Update on Grace...Finally!

Well, the last two months have been a blur... but wonderful! We've been so busy, we've neglected to update. Oh, to be on "vacation" in China again!

Grace is doing really well! We thank God each day for how smooth the transition has been and for the joy she has brought into our home. She's happy, funny and affectionate!

Two weeks ago, she saw her neurosurgeon at Sick Kids for the first time. We got an excellent report. Although she will be seeing a urologist and will be having another MRI, they don't expect her to be facing treatment anytime soon. She'll see him again in about six months. Gracie's gained several pounds and we have lots of nick names for her... Buddha Belly, Thunder Thighs... you get the idea.

Grace is a very busy little girl... always on the move. She's walking very well, trying to run and even kicks soccer balls! The boys have exposed her to some of their favourite activites - most of which include weapons, loud noises and "interesting" words! So far, Gracie is not a "girlie" girl!

We look forward to the coming days of getting to know and love our daughter even more!

Journey to Grace - God Blessed the Broken Road!

More Exciting Adventures

The last couple of days have been filled with lots of sightseeing and shopping.

Yesterday, we went to the Pearl Market. The pearls were very beautiful, and much more reasonably priced than at home. The chinese are very proud of their fresh water pearls that come in all sizes and colours. The market is in a shopping complex with lots of other vendors selling everything from silk scarves to knock-off shoes and purses. It was great fun bartering for "deals".

In the afternoon we went to a tea ceremony, where we learned a great deal about chinese tea etiquette. Even the boys enjoyed sampling several varieties. Later that evening, we went to an acrobat show. It was really interesting and fun! The boys especially enjoyed seeing 11 girls riding one bicycle!

Today, we visited the Forbidden City, built in the 1400s. It was truly remarkable to see ancient architecture that is so well preserved. The city is very large, with 9,9991/2 rooms (of course we only saw a sampling). While there, you can just imagine the emperor reigning from his elaborate throne. This afternoon, it was back to the pearl market for more souvenir shopping.

This evening, we had a good-bye party with the other ten families in our group. It has been wonderful getting to know these amazing families and their new additions. We will really miss them! The party was complete with a magician clown and birthday cake for a sweet little six year-old boy.

Grace had a great time at the party, running around in her "squeaky" shoes and red velvet dress. We must say, she looked adorable! She was "talking" to our two chinese guides today, and they relayed to us what she was saying, which was really neat. Overall, she seems to be saying less in chinese. She answers to "Grace", "Fei Fei" and "Baby". Grace is happy most of the time, but can be a real bear when she's tired or having her diaper changed.

We can't believe that the finish line of our amazing race is almost here! We are looking forward to seeing you all when we get home.

Quiet Day

Today, Grace had a medical at the Visa Office here in Beijing. She was the only babe from our group who had to have a medical due to the paperwork route we chose to take. One of the families in our group offered to keep the boys at the hotel while we were gone, which was so sweet of them. They had a great time at the hotel ... they would have found the medical long and boring.

It was nice to just be Murray, Diane & Grace for the morning. Grace didn't like being stripped, measured and weighed, but overall it went well. We met several families from the Vancouver area and their little ones. One of the families is adopting identical twin girls!

As yesterday was long and exhausting, we decided to take the day off from sightseeing. Instead we spend several hours shopping at a local market. We didn't come home with much, but the bartering experience was fun. (We're pretty sure we were well ripped off!) We spent the evening watching a movie and having some family time. We're really going to miss spending so much time together!

Grace continues to be the life of the party, and the light of our lives!

The Great Wall!

Today we visited the Great Wall north of Beijing. It was truly amazing. Our legs are sore from the steep climbs and ascents! Pictures do not do it justice. Grace rode in a carrier on Murray's back and slept most of the time. It was a long day as we also visited a jade factory, cloissine factory and rode by the Olympic venues.

We finished the day with a bath for Grace. Up until now, Grace has hated her baths. But tonight, Benjamin jumped in and coaxed her into loving the experience (Thanks Ben!)

We're all exhausted and ready for bed!

Back to Beijing...

Grace continues to do better each day with her new forever family. She is now comfortable with all of us and readily goes to each of us while hesitating with strangers. She is such a hoot; we all enjoy her antics and expressions. She knows immediately when we're talking to her vs. each other and usually responds with a grin. She continues to talk a blue streak and is mimicking a lot of gestures. Last night was the first night that she slept through. She fusses a bit at bed time but quickly settles. Our time in Beijing is jam-packed, however Grace is very easy-going with her schedule.

