Yes we made it and Yes I have not blogged. We landed, visited with friends and it's time to get ready for a possible hurricane. Talk about no rest for the weary!
We were greeted in Orlando airport by banners, signs, flowers, and stuffed animals. What a turn out. It was very early, and what a surprise! Mia did not do good on her flight from LA to FL. It was really bad. She was overtired and very cranky! Mike and I took turns standing in the back of the plane with her. When we entered the main cabin holding her, she would burst out into a horrible scream and cry. We really got to know the flight attendants who were really sweet.
Mia is SLOWLY adjusting to the time change so we are getting hardly any sleep during the night. She looks around noticing everything. She loves the pool though. Yesterday after bringing the last of our patio furniture in and the final shutter went up, my dad jumped in the pool and Mia joined him. I am so happy she enjoys it so much! Everyone wanted to get their hugs and squeezes and Mia did great. The kids were so sweet and wanted to play with her. Her granddaddy Wayne stayed with us and we plopped her in his bed in the morning and he just adores her. He had to leave early because of the hurricane threat and he cried when he left. It was so sad! I told him he can come back this weekend, after the storm. My mom uses any excuse to stop by for a visit and my grandfather gets so goo goo when he sees her. She sits on his lap and smiles.
Life is a little upside down, I mean who has their patio furniture and barbq sitting in their formal living room? Our garage sounds like a zoo, I wonder how many tree frogs made themselves a home in one of our plants. I hope they leave when we bring the plants back out!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Final Farewell . . . . .
We are official, we took our oath and as soon as we land in LA, Mia is an American citizen!
Today Mike, Mia and I went shopping and walking around. Our appointment at the US Consulate went smooth and we had to raise our right hand and take an oath. We also had our farewell dinner and dancing party. The USAA team throws a good party. We did shots of Red Army Whisky from Norman's private stash.
We have to have our bags ready by noon tomorrow to take to the airport and our last lunch in China before departing for the airport at 4:00pm. We should land in LA at 6 something and have to catch the red eye home from LA at 10:45pm. We should arrive in FL around 6:30am. We are a little anxious about the long flight but we have other families with us for support.
This is probably our last post from China, so I will see you on the other side. I will not probably post til at least Sunday night/ Monday morning. I can't wait to see you guys!
Mike, Barbara and Mia Harrell
Today Mike, Mia and I went shopping and walking around. Our appointment at the US Consulate went smooth and we had to raise our right hand and take an oath. We also had our farewell dinner and dancing party. The USAA team throws a good party. We did shots of Red Army Whisky from Norman's private stash.
We have to have our bags ready by noon tomorrow to take to the airport and our last lunch in China before departing for the airport at 4:00pm. We should land in LA at 6 something and have to catch the red eye home from LA at 10:45pm. We should arrive in FL around 6:30am. We are a little anxious about the long flight but we have other families with us for support.
This is probably our last post from China, so I will see you on the other side. I will not probably post til at least Sunday night/ Monday morning. I can't wait to see you guys!
Mike, Barbara and Mia Harrell
Thursday, August 24, 2006
2 more days and 1 more night
We are counting down the days! Mike decided to go to visit the Dr. today because he was afraid if he didn't relieve the pressure in his head/sinus, he would not be able to take the flight home. And me with a 10 month old for a 21 hour trip home, NO WAY! So off to the doctor he went. He has bronchitis, but not bad and he was prescribed a Z pak and some vitamin B-12 tablets. She said he should feel fine by the end of tomorrow. All of our paperwork went thru with no questions, so we will be sworn in tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at the US Consulate's office. We will be officially a family!
Tomorrow evening we will have a farewell dinner and I assume that will be a wild one! All the girls traditionally wear Chinese dresses. I can't wait to post those pictures. I have a little bit more shopping to do and then we have to pack again!
Our flight from China to LA does not leave til Saturday evening, so we have a late check out.
Enjoy the pics. . . . .
Tomorrow evening we will have a farewell dinner and I assume that will be a wild one! All the girls traditionally wear Chinese dresses. I can't wait to post those pictures. I have a little bit more shopping to do and then we have to pack again!
Our flight from China to LA does not leave til Saturday evening, so we have a late check out.
Enjoy the pics. . . . .
