Six Months

I wrote this long entry on milestones from each month home then lost it. :( This will be shorter and hopefully sweeter. December 3rd marked our girls being with us 6 months!! What a joy this time has been!! We've seen God's faithfulness in sustaining us and directing us. The girls have stollen our heart in a way  we didn't know possible and have also refined us beyond our comfort. Their language has grown so much and it's a delight to get to communicate with them in a new way and experience them learning. They've received two not so great haircuts, courtesy of mama. They've grown 3 lbs and about 2 inches. Favorite time of day is when Dada arrives home from work with a close second being bath. Favorite item by far is still bunny, who is completely filthy. Sleep remains our biggest area for growth but we even see some progress there. Abbie is a serious daddy's girl and Evie equally a Mama's girl. We're humbled almost daily by Gods goodness and mercy in allowing us to parent these girls. 

Two Years Old!!

On July 16th the twins turned two. This was an especially meaningful celebration for us since we'd prayed for so long that the Lord would allow us to have them in our home by their second birthday. What a treat to get to enjoy them during this very fun age. We had our families into town and my sweet friend Jenny let us use her pool to swim. It was cloudy and cool that day but everyone was so sweet to still make the most of it. I'll give some bullet points about the girls' personalities at this age for our scrapbook:
- It's impossible not to laugh when Evie smiles, all over dimples
- It's impossible for your heart not to melt when Abbie smiles
-The girls love for Nathan to come home, they stand at the top of the stairs and scream and reach for him until he makes it up the stairs.
- Abbie is still daddy's girl and beams when she sees him and is most content in his arms
- Abbie loves to eat spaghetti and smears it all over her face, she's also a big fan of donut holes
- Both girls still love dogs with a close recent second being big trucks
- They are wearing 18 month clothes
- They are starting to give each other more hugs and holds hands in the car pretty frequently
- They are beginning to pat their bunnies instead of just throwing them on the floor after they kiss them :) : update- they go nowhere without the bunnies these days, it's really cute
- They are beginning to "sing" along to the music in the car
- They started speech therapy this month and saying many new words: car, apple, Bible ("ible" most of the time), ouch, bracelet, ball, etc. They are really beginning to mimic everything
- Beginning to enjoy dipping their food which is a lifesaver when trying to get them to eat something they don't want

 

Welcome Home Video

Our dear, dear friend Erin offered to take pictures of our arrival back from China at the airport. She's such a talented photographer and we'll forever cherish the amazing photos she took. They truly are priceless. She also surprised us with a slideshow she put together of all the photos. For some reason blogger doesn't recognize the you tubhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9zB_bYlxo8&feature=youtu.bee link so I've just included it. What a blessing to have to show the girls how loved they were before all of our friends and family even knew them!

http://youtu.be/J9zB_bYlxo8

We're Alive!

We sort of fell off the face of the earth but we're coming up for air now. We're so very blessed that we get to parent these girls. They are just the cutest things we've ever seen. God is so incredibly gracious to us and these girls are just a daily reminder of it. Of course they are also a ton of work! :) They've definitely rocked our world but they are worth every ounce of energy. I just wrote an update for the foster parents so for the sake of time I'm copying it here. --The girls are doing great! We can tell they were very, very loved. They have bonded to us quickly. Evie has bonded more strongly to me and Abbie to Nathan. The first week they grieved a lot and it was tough on us all, but with each passing day we can see new ways they are getting more comfortable with us. They are eating well, especially meat! :) Evie is a bit more willing to try new foods and loves to play with her food. Abbie is thrilled when Nathan gets home from work....she beams. He's able to come home for lunch so they do get to see him a good bit during the day. We are still getting them to sleep in ergo carriers so it's a bit tricky when he can't make it home. We've relied on car rides and then me transferring them to their cribs. Tonight was the first night I got both of them to sleep in the house. It took a while and but eventually they drifted off. They both love bananas, bottles, swimming, being outside and bath time. They also still get very excited about putting on their shoes. We have little cozy coupes and they always squeal with they see them. They also have a special squeal for their stuffed animals, particularly a bunny and tiny bear. They are sleeping ok. Evie fights it the most and wakes most frequently. We've visited our pediatrician as well as a pediatric cardiologist and they both say the girls are "as healthy as a horse". :) Evie's hole in her heart has completely closed and Jing Yi's is very small and will most likely close in the next 6 months. Praise the Lord for His goodness to us and the girls. We just thought we loved the girls before getting them. We absolutely adore them and are aware each day of the huge blessing of getting to enjoy these precious children. We will be celebrating their second birthdays this coming weekend with my family and Nathan's. It should be a lot of fun. This is such a blessing since we prayed countless nights for God to allow us to get them before their second birthday.