Yesterday, we completed our stay in Xi'an with a visit to the city wall where Murray and the boys had a chance to rent bicycles and ride around a portion of the wall (thanks to Paul and Gillian for the idea - we loved it!), while Diane, Grace and our guide for the day (Rebecca) strolled along. The wall was built 600 years ago and is the last remaining, completely intact city wall in China. We also had a brief visit to a 1,000 year old Pagoda.

Before heading for the airport, we picked up one last very important document - Grace's passport! We flew back to Beijing last evening, met some other families at the airport and travelled together back to our hotel. Grace did very well on her first flight and slept some, but we're still a little nervous about the 13 hour flight home!

Today we photographed the children, prepared our paperwork for the Visa and Sponsorship applications and took a trip to the Beijing Zoo. The Pandas were the highlight. It was a beautiful day in Beijing to be outside enjoying the sunshine after 5 days of fog, rain, snow and sleet in Xi'an.

We are enjoying getting to know our little Gracie and are falling more and more in love with her each day.

Some pics from yesterday...

We had technical difficulties last night, so here are a few pics of yesterday's adventures...

Some more pics

Had a little technical difficulty last night so our update did not include pictures... Here's a few pics from yesterday...

The Marathon Continues...

In our haste to post earlier this week we neglected to let you in on a few details surrounding the adoption. We were hoping to meet Grace's foster mom or at least ask the nanny some questions about her life in foster care, however we did not get to meet her foster mom. Our meeting with the Director was extremely short and we did not get to ask any questions except we know she was in foster care right up to the day before we received her. Grace arrived in Xi'an one day before we did and spent the night with a nanny from the orphanage. The only things we received were a sparse photo album, an immunization record and a disposable camera which we are hoping contains photos of her with her foster mom.

We had a very good day today. Murray, Matt and Josh went on an interesting day trip, the details of which we can't disclose on the blog, but can tell you about it later. That left Mom and Ben with Grace for several hours. We had a wonderful time with her. Grace is doing so much better with me (Diane) and we are thankful for all of you who prayed. Apparently, it is quite common for toddlers to attach to one parent first (often Dad). She can now be passed between us with very little fuss. She is quite a little ham, and likes to laugh at her own antics!

Tonight we all went out for "hotpot" dinner. It was a lot of fun for the kids to boil their own food in a pot that's in the centre of the table. Thankfully, one of the restaurant staff caught on to our lack of experience, and helped us ensure our food was properly cooked! Grace was quite an attraction; she enjoyed smiling and giggling for the table of young men next to us. Afterward, we went out for a scoop of Haagen-Daas (sp?), which cost about the same as our entire dinner!

We are all feeling so blessed to have this precious little girl in our family. But wow, we've forgotten how much work a 15-month-old toddler can be - exhausting!

Day two with Grace!

We just wanted to let you know what we know about Grace so far... She is definitely as big and as tall and weighs as much if not more than we were told. She has a fair bit of dark hair on top but for some reason, they shaved the back of her head which only serves to highlight her already prominent ears! She has a face that is as cute as a button and she loves to scrunch up her face into this "aren't I adorable" grin! She has a mouthful of what appear to be perfect pearly white teeth. Her skin is much more olive than her referral pictures showed. We think that this due to her being outdoors with her foster mom much of the time. Once we manage to coax her into a good mood, there is no stopping her. She loves to have a good time and is very interactive and verbal, ofter jibber jabbering away as we play.

Today was a better day with Diane. Grace has started to let Diane at least feed her and play a little, however Grace still insists that Murray be her constant companion. The boys are crazy about their new sister, almost to the point of excess! She has taken to the mini-sticks and gets quite a kick out of the thrill of hitting the ball, and is learning new words by the hour!

Yesterday she hardly ate, but today she began to have an appetite and ate three meals and took 4 bottles! The hotel we are in is an eliptical shaped building, so the floor makes for a perfect walking track... and walk Grace loves to do. We have noticed however that her toddle is not like that of other children her age (very wide gait and somewhat unsteady). We're looking forward to having the team at Sick Kids evaluate her and see what they can do to help.

Today after some additional adoption paperwork, we visited the Terracotta Warriors museum. This was a fascinating glimpse into China's history, especially the Qin dynasty from 2200 years ago. Everyone was fascinated with the size and scope of this ancient archealogical find.

