~~Link~~

Since we are home and some of you may not have the link to my other blog..here it is...

www.lindseysmeimei.blogspot.com

~~Link~~

Since we are home and some of you may not have the link to my other blog..here it is...

wwww.lindseysmeimei.blogspot.com

Zai Jian China!

What an amazing journey this has been, we have met families who are now connected to us in such a powerful unique way that in my eyes make them a part of our family, watching the other families be united with their daughters at the same time, watching a family be born in front of my eyes was truely the most amazing time of my life. They are such good people and i feel blessed to have them apart of our travel group!! Much love to you guys, you know who you are ;-]
This trip has changed my life forever, this country has changed my life forever, and i am so glad that we were able to come here to see Chloe's birth country so that one day when she is older we can tell her what a rich country China is. The people here are really nice and many have become our friends, that in turn has made it even harder to say goodbye. Out of all the experiences of my life, the moment i first saw Chloe in person has to top them all. I fell in love with her, and i fell hard. That day, "Chloe day" will forever live inside me, and everytime i watch the video of that moment i will be reminded of how God has changed my life. The emotions have been overwhelming and my life FINALLY has so much more meaning to it, making this trip the hardest yet best trip of my life! We (my parents and i ) cannot thank the Chinese people enough for trusting us to raise one of their precious girls.
So now it is time to finish packing and load up the laptop and fly home, so Chloe can start her new life in America. Much love to those who have prayed for us and continue to pray for us, we will see you in North Carolina!! Next time i post, Chloe Madison Xian Jones will be an American!!
Love,
Chuck, Pam, Lindsey and Chloe Madison Xian Jones
and now for pics of our last day in China..the country that gave us this sweet girl!!

Dad and his 2 girls holding the last breakfast coupon this morning!
Dad and Chloe giggling in the Swan Room
Our new friends from The Home of Love..we will miss them
Yet more friends who have been so very kind to my family
Some preschool kids me, mom and Chloe saw today before lunch..they can say hello in english!
I love making her laugh and love the way her nose curls up
Bonding while viewing the Pearl River
Strollin...
Chloe took her first steps (with help from mom) during her last visit to the Swan Room
Packed and ready to go...Chloe wanted to make sure we didn't forget her..lol

My birthday & our newest American!

The internet has been down throughout Guangzhou today due to the earthquake in the Phillipines so i hope you can see these pics! Today was (or is in the USA) my bday! Also today marked another very important thing...our Consulate app. was today, meaning today was THE DAY we all took an oath and got Chloe's passport and visa so she could become an American..YEA!! So overall an awesome day, ending in a b-day celebration at Lucy's with most of our travel friends..enjoy the pics!
p.s-angel and blake-Everyone LOVED Chloe's outfit today, thanks a bunch for it..she looked like a pink snow bunny in it..hehe =)

love the smile hun!

I love my little pink snow bunny =)

Chloe thinks her big sis is funny!
Got flowers from WS workers..soo sweet
And of course flowers and a address book from Elvin

A happy family of 4 at Lucys!

I think everyone had a great time at Lucys!!

After we got done eating and got back in the hotel room Chloe was soo sleepy but i managed to get her to laugh for a few pre-bedtime pics in the pj's i bought her..lol!

She just started doing that thing with her tongue..lol

Day after Christmas (AKA "baba's" bday)

We had a great time celebrating baba's (dad's) b-day 2day..get to do it again for me 2morrow..lol..enjoy the pics!

Good morning sunshine =) (sissy took this pic..she makes me laugh!) Happy b-day baba..im wearing the outfit u wanted me 2 wear..hehe

Daddy and sissy took me to play in the Swan Room after breakfast

It's rough playing..but someones gotta do it =)
yay mommy came in to play then sissy went upstairs to get some peace and quite!
oooo i AM pretty...i love this mirror =P

**proof that dad has been in China waayyy 2 long..he's kissing Elvin our guide hehe**

Dad's surprise cake brought in my yours truly..lol

we had a fun little celebration!

