Bringing Home Meigan

Happy 1st Birthday Meigan!!!

2008-11-11T00:33:00.004-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Meigan! You are an absolute joy to have in our family and we cannot remember life without you here. You bring so much fun, laughter and life to our family. We hope you have a wonderful day!

We had her family party this past weekend when relatives were in town. We opened presents, had a pull string pinata, and plenty of cake and ice-cream. Meigan did not like cake and I did not include her picture showing the response. She did tolerate the chocolate ice-cream. Tolerate, not necessarily like. Tonight we will go out for Chinese food and hopefully find something for her to enjoy.

Successful Steamed Eggs!

2008-11-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

We finally got a good recipe and the right steaming pot and successfully made steamed eggs like the ones Meigan ate in China. She loved them! She is really good at trying the foods we offer, at least one bite. But, I am sure glad to add one more dish that I know she enjoys!

For all those still waiting......one of the things I wish I had asked for, was her favorite recipes.

Meigan is Walking!!!!

2008-11-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Meigan took her first few steps all by herself! She would start with Dad and then walk towards Jodie. It was only about 3 steps but she did it several times. She will stand up by herself in the middle of the room for a few seconds and she walks holding onto people or furniture for some time now. She is getting so strong and almost chubby now (good american food).

Also a few days ago Jodie noticed that Meigan's diaper was still dry in the afternoon, so she sat her on the potty and she went! We were very surprised and maybe we'll have to keep it up, and have her potty trained by the time she is one. On the other hand that sounds like a lot of work as she can't walk real well and can't talk either to let us know when it's time. Well it sounded nice!

Who Knew Oatmeal Could Be So Fun???

2008-10-28T23:19:00.007-06:00

So Much Fun!!!

2008-10-28T22:22:00.005-06:00

So Tired!

Despite our lack of posting, we have managed to take 202 pictures since we arrived home. Meigan keeps us on our toes as she explores her new surroundings. She seems very comfortable here and I think she knows we are staying here now. (We stayed in many hotels before home) We are having so much fun experiencing so many firsts, at least firsts for us. We've been to the doctor, first time at church, learned to finally love her baths, now tolerates the highchair happily, played on the grass and swings. She was initially terrified of the dog and now loves to chase him. She loves mom's congee, hates ice cream and car seats. We learn tons everyday! Madison and Dalton love to play with her and make her smile, not one bit of jealousy. It was a long wait and they are absolutely thrilled to finally have her home. She is so smiley and we are having a blast! She has each of us wrapped around her finger.

Meigan is Home

2008-10-23T12:13:00.008-06:00

Max and Elaine (notice how she still crosses her fingers)

Katie and Brady

Grandma and Madison

Playing with trains

Checking out her room

Meigan likes her new room

Primary Banner

Friends Banner

Meigan likes being with her older sister

She loves playing with Grandma

Our food basket, it was filled with Black Liquorice carmels, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and Diet Coke, Brian's 3 favorite things

Dalton finally got up and posed for a pic

Meigan and her brother Dalton

playing with her brother and sister

Playing with Grandma

Well we finally made it home. We arrived at midnight after a 2 hour car ride home. Meigan didn't sleep for any of the car ride. We didn't try the car seat for the ride home, we knew it would be a fight all the way home. Brian drove us home and he actually wasn't tired at all, we felt pretty rested from all the sleep we got on the planes. Madison was so excited to see us when she got home and so was Brian's Mom. She went right to Grandma and then Madison. Now she would rather go to Madison then Brian, it's just not fair! It took us a while to wake up Dalton who had fallen asleep while he was waiting for us to get home, but he awoke with a huge smile on his face when he saw Meigan.

When we got to the last airport stop, Katie and Brady (Brian's sister and husband) and Max & Elaine (Jodie's aunt and husband) were there to see us. It was great to see them and talk with them for a while before driving home. Katie made Meigan a beautiful blanket and that was good because it is COLD here. It is also so dry, We actually miss the humidity, never thought we'd say that! Meigan has always been in a humid climate so it will be interesting to see how she adjusts. Brian can already feel the allergies coming back on!

When we got home there was a big welcome home sign from Scott and Melanie and Lora and Matt (our friends with children from China) along with a wonderful food basket from them as well as the rest of our group who have children from China. There was also a huge banner welcoming Meigan home from our Church Primary children, they had all of the children sign there names. Brian's mom also brought over a big fruit basket, so we are well covered with food for the next week.

We really didn't feel to tired when we got home, but it was so nice to sleep in our own bed. We finally go to bed about 2am and Brian was out as soon as he hit the bed. Meigan slept in her crib last night for at least part of it and then we put her with us once she woke up about 6am. Meigan does so well with Madison and Madison packs her all around the house, she'll actually fuss when Madison leaves the room. The kids stayed home from school today so that they could spend some time with Meigan.

We've had a couple of friends come over to say "Hi" which was great. We picked up our dog from the kennel and Meigan is not to sure about him! She doesn't let Cinder out of her sight and does not want to get down to check him out yet.

Well we are going to get some laundry started and unpacking done and then take a nap, so we'll fill you in with more details later.

Hello LA, Back in the USA

2008-10-22T16:49:00.007-06:00

Checking out our plane in Guangzhou, China

Doing laps around the airport to help tire her out

Krispy Kreme doughnut fan!

Sleeping in the lounge in Hong Kong

Playing on the chair/bed in the airplane

Mom and Meigan sleeping

Enjoying the ride, although I think Jodie would have liked a break, but Meigan wasn't going to Dad if Mom was right next door

Playing Peek-a-boo with dad
Doing laps up and down the aisle
Just getting off the plane in LA
The first American flag that we saw!

Hey We are finally back in the USA. We are in Los Angeles waiting for our next connection. Meigan had a great trip home so far, except for one little moment. Just before our plane left Hong Kong Meigan had a meltdown. Now we should explain it was very hot in the airport and it was very hot in the plane before we taxied out. Just as we started taxing she felt like she was burning up and we couldn't get up to move around at that point as we had to be seat belted in our chairs. Also there was no air on and she just lost it, she started to cry and then scream cry. We stripped off her pajamas and tried to give her a cool bottle but she was beyond trying anything at that point. So she cried for about 5 mins while we took off, Jodie was finally able to lay back and then Meigan settled down. Meigan and Jodie slept for a lot of the flight, played in the chair that turns into a bed and walked up and down the aisles. The flight attendants were so good with her and they were always asking us if we needed anything. We had a 15 inch TV that we turned cartoons on and let her watch them in Cantonese, although she didn't like having the headphones on.