 

 

 

 

We're home

We made it!! We were unsure during the last couple of hours of the flight. We were delayed due to weather then had to wait to taxi to the gate. We were on the plane around 17 hours! The girls did sleep around 8 hours which was such a blessing! Thanks so much for your prayers. The girls are absolutely the most adorable things we've ever seen. We're blown away by God's goodness to us! Jet lag is killing us but the girls finally slept around 6-7 hours last night. It was fretful and not consecutive hours but seven hours none the less. Nathan and I are still figuring out sleep since they move around so much in the night. We're getting to see more and more of their personalities and sweetness. They respond well to routine and we passed the hurdle of the car seat. The first time was brutal for all of us but day two it was as if they'd ridden in them their whole lives. We're looking forward to getting our days and nights straight. Abbie is still very attached to Nathan while Evie is attached to me. We're a little nervous about him returning to work since Evie almost always falls apart when I hold Abbie. We're hoping they'll adjust quickly. Considering all the transition the girls are doing exceptionally well. Praise God for His goodness and mercy!

Nathan's first Father's Day

Thankful for a row to ourselves on the plane

Please Pray!

Hey everyone! I'm asking on Kim and Nathan's behalf to please pray for their flight back home with those two precious girls! She said that they leave (our time) early Thursday morning at 12:40 a.m.. They have a layover for about two hours, and then leave around 7:30 a.m. In other words, pray before you go to bed tonight and all day Thursday:) They arrive at 8 p.m. in Altanta, GA.

two more pictures

Update!

Wow!! This has definitely been the craziest week of our lives. Internet has been sketchy and honestly we really don't have very much time on our hands for blogging .:) This will be a brief overview. Gotcha Day was incredible. The girls are so beautiful and fun! It was wonderful to discover their little personalities that first day. They bonded quickly to us and didn't show many signs of grieving. We were actually a little worried about that our first night. On Tuesday Abbie woke up grieving really badly then Evie followed. We were able to get them settled down just in time to rush to our civil affairs appointment where the adoption became official ! Praise the Lord! It was pretty much a circus there trying to keep the girls occupied while signing a mountain of paperwork. The girls have been grieving badly and it seems to get worse each day. Their grieving consist of just overall sadness, episodes of intense screaming, and sometimes refusing to eat. We leave for Guangzhou this afternoon and we're excited about the change in scenery and being around other adoptive families. We're a bit lonely here and would love to be able able to ask advice of folks who have done this before. Please pray for our flight. Evie is still sick and Abbie is a little. We're worried about their ears. Please pray they'd take a bottle during take off and landing. They've mostly refused them so far. We really appreciate your prayers. Even in the midst of the grieving the girls are the most precious things we've ever seen. 

snack time

bath time

Abbie

Brief Update

We're posting this quick update on behalf of Kim and Nathan as they're continuing to experience internet issues. First of all, PRAISE the LORD!! The girls are safely in their arms. They wanted us to convey how humbled they are by the many prayers of family and friends! They have been felt by them immensely and are grateful to God for how smooth of a transition it has been thus far. Not to say it has been easy on the girls or the parents but The Lord has been more than gracious to carry them through the first day and night. We can't say that the new parents of twins got a good nights sleep but it appears that the girls got some good rest! :) They have asked for prayers, especially for Evie. She has a terrible cold and is resisting any medicines they try to offer :( If you will also continue to pray for their next week in country as they continue to adjust to their new life with mommy and daddy!! From the few pictures we have seen of Abbie and Evie with Nathan and Kim, they are sure to melt your hearts as much as they have ours!!

