They are Home at Last

We were so greatful to have two families join us for the Homecoming at the airport. The flight was delayed about 15 minutes and they showed anyway. They are so amazing. Thanks so much to the Harbours and Sarah, Jeff and Belle for showing up. It meant so much to us to have you there. Ting li was so excited to see everyone including mom. I dont think she let me go the whole time. Oh okay she did let me go long enough to do High Five's with everyone. Sarah's husband Jeff showed her that and it was a real hit. The Harbours made her an amazing sign that said, "Welcome Home Aria". It had American Flags hanging off of it. We have it hanging in her room now. Jael and Brian were exhausted. Neither one of them slept very much on the airplane. We are pretty sure that Aria stayed up writing English. She has a book and notebook on the floor when she woke up. She slept in her own room. She did not want to sleep with Jael. She did want to sleep with Mommy but Jael explained that Mommy sleeps with Daddy. We all slept till 11am the next day. That is rare for me, but then again I am usually asleep by 8 or 9pm. It was a pretty relaxing day on Friday except for the part where Brian mowed the lawn and we all did some weeding. It was great bonding time and the neighbors seemed to get a kick out of all of our hard work. Then we all showered and watched a movie. Well everyone except Aria. She hung out and played Barbie dolls by herself. She was having such a good time. At one point Brian and I started laughing cause she was singing Jingle Bells.

Brian was up at 3:30am and couldnt go to bed till 10am. He didnt sleep much and Ting Li woke up around 12pm complaining she was sick and had a fever. Long story short she was up all night and the lack of sleep finally caught up to her. I laid down with her and she managed to fall back asleep. We woked her up a few hours later and she was refreshed. We took a trip to the Asian market to get some comfort food for her. She really has not liked American food at all. It seems to be affecting her stomache. Then we headed to the mall. She got her ears pierced. She did great. There were a few tears but afterwads she was really happy that she did it. She got small pink stones and a sucker for being so good. She had a chance to talk to Brian's dad(Ye Ye) on Skype and she really liked that and will talk to her Aunt Jessica tonight.

Overall Aria waants to please and seems disinterested in anything Chinese. She really seems to be embracing learning English and America. Well everything except the food but that will come with time.

Some great pics with Daddy

The famous adoption group photo in Guangzhou

Too cute pics with our Dad at Shamien Island

Brian sent me some more photos that I wanted to share with each of you. These are from the trip to Shamien Island. The ones of Brian and the girls are so precious. Shamien Island is THE shopping area for tourists. Truthfully Brian is not much of a shopper so they spent most of the day talking to a family from Florida at Starbucks. He said the humidity was unbearable so they prefered the air conditioning. It is kind of funny how living in Colorado makes you dread the humidity. This from the man that grew up in NY...Anyways...Their time in Starbucks was well spent I would say..They spoke with a family from Florida that adopted a 13 year old boy...This family is so amazing that I have to share their story. They have 4 biological kids and 4 adopted kids from China and they plan on adopting more..How amazing is that....God placed this 13 year boy in their hearts and him having a family was all they cared about regardless of the obstacles they would face. They knew he had a limited time to be adopted so they contacted China and China agreed they would expedite everything on their end, but they feared that America would not be able to complete everything quick enough for him to be adopted in time. To ensure this happened the family contacted their local Senator and he expedited everything. They arrived in China two days before he turned 14. I am so happy for that boy, he came so close to aging out and never being able to feel the love of a family. It is one of those "A-Ha" moments when I am so in awe of who God is and how all things are possible through him.
Brian and the girls did meet up with the other families to eat. Apparently Jael ate a WHOLE FISH..that's right head and all...That's my girl! She really enjoyed all the attention she got from this. All the families had a few good laughs..She really is a hoot..center of attention just like her PO PO (that means Maternal Grandma or My Mom for those that dont know what Maternal means..just kidding)
What did I do while they were having so much fun...WellI spent the whole weekend cleaning and organizing the house. I know that the new addition is going to bring plenty of visitors to our house and I want to be ready. It is hard to believe that I still have so much to do before they come home. I really want to thank everyone that have been following along with this journey. Your comments and emails have been such an encouragement to us. So many people have reached out to me and I am sad that I have not been able to break away long enough to take you up on all the offers. Trust me this was my calm before the storm. I will definitely need a few girls nights once the family comes home so lets plan some fun stuff once the dust settles. Having the chance for Brian and I to get out once the girls are settled will be a blessing. It is hard to believe they will be getting on the airplane tomorrow and they will be home on Thursday night at 10pm MST...If anyone wants to come to the airport by all means let me know and I can get you the details, but I do understand it is late and people have to work the next day.

