Our China Adoption Journey for Jailyn as God reveals Dreams Coming True

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T11:36:00.000-05:00


Jailyn ready to do a front roll!

Action Pose!

Hanging out!

Being Silly in her Chair.

She loved the box the rose arrived in.

Whoa.............

Figuring out this box is pretty cool.

It's amazing how much fun a box can be.

Love her laugh!

Valentine's Morning


Got a teddy bear, Nick jr Dvds candy and cards.

Checking our her loot mmmmmmm she loves mini mm's!

Checking daddy out as he takes her picture,

Valentine's Day with Daddy!

Valentine's Day with Mommy drinking from her new Nihao Kai lan sippy cup.


Beautiful roses from Mike the love of my life!

Our first Valentine's Day! Mike sent Jailyn and I flowers on Monday and I loved the roses and Jailyn loved the box and we celebrated this morning our first Valentine's Day with Jailyn.
Happy Valentine's Day!
We are blessed to share our lives with such wonderful family and friends!
Mike, Linette and Jailyn

19 months old and 8 months with Jailyn!!!!!

2012-02-13T16:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! Love, Mike, Linette and Jailyn


Alyssa and Jailyn at their first Chinese New Year Celebration


Jailyn loves Alyssa and wants to touch and hug her and play.


The Chinese dancers Jailyn's liked watching and got her picture with at Mason High School.

Our Happy Girl!!!!!

Wow here we are almost mid February and time just flies these days. Jailyn is talking so much and picking up new things every day. I can't believe she turned 19 months on Saturday and Sunday was our 8 month anniversary with Jailyn. She is 31 1/2 inches tall and 22 lbs. She is doing front rolls, into everything and I mean everything and talking up a storm. She must be speaking Chinese (just kidding) with all the Jibberish she says now and the long conversations we have go on......She very much wants to be in control and wants her way. She gets mad when she does not get her way. We have had a nice winter getting on schedule with Gymboree classes 1-3 times a week and she does well at my personal trainer with me too. She loves visitors and any one to come play with her. She loves her Baby Einstein videos, Fresh Beat Band and of course her Nihao Kia Lan shows. We went to the Chinese New Year with the Cincinnati Families with Children from China and loved it and shared the experience with Alyssa her little Chinese girlfriend. I will post pictures. She did very well at our annual Super Bowl Party and loved playing with the other kids. We have just changed her nap schedule to one nap. She is exhausted when she goes down for her nap now between 2pm-5pm and goes to bed so much better around 9 or 9:30pm. I will be starting to do more appts again with Mary Kay in March and gearing up to work more. If need be I can always pull back should we have another round of night terrors every night. We are down to 1-2 a week now. It has been a blessing to have the freedom to work very part time as needed to run my business. Looking forward to Valentine's Day, Easter and Spring with Jailyn. It was this time last year we were in the final waiting months for her referral. Boy has life changed so much for the better and would not change a thing with the wait and having Jailyn as our daughter. So blessed and grateful.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Linette

Happy New Year! 7 incredible months with Jailyn & 18 months old!!!!

2012-01-21T18:05:00.001-05:00

Jailyn lookin' cute with Big Teddy!

Our baby girl is growing up and in her sparkly blue jeans!

Our happy little girl!

So sweet our little Valentine!

Our little cupid!

Pretty in Pink!

Chinese New Year Silk PJs!


Our little drama queen exhausted after her photo shoot!

Well the holidays and the new year were very exciting with Jailyn and now onto a whole new year and full year with Jailyn. Our baby girl is growing and learning so much. We go for her 18 month check up and can't wait to see how much she has grown. She is about 22 pounds and over 30 inches. She is long and much stronger and into everything. I feel we just survived the first 6 months with all the newness and discovery and filling in the gaps of the unknown with Jailyn. She is so happy and quite bonded with us and loves life. She is happy and in a routine. If her schedule gets rocked our world is rocked. She is on whole milk and starting to ween back on the bottle intake. She occasionally has night terrors at least one a week processing grief and change. She still does not like to go to sleep at night time and nap time however, will play and talk and entertain herself until she is asleep. Lots of new things for the new year for Mommy and Jailyn. We goto Gymboree classes 2-3 times a week with other kids 16-22months. It is so much fun for her and she loves the music and to dance and be with other kids. She is going to my personal training sessions with me. The trainer has his own gym with a play area and is great letting her be there with her mommy. Mommy needs to get back in shape after the past 6 months of no mommy time for exercise. So we are in a new routine and I have so many people helping me. My mom and dad usually come over on Wednesdays to spend time and play while I get errands run and have mommy time appts. Colleen aka my wife/nanny for Jailyn is with her on Tuesday and Thursdays afternoon and some evenings and Jailyn just loves her and her family. My cousin helps me when she can too. Katie, her big sister, loves spending time with her on weekends. Everyone loves spending time with our baby girl. We are so blessed to have loving friends and family to help us. Mike and I are still busy people and slowing down. It is a good thing and still an adjustment. We are excited about going to the Chinese New Year celebration with the Families with Children from China Jan 29 and having our annual super bowl party. We have booked a vacation on Lake Erie at Lakeside for the 4th of July week with our good friends, Heather and Matt and their kids and hoping Katie and Billy can join us for a couple of days their too. I am thrilled to have our first family vacation with Jailyn. Should be alot of fun and adventure. Mike has a golf trip planned with business in March and in April planning a weekend to Gatlinburg with my top MK consultants and their families. We are moving forward with our house plans to begin building in 2012. Life is good and never dull and we love Jailyn so much ! Enjoy Jailyn's 18 month photos. She is quite a ham and the most beautiful baby girl I know.
Happy New Year!
Love,
Linette

Best ever Christmas!

2011-12-29T22:43:00.002-05:00

A baby changes everything and how blessed we were sharing our first Christmas with Jailyn. Finally our family was complete for the holidays. It has been quite an eventful Christmas week. Jailyn loved Christmas and is now an expert at unwrapping gifts. Not to say she might have been just a bit spoiled. She was a trooper missing naps and getting over the Thornbury cold. We caught it early and it went into her first ear infection however it has not kept her down at all. We have had 5 Christmas celebrations at our home in the past week. Christmas eve we had the Thornbury side of the family at our home. Then Christmas morning in our Pj's with Jailyn. Christmas afternoon with the Comley side of the family. Tuesday a party with Jailyn and my Mary Kay family and today Christmas with Katie and Billy who spent Christmas with Billy's folks in NJ. Christmas day was the best by far when Santa came and we video taped it and Jailyn was not quite sure what was up that morning. I was so excited for her and as we walked out of her room my eyes welled up with tears knowing this was the first of many Christmases and a holiday I longed to celebrate with her. We were able to Skype with Scott while she opened gifts. It was very special with him being a part of our Christmas morning and being a world away in Japan. Next year we hope to have the entire family home. Jailyn got so many things from Santa and Mike and Me, lots of kitchen supplies, tea party set, her Chinese American girl ittty bitty baby I have had for 2 years, learning refrigerator ABC magnets, her first hand held Fisher Price electronic reader, Beauty and the Beast dolly, Baby Einstein videos to learn more sign language, darling clothes of course from Gymboree......Scott sent her a Barbie quad bike which she is warming up too. The battery powered quad takes off and startles her a bit but she giggles and likes it just for a short ride. Then both sides of the family totally spoiled her with more gifts and big sis and brother spoiled her rotten today with a a baby laptop, cleaning set she loves, clothes, dolly, videos...... Mike and I had very little sleep Christmas eve with the clean-up and prep for the next celebration and our own Christmas morning preparations and Jailyn being over stimulated and up 2 hours that night with night terrors. The morning was so special as I stated before and then I broke down with tears of joy two more times Christmas day feeling so much joy, love and happiness in my heart. The holidays for the past 7 years had been terribly difficult emotionally and that is No more!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!! I had the best Christmas present ever the gift of being Jailyn's mom on Christmas and seeing her so happy. I love her so much and Mike even more as he is an incredible father to Jailyn. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams with so much love and incredible family and friends. Mike and Jailyn complete me. So here are some photos from our Christmas.
With love and a grateful Heart,
Linette

Christmas morning break from opening presents to have her morning bottle!


Checking out what Santa brought Jailyn Christmas Morning!


Reading the paper with Daddy a morning ritual with our love roses for Christmas on the table another Tradition Mike does for our family.


Jailyn with her Big panda she got from Uncle Bill.

In her Christmas Tree Pants I could not resist to buy Jailyn to wear!


Katie her big sister who spoiled Jailyn!

Katie, Billy and Jailyn Christmas 2011!

Mommy, Daddy and Jailyn, - Our Family Christmas 2011!

Jailyn with Grandma Fattig!

Love this photo of Jailyn Christmas morning talking to Scott on Skype in Japan.

Our tired baby girl Christmas Morning getting ready to open all her presents.

Merry Christmas! Such a Happy Christmas for Jailyn and our family!

2011-12-16T16:52:00.004-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHLGdxmkf4w

This video was posted on my facebook by a girlfriend from my Christ Renews Group. Thank you Brenda! Mike and I wept as we watched especially after 3 minutes into the song and thought it was important to share with all my blogging friends and family. Get your tissues ready! You will have to click on image if blog does not let you watch on this site. Click on the you tube and it play on You tube. You will want to scroll down to the bottom of my blog and turn the play button off the music on my sight.

Merry Christmas!
Mike, Linette & Jailyn

17 months old today!!!!! 6 months together!!!!!

2011-12-11T23:15:00.002-05:00

Happy December! Wow has the past few weeks flown by in the Thornbury household. Life is happening and been busier than ever. I have our Christmas photos to share and it was so special to have our picture as a family for the very first time. It has finally happened after all these years of wanting a child and to start setting traditions and sharing the holidays. I was so emotional on the way to our photo shoot and Jailyn hammed it up and we got so many great pictures. It is going to be a very special Christmas at our home. Still so much shopping, wrapping, parties and celebrations with friends and family to come. It will be so much fun with Jailyn!!!! Can't wait!

So Thanksgiving flew by and then we lost Bob Fattig, our step father in law, Nov 29. He was suffering from liver cancer and his time came. It happened the busiest week I have in my MK business and the week was full of challenges for us all. We were blessed with tremendous help from family and friends through the funeral visitation and my Mary Kay Open House weekend which happened all the same weekend. We kept Jailyn away from all the funeral arrangements as there was no need to take our baby girl in that environment. Recently she has had some night terrors as she still is processing the grief and emotions of the change over the past 6 months. She is very bonded to us and struggles when I leave her. We are very protective of who watches her and where she goes. She is so smart and learning so much. She mimics us, dances anytime music comes on, sings, pretends to talks on her cell phone and starting to say words. Needless to say Bob's passing emotionally rocked our world. We both got stressed and did not feel well and been out of sorts however we are on the mend and had a lazy day today with Jailyn (just what we needed to slow down,) Mike as the eldest son has been helping his mom through all the challenges of Bob's passing. Mike is so good getting matters taken care of and guiding his mom. We know Bob is at peace and we will miss him dearly. We were so glad he was able to meet Jailyn and he just loved her smile and her visits while he was sick. Rest in peace Bob and we will celebrate the love and the memories.

On a happy note Scott is off the carrier and in Japan and will be coming home to the states in Feb or March and we have skyped and so glad he is not in harms way on the carrier for the holidays. Katie and Billy had an ugly sweater Christmas party this passed weekend and it was a blast. It was a happy time for the Thornbury's after all the heaviness of Bob's passing. Jailyn had so much fun and Katie and Billy have made their new home their home for the holidays (quite festive). It looks fabulous and so happy they rented their condo and were able to purchase a home in West Chester closer to both of their work. They will spend Christmas with Billy's family in New Jersey and be with us after Christmas to celebrate Jailyn's first Christmas.

Enjoy the photos! Happy 17th month Birthday and First Christmas Ever, Jailyn!!! The best is yet to come!!! We love you so much!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Linette

Just so blessed and the best 1st Thanksgiving with Jailyn!

2011-11-24T23:10:00.002-05:00

Jailyn's First Thanksgiving happy as can be and looking cute in her Purple Dress with a Big Smile!

Tired Baby girl after having Two Thanksgiving festivities!

Playing with Grandma Comley!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!!!! We have been so touched by the out pouring of love and support on our journey to Jailyn and it just keeps getting better and better. We are so thankful for all our family and friends. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and celebrate the blessings!

We received the nicest most meaningful gift from our incredible attorney, Sue Gilkey at Rosenacker Law Office (who rocks if you ever need an attorney). Sue was on board with us through our endless paperwork journey from the beginning to now. We met with her this past week and Sue surprised us with a gift. She took all our photos off our blog and made a DVD montage of our journey. Every time I watch it I cry. You know it has been like a dream these past 5 months with Jailyn and so special. All the challenges we faced and face just make life with our new baby girl even sweeter and more special. I love the photos to music and it touches my heart all the way down deep in my soul. Truly our happiness has been found in the journey. Thank YOU Sue and everyone at Rosenacker Law Office for the DVD and being on our journey with us.

I love Thanksgiving because Mike and I met on Thanksgiving 14 years ago and it has been a special holiday for us over the years celebrating the night we met. However our first Thanksgiving with Jailyn was perfect. We still have a whole weekend full of family fun still to come. Last night we spent some time with our neighbors and she was a big hit with them and quite entertaining, Jailyn is so social and loves people and so happy to be included in all the fun we have. Today was action packed lunch at my brother's home with my family and then home for family nap time and then to Mike's Dad. Tomorrow we go to Tewes Turkey farm for our Turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner at our home with Katie and Billy on Saturday and will get the house decorated for Christmas. Saturday Jailyn will goto her first Breakfast with Santa at St.I's. Sunday will be shopping and Mike is headed to the Bengals game with clients.

I love the long Thanksgiving weekend and we have plenty of time to begin Christmas preparations. I can't wait to celebrate with Jailyn her first Christmas and see the holidays through her eyes and her smile that lights up her world and ours too. So blessed and so excited as the holidays approach......

With love and Thanksgiving for all the blessings,

Linette

16 months old today and 5 Blessed months with Jailyn!

2011-11-11T13:55:00.001-05:00

Wow I sit and marvel at Jailyn and tears come to my eyes she is 16 months old and has been with us now 5 months. She is beautiful, happy, healthy and brings so much love and joy to our home. It has been a few weeks since my last post. I went out of town for 28 hours and it rocked Jailyn's world. Daddy and Jailyn did great together however Jailyn regressed a bit with the fear she had lost her mommy and was clingy and always wanted to be held and was not lovey dovey for the first 24 hours when I returned . It took three days and we are back to normal. She does amazingly well with her sitter and family on the nights I work. They love her like family and we could not be happier to be blessed with Colleen and her family helping us. Mike and I are still adjusting as the life we knew with the freedoms and independence we had is no more. It is all about Jailyn and we will slip a few dates in here and there. I started reading a book about the connected child about bonding and attachment. Jailyn is a sensitive child and very anxious (still hates having her diaper changed) and I believe that stems from the neglect of being left in her cradle and who know why the diaper changing is such an issue. We believe they may have started potty training her since she tends to sing when she pees and that is something the Chinese people do to train the babies to pee on command. So we will see if singing on the potty will work for us. I am enjoying the shopping for my baby girl everything is so cute and with the holidays coming Jailyn will be stylin and pretty darn cute. Her personality bubbles over and is just a happy girl with the biggest smile that melts our hearts. Looking forward to all the fun the holidays have instore for us and giving our child the best 1st Christmas ever.
Blessed and so thankful to be Jailyn's mommy,
Linette

Halloween and Fall Fun Fest Pumpkin carving

2011-11-02T23:05:00.001-04:00

Jeremy(Alyssa's Dad) with our little Chinese Princesses

Daddy and Jailyn with her first Pumpkin Daddy carved for her!


Our little Princess!

Lynelle (Alyssa's mommy) with the girls.

The family pumpkins!!!!


Trick or Treat in her stroller!


Jailyn with our silly neighbors Connie and Joe Cullen.

Mommy and Jailyn


Just so tired after Trick or Treat in my Sherpa Princess Chair!


After Trick or Treat she plopped in front of the TV.

Our little princess playing with her glowing wand!

Well as you can see my blog has a simple new look. Unfortunately there was an error in my design elements and all the images went away. It is what it is however all the contents from 2008 to now are stored and now we will go with this simple look. As I continue to update our lives with Jailyn as she grows up and all the fun events we share in this life together. Checkout our fun Halloween and Pumpkin carving photos!!! Our first Halloween was special for Jailyn and Mommy. She melted my heart and we video taped the process of getting ready and afterwards too. She totally knew what she was about to do since she had watched Ni Hao Kai-lan trick or treat over and over on her Halloween Video. She got so much candy from the neighbors and she blew kisses to everyone as we left each house. We love it!

Happy Fall Y'all!
Linette

Zoo and 15 month Dr. appt!!!! Jailyn is growing like a weed!!!!

2011-10-29T23:14:00.002-04:00

Holding hands at the zoo!

Photo opportunity in the Frisch's Pavilion.

Daddy's their baby girl!

Just a little princess picking up leaves.

I'm cute!

These girls are BFF's and just figuring it out! Love this photo!!!!

Well my blog is having technical difficulties and hope to resolve this week. Went to the doctors on Oct 17 and Jailyn is 30 inches tall (I swear her feet just grew an inch - had to get big girl shoes from Stride Rite) and almost weighs 20 lbs. She is in the 5-10 percentile for weight, 50 percentile in height and 25 percentile for head size. She got more shots, Prevnar, and the first dose of the flu shot that had her running a fever bit however it was just that night. Her teeth are still breaking through her gums and she has crying fits a couple times a week. She has 16 teeth just have to get them in completely and I think we are good until the 2 year molars. She got her hair cut in a cute bob. Colleen cut her hair and she looks darling. She graduated from mom and me swimming and MOM is thrilled that is over. A 15 month old is all over the place in the locker room and in the pool. She had fun and learned to blow bubbles, reach for toys in the pool and go off the side of the pool.

