Gotcha Day!

After arriving to Fuzhou on Sunday morning, we were able to get to our hotel, shower, and rest for just a couple of hours before it was time to meet Miss Lottie!  Our guide called to tell us they would be bringing her to our hotel later that afternoon.  Chad and I got as "ready" as we possibly could and rode down the elevator to pick up our child!  Sounds crazy doesn't it?

As we walked in, her orphanage caregivers walked right over to us and said, "this is your baby," and handed her over.  It was pretty chaotic in the room as there was another family meeting their child at the same time and a couple of adoption officials as well.  Our guide was talking with the official and the orphanage directors as we were getting aquainted with Lottie.  She was a little hesitant about letting us hold her until her orphanage director gave us a snack they had brought with them.  As soon as we offered that to her, she sat in our laps and enjoyed her snack while we signed papers and tried to keep up with what was going on in the room.   Here are our first few pictures with her:      

All together, that process took about 30 minutes and then we were on our way back up to our room with a new Hunsberger!  Our guide helped us to order a pizza and let us know when she would be back the next day. So, we were on our own.  We set Lottie down on the floor with us and pulled out some of the toys we brought for her.  The ball was an early favorite and got us our first laugh!   

  

She was also very interested in drawing with the pen and paper I had out.

While we were playing on the floor, we began to peel off some of the layers she was wearing so we could get a better look at her size.  The Chinese culture definitely believes in bundling up their little ones as we realized Lottie was wearing three thick layers of clothes!  We also took her braces off to see how well she could move around.  Sweet thing can get wherever she wants to go with her scooting technique and army crawl.  She was having a blast moving around the room and playing with the toys.
When the pizza arrived, she acted very interested in what we were eating.  Our guide told us she probably wouldn't eat any of the pizza and would just want her milk.  Well, Lottie proved her wrong as she ate two pieces of pizza!
After dinner, we decided it was time for a bath and started to peel back the other layers she was wearing.   Lottie is definitely a tiny little girl!  The weight got for her back in January must have included the weight of both of her braces, because I doubt she even weighs 20 pounds.  She sat quietely in the bath and played while we bathed her.

Once we got her out and dressed, we could tell she was getting pretty sleepy because she was very still and very quiet.  She played for just a little while longer, then it was time for bed.

We weren't sure what her normal bedtime routine was like so we decided just to give her some of her bottle and it seemed to really relax her.  She was so tired that I literally just lay her down in her bed, covered her up and watched her immediately close her eyes!  We were exhausted so immediately went to bed ourselves.  We all enjoyed a GREAT night of sleep and we ended up having to wake Lottie up the next morning after 12 hours of sleeping so we could get to our Monday appointment.  She never made a peep all night!
 That sums up our first day with Lottie, and we don't think it could have gone any better! Thank you all for praying for us and please, keep it up.
We will do our best to post more soon, but blogging has proved quite challenging so far with quirky internet coverage and computer issues.  We have some great videos too, but they are not loading.  We will do the best we can to keep you posted!  Love to you all!

And we're off!

We are on our way to China!  (finally...right?)  After months, and months, and months of praying, planning, and paperwork, we are headed to meet Miss Lottie.  We will arrive in Fuzhou on Sunday morning (Saturday night in Jackson) and have our "Gotcha Day" later that same afternoon.  Yes, that's right.  After 35 hours of travel, we will greet Lottie with our filthy, tired faces and start the adventure of getting to know her.  Please pray for us as we travel, find our guide in China and go to pick up Lottie.  I hope to update the blog again after our Gotcha Day, but we will see how everyone is doing and if I can even keep my eyes open long enough to post pictures.  At any rate, check back in the next couple of days and hopefully you will see this beautiful little girl in our arms!

Also, please be praying for the two cuties below too!  Abigail and Luke are set to have an AWESOME time with Coach and Nana, but this Mommy sure will have a hard time being away from them. 