Just some more quick things on Aria..I forgot she wants to be Aria not Ting Li. She asks about Claire all the time and always wants to talk to her and Mommy! She rode a bike in China..Praise God! She all ready knows how to ride a bike and she made it a point to tell Brian how bad she wants a bike when she comes to America. She LOVES to write. She copies her English books in a notebook and then makes it a point to show me how well she is doing with her writing.
Well their last event was the Pearl River cruise..Soon enough our family will be reunited...

Ting Li's new favorite song

Jael's IPod is filled with tons of music and Ting Li replays this song over and over again. Brian said it is so funny because she only knows, "One Day, One day" other than that she just hums along and actually carries the tune well. This just takes me back to when Jael would sing you are being loved. She barely knew the tune but just watching them figure it out was amazing...Although Ting Li is much more animated than Jael. She dances around kind of like he does in the video.

For those that havent seen Brian's facebook you have to check out the video of Ting Li swimming. Of course she is singing as she does it. Actually there isnt much she does without singing. She is quite the performer. I need to get Brian to record her singing her ABC's..You guys would love it.

She is counting down the days till she comes to America. She tells me everytime we talk how many days till she sees Mommy. It is so sweet! I am really scared though. Jael always needed Brian and Brian is quite independent himself. To finally have someone that is so dependent on you and needs you so much is scary. I equate it to a new baby dependent on their mother for everything. It feels that way this time and I am worried that I wont be able to meet all her needs. I guess this is how a new mother feels when her baby cries and she can't comfort them or the first time the baby falls and she feels like a terrible mother for letting them out of her sight for a minute. It is such a big responsibility being a mother. I didnt get to do all this with Jael since she would never let me in. It is only within the last few months that she has really let me in. I have been so dependent on Brian up until now and now it is my turn to step up. It's not that I didnt want to be involved its that as a mother you put your child's needs above your own. Jael needed Brian and had that instant connection with him. Every emotion and feeling Jael had for Brian, Ting Li now has about me. Jael's life was never going to be complete until she had a father and Ting Li always wanted a mother. These are some big shoes to fill. Please keep me in yor prayers as God uses me in Ting Li's life. I feel as though there is no greater responsibility than being a mother. And the part I am realizing through all this is that I need her just as much as she needs me..I needed this experience to be different than the last....Not better just different...

Guangzhou

I would like to start off by apologizing for not posting anything sooner. Brian has not had any new photos and I have been a bit wrapped up in closing financials for the month at work. Anyone who has done or is in an accounting role understands what I am talking about. I guess it has been good for me though..... It keeps my mind off Brian and the girls being in China....Only 5 more days and they will be home. They have finally made it to Guangzhou yesterday. They were very excited to meet up with the rest of the travel group..All of the families are from Alabama except for us and one other family from North Carolina. Our adoption agency is in Alabama so all the Alabama families had a chance to meet prior to travel which was nice. There is one family that adopted a 12 year old girl as well. Brian said it was really sad when they went to get their medical evaluations done. The 12 year old girl read her medical report from the orphanage and saw that they said she had dwarfism. The little girl said that is not true and became physically upset. Jael had to explain to her that sometimes the orphanages will lie on the applications to get the older kids adopted faster and not to worry. My heart just broke for that little girl. It took me back to when Jael told us that her orphanage said that families will give kids back if they are sick or bad. I can only imagine what was going through this poor girls head. After all she is 12 and once an orphan turns 14 in China they can no longer be adopted. What a burden for a little child to carry. The comforting part is that Brian said the girl is the same size as Ting Li and it does not appear she has this condition at all. The parents were very surprised when they met her on Gottcha Day. So obviously Ting Li had her medical evaluation and she only ended up needing 3 shots. The clinic said that the Yangzhou orphanage is vry good about keeping the children's immunizations up to date so very little are required from there. Overall she did good with the shots but Brian said she did cry a bit.
I talked to them on Skype and it is very exciting to talk to her. She has a high pitched voice and it is so funny when she says Noooooooooo. She goes up in pitch on every oh. She told me today that my shirt was black, Jael's was purple, and her's was white. And everytime I talk to her she always wants me to know 3 things:

