Little Fat

Today we ventured to get Avery's visa picture made and her check up at the Doctor.  It was crazy to see so many Westerners with their new babies and kids at he clinic.  Apparently all the adoption medicals are done on Saturdays, so you had a bunch of white people (unsure of what is going on) and all the Chinese babies screaming during the check ups.  Avery was not a fan of her check up.  They sat me down with her and the Dr. came in to review the medical papers that came with her referral.  On the referral it basically states there is a knee and hip issue.  The Dr. took one look at Avery (aka little Fat) and asked our guide "why she no walk?"  My guide asked me why she doesn't walk and I said "I don't know".  He goes to get 2 other Doctors who proceed to lay Avery down on the table and push  her legs back, stretch them out, push them to the side, etc...  They all looked perplexed and Avery was P.O. (she is a feisty little one---good for her, I thought)!!!
They said there is no problem with her hips at all.  It is a knee issue that just needs a brace and, get this, she is "lazy" because she won't walk and because, uh hum.....she is a bit on the chubby side.  By far the fattest healthiest baby in there.  We are so proud of all 25.3 pounds of her.
Not that I am taking anything the doctor's say to be 100% correct.  we will still go immediately to the Clinic when we get home to get her checked out. 
I must say, I picked up our little chunky bundle of joy, squeezed her juicy lovable thighs and held my head high as we exited the clinic...and then, I handed her some crackers and we headed to McDonald's!
After her nap, we took her to a little play area at the hotel and she had a ball. 
I cannot even begin to describe how far she has come--everyday just gets better than the next.  She is full of energy.  She is full of smiles and giggles and kisses.  She is just full of joy!  She makes us laugh all the time....she is really a funny little girl.  We are loving this time with her.  It has been so much fun. 
Good night from China....good morning to You!
And...a Happy Birthday to my Mom---we love you! 

Reading books (below) and screaming with delight (above)! 

 Filling out paperwork with our guide, Rebecca

Getting ready to see the Doctor 

 After Bath  and ready for bed!

New Places

We made it to Guangzhou, the last leg of our trip.  We will be here for the next week and I must say it has been a nice change.  First, the hotel is one of the nicest I have ever stayed at.  It is beautiful and our room is a suite, so we can spread out more.  We feel a bit spoiled here.  Secondly, we are with 2 other American families who have also adopted, so it is good to chat with them.  Thirdly, there is so much to do right outside our hotel.   Everything we could need.  Lots of places to eat, a Starbucks withing walking distance (that I am hoping to go to today), shopping, etc.. It is a very nice city. 
Averys first flight went pretty good.  All I could think about was traveling back 16 hours with her on my lap. 
Not sure if I am up for that.  Matt joked that he would hand me $100 for every hour we made it through (since her ticket would end up costing 1,000 or so).  I do not even know if that would be worth it!   He can only say that because she has not yet wanted to sit on his lap.  She does make sure she knows where he is at all times, but if I am nearby she wants me to hold her.  If I am not in her sight, she wants Matt!  It is a good place to be, for now. 
Being in Guangzhou, as well as having some sykpe sessions with the kids have made it a little easier.  I haven't talked with Gray yet, so I plan to do that this morning.
Today, we go get Avery's medical exam.  I know she will not like this.  She is slow to warm up to people and does not like new people in her face at all.  We have seen her progress more in interacting with strangers.  She will smile at strangers now and wave hi and bye to them.  She is  just a tad uneasy when locals get "all up in her space", which I can hardly blame her! 
No pictures for now.  I will post some later! 

video of Gotcha Day

Here is the video from gotcha day...unedited of course!  You can see some of the orphanage where she  spent the first year of her life.  We were matched end of March with Avery and the next week she went to live with her foster family!  Isn't God awesome?  It is hard for me to watch--certainly not what we all hope when we meet our child for the first time, but I can say that she LOVES us!  I cannot believe the transformation I have seen over the past 4 days!  No doubt, she was grieving hard for what she only knew in this video. 

Matt did not start the video, fearing we didn't want to capture her so upset, so filming took place after I had to take her from her Foster mom...very hard and upsetting for her.  She finally fell asleep in my arms as we left and woke up on the car ride home!

