Home at last!!

We finally arrived home after over 24 hours in planes and airports. We are doing very well... catching up on some sleep. Yesterday, Saturday, I felt like I had been hit by a truck... I hear that's what jetlag feels like. Joshua is enjoying his sisters and brother... he holds his arms out to be picked up by them. He and Isaac haven't really played together yet... but Isaac is enjoying talking about being the big brother... I hope that will continue. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! Our trip was awesome, our kids back home did very well, and Joshua is adjusting amazingly well! Here are some pictures of Joshua's first day at home and the kids got him gifts and he enjoyed opening them... after he figured out how to! We love you and thank you for you prayers! God has been so good to us!!

Last days in China

We are finally in Guangzhou... thank God for the White Swan hotel, a little closer to home!! Here is Joshua in his traditional Chinese outfit, so cute! We got a picture of all the kids in our group on the tradional red couch. We also had a hamburger two days in a row... we have enjoyed Chinese food, but man that hamburger and fries tasted good. Joshua is doing so well... he likes his mama now and is trying to say lots of words. He communicates what he wants somehow for sure! Only two more days and we get to see you all! Please pray for a safe journey home and for those seated around us... Joshua doesn't like to be restrained in a stroller, plane seat, etc. A car seat should be interesting for sure!! We have lots of cool souvenirs for all of you... traditional outfits for Grace, Faith, and Isaac and us!! Fun pictures for sure!! We bought Grace, Faith, and Isaac shirts that say sister and brother in Chinese. Cool, huh?! This is going to be our last post until we get home! We love you guys! Hugs and kisses and drool from Joshua to Grace, Faith, and Isaac!!

Thanks for all the encouraging posts!!!

We were just able to read all of your comments... you are all so encouraging. No we were not able to visit Hope Haven... just take a picture outside of it! They have changed the rules this year because of the Olympics and all the bad publicity in Tibet... but Julie I do have some pictures of Zoie for you from Joshua's album that have her in them... I'll scan them and send them to you when I get home. Thank you everyone for keeping up with us and commenting... hopefully we can view our blog now everyday we have left! You are all such a blessing to us!!

Joshua's Birthday!!

Well Joshua's birthday started with a walk halfway around the city wall... about 3 miles... we walked from the south gate to the north gate. Oh... and he didn't walk he slept the whole way in his stroller. The picture of all three of us is in front of an emperor's chariot. Then we ate one of his favorite foods... McDonald's french fries... I'm not kidding... he won't touch a cheeseburger or nuggets but when we walk into McDonald's he points to the picture of fries and then to himself and gets really excited!!! We went to a dumpling restuarant tonight and we all really enjoyed the food. We also got a cake at a local bakery for Joshua.... as you can see the American tradition of singing happy birthday "kind of" scared him a bit. Mommy got a little choked up for the first time just realizing that we finally were here and had our little Joshua.... what can I say... I always get choked up at birthdays. Well, off to Guangzhou tomorrow.... one more step closer to home. We love you all... please continue your prayers.... especially that Joshua would get well (he has a bad cold and cough) and for safety as we begin our journey back home! Blessings! Hi Grace, Faith, and Isaac :) !!!! We love you very much!!!

Last days in Xian

Yesterday we had a free day and went to a great little Children's Park. Joshua enjoyed going down the slides and playing the drums with his friends Maylee and Quin. He followed Maylee around and wanted to do the things she was doing... I think he'll learn a lot from his older sisters and brother. He slept much better last night.... thanks for praying! He woke up but was easily consoled so that was nice. Today we went to walk on top of the city wall. It it 600 years old and has drawbridges, a moat, and four openings into the city of Xian... North, South, East, and West Gates. In the picture you can see the moat and to the left is the wall itself. Joshua also had his first taste of pizza today.... he really liked it. We ordered the cheese stuffed crust and he ate on the crust all the way back to the hotel. Grace you would like the pizza here... not much sauce. The Pizza Hut was two stories high.... about 4 times the size of our Pizza Hut at home. Well... only 1 more day in Xian.... our plane for Guangzhou leaves at 9:30am on Monday. Soon we will be home. Thanks for praying.... please continue and we'll see you soon!

