Our Journey With Emma Grace

Happy Autumn Moon Festival

2009-10-05T16:04:00.003-05:00

Sunday afternoon we had our first “Red Couch Group” event. We met with another family at the Village Park in Kannapolis to celebrate the Chinese Autumn Moon Festival. We had hot dogs and other yummy treats and got to ride the train. We also enjoyed Moon Cakes (thanks Kim) in flavors like Lotus, Black Bean, Nut & Melon. The kids enjoyed the Moon Pies more. It was a great time of fun and I look forward to more events and hope our group continues to grow in size = )

Happy Birthday Emma Grace Min

2009-10-05T15:38:00.001-05:00

This weekend we celebrated Emma Grace’s Third Birthday. She started her day off with Hailey and Issy. Hailey had spent the night at our house and the girls curled up on the couch Saturday morning to watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse. After that we took Emma Grace to Build a Bear. She picked out a soft grey cat that she named Princess. To celebrate we had a small get together at my mom’s house. Because of my Dad’s health we didn’t have a big party. Emma Grace wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday cake. She had such a wonderful time. She loved opening presents and wanted to tell everyone thank you. This year her China gift was a set of stacking Pandas. Her “China” gift was bought for her while we were in China to get her. Aaron and I bought 20 gifts for her to be given to her each year until she turns 21. The first gifts are small, toys, dolls etc. As she gets older the value of the gift and the meaning increases. Thank you to all the aunts, uncles and grandparents that made today so special for her. We are so blessed by all of you = )

Thanks Mickey D's

2009-09-12T11:08:00.002-05:00

We went to McDonald's for lunch today and the girls got a sticker book with stickers in their happy meal. Elisabeth was thrilled to have a sticker book and quickly started putting the stickers in the book. Emma Grace on the other hand found a much better place for her stickers & who said that they had to go in the "STICKER BOOK" anyway. Thanks McDonalds for a great laugh!!

Beach Trip

2009-08-13T21:39:00.004-05:00

Last week we traveled to our families vacation home on the Outer Banks on NC. When we were last at the beach in April to clean the houses for the rental season Emma Grace didn't like the sand. She wanted us to pick her up. It was yucky is what she kept telling us. Well it took her all of 6 seconds to become a beach bum. She loved the water and the sand. She spent most of her time playing in the water and pouring it on me, her daddy and big sissy. Elisabeth is the best big sister and made sure that Emma Grace was well taken care of. It is amazing to see how close the two of them have became. We had a wonderful week and I am so thankful for the rest and time we had together as a family. On Thurday our friends joined us at the beach and Emma Grace had a friend to play with. Her and Hailey are close in age only 5 weeks apart and they are double trouble together:) They had a blast and none of us wanted to come home. As you can tell from the pictures it was so much fun!

Happy "Gotcha Day"

2009-06-10T15:49:00.006-05:00

It is so amazing to sit here and type this note. For me it is so hard to believe that Emma Grace has been with us for one year today. I can remember so well sitting in that hot room in Hangzhou China and seeing her for the first time. She was such a tiny little thing and boy she could cry = ) I remember all of the emotions of fear and love that were inside of me and how the fear just melted the moment she was placed in my arms. She was so scared that first day and cried so much. I remember her first smile and the first time we saw her begin to open up and play. She has changed so much in such a short time. She is the most loving little girl who wants to be held and hugged. She is talking up a storm now with 3 & 4 word sentences. Just last week on June 2nd she grabbed me for the first time and said “I love you my mommy”. This is the first time she has said it without me saying it first & my heart just melted. When she became ours last year she was so far behind developmentally and I was very worried about her. She was not crawling at 21 months old. Today she is running, climbing and jumping and is your typical 2 year old. She is right on target developmentally and for me it has been amazing to see the power of love. We are so blessed by this amazing little girl. I can remember so many times during the adoption questioning the path that we were on. Was this really God’s will for our lives? We were trying so hard to follow his will in our lives and we felt this was the direction we were being lead, but if that were the case then why the long wait. I admit that I never struggled so hard in my life with my faith. I spent a lot of time in my bible reading the words of Isaiah 40:31 and trying to draw my strength as I waited upon the Lord, & Jeremiah 29:11 believing that He knew the plan he had for us and there was a purpose. I had to really learn what Paul was talking about in Hebrews when he talked about Faith being the belief in what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see. I held on to that Faith for 36 months as we waited and waited and waited. How easy it would have been many times to just throw our hands into the air and say I am done with this. I can’t take any more heartache and waiting and there just has to be a better way. That would have been My way and not Yours God. Praise you God and Thank You for being patient with me and loving me through my doubts and fears. Your plan was amazing and I know that now. I hold her every day and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for pushing my heart towards hers. There is an ancient Chinese belief of the “Red Thread” that connects us "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never breaks." I add to that belief now that the Red Thread is there perfectly sewn by God weaving together his children. I know that Emma Grace is my daughter just as God planned because something so wonderful could only be the handiwork of God. Happy “Gotcha Day” my sweet baby girl and thank you God for letting her be mine.

