I forgot to tell you all, We had seen several doctors at the medical exam clinic and she was done with it all, we were on our way to another room to get her shots, and I went in with her, mom was outside crying which I do not blame her! As soon as I set down and she saw two more doctors standing there about to do something she leaned in and bit me right on the chest! WOW!!!!! It took everything in me not to scream in pain! But I did not, and we made it, and I just love her spunky spirit! She is a live wire!!!!! - Matt

...but just a few minutes after 3 doctors poking and prodding and 5 shots, that's my girl, she is a tough one, Moms still crying at this point! :)

Just like her daddy, We do not like doctors!
The squeaky toy did nothing!

Lots of beautiful artwork all around hotel!
This piece was 30,000 us. We ordered 2 :)

New Hotel, called The Swan, very nice, good food, on the water,
really bad bed though! a rock with a sheet :)

I think I will tell them, Its sleep like a rock not on a rock!

Night Night Time,
Charis loves her Nemo nighty!

First Plane Ride! She did great, It was only one hour though!
One train ride and three flights to go! Pray for us!!!

Charis put bow back and said, See mommy its all good!

Charis getting told No No No! put your bow back in your hair!

Charis laughing at mom telling her not to pull out bow!

Happy Buddah!!! Looks like me!

Do I look like I like bows!!!!

Reading With Mommy!

The locals put me to work!!!!

Daddy gives her cookies and anything else she wants :)

Pucker Up!!!!

Family Shot at the Gardens

Daddy's little Dumplin!!!

This guys did this for an Hour!!!!

Check out how the ladies sit in China! When your hot your hot, got to get some air some how!

We are so in love with our little girl it is just not funny. Every day she comes out a little bit more. She is a spirited little thing.

I think that today's trips were the most enlightening so far. We visited to People's Park and were able to go into one of the villages that was about 30 minutes outside on Nanchang City. Our guide told us that it is a typical average income village. Not rich, not poor. Most of the villages around here are like this one so chances are good that Charis came from a village much like this. She told us that the villagers are very protective of each other and that even if they knew someone had a baby and did not keep it, they would never tell. She said that it would be understood by the others that the child would be too expensive to keep. After seeing these villages, I am amazed at the love and sense of community they have with each other. They were very gracious and kind to us, offering us water, which was HUGE for them. The poverty was shocking to me, I don't think I will be the same. God has blessed us far more than we could ever imagine. This is our last night in Charis' province, we are taking our little girl with us tomorrow and that brings some strange emotions. I hope to return someday with her and take her to the place she was found and let her see her homeland.

On the lighter side, we have all decided that we could use some Mexican food right now! We are looking forward to getting to Guangzhou tomorrow. We will have a few more choices for Western foods. Nanchang City just does not cater to the Westerners. I think that it will be a long time before we want to order Chinese take out!!

I am really, really tall here!!!

Wednesday entry:

We have had a MAJOR break through with our girl. Up until now, Charis has been very clingy to us, but very timid and quiet. She was very uncertain of everything. She would smirk then cry when we would play with her, she was unsure of what to do with her emotions. Then, last night Charis started laughing at Matt when he would tickle her. I asked her where Daddy was, she looked at Matt and said, "Da Da"- you can just imagine how Matt melted. I cried, of course, then she started turning flips ( yes I said flips) on the bed. She would lean over to me and I would give her a kiss then she would laugh, swing her head then turn a flip. She would laugh then go over to Matt and he would kiss her then she would flip again. This went on for at least 30 minutes. It was just as much fun for us as it was for her!!

Once she came out of her shell, she has not gone back. She is a live wire. We have laughed and laughed at her because she just giggles and talks all of the time. She looks at her Daddy and calls him by name. She is already saying "book" and "Da Da." I am hoping to get a "ma ma" some time soon, but we will take whatever we can get.

We visited the Tengwang Pavilion today, it was the home of the Prince of the Han Dynasty. Very pretty, but HOT! We were the point of interest today, all of the locals asked our guide about us. Our guide would then tell us what they were saying. They love that we put hairbows in our daughters' hair. They would walk up to Charis and look at her bow and laugh. One group of ladies just followed us around for a while and were so kind. They were glad that we were adopting these girls and getting them out of the orphanages. They were also fascinated with Matt. The men here do not treat their children the way our men do. They were fascinated that Matt was the one holding Charis and that he was so loving toward her. I took their picture with Matt and Charis, notice that Matt is on his knees in the picture. This will give you an idea of how little these ladies were.

That is all for now. Please continue to pray for all of us. God is good and this has definitely been worth the wait!!! We can't wait to bring her home and share her with everyone!!

Enjoy the photos...

Making things official with China at the Adoption Center in Jaing Xi

She loves for daddy to rub her head as she goes to sleep,
I could not stand up the next day:)

Reading to the baby!

