One month from Gotcha Day!!!

OK, we're busted....  We have not updated our blog in 2 1/2 wks.  Yes, life has been a bit hectic around the Fahy household.  We have had our "re-entry" challenges (a two week pile of mail and emails, "reeling in" our 4 children that stayed here in the states, getting Emily settled, starting football, beginning our homeschooling year....you get the picture).  

Anyway, we wanted to share some recent photos of our sweet little Emily with you.  She is doing SO well!!  She loves her brothers and sister, and she is acclimating to her new life with us.  We are blessed to have her as our daughter!

We promise to update our blog more frequently and fill you in on all of the happenings in the lives of Harrison, Caroline, Mason, Emily, Conner, and Tyler....

We're Coming Home!!!

Our journey is coming to an end.

Our journey is just beginning....

Passports, Visas...Citizenship!!!!

Emily is learning very quickly how to strike a pose for the camera!!

She loves her stroller; when she's ready to go she gets her shoes on and hops into the stroller!!

She is even trying her hand with the camera...say cheese!!!

We've had several rainy days - the hotel room begins to feel a bit small.  Harrison was excited when he met some "cool friends" today.

Emily on her way to the swearing in at the US Consulate.

She loves her Baba!

Emily will be a U.S. citizen upon clearing customs in LA! We went to the U.S. Consulate today for the swearing in ceremony. It was awesome to be in a room with 50 other adoptive families all awaiting the "final step" in a very long process. It was not a big production...but you could feel the emotions. I wept as the official had us take our oaths and gave us instructions on our children's citizenship. I can't begin to describe what emotions went through my mind. She has been ours for almost 2 weeks and now both China and the United States say she is ours!!! This is an amazing feeling. She also has a U.S. visa in her Chinese passport. This will allow her to enter the United States and once she is through customs, she will be an American. Her Chinese passport will no longer be valid. 

We are beginning to pack, and take some final pictures. We went to our favorite Italian place for dinner tonight with some new friends. It is difficult to say goodbye to China. I am so greatful for the good and perfect gift they have allowed us to adopt into our family.

We are thankful for all of our family and friends who have supported us on this journey.  Stay tuned for a final post from China tomorrow....

Pearls, paperwork, and a physical....

As we begin to wind up our time in China and prepare for our trip back to the U.S. with the newest addition to our family, we are completing all the requirements here in Guangzhou, including lots of paperwork, Emily's physical exam, and a whole lot of shopping!!!!

We are very happy to report that everything is complete, and tomorrow we go to The U.S. Consulate for Emily's oath taking!!

This place was organized chaos...lots of screaming babies! 

"This should be fun... Why are these people in white coats 

looking at me like that?"

More pokes and prodding....  When will they be through??

The doctor reviewing Emily's hands. 

Emily wasn't in the mood to show off her dexterity and abilities. 

We are still amazed by what this girl can do without thumbs!

"How many trees have we killed throughout this paperchase?"

They actually walk the streets with these large baskets! 

The peaches looked amazing - figs I could live without.

Could they be any cuter? The bond is getting deeper!

Watermelon anyone?? I think this would be a great 

summer job for Harrison in Monroeville!

The pearl market was amazing...I have never seen so many pearls. We would have been totally lost if we didn't have our personal shopper, Ann, with us.  She is "Ann" from  The Red Thread website. She is totally worth her money...she knows the best venders in all the various markets.

That's my kind of necklace!!!

We have been having lots of rain from the storm pushing through Hong Kong.  The rainy days in the hotel room make me very ready to be home. I miss the children so much, and am anxious to have them meet Emily. But at the same time, it is a bit bittersweet. This time in China has been amazing. When will we ever spend 2 weeks alone with Emily and Harrison. She has needed this time so very much. My prayer now is that she able to find her place in our family and our home.  She is doing better with each passing day.  We have our moments, but all in all she is a pure delight. 

The Other Side Of The Story....

IF EMILY WAN YE COULD TELL HER SIDE...

Looking back it's all a blur, but I'm trying to piece the details together as best I can....  

It all began with a lot of shouting, and then I was being carried off.  As it turns out, Shen Yanzhen and Ai Li had found me at the gate of The Welfare Institute of Wannian County.  Apparently they thought I needed to go to the clinic, so we went.  They kept looking at my hands and telling me that I'm pretty;  I really wasn't sure what all the commotion was about, but I went along with them--after all they kept telling me that I'm pretty....

