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Ella Grace and Makayla

Reluctantly, but successfully, using a stroller.

Shopping in the White Swan Hotel

Ella Grace with Kayla Vannoy who will be going home to St. Louis

Playing in the room with playdoh.

Well, we finished our Christmas shopping today! We are ready to get home. Tomorrow afternoon at 3pm we go for a 20 second oath at the American Consulate and they give us the “guard it with your life” envelope and we can leave the country with our daughter-wooopppeeee!!! It has been such an adventure and wonderful memories have been made, but like Dorothy said “There’s no place like home!” Two weeks is a LONG time- we really don’t know how Ken and Cindy did it for more than 3 weeks in the Ukraine.

Ella Grace has really come out of her shell and is learning signs fast. She signs more, please, thank you, shoes, mama, daddy, and works real hard on that I love you hand-it is hard for her. She voices mama, Ella and tries shoe and other words, but they aren’t very clear. She has such a good attitude and is learning more everyday about what it is like to have a Mama and a Daddy. She’s going to LOVE having sisters!

All the other families left this morning at 6am for home, now it is just us and the Vannoy’s who were added in the travel group late left here. Our guides will stay with us until we get on the plane headed for Hong Kong to connect with Chicago in less than 48 hours. Our consulate appointment is this morning and after that we will have the certificate of adoption and her American Visa to allow us to take her home. We don’t even have to go to the appointment, our guides do all the work there, but we have to stay in our rooms in case they need extra info. Tomorrow we go to the American Consulate for a formal, but short, “ceremony” where we swear we won’t abandon her or anything and we are done! We have some last minute shopping to do this afternoon, but we are basically resting and trying to figure out how to get all this stuff into our suitcases. Again, we leave our hotel around 5pm, Thursday your time and arrive in Birmingham 8:39 Friday night- we hope you will continue to pray earnestly for safe and easy travel.

Ella Grace had her first time away from Momma today. It was a rough first 30 minutes. All the Chinese people looked at me like I was torturing her. After a rough start, and aided by some M & Ms, she finally calmed down. By the time Robin came back she was being held by Daddy, laughing, and giving kisses! She’s back to being Momma’s shadow again, but we are much more comfortable around Daddy now.

She did great at the medical clinic. I was sure it was going to be traumatic for her, but as long as she saw I wasn’t going anywhere, she let them look in her ears and mouth with no trouble.

The breakfast buffet at our hotel-she really likes to feed herself.