We're Doing Great

Hello everyone - Mom here with a little update on the angel herself...Miss Hope. She is running the show around here and seems to enjoy it a bit. We finally had our first good night sleep since we've been home. Hope fell asleep last night during her little lotion massage after her bath at about 8:30. I know it is tough to put PJ's on a wiggly child, but one who is sound asleep isn't so simple either. So, then she slept until about 1:00 this morning, woke, had a change and bottle, and was asleep again until Ron woke up at 5:00. I'm so happy! Now she's actually dozing again. I'm sure she has some catching up on zzzz's to do as well. I wonder how long this nap will last.

So, we're home and having a great time. We've been pretty busy with family and we even went to church on Father's Day. Proud Papa wanted to show off a bit I think. Here are a couple of photos with Daddy and his girls enjoying his first Father's Day morning. Ron is such a great Dad. He has so much patience. Hope is warming up to him more and more. You should have seen how excited she was when he got home from work yesterday afternoon. She practically ran down the stairs (with me holding her hands of course).



We had a great weekend. The reception homecoming at the airport was so fun though Hope was a little overwhelmed. She doesn't quite understand all these people who love her so much. She is so lucky. Every day we see a bit more of her personality. She is STUBBORN and likes to be in charge, but she is also a soft and gentle girl who seems to be loving life and her new discoveries everyday. Speaking of new discoveries...check out the pool from Auntie Andria and Uncle Mark. This was a hit. We only went swimming once in China and Hope loved it so I'm thinking this gift will be well used this summer.



Another new discovery...the "horsie!" Hope got this birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa Perry. They hunted it down for her after they saw the photo of her on the horse at the Civil Affairs Office in Nanning. She loves it! She'll get the idea of riding facing forward sometime soon I think. ;)

Finally, here are a couple of other photos from last night. We were playing with Aunt Tami and Uncle Brian and Hope was showing off her shades from our good friends Chris and Cheryl. She is just too cute. She was so funny with the glasses. She didn't really want to leave them on, but she would lean into whoever was holding them until they were on her face, then she'd take them off again. It was a great game. :)



Thanks for all the phone calls and welcome home messages everyone. Ron and I are so happy to be back (we're especially thankful for our own bed). We're planning now for a couple of days with just the three of us. Hope is going to the Dr. this afternoon for her "once over" and probably a few shots so we're spending the day just playing and making sure she knows we love her so when the pokes come later she won't hate us for too long. Then tomorrow will just be us again. We are trying to really make a strong attachment with Hope so she knows Mommy and Daddy as her primary care-givers. We've done a lot of reading and have been to seminars that helped us learn about the importance of early attachment. So, if we are limiting visits or asking for a little alone time with Hope for now, please understand and be patient with us. We'll be making the rounds soon.

Have a great week everyone. Enjoy the pix. Here are a couple more of her just being cute. ;)



Love - B,R, & H

Hope's favorite toy.

Here is Google video of Hope. Enjoy.

Making adjustments

This morning has been a little tough. All of us are short on sleep. The night before we left China Beth and I were up late packing bags then had a 4:00 am wake up call on the 14th of June. Baggage was picked up at 4:38am then we left for the airport at 5:30 am.

So after having about four hours of sleep the night before we hopped on a jet plane and were in the air around 9:15am China time. We arrived in Minneapolis around 8:30 pm which doesn't sound bad, but keep in mind there is a 13 hour time difference.

Jet lag plus sleep depravation equals tired crabby people. were doing our best though.

Making adjustments

ron

The red couch

The red couch is a very popular photo spot at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. So Beth and I headed down a little before our group photo and shot a few of our own. Thought some of you would like to see Hope in a silk dress.

Click on the photo link to go see the photo album.

The Red Chair

I have added a couple of photos of the birthday girls, all the new additions and all the young people that were traveling.

ron

Final Day

Hello to all - it is Beth this time. We have only about 10 minutes here so I'll do my best. Hope is amazing. We are doing great. I am so sorry about the lack of posts since we've been in Guangzhou. We are so busy here. The food is great. I'm feeling much better. I've been on the Cipro weight loss plan since Nanning, so it is nice now to be able to eat a bit. Hope is showing us more and more personality every day. She is such a sweet girl, but HEAD STRONG! She always seems to know what she doesn't want. Ron is also doing great. You'll have to ask him about his massage when we get back. As it stands right now, we are having a wake-up call at 4:00 tomorrow morning and we'll be on our way home. We can't wait to see you all and to have Hope meet you. Our flights should all be as scheduled. We'll have a LONG day of travel. Please pray for us to have safe travels and that Hope does well with it all. She really doesn't like to be confined so it should be interesting to have her on our lap for 20 hours. She likes her freedom and prefers to fall asleep in the crib rather than in our arms. Wish us luck.

We love you! Signing off from Guangzhou. Next stop...HOME!

Beth, Ron, & Hope

The White Swan

Hi all sorry for not posting right away when we arrived in Guangzhou. We have been very busy. Some of the recent highlights are that Hope has been ok with sitting in a high chair which has made mealtimes much easier. the following day she decided it would be ok to ride in the stroller which has made Beth happy. Best of all Hope and daddy had some play time while mommy pretended to sleep. what a wonderful time.

the photos really tell the best story so that is what I've been trying to keep loading.

What a cute dress from Grandma and Grandpa Perry.

our flight went well no big surprises. Snacks to eat helped with the pressure changes on take off and landing.

White Swan Hotel is beautiful. the room is huge and has a great view, if it weren't for the rainy season.

Ron had a 90 minute foot massage tonight which was great. at a cost of 68 yuan. with the exchange rate that amounts to a little under ten bucks. WOW.. Beth is on the schedule for tomorrow i think.

Tomorrow is visa photo for Hope and a medical exam so that she can go home with us. after that i think we will do some more shopping. lots of little shops to go to.

it is late and we have an early start in the morning. I tried to load pictures and this computer isn't helping or something is blocked. maybe we can borrow some time on one of the other families computers and try again. just four days to go,

Ron

Hello from Mom -

Hi everyone - this is my first time at the computer since we left Beijing. Hope is at my feet and we're borrowing some time on the laptop across the hall. Ron and I are having a pretty incredible experience. Who would have thought that when we started filling out paperwork two years ago, we were going to be matched with a daughter so perfect. She is just a joy! We are figuring out many things together. Hope is very much a Mommy's girl but is now tolerating some closeness from Daddy. He can even be on the bed playing together now. I can't leave the room at all though. I won't take a lot of time now, I just wanted to say "hello" and thank you all for the great comments and prayers. Ron has been printing out everything in the business center for me to read everyday. It is so special to have words from home.

About Hope -
-She is smiling more and more
-She has 8 teeth (has cut the most recent two since we've had her).
-She is in mostly 9 month clothes, but not for much longer.
-She is also in size 3 shoes and diapers now.
-She is totally experimenting with her voice and different sounds - more competition for cousin Mitchell in church. :)
-She sucks on her right thumb and index finger.
OK - it is way past nap time right now so gotta run. We love you! We are headed to Guangzhou tomorrow. Wish us luck on the flight.

Love and prayers - Beth