Just a side note, we were able to fly business class as we used Brian's Dad's miles and the only flight out the day we needed only had business seats left. To those who are adopting in the future that may be reading this, Business class is the only way to go if you can. It is quite a bit more expensive, but oh so worth it. The chairs lay down to become beds, there are large TVs, 4 course meals with various choices. Anything you need is brought to you and you get to use the business lounge before the flight which was huge. The biggest thing was having the bed though, both to sleep and also to play on.

The LA airport is such a joke, it is the ugliest, dirtiest and rudest airport ever (well maybe Miami, but it's close). All of the airports we went to in Asia were so nice and clean. There were always lots of people helping us. Here it is a completely different story! There are a few police officers barking at people and everyone is herded into narrow corridors and taken all over the place in long hot lines. Anyway enough complaining. Customs went really easily they just looked at our slip and waived us through. Meigan's immigration papers went well and easy too. Anyway we are just waiting for our next flight so that we can see all of the family (at nearly midnight)

We Made it to Hong Kong - Again!

2008-10-22T16:43:00.002-06:00

We made it to Hong Kong safely. We only had a short flight, 45 mins. Meigan had her first Krispy Kreme doughnut here in Hong Kong. Jodie had to force feed her the first bite and then she proceeded to eat the whole thing! She wouldn't try the ice cream cone from Burger King. We are just relaxing right now in the lounge and letting Meigan take a nap. The next flight is going to be a doozy! 13 hours, Heaven help us! Anyway maybe I'll go try the coconut milk and green bean pudding here in the lounge, but probably not. Hope you have a great day, see you soon on American Soil.

note: the internet was very spotty in the hong kong airport and it wouldn't let us post this while we were there so we are doing it now in LA

And We're Offfffffffffffff

2008-10-22T04:07:00.000-06:00

Everything's packed and we're just waiting for our ride to the airport. Meigan didn't have a very good night's sleep, she was very restless. I guess she's excited about going home also. It's going to be a big day for us, so keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we'll see everyone real soon. We LOVE you all so much!

Last Full Day in China - Oh so Sad!

2008-10-21T06:11:00.014-06:00

A large french based supermarket like a Wal-Mart
A moving flat escalator that you take your shopping cart up and down between different floors
Any one want some rice?
How about some cucumber potato chips?
Or maybe you'd prefer some blueberry or tomatoe ones?

Anyone up for some pigs nose?
Or maybe you feel like some dried out starfishes or squid!
Half a fish might be nice, if you get to choose which half. Nice of them not to gut them so that you can eat that part too. The fish stomach is a delicacy here!
Meigan helping Mom shop, already getting into the groove of it
Here is one McDonalds and there was another one just across the street from it.

Second McDonalds. We havn't eaten at McDonalds since Hong Kong and we lived off of it during our last trip to china.
5 story mall that was very, very nice!
Jewelry whole sale Market, Turquoise in this store
Madison helping mom pick out the perfect pearls, Notice all of the pearls in the bags behind her.
Now here is the other wall also filled with bags of pearls, and then the lady pulled out more pearls from under the counter too. There were literaly millions of pearls.

The lady making our necklaces.
Jade wholesale store with tons of pendants and bracelets
Meigan taking a nap in her new silk blanket

Getting ready for the US Consulate visit

Meigan with Auntie Jane. This is the first time she wanted to go to anyone else but Jodie or Brian, and then it was only for a few seconds and only because Mom wasn't around
IKEA store right next to the consulate
Meigan and Mom standing infront of the US Consulate
Meigan showing off her US Visa

Meigan showing you her China Passport
Licking her lips (she's cutting a new tooth, both of the top central incisors are coming in now.)
Happy to be with Dad
Bath time was fun when we added bubbles
Trying to eat her toes, not really she doesn't stick anything into her mouth that she has in her hands, what a blessing for Mom

Well today is the last full day in China, and to tell you the truth, We are kinda sad about it. We are not ready to go home, not ready to face real life again, and would like to spend some more quality time with Meigan. We have really enjoyed our trip to China this time, it has been such a pleasure. The sightseeing has been fun, but our daughter has been funner!

Today we started off by going to a very large Supermarket with some french name that is just like Wal-Mart. Jane told us that they don't let people take pictures inside but I figured what could they do but throw me out so I took alot of pictures inside. Alot of them were from my waist area as the camera hung from my neck without looking through the viewfinder so some of them didn't turn out to well. It was alot of fun, we saw alot of interesting things, especially in the meat department and the potato chip department. The supermarket is three floors high and they have these neat walking escalators you can go on with your shopping cart and it locks it in place so that it can't roll away from you as you go down or up a floor. I tried to include a few pics of our trip to the supermarket so that you could get an idea of how modern and big it is. Not anything like the street markets or shops.

Next we went to a DVD store and bought some dvd's that aren't out in the states yet. Mind you this is in the middle of the big Mall pic above and the dvd's are right out in the front, they don't worry about piracy here much like they make us think when we watch the news back home. Then we went next door to the jewelry wholesale market. We went and bought a few more pearl necklaces and earrings. There were at least 7-8 stores like the one we went to and with just as many pearls. There were so many pearls, beads, and stones in that market, it was crazy. It was three stories high I think and at least 200 yards long. We also stopped at a few Jade stores and got a couple of things. After the shopping we came back to the hotel for a nap and to get ready for our consulate appt.

In the afternoon we drove across town (such a huge town) to the US Consulate for our swearing in and oath. Basically to receive a visa for Meigan to travel to the US. After checking the papers one last time a guy got up and started rambling on about where some of the 17 families were from and what the professions were in the group. Right when I was thinking get on with it, thinking we would go into a different room and do the official part, he had us stand up, raise our right hands (everyone at the same time) and then he asked us if everything we had stated was true and we all said "YES" and he said "that's it, you're done", then we got her passport and visa and came back to the hotel. I think that once we reach US soil she will become a US citizen and then we can get her a US Passport if we'd like. (I'm sure she'll become a world traveler you know) They wouldn't let any cameras into the consulate appt so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Once we got back, we went to dinner and then picked up a couple of last minute items. Then we proceeded to take the next few hours to figure out how to pack everything! We are so overweight it's not even funny. We are hoping to be able to play the adoption card and have the airlines let us get away with it, I guess it will all depend on the airport staff and how well we can sweet talk them.

We are leaving china at 6:30 am in the morning and don't get home till close to Midnight which actually makes for 32 hours of travel time! Doesn't that sound fun with a baby! We may be able to post one more time from Hong Kong, but if not we'll see you in the USA!

Pearl River Boat Cruise

2008-10-20T08:46:00.010-06:00

This is the first time that Meigan has sat down by herself in the van. Yeah!!! There are no car seats in China and in fact no seat belts in the van.
Very tired girl, sucking her thumb. We had to wake her to go on the river cruise, and so she is still trying to wake up.
Jane, Meigan, and Jodie waiting for cruise to start.