Taiyuan - Day 4

We arrived in Tiayuan around 2:00 pm. Our sweet guide, Summer, greeted us and took us to our hotel and to run some errands. I'm actually feeling worse today so that's been disappointing. I'm trying every trick in the book to shake this head congestion. Please pray I can rest tonight and feel better in the morning. Tomorrow is a pretty big day for us, a day that will forever change our lives.....Gotcha Day!!!! We're surprisingly calm tonight. I'll have to admit it's super weird to have two cribs in our room though. :)We shifted some things so I  think we'll still have a bit of room for the girls to play in here.  We had dinner in the room while getting things unpacked and plan to go to bed early. Today has been a day full of "lasts" before children. We're so excited for tomorrow to be full of " firsts". Thanks so much for your prayers! Will you pray the girls could sleep well in their hotel tonight and will feel safe with us tomorrow? We should get them around 9:30 am which is 9:30 pm EST on Sunday, June 2nd. Can't wait to tell you how it goes! 

We'll try to add pictures as soon as possible also...so frustrated because we're not able to at the moment. 

Hong Kong - Day 3

We finally got eight hours of sleep due to me drugging myself when I initially woke up at 4:30 am. Sadly, I (Kim) woke up feeling rough...cold/sinus stuff. :( It could be far worse but I'm prayerful that I'll feel better before Monday. I rested in the morning, Nathan worked out, then we explored Hong Kong a bit. We took the star ferry over to Hong Kong Island, rode the escalators to SOHO then grabbed dinner. At dinner we talked about our expectations for Gotcha Day. We came to the conclusion that expectations for this are pretty useless. It could go a million different ways. We're trying to prepare ourselves for a rough day and any smiles from the girls will be a bonus. We're thrilled the time has come for us to get to enjoy them!

Hong Kong - Day 2

We're so grateful for our time here to recover a bit from jet lag. Yesterday was especially rough. We can't decide if it's due to our schedule (flying in late to Beijing then needing to leave by 7:30the next morning) or if it's due to us being older. I vote the former. Our thoughts are mostly consumed with the twins and our time at the foster home yesterday. We CANNOT wait to get them Monday but we're also in much prayer for their little hearts facing this huge transition as well as the foster family. It's been such a mix of emotions while here. We're rejoicing that God is blessing us with these specific children but also aware there is so much loss associated with adoption. Nathan has mentioned the birth mom and how we are so sad she can't enjoy the girls. We so wish there were some way she could know the girls are going to be loved unconditionally. We also love the Chinese people and culture and are sad that the girls will miss out on growing up here. However, in the midst of this we're reminded of God's Sovereign and Good plan to put them in our home. We know this will bring Him the most Glory and consequently us and the girls the most joy! Thanks for your prayers! We're dependent on them. Could you pray for the girls to feel safe and loved as they leave the foster family Sunday morning? (10:00 pm Saturday EST) They will travel to Taiyuan by train with two nannies from the foster home then stay overnight in a hotel and be picked up by strangers from their original orphanage to be brought to us, another set of strangers, only we're white, can't speak their language and have big noses. :)

Beijing - Day One

(Note: post written yesterday but unable to publish due to connection. Hong Kong is wonderful so far)