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
What a memorable Birthday!
Today life presented me with the best gift a person could ask for. After wishing, praying, hoping and dreaming, I am a mommy. Today my day was spent with Mia sleeping in til 8:45am (YEA) and then we had breakfast and off to shopping with Mia's 2 china sisters and their mommies. Mike still feels like his head is going to explode, so he stayed in the room trying to decompress.
After a nap, our group planned a dinner cruise down the the Pearl River. Our guides were sneaky and surprised me with a birthday cake and everyone sang. When I made a wish to blow out my candle, I thought to myself, my wish has come true, she is sitting on my lap reaching for my cake! We were able to walk outside and see all the tall buildings along the river, it was beautiful. Tomorrow I will treat myself to a 1hr massage and a pedicure for $30 american dollars in the reflexology center downstairs. It is wild!
Thanks Mom and Dad for sneaking a birthday card with Mike ! What a nice surprise.
Mia is going to have her grandparents wrapped around her finger, wait until you meet her! Only 4 more days until we land in FL. . . . .
After a nap, our group planned a dinner cruise down the the Pearl River. Our guides were sneaky and surprised me with a birthday cake and everyone sang. When I made a wish to blow out my candle, I thought to myself, my wish has come true, she is sitting on my lap reaching for my cake! We were able to walk outside and see all the tall buildings along the river, it was beautiful. Tomorrow I will treat myself to a 1hr massage and a pedicure for $30 american dollars in the reflexology center downstairs. It is wild!
Thanks Mom and Dad for sneaking a birthday card with Mike ! What a nice surprise.
Mia is going to have her grandparents wrapped around her finger, wait until you meet her! Only 4 more days until we land in FL. . . . .
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Nothing much going on today, Mike is downstairs filling out all the necessary final paperwork for Mia's immigration and citizenship papers. Our agency asks that one representative per family go and they guide thru each line item assuring everything is done correct and accurate. It is double checked before we send everything out. If all goes well, Friday we will be sworn in as the Harrell family and we head home. Mike and I are so anxious to get home. The trip has been very nice but there's nothing like home. If we do decide to come back for #2, I have a feeling I may need to bring my sister or even maybe my best friend Joey. She's game for anything?!
I told my mom I would email her what I wanted when I got home and this is #1 request. We would love some steaks on the grill! I think I am going to pass on Chinese food for a couple of weeks.
Mia is blossoming and she is so cute with her smiles. She stands and leans on the bed and opens her mouth, and raises her voice so when she bobs backs and forth her voice pitch sways. She loves it. We seems to have a constant stuffy feeling in our head and we sneeze a lot. I think we miss the good ole' Florida breeze and sunshine!
I am not overly religious, but I wanted to post something written in the bible which is amazing. (don't think I am a holy roller now) but I do think it is appropriate. . . . .
Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:5
See you all very soon.
I told my mom I would email her what I wanted when I got home and this is #1 request. We would love some steaks on the grill! I think I am going to pass on Chinese food for a couple of weeks.
Mia is blossoming and she is so cute with her smiles. She stands and leans on the bed and opens her mouth, and raises her voice so when she bobs backs and forth her voice pitch sways. She loves it. We seems to have a constant stuffy feeling in our head and we sneeze a lot. I think we miss the good ole' Florida breeze and sunshine!
I am not overly religious, but I wanted to post something written in the bible which is amazing. (don't think I am a holy roller now) but I do think it is appropriate. . . . .
Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:5
My mom also founds this. . . . . .
I didn't give you the gift of Life, but in my heart I know the love I feel is deep and real, as if it had been so. For us to have each other is like a dream come true! No, I didn't give you the gift of life, Life gave me the gift of you.See you all very soon.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sorry we missed Sunday night, The pizza reunion party kept us up later than we expected and I was too tired to blog and upload. Things are humming along, today is her medical exam for the US Consulate final paperwork.. Mike and Mia are napping, we took her to the pool today and she loves it! She is eating like a pig. Mike and I can't believe it.
Mike is still fighting his cold but hanging in there. To all of you who have emailed us about his smoking, he doing great.
