Sunday, June 19, 2005


Very Old Temple... sorry I don't have any more details Posted by Hello

Happy Father's Day

The Chinese believe the harder the bed, the better the bed is for your back. Well, we will have the best backs in America when we return. Literallly when you flop down on these beds there is NO rebound. So the goal is to make ourselves as tired as possible, then we won’t have problems going to sleep. We will see how that theory plays out.
Mia is so cute. She laughs and smiles a lot now. She slept through the night last night until 7:15. Most all of the other babies do this already but because of the sickness it threw her schedule off. She doesn’t feed herself but hardly any of the babies do. We think they were taught not to put things in their mouth. But she likes to have something in each hand. Her favorite toys are the room card and a water bottle cap. She sits up very well but she can’t walk yet. We were also told they don’t put the babies down on the floor. So they haven’t even had a chance to learn to crawl.
Today was a good day with Mommy. I held her for a long time this morning while we toured a folk art museum (old, very hot temple) Then we went to a department store to get some groceries and things for the group. At one point I lost David when Mia and I went to get diapers. I finally found him in the middle of the store, laid out in a massage chair.($2,700) He was in heaven. I told him it could be his father’s day present but it just wouldn’t fit in the suitcase.
We had lunch at good Old McDonalds. (I’m lovin’ it!) Those French fries tasted sooo good. The food has really been good but it’s just not the same. Tonight we ordered food in with 2 other families and all had a good time letting the girls play. One of them can walk and she has one speed, full blast. Mia loves to watch her cruise around the room. Mia laughs out loud and smiles at her.
Finished up most of the paperwork today. We had a 2 hour paperwork party this afternoon with all the families and I think we’re done. Today’s work was for US Immigration. Our guides will file it all soon and we will wait for Mia’s Visa and the swearing in ceremony later in the week.

Saturday, June 18, 2005


Nice Big Room, Very well decorated. Looks like I won't be able to send large amounts of pics in the ofoto any more. The connection here is soooo slow. I meant for the Mississippi state picture to say DAVIS family.. Also, Gayla thanks for the joke.... Posted by Hello

Think they'll ever be able to wash their pinkies? Notice the A&M shirt on Lance(left) Posted by Hello

David Family this is for You.... Dog fans even in China Posted by Hello

Ready for Take off Posted by Hello

This is what I do when Daddy leaves the room. No tears just plain MAD Posted by Hello

Hello Everyone This is the real ME Posted by Hello

Up up and away

Mia’s first airplane ride was a piece of cake. She was asleep within the first 10 minutes after takeoff. We arrived safely in Guangzhou at the Dongfang Hotel. It is much nicer than the other 2 hotels we’ve stayed in so far. After checking in we all rested and then went to dinner with some of the group at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Let me tell you they have nothing on the H.B.Japanese steakhouse. The food was good but there was a lot less for the money.
We met up with the other half of our travel group and it was good to see all the babies and new parents here. There is one boy and 25 girls in the group.
Mia is doing much better and eats more and more every day. She really likes noodles and bananas. We had trouble getting her to take a bottle because her lips were cracked but she is now taking it fine. We also discovered she likes Ice Cream very much.

Darla M. Thanks for the pics of the kids. It’s fun to see what they’re doing.Emily - Glad to hear the gerbils are doing well….. It’s so hot can’t wait to get back and get in the pool.

Friday, June 17, 2005


One year Old TODAY Posted by Hello

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!!!

Praise God from who all blessings flow….
Our girl is one year old today!!! We are so happy that she is feeling good. We went back to the hospital this morning and the doctor said she looks well. We have to continue her on some medicine for 2 months. She has already received her first birthday present, her Aunt Sherry, our guide, brought her a little silver cross necklace last night. I think she was just as worried about Mia in the hospital as we were Zane don’t worry we haven’t had cake yet. We will save the “smashing in the face” until we get home.
The traffic here is just unbelievable. If you want to GO, you just GO, doesn’t matter which direction. Driving here is definitely not for the faint of heart. We decided today that if Paw Paw came here he would have to be buried here, because it wouldn’t take long before he would just kill over. On the other hand, Grandpa would love it. It could also be categorized as an extreme sport. Especially if you’re trying to ride a bicycle.
This afternoon we get Mia’s passport and tomorrow morning we leave Nanchang for Guangzhou. It’s about a 50 minute plane ride.