To Emma Grace’s Birth Mother:

2009-05-09T09:29:00.005-05:00

As I write this letter I know that you will never read I want you to know that my heart is filled with love for you. I think of you often and wonder if she is like you. Thirty one months ago you gave birth to a tiny little girl in Linhai China. You held her as her first cries filled the air. You comforted her and offered her your warmth. What did you feel when you realized she was a girl. Did your heart break knowing you would have to let her go? I often wonder does she look like you? Does she have your smile, your eyes, your sense of humor? She is the most amazing little girl in the world and I just want you to know she is safe and loved! I can only imagine the sacrifices you made to give her life. As I hold her and kiss her goodnight I think of you holding her those first two months knowing you would have to let her go. It took incredible courage to risk so much to protect her and want her to have life. She is such a blessing in our lives. Her spirit is so beautiful. Her smile is so contagious, and she is so happy. Everyday she changes and is growing so fast. She is talking a lot, and is very demanding when she wants something. She completes our family in a perfect way. This weekend is Mother’s Day and I have had you on my heart a lot this week. Do you think of her often? I pray that you know she is where she belongs and is happy. I pray that you are at peace with the choices you have made for her. I promise you that we will let her know how much you loved her and wanted her to have a good life. She will only hear us talk about you with love and she will grow to love you as well. I can never tell you, but you have allowed me to be “Mommy” to her and I am forever grateful to you. You gave my daughter what I could not, her first breath of life and for that my lips will always praise you and I will lift you to our God in joy! I will protect her with my life and will always treasure her as the amazing gift she is.

God Bless you this Mother’s Day and Thank You!
Emma Grace’s Mommy

Emma Grace's First Snow

2009-01-20T12:26:00.003-05:00

Today we had a little bit of snow. Emma Grace wasn't sure what to think of the snow at first. She kept saying "I no like it". After we got all bundled up and went outside it didn't take her long to have fun. She loved being on the sled with Jordan. All of the kids had a wonderful time. I will remind them of how much fun it was when they have to make up the school day : )

Home, But Not for long..

2008-12-01T21:46:00.002-05:00

We came home after lunch today because there was not medical reason for her to stay. We are able to give her the antibiotics at home & she is a lot happier here. However we have to return to the hospital tomorrow morning for outpatient surgery. They are going to drain Emma Grace's "Bad Bad Boo Boo". She will be put to sleep for procedure. If it drains of then we will get to come home. IF not the they will put her back into the hospital. It doesn't help that she started running a fever again tonight. Please keep us in your prayers....

Bad Bad Boo Boo

2008-11-30T08:42:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that we are in the hospital with Emma Grace. After a wonderful Thanksgiving,she got a "bad bad boo boo" as she calls it. She had what we think was an infected hair at the base of her neck. After we pulled the hair Tuesday the place seemed to get worse. We went the doctor on Wed. and he gave us cream to put on it. By Thanksgiving day she was running a low grade temp and had red streaks coming out of the bump. We went to the doctor early Friday morning and they took one look and sent us directly to the hospital. They believe that she has a staff infection and that it has spread down her neck. At this point this morning we are waiting for the doctor to make rounds to decide if she will need to have the spot cut open. They are telling us that she "may" get to come home Mon. or Tues. Please pray for her this has been a very difficult time for her. She doesn't trust doctors and nurses due to bad experiences in China. She is doing better, but still has a lot of fear. I have stayed with her the entire time, with other family helping out. We are ready to have her home....

A Bug, A Cat & A Mouse...Trick or Treat

2008-11-04T15:15:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we had a wonderful time for Halloween. Emma Grace dressed as a ladybug and Elisabeth was a Cheetah cat. We took the girls to Mt. Pleasant UMC fall festival. Alice and Hailey also went with us. Hailey was Minnie Mouse and was to cute. It took Emma Grace all of two seconds before she realized that the cuter she was the more candy she got. She really enjoyed the games. We also carved pumpkins at Maw Maw Sylvia's. Emma Grace did not like the inside of the pumpkin at all. She cried when we tried to get her to touch it. We carved a dragon in her pumpkin for her while she spent her time getting Uncle Mike to throw her up in the air. I have decided that she is truly rotten and it is wonderful.

Fun in the Mountains

2008-10-25T22:03:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to the mountains with our friends. We left on Friday morning and rented a cabin near Boone. On Saturday we went to Tweetsie Railroad. The girls had a wonderful time. Emma Grace loved playing with Hailey. They are so close in age. They had a wonderful time playing "lets chase Issy". As you can see from one of the pictures they loved piling on top of her. When she ran for her bedroom they followed behind and banged on the door. It is hard to believe how much Emma Grace has changed in just 4 months. She is growing like a weed and eating everything. She adjust to new places and people so quickly & this just lets us know how well she is bonding with us. She really took to Hailey's dad Mike. She loved playing with him and would scream "MIKE" when she wanted him. On Sunday we went to Grandfather Mountain before we came home. I had to post the picture of Aaron on the swinging bridge. Aaron doesn't do heights at all, this is the first time he has ever crossed the bridge. I took the picture as his proof. Our car ride home was a lot of fun. Emma Grace was acting silly in the back seat with Hailey and Issy. I had to post the picture of her screaming. We had a wonderful time and our weekend went by way to fast.

Emma Grace Is "2" Let's Celebrate!

2008-10-10T15:44:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Emma Grace's 2nd Birthday. I am sorry it took me so long to post but this week has been crazy. If you are reading this as an email update you'll have to visit the blog to see the slide show of pictures. We took way to many to put in the post.

