Greetings from Japan!!! Almost home!!!!

Boy, these last couple of days have flown by soooo fast!!! It is hard to believe that we've only had Ellie for a week and a half...so much has gone on!!!!

The smog lifted this morning and we actually saw blue skies above Beijing!!! Thank you all for praying!!! There are some dark clouds here in Tokyo, but nothing too serious...woo hoo!!!

We are getting ready to depart on our final flight of our two week trip (7 flights all together...yikes!!!). Ellie has been a trooper for sure!!! The first flight to Guangzhou, she did amazing (all except the fact that she stayed awake the whole time) :-)!!! 

Our trip to Beijing last night was really rough!!! Our decent lasted 40+ minutes, followed by a 20 minute taxi...Ellie cried through the whole thing :-(... We then arrived at our hotel at almost midnight to get a quick sleep and be ready to go by 4:30 am...yikes!!! Unfortunately Ellie was in a lot of pain last night (we can only guess her ears from the flight), so she cried most of those 4 hours...needless to say, we are extremely sleep deprived!!!

Given our lack of sleep, the 7 flights in 2 weeks as well as staying on the 15th and 17th floor of two of our hotels...the elevator rides, and plane rides and little sleep have made our world be a little loopy!!! Please pray that things will go back to normal quickly when we get home, and the room would stop spinning...lol!!!

Please pray that we would all sleep on this next flight to San Fran (especially Ellie)!!!! Pray that her ears would not bug her (so far all our Delta flights have been amazing, so she did great on the flight here to japan)! 

We also thought we would take the opportunity to remind you that when we come home Ellie will need a chance to adjust...her world has been knocked upside down this past week and a half!! She has been ripped from the only home she has ever known, has been taken away from a people group she has only ever known, and has travelled more in this week and a half than most people do in years!!! Ellie needs to learn to trust Tim and I as her mommy and daddy! She has to learn that we are the ones who will take care of her needs! In her world as she has known it these past 2 weeks, we are the only familiar faces and voices to her. She will need time to learn who all of you are and know the difference between her mommy and daddy, her new brothers and friends and family. 

When we arrive home, I will mostly have Ellie in the Ergo baby carrier when we are out and about (as I have here in China). This is for two fold...one, it is a great way to bond (as close to my womb as she will ever get), and two, we need her not to be held by all of you just yet... I know you all will want to love on her, and there is definitely time for that!!! She just needs time to trust US first...we hope you all understand this!!! 

Words cannot describe how thankful we are to all of you for joining us in this journey, and we can't wait for you to meet her and to hear of our great adventures!!!

We love you!!! See you all soon!!!

Fun from the playroom at the Tokyo airport!!!

Getting some exercise before the long journey home!!!!

Please Pray!!!

We are here in Guangzhou, and the plan is to have our Consulate appt. Monday morning, fly to Beijing on Tuesday evening, and then fly out of Beijing Wednesday morning to Tokyo, then from Tokyo to San Francisco. 

We are watching the news, and it appears that they are canceling flights right now due to the smog in Beijing (let me tell you that it is awful everywhere!!!!!).

We also are hearing of more storms to hit Japan (we just missed the typhoon by a day when we came). 

Please pray that there would be a strong wind to come to Beijing to help reduce the smog, and that all our flights will not be cancelled!!!

Also please pray that we will miss any storms headed to Japan!!!

Thank you in advance for your prayers!!! We can't wait to get home for you to meet our sweet, sweet baby girl!!!

Our Adventures in Xi'an :-)!!!

Xi'an (pronounced Shee On) is the capital city of the province where Ellie is from (Shaanxi). We arrived in Xi'an on Sunday afternoon and left Friday evening. 

During our time in Xi'an we were able to see and experience lots of fun different things!! After getting Ellie and having a few appointments, we were able to have a couple of days of free time to explore as well as a day where we got to tour the Terra cotta soldiers.

In our free time, we had fun taking in all the sights and sounds of the city. We even ventured out to the "underground world" of the subway!!! We had so much fun!!

On Wednesday we got to go to the "8th Wonder of the World!" The Terra Cotta Soldiers are life size soldiers that were made over 2000 years ago during one of the Dynasties. They were buried underground, and in 1974 a local farmer unearthed them while digging for a well.

It was so cool to see an actual "archaeological" find!!! The museum is open during the day, and then the archaeologists dig during the night and in the morning. They are still uncovering more!! 

Due to the fact that the government of China owns all the land, the farmer never got any compensation  for finding the soldiers, nor any recognition. It wasn't until the 1990's when President Clinton came to visit that he inquired about the farmer. After that, the farmer became famous and now works in the museum signing autographs (we got one) :-)!!!

We had so much fun in Xi'an and will never forget our time there!!! Enjoy some pictures:

This is us on the Subway...we made it, and all packed in :-)!!!

We did as the locals did and crossed the crazy traffic!!!

This picture is for you, Kari, and for the Listers :-)...gotta love the Canadian gear in the China mall!!!

