The Waters Family

Oodles of Noodles

2009-01-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

Jade loves her chopstix!

More of Christmas at church

2008-12-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

Disney at Christmas

2008-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

We didnt brave the crowds at the parks but got to see one of Jade's China sisters from MD. Her family is down for a week and its a special time to get to see them and the girls together. Jade and Keira had a great time playing at the pool and hanging out together just like in China :>) Also a picture of the kids at church singing their hearts out!

Sitting with Santa!

2008-12-14T17:13:00.001-08:00

Our church had a hayride tonight through a neighborhood and the kids got to sing carols. Then they saw Santa and had hot chocolate. What could be better than that?? Jade was scared at first but Santa talked to her and she gave him a high five then he was A-OK at the mention of a present!

Decorating with Grandma Maggie

2008-12-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

My Mom is the most creative person. She and Jade clipped Magnolia leaves out of the yard and then put the finishing touches on the decorating that I had started. Jade loves spending time with Grandma!

Modeling for Mommy

2008-11-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

Lunch at school with brothers

2008-11-08T05:10:00.001-08:00

Halloween party

2008-10-25T18:16:00.001-07:00

The Ghoul, the Geek and the Princess :>)

Cousins

2008-10-25T18:11:00.001-07:00

Jade loves her cousin Baby Brayden altho he isnt a baby anymore she still tried to Mother him. Cousin Jacob is in the swing too. We had a great day together on Grandma's porch!

Punkins in a Patch

2008-10-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

The many Jadey faces

2008-10-09T16:46:00.001-07:00

Can you tell which one is my 'brat face(s)'??

Scarecrow snuggles

2008-10-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Happy Fall! Except here in FL where its still at least 92 everyday. But I decorated the porch anyway. Jade is a nurturer and took to babying the scarecrow tonight. Here are a few pictures of her on the porch with frizzy hair from being braided :>)

End of summer fun

2008-08-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

End of summer fun

2008-08-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well this hasnt been the most fun summer we've had with the moving and all...but we took 3 days and did some fun things around FL...there are no pictures to post of the Canoe trip from hell because we were in a lightning storm for the 3 hrs of it...Here are some pictures of Busch Gardens and Fantasy of flight which is an airplane/military museum that the boys love! We start school soon, hooray! :>)

Bubble girl

2008-07-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Summer of moving

2008-06-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

Since spring break all 4 of the kids had their birthdays including Miss Jade. She turned 3 and continues to amaze us everyday with her wonderfulness :>) We're moving to a new home so needless to say I have little time for updating the blog but thankyou to those that keep up with us on here. We hope your having a good summer!

Spring break 08

2008-04-15T10:29:00.001-07:00

Easter 08

2008-03-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! Our family had a great day with our church Easter egg hunt then family and friends over to swim. The weather here is perfect now, it was a beautiful day! We are very blessed...

The mall

2008-02-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

Also that same weekend we were able to see Anna and her parents at the mall for dinner. We're so lucky that all of our families are committed to staying in touch for the girls sake and because we really enjoying seeing one another! Also some pictures of Princess Bandaid!

CNY 2

2008-02-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Jade hiding from the dragon on daddy's lap...more of Jade & Keira

Chinese New Year

2008-02-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

We had a special treat for CNY when one of Jade's orphanage sisters and her family came down from Maryland and stayed with us for 4 days! The girls got along well for the most part! We attended the Tampa CNY celebration, got to go to Busch Gardens one day together and also got to see Micah and her sister Milana at Cracker Barrell. It was very fun!

Relaxing with baby Angelina

2008-02-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

chatter

2008-01-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

Are 2 yr old girls supposed to talk nonstop 15 hrs a day?

More favorite pics of the season

2008-01-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 08

2008-01-02T04:52:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all much happiness and love in 2008! New babies in the family: cousins Leah and Brayden. Jade with big sister cousin Rachael and the 'chicken'. Jade with Grandpa Waters.

Holiday parties

2007-12-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

Wiwwi

2007-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

December already?

2007-12-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ok somebody tell me where this whole YEAR went! I know I just took down my Christmas tree!

Our life is nuts right now, we are trying to buy a bigger home and clean out this one so it can go on the market. Anyway please keep your fingers crossed for us that it works out, We need some running space!

Jade's Daddy had a birthday and here are some pics of them with Mike's parents. Also Jade's idea of a better way to use the stockings, sitting with her Will (Wiwwi)

Halloween 2007

2007-11-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here is our Jadey Bo Peep! She had fun but wasnt real interested in anything but unwrapping her candy :>) Lots of fun! Can ya'll believe the Holidays are here again?

Helping Daddy wash the car

2007-10-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Favorite pic

2007-10-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

I love this picture..it captures her so well....beautiful and sweet!