Emma Grace's B-Day was Fri. Oct. 3rd. We kept her to ourselves on Friday. She spent the day home with Daddy and then when I got off work we took Emma Grace to a store called Plaster Creations. We wanted to make something special to remember her first special day with us. We painted her hand print on a heart and let Elisabeth make her a plate for her room. Emma Grace loved the painting. She did really well when we put the paint on her hand. Next we took her to Build A Bear to make her first Bear. She has a really cute panda that Aunt Heidi made for her on her Gotcha Day she loves to carry it around so I couldn't wait to see what she would pick out. She ended up with a large orange cat. We had a wonderful day. On Saturday we had a birthday party with our families. It was a Hello Kitty party & the day was beautiful. Emma Grace loved her yummy cake & ate way to much icing. It didn't take her long to figure our how to open the presents and that there was fun stuff inside. She has spent the week enjoying all of her new toys and games. As I held her in my arms Friday night I was in tears. I can't imagine how different this year was compared to her birthday last year. I thought a lot of her mother and wondered if she thinks of Emma Grace as often as I think of her birth mother. Did she think of her on her birthday? I wish I would talk with her. Let her know how happy and loved Emma Grace is. How well she has adjusted to her family and how thankful we are for her. I just want to tell her "thank you". Thank you for loving her enough to give her a chance. Thank you for making a choice as her mother that let me become her mommy!! Yes we have so much to Celebrate!

Emma Grace's Surgery

2008-09-30T13:11:00.002-05:00

Emma Grace had tubes placed in her ears today. Also her ENT used a microscope to look into the sinus cavity to see how it was developed on the right side. She did very well this morning. It was so hard handing her over to the nurse. Elisabeth had two sets of tubes and the surgery wasn't as hard as today for me. The doctor said that she had lots of infection behind both ear drums & her sinuses looked very good. When she came out of recovery she was very upset. She would not be comforted. She was very angry and didn't want you to hold her, or put her down. She didn't want to be looked at or even spoken to. The ride home was a nightmare with her screaming at the top of her lungs angry at the world. When we arrived home and got her something to drink she calmed down a little. Then she wanted something to eat. She wanted goldfish and the really funny thing is she doesn't even like goldfish. Finally she took a long nap and when she woke up she was back to normal. I am thankful everything went as smoothly as it did. We will go back in two weeks for a checkup and hearing test. We hope by then the infection behind the ear drums has cleared.

Shhh!! I'll Share With You

2008-09-09T18:31:00.005-05:00

Two post in one week! This was to cute to pass up.
Last night my mom kept the girls for me to go to a meeting at church. As I dropped them off Emma Grace disappered chasing the dog. A few minutes later things got to quite. When I found her she had pulled the mac-n-cheese crackers off the table and was cramming them in the dogs mouth as fast as she could. All I could do was laugh. Maw Maw thought quick enough to grab a camera, but the pictures aren't the best. The best part was Emma Grace could care less about the food for herself she was making sure her buddy was taken care of. What progress! She is sharing food: ) I also included two pictures from the week that I couldn't pass up sharing. We will call the first "Road Rage". She is going to be a driver like her mommy. Also she has began pretending with her playing. She found her baby and her bottle yesterday and began feeding the baby. Last week she was pretending to be a cat. This is so different from just a few weeks ago. We went for our 2nd check-up last Wednesday and our doctor told us that Emma Grace has made about 12 months of developmental growth in just 2 1/2 months Praise God! Tomorrow she has been ours for 3 months. It is so hard to believe that this amazing angel has only been ours such a short time. Thank you for all your continued prayers, and support. We are so blessed by all of you.

A Busy Weekend! Praise God!

2008-09-07T20:59:00.003-05:00

Our weekend started off very crazy with me and Issy having to go to school. We had a make-up day due to a day that we were out last week due to flooding. Saturday evening we had family pictures made. I included those in the post. Emma Grace did wonderful and was a ham for the camera. Then we went to eat dinner at the Hibachi Grill and Emma Grace was a celebrity. The waitresses loved playing and talking with her and the owners had to carry her around the restaurant.
Sunday was a wonderful day. Today we baptized Emma Grace. She was full of herself during the entire service and when it came time to get baptized she through herself backwards as if to say bring it own. The service was beautiful, and her daddy sang her a beautiful song called "Find Your Wings". After the service some of the ladies of the church gave a Welcome Home Emma Grace party. She had a ball and really enjoyed opening presents. I will post photos from the party as soon as I download then. We have been so blessed today by wonderful friends and family. Thank you God for this busy weekend and all of it's blessings.

Yuck Work !

2008-08-13T22:29:00.004-05:00

Today was a very sad day for me. It was my first day back at work and my first day away from Emma Grace. She got to spend the day with her Daddy, which did make it a little easier for me. She did wonderful & I got to come home around mid day for a quick visit. Then she,Daddy and Big Sissy came to school to meet the folks I work with. She did really well in the new environment & was laughing and playing around everywhere before she left.
Since last weekend was our last before me going back to work that Aaron was also off we took the girls camping. It was nice to have no phones, or TVs just family time. Emma Grace loved the outdoors and loved the deer that came walking up to our campsite. Elisabeth and Emma Grace spent almost an hour walking around picking up pine cones. Neither had any idea what they were going to do with them, but they had a ball.
We also had bible school at our church last week. It was amazing to see how well Emma Grace did with the other kids. She loved the music and would dance around. Also she even stood with the other kids during the program. It still amazes me that how much she has grown in such a short time. As of Sunday we have had her with us for two months, it seems like she has been here forever.

Subscribe To Us

2008-08-06T11:29:00.001-05:00

With so many people asking me about keeping our blog going so they can follow Emma Grace's progress I decided to add a new item. On the right side of the blog you can enter your email address to receive an update when I get around to posting on the blog. Don't worry your address is protected and you won't get a bunch of spam.

