he can’t have everything he sees or wants to touch lol…Unfortunately no camera stores in sight so a friend told us there is suppose to be a electronic mall here so we will try that tomorrow before we head for the Zoo with Shawn and maybe by tomorrow late afternoon its been 48 hours since his TB test and we can finally use the pool before we head back to temps of 20/30’s at home in WI.

I don’t think I mentioned that one of the exciting things we received when we met Shawn is a CD full of pictures taken over the past 9 months, about 300 pictures in all and a set of art / picture pages that he put together since Half the Sky moved into the orphanage last year and they keep sort of a file of the children and pass that info on to the parents.

He also did bring along a small photo book that had pictures his foster mom must have taken with the disposable camera we send since he is wearing one of the hats from the care package in a few pictures. There are some pictures of him with his foster parents and his foster sister and brother about the same age as him. I was so happy to see that he hast this to take home with him something he will be able treasure for a long time. This is a piece of his past before his new family that we would have never been able to provide for him. We also did get the email for the orphanage which is wonderful so that we can send his teacher pictures a few times a year.

Hugs Angie

So today we had to go back to the island and take Shawn for his TB test and any remaining shots he may be missing. He got lucky and only needed to get two shots so that was good. He did get his injection for the TB test unfortunately that means in this very nice hot weather we are not able to use the pool until the test is read. Shawn did very well for the most part.

We dropped off some laundry at Judy’s and had a nice chat with her. She is such a sweet lady, we talked about her Christian journey and how she was excited to have been given a bible a couple of weeks ago but that she is the only Christian in her family and that’s hard for her to grow here faith. But on the island she can go to church on Sundays’.

I noticed today he has been very hyper and he has a hard time keeping his hands of everything and I can say we have our hands full starting from zero when it comes to roads and traffic, not squatting where you fall just the basics that we teach our little ones I guess. I am assuming all this new stuff if a little much to process for him. He does ok while we are outside but today again after we got back to the hotel there was a brief time where he started to cry, so all we can do is sit with him and hopefully he can sense what we mean when we tell him it will eventually all be ok…. It’s ok to miss your friends its ok to be scared it will take time.

He is not used to eating with chop sticks but does not seem to be handy with silver ware either but definitely likes to eat with his fingers. When there is something he likes he can most certainly put a dent into the plate so eating so far has been really good. He sometimes will try something different and sometimes he just won’t also ok we are just trying to get a sense of what he does and does not like since so far everything the orphanage told us he likes he has not been wanting at all.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to go on a shopping excursion with Ann from Red Thread since we did not get a chance to do that in province and I do have a few things on my list. Also the time we spend today on the island was kind of disappointing. It does seems as if some stores are gone and the ones left no longer have the variety they had before some stores even changed their selection of items completely. All in all it seems different on the island, we hardly seen any families at all but a lot more locals and things are not as lively anymore it felt strange.

Oh yes and a digital camera of sort since our camera bag has been "lost" digital cameras both mine and Garry's, camcorder and all the home movies etc. gone!

Blessings Angie

After 3 days of running around and more paperwork then I can remember on our last trip we where able to visit one sight, the Imperial Palace in Shenyang.

Manchu culture is the center piece of the Imperial Palace in Shenyang, capital of northeastern China's Liaoning Province.

The Shenyang Imperial Palace, is the only existing royal palace in China outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The main structure of the palace was built in 1625 when Nurhachi was in power. It was finished in 1636 by his son Abahai (Huangtaiji). Nurhachi and Abahai were both founding emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

Afterward we went to our last stop, picking up Shawn's passport and we are all set to leave to GZ early in the morning. Our flight leaves at 8:30 and our driver will pick us up at the Hotel at 6:30. It is a 4+ hours flight so hopefully Shawn will do ok with this. We are scheduled to arrive in GZ around 1 PM and are suppose to meet our guide at the White Swan Hotel at 3 PM for the walk over to the Medical Exam. Garry and I decided that we will go ahead and try to make a run for our Hotel first before we go to the WS. Even though we can leave our luggage with the Guide I really do not feel like having to worry about that stuff.

