Our last morning in Guangzhou

Pictures of our day :-)

BLESSINGS FROM CHINA :-)

Guangzhou Park

We woke up early this morning for our Consulate Appointment.  There were several families going through the ceremony with us.  The purpose was for to take the oath that all the documents and information was true.  It was our last step in the adoption of YiLin.  Our agency guide, Alison, will pick up her visa tomorrow morning and will be off for Hong Kong at 4 pm tomorrow.  We fly out of Hong Kong Friday morning.....Thursday night in the states and we will be in Nashville 4:25pm on Friday.  We originally told everyone that we would be back Saturday night and that is true if you are on China time.....ooops!

 

Today was a pretty good day.  We spent a few hours at the park across the road with 2 other families in our group.  It really is nice park.  They have the adult play area which consists of ping pong and badmitten and a very large exercise area with all kinds of equiptment.  Then we went to the kids area where they have rides like bumper cars, swings, motor boats for the lake and many other rides.  It is pretty cheap too.

 

Today was the first day in 11 days that I have not cried, so I am doing better.  I'm not proud of myself for being so emotional and I am sorry if I have let my family down.  It has been a very difficult stay in China for me and I am so very glad to be coming home.  I have stopped trying so hard to please YiLin and get her to like me.  If I think she will melt down if I try to do something, I just don't do it and walk away and let Jeremy or the boys do it.  It seems to keep me from feeling so rejected.  Since she doesn't let me give her a bath anymore, my time with her is even more limited.  She will tolerate me first thing in the morning if everyone else is asleep.  Yesterday, Jeremy put her down for a nap and then he and the boys went next door to watch a movie with our friends.  When she woke up and cried, I rushed in and grabbed her telling her I will take you to baba.  When we got to the room next door, she had stopped crying and we found out that Jeremy and the boys had moved to another room to watch the movie.  So, we ended up sitting with one of the moms and having hot tea....I couldn't believe she stayed in my lap and didn't cry.  It was amazing.  It lasted for about an hour and then we had to go back and find Jeremy.  Yesterday, she also let me peel her banana and help her in the bathroom.  I have never been so happy to assist a child in the potty before :-)

 

Jeremy is so tired.  I feel bad for him, and wish she would let me do more.  Today, I have seen his patience slowly as he tires more and more.  It is the first time since YiLin came to us that I see frustration coming out.  He has been more than wonderful....really.  He has been so caring with me as I grieve her rejection and so tender with ShelbyYiLin as she grieves the loss of her whole world as she knew it. Our social worker suggested that I use treats to attract her to me and I have been giving her candy and cookies for a quick glance into my eyes and a peck on the cheek.  I don't care if I have to bribe her to get a small kiss.....it is a step forward and that is what matters.

 

The boys have really enjoyed our stay at the Marriott here in Guangzhou.  They are totally spoiled here.  I have been a terrible mom and letting them have all kinds of junk on the breakfast buffet.  Marshall's favorite is the strawberry shortcake and Ian's is the pinnaple muffin buns....pure sugar I'm sure.  They have had time at the pool and a short visit at the hot tub.....that ended very quickly when they discovered that the Chinese men do not wear bathing suits in there....EEEKS!  Marshall ran out and announced to me that he was scarred for life due to that experience.

 

We had an interesting dinner tonight at one of the local restraunts.  We had frog legs, pork, congee, fried noodles, steamed pork buns, fried rice and shrimp with their heads still on.  Then  we came back and ordered a Papa John's Pizza..

 

We send our love to everyone and can't wait to be home Friday :-)

Blessings from the Grimms 

Pictures from our Monday

Piggy Back Ride

A new day........A new Word

Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV

 

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

 

We had a great nights sleep and we woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning.  YiLin is doing so well.  We took a video last night of her and Marsahall playing around on the bed.  She was so funny.  I had an opportunity to stay in the hotel room last night while everyone else went to McDonalds.  I remembered my mom sharing the scripture above with me, so I turned to it and began to read.  What a blessing!  I am thankful for God's Word and how you can grab hold of it and have peace.

