Finding Faith in China

Happy Gotcha Day!!

2011-11-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

It was 3 years ago today that we walked into a hotel with three other families and met our daughter for the first time. Faith you are such a blessing to our family and we love you so much!! Happy Gotcha Day sweet heart!

Summer 2011 Family Pictures and Faith's first photo shoot!

2011-10-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

2010-07-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry It's been a Long Time Sense Our Last Post!

2010-07-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry Everyone it's been a long time sense our last post. Here are some pictures from this summer!!

One of Alissa's Senior Pictures

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please Shine Down On Me!!

2009-05-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

See the pretty daisy in my hair!!

Wow, it was almost 70 degrees today, which is very warm for us Wisconsinites!
Well, mommy and daddy are in Florida for a week, leaving me (Alissa) in charge of the little ones over the weekends. Today we played out in the yard,went to the park, and just Faith and I went for a little bike ride around the neighborhood. The older girls wanted to stay home and play in the basement,so I let them. They thought they were pretty big stuff staying home alone for a WHOLE 15 MIN!!Grace's friend Liddi, joined us today and is staying the night for a SLUMBER PARTY!! They are very excited........hope I get some sleep tonight! ha ha

Oh,If you wondering where Giles is, he spent the day with bi brother Ben.

Well, I thought I would take the opportunity to post some pictures.

Daisy Pictures!

Molly the Rabbit

She was to scared to use the big girl swing!

Little Gymnast on the monkey bars.

Let me tell you a secret.

Now where did she get this poses from?

(Grace maybe?)

Bike ride in the buggy!

2009-04-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

These are videos taken right after Faith was given her happy juice(relax medicine?) ha ha.
She was pretty goofy! To hear the videos you will have to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music.

Happy Juice Video #2

2009-04-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Juice Video #1

2009-04-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

All About Faith's Surgery Day

2009-04-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

YUCKIE MEDICINE

GETTING SILLY FROM MY MEDS
Hi everyone! I know Alissa has been updating the blog lately, but believe it or not this post is written by me! I have finally found some time to post. Faith's 5 month anniversary was on April 3rd, which was surgery day. We left home at 5:45am. It was dark and snowing. We then arrived at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee and reported to the 4th floor,"Day Surgery." Next Faith got her hospital gown, name band, and yucky medicine to relax her.
Then at 7:15 we left for the holding area of surgery. However, it was so busy that they put
us in the recovery room area. Dr. Kedder (ears) and Dr. Denny (mouth) both visited before surgery. Around 7:30 I don't know how relaxed she was,but she sure was silly and hipper!! Soon after she was being wheeled away to surgery with her ladybug blankie, Brownie the puppy, family photos we sent to her in China, and believe it or not she wanted her winter coat! Don't ask why, she was asking for lots of silly things. At 9:15 surgery was over. Dr. Kedder (ears) said NO TUBES were needed for her ears and Dr. Denny successfully repaired her palate. He said it is quite fragile mainly because the tissue behind her front teeth was of "poor quality." Please pray for a rapid and complete recovery! Then I went to the recovery room while Faith woke up. Oh, the Tooth Fairy visited the O.R. and left a card with $1.00 because Dr. Denny had to remove an extra tooth that had grown at the site of the cleft.Around 10:00 am. Faith got a ride on her hospital bed up to the 5th floor to her new home for the night, Room # 555. (I thought that was very appropriate because of her 5th birthday that's coming up) She was very nauseous and miserable. The pain killers and nausea medicine worked GREAT and she slept until 1:00. She was very irritable due to the frustration of not being able to talk due to the swelling. She ate 1/2 bites of jello, a little yogurt, and 5 bites of chicken noodle soup. At 5:30pm. the whole family came to visit lavishing her in gifts. Parker was especially concerned about Faith's solemn behavior. He kept giving her lots of hugs. It was just precious! We thank God for the wonderful family he has blessed us with: 6 children, 2 daughter in-laws, and a grandson! Everyone has been so supportive of the adoption and all that has come with it. Thanks be to God! On Saturday morning(4th) Faith woke up quite different then before. She was back to herself! She stood up on the bed and wanted to play. She finally got to eat pancakes, which she had wanted yesterday, but was not allowed to have it. So she was a very happy girl!We left the hospital at 10:00 am. for home where she arrived to party balloons and streamers the girls had set up for her to welcome her home. It was so sweet! We will return in 2 weeks for a post-op checkup. Then well see all the cleft palate team in 3 months and they'll decide her short and long term care. In 6 months surgery again! They didn't repair the cleft in her gum where they removed her tooth. They felt it would be better to wait because of the "poor tissue quality" issue! Thanks for all your prayers and God Bless!!

