July 31 Chai Tea and nightmare

Our sweet Lacie loves to sleep through the night so we should be totally grateful. AND we are. God has been good. However, I would give an hour in the night to have her take at least an hour nap during the day – at a time. Our days are so busy and she is busy. She may sleep for about 30 minutes in the morning and maybe 30 minutes in the afternoon. In China she slept for 2-3 hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon. And outside of our occasional mid-night bottle and conversation she slept through the night there too. This evening I decided that we need to begin some sort of going to bed routine so she will learn to know what to expect each evening before she goes to bed. Of course we will tweek it many times as we go along but it is good for both mommy and baby to have some sort going to bed routine. My thoughts are that 8:30 to 9:00 is a good time to have her down for the night. When I go back to work it will give me some time with her in the evening and some time after which I can do some Vonda things. I used to do some Vonda things – I will have to try and remember what those things were some day down the road. So this evening I gave her a bath at 7:00. Then we played, as we got dressed for bed till about 7:45. Then I prepared her medicine and her snack and by 8:00 I gave her the last bottle for the evening. She fell asleep during her bottle and I put her in bed. Ahhhhhhhhhhh – I think (I thought) I will have some Chai tea. I have not had any since before we left for China. I poured the water and waited for it to get hot. I was about to make it and she cried. I went to check on her and comforted her and she went back to sleep. OK – Ahhhhhhhh - time for Chai tea. Then she cried and cried and cried. I went to get her and she was hysterical. I cradled her and rocked her and talked to her and told her it would be ok. She looked around the room like something was going to get her. We rocked and I talked to her for a little while and then lay down with her and held her tight. She passed out. Chai tea? Yes – I did eventually have some.

Yesterday our friends brought over their daughter Lilly to see Lacie for a brief moment. They traveled a month before us to get Lilly. She will be a year old in a week. When Lacie saw her, her eyes lit up. I think she really loved seeing a friend from China. Both Lacie and Lilly seemed taken with each other. I think they recognized the fact that they are alike and of course they have spent their entire life until now with other babies like themselves. I think it made Lacie feel at home to see Lilly. Here is a pic of Lacie and Lilly and also a pic of our smiley girl in her room. She loves the camera I think.

July 29 Welcome Home

“I bet the folks back home are thinkin’ ‘Now why don’t [she] write.’” This is one of my favorite lines in Dancin’ with Wolves. We are home and have wanted to do a daily update, but jet lag has set in and we are recovering from that as well as getting adjusted to our time zone and being home and trying to develop a routine.

Our trip home was mainly uneventful with a few minor airline snags until our layover in Minneapolis and then a huge airline problem. Needless to say, we won’t ever travel with them again as long as it is in our control. Lacie was just totally awesome. We gave her bottles on every ascent and descent. She never complained about her ears. She really never complained much about anything, even on our 10.5 hour flight from Tokyo. She did better than we did. She was friendly and smiley and slept an appropriate amount of time for John and I to at least rest, if not sleep. We were in front of the plane and our friends in the back had a very hard time with their little one. So, we do feel grateful and thankful that she was so wonderful. She was also very good on our layovers and was patient with being woken up multiple times. We got through customs smoothly and this was technically where Lacie became a U.S. Citizen. Again, it was bittersweet for us – we are so excited for her to have the opportunities the U.S. can offer but also sad because we have totally left China behind – physically anyway, not in our hearts – China will always be in our hearts.

In Minneapolis we discovered that our plane was going to be running about 45 minutes late to leave for home. Then it was overbooked and they were asking for people to volunteer to give up a seat. Then they indicated that there were little technical difficulties and then they cancelled our flight completely. We were stunned. We had been up for over 24 hours and either in airports or airplanes for close to that. We had asked a 9 month old to be a trooper long enough (as well as her parents.) There were five families to be on that flight to our home city, who had adopted from China. We were all tired and ready to be home with our daughters and to see family and friends already anxiously waiting at the airport at home for our big arrival.

An hour or so later and with a lot of prodding and nagging (and a few tears from the mothers, not baby’s), they finally got us (two families) on a flight to Cincinatti. Two of our wonderful friends and my mother came to meet us there and to bring us home. Lacie was a trooper again and also in a car seat for the first time in her life. She slept all the way home and we got home around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. When we arrived at home we saw our front yard decorated with little lambs and a big Welcome Home Lacie sign. What an awesome feeling to know that friends had thought of us and to spend this time and energy to welcome us in such a sweet way.

We went to bed at 4:00 a.m. and we slept till 6:30 and then we were UP for the day. She was wired. She played and rolled and talked and played some more. Good news – she was up during the day – and hopefully to sleep at night – keeping in mind that her days and nights are backwards from ours. Some baby’s do not get adjusted for over a week or more and have sleepless nights and are down for the day. Our friends had recommended to get her outside in the morning sunshine which we did by 7:30 on Sunday. It worked! We have been home now five nights and she has slept through each night. We can only thank God for that. I think John and I are getting more sleep than we ever did. I try to nap with her in the afternoons and John goes to bed a little earlier than I do at night. Last night he fell asleep with her and it was so cute seeing them snooze together – nothing was going to wake that duo. John and I are up at 4:30 a.m. and can’t sleep. We hope she will sleep a little longer. We are taking advantage of our time now to catch up on email.