We had a reunion party in a suite last night and they decorate the room with Christmas cards from families, old group photos, reunion photos, etc. , it was so nice to see all the familes that have been brought together by Norman and his team. They truly are special people. We saw numerous photos of the Marino family who adopted 2 children with Norman and we just found out that Meg Ryan used our agency as well earlier this year. The older kids had a blast running around and Martin kept the alcohol flowing. They continued the party downstairs at one of the lounges. By the way, I haven't seen Martin yet today, I wonder how he is feeling?! We toasted everyone and everything, you name it , we toasted to it.
See you all very soon. . . .
Mike is still fighting his cold but hanging in there. To all of you who have emailed us about his smoking, he doing great.
We had a reunion party in a suite last night and they decorate the room with Christmas cards from families, old group photos, reunion photos, etc. , it was so nice to see all the familes that have been brought together by Norman and his team. They truly are special people. We saw numerous photos of the Marino family who adopted 2 children with Norman and we just found out that Meg Ryan used our agency as well earlier this year. The older kids had a blast running around and Martin kept the alcohol flowing. They continued the party downstairs at one of the lounges. By the way, I haven't seen Martin yet today, I wonder how he is feeling?! We toasted everyone and everything, you name it , we toasted to it.
See you all very soon. . . .
Saturday, August 19, 2006
We made it!
We are back in Guangzhou! The flight was good and Mia did wonderfully. I tried to time her bottle right before we took off so she would be sleepy and then had a bottle with water for her to take while we landed and took off. It actually turned out OK. She is truly a different person from a couple days ago. She has the cutest personality and is such a joy to be around. When she is tired is when we see the SPICY side of her. I think she tries to fight it and then eventually just passes out. We leave the light on in the hotel room and we talk normally and she continues to sleep. I always wanted to try to get her to sleep thru anything so I could bring her wherever, nap time or not.
We just met up with the rest of our travel group. The babies are so cute. Tomorrow we have a tour to a famous Banyan Temple where the babies are blessed by a monk. We have our famous pizza party tomorrow night also. We took a walk to the pool area and it is great. The other group that stayed here while we were in Chongqing said the water temp is great and playland (a big playroom for the babies to socialize) was awesome. We finally unpacked AGAIN and we will stay here for the next week. We are ready to come home and wish the paperwork thing could go faster. In Chongqing we received her Chinese passport and our adoption certificate. We have her physical exam and her visit at the consulate then they issue her visa to come home and then when we land in USA she is automatically an American citizen!
To all the fellow adoptee families traveling to Chongqing, dont't panic about diapers, formula, wipes, etc. They have a big grocery store where other families bought stuff as they were running low. I would bring all your cold medicines, pepto bismol, tylenol, etc. But I saw many things that could be picked up while we were there. I even saw Pampers brand. Many familes said they only found Chinese brands, but in Chongqing, they were plentiful.
Well Mike and I are ordering some din din and we will post some more tomorrow.
We just met up with the rest of our travel group. The babies are so cute. Tomorrow we have a tour to a famous Banyan Temple where the babies are blessed by a monk. We have our famous pizza party tomorrow night also. We took a walk to the pool area and it is great. The other group that stayed here while we were in Chongqing said the water temp is great and playland (a big playroom for the babies to socialize) was awesome. We finally unpacked AGAIN and we will stay here for the next week. We are ready to come home and wish the paperwork thing could go faster. In Chongqing we received her Chinese passport and our adoption certificate. We have her physical exam and her visit at the consulate then they issue her visa to come home and then when we land in USA she is automatically an American citizen!
To all the fellow adoptee families traveling to Chongqing, dont't panic about diapers, formula, wipes, etc. They have a big grocery store where other families bought stuff as they were running low. I would bring all your cold medicines, pepto bismol, tylenol, etc. But I saw many things that could be picked up while we were there. I even saw Pampers brand. Many familes said they only found Chinese brands, but in Chongqing, they were plentiful.
Well Mike and I are ordering some din din and we will post some more tomorrow.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Today we went as a group to do some shopping. The place was nice with little shops selling all sorts of stuff. Mike wasn't feeling good, so he stayed back at the hotel and relaxed. He said he gets a bad cold everytime he quits smoking (hmmm).