We went to Hallow Zoo Ween with Lynelle, Jeremy and Alyssa and had fun with the girls. Alyssa was Minnie Mouse and Jailyn was Princess Belle. See our pictures of the fun last Sunday.

Beautiful Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T22:01:00.008-04:00

Wow We just love fall! We have had two fabulous weekends enjoying fall festivities with Jailyn. We went to Shaw Farms in Milford. They do a great job with a free festival and it was packed. Jailyn took in everything and got her first pumpkin (actually 2 little ones) and got to listen to a live band in a barn (and dance and clapped) and saw lots of farm animals. I have fun pictures from our windy day at the pumpkin farm festival.

You know it truly takes time to change and so much has happen in the past four months and I feel we are in new normal lifestyle with Jailyn. She does the cutest things and so active and ready to start running now that she is walking so much better. She is 15 months old and goes for her 15 month check up and will be interested to know how much she has grown.

Mike and I were able to have a dress up dinner 10th Anniversary date a Morton's Steakhouse while Katie and Billy watched Jailyn. They had a pizza night and played while we were out for a few hours. I love date night with my honey!!!!! Mike told me the past 10 years he has been the happiest ever and I ditto that! I told him let's go at least for another 40 years of happiness! It only gets better and I know the best is yet to come!

Next week we goto Happy Zoo ween and then a Pumpkin carving party with family and Halloween is here.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall O ween at Coney Island

2011-10-10T21:27:00.011-04:00

Well time is passing quickly our baby girl has been with us 4 months and turning 15 months Oct 11! She has come so far however still realizing how behind she really is. Everything is so new and she is taking alot in as she explores her world. She is walking and still teething. It is pretty amazing the child who could barely roll over is crawling, walking, talking (alot of baby talk) and still bonding with us. She has recently been having some anxiety waking up screaming. We are not sure if it is those big ole molars breaking through or fears we will not be there for her. We went to the park and she is so afraid of new things and freaked out in a swing. In our mom and me swim classes so many of the younger babies are so much further than she which breaks my heart that no one worked with her the first 11 months except to take care of her basic needs. She is amazing how far she has come and we are letting her be a baby still and helping her learn and explore her world. We went to the Fall O Ween event at Coney Island this weekend and she took it all in and trick or treated for the first in her stroller with mom and dad and watched a Monster Mash show she loved all the music, singing and dancing and road the carousel with her mom. It was a special moment between Jailyn and me on the carousel to have my baby girl initially terrified and then was so happy and loved the up and down of the horse. It brought tears to my eyes to see her transform her fear to happiness and joy. She laughed and screamed and love it. All those things I have longed to do with my baby are becoming reality. She is a doll (not to mention the prettiest baby ever and in her Belle costume she melts your heart) and is such a good little girl and we are so happy to take her to all the fall events. We will be so blessed to have her here for the holidays when those times in the past have been terribly difficult during our wait over the years. All of that grief is gone and the love is filling our world though still a bit rocked as we are still transitioning from our independent lifestyle we had as just husband and wife and now as a family. We celebrated our 10th anniversary on a date without Jailyn for the first time away for 5 hours. We did a couples massage and dinner and could get used to that on a more regular basis (date night). However still staying close as the bond is getting stronger and we don't want to have set backs. See our pictures from Coney Island and Jailyn in her Belle Princess costume and enjoying her first lolly pop.

14 Month Photo Shoot - Jailyn & Mommy

2011-09-30T17:25:00.011-04:00

Blessed to be Jailyn Mommy!

2011-09-19T22:02:00.011-04:00

Wow how time has flown by and Jailyn is just so amazing to watch.......Ever had one of those turning point moments where the world stands still for a moment. So many times it happens while watching Jailyn and feeling the love, joy and happiness as the world stands still. I have been on my own with Mike traveling for a week for pleasure and work and staying busy with family and friends. However I have been in awe of Jailyn and thoroughly have enjoyed our time just the two of us together. I stop to marvel at Jailyn so many times and look at me and realize I am a mom after 8 long years and the 5 1/2 yr wait for Jailyn (which was so worth the wait). I am so blessed to be Jailyn's mommy. It has really sunk in I am finally a mom and yes it has been 14 weeks and the new reality has emotionally taken time and setting in and loving it. Getting her and transitioning and just being in survival mode was the norm for a while and it is living life now and getting into a routine and taking in every moment. Mike and I have had big changes and challenges making the change as our lives are completely different. We are now able to live (learning how to live again) and not be on hold and finding our way as new parents and our next adventure of building a house..... We are doing a great job as parents as it is shown all over Jailyn's face. She is so happy and to think we were picked to be her mom and dad. WOW it still blows my mind!!!! We serve an awesome God whose timing was so perfect.

Going back to work part time and finding the balance was such a challenge and then I had to really look at my priorities and has to be totally Mike and Jailyn and not so much work anymore. When you have been a workaholic as a survival mechanism it is like a drug withdrawal.....but letting go more and more and liking the balance. Mike and I need more time together and feel we will be able to take more time now for some date nights.....as she is thriving and does very well with family and her care giver watching her in the home. Mike and I celebrate our 10th anniversary Oct 7 and looking forward to some time alone with him just the two of us. I love him so much and so very proud of him. He is a wonderful man full of love and very talented and is celebrating 25 years with Quaker. I am so blessed to have an amazing husband who provides for us and I love so much and get to share life with.... More blessings I am so thankful for......

You know, YOU have to celebrate life and live in the present moment as if it was the last. Live fully present, love deeply, reach for your hopes and dreams to make them a reality, enjoy the journey, and love God with all your heart and share His love. Because life is so fleeting and in a blink of an eye can change.

See our beautiful happy baby girl pictures in her new comfy chair and playing at home in her cute new fall outfit. I love shopping and buying all the cutest little outfits for Jailyn. I love being a Wife, MOM and being ME!!!!

Just so blessed beyond my wildest dreams!!!!

14 Months old and 3 wonderful months together!!!!

2011-09-12T12:43:00.006-04:00

More milestones....It has now been lucky 13 weeks together = 3 months and she is now 14 months old! Time is flying by.....With the anniversary of Sept 11 we are reminded how precious time is with the ones we love as life can be so fleeting....many times I often remember our time before Jailyn and how different our lives are now...... So much more love our little girl has brought into our lives and how wonderful to see her life expand and her little light shine bright with so much newness and excitement in her eyes. She is so happy and just precious and getting ready to take off walking on her own (she takes three steps and gives in) and jibber jabbering all the time. It is so darling to hear her in the morning or after nap time playing and talking and having so much fun in her crib. We have overcome night time with little crying now for a couple of weeks and she can play in her crib and soothe herself and be okay. Woohoo! Some nights we still have challenges however not on a daily basis.

Well I am back to work on a part time basis....I had a much harder time than Jailyn. Last Tuesday before Colleen came over and when I was rocking her to sleep I starting crying and could not stop. I could not believe the tears and a mother's love I have for my baby girl. I enjoy working however just did not want my baby to suffer in any way and cause anymore pain of feeling abandoned. Jailyn did great and I was just emotionally exhausted and felt so out of sorts getting back into the saddle. It was nice to be back with my consultants and re-connecting with customers. However I am taking it slow and will not get back in the swing of things 100% until October. Jailyn needs her mom and dad and I am thankful Mike has stayed close to home this past Tuesday and will tomorrow. It was a busy short week and we attended the Families with Children from China Autumn Moon festival and spent it with Jeremy, Lynelle and Alyssa. It was fun and we look forward to many more memories with them. I am so glad we found eachother and have our lives to share in raising our daughters. See the pictures from the festival and Jailyn holding her lantern Mom made for her in to carry during the parade at the event.

We went to Children's Hospital today and her hearing checked out to be perfect so there is no concern the perforated eardrum caused any hearing loss. She did well with the audiologist and did not like it at first but they played with her and made it fun and of course the mum mum treat was the reward. Tonight we did our 3 month visit with the social worker for post placement reports for China. Only two more times to meet and we are finished with all the adoption requirements. We have another post placement in Jan and June! I think we need to have a celebration next summer. I have such an intolerance for paperwork now and very little patience after using it all up on the wait for Jailyn....

Enjoy the photos from the Autumn Moon Festival.

Jailyn's first hair cut!

2011-09-01T19:07:00.008-04:00

Well it is September and time is flying by.....Jailyn needed her hair trimmed and Colleen one of my best girlfriends who is a hairdresser trimmed her hair. Once again she was so good and had her mum mums and baby gold fish on hand to keep her happy as Colleen trimmed her hair. Colleen will be Jailyn's care giver on Tuesday and Thursday so I can work those days. They are already buddies and I know will do great together. I feel so blessed and comfortable having Colleen and her family with Jailyn at our home and out in about as needed. See the before, during and after photos. She looks so grown up with her hair trimmed. I am excited I feel like it is back to school in our home as I am heading back to work and excited to get back to my business and make it work as my goal was always to be a work from home momma. Enjoy the photos. Happy Labor Day weekend!

11 weeks vs 11 months

2011-08-28T23:14:00.009-04:00

Well we took our little getaway trip to French Lick. We spent time with friends in Newburgh, IN, on our way to French Lick and Jailyn played with Abigail and Allison and had big time fun. See the pictures of the girls playing. Then spent 2 days at the French Lick Resort. We love it there and Jailyn was pretty good in new surroundings and a little uneasy the first night and then the second was much better. She loved swimming and had fun playing in the pool on the shallow stairs. She was a big hit with all the guests and they thought she was too cute in her Tankini and so social with everyone who watched her. Our trip may have been a bit early to travel again with her still attaching and bonding with us and to change the dynamics of sleep and a new place for a few nights. She did well travelling however the last 1/2 hour of the trip she wanted out of that car seat. She amazingly enough travels very well with all things considered. She was so happy to come home and loved getting back in her routine today to play with her toys.

We have realized 11 weeks is very little time versus the 11 months with her foster mom. She is still attaching, bonding and getting closer to us and trusting we will always be there for her. We are giving love and attention and she is responsive however she must let herself feel the closeness and love which she pushes away sometimes going to bed and resisting cuddling. The fear to love and the fear to not have it taken away are very legitimate emotions she is dealing with at such a young age and will all come around with more time. It is coming......She had her first night terror last night not sure if it is the teething of her molars starting to come in or the trauma of our trip causing regression and memories of the past. She cried with big tears while sleeping for a 1/2 hour and I did not wake her however was able to hold her while she cried and tried to comfort and calm her down to know she is okay and with her momma. We were advised to not wake her if she has these night terrors as she needs to process the emotions in her sleep. It broke my heart and I cried for her too. Whatever did or did not happen in those 11 months still have impact. All the quality time together, love, prayers and holding time in with us are still in the beginning stages of our forever bond with Jailyn. We are spending the extra time at nap time and bed time to meet her needs of being there and comforting her with reassurance and words of affirmation it is okay and that we love her and will be here.

See our pictures at the West Badin Resort on the wavy couch.

We are pressing on now for 11 weeks of our journey of a lifetime with our baby girl, Jailyn. We feel truly blessed and honored with the gift of our little girl's life we share. We could not be any happier or more proud to be Jailyn's Mommy and Daddy.

13 Month Photo Shoot

2011-08-23T20:00:00.010-04:00

Jailyn had her 13 month photo shoot in her bathing suit and boy was she cute. Enjoy her photos.

10 week Milestones

2011-08-22T10:35:00.003-04:00

I will post her 13 month old pictures later this week as we will have them taken on Tuesday. Just blogging and checking in for the week. Jailyn appears to be bonding more and more with us and trusts we will be there. She is starting to snuggle and cuddle a bit as she never had that with her foster mom. I can't believe 10 weeks have pasted and she is doing so well. We are in a good routine and starting to transition to letting her stay with my folks a few hrs (twice this week) and soon with her sitter while I work on Tuesday and Thursday. She has been fine when I have family come over and watch her in the home too so I can run errands and have my much needed hair and nail appts......We will transition slowly when I start to work in Sept. My work schedule will be light but need to get back in the groove. My business is perfect and flexible and I get to be with her every morning and until after naptime. We went for our check up visit with Dr. Staat at Children's Hospital and all went well. There is still a small hole in her ear and they want us to have a hearing test and she still pulls on it. They are not too concerned and believe it will heal. She had two more shots cried and ate a mum mum like a trooper and was fine. We have joined the family with children from China group and Lynelle and I went to a ladies night out on Friday with the group. I was so happy to be out with the girls. I forgot how much I missed that girlfriend time over the past weeks. It is so needed and Mike and Jailyn did great with out me. Mike and I were able to have a couples massage on Saturday for a few hours and it was nice to be out just the two of us. This week we are taking a short trip to French Lick with Jailyn and will see friends on Thursday and have a day at the pool on Friday and back on Saturday. I am continually amazed at all the things Jailyn is learning and doing and it won't be long and she will be walking on her own. She can really move crawling and gets around quite nicely. Night time is getting better sometimes lots of fussing other times she is fine and learning to play in her crib with her toys and have fun in the mornings and before nap time or bed time. Wow 10 weeks and the best is yet to come and the tears flood many times when I hear the music on our blog and know how far we have come and GOD's PLAN was perfect for Jailyn to join our family. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams with this amazing little girl and Thank God daily for this wonderful gift and blessing of Jailyn who truly is our little dream come true.

13 months old and such a gift to us!

2011-08-14T23:04:00.007-04:00

Wow the weeks are just flying by and we have had Jailyn 9 weeks today and she turned 13 months old Aug 11. Even brought out another toy we had for her hide in her closet, the Princess mobile. She is figuring it out and pulls herself up and stands by it and plays with all the princess noises. She mimics sounds and things Mike and I do. She loves the buzzing sounds of her bee toy which I adore because it reminds me to bee-lieve always in Gods goodness for our lives. BELIEVE means Because Emmanuel Lives I Expect Victory Everytime. She has been playing us at night time since she can stand in her crib now. When she does not want to go to sleep which is usually always we rock her and get her asleep and then put her in her crib and then she wakes up a little and gets up and stands and screams (faking a lot of drama) then we pick her up and she smiles and stops then we do it again and the same thing one more time and then the last time we let her fuss for five minutes she gets mad and then we pick her up and rock to asleep and she is out. She is so smart and playing us and loves being a big stuff standing in her crib.

I have been on the internet researching the area she came from and found out lots and been on a research china site with pictures of the area and the orphanage and pictures of many of the fostered kids and their foster mothers. We have no information but the picture in the paper of her abandonment and her adoption docs stating where she was found and know she was in foster care. I found out the following that FengCheng has a population of 1.2 million and 51% are male and 48% female and the city means Harvest city which is only 37 miles from Nanchang the capital where they brought Jailyn to us. The majority of the people work in the rice fields, tea fields, coal mining industry and the area produces pork, chickens, beef, shrimp, fish and duck. Both husbands and wives work together and the grandparents raise the boy children. It is a poor area and most have very little education. Their census stated 1% attend university, 28% attend High school, 51% attend primary school and 19% never attended school. There is 21% of the population that have adult illiteracy and of that 11% are men and 31% are women. The households usually consist of a husband and wife, husbands parents and one male child. Since researching FengCheng I have thought so much about Jailyn's birth parents and feel so blessed we were chosen to be her mom and dad. I am so grateful we are able to give Jailyn a happy life with lots of love and opportunity to realize her hopes and dreams in her life. We have the honor of giving her wings to become the person she is called to be. How awesome is that! Our misfortune of being unable to have our own biological children has been the biggest blessing of all as we would not have this amazing little girl from China that rocks our world with love and newness of life and brings so much joy into our home. Life is a precious gift from God and we must cherish everyday and celebrate the blessing we have daily. This little girl has changed our lives and things are quite different at the Thornbury home and it is the norm now and I know the best is yet to come. Checkout these pictures on her princess mobile with her BEE on her head looking a bit puzzled and climbing up to stand by our couch which she does so many times in a day... can't wait for her to walk however Mike and I know she will be into everything and we must be on our toes watching her....

Truly blessed and very happy!

I'm growing so BIG!!!! Crawling, Standing and Walking!

2011-08-05T15:32:00.008-04:00

Oh my stars our baby girl is getting big! She has started to crawl something we thought she might not do since she hated tummy time and never spent time on her tummy. She is standing in her crib and wants to walk with us always. She is less wobbly and will be taking off in a matter of days walking on her own. Her walker has helped her so much. It is amazing how almost 2 months with us she is doing so much and growing lots. She was a big hit at my unit baby warming gots lots of wonderful gifts from the incredible women I get to do life with in Mary Kay. Thank you everyone. Wednesday she had her well check with Dr. Finney. She was so good and we got a great report and clean bill of health. Woohoo! She now weighs 18.4 lbs and has gained approx 3 lbs since she has been with us and has grown 2 inches and now 28 3/4" tall. Her skin is great and ears are fine. She only received one shot the Hep A as she was good on the Hep B and they said her blood work was good and that she had the chicken pox immunities so she had chicken pox or the vaccine in China. We goto Dr. Staat at Children's Aug 17 and will get more shots there and a check up on any international concerns. She cried for a few seconds when she got her shot then ate her MUM MUMs. I am telling you MUM MUMs have saved our life with our baby girl. If she gets a MUM MUM life is great with Jailyn. She has also taken a liking to baby gold fish......Check out these pictures of our big girl!!!!

7 weeks with Jailyn - July 31!!!!