China Day #7

Today we ventured out to a street market with lots of shopping and some authentic Chinese things for good deals.  I bought the kids some goodies--but cannot tell you, because they are reading this!!
It was a very fun day!  We bought a stroller at Walmart yesterday, so it was a little easier on my arms.  I did take her on a walk today, while Matt got some work done and wore her on my back---that was comfortable for a little bit.
Avery is really starting to take to Matt--he has been so patient with her and now she looks for him when I say where's Daddy?  It is really cute.  She also did really good while I snuck away to take a shower--she only noticed I was gone once I came back.   I am seeing that everyday we are making more and more progress with her. 
I have taken her swimming everyday and she loves the pool!  It has given us something to do and it is nice and cool.  I think tomorrow is suppose to be 110 degrees. We fly out to tomorrow for a week in another city.  We are looking forward to the change. 
This morning, we skyped for the first time with the kids.  It was so great and really lifted my spirits up to see the kids.  They saw Avery for the first time and were so excited.  Gray is in Atlanta still, so I will chat with him tomorrow. We sure miss the kids and are trying to enjoy this time with Avery that we will never have again in this setting.  She is the perfect addition to our family.  We continue to thank God everyday for his mercy and grace on this trip.  We have seen Him show up in every circumstance.  
Thank you to everyone for your prayers and for your encouragement....it is a blessing to hear from you! 

Walmart and the pool!

Today was a nice day.  Of course, I woke up at 5:00, but I went to be early so that was ok.  We skyped with matt's parents, which was wonderful and got to talk to my mom!  Tomorrow we will skype with the kids for the first time--I am counting down the hours!!!  I MISS THEM.  They start school on Thursday.  I am so sad to miss the first week, but know they are in great hands.
We ate breakfast and then went to Walmart.  That was an adventure, but cool to see how different it is from my 2nd home on highway 280.  We got KFC, which apparently is very popular here.  Cannot remember the last time I ate at a KFC, but I did today!  I won't lie...it was tasty!
We came back to the hotel and put Avery down for a nap and then I was able to visit with Avery's foster family at the hotel.  We scheduled for them to come visit while she was asleep and I was able to sit down with all four of them and find out everything I wanted to know about Avery.  All I can say, is these women are amazing.  We are in awe of how good God is!  I know I will forever keep up with these 4 women who had such an impact on Avery's life...they loved her until I could get her!
After her nap, I took Avery swimming and she loved it.  She is doing so great and we are bonding quickly.
We miss home!  Thank you for your kind words and your prayers.  Keep em coming!

"Arms in China" girls 

Avery's Foster Family--they speak english!!!

 

big day

What a day...so far!  Avery slept wonderfully last night.  She woke up and we cuddled in bed and she loved it.  She didn't want to get out of our bed to eat breakfast!  She is warming up great to Matt, prefers me, which is good for now, but is so curious as to where Matt is at all times. 
We ate breakfast and I must say she is quite an eater.  After playing and breakfast we laid her down for a morning nap and I took one myself.  Everyday I wake up at 5:00 a.m.--ugh! 
After her nap, we took to the streets to find a grocery.  We were so excited to shop for food!  We left with bananas, more oreos, diapers, bread, and ramen noodles.   On the way home, we decided to finally succumb to some local food.  We stopped in a restaurant that had indoor table (yay).  Nobody spoke English and ordering was, well....impossible.  We are not sure what we ordered, but we mentioned chicken, they repeated it and went back to the kitchen.  We sat there for 45 minutes waiting for our food.  We were not sure why it was taking so long, but we had to meet our guide, so we somehow told them we needed it to go.  Finally they brought out a HUGE bowl of broth with cut up pieces of something out and put it in a plastic bag for us to take home.  We paid, walked out and had no idea what we just ordered.  Later to find out from our guide that it was a cut up chicken in broth and the reason why we waited so long was they had to go and buy a live chicken to kill and cut up for us.  Needless to say, we donated the food to someone on the street.    Starving, we went back to the hotel to eat bread and peanut butter.
After lunch we had to go to the adoption office downtown.  We arrived there and did a ceremony with the governmental officials.  It was very nice.  At the end, we had to get all our passports checked and as we were waiting there with Avery in my lap, she wiggled off and bumped her head on the counter....we all heard it.  The orphanage director, the adoption official--everyone!  It was horrible.  Avery was crying because it was quite a boo boo and I was horrified that they were not going to see me as a fit parent. 
I guess they did because off they sent us.  We swung by McDonalds and came back to the hotel. That is our day in a nutshell.  I am about to take Avery to the pool and Matt is going to get some work done. 
Here are some pictures from our day today

Details

I totally did not edit this post...sorry (too tired)