I added some pictures from our trip to the Great wall on Sunday in an album.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=811902995203&page=1&sort_order=0

I also have Today’s birthday pictures here.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=843512995203

We really have lots of down time so I would love to hear from all of you!!! OK I especially have lots of down time, The official photographer, web-site updater and clothes washer would like to have contact with the USA...... David on the other hand is very busy feeding, diapering, rocking and just in general holding..... He is absolutley loving it. I keep finding different ways to console myself. My thought for a while was that it was only because of the fever. But now that it's gone things have only changed slightly.As you can see in the picture I was allowed to sit and play with Mia when David wasn't around. (It's really not that bad, we've had a good time joking and watching how all the babies have really bonded to one or the other parent) There have been about 4 out of 13 babies that prefer the father more. Our guide says it's possible she had a stronger bond with her foster father.
ABS ladies, hope you had a nice time last night at ladies night out…..I’m sure you missed me! =)

Long Day

It was a very emotional and eventful day. We talked to our Dr at Texas Children’s last night and she advised us to take Mia to the hospital the next day. Her fever was still very high and she was not eating. Mostly sleeping all day. We were trying to find a source of the fever.
Our guide,Sherry, went with us to the hospital and helped us navigate all the red tape. There is no way we would have known what to do without her. After a few hours we were informed that she has a treatable disease know as Kawasaki disease. The doctor spoke very good English and was able to explain all the details to us. This is something that she contracted probably in the last 2 – 3 weeks. I have lots more info but will save it for later.
They treated her with a special IV for most of the day. We were allowed to take her back to the hotel tonight to sleep but we have to return to the hospital in the morning for them to check her. The IV worked wonders. About an hour and half into the IV she just came alive. The fever came down and she is just a new girl…
We are all so very relieved. There will be follow up for it when we return home but for now she is doing soooo much better.
We have no pictures today, I think you can understand why.Thanks to all of you who have emailed or left comments under the pictures. If you leave a comment as anonymous I do not know who said it unless you include your name in the message. I have not been able to send out any emails but I can read any that come in to my regular email account.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Better today

Mia seems to be feeling a little better today. She slept pretty well last night, only waking about 3 times. But the stretches in between were much longer than the previous night. She has eaten more today than we have seen her eat so far. She really likes a local favorite, congee. It seems to be very smushed rice cooked until it doesn't resemble rice any more. Then sometimes they add chicken, and you eat it warm. Her temperature has come way down but she still has a low grade temp and is still sleeping most of the time. We are hoping for a new day tomorrow.
We ordered a Pizza today from Pizza Hut. It was sooooo goood. We've both enjoyed the local dishes but the pizza was just wonderful. The best money we've spent on the trip so far.
I've added some pictures today. Before we came to China I sent a disposable camera to the orphange to ask them to take some pictures of Mia in her environment. We had hoped to get pictures of her with her foster famiy (they call it a First family) But we later learned that when sign the letter to accept the referral the babies are all taken back to the orphanage until the parents arrive. So she was there about 7 weeks. Well, when they handed us to her the camera didn't come so I assumed the package never cleared customs or they had not chosen to do what was asked. After all the babies were matched with their parents the orphange director stayed so the parents could ask him questions. We didn't have any specific questions and just asked if there was anything he would like to tell us and his assistant pulled out the camera. You would have thought David and I had won the lotto. We were so excited saying Thank you , thank you. Then they began conversing back and forth with our translator. I said," what are they saying" She said they are saying,"You are TOO excited"
Yesterday while we were at WalMart we had them developed through the one hour processing. I posted some of them on the link below. They are just pictures of pictures so not great quality. These are priceless to us and most of the babies in the group shots are in our group here.
We also learned from the director's assistant that Mia's foster parents were in their 50's and they had 3 children.(obviously before the policy) She said,"they loved her very much."
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=505702495203

