Final post from China...

We're sad to announce that this will be our final post from China!
We're excited though, because that means we're almost home and we'll finally get the chance to introduce you all to Mia Sara Jia Lovell...
We depart in the morning and won't arrive back in Phoenix until almost midnight on Friday night. We're hoping that Mia continues her peaceful ways and that our flights are enjoyable. We can't thank you all enough for your love and support over the past few weeks. It has meant so much to us to run to our email each morning and check out all the supportive comments left on Mia's blog. We'll continue to provide periodic updates for anyone who is interestd in learning of Mia's progress and continued growth. We'll certainly provide an update this weekend as we're getting settled in, to let you all know how the trip home and first night in Mia's new palace of a room goes! Plus it should be interesting to see how our cat Sofia accepts Mia into her domain... Who knows, this is pretty addictive sharing Mia's life with you all, maybe we'll find we can't stop... Thank you & see you soon!
Love,
Mike, Stacy & Mia!

Best Friends...

It's so sad to be wrapping up our trip and parting ways with so many of our new friends... Skip & Joy are from NJ and have been an absolute blast to hang with. Skip shares our demented sense of humor, and Joy balances him out with her beautiful personality. Wendy & V, also from NJ, were the angels of our group. V is an ortho surgeon & Wendy is a pediatrician. Their knowledge and willingness to help everyone in the group has been endless... All of this despite the fact that they adopted twin girls! Talk about having your hands full... Dan & Christine, from Illinois, are the low key sweethearts of the group. They are true midwesterners in their friendliness. Alex & Sandy, from California, were here for the second time. They were very nice people, with the sweetest little girl. They adopted their 4 year old daughter Joy about 3 years ago.
Like most kids, she couldn't get enough of Stacy...
I have to reserve a special section of our blog for Uncle Kenny & Aunt Kathy! They are true best friends who will be a part of our lives forever... Not only were we blessed with beautiful little Mia, but we were also lucky enough to meet a NJ couple who personifies caring and compassion.
Well, except for Kathy's crazy & demented sense of humor! Truly, these two helped us through the stress of not knowing what the heck was going to happen with this process. We helped each other out by acting as a pressure release. The things we shared between us might have gotten us arrested in some countries, but made this experience so rich and rewarding... We are very thankful to have them as a part of our lives, and Mia's... As a footnote, Kenny is apparently one of the best guitarists on the East Coast.
He even had a hit video on MTV in the 80's with his band 'Prophet'. We can't wait to get home and check out his video on YouTube. We're also planning on visiting them before Christmas, and can't wait to see this guitar virtuoso firsthand.

Final play date...

Tonight, after dinner, we went back to Kenny & Kathy's room to let Mia & Molly play for a bit. This was their last chance to spend time togther for a few months. They had an incredible time playing together on the bed. At one point they even seemed to have a fairly serious wrestling match. I'm proud to announce that, while outweighed by several pounds, Mia was firmly able to establish dominance and continue the long legacy of Lovell domination! In all seriousness, they have been so cute together.
Molly was the child who you may remember we wrote was giving her parents a hard time just a week ago. That seems like quite a while back, because now Molly is all smiles and giggles! She's s a total sweetheart and I'm sure Mia & Molly will be close for many years to come... Aren't they just the cutest?! And yes, Molly is the nake one. You know how those New Jersey girls are!

Farewell Dinner...

Tonight we had a group dinner at a local Thai restaurant called the 'Cow & Bridge'. They have phenomenol food... It was one last chance to get together as a group and interact. The great part is that this was not part of the planned activities. Our group has become so close that we planned this on our own. We also invited our Holt representative, Catherine, and her son Cormak. After dinner as we were saying goodnight, Catherine began crying. She has been leading groups through the adoption process for 10 years and told us this is the first time she has brought her seven year old son around her clients. She says we're her favorite group ever! It was really a touching moment, and we're hoping that Catherine & Cormak will visit us in the States someday, as they are now a part of our family...
Catherine played a huge role in helping us realize our dream of adding Mia to our family. She has been endlessly supportive, and really reminds me of Stacy... She must work 24 hours a day, because she always seems to be there when we need her. She's endlessly dedicated to her work of helping these children into their new families. Unfortunately Catherine's husband was killed in a tragic car accident and she is left to raise Cormak alone. You would never know tihs from her glowing spirit. She is always laughing and smiling. We will miss Catherine and hope that she is still around when we come back to pick up Mia's little sister. Yep, that's right, we'll definitely be doing this again...

Chinese women sharing their wisdom...

The Chinese have very distinct beliefs about the way children should be cared for. While they absolutely have the best intentions of the children in mind, it is interesting to see how they differ from our Western views... For instance, when we go out shopping or walking in Guangzhou, older Chinese women routinely come up and wrap Mia's legs and feet in her blanket if they are exposed. Sometimes they'll even tell us in a stern voice that "Baby's feet need be covered...". It's very sweet and they absolutely are trying to help us out. This picture is a great example. As Kathy was walking by with Molly, who happened to be sucking her thumb, they called her over. One of the women pulled Molly's thumb from her mouth and sternly told Kathy that it is bad to allow children to suck their thumbs!
They then pointed at us who were being horrible parents by allowing Mia to have a pacifier, God forbid!! I'll miss this culture where elders are respected and revered...

Bhuddist Blessing...

This is the Bhuddist monk who performed our group's Blessing. This particular blessing was created solely to recognize the efforts of Westerners in saving Chinese orphans... The chanting and holy water ceremony were quite unique and really interesting to be a part of.

Bhudda

Bhuddism is the second largest religion practiced in China. Second only to Taoism. Bhuddism stems back over 4,000 years in China, and the Bhuddist temples can be seen all over the country. The local Bhuddist monks have created a special blessing to recognize the efforts of Westerners in saving the many Chinese orphans... Today we participated in a voluntary visit to the 'Six Banyan Tree Temple'. This particular temple has been burnt down three times during the wars which separate various dynasties.
The most recent version of this temple is now 1,000 years old!
It is an unbelievably beautiful experience to visit a Bhuddist temple.
Their is a sense of peace and tranquility that permeates not only the monks, but the visitors and surroundings. We lit incense and offered a prayer for our little Mia. This picture was taken in front of three large Bhuddas signifying past, present & future...