Sorry for the delay in posting. Since we landed in Guangzhou, it seems like we have been on the go. By the time we get back to our room at night, I am too exhausted to blog. I know - amazing that I am too tired to blog. ;)

Anyway, today (10/31) was our medical check. The added complexity of shots for us I 800 families is really tough. I have always hated getting shots for my kids. You just never know how they are going to react. Tia did great! She had 3 shots today and they will do 2 more on Monday. The doctors felt that since she is so small, they should break it up a little. She whimpered for a few seconds and then was back to her normal happy self. It was a very long morning and she did great!

We went to one of my favorite restaurants on the island - Lucy's. Their food is great, and very affordable. I also love their lemon ice tea. Today was also a paperwork day. That is one advantage to the I800, we do not have as much paperwork to complete. After this, we went shopping. My buddy Connie and I put the kids down for their naps and recruited grandma and her husband as babysitters. We did the first of some serious shoe shopping. Sherry's had squeaky shoes - 3 pairs for 40 RMB. That is 5.00 US for 3 pairs of all leather shoes. Not a bad deal at all. Tia can' walk yet, but she has the shoes to practice those first steps.

It is great to see all of the other adoptive families. Many I have met on line through their blogs and now we get to see each other in China. One in particular is my friend Gretchen. We have followed each others blogs since the very beginning and now we are finally here. She is a great lady and very proud mama. Her daughter Ashlyn is a cutie!!!

Since today is Halloween, I thought we would dress Tia up in costume. The one I brought was a size 12 month. It engulfed her, so we decided to pass on this one. I am looking forward to seeing the kids on Skype later, in their costumes.

Till later....

Hello from Kunming!!! It is a much better day today. Tia is back to her old self. We are seeing her true character evolve each day. She is very strong willed, but will listen to her mama. She is such a snuggly baby. She is happy to have me carry her the majority of the time. She is great at be time. I lay her in her crib and rub her back and she is asleep in a few minutes. She sleeps all night, at least 6 - 8 hours.

We had a chance to visit one of the park here in Kunming. The area is famous for their parks. The climate is very nice and the park was full of people enjoying the nice weather. It was so interesting the watch the people exercising and dancing. There were some ladies doing a dance that our guide described as the dance of the minority people. This is an ethnic group that is prevalent in Kunming. The music and movements were beautiful.

Tia has learned to say mama, Tay Tay, bear and Daddy. I think this will melt his heart. She carries around his picture and kisses it. Yep, she will have him wrapped around her little finger in no time. :)

We have met so many wonderful families during our journey. It always amazes me how the adoption community can be so closely joined. We have had a few play dates with Tia's friend from the orphanage. The girls are so much fun to watch.

Tia is doing much better with her fever. We have learned not to skip a dose of Motrin. She had a slight temp this morning, but after the Motrin, she was fine.

I had a chance to speak with Terry today and he told me about all of the wonderful support from many of you. I can never thank you all enough.

We travel to Guangzhou tomorrow. Only 9 more days and we will be home!!!

Till later...

What a Difference a Day Makes

As you can see from the photo, we have a very happy girl today. Tia is fever fee, with a dose of Motrin.

I won't go into all of the details, but will say that yesterday was one of the toughest days I have ever faced as a mother. I had a sick child in a foreign country and could not understand the doctors. It was difficult to know what they were doing to my child and feeling very afraid. I did however learn that I am the voice for my child and I will protect her at any cost. Yes, there are some real frustrations within me right now, but I don't feel comfortable sharing them at this time. Some day I might, but for now I am rejoicing that my child is doing much better and on the road to recovery.

I do still ask for your prayers for her health. We are flying out of here on Friday and she needs to be healthy for her physical. She is also facing some shots, so even more of a reason to covet your prayers.

Thank you so much for all you support

Till later

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to post today. It has been a very difficult day for us. Tia began to run a very high fever this afternoon. We contacted our guide, who took us to the orphanage hospital. The lack of translations and inquisition from the staff was horrible. They administered some medication, but we are unsure what it was. I am trying desperately to reach our doctor in the states, but cannot get in touch with her. I feel so lost right now. Please keep is in your prayers.
--Diane

THE PRINCESS HAS ARRIVED

Wow, how do I start this post. Today has been so emotional for us. We started very early at the Civil Affairs office here in Kunming. Soon after we arrived, they brought Tia in. She was very quiet at first. She sat on my lap but did not make a sound. She looked around the room a few times and then looked up at me, as if to say "who is this lady".