Yes We Are Still Here

2008-08-04T23:03:00.005-05:00

Everyone has been asking are you ever going to update the blog. All I can say is yes at some point. The last 6 weeks has been amazing. Emma Grace is growing and changing every day. We stay so busy and mommy having computer time has not been a priority, but tonight everyone got quite early sooo.

Emma Grace is growing so much. She is now walking and into everything. Everyday is something new and exciting with her. Each day she seems to be picking up on language and talking that much more. Last week we went to the beach and had a wonderful time. Emma Grace wasn't to sure about the sand at first but it didn't take her long to become a regular beach bum. She loved the water and the sand. I included a slide show of our trip.

We have had several doctors appointments over the last few weeks. Emma Grace had an excellent appointment with our family doctor. She did really well & all of her blood work and test came back great. Then we visited her cleft specialist. The visit went well also. She got and excellent checkup and the doctor will monitor her progress over the next year before she has her gum surgery. She is eating well and nothing is slowing her down. Today she visited the ENT doctor to check her ears and sinuses. She had lots of wax and some fulid behind both ears. The doctor feels that she will need tubes but wants to monitor her progress for another month first. Other than that she is doing so well and is such a blessing in our lives.

Everyone ask us about our journey and our adoption. My response has been that no words can ever truly describe the incredible journey we have been on. It has been an amazing ride. We have been so blessed and our hearts overflow with the love that has been conceived through the adoption of our little girl. She has given us more joy in one moment than we can ever give her. Thank you God again and again for this amazing child. For both of our amazing daughters, we have been so blessed.....

Home At Last

2008-06-23T08:22:00.004-05:00

We arrived back in Charlotte at 7:40p.m. Sat. June 21. What a wonderful feeling to finally be home. The flights were all good, but so long. Our first flight to Japan was 4 1/2 hours, then the flight to the US was 12 hours, then another hour and half to Charlotte. In Detroit we went through Immagrations and at that point Emma Grace became a US Citizen. As we arrived back in Charlotte we were surrounded by family and friends. It was an overwhelming feeling to step out of the elavator to everyone. Emma Grace did great, she was all smiles and giggles. She wouldn't let anyone hold her but she would smile and interact with everyone. She was so happy to meet all our her cousins, she loves other kids. As we got ready to leave the airport we received a real treat not just for us but all of the kids to. Paw Paw Roy had rented a long white Limo to bring us home in. We felt like celebreties! Everyone's love and complete acceptance of our new family is such a blessing. One day the pictures and memories will mean as much to Emma Grace. In the last airport there was a lady that was talking to me about Emma Grace. She commented to me how blessed Emma Grace was to be a part of our family and to have us as her parents. My response to her was "No we are the ones that are truly blessed by her". Standing in our "crowd" at the airport looking at the faces of our family that's all I could think of "Thank you God for all of these blessings!"!

One Last Beautiful Day

2008-06-20T09:32:00.001-05:00

We spent one last beautiful day today in the city of Guangzhou. It has rained so much but today was beautiful almost "Carolina" blue skys. It is 10:30 Friday night here and we are all packed up and ready to go. We are surrounded by happiness and a little bit of sadness. China has been amazing and I will truly miss the sites and sounds and beauty of this country. I have learned to love and respect my daughter's birth county and my views and opinions have changed so much during this amazing trip. I thank God for being with us through out this trip and pray this we will arrive safely home tomorrow night. Thank you all for following along with us, but thank you mostly for sending us your love and prayers through the computer. You have truly been wonderful and we look forward to being home with all of you. So goodbye from China & God speed for us home.

We Gotta Visa!

2008-06-18T07:33:00.005-05:00

Our Visa for Emma Grace was approved without any problems. That means we have an appointment tomorrow for Emma's oath and we are finished. Thank you God! We have a really great day. All of the children did really well for the group photos. Then we visited a Buddhist Temple. They were going to do a blessing for the babies, but I talked with our guide Bruce about not doing this part of the visit. It just didn't feel right to have her blessed in a Buddhist Temple. There were a few other families in our group that felt the same way. Our guide Bruce is a very open Christain & understood completely. We also visited the Chen House. This is a museum from the Chen Family in China.
Today was also wonderful for another reason. Emma Grace woke up happy, not crying fit like we have had since her Gotcha Day. Also tonight she went to sleep with me rocking her & no fit or tears. She has made such progress in just a week. It is so hard to believe we have only had her a week. It seems like she has been with us forever. All I can say to any family reading this that is waiting like we did. I can promise you with all my heart It is so worth the wait.