Only in China can you find a whole section in the department store for Ping Pong paddles :-)!!!

In the "Underground World" where you can walk to get to different places under the street, we found a vendor who sells and makes these cool flutes!!! They are beautiful and he played "Jingle Bells" for Ellie :-).

Here we are in front of the vendors underground :-)!! We definitely found some cool finds!!!

We of course had to stop at McDonalds to get some soft serve ice cream...Ellie LOVED it :-)!!!

Here we are outside the Terra Cotta soldier factory where we saw how the soldiers were made over 2000 years ago, and how they make replicas today for souveniers.

This is inside the place where the soldiers were found. There are 3 different sites where the soldiers were found. This first site had the most soldiers that have been unearthed.

This is Tim in front of the "Kneeling Archer" (all the soldiers have different ranks). This kneeling archer was the only soldier left in tact with only a small piece broken off his foot.

Tim did some bartering outside the site and was able to get all of us some souvenir soldiers :-)...way to go Tim!!!

Reading stories with daddy :-)...

For our last dinner in Xi'an, we were so tired after lots of days of touring, so we decided to order a hamburger from the hotel cafe...this was the "American Burger..." lol!!! It was a large patty of some mysterious meat, some cheese, and a sunny side up egg. We've never had one of those in America, and most certainly will never have one again in China...lol!!!

What a blessing it was to spend so many days in Xi'an! We loved experiencing the culture and had fun trying to be a part of it in a small way!!!

Next stop, Guangzhou!!!...

 

A little check in :-)!!!

Well, the days are going fast and we have arrived in Guangzhou!!! I'm hoping to blog this afternoon with some fun pics, but I wanted to let you all know that we're doing great!!! Ellie is a trooper and such a cutie!!!

She just woke up, so it's time for a bottle and then some breakfast :-)... Talk to you all soon :-)!!!

Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall

Here's some more pictures from Saturday's tour of Beijing:

In Tiananmen Square...

The massive crowd to get into the Forbidden City...

Inside the Forbidden City...

At the Great Wall...Tim climbed to the top which you actually cant see in this picture...it is straight up and then curves higher to the right...

Some fun signs and proof that Tim made it to the top... "You are here No.8 Beacon Tower"

At the top!!! My hero :-)!!!

Todays big adventure...Our official signing of the adoption paperwork and a trip to the Police Station for her passport :-)

Today was a crazy day...for starters, we tried to stay up last night in order to Skype the boys, but we were exhausted and couldn't stay up (15 hour time difference). so we woke up this morning in order to Skype them in the afternoon (their time).

It was so fun to see the boys and for them to see their new sister!!! What fun they will all have together!!

We then ate a quick breakfast and headed to the Civil Affairs office again to sign paperwork. We had a fun time just being with the other families...we continue to get along great and are having a blast together!!

We were bummed to find out that the orphanage would not grant our request to go and visit, but were blessed to find out that Sherry (our guide) woked it all out so that we could all go visit our kids hometown of Baoji and even find the villages where they were found!!! This was a huge answer to prayer for us!!! We all are so excited to travel to our kids place of birth and perhaps even find answers to some of our questions!!

Please pray that everything will work out great for us to go do this on Thursday. Sherry found out that the village that Ellie was found is lot farther than the other 3 families (there's are all very close), but the other families are so sweet and are willing to make it so that we can all go together and split the cost...they are willing to travel the extra distance for us...what a blessing!!!

Enjoy some pictures of our day:

Could she be any more precious??? This is me trying to feed her "Congee," but I have quickly learned that she probably has never eaten from a spoon because she really didn't know how to eat from a spoon :-)...

Footprints to make everything official!!!

Our thumbprints on our signatures...she's offically a Nielsen!!!

Finishing up the last of the signatures with the Notary.

Daddy and Ellie asleep on the bus ride back :-)...so precious!!!

We didn't really get pics at the Police Station, but did get some video footage...you'll just have to see the videos later :-)...

And now, she's asleep...content and resting for the night after a long busy day!!!

We "Gotcha" Ellie!!! Happy Birthday

What a whirlwind past 24 hours we have had!!! We stand in amazment at the past 24 hours and all that has transpired!!!

I truly can't how our "Gotcha Day" with Ellie could've gone any better!! 

Us 4 families arrived at the Civil Affairs office before our kids arrived, so you can imagine the anticipation as we heard each noise coming down the hall!! Then it was mass chaos from there :-)...We were joined by 4 other families from Spain that were also adopting, so there were 8 families total crammed into a tiny room...

Then, all the kids came at once :-)...Ellie's nanny handed her to me and she looked at us contemplating everything for a few moments...then she started crying :-)...it was so sweet!!! Her world just got turned upside down and she saw her nanny and saw us, and became overwhelmed (not to mention the heat-notice the outfit-and all the other kids that were crying in the room). She then rested her head on my shoulders as she began to suck her thumb (again, precious)...that is definitely her "self-soothing" preference!!

