Welcome Home Emma!

Thanks to our cancelled flight in Dallas, we had a bit of a different homecoming than we had expected. We are so thankful for our family who stayed up way past bedtime to welcome us home!

Our first picture as a family of 5!!

The Sykes family drove home through the night after waiting to see us. Thankful for these precious friends. 

Could it have worked out any better that Jordan and Ross were home for Christmas? So happy they were here!!! 

My aunts made precious signs for all over the house to welcome Emma home. So sweet! Thanks aunt Carolyn and Aunt Diane. Love yall!

Kay Kay and G had Ella Kate duty while we were gone. I don't know what we would do without them!

Haley and Emma have become fast friends (although this picture doesn't look like it! It was after midnight by this point and we had been up for 36+ hours thanks to Miss Priss refusing to sleep on the plane.)

Walker had a big time at Nana and Pop's house. We loved seeing Pop but missed Nana who is taking care of Meemaw in the hospital.

We are so thankful to be home and there is much to update but please be patient with me! We are dealing with crazy jet lag and nasty sinus infections but I promise to post more pictures as I can get them loaded. Thanks for investing in our story. We love you deeply.

There's No Place Like Home!

There's No Place Like Home

Last Day in Guangzhou

We had our appointment at the US Embassy this morning.  We believe that everything went as planned and we will receive Emma's visa tomorrow. Yay!!!

Sister girl celebrated the day by wearing her bow! She kind of thinks it is a game to pull it out once I put it in, but then she attempts to put it back in her hair once she pulls it out. I am counting this as a victory since no tears were shed today!

This city is enormous but they have several park areas kind of like Central Park. I love that there is green space in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the big city. We made our way to one park near our hotel because our guide told us to take our picture by this statue. Apparently, it is super famous and everyone Chinese person that sees the picture will say "oh you went to Guangzhou."

We had a great view of the city (and soccer field) when we made our way to the peak of the park.

Our visa is scheduled to be picked up tomorrow afternoon and we will leave Guangzhou at 4:30 pm (2:30 am in MS.) We will be taking vans to Hong Kong which is about 3 hours away and will stay in a hotel that is attached to the airport where we fly out on the 24th. Our flight leaves on the 24th at 1:40pm (11:40 pm in MS on the 23rd) and we will land in Dallas at 2:55pm. Emma will officially be a US citizen as soon as we land in Dallas! Yay!!!  We leave Dallas at 7:10 pm and will land in Jackson at 8:23pm on Christmas Eve!!!!  We are so very ready to be home and if you are bored and in search of a Christmas Eve activity, we would love to see you at the airport! (Absolutely no pressure though! We totally get that we are flying home on Christmas Eve and completely understand the timing is not ideal for a homecoming party.)  Whether we see you at the airport or not, please know how much we appreciate each and every one of you who have played such an important part in our family's story. We are truly grateful and look forward to introducing this sweet girl to all yall!  Much love and we will see you soon!!!

Shopping on Shamian Island

Today we went to Shamian Island in Guangzhou. The buildings looked a bit like those found in Savannah and it was really beautiful. There is a large hotel on the island that is closed for renovations. For years, it was the main hotel that all adoptive families would stay in while in Guangzhou for Embassy appointments. So around it, there are many little shops set up strictly for tourist. We didn't buy much, but enjoyed the pretty day and the pretty scenery.

We walked along the Pearl River.  It looks quite a bit different than the Pearl River we are used to though.

I can't even deal with this. It's just too much.

Along the river, people are everywhere. Some do Tai Chi.  Others play checkers.  Some kick around a hacky sack. It was a cool place to people watch....even though I feel like everywhere we go, people are watching (and taking pictures of) us.

J found a hat while shopping.  Unfortunately, we didn't know how to pack it without it getting squashed so we decided to pass. Bummer.

We ate lunch at a place called Lucy's. They offered Western food, so we were all pretty pumped. We were seated next to a map of the US, so we showed Emma where we will be going in just a couple more days.

We have our appointment at the US Embassy in the morning (5:30pm on Sunday in Mississippi.) Please pray that everything will go smoothly and that we will be able to come home as scheduled on the 24th. We are beyond ready to be home and see Ella Kate and Walker.  It has been a long 2 weeks for all of us but we are so thankful that they are well taken care of.  We can't wait to spend Christmas as a family of 5 (3 of which will be suffering from wicked jet lag...but at least we will be together!)

Guangzhou Zoo Day

We had the perfect morning at the zoo.  The weather here is fabulous and we all enjoyed being out of the hotel! Our guide told us this was a small zoo...she obviously has never been to the Jackson Zoo!  This zoo is right smack in the middle of the city, so you can see all the big buildings just beyond the animal habitats and you also hear the constant noise of the highway.

 Emma tried to throw her hat into the red panda exhibit so she spent the rest of the morning with that sweet bald head exposed.  I am sure people were talking about me. Good thing I can't understand them!  Side note, several people have asked about where her bows are...well....we are going to have to break her in slowly. Everytime I have tried to put one in, she cries and pulls it out. Seriously, the only time she has cried has been over the bow.  I'm hoping that once she sees Ella Kate's bow, she will want to look like sissy and change her mind?!?!

She did a little walking practice this morning. She can't walk independently yet but I have a feeling it is going to happen quickly.

We loved the pandas!

You could pay a little bit to feed the giraffes.  We decided against it because we thought it might be scary for her. I just love giraffes though. So pretty.

For all our CUMC friends...we found Christy the Camel!

Sister girl was worn out after seeing all the animals and decided a nap was necessary. Bless her sweet heart.

We got back to our room and Emma was hamming it up for the camera. I just can't get enough of her sweet little smile.  Love, love, love my little China doll!!

Medical Exam Day

Today we went to the clinic for the medical exams that are necessary to issue Emma her visa. Lucky for us, she did not have to have her blood drawn because she is less than 2. A win for us for sure!

We've been working on an arranged marriage between Emma and Elijah. We love his mama and daddy and think this would be a pretty perfect match!

Because our group is so large (9 families) we spent several hours getting everyone in with the doctors. The babies all were amazing but we were all thankful to leave that building!

She is LOVING her daddy!

She is seriously a fabulous baby. We are so thankful for her go with the flow attitude and happy little personality.

After lunch, a few of us went to the pearl market. It was an experience for sure as this was the first time we went out without a guide. I have never seen anything like the markets here...6 floors with hundreds of booths on each floor. It's seriously overwhelming and crazy.

Getting a taxi was a bit challenging as well, but we crammed in and made it back to the hotel in one piece.

We bought each of our girls a pearl necklace that we will give them on their wedding days.

Our hotel is pretty swanky but I'm not really sure why there is a large window between the bedroom and bathroom. I guess so you can watch tv while taking care of your business in the bathroom? 

Tomorrow we are going to the supermarket (which is like a Walmart but with multiple levels. It even has an escalator for your buggy) and we are also going to the zoo.  I love a zoo so I am pretty pumped!!!