DR. DENNY AND THE NURSES

BEFORE PICTURE

AFTER PICTURE (AMAZING!)

RIGHT AFTER SURGERY JUST WOKE UP- Hi mommy!

STUFF FROM THE TOOTH FAIRY- nice hair do

TOOK A NAP-after receiving pain meds

LOTS OF BLOODY NOSES

BENNY BROUGHT ME A HUGE BALLOON!!

OPENING GIFTS / FLEECE BLANKET FROM ALISSA

FROM GRACIE-LIP BALM AND SOME RINGS

SISTERS

FAITH,PARKER,RICHIE

ANGIE AND RICHARD

COMING OUT OF THE BATHROOM

HORRIBLE TASTING PAIN MEDS-"Crying"

DADDY TRYING TO CALM HER

MOMMY COMFORTING ME

PARKER GIVING LOTS OF LOVE'S!!

Going Home Pictures- Saturday Morning (April 4th)

TAKING MY I.V. OUT

WELCOME HOME FAITHY BOO!!

HAPPY TO BE HOME!

Faith's prizes she picked out of the hospital's treasure chest for being such a good girl about taking her medicine.

Surgery Update 1

2009-04-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone it's Alissa. I'm posting for my mom as she is at the hospital with Faith to let you all know the surgery went very smoothly without any complications!! Thank you for all of your prayers. However, as we expected she is in allot of pain and is very frustrated that no one can understand her due to the huge amount of swelling. She will be spending the night at Children's and is supposed to come home tomorrow, but that all depends on how she is doing. Hopefully this will be the case. I will post some pictures later, but right now my mom has my camera at the hospital. Well, that's all I know right now and I will be sure to post any new information.

Surgery News!!

2009-03-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to inform everyone our dear Faith will be having her surgery THIS Friday, April 3rd.Please be praying it goes smoothly without any complications. I'm not worried about the actual surgery its self as much as I'm worried about the recovery. Quin, Faith's bed mate at the orphanage had her surgery about a month ago now.Her biggest obstacle was of course eating. With her mouth being to sore to eat anything she was admitted back to the hospital because of dehydration. Please be praying this is not the case with Faith. I will update the blog as soon as possible after her surgery to inform everyone how it went. THANKS!!

Parker's 1st Birthday!!

2009-03-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Me!!

Parker's 1st birthday was almost 3 weeks ago!! I can't believe my little nephew is already one.
We had a GREAT time of fellowship with Angie's parents, her sister and our immediate family. Of course the highlight of the party was watching Parker eat his cake. It was HALARIOUS!!He is Mr. clean and hates getting messy, so he only lasted a short time before he got very upset with the excessive amount of cake gooked on his hands. You will see just how upset he got looking at one of the pictures bellow. I think part of his frustration was also because it was past his nap time. He hung in there through the opening of his presents and he even played a little before finally crashing. He was quite the sport!!

I'm Ready To Party!!

Ooooo........... Pretty!!

What Do I Do With This?

This Stuff Is Good!!

Wow... Everyone Is Taking Pictures Of Me!!

Oh No!! Is This Cake On My Once Clean Hands!!

