Hi. I haven’t posted in awhile since I have been busy being mom to four children. It is great to see Stephanie, Sarah and Ryan all interacting with Stacie and loving her to pieces. When they go to school Stacie will surely miss playing with them. It was encouraging to see Stacie love both the swimming pool and her bath.

Yesterday was another whirlwind day. We had to pack everything, pick up different things that we ordered such as etchings of the kids, paintings, Ryan’s tailor-made shirt, pearls, etc. and go to the American Consulate. We even had to buy another suitcase! At the American Consulate we received Stacie’s visa and took an oath on behalf of Stacie. So now when we get to the United States she will automatically become a United States Citizen!! Yeehaa!

We quickly said goodbye to our group of 11 families and took a shuttle van to catch the train to Hong Kong. I was so sad to say goodbye to the other families who had gone through so much with us. Again, I was crying (I hate goodbyes). As I looked at each family with their daughter I thought of how here we were only 10 days earlier meeting each other and climbing the Great Wall of China to meeting our daughter’s for the first time to now seeing all of the babies bonded with their parents—smiling and cooing and so happy to be loved. So much emotion and so much we have gone through this trip and more so this past year and a half. It was a very long “pregnancy” but so worth the wait. She is the perfect baby for us. As I look over at Gordon he is sitting on the bed watching TV and Stacie is hanging out with him and so comfortable with him. I have to laugh because she is babbling mamamamama. Oh well, she’ll get it someday.

The train ride last night to Hong Kong took less than two hours and it was a high speed train. It was nice to experience another mode of transportation. We sat with a group of people from Australia.

Today we took a Grayline bus tour of Hong Kong. It was a great way to see the city. Hong Kong is made up of 3 islands, and tonight we took the ferry over from the island our hotel is on to the central island of Hong Kong. The skyline was fabulous. Everything was lit up like New York City. Our hotel is right in the middle of excitement—bright lights and people everywhere.
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Our flight leaves tomorrow (Friday, August 26) at 12:45 p.m. Hong Kong time on United. I would appreciate your prayers again for safety and that no one gets sick on the plane. I am not looking forward to the long flight. I hope that Stacie will be able to sleep on the plane. We fly to Chicago and then to Grand Rapids—arriving around 5:30 p.m.!! This trip has been one I will never forget but I am homesick and look forward to being around family and friends again.

Sue