Hopefully the blog is working????  We are having to do a different method now that we are in a different section of China.  This is something we expected and thankfully Ryan is pretty computer savvy :)  Last night was another peaceful evening once we all settled in.  In fact, we had to wake the children up for breakfast.  No Pop Tarts this morning :)  Instead, we had a variety of pastries and pancakes and bacon and french toast and croissants as well as cereal.....in other words, we ate like kings/queens.  We are anxious to do a bit of exploring around our hotel, then we will rest for a bit and then.....MADDOX REN!  As we ate breakfast this morning, there were several statements said to the effect of "this is our last breakfast as a family of five" and "wow, tomorrow we are going to need two baby chairs" and "I wonder what Maddox will want to eat, do you think she will like donuts?"  We are all anticipating her arrival.  Ryan said yesterday, "Beth, we are going to be parents again tomorrow!"  Chills.  Excitement.  Uncertainty. We have prayed for her heart to be open to us.  We trust that she will feel our love.  I do wonder what she is doing right now.  How is her foster family celebrating her big day?  We will see.....

Until then..... 

Here are a few pics from our last day in Hong Kong...  We're working through some technical difficulties blogging here in Guiyang.

Ngong Ping Cable Car, Hong Kong

We arrived safely in Guizhou.  The hotel is beautiful and though we are in the poorest province in all of China, you wouldn't know it by the looks of the hotel. We are all wired and sleep for us is nowhere in sight.  The children have been such troopers and they have enjoyed every moment of today.  Today....we decided to venture out on our own.  Yikes.  It was so much fun.  Just us.  No one to help us, we felt as though we had conquered the world.  First we had to figure out the subway system.  We left our hotel in the first subway that donned Mickey Mouse windows.  Then we boarded yet another train into a section of Hong Kong and took a 25 minute cable car ride over the South China Sea and arrived at our destination, a mountain top village.  There, we climbed to the top of this big Buddha statue.  We enjoyed taking in the sounds and smells of the village.  Then, we meandered our way back to our hotel, retrieved our luggage and began our journey to Guizhou.  Our guide got us all checked in the hotel and will pick us up tomorrow at 4:20 to go meet Maddox.  MK was so excited when she saw the crib set up in our room for Maddox.  All day we have made comments to one another about it being our last dinner together as a family of five or we wonder if Maddox will cry or MK wanted to know if Maddox would go to co-op (funny the things that come to her mind out of nowhere).  While in Hong Kong, we couldn't help but notice the little girls at Disney as well as during our tour today.  They are all so precious!  There is one distinguishing factor between MK and the little girls who live in China.  Care to guess what it is?

Until gotcha.....

While You Were Sleeping....

A quick update, no pics to share. We had a wonderful night of rest. Someone went to sleep as her daddy was blow drying her hair at 7:00pm. The rest of us soon followed and we all slept soundly. We awoke to more Pop Tarts, a delicacy during a family trip, followed by packing and mapping out our plans for the day. We feel like we can now sign up for the Amazing Race, Kids Edition. Today we traveled via planes, trains, automobiles and buses....without a guide, without knowing Cantonese. I will detail our journey later. For now, know that we love knowing we are being prayed for. Thank you all for your sweet comments! We are thrilled to be on this journey with all of you! We are currently awaiting our flight to Guangzhou from Hong Kong. Then, we will fly to Guizhou where we will tour until Friday. Maddox day is tomorrow! I will leave you with these quotes from Hong Kong.....

• We get in the taxi at the airport, the guy is flying and Pryce leans over to whisper, "So, I guess they don't have speed limits here?!"
• The boys as we were leaving Disney, "Thank you so much for taking us here! It was awesome!"
• When we hear the Cantonese language we all look at each other and say, "Say Whhhaaat?"
• The taxi driver as he is loading our cab, "Uh, so maybe you need two. Yeah, two good."
• Pryce today as we are waiting in line for the cable car, "Does this place have a Fast Pass?" Uh, no, Pryce we aren't in Disney anymore :)

Until Guizhou.....

Hong Kong Disney

Carousel ride....MK's choice and the whole family jumped onboard.

Not Cinderella's castle.....

Sharing sugar....

This ride was fun for all....so much like our Disney but different all the same.

Not the first ones to enter the park, but certainly close!

I love these little benches.....cute little Mickey seats.

Bright and early this morning, our crew awoke. Much to our dismay, there was no sleep to be had past 5:00am so we all got up and began our day early with Pop Tarts. Yum and healthy. Seeing as the park did not open until 10:30, we had time to kill and we spent it doing some schoolwork - I am thinking the boys will sleep in tomorrow being that they learned today that when you are early to rise, you are early to do schoolwork even when in Hong Kong!

Alas, the time came and we began our day at Disney. What a wonderful day we had. The boys both thanked us for bringing them and thoroughly enjoyed every minute, every snack and every ride they experienced today. MK, well, she said two things. One, she was not impressed seeing as, in her opinion, they did not have enough princess rides and, two, she was scared of the Toy Story ride. Now, in between her dislikes, we saw some big smiles, lots of twirling as she danced to the numerous Disney tunes we heard and we heard her squeals of delight when she spotted a character she knew. Space Mountain topped the list of favorites today - quite different than the one in Florida. It was same but different.....and very, very fast. We finished our day off with a "Za" as the boys have taken to calling it. Pizza is a comfort food for all of us so we were glad to find a taste of home.

Tomorrow we plan to tour the city of Hong Kong for a bit. Then, tomorrow evening, we will fly to Guizhou. Our flight gets in super late tomorrow night so I am not sure when we will update again but I will try to get a post in before Maddox Day! Until then.....

We Have Arrived!!!!

Just before departure....

MK curled up on the floor of the plane and took not one but two naps!

This is our one taxi....notice the trunk. Thankfully, all arrived in one piece!

Our world travelers!

We are in Hong Kong! The children, all three of them, did fantastic on the LONG flight. The individual TVs in each seat were an added bonus plus there were a few extra seats onboard which we took full advantage of for sleeping purposes. The food was good, kids meals delivered early each time so no one went hungry....and the wine was FREE! Wonderful for my nervous flying self on our quite bumpy flight. We arrived at the airport, claimed our luggage, made our way through customs, jumped into not one but two taxis due to our not-so-light packing and arrived in one piece at our hotel. Who knew that in Hong Kong the drivers are seated on the right side of the car? Anyway, we are all good.....looking forward to our day at Hong Kong Disney tomorrow. Until then.....

And We Are Off....

The countdown has begun.....we have prayed and been prayed for, the bags are packed, the bills are paid, the dog has a friend coming over to play with him and keep him company, we have all eaten our share of food that we won't be able to find in China, and the new pink car seat is in. We appreciate all of the warm well wishes, the gifts, the prayers....to know how much this little girl and our family is loved is truly something wonderful to feel. Thank you all! Until Hong Kong....:)

To Mason-Kate and Maddox,

You are so very special; you have been from the start. Before we held you in our arms, we held you in our hearts. And like a single drop of rain that on still waters fall, your life and love will make ripples & touch the lives of all. So read this precious story as step by step you grow. You two are a blessing & a gift as each page here will show.