little redhead

The April Days

Days are flying by here in April and it has already marked ONE month since we have had our dear little Pippa in our arms!  AMAZING!

So the schedule is slowly forming into a rhythm of sorts... but I need that rhythm to involve a little bit of rest for the day because once the sun pops up... a brown eyed little girl in this house pops up too and bops non stop until bedtime.

So here is a bit of our days:

Get up at 6:30... zoom around the kitchen throwing and tossing eggs, bacon, rice stuff, chex, apple sauce, toast, some more chex.. some more eggs....around to all the little ones for their "first breakfast"... then zoom some more around.. and get first one off to school, then take 2nd one to school and then 3rd... is ready for another breakfast by 9:15.

Then we do our day things... either play with friends, go to appointments, hang out at home, do errands or go to the studio and hang out... ( and Pippa gets so excited about walking into the studio.. there are a billion things to find and play with and actually today was a great day where she played non stop while I finished a painting... yea!) 

After our play time then it's time for lunch and then pick up Rosie and then hang out at home...Rosie is a great help and continues to be the "baby mother hen" and loves "mothering"  her little sis. Of course, the Rosie mother hen also likes to revert back to "babyhood" and pretends to crawl and take a bottle and then go into whining... so all that is just part of the weaving into the new pattern of our Robinson fam.      

Our afternoons continue with Sam coming  home, homework.. neighbor fest .....then time starts to unravel... ( meaning Pippa get s tired.. very tired...) Pippa has  decided that she does not like rest time AT ALL... so we are working on that and I'm trying to figure out a good plan.  But in the plan time, I think for now it's eating earlier and going to bed earlier for the little bird of three.  I am now becoming more amazed with moms of three and more.. how do you do it all?  I am in learning mode:)  I think the key to still having fun..... just have a messy house!  And remember to laugh laugh laugh...

Am beginning to see more and more how valuable...  refreshing and KEY it is to sit back and laugh with the kids....Kids are really funny... I mean really funny!  I need to tape the conversations that go on in this house... I want Rosie to repeat things and Sam too... just so I can remember what they are saying.  And Pippa's little sparkle funny self is coming out of it's shell too!

Now time for Pics!

Pic below:  Early morning breakfast...  "the Hobbit breakfast".   Sam helping little Pipster... looks like he is intently explaining the laws of physics to her.

First outdoor concert with the Pip! She loved every minute!  Have I told you how much she loves loves all things music... and all kinds.  Last night, we danced to all 80's... afternoon was Taylor Swift and morning was the go to Chinese music.

Make Up time!  I think Rosie is saying, "now Pippa, this is what you do.. you get the lipstick.. oh, now don't touch that.. oh, and that too... now, you get lots of gloss... and then bright pink ......"

Early morning daddy with his little birds under his wings.

These pics just make me smile.

 

The sparkle in Pippa's eye... oh, me oh my... gotta love.

I am absolutely blown away how God has knit our family together.... Bringing us all together from thousands of miles away...... and HE knew... He really knew before the beginning of time that our family would be together.... I'm overcome with thankfulness.... and God's sweet grace and goodness!  Yes, there are hard days and days where I'm ready to go to bed at 5 pm.. but oh, the days are full and bright and I want to make the most of each of these!  Because they are only young once... and my how they are growing right before my eyes!

Ok.. time to sign off... was just invited to a "rip stick competition" across the street at the neighbors!

Happy night!

 

Three!

Pippa turned THREE this past Tuesday!.... T H R E E!

I can't believe this little bundle of cuteness is really truly three.... I feel like saying.. "let's celebrate her being 2!"..... her age is going by too fast and we've only had her home for 2 weeks! So even though she is three... she is all brand new to us.   I feel like I can still "baby" her in many ways which I'm thankful for because she needs that for bonding and attachment.  She still drinks from a bottle when she has her formula.  She is still not potty trained ( Even though big sis is helping her sit on the potty:)   And she doesn't know much English so she is still talking "baby talk"... even though I wonder what she is saying when she just talks talks talks in Chinese lingo!

