We’re coming home!!!
Our last day here in Guangzhou and we are so excited as it is almost time to leave!
The last two days have been full of more unforgettable experiences.
All of our paperwork was reviewed and approved on Thursday meaning all of the work on our dossier was correct etc. That was a big relief. We waited the required two hours in our room for any questions that might come up and watched as the clock ticked by then celebrated when the time was over. Then I ventured out to Shaiman Island with my new friend Robin to do some power shopping for a couple hours while Dave stayed with sleeping Sasha in the room. It was a wild little trip but we accomplished our goal and it was much easier this way since it is so unbearably hot out there and no place is air conditioned.
Thursday evening we ate dinner here in the hotel at The Veranda and it turned into a sort of farewell dinner as the majority of adoptive parents left yesterday morning and are now reunited with their loved ones. We once again enjoyed the music of the band as they serenaded our group. It was beautiful to watch parents dancing with their babies. It does seem to be true that Sasha loves music as was written in her referral. Before dinner we took her to the lobby of the hotel to hear the string quartet which plays each evening and she started dancing! And then at dinner when the band came to us she sat and swayed back and forth and seemed to love it. After that we said our goodbyes. Everything is so emotional at this point since we have shared this incredible journey with all these special people.
Yesterday morning we ventured out to Yuntai Gardens which are part of the Baiyun (White Cloud) Mountain Scenic Region. Full of ancient and modern culture and western and oriental style structures. And then the final appointment that we waited for at the consulate!
Sasha is officially ours!!! We raised our right hands and were officially sworn in along with a room full of other adoptive parents.
The whole process took less than five minutes! But what an awesome feeling and once again a very emotional moment.
We are the only family left here since Sasha is from the Guangdong Province. For whatever reason we have to stay longer. We have had an incredible experience and are grateful for this mission that God has sent us on.
Sasha’s sores on her head and back are well on their way to being healed although she still has a large lump behind her ear that we are anxious to have looked at. I’m not sure how long it will take for all of the scars on her little legs to heal. All of the sickness around finally caught up with us, but Dave and I are feeling mostly better now. Unfortunately, Sasha definitely woke up with a croupy cough yesterday morning so we are praying for a healing for her.
We have a 15 hour flight from Guanghou to LAX. Then to Atlanta and then home. Basically we leave at 9 am Saturday Ohio time and get into Dayton at 10 am Sunday morning.
We give our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ all the glory for this great thing He has done. We praise Him for how He ordained every step of this process and worked every single detail out to the smallest little thing that we don't even know about. He has protected and watched over us and our precious family spread all over the world and we are blessed in ways beyond measure. We thank Him for opening one door after another for us and for giving us the faith to go beyond wht the eyes can see. We are blessed indeed!
Brady and Mikelle here we come!!! Safe travels to you Mikelle as you come home from Florida. Brady will be there for you! Sasha can’t wait to meet you both! xxoo until we see you! "We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life. But those who make their journey home across time and mile, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's very own hands." -anonymous
Welcome Home Sasha!!! Yes we are all finally united as a family! It seemed like forever until we landed in the U.S.A. but we were ready to kiss the ground once we did. We handed the official sealed brown envelope (which we were told not to open, bend or harm in any way) to the customs officials at which time Sasha became a U.S. citizen! What a relief! Sasha did as well as could be expected on the long flight from China, but started screaming once we got on the LA flight. Every 15 minutes or so she would wake up from her sleep and cry really hard for two or three minutes and then fall back asleep. She did that the entire 4 hours of the trip - no rest for Mom that flight! The other people on the plane probably loved us!!! The Atlanta home leg she did just fine!
