Monday Morning ~ Medical Exam

Sunday morning we were up early (we had to wake Mollie again). We had breakfast at the hotel with some of the other families. Three families joined us here in Guangzhou on Saturday. Their children were from another province. We are all working with Michael now. Two of the families just the dads traveled (they are doing great) and one family is adopting their 3rd child. Their other 2 children are 4 & 5 years old.

We did some sight seeing today. Lots of walking! It's very hot and humid here, but at least not raining. We went to the Guangzhou Yuexiu Park. It was very green, lots a beautiful tropical plants and very old trees. It was originally a fortress that guarded the city. There was a museum with 5 floors and at the very top were very large cannons. Next to the park was a huge soccer stadium. Soccer is big over here.

After the park we went back to the hotel to rest and cool down a little. We wanted Mollie to take a nap but she wouldn't. I guess that's why she sleeps so well at night. In the afternoon we walked to the pearl market. To get there we had to walk through many road side markets. Lots of people selling teas, roots of all kinds, dried snakes & a lot of things we weren't even sure about. (smelled really bad). They use all these things for healing. Later we passed markets where they were selling pets. (dogs, cats, turtles, chipmunks) One little boy had a frog on a leash. We eventually made it to the pearl market, where we bought a little something for Mollie when she is older.

We ended the day with dinner with the Roeske's at Lucy's again (western food). We found out that Mollie loves spaghetti! We kind of let her feed herself. She had spaghetti sauce from head to toe! Ralf and Carol are so much fun to be around. They have a great since of humor. We will miss them! Their daughter, Shuang Bi, is a beautiful child and is adjusting quite well.

Mollie absolutely loves her baths. When she sees me start to run the bath water, she starts trying to take off her clothes. She loves to brush her hair. She's learning a few words and knows where her nose is. She understands some of the things we say to her. She laughs all the time. She has the cutest sense of humor. She loves to tease us. I can tell she really feels comfortable around us.

Today (Monday morning) we go for her medical exam. They do a very quick checkup. We'll find out her height and weight. In the afternoon we will do paperwork for the adoption. (the US part). As far as the China side of it, the adoption is complete and she is ours!

~ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down rom the Father, James 1:17

David, Barb & Mollie

We're in Guangzhou

We are in Guangzhou and it is beautiful! Our flight left Jinan Saturday around 12 noon and we landed about 2pm. We got settled in to our hotel and rested a little bit. We met the Roeske's for dinner at Lucy's Saturday evening. Our hotel is on an island with lots of palm trees. The sun is out the morning and the sky is somewhat clear. We are planning some sight seeing for today.

Friday was spent doing laundry and just relaxing in our hotel. We used that day to pack and get ready for our fight yesterday. We were up early Saturday. We had breakfast in the hotel and said our goodbyes to the hotel staff. It was a little sad, leaving her province. Mollie seemed to enjoy her first plane ride until about the last 15 or 20 minutes. She pretty much screamed and wanted off the plane. As soon as we were off the plane she was happy. I hope this isn't a glimpse of what our flight home will be like! She is a good sleeper so we are hoping that she will sleep most of the fight. :-)

She is doing great. We are seeing more and more of her little personality come out. She is a bit strong willed and has a little mind of her own. She has had a temper tantrum or two when she doesn't get what she wants. She loves to give us kisses. She laughs a lot. She is taking her time warming up to David. She never interacted with males before. All her caretakers were female at the orphanage. She takes her bottles from David and loves to play with him. She is still eating good and sleeps great at night.

We are so thankful for what God has given us. It just amazes me where He has lead us. I am thankful that He gave us the strength to trust Him with all of this. We are on the last part of our journey and look so forward to coming home.

~ I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Love~David, Barb & Mollie

Orphanage Visit

Mollie in the hallway of the orphanage.

Outside the orphanage. The characters on the rock mean "heartfelt love".
Saying goodbye.

Mollie with the Ms. Jiao and her little friend, Annalise, who will soon meet her family.

We woke up this morning around 6 and had breakfast in the hotel again. The breakfast is pretty good and we really aren't getting tired of it yet. We met Michael and the Roeske's in the lobby at 9:00 to visit the orphanage today. It wasn't too far from our hotel, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. As we came to the gate of the orphanage I began to get anxious, wondering if we were doing the right thing by bringing Mollie back here. The director, Ms. Jiao, met us right outside the doors. Once inside the building, we took the elevator to the 5th floor to her office. We first explained to her that we wanted to meet with some of the children who had families waiting back home for them. They allowed us to and we were able to get pictures of their little ones. I remember how important this was for us when we were waiting. It was realy special to meet them after seeing them only in pictures for the last several months.

