THE GREAT WALL

Here are some of the pictures from our day at the Great Wall! This day was definitely a highlight! We all enjoyed being outside and appreciated both the beautiful countryside and the

structure of the Great Wall itself! It really is something to be seen in person.

Pics from the Zoo and Jade Market

Well, I am working my way through all the pictures slowly. These are a few extras from the Zoo.


This black jacquar had the most menacing teeth.


This very cool sculpture was in the middle of the zoo.

These next ones are from the Jade factory. Some of the sculptures were really unreal and total works of art.

This is one of the craftsman working on a jade ball craving out the design with a small spinning disk with a constant bead of water spraying on it.

Howdy from the chilly Wild West!

Hi everyone,

So sorry this latest update has taken awhile. Thanks to everyone who keeps checking. This last week and a half has been the time for a couple more appointments. Last week we went for the chest x-ray requested. Julianna was fine until the woman shut the door to the x ray room and then she started to wail. (After a little reminiscing, my comment in the last post about not having heard Julianna cry was not quite accurate we had heard her in China, especially when trying to use the carrier. However, that was the most vocal she had been since getting home.) Fortunately, they let me go in with her and after she realized they weren't going to hurt her she calmed down and the x-rays were completed. One down. This week was the dreaded lab appointment. They tested for everything known to man and needed about 9 vials from that tiny body. Thank heavens for emla patches. If you haven't heard of them they are amazing. They are a patch which you place on your arm about 1/2 hour to an hour beforehand and it numbs the area to be poked. Then when they stick the needle in it doesn't hurt. Julianna did cry but more because she was scared. What a relief!!! This week we hope get the TB test which Dr. Baxter requested completed. What fun!

Apart from the medical stuff Julianna is doing really well! She is such a happy child and is so easy going and not the least bit demanding. She continues to parrot everything that is being said and understands almost everything you tell her to do. It is quite amazing after such a short period of time.

Here are a few more pics from the trip.

Our guide Becky and driver Mr. Lee.

Landmark Hotel where we stayed in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou Airport

Waiting for the plane to head back to Beijing on Dec. 5th
The lobby of the State Guest Hotel in Beijing. Our littlest Canadian.

Busy, Busy!

It has been busy week! Jacob and Mitchell were sick on Monday.


Julianna's appointment in the city was on Tuesday! That was a long afternoon. First we got lost finding the hospital, then we had a fun time finding the proper building. We ended up being 20 minutes late. The appointment itself went really well. No surprises! Now we just wait to hear when our appointment with the cleft lip and palate team will be. This will be the important one! Then we will know how long it will be before the palate can be repaired and how involved it will be. Julianna is doing well. She is picking up more words; they might be a little hard to understand but she is trying. We heard her cry for the first time last night which was a wonderful sound believe or not. Up until now she has cried in silence, tears and face showed she was crying but no sound. However, that being said she very seldom cries and has yet to show any signs of anger. She just goes with the flow.

Stephen arrived home late Wednesday night. Had a long drive home. Traffic was going a little slower with the weather and the fellow that travels with him held him up in Fort McMurray so they were later leaving.


Thursday, Jacob was feeling under the weather again.


Well, today is Friday. Jacob and Mitchell are at school. Zachary is at drama in Camrose. He got a drive with another family so its just Stephen, Julianna and I at home. I'm trying to catch up on housework and Stephen is working on one of the many leftover jobs from the renovation. Tomorrow we are hoping to go skiing and spend some family time together. If the weather cooperates we will even try Julianna on a pair. Amazing how small they make ski boots.

Here are a few more pics from the day we visited the orphanage.

Statue outside the orphanage.


Grounds at the orphanage.

Julianna's bed



The room where Julianna ate.



Playground equipment supplied by Half the Sky. Half the Sky is an organization from the states who funds different program at many orphanages in China. They also run the playschool program Julianna was apart of.


Garden across the street from the orphanage.
Well, I will sign off for now.

A few more pics!

Well, here are a few more pics from our time in Guangzhou. The weather was beautiful there. The boys really liked the park across the street and all the unique exercise equipment.

Julianna and her first ice cream cone!

These next pictures are for those who value construction safety. The man on the ladder is leaning out over a 3 storey building and is not tied off at this point. They did come up with something a little later. We are not quite sure if the ladder is secure at the bottom. It doesn't look like it is.

Backing up a little!

Thought I would back up a bit and browse through all the pictures we have and post a few each day. There are many of course not all of which you would want to see. But these were from Gotcha Day after we got back from the office and had picked up Julianna.

A WHOLE MONTH!

Well, a little time has passed since my last post. Thanks to all who keep checking. It is so hard to believe but Julianna has been with us a month already. Time has a way of disappearing on you. So much has happened since the first of December. So many firsts for her and us. She is an amazing little girl who has adapted so well. There have been so few tears. Recently, she has been pushing the limits a bit more and finally starting to get into a little trouble which is a good thing. It just means she feels at home and is becoming one of us. The other children in the house can certainly push the limits. We have also seen a little of her sense of humour peeking through as she kids around and gets a twinkle in her eye. Our first medical appointment is next week on Jan. 13th with Dr. Baxter at the international adoption clinic in Edmonton. This is mainly a time of consultation. We meet with her for an hour and then with the occupational therapist for an hour. Dr. Baxter will then refer us to the cleft lip and palate team. We hope it won't take too long to get into to see them. The sooner Julianna has her palate repaired the sooner we will know how delayed her speech is. Although at this point she doesn't have too much trouble letting you know what she wants. We have used a little sign language and some hand gestures to compliment our communication repetoire. I have some Christmas pictures to post. Will try later today.

This last picture is for folks who know my Mom and Dad. Over the holidays we played a lot of games, it was really too cold to do much else and between the cold outside and colds of the sick kind inside it was good entertainment. Uno, phase 10, pay day, and crokinole were favorites. Another given to us by our wonderful neighbors called Hedbanz was fun too and offered a good laugh just watching the people wearing the game required gear. This was so out of my father's comfort zone but he was a good sport and played. Hedbanz for those who don't know is a guessing game like 20 questions but you wear the clue you are guessing on your head so everyone else can see but you.

Yes their is a kid playing too on the other side of the table.