china trip: medical and visa application

This morning we were at the medical center at 8:30am. Lilah had a mini physical, which is necessary for us to obtain a Visa to enter Canada. After the physical we were driven to the Canadian Embassy to apply for her Visa. We didn't do a whole lot more today, just relaxed and shopped for diapers, wipes, water and formula. We also found an American eatery at a local (very fancy) mall. It was very delicious!

Lilah is doing wonderful. I really thought the change in hotels would have been a bigger issue, but no, she's just going with the flow. She is a very special girl and we enjoy seeing our little 'flower' blossom a little more each day. She has a very outgoing little personality and loves to have fun.

My oh my, I love that smile. It's the best part of my day.

Check out the movie below (it was taken while we were in Guangzhou) for a little proof of her fun loving personality! And see more photos from today here.

china trip: passport and now in beijing

Today we picked up Lilah's passport and flew to Beijing. Lilah did great on the flight and slept most of the way, thankfully. She and I had to find another available seat on the plane, because she decided she didn't want to sit beside her Baba boy. Oh man, the high pitch crying was rough. He really does have a lot of patience and I know he will be rewarded for it very soon - our little Lilah just needs time to figure this all out.

There is a huge temperature difference between Beijing and Guangzhou, time for the coats, hats and mittens. Anyway, we literally just arrived at the hotel and it's after 11pm. Time for bed! We have a new wake-up call now and it's usually rather early!

china trip: visiting yangdong swi

After a long hard day (for everyone) my mind is at ease, I feel assured that Lilah was looked after extremely well by the staff at Yangdong SWI. The staff were beautiful and amazing, and it was truly a pleasure getting to meet them all.

At the start, during our drive to the orphanage, I had my doubts, Lilah was not happy at all. I'm not sure if it was the car ride or if she was feeling a sense of what was happening, but she was very upset which in turn made me very emotional too - I wrestled with the emotions and even at one stage said, "Let's just go back!". I really wondered if we were doing the right thing, but I'm so thrilled we hung in there and it really was so worth the trip. It was most definitely emotional, seeing Lilah's crib and finding place were very tough moments for Colin and I.

The director and staff at Yangdong SWI were all most grateful for the formula donation and they very kindly treated us to dinner in a beautiful restaurant in Yangjiang. I can honestly say it's the best Chinese food I have ever tasted! After dinner, the director and vice director took us to Lilah's finding spot, which was extremely kind. We were given a tour of the orphanage and saw where Lilah spent the first 18 months of her little life. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time, I just couldn't stop the tears. At one stage the staff put Lilah in her little metal crib, to be perfectly honest my heart stopped for a few seconds - I just wanted to take her out and hold her so close to me.

I also got to pass on some love and take pictures of two other Yangdong babies for their waiting mommies. I just emailed them the pictures and I know they will be thrilled to see their beautiful little girls. One of them slept right next to Lilah and we were told they were good friends, how amazing! I also gave the staff each of the photo albums sent to me by mommies that adopted Yangdong children a few years ago. The staff were thrilled to see the children growing up. They were all very excitedly talking about the pictures and seemed to know each of the children, which I thought was amazing.

The staff told us some little pieces of information about Lilah. They said she was very helpful and she would go get whatever they requested, so they could tend to the little babies. And she would pick clothes out for the babies to wear! Also, when a staff member was doing something that interested her, she would drag a chair over and stand on it to watch, help or join in. I totally get this, I've already seen signs of her being an amazingly helpful child. The director told us that Lilah is a very smart child and she understands everything they tell her.

The orphanage visit gave us a little more history and understanding about Lilah's life that we wouldn't have had otherwise. I am so thankful that we were able to make the trip. Her little (before us) life feels much more real now, seeing where she lived and those special people that looked after her, they are forever etched in my mind and heart.

I'm so very grateful she's ours now, our gift from God. We have so much to be thankful for.