Our daughter is totally incredible. She loves being home where she can be on the floor and to have an excersaucer to play in. I have seen her do things I did not know she could do, like roll over ten times to get to another place in the room. In China she had only rolled from back to side – never across a bed or a room. She loves her toys. I was worried in China because she never let me put her down (AT ALL) unless she was sleeping. She loves to be on the floor or in her excersaucer and I can even leave the room for a few seconds and she does not cry. (Don’t worry Grandparents – we do not leave her unattended for more than a split second.) Our dogs are wonderful and sleep between her and the door or between her crib and the door – to protect her. She has already tried to pull on their noses and they just wag their tails. (Don’t worry grandparents – we won’t leave her alone with the dogs either.)

Wednesday was a big day for Lacie. It was her first day out of the house besides a walk or a swing in the back yard. We drove over an hour to her first medical check up since coming home. The doctor was very impressed with her developmentally and stated she had good muscle tone and she would not need First Steps at this time. First Steps is a physical/occupational therapy program for young children. She listened to her lungs and gave an all clear. She did find an inner ear infection and now we have to begin a round of antibiotics. Lacie got a TB test and mommy and Lacie both cried for the small under the skin injection. THEN they took blood – and more blood. Talk about cry. She cried and kept looking at me like I was supposed to rescue her from any type of harm. Yes – I cried too. Daddy could only stand and watch, feeling helpless and wishing he was not guilty by association. After the doctors appt, we had to run by Target to get some supplies for organization and for feeding. I think she will be a Target shopper like mommy. AND yes, that was too busy a day for our angel – but we are done with outings like that for awhile until a follow up docs appointment on Saturday and maybe church on Sunday.

Lacie has had grandparent and aunt and uncle visitors already and two first cousins – and all in small doses and increments. So many people wanted to meet us at the airport and of course could not due to our cancelled flight. She does love visitors and mommy and daddy do too. Her grandparents are still trying to get in to see her and we are anxious for all of our family and friends to meet our daughter. She loved it when her two cousins came in to play with her. Nathan is five and Isabella is three. I think it was a breath of fresh air for Lacie to see another child and not just adults. John and I are impressed that when grandparents and aunts have held her briefly she does look for us and always reaches out for us. This is good! This means that she is identifying us as her parents. We have to keep reminding ourselves that just two weeks ago she was handed to us and she did not know us, so therefore she still does not understand that we won’t hand her over and walk away like with her previous experience. So, if we are a little over bearing for awhile it is so she remains secure with us and knows we are not going to leave her. It will take time for her to learn and trust completely that we are hers forever! We are now a forever family – her forever family! We thank everyone for your patience as we are trying to see you as well as try and keep things low key for Lacie in her first few weeks at home.

So many people have commented how blessed she is to have us, to have opportunities she may not have had in China and to have a family, etc. We recognize more every day that we are the blessed ones, to have her in our lives and to have the opportunity we would not ever have if it were not for her in our lives.

We thank God for each of you – our friends and family – all who have taken an interest in our journey and all who have supported us in a special and meaningful way. We will continue to do updates but obviously not as often as we try and settle into our home life and get organized (or not.)

Hugs and love, Vonda and John and Lacie

July 21 Red Sofa and other thoughts

Today was a wonderful day. We got to sleep in till 7:30 a.m. We had no obligations until 3:00. Lacie had a rough night last night – well, ok she did not have it rough. She woke up at 2:00 and wanted a bottle. She was coughing real bad too. After her bottle she wanted to play. Oh no – not in the middle of the night – not for mommy. So mommy put her in bed with her and then mommy tried to get some sleep. Lacie just rolled around from side to side occasionally saying “Bah.” She says other things like dadadadadadada and Ah bah and some gurgling baby sounds. But she did not want to sleep. She is a good baby because I did go back to sleep and at 7:30 when I woke up she was sound asleep.

We did a lot more shopping today. I got her many little outfits – two in each size – someone suggested in case later she wanted to have a sleep over and do dress up. I am not sure what sizes I did get – just a lot. My luck and since she is so long now none will fit in a few years anyway. We got her a few more items for her future birthdays. I have no clue if we got one for every year – but there is time down the road to order from China Sprout as well if not. The most important thing to bring home is our daughter. She is so absolutely precious.

I think it hit me yesterday – that yes – this is real. She is going home with us. She is OUR baby. John just looked at her sleeping and then looked at me and said, “We have a baby!” Yes we do. And a pretty and precious one at that. As I read again the verses in Psalm 139 about how God formed her in her mother’s womb. He predestined all her days. He knew her even before she was formed. That is so special for me as an adoptive mom. We definitely will spend time honoring her birth mom as much as we can or should that would be appropriate. One China dad said that on the new moon festival is the time they spend each year looking up at the moon, the same one her birth mom would see and they say a prayer for her and Thank God for her. We will have to come up with something creative. Last night as I watched her roll around I thought how special it is that we have this blessing and her birth mom will never know what happened beyond the day she let her go. It breaks my heart as a new mom and knowing that she is safe. If there is ever a way to let that wonderful woman know – the woman who sacrificed for Lacie and for us.

On a lighter note – yesterday John was carrying her when we were walking to dinner about a city block distance (to Lucy’s restaurant). About half way down the road he asked that I take her, his back was hurting and she was slipping. I laughed at him cause he really was struggling and I had carried her all day long while shopping. When I hassled him about it he responded with, “Well I have never carried a baby this far before.” We are in for a rude awakening! By the way I always ask John’s permission before I share John stories.

