Sarah Martin

Ni Hao!

2010-07-12T23:39:00.003-05:00

Ni Hao y'all! Yes, I'm still alive & kicking in Alabama. Please visit my primary blog, Sunny in China. See you there!

February 22, 2010

2010-02-22T13:29:00.000-06:00

Sarah Martin is 16 months old today!

Oh, how we love her!

SNOW!

2010-02-12T18:40:00.001-06:00

Sweet Home Alabama

2010-02-10T23:39:00.001-06:00

Jillian after 12 hours in the air.

U.S. Citizen!
Landing in Chicago

We were welcomed home with banners, bows, food, friends & family.

Big Sister

Baby Sister

"There's no place like home".

I've had a difficult time honoring my blog commitments since our return home (and while in China). Blame it on jet lag or exhaustion or the fact that I have a nineteen pound baby stuck to my hip the majority of the day. Sarah Martin loves her momma and doesn't like to be separated from me. She will play with Jason and Nana in a pinch, but she gets fussy after only a couple of minutes. We are very pleased with her attachment to us and couldn't ask for a happier baby. The first three days with her were brutal. Our sweet baby missed her loved ones desperately in those first days. We were prepared for these emotions and somewhat relieved that she grieved for her nannies. It indicated that she had formed a strong attachment early in her life, so we knew she shouldn't have difficulty attaching to us...with time. I assumed the role of Momma Bear and Jason was my wingman, and I really think that helped her realize that we were her mom & dad and we were there to love and protect her. She is such a delight and our experience has been every bit as magical as our time with Jillian. I'll post more about her personality when I can sneak some more time away. Thank you all for the sweet emails and comments! I haven't had the opportunity to respond, but I've read most of them. We still have our days and nights mixed up and I've been taking a short nap with Sarah Martin during the day instead of emailing or blogging. She is a good napper, but wakes up each night after sleeping for a couple of hours. I haven't gotten up to turn on the lights, so I've listened to her babble and laugh from 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. for the last three nights. She slept all night while in China, so wish me luck as I try to get her acclimated to Alabama time.

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BTW~It has taken me over two hours to upload this blog post. We seriously need to get back on some sort of routine.

Flight Information

2010-02-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

2/6/10 Guangzhou-Beijing CA1330 Leave 10:00 a.m. Arrive: 1:00 p.m.
2/6/10 Beijing-Chicago UA850 Leave: 5:25 p.m. Arrive: 4:22 p.m.
2/6/10 Chicago-Huntsville UA5720 Leave: 6:25 p.m. Arrive: 8:03 p.m.

All times are local.

Shopping & The Red Couch

2010-02-03T23:23:00.004-06:00

We've been busy buying twenty homeland gifts to give to Sarah Martin each year on her Gotcha Day. My favorite gifts are the handmade embroidery from Changsha and the jewelry. I found the prettiest jade earrings to give to Sarah Martin when she is sixteen and Jason selected a beautiful strand of pearls for her wedding day. All I need now is a few more mandarin dresses and another suitcase to hide the twenty pairs of shoes I bought for the girls.

Our travel group got together yesterday to pose for photos on the famous red couch at our hotel. Sarah Martin was sleepy, but she tolerated the photo session with minimal tears. The oath-taking ceremony at the American Consulate is this afternoon. Our guide will pick up Sarah Martin's passport & visa tomorrow afternoon and we'll be on our way home on Saturday!

On Tuesday……

2010-02-03T10:07:00.004-06:00

...we visited a Safari Park outside of Guangzhou. I highly recommend visiting this amazing zoo if you ever find yourself in Guangzhou, China.

On Monday….

2010-02-03T10:05:00.001-06:00

...Sarah Martin cleared her medical exam and we celebrated Jason's birthday.

Having a BLAST in Guangzhou!