Alright, Now I'm Mad!!

Look At The Damage Done To That Cake!!

Ben, Faith, Sarah, Grace

Ben, is this

Christmas Paper? lol

Dad's On Camera Duty.

(Richie)

Grace, Parker, Giles,Faith

Here Daddy, These Glases Will Look Good On You!

Mom and Me

Faith's First Trip to Disney!

2009-03-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post some pictures from a couple months ago when my mom and Faith took a trip to Florida to visit my mom's side of the family. She took Faith to Disney one day with my cousin, his wife, and their baby boy. My mom knew that we all would have liked to go as a family to Disney for Faith's first time. The thing is , they had free tickets so how could she pass up that opportunity! (ha ha) Well I didn't get to see Faith's expression on her face for her first trip to Disney World, but oh well! I don't think I would have been able to pass up free tickets to Disney either!! When does that ever happen? (ha ha) So here are just a few pictures at Disney!!

Faith's favorite princess is Snow White and as soon as they walked into Disney she caught Faith's eye!! She was pulling at my mom persisting she go see her.

Faith's Baby Pictures

2009-03-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!!

This is Alissa again. It seems like I'm our families blog updater. (ha ha)

I wanted to post Faith's baby pictures we received from the orphanage in China.

The first one is a picture that was taken right before she was placed in her foster home. Her lip was not yet fixed. She was quite the chunk! (ha ha) The second picture is about a month after her lip was fixed. She definitely looks like Faith in that picture.

Christmas Pictures!!

2009-02-02T20:52:00.001-08:00

Faith's First Time Swimming

Giles Is This Your Doing?

Cuteness!

Home for 3 months Already!!

2009-02-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

Peace!! Crazy about Daddy!!

Go Go Go!! Mommy And Me!!

Can you tell my dad is tired from plowing?

Big Hug!!

Wow!! Its been along time sense we have updated our blog.

My mom hasn't found time to update it, so I thought I would just give a brief update and let her post later. We have been home for about 4 months now. Wow I can't believe it's been that long already. Faith has done a wonderful job with the adjustment. That is if there ever really was one.(ha ha) But no, seriously it seems like she has always been a part of the family and we all couldn't imagine life without her!! She truly is a GIFT FROM GOD!! She continues to make us all laugh with her silly faces and funny comments. She is truly a comedian!! As of right now she is with my mom in Florida to visit my moms side of the family. The first thing she said to my mom when they got off the plain and she realized it was warm and saw all of the flowers was '' Oh, Faith's Birthday!" She constantly asks when her birthday is going to be and my mom says when it gets warm outside and the flowers come up. So of course that's the first thing she thought of and was very confused when my mom told her it wasn't her birthday. Well Ill let my mom fill the rest in later, but I thought I would post some pictures!!

Alissa

Of Course I took her skating! Now that looks like a figure skater!

She likes to help me do the dishes!

Sistas!

Being Silly

Whats going on? Why do we have a tree in our house?

Faith Loves Parker! Can you tell?

Parker and Auntie Faith

Being Silly Again!

Can you tell she likes Buffalo Wild Wings!!

Take a look at that bone!!

Spicy Girl!!!

Faith in her new duck towel she got from Christmas

Last Day in China!!!

2008-11-14T01:02:00.000-08:00

Everyone left accept for the Newsome and Grows family. We are going to do some last minute shopping today and just relax before going home tomorrow! We are so excited. It feels like it's been an eternity sense we have seen everyone and can't wait for everyone to meet Faith. It's truly been an rewarding and unique experience of a lifetime. There is no greater sense of accomplishment and reward than knowing that you've given one of God's children a new life and have made room in the orphanage for another to find their forever family. We love you all and can't wait to be home! See you soon!!!!!

