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!