Home at Last, Home at Last, Thank God Almighty, We are Home at Last!

We are finally home!!! We unfortunately did not return home on Wednesday as planned. Oh how we wish we could have made that grand entrance into the Shreveport Airport and see the smiles and tears of our family and friends. A moment that I have been looking forward to quite sometime. I know that you guys were excited about meeting us and many of you showed up at the airport. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your love and support throughout the past few years with the adoption and especially the prayers over the past 2 weeks.

It is obvious that God had other plans for Kaegans entrance into the USA. To clear things up I will fill you in on the details. I mentioned in an earlier blog that Kaegan will become a citizen of the US once we arrived in Dallas. Well...., Kaegan became a citizen after we stepped off the plane and into an ambulance.

Yes, that is correct. The day started when Marty woke at 5:00am. We dressed, got Kaegan dressed and headed out the door to the airport. We said our goodbyes to our guide and new friends and the loaded up onto the plane to Tokyo. The flight was 4 hours and Kaegan did a wonderful job. He played with his toys during the flight and sat quietly like a perfect little angel. Marty and I slept when we had the chance. We had a 4 hour layover in Tokyo which was quite boring. We tried to find something to eat but nothing sounded good. Kaegan began to get cranky and we ready to just get home.

It is great having a child because we are now the first to board planes. We had plenty of room in the overhead compartments to put all of our junk. It is much harder to travel with a child and all of the necessities than I thought. All was well at this point and we were excited to get off the ground and head towards the USA.

Each of us had our own seats which was convenient up until Kaegan began to cry at top of his lungs and his lips began to bleed due to the dried up sores on his mouth. I had no idea what to do so I grabbed him and layed in my lap just like I do at night as he sleeps. He did well for a few minutes at a time but continued to cry for the entire trip. This began after 30 minutes of being in the air. We still had 9.5 hours to go and I was already miserable.

Marty is another story. He threw up about an hour and a half into the flight. He stayed sick the entire flight. I now had Kaegan screaming and crying at the top of his lungs while drooling blood out of his mouth, Marty sick and a plane full of people that are trying to sleep but can't because of Kaegan. I finally got to the point where I did not care.

We had a very nice flight attendant. She constantly checked on us and even had the captain page for a doctor in order for to get some Tylenol for Kaegan. FYI: Only a doctor can open the first aid kits on airplanes. A flight attendant cannot give you any over the counter medications.

After what seemed like an eternity for me, we were 1 hour outside of DFW. Kaegan still crying and Marty still sick. Marty had only thrown up once but now had fever and so did Kaegan. We know they had fever because the flight attendant checked them both. She asked me what my plans were with them once we landed and I mentioned that my Uncle and his family were at the airport waiting to meet us and Kaegan. I told her that we would have them take us to the ER before our next flight and if needed we would stay the night and drive home the following day. She said "ok" and I thought that that was it. Shortly afterwards she asked the two ladies sitting next to me to get their things and move to the other side of the plane because we were about to land. The flight attendant then came over to Marty and me and said, "The captain has contacted CDC and there will be paramedics at the gate waiting for us to arrive. Once we arrive the captain will make an announcement and the paramedics will come on board and escort you to an ambulance that will than take you the ER. This will allow you to get the help for your baby much quicker." Marty and I both said ok, Thanks!

WOW! Is all I have to say. It was terrible. The plane landed and the made his announcement. "Passengers, this is your Captain speaking, It has come to my attention that there is a medical situation at the back of the cabin. In order for paramedics to assist the situation CDC has requested that all passengers remain seated with seat belts fastened until further notified." At this time I began to get nervous. The paramedics arrived on board and began taking pictures of Kaegan's mouth and chest. By this time he had broken out into a dark rash. The paramedics were sending the pics to CDC during the quick examination. All 3 of us had to put medical masks. They began to ask us question after question about Kaegan and his medical history. I got so annoyed with them that I pulled my mask down and looked the gentleman in eye and said with loud, deep, tone "I have had the child for 8 days! I have no idea!" This was such a Xanax moment but I had never taken one and I did not how my body would react to it so I did not take one. Looking back I probably should have.

