tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38706522832208479332024-03-19T04:45:36.638-04:00Our Adoption JourneyMatt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-44316900370223341962017-11-18T17:27:00.002-05:002017-11-18T17:29:13.301-05:00Four Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"Eek, it's my gotcha day!! Can I watch my video Mommy?!!"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">He loves this video so much. We are abundantly thankful for these four years with him. We are so blessed by this boy!!</span></div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-29025790039799701372014-11-23T09:12:00.000-05:002014-11-23T09:15:29.706-05:00One Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tuesday was one year since Jack's Gotcha Day. It has encouraged my heart so much to think back to the beginning and how far Jack has come. While we still struggle in some areas, he has come really far in other areas. We spent the day remembering our trip to China, looking at pictures, watching videos, and praising God who has given us all (including Jack) grace for each day. </div>
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Here's a quick glimpse into our Gotcha Day dinner of Chinese food and chocolate cake. Love this sweet boy!</div>
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One Year Ago:</div>
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And we also remembered these pictures, which are from before he was a Harmon. This is the difference of love and a family, y'all. And this is a reminder that adoption starts in a place of deep hurt and brokenness. Adoption is beautiful, but there is much heartache that comes before the beauty.<br />
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-24807325995282761122014-11-23T08:55:00.003-05:002014-11-23T08:57:03.734-05:00Jack's baptism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Jack's baptism was such a sweet time for us to remember God's covenant promises and claim them for Jack. We answered three questions regarding Jack:</div>
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1. Do you acknowledge your child’s need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit? </div>
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2. Do you claim God’s covenant promises in his behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation, as you do for your own? </div>
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3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?</div>
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We do!</div>
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And Pastor Dan then asked the congregation if they agree to assist us in the Christian nurture of this child. So thankful we aren't in this alone.</div>
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-64696596440575168812014-09-20T20:39:00.000-04:002014-09-22T20:59:18.647-04:00Love Manor Donation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm sorry it has taken me a while to share this, but the team that traveled to Love Manor just got home and I was waiting until I heard back about the trip to share details. Look at all that Leah's birthday donations were able to provide for those precious ones at Love Manor!! I know the pictures are fuzzy, but it's the best they could get in their hotel room before heading out the door. Leah was so blessed to receive your donations and then pass them along. Her goal was $200, but between her birthday party and donations from friends, twice that much came in! The team going to Love Manor was able to buy more than we had planned on. And the staff at Love Manor was surprised and so grateful. Leah made this video to say thanks:<br />
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Thanks so much for making Leah's birthday so special by helping her to do something for the least of these. She will always remember this.</div>
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Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-77256184957005937232014-09-02T06:35:00.001-04:002014-09-02T06:37:13.481-04:00UpdateJust wanted to pop in for a quick update. Leah did reach her goal! In fact, the Lord provided more than she was hoping for so we are asking about what else they may need. Pictures coming soon! Thank you so so much to everyone who gave. You encouraged Leah's heart and have done something very real and very needed for the orphans at Love Manor.Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-47239578739236725002014-08-14T15:48:00.001-04:002014-08-14T21:06:58.138-04:00For Leah's 8th Birthday<a href="http://www.harmonadoption.com/2013/11/day-6-love-manor.html">Love Manor</a> in Chongqing, China is the orphanage Jack lived in for half of his life before us. This picture was taken at Love Manor the day we visited there. Seeing the faces of those children made a big impact on Leah.<br />
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Love Manor is in need of therapy equipment. Leah has decided that for her birthday this year, she wants to raise $200 to buy this equipment! Our adoption agency,<a href="http://lifelinechild.org/"> Lifeline</a>, is sending a medical team to Love Manor in early September so they can actually take the equipment directly to them. <br />
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We love this chance for Leah to see God provide. She decided (we are not forcing her!) to ask her friends to donate towards this cause instead of bringing gifts to her birthday party. <br />
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We did the math. If 40 people give $5 each, then Leah would have the $200 to buy the therapy equipment. Some of these 40 people will be her own friends (6-9 year old girls!), but<b> if you would also like to be one of her 40 people, you can give $5 to her (or Matt or I) in person or use the paypal button below by August 30th (Leah's birthday).</b><br />
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Thank you, sweet friends! If Leah does raise the $200, we'll post a picture of the therapy equipment that we are able to purchase to send over.Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-90513181604660661402014-06-08T21:53:00.001-04:002014-06-08T21:53:57.621-04:00Jack's first time seeing the ocean<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The moment Jack first saw the ocean.</div>
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-82317329781104252202014-06-02T14:59:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:32:57.541-04:00Six Month Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Lifeline is our adoption agency. They are wonderful!)</div>
