I don't feel so good today.

Well, mom came all the way to China and all I got was this lousy c cold. How nice of her. The doctor here at the Mandarin Garden Hotel had to come and visit me. I am ok and luckily my mom brought some tylenol and antibiotics to help me. When you see her you might want to ask her if she ever thought about how she was going to feed me. She neglected to to bring any bottles, formula or rice cereal. Thank goodness there is a Walmart here or I would be starving.

But that is ok. I have learned to forgive her. She give me lots of hugs, kisses and even now feeds me. (I have a lot to teach her.)

Here are some more pictures of me today. My Grandmary went out to the market and bought me a new Chinese hat. More later. Love to all, Isabell

Poop...it's a wonderful thing!

Pooping. Not something I have thought about much, but I must say after the last 3 days it has been a hot topic in my life. Often times when the children come from the orphanages it takes 2 to 3 days for them to have poop. Well, Isabell, as one might say, was getting down to the 11th hour and mom was getting very upset that no poop appeared.

So, after giving her her first sepository. (May I just say that was a blast. Sticking a little slimmy thing up my poor daughters behind...not for the fain of heart. But, I did.) And being my daughter and one with some really personality what does she do? She just pooped it out a half hour later with NO poop attached.

Ok, so not one myself to give up or be defeated, and as I am learning she comes from the same ilk, I filled her up with juice to help promote a gastro explosion. No luck.

But today, after 10 hours of sleep lots of milk/cereal and juice, this morning she produced the most lovely, perfectly round piece of poop I have ever seen in my life. About the size of a small rubber bouncy ball. I was never so happy.

And as an extra added bonus a few hours later she produced a snowman of poop. Yes, a snowman. Three round balls of poop one smaller than the next right on top each other. Frosty would be so proud.

Poop. It is a wonderful thing. So keep it coming!

P.S. I will spare you all the pictures. But, I kid you not, they were perfect round balls of poop.

Getting to know Isabell An

Well we are on day 4 and here is what I know about my daughter...

• She is determined - sleep is not her thing (Ok, for all of you who know me you can laugh now. I know I will never sleep in again on a Saturday morning for a long time.)


• She is a thinker - she takes everything in and observes. She loves to play with her fingers and is now learning about toys and the sounds they make and how she can manipulate them.


• She is very curious - When we have gone on trips - like to the silk factory and walking around our hotel here in Nanjing - she is constantly looking around and taking it all in.


• Eating - this has been a challenge due to the cleft palette, but we are learning. I finally got some rice cereal in by mixing it with milk and making the bottle opening bigger. She does not naturally put things in her mouth. I don't think she hurts, but I think she if sensitive. She also may still be cutting some teeth. She has 5.


• She likes to play and when she laughs it is just about the cutest thing ever. Because of no palette it is this little kind of "huh-uh" sound that resonates.


• Bathing - we had our first true bath today. She took it with six rubber duckies and she loved the squeaky sound. She did not cry and that made mom real happy.

Well it is 10:30 a.m. here and we are trying to take our morning nap and guess who is crying? We cry with our eyes shut and we wind up and then wind down and wind up and wind down. I also think this is a time when she is going through some of her grieving process of leaving all she knows. That is the part that breaks my heart. This is a hard journey for her. Say a prayer for this sweet little angel. Thank you.

Here are some more pics of my Sweet Baby...

It is REALLY official - We are a FAMILY!

Enjoy the pics of the day! I made this little movie for Isabell about our official day. I am also including some pics of her sleeping...I have to enjoy this as last night she did not go to sleep till midnight! Oh how I will miss sleep.

The Best Day of My Life!

Well here she is...Isabell An Gallahue! The newest member of our family. More to come tomorrow on our adventures. We are exhausted but doing fine. Mom was the first one of our group up the Great Wall of China! Love to all!

We made it to China!

Our journey began at the Mobile Airport after a night of not much sleep. I think I had a strong case of the nerves. Dad took us there and we met up with Pat the director of Children of the World. She along with Doris, their Chinese liaison, will be helping us navigate our way around China.

From Mobile, we went to Memphis and then on to Minneapolis where we caught our flight to Tokyo. (Here we met a lovely flight attendant named Becky. She was terrific making sure we had everything we needed to be comfortable.) Luckily we did not get thrown off this flight as mother tried to take the off the restroom. What part of "push" does she not understand. Luckily a nice Asian man came to her rescue.) In Tokyo we met up with the 2 other families that are traveling with us to pick up their boys. Then directly on to Beijing.

