The Great Wall

What a day! Today Doug kicked MS's butt - he climbed the Great Wall!! I had no idea he was actually going to do it until he was already halfway to the first tower. It was the bravest and stupidest thing he has ever done - all at the same time. I was a wreck until he made it back down. Needless to say, he ddn't have any energy left for anything the rest of the day, but he was on cloud 9 just knowing that he accomplished that feat. I have never been so proud of him or so scared in my whole life. By the time I found him way off in the distance in the middle of a crowd of climbers, he was already struggling and he was only halfway up - with the trek back down (even more treacherous than going up) still looming in front of him. I kept thinking he would turn back but he didn't. The steps are very steep and all different sizes and heights. To see pictures of today's adventures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/GreatWallJadeCloisonne.

Today we also went to a jade factory and a cloisonne factory. We ate at an authentic Chinese restaurant, the went to the Summer Palace. Doug and I stayed on the bus for that tour - we are preserving our energy for the big day tomorrow. Mom did all the walking and handled it like a champ. Her view of the world is expanding by the minute here! I'm so happy that she gets to experience this with us.

By tonight, I was exhausted from all the walking and Mom was very tense in her neck and shoulders so we went down to the hotel spa for a massage. It was wonderful! Now, it is way past bedtime but I had to get this done before morning as there will be no time then.

Tomorrow is the BIG day! We meet the rest of our group in the hotel lobby at 8:30 and then head to the airport. We will fly from Beijing to Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, where we will meet our babies!! We, along with seven of the other families in our group, will meet the babies at our hotel in a conference room. The wave of reality are starting to come more often... this is actually happening... FINALLY!

Sorry for the short post tonight... for more on our day, see the captions in our photo album.

Please continue to pray for Maddie as her little world is about to be turned upside down. We love her so much, and in time, she will feel the same about us. But, until that adjustment is made, she will be scared to death and will grieve all the losses she has experienced in her short life.

Much love, Doug, Beth, & Grandma Jo

Friday-Beijing

This is Kris's blog from yesterday:

Today we went to the forbidden city. One thing i've learned is that the chinese don't do anything small. The forbidden city has got to be a mile long from front to back. It's got 9,999 rooms. If you don't know, this is where the emperor lived, when he ruled. We learned all sorts of facts about it from our guide, Catherine, half of which I don't remember. Later that day we went to a acrobat show, which was totally awesome!!! The pictures don't do it justice, but I posted some. Today we go to the great wall. I'm excited about that. We leave at 8:30, and don't get back until 6:00 tonight, so it will be a long day. Oh, I forgot to tell you, we feel like rock stars here. We had many chinese people that wanted their picture taken with us, ecspecially Kaycee. It's like they never saw Amerians before. Well, we better get going, more later.

This little baby loved Kaycee. She kept trying to grab her hair.

This picture on the right is in the emperor's garden. It would have been prettier had it been summer.

These girls were amazing. The little one on the top couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old.

More About Yesterday's Tours

Since I'm awake, here is the rest of our day yesterday. As I mentioned in the previous post, we visited Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City.

Tianamen Square is the entrance to the Forbidden City. It is a huge square where people congregate. Daniel, you can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square.

The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emporers for five centuries. In addition, it was also the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government. Daniel, more homework - read more about the Forbidden City here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City. Also, I found this blog that outlines much of rich symbolism within the city: http://www.rccsd.org/MSmith/SocialStudiesChinaBeijingForbiddenCity.htm I started writing about the significance of the colors, numbers, carvings, etc., but why reinvent the wheel!? :)

The Forbidden City is amazingly well-preserved and just spectacular. The uneven cobblestones and many steps of varying sizes and shapes made for some treacherous walking. We survived it but we were all pooped by the end of the day. In total, we walked approximately 2.5 miles to see it all.