Visa Day!!!- Nov.13th

2008-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

This morning we slept in late, did some more shopping, and ate at Lucie's for lunch. On the way to lunch, Faith spied Lucie's in the distance, and began to pull at me while speaking Chinese. I finally figured it out when I noticed her using the sign language for eat. Boy Can She Eat! An entire adult size meal is no problem for her. Her favor food is definitely french fries and shes becoming quite fond of soda too. After lunch we headed back to the hotel and prepared to go to the U.S. Consulate. Alissa stayed behind with Kate. She is the daughter of a family we met well ice skating in the U.S. who were instrumental in bringing Faith into our life. Believe it or not they are here adopting also! The Consulate was amazing! 40 families representing 26 different states. There were kids everywhere! We were asked to stand, put our right hand up and vow that all we had said in our adoption paper work was true.Also, they looked at us & compared our passport photos to our faces. That was it. Faith had three melt downs today because she couldn't have things that weren't hers. It didn't last long but she hides her face , not wanting any one to see her cry & she is very quiet about it. I was a little concerned about her reactions to me but I new that I couldn't let her get by with what she was doing. About a half hour later, after all the crying ended, she looked up at me, gave me a kiss, & said, "I love you" It was sooo... sweet. Then I knew for sure I had done the right thing. She's becoming extremely comfortable with Daddy. She loves to craw all over him when he's lying down watching T.V. Believe it or not she sleeps through his snoring too which has become a joke to her. They were lying down together & she was pretending to sleep with him & then began to imitate his snoring. It was a Kodak moment. Our good by dinner followed which I wish I could have taped more of, but we were so busy saying our goodbyes to families we've grown quiet close to. Alissa ate pigeon until we told her what it was and she got grossed out. It still doesn't beat the carp I ate though! One of the highlights of the dinner was our table mascot, which Richard created out of the pigeons head attached to a chopstick sitting in a empty sprite bottle.It was fun until the waiter took it away. He thought it was as funny as we did though. Morgan, our group leader, explained to Faith & Quin that they were going to their own homes. There faces looked quiet sorrowful & a bit questioning at the same time. It made us all sad. We vowed to do our best to keep them in touch with each other. They live in Atlanta, Georgia right along our travel route to Florida every spring. They've invited us to stay in their guest house when we travel through. We are also hoping to make a trip to Colorado, the home of A.A.C., our agency (the BEST), and the home of the Bandimere family. Their daughter Grace was also in Faith's orphanage. She is much more quiet spoken like the rest of their family. These are awesome families & now our friends. We are anxious to come home, but this has definitely been an experience of a lifetime. I'm grateful to be an American!

Faith kissing the pigeon head!

Our table's mascot

The Bandimere Family- except Adam(there son)and David (the husband) they were both sick. Schifilliti Family from Georgia (Quin's family)

Quin

Faith and Quin's goodbye. Awww... they look so sad.

Free Day- Nov.12th

2008-11-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

A rough night! Faith woke up crying, so she got to sleep with mommy, followed by Alissa'a awakening with a high fever.(102) Tuesday she woke up with cold symptoms and a sore throat. Loud music and someones computer kept us up all night, so we watched movies in our room all day and were just lazy. Dad took a long walk around the the island with the Newsome family and went to a food market where they saw the slaughtering of animals, the skinning process, and then saw them being hung.Then we all met at Lucy's for lunch. We rested a little and then headed back to the motel to see the night lights. We had dinner at Pizza Hut and it tasted just like home, but they didn't use enough sauce.