Fun at Papa's

2007-10-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

Jade, Luke and I went to visit my Dad's this weekend and had fun in his new pool! My new little nephew was there too, what a fun day!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-26T15:26:00.001-07:00

Let's see, I'll be how old when she graduates?

2007-09-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ok now that I'm old and wise....and 40...ok I said it...and I'm ok...:>) I'll be 55 when this child graduates? They will think I'm her Grandma at her ceremony! I better buy stock in Clairol and befriend a good plastic surgeon. My sweet husband bought me a great new camera for my big day and I am snapping away again! Here's proof....and yes thats my Halloween wig not hers :>)

September

2007-09-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

School started witout a hitch, the boys are old pros at it now. Jade wanted to go too and took her 'packpack' with her to drop them off. They have developed the typical brother/sister sibling relationship full of arguing and she has even pinched and hit them if she doesnt get her way!

In other news, I turn 40 this month on the 15th...where has the time gone? :>P

Flying summer/Jade 27 months

2007-08-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

The boys start school next week

so its been a mad rush for school supplies and haircuts. Jade and I will be missing the brothers while they are away during the day. What a great summer we had tho! I may wait until she is 4 to put her in part time preschool. She seems very smart, almost scary smart at times especially considering her first 10 months. She is very sensitive to being scolded or hurting someone and takes a particular interest in babies whether its her dolls or in real life. Jade sleeps with us now since the vacations when we put her in our bed. Maybe big mistake but we do love having her close. She and Mike have a special bond, the one I had hoped for them before she came into our lives. Seeing them together makes my heart smile. She calls him "Daddyboo" :>)

Drummin Jade

2007-08-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

We are having a super summer! We had to leave our Jadeyboo for a week tho, she went to camp Grandma's while we took the boys to San Francisco. It was good to spend some alone time with the boys but we missed her terribly! Here is a picture of her and Ryan doing one of her favorite things..

PEEKIE PIE

2007-07-17T22:58:00.001-07:00

I am trying to give my blog a little redecorating and not having much luck. I must be able to resize that family pic on top somehow! Holy cow its huge... It must be because its 2am, my only quiet time these days! Here is a picture taken by herself truly as she looked into the camera and said PEEKIE PIE which is her version of Peekaboo! Look at those smoochers!

Chicago

2007-07-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

Jade had her 2nd plane ride ever to Chicago for a week! Daddy had business there and we stayed at his college as alumni...Mike's Aunt is a Dominican Sister at the college as well. She is in the picture with Jade and Baby boo the American Asian girl doll :>) The boys camped out in the old dorm rooms and Jade and I got the new ones with a/c :>) It was a tiring trip for the grownups (when you see parents at the airport toting carseats and strollers give them extra sympathy!!! ) but we had fun seeing the sights and visiting the American Girl Store where Jade came out with an Asian baby doll. The boys were wierded out by the 3 story building that housed an eery amount of dolls and also included a doll hair salon for grooming, a dolly and me portrait studio, and of course tea birthday parties for little girls and their dolls :>)

FUDGESICLES ROCK

2007-07-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Jade calls these 'lollipopsicles' !! She carries around her hat boxes like a purse and decided this was the perfect spot to sit and enjoy :>)

Chongqing Families 1st Reunion

2007-06-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous week at the beach with our travel families and Jade's six orphange sisters! I was relieved that it all turned out well because we had it here in FL over at Reddington Beach. Micah and Anna's families live not far from there, Natalie's family drove all the way from Michigan (God Bless them!), Logan's family flew from Texas, Keira's family drove from Maryland and Jillian's Mom and Grandma flew with her from Arizona!!!! Now that is committment and I'm glad we all share the same level of it as far as wanting our girls and families to be close thru emails, websites, pictures and Reunions. In the white dress photo the girls are from left to right, Natalie in front, Micah, Jade, Logan, Anna, Jillian and Keira. All of the girls are unique in personality and beautiful in their own ways. We really enjoyed seeing them and how they have changed since last March! Our Florida girl wanted no part of the beach,sand,water thing so she was happiest with her pink cowgirl boots on :>)

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY JADE!!!

2007-05-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

WELL!! Where do I begin? First, I lost my camera battery so I havent been taking pictures or posting obviously! Major guilt trip over that..hated to buy those CVS ones without the ability to edit with digital...if you dont have a digital camera buy one! they are the best! Finally my wonderful hubby bought another battery for me...now enough of that...our Jade is TWO today! We had a nice day with close friends and family over. She had on a sweet little outfit that my friend Andrea embroidered for her with a Chinese Birthday girl on the front of it! (everyone loved it Andrea, thankyou!) Jade is talking so well and strings 3/4 words together now. The best thing is 'I love you Mommy' of course :>) I cant help but think of her birth Mother today and say a prayer for her. I hope that she thinks of Jade (how could she not?) but hope that God has given her some sort of peace in her heart. HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY SWEET JADEYBUG!

