Home - Hit some turbulence upon re-entry

Thank you for the emails and texts checking on our well being. Sorry for falling off the face of the earth but as you can guess we did make it home all in one piece.

Having gone through child birth with 3 kids I somewhat equate the flight to labor. At the end of the second and third pregnancy there is this "oh no" moment when you remember you have to go through labor and delivery before you get that precious child. Knowing a full day of travel was ahead of us kind of felt the same way. However, I am more than happy to report it went well and is all just a foggy memory at this point.


Our wonderful travel group

The Million dollar shot of 2 kids looking out at our plane

Steve looking a little worn (with one bad eye) and Liam enjoying stretching out. One time it pays to be short !!

Mom and Jenna looking a LOT worn and Kinley snoozing~

My one ditch attempt and capturing the look on Lauren and Ryan's faces as we got home. XOXOXOX

Our wonderful family and friends who greeted us at the airport. Most of what you read says to keep welcome home gatherings small but Steve and I said before and will say again, we needed it more than Kinley didn't need it.

I would say Kinley has Ryan right where she wants him. I didn't choose the picture that clearly shows he is wearing a headband and playing baby dolls at this time.

Lauren was such a blessing and worked with Ryan to be ready to welcome us home. She may never completely realize what a gift she gave us.

This might work out after all ~ Kinley even likes riding shotgun with Liam !

Poor Jenna went back to school on Monday to a mountain of school work to make up. The sacrifice she made for 2 weeks to help us in China was made so selflessly. She was rewarded upon returning home Monday with a big kiss.

The two seater wagon now has two passengers

Enjoying some wind down time before bed with popcorn and a movie

So despite the relatively smooth flight and cute pictures, this has been the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives. The truth is that Kinley will probably want to read this one day and no one wants to put their entire life out there for the world to see. Please just know we covet your prayers. I am not one who likes to talk much about what isn't going well so truth is if you ask I will probably share the things going well.

Upon feeling like I am living minute to minute at this time, I made a point of opening my bible this week much to the dismay of a 3 year old. As she made her discontent known I opened up to

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Thank you for following along. You may never know how much a simple email, blog comment, text or FB comment can help and we have appreciated each and every one of them. I haven't been great about following up with many or being very thoughtful of other people's needs right now and for that I apologize. Praying it will only get better.

Day 13 Ready to be home...yesterday

We are tired. Adoption is hard. We are ready to be home...yesterday.

The desire to adopt stemmed from God's calling for our family. The excitement of this trip was real. The pictures you have seen are genuine, the real deal. He has remained faithful and gone before us every step of the way. However, all that doesn't take away from how hard it is.

When we adopted Liam it was hard for different reasons. He was so small, so needy and depended on us for everything. Adopting a self-sufficient and highly spirited 3 year old is a different story. When she has pitched a fit I try to remember that however I am feeling, she must be feeling exponentially more fear and anxiety. I am the grown up. I am the one who understands the big picture. I am the one calling the shots. I am the one who knows what tomorrow will look like as best as anyone can. She, however, has to try to trust someone she has known 11 days of her life. How can she even start to trust us or anyone for that matter.

Children in China find their way to the orphanage through abandonment. There is no social worker who tries to help the family work things out. Parents who desire life for their child but are unable to provide it, will usually abandon their child in a public place so that the probability of being found is increased. The trauma that must cause is more than we can imagine. However, we can't ignore it because we are experiencing the consequences of it first hand.

Now factor in the language barrier. Trying to communicate with any 3 year old can present it's challenges. However, trying to understand and anticipate the needs of a 33 inch Mandarin speaking child is harder than we could have guessed. There is a comfort in the silence that comes with someone you know well. We are a far way from that.

Today was our last official hurdle; the day that this entire trip revolved around...our consulate appointment. We spent the rest of the day on Shamian Island and enjoyed strolling around the pretty streets. Tomorrow (Friday)we will sit in wait of receiving Kinley's golden ticket to the good ole' U.S. of A. It is set to be picked up around 3:30 pm and we are outta here on a 5:33 train to Hong Kong! After another night overseas we will board a plane (Saturday) for 15 more hours (with a 33 inch non English-speaking, highly spirited 3 year old) before we return to Chicago. Somehow with the time change we will land about the same time we took off??? Something like 108 hours, give or take, we will return home Saturday evening to St. Louis to begin the rest of our lives.

When we left China the last time, we had suspected there was a chance we would be back to adopt again. As we prepare to leave this time we are anticipating it will be a final farewell. If Kinley were first and Liam second, I know we would be saying the same thing. This mama is smart enough to know there is only so much of us grown ups to go around. That plus the fact we have a van that only seats 7!

Thanks for your prayers and support as we prepared for this adventure and as we begin the next chapter. I understand the blog wasn't very cooperative about allowing comments but we certainly felt your prayers and well wishes. Enjoy the final pictures from Guangzhou.