John is wonderful. For someone who has only been a human jungle gym and playmate with children, he is becoming quite the wonderful new daddy. She still smiles more for him than me. They had some more alone time today and when I returned to the room they both looked at me like I was interfering with some type of fun.

There is a tradition for China adoptions and that is to take the pictures of all the baby’s on the red sofa in the White Swan Hotel. John and I were both very surprised when Lacie began the chorus of crying. She is generally so very good natured and we were shocked. Maybe this means she will in a leadership role some day. Anyway, attached is a photo of Lacie’s group. She is second from the left in the adorable hat. The other picture attached is of Lacie and her friends. These three girls slept right next to each other in the orphanage. Their cribs were literally touching.

Tomorrow is a huge day for us. It is our consulate appointment for the final leg of our China journey. We also need to begin our packing and preparing to come home. If we do not post again until we return it is because we are busy trying to get it all done. We leave for the airport at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning. My plan is to just literally wake her up to leave and feed her on the bus. I have learned now that with a new baby that plans do not get finalized. There are always adjustments. I am a planner and try to think things out ahead of time. I am learning now that babies decide to go number 2 just as we are supposed to walk out the door for an appointment. It does not matter how well we plan. So, I am going to come up with an alternative plan B just in case.

We are sad to leave our daughters first home but we are anxious to get her home to ours – and now her new home. We look forward to seeing our family and friends soon. We are a little homesick but now I am feeling homesick for China. China is and will always be a part of our lives. We are now a multiracial and multicultural family. And we will honor her culture as well as ours.

Much love to each of our family and friends at home and everywhere.

Vonda and John and Lacie

July 20 - Medical Exam

Our entry yesterday said July 20 – well I really do not know what day it is anymore. So, this is really the 20^th and that entry was July 19^th. And now that I know it is the 20^th – I am still unsure what day of the week it is. I am ok with that as long as someone makes sure I get on my plane on Saturday.

Today we went to Lacie’s medical exam. Lacie did great until the doctor tried to look in her ears and she cried and screamed and cried and fought her. Mommy cried too. I guess this is just the beginning, huh? She officially weighs 17 lbs and is 69 cm – I think 27 inches long. In our photos, the doctor listening to her chest was wonderful. He put the stethoscope on mommy, and daddy and the doctor and on Lacie. Then mommy and daddy and Lacie again. He was showing her it was ok. She still wanted to play with it so then he showed her a picture of Tweety bird on a tambourine. She looked at that very softly while he was able to listen to her lungs. He listened and listened and listened. He then said to follow him and off we went. We had to wait for a specialist to listen to her breathe. We were a little nervous. They kept asking us if she had had a fever or if we had given antibiotics. (Guide translating). We continued to say no – no fever. No – no antibiotics. We explained we were not to give antibiotics unless she had a fever of 100.4 and her temp has never been over 99. Finally the specialist listened to her chest and then they let us go – believing us that she did not have a fever or infection. So, her congestion concerned someone else and someone with a stethoscope too. It made me not feel so bad for my earlier concerns.

We did a little shopping on the return walk from our medical exam. John bartered a good deal on a couple of items and was frustrated with me because I am not good at it. He says I can’t shop without him now. Maybe he is right but it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. He has gone out to do some shopping with other mothers while Lacie is napping. I have instructed him to scope out some dresses, material, tea sets, and the like. We want to buy Lacie things for each of her birthdays coming up – at least 18. I hope we can accomplish it all.

In our photo album pics there are some we took on our walk to the medical exam. It is a little flavor of how beautiful and fun this Island is. Our view from our 18^th story window is the water front and it is beautiful. I will have to try and get some pics of that as well. It is so different from our view at our Nanchang hotel.

For those who have been her before, we are going to Lucy’s for dinner this evening. We have heard a lot about Lucy’s and I am glad to go and get some non Chinese food. John would eat Chinese every day if I let him.

Mommy obsession of the day: NONE – still. I am getting good.

Love and hugs to all our family and friends at home and everywhere

Vonda and John and Lacie

July 20 update

It is 11:20 pm here so this will be short. We are now in Guangzhou - China Adoption central. We are finally at the famous White Swan hotel and we are thrilled to be connected up again with the rest of our group and it almost feels like being home away from home. I must admit that this little community caters to westerners and adoptive parents so it is a wonderful comfort zone.

Our first plane ride was great. I gave Lacie a four ounce bottle on the way up and an 8 oz on the way down. She did great. She does not take water or juice so it had to be formula. We have decided to try and time bottles around take off and landing on the way home and if she gets a little too much then so be it. More fun diapers I guess. We are greatful for all of you who have responded with tips for our big trip too. I think with those many hours that will be a huge hit and miss with what we do to entertain our busy bee for 10.5 hours on the longest flight.

Last night Lacie was up half the night with her cough so I again called the pediatrician and also my sister who is a nurse and had many tips to help out. Both doc and sis said to steam her in the shower. Whether or not it helped I do not know, but it did relax her. I finally put her between us in bed and just let her talk - she was mostly busy talking when she was not coughing. She really is a good baby - except when she is hungry. We slept and she talked. Occasionally she would wake me up with a "bah" which she blows out of her mouth forcefully. Sometime after 4:00 am she passed out.