In the meantime, the captian makes several announcements:
1. If you are a passenger seated in rows 34-38 please see one of our flight attendants and fill out a form from CDC.
2. If you have had Chemo or have a low immunity please see one of our flight attendants and fill out a form from CDC.
3. If you are pregnant or think you might be pregnant please see one of our flight attendants and fill out a form from CDC.

CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!

At this point I am going nuts on the inside. They told Marty and I to grab our stuff and that we could now be escorted off the plane. I grabbed Kaegan and Marty grabbed the carry on bags. Kaegan is on a roll. His has blood streaming from his lips, his face is red and the screaming is very loud. As we were exiting the plane every eye was on us. It was horrible.

Marty exited the plane and I began to take a step off and gentleman grabbed me and said "No, you may not exit until we are notified by CDC." I am now holding Kaegan and standing one step from being off the plane. There are 6 men in black uniforms watching my every move. They quickly opened a hidden stairwell and told us to follow them. It was sleeting and raining so I was holding Kaegan while holding on to a gentlemans back as I walked down the steps. There was an ambulance waiting for us. We all got on board and headed to the hospital.

I borrowed the paramedics cell phone to call mom to tell her that we would not be arriving in Shreveport and fill her in on a few details. My parents and Marty's both got into the car and drove straight to Dallas. No one had any idea what was going on. Especially Marty and me. I asked the paramedic if she thought that all of this was necessary and she said,"Your child and husband both have a temperature and they have both come from China. We must treat this situation as a worst case scenerio." After that comment I began to think, Bird flu, Sars, oh my goodness and that is when I just about lost it. However, I took deep breaths and continued to stay strong.

We arrived at the hospital and they rushed us into the ER. We were placed in a glassed in room that could be sealed off. They immediately began checking on Kaegan. They ruled out the things that I thought of and decided that it may be the measels. Thankfully it was not the measels. The Dr. said that Kaegan had a virus of some sort and gave us antibiotics.

My Uncle and his family arrived at the hospital. I saw them thru the glass in our ER room. I ran to the door and it was locked. I told the Dr. "That is my Uncle I need to go say Hi and get a hug." The Dr. replied, "No! You have been quarantined and may not leave this room until notified by me!" I said," You have got to be kidding me?" I did not know whether to cry, scream, laugh, hit the man or pass out. I just wanted to be held by someone in the family.

After 30 minutes or so, the Dr. said that Marty and I were probably just tired after being awake for 28 hours and no food. We would have eaten but a fish dinner on an airplane isn't exactly a safe meal. Not to mention the smell on the plane.

They did not examine Marty but gave us meds. for Kaegan and released us. I finally got my hugs and we headed to my Uncles to spend the night. Our parents each met us there as well and we spent the evening staring at Kaegan as he continued to cry. He did sleep well that night. Which is very surprising. Marty is still not feeling well at this point.

All of us woke up and headed to Shreveport on Thursday morning. When we arrived home we were greeted with signs and posters placed around the house, gifts, sweets and pictures of Kaegan in different places. The house was also spotless. It had been cleaned. Kaegan was not too excited to be greeted by our dogs so we put them in our bedroom while we showed Kaegan his room. He still does not feel well so He really didn't care too much about his room. He just wanted to sleep. The family hung around a little while and Amency and Chad stopped in to visit. Our parents left and Amency ended up spending the night to help me with both the sick ones. Thankfully I had a doctors appointment for Kaegan set up for Friday. Marty said he was beginning to feel better. He fell asleep on the couch and Kaegan, Amency and I all climbed into my bed. It was a long night because we are now on China time not USA. I was wide awake until 4:00am. Kaegan did sleep. Not all night but a good portion of it. Amency was a huge help for me. I thank you sis!!

