Hong Kong

Greetings from Hong Kong.  We are laying here trying to adjust to the time change, but my body is telling me it should be sleeping, not hanging out at 6:30 PM.  We got in late last night, and were able to go right to sleep, then we woke up and had a full day today.  We started out at Starbucks, and I would like you all to notice, we spent $59 at Starbucks on coffee.  The US dollar is worth 7.5 times as much as the Hong Kong dollar, but sometimes in the US, I feel like I am spending that much on coffee.  Starbucks is the same the world over, just in case you were concerned.  I have been able to order my exact same drink as I order back home, and it has tasted the same.  What a relief. 

After enjoying our coffee, we met with our guide, Matthew and took a tour of Hong Kong.  We were top of some "mountain" and were able to take pictures of the city.  You could actually see better than my picture is portraying, but it was pretty hazy.  The last month in the smoky northwest has prepared us for less than clear skies.  We were with 6 other families on our tour.  All of them are adopting with us and 2 families are adopting from the same province.  We will see each other get our children on Monday.  One family is on their second adoption, and the other is adopting their first child.  It will be so neat to experience this amazing time with familiar faces, since we have to be all the way over here without our friends and family.  It makes it less sterile.  Many of the families in the group went the non special needs route, and so have been waiting 6 plus years to get their child.  It is such a long journey for them.  We have been waiting a year and it has felt like an eternity.  (and don't laugh at my hair, it seems to be expanding in the humidity and wind)

 Another place we visited was a jewelry factory.  Mike kept exclaiming that the equipment the men were using to work on the jewelry was the same that his Dad and grandfather had worked on in their store.  It was neat to see that the trade has not modernized so much, and it is still done by hand with the same tools that have been used for decades. 

We also visited the Aberdeen (yes, that is the name of the town I was born in) fishing village.  The group was given the option of taking a quick boat tour, but since the motion of the bus was already making me quite queasy, Mike and I opted to walk the water front.  We saw many different people doing many different things.  I appreciated this woman that looked like she was preparing bait.  I took the picture from a distance, though I know she noticed me.  I enjoyed seeing her sitting their doing a task she probably does everyday.  It makes me feel less foreign.  This is where people live, just like I live in Washington.  I see people doing normal everyday things, and it calms me.  I have been so busy the last month getting ready to come here, it is nice to be able to relax and enjoy what is going on around us.  The people are just people and the city is just a city.  I may feel differently after we arrive in China tomorrow.  We'll see.  In th mean time, I am going to lay here and enjoy watching soccer on TV and waiting for the time to come when I will be able to skype with my kiddos back home.  Tomorrow we take the train into mainland China.  It is about a 2 hour ride, and we will be met at the train station by another CCAI rep.  They do a really good job of preparing us and keeping us to the correct schedule.  I am so very impressed with anyone that is organized and maintains a schedule.  Ask mom as she is home with a binder of instructions for my kids and their schedules :). 



Kelly household changes

Today was a big day and the beginning of a lot of changes at the Kelly house.  After enjoying 6 months with Nicci and Addi, it was time for us to say goodbye.  They left first thing this morning, and will be driving today and tomorrow back home to Colorado Springs.  So sad to see her go, but we are so thankful Joseph will be coming home soon and they can finally be a family.  We have loved getting to know our new niece and spending quality time with my sweet sister.  It will be a time in my life I will never forget, and I am so thankful we got it.  Ok, who wants to move in next ;)?  We are five days from leaving for China, and 9 days from holding our baby girl in our arms.  Actually nine days minus 15 hours, which is the time change from here to China.  I am hoping while we are there, we will be able to keep everyone updated on our blog.  I think we know the secret to being able to use our blog.  If not, we will pass info on through mom.  We arrive in Hong Kong, via Portland and Tokya, on Oct. 5th at 11:56 PM.  We will be in Hong Kong until Sunday the 7th when we will take a train to Guangzhou.  On the 8th, we get our baby girl and get to spend time getting to know her.  We officially become her parents on the 9th.  We also apply for her passport, so she can come back home with us.  We have a free day on the 10th, while paperwork is being processed, then we have a medical exam on the 11th.  The 12th we will spend filling out more paperwork, then we have two more free days.  We hope to enjoy the city, and spend lots of time getting to know baby Grace.  The 15th, we receive Grace's passport.  The 16th, we go to the US Consulate and finish up with the business end of the adoption.  The 17th, we receive Grace's visa to come to the US, then we take a van back to Hong Kong, where will stay over night and fly out first thing in the morning on the 18th.  We arrive home on the 18th, and get to introduce Grace to her family.  It looks like it will be a great trip.  I think we will be ready to come home and see our babies here.  I haven't ever been away from them for 14 days.  I am sure it will go quickly.  We are continuing to pray that Grace will have an easy transition and she will learn we are here to love her and make her part of our family forever.  Once again, I must thank my sweet Mom for willingly coming into our home and running our house while we are gone.  The kids are small compact bundles of energy and I know they can be exhausting.  Anyone that feels like it, check in on her and make sure she is alive and well.  We plan to Skype as often as we can, but it won't be the same as being able to call any time we want.  I have spent the last two weeks trying to prepare the kids and the house to make life as easy as possible for mom.  I will continue to think of things to do, but I also know I can't plan for everything.  Mom will do just fine.  My sweet friend game me the neatest necklace yesterday.  It has beads that represent each of my kid's birthstones, including Grace, set in a little wire nest.  I can't wait until I can get all 5 of my chickies home into the nest.