Hugs Angie

Ok so this morning we took the 45 min drive to what is considered the suburb of Shenyang to visit the Orphanage. The director very nice lady met us at the guarded front gate where the guard took our temperature. The driver was not allowed in so we walked up to the office where we dropped off our bags with the donated cleft bottles and all the other stuff. We took some pictures in front of the SWI directors building and then walked over to the children’s building. Right now there is only one children’s building but they are in the process of adding 4 more buildings in total to be 5 for the children. We could not really get a clear answer if that means that there are more children then they have room for or what the reason was.
We where not allowed to go into the children’s building but the director went in and brought out Shawn’s teacher and another nanny and some of the children he was in group with. Most of them looked to be younger then him. And some of the older kids where at school. We did find out that though they did bring him back to the SWI from foster care to go to school as he had his family waiting, which was the whole reason why he was brought back, they did not send him to school the whole time he was back. Very disappointing!

We had a lot of fun meeting this little group of kids and did find out that there is only one little guy age 3 that is waiting for his family to find him. He is just adorable a fun little guy full of live and energy he made us laugh a lot while we where there visiting with the children. I so wish somebody would look at his precious face and know that this is their child. There was one little boy that had only been there a short time apparently got lost? No luck finding his family. How can a child get “lost”? At any rate I was surprised to know that there where at least two other kids in this little group whose file was not at the CCAA that I thought would find a family in a heart beat! Anybody that wants to know about this little guy that I was told has his file with the CCAA please he is tooooo cute really so much fun !

As I noted before I was concerned about this trip and as expected Shawn did mention to our guide that he did not want to come back and stay there, however, it went much better when we did leave he did not put up a fuss at all. Maybe having the interaction with the other kids and being able to say goodbye to the teacher helped him and he did wave good bye and walked back to the driver without any issues. So that was good. He did get very antsy on the ride back it was a bit long for him so it will be interesting to see what the plane ride will be like tomorrow morning to GZ.

We found that he does get bored in the room and he does like to be outside on the go. He has a great appetite when he likes something. We went to the food mall a couple of times and ordered veggies and lots of dumplings well the kid likes dumplings and between him and I we did not leave one behind lol…..

Later on we are to go meet the guide for a trip to the Imperial Palace and then get Shawn’s passport for our trip to GZ tomorrow.

Hugs Angie

Shawn did not eat much for breakfast despite offering different things so by about 11:30 of course he was getting both very hungry and tired and he was definitely grieving on and off all morning. It was clear that we definitely needed to find something more authentic to eat then Pizza Hut, KFC or MC Donald’s. We went and found a food court across the street in one of the larger buildings and sat down he seemed excited just to get out of the hotel and see the food. I am not sure what I ordered other then dumplings but whatever it was it did the trick he ate tons of dumplings veggies and some meat.

We decided to go to Walmart and pick up some movies to watch and some jeans that fit a bit better as the ones I brought where just a tad to short. Shawn was pretty excited about this movie we picked up and some Tom & Jerry one and he watched one of those with excitement.



Today we spent all morning doing more paperwork at the civil affairs office and driving to the Passport Center for Shawn’s Passport Pictures and application. When he saw the orphanage director he started to cry and she asked him something and by his facial expression and something he said I could tell he simply did not want to come back with us. I suppose I would be more worried if he would not be grieving at all.

For some reason Garry and I seem to have a lot of trouble adjusting to the time change on this trip and we both feel totally drained by about 3 PM. We made it thru about 6 PM and decided to head back out and best go back to the food court to get some dinner. I had earlier in the day taken Shawn’s jacket he had worn the whole time and put it with the dirty laundry because seriously it was dirty. So I gave him a sweatshirt to wear and we had our first melt down. I was firm and insisted that he keep on what he had and eventually he came to and we where able to go out to eat. Ordering two bowls of dumplings of which Shawn happily munched on one of them letting me know to keep myself to the other one. He was also very excited to see all the lights out on the roads and seemed fairly happy. .

We did find out that we are allowed to make the 35 min drive to the Orphanage tomorrow and maybe even go in just not the baby’s areas. I have sort of mixed feelings about that as for one if he goes back again we may start over again after this mornings ordeal and on the other hand we do want to see where he spend a good portion of his life.
Tomorrow is also our last day here and between the jet lag and paperwork every day we really did not get a chance to see much, not that anything is within walking distance anyway. I have to say I am looking forward to leaving to Guangzhou on Thursday morning.



