One day left until we head home...

Well, it's been a great vacation here in south Florida. The weather has been exceptionally warm (mid 80's to high 70's every day) and as we close out out our vacation and 2008, we look forward to everything 2009 has to bring.

We met with our friends who are adopting their daughter from China (and we pray they are traveling in upcoming days) yesterday for a day at the beach and then again tonight for dinner. This has been one of our best trips to Florida and spending time as a family -together this year unlike last, with family and friends. We have one day left until we head back to the great white north ..Yea Ha (not really). The good news is in 6 - 7 months, we'll have the same weather we will be leaving.

Here's some pictures from our past week or so....

The Perfect Ending to a Great day ......

Well, we spent Christmas Eve on the beach and enjoying the 80 degree weather. Lize has discovered that she absolutely loves the beach (which is good for her as you all how much we love the beach). We are having a blast here enjoying the weather and family. As tomorrow is Christmas Day don't ever forget the real reason for the season.. Happy Birthday Jesus. To top the day off, we watched Notre Dame win 49 - 21 over Hawaii (GO IRISH!).

Here's some pictures for your enjoyment:

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow......

Well, it can do just what the title of this update says..."let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" - at home that is. We're here in south Florida where it was cool today, only 70 degrees. Don't worry, today was the coldest day predicted for this week as the remainder of the week is to be in low 80's. We're off to the beach tomorrow and we can't wait. Here's some pictures from our first day here....

It's COLD...It'll be warm soon and a friend's happiness..

It's been a fast month since we arrived home with Lize. The kids are all doing great and get along much better now (Sofi had some initial "sharing" issues that have since passed. With our temperatures getting below zero and windchills already in (-) double digits and already having 20+ inches of snow, there's been some adjusting for Lize.

With Christmas upon us, Sofi is very excited about seeing "Sante". With the blessing from "Santa", we'll be going to south Florida for two weeks to visit with Dawn's parents and sister. It'll be tough to leave this wonderful weather we're having behind and we'll have to struggle through the high 70's and low 80 degree days, but we'll make it somehow. Sofi thinks "Sante" will be on the beach waiting for her.

Congrats to our friend Trish and Family! (YEAH - Trish's family just got their LOA for travel to China adopt their daughter who is from the same province as Lize). Here's some recent pictures of the snow at night and the girls...

As if we didn't have enough to be happy about this Christmas, we were blessed with another nephew on December 2nd. Other than looking like his daddy, he's very handsome (Ha ha - just kidding Russell). Here's a picture of his first day......

Two weeks home... and things are going great!

We've been home for two weeks and it's GREAT to be here. Everyone has adjusted well (Lize had a rough first week adjusting to the time zone differences but has since got on schedule) and Sofia and Lize are playing together. There are a few days where Sofia wants Lize to know that her things are her's but all in all they get along great. The boys are so thrilled with being big brothers again and it's fun to watch all the kids play. Here's some pictures from the past two weeks:

We made it back....

We made it back home on Nov 15th to an unexpected crowd of family and friends at the airport. After arriving back home, we were given a surprise welcome home party for Lize. Here are a few pictures of the welcome home party....

As in China, Lize continues to grow with us. She felt "right at home" at the house and it truly feels as if she has always been with us.

Last Day in China.. A Goodbye...Kids, here we come!!!!!

Today was our last day in Guangzhou and we couldn't think of a better way to spend it than with our friend Judy. We spent the morning and early afternoon at White Cloud Mountain. This is the highest point in Guangzhou which allows for SPECTACULAR views of the city's skyline. You really get a good view of just how big this city is....and let me tell you it's huge. Here's some views from the mountain top.......... (note: the picture of the city is only "one section" of the full panoramic view of the skyline. It spans a full 180 degrees as far as you see when looking down on it)

After spending some time on the mountain top, it was time to return to the base. Judy, Dawn and Lize decided to take a cart down the mountain but I decided to take the Baiyun Cableway down. WOW was that exciting. Here's some pictures of my trip down the mountain......

We were then off to Yuntai Garden Park at the base of the mountain. It's a park covered in beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs. It was a picture perfect day.....

Tomorrow is a day we can hardly wait for, our departure date. We can't wait to get home to hug and kiss our beautiful kids who we've missed so much (Zach, Will and Sofi only a few more hours - remember we arrive at 2:00 PM on Saturday). As we close out this chapter and depart China, we realize that we will always have a connection to the country, the wonderful people and the culture that is China. We thank everyone for your prayers and support!

We know we'll be back but for now we walk away and say goodbye...

Day 15 - A visit to the Wharf, Consulate , and saying goodbye to friends

Today was our final day of any adoption appointments - One of the BIG ONES -- Our consulate visit. Before the Consulate appointment we visited the local Wharf where we were able to see several types of local fish and other sea life caught by local fishermen. In addition to sea life, one of the other big items in the market were snakes.

A funny thing happened while walking by the snakes, one almost got Dawn. Apparently one of the snakes slipped out of the tub and was going toward Dawn who was screaming and jumping all over -- the locals thought it was hilarious to watch her. Here's some pictures of the market.....


Then we were off to the consulate where we would take an oath and obtain Lize US visa. First, we loaded up our group on the bus were on our way.....


Sorry, no pictures or videos were allowed in the consulate. What an amazing scene. A large room full of new moms and dads (regardless of how many kids they already have) along with many family members just waiting for this last step of the adoption process. As you see all the children finally with their families it's hard to think that just a week or so before these same children were homeless without families and now they all are headed to their homes in a promise land of hope and opportunity. On this day, 40 families from 26 states will soon head home with their blessings.

Here's some pictures right after the ceremony with all of us holding our children's passports, visas and immigration documents:


We closed out the day by having our last dinner as a group. It's amazing how so many people can come together half way around the world as strangers and end up being friends. These people were brought into each other's lives and forever will be a part of one of the biggest and best moments of each others lives. God is good!


Only a few more days until we get to be together again as a whole family. WE CAN'T WAIT!