Sorry...No Pictures yet!

Friends and Family,

I realize it has been a while since I posted, and I'm sorry. Let me catch you up as to what has happened since my last post. I appologize that we don't have any pictures to upload yet. I will get some of the kids together and post tomorrow night! :)

On last Wednesday, China time, we had our American Consulate Appointment where we received Maelin's passport with immigrant visa. At that appointment we were "sworn in" as her parents with a large group of other adopting parents. There were tears and cheers! It was a great moment just like the birth of a new child. We were supposed to leave immediately after the appointment to go to the airport and catch a plane to Beijing, but we were informed that our flight was delayed 2 hours due to weather. So, we left Guangzhou at 8:55 for the 3 hour flight to Beijing. We didn't get to sleep until a little after 1:00am on Thursday. We got up the next morning at 7:00 to get ready for the trip home. The trip was LONG to say the least, but Maelin was an absolute doll the whole time. Thanks for all of the prayers. It has been amazing to see God at work throughout this whole process. He has taken care of all of the details.

We got home late Thursday night, and the kids were already asleep. We didn't let that stop us from giving them a huge hug though. :) Friday morning was better than any Christmas morning ever! The kids were so excited to see her. It was amazing to have our whole family together. Maelin is really adjusting better than I thought she would. She likes to play with her new brother and sister, and the feeling is mutual. She let all of the grandparents hold her the first time they asked and was happy about it. Friday she had a doctor's appointment where she got 5 shots and a TB test. She also had 2 large surenges of blood drawn. She cried but was a trooper. Saturday, she ran some fever due to all of the shots, but we had to go to Lubbock and do some shoe shopping for church on Sunday. All went well in Lubbock. We got her some tennis shoes and dress shoes. We also got the girls matching Easter dresses. They are so cute together! She cried when we dropped her off in the nursery this morning at church, but we were told that she only cried about 5-10 minutes. After that, she played with all of the other kids and had a great time. We took her into the church service, and once again she was an angel. The kids have played this afternoon and are really bonding. This experience has truly been a blessing. If God tells you to do something, DO IT! Otherwise you will miss out on blessings.

Pictures tomorrow. I promise!