China Top Ten

10. Wearing coats!! We had only been to China in the heat of summer- 

what a change to experience China in the fall!

 9. Awesome outfits everywhere...

8. Heated toilet seats... I don't need to say anymore.

 7. Airplane food

6. See through showers and tubs

5. Shanghai dumplings

4. Subway, for Aidan :)

 3. Breakfast at the hotel- so good!

2. Lots of shopping!

1. Liam

Farewell, Guangzhou

We're wrapping up our time in China and getting ready to drive to Hong Kong tomorrow for our long flight home! It's been a wonderful trip and we have thoroughly enjoyed this special time we've had with Liam. The past few days have been filled with shopping, our consulate appointment, a river boat cruise, more shopping (we had to buy an extra suitcase!) , and eating at our new favorite restaurant in GZ, a noodle shop where we can both eat for $3.00. We've been there twice now and may have a farewell lunch there tomorrow before we leave!

 Clothing market... total craziness.

 Love having Starbucks attached to our hotel :)

The 4th floor playroom... we have spent a lot of time in this room with each adoption, especially with Maeve. This trip we only made it here on the last night, but Liam seemed to enjoy it- especially the watermelon ball.

 Most of our travel group, minus one family.

Shamian Island

We almost opted out of the Shamian Island trip... so glad we didn't! We would have missed out on this... John joined in on the aerobics dance class. 

Shopping at our favorite store and trying on the XXXL dress (awesome)

Pictures with the famous statues...

Getting in on a Majong game...

Lunch at Lucy's...

Hearing "He Leadeth Me" being sung in Chinese as people gathered for Sunday morning worship. Wish we could've made it in time to have attended the service.

Guangzhou!

We've been in Guangzhou for a few days now... it's our third time here and it it's starting to feel a little bit familiar! We've done the medical appointment, been to the toy market, visited our favorite tea shop, seen the zoo, and shopped at the leather market (John insisted on buying leather pants for his Christmas outfit this year). We have just a few days left before we head home... We're loving the special time we're having with Liam. He's already a different child than the one we met a few days ago. He's trying to sit up and move around a bit, he's holding his head up for longer periods of time, and he even ate a bowl of steamed egg this morning! We are so thankful to have him in our family and can't wait to bring him home!

Someone is getting ready to become a US citizen.. visa pictures were first on the agenda

 Medical appointment- all seems good, except he needs to put on some weight and learn to move around. I think we will have plenty of help with that when we get home!

 Toy market!!

 We've been to this man's tea shop each time we've been in Guangzhou!

Zoo!

 The best part of the zoo trip was feeding the giraffes!

 Big bummer, the pandas were off display. So, we saw the "Lesser Pandas," which look like big red rodents- not very impressive. We'll have to see the pandas next time :)

 Liam loves to lay on our bed and just chill... I hope he's this easy going when we get home ;)

Shanghai CWI

We visited Liam's orphanage yesterday. We saw where he spent the past year and a half and got a glimpse into what his life was like while he waited. It is so very difficult for us to see this and not experience a heart shift... every time we visit an orphanage our hearts break more for the precious ones still waiting. These children are real, they are hurting, and they are waiting. 

Liam's crib and one of his nannies... no longer his bed anymore, but already filled by another child who waits for a family to come for him too.

Finding Liam

Liam was found on May 16, 2015 at Zhongshan Hospital of the Qingpu District of Shanghai. At 10:30 in the evening nurse Xu Jianping was walking through the hospital and found him in a chair in the emergency room waiting area. Tucked in his blanket was a note giving his birthdate, April 13, 2015. 

This is all we know of Liam's beginning. We don't know his early story and most likely we never will. This is a sorrow that is hard to adequately put into words. We mourn the significant loss that our precious little boy has experienced in his life. We also acknowledge and grieve the loss his biological parents must be living with. We don't know their circumstances, but making the decision that they did could not have been easy; I imagine it was made with significant agony, but with hope that their son would have a better life.

Adoption begins at a place of great loss and heartache, it's the part of adoption that is painful and hard to understand. We know, though, that God is able to take what is ugly and raw and change it into something beautiful. He is writing a new story in our son's life, one with hope, love, and a beautiful future. We are humbled that we have been invited to be part of Liam's story and can't wait to see what God will do in our son's life. He truly does make all things new.

  The nurse who found our boy, still employed at the hospital, but not on duty when we came.