2010-01-31T07:10:00.003-06:00

Our gals are happy & healthy and we are so very blessed. I'm having a really hard time pulling myself away from all the fun to blog and upload photos, so I will add the majority of our photos to a slideshow once we are home and I am able to access Blogger. Sarah Martin is a happy, healthy, curious, mischievous, funny, clever and alert baby. She and Jillian are big buddies and they play so well together. Jillian knows how to assist and interact with her baby sister with minimal guidance from us. We developed a well-defined triage plan prior to meeting Sarah Martin, so Jillian has taken her big sister responsibilities to heart. Sarah Martin is still stuck to me like glue, but she is becoming more a daddy's girl. She needs me for cuddles and kisses, and she likes to play and rough-house with Jason and Jillian. She is just our dream come true. Her medical exam is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and we plan to take the girls out to enjoy more of Guangzhou's beautiful weather tomorrow night. Sarah Martin LOVES to be outdoors and we found a really nice playground close to our hotel, and I have a feeling we'll be there each night this week. Thank you again for all of your emails! I can't respond to them all, but I really love hearing from everyone back home.

And All Was Right With The World...

2010-01-29T06:37:00.003-06:00

It happened. Our sweet baby girl finally let us in. Sarah Martin has been one big ball of sunshine for the past 24 hours. She is stuck to me like glue and has shown us nothing but pure happiness today. She shows me love by hugging my neck, kissing my cheek, feeding me snacks and holding my hand. Jason and Jillian interact with her mostly through play. She bops them on the head with a toy and laughs loudly at them. Nana has also won her over. Sarah Martin cackles and throws her tiny hand up in the air when Nana walks into the room. This time with her has been magical and I hate this is our last night in Changsha. We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow for the final week of our trip. I'll post more pictures of our girls tomorrow. Thanks again for all the emails! Please keep them coming!

Just The Facts Ma'am

2010-01-27T23:59:00.004-06:00

-:-I haven't had the opportunity to check my email in over 48 hours. Sorry y'all!
-:-We have an alert, bright-eyed and curious 15-month old that wants/needs to be held 24 hours a day.
-:-Sarah Martin has been grieving the loss of her friends and nannies. Jason and I have watched her tiny heart break for three days, BUT we saw her smile and heard her laugh for the first time this morning.
-:-Nighttime is the toughest part of our day. She has been waking up in a mad panic and it takes me several minutes to calm her fears. Last night was much better, and I'm hopeful she will continue to feel safe and secure with us tonight.
-:-She is really attaching to me, but just tolerates Jason at this point. She tries to feed me her bottle and I've eaten two dozen slobbery Goldfish today alone. She also loves to squeeze my neck and pat my back.
-:-We learn more about our little angel each minute and we are smitten with her and her sweet personality.
-:-Thank you all for the emails! I will try to respond to them later tonight.
-:-I'll post some photos of our outings here in Hunan Province ASAP.
-:-Again, I apologize for not blogging sooner.

GOTCHA!

2010-01-25T07:01:00.005-06:00

Alive & Well in Changsha

2010-01-24T18:33:00.004-06:00

Hello all! We made it to our hotel in Changsha yesterday around 12:30 p.m. We checked-in, ate lunch, unpacked our luggage and conked out. I had every intention of uploading photos, emailing friends & family and updating my blog once we unpacked, but all three of us fell asleep around 2:00 p.m and woke up a little after 2:15 a.m. this morning. We finally feel like we are among the living. We are now scheduled to meet Sarah Martin today at 3:30 p.m., so Jason is about to find a market within walking distance to purchase some necessities such as bottled water and DIET PEPSI. Our hotel room is comfortable and the food is tolerable. Jason and Nana are open to new tastes and textures, but I'm just fine with fried rice, orange juice and coffee. Nana's room is next door to ours, so Jillian has loved having her all to herself. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we become a family of four. Just SEVEN more hours until we meet our new baby! I'm beginning to feel the butterflies.

Beijing Tour

2010-01-23T05:25:00.002-06:00

We are still exhausted from our flight, but we had an awesome time touring Beijing today. Our van left the hotel this morning at 8:30 a.m. and our first stop was Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. We only spent a couple of hours at this location, but we received an interesting history lesson in that short amount of time. It is very cold here, but the sun is shining and we dressed in several layers, so we were comfortable while outdoors. After lunch our group visited the Great Wall of China! Amazing! Nana climbed out of sight while Jason and I hung out with Jilli near the bottom section. Jillian was wiped out after visiting the Great Wall and missed seeing the Bird's Nest (AWESOME!) and the Water Cube on our drive back to the hotel. She is asleep right now, so I opted to stay at the hotel while Jason, Nana and another sweet family find some dinner. Our GWCA travel group includes three other families (AR, NJ & WA). We are flying to four different provinces in the morning, but we will reunite at The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou on January 30th. We are scheduled to depart for the airport at 5:15 a.m. in the morning. My next post will be from Changsha!

