God sets the lonely in families.
Yes, we are home! I will go back and update about leaving China later, but at least wanted to get this update out there so you know we did make it! Our flight from LA to Denver was easy, quick, Sage slept. Coming into Denver they told us it was going to be rough, there were thunderstorm clouds approaching. Which did concern us a little for the flight home. We had a 3 hour layover in Denver, and again, Sage was great. We got on the plane to leave, and then were told we could not take off due to lightening. So for 2 HOURS we sat on the plane. We were able to call home to let them know, but Mark and I were both upset. We were tired, and we were ready to be home. We finally took off and landed in St Louis around 8:30. They announced on the plane a welcome to Sage coming home from China which was very sweet! We hurried off the plane as fast as we could, and we could hear our crowd long before we could see them! As soon as they got view of us, they were screaming and yelling and oh was it a good sound! We had waited for 18 days to hear that sound and see those faces waiting there for us! Makenna and Malaine were all about Sage that is for sure! But Sawyer grabbed on to us and said, don't ever leave me again! Sage did great, smiling and happy as could be to be passed all around. As I stood there with our family and friends holding on to Sage with the love and tears pouring onto her, God whispered to me. She was born there, but this is her home. She was birthed by those people, but these are now her people. These are the faces of the ones who wanted her, and will forever love her. It was a sweet feeling to know that we are all exactly where we belong.
We did lose one suitcase in Denver, but they promised it would be delivered by 9 am friday and it was. Leaving the airport we had fun trying to get Sage into the car seat. Took us a few minutes to figure out getting her strapped in, guess I did nor refresh myself enough on those straps! She did scream on the way home, remember these kids have never been in a car seat, but fell asleep taking a bottle. The kids were fighting over who could lean forward in their seats so they could stare at her.
We went back to our house along with the crowd for a party for Sage. I appreciate everyone coming, it was so late and not what the plan was supposed to be, but we were so glad to be able to be with everyone and share Sage. There was a spread of goodies, along with a beautiful cake that Sage enjoyed squishing her toes in! Our house was decorated so cute in pink from my mops steering team and they had a wonderful bouquet of fresh flowers waiting for Sage. The kids all had a good time playing with Sage and she just lights up when watching them!
Sage was asleep by midnight, the rest of us around 1ish. It felt good to be in my soft, VERY soft bed, but I am coming down with a sore throat, so that kept me from sleeping well. Sage was up at 530, right when i took cold medicine, so thankfully mark was kind enough to get up with her. Today Marks brother Brett, wife Amy and their kids Tyler and Graham were able to come in from Kansas City to meet Sage. Mark's parents brought dinner which was great.
Sage has wanted to sleep alot, but we are trying to keep her up as much as possible to get her switched. We are exhausted. I really do feel about like I did after giving birth. Emotionally drained, and so tired. 2 days of no sleep wears on you! Plus our bodies are just so confused on why we are up right now, when we should be in bed.
It is good to finally be with all of our kids. They are all overly tired, but they really adore their new baby sister. And she is pretty impressed by them! She just watches them. She is really taking to Makenna, probably because she is giving her the most attention of all of them. Malaine is being my big diaper helper, but she is also having a hard time. Hoping some good sleep will help her out, but she is really wanting me to hold her and do things for her. Understandable. It was a long trip and she lost her place as baby. Sawyer had some big brother snuggle time w/ Sage since he is always up so early. And like everyone else, Sage thinks her big brother is funny!
Please pray for all of us as we adjust. Mark and I just want to get out of this fog we are in, we feel as if we are walking zombies! Pray that we can give all 4 kids the attention they need. We have to find a balance in giving the 3 individual time and attention, yet still trying to bond with Sage. I know that we will be fine with some rest and time.
I will probably move my postings over to the blog, after I finish up the travel journal. I do plan to fill in the days I missed, when my eyes stop swimming!
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Romans 8 :28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.
Taking a while, but I am finally going back to update this last page of my travel journal, our final day in China.
We woke and went to our last breakfast at the buffet. Mark said we should eat light, since we were planning to eat lunch with some of our friends. But I felt the need to overflow my plate, I would never get that yummy French toast again! It was so weird, knowing we would never eat at this hotel overlooking the Pearl River again.
Right after breakfast we began to make our rounds to the shops who we had ordered things from. Sadly, no one had our things ready. Lesson number 100. Order your things early, and tell them you are leaving the day before you actually do leave. Granted, I ordered a lot. But we were panicked. We headed back to the room to finish up packing. I left lots of things behind. Our suitcases were overflowing. For lunch we ate at a Cantonese Restaurant in the White Swan, with Jennifer & Todd, Lori and Vinnie. We tried Pigeon, and it was really good. Despite the head on the plate! I think we got a good shot of Todd acting as if he is going to try that part! Fried Green Beans were wonderful, all the food there was really good. Sage slept through lunch, in my arms.
Mark went out and picked up the rest of our orders, only one jacket out of 18 custom made outfits was not finished. Jennifer offered to pick it up for me and ship it to me from the states. No other options, we had to go.
They picked up all our luggage(one great thing, every hotel, they pick up your luggage at your room and get it to where it needs to go) and we loaded the bus for the US Consulate Appointment. It was about a 45 minute drive. Sabrina gave a speech on the way over, which did not help my already weepy emotions. Yes, I was excited to get home, but so sad to leave all these new friends I had met. Much less to leave China, Sages birthcountry. One thing she said that really struck my heart. She said, these mothers do not want to give up their babies. And while we have no idea why Sage was given up, I do want to believe that she was loved, and that her birthmother made a choice to give her up in hopes of a better future for her. There were other options that her mother could have taken, and so we are forever thankful that she chose this road for her baby, our daughter.
We were not allowed to take photo’s in the Consulate. We were also not allowed to take in any liquids so some of our group lost their thermos full of water for formula. We had to go through security to get in. Then we were ushered up to a window, they checked to make sure that Sage matched the picture on her visa. We took an oath as a group, swearing to take care of these babies,which was so moving to me. There were about 50 plus families in the room with us all different agencies. Looking around and seeing all these mommy’s and daddy’s, and all these new babies, some screaming, some sleeping, some laughing, it was just amazing. These parents who have been through exactly what we have been through to get our babies… We were then given Sage’s visa and we left. We did not realize that we were going to be leaving our group right there to go to the airport. We jumped back on our bus, presented Sabrina with a parting group gift. We collected almost $600 we donated in her name to one of the CHI foundations, that helps kids in need get much needed surgeries. And then we had to say goodbye. It was so hard. These families who we have been with for 2 weeks. The ones who watched us become parents to Sage, and who we watched become families. They were our support through each day in China. We might never see them again. It was a quick goodbye, but full of sweet memories that will stay on my heart forever.
We headed to the airport and stood in line forever to get checked in. If the line was a sign of our flight, it was going to be full. We had to go through customs and we had these papers we had to fill out and hand over. Well we hand him Sage’s and he said, you should have filled this out in Chinese, this time I will help you, but next time, Chinese. What? Ok, next time, I will practice up my Chinese handwriting and do that. We had a “western” dinner while waiting, but I got a chicken sandwich which was very spicy and very chewy. I am ready for American normal chicken! The wait was short and soon we were boarding the plane. We did have 6 CHI couples on our flight. 4 Hunan Families along w/ the cutie from our flight in, Lillie and her new sister! We settled in on the plane and we were off. It was a very full flight this time, and we did not receive ANY special treatment this time as before. In fact, we did not see much of the flight attendants on this flight. They served dinner right away, which was rice and some sort of spicy meat. Sage fell asleep pretty quickly. Our seats were the 2 on the side. We had hoped for bulkhead, in that area sometimes you can get a bassinet. But it was fine, Sage fell asleep on my lap, and slept for most of the entire flight. I actually slept a little bit myself. Though we had terrible turbulence on that flight, which surprised me, the way over was so smooth. Being on a Chinese airline, the movies were bad. We could find nothing in English! With only about 2 hours to go, they finally served breakfast. And that is when Sage decided to wake up, and have a bad, I mean REALLY bad diaper blow out. Less than 2 minutes after they set down my tray, might I add, WITH the food cart in the aisle. Thankfully one of the bathrooms in our area was a wheelchair accessible, so it was larger. Of course getting out of my seat covered in, well, just covered, getting around the breakfast cart, all the while the flight attendants trying to ignore me and the stench I think, then waiting in line for that one bathroom which happened to be occupied FOREVER!! Thank goodness I had packed clothes for me and Sage both in our carry on. I quickly lost my appetite at that point! And that little incident did help to pass the last part of the flight pretty quickly! We landed in Los Angeles at 7:30PM. Have I mentioned that the Chinese pilots land differently than US pilots? They are rough, I don’t know why, but we both noticed that they land so much harder! It did go through my head, we saw how they drive, and we actually trust them to fly us!? Good thing I flew China Southern before I rode in a chinese taxi! We rushed off the plane as quickly as we could, we were told to hurry and get in line for US immigrations. There was some man there who had us get in one line, then tried to make us get into another line, which we all refused to budge. When we asked why, he said “Because that is the way it is”. And you know me, that just ticked me off and I thought, you want me to move, and stand in a longer line, AFTER waiting in this line, you will have to pick me up and move me. This is America, I know my rights and I have been on a plane for 15 hours. Thankfully we did not get hauled off to the police station, we stayed in our spot and we made it through. It was so nuts that we did not get to say goodbye to all our friends as we would have liked, but it was good to be on US soil for sure! We gathered our luggage and jumped on the shuttle to our hotel for the night.
By 8:30 we were checking into our room at the Sheraton. We paid $150.00 to stay at this hotel, and I guess we were so spoiled from China hotels, but it felt like a dump! I guess I should not go that far, but it was not the White Swan! Except of course for the heavenly beds! They were well worth the $! We dumped our luggage into the room, and went downstairs for our first American Meal. We both had steak, mashed potatoes, it was good! No pointing at the menu to order, we did not have to ask them to leave out the spice or ice from our drinks! But our dinner was so quiet. This was the first time we had been alone and it was strange! Sage had no friends, we had no one, our trip was really coming to an end.
Mark and I were exhausted, but not our little angel who had slept almost the entire flight, she was ready to go! So it was a very short night in our soft beds! At least they were comfy to lay on awake. By 4am we gave up and got ready for the airport. Mark took a hike down the road to get diapers, we were out. We took the shuttle to the airport and guess what, Sage fell asleep and continued to sleep for most of the day. Mark and I were both so anxious now. Home, we are coming home!

