Hannah's dedication Part 2

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend. Also, this weekend.... Abbey learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Yeah!!!!!

Hannah's Dedication

This weekend we had Hannah dedicated at church. All her grandparents, Aunt Mimi, Uncle Michael and Ava were there to share in on the special occasion. It was alot of fun to have everyone in for the weekend. Hannah wanted down during the dedication prayer and we were glad we had raisins in hand to keep her in our arms. Thanks everyone for the gifts and for making the trips. We really appreciate you! The grandparents also go to see Noah's soccer game today. Unfortunately his team lost, but Noah did awesome. He almost kicked in a goal!

Busy times....

Hey all, we are doing well. We are keeping busy with school and all the kids activities going on this time of year. Noah's soccer season has started and Noah has been playing hard. The picture I posted is from one of last season's games. It's a nice "action shot". Abbey starts dance on Monday evening. She is very excited. We had an open house at her dance gym last week and she got to see her friends and teacher. Hannah is pretty much running everywhere now. It is so neat to see her walking so great when a few weeks ago she was still "wobbly walking". She is saying "hello", too. Noah and Abbey are having alot of fun with their little sister!(We all are!)

Labor Day Weekend/Nashville TN

We headed to Nashville this past weekend to spend time with the Dave, Leanna, Sammy , Madison and Sadie. Jason was able to switch his days off and we took off early Friday morning. We really had a great time. We were able to meet baby Sadie. She's so adorable! We were also very excited to get to celebrate Sammy's birthday with everyone. Noah and Abbey had sooooooo much fun playing with their cousins, Sammy and Madison. We went to a park and the kids loved playing on the slip and slide.The time went way too fast while we were there. On the way home we stopped at Dinosaur World. Noah impressed us with his dinosaur knowledge. He really knows alot about dinosaurs! Abbey and Hannah had fun seeing all the giant dinosaurs, too.(I think Hannah was just happy to be out of the car for awhile!)

Weekend in Doylestown

We went to Doylestown for the weekend. Noah and Abbey had a great time getting to stay with Papa and Grandma Thursday night and we headed to Doylestown on Friday. Hannah is getting used to being in her carseat for the trips, which is good because we have an even bigger trip coming up. On Saturday night we went to a wedding reception and we all had a great time. Noah, especially was loving the dance floor. He is a dancing machine! Noah and Abbey had fun seeing some cousins they don't get to see often and Hannah got to meet some Aunts and Uncles for the first time. She loves giving out the kisses to people. Ava and Hannah were having fun playing with the microphones in Dad and Mom's basement. I don't know... Do you think American Idol is in the future???? Hannah is now walking very good. She seems to be enjoying the thought that she can move around like us now! In other Pierce news, we started homeschool this week. The kids are doing great, I'm just realizing that it is a challenge homeschooling 2 kids with a very active 1 year old!

Weekend in PA

We spent this last weekend in PA visiting the Pierces. Hannah got to meet some family for the first time. Noah and Abbey had so much fun playing with their cousins! They went swimming on Saturday. When it starting raining and they got out, Abbey and her cousin, Melanie, had fun dancing in the rain. That wasn't the only dancing going on..... there was a "Think Pink Barbie" dance show on Saturday night performed by the kids. They were dancing the night away! On Sunday, Hannah got to meet many people at West Unity church who have been praying for her for a long time. She enjoyed seeing all the people. We all had a great time!

getting ready for "back to school"

This week was spent getting ready for TWO kids to homeschool!!!! Jason took the kids (all 3) out for a"Day with Daddy". They went to the zoo, Alum Creek beach, and Polaris Mall all before 2:00 on Saturday. During that time I worked on getting the basement ready for school. It was a bit challenging trying to get it set up for them, as well as setting up an area for Hannah to roam freely without bothering the kids. Jason had a great time with the kids and I was able to get sooooo much done in that time! Abbey learned how to tie this week. We had been working on it for some time, but she has now mastered it and is very proud. We are proud of her. too! Hannah had a doctor's appointment today. She got 7 vaccinations and blood taken, too. She was not a happy girl. She is walking more and having fun with her brother and sister. Noah just loves kissing on her!

The never ending rash......