We are still getting to know her with each new day and it's such a blessing!  And I'm trying to figure out "normal" routine which I haven't found but my friend, Katie, and I were talking through strategies in helping with "nap time" or "rest time".  It was funny watching Pippa with her new one year old friend, Grace Ann.   The way Pippa acts with younger children or children her size is really interesting and funny at times.  She is learning slowlyyyy to share but she is getting better about it all and it was sweet to watch her feed gold fish to Grace Ann... fish by fish! 

We had a mini party for Pippa on her birthday... just the 5 of us.  Wow, it's fun to say the FIVE of us!   She had a little cupcake with 3 candles and she didn't really understand it all but that's ok. I'm thinking maybe we'll have a 3.5 birthday party for her... or maybe we'll have three more birthday parties this year to celebrate all of her years!

 

Make a WISH!

Love this photo... I'm thinking she is saying..." Why are you bringing that stick ( candle )close to me?   The stick that was just on fire a few minutes ago.  Little did she know it had great frosting on it... but she soon discovered the delight of licking off a candle or two!

 Pippa saying to herself, "hmmm,what will my 3rd year bring?.... so far, I like being three:)"

 

Since we've been home:

Looking back:

So we've been home since March 30 and it's now April 12.  And it's funny because we haven't been home for even 2 weeks but we've certainly packed a lot of memories into these first days home with our Pippa.

For just the journaling part of this blog, I wanted to place pics in and just some moments that I will always want to remember....so here they are:

 

Welcome home signs.... a celebration... a happy happy homecoming!

Signs made by "tutle" welcoming us home. For each adoption Amy has made these signs for Sam, Rosie and now Pippa. Thank you Tutle!

Rosie with her Chinese umbrella and doing a ballet pose.

One of the first days home, Rosie, Pippa and I had our first tea party.  I will always remember this little party....... these days of our first week home with Pippa, even though jet lagged, were so full of joy because we were watching Pippa experience so much "happy new" in her life.

Daddy and his Rose.

One of the really really early mornings we all shared together. We woke up around 4:30/ 5:00. We had breakfast at 5 (which has never happened in this family)..... we do love our Saturday morning sleep!  And with the 5 am breakfast...

.... we watched the sun come up.... And Momo even joined us!  I will always remember this morning... we listened to the birds start their morning songs... and we even sang.  We were all so happy to be together as a family... it was just one of those mornings that I'll never forget.  Felt like a big hug from God and His joy resting on us...... and those moments will carry us through the hard moments of when we are all grumpy! Also,  you can see in Pippa's face that she is still unsure of MoMo...but she is definitely getting along with him much better as each day goes by!

( Pic above: Drawing with the cousins.  Pippa and Rosie adore their nieces, Katelyn and Callie.

Here is what we've been up to for the past ( almost) two weeks:

First days home:  Home on Friday:  around 1 am in the morning.. so technically Saturday:)

Saturday and Sunday: Celebrating with Gee Gee, Da and Nana and Papa.

Everyone heads home on Sunday and Monday and then house is quiet for a a few days.

April 6: Friday-My brother and his girls come to town for a visit.

We play with them for the weekend.

April 8: Sunday -Easter in Georgia and celebrating with my parents and Mike's parents and my brother and his girls and also with Dot and Peggy:)

And now it's Thursday, April 12 and tomorrow will mark two weeks home with Pippa!  Wonder what the next two weeks will hold?!

So far she's discovered:

Fresh spring grass

Legos of all kinds

Playing dolls and pushing them in a stroller

Target

The Hello Kitty Bubble Machine

All kinds of new foods!

How much fun it is to take a bath with lots of toys.

The thrill of seeing Sam and Rosie come home from school.

Chocolate cupcakes

Riding on a tricycle

Finding Easter eggs

Having a tea party

The sweet scent of Carolina Jasmine, Confederate Jasmine, Fairy roses, Lady Banks Rose and Lavendar.

The beauty of a southern spring.

Hugs and kisses from brother and sister.

Peeling a "cutie" clementine.

