back to China

Shiyu and H with the Chongqing skyline as the backdrop

last dinner in chongqing

Gambay!!!  Drink up:)

our little Chinese girl....Jo-Ma did her hair several days in a row and H LOVED it!!!

Hayden and Jo-Ma....match made in heaven, not sure who had more energy:)

Shiyu and her magwau family(American)

typical Chinese dinner with EVERYONE there and only a few of the dishes have been set out.

toasts and now the table is filling up with food...yes that was our OWN room for dinner with a beautiful view of Chongqing

David toasting Shiyu and sharing really funny stories of her 10 months with us.

Two mothers, two countries and one daughter:)

I finally drank a fair amount of wine!!  See I do drink.

Love this picture and LOVE them.  Shiyu with her aunt and uncle.

I have NO idea what is going on here....but this was pretty much a FULL description of Hayden's personality while we were in china....fierce!!!

Shiyu and her grandparents and my oh my does she LOVE them....and with reason, such kind and sweet people with a wonderful family!!!

Zai jian

Well the time has arrived.  The bags are packed and I guess we are as ready as we will ever be.  We hope you will follow along as we travel this amazing journey.  The last time I prepared for this trip my arms longed to hold our daughter and now 3 years later I am packing her toys, movies, snacks and clothes as we make this trip together.  We are looking at a total of 2 days of travel.  The first day being the longest....about 27 hours(15 hrs on the big flight) and only about 2 hours on the second day. 

Not sure how our Internet will be the days we are traveling, but hopefully can update at some point on the road.  We should be up and running by Tuesday or Wednesday next week.  Don't forget we will be 13 hours ahead of you time wise(well those of you on central)

The hardest part will be leaving daddy.  We are celebrating Fathers day today.  We have given him some great gifts and had a great family breakfast and we have a few errands and yard work to do today.  But today will be all about daddy and spending our day together. 

Thanks for all the votes of confidence.  This is a journey that we think is incredibly important to our daughter.  We are not afforded the ability to spend a month in Taiwan, but we do in China.  She is going to be bathed in LOVE, culture, heritage, family and most importantly language.  I want this to become so normal to Hayden that she can love both worlds and embrace her culture and heritage and hopefully witness how important those things are to her parents.  I want Hayden to be so proud of where she is from and love that she gets the best of both worlds.  We are VERY blessed to have this type of opportunity. 

So as they say in China Zai jian.....goodbye and we will see you soon:)

Countdown has begun

Time is ticking faster than usual I think.  China is just around the corner and for the most part I have most everything ready.  It is good to know that when David comes(later, and would be burglars I would not waste your time at my house....of course we have a house sitter coming as well as those two watch dogs and the chickens, oh and the security system and the fact we have nothing that anyone would want) that he can bring me anything I need or have run out of (peanut butter) LOL

We had to square away typhoid shots for H and me and so last week we went to the county health dept(yep that was an experience) H wanted me to go first and so I happily did, and she was brave up until the last minute and then fell apart in a heaping mess of tears.  But we got it done and she milked it for everything it was worth.  She kept asking us to carry her because she had an injured leg.  We obliged that evening, but then it continued into the next day.....mind you I had the same shot(same dose) in my arm and by then it barely felt like a bruise.  So we carried her downstairs and told her she would just have to problem solve and figure out how she was getting around because we were not carrying her on demand the rest of the day.  So she hopped for about an hour and then decided she wanted to swim, well I told her I thought since she was injured that was not a good idea.  It was like the miracle hand of God....she was healed:)  Now she reminds me how brave she was when we got our shots!! 

