Visit to Si Ping

Best Big Sisters

Graci was having fun taking pictures out our hotel window

Susi and Graci having fun on the slide at the KFC

Snoozing on the 2.5 hour drive to Siping

Siping Social Welfare Institute -Baby/Toddler room

Susi with one of the ayis that remembers her from when she was in the orphanage in 2009

Siping SWI baby/toddler room

Siping Center - where Susi spent the majority of her baby and toddler years

Siping Center

Siping Center

Siping Center

Siping Center

Our family with one of the nannies at the Siping center and the assistant director to the Siping orphanage

After our visit to the orphanage and center we went out to lunch and Susi taught us how to use chopsticks. She is really good!

Susi's finding place -The People's Republic Hospital lobby

In front of the orphanage

We have just had a wonderful day full of surprises and many blessings. We drove to the city of Siping, where Susi was born and found. It is about 2.5 hours from Changchun, the capitol of Jilin province. First we visited the orphanage where Susi was placed after her original surgery and recovery. One of the nannies remembered her and called her by name. We spent some time holding and playing with the babies and toddlers. We were hoping to spend more time at the orphanage and get to play with the older kids but there was another event going on and that was not possible. After our visit to the orphanage we went to the Siping Center. A wonderful foundation that cares for high risk kids that need to be much more stable before returning to the orphanage or being adopted. Susi spent most of her babyhood and toddler years at the Siping Center. It was such a blessing to take her to visit, they not only totally know her but they had tons of pics of her as a baby. I was able to download them and she will have a whole baby album! This is unheard of with my younger kids. I have so few pics of them before they were adopted. But Susi will have pictures, memories told to her, and people that have known here since she was just days old. It is so awesome! I can't wait to bring her back to visit when she is older. After the center, the assistant orphanage director took us out for lunch. We ate yummy Chinese food, dumplings and various other delicious entrees. This tasted especially good because we have been on our own for food for the past few days, that means we eat KFC and Pizza Hut. If I don't have someone to help me order, I stick with what I know. After lunch we went to the hospital where Susi was found just days old, back in 2006. When we walked in, the nurses ran right up to us to see if we needed help. Then our guide explained why we were there and taking pictures in the emergency room lobby. As usual, we caused a spectacle and everyone was staring and laughing at us. We are getting used to it though and now find it kind of fun to be the entertainment. It has been a big adjustment for Graci, she is trying so hard to take things in stride and be flexible. But everyone keeps talking to her in Chinese because they assume she understands. She keeps looking at me and asking what they are saying to her, so I tell her to talk to them in English and they just start cracking up. So she shrugs her shoulders and moves on. She is such a trooper! She has even handled people touching her, which is very common here. People will squeeze her cheeks or pet her head or face. The first time it happened I thought she was going to freak out but instead she looked at me and said "why is that man petting my face?" LOL!

She Has The Sweetest Voice and We Heard It!!!

Susi loves pizza

Girl time-nail painting

It was so nice, we had a beautiful cool rain and the girls
were able to use their umbrellas and Alyx wear her
trenchcoat.

The girls pass out as soon as their
heads hit the pillow!

Susi loves to get her hair done!

Pretty girl!

Beautiful girls and Best sisters!

Susi being a silly girl and cracking us up-
and herself for that matter!

Mommy and Graci and Susi

Susi saying "Baba"

It is naptime -she doesn't look
tired but she will be out in 3 minutes.


After a very quiet 4 days, Susi nodded and spoke her first words to us. We were at KFC for lunch and there is a small corner with a slide in it for the kids to play on. Graci ran right over and started playing. I asked Susi if she wanted to play and for the first time she answered me with an enthusiastic nod of her head, YES! So we took her to slide and after that she turned into a whole new girl. She was cracking herself up by making noises at us and blowing her straw at us. Then she started making a barking noise at us and couldn't even breathe she was giggling so hard. On our walk back to the hotel she continued acting silly and laughing so we tried to get her to say some words to us. There was these topiary rabbits in the planters and Graci was saying, "rabbit, rabbit" then Susi repeated and again was laughing so hard. We came back to our room and kept trying to get her say "mama and baba". She just kept saying "rabbit" and laughing. Then all of sudden she said it, "MAMA" , "BABA"!!!! What a precious sound to my ears!

