Happy Birthday Joy!

Joy's birthday was only 4 days after we returned home from China so we didn't do much.  Thankfully Norma ordered a birthday cake and we sang Happy Birthday when the family gathered to celebrate Easter.  We are so thankful we were blessed with the opportunity to celebrate her second birthday with her!  An answer to prayer!

She is sitting here with the birthday cake that sweet Elaine Philyaw made for her.  She also brought some wonderful cupcakes!  Yum!!!  So thankful for her thinking of us and giving Joy this sweet cake so that we were motivated to celebrate even though we were so tired still from travel.

Home, Sweet Home

It was so good to get home. Joy is really enjoying her new toys (Thank you Tammie!). The boys are busy getting to know their new sister. It's not going to take long for her to get them wrapped around her finger.

Finally Home

Our Three Children

She's adjusting well. She's still on China time, but little by little we are sleeping more at night and less in the day time. Thank you all for your prayers and support. We love you all.

Coming Home

Our flight from Beijing to Chicago was about 13 hours. Joy sleep most of the way and was in a good mood. We didn't get thrown off the plane!

Some Reading Material for Joy on the Flight Home

Mom and Ping Ping on the Plane

Mom and Ping Ping on the Plane

When we arrived in Chicago we had to claim our luggage and get processed through customs and immigration. Joy became an official US Citizen at the immigration office in Chicago on April 4, 2012.

All that took longer than expected and we barely made it to the connecting flight to Birmingham as they were closing the gate. 

We arrived in Birmingham at 9:11 p.m. (24 hours after leaving Guangzhou on at 9 a.m.) and were so excited to see Brian, Noah, Gene, Norma and Greg's brother Jeff waiting for us at the airport.  Thank you Jeff for driving the weary travelers home from Birmingham. We couldn't have made it without you!

Last Night in China

This is the view from the shower/bath tub.  In the morning while I was getting ready, I could keep an eye on Joy in the crib through the glass 'wall' and know when she had woken up. Nice!

We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant last night.  The Thai restaurant has a Mariachi band! 

Daddy and Princess Ping

Joy fell asleep in Daddy's arms after her bottle.

Today we were waiting on our paperwork.  We just hung out in the hotel room all day.  We planned to sleep late, but Joy woke up at 5:00 this morning.  I wanted to take some photos around the hotel this afternoon, but she is now cranky after her nap.  We will probably try to find take out for dinner.  Dinner is a challenge even when she is in a good mood.  I have a very sore throat today, wondering if she also has a sore throat.  We need to find diapers tonight, finish packing and go to bed early.  We leave the hotel in the morning at 7:45 to head to the airport.  Next blog post will be from Millbrook!!! Yeah!  Love you all!

  

Finishing Up Business in Guangzhou

Today we went to the US Consulate General in Guangzhou to take an oath and sign an application to complete the final step to adopt Joy Xin Ping Jones here in China!  They are completing our paperwork today and tomorrow, Jack, our guide will pick up Joy's visa packet which will contain her Chinese passport containing a US visa, documents required by immigration officials when we arrive at first airport in U.S., and an adoption certificate.  Wow!!  Then we fly out early Wednesday morning (Tuesday night at 9:00pm in Alabama), and arrive home around 9:00pm Wednesday.  We weren't allowed to take cameras or pictures at the oath ceremony.  After the ceremony, we went to celebrate on Shamian Island.  We enjoyed the scenery and did some shopping and then we ate lunch at Lucy's!  Apparantly Lucy's is pretty famous for American families because their menu consisted of items like grill cheese, hamburger, spaghetti, sweet tea and apple pie!  Yum!

There were several groups doing traditional Chinese forms of exercise, maybe Tai Chi?



Ping Ping enjoying her bottle!



We were so thankful for Lucy's.  We didn't have an appetite for whole pig today.

This statue shows the progression of women in Chinese culture.

Us with our guide, Jack

Joy reasoning with Daddy for the camera.

The Zoo!

Mama and JoyXin Ping

Tiger

 

Black Bear

 

Camel! Cool!

 

Joy Xin Ping

 

Panda Bear

Daddy and Joy are napping now. Tonight looking forward to going out to eat with two other families who are adopting through the same agency as us! Tomorrow we will leave early in the morning to go to the US Consulate Office for an oath ceremony. I'm not sure what the verbal oath is for, like a lot of the papers we have signed. They are all in Chinese, so I'm not sure what all we have signed. Just trusting our guides and trying to get home with our daughter! Love you all!

Walk through the Garden at our Hotel

Beautiful gardens at our hotel

We can see this waterfall from the breakfast buffet. When we walk into the breakfast buffet, the hostess seats us and it seems they put all the adopting families in the same room. It is nice to be around others who are going through the same situation as us. The first few days with Joy, she would have a fit every time Greg and I sat down to eat. It makes it easier when there is a waterfall out the window! She is doing much better now.

Joy seems to be getting a little stronger in her legs. she may be walking on her own before long. I'm so thankful we get to see her first step!

Daddy and XinPing

She's always got to know where Mama is

The view is beautiful from our room

We are on the 22nd floor of the hotel. 

Thank you for your prayers about the sore on Joy's leg. Thank you Kelly H. for the information about possible staph infection. Before we left home, our international pediatrician prescribed Azythromycin in case Joy had a respiratory or ear infection. I wonder if that would help with staph infection??? It does not look any better yet...