So, signing off for now.  See you on the other side of the world!

Spring Break

Well, Spring Break did not turn out like I had hoped it would.  I pictured some relaxed days at home, playing outside a lot, and having fun with the kids during the break.  Unfortunately, that was ruined by the FLU!  Poor Luke was the first to fall and started feeling bad on his birthday.  He was pitiful as he battled the flu for the second time in the past several months.  

This is how he spent several days.  Poor buddy!

Abigail started feeling bad and running fever about mid week but thankfully did not get as sick as Luke.  We had already started on her Tamiflu so maybe that helped her not get it as bad.  These two did a lot of laying around (along with whining, crying, etc.).

They started feeling better later in the week and Abigail even decided to accessorize with hew new Dollar Tree earrings that she wears EVERY.DAY.OF.THE.WEEK. NOW!

 By Friday, Mommy the kids were more than ready to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air.  We headed to the zoo with a picnic lunch in hand and had a great time walking around and wearing out the kids.

The tigers were a favorite for both kids.

They sure do love Daddy's day off!

Big sister was even brave enough to touch a snake!

Luke turns 2!!!

It's hard to believe, but Luke turned two last weekend!  He is growing SO fast and definitely embracing the "terrible twos" these days as he shows some attitude and stays busy getting into EVERYTHING!  He loves any type of vehicle/transportation but is especially fond of trucks right now.  In light of his affection for "big trucks" we held Luke's Big Dig for his birthday party.  It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and perfect for digging in the sand and playing outside.  Take a look at his party:

We love this little man more than words can say and are having so much fun watching him grow (Mommy just wishes he would slow down).

Where we are

So, I know it has been a while since I’ve shared anything about our adoption process here on the ole blog.  I am not really sure why that is?  We have definitely made a ton of progress and are nearing the final weeks before traveling to get our sweet girl!  I guess it has just been difficult to articulate exactly what we are feeling/going through.  I mean, how do you explain what it feels like to have one of your babies on the other side of the world? 

It is crazy how many emotions and feelings swirl around my brain simultaneously!  I am elated that God has shown us our little girl and given us what I am confident is the best match for our family.  I am aching that Lottie is quickly approaching two years that she has had to live without a family of her own.  I am grieving the things we have missed in her first two years of life.  I am rejoicing that she has been cared for and loved on by a dear foster family.  I am anxious about traveling and meeting Lottie.  I am concerned about how difficult her transition away from her foster family and into our family will be.  I am so excited that she will be in our arms so soon and equally as frantic that it is coming so quickly!  I am feeling ALL of these things at any moment of every day.  All the while, life at home must continue.  We keep our normal schedules, we care for our kids, we do the daily, mundane things.  Maddening! 

It is amazing how much you can miss someone you don’t even know.  How deep love can precede sight.  I can only explain it as God knitting our family together and, even now, building a bond between a mother and child.  I know it is God, the father to the fatherless, that sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:5-6).  He has done that in our family for sure.  There is a void, someone missing from the table, we are not complete and won’t feel back in balance until she is home. 

All of these emotions seem debilitating at times because, throughout much of the adoption process, there is nothing we can do to move closer to her and are left to simply wait.  So that is what we are doing.  Waiting with recognition that it is not in vain and not without purpose.  That we are, in fact, moving closer to her, but at the same time, we are moving closer to God.  He is not just changing our family in this process, He is changing us. 

Singer Aaron Keyes in his song, “Sovereign Over Us” writes these lyrics that I can identify so closely with at this point in our journey: “You are working in our waiting, sanctifying us.  When beyond our understanding, you’re teaching us to trust.”

So, let’s add thankful to the list of emotions that run through my head at any given minute! 

Thanks for sticking with us on this crazy journey and forgive me for not blogging about this more regularly.  Sometimes I just don’t have the words.  Leaving you with the most recent picture of our Lottie girl!  We are coming soon sweetheart!