Our first day with Ashlynn

Our first full day with Ashlynn has gone about as well as could be
expected.  She slept great her first night with us.  We're sure Gotcha Day
was exhausting for her.  She is trying to teach us about her likes and
dislikes.  Sometimes we get it right on the first try and other times we
need a few more cues from her.  It'll all come in due time but we know
it's frustrating for her.  We are trying to match her routine as her nannies
described it to us but it's just not the same and she knows it.

This morning we introduced Derek and Mason to their sister over Skype.
They seemed excited to see her with us, asked a few questions, and had
lots to tell us about their time with their grandparents.  We're sure it
won't be real to them until we're home.

Also in the morning, we returned to the government office to finalize the
adoption which included a lot of additional paper work, answering some
brief interview questions, and a family picture.  Along with our
signatures, we each had to give a thumb print and they took Ashlynn's foot
print.

The rest of the day was spent at our hotel.  We walked around the large
hotel quite a bit.  We found a small children's play room on 30th floor
(our room is on the 37th of 42 floors) where among the toys was a walker.
Ashlynn was happy to be in it and moving under her own power.  Several of
the photos we received from the orphanage over the last several months
showed her in a walker so we suspect it felt very familiar to her.  For
dinner, we ate at the hotel's restaurant again.  We were apparently taking
too long to decide what new Chinese foods to try because Ashlynn got very
hungry and unhappy.  Anything the kind staff brought us was not to her
liking.  Finally, Brandi left the restaurant with her and made a quick
trip back to the hotel room to get her a bottle of pedialyte to calm her
down.  After a few minutes, she was back to her happy self and we survived
the rest of the meal.  We're sure the people in the restaurant are still
talking about us!

We still haven't fully adjusted to the 13 hour time change so our sleeping
patterns are off.  It's 4:00 am and we've both been awake for awhile.
Ashlynn woke for a little bit but is now sleeping again next to us in bed.

Thanks to everyone back home who has sent us comments on the blog and
emails.  It's great to hear from you!  We are glad to share our journey
with you.

Gotcha, Ashlynn!

 

Today was Gotcha Day!  Our rep, Vicki, met us in the hotel lobby at 2:30
pm.  We were driven to the Hunan Adoption Administration and Service
Center about 15 minutes away.  We were brought into a large room with
wooden benches that lined the outer walls.  There was one other family
from Kansas already in the room also waiting to meet their daughter from
the same orphanage.  We had just sat down when we were told "they are
here". First, the other family's daughter was brought into the room. We
enjoyed watching them greet her.  Before we knew it, a woman walked in
with Ashlynn.  We recognized her immediately.  They quickly checked our
passports and then handed her to Brandi.  She fussed a little but was
content most of the time. She quickly became interested in the small toys
we brought her.  As a typical one-year-old, she kept trying to put her
fingers in our months as we talked to her.  Soon after Troy was holding
her, her eyes lids got heavy and she fell asleep.  Vicki help us ask the
nannies several questions about Ashlynn's daily routine.  They told us
they were surprised Ashlynn hadn't cried more as she tends to be shy.  In
less than an hour, we had signed the paper work and were headed back to
the hotel.  We stopped at a small store to pick up the brand of formula
Ashlynn had been given in the orphanage.

Once we were back at the hotel, Ashlynn continued to be very content.  We
played with her in our room and then went down to the restaurant to find
some dinner.  It was quick to tell what Ashlynn liked to eat and what she
didn't.  She liked the rice and watermelon but made quite a face when we
tried to feed her congee (rice porridge).  We were told she liked this at
the orphanage but not tonight.  We were also told she only has one bottle
a day, right before bed.  However, when we got back to the room and
changed her into her pajamas, she was just too tired to even finish her
bottle.  She's now sound asleep.

It's hard to describe how we are feeling.  The whole day was surreal.
Ashlynn is beautiful.  She has big, bright eyes and likes to smile.  It
was obvious from the way the nannies talked about her that she was well
care for at the orphanage.  We are just starting to get to know our
daughter's personality.  We look forward to introducing her to her
brothers and all of her new forever family soon.

 

 

China, at last!