 

Today we get the opportunity to worship with other believers in a country that is so cold and dark.  The area we are in now has a large Christian population due the influence of Christians from Hong Kong.  However, other places like Chengdu, the gospel is not accepted and there is darkness all around.  In cities like Chengdu, the gospel is preached very little and when it is, it is underground.  I am thankful for the light that comes from knowing Christ and that He lives to give us life.  I pray that the Lord will call others to reach out to the Chinese people with God's light.

 

 

Beautiful Sabbath Day

All ready for Church on Shamain Island in a dress made by Mary's Mother.

 

 

 

Opera

Panda Base

Beautiful Guangzhou

We arrived in Guangzhou last night and didn't get YiLin in bed until after midnight.  It is so beautiful here.  I love it.  Our hotel is the bomb! We have never stayed in such a nice place.  Marriott is way high class and man I am loving it.  We have 2 huge joining rooms with the coolest bathrooms.  The boys are soaking this up.  YiLin likes the space and being able to go room to room by herself.  There is a whole shopping mall in this hotel.  2 of the moms took me to Starbucks this afternoon and prayed with me!  I am so blessed.

 

We had YiLin's medical exam today and boy was that an experience.  We got there just before the rush.  She weighed 14 kg and her ears were fine.  She did good on the plane too by the way.  We go back tomorrow to let them read the TB test.  She didn't even cry when the did it.

 

I will attach photos from the past 3 days in the next post.....love you all very much. 

Panda Base and our flight to Guangzhou

I am finding it very difficult to post today.....I'm all tears after reading 40 emails and feeling the support of my family and brothers and sisters in Christ.  We had a good day yesterday at the Panda Base.  Our guide made sure to take us early so we could see them playing and eating.  It was wonderful.  I couldn't get near YiLin though, so I feel like an outcast.  It's hard.  I want to hold her and love on her.  She does let me give her a kiss very fast and then get away from her.  I am trying to be strong, but honestly, I'm not doing very well.  Pray that I will not take it personal.  That is very hard for me.  I did not have time to download the pictures.....will have internet in our room in Guangzhou and can post pictures tonight....sorry.

 

She is taking the antibiotic wonderfully.  We even gave her some cough medicine last night during her bath and it did help her sleep.  Wednesday night, she coughed so badly that she gagged in her sleep and ended up throwing up.....ALOT!  I managed to see it coming and grabbed a pillow and caught it all.  Funny comment here: Dr. Sewell once told me that you are not really a parent unless you have chased puke from your child.  Well, I am her parent for sure.  I felt so bad for her.  So, the cough medicine tasted horrible but she took it "FOR ME". 

 

I spent the entire afternoon paperchasing for the final steps of the adoption.  It is all done and Shelby YiLin Mali Grimm is ours, officially.  Mali means "Mary" after my mom and my great grandmother.  We wanted to use Mary, but wanted her to know her heritage is Chinese, so we translated it into Chinese.  She has no clue we will call her Shelby YiLin and I'm sure not telling her now.

 

We went to Pizza Hut for Thanksgiving dinner and then to the Chengdu Opera.  You can walk to both from our hotel.  It was a good show and the boys enjoyed it.  At first, YiLin teared up like she would cry but then was fine.  She is very easily scared.

 

She really loves Marshall.  He is her best friend, but daddy is her favorite.  She thinks Ian is ok.  She is running a slight fever today....we will give her motrin just prior to the flight for her ears too.  She was wired this morning after the cough medicine last night and she was a sight to see.  Marshall picks at her and she loves it....however, she has started smacking him in the face and laughing about it and I have to tell her, and him, NO.  It is not ok to hit, even in play.....Marshall drives her to rough play like he does the other kids at church.  He really loves her, and she really loves him.  She eats up his attention.  Ian is quiet and protective of her.