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I'm a little late on posting this, but I've been thinking about what all to share here at our six month mark. I've been torn about how much detail to share on this blog, which is why you might have noticed I stopped sharing at all. We want to be very open and transparent about adoption and our experience, but we also want to protect Jack and his story too. We've kept some of the details of his story off the internet because they are his story to share. One day, he may want to share his whole story on the internet. Or maybe he would rather not. That will be his decision to make. <br />
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In the meantime, we wanted to share a little about how we are doing. Adoption is beautiful and it is changing all of us.<br />
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We've had so many ups and downs in the last six months. Jack has stopped speaking Chinese entirely, which is bittersweet. He has learned a lot of English words and is even saying some two word phrases ("down, please" for example). Communication has been the most difficult part of this for us. It is a real struggle to communicate anything more complicated than basic commands. This causes him to have many tantrums. Daily we are dealing with multiple tantrums that involve screaming and kicking. It's hard to know what to do in these situations because we want him to feel loved and cherished.... but at the same time, he has to learn to talk to us in words instead of just screaming. If you are wondering how to pray for us and for Jack, this area is one where we really covet your prayers. <br />
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He is eating really well and overcome many food and sensory issues. He has gained 5 lbs and 2 inches! He is sleeping great - still taking a nap each day and sleeping through the night. He is getting out of his bed and sleeping on the floor every night, but we have decided to just let him sleep on the floor if he wants to. He is gaining muscle strength, which is so fun to see. Stairs, running, playing - all improving so much. He loves hugs. And he loves to snuggle. He is even using a blanket and lovey to sleep with, which makes my heart happy because he didn't have things like that in China. <br />
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Leah, Molly, and Daniel are doing great with Jack. Leah and Molly love to be little mommies to him. He and Daniel still argue over toys (I think that will always be true) but I am so thankful for how I see the Lord at work in their relationship. <br />
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Matt and I are still adjusting to having 4 kids. Being mommy to these 4 all day is such an honor... but it brings me to the end of myself. I truly don't feel like I have the patience, energy, or wisdom to raise them. As I've wrestled with those thoughts over the past few months, I've realized that is a good place to be. I want to be living a life that requires I lean on the Lord. Coming to the end of myself is good because I literally have no other choice than to pray, to trust the Lord to fill in the gaps in my parenting (which are lots!!), to rest in him when I have no more energy for the day. And His grace is sufficient. It's been a season of life where I've had to depend on the Lord just to make it through each day. I am thankful for a season of life like this. It's humbling and hard and so good for me. <br />
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We also just moved! Talk about adding craziness on top of craziness. But, we are here in our new house, starting to get settled and meet new neighbors (you guys are already amazing!). We are so thankful for this new space and we pray that many memories are made here, much grace is shared here, and that much is made of God here. Jack is doing well adjusting to the new house (after some initial nerves). <br />
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I still think about Chongqing, China (Jack's birth city) almost every day and feel amazed that this little bundle of a boy is a Harmon running around our house. Happy six-months-as-a-Harmon, Jack! We love you so much!<br />
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Brothers</div>
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Jack & McKenna. We were in China with McKenna and her mom and dad. It was such a joy to see them here in America. Love the Capps family!<br />
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A nap on his daddy. I love so much about this picture.</div>
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Taking a walk in the neighborhood</div>
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Me and my 4 little loves</div>
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Yay for cousins</div>
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Percy & Thomas </div>
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Me and my boy</div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-51302613898636879432014-02-11T19:59:00.000-05:002014-02-11T20:00:17.190-05:00This is adoptionIn the place where it was said to them, "you are not my people," it shall be said to them "children of the living God." <br />
-Hosea 1:10<br />
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Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. -1 Peter 2:10<br />
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-47583594311925968882014-01-30T20:16:00.001-05:002014-01-30T21:02:52.202-05:00Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Jack and Daniel are 10 days apart in age. Essentially twins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twins who celebrated<i> together </i>for the first time this year.</span></div>
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We celebrated well. With an excavator cake!</div>
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Our small family party was just right for this year. All of this "birthday celebration" stuff is totally new to Jack. He wouldn't eat any cake and he had no idea that there were gifts for him or why there were gifts for him. He pretty much just followed Daniel and just did whatever he did. It was sweet to celebrate these boys with our family (thanks to both of our moms and dads and siblings - y'all are truly the best!)<br />
