Day 5 Botanical Gardens

Got to sleep in late today and have a good breakfast. Met the group around 10:30 and went to the botanical gardens. Very pretty even though it was rainy. Taking it easy this afternoon and evening. Littles are napping now and all the rest of us are just resting. All of us are still pretty tired.

Loving our littles. Still so amazed that we are here. This time for all 6 of us to be together is such a blessing. Thank you to everyone to has helped us get here through your financial resources and prayers. Truly a miracle.

Everyone seems to be sleeping well at night except for me.... guess it's the "new mom sleeping pattern." You know... jump out of bed for every little sound no matter who it is from. Yes... that's me... all night long. I know I will eventually get used to it again but it's wiping me out for the late afternoon and evenings. I guess this time around I'm a bit older as well. HA! :) Love it though.They are so precious.

Hope you enjoy our pics from today.

Annabelle sees something

Bigs

Dancing water

Dragon Boat

Take a good look at that bow.... by the time we got back to the hotel it was MIA. Bummer!

sisters

LA is only 7,452 miles away.

KnoxFam6

Working clock. Struck 12.

Chinese New Year Boat

Year of the Dragon

Hi

Little Man

more pics from yesterday

Here are some pics from Chris' phone from yesterday... our Adoption Day. Enjoy!

Amy and Anna Catherine (Anna was in True Children's Home with Annabelle)

Waiting for our adoption interview

I see you!

Smiles for Daddy

On the bus

Back to the room for some wrestling and rolling on the bed with big sis!

Day 4 --- Better

Today was a much better day. Lots more smiles and kisses and hugs.

Saw some real personality coming out too. Strong! Still have much bonding to do. We will travel to the orphanage where Timothy has been for the last three years on Friday. This will be a very long (4 to 5 hours) drive and emotionally difficult on us all, especially Timothy. One day next week we will travel to Dongguan (about 1 hour) to meet Annabelle's foster parents. She will not see them though,-just Chris and I will get to meet them.

Today we had to go back to the civil affairs office to take our oath. I was a little nervous to take Timothy back into that building but he did great. Chris carried him most of the day today to give me a chance to carry Annabelle. Now I think they both prefer him. 

We also went to the police station to apply for Annabelle and Timothy's Chinese passports. We have to have those to leave China next week.

Everyone is very tired, but again Alexandra and Hunter did great and have been a big help.
Sorry not many pics today. Takes awhile to load. I keep falling asleep as I am wrtitng this.

Tomorrow is an easier day. Meeting in the park if not raining. Maybe I can get some good pics.

Thank you for your prayers,
Bethany

Gotcha Day- Knox Fam 6

Well, I wish I could say it was all smiles and roses... but it was not. The good news is... we have our precious little ones and we are very thankful for that! Today was so very hard. It is quite chaotic when receiving your child (or children in our case) in a room with 20 to 25 other families doing the same thing. Timothy had to take a 4 to 5 hour drive this morning to meet us in Guangzhou, and Annabelle's ride was about an hour or so. When it was our turn to "receive our kids" there were no smiles from Timothy and Annabelle... just lots of tears and lots of crying.

I was supposed to hold both children so they could attach to me first, but that was impossible. Timothy, bless his heart, was terrified (understatement). At first he came up to me to meet me and I thought he was going to smile but then the person dropping him off did just that.... dropped him and moved onto the next child so he tried to run and screamed and kicked and hit and cried and kicked and hit and screamed some more. So, I held him first. Let me tell you. He is heavy! And he is a fighter! He is three and the oldest from that bunch. He truly knew something was up and he was not happy about it. I talked to him and sang songs and prayed over him with all my heart. Poor Alexandra, it was breaking her heart to see him and Annabelle so upset. She just cried and cried. Hunter, too, felt helpless, but we could not have gotten through this day without the two of them. They did whatever they could to help us.. whatever we asked. They were troopers and such great big siblings. Chris and I are so proud of them!!!!

Annabelle was also scared and crying but she was not as "lively" as Timothy. Chris held her first, but then we switched after a bit because Timothy had been fighting me for so long. My arms were  giving out. I just had to have a little break. After a little bit we switched back and I had Timothy again. Finally Annabelle settled but no smiles. All the other children had long since settled by then. Timothy did not calm down even a hair until after we left that building and were in the bus on the way to the supermarket to get some items they would need.