 

We leave for the hotel in 1 hour and I need to go help Jeremy.  He can't do much with her attached to his shirt.  At first I thought it was cute.....not so much anymore....I think I am jealous....YUK, I hate that feeling.  My flesh is not cooperating with my spirit.........there is a battle going on inside me.

 

Pray her ears do well, and we arrive safely in sunny, warm Guangzhou soon.  Hello from all of us, and we love you,

Mary

P.S.  Your words mean so much to me.  I can read the comments, the emails, and the fb posts on my wall, but I can not reply to anything but the emails.  Love you all.

A few more pics...

In the last post, picture #4 is YiLin's first smile for ME!!!!!  Love it!!!

Enjoy the others!

Photos of the past 2 days.

Picture #1 is the Master Nanny.  I can't properly say or spell her name but it sounds like Jan.  She is a nice lady and teared up a couple of times before she told YiLin goodbye.

Picture #2 are the items we bought from the love gift our church gave us.

Picture #3 is our new family :-)  Notice the look on Jeremy's face.....

Picture #5 is downtown "Town Center" in Chengdu.

Picture #6 is Ian's first time holding YiLin this morning.

SHE SMILES! SHE SPEAKS! SHE PUKES!......no in that order though.

Yesterday was my hardest day, attachment wise.  I was spoiled with Yi Lin the night before and thought maybe she was bonding with me.  That was a big NO.  After I posted my last blog, I returned to the room to find her a daddy's girl and mama can't anywhere close to her.  Jeremy did not want me to go to the supermarket alone, so we planned for him to leave while Yilin was using the bathroom and then I would watch a movie with her.  Well, it didn't go over well to say the least.  He didn't even make it in the elevator before Yilin had cried so hard that she puked all over me :-(  That was not good because we had just got her to take her antibiotic.  So we all ended up going to the market and because we were pushed for time, I couldn't even change clothes.  I ended up having a meltdown in the supermarket and again at the hotel when we got back.  I was so emotional!  I hate that about me.  I finally got a much needed shower and felt a bit better.  Remember we still had not heard her say a word and I was beginning to think she couldn't speak.

 

When we arrived at Civil Affairs, the head nanny comes in and Yi Lin smiles the biggest smile ever!  What?  She smiles?  Master Nanny says something to her and she speaks!!!!!  What?  You mean she speaks!  She said Baba and Gugu (brothers) and after some encouragement from the nanny, she softly said, mama.  Oh the joy that filled my heart.  Everything is going to be ok I told myself, I knew it would be.  She was so happy.  The whole time we were there and even when the nanny said goodbye to her for the last time, she looked sad, but just held Jeremy's hand.  She was so brave.  When we got back to the hotel, she was laughing and smiling.  She is fine as long as I am 5 feet away.

 

She let me give her a bath and we played with the bath toys together.....wonderful time for me.  I rubbed her dry skin down with baby lotion and gave her a back rub after her pj's were on.  But she wouldn't let me rock her to sleep, so daddy stepped in.  He is amazing with her!  If you could only see the pure joy on Jeremy's face.  I slept by her crib at Jeremy's request and she awoke crying at 1am.  She had coughed so much she was gagging.  I rushed her to the potty thinking she would thow up again, but she didn't.  She wasn't happy that I was the only one to care for her.  She wimpered around for about an hour and finally laid in her bed and was out again.  She was content with me when woke at 5:30am but that of course was out the window when you know who came in 1 hour later.    I can't wait til bath time tonight :-)

 

We had a wonderful day today.  We went to the notary and go her passport and then to the People's Park.  Wonderful experience!  Chengdu is a beautiful place after all.  We walked around for several hours and also purchased tickets to an opera show for tomorrow night.  I will tape it for Yi Lin to have.  It is supose to be a great show.

 

The boys are doing school work now.  We have the rest of the day off.  Jeremy is putting YiLin down for her first nap.  We put her pj's on so she will know it is time to sleep.  I am amazed at Jeremy.  WOW what a transformation in him so far.  I am so proud of him.  He is so gentle and affectionate with her.  The boys have noticed this too.....I am giving them extra affection so they won't get jealous.....by the way, I have nothing else to do....if you get my drift.

