Brian

First meeting Emily

Eating dinner, yum yum!!!

My world has been changed forever this past month. I have been an emotional mess up and down wondering if I am even going to be a good mother and one thing has remained unchanged and that is Brian. He came into my life in May and we have shared a wonderful summer together. He has opened my eyes to the beauty that is Northern Michigan. I have lived here for 6 years and never really taken the time to explore the small quant towns around us.

He has been supportive of the adoption since we met. As the weeks got closer to the adoption and stress settled in, he had always been there to calm me down and tell me that everything would be alright and it would all workout. He has always been right. He calls me "OCD girl" and yes I am at times, but I call it being organized! He puts up with my quirks and my organizational skills, lol! He has been absolutely amazing!

I wasn't sure how Emily would be around him or him around her, but being in China and receiving some of his emails and IM's, I knew how much he already loved her like I did. I cannot tell you how glad that makes me and how thrilled I am to have him in our lives. I know that I am a strong woman and probably would be fine if he weren't here, just a little more stressed out. I am so happy Brian is here to help me with Emily. They are a joy to watch together. My dad talked with me the other day and told me that he can see how much Brian loves Emily and that was so good to hear my dad say.

Thank you baby for being there for me when I definitely need you the most. I truly believe that God brought you into my life and Emily's for a reason. I can't wait for us to watch her grow. We love you and are so glad you are in our lives!

We're home!!!

Our plane to Beijing!

Emily being silly!

Still being silly!

Mom and Emily

A happy girl on her first plane ride!

Playing with her cow, Aunt Chimene gave her!

Sleeping on the long flight from Beijing to U.S.

Emily with a cute panda hat on!!!

Aunt Chimene and Em settling in!

Emily after she fell on the floor on the plane!

Emily with her new baby doll that Grandma got her!

The gang waiting for us, yes it's blurry..sorry!

Mommy and Emily!

A tearful Grandma with Emily!

Grandpa and his first granddaughter!

Brian and Emily, so sweet!

Uncle Michael and his new niece!

Austin and his new cousin!

Jacob and Emily!

Susanelou and Em!

We're finally home! Sorry it has taken me a couple days to post this, but I am sure you all understand, a new little and jet lag! Our journey home was not that bad. I anticipated it to be long and expected Emily to be tired and crying for some of the trip. We started our journey home at 5:30am on Thursday leaving the White Swan Hotel (bye bye home away from home) and headed to the airport. We waited a couple hours and then boarded a plane to Beijing. The first flight was 2 hours and 15 minutes so not too bad. Emily did really well but she wasn't too fond of the seat belt. We arrived at Beijing and had to collect our luggage and transfer it to International and get our new tickets. I have to say a big THANK YOU to my sister, otherwise known as "The baggage handler" for the day. She was awesome! It would have been so nice to only check the bags in Guangzhou and have them transfer all the way to TC, but it's China! So my sister, bless her heart was amazing. She lugged the bags and the carry on's through each airport like a trooper. It was a long day and I know she just really wanted to get home to her family as we both did. Amazingly, it was not that difficult to get our bags checked and new tickets for the rest of the journey home. We had a 3 or 4 hour layover in Beijing and then we boarded the plane for Chicago. I dreaded this flight the most. It was 12 hours and some minutes long with a little one, many little ones were on our flight actually. So again, Emily still didn't like the seat belt, but sat in between my sis and I on the long flight home. She did really well too. We fed her dinner and then she fell asleep for almost the whole rest of the flight. Can you say, Woo Hoo!!!! And NO Benadryl was needed for the sleep. My baby girl tossed and turned the whole way. My sister and I watched our 4 or 5 movies again too. We had finally both fell asleep when I felt a thump on my leg and my poor little peanut had fallen off the seat and onto the floor below. I couldn't help but laugh and nudge my sister to laugh some more as we just let her sleep on the floor. Yes, I know the germ-a-phobes are cringing, but hey, you do what you gotta do and she was quite content there. Finally, Em woke up and climbed back on the seat and fell back asleep until I woke her an hour before we were to land. She had some fruit and was a happy girl the rest of the way. I felt sorry for the priest sitting in front of her, she shook the seat a couple times and almost grabbed his hair, lol! I thought I was going to be the person most other passengers on the flight look at and shake their heads about the crying and screaming child the whole time, but Emily did super all the way. She had a few little cranks here and there, but for the most part she was awesome. When we landed in Chicago we knew that it might take a while and our next flight was leaving at 5:44pm and it was 3:45pm when we landed. So the hustle began! We had to go through Customs, grab our luggage, shuffle to another place where Ms. Emily become a U.S. citizen and another security check, recheck the bags and the dude told us to go to Terminal 1 for gate F-12. WRONG!!!!!! We go through security again and find out we have to go to Terminal 2! So we are rushing through O'Hare, me pushing Em and carrying her bag and my backpack and my poor sis, "The baggage handler" was following behind with our carry on's and her bag. Love ya sis, that was not fun for you at all, but you were a trooper!!!!! We finally find our gate and they are boarding the plane, so not time to even go to the bathroom. Last flight, YEAH!!!! Emily did great again and some people commented on how good she was, which was a relief and very nice for a new mom to hear. We landed in TC, at last!!!!! I headed to the much needed restroom and changed Em as "The baggage handler" waited for the carry on's! We changed Emily into a traditional Chinese outfit for her arrival. I could see the crowd at the end of security anxiously awaiting as I dashed into the restroom with her. I couldn't believe I was nervous. Why? I was nervous for everyone to meet her and I guess what her reaction might be to them. We headed toward the excited group with video cam in hand. My mom was crying before we could even see her new granddaughter. There were balloons and flowers, presents and a sign for Emily and us! I was over joyed to see my mom, dad, Susanelou (their neighbor and friend), Michael, Austin, Jacob and Brian with huge smiles and hugs for us all. Emily was passed around the crowd and she didn't mind it at all. She took really well to my dad too! He is so proud and loves her so much already I can tell. I am a daddy's girl, so it just makes me happy to see that Em will be too. It was so nice to see the tears and smiles. There was a lady who was watching us and crying and asked if she could take our picture on her camera phone. Wow, I am glad that we gladdened her heart that day, because that gladdened mine. Brian, is amazing with her. He carried her to the car and put her in her car seat, which I thought would bring crying and screams being strapped in, but she did good. She sat there without a peep. We drove home and she fell asleep, Brian carried her in and mom, dad and Susanelou came by with the rest of the luggage, we forgot to take the stroller out of the trunk, oops! They only stayed for a short while and Brian and I got her changed for bed, showed her her new room and then put her to bed. She went to sleep fast after that long exhausting day. That was at 10pm and I knew she would probably not make it the whole night and at 3am she was ready to get up and start her day. So at 3 am, which I was wide awake too, I made scrambled eggs for her and gave her her yogurt. She ate like a trooper all by herself.