2011-07-31T22:55:00.007-04:00

Wow today is another milestone 7 weeks with Jailyn! We have been home 5 weeks and I feel we are finally in the groove with Jailyn. It has been such an adjustment after waiting so long to be parents. Mike and I are very independent and busy people and have slowed down our lives and now it is Jailyn schedule incorporated into a slower pace lifestyle and more at home. It is just what two very structured people needed to rock their world. We love her so much and still have very surreal moments that we are parents to Jailyn who we waited for a lifetime. We are very proud to be Jailyn's mommy and daddy. She is an amazing little girl who is a blessing to our lives daily. She is growing and learning so much and very determined to walk sooner than later and starting to scoot on her belly but not real interested in crawling. She constantly wants us to help her walk. She is impatient and wants to get moving to explore more things she can get her hands on in our home. It is so fun to watch her and see how everything is so new and interesting to her. She has learned to clap and do patty cake which she loves and the dancer in me has her dancing and moving every time she hears music. We got her a walker and it is helping her build leg strength to get moving. She went swimming today for the first time and loved it and fell under once and was a trooper and so cute in her tankini (which I did not get a picture but will next time we swim). We have a busy week, my Mary Kay unit is doing a Baby warming, we will have a play date with her Chinese girlfriend, Alyssa, and have our well check at the pediatrician which means shots. Looking forward to the month of August still on maternity leave and getting more in a schedule to get back working 3 days a week starting in September.

Blessed and enjoying the Journey with Jailyn....

Our little girl's first photo shoot and she was SO Adorable!

2011-07-21T21:51:00.016-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Jailyn! Week of July 11-17!

2011-07-18T15:41:00.009-04:00

Wow how time is flying we have had Jailyn for 5 weeks and we were blessed to be able to celebrate our baby girl's first Birthday! To think our baby one year ago was left outside the orphanage gate and now she is with her forever family here in Cincinnati. Jailyn turned one on Monday, July 11, 2011, and shares her Birthday with her mommy, me. It was a day of chaos and challenges however we had presents, birthday cake and ice cream with the grandparents and big sis Katie and Billy. Her world was rocked with over stimulation and sheer joy. She wore her birthday girl outfit and had her first cupcake ever and made a big ole mess that her daddy could not stand her to make however it was all fun. She got so many talking toys and gifts. She was spoiled rotten and rightly deserved to be......Mike said Jailyn was the Birthday Princess and I was the Birthday Queen. Daddy spoiled us both with roses and great gifts, a birthday keepsake box for Jailyn from Tiffany's and a mommy Brighton bracelet for me. It was the hottest day of the year 100 degrees plus and they decided to black top our private drive with no parking at our home and her cupcake cake took a tumble carrying it up the hill to our home. Mommy was not happy. So you do not have a story until something goes wrong. I wanted everything perfect and I patched the cake back to together and turned it around for the pictures. Got over it and enjoyed a great birthday with best birthday present ever, my baby girl that I get to be her mom. Jailyn loved the attention, the pictures, the cards, the wrapping, the gifts, the cupcake..... and was so interested in every bit of her party. She was an excellent Birthday girl!!!!! Her world was rocked without a nap and over stimulation at her party and we had a terrible night trying to get her to bed 2 hours of crying, sweating, scratching and big tears. That seems to still be her only big issue is bed time however nap time is alot easier. It is getting better and in the next 21 days of consistent routine we are going to knock out the screaming bloody murder temper tantrums full of fear at bedtime. With all the processing of change, grief, jet lag, catching up emotionally and developmentally it is all normal for these little girls coming from China and by golly I want her emotions and grief processed. So we endure and love her and assure her it is okay. She is truly an amazing little girl. She has been through so much and we are tackling her skin issues too. She had contact dermatitus on her little face which we have no idea how she got that and a form of eczema that makes her scratch which I believe is the the same kind of eczema she has with the little bit of cradle cap we are tackling in her hair.

We had our big clinical appointment at Children's Hospital July 13 which was a big milestone for us. Reassurance we are taking great care of her and that we could get some help tackling our itchy little girl. Jailyn was a pro at our 5 hour appt at Children's Intl Adoption Clinic. We saw the nurse, Dr. Staat, and Therapist (re: bonding and attachment), an occupational therapist, the lab for blood work and even an xray. She has gained 2 lbs and ways 17 and half pounds and is 27 inches long and working on her 8th tooth which is now coming in.....She is healthy and Dr. Staat and everyone thought she was a little cutie. She was accessed to be as a 10 month old developmentally with the OT and lacking in gross motor skills more like an 8 month old. All was to be expected as the foster mom did not work with her however did a great job taking care of her basic needs. She is catching up and we are working with her daily to get moving and she wants to walk. I was relieved talking to the therapist about the bonding and attachment and she reassured us this baby is attached and bonded with us the way Jailyn watches and interacts with us so the crying at night is not due to problems bonding and attaching with us. My mind was eased as the social worker from our agency scared us to death with signs that could be wrong like not making eye contact and that only happens during those temper tantrums.

Dr. Staat believes she had some kind of mite possibly with the markings on her skin so she wanted us to dip her and myself in the eliminite again which could be some of the itching. Dr. Staat saw she had some fungal issues in the crease of her neck and a little yeast on her bottom so she prescribed lotrimin for neck and bottom and butt paste on the bottom too. Plus she could not understand the contact dermititus on her face so she prescribed benadryl and hydrocortizone cream. After a week and a half her face is pretty much back to normal with a little bit of itching. She also had xrays of her chest and spine and it all was normal. Her blood work is being run and she does not have parasites in her stool. She had a TB test which was negative and 2 shots and 6 vials of blood taken. She cried briefly and then ate mum mums and was fine. She was great at the clinic and struggled being held down for the xrays. The only surprise is she has a small perforation in her right ear drum. She has pulled at that ear ever since we have had her and the doctor believes it will heal. We are blessed and so glad we went through the clinic at children's.

The rest of week was dedicated to getting back to schedule and taking care of her skin issues. Mike and I are transitioning and boy have our lives changed for the better. It is so different for us and especially me as I was a workaholic to pass the wait time of the adoption and now it is a whole new world and love it and so glad I am on a break from Mary Kay until September. I will figure my help and work schedule out in the fall. Enjoying this time of getting into a new routine and starting to feel normal again. Mike gave me a great gift on Friday. The gift of time and a massage and me time and boy did I start feeling like me again and started back to wanting to workout.

So blessed and happy and figuring life out as it comes.....

Enjoy the birthday pictures!

July 1-8 Busy week!

2011-07-09T17:27:00.011-04:00

Here are pictures from our week. We celebrated with Daddy on his b-day July 1 and Jailyn loved the paper and the boxes. Had a nice 4th of July weekend. Went down on the river to see Aunt Julia and Uncle Greg in Rising Sun and had fun with family. We went to church which was a fun time with our little China squirmmy butt. We sat in the back with all the babies so it was quite vocal. It could not have a better day to take her to church as all the Patriotic songs were sung. My eyes welled up with tears as she was blessed during communion and when they sang God Bless America. Our little girl was in church finally after all the prayers over the years and they were praising God and our great country. Both Mike and I were emotional with all the patriotic songs and having our new American cutie with us in church. Church went passed her nap time so we will have to rethink the timing on church in the future. We have lots of options to attend Mass at different times. She got to go see the new house Katie and Billy are buying in West Chester and gave her approval. It has a great swing set in the back for fun times with Katie and Billy at their new home. See her in her pink dress which she wore to Church and to see Katie and Billy.

She met her cousins on my side of the family. She is officially the youngest grandchild on both sides of the family and my nephews and niece just thought she was too cute. See the photo.

Then Tuesday she went to her first Mary Kay event for a half an hour just to show she was here. Everyone adored her.

We also had a big day on Wednesday where we had lunch with her Chinese BFF Alyssa and Lynelle at Panera. A day we thought would never come. They met for the first time. They were so cute and there are definitely future play dates in store. Alyssa is 15 months and 22 lbs now and Jailyn will be 12 months Monday and is 16 1/2 lbs. See the cute pictures of them and Lynelle and I.

Next week is a big week for us. Monday is her first birthday just doing cake and ice cream with the grandparents and Katie and Billy. Wednesday is her clinical appt at Children's to be checked out from head to toe. We are happy about this appt. She is having skin issues with itching and heat. She may have even had some kind of mite which we treated her for with a prescription lotion. She gets so sweaty and itchy in the heat and now has a rash on her sweet face. She has had it for a few days and it is going away and looks and acts like prickly heat. Hope to get some answers and help from children's hospital and her soft baby skin back to normal. Pray for us on Wednesday as it will be 4 hours of clinical testing.

Otherwise she is just perfect, a good sleeper and loves to eat and is growing like a weed and is so happy. So blessed!

I am thrilled to be celebrating our birthdays together on July 11.

Until my next post next week!

July 1 - Happy baby girl!!!!!

2011-07-01T11:56:00.008-04:00

I cannot believe it is July 1 and Jailyn has been with us now for 19 days. She is so happy, growing and cutting more teeth. We have finally got her days and nights worked out and Mommy is thrilled. Mommy woke up before Jailyn for for the first time today. We have our schedule and she is very active and I believe she will be walking very soon. She loves to stand up and her jumperoo has helped her with her balance. She spends lots of time in her jumperoo playing. We have had lots of visitors and ventured out one our own a couple of times. Everywhere we go she is so happy and so social and so adjusted to being on the go. She is not a big fan of the car seat however once in it she is fine.

We have been truly blessed by so many gifts, cards and yummy meals over the week. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate you and your kindness. Thank you cards are to come.

So it is July and a big month for our family. Mike's b-day is today and Jailyn got Daddy a present and a card and liked the tissue paper when wrapping his present. She is dressed in her Purple dress for daddy to come home from traveling overnight. Mom and Jailyn did great on their own. However Jailyn loves Daddy and has this puzzled look when I put him on speaker phone and she hears his voice.

Here are cute pictures over the week and promise to post more from the holiday weekend. You know I am in awe of this little girl it is as if she has been with us forever. She had been in our hearts for so long and now with us and is so perfect for us. Our God is an awesome God and so many times when it is just Jailyn and I my eyes well up with tears of Happiness and feel so blessed to be Jailyn mommy.

Enjoy the photos....until my next post...

Love brings us home!!!!!

2011-06-24T23:57:00.009-04:00

Oh my stars has it been a journey the past 3 days. Our 26 hour journey (from China to Cincinnati) home was restless and quite challenging with little sleep (it was tough on Jailyn with restless sleep and being confined (thank god for Benadryl-which was helping as Jailyn was catching a cold which would knock her out) and Daddy and Mommy had next to nothin' in the sleep department on the whole journey home.....Many great memories like the picture when we were getting ready to land in LA where Jailyn became a US citizen and Mike was singing "This land is your land...." and she was happy which was not the case 95% of the trip. Don't let the cute picture fool you. When we cleared customs which was 2 hours that was a happy time and then being able to walk off the airplane with tears in our eyes that we had finally made it home with our baby girl in our arms. Family and friends greeted us and then the drive in our car with Jailyn in her car seat was so nice. Just Jailyn, Daddy and Mommy driving home. Everything was so beautiful that morning and sunny and once we headed up the hill to our street it just got better and better. We were greeted by Connie our neighbor who went to grocery which was planned and happened to be working from home that day and was able to help us get everything in the home and provided us with a yummy home cooked meal. We took Jailyn to her room and she lit up with a big smile and was overstimulated. We put her on her comforter with some gifts she received and she was so happy. Somehow she knew this was home and her first nap she squirmed all over her baby bed and loved it and laughed and fell asleep happy. Needless to say it was crazy with no sleep, unpacking, laundry, taking care of Jailyn finally sleeping a few hours and then up all night with Jailyn since she was still in her Chinese timezone. We got some rest not enough. Jailyn and I took a bath at 2am because I knew our first morning would be a challenge and we took Jailyn to the Pediatrician to check her out as she we were concerned she was sick - just teething (our baby girl just had a cold and had 4 teeth come in over the past 2 weeks and was so flexible with all the change from foster mom to us in Nanchang, to an intercountry airplane ride, to Guangzhou and a long airplane ride home and then finally getting settled into our home at last. Happiness is in the journey and life sure takes us to unexpected places and thru the travel challenges love brought us home and we are parents of a thriving baby girl. We could not be happier and love her so much. Checkout our welcome home pictures on Facebook. Here are her pictures at home with her new gifts and visiting with Grandma F and meeting Katie and Billy her big sister and big brother for the first time Friday night. They loved eath other so much. Jailyn is so happy and we praise God for this new bundle of joy and for the double blessings we continue to receive. I will continue to update our blog every few days.

So happy to be blogging from our home and very jet lagged.....Pray for rest and a peaceful transition back to normal everyday life with our new baby girl on eastern standard time. Can't wait for you to meet Jailyn.

With much LOVE and JOY,

Consulate appt and our last 24 hours in China...

2011-06-21T09:00:00.006-04:00

Today was a tough day on Jailyn as we were up early and at the consulate by 8am. Our appt was easy by just turning in the forms required by the US govt to complete the adoption with the US and just another part of the process. We had our appt with 11 other families from 8:30am-9am. They did a swearing in ceremony for Jailyn that the parents took for their daughters and sons they are adopting from China. My eyes welled up with tears knowing our journey to bringing Jailyn home is closer than ever. We were swearing her in for the United States and when we land in Los Angeles she becomes a US Citizen. Yippee.....we are so ready to come home. It has been a great trip a bit long with wonderful memories and just so ready to bring our baby girl home to Cincinnati. We took a family nap after our busy morning and Jailyn and I shopped for souvenirs in the afternoon. Mike hung out in the room most of the day as he is getting a head cold or something. He has felt out of sorts for the past 48 hours. We have a photo outside the US Consulate once our appt. was complete. You would never know the building was the US Consulate as it is just a building in downtown Guangzhou not marked it is the consulate. The other picture is Jailyn with students visiting Shamian Island. They wanted their picture with me and Jailyn since we were adopting and I had blonde hair. So I took a picture of them with Jailyn. Tonight we had dinner at our favorite place Lucy's and have loved every western meal in Guangzhou. Shamian Island is pretty western with a Chinese flair and it has been raining tonight and we hear a Typhoon is coming into Hong Kong over the next 24 hours. We are hoping for no flight delays.

Pray for us as we make our 24 hour journey home. This will more than likely be our last post from China until we are back in the states. Tomorrow is a day of packing and rest and preparations for the trip home. We will receive Jailyn's visa and passport by 4:30pm and leave for the airport at 6pm for our 9pm flight to LA. Then a 4 hour layover in LA and then fly the Red eye from LA to Cincinnati. We arrive at 6:32 am Delta flight 976 Thursday morning June 23. Anyone who wants to meet us at the airport feel free to come. We know it is very early and wanted to extend the invitation to friends and family if you would like to greet us. We will have traveled 24 hours so may be a little rough however will be thrilled to see everyone and even more thrilled to be home after our 2 week journey to Jailyn in China. Thanks for following our journey and for all the love and support and well wishes. We can not wait for you to meet Jailyn and have our new baby girl home. There is truly no place like home and we are so proud to be Americans and are blessed beyond measure.
With love and appreciation from China,

Lazy Monday in China!

2011-06-20T09:47:00.003-04:00

Well it is already Monday night and in 48 hours we are on a plane home. THAT IS A BIG OLE WOOHOO! We can't wait to have our consulate appt and get Jailyn's visa and get out of dodge and get our baby home. We had a lazy Monday and hung out and did some walking around Shamian Island and spending time with Jailyn. She mimics us and is growing in actions and size and loves to eat. We had a break through on Bath time. Mike got in the tub with her and it was right after nap time and bottle time. No tears and we were calm and so proud of her and let her splash around. First time in 9 days we did not have bath time trauma. She still hates to take her naps and go to bed at night time. Besides the teething I believe she is grieving her foster mother. Everything is different and Mike and I meet her every need and love her so much that the bonding is going well and she appears so happy with us. However bed time is hard for her and we had a break through just me and her tonight talking and me reassuring her it is okay and soothing her with touch and she fell asleep in my arms first time. The tears flowed yet stopped and she gave in and let me nurture and help her make it okay tonight. I can only imagine the grief she feels losing her care giver she had for 11 months. I totally relate to the pain she must feel on some level as my journey to finally being a mom has been one big ole grief cycle and disappointment over the many years trying to become a mom. I thank God for all the people in my life and the therapy that helped me process my grief and knowing and believing God had some kind of miracle plan in the works after all the pain. God gives us double for our trouble and equips us for what is to come all in HIS time. I feel so blessed to be Jailyn's mom and glad she is trusting us and letting go to let the love in and the pain out through her tears. Tomorrow morning is an early consulate appt at 8:30am and we leave at 7:30am. So got to get to bed early and up early and then we have our last full day here and will start to pack as we will leave Wednesday at 6pm for the Airport. Here is a picture in our room of our baby girl.

With lots of love from China,

Happy Father's Day! Our Sunday in China!

2011-06-19T10:00:00.017-04:00

Started the day off with Jailyn giving her new daddy a T-shirt that says Father in Chinese for Father's Day. She loved the paper in the gift bag. Jailyn has a T-shirt that says Made in China too. We went to the White Swan hotel with another family from South Carolina who is with our agency to take pictures on the red couch and in the lobby area. Then we shopped to get Jailyn her Chinese silk PJ's for her future Chinese New Year celebrations, took her morning nap and then off to the Pearl Market and shopping district. We got her a pearl necklace to give to her in the future for a special occasion like graduation, prom or her wedding. It was neat to walk into town and see how the locals live and shop. It is totally different than Nanchang (not crazy) pretty normal just lots 1000's of chinese people shopping on a Sunday afternoon. Thank goodness. It is nice here however so ready to come home. Jailyn has been a little trooper and really teething. She is so fussy at bedtime and tonight she was so tired and teething (drooling like crazy) we opted to forgo the bath and give her a bottle and tylenol and in bed after lots of crying. She is so good and we believe she is overstimulated with all the new things and has a hard time winding down and bedtime has been so different than her past 11 months and been in two different hotels. Can't wait for bedtime on the plane ride. Start praying now for us. Tomorrow is an easy day and then Tuesday is an early morning appt at the consulate to get her visa to travel home. We did all the paperwork today with our guide. Every day is one more day closer to coming home. Had a great day in China for Father's day and only wish Katie, Scott and Billy could have shared our day with us. See our pictures from our adventures today.

