An update at last (click here to read our Christmas newsletter)

Merry Christmas to all and this is our long in getting published update - I have attached the link to our 2009 Christmas newsletter.

I am officially retired from the Navy and in the process of finding my next career. I believe I have found one we will fill you in more hopefully next time. We were praying for a career opportunity in the Nashville area but as yet our plans are for staying put here St Louis. However, deep down my heart is still back in Alaska...

Noah is a fabulous big brother! Picking up an extra little sister was no big deal for a pro big brother like him. Noah has really grown up over the last few months. I know every parent of teenagers say this.

We have found excellent medical treatment for Haddie here. She has been evaluated by one of the best Otolaryngologyist and Neurotologist in the state. What a blessing he has been to our family! Haddie has been wearing a bone conduction hearing aid (in a head band) for the past several weeks with much success. She is actually requesting to wear it. We are also receiving assistance from the St Louis' Institute of the Deaf. Our next paperwork hurdle with Haddie is her Missouri birth certificate. Again, God has been so good to us. How does that old song go....count your many blessings name them one by one.

Hannah has risen to the challenge of being a great big sister. Thanks to Hannah's willingness to share her bed with Haddie, Haddie has been sleeping so much better.

Colette is doing a marvelous job at homeschooling two and entertaining the one. Hopefully with me home I'm a second set of hands helping out, running errands and so forth is a good thing.

That's all for now.

Not final yet - Welcome Home Haddie

Hello for home! Oh so good to finally be at home, unpacked and laundry done. It was unexplainable joy to see Noah and Hannah (along with other friends) waiting for us at the airport Friday night as we arrived. All luggage present and accounted for and nothing broken. Whew! The flights were great thank you for your prayers.

Haddie made her initial church service today and she was a champ. She sat and munched her way through it.

Thank you again for your prayers and support as we made this journey. Our friends and family at our church (Heartland Baptist in Oakville) are hosting a “Welcome Home Party” in Haddie’s honor this Friday evening at 6:30pm. If you can attend we would love to see you there. Also, if you would email us bcupton5@att.net so we can pass on the information to the host.

We will keep this blog up and running for awhile... - Hadassah has a doctors appointment this Tuesday and we’ll update the blog on what comes out of her initial consult.

- Bob

Final Update

As we sit in Starbucks sipping Green Tea Latte enjoying pseudo-free internet we are poised to finish packing (with no bag weighing more than 22.6 kilos) and ready to do that last bit of shopping on Shamian Island. We had breakfast one last time with Rebecca (she is pictured with us) our CHI Coordinator and said our goodbyes. Tomorrow morning at 6 we’ll (along with 6 other families) will head to the Guangzhou airport with her counter-part Elsie.
Yesterday was our US Consulate visit - and we have one minor correction to our blog entry yesterday...Haddie does not become a US citizen until the INS worker stamps her VISA tomorrow (Friday) in Chicago! Details..details....

We'll be arriving at STL airport on the 7:30pm flight Friday from Chicago....
ps., We know many of you have been praying for the Highs - their latest... it appears they will be here over the weekend and won't be able to leave until next week. Please continue to pray for them (especially the Mom)... the hold up is with the US Consulate & INS....I am sure if our elected officials and those who service adoptions (INS etc) spent ONE night in a Chinese orphanage they would have a different outlook on getting these little ones into loving arms of a lifetime.

We want to specially thank Jennifer Jessen for keeping our blog updated! Without her none of our blogging would have been possible!

Thank you so much!

Bob & Colette

Wednesday Update

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. We were taken to Hadassah's finding spot. We have included pictures sitting on the chairs inside a Women and Children's clinic. Of course, we don't know which seat she was left on, but we do know she was only 3 days old. When we went to Hannah's finding spot which was in front of a telecommunications building which is now a clothing store, we went straight from the orphanage and had Hannah less than an hour. We jumped into a taxi - she rode in the front seat with Bob - her first car ride and of course no seat belt - drove quickly to the place, jumped out - took a picture - jumped back into the taxi and was back at the orphanage before many of the people in our group even knew we were gone. But with Haddie - she has been in our arms for over a week now and thinking of ever present and contagious smile - it was so much harder. I guess it is a mom's heart that God made so tender. Holding Haddie in my arms as I stood in the middle of the huge waiting room seeing so many pregnant Chinese women and little children, feeling her warmth and sensing her contentment in our arms and her forever family waiting for her back in the State and thinking of the heartbreak her biological mother had to go through in leaving her daughter just made tears well up in my eyes. They are there as I type this now. How long did she sit there gazing into her babies eyes? There was the great possibility she didn't have the medical means of taking care of this child she had loved since the first day she found she was pregnant. What great love and care she showed for this precious child by leaving her in a medical facility thinking she would get the help she would need for her ears. Did she wait around watching until someone realized this little one had been abandoned and took care of her? Did Hadassah cry long before they realized she was alone? There are so many seats there and so many people it would be an easy place to leave someone and yet be assured they would be found. What one mom gave up in love - this mom gets to love for life.

Later we went to see the Five Rams Statue for which Guangzhou is famous. We were told there were many stairs to climb to see it and they were right. It also takes more effort when the temperature ranges from 95-98 with humidity taking it over 100 and traversing the stairs while manipulating and hauling a stroller. It is in a beautiful park so it was well worth it.

Today is a group picture and then our last appointment at the American Consulate. We will receive her Passport and Visa and Haddie will be sworn in as an American Citizen. Officiallly, she doesn't 'become a Citizen until the plane hits the Tarmac in Chicago but for all practical purposes - today is the day.

An update on the High's who's little girl had a heart murmur. They were able to get their State Senator involved who was clearing them through many different channels to basically get 2 weeks worth of paperwork done in 2 days. We haven't heard an update since Monday but everything was in place for God to work mightily in this situation.

We've stopped paying for Internet in our room...so we're hanging out in Starbucks. Until next time...

She's coming home!!

Good Monday Morning from Guangzhou!

Haddie is coming home WITH us on the 4th! Her (and everyone in our group) TB test was negative! Praise the Lord! Thank you for your prayers and your emails of encouragement. If you can't tell we were more than excited as was everyone on our bus. God worked everything out. Our next hurdle is with the US consulate and obtaining her VISA & US citizenship - which is fairly simple (not the paper work but the waiting process).

Haddie's legs are getting stronger and she is able to sit up by her self as well as turn over in bed. On the bus tonight she was pulling herself up using her hands and legs. She loves to walk! She's been walking back and forth in our room between Colette and I (approx 6 feet apart). She just giggles as she approaches either of us. Her face lights and you can see joy swelling deep inside of her. We can't wait for Noah and Hannah to meet her and play with her.

About her diet, it is sort of apparent that her previous care givers did not feed her anything beyond the basics. We just need to get her home to her mom's good cooking and get her on a regular schedule...

We ended the day with great shopping! There is something to be said for haggling....in some ways I wish we could do more of it back home.

Until next time,

- Bob

Sunday Update

We attended the bi-lingual service at Christ Church Shamian. Awesome! We (the only non-Asian people there) sang 2 songs in English and the local attenders knew it well. The service lasted for about an hour and a half and the Word of God was definitely preached. The funny thing was people just kept coming in...and coming in and coming in! It was packed. They packed in at least 150 + people in a very small worship area. They had a little A/C and very hard wooden pews.

- Bob

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