To Finish Up

Well we thought it was due time that we finish telling you about the trip.  After Micah and myself boarded the plane for home; Mom, Nathan, and Abby were left with a couple more days to tour around Guangzhou.  One of the main stops at that point, for the two ladies in the group, was the pearl market in downtown Guangzhou.  After picking up a few pieces of jewelry, it was back to hotel.  The next day was a little more leisure inclined with a photo on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel and one last dinner at Lucy’s.




The next day started with an early ride to the airport. The time had finally come to take this precious bundle home to the USA.  After a gruelling 16 hours worth of flights; Mom, Nate, and Abby made it safely home and were greeted by friends and family.


But this is far from the end. Over the next few months we will be updating to show how Abby is adjusting to life in the US and plenty of pictures will be provided.  ‘Til next time.
Love,
The DeSpains

Now it's my turn to Blah, Blah, Blah...

It’s a little after midnight Okie time, so no one should see this until this evening my time, 13 hr time difference here.  I put Daniel and Micah on the plane this morning at 8:20 a.m. (China time).  That was hard for mama.  But we did it!  At 2:15 (China time) we leave for the U S Consulate to take the oath and receive final documentation for trip to home.  Nathan, Abigail, and I leave at 8:20 a.m. (China time) on Friday to begin the very last leg of our journey.  And what a journey it has been!  God has been so good to protect and preserve all of us.  We are beyond excited to head back and settle into the new routine for our family.   Well, that is some of us are because the new school year is staring us in the face!  Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes and please keep praying.  I may try this again later and see if I can post pics.  We’ll see!
Love to all,  Kim

Panda, Panda, Panda!

So our first day in Guangzhou was spent resting up and milling about town checking out the shops and parks. We found a restaurant called Lucy’s that serves all sorts of American fare (much to the relief of most of our group).  The next day we were off to see the largest zoo in all of Asia.  The amount of animals was amazing and we saw more pandas in one day than most people will see in their entire life.  It was a great day but by the end of it we were exhausted.  Today, Abby went in for her physical examination and tomorrow Micah and myself will be flying home.  Mom, Nathan, and Abby will be headed for home on Friday.

Touring with baby

Well when we were back in Guiyang we among being exhausted from non-baby friendly tours and spending more time looking for dinner than we ever have in our lives, we managed to lose our internet.  Calls to the front desk revealed that the entire hotel was having technical difficulties and we didn’t get a chance to post before we left. So picking up where we left off, the day after touring the waterfall we went to the Ancient City in Guiyang which is over 600 years old. Big city walls and old shopping districts make up this tourist hot spot that is actually an area where people still live and work.  We all enjoyed it but Abby Mei Li was getting a little worn out by the end of the day. That is until she found a few things to catch her attention…..dolls.





The next day was our trip to tour the orphanage and the location where Abby Mei was found.  It was very moving to see all of the little children living in the orphanage and those waiting to be adopted.  We aren’t allowed to post any photos of the children there but we found out that many of the children’s parents are farmers and are just leaving them at the orphanage until they have saved up some money to bring them back home and take care of them.  A trip to the largest temple in Guiyang and a jungle where you can walk right next to and feed the monkeys was our last tour in Guiyang and the day after that we boarded the plane for Guangzhou where we will get Abby’s passport and meet with the American consolate.

Picture Heavy Post

So from what I hear everyone is begging for more pictures so this post is going to oblige.  Day before yesterday was pretty easy going. We left early in the morning to meet with the orphanage director and fill out more paperwork.  One of those documents was the Chinese legal adoption form which now states her name as Abigail Mei-Li DeSpain.  A few donations, signatures, and 2 hours of no a/c and we headed back to the hotel some very long naps and more city exploration.
The next morning we headed out bright and early for the largest waterfall in all of Asia.  It was a long drive but it was well worth it.  As for Abby, you have never met a more easy going little girl.  The separation issues and her grieving are still going on and she cries frequently, but long car rides and trips to a Chinese Walmart Supercenter don’t even bother this child.  She just goes with the flow and doesn’t complain.  We’re about to start the day with a trip to the old city district of Guiyang so I’ll leave you with these pics.
Love,
Kim, Daniel, Nathan, Micah, and Abigail Mei

Bedroom for Abigail

Guess who we have?

Guess Who We Have???

August 3rd, 2008

Long story short, no post last night due to utter exhaustion on all of our parts (falling asleep at around 6 p.m.).  So I guess our visit to Xi’an, the Terra-Cotta Warriors, and the massive city parks will have to wait until our next post because the pressing news is this……WE HAVE HER!!!  That’s right, after arriving in Guiyang this afternoon we barely had time to unpack our bags before “our china doll” arrived.

So there she is folks.  We were all waiting down in the hotel lobby when her foster parents brought her in.  We all sat down to talk along with our guide/translator and the orphanage director.  Many signitures and photos later we said goodbye to the director and foster family and were left with the little girl.  Needless to say the separation was tough ( and will be for a while).  There was lots of crying on her part but mom finally managed to get her down for a nap.  She just woke up a few minutes ago and is actually smiling and laughing at Nathan and Micah’s antics (go figure…).  I’ll put another photo below, this one of all of us along side of her foster family.  I’m forced to cut this post short due to little internet availability so until next time, God bless and we thank you for your prayers.

Love,
Kim, Daniel, Nathan, Micah, and now, Sassy (soon to be named something else!)