Before we go....

We we have changed her name. Not just what we call her but her official name.

The official name:

Kimberly Mei Xin Thompson

We're telling everyone to call her Kimberly
Mei is pronounced May
Xin is prounounced Shin (This is her middle name the orphanage gave
her and it means Happy.)
We decided to keep the last name Thompson instead of changing all our
name to Fu. ;D

If you're wondering what happened to Mei Ling, well.... it's a long story...

Of course we'll still call her mei mei (little sister) and Reed just
calls her Happy. And her foster family has nicknamed her Xin Xin. Needless to say, she'll be confused.

We hope to blog while we're in China so keep checking back for new updates. We will have her in our arms on Sunday 7/25.

Where in the World Are We Going?

Thought you might want to see where we're going. We will be in the southeast portion of China. The port city is Hong Kong. We'll be there a couple of days. Then we'll fly to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province where our daughter lives. She is from Fuzhou City (not the Fuzhou you see on the map.) in Jiangxi Province. We probably will not be able to visit Fuzhou City or the orphanage. By the way, I think we have decided to call her by her first name of Kimberly instead of her middle name, Mei Ling. We'll stay in Nanchang for about 5 days then fly to Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province. All adoptions go through Guangzhou (gwon joe). We'll be here about a week. This is where we apply for Kimberly's passport and visa and hopefully do a lot of shopping for souvenirs. Then we'll fly back to Hong Kong and on to Chicago then HOME!!! I am excited about the trip but also ready for it to be over so we can start settling in and just being a family.

Please pray for travel safety and pray for safety of Cate and Reed as we are gone. I am already dreading leaving them behind for so long. Check on Nanna & Grandpa to make sure the kids haven't tied them up and locked 'em in a closet.

Update for Mei Mei

We got an envelope with a bit more info this weekend. No new pictures but I wasn't expecting any so I wasn't too disappointed. I did send a care package a few weeks ago with a disposable camera so I hope to get that when we pick her up.

We now know that Fu Jiu Xin was found abandoned at the door of a villager's home in the Chengxi Township on September 25th, 2009. She was 7 months old. The villager placed her under the care of the orphanage. A doctor examined her and deemed her to be in good physical health and estimated her date of birth to be February 18, 2009. The orphanage named her. She has been in foster care almost the entire time. She is attached to her foster mom and calls her mama. Her nickname is Xin Xin.

It appears that she enjoys a variety of food and has a good appetite. She plays with toys and likes to watch t.v. I was surprised to find that she had a t.v. She likes to play games with older children. Likes to bathe. I was glad to hear this. It should make bath time more fun. She loves to talk and laugh. She can say one- to two-word phrases such as "eat, mommy, daddy, " etc. (In Chinese I'm sure.)

She is relatively outgoing, active and lively. Mischievous! :D Likes to play outside and likes to play with water. Sometimes a bit stubborn and impatient, relatively headstrong and wants adults to obey her. Ha! She can be a bit shy, but once she gets familiar with a new person she is no longer scared.

I just want to squeeze her and tickle her. "The waiting is the hardest part!"

China Adoption and Ladybugs

You may not know that ladybugs have a special meaning to those of us in the Chinese adoption community. The Chinese adoption myth is that ladybugs are a sign of good luck. I am not one that believes in luck but I do appreciate the symbols ladybugs represent. The other day I was trying (I say "trying" because as Cate will tell you I bawled through the whole thing.) to read the kids this book called Shaoey and Dot by Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman. Great book that gives kids a little insight into how the babies come to be in need of adoption. The main characters are Shaoey (the first little girl that the Chapman's adopted) and Dot (the cute little ladybug that befriends her and stays to keep an eye on her). The illustrations by Jim Chapman are inspired.This morning as I was preparing a special breakfast for the kids (a bowl of Reece's peanut butter and chocolate cereal!), I found a little ladybug sitting on the cabinet. It probably means nothing, but with all the stress of trying to get last-minute paperwork done so our travel is not delayed, I sure needed that smile. Just as Dot watched over Shaoey in the book, I know that God is watching over our adoption journey. It is in His hands and no matter how long this takes or what hurdles we have to jump, it will happen in God's perfect timing.

Kids on 4th of July

Gran's Visit

Gran came for a visit and the sunflower bloomed for her.

She worked so hard getting Cate and Mei Ling's room ready.

Kindred Spirits

I love how the room turned out.

Thanks Gran!!!

Cookout and Neighborhood Fireworks

Airshow and Fireworks