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!!