More recent photos of Alexis

Many of you have inquired about seeing updated photos of Alexis.  We will try to periodically post them.  Here are a few.  Enjoy!

Back home again in Indiana

Friday, September 17th started early with a 6:15 clock alarm to wake us up for the big day of travel back to the U.S.  Alexis was still sleeping soundly and we arose to get dressed and gather all our belongings for our departure from Hong Kong.  We got Alexis out of bed at the last minute, checked out of the hotel and walked through the connecting hallway to the airport terminal.  We met up with some other families from our travel group who were on the same flight to Detroit.  We navigated our way through check-in and security, waited at the gate for a few minutes, and boarded the plane.  Unfortunately, the seating configuration was different from what we had seen online and we did not have an aisle seat as expected.

The 14 hour flight from Hong Kong to Detroit seemed like the longest flight of all time.  Alexis did pretty well considering that we woke her up early and that she only managed three short naps on the flight.  We found that the days of reading books, napping and watching movies on the airplane are temporarily over.  We were not able to do any of these things as we spent the whole trip caring for Alexis, with many hours standing up with other parents holding babies.  There were probably around ten adopting families on our flight.

We arrived exhausted to Detroit and went through immigration where Alexis became a U.S. citizen!  We got our bags, breezed through customs, re-checked our bags, went through security, and boarded our flight to Indy where we were happily surprised to see a familiar face - Mike O. from church, who happened to be on the same flight.


Upon arrival in Indianapolis we changed Alexis' diaper and put a cute outfit on her.  We walked down the hallway to be greeted by a large welcoming committee.  It was wonderful to see family and friends again after our long trip.  There were many tears and smiles.  It was a memorable moment and Alexis managed it well.


We drove home with Grandpa Matt in the car with us.  Alexis struggled with the drive home.  I'm sure it was all too much for her after the exhausting day and seeing so many new faces.  However, after arriving home and being joined by some family and friends, Alexis was herself again and she enjoyed all the attention and adoration, hamming it up a little and being the social person that she is.


We're thrilled to be home again!  Thanks to all for your prayers.  We needed them and felt them throughout the trip.  We can't wait for you to meet Alexis!

Anniversary in Hong Kong

On Friday, September 16 we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a visit to Hong Kong.  We woke up to a cool view of the airport runway and the ocean from our hotel window.  After yesterday's rough trip from Guangzhou to the Hong Kong airport hotel, we weren't sure how Alexis would do today.  She had a great day!  We took a late morning 24 minute train ride from the airport to central Hong Kong (on Hong Kong island).  Then we grabbed a subway sandwich, jumped on a double decker bus, and boarded a tram to the top of Victoria Peak, which overlooks the dense city areas of Hong Kong.  What stunning views!  We spent a few hours up there eating our picnic lunch and walking a two mile walking path with more great views of the city.

We took the tram back down to town and walked a few city blocks to get a quick feel for the city.  We stopped at a small city park to feed Alexis, and then got a meal for ourselves.

As darkness set in, we took a ferry across the water to Kowloon for a view of the Hong Kong skyline at night.  It was amazing.  We also saw a light show made up of lights and lasers from the buildings of the skyline.

Alexis was a real trooper.  She caught a few naps in the baby carrier while we toured the city.  We took the train back to the hotel, gave Alexis a bath and put her to bed, and then packed for our trip home, finally getting to bed at 12:30 am.  We joked about how next year's wedding anniversary will seem so anticlimactic after this one.

Trip to Hong Kong

Wednesday, September 15

 

Summary: Group pictures at 10:00, then packing luggage, then a van ride to the airport hotel at Hong Kong.

 

Details:  It's Wednesday night and we're exhausted.  We had a normal start to the day and then all the families in our travel group gathered in the hotel lobby at 10:00 am for group pictures.  We also said goodbye to families that we didn't expect to see again.  We then spent the last hours at the hotel packing while fitting in lunch at an Arabian restaurant next to the hotel.  At 4:00 we checked out, and then around 4:45 we boarded a van for the trip to Hong Kong.  We expected it to take a little over three hours.  It took about 90 minutes just to get out of Guangzhou, and then when we got to Hong Kong we had to go through the Chinese checkpoint after unloading our luggage from the van and transferring it to another van licensed for Hong Kong.  Then we got into the new van and went through the Hong Kong checkpoint.  Meanwhile, Alexis was restless much of the trip - especially toward the end.  There were a number of screaming fits and lots of crying throughout the day despite our best efforts to help her.  We think the long day without any good naps, along with the continual change in environment was difficult for her today.  It was certainly difficult for us.