 Ainsley at Ballet

             Holden placed 9th with a 1 mile time of 7:35

 Brandt placed 8th with a 1 mile time of 6:40.  Wyatt didn't place this meet, but ran a 8:35 which is excellent for him.

My beautiful new necklace

We are going to enjoy our last weekend as a family of six.  It will be our last.  I am joyful for that.  We have 4 soccer games, church and AWANA, so a pretty typical weekend.  I plan to get everything packed or at least start.  We had a cross country meet on Thursday, and the boys all did very well.  They are having fun with their team.  Ainsley is back in ballet and gymnastics, and she is doing so well.  She is really starting to listen to her teachers and doing what they ask.  It is a nice change.

Here we come Grace

OK, we have plane tickets, one night of hotel reservations, and our conscientious adoption agency working on the rest of the details.  We leave Spokane International Airport on Oct. 4th for a trip that will change the lives of so many.  Our's, Grace's, everyone we come in contact with and explain the amazing journey we have been on.  While I was waiting this past summer, I think I lost sight of the big picture and what our small part in it is.  I was consumed by each step of the process and lost sight of the final destination.  We are approaching the final destination, and I stand in awe of my God and His amazing plan.  We are going to get our daughter.  She has been growing in our hearts for so long now. We saw her March 26th and we have not been the same since.  We have seen how you can love someone so much, even when you have never met her.  We have cried over the fact that we have not received a single update during the process just so we could get a glimpse of the child that has stolen our hearts.  When I say we, I mean Mike, myself, Brandt, Holden, Wyatt, and Ainsley.  We are all so in love with our baby Grace.  Not saying there won't be challenges as we adjust to another little one running around.  Ainsley has the most to lose.  She is currently our princess, and only daughter.  She will be sharing a room, and the spotlight.  We have been showering her with affection, but we are also prepared for some challenging behavior.  The boys are all prepared to defend their sweet sister if people give her a hard time because of the cl/cp.  They will be her little protectors.  We are also praying every day that our baby girl will understand the love we are so excited to give her.  She has been institutionalized since she was born.  We want her to quickly learn what it means to have a mom and dad meeting all her needs and loving her all the time.  We want her to learn to love her siblings and understand what it is to be a Kelly.  We want her to fall in love with us, like we have fallen for her.  If you wouldn't mind praying that with us, we would really appreciate it.  So here are the details.  We leave Oct. 4th and fly to Hong Kong.  We will be there until the 7th, then we will go to Guangzhou, China.  We will receive our baby girl on Oct. 8th and she will be ours at that point.  We have to go through several paperwork steps to receive her passport and visa, and then we have an appointment with the US Consulate in China on Oct. 16th to finalize the visa process.  We fly out of Hong Kong on Oct. 18th and return to Spokane the 18th.  I plan to keep this blog updated with pictures and stories from China, so be checking while we are gone.
So, life of course continues here at home.  The boys are back in school and doing great.  They all love their teachers and have settled back into a routine.  I miss them.  Soccer is in full swing, cross country has started and Ainsley has started gymnastics.  Her ballet class starts next week.  MOPS drive thru registration was today.  We start meeting every other week next month.  So in the middle of all this, we will be plopping our new baby girl.  I am sure she will just fit right in.  She will understand the chaos that is our life :) .

The kids have started a new game after watching the Ellensburg Rodeo over Labor Day weekend.

We also took some time to go and visit Manito park and take pictures of the kids.  We don't order school pictures, we just take individual pictures on our own during the fall.  The kids did great and were, of course, the cutest kids ever.
We sold our Yukon XL on the internet last week.  It was the craziest thing.  We sold it to someone that didn't even come out and test drive it.  He had it shipped out of here and to his house in Kansas City.  And yes, we were very careful and overly cautious, but we were super relieved when the check cleared.  It was pretty cool to be able to sell it and get what we want for it.  Needless to say, we are now looking for a new car.  We need a vehicle that has two bench seats to fit car seats better than the two captains chairs we used to have in the Yukon.  We are pretty selective in what we want, but we are also being very patient.  We want to get exactly what we want.  It has been fun to look around for a bit.  Mike may have found our new car in Salt Lake.  He is going to be there tomorrow, so is going to look at it.  Other than that, life just keeps going.  Inside, I am all butterflies waiting for the day we will hold our new daughter in our arms.  We can't wait for everyone to meet her and love her.