Hugs Angie

So we made it thru our first night. Shawn seems to sleep fairly well he did wake Garry up once early because he was tossing his head back and forth but he did stay on the sleeper and woke up at about 6 am. So sleep hopefully won’t be an issue. He hangs on to anything he can get his grip on and won’t let it go back sometimes a challenge when it’s the remote or the translator. Hygiene is definitely we will need to work on lol when it comes to using the bathroom lol we won’t go into details.

He got up and right away wanted to get dressed guess he did not like the blanket sleeper. He did let up put clean clothes on him but insisted that he put his long johns back on and his jacket which is totally fine.
My bigger concern right now is that he does not seem to want to eat much hopefully once we get to GZ in two days that will change when we have breakfast at the hotel as most of what is here around the hotel is fast food not much for authentic cuisine not much of authentic anything in this area of town looks like I’ll be doing all my shopping in GZ.

Ok off to get ready for our Civil Affairs office visit to finalize our paperwork

Hugs Angie

We have our little big guy!!! It’s heading to be about 7:30 PM now and I need to figure out how to get over this jet lag. I don’t remember it being this bad but after not being able to sleep all morning we headed to the Civil Affairs Office as did two other families that adopted a 6 year old boy and a 10 year old boy. We sat there and watched for what seemed forever as the other tow boys arrived and started a mile long paperwork. About half an hour into the wait Shawn finally arrived with the director of the orphanage and t my surprise every single item we send him in his care packages lol.


He seemed very shy and unsure as to what was about to happen he did give me a hug and sort of checked dad out too. We sat down and he started to unpack all his items some of which he had not even unpacked yet from how we send it to him in his care packages. He loves the little stuffed elephant we brought him form a store here. He sat down and played with me for a long time then all the sudden moved over to the window and started to cry as if he was realizing what was to happen. In the meantime Garry and I went back and forth on getting paperwork done. We spend several hours there before we where finally done with paperwork and we where able to ask questions of the director. He seems to be taken to me a bit more which I was surprised off because I was all set to have the ole’e you took me from the nanny I like Ba Ba scenario.



Shawn is extremely curious and fascinated with what is going on around him he appears to be very smart and it’s clear though that he is having trouble with large motor skills nothing that he won’t be able to catch up on running around our house for sure. He is a chitter chatter constantly talking I have to laugh I just wish we would understand more but we seem to be making due. Of course he took the elevator duty to be his responsibility right away. He seems to mind fairly well but certainly lets you know if there is something he wants. We have been told his favorite pass time is art, well what do you know him and Samuel will have tons in common.

We found out that he must have visited what was like a Pre-K/Kindergarden. We finally managed to get to a place for lunch that was quiet and ordered a rice dish and a noodle dish and it became clear that noodles are the winner. He is also fascinated with the drink bottle we brought for him and he carries that thing around all over. He was unsure about walking on the very soft carpet in the hotel and it took a few tries for him to understand where to relieve himself and not in the bathtub
After lunch we went back to the room and just spend the rest of the evening there between Garry and I taking naps since we where both just drained. It also gave Garry some time to spend with him "alone" while I was in the room. Shawn played and played and played all afternoon from us sitting on the carpet to the bed back and forth lol.

He was uncertain as to letting go of his clothes and getting into some PJ’s after a quick bath. Tucked in with his stuffed elephant hopefully the little guy will get some sleep soon as it was a long and eventful day and tomorrow is more official paperwork.

Hopefully dad and I can sleep thru the night this time.

Hugs Angie

Well its 2:30 AM in the morning here and both Garry and I are wide awake. We got to bed at 9 PM can you believe it that’s like a first for us in how long, ok well at least for me. Those that know me know what I am talking about. So I figured I get up for a while I am afraid that if I take something to help me sleep that I won’t wake up in 4 hours when I need to.

This city is highly industrial, sort of a shoe capitol too and the overweight limit and my checkbook are the only things that keep me from going shoe shop crazy lol and by the looks around here it would not be much of a bargain in these stores. They heat with coal and we can definitely smell it this morning in the room. My sense of smell has seems to be more intense ever since Samuel was born. It’s hard to get used to and even the air freshener we purchased for the room is not helping but oh well what can I say it’s an experience nevertheless. We had an awesome experience with your friends here going to the international service last evening and an excellent dinner at a local restaurant; of course I got my dumplings!!

We also got a chance to chat with our kiddos at home and grandma via Skype, I love Skype it makes not having them with us bearable and I know it helps them a lot to be able to talk with us and see us!

