All good things must come to an end?

They say so, but really I just want to combine our blogs to make things a little easier to update!

Please head on over to our new blog to continue following our journey.

http://www.ourcontinuingjourney.blogspot.com

Thanks again for all of your support. xoxo

A summary of our journey to China to bring home Hannah Faith Shangguan Xin Xuan.... Speakers on!!!! xoxo

I am so thankful to say that Hannah has indeed slept her last two nights! So wonderful!
It is a wonderful relief to see that she has settled in so well. She is loved and treasured far beyond words could ever begin to describe.

God has given us the most incredible gift of life.... We have been so blessed with this beautiful little angel who has the most glorious shining spirit imaginable!

Hello from HOME!

I am sorry that I am only writing this post now! We arrived home late Friday night and were welcomed by so many of our friends and family! It was incredible arriving to such a warm reception! Thank you!!!!! We appreciate your support so very much.

To be honest, I am writing this and aching for sleep! Given that we were travelling, I didn't get much/any sleep on the planes. And then the night we arrived home I was so wired to be home! We got to bed VERY late and Hannah cried for a minute but quickly settled in for the night. I should add that she didn't fuss at all on the entire trip btw! She was a doll to travel with! She never ceases to astound us! In 24 hours of travelling, not a fussy moment! We kept her awake on our flight home from Vancouver, but despite all of our attempts to distract her, she fell asleep upon landing at home! She slept a few minutes and I awoke her just as we were about to meet everyone! She didn't fuss at all in her carseat and she eyed and smiled at her adoring big sisters sitting with her! We got home and I got her changed etc. and fed her a bottle. She was all smiles! What a gift it was to be sitting there with my Mom, Kevin and our 3 girls!!!!!!! I cannot believe how God has blessed our family. Hannah showed her personality from the moment we got home! What a little sweetie! She slept well and I woke her up at 8:30AM Saturday in an attempt to get her onto her new time zone/schedule. She was a giggle bum and did really well again on Saturday. Saturday night (Sunday technically/last night!) she went to bed at a perfect time and fell asleep after I rubbed her chest. Then at 12:15 she was up. Yikes! She cried if I wasn't in sight and wanted to be held snuggled. She was also VERY wide awake. She was coughing and congested and teething too. Poor baby girl. Add the fact that there is a 13 hour time change, new bed, new house, new smells, sights, stimulations etc.... Poor little one was miserable and then I comforted her. Then she was WIDE AWAKE! I attempted to have her settle after the challenge of not laughing at her attempts of major play! She kept standing up in her crib and then clapping for herself as she squeaked with glee! She also took off her socks many times and sniffed her feet (I do this!) she belly laughed about this. She played Patty cake (alone) and she smiled and waved at me for 3 hours! 3 hours!!!!!!! OMG I know for her little system it was as though she had had her nap and now was ready to enjoy the day! YIKES! I felt like I was going to collapse! This morning I woke her up just after 8:30 AM and we stayed on a good schedule. We even went to Walmart before supper! She wasn't sure about the cart at first and then decided it wasn't so bad. Mara suggested they pretend to be cookie monsters on the way home so I offered then each a cookie for the ride home. Hannah nodded off about a minute from home, but thankfully was easy to wake up! Mara-Grace and Victoria adore Hannah Faith and it is obviously mutual! I haven't seen any signs of jealousy from Mara. The only thing I noted was that she cried at nap time yesterday. I happily indulged her with extra cuddles and some alone time with me. She fell asleep and was fine after. She has taken being my helper to a whole new level! She really is so thoughtful and really a genuinely great help to me. She LOVES to help (always did. But a baby sister is REALLY fantastic!). She was very upset however when Kevin told her that she shouldn't go in when I was going to settle Hannah. Poor little Mara.... She was heartbroken. She is so sensitive... But she recovered well!

Last night and tonight Hannah and Mara had their bath together! How incredible it was to see them in the tub TOGETHER playing and loving their time! We are all learning how to incorporate our "Baby Hannah" into our routine. It is a little tricky at bedtime/storytime. Hannah wants to grab the book as she drinks her bottle and Mara now eats her yogurt before we begin so that she can be the OFFICIAL PAGETURNER!

We are settling in quite nicely. Despite being really tired, I couldn't be happier or more thankful and relieved. We had a wonderful journey to our Hannah and a healthy, safe time and trip home. Now we are home and life is full. We are all settling and doing well. I pray that Hannah has a FULL nights sleep tonight. She fell asleep in Kevin's arms before I could come in tonight! I was singing to Mara and out she was -out like a light when I came in to settle her! I will be crossing everything that she sleeps through tonight!!!!!!