 

Our guide, Lily, is a blessing.  She is so kind and trys to please us.  She is wonderful with YiLin but YiLin doesn't really like her either so I don't feel so bad.  For anyone else reading this that is due to go to Chengdu, I highly recommend her.

 

Just a some random notes about YiLin.....

She is a size 3 and not a 4.

I still don't know what size shoe she is, but we did buy some cute dress shoes for her yesterday.

She is feeling a bit safer with us now.  She doesn't cling to all her little items so much.

Jeremy noticed that when she is nervous or scared, she turns the flashlight on. 

But when she is calm, she has it off and has even left it in her purse all day without bringing it out.

She loves rice....of course.

Doesn't seem to like eggs...oh no..or pizza....I guess we will have rice and pizza on pizza night.

I brushed her teeth this morning, and her top front teeth are really messed up.  One is even broken in half.

Her palate is still open a bit with a small hole.

She loves toys that play music.

She chose a Sponge Bob balloon at the park over a bunch of girly ones.....

She is very tickleish...I think I misspelled that, sorry.

She snores.

She is a very sweet little girl.

She hasn't asked for anything yet and is alittle shy when we offer her something.

 

We go to the Panda Base tomorrow and we can't wait.  Thanks those of you that have posted or emailed comments to us.  I sat and cried (of course) when I read them all earlier.....It means alot to me.  The boys say hello to all their friends and cousins.  They have bought a few things for you.

Continue the prayers!  YiLin is taking the medicine for daddy, even though it is gritty and not so good.  She obeys very well, except when you want her to say please or thank you.  We are working on that slowly.

We love you all...

 

One Really Difficult Day

I don't really know how to start this post.  I guess I will say that I have read many many adoption blogs and never read one like our gotcha day.  We arrived only minutes prior to YiLin.  When they walked in she took one look at us and burst into tears.  I told my children that this could be a good thing.....however, she cried frantically for a very long time and the master nanny tried to get her to me but she screamed and kicked and would not let go of her.  We went over the paperwork and they told us all about her.  I asked all my questions and finally after an hour and half, the nanny had to just drop her into Lily ( our guide/translator's) arms.  She screammed bloody murder and kicked and managed to break free of her.   By that time, the nanny was long gone.  Jeremy was on one knee pretty close to the exit door and I just knew she was gone after the nanny.  She ran toward the door but flew into Jeremy's arms instead.  She clung to him and immediately stopped crying.  We all sat there praying and I looked over to Lily and she was crying too.  I started crying and pulled out the camera to capture the moment.  It was amazing.  He comforted her so well.  He is her friend for life now.  I sat there thanking God that Jeremy was able to comfort her.  We all just watched in amazement.

 

That was yesterday......it was a very long evening.  Yi Lin is very sick right now.  Her chest rattles and she sounds like whistles are in her lungs.  Her nose is a mess....and her eyes continue to run green.  Jeremy is tring to get her to take the antibiotic right now.  I pray she takes it.  If she has fluid on her ears, the plane ride could be very painful for her.

 

She has not spoke a word since we left the Civil Affairs Office.  She nods yes and no.  She finally let me take her last night long enough for Jeremy to go to McDonalds and pick us up supper and to the supermarket to get her a bottle and milk.  She didn't want it.  She did eat 3 nuggets and some fries and drank some hot water.  I was afraid she might dehydrate because she refused to drink until after she ate.  I thought we were going to have to put her to bed without a bath or changing her.....but when I ran the bath water, she started undressing and seemed content with it.  I washed her hair too....she didn't even fuss.  I put her pj's on and Jeremy and I sat on the bed beside her crib with her.  She let me rock her to sleep.  She rested well last night, but coughed terribly.  She has alot of congestion in her chest and head.  She woke this morning content and let Marshall hold her and watch a short dvd.  I changed her and combed her hair.  We are staying on her schedule so breakfast was at 7.  She ate 3 bowls of congee but didn't want anything else.  She is coloring now and using the stickers.  She is very smart and colors like an 8 or 9 year old.