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above.
Can you believe it, our last post from China! We have been in frantic mode here trying to tuck every detail of this area into our hearts, while also trying to check off our list of what we want to buy! There is no way I can buy as much as I wanted, though Mark would argue and say I bought out all of Guangzhou. I am sure there will be many moments of “Oh, why did we not get that, or we should have splurged on that.” But we did what we could and lets just hope it all fits! We purchased the “trunk” of a suitcase tonight. It is huge, so I am hoping we can fit it all in.
Today we had to be in our room for awhile, waiting to make sure that Sabrina did not have any questions while she was at the consulate for us. Mark stayed in while Sage napped, I shopped. The shopping here is work. It is sort of like buying a car back home, yet you do it over every single thing. They name a price, you say no way, name your price, they say no way, you walk away they follow you and continue to haggle. Then they hang their head as if you are stealing from them. I do not enjoy it whatsoever. I am very ready to be home and just go to target or the mall, see the price marked, and check out. I guess some would think this is fun, I do not. I am sure I got ripped off big time today all over the place, but at least I got a lot done. And as we keep reminding ourselves, being ripped off in China is still cheaper than buying back home!
After I shopped, Mark headed out to the electronics store. He did not come back with much. Lunch was delivery from Danny’s Bagels, I had pizza. Very average. I know a lot of people love the American food around here, but for me it is not that great. Mark and I said we are both ready for a steak, baked potato, good salad, and a huge soda w/ ice! We are both going to have to wean our self off of regular coke at home. That is mainly what we drink as you can’t find diet and it just sounds better to me than water most of the time.
We had a group photo at 4 and you can see it was pure chaos! Sage is the only baby not sitting up, so you can see her slumped over on the Famous Red Couch. It was really neat to see the couch, after having watched so many babies have pictures made on that couch. We headed over for our group dinner at a local Cantonese restaurant, which was ok. Like I said, I think we are to the point we are just ready for American food served with a fork! CHI had made a really neat slide show for us of photos each family submitted. It was very touching to see and we can’t wait for them to send them to us. By the way, did I mention they made us a video of gotcha day? They taped us from standing in the hotel, getting on the bus walking into the building, just VERY special. Hopefully we can upload it once we are home for you.
We did take Sage down to the pool for a quick dip of her toes, just to see the pool and take a picture! It is beautiful here! It reminds me a little of the Opryland Hotel, all tropical inside and out. It is fancier overall, but just makes me think of that hotel. Here at the White Swan, you have a person who stands at a desk right by the elevators, and as you come down the hall, they push the button and hold the elevator for you. We are getting spoiled! Back to the pool… Poor Sage was so tired, you know it was 7pm! But I had to let you see her darling suit, so we went down, she cried, fell asleep on the way up in my arms, but woke up when we tried to change her. So then we really messed her up. But she played for awhile and finally went to sleep w/ a bottle in the crib. She would do so well to take a pacifier, but we really don’t want to do that! So the bottle in the crib just for tonight! And yes I took it out after the 5 seconds it took her to be asleep.
Last night here. I am SO ready to go home. My mom sent over pictures of the kids first day of school, which they did great by the way. We talked to them this morning, so their night. Makenna seemed happy to be back with her friends. Sawyer informed us it was boring, naptime is to long! But I heard from his teacher, and it sounds like he did very well. We can’t wait for us to be together, we are now a half dozen at our house! But as ready as I am to see them, I am also sad to leave here. The gift that I have been given while here still takes my breath away. China will forever be in my heart, because this is who my daughter is. Sage’s birthmother was heavy on my heart tonight. Does she have any idea that the baby she carried for 9 months is about to be carried away from here forever? Please continue to pray for her birthmother, that she would have peace in her heart and sense that the daughter she gave up, is being loved on and is home with her family, where she should be.
I do plan to go back and update the last few days of our journey home. But of course I can’t do that till we are home! Tomorrow is going to be busy and long. We have to finish up shopping, mainly picking up things we ordered. Try to cram it all in to our suitcases. We leave for the US consulate at 2:45 PM. Sage will get her visa and then we are off to the airport from there. Our flight leaves at 9pm, and I think we land in LA around 7PM on Wednesday. We are staying at the Sheraton by the airport. We fly out on Thursday morning, layover in Denver then we will be HOME!!! Please pray that all flights are on time, and that everything goes smoothly. Yes we did read about the airplane crash in Kentucky this week! Please pray that Sage is able to sleep on the plane. We tried to request a bassinet, but they told us they were not available. She does not sleep well for long being held, though she is better this week than last doing that. I dread it, 15 hours… But it is only 15 hours, and we will finally be on US soil. We can do this!
Thank you again for all the support you have given us on this journey. We appreciate each of you so much and know that you have prayed for us daily as we are here. You have been a blessing to us in so many ways! We are sending huge hugs from China and soon we can thank you in person!

James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
We all slept well last night and till 7am! Had a quick breakfast because during breakfast Sage exploded again! No more prune juice for this baby ever again!
Did I tell you that we requested softer beds here at the white swan? We made that request before we actually came into our room. And when we sat on the bed, we could tell it was a softer bed than before. They brought in this pad thing and laid it on our bed, we added a few comforters and it is not to bad. Plus the bathtub here is deep, so I have been able to enjoy a few hot baths which are helpful as my back is killing me! Toting around a baby non-stop wears on you!
We had our medical exam this morning. One room they listen to the baby’s chest, and I worried in that room a little. I wanted to ask about the chest rattle, but I also want to go home this week, and I feared if I said anything, they would say she could not leave. So she passed that room. Then on to the weight table. She is a growing girl! She is now 15 ½ pounds! As you can see in todays pictures, half of that is in the cheeks, the other half in her belly! Last room was a peek in the ears, rattle the toys to see if she can hear and all done. That last dr was rough, she scared me! Some of the babies screamed, but not Sage. She just stares at everyone who comes near her! The good news is she is declared healthy and ok to come home!
We did more shopping after that. If Mark and I can make it through this trip it will be a miracle. He just makes it so not fun to shop! But we did get more done today, thankfully. We also went to the pearl and jade market. You have never seen anything like the stores here. Mark is slacking on the pictures recently, but it is amazing. It was at least 5 stories high. And goes on forever. Each store has jewelry everywhere. We looked at Jade, did not find anything we liked so moved on to pearls. Now, we are no jewelry experts by any means. And so the first strand they pull out is $30, which just seems very cheap. So we quickly called in help from Sabrina and that was fun in itself. I showed her the size I wanted, told her how much we wanted to pay, and she did all the work! We bought Sage the strand she is wearing to put away for either sweet 16 or her wedding. I bought myself a black pearl necklace that I really love. It is the larger pearls and just so pretty. We went for quality I suppose over quantity, or at least that is what we are convincing ourselves on! I wanted to get strands for Makenna and Malaine to put away, but Mark says we will get them something in America. See, the shopping thing!
For dinner we went on the Pearl River Cruise. The food was awful, really awful. Our guide told us what each thing was, but I have to wonder what type of meat it was. Everything was grizzly, even the rice was bad! But the view was worth it all. Beautiful, everything was lit up. We ate dinner inside, but afterwards went up on top deck and just loved the breeze and how peaceful it was. I am so glad we went. One of those neat memories that we will try to hold on to for Sage. We came home and mark went out in search of food. He came back with hot dogs on a stick, but they quickly went into the trash and we settled for ice cream bars.
Sage is doing great. Besides the diaper explosions! PLEASE pray the prune juice it out of her system before our plane ride home. She continues to give out more smiles each day. While out shopping today the Chinese girls want to hold Sage. Of course she goes to anyone happily. Today she did look at me as they took her, but she does not cry. Partly probably her personality, partly I think she is still not totally attached. I am still not worried, I realize it could take a long time for her to fully bond to us. And we have plenty of time that is for sure!
We talked to the kids while we were on the cruise. They were eating breakfast getting ready for the first day of school! Makenna begins 3rd grade, Sawyer kindergarten! Of course my heart is breaking to miss that day w/ them. I am really trying not to put to much thought into it, because it just makes me want to cry all over again! We know it is just a few more days, and the 6 of us will be going to school together!
Tomorrow guess what we are doing? Yep, more shopping! One person has to be in the room for 90 minutes while our guides take our paperwork to the consulate. We have to be here in case they have any questions. Then they are taking a bus to the electronics store. I think I am staying back and may visit the pool w/ Sage. She has to have a picture in her cute swimsuit that I bought just for this trip! We don’t really want her swimming with her cough, but need the picture to share w/ you all! Tomorrow afternoon we are meeting for a group photo and the famous red couch photo! We also have a group dinner tomorrow night for our farewell.. Wow, farewell is already here! It will be neat to see everyone again, we do not see anyone here at this hotel it is so big.
Are you all ready to finally see this little angel in person? We can’t wait to see you all for sure!