I remember when we met Sarah 2 ½ years ago I was as excited and nervous but a different kind of nervous. For one I don’t recall waking up this early in the morning I recall wondering how she would react, if she even knew a tiny bit of what’s to happened, how it would be having a daughter after raising two boys, if my heart would open to hear as I wished it would, how was this process going to work, if she would totally ignore me, which she did not because I was the lady with the water bottle in the hand. She had a death grip on that thing and all I could think of was lord we are in trouble here lol... and oh is she ever still a head strong little spicy girl. All those anxieties an adoptive parent may have.

With Shawn its different the process is really not new anymore, we are fairly comfortable with what’s going on and where we are even on our own. He most likely has a pretty good sense of what is to happen or at least I think so. He knows we are coming for some time now. I am still nervous about whether or not he will like us or thing we are totally nuts and get out of my face or reject one of us. How will he feel that here are these people taking him away from the only thing he has ever known? But my biggest fear I think is what if he takes off on us, what if he will not listen what if he says something to a local and we won’t be able to communicate our situation? I am very cautious with my children in public I never take my eyes of them it only takes a second and often there are times when I take them by the hand even my 7 year old. So in this crazy busy city of millions is this child going to stick by us is he going to let either one of us take him by the hand to get across the street and not take off?

Oh good grief I really wish I could sleep and make the time pass by!! 6 hours to go!

Blessings Angie

Ok so we met our guide this morning seems like a super nice kid from Beijing. He tried to call the SWI but nobody answered the phone so unfortunately we won’t get to meet Shawn until tomorrow morning. Since we did not know for certain if this was going to happen I guess we need to be patient. All in Gods time that is.

So we did go to the local Walmart down the street and picked up a few things to munch on for our room and of course water. I even found some German Kinderschokolade yummmyyyyy. Yes children mommy will be brining some of that home…. Of course I can’t guarantee that after 20 hours of travel I will have some left ;-) why they can sell them here and not in the USA I just don’t get.

Afterwards Garry and I went back to the room and changed into sandals and shorts since it’s really warm here today. Ok there was a sight not just the fact that we where obviously in minority here we also had on shorts and sandals in a huge crowd of locals. Amazing some of the looks you get I thought it was just funny. So we tried to find sun shades but nothing, we did get luck and I actually found a curling iron after what seemed to be a 2 hour walk and a ton of department stores with the same thing over and over again. But my travel curler apparently ran out and I packed the wrong refill for it.

Later this afternoon we will be going to service with our friend Elaine and then afterwards to Dinner. I am just craving dumplings so I can’t wait!! Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am we are meeting our guide at the Hotel and then off to the Civil Affairs office.
George did mention that there is a chance that we may get to go to the Orphanage after all just that we can not go inside but visit the outside and maybe some of the nanny’s come out to meet? So we shall see.

Blessings Angie

Well its 1:30 AM in the morning so what about 12:30 in the afternoon at home which explains why I am wide awake BUT we made it after what was a long flight which started of in a bit of a mess. We got a late start then added traffic and construction to that I ended up with a panic attack which got me sick almost all the way to the airport because I thought for sure we will miss the plane to China.

We had to call and cancel the park n ride on the way which they charged us then just for the one day. But now the car is parked at the Airport which is going to cost us $200 more then the ParkNRide.

So we got to the airport about 45 min before our flight left still feeling sick I threw up in the parking lot, well that’s a first for me. We got to the check in just in time then got held up at security because of the big block of diabetes chocolate Garry had in his bag for our friend here.

Anyway long story short we made it had to check all the way out thru security and customs in Shanghai get our baggage check back in and after a 1 hour delay there we are here. No news from our agency if we are indeed going to meet our son on Sunday or not. Guess I best set the alarm for a decent hour in case our guide calls as it was too late to call him.

We finally met our friend Elaine and her boss as they picked us up from the airport and they are just so nice. We had such a nice chat on the way to the hotel.

We are at the Hotel that our agency usually books at and again I am not sure what the hype was about I guess I was expecting more from all the talking up. First we booked a non-smocking room and got smocking, then we are to have a sleeper couch in the room apparently they have no clue what that this is so they are bringing a cot or something for Shawn of course we are not paying for that since we did not get the room we booked and paid for. Then I find out they pre-authorized dinner breakfast laundry and telephone for a week to our card JUST in case we may use it.. I think I best go to bed before I get too upset. Maybe we just got spoiled by the Hotel we stayed in when we got Sarah.