Happy Easter

2007-04-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Jade was more interested in the candy in the plastic eggs than anything else..yes she is mine! We had a great day at church, my Moms then our friend Renee's for dinner!

My BFF :>)

2007-04-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

My best friend Gayle moved to Georgia last year and hasnt really seen Jade so we had a great visit with her family at our house last week! Gayle and I have been best friends since the 7th grade and she is Luke's Godmother. Luke was named after her hubby :>) Anyway, Aunt Gayle is also the giver of the ever present 'night night' purple pillow. Jade doesnt go anywhere without it and when she's sleeping its always up near her face or in her hand while her thumb is in her mouth. Its so sweet! Gayle has sent others as replacements but Jade smells them and throws them, they just dont have that good nubby feel either :>) Gayle's girls Hannah and Presley are in the pictures too....I loved seeing our daughters together, it was a very special time.

More new pics

2007-04-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Gotcha day

2007-04-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our 'Gotcha Day' Anniversary as its known was March 28th last Wednesday. We had a little party planned for Jade with our favorite friends but she ended up with strep throat and DOUBLE ear infections. She has tubes but apparently she's in the 20% of the babes that still get infections. OH JOY! So, she was miserable and we just ordered Chinese take out and watched our video from China for the first time!! It brought tears to our eyes and lots of joy of the time spent there last year as a family and bringing Jade home. We were hoping to see our friends Staci and Emilee as they were down in Orlando but we couldnt work it out. We'll plan a trip up to see you guys in NYC Staci!!!! Here are pics of Gotcha Day and Gotcha Day 1st anniversary :>))))

Baseball game

2007-03-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jade loves being outside and yesterday was Luke's baseball game. The weather here is so nice right now, if it would just stay this perfect. Seems every summer I want to move from Florida! More of an update on our Jadey to follow later....

Sports Illustrated Model 2025

2007-02-28T03:59:00.000-08:00

We're ready for summer!!!

Chinese New Year 2007

2007-02-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

We spent the afternoon at Saddlebrook celebrating Chinese New Year with over 300 other people yesterday! It was alot of fun to see all the adopted girls and their families. Some we have known through the community and we got to see Anna from St. Pete, Jade's Orphanage Sister. Our Chinese Princess decided she didnt want to be like everyone else on stage ,she wanted to stand out...so she pulled up her dress and spent part of the afternoon walking around like this.....:>)))

FL cutest baby photo contest

2007-01-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

Ok so here's the deal: On/After Feb 1st you can help raise money for breast cancer research and at the same time help Jade win some prizes :>))) Go to www.cutestbabyfl.com and then to the voting section. You will see Jade in her purple Valentine's LOVE shirt. You can vote as much/often as you wish and it is only $7 a vote. The one with the most votes wins, simple!!! It's also for a great cause, I'm sure we all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Thankyou!

Referral Anniversary

2007-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

If your reading this, your going to get tired of hearing about the Anniversary Celebrations coming up! In the adoption community we are celebrating today because it was a year ago that we were all glued to our computer chairs and jumped if the phone rang thinking it was our agency. Mike came home from work at noon, the boys were lingering around, My Mom was here and my sister in law Danielle with Jacob in tow. Our friends Charleen and her daughters were here, bringing a beautiful bouquet of flowers to celebrate. Friends popped in and out hoping to get a peek of the eagerly awaited baby girl. At 5:30 'the call' came with the news that Qian Xue Han in Qianjiang Orpahange awaited her family. We were told of her birthday of May 28, 2005...smack dab in the middle of all her brothers birthdays :>) and that she was found in old cotton clothing at the gate of a cultural park at 3 days old. Shortly after we were sent these beautiful pictures and life began taking on the excitement of our travel to China and our daughter's journey home with us. Looking at this little ray of sunshine now, its hard to imagine that her life started out any way other than perfect. But its the way that led her to us and us to her.

Orphanage Sisters

2007-01-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was alot of fun! We met 2 of Jade's Orphanage sisters and their families that we traveled with in China. Keira now lives in Maryland and Anna lives in St. Pete. We met at Myakka state park and spent the afternoon letting the girls play! I like to think they knew each other but its hard to tell. In June our entire travel group and the babes will get together so we cant wait for that!