We had to wake up early because we had to get to the airport to pick up our luggage. Because of the chaos at the airport we were not aloud to pick up our luggage any sooner than Friday morning. All of Kaegans medical records were in the luggage and I needed them for his appointment. Marty woke feeling terrible so I called my Mom to come help me with Kaegan and Marty's mom to help me with Marty. I got Marty a Dr. appointment at 10:30 and Kaegan's was at 11:00. We got our luggage and made it to Kaegan's appointment on time. Marty made it to his appoitnment as well.

The results: Marty has Strep Throat and Kaegan does have a virus on his lips and a bad ear infection. Marty received 2 shots and meds, Kaegan received more meds but no shots. We arrived home and Marty was asleep and Kaegan slept pretty much all day.

Later this evening Jeremy, Rhonda and Tyler come over to see their newest family member. Kaegan began to feel a little better. Jeremy even got Kaegan to giggle and laugh. It was so good to see him smile again.

Around 9:00 the house was empty of guests and it was just Marty, Kaegan and me. Marty has been in the bed all day. I checked him and he said he felt like he needed to go the hospital. I called Eric a friend of ours and he just picked up Marty and took him to the ER.

Now it is just me and Kaegan. Kaegan is asleep and I have time to update the blog. As you can see, it has been pretty crazy around here. I am still feeling fine and have had no panic attacks. The Lord has a huge shield of protection over me right now and I can feel it. I am so thankful for that.

It is now 12:30 am and Eric just called and said that the Dr.'s have tested Marty for Strep, the Flu and Mono and all test were negative. They have no idea what he has. They are giving him some more fluids and then they will be home. Isn't this crazy!!!

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I walked into the formal living room earlier this afternoon and noticed a huge water spot on the ceiling. The upstairs toilet has been leaking. The carpet is stained and their is now a hole in my ceiling. The water has been leaking for quite some time now. We have some construction in our near future.

Please pray that our family gets healthy soon and that I do not get sick. I am ready to introduce my son to everyone.

All Packed Up and Headed Home!

The Oath Ceremony was great. We all dressed up in our outfits and traveled down to the Embassy. Marty and I raised our right hands, recited the Oath and Kaegan was confirmed ours. I tried so hard to hold back the tears. I did very well.

Kaegan is beginning to feel a little better. You can see in the pictures that his lips and face are infected. Now it is 8:00pm and his lips and cheeks already look much better. Kaegan has been playing around and walking in his squeeky shoes. He is almost back to the Kaegan we saw a few days ago. YAY!!

I have posted pics from today. It was very hard to get some good ones so these will have to do. I hope you guys enjoy them.

I am finished packing, Marty is reading his Bible and Kaegan is alseep. I am not too far behind him. We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

We should be arriving in SHV around 6:30. I know that everyone is anxious to meet Kaegan and we are anxious to see each of you. We hope to see you there. C U in the USA!

Our Last Day in China!

YAY!! We are finally here at the last day. Kaegan is suppose to be taking a nap right now but daddy decided to feed him some banana bread so he is wide awake. He will fall asleep shortly. I just hope he rested well for the Oath Ceremony. We meet at 2:40 today for the final step. For the Ceremony Marty and I purchased oriental shirts to wear and Kaegan will be wearing an outfit that was given to him by Sharon Foster's sister-in-law. It is precious. After the oath ceremony we will take the famous "Red Couch" photos. There is actually no meaning behind the "Red Couch" photo. Laila (our guide) said that Americans just enjoy taking them. It gives them an opportunity to take pictures of their groups. We will take pictures with Steve and Kim Wannamaker. They are another couple who are with our agency. We have become very close over the past few days. It is going to be sad to say bye to everyone.

Over the past two weeks Marty and I have met some incredible people. This morning we ran into the Pirkles. They are the couple that share the same "Gotcha Day" as we do. We were so excited to see them. I wish we could have spent more time together here in Guangzhou. Relationships have began a world away from home. These relationships will last forever because we each share a common bond that is so unique to each one of us. It is incredibly amazing.