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There is a woman somewhere in China who thinks of her little boy every year about this time. Maybe she remembers the details about his birth. There was a big snowstorm in Chongqing late January 2011 so maybe she remembers that. I don't know. I don't know her story. But I know that I am grateful for her choice to give her son life and for the two months she held her son keeping him warm from the outside weather. She holds a special place in my heart. If I could, I would wrap my arms around her neck. Adoption is beautiful, but it comes from a broken place. Much heartache happened before the joy of Jack's Gotcha Day. I'm especially aware of that as I celebrate Jack's birthday for the first time this year. <br />
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<img alt="Photo: Jack went to bed without a truck for the first time since he came home with us in November. Not sure whether to be happy or sad about that :-)" src="https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/p480x480/1551676_10152578745554992_349670424_n.jpg" /></div>
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I have to end this post with two major steps of progress for Jack -<br />
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1. He slept through the whole night last night without a car in his hand! He has had a car in his hand every single night we have had him until last night. It made me weepy. My boy is learning security doesn't come from a toy car, and I'm so thankful.<br />
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2. He ate his first chicken nugget today! He has struggled with taking bites of things like chicken nuggets or sandwiches. Today, he finally choose to take a bite of a chicken nugget. He must have liked it because then he ate FIVE chicken nuggets.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy 3 years, Jack! I am so blessed to get to kiss your cheeks every day! Welcome to your fourth year of life, I see many fun things coming your way before your next birthday!</span></b>Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-12879908392480480782014-01-22T21:24:00.000-05:002014-01-22T22:03:26.411-05:00Snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jack wasn't a huge fan of the snow. He preferred being inside. So did I!</div>
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Today was Daniel's birthday! Jack's is F<span style="font-family: inherit;">eb. 1st. We are doing a small family party for them on Saturday. I have some thoughts about Jack's birthday and I want to really celebrate since it's his first one <span style="font-family: inherit;">home.... but, for now, on Daniel's birthday, let me say a few things about my firstborn son. <span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Daniel's big brown eyes and big smile will melt my heart any day of the week. I love it when he puts his cars down for a nap, when he says "I sure do love you, too" in response to "I sure do love you, Daniel," and when he sits in my lap to read a truck book. I love seeing the big brother he is becoming. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In many ways, Jack is part of our family becau</span>se of Daniel. In giving us Daniel, the Lord introduced us to the world of </span>little boys and led us to travel across the world to bring another one home.</span></div>
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Playing doctor. But he was doctoring his truck more than his patient, Molly.</div>
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Happy 3 years, sweet buddy!<br />
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And, you're next, my sweet Jack! </div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-57263797422605354842014-01-10T06:56:00.004-05:002014-01-10T14:12:11.162-05:00Six Weeks Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jack loves piggy back rides!</div>
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Ever since Christmas, I feel like we have seen Jack smile more and more. His tantrums are less and his smiles are more. I think it is a combination of him learning to trust us, understanding our routines, and understanding English better. We are so blessed by this boy!</div>
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Some updates:</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">We moved Jack out of the crib in our room into a big boy bed in Daniel's room. The boys are officially sharing a room now. It has gone better than I imagined it would!</li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">We made a list of the English words that Jack says regularly in a way that we think he understands the meaning of them. There are 17! (</span><span style="text-align: center;">eat, more, drink, car, train, truck, bus, daddy, shoes, teeth, hi, bye, twinkle, tree, thank you, good morning, please)</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">The biggest news is that the cardiologist did an ECHO on his heart and found no heart defect, no heart disease, no heart murmur - just a healthy heart! </span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">He had his first dentist appointment and surprised everyone at how well he did. He had his teeth cleaned and the dentist said he has a few stains on his teeth but overall his mouth looks good.</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">We've noticed that while things are getting so much better with Jack when it is just us home, he still struggles when we have people over. His tantrums are more frequent and harder to stop when other people are around. We still want to have people over because I think we just have to work through it. It won't get better if we never have people around. Thankfully, our friends have been very understanding and full of grace.</span></li>
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The most soothing thing for Jack is to suck his thumb with one hand and shake a car near his ear in the other hand. This is how he goes to sleep at night and how he calms himself when he is upset or confused. This is one of the little things that I don't want to forget.</div>
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The boys first bath together. They had fun and I was very wet by the time both of them were washed.</div>
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Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-91610022969553419682013-12-29T21:58:00.000-05:002013-12-29T21:58:40.286-05:00ChristmasJack's first Christmas with us! It has been sweet in so many ways. I felt it especially on Christmas Eve:<br />
