Two Years Today

At 8:18pm on December 20, 2010, I received a special email from our adoption social worker.  We saw Sunshine's face for the first time in her referral and I can remember looking through the pictures like it was yesterday.  It was a day that changed our lives forever.  I am in AWE thinking about all of God's provisions for our family.  Although difficult in many ways, our journey with Sunshine has been one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed and been a part of.  I am so proud to be her mama and know that I am a better person because she's in my life.  I love you precious, precious girl!  Happy Referral Day!

I have re-published our Adoption Movie with the video clips of our Gotcha Day, as well as more video of our time in China.  I am elated to finally have these videos (and Sunshine loves watching them too).  I'd love for you to experience our journey again with the updated re-published video!

Created for Care 2013

I'm going ... are you?

If you haven't had the awesome opportunity to be restored as an adoptive mama (or any kind of mama!) at one of these retreats, please, please, please seriously consider it!  I went this past time in March and will be at the January retreat in 2013.  I'll have a table set up this year for Red Thread Sessions also, come on out and visit me!  The pricing is so incredibly reasonable and most of the mamas share rooms to cut down on costs.  There are so many awesome breakout sessions, we spend much time worshipping Our Lord and just being around other sister in Christ who are in the same boat ... well there's nothing more restorative than that.

Registration begins at 12:01 on Wednesday morning.  Please pray about it!

Packing list!

Of course I couldn't do a blog post without a picture, so here's one from my *attempt* at some portraits with Sunshine's ladybug headband from Jiayin Designs. Her cleft has SO grown on me that I don't even see it anymore. I think I'll be a little sad when her first surgery rolls around in August.

Anywho - We have been home a little over a week now and I wanted to do this while it was still fresh in my mind. I went through my packing list and updated with notes about we did and didn't use while in China. It's probably a little over the top, but if I can help even just one other person, then I feel like the work was worth it! I have always been labeled "organized" (or anal, over-planner or any number of *those* titles) and think the list is a pretty good compilation ... it has everything (literally, everything) that we took with us. Of course, we went in the hot, humid summer and brought home a 1-year old cleft baby, so I suppose you'll need to take that into consideration for your specific needs.

I have yet to figure out how to attach files to blogger, so here is a link to the download - it's .pdf file. If it doesn't work, please shoot me an email at livingouthislove@yahoo.com and I'll email it to you!

DOWNLOAD MY ADOPTION PACKING LIST

Another one

I am finally starting to feel human again and got around to editing another one of Sunshine's portraits tonight! Yay me! I ADORE the beauty of the White Swan Hotel ... seriously - what hotel do you know that has a 3-story waterfall? Wow! I am SO thrilled that Sunshine was transitioning well enough in China for us to do this. Now that we are settling in at home, I am unbelievably thankful for these treasures! What better way to pay tribute to her heritage than to take these portraits in China?! Love, love, love!

We are all doing really well - Sunshine slept through the night last night for the first time since we've been home - it was total heaven! It's wonderful to have her sleeping on the perfect schedule she had when we were in China, I have missed it! She continues to do better every day ... I love that she comes to me for comfort now. I also love all of the cute things she does - I am finding myself falling a little more in love with her every day. She still prefers me over DH, but we make sure that they get some fun one-on-one time every night. The other kids have been fantastic with her - they truly adore her, it's amazing! They both keep telling me how "cute" she is and that they are so glad she is home now. Lovebug told me (unprompted, over breakfast) that he doesn't want her to go back - that *must* be a good sign! LOL.

We have Sunshine's first doctor's visit with the pediatrician tomorrow - wish us luck! Can't wait to hear what he has to say!

Airport Homecoming

Wow, I just treasure these images! I seriously cannot thank our dear friend enough for coming to the airport with my family and capturing this amazing time for us. I always thought that our reunion would be the most emotional part of the trip for me, and BOY was I right. It was priceless to be able to experience everything without having to worry about documenting it - AWESOME! Although we were totally exhausted from travel and hadn't showered in 2 days (LOL), these images mean everything to me! Being reunited with our family and especially with Angel and Lovebug ... wow, emotion overload. Thinking about it now makes me want to tear up ... again.

We are so grateful for all of our wonderful family who took care of Angel and Lovebug while we were gone and helped to make our reunion so special. Seriously, SO grateful. I can't type enough words to show our gratitude. I really just stood in awe at the airport as I thought about everyone that was involved in bringing Sunshine home. She sure is one special girl!!

We are also so unbelievably thankful to all of our loved ones and friends who followed along during our journey, prayed for us, supported us, and sent encouraging messages/notes to us. It's funny to be halfway across the world but not really FEEL like you are because so many people are sending you messages of support and prayer. It made our time away SO much easier.

So now we are trying to settle into the new "normal." It's a bit (ok, A LOT) difficult because Sunshine is so jet-lagged and pretty much has her days and nights confused. This makes for very exhausted parents - we haven't slept since Monday night, save a few hours here and there. Angel and Lovebug are doing phenomenonally well with Sunshine! Angel has quickly taken the role of doting big sister that wants to give lots of hugs and kisses. In fact, on the first night when I was putting her to bed (at 4AM!!), she told me she already missed Sunshine and couldn't wait to see her in the morning. So sweet! Sunshine really loves Angel too - her face lights up when she walks into the room. I think she gets a little overwhelmed with all of the hugs and kisses, but she may as well get used to it!!