Lots of love from Gee and Da and Nana and Papa

Fun times with the big sis!

Pippa meeting her other cousins!

Uncle Andy, Pippa, and daddy!

Mike's brother and family stopped by on their way to the beach... so lots of fun family first meetings with the Pipster...

Next time we play with them will be at the beach! YEA!!!

Oh, the beach... 30-A... I cant' wait to show Pippa the fairy land that awaits her. There is just so much to let her discover.  Today, I was just thinking about how she'll greet/ like the ocean and sand.... hopefully she'll love it and become a little fish like Sam and Rosie!

Happy Thursday to you all!

Easter

This past Sunday was a full day!  We celebrated Easter with our family in Georgia and also celebrated Sam and Pippa's birthday!  Pippa's birthday was yesterday, April 10 and Sam's is next week, so it's basically a continuing party here at the house... but with that... a very tired mommy!  

As for Pippa.. she is a pure... pip pip hooray!! We are constantly amazed by her and all her sweetness!  And I feel like she is growing growing so fast and I also feel like we have had her way longer than just a few weeks! She is eating eating... having to buy lots of eggs!  Too bad we don't have chickens in our backyard... would save some money with all the eggs she is putting inside her little body!  She is loving her brother and sister and is very excited when they get home from school. Rosie has become the "baby whisperer"! Pippa has her normal afternoon fits ( she's sooo tired yet won't take a nap). Basically when Pippa goes into her crying mode... Rosie and I look at each other and say, "Chinese Music!"... so we put on the Chinese music. And then today, fit started,  I went to turn music on and a few minutes later, Pippa was quiet.  I asked Rosie what she did and she said, " I just dried her tears and she quit crying." Oh, dear Rosie... she has this sweet intuition about Pippa that I really love and it's such a help to me to have my very own little daughter helping my other little daughter.... maybe Rosie has that understanding and can relate to Pippa of once being an orphan?  Sometimes I wonder.

Here are some pics below...I think sometimes Easter pictures are funny because you have all these nice dressed up families... trying to look all clean and perfect, yet one misses the drama that has gone into that "perfect pic".... the crying behind the scenes..... the whining.... the fighting... whatever it is. And  on the way to Georgia in the car was anything but perfect...... we have it all on video so we could laugh about it later, but at one point, Sam and Rosie were chanting "hungry hungry" as we got closer and closer to Cedartown... between the whining and all.   And then Pippa crying some, needing a diaper change desperately and talking her Chinese lingo... probably saying..."please get me out of this thing!" ...meaning carseat and car.  All of us were more than ready to get out of the van.

So during the ride, I had to take a deep breath ... and simply say the name.. "Jesus, Jesus" out loud... just to remind myself what Easter.. this day...was all about.  Jesus:  Powerful. Life Giving. Everything.

I see how much I need him... how much my kids need him....... and how life is completely empty and pointless without HIM.  HIS LOVE... HIS SACRIFICE is EVERYTHING.

So am continually thinking and praying through how to make days simpler and focusing on what matters.... we will have the hard days and the days of being completely worn out and mad and frustrated... and that's when the beauty of Jesus shines through and we see we need our complete dependence on HIM.  He is our ALL in ALL.

He is EASTER.

 

Swinging on Easter day!

Little Pippa and her little bouquet of buttercups.

The smile that makes us all smile!

Sam..... amazed by him and how he is growing up right before my eyes! He is almost TEN! Double digits!

Rosie... the baby whisperer!

Our family... Mike, Sam and Rosie and Pippa, my mom and dad, my brother and two nieces!...so much to be thankful for! 

Easter basket:)

Gazing....

Pippa loved finding Easter eggs.. .I could have watched her all day with her little basket.  It's still so fun to celebrate her "first" things with her! And Easter being one of them

Gee Gee and Nana!  Love watching them with Pippa! They are both full of LOVE!

Sam off to find more eggs!

Inspection time.

Who has the Golden egg??

 

Easter LOVE.... love love love!

