Court Readoption For EK

Yesterday we went to court and met with Judge Jackson to have our official papers signed. We were taken to the courtroom first, which the girls thought was so cool and answered many questions. He asked us to fill out a part of the paperwork that he was to sign. He asked us to come back to his chambers when we were finished. We were taken back there by his assistant and the sheriff. His chambers were very beautiful.

We sat a big table while Judge Jackson looked over our paperwork. He signed it and told us our adoption was approved. He sat and talked to the girls about lots of things and that made them feel very special. Both the judge and the sheriff teased them about not being in school. Judge Jackson asked if we would like to take some pictures and we were so excited. He suggested we stand in front of the bookcases. EllaKate even let him hold her in a few of them. We now have Ella again, as if all the things we did in China were not enough. We are her official forever family and will be receiving her Georgia Birth Certificate very soon. On the way home, the girls talked about all the amazing experiences we had had together as a family over the past two years. If it is God's will for our family, we sure pray we can start over and live it all again!!!

EK's Orphanage

We were able to send a care package to Ella Kate when we received our referral. In the package, we sent a disposable camera. On Ella Kate Day, we were given the photo album and the camera back that we sent. We took it to Target and developed the pictures. These are a few of Ella Kate in the orphanage. There are actually some of the babies adopted in our travel group in the pictures. We are so thankful God chose her to be our daughter!!!

Homeward Bound

Well, you probably thought we were never going to blog again, but we have been so busy and tired. I really never knew what jet lag was about but now I do. We had a very challenging trip home. We arrived in Hong Kong on the train and checked in to the hotel. We were up and out to the airport by 6:00am. Our flight was on time and we departed on time. About one hour into the flight, an engine blew and we were forced to turn back for Hong Kong. After three hours of a layover and an airline change, we left for the US bound for LAX. Our flight was about 12 hours. Ella Kate had a difficult flight. None of us were able to sleep any. When we arrived in LA, we found out all flights out were booked, and we could only get home by separating into two different flights. Savannah, Ella Kate, and I were going to fly straight to Atlanta; Scott, Amelia, and Rosemary were to fly through Florida and then to Atlanta. After three hours of talking, Scott was able to get us booked with Delta, all on one flight, and we would leave at 1:30am and land around 5:30 Friday morning. We were greeted at the airport by the limo once again, and made it home about 6:20am Friday (Ella Kate's BD!!!) We worked very hard to stay awake all day. We enjoyed having company and celebrating a great day!!! We are so thankful to be home!!!

Touring

Yesterday, we went to the Pearl Market here in Guangzhou. We were able to buy 4 bracelets, a necklace, and earrings wholesale. We also bought some DVDs for the girls to watch on the way home. The greatest thing that happened was our friends from Atlanta, Shane and Beverly arrived here and will get their baby today!!! We went down stairs to see if they were here and as soon as we saw each other, we all screamed and hugged. It was so amazing to see someone from home here in China!!! We are going for our consulate appointment today 4:00 and then catch a train to Hong Kong. We will fly out tomorrow morning at 8:30 with layovers in Tokoyo and Minn. We arrive in Atlanta at 5:45. We should be hone around 8:30pm. I guess this is goodbye from China. The next time we post we will be back in Dacula, GA. We love all of you and thank you for reading our blog and praying for us!!!

Physical Exam

Today was Ella Kate's physical exam for her visa and consulant appt. We had to be there about 9:45. There were tons of people there from adoptive families to local people. There was a separate area for the adoptive families. Our whole group went back and waited for our turn. A very nice lady in our group took our family photo. We had to take Ella to three different check-up areas. We went to the general doctor first. He checked her skin, bones, and head. He thought she was great and sent us to the next area. We then went to the weight, height, and temp. Ella Kate weighed 19.5 pounds. I think they said she was in the top 75% for her height. We then moved on to the ENT. She checked Ella's hearing, ears, and looked down her throat. She checked put great in all areas. We were free to go. We stopped by a few shops on the way back to hotel and finished our gift shopping. We all came back for Ella's bottle and naptime. We all rested for about 2 hours and off to eat a midday meal at Lucy's. We went to a great Thai restaurant last night. It was really spicy and we all liked it!!! We are glad that we will be home in 3 days!!! Love to all!!!

April 2

Today we went first thing to get a visa picture made of Ella Kate. I had to go to a paperwork meeting for about 2 hours. Scott and the girls went for walk. They put Ella Kate in the stroller, dropped the laundry off, and and headed out. They found a church to visit for a little while. It was a Christian church, and they were singing. While walking around, they also saw some couples making wedding pictures. They said the girls looked so beautiful and new. We were told by our CCAI rep in Beijing that the boy is responsible to buy everything for the wedding. They also have to give the girl's family a lot of money, as well as have a place to live and maybe a car before they get married. What a big responsibility. I finished with the paperwork and we ate lunch at a great cafe called Lucy's. We came back and took a little rest while Scott went for a run. We are all going for a group dinner at a Thai restaurant tonight. Tomorrow, we have to take Ella Kate for her doctor's checkup for the visa report. She is doing great! She just has a little runny nose in the morning, but I think it is because she is cutting her two bottom teeth. She already had her two top teeth. She is very happy!!!

Red Couch Photos

We took our Red Couch pictures today. Our group had nine families. We started with family photos, then group picture, and finally baby photo. Ella Kate did great! She already knows what a camera does and she looks right at it. We thought this picture was so cute because you can see her precious little dimple on her cheek!!! She looked like a little Chinese princess!!! Amelia and Rosie loved wearing their traditional clothes too.