I will try and post photos of Johns trip to the orphanage. They take a little time to down load. We are choosing to not show any pics of the children or babies on line because we want to respect their privacy and that of their future parents. We can share those privately at a later date. They are all so cute. Seeing the orphanage pics makes me sad that our daughter was there at all and also greatful to her birthmom for choosing the best adoption plan that she saw fit and in her abilities at the time. We will always thank God for her and want Lacie to know that as well. If it were not for her, we would not have our sweet daughter. In the photos you will see a woman standing in front of a blue crib with John. That is Lacie's nanny who cared for her for nine months. Fenyi has one nanny to four babies, so we know that Lacie did have some one on one care. Since she prefers to be cuddled versus just being put in bed for sleep I believe it shows a little.

Tomorrow is her medical exam which is required for her entry into the US. Thursday we have our consulate appt. Today we did much of the paperwork for that.

John is still doing wonderful. He is great and Lacie always lights up when she sees him. He talks a funny baby talk and she just giggles at him when he talks to her. He gets more from her than I do. He is the primary bottle maker too, so he is a pro.

We will be busy in the next few days preparing to come home. We are looking forward to it now and at the same time, wish we had a little more time in Guangzhou.

Mommy obsession of the day: NONE! Yes! Lets see how long that lasts!

Love to all at home and everywhere -

Vonda and John and Lacie

July 18 updates

Many apologies for those who have been waiting for an update. I talked to my mom early this morning (late for her) and she said she had been worrying. If we do not do an update every day – please hang in there one should come shortly. Between John’s bug that put him in bed for almost 24 hours and me having to do most baby care alone – there is not much time for writing. And when Lacie and Daddy were able to nap together yesterday then mommy went porcelin shopping. Jiangxi (the province we are in and the province where Lacie is from – is where much of the porcelin is from.) I wanted to get her a little something from her province before we left. We will do most of our shopping in Guangzhou when we get there – and that is if we are feeling better and up to it. It takes great effort sometimes to just make it to dinner. But between sleep, which is coming more naturally for mommy and antibiotics taking effect for both mommy and daddy, we hope to both be up to the shopping that we need to do there. If we do nothing else, we want to make sure we get her some dresses to last a few years and a little tea set and a few other things. We have been told by many who have gone before that there would be a lot of down time – we are looking for that time. Ha Ha.

John is out today for a day long trip to the orphanage. Fenyi is a three hour bus ride and I thought that would be too much for both mommy and baby to take. Total time out and about would be about 9 hours. The orphanage director wanted to host the group for lunch too, which is so nice. John is to take lots of video and pictures. I am sad that we could not go too because I think it would be good for both of us to see where Lacie spent the first nine months of her life. That was her home, and it is bittersweet that we are leaving her province in the morning. I pray that someday we can bring her back to her birth home and show her what wonderful people and things are here.

We went to a small village last evening. Lacie fell asleep on the bus as she was taking a bottle so I stayed on the bus while John toured the village and took pictures. The photos are up in the on-line photoalbum. Take a peek. The village was a rice village. There were a lot of children and many girls. We love seeing girls in China and I am excited to say that there are many more than I imagined.

We went to Pizza Hut for dinner last night. Thank God! Oh to see food from home. After we went to Pizza we went to a “light show” on the water front. Nanchang is very beautiful in its downtown area and by the river. The light show was actually a very long long row of water fountains that dance to light and music. At one point the fountain gets so high that when the water comes down everyone gets soaked. We were in a bad spot and all of us were poured on. Lacie loved it. She thought it was so great and kicked her legs and smiled and just looking around. She talked about it all evening after we got back to the room and it took me till 11:00 to get her to sleep. This is a baby who loves to be asleep by 8:00 to 8:30.

Lacie has really been quite the popular baby. She smiles so easily that some of the locals are taken with her. And one woman visiting our hotel actually took her right out of my arms. I was a little uneasy at first, but our guide told us that it was not uncommon for the Chinese women to sort of “butt” in. So, I let her have a turn at holding Lacie and soon thereafter I got her back. We are not trying to be selfish, just wanting her to know that she is not going to just be handed off again to some other stranger who will take her away. She has only had parents for five days or so and she does not understand that we are permanent yet. I can’t imagine life without her.

In case everyone is wondering what the new mommy obsession of the day is I will report here. We are taking a plane tomorrow to Guangzhou to finalize the last part of our adoption on the U.S. level. I am now obsessing what to do for her ears. What if they hurt while ascending and descending? She does not take a pacifier and she does not suck her thumb. I can only feed her so often. And I just hate the thought of her being in pain. And can it hurt her ear drums? The other thing I am worried about – besides not having the energy to do all we want and need in Guangzhou – is the LOOOONNNNGGGGG flight home. Lacie is a very very busy girl. What will we do for all those hours AND of course there is an ear issue once again.

Oh, and her cough is worse, but she still does not have a fever. For those who are wondering about the rash, it has pretty much cleared up, but she is still itchy or it is a habit for her to scratch. We continue to use benadryl at night for her itching and Tussin DM in the morning and at night for her cough. I refuse to call the pediatrician about our fears of ear pain and flying. So, any thoughts would be nice. Please feel free to email at my hotmail address. Vondamots at hotmail dot com.

We want to remind everyone at home that we cannot see our own blog webpage in China. So we cannot get any of the comments you are writing. I hesitate to share this bit of information because we both look forward to being home and seeing what our friends and family have had to share. Especially any comments under the post about John’s dirty diaper. So, keep the comments coming as you are inspired. We would also love to hear from you now. So please feel free to contact us at our hotmail addresses. We will not be able to answer all emails but we would love to hear from home.