Sissy gave me my first taste of cake icing..not bad...lol

**Chloe LOVES music and 2nite me and mom put on ms. new booty (chloe LOVES it) and "danced" with her..sooo adorable we made dad video it..hehe..so here it is im not sure if u will be able to hear the music very good but look at that giggle..yea that kid is sooo cute!

Bloggy friends =)

Here is a special picture of Sandy and Sophie. I know their familyx in Green Bay, Wisconsin will enjoy seeing her new sister. She is just beautiful. Mom talked with your mom and dad this morning at breakfast and they were all doing good.

Christmas Day Crazyness in China

Well as you all in the US are just now waking up to Christmas morning, us in China are fixing to go to sleep as we finish up Christmas day! Today didn't feel like Christmas at all..we miss everybody and just the normal Christmas atmosphere. We had a busy agenda today, starting right after breakfast with all 7 families taking the children to the infamous examination room that every chinese child adopted has to go through in order to travel home with his/her new family. There are 3 stations each child must go through, the weight and height station, ear,nose,throat station and the basic physical appearence station where the baby is stripped and looked over. Chloe did not like this at all, she as well as most of the other babies cried the whole time, not fun! here are some pics..




And if that wasnt enough of a torture for the babies, at 3:00 we were to go down for the famous red couch picture...muhaha right when nap time hits, so as you can imagine 7 tired cranky babies who had already been poked and picked at dressed up in chinese outfits left to sit on a couch with about 15 people watching them of course ended up in pure torture for the poor little things...and yes Chloe cryed the whole time, but we got some great shots of me and her in our matching chinese outfits.... im soooooooooo tired so no captions tonight..i will do that when im not so sleep deprived....

Happy girls
This picture will be our adoption/late xmas announcement pic..we love it!!

I am just totally in love with Chloe's smile and am soooo excited to find out that she like her sis has a dimple!! YAY, so adorable, its on her right cheek =). Everytime she laughs it just warms my heart like nothing else, and i cannot possibly explain it. its the best! Merry Christmas once again to you all, we are so blessed this year!

Merry Christmas from China!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!

It has been a very rough day just missing home and being with our family and friends and spending Christmas with them, but we are SO greatful to be with such nice people who are traveling with us! We are so anxious to finally come home with our sweet baby girl, these last couple of days have been so hard and we have been so discouraged being so far away during this special time of the year, but there is no other place in the world we would rather be than here in China with our sweet baby girl, because it doesnt matter about the material things at Christmas, all that matters is that we get the opportunity to spend Christmas with our sweet baby girl..and we wouldnt have it any other way! So without further adiou, check out miss. Claus otherwise known as Chloe Madison =). We hope you all have a great Christmas and can't wait to come home!

Much love,

Chuck, Pam, Lindsey & Chloe Madison Xian Jones

We love her so much and are so lucky to call her our daugher and my sister..
Yay!
Chloe says "My sissys personal fav!" =)
Chloe matchin with one of the WS staff She still LOVES her stroller!
"Sissy your funny!" "I wanna be just like my big sissy!!"
Chloe and mommy playing and laughin

"high 5 sissy!"

"Just wait till i grab them glasses daddy!"

statue of 5 goats & playtime!

Im so tired tonight so im just going to post some pics of today! We went to the park that is famous for the statue of the 5 goats, then finally got a well deserved break from Chinese food when we had McDonalds for lunch then the rest of the day was spent chillaxin in the room with our sweet baby girl..later tonite dad kept Chloe while me and mom went out and got some presents for my friends..yay!! So now Chloe is finally asleep and im going to bed 2...miss you all and love you!! enjoy tha pics =) And there is a special video of Chloe playing with us the other night before bedtime..this kid is adorable!!