Last Wednesday night Jason took the kids to see the movie Over The Hedge and Abbey came home scratching away. She had a rash/hives thing ALL over her body. When we took her to the doctor they said it could be an allergic reaction or her body fighting off a virus. When her face swelled, we were pretty worried. Thank God she is doing better now. It took a week to run it's course. With Abbey not feeling well, we spent much of the week in doors. She mostly felt like laying down and watching movies. We went out and got the new Larryboy movie. It's been quite the hit around here. Noah was very excited when he went to the church to work with Daddy and got some cool Larryboy ears! Hannah has been taking more steps and it looks like she will be walking soon. She goes pretty fast with her walking toy. Since Abbey was feeling better we went to Wyandot Lake yesterday with Mary and Ava. When we went the last time Hannah loved it, this time she cried alittle. I think part of it was that she was mad we were putting sun block on her. By the end, she was loving the wave pool. We sat towards the entrance and she loved it when the waves hit her.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we are FINALLY home.(Long story- we missed our connecting flight to Columbus and Hannah spent her night in America sleeping at OHare airport.) We are getting settled back into normal life now and getting our sleep. Yep, Hannah is taking 2 naps during the day and sleeping all night. She's adjusted to our time now and we are very thankful for that! Noah and Abbey are being such a super big brother and sister to Hannah. They take great care of her. I'd say she averages about a thousand kisses a day! Hannah is crawling everywhere and is getting into just about everything. We are loving every minute of it. We have been waiting for her to join our family for so long. We are just glad she is here with us where she belongs. We couldn't imagine life without her! We had a belated birthday party for her this weekend and she loved every part of the party. She ate the food off my plate(she loved corn on the cob), loved opening her presents and really got into eating her cake. She needed a bath afterwards. Hannah got to see her grandparents, the Johnsons, again, and meet her grandparents, the Pierces, for the first time. Michael, Mary and Ava were in on the birthday bash, as well. We thank God for the precious gifts of our children. By the way, we had some more excitement this weekend. Abbey lost her first tooth! I was hoping it would wait until we got home!!!!!

Final Post!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is hard to believe but it is Tuesday and this is going to be our last post as we will be leaving for home tomorrow. As many of you know this has been an incredible journey over the past 2 years and the Lord has been so faithful throughout. Now we get to come home and start all over learning to be parents of a 1 year old as well as getting back into the joy of parenting Noah and Abbey. Last night we went on a riverboat cruise for 2 hours. We were stuck in traffic and we almost missed our boat, but our guide suggested that we walk the rest of the way which we did and we just made it in time. On the way there as we were sitting in traffic, Hannah was getting really fussy and I was thinking that we had made a mistake by going, but boy was I wrong. It turned out to be a beautiful night and we had a wonderful time visiting with each other as well as the others on the trip. We also had the opportunity to see the Beauty of Guangzhou at night time. One other benefit was that we felt a nice breeze which is not a real frequent occurrence here.
Hannah is doing much better at sitting in her high chair at breakfast and even is enjoying picking her food up by herself and making a mess of herself. Her breakfast of choice has been Fiber cereal and prunes that Mommy and Daddy cut up for her. She eats the prunes and the fiber cereal much better than Mommy or Daddy would. Praise the Lord her stomach seems to be doing much better. After breakfast we went out for some last minute shopping for some keep sakes and had a real nice time with our friends Doug and Terri and their daughter Brianna who is in one of the pictures that we posted with Hannah.
The one picture that we sent is of all the girls that were adopted on this trip and the other one is of all the families and there children that are on the trip with us as a part of A Helping Hand Adoption Agency.
This afternoon we are going to the US consolate office for Hannah to take her oath and become a United States Citizen. Tommorrow morning we will fly to Hong Kong and from there to Chicago and onto Columbus. We are scheduled to arrive home to Columbus just before Midnight on Wednesday night. If you would please be praying for us on the journey we would appreciate it.
It has truly been a priviledge and an honor to share our adoption journey with you all, and we praise the Lord for your prayers and support. This adoption has been a miracle from the beginning and we give God all of the Glory for it. We are now leaning on Him for His Grace to sustain us as we continue to walk this life out. As the Lord lays things on your heart to follow Him Trust in Him and continue to seek His face He is Faithful. .
May God Bless You All,
Love
Jason, Julie, Noah, Abbey and Hannah

Hannah is one step closer to be US citizen

Hi Everyone. Sorry, but picture wise it has been somewhat of a boring day. (so I included a great picture of Jason modeling the hotel's shower cap/Noah and Abbey, does Daddy look silly or what?) We had to stay in our hotel room for part of the day, as our guide Alison was at the consulate taking our paperwork before them. It was alittle nerve racking waiting and hoping they didn't have any questions about our paperwork. Today we have group pictures at 3:30, then we will have Pizza Hut delivered to our room at 4:30. The riverboat starts at 6:00 tonight, so I will try and take some good pictures of that to post tomorrow. You should have seen the pizza menu-tuna fish pizza, crab suck(what is that?). We ordered the great american classic-Pepperoni and cheese! Hannah took a nap this morning and is napping again. She plays when we lay her down and then falls asleep. We are learning that she is like all the girls in our family-she needs her sleep. We gave her a sippy cup today and she was drinking out of it well. She got alittle fiesty with me when I tried to help her as with most one year olds-they like to do things themselves. I was packing up some things today(so it's not so overwhelming Wednesday) and looked at all the medicines we brought and none of them have the seal off. We haven't had to use any. Thank God for keeping little Hannah healthy!She likes prunes, too. We think that, along with some bran cereal this morning has been helping with her belly issues. Jason just brought mcdonalds, so I better eat before Hannah wakes up. Thanks for the prayers. We miss you and can't wait to be home in a few days.