Happy Father's Day from China to Dad C, Dad T, Bob and to all our friends and relatives that are Dad's! You make the world a better place by being a Dad!

Medical Clinic and Visa Pictures and Exploring Shamian Island

2011-06-18T10:01:00.006-04:00

First night and day in Guangzhou and our new environment in our new hotel brought for a lighter night of sleep. Jailyn woke up very early 5:30am and wanted to start her day about 2 hours earlier than usual. We have a nice suite in the Victory Annex Hotel but her baby bed is very different than the hotel in Nanchang and the room is muggy even with the air conditioning. Today Jailyn discovered a pacifier can soothe her and when she went down for naps she used the pacifier and played with it until she fell asleep. Woohoo! Just needed something to soothe her. However night time and bath time were traumatic once again tonight.

Our day started at the medical clinic and she was the first child they saw of 50 adoptive kids they would see today. She was so good and checked out fine. All the doctor stations adored her and we did find out how much she weighs 15.64 lbs and can't remember how long she is. She got her picture taken for her visa and smiled all over herself. The doctor was only concerned with some redness on her back thinking she was having a reaction to the laundry detergent in her clothes however I believe the mark he was concerned about is a birth mark. She is teething like crazy and really drooling. We give her drops for teething as needed and started her on her antibiotic because she kept on pulling at her ears before we traveled to Guanghzhou. We wanted to kill any infection she may be having and the nurse and doctor at the Intl Adoption Program at Cincinnnati Children's Hospital got us a prescription to bring with us before we traveled. Jailyn is doing fine on the medication except she has had looser stool. She takes her teething drops and meds like a pro. She loves to play and be social and is learning so much. She eats rice, fruit and chinese noodles plus 4 bottles a day. We took a stroll around Shamian Island and walked along the boardwalk of the Pearl River and shopped a little. We put her in the stroller which was new and the heat,humidity and motion made her sleepy. The Ergo baby carrier is so hot so we tried the stroller. It was 93 today but feels like 104. We checked out the White Swan hotel and was glad we stayed at the Victory. Check out our pictures from today. Tomorrow we meet the other family here from South Carolina from our Adoption Agency and take a picture on the Red Couch at the White Swan which is an adoption right of passage for the little girls adopted from China. We will goto the pearl and jade market tomorrow for our sightseeing trip.

Happy Father's Day to all and Mike and Jailyn get to spend their first father's day together.

In Guangzhou China! Jailyn's first airplane ride.....

2011-06-17T11:25:00.008-04:00

We started our morning early with Jailyn up at 6:30am and got an early jump on our day with nap time and feeding times accomodated to travel to the airport at noon. Jailyn was great on the 40 minute trip to the airport and we have her Chinese passport to travel now. She was great waiting in the airport and on the plane. We made sure we had mum mum treats for her to munch on while we took off to protect her ears. It was past nap time (2pm) at 3:30pm when we left Nanchang and she ate mum mums until 3:45pm and fell asleep on my lap for the rest of the flight. She was a trooper and a little angel on the plane no crying just as good as ever with us. We had two aisle seats which worked out great for us. Got to Guangshou at 4:45pm and was happy to see the sun for the first time since we arrived in China. The climate here is very hot like Cancun. Super humid and very tropical. We met our guide Emma who is very efficient at the airport and arrived at the hotel about 6:30pm. Jailyn was once again well mannered and we were able to feed her a bottle on the way to the hotel. Guangzhou is a big city and not crazy like Nanchang where we feared for our lives everytime we got in a van or taxi. We are staying at Shamian Island which is a resort village on the Pearl River. We are staying in the Victory Annex Hotel which is very close to many things like Starbucks, 711 store and lots of shopping and places to eat. We are looking forward to venturing out and seeing the sights tomorrow. We had the best meal at a place called Lucy's. I was in heaven and got a big ole iced tea with lemon and the best cheeseburger and fries. Mike had a Chinese noodle dish and Jailyn shared that with Daddy. Today the trip was exhausting and we managed diaper changes in the airports and Jailyn just cooperating. Our baby girl amazes us everyday with something new she does and is so receptive to learning (we have us a teachable, trainable and coachable baby girl - sounds like a future Mary Kay beauty consultant). She just needed love and a mom and dad to help her learn new things. She is a busy little girl. We believe she will walk and not crawl as being on her belly is not something she likes at all. However she can stand and take steps being supported.

Guangzhou is full of families from all over the world who are adopting and clearing the logistics with their countries to bring their adopted kids home from China. We have met so many people adopting just like us. See daddy and Jailyn waiting for the plane and an exhausted daddy on the couch, one of his favorite places, who carried our many pieces of luggage through the airport in the heat and humidity in and outside of the airport. Their air conditioning is nothing like ours and it is just sticky and muggy. My husband is an amazing man and I love seeing him be a daddy to our baby girl. He has been and still is an amazing dad to Katie and Scott and now again to Jailyn. I love him more and more everyday as we spend this special time in China bonding with our baby. He has a big heart with so much love and helped me realize my dream of being a mom and him a Dad again at such a different time in his life. Jailyn and I are so lucky and feel so special and loved.

Until tomorrow....we are so happy that we are at the half way point of our journey and can't wait to finalize the adoption with the US consulate.
From Guangzhou with much love,

Last day in Nanchang! Final Docs completed!

2011-06-16T10:36:00.012-04:00

Another great day with Jailyn. She is a little sponge and learning so much. She is the happiest baby. Today during nap time I broke down with tears of happiness with Mike as we talked about how truly blessed we are with this baby girl who is full of love, life and adventure. She is totally perfect for us and has brought so much joy in just 4 days. Her little smile just melts your heart. At bedtime and nap time and bath time are the only times she is unhappy. Can't wait to get home to be able to rock her to sleep in the rocking chair, have a normal size bath tub with easy access for bathing her and a room that is all hers and not a temporary set up in our hotel. She sleeps with her arms open wide ready to receive all the love we have and we know she was hand picked from above for us and every bit of the 5 1/2 year journey has been totally worth it. She is eating great with all systems working at the other end too. She even ate french fries so we know she is truly an all American kid. We got another darling picture of her with chop sticks at dinner tonight. Today was easy and jet lag is hitting us as we get tired easily. I took a nap with Jailyn today and Mike pretty much went to bed right after Jailyn. Mike and Jailyn are the best buddies and had big time fun today playing and learning new things. We went and picked up our official documents from the notary office and took pictures at the Nanchang Square. You will see Vivienne in the pictures our guide from our agency outside the notary office. We took Vivienne to dinner for our last night here in Nanchang and was able to thank her and give her a gift we brought special from the states. She has taken great care of us. Checkout all the fun pictures from today. We leave tomorrow right after nap time around 11:50am for the airport and will get to our hotel probably around 6 or 7pm Friday night. In one week we will be home and can not wait. We miss everyone and love all the comments on our blog.

Ventured out in town late today! More Pictures...

2011-06-15T10:11:00.010-04:00

We had a good morning and early afternoon bonding and it stopped raining so we were ready to get out and explore. We went to Walmart nothing like ours we were running out of baby wipes and it was next to the porcelain district so we shopped today and found a darling tea pot set made here in the Jiangxi Province For Jailyn when she is older. She was a trooper shopping and fell asleep in her ergo carrier which she likes and it is easy to carry her in the carrier since she is so petite. She has a tiny butt and is so little she has a hard time holding on to us. She is progressing nicely and still teething and has at least 5-6 teeth coming in....She is so good with us and can almost feed herself the little gerber puffs which she loves. We went to an authentic Chinese restaurant and she ate fried rice and Mommy did too and that was a big ole deal I hate rice. It was the lesser of all the strange items we were eating so it was okay. We are happy the adoption will be final tomorrow and we will goto sign the final docs and the passport will be ready at noon Friday and we fly to Guangzhou at 3pm on June 17. Enjoy these photos of Jailyn with mommy. I was on my own tonight for bath time.....and I rocked it out and Jailyn was soooooo tired. The adopting father's decided to toast their adoption at the bar on the 28th floor tonight. Jailyn is a doll and has captured our hearts. She is so sweet and a little trooper. She loves people and has changed so much over the past 3 days and learning so much. She is our little dream come true. Check out all the pictures.

More Pictures of Baby Jailyn

2011-06-15T00:38:00.010-04:00

Today another good day for Jailyn, Daddy and Mommy. She slept great last night 10 hours straight through. This morning teething better with some tylenol and teething drops when needed. It is pouring down rain another bonding day. Going out to do something in the hotel with another couple and their baby this afternoon. Our camera we sent to the foster mom to take pictures of Jailyn came with her to gotcha day however no pictures were on the camera. Too bad wanted those for Jailyn. Here are more pictures and more to come. She took a good nap today and Daddy has become the baby bartender as we are mixing her chinese formula with American Similac Soy Formula. She is doing great and loves her daddy as he is soooooooo entertaining. Enjoy the pictures. Tomorrow we venture out to the porcelain area for shopping and to pick up passport. Happy in China but missing home!

Day of bonding with Jailyn!

2011-06-14T21:22:00.001-04:00

We totally hung out today in the room. It was bonding time with Jailyn. Daddy and Jailyn had big time fun today playing and learning new things together. Mommy got organized and is quickly learning this mommy thing! We are blessed and feel she is bonding nicely yet teething and unhappy with pain. It was a big day because she pooped! Yippee Jailyn! All bodily functions are working! It is raining here in Nanchang. Going to stay around here and not venture to her hometown. I would fear for our life taking a van an hour and 1/2 away with the way they drive in China (we fear for our lives as a passenger and pedestrian in the streets) and we can not visit the orphanage. They said her finding place was outside the gate of the Feng Cheng Children's Department at the SWI aka the orphanage gate on the day she was born. No other details. When we asked questions not much info was really given. The answers were things we pretty much knew from referral. We did get her schedule and she is pretty much eating and naping and sleeping as stated. We will venture out tomorrow as long as it is not raining. Nanchang is the Porcelain capital of China. Hope to get a tea set keepsake for Jailyn from her province in China. We are looking forward to Guangzhou which will be more like a resort area and time for adventure and fun. Need to bond and take care of Jailyn and her needs as she is getting use to us. She does not like lying on her back and being put down for her nap and bedtime. We think they took her from her foster mom while sleeping and brought her to us as she was dressed in PJ like clothing on gotcha day. That trauma is evident but she loves Mike and me already (as Mike would say how could she not with us as her mom and dad). She does not answer to Jailyn at all. I called her Xiang Ting and she smiled real big and lit up. Broke my heart as we are changing her name and the only identity she has known. She had a tough day and night teething and would not take an afternoon nap so bedtime was tough. She is such a good sleeper and very peaceful as we do not hear a peep out of her. We are so in love with our baby girl.

Pictures of Jailyn

2011-06-13T23:37:00.010-04:00

Well what a day we had our first 24 hours with Jailyn. We went all over Nanchang in taxi's to govt offices and did all the paperwork to finalize the adoption with China. We are waiting on her passport and leave Friday at 3pm for Guangzhou. She has been so good during our trips and is so cute. She is sleeping great she takes her naps and eats on schedule and slept 11hours all the way thru the night last night and mommy slept good too. Woohoo! She is teething like crazy and uncomfortable with some exzema in her hair and has a few mosquito bites too. She is so happy and eating fruit with us at meals along with 4 bottles a day and loves mum mum teething biscuits. I am having techinical difficulty posting video but here are cute pictures for you to enjoy with her little sister outfit on for Katie, Scott and Billy. She is bonding well and loves her mommy and daddy so much. Mommy and Daddy are getting parenthood down too. We are a good team and happy family! Looking forward to Guangzhou and getting out of Nanchang. Love from China,

Got her and she is beautiful!

2011-06-12T16:36:00.005-04:00

Wow what a surreal day! It happened so quick one minute Mike and I in a room next moment she is in the door and handed to me. We have video I will post the before and after gotcha video in the next post. She is darling and had a tough day. Left her foster mom at 1:30pm and traveled with 2 men to a big city to meet her mom and dad. She was hungry and so confused and afraid. She is so beautiful and looked so different than her picture. We wondered if she was Feng Xiang Ting once we got a good look at her and really looked at her with those big brown sparkly eyes and cheeks we knew she was our Jailyn. She is long and thin and has so much hair. Gotcha was over in a matter of minutes and Mike and I the planner in us had the baby changing area prepped and bottles prepped to be mixed with formula. We bought her formula in her city and what an adventure that was. Almost killed by scooters and cars and people just stared at us in the grocery and gathered around while we shopped. Big blonde chick and handsome American man is in the store. Mike signed paperwork and he and Vivienne got all our ducks in a row for our Civil Affairs appt at 9:30am today Monday. Jailyn loves mum mum's and only has 3 teeth and is teething. We are figuring out eachother and she is pretty attached to me and warmed up to Mike last night. She went down for a 1/2 hour nap after skyping with Scott and then up again and Grandma and Grandpa C got to see her at 8am and Katie and Billy and the granddogs saw her at 8:45pm. She is a good baby and had her first bath (it was new and okay). She is a little trooper and so sweet. She has been sleeping since 10pm and it is now almost 5pm. Mike and I not sleeping as much. I have new mom jitters and the reality is still quite surreal but the best. We are so blessed and I am a mom and love it. Life changed in an instant and I love her so much! See these 2 pictures that do not do her justice of how cute she is. I will take lots of pictures today and post tonight. We love you and can not wait for you to meet Jailyn.

In Nanchang! Today is Gotcha Day!

2011-06-11T14:28:00.003-04:00

36 hours later we are here!!!!! Last leg of the flight was a challenge! We were delayed by weather on the plane. They are having down pours of rain and the area we are traveling to is being hit the hardest. They are having floods and mud slides. Think of the movie scene from Forrest Gump and he is in Vietnam and it just rains and rains that is what it is like here. Pray for good weather as it concerns us since Jailyn is in the countryside and will be traveling into Nanchang on Sunday. We are due to have this weather until Wednesday. We sat on the plane 2 1/2 hours (10:30am-1pm) waiting for clearance from Air Traffic control. What do you call 2 tired Americans from Cincinnati sitting on a plane clueless to what is happening and utter chaos going on around you? A Chinese Fire drill!!!!! We have officially experienced it first hand in China. We could at least laugh in the midst of craziness. One flight attendant spoke some English so we kind of knew what was going on.......Finally got in the air an hour or so later and came into land and visibility was terrible and the pilot had to abort the landing and try again. Oh my stars the tummy did flip flops and we could not have traveled 36 hours and not be able to land. Lots of praying and meditation began immediately. 20 minutes later we were down. All the luggage made it and our guide Vivienne is awesome. Hotel is awesome!!!! Left one of the bags on the van with the driver, got into the room, driver brought the bag (hallelujah), they brought the baby bed in our room (it makes it real), unpacked, took showers (so good to be out of the clothes we wore for 2 days) lost power in the room (mini meltdown from complete exhaustion) dinner (interesting) and sleep. Slept 5-6 hours and up in the middle of the night and happy to have internet and access to blog and Facebook. Pray very tired and excited can not sleep.

Today Jailyn becomes our daughter and me a mom after all these years. Mike just got back in bed and said it is a good thing you are up in the middle of the night perfect schedule for Jailyn.

We love you and will post pictures of our daughter next post. Pray for us as we are very tired and running on excitement and adrenaline.

Can't wait the stork is coming!!!!! Going to try and sleep some more......Mike is already snoring....just exhausted.

Happy dreams from China coming ture!

In Guangzhou China!

2011-06-10T20:47:00.010-04:00

We are in Guangzhou! How ironic and it is Jailyn's 11 Month birthday too!!!!!! What a great present she will receive a New Mommy and Daddy!!!!!! We survived the 14 1/2 hour flight from LA to Guangzhou and we are in China! Left at 3am our time and arrived at 5:45am June 11. It is pouring down rain and 82 degrees and humid. We were upgraded to Business class on our flight and slept 6-7 hours. All our bags made it to China and customs was a piece of cake. We know how we will travel with Jailyn and have the lavatory with the diaper changer scoped out for our return. Glad to be on the ground and on our layover in Guangzhou we board at 10:20am and leave at 11:05 am arrive in Nanchang at 12:30pm. We are hanging out in the China Southern lounge and Mike is trying the Congi (rice soup and noodles). Mike is learning the language and loves standing in long lines with tons of rude people. Welcome to China!!!! WE can't wait to get to Nanchang and to our hotel and take a shower. Still look pretty good for traveling over 30 hours. We are across the world ready to pick up our baby girl. 30 hours and counting. Every time I think about it happening I get so emotional and just want my baby in my arms and for her to know it will be okay and life will just get better and better for her with her new mommy and daddy who love her so much that we traveled all the way around the world to bring her home. The pictures were of our decent in to Guangzhou as the sun was rising. Next post from Nanchang.

On our first leg of our journey and have a story!!!!

2011-06-09T21:56:00.003-04:00

We had a fabulous morning getting ready to travel and not being rushed since we did not fly until 4:15pm. We ended up with four bags and 3 weighed exactly 50 lbs each and ended up taking one more so we were not over weight. We have 3 carry on bags and our back pack weighs 2 tons with the paperwork and lap top. It totally hit me coming up the cut through the hill going to the airport that we were finally leaving for China. My eyes welled with tears that it is really happening and we are China bound. Mom and Dad went to the airport with us so they could take the car back to their home. It was nice to have them there to see us off on our trip.