Then, praise the Lord!!!! While riding in the bus Timothy started playing with a dog we sent him in November that has mine and Chris' voice in it. He kept squeezing the paw and it talked to him. He finally looked at me in the eyes and realized it was my voice. Then I got some smiles and even some kisses.

Annabelle was fine by the time we were in the bus and prefers her daddy over me (even though I did get a few kisses). She has a little of her big sister in her in that she prefers her daddy :) and also in the "bossy" department too. But, if she turns out like her big sis that's ok with me because I think she is pretty awesome!

Timothy is like his big brother.... he's a builder. We had some fake duplo legos in the room (real legos cost at least 3 times as much here... yikes!) and he went to town building with them.... for a really long time.

We have a tough road ahead of us. Timothy was very close to a specific nanny in the orphanage and they took such good care of him there. He will  miss them as Annabelle will miss her foster mom and dad. We desire your prayers so much as we tackle these next few days. They must get to know us and learn that we love them and that we are their family forever. This will be a hard and tiring task but we know that God is faithful and He will give us what we need.

All FOUR kiddos are asleep and so is the hubby. We had a very exhausting day and must head out early tomorrow. So.... I'm off to bed.

Thanks for praying.
Blessings,
~B

Day 2 in Guangzhou

Today is our last day as a family of 4. Tomorrow we'll be a family of SIX!!!  Can't believe we finally get to meet our little ones. Our group meets in the lobby at 2PM (1AM Chattanooga time) and then we go to the civil affairs office where we will meet Annabelle Hope and Timothy Justice. Then, once everyone has meet their children and we've spoken with their caregivers, we will load up and go to WalMart to get formula, bottles, diapers, etc. Found out that both Annabelle Hope and Timothy Justice still take a bottle of formula and rice a few times a day. I was a little surprised, especially about Timothy, but am looking forward to feeding them and bonding with them this way. Feeding is one of the best ways to bond and this way I can hold and rock them, look into their eyes and talk to them while feeding. I pray they will know us as Mommy, Daddy, Brother and Sister very soon. TOMORROW!

Also, praying for their caregivers tonight as it is the last time they will put them to bed. Know it must be bittersweet for them.

This morning we tried to watch Calvary's live feed but it was glitch city so watching tonight. Very tired and feeling a little icky. Probably just so tired and not used to eating this way. Hard to find things to eat here (other than breakfast.... did I mention that breakfast is fantastic here at the hotel?!!) Have already eaten at McDonald's twice and once at Pizza Hut which is not really the same pizza as at home... probably why I feel icky. Going to see about finding some better food tomorrow.

Also, there is a very strong odor that just hits you as you walk down the street. Chris says when we get home he is going to write a thank you to the EPA. Very foggy or maybe it's smoggy. Looks like this all the time.

Makes us very thankful for where we live.

After a super duper breakfast on the 30th floor...

We headed out to do a little shopping for Annabelle and Timothy. We needed to find them a snack and drink to offer to them tomorrow when we meet. We walked all over looking at the many shops and wandering through the streets. There are buildings after buildings of apartments here.

Here are some more shots around town.

The front of our hotel.

I hope we are a light as we walk here, and may our adoption journey remind you of your adoption as a child of God.

Blessings,

Bethany

Day 1

Well, after about 28 hours of travel, we made it to our hotel late last night (Friday night in China- Friday morning in TN). Our hotel is super nice and our room is a lot bigger than I expected especially after reading all the reviews about hotels in China. Our room already has 2 cribs in it just waiting for Annabelle and Timothy.

Lobby



We had a free day today so we slept late then went downstairs for a great breakfast! Then out and about near our hotel. The coffee was not so good at the hotel so we went to Starbucks around the corner. Although, I think we might try one of the other coffee shops around here. There are quite a few.

Went to 7 eleven (yes, that's right...7 eleven) and got some bottled water and this....





We are going to try to watch Calvary's live feed for the Sat. night 6PM service.... It will be Sunday at 7 AM here in China. I pray it will come through. Also tomorrow we have a meeting with all the families here from our adoption agency (Lifeline) and our guides. There are about 9 families here this week receiving their children with us on Monday. I think about 8 more families will join us next week after receiving their children in different provinces. We haven't run into any of our group yet but have seen others who have their new children and are on their way out. Sunday (tomorrow) is our last day before Timothy and Annabelle join us. If you think of us, please pray for our transition and for Timothy and Annabelle to have peace. I know God has been preparing their hearts.

We are so blessed to be here adding to our family and so overwhelmed that this is God's plan for us. Thank you for your support and prayers.
Blessings,
~B