Let's start from the very beginning...

This post should have gone up a few days ago, but at that time we were having a hard time getting the internet to work. And since I am a little behind in my blogging, I am going to back up a little and start from the beginning of our trip!

Well, I'm excited to say that after 20 plus hours of traveling, we made it to Beijing safe and sound. 

 

We arrived in China around midnight, Friday night, and as soon as we landed, we were met by our sweet guide, Sylvia, and our driver, Mr. John. After loading up our luggage into their van, they proceeded to take us to our hotel. There was a little confusion as to what hotel we were staying in , and they actually drove us to the wrong one! The mistake was quickly corrected and before long we were checked in at the RIGHT hotel and settling in for the night. We only got about three and a half hours of sleep Friday night.

We woke up early Saturday morning, still tired, but ready to begin our day of sight seeing.

 

Our guide and driver met us around 9am, and we were off to visit the Forbidden City.

 

We thought it was going to be REALLY hot here, but much to our surprise (and relief), the temperature was quite comfortable. Cool and a little breezy...perfect weather for touring;)

Our guide was a wealth of knowledge and eagerly shared with us all she knew about ancient China. Shane and I really enjoyed learning all we could about our daughters culture and heritage.

 

 I hope one day we will look back on this trip, and share with Addy-Kate our love for this country and it's people. 

After a full morning at the Forbidden City, we were off to visit the Jade Market.

 

 We had a quick tour and then ate lunch there too.

After lunch, it was time to head to the Great Wall. 

 

This, by far, was our most anticipated tour of the day. Shane and I both were beyond excited!!!! Our guide and driver dropped us off at a bottom portion of the wall and then told us to be back in two hours.

  Two hours seemed like a really long time, but it actually took us all but just a few minutes of that allotted time to make the climb! 

 

We could have climbed to the half-way point and stopped, but Shane and I decided that we were going all the way to the top. 

 It was a vigorous hike, but when we reached the top and could look out over the beautiful mountains of China, we were so glad we made the climb.

After a full and very busy day, it was time for us to head back to the hotel. We made one final stop at the Pearl Market before heading back for the night. When we got back to the hotel, we quickly showered, got in our cozy pj's , and then Skyped with the kids for the first time since we left. We were soooo happy to see their sweet faces, and it sounds like they're having lots of fun back home. By 8:30pm we were out for the count.

After a full nights rest, the next morning we woke up refreshed and ready for our trip to Xi'an!

This is were we would met our sweet Addy-Kate...more on that to come:)

Gotcha Day!

Just wanted to post a quick update. We arrived here in Xi'an earlier this evening and just recieved our little angel. She is PRECIOUS and PERFECT!!!!!

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted more about our trip. It's been an absolute whirlwind of activity up until this point, and the internet has caused us some trouble too. We are here in Xi'an for a few more days, so hopefully I can post more pictures later!

LOVE and HUGS from China;)

Today is THE DAY...

I can't believe that TODAY is the day we start our journey to China...and to our daughter! I've been waiting for this day to arrive for what seems like FOREVER, but for some reason I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that IT'S actually here! 

We don't fly out until 4ish this afternoon, so I have some time this morning to finish packing and to put a few last minute details together.

 For the most part though, we are definitely READY!

By far, the hardest part of this day is going to be saying "goodbye" to my kids. I'm trying my best to keep it together, but up until this point I've been a BIG ole' puddle of emotion. I know once I say goodbye and get my rear on that plane I'll be fine, but until then...well let's just say it ain't pretty. Please pray for me today! I need to be strong and confident...for them! I am leaving them in THE BEST HANDS EVER! My family will be staying here and they are going to have a total BLAST! These next two weeks are FULL of fun and busyness, and because of that I know the time is going to FLY! They probably won't even notice I'm gone;) 

I, on the other hand, am going to miss them like CRAZY! 

So here's just a quick run down of how our trip will begin...

We leave Charlotte @ 4:30 today and fly to Detroit.

Then @ 9:55pm tonight we leave Detroit and fly into Beijing.

We arrive in Beijing @ 11:55pm on June 22nd;)

Hopefully, I'll be able to post once we get to China...

so until then...

(I better be on my way)

Addy-Kate's Birthday

 On June 2nd, our precious Addy-Kate turned TWO years old! And even though we are an ocean apart, the kids and I still had fun celebrating our birthday girl!

We decided to host a teddy-bear picnic in honor of our sweet princess.

 The kids each went into their room and picked out their favorite teddy bear to bring with them to the party!

