Surgery Update!!!

Hannah had her surgery yesterday for her ear tubes and dental work. I am so surprised that she has not had any complications from her little teeth. They were in such bad shape. She had to have 4 caps, 6 fillings and 2 pulled. It was a long day, as she had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia and also had trouble keeping anything down, but after 8 long hours, we finally got to come home. Today, she is doing wonderfully. Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, they were definately heard. Hopefully, we are done with any surgeries, now; for awhile. She is a little trooper and is so cooperative with all of the doctors, but we are ready to be done for awhile.
We will return to speech in January for a follow up. Hopefully, the ear tubes will help drain all that fluid and she will begin hearing better and thus, start talking. She understands everything we say, but is happy to just grunt to get what she wants. I think much of this is due to two big brothers who hate to hear her cry. She has finally begun saying dada and even added mamaw (grandma)to her list of words in the past few days. She also has "Noah "down pretty well. She loves to stand up stairs and yell down to him in his room to get him come running, and he does. She has both boys wrapped around her fingers pretty tightly. It is so fun to watch.

Again, thank you for all your prayers. They were a blessing, especially yesterday.

Thankful,Thankful, Thankful

Looking more like a true Georgia redneck all the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cousin Kaytlyn's 6th birthday party at build-a-bear

My first visit to Chuck E Cheese

Getting ready to go to Noah and Caleb's sport banquet. I'm a little wildcat.

We are more in awe everyday that God has blessed us with these 3 beautiful children. It becomes more and more evident that Hannah was made just for our family. My favorite thing to do these days is to sit back and watch Noah and Caleb play with Hannah. I was so worried when we first came home that they were not going to accept having her here, but I was wrong. They love her so much and are so good with her. She loves them, too. I also love to watch her experiencing her firsts. The boys and I put up the Christmas tree last Wed while she was taking her nap. When she woke up and saw the tree, lights and decorations, the look of amazement on her face will never be erased from my memory. I cannot say the same about Santa, though. She didn't cry but was also not placing him on her list of new friends. She has also had her first visit to Chuck E Cheese and build-a-bear. Chuck E Cheese was a definate favorite and build-a-bear was good until she had to put the heart inside the bear (she wanted to keep the heart for herself). She definately has an opinion about things.

We also have seen about 6 doctors , had our follow up with Bethany, celebrated 3 birthday's, Thanksgiving and met our aunt Angie from Nashville and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jim from Illinois, along with many, many family and friends here in Georgia. We still can't wait to meet Granny and Gramps in Illinois. We are hoping they will have snow for us at Christmas. All of our doctors appointments have gone very well. We do have to have tubes put in our ears on Dec 9th. We have have some fluid in our ears (due to our cleft palate) and this is affecting how we hear and how many words we say. We will also have to have some teeth pulled in Jan. (also due to our cleft palate), but otherwise good reports. We don't have to see the cardiologist for 4 years and the cranial/facial doctor was very impressed with how well her lip and palate were repaired in China. I will forever be greatful for the love and care she received in China.

I know it is easy to feel blessed when things are going well, but I can't help but shout from the mountain tops this Thanksgiving. GOD TRUELY IS GOOD AND HE DEFINATELY HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES. Wait and see what he has in store for you!!!

All of our love,

Brian, Tonya, Noah, Caleb and Hannah

We are doing Great!!

eating ( my favorite thing)

playing

wearing daddy's hat and shoes ( I found them myself)

getting ready to go to church for the first time ( I wave to everyone, including the camera)

i'm a star

my 2nd birthday

me and Caleb

We have been home for a little over a week, now. We are so glad to be here. Hannah is doing so great. It amazes me how adaptable these little ones are. She is understanding many english words and follows our directions very well. She still is not saying very many words, I don't know if it is a language thing or a cleft palate thing. She babbles and sings all the time, but I don't know if she is speaking Chinese or just babbling. We go to the cleft palate dr. on Nov 19th, so maybe we will get a better idea of when she will talk, then. She has started to develop her own sign language so that we know what she wants. Caleb has adjusted very well to having her here, Noah has been a little slower to get there. Hannah loves them both, so it is a little hard for Noah not to love her back. I have seen big changes in him everyday. Mom and dad are also adjusting to life with a toddler, again. Maybe I just don't remember, but it seems like I get alot more tired more quickly this go around. Even so, we are absolutely in love with her. Here are a few pictures from home.