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Here is Jack (Qian Qiusheng... that's his Chinese name) asleep in his warm bed at home with his family on Christmas Eve. All I could think of was "In YOU the orphan finds mercy" (Hosea 14:3). God's mercy and grace on display.<br />
<br />Beauty beyond words.<br />
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But I'd like to be honest here and just say that it has also been hard. Thankfully our families were very patient with Jack. Patient with fighting over toys, patient with his loudness and awkwardness (because even though we knew what to expect this week, he didn't. It was all new for him so we couldn't expect him to know exactly how to behave in each situation, hence the awkwardness), patient with the fact that he doesn't speak or understand English, patient with his eating and mess-making, patient with him being not-so-gentle yet, patient with his nose running (allergies maybe?), patient with his drooling (seriously, this boy drools like you would not believe, can't quite figure that out yet), and patient with us as we tried to parent in the middle of it all. As I write this out, though, the parts that were hard begin to fade away. And what I will really remember from this Christmas is that Jack learned how to give kisses (they are sweet and slobbery and he even says "mmmwah"), he heard about the King of Kings who came as a baby, he laid his head on my shoulder for the fist time at the Christmas Eve service, he crawled up into his great grandma's lap on Christmas Day, he ate 4 bowls of scrambled eggs at the Harmon brunch, he was so happy he couldn't hold in screams of joy at Uncle Mikey & Aunt Emily's dog, and he was in the first ever "Harmon Cousin" picture. Be still my heart! The hard things melt away and all that's left is a picture of grace and mercy and beauty.<br />
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And with that, I'll leave you with a few pictures of Jack's first Christmas home:<br />
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About to eat Christmas morning breakfast!</div>
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A stocking from Granmama & GranD</div>
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Lisa's family</div>
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Jack and his Great Grandma. So precious!</div>
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Jack and GiGi (his other great grandmother). I can't get enough of seeing him with them. It's just too good to be true. </div>
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Matt's family</div>
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Cousin picture! Daniel, Molly, Jack, Leah, and their cousin Addie. Love her so much! Our kids have another cousin on the way, too. Baby Elijah is due in March.</div>
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Granddaddy & Jack</div>
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Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-16142570048508988932013-12-25T16:35:00.002-05:002013-12-25T16:35:23.837-05:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-20183316279884307512013-12-18T20:38:00.000-05:002013-12-18T21:58:50.351-05:00GraceOne month ago today, we stood in the Civil Affairs office in Chongqing watching Sarah & Gregg meet their daughter as we waited for Jack. And then he walked through the door. Like that, the year long wait was over! He was with us. There was one less orphan in the world. <br />
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Two intense wonderful weeks in China happened.<br />
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Two intense wonderful weeks at home happened.<br />
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And suddenly it has been a month and we we have his stocking on our mantle and his name on our tree. There is one more Harmon in our family.<br />
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I told family and close friends how we would need a lot of grace as we interact with them over Christmas. We may have fighting children, it may be loud, it may be crazy, it may seem out of control. But I am realizing that it's not just this adjustment time that we need grace - it's long term. Living life with 4 kids, one of them being a boy coming from a hard background, we just will need your grace. We need you to love us through our messy parenting as we muddle through it. <br />
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Jack is doing really well, y'all. All things considered, I'm amazed at where we are now. But, we are still taking things one day at a time. When I think too far ahead, I get overwhelmed. As we tackle each day one at a time, though, it is do-able. Sarah (the same one who we watched meet her daughter while we waited to meet Jack) wrote a perfect blog post talking about bonding and how it just takes time. You can read her post by <a href="http://gregsarahandcompany.blogspot.com/2013/12/you-must-be-so-happy.html">clicking here</a>. In short, we absolutely love Jack but our relationship with him isn't as deep <u>yet</u> as with our 3 biological kids. There is much we don't know about Jack and when he speaks in Chinese we can't understand him. There is distance between us that isn't there with our biological kids. And Jack is starting to trust us, but he doesn't fully trust us yet. He doesn't know for sure who we are or that we will care for him every.single.day. We can see the fear in his eyes sometimes. And, you know what, all of this is okay! We have only known each other for four weeks. We are learning more about each other every day. And honestly, I couldn't be more happy to be falling more deeply in love with this little guy.<br />
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We are learning life as a family of six. And it is great. It's also hard and exhausting, but we are so glad to be walking this road. Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-61628433404285181642013-12-14T19:36:00.001-05:002013-12-14T19:36:52.301-05:00Bringing Jack Home<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/81895583" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/81895583">Bringing Jack Home</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user23480519">Matt Harmon</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-9752322584884913022013-12-12T15:47:00.002-05:002013-12-12T15:47:42.588-05:00Medical Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My favorite picture of the week:</div>
