30 hours of planes, trains and automobiles

Sorry for the delay in blogging but it has been a crazy few days. Tuesday was our Consulate appointment to get LK's visa to the US. We were then transferred to the train station where we took a couple hour train ride to Hong Kong. By the time we got settled in it was so late and we had to leave early the next morning to fly home. We started our journey home Wednesday morning at 6. Flew into Newark then to Nashville and finally home. The girls did awesomely well! We were amazed at how LK did. BG too! When we got home last night, my mom and dad and grandmother were here to meet LK. The kids were all sweet and excited to finally meet their new little sister. LK went straight to Haley. LK looked at Angel 0ur dog like she was an alien. I don't think she's ever seen a dog. The girls went to bed around midnight and by 4:30 am we were all up again. Needless to say they are exhausted but considering what they had to endure to get back home, they were angels. Did I say it is good to be home? It is sooooo good to be home! Thanks to all of your encouragement and prayers. LK is doing very well and we will have a doctor's appointment next week to see how her heart is doing. We are all very glad to be back together as a family!

Monkeys and moments...

All this time I have been posting and I don't think I have told you what LK's name is....atleast has been while she has been in China. When we got her we were told that her nickname is "CiCi" pronounced "Chi Chi". So from the beginning that is what we have called her and so far she recognizes us calling her by that or Lili-Kate. The language barrier has been a challenge. She tries hard to communicate with us and us with her and so far we have done okay. Today we went to the zoo and while BG was fascinated LK was uninterested (unless it involved riding in the trolley). When we got back to the hotel we went to the playroom and it was a sight I will never forget. BG ran in and started playing with all the toys. It was only LK and BG in there and LK just stood and looked. She didn't really know what to do. After she watched BG for a minute she joined in. But she didn't know how to work most of the toys. I think it was the first time she had seen any toys like those. Just typical toys we are used to seeing maybe in a church nursery or something but she was just standing there looking...uncertain. Once she started figuring it all out she was having a blast. Sweet!

LK is feeling much better! We are facing some challenges with her bahavior. She has quite the temper for a little two year and we are beginning to work through some of that. But when she is sweet...she is oh so sweet!

Well we head out for Hong Kong tomorrow and I cannot get home soon enough. Although the trip has been wonderful, I am sooooo homesick! I am ready to get BG back on her schedule and LK introduced to her new home and family! See you soon!

Shopping and swimming...

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and Mrs. T...and to all the mommies out there! Today was the day we took our famous "red couch" photo. LK wasn't really in the mood but she did it anyway! :) She and I headed out to do some shopping while JT and BG stayed behind and went swimming at the hotel pool.

Just a few more days and we will be heading home! Boy am I ready! It has been a good trip and I feel like I will never be the same after this. In a good way of course! This entire adoption experience has changed me to the core. It really has!

Tomorrow is our Consulate appointment and then Tuesday we take a train to Hong Kong where we fly out on Wednesday. Yay! Miss you guys...see you soon!

Guangzhou...woohoo...

We made it Guangzhou last night and arrived at the White Swan Hotel around 8 p.m. The hotel is amazing and we now feel like we are among the living...you know us westerners! We spoiled! :) Any-o-hoo...LK screamed through most of the flight here but she did great last night. She laughed and played and NO FEVER! This morning we had her medical check and she has been very lethargic again today. She has been sleeping for the last several hours. I cannot wait to get her home and let our pediatrician check her out. She is so small. This afternoon we will meet with our guide for more paperwork and then tomorrow is our free day to shop. I am very excited about that because things here are very reasonable. LK only has like 3 outfits that really fit her so I have been alternating them with a pair of PJ's until I could get out and buy her some things here. Guangzhou is definitely more westernized and that helps tremendously. I just had my first cup of starbucks! So yummy! The coffee here in the hotel is so much stronger than what I can stand. I am soooo glad to see a STARBUCKS! On a funny note, I can't remember if I posted this already but the girls have had some "first" potty experiences while in China. We had been told that LK could tell us when she needed to go so we sat her on the western potty (her first time on a western potty) and at first she started whining and then I gave her the "word" she needed to hear and she did her thing. Ever since then if we take her she will go. Pretty cool because she is so little, it doesn't seem like she should be doing that! The chinese use squatty potties and so Bella had her first experience with that and although she did exactly what she was supposed to, it ended up on Momma's shoes. This trip has already been so memorable. I would have never just taken a trip to China but because of adoption we were able to see how the chinese live. We miss you all and can't wait to get back so you can meet sweet LK! Don't be fooled by that sweet smile though, she is still a two year old! :) She can be a bit fiesty! We will post later with some pics. We still don't have the adapter for the camera to download them. Love and hugs to you guys!

Much better!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday after I posted LK woke up with a 104.6 fever! Naturally, I panicked! I called our friend Doug that works at New Day in Beijing and his nurse and he were so helpful with anwering some of our questions. Thank you guys so much! We started LK on tylenol and motrin every three hours and by last night her fever had broken. We were elated. This is the first time since we got LK that she has been basically fever free. So far today the highest it has been was 99! Yay! Thanks for your prayers. She is much better today!

Last night we went to dinner with our new friends that just adopted their two year old. That was fun! We walked the streets of Nanning on our last night here and it was a very pleasant evening.

We got home last night and LK laughed and played. Come bedtime though she started the grieving process that we had heard about. She cried and cried and sometimes in her sleep. I did my best to comfort her and let her know it would be okay but it was still heartwrenching.