Love,
Paige, Steve, Jenna, Liam and Kinley
(Lauren and Ryan holding it together at home)

Sights around our hotel; Blowing bubbles by the Koi pond, a beautiful waterfall and a pretty Chinese mural (moments later the 2 littles got scolded in Chinese for going under and behind the red velvet rope)



Some of the beautiful statues on Shamian Island. Kinley's immediate response to seeing this was to go up and slap the dog on the head. I am not sure whether this applies to all dogs (sorry Max and Toby) or just Pugs (sorry in advance to Gracie!!)
The 'Lucy's' picture is just for our dear friend Mike Arnold; "thinking of you"!!!



Not certain whether Kinley thought these little statues of children were real?? She was enamored with this little boy carefully examining his nose, his fingertips and his arms. She then offered her silly bandz and when he didn't reach for it she stepped closer and finally put it on him herself. She was probably thinking what an ungrateful little person. Liam, of course, followed her lead and offered his bandz as well.

Days 11-12

Tuesday we ventured on a highly anticipated outing to the Safari Park. Everyone who has gone has shared it was the highlight (with the exception of meeting their child) of the trip. The day started off promising with the sun peeking through for pretty much the first time since we have been here. We caught an early breakfast then broke from the rest of our group who headed with their little ones to the Guangzhou Zoo. We had debated the timing of our trip and had considered last week but didn't want to overwhelm Kinley with such a big outing so soon. As is turned out, it was probably still way too soon. Bless her heart that we don't have the ability to communicate with words to understand but this mama understands body language pretty well.

We arrived at the zoo and took an amazing tour on what they call 'Safari on Wheels'. We were at arms length with many animals and still not 100% certain how they keep some of the more dangerous animals in their habitats. That part alone was worth the trip (or so I keep trying to tell myself). The day was becoming beastly hot and humid as we ventured onward. We took in some exhibits and headed to the elephant show. It was every bit as good as our friends' the Arnolds had shared. Monday-Wednesday are holiday here so we were wtih thousands of our closest Chinese friends. In the midst of the show, the heavens opened up and out came a deluge of rain. Back up to a couple of hours earlier when we decided we didn't need to tote our umbrellas around for the day so left them with our driver.

The rain was hit or miss for a while and then it became clear it was there to stay. We hunkered in a lunch place with probably 86% of the occupants of the park when the height of the storm passed over. We were quite the spectacle as we decided we best still get these littles their lunch. I stood in the middle of both strollers facing me. Jenna stood behind and handed me lunch accessories. Steve stood in front of me with the lunch tray. I proceeded to alternate feeding bite after bite until their little mouths stopped opening. We think the smiles of onlookers meant they approved. Towards the end, a young woman came up and spoke to us in her limited English. She was sweet and told us we were good parents. She asked where we were from. Then as we prepared to head to the exit she offered to come home with us???? Not sure if that is what she really meant to say and it also makes me wonder what I might be saying when I am attempting to communicate with Kinley???

We decided to plan on visiting the Safari Park when we return one day on the children's Heritage Tour and try not to be too upset over the rain out. (however, please don't bring it up! LOL)

I am guessing our quest to meet Kinley's needs in the midst of the day earned us some brownie points. The true highlight was when it came to nap time. As always, I offered to have her cuddle in the bed or go in her crib. She reluctantly pointed to the bed. She had this look on her face like she had been contemplating this decision all day. Needless to say, I decided I could easily take a nap as well. I hunkered down between the two kiddos (taking one for the team of course). She still takes quite a while to wind down (thanks Cherie M. for teaching me about getting regulated...I would have thought she was OCD) Kinley even gave me her monkey to sleep with!

At story time before bed, she again made the same choice. Baba lovingly and in his animated way brought 'Pout Pout Fish' to life. She was even making fish faces throughout the story. After lights out, she got antsy so Steve asked where she wanted to get settled and she picked the crib. I had gone out into the other room. However, when I came in a short while later little Miss re-thought her decision and had climbed back into the bed. Talk about a HUGE step in the trust department. Maybe our mishap at the Safari Park was all worth it.

Today we headed to Shamian Island with our group. We spent only a short while doing some power shopping. It was the prettiest day we have had here. Our group then went for an amazing lunch. Not surprising when we let our guides order how good the food is. Looking forward to feeding the Koi and bubble blowing this evening.

We are so happy to be in the home stretch. The homesickness has been helped this trip by having Jenna and Liam with us. However, we miss Lauren and Ryan like crazy. Other things I miss from home: 5 point harnesses/child safety seats, green lights meaning go and red lights meaning stop, cars abiding by those white lines in the road, and my own mattress even if it is 17 years old.

Pictures: Safari park-my fav the giraffes, cute baby and cute but no so efficient stroller, curious Chinese clowns, Liam teaching Kinley how to raid the mini-bar, Steve exploring just how comfortable (or not) it is to sit like so many Chinese we see, the littles playing Memory, bedtime stories with daddy, a beautiful Christian shop owner, Jenny with her son Michael, people taking pictures of our littles as we took their pictures, and Liam pointing out the warning sign on the window that says "in the interest of safety, please do not push on the glass"...as he pushes on the glass.