Jodie and Meigan in front of the boat we took. We were on the second floor, which is the VIP floor. Don't we feel special! lol
Here is the Dining area and the Buffet line. It was very nice and the food was good.
Both of us blowing kisses to Mom!
Self Family Portrait
Night skyline

Meigan giggles when she is tickled.

Meigan doing laps around the deck
Very tired little girl

The rest are all pics of a night market

stinky fruit
fried mutton and squid
whole fried ducks and chickens

street vendors
Fast food chicken restaurant like KFC, only you can get the feet, gizzards, and insides too if you'd like

This is a common site in China, very hard work for people that come to the city from the country and have no education.

Today our guide, Jane, took all of our paperwork to the US Consulate, which meant that we had to stay in the hotel room till about 10:30am in case she needed to reach us. That was ok with us because we slept in today. Meigan had kind of a rough night last night, she woke up a few times and so that meant we were up too. She would quiet right down again and the last time she was a little obstinate on how she wanted to sleep, not all on Jodie and not next to Jodie and definitely not in the crib, so she slept with her back on Jodie's back with her head hanging off one side and her feet off the other. It was so cute that I wanted to take a pic but I was afraid she would have woken up.

After we heard from Jane that everything went through ok at the consulate we went out shopping. We bought some dresses and souvenirs and then came back to the hotel for a nap. Shamian island is not very chinese at all. Almost everyone speaks english, most of the restaurants are very western, it looks like you are in Europe, and the shopping is all touristy souvenir stuff. We feel bad for the people that only had to come here in order to adopt a baby from this province as they don't get to see the real china often times.

After Meigan's nap we went on a night dinner cruise on the Pearl River. We had been told by our guide and other people that the food was not very good, so we ate a few pieces of left over pizza and took along some granola bars just in case. It turned out that the food was very good. The best chinese food Brian has had here yet, and it wasn't necessarily western chinese food. It is so funny in china as there is no such thing as lines. When they announced that the buffet was open everyone got up and crowded around the table. All of the americans got in line and stayed there till the chinese got their food and left. they don't make lines they just bunch in where ever they want. Brian ended up elbowing 2 ladies as they tried to squeeze in front of him to get food. Jodie says to add that it was not hitting them with an elbow but sticking my elbow out so that they could not pass in front of us. Brian got a funny look from them like he was being the rude one. lol We had good fried rice, noodles, fruit, and vegetables. Even the dim sum desserts were good.

After dinner we went out onto the deck and enjoyed views of the city at night. It is so pretty all lit up at night. Guangzhou is a very big city (5th biggest in China) and it is pretty during the day, but at night it is gorgeous. We just couldn't get over how big it is and how pretty with all of the lights and the buildings lit up with changing colors.

After the river cruise Brian asked Jane to take us by a night market, so our driver drove us by some night shops and some walking areas. Meigan was getting very tired at this point and so we didn't stop to get out. Then Brian asked Jane if it was far from the hotel and she said to far to walk but close enough by taxi. So Jane wrote out the address and name of our hotel and Brian hopped out of the van to roam around the night market. I (Brian) have been to china before and my favorite part are the night markets. They are always lit up and there are tons of people that come out to get what they need once they are done with work and dinner. They are not touristy at all and they are intended for the Chinese. I had a great time seeing all of the street vendors and shops that were along the road. Each shop will have a different venue or product. So you will see one shop with fruit, then one with pants, then one with underwear, then one with kitchen items, then a small restaurant, and so forth. I bought a few ties and a new belt. The belt cost me $7 and the ties were $2. The ties totally look like ones that could be re branded with names like Nautica, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, or any other name in Macy's. I bought one which was about $6 too that was really nice and good quality. After about an hour I got a cab and enjoyed the ride through the night of the city. It cost me about a buck and a half for my cab ride and we traveled for about 20 mins, so cheap!

Well tomorrow is our last full day in China, we are going to do a little more shopping and then we have to go to the US Consulate to take an oath and then Meigan becomes a US Citizen! Yeah!!!! so we'll fill you in more on that tomorrow.

Just a few pics from Sunday Night

2008-10-19T21:26:00.007-06:00

Part of our play group in our hotel
There are a lot of sculptures on Shamian Island, these two are famous with adoptive families, the child in the stroller is white but has on chinese clothes
Dinner last night at Lucy's
Meigan fell asleep right when we got there and woke up just before we left. We had gotten her some Congee with chicken (rice pouridge and chicken pieces) and she loved it. She's such a big eater!

The trees are all lit up at night in the park next to the river, Meigan loves to smile!
The White Swan at night. The buildings and hotel are always lit up at night
View from across the river
The bridge and other side of the river
Meigan walking

Lanterns in the Park
Window of a local chinese restaurant
Birds in the Park, Meigan wasn't too sure about them!
This is Our hotel, the Victory. We are staying on the corner room, directly 4 floors up from the door in the corner you see there.

Hope you have a good night's rest, we are just starting our day here. All of our paperwork went smoothly through the US Consulate, so now we can shop some more and then we are doing a river cruise later tonight. We'll fill you in with the details later.

Shoes Galore - A Girls Dream!

2008-10-19T03:26:00.008-06:00

Today started off very early for us, at about midnight, Meigan decided that she wasn't tired and wanted to play. So I got up with her for the first hour and we played with her new car and cups and plastic water bottles. Then she seemed kinda tired so I put her in our bed with us to try and get her to settle down and fall asleep and she started to use Jodie as a trampoline. So then Jodie got up with her for the second hour. She was very happy and smiling and having a great time. So we did a video phone call with her brother and sister back home. She finally went to bed and we got a few hours of sleep in before our day officially started.

Today we had two short sightseeing activities. First we went to the Six Banyan Tree Temple. We found out shortly before we left the US that people would throw their wishes into the Banyan Trees in the old days and if it stayed up there it would come true. They don't throw the wishes up there any more but the Temple was a Buddhist temple and being as it is Sunday there were alot of people and monks there that were chanting. We saw a lot of Buddhas and other Deity to the Buddhists. We were told that the monks there were professional monks, that people would give money to them so that they could pray for them. I had one approach me outside of the temple as I was walking along by myself and gave me a small token in a red pouch then had me write down my name and an amount, then he proceeded to act out that he was going to pray for me and that he needed the amount that I had written down in order for him to do so. So I handed him back the token and left him there.

After that we went to the Cheng Family Lineage Garden. It was an old family garden with alot of sculptures and different artwork. The building was amazing and it was very beautiful. Meigan had a good time playing with the ball in the Tiger's mouth (pic above).