So all in all a great start to our journey BUT hey we are here and we are meeting our son soon!!!!

Hugs Angie

Our travel plans have been finalized we have a confirmed CA on 10/19. So needless to say in about 4 weeks we are leaving, which is a Friday and we get to Shenyang Saturday night. We will be staying at the Traders Hotel and officially meet our son on Monday October 12. 2009 .. finally!!

Friday that week we are going to GZ and have to stay there until Wednesday at which time we will take a train to Hong Kong in the late afternoon. Spend the night there and fly back home on October 22. 2009. Our flights are booked and we have our hotels and are just awaiting the in country guide and flight info from our agency.

Because we are in GZ during the Trade Fair we are staying off the island which is perfectly fine! We are looking forward to experiencing other areas of GZ one possibly the Safari Park and since we are at a Hotel banking the Pearl River we will be able to take nice walks. So I hope :-)

Many Blessings Angie

We are very excited to announce that today we got the TA call. Yes its finally here almost 12 months later. We hope to arrange everything to travel within about 4 weeks to make it to GZ before the Trade Fair hike!!

So much to do best get busy ;-)

Blessings
Angie

Totally exciting news we found out that our 2nd LOA was actually picked up on August 13. which when we found out had already been passed one week. So from that we should have our TA within 3-4 weeks so by now we are 2 weeks down and that TA in reality could show up any day now!! So much to do so little time I tell you its crazy. And then I have to let my employer know that I will be out for a while and in the mean time I am suppose to wrap up a training class in PA before that as well which has been scheduled so regardless when that TA shows up we can’t even leave until October and then of course we get hit by the Trade Fair so that will make the trip more complicated but when its all said and done our son will finally be home!!!

Blessings
Angie

Some exciting news over the past two weeks we found out our I800 was approved and send to the NVC and today we found out that on August 4, 2009 the NVC send the cable of our file to the embassy in GZ to sign their form of the LOA for our agency to pick up and take to the CCAA. With that in mind we should have our TA in about a month WOW!!

Hugs Angie

Well our LOA was signed and returned the authorities in China our I800 should be approved very shortly and then all the paperwork should go back to the US Embassy for approval and on to complete our file in China so that the travel approval can be issues. It’s just amazing to think that in just a couple of months we will be able to travel to bring our little guy home!! In a short week from now he will have a birthday and turn 7 years old. Seeing how he and I share our birthday I will be thinking of him even more on that day and hope that our package arrives in time and safely!

We have been saddened that we had to make the decision to not bring our two little ones with us given the current changes of being quarantined if one of us or somebody on the plane would get ill. The impact this would have on them in the event we would be separated would be beyond imagination and we would never forgive ourselves to take that chance thought we are extremely saddened that they will not experience this with us.

Blessings

This week was very eventful for us lots of exciting things going on. First on Monday I accepted an offer for a different position within the company I work at now but back working in IT rather then one of the business units, so I am very much looking forward to that.
Then yesterday as I was just getting ready to leave the office I got even more exiting news when my phone rang and it was our agency rep telling me that we got our LOA. The only reason I did not scream was because I was in the office. …. Lol….It was kind of eary given the fact that an hour earlier I had just printed the I800 and DS230 paperwork to take home for hubby to sign in case we needed it lol…… little did I know.

So on day 70 we got our LOA and hopefully with that TA will be close behind.

Blessings
Angie

Wow it’s been a crazy, exhausting, busy and blessed week. We spend the last oh 10 days baking away for the bake sale we just had this weekend. Hubby and I spend literally ever night in the kitchen baking. We worked down a list of about 30 different items from sweet breads, muffins, cookies, jam, bars, fudge and some cakes and pies.
Not that I am a pie kind of baker but with the input of my wonderful amazing friends, Shelby and Katy GO check out her blog at http://outofafrica-graber.blogspot.com, I was able to make some Apple Pie and Fruit Tarts. They all went really well, not one of them left. We had 4 big tables full of baked goods. My dear friend Jacci and my sister’s friend Amber also donated some yummy baked goods and as well as some of the dear ladies from our Alpha Group. It was a very “sweet” site lol……. my wonderful sister and my niece came to help us at church. Thanks Sissi!!