She is tiny and petite.The size 12 month clothes that I brought are all way too big. We estimate she is approximately 17 pounds.She is very skilled at crawling, but still uneasy with walking

We had a lot of paperwork to complete for the adoption and she sat quietly on my lap the entire time. My Mom tried to take her from me once when I was needing to retrieve some documents, and she refused to leave me. Boy did that make this mamma feel good.

She eventually warmed up to my mom and began to show her true personality. There is nothing shy about this little one. We saw our first smiles within an hour or so.

After we returned to the hotel, she had a chance to explore the room. She is so smart. Within just a few minutes she had figured out the stacking cups and arranged all of them.

We had a short play date with one of her roommates from the orphanage. Charlotte is 8 days older than Tia, but quite a bit bigger. They had so much fun together.

We were able to Skype of Terry and Taylor this afternoon and they got to meet the little princess. She liked see them on the computer and even said Tay Tay.

She is napping now and then we are off to the Chinese Walmart for some additional supplies.

I feel so blessed to have her in my arms. The wait was long and difficult, but it was totally worth it all.

God is good!!!

I just spoke with Diane and they are getting Tia around 8:00pm central

time, tonight! I am pretty much waiting by the computer and I hope to have some pictures posted as soon as I get them.

Ok, I just spoke with Diane and Tia over the Skype Video thingy and...here she is!! She is only about 17 lbs and not eating solid food yet. Tia was crawling around like crazy and can take 3 or 4 steps at a time. It's getting late so I better go. I'll post more pictures early in the morning. That's it. Pretty cool......

Today was very busy!! We had the opportunity to see some of the most amazing architectural sites in the world. Our first stop was the Forbidden city. My mom said she has never heard me say "Wow" so many times. :)

The Forbidden City was built for the Emperors of China. Our guide is very knowledgeable about Chinese history, which is great because I know very little. Guess I should have listened a little better in the World History class during my undergrad years. Oh well, anyway - the Forbidden City covers more than 7 acres and has multiple courtyards and and room displays.

Next, we drove to the Great Wall. I honestly believe we spent more than 3 hours of our day sitting in traffic. The Highway 40 project in St Louis has got nothing on this place. You are constantly weaving in an out of cars, trying to advance a little closer. I have determined that the lines on the road are merely suggestions, and just there to amuse tourist. No one uses them. ;)

The Great Wall is enormous! We went to one of the sections that was recently restored. The climb is very steep and we did not make it very far. It is tough to take all of this in. Our guide said that more than 10,000 people visit the Great Wall each day. Guess this explains all the traffic.

And finally we had a quick drive by of the Birds Nest from the 2008 Olympics. This is a massive structure. I was amazed to hear that many of the buildings erected for the Olympics are not longer being used.

Tomorrow we will journey to Kunming. We are one step closer to Tia. Hang on baby - mamma is on her way.

Till later...

Hello all and we are in Beijing!!! It is an amazing city. We have a wonderful guide named Carrie who is showing us around. After we arrived today, we had the pleasure of visiting the New Day foster home. I got to meet Miss Khloe. As you might remember from a previous post, Khloe is the little girl who stole our hearts months ago. We have been sponsoring her at New Day since. She is currently waiting for her mamma to bring her home.

We also got to meet Ethan, Kevin and Victoria, who also live at New Day. We were unable to see Drew, because he was at his foster home.

This journey made everything seem much more real today. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. On Saturday,(Friday night U.S. time) we will be traveling to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I should have some great photos after that.

Only 2 more days until we meet Tia!!!

In Korea!!

We just arrived in Korea for a lay-over and then we are off to Beijing. They have free Wi-FI at the airport - YEAH!!!

The trip is going great so far. We are tired and did not get a lot of sleep in the flight from LA. I think I am just too excited to sleep. For anyone looking to book their travel flights for China, I highly recommend Asiana airlines. I was worried when we chose to fly with them, but it was GREAT!!! The staff was wonderful!

I have attached a few photos from the airport. Trenton - I have Tiny the dog with me and he is really enjoying the trip. I took some pictures of him in the airport.

Next stop Beijing!!

Its D Day

Wow - we are finally here. I have dreamed of this day for so long. I am not sure if it feels like a reality yet - but I am sure it will very soon.

I am going to be turning over the blog controls to my wonderful husband Terry while I am traveling. It seems blogger is blocked and I want to make sure to document this trip for our friends and family.

You can also check out our site on my adoptions websites. This is a wonderful company that offers customized web sites for adoptive families. Our link is: Our Journey to Tiana.