Kaegan slept a little better last night. He only woke 3 times and needed some loving. His lips on the other hand looked badly infected and his cheeks had broken out again. Yesterday Marty took Kaegan to the hotel physician and he gave him some medicine for his lips and something else that is a thick liquid and has herbs for Kaegan to drink. Marty and I both agreed that we would use the medication for the lips but wait until we get home for Dr. Rich to check him out. If would not drink it I was not about to make Kaegan drink it.

Guess What? Stephanie and Jimmy Pirkle are both doctors! YAY! This morning at breakfast they looked at Kaegans lips and gave us some medicine. Stephanie said that he should feel better soon. Sure enough she was right. We went shopping and had a wonderful morning. Kaegan loves to ride in the stroller so we walked alot this morning. Walking is very good for us right now because we have eaten so much rice and noodles we need to walk the weight off.

While we were shopping I noticed that Kaegan face was turning red so I asked him if he needed to go potty. He of course said nothing because he has no clue to what I am saying. I walked back to the hotel to see if he needed to go and when I began to remove his overalls he began to squeal and scream. I finally got his clothes off and placed him on the potty. Kaegan then used the restroom and was shaking while pooping. I just hugged him as he went potty and told him it was ok. His stomach of course had been hurting. When he got off the potty I noticed that he had pooped a little bit in his pull up. When he noticed that I saw his pull up he went nuts. Screaming, crying, turning bright red! I just calming grabbed him and held him close. I told him that it was ok that he went potty in his pull up and just kept repeating to him that its ok mommy still loves you, its ok baby, its ok. He calmed down and then I was able to redress him and all was fine. My poor baby. What has he been thru? I will never know but I do know that he will soon know that he is never going to hurt again. I pray that he will soon be able to communicate more to us and open up to our love. He is still closed off a little but I think that most of that is due to him not feeling well.

I do know that when we get home things will be tough at first. We will have to redo the past two weeks all over. This time I pray it is easier for Kaegan.

Well, I am going to try to nap for now. I will post this evening when we return from the oath ceremony.

Guangzhou

Well, here we are at our final stop on this incredible journey. 5 flights down and 3 more to go. Kaegan did exceptionally well on the plane ride to Guangzhou. He sat quietly and played with the toys in his back pack. The flight was only 2 1/2 hours. We just hope he does that well on the next 3 long flights.

We have actually been here for two days. I am again updating the blog late. I apologize to all the Kaegan junkies. This place is paradise compared to where we just came from. We can see outside and have lots of restaurants to choose from. I have eaten chicken tenders with french fries and Marty has had Spaghetti with meatballs. We also found a deli near the hotel that the best banana bread in China. Kaegan loves it too.

We were told that this place is very sunny and warm. Not this week apparently. It has been raining since we arrived and the weather is cold. Not as cold as it was in Taiyuan but still our coats are needed.

The first day here we had Kaegans passport picture taken and had the medical exam. Kaegan did very well for both. I posted a video of the exam yesterday. There were actually 3 stages to the exam. I did not post the 2nd one because my baby had to get naked. The 2nd exam was also were the doctor checks his heart. For those of you who do not know, Kaegan is a Special Needs child. He has a heart condition. The doctor in the exam could not find the murmur that the report says he has. She had 2 other doctors come in and check and still they found nothing. It is possible that the murmur is gone and all is well. We will have him checked out in the USA on Tuesday of next week.

After the exam we headed to complete more paperwork. We are getting closer to coming home and finalizing everything because I have no more blank forms and we are just about out of money. Believe it or not that is a GREAT sign. We are ready for you guys to meet our angel. He is adorable.

The night before last we did have our first scares from Kaegan. He did not sleep at all. He would wake up unexpectedly, screaming and crying. It scared Marty and I. We have not seen this side of him at all. Not even signs of it. I checked his temp and there was no fever so I grab him and layed him on my chest as I do when he naps. He would fall right back to sleep but shortly afterwards he would wake again to the same thing. We had a little training on night terrors so this could be what he was experiencing. We planned to attend church yesterday morning but instead stayed in the room all day with Kaegan. He was tired all day after no sleep and was not very playful.

