Show Hope volunteering & United Tour concert

Last night we were blessed to be a part of the Show Hope volunteers at the United Tour with Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith. It was an amazing night....we have been so blessed by the ministries of these two men, especially SCC & Show Hope. We were able to see 122 people begin a sponsorship to help orphans find their forever families - what a true blessing! Brian & Sarah joined us in volunteering, it was fun minister for Show Hope with them. We had the best Show Hope staff - Nick - he rocks! Thanks for all you do Nick!

The Thompson family with Steven Curtis Chapman. His concerts are always full of great worship times and he shares so honestly and deeply from his heart. We always leave having been drawn closer to the Lord and filled with more love and compassion for doing kingdom work. It was a privilege to meet SCC and just thank him for being transparent and real, for his work with orphans and for his encouraging ministries.

We also got to meet Geoff Moore again. We had seen him this past summer at Worship on the Waterfront in Grand Haven and at that time he prayed for our adoption that we were still awaiting news on. He is an amazing man of God, very humble and real. So...it was neat to re-introduce ourselves and he remembered us. Being a part of the kingdom of God and fellowshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ is so much fun....can't wait 'till we get to "Big House" forever with our Lord.

Natalee & Megan had so much fun being together and passing out information about Show Hope. The girls were amazing as it was well after 11pm when we left the concert.

The next few photos are just some cute ones of Megan over the last few days. She continues to amaze us daily as she is adjusting and adding to her English vocab. Last night as it was 11:40 pm and we had the girls in their pj's ready for bed...we're all exhausted and our feet tired...but Megan puts her hands together and says in her sweetest broken English..."daddy, we pray". Of course, still learning how to understand her, we said "pink" as she was in the process of buttoning her pjs..."no", ok, what is she trying to say..."oh PRAY", of course. WOW - home only 3 weeks, just beginning to learn about the love of her heavenly Father, but she wanted to gather and say our prayers before she went to sleep. We have been so blessed!

The girls were having a tea party with their Chinese tea set. Then, because tea wasn't just what they wanted it turned into a "bing chi ling" party (ice cream). :)

Enjoying being together

Although we've been home now for about 12 days....we're just beginning to get back into the "swing of things". When we returned home, Kyle had caught whatever it was that Nat had in China - high fever, aches & also a bad congested cough. He was actually getting sick when we left and throughout the travel day. Megan was also getting sick just as we were leaving China and now she too was sick. We ended up taking Megan to see the Dr. on that first Saturday home and were relieved to learn that everyone had the good ole' INFLUENZA. I was concerned we had brought some unusual Chinese virus home or something but it was just Flu type A. Whew! So, plenty of fluids & rest for everyone. Thankfully, I did not get sick.

We had a wonderful group of church friends bring us dinner for several days and Kyle's mom came to help us get through the weekend. Thank you to all who helped us and fed us - we appreciate each one of you!!

Fortunately Nat had Spring Break right after we returned home so we had another full week to spend together before heading back to regular activities. Kyle went into the office for a few hours each day towards the end of the week but still wasn't feeling 100%. The girls were feeling better at the end of the week and we were able to enjoyour favorite Chinese restaurant, play outside (even though it's still cold) and do some errands. Here are some photos from our week.
Tulips from Kyle in celebration of our 16th wedding anniversary! He also surprised me with a beautiful necklace he bought in China. I am very blessed to have a husband who loves God and desires to serve Him, loves his family and is committed to our marriage & me. Thank you Heavenly Father for our 16 years together!

Megan could not wait to get outside and blow bubbles! Even though the sun has been out, it has been quite cold and windy. The kids had a great time playing outside!

She wakes up in the morning and says "good morning swingset" in the most adorable fashion! She is learning so much everyday adding lots of words to her vocabulary. Thank you to JieJie (big sister) who taught her some very "important" words - "ooh la la" and "no way". She loves to use them often. :)

Sorry these photos are small - I hit the wrong button. ooops.

Coloring Easter eggs - Megan loves to eat scrambled eggs and she had a hard time understanding that I wasn't going to cook them for her to eat. Eventually she got into it and had fun decorating her eggs.

The girls made door hangers for their door too. They really are getting along quite well. There is of course the occassional spat but I secretly like them (it reminds me that I have TWO blessings now) ;)

Megan has definately started to show her full personality more and more each day. She is quite the entertainer and loves to get a laugh or smile. What joy she brings to our home and our lives!

Daddy and his girls! He couldn't be happier!

Easter morning...While we were in China one of the ways we would try to calm and soothe Megan during her grieving or difficult times was to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World" along with a special personal song we made up for her. I would sing it to her at night while rocking her and anytime she was distressed. Well...she's a quick learner because when we were in Guangzhou one night at bedtime she just started singing these songs. We were so surprised she had picked them up so quickly. It so sweet to hear her sing these words....we pray that she will come to know the full meaning of these songs and that she will personally accept Christ into her life. It's such a blessing to introduce her to the love of her Heavenly Father!

