our first week at home...

Well, we've been home for a week now and Alli seems to be doing very well.  What a precious baby she is!  BaiLee, Ethan and Graci all seem to be doing great with her.  Graci seems to be doing great, with only mild jealousy.  She has gotten pretty baby-ish and wants me to do everything for and with her, so I do.  The kids all fight over who gets to sit by Alli, who pushes her in the stroller, who holds her...etc.  If they keep holding her all the time she'll never walk!!! LOL
We've had to just jump into our normal routine since we've been home, which most of you know is a very busy one.  I'm praying it doesn't mess Alli up with bonding/attaching to us.  She seems to be great, but doesn't really show a lot of stranger anxiety.  I'm not sure if I should worry about that or not.  We don't pass her around and let everyone hold her just yet, and the only ones that feed her are Brian, myself and our kids.  We don't make her go to anyone she turns away from and one of us are always in a room with her so she can see us.  It's so crazy the things that are different with giving birth and adopting.   I'm sure she's doing fine and will continue to do so. 
Two nights ago I saw a big difference in the way she interacts with her siblings.  She has really started responding to them and playing with them.  I can't tell you how much I love to watch that.  It's the sweetest thing!  We took Alli to church last week.  She did great.  It was so sweet to watch her clap along with the music. :)  Did my heart good to see that.  She is a total doll baby!
Since we've been home Alli has started holding her own bottle, drinking from a sippy cup, can pick up food with her fingers and put it into her mouth, cruises along the couch, can point to "Mama's nose" when asked.  She's really learning and seems to love the attention. 
Sometimes I wish I could go back and watch her for one day in the orphanage...just to see what her personality was like there, compared to now with us.  
God has been so good to my family.  I look at all 4 of my beautiful children and get overwhelmed with grattitude.  I really love being a Mommy and I'm so honored that God chose me to love and raise BaiLee, Ethan, Graci and Alli Ashworth.  They bring us so much joy and make everyday better than the one before!

first night home....BaiLee and Alli

Ethan and Alli

Graci feeding Alli a bottle for the first time.

My 4 beautiful children

BaiLee 11, Ethan 9, Graci 5, Alli 16mts

Our first Sunday in Church as a family of 6!!!!

What an awesome God!

HOME!!!!!

Oh my goodness!  WE ARE HOME!!!!!  I didn't realize how much I missed home until I got here.  It feels so good to be home, but it felt even better to have my babies in my arms!!  Oh my goodness, what a sight for sore eyes, arms and heart they were.  I missed those beautiful babies!  Mama, Daddy, Our kids, Ames and Jen all met us at the airport.  It was so nice to see my family and friends. :)  On the way home Graci said "Mommy, I missed you so much I almost peed in my pants!!!!" LOL  Ethan sat up front with Brian, Graci beside Alli and I sat in the back with BaiLee.  He was all over me, and I think I heard "You just don't know how much I missed you!" about 30 times or so.  :)  We kept them home from school today so we could all spend some time together.
Alli was a CHAMP on the flights home.  Seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better baby! She was amazing, even during our 7 hour layover in Chicago. 
The kids were so happy to finally meet thier sister.  They have been ALL over her.  It's going to take some getting used to for Alli, but she will.  She's already really taking to Ethan and BaiLee.  Graci, well....I think the two mama's thing may be confussing for her! LOL  Really, the kids are doing great with her. We all stayed up last night until almost 3 am.  I am beat today!!!  That king size bed didn't feel much like a king wit 6 people and a dog in it last night.  Alli and I ended up in Ethan's bed early this morning.  Jet lag is killing me and Brian!  We are exhausted today!!!  I really can't wait for night time so I can go to bed.
Alli took a good 3 hour nap today.  Graci asked me about 6 times if she could wake her up, she wanted to play.
I'm so happy to be home and have my family all together. 
For those of you who are wondering, Alli became a citizen of the United States of America the time she steped onto American Soil, which was in Chicago. :)
Thanks for all the many prayers.  We truly felt them every step of the way.  God is so good!!!
With lots of Love,
Amanda & Brian
*I'm posting some pictures from the trip. I'll post more from us being home when I download them.
This water fall was inside our hotel in Gz.