The trip was packed from CVG to LA. Our bags are checked to Nanchang however we do not have our boarding passes yet for China Southern. That is where the story begins. We got into LA on time and headed to the Delta Sky Club. Love having the AMEX benefits to use the Sky Club when you have a long layover. We got something to drink then Mike decided to goto the Intl terminal and leave me in the sky club to get our boarding passes. It is about a 10 minute walk to the terminal and the China Southern gates were not open until 7:30pm. Then I get the call that my honey can not get back in to the Delta terminal by security because he does not have a ticket. He was finally able to get a boarding pass from our last flight from the Delta ticket counter and security let him in. The moral of our journey is we are not leaving each other again while traveling. We are still in states and had issues so will not chance it in China. Next post will be from China.
Good night and sweet dreams!

The dream becomes reality after all these years....

2011-06-07T22:45:00.009-04:00

You know in my preparations for our trip. I found two new pieces of wall art that are simply perfect for this journey we embark on this week to finally make this dream of becoming parents to Jailyn a reality. The wall art hangs in Jailyn's bathroom. They say "Happiness is in the Journey and to treasure the moments" and "Life takes us to unexpected places and love brings us home." It is only through great love that all things are possible. The impossible fate of being unable to have children gets all washed away this weekend. I (We) are already blessed beyond measure to have this awesome opportunity to parent a little girl who was born in China but in our hearts forever. I am so humbled that I get such an incredible gift of being a mom. I hope you will follow our journey. WE leave Thursday arrive in China Saturday and our baby girl joins our family Sunday at 4pm which is 4am while you are sleeping here in Ohio. I ask for prayers for safe travel and for our little girl to know this transition will be okay. The love will take her in and bring her home in our arms.

How am I feeling? I am calm and ready to begin our journey to China. For I have held onto God's word that he will not forsake me and has double blessings coming for our trouble. I hang onto the Jeremiah 29:11 scripture listed at the bottom of my blog. God has great plans for us and this little girl who has no idea what is about to happen in her little life. I have had some strange dreams working out the fears of the unknown which actually give me peace that I am dealing with my emotions. And Mike and I are good. We had our last date night at the levee (dinner, movie and ice cream), been safety proofing the house, have the car seat figured out and in the car (thanks to the local fireman who helped us install) and enjoying a pre-maternity/pre-paternity leave this week. The love, blessings and incredible support are so overwhelming and powerful at times. At church on Sunday the message was for graduates who started their journey with baby steps and what a journey it had been for them to reach their milestone. The sermon spoke to me and was so much like this 5 1/2 year journey for our adoption. Happiness is found in the journey as we follow our path to realize our dreams...... The communion song was after the sermon and it spoke volumes to me, "I will be with YOU" and when it began to play the tears welled up and could not be stopped as the reality hit home that God has had HIS big plan BIGGER THAN I EVER IMAGINED all along for Jailyn to join our family. His timing is Perfect.

So Jailyn is packed with a bag just under the 50 lb limit. Lots of darling outfits, bottles, formula, diapers and a drugstore full of every remedy we may need. Mike and I pack tomorrow and have our last day doing the things we love. Mike is playing golf and I am going to be pampered and shop. Then we travel late afternoon on Thursday to LA then Guangzhou then Nanchang.

We could not be happier for our dream to become a reality. I have downloaded a special internet provider that will by pass the Chinese govt blocks of blogs and facebook so as long as I have internet connection I can update from China.

I appreciate all your love and support and can't wait to post her first pictures with us. So happy and blessed beyond words.....The new mom to be.....we are on our way to the hospital and it happens to be in China where the stork will deliver Jailyn in our arms.

Details on Gotcha Day

2011-05-28T23:34:00.003-04:00

Woohoo! Only 2 weeks and we will be in China picking up our baby girl. Got word it will be June 12 at 4pm and a man will come from the orphanage to our hotel in Nanchang to have us sign papers and a woman with Jailyn. So thrilled! In just a matter of weeks she is ours officially. We have our hotels in Nanchang and Guangzhou. Everything is coming into place. Happy as can be! April 1 was our happy day the first day we saw our baby girl and June 12 will be the day we become a forever family for Jailyn. Here is the video of us seeing Jailyn's picture for the first time on our referral day April 1, 2011, at 4:27pm.
2 weeks and counting the days!

Woohoo! Gotcha Day moved up to June 12, 2011!

2011-05-27T01:21:00.007-04:00

What a week and it is still as busy as can be and we are only 2 weeks from travel and soooooooooo excited! Best part is today got an email from our agency that our Gotcha date has been moved up a day! Best news ever! We travel 2 weeks from today. Matter of fact we would be boarding for China in Los Angeles as I type this late tonight. How surreal it is all coming together. So we will arrive in China June 11 and in her provincial town NanChang after lunch and meet our travel coordinator and get to our hotel. Since we are arriving early they are giving Jailyn to us on that Sunday. They are bringing her to the hotel and then on Monday we will have our Civil Affairs appt which means all the paperwork to complete the adoption will be taken care of that day...... I AM SO THRILLED ONE DAY EARLIER!!!! IT BRINGS SUCH TEARS OF JOY TO MY EYES! That means we get her and can start bonding with her and on our own turf so to speak. YAY! I truly believe my prayers are being answered as I wanted less emotional trauma to our daughter as she makes this transition to joining our family. My hope is that she is coming on a bus from FengCheng that day and right into our arms. I would hate for her to spend the night alone in the orphanage until she can be with us. I am so happy! Just have to finish a few things we need to do before travel like notarizing, shopping for the trip, take care of all the going out of town logistics, phone, money, laptop accessibility in china.......and start packing and get us there and back. It is just a matter of 2 weeks and she is ours! How blessed we are!!!!!

WE had a fabulous weekend with our family reunion. Which was a surprise for my mom and dad as we celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and their 80th birthdays this year with everyone. We had a pizza party at our home Friday and then our family dinner and surprise for my parents at the Oriental wok on Saturday. All was well. See the pictures of Mike and I and the whole family and only Jailyn and my nephew Drew were missing. This week has been all about travel meds....Mike and I started taking the Typhoid Vaccine and we only made it through the dosing halfway. We took 2 of the 4 vaccines. Mike was having terrible side effects and I just did not feel well. We opted to stop taking them and believe having a healthy immune system before travel was more important than getting ill over this preventative measure that may or may not work should we be exposed to Typhoid fever. We will take our chances and pray God will keep us healthy. We have travel meds for Jailyn and her 4 hour clinical with Children's Hospital is set for July 13 to check her out head to toe. We will be back from China for 3 weeks, hopefully on a schedule and have celebrated her 1st b-day before we put her through the trauma at Children's.

Getting closer and so happy! Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Countdown to Jailyn 25 days until Gotcha day!

2011-05-18T15:13:00.005-04:00

Well I can only imagine how my life is going to change in the next 25 days. So much to do however it is starting to feel manageable have 3 weeks until we travel. It has been a busy week and now have some time to breathe. So happy we have our passports and visas and tickets booked. Waiting on hotel information from our agency to coordinate. I have the most incredible customers in all of Mary Kay. They came to my open house this weekend and celebrated Jailyn with me bringing me well wishes and presents too and purchasing lots of Mary Kay. Thank you! I am truly blessed to have a home based business I can work around this adoption craziness with terrific customers. Not to mention my fabulous cousin Betty who made the yummiest cookies for my open house. Betty thank you so much. She makes me look good! And my awesome neighbor, Rita, who was my hostess while I helped everyone with their products. Thanks so much Rita! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful women who support me in my endeavor. Lots of fun things are happening this week my neice graduated from College and celebrating her tomorrow, and we have a family reunion this weekend with family that has not been together for over 25 years what a treat. My nephew Drew just turned 25 and will be the only one unable to come to the reunion as he is traveling for work in Denver.

The baby gate is going up this week and I am doing baby laundry and starting to plow through our final punch list of things to do and starting to pull out what needs to travel to china with us. It is still very surreal however after spending time with Lynelle and Jeremy and Alyssa it is starting to hit home. They have shared the dos and don'ts of their travel to China. Alyssa is darling and so cute and she checked me out big time with a stare into my soul. She was doing well and appeared to have gained a few pounds already and was quite active after one week home. She went to the Pediatrician which was not fun with her first check up and shots and the dreaded blood work however she survived and was a little trooper with lots of tears. She has been through so much and it just broke their hearts to put her through more unhappiness. Keep praying as she adjusts and for Lynelle and Jeremy as they deal with the new challenges of first time parents. Their journey gives me so much hope. I love you guys so much! God had big plans for us to share our journey.

On the countdown and enjoying this time!!!!

Gotcha Date - Travel dates - Emotions

2011-05-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

Wow what a week! Best part is Lynelle and Jeremy are back with their bundle of joy and Alyssa is darling. Attaching a happy picture of Lynelle and her baby girl. It was so special to meet them at the airport. Then the KY Derby was a great getaway weekend with friends. We looked fabulous in our Derby hats. Won some, lost more but was a fabulous trip and Mother's day was special too. Katie and Billy had flowers at our home waiting for me when we returned and Mike bought me a MOM keepsake box from Tiffany's when he was in NYC. Mike has a first birthday keepsake box for Jailyn on her 1st B-day too. It was a great day and even better knowing Jailyn will be with us next year.

Emotions were quite overwhelming finding out our Gotcha Date and travel are later than sooner. The tears of more waiting flooded my emotions. We get our daughter June 13 - how ironic the exact date of our log in date with China 5 years ago. We thought it would be sooner than later. I am hanging on and just want my daughter now. Now a few days later I can see the light and accepted it is only a week or so longer. I am focusing on a count down to Jailyn today 32 days until we have our baby girl in our arms. Woohoo!

I want to say I have the most amazing husband in the world. We have been saving AMEX rewards for the past 5 years and were able to use his Platinum Rewards to book tickets. WE did a business class upgrade on the China leg home to LA and round trip for the three of us was $6400 and then we received a credit of $3700 and now all three of us are traveling on the most ideal flights June 9 and home June 23 for only $2720.20. My husband is all in and making our dreams come true and saving us lots of money. It makes my heart flutter and I am more in love with my husband every day as he does so much for our family already and making things happen with a heart full of love to realize our dream of being parents (me a mom for the first time) and most importantly a mom and dad to our daughter Jailyn. I am so blessed with so much love and hanging on everyday as we get closer to Jailyn. Jailyn has no idea how much love is on it's way. Truly the best is yet to come.

Today I am visiting Lynelle, Jeremy and Alyssa to hear about their journey and for them to help us as we prepare these next couple of weeks. Another big ole blessing that has come over the years to have my BFF Adoption girlfriend, Lynelle, who has walked the journey along with me and now has her little dream come. God is good!

So our Gotcha Date is JUNE 13 and that is a BIG OLE DEAL!!!!!!! I am so happy and can't wait for Jailyn to have her parents who have been loving her from afar.......

Keep praying!

With much love the New Momma,

Still Quite busy!!!! Off to the KY Derby!!!

2011-05-04T23:26:00.003-04:00

Oh my stars do the days pass quickly. We officially received our travel approval which is good for 3 months to come pick up Jailyn. We are requesting early June. Got word they would like us to come in late May however, they have to meet our time table on when we can travel too. So still waiting for these appts to be set and then we can book airfare.....We are in the process of getting our visa's through the Chinese Consulate in Washington, DC. WE are thrilled Lynelle and Jeremy are on a plane home and plan to see them tomorrow night when they arrive in Cincinnati. So happy their journey in China to bring Alyssa home is coming to an end and their journey as a family in their home begins. I can't wait to see them Happy! A family now after all these years of waiting. God is good. It has been a long time coming and I understand it has been quite a journey in country. Best part is Lynelle gets to celebrate her first mother's day with Alyssa. Awesome!!!!

We are taking a well deserved trip away this weekend and going to the Derby. Bring it on as it has been non stop busy with work, preparations, jumping through hoops to get things done and just to busy to say the least. Ready for some fun and time away with just the two of us and friends.

I am hoping only 4 weeks and we will be on our journey to Jailyn.
It brings tears to my eyes that it is really going to happen for us!
Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Travel approval and new measurements!

2011-04-28T21:05:00.005-04:00

Wow what a great day in our journey to Jailyn. WE received new measurements for our baby girl. She is very little under all those layers of clothing . She is 15 1/2 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long and has 3 teeth. We also received Travel approval now just waiting on confirmations on our gotcha date and consulate appt. So thrilled we can travel in the next 3-5 weeks. Trying to set appts so we travel June 2-June 15. Lots to do and it is starting to really happen! So thrilled!

Another busy week and just want my baby!

2011-04-27T02:01:00.004-04:00

Since my last post we now have a Pediatrician which I really like and it is so ironic my daughter's Pediatrician is the wife to a professor at CCM at the Univ of Cincinnati who was instrumental to getting me a free ride to graduate school. Tell me that is not full circle and meant to be. I really liked my consultation and have our daughter all set up to see her a few weeks after we return from China. Jailyn will be thoroughly checked out by the International Adoption Center at Children's first then handed over to our local Pediatrician.

Then Friday was Doctor day for Mike and I. We have lots of drugs now to take to China should we get ill and have to start taking the Typhoid vaccine in the next couple of weeks as we will be in the country side of China which has outbreaks of Typhoid. Never knew there would be so much involved.

On a happy note my girlfriend Lynelle and her husband had their Gotcha day in China Sunday Night!!! Just saw darling pictures of their little girl and the staff at the orphanage did a little ceremony for them when they got Alyssa. I am thrilled for them and can't wait until they return May 5.

Just found out I need to send some more paperwork to our agency and going to start the ball rolling on our Visas. Hit the wall today and just am really over all the paperwork. I just wanted to scream today as I am sick of all the things we must do to get her home. However it is part of this process and I will persevere. You know if everyone had to do as much paperwork as we have to there would definitely be a smaller population in this world. I just want it over and want my baby.

Mike even hit the wall this weekend trying get a baby gate up for our steps. He bought 2 gates and neither worked. It was not a success however there are locks on a few cabinets so that is in the works. I know there will be a baby gate up before we leave somehow or the other.

We had a nice Easter with family and look forward to next year to have our first easter egg hunt with our daughter and see her in a darling Easter outfit.

Tomorrow is a Babys r us Day! Returning some duplicate gifts and getting the rest of the items for Jailyn for our trip. That will be a happy day some baby retail therapy. Woohoo! Bring it on!!!!

We are pressing on and every day is one day closer to Jailyn. I can not wait....Pray for patience and our baby girl in waiting!

Busy Happy days and lots going on.....

2011-04-21T00:35:00.007-04:00

Since my last post I am just so thankful and grateful for all the abundance of blessings being poured into our lives. It is crazy busy and not a dull moment to spare. We have pushed through more documents and sent them off to our agency. We had our transition call on attachment and bonding with our agency which was very informative and helpful as we will transition with Jailyn into our forever family. In the midst of all the craziness I won $500 from the local parish and was pictured with a big check in their newsletter. I have been praying for abundance and it just keep showing up. God is providing all we need and I am so grateful. Mike spent the weekend in New York City on a man weekend. I was able to finally get some rest and spent alot of that $500 on Baby necessities, a me day of shopping and lunch with girlfriends and then a well deserved massage. Then Sunday was a great day. Katie, my mom and best friend Marcia did a huge baby shower. It was perfect. It was quite an emotional day filled with happiness and a long awaited baby shower that could finally happen. My eyes well up with tears thinking of that day and realizing that I have such a community of love and support from family and friends. Oh my stars has it been a journey. Lynelle shared in the day and we said we would support each other at our showers. We had made a pack not to do one until our daughters were here however we needed so much stuff to travel to China it became a necessity and the sooner the better. We were blessed with so many wonderful gifts. Thank you everyone who attended and sent gifts. Thank you cards are coming. Then Monday came and got those last docs notarized and then I was off to Lynelle's and Jeremy's baby shower and they were blessed with many wonderful gifts and an abundance of love and support from Lynelle's work. They are leaving Friday and I am so happy for them. They get their daughter from China on Monday!!!! Pray for their journey. Then Tuesday I had a big ole travel call with our agency on what to still do and all the details that lead up to travel. I see the light and know so much more has to be accomplished however get things off my list everyday. Not to mention having fun nesting with all the gifts and toys and gadgets we got from the baby shower. Thank goodness we purged alot so we had room to move in all the baby stuff. Mike said our Ranch house just is not big enough anymore. Guess building that new home in the next year or so is a good thing. Jailyn first then onto our new build. Two great things just happened. Our Letter of acceptance was had carried to Beijing to the Children's China Welfare Adoption Affairs Office so we are official with China that Jailyn is ours on paper. Woohoo!!!! It brings more happy tears to my eyes. Then today got confirmation the care package to Jailyn arrived at her orphanage and should be passed onto her and her foster mommy. Jailyn will see pictures of Mike and me, get a stuffed panda bear and blanket and chocolate and treats are for the foster mommy and family. We had a camera enclosed to take photos of Jailyn and her foster mommy. Hoping to receive that at her gotcha day. So we are moving forward. We can apply for our visa to travel in June. Still waiting on the Travel approval then we move on appts in China and then get to book travel. Lots going on.....I am going to attach some fun pictures pictures we took when the referral came in, the cake at the baby shower and the one of Jailyn I love so much with the twinkle in her eyes. Keep praying and getting closer every day! So happy!!!!

Wow! Jumping through hoops to get Jailyn HOME!