Zoo Safari- Nov. 11th

2008-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

9:00 am and we aboard the bus for a 50 min. ride to an awesome Zoo Safari.First we took The Safari. We saw bears, lions, cheetahs, white tigers, elephants, giraffes, and ostriches wandering around in the wild. And the only thing separating us from the dangerous animals was a small wire and a nearby guard who was placed at each location to guard us if anything were to go wrong. Pretty scary, but cool. The remainder of the zoo was walked and was much like home, but much larger! No reptiles because they eat them.The best parts were seeing the pandas and watching Alissa feed a baby white tiger a bottle! Yes I said she fed a tiger!!! Their were 10 pandas very close up and personal. We watched them be fed and two were fighting over the food. We also saw a school girl almost get knocked to the ground as a giraffe pushed her with it's strong neck as she was feeding it. Our zoo would never allow you to get this close and personal with the animals. Elephants stood with mouths open waiting for you to throw them bananas. We also got to see the baby nursery where many cute babys were either in small pins or in little incubators. It was a pretty exciting day! Sense we didn't really snack to much at the zoo because of the food. We ate an early dinner at at an new Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away from the hotel. We had Cesar Salad, pizza, and spinach filled ravioli, which faith pretty much inhaled. Its amazing how much this little girl eats. I think it's because they didn't have much to eat at the orphanage. This was definitely the closest we've come to ''real food'' sense we've been here. We can't wait to go home!!!

Medical Exam and Visa- Nov.10th

2008-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

After our typical Chinese breakfast on Congee (like cream of wheat), toast, fruit, bacon, rice, and noodles. The group of 6 families now, headed off for the girls medical exams. Everyone cried, but not Faith. She was extremely when Quin, her orphanage bed mate, was crying. She wanted to go in and comfort her. How Sweet!!

Next we were off for visa photos, again a breeze for us. Free time entailed visiting all the shops on the island. We walked allot to find the best deals. A Chinese blanket for Faith, Chinese dresses for the girls, and other gifts that were part of our list. In the afternoon, Faith and Alissa watched a movie while Richard and I did very meticulous paper work for Faith's visa. After she awoke from her nap, it was time for a group dinner and a local Chinese restaurant very close to our motel. The rice and noodles were excellent, but the rest was questionable, one in particular containing the foot of a black chicken, Yeah!!! It was 7:45 p.m. when we left and school was still in session as we heard the children learning the American alphabet. Their Schooling if from 8a.m.-8p.m. No wonder they are so smart!

GuangZhou City Tour/shopping-Nov.9th

2008-11-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

We began our morning with a stop at the jade store and enjoyed observing this artistic culture. A man painted pictures using only his hands(fingers,palms,nails) and a lady painting on pottery. It was fascinating! Too bad Alissa forgot her camera at the hotel, therefore we have no pictures today. We will take some tomorrow. We went to another temple where you could have your child blessed. We chose not to,but it was interesting watching the Newsome's. Lunch followed in a beautiful park along side a garden. We thought we were in Florida with the palm trees and flowers which this province is known for. The climate is warmer here and luckily for Richard's sake it's cooler than usual do to the hurricane south of us. We ate lunch on the 3rd floor overlooking the gardens. Morgan reserved this table 2 months ago. It was gorgeous!!!! We also attended a pearl wholesale market. Six floors with pearls of every color. It was a bit overwhelming esspecially when we stepped outside and had our first experience with the population of the 3rd largest city in China,23,000,000!!!!! On the way out we purchased several movies for 2 dollars each! What a deal, and they were all new releases. The highlight of the day was Quin and Faith (remember her bed mate in the orphanage) They had a blast! Laughing, smiling, and teasing each other all day. We sure wish we knew what they were saying? We asked Morgan, but he couldn't tell due to their cleft palates. It's like their own little language. The evening came to a close after a trip to Mc Donalds, our first American food. Everything was great until we couldn't get a taxi back to the motel! Weve learned in China to look after yourself and throw politeness out the window. After one hour of watching taxis go by without success we finally just jumped in one and later gave directions.What an adventure. The Victory Hotel is as good as home after that! Good Night and God Bless!!!

