We Are Home...

Safe and sound but bone weary.

I hate it when families stop blogging once home so I wanted to post quickly to let everyone know that we are home and doing pretty well.

We are having great breakthroughs and tough transitions but are working through it all.

Jet lag is just hard and Maggie and I are sick on top of it all...

Not fun!

Please pray for Maggie's dear heart in particular as she struggles in her new normal.

I will try and post pics as soon as I can.

Just have to spend my waking hours on my girls and try and rest in the off hours right now.

Thank you to all who posted and prayed.

Let me tell you, we felt every single prayer!

Almost Home!

The day started with our Consulate Appointment and ended with the Pearl River Cruise, with swimming in between!

What a good day!

Just a few power struggles from Miss Maggie but overall a good day!

Have I mentioned how much the girls love to swim???

Well, they do!

 

 

Armed with life jackets and inner-tubes (not to mention a really good big brother to entertain them), they are GTG and we can kick back and relax for a few! 

 

I just love listening to them talk to each other and to other kiddos.

Don't have a clue what they are saying but it is just too cute!

 

Lucy may have to be careful though when her English starts kicking in as she likes to fuss at her sister in Chinese.

 

Right now, I have no clue what she is saying but when that fuss turns into English!

 

Watch out!

 

Momma will then be able to understand!

 

Ha!

This morning for example, Maggie was refusing to put on her shorts and Lucy proceeded to fuss at her sister in Chinese.

I heard "Maggie" and "Momma" and that was all I could understand.

Next thing I knew, Maggie was putting on her shorts!

hehe

 

After swimming, we all got ready for the Pearl River Cruise.

 

 

We had done this last time with Lizzie but thought the girls and Caleb would enjoy it...

 

 

 

and they did.

 

As we were leaving, Hubby put Lucy on his shoulders where her dress got all tangled up and hiked up.

 

Dear sweet Hubby very innocently (yeah right) said to Lucy, "you are showing your hiney."

Well, little Miss Lucy decided that she would just make that into a song to entertain the masses!

So as Hubby carried her back to the van on his shoulders, she was singing, "you can see my hiney, you can see my hiney" over and over again as she hit random Chinese people on the head with her foot long balloon!

Yep, she is a hoot!

Just a little side note about Miss Maggie...

As much trouble as she is giving us right now, she told both Hubby and myself that she loved us today!

Thank you Lord!

We are almost home!

Our flight leaves tomorrow night and we arrive Thursday morning!

WOW!

 

Prayers for our flight please!

Between hiney girl and little Miss "No", it should be a fun ride home!

Good Day and Not so Good Day

We started out at the toy market today and that was so much fun!

The girls did great and the highlight of the day was when we picked out a cross for Caleb.

 

Maggie was SO excited and wanted one SO badly.

Now, I have 2 beautiful crosses waiting for them at home but she just had to have that cross and we were not going to say no.

She knows the Lord and we are so thankful!

However, it slowly deteriorated from there.

We went to Shamian Island and Maggie started on a downhill spiral.

 

Please continue to pray for her transition.

I was not able to take too many pics today and am really tired but will leave you with a snipet from our trip to Maggie's foster care center and her wonderful classroom.

What a glimpse of hope this special place is!

It was hard to watch as Lucy took in all that she had not had.

Praying for both of our sweet girls!

Consulate tomorrow!

YAY!!!!

Shopping, Temples and Progress!

Went shopping today and back to the Chen family temple.

 

pic by Caleb

 

That was fun.

 

 

Kind of. 

 

 

hehe

We got some good gifts...

some things for folks back home and for the girls for later...

and not even one meltdown!

Now that was fun!

Progress!

 

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to venture out to the local Trust Mart with one of our sweet travel buds, Robin.

 

After making quite the spectacle...

 

picture Hubby almost breaking his um, gluteus maximus, sliding down the wheelchair slide ramp and then running Maggie right into one of the signs hanging from the ceiling as she sat on his shoulders.

Yep, good times!

Ha!

Anyway, it was all worth it as we found 2 baby dolls complete with bottles for the girls.

They spotted those dolls and nothing else mattered.

As soon as we got back, the dolls were opened and promptly fed.

Loved seeing this happen

 Loved their reaction as their dolls were opened

 

Loved watching as spirits are beginning to heal.

 

Thank you Lord!

One Step Closer to Home!

Well we made it to GZ with only one meltdown at the airport but it was a biggie.

Yep, Miss Maggie is showing her stubborn side and right now, it ain't pretty y'all!  Please pray for her sweet heart as she continues to process all that is happening to her!

We did have our medicals done today and we were all glad when that was over with.

I had to get a picture of the vending machine in the lobby of the medical building!

That's right...

A wine vending machine!  

Haha!

I think by the time we were all done...

we were all thinking about it!

Ha!

There was also another first for the girls today.

Swimming and they loved it!

Just starting in the baby pool but they could not have been more excited!

On the agenda tomorrow...

Shopping!

Love GZ!!!

Guess Who I Got to Meet Today???

You all might remember precious Yong

Whom LWB was trying to help by getting him the surgery that he needed.

This sweet child so touched my Caleb's heart that for his 10th birthday, he asked his friends to donate to Yong's surgery instead of buying him gifts and...

I got to meet him today!!!!

I was able to meet some precious children who are in the care of the foster care center where Maggie has been for the last 4 months and he just happen (wink) to be there!

When I saw him walk out, I asked if this was Yong and then told his foster family the story about Caleb and how we had been praying for him.

They told Yong that we had been praying for him and I got to hold him in my lap!

 

I cried!

 

Surprise Surprise!  

 

hehe

This is just one example of how the Lord is showing me things...

 

blessing me and hopefully using me...

I am meeting people, extraordinary people and children who break my heart and move my heart and whom are counting on my heart.

In the coming weeks, I will be posting more faces and I am not certain how this will look but there is something going on and I pray that I will hear His direction for all of this.

There is so much going on in my head and heart and I will need time to sort it all out and my girls need me too but stay tuned and please pray for these wonderful, waiting kids!

Faces...

Some of the precious faces of Lucy's world.

MM - 10 years old - Lucy best bud - cannot walk - gets around by crawling on her belly

I am still trying to process all that I have seen

EB - serious heart condition- 10 years old

without totally losing myself in it.

XZ - down syndrome - 7 months old

The difference in the level of care that Maggie has received as opposed to Lucy is heartbreaking to say the least.

JL - hearing loss - 2 years old

I see Maggie's heart for her sister and she seems to somehow know.

they did not tell me her name but she cannot walk or see - she gets around by scooting on her bottom - 10 years old if you can believe that - I can find out more about her if there is an interested family

More on that later.

HC - 6 years old - post op for heart and kidney issue - we were told that he is healthy now

for now, please look at these precious faces

ZX - hearing loss - 6 to 7 years old

None of these sweet ones are file ready as no one there thinks they are adoptable....

CX - leg deformity - one year old

but I do and I know so, so many others of you out there do too.

If any of these faces speak to your heart, please email me.

Processing

Slowly but surely processing.