Made it to the White Swan

We finally made it to the White Swan Hotel. We took a nice walk this afternoon around Shaiman Island. The old buildings and trees remind us of Charleston SC. We're all doing great and look forward to finding out about Guangzhou tomorrow. Love to all!

Guangzhou

We are safe and sound at our new destination, Guangzhou. We have a new CCAI rep, Raymond. He is very nice and has updated us on our schedule. We have some down time today. We have orderd some lunch/dinner from Danny's Bagel and it is good! Ella and Rosie love the mac and cheese!!!We will update if we go out exploring!!!

Group Photo

Today was another rest and bonding day. We got up at the usual time of 6:00am for a bottle. We played awhile and got a bath, then we woke up the big girls. We all got dressed and went down for breakfast. We ate with some friends from our group. We came back up to the room for a little while and decided to go out for a while. We walked a new way and found a beautiful open air mall. We looked in many stores and shops. Rosie found some cute capris. We were hungry and you guessed it, we ate lunch at Pizza Hut. We have eaten there at least once every day since we got here. Ella took a long nap before we had to be down in the lobby for group pictures. You can see the pictures we took. It was quite a scene to get all the babies on a sofa and take pictures. As you will see, Ella did very well. She has already gotten used to all the pictures we take. We are going to dinner tonight with our group in the hotel. We have a 6:00am wake up call, 7:00 breakfast, 8:00 luggage out and we are on the bus to airport by 8:30. We will leave for Guangzhou @ 10:30. it is only an hour and a half flight. We will have time to get settled before night. We will meet a new CCAI rep there and get ready for the final leg of paperwork to be finished before we head state side. We are excited about Guangzhou because there will be so many families there with their new babies. All adpoting families must go there to finalize everything. We actually have some friends flying there as well on Monday and will get their baby on Tuesday or Wednesday. We will get to see them. It will be so wonderful for our girls to meet for the first time in China. We hope they can be lifelong friends when we all get home to the US.

I wanted to tell all our friends at Duncan Creek that we decided as a family that we would take the candle wishes you all wrote with us to China. We brought them to read each day that we had Ella Kate. On Ella Day, we read the first and the second day we read 2 and so on. We have added a wish each day. We think we will have read them all by the time we get home. They have all been such a precious blessing to each of us. We love you all and hope to see you when we get home!!!

Old Towne Chongqing

Today we went on a tour of the old town where many shop keepers sell wonderful Chinese items. We were able to buy Ella Kate and Rosie Chinese outfits. Ella Kate will wear hers for the official baby picture tomorrow. We walked for about 2 hours, looking, bargaining, and buying. This was one of the places where the prices were not fixed. We were able to barter the prices. The owner types on a calculator of the price they want. We would clear and type what we would give, always bartering low. They always laughed and put in a new price. We would continue until we both agreed or we walked away. If we walked, they would follow with a better price. It is sometimes fun and sometimes annoying. All in all, a great day.

We then boarded the bus, and rode to a beautiful area called the People's Building. This building is on a plate the orphanage gave us on Ella Day, so it was great to get a picture of this building. There were many Chinese people there enjoying the day. Some are happy that we have Ella Kate, but there were some that bickered at us about her. We have two wonderful CCAI reps that were with us and would translate what the people were saying. One lady went on and on about us already having three daughters, and why would we want a Chinese baby. Anita, our rep told them we love the Chinese people and we love our baby Ella. She finally took that as a good answer but continue to follow us around. We are stared at every where we go so we have gotten used to it.

We loaded back up and went back to the hotel. We dropped off our purchases and headed for Pizza Hut for our lunch/dinner meal. We just snack the rest of the day. We are all relaxing and playing with Ella Kate now. The girls are working on homework and I have to go and change a stinky diaper. Who would think I would LOVE to change diapers but I DO!!!!!!

We continue to fall more and more in love with Ella everyday!!! She is a sweet, happy, and loving baby. Thanks to everyone for reading our blog and praying for us!!!

Chongqing Zoo

Hello! I have been trying to load pictures for about an hour and a half now. They finally loaded and I could write about today. Yesterday was a total rest and bonding day. We ate breakfast and then hung out in the room all morning, allowing the girls to work on some homework. In the afternoon, we ventured out to the grocery and to get Ella Kate some shoes.

The cool thing about shopping here is everything is in the same building. The grocery is on the bottom floor, and the other floors are like a dept. store, with the baby things being at the top. We went upstairs to buy Ella a pair of shoes. We bought the cutest pink pair and then later we bought a white pair. She loves playing with them.

Today, we went down for breakfast and then met our group in the lobby @ 9:30 for a trip to the Chongqing Zoo. We road a bus for about 20 minutes and then took a 2 hour walk through the zoo. The greatest part was the pandas and the tigers. I carried Ella Kate in the snuggly and she really had fun.

We also went to an Art Gallery and watched a demonstration of how Chinese art is made: painting on rice paper and silk embroidery. We plan to buy some pieces at Old Towne tomorrow.
We also took a bus tour through the city and saw where the two big rivers in Chongqing meet. Ella Kate's Chinese name means Twin River, so it is thought that she is named for these two rivers. We took a picture for her.

We made it back to the hotel and everyone took a nap. We were able to sent our laundry out for a local lady to do. We picked it up at 5:00 and then went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. It was really good. We are all eating really well. We have eaten authentic Chinese food three times. Chongqing food is the spicest so far.

We all continue to love every minute we are here. We love being outside to be around all the people who live here. They walk up to us and touch Ella Kate. They stop and stare as we all walk by, mainly because Scott is wearing shorts. We are having to keep Ella Kate in lots of clothes because the older women here think babies should be in three layers. We are trying to follow the rules. So far, so good. We are going on a tour of Old Towne Chongqing tomorrow. Until then... goodnight.