Unfortunately I was so out of it that I left my camera at home though I would have just loved to keep on film what we where able to dish up... oh well it is what it is lol...
We sold almost all of it and left some of the items behind for the church and some for the evening events this week. However, we did make a 25% dent into our needed funds for travel after taking out what we put in for ingredients and our tithing a HUGE BLESSINGS! We are tremendously grateful for all that supported us in prayer and support and for what God has provided so far!!

Now of course I have about 2 weeks of housework to catch up on …lol…. It’s a blessing that my DH is such a wonderful awesome guy that helps me where he can!! I am sure within the week between the two of us we will at least have some of it caught up. Then maybe I get to spend some time in my garden next weekend and we have tons of prep work to get done in the house yet before September gets here!!

So here is to a successful bake sale we thank God for showing up for us and pray that he will continue to guide us and provide all we need between now and then to bring Shawn home in only a short couple of months!!

“If God is for us, who Can be against us?” Romans 8:31b

Hugs
Angie

COME ON LOA!!!!

It has now been a month since our paperwork was logged in with the authorities in China and hopefully somebody will be reviewing them shortly and sends us our LOI. There have been so many discussions and rumors on delays due to the Flu I pray that per our agency this really is simply just confusion over the whole situation and the CCAA is processing paperwork as is. It is always crazy trying to get thru the paperwork pulling it all together and getting it just right and mailed out in time to meet all the guidelines. However, the wait afterwards is most certainly a lot worse then that. It’s not easy to plan the months or days ahead when you have not idea when the approvals show up and when you could actually travel as the averages and approximates are just so stretched out to make any plans. In two months Shawn will turn 7 years old and I sure prayed that we would have been able to celebrate his birthday with him. Unfortunately some of our paperwork just took too long to get processed state side and that won’t happen… sighhh……… As it is said all in God's time whether we agree or not!

So its Mother’s Day and I am sitting here thinking of my kids downstairs the boys arguing like only two brothers almost 10 years apart can do and Sarah sound asleep in her bed, or so I hope ;) lately she has been confusing naptime with “quiet playtime”. Thinking of our son who is still in China, next year by God’s grace he will be home with us and we will be celebrating a Mother’s Day as a Family of 6. I find myself more and more wondering what he is doing how he is doing in school and wonder how he feels about coming here very soon. The language barrier will be a challenge at first but I am certain we will manage just fine.
A couple of days ago we finally learned that we have a log in date; it is April 17, 2009 and with that also travel much closer. What seemed almost like a year away is now only a few months away and it is soo sooo sooo exciting. The kids are excited and Samuel asks often when we will travel to bring his brother home. Patience my child patience…..ha…. yea right Mom keep telling yourself that ;-)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Fabulous Mom’s out there!!

Hugs
Angie

Finally on day 89 we received an email from our caseworker stating that we have I800A approval and we should get the form in mail shortly. Then its off to send a copy to our China Agency and then we can FINALLY be DTC!!! From there the average for travel right now is around 5/6 months so not quite by his birthday but by the grace of God we will have Shawn home before the Holidays!! Thanks be to God!

Today we mark our 60th day in our wait for the I800A application and the CCAA was gracious to move our DTC deadline up a couple more months since in reality we did all we have to do to get our paperwork together but simply can not be DTC until we get this approval. Of course leave it to us even with the final speed up in processing times to be one of the few to need a modification in the way a section of our homestudy is written up, very frustrating as without this we would have our approval by now and our dossier would be gone and Shawn could have been home by August.

As it is it looks like now we are looking at March to be DTC and with at least Sept/Oct. before we can travel. This has been very frustrating for us given that we worked so fast to get all our paperwork together there is simply no logical excuse as to why our son should have to wait any longer to be able to come home.

I wonder a lot about how he feels over the fact that he has a family waiting I wonder if he is excited or really has no longing to come here. I wonder if he things what a crazy bunch of people in these pictures …..do I have to go…… We will for sure miss his birthday in July which really really saddens me.

I pray that our homestudy changes will be done soon and with that we can finally finally be DTC.

I got confirmation over the weekend that our package arrived with our dear friend Elaine in China and she ensured that it will have been delivered to the orphanage and then to Shawn in foster care. To think that by now he knows he has a family and he has our pictures is just soooo exciting and I am mentally already packed and looking at possible hotels to stay. This weekend we are also scheduled for our fingerprints in Milwaukee so another step into the right direction.

Again to everyone and all a Very Very Happy New Year!