Tuesday, June 14, 2005


One of my few awake moments today Posted by Hello

Can you see my one tooth? Posted by Hello

It's Official.. She's ours Posted by Hello

Pretty in purple Posted by Hello

First Day with Mia

Mia was very sick last night and most of today. She didn't sleep very much at all and kept waking up frequently. Her fever was around 102. She sounds very congested and can only take a few sips of her bottle before she has to stop and breathe. We started her on the Zithromax(antibiotic) as soon as we saw the fever was going up and she seems to have started feeling better around noon. She actually ate a little egg and tomato. She has slept most of the day. However when she is awake she is very happy. She smiles and even laughed a little at David. She likes to be held(by Daddy) and will settle for me when he's not in the room. I'm having fun giving him a hard time but I think he is really enjoying the favoritism.
We got positive sleep reports from all the other families in the group. 13 babies in all. Most of the babies slept a good 9 - 11 hours. We are staying at a very large hotel in Nanchang. Right now in this hotel there are 200 adoptive families and babies.Our guide told us the hotel manager was a little overwhelmed when we arrived. It has been very interesting to meet the other adoptive parents from literally all over the world. Some from Canada, Spain, Netherlands and England. You can't get on the elevator without running in to someone new.
We had a mandatory notary meeting today, It was mandatory because after a short 4 question interview Mia became officially ours.
After the meeting we went to a Wal-mart supercenter. It was a true WalMart. Very intresting to see all the things they sell. They even had door greeters,(they used their best english to say "welcome to Wal-mart"
Not many pictures today because Mia has been so sick and has slept almost all day. I added a few to yesterday's gallery because a friend on the trip took several photos of us in our gotcha moment. I was so glad he did because it was like a wedding or graduation. I was so excited and it went so fast I don't remember a thing about it.
Please remember Mia in your prayers today. We pray that this fever will leave her and she will feel like playing and eating soon.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=592570785203&view=edit&rnd=531208
New phots on this link

Monday, June 13, 2005


Sleeping Beauty Posted by Hello

Daddy and Mia..... A Daddy's Girl Posted by Hello

Mommy and Mia Posted by Hello

Gotcha DAY

It’s here, It’s Finally here. Today is Gotcha Day!! In fact we just GOT HER. We arrived at the hotel about 2 p.m. We waited for our bags and put a few things away to get settled in for the week. Our instructions were to drop off some paperwork and orphanage donations at our guide’s room and then meet in the 3rd floor conference room. We decided to go ahead a few minutes early so that we might happen to see the babies arrive at the hotel. Well, they were already there in the conference room but we had to wait outside until they called our names. It was so funny because we were all standing out in the hall trying to pick out which baby was ours. (I did not pick the right one) Most of the parents were saying things like,” You know it really doesn’t matter which one… they are all so cute”
We were about the 4th couple called. It was the most amazing feeling to finally see the little face that we have been staring at on the refrigerator for the past 7 weeks.
She is just adorable. She has one tooth on the bottom and a full head of black hair. She did not cry much and was instantly enthralled with the video camera strap. Then she discovered the digital camera and she and David were playing a little game with it and she began laughing out loud. She is definitely going to be a Daddy’s girl because once he pried her out of my arms she only wanted him. Her outfit was a traditional split pants so I headed up to the room to grab a diaper and make a bottle for her. When I got back she was sound asleep on David’s shoulder. It was probably a very long day for her. Plus she has a low-grade fever and sounds a little congested. She had to be exhausted to fall asleep in that room full of crying babies, crying moms and dads and just the sound of pure joy.
We finished one round of paperwork and she woke up long enough to let me feed her a bottle, start her on some medicine and look around just a little. David held her and she was right back to sleep.
We now have to do another round of paperwork and then try to get her to sleep in the crib.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=592570785203

Beijing Tour Day 2

Today’s pace was much slower, thankfully. We attended a Chrisitan church in Beijing. There were all nationalites present, however it is only open to foreign passport holders. We had to show our passport at the door in order to be allowed in. During the fellowship time we heard people say they were from Africa, Hong Kong, Wisconsin, and Canada. It was very emotional for me when I looked around and thought “this is a very small sample of what heaven will be like.” Luckily for us the entire service was done in English and the pastor was from Wales. There is not a traditional church building so they rent the theater of the Sheraton Hotel for services. After church we went to a Jade factory and store. More of a store than a factory. After lunch we drove out into the country and visited the Great Wall.
There were about 5 peaks on the section that we were able to climb. I made it through about the first 2.5 and then made a terrible mistake. I turned around and looked back, which was really looking DOWN. I have never thought of myself as being afraid of heights but my stomach sure was. So, I went down and David continued to climb. The climb up is not nearly as intense as the climb down. The steps are variable heights and it’s hard to judge how far to step. Several people in our group did make it up the 5 peaks but they were very sweaty and exhausted when they returned.
After a Peiking duck dinner we went to a Chinese acrobatic show. It was amazing. We saw 14 girls on one bicycle. It kept reminding me of some Dr. Seuss book I read to the kids, about stacking different amounts of people on different types of bikes. I was glad we were able to go. During the intermission we spotted a group of Chinese babies and someone said, “hey, they all have white parents!” So we mobbed them trying to see all their babies. They were a group of 6 couples from Spain who had just received their babies on Monday. They were all happy and smiling. It was a good sign for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the day we meet Mia and we are so excited. I will add pictures of this day later