Click here for pictures from today.
Click here for pictures from yesterday.

china trip: shopping for the orphanage

A quick post as Lilah decided that naps aren't necessary today, but by this evening we all realized - oh yes they are! We also have to be up early tomorrow morning as we are driving (and 8 hour round trip) to visit the orphanage - not that we've been sleeping past 3am since we arrived anyway! Not Lilah thankfully, just Colin & I!

Please pray that this visit to the orphanage won't be too traumatic for Lilah. Giving her these few days to bond with us before visiting should have helped a little. She is a very sweet child and we are counting our blessings every day. Right now she is very clingy with me, and the only place she truly has confidence to run around acting like a silly crazy girl is in our hotel suite. Everywhere else she grips onto my neck and sometimes even squeezes her knees into my waist to hang on oh-so-tight. It's going to be so hard transferring to Beijing on Wednesday, I hope it doesn't set her back too much.

Today we went shopping for the Yangdong Social Welfare Institute. We felt it necessary to try and help out in whatever way we possibly could, after all they have done for Lilah. Our Church friends kindly gave us cash instead of baby shower gifts and we put this money towards a gift for the orphanage, we truly appreciate their generosity, it was really overwhelming. Our guide asked the orphanage director what they needed, and he said they could do with some formula for the babies. So formula it was! We went shopping with our guide and bought 60 bags of formula. You can see some pictures here. There was a sign right next to the formula saying it wasn't contaminated, I sure hope not!

Oh yes, I almost forgot! Lilah said her first words today! As Colin was leaving the room to go to the bank I said to him "bye-bye baba", Lilah was in my arms and she turned to me and said, "ba.....ba" with a big smile on her face! I had to call Colin back and let him hear her say it again. You could say he was a little bit thrilled!

Sorry, only one picture of Lilah today, unfortunately I haven't time to upload them all tonight.

china trip: guangdong folk arts museum

Today we enjoyed some time at the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum.

It was a lovely day and the museum was incredible, so rich with culture and art - exactly how I imagined China to be. The grounds were lovely too. We set Lilah down to walk around for a bit and she just stood there, motionless and wouldn't look at us. I think it was her way of showing us that she was rather mad!

When we got back to the hotel room she had her 'before nap' bottle and afterwards we got to change her first dirty diaper, (I can't believe I am mentioning this!), but all to say she was in really great spirits after the fact. We got so many giggles and smiles at the hotel, she feels so comfortable in our little suite, she totally lets her guard down and she's such a funny little monkey!

[ more pictures here ]

china trip: shamian island

Just a quick post tonight because I am so tired - we all are! I know, hard to believe, huh?!

Today was a pretty rough day all around, of course we did expect this and it is a good sign that our baby girl is understanding and grieving her loss. It is so hard to watch her go through it though, it breaks our hearts into a million pieces.

We went to Shamian Island for some shopping and had a very nice time. The weather is just beautiful here at the moment. Lilah is now the proud owner of 'squeaky' shoes and a few Chinese dresses! We also got to visit Starbucks, so that was a big hit, for the adults of course! You'll notice Colin is in most of the pics with Lilah, I'm not sure where the camera is when I'm holding her, but I do hold her a lot - I am the 'go to' person for feeding, consoling and rocking to sleep! I just love being a mama! It didn't happen too often today, but being able to put a smile on her precious face is pure joy.

Click here to see more pictures of our precious girl. So many people stopped us today to comment on her gorgeous eyes. She's adorable. We're in love!

china trip: forever lilah day

1 Samuel 1:27
For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him

We are the very proud parents of a gorgeous girl! She went through a tough time today, probably one of the hardest days of her little life so far, but she did amazingly well. She is sleeping now, we even got a few smiles and a laugh from her before she fell asleep. She is precious, we have been blessed beyond measure. We love her so very very much.

Click here for more pictures of our forever family day and click here for pictures taken around our hotel and on our walk through some nearby streets this morning.

Thanks so much for all your prayers that have helped us make it through to this moment. We are thankful that our gracious Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers.