2011-04-13T00:16:00.004-04:00

Oh Happy days and overwhelming times!!!! We love our little girl so much and just can not stop looking at her darling little face and sparkling eyes. So much has happened in the past 12 days. WE waited for our official documents and translation of the referral which was received one week later. We have secured a Pediatrician and Dr. Staat the International Pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital said she is one of the healthiest kids she has seen come out of China and approved and reviewed her medical. WE are blessed she was abandoned at birth and believed to be born July 11 and immediately put in foster care with one caregiver July 12. That is great news as she has been cared for better than the kids in an orphanage. We are so pleased with the information from the foster mom. She enjoys watching TV and is slightly impatient and an extravert. It appears she is alot like her mommy and daddy and has those round cheeks too. I just want to kiss them. It will break my heart when the foster mommy has to give her to us. Our happy day will be a sad bitter sweet day. Jailyn will have to go through the grief of losing the only caregiver she has known. We will have to build trust, show her love she so deserves, meet all her needs so she will attach and bond with us. We will be the only ones to care and hold her for many months. We have lots of guidance through our social workers and International Adoption program at Children's Hospital to help us. We are so blessed and could not be happier with the care and help of Dr. Staat. We were refingerprinted for the last time woohoo! Got some of our documents sent back to the agency and still plenty more to plow through and notarize. The best document was the Letter of Confirmation ( The Official document from China). We signed late Friday and I cried and felt a bit of relief that it was heading back to our agency then to Beijing to be hand carried to the Children's China Adoption Welfare Affairs office.

Jailyn aka Feng Xiang Ting ( Her Chinese given name) resides in Fostercare outside the FengCheng Social Welfare Institure in the Jiangxi Province. We understand that they will bring Jailyn to the Nanchang Capital of Jiangxi Province for our Gotcha Day either Sunday or Monday when we travel. We believe we will travel in early June and hoping the first weekend will be our Gotcha weekend. WE must travel to Jiangxi for a week and then to Guangzhou to exit the country via the US Consulate. WE have lots to prepare to do before we travel and are awaiting Confirmation of our LOC and then plan to receive our travel approval 3-4 weeks later then we can book travel to China once our appointments are booked. Hopefully only 6-7 weeks and we will travel. Jailyn just turned 9 months yesterday and are so excited she will be home for her first Birthday July 11. Pray for patience and not to get to overwhelmed with everything we need to do and gather to travel. It is really happening and I am so happy and getting closer to having my baby girl in my arms. I just want this paperwork/bureaucracy journey to end and to stop jumping through hoops. I want the happy journey home to begin......with our daughter making our family complete. Thanks for all the well wishes and love and support. It means so much to us to have family and friends cheering us on as our dream comes true.

Jailyn we love you sooooooooooooo much and are so happy!!!!!!

Jailyn has arrived!!!!! We got her picture!

2011-04-01T17:04:00.005-04:00

Oh my stars! It's a Happy Day! WE received her picture. She was born on July 11, 2010, which is my Birthday!!!! She is in the Jiangxi Province in the Seng Cheng
Social Welfare Institute. She is sooooooooo cute! We are in love already!

Referral is coming!!!!!!!

2011-04-01T09:56:00.002-04:00

Woke up today to the word that the European Agencies have made phone calls that the cut off for referrals is June 15, 2006. That means we are in for June 13 and I am shaking as I write that it could happen today......I have made a call to the agency and left a message to when they arrive first thing this morning to call after 11:30am. They are west coast time. They will have to receive the DHL from China before we have a picture. Mike is traveling home and should arrive early this afternoon and I am going to plan b for my Pre-Career Conference responsibilities today and not going until this evening. If a DHL arrives today in Oregon our agency should be able to send a picture this afternoon and if not hopefully Monday. Praying and sooooooooooo happy! Jailyn is coming!!!!!!!

No news yet for Referrals!!!

2011-03-28T22:39:00.002-04:00

We received our first baby gift from Grandma and Grandpa Comley. The car seat and stroller have arrived and now just need the baby girl to go in them. They are already spoiling her and can't wait until our happy referral comes in the next week or two. No rumors yet.....optimistically waiting!!!!! No speculation when yet....Keep praying getting more excited everyday!

Cautiously Optimistic we are next for Referral

2011-03-21T13:07:00.002-04:00

Well what a month of world events. Firstly we are thrilled Scott was not in Japan for the Earthquake and is now in Guam training and out of the country of Japan. Pray for Japan. We were so thrilled we took a trip to see Scott in January to Japan and more thankful we were not there this past month. It burdens our hearts for all the people we met that live in Japan. On a Happy note, we celebrated Katie's 31st b-day with dinner at Jags with she and Billy and Mike and I. It was way fun. Our preparations so far for the month include that we have taken Baby Basics and Baby CPR. We are ready for our referral to come. It can come anytime from now to mid April. We believe our picture of our little girl is being matched to us as we speak. As long as their are no obstacles and they refer the amount of babies they have been we are good. Pray! We are being re-fingerprinted for the last time in April and will start the ball rolling with documents to get travel rolling once referral comes. The later referrals come this month or next the more than likely we will travel in June to pick up Jailyn.
Pray! I am excited however cautiously optmistic as there are lots of hoops to jump through before she is ours.
Happy Spring!

What a week!!!! Baby Preparations have begun!

2011-03-05T00:10:00.006-05:00

Well we have our registry at Babys r us and Pottery Barn kids. Oh my stars do we need lots of stuff for Jailyn. It was so much fun we shared the day with Lynelle and Jeremy, the new mom and dad of Alyssa they will go pick up from China in April, at Babys r us. Mike and Katie went with me as we got our registry zapped too. It was 2 hours of decisions of things we pretty much figure we need. Thank goodness Lauren and Jean and I went the Wednesday before to Babys r us to educate me on what to pick. I am learning this baby stuff and taking it all in. Then Monday I was able to surprise Lynelle at her work with a baby gift and celebrate her becoming a mom. You know it is just so different when you are adopting and it has taken so long to come up for referral. We have been sad and disappointed for way too long which has been completely out of our control. Now it is happy times (and is still very unbelievable finally) and all happening all in Gods perfect timing. It is time to celebrate everything good! We are persevering through many obstacles as we wait for our referral and Lynelle and Jeremy plow through their referral getting it translated and sending off their acceptance letter back to China and moving to travel. We are getting through this journey together. We also went to Baby basics class to prepare us for what to do when we get our daughter. It was geared to newborns however very informative for us too and we are celebrating no labor for us just a long labor of love and years of waiting. Once we get our referral I am going to cave and have a baby shower before we go. As long as we have a picture and moving quickly to get her home I think I can handle a happy baby shower before she comes. Then I want a big celebration with friends and families once we come home. It is really starting to happen and I am enjoying this time finally she is really coming. I am going to attach one picture of the guys ready to zap their first item the car seat which ended up not showing up on our registry but the picture is way fun of Mike and Jeremy. The other picture of all of us was fuzzy and not good. However I have photos of Lynelle and I at her work. Gotta get a new camera now ready for our gotcha day!
Until our next up date!
Keep praying!!!!!

Oh Happy Day! Referrals came twice in Feb!

2011-02-25T01:14:00.003-05:00

Oh My Stars!!!!! Referrals came today through June 9! They referred twice for February within three weeks of eachother. Would love that to be the norm as we think it was because of the Chinese New Year. So I am thinking by March 24 we should have our referral which is 4 weeks for optimistic thinking. My adoption girlfriend, Lynelle and Jeremy, got their referral as we knew they were next (their LID 6/5/2006). It was so great for them as referrals came out of the blue and they were quite a surprise on Thursday, Feb 24! We are thrilled for them as it makes our adoption pretty dog gone real now.

We should be in the next batch (about 99%) sure as we believe there are only 8 babies ahead of us until they start matching for June 13 (which we believe there are 14 of us logged in for June 13.) They referred 31 babies and we are in the next 22 babies to be referred. So excited and gearing up for the adventure to come. We are going to do our baby registry on Sunday, then start baby basics class and baby CPR class in March! I was blessed to have great girlfriends to goto Babys r us this week and advise on the best products for safety, fun and necessity. Come Sunday it is zap the registry time at Babys r us and time to shop for this little girl joining our Forever Family. Ready to start nesting and purging the extra stuff out of Jailyn's closet and start pitching and purging other areas of the home as all the baby gear will start coming.

I never dreamed this is how we would have a child but it is my journey and I am going to enjoy every bit of it and walk through the unknowns and conquer the fears. I know I will figure out this motherhood thing. I am blessed I have lots of incredible moms to call for guidance and advice. Pray for us and soon we will have our picture of our little angel coming from China! Woohoooooooo!!!!!! So excited!!!!

They referred babies before the Chinese New Year Break!

2011-02-03T22:08:00.002-05:00

Woohoo! It has taken another 6 weeks for referrals to come and they are to June 2 and approx 37 babies were referred! We are getting close. We believe we are approx 53 babies from being referred which could happen in March or April or worst case May then travel 2 months after referral. Lots of preparations are upon us. I am finally going to goto Babys r us to start our registry as it has been so difficult to go there when every month our wait has become longer and protective mechanisms have stopped me in my tracks to not go there. I am walking through my fear and finally allowing myself to start feeling the happy feelings that truly go with becoming a mom. All baby showers will happen when we return home with Jailyn. I will be ready for about 10 baby showers once she is here.....bring it on!!!!! We have just signed up for Baby Basics classes and a Baby CPR all in March. Anything to help us get prepared. Then 2 months of prep to get to China and back. My girlfriend, Lynelle, is next in line for referrals just 8 days ahead of me and I am so excited for her. We both are unable to have our own children biologically and have found eachother through this journey. We are so blessed to have eachother to confide our feelings, fears, hopes and dreams and she and Jeremy live in Norwood and we are praying we are referred together. She had a dream not to long ago we were referred together and how awesome would it be to travel together. Please pray China refers a big ole batch and that we can be together. It is so nice to have a friend who understands every feeling I have had along this journey to Jailyn.....
Until the next batch of referrals much love and thanks for following our journey,

January 2011 news

2011-01-23T20:41:00.005-05:00

Well what a month as we are approaching the last week of January. The word is we will not see referrals until Jan 31 or Feb 1 or 2. They leave for their Chinese New Year Celebration Feb 3-8 so everyone is expecting a batch to be sent before they leave for their holiday. A large batch of 90 babies we are in or a small batch wait at least another month or two.

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to see Scott in Japan and what an adventure we had in the 5 days we were there. Got a taste of how travel will be as we goto China and what Jet lag is really like. We have had a call with our agency on what to expect as we come up to referral and beginning to think about our travel needs to China this spring. We have 11 days of referrals ahead of us and we think that is 90 babies before us and it is us. Quite unbelievable as it is going to finally happen this year for us. Woohoo! So many mixed emotions and just waiting for an actual picture of our little girl coming in the next month or two. Some solid evidence of our daughter will be such a welcome sight and make this real again as the wait for our daughter is now over five years and very surreal. I am so numb to this whole experience as it has just taken a toll over the years and my defense mechanisms to not hurt are so strong. I can not believe my dream of becoming a mom will happen in just a matter of months. It was so strange to think while we were in Japan we were just 5 hours away from where our little girls resides whether in a foster home or an orphanage. Continue to pray for her. She is going to be out of her unfortunate environment soon and with us, her forever family receiving the love and nurturing every child deserves and most importantly have a Mom and Dad who loves her dearly.

We had the best time with Scott as we spent quality time with him in his home in Yamato and in Tokyo and seeing the sights around Japan with in train distance. I will post some photos.

We are so blessed and know the best is yet to come as we add our new baby girl to our family and as Scott, Katie and Billy will have a little sister.

Pray and Celebrate the blessings!
Linette

December emotions and excitement!!!

2010-12-21T11:07:00.002-05:00

Oh my stars the month started with word that there would not be referrals in December however today got word they referred a small batch moving now to May 29. It moved 6 days however there were only 4 days of referrals in the batch. Getting closer to our date June 13 and it is quite unbelievable. I was very upset and frustrated about once again not being able to see why referrals were delayed. We are coming to the end of this waiting game and I want it over. It breaks my heart to know our little girl is over in China waiting for us and if they could move faster she could be with us sooner than later. That has been the story for years and I am over the waiting especially at the holidays. Best part is this is our last holiday without this little girl. So excited she will be with us this spring. We decided to take a trip in January and opted to surprise Scott with a trip to Japan to see him. It will be quick but a once in a lifetime opportunity to see his home, the naval base and Tokyo. Lots of flying time however 4 days of quality time with our son. He just turned 27 and returned from being on the aircraft carrier for months and so happy to be back in Japan. We are so proud of him and can't wait to see him as it has been over a year. The snow is falling and it feels so festive as we approach Christmas. Lots of fun parties and family gatherings in the next week. We will celebrate with our neighbor friends tonight, then Katie and Billy Christmas eve morning starting with BLT's at 10am then Mike's Family come at 3pm then 11pm Church. Christmas morning just Mike and I and my family comes at 2pm. Lots of fun at the Thornbury home. Best part is we are so blessed with so much love and happiness and the best is yet to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
In 2011 God will shine down from the heavens our dream coming true.....

November Update

2010-11-02T23:43:00.002-04:00

Wowee! Our incredibly busy October is over with the Wedding and much needed vacation to Cancun are all behind us. Jailyn is now at the top of the list!!!! Looking forward to the holidays flying by and then here comes Jailyn. I am in shock and super excited!!! The website moved 5 days taking us to May 23. We are finally within a month in days to be referred. Our log in date with china is June 13. 21 days until our date comes up chronologically. It is most likely a referral in January and get her in March. If they stay on track. It was a smaller batch of referrals this month of approx 44 babies referred. Last month it was approx 77 babies referred. If they refer 67 babies in December and 67 babies in January we are in....I believe this batch was smaller as they are finishing their year in November for 2010 referrals.

Keep praying I can not imagine she is not born.
It is really starting to happen!

The Wedding a Wonderful Day October 2, 2010!

2010-10-04T13:06:00.005-04:00

A fun filled week of Wedding Festivities!
Katie and Billy are Married and it was a day to remember!
We are blessed as the best is yet to come! Next Jailyn coming in early 2011....

Babies have been referred Thank Goodness!

2010-10-01T00:26:00.003-04:00

Well it has been a trying couple of weeks with referrals not happening in September. Until today there were no referrals for the month for healthy baby girls being adopted in China. Essentially the month is gone and we are getting the October Referral. They have now referred babies up to May 18, 2006, and we are June 13, 2oo6. I believe if they keep referring January should be our month now for our referral and picture and travel in March. All speculation but she is coming and thank goodness referrals did come. It is exciting as we are in the midst of Wedding Festivities for Katie and Billy and glad we have some more good news......Keep referring and she will be with us before we know it! Woohoo!

I just can not wait until we have a picture and can finally move forward to finalize our adoption. I want this waiting journey to be over!

Keep praying for patience and Jailyn waiting for us in China!

No referrals yet and they may not be coming until Oct!

2010-09-20T10:09:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you just have to let God and let Go as our adoption journey looks as if we will be delayed another month as they have not referred any non special needs baby girls in China this month. It happened that way last year too where they skipped September referrals. It is what it is and at the mercy of the chinese govt once again. It is power for the course as they say.....got to keep living life and pressing on with patience. Looking forward to Katie and Billy's wedding in 2 weeks and very busy.

Happy Fall!

August Update

2010-08-19T00:09:00.003-04:00

The Website moved 5 days this month. They have referred babies through May 15, 2006, and our date is June 13, 2006. I believe a referral by Christmas is more realistic. What a great Christmas present. August has been busy with finishing decorating Jailyn's room and Katie and Billy's Couples shower this past weekend. 6 week to go and Katie and Billy will be hitched on Oct 2. We found out Scott is unable to get leave for the wedding being on the carrier and active duty like war time. It is so sad and disappointing. We can only pray something changes and he can be with us.

We are going to the Biltmore for a weekend getaway and thrilled to be getting out of town. Our summer has been super busy. Thinking a vacation to Cancun is just what we need after the wedding festivities are over.

Happy August!

JULY GREAT NEWS!

2010-07-17T10:49:00.003-04:00

Wow!

The website for referrals moved on July 15 a whole 14 days!!!!! That puts the referral date to May 10 and our Log in date with china is June 13. Oh my stars I believe we can have a referral as early as November now if things keep moving. It was almost surreal that it moved so many days and that we can have our baby potentially late in 2010 or super early in 2011. They referred babies mid month instead of earlier in the month. Regardless, it is great news! The website has not moved 14 days in years. She is coming sooner than later woohooooooooo!

Best ever Birthday present that Mike and I could have received in our Birthday month!

I am so excited!

June update MOVED 5 DAYS

2010-06-08T00:02:00.002-04:00

We appear to be on track as the website moved 5 days to April 26 referring 40-50 babies. We should be about 300 babies away from June 13. Could see a referral in Dec or Jan. Love a Referral for Christmas! Started the summer off busy as can be and it will continue to move as we have lots of travel and plans for the summer and then the Wedding will be here sooner than later Oct2! I started doing more to Jailyn's room and plan to get lots of decor from PB Kids in July as all I want for my b-day is PB kids gift certificates for a rug, shelving peg board, letters that spell Jailyn, a chair and plenty of more cute things for her room......I am getting sooooooooo excited!

Happy Summer!

May Update! Moved 4 days!

2010-05-14T15:05:00.002-04:00

Another month and it moved 4 days a little less than the past 2 months however it moved! I am optimistic and believe if they move on the number of babies they have been referring we can have our referral by end of year and get our daughter in early 2011. They are up to April 21 and we are June 13 only 53 days from April 21-June 13 however it is still months. Had the best mother's day ever. Needless to say I have hated the Mother's Day holiday as it has been a terribly difficult journey trying to be a mom. Mother's Day has not been happy. I told Mike here we go again another year now a total of 7 years trying to have a child and being in the adoption process. I was truly blessed! I have the best husband in the world. Friday before Mother's Day I was blue and not looking forward to the Mother's Day weekend and all of a sudden I get a package that is overnighted from California to me. It was a dozen Chocolate Covered Strawberries saying Happy Mother's Day Love, Jailyn. Oh my did I fall to my knees and cry and was filled with so many emotions and knowing how much my husband loves me and has stood by my side and wants this as much as I do and has been all in with me. I went downstairs and found Mike cleaning the deck for his brother's surprise 50th b-day party and he said look what Jailyn did for you and I cried again and he was so sweet and excited for me. Then I cried again that night overwhelmed with how much love I have in my life. Then on Saturday Katie gave me beautiful flowers and card. More love and blessings from Katie. I am blessed and wait until Jailyn comes more love to come.....Then the weekend was perfect and on mother's day we celebrated with all the mom's in our lives with a cookout and then My mom gave me a gift too.....I am loved and blessed and the best is yet to come!
Celebrate all the love and blessings in your life!