2008-06-17T21:54:00.002-05:00

We arrived in Guangzhou China after a very long 7 hour delay in the Hangzhou airport. As you can see from the picture below Aaron did a wonderful job entertaining our two girls in the airport by riding around on the luggage carts. Emma Grace is a little dare devil and loves riding on anything that moves. So yesterday we bought her a cheap stroller to ride in while in the city. As you can tell she loves it. Yesterday she had her physical that clears her medically to receive a visa and enter the US. She did well but got very upset when they tried to look in her mouth and ears. She would not stop crying, and then the “doctor” had to take off her clothes and diaper. This really made her mad & it took a while to calm her down. She weighed 9.16 kg that about 21 pounds and was 79 cm long.
The city of Guangzhou is amazing. It was a British colony for trading about 400 years age so a lot of the buildings are British influenced. Our hotel is the White Swan & it is beautiful. The hotel sits on the Pearl River in the Shamian Island. Inside the lobby of the hotel is a two story waterfall with a river that includes koi and goldfish. The hotel sits down the street from the physical exam building and a few blocks away from the US Consulate. Elisabeth enjoyed the pool yesterday while we were at the physical exam. It has been great to have Grandma to take Elisabeth when we have appointments with Emma Grace. Elisabeth has really enjoyed this hotel. Yesterday both girls received a gift from the hotel. It was a Barbie Doll holding a Chinese Baby. This is a special gift that you cannot buy. It is made especially by Mattel for the White Swan for families that are adopting and stay at the White Swan.
Today we are in our room waiting on our phone call from Bruce our guide. He has all of our paperwork at the US Consulate to apply for our entry Visa for Emma Grace. He will call us to let us know everything went through ok or if there is a problem. We will also have our traditional “Red Couch” picture today. This is a picture with all our children from our group. The children will wear traditional clothing and sit on a couch the in the lobby like all the other families before them. We will also visit a Buddhist Temple and the Chen House today. Only 4 more days until we come home (insert big smile here).

2008-06-15T04:56:00.004-05:00

Ni Hao (Knee How) Ya’ll
We are so ready to come home!! It is Sunday evening here @ 5:30 so Happy Father’s day to our Dad’s at home and a special Happy Birthday to Paw Paw Roy. We love & miss you guys. We have had a busy & fun weekend. Saturday we took of tour of the West Lake. This is the oldest lake of its kind in the area. It is over 4000 years old & is very beautiful. We took a ride on a dragon boat on the lake. The girls really enjoyed this. Then we visited the National Tea House Museum. They did a full tea ceremony for our group and Elisabeth really like the tea cookies. Tea is a major harvest in this area & a big export. I included pictures of our visit to the West Lake. This afternoon we got a wonderful treat. Our guide Rebecca has been wonderful. We have gotten to know her really well and met her daughter yesterday. This morning we were talking about her church because we noticed the cross that she was wearing. She goes to a church here in Hangzhou and invited us to the afternoon service. They have services at 9:00 and 2:00pm due to the children being in school even on Sunday. She explained a little bit of the religious “freedom” that they are given here. They are able to worship freely whomever they choose and 85% of the worshipping population is Buddhist. Rebecca’s church is Baptist. It was so wonderful to sit in the huge service and feel God freely being worshipped here. Everything was in Chinese but so much was familiar. They sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and Elisabeth recognized the music quickly. We also had a “God” moment when they read the scripture and we recognized it as Psalm 139. This verse tells us that God knew us even before he formed us in our mother’s womb. I believe this not only about each of us but have known that God knew and has held Emma Grace in his loving care for us. The verse concludes with God telling us he would never leave us. It is so reassuring to here God’s voice telling us he it with us here. To hear his words in Chinese today was so powerful. It reminded me just how small this world is to our powerful and loving God.
Tomorrow we leave Hangzhou for the final leg of our trip. We will be flying out at 4:00p.m. Monday, that’s 4a.m. for you guys at home. We will be going to Guangzhou. This is where the US Embassy is located. There Emma Grace will have an appointment with a US physician to clear her to enter the US. Also she will apply for a Visa to enter the US and we will take her oath of citizenship for her. At that point she will become a US Citizen. All of these events take place this coming week. We will conclude everything Thursday, wait on paperwork Friday, and fly for home Saturday.

2008-06-13T04:41:00.003-05:00

I have spent an amazing 4 days with this little wonder & I wanted to take the time to tell you all about her. She is simply amazing!! Emma Grace is so loving and sweet. She loves to play and laugh & is all smiles. You can tell that she has received loving care from her nanny. She knows what affection is and wants it from us. This has answered so many of my prayers. I know that someone has loved her & from that she will bond with us. She is sitting up on her own & will pull up with help. She is not walking, but wants to try. She went back and forth between Aaron & I yesterday. I know that she will make leaps & bounds with us. I can also tell that she is very smart. She lets you know just what she wants and has figured out many little things on her own. She seems very clever. She is also very stubborn(just like mommy: ) Yesterday she only wanted to eat french fries at dinner. To show me this she would take the fry and shake her head yes & then eat it. Then she would pick up the other food, drop it on the floor and shake her head no. Let just say she is strong willed!! She loves to be held and kissed by all of us. She is already bonding so well. Last night after I put her in her crib she said mama & held her arms to me(my heart sang). She is such a blessing & we are so thankful.

2008-06-11T09:40:00.002-05:00

It is now Wednesday evening at 10:45. We are concluding a very busy day. Last night Emma slept wonderful. She didn't wake up until 6:45 this morning. Our day has been very busy. Today we started off by going back to the Civil Affairs Office and receiving our "official" paperwork that makes us Emma's legal parents in the eyes of China. We then traveled by car to Linhai which is the city of Emma's birth. This was about a 3 hour car ride. Emma and Elisabeth did wonderful. We were met their by the assistant director and the director of the orphanage were Emma has lived. They took us out to lunch and then let us come back to the orphanage. We presented them with lots of gifts that we were able to purchase with donations people gave us. We gave them 14 packs of diapers, 6 larger bags of formula, wipes, cookies for the children, bath soaps and lotions and a car seat. They seemed very grateful. We were able to walk around outside the buildings but they would not let us see where Emma has stayed. Emma, Elisabeth and Maw Maw stayed in the car. We felt that it would not help Emma to be back there. Linhai is a beautiful city with large mountains covered with Bamboo. It is also a very poor area. We saw many homes that were falling in with no running water or power. It was very humbling for me to see my daughter's birth city. It is very hard to think of the life that she has had. As we road through the streets today I couldn't help but wonder about her birth mother. As I looked at the poverty and the need is this area I thank God as I hold my daughter in my arms. I also thank her mother, that she loved this wonderful little girl enough to let her go with the hope of something better for her. I pray that God can give her peace so that she knows how loved our daughter is.