After that we were free for the day to do a little shopping. Well, Jodie informed me that she had been waiting for 3 years to pick out baby shoes. They have a certain kind of shoe here called "squeaky shoes" that has a squeaker in the sole and squeaks each time you step. So we found a store with a ton of shoes and proceeded to buy them out. We ended up buying 16 pairs of shoes today and Jodie is not sure that is still enough. We bought alot of different styles and sizes as you can see from the pic above. It's amazing how much stronger Meigan is. When we first got her, she could only take a few steps with us holding onto her hands before her legs collapsed. Now she is wanting to walk up and down the streets (with us helping) and wanting to walk everywhere. Especially in her new squeaky shoes.

For Dinner tonight we went to the "Lucy Bar and Cafe" a very western style restaurant. Brian had french fries and a quesidilla and Jodie had Indian Curry with white rice (not very western sounding but it tasted like the food from back home) and we split a slice of apple pie for dessert.

We then went shopping again, only this time for dresses. We hit several stores and bought many different sizes and colors of dresses. Jodie still isn't sure we have enough, and Brian's quite sure we will be getting more. They are very cute clothes and shoes, and it's actually Brian who is the one wanting to buy all of the clothes.

Meigan has been really good today. She has learned to smile when ever we point the camera at her. She also said "Hi Dad" today after she copied Jodie saying it. We had a play group in our room today and all of the kids did very well sharing and playing together. Meigan has just been all smiles today (as are Brian and Jodie for having this blessing in our lives).

Tomorrow our guide takes our papers to the US Consulate and then all of the paperwork should be completed tomorrow or Tuesday.

Thank-you for all of your kind words and comments you send through the blog and by email. We Love Getting Them!

Meigan video #5

2008-10-18T12:35:00.003-06:00

A 50 second clip showing Meigan crawling and talking (babbling). This one is for Meili!

Meigan Video #4

2008-10-18T12:33:00.001-06:00

A short video of Meigan walking with help.

Medical Exam

2008-10-18T01:01:00.008-06:00

This morning started off with a trip to do the medical exam for Meigan. It was really quite funny actually. The had a keyboard that they made some noise to the left of her and when she looked over there, they said her hearing was good. She made an attempt to look in her mouth with a tongue depressor but Meigan didn't comply at all, Brian finally held her head still and helped open her mouth (Brian has a lot of experience with that from work) and the lady could barely see anything in there and she said, looks good. Then they weighed her and she weighed 16 and a half pounds, and she is 71cm tall. Then they had us take off her socks to count and make sure she had all 10 toes and then checked her skin on her stomach and back. Then she was pronounced a healthy baby, which she is, so I'm not complaining, it was just a little bit funny how they did the whole thing.

Then we went over the papers with Jane for her visa. Jane(our guide) is going to go do all of the paperwork for us, so we have the afternoon off today to shop and relax.

So we ventured out for a little while before Meigan was ready for a nap and browsed the stores around the Hotel. We are staying in the Victory Hotel, West Building. It is quite nice, very old, but renovated and quite elegant. There is a computer in our room we can use for free and a water filtration system in the bathroom for drinking water. There is a play room with toys for the kids to play with a few floors below us also. There is even a king size bed in our room instead of two twin beds, and it is even soft. Not american soft but softer that Nanning. We borrowed a stroller from one of the shops we took our laundry to, it is free if you use their services and tried to push Meigan in it, but she hated it! She just cried and said Mama over and over again. So Brian pushed around an empty stroller while Jodie held Meigan. We hate to spoil her so, but it is really hard to have your Chinese daughter crying while you are walking around here, knowing that all of the chinese are saying "See she does not want to be with them". So she pretty much gets what she wants right now (not that that will probably change in the states). Meigan is also getting one of her top teeth to come in (you can see it in the second picture down) and so sometimes she gets a little cranky and sucks her thumb when her tooth is hurting her. We walked over to the White Swan today to take a look. It is a very popular hotel that adoptive families also stay at and it has a beautiful lobby with a gorgeous waterfall and pond with koi fish in it. Meigan just stared at the fish and watched them go back and forth. She should get along just fine at our house with all of the different types of fish we have. Hopefully they are making it just fine while we are gone, I have not heard of any catastrophes yet.

After that we looked at a few different shops and then put Meigan down for a nap. We proceeded to order Papa John's Pizza and had it delivered to our Hotel. The smell of chinese food still makes Brian's stomach churn. The pizza was good, just like in the USA.

Guangzhou is very different that what I had pictured. We are staying on a small island called Shamian Island, that is very European looking. It was settled by the Europeans in China and they have carried the look ever since. It is much cleaner than I had thought. It is very touristy compared to Nanning. In Nanning we couldn't hardly find a place to buy souvenirs and they didn't have a clue what postcards are, but in Guangzhou it is peppered with shops that sell all of the touristy stuff and it is the same stuff, store after store.

Well we are off to go shopping and explore the island a little so have a good morning and we'll write more later. PS- You'll have to notice the pearl bracelet on Meigan in the photo above that we have made for her back in Beihai, she looks so cute with it on!

We made it to Guangzhou!

2008-10-17T10:11:00.003-06:00

We made it to our hotel in Guangzhou around 10:30 pm tonight(Friday). Meigan had a nearly 4 hour nap this afternoon and then a short nap on the plane. She loved the plane, did not fuss once. She loves to "people watch." The people behind us were from France and they thought she was so cute and kept taking her picture.
When we arrived at our hotel we were surprised by a extra large suite (still not sure why) and a plate of fruit. Meigan sat on the couch and ate an entire very large banana while we waited for her crib. She sleeps well in her crib, but would never think of getting in it awake before. We walked over to look at it, and she grabbed hold and wanted in. She got right in and started playing almost jumping with a huge smile. She also likes to try walking while we hold her hands, but never makes it more than a few steps because her legs aren't very strong. Well for the next 20 minutes she did laps in the hallway in our room with the biggest nonstop smile we've seen! Usually she smile just for a moment and this time she had a permagrin that just kept getting bigger and bigger and even a few short giggles! We can't believe how fast our trip is passing and yet it seems like we have known Meigan forever!!!

Back in Action

2008-10-17T02:32:00.004-06:00

Sorry for not posting yesterday, we were just too wiped out when we got back to Nanning, but let me catch you up on the days events.

Yesterday we left Beihai at about 9am, and I had asked the driver and guide if we could go back to Hepu and take some more pictures. So we drove back there and it was a nice sunny day, but hot. I had read about an old bridge in Hepu that was over 110 years old and supported by only the piers on the shore, so we drove all over Hepu to find this bridge, we must have asked 6 different people on the sidewalk where it was, finally we found a motorcycle taxi (yep they have taxis that are motorcycles here, it's quit funny because they are all red motorcycles and they wear construction hard hats for helmets, and the passenger has to wear one too) and he drove to it and we followed him in our van. It was in the very old part of town and it was really neat to see. Meigan was asleep in the van so Jodie stayed in there with her and I got out to take some pictures. I got so many stares! Usually I think they are staring because we have a chinese baby with us, but I don't think they get many white visitors there.