I'm using the term "walked" rather loosely because after about the first mile, I realized that I just didn't have the stamina to make it. So, when a nice young man offered to push me in a wheelchair, we took him up on his offer. This is how he makes his living to support his 2 kids - by pushing people in a rickety wheelchair. After I rode in the chair for awhile, Doug started struggling as well. So,we spent the rest of the day trading off time in the chair. I'd ride until he got tired, then he took his turn.

It was Mom, however, who took a tumble. At the very edge of the exit from the Forbidden City, missed a step and down she went. She bumped her head on rail as she went down. I didn't see it and I'm glad I didn't as I would have freaked! She knows me well... her first words were, "Oh I hope Beth didn't see that!" Other than her pride, she's OK. But, I'm guessing she'll be a little sore when she gets up in the morning!

Duing our visit to the Forbidden City, we learned a little about Chinese numerology. Within the city, there are 9 gates through which you must pass to get inside. There are also 9,999 rooms. There is a lot of significance to the number nine. The number 10 represents wholeness and completeness, and is reserved only for the Almighty Power (God). Number 9 is as close as a mortal being can get to 10. It represents longevity, finality, and supreme prosperity. The number 6 is significant in that it represents perfection and prosperity. I found this to be fascinating as Maddie's birthday is 6/6 and mine is 9/9. Based upon the theories surrounding numerology, these numbers pose some very interesting life lessons for both of us.

The Chinese avoid the number 4 as the word for 4 is the same as the word for death, but with a slightly different intonation. There is no 4th floor in our hotel or in most hotels in China (sort of like the number 13 in the US).

To see the rest of our story in pictures, please visit our photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/TianamenSquareForbiddenCityAndFlyingAcrobatShow.

Last night, we saw the famous Flying Acrobat Show. It was simply amazing. Here are a few videos to give you just a taste...

Thank you all for the many comments and continued prayers and support. We are so blessed to be able to share this journey with each of you. Today we will be visiting the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Tomorrow, our lives will be forever changed as we will meet Maddie for the very first time! Until later... Much Love, Doug, Beth, and Grandma Joanna

A Day of Sightseeing and Soaking In the Culture

We’re pooped. Doug is already asleep and I'm fading out as I'm blogging so I hope this makes sense. It will definitely be short! We’ve had a very busy and physically exhausting day.

I started the day with a good workout in the hotel’s fitness center – got the blood pumping. I missed my workout partner! Melody, too bad you couldn’t be here to work out with me. You would have loved it… this fitness room has top of the line equipment and every machine imaginable, as well as the full gamut of free weights.

Then we met Kris, Shawn, and Kaycee in the hotel restaurant for the elaborate breakfast buffet. While it had some pretty strange food for breakfast, it was very tasty.

They had an omelet station. In this photo, Shawn and Kaycee are waiting for their eggs to be cooked. Doug was helping himself to the many varieties of sausage and bacon on the buffet.

One of the most popular Chinese breakfast dishes is congee. Congee is a rice porridge. These dishes in front of the congee contained various items that could be added to the soupy mixture to make it tastier. Most of these items are pickled something or other. The one I tried as shaped like a tiny conch shell and tasted like nothing I have ever tasted before. The congee by itself was rather good – in a runny oatmeal sort of way. However, the things added to it must be an acquired taste… I didn’t really care for any of them.
One of the tables had a full salad bar spread for breakfast. The fruit from this bar was very tasty – fresh pineapple and watermelon.
The cup on the left is a cup of congee. The white puffy thing on the plate is a steamed dumpling. Also on the plate – watermelon, French toast with chocolate sauce, sausage link (type of meat unknown, very strange texture), salami slice, fried hash brown, spring roll, and a fried egg.

The coffee was like sludge – so strong and burnt that none of us could drink it, even with milk added. I added at least a ¼ cup of milk/cream and it was still this dark! Today, we visited Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and saw a spectacular acrobatic show. Dinner was McDonalds just down the block from our hotel. Not my first choice by any stretch, but Dougie gets what Dougie wants - and tonight it was McD’s.