This morning he is much better. Last night we had a few terrors but I was better prepared. This time I immediately grabbed him and placed him on my chest and then there was no noise. 5 minutes later he would roll off of me and fall back to sleep. There were several times that he would cry for about 2 seconds and reach for mine and Marty's hands and hold them as he would fall back to sleep. It is so precious. Marty and I would just pray that his fears would go away and that he will soon realize that he is safe with us. We know now that he is just checking to make sure we are still here. It is so hard witnessing this but it is a stage that we are prepared for. I can not imagine what is going on in that little head of his. Today, he is much better. Right now he is down stairs eating breakfast with Daddy. I had to stay in the room because our guide is at the Consulate finalizing the paperwork and I need to be here in case she calls for questions.

Two more days!! Tomorrow we pick up Kaegans VISA and recite the Oath at the Oath Ceremony.

Wednesday we fly home!!!!! YAY!! We have had a blast here in China and getting to know our son. We can't wait to share him with you.

Videos of Kaegan and medical exam

Pictures of Kaegan

Trip to Zoo

I am so sorry for the delay in the posts. We have been busy. Trying new resturants, visiting the zoo and playing with Kaegan.

When reading books to prepare us for the adoption we learned that the 3rd day with your child is called "A New Day." Meaning that the child is now becoming comfortable with you and the bonding process has officially began. This is so true for Kaegan.

The sun finally began to shine on Tiayuan so we decided that we would take Kaegan to the zoo. Fun huh! Well, the sun was shining, yes, but the temperature was still around 25-30 degrees. It was cold. We all bundled up and had to check out the Giant Panda. While we were there we noticed that Kaegan began to warm up a little more to us. We played and let him run around by himself. He does not like to walk without holding ones hands. We had to make him walk and run without us. Once he learned he could run he enjoyed it. We finally began to smiles more often and hear that precious giggle.

After the zoo we decided to eat at another local resturant that was wonderful. We were very pleased with this one. We had noodles and rice of course but it was much different. Oh what we would do for a big fat greazy double cheese burger. Kaegan is eating everything we put in front of him. We are trying to put a little weight on him. He is so tiny.

Oh yeah! Before we left for the zoo we received a very large gift basket from our family and friends. It was the largest fruit basket I have ever seen. I am so sorry that I did not take a picture of it. We tore into it so quickly that a picture never crossed my mind. The grapes were huge!!! Thank you so much for all who pitched in with the gift. It was perfect. Kaegan loved it too.

After the long day we made it back to the room and packed up our stuff to head to Guanghouz. We are so excited to be flying there. It is sunny and beautiful. There are american resturants and lots of shopping.

See you in Guanghouz!

The Blessings of God

Anybody that knows us knows that Tiffany has been taken care of this Blog and it is amazing. I am not only blessed with a very handsome little man but an incredible wife that puts God before all things and it shows. There is not enough time to spend writing about the love that God has given me for my beautiful bride. I truly am the luckiest husband on the face of the earth. I wanted to leave my mark on the blog by sharing what has been going on in my mind over the last few years, months, weeks and days. So Here we go...
My desire for a child started years ago when Tiffany and I lived in Shreveport. You see we had friends that lived next door that showed us what order the certian relationships we have are supposed to be in. How a relationship with God was first followed by your relationship with your spouse, then your children. I had bought in to the lie that your kids come first and I was afraid that a child would hurt our marriage. Oh how my neighbors lived such an amazing Godly example. I have learned how to go to the Bible for everything and Pray continually for God's direction. God has put special people in our lives just at the right time to help teach and show us many things. Sometimes the lessons where small and sometimes they felt enormous. Sometimes God used people that believed different then me to teach us and God's Word has many examples of that being the case. I could go on and on about the people God used to develop us over the past few years but I believe they all know who they are because we have told them (or tried too). The last big impact for preparing for this little man came from left field. You see a few weeks back my beloved pastor's daughter Jessica went to be with the Lord. As a daddy to be it was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that God can give us a blessing but he can also desire to have that same blessing with him. This was the first time I became afraid to have the blessing of a child. So I went to what was tried and true and that was God's Word. Here is what God shared with me... In Proverbs 3 it says to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight" and Proverbs 4 says "For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths". I have read these verses before but they never were as real as they are today. I have found that when I am on God's path it is not necessarily easy but straight. I realized at that moment that God had an incredible path ahead for us and Kaegan and I needed to have the courage to follow this path. We want you all to know that Kaegan is not ours but God's and we intend to raise him the way God expects us too. Like the journey to Kaegan we will need help and support from all of you with Kaegan. I can not express into words how God has blessed us with INCREDIBLE Family and Friends...Tiffany and I are speechless........