2007 WOW

2007-01-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Jade is starting to talk and can say Mama, Dada, Ryan, Luke, Willi, Max, more, hi, peeeshhh(please, and oh so cute) and thankyou, says NOOOOOOOOOO and uhhuh for yes. She gets into everything!!! I love this age but I'm exhausted :>) You can see in the one pic how long her hair is and still has some curl which I WILL NOT cut anytime soon! I'm having a ball with hairbows and even bought a book on how to braid..heehee...yes I know I'm a silly Mama!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all! We had a great day and are so thankful for a healthy, sweet and complete family! Jade was a bit under the weather with a sinus thing going on but she enjoyed ripping her gifts open, playing with her brothers toys and taunting Max with her candy. She dawdled a bit, ate a bite or two and napped a few hours then resumed her unwrapping and finished up about 4:00 today! I was saddened for a moment thinking about her last year and how badly we wanted to have her by Christmas day. Please pray for those children who dont have homes and are waiting to be adopted or are left behind for good. I cant imagine our lives without our little Angel!

Jade and Max kissing

2006-12-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

EPCOT 12/2

2006-12-04T05:48:00.000-08:00

Mike's Christmas party was at EPCOT this year so we went this past weekend and had a great time! It was beautiful all decorated and the weather wasnt too cold or hot. Jade had a great time and brothers had fun showing her the sights! Here are some of the latest pictures.

Trick or Treat!

2006-11-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween to everyone! Here's some pics of our family...Jadeybug did great and carried her 'purse' around for candy. She is now steadily walking and getting faster!!! Ryan didnt dress up (too uncool), Luke was a rocker dude and Will was a Star Wars stormtrooper. Our neighborhood goes all out and it was alot of fun!!!!!

Sweet girl

2006-10-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Jade loves purses, bears and anything soft! She takes steps but only when SHE wants to. She is still quite wobbly but is getting the hang of it and will clap for herself.

Chinese Moon Festival

2006-09-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tampa Bay Families with Chinese Children Moon festival celebration tonight, whew try saying that fast! We met some new families and got to see our "Mrkall friends' that we travelled with. The kids had fun at the playground and Jade enjoyed the cookies! They are special to us because Jade and Micah are Orphanage Sisters. Here are some pictures of our families together.

Happy Labor Day!

2006-09-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, we are all doing just fine here. Jade is recovering from another ear infection, this makes 4!! We are now contemplating tubes, eek! She is almost walking and can stand up from a squatting position. Here are a few recent pics of Jade standing, Will-Jade & Luke in the crib and my Mom's birthday picture with her grandchildren! Dont forget to leave your comments if you get a chance!

More beach

2006-08-09T04:34:00.000-07:00

A few more with Ryan and Jade's Grandma Maggie and her Papa...also some on our 'pirate cruise' with friends!

The beach!

2006-08-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun week at Madeira Beach with our crew! Ryan doesnt like the beach so he stayed inside and then went to his Grandma's for the rest of the week. Luke and Will loved the waves and building in the sand. Jade didnt want anything to do with the sand but loved the water! I have a picture of each of the boys on my wall all at the age of one and they are on the beach so of course I had a quest of getting one of Jade to add to the collection. Here are a few that I took :>)

Princess in Purple

2006-07-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Dolls not balls!

2006-07-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

I keep telling Jade but she's not listening! :>)

This little piggie...

2006-07-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Jade will be 14 months old on the 28th, wow I cant believe we've had her 4 months already. She is standing quite well and holds on to things with one hand and will furniture cruise when she sees something she wants. Brothers are having a good summer and we're looking forward to going to the beach at the end of the month!

Growing and changing by the day

2006-07-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today Jade started pulling up on everything, the couch, her crib, her Mommy :>) I bet a month from now she will be toddling around! This is the first weekend since we've been back from China that we had nothing planned and it was nice to hang out and watch movies while it rained today. Here are some recent pics. I want to say a special Hi to the State Attorney ladies that have had a special interest in our story!

Purple Hat Society

2006-06-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Our mini reunion

2006-06-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

We traveled with 7 families to Chongqing and 2 of them, the Mrkalls and the Northcutts live an hour away! Another family from Maryland , the Deyshers came down and we got the 4 girls together today and oh what a blast it was! These people are all like family to us after the experience that we went thru together. Here are some shots of the girls having fun! From left to right of the 4: Micah, Anna, Keira and Jade......

Scooter

2006-06-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Miss Jade is crawling and is starting to get into mischief! She has all 4 top teeth coming in at once and has been a bit crabby. The boys are really helpful with her when I need to get something done. All in all, life is settling in nicely and it feels like she is completely part of us now....Here is a picture of her crawling and one of her wanting me to pic her up or give her the camera :>)

Pink Ring

2006-06-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

My dear friend growing up- Carol, sent Jade her first ring! Its a beautiful Sterling Silver with a pink heart in the middle. Jade thinks its pretty neat!!! Thanks Carol (hug)!