The Forbidden City tour consisted of lots of walking – close to 4 KM according to one of our informants. Mom and I just got back from the hot tub and my brain is so exhausted that I can’t think so I’m going to upload this post and try to write more tomorrow.

Less than 48 hours to Maddie!! Yes, we are now counting down the hours. We’ll be there soon, sweet baby girl. Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma cannot wait to see you and love on you in person!

Wrapping Up Our First Day in Beijing

Before I turn in for the night, here is one final update for today. The next few days will be extremely busy so I don't know how much down time I'll have to blog.

Beijing is an extremely clean city - at least everywhere we've been. Everywhere you look there are street sweepers - and I don't mean the mechanical kind. Below is a picture of the two sweepers that keep the driveway to our hotel immaculate at all times. Even the floor of the parking garage at the airport was squeaky clean. There was not a drop of oil or any other type of fluid anywhere. I'm sure there are places in the city that are not so clean, but we haven't seen them. The only exception to the whole cleanliness factor is that people spit EVERYWHERE. When walking to dinner tonight, you had to constantly watch where you stepped because there is spit everywhere. Dad - you'd love it here! :)

This is the view from the window of our hotel room. The streets are very busy with pedestrians, bicycles of all shapes and sizes, and cars. Watching traffic from up here is a hoot. As far as I can tell, the only traffic rule that exists is "the bigger the vehicle, the faster you better run or pedal to get out of the way"! Pedestrians do NOT have the right-of-way.

T his is the view from our room at night. This picture really doesn't do it justice as there are so many beautiful lights.

We slept in today and missed the complimentary breakfast buffet so we hit the lunch buffet instead. Mom was so not impressed with the shrimp that watched her while she ate! They did have some fantastic smoked salmon, tuna, sushi, and desserts on the buffet. Everything else was excellent as well. However we learned a very expensive lesson at lunch... ALWAYS check prices and convert the RMB to USD before making any purchase decisions. The lunch buffet for the three of us was almost $100!! We will not be eating lunch here in the hotel again!

This is the lobby of our hotel. It is very beautiful and not a speck of dirt to be found anywhere!
Around 5 this afternoon, a bus arrived carrying the Eliases and the rest of the families in our travel group. It was so good to see some other familiar faces! Kaycee and Kris still looked like they had a little energy but it waned very fast.

Doug missed his little buddy Shawn! I think these two were quite happy to see each other. :)

Once Kris, Shawn, and Kaycee got settled in, we headed up the block for pizza. Did you know that they put pineapple on Pizza Hut Super Supreme Pan Pizza in China? Neither does Doug. He ate it and didn't even notice!! Hmmm... wonder if I can now start to get away with ordering it like that at home!

Our dinner party at Pizza Hut.

Kris and I were going to order some of these tasty appetizers but didn't know how to say lamb balls in Chinese so we just stuck with pizza and soda with no ice!

We cannot have ice in restaurants or drink tap water, or even brush our teeth with tap water as it can make for some very unpleasant gastro-intestinal experiences!! So, we drink soda without ice and brush our teeth using bottled water.
Poor Kaycee - she didn't even make it through dinner and she was out! She did wake up enough to eat and walk back to the hotel.

After dinner, everyone returned to the hotel except for Mom and me. We shopped at a Wonderful Market next door to our hotel. It is a combination flea market, electronics market, and grocery store and had lots of really cool stuff. We bought Evian bottled water for the next few days. I also found a CUTE little hat for Maddie. They have some really great bargains and I can't wait to go back there with Kris to shop some more!

Well, it's time for me to say good night. I want to get up early tomorrow morning and head down to the hotel fitness room before we take off for a day of tours and sight-seeing.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Much Love, Beth, Doug, & Mom

We're in Beijing!

We made it! Our flight last night from Shanghai to Beijing was delayed by about an hour so we didn't actually get to our hotel until midnight. We were three whipped puppies! The upside to that is that we were all able to sleep through the night until 6 AM (which is actually 5 PM at home). I think we have a good start on kicking this jetlag!