Due to jet lag we were up early. Tossing and turning after 4:30 and out of bed around 5:30. It will be miracle if this post makes any sense at this point in the day. The visit to the foster home this morning could not have gone better. Praise the Lord!!! Our prayer had been 1. That we could clearly communicate our gratitude to the foster family and foster home, 2. The foster family would feel comforted by meeting us in sending the girls to our home and 3. That we could soak up the sights, sounds, and people to pass along to the girls as they get older and gather information to help with the transition. God completely answered our (thats a collective our, thanks so much for praying) prayers! We were able to connect with the foster mom and even hear some of her heart as she gets ready to send the girls off. We had  4 pages (double spaced at least) of questions for her and she graciously answered them all.  We could tell she genuinely loves the girls. She is such a joyful lady and was truly an encouragement to us.  The foster home staff were so generous with their time in giving us a tour of the foster home, taking us to the foster family's home (the foster dad had the girls at the park:), and going through the twins' medical and developmental records with us. We are blown away by God's goodness to us and the girls in allowing them to be cared for by this foster home. We're now on our way to Hong Kong to spend a couple of nights until we can get the girls on Monday. We so appreciate your prayers. God is answering them.  "Great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see, all I hath needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me (us)." 

Sent from my iPad

We've arrived...

We survived the long flight (one segment was 14.5 hrs!) as well as could be expected, and we're now in Beijing! I took this photo out our hotel window this morning...thankful for the nice, sunny day. Now we're off to meet Abbie and Evie's foster parents and the foster home staff, although we won't have an opportunity to see the girls. We're a bit nervous...want to be able to express our gratitude and respect for them, while also absorbing all the info and wisdom that we can. Thanks for your prayers!

We're off to get our Daughters!!!!!!

We can't believe the day is finally here to leave to get the twins!! Our flight to South Korea leaves at 1:15 pm then we'll connect to Beijing and arrive Wednesday evening. Thank you so much for your prayers. We're depending on them. 

We'll lose one of these bags in Beijing. 

TA IS HERE!!!!!

Praise the Lord!! Our Travel Approval arrived on Tuesday, May 14th!!! I'll be honest, my faith was weak and I certainly struggled with much anxiety in this leg of the wait. God met me there and reminded me of Truth in His Word and through sweet friends! THEN, WE GOT THE CALL!!! Hallelujah!!

Both sets of twins at the girls' foster home...double the cuteness. Evie doesn't seem to like babies. :) They said she was all smiles again when they took him from her lap. :) Actually, everyone looks pretty uncomfortable in this photo. :)

Due to a mysterious "white powder" being found in a package, the US Consulate was closed Tuesday- Thursday afternoon. That means we're still waiting on our consulate appointment, but once that is confirmed, we can book our flights! We're hoping to travel May 30th and get the girls forever on June 3rd!!!! It's really hard to believe we'll be boarding a plan two weeks from today to meet our daughters!

"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."  - Job 5:9

Article 5 - Day 7 TA Wait

 Last Tuesday, April 23rd, our paperwork was picked up from the Consulate's office in Guangzhou and sent to the CCCWA for them to issue us our travel approval!! Whoo Hoo! Travel Approvals have been coming pretty quickly (2 weeks or so) lately. We know the Lord has ordained the perfect day so we're eagerly waiting for Him to reveal that day to us!!

Precious friends threw us a shower yesterday in Booneville! I'll post pictures when I get them on my computer. We're blown away and humbled by the generosity and love shown to us by them! I just want to cry when I think about how richly God has blessed us with sweet friends and family who support and love us so well. Grateful is such an understatement!

Shower and One More Week

Our dear friends threw us the most amazing shower on Saturday! I only have one picture at the moment but hope to post more on here when I get them. Our sweet friend Elizabeth took on the job of photographer for the evening! :) The night was such an encouragement as so many of our dearest friends were all in the same room at the same time. I said all week that this was going to feel like our wedding all over again but without all the planning. :) Words cannot express how humbled we've been by God's love shown to us by the community God has put around us. The best were the prayers said for us and the girls. Our friends are concerned for the immediate condition of our girls but ultimately for the hope of their eternity with Christ! What a blessing to have wise friends that love us that much! The morning of the shower I sat in our "slowly coming together" nursery and thanked God that He's given us the gift of parenthood and the honor of a baby shower. It was a sweet moment of seeing His faithfulness and Goodness in the hard times and in the times of joy!