Still waiting

Still waiting, but in the meantime, life continues.  We had huge milestones last week.  Brandt started 5th grade, Holden started 3rd grade and Wyatt started 1st grade.

Aren't they the cutest little boys ever.  Of course I forgot my good camera at home, so these pics are from my phone.  Sorry for the blur, and no your eyes are not going bad.

We just returned from a great time at the Ellensburg Fair and Rodeo.  We have such a great time every year.  Mike's extended family gathers for the weekend.  We spend lots of time swimming, visiting, watching the rodeo and visiting the fair.   This year, I had 3 of my siblings and various family members come for the weekend as well.  It was great to get to see everyone and it is a bit of a letdown when it ends, it signifies the end of summer.  We are now ready to head into fall.

Doesn't Brandt look cute in his cowboy hat?  I managed to get all four to sit together for this picture.  This is my gator (Wyatt's nickname) driving a gator :)

Brandt decided to build a large raft in the pool.  This picture is a bit deceiving.  The entire weekend, the pool was full of squirming little bodies.  If you just saw this picture you would think it was a lonely pool.  Really not the case.  

So, I will let you know that I expect to hear this week when we will be traveling to China.  If we don't hear, you may not want to call.  Mike is leaving tomorrow so I won't have him to vent on.  Just be cautious and forgiving when dealing with me this next week.  If we do get travel approval, we will be leaving within 2 weeks probably.  My life will go into overdrive trying to get all the details of our trip and the kids lives in order in that amount of time.  Mom, I love you and am so thankful you are willing to take on our crazy crew for us when we leave.  I will have everything in order, I think.  I will alert everyone when we hear, if you don't hear me screaming, it will probably be via text or phone.  We are so excited.  

TA wait

So we have done it.  We received LOA, I-800 provisional approval, NVC cable, Article 5 pick up, and now TA wait.  It feel like I am speaking a foreign language.  What that sentence means is, after a year of "paper chasing" we are down to the final and most exciting step.  We are waiting for China to say, "Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, please come and get your baby."  We expect to hear that in the next two weeks.  Then we will make our travel arrangements and leave as soon as possible to head over and bring baby Grace Evelyn Kelly home.  We are excited to see what she is like.  The only information we have from her is from December of last year.  We know she has changed so much.  We are excited to get to know her personality and find out who she is.  It will be a whirlwind trip, but we are also excited for a glimpse of China.  After focusing so much attention on the country for the last year, it will be interesting to finally see it.  

Life of the Kelly Crew has continued.  The big boys went to church camp last week and came home dirty and tired, but also more grown up.  During the week, I went in and had a varicose vein removed.  Awesome I know, but I won't share any pictures.  If you are interested, I will text you my cool looking picture of my bruised leg.  I was forced to take it easy.  I don't do easy very well.  Brandt had a soccer tournament, and I had to miss the first game to "take it easy", but went Saturday and Sunday.  They won all their bracket games, then went to the championship on Sunday.  They ended up losing in overtime, but took second place.  It was the first time the entire team played together.  It was fun and the boys played really hard.  The temp was near 100.  We had a tired boy Sunday evening.  I am so happy with the attitudes of his coach and teammates, as well as fellow parents.  

Brandt's second place soccer team

Brandt's second place soccer team acting crazy

Life with Wyatt is always entertaining.  He is hilarious and fun and busy.  I believe this picture may foreshadow a scene from our future.  He was super excited to send it to daddy and show him is super cool tattoos.

Holden started soccer this week.  He is doing the same program Brandt did last year.  It was great and we loved how much Brandt learned.  Holden really seems to enjoy it, too.  It will be fun to watch him play this year.  Wyatt will be starting soccer next week, and then Ainsley will be starting dance and gymnastics.  The three boys will be back in school next Wednesday.  All three of them gone all day.  Ainsley and I will be lonely.  Lazy, hazy summer days are just a memory.  We are gearing up for a typical Kelly schedule.  Can't wait to add our newest Kelly to the mix.  