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The boys were having snack time. Daniel put a cheerio over the vent (which was blowing out warm air) and the air blew the cheerio up in the air. Both boys started laughing so hard! I let them do it over and over for a while because it was so sweet. Bonding over air blown cheerios. You don't need to speak the same language for that.</div>
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Jack's medical check-up was today. I asked lots of questions. Some had answers, but some just didn't and remain unknown (scars, etc). But the bottom line is that in general, Jack is doing well. We are still dealing with runny nose/congestion. And we will have a cardiologist appointment in the new year for his heart issues. But, the bones in his chest wall are of no concern to our doctor. Purely cosmetic. We go back in a month to discuss vaccinations and Jack's cognitive progress. The doctor thinks that in a few months, though, Jack will be on a regular well-child schedule for doctor visits. He doesn't think any of Jack's issues will be lingering ones. Overall, sweet for this mommy to hear!<br />
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Some other favorites from this week:<br />
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Jie Jie means sister. She choose this shirt to wear to preschool one day this week.</div>
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Jack's shirt. :)</div>
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A moment of sharing trains.</div>
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And this is only the beginning of all the brother pictures we will have of these two boys. Grateful beyond measure!</div>
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Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-5186840316023393302013-12-06T06:19:00.000-05:002013-12-06T06:41:43.236-05:00One Week HomeWe've been home for a week. In some ways, it's hard to believe it has been that long, but in other ways our trip to China feels like so long ago. <br />
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So, how are we doing?<br />
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We all have mixed emotions and are still processing our new normal. We are still feeling jet lag (which feels like it will never end) and are very tired. I'm trying to remind myself that it will take a couple of weeks (possibly months?) to get our bodies and our house back into a good routine. <br />
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There are <i>many </i>hard things right now, but I don't think it would be helpful to list those out. We are muddling through the hard things, praying that God would use them for good. There are also many great things! Jack is home! He is getting medicine he needs (for sinus infection, ear infection, 3 infected rashes) and he has a more extensive evaluation next week. He has a backyard that he loves! He gets cuddles, snuggles, and kisses all the time. We are a family of 6 now! We are looking for beauty in the small things - and there is so much beauty!<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans';"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Jack is so cuddly and snuggly. He was made to be in a family, y'all. He seems happy here in our house, but we haven't ventured outside of it much. When I took him to the doctor, he called two men "baba" (Chinese for daddy) so he still doesn't quite get it yet. He wants to be held a lot (which makes Daniel want to be held) so my arms are very full. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
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Daniel & Jack. My heart was nervous and anxious about this relationship while we were in China. It still is.<span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> I see sweet moments of love between them, but there is also a good bit of arguing over the same car/train/truck. Daniel keeps pointing at him and saying "this is Jack, mommy, this is Jack!" and will do sweet little things for him. Jack sees some value in Daniel because he copies him a lot. But, Jack doesn't have any concept for brother (or family at all) so it is going to take a while for "brother" to sink in with him. Right now, they don't hesitate to push and shove to get the car/truck/train they want away from the other one. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 18px;">I have hope, though, in the One who made both of these boys and knew they would be brothers before the beginning of time. He is the one who will knit their brother hearts together. I'm so excited for Jack to learn that a brother isn't like his friends at the orphanage who are there one day and gone the next and who were competition for food and toys. A brother sticks with you for a lifetime with love that is big! </span><br />
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The girls. They are doing great! They still have some jet lag issues, but overall are doing great. They are truly the best big sisters these 2 boys could have. Molly is happily back at preschool. Leah is going to New Life Camp a couple of days in the next few weeks. They are both back at dance class. They are just doing their thing. I love that we sit at the dinner table and talk about China. I <i>love</i> that we have those sweet memories together!<br />
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Some fun moments from our first week home:<br />
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First time trying popcorn. He was so excited about it, but then he didn't like it too much. He only ate 2 pieces.</div>
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Daddy and the girls made pillow cookies (cookie on the outside, brownie on the inside - yum!)</div>
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His first time playing in the backyard. JOY!</div>
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The boys trying to play together. :)</div>
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He loved seeing our truck and car.</div>
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Love this boy </div>
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He sucks his thumb a lot. It calms him so much.</div>
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These sweet brothers are only 2 weeks apart in age. Because of that, we've been able to see up close and in person the difference between being in a family and being institutionalized. Jack was in a "good" orphanage but he was just a number there. We love that we get to love on him and see him grow and thrive!</div>