After hepu we drove back to Nanning and went directly to Yingling Cave. It had a part that we skipped about the culture and we just went to the cave part. Well when we got out there were some wild monkeys kind of by the entrance on the sidewalk. Well Brian walked over to take some pics and saw a small monkey in a nearby tree. He started to take a picture and then took a step forward when the small monkey started to scream at him. Right then I (Brian) felt someone grab my back and jump on me, I turned my head to see what man was attacking me and I saw a monkeys face 3 inches from my face with his teeth bared and screaming at me. Well I took off running and the monkey fell off but proceeded to chase me away from there. I'm not sure I have ever been that scared before in my life!

The cave was nice and cool and Meigan did well, they light it up with different color lights and explain what all the formations look like in Chinese. We then came back to the hotel in Nanning and had a play date with some of the other families that are adopting too, Meigan really digged playing with the cars there, so she should get along with Dalton just fine. We think Meigan had a stomach ache last night, also she did not get a good nap because we were in the van most of the day, so she had a hard time falling to sleep, once we finally got her to sleep we both layed down and fell asleep right away, Brian was so tired he didn't even change he was just out.

Friday morning brought an experience for Brian, he woke up feeling a little queezy and swearing that he would not eat chinese food again. Then it turned into a full fledged Montezuma's Revenge sickness. He spent most of the morning in the bathroom or in bed. We did not have anything planned this morning at first but then our guide arranged for us to go to a small museum where we could buy souvegniers for the region. Brian felt like he could go and did well most of the time, luckily it was a short trip. Right at the end Brian started to feel week so we caught a taxi home and Brian just about passed out, he had to stick his head out the window to keep from throwing up or passing out. We got him home, had him take some water and our guide got him some Chinese medicine. He then took another nap and woke up feeling better, we have to take a plane tonight to Guangzhou and so hopefully he continues to get better. We hope that Jodie and Meigan don't get it now, it was not fun!

Jodie just went downstairs to buy some baby food from the gift shop, And all she could find was a Heinz brand and the flavors were vegetables and bone paste, pork liver and medal, liver vegetables and kelp, fish, and fruit. We bought the fruit and the vegetables and bone paste, the latter smelled so awfull we didn't even want her to try it.

Meigan continues to do really well, but she is getting spoiled! She wants to be held all the time, and by Jodie most of the time. If brian is holding her or she is on the floor/crib she will yell Mama over and over till Jodie picks her up. She just woke up from a 4 hour nap and is very content to sit now, so we may have just wore her out. I'm sure she is not used to our pace! She is always very happy and continues to give Brian big smiles and likes to play with his phone and the remote controls to the TV. It's amazing we have been here for a week now, our lives are so blessed with our new daughter and it seems like she has always been a part of our family.

Going back to Nanning

2008-10-16T06:55:00.000-06:00

We are headed back to Nanning. we are going to stop again in Hepu (her town) for a few more pictures. We tried calling several of you but once again our calling card will not work. Mom''s and Dads let us know when you are online. We are usually available your am and again around 5-7pm.
Meigan woke up and has been all smiles for us with no strange looks. We even got her diaper and clothes changed with no fuss. We found out that they hold them while doing this vs. laying them down.....that worked.
They do not have play dolls here for kids, we brought Meigan one and she is quite freaked out by it.
Hope all is well.

A Quick Update!

2008-10-15T22:50:00.001-06:00

Our post below this is very long with lots of pictures. For those of you who are just checking in to see how things are going the answer is GREAT!!! Meigan could not be doing better. She is giving us more and more smiles everyday and opening up a little more each day. She is always content. She is bonding well and says mama.....that word is the same in chinese. She likes us both but when she is tired or nervous she wants Jodie. There are alot of pictures below...Brian took over 300 today so we narrowed it down to 20 pics.

Surfing in Beihai

2008-10-15T22:47:00.001-06:00

Today was a really nice day! It was supposed to rain today but it never did, it was overcast but that helped to keep the sun from beating down on us. It was about 90 degrees and very humid. Our clothes would stick to us as soon as we would go out. We are very close to Vietnam here to give you an idea of the region, it is about 2 hours away.

Today we started off by going to the Pearl and Ocean Products Market. It is a wholesale market for pearls. At first our guide thought that it was not going to be good prices or that they would be fake, but it turned out to be a good place to buy pearls. We bought several necklaces and bracelets for Meigan in different sizes. There were literally Millions of strands of Pearls. You would tell them what you wanted and they would string them up for you. These Pearls are famous world wide! We also visited the Ocean Products part and found thousands of squid laying out to dry (with the flies hovering around them), we found dried starfish, sea cucumbers, dried fish stomachs, dried snakes, dried lizards, dried fish, dried rays, dried sharks, dried sea horses, dried scallops and shrimp, and dried everything else that can be found in the sea. It smelled wonderful and Brian dragged Jodie through under protest.

Then we went to the aquarium. We took our guide through it who had never been to an aquarium before. We saw tons of fish, we let Meigan feed the sea turtles with a long fishing pole with a fish tied to the end, went through a tunnel under water that had sharks and rays and saw alot pretty sea life.

After a short nap we took Meigan to the beach on the South China Sea. They have a stretch of beach that is called Silver Beach because the sand is so white and fine. There are tons of little, little crabs that live in the sand and as you walk they scurry into their holes they have burrowed into the sand. It looks like thousands of ant holes. The crabs are about a quarter inch big or smaller. Jodie did not want to take off her shoes, but did. We put Meigan in her swimming suit and she got into the water with Brian. At first she did really well in the sand and water, but after a few minutes she changed her mind. She did not like the waves coming in at her. We sure did get alot of funny stares from the people on the beach. The beach was pretty crowded and they were all taking our picture.

This is not a town that many adoptive parents and or americans visit, and so we have gotten alot of stares while we have been out. Or people will just come up and stand next to us and stare not realizing they are being rude. They will ask our guide if Jodie is the mom and she simple replies yes. They will also make comments in the back ground without speaking to us that she has her mother's eyes. They would say she looks chinese but she has her mother's eyes or something similar. We used the baby carrier today and it helped to keep people from wanting to hold her, but it is so hot on that we quit using it later in the day when we weren't in crowds.

