Happenings at the Smith household

We have had Madilynn home for 3 weeks and 3 days. I can hardly remember what life was like without her. She is doing very well. She eats fair, sleeps well and gets into everything!! She keeps her mommy hopping! Her follow-up appointments have shown nothing that we did not expect. She will be following up with a neurologist for her repaired meningocele and will be having a kidney ultrasound done because of her history of urinary tract infections. We will keep you posted.

Ashley left for college in OK city, Tyler starts college at Colorado State University tomorrow, and Jordan and Kyndal started school this week. My mom has been staying with us for a few days which has been very special. She has enjoyed her grand children, with Kyndal and Madilynn keeping her very entertained; tea parties are a favorite! Randy also started back to school keeping very busy himself. I am really enjoying my time off, spending extra time with the family. I am trying to get some house projects done but have not had a lot of luck with that! Mmmm-maybe it has something to do with chasing a two year old around the house!:)

I am very busy, but very happy. Life is good!! I will try to continue with updates.

Glenda

Shopping Day

Today is a day I have been looking forward to. SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!!! Guangzhou has many little stores with really good prices. I was able to find pretty much everything I was looking for. I hope to pick up a couple more things tomorrow. When you enter any of the smaller stores you will be surrounded by the workers encouraging you to buy. They are very helpful, but can be a little pushy at times. You have to learn to say "no". Overall, the Chinese people have been so friendly and kind. I have had a couple really go out of their way to help me. After a good nap for Madilynn, Ashley and I went to Starbucks-my favorite!! It tasted sooo good. For dinner we took a taxi to a seafood restraunt located 25 minutes away, there we met Wang Ling, Paul's fiance. She treated us to a seven course meal which included fish, chicken, pork?, brocolli, soup, beef with veggies, and for dessert watermelon and some kind of pastry. Madilynn is a picky eater, but tonight I have never seen her eat so well!! We all ate till we could hold no more. Wang Ling was a pleasure to get to know. She speaks some English, so we were able to communicate with her. We had a very enjoyable evening! We headed back to the hotel after supper. Madilynn had such a good day today. She definitely is a child that does much better if she gets her sleep. I have had trouble posting pictures here. I will post some more when we get home. Only one more day in China. I am glad to be going home, but there is a part of me that will really miss the Chinese people, their culture, and their country. Goodnight.

Glenda

Were in Guangzhou!!

We had a full day. We arrived in Guangzhou at around 2 PM. We were taken to the Victory hotel by our guide, and a few minutes later taken to get Madilynn's picture. This was followed by her medical exam. She weighs 10.1 kg. Everything seem to check out OK. Madilynn at this point is beside herself from lack of a nap, crying loudly at times to remind me of this! We all three went back to the hotel. Ashley and Madilynn stayed while I went off to do 2.5 hours of paperwork. I was so glad when we were finally done! Back at the hotel Madilynn was able to get a nap in. She is now much happier. We all were very hungry so we went to Lucy's to eat supper. They had very good food! Afterwards, we were able to get a little shopping in. Guangzhou has a lot of neat little shops to browse in. Randy called soon after returning to the hotel. I sure do miss my family!! I can't wait to give everybody a hug! Two weeks is a long time to be seperated. Paul's fiance, Wang Ling, also called. We are planning to get together for dinner tomorrow. I am real excited to meet her! We then went to bed for a much needed nights sleep.

Glenda

Received Madilynn's Passport

It was very exciting receiving Madilynn's passport. She now can leave China! Soon she will receive her visa and then we will be able to take her home. Yeah!! Today is our last day in Jinan. Our guide, Rose, did a great job showing us around the city and taking us to a variety of places to eat. I now have a little idea of what the city is like that Madilynn was born in. Maybe some day she will want to come for a visit. I posted a few more pictures taken of the surrounding areas of our hotel. Ashley and Madilynn are sound asleep. I better go to bed myself. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Glenda