She woke up this morning and so far she has felt pretty good. Did I mention she has quite the temper? She is a good girl though. Just needs a little work on understanding she can't have everything she wants all the time. :) We will get there. Today we visited the largest park in Nanning. It was really nice and we had a great time. I am posting pics and video from last night and today. We will be flying to Guangzhou at 5:45 and will arrive there around 6:45. I will update more later. Thanks again to all of you that have prayed for us and LK. She is much better today!

uh oh...hey..hey..hey

I am sitting in front of the computer with a minutes peace and quiet so I thought I would just pop in on the blog and give you guys an update. Lili-Kate woke up with a 103 fever this morning. Jeff and I are determined to see her well...really well. JT, BG and LK are all sleeping..having their afternoon naptime. I took a little one this morning while JT and LK had some bonding time. It was nice because it has been a very emotional journey. I will admit that it is not at all what we expected but I should've known better than come with preconcieved ideas. That is not how life is. We have had a lot of pleasant and not so pleasant surprises on this journey to adopt Lili-Kate. Right now we are not sure if the heart disease is causing her illness or what exactly is going on but we do know that God designed this baby to be a part of our family. He knew what obstacles we would face and He knew we would pray for her. We will do whatever it takes to get her healthy. What an honor and priviledge to be able to be a part of her life.

We gave her some tylenol this morning to help with the fever and so far she has done pretty good today. She has been awake more than I have seen her. We are just very anxious to get her to the States and get her checked. That can't come soon enough!

We are ready to come home! We are missing our kids, our bed, and our family and friends! We have been in China since Wednesday of last week and I am starting to get really homesick now. Fortunately, we have some things coming up that will keep us busy. Tomorrow we get LK's passport and will fly out to Guangzhou where we will have her medicals and get her Visa to return to the US. We will arrive home on Wednesday night at 7:40 p.m. given there are no delays (God forbid!) We will leave Hong Kong and fly 15 hours to Nashville. Then we will have a two hour drive home! Not sure if we will make that drive Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We will just see how the girls are doing...

Thanks to all of you that continually pray for us and send sweet and encouraging comments to the blog and email. Although I haven't been able to respond individually, I have read each one and been so thankful for you guys! I have needed the encouragement and support. We just didn't realize the battle we would face once we got LK. My favorite saying is ringing in my ears..."No rain...no rainbows". It is true and we know that anytime battle rages there is a blessing on the other side. We have never doubted that LK is just that! One huge blessing and she is all her name says she is..." A Beautiful Gift from God". And we know with alot of love, prayers, and medical help she is going to grow beautifully!

Here is a video of LK and BG dancing the day we got her. What a sweetheart! She loves to dance..imagine that! :)

Some more pics...

peekaboo...I see you

This afternoon after the nap I gave Lili-Kate some tylenol and within about 45 minutes she felt well enough to play some. JT broke out the bubbles again and we played peekaboo. This is a short video of our time so far with Lili-Kate while she was feeling well enough to play...She is a sweetie and BG is doing great with her.

bubbles and bandaids

Lili Kate slept good last night...still coughed but was better. When we got up this morning she was again, very lethargic and running a fever. Our guide, David who is so awesome, came to the hotel and he and I took Lili back to the hospital to have her rechecked. We all just needed the reassurance that we are just dealing with a childhood illness and nothing severe. They did some bloodwork and on her and checked her lungs and heart and once again, sent us away with some herbal treatments. She did seem a little better today. She ate breakfast and lunch but is still sleeping alot. I am hoping that she will feel better tomorrow. Keep her in your prayers. She is a little weak so I think its harder on her than it would be another child.

Meanwhile, JT and BG stayed behind at the hotel and took a break from hotel rooms, taxi rides, hospital visits and airports to give BG some time to run and play. So off they went to blow some bubbles. She ran and played until she just couldn't anymore. They came back to the room and JT turned to find BG had already crawled into bed for a nap. She was worn out! Fun time together for Dad and BG!

I will update again later...miss you guys alot! Can't wait to get Lili-Kate back to the States to meet her family and friends! Hugs!

Adoption day in the hospital

We put Lili Kate down last night around ten and she coughed all night long. We finally tried to wake her this morning around seven so we could get some breakfast. She was completely lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink anything. It was obvious something was wrong. We were scheduled to be back at the Civil Affairs Office at nine so off we went but Lili Kate was not well at all. She couldn't hold up her head and she was completely listless. By the time we got to our appointment it was obvious she needed to see a doctor. After finalizing the adoption we made our way to the hospital in Nanning. She was checked by medical personnel that quickly determined that she had "childhood fever". I have seen many sick children but I have never seen one as sick as Lili Kate. They sent her to have an IV drip of antibiotic, fever reducer, and some herbal medicines. We were there for a few hours. We returned back to the hotel and I put her down in her crib. Within an hour she was up playing and eating and drinking. Major milestone from earlier. She has spent the rest of the day in a much better state. We were able to get out briefly and get some dinner. It was a much better evening than morning. We also found out today from the orphanage director that they expect she will need heart surgery. We knew there was always the possibility that her heart condition could be worse than we knew and I guess we won't really know until we get her back to the States and have her checked out by a pediatric cardiologist. She is the sweetest little thing! We wanted to give her some tylenol today but when we were to determine her dosage we realized she needed the infant instead. She is only 17 lbs. She is in a size small diaper and in 12 month clothing. She is a tiny little angel. She continues to need your prayers. They want her back at the hospital in the morning if she spikes another fever. I am wanting a healing...a miracle for her! God sent us here for her and now we need to put our faith out there to get her home! God has given us a gift adding her to our family! We are very blessed and honored to call her our daughter! Thank you to all of you that are praying for her and us! We have needed them today!