And Jesus...that makes our hearts .... fills our hearts.... gives us the SUNSHINE in LIFE!

First Days Home

( pic above... first sibling breakfast!)

Many Many memories made this past weekend. We have now made a tradition here when we adopt and I love it!  When we returned from Russia with Sam and also with Rosie, both sets of grandparents stayed with us a couple of days to help us out and also to get to know their new grandchild.  It is so fun to watch my parents and my in laws with my children.   I really cherish each time we come home because there are memories made with the kids and everyone is so happy being together.  It is a big celebration!  Mike and I are exhausted when we come home from adoption ( Russia twice and now China) so it's a gift to have our parents sweep in and help us out and for that... we are very thankful!  Also, this time around, my mom and Ted and Patty..... held down the fort with Sam and Rosie while we were away.  Rosie stayed with my mom a few days during spring break while we were in China and then went to Marietta with Ted and Patty. And Sam stayed all 2 weeks with Ted and Patty.  I know it takes lots of energy to keep up with our kids so Mike and I are veryyyy appreciative of our parents and the love they give to our kids. The Homecoming this time with Pippa was so sweet because it wasn't just grandparents getting to know their new granddaughter, it was Sam and Rosie getting to know their sister as well.  This weekend was full of excitement as everyone was ready to get to know their Pippa!

Rosie feeding her Pippa.

Boiled egg... delish!! And little feet propped up on table... too cute!

Fun signs made by friend, Ginny:)

Love these!

Roses to greet us!

Happy times with daddy!

Big bro loving his sis!

Pippa loving her Da!

Nana, mommy, Pippa and Gee Gee loving the spring day!

Pippa loving her Gee Gee!

Art time!

Pippa loves to draw and play with her markers, paper and crayons... just like her big sis!  Yea for another art girl!

 

Bed time....... camping out on the floor. We really have no routine yet.  But Pippa is falling asleep at night with less anger and cries and she sleeps through the night... yea!!! We went to the pediatrician this morning and he said that her heart sounds good! yea!! And we go to the pediactric cardiologist tomorrow morn at Children's. So once we have that appointment done, then we can sit back and relax! Yea!!  

The days have continued to be sweet with Pippa and it's so funny because she is talking more and more and we just pretend that we know what she is saying and carry on conversations with her.  When she woke up this morning she started talking a mile a minute and I think she was asking about Rosie.  She loves music ( Sound of Music and this Chinese CD that we have called, "The Shanghai Project......it's really great and has fun boppity kids songs)  and she sings little songs and does these hand motions with them. So I'm wondering if she had music classes in the orphanage... who knows? But hopefully she did because while we visited the orphanage,  we walked by a music room...... it had a grand piano in the room and different music posters and instruments.

Guess that is all for today.  Pippa is playing with the dog food right now and sorting it and it's time to pick up Rosie from preschool.

Happy spring day from Birmingham, Alabama to you!

 

Airport time!

Wanted to share some airport photos and looking back through them makes me smile! Love this joy filled look of my mom!  She is a super Nana! 

Just got off the plane... Rosie and Sam ran out to meet us and we were putting down all of our bags to hug them!

Such a perfect moment.... even being close to midnight!

Meeting Nana for the first time!

Meeting Gee Gee and Da for the first time!

Meeting Papa for the first time!

Rosie desperately wanting to hold her sister:)

Rosie and Pippa's first hug!

Gazing at her little sis..... I am just like you Rosie.. still gazing at Pippa:)

First hug for Pippa and big bro Sam.

Pippa, are you ready for all I'm going to show you... the world of frolicky girl land!... says Rosie.

This past weekend was so sweet being with Pippa in our home and sharing all these "firsts" with her!  We took her out in the yard and she walked on the spring grass for the first time.  So funny to see her "high stepping".  She is still a little unsure of MoMo.

The Pippa "High Step"! 

