Home Sweet Home!!

We said goodbye to our amazing guide Martin and we were on our way for a 24+ hour journey from Guangzhou, China to JFK in New York.  I was really nervous about how Maggie would do.  My poor girl has gone through so many changes in the last few weeks and now she has no idea what is about to happen!  We had a short flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, a five hour layover in Hong Kong, a 15.5 hour flight to JFK and then an hour and a half drive to Connecticut!  That's a lot for anyone let alone my poor baby girl.

Dad and Martin - these two became the best of buddies :-)

Martin, me and Maggie

Flight #1

NOT happy...at all...for the whole flight!!!

Thankfully it was only a 35 minute flight

Still fairly happy during our five hour layover!!  YAY!!

We were lucky enough to get bulk head seats with a bassinett.  There was a 3rd person in our row but she was nice enough to move to another seat which gave us more room for Maggie to get comfy.

She was charming everyone within ear shot with her babble

Resting up for our big homecoming - just a short 13 hours away!!

My girl was a champ on this flight!!!  I couldn't believe how great she did.  Other than a few fussy moments when she couldn't get comfortable she was so great!!  When the plane landed several people, including the flight attendants and the pilot, told me that they were so impressed with her and how well she did. 

Once we got through customs and immigration, my girl was a US CITIZEN!!!!  We couldn't wait to get out to see our family and friends that were waiting for us.  We got such a great homecoming as we came through the doors!!!  The best surprise was that my brother Tim flew in from Utah to meet his new niece!!!  I was videoing as we came through the doors and Katie was videoing from the other end.  You can tell in both videos the exact moment that I saw Tim!!!

After almost six years of waiting and dreaming of her...Maggie is HOME at last!!!

China - Day 13 - LAST DAY IN CHINA!!!

Today was our final day in China.  As much as I want to go home, I can't believe that it is really coming to an end.  In less than 24 hours I will be boarding a plane for the USA with a beautiful baby girl that I am so honored to call my daughter.  I'm surprised to say that I have mixed feelings about it.  I am ecstatic that I will be coming home to family and friends that are already madly in love with this child that they have never met, but sad for all that Maggie will never know.  Although I know that her life with me will be much better than she ever could have had in the rural area of China where she is from, I am sad for all that she will never know.

I am sad that she will never know the circumstances that led her to become an orphan.

I am sad that she spent the first year of her life in a orphanage.

I am sad that she will never know who her birth family is.

I am sad because I am certain there is a mother out there that yearns for the child she carried for nine months and hopes that she is safe and warm and loved.

I am sad that her birth family will never know how much she is loved already.

I am sad.

But, yet...I am so happy.

I am happy that I have been blessed with such a beautiful and gentle child!

I am happy that she already recognizes me as the one who loves her and will meet her every need and that she cries when I walk out of sight!

I am happy that she is the first thing I see when I open my eyes in the morning!

I am happy that my sweet girl has come so far in such a short time!

I am happy that I have been chosen to be her mom.  Forever!

I am happy!

My happy, happy girl!!

I love her right down to her sweet little toes

 We went swimming again today and I'm pretty sure that just like me, my girl is going to love the summer time!!  She had a blast and was kicking and splashing all over the place.  We spent some quiet time together just enjoying our last day in China and I told her over and over again how much I love her and that I promise to take care of her forever.

Goodbye China Hotel!!!

Tomorrow morning we will be picked up at 7am to begin the final step in a long six year process.

Thank you to everyone who followed our adventures in China.  We loved your emails, comments, texts and phone calls and it made me realize how lucky I am.  How lucky we are.

I'm bringing my girl home...Maggie at last!!

Much love to you all!!!  Next stop - USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

China - Day 12

Today was our US Consulate appointment - the final step in completing the adoption process here in China.  My girl looked so stinkin cute in her green dress from one of our favorite neighbors, The Gellerts!!  It's a size 9 months and is still quite big on my little peanut :-)

At the consulate appointment I had to take an oath that all the information that I provided was true and that I will love and protect my beautiful daughter from this day forward.  I got a little teary eyed as I held up my right hand and took the oath.  It is the final step on the Chinese side and tomorrow we will get her visa and passport, pack our bags and start the long journey home on Friday morning.

We went out to celebrate (aka as more shopping) with another trip to Shamian Island and then to Lucy's for lunch.  I had a grilled chicken wrap that my dad kept insisting was probably pigeon!!  Either way, it was good.

When I told Maggie we were heading to the USA on Friday, she got VERY excited!!!

I also had my first "squatty potty" experience!

We went to the pool to cool off after all the shopping and once again my girl LOVED it!!!

