GOOD-BYE CHINA.....

I say that with very mixed emotions. As I've said many times in the last 16 days, this trip has been amazing. We couldn't be more humbled by or grateful for the blessings we've received. Good health, safety and a smooth transition for all of us -- we couldn't ask for more! Again, we have felt all of your prayers from half a world away, so thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts. This has been the trip of a lifetime for our family. We are forever touched by everything we've experienced during our time here.

Today we went to the zoo, so I will attach a few pics from that. We are 0 for 2 on the panda. Last time, he was in because it was so hot and this time, they have moved him/her to the Sichuan province to try to have a baby panda. We were super bummed but still enjoyed all of the other animals. It was 95 degrees and humid, just like last time, too.

Tomorrow morning, we start our very long journey home and we are looking forward to settling in with our two girls and having an awesome summer as a complete family of 4..................finally!!

God bless and thank you for sharing this journey with us.

STILL ENJOYING CHINA

We had another good day in China. Today was very special because it was the day we took our oath at the Consulate. It was crazy busy in there, but it's always special to take that step. Afterwards, the girls got all dressed up and we had pictures taken in the lobby. It's not a "red couch" like at the White Swan, but it was still a really fun moment. With only 5 babies this time, it was much less chaotic than when we did it for Tia. But we put Rosie on the end of the couch, just like we did with Tia, and I swear she did the exact same thing as Tia did..................just sat there and took it all in. She just looked at everyone with her big brown eyes and was so sweet. I had to get her a new pair of shoes (as if we don't have enough shoes!) because her feet are so tiny. But even the pair I got are a bit big. They are super cute, though. It was a fun time. This afternoon, we just hung out. Mike and Tia went to the pool while Rosie napped. But then a storm came in, so that was the end of the swimming. Tia has made a few friends while we've been here, so the girls continued to play in one of the rooms and had a great time. Everyone is so nice. We've really met some wonderful people.

Yesterday, we went to the Pearl Market. It was HUGE! I am attaching a picture that looks like a big mall, but keep in mind, the only thing in this "mall" is jewelry. It's mind boggling. Tia just wanted a single pearl, so we got her one and decided that when she turns 16, we will make it into a special ring. She was so excited.

Tomorrow we go to the zoo in the morning and then it will probably take us the rest of the day to prepare to leave. Our room looks like a hurricane blew through! Stay tuned....................

2 MORE AMAZING DAYS IN CHINA

We are continuing to enjoy ourselves so much and to take in every bit of China that we can. Yesterday (Sunday) was a day of touring and then relaxing in the afternoon. It was the 7 year anniversary of Tia's referral day, so we celebrated with a couple fancy desserts from the bakery in our hotel. We sang to her and had a nice little celebration in the room. I will attach the before and after pictures of our treat. It's hard to believe that 7 years ago, we saw her sweet face for the first time and fell instantly in LOVE. It's so amazing to be back here with her. She is loving everything!!

So, we toured the Buddhist Temple and the Old Chen house and it was awesome. We had done that when we were here with Tia, so it was fun to see her experience it from where she is now. We did some shopping and enjoyed it all. We ran into the couple that we spent the 2 days in Beijing with, so that was such a great surprise! They now have their sweet Matteo and they were excited to see Rosie. They are wonderful people and their son is just darling. We ended up meeting them for dinner and had such a good time. Tia and Matteo really took to each other which was so sweet to see. They will be special friends forever now. What a blessing!

Today (Monday) we had our appointment in the morning for Rosie's visa photo and her medical checkup. She did great. We are now with 3 other really nice couples and we're all having a good time. There is one couple with 2 year old twin boys, another couple who adopted a 3 year old girl and another couple who adopted a 16-month old girl. They also have Oliver, a 5-1/2 year old boy from Vietnam. He is darling and loves Tia. They've been having fun together. The Dad of that family is the chief editor of Field and Stream magazine, so that's been really fun for Mike and all the Dads. He is a super nice guy! At the medical center, we found a Wine Vending Machine in the lobby. Yes, you read it correctly. I am attaching a picture. We couldn't believe it! This afternoon we swam and Rosie really liked the water. We met some other families with 3 girls the same age as Tia, so they had a blast in the pool. It was a good time!