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First snack time with all 4!</div>
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First time eating mac & cheese. He wasn't sure what to do with it. He looked at Daniel, then...</div>
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We've had some trouble with food, though, and had to buy some baby food. He eats that up every time. Mashed meat and mashed vegetable at its finest. But, we've made some progress with food. So far, two sweet friends have brought dinner and look at this boy. He ate every bite we gave him of what they brought:<br />
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Ms. Suzanne's soup!</div>
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Ms.Meghan's spaghetti!</div>
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My friends must be putting some extra love in their cooking because so far he eats their food far better than anything I have given him other than baby food! Meals are bringing us life right now. They are fuel for our bodies and hearts. So thankful!<br />
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As I write this, Matt is feeling sick, so I'm not sure what the next week holds for us. We appreciate you continuing to pray for our adjustment time, our health, and that our eyes would be fixed on Jesus (the only one who can give us real hope).</div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-84770237886069980982013-12-01T15:40:00.002-05:002013-12-01T15:40:58.422-05:00Airport Homecoming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-92205839109661285372013-11-30T14:41:00.000-05:002013-11-30T15:03:10.012-05:00Day 15: Travel Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jack looked so little in the airplane seats! Our first flight was our long one (12 hours). Matt sat with the girls and I sat with Jack. Matt sat with Jack for our two shorter flights.</div>
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But don't let these pictures fool you. This one is a better description of what our plane flights were like:</div>
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He screamed a lot. A lot. He did finally get to sleep and I'd say he slept for about 6 hours of the long flight, but that leaves 6 hours of screaming/my attempts to calm/distract him. I'm going to be honest - that was rough. </div>
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Once we landed in Raleigh, though, our hearts started racing with excitement! We couldn't believe our airport homecoming moment was finally here. When we walked up the stairs and saw our family and friends there, we were just overwhelmed with love and gratitude. You all are amazing and I don't think words can thank you enough. Lots of airport pictures coming soon! </div>
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This picture was the way home from the airport. I think the looks on both boys faces show you what they were thinking. </div>
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Jack looked shell-shocked the whole way home. He was very still and barley made a sound. This was his first time ever in a car seat.</div>
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Daniel looked grumpy, frustrated, and kind of sad. He was also very quiet.</div>
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Both boys had (still have) some processing to do.</div>
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After we got home (yay, home!), we ate some lunch. This is where I say how amazing our families are! My parents stocked our freezer, fridge, and pantry, along with putting clean sheets on our beds and clean towels on our towel racks (and many other sweet things) and Matt's parents left several meals in our fridge and snacks on our counter. SO blessed, y'all. <br />
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We spent the afternoon showing Jack different things at our house and trying to win back Daniel's heart. :) We had some soup for dinner at 4:30. The girls had baths and were in bed by 5:30pm. They could not stay awake a minute longer. Jack was in bed by 6:30, Daniel by 7:00, Matt and I by 7:15. And, can you believe it, we all slept through the whole night!! Matt was up first around 5:30am, the girls around 6am, me and Jack around 6:30am, and Daniel around 7am. I was amazed and so so thankful!<br />
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This morning, it's been so awesome to have all 4 kids playing around our house. Daniel and Jack are fighting over trucks and trying to figure each other out. Our house and our hearts are full, though, with the dull (sometimes not so dull) roar of 4 kids hanging out here with us. Daniel seemed much warmer to us today. When he got up this morning, the first thing he said to me was "I want to go see Jack." So he is processing and learning to love his brother. We are all processing, learning our new normal. It is hard and exhausting, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!!<br />
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<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-44926896306749643482013-11-30T14:18:00.002-05:002013-11-30T14:18:46.079-05:00Day 14 con't: Our Last Meal in China<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Before heading to the airport, we ate one last meal at a restaurant called Banana Leaf. It was a perfect last meal! The girls had some delicious noodles and we tried some new kinds of juices: lime juice, mango juice, and dragonfruit juice. This is the dragonfruit juice. Jack really liked it!</div>
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This was Matt's fish. He said it was really good. The girls noodles are in the background. I got some sweet and sour pork.</div>
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And after that, we took some naps then headed to the airport for our 24 hours of travelling. </div>