I am sorry this is so long – but we have missed communicating to our friends and family as much as we miss seeing friends and family. We are still so appreciative of all of you for your encouragement and support. Words can never describe how important each of you are to us. We could not have taken this journey without each of you.

To our four wonderful mothers and three fathers – we now truly appreciate what it is to be parents and to worry about a child. We love each of you and thank you for all you have done for us. Thank you all for your love for us and for worrying about us. (YES – I am so very sentimental at the moment!)

Here are two pics - one of mommy and Lacie and a hotel worker. The other are children from the village.

Saturday July 16 - Big day for daddy and new concerns for mommy

We are having a hard time remembering what day and date it is now. In case I do not have a chance to log on tomorrow I want to wish Noah a Very Happy first Birthday! Happy Birthday to you Noah! We love you and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks.

Last night our wonderful guide had a tailor come to our hotel to show us real silk material and measure us (the mommies) with a Chinese dress of our choice. I thought that was wonderful because I had not thought to ask for this before because we have been in survival mode only. A good friend and adopted mom gave us a gift to get Lacie a first birthday dress specially made for her while here. So of course we took the tailor up on this. Lacie and I will have matching dresses made (matching material) and John is getting a tie made so we can all get our pics done once home. They measured us and we picked the beautiful red silk material with gold phoenix bird (John said it looks like a peacock) throughout. She will get all the dresses made and back to us within three days. My dress, Lacie’s dress and John’s tie all cost under $80.00. That is a deal!

Today was a big day for Daddy! We have both ended up with a little bit of a bug and have begun our antibiotics just in case. There was an outing today to a local book store and WalMart for cd’s, DVD’s, books and supplies. Since John had a nap and Lacie had her basic needs met: clean diaper, fed, etc. he stayed back with her while I went shopping. Yes, I was a little nervous – but there were other experienced dads staying back with their babies too so they all hung out together.

When we got back – only after about two and half hours I was told by one of the other dads that John had his first poopy – without me! Go ahead and laugh cause we all have had belly laughs at the story and I do believe that John is kind of proud of himself. I do not want to gross anyone out but I have to share some details so that John’s family especially and his friends who know him very well can appreciate how he was totally baptized into daddy-hood today. This is the kind of poopy that mommy has not even experienced – and would have not been something she would want to. Apparently the story goes like this. John noticed that she was stinky. He was in one of the other dad’s rooms and had her all laid out on the pad when the other dad heard, “HELP!” It apparently was a “two daddy diaper.” John got the diaper off her, socks first as I taught him and was wiping her when he said it continued to come out – more poopy. His description: like pressing hard on a full tube of toothpaste. It was all over the changing pad, etc. He had to clean it all up and no mommy to help. Poor daddy – on a very queasy tummy too.

Lacie is getting a cough today. Mommy has panicked a little and has emailed the pediatrician half the night as well as called her this a.m. She is wonderful. She is a China mom too and lives in our state. She is available for phone calls and generally answers my emails within hours. Lacie is still rather itchy but I do not want to keep medicating her with benadryl so I was trying to see how she would do. But after being wired for sound and scratching her healing heat rash till 10:00 last night I gave her benadryl. She began to cry and then when she took a breath she began to cough and sputter. I thought maybe she aspirated (docs term. Mine: sucked it into her lungs.) Anyway, she went to sleep within minutes but around 3:00 a.m. she began to cough a lot till about 5:00 a.m. Mommy obsessions began. What if she sucked it in her lungs? What will happen? How bad can it be? So, knowing it was business hours back home I got up at 3:00 to email the doc to ask about that. She responded with reassurance that most likely she did not aspirate but if I really thought she had to begin her antibiotics. What? More medicine that she can aspirate? You have got to be kidding. So, at 10:00 a.m. I called her at home (10:00 pm EST.) She was wonderful. She told me if I did not want to begin the antibiotics to watch for her temp to be at 100.4 (or 99.4 under the arm.) Otherwise, not to worry because babies lungs take care of themselves. I about cried cause at home I would not worry as much. We have our resources and doctors and hospitals and friends who have gone before us to call. And yes, dear nurse sister Robin – you were next on the list to call. And thanks to you I knew the word the fine doctor used when she said to take it under the arm – axillary or something like that. Don’t laugh if it is wrong but it sounded like that anyway. Anyway – her cough comes and goes. It does not seem to be so consistent to panic and her temp is still normal. We have done under the arm and also ear. I guess we will continue to medicate as needed even though mommy really does not want to keep her doped up the first week she meets her new parents.

Oh – about food – Lacie LOVES to eat. She can’t get enough and that is the only time she has a temper tantrum – when I am not shoveling it in fast enough. I can barely get the spoon back into the bowl for more cereal and she begins to arch her back and fuss cause I have not moved any faster to meet her needs.

We wish we had more pictures to share but today has been survival only. Hopefully tomorrow we will do better.

Take care and lots of love and hugs to our family and friends at home and everywhere! We miss you.

Vonda and John and Lacie

Neat Story to Share

I have been wanting to share this so neat story. When in Beijing on Monday - one of the couples got away from us at the Forbidden City which was unusually crowded. Our entire group was stopped for about an hour as the guide and one other person in our group looked for them. We were all afraid for them - in a city where they do not know the language and also a location where the unofficial street vendors are very agressive and very dishonest. Our guide and the woman from our group stopped to pray for the couple - who had been apart from us for over two hours. Five minutes after they prayed our guides phone rang. It was our friends - who had found someone walking by them with a cell phone. They asked the person if he spoke english and when he did they explained their situation and they we able to call our guides phone. It was amazing - and we were all thankful when they showed up - no longer lost.