Into the clinic we went where a lot of people poked and prodded.  Some were shaking their heads and rolling their eyes, and some just smiled, looked at my hands, and patted my head.  Soon they were taking pictures of me and writing things down.

As time went by I ended up in "The Special Place" with a lot of other children, mostly girls, and we spent a lot of time playing by ourselves because there were a lot of us and only a few adults.  I figured out early on that I would have to make my own way.

Something deep inside me told me that it shouldn't be this way, and I wondered if I had a mother somewhere who would come soon to bring me home and take care of me.  It began to click that someone, probably my mommy, had left me at the welfare institute's gate to be found by someone else. I wondered why she left me at the gate.  Didn't she care about me?  Didn't she love me?  Didn't she want me?  Something told me that the circumstances were beyond her control, and that leaving me at the gate was not as easy as it appeared.  In fact, it probably caused her great pain.  I think she did love me, and would miss me terribly.  I think she wanted the best for me.  After all, she left me at a place where I would be found...maybe she even hid nearby and waited to make sure I was found....

Anyhow, The Special Place was now my home, and I decided I better just get used to it.  Although I was small, I wasn't going to let anyone push me around. No specific person was able to stay by my side, and there was a part of me that decided that I needed to maintain a tough exterior.  I really wished I had that special someone who would be there for me all the time, but there were so many of us.  I kept my guard up.  

After a while I couldn't imagine life outside of The Special Place.  I figured this is where I would grow up and spend the rest of my life.  Maybe this is where everyone grows up (?).  But occasionally a few of my friends would leave, and I'd never see them again.  Where did they go?  Would I go there too?  Is it better there?  I felt that there may be a better place than The Special Place.

Then one day the adults brought me a package with a blanket, some toys, and some pictures of people I'd never seen.  Someone said "Mama" and another mentioned "Baba," but I wasn't really sure what that meant, and nothing really came of it...

Half of my life went by.

Then one day some of the adults from The Special Place loaded me into a truck, and we began a long journey on bumpy roads.  I threw up.  We arrived at a huge city with lots of traffic and noise.  We pulled up to a very tall building, much taller than The Special Place.  We took the elevator up to the eleventh floor.   I was eating one of my favorite snacks.  Mrs. Ye, the director of The Special Place,  a new lady named Mrs. Shirley,  one of my friends, and a few other adults were with me.  We walked around the corner and into a room.  

Suddenly, there was excitement and everyone began to speak loudly.  Waiting in the room were two adults and one older child.  They spoke a different language, and they looked different.  They spoke to Mrs. Shirley and Mrs. Ye in the different language.  They were smiling and staring at me.  They were looking at my hands, my skin, my hair, my clothes.  They showed me some new toys and started playing with me....

Wait a minute!  Something's going on here!  Is Mrs. Ye preparing to leave...without me!?  Hey, where is everyone going?  Who are these people? Who is this new lady, Mrs. Shirley?  She's the only one left here that speaks Chinese, but I don't know her or these new people!!  OK, don't panic.  Just stay in one place and pretend to enjoy playing with the new toys.  Oh wait, they have snacks...maybe these people aren't that bad after all.  But I'm still going to stand in the same place...for a few hours.  Wait, now my only Chinese counterpart, Mrs. Shirley, is leaving.  Now what...?  These new people that I'm being left with look as confused as me....

Who are these people, and why are they trying so hard to play with me and make me happy? OK, I'll just continue to stand in the same place and show no emotion.  Soon this will be over, and I'll be back in the truck with Mrs. Ye, heading back to The Special Place.  Hold on...if that's the case then why are they putting me in a bath tub?  Oh, I don't like the looks of this at all.... Actually, this bath isn't all that bad, but who are these people!?

That first night with my kidnappers, I showed little emotion.  I had gotten very good at keeping my guard up.  I thought I would wake up, and this dream would be over.  But when I woke up to a greeting that sounded like a sick donkey "Ni Hao!  Ni Hao!," there they were again, those people who couldn't speak Chinese if their lives depended on it. 

Even though their attempts at Chinese were lacking, I sensed that they cared about me.  They dressed me, fed me, and bathed me.  None of this I minded, but then they told me it was time to go to sleep, and this I did not, do not, will not ever like.  So now it was time to put my foot down.  Now it was time to cry, shriek, wail, and scream bloody murder!  No sleep for me...that is until I (yawn) fall asleep standing up.... 