We have some activities booked this week for her to keep her busy before leaving so she can see her friends and mommy can wrap this trip preparation up.  The reality of 26 hours of travel and one of those flights being 15 hours long is setting in.....I mean she is 3.5 and how much patience can I expect from 3.5 year old trapped on a full airplane for 15 hours???  I guess we are about to see huh??  I have so many activities ready that I certainly hope we can barrel thru.  We talk about the flight everyday and everyday I remind her that we are going to be on the plane for a really long time and that we have to sleep on the plane and she always responds with: "I know mommy, night time sleeping"  We will just see how it goes, we might never return because the fear of getting back on the plane to come back might just be TOO much for me to handle!!!  Maybe Daddy and Hayden can fly home together and mommy will come on another flight:)  LOL

Anyway, we are excited and I just can't wait to see how H's mandarin lessons pay off in the sense that she should just explode with language after the amount of time we will be there.  Oh and I forgot to mention that there is just one other person that can speak English......yep Shiyu, no one else in her family speaks any English.  So while Hayden is working on her Mandarin, mommy will be working on my game of charades and using my phone with google translator:)  Should make for a really good time for all. 

I will blog from China(hopefully) and I might even be more frequent in my postings.  We will see how wifi connection goes and just  how exhausted we are in the beginning.  Yup 12 hour time change, and did I mention that going is not that bad(surprisingly) but coming back is a trip straight to hell and back.  Again another reason we are staying so long, why get use to the change only to turn around and come right back home???  duh!!!

ready for a week of activities

right after getting her typhoid shot....yep she is still pissed off!!!  those are chigger bite scars on her leg....I know, I know. 

New York, New York

Many people have no idea that Hayden has been OBSESSED with the statue of liberty since she was about 15 months old.   It started with a bookmark that came in a book from Ama$on and since that time we have talked about her, looked at I think almost EVERY image that has ever been taken of her, and dreamed of a visit to see the Lady Liberty in person and see in person that we CANNOT SEE HER LEGS(she has a dress on of course) 

So we have been planning this trip for awhile now.  It was a great opportunity to visit Connor(Hayden's big brother) who has moved to the northeast for his first real big boy job and to visit my dear friend Suz whom I adore and whom has been dying for us to come see her and her new house.  So off to NY we went(fall so we could see the beautiful leaves and enjoy fall weather)

I don't have time for a full post, but will do all of my pics.  I will update later on the details.  All I can say is Lady Liberty did not disappoint and Hayden's reaction was "Oh mommy she is just BEAUTIFUL"  So the whole trip was totally worth it just so she could enjoy that moment and granduar of the Lady. 

We then went to the city and visited the 9/11 memorial.  All I can say is....it is really BEAUTIFUL and I was REALLY emotional.  I think it is a lovely tribute and I think if you will be in NYC, make the effort to book the passes to go. 

We spent the rest of the trip with our friends who have 2 daughters  Madeline and Emma.  Hayden LOVES them now more than EVER and had so much fun in their amazing playroom.  Hayden has now discovered American Girl dolls and all the stuff that goes with them.  PRETTY much OBSESSED!!!  Mommy even had fun playing dolls with her they are so fun and neat.  Her Ling doll can wear the AG clothes, so that makes it easier.  But I am pretty sure a lot of American Girl will be on her santa list this year.....

Anyway, can't go much further now....so just enjoy the pictures.

We did enjoy meeting Connor's girlfriend Jackie.  So you will see her in many of our pics:)  I will caption the pictures later on.  They are pretty self explainatory.

an early start to what turned into a 14 hour trip to NYC!!!  Hayden was a better traveler than her daddy and me!!!

looking back at Manhatten

Connor and Hayden

The Rocks rock liberty park!!!

Connor and his GF Jackie

Finally after seeing the replica of her feet and seeing the bottom of her dress....Hayden now understands that we can't see her legs.  But we did see her flip flops:)

Me, Hayden and Big Brother Connor.  Man it was windy!!

Replica of Lady Liberty's face.  Hayden said "look mom I am picking her nose" ewwwwwww

9/11 memorial  I think this is a beautiful memorial for the victims families to visit.

The plaque for AA flt 77 the first to hit.  VERY overwhelming to see.