2008-06-10T05:17:00.002-05:00

Finally after a very long wait she is ours!! We arrived at the Civil Affairs office just a little before nine. When we were taken upstairs to the room that the baby's are brought to Emma Grace and her nanny were on the stairs. Daddy spotted her right away. She was wearing the outfit that we had sent her in one of our care packages. When we went into the room the Director of the orphanage took Emma and handed her to me. After a little fuss she calmed down and even showed us our first smile. She is so beautiful and we are so in love. She is tiny, the 18 month clothes that I sent fit her with a little room to spare. It took a while to finish all of the paper work and then we had to go and have a family picture made for the documents. Overall I think she is doing really well. She will cry when you try to change her from mom to dad or lay her down, but only for a little bit(oh and she has a great set of lungs: ) She played a little with a Elisabeth and even smiled and laughed. She is doing well considering that everything normal to her is gone. We have had a little trouble getting her to eat, but she is taking in small amounts and drinking a little water. We will try and add more over the next few days, as she gets adjusted, just wanted to let everyone know that we have a beutiful new daughter and are blessed:) Thank you for all of the prayers and for thinking of us. The words from home mean so much. It has really helped Elisabeth to hear from friends and family and her school family. God Bless:)

2008-06-09T05:58:00.001-05:00

Saturday we toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was very crowed and very hazy in the city today. There are so many cars and the air pollution is terrible. The Forbidden City was amazing, and huge. There are 9999 ½ rooms. The is no number 10 in Chinese numbers and 9 is a lucky number. Our guide Helen took us to a wonderful authentic Chinese lunch. I included a picture of our table below. We also visited a Silk factory and got to see the process that they go through to make silk. After that we went to an acrobatics show. It was called a “The Flying Acrobats”. The children in the group loved it. Elisabeth has made many new friends that are also here with CCAI to get new brothers and sisters. She has had a lot of fun playing with them. We also took a ride on a Rickshaw down the back streets of Beijing. It was very eye opening and made me very thankful for the blessings in my life. Saturday Night we visited a restaurant called the Roost Peking Duck. The food was amazing. All of the sit down meals here are served on a large round “lazy Susan” that is maybe four feet in diameter. They just bring out lots of dishes and you pick and choose what you want to eat.

Sunday we went to a Jade Factory and learned the process it takes to make jewelry and other items from Jade. Then we visited the Great Wall of China. All I can say is that it takes your breath away. You are driving along on a flat road and all of sudden these huge mountains appear. You are then able to see a section of the wall sitting on the side of the mountain. It is a very surreal feeling to be able to see it in real life. Our guide Helen said that the Chinese say that you haven’t been to China until you have stood on the Great Wall. Well we can all say we have been to China and have a picture and the burn in our thighs to prove we climb the steps. We concluded our day on Sunday by stopping by the Olympic Village. We were able to see the hotel that is in the shape of a dragon head that will house the athletes’. Also we saw the bird nest stadium were the opening ceremonies will be held and the torch will be lit. They have done a lot of work to prepare for the Olympics and the city is very beautiful.

Monday morning started bright and early. We had to leave the hotel at 5:00 a.m. to go the airport. We flew from Beijing to Hangzhou. Our new hotel is fabulous and we were very glad to arrive. We had a wonderful surprise waiting on us. Josh and Lily the owners of our adoption agency have been visiting China and assisting in the earthquake zone with the ophanages that were damaged. While here they were able to meet us at the hotel. It was a very overwhelming meeting for me. I am so thankful to both of them for what they have done for us and also their compassion and love for the orphans of China. Also I am very emotional today anyway; I am prone to tears over the littlest thing. When we walked into our room and saw the crib they had placed there it was hard not to sob. It is so hard to believe that in just over 16 hours we will have Emma Grace. We are going to the Civil Affairs Bureau and will receive her at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. That will be at 9pm Monday night for those of you in NC. We will try to call everyone that night if she is doing ok. Also thanks to all of you that have left messages! You will never know how much it means to have these words from home. It is hard to not be so homesick & your words are such a blessing.

2008-06-06T16:45:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we went to visit the Beijing Zoo and Panda Garden. This is a huge zoo located in the middle of this major city. We took a taxi to the zoo, and let me just say you have never ridden on a roller costar that is more scary than this taxi ride. They don’t wear seat belts and the cars seem to fly. The traffic pattern is hard to figure out and cars just cut in front of you and blow the horn. The zoo itself was amazing. There are lots of animals that you could see at any zoo at home. What makes this zoo special is the Panda Garden. They have around 15 pandas in different observatories. They have also brought the pandas from that were affected in the earthquake zone here, and have built areas to care for them. We also got to tour the Zoo with a celebrity, the all famous Elisabeth!! Here in China it is very rare to see a child with blonde hair and blue eyes. They think that she is good luck and will bring good fortune. So as we are walking through the zoo, people curiously look at us and then focus on her. We had several groups of people approach us, and want to have their picture made with Elisabeth. They always asked Aaron and were very friendly. At one point we are standing in front of this huge aquarium and a family with a young boy came up to Aaron and wanted their son’s picture made with Issy. As you can tell from the picture below neither child was thrilled. We also got to experience public toilets in China. Aaron included a picture for your viewing pleasure; I will leave the rest to your imagination. I also included a picture below of the split pants that we were told they put on the potty training children. Today we will visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, we will also take a Hutong Tour (no clue yet what this means) and go to an Acrobatics show. Our guide Helen is fabulous. I am posting this at 5:30 am our time. My body hasn’t adjusted yet the time change so I am only sleeping about 3 hours at night. They told us the 3rd Day your body begins to readjust so maybe tonight will be better.

