Sorry to have been so long. Wifi has been really unpredictable.

I have to begin by showing you some sweet pics of my sweet and funny "Mei Mei"!






"All worn out"

The morning after getting "Mei Mei" we met in a large mtg room across an enormous table from a Chinese judge and notary. Intimidating to say the least! "Mei Mei" did NOT like having her footprint done for the official paperwork. Poor baby. I stated again in writing and by interview that I promised to do no harm to Mei Mei, give her a good education, give her all necessary medical assistance, and not abuse her. Then they asked if I still wanted her after having her overnight (standard question) , and I emphatically answered"YES!".
But they got it done...



A little happier later...the notary,Mei Mei, and Mommy.



The next day we got her passport pictures done. Another thing she did not enjoy. She's an amazingly brave little girl to undergo so much change and so many new experiences.

She is very attached to me which is wonderful and an answer to prayer. I sense that she's still torn though because she's surrounded by Chinese people, hearing the Chinese language, still getting her Chinese food, etc. but living with a new Mommy. It would be traumatic for an adult. I don't know how she's managing it so well, but she is. Brave tiny thing.

Speaking of which, hardly any of the 2T things fit her. I didn't imagine she'd be so tiny! She's more like an 18 month old. Just precious! May have to be doing some emergency clothes shopping though.

We visited the orphanage yesterday which is normally not allowed by the government. We got special privileges because of The Little Light House. We were only allowed to take outside pictures and pics of the playground. It was an exceptionally nice facility as far as Chinese orphanages go. Mei Mei was very blessed to be taken to that one. As we were leaving, her Nanny who took care of her up to age 1 came walking out. Mei Mei ran to her and it was a joyous reunion for both. It was horribly hard though when they had to part. Mei Mei wailed. A mourning type of cry. Her poor Nanny broke down as she tried to make a quick exit. It was traumatic for Mei Mei and very hard on me but I think great closure for Mei Mei.

We get tons of smiles everywhere we go. One man thanked me for adopting her. They seem to feel the adopted children going to the US are "very lucky". Ill tell you this. I feel very blessed!



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Location:9 days down...

Having major Internet issues. Hope to be able to post in the morning. Ready for Guangzhou to begin!


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Location:Still alive!

Now in my arms....

Never have we felt the power of prayer any stronger than we did today...our Gotcha Day could not have been more perfect! Bless each one of you who prayed!




Our sweet little Mongolian princess walked bravely thru the big automatic doors of the Sheridan Hotel hand in hand with the lovely Director of the Social Welfare Institute of Hohhot. Our sweet translator and guide and stood by as the two walked over to the lobby area where we were to meet. Mimi caught "the moment of moments" on video when Kaylee's forever Mama was united with this precious child who has been growing in her heart for 9 months and 3 days. From this point on we'll be referring to Kaylee as Mei Mei since they called her that at the orphanage and we are holding up on using her western name for now. We don't want to add to her confusion and we all kind of like Mei Mei for a nick name anyway! So who knows it might stick!

" Missy asked Mimi to write this blog so she could stay close to "Mei Mei" as she sleeps.

Our day was amazing!

This little one was remarkable, at first scoping everyone out ...the lady who kept holding that funny screen up in of her (Mimi holding the iPad recording all on video) , Pop Pop , who was taking pictures as well.... but most especially she seemed captivated as she intently studied the lady she had seen in the picture book sent to her weeks ago that everyone at the orphanage had said was her "Mama". A little lamb finger Puppet and a butterfly one were an instant hit! They never left her grasp the rest of the day!








The Director slipped away after about 3/4 of an hour and Mama took her little China doll in her arms. There were a few tears but only for maybe 30 seconds at the most.


The rest of the evening went smooth as silk! Dinner downstairs at the Sheridan restaurant. Mama, Mimi and Pop Pop couldn't hold back the giggles as Mei Mei
displayed the most amazing ability to suck long noodles into her mouth...relishing every one! We had learned she loves her Chinese noodles! And no doubt she does!!

After dinner Mama, Mimi, Pop Pop and Mei Mei had a wonderful time of bonding back in the hotel bedroom, playing with the fireworks application on the iPad and other wonderful and engaging apps. She LOVED them all!

With in about a half hour we were experiencing giggles and grins as we clapped and oohed and ahhhhed over every little thing Mei Mei did! She adores attention and praise and we love giving it to her! By the end of our evening she was giving kisses on cheeks and saying Mama when she saw pictures of Missy and saying Mimi and PopPop when we held up pictures of us! Eventually it was time to playfully put on pajamas which turned into another time of giggles and grins and tickling tummy and toes!

