Hello Hong Kong

We safely made it to Hong Kong last night. I forgot how much I love Hong Kong. We were able to take in some of the laser light show, and see our familiar stomping ground. We will be boarding our plane for home in about 5 hours! The next time I post I will have my family of 6 all together! I am so excited!

Hope has been sworn in....

Last time we were in China we made a special friend. She owned a store (China Doll) on the island where we had stayed. This time while still on the bus to come to the hotel she received a call to let her know we wanted to see her. Within an hour she was at our hotel and was all smiles to see us again. Lisa sold the China Doll because she now has a little boy of her own and she wants to be with him. To make extra money she will now do laundry and various other things. She came to visit with us everyday. Yesterday she brought gifts for the whole family. I can't tell you how special she is to us. I was about to start crying when she hugged us good bye. We left her with some special gifts from us too. We attempted a group picture of all the girls before we headed to the consulate. As you can see Hope was the only one who decided that the group picture thing might be fun. After our swearing in ceremony we had to start packing up the room. I put some cartoons on for Hope to watch, and she created her own theater seating for herself and her stuffed animals. We got down to the last suitcase last night, Hope decided to curl up in it. I guess she wanted to make sure we didn't forget her. She is hilarious! She is so excited about heading home. She wants to meet her siblings!!! We head to Hong Kong today, and fly out tomorrow. We will land in Atlanta at 6:50 pm on October 1st!!! I can't wait!! Please pray for a safe journey home!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

Today we went to the Guangzhou zoo. Hope was so excited to see all of the animals. It was neat to see all her excitement as we know this is the first time she has seen a lot of them. We first rode around on what looked like an oversized golf cart, then we all spread out and attacked the areas we really wanted to see.We were so happy that the Panda was awake this time. When we were here last time, the Panda didn't budge one bit. This time he was very active. Hope loved getting to see him. At this point, the heat was rising, and we were really jealous of the pool that the Panda had. Look who got to feed the giraffes! Guess who was terrified of the giraffe's tongue? Whenever any of you see Paul, ask him about his giraffe experience, it is to funny. I just wish I had gotten it on film. It was about time to leave the zoo and we realized that George had climbed out of the backpack and was missing. I started running around trying to find him. I finally found him near the giant panda. I guess that was the closest he could find to a black bear. You can tell that Panda is trying to figure out how a black bear got so close to his cage.

An Island and a Cruise

Today we went to Shamian Island (where we stayed on our last adoption trip) to do some shopping. We only had two hours there, so we rushed around to a few of our favorite shops from last time and visited with some old friends that we had made. It was kinda like going home for us. The island is such a sweet place where everyone is friendly to adoptive parents. We bought a Chinese outfit for Hope and ran into the White Swan Hotel and borrowed their couch for a few pictures. We wanted her to have "red couch" pictures just like LeeLee did. After I finished snapping her picture in the Chinese dress, she quickly changed her clothes back for a family picture. Tonight we went on a Pearl River Dinner Cruise. I can't say much for the food, but the scenery was great. Hope enjoyed herself. She was a little unsure of being on the top of the boat outside, but she eventually relaxed and we saw her famous smile. When we got her, the orphanage sent back the photo album that I had sent to her. Tucked behind one of the pictures was a note with phone numbers. I took the note down to our guide and she translated it for me. We speculated who we thought the note writer might be, then our guide decided to call and find out. Turns out is was one of her two favorite nannies. We told her that Hope was doing great. She was so excited to know that we had found her note. When I got back to my room we let Hope call the nanny for herself. She was so excited. She kept trying to show her all of her stuff through the phone. The nanny then put her best friend on the phone and Hope's excitement level rose. She was so excited to tell them about all the things she has been doing. She wasn't upset at all after we hung up the phone. She seemed quite content. Back to the cruise......After dinner they had a clown that had a pretty impressive juggling act and ball tricks. Hope captured her attention and she let her come up and be part of the performance. She loved it. She loves being in the spotlight. I hope that Hope and LeeLee learn how to share it! They have very different personalities, so I am praying they get along!