 

Now we're checked in at the airport hotel and we hope to take the train Thursday into downtown Hong Kong to do some sightseeing.  Please pray for us because it's difficult to judge whether Alexis' behavior is due to the circumstances here or just her normal personality.  Either way, the last two days have been tough and we're not particularly looking forward to the long flight on Thursday.

Flight info

For those who are interested in our return flight information, we have two legs to our trip home Friday the 17th.   We fly from Hong Kong to Detroit on Delta flight 26, arriving in Detroit at 12:15 pm.  Then we take Delta flight 1593 from Detroit to Indy arriving at 3:09 pm.  We can't wait to get home!

Another day in Guangzhou

Tuesday,  September 14

 

Summary:  A late morning swim with Alexis, a trip to the U.S. Consulate for the oath taking ceremony, dinner at McDonald's and a walk in the park made up our day.

 

Details: Alexis was in a weird mood today.  She had her best sleep of the week last night after yesterday's tiring activities.  We thought she would be in high spirits today after all the rest  - she did not get up once during the night.  However, she woke up on the wrong side of the crib and started the day in a crabby mood.  We decided to take her for a swim at the outdoor pool here and she seemed to enjoy it.  One of her pals Eliana had her first swim and the two splashed around together.  After the swim we gave her a bath, had a short rest, and then boarded a bus to the U.S. Consulate.  There we waited with about 40 other families to have our names called to a window where we showed our passports, received a few papers and signed a document.  After all the families finished, a consulate manager came out and spoke to us.  Then we all raised our right hands and said an oath that all the information we provided to the consulate was true.  We were told that all of our visa paperwork was approved and that our visas would be ready Wednesday.

 

We then were bused back to the hotel.  It was raining at this time so we spent a little time in the hotel room and then joined some travel group friends for a quick meal at McDonald's.  After dinner, we went for a nice walk at a nearby park.  Alexis fell asleep in the baby carrier toward the end of the walk.  We've noticed that there are very few birds, bugs and dogs in the cities we've visited.  I always expect to see lots of pigeons in big cities.  Not in China.

 

It's a little weird that tomorrow we will leave Guangzhou.  All the families are ready to get back to the U.S., but it's sad to leave all our new friends behind after going through such an emotional experience together.  Wednesday at 5:00 we'll join another couple and their baby for a van ride to Hong Kong.  It will be like going to another country in some ways because we have to pass through customs at the border and Hong Kong has a different currency than mainland China.  Thursday we'll sightsee in Hong Kong.  Then we'll be up early Friday for our 9:15 am flight to the U.S.

Consulate day and pictures of the children

Monday, September 13

 

Summary: Our guides took our paperwork to the U.S. consulate this morning, and there were no problems.  This afternoon we were bused to a shopping district where we and the other families ate lunch, did some shopping, ate dinner and took a taxi back to the hotel.  Tomorrow we go to the consulate in the afternoon for an oath taking ceremony, and then Wednesday we get Alexis' visa for travel to the U.S. and leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong in the evening.

 

Details: Alexis slept late this morning, so we may need to get her to bed earlier.  We had breakfast and then had to be back in our rooms at 10:00 to be ready for a phone call from our guides if any clarifications were needed.  The guides went to the U.S. consulate on our behalf and processed all of our immigration paperwork.  Fortunately, the consulate appointment went fine so now we just wait for the consulate to prepare Alexis' visa for travel to the U.S.  It should be ready by Wednesday afternoon, at which time we'll take a van to a hotel by the Hong Kong airport for two nights stay.  Thursday we'll do some sightseeing in Hong Kong and then we'll fly home Friday.

 

While Malcolm manned the hotel room during Alexis' late morning nap, Marilyn took a walk to the park with Janet, one of the family members here.  Marilyn really enjoyed the walk and will take Malcolm and Alexis back there to see the park.

 

At 1:00 pm our guides had a bus waiting to take us to an island in the middle of Guangzhou (surrounded by rivers).  On the island is a famous hotel called the "White Swan Hotel" where, unbeknownst to us, many adoption groups take pictures of all their adopted children together on a red sofa in the hotel.  We spent about 30 chaotic minutes propping the children on the sofa for various pictures.  We got a pictures with all the children, with the five Jiangxi children, and with Alexis' foster home friend Mya, among many others.  It was fun to see all the children at one time, ranging from babies to a 13 year old.  Alexis held up quite well through all the commotion, only going into tears once.

 

After the group photos we grabbed a quick lunch at Subway and then did some shopping for small items.  Marilyn negotiated hard and well after putting up with lots of overly attentive shopkeepers.  We joined some other group members for a rest in the hotel lobby and Alexis got a short nap, and then we had dinner at a local restaurant and took a taxi back to the hotel.  We thought Alexis was ready for bed but, as usual she proved us wrong and is still fighting sleep as this is typed.