 

She will look at us in the eyes, it doesn't seem to bother her.  Although, she won't look at our eyes for more than 5 seconds or so.  She has not smiled, but maybe given us 1 or 2 half grins.  She can wear the clothes I brought and seems to be the exact size of my great niece Kaylee.  The nanny was very satisfied that Emery Min, Yan and Annabell will be able to communicate with Yi Lin.  She was so happy when I pulled out their photos with their families.  I told them that Yan's family is coming soon.  She was happy.

 

YiLin stashes all kinds of stuff in her pockets.  The nanny said she does it all the time and maybe she is not secure.  I definately believe this to be true.  We will really have to work on making her feel safe.  We have given her little bags of fruit snacks to carry around and she will not let them go.  She also clings to the flashlight I brought, she even slept with it.  I asked the nanny if she had someone with her during her long 3 hospital stays and she said no.  I felt like someone ripped my heart out.  That will never happen again.....and it will take a very long time to make up for the harm that has done to her.

 

Pray that she takes the medicine.  Pray that adventually she will be happy and smile.  She is alot like her baba.  The nanny said she supresses her emotions and doesn't let them show.  He does too.

 

Ian has a virus on his IPod and we can't use the Chinese apps we downloaded or he can not text either.  I will do my best to post later, and pray that I don't get a virus on my laptop.  I am going shopping for the orphanage now.  They really need diapers......lots of diapers in many sizes she said.

 

I am thankful for the improvements I have seen in Yi Lin since yesterday.  I am thankful for Lily.  I am thankful for my family being so loving and patient with her.  I am most thankful to God for loving Yi Lin more than I do and knowing what is best for her.  We will do whatever it takes to give her a good life and come to know the Lord as her Savior and with Him, it is possible.

With all our love........

Bye Bye Beijing, Hello Chengdu!

****My thoughts of meditation today have been: "If the Lord be God, follow Him",  and "Who do I fear most, God, or the unknown?"  Make up your mind Mary......who you are going to serve?****

 

Our morning started off very early.  Our jet lag had us in bed by 7pm and wide awake at 4am.  I had woke up at 12:30 and it took me another hour to go back to sleep.  Our flight to Chengdu was uneventful....thank God no one threw up!  We hated to say goodbye to Alison and the other families, but we will meet them in 5 days.  We all prayed together this morning and tears were flowing.  Alison pushed her way right up to the counter at the airport and got us checked in asap and off for our flights....she is a God sent.  A Helping Hand is very blessed to have her working with them.

 

Lily met us right at the exit and she is a cute little thing.  She is very kind and really seems to know what she is doing.  I could see all kinds of notes that she had been taking on our schedule.  So far, we are very pleased with her.  She loves to talk and seems to respect what we are doing and wants to help us in any way she can.  We meet her tomorrow at 2pm to go meet Yi Lin.  Just thinking about it makes me tear up....I gotta get it together!

 

Lily got us checked in at the Yin He Dynasty in no time at all and we sat in the lobby for about 15 minutes and she explained what would unfold tomorrow.  Our rooms are side by side.  They are small and will work just fine.  I've stayed in worse, that's for sure, and I have stayed in better.  I will be grateful for what we have.  Ian will stay in my room tonight, and tomorrow night, Marshall wants to stay with Yi Lin and I.  I think I will have a crib brought up for her and we will see how she feels about it.  If not, Marshall will have to stay in Jeremy's room. 