After the beach we went to dinner with our guide and driver at a local seafood restaurant. It was right on the ocean's edge and we ate outside about 5 feet from the ocean. To order our food, we went inside and walked past all of the fish tanks filled with tons of different fish, eels, shrimp, lobsters, and turtles to select what we would like for dinner. We settled on boiled shrimp and chicken and broccoli and bok choy. The shrimp was very good, and the broccoli is the best Brian had ever had. The bok choy was very good also. We did not try the chicken, it did not look like chicken. They left the head attached to the body and also the foot, which our guide proceeded to pick up and tell us that it tasted better then the chicken itself and took a couple of big bites of the foot. I had to pick up my camera and take a picture of her just to prove she was doing it and she just laughed at me because I thought it was so weird. We had a good time and dinner was good.

After that we came home and gave Meigan another bath to remove all of the sand and then she decided she wasn't tired anymore and so we played for a while. It was alot fun to see her personality and have her smile as she played with Jodie. She is asleep now and that is where we are headed, we hope you have a wonderful day.

Meigan Crawling Video

2008-10-14T08:28:00.002-06:00

Here is a video of Meigan crawling, she only goes a short distance as we didn't want her falling off the bed and she had already done it a few times that she was getting a little tired of us having her do it again and again.

Travel to Hepu then Beihai

2008-10-14T07:38:00.004-06:00

Today after the notary and a nap for Meigan we traveled to Hepu to the gates of her Orphanage. Due to the rules of the province we are not allowed inside of the orphanage but that is ok because she has been in foster care since the day after she arrived. But we are not allowed to correspond with the foster mom either. It took about 2.5 hours in our van. Our guide came with us as well. We finally found the orphanage after a few wrong turns and came to the gates. The front part of the orphanage is under construction where they are building new administration offices and what not, so the gate is kind of in shambles too. The orphanage is the tan and red building in the background. We were told she was found in front of the red pillar where Jodie is standing in the photo. After a few minutes there, and a few photos we left town because it was getting dark and it was starting to rain. I would have liked to have spent some more time there but maybe on the way home we can stop and see some more. We did stop by a pagoda that the city is well known for on the way to Beihai. We were told that Hepu has about 400,000 people in the city and about 1 million in the county around it.

We actually gave the Deputy Orphanage Director (the one that brought Meigan to Nanning) a ride to Beihai. It only took about 20 minutes through a very bumpy and narrow road. It is raining in Beihai also. Beihai is their resort town of southern china, think Daytona or Ft. Lauderdale of Florida. It has a long white beach that it is well known for and unfortunately it is going to be raining or cloudy the whole time we are here. We are staying in a nice hotel called the Shangri-La, it is right on the beach and has a nice swimming pool.

We went to dinner tonight in the hotel and had a very delightful waitress that spoke english. There was one patron of the restaurant that came over and just picked up Meigan while Jodie was holding her, then she started to say, "Say good-bye to Mom and Dad" in chinese which we understood, I thought Jodie was going to lose it. She kept telling Jodie to eat while she held Meigan and jodie was telling her that's ok. Finally Jodie had to stand up and take Meigan away from her. There is no personal space in China and people don't really ask, they just do what they think they should. So I think starting tomorrow we will put her in the baby carrier so that that cannot happen again. We don't really want anyone else holding her so that she can bond with us, especially when she was smiling for this stranger and not for us.

Jodie had some vegetables for dinner, they were ok, kind of bitter. I had Pork, "Mao's Family style", it was basically one and a half inches of skin and fat with a little bit of meat on the end. It was served over bamboo strips and very spicy and also very good, especially the bamboo strips. I was cutting the skin and fat off and the waitress asked if it was too much fat and I said yes and then she started to laugh. I asked her if people usually ate all of the fat and skin too and she said yes. She thought it was very funny that I wouldn't eat the fat. There is just something about seeing the hair follicles in the skin and then about an inch of slimy yellow fat. Meigan is still eating really well, she had steamed eggs again and fruit, and ate a bunch of it.

After dinner we came back to the room, we had been told that Meigan had only had 2 baths. I find that hard to believe but we really didn't know what to expect when we put her in the water. She did great, loved the water, splashed a little and played with some toys. We washed her hair before the bath in the sink and she didn't cry or fuss at all, maybe she can teach Madison how to do that. She is sleeping right now, which is good because we have a full day planned tomorrow. We are going to go to the aquarium, the beach (if it's not raining) and the pearl farms/market. Hepu and Beihai are famous for their pearls. They are known around the world for their pearls and in fact some sizes can only be found here.

Well have a good day, and please keep the comments and emails coming. We love to see what people think and also to keep us caught up on your lives. Jodie is usually calling her family members several times a day to several times a week and is in withdrawals at this point.

Food Flavor

2008-10-13T23:13:00.007-06:00

Here are a few pics of a Wal-Mart ad, and also a menu from a local restaurant just next to the hotel. They have a bunch of different counters to order from and then they bring it all to you and you eat. We have eaten there several times and most of it is pretty good. Meigan likes the custard (steamed whipped eggs - underdone scrambled eggs). We havn't been to brave to order alot of things, and since we don't eat meat we havn't sprung for any of the fried frogs, duck beaks, camel meat, duck blood soup, or intestines or stomach.

If you click on the pics they will go big so that you can read and see what is on the menu! Enjoy!

To give you an idea of what they cost, the exchange rate right now is about 7 (6.76) Chinese Dollars (RMB) to one US Dollar. So most of the dishes cost about $2 to $6 and some as high as $9-11 dollars.

Pretty in Pink

2008-10-13T18:33:00.004-06:00

We had a great night. Meigan slept all night and woke up happy. She is still very content. She likes to be held and never put down. She seems to like both of us but has a fit if Jodie goes out of the room. We are out of time we'll write more later.

sorry the pics wouldn't load the first time. We just got back from our two interviews at the civil office and the Notary Public office, we had to give basic info and promise not to abuse or abandon her. She is still doing so well, she does eat a lot and yet she is so thin and tiny. We put on 12 month leggings and they fit ok but then we put on 6-9mo leggings and they fit really well too.

Later this afternoon we are driving to Hepu (where she is from) and then to Beihai, a resort town on the coast of the South China Sea. We were also told that the care package that we sent from our home in the states made it there yesterday after they had left to come to Nanning so she never received it. The car ride is about 2.5 hours, and so far she has done really well in the car. They don't believe in carseats here so we get the pleasure of holding her. She loves to look out the window and watch the world go by.

Meigan video #3

2008-10-13T17:49:00.002-06:00

Meigan video #2

2008-10-13T17:37:00.001-06:00

Meigan!

2008-10-13T06:16:00.002-06:00

2008-10-13T05:41:00.007-06:00

We are overjoyed, grateful, and exhausted! here are todays events...