We loaded in the car around 12:30 to head to Fuling, where Avery's orphanage was.  It took us 3 hours to get there due to traffic, so we arrived around 3:00 or so.  The orphanage sits on top of a mountain overlooking the city. The drive there was bumpy, long and kinda scary....we literally went through tunnels that went through mountains...LONG tunnels!  The countryside here is beautiful though.
We arrived and proceeded in, me with butterflies that this moment I had been waiting for for so long was here.  Matt, of course is cool and calm...Me?  Not so much.
We walk in and the director tells our guide that Avery has been in foster care for the last 4 or so months and her foster mother is in the room waiting for you.  Ok! Totally not prepared for that.  We had no idea she was in foster care.  I walk in to find a young woman holding Avery.  I sat down across from her and Avery wanted nothing to do with me.  I tried all the things I brought to entice her to come to me, but she wasn't having any of it.  I finally had to take her in my arms and she screamed and cried, reaching out for her foster mom.  It was heartbreaking, but I knew this meant she had attachment to someone, which is a good thing.
I finally suggested that maybe she wait in the other room for a little so I could not have her in Avery's vision.  So she so sweetly left the room, but Avery still screamed her head off.  I was holding this little girl for about 20 minutes and she was hysterically crying (loudly).  All the nanny's with the other babies were just staring at me.  I wanted to scream that "I know what I am doing, I have 4 kids at home", but this was different.
I finally did what I used to do with all my babies when they were young to get them to sleep and calm down, I bounced and hushed in her ear---sh sh sh....sh sh sh....She feel asleep within minutes. 
We toured the orphanage with her asleep on me the rest of the time.  She was a dead weight and this girl is quite heavy!  I was pouring sweat--not so pretty, but didn't care!  She was peaceful and I had her in my arms.
I got to talk with her foster mom for a long time about Avery.  She really loved her so much.  This was her first time as a foster parent and I know she had a strong attachment to Avery as much as Avery did to her.  She brought a diaper bag,  filled with everything Avery would need.  She made a book with pictures and letters to Avery about the time she spent with her.  She typed up a detailed letter and schedule about anything and everything I would ever want to know about Avery and her likes, dislikes, schedules, feedings, etc.. She was her angel.  She prayed with her nightly and talked about her forever family to her. 
The past 5 months, we have thought she was in the orphanage, not getting the love she deserved, but on the contrary (and we believe God's grace and mercy) she was loved more than we will ever know. 
Her Foster mom cries tears of sadness to let her go, but also tears of joy that we loved Avery and would love her forever.
God is in the details!  He had his hand upon her this whole time.  Although she spent 10 + months in the orphanage, she knew 4+ months of love.  God is good---all the time!
We think Avery's special need is a little worse than we had thought.   She just started to crawl on all fours and prefers to scoot around on her bottom.  She cannot pull herself up.  It is concerning, but we will deal with that once we are home. For now, she is a cuddle bug.  She is very cautious of Matt, but very curious.
She used baby signs to tell us what she needs and she is as cute as cute can be.  She ate a good dinner, took her one and only bottle before I laid her down to sleep.  She kept making sure I was right there, and I was--I always will be!   
We feel so blessed God led us down this path.  HE makes no mistakes and we are honored and so happy that we are her parents!

Avery

No time to tell you all the details...because we just got back to the hotel.  One big surprise was that Avery has been in foster care for the past 4 or 5 months.  So, Gotcha day was a little traumatic for Avery (and me!) the Foster mom was there holding her when we got there, so Avery was not happy to go to me at all....for a LONG time.  It was heartbreaking, but a good thing that she was so attached to her.  It is easier to tansfer attachment than to create it!   
So here are the pictures from today.  More to come later.  We are ALL exhausted.

Peace

About to head to sleep.  I cannot believe I will hold Avery tomorrow.  I just had to tell you, because Matt is so tired of hearing me say it!  I sit here on the computer with an empty crib next to me.  Tomorrow at this time, it will hold Avery, a blessing from God.  We walked the streets of Chongqing, not going unnoticed (i might add) and talked about how we are thankful for the brave choice Avery's birthmother chose. No doubt, it was unimaginably difficult to leave her daughter after 5 days of caring for her.  I pray that she might feel, deep down in her heart, a peace tomorrow.  A peace that surpasses any understanding she could have.  A peace only from the Father above, who knows what it is like to "give up" a child. 
This gotcha day comes exactly 16 months to the day that she was found on the steps of the orphanage.  She was found on April 8, 2010.  For 16 months, aside from the 5 days spent in the arms of her birthmom, this is all she has known. 
We have prayed, along with so many of you, that God has prepared her for tomorrow.

