Day 5 As A Family - Pictures!

 Day 5 back in America! We are doing very well! Adjusting...getting used to America's time again (jetlag has been so hard!)...Sophie is meeting all of these new people....we are doing well! We need lots of prayer though, we have a long journey ahead and will need all the prayer we can get. Sophia has come so far in these 3 weeks since we've had her in our arms, already though! But, settling in with three little kids is hard, as you would imagine. Samuel, Isaac, and Sophia all get along, but like I said, we have a long road ahead. We'll get there, though!

 I have lots of pictures to share! We had an incredible time in China, definitely a once in a lifetime experience! I am so happy that my parents got to experience China, but, we were all very happy to be back in America! So happy to have our WHOLE family together....I've been saying that over and over this week! So happy.
 With 3 ornery children, family pictures are definitely a struggle...haha, so though we haven't had complete family picture yet, that will come!

Rob and Rachel waiting in Newark to leave for China!

China!

In Beijing

Wal-Mart was insane! haha

"There she is! There she is! That's her, there she is!!"



There she is :)



Sophia Grace!!

Momma's first time holding her baby girl!

Sophia and her Daddy :)

Hearts so full....

Such a sweet reunion! So happy to have her in my arms again. I have found myself in finding my sister.

Together!!

She loves mirrors!

Rob, Rachel, with their adoption ceritificate!

Rob and Sophie at the Luoyang orphanage - where she stayed from February-June.

Sophie's "EMPTY" crib!

Maria's Big House of Hope!

Emily, Sophie, and Rachel in the Jungle Book Room!

Sophie with a very sweet and special Nanny!
When I (Emily) left MBHOH last year, I said goodbye to Sophie and I started crying.
This Nanny started speaking to me in Chinese, and though I couldn't understand what she was saying,
I knew by the look on her face that she was wondering why I was so sad.
We didn't speak each other's language, so I tried acting out the reason why I was sad. haha.
I told her, "I will miss her....I....will....miss...her....I WILL MISS HER..." and I finally said, "Wo Ai Ni," (which means I Love You) and I patted Sophie's back. And I contiued with, "I am going to miss her."
She understood so clearly then.
It was wonderful to go back and right as I walked into their room, she gave me a big hug and started saying something in Chinese. A translator then came up and told me, "She's saying she remembers you!"

It is so evident that the Nannies there are in love with the babies at MBHOH
and care so much for them. So thankful for their hearts!

This is on MBHOH's roof. AKA: my favorite place on earth.
This is the exact spot where I heard God's voice so clearly...
This is where God confirmed to me that Sophie is my sister. This place takes my breath away!

So thankful for our visit to MBHOH!

Me, with friends, Abby and Dan, whom I met last year in China! Wonderful people!

Mom and Sophie doing laundry!

Miss Hollywood!!

China requires that you wear swimming caps......

Hahahahaha.

Mom and Sophie playing with stickers!

Sophie loves her shoes! In all sizes!

First doctor's check up

We went on a river cruise in Guangzhou - it was amazing!!

So happy :)

Canton Tower, (the Rainbow Tower) - the second largest building in the world!
In Guangzhou, China

We had a great time at the Guangzhou Zoo!

"Little Sister" :)

so sweet....

This is the "Sophie look." She's so rotten! Haha

"Goodbye, China..."

Sophie enjoying the airplanes :)



Leaving Hong Kong for HOME!



Momma's Girl!



First look at America!



Our amazing friends with their tshirts made up waiting at the airport!
Sad news - our flights got messed up from Chicago to Indianapolis, so we didn't get to see these guys in person.
But they all wore their shirts the following Sunday as we welcomed Sophie home :)

First meeting with big brother, Caleb!

Sophia's very own bedroom :)



Sophia at HOME :)

Sophie with her brothers, Sam, and Isaac!

Update From Guangzhou, China!

(This was a blog that I tried to send while in Guangzhou, China, last week.)