Alabama - Beijing = 27 HOURS

2010-01-22T07:25:00.002-06:00

We're here.

We're exhausted.

We're climbing the Great Wall of China tomorrow!

Beijing or BUST!

2010-01-21T00:25:00.000-06:00

"Do not be afraid for I am with you.

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west...

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the ends of the earth."

~Isaiah 43:5-6

Useful China Information

2010-01-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

-:-Our email address while in China is sunnyinchina@live.com We will be unable to read Blogger comments, so PLEASE email us during our trip.

-:-We can also be reached on Jason's cell phone.

-:-China's time zone is 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time (CST).

-:-THANK YOU all for the sweet comments, emails, visits, gifts and phone calls. I apologize for being so difficult to contact these past few days.

Ok, What Am I Forgetting?

2010-01-14T23:21:00.004-06:00

We are now current on all travel vaccinations. We completed the remaining injections today and I'm having to type this blog post using only my right hand. Jason and I didn't need the Hepatitis A/B injections again, but we were popped with a Typhoid vaccine and Tetanus & Pertussis vaccine. I'm still having trouble lifting my left arm. Ouch!

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We received a more detailed itinerary of our trip. I'll go ahead and post it here in case you were interested in following along.

1/21/10- (6:25 a.m.) Huntsville/Chicago
(12:43 p.m.) Chicago/Beijing. Travel time-13:42 hours.
1/22/10- Arrive in Beijing. Hotel: Poly Plaza.
1/23/10- (9:00 a.m.) Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square.
1/24/10- (8:10 a.m.) Depart Beijing and fly to Changsha.
Hotel: Dolton Hotel.
1/25/10- GOTCHA DAY! We are scheduled to meet Sarah Martin at 10:30 a.m.!
1/26-28/10- Paperwork, shopping, sightseeing.
1/29/10- (4:00 p.m.) Pick up Sarah Martin's passport.
1/30/10-(11:00 a.m.) Depart Changsha and fly to Guangzhou.
Hotel: White Swan Hotel.
1/31/10- Sightseeing tour to Chen Family's Temple.
2/1/10- Sarah Martin's medical exam and Visa photo.
2/2/10- Sightseeing tour to Yuntai Park.
2/3/10- Consulate Appointment
2/4/10- Oath-Taking Ceremony
2/5/10- Receive Sarah Martin's Visa.
2/6/10- (10:00 a.m.) Depart Guangzhou and fly to Beijing.
(4:22 p.m. )Beijing/Chicago. Travel time- 12:57 hours
(6:25-8:03 p.m.) Chicago/Huntsville.

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Sarah Martin's appointment with the UAB International Adoption Clinic has been scheduled for the third week of February and we'll meet with Dr. John Grant and the UAB Cleft Team during the first week of March. Our travel meds have been called in and our OTC meds have been purchased. I've been busy sorting and washing Sarah Martin's clothes (size: 12 months) and I'll begin packing tomorrow. What am I forgetting? Just a few more days and I can sit back, relax and enjoy this wild ride.

Testing...

2010-01-11T13:30:00.001-06:00

Blogger.com will be blocked in China, so I plan on uploading photos and blog posts via email. Just in case you were wondering how this is done....
I will add the title of my blog post as the subject of my email. The body of the email will be the post itself. I will then attach my photos to the email. The size of my photos must be reduced, because Blogger limits the size of each email post to 10 MB. I will be unable to center my photos or add photo captions though. The best part? Tina at The Story of You will upload my blog posts if I have any problems with Blogger while in China. I can just email her my posts and she'll do the rest. Also, I updated my blog setting so that specific people will automatically receive email updates of our posts. We will not be able to read blog comments during our trip, so PLEASE email us at this address: sunnyinchina@live.com We also plan to Skype, so get your webcams ready!