ThankYou all for Loving us the way God does...It makes the path a wonderful journey....

My prayer for Kaegan is that he will come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior!!!!
My prayer for Tiffany and I is that God would continue to mold us into the parents He wants us to become.

Praise God for the people he has in our life....................

Gotcha Day in detail

Sorry for the delay in the post. We have been spending the day with our son. YAY!!

Yesterday morning Marty and I woke up again at 3:00am. We have learned that it does not matter what time we go to sleep we are still going to wake up at 3:00am. Having woke up so early you can imagine the anxiety and anticipation that we had. When the breakfast buffet opened we of course went to eat. I did not eat too much because of my nerves. I did not want anything to disrupt the moments ahead.

We were scheduled to leave at 2:15 from the hotel. It has been a two year process and this day was finally here. However, those last few hours seemed like an eternity. Finally, 2:00 rolled around and we loaded up Kaegans back pack, grabbed a sippy cup full of juice and headed to the lobby. Emma was there waiting. We grabbed a taxi and drove to the Civil Affairs office.

The room was simple and a little bare. Marty, Emma and I were the only ones in the room. We of course arrived early so we had to wait. It also snowed last night so it took Kaegan a little longer to travel into town.

While waiting another couple arrived who were also adopting a boy from the same orphanage. Their names are Jimmy and Stephanie Pirkle. They are naming their son Maddox. We were all four talking and getting to know one another when the door to the room opened. A lady walked in and had two little boys follow behind. I noticed Kaegan right away. Emma looked at me and said that is your boy. I fell down to his level and began talking to him. It was an amazing moment that I will never forget. Marty and I are the luckiest people in the world to have been blessed with this precious gift.

As you can see in the previous video he was quite scared. Thankfully for me he did not cry. Atleast not verbally. Children in the orphanage are known to cry "silent tears". These are emotional tears that you cannot see. For Marty and I these tears have been the hardest part for us to deal with. Once we got back in the room and began to play with him his personality began to show. We were so excited to hear him laugh and see him smile. We were not expecting either one until the third day so to recieve that on day one was incredible.

Oh Yeah! He went potty!!! He is potty trained. All we did was take him to the toilet and sat him on it and he took care of business. This is very good for us considering we have no idea to ask him if needs to potty. Sign language/motions have come in handy.

It was now time for a bath. Well, the tears came out immediately. He did not like taking off his shirt for his bath. We preformed teamwork and had a quick successful bath. Marty grabbed him to dry him off and just held him until the tears stopped. We then dressed him and all was well.

It was great to finish out the night with our family and friends on the computer. Thanks to yahoo messenger they have been able to see us everyday. Each one got to witness us placing him down for his first nights rest. He did sleep the whole night thru. Marty placed him between us and we just stared at him both in tears praising God and thanking him for this precious gift.

We ended the evening in a family prayer and finally the song we have been waiting play. "Safe and Sound" by Matthew West. I posted it on the blog as well. We would love for you to listen to it.