Lovebug is also doing extremely well with her, especially given the fact that his title as the "baby" has been stripped. We are trying to give him extra attention so that he doesn't feel left out, and he is definitely eating it up! He really adores Sunshine too though and is very curious about her - but I think Angel wins by far for being the most infatuated with her. LOL. She wants SO badly to help ... with everything.

DH goes back to work on Monday, so the true test will begin then. Yikes! I'm not ready for that, but I figure as long as everyone is fed and no one is hurt or lost, I'm doing a pretty good job :-) I need to pull my camera back out and get some pictures of the kids together! I haven't turned it on since we were in China - I'll get to it, I promise! We are heading outside today despite the somewhat-dreary forecast to get Sunshine in the SUN! I read that getting her out in the sun can help to recalibrate her internal clock ... ohhhh how I hope that's true. We are on the 2nd day of Sunshine waking up at midnight and not going back to sleep until 5am. When I said DH and I hadn't slept in DAYS - I seriously was not kidding! So I apologize for being slow to get back into the swing of things - this jet leg thing is no joke!

WE ARE HOME!!!!

PRAISE GOD, after 24 hours of traveling and 2 airplanes, WE ARE HOME!!!!!!! We got in last night (Wednesday night) at about 9:30pm after a 2-hour weather delay in Beijing. There's nothing like boarding your plane and then sitting for 2 hours without going anywhere with your brand new baby. Blech. Fortunately though, Sunshine was a total champ and slept for more than half the 13-hour flight - she made our lives SO much easier! She also did fantastic on the first 3-hour flight and slept during that one too. She is a true seasoned traveler, that's for sure! DH and I didn't sleep on the flights but that is A-OK with us because Sunshine did SO well! It was totally worth the over-24 hours of no sleep!!

So after passing through Customs/Immigration, Sunshine became a US citizen last night and we were reunited with our family! It took pretty much everything in me not to cry hysterically when we finally got to hug the kids. I think the lack of sleep made it worse! LOL.

Ok, just one picture for now - I am BEAT and have lots of images to work through :-) THANK YOU again to our dear friend for coming to the airport with our family to capture our special reunion (BTW, he also drove a carload of our family too, he is AMAZING!!). We are so blessed to have these images to document Sunshine's homecoming and seriously cannot thank you enough - the pictures are priceless!

Last pics on Shamian Island

We LOVE Shamian Island! It's so beautiful here and there are so many gorgeous spots - wow! Seriously, a photographer's dream! These were the last few pictures I snapped of Sunshine on Tuesday before we headed back to the hotel to pack up. We stopped as we were walking in this little walkway area. I can't get over how well she is adjusting and what a natural beauty she is!

And hey, if you love Sunshine's headband as much as I do - head on over to Jiayin Designs to check out some of the beautiful items she sells! I have gotten all of my necklace charms from her, and they are stunning! I've been wearing Sunshine's name since we got her referral :-) Sunshine also has the ladybug headband, a Niu Niu doll and a rabbit! The quality is awesome and the detail is really remarkable!

Our (almost) American girl

We got out early this morning for a mini-portrait session of Sunshine in her homecoming dress and Chinese silk dress. There are so many people everywhere here, if we didn't get out early, we were destined to have people in the background! I'm just posting a few because I want to edit them on my macbook - no sense in double-editing a bunch of images! The lighting and color was different everywhere, so I'm not quite sure how they look - I'm excited to get home and edit on my calibrated screen!! We got oodles of good shots - so proud of our girl already! She is settling into the role of "photographer's daughter" quite well :-) LOL.

Ok, last post until WE ARE HOME!!!! Please pray for our comfort on our journey home - we'll be flying/traveling for 24 hours with a new baby, ugh. Lots of love to EVERYONE - the support we have had during this process has been so comforting - we can't thank you enough!

Odds and ends

We had a boatload of fun shopping yesterday (Monday for us)!! We picked up lots of stuff, so excited!! In this store, Chinese Life (I think), Chocolate (YES, that is her name) helped us do our shopping. She was a riot!

We also went to visit Judy, a fellow Christian! She saw us in church and knew exactly who we were when we came to her shop. We bought several things from her also, including something I have been looking for but have been unable to find - a jade cross pendant!

Being a one-year-old is tough work - Sunshine has LOTS of messes to make so she can get caught up! LOL.

Making messes sure does make a girl sleepy though - she is TOTALLY one of us - such a great sleeper and she loves her naps!

We have a few more things to go out and buy today, but we are pretty much wrapped up! We'll be packing up tonight and also getting Sunshine's visa! Woohoo!!! I have one more post before we leave, but after that I will be posting next on AMERICAN SOIL!!!! It will be a very long and exhaustive journey, but we can't wait to bring our girl home!