Here are a few more pics of Lacie. I know that is really what everyone would rather see. She gets a kick out of John's raspberrys.

7/15 First Bath

Hello! Great news - we ALL slept last night. Thank God. Mommy feels like a new person and daddy is greatful. China does do John well. He says he fits in - because he can generally look eye to eye with most of the people here. He loves the food and he loves the culture. I love it now that I have had sleep - but the food - I could really stand a Big Mac right now. Or better yet - raisen cheese bisquits and potato cakes. Mom - you are in for a busy week once we return.

Lacie slept a total of 10+ hours last night. John and I slept about 7-8. At home we generally get about 6 hours, so we are doing great. Enough about us - huh? Lacie is just awesome. Her heat rash is almost gone. She has a little cough and runny nose but not enough to be alarmed over. She loves all her toys and all her new experiences. She is very good natured. She fusses only when tired. She does not ask for food - probably because in the orphanage they were just fed when they were fed. She eats table food - loves steamed eggs and rice cereal. Her expressions are just too cute.

Last night we gave her her first bath. Most of the babies are just hating it - but Lacie seemed not to care. Word of caution - wet babies are slippery. I have known this but a sink bath is a little different. I was afraid she would fall and hit her head on the faucet.

This morning we went to Elephant Lake. It was beautiful - but foggy. The temperature was maxing at about 100 and the humidity was worse than I have ever experienced. Lacie began to get a little red in the forehead again and we put a cold wet washcloth on her head. She left it alone - I think she knew it was to help.

At the park some women were looking at us strangly with our daughters. The agency gave us a tag to wear around our necks that reads in Chinese: "We are A Helping Hand Adoption Agency Christian family. She is our adoptive child from China. We believe God calls us to give her a loving family. We love China and the Chinese people." When John showed the ladies the tag, he said one of the women got a tear in her eyes. So many locals do not even know that there are babys here with out a home. Many are surprised when they see us or meet us with our daughters. Most respond with "lucky baby." They are very kind and accepting and friendly people.

Again - we are in love - and know that God has truly blessed us.

July 13 - Forever Day plus

The day is totally indescribable! It was magical and at the end very very exhausting. They have had us on the go since we landed in China. No time for sleep or rest or recovery from our jetlag. It is good for some but for those of us who really need sleep – it can be tough. Our plane was late arriving in the province of Jiangxi so we were not at the hotel until about 11:00 pm. The babies were to arrive at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday and they informed us that they were coming at 10:00 instead. Ok – that is one last hour of preparation time. She then wanted us to be in the room at 9:30 to begin paperwork for the China adoption part of our process. Now ½ hour less time of preparedness. She then said to be there at 9:15 to pray. So – we stayed up till 3:00 a.m. unpacking, organizing and preparing a diaper bag, money and paperwork for our morning. After that we only had 3 hours sleep.

We got in early, at 9:15 – as requested. Then the door opened and about five babies were carried in and then they sent them back out. Every mom in the room was looking and staring and wondering if one of those were hers. They made us finish the paperwork, took our load of money (THANK GOD) and then it was time. (Keckler – you can quit worrying). They brought in the babies one at a time – carried in by Mrs. Xu – the orphanage director. She loves them so much. We were 8^th to receive our babies. My heart was racing and John was snapping pics and going crazy trying to get the perfect photo. They called us by our daughter’s name – Gong Suman. I was stunned – and shocked. It was about to happen – we had planned and prepared for this and it is just too surreal – it is a dream – it is like nothing one can imagine and believe – even at the moment. Mrs. Xu handed her to me and I just did everything in my power to not cry – I did not want to scare her. I took her over and sat down with her and began to give her a bottle. She cried for a few minutes, took her bottle and we both were a little shaky –or maybe it was only me – shaking for the both of us.

She LOVED John immediately. She would not look at me. I tried everything. But she engaged him. He was able to make her laugh. She let me nurture her and feed her though so I thought it could be the glasses – which it probably was, because after a few hours she got full and direct eye contact with me, smile and make noises. Of course John can get the laugh from her. She loves him and she initiates with him if he is nearby and not looking at her. It is cute.

Right now we call her ManMan – which is what they called her. By tomorrow (Friday) we will call her ManMan Lacie and then switch in a few days to Lacie ManMan. She knows her name and she responds to it, so as she is adapting to us it is only fair to her to not do any dramatic switches. ManMan means graceful according to our guide Sissi (CiCi.)

After we finished paperwork and they asked us why we wanted to adopt her, why from China, if we promise to not to harm her or abandon her and what our educational goals are for her, we took her to our room and she passed out. She sleeps holding a blanket over her face and making suckling noises like she has used a pacifier – but she refuses the ones we brought for her.

She came with horrible heat rash on her fore head and cradle cap all over her head. I have had expert moms and a professional nanny (also adopting) promise me that she does not have scabies or lice. None of the babies do at this point and this is of course wonderful.

During her nap – I ran around trying to get things ready for our next leg of the journey at 3:30 p.m. and that was to go to the notary for the final and official part of our China adoption. I got bottles ready and diaper bag and more paperwork, passports, etc. I let John nap with her. Once there, we signed our last documents – and confirmed our occupations. By the way – paralegal is not a word in China. So for our official documents here – I went from paralegal, to assistant to attorney, to lawyer helper. That was acceptable. We got our red book with the adoption certificate – which makes it final and official in China.