Tonight we had our farewell dinner as the other family in our group is leaving on Thursday night.  We ate at a Japanese restaurant and all had to take off our shoes and sit on the floor - not so easy for Dad but it seemed like the more rice wine he drank, the easier it was to get comfy :-)

It was actually a great set up because Maggie and her friend June could crawl all around us and play together as we ate!  We love June and are going to miss her and her family so much.  She and Maggie are from the same orphanage so they will always have a special bond.

We also celebrated my birthday with a delicious cake that tasted like it had seaweed frosting on it!!

It was actually disgusting with blobs of jello like things inside!

Tomorrow we will get Maggie's passport and visa and then say goodbye to the Tenney family.  Dad and I are so anxious to get home to our family and friends!!

China - Day 11

Today was my birthday and I got to share it with the most amazing and precious gift I've ever received!  Waking up to her beautiful face makes everything right in my world.  I cannot believe how lucky I am to have been chosen to be her mother.

I had to complete a lot of paperwork today in order for Maggie to get her passport, visa and for her to travel with me back to the United States.  Once we step off the plane at JFK on Friday night she will officially be a US Citizen!!!  Since we had some time to kill I thought I'd take her to the pool to see if she liked it.  She loves the bath so I had a hunch that she would love the pool.  I'm happy to say that my girl did not let me down!!  Not only did she look adorable in her little pineapple swimsuit but she LOVED the pool.  She was squealing so loud that people came out of the building to see what was going on :-)

Tonight we went on a dinner cruise down the Pearl River in Guangzhou.  The Pearl River is the 3rd largest river in China, over 1200 miles long, with 10 bridges in the city of Guangzhou.  All of the bridges come alive at night decorated in different colored bright neon lights.  We were seated at a table with this cute family who didn't speak a word of English.  They were from north eastern China and are Muslims.  Their little girl was adorable and they were in Guangzhou celebrating her just finishing kindergarten.  Dad and I had a great conversation with them thanks to our guide/interpreter Martin.  They loved Maggie and were so happy for her to be with a loving family.

The whole city is lit up at night

It seems as if almost every building is colored in bright neon lights

Entertainment on board :-)

Guess who finally ate something other than a bottle??

Turns out that my girl really likes Hagen Dazs cookies and cream ice cream!

  I can't wait to take her to The Creamery this summer!!

And finally...just because she looks so cute after a bath...

I must be the luckiest the girl in the world!!

China - Day 10

Last night was a rough night.  Maggie is not feeling well and was very restless and woke up crying several times throughout the night.  There were several times where she was completely inconsolable. I'm not sure if it's because she is not feeling well or because if in some way she knows that her life has changed and she is grieving for the loss of all that she has known in her short little life.  Either way, this mama's heart breaks when she cries and cannot be comforted.  She finally did fall into a deep sleep and slept until about 9:30am this morning.  As usual, when she woke up she was her sweet, happy little self!

 

We had a free day today so Dad, Maggie and I decided to check out the Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King.  It's a very cool place with exhibits of a tomb that was discovered in 1983 right around the corner from our hotel.  In addition to the Nanyue King there were 15 sacrificial victims found buried with the emperor.

This afternoon I hired Ann from Red Thread China to take us shopping at the pearl and jade markets as well as the silk market for traditional Chinese dresses for Maggie.  Ann is who I used to send a care package to Maggie shortly after I received her referral.  She is awesome and got us amazing deals on so many things!!  The jewelery market was a huge building full of vendors selling every kind of jewelery you could imagine.  Ann knew all the right places to go and was able to get us wholesale pricing on everything.  I bought some beautiful gifts to give to Maggie as she grows up!!

 Ann and the women in the store stringing pearl necklaces and bracelets for me

The jewelery market was HUGE!!!

Still smiling after buying lots and lots of jewelery :-)

Next was the jade market where we bought tons of things for Maggie at ridiculously low prices!!

Dad was chatting it up with all the ladies at the market

 These men were huddled in the street checking out a new selection of jade bangle bracelets

Ann was AWESOME and totally worth it to shop with!!  She loves working with adoptive families!!

 My love...

Maggie has been doing so great with her crawling and standing skills.  She absolutely LOVES this ball that her cousin Liam bought for her and will chase it all over our room to get her hands on it!!

Lion dancers in our hotel lobby celebrating the release of a new brand of wine!!

Although it was a happy day for us, it was also filled with sadness.  Today is Mom's birthday and she would have been 70 years old.  She was as excited as me for Maggie to join our family and she couldn't wait to travel to China.  I'm so sad that she isn't with us and that Maggie will never know the amazing Nana who loved her before she was even born.  Happy Birthday Mom - I miss you!