 Yum, in a resteraunt.

 eel, being sold at a resteraunt.....

 Beautiufl girl in her Traditional Chinese dress.  All ready for the "Red Couch" photo.

 These are the babies in our final group.  They had to divide all of us that started out Beijing.

 These are the families that went to the same province as us.  Dan, Julie & Dani-Lyn, Tony, Lisa, Elizabeth & Samantha.  We loved getting to know these families.

 My new friend, Jen and Ethan. 

 Beautiful sleeping beauty. This is how she puts herself to sleep sucking her fingers...it's SO sweet.

 Part of the whole group.

 The waterfall inside the hotel.  It was very pretty, and there were huge goldfish swimming all around.

 This is supposed to be a video of her laughing,. I hope it pulls up.

it's almost time...

to head to Hong Kong.  How cool is it that Brian and I are getting to hit all the major parts of China on our trip?!  Way cool!  I'm super excited about getting a step closer to seeing my babies. However, it is sad to think about leaving all the wonderful people that we have gotten to know and formed friendships with. 
My friend Jen and I went shopping today for gifts before we leave the island, while the guys kept the napping babies.  Oh my gosh....I'm totally stressed about getting everyone gifts!  I feel like I need to buy for everyone and it's totally stressing me out!!!!! Brian keeps telling me not to worry about it, just get stuff, but i'm stressing for some reason.  I haven't even gotten myself one single thing on this whole trip...and now I regret that.  I wish I would have bought myself some nice jade while we were in Beijing, but I didn't..... :(  Oh well....live and learn.
Alli seems to really like staying in the room.  She is her happiest when we are not in big crowds of people.  She just sits and plays for the longest time.  When we are out and about she is pretty fussy and whines a lot.  I'm sure she's not used to being around that many people.
This morning we did our "red couch" pictures.  This is a picture that adopting families take on this big red couch in our hotel.  We had Alli dressed in her traditional Chinese gown, along with all the other babies.  We got a lot of group shots.  What a wonderful memory.   I'm already looking forward to seeing all the families at a reunion in the future. :)
I better close for now.  I have a sweet baby playing on the ground who just looked at me and said "Mama" and smiled really big.
Much Love,
Amanda & Brian

Counting down the days....

.....until we are home!!  Now don't get me wrong; China has been a wonderful experience, and something I will never forget, but I have 3 babies at home that I have not gotten to see, hold, touch, hug, squeeze, kiss, tuck in at night, cook for, love on, play with, drop off and pick up from school, lay with, etc. and I'm really, really missing them right now.  I miss my BaiLee, Ethan and Graci!!!!!!
China really has been cool.  Brian and I have enjoyed the experience and are thankful we have gotten to experience it.  We're just ready to see our babies!!!
Yesterday we had our consulate appointment at the US Embassy.  We took our Oath and signed the paperwork for Alli's Visa...the final piece of paper we are waiting on so we can board the plane and head to the US.  Alli will be an official Citizen of the United States when we hit US soil....which will be in Chicago Ill. :)
She is still the sweetest little thing, but she's also a little pistol. She knows what she wants and doesn't want and is not afraid to let us know when something is not pleasing to her. She gets pretty fussy when we are out in crowds and on the streets, but as soon as we get back to our room she is all smiles and laughs.  She just doesn't do well with strangers.
Everyone knows Graci's nickname is "Sassy", well Brian and I have already discovered Alli's nickname, which fits her oh so well...."Spicy"  She is one Spicy girl. :) Of course she's going to need that spice to fit in with her brothers and sister. :)
She's a bottomless pit and can put away some food!!!  She's starting to slow down, somewhat.  I'm guessing she is realizing the food is not rationed like in an orphanage and we will always feed her and feed her good proportions.  She loves to eat, just like her big sister.  She still says "Mama" a lot.  Brian will look at her and say "Dada" and she will smile and look at me and say  "Mama"  I think she is a joker, and likes to aggravate her Daddy. She sleeps good at night and loves her naps. 
She and I both have a cold.  I'm starting to get somewhat better, thanks to the medicine's others have given me.  Alli sounds rough.   We both have real raspy voices and a cough.  Lots of congestion. Hoping she will be all better before we get home.  She seems to be bonding very well with Brian and I. I pray that continues when we get home and around all the people who want to love on her.  Adoption is so different than giving birth, and I have to remind myself of that sometimes.  Right now Brian and I are just the most awesome Nannies she has ever had......she's bonding very well, the attachment will take time.  I'm eager to get her home in her new house with her siblings and start life as a complete family.
The people here always ask me if she is my first child.  They are all so shocked when I tell them she is our 4th! In a country where you can only have one child, 4 is unheard of.  They are all very supportive of the adopting families.
Keep us in your prayers. Tomorrow we get her Visa papers and then we fly to Hong Kong for the night before flying home to the states.  Pray for safe travels and for Alli to do well on the flight (me and Brian, too)....it's a LOOONNNGGG one! 14 1/2 hours on one air plane is a LONG time!!!!  I feel like a runner who is almost to the last mile mark.....so close, yet so far away!!!  Not much longer until I can be with my babies! (and eat my Mama's cooking!!!)  Actually the food here is not bad. I've enjoyed it and want to learn to cook some Asian dishes.  Brian ate squid last night and I tried it...not bad at all!  That's where it stops for us.  They had ostrich kidneys and forest frogs on the menu...yikes!  today walking around Brian and I took pictures of turtles, eels, frogs, and all kind of things (live) in front of a restaurant for you to pick out to eat.....we have not went that extreme! :)
See you all soon.  I better rest while Miss Alli girl is napping.  :)
Love you all,
Amanda & Brian