Freedom tower(50 floors to go)

Waiting to board the ferry to the Lady

Madeline, Emma and Hayden on the hayride.  Madeline and I share a birthday.  I threw a baby shower for her mama when she was pregnant with M and I can't think of two nicer little girls for Hayden to play with and have for role models!!

My dear friend Suzanne and her mom(aka our Mary Poppins)

Hayden decided last week that corn picking would be more fun than apple picking(maybe, but not as tasty)HA

Emma, Taya(big sister is from Kaz) and Hayden showing off their corn in the corn maze.

little ghost named Hayden

Painting pumpkins(again)

Singing in the rain.....

Oh dear lawd.....it finally rained here and it rained hard and for more than 5 minutes.  You simply have NO idea how bad our drought is here in Texas and how earthly bad we needed this rain.  Now if it would only continue for about a week!!! 


Hayden has been asking all summer to go out and stomp in rain puddles and wear her rain gear.  When she woke up this morning she cheered with excitement when she heard it was still raining.  Going out last night at 9:00 to stomp in rain puddles didn't sound like a great idea to me so I said we would have to wait....with hopes that it would still be raining this morning.  Mother Nature didn't disappoint my pipa. 

Christmas card pictures taken yesterday(yay, can't wait to see them) will order cards hopefully in the next 2 weeks.  Might actually get them out right after turkey day if I am lucky(hasn't happened since Hayden came home)

We have a full week coming up.  We are leaving town again(not really ready for another trip) but packing up for a long awaited visit with someone very special.  We are staying and visiting with VERY special friends in their new beautiful home. We are missing some friends this trip, but the schedule just doesn't work.  We will try and see them in the spring hopefully.  We are visiting an obsession of Hayden's as well as a important visit of tribute.  I know you are wondering, but you will have to wait until we return.  Should have some GREAT pictures. 

O-H-I-O

Well it has been a few years since we have been to parents weekend, but must say going back to school is always so much fun, and even better when you get to go somewhere so charming and oh by the way just about 30 degrees cooler....was not the reason we went, but not gonna lie, it certainly made the trip a little extra special for us!!!

Shiyu....you remember her right??  Well if you don't she was our exchange student from China just a mere 4 years ago and well she is just one of our kid's now.  She attends college(Denison) in Granville, OH(officially one of the cutest towns I have EVER been too) and this past weekend was Big Red weekend.  So we headed to Ohio last Friday and let me just say it was so good to see Shiyu and hug her, and it was equally as great to see her life and meet her friends, and just get to be a part of her world for a few days.  Hayden was beyond THRILLED to see Shiyu!!!  They have this mutual affection thing going on with each other! 

We started out our weekend by a tour of the beautiful campus, we saw so many deer just grazing away on the campus.  Hayden LOVED getting her own ID badge, and visiting the dorms!!  Actually the dorms were one of her favorite parts.  Shiyu had brought so many things back for H from China(let's just say my little Imelda Marcos is again swimming in shoes!!) Hayden was introduced to so many of the girls that have been reading about her on the blog.  So BIG shout out to Miss Jamie, Miss Dora, Miss Erica and all the other Denison girls who made Hayden's day!!  She loved showing off for you, drawing and taping pictures, and certainly LOVED the clips from Miss Jamie.  **  Miss Dora you must get up a little earlier if you want to fool this little Taiwanese tornado!!  LOL

I must mention I have never been so impressed by a group of college students more than I was this weekend.  Every student we met has something incredible going on academically, socially, intellectually.  They all seem to have these incredible majors, with 2 and 3 minors, they are working on research projects, internships, semesters abroad that sound INCREDIBLE!!  Such nice, mature, fun 20 year olds that seem to have it really together!!  Great to see our future looking so bright with kid's like these!!