I will try to send some updates from LAX later this evening. Take care and enjoy the journey with us.

Diane

One More Sleep Before I Leave

Wow - it is 11:00 PM and I cannot sleep. My head is spinning with all the things I need to do before I board a plane tomorrow. My stomach has butterflies and I have this fear I will forget something - like my paperwork.

Please keep us in your prayers!!!

Diane

Our Magic Number

Yep, just one more sleep before I leave for China. I cannot believe this day is finally here. It has been a crazy week. Lots of things going on behind the scenes in our home. Please keep all of us in your prayers.

Todays Post Is Brought To You By The Number 2

3 Days

Only 4 More Days

Guess how many days till we leave for China???

Only A Few More Hours...

We just have a few hours left on our auction. The bidding will close at 11:59 pm this evening. I would like to thank everyone in advance for your support.

Diane

6 DAYS!!!

Just One More Week!!!

Actually, we catch our first flight out of St Louis on 10/21 to LAX. So technically, I guess it is really 6 days - but who's counting.

O.K. me - I am counting every moment until I leave. :)

Wow - this was exactly what I needed today...

Believe it or not, I am still amazed at times when God does things that totally blow me away. You would think that after all this time I would just come to expect that when I am at my lowest and worrying tirelessly, God has a plan.

But I loose site of that and start to sink into my own pit (for those of you who are Beth Moore fans, you will know what I mean by that). But anyway, I was up half the night - worrying.

Ya' see, we received our final costs from our agency and they were substantially higher than I had expected. I was blown away - to say the least. Immediately, I began to worry. How could we do this? Where was the money going to come from? It was painful - I was so distraught.

Then I clicked on a fellow bloggers site - and Mandi had this posted. And I was quickly reminded that He has a plan and I just need to be quiet and listen.

Till later....

Only 8 More Days!!!

We are now in single digits...

TRAVEL FUNDRAISER

Now that we have booked our travel, the reality has really set in. The expense of the adoption has been a tough challenge for our family. We recently learned that we did not receive any of the grant we had applied for. This was really tough to hear.

To help defray some of the costs, we have decided to offer one last fundraiser. The auction style fundraiser will take place on a secondary site located at - Harlow Adoption . There are more details on the specifics of the fundraiser and how to bid, located on this site. The items featured have been donated by our family and friends or are items from our children's clothing company.

We would like to again thank all of our friends and family who graciously donated items for our auction.

Please spread the word....

10 Days and Counting!!

A Special Little Girl

Since earlier this year, we have had the pleasure of sponsoring a special little girl in China through an organization known as New Day Foster Home . The moment I clicked on their site, I saw the face of a beautiful little girl named Elise. Her smile could lite up a room. We chose to sponsor Elise at New Day, until she found her forever home. Since we had not been matched yet with Tia, it made the wait easier. I would receive monthly pictures of Elise. It was wonderful to watch her grow and pray for her as a family.

Fast forward a few months. Through the wonder of blogs, I had the chance to "meet" Elise' soon to be mommy. Elise is now Khloe (isn't that a beautiful name!) It has been a wonderful experience to walk through our adoption journeys together.

I had made a list of the things I really wanted to do while we were in China - other than GET MY BABY!!! At the top of the list was to meet Khloe. Well, my wish has come true. On Friday, October 23, we will be visiting New Day Foster Home and hanging out with these amazing kids. I cannot wait!!!

I encourage you to check out New Day's site and consider sponsoring one of this awesome children.

Till later....

We Have A Date!!!!

I just received the call from our agency and our consulate appointment has been confirmed. This is our tentative itinerary

10/22 - Depart St Louis

10/23 - 25 - Site Seeing in Beijing

10/25 - Fly to Kunming City

10/26 - GOTCHA DAY!!!!!

10/30 - Fly to Guangzhou

11/4 - Consulate Appointment

11/7 - Depart for St Louis

We are still working on the final details with our travel agent. As soon as I have our flight information, I will let you know. We would love for any of you in the St Louis area to greet us at the airport.

Till Later...

A New Look

So, what do you think?? I decided to put a "fresh coat of paint" on the ole' blog.

I am also excited to finally include a picture of Tia in the headline. It makes all of this seem so real.

And by way of an update on our travel - the C*AA reopens tonight (Chin* Time). Our facilitators in Chin* will send our request for a consulate date. Our hope is to leave St Louis on October 21. We will fly to Beijing for a few days, and then on to Kunming City to meet Tia. We will finish our journey in Guangzhou. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Till later....