Well today was the day, at about 3 pm we left our hotel and went to another hotel where all of the babies were at. There were about 15 families there total to get babies. Alot of them were for special needs babies, and some weren't. We were in a room with five other families waiting for them to bring the babies in. They brought all of their babies in first and they all started crying and fussing. Meigan was not in the building yet and so we videoed and took pictures for them. Then we were told Meigan had arrived and so we went into a room where she was, which was nice because it was quiet and we were by ourselves. We walked into the room and saw her and they let us take pictures of her but the would not let us hold her yet because the lady from the government was not done in the other room and she had to verify all of the paperwork. Luckily that was only a few moments and then she was in our arms. She did not fuss, cry or scream at all.

She was very active the whole time, she liked playing with the links that Jodie brought and would go to either of us without any problem. We took alot of pictures and video, unfortunately I can't upload the video here but I did post a short video we did in our hotel room in the post below. She is very content and active. After about 10 minutes we said good bye to the orphanage director and staff and we left the building. We drove over to Wal-mart and bought a few things. She loved being in there, she loves watching people and things and is very curious. She is also always crossing her fingers as you can see in the pic above. She must be our good luck charm! In the car ride she was acting a bit hungry so we gave her some Vanilla wafer pieces and she loved them. She couldn't get enough of them, she has two lower teeth at this point.

Then when we got back to the hotel we went to a restaurant next door and our guide ordered her some custard and rice and mixed them together. She ate it right up. The orphanage tells us she likes a combination of fish/meatballs. Good luck getting any of that at our house! After dinner we brought her back to the hotel and gave her a bottle mixed with formula and rice cereal. She drank 2/3 of it and fell asleep. She is sleeping right now in her crib and has not fussed once except when we changed her diaper. We later found out from some notes from the orphanage that she doesn't wear a diaper during the day, that she uses the toilet 16-18 times a day! Good grief, that doesn't leave much time left for anything else.

She is not walking by herself, but she will walk if you hold her hands and she will stand for a moment by herself. We also received a disc today that has pictures from her foster mom from the day after she was born until recently, we also received two cameras that we sent over that we will have developed that has current photos. She has been in foster care since the day after she was born until this morning. We did not receive the address of the foster mom, per the rules of the province here.

Heeeree's Meigan!!!!!

2008-10-13T05:32:00.003-06:00

Here is a 40 second clip of Meigan after we brought here back to the hotel.

It's not working for us in China to watch, so let us know if it works or not, thanks

Good Morning China!!

2008-10-12T18:02:00.004-06:00

Well, we made it to Nanning China in good shape. We met our guide, Jane, at the airport and then she took us to our hotel, the Majestic, also know as the Mingyuan Xindu Hotel. Their claim to fame is it is the only 5 star Hotel in Nanning. It is an ok hotel, definitely not even close to the 4 star hotel we had in Hong Kong, but definately cheaper per night.

We get our daughter this afternoon, about 3:30 - 4:30pm (1:30-2:30am in the states). This morning we are meeting with a Representative from the foundation that is sponsoring the foster care for our daughter so that we can give him a gift for the foster mom and he is going to give us a disk with pics and updated info on Meigan. We are both very excited and also kinda numb.

For those of you coming to Nanning let me tell you a little about my first impression. It is a large city, quite warm and very chinese. There are alot of bikes and motorcycles on the streets as well as cars. There are no general traffic laws obediences except for the red and green light. People cross wherever they would like and 2 lanes often becomes 4 lanes. Yesterday we were waiting at a red light to turn left. well the traffic wasn't moving fast enough for someone behind us, so he pulled out to the left of us and went around us on the the left side (into oncoming traffic) and then went straight through the light instead of turning left. Also the airport is about 40 mins from the city, and the roads are really quite nice, very smooth and wide lanes, and roads. There is a lot of Cement here, not as much as in other cities we've been to, but alot of buildings. most of them seem to be shorter buildings (3-4 floors) but it is polk-a-dotted with many tall buildings throughout the city as well. There is a lot of trees, and green gardens intermixed as well, and we crossed a large river on our way into the city.

Now for our rooms, we have two beds, both twin beds, and if you took a piece of plywood and set it down on a boxspring and covered it with a flat sheet that is what the beds feel like here. Our bed in Hong Kong was firm, but these beds put it to a whole new level. Jodie says she doesn't think they are as hard as some of the ones we have had before. I took my comforter (no top sheet) and layed on it and then folded it on top of me so that I had a little bit of padding to sleep on. I did feel like a burrito though. There are no light switches in the hotels. when you enter you stick your key card in a slot and then you can operate the lights and the air conditioning and what else not by a control panel on the night stand. Our hotel in hong kong was the same way and you could even open and close both set of curtains with the control panel. We do have a tv in our room and it has about 40-45 channels on it, most of them in Chinese or Japanese, I found the cctv9 which is english and then a few others including Bloomberg, National Geographic, BBC, HBO and another movie channel. I did not find ESPN last night, but I didn't look to hard either, usually ESPN here is through the Asia/British version and so you get a lot of soccer and a little of the us sports updates (I saw that the Bears lost in the last few seconds (on MSN.com), stupid Bears). The internet has been great so far, I have been able to log onto both email sites and blogger has not been a problem so far. Our hotel also has a very large outdoor swimming pool, with a bunch of older looking people swimming doggy paddle laps around the pool. There are also two tennis courts, a 4 land bowling alley, billiards tables, table tennis, and a work out center, haven't seen em yet. I will try to update you more as we see more of the hotel and the city.

We are just going to get ready now and go do breakfast, I am so looking forward to having some Boa zi (steamed buns filled with roast pork), this trip I am not worrying about eating vegetarian except I do not want to eat meat unless its my only option. Especially if that meat is D.R.C (dog,rat,cat). Brian

Well have a good day and we will post pics later of Meigan and maybe even a video if we can figure out how. I think I will be able to use the webcam to capture a few seconds and then place it here on the blog. We'll see you all later.

Sunday in Hong Kong

2008-10-12T03:36:00.002-06:00

Well we didn't have much planned for today, we didn't really feel like running around all over town, so we took it easy. We did take a train to the temple site to check it out. It's in a strange part of town, and very unassuming. Not your typical "let your light shine" kind of a place. While we were there, the courtyard was open so we went inside and we saw two men that looked like missionaries. One of them started to walk towards of us and I recognized him and I told him "I know you" and he looked startled. He was a missionary from Mongolia that was serving in our town a year or so ago and we actually had him in our home for dinner. He also knew my brother Jeff, I believe. So I took a picture of him with me.

We are at the Airport now getting to go to Nanning and we have met several families (4) that are traveling to Nanning to adopt also. It's kinda nice to know that we will not be the only ones there tomorrow. I think they are staying at a different hotel than we are.

Wish us Luck!