 

We walked to the Pizza Hut after Lily left and wow!!!! what an experience.  Everything I've read on the other blogs just didn't prepare me for the task of Sunday afternoon in downtown Chengdu.  It is packed.  The streets and the sidewalks are full of people and cars and everyone pushes past you.  We found the Pizza Hut with no problems and it was even better than home.  We then tried to ignore our bodies need for sleep and tried to find a grocery store.  It didn't go over very well, but finally, we stumbled in one by accident.  We had to have bottled water (and coke) but didn't want to pay $4 a bottle for it at the hotel.  I have a new appreciation for drinkable water....I'll never take it for granted again.  Chengdu is very foggy, or smokey...no sure which one.  I can't say that it is beautiful, because all I see are older tall buildings, lots of cars and people, mopeds, and bicycles.  I am sure there is more to it than that, but I haven't seen it yet.  Most of the ladies here do not dress modestly...and how do they wear such high heels?  We are not the only red heads, alot of the ladies here dye their hair red.  I still can't get use to the smells.  Even in Chengdu, it smells funny....and not funny good either.  Lily told us today that the children here study very hard...14 hours a day to try and get into the university.  She said her son who is 2 is in kindergarten already.  That was a very random thought and totally off the subject...sorry.

 

Jeremy is having withdrawals from lack of Mountain Dew...there is none here, only Coke and Sprite, and Pepsi in some spots.  The boys are doing well.  We really need to do some math and Language, but we are so tired by the time we settle down.  We will give it a try in the morning after breakfast.

 

I hope to post tomorrow evening about this time....so hopefully when you all get up Monday morning, you can see Yi Lin too.  We don't have internet in the room, but I can get it in the lobby with my lap top.  However, I can't use my VPN, so I can only access Yahoo and am having to post via my email....I am grateful that I can still do that or else the blog would be a no go.  Keep the prayers and emails coming.  They are encouraging us and lifting us up.  I need to wash some clothes in the sink and take a shower so I will say goodbye for now.......

Oh yes, Ian and Marshall wanted to say hello to their classmates, teachers, and their "special" friends....you know who you are!

 

 

 

 

 

A few photos of our day....

 

PRAISES FOR MY LORD

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him all ye creatures here below.

Praise Him above ye heavenly host.

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

I will start my post today by being totaly honest with you.  Last night when I wrote to our blog, I was fighting back the tears.  I wanted to go home so badly.  The day had been so hard and I was so sick at my stomach.  Marshall was not doing well, and I was thinking very negative thoughts.  After I was finally able to take a quick shower and crawl into bed, I lay there praying that God would touch me.  I didn't sleep for a couple of hours.  The bed was very comfortable and worm and the longer I lay there, the better I began to feel.  I prayed that I would be able to fall asleep and awake refreshed and that Marshall would be touched also.

 

When I awoke and looked at the clock, it was 5 minutes before I was suppose to get up and I felt so very good.  I just couldn't stop thanking God.  Marshall felt better this morning too.  He did have a head ache from being dehydrated, but after drinking a bottle of water, having a shower, and eating an amazing breakfast,  he was completely well.  We had a wonderful day sight seeing in Beijing.  Our A Helping Hand agent, Alison, did a great job taking us around the city.  She is a Christian and a blessing to be around.  I also want to thank God for the other 2 families that we have been placed with on this trip.  They are such true followers of Christ and they are great examples for our family.

It is very interesting to travel on the streets here.  There aren't many rules to follow and everyone hunks their horns as they aggresively dart in and out of traffic.  Thankfully, we have a great driver. 

 

The boys are out and have been for some time now.  They both had a hard time staying awake after we left the Great Wall.  We even skipped supper to let them sleep.  Tomorrow, we eat breakfast at 6am and head to the airport for our daughter's province Sichuan.  We will be staying in Chengdu.  Keep the prayers coming and thanks for the ones you've already prayed.

 

 

Red Necks Have Arrived in Red China!

