Last Post From China

It is hard to believe our journey in China is almost over. We have had a wonderful time in here, but we can not wait to get back home and be reunited with our other 3 children. Our journey to Ellie is almost complete, but our life journey with Ellie has really just begun. We thank our God above for calling us to adopt Ellie and leading us all along the way. We give Him the glory and praise for without Him none of this would have happened. The way throughout this adoption has not always been easy nor will raising 6 children for that matter, but with God as our guide, we know we can, through Him, accomplish all that He sets before us. Thank you for following our journey. Thank you for the comments and e-mails which have really helped us while being away. Stay Tuned: The fun has just begun!

We have to be in the lobby of the hotel at 5:45 AM to head to the airport. We should be back home in our local airport Friday night around 10. Please pray for safe and smooth travels!


Enjoy the photos from our last day and night in China:

We have been walking to and from the Holiday Inn to Shaiman Island. It's about a 15 minute brisk walk but there are 2 huge staircases to take you over a road. As we were preparing to go back to the hotel tonight after dinner at Lucy's, Fulton begged us to take a taxi. We had extra yuan to spend, so I hailed us a cab. Fulton was so thrilled not to have to walk back to the hotel. Here are our 3 kiddos in the back of the taxi enjoying ice cream from the White Swan Deli. Yummy!

The guys at Lucy's-another great meal. This time David has sweet and sour chicken, Fulton had spaghetti, and I had the fried rice. The girls ate a little of everything.

The girls at Lucy's. We did not eat this way- only Ellie ate on my lap!

On our walk to the island, we pass through a very poor area. Tonight, I spotted this little girl and boy doing homework on top of a cardboard box in an alley. Show this picture to your children the next time they complain about school work and remind them that it is VERY hot where these children live.

Sweet Ellie at the White Swan. She is doing unbelievably well! I can't wait for all of you back home to meet her.

Another version of our double stroller. The only problem: Ellie drools a good bit due to 4 teeth coming in and an unrepaired palate, and Fulton gets really upset about "baby spit" getting on him. Lilly says "Mom, Ellie is dripping again!" It makes me laugh.

Lilly and I missed the traditional Red Couch photo last trip because she was in the hospital so we took lots of pictures this time around.

A little silliness during all of our photo taking! They really did good and tolerated lots of pictures.

Aren't they cute in their Chinese outfits? I thought they would like playing dress-up in these outfits when they are a little older.

This is the area we walk through from our hotel to Shaiman Island. We are glad we stayed at the Holiday Inn because otherwise we likely would have never walked these streets and would have missed the many sights and sounds and smells (lots of smells- David said it was the most aroma-filled street he had ever walked on. I tend to agree!) of an average neighborhood in China. The shops were on the first floor and people lived on the floors above them.

This lady was selling this "stuff". We could not figure out what many of the items we saw were.

Our Wednesday night: This was at the Italian restaurant on Shaiman Island- another most delicious meal! Lilly and Ellie absolutely LOVE noodles! Can you tell?