Leaving for GuangZhou- Nov.8th

2008-11-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

The morning begins at breakfast with Alissa's stalker. Actually he is a waiter who is very creepy but nice guy who has an apparent crush on Alissa. He finally cornered her and asked for her email address. We gathered our bags as Faith had a bewildered look about her. Im not sure if she thought we were leaving her or if she actually sinced that she was leaving her hometown. After using sign language, as the orphanage did, to explain flying she settled down. She enjoyed the flight as we played with playdough (she liked dad's animals the best)and ate snacks. I believe she thinks we are going home.WE WISH WE WERE GOING HOME!!WE MISS YOU ALL!! Little does she know, we have one week left of this squatty potty pilgrimage! Oh, I forgot to mention our potential foreign exchange student. Actually, Michael, our tour guide wants to attend college in the U.S. and also has a crush on Alissa. (he timidly requested a picture with her before leaving) There is no lack of male attention on this trip. Much different than the U.S. I think shes enjoying this or at least it's good for the self-esteem. We arrived at the Victory Hotel at 5:00p.m. and enjoyed a delicious western style meal at Lucy's. It feels much more like home here except all of the Mandarin we have learned does us no good, as they speak onlyCantanese here.

Quian Ling City Park- Nov.7th

2008-11-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

The park was beautiful and surrounded by mountains. We observed 1,000 of people dancing, exercising, and meditating. Faith enjoyed feeding the coy fish which filled the river. The landscape was subtropical with amazing sculptured details. We followed a winding road up the mountain to the Buddhist Temple that currently houses monks. Along the way, we encountered many monkeys and Faith enjoyed a camel ride. I carried her most of the way up the mountain as she seemed intimidated by the swarms of curious locals. It made us wonder what they were saying to her. Unfortunately, Richard did not come as we were unaware of the plans thinking it was another shopping day. We all know what a shopper he is! HA... HA..!!! We enjoyed another tasty group lunch. The food in this province is known for it's spice, giving our daughter the nickname "SPICY GIRL." There hasn't been anything too spicy for her yet. She eats anything and everything we give her. We accompanied dad for dinner at the hotel's Chinese restaurant. He ordered duck which was good and spicy noodles that looked and felt more like night crawlers. After a couple of bites he couldn't stomach the texture. Then we attended a special going away party for the girls given by a wonderful christian family from Colorado(the Bandimere's) that accompanied us and adopted a daughter named Grace.

Free Day! Nov.6th

2008-11-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Today we were supposed to visit a historic landmark the beautiful Anshun Huangguoshu Waterfall. However, it poured all day. So, we decided to have a free day. We did do a little local shopping between the raindrops. We bought Faith a dressy winter coat for $8.00. One dollar equals almost eight yens, also called RMB's. The streets here are very dirty and beautiful buildings are intermixed with poverty. We now know what it's like to be an animal in the zoo as people stare and swarm around you as if you are an extinct species! Most give you a thumbs up and a smile. Morgan treated all 4 families to a very tasty group dinner filled with entertainment. An interesting fact we learned is that this people group speak a different dialect and have no written language. They greeted us with a customary song and drink of wine. Either Alissa looked older than her age or they just didn't care because they forced every adult to drink it. As for Faith she is settling in and beginning to test the waters.

A Visit to Faith's Hometown! Nov.5th

2008-11-09T04:43:00.000-08:00

A two and a half hour bus ride brings us to Zunyi City, Faith's hometown. The first stop was at her orphanage. After tip toeing through the mud we encountered a building in poor condition with dripping ceilings,wet concrete floors, and a damp, musty climate. We were greeted in a meeting room and treated to fresh fruit and a hospitable, friendly, and loving staff. A beautiful woman approached Faith as she sat calmly, yet reserved upon my lap. She took Faith off my lap & began speaking to her as we watched the life drain from her face & the tears began to flow for the first time. What an emotional experience! I couldn't hold back the tears as I realized that my daughter who had only met me two days prior would choose me over loving ladies who had cared for her for over 9 months. What an indescribable feeling & another confirmation of her Divine placement in our family. We went upstairs to a very cold, but clean room lined with beds. Here we were greeted by several of her friends, which Daddy passed out candy to. There we found out that her bed mate was Quin, a little girl whose parents are from Georgia & traveling in our group. Faith allowed her nanny to hold her & it was very obvious the love they felt for each other, however she didn't allow me out of her site. Although, cosmetically it didn't appeal to the eye, the warm feeling of love was a great comfort. The next orphanage, the Newsome's, had tile floors & was much nicer but a very cold feeling & not friendly. Thank God that Lizy was there only one week! We also were one of the two families out of four that got to see the abandonment site. It was located on the outskirts of town on a sidewalk with new construction now, but nothing was there at the time of her abandonment at birth. I felt the grief of her mother who couldn't care for her and the joy of a mother who has received the blessing of a new daughter ( the same feeling as you feel at the birth of your child). What an emotional day! We noticed a sense of relief after we left. I think she realizes that shes truly ours!