We are so blessed to have each one of you in our lives. Words cannot express the joy that comes from your comments. We love and thank each one of you for being a part of this journey.

Gotcha Day Pics!

Here are some pics from this amazing day. It is 3am and my boys are sleeping. I wanted to add pics for all the Kaegan Bloggers out there. I will post a play by play of yesterdays events soon.

I would like to introduce to you:

KAEGAN MICHIAH HE LIANG KENT

A Day in Taiyuan

Today was an easy day. Marty and I again woke up around 2:30 a.m. and waited for the breakfast buffet. Our buffet is very good. It has the best fried rice and fried noodles. I know that it sounds crazy but I have really enjoyed it.

This morning Emma met Marty and I in the lobby and we walked to the bank. It is time to get our money exchanged for the Big Day tomorrow. YAY!! We also have confirmed the paperwork and booked our flight to Guangzhou on Friday.

After the bank we decided to do a little shopping. We drove to the mall that is located near the Wal-Mart. Actually, the Wal-Mart is in the basement of the mall. Crazy huh! They have an escalator that is flat for you pull buggies up to the parking lot. It is really funny to watch. We did not purchase anything but did have a good time. We found a Baskin Robbins and introduced Emma to Cookies-n-Cream Icecream. She loved it.

We had have such a good time with Emma. It is sad that she will not be continuing on with us to Guangzhou. We will have a new guide there. Emma surprised us today with a restaurant that is a local one to the area. When she mentioned that she was taking us there we asked if she had taken other families. She said no and that we were her first. This was actually her first time to the restaurant too. She asked us to trust her when ordering our food so we did. We told her to make sure that the meat was cooked and that it involved noodles. To our surprise the food was good. The first dish did look rather odd. It was clear thick noodles of some sort in a dark sauce. I tried it first and it did not taste too bad. The second dish was meat in a dark sauce with slices of onions and Chinese pancakes for you to put the meat in and roll up to eat. This was very good. I had two of them. Marty like this dish as well. The first dish Marty did not like. The third dish was sweet-n-sour pork. It appeared to look just like it is in the states. It was a thicker sauce and a little sweeter. Next, the dumplings and the noodles arrived. I did not eat a dumpling because I was too busy eating the sweet-n-sour pork and the noodles. The noodles were made from scratch and had a wonderful meat sauce on it. It was as if we were eating chicken-n-dumplings but with meat and a meat broth. We all three loved the noodles. I was so proud of Marty and me for trying all the food. We have been so careful since arriving to China. Drinking only bottled water and eating only foods we know are safe. This was a huge step for us and we really enjoyed it.

We then walked back to hotel. I took some pictures of the City and the hotel for you guys. You can see that it appears to be foggy but it is not. There is a thick smog over the city. Taiyuan is a coal mining city and the air is very much polluted. The sun is shining today and you cannot see it.

While at the hotel we invited Emma to join us in the room. She talked to Mom, Amency and Beverly on the computer with us. She is so cute.

Marty and I are now in the room relaxing. We have been preparing the room for Kaegan. We are so excited that we will have him in less than 24 hours.

We have been so blessed on this journey. A few weeks ago Marty and I met another couple thru Ben and Wendy Lee who are also adopting from China. They are Gene and Kristi Ellender. They also live in Bossier. We were actually on the same three flights together to China. It was wonderful to have them with us. Especially knowing that we are traveling for the same reasons. The Ellender's received their daughter today! We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet up with them in Guangzhou this weekend. The have waited over 3 years for this day. Today it is well worth the wait. God Bless them and there new addition.

New Picture of Kaegan

Our Angel sent me this photo today. She saw Kaegan and gave him our picture. You can see that he is holding our picture in his hands. Only a few more days and he will be in our hands.

Last day in Beijing

Well, we woke up again at 2:30 a.m. It is wild how this time change effects you. Marty and I tried to lay in bed but started watching TV and I got on Facebook. Finally 6:30 rolled around and went to the breakfast bar. There was so much food. I ate way too much. While we there we met a gentleman who was from Tennessee. We talked for a few mintues about why we were here and he mentioned that he attended church with Steven Curtis Chapman and is in Steve Green's Sunday School Class. He is very familiar with the adoption process. He is in China on Business.