Here is a little clip of Lilah with Colin, this was taken after a lot of tears, you can see she is still a little unsure of everything. What a great kissy kissy Baba she has!

china trip: we've arrived in guangzhou

We've arrived, safe and sound! Just a few tiny hiccups with the Ottawa flight and our guide in Beijing, but that was all quickly forgotten and we are very excited to finally be in Guangzhou! It is 12:30 am, away past my bed time! I just wanted to update the blog in case I don't have time later today! I will try my best though!

We get Lilah at 2:30pm, a small time change that gives us the chance to sleep in one last time! Just 14 more hours to go!

leaving in the morning

Well this is it! We leave early tomorrow morning! The weather is just crazy here today; with a winter storm warning in effect, we're looking forward to a few days in a warmer climate! We are praying that there won't be any delays to our flights due to the snow and freezing rain. Next time you hear from us, we'll be holding our girl! It's truly a miracle.

stocking up

We spent today shopping for last minute items and groceries. The cupboards, freezer, and fridge are now full! We arrive home on Christmas Eve, so one has to prepare for not being able to shop right away! Not to mention, one has to prepare for the event of jet lag and a baby that doesn't know what winter weather feels like! Poor Lilah, I hope she forgives us! Today in Ottawa the weather was -23ºC with the wind chill! She has a nice warm snow suit to make up for it though!

Lilah received this personalized stocking in the mail last week. Thanks so much Joanne - it's absolutely beautiful! Just 3 more sleeps to Lilah, I feel like I'm living in someone else's dream.

1 Samuel 2:1 - And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD

itinerary

We leave Ottawa on Wednesday morning at 9am, and eventually arrive in Guangzhou on Thursday at 11:20pm (after a 1 hour flight, a 15 hour flight and a 3 hour flight, and don't forget the 13 hour-ahead-of-us time difference)! We get Lilah the next morning at 10am. How's that for perfect timing! Here are the details of our daily activities.

Wednesday 10th - Fly to Toronto, Beijing & Guangzhou
Thursday 11th - Arrive in Guangzhou
Friday 12th - *Forever Family Day* / Apply for Lilah's Passport
Saturday 13th - Shopping
Sunday 14th - Site Seeing
Monday 15th - Security Bureau
Tuesday 16th - Free Day
Wednesday 17th - Get Lilah's Passport / Fly to Beijing
Thursday 18th - Apply for Lilah's Visa / Paperwork
Friday 19th - Visit The Great Wall
Saturday 20th - Visit Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City
Sunday 21st - Shopping
Monday 22nd - Free Day / Arranged Dinner
Tuesday 23rd - Get Lilah's Visa / Fly to Toronto & Ottawa

last day of work - for a while

Today was our last day at work for a while. We have both decided to take time off with Lilah together. Colin is taking a few months and I am taking a few years off, all being well. We have already missed 18 months of her precious little life, so I think it goes without saying that we want to spend as much time as possible with our little girl.

I must admit, leaving work was emotional for me. I really enjoy my job and routine, however I also know that I will love spending time with Lilah. The fun is about to begin, just one more week to go and Lilah will be our daughter, legally!

I spent the past week opening gifts and hugging co-workers. I am absolutely in awe of the generosity and kindness that was shown towards our family by co-workers and friends. They have all shown a genuine interest and love for our daughter and she will certainly be blessed to know each one of them. Here's a photo of one of the gifts we received. I just love the words, they are so true.

Your beauty has captured our attention
but it's you who has captured our hearts

travel approval

Our notice to travel (travel approval) arrived today, along with our itinerary. Wow, it looks like we're in for a very busy time in China! I will post all about it in the next few days!

eighteen months old today

You're a year and a half old today Lilah Grace. Many preparations are being made for us to meet you in thirteen days! We already feel like we know you, God has knit our little family together and we couldn't be happier. We love you so very much.

2 Peter 1:4 - Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises

new forever family day

If I heard the voice message correct, (left by our travel co-ordinator today), we are getting our little Lilah three days earlier than we expected! Yippeee! It seems because of the 'rushed trip' we will be getting Lilah on Friday 12th December, not Monday 15th December like we were initially told. Oh the excitement of it all! Two weeks tomorrow Lilah will be in our arms!