Pictures!!!

We left Nanjing yesterday.  It was a pretty busy day, so Alli missed her nap. Oh boy, that made the flight well.....stressful.  Sweet girl was in rare form and throwing one natural tantrum just about the entire flight! lol I felt bad for the man sitting beside me.  I can only imagine what he and everyone around us were thinking.  Oh well...she's still the sweetest baby!
We went today for her medical appointment.  She did good.  She was getting sleepy and hungry toward the end.  I have tons and tons of pictures I want to post, so bare with me!  My friend, Jen, let me use her card reader, so I was able to download pics to my computer.  I've been so eager for everyone to see this beautifl baby girl!!! :)
Love you all!
Amanda & Brian

                                                 This is when they handed her to us....

                                                      She did so good, I cried more than she did!

                                                              Silly Daddy, trying to make her smile!

                                                                             What a moment!

                                                      She's already laughing at Daddy!

                                            In our room, me feeding her for the first time.

                                             A nice bath and clothes, and here's our girl!!!!  Two hours after we've had her.  She smiles and laughs like this all the time.  God has really Blessed us.

making it final...she is OURS!

                                                     Stamping her fingerprint

                                                   Me and My Love....

                                                Alli's first Oreo...

                 and the messy face to prove it....(this was for you, Grumpy, she loves coke and cookies! :)

First Skype with Brothers and Sister...

                                                    She wanted to touch them...

                                     My friend from the airplane.  She came to our hotel to see us.

                             She loves to say "Mama" and give me kisses. (with her mouth wide open!) :)

                               The girl is LIMBER!!! I see gymnastics in her future. She can do a full split!

God is good. :)