Today was another free day. Rose took us to a city park. We arrived by taxi and then took a little boat ride to get to the park itself. It was very beautiful and well kept. The pictures will speak for their selves. We also heard some music with some very interesting instruments. Many of the people are so kind. We saw 4 brides and were able to get some pictures. Many families were walking around enjoying their selves. Except for the heat, we had a very nice time. After taking a taxi back to our hotel, Cristen, Rose and I went to pick up Chinese take out to eat in our rooms. Ashley, Madilynn and I took a nice afternoon nap. For dinner we went to the hotel buffet. We then went on a walk to the town square. People were everywhere! Activities were going on all over the square with many families just enjoying being together. We saw kite flying, skating contest, dressed up dancing groups of children, acrobatics and much more. After about an hour we headed back to our room. Tomorrow will be our last full day in Jinan.

Glenda

Free Day

Today we had nothing scheduled. We spent the afternoon in our room organizing, hand washing laundry and taking a nap. For supper we went to Pizza Hut with Christen , Connie and Jacob, Afterward we walked around Jinan seeing many people, shops and traffic everywhere. Crossing a street is taking your life in your hands. There are many cars, bicycles, motorcycles and people coming from all directions-you better watch out! I posted a few pictures from our day. Time for bed. Goodnight.

Glenda

Visit to Orphanage

Today we went to visit Jinan SWI, the orphanage Madilynn lived in for two years. The building was modern and the grounds were well groomed. As we walked up to the building we could see some children waving to us from a 5th story window. As we walked into the building we saw some remodeling projects going on. We took the elevator up to the 5th floor. As we stepped off the elevator we were greeted my many children. They were smiling and talking to us eager to have their picture taken. Madilynn right away saw some staff members and children she recognized. When she saw her nanny she said Ma Ma and went right to her. She showed a lot attachment to her . She did not want to come back to me. I understood. After all this had been her care giver for two years. We were shown her bed, her classroom, and the eating area. Of course we had to take lots of pictures. During the visit Madi was passed around to staff who seemed very attached to her. I felt like there were people here that really loved her and that her care was adequate. We took some pictures of kids that were going to their forever home soon. We left our donation and said our goodbyes. I was glad I had the oppurtunity to visit my daughter's orphanage.

Glenda

Visit to Finding Place

After breakfast we took a 20 minute ride to the place Madilynn was found. To the left of the street was a large, bright yellow building pointed out by our guide. It was a pediatric hospital. Madilynn was found on the 2nd floor at the age of 8 mths. She was very ill when she was found. Our guide said that the person who left her took a very big risk leaving her in a public place-if they would have been caught, they would have gone to prison. She also said that many do not have money for medical care (surgery, etc.). They either let the child die or abandon the child so they will get the medical care they need. Anyway, we will never know for sure why she was left. I would like to think that maybe her mother wanted a better life for her and also wanted her to get the care she needed.

Glenda

Rest Day

Today was a relaxing no paperwork day. We went to the park to see Bao Tu Quan Springs. This is the largest spring in China. The park itself was very beautiful with shaded trails, flowers and some China history walk-thrus. The excitement can be heard in the air. The Chinese people hear are very excited to have the Olympics in their country. People are wearing Olympic shirts, selling Olympic items, etc.. We received a lot of attention as we walked through the park. Among a sea of Asian people we were the only Caucasians. We had our pictures taken a few times. Ashley was the main attraction. She felt like a celebrity. Madilynn is doing very well. She just seems to go with the flow. Since we didn't have a lot of plans today, I was able to spend a lot of 1:1 time with her. It's getting late.I will continue to post daily. Goodnight.

Glenda

Adoption Day

Today Madilynn became officially our daughter!! I feel so blessed to have this little girl. She is so much fun! She would be described as happy, busy, smart, easily entertained, a great eater, afraid or cautious around strangers, a good sleeper (so far) and a typical two year old who is into everything!

Glenda

Gotcha Day!!!

What a day!! We received Madilynn at 1100AM sharp. She cried for about 30 minutes. By the end of the day she really warmed up to me. We even got a few smiles!! Madilynn has such a personality. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. I will continue to keep everyone posted.