Summer Blues

So is it really already August 14th?  I'm sorry, where did my summer go?  We go back to school on the 29th of August.  That date has snuck up on me and I am so disappointed our summer is going to end that soon.  I have loved having my sweet kiddos home.  They are really fun to hang out with, as long as I am not making them practice piano, then they are kind of sour.  But they are still going to practice, and I don't care how annoyed they are with me.  I have never met an adult that has said, "Man, I wish my parents hadn't made me learn to play the piano", but I have met a lot that wished their parents had encouraged them to continue.  The big boys are working on duets together right now. They struggle a bit working together, but I think it is encouraging them to work together as a team.
So, since I last posted, we have been busy.  Weird, huh?  I just returned from Dallas, where I was attending MOPS convention.  For those of you that don't know, MOPS is Mothers of Preschoolers.  I have been involved with the organization for about 7 years, and this year I am working with a really good friend to coordinate our group.  Convention was fantastic, and I learned a lot to bring back to our group.

This was the sunrise from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport when I was coming home Sunday morning.  It was beautiful.

Just a little advertising.  I was given a free box of these if I would post the picture on Facebook.  Well, I thought I would post it here.  So there you go.

We saw Matthew West in concert.  He was awesome.  I can hardly remember all the great speakers and musicians we heard this year. 

Mike took the kiddos to Grandpa Kelly's for the weekend.  They had a great time there.  They always love time at Grandpa's.  I got home at 12:30 Sunday, then Mike headed out for Boise at 6:00.  I think we will see each other tomorrow.  My good husband, who cares for my sweet kids and then works so hard providing for us.  I love him.  I have been joined with him for 16 years now.  The time has gone quickly, but I have enjoyed it so much.  He is my best friend, and I thank God he is my husband.  While I was in Dallas on our anniversary, he was in Ellensburg taking sentimental pictures around town and sending them to me.  It was very sweet.

We are getting down to the last few steps of the adoption process.  We are waiting for our Article 5 to be picked up in China, then we will be waiting for Travel approval.  Mike and I hope to be traveling mid September.  We are so excited to bring home our baby.  We are disappointed with the lack of information we have received about her, but we will forget all of that when we finally have her in our arms.  We just pray the process moves quickly from here on.  We pray we get an extremely quick travel approval and are able to travel right away.  Be ready Grandma, your time for caring for the kiddos here, is quickly approaching.

Today, Nicci and I ran up to Trader Joes for a quick shopping trip.  Ainsley was so sticking adorable, I had to snap a picture.  She claims that she is a mom because she has a purse and some sunglasses.  I think she is so cute, I can hardly stand it.  She isn't wearing her sunglasses, but they looked super cute too.  Just had to share.

Well, good night all.  I feel a spurt of organization coming on.  I may stay up awhile and finally get my desk organized.  I think I could be nesting.

Getting close

So I sit here looking at the adoption paperwork in my binder.  Ugh.  We are waiting for a letter for the National Visa Center to tell us that our I-800 has been cabled to China.  After that paperwork will be walked into some office in China, and we will wait 2 weeks for that to be picked up.  After that, we will be anxiously waiting for our travel approval.  That wait is again variable.  We are so close, I can almost taste it.  I have started gathering provisions for our trip.  I have a whole plastic container full of medical supplies to meet the possible needs of our daughter.  It includes syringes, and after wondering about them for awhile, I read that if you need medical care for your child in China, you may not be offered sterile syringes, so we will bring our own.  I also have a box of bottles to use to feed our baby specially made for a child with cleft lip and palate.  I have bibs thanks to my sweet sister, and random sized clothing, because we have not had an update on our child since last spring, and it was dated last December.  I guess we will be prepared for whatever we are given.  I know we will be staying in Guangzhou the entire trip since our daughter is in that province.  It eases some of my concerns, because now we won't have to travel around inside China.  I will be flying only on an airline I am very familiar with and staying in the same hotel the whole time.  It is supposed to be a very comfortable hotel.  Now my big unknown is how things will go with Grace.  Praying for a good bonding experience and that she will be healthy when we finally take her in our arms.
We have been crazy busy this August.  We started this weekend with a soccer tournament, a wedding and a trip to the big city (Coulee City) for a family reunion.  We completely exhausted our kids and are paying for it today.  This week, I head to Dallas for MOPS convention.  I am so excited.  It will be a fun time with moms from all over the world.  Sunday, I will be back and will watch the three boys race in a triathlon put on by the YMCA.  Go Kelly boys.  Next week, my two big boys head to church camp.  I will be so sad to see them go, but they will have a great time.  I am also so excited they will be there together.  Brothers are good to have.  Brandt comes back to another soccer tournament, then it is our last full week before the kids head to school.  Where did summer go?  I am not looking forward to letting my boys leave me all day every day.  Ainsley and I will be staying home and working on home school.  She is going to be my prize student :)  I am excited to get the one on one time with her.  I think she will enjoy school work. OK, no pictures this time.  Love you all.