We then went shopping at a local market. Needless to say at this point, her heat rash is looking bad again, and we were tired and exhausted. And Shop for What? John and I packed WalMart with us. So – we did not purchase anything – but tissues and bottled water. A young girl – in her teens – came up to me and saw me with Lacie and said, Lovely baby. I showed her the tag that our agency prepared in Chinese telling the locals what we were there for and that she was our daughter. She replied, Lucky baby. I wish I could communicate with her how lucky and blessed we truly are – that we are the ones being totally blessed by our daughter in our lives.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel it was 6:30 and we had dinner and then I began to feel quesy and sick and weak. I was so afraid that I would not be able to take care of her if she woke up. I was afraid she would be awake half the night and I would not get the much needed sleep. Lacie slept all night – waking once for a bottle. Daddy slept and mommy began to obsess – what if I don’t hear her cry? What if she falls out of her make shift crib of two chairs pushed and tied together? What if I am not going to be a good mom? What if she has a need or something that I don’t recognize? What if her rash is not heat and is scabies? What if she does not go NO. 2? By 3:00 a.m. I was very sick. I woke John up and cried and shared my concerns. OH MY GOODNESS – he is going to be such a good dad - already is. Because after I slept for 20 minutes she did wake up needing a bottle and diaper change and he took care of her. I was up too but he did the running, preparing bottles and changed his first diaper. We let her sleep with us after that and he nurtured her the rest of the night as I finally drifted off to sleep – until 7:00 a.m.

So, after 3.5 hours sleep – I am staying back at the room with her while she sleeps and I am of course unable to and now blogging. John is touring with the group to catch more of China on film for our daughter to see down the road. We have already called her adoption pediatrician in Lexington who is just wonderful. She helped me figure out that her heat rash is most likely just that. She told us what to look for for lice – which she apparently does not have, and she told us what to give her and how much for the cough and runny nose and that we can combine that with benedryl for her itchy rash.

She is eating well. She is good natured and only fusses when she is tired. We already know when she is ready to sleep because she puts the blanket up over her face (or shirt as in our photos in our online photoalbum) and begins to suck maybe her tongue. She loves to be cuddled. She loves to be sung to. She loves to be near us. She loves funny made up songs which I am better at then traditional lullabies. John will begin to giggle at her and she giggles back. She likes both of us, which is good so we can both take care of her.

All in all and very sleep deprived, we are so truly blessed with our sweet angel – and that she is. We are still getting to know each other and we are so full of thankfulness to God for His blessings on our life. We are so much in love with Lacie and she is everything we have prayed and hoped for.

Our prayer needs now are that we get the sleep we need, that we stay well and that mommy quits the middle of the night obsessing.

We thank each of our family, friends for your continued support and love for us and for your encouragement in our journey. We love each of you back.

I hope to write more as we continue on – but if not – it is because we have a bundle of love to feed and care for.

Here is a picture of us with the orphanage director and also one of Lacie with her beautiful smile at daddy just about ½ hour after we received her.

Love and hugs to all – Vonda, John and Lacie (ManMan)

July 11 - Monday - Day 1

Today was a whirlwind. After following the sun to Japan, we made it to Beijing in one piece. We were exhausted. We had to be up early to begin our day by going to the Jade factory. After which we went to the Great Wall and climbed until our legs began to feel like noodles. Coming down was much harder than going up. I did not think I would make it. Some of the Chinese would run down the steps - not me - I held on for dear life. I guess you will believe it when I say that John wanted to run all the way up and run back down again. I paced him by telling him that he needed to walk behind me - "just in case." He was an attentive husband staying behind to make sure I did not fall. I do know why they have us see the Great Wall before we get the babys. There is no way I could climb that carrying one.

We then went to the Cloisonne factory, had lunch and then went to the Summer Palace, after which we had dinner. Both meals were wonderful and a true taste of China - not so americanized - but just a little for those that needed a little taste of home. We then went to see an Acrobatic show - which we filmed much of.

Tomorrow we get up early again and have a full day ahead of us of more sight seeing in Beijing and then we board our flights at 7:15 pm (7:15 a.m. in Louisville) and head to Nanchang by 9:30 pm. The very next morning at 11:00 a.m. we meet our baby's. All the sight seeing is wonderful - but every child I did see today reminded me of the true reason we are here.

We did see one mother today at the Summer Palace with her baby bundled up tight in about two blankets and long sleeves and it was about 90 degrees there this afternoon and very very sunny. They believe that the babys should always be covered. I had heard about this but had also heard that they are not so strict about the layers in the hot days of summer - but obviously this mom still believed that alot of clothing was best. I am prepared for a few reprimands from the locals.

More to come in a few days after we get Lacie. Everything touches me now in a very wierd way - so I can only imagine what it will all feel like on Wednesday morning. We will probably not write much tomorrow (Tuesday).

By the way - I am proud to say that I have still yet to have to use a "squatty potty." I have lucked into all western style RR's. I hope I can get through my entire experience in China not using one. We will see.

Here is a pic of me and John at the Great wall - about 1/2 way up and where we stopped climbing.