<br />Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-45958141085108929942013-11-27T22:28:00.000-05:002013-11-27T22:30:23.251-05:00To our family and friends:<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We are so humbled and grateful at everything you all have done for us and for Jack, a little boy you haven't even met yet! Your support, your prayers, your love, your emails, your facebook comments have meant so much! And, thank you for allowing us to do this blog. It is has been very </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">therapeutic</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> to write a blog post each day. Know that there were many hard moments each day - sick kids, tantrums, and Jack's struggles with many things (food, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">brushing teeth</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">, sleep, clothes, etc) - but blogging allowed us to see the beauty in each day and for that I am so grateful!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">As we journey home, we wanted to give you an honest idea of what to expect both at the airport and in the coming weeks. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><b><u>What this will be like for Jack</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">While we have had a long time to prepare for him, only your prayers and what little the orphanage caregivers were able to do have helped Jack prepare. While they did what they could, and he may be saying mama and baba at those pictures we sent him, he can't fully understand that those people are his parents yet. He has no capacity to know what parents or siblings are. For almost every day of his life, he slept in the same spot and stared at the same ceiling when he was trying to fall asleep. He has seen his friends leave the orphanage, but never quite understood why they </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> return. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Because of the trauma he has faced in terms of abandonment, and lack of touch and one-on-one love and care, wounds have been left and it will take time for those wounds to heal. So, this trip "home" doesn't feel like a trip home to him. He may be confused and disoriented. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /><b><u>What to expect at the airport</u></b></span><span style="line-height: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">We are excited to meet family and friends at the airport! We <b><i>can't wait</i></b> to see your faces. <span class="apple-converted-space">“Welcome Home” signs, taking pictures and videos would be a great blessing to us! And please hug our necks! However, please do not bring gifts and do take Jack from us. We may just hold him the whole time so he feels safe. If he reaches for you, please direct him back to us. If we do put him down, please do not pick him up. Feel free to talk to Jack, though. Keep in mind that the only English words he knows are mama, eat, and car so he will probably not understand you. You can always point to us and say "mama" and "baba" to remind him who we are. Also, y'all- we have been in China for 2 weeks so we may not smell our best. Give us grace. :) So ready for this sweet time!</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><u>Our approach to the first few months home</u></b></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">We anticipate jet lag for for the first week home. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> We will focus our time on connecting as a family of six. For the first couple of months, we will live a pretty simple life. Limited trips out. This is partly because i</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">t will take time for him to understand that we are his parents and partly because we will be tired. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">For Jack to thrive he needs to know that </span><u style="line-height: 18px;">we will take care of him</u><span style="line-height: 18px;">. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">He needs to know that </span><u style="line-height: 18px;">he can give up his survival mode</u><span style="line-height: 18px;">. We feel, initially, he has begun this process very well. He seems to be attaching to us here. But when we get home, out of his familiar surroundings, we need to be ready for things to be completely different. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">This isn't the glamorous part. <i>This is when we parent and love and grow into a family with a new child who has come from a hard place. </i> The reality of his past doesn't go away overnight.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 18px;"> Prayerfully, with time, we think he will develop a strong sense of security and true joy. We are trusting the Lord for this, and look forward to seeing His faithfulness!</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><u>What you can do</u></b></span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">*Please allow us to feed him, hand him toys, food, and anything else he needs. It is important that we are the only ones to meet his needs (ALL of his needs) <i>at this time</i>. </span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">*If he reaches for you, go ahead and smile at him, but please point to us.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">*Please don't give him any gifts at this time. If you want to give him something so he knows it is from you, you can hang on to it, and we will let you know when it is appropriate to start giving him gifts.<span class="apple-converted-space"> If you do have a special<b> </b>gift that you want him to have now, you can give it to us, and we will give it to him at home.</span></span><span style="line-height: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">*Remember our 3 other children as they will continue to need some special TLC. T</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="apple-converted-space">heir world is changing too! I know the girls would love some play dates. :)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*Please feel free to bring meals, call or text to check up on us, or anything else you would normally do for a family that has just added a child. </span></span><span style="line-height: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">*Please keep praying for us! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">with so much gratitude,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Matt & Lisa</span></span>Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-78723576124475310452013-11-27T22:27:00.001-05:002013-11-27T22:27:24.252-05:00Day 14: The Garden Hotel & Packing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the lobby of The Garden Hotel</div>
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And they have this beautiful garden/waterfall. We had fun exploring this morning.</div>