Today was another good day.  Very relaxed and laid back.  Tomorrow we leave Nanjing.  I'll be sad to leave our guide, Min.  She is awesome and very personal.
Today our guide called our friend that Brian and I met on the airplane from Beijing to here, Nanjing.  I wrote about her in an earlier post.  Well, Min called her and asked if she would like to see us again, and she did.  So, the girl we met came to our hotel!  Our guide/translator came down here and we were able to talk a lot.  It's so amazing to Brian and I how God puts things like this together.  It wasn't by chance that we sat together on an airplane, talked and instanlty connected.  I told Brian it makes me wonder what God is up too. Our friend kept saying she wants us to come back to China, and she be our guide.  She promised to work on her English and be able to speak it very well when we come back. :)  She brought us a gift.  Our guide told us her gift was a very big deal, and something VerY special.  It is a jade looking stone that came from Tibet.  It has a seal on it that was placed there by the head....uh, shoot, I can't remember!  All I know is this thing is a big deal, and very special.  This was very, very nice.  When it was time for her to leave she was about to cry.  She said she still wants to see us again.  How special is it to come to another country and become connected to someone we can hardly even communicate with!!!  God just amazes me!  We feel so Blessed that we were able to meet this girl and become friends with her.  We now have her address, phone number and email, so we will all be able to keep in contact.  It just floors me how this all worked out.  I just can't describe how happy Brian and I were to be able to see her again.
As for Miss Alli Ying....she is still doing great.  She's already becoming rotten! :)  She is so sweet and happy and we are amazed at how she seems to be adjusting to us.  She is very much a "routine" baby.  I'm sure thata comes from being in an institute.  She really seems to be a happy little girl. Today she gave me lots of kisses, then she would look at Brian.  Granny & Grumpy sent us some Oreo's.  Grumpy said he wanted us to start her off right....so Brian gave her one today.  She was funny.  I had to change her clothes after she had it.  We got pictures of her first "Oreo Face." lol  Too cute!
We went shopping in a few shops today.  Our guide went with us to help us bargain.  By the time we left she said she was going to start taking Brian with her....he was the king at bargaining with these people! LOL   I told her back in America it's called "being cheap!" LOL  Brian had a lot of fun with that and talking the people down.  We did get some good deals on a few things for the kids. :)
We leave here tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I can download tons of pictures tomorrow.  I know you all are eager to see Miss Alli.  Love to you all.
Amanda & Brian

Wednesday in Nanjing

Today was a very relaxed day for us, and we needed it.  Yesterday was a bit rough for Alli.  After we left the registration office she was pretty fussy for the rest of the day.  Our guide agrees with Brian and I.  We think seeing her nannies was too much.  We think she was worried they were taking her.  She drank a bottle yesterday morning when she got up, and wouldn't take one the rest of the day.  I know she had to be hungry.  She woke up this morning around 4am.  Around 5 I finally had an idea.  I got a straw and fed her from that.  Not her sipping out of it, but me plugging the top and draining into her mouth.  She drank the whole bottle....so guess what?  This is the only way she will eat now! lol I'm thinking her Daddy started this when he gave her coke from McDonalds yesterday...yes, she LOVED coke!!!! (Grumpy, you will be proud!)  She absolutly LOVES gerber bites.  She eats those all day long.   She has been SO much better today.  She's back to the happy baby she was the day we got her.  Laughs, smiles and plays!!  She took a 3 hour nap, so I took advantage of that time, and took one myself!!!  It felt SO good!
We had to go into the drug store today for some cream to put on her face.  She has exzema really bad. (sp?)  All the ladies were talking too and about her.  Alli got a little fussy in there.  Our guide told us she doesn't like strangers and she is bonding well to Brian and I.  She does like our guide too, but she has also been with us from the first day, so Alli is used to her.
We went on a boat ride today.  That was neat.  Its crazy walking around and having people take your picture.  We were standing in line getting our boat tickets and a couple came up to me.  The girl wanted her picture made with me. I guess us Americans look funny. :) lol  We get a lot of smiles and thumbs up from people when they see us with Alli.
We got to eat at  Pizza hut for dinner tonight.  Yummo!  Pizza and Coke...I was a happy woman!!! :)
Our experience here so far has been great. We are enjoying every minute and trying to take in as much as we can.
We miss our babies back home....I can't wait to have all 4 of my babies together!  When we skype, the first thing they want is to see Alli.  They are very excited and anxious to meet her. It's very sweet.  I love skyping with them.  It has made our seperation much, much easier. 
God has been so good to my family and I can't thank Him enough for His MANY Blessings.  Thank you again for the many prayers.  We love you all. We can't wait for you guys to be able to see in person this sweet little girl our family has been Blessed with! She is absolutly precious!!!!  And, we think she is going to fit in perfectly with her brothers and sister.  It's like she was made just for us.....amazing!
Shopping day tomorrow, so I better go rest now.  :)
Love you guys,
Amanda & Brian
I SOOO can't wait to download pictures for you guys.  Alli looks so different than she did the day we got her...even that afternoon she looked different.  Amazing what a bath and a great outfit will do for ya! ;) Oh, and a hairbow!!!! ;) lol 

It's final....She's officially ours!