About to begin our China journey to our daughter

Family and Friends - we leave on July 9th. Please keep us in your prayers for safety, health and patience. We have heard from sources that blogs do not necessarily work in China. It is unfortunate that we are discovering this now. I have one friend in China who said she can't see our blog. Another friend has said that if we continue to post that the folks back home can still see it even if we can't. We had another friend who traveled to China in the winter and we were able to see her blog and she posted daily. This is why we chose this mode of communication - it is free and it is easy. If you are unable to read/see our blog, we will still be posting photographs (hopefully) in our online photo album of which we have also shared the link and password. If we are unable to "blog" while we are there, we will write daily and do a mass posting soon after we return.

Thanks to each of you again for all of your support and encouragement and prayers to John and me as we have taken this journey to our daughter. It has been fun to have you to share this joy and excitement with. What a blessing it is to have family and friends like each of you.

May God bless you -

Vonda and John

July 8 - We are on our way

"I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to get you." John 14:18

Lacie bug - we are on our way to get you. We will hold you for the first time on July 13th just as you are turning 9 months old. Your mommy and daddy are so excited. Our lives are about to be blessed by having you in our arms as well as in our hearts which is where you have been for over a year. You have grown there ever so big and strong.

We love you
Mommy and Daddy

The Nursery - an Invisible Red Thread

"An Invisible Red Thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The red thread my stretch or tangle, but NEVER break." Ancient Chinese Proverb

Our friends are wonderful! My friends (sisters) Patty and Maggie donated paint and time and talent and we have a beautiful mural(s) in the nursery. Nothing in life comes simply. None of the crib sets in the stores or on the internet were what we were looking for - for our nursery, our first childs room, safe place, play room and retreat. I had in my mind what I wanted - and could not find it. I then shared our ideas with our friends. As a gift, Patty and Maggie offered paint, time and creative talent and now our nursery is just the perfect place for our Lacie bug. I found a story book on China adoption - and the illustrations were beautiful. Maggie came over and spent a morning in our nursery and it came alive with baby's and red ribbons and lady bugs all around the room. It seems to be a happy and safe place for a little girl from China. I now hope our sweet daughter thinks so too. Here is a glimpse of what she will wake up too -

Travel Approval and U.S. Consulate appointment

We got it on June 20 - our letter from China saying that we can travel to China to get Lacie. Just exactly four weeks to the day (not date) - good timing! Then we waited (yes WAIT - again) for our U.S. consulate appointment - once we got that - we could book our flights. This is so exciting. Our whole trip and journey to Lacie revolves around our consulate appointment. And then it came through. Our consulate appointment is on July 21st. So, we leave on July 9th for Beijing. We should get Lacie by July 12 or 13 - just as she is turning 9 months old. It is so hard for her parents to sit still. John and Vonda are both nesting. John is working extra hard, hanging doors, and all the extra things daddy's do the week before the baby arrives. I think it is called a "Honey Do" list. But he is so good natured - and really really taking a lot of the busy stuff away from my worries. (OK - yes - mommy still worries and nags daddy day in and day out. Honey, did you remember this? Honey, did you go to the store? Honey, did you hang the door on her room? Honey, did you remember to pick up our prescriptions? Honey? Honey? Honey - did you call the travel agency back? Honey, did you call the travel agency again? Honey Honey Honey!) Poor John - I think he is ready to change his name to Cinderella.

5/23/2005 - Our Referral

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." Isiah 43:5

What a magical day it was. We had gotten a tip from our agency on Friday May 20 that there was a package prepared to be sent from China, but it was not yet in transit. So, we were prepared to wait for several more days to hear anymore about the package. On Monday morning, soon after I (Vonda) arrived at work, the phone rang. It was Christa from our agency. I asked, "Why are you calling?" (I knew we had several more days). She said, "I am looking at a picture of your daughter." I said, "That can't be. The package was not even mailed on Friday." She said, "Well, I am looking at her picture." I cried. And cried and Cried - all happy tears. What a release. After all these years. After all these months - John and I are about to become parents! Oh MY! After we talked and I got all the "stats" - her birthdate, her age, HER weight, HER length, Her interests, etc. Christa asked - are there any questions you have? I said "YES, Please tell me again, are you SURE she is a girl?" Oh I so wanted my Lacie girl! I wanted to see her and hold her. I wanted to run and get her. Our daughter, I discovered that day, was only 7 months old. She was a little peanut of 11.4 lbs at three months.

I called John - we talked - he had already gotten the call too from Christa. We were both so excited. I emailed my bosses and then off I went - back home to get John and we drove to our agency to see our sweet angel's face for the first time. As John waited for me, he began emailing friends and family - to tell them our good news. Once we got to our agency, we walked in and saw Christa, our family coordinator and then we looked at Lacie's picture and we were in awe. I was speechless. She is absolutely beautiful. AND believe it or not - I can see both John and me in her. Except she seems a little serious and reserved - maybe a good balance for her parents.

Our new friends and now new family members, linked through adoption and through China began showing up too at the agency to see their daughters faces too for the first time. What a truly magical day it was - all graced to us by God - to whom we all prayed for this miracle to be blessed upon us. John started taking pictures just like any proud father. He snapped pics of the new parents seeing their daughters faces; of the family coordinators who were so excited for us. He took pictures of me - at every single moment of our time there - every person I spoke to, every move I made. He is going to be such a good and proud daddy.

Lacie is everything we prayed for. She is the answer to our prayers. Nothing and I mean nothing would make me do anything differently then the way it has all happened. God has truly blessed us and through the Spirit of Adoption. All the days of waiting for this miracle - seem to be faded by now as we wait now for our travel approval - so we can begin the real preparation of actually traveling to get our beautiful daughter from China.