Thankful...

Today Ruby had a complete check over at the amazing Children’s Hospital Heart Institute in Denver. We are delighted to say that her pediatric cardiologist told us that she had an excellent operation in China and that her repair looks perfect. She no longer needs any of the meds we were sent home with which was great to hear. She will need to be seen yearly to check on her progress but otherwise will lead a perfectly normal life.
We are thankful and will be forever grateful to New Day Foster Home in Beijing http://www.newdaycreations.com/foster/ for taking Ruby from her orphanage in Henan and providing her with the life-saving surgery she needed.

If you are interested in Children's in Denver, here's a little about the Heart Institute. We couldn't be happier living so close to an amazing facility.

"The Children’s Hospital Heart Institute is an international leader in pediatric cardiac care. It is one of only eight stand-alone pediatric research centers in the nation and one of the fastest-growing pediatric cardiac programs in the country. The Children’s Hospital Heart Institute is the only full-service, pediatric cardiac care center in a seven-state region, providing inpatient care and operating clinics on Children’s main campus, as well as in satellite clinics across metro Denver and throughout Colorado and Wyoming.

Led by cardiologist Dunbar Ivy, MD, The Heart Institute’s multidisciplinary team of pediatric cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, techs, social workers and others ensures that children throughout the Rocky Mountain region and beyond have access to excellent pediatric cardiac care. Our world-renowned leadership, expert teams, excellent outcomes, comprehensive capabilities and significant research are dedicated specifically to pediatric cardiac care. A partnership with the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine ensures cutting-edge research in pediatric cardiac care. The Children’s Hospital offers one of only eight stand-alone pediatric research centers in the nation."

At the splash park

We had lunch with friends at the splash park in our neighborhood today.
Ruby loved it and the boys had a blast skate-boarding through the cooling water and seeing their buddies.

Ruby is already wanting my cell phone all the time. Between that and my Starbucks the other day at Hong Kong airport , I can see she is already becoming like her momma!!

We are home!

Yes, after a very long journey home Miss Ruby Grace QingXue is finally home in Colorado!!! Yay!

All is going really well and Ruby is adjusting beautifully~~with one exception. She is terrified of Koda (our mellow, softie Ridgeback). We are hoping she will get used to her in time but for now, she is pretty freaked out when she sees her! Other than that, she has been playing in her room, in our back yard in the paddling pool and walking the neighborhood. We have been inundated with visits by wonderful friends and have been enjoying meals brought by them.

The boys are thrilled to be home and have been playing with friends since we got back. Have hardly seen them, hence the lack of photos with them in! Sam has already had a sleep-over at his best friend Parker's house. Jack went swimming with his buddy Russell and Liam spent the day at the aquarium in Denver with old friends.

We are really excited to have my brother and his family fly in from England this Saturday. They will be here for almost 3 weeks.
It will be a house full with 6 boys (yes 6 ) and Miss Ruby but we are ready and willing for the fun and chaos!

New Day Foster Home Beijing, China

I needed to wait till our return home to post about our visit to the foster care home where Ruby was taken for her surgery.
The facility is a Christian charity-based organization on the outskirts of Beijing. We had a life-changing visit there. Seeing all the precious orphans awaiting families was just so moving and also upsetting. We wanted to bring them all home.
However, it has to be said that New Day is a place of incredible HOPE and we are thankful that Ruby was taken there where she was loved and cared for till we could bring her home.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Last post in China

We leave shortly for Hong Kong and will fly back to the States on Friday morning. We are very excited to be heading home.

Our journey to China is over but our life together as a family of six is just beginning. It has been the trip of a lifetime and one we will never, ever forget. It was a long, difficult wait to get to this point but the miracle at the end was so worth it!

 

 

"Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But still, miraculously my own.

 

Never forget for a single minute,

You didn't grow under my heart,

But in it."

 

Fleur Conkling Heyliger

 

Guangzhou markets, parks and other stuff

All is going really, really well. Ruby is thriving and the boys (and us of course) are totally in love. Her personality is so fun and she's a happy girl who loves us already. She just needed a family to love her. We are so incredibly thrilled and thankful.  It feels like we've had her forever! Can't believe it's only been a week. She is now leaning over to kiss Tim and is laughing with him, but that's it. He's working so hard to try and get her to come to him but she's not ready yet. We are fine with that.

 

She sleeps 12-13 hours a night and wakes up smiling! That's a first for us. Let's hope it continues in Colorado!  She may be tiny, BUT... she EATS like a horse, I honestly don't know where she puts it. We ate Thai the other night, she ate a bowl of congee (rice with scallops, veggies, shrimp) plus some of Liam's Pad Thai, my Massaman curry (spicy as heck) and some of Tim's deep fried fish. She also loves Dim Sum, porridge, chicken, onions,raisins, croissants, banana nut muffins.....the list goes on.

 

We've been exploring the city a bit. We walked off the island yesterday and were hit by REAL China again. We are in a cocoon here on in a 5 star hotel on Shamian Island which has lots of Colonial British and French links. We experienced markets selling stuff you wouldn't believe live scorpions, rats on a stick... we took video and pix so will share when on my own computer...this is too tiny and it's hard to navigate. The boys are getting such a kick out of it all and it's a great cultural experience for them.

 

Today we took a taxi to a city park off the island. The boys went on a ton of fair ground rides and we walked a lot. Very hot and humid, but the boys had fun.