Jam Packed Day

First I want to start out with a picture from last night. This picture is another one that breaks my heart. Hope had several "chores" in the orphanage, and one of them was to close the curtains at night. She took this job very seriously obviously because she feels like it is her job to close the curtains for us at the hotels. She has been doing this since the night we got her. As soon as we come in from dinner, she goes to both rooms and closes the curtains. We want her to know she doesn't have to do that. There is nothing she has to do to earn her keep with us.First thing this morning, we headed out to have Hope's TB test read. Praise the Lord she passed, and so did the kids in our group. Thank you for your prayers. Then we did some marathon shopping. Our guide had presented us with the opportunity to go to the circus. I love the circus, so selfishly, I accepted the invitation. So after shopping we came back to the hotel and had Hope take a nap so that she could go for a long night. Here is Hope riding in on Paul to the big top. Can't you just see the excitement? Here we are close to the entrance. She is still all smiles. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. During the show, the performers would come up to the walkway and dance. When they would come through they would throw out stuffed animals. Paul managed to catch one, then another time a performer came by and gave Hope this one. She got a lot of attention from the performers as they went by. At one point during the performance horses, elephants, and birds of all kinds came walking right by us. She was so excited. She got to touch an elephant and some of the birds. This truly was the most amazing circus I have ever seen. I know we are so excited that we jumped at the chance to go!! We already know Hope is terrified of fireworks. This circus was full of them, so this is what we saw every time the loud booms erupted. You can also take note that she is sitting with her security blanket instead of me. He protected her well. I guess we will find out tomorrow what she thought about the whole thing when our guide is with us and can translate. I'll let you know. Please continue to pray for us here! The days are starting to drag along, and I am ready to be home. Continue to pray for LeeLee! My friend Suzanne will have her again tonight. Pray for Hunter and Noelle too! Also please pray for my mom. I know she is ready to see her own bed too.

The Botanical Gardens

Today we got up early so we could eat breakfast and be back in the room before the Auburn game came on. We are able to watch it online. While watching the Auburn game, Hope played around the room and got into Paul's clip on sunglasses. She laughs at herself a lot and was having a good time making us laugh. Paul didn't go with us because the Auburn game was only at the half, and we were losing. So, he stayed behind at the hotel to pull them through. So, I have a lot of cute pictures of Hope, as she was my only subject! Hope is such a beautiful little girl inside and out. She amazes us everyday with how brave she is. She smiles through almost everything, and seems genuinely excited to finally have a family. More things we have learned about Hope.....

• Hope is happiest when you are happy, and will do anything to make you laugh (think clown in the circus!)
• She has the most beautiful dimples when she smiles
• Hope thinks Paul is one big security blanket (she has him wrapped around her little finger!)
• She goes to the bathroom more than humanly possible! I would think she has a UTI but she always makes it through the night without getting up
• Hope loves shopping! She will bring me the communication cards I made and point to the shopping one.
• She has taken very well to the communication cards. She will use them to tell me most everything, and I can point to some and she will do what I am pointing to. They have been a lifesaver.
• She can scrunch up her nose, and make the funniest little face.
• Hope loves swimming. She would stay in the pool all day if we let her. She is starting to feel more comfortable in it everyday.
• She is very girly!! She always wants her nails done and lip gloss on.
• She loves seeing pictures of her siblings! She also comes running when we skype with them! She is so excited to be part of a family

I am so glad that God chose us to take the leap of faith to be Hope's parents. It was a huge leap for us after reading her file. I can tell you without a doubt that Paul and I both adore this little girl, and can't imagine her not being a part of our lives. God made her perfect, and we know he intended for her to be with us! I don't know and never will know why God made us wait 6 years to meet her, but I do know that his timing is perfect. I can't wait to see what great things God has in store for this precious child.

This is the picture of the day. Here in China the brides rent American style wedding dresses and they have their bridal portraits done in them. It was hot and humid today, and I saw this poor bride sitting down trying to get some relief from the heat. George even snuck into the picture. That silly George!!

Medical Exam Day

Today we had to head to the Medical Exam that is required in order to get Hope's Visa to come to the United States. There has been a big change in the process since we were here last time. The change involves Hope having to get shots before she can enter the US. We didn't tell Hope about them at all because we didn't want her to get nervous or upset. So off we went to exam office. First stop they checked her hearing, her throat, teeth, and her nose. She was all smiles, especially since they immediately told her she was beautiful. The second stop was the whole body check. They checked her heart and then we had to take her pants off so he could check her body. I warned him that she is ticklish, and she laughed through every bit of it. All the kids before us had come out of that room crying so we were tickled with her giggling. While we were waiting in line for this room and little boy from Hope's orphanage was right behind us. Hope called him by name. It was sweet to see how much she cared for all the little kids at the SWI. Here is the all important eye check. It appeared to us that she failed it miserably, but they told us she did fine. Then we sat and waited for shot time. Our guide, Rebecca, came over and explained to Hope what was getting ready to happen. Paul had them tell her that if she was a brave girl and didn't cry then he would take her to get ice cream. This is the same deal he makes with all our children when it is shot time. They looked at her shot record from Baotou and decided that he only needed to get four shots. She was so brave and didn't cry a bit. She also had a TB skin test done too. We will get the results of that in a few days. Since she was so brave, she got her reward! She LOVES Haagen-Dazs just like her daddy!

Please pray for Hope that she doesn't have any reactions to her shots and that her TB skin test is negative! Please continue to pray for my family back home. I miss them as much as they miss us! Also begin to pray that Hope will blend well with our children at home.