Tonight we did a dinner cruise on the Pearl River and it was absolutely fabulous! So much fun, an amazing view and just great. Everyone loved it so much and it was a beautiful evening. At one point (again), I was sitting holding Rosie and looking out at the beautiful view and watching Mike and Tia and I was overwhelmed with emotion. My heart is so full of love, gratitude and joy. God is so, so good!! We are so blessed.

One more tidbit that is really neat...............so, Tia has been calling Rosie "Ro-Ro", which is so sweet. Well, we found out that in China that means "chubby baby". It's so perfect. Tia is so good with her and just loves her so much. And we are seeing more of Rosie's personality each day. I think we may have another "ham" on our hands. She is smiling and giggling more and even has a dimple! Can't wait for you all to meet her. Thanks again for the prayers and we are loving your emails from home.

Our bresnan email is now working again, so you can email us at mschlosser@bresnan.net

GOOD-BYE ZHENGZHOU... HELLO GUANGZHOU!!

It was a bittersweet day for us to leave Zhengzhou. We had such an amazing time embracing everything about our time there. The city itself, the people, the sights, sounds and even smells. It was an incredible experience for all of us and we are so grateful for our time there. The fact that Rosie was born there makes it very special. We will keep all of our experiences from there in our hearts and minds forever. This morning, Tia did not want to leave. She sat in front of the window just taking it all in for one last time before we left. She has enjoyed everything about our time in China. It has been so special for her in so many ways. I cried when we left Vivian, our guide, at the airport. She is the sweetest thing and was just wonderful!

We had a long and intense day of travel. It was raining very hard and our flight was delayed because of it. It was HOT and HUMID all day. We were the only Americans in the airport and got a LOT of attention. Lots of stares and people trying to visit about the girls. I am in awe of how they get really close to you and just stare. And if you smile, they may or may not smile back. It can be intimidating, but we are getting used to it. We were glad to finally get here where the people are more used to seeing the Americans with babies. All a part of the journey, though! :-))

Rosie did great on her first flight. She ate, slept and played, just like Tia did on her first flight. We are hoping that's a good sign for the long flight home, but we'll see. Our guide, Jason, met us at the airport with a big smile and bottled water. He is so sweet. We got to the China Hotel and it is gorgeous! And there is a McDonalds right there. Whew! No more Mamma Mia pizza. Haha! We are all settled in and ready for a fun day tomorrow. We have a tour in the morning and then some paperwork in the afternoon. There is a Mall in our hotel and Tia already found a dress she thinks I need, so we will check that out tomorrow, too.

We cannot thank all of you enough for your prayers for our journey here. We are staying healthy and staying safe and we are so grateful for that!! Every day, there are so many things that could go wrong, and the fact that things are going well is just a huge blessing. Thank you and keep 'em going. We are loving hearing from home and again, just appreciate all of the love, support and friendships from all of you. We are so incredibly blessed!!

Enjoy the pics!!

WHERE DO THE DAYS GO??

We are doing great and enjoying each and every day here in China. It's such an amazing place!! Yesterday was a free day so we ventured out to walk to Walmart. We met another family here who adopted a 6-year old boy, so we all went together. We figured we had "safety in numbers" against the hundreds of scooters. Haha! I've honestly never seen so many scooters in my life. And they come right at you with no expression on their faces, nothing. They are on the sidewalks and on the streets with cars, buses, etc. They will come within inches of a car or bus and you will not even see them flinch. They will even be on their cell phones!! We've seen a whole family on a scooter -- for example, Dad driving, Mom on the back holding a small baby and another child in between them. It's the craziest thing we've ever seen. The only way we can describe them is "nerves of steel". We have taken a ton of video of it and I've tried to capture some of it with my camera, but it's hard to believe. Even with being out in it every single day, we are still in awe every time we go out. Needless to say, we stuck together and made it to Walmart and back safely. Whew!