Mom handled the trip like a champ. Before leaving, we were a little concerned about what 21 hours of travel would do to her legs. However, she had very little swelling and we are attributing that to the wonderful leg massage she had at the Atlanta Airport (in front of the electronics store).
Our hotel is absolutely beautiful and over-the-top comfortable. Once again, FTIA came through for us. They requested adjoining rooms for Mom and us and the hotel delivered. Having the adjoining rooms just makes or space feel so much bigger! The photo below is the doorway from our room into Mom's room. These pictures don't actually do the room justice. There is rich woodwork everywhere.

I did manage to blow up a circuit or fuse or something last night. I plugged our power converter into an outlet and then plugged in a 6-outlet power strip from home and it ticked off the "power gods". All the lights in one corner of our room flipped off. Everything works again this morning except for one lamp and I think we can live without that for now. We did all kinds of testing before actually plugging in our computers this morning. I learned my lesson! (Note to others who will be traveling sometime in the near future... some adoptive families who have been here before have been able to get those power strips to work. I have not. Use at your own risk!)

The rest of our travel group arrives this afternoon. We're looking forward to seeing Kris, Shawn, and Kaycee, and meeting the 8 other families in our travel group. The rest of today is a free day as we continue to adjust to the new time zone. We will venture out in a bit to visit some shops and to find a bite to eat. Much to Doug's delight, there is a McDonalds just down the block from our hotel.

Thanks, dear family and friends, for celebrating this journey with us and for the many Facebook messages and emails. We don't have the time to respond to each one individually but so appreciate every message and all of your prayers. More pictures from the first leg of the journey can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/ChinaDay1.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Mom

We're In Shanghai!

We made it - we're on the same side of the globe as our daughter! Right now we're in the business class lounge for Air China, waiting for our fight to Beijing. We have about a 3-hour layover. It's about 4 AM at home and 5 PM here. We should be in Beijing between 9 and 10 PM. Our flight took us north until we couldn't go north anymore and then we were going south. In other words, we went up over the top of the Earth. So far we have had nothing but daylight for the past 22 hours.
We flew business class coming over - one of the perks of Doug working for Delta! They fed us well. The routine was eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, repeat.

A mimosa before takeoff... life is good!

The first course of our 5-course gourmet dinner on the international flght.

Our one near catastrophe... the Sit-n-Stroll didn't make it with the res of the luggage when we arrived in Shanghai. So, Doug filled ou a claim form and we headed upstairs to check in for our next flight. While we were checking in, an agent from the airport came up to the counter and said that the Sit-n-Stroll was downstairs and that we needed to go claim it. Mom said she would go while we finish checking in. So of she went. Right after she left, one of the agents showed up with the stroller and no mom. He wanted the paperwork that mom had! So I went off to look for Mom but couldn't find her, couldn't find anyone to help me find her because of the language barrier, and I was freaking out... we lost Mom in Shanghai!

Finally, we ended up waiting at the ticket counter where she had last seen us and she fially came back up. They wouldn't let her back in where she needed to go to get the stroller because it would have meant going through customs and she didn't have a ticket. So, long story short, we made it to Shanghai with both Mom & the Sit-n-Stroll even though we lost both for awhile!

We'll begin boarding soon so I will sign off for now. Thanks for your many prayers and the love you're sending our way. We appreciate every message and can feel the prayers! Love, Beth, Doug, & Mom

We're On the Way!

After a major flurry of activities, we left home a day early and spent the night at the Westin in Atlanta. Now, we're waiting at the gate to board our flight to Shanghai. From Shanghai, we will fly to Beijing where we will spend several days.
Squirt thought she was going to China too!

Mom, Doug and me at the South Bend airport.

Mom & Dad's touching farewell. :)

We're just leaving Mom here until we get back from China. She rather enjoyed the leg and foot massage!

Our chariot awaits. We're boarding!! The next time I post will be from China.

