Possible Delay

Since stepping foot in the airport yesterday it has been nothing but drama here in Guangzhou. We were told at the airport as we were getting in the taxi to go to the hotel that we will be getting Eden's visa on the 30th (which is the day of our international flight). We told him that cannot be we were told before coming that we will be able to fly home on the 30th. Peter (our guide) just kept saying you will have to change flight. We were then sent to the hotel in a taxi. Then once at the hotel we were told we did not have a reservation. So after standing there for about 30 minutes they just booked us into a room even though we did not have a reservation. Not sure where the reservation went - more than likely we were just overlooked since the other family was booked in. Then this morning we went to get Eden's medical check which went okay, but it was a bit chaotic since there were about 20 other families there getting their checks.
After the medical we went to a hotel to go over all the US paperwork and make sure all things were filled out right. We discovered that one of the forms I had to get notarized before leaving, it was the wrong form. I was given this form by our agency but apparently I had the old one and not the updated one. So Wednesday Rob is going to go with Peter to the consulate to get the new form and fill it out again and get it notarized.

We emailed our contact in the US to tell them about the consulate appointment and how we need to have Eden's visa before the 30th. All the other families in our group are in the same situation, so somebody messed up. Our travel agent said if we were to change our tickets it would be $350 per person. Plus their is only one available seat on the 1st. We really do not want this to happen. Please pray that our consulate appointment will get changed to the 27th which is what we were originally told. If we can get in on the 27th to submit the documents than we will be able to pick up her visa on the 29th.

Sorry there are no new pictures - I wanted to get this out so people can be praying for this situation. I hope next time I post it will be with good news and new pictures. Thanks!

Slow Day

Today was our last full day in Jiangxi province. Tomorrow (Saturday) we fly to Guangzhou. Today we went to a museum which Abraham loved. They had a dinosaur section of replicated dinosaurs, no bones. He loved it though. Eden took her morning nap wrapped up in the sling with Mommy. After lunch we came back to the hotel and all took naps. Then this evening we were invited down to the lobby since one of the babies was having her 1st birthday. It was one of the families from Spain. They speak no English and our Spanish is not that good. Rob ended up talking to one of the contacts in Chinese who then translated into Spanish. We sang Happy Birthday in Spanish, then English then Chinese. We got the whole group together and took a picture with our newly adopted kids. It was fun! One of the families here adopting is from NY (Westchester county) - anyway they have a daughter 7 who they adopted from China as well and now they just adopted a 12 month old. Abraham has had so much fun with her. Tonight they were playing basketball in the hotel lobby. I think he was trying to show off his skills because he was dribbling all around and she could not catch him. He likes that kind of stuff!

We are looking forward to getting to the next step of our trip which means one step closer to getting home. Pray all goes well in Guangzhou and we are able to get Eden's visa without any problems. One family who's daughter is from Guangzhou has been emailing us about what the process will be while we are there. They said there is going to be another $500 fee that we did not know about. We feel like we are being hammered to pay out for things left and right that we were not aware of. This has been very frustrating. We trust the Lord knew all this ahead of time and again lean on Him to meet our needs. Eden is worth every penny!

Pics to go along with below post....

This is the outside of the orphanage where she came monthly for check ups.

i'm trying to do the pictures separate from the written post since it's been so difficult to load them.I love this picture of her!

Rob worked his charms.....

Rob went today to Eden's birth city, Fengcheng. He took the public bus to save money. Basically it's a small run down bus that picks up every Tom, Dick and Harry along the way. It's quite a cultural experience. Our contact Alicia went with him, and she was not comfortable - he said you can tell she is not used to traveling that way. She is probably more of a city girl and since she workers with foreigners a lot she is used to traveling in taxis and nice vans. Anyway, because of his Chinese language and awareness of the culture he was able to talk to a lady that gave him more information on Eden. He was not allowed to take her file but he took a picture of it - it has her infant picture in it and basic information about her size and where she was found etc...
He felt like if we had all gone he would not have been able to get what he got since we would have drawn too much attention with Abraham, me and Eden. He went to the orphanage where she was brought once a month to get weighed and formula given to the foster Mom. It's a huge building that is very nice. On the outside it's called "Childrens Paradise". That's an interesting name. We are very thankful for any little bits of Eden's history we can get so today's trip was worth it.
Tonight we took two other American families to a nice restaurant we found last night. They were so thankful we took them since they have basically been eating at the hotel, which is mostly buffet. They said it was the best food since coming to China. Having the language makes things so much easier. It has been fun seeing the other families with their babies. There are about 5 families in the hotel we are at. 3 from America and 2 from Spain. While we were out tonight it was interesting to see the difference in the babies as well. Eden is for sure the fiesty one. The other two babies were sitting in their high chairs eating while Eden was jumping up and down on our lap and basically just not sitting still. She was sitting while Rob was feeding her some rice but once that was done she wanted to move. It reminds us so much of when Abraham was a baby and all he wanted to do was stand and bounce on our laps. She is getting stronger by the day and it is visibly obvious - i think I already mentioned how she could barely sit up when we got her and now she is doing great and can even pull her self back up if she falls back onto a pillow. After dinner all of us families stayed in the lobby to chat and drink some Chinese wine. Again Eden the fiesty one would not sit still. We put her on the floor next to the other little girl and Eden grabbed the other girls binky which was connected to one of those straps. The other girl (Olivia) just about fell over. Rob moved Eden away but then two seconds later she had grabbed the thing again and Olivia was falling over again. I think she may have been over stimulated after the meal and then the time in the lobby because she was so winey and just fidgety. When we held her she would arch her back and cry and you could just tell she was miserable. Rob had learned that she was being fostered by a family who lived in a village - which would explain her inquisitiveness about the city and all the new noises. So tonight I think it all got to be too much. I brought her upstairs turned the lights low gave her a bottle and rocked her to sleep. It took her awhile to totally calm down. Sometimes when she cries I wonder if she is missing her other life and foster mom. She says Mama and Dada - and I think - is she asking for her foster Mom? That's the only person she has known for 10 months so probably..... Pray for her as she is making the adjustment.