We finally arrived in Changsha, China about 7:00 tonight (Sunday).  Our
time in Hong Kong was short.  We took advantage the time to catch up on
some much needed sleep.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to see Hong
Kong.  We enjoyed the beautiful mountain landscape when we boarded our
plane from the runway.

Our rep, Vicki, and a driver met us at the airport.  Vicki is very helpful
and speaks English well.  It was a quick 30 minute ride to our hotel.  We
were warned about the driving here but nothing can prepare you for the
chaos.  Cars, scooters, and pedestrians everywhere!  Changsha is a city of
over 2 million people; however, Vicki called it a "small city".  It was
dark already when we arrived but the city is full of lights.

Vicki informed us that we will meet Ashlynn at the public affairs office
at 3:00 pm tomorrow (Monday), not 9:00 am as we were originally told.  Her
orphanage is a 6 - 7 hour drive to Changsha, so she'll spend the morning
in transit with the orphanage director and nanny.  Just a few more hours
before the moment we've been waiting for!

We have settled into our room.  Our hotel is a 5-star and very nice.  A
crib, baby bath tub, and child's bowl/spoon set were awaiting us.  We
navigated our way through a meal at the restaurant, tried some new Chinese
dishes, and are ready to call it a night.

Thanks for all the warm thoughts and prayers.  We are so fortunate to have
such great support back home!

Arrived in Hong Kong

We finally left Newark, NJ after 7:00 p.m. on Friday and safely arrived in Hong Kong about 10:30 p.m. Saturday night.  (Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of Minnesota.)  Our 16 hour flight was long but more tolerable than we expected.  We are now in our hotel next to the airport for one night's sleep before we catch our flight into Changsha, China tomorrow afternoon.  We're less than two days away from meeting Ashlynn! 
We were able to Skype with the boys.  They are being extra spoiled by Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Kim.  Now we are off to get some sleep . . .

Delayed

We are getting to know the Newark, NJ airport.  Our connecting flight to Hong Kong has been delayed from 3:15 to 6:00 due to mechanical problems.  It's a 16 hour flight we're anxious to have behind us.  Hopefully this will be the only delay in our travels.  We hope our next update comes from Hong Kong.  Thanks for all the supportive messages, thoughts, and prayers. 

And our adventure begins . . .

It’s been quite a week!  It started Sunday with celebrating Derek’s First Communion with our families.  It was a wonderful day.  And the rest of the week was spent preparing all of us for our travels. 

We sent the boys off on the first leg of their adventure last night with Papa and Grandma.  Certainly wasn’t easy for any of us to say good-bye but we know we’ll all be together in just two short weeks.

One last photo of our family of four

In less than an hour we start our journey.  While we finish packing our suit cases, we are filled with so many emotions.  It’s hard to describe any of them.  We are taking some good advice we were given . . . We know that God lead us to this point and we trust he will continue to carry us all the way to Ashlynn and home again.

Gottcha Day is May 13!

On Tuesday, April 9, we received our travel approval from China and by Thursday we booked our round-trip flights for China.  We leave Friday, May 10, Gottcha Day is Monday, May 13, and we return home on Thursday, May 23.  See Our China Itinerary for the details on our adventure to China.

Two weeks ago we met with the University of Minnesota surgeon who will be doing Ashlynn’s lip and palate repair.  She was very helpful in explaining the most likely treatment plan.  Ashlynn will have her first surgery in June to repair her lip and a second surgery about two to three months later to repair her palate.  Both surgeries will require a one to three night hospital stay.  Ashlynn should not need another surgery until she is school-aged and her adult teeth start to come in.  At that time, they will fill the gap in her bridge with a bone from her hip.  She may need other cosmetic surgeries as she grows.  Once she is fully grown, the repair of her cleft lip and palate should be complete!

Preparations for our trip are well underway.  Derek and Mason will be spending the two weeks with grandparents and their aunts and uncles.  While it will be very hard to be away from the boys, we are so fortunate to have such a wonderful support system.  The boys are sure to be well taken care of while we are away.   

What an exciting few weeks it has been!  Many of the unknowns of our journey are becoming known.   And the wonderful day when our family of 5 is together is now only a few weeks away.