A pretty girl who is loved by everyone ...

That's the definition of Sunshine's Chinese name, Jing Gui - a pretty girl who is loved by everyone. I'd say that name suits her perfectly, dont you? DH and I are having a ball watching her blossom, how amazing to see God work through her! I shot these images on the infamous red couches ... I've seen them in pictures hundreds of times but it always seemed like our turn was so far off. I know that traditionally you dress your kiddos in Chinese silks for these pictures, so I think we'll come back on Tuesday for more. We still need to buy her a dress! She looked so cute dressed up from church though, ohhhhh I just couldn't resist! I still need to pinch myself sometimes to realize that we are in China about ready to bring Sunshine home. Wow.

Today in church, one of the songs we sang was "Shout to the Lord" ... never have the words:

"Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing

Power and majesty, praise to the King;

Mountains bow down and the seas will roar

At the sound of Your name ..."

rang so true! To be singing this song with other Christians in another country, halfway across the world ... "all the earth" ... WOW, talk about powerful - almost overwhelming! I had goosebumps the whole time and had to hold back a few tears as I looked down at Sunshine peacefully strapped in her sling. She was singing along too and of course that made it even worse! LOL. She is the culmination of so much work over the past year - it's amazing to finally look at her with my OWN eyes and know that God's hands brought her to us.

US Consulate

We have officially applied for Sunshine's visa AND taken the Immigration Oath! Her visa for entry into the US will be ready for pick-up tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm! The American flag never looked so beautiful! We are almost home!

Saturday afternoon

Sunshine's personality is really exploding!! She is definitely looking to us for comfort and approval now and we are all having a lot of fun together! She lets us in a bit more everyday, it's just wonderful to watch. She is a typical one year old in so many ways, but not in others. Mentally, she is definitely where I would expect, but she has a little catching up to do physically ... and that has already begun! She almost rolled over on the bed today, so we will have to start watching her more closely from now on! We've been able to sit her in the middle of the bed and be confident she won't go anywhere ... I think those days will be coming to an end soon!

It is miraculous how she is able to communicate with us, albeit a little forceful - she is definitely telling us what she wants for sure! LOL. We started working on some sign language, so we're hopeful she will pick some of that up so we can communicate more regularly. I have to keep reminding myself that she can't talk - it is seriously amazing that she is able to tell us so much! I really hope that giving her the tool of some sign language will help her even more!

So I think I have mentioned that Sunshine is overly bendy and flexible ... if I haven't done her talent justice in pictures yet, maybe THIS one will convince you!! Don't worry, I was holding onto her and she was definitely not in danger of plummeting to the ground face-first. LOL. When she pulls herself forward like this, she can almost do a split!! Holy cow!!

DH took this last shot while we were out walking around and shopping. I knew about this guy from other adoptive families, but it was so cool to see him in action myself. He paints only with his fingers! It's a talent that has been passed down in his family, and it's really stunning artwork! I was so excited to finally see this - I have been waiting for quite some time!

Visa Picture and Medical Exam

We had quite a busy Saturday morning! On the way to the medical exam, we stopped in a shop to get visa photos for the kiddos. I think it's fasinating that we had to pay for someone to take her picture with a P&S. LOL.

This next picture cracks us up - it's common practice here in Guangzhou for brides and grooms to have a day of portraits before their wedding. I knew that already but I didn't know they did it by the busloads!! We saw these beautiful brides and their fiances on the way to the medical exam - a lot of them smiled for our picture!

DH filling out the paperwork for Sunshine's "exam."

That's pretty P. with her Momma and our guide, Helen.

Sunshine didn't like that last part so much - just getting measured! She quieted right down when I picked her up though, love that :-) She weighed in (with clothes and a diaper) at 20.7lbs - our big, healthy girl!! LOL. Foster Mom took such good care of her, I'm not sure how we'll ever be able to thank her.

So this medical exam was pretty funny. I'll just leave it at that. LOL. I had to argue with the ENT woman because we checked that Sunshine had NOT been hospitalized and she kept saying, "yes, yes, yes" about that question. I kept saying, "no, no, no ... look at her, no hospital!" LOL. She also made us change our "no" answer on the question about whether your child has an illness or disability. Sheesh. She is NOT sick!!

It's storming here in Guangzhou pretty good (it's about 2:30pm on Saturday, 2:30am on Saturday east coast time). Sunshine has been napping peacefully for the last hour and a half, sleeping straight through the thunder. How wonderful! LOL. We are planning on heading over to Jordon's later tonight and doing a little shopping. I also might have the disposable cameras developed that we got from Director Zhou. I know we have recent pictures of Sunshine with her foster family, but I'd love to see what is on the cameras anyway. I may have doubles made to send to her foster mom while we are still here. I wonder if our guide will translate a note for us? I'll have to check into that.

We are heading over to the Christian Church tomorrow morning, we're so excited! It's an English-speaking service, and several of the families we are here with are also going. I'm so happy to praise God here in Guangzhou with other believers, what an amazing experience! I understand there is no air-conditioning ... should be an interesting experience. Maybe this storm will cool things down a bit?