She is starting to explore the house a bit, but not too much because she is afraid of the dogs. I figured she might be because they are bigger than her and she screams every time they get near. Slowly she is warming up to them. I can get her to touch them now, but she really is not fond of Hayley at all. Poor Hayley just wants to give her kisses too! My boxer, Hayley is a licker and loves to give anyone and everyone kisses if they will let her. It was so good to see my babies too! I missed my pooches so much! They don't know what to make of the little bundle I brought with me, but they will love her too very soon. I am predicting that she will take to one of them quickly and they will be inseparable. I thought it might be Hayley, but she really likes Tucker so far. Tucker is just more laid back so that is probably why. One day at a time with the pooches!

The cats! Well now the cats she doesn't mind. She likes to chase after them and wants to pet them. At first she wouldn't touch them either, but Chase is so laid back I brought him up and let her look at him and she eventually petted him. Now she grabs his tail and pulls, lol! Poor kitty! Jasmine came up stairs and she chased after her and I haven't seen Jas since. Jasmine is my skittish girl, she only likes to come out when she wants to and only likes to be held and petted when she wants you to. So, hopefully I will see her again someday, lol! I did pick her up and give her some loving, since I am sure either cat got much attention from Brian while I was gone, he doesn't like them very much! Slowly, things will calm down and she will hopefully learn to like the dogs and the cats will learn to tolerate her!

It is just so good to be home! I am battling a little jet lag, but not as bad as the last time I was in China, thankfully! I am guessing it is because I know I have her and have to take care of her now. Sleep deprivation isn't new for me, so I am not going to be worried about that, I am lucky if I sleep 6 hours in a night, so these first few days won't be too bad. She is actually still sleeping and it is 6am. I put her to bed at 8pm and she has slept the whole night through so far. I am hoping that her China schedule will continue her, sleeping 10 hours a night and taking 3 hour naps! Wouldn't that be a dream, I can only hope! And look who's up? Me, since 4am! Gotta love it! Hope you're sleeping better than me sis! Well, I am going to get up and start my day...please continue to check the blog as I will be still posting. I might not post daily, but I still will continue to post frequently as possible. It is true what they say...There's no place like home!

Bittersweet day

Emily brushing her teeth, well trying too!

Brusha, brusha, brusha!

Emily and Aunt Chimene in the pool!!!!!

Enjoying the water!

Sun bathing...with the thumb!

Mommy and Emily

Emily had to put all the link toys on as bracelets!!! She loves her bracelets!

The Guangzhou gang having one last dinner together!