Cassie and her husband Trace are in the process of adopting from China too!

On another note, who knew two weeks could feel so long?! We're one week into our wait for our Article 5 pick-up. I'm so thankful God is allowing us to be in this part of the process so early. We could very easily still be waiting on our Letter Seeking Confirmation if He hadn't chose to work a miracle! One week from today our wait for Travel Approval will begin. Whoo Hoo!

Article 5 Pick Up Date

We found out just now that our Article 5 pick up date is scheduled for April 23rd! Once it's picked up it will go to the CCCWA for them to issue our Travel Approval! Crazy!

Cute bathing suits my friend Alicia sent when we found out we got the girls! Can't wait to see them in these this summer!

GUZ #

Yay! Our information has been entered at the National Visa Center. Once entered they issue you a number that begins with GUZ... therefore folks call it your GUZ #. It seems that once you have your GUZ #, it's wired to the Consulate pretty quickly...we're hoping tomorrow or Wednesday. We also finally received our I-800 provisional approval in the mail on Friday!

On a different note, we were invited by sweet friends, Stuart and Anna Day, to join them in Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge Run! It was the best weekend ever!!! :) Stuart's parents hosted us and completely took all of the logistical stress of a race off the table for us. Mr. Day dropped us right at the start line and they allowed us to use their parking space downtown to jump in our car and drive home after the race. They were such generous hosts and have a beautiful home. The weather was perfect. Stuart was our tour guide with cheesy tour jokes and all. Anna did a great job of a shopping tour for me too. So thankful God allowed us to enjoy a weekend away before the girls come. The only sad part is that this is the only picture we have to show for the weekend. ;( Thankful Anna snapped this one with her phone. :)

I-800 Provisional

It seems Evie wanted both toys

Love that Abbie is looking at pictures of us!

 On Tuesday I called USCIS to get an update on our I-800 application. Each day I've gotten nervous before opening the mailbox and each day I've been disappointed by the absence of our provisional approval. So I was thrilled when the USCIS representative told me that he had processed and approved our application on Monday, April 1st! We still have not received it in the mail, but that isn't slowing anything down since the USCIS directly forwards our provisional approval on to the National Visa Center for them to process. Once it's gone through the NVC they forward our information to the Consulate in Guangzhou. Hold on girls! We're coming as fast as we can!!

The Package Made It!

We received the most precious pictures of the twins opening the package we sent!! These are our favorite ones yet. God was so gracious to give us this gift! Especially today when our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the sacrifice He made for us. As I type this it's 10:00 a.m., 2000+ years ago Christ was an hour into his torturous, lonely death that gave us eternal life. His love and mercy are immeasurable. Here are the sweet pictures of our daughters!

Catch Up

These are some memories I want to include on the blog but have gotten pushed to the side with the adoption news. Over Valentine's weekend we were able to go to a WONDERFUL adoption conference, courtesy of Nathan's parents. Thank you! :) Below are some pictures from the weekend.

 We got to stay with the Musgroves on the way down! They even made us steak and salmon...we crashed their Valentines and Foster was only weeks old....too good to us! It was such sweet time with them.

Then the Dooley's opened their home to us while attending the conference! So fun to get time with this fun family...they were so great at welcoming us into their lives. Don't you love the kids' faces in this picture. :) Love pink bear. :)

Me and Lauren :)

To prove Nathan was actually there :)

 

Blythe stole my heart by constantly bringing books to be read. She is only days older than our girls...I hope they'll be great friends! 

Then the following weekend we got to see the Uzzells in Clemson! I cannot express how thrilled I am that they live so close now!!