Packing

I was hoping to sleep in this morning but no such luck. I woke up with all kinds of packing scenarios whirling around in my brain.

As we have been buying stuff for the trip, we have been throwing it in my roll-aboard suitcase. That is, anyway, until the suitcase was overflowing. Then we filled up Maddie's little crib in our bedroom. I just can't believe how much stuff we have to take for a kid - bottles, bibs, diapers, wipes, the little sucky thingy for her nose, and the small pharmacy for all of the "just in case" scenarios. To keep the volume and weight down, we split the list with Kris & Shawn but it's still a LOT of stuff!

We have been told that we can buy diapers and clothes in China - especially since we don't know for sure what size she's in now (it's hard to tell under those layers and layers of clothes in her pictures). However, we do need a few outfits and sleepers to get by until we get to the store after we receive her. And, we have so many cute little outfits, it's difficult to resist the urge to take them with us! As for diapers, we can buy those in China as well but the quality is not the same as what we have in the US. So, we have to take some of our diapers to use during travel to avoid messy accidents.

Holy cow - Doug just discovered that seats on our flights out of South Bend tomorrow morning are dwindling so we may have to fly to Atlanta tonight! Since we are flying on his Delta employee benefits, we fly standby if there is room on flights. Our flight from Atlanta to Shanghai is wide open, but getting from South Bend to Atlanta may be tricky in the morning.

Good grief - what am I still doing blogging??? I MUST get busy!

Getting Ready to Go!

Wow - it's been a busy few weeks... haven't had time to blog lately so I have some catching up to do! We finally got our travel dates and itinerary confirmed. Thank God for my dear husband - when it comes to travel, paperwork, and all the other last-minute detail-oriented stuff, he's taking care of it ALL. All I have had to take care of is getting the nursery ready, packing, and making sure we have everything we need for Maddie. Of course, that has meant doing some shopping - much to my dismay (NOT)!

I'm not the only one who has trouble resisting all the cute baby clothes. Last week, Doug came home from working in Atlanta with another outfit. It is pictured below. I'm thinking we'll dress Maddie in that before we get on the Delta flight from Shanghai to Atlanta and that should secure us an upgrade into business class. (Fat chance, but it certainly doesn't hurt to dream!)

We have a friend who will be house sitting and taking care of the critters for us while we're gone. Dee - thank you so much for doing this for us! We think Red & Squirt will have a much easier time adjusting to the baby because they don't have to be uprooted while we're gone.

Here is a summary of our itinerary. Doug, Mom, and I will fly out of South Bend bright and early on Tuesday morning 2/24. After more than 26 hours of travel time we will arrive in Beijing Wednesday evening (China time). We will spend a few days in Beijing, sightseeing while we begin recuperating from the jetlag and adjust to the time zone that is 12 hours different from here. While in Beijing, we will visit the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Olympic Village, and see an acrobatic show.

On Sunday 3/1 we will fly from Beijing to Nanchang. That afternoon, we will receive Maddie! OK - even as I type this, I'm having one of those fleeting moments of reality setting in. It still seems so surreal most of the time. I just CANNOT WAIT to hold my daughter!!

We will stay in Nanchang until Friday 3/6. During that time we will complete the adoption procedure for China. We will then fly to Guangzhou where we will wait for things to be finalized by the US Consulate. During down times, we will be spending lots of time bonding and getting to know our daughter. We will also have time in both Nanchang and Guangzhou to do some shopping and sightseeing. We will return home on 3/11.

Below are some updated photos of the nursery now that shower gifts have been put away.

Our little fashionista already has two closets full of clothes! All the hanging clothes are 6-12 month sizes. The two tubs on the top shelf of the big closet are 18 month clothes. Obviously, we're not hurting in that department!!