Our flights were great and I managed to get some good sleep in on the way. We decided to go biz class which I must say was a saving grace. Being in a plane for over 12 hours at a stretch is taxing on one both mentally and physically.

Not too much to report other than we made it to our hotel the Sino Swiss - Beijing, right along side the Beijing airport. We got in about 11 p.m. last night and now have woken up promptly at 5 a.m. as our internal clocks are a bit messed up.

Today we are off to the Great Wall and then depart at 8 p.m. tonight for Nanjing (formally known as Nanking). In the morning is when Isabell and I will have our first meeting. I am so excited and overwhelmed.

Enjoy the pics! I did not bother with one ounce of make up (perhaps I should have) so what you see is what you get. Please enjoy my inner beauty!

P.S. Over the next few days I may get a little verbose as I want to remember everything I can for Isabell.

Home: December 6th - Flight information

For those of you who can, please come out to the Mobile Regional airport on December 6th to welcome Isabell An home!

To check and see if our flight is on time go out to:

http://www.mobairport.com/

and click on "Arrivals and Departures"

Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 5934 Operated by NORTHWEST AIRLINK

From:
MEMPHIS, TN (MEM)
Departs:
7:40pm
To:
MOBILE, AL (MOB)
Arrives:
8:55pm

What I am thankful for this year...

There is so much to be thankful for this year. I am more than blessed! My family has been so very supportive, my friends have gone above and beyond, my co-workers have been so generous to us, it is truly overwhelming and amazing. So I most thankful for those who have touched our lives over the last 2 1/5 years and those who have yet to come into our lives as we begin our journey.

Mother and I are almost packed, the paper work is in order, Isabell's clothes are packed up and ready to go. Since we are leaving on Friday, we are having Thanksgiving dinner tonight.

Joy to the World! My precious little Isabell An is about to come!

THANK YOU ALL!

Updated stats on Isabell

I also received updated measurements on Miss Isabell. Looks like she is doing very well!

Gallahue

• Weight - 10.2 kgs (22.4 pounds)
• Height - 28.8 inches
• Head -46.5 (18.6 inches)
• Chest - 48 cm (19.2inches)
• Foot-(5.12 inches)

We now have an itinerary!!!!

Wow it is becoming even more real. Our plans are made and our journey will be as follows. It is so exciting! I also scheduled her baptism date this week. It will be the day after Christmas. What a holiday season it will be for Isabell. Does she know in just a little over 2 weeks I will be there? I can't wait to hold her and give her lots of hugs and kisses:-) This will be my best Christmas ever!!

• Nov - 24 - We will arrive in Beijing on Sat night.
• Sunday morning we will visit the Great Wall and the Olympic Venues. We will depart to meet the kids in the afternoon.
• Monday morning - Gotcha Day!!!!
• Tuesday - Complete the Adoption process
• Wed- visit the orphanage
• Thurs - Site seeing and pick up notary books
• Friday - pick up passports and depart for Guangzhou
• Sat - Medicals, zoo and jade factory
• Sunday - Church - lunch together at the Cow and Bridge
• Monday - go over consulate paperwork
• Tuesday - consulate appointment
• Wed -Swearing in ceremony at the consulate
• December 6th - Thursday - return home

19 days till we leave for China

We are getting very close and I am truly in that nesting phase. Bought the high chair and carseat this past week, more clothes and other essentials that we will need when she gets home and during our trip. There is so much to do I put together an excel spreadsheet with day by day list of activities I need to accomplish to ensure everything is ready. Yeeks, I won't bore any one with the details, but let's just say I am up til midnight most nights craming to get it all done.

Here's a picture of the high chair. (I just had to put her picture in it.)

So if you want to come over on 11/18 and help with the xmas tree please feel free to do so. I love the holidays! I can't wait to put up a tree in her room as this will truly be her very first Christmas and I can't wait to share it with her.

Thanks for the GREAT shower!

Last weekend my friends Helen and Selena threw Isabell and I a fabulous shower. We could not have asked for a better Southern Fall day. The kids played in the big yard, the guests sat on the front porch and enjoyed fabulous food and libations. We even had some wonderful food with an Asian flare. The decorations were splendid. Girls I know pink is not your thing, but thanks for indulging me:-) It was lovely. And I believe a good time was had by all!

We have bought our tickets and Mother and I leave the day after Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for, but mostly for Isabell An.