I have so much more to share.... it's like sunshine in this house with Pippa!   She is a delight! She has slept through the night way better than Mike and I have.  Jet Lag has been pretty bad..... I thought we'd get over it fast because when we returned from Russia, it didn't take as long.  But then I realized we were in Moscow some of the time and that was closer to home than China.  So, I went to sleep at 8:30 pm last night.. woke up at 1:30 am...have been awake ever since.  Pippa woke up at 5 and Sam woke up too... then Mike ..... so we all hung out and watched the sun come up this morning. We sat outside... in the semi dark and listened to the birdsong in our yard.  Don't think we have ever been outside that early in the morning... it was another "first".   And now I think we are on our 3rd breakfast at 7:51 am! And I am getting sleepy and ready to go back to bed... but have a full day ahead.  Oh, my!.... time for some more coffee!

More pics to come!!!

 

HOME....SWEET.... HOME!!!

We are HOME!! I am sitting here awake on Saturday morning..... .. have been up since 6 am.  Think it is jet lag and also just the excitement of being home with our family.  Already checked on little Pippa in her crib.. she is sound asleep. Hope that lasts for a few hours longer.  Sam is sleeping 1/2 way under her crib... he loves his sister so that he wanted to literrally sleep under the crib last night.  To already see how mezmerized he with his sister makes my heart so happy.  And honestly, last night we were so tired... went to bed around 1:30..AM.. yep..AM.. so Mike and I really were ok with wherever anyone wanted to sleep.  Just to lay our heads down on a bed was bliss.

So I'll go back to our last day in Guangzhou and then share the DELIGHTS/ DESPAIR of our travel... ( especially Detroit! ha!)

So I'll have part one, part two, part three, part four in this post!

PART ONE:  Last day in Guangzhou

Eating at our FAVORITE restaurant in Guangzhou! It was really good and was an answer to prayer for eating gluten free in China!  Yea for TAKILA restaurant! We loved it and had our favorite eating spot... outside on the upper deck! Some days I would just pretend we were eating in a restaurant in Paris... ha... I'll have to say.. China is wayyyy different than Paris! Oui Oui!

Road sign........ thought it's kind of artsy with the blue and the stripes in the street:)  Inspiration for future painting! 

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Yum.. double yum! I'm hungry right now just looking at this good food!

Walking back to our hotel from our late lunch.. before we headed out in our crazy van ride to Hong Kong...... will never tire of this sweet sweet face..... oh, dear Pippa... you have all our hearts!

Packing up before we left.... and we found out Pippa was a pro at using the remote for the tv... what in the world? 

When I asked the orphanage back in the fall what Pippa's favorite activity was.. they answered, "watching tv"...wow, I guess this is how she knows about remotes.  Of all things, I thought one positive aspect for being in an orphanage... ( if one can even say positive in the same sentence as orphanage) would be that she had no idea what tv was... but she was in Shanghai with more amenities... so tv was part of her life daily.. sad but true.

Before we left Shanghai, we said good bye to our new friends, the Hords.  Their little Charlotte Mei is precious!

While taking photos... Pippa was kicking and not wanting to be in the photo.. Mei was crying and Jenny said, "oh, this is adoption in all it's glory!".... we both started laughing!  I think some advice to all who are traveling soon to adopt in China.... make sure you carry a sense of humor.... it will go a longgg way!!

PART TWO: VAN RIDE!   This is one of the pics we got and it's blurry because we were literally speed racing to Hong Kong.  Wanted to get a pic of the flower trees... I never saw an "official Cherry blossom tree" in China.. but these azalea blossom trees were everywhere and were beautiful!  

Back to the van ride... let's just say that I truly believe that God had angels as bumpers around our van... I have never ever been in a van ride like that before.... and we thought Andre drove crazy in Moscow on icy roads.  This was a entirely new level.  We were just thankful to arrive in Hong Kong.

Advice to ones traveling and staying in Hong kong... ( the regal hotel is BUDDY! ( my word for k-mart-y... cheap..not that great)  it was too expensive.. but its' convenient to airport because it's connected.  I think Mike and I realized that airport hotels are just strange. 