Late April

2010-04-28T23:11:00.002-04:00

Well the website did move to April 17 earlier this month. Real curious how many days it will move in May! Another busy month of wedding preparations for Katie and Billy and family fun for Easter. We had the cousins in from Washington state and Michigan for Easter and got to spend time with Chuck and Sherry at the Reds and dinners. Time is passing quickly as we are traveling once a month for fun as we are enjoying Mike and Linette time before our new addition to the family arrives in late 2010 or early 2o11! We are off to the Derby this weekend. In June a trip with neighbors down in KY. In July I am taking Mike to French Lick for his B-day experience and for my b-day we are doing Jailyn's room! The nesting is beginning. I got my dress for Katie's wedding it is gorgeous! Then a busy July with family picnic, unit award for my mk unit and traveling to Dallas. Aug we are doing Katie and Billy's wedding shower and going to the Biltmore and then the wedding is coming fast late Sept and Oct 2 is the big day.
Enjoying life.....

No Rumors yet.....Good things are to come!

2010-03-29T00:27:00.002-04:00

Happy Spring! I am optimistic as the weather is starting to change and sunshine and warm weather always makes for a great day! We have completed our last homestudy I believe we will have to do before Jailyn comes. We have had a very busy month! Katie's 30th b-day, Adoption paperwork craziness, Mike traveled to Arizona for a guys golf outing, Career Conference for Mary Kay, Just earned our 3rd new car in Mary Kay, a FREE Chevy Equinox and getting away to French Lick Indiana for a little get away from it all weekend.

I will be curious to see if the website moves the anticipated 6-11 days it could ???? Time will tell.
Have a Happy Easter!

GOOD NEWS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! MOVED 6 DAYS

2010-03-03T23:32:00.002-05:00

Well we have good news! The website moved 6 days! They are to April 11 and we are June 13. Only 63 days and if they start moving more days we could see a referral by end of the year. I am hopeful and glad we have some good news. Not to mention spring is around the corner and lots of good things are happening. Katie is turning 30 tomorrow! We are celebrating the next two weekends with her and Billy. Their wedding and all the festivities will be beginning this summer and the wedding day fast approaching Oct 2. And we will save the best for last our daughter coming end of 2010 or early 2011. I actually feel relief and hope and praying we continue to tick down in the number of days the website moves more than less in the months to come!

Happy Spring!

Feb 2010 Not the news we wanted to start 2010

2010-02-02T22:45:00.005-05:00

Well it has been another month without referrals in January as the month came to a close, however, they are coming in the first of February. Oh my stars we are at the same place we were last year moving soooooooo slow and it will only move 2 days to April 5. I can't stand it more waiting and disappointment I could scream as it continues to be prolonged.

Unless there is a dramatic change, we are into 2011. It has been 4 years since we began our adoption journey and it appears it will be well into 2011 before we can expect our referral of our little girl. It makes me sick to my stomach to think we are in for a slow year of referrals as April 5 is 69 days from June 13. Sometimes I wonder if this will ever end but that is where faith steps in.....God protect my heart and the disappointment that wells up inside. I hate this pain of remaining the same future mom to be for the past 7 years of ever trying to have a child and to become a family and Mike and I doing everything we can for me to fulfill my dream of becoming a mom by adoption from China. IT IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DAY WHEN WE HAVE GOOD NEWS COMING FROM CHINA.....
Pray ..................
Frustrated and very sad 2010 is not looking hopeful.........

January 2010 Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T21:13:00.002-05:00

Well we find ourselves on our journey 4 years going on 5 years now waiting for Jailyn. Boy we never bargained for the wait to be so long. We had a blessed holiday with family not the norm as Katie and Billy spent it in New Jersey with Billy's family and Scott in Japan. So we celebrated with both sides of our families on Christmas eve (Thornbury) and Christmas day (Mike and I in the morning and the Comleys that afternoon. And then with Katie and Billy after Christmas. We will be mailing a Christmas care package once Scott is settled and we have an address for Scott in Japan. We believe this next year will tell mid year if we will get Jailyn in 2010 or now into 2011. The website did move 3 days late in December and now they are finally into April 3, 2006. Rumors are that they will finish April this summer and onto May and then June later in the year or early 2011. I question this time frame as usual and feel it can not get any worse finally. I lost it before the holidays with the reality upon us that Christmas 2009 just may not be our last without Jailyn that we may have to go another Christmas. It brings such sadness and tremendous grief as the holidays are about Family. Family is the desire of my heart to call my very own. I want my own child with Mike to love, raise and guide and give the wings she needs for a happy life she is so deserving. So many blessings to be thankful and grateful for the life we share and not to look at what we do not have at this time that feels so unfair. So why us I have asked so many times that I have turned to why not us .....Gods plan is bigger and better than we can comprehend and imagine as HE WILL GIVE US THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS. So bring on the abundant life in store for us this coming year as we prepare for the greatest journey of life to pick up Jailyn up in the Republic of China. Our hearts are open and full love for each other and Jailyn as she will be joining her forever family sooner than later.

Happy New Year and God Bless each of you who follow our journey.
We love you!

December Update!

2009-12-04T14:52:00.002-05:00

Well another year gone by still a long wait but time did go quickly as it is December already. The Website did move to finish the month of March 2006. It moved 31 days in the year of 2009. We will see if it moves again the end of the month as it did last year. It will be interesting to see how quickly(note trying to stay positive) they move through April. Our date of June 13 is 74 days from coming up for referral. It could be a 2010 referral but more than likely a 2011 referral at this time. Optimism is high but reality is harsh. So we thank God for the blessings in our lives and celebrate the holidays with Jailyn in our hearts. We started the process to renew our documents with the govt a third time and it is in on time and moving forward. We will be fingerprinted in the coming weeks and update the home study again by April 2010. So we wait and pray.

Merry Christimas!

November Update/Thanksgiving!

2009-11-23T20:28:00.004-05:00

Not much to update as there have been no referrals this month only word they may not come until December. Could it be H1N1 who knows? Could it be the changing of the new director for the China Adoption Affairs holding referrals up who knows? So we count our blessings and wait with patience.....We have a wonderful family and so much to be thankful for in our household. Scott is home on leave for a week and then off to Military Law school in San Diego for the Navy and then he has orders for Japan for 2 years. He is so excited and wanted to see the world and God is providing. Katie and Billy are nailing down wedding plans and the excitement is building as we approach the 10 months and counting until Oct 2, 2010, their Big Day. Katie bought her dress and her Dad and I were able to see her try it on this past weekend. It is gorgeous and we are so happy for her and Billy as they build their lives together and it has been worth the wait for them both. They are so happy.

We celebrated our Thornbury Thanksgiving yesterday. We got our Tom Turkey from the Tewes Turkey farm and Mike brined and cooked and even trained Scott in Turkey cooking Techniques. We made a day of it Bengals game they lost (boo!), Thanksgiving with our little family: Mike and his hot sausage stuffing (yummy), Katie's slammin green bean casserole, pumpkin muffins and appetizers, my awesome taters, gravy and apple caramel cheesecake. Needless to say we were stuffed and ready for a nap. However we count our blessing we could be together as Scott will not make it home for Christmas and Katie and Billy will be in Atlantic City with his folks. We are blessed and can't wait until Jailyn will join us at Thanksgiving. However that will be when China says it is time.

I have had to go through another grief period and move on with my life and get to acceptance once again of it being later not sooner. However wonderful blessings are happening everywhere I met a customer at a party who has 2 little girls from china and she has been such an encouragement and even sent me a great new book that makes me cry called Silent Tears about an american in China volunteering in the orphanages. I want more than ever to get our baby out of the orphanage sooner than later so pray we will get a young baby so she does not have to suffer long w/o us. And I have an incredible new Bible study buddy who has been another source of great encouragement. Not to mention all our wonderful friends and family who press on with us as we continue on this journey.

So pray for Jailyn, Mike and I and cherish the blessings!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Difficult reality

2009-10-15T22:13:00.002-04:00

Okay so I have come to terms that it is either an 11 month wait if it truly speeds up to the 7 days a month moving or a 28 month wait. We are 77 days from referral. Reality in 10 months it has moved 28 days and if it continues at the snail slow pace it is truly 28 months. However I believe and must be optimistic it will be sooner than later. For my sanity I need to know the worst and best case senario at the present time. We will stall as long as possible to submit our new documents to the govt to renew the paperwork for the third time so we get the full time and use out of our paperwork. We resubmit in December and redo our homestudy early next year. The reality is tough as I never wanted to not to be able to have kids (which is not fair if I could scream it from the mountain tops!) or dreamed I would not be a mom to a little girl we thought would be with us by now. It is not not right but who ever said we are to get our way in this world. I sure have lots of questions for GOD. The fact we are not getting any younger continues to be a harsh reality but must believe God has a bigger plan. Just tough to continue on this never ending journey going into the holidays once again childless. So we count our blessings and press on.....
So PRAY!!!!!!

Referrals are coming

2009-10-12T12:32:00.002-04:00

Rumor has it that it is moving 4 days to March 28 which is still 11 weeks until June 13 so at the very least 11 more months (if it can move 7 days at a time) however I believe it is going to be alot longer than 11 months. I want to scream. The frustration, disappointment again and again and grief continues to re-surface! Some months are easier and others terribly difficult.

Disappointed doing paperwork again!

2009-10-11T23:43:00.003-04:00

What can we do but continue to pray without ceasing for patience and for this wait to end. I know our pain is nothing as deep as the pain of the abandonment will be for Jailyn. She does have her forever family waiting and loving her from afar. There is so much hope for the future. However it does not fill the constant void for me and the reality we still have so far to go. We are about to embark on Paperwork #3 to renew all documents for our adoption. It brings the pain of remaining the same in this journey and always in the state of wait and still childless to the surface now doing another round of paperwork and the wait getting longer. I hope she comes in 2010. My optimism only goes so far without referrals going on over a month now. Come January it is 4 long years in this journey and it ain't over. Hopefully we will get the heck out of March 2006 and move on to April 2006.

PRAY!!!!!!

October update

2009-10-05T09:43:00.004-04:00

Well it is my favorite time of year and I love fall. There were no referrals in September and we have no idea why except the Chinese govt is on holiday this first week of October. We hope to see referrals in the coming 2 weeks and it would be great to get to April and get out of this long month March. Time continues to pass but wonderful things are happening in the lives of the Thornbury family. Katie and Billy are engaged and have the date to be married October 2, 2010. We could not be happier for them and Billy to join our family. Scott is finishing up prowler school in Seattle and will get his orders in the next 2 months. He is hoping for Japan, stay in Seattle or maybe deployed on a carrier somewhere. Mike and I had a terrific vacation to Cancun much needed and were back off to a super busy month. My Mary Kay business is rockin as we are in car qualification and will earn a new car December. Time passes and I truly believe we will have a wedding and a referral very close to each other next year. It is what it is and will be great when it gets here.

We have a blessed life and this week Mike and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary on October 7. I love my husband dearly and know the best is always yet to come.

Having lots of hope and faith and believe our daughter has been born or is coming to be on this earth very soon. Just have that hopeful feeling hunch in my soul......

Keep prayin and Happy Fall!
Love,

August Update! Appears only moving 2 days!

2009-08-23T23:18:00.003-04:00

Wow Summer is flying by and China is still slow with referrals coming. It appears it will only move 2 days to March 24. Bummer puts us back to August 2010 for referral. Hopefully it will move 5-7 days next month to stay on track! We have had an action packed summer lots of traveling and looking forward to hopefully our last couples only vacation to Cancun Aug 30-Sept 5 before Jailyn comes. We have had 3 last vacations before Jailyn comes and Cancun will be 4 last vacations and hopefully the next beach vacation will be with Jailyn!

We are so thrilled Katie and Billy got engaged on Friday, August 21, in Chicago. Billy came over and ask permission for Katie's hand in marriage on Thursday before they left Friday. Mike and Billy, both sentimental guys, were quite emotional and a bit teary eyed as Billy asked Mike with the excuse he needed to bring Mike over some cigars. He confessed it was a bit of a lie to get to talk with Mike. We could not be any happier for Katie (she is able to move forward with all the plans she has been talking about) and will have a new son in law, Billy, joining our family. They have found their soulmates in eachother and are ready to commit to a lifetime together. Woohoo! Next year will be a big year for us. Katie and Billy marrying and Jailyn joining our family and rumor is Scott has a good chance of being stationed in Japan too. All good things are happening and the best is yet to come.

We could not be more blessed!

July Moved Only 2 days!!!!!

2009-07-21T17:11:00.002-04:00

July is always an action packed month! Mike's b-day July 1, my b-day July 11, family picnic, my Mary Kay unit awards and my trip to Dallas for my annual seminar. Mike and I went to Chicago for the 4th of July to celebrate our birthdays. We saw Jersey Boys....LOVED IT! Had a reality check that this time next year everything will begin to happen with Jailyn. Woohoo! With it moving only 2 days we are on target for July 2010 referral and I still have a gut feeling it will speed up once we get thru the months of March 2006 and April 2006. So they are officially on March 22 which is 12 weeks to June 13. If they can get back on target of moving a week at a time it is July 2010. I am optimistic it will not get worse and that she is coming in 2010. The journey continues to be long but hopeful as we are rounding the bases to home plate this time next year. After 3 1/2 years down what is one more.

Well I am off to Dallas to pick up a Diamond ring for my sales in Mary Kay and hope to be the top sales director in sales in my national area.

Wish me luck!

Woohoo!!!!! June referrals are coming!!!!

2009-06-19T12:52:00.002-04:00

Just got word the website is moving 6-7 days! We are still on track for next summer referral and I believe it is going to speed up! My feeling is that Jailyn has just been born or will be born in the next 6 months. How exciting! Pray for Jailyn that God holds her close and has a hand of protection over her until she is in our arms!
I love that the website is moving!!!!

Woohoo!!!!! They did refer babies this month!

2009-05-21T22:10:00.002-04:00

Just got word from our agency they are to March 14! It moved 6 days today May 21......we are still on track for July referral 2010!

Have a fabulous Memorial Day!

Mid May no referrals for this month to date

2009-05-17T22:24:00.003-04:00

Well delay and obstacles seem to be upon us. There have been no referrrals this month and nothing annouced by the CCAA. However speculation is that they are holding referrals due to the swine flu. Who knows we are definitely in a holding pattern which means more delays and pushing us further back into summer 2010. When the SARS scare happened China held referrals. Once again another time to really let go and live my life. I have taken on Yoga to calm the spirit and strengthen my post surgery body that needs much toning, strengh and weightloss. So focusing on living life and leaving Jailyn's arrival in God's hands as we can do nothing to get her with us any quicker.

Pray for patience and that the CCAA will refer babies in June. In June our journey will be 3 1/2 years and waiting......

Love and hanging there!

May update

2009-05-06T22:39:00.003-04:00

Well it has been a busy end of April travelling to Seattle to see Scott for a mini vacation. We spent 5 days in Seattle and saw the sights and Scott's place in Oak Harbor and the Navel Air Station. Then came back in time to run the Flying Pig Marathon Relay May 3 as TEAM THORNBURY! We did it! I wanted to run across the finish line and know we can win as a family at something that took time and dedication. It was tough and we did it faster than we imagined and wish we had trained a bit more. I wanted a win!!!! Since this adoption Process has been difficult I needed a personal win! When you set out to do something you never have before and accomplish it you break a belief in yourself barrier. It was a good day! I think I would like to do it again as a relay and really be able to train next time without being hurt with foot problems which have been a challenge through the whole training period.

So no real news accept the rumor is it will move possibly 6 days. Would love to see that as it would keep us at a referral in June 2010! Our adoption agency is working with us on the additional fees they feel they need to charge us since so much time has passed. From the Rumor Queen it appears there are any where from 1200-1500 people ahead of us for a healthy baby girl. We are closer but the wait continues.

I will post a picture of Katie and Mike, half of Team Thornbury with our medals, as they waited for me to cross the finish line! I had the best leg of the race! I got to cross the line!!!!

I'll do another post once we know how many days it is moving in May!

Have a Marvelous May!

April update

2009-04-08T12:44:00.002-04:00

The referral box has apparently moved 2 days for this month making the date March 8, 2006, so as of right now a June referral 2010 is what we are thinking if it begins to speed up and move 7 days at a time. March 8 to June 13 is 14 weeks which interprets to be 14 months until referral if we can get back 0n track of moving a week at a time. When it moves less than 7 days it moves us back another month. The only way to speculate our date is mathematically and gives us a good idea of where we are......I know the best is yet to come and God is going to give us double for our trouble.

Cie la vie.....I do have lots of hope it will speed up. Until then we live our lives.

Happy Easter!

Early April update

2009-04-02T23:19:00.003-04:00

Well the date did move 4 days last month to March 6 and it is not looking good but moving only a couples of days this month. So the wait is longer and well into 2010 now before we have Jailyn in our arms.....
Happy Easter!

March Update

2009-03-29T23:35:00.002-04:00

Well another month and we still are not sure how many days it has moved. Many rumors.....You know if it speeds up to move 2 weeks at a time which would be Super Optimistic we could get the referral in late 2009. Middle of the road optimistic would be to get moving again a full week at a time looking at late spring 2010 referral and the worst case would be creeping only days at a time which would put us into 2011. I am going with the middle of the road for my sanity.

Our fingerprints for our govt expire again April 10 and will have to redo and more than likely this fall our paperwork will expire again with our US govt and will have to fork over about another $800-1000. I have really just let go and have decided to just believe it is going to happen and not worry b-cuz we will only get Jailyn when China says we get her. I truly can not believe how long it has already been and so much more time to go so I let go and have faith it will happen all in the right time! However, Jailyn is born in our hearts and we continue to do the things we need to for her to join our family.

