Some pictures taken while traveling home. The girls did great on the long flights. Having your own DVD player kept everyone occupied:) I downloaded "Team of Rivals" when we got to our U.S. port of entry and read the rest of the flight time. Sure was a long day of travel and it was so nice to get back to the good old USA. Looking forward to introducing Selah to family and a whole new world of life before her:)  Very thankful to God for a safe trip!

I intended to keep my blog current but did not realize that China blocks social networks, which included  my blog site and Facebook. Google was also blocked in China. So now I will catch up as I can, adding some wonderful pictures!

Selah's First Picture of Mom

The first day we had Selah, we took her across the street to a large park.
She was moving fast, excited to be out there to see what there was to do.
She spotted a farris wheel and drug us right straight to it, and me with her into one of the baskets!
While at the top, in the air, she took her first picture of me with my phone and I took one of her.

I think that is fitting with her middle name, Skye:)  Sweet baby girl.

You can see the hotel we stayed in for a week in Hefei, directly behind us here,  as taken from a pretty bridge in the same park. Gloria and Selah holding hands and taking one of their first walks together.

This one speaks for it's~elf. He was rescued shortly after the incident....by the older daughter who is almost a lifeguard.

A more sober picture followed of  "BaBa" and daughters.

THE GREAT WALL

 

 

 

It has been a over a month since we have been home. I am just finding time to sit down and
get to adding more to the blog...the girls went to visit grandparents for the night:)

These are a few cool pictures taken one of the world's wonders. Can you find us down below? Wearing black, next to our guide,  who is in red. This was one hard climb, very tiring but beautiful!

Our First Day with Selah Skye

We saw the Forbidden City and the Great Wall before flying south to the Anhui Province.
At 9 am on Monday, Nov. 5, we went to the Office of Civil Affairs. We walked into a room with a long table where other adoptive families were sitting. I saw Selah playing on the other side of the room but went on to our seats to begin the greeting process. Within a minute she had recognized us and come to where I was sitting. She hugged me, kissed me on both sides of my face and called me Ma-Ma... Blew me away!
After a short time there she came with us back to the hotel until the following day when we would go back to the adoption office to finish paperwork. This picture was taken at the hotel, she had been with us for just a few short hours.
We went to the park nearby and she drug us all over the place and later, slept the whole night through. Seeing her and Gloria together was such a blessing:) instant sisters!

Just before visiting the Forbidden City
Blog:
Nov. 3, the Forbidden City was ornate to the detail and the history was fascinating. Our guide was very knowledgeable so it was a great tour.
That evening we walked around a couple of dark, rainy blocks near the hotel in search of the recommended Roast Duck restaurant. After asking 10 people in our pitiful Mandarine, we found it. It was an authentic Chinese dining experience. The weather was a blowing rain on the dark walk back to our hotel and we awoke to a snow covered Beijing the next morning.

We have arrived in China.

 

Our guide took us sight seeing as soon as we got some rest.
We visited the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest from the 2008 Olympics. And after that, a tea house or two:)
Will be in Beijing one more day before flying south to Selah's  Anhui Province.

Travel Day!

We are 34,000 feet in the air on our way to our connecting flight before leaving the country for China!
We got to the hotel last night about 1:00 a.m. and up at 5 to get to the airport on time. So far things are going smoothly, besides a couple of important things we will have to access before we meet Miss Selah on Monday.
Finally being able to focus just on this trip with all the obstacles and preparation behind us is something I have been looking forward to.
The stewardess just told us we were flying right over Aspen, "Hello, Uncle Chris"! Maybe we will soon get there to visit again and let TWO little girls take their first skiing lesson on Buttermilk Mountain:)
I have been praying for little Selah Skye for courage and peace that passes understanding as she joins us on this amazing adventure. Gloria is looking out the plane window and must be imagining what it will be like when she has this new sister with her everywhere we go. She said earlier that it is going to be like a sleepover that will never end. So true, and I am so happy about that:)

Traveling in 3 More Days!