After breakfast we met up with Wynona. We rode a taxi for an hour to the Great Wall. It was the most scary ride in my life. There are no rules here when it comes to driving. There are 6 lanes all going the same direction but never mind the lines. If you need to get over you just go. I was so sick after this ride. I could not wait to get out of the car.

It was so cold at the Great Wall. We all had on gloves but could not feel our hands. Our faces were frozen so we could not talk. It was hilarious. We would try to say something but nothing came out. The Wall is an incredible site to see. It was worth the pain and suffering. When you look out over the wall it just goes on forever. It is hard to believe the age of this structure.

After the walk on the Wall we finally got to the bottom and found the Starbucks. YAY!!! I was so excited. We each got a Latte and enjoyed the relaxation. Walking that Wall was extremely hard in this cold weather.

We had to get back to the hotel and pack up our things to head to Taiyuan. Wynona was an Angel. She helped us get to the airport, get our tickets and escorted us to security. Without her we would still be there. Once we got thru security we met two more gentlemen. One has two adopted children and the other is on his way to pick up his second. The wives stayed behind with the other children. One of the gentlemen owned Christian Books Stores and began his own foundation for adoptions. It is called the Abba Foundation. We enjoyed talking with them and got their numbers. We are going to meet up with them in Guangzhou. He is also good friends with Steven Curtis Chapman.

We arrived in Taiyuan around 6:30 and this is where we met our guide Emma. She is very young and seems to be sweet. She escorted us to our hotel and plans to meet us this morning to go shopping.

Marty and I had a full 6 hours of sleep which is awesome. We just ate breakfast and are now waiting on Emma. I just noticed that Marty is asleep on the bed. I will have to wake him.

2 more days until we meet Kaegan. Please pray for my nerves and that we get some more sleep. Thankfully we have nothing planned today or tomorrow so we should be fine come Tuesday.

Thanks for all your prayers. Keep them coming.

Our busy day in Beijing

Beijing is an incredibly large and beautiful city. It is amazing how clean it is. This morning Marty and I decided to catch a taxi to the Olympic square. We saw the Birds Nest, Water cube and other neat sites.



After we finished the Olympic Villa we met Wynona's friend Jenna who toured us around the city for the rest of the day. We went to The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, McDonald's, The Silk Market and several things in between. The sites are unbelievable. I did my best to capture the beauty of this place. Here are only a few of the pics I took.

The next pictures are of Jenna and Me and then Marty and Me in The Forbidden City.

There were three things that I wanted to purchase for Kaegan while I was in China. One was a pearl necklace from China to give to Kaegan (when the time comes) for him to give to his future wife. Second, was a Chinese Bible, preferably bilingual and third, I wanted to find information about China and its heritage so I could have it for Kaegan. The Pearls I purchased at the Silk Market so I have that checked off of the list. Jenna mentioned that she will stop by her church and purchase a Bible for us. You cannot purchase one in stores. Bibles must be purchased from the Church. Another check of the list. After lunch Jenna mentioned that she had friend that had just published his first book about the Chinese culture and its heritage. She called him and he was kind enough to meet us at a coffee shop and sold us a signed copy of his new book. It took him ten years to write the book. The pictures are incredible. What is also unique is that it tells of the history of Datong. The city where Kaegan was born. The book is absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to show it to you guys. The picture below is of Marty, Guohua Yang and Me. The last one is of Guohua with his book. I am so excited about this book. It is over 500 pages of China and its history.

By the way, Wynona, Jenna and Guohua are all christians and attend the same church here in Beijing. God is so good! I love how He puts people in certain places at the right time. His hands have been in every move we have made. I guess that is what happens when you are flying on Faith.

Thanks for the comments. We enjoy reading them. We love you all!