Mia is doing good and everyday we seem to ge to know each other a little better. Tomorrow we leave to head back to Guangzhou where we will stay until we depart for the US. We received all Mia's paperwork from the local officials office and everything should be ready for our consulate appointment next week. We still have some more paperwork to do when we get to Guangzhou. We can't wait to see the other half of our group that we left behind. We will have a reunion party once we get back to Guangzhou. We will meet this evening in our hotel for our final dinner in Chongqing. Mia is taking a nap now and I am going to try to organize our room, it looks like a bomb hit it. Love to everyone and I can't wait to see you guys.
Mia is doing good and everyday we seem to ge to know each other a little better. Tomorrow we leave to head back to Guangzhou where we will stay until we depart for the US. We received all Mia's paperwork from the local officials office and everything should be ready for our consulate appointment next week. We still have some more paperwork to do when we get to Guangzhou. We can't wait to see the other half of our group that we left behind. We will have a reunion party once we get back to Guangzhou. We will meet this evening in our hotel for our final dinner in Chongqing. Mia is taking a nap now and I am going to try to organize our room, it looks like a bomb hit it. Love to everyone and I can't wait to see you guys.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Today we just laid low and took Mia for a walk to the downtown area. The locals just stare at us. We feel like movie stars. Before you know it you have a circle of people around you. I am told that many Chinese have never seen an American. They have seen us in movies, commercials, etc. but never in true life. So mix in a Chinese (cute) little girl and you get stares. Mike shot video today while I pushed the stroller so you can see what we are experiencing.
Mia is feeling better, her personality (good and bad) is starting to show. She has a little temper on her. When we do something she doesn't like, she throws her head back and stiffens. I am hoping it is her mourning process. We will just continue to hold her and show her that we love her no matter what. She often just looks around and stares. She loves the stroller and being outside. She is eating good and her medicine is working. She hardly coughs anymore and the runny nose thing is almost gone. Most of you are wondering how Mike is faring with the nose thing, and I want to tell you he only gagged once. He has been doing great. She is really squirmy at times when we have to change her diaper, especially when she doesn't want it changed. That is when we see her temper.
Chongqing was a part of Sichuan province which is where Szechuan style cooking is from, SPICY! Now that Chongqing became its own province, hot, spicy food is their specialty and the girls from this part of the country are called spicy girls and now we see why.
Mia is feeling better, her personality (good and bad) is starting to show. She has a little temper on her. When we do something she doesn't like, she throws her head back and stiffens. I am hoping it is her mourning process. We will just continue to hold her and show her that we love her no matter what. She often just looks around and stares. She loves the stroller and being outside. She is eating good and her medicine is working. She hardly coughs anymore and the runny nose thing is almost gone. Most of you are wondering how Mike is faring with the nose thing, and I want to tell you he only gagged once. He has been doing great. She is really squirmy at times when we have to change her diaper, especially when she doesn't want it changed. That is when we see her temper.
Chongqing was a part of Sichuan province which is where Szechuan style cooking is from, SPICY! Now that Chongqing became its own province, hot, spicy food is their specialty and the girls from this part of the country are called spicy girls and now we see why.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
We had a visit from a doctor last night because some of the kids either had a rash or the sniffles. Most of the children had heat rash or excema. Mia has had a cough which seemed to be getting worse and she had a fever. The Dr. said she had bronchitis and we are treating her with tylenol and antibiotics. We checked her temp last night and it spiked to 102.7. She is just really sleepy and seems irritable, so we passed on the group dinner last night and the tour today. We are just relaxing in the room and maybe go for a walk around the hotel later. She hates for us to wipe her nose after she sneezes. Mike calls her a wrestler. We received our disposable cameras back from her foster family that we sent in her care package, so we will take them today to get developed. I can't wait to see what is on them. She loves her daddy and is starting to recognize her name when we call her. She loves to watch the TV when any commercials with music come on.
Room Service Please!
We decided to pass on the group dinner last night and hang out in the room as a family.
Cookie Face
We gave Mia an arrowroot cookie which she loved (you can tell by looking at the cookie all over her face) She kept rubbing it on her lower teeth.
We were at a Tea Serving Ceremony
It was very hot so I was giving Mia some water. She has been very good. She has a slight cough and the sniffles. Our agency arranges for a doctor to come visit the girls tonight. A couple of the girls have the same symptoms, so we want to be proactive before our long flight home.
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