I am a scatterbrained mess. Believe me, if there were no God in Heaven on the other end of my rope, I couldn't be pulling off what it is taking to get us on that plane on Wednesday morning! But He shows up every day with His fountain of life and strength and joy that I could not produce on my own even on my best day. We are not going to have everything done around the house that I wanted before we brought our new daughter home, but at this point, if we just get things prepared to be away for two weeks and remember to take along all the required documents, that will do and then just focus on the  day we will meet Selah Yuanyi Skye for the first time! That will be on Nov. 5th.
We know we will be on the Great Wall on Thursday. I am so excited for Gloria to experience this part of her birth history! She is so excited to meet her new sister. God is good:)

Travel News!

We received an email confirming our new Consulate appointment!  It is set for November 15th, and we are scheduled to be in Beijing on Nov. 2nd.   Now we can finally buy plane tickets!  It is an exciting time for us who have been through the wringer with waiting and all the gauntlet  that comes with that.
It feels very surreal right now...only 2 and a half weeks until we go to China to pick up our new, ten year old daughter....wow.
I'm overwhelmed with both thankfulness and amazement and with the preparations of lesson plans so I can be gone from my school job and packing to the detail all you need for a trip like this.
But if I've learned one thing it's trusting God just one day at a time for one thing at a time. Do what's in front of you to do as it comes.
I can only wonder what little Selah Yuanyi Skye must be feeling and thinking. I pray for God to prepare her in every way to meet us for the first time.
We have been shopping for her, some necessities, "cute outfits and pjs, etc..." for the first couple of days until we can shop more in China. She will most likely come to us with the clothes she is wearing and that will probably be it.
What an honor to be able to become her mom...

Facts and Thoughts

Though our second adoption is just now materializing, her name has been decided on since shortly after Gloria came home from China in 2001. So now it appears that we chose the name Selah Skye near the time she would be born.
We always wanted for Gloria to have a heart sister who could share her adoption story, both having been born in China. It is a huge country with may provinces.  That their respective provinces touch at a certain point makes me smile:) ..... has to be significant too.
We received our referral for Gloria on our 13th anniversary. Our home study update for Selah Yuanyi Skye was completed on the same day, 11 years later.

Chinese symbol for "Love".

                            



Gloria's clay on the wheel, heart shaped.The Chinese symbol for love has a heart in
                              in the middle, inside of "accept", a graceful
                              emotion. It symbolizes loving with all your heart:)
                                                                                  

Selah Yuanyi Skye's Adoption Story

We are the Lees; Darren, Angella and Gloria Anne.

We were blessed with Gloria, one amazing daughter, in 2001.
In 2006 the adoption of a second daughter began.  Our home study 
was completed in May of 2007.  And since then, it has been 
One. Long. Wait. 
Then, in April of this year, we got a call from our 
adoption agency about a 9 year old little girl in the Anhui Province of China.  She was described as "lovely and active".
After a few days, we wrote a letter of seeking confirmation so that
the process of bringing her home to us could begin. 
We were cleared for travel in June. Finances posed a problem though.
We had 3 months to write to adoption foundations for grants, 
many of which only review applications every other month. 
We ended up requesting an extension for our travel.
We continue to work on securing what is left to complete the process, but thanks 
to a loan we received, we are on track to purchase flights as soon as a new Consolate date is set. From all indications, we will depart for Beijing on October 31st.
Our new daughter's Chinese name is Chu Yuanyi. Yuanyi stands for " One of
many accomplishments. 
Her favorite classes in her primary school are gym time and art. I just started teaching art at a darling little Independent K-8 school. So her mom will also be her art teacher. Neato. 
It is a situation where I can see each daughter outside either the door or window of 
my classroom. 
Many blessings have been sprouting up lately to help us "get her out of there" as my
late father said a couple of months ago.

Isn't she adorable?!