Thank You Jesus!

Eddie's coming Home!

Jimmie said Eddie was packed and ready before bed Friday night!

Last Day in Guangzhou

We are at the end of our last full day here in Guangzhou and Eddie and I both are so ready to get on that Asiana Air flight heading for home. We spent today buying our last gifts and getting them prepared for packing. It was only fitting that it was a beautiful day in stark contrast to the cold and rainy days of earlier in the week. This made the walk by all of the shops so much more enjoyable. Other than the gifts, we had only one last pressing issue that had to be taken care of before we could leave and that was finalizing Eddie's visa for entry into the United States. That phone call came around 3 pm - that everything was finished and our guide would have everything waiting on us in the lobby of our hotel at 9:30 in the morning. As soon as I was able to communicate to Eddie that we were finally all ready, he immediately grabbed his suitcase and began packing. It was such a pleasure to see this child packing with such vigor and enthusiasm. He really seemed excited that it was almost time to come to America.

At breakfast this morning, we were having a conversation with Richard and Kelly from Chicago. We met this wonderful Christian couple early in the week and had several conversations with them during meals each morning. Along with their biological daughter, they had adopted a precious little boy which I hope that you will find time to pray for as you have prayed for us. We also found out that they would be with us all the way to Chicago on our flight. It was only fitting that we celebrate our last night in Guangzhou at a restaurant a short walk from our hotel with a couple who loves God and who obviously loved their new child so much. You could see in their eyes.

The walk through the park seemed to relax Eddie in a new kind of way as he was the older child in the group of three children. He even seemed to be a little shy, but also a little more at home and at ease in his new role as our child. He didn't walk with his usual swagger; he walked like he had nothing to prove. Also, for the first time, Eddie seemed almost too excited to eat and that was readily apparent after arriving back at the hotel as Eddie immediately finished off his bath and his packing.

Eddie's smile is even different today, no longer scared, no longer unsure, but just ready to begin his new life...and so are we as his new forever family. As I finish this last post, I keep looking over at Eddie taking an inordinate amount of time on the folding of that last t-Shirt, as he places it neatly in his suitcase...and then stands on all of his clothes to pack it down just right, I can't help but chuckle at this wonderful new addition to our life. I think that each of you will see that God has something truly extraordinary in store for this young man. We don't even know what that might be yet, but we are sure with all the miracles that God performed to get him home that it has to be something grand.

We have enjoyed our time here in Guangzhou. We have enjoyed the nice families that we met from Mississippi and Chicago. And we have enjoyed the memories. But, we are ready to come home. Our flight leaves at noon on Saturday and will arrive in Seoul, South Korea around 4 pm. We will leave Seoul around 6 pm and will arrive in Chicago around 4 pm on Saturday CST and then leave Chicago around 9 pm to arrive in Charlotte around midnight. It is a long trip so we covet your prayers for safety, for all flights to be on time and for our family who will be traveling to pick us up. And lastly, thank you for following Eddie from Tianjin to Marshville. Good night!


Eddie and Jimmie

My Silly Boy

I am still just getting a few random pictures from Jimmie's phone. I had to share this one....Jimmie says Eddie likes Coke and he likes taking pictures of himself

Day 14

Thursday started like most any other day here in Guangzhou with our usual late morning breakfast, but after breakfast was going to be a little different. Now that the paperwork all seems to be cleared up, it was time to do a little gift shopping for the family back home. Our morning started off with a trip to Jordan's. Most of those who have adopted in the US have frequented this shop tucked down one of the side streets not far from the hotel. This neat shop has lots of gifts, but most people visit because Jordan will do your child's name in calligraphy with the meaning of the letters on a paper print. It is very well done and best of all, it is free. This place was full of toys which really put Eddie in a frantic mood. We left with the prints, scrolls and of course a yo yo and a Chinese hackey sack. This kept Eddie busy for most of the afternoon. From there, we went to another popular place for adopters/adoptees-"A Gift from China." This store donates part of their proceeds to the promotion of adoption. Also, they give a free refrigerator magnet to the child with the province that they are from. Eddie and Anna Li had a special time this morning when Anna Li showed Eddie her magnet that she received last year when she spent the week in Guangzhou with Mom and Mrs. Kyra. Our last stop was a shop across the street from our hotel where we picked up a couple traditional outfits. The experience was fun because everyone had a "very good price" and "a good discount for you." :)

Everything seems almost ready to make our final preparations for returning to the US and coming home for the first time for one of the members of our party. We would not be packing tonight, but at least the thoughts of packing are very close. I think that Eddie is excited about coming home; we have had a lot of fun bonding here in the last week. I really wish that I knew what was going on in his mind as he leaves the world that he has always known and moves to a world that he has never known.

Friday is our last full day in Guanghzou. Most of the day will be spent in getting a couple more gifts and then making the final plans for leaving. News is probably getting a little short now and I hope to make one more short final post before leaving. If all goes well, our flight will leave around noon on Saturday our time (around 11pm Friday night your time EST). Please be in prayer for us as we head to our final destination. Thank you again for the prayers and support for us who are here and our family who are there. We love you all.

Eddie and Jimmie

It's Official

As we sometimes say in the South, "we are in the short rows now." Today we had to sit in our room awaiting for Connie to carry our paperwork to the US Consulate for final inspection. If there are any questions, then they show up here in this last "look-through." The truth of the matter is even if they did have questions, I probably could not answer them since Alisa took care of most of the paperwork and knows it much better than me. A little before lunch, Connie called and said everything was fine, but there had been one small change in the time of the "swearing in" ceremony which was moved to this afternoon at 2:15. This is exciting since this is the last thing that we have to do before Eddie receives his visa to enter into the United States.