Okay time to try and post some pictures.....

Finally Some pictures

I was finally able to add some pictures today. I tried last night on Facebook to add a photo album but could not. I was able to change my profile picture though. So strange! I love this picture of Abraham feeding her her bottle. We got a family picture for the first time when we were out yesterday, it's just a bummer it's in the Buddhist temple. We will get more later...
Rob left this morning for Fengcheng the city Eden was born. We were told that he will see the outside of the orphanage where she was left but that if he wanted any information about her he would probably have to give the director money. Oh that burns me up! It's worth it to pay the money, but I hate that this process has turned into this. Rob was going to try and use his charm and Chinese language ability to hopefully get more out of them than they normally would give. It will be interesting to see what he finds out. I decided not to take the trip since I thought it would be a miserable day for the kids (I love saying that).
I have had a great day so far doing school with Abraham and giving Eden a slower day without so much going on. We did go out to a few stores and tried her in a stroller - she did not seem to like that as much as being carried in the sling. When I spend one on one time with Abraham it makes all the difference in his attitude and his obediance (this was true before Eden). So today has been good, I feel like I got reconnected with him and more bonded to Eden. I will update more when I hear from Rob - hopefully he will have new pictures I can add.

Trying again to add pictures

Every attempt so far today to add more pictures has failed. I will keep trying though....

Tonight for dinner we found a great restaurant that served some of the food we had been missing. I fed Eden some rice with chopsticks and it was obvious this was not a new thing for her. She loved the rice and the chopsticks approaching her face was not a surprise to her, unlike the spoon I had been using with the rice cereal. Once we get home I hope to be able to load our video to our computer and upload some video of her so you can really see her and hear all the noises she makes. She is so loud and loves to squeal. She is so inquisitive too - when we are walking down the street she is in the sling and she is just looking everywhere, up, down side to side.

I have had some people ask about the adjustment and even before we left some asked about being sad that our family is changing. Not sad in a bad way but just mourning what we had as we looked forward to a new beginning. I know it's only been a few days with her but honestly it seems like she just fits. I have not been sad for Abraham that he is no longer the only child. I feel like things are just how they are supposed to be. We have prayed for so many years for another child and then these past 3 years we have prayed for Eden that it all just feels normal. The more I look at her and the more I hold her the more I am falling in love with her. I loved her before I met her but with each day it's getting deeper. As I looked at her tonight at dinner while Rob was holding her I could "feel" the love I have for her. Abraham has done so well - he has not seemed jealous he has been patient with her and with us having to attend to her so much. I have seen him kiss her hands a few times, which is so sweet.

Rob is currently patting her bottom trying to get her to sleep - once asleep she does well but when she first goes down she struggles a bit.

well I guess that's all for now. I will try and post some pictures in another post. If I can't maybe check Facebook for pictures we seem to be able to do that better.

Out sightseeing

Today we were taken around the city to see some of the sights. I know the local govt. wants us to see this city and to learn more about where Eden is from. The thing though is that she was not living in this city. Today we were taken to a Buddhist temple - so sad! Seeing people in there just bowing and praying to these mammoth sized Buddhist statues. It was all so sad. Our contact asked if we had a faith and I told her Christian - I asked her about her faith and she said she had none! :( Tomorrow Rob is going to travel to the city Eden was born. He will see the outside of the orphanage where she was left. She stayed in the orphanage maybe one day. The sad thing is that there is almost no way for us to find out about Eden's first 10 months. We are not allowed to meet the foster parents and because she spent no time at the orphanage the director does not know much about her. Another family we met here was given a photo album of their daughters first year along with the note left by her birth mother. What a gift for them and her when she gets older.

Eden has been so great! She has been sleeping well and eating well. At night she has slept all the way through and we were told she does not do that. Part of me wonders how accurate any of the information we have been given about her. The women told us she sucks her hand to go to sleep - but that is not true. She has no sucking marks on any fingers and she has not done it with us. We wonder if she had a pacifier because she makes the sucking motion when she gets tired. We are going to buy one today and see if she will take it. She has loved all the little snacks I brought for her from home. I also have been mixing her formula with one scoop of US formula and 2 scoops of the Chinese formula to get her used to the different taste. Next week I will do two scoops of US formula and 1 scoop of Chinese. Thank you to Laura Williams who recommended bottle liners - after getting the hang of them I am so, so glad I have them. Doing dishes in a hotel room is not easy and those liners make changing the bottle out much easier.

Thank you for all the lovely words of encouragement and excitement from everyone. We feel so loved and blessed by you all!