  I believe He has.   

Pictures!

We made it to Chongquing.  We were definitely the only Americans on our flight here.  We sort of stuck out and people were very curious as to why we were going to Chongquing. I had my first real Chinese meal on the plane.  I have decided to be a vegetarian for the next few weeks, as a I am not keen on eating what I do not recognize.  In Hong Kong we ate breakfast at McDonalds, lunch at an American restaurant and a sandwich at the airport.  I even found a Starbucks, but they did not have my go-to drink. 
Tomorrow (Monday) we drive 2 hours to Fuling to pick up Avery.  We will do some paperwork here at the hotel in the morning, then our guide we take us to the orphanage.  We will probably meet her around 2:00.  Today is a day to relax and get everything together.
We were able to Skype with the kids and they sound just fine!  Not missing a beat, but talking to them made me miss them all the more. 
Here are some pictures of our day in Hong Kong

We are here!

 Our Hotel (for the night)

 Figuring out the money thing

 I thought I was getting a picture with JAckie Chan, but Matt infomed me it was Bruce Lee

 Views from Victoria's Peak

 And we are off to Chongquing!

Hk update

We are sitting in the hong kong airport awaiting our flight to chongquing. This is the city where Avery is! Today was a good day filled with lots of walking around and sightseeing. Fatigue has hit us both right now as we wait to board. It is a strange feeling to be the minority, but a great learning experience. Hong kong is beautiful, but boy, do I love America....love Birmingham, Alabama to be precise. We stayed at a very swanky hotel, that we could never afford if not for our Hilton honors points. I knew Matt traveling had to have SOME perks.
We are anxious to get to china. To get to the birthplace of our daughter. Last night as we flew over china, I was looking out the window thinking....somewhere in this land of over 1 billion people is our little girl. Isn't God just amazing how he orchstrates our lives? We are in awe of how we never in a million years thought we would get to go to china and now, here we are!
It feels so comforting to know so many of you are praying for us. We feel the prAyers all around us. I am going to try to post some pictures of hong kong tonight or tomorrow and then my next post will be of Avery!

p.s. To all my red thread moms...the flight was not that bad at all...I didn't take anything but a tylenol pm.

Next Stop

HONG KONG!! We made it to Detroit!  This flight was cake. Up at 3:50 (did I even fall asleep?), airport by 4:45.  Left Birmingham on a (too small for my comfort) jet plane and landed in Detroit by 10:00.
We have a long layover in Detroit, but when you us miles you get what you get and to be honest, the people watching here is great.  It is a huge airport!  I know we will soon be on an airplane for 14 or so hours, so I took advantage of the size of the airport and walked the entire thing.  It actually took me almost an hour, and I wasn't walking slow!  It passed and hour and I got my wiggles out (i guess you could say)!  I am drinking water like crazy because I am afraid I am going to get dehydrated and have my "sleepy pills" on hand once I am on board.  Can you tell I have never traveled internationally?  Matt is as cool as a cucumber.  He flies all the time, so this morning I think I may have embarrassed him (and myself) when at airport security,  I proceeded to take off my shoes and place them on the belt, then tried to walk through carrying all my carry on items?!!  I don't fly much and like it that way.
So, next post we will be in Asia and soon pictures of our Avery.
Did I mention that we actually get to go to her orphanage to pick her up.  The normal situation is they bring your child to you and you hope to visit the orphanage later in the week.  Well, Chonquing lets you come and get her!  We will get to see her in her element, which will be great, but also have to take her away from the only thing she knows (which could be hard). 
Love you all and I will post soon!

And We are Off!

I wanted to post a few pictures before we leave the USA~  we took the kids to Nana's and Grandads tonight.  We had a little early surprise party for Wills since we will be gone over his birthday.  It was a sweet night filled with hugs, some tears and goodbyes.  The family, as we know it to be now, will never be the same.  We are adding another blessing from God and we will all forever be changed.  I am overwhelmed with emotions right now.  So excited to go, yet so sad to leave....make sense?
All in all, we know Avery needs us.  We need her.  We need to get her home....to a family who is waiting with open arms and hearts to love her and accept her. 
Tomorrow we leave.  Early alarm clock for me--if I can sleep at all.  Boarding a plane to go to the place God has called us.  It is here.  My heart is heavy.  My heart is full.  My heart is pounding out of my chest!
We love you Wills, Owen ,Kate and Gray.  AND to our parents....we could never do this without your help, love and support!