Lots of pictures today... going from last to first... last night we went to the Forest of the Stone Tablets. There were literally rows and rows of ancient tablets.... mostly from Buddha and Conficious time periods and also epitaths and tombs of emperors and kings. There were sandscript tablets also and the stone carving was actually from 800-500BC. We will probably never see something so ancient again in our lives. The restuarant was a very good dumpling restuarant.... chicken, pork, shrimp, tomato, and vegetable dumplings... our favorite meal so far. Joshua's favorite food there was bean sprouts... I think he ate his weight in them. Today we went to a famous Pagoda (it was orginally used a library for Buddha's writings, but now is more of a Buddhist Temple). May I add that it made us very grateful that we worship a living God and very sad for those paying somewhat of a penance to a great man, but no longer living. Yesterday we met a Christian that helped our driver and tour guide find Hope Haven in Xian Yang so that was very cool. He and his wife knew of Hope Haven because they volunteered there and they and their daughter recognized Joshua. Today we also ate at McDonald's..... you know you're desperate when the word you use to describe a Big Mac, fries, Coke, and chocolate sundae is heavenly!!! We have pictures of Joshua eating at McDonald's with people from Hope Haven so sleeping through his first trip with us was okay.... we got him a Happy Meal and he really likes fries and is not very fond of chicken nuggets! The top picture is of Joshua and Quin, his Hope Haven brother, that the family that is traveling with us has adopted. Quin's birthday is the 24th so he and Joshua are very close in age. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain heavily so we are hoping to go to the Bampoo Village Ruins... an inside museum of an ancient city. We are very blessed to have a great tour guide.... she's a history major so we are learning a ton from her. Well... we are halfway done with our trip around the world. Looking forward to seeing you all soon! We love you Grace, Faith, and Isaac.... by the way Joshua is starting to try to say all of your names... he says hello and waves when he says bye-bye! Lots of Love!! Clayton, Angie, and Joshua

Wednesday, April 16 Joshua's birth city XingPing

This is the entrance to the lumber yard that Joshua was found the day he was born in XingPing City. It is about 20 miles northwest of Xian. It was an emotional site for me.... we just took the pictures and left. He is continuing to "come out of his shell" to say the least.... as a matter of fact I'm not sure he ever had a shell.... he seems to have no problem letting us know how he feels. He really is cute and enjoys laughing and playing!!! Also, he loves seeing big trucks and buses on the roads. Well... I think we might eat dumplings tonight near the bell tower. Tomorrow we are going to try to go to a museum that has some ancient tablet writings and we found a children's park on the map we hope to try. We love you all!!! Kisses and hugs to Grace, Faith, and Isaac

Tuesday, April 15 Terra Cotta Warriors

We saw the Terra Cotta Warriors today.... they were quite amazing. Hard to imagine being that paranoid about needing protection in the afterlife. They have found about 8,000 warriors and there are even more uncovered. Here is a picture of Joshua close up but of course he blinked, still adorable though. As you can see with him asleep in the stroller he wasn't too into the Terra Cotta Warriors. We bought a book though signed by the farmer that found the first warriors while he was digging a well in 1974. I'm sure he'll enjoy looking at it as he gets older. We are going to Pizza Hut tonight. Praise the Lord!! I never thought that I'd miss familiar tastes but I really do. It gives me a greater appreciation for what Joshua will go through until he gets used to tastes at home in Georgia. The good thing is that he seems to eat anything as long as it is mixed with rice and in a bowl so we're putting new things in with the rice to introduce him to them. He is learning very fast... he waves and says bye now. He babbles almost constantly and is coming out of his shell more and more... I don't think he says many Chinese words because our tour guide isn't sure what he's saying either. We are not going to be able to go to Hope Haven, his home for his first two years. They have changed their rules since last year so anyone that has pictures inside or out of Hope Have please email them to me so I can have photos of Hope Haven for his Lifebook; adinn@comcast.net We sure do miss everyone and are looking forward to seeing you all again.... especially Grace, Faith, and Isaac!!! Love you!!

Monday, April 14 in Xian

Today we did more paperwork and got an official looking adoption certificate. We found out where Joshua was found, a small city outside of Xian. We are going to try to go there and to the specific marketplace and street on Wednesday. Here are pictures of us eating at a restuarant in Xian. Joshua got all excited when he saw the chopsticks and was hilarious trying to use them. He is definitely showing a preference to Clayton as you can see with the pictures since Clayton is always in them with him. Clayton is enjoying it since he says it will all change when we get back home and he has to go back to work. We bought a stroller and walked the city tonight and saw the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. In ancient times the Bell Tower was used to tell the time in the morning with bells and the Drum Tower at dusk with drums. We also found the Wal-Mart tonight and saw lots of interesting things there. The funny part was the it was as crowded as any Wal-Mart and I felt stressed after being there. Joshua continues to do well..... although he did start showing a little temper today when he didn't get his way.... his paperwork had actually warned us of this. Of course, it's cute at this age when they poke out their lower lips but....... Well I better get off to bed. We love you guys and covet your prayers for us and for Grace, Faith, Isaac, and Joshua. (I'll try to put pictures here tomorrow... having a hard time!!)