Well, it's final.  Jiu Ying Zhang is now officially Alli Ying Ashworth, and is OUR baby girl!!!
I feel like I have so much to say, so bare with me as this may be scattered and bounce back and forth.
Today we went to the adoption office, which is where we got Alli yesterday.  We had 24 hours with her to make sure this is what we wanted before finalizing the adoption.  When we got there her orphanage director was there.  He came straight over and wanted to hold her.  I thought that was sweet.  We passed her off, and I think she started reaching for Brian, which is a first.  She still doesn't understand the "reach" thing yet.  Before long two nannies that cared for her came in and wanted to hold her.  Alli started crying when they took her from us.  I thought that was a very good sign and so sweet.  She wanted her Mama and Baba (daddy in chinese).  We got her back and then they got her again.  I was excited to have an opportunity to take some pictures with Alli and her caregivers.  When I got Alli back, one nannie tried to get her to come back and she turned away really fast, wanting to stay in my arms.  That made me feel good.  I think it's a good sign of her bonding.  Brian and I have an opportunity to  visit her orphanage, but we are going to pass that up. I think seeing her nannies and them making a big deal over her was traumatizing enough. We don't want to do that to her again.
We got the chance to ask the director lots of questions today.  I think that was neat. He was the one who gave her her name.  We asked why he chose it.  Jiu, which means 9 was picked because she was born in 2009.  Ying was picked because it means Flower or Hero.  I like that. :)  He gave us a gift for Alli.  A beautiful Jade pendant and necklace that is her zodiac sign.  Jade is to the Chinese, what diamonds are to us Americans.  This will be a very special gift for her when she gets older.  He also told us they are having a very nice photo scrap book put together, it just wasn't finished yet.  He got our address and is mailing that to us when it's done.  I'm really excited about that.  He has asked us to keep them updated with pictures of her.  Her nannie said she is very sad Jiu Ying is leaving, but she's  very glad she will have a good home. :)
We got to skype with my babies at home and they were able to see thier sister for the first time.  It was a very sweet moment.  Alli kept reaching for the screen and looking at them.  Can't wait to have them all together...and I can't wait to get my hands on my 3 back home.  I miss those babies so much!!
Alli is sleeping away right now.  She's the most precious little thing.  Here are the answers to a few questions you all may have.....
She's not walking yet.  I think her leg muscles need to get a bit stronger.  She likes to hold my fingers and walk around like that...lots of that will surely help.
She has 6 teeth! Her lip repair looks great.  She has a little scar where it was fixed, but they did a great job.  Her palate is open.  I don't know enough about that to say if it's bad or not.
Hairbows...YES! She's had a hairbow in since we got back from getting her! lol  She does not mind them, but does not like hats.
She tries to do what ever we try to get her too.  She has started waving her hand when we say Hi.
She responds to her Chinese name Jiu Ying, but is starting to pick up on Alli. I"ve found myself calling her both. 
Her nick name at the orphanage was "Ying-ze", is what the director told us.
I can't think of anything else right off the bat.  My mind works slow on litlte sleep I guess.  Brian and I have been waking up at 3am China time everymorning and still have to get up on China time. :)  We are doing great and enjoying this Country.  It's really a great place.  Maybe, just maybe I will master chopsticks before we get home.  If not, I may just be really skinny when I get home! lol
I miss COKE AND TEA! :) lol  they have coke here, but it's not the same, and it's with no ice.  it's not bad, just not the same.  Sweet tea, negative.  they drink hot tea flowery tea, which is not my cup of tea. ;)
I better go rest while she's alseep. Love you all!
OH yea, the nannie in the picture we have of her with the cake we sent is the same Nannie we got to meet.  I thought that was very neat.  We got a lot of pictures of them together. :)

We have our GIRL!!!!!