Friday, Oct 31

Our whole group

Lina, Hanna Jo and Hannah Hope

All 9 kids

At the Us consulate- going to take our oath of adoption

Hannah Hope

Happy Holloween! In 16 ours we leave to come home and after 28 hours of travel, we will arrive in Atlanta at 10:30 PM. We cannot wait to see you Noah and Caleb. The past few days have gone really fast. It has been wonderful being with the other families again. We are going to miss all of them. Hopefully we will be able to stay in touch and watch all the kids grow. They are all beautiful children.

Yesterday, we went to the US consulate and took our oath of adoption. This was very emotional for all the moms. Hannah is now ours forever and she can legally enter the US with us tomorrow on her 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday Hannah!! It is amazing how perfect she is for us. I never dreamed we would be bringing home a 2 year old, but God's plan was perfect for us. Jeremiah 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. As I watch this crazy world of ours, I do know thatGod is always in control. He will reveal Himself at the perfect time, even if it doesn't feel like He is there at all during the journey. Again, I want to thank all of our family and friends for following our journey here in China. I cannot stress enough how much I have valued your emails and comments. From the start of this adoption in April 2006, you all have been a huge strength of support for us. We love you all. Noah and Caleb I cannot wait for you to meet her. Noah- she is like you in so many ways, the similarities are amazing. Yet, Caleb- she is a sweet snuggler like you. She is a perfect blend of our first two miracles.

Today, all of the families met for the tradional red couch photo. As you can see most families choose to dress their children in the traditional Chines dress. They all looked so cute.

Enjoy and we will see you very soon.

Brian, Tonya and Hannah

Tuesday, Oct 28

Tonight is our last night in Shanxi Province. One day closer to home!!!Today we visited the Shanxi museum. It was actually very interesting and the Chinese have invested alot of money into this building. It was beautiful and very informative.
Since we have blown 2 fuses in our electrical converter and are now relying on the motels to have an adapter, this may be our last post until we are home. Hopefully, the hotel tomorrow will be able to also loan us an adapter. I would love to be able to post pictures of all the kids together. I can't wait to meet them all. We have no pictures today ( the museum would not allow pictures) and now that we are back Sleeping Beauty is asleep.
Please pray for us tomorrow morning as we board our first plane with Hannah. I hope she does okay with it all and that mama and baba do too. Tomorrow's flight is only 2 1/2 hours, so it should be a good test for Saturday's flight. I think for our last adventure tonight, we are going to try to find the Walmart. We are not sure that it really exist here, but we are going to try.
All of our love
Brian, Tonya and Hannah

Monday, Oct 27

Riding the baby rollar coaster

Watching the pigeons at the park

Just being cute

One of the rollar coasters at the park

Driving the car

Only 5 more days!!!!

Today we visited a Chinese amusement park. They had many rides that would be similiar to rides we have at home. Noah and Claeb- it made us miss you all the more, because we knew you would have liked it. We didn't ride any rides( well one with Hannah), because each ride cost money and also because our quide Helen is always eager to hurry up and be done. She is very nice, but you can tell she has been to these places way to often. We get a kick out of her. Tomorrow we are headed to the Shanxi museum and then we leave on Wed morning. We are so excited that it is almost time to come home.

Without any one to help us with ordering food, Brian and I have had pizza or spaghetti every meal, except for our one meal at McDonalds. Even then, depending on how well our waitress understands English, it is always a surprise what we will get on our spaghetti and pizza. Tonight was a real surprise. Noah and Caleb- we are going to Longhorns when we get home.

Hannah is still doing really well. I do think she is tired of being stuck in this hotel room. We have heard that our next hotel has a big playroom, plus we will be with all the other families and their kids. That should make the last 3 does go by quicker.

Can't wait to see all of you!! All of our love, Brian, Tonya and Hannah

Sunday, Oct 26

Meeting Ronald for the first time

French fries are pretty good

Look at that load!

We just happened upon these Chinese dancers

I want to be like Mama!

Only six more days until we are home!!!! Today was a free day and we did make it to McDonalds. Hannah wasn't so sure of it at first, but quickly decided it was pretty good stuff. Other than McDonald's , it was a pretty quiet day. There is not a lot to do here in Shanxi Province. Unlike Beijing, we have not been able to find any open air markets to shop in with authentic Chinese gifts. The markets here tend to have more of a Western want to be theme. Tomorrow, our guide is taking us to a park. Hopefully, it will be a park where Hannah can actually get down and play. She has alot of energy to run off.