In the afternoon, we rested and then Tia went swimming with the new friends that we met. They have an 11-year old girl, and 8-year old boy and their new son. A very nice family from Pennsylvania and the kids all had a blast together! Last night, we did go next door for some Chinese food, which was real yummy. We had to order off of an Ipad because no one spoke English, so we weren't exactly sure of what we were getting, but it turned out good. We just had to try something different. We've discovered the Mamma Mia pizza from the room service menu and it's really yummy, but we'd eaten it 3 nights in a row, so we needed to change it up a bit. Each meal is a challenge as to what to eat, but we're surviving. It's all a part of the fun!

Today (Thursday) we went to the Aquarium. It was awesome! Tia was absolutely elated about being there!! It just warmed my heart to see her so excited and happy. She's excited and happy anyway, but this was definitely up a few notches from usual. She was just in heaven being there. Running from one tank to the next, just beside herself with joy. As the Mom, to see her running up ahead just so happy and then to look and see Mike with Rosie behind me........................I was so overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. My heart is overflowing with love. And to think that at one point, I didn't know if this would ever happen....................God is so good. He knew all along that this would happen. And it has. And it's perfect. Mike and I are just in awe of all of this. We look at both of them and are just speechless at times. It's a humbling, beautiful thing. And again, we thank all of you who have supported us in this journey. We are so touched. We are so blessed.

Enjoy the pics!!

A LONG AND WONDERFUL DAY

Today started out early and finished up late, but it was wonderful. We finalized our adoption of Rosie, so she is officially ours forever. Yippee!! We couldn't be happier or more grateful. She is so precious. We finished all of the paperwork this morning and then had just a short time to re-group and grab lunch before we went to the city where she was born to apply for her passport. It was a 2 hour drive there and back, but the highway was actually pretty nice. The people there were so wonderful. Our guide, Vivian, said they are the nicest ones that she's worked with so far. Tia and Rosie both did great on the whole trip, or should I say the whole day. I'm sure the lack of carseats or any restrictions may have helped. :-)) But they really were both just amazing. It's so sweet to see them together. Mike and I still can't believe it --- we have our 2 precious girls --- absolute gifts from God. We had a chance to see where Rosie had spent the first 7 months of her life and meet the people there. It was a nice opportunity and the ladies were wonderful. They love her very, very much. We found out yesterday that for the last 8 months, she has been in a foster home in Beijing with wonderful people who also love her dearly. We are so grateful for that and could never thank them enough. It's very emotional for us.

She is doing really well so far. She slept through the night last night and she definitely snores, but it wasn't too bad. We didn't need the earplugs that we brought. :-)) She does not like the high chair, though. We've tried twice and she just squirms her way right around in it. She's so small that if we don't have her in really tight, she could come right out, so we are not pushing it for now. We'll work on it more in her own high chair at home. She loves to suck on her one finger when she sleeps and so far she doesn't seem attached to a particular blankie or toy. We'll see as the time goes on, if that changes. She is very content and easy going tnight when we got home and got her on the bed to just relax and play for a while, we got her going and almost had a full-blown giggle, but not quite. She's still holding out on us a bit but it's definitely coming. She seems to be attaching to Mike and me about the same so far, and of course, loves Tia. It's so sweet to see them together and hear Tia read to her and giggle about her, etc. Yesterday, before we were getting Rosie, Tia set up a table for her and it was so precious. I will attach the picture. Enjoy the rest of the pictures, too. Thank you for the continued prayers. We really felt them again today. So far, so good. Praise the Lord!!!

PS - She has 4 teeth on top and 3 on the bottom. She holds her bottle and also will use a sippy cup. We still don't know her exact weight, but she's a peanut, except for her chunky little legs. OMG, they are darling!! Oh and we found out that yesterday, the day we got Rosie, is a very special day in China - it's a day of LOVE -- a happy day. How neat, right? Vivian said the most marriage licenses are applied for on that day out of the whole year. She and her fiance actually applied for theirs yesterday, too. How appropriate.......................