1 Samuel 1:27
We prayed for this baby, and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him. For all of her days, we will give her to the Lord.
Today started early for me again. 4:00am Sage woke up for a bottle and I could not go back to sleep. Maybe I was to excited about the shopping! We had our first breakfast here at the white swan and it was great! But very crowded. We were so used to dining together as a group at the Dolton all week, this was a huge madhouse of people and you had to wait in line for everything. It is neat though to sit and look out at the Pearl River as you eat. And the food was delicious.
We were able to visit the Shamian Chapel of Guangdong Christianity. It was a bilingual service and just really amazing. Things I thought about China and Christ have really changed. I will have to write more about this topic later, to much to say and I am way to tired tonight. I will say though, to sit there surrounded by Chinese people, who are worshipping my God in their language and our language was just neat. We sang songs in Chinese, we sang songs in English. The service was translated in English, and the pastor gave the plan of salvation. I am so thankful we were able to go. Sage was in desperate need of a nap, so I strapped her in her snuggli and she did sleep for part of the service.
Lunch as at the Famous Lucys that I had heard so much about. It was ok. I had a spam and cheese sandwich, that took an hour to cook. We liked the thai food better.
After lunch we took a taxi over to the toy market. Think flea market combined w/ dollar store things that is about 4 stories high and a large maze of rooms! They do not bargain there at all. We did not find enough to get excited over so we came home to do a little more shopping around the hotel. Which is overwhelming both of us. Remember, I need mark to be my human calculator, but he stresses me out w/ the shopping! Hopefully tomorrow I will get more done.
Dinner was Danny’s Bagels again. I had chicken parmesean over spaghetti. Who knew in China pasta would be good!
Sage has been having tummy trouble today. I think she has had to much formula so was having trouble, then we gave her juice to help out, and boy did it! I walked home from shopping covered in, well lets just say a really gross mess! She did not sleep much overall today like normal. In fact when we tried to put her to bed tonight, she was full of giggles and smiles! She is really getting more fun each day. We get to watch her just open up a little more each time she goes to sleep!
Today we received our Going Home Barbie, there should be a picture. Every family who stays at the White Swan for adoption gets to take one of these home. Sage loved chewing on the box!
Tomorrow is the big medical exam! I am anxious to hear what they say about Sage’s runny nose and rattle. She is worse in the mornings, but by evening is so much better, fine all night, then we start over. But still no fever so hopefully the exam will go well. I am not worried about her getting upset, this child is so laid back. We also get to go to the pearl and jade market. Mark will love that.
I am off to join Sage sleeping. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Isn’t the hotel beautiful?

Ruth 1:16
For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.
Are you going through Sage withdrawal? We are thankful to our friends the Gove family for being so gracious to share their computer with us. Mark kept saying it is not that big of a deal, we are almost home. But it is a big deal because this journal is for Sage more than anything. And it takes me about 10 times as long to handwrite as it does to type it in. So I am very happy tonight! We are in the final stop of China, so that means we are very close to home. We are in shoppers heaven! And now I can communicate once again!
So Mark was able to post on blogger yesterday. I am proud of him, he covered more than 3 sentences. Once we are home, I will post the full post on that day w/ all the the great pictures from the park, but for now I will just comment on all the information we were given on Sage. I think Mark’s words were “it is cool”. Well, any mother knows, it is WAY more than just cool! It is a true miracle the information that we have on her. First of all, Sage was in the half the sky foundation. That in itself is a blessing and when I have more time, I will fill you in on what that foundation is all about. Then to have pictures of her as a newborn, along w/ a few others is just amazing to me. I often wondered if they just mark boxes on their papers and make up reports, but everything it says about Sage and her personality, is exactly the little girl we have been getting to know for the last week. Mark went to the paperwork meeting yesterday, and we knew we would get a picture of her finding ad. But when he walked in w/ this booklet of information on her, I just sobbed! I will forever be thankful for this history I have of her.
Today we had to be up early for our flight to Guangzhou. Sage did great on the plane. She slept for most of it. In fact she slept on the way to the airport and while we waited, slept on the flight, slept when we got in our hotel, slept through dinner and is now in bed for the night. This is my daughter, she loves her sleep! And she loves her bottles. I tried a pacifier tonight and it just made her mad. But she constantly wants a bottle. I am guessing she might have a sore throat. Still no fever, but still coughing and runny nose. Runny eyes etc.
We were met in Guangzhou by our guide for the week, Dennis. He is a funny guy! We went straight to the White Swan hotel and it is amazing! Of course everyone has heard of the white swan, right? Famous adoption hotel here in China. And I knew it was going to nice, but it really is nicer than I thought. We have a beautiful view of the Pearl River(thanks to those who suggested we get that), and our bed here is so much softer than the Dolton. Now, it is not my bed at home, but better than before. They even brought in a mattress topper to make it softer. It is a huge king bed. Half our floor is beautiful marble and it is is just so nice. It is smaller of course than our suite, but I am glad we did not pay to upgrade here, the room is just fine for us.
We ordered in from Dannys Bagel for lunch, which is an American delivery bakery. Our lunch was ok. We took the babies for visa photos and then we had fun shopping! Oh how I wish we could plan a girls weekend to shop here! Mark is already annoying me, but I do not barter and I can not calculate in my head fast enough to keep up w/ the bartering, so we are forced to shop together. I bought Sage her first silk dress, there should be a picture of it! Just for fun, ladybugs of course! There are little shops everywhere around the hotel. They walk out and practically drag you in to look around. I did not buy a lot yet, eyeing it all today! Just the dress and a little winter coat for Sage. But I have my list and I am ready! We are wanting to buy a handcarved trunk, we are both in love w/ those, and we would have to have it shipped back, which is not cheap. We are hoping to find a few families who might want things shipped back to split the cost. If we buy a trunk, we would be able to fill it and have it all shipped back in it.
Dinner was at a Thai restaurant close by. Food was good served family style which is a lot of fun. They had pigeon on the menu, which Sabrina told us to try, but I don’t know about that. Probably by the end Mark will be eating it.
Tomorrow we are going to attend church. Sabrina is taking us, so I am very excited about that. Also anxious to try the breakfast buffet here, I hear it is the best one! They are taking us shopping at a Toy Store? Monday we go to the Pearl and Jade Market! Shopping, shopping, shopping!
So how is Sage doing now? We are getting many more smiles! She is just a very laid back baby for sure. Sweet little personality, quiet and content. She is not shy, and she continues to study everything and anyone that looks at her. If we are in a new place, she takes it all in. She seems to be responding to her name, though if I say Yi Qiao or Qiao Qiao, she whips her head around to! We are having a terrible time with her face breaking out, so anyone with advice for that, please pass it on. Sabrina had us get this herbal stuff, but it does not seem to be working all that great. Her little head gets dried out also. I don’t have a lot of stuff w/ me, so once we are home I will be trying all kinds of lotions and creams. She is getting to where she wants me to be holding her more often than not. She will fuss sometimes wanting me, but enjoys being in Daddy’s arms also. She is not an easy baby to hold, so the bjorn is wonderful. She just flops in your arms, no help at all. And she is so tiny you can’t put her bottom on your hip to support her! She is sitting up a little more but you can’t leave her at all or she flops. I tried to use a highchair at dinner tonight and they scolded me saying she was to young for it! And she really is, she can’t hold herself up enough for one. Size wise I have done great w/ what I brought. Some things are 3-6 and that is great in the waist. She has a belly on her! 6-9 fits pretty well, though the pants can be big. I would guess fall will be 6-9, maybe 12 month dresses. She is short though. I am anxious to see what they weigh her on Monday at her medical exam.
We are having to use drop shots for our photos now. Hope that you are able to pull them up. We can’t post yesterday’s pictures because they are downloaded on Mark’s laptop, but again, once are home, we will update that day for you.
Thanks again for your prayers. We are so close to home now, we can’t wait! (though I will suffer through the shopping while we wait! Hehehe!) Oh and YES, we do want you at the airport! I know some have asked. If you know me, you know we love a good party! You all have prayed us through 18 months of this adoption, and we know you are praying us through the 32 hours of traveling we have to get home. We welcome your happy smiling faces there! We can’t wait for you to meet Sage! And believe me, she is not going to be scared with a crowd. She has been surrounded by crowds in her face all week and never flinches. Till tomorrow!