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We love China, y'all! It has been amazing to be here. I go back and forth between being so excited to be home and being sad to be leaving. Now it is time to finish packing and head to the airport. We fly from Guangzhou to LA to Chicago to RDU totaling around 24 hours of travelling. We appreciate your prayers! See you in America!</div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-12607297485772857372013-11-27T06:39:00.000-05:002013-11-27T06:52:11.071-05:00Day 13: Guangzhou Zoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This morning we had our last adventure with our sweet new friends - the Guangzhou Zoo!</div>
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Jack & Leah</div>
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All the kids!</div>
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Feeding the giraffes</div>
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So many fun animals, but Jack's favorite by far was the tigers!</div>
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Here is a video of his reaction to them:</div>
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We talked about how for these kids, visiting the zoo must be like books coming to life! They have never seen real animals. </div>
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After lunch, we had to tell our dear friends goodbye (they are all leaving from Hong Kong tomorrow morning) and that was hard. They may have only been friends of ours for a few weeks, but it was a very intense important few weeks and because of that, they are close to our hearts. We can not wait to watch their blogs and see their new little ones home!</div>
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We ate dinner in our room and gave the kids baths. The girls watched some Chinese TV (which they love!) while we got Jack ready for bed. Our favorite cartoon here is a show about two bears and a man who are out to get each other. You can easily follow the story without understanding Chinese.</div>
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They watch it closely to figure out the story.</div>
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I asked the girls what they liked the most about China. They said "Jack!" :)</div>
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I asked them what they were most looking forward to about getting home. They said "Daniel!"</div>
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They may fight with their brothers, but there is also a lot of love there. Leah also said that the cruise last night was her most favorite thing we did in China other than getting Jack. Molly said The Great Wall of China was hers. I also asked them if they wanted to come back to China. They both said "yes!" I am so thankful these girls came with us on this trip. We are so blessed that our memories of getting Jack include them. I pray that God would continue to use this trip in their hearts over time.</div>
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So, we say goodnight from China one last time. Lots of mixed emotions right now. So excited and ready to get home but feeling the weight of Jack leaving the country where he was born and has lived for his whole 2.5 years. Look for one more blog post tomorrow before we head to the airport, friends. </div>
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Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870652283220847933.post-55218358829557680052013-11-26T10:01:00.000-05:002013-11-26T10:01:41.845-05:00Day 12: Consulate Appointment & Pearl River Cruise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was teary-eyed waking into the US Consulate today. Seeing the American flag flying. Being on "American soil." Over a year of paperwork all for this consulate visit, for getting permission to bring our son home. There was a huge line of Chinese people and we literally were ushered right in front of them all with our US passports. I wondered what they were all there for - maybe trying to get American visas. We were sent to the second floor, took an oath that our paperwork was right to the best of our knowledge, let them review our paperwork, and we were on our way. Once they process Jack's paperwork, they will issue him an American visa and a packet of immigration paperwork. When he lands on American soil and goes through immigration, he will be an American citizen!</div>
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Yes, Jack is having another lollipop. Between him and the girls, I've gone through and entire bag of them while we've been here. I'm glad our dentist doesn't read our blog. :) (If he did, I couldn't mention the fact that Jack will NOT let us brush his teeth. We try every night. He will hold the toothbrush, but he will not put it in his mouth or let us put it in his mouth. We just have to keep working on it.)<br />
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After some lunch, we took naps. All 3 kids slept for close to 2 hours. Then we headed to the Pearl River Night Cruise. Such a memorable night. I don't think my words or the pictures can even describe this night. It included a buffet for dinner. We didn't eat much of it. The sweet Chinese lady beside me really enjoyed the chicken feet, though. The views were amazing! China lights up at night!</div>
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After dinner and the best views, there was entertainment. This lady did some juggling (of oranges and knives!) and then let some of the kids come up. She made the soccer ball spin around on their fingers. Molly was the first to go! I was so proud of her because I knew she was nervous when the lady called her up first, but she did great.<br />
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As soon as the show stopped, a bunch of people rushed over to us to take pictures of the girls. I mean, seriously, a mob of Chinese people taking pictures of my sweet girls. The girls were very gracious to smile and be nice. They are not going to know what to do when we are back in America and no one wants their picture. Earlier this week, I counted 5 times in one hour, we were asked for pictures of our girls! <br />
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Tonight was special. As our time in China is winding to a close, I am spending a lot of time reflecting on the journey that got us here, on our first few moments with Jack, and on each of the things that have happened these last couple weeks. So much for my heart to think about. Very grateful tonight.</div>
Matt and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455303254834515695noreply@blogger.com0