PART THREE:  Airplane ride for 15 hours... wow... 15 hours in an airplane seat.  Thankful we had bulkhead seating and had space. Actually overall on the plane, Pippa did super!  She cried and screamed for some of her "mini naps".. but that was it.  I didn't sleep one minute... so by the time we got off the plane, I was tired... very tired....

Then the FUN began.  Well, actually before.  We were in a holding pattern in Detroit because of bad weather.... so landing was not fun.... it was very bumpy... I'll just say that I was thankful we were on the ground!  Then as we were walking through the airport, I saw ice pellets all over the ground outside.  So  I realized we landed in a hail storm. Then they stopped all flights in the airport because of weather ( That's when I thought.. should have gone with DALLAS and listened to Ginny:)    With the halting of all flights.... little did I realize it would send Detroit airport into mass chaos.  Oh, and it was the beginning of spring break in Detroit.. so everyone was ready to leave the area!

Then they announced our plane that we were supposed to get on couldn't land so they sent it to somewhere in Indiana.

And then they told us to go to another gate...we waited... they said.. 5pm  boarding time  ( we were supposed to be home by 4:30 pm  ) ... then changed our gate again and said... 7 ish.. then changed to 8 pm.. then they kept changing... and we waited and moved around the airport with our sweet little Birmingham group of travelers.   So by 10:20 pm.... I realized we may not get to Birmingham. At this point, I was almost in tears.... exhausted... tired... soooo ready to see my kids and family!  So I sat there with Pippa in her boba.. and just prayed..." please God .. please get us home to Birmingham." I really couldn't imagine sleeping in a Detroit hotel that night.

About 15 minutes later... Delta said they found a crew for our airplane!  They had the airplane  since 5 pm.. .. just didnt' have a crew for it!  So when we saw the crew walk to our gate... we all CHEERED!  I have never been sooo ready to get on a plane and head to Birmingham!!  Pippa slept first half and it was so peaceful.. the rest of the time she screamed.. she was DONE!  I was done... and I could have just cried with her... but trying to keep it together....and then ...

We landed and  we looked out our plane window at the little BIrmingham airport and saw 3 faces in the window smiling and waving....it was Sam, Rosie and Da! 

How I've missed my children!  I'll have airplane pics in next post...

To get off the plane.. and rush up to see my kids is a moment I'll never forget. I was so tired.. yet so happy and to see Rosie and Sam run out to us and hug us and hug Pippa makes me teary eyed right now as I type. I will always remember that moment.  To see our family... at 11:45 pm at night.... all there.. even my dad stayed up for the welcome home... Gee Gee, Da, Nana and Papa ...and Tutle, Katie and Jenny were there.... welcoming...even though it was close to midnight!.. I am still trying to just take it all in. It was such a sweet sweet joyfilled reunion!  I am sooo happy to be home!!

And to my dear friends who were waiting at the airport earlier that night....thank you all for coming!! I so WISH I could have hugged you all and seen you!!  Sorry that our plane was veryyy late!  But I smile just thinking about you all there with your hugs ready for us and Pippa! Thank you all for your dear friendship!

Part FOUR: The sweetest part... the part we have been waiting for... the part where it all comes together and Mike and I look at each other and go... "ok.. now we are all complete"... this is the part where I see Rosie and Sam totally enthralled with their new sister.  I had no idea what to expect..... but the true sweetness of them with Pippa was and is the absolute BEST!  They were wanting to show her everything!  And they kept staring at her and looking at her.. oh, my.. absolutely wonderful!  And to top it off.... this picture was taken at 1 ish am in the morning...

Giving her some pear... I'm sure that Rosie and Sam will make sure that Pippa is well fed. And Rosie helped change Pippa's diaper last night.. she was ready to be the big sis in action!

Love love this pic.... 1 or 1:30 am in the morning... and we are all awake with Pippa!   I will remember this night always. 

 

After I took a shower to wash 30 plus hours of airplane and airport grime off... I walked into our bedroom and saw this:

Sam under blanket.. toes sticking out.  Pippa and Mike totally wiped out. 

It was the best laying my head on the pillow and falling asleep. 