 

Here's a few more pix. We have our oath at the American Consulate tomorrow and will be on our way to Hong Kong immediately after.

Chillin' in Guangzhou

Just sending some pictures. Have a million taken of course!

 

Having fun exploring Guangzhou and relaxing a little.

 

Thanks for all the lovely messages!

Guangzhou, Guangdong province

We are here in the southern part of China in the city of Guangzhou. It was rough getting here...finally got a plane out of Zhengzhou in Henan at 1 am...thus an 8 hour delay. Not fun with 8 families and 16 children, but we made it to our hotel at 4 am and slept till 10 am yesterday. The boys were brilliant and crashed out on the airport seats!! Ruby struggled to sleep in a noisy airport so I paced the floors for hours to keep her calm.

 

Yesterday, Ruby had her required medical exam for the US visa and it went quite well, despite her screaming! All looks good, so that is a relief.

 

She is really coming out of her shell more and more. She has started to dance and sway when she hears music, holds her arms out for the boys...poor Tim still can't get close YET.

She really is a big personality. She eats a ton which is surprising as she's SO petite! So far her favorites are Chinese dumplings, crab, scrambled eggs, all veggies (gasp..maybe she could influence Sam, our picky eater!!) Apples, ravioli, yogurt, you name it!

 

We are very much enjoying our time here on Shamian Island, Guangzhou. It is a stark contrast from the poverty in the central province of Ruby's birth we just spent the week in.

We plan to relax somewhat, tour a little and fill out even more paperwork as we have our US Consulate appointment on Wednesday afternoon. The day after is where we take an oath and then we will be given Ruby's US visa, We leave straight from that to take the train to Hong Kong (just a 90 minute ride) and will fly home Friday.

More pix to come meanwhile check out the sign on the grass at Olympic village back in Beijing =)

An attempt to post a smilebox!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Leaving Henan for Guangdong province

Well, we left our hotel for a 5pm flight to Guangzhou only to find at the airport that our plane is being used to transport troops to Urumqi....we have a 6 hour delay as a result so won't be leaving till 11pm which gets us to Guangzhou at 1 am and the hotel at....Lord knows when!!

 

We are currently at a restaurant near the airport and have a room to ourselves where all the kids in the travel group are running crazy! The food was excellent and the staff, very forgiving. We will stay here till 7 pm.

One good thing is that a fellow parent has explained how to shrink my photos on this tiny PC laptop. This Mac girl didn't know how to do it, so I'm thankful for that!

Sam is 6!!!! July 8th 2009

We celebrated Sam's special day today by venturing out to a local park, renting pedal boats and playing on the rides there. Ruby was content in the back pack taking all the sites in.

We had dinner in the evening and the waitress played a recording of happy birthday over the stereo system just for Sam! He was very pleased =)

Our agency guide had a cake sent to our room when we got back and Sam talked to his Nana and Poppa who phoned all the way from England, so a perfect day!

 

Everyone is adjusting beautifully and all four kiddos are sleeping 12 hours a night! Long may it continue!!

Official Adoption Day

We are still here!!  I am not a very good blogger am I!?  We are just so busy enjoying Ruby and the boys and experiencing China that being online is not a priority.

 

All is going really well.  Ruby has been adjusting more and more each day and is very much attaching to us, especially me which is just what we want.  All good signs for her and her future bond to us. She is just precious and we are crazy about her.

 

On Tuesday we had paperwork to complete and now in the eyes of China, Ruby Grace QingXue is officially our child forever!!! After more than 3 years of waiting, it feels AMAZING!

We have been exploring the city a little walking in to town from our hotel.  We have also been going to the pool a lot. Jack, Liam and Sam have been having table tennis matches and have been having fun between that and swimming.

 

I've attached a photo of us out and about. Check out the "cricket man". Yes, the little hand made wooden baskets are full of live crickets! the size of a small bird! The boys loved that, of course =)

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Six At Last!!

We finally have Ruby!  It's been the most wonderful day full of tears and laughter and raw emotion. Ruby is doing really well despite all the upheaval and change for her. We did have a rocky start, however, when leaving her nanny. She has cried a lot today on and off but there have been mini-break-throughs and she is already attached to me, no-one else can hold her! I know she will be crazy about Tim before long. She is flat out asleep now and looks so content. I know tomorrow will be even better =)

 

The boys are just totally smitten.  It is a joy to see. They are big helpers and just can't stop touching her, kissing her,bringing her things and trying to make her laugh.  We are SO glad we brought them.

We made it to the hotel pool for a dip and then had a stroll through the city to eat tonight. Ruby loves the sling and it has really helped her to start to bond to me. We took a million pictures but only able to post a few. Enjoy! We are in love!

P.S.Thanks for all the wonderful messages!!!

Zhengzhou, Henan province

We are in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool as tomorrow at 10am we meet Ruby, become a family of six AT LAST and the fun really begins!

Great Wall, Olympic Stadium

Today we climbed the Great Wall!! What a feat! It was so incredibly steep, I had no idea! It was a really a fantastic day and the boys loved it. They reached the end of the hike and were so happy to achieve that. It took about an hour there and an hour back. The views at the top were beautiful.

After we toured a jade factory and then went to visit the Olympic stadium/Bird's Nest area, That was fun to see. The evening ended with a traditional Chinese Acrobatic Show at a local theater. Fascinating stuff. An exhausting day, but many happy memories made.

Tomorrow we fly to Henan province and are one step closer to having Ruby forever....

--
Sarah