We are Alive and Well!

I really don't have an excuse for the long time between posts other than life has been busy for us. Joy has been going back and forth to the hospital for bloodwork and to return different "samples" of one sort or another. So far all her tests have come back great with only her iron levels being of concern. So we will repeat again after the holidays. Our biggest issue right now is trying to get her to let go of my leg and play a bit here and there. Her absolute favorite activity right now is to go outside and play at the park. She is fearless!! She climbs all over and doesn't miss a beat. Matthew is playing his first flag football game of the season tomorrow night and is quite excited. We had Civil War day last Friday and Grace cooked us some lentil soup and shortening bread so we could experience how the soldiers may have eaten on a good day. Matthew also drew a map of the landscape of Chancellorsville and set up his Union and Confederate soldiers to represent the battle lines. We sure wish we could actually take a field trip to a civil war historical sight. Mark began applying for some government jobs this week so the process of transitioning out of military life has really begun. He attends his retirement class in January. We are looking forward to this next chapter in our lives and pray that the Lord will lead us in all aspects of this life change. Sorry for the delay in posts!!

Settling In

Step Away From My Food!

Poolside Princess

Record breaking french fry

Handsome Lad

We were able to begin school on Tuesday and I think everyone is glad to be back into our routine. Joy is sleeping 11 hours every night and taking a morning (1 hour) and a 2 hour afternoon nap. Her tastes have expanded to include steak, apples, grapes and yogurt. No worries here, now when she sees food she begins to screech. This was a little problem when we went out to dinner for Mark's birthday on Tuesday. Yes, he is getting closer to the big 4-0 turning 38 this year!! I love you Honey!! I don't think eating out is in the plans again anytime soon. Joy experienced the pool for the first time yesterday and really enjoyed herself. Mark has been busy getting Joy into the military system and next week will see the doctor officially to begin her shots and bloodwork.

HOME SWEET HOME

Can you hear us shouting? We are finally home and it feels soooooooo good! We arrived home today to a great welcome by many of our closest friends. We are so thankful for the little ways so many of them have helped us like vacuuming and spraying lysol so our house is nice and fresh smelling to shopping for a few needed items. Not to mention all the meals that are scheduled for us in the upcoming days. What a treat! I owe our avid readers an apology for not posting in regards to Joy's doctor's appointment sooner. The dermatologist gave her a clean bill of health and gave us instructions on sunscreen and watching for changes in her nevi. We already knew much of what he said, but we were happy to have a professional opinion. Now, she will have to have a lot of bloodwork in the coming weeks to check for or re-check for any unknown conditions. In essence she is a newborn to our US medical system as the Chinese system is very unreliable. We look forward to gaining an extra hour of sleep tonight (change clocks!) and completing our unpacking tomorrow. Please check back every so often as we will continue to post a couple of times a week.

Meeting Family

We arrived in Jacksonville, FL late last night. Joy will be seeing the dermatologist tomorrow at 1:30 pm. Please pray he only has good news for us. While in Atlanta we were able to spend some wonderful time with all our family. At the Ivey family fish fry Joy was able to meet her Aunts and Uncles and lots of cousins. We also discovered she likes fried catfish. She is a southern girl at heart!! We were showered with gifts and well wishes by all. Thank you to everyone for sharing in our homecoming. We also had the blessing of going to church with Nana and Paps and personally thanking Providence United Methodist Church of Fayetteville, GA for their help and prayers in bringing our Joy home. While there, we were joined by Aunt Gail, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Denise and cousins Bella and Bailey. We shared a wonderful lunch of lasagna and a relaxing afternoon catching up and watching Joy explore and get to know the family.
Finally, we had a great meal with Grandpa and Gammie and said our goodbye's. We can't thank them enough for keeping our children safe and sound while we were away. Joy is doing wonderful and adjusting well. Her appetite has increased but her preferred food is RICE. Imagine that! She is enjoying playing with her cousin Rosemary as we are staying with my mother here in Jacksonville. If all goes well we will be returning home on Saturday, November
1st. Mark has a mid-term to complete so I will sign off and try to post tomorrow evening after our Dr. appointment.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers, love and support!

Home and Exhausted

Wow! Our homecoming was the best. Seeing our children's faces and their immediate love for Joy was amazing. We are entirely exhausted from our travel and are praying for a good night's rest. We received a special blessing when Andrew sang "You are my Sunshine" to Joy in Grandpa and Gammie's living room. We are too tired to post any more tonight, but will try to post more tomorrow.

Less than 24 hours to Go!

The red couch tradition


Yummy chicken congee

This afternoon we will be going to the US Consulate to pick up Joy's visa. Yeah! Our journey of adoption is near its end. Joy is coming out of her shell more every day and is smiling often. We really can not imagine our family without her. It is so hard to explain the plethra of emotions we have felt over the last 12 days. All we can say is that we serve an awesome God who has blessed us once again with the gift of a child. We can't wait for you all to meet her. Our bags are packed and we are counting the hours until takeoff. We will miss the dear friends we have made in our group and look forward to hearing in the future how everyone adapts once we arrive home. We feel so blessed to have shared this journey with each one of them!! Please pray for our safe arrival to the states and for patience with Joy on our lap for the trip!

GuangWOW, I mean Guangzhou!

Hello all. Guangzhou is very nice and the breakfast at the White Swan is unbelievable! The island (Shamain Island) where we are staying has a very European appearance and almost everyone speaks English. This is a nice little Oasis to visit prior to our trip home. We had dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant. No, not Olive Garden or Carrabbas, but what we used to eat when we were in Sicily. If you ever visit, I highly recommend the Italian place. The chef is even Italian!

Joy and Dad are making huge strides. She loves to eat meat, but she doesn't like sweets very much!?! She is smiling a lot more and is very vocal. She had her medical exam and we go to the American Consulate tomorrow. Everything is going smoothly. Please pray that it continues to go smoothly.