To find your Email Posting Address: CLICK Email & Mobile under the Settings Tab. That's where you can enter up to ten Blogsend addresses and also find your Email Posting Address.

Ok, I'm about to attempt my first email upload....

BTW~ This is a photo of Jillian with her new carry-on luggage on Christmas morning.

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

It's Official!

2010-01-08T23:59:00.004-06:00

Our Consulate Appointment has been confirmed, our flights have been booked and we are scheduled to depart for China on January 21st! We will receive a more detailed itinerary next week, but we do know that Gotcha Day is January 25, 2010!

1/21/10- Huntsville/Chicago (6:25 a.m.) Chicago/Beijing (12:43 p.m.)
1/22/10- Arrive in Beijing
1/23/10- Beijing Tour
1/24/10- Fly to Changsha, Hunan Province
1/25/10- GOTCHA DAY!
1/29/10- Fly to Guangzhou
2/3/10- Consulate Appointment
2/4/10- Oath Taking Ceremony
2/5/10- Pick up Sarah Martin's Passport with Visa
2/6/10- Beijing/Chicago (5:25 p.m.) Chicago/Huntsville (6:25-8:03 p.m.)*
*All times are local.

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Many adoptive parents send a care package to their child's orphanage or foster family while awaiting Travel Approval (TA) from China. Often, disposable cameras are included along with a request that photos are taken of our children during their last days among friends and caretakers. One parent posted some of these pictures on the Jiangyong SWI Yahoo Group website yesterday and our Sarah Martin was pictured in one photo. What a nice surprise!

Hang on Sarah Martin! We're coming to get you!

TRAVEL APPROVAL!

2010-01-04T19:08:00.000-06:00

Our Travel Approval (TA) arrived TODAY! GWCA has been busy requesting and confirming appointments in China on our behalf. We could have expected to travel next week if we were fortunate enough to have our updated I-171H in hand, but we are still waiting and hoping to receive that update within the upcoming week. Our updated homestudy should be in the hands of USCIS soon and they assured me that they are on the lookout for our file. In the meantime, my nesting instinct has taken over my life. I've cleaned out almost every drawer, cabinet and closet in our house. Jason has made three trips to the dumpster in the past week and I sent six bags of clothes/shoes/purses home with one of my besties today. I expect to receive this little gem later this week to help me keep a massive amount of toys organized. Gotta run! I have two messy bedrooms to deal with tonight.

The Latest on Sarah Martin...

2010-01-01T21:23:00.002-06:00

We received an email from our agency, GWCA, stating that our Travel Approval (TA) is due to arrive in their office next week!!! Our adoption appointment in China has been confirmed for January 25th and our Consulate Appointed (CA) will hopefully be scheduled for February 2nd. GWCA has placed us in the January 21st Travel Group and we will return home on or around February 5th. We must receive our updated I-171H before we can finalize our travel plans. We were in contact with USCIS on Wednesday and they are on the lookout for our updated home study. We just need AL/DHR to rush it through their office as soon as humanly possible. Please say a quick prayer on our behalf. We really, really, really want to be on an airplane bound for Beijing on January 21, 2010!

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Also, please CLICK HERE & HERE to read some interesting info regarding China's International Adoption Program.

SARAH MARTIN UPDATE!

2009-12-19T10:17:00.002-06:00

Our package was delivered to Jiangyong SWI earlier than I expected, because we received these photos of Sarah Martin this morning! Look at my sweet baby! She is 28 inches long and weighs almost 19 lbs! Her lip has been repaired and we think she is BEAUTIFUL!
It's amazing how much we love this child already.

Christmas in China

2009-12-18T23:49:00.000-06:00

Sarah Martin will be 14 months old on Tuesday and she should receive our care package on or around that date. She will see pictures of her excited family and receive warm clothes, pajamas, coat, shoes, blanket and other fun goodies like cookies, doll and musical toys. We were able to send a translated letter to the orphanage director and nannies inquiring about Sarah Martin's health status, favorites foods, sleeping habits, likes/dislikes, personality, etc... We hope to hear something within the next few weeks. We also included two disposable cameras and asked the nannies to takes photos of Sarah Martin and her friends during the final weeks of her time in Jiangyong.
Jillian is filled with the Christmas spirit and couldn't stand the idea of Santa Claus forgetting Sarah Martin the year. She spent half an hour looking at all the goodies at Red Thread China and helped me choose these items for our care package. She will be super excited to see that Santa will also leave some presents for her little sister under our tree next week. Isn't Christmas fun!