We later asked to see Mollie's bed and the room she slept in. They suggested that I put her in her bed and take a picture. But I had a feeling she would cry and she did. I of course picked her up right away. She smiled at all the nannys and allowed most of them to hold her. I didn't let her out of my sight and took her back from their arms after a couple of minutes. It was quite obvious that they all loved her and that Mollie felt close to them. Her favorite nanny was the director, Ms. Jiao. It was easy to see. She would always go to her but always came back to me. We met again in her office and was able to ask questions. We were also given a dvd with all the pictures they had of Mollie since she had been there. She then gave me a little pink hat that she had on when she was found. It brought tears to my eyes.

The orphanage was very clean and decorated very brightly. They were on a strict schedule with the children. It was soon time for us to leave. We passed the playroom where Mollie played during the day there. She recognized it and so we let her play there one last time. Ms. Jiao walked us out of the building where we first came in and we took a few more pictures with her. Mollie told her goodbye with hugs and kisses and we left. She never cried.

I am glad that we decided to take Mollie back with us for the visit. I don't know how much, if any, that she will remember. But we have good memories and pictures to share with her when she gets older and when she has questions. We've prayed for her for the last 9 months. God put her in just the right place, where she would be loved and would get everything that she needed while she waited for us. We couldn't be there for her, but He was. Grace prayed everyday that Mollie would have enough food to eat and milk to drink. We can tell that she did. (She has chunky little thighs!) :-)

~ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, Psalm 91:11

Andrew, Emily, Nathan & Grace ~ We love you all! Only 8 more days!

Thanks again to everyone who is helping out with the kids. Thanks too for all your prayers! We love you all!

David, Barb & Mollie

Thursday Morning

Mollie has been doing very well sleeping at night. Wednesday night she decided (or maybe Mom decided) that she wanted to sleep with us. She didn't kick much and both David and I slept most of the night. Here are just a few pictures of her first waking up Thursday morning. She can be such a sweet little cuddle bug. No tears this morning! YEAH!

More Pictures From Wednesday

Andrew ~ Just thought you would like to see the boat we purchased over here. We got a good deal! We are expecting it to arrive via UPS in about 3 weeks. Break out the skis!

This is the boat we rode on to get to the island on Da Ming Lake.
Mollie at Da Ming Lake.
Mollie looking out our hotel room.

The bathing beauty getting ready for a dip in the pool.

Da Ming Lake & Mollie's First Boat Ride

Last night Michael took us and the Roeske's to an authentic northern Chinese restaurant. It was a couple blocks from our hotel. It was different. No rice, only noodles and a little spicy. It was nice to get a taste of the local food. Mollie enjoyed the noodles. Lots of food and very inexpensive!



This morning we met in the lobby again and headed off to Da Ming Lake. This is a beautiful park on the lake. We took a boat ride to an island in the middle of the lake. It was just a very nice place to walk around. Very peaceful. The architecture of some of the buildings were very traditional Chinese, very colorful, older buildings. We saw 2 little boys there, about 9 or 10 years old. They asked Michael if they could see some of our American currency. David gave each of them a dollar to keep and they went wild. You would've thought they had given them $100. They were so cute.



We decided to take a break in a little local restaurant in the park. I fed Mollie and we got something to drink. When we were leaving, Mollie spotted an older woman eating something and was determined to get some of it. It looked like some sort of bread, very dense with some sort of seeds on top. She threw a fit. I walked away with her and the woman came running after me to give me a piece of it for her. It must have been something she ate at the orphanage.



Tomorrow we visit the orphanage. I am a little worried about how she will react to the nannies and going back. I am hoping that things will go well. I really want to go and see where Mollie spent her first 2 years. I want to meet the nannies that cared for her. I want to see where she played and where she slept. I have a lot of questions for the nannies that I am hoping to get answered. I am also looking forward to meeting some of the waiting children and getting some pictures for their mommies and daddies. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as I think it might be kind of a tough day for all of us.



Now a little about Mollie. Her first smile of the day comes earlier and earlier each day. She slept last night from 9:30 to about 9:00 this morning (we had to wake her) and didn't wake up at all through the night. We are seeing that she might have a little temper. She is walking very well but always wants to hold my finger. She will go up steps but is afraid to go down steps. She is still eating great! I think she has gained a little weight since we've had her. She is a very busy little girl when she plays. She loves all her toys. We've started teaching her sign language and today for the first time she signed "more" when she wanted more water! She did it more than once. It was so exciting to see that! We have a little genius! :-) Overall she is a happy little girl. There are times, especially in the morning, when she is a bit more serious and cries. This may be when she is missing the orphanage and possibly grieving. It's hard to see her like this but there really isn't much we can do but to try to console her. It gets a little better each day.



She is a perfect fit for our family. It's already getting hard to remember what life was like with our her. God knew, since the beginning of time, that she would be part of our family. I am looking so forward to being her mama for the rest of her life! I feel blessed beyond my imagination.



Mollie is napping right now. We are thinking we will meet the Roeske's at the pool a little later today. The girls both seem to enjoy the pool.



~ Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Psalm 105: 1-2



Love,

David, Barb & Mollie

More Pictures

Here are a few more pictures. As you can see she loved the pool! Grace you have a pool buddy!