First sleepover

2006-06-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy weekend with Ryan's and Will's birthdays that Jade got to stay with Grandma Maggie for her first sleepover! She did well even tho she had to sleep in a crib with cowboy sheets on them :>) We all missed her terribly tho!

Happy Birthday to you Jade!

2006-05-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day! We had our family and close friends over to share in our celebration of Jade's birthday. She had alot of fun playing in the pool and getting cake all over herself and Luke! Happy Birthday to our sweet girl....

May 26

2006-05-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Above is the picture of Jade with her protectors of evil :>) The summer is here! Today is the first day of the boys' vacation and things are going well so far :>) Jade is making progress and can go from sitting to crawling position then scoots backwards..very cute! She turns one on Sunday and we are having a small family party for her, more pics to come!

Jade's Portraits

2006-05-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I met at the mall and had Jade's pictures taken today. I'll go later in the summer and get the boys taken with her too. Here are two of them out of the 50 great pics they took!

Happy Mothers Day!

2006-05-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

This will be a very special Mother's Day for me with my guys and girl! Wishing all of you a great day too!

Swimming

2006-04-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

Ok Mommy has gotten picture happy now!

Pool deck Princess

2006-04-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Jadeybug

2006-04-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

We are starting to get into a normal routine finally! Jade is a good baby thankfully and just takes everything in stride. She is sleeping 12 hrs and starting to eat more table food. She can sit up well and roll over both ways now, both of which she couldnt do a month ago! Its hard to believe we'll have had her for one month on Friday...wow, we are so blessed!

Jet Lag!

2006-04-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hi from home at midnight! We are still on China time especially our little China doll! The boys are up at all hours wanting to eat and watch tv. Hopefully it will get better soon. I am thankful they are on spring break so they can rest up for school next week.

We are going to see family this weekend for Easter! Cant wait to see everyone and let Jade play with her cousins. Here are a few pics my Mom took while she was here yesterday.

We're home!

2006-04-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hi from home! The 16 days went so fast and now it all seems like a dream especially when I look at Jade's sweet face :>) We left Guangzhou at 8am Friday morning flew to Bejing then it was 13 hrs to Newark. The kids did great! Jade slept 11 hrs of it and the boys were good about staying busy or sleeping. Mike and I had a harder time getting comfy...we left Newark late and arrived in Tampa at 1am where we were greeted by our excited parents and dog ! We were home by 2:30 and eating the best tasting Sonny's bbq by 3am. Big thanks to Kathryn for that and to Renee and Kim for stocking the house with essentials. You guys are the best, ((((( big hug)))))

We all slept till noon the next day then unpacked and said hi to Jade's first visitors. Last night the princess was up from 2-4am wanting to play. Hopefully she will get back to the 12 hr sleeping nights she has had since we got her! Wishful thinking...

I will send pics when I find the camera, its buried somewhere in my diaper bag!

Love to all and thanks for your prayers, it got us thru the trip home.....

Michele

More pictures from today

2006-04-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

The red couch photo is a tradition with the adoptive families here at the beautiful White Swan Hotel. These are the girls adopted from Chongqing, our Jade is 2nd from the left. The other picture is our group of travelmates. We will miss everyone! Safe travels home...

Our last post from China

2006-04-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hi! Well we are almost at the end of this incredible trip! Today we had the swearing in ceremony at the American Consulate here in Guanzghou. It was very quick! When Jade lands in Newark NJ she will be an American citizen! We had dinner tonight with our special friends the Mrkalls and the McSorleys' whom we hope to keep in touch with for sure. We then shopped for last minute treasures and bought a $20 Polo suitcase for the trip home... we hope the wheels dont fall off in the airport...Ryan was excited about his $20 Rolex as well :>)

I want to add a special thankyou to everyone who has been interested in our journey to China to get our Jade. The messages from all of you have been priceless and helped us feel closer to home THANKYOU! Please post again if you get a chance as I will be printing all this out for her baby book. We will continue to update our blog when we get home as we get the time. If you are even thinking about adopting a baby from China, follow your heart as we did!!! It will be one of the most amazing things you will ever get the chance to do. Our family is so in love with this precious child..

How to sum up this trip?? The first part in Bejing was very tiring with the time change but also fun with the touring schedule and meeting of new friends. The boys really enjoyed climbing the Great Wall and all received plaques certifying the trek. Being in Chongqing was like being under a microscope with all the peering eyes at us and the babies. I tried to soak in as much as I could about Jades birth province sometimes looking at the faces and wondering if she was related to them. I kept coming back to the thought of her birth Mother having to leave her at the Park gate with 'old cotton clothes' as it was described. We didnt get to see this place as it was 8 hrs away as was her orphange. I will try to honor her birth Mother in bringing up Jade and by talking about her China Mommy when the questions begin. Coming to Guangzhou was a relief to be like everyone else (from all over the world) here with a baby adopted from some area in China. Becoming Parents of FOUR children has also proved a challenge and overwhelming at times. But we're not giving her back!!! :>) She is the best thing ever "Made in China" :>)))

Our next post will be from home after 20 hrs of total flying not counting layovers!Thankyou for all your prayers and support.