Arrival of Joshua

Praise the Lord! At 5pm on Sunday we held Joshua in our arms for the first time. We met his auntie, the person who cared for him at Hope Haven. We exchanged hugs and tears. She was so sweet and obviously loves him very much! We have a photo album of him from the day that he arrived at Hope Haven up until now. He seemed to be very well taken care of which is such a comfort and blessing to us. We found out that at Hope Haven when the children arrive they give them English names and amazingly enough Joshua was Jashua!! Incredible huh? Also, his Chinese name is XiWang which means hope and Hope is what we planned on using as a name when we assumed we would have a girl from China. God is so good!! Our plans for the week are hopefully restful. We are going to do more paperwork tomorrow and then visit the Terra Cotta Warriors on Tuesday. These are the only two things we have planned so far. Thank you all for praying! We are having a great time and Joshua seems to be doing great. He babbles and laughs. He seemed to really like Clayton at first, but at dinner came to me also. Thank you all for praying for us! They are being answered for sure!! Love you Grace, Faith, and Isaac! We are showing him your pictures and he points to you all!

The Great Wall and Beijing

Yesterday we went to the Great Wall and climbed up to the first tower you see up on the hill. It was so amazing! We also were able to meet the founder of Living Hope Adoption Agency, Dr. Samuel Fang. With us are the other families that are picking up their children this week also. The family next to us is picking up a little boy in Xian with us. We fly to Xian at 11:45 today. All three boys that are coming home to their forever families celebrate birthdays while we are in China so we are planning a big birthday celebration when we meet up again in Guangzhou. We also went to see the main area for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing yesterday. The Chinese people are very proud of it! Then we saw Living Hope's Training Center in Beijing. The kids were so sweet! These children live here because their parents have died and they have living relatives that are not able to care for them. After they graduate they work in one of the training center for awhile to give back to their community. Clayton played ping pong with them and got schooled I might add by a 16 year old. We also went to a tea house and tried different teas; Jasmine, Black Dragon, and Loolong (my personal favorite). Clayton bought a mug that has a picture on it that turns into pandas when hot water is put in it and also got his personal favorite, a peeing baby (clay baby that pees when the water is warm enough for tea). I'm sure the kids will get a kick out of it!! We went to an acrobatic show in the evening that was entertaining. We've eaten very well and tried lots of new things (duck, steamed seaweed, and cooked gourd to say a few. Today we fly to Xian and tomorrow, Monday we will meet Joshua and get to spend some time at his home, Hope Haven. Our guide has been wonderful in Beijing and we've learned a lot more about Chinese history. I am really looking forward to being in Xian. First of all because we'll be able to tell Joshua about his city of birth and secondly because it is the oldest city in China. It was it's first capital. Well, enough with the history lesson, for now!! We miss you all and can't wait to share more pictures with you and for you to meet Joshua! Blessings!

Arrived in China

We arrived late last night!! We are sightseeing in Beijing today and I'm going to try to put photos on tonight. Our plane rides went well... long... but no delays and little sleep!! We ate breakfast with the other families adopting so that was fun to get to know them a little and we'll be with them all day! Blessings and keep praying! Grace, Faith, and Isaac seem to be doing well and having a good time!

Travel Date April 10-April 24

While we were camping last week we got word that we will leave on the 10th. We are so excited and nervous!! We were glad to have some time with Grace, Faith, and Isaac before the whirlwind on packing, repacking, and organizing all the paperwork began. Here Clayton and the kids piled high and went down the slide, Isaac is riding his bike, and the girls are coloring. The next time I blog we'll be in China!! Wow! We will arrive in Beijing on the 11th, see a few sights on the 12th, then off to Xian to pick up Joshua on the 13th. We'll stay in Xian, Shaanxi Province, until the 21st and then it's more paperwork in southern China, Guangzhou. Then we'll get home late on the 24th. I'm tired just writing it! Please pray for Grace, Faith, and Isaac while we are gone and for those so graciously caring for them. Also, pray for a quick adjustment for Joshua and us. Blessings!!!