Now it's around 8 ish am on Saturday morning... time to get moving .. Sam's awake and it's a NEW DAY here in the Robinson household!

Yea!!!

God is sooo Good!!  Thank you for your prayers... your encouragement and love you have sent through emails and notes and posters... and signs... and phone calls and texts and more prayers!  What a journey it has been!!... an amazing one!!!  

Hugs to all from Birmingham, Alabama!!

Last night in Guangzhou

As I'm typing.. I'm realizing this is our last night in Guangzhou and what an amazing adventure this has been.  I think when I look back on this time, I'm going to have the fondest of memories and I'll always remember China with a happiness that is like a present wrapped up and given straight by God Himself.   The joy in Pippa... the days of being with her and getting to know her bit by bit are priceless.  Discovering her China and it's beauty and all the traditions will be cherished.... sealed in my heart forever.  I will not forget her land.  And I want to her to be so proud of her heritage and where she was born and the country she lived in for 2 1/2 years of her little life.  

My oh my, Mike and I are still so captured by her.. by her sweetness, yet... again her firecracker-ness... her pure glee over things like "breakfast being served" and boiled eggs and congee.  So these are the things I will not forget:

Her Shanghai: the city full of lights and history and jetson like atmosphere of elegance and beauty.

When Mike said: "There's Pippa!" ..... oh, I will always remember those two words.. ..forever!

Her first day with us.... the moment we met her and I was overtaken with such happiness! 

Her first night with us and she wanted to wear her pink outfit that she had on at the orphanage so we put on her American pj's ( target) but put on her secure pink jacket over her pj's... to add that extra comfort for her first night with us.

Waking up and seeing that she is sitting up in bed... just quietly... not making a sound.

Her excitement when we ordered breakfast and she saw her big plate of food in front of her. She would literally squeal with delight....not just for one morning.. but every single morning we have had her.  The orphanage said she is timid and shy... umm... So far, she has no shyness in letting the entire restaurant know that she is very HAPPY about her fried eggs and congee!

Our days together discovering bits of the Big city of Shanghai.

Going back to her orphanage and meeting all her little friends and other precious children in the orphanage too.

All those little faces that were peeking out of their blankets... as we passed room after room in the orphanage.. room after room filled with 20 or so cribs in each room.... 

Our most wonderful cheerful sweet guide, Maggie, in Shanghai.  She was sunshine and comfort to us in a city where we knew no one.

Arriving in Guangzhou and seeing green trees and blossoms and sunshine and getting a "second wind" for the trip.

Meeting the dearest families in Guangzhou and realizing how precious it is to have other Christians to hang out with.

Being in a great hotel... with a waterfall and gardens and watching Pippa discover new things every other moment.

Eating chocolate with Pippa and both of us smiling at each other and having our chocolate bond:)

Carrying Pippa in my Boba ( thank you Ginny!) it is the best feeling to have her so close to me and watch her fall asleep as we are walking around the streets of Guangzhou.

Shamain Island..... A Chinese Charleston.... of sorts.

Starbucks Vanilla Latte.... a happy present!

Shopping for cute little Chinese dresses for Pippa and Rosie.

Skyping with Sam and Rosie and Gee Gee and Da and Nana

Being with Mike and watching him be a daddy to our 3rd child and seeing him fall in love with Pippa more and more each day. He is smitten!

Seeing God everywhere.... in this country... and in the hearts of many Americans adopting these orphans.

Amazing stories from families adopting... inspiring.... uplifting... challenging...totally God filled.

Pippa's smile and laugh.... she is a dream and prayer come true!

Today was the day that families started packing up and heading back to the states. So we got the girls together for one last photo op.  Love all their Chinese outfits!  I put Pippa in the row of girls and she did not like standing there by herself and made it known very clearly, so she is half way in the group with me holding her.

Happy mommies and their girls!

Pippa with her new friend, Hannah.  We will be seeing her more because Hannah and her family live in Nashville.. so we are excited about celebrating some China traditions with them!