Oh my goodness...what a basket of emotions I have been today!  We got to the office to recieve our children.  We were all sitting on the couch and our translator looked out the window and said "There is Jiu Ying"  Brian and I jumped up and when I looked out the window and saw my baby girl, I lost it.  Tears started flowing and I was a basket case.  Her Nannie and the Orphanage director came in and straight to us.  She handed Alli to me.  I can't describe that very moment.  I was in tears.  Brian tried to talk to her, then she started to cry, sort of.  Not a loud cry, but a scared cry.  He got a rattle out and when he made noise she got quiet and watched him.  After about 15 minutes of us talking to her she started smiling.  She LOVES her Daddy!!!  He held her and started playing with her and Alli was laughing so hard.  It was amazing!!!  I have tons of pictures of Alli and her Daddy!! (will upload them once I get something to download them with!!!)  Alli is the absolute sweetest baby!  We got to ask the Nannie and Director questions and he said "She's very active!" lol  He said she can not say anywords, but that was because of her cleft lip.  We left the office and went to the grocery store to get diapers and formula.  Alli was a champ.  Smiled and laughed and played with us the whole time.  We got back to the room, played with her for about an hour, then took off the 4 layers of clothes she came to us in.  Brian and I gave her her very first bath.  She loved it.  Splashed and played in the water for awhile.  Got her out, and dressed her in her new clothes, threw in a hairbow and she looks like a whole different baby! Smells like one too!  She has played and played and played some more.  I went to the bathroom and she started crying....I layed on the bed playing with her and was saying "Mama"  Alli started moving her lips as she watched mine carefully and finally she moved those lips with some noise and said "MAMA"  Brian was sitting at the computer, jumped up and said "You've got to be kidding me!!!"  Now she keeps saying it over and over!  She is so happy. We were playing on the floor and I could tell she was SO sleepy.  she laid beside me, sucked on part of her fingers and fell asleep.  She's in her crib now, and we keep going over there just to stare at her.  We still can't believe we finally have her.  As Brian said earlier, "Our family is complete."
Thank you all for the many prayers that you have been saying for us, Alli and our 3 other babies.  We can surely feel them, and I really think Alli can too.  She is an amazing little girl with a beautiful smile, laugh and personality.  We can't wait for you all to meet her and see this little girl who is bringing us so much joy.  I can't wait to get her home to her big brohters and big sister.  They are going to have so much fun with her!
I'm hoping I will be able to download the pictures from my camera soon from someone elses'.  I forgot my cord at the house.  A friend (another family here) did take pics when we recieved Alli, so I am going to add those for now.  Hopefully more soon.  She doesn't even look like that little girl now.  Amazing....God is amazing.
Oh yea, the rattle Alli is holding is the one Brian played with to get her quiet and she loves that thing.  She didn't put it down until we got back to the hotel. :)
Much Love,
Amanda & Brian

                                            Brian, Alli, Mr. Danny and DannyLynn (sweettest couple!!)

Getting Alli in the morning...

Well, we flew out of Beijing today and into Nanjing. First off let me say that our guide in Beijing was amazing.  He has an amazing testimony and he made the first part of our journey here in China a great one.
The flight to Nanjing was great.  God amazes me at how He works little details of our daily lives out that we sometimes over look as being God.  Brian and I sat in our seats and waited to see who would fill the empty seat beside me. ( I gave Brian the window seat b/c he's never flown before this trip, and the whole way here we didn't have the opportunity to be by a window)  So, this beautiful Chinese girl sat next to me.  I gave her a few minutes to settle in and before our plane was even moving Brian and I had already started conversation with her.  We asked if she spoke any English and her response was "Very little."  Well, if you know Brian and I then you know that is all it takes for us to talk to you! :)  We talked the entire trip.  We got out some of Alli's adoption papers and she read some of the Chinese to us.  She helped with pronunciations and told us about Alli's city.  This girl who can hardly speak my language, and myself had an instant connection.  Our entire plane was quiet, with the exception of the two of us laughing.  When we couldn't understand each other we shared in amazing laughs.  Her name translated in English means "Snow", which is SOOO much easier to say than her Chinese name!!  She gave Brian and I her name, email and phone number and asked us to please call her if we need help with ANYTHING while we are in her city.  She made sure we had someone meeting us at the airport and everything.  After we got our luggage we exchanged a brief hug and she said she really wanted to see us again before we leave.  So, Brian and I are going to have dinner with our new friend before we leave Nanjing.  It just floors me how God works and puts little things like this together.

