When Love Takes You In Music Video

Last full day in China...

Above are some pics of the area in Guangzhou where we have been staying.

Our adoption facilitator turned in all of our documentation to the U.S. Consulate today. After some confusion and mis-information that caused some anxiety for a while, everything turned out fine. Tomorrow afternoon, Vicki will go in with a group of others to "swear the oath" of U.S. citizenship on Ellie's behalf (I will be on my way back to Greece at that time). Afterward, Vicki, Kendra, and Ellie will fly to Vic's folks in Eugene, OR and then join the boys and me in Mobile, AL (at my folks' house) on June 4th.

Thanks to all who have been praying for us. This trip has been a God-given adventure on many different levels. This summer I hope to add more pics and a little video (and maybe music) to this blog.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary, and it will always rank among the most meaningful and memorable. Here is how we celebrated today...

Vicki took Ellie to get her final medical exam today (and she was PERFECT for all 4 doctors she needed to see), and Scott went to the U.S. Consulate to pay for Ellie's visa and get something notarized. Tomorrow, our adoption facilitator will turn in everything for us and, Lord willing, we will pick up her visa on Wednesday.

It rained almost all day today, but that did not stop Vicki and Kendra from doing some shopping. (smile) Almost everything is pretty cheap here, which makes shopping even more fun! (Of course, when we are operating on a very tight budget, the fun is still limited).

Tonight we ordered in, and afterwards Vicki and I went out and bought each other an anniversary gift and went to Starbucks for Frappucinos!

Sunday in China...

Have I mentioned that we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Ellie?!?!?!?!? Well...we do!!

Today Scott went over paperwork with the adoption facilitator and discovered that something notarized at the U.S. Embassy in Athens would have to be re-done here on Monday.

Scott went to church this morning and worshipped in a Chinese Protestant church as the only bald and hairy caucasion among about 200 Chinese brothers and sisters. Although everything was in the Chinese language (without translation), he was glad he went and worshipped in a new context.

Ellie was awake all day long, refusing to nap but full of smiles and laughs all day long until about 8:30 PM when she "crossed the line" and suddenly began to cry loudly and strongly for a while.

It has been raining (either lightly or heavily) in Guangzhou since we arrived, and it is very humid as well.

There are MANY American families here (and a few other nationalities) adopting Chinese children.

Jack and Candy--May 19th

Reading back over past posts on this blog, I realize that I have failed to communicate how much we are OVER THE MOON, ECSTATICALLY, HOPELESSLY, UTTERLY AND ETERNALLY IN LOVE with Ellie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God made her for us, and we believe that God made us for her!!!

The second best thing that has happened while in China is that we got to spend the day with our dear Chinese brother and sister Jack and Candy!! (THE FIRST PHOTO IS OF THEM WITH KENDRA WHEN SHE WAS A BABY IN AUSTRIA)

They brought really nice gifts for our children and they had an oil painting commisioned for us of an area in Austria where we had lived before! They also bought lunch for us at a Thai restaurant, and we spent the day catching up, reliving old memories from the days in Austria where they came to know the Lord as refugees, and sharing about how the Lord is working in our lives. It was SO ENCOURAGING to spend time with them and to hear how the Lord is using them for the advancement of His kingdom in China. Please pray for them, as China is not an easy place to live for the Lord and they need some kindred spirits to share their lives with.

On to Guangzhou...

Yesterday, our paperwork was completed in Shanxi and Ellie received her Chinese passport, thanks to our great guide and helper Christina.

This morning we flew to Guangzhou. After checking into our hotel and sorting through some confusion about our room, we went to a local restaurant that caters to Americans (called "Lucy's") and had a great American hamburger (Kendra had a chicken wrap). It was pouring down rain so we stayed for a while and finally decided to run for it since our hotel was only a few blocks away. We spent the rest of the day in our hotel room watching TV, playing with Ellie, talking with our local guide Helen, and giving Ellie her first bath (first with us) in the bathroom sink. She did great!

Ellie is bonding really well with us and we are very pleased. She is a real gift from God.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with our dear brother and sister Jack and Candy who we know from our days in Austria. We are really looking forward to that!

Miscellaneous China Pictures

Interesting Restaurant

This is where we ate last night...lots of good food and great atmosphere and excellent service (at least three different people were assigned to our table and every time we took a sip of our jasmine tea, it was re-filled; every time we used the wet washcloths they replaced them; every time we took a drink of our beverage they refilled them; etc.)...5 of us for under $30.

"OFFICIAL" from the Chinese side!

After over an hour of signing and giving our thumbprints on a boatload of documents, Ellie is "officially" ours (from the point of view of the Chinese government).

Also, I (Scott) forgot to mention on "Gotcha Day" that I had none of the emotional expression that I had expected. I neither cried, nor really felt like crying. It all just seemed so natural and matter-of-fact. When the three of us stood around her bed and prayed for her the first night, I started to feel a little emotional, but there were two times yesterday I really got choked up. The first was when she fell asleep in my arms for the first time, and the second was when we were waiting for our plane and I bent down to whisper in her ear, "Ellie, you are so loved."

What a precious gift from God she is--well worth the wait! Lots of smiles and laughs today! She slept through the whole thing at the government office today and she sat so still and patient for our 2 hour dinner at a really FABULOUS restaurant (which I will post some pics of on another day).