See ya'll on the other side...

xoxox
The Waters family of 6

Tues/Wednesday 4/4 4/5

2006-04-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hi from Guangzhou! Whew what a nice place to be! We are actually on an island called Shamian Island where adoptive parents stop for the last time before going home. We had Jade's medical exam which was very vague and almost funny. The most we got out of it was that she weighs 20 lbs 3oz. !!! My friend Marsha and I shopped today and bought some neat things for very little $$. Jade now has more outfits as she didnt have enough :>) Ryan picked out an interesting knife that will be confiscated the first time he threatens Luke and Will with it. We're headed to bed, more tomorrow and we leave the next day! Lots of love from us to you!

Pictures are of Jade now sitting up by herself!

2006-04-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

Gotta catch up!

Pics

2006-04-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

We're finally in civlization here! Try to send out some photos!

Sunday/The Zoo/Walmart

2006-04-02T05:59:00.001-07:00

Hello! We hope all is well on the other side of the world! Everything here in Chongqing is going very smoothly. Today we went to see the Pandas at the zoo and one in particular was very playful and entertained us with his tumbling! They are sweet looking but dirty. The zoo was beautiful and we were impressed with the lush surroundings and very thankful for the bamboo to shade us from the sun as it was extremely hot and muggy. There were alot of children there and Will likes practicing his Chinese hello 'Ni Hao' on them and they do the same with their English 'Hello's' back! Very cute :>) Ryan is enjoying the history and sightseeing parts of the tours. He likes to be in charge of the camera. Luke goes with the flow. We all enjoyed the China Walmart today after the zoo! It is attached to a very nice mall but walking into the entrance the smell of fish was quite a shock.. There are all sorts of unidentifiable foods in bins, live fish- huge catfish, worms, squid hanging to dry, some very strange things. It has floors and the buggy's attach to the escalator somehow and after the food area we then went up to the childrens area for forumula. Alot of the items were exactly as we're used to in America.

Laundry here is a breeze. Every few days we take the bags to our guides room and someone comes to pick them up. The next day we are delivered everything cleaned and IRONED in sealed bags. I told Mike not to get used to his boxers being pressed :>)

Jade is doing great! Everyday she seems to snuggle further into our family. She has such a sweet disposition which we are thankful for. She is bonding well to me as I try to be the only caretaker for now. The boys treat her well and want to help with her so I'm enjoying that while I can :>) Mike is smitten as you can see in the picture from yesterday. We cant wait for you all to meet her.....

Tomorrow is our last day here in Chongqing so we'll get packed up and be at the airport the next morning at 6am for Guangzhou. (Gwanjoe) This is the last leg of the paperwork journey and we'll meet up with some of our other friends who went to separate provinces to get their daughters.

Keep the posts coming we love to hear from everyone! Special thanks to Kim M for your help with Marta and the spring cleaning. It will be so nice to come home to a clean house!!!! (((Big Hug)))

More to come later,
Love,
The Waters
xoxoxoxoxoox

We have a new pic of Jade and Dad

2006-04-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday

2006-04-01T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hey! Sorry still no pics but working on it as we have time! And what little time we have! WHEW I have forgotten what alot of work a baby is :>) Especially in a hotel room. She had a major screaming fit today but it was a small one and I think she was overtired. The rest of the day she was all smiles!

We went to an old part of Chongqing today where the buildings were from the Ming dynasty. Ryan will fill us all in what exactly that is..heehee....It was exactly how you would picture China from the movies we have seen. Cobblestone streets with merchants selling all kinds of interesting things. The food actually smelled pretty good but we were all afraid to try it. It was very crowded and there were many university students walking around. Some girls took to us and talked to us about America. They were majoring in English and wanted to be guides for tourists like us. We bought a few toys that the boys wanted....weapons of course....2 Asian dresses for Jade and 2 pretty paintings for her room. It was very hot and muggy so we couldnt wait to get back to the AC and a spaghetti lunch!

Tomorrow we visit the pandas at the zoo. 3 more days and we're off to Guanzghou for 4 days then home next Friday! A special thanks to Genie Mom for helping us with the flight home. We arrive Friday night in Tampa at midnight. Dreading the trip already!!!!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and send us some notes on what your all doing!