"ok im ready to go!!"
"no more photos please..i know im cute but still enoughs enough!"
In front of the statue of 5 goats

a lot of school kids were in the park..they were so cute and nice!

beautiful park
Maja and Chloe in Mickey D's!
"we're just chilaxin at the park!"

And finally check out this kid..she cracks me up!! I love her more & more as every second passes by!

Sightseeing day 2..visiting a park, a tea factory and the electronic market

Ok so long day! Im really tired right now, just got Chloe to sleep and fixin to go to bed myself so im going to just put a couple of highlights from the day then post some pics! So we started out going to a very cool park in China today, and man was it beautiful!! Then we went to a tea factory which was a very good cultural experience and tonight we went to check out this huge market (kinda like a mall) with just electronics in it..awesome! So heres some pics for you to fiest your eyes on...=)

Yet another great shirt hehe
Maja and Chloe at breakfast Me and Chloe in the lobby of WS (White Swan)
The four of us strollin in the park (love this pic!)

Workin on my "Kill Bill" pose..haha

Beautiful park

this man at the park came by with his 2 birds and let me hold them..the white one tried to eat my hat..lol

This ones for you Lisa..dad and his baby with his Margaritaville shirt..lol

At the tea factory

Our awesome guide Elvin and Chloe!!

And to end this busy day, me and mom took Chloe to the Swan Room, a place inside the hotel for kids to play at...Chloe and her orphanage friend Madison had a blast!!

Chloe checks out the cool toys while Madison just watches

Trying to stand up!

"yay! A ball!" Chloe seemed to like it!

These kids are really wanting that ball...lol..competition starts at a young age..hehe

Now im off to get some shut eye..tomorrows another busy day of sightseeing!!

Sightseeing day 1, Buddist Temple, Pearl Market

Lots to talk about today, first Chloe was a trooper at breakfast eating 3 bowls of congee (kinda like a chinese version of rice cereal) and did awesome all day. Here is what all we did today...lots of pictures =)

"daddy im still sleepy!"..Chloe and dad bonding this morning before getting ready for a long day out!

Today was our first day of sightseeing where we went to a Buddist Temple and the babies were blessed by monks which was really cool and a very good cultural experience. At the buddist temple there were buddists all over the place worshipping buddha and just bowing down to him. We all got to light insense and make a wish for the baby's future..very cool! Chloe made a new friend there, this adorable little boy whos about the same age as Chloe came up to us at the temples and started laughing at Chloe and touching her stroller and it was just the cutest thing ever! Here are a couple of pics from the Buddist Temple...

After that our group went to eat Chinese & me, mom, dad, Chloe, Dillon & John went to eat some good ole' American food at Lucys...well Chloe really didn't eat but check out this adorable pic...

After lunch we all went to the Pearl Market..very cool! Here is a collage of pics i took from downtown Guangzhou (which looks like Times Square!) and some pics inside the Pearl Market which really looked like a huge mall..lol

After that we got a real taste of what most of China is like...by that i mean the more poverty stricken part of Guangzhou, and it was a very eye-opening experience for me..here are a few pics..words cannot explain how it felt to actually see the world from another persons eyes...
Have I mentioned how blessed this Christmas is for me?? I got to thinking about that today and just realized how blessed I feel to be able to spend Christmas with my new baby sister in her birth country..man how special is that?? AND on my birthday (the 27th) Chloe will be getting ready to become an American Citizen...wow! Here is a cool pic of Chloe and me in front of a Christmas tree in the White Swan lobby...love it =) here is a pic for you Aunt Deb of the Pearl River that dad took last night....

And she eats!!!!

