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!

We're in Guangzhou

Hey all, we made to to Guangzhou late on Friday night and to the White Swan about 10:30 pm. It's Sunday afternoon right now and since we didn't want to pay the high cost of internet at the White Swan, we walked down to the Starbucks and are enjoying a caramel machiatto & a mango smoothy on the porch of the Starbucks in the very tropical city of Guangzhou....it's beautiful!! (Sorry no photos today as I left the camera cord in the hotel.) :(

We checked out of the hotel around 2pm and had to wait around in the lobby for Megan's passport. We finally received it at 4:15 and left for the airport. Our flight was late due to thunderstorms but once we were in the air all was good. Megan did wonderfully on the flight, especially once the dinner came and she ate all of her rice plus some of Natalee's. Unfortunately Natalee did not fare as well. She was sitting with Kyle in the row ahead of Megan & I and almost immediately fell asleep. She was saying her head hurt really bad. Once we landed in Guangzhou (1 1/2 half later) she had quite a temperature and was not feeling well at all. I'm so thankful that we met the American doctor with the other agency in Guiyang - he was very willing to check her out once we got to the hotel. The White Swan is about 40 minutes away from the airport and both girls slept the entire way. Once in our room we just let both girls sleep. The night was rough!!! Both Kyle & I were very worried about Natalee! She spiked such a high temperature (silly me did not even bring a thermometer - oops!) and was complaining that her stomach hurt so bad. I was so worried that it was apendicitis. We gave her tylenol and said many prayers.

Dr. John came in the morning to check Natalee out. He said everything sounded good and thought that she most likely picked up a local Guiyang virus. She was in bed all day Saturday with a high fever and not feeling well at all. She started to perk up late afternoon on Saturday and her fever was down to 99.9 (I borrowed a thermometer from another mom). Mom & Megan had to go do the Medical visit alone - it was very hard to leave Nat & Dad in the room alone not feeling well. It's really hard to see your little girl so sick and be so far from home - I know that your prayers, even if you didn't know she was sick - have helped. We met up with the rest of our Bethany families too and they also were praying for Nat.

Medical exam....Megan had to see 3 doctors for the medical reports...ENT - passed no problem....height & weight = 27.2 kg, 97 cm....physical exam the doctor said all looked good but he doesn't think she has had heart surgery. hmmmmm?????? this will be interesting to find out more once we're home. She did so well, not crying at all and was very cooperative.

Back at the hotel we had our noodle lunch and let Mom rest with Nat while Daddy took Megan out and did some shopping and sight seeing on the beautiful Shamian island. It was great that she actually asked to go out with Daddy - isn't that awesome! When they returned we all played in the room for awhile. Then, Megan & Mom were going to go out with the group to Lucy's for supper. However, we had torential rain & thunderstorms which prevented us from going. We waited about 40 minutes and things let up a little so we tried only to go out and get soaked from the flooding in the streets. So...back to the hotel. A few other families & us decided to order pizza from Papa John's which was about a 2 hour ordeal and we didn't even received all the pizza's we ordred. Oh well, it was good and we had good fellowship with new friends.
Natalee was able to join us for pizza and is feeling better - thanks for all the prayers - God is good!

The past two days have been great with Megan! We didn't have any grieving and only a few times of whinning that were not related to normal 3 year old issues. She has been having lots of fun goofing off with Daddy and smiling quite a bit. She is starting to parrot our words and saying some things in English. She will say her name "Megan" but it's not just "megan"...it's "Megan Zhang HuiYi".

This morning I had a meeting for all the finalization of the paperwork for the Consulate appointment...there are mounds of papers so it's wonderful to have our Bethany China Director help us organize all of it and help us...Thank you!. And now...we are enjoying our drinks, updating the blog and will now go shopping!

We hope all is well! Hopefully I'll get a chance to update again before we leave and I'll try to remember my camera cord. Tomorrow (Monday) we have a free day, Tuesday we have Visa appointment and pack up, Wednesday we leave. Wow....it's hard to believe our journey here in China is coming to a close.

Zai jian - talk to ya later!

Only 6 days left - by Natalee

Yesterday was a really cool day. We went to a Miao Village and met some nice people there. We looked through some of their houses. They were not like ours. We played some fun games with them. They were dressed in their traditional costumes. One of the games my dad played with them and he was bopped by some of the girls, which was supposed to happen. When the game ended they took my dad and another Mr. Kysle and Miss Ellen into a small room. They put lipstick all over their faces. The boys were outlined in kisses. My dad looked really weird. Megan was wondering where he went and was glad he came back. The kids got to dance with the people, too. I think my dad may have got some video of me dancing. There was a very hard bamboo game, I didn't try it, but Megan and mommy did. Megan wasn't too sure about it.

Today we are going to fly to Guangzhou. At breakfast we saw our friends Cole, Tian Tian, Miss Beth, and Mr. Kysle. Today is going to be a great day:) I hope I don't go deaf on the plane, like before.
Love,
Natalee