Much to our delight, our Sit 'n Stroll was delivered this week. I was concerned that it might not make it in time, but it got here - just like everything else along this journey... all in perfect time. You would think that I'd quit doubting that things are going to happen in time!! The only thing that we are still waiting for now is our new debit cards and we are praying those will be here today or Monday. (long story - I'll explain that one at another time)

We will be taking the Sit 'n Stroll with us to China. It converts from a stroller into a carseat/airplane seat. While we're not crazy about taking an empty carseat to China, this will save us big-time when we come home. That way, Maddie will be able to sleep comfortably (we hope) on the return international flight.

Dear family and friends - we ask for your continued prayers while w are on this trip of a lifetime. We will keep you updated through this blog as often as we can during our time in China.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Baby Maddie

More Baby Showers

On Friday evening, 2/6/2009, Gloria and Megan, two of my very dear friends from work, hosted a baby shower for us in Gloria's log cabin. The cabin was very cozy and we had a great time. I am truly blessed to work with such a wonderful people! Thank you Gloria and Megan for a wonderful evening. You guys are the best!

Gloria (a.k.a. Martha Stewart, Sr.) lit the walkway to the cabin with these candles. It was beautiful!

These girls know me well - the set me up right next to the fire in the cozy cabin!

No, the wicker bassinette was not a gift. Just another one of Gloria's many touches.

Thank you my dear friends and teammates for all the gifts, tips, advice, and love. Thanks also to Spencer for taking the photos for me at the shower! To see more photos from this shower and the next one, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/WorkAndFriendsBabyShower.

On Sunday 2/8, my wonderful girlfriends Susan and Kim hosted another baby shower for us at Susan's home. They invited all of my girlfriends and we had a great time.

Thank you Susan and Kimmy for the day of reminiscing and reconnecting with old friends. I love you guys so much! Baby Maddie is lucky to have Auntie Susan and Auntie Kimmy in her life.

Note to self: Before the next baby shower or party or gathering of any type, buy Susan a bigger martini shaker so she can enjoy the party rather than play barmaid all day!! :-)


What a wonderful variety of gifts we got! We won't have to buy diapers for a long, long time! Thank you, every one of our dear friends, for your generosity.


Jennifer Glass made this quilt in the photo below. The colors and textures in the quilt are exquisite. Four years ago when Jen and Greg (I work with him) brought their beautiful daughter Maya home from China, Doug and I decided it was time to start our journey. We never imagined this would happen, but Maddie and Kya are both from the same province as Maya! Thank you Glass family for your inspiration!

In addition to the two baby showers over this past weekend, we had a company dinner. We shared a table with Greg & Jen Glass and I'm sure the rest of the table was completely bored by our conversation. We talked about China, babies, and travel all evening. They had lots of pointers for us. We will be staying in the same places and seeing the same sights that they did four years ago.

Maddie - we are one blessed family! In the whirlwind of all the activities this weekend, it became abundantly clear that your Daddy and I are not the only ones excited about you coming home to live in the US. Everyone around us is celebrating right along with us and is so very eager to meet you. Our friends and extended family are as eager as we are to know you. There is so much love here for you and we cannot wait to share that with you in person!

As you start your day today sweet baby, may you be safe and surrounded by people who love you... people to whom your Daddy and I owe a huge debt of gratitude foror taking such good care of you until you are placed in our arms. Only 16 more sleeps and we'll be together at last.

With all our love,

Mommy & Daddy

Travel Dates!

We got our travel dates Friday afternoon. We will be leaving 2/24 - that's only 16 days away!!!! Since we are traveling on Doug's pass benefits, it will take us a little longer to get there so we are leaving one day before the rest of our group (10 families in total). Our projected return date is 3/11. Now it's getting really real! Soon, very soon, we will be loving on our little girl in person! This weekend is a whirlwind of activities so I'll post more later.

Travel Approval!!!

Our agency notified us today that the CCAA has updated their website indicating that we have been approved for travel to China... WOOHOO!! Another milestone down. We should know our travel dates by the first of next week. Based on the travel dates of others who also got their travel approval today, we could leave anytime between 2/19 and the first week in March. Our best guess is that we will traveling closer to the end of this spectrum.