Another breakthrough and this one is HUGE!! Ever since we got Chloe we have not been able to get her to eat ANYTHING..except 2 of her fingers...this morning at breakfast we put some mushed bananas in front of her high chair and everytime we would try to touch them she would whine (she thought we were going to try and feed them to her) and earned the self explanitory nickname "bottle thrower" by the Bostas. Well back to the good news, tonight Chloe FINALLY decided to let me put a bottle to her mouth and then it was like a little lightbulb clicked on inside of her head and she started drinking the formula and pedialyte!! It was incredible, we were sooo happy, then mom mixed up some rice cereal with applesauce babyfood and when we gave it to Chloe she pretty much wanted to inhale it...it was great because we knew she hadn't eaten anything for 2 days so she had to be hungry! Great night! Tomorrow we are off to do some sightseeing and i think going to a Buddist Temple or something..we will be sightseeing from 21st until 24th!! So enjoy the pics of Chloe's first bottle and first feeding!!

We about started crying when she ate...it was a great moment with such relief!

I think her face says it all.."Im happy to be eating!!" and we were too! Mom is feeding her some rice cereal and applesauce babyfood and im feeding her pedialyte which is like liquid gold!!)

Pretty in Pink

Today has been very interesting to say the least...Chloe is starting to feel better so thats good! We went to the Civil Affairs Office round 2 pm for the last time to get some legal things finalized then off to the police station to get Chloe's offical Visa picture made and now we are resting (Chloe is snoozing) and then i think we are going with the Newsome family to Lucys and maybe to shop some!! Well enjoy todays pics...

Matching sisters =)
Happy family of four
Love love the outfit my big sissy bought me!

A building in Guangzhou

views from the town and apartments

This is what Chloe thinks of the bus and buildings...boring!

Resting after a long afternoon out

I think we have a futre Olympic gymnast here..lol..she LOVES doing splits!

I told you she was a sleeping angel! (look at the shirt!)

Oh yea i about forgot Chloe wants me to tell you that today is one of her special friends Madison's 1st birthday (Madison and Chloe were at the same orphanage and her big bro and me have been chillin during this trip..lol) we all got cake in honor of her special day..so HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY MADISON MEI!! LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING WITH YOU 2NITE!!LOVE YOU LOTS! CHLOE MADISON XIAN!

Madison (in green) and Chloe (yellow) right after Gotcha day!!

VIDEOS!!!!!!!!!

Ok since i know you all are dying to see this kid in action i uploaded 2 videos for ya 2 c..first one was taken just moments after Chloe was placed in our arms and 2nd video is that night before bedtime...now you can see for yourself why im totally in love with this baby girl..enjoy!!

Our first FULL day with Chloe..

yo its Lindsey posting again..mom has been typing the last couple of entries and ive just added the pics..lol..ive been too tired to write a lot. Ok so great day today we have us a little trooper here =) Last night we started Chloe on an antibiotic and this afternoon after we went to the Civil Affairs office she started running a low grade fever so we gave her some pain med and off she went to sleep..after 3 naps she finally got up (she slept about 2 hrs all together). So we got dressed and went to eat at Lucy's then went to shop for the famous squeeky shoes. fun!! Chloe crashed after having a nice bath at about 10:00 pm China time. She is feeling soo much better and is breathing a lot better now! Ok so heres some pics of the day..im off to catch some shut eye..peace..miss you all!

pictures....

Our sleeping angel....

Yea life's good....'nuff said =)

It's Chloe Day!!!

