June 16, 2007 Saturday

Today started out uneventful enough. Aysia thought we should wake up at midnight last night to eat and again at six o’clock this morning. Good thing we went to bed by nine last night. We walked around the block basically looking at the stars walk of fame in Hong Kong. At about 11:00 we took at taxi to the train station. When we got in the taxi Aysia asked why we were getting in a police car. I quickly explained a taxi ride to her. We got to the train station and ate lunch (at McDonalds again), did a little looking around in the shops, and waited for our turn to board the train. At 1 o’clock we boarded the train for Guangzhou but we didn’t know for sure Judy (our guide) had received our message about what time to meet us there so we had a back up plan in case. Fortunately we didn’t need it as she was waiting for us with a van. She had a few new pictures of Ian on her camera for us to look at on the ride to the Victory Hotel. The plan is still for us to get him on Monday. She says that the nannies say he is an easy going baby that doesn’t fuss much. Lets hope they are right but I’m not holding my breath. Check in at the hotel went easy enough and we are in a small room with a king size bed. Aysia says she doesn’t mind sleeping with us and Ian has a small crib. We have seen a few adoptive couples staying here and on the street. There was a cute set of twin boys with cleft lips (already repaired). We were headed out for dinner but Aysia fell asleep so we had to stop to borrow a stroller first. We tried out a restaurant that we didn’t eat at last time we were here. The food was good but we were the only ones that weren’t locals. They had a good time laughing at Chris use chopsticks. We are back in the room and are turning in early because Aysia is still asleep and will probably rise early like last night. I have included a few photos.

June 14-15, 2007 Thursday/Friday

Today was long. We boarded our plane in Orlando at 8:30am and started our journey. Aysia has been such a trooper. She enjoyed flying and looking out the window (which she had to share with daddy). We got into Chicago and found our next gate so Aysia and I waited at the gate while Chris went to get us lunch from Mc Donalds (not our favorite place but you take what you can get). We were blessed with being upgraded in our seating to premium economy which gives you 5 extra inches of leg room and trust me you appreciate it if you ever fly economy for 12 to 14 hours. Aysia wanted the window seat so she could see out during take off but fell asleep before the plane every backed away from the gate. She didn’t like waking up 1.5 hours later but got happy pretty quick when they served mashed potatoes for lunch. I was so glad to see those mashed potatoes. God can provide even tiny blessings for the tiniest of His children. (For those of you who don’t know mashed potatoes is probably Aysia’s favorite food.) The flight to Hong Kong was 14 hours and 33 minutes. Very long and the first 3 hours were hot. I got a short 1 hour nap to be awakened to cold apple juice running down my pants leg into my shoe. Aysia was dreaming and kicked it off the tray onto me. I did squeal but I didn’t see anyone turn to stare so maybe I wasn’t too loud. Aysia ended up getting about 4 to 5 hours of sleep before I woke her because I want her to sleep tonight. We landed in Hong Kong and took a metro type train to Kowloon Station and caught the free shuttle bus to the hotel. The bus ride does let you know you are in China. I told Aysia to hold on tight because they drive faster and crazier than mommy. We made it to the hotel and checked in. We bought our train tickets to Guangzhou for tomorrow. So we should be in Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon about 3pm. The train ride is about 2 hours and I’ll tell you about it tomorrow night. Our first real accident happened. Aysia was walking (not hopping or running) into the tile bathroom that has an unlevel floor and caused her to trip and hit her mouth on the toilet. Scared me to death. Blood everywhere but we have all our teeth and a very swollen bottom lip. We have put some ice on it and she has fallen asleep but has been sucking on her blanket. Please pray it heals fast and we don’t have any problems with it. Oh, she also had a nosebleed on the plane so if anyone is traveling soon with a child prone to nose bleeds take precautions. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and we look forward to getting Ian on Monday.