2008-06-05T20:37:00.002-05:00

We are there.. We arrived safely in Beijing at 9:25 p.m. last night. Keep in mind we are 12 hours ahead of you guys. We also made it with all our our stuff. I can't believe no suitcases were lost. I'll try to post more later.

2008-06-04T11:28:00.002-05:00

Well the first flight is behind us. We are currently at Detroit Airport waiting on our long flight to Tokyo. It will leave at 3:40 if all goes well. Elisabeth loved her first flight even though it was a little bumpy. She was very excited and ready to get on the plane. The next plane we will be on is huge.

2008-06-03T23:38:00.002-05:00

It so hard to believe but the day is finally here. We are just now at 12:40 am packed and ready. We leave for the airport at 5:30 a.m. I am not feeling well tonight. I think I am trying to get sick. I had a last minute trip to the doctors today for a shot in the rump to make me feel better. Pray it does cause right now I feel yucky. Elisabeth was so excited and scared. We finally got her to sleep around 11:30 even though she was in the bed by 9:15. I guess the next time we post we will be in China, or an airport: ) Only 6 more days till we get Emma Grace...

2008-05-29T19:44:00.001-05:00

6 days to China...
We final received all of the conformation of our trip today. We will be leaving on June 4th and returning on June 21st.
As you can imagine our house is a whirlwind trying to take care of last minute paperwork and plans. We are so excited & I am very scared. I can't wait however to get to Emma Grace. Our Gotcha Day will be June 10th. That is the day we will finally hold her in our arms. So now the countdown is on. Tick tick tick....

2008-05-23T20:10:00.002-05:00

We have our TA(Travel Approval). It arrived via email at 12:30 today. Now we have to wait out the very long weekend until Tuesday to receive our CA(Consulate Appointment) This appointment will finalize our travel dates. Our agency has requested that our CA place us leaving for China on June 4Th. On another note we received a phone call today from our agency to let us know that Emma Grace had her palate surgery. At first we thought that we were going to have delay our travel to her. However after our agency did some follow up calls and we think everything will be OK. We will find out for sure on Tuesday. After the roller coaster of this week waiting on news it leave me happy and so sad. Happy that soon she will be in my arms where she belongs. Sad because somewhere in China my baby girl in in a hospital in pain. I want to hold her so bad my arms ache. My prayer is that God will hold her and take away her pain & that somehow he will let her know that we are on the way.....

2008-05-13T17:12:00.002-05:00

Travel In 3 Weeks!!!

We received a phone call today from the travel department at our agency. They are expecting our Travel Approval this week and are going ahead and looking at our travel dates. We are being told that we will leave on June 4 and fly to....Beijing China arriving on June 5th. We will be spending out 10th wedding anniversary on June 6th in China. Also Aaron with have both of his little girls with him on Father's Day. We will have to wish Paw Paw a happy b-day and happy Father's day from across the ocean. It looks like we will not return until June 19/20....

2008-05-07T11:31:00.006-05:00

We just received these updated pictures. Can you believe how much Emma Grace has changed. She is so beautiful. I can't wait to hold her. Pray for a quick TA (Travel Approval).

2008-05-01T22:38:00.002-05:00

WOW! Now that I have come down out of the clouds let me tell you about my day. This afternoon we received an email from our agency telling us the they have received our Letter of Acceptance(LOA). We were told this could take up to 3 months. This starts our formal count down to travel. The last line in the email is enough to make me stop breathing...."We estimate your travel to be 5-8 weeks." 5 WEEKS!!! That is next month. God's perfect time....Now we fly through loads of paperwork and try to keep our feet on the ground. We have booked appointments for Monday to meet with our Travel Doctor(yeah shots). I have a list a mile long of things we need to buy to pack. Oh and I need to find baby clothes...and a crib..and all that wonderful baby stuff that we have waited forever to use again. Did I mention that we could travel in 5 weeks.......We have crawled along at a snails pace for 2 years and now we are in warp speed..

2008-04-29T12:06:00.004-05:00

Finally it is with great joy and thanks to God, that we can announce that after a very long wait...WE HAVE A BABY. Her name in Chinese is Feng Min soon to be Emma Grace Min Swinson. She is currently in Linhai China in the Linhai City Social Welfare Institute. Emma Grace is 18 months old. Her birthday is October 3, 2006 & as you can see from her picture she is beautiful. What a smile..We received the call on April 16 at 3:58 pm. I saw the name on the Caller ID and lost all train of thought. I remember thinking Oh, God this is it and then went brain dead. We have not been able to post and share our news until today. We had to wait on the CCAA to Pre-Approve us for her. We received that email yesterday around 6:00. We are over the moon. So now again we wait, only this time we are able to see daily what we are waiting and praying for. We hope to travel in about 3-4 months to get her. Please keep us, and Emma Grace in your prayers. Blessings...

