Rebecca at the Library!

Rebecca had fun at the library today doing puzzles. She has already come a long way since her Gotcha day at the beginning of June.

She was so proud of herself for putting the puzzles together. She did have to have a little help.:-)

Reading Time

Sorry it took so long to post this video.  I had intentions of posting right away, but then my chair was taken.  Yep.  My chair was taken.  How can you upload videos while sitting on the floor?   Anywho, this is Cindy and Rebecca reading 5 Little Ladybugs.

A little taste of Ireland

Dinner at The Paddy Fields.  Rebecca seemed to love it.  Fish and chips and a happy girl.  What more could we ask for?

You know you're in an authentic Irish pub when this is how they bring the apple juice...  I promise that is what's in the glass.

We have our consulate appointment in the morning, then we start packing to fly out Friday evening.  Can't wait to get home.  I miss my kids that stayed behind.  Wanna grab them all in my arms, and never let go.

Shopping

Who can go to China without shopping? Apparently not us. Our first excursion, on Monday, was to the Liwan (Pearl and Jade) Market.  If you can't find any jewelry to buy here,  you may be one fry short of a Happy Meal.  The picture below is just a snapshot of the hundreds of jewelry stores to pick from.

Next stop was the Chen Family Temple, aka Guangdong Folk Art Museum.  Let's see how the panoramic picture turned out.

Today, we traveled to Shamian Island.  1st stop - Jenny's...  Always a must.
Dropped by Lucy's for lunch.  They had authentic ice cold sweet tea.  Could not believe it!  Cindy says she can stay a extra week now.

Lost in Huizhou City

Friday morning, we set out on a 2.5 hour drive to visit Rebecca's orphanage.  Drove through some beautiful countryside, with mountains enshrined in low clouds, through concrete jungles with miles upon miles of high rises that seemed to eclipse the mountains.  What we almost never found, was the orphanage.  Some 5 hours later we pulled up to a smiling, waving director.

They had moved to a new facility, and the driver was having trouble navigating the unfamiliar territory.  Our guide, also a  Rebecca, said it was the faulty GPS that kept losing signal every time we came to a critical turn.  Regardless, we found the orphanage, and were very pleased.  Cindy and I believe the director and nannies truly care for and love these children. 

The facilities were nice, and Rebecca's nannie broke down when we asked for a picture.  She was sad to see Rebecca go, but happy for her to be heading to her forever home.  Rebecca even got to say goodbye to a few of her friends.  That was a special moment.

On the way back to our hotel, we drove through a typhoon.  There were trees down and whole blocks in the city without power.  Here's a few pics of our day...

All tuckered out

Sleepy girl...

Just a peaceful morning

After breakfast, we stopped by the peaceful little park in the Garden Hotel.  I think Rebecca liked the coy, but she could still care less about me.  I'm on the lonesome side of the bonding curve.  Can't wait for my turn in the spotlight, but realize it may be a tad longer.  Mommy gets all the love for now.

GOTCHA DAY!!!

SORRY IF I'M YELLING.  I'll try to calm down a bit.  The days of staring at files are over.  The days of looking at photos are over.  The days of watching the same video again and again are over. We finally have baby girl in our arms, and she is more beautiful than we ever imagined. More special than we ever imagined.  She has already blessed us more than we could ever imagine.  God is so good!  Not sure if I can ever stop saying that.  Ever stop praising His name.  More later, but for now let's see if I can get a picture or two up on the blog...

A little help here???

Just a little over an hour until we get Rebecca.  We wanted to have some of her favorite formula ready to go, but could someone help translate these instructions...

Since it's Nestle, does that mean it is chocolate flavored?

Additional photos

Main lobby at the Garden Hotel.
Lunch at Tekila.

Just like old times

I forgot how awesome that 14 hour flight from the US is.  How many different ways can you contort your body to fit into your allotted 15 square inches of fluffy pillow delight cushion comfort.  We felt so refreshed that upon checking into our room, we crashed for 5 hours.  Here is the view from our room.  I'll try to post more pictures soon.

Getting Ready

They are getting our plane ready to fly.  Still a couple of hours before takeoff.  Guess it takes a lot of prep work for one of these big boys...

Somewhere Out There...

I'm picturing myself as Fivel mouse singing that song.  Somewhere out there is an airline that works, right?  We got delayed again in Houston for weather.  Then a fuel pump malfunction.

We finally made it to LA, but missed our flight.  Stuck here till the next flight at 11:50 p.m.  God's plans are perfect.  We just don't always comprehend.  God's timing is perfect, we just don't always like it. 

I did not understand why He set our gotcha day on Tuesday, instead of the normal Monday.  Now I do.  How he used a Chinese holiday to do this is still beyond my comprehension.  Through it all, we praise Him!  As we sat on the tarmac in Houston last night, God sent us this beautiful reminder that His promises are never broken.

Rebecca

The other day we got our last update of Rebecca before we travel. This is one of the pictures that they sent us of our baby girl.

One step closer....

Introducing Rebecca Cheng Jones

Please join us in praising God for His latest addition to the Jones Clan.  We are blessed to announce Rebecca Cheng Jones.  We received pre-approval today, and can't wait to bring our baby home.  She is 14 months old.