We have all been hyper and anxious about today, all talking about what was to come, but on the bus ride to the Civil Affairs Office the bus was very quiet. We all realized it really was about to come true. Once in the office they had us in the waiting room and there were 5 families in our group. They told us the order the babies would be brought out and we were #5! Once they started bringing out the babies there was on 1 -2 minutes before they brought out the next baby...it was mass confusion...everybody was trying to video and take pictures for the other familiy but then suddenly your baby was coming out ...it was amazing. When Chloe came out she was just beautiful. We all got to hold her and talk with one of the ladies from the orphanage who had taken care of her. after spending 1 hour at the Civil Affairs Office we headed off to dinner and then to the hotel to spend bonding time with our babies. Chloe was fascinated on the bus ride back from the restaurant. Everything in this city is very tropical with bright lights, and very colorful...when she would see the lights she would just laugh and yell...it was so funny. Everybody would look ahead for more bright lights and we would know she would get excited. She never cried when we got her !!! I think she lilkes us so far. At the hotel she played on the bed a little and then I put her in the tub for a bath. She loves the water and played and played splashing her feet and clapping her hands. She finally cried when i took her out. Got her in her cut p.j.'s and she smells so good!!!! she is now on the bed with Chuck and just flopping alll over him,..She has a cold and we have given her meds for that...Thanks LaLisa for sending the meds and alll your encouragement. She loves for us to hold her on our knee and she will sling her head back and bust out laughing . She must have done that 50 times. We have had so much fun with her. Headed back out at 8:30 in the morning for the Civil Affairs Office and then free time tomorrow afternoon.. We will be buying a stroller and walking around. Our hotel is right on the Pearl River and it is beautiful. Everything is tropical....palm trees....68 degree weather...very good weather to have a baby outside. Our room is on the 11th floor and the view is awesome. Across the water there are very colorful lights......purples from the hotels...blues and greens....looks alot like resorts. Well we are exhasuted once again and are off to bed. We want to hear from all of you that check our blog so please leave a message. Love to all of you who have supported us during the amazing journey.....look forward to returning to the US on Dec 29.

Pam

Life is SO good..we love you, Chuck, Pam, Lindsey and Chloe Madison Xian Jones

Day 2...Tian'anmen Square & The Great Wall

Hey everybody!!!

I know you are wondering why we didn't get on last night....the internet at the hotel was down all night and we left out this morning at 6:30. So here is a quick update on what happened on Sunday. We met all our group for breakfast at the hotel and headed out at 8:30...it was so cold outside...15!!!! We head straight for Tian'anmen Square which was huge. As we got off the bus we were bombarded by people selling everything from rolex to hats and they wouldn't leave us alone. While were were in the square they were amazed at Lindseys blonde hair and treated here like she was someone famous. They came up to her and asked to have their picture taken with her ...each of them taking their turn with her. Then we went to the Forbidden City which by the time we walked there we could not feel our toes. After that it was off to lunch and then a tour of the jade factory and then to the Great Wall. We walked as group up the great wall and at different points we dropped out because it was so hard and steep. Lindsey made it 3/4 of the way to the top....I made it a little further than her and Chuck, Todd , Dillion David and Susan made it to the top which was 2 1/2 miles to top. Needless to say we were exhausted again last night. We were up at 5:00 and left the hotel at 6:30 for the airport. Our flight left for Guangzhou which was 2 1/2 hour flight. Landed with the sight of palm trees....we were so relieved to be out of the bitter cold. Temp is now 67!!!! We meet our baby in about 30 min. so got to go...Talk to you soon....Love to everybody...miss you mucho!Chuck, Pam Lindsey and Chloe

Us at "the square"..lol

"Chyeah im at the Great Wall"

Us on the Great Wall..yea it was coooollllddd

Me and Dillon about to fall asleep after a looonnngg day

We.Are.In.Beijing!!

Well after a very LOONNNGG 12 hr flight we have finally arived in Beijing along with 4 other CWA families who are soooo nice =) (its about 8:30pm Sat. night here). The flight wasen't too bad, we got to watch movies and t.v shows to pass the time but are just soo happy to finally be in China. It is sooooooo cold in Beijing, and the wind is just unbelievable. Once we arrived at the hotel we got to rest for about an hourWe just got finished eating dinner with the other families and our guide and are headed to bed..geez im SOOO tired its not even funny! Tomorrow is a BUSY day, starting at 7:30 eating breakfast at our hotel with the other families then our guide is taking us all to the famous Great Wall of China and Forbidden City, then we will have one last night without our sweet Chloe because Monday is FOREVER FAMILY DAY!! Can't wait, it's still so surreal to me that we are actually in China after all this time! I miss everyone at home SOOO much and can't wait for all my family and friends to meet Chloe!! Well until later cyber hugs!!

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