Night night time happened more peacefully than we could have ever even imagined!
Mei Mei began to show signs of droopy eyelids....Mama gave her her final bottle and she was out like a light! Earlier, the only tears had come at "diaper changing time" so Mimi and Mama were concerned she'd wake up when her diapers were changed but knew she had to be changed one last time before bed. We decided to forego bath time as we didn't want to push our luck. Turned out...she slept right thru the whole diaper changing process. Her new Mama lovingly carried her gently to the crib provided by the hotel which is right next to Mama's bed. Mei Mei roused just slightly and then, clutching her little finger puppet lamb, she drifted fast asleep.

We are all amazed! No trauma, no fear...complete trust...as though she had been expecting us....and now we are finally here! Sweet joy! We are in awe of God's goodness and euphoric over this precious bundle of joy! Missy seems like a natural mommy and is loving it! Again we are so grateful for all the prayers!,


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Location:Hohhot, Inner Mongolia

Random pics

Thought I'd show my "Picky Eater Emergency Stash Traveling Snack Bar". Quick Trip's got nothin' on me.




Kaylee's crib in the hotel room with toys all ready for her!


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Hohhot from my window, 4:30 AM...





My necklace from my sweet friend Joannie. I've been wearing it close to my heart for months. Today I'm wearing it and will have my real Princess right next to my heart!




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This morning we visited the Mongolian museum. It was impressive but to be honest my mind was elsewhere...several hours ahead elsewhere. There were so many darling children there! I just wanted the hours to fly so I can have my sweetie!



(Biggest dinosaur in Asia!).

The traffic here is almost comical but also pretty frightening.









Next post "Gotcha Moment)"


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Location:Just three hours left!

Made it to Hohhot

We made it to Hohhot!  I will blog as long as possible.  However, I didn't check to see if Macbook Airs have ethernet connection...and they don't!  Argh!  Didn't even think of that being a possibility.  I'm concerned about charging here even with a converter but hopefully it'll hold out til Guangzhou and I feel better charging there.
Our flight to Beijing was a huge blessing!  We had been wait listed for Business Class based on our miles, and at the very last minute we were upgraded!  Needless to say we were doing "the Happy Dance" down the sky bridge on the way to the plane!  We got virtually no sleep the night before leaving because we left at 4:30 AM We didn't arrive Hohhot till 11:30 PM Hohhot time.  That's 30 hours from house to hotel.

(Already looking tired and this pic was taken in Tulsa!  LOL!)

After a 4 hour layover, we loaded in Hohhot onto a bus that took us out to our plane.  At that point it was drizzling...but that didn't last long because a big storm was right on us.  We sat on the runway for an hour and a half with NO clue what was going on!  We get upset in the US when that happens, but strangely none of the Chinese people seemed even slightly phased by it.  It reminded me of the sense of entitlement we have and are used to.  When we pay for something our culture tells us we have a right to get what we pay for, and that includes an explantation if the service we ordered is not to be delivered as expected for some reason.  They don't seem to have that in their culture.
I did discover that there is one word that is exactly the same in Chinese as it is in English!  As we waited on the runway, a bolt of lighting hit so close that it felt like it hit the plane.  In unison you could here, "WHOA!"   From us (the lone Americans) as well as from the Chinese!  Would have been really funny if the situation hadn't been so frightening!  That was the big clue to us though that our takeoff was delayed due to WEATHER!  No confusion there!
The real disturbing part came when we were literally almost wheels on the ground and suddenly the pilot shot the nose of the plane in the air and took back off!  Of course we had NO idea what was going on and our poor flight attendant clearly hadn't learned to translate whatever it was.  We didn't know if there was an issue with landing gear, the runway was iced over, we had a near miss with another plane, or what.  They later told us in broken English that it was weather, but frankly that didn't make sense to us when we landed and it was about 60 degrees and dry here.  We were wobbling a great deal on the first approach, so I don't know what the deal was, but I'll tell you this, we were praying some heavy duty prayers and it's not something I want to experience again!
BUT, now we are safely on the ground and at 3:30 tomorrow (2:30 in the morning Central US time) I will have my little Inner Mongolian Princess in my arms!  I'd appreciate prayers for this process for little Kaylee as it will be very hard for her to understand.  She'll be leaving everything familiar.  Sounds, smells, residence, her nannies, her routine, and her typical diet.  Bless her little heart.  Someday she likely won't even remember this, but for right now, it can be very terrifying.
This afternoon we are due to go to the Mongolian Museum which should be very interesting.  I want to learn as much about the culture Kaylee Yumei came from as I can so I can share it with her later.
We'll have pictures to come!  Stay tuned!  I can hardly believe we're halfway around the world from all that is familiar.  Oh, and for those of you who know the extremely picky eater I am, I'm glad to report we found a Burger King in Beijing!  Yeppie!  I will definitely be going through all of the food I brought though!
God bless you all for your prayers through this process.
Love from Inner Mongolia,
Missy

38 hours til "Gotcha"!