August 25th
Sage woke up during the night for a bottle but then slept in today till 730. We had a free day today so it was kind of nice to take our time getting ready, and just relax this morning. After breakfast we took a cab ride over to the Changsha Central Park w/ 2 other couples. Riding in a taxi is much different now that Sage is in my arms. No car seat of course. And boy was it wild! The park was alot of fun and I am really glad we went, despite the heat. Today was very humid, and after walking around with Sage strapped on me, we are both a sweaty mess! The park is a huge place, they even have an amusement park inside of it. That is the kind of place I like to be. Just being able to watch the people be who they are. While walking in the city, it is so rushed and hustle bustle. But at the park it is families and people just hanging out having fun. The parks here are so beautiful and there is so much detail in the buildings. We were quite a spectacle for sure walking around there. I did not notice nearly as many glares there as I have been close to our hotel. After the park we taxied over to Superwalmart and McDonalds. Did i mention they told us this was the biggest walmart in the world? We were not sure that could be true, while it is 4 stories tall, it does not appear to be as big a selection. We really looked at an egg crate for the bed this week, but they want $30(american for it!) Must have been the most expensive thing in the entire city! McDonalds was very good! Even Mark was excited about eating there, and if you ask our kids, they know Daddy does not ever want to go to McDonalds! It tasted the same, except the fries were not as salty. I was really enjoying a big mac till i found a hair, baked in my bun, then I was quickly done! One interesting thing to note, their medium size combo is our small size w/ a small soda. SuperSize is our normal large coke and fries we would get w/ a combo. And we wonder why we are so fat in America!
Mark finished up paperwork this afternoon while I packed and Sage slept. Hopeful I used more here than I am bringing w/ me to Guangzhou! Because we know I need LOTS of space there to shop!
Some interesting things about our hotel here. We are at the Dolton, a 5 star. The elevators are small, and at least a million people get on w/ you each time. Wonder why the one is still broke after our scary ride this week? They are also VERY slow, you wait forever, which is why they cram on I am sure. We are on floor 32, and yet I can hear all the traffic noises below and I swear the other night I could hear a dog barking! 32 stories high and it feels as if the cars are right outside. We have a scale in our room, something I have never had before in all the places I have stayed. I like it! Especially watching it as I sweat off pounds! Our room has a doorbell and the do not disturb is built into the wall, all digital. There is an extra button in the bathroom so if someone knocks, you can push the button and tell them "no disturb" or you can push a button and it lights up w/ clean up please. Neat! We have Guy Smiley working here who is a hoot! His name is Dean and he is a butler. He is very happy and always rushes over to say hello to the babies.
We were all talking today how the chinese always touch the babies faces. In the US when we meet a baby, we touch their feet or legs, but here they are right in their face and they pat on them very hard! I am not that big of a germ phobic, so it does not really bother me, though I was a little grossed out today when the parents were having their little boy up in Sage's face and he had on the split pants and his hands were doing what all little boys do! Thankfully he did not touch her. We do get such a mixed reaction. Some come up and smile and play w/ Sage, some want their pictures w/ us, some just glare. What we find very funny are the ones who act like they are posing their own family for a picture, yet they are pointing the camera right at us!
Oh, did i mention how mark was up last night sick to his stomach as was our neighbor? I found it hard to feel sorry for Mark with all the things he has been eating! I mean come on is it really normal to eat donkey's ***? But thankfully everyone was fine today. I am sure it was just to many spicy things in one day. Amazingly, my stomach has been fine. I have been taking pepto daily as was advised to me, but I have not been sick at all. Of course I avoid anything questionable also.
The computer has still been giving us fits. The screen just comes and goes. So I have to start these entrys early in the day during naptime, then try to finish when Sage is in bed at night, hoping we can keep it working long enough to post. Please keep praying that we can make it just 5 more days. I am really anxious to share the white swan w/ you all! We are praying for a softer bed. We will be sad to give up our suite, but the price difference there was just ridiculous.

Lamentations 3:25
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him.
Sage slept great again all night long. We are amazed at that. It is just so unusual for us! She really is following her schedule that the orphanage gave us. She goes to bed around 7:30 wakes around 530ish for a bottle and sleeps a bit longer than that. Actually right now she is sleeping quite a bit. And before we pat ourselves on the back thinking we have a great sleeper, we will just wait and see. Because we have wondered if this is Sage's way of grieving. Not screaming, notthing w/ food, just shutting down and blocking it all out. You have to wonder what is in her little head. For 9 months she lives in a place, probably never really left the room, much less the orphanage. One day she wakes up, strangers take her on a bus, something she has never seen before for a 5 hour bus ride. Then she comes into a room full of these funny looking people speaking like she has never heard, and these strangers who took her from the orphanage, now had her over to 2 of them. People who are constantly in her face kissing on her, playing w/ her, singing to her. And not only are these strangers constantly hovering, they have taken her into a room that is cold, drug her to half a million new places on and off of buses, stuck new bottles in her mouth, change her clothes all the time then try to force her to wear these crazy things on her head. And we wonder why she might need to block it all out once in awhile!
Today was a long day. We met at 9am and headed out to a kindergarten. It was really amazing and so sad all wrapped up in one. It is a boarding school for kindergartners. Parents drop them off on Monday and pick them back up on Friday. While we can not fathom doing this to our children, I suppose it is better than leaving them on the side of the road as babies. The children were darling! It was a huge school and we were able to observe in many different classrooms. There were by far more boys than girls overall of course. some of the classes a little better balanced than others. The teacher student ratio was very impressive, and the teachers were such a sweet bunch. It was quite a site these cute young teachers were dressed in summer dresses and heels bouncing around, we were there pouring sweat as we watched the kids. The heat today was alot worse, very humid. But I guess for them it is just the way it is. We were able to sit and watch a group of little girls perform a dance and it was just the cutest thing ever! The babies seemed to really enjoy watching all the action. They are just not phased by the noise at all. Good thing for Sage since our house is loud at all times.
After that tour, we went to the Hunan Provinical Museum. And while I am not a huge fan of museums, especially of history, this one was rather interesting. I guess it is a very famous museum and we saw the buried tombs of a ruling family from the Han dynasty which ruled over 2000 years ago. What was interesting was that they have the body of a woman that was buried inside along w/ the insides of her body. Yep, kind of gross, but you should have seen how great she looked for that old! Sage was a trooper through the day. She is just so good!
After our tours Sabrina and Vicky our guides took us to a local Hunan restaurant. We requested non spicy food! I enjoy the chinese meals because it is always served family style so you can try a variety. Our group got a good laugh over the items on the menu, they just eat anything here! The favorite, which I declined trying was a** meat. Mark did eat it and says it was good, I will take his word for it! Our mature group of travelers that we are just got a good kick over that one. Along w/ the monkey brain fungus. I just don't get it! I stuck to the sweet and sour pork and rice! We enjoyed dining w/ our guides and just talking to them about their culture. No, they have never heard of crab rangoon! They also think it is weird that we put soy sauce on our food. They only use it to cook with. They think it would be too salty.
We dined in the hotel buffet for dinner. Dinner is a treat as Sage is not able to sit up in a high chair. I am back to those days of eating my food cold while we take turns passing a baby! She is starting to eat better and more food. She enjoyed the baby food today we fed her of carrots and applesauce. She will eat a few fruit puffs or cheerios, but still prefers her bottles overall. After dinner a few of us took the babies up to the play room. I got a few cute pictures of the babies together. I did ask our guide if they could find out who Sage would have shared a room w/ and they said they would call the orphanage and find out. I am anxious to hear. They told us it was 4 babies to a room. We all wonder if they were together, if they recognize each other at all.
Tomorrow we are pretty well free all day. We will start packing up and finish up paperwork. Our flight leaves for Guangzhou on Saturday at 11. We are anxious to get to the Famous White Swan Hotel and meet up w/ the rest of our CHI group. And of course we are all anxious to shop!
If you have been here to Hunan, and can recomend anywhere for us to go tomorrrow on our free day, please let us know. Eating, shopping, etc..
Please continue to pray for Sage with this rattle and cough she has still going on. She has an on and off runny nose, and the cough is the same way. She is still happy, but I am worried w/ her going on the plane if it will bother her.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your Heart.


You know how after you have a baby, and you think you have them all figured out, but then they go and change on you? Even though you have only had them home with you maybe 2 days? Life is kind of like that! Sage went to bed at 730, but woke up screaming at 1am. Took a bottle, went right back to bed till almost 6. She woke up w/ smiles and a runny nose! But she was in a good mood and we had fun seeing her happy. The best part of the morning? She cried when I walked away! Mark said, you should be careful what you wish for! But it warmed my heart so much and though Mark was getting a little frusterated, we both know that she has to go through that in order to attach.
Have I mentioned how horrible the beds are? We are not sure why they even bother w/ a bed, might as well just lay on the floor, and that might actually be more comfy to be honest. It is really bad. First night Mark tries to say, it is not that bad. Well he is singing a different song now after a few nights here. If you are asleep, it is ok, but there is no being awake in that bad. Thankfully we have living room furniture, and yesterday I napped a little on the couch.
Had breakfast as usual at the buffet. I liked the buffet better at the Radisson, but it is still big and good. We met a few families today who got their daughters yesterday from Chenzhou. One I had met on a yahoo group, her daughter Megan shares a birthday w/ Sage. But her little one seems alot older! We have decided that Sage was either very babied in the orphanage, or very ignored. I would like to think maybe she was carried around alot so that is why she does not move much. It is really amazing here in our group how different they all are. Alot of them are the exact same age, yet what they are doing is worlds apart. Some are feeding themselves, crawling, sitting up well without support. Sage can not feed herself at all, though we are getting a little more food into her now. She is way to top heavy to sit up and sometimes even her head is wobbly. Which is all fine w/ me. I prayed so much that I would be able to teach her all those things and so I am reminding myself that my prayers were answered and God gave me a baby. I know she will catch up quickly. Although once she is home w/ her older siblings spoiling her, she may be a baby forever!
We are missing the kids. It is hard to be so far away and we just want them to be able to hold their new sister. They all talked to her on the phone yesterday! It was very sweet. We made a picture book for Sage before we left and I show her every day who they are. It will be quite a shock for her to go from this quiet hotel room to a lively home, but we know she is going to love them so much!
Today we toured the YouLu Academy. A very old university. It was very beautiful and very tranquil. I did carry Sage around in her snuggly facing me and she loved that. It did get a little warm, she is just a little hot box. She starts getting the heat rash on her face anytime we are outside.
After the tour our guides gave us our gifts from the Chenzhou Orphange. We never did get to talk to anyone from there, but I am so thankful for what we did get. We will get a finding ad, which will show pictures of Sage when she first came in. They are translating those now. We got a chop w/ her chinese name on it. We got a map of the city of Chenzhou, and they marked her orphanage along with the location where she was found. Best of all we got the outfit she was found in! It is the little pink shirt and a yellow knitted hat. The shirt has love on the corner and is very thick and large. As I pulled the hat out of the bag Sage reached up and grabbed onto it and laid her face against it. I had to keep myself from sobbing just seeing that. I know she has no idea what that is, but for me to imagine her mother maybe knitting that hat, then placing it on her little head as she took her to be found, it is so heartbreaking. I know that it was all part of our Fathers plan, but I still hurt for her birthmother. It is a priceless gift that we have been given and I am SO thankful to have it. (her translation said she came in wearing a red hate, so I am hoping that is just a mess up in the translation)
The city of Changsha has been interesting. Not many here speak English, and that makes it tough. Yesterday Mark and I walked to the baby boutique, and we saw no one else American at all. As soon as we walked into that store, a girl started handing me clothes. That I did not really need. But it was just easier to buy them than not. We get very many interesting reactions when we are out. Some of the people come up and play with Sage, smile at us and say something(we figure they are probably making fun of us, but oh well, we have no idea!) Others just give us the glare down. I really don't know what to make of that. I assume they resent us, but I would like to ask which is better for these babies? That we are here, or that they are sitting in an orphanage? I guess I was not prepared for how many more glares than smiles. Today we went out for some shopping. Hunan is known for their embroidery so we wanted to get that for sure. We asked about going to the embroidery factory, but our guides told us they could show us where to get it cheaper w/ lots of negotiation. We bought some beautiful pictures on silk that we will have framed for the house once we return.
Sage is such a good baby and very laid back so far. We used the snuggly alot today, and had her facing in towards me, which I thought she would hate. But she seemed very content and just takes everything in. After shopping we went up to the playroom and she had so much fun in there. It is a sight for sure, all these new parents w/ their new babies. You can definatley find someone to compare notes w/ up there!
Thank you for all the great notes of encouragement you all are sending our way! We are so thankful that you are following our journey and praying for us. I knew this morning I could count on lots of "hugs" from all you moms who have been there with your newly adopted daughters and understanding these first few days with them. I hope that I can turn around and be a blessing to others as you have been for me.
We ended this evening w/ a pizza party in the hallway! We brought out a bunch of blankets, set the babies on them and let them play. It is so neat to watch these little girls. I look around and I just think how amazing it is how God works. I know some people think you just get the "luck of the draw" when it comes to these babies, but there is no way I would ever agree. Sage is my daughter, and there is no other baby in that group that could be. Just as I can see how perfect each and every one of them is for their families. Sage is so laid back. She just takes it all in. After we came into our room though, she was full of giggles and smiles. She is so funny, she will get to laughing, and then all of a sudden her face scrunches up and she cries. It is as if she wonders, is it ok to be happy with these strange people? We hope that very soon she will see that everything is going to be just perfect.