 And of course, what party would be complete with out a little cake.

"Happy Birthday to you Addy-Kate!"

Next year, this day will be THAT much sweeter as we celebrate with our birthday girl in our arms...FOREVER;)

Father's Day 2012-The Minute to Win It Way

 I am one blessed girl!!!!

My life is filled with some of the most wonderful and godly men I could ever know.   

The Lord has given me a precious, God-fearing Daddy-- who I love dearly, 

 

 AND then blessed my socks off by giving me a sweet, kind, compassionate, and fun-loving husband. Shane is not only MY perfect match, but also a SUPER dad to our little ones. They ALL adore their daddy and I know he is a hero in each one of their little minds.  

So in honor of Father's Day this weekend, we did our best to make sure these men in our lives felt special, loved, and just a little spoiled;)

On Saturday evening, the kids helped me make Shane his favorite meal and then baked his favorite dessert...

Steaks on the grill...and Blackberry Cobbler w/ ice cream for dessert;)

On Sunday morning, Corban was the first one up, so he got to enjoy breakfast in bed with his sweet daddy;)

Before heading off to church, we snapped a few pictures.
Father's Day 2012---next year this pic will look a little different;)

Later on Sunday afternoon, we headed over to my parents house for dinner. 

Last year, we celebrated Father's Day in a new and fun way,  and this year we were ALL excited to continue the tradition. 

 

Father's Day has now easily become one of the most anticipated holidays for our family, and that's due to the fact that we started celebrating it in a "Minute to Win It" kind-of-way;)

After enjoying a delicious meal, made by my brother-in-law, Matt...we all headed outside and the games commenced;) I have to give a shout out to my sister B for planning and organizing all the games for the night. She did a great job and we ALL had a BLAST! 

We laughed until our sides hurt;) 

 Up for grabs again this year was the coveted "Minute to Win It" trophy;)

First on the docket was the game..."Junk in the Trunk" 

 

A belt with an empty tissue box was attached around each of our waists. 

Ten ping-pong balls were placed inside the tissue box and we had to jump and wiggle to shake the balls out of the box. 

And this had to be done in less than ONE minute, of course.

"On the Nose" was the second game we played. 

We put a dab of Vaseline on each players nose and at the sound of the word "GO!"...

 

 each player had to pick-up a cotton ball with their nose and transport it to another plate--without using you hands. 

This was soooooo fun to watch!!!

Then it was on to the  "Chocolate Unicorn"!

 

 How many zebra cakes can you stack on your head in under a minute???

 The best part of this game was... eating the cakes when we were done:)

Next up..."Flotatious" 

How many soda cans can you stack on a Styrofoam plate while it's floating in a tub of water???

And lastly...was the "Elephant Stomp" 

 

A baseball was placed inside at the end of a pair of panty hose.

 Each player had to then put the panty hose on over their head and at the sound of "GO" they had one minute to swing the ball, knocking over a line of water bottles. 

Can you say...HILARIOUS!!!!

After the games were over, the kids all jumped in the  pool and enjoyed a nice swim, while my mom got the desserts ready.  

And because my family is so large, most get-together's now have taken on duel purposes. 

Not only did we celebrate Father's day yesterday, BUT all the June birthdays as well. We sang "Happy Birthday" to my grandma, KK, and Corban! Next year, Addy-Kate will be in this line-up too. Her birthday is on June 2nd;) We talked a lot about Addy-Kate last night and EVERYONE is sooooo excited about her joining our family THIS week.  THIS week...I can't believe it's THIS week!!!!

Anyway, and with that our fun summer evening came to an end as we all sat pool-side and enjoyed our yummy dessert.

Another memory making Father's Day for the books;)

Back to Bloggin'

Hi There Everyone! 

So after much consideration, I have decided to hop on the ole blog wagon and make my blog public once again. I sure have missed my sweet bloggy friends and I am so..... happy to be back;) A lot has happened in the last three months, and I certainly have a ton of catching up to do, but as for now, I'll just begin with the present. 

And that is.....

 PACKING FOR CHINA!!! 

 Yup, that's right...in less that six days Shane and I will board a plane and travel to the other side of the world to meet our precious daughter for the very first time!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Oh my heart--are we EXCITED!!!!!!

We cannot wait to get our hands on this precious little girl!

 And because I don't want to forget ANY of the events or details that will take place over the next several weeks and months, I figured that there was no better time than now to begin blogging once again!

So get ready Miss Addy-Kate...cause your mommy and daddy are coming to get you really REALLY soon!!!!!!!