Home Sweet Home

There is no 5-star hotel can compare with our home!  It feels so good to be home.    Just being home already makes life happier and future brighter.

Here are some pictures and a brief recap of our trip:

Pearl, at the park famous for seagulls in winter.  Thousands of seagulls fly to this park every  winter, and it has become one of the major attractions there.   Our kids had so much fun feeding the seagulls. 

During the first week, Bethany refused to feed herself.   

Second week!   What a big progress looking back now.

Ruth's Gotcha Day!   On the right holding Ruth is her foster mother.    I used different toys and  snacks to try to get her attention, but...

She cried, and cried....

and screamed, and screamed......

..until she ran out of breath.    She took a crying break, then started crying again.....

Back to our hotel, after about 6 hours of crying,  Ruth finally calmed down in Daddy's arms.

Next day at the Civil Affair Office, ready to sign our papers.

This is our first family picture with all 8 of us!     The moment I've been dreaming about.     I also realized that when you have six kids, it is almost impossible to take a decent family picture!      This was our 7th try!

Finally, a nice picture!

We brought three ethnic dolls at a local museum in GuiZhou, each represents an ethnic group that our girls might be from.      The doll in the middle represents the GaoShan(high mountain) ethnic in it's traditional outfit.   This doll is for Bethany because she came from a remote village located in very high altitude part of Yunnan.   The one on the right is the Miao, which is where we believe Ruth is from.    She was abandoned at a town where most Miao people lives.    Pearl picked out the Mongolian doll on the left.   The boys always have a suspicion that she is Mongolian, because of her fair skin and light-color hair.   Interestingly, out of about 30 different ethnic dolls, Pearl, without any hesitation, picked out this one and insisted on getting this one!

This is the immeasurable joy of adoption - going from this.....

to this.....

Ruth and Pearl playing hide-and-seek at the airport.

They are tired.   But they have been the best big sisters and brothers they can be.

Busy Dad is happy Dad!   Ha,Ha...

Another surprise visit by San's sister and brother-in-law from Hong Kong.   They took  a  2-hour train to GuangZhou to spend a day with us and help us with the kids. 

Our little princess had so much fun at the playground.   Bethany loves the swing too.   She was a little scared and reluctant to get on at first.    But once she got on, she loved it.

A picture with our travel group.   Our tour guide in between San and me.      

On our way to Hong Kong.....   

Bethany with San's sister, Grace.    

A big family picture with San's family.     The 8 of us spend three nights at their apartment, intruded their home, interrupted their work schedule, devoured all their food, created tons of laundry, and left a big mess.  But they have been the most loving and gracious family to us.   On the last day as we packed for home, they surprised us with bags and bags of gifts, toys and snacks.   We stuffed every single inch of space in our luggage.   It was so sad to leave, because we honestly don't know when, if ever, we will be able to visit Hong Kong as a family again.    We've doubled the number of kids in our family in two years, made so much sacrifice for them.   Is it worth it?   I always think.   One night in GuiZhou, I shared with our 8-year-old Faith that Mommy is so tired and discouraged, and asked her if she thinks Mommy is making a mistake.     Faith told me, "Mommy, but they are God's children!"      The Lord once again used a child to redirect me and lift me up.    This is what keeps us going.

We saw this banner over our garage as soon as we pulled into the drive way.   A friend had made this and put this up for us before we arrived home.     It brought me to tears.      Jeremiah 29:11 is the verse we've been clinging to, before, during and after our adoption trip.  

We were so blessed with beautiful warm weather over the weekend.    The kids  spend some fun time outdoor.

After loads and loads of laundry, we are ready to get back to our routine.    The older kids will get back to their classes and school work.   We have doctor check-up appointments for Bethany and Ruth on Wednesday.   I will also contact the school to get Bethany assessed and placed.    Pearl will start her pre-K speech class two mornings a week at the end of this month.     We are also praying about putting Faith in public school for the remaining school year, because I am not sure I can effectively teach her at home with all the changes and adjustments.      There are so much to pray for and so much need for grace.

My mom called me on Saturday and shared this verse with me:   Phillippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose."

:-)