These items were donated to Sarah Martin's buddies at Jiangyong SWI. It is currently 45 degrees Fahrenheit in Jiangyong County at almost 1:00 p.m. Please pray that these children are happy, healthy and warm during this cold winter season.

We Have Another Daughter!

2009-12-02T22:00:00.001-06:00

We are thrilled to announce the referral of our daughter...

Yong Jiang Shuang, soon to be known as:

"Sarah Martin" Shuang

DOB: October 22, 2008

Jiangyong SWI, Hunan Province, China

We are truly blessed beyond measure! Thanks to all of you who have been praying with us and for us for the last three years.

"God danced the day you were born.

You are loved, you are beautiful, you are a gift of God."

~Meiji Stewart

(Jillian is pictured on the top left of photo & Sarah Martin on the right)
Jason and I were surprised by how much Jillian & Sarah Martin favor.

YES, Jillian is SUPER EXCITED about her baby sister.
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Where we are in the adoption process:
6/1/06- Mailed our adoption application to GWCA.
4/4/07- Log In Date (LID).
6/1/08- Applied to GWCA Waiting Child Program.
8/27/09- Updated GWCA Waiting Child application.
10/21/09- Matched with Yong Jiang Shuang.
10/22/09- Celebrated Sarah Martin's 1st birthday!
10/23/09- Mailed our Letter of Intent (LOI).
11/12/09- Received Pre-Approval (PA) from China.
12/2/09-Received our Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC)! This means that China has officially and formally approved us to adopt Yong Jiang Shuang.

-:-Our updated home study must be approved by AL DHR/ICPC before it can be forwarded to the USCIS to request an updated Immigration Approval. We are now waiting for the CCAA to issue our Travel Approval (TA). Our agency predicts that we can expect to receive our TA in 2-4 weeks. It's possible that we may travel to China in as little as six weeks from now! That's NEXT MONTH!

I'm ready to hold my baby.

Happy Jilli Day!

2009-11-28T23:32:00.002-06:00

WOW! Jason and I met our precious daughter FOUR years ago today! We continue to thank God for bringing this amazing child into our lives. She is such a blessing to our entire family and we are overjoyed & humbled to have the opportunity to have her in our lives. We love you more than you'll ever know Sugarplum!

Also, we spoke to Jillian about her special day. We asked her what she wanted this day to be known as...Adoption Day, Family Day, Forever Family Day, Gotcha Day, etc... She thought about this for a few seconds and then proclaimed "Jilli Day". So there you have it. Today will be known as "Jilli Day" from now on (or until she changes her mind).

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Our Jilli Day Traditions:

1. Send a care package, letter and updated photos to Jillian's former nannies and director at Zhijiang SWI. I used Ann from Red Thread China to handle my letter translation and care package. She emailed this photo of our donation and letter.

We pray that these photos and/or letters end up in the hands of someone associated with Jillian's birth family in the future. It's improbable, but not impossible.

2. Continue to support the education of an infant/preschooler living in a Chinese orphanage through Half the Sky Foundation. I highly recommend this charity if you are looking for a great cause to support this holiday season or throughout the year.
3. Jillian will receive one of the twenty Homeland Gifts that were purchased during our trip to China. This year she received a shuttlecock.
We purchased this shuttlecock while visiting the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Temple of Heaven
November 27, 2005
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We also celebrated the day by taking Jillian to her favorite restaurant of the moment in Huntsville and by stopping by Party City to pick up party favors for her upcoming birthday. We ended the day by attending a performance of "A Christmas Story" at our local community theater. You did an AWESOME job Jackson!

Jilli & Nana.

Jilli & the Leg Lamp.

Me & my girl.
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Click the following links to read about our past celebrations:
2008
2007
2006
CLICK HERE to see photos from Jillian's Gotcha Day.

Why YES! We're Up to Something!

2009-10-28T21:17:00.001-05:00

Hint #1

Hint#2

Any guesses?