Saturday, June 11, 2005


David and I in Tiananmen Square Posted by Hello

Oyster with about 33 pearls Posted by Hello

Beijing Tour

Today started out very nicely by getting to meet a lot of the AWAA families. Everyone went to breakfast together and it was nice seeing other Americans. We went to Tianemen Square and the Forbidden City today. Then we went to a pearl factory and the Summer Palace. Today is the dragon boat festival and we rode a dragon boat. We also went to a silk factory where they showed us the process of making silk from the cocoons.
It was a very long and hot day. We are glad to be back in the room to rest. We had a little trouble sleeping last night but tonight should not be a problem.
To see our pictures from today click here http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=261091285203
You shouldn't have to sign in.....

Friday, June 10, 2005


David trying to figure out what kind of fruit this could be. If you know tell us... Posted by Hello

Parking Lot of the "Wal-Mart" Posted by Hello

Streets of Beijing Posted by Hello

We made it!!!

Our plane in Houston was delayed an hour and then another 25 minutes in Phoenix. So we were a little antsy about having to retrieve our bags, check in and get through security at LAX. But everything worked out fine. The plane ride from Los Angeles to Beijing was long but not unbearable. I sat next to a very friendly young girl who is from China but is now a US citizen. She helped me practice a few Mandarin phrases and didn't mind us asking a bunch of questions about Chinese culture and traditions.
We arrived in Beijing at 5:00a.m and a guide from America World was there to shuttle us to the hotel. We spent a few hours napping and getting settled in. Next door to our hotel is what they call the Wal-Mart. It is actually called Carefour owned by the French. They did have all kinds of things like a walmart would. We explored it for a while and picked up a few things to purchase. When we got to the registers there were about 30 cashiers and about 20 people in each line. I am not joking. We waited in line for about 15 minutes but then decided to put it all back and try later in the day. Next time I am in the grocery store I don't think I will complain about having more than one person ahead of me.
At lunch we tried our hand at ordering on our own and using chopsticks. Thankfully there were pictures and corresponding numbers of each dish. We've pledged not to ask for a fork so that we can hone our chopstick skills. We ordered noodles with our lunch and really got to test our skills with them.
The rest of our group will be arriving later today from Shanghi where they spent last night. It has been good to have adjustment time. We have a busy weekend of sight seeing ahead.
until later....

Wednesday, June 08, 2005


Mia's room.... All that's missing is Mia Posted by Hello

Today is travel day

In just a few hours we will officially be on our journey. We are so excited to finally get to travel to China and meet our daughter. We hope you will live vicariously through us and experience our journey with us.....

Below is our itenaray that was given to us by our agency America World www.awaa.org
They have done a wonderful job during the entire adoption process.

June 8 Wed. Leave Houston to Los Angeles
 June 9 Thurs. Leave LosAngeles at 1:40a.m.
 June 10 Fri. Arrive Beijing at 5:20 a.m.
 June 11 Sat. Beijing tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, & Summer Palace (Lunch and dinner included)
 June 12 Sun. Church and Great Wall (Lunch and Beijing Duck dinner)
 June 13 Mon. Morning flight to Nanchang; Afternoon: Meet Mia & start the paperwork
 June 14-17 More paperwork, sight-seeing and shopping
 June 18 Sat. Flight to Guangzhou
 June 19 Sun. Filling out Consulate Forms
 June 20 Mon. Child’s Medical Exam
 June 21 Tues. Shopping & sight-seeing
 June 22 Wed. 9:30am Consulate Appointment
 June 23 Thurs. Swearing In Ceremony; Pick up child’s Visa
 June 24 Fri. Depart Guangzhou: fly to Bejing and then Los Angeles, then Houston(if we make the last connection after customs) If not arrive home June 25 Sat. early a.m.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005


Kaylee with Scooter Posted by Hello

This is cookie Posted by Hello

We FINALLY have a pet

Well as Zane would say "Finally" During a recent road trip to Westlake Zane quizzed me on all the animals I ever owned. He wanted to know their names, how long they lived, and how old I was when I got them. I finished off the long list that included a turtle, hamster, cat, dog, etc... and he finished with (I didn't see it coming) "And tell me why again I don't have any pets?"
I agreed he had a good case and we settled on Gerbils. We got 2 so they could keep each other company. They really are pretty cute and are friendly little rodents.

Our 4 Generation Picture Posted by Hello

Aren't they sweet.... I found this picture on another site.  Posted by Hello