Guiyang Ancient Town Tour-Nov.4th

2008-11-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

A famous historical town built in 1378 as a military base, housing 30,000 soldiers! Today it is a tourist attraction with many restaurants and shops. The people were very friendly and curious. Our group is only the second group here for adoptions since 1991. They never see westerners and were esspecially infatuated with Alissa's light skin and hair, stopping her for pictures with them. She said she felt like a celebrity. I bought an authentic child carrier with beautiful embroidery used by busy mothers. It looks very much like an indian papoose. They strapped Faith to my back and she took a long nap. Next came a very unforgettable, scary, but customary lunch consisting of sweet and sour carp(body intact)actually very tasty if you can get past the looks of it, tofu surprise(including hearts, joints, etc..), a mistry meat that tasted like dog? YEH, we were hungry that day! Some of the smells were awful, but the country was beautiful!

Adoption Day!-Nov.3rd

2008-11-09T03:42:00.000-08:00

After boarding a bus, we traveled downtown to the Provincial Office to make the adoption official! We signed papers stating that we would keep her and raise her as one of our own. They finger printed mom, dad, and baby. Faith kept saying Wonya Wonya!! Morgan, our AAC adoption agent heard her and told us she had to potty. Our first experience with Faith and the squatty potty(chinese bathrooms)She was quite the expert and needed no help from mommy. Alissa's fear of peeing on herself led her to depants herself. I had a fit when I found out. Obviously we have not done enough camping with her. After a couple tries she finally figured it out though and is now an expert at the squatty potty. We felt so blessed! The reality of God's supernatural placement of this little girl with our family grows more dramatic with each passing moment. Oh, she even has dimples! She talks with her eyes like me and she's a servant and a leader like Gracie. She's very humble, thankful, sweet, silly and absolutely loves life! The afternoon brought us to WalMart. Wow what a shock! First, it was underground and secondly, there was every edible thing known to man & things we wouldn't consider edible. LIKE..mmmm snakes, toads, cow stomach, joints, bullheads, carp, hindquarters of animals with furs & hoofs intact! YEH!!! We bought Faith shoes because the ones we brought were too big. They squeek so we can keep track of her in the large crowds.

Gotcha Day!!!!!!- Here we come Faith(Nov.2)

2008-11-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

The anticipation and anxiety builds as we board our plane for Gui Yang, the capitol city of the Guizhou Province. We arrived at the Ramada Hotel at 5:00 p.m. and scheduled the ceremony for 6:00 p.m. After a quick change of clothes and gathering of gifts, we headed down stairs to the meeting room where our little princess awaited us! As we entered the room she quietly sat at a long table with a great look of confidence on her face and a calm countenance. Months of anticipation and longing for her released itself in waves of tears as we awaited our turn. We were to be the 3rd family of 4 to receive our daughter, however Faith had other plans. After the first family(the Schefletti's)received their daughter, Faith hopped off her chair and calmly walked over to us. Thankfully they graciously altered the original plans. There seemed to be no fear and there were no tears from her either. I bent down and hugged her and she called me mama as if her long wait had come to an end. As I introduced her to Daddy, who she called baba and Alissa , who she called Jie Jie she pointed to Alissa's necklace reminding us of her locket we had boughten her at Things to Remember.When we placed it around her neck and showed her the picture of her inside a huge smile came across her face. After the signing of papers in agreement to keep her for the night we headed off to our room and even to dinner with still no tears!
A restful night sleep followed. God had answered our prayers as it seems as if shes always been ours.