Having fun dressing up while JieJie is at school.

JieJie is home and together they play well and are silly. I love the laughter & giggles!

Lots of pictures

Megan on the way to her Visa photo and medical exam. The shops on Shamian Island offer free stroller rental. I took advantage of this as Kyle is unable to join me for this excursion and my back is very sore.

The beautiful Shamian Island, Guangzhou - tropical weather & foliage.

Daddy & Megan after returning from their shopping trip together.

Natalee is feeling a little better and enjoys some wrestling time with Megan & Daddy.

Sisters sipping a mango smoothy on the porch of Starbucks in Guangzhou. :)

Shamian Island should be called "babies and brides" as there are hundreds of both. We have never seen so many brides having their photo shoots - everyday there were at least 10 or more in the park. Megan loved seeing them and would ooh at their pretty dresses.

Natalee in front of the famous waterfall in the White Swan hotel.

Red Couch picture - Megan did not want to sit for her photo at all.

Our Bethany Travel group

Natalee & Megan waiting in Guangzhou for our flight to Shanghai - 8:30 am 4/1

Welcome home! 1:30 am 4/2.

We're Home

After an incredibly long April 1st - we're home! Our day began at 4:30 am at the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou, China. We then flew to Shanghai and awaited our next leg of the journey - fly to Atlanta. The flight went well, both girls slept almost the entire flight. Natalee is feeling better but not taking in enough fluids which concerns me....Kyle is feeling worse :(

Arrived at Atlanta airport and had another series of "hoops to jump through", fortunately we met another adoptive family on our flight and so we navigated this maze together. We had to go through customs, then wait in a small room for over an hour to receive the immigration stamp on Megan's visa/passport - not a fun experience...then claim our luggage and re-check our luggage for our final flight home...through another security check and finally to our gate for our flight to GR. We were able to call our parents which was great...both girls enjoyed talking to the grandparents who are eager to see us all. Our flight was been delayed by about an hour - ugh - we just want to get home. We had to go to three different gates - of course none of them near the other - before the airline finally decided which gate to use. Natalee still hasn't been drinking much and although she says she feels okay - I don't think she does. Megan has been a trooper.

After being in Atlanta for about 5 hours we finally took off and had a good flight to GR. We were the last plane to arrive for the day and we ended up being the last people in the airport. Thank you to all our family who came to see us and welcome us home!

Megan walked in the house like she'd been here already, took her shoes off and stared wandering around. She found all the toys in the basement and is quite excited to play. We found a cooler of food waiting for us on our porch - thank you neighbors - and both our Mom' helped stock the fridge & pantry with some essentials. Bedtime came easily for Natalee but Megan had a harder time. I think she finally fell asleep somewhere around 3am. Kyle & I are sleeping the in the girls room tonight to help ease the transition.

1pm on April 2nd and both girls are still sleeping - about 12 hours now. I decide we need eat so we enjoy the spaghetti dinner from our neighbors - it was so good. My parents brought over some more cough medicine as both girls and Kyle still are dealing with congestion & coughs. The girls played for awhile and then back to bed around 8pm. Megan is now dealing with diareaha and vomiting, Nat has vomited a couple of times and Kyle has a fever of 102. It's going to be a long few days of recovery for this group!

Up at midnight for a snack and the girls & I watched a video then back to bed....Megan & I were up at 4am for more food and play time...Nat up at 5....Kyle up at 6....now all three are napping and I'm wide awake (it's 7:20am). This jet lag and illness stuff is nuts!! I'm just hoping we can get on the other side quickly!

I'll try to post some photos soon, but Megan needs me right now so I'll sign off.

We're in the Shanghai Airport

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you all know that we've had a long last few days. My last post on Sunday from Starbucks was the last time I was able to post. Kyle has developed a cold/congestion as well as Megan - Natalee is feeling somewhat better but her fever gave her a rash and just the general not feeling well attitude.

We had a "free" day on Monday and spent it nursing illness and shopping. We were all well enough to join the group for an italian dinner - it was wonderful!! Tuesday we finished some shopping and had our Visa appointment where we had to raise our right hand and say that we swear that all our documents were true and accurate and that we would provide for our children. It was an emotional event for me....after 34 months of waiting...it's all over! We couldn't be happier with our new family - God is amazing!

Today, April 1st, we left the White Swan at 6 am (up and finish packing at 4am), flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai was at 9:30 am. Arrived at Shanghai and navigated the maze of check in's...had lunch and now are awainging the call to board our plane.

I'm glad the airport had free wi-fi so I could send out this message. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging comments. Just a little while and we'll be home. We leave Shanghai at 3:35 local time April 1 and we arrive in Atlanta at 6:30 pm local time....so it's pretty much an incredibly long, long flight. I hope everyone stays healthy (Megan threw up just as we were leaving the hotel this morning - ugh.) Then, we leave Atlanta sometime around 8:30 pm and arrive in GR around 10:30 pm.

Off to fly home.....blessings from the Thompsons!