After a bit of craziness (pictures and such), we all headed back to the hotel. The bus ride back was surreal...we were all with our kids and they were all silent taking it all in!!

We then got back to the hotel and all hung out together as a group (a huge answer to prayer...all of us families have become so close!!!)! It was fun to see our kids just take it all in!!

We then headed to bed early as we were all exhausted, and Ellie slept great...what a blessing!!!

We GOTCHA Ellie!!! Happy Birthday!!

We GOTCHA!!!

In Mama's arms :-)...everything's gonna be okay!!

From left to right... Ellie's nanny, our guide in Shaanxi, Sherry, us, and the orphanage person in charge of the adoptions (all the kids love him!!).

Ellie's nanny was so sweet and we got to spend a little time with her. We could tell that she truly loved Ellie and was going to miss her!! It was special being able to meet her and learn about Ellie from her!!

Back at the hotel...Happy Birthday Ellie Mei!!! We love you!!!!

My "Hero!!!!"

There's a saying in China, our guide Summer tells us, that those who make it to the top of the Great Wall are considered a "hero!" Well, Tim is definitely my hero, and now in the eyes of China... A hero too!!!

Today was a fun filled day with all the rest of the families in our travel group...there are 5 families all together... One from North Carolina, one from South Carolina, one from Pennsylvania, and one from Lousiana...so I never thought we would say this, but we are the ones that stick out like a sore thumb...lol...not really, but we might come back with a "ya'll" or two in our vocabulary :-)!!! Everyone is super nice and we are having a ton of fun with them!!

After breakfast, we headed to Tianammen Square, the Forbidden City, and then to the Great Wall of China...

Our battery on our camera is dead (charging now for our big day tomorrow...), so I can only post the photos Tim took with the iPad...I'll post some more fun ones later :-)!

This is about maybe half way up to the top... Mind you that the steps are incredibly uneven and all different heights, so it is a lot more difficult than it looks!!!

I made it the farthest out of all the girls, and farther than 3 of the guys :-), but Tim and Jeremy (another dad) made it to the top..."Hero's!!!!" 

This is a picture a Tim took from higher up where you can see a birds eye view of part of the Great Wall...

Just about to the top...woo hoo!!! Way to go!!!

We will add more pictures later, but I hope you enjoy these for now...

Tomorrow is the big day!!! Please keep us in your prayers as we meet our daughter for the first time!!! We are so excited, and can't wait to send pictures!!! Thank you for your constant prayers and support!!! We love you all!!!

First Day in China...AMAZING!!!!

Oh my stars...we have had such an amazing day here in China!!! For one, this was totally a God thing... Tim and I were the only ones in our travel group who opted for the 2 full days of touring, so for today, we were treated to a whole day of our own driver and private guide!!! We have had so much fun!! Our guide was the same guide that travelled with the missions trip that went to Ellie's orphanage and she got to see her and is so excited for us!!! Our guide Summer is soooo sweet, and we have had so much fun!! We needed this time away together, and we feel so incredibly blessed to have it!! We have taken a lot of pictures and have tried to even capture a lot of the everyday life here in China!!

Some things we are growing accustomed to are: the horrific smell of smoke... I feel very blessed that California has the laws they do about smoking...that is certainly not the case here! We are also getting used to the way people drive...no seatbelts, and really not many traffic laws. The traffic is pretty much the same as LA traffic, but the difference is that Chinese drivers are way more chill about everything...it is the insane-ness without the stress!! We are also having fun practicing our Chinese...Tim is having way too much fun with it!!

So here's some pictures of our day...the Summer Palace and Buddhist Temple as well as the Olympic village and 2 amazing Chinese meals!!! Enjoy...

Here we are at the Summer's Palace...this is our guide, Summer...she says it's "her" Palace :-)!! Please pray for Summer...she has no belief system right now and working for our agency, she is constantly being a guide for Christians...pray that we will be able to show her love and have a deep impact on her life!!

This was sooo hilarious...in the lake at the Summer Palace was this giant rubber ducky...Summer says it is new to being here and it has made quite the attraction for tourists...it isn't even Chinese, she said...we checked out the price of buying a small rubber ducky souvenir, and the cost was around $30 USD...I told Summer you could find them for a dollar here in America...lol!!!

We hiked up at least one hundred stairs to get to the top of the Buddhist temple in the temple...it was a beautiful view despite the smog!!! Believe it or not, behind this temple is a giant lake with lots of boats on it!!!

This is us on the "Dragon boat..." We walked a large distance of the Summer Palace grounds and opted to take this really cool boat back to the entrance!

Time for the Olympic Park...we saw the huge "Bird's Nest" where the opening ceremonies were held, and we also saw the Gymnastics center, and the Aquatic Center!

While at Olympic Park, we also saw some fun things unique to China...

Oh my stars...the food is AMAZING!!!! We have had quite the feast!!!

More fun to come tomorrow...one day closer to Ellie!!!