Challenges Amongst the Blessings

Susi with her baby buddy both being adopted today!
Mommy and Susi with Jie Jie Zhou

Our family in front of the civil affairs office

At the civil affairs office signing the adoption papers

Our girls in China!

We left Beijing yesterday and came to Changchun in the Jilin Province. It is always challenging to travel with little ones but some times are harder than others. I ask, if your reading this, to please pray as my stamina is diminishing. The girls are doing great and so is Alyx, we have just had some unforeseen troubles and some to be expected. On our way from the airport to our hotel yesterday the van broke down. So what was to be an hour drive turned into a 4 hour wait/drive. We waited on the side of the road for 3.5 hours and then loaded into a new van and finished heading to the hotel. I would show you all the lovely pictures that I took of our family and the girls while we sat on the side of the road but I can't. By the time we got to the hotel my camera had disappeared. Gone. Vanished. No where to be found. Our brand new camera we bought for the trip and with all our sd cards and video of Susi's gotcha day. Needless to say I have cried out to God. I am heartbroken to have lost it. But, there is nothing I can do about it now. We spent today at the civil affairs office signing the adoption papers. And then at the notary's office signing more papers. So many challenges in international adoption but so many blessings. Today, my beautiful girl woke up, sat up and smiled at me when I said good morning to her. This is the first time she woke up and smiled. The first time she woke up with us, she screamed. The second time, she stared blankly at us, and now today a beautiful smile. She is still not speaking but laughs a lot when tickled and when she is throwing water on daddy. In time we will hear her sweet voice. When we were at the civil affairs office today there was another family there who was adopting a son from Susi's original orphanage. Come to find out, this little boy was the same little boy that was advocated for and sent from the orphanage with Susi back when they were both infants. They were sent together for treatment of their clubfoot and his was repaired and Susi's wasn't. So he was sent back to the orphanage and Susi was sen to Shepherd's Field. Now here they both were in the same room again with their FAMILIES! God is so good and amazing, I stand in awe! I am challenged, no doubt about it, but I wouldn't change a thing and miss all these beautiful moments.

Day 2 Susi-Yue and Graci Jia -GIRLS!

A little of last night as well. Susi's teacher gave us her school book that she was working on when we got here. Susi absolutely loves to color! She is thorough and colors every white spot and will not stop until it is done.
First bath - she loved it!

Graci had her cracking up when she sprayed her with the water. Belly laughing is the only sound besides screaming that we have heard from Susi.

Bath time was a blast!

Susi loved getting wrapped up and snuggled with Daddy. Every time we pull out the camera she smiles. I think she used to having pictures taken. From what I have seen around here there is ALOT of pics taken of these beautiful children.

After bath Graci did Susi's hair and they put on their matching princess jammies.

Getting ready for bed.

This is Saturday, day 2. Graci painted Susi's nails again and she had some snuggle time with Daddy. The only crying we had today was when her friend Sara stopped by the room and then left without her. It didn't last long and she recovered well with a new nail color.

In case you wondering where Alyx has been. She is usually behind the camera filming. There are several young interns here for the summer so Alyx has had fun playing games with and visiting with them. She also had some fun visiting the different houses and cuddling and playing with the kids. She passed out candy and blew bubbles. It is super hot and humid here but Alyx but the kids still play outside so Alyx went out and tried to teach them to play frisbee. It didn't work but they had fun playing with the frisbees anyway.

Graci and Susi are inseperable. Graci has stayed in the room with for two full days because she doesn't want to leave Susi. This is what they most the time...put on lip gloss. Susi watches everything Graci does to see how to do it just right. And Graci is loving being the big sister.

Girly time!

After getting up before 5 am, playing all morning, after lunch both girls and mommy were quite tired. They passed out for a long nap.

Susi wanted to wear her headband to nap...LOL!

After nap time they were ready to do some coloring before dinner.

I don't know if you can see Susi's coloring, but I am so impressed with it! She is so dillegent and colors in the lines. Graci and Dax are going to learn to color from Susi.

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we leave Shepherd's Field. We are very sad about that, it is so great here! We will head to the province where Susi was born to finalize her adoption.

If anyone shows this to Dax, Thad, and Kamby please tell them mommy and daddy love them and miss them soooooooooooooo much!