17 hours until Ellie Grace

We took the train to her city. We are settled in our hotel and we are so excited to meet Ellie tomorrow. Tonight is the last night she goes to sleep without this momma!

Playing Dress Up

Just because she is so darling, we did a little cheesy dress up. How I love this girl.

Temple of Heaven

This morning we visited the Temple of Heaven. Our guide explained the origins of this place. How they worshiped the God of the Heaven and the Sun to get good luck. Anna Mei thought maybe the emperor should go to church so he could know the true God like she does. Insert beaming smile from a momma who is grateful my girl has a wonderful body of believers to call her church. Praising God today for our freedom to know Him and that this baby girl has Jesus rooted deeply in her heart. Her story could have been so very different and today I am grateful to God that she knows him and is my daughter.

Hutong Tour

We took a rickshaw back into the Hutongs to have lunch in the home of a Chinese family. It was incredible and my sweet girl was back to her dumpling eating silly self away from the crowds. The food was delicious and I always love my time in this distinct part of town. Anna Mei noticed how very small the house was we had dinner in. What a different way of life they have there.

Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

The crowds were heavy and so was my girl's heart this morning as we explored Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. Crowds are always tough on her and she continues to draw lots of attention. I honestly think it is much more attention than we get at home with our unconventional family make up. It is so good to be here with Anna Mei though. Experiencing this alongside her is such a blessing.

The Old City Wall Park

Our hotel here is right next to the old Beijing city wall. There is a beautiful park near there. We explored it early this morning as we are not yet sleeping much. The flowers are in full bloom and it is beautiful. My sweet girl draws so much attention with this western momma. How I wish we could talk with some of the people who seemed to be sharing so much with us this morning.

It Never Ceases to Amaze Me

We spent a potion of our day at the Great Wall today! It never ceases to amaze me that such a thing could be built and climbing it is always such a thrill. This was Anna Mei's first time seeing it. We visited a section today that I hadn't ever seen. My was it super steep, but it didn't stop Anna Mei. She was the first of us to the top. I was right behind her of course, but she never stopped.

Exploring Her Homeland

We are out hiking the streets and exploring this culture this morning. A Chinese child with a western momma is quite a sight here and many people watch us. Most are so gracious and look lovingly at my girl. She is a bit frustrated because she has lost her Chinese powers as she said because she no longer can speak their words. She said I just wish I could talk to them and also to you. Stuck between two worlds is just so complex. This morning I love and love on her while working through all her feelings and crying my eyes out myself. This is such a sacred place to be walking through in her heart alongside her. I am praying daily for strength and wisdom as we push through.

Breakfast

Dumplings for breakfast brings this girl great Joy! She ate twelve! There is nothing like being in this land!

My Journal for Anna Mei

Dear Anna Mei,  Nearly six years ago now I first took this journey with you.  Then it was the journey that would take you home to begin our forever as mother and daughter.  This time it is a journey back to where your story begins to retrace the places and experiences that made you who you are.  The heartbreak and brokenness that would ultimately allow you to be mine is something that never leaves you.  Even today as we begin this journey back to your homeland for our Ellie Grace you are full of so many questions.  Questions that don't have easy answers or even any answers at all.  In the coming days as we open up your past and you experience your baby sister being welcomed into our family,  your heart will be full of so much feeling.  You will wrestle with so much.  Dear girl, today, and always I will be beside you as you navigate this.  I count it a privilege and true joy to be your momma.  I will gently and patiently provide you with God's truth to remind you that He has never left you and will use all things for good in your life.  So as you grow into the woman that God intends you to be know that I am on my knees for you daily eagerly anticipating how He will use you for His glory.  I love you with all my heart and can't wait to experience these next 17 days beside you.  I am thrilled to have you as my helper, and to consume noodles and dumplings everyday for your sake.

First Stop

She settled in quite nicely and loved her first flight. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have her next to me for this trip. She is such a darling treasure.

And We Are Off

It is a great day to head across the world to claim our baby girl. Ellie Grace here we come.

Dying Eggs

We are squeezing in as much as we can before I head over to our girl so we dyed some eggs this week. There is never a dull moment here that is for sure. They always make everything such fun. Seventeen days apart seems like an eternity but I know Daddy will take good care of them.

Molly @ the Shriner's Circus

We loved, loved the Shriner's Circus last night!  We were given free tickets because Molly is a patient at the hospital.  We are so thankful for the care she receives there and all the extra ways that they care for us between appointments.  She was absolutely darling during the acrobats' show..

A Trip to the Dairy Farm

We decided to go out with a bang this last week before China.  We took two field trips, and one of them was to the dairy farm near us.  It was such an experience, and I loved having a little down time with my two littlest before the crazy of the next three weeks starts.

 They have kangaroos at the dairy farm which were so fun to see.

 It was a bit of a drive so getting out to "visit" the cow statues was a welcome activity after a long ride.

 This was the milking parlor.  My Anna Mei is at the age where she is so excited to learn anything.  It is the sweetest just spending time with her.  We got to see the equipment they use to milk the cows and how the process works.

 Of Course, there were lots of cows.  Big cows.  Little cows. Baby cows.  A lot of cows.

 The tour ended with ice cream.  Molly chose the same kind of ice cream as Anna Mei which is just so shocking (not really as this girl has no identity outside of her big sis right now).

This fake milking cow was a favorite.

I would highly recommend visiting Hansen's Dairy Farm in Hudson.  

It was a great time!

Pretty Pretty Princess

One of our favorite games right now is Pretty Pretty Princess.  There isn't anything I would rather do than play with these sweet beauties as I enjoy being their momma so very much!

 This would be my silly princess.

And this would be my forgetful princes...

We used to play this game with Emily when she was this age.  I am so lucky to have found this Cinderella version on craigslist as we are having so much fun together!

Ballet With My Jillian

Last week, I kept my Jillian home with me so she could attend the orchestra and ballet with our homeschool group. My Jillian loves music and dancing so she enjoyed it so much. This momma just loves extra time with my girl so I enjoyed it too. How I will miss this baby while I am away.

You Are Never Going to Believe This

Remember that I said in this post that Jillian had collected donations to Lifesong for her birthday party instead of asking for gifts.  Well, the donation was a cash amount so I went on to the my story website, and scrolled through the family profiles to select a family to donate Jillian's birthday money to.  I landed on Jo's adoption.  I don't know why I chose them.  I noticed that they were going to China too, and I saw they had a large need so I clicked donate, entered the amount given at her party, and closed the transaction by typing a "praying for you" message.  In the tagline, I included our blog site just so the recipient could "meet" our Jillian if they wanted to.  Well, what happened next is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.  Today, I received an email from this family thanking us for our donation.  Then, she said that she visited our website, and noticed that I was in process too.  She looked further, and saw that I had a gotcha day of April 10.  Her Gotcha Day is April 10th too which is incredible, but then she looked further and saw that I was getting my little peanut in Tianjin.  Guess where she is picking up her daughter on April 10?  You betcha..Tianjin...the very same town on the very same day.  All of our dates in China are exactly the same!  We will get to meet this family, and witness their gotcha day!  It is unbelievable!  THANK YOU so very much to those very special second graders who donated to Jillian's birthday party gift fund as now Jo is coming home, and we are getting to see it up close!  Can you even imagine?  What an incredible, amazing God we serve to cross our paths so intimately.  I praise Him!  I praise Him!  I praise Him!