Now some disheartening news......We received word our agency wants to add an additional fee not in our original contract. We know our fees to travel will be more as time has passed and a fee in china has been raised earlier this year for the orphanage fee which is an additional $2000 more which we can not do anything about. So we accept those things. However, our own agency is now wanting to pass on another fee of $2000 more which was not in our orginal contract and back in May they said we were exempt from this fee as it was added to families in the process after April 2007. We have been in the process since Jan 2006. It has been disheartening and we are working to resolve not paying this fee. You know I do my best in my business to be a woman of my word and work by the golden rule and try my best to do the right thing in the best honest interest of others. I expect the same from others and especially the agency we have chosen to help me realize my dream of being a first time mom and Mike a dad again. The last thing we would have ever expected was to have our agency make this journey more difficult financially or emotionally. But who ever said it would be easy and we will overcome obstacles and press on......and see what comes of this matter.

Another month passes!
Happy Spring!

February Update

2009-02-27T15:32:00.003-05:00

Well another slow month is predicted. The rumor is moving only 1-4 days. Once again that puts us back another month. Now looking toward May 2010 for referral. The agencies are optimistic it will speed up but I just do not think it will be for a few months as March 2006 is a large month of families logged in to adopt healthy girls. Hopefully we can get to moving 7 days a month or more to keep it from becoming longer once again. I can only hope and pray we will not continue to add time to the wait as it has become such the norm.....It is what it is and we wait and live our lives.
Happy Spring!
Linette

January update

2009-01-26T00:23:00.002-05:00

Well it appears it is a teeny tiny referral batch of moving only 2 days. That dashes the hope for things speeding up in 2009. However the month of March is the largest month of login dates for 2009 so we knew it would probably creep along. Bummer it is not moving faster. We are still on track for 2010 April referral but it has to speed back up to moving 6-10 days a month or we are set back again. It just breaks my heart this continues to be so long and here we are another year and so much time before our daughter actually arrives. But once again we are blessed. We have eachother, wonderful friends and family, a home, jobs and our health. This month has been eventful with a trip to Amish Country to a B&B wooded cabin for R&R. Boy the simple life that the Amish live is so much more peaceful. It was extremely cold but so good to get away. And I lost a dear friend Sharon to Cancer this past week and I was so honored to be her friend and it was such a blessing to celebrate her life at her funeral as sad as it was. I believe we are all here for a purpose and we do not always understand why some have to leave us so qucikly. Sharon I know you are up in heaven blessing others as you blessed me. I am thankful you were my friend and I loved you. Until our next update.....it will be interesting the Chinese New Year begins and the CCAA is closed for 2 weeks.

Late December Update!!!! OH MY STARS MORE REFERRALS THIS MONTH! Christmas 2008!

2008-12-30T01:31:00.006-05:00

Woohoo! Another batch of referrals came this month! Maybe they are going to speed up! What a great belated Christmas Present! It moved 5 more days yesterday! They are through February 2006! Only 3 1/2 months and they are to June 13 but could take a year and few months still. The Rumor Queen thinks they are moving on referrals now to get two batches in before the Chinese New Year January 26. The CCAA closes for 1-2 weeks for the New Year Celebration so maybe another batch before the New Year in January! However, March is a large month so not going to get too excited about getting too far into March Referrals in January!

We had a blessed Christmas....action packed and we are so thankful as God reveals His goodness in our lives. We had a house full of The Thornbury's Christmas eve and a fun time was had by all and a fun filled white elephant gifting was the highlight. Then Mike and I were able to attend the Christian Church for their 11pm Christmas eve service with a nice drama and music celebrating Christ and our friend Scott Moening sang the beautiful song "Mary Did You Know?" The song really touched my heart as our baby will be born this year and the wait will someday come to an end with a beautiful baby girl who has ready been born in our hearts with so much love. I can't wait to have Jailyn here to experience her first Christmas. It was a special night. We had our whole immediate family in town. Scott made it home for the holidays before all the snow storms hit Seattle and just celebrated his 25 birthday on Dec 18. He left Dec 26 for the Dominican Republic with his Navy buddies for a vacation. Katie and Billy celebrated their second Christmas together dating and they seem as happy as ever and busy with lots of family and friend holiday celebrations. Billy's folks were in this week to celebrate with them. We celebrated our family's Christmas on Christmas morning with Mike's Blt's at 10am, gifts and celebrating with Katie, Scott, Billy and Mike's dad. Then the afternoon brought the Comley Christmas lunch and presents with my family. My neice and nephews are sure growing up fast and we all had a great time together as family.

We are blessed and look forward to an awesome 2009 and for God to reveal His will for our lives as we continue to see His plan unfold as we prepare for Jailyn to join our family. It will be God's perfect timing for us. It appears it is never soon enough and God is never early so we wait for His perfect will and continue to celebrate the blessings in our lives. 2009 will bring a trip to Amish country in January at a cabin at a Bed and Breakfast, a trip to Grand Caymen we won a time share trip from Mike's work in March or May, running the Flying Pig Marathon as a 4 person relay in May (Getting in Shape and running as TEAM Thornbury with Katie, Mike, Ronny (Mike's brother) and me running the last leg to run over the finish line, a trip to visit Scott in Washington State and a trip to Gatlinburg in the fall and then hopefully China sooner than later.

Happy New Year!

Orphanage fee officially raised...hopefully in 2009 this will speed the process

2008-12-14T14:11:00.005-05:00

Just received word the adoption orphanage fee went from $3000 to $5100 which hopefully will mean a speed up in paperwork to get the babies paperwork ready. We knew increased fees would be inevitable as so much time has passed. If the money talks we could have a speed up and that is fine with me to have glimmer of hope to get our daughter sooner. So we will just have to see what will happen in 2009.

LID 06-13-2006 / December Update

2008-12-10T22:43:00.003-05:00

Well another Christmas is fast approaching and once again a bittersweet time as we celebrate the holidays with family and friends. The house is decorated and the stockings are hung and Jailyn is in our hearts and her stocking is in the middle of our fireplace underneath baby Jesus in the nativity. The tears raced again down my face as I decorated the tree but God must have such plans for us as the wait continues with another Christmas without our daughter. I am thankful for my family and friends who are so dear to us and provide love and support. Hopefully only one more Christmas after this year without her. The website moved 6 days this month and we are up to February 23, 2006. And mathematically we still calculate a referral around April 2010. There are roomers that the China Adoption Affairs workers are being sent out to the SWI Social Welfare Institutes aka the orphanages to help in getting more babies paperwork ready. Also supposively the orphanage adoption fee is going up to hopefully speed up the process but once again who really knows. More money to adopt not a problem, bring it on China if it speeds things up! I spoke with our agency and they really can not tell us anything we do not already know. So we wait and believe all of this is part of a grand plan for our lives. I have changed the first song on our blog to Thankful. Because that is all we can be in this time of our lives as we are blessed and thankful for the blessings upon us daily.
I want to wish all our friends and family a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as the best is yet to come.
God Bless....love and prayers to you and your families this holiday season,

Reality is China is referring half the amount of kids it was in 2006

2008-11-19T00:48:00.004-05:00

This information from the State Departments totally shows why there has been such a slow down since we started our journey in January of 2006....below is from the Chinaadopttalk blog posting.

State Department 2008 FY stats
November 18th, 2008
The State Department has released a pdf file showing worldwide stats for the 2008 fiscal year (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008).
According to the pdf, total adoptions from China on IR3 and IR4 visas were 3,902. There were 7 adoptions on an IH3 visa, which I believe means there were 7 adoptions that came under the Hague. At any rate, the pdf puts the total at 3,909, while their official stats page puts it at 3,254.
State Department numbers:1998 4,243 (per month, 354)1999 4,108 (per month, 342)2000 5,058 (per month, 422)2001 4,705 (per month, 392)2002 4,677 (per month, 389)2003 6,857 (per month, 571)2004 7,038 (per month, 587)2005 7,903 (per month, 659)2006 6,492 (per month, 541)2007 5,453 (per month, 454)2008 3,909 (per month, 326) or 3,254 (271 per month)
And, as has been pointed out before, back in 2005 special needs adoptions were less than 10% of the total, and they are currently over 30% of the total. So, NSN adoptions have dropped much more drastically than those numbers show.

I just hope and pray it does not slow down much more as there is optimism in the air that the website for Dec could potentially move 10 days as that will be a welcome site after only moving 2 this month!

Website only moved 2 days! AAGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

2008-11-10T17:45:00.006-05:00

So reality is we are now in for a longer wait as it has slowed down again and mathematically it puts us back another month for referral. I like to look at the situation half full but reality is sure difficult! Having one of those dissappointing days..........It makes me angry when it slows down as hope gets dashed once again. The wait continues and now more waiting with only a small batch of referrals this month and moving only 2 days. The dates they have referred up to is now February 17, 2006, and our date seems so far away of being June 13, 2006. It appears we are so close only being 4 months away but in reality it is at least a year and half now and I don't even want to fathom it being longer. God give me patience as this journey lingers on so slowly. I hate it as when we started this process with China the wait was supposed to be 1 year and is turning into 4 years with only 2 1/2 years down......... AAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Pray! Especially for me it is sooooooo hard..............As Mike says there is this hole in my life I just can not seem to get closed up full of loss and grief and it makes me cry for this journey to be so difficult to become a mom and not to know the joys of motherhood yet.
Pray for peace, patience, another holiday coming and understanding.......

November update still waiting/LID June 13, 2006

2008-11-06T19:41:00.006-05:00

Well it has been another month and it appears the website is going to move 3-5 days. We get our rumors from a website called China Adopt Talk and the gal who hosts the site is known as the Rumor Queen aka RQ. The RQ is reporting that the cut-off might be February 20th. That would mean a 5 day move putting us back another month to referral in April 2010. That's sad that it's still such a small batch. It makes me sad when it slows down as the wait seems endless and so unfair. When there has been so much loss and time that passes so slowly and so much more time to wait before we see the face of our precious daughter. It's sad because loss is at the heart of adoption and it is a feeling that creeps up in the slow times and especially as the holidays approach and you just want to have your family completed. There is a triad of adoption loss we all feel~ birthparents, adoptive parents, and especially the child ~ will have to lose so much. I feel it everyday and move through it everyday. Some days are a piece of cake and then there are those days.......For Jailyn one day her loss will come and it brings tears to my eyes, this will mean she will have been abandoned and experience tremendous grief and have lost the opportunity to be raised in her country of birth by her birth parents. It means for her that she will grow up in a multi-cultural family and raised as a chinese american citizen. Her birthmother will have lost, whether by choice or not, the chance to raise the child she carried in her womb for nine months. Mike and I have had tremendous loss in the ability to carry and birth our biological child. This adoption process has not been easy emotionally to process the continual grief and then to wait so much longer than we ever dreamed but I believe we are all a piece of a puzzle and the pieces all fit together in the right time and we are not there yet but what a blessing it will be when the time comes. I get so filled with emotion thinking about our gotcha day. Our Adoption is about love. First and foremost, the love and the ability of a birthmother to love a child so much that she is willing to create an adoption plan for the child she carried for 9 months. A child who was hopefully created in an act of love and passion. I cannot begin to fathom the depths of that love, a love which will transcend time, and distance, a love that can leave a birth family wondering for a lifetime about a child they will not be able to raise. The love that Mike and I will be able to feel, the love of two families, one known and one only dreamed of. I figure that if we do our jobs as adoptive parents, Jailyn will grow to love and respect her birth family for the opportunity that they gave her. The love of the adoptive mother and father is priceless and what I know Mike and I are called to be to give Jailyn the love, support and wings to become all God intends for her !

Not to get to deep but I read another blog with similar thoughts and it was exactly what I have been thinking so I thought I would post this in my words and shared feelings of another as we are still waiting this month.

It all reminds me of the RED THREAD Chinese Legend Adoptive families live by as they wait for their daughters.

"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch, tangle but will never break."

This time honored chinese legend underscores the belief that when a child is born an invisible thread connects that child's soul to all those people-present and in the future who will play a part in that child's life. As time passes those threads shorten and tighten, bringing closer those people who are fated to be together.

So we are truly a red thread family in waiting for the website to move this month!

LID 06-13-2006 / October Update

2008-10-08T23:29:00.004-04:00

The China Adoption Affairs site officially moved another 6 days and was later coming this month because of the Moon Festival that China closes down for the first week of October. We believe we are still on track for a March or April referral in 2010 and traveling to pick up Jailyn two months after referral. Hoping it will speed up as many of the websites have been forcasting attrition rates for families pulling out of the China program and that is good news for us. Especially if it speeds things up and gets us ahead due to attrition. However it is sad that some people have given up. We are staying the course. September was a wonderful busy month for us as we went on our last we think tropical vacation before Jailyn comes. We spent a week in Jamaica and had a fabulous trip while Hurricane Ike plowed through Cincinnati with a big ole wind storm that knocked power out for days and we were so glad we missed the excitement. We came home to trees down and spoiled food in our fridge due to the power outage but it was all replace-able. We were blessed to be away and spared any hardship. Next year we plan on going to see Scott in Seattle and possibly go for an Alaskan Cruise and explore the Northwest. Then the next trip to China!!!! Woohoo! What a day that will be when we finally travel to complete our family! Scott survived his survival training in San Diego, lost 9 pounds, endured starvation and psychological torture . He is now officially moved to Seattle in the Whidbey Island area and now on leave travelling in Thailand for fun and relaxation. Katie and Billy were in Cabos Mexico while we were in Jamaica and had a fabulous action packed all inclusive trip with friends. We are so happy for Katie as it appears she has found her soulmate in Billy and they are having the time of their lives dating. Mike went to his St I's golf outing and came home a little more tired and soar from way too much golf for 52 year old and then I was off to French Lick this past weekend for my Mary Kay Fall Retreat. But most importantly we just celebrated our 7th Anniversary and we could not be happier as God continues to reveal His will for our lives together and we are truly blessed. So until our next post in November.....We love you and appreciate you checking in on our blog.

6~13~06 LID/SEPTEMBER UPDATE

2008-09-02T21:57:00.003-04:00

We are super excited as the website moved 9 whole days in the month of September. Woohoo! It must mean the Olympics are over and the China Adoption Affairs Office in Beijing is back working (just speculating) and moving a little more with their referrals. They have referred healthy babies through LID February 9, 2006, and we are LID June 13, 2006. LID means Log In Date with the China Adoption Affairs office. When you officially get all paperwork in and are in their adoption system you get your LID. We started our process January 1, 2006, and the paperwork and wait and official documentation approval took until June 13, 2006, to be completed in China. The nine day move this month keeps us on track moving one week a month plus 2 more bonus days this month. As of today, I am thinking we are still on track for referral March 2010 with our Gotcha Day still in May 2010. My hope would be to have it speed up just enough to get her the end of 2009. That means let's get the months rolling by a couple weeks at a time for referrals. I know all things are possible so let's bring it on China!!!!!! This wait continues to be difficult but God has a bigger plan and I can't wait for Jailyn to join our family and I believe she will be born in the next 12 months.

Hope you like our newly designed Blogspot for our Journey for Jailyn. We used a group of blog designers from Blogovers with Love who design sites for a fee if you donate to their cause which are special needs children in China. My designer was awesome, Judi with DoodleBug Designs. Her link is on my blog. I wanted it girly and very pink and full of lots of hearts and love. As Jailyn has been born in our hearts from the day we started our journey......and of course it had to be pink and cutesy-wootsy!

Hope you like our blog and stop by to see the latest update every month.

Much love and hugs!

Naval Flight Officer Scott M. Thornbury Winging Cermony

2008-08-30T21:00:00.005-04:00

We just celebrated an incredible couple of days with Scott in Pensacola, Florida, as he completed his Naval Flight Officer Winging Designation Ceremony at the Naval Air Station Pensacola Sherman Field. We are so proud of Scott. It was a very proud day for the entire Thornbury Family and extented family. We were able to tour and see the planes he has been training with for the past year and a half, meet his commanding officers and the young flight officers Scott has had the privelege to train with for the past two years of training and the highlight to Wing Scott at his Designation Ceremony. He is a graduate of VT-4 (Training Squadron FOUR) and selected to Fly EA-6B Prowlers. He received his orders to attend SERE School for the next two weeks in San Diego, CA, (pray for him as this is hard core navy survival training starting Sept 8) then off to Seattle in October to begin his EA-6B Prowler training. We are so proud of you Scott! We love you! We were able to spend time and celebrate with Scott at beach and have a mini vacation too. The picture above was taken after the winging ceremony with Scott, Katie, Mike and myself. Then as our trip came to an end a little God send of hope happened on the return home at the Greater Cincinnati Airport this evening. We ran into a couple and the grandparents of a darling little boy newly adopted from China on the shuttle bus to the car park. This couple had literally just brought home their new son from China having spent the past 2 weeks in country and the little boy seemed so happy and content with his new forever family. They were coming home from their China adoption journey with their son. What a nice little blessing to see the joy this couple had and knowing it will be our journey to a joyous homecoming some day soon. I told Mike "see it does really happen" as I got all emotional and choked up just by running into this couple. But more importantly we just had such a special time on our journey with our son. God sure works in miraculous ways to bless us and I know Jailyn will be just as proud of her new big brother when she gets here as we are of Scott for all his hard work and for serving this great country for you and me! Way to go Scotters! AKA Lieutenant Junior Grade Scott M. Thornbury United States Navy! Woohoo!

LID 6~13~2006/August Update

2008-08-14T00:52:00.000-04:00

We believe our Journey to Jailyn as of August 2008 is approximately 19 months until referral if the referral process continues to move one week a month. That means referral in March 2010 and our gotcha date in May 2010. Woohoo! One more month closer!