Love to all,
Glenda

Bags are Packed and I'm Ready to GO!!!

Its 1:25 AM in Colorado. We (Ashley and I) catch a plane from Denver in less then 5 hours. I will keep everyone posted on my trip happenings. Madilynn- mommy is coming!!

Glenda

Travel Itinerary

We leave on a jet plane July 19, 2008! The following is our travel itinerary:

July 19th-0600 Fly out of Denver, CO
0730 Arrive in San Francisco, CA
1106 Fly out of San Francisco

July 20th-1425 Arrive in Beijing, China
1745 Fly out of Beijing
1840 Arrive in Jinan, China
Meet Christen and her mom.

July 21st - Gotcha Day!!!!!!!!:)))
Meet Madilynn at the hotel at 1100 and sign the agreement

July 22nd- Go to the Civil affairs for adoption registration, notarization and Madilynn's passport

July 23rd- Visit Jinan Orphanage and the finding place

July 24th- Rest.

July 25th- Visit BaoTu Quan Spring.

July 26th and 27th- Free on own.

July 28th- Pick up adoption notarization and Madilynn's passport.

July 29th- Fly from Jinan to Guangzhou, transfer to Victory Hotel. Medical check and take photo of Madilynn in the afternoon.

July 30th- 0930 Visa appointment at the US consulate. Meet WangLing and have dinner (fiance of a friend).

July 31st- Visit the Six Banyan Tree Temple and at 1600 pick up the visa.

August 1st- Leave Guangzhou for home!!!

Travel Approvals are on the way!!!!!!! :))))

My husband called me at 0730 at work to share the good news. It was very hard to stay "professional". I wanted to shout the good news to everyone (which I practically did)!! Sara, from our agency, said she posted the news in her pajamas! God bless her!! To say the least, I am soooo excited!! In about two weeks I will hold our little Madilynn. God is so good!!

Glenda -soon to be a mother of five!!

"MOMMY-IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!"

TA Tomorrow??????

Rumors say that "some kind of approvals" are on their way, but the last TA rumors apparently were not true. At this point I'll take anything! I am not very patient right now. I desperately want to hold my little Madilynn! She needs her family!!! OK; I feel better.

And.......my husband saw a ladybug today. Now that's a good sign for sure!!

Glenda

Waiting For TA

Rumor has it that May 29th LOAs have some TAs coming in! I can only hope that this is true!
Sara said she would let us know if she hears anything (our adoption agency). I have started to pack. How exciting this is! I am trying to plan ahead so I don't have a big rush at the end. It is so hard to concentrate. Focus, Focus Focus! Of course the fun part is packing the baby clothes-sooo cute! I still have so much to do. Maybe my list of "things to do" will help pass the time. Come on TAs!!!! Glenda

Fu Ping Qiao

Birth Date: November 27, 2005
Sex: Female
From: Jinan Social Welfare Institute in Shangdong Province
Country: China
American Name: Madilynn Jinan Smith

Adoption Timeline

October 16, 2007
First saw Madilynn's Precious Face

October 17, 2007
Letter of Intent (LOI) sent to China

November 12, 2007
Pre-approval (PA) received

March 12, 2008
Dossier to China (DTC)

March 19, 2008
Log in Date (LID)

May 29, 2008
Letter Of Acceptance (LOA)!!!!!

June 26,2008
Travel Approval!!!! (TA)

July 19-August 01, 2008 Travel Dates
Gotcha Day-July 21, 2008
Consulate Appointment-July 30th, 2008

Welcome to my Blog!!

I have 5 wonderful children!

Ashley-21 yrs.old (bio)
Tyler-19 yrs. old (bio)
Jordan-16 yrs (bio)
Kyndal (adopted from China in 2001)
Madilynn (waiting for us in Shandong China-Jinan City)

Adoption has been a wonderful experience for the whole family. I will blog our current journey regarding the adoption of Madilynn. As I learn to do this blog thing I hope to share our first adoption experience and the rest of my family with you.

Enjoy!

Glenda