Mamma and Baba think our little girl is really smart. She tries to imitate everything we do and is beginning to understand several English words. She is even answers to Hannah, better than YiLin. So we are solely calling her Hannah. I am quessing that her foster family called her something else, because she did not respond to YiLin at all. I wish that we would have been able to talk to her foster family to ask them these questions. The nanny from the orphanage did not know much about her at all.

Noah and Caleb we miss you like crazy and can't wait to to give you hugs and kisses. Mom, dad, Tammy and Cindy thank you so much for taking care of our little boys ( ok our big boys). We love you all. And to all my girls at work---you guys are great!!!

Saturday, Oct 25

Playing with blocks

Trying to get dressed

Look how cute I am

Putting shoes on

Baba teaching me to play soccer

Coloring

Baba napping

Hannah napping, too

Double Pagoda Temple

With mama and Helen ( our guide)

This morning we visited the Double Pagoda Temple. We have seen so many temple's , I can no longet tell you the difference between them. They are all beautiful and very detailed. How they ever got them built 400 years ago will remain a mystery to me.

Hannah has been coughing the past two days with lots of green gunck, so we decided to just hang out in our room. We went ahead and started her antibiotics to make sure it doesn't turn into anything more. She slept for about 2 1/2 hours after getting back to the room and then woke up ready to go. She can be a sweet snuggle girl but she is also a rough and tumble girl. Today, she kept wanting to do backwards summersaults off of the footstool. Julie- I don't know if dancing is in her future , I think acrobatics is going to be her forte. She is fearless. She does like to be girly too, though. She already is use to having bows in and if one falls out; she wants it right back in ( I think she just wants to make mama happy).

We didn't make it to McDonalds today, but tomorrow is a free day, again. So we will try again then . We plan on staying up late tonight so that we can call and see how Caleb did at his meet, then sleeping in late tomorrow morning. It is beginning to get lonely here without any other families. We keep reading their blogs and they are having lots of fun together. Just a few more days and we will be with them again. I am also ready to have my blow dryer and straightening iron work, again. The pony tail look is getting a little old. We miss you all and can't wait to be home. Hannah is going to have so much fun meeting all of you. She is a little social butterfly.

Love to you all!!

Friday, Oct 24

Hannah is a such a little blessing. She is doing so well, it is like she has always been ours. Yesterday afternoon, the orphanage director walked in handed Hannah to our guide and she turned and handed her to us. Hannah never cried once. She has snuggled and smiled from the very first minute. Last evening we came back to the hotel where she played and played and had a bath. At 7Pm she fell asleep( so we knew we would be up in the middle of the night). At midnight she did wake, ate a banana and went back to sleep until 6 am. This morning we went to finish the paperwork to get her passport and to make her a Coil. Once we were done, it was time for a nap (for all of us). At 130, the maid came and wanted to clean our room. We woke Hannah up and this is one thing that does not make her happy. We won't do that again. However, a little temptation with food and she was happy again. This kid loves to eat!. We then went for a walk around town and found a little park. We were the center of attraction, so we didn't stay too long. No one is ever mean, it just gets tiresome having everyone watching you. We feel like we should be performing at times. We did find a McDonalds, so I think after our tour tomorrow morning, we might have some Micky D for lunch. Again tonight, Hannah has played and played. She is silly and a little wild. She will love playing with you Noah and Caleb. She has taken to both mommy and daddy. She likes to be silly with daddy, but wants mommy to hold and carry her; perfect don't you think? We also found out that her cleft palate has also been through the first stage of repair. She shouldn't need any more surgeries for some time. They did a really good job, as far as I can tell.

This journey to Hannah sure has been a journey with God. There were so many times that I just wanted to give up and wondered why God wasn't answering our request for a daughter sooner, but now here she is. She is such a sweet gift and worth the wait. He has taken care of all the details. You don't know what a gift it is that she is adjusting so well. I know things may still change once we are home, but for right now; this happy child is making this trip much easier.

My prayer request tonight is for Noah and Caleb. Caleb made the state team for cross country and will be traveling Friday night to southern Ga with the team on the school bus. Noah is traveling with some friends of ours to go watch Caleb and their daughter Mallory. Please pray that their travels are safe. Caleb, we will be cheering you on. We love you! Noah, thank you for being a good big brother and supporting Caleb. We love you, too! We are praying for you everyday.

Thank you to all of you for following our journey everyday. I love reading your comments and emails. They keep me feeling close to home. Love to all of you!!

Gotcha Day!!!!

We arrived in Shanxi Province at about 10 am. At 2:30 we left to go me our baby girl. She is doing wonderful. No crying, just all smiles. We are off to finalize paperwork, so I will write more later. Just wanted to share a couple picture.