When I have time to communicate something to Eddie, I can usually get the message across (as least Eddie humors me and nods and smiles when I try) but when things happen so quickly, like they did today, then my sign language is not quite so good. It was hard for me to explain that things were moving up so Eddie was a little tense about just jumping in the van and taking off. Usually, Eddie is independent and likes to do things on his own, but in these official settings with lots of uniforms, he sticks a little closer to me. It was particularly difficult explaining to Eddie what was going on during the actual ceremony since I don't translate fast enough and besides I had to "repeat after me." The neat thing was that we got to meet "Roy" who Alisa was in contact with a great deal in the days leading up to my leaving. He said "I remember Alisa Quesinberry very well."

Right before the proceedings, the officers announced two birthdays for the month of November, one of which was Eddie's. I think that I was able to let him know that all of the clapping was for him. At times like these, he has a real sheepish grin. After the very quick oath, I let Eddie know that everything was official. When I tell him things like this, he is constantly signing the question of how many days before we fly now. Usually, he does this 4-5 times everyday...sometimes more. I "think" (hope) that means he is as excited to get home as his dad.

After returning to the hotel, Eddie and I headed back to Lucy's for supper. Tonight's plate of food was more than he could handle. Usually, he has no problem cleaning his plate which is pretty common with newly adopted kids. As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped in a few shops "just to look" which is truly not in Eddie's vocabulary. All trips to the shops are means to buy something in his mind...no matter how hard I try to tell him that we are just looking.

One interesting shop that is here for a few days is an art exhibit from an orphanage in the central part of China. All the artwork is scrolls done by students and by their instructor. He represents an organization out of Portland, Oregon named "Rise Up." The artwork can also be bought online and I highly recommend a visit to their website. They can also be found at www.scrollsfromchina.com and www.echoinchina.org. I enjoyed looking at the artwork and talking to Mr. Kenny Lu while Eddie enjoyed seeing the picture album of the kids at the orphanage that were painting and learning a new skill for the rest of their life. An added bonus included freshly brewed tea from Mr. Lu as he explained the foundation to me. It really seemed like a great organization.

Well, we are approaching the end of our day and we are one step closer to home. Eddie and I have had a really good time but I am sure he will enjoy things so much more when he is able to get around his active siblings. I can tell from our phone conversations the kids are very excited about finally meeting each other and definitely how excited his mom is to finally get her arms around Eddie. Google Talk is nice, but it is just not the same as being there. Several of you have contacted me to let me know that you are enjoying the blog and I appreciate your care and concern. If I were to start thanking everyone, then I am sure that I would leave someone out, so please accept my blanket appreciation to you all. We love you all very much and appreciate your thoughts, prayers and comments in the blog. Eddie will appreciate these comments so much as he grows older and is able to reflect on this experience. Have a great day.

Eddie and Jimmie

Day 12 Guangzhou Safari Park

Today, Tuesday in Guangzhou, brought better weather or at least it was clear. It was still cold as the temperature did not get out of the 40s with a stiff wind. After breakfast, Eddie and I met Connie for a trip to the Guangzhou Safari Park. We rode in a minivan and we were able to see the bigger picture of Guangzhou than what we saw when we came in from the airport on Friday night. Up until this time, we had been relegated to the block around our hotel.


There seems to be a lot of history and culture wrapped up in this city of around 11 million. But for the young teen, these sites are less than interesting. Eddie often spends this time prying around our mode of transportation looking for buttons, fans, hidden compartments or whatever he can get into. In the course of a 30 minute trip, it is not uncommon for Eddie to move from the second seat to the third seat several times. After his curiosity is cured, he often lays his head down on my shoulder for a quick nap.


We arrived at the zoo around 11 AM. I think that Eddie liked this zoo more than the one in Beijing, but having temperatures that were 20 degrees warmer was bound to help. Connie told us that today would be a good day since there would not be many people there on a Tuesday. Obviously, she did not take into account the 1000s of school kids that were there for a field trip all dressed in the respective uniforms of their school. It was fun for me because I was the only American in the whole park and all of the school kids wanted to practice their memorized English greetings on the only available target in the park. With all the waving and staring, Eddie quickly pointed out that I was an American and that he was Chinese and they didn't care about him; he just shook his head with each wave that came from each succeeding classroom.


For me, the most important thing to see in the zoo is the animals. For Eddie, the most important things to see involve trinkets, stuffed animals and something else to eat. I did remind him of the HUGE breakfast that he had eaten less than two hours before. But don't worry mom, I did feed him before we left. No shop was off limits to Eddie. If he had his way, he would stop in everyone and buy any of the wares offered. And when I say any wares, I mean any wares. He is a sucker for a little marketing pitch. We made our way on foot for about an hour and half and then made our way to the "Safari on Wheels" which is an open air bus ride through the "wilds" of the park. Eddie kept his Flip camera close and got lots of good shots of the animals that were mere feet away.


We returned to the hotel in the middle of the afternoon to lounge around until supper time. Around 6 PM we headed down the street to pick up what I hope is our last load of laundry from one of the local shops. Did I mention that Eddie was a sucker for trinkets? This time we left with a glow in the dark spider bracelet that was "a good price for a good boy." Eddie was happy and was we headed back to the room for our supper. Eddie was thrilled to hold the bracelet next to the lamp and then run back to the dark part of the room so he could see it glow in the dark. For $3, it was worth the purchase.


I hope that everyone is doing fine at home. We miss you all, but we know that we are one day closer to being home to see everyone. Midnight Saturday is looking better and better everyday. Thank you again for the prayers and the thoughts.


Eddie and Jimmie



I did get a couple of pictures today from Jimmie's phone. I am not sure about the look on Eddie's face...but Jimmie assures me he enjoyed himself.