2008-01-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

YEAH!!!! Our agency posted late tonight that they have the new list of children. Could we be on this list. Only God knows and only time will tell..........

2008-01-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

Still waiting....

We are still waiting for a match on our Emma Grace. We are currently working on renewing our I171H. This is the document from USIS that allows us to bring Emma into the US as our child. We have already filed this doc. one time but it will expire in March. In order to renew the doc. we are going to have to update our homestudy and some other records. At least we will have something to take our mind off the wait. Currently we are waiting on the next list to come out to our agencies WC dept. Could we be on this list??? Only time will tell.

2007-11-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Today is a day to be so thankful for the many blessings in our lives. We are so blessed to have a wonderful family and great friends. We are so thankful to God for his presences in our lives. Last night as our family gathered around at our dining room table. I was having a really hard time remembering to be thankful because my heart was so heavy. We have been waiting on Emma for so long, as of today we have been waiting for Emma for 19 months and 2 weeks. I continue to pray that we will have our referral soon. As we lifted our prayers at the table last night my heart was also lifted because at that moment there was a ladybug. It was flying around the entire table almost like it was visiting. So on a day with so many blessings I am thankful for I want to add ladybugs to that list....

2007-07-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

I came across this poem on another blog. It touched me so much..

Every call has a beginning
A quiet moment when God whispers
a promise to a mother’s heart
A holy place where a father bows and faithfully
accepts the journey set before him.
A miraculous morning that unexpectedly dawns…
Casting its first light on a chosen threshold.
A gentle knock..a closed door opens.
A sacred invitation sent by the Father..
Leads to the other side of the world.

Where lonely hearts stare out orphanage windows
Praying for someone to care..

And then one morning,
On an ordinary day
An orphan’s life changes...
God sends them a second chance..

Through you..

2007-05-25T17:24:00.000-05:00

This past week our family made a decision that I feel God has been leading us to for a long time. For several months Aaron & I have been talking about the possibility of adopting a Waiting Child from China. A "waiting child" is one that has minor to major medical concerns depending on the special needs your family is open to. After much prayer and research we faxed our paperwork to our agency. We feel that this is God moving in our lives. My main concern and why it took me longer to reach this point was Elisabeth. I was concerned about how she would accept a child born with a cleft lip that may not be repaired by the time she comes to us. After talking with her and showing her some pictures on the Internet, her response made me cry. She said "This little girl wants a family to love her & we will be her family & I will be her sister & love her"...Enough said.. Our agency is telling us that the current wait time could be 6-8months. We asked for your continued prayers for us & for Emma as we continue this amazing journey that God has us on.

2007-03-21T19:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend our family along with 20 of our youth and leaders from our Church went to Winter Jam. The main performances were by Stephen Curtis Chapman and Newsong. The event was sponsored by HOLT International. This past year Newsong along with Holt International visited China. This is a very moving video from their trip that was shared at the concert. Needless to say Aaron & I along with most of our group were in tears.

2007-01-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before January 31, 2006.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before September 27, 2005.

Congratulation to all those families that received their referral's

2006-12-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

YIPPEE!!!!!!! WE HAVE OUR LID
We received an Email from CCAI around 10am on 12-06-2006 that we have officially been logged into the CCAA, our LID is 12-04-2006. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we anxiously wait for the news to travel to China to get our daughter,and "little sister".

2006-11-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We received an email this morning that CCAI our agency had delivered our paperwork to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs(CCAA) So it is where it needs to be. We are now waiting on a Log In Date(LID). This is the date the the CCAA will use to match us with Emma. CCAI told us that it could be up to 4 weeks before we receive this date. I pray that it will come quickly.

2006-11-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

We are offically DTC 11-07-2006
We received an email this afternoon to tell us that we are offically DTC. This means Dossier to China. This is a really big step. So now what happens?? We are now waiting to hear that our Dossier arrived in China at CCAI offices. CCAI is our agency that is handling our adoption. After CCAI receives our paperwork then they will hand deliver it for us to the CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs). They will then contact us with our LID (Log in Date). This will be the date that we use for our count down to our referral.

2006-11-07T14:11:00.001-05:00

This blog is dedicated to the journey for our daughter Emma Grace........We invite friends and family to join us here to follow in our Journey. Hopefully this will help us to keep up with the adoption timeline and give us something to do while we wait and wait and wait : )

2006-11-02T16:16:00.000-05:00

UNTIL FOREVER

This morning in China a mother cries She’ll never forget her daughter’s eyes Her heart is broken and filled with pain The tears run down like the falling rain.She has no choice but to leave her there The cost of keeping is too much to bear She hopes her daughter will one day know True love can be found in letting her go.
This morning in China a baby cries hungry and scared as tears fill her eyes. Her mother has left her in this public place. Another lost daughter of the Chinese race. Someone passing by has heard her soft moan. She’s soon quickly taken to a foster home. It’s here she’ll reside in the care of another. Until she’s adopted by a brand new mother.
That very same moment, in the U.S.A. A woman cries as she starts to pray. Her heart is heavy but filled with much love. She prays for a daughter she thinks the world of.“Dear Jesus I ask that your arms would be Wrapped tightly around the one picked for me Guard her in China ‘till I make my way And then in my arms forever she’ll stay.”

by Tom Fisher