XOXOXOXOXO
MMRLWJ

Friday/ Eling park/pizza party

2006-03-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

Ni Hao!

Things are getting better and we're adjusting very well!!! Jade is doing great! She started smiling yesterday alot and i even got a giggle when I tickled her neck! It was so adorable it brought tears. We walked to a beautiful park yesterday filled with spring flowers. There were school children there all practicing their English language on us. We tried to give stickers but there was such a frenzy for them the teacher said No! We went with 3 other couples and their families and were again surrounded. All of them were nice and gave thumbs up when they read our info card. They dont have the 'personal space' that we have and get too close for comfort. They pull Jade's thumb from her mouth as they dont like the babies to suck their thumbs and they tell me to cover her up more. It was 80 degrees yesterday and muggy but they think babies should be layered anyway.

Last night our guide Rui (Ray) organized a pizza party for us in the meeting room. It was great to see our 7 families with their babies that have all adjusted over the last few days. The pizza was from Pizza Hut and tasted just like home!

Thankyou for all the great messages, its nice to know we are missed. A special hi to my Mom and thanks for your help with the pics. To Rod, Kathryn and Joan, you are in our prayers! Keep us updated!!!!!!!!! I'm so sorry I am unable to post pics from here but in a few days when we go to our next stop, I have been assured the connection will be better.

The boys are doing great and we are all happy and rested. Jade sleeps 10 hrs at night so I hope that continues! We feel very blessed to be able to have this little girl in our family. We thank God for her. She is amazing....and she's ours....

Love,
MMRLW&J

These are the 2 pics Michele has been able to send so far!

2006-03-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

2006-03-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

I hope you are all doing well! Thankfully I was just able to access my email but still am having trouble posting pics...Mom is going to try to from her computer. Our hotel is 5 star but internet connection is very horrible. Thanks so much for everyone's SWWEEEEETTTT comments...loved them...Renee please send me your email address to my yahoo acct..Willi wants to send a note to Drew...

I feel like I have so much to write about...the places we have seen have been incredible...The great wall of course being fabulous. I will have to work backwards and post pics later I suppose.

AND now for news on our girl! She is so sweet! She cried only a little the day we got her. That whole process was unreal. I picked her out right away and they checked passports and then she was handed to me. She stuck out her lip a bit and in went the thumb! TOO CUTE...she has alot of hair and the other babies have hardly any. Would you believe that I only brought headbands in case she had no hair. Her bows got left on her dresser :>(

Yesterday we went shopping for formuler (as our guide says)and had a traditional chinese meal. Ryan had rice and chicken, Willi tried a bit of everything and Luke had a roll. :>) Jade screamed thru the whole process so Mommy stayed in the lobby
but nothing would soothe her so it was very stressful. Will be good for my diet tho as she does this thru most meals.

Today is a better day for her, we woke up and had breakfast and she had a bottle. At 10 mo old she cannot sit up, get on her knees or roll over. Its so sad! She also spits all solid food out like she's never had any in her mouth. She has two bottom teeth trying to peek thru. I have gotten a few smiles and she pushed our guides hand away yesterday when she tried to hold her so I think she is starting to like me a little. Last night she slept in my bed and she woke up twice and would just touch my face and run her hand over my hair. It was the sweetest thing and I'll never forget that moment.

The boys went to a park today while we stayed here to regroup. Being in China is very strange. I dont like being the center of attention and everywhere we go we are. Some of them dont know why we are carrying around Chinese babies. We have a card we wear around our necks in Chinese that reads that we are Americans and are here to adopt the abandoned daughters of their beautiful country. We promise to care for them with all our hearts. The older generation give us smiles and thumbs up. Seems the younger generation arent as thrilled. Our guide says they are ashamed that women abandon their babies.

I'm going to try to get some pics out but if they wont attach I'll get Mom to try..thanks for all your sweet posts..I miss and love you all.

Michele & Men & Princess Jade

Tuesday Morning (couldnt post pics this morning :>(

2006-03-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hi! Sorry we didnt post yesterday we had a full day and I didnt feel like fighting Ryan for the computer! We went to Tianneman square yesterday, the Forbidden City (huge) and THE GREAT WALL! It was all amazing and I hope to go into greater detail but am in a hurry now as we have to get our act together and catch a flight at 8am for Chongqing!!! In NINE hours we will have a daughter and you all will have a grandaughter, great grandaughter, neice, cousin or a new little friend from China! I was too anxious last night to sleep so i'm running on adrenaline. Here are some pics from yesterday. I'll post more pics later today. While you are sleeping at 2am we'll be getting our girl!

Keep those messages coming!

Love,
The Waters Family

Sunday night 3/26

2006-03-26T04:27:00.000-08:00

Ni Hao!

We hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for the emails and posts, we love reading them and helps us not feel so homesick! KEEP THEM COMING!!! We had a good sightseeing day today..we saw the Summer Palace where the Emperors vacationed. We all agreed that was our favorite part of the day. Its how I pictured China to be from the movies :>) We had Chinese food for lunch and it was ok but seemed to be more Americanized and we had hoped for authentic. Will was adventurous and tried the different things, Ryan had meat and veggies, Luke had a roll :>) We then went to the Temple of Heaven where the Emperors went to pray. It was beautiful and peaceful as you'd expect such a place to be. I'll include some pics of both places. Tomorrow is Great Wall and the next day we fly to Chongqing to get our Jadey Jade as Will calls her. Luv and miss you all! The Waters....

Saturday morning 8am (I think)

2006-03-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

Good morning! We are all feeling better today after a good nights sleep, yahooo! Yesterday we went into town via a 45 min shuttle ride with some friends. We shopped at the silk market which was too overwhelming for all of us. The salespeople are all up in your face without hesitation. Mike got conned into buying 2 Hard Rock Bejing t-shirts for about $15 each. "special price just for you" :>) We walked around for 3 hrs after that and ate at the Hard Rock Hotel where the t-shirts were, you guessed it $15 each. Well at least he didnt overpay..ha...We are a bit intimidated about eating anywhere just now..it will be easier when our guide steps in as of tonight and we eat more traditional chinese fare. Luke fell asleep yet again at the dinner table.

We have met some neat people from all over the world and this is great fun, but I'm ready to GET OUR BABY!!!

WIll write more soon....

M&Men

Friday morning/Pic of NY City

2006-03-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hi,
We miss our family and friends! Its hard to believe we're on the other side of the world from all of you. We have two hotel rooms in Bejing and somehow I got Luke and Will together out of the deal :>) Luke fell asleep eating his pizza last night so he was easy to put to bed. The beds here are so hard!!! I should've practiced by sleeping on the garage floor to get used to it before getting here. Yes its that bad...Being thrown off with the timezones, Luke, Will and Mommy were up at 3am China time watching the Simpsons in Chinese...its funny even in another language we cant understand.

We are waiting for a few hours to catch a shuttle to downtown and will explore the markets a bit looking for bargains. We are here with about 10 other families that we have gotten to know over the last year so we're all having fun seeing each other in person.

Its about 60 degrees today and beautiful. Mike took the boys to the park here so I could catch up on our blog.

So far so good..we'll write more soon! Hope your all well...

Countdown to Jade 4 days!!!!

Love,
Michele & Men

WE made it!

2006-03-23T04:12:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Bejing across the world from our families and friends after the longest flight ever in history I am sure of it....Everyone is tucked in after eating our first meal in China of PIZZA!

I'm headed to bed too...or maybe I'll look in the paper for homes to buy so we dont have to make that flight back over :>) I think it would be easier just to move...

Luv to you all,
M&Men

Our travel plans!

2006-03-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that we have travel approvals to go to China! Here is our itinerary!

3/22 TPA-Newark-Bejing (dep TPA 8:15am/arv Bejing 3:00 pm 3/23!
3/23 REST
3/24 SHOP
3/25 SHOP, acrobat show with our group
3/26 Tour Temple of Heaven, Smmer Palace and the Bejing Zoo
3/27 Tour the Great Wall of China!
3/28 Fly to Chongqing (Chongching)
3/28 is also known as GOTCHA DAY as we get Jade TODAY!
3/29 -4/3 Tour, shop and paperwork but most importantly get to know our daughter
4/4 Fly to Guangzhou (Gwanjoe)
4/5 American Consulate Appt
4/6 Rest up for the flight!
4/7 Depart China 9;40am
4/7 Arrive Tampa 9:41pm (if we get thru customs in time) if not we may be on the later flight or need to stay in NY for the night.

Countdown to Jade: 11 days!

Our baby shower

2006-03-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Our wonderfully thoughtful friends gave us a 'couples' shower at Kafe Kokapelli's on Friday night. It was the perfect evening and I was already tearful after Gary's blessing of our dinner. Thankyou to Kim, Renee and Kathryn for putting it together! Machele for the awesome lavender cake (my favorite color) and to Charlene, Shawn, Charla and Karen and husbands for making it a great, memorable night! You guys are the best!

Waiting for travel approvals

2006-03-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

At this time we are expecting to leave for China mid March! We are waiting for our approvals from our agency before we book our final plans. Its hard to believe that after 15 months of this, we will get to see Jade this month and bring her to her new home :>)))

Orphanage photos

2006-02-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

Jade isnt in these pictures but I wanted to share what her surroundings are like!