Me and Pippa and Jill and Hannah... sweet friends:)

On way home from restaurant tonight, Pippa would look up in my eyes and say in the sweetest tiny voice... "Mama, mama...and smile.....and then would look up again and say, mama mama"  She had a smile of contentment and tiredness mixed together...."I looked down at her and said, " Pippa Pippa, Mama, Baba" .... just kind of a reassuring that we are all together...... and then about 1 minute later she was sound asleep.  That is a moment I'll never want to forget.

Pippa is a love.  And I can't wait for you all to meet her!   Tomorrow we leave for Hong Kong at 4:30 and then spend the night there and fly out Friday for 14 hours and then arrive in BIRMINGHAM at 4:30 pm!  Would cherish prayers being lifted up for our long flight home.  And that God would cover us with His protection and grace and energy and strength and good health.... and rest and comfort on flight for all of us.

I can't wait to see my kids!  Rosie and Sam... we are coming home!!  

Hello from Sunshine China!

( Mike just made a blog right before this one... so if you want to laugh a bit...check it out!)

Another beautiful sunshine filled day here in the land of China.   So today, we had a lazy morning which was nice, Since we have to be ready at 7:50 tomorrow morn for our consulate appointment.  Around noon we headed to the magical Shaiman Island and had more fun shopping around and just walking along garden pathways. 

Hi little Pipster... that is Mike's little nickname he has made for her...

 

Also, another nickname.. Pip!

 

Love this photo! Just makes me happy looking at it!  My new Nashville friend, Jill, and I had a great time shopping for shoes in this little store called Sherry's.  These shoes were cheap cheap and some were real leather! Happy Rosie and Pippa polk a dot shoes are going home in our suitcase! Love how Pippa is smiling in this pic because she is thinking it's totally focused on her... but she has no idea what's going on behind her!

 

More walkways and gardens and Frenchy French buildings.

 Another fun statue scene in the garden paths of the island... love the curtsy girl!

 

Amazing trees.... oh, the stories they could tell from the years they have lived.  

 Photo shoots are always going on here on the island... we saw this wedding couple everywhere and there were many other models and photographers around too!

 Mike making some music with the fiddler!

Heading back to the hotel.... again, looking out the window, you see all sorts of sights.  From upscale stores and super nice condos to glitzy glitz  fashion and laundry hanging out the windows of apartments.

 

Hanging out before our Pearl River cruise. 

Before eating,  we gave Rosie some gum and she loved it! Little did we know that she went through about 3 pieces before we caught her:)  By the way, gum wrappers in China are gold not silver.  Reminds me of Willy Wonka.

Pirate Ship heading our way.

 The dinner cruise boat was really nice and spacious... the food... umm... well, Pippa enjoyed the noodles and the big bread roll.

Loved the lights of the city reflecting on the water. 

TV tower ... 2nd tallest building in the world! I think it looks like an astropop in this pic!

It was a fun night on the dinner cruise... we ate in the restaurant downstairs and then went upstairs to the outside deck to see all the pretty lights.  It was kind of like a Paris/ Seine cruise... but Chinese style!  There was even a lady who did magic tricks after dinner.   We loved going up the river with all the Guangzhou buildings lit up.... I didn't realize how BIG Guangzhou actually was until tonight's dinner cruise.

By the end of the night... we were all getting sleepy and so now, it's 11:30 pm and I need to get to bed so we can get up at 6 am tomorrow morn for the consulate appt.  

Off to dream land! 

Goodnight from China! 

Strange Sites

Here are a few photos that didn't make the blog that should have. Oh, by the way, Tricia made me add that it's a post by Mike. She didn't want anyone being confused...

Chinese cat-fight.

 

We're only encouraging them to eventually take over earth. Wonder if they'll strip us naked and make us play drums and ride razors.

 

All he's missing is a remote and a cold beer.

 

Dad, this one's for you. Post your own caption.

 

I'm an adventurous eater, but this reminds me too much of my dog after he's had a bath.

 

mmm, look at that demi-glaze!

 

Welcome what? 1974?

 

Yep, a pip off the old block. 

Goodnight from Guangzhou!