Touring Beijing

2008-11-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 1st we went on a tour. Are first stop was the Ming Tombs built 600 years ago holding several Chinese Emperors and their concubines of ancient China. A museum of artifacts recovered from open tombs during the revolt of the 80's showed clothing, silver, gold, head dresses, jewelry, ancient writings, and and cooking utensils.

Next we toured the largest jade factory in China run by the government. It was obvious that they are quite skillful in the arts as we observed detailed sculpting of many different designs of all shapes, sizes, and colors of jade.

Our next stop was our favorite,The Great Wall! They say that you are not a man until you have climbed it and boy are they right! Our guide took us to the most challenging section of the wall. It was all climbing without any flat areas as some parts are. Most of the steps were up to your knees! Alissa and I made it all the way to the top! It was a great feeling of accomplishment.

Our last stop was the Silk Factory. They showed us the process of making silk quilts. We saw everything from gathering the silk from the silk worms to then the making of quilts from start to finish. It was quite amusing.

Forbidden City & Tianamin Square

2008-10-31T02:21:00.000-07:00

We started with a pancake breakfast at the Alley Cafe which should be called the Alley Cat Cafe. The food was GREAT the company quite hairy! (ha ha) Let me explain. As the mother cat laid next to my mom her kittens frolicked about, EVERYWHERE! It was quite the experience. Now we're off to the Forbidden City. WAIT, I forgot the bartering for Alissa's new camera. That was quite the experience as it was difficult to understand the broken English, but finally was able to make a pretty good deal. And now were off! OK so, on the way there, we encountered many interesting sights and smells. People riding bikes down busy streets, cars parked on sidewalks, guards everywhere, and I almost forgot the lovely smell of bakery (as my dad would call it) ha ha. No it was actually the fresh smell of sewage! (yummy) After hitching a couple taxis we arrived at the Forbidden City. Wow, I have never seen so many beautiful buildings and to think they were all made by hand! Words cannot describe the BEAUTY of the endless emperor dynasty of the ages. And to think it was built in the 1420's is enough to blow your mind. After exploring for a couple hours we were off to our next destination... Tianamin Square! ( the largest public square in the world!) This is known for the famous picture of Chairman Mow, and is the current place for morning exercises and meditation for thousands. A long walk back, a little resting, and now off to dinner with Amanda Infield! The restaurant we ate at was known for their Peking duck. It was delicious. Kind of like the Christmas story though. It was brought to the table head and all. It was very nice to see Amanda shes doing very well. She ordered all of our food. As you can see in some of the pictures we are quite jet-lagged, especially Me.

We're Finally Here!

2008-10-31T01:59:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee to Minneapolis & a 7hour layover found us at Mall of America visiting Rich's lifelong friend, Doug Shilts. We also did a little shopping & bought Faith her first baby doll. She's Asian & adorable. On to Japan, the longest flight, almost 15 hrs. Alissa lost her camera at the airport & we thought she had lost her passport too. Thank God she was sitting on it! Then 4 hrs. on to Bejing airport followed by a taxi ride that tested our communication skills & Yes we made it to the Shntan Hotel almost 30 hrs. from the time we left home. It's now midnight on 10/30/08. Upon our arrival we found a little surprise, two twin beds! If you can believe it I shared a bed a bed a little larger than a twin with Alissa. Hey, when you're exhausted you can sleep anywhere, at anytime, with anyone.

Finding Faith

2008-10-31T01:44:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you her amazing story later, but here are the pictures we got of her throughout the process. I organized them in order from the first pictures we received to the last ones that were sent.