Hey, Bloggers! I am so sorry for not updating that much, the internet is so difficult to deal with, and we're going a confusing route to blog, but I am trying my best to keep everyone updated! We've had our second full day, here, in Guangzhou! Guangzhou is very interesting, humid, hot, busy, and so far has been a whole lot of fun! We've already made trips to Mcdonalds, explored along the streets not far from our hotel, I'm taking TONS of pictures, we ordered pizza, we're resting, and guess what!? I found a STARBUCKS! We are staying at this INSANE hotel and it is so big and high tech....it's crazy. This evening, we went on the Pearl River cruise! It was amazing and the lights were so pretty! Today has been a week that we've had our Sophia! You will never believe how much she has improved in just a week's time. It's amazing what being loved for just one week will do to a person. It is so amazing what love can do. Sophia is starting to make out words! She
normally just makes a noise that's kind of like, "Aiyiyiyiyiyi!" if you can make that out! Haha! But, she is starting to say, "Hi," while she waves...she is starting to call Mom, "Ma," she sometimes says, "Dada," for Dad. She is very loud, she screams when she's excited and when she's mad or sleepy. She is so hilarious.... she keeps us laughing so hard! She makes the funniest faces. And her laugh....oh, her laugh! In a week, we have seen her become so happy! Her laugh is the sweetest sound. Sometimes, she laughs so much that she can't stop and she just buries her face in her lap, just laughing away. It is, by far, the most beautiful thing ever. She has really clung to Mom! She loves her Momma! When we first got her, she would only go to Mom (even still, she prefers her haha) but she is starting to come to Dad and I. I was very sad at first, when she didn't have anything to do with me. Mainly because everyone kept asking if she remembered me or if it was
just like it was a year ago...but it wasn't. It was a precious moment when we were reunited again and when Mom and Dad got to hold her and meet her for the first time...but those first few days were very hard. For her and for us. She is still adjusting, but she is doing so well now. And each day, she becomes a little closer to me again. A couple of days ago, she started reaching for me, wanting me to hold her....even though it was just only for a few seconds! Haha But, she likes for me to hold her longer now, sometimes. And, today, she let me rock her to sleep for the first time! I held her and we took a nap, this afternoon.... I was so happy that I cried a little bit. She slept for about an hour and a half. (She has good days if she has a nap!) She is a girly girl! Sophia is in love with shoes and having her hair done! She will often bring the hairbrush to us, wanting us to fix her hair. And anytime she sees shoes, on they go! She loves dresses and
hair pretties. We think that her color is yellow! She looks the best in yellow! Sophia rode on her first plane on Saturday! And she did wonderful!! She was so good! Also, I asked for prayer on Facebook earlier today because she was having her visa photo taken, a medical exam, and a TB test. Even though I can't read the comments or even really know for sure if my status update posted (via text message) I still know people were praying. And we prayed specifically for that.... we know that prayer works and that our Father is good.... Sophia did such an incredible job this morning with everything! She was so good and cooperative! Praise our Father! And we thank you for the prayers!

Aside from our Sophia and all of the stories that follow, we are having a great time in China! I, mostly, am loving it. I am so happy to be back. It was so good to be back in Luoyang last week and to see friends and babies whom I love so dearly! It is so good to experience the smell again...the good smells along with the bad! I've learned to cherish it all! Haha Even though I love China a whole lot, I am missing home a lot. Mom and Dad especially are. I miss my brothers a lot. We got to skype them all last night and the night before! It was great to see their faces and to hear their voices! Caleb also skyped us while he was in Sunday School at church yesterday morning! So, we got to see some of our church family's faces! So good! We have been on so many adventures and I can't wait to tell you all these stories! Even though I can't blog that much or share everything on Facebook, I have journaled pretty much everything so that I will never forget anything
on this crazy adventure.

Please pray for us for the rest of the week - for safety, health, adjusting, staying energized, handling important paperwork, and for Sophia to continue to do well (mentally and physically) and to bond with us. Tomorrow morning, we are going to the Guangzhou Zoo! There will be panda bears!! I am super excited! And on Wednesday, we will visit the Pearl Market and do some shopping! I am pumped to find some bargains and some cool things to bring back home! Thursday is our Consulate Appointment and that is a big day. We ask for prayer for that day! And this weekend, we will travel to Hong Kong and on Sunday we go HOME. :) We appreciate all of the prayers and encouragement and for your love to us. Thank you for loving us! Have a wonderful week, everyone! I will try to update again as soon as possible!

-Emily

An Small Update From China!

Bloggers!!!!!! It is so good to be on Internet! We are in Zhengzhou, China, where it is hard to be on the Internet where we're at.....this is on an iPad right now so i cannot type much. But I just wanted to send a short update! This is our third day with our sweet Sophia Grace...she is such a joy. I'm so happy that we are finally together again and that she is with us, safe and sound! Yesterday was a hard day for all of us, while on the road for a long time, but she is doing better today....way better. We would definitely appreciate your prayers for us for the next week and a half, all of us! On another note, zhengzhou is awwweesommmeee!!! And we took a road trip to Luoyang yesterday which was fun. The way there wasn't though haha, it was long to drive. But we ate at a duck restaurant which I ate at last year with my Show Hope group and it was awesome, I was happy that my parents got to experience it. It was delicious! We also got to visit the orphanage that Sophie lived at for a couple of months and we also visited Maria's Big House Of Hope! That was good for me. My parents had the blessing of experiencing that kind of hope for the first time....it was good to see the babies that I knew last year, for Sophie's old Nannies to see her with her new family, I was happy to see workers and nurses and very special friends, Abby and Dan, who became my good friends in China last year! It was good to see them...so refreshing. Sophie's nannies were so happy to see her, it was joyful! We took a walk down the street to McDonald's here in Zhengzhou, this evening! It was very interesting and beautiful! Sophie loves to ride in her stroller, she is perfectly content with riding and watching everything. Next week, we will be in Guanzhou, so hopefully we will have Internet by ourselves and I can upload pictures and write more, I have a lot to say and many pictures to share! More stories to come hopefully! Please keep the prayers coming! Thank you all!! :) -Emily