We were waiting in one room while the children were in another room, and got this peek….

It was a few minutes later they brought Eliza to us!

We went from this…..

To this……

To this….all in about half an hour!!!

The Lord has ANSWERED our prayers!!! Eliza is HAPPY, LAUGHING, BONDING, and just FULL of life!!! She has already said Daddy, Baba, and ball!!! She will not walk for us, and has a pretty good cold, but she is doing GREAT!!!!

Praise Jesus with us!!!! WE ARE IN AWE.

More later…..our sweet girl needs some dinner!!

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Psalm 126:5

The wait has went from hard to excruciating, as we are counting down the last hours until we finally have our little brown-eyed Miss Eliza Claire!

We have been super blessed to meet the other families that are here! We have met families in our Lifeline agency group that will go with us today to receive their children as well, and we have met families already with their children that are in their second week of their adoption process. Last night we had a paperwork meeting with four other families that will be with us as we head to the Civil Affairs office at 2:00 p.m. today.

We all went to a Mexican restaurant called Tekila’s after our meeting last night and had a fabulous time together! One family’s little girl is from Eliza’s orphanage as well, and I have a feeling we will be forever friends with them now.

We are charging the camera batteries, getting our paperwork in order, compiling a list of questions for the caretakers, wrapping gifts…..and holding our breath the whole time!

The countdown is almost over!!! NO MORE SLEEPS!!!

This morning, after letting Addie sleep as long as she could, we skyped with the kiddos back home! Was a balm to my soul!

Then we showered, got ready, and headed down to the breakfast buffet. It did not disappoint! (Grant, you would have LOVED it!)

These photos are for you, Mom, to show you how good I am eating! I got some fruit at the buffet, made my quinoa flakes into a porridge with some boiling water, added a baby food pouch to it, and added some peanut butter to a banana. It was good and filling! I felt fantastic today!

After breakfast, we headed out for a walk to check out Eliza’s hometown and to get some bottled water! Here are some photos of our hotel –

And some photos from our room on the fifteenth floor!

Yes, that is a Starbucks below! My darling hubbie got us both a grande this morning while Addie slept!

We walked through a mall close to our hotel.

Then we played charades with a couple of gals to try to find the grocery store. We succeeded! It was SO NEAT! We are just taking everything, absolutely everything in. So fun to see all they had on their shelves.

This is for you kiddos at home. Check out what we found in downtown Guangzhou!! Straight from our neighboring farms at home, all the way to Guangzhou, China. Too cool!

The walk to and from the mall and grocery store was rich with culture. We just can’t get enough.

We also checked out the hotel health gym and the hotel pool. Wish you were here, boys! You would love it and the water is so warm!

We meet at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow to head to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Eliza. Addie and I packed her things and got out some toys for her today!

THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED WHILE IN CHINA:

……always watch your feet while you walk. We have all tripped several times, and Addie almost walked right into a ground level pond!

……we did not know the definition of the words heat and humidity until now.

……our water pressure and showers at home are the pits! The shower here is its own room encased in glass! Wish we could bring it home!

Share in our praises!

*Addie is feeling 100% again!

*Skype, e-mail, and blogging are ALL working!! So thankful!!

*We have adjusted to the time change very quickly and easily!

*Only ONE MORE SLEEP until we have Eliza!!

*The children at home are doing well!

Please pray for our day tomorrow, in every way!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! TOMORROW WE WILL HAVE ELIZA IN OUR ARMS!!!!

We made it! Praise be to God!

Our first flight was over an hour late, although we still do not know why. This gave us an opportunity to spend more time with the children….but it did not make the goodbyes any easier!

Thank you for praying us to our connection! When we got to Chicago, we made a mad dash through that huge airport to get to our gate, with one pit stop on the way to safely fuel my body with a delicious green smoothie!

Do you think they have Jamba Juice here in Guangzhou? Oh, sorry, I regress…

When we got to the check-in counter, the gal took our passports and then said, “Where have you been? We have been looking all over for you!” Not a good sign…..but thankfully they had not given away our seats on a very booked flight. There was a mess checking in, as the gal in La Crosse had not booked us the whole way through, so by the time they straightened that all out, it was time to board the plane. As we went to board, Blake’s boarding pass would not scan, so we were all back at the check-in desk to fix it again. That was RIGHT where God wanted us, as a man in a uniform and yellow vest walked in, heard what was going on and said, “Are you Blake? I just now have your five suitcases and will personally be making sure they get on this plane.” I could have kissed that man!

Our flight was uneventful (although VERY bumpy for long periods of time) until about four hours before we were to land in Hong Kong when Addie started throwing up. I have never seen so many people move so fast in such a small space in the dark! Poor Addie was so motion sick and it got the best of her.

We arrived at the Garden Hotel, after a three hour van ride, at about 9:30 p.m. last night. (That is China time, Saturday night.) It is an AMAZING place! We are living in luxury!

We slept from midnight to about 5:30 a.m. on a huge, very hard, king size bed. Addie has her own bed (I wonder if it is softer?!) and is still sleeping as I type. When I asked Blake if he slept good he said, “Like I was in a coma.” Me too.

Today is a free day until we meet with our guides and the four other Lifeline families that are here at 4:30 p.m.

Only ONE MORE SLEEP till little Miss Eliza Claire is in our arms!!!!!

Share in our praises!

*That we made our connecting flight! (my legs are still burning from that three mile run!)

*That all of our luggage made it too!

*That our seats were in the very last row on that huge 777 – right by the bathrooms and where all the flight attendants were. Exactly where we needed to be when Addie was so sick!

*That a sweet old Chinese lady who was sitting next to me traded seats with Blake (he was in front of us) when Addie starting getting sick, so that Blake could help us. (She started getting sick not too long after Addie, and would wave her finger at Blake every time she was. I think that finger was saying “Don’t you know that I can’t be around people who are throwing up without throwing up myself?”)

*That once the plane landed, we were able to get Addie settled down long enough to get some motion sick medicine in her for the long van ride. It worked! Praise! Praise!

Please pray with us!

*For our day tomorrow as we meet Eliza! Pray for her especially.

*For our paperwork while we are here, that we will have all we need, and all paperwork processes will go smoothly.

*For Addie to regain her strength after a long day yesterday.

*For the children at home.

Oh my goodness!!! WE ARE IN CHINA!!!!