Hebrews 11:1
Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.

Today, Chen Yi Qiao offically became our daughter in the eyes of the Chinese Government. Such a simple process (on this end), but such a lifechanging moment. As a group we traveled back to the Civil Affairs Building. We went to the same room, where a million other families were waiting with their babies. It was loud and it was hot. Poor Sage fell asleep on the drive over, but when we got there they made us wake her up to take our family picture. Then we met w/ the Registar who asked us if we were happy with our baby, had us stamp our thumbprint on a paper, her footprint on a paper, and that was that. It was weird to me, just really weird. Regardless, Chen Yi Qiao is offially now Sage ChenYi Mae Laxton.
We had a great night last night. At 7:30 I fed Sage a bottle, laid her down in her crib, and she did not stir until 6 this morning. You know how not normal that is for us? A baby who follows a schedule? And you know what? I actually slept great! What a relief to go to sleep knowing my daughter is now right where she should be. We ate breakfast at the buffet, and had lots of fun talking to families who were going to be getting their babies today. I met a few ladies who were part of a yahoo board I am on, and it is nice to put a face w/ a name. Was it just yesterday we were sitting there gawking at the babies counting down the minutes till we would meet our daughters?
We made a trip to Walmart today. It was huge. And everything is in Chinese. We stocked up on baby stuff and ate lunch at KFC on the way home. Mark was unsure if what he had was actually chicken? I think it is better if we don't know.
Scary moment on the way up to our room. We were on the elevator w/ a few other families and as we are going up all of a sudden the elevator takes a little "dip" back down. Then just stopped. I have never had that happen on an elevator and I did get a little panicked for a minute. We tried calling down the front desk, they would put us on hold, not understanding what we were saying. Finally it started moving, we pushed a button for the next floor, got off and took another elevator! I had visions of the Tower of Terror Ride from MGM going on!
So how is Sage today? When she woke up this morning, she just stared at us again. This morning she was starting to make more noise, blow rasberries, etc. But we were gone so long this morning, and she was SO tired, she just kind of looked zoned out by this afernoon. As soon as we got home we gave her a bottle and she was out. I am anxious to see how she is once she wakes up. There is good and bad to having a baby who does not scream. She does not appear to be grieving at all, and that is not really a great thing. I think she likes us enough, but really she is pretty indifferent to us. If she woke up from her nap, and someone new was here, she would be fine w/ them. Which breaks my heart of course, we want her to be as in love w/ us as we are w/ her. But I know it is going to be ok. This is part of the good thing of being in China for so long. You have time to spend just bonding with each other. It may only be a matter of days, it may take longer before she knows who we are and that we are here to stay. We ask that you continue to pray for this area specifically, that she would attach to us.
I don't know if I mentioned yesterday that she also has a rattle in her chest. It is not horrible, and no fever. But she does have a cough. I have antibiotics if they are needed, but I hope that it turns into nothing. They told us to expect them to be sick, and I can't even really say she is sick, just rattly. So we ask that you also pray that she is healthy.
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Ok, that was earlier, we are having computer problems, so PLEASE pray that they are resolved. The screen keeps going out on us. If you do not see an update tomorrow, check on our blog, we should be able to borrow a computer and update there, if this one blows on us.
Sage took a good 2 plus hour nap and when she woke it was w/ a smile on her face! She was really sweet after her nap and I felt so much better. She wanted me, and that was a good feeling! She still goes to Mark fine, but she lights up when she sees me and reaches for me. We played in our room for awhile and then took a walk to a baby boutique close to the hotel. We have decided we are going to carry her as much as possible, not using the baby bjorn, or renting a stroller. It gets a little hot, and she can be 14 pounds of dead weight, but until we feel she is bonded more, we think that holding her close is the best. She is not able to sit alone, so we can't put her in a highchair or a cart etc. And that is ok for us.
We took her upstairs to the playroom before dinner, and we had to leave again for a diaper change. Maybe there is something in that room! Whatever it is, we are glad!
Dinner was w/ our group at the Hotel Buffet, that is mainly what we are sticking to. Maybe tomorrow night we might order in and have a group pizza hut party. Have I mentioned how thankful I am for this group of travel mates who are now part of our family? I can't imagine going this journey alone. It has been so wonderful to know you have someone right next door who will have anything you might need. Be it medicine, different size clothes, or just a reassuring word, it has been wonderful. We have all been through this horrible wait together, and now we are all sharing in the joy of our daughters (& son) together! I now understand what others mean when they talk about the love they have for their travel mates. These families watched in awe for each other as those babies filled our arms. They are friends that we will have forever because of that.
Tonight at dinner Sage began to eat more. We gave her mashed meat, some noodles and then she did better w/ the fruit puffs. It was so funny, all of a sudden she looked over and Annaliese started talking to her and she scrunched up her face and began to cry! Now this child has hardly cried at all! I know Annalise felt bad, but it was just SO funny! I know by that point she was tired again, or maybe it is because she has so much hair compared to my short hair she has been staring at for 2 days!
She had a bath tonight w/ some eucalyptys oil our neighbor loaned us to help w/ her congestion. While i was getting ready to put her in the tub, she peed all over me! She thought it was quite funny! After her bath i was playing peek a boo, and she laughed out loud! That was such a sweet sound, it brought tears to my eyes. Do you ever forget the first time you hear your baby giggle? She loved her bath tonight and was splashing all around. Yesterday she did not care for it.
I know that every day is going to be a new adventure and I have Faith that God will continue to help us bond, and help her see how much we are in love with her. I can hardly stand when she is sleeping, I just want to hug on her more!

Hebrews 6:15
And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.