First Day in Hong Kong

2008-10-11T08:15:00.003-06:00

Today was supposed to be a relaxing day in Hong Kong to prepare for the rest of the adoption process. It turned out to be anything but. Everything went smoothly, we just ran from one place to the next to get as much in as possible. First we went to the top of the peak on Hong Kong Island. We took a tram to the top and then a bus back down. The bus took forever to get down the mountain, then we got off at the wrong subway/train stop. So we walked to the next one (different train line) and took the train to Disneyland Hong Kong. It is just like the one in California, only alot smaller. We were there for about 5 hours and saw every part of the park. We rode Space Mountain (its a tamed down version) and Buzz Lightyear ride, the Jungle Cruise, and It's a Small World. We saw The Lion King, High School Musical, the Parade, and Braved the Chinese Food! Then we left and went on a Harbour Cruise while the buildings were lit up with lights, lasers, and spotlights. Jodie was so tired she almost fell asleep on the boat. We got in about 10pm tonight and can't wait to fall asleep.

Brian didn't realize that Hong Kong takes a different type of adapter for the electical converter so we are unable to charge the computer, so we may not post tomorrow till we hit mainland china and can plug in the computer. Hope you are doing well and we miss you.

For those of you unfamiliar with our family, we have already been to China once on a humanitarian trip and did all of the familiar sight seeing stuff in Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and Guilin. Therefore we elected to not do it this trip and just do Hong Kong.

I will have to post pictures later as my battery is about to die.*Update* We called the front desk and they have an adapter they let us borrow, so I've posted the pics for the day, and then we are off to bed. Mom (Connie) I tried to call you this morning but I couldn't get through, it seems my calling card I bought here is only good for 2mins and 46 seconds. We'll try again soon.

Love brian and Jodie

We Made it to Hong Kong

2008-10-10T18:21:00.003-06:00

We have arrived safely in Hong Kong. Our flight from LA to Hong Kong took about 15 hours. We were told that we would have to make a layover in Taiwan for more fuel due to a strong head and weather, but we did not have to. Jodie was able to sleep alot on the plane, Brian chose to eat instead. The food was very good, Brian even ate raw salmon, that was oh so good!

It is early Saturday Morning here and today we are planning to go to the Mountain Peak on Hong Kong Island and then go to Hong Kong Disneyland, and end with a Harbour Cruise. We realized once we got here that somehow we did not pack our Hong Kong guide book so hopefully we don't get to lost, luckily it seems that alot of people speak english. Also we think we may have somehow forgotten to pack the locket we made for the foster mom. So we may have to send it after we return.

When we checked into our hotel they gave us a very nice room on the 17th floor looking out onto the Harbour, very spectacular at night. But it was a smoking room, So we returned to the front desk to see if there was another room available and she said all they had left was a suite on the 8th floor with an even better view at no extra charge. I tell ya, this high life living is difficult. First Business class on the plane and now extra fancy suites.

China Here We Come!!!!

2008-10-09T06:50:00.002-06:00

We made it to the airport and we are just waiting to board our first plane. We hope to sleep the whole 15 hours from LA to Hong Kong.

We would like to remind everyone how thankful we are for all of the support you have given us the past three years as we have waited for this. We can't believe our journey is finally here.

To all those families still waiting, the memories of the long wait really do disappear and seem so short. I never thought I would be able to say that, as I read the posts of others saying so. You will get there.

Our next post will hopefully be from Hong Kong in about 24 hours.

Wahoo! China Here We Come!

The Name Debate

2008-10-07T10:44:00.003-06:00

You would think that after three years we would have a definite name for our daughter, but we don't. Some days she's called Meigan, other days Meilin, and still many days she's called sister or the china baby. I have been waiting to finish a blanket for her crib, it has been sitting in the embroidery hoop ready to go for days. Today I finally pushed the start button. Does that mean this is her name? No, but I decided the blanket was big enough if I had to cut off the name and sew on a new name! I guess we could always name her Meigan Meilin. Any opinions out there?

Less than 1 week!

2008-10-07T00:19:00.005-06:00

In 6 days we will meet Meigan. I cannot believe this is actually happening. We leave in two days. Our bags are packed, the kids are ready for Grandma's, and soon our long awaited journey will start.

SURPRISE!!!

2008-09-27T22:31:00.002-06:00

Today my friends pulled off a fabulous Surprise Baby Shower. We had a great time with good food, fantastic presents, and the Best Friends in the whole world! A BIG THANKS to all of you! (I didn't have my camera so I will post pictures as soon as I get them)

Meigan's Room

2008-09-27T22:16:00.004-06:00

We painted Meigan's room last weekend. The pictures don't do it justice as the colors look funny. But, this is the only way most of you will see it so here are the pictures you've been asking for. The walls are a bright lavender, and the crazy design you see is the ceiling. I also included a picture from the pottery barn site showing what the twin bedding looks like. We aren't going to repaint anytime soon so we purchased the twin bedding also.

Formula Scandal Update

2008-09-27T07:53:00.002-06:00

Many of you have expressed concern about Meigan in regards to the latest formula scandal in China. We received a report yesterday telling us about the two formulas that she has been given in her life, NEITHER of them is on the recalled list. Because of the widespread concern she also was given a specific medical exam addressing this issue and everything was reported to be normal. Thank you for your prayers, keep them going for all of the babies affected by this.

Let The Countdown Begin!!!

2008-09-23T21:04:00.003-06:00

We will meet Meigan on October 13th! 20 days and counting! We received confirmation of our consulate appointment today and are finalizing our travel plans.

Another Care Package

2008-09-23T20:55:00.002-06:00

Here is the second Care Package we sent to Meigan. Hopefully it arrives before us!!! We also sent a special blanket that Jodie made and embroidered with her Chinese name and English name. A BIG THANKS to Heather and Val for digitizing the Chinese symbols so that we could sew them!!!!!!

Travel Approval!

2008-09-18T12:15:00.004-06:00

We received our travel approval from China today! I have only heard of one other family from our referral date that has received permission to travel. We got ours quick! Now we wait to schedule our US Consulate appointment and then we will have our travel dates.

New Pics of Meigan

2008-09-15T12:58:00.001-06:00

New Pics of Meigan - Part 2

2008-09-15T12:53:00.002-06:00

New Pics!!!!

We sent a care package to the foster family of Meigan and in return they sent us some photos!!!

(by the way, we have decided to name her Meigan, Mei means beautiful in chinese, and Megan means pearl from its english roots, and her city is known for pearl farming around the world)

The last pic is of the care package we sent to Meigan's foster family for the autumn moon festical. The tin has a moon cake in it.

Referral!

2008-09-11T12:46:00.002-06:00

With love and excitement we announce the referral of our daughter!

LID:2/8/06
Referral:9/2/08
Chinese Name:Guo Si Hao
Birth Date:11/11/07
Province:Guangxi
Travel Dates: TBD