I will keep you posted!!!!

Much love from our home to yours.

xox

(Thursday Dec.3rd) & (Friday Dec.4th)

I am actually writing this post from the airport in Vancouver waiting for our flight home! We now arrive on flight AC112 arriving at 10:23pm.

As I type, Kev has gone to look for a flight update, I am surrounded by the most beautiful scenery of our beloved Rockies. Hannah is sleeping soundly in her stroller.

Thursday in Beijing was spent shopping at Yashow! Thursday night we packed to head home. I so love shopping at Yashow. It is one of a kind! The deals were fantastic and we had so much fun.

We woke up on Friday and Kevin called Air Canada and was told something else regarding whether or not we would be getting off our flight in Vancouver. He had previously been told that no, we would be waiting on the aircraft, then no, we need to do our immigration in 1 hour in Vancouver. Then we would change planes in Toronto and head home from there. Kevin told others in the group how important it would be to be incredibly fast if you want to make the connection. We looked into whether or not there would be another flight. Turns out that yes, there was another flight with a direct from Vancouver home and allowing us an extra hour in Vancouver to clear customs and immigration. And the most tremendous part was that they wouldn't charge us for any changes. Another bonus is that we arrive almost home almost 1.5 hours earlier than previously thought! Wonderful! Trying to reach Air Canada from China was horrendous. Kev kept waiting on hold and the call kept dropping. Then when we had our tickets secured and emailed they neglected to include Hannah's. OMG We were literally leaving for our flight home in 30 minutes. LONG story short (the battery is almost dead here!) we were able to verify that she did have a ticket. Thank God.

We bid farewell to China with mixed feelings. Happy to be heading home to our waiting family and yet also sad to leave this beautiful country that gave us 2 very precious girls. We will always hold it dearly in our hearts.

xoxoxo Will write when we are home and settled! Thanks so much for following along on our journey. xoxoxo

UPDATE:

We will now be arriving at 10:23PM on flight AC112

The earlier time will be welcomed!

xoxo

(Wednesday Dec.2nd)

We were blessed again today with a blue sky! We have been so fortunate with the weather during our trip. Gorgeous sun and a high of about 9.

It was a lovely day to stroll through The Summer Palace. Hannah is slowly getting a little more used to her stroller. The first time I tried the stroller was the day before we left Nanchang and it was only for 5 minutes. She wasn't impressed not being carried around in her carrier on me!
This week however, we haven't had much choice but to use our stroller more and more. Because the visits require a lot of walking, it makes the most sense. She is happiest in her stroller either holding my finger, or eating cheerios and cookies (Mum-Mum's and Bin Bins)!

The Summer Palace is one of my favorite places to visit in Beijing. It even has a man made lake there called, "Kunming Lake". Kunming is where Mara-Grace was originally from. Anyway, the Summer Palace was once again, much enjoyed. There were the usual people selling their goods there. New and worth mentioning was a clown face. Plastic nose, glasses and a mustache that inflated (it was ridiculously funny really and Kev regarets not taking a pictuer of it!) and also the Panda hats!

We had a beautiful walk through the lovely scenery and paintings/pictures which line the walkway. Despite the crowds, it was a serene, majestic stroll.

After this we went to eat as a group in a local restaurant. This wasn't nearly as good as our lunch yesterday. It was served buffet style and had many groups eating there. It lacked the flavour and atmosphere of the restaurant yesterday.

After this we made a stop at a silk store and the bank. Kevin exchanged some travellers cheques and they made him fill out each one. He was in there almost an hour! YIKES!
Thankfully no one was waiting on him (except for his 'girls' in the bus!) as they were all shopping for silk.

On our way back to the hotel Sandrine our guide announced that our babies visas were ready! And then she requested that , "Chef" (Group leader) Kevin accompany her to the embassy. So, out they went. I went back to the hotel with Hannah and had a grand time playing! Poor Kev only got back about 3 hours later.

We had a nice supper in our hotel tonight and Hannah Faith had her bath and 'bottle' (formula in her sippy cup!) and she went off to sleep. She must have been extra tired tonight as she only had her nap this morning.

So, Hannah is officially a Canadian citizen now!!!!!!!!

Also, another exciting bit of info that I have been neglecting to write is that Hannah responds well to her name when called! She even says, "Hannah" but we aren't sure if this is coincidence or not! She has been calling Kevin , "Dada" and she calls me, "Mama"!!!! Melt my heart!!!!!!!!

I remember dreaming about the day that I would kiss her cheeks in person. I am so thankful that here we are now...

Tomorrow is our last full day in Beijing. Time has flown.

Much love xoxo