She is so much fun!

This is what you would drive if you lived here!
You should see the traffic!
Wow!

The porcelain capital of the world...so I was told!

Praise the Lord for KFC!!!!! I think it was chicken?

Baby Girl's first French Fry!!!

First time to sit and play by herself with out being held.
New stacking cups and rattle.

Hello to everyone.

Here is a quick update.

Charis is adjusting well and loves to be held. She puts her little hands to our faces for kisses. She is starting to bond with us and that is an answer to our prayers. We have found out elevators and Charis do not mix...she is a bit claustrophobic.

Here is a specific prayer need, Charis has a rash all over and we pray it is just a heat rash. Pray it gets well quickly. 

We will post more pictures soon. We love you all.

Picture with orphanage director on left and caregiver on right.

Charis' first cheerio!!! She loved them and ate a whole bunch!

Daddy is overwhelmed. What an experience! She is so sweet!

Charis loves to snuggle, her feet will not hit the ground for the next several years, I am sure!

We got her!!!

We have arrived!!!

Well, we after 3 1/2 years, we are finally here. To say that we feel like we are in a dream would be the best way to describe it. Our flights were long, but God was watching out for us, both times, we had the ONLY vacant seat on the plane in between us. What a gift.

China is a beautiful country. There are lots and lots of people here in Beijing. I had never realized how many people could be crammed into such a small space at one time. The people are as fascinated with us as we are with them. We have had many people take our pictures and too many to count ask to have pictures made with the teenagers in our group. We visited Tian'an men Square, The Summer Palace and the Forbidden City today. It was fascinating to hear how the Emperors ruled and influenced what China is today. The Summer Palace is just beautiful, I would have made it my permanent home, not just stay there in the summer.

It is Saturday morning here and we are counting down the hours until we get our girl! Today is our visit to the Great Wall and the Bird Nest. Can't wait!! These are the main things that we have looked forward to seeing.

We will write again soon, please continue to pray for our health, safety and strength.

Love to you all.

Two days and counting down!!! So much to do, so little time! After three years you would think that I would be a little more prepared for this, but I am not! There are so many last minute details to take care of. The BIG question is... will I get it all done?

 I have everything taken care of for the boys. They are packed and ready, which makes me a little sad to think of being without them for 2 weeks. They are in the greatest of care, I know that, but they are my babes and Mama Bear is having a hard time letting go!

I have thought so much today about what our lives will be like just one week from today. Words simply cannot express the range of emotions that come with just typing those words. We will be with the little angel that we have prayed for all these many years. 

 I am signing off now, please pray for our little girl, our safety and our precious boys while we are away. I am going to MISS them so much!!

Seven days and counting down...

AT LAAASSSTT!!!!! After 44 days of waiting, we have been given our TA(travel approval).  Things are about to take off! We leave here on June 10, yes that is only 10 days away and I haven't packed the first thing!

I can't believe that after 3 1/2 years, we will be holding our little girl in 2 weeks!  It doesn't seem real to us yet, I wonder when it will sink in? I don't know what these next few weeks hold for sure, but this I know- the timing is God's and He has all of the details arranged. 

Hang on Charis, here we come...

Check her out!!! Just when we thought it couldn't get any better than this, we got a sweet surprise from China. We have an updated photo of the precious little angel and updated information. What a treat. Needless to say, it has taken me a few days to post it as I wanted to soak in every word and all the changes in her. I have laughed at the scowl on her face wondering how many time I will see that look of frustration throughout the years!!  They say that she is active, outgoing and can be obstinate at times(sounds like someone else I know!)We have some hair now and it looks like bows are a definite. YAY!!!

 Charis is already a big part of our lives. Throughout the day, I find myself thinking of her schedule(so grateful to have that) and praying for her. I know that God is preparing her heart to come home just as He is preparing ours. What a wonderful day that will be. 

We got our acceptance letters signed and back to Dillon Int. We are anxiously awaiting the travel dates, but have plenty to do in the mean time. 

Stay tuned for travel plans and please say a prayer for our precious brown eyed girl!

Well, what can we say? Today is filled with a wide range of emotions!!!  Let me start by clearing up the precious baby girl's name...

We are calling her Charis (care-iss)  Yi (yee) Qiu (chway) Brogden.  Charis is the name that we had chosen when we began this journey as it means "God's grace." We know that it is by the grace of God that we have this precious little girl!  She was given the names Yi and Qiu which mean "Autumn gift." We are beyond excited and cannot stop thanking the Lord for her! She was born September 26, 2007. She is around 18 months old right now and will be around 20 months when we travel. Couldn't be more perfect!!

As we get travel dates, we will keep you posted. The boys are thrilled and think that she looks "sooo cute." I cannot look at her without tearing up and Matt is the proud Dad!!

We love you all and look forward to sharing this journey with you as it unfolds.