Andrea, Mike and Autumn

Amanda, Jeremy and Ezra

Kevin, Leann, Lidia and Natalie

The Cow and Bridge Restaurant

Today is our last full day in China and I am a little emotional about it. It is very bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I am so ready to go home and see my family, Brian, the pooches and kitties, but then we are leaving my little girls homeland. Her parents are here some where and the reality is that she will never ever know them. If in the future she would like to try and find them, I will do everything that I can for her, but most likely she will never have the opportunity to meet her birth parents. One of the reasons I chose Chinese adoption was so that her birth mother could not take her back. It just breaks my heart that she will never know them. I know they gave her up, but I know her birth mother is out there wondering if her little girl is alright. I wish I could tell her that I will love her as my own and care for her the best I can. I hope that she is at peace with her decision to abandon this beautiful little girl and I am so thankful that God has chosen me to be her mother. I promise to bring you back to China someday my little one and we will see your birth country together. We have her visa and Chinese passport and are ready to come home.

I am excited to bring Emily back to the US and see the faces of her Grandma and Grandpa for the first time when they set eyes on her. I can't wait to introduce her to her new "Forever Family" and friends. You are loved my little peanut, oh how you are loved. We have many exciting firsts ahead, some good and not so good. Her life will never be the same and I want her to have every opportunity possible.

I love my baby girl and I know my sister loves her too. She already is asking for her to come over on the weekends so that she won't forget her. Chimene, she won't forget you, she loves you and has bonded to you too. She cries when you leave at times, so I know she won't ever forget her favorite Aunt. Thank you sis, for leaving your family for 15 days and coming with me to get your new niece. I cannot tell how much I appreciate you being here with us. You are a great mom and I hope that I can be just as great as you are. I know you secretly are smiling inside, thanking God for giving me a little stinker just like her mom! Thanks sis!!!! I love you and I am so happy that we got share this experience together. I have a lot to learn about being a mom, but knowing I have such a great role model to look up to means a lot. Again sis, thank you for coming and Emily and I love you very much.

We went out to dinner to Cow and Bridge one last time with our Guangzhou group! It was so nice to get together one last time and talk about our new little ones. Emily was surprisingly very good. We took her to the pool today after breakfast for a couple hours and then did some last minute shopping to get rid of some yuan. I tried to give her only about an hour nap today because I wanted to put her to bed early. We are leaving in the morning for the airport at 5:30am. It is going to be such a long day for all of us. I don't think I am going to sleep well tonight because I am so excited about coming home. Anyways, poor Emily only got an hour nap and then we woke her up. Chimene and I laughed because she didn't not want to get up, poor thing. We thought we would take her to the playroom one more time and she laid down on the floor as soon as we got there, poor little peanut! She was so tired. We went to dinner early and got back to the hotel and she wouldn't go to sleep...of course! So I think I am going to have a cranky little girl in the morning. Hoping that she will sleep some on the way to the airport. We leave for Beijing at 8am and then leave Beijing at 4:10pm. I am hoping that Emily will stay up till about 8pm or so and then sleep her usual 10 hours or so and then we should be in Chicago! We arrive in Chi-town at 4:15pm and then depart for Traverse City at 5:44pm. Hope we can make it through customs and still make our next flight! Look out people and get out of our way..here come the two Polish sisters and the Chinese chick, LOL!!!!! We are longing for home and arrive in TC at 7:46pm, ALLELUIA! Home, Sweet, Home!!!!

This trip has been amazing and I will never forget it or the people I have met. This adoption has been a long journey for me with many bumps in the road, but I wouldn't have changed anything about it. It has made me a stronger woman and I would do it again in a heartbeat! I only wish that I could adopt again from China. Yes, I would do it all over again, but this time I would start with special needs and request a boy or girl. I would love for Emily to have a brother or sister from China. It is a dream that will never happen now due to the new laws, but a girl can dream. I just know that I love Emily with every ounce of my being. She is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. I love you Emily more than words can express.

In My Daughter's Eyes

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero

I am strong and wise and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be

In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light and the

world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me gives me

strength when I am weak

I find a reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand

around my finger

Oh it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart

has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the light

It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy

she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eyes

by Martina McBride

I want to thank everyone for following our journey. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope that you will continue to follow our blog when we get home. I will continue to update my blog with pics and Emily's new life in America. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and new little girl. Next post we will be home and in America!

Oath appointment today!

Emily with her new doll

Emily trying to take out her dollies hair ribbons

Almost has them pulled out now!

Mommy and Emily before the Consulate appointment!

Emily and her favorite Aunt!

Emily with her ice cream

Yummy!

Big grin

Big bite of ice cream!!!!

Today, we are on our last step before we can leave China with our children. We went to the Consulate and took an oath today and signed the last papers before we receive Emily's visa on Wednesday. I was acknowledged as one of the last remaining singles to be able to adopt from China. That was such a nice feeling to know that I made it through before all the changes happened. I feel blessed that I was able to adopt this little girl, she truly is my daughter and I love her so much. We decided to go to Lucy's for dinner tonight for one last time. On the way back to the hotel I suggested we stop and get an ice cream from the 7-11. Emily loved her ice cream, she even ate it all by herself. I will probably only be posting one more post from China and then we will be back in the States. My sister and I can't wait to go home. Emily has no idea what is in store for her, but I know that she will adapt well, just like she has here these last few days. Her life will never be the same now and I am thankful that I was chosen to be her mommy.