We headed to dinner to celebrate Shiyu's 21st bday(how on earth is she 21??) we had GREAT Chinese food and ate way too much of course.  Then back to campus for the planetarium show which was super cool and as we exited Hayden made sure to assure those waiting for the next show that it was "SOOOO GOOD"  LOL and then we ran to the chapel to see the acapella singers.  It was a live version of GLEE, and you know how much H loves Glee!!  The all girl group was AMAZING!!!  and Hayden was doing her lyrical dancing on the pew and keeping everyone entertained(except for the lady behind us)  Then we headed for the hotel.  EXHAUSTED to say the least!!  I think Hayden laid down and was snoring within about 20 seconds, we were close behind!!

We woke up to a beautiful morning and headed for the farmer's market in Granville.  Okay, it is like a REAL farmer's market!!  So cute, so many delicious things, and SO MANY dogs!!!  So you know who was in heaven.  Plus Miss Jamie and her boyfriend came with Shiyu and we walked around together and they  helped with keeping Hayden entertained and made sure she got to pet nearly every dog there!!!  By lunchtime it was time to head to the campus for the next exciting event and to meet up with The Hawkins family.  Neal's mommy has been following our blog for 5 years.  They to had been a China family, who switched to Korea and have brought home 2 BEAUTIFUL boys, they hosted a Chinese exchange student who now goes to school in Wash D.C., they have family from TX, L's passion for adoption and adoptive children is awesome.  Needless to say we were thrilled that we were FINALLY meeting in person!!  David has gotten to be so great at all the blind dates I make him go on!! LOL  Denison hosted a funfest for the kid's as well as a lunch.  It was a blast.  Face painting, bounce house,  pumpkin painting, bounce house, cool t-shirts, bounce house(oh sorry did I already mention that bounce house?) Neil and Hayden had a BLAST TOGETHER!!!  Everything is better with a friend!!  The day was beautiful, the activities were great, and the friendships made were amazing!!! 

After a quick rest back at the hotel we had been invited over to Neil and baby Shay's house for dinner.  Okay they live in a REALLY cute little town too out in the country in a really cute house that they have fixed up so beautifully.  We arrived to a sweet little Neil who had been waiting for us!!!  We walked into to the smell of delicious Korean food, and the warmest hospitality and gifts GALORE!!!  Shiyu and Hayden hit the lottery!!!  I must say Lisa and Tim are amazing hosts, and it felt like we had known them forever and we just can't even say Thank you enough to them for an amazing time.  The kid's LOVED each other!!  Lisa is already planning the wedding:)  BTW the food.....INCREDIBLE and to attest to the deliciousness of the meal we barely heard a word out of Shiyu the entire meal until she announced that she was fairly certain that she had eaten most of the beef by herself!!! LOL  The food was truly amazing, and Lisa you are quite the chef!!!  I just sat on a stool, drank wine and watched Lisa and Shiyu cook!!  I am a good guest like that:)
The night ended late, but too soon.  Again my family has been so blessed by the families and friends we have met thru adoption.  I can't even begin to explain how full my heart is when I think of the close friends I have and the closeness we share even without a LONG history like I do with other friends....we share this bond that is remarkable.  Thank you Hawkins family we can't wait to see you again and return the hospitality(although we will probably take you out to dinner or I will make soup) LOL

I am stealing Lisa's pictures to show you as I need to still download my pics(that are not nearly as good as Miss remote control camera) But she captured our day on Saturday just perfect.

I also much say Thank you to Shiyu for inviting us!!  Shiyu you are the most amazing girl!!!  We are so proud of you and you are doing and going to do incredible things in your life.  We are thrilled that we get to share in them with you and very proud to have you call us mom and dad.  You are the best big sister a little girl could ask for and Hayden loves you SO much!!  We loved your friends and we can't wait to see Jamie and Kevin again!!!

Yay!!!  Here's to friends!!!

finally we meet!!!

Hi Miss Lisa

such focus

hayden and her pumpkin

bounce house slide

hmmmmm??  to cuties I would have to say!!

baby shay just came home in june!!

million dollar shot!!!

us with the hawkins familiy

us with Shiyu and her roommate Jamie and boyfriend Kevin....We love you guys!!!

baby shay and shiyu

duet

Ready for dinner!!

Choo choo

such good sharing going on