How do you put into words what just happened? What did just happen? Wasn't it just yesterday I was crying my eyes out saying this day would never come? Wasn't it yesterday, God told us we were going to add to our family through adoption? Wasn't it just yesterday I said goodbye to my kids in St Louis? The Lord is faithful, He promised us that He would bring us this child, and she is here! Thank you Lord for this gift!
I woke up at 430, better than 4! Had a little hair scare, and it is so not about Sage, but I am going to write about it anyways. We have been having issues w/ the outlets, converter not working, etc.. So I could not get my flat iron to work today. And you know I totally have high maintenance hair, I have to have an iron! There was no way I was meeting my baby w/ poofy not ironed out hair! So thankfully I find that our hotel has a salon, that would open at 9. I told Mark, no matter what the cost, I am buying a flat iron from them. He freaks out saying my hair is fine, blah blah... And starts messing w/ the outlets. He managed to figure out we were using the converter wrong, and so he got that working, the flat iron working and we were good! I knew if i threatened to spend $ he would figure it out!
Ok, ok, on to why we are here... We ate breakfast at the buffet, and chatted w/ friends. How does one do normal things such as eating breakfast, using a flat iron, etc.. When your whole world is about to change? Mark and I were in our room getting ready to leave and we stopped before leaving so we could just pray together. Our heavenly Father has been so gracious to even allow us to get this far, and before we left, we knew we needed to be w/ him first. It was such a sweet moment, that I will never forget.
Our travel group of 12 families met in the lobby and then headed over to the Civil Affairs Office. A 10 minute drive. Sabrina was telling us what to expect and how to not be surprised if the babies screamed, they are not used to foreigners w/ our big noses and different smells etc.. The big noses got a big laugh! They had hired a videographer to capture the entire thing which was great! We walked upstairs and as we were going in, a group of other families were coming out w/ their new babies. Smiles and tears on both sides of us! We walked into this large room and they announced that Chenzhou babies were not there yet, but the 3 families who were w/ us that were getting Waiting Children, theirs were there. So it was VERY tearful to watch them get their children. Liz was first, w/ her 2 1/2 year old son. He is darling, but obviously very scared and cried so hard, which made us all cry even more! We were able to watch Owen meet his new little sister Finley and then the Curtis Family met Audrey. It was the most amazing thing watching these people become parents right in front of us! I was crying and they told us not to cry to much, only happy tears or we would scare the babies! Then there were people in the hall and they began carrying in babies, our babies! We all watched intently as they marched through our room to the next room. I could not pick out Sage at all. They brought the babies out one by one and called up each family. They would check each family's passport, check the Travel Approval then hand over the baby. It all happened so fast, I really don't remember much. I know they called our name, Yi Qiao, and there she was! I am not sure I can even put it into words. They handed her to me, and it was just right. She was in my arms and my heart knew that this was Sage. This is what I knew she would feel like. When they called my name, I said something to her and it was almost as if she reached for me. Then as we met her and talked to her, she would just study us so intently. No tears, not even a whimper. She just looked as if to say, So, you are my mom and dad! Thanks for finally getting here! After all the families had their babies, we went back to the bus and back to the hotel. This all happened w/ in an hour. We came in and laid Sage on the bed and just studied her. She just stared. She wanted to reach out and touch. We changed her diaper, yes she was wearing split pants, but w/ a diaper. Fed her a bottle, and she was out. While she was eating she started sweating, ALOT! I was soaked.
Isn't she beautiful! I am not sure the pictures show how dark she is. She has beautiful skin. She has a little bit of heat rash, but not bad. And that hair! She went from no hair to wild hair in 4 months! Everyone loves her hair. Even after her bath, it just sticks straight up! Great, she is going to have high maintenance hair too! Her hair is very black and her eyes really really dark. She also has long lashes. And yes, her cheeks are still as chunky as they were in her referral pictures! I love it! She is tiny, besides the cheeks. We weighed her in our room and it was rough of course, but it seemed to be about 13 pounds. Maybe 3 pounds of cheeks? Her bottom is so tiny, skinny legs, no bootie! Long skinny feet. My size 2 shoes are big. Size 2 diapers are a little big, but since you can tighten them are doing fine. Clothes, I am guessing my 3-6 I brought are going to be a good fit, and I think the 6-9 months will be ok since they are dresses, I guess we will see as we try more things on!
She was wearing another boy outfit, w/ Snoopy on it! Yes, she has on panty hose type knee socks. What is that about? We got nothing w/ her, nothing! Just handed her over and that was that. We did not get to talk to anyone from the orphanage, it is not the nannies who brought them. I am not sure if maybe tomorrow we might get anything or not. Does not really matter, we got what is important.
She is very curious and so far very happy. She does not sit up, but is close. When on her belly she scoots, and she can roll from her back to front. If I have her on the floor and I am not close, she pulled herself over to me. She is going to both of us fine. She reaches for me. I like that. And when she sees me, her face gets happy. Not quite a smile but almost.
She has had 2 bottles and sucked both of them down fast. She fell asleep during her bottle and she is out. When she was awake, she was busy and wants to touch everything. She about fell out of my arms trying to turn around and see things going on behind her. She does not seem scared of anyone yet. I realize that tomorrow could be a whole different story, but today, it has been easy. She has not cried yet. No noise at all. Quiet and inquisitive.
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I wrote all of the above before dinner, so just a few more notes after dinner. We ate dinner in the hotel w/ our group. There are lots of families w/ babies here. It is fun to see! We tried to feed Sage steamed eggs at dinner. Her updated information said she was eating food. But she did not seem to know what to do w/ a spoon at all. I brought along Gerber fruit puffs and the same thing, she just looked at me like I was nuts! She barely has 2 teeth in. At dinner she began to talk a little more. She is smiling and has a little tiny laugh that is very sweet. She really watches Mark and I, studies our faces. It is as if she is saying, you are mine.
After dinner a group of us went upstairs to the hotel playroom. It is a great place w/ a wonderful view of the city. It is very interesting to watch the girls together. They do seem to like to be around each other. One of the girls, Vivian is the same age, yet she was on her knees crawling and is larger than the other 3 who were in the room. She sat and played at a toy piano, while the others are army crawling around. They are all just beautiful girls. We were only there a little while before Sage stunk up the place. That is a very good thing though! It is always a concern w/ the constipation, so we are thankful to get that out of the way.(thank you Dawn for vanilla scented trash bags!) We were worried since the girls were in split pants that maybe they were trying to put them on the potty. And they say if you don't try, it can mess them up. We were hoping to stick w/ diapers, so looks like we are good in that area.
Sage is getting more smiley as the night goes on, and I can't wait to see her unfold even more as the week goes on. We did finally hear a short cry tonight. Her bedtime bottle is supposed to be made up of formula and cereal. She could not get it out of the nipple, so while I was trying to cut it bigger, she was not happy. But she got it all down. We laid her down still a little awake and she pulled the cover up over her head. It was so sweet but made me sad. Just wondering how she slept all these nights w/ out me. What was her bedtime routine like. And what is going on in her little head right now? When she wakes up, will she look at us and think, oh great, them again? Or will she look at us and know.
Well, Mark says I better wrap it up, who is still reading to this point! Tomorrow we go and do the "official" adoption. It will be neat to see how all the babies sleep tonight! There have been tears from some, but overall I think the girls (and boy!) seem to be doing very well. Please pray that the rest of the night and week go as well! And thank you for all your prayers. I know that all of you were praying along w/ us that God would plant us on her heart, and I feel those prayers worked!
Sage is here! And I am in love.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a mans heart, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.

First I have to say, we have alot of shy people who are visiting our site! We know that hundreds of people are visiting, (we have a counter) but you are not signing our book. Now come on, you are family! Even if you are here by accident, you are now part of our journey to Sage. This journal is all for her, and we want her to know who was here. So PLEASE sign our guestbook!

Today started at guess what time? Yep, that is right, 4AM. How annoying. The morning has been very full of emotions. Today Sage is 9 months old. We are leaving Beijing behind, and though I am ready to go, it is still hard to go, not knowing if we will ever see this part of China again. This was our first taste of China and it will forever be special. I am really missing home today and especially the kids. We called home and Makenna told us they were really crying last night missing us. And Malaine fake cried along with them. I guess Sawyer said, "why do we need another sister, we already got 2 of them!" I cried all morning missing them. Tomorrow they get to go to 6 flags, so I know they will enjoy that. Please pray for them that they will be comforted and that we can all make it through, we still have a long way to go that is for sure.
Our flight to Changsha was short, just 2 hours. I was able to sit on the flight near one of the moms in our group, Terry, who lives in Nashville. Their daughter to be is Jessie, who was 1 in June. I had a great time chatting the 2 hours away w/ her. Mark tends to sleep or pulls out the PSP, so woman company is always welcome! They served us lunch on the flight which was spicy fish. I stuck to none other than rice. Mark on the other hand is chowing down everything. I really thought he might lick the plate. He tries everything. How he is not sick I am not sure.
We were met in Changsha by our local guide who is named Vicky. So we have our CHI coordinator Sabrina, then also this new local guide just for Changsha. We made our way to the Dolton Hotel. Changsha is the capital city of Hunan. It is very different here than Beijing. Not the tourist feeling at all. Not as many English signs to explain things. It is a large city, and we are in a downtown type area. Our hotel is fabulous! VERY nice! The weather is high 80's today, which they said is great for this area, I guess it tends to be hot, which I am sure we will experience this week. Vicky asked us if we knew why Hunan was known for their spicy food. It is because in the cold they thought the hotter the food was, the warmer they would get. And she said the girls are known for the spicy attitude! So we may be in for a spicy girl ourselves!
Everyone from our group is staying on the same floor which is alot of fun! I am SO thankful we booked a suite here. It is beautiful and lots of room to spread out. I am dreading the bed, I sat on it and it is hard. VERY hard. I knew I should have squished an egg crate in my suitcase! The best thing is the baby things that were waiting for us! A crib, a baby bathtub, and a baby bowl w/ spoon, how sweet is that? We met w/ our guides to go over paperwork and to talk about tomorrow. The plan is that we will drive to the Civil Affairs Building at 1030AM. The babies are due around 11am. It sounds like it will all happen very fast and then we will head back here. So that means for you all at home, it will be Sunday during your night, and when you get up on Monday, I promise we will have pictures posted.
After paperwork we headed out shopping to buy formula. We are quite a site, 12 families walking the streets and storming into the grocery store! I have to wonder, what do these people think of us? It will be very obvious this week as we walk w/ our babies, why we are here.
Dinner tonight was at our hotel where they have a buffet. It was pretty good, I have to go back to get pictures of the turtles cooked whole w/ heads and shells, snake, ostrich tendon, you name it! Mark ate eel, I took a bite, but had to lose it. No thank you! My favorite part of dinner is the company we always have. We have such a wonderful group of families traveling w/ us.
So many thoughts in my head tonight. I can't believe in 14 hours, I will finally lay eyes on Sage. I will be able to reach out and touch her and hold her in my arms. All those months of questions are about to be answered. I am down on my knees in thanksgiving to God for leading us here on this journey to our daughter, His child. We are so in love with her already. This adoption sure did not go according to our plans, we should have been home 6 months ago w/ our baby. But the Lord chose Sage for us, and 6 months ago she was not ready to come home. I think back on those days of tears, and now I see why. No more tears, no more waiting, we are about to meet the purpose that God had all along.