1. She wants her ears pierced.
2. She wants to grow her hair long like Jael.
3. She cant wait to see me.

Brian says she asks Jael if Mommy and Daddy will hit her in America...So sad? She talks alot about how much they hit her in the orphanage and Brian says when he lifts his arm to hug her she flinches alot like she is scared he will hit her. I know in time this will change but until then my heart goes out to her. Overall she is a pleaser and wants to do right. It will be alot easier to set ground rules once they come home but until then Brian does his best to correct what he needs to and overlooks what can be handled in time.

The orphanage

So the orphanage visit was exactly as we expected it would be. It was a very long day filled with alot of emotions for all. The news crew came and interviewed Brian, Jael, and Ting Li on adoption. Lu Ai Ping invited Jael and Ting Li's teachers to say goodbye to both girls. The teacher in pink was very special to both of them. On Skype I talked to Ting Li about her. She was very emotional when she spoke about her. Ting Li said that when she did not have a family that teacher always told her how special she was and what a great dancer she was. She really had a heart for Jael, Ting Li, and Claire it seemed. For those that dont know Jael was never allowed to say good bye to this teacher in China. The orphanage pulled her out of school and didnt tell her she wasnt going back because her family was coming on Monday. This was something she has carried with her for a while now. Hopefully now that she has had the chance she can move forward now. The orphanage had a big dinner for them all and they had a chance to see the room where Ting Li slept. Brian said that he can tell how much Ting Li needs her mother. She definitely prefers females the complete opposite of Jael. He said on the way back from the orphanage visit she sat on the interpreter's lap the whole way back.

The girls had a chance to speak with Kelly Kraft and Claire on Skype. Ting Li told me today that she was so happy she talked to Claire. She said she misses her so much and it makes her sad that she is not there with them. She looks forward to seeing them hopefully in September. Jael has always held Claire up on the pedistal. She has always had a special place in her heart for Claire. I think she wishes that she had more time to talk to her as well but understands that Ting Li has not spoken to her in a while.

I only posted some of the pics from the orphanage but for anyone who has facebook Brian posted the rest of them on his Facebook.

The Verdict is in Ting Li is Officially a Perna

Two of the picutres are from the Civil Affairs Office this morning, where Tingli is signing her adoption papers. As far as China is concerned, she legally became a Perna today.............
"SO SIGNING THIS MAKES ME A PERNA???"

"THE PRESSURE TO SIGN THIS IS OVERBEARING..I HOPE THAT BEING A PERNA ISN'T THIS STRESSFUL...."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I ALL READY DRESS MYSELF LIKE A PERNA? DAD DOESN'T THINK ANYTHING IS WRONG WITH THIS OUTFIT....."

The Pictures Say it All

TING LI, REMEMBER HOW THINGS USED TO BE????

OH NO YOU DON'T JAEL...TIMES HAVE CHANGED.....

"JAEL NOT SO TIGHT MY ARM IS GOING LIMP"

DON'T YOU MAKE US CALL YOUR DAD....

OH NO THE BURKE'S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE FEAR OF DAD IS A POWERFUL THING!!!!!!!!

Trisha said, "I hope you got a good laugh...Now for what really happened."

Brian said, "Here a bunch of pictures from yesterday. The first bunch is from the Nanjing temple market near our hotel. There are a couple with our friends the Burkes at the mall when we went gift shopping for the nannies and officials.

I had to do 2 posts today...More pics to follow