INTRODUCING OUR LITTLE ANGEL

It has been crazy busy. We got our Angelina on May 8th at 10:30a.m. We drove from Dolton Hotel to the Hunan Civial Service building. Before leaving the hotel we took pictures of all the mommies then of all the daddies. Christopher is not a daddy but he wanted to be in the picture with the dad. We were all so nervous but very excited. The receiving of the baby process was very overwhelming. The process moves really fast. We all started to cry before we even got the babies. For the most part most of the babies were great. When our name was called our Angelina took one look at daddy and gave him a big smile. It was the greatest moment. She smiled and came right into my arms. WOW, what a feeling! Scary but oh sooooo sweet!!!!!!

After we got the babies we returned to the hotel to have lunch and to bond with our babies. Angelina was happy and smiling all the back to the hotel and even after we got back she was still smiling and laughing. She was really adjusted to us well. Sleeping through the night was a bit of an issue. Angelina kept getting up about every 2 hours. She seemed to be looking around for something familiar. Needless to say we're a little sleep deprived. Thanks to all our friends and family who wished this on us!!!!!!!

Today we went to the Civil Service building again to get a passport and to notarize the paperwork for the final adoption. They also took Angelina's footprint and our thumb prints. After that we came back to the hotel and had lunch - all the meals have been unbelieveable, lots of food, mostly good, some I've never heard of and too scary to mention - then I went to have a foot massage, it only cost 6 dollars for one hour. It felt sooooo goooood!

Tomorrow we will be going to Wal-mart to get baby supplies and sight seeing. Did I mention that Angelina really does look like an angel. Everyone is saying she has such an angel face. She has a very sweet personality so far and she loves her big brother, her mommy and daddy. She woke up this morning and gave daddy a BIG smile. We are all in love.

The pictures are in sequence from when we left the hotel to get Angelina. Love to all back home. Miss you all.

WE'RE HERE!!!

We arrived safely in Beijing on the 5th and from the minute we got off the plane it has been non stop. We saw the Summer Palace then went to the Hotel and had a group dinner. We also met our guide Guilan, she is fabulous. Soooo helpful and very funny. She is keeping us on track and moving. Today we had breakfast at the hotel, lots of interesting stuff, then went to the jade factory followed by climb to the Great Wall. It was a beautiful hot day and Bill and Christopher made it to the 5th tower. This was definitely not an easy thing to do! After the Wall, we had lunch out then went shopping. We also saw an acrobatic show. That too was awesome. The seats were great. So far Christopher has been a model tourist. He has been enjoying all the food, sights and the people. Here are some pictures of our adventure so far. We will be traveling to Changsha tomorrow then get Angelina the day after on the 8th. Will post her picture as soon as we can.

BIG hello to grandma Roberta, great grandma LeMaire and the rest of the family and friends. Thanks Vicki for the suitcases, they really are great and the orange one is very helpful. Steven, thank you for taking us to the airport and will see you on the return (don't forget to put gas in the car!).

Enjoy the pictures. Love to All.

Almost Packed

Almost packed and ready to go to China. It seems the list never ends. Thanks to all my family and friends for all the support and help. Throughout this journey we have made some incredible friends. We could not have come this far without your support.

I also want to say a BIG thank you to my agency New Beginnings in Mineola, NY. They have literally held our hands and help process our paperwork with patience, understanding and campassion. Faye was always there with information and emotional support, Kathy grounded us by telling us to keep busy and not believe all the rumors and get off the computer once in while. Pauline always called us back promptly and answered all of our concerns and questions in a timely manner, even when she didn't have an answer. I'm sure keeping 11 families encouraged throughout this long process must have been daunting at times!!! Well, it was all worth it because WE ARE ON OUR WAY!

We had a really cute and happy moment yesterday. Vicky and Emily, one of our new friends came over. Vicky has been very helpful with my packing. Emily just turned two and is from the same province (Hunan) and same SWI (Loudi) as Angelina. Emily has been here a year and she is a cutie pie! Christopher who has Autism came off the bus saw Emily and was very happy. Emily chased Christopher into the house and Christopher gave her a hug. I wished I had a camera for that moment. Christopher looked soooo big next to her. Before leaving Emily gave Christopher a hug and kiss. It was sooo cute!! Emily's blog is under Circle of Friends section. Christopher is going to be a very helpful big brother. He has been helping me get the baby's room ready. He even picked out a book for Angelina. Everytime I tell him about Angelina he gets very happy.

Off to get rest of the supplies and finish packing. I still feel like I'm dreaming, Ican't believe we are really going!!!!