Our Journey to Ian

June 13, 2007 Wednesday

Well today has been a whirlwind. We didn’t have final travel plans until 10am this morning. Ian’s province (equal to our states) does things differently than other provinces and requires you to stay a minimum of 3 days longer. Before you can travel you have to have your consulate appointment verified with the U.S.Consulate and we didn’t get that until last night during the sleeping time for us. China is 12 hours ahead of EST. We left home at 3:30 pm heading for Orlando, FL. We fly out from Orlando at 9:00 change planes in Chicago and on to Hong Kong. We are going to spend the night in Hong Kong then take a train into mainland China (Guangzhou) where we’ll stay for the entire stay. We get Ian on Monday June 18th at 3pm (China time) so everyone please pray for a smooth transition for him, Aysia, and us. We will try to update daily as long as the internet connection cooperates so check back.

February 25, 2005 Friday

Sorry it has taken me so long to post our arrival home story. We had a good flight from San Francisco to Atlanta. On the flight Aysia started running a fever so we gave her some Tylenol & it worked well. We had an hour layover in Atlanta & then boarded for home. We landed in Valdosta at 8:15 pm & were greeted by approximately 46 friends & family members. It was great. Lots of tears, balloons, & signs welcoming us home. Aysia did great. She didn’t cry, she just observed everyone. She was really intrigued by the little cousins running around. We got home & in bed by 10:30 pm EST. It’s nice to be home!

February 24, 2005 Thursday

I didn’t sleep well because of Aysia tossing & turning and Chris coughing like crazy. He has a cold poor thing. I got in the shower at 3:00 am China time & we checked out of the hotel at 6:00 am heading to the airport. We left Guangzhou for Hong Kong at 8:20 am. Once we go to Hong Kong we had a lay over until 12:50 then we left for San Francisco (11:50 am on Wednesday EST). We had lots of turbulence on the flight. Aysia did well except for the hour she falls asleep for the night China time. She managed to get maybe 6 hours of sleep on the flight. We landed in San Francisco at 8:30 am PST (11:30 am EST). Aysia is now a US citizen. We checked in to our hotel & took a nap. We are going to get dinner & turn in early. See you tomorrow in GA. Yeah!!

February 23, 2005 Wednesday

We started this morning by going to the consulate & swearing that all the paperwork we have filled out is correct to the best of our knowledge then we got Aysia’s passport back with her immigrant visa inside so we can now go home! We are ready. China has been nice but not as nice as my own bed & food. We put Aysia down for her afternoon nap & she woken up scratching all over. I put some cream on her to help with the itching & checked with some other parents who were having similar problems so we wonder if there isn’t some bed bugs in the cribs. We ate dinner & turned in with Aysia sleeping with me instead of the crib.

February 22, 2005 Tuesday

Today started out pretty much the same. The breakfast here is really good. You can eat western or Chinese. Guess which we ate? At 8:45 am I went to the American embassy to sign one piece of paper stating that we would get her vaccinated when we get home & Chris had to stay in the room with Aysia in case anyone called from the embassy with questions about our application for her a visa. Aysia & Chris took a nap while they waited. We heard around 11:00 am that everything was okay & we left our room headed for McDonalds. Chris doubted my map skills for a while because it was a long walk according to American standards but not Chinese. We were the only non Chinese people eating there. The food tasted the same as in the U.S. but the seating area was on the second & third floors. Needless to say we got quite a few stares & smiles. Aysia didn’t seem to notice so much as we kept feeding her French fries & cookies. She’ll fit into our family great, she loves watermelon, mashed potatoes, & cookies. We stopped at a shop called Jordans for a little shopping on our way back to the hotel. I’m actually getting sick of shopping. Once back at the hotel we all 3 took a nap. For dinner we ate at a Western Restaurant that had a building in the middle but an old train car on each end. The food was good & nice to eat someplace different. We got back tot he hotel & took a few pictures & returned to our room to settle down for the evening. The crib is larger than Aysia is used to so she is enjoying kicking the side rails & talking for about 30 minutes before falling off to sleep. Wait until we get her home & our crib is big in comparison. We are beginning to get very excited about coming home & look forward to American food. No Chinese food for a little while, I think I’ve had my fill.

Statue made of Jade