1 Corinthians 2:9
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.

Hopefully we are all tuned in ok now! It appears that some people, no names mentioned., are a little computer challenged, and did not get the whole concept of the website. Click on each day! oh well, we love you all anyways! And it was WAY more than 1 of you!
Last night we had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with 5 other families in our travel group. It was fun spending time with them getting to know them better. And of course the comfort food of home was nice to! I had alice spings chicken w/ a baked potato, how funny is that in the middle of China!
Today started early for me again. Up at 3:45 AM. But my sleep is sweet and starts early so I can't complain. We headed out at 830 for Tiamen Square. Today instead of the small Chinese looking bus, we got the big grand tour bus since we are now our entire Hunan group. We knew when we got off, today was MUCH warmer than any other day. And crowded, there were SO many people. So we walked around the square w/ sweat rolling off of us. Then headed to the Forbidden City. I have to say, today, I was just not into the tours. I feel I have seen what I wanted to see, and now I am ready to go for the whole reason we are in China. I am VERY thankful we had the extra tour days. I enjoyed those days so much. We had great weather, I was so excited to be here... Today, my heart was just not into it. I am just ready to hold Sage. So as for what we saw, I have no idea! Thankfully we have a book that gives all those details. It was hard to concentrate as the sweat rolled into my eyes! It is hot. I would say it feels very comparable to a hot day in St Louis, but the only reason I hang around outside in St Louis is if I am in a pool. Things were better after lunch. We ate lunch at the Roasted Duck Restaurant. It was 300 years old and it was served family style. Yes, I ate the duck. They made these little taco things out of it and I just convinced myself it was turkey, looks very similar! They did have really yummy egg rolls! After lunch we toured the CHI office here in Beijing. That was very neat to get an idea of where they all work. Oh one neat thing about our guides.. We were able to meet Sabrina today. She will be our guide the entire trip. She flies w/ us, stays in the hotels etc.. VERY sweet girl! First thing she says is, I am a Christian! Now what are the chances that you come here to this land, and hear those words? I am VERY excited to get to talk w/ her more about her faith. We consider it a TRUE blessing and answer to prayer that we would end up w/ her.
I did have to use a squatty potty today at the Roasted Duck. Do you know what those are? You can go back and look through our first days pictures to see one. It is a womans toilet. they are in stalls, and it is flat on the ground. They do flush. I don't get it, I really don't. Why would you want to use that? Everywhere else we have been, they have had both types of toilets. I guess when the place is 200 years old, we should be happy to get a toilet! Anyways, it was an experience I will never forget, and I hope one to never repeat!
After the CHI tour we went on to the Great Wall. I am going to have to admit here how I failed at the Wall! I did climb part of it, and from what I am told, I climbed the hardest part of it. But WOW!! I had heard the stories and knew it was steep, but I did not imagine how steep and uneven it was. Mark made it really far. I probably could have made it farther, after I could pick myself up off the floor and breathe again, but pain for tomorrow had me worried. Lets just say I climbed far enough to buy a tshirt that says I climbed the great wall, I saw some beautiful views, and I happily sent mark up farther to get more video and pictures! What I wanted was the trolley that would drive me up and the toboggan to bring me down, but that was no where in sight. Besides me being a failure, it was really amazing to be there. That is the one sight that I was most excited about. To stand there on that wall, and to look out and see God's creation, it was beautiful. Knowing we stand there under that sun which He created and is ALSO shining over our baby's head. (well at least over her orphanage, who knows if she has even been out in the sun!) Just a sweet thought! So it was neat to go, though I did not climb the entire thing.
They did drive us past the Olympic Park, where there is lots of construction going on for the upcoming Summer Olympics that will be here in Beijing 2008. It is amazing what they are building. We got alot of neat pictures. One guide told us that the government would be giving people free vacations to STAY HOME during that time, because it will be so congested here. I can only imagine. It is congested now!
For dinner we walked to Pizza Hut! It was a very fancy pizza hut. We had dinner w/ Vinnie and Lori who live near Tampa, Florida. Lori and I have been chatting online for awhile now so it has been great to finally meet her. Their daughter Emily is the same age as Sage! The pizza was good, pretty much the same to me. We paid $8 for a large pizza and 2 sodas, and they do not accept a tip. Ordering was quite fun. You can tell they are totally making fun and laughing at us! Oh well, we probably deserve to be laughed at!
While walking out of our lobby for dinner we met 2 families w/ babies! They are from Holland and their consulate is here. Beautiful baby girls and they looked very happy! Had fun chatting w/ them for a few minutes. To think here we are w/ people from all over the world for the same purpose.
The highlight of the day for me was getting the rest of our schedule and just talking about the babies. We are supposed to meet Sage on Monday at 11am. That would be 10PM Sunday for you all, but I will not be able to post probably till later that day, so when you all get up on Monday morning, you should see her! Tomorrow we fly to Changsha. She is in Chenzhou, which is 5 hours from the hotel. It does not sound like we will be able to make the trip to her orphanage. I had hoped so, but Sabrina said w/ the flooding, it would be very difficult and we do not really have any free days. I am hoping that I can get some pictures of Chenzhou from other families who have been there, as I really want those for Sage. We leave here tomorrow at 11. Sabrina said she will have updates on the babies and their schedules, we are very anxious to have that! She said she would take us shopping to get formula etc. So though I had hoped that we would get the babies tomorrow, (it is Sage's 9 month birthday), it will give us the day to unpack again, get supplies ready, etc.. Do you think we will actually sleep tomorrow night? Please continue to pray for Sage as she makes the journey to us. I can't imagine 5 hours of travel for them. And if we can't get to their orphanage, how do they get to us safely? So if you would, please lift her up as she travels, I am sure she has NEVER traveled before. Pray for us as we fly again tomorrow. And just pray that our transition goes smoothly.
I have neglected to update on our kids at home... We have not had the chance to talk to them but one time. Between the time change and them being in Branson all week, I knew it would be hard. But yesterday I did call, and we talked for a few minutes, but they were in such a hurry to get to the Dixie Stampede, they were rushed. It is good to know we are missed and they are crying their eyes out over us! They are now back from Branson and will be going to 6 flags w/ Mark's parents this weekend. I know that Makenna made the right decision to stay home. She would be starved, hot and bored to tears here compared to the fun they seem to be having!
So much to tell, one last thing.. My aunt wrote and asked about the pictures and the air being cloudy. It has been somewhat cloudy, but I do think it is the smog. I have not noticed that I have had any trouble breathing or w/ allergies at all. But I know there air quality is very poor.
And one thing our guide Lillian (another Christian who was our Beijing tour guide only) kept saying was "time for Lillians Blah Blah". Mark said he thinks that is probably how you all feel by the time you get to the end of my books each day, Shannon's blah, blah, blah!!! We know all you really want to see are pictures of Sage, and believe me, we are ready to show you those to!

Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid for I am with you: I will bring your children from the East, and gather you from the West...
Exodus 20:3
Do not have any other Gods before me..