On a not-so-happy note, Grandma Karen (Doug's mom) fell on the ice yesterday and hurt her back. Please pray for a speedy recovery for her. She will need a healthy back to be able to fulfill her dreams of spoiling her granddaughter!

Below is a link that I found to be very interesting and insightful. It was written by an adult adoptee. Family and friends, we share these links to give you some food for thought and with hopes that it will give you some insight as well, as you will be and already are such an important part of Maddie's life. This article may or may not be relevant for Maddie as she grows up, but Doug and I want to be as prepared and educated as possible to support our dear daughter when the "tough stuff" comes our way.

"I Don't Want Adoption to Define My Kids" The author of this essay talks about adoption defining her as a person, just as her race, her religious background, and her many other life experiences define her. We are all shaped by those varied life experiences and circumstances in which we are placed - things that bring us extreme joy or deep pain, people who touch us deeply, challenges over which we claim victory or admit defeat. Doug and I will strive to raise Maddie in such a way that she can embrace each of those events that shape her life.

We have learned that when we are faced with adversities - betrayal; loss of health, love, a dear friend; vulnerability - we can choose which path to take. One path can have us paralyzed by fear, hurt, and anger, and forces us to build walls. However, by embracing these adversities as gifts, we can head down a different path. On that path we are forced to grow, to learn, and to embrace new ideas. God never gives us more than we can handle and it's up to us to decide how we will react to each adversity. The reward for choosing the second path is enlightenment.

Our prayer is that Doug and I can be examples for Maddie so that she learns to choose that second path with each of her adversities. We want her to be secure enough with us to be able to express herself and to talk to us about the "tough stuff" as she grows up.

Sweet Baby Maddie, in just a few short weeks you will be placed in our arms and all of our lives will be forever changed. We thank God for choosing us to be your parents.

With all our love from half a world away,

Mommy & Daddy

Baby Shower #1

Saturday night, our friends Chuck and Tawna threw us a baby shower. Chuck did all the heavy lifting and Tawna brought her "A Game" in the creativity department. This shower/celebration was with our crazy cruising friends - the gang we spend Memorial Day, Labor Day, Nagy Pool Party Day, New Years Eve, and many other fun times with each year.

Not only was this a baby shower for us, but it was also a celebration for our friends Kris & Shawn. They're travelling when we do to bring home Baby Kya. Kya and Maddie are both in foster care and being supervised by the same orphanage. Kris insisted that she didn't want a shower so there were a few activities to raise some money to contribute to their travel fund.

I'm not normally a fan of shower games, but Tawna had some doozies and a good time was had by all...

Activity #1: Family Feud - Doug's team vs. my team. He had the girls on his team and I had the boys. The guys did well but the girls won so Doug got the gift - cute little onesies.

Activity #2: Wii Cow Racing - a tournament where each contestant had to buy a slot on the board. The winner split the money with Kris & Shawn. Those cows ran for all they were worth and no scarecrow was safe...

Activty #3: It's never a party until Chuck outdoes his antics from the previous party. Saturday night was no different... he didn't disappoint. One of the fundraising activities for Kris & Shawn's trip was tucking bucks in Chuck's diaper. This is wrong on so many levels!!! But hey, as long as it's for a good cause... (Oh, and you won't catch me wearing that scarf EVER again!!)


We got some wonderful gifts. Grandma Karen made a Daddy Apron for Dougie. The pockets contain air freshener, a stuffed donkey (hmmm... she does know her son!), diapers, rubber gloves, baby washcloths, and wipes. Oh, and notice the nipples!! It's so adorable...


Thank you to all of our wonderful friends for the beautiful gifts and for celebrating this journey with us. We love every one of you and can't wait to introduce you to Maddie. We pray that when Maddie grows up she will have an amazing and diverse group of friends just like we we do.





To see more pictures from the shower, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/ChuckTawnaBabyShower.