I really wasn't used to all the attention that they were giving me, and while a part of me wanted to receive it another part of me just wanted to push them away.  I had fun playing games with them, but I began striking out at them, occasionally hitting and biting.  I continued to sense that these kidnappers (who happen to reside in five star hotels with marble floors, high ceilings, and fancy furnishings) really do care about me even with all of these antics....

Something inside of me began to soften up, and I wasn't sure if this was safe. I'd always stood my ground.  What if these new people turn on me?  What if I push too hard, and they send me back to The Special Place?--I don't think I want to go back there now.  What if I push too hard, and they leave me at a gate somewhere?

Something inside me began to soften up, and something inside me told me that I could trust these new people who were calling themselves Mama, Baba, and Ger Ger.  Could these be the people I had heard about half a lifetime ago?  Had they been thinking about me all this time?  What or who had led them to come to me?

Their approach to me told me that I couldn't do anything to make them love me more or make them love me less.  A hardness in me began to rapidly melt away in the face of their seemingly unconditional love for me.  I began to trust them more and more, and decided I'd like very much to stay with them.  It seems that they want the very best for me....  

These new people also speak of a God who loves me.  All of this is new and quite confusing, but I really feel that I can trust them.  Maybe someday all of this will make more sense to me.  

I've decided I'm going to stay with these new people--just don't tell me when I have to go to bed....

Hanging out with Emily in Guangzhou....

It's been one week since we first met Emily, and we can't imagine life without her as a part of our family....  We so look forward to bringing her home to meet Conner, Tyler, Mason, and Caroline!  Every day Emily's interaction with us is more and more natural, and she even went to bed a little better last night.... 

Our precious little insomniac....

We mentioned in an earlier blog post that it's not uncommon for an adopted toddler to have sleep issues.  Emily does eventually fall asleep and sleep quite well once she's "down for the count," but it's her extreme aversion to the idea of sleep that is such a challenge.  So, she's really not an insomniac but rather an "insomniphobe."  

Others who have gone before us as adoptive parents have shared their stories, and we know that Emily will eventually settle into a routine.

In the meantime, this girl does not like to go to bed!  She cries, screams, wails, and cries a river....  It is very disconcerting to see her this way, and we appreciate your prayers as we ask for wisdom as to the best approach.

As you can see, once she eventually falls asleep (which often is sitting or standing up), she's like a little angel, and once asleep, she really does sleep well....

Today we arrived uneventfully in Guangzhou!  We'll keep you posted....

Farewell Nanchang....

It's hard to believe that one leg of our China trip is coming to an end.  How can so much happen in so little time?  We can hardly remember a day without our sweet Emily Wan Ye......

This was a day of unwinding for us after no shortage of hustling around to arrive here and complete all the required paperwork.  We went to the beautiful park for a stroll.

Although at times Emily does get that look in her eyes that says, "You're not going to leave me, are you?" most of the time she is giggling and very playful. The aggressive behavior that we saw previously has lessened, and now she welcomes our hugs and touch.

This afternoon we received Emily's completed Chinese passport!  Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou to the South for the next leg of our journey.  We will get Emily's visa next week at The U.S. Consulate so she can travel home!!

Our guide, Shirley, has been invaluable to our survival.  She has taken us to a number of restaurants and on quite a few tours that we would never have been able to navigate without her.  

This evening we took a walk around the square in Nanchang to say goodbye to the capital city of little Ling Wan Ye's home province. (Note the square's monument (bottom image)--The date 8/1/1927 happens to be the beginning of The Nanchang Uprising--a momentous aspect of The Chinese Revolution).  OK, history lesson is over....

So tonight we ventured out to the square WITHOUT our guide Shirley, and when we went into KFC so that Harrison could eat some Western fare, we were LOST without our translator--clearly we thought that after a week here we would suddenly be fluent in Chinese...  Anyway, after speaking to the cashier really slowly and loudly in English (thinking it might come through to her as Chinese), we basically took whatever ended up on the tray with a smile!  After a good laugh, we strolled and reflected on this past week and how God has grown our faith, leading us to Nanchang to welcome Emily into our family.

Once again we want to thank all of you who are bringing us before The Lord in prayer--we can assure you that we are blessed by your prayers for us!   This has been an exciting adventure, and we will do our best to keep everyone up to date!  Good night.....