We are finally in Beijing and it was a very long flight.  We ended up making an emergency stop in Cookeville so I could see Dr. Kevin at Hayes Family Denistry.  Somehow I have a bacterial infection in my gum and had to start antibiotics.  We carried way too much on the plane.  We will not make that mistake coming home.  We did luck out and get to sit together, mostly, and the movies were great....so many we couldn't have watched them all in a whole week.  The food seemed ok.....until hours later and then it wasn't so nice.  Marshall puked just as we landed and barely made it to the bathroom.  I think it was a combo of turbulance and the food :-(  Alison picked us up at the airport and there were no problems there.  We are at our hotel and it is nice, but the smell is not so nice.....we are not sure what the smell is but it is different.  It is 1am and we need to be up and bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:45 am.  We will write more later and will have some pictures too....Lord willing.

 

Pray for us....and YiLin

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE!

Well, my last post stated that I was not stressed out......that has changed.  It has been one difficult week since I last posted and I am now offically STRESSED OUT.  I am thankful to report that Ian has fully recovered from his root canal, and Marshall has fully recovered from the 2 infected baby teeth that were pulled.  We have been dodging the stomach bug and schooling from home to make up 2 weeks of school.  They have taken many many tests and quizzes and we are now ready to go.  We have packed, weighed the bags, unpacked, weighed, rearranged, and packed again.  All the animals are taken care of and Jeremy has work taken care of.  I'm exhausted!!!

But on the flip side, God has been so good.  He has provided, protected, healed, and comforted us.  He has given a strength and courage.  He has given us wonderful teachers, principles, brothers and sisters in Christ and family to help us in time of need.  I'm so thankful.....thankful but tired.  I have spent alot of time wondering how YiLin is.  Wondering if she knows the day.  Praying she is comforted.  Tomorrow, we will be on a jet plane and 4 days later, we will add an eternal soul to our family.

I will do my best to blog in Beijing......Keep praying for us.  #1 That we will stay safe and healthy.  #2 That the Holy Spirit will go before us ,around us, and with us.  #3  That YiLin will be comforted. 

Lord Willing, we will talk to ya in Beijing!

One More Week :-)

Today, we had our last travel conference call.  It is hard to believe that this time next week, we will be landing in Detroit to change planes for Beijing.  I can't help but wonder if she knows yet.  Is she scared, nervous or happy......maybe all three.  I know I am.  I feel like I know her but truly, I don't.  I just know that I love her.  The file we received back in April said that she was shy.  I can't imagine a shy person in this family.  But it might be nice for a change.  Jeremy and I have been trying to enjoy our last nights of quite sleep.  We expect that she will have a hard time adjusting to everything new.  Many of the children that come here from China have night terrors or fear going to sleep once they get home.  It can take several weeks or months for them to sleep soundly through the night........that is something that we are not use to.

 

We've been slowly starting to pack our bags.  It seems like I've spent so much money on medicine and vitamins and just little things for the trip.  We are trying to keep everyone healthy before we leave and while we are in China.  Pray that we will be able to.  The boys have been doing extra school work to try and ease the load that we take with us.  I know our free time will be limited and YiLin will need our attention too.

 

We have our itenerary and know what we will be doing each day and where we will be.  I'm not really concerned about the schedule with the exception of our Gotcha Day.  "Gotcha Day" is the turm used by the adoption community for the day we meet and take YiLin with us.  The day after that will be the day that we sign all the paperwork and make it official.  That is a pretty important day too.  There will also be the day that we are sworn in as her parents.  Another important day is the medical exam day.  YiLin will be tested for TB and given one last look over by the doctors.  We go back the next day to have her test read.  Pray for a negative reading.  Otherwise, we will have to stay in China longer for her treatment before they will allow her to leave.

 

I am not really stressed out right now.  That is a great thing.  I know that may come next week as our travel day gets here.  We tend to be uptight anyway and especially when we are going so far away for so long.  I have so many different lists laying around now that I am using to mark off and then add something else to it.  And no, I still haven't bought a car seat......gotta do that before Thursday morning.  We still need to roll all the spare change that we have been collecting for the past year.  Cashing in aluminum cans has given us some spending money too.  We also have to get the cows, chickens, dogs, cat, and lizard taken care of.  I'm so grateful to my brother Scottie and my sister Karen for helping out with that.