On a different note, most of you know i'm not really an emotional person, but today has been different.  As we started to land in the Capital of Alli's province my emotions started to rise.  I tried to take everything I could in.  I've about lost it and cried a few times, just thinking about how our life is all about to change.  I'm about to have a new daughter.  A daughter who was hand picked for our family, thousands and thousands of miles away on the other side of the world.  Again, God amazes me!  We met our guide, Min and she brought us to our hotel here in Nanjing ( a very nice 5 star hotel!)  It's beautiful here.  As Brian and I are getting settled our doorbell rang and it was housekeeping.  They came to set up the baby crib in our room.  Wow, it's really hitting home.  We went to have dinner with our guide and the other 2 families here in the province with us and she went over the things we will need in the morning.  We will be getting Alli at 10:30 am.  I still can't believe this day is really, really here.  My emotions are going wild and crazy. I'm nervous, anxious, frazzled, but most of all, ready to see this beautiful little girl that I've loved for so long, yet never even met.  It's so hard to explain how I already have such a love for her.  I picture us with her all the time.  I day dream about us sitting in church together as a family or in a restaurant eating dinner.  I picture her on Graci's hip as she tries to mother her, or BaiLee as he carries her into the restaurants. (this is what he's been saying he wants to do for months now) or Ethan as he lays in the floor and plays with her.  It's all about to be a reality, and no longer a daydream.....my heart is full tonight as I anticipate the arrival of my daughter in the morning.  Alli Ying Ashworth.....
Love you all.....goodnight.  This mommy had a diaper bag to prepare. :)

Our last day in Beijing

We visited the Great Wall of China today.  Wow is all I can say.  The place is absolutly beautiful.  I can understand why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world.  However, what a stinking workout!!! I couldn't make it to the top! It was still an amazing view from where I got. The steps are all uneven, which makes it very difficult!
We also got to visit the Olympic center.  That was pretty cool, too.  Brian and I are having a great time, and really enjoying getting to meet all these great new people! Everything is so different, and we are taking it all in.  It's still so surreal that we are really in another country! It's funny because they like to take our picture.  I guess we are just as different to them.  They like to have their picture made with Brian, because he is so tall.  That's strange and funny....lol The driving here is so different then in the states.  It's very crazy, but they reallyn drive better than us Americans!!  The traffic is crazy, but we have not seen the first accident.  I can't wait to share our experience with all our friends.  We miss you guys so much! 
We leave Beijing in the morning and will go to Nanjing.  We will get our sweet Alli on Monday morning!!  Ahhh, we can hardly wait!!!
I have SO many awesome pictures to post.....enjoy.  We are still in awe at the fact that we are in a different country!  Which has been an amazing experience, and the people are all so friendly. :)
Love you guys,
                                               This is at the Great Wall...and it's FREEZING

                                                            BEAUTIFUL view!!

                                                              The Great Wall of China

                                 The view from where we got, I'm in this picture, struggling to get up! LOL

                                                Where the Olympics 2008 were held

                                                               Great picture of Beijing

                                          This was part of our lunch, and YES, I tried the fish!!

Day One in China

Today was cool.  We got to go to the old part of Beijing, the way they used to live.  We visited one families house.  We were able to go inside and ask her questions.  That was pretty cool. It's awesome to experience another culture.  Everything is so different.  The resteraunt we had lunch in was good.  our guide had all of our food ordered so when we got there they brought it all out.
We visited the forbidden city today.  The place was huge!  It was really neat hearing our guide tell us the history behind it all.  Makes me wish I would have paid better attention in history class. :)
The traffic here is crazy.  I think the motto should be "Move, or be moved!!!!" Our bus driver could whip that bus around like it was nothing.
Brian and I are having a good time. He's crashed on the bed right now! He said today "All of this is cool, and I'm enjoying getting to see it, but I'm ready to get my little girl!"  I couldn't agree more! 
Tomorrow we get to tour the great wall of China!  How awesome!!
I hope to figure out a way to post pictures.  I'm SO smart....I didn't bring the cable that connects my camera to the computer... :(  UGH!  I pray someone has one I can use, so I can empty my disk and take tons more pictures!
Love you guys!!

                                              The Forbidden city...