First Days with Grace

Sorry we haven't posted sooner. As you can imagine, the last 32 hours with Grace have been a blur. We met Grace for the first time on Monday at 2:00 pm. She was NOT happy to see us. She is a very big girl for her age, and quite advanced. We wonder if her age is not correct... if it is, she is very different from most of China's orphans.

By last night she had given her first smiles and giggles. Although mostly, she cried.

Today she was unhappy until later in the afternoon, when she again enjoyed playing with the boys and best of all... she walked! She has a wide stance and quite a toddle, but she is fairly good on her feet. It is awesome to see and such an answer to prayer.

Our greatest concern right now is that although she is starting to bond with Murray and the boys, I (Diane) am still not welcome. I'm really trying, and will continue, but I'm already getting concerned about Murray returning to work. We appreciate your prayers for little Grace and all of us. This is a HUGE adjustment for us all.

Here are some photos of our "big girl" Grace :

Day in Beijing

Today was a good day. Some of us couldn't sleep past 5:30 am, but Matt and Josh slept until 7:30. We visited the drum and bell towers as well as the Lama Temple. The temple was very interesting and beautiful, but also unsettling.

The rest of our group arrived today and we all went out for an early dinner this evening.

We get up at 4:00 am tomorrow to leave for the airport by 5:00. Not sure of our schedule after that, but think we should see our Grace for the first time tomorrow afternoon (that's the wee hours of Monday morning for all of you).

We are so thankful to know that loved ones are praying for us, and for our little Grace!

We've arrived!

After a 3 hour delay (2 in the airport, 1 on the plane) in Toronto, our flight finally took off at 5:30 Friday afternoon. (See picture putting in time at the gate!)

We arrived Saturday night at 7pm in Beijing. At the Beijing airport, we met our guide and two other families who are also part of our Family Outreach International (FOI) travel group. Both families are from PEI. J&J have 4 biological children and are adopting a little boy, 6 years old. C&M are adopting from China for the second time... a sister for their 3 year old. Their girls will end up only being 25 days apart in age!

The boys travelled well... Lots of movies and TV on the personal entertainment system and food and snacks on the way over. Matt watched High School Musical 3 times! Despite the fact that our carefully selected seats were completely changed upon arrival, we basically ended up taking over the back of the plane with lots of extra room to spread out and sleep.

We have checked into our hotel for the night and had a chance to visit a local grocery store and enjoy some authentic chinese food for a late dinner.

Tomorrow will be a "free" day in Beijing. We purposefully planned to come a day early so we could catch our breath before flying out to Xi'an. We plan to see a local temple and the Drum and Bell towers, both popular attractions.

We can't believe we're here!

Leaving home with everything but the kitchen sink!

Our Amazing Race begins... soon!

Four more sleeps until we fly to China! We fly direct from Toronto to Beijing (a 13 hour flight) on Friday, February 20th. We'll be there for the weekend where we'll meet up with other families who are also adopting through our agency.

Monday morning, our family will fly to Xi'an in Shaanxi. We are the only family from our group travelling to Xi'an. Our guide will meet us at the airport and will accompany us to all adoption related appointments. That afternoon, we'll meet Grace for the first time! Grace's adoption will officially take place on Tuesday, February 24th. We'll travel back to Beijing at the end of that week where we'll complete all the necessary paperwork with the Canadian Embassy. We return home on March 5th, Diane's birthday!

Our visas finally arrived late last week as did our "Permission to Travel". So it's time to starting packing ... This week will fly by!

Here's a picture of Joshua with his countdown chain.

Yan Fei's Referral Pictures

Gettin Ready to Fly!

Just one week and counting till we fly to China!

We fly direct from Toronto to Beijing (a 13 hour flight) on Friday February 20th. We'll be there for the weekend where we will meet up with the other 10 families who are also adopting through our agency. Monday morning we fly to Xian in the Shaanxi province. That's where we will meet Grace for the first time! The adoption will officially take place on Tuesday February 24th.

We'll travel back to Beijing at the end of that week where we will complete all the necessary paperwork with the Canadian Embassy. We return home on March 5th.

Our Visa's finally arrived this week as did our "Permission to Travel".

So it's time to starting packing ... This week will fly by!

Here's a picture of Joshua with his countdown chain.

Flying High

Well, our flights are finally booked! We fly direct to Beijing on February 20th. We are so excited that this journey is finally a reality. The boys are pumped too... Josh has made a paper chain with 31 links representing the 31 days (from today) till we travel. He told us the other day that February is going to be the best month since he gets to visit China and "get" his baby sister!