First, let me start by saying, I wake up in the mornings, and can't wait to read the messages you have sent us! It is such an encouragemnent to know that we are being prayed for each and every day. I read each and every message and hold the words in my heart all day long!
Second, I have had a couple people saying thank you for our journal and how they feel they are in China w/ us! And I want you to know, that you are! When we chose to adopt this baby, we did it for us and what we felt that the Lord was calling us to do. What we did not realize, is that we not only made the decision for us, but for ALL of you. Each of you have learned about the adoption process right along w/ us. You now know what a dossier is, a LID, and what it feels like to wait. We know that you hurt along w/ us as we waited, and you cried along w/ us as we first laid eyes on our beautiful daughters referral. You have listened to our frustration and you have listened to our excitement. You have prayed for us and for Sage. And most important, you have loved this baby, as if she was already here. We have no doubt that this baby girl is coming into a circle of family and friends who are already in love w/ her! So I just want to say thank you. For ALL you have done, for all you are doing while we are gone, and for all I know that you will do when we are home w/ Sage. I hope that you know how big a part of her lives you are, and our lives. I hope that you feel you are right here along w/ us, because you are here in our hearts.
Couple of interesting things I forgot to mention... I tried to pull up one of my favorite sites, bible gateway, it was blocked, surprise! We do have our bible w/ us, though yesterday we thought it disappeared, I thought I had left it out, but I guess I stuck it in our cabinet before we left because we finally found it. I have to say, when we first got pulled over yesterday, it went through my head, "did they catch us praying at dinner?". But from what I understand that is not a problem. The Chinese people are very nice. I have never felt unsafe at all. They seem to be curious of course about us, but always kind. There are no lines. You better scoot your way up, or you will be waiting forever! But they are nice about it and no one gets mad. In fact that is one thing we notice in the traffic. Lots of honking, but no one ever looks upset. In the streets the bikers and pedestrians are walking or riding next to the cars. Even when a car about runs over one of them, they never flinch. In the US, there would be screaming and cursing, probably outside of their cars. But this is just life here. Everyone has the right of way, and you just figure it out. When shopping, they shadow you. Yesterday at the Summer Palace, the street vendors were everywhere. Look, buy a Rolex, buy a Gucci purse, etc. They start at 100yuan, you say no, they go down, and down and don't leave. It does not bother me, I just figure they will leave eventually. It is just amazing. EVERYTHING is so different, yet not really.
Our day was so full and my emotions are so high, I am not even sure if I can put it all into words. We were able to see China today.... It started early. 4AM and we could not go back to sleep. But we are going to bed early, and getting more sleep than I had been getting at home. Maybe God is adjusting us to Sage's schedule? I feel rested, which is crazy to think being up at 4am! Breakfast Buffet wonderful of course. I have to get some pictures of this buffet. I just can't believe how large it is. My favorite is the quiche. So good. We met up with our tour group at 830 in the hotel lobby and were surprised to see that more of our group was now here! We did not realize they would be joining us today so that was very fun! We had 3 more couples, 2 of them w/ Hunan babys. We met our guides and were off to the Temple of Heaven. First I have to start by saying, I enjoy the tours, but my ADD kicks in, and to be honest, I really zone out on alot of the details. I told our guide they need to make a CD so we can go back and listen so we can remember all those things. So my understanding was that it was a place built for worshipping the ancient Gods. I don't feel to bad, Mark does not remember all the details either. I remember they showed us one area where they prayed for Good Harvest. Of course we all know that for us as believers, it breaks our heart that they think "their Gods" could answer them. Regardless. we enjoyed the beauty of the area as you can see in the pictures the details of their buildings. It was much warmer today! The best thing about the Temple was that as we walked in, there were people everywhere! Sitting around dancing, playing checkers, singing. I have never seen anything quite like it. I can't really concentrate on the details of the tours, but what I am drawn to is the people. I love to just watch. Watching them sing together, or dance together. I am so drawn to them and I know it is because to me they are Sage. This is her China, and I never ever want to forget a single detail. I am trying to plant it in my mind, but I pray it is also forever implanted in my heart. All day today we had fun w/ the street vendors. They shadow you, and they do not give up. I pulled out my video camera at one point and the girl finally backed off w/ her knockoff guchi purse. But it is constant. One guy REALLY wanted me to buy a chariman mao watch today!
After the Temple of Heaven, we ate lunch at a really neat place. They had dancing on stage while we ate a traditional Chinese lunch. Mark liked the fried duck, he eats anything. I did try it, along w/ a few things I was not sure on. So far thankfully I have not been sick at all, I was worried about that. After lunch we went on a rickshaw tour which was really fun! I guess I did not realize exactly what this was. I knew we would be riding around on the back of a bike, but did not realize it was through the Hutong area. Which is where people live. It broke my heart to see, yet this is China and I am thankful to see it. We were able to go into a house of a typical family. The woman was so nice. She did not speak English and so we had a translator. The house was very small, just 3 rooms. And no bathroom, they share a public bathroom. She loves her pets, and we were able to see those. She seemed very happy and content. I will forever be grateful that we were able to do this and see this area. We also toured through the area, shops etc.. Then we went to another building, called the Drum Palace. They used to use it and played the drums so you would know what time it is. The stairs there were VERY steep, scary steep. And we were able to see them play their drums. Everything is so beautiful to watch and listen to. We had Sage's name painted while there which turned out very pretty.
Like I said, it is hard to put into words what we all saw today. We took around 70 pictures and I had the video going all day! When we come home we can bore you w/ hours upon hours of footage! But I just want to remember it all, I want to share w/ Sage someday the amazing country that was her home. My mind is in overload and my heart is full today for China!
Oh and one last thing... These street vendors, we had this guy following me trying to get me to buy these calligraphy brushes. I did not know what they were, and made the mistake of asking the lady next to me. Well he took my question for interest, so he followed me, to my rickshaw, and then started RUNNING next to the rickshaw. Mark, being the cheap not much fun to shop w/ guy that he is, kept saying no. The guy is trying to sell me these things for $2.00!! I kept saying, just BUY THE BRUSHES!, because at this point they are on my lap while the guy is running along beside us! So Mark paid up, all the while complaining about me giving in. PLEASE! They are actually really pretty, there should be a picture posted. And who knows, maybe Sage will be a budding artist, it will be a neat gift to put away for her. Mark can't see the beauty in buying whatsoever. I told him he is not shopping w/ me anymore! Thank goodness there are LOTS of ladies here who will be great shopping partners!
We are meeting our group for dinner soon, not sure where. I am going ahead to post this because I know we are going to be wiped out and in bed early tonight!Tomorrow is a very full day again, and all the families will finally be here! Only 3 more nights till Sage!

Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding, think about Him in all your ways & He will guide you.
We slept so good last night! I woke up at 5am and Mark soon after. We ate at the Breakfast Buffet here in our hotel. It was fabulous! Anything you want was on that buffet. Everyone who has been to China always talks about how wonderful the breakfast is and they were right! At 830am we met our group in the lobby and met our guide for the day, Dennis from CHI. He was alot of fun, and his english was very good. We boarded a bus to head to the Summer Palace. Our ride over was very exciting. Driving anywhere is exciting in itself, but this just added to it. First we are driving along and all of a sudden we hear a loud noise and notice that our bus hit something, breaking the side mirror. Which does not phase the driver of course, and we are not sure what he hit, hopefully not anyone on a bike! A little while later, we are pulled over, by the police who jump on board and start speaking in Chinese, and then take our driver off the bus. As we sit there they get our guide off the bus. Then the police come back on and start asking us for our passports, how much we paid for our tour, etc.. We must have all had frightened looks on our faces, because he soon brought us a list of questions and told us they were just checking things out to make sure we were being treated safe. Then they wanted us to all get off the bus so they could get our pictures. I guess what the issue was is that bus drivers have to have certain license to drive tour groups and this guy had the wrong thing? Still not quite sure we understood what was going on, but we do know we did not see that bus or driver again! We toured the Summer Palace which took a few hours. It was a very beautiful place. It was built in 853 as a vacation spot for the emperors. We did alot of walking and were able to ride a boat out and around. Dennis was able to share lots of great facts about the palace. What I find most interesting though is the Chinese People. I love to just watch, and listen to them. I may have said this yesterday, but one thing I find so odd is that I never see babies. Some kids, but not alot of babies. But oh when we do see a baby, you know we are all staring! After the palace we went to lunch at the Mongolian Hot Pot. Named for the mongolian army who made their meals in their helmets. And boy, was it HOT!! We had a private room, and they brought in a little pot for each of us. A very steamy hot pot! We all had our facials through that meal, and teased Dennis that we now knew why the Chinese were so skinny, they sweat off all they are eating! That or it was the Chinese joke on Americans to torture them during lunch! besides how hot it was, we had alot of fun. They bring out all this "raw" food and set it in the center of your table that spins. You cook your own food similar to our Melting Pot, but it was not the same food, and we did not end w/ chocolate. They had chicken, which was these real long very thin pieces, dumplings w/ mutton inside ( if you don't know what mutton is, don't ask!) tofu, fish balls, noodles, ox stomach, and a variety of things we have no idea about! And rice, we all love rice! Plus all you get to eat w/ is chopsticks. Maybe I will lose weight this trip! Actually I tried most of it, and it was not bad. Rice was still my favorite, and I left full! After lunch they dropped us off at our hotel and we headed out w/ the Gove family to shop. Someone had given me the name of a store you could purchase american girl dolls, so we wanted to check that out. We are getting pretty good at getting around in taxi's! We found the shop and had fun w/ the dolls. I bought 1 doll, 2 bitty babies, and close to around 20 outfits w/ a few accesories for $100.00. Now, how I am getting them home, is a good question, as you know my luggage was already filled to the brim! But it was such a good deal. And for those of you who asked me about the dolls, i have good news! She gave me her email and said she will ship them! She was super nice and very helpful. Just write me when I get home and I can send you the details. There was not a huge selection, but obviously not bad! The weather today is warm, but overall pretty good. The high was only high 80s so that is a huge praise. The hot pot was hot, but really it was not bad touring. Hopefully the rest of the time will be like that! This evening we went to a Chinese Acrobat Show. This was not a set tour for us, but I had heard others talk about how wonderful it was so we really wanted to go. We were pretty tired, but you know Mark and I, we don't sit! And we figured if we did not go, we would regret it. I am so glad we did! First we took a taxi again, this time we were by ourselves. The driving here is just, wow! No one has the right of way, yet EVERYONE has the right of way! There are not really lanes, they just drive wherever they want to! Yesterday I could hardly watch, but by tonight, I have relaxed and just figure i have yet to see an accident, so they must know what they are doing. The cost of a cab ride is $2.00, and that takes you all the way across town. The show was incredible. We have seen the Chinese Acrobats before, but there is something to be said about seeing them in your daughters homeland compared to Branson, Missouri! We found it so amusing, when we were sitting in the theatre waiting for the show to start the music playing was the Carpenters! During intermission we were chatting w/ a couple behind us from Australia who are here for something similar to the Jr Olympics. Tonight as we drove home we were able to see the city at night. Everything is so bright and lit up. And busy! People everywhere. They walk, they pile on buses, they ride bikes. It gets dark here very early, making it feel so much later to us. I am still adjusting to the time change and jet lag. Still a little dizzy on and off. I am so glad we are here early to adjust. Tomorrow is a full day of touring, and it will be exciting as our fellow CHI families will be arriving. Saturday our entire group of 30 families(i think?) will be touring together which will be so great to meet everyone. Oh one last thing from today, had me wishing i had learned some chinese! We brought a converter, but it does not work in these plugs for some reason. So they do have 1 american plug in in your room. But it is not by the bathroom. So I have been trying to use my flat iron by looking in the tv screen! Which by the way, I have been able to use my CHI, and I have not blown it up yet, so that is a good thing! Anyways, in the hotel information book it says that the Radison provides adapters. So I call down today and ask them if they have a converter. I talked to 4 different people before they could finally, and I could finally understand each other. And the conclusion was no, they do not have extra converters, just the one in your wall. It is so strange to have such a hard time communicating. Most people do speak english, or at least a little. But some really don't know much at all. And I can't say anything in Chinese! Well, Mark just ordered room service. Potato Skins and Ceasar Salad! Thank you again for all your prayers! We loved getting up today and reading all the notes, keep them coming!