Chinese Church, Lucy's, and SHOPPING......

Hey Everyone. Hannah slept pretty good last night. She had one hour of crying at about 10:00. We are thinking she is still having stomach issues, and her nose started running as well. The breakfast at this hotel is amazing! We have definately eaten very well here. Jason even ate squid or octopus the other night. I wouldn't touch it! We went to a chinese church service this morning. It was so neat to be singing Matt Redman's"The Heart of Worship"in China.During the week I have been thinking about all Hannah's first things, first plane ride, first french fries......, but it really special thinking it was her first church service. She was enjoying the music and eating her snacks. The pastor spoke in chinese and another lady interpreted. Next, we went to Lucy's bar, where an american menu was served. I ordered a hamburger, and Jason ordered chicken enchilatas. His meal was soooooo spicy hot, it set both our mouths on fire. Hannah napped at Lucy's. We then had a few hours to shop. The shops were very neat and we were able to get Hannah some tradtional outfits and squeaky shoes. You can try and offer a lower price and the store workers will go back and forth with you. It was very interesting. I let Jason do all that. We got some really great deals. We are back at the hotel now and Jason and Hannah are taking a walk. She really like being out of the room where she can see all the people. That little munchkin is showing some of her true colors now and she has quite the temper. We are also learning that she likes being in her crib at naptime better than us carrying her! She is crawling and scooting all over the hotel room floor now. She will take a few steps for us and we think she will be walking on her own soon. In one of the pictures, she is wearing a hat her Uncle Michael and Aunt MiMi gave her. We also wanted to wish Dad and Mom Pierce a Happy Anniversary. We are sorry we can't be there to celebrate with you, but are so thankful for your many years together! Thanks for the prayer everyone. Tomorrow we get to go on a river boat cruise. Hope Hannah likes it! We love you Noah and Abbey!

Hannah is 21 Pounds

We arrived in Guangzhou last night at around 8:00PM. Thanks for your prayers - Hannah did very well on the plane ride. There was one point in time though when she was standing on Julie's lap and she pulled the man behind her's newspaper out of his hands. He was gracious with her. We all were pretty worn out when we arrived at the hotel and Hannah had a hard time getting to sleep because she had a nap on the way back from the airport. She thought it was play time at 10:00PM - Mommy and Daddy knowing that we had to get up at 5:30 were not as much into playing as Hannah was.
Thank God she went to sleep at 10:30 and everyone slept well the rest of the night. At 8:00 we were back on the road to get Hannah's Visa picture taken and her medical examination. It was very rainy this morning and the medical exam office was very crowded so we very thankful to have that appointment taken care of. As you saw in the heading, Thank the Lord everything went well with her exam and Hannah weights 21 pounds. She is a great eater. She even tried her first Mcdonald's french fry today with catsup. ( As you can see in one the pictures she enjoyed it)
We turned in all of our important paperwork this afternoon to our Helping Hand Guide Allison who will take the paperwork to the US Consulate office on Monday. Please be praying that everything goes well at that meeting. These are the meetings that finalyze her paperwork and prepare us to fly out on Wednesday. As we mentioned in the last couple of posts Hannah continues to show us more and more daily. She has been much more active at times, she is taking a couple of steps with assistance and is jibbering alot more - She even said Da da a couple of times . She is also clapping her hands and giving us kisses at times (sometimes with a bite with it). Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement. It is truly only by God's grace and your support and encouragement that we are here and able to bring Hannah home. May the Lord Bless You!!!!!!!!!!
Love Jason, Julie & Hannah
P.S. Guangzhou must be much more of a tourist town than Nanning, the hotel is very beautiful and we have a Mcdonalds and Starbucks right next door. As we write this post we are enjoying a Carmel Frappacinno. See Ya Soon.

Hannah is coming out of her shell

Well we thought we had time for a short post today while we pack up for our trip - I guess I should say Julie Packs up for our trip, she is such a servant and keeps us organized in that area. We just got back from doing some very important paperwork for our meeting with the US consulate next week. Paperwork is very stressful for me, and I will be excited to have that meeting out of the way and everything finalyzed next week. God has been so graceful and compassionate throughout every aspect of this trip and I give Him the Glory for that. I was realizing that as I prayed this morning, how it is so much a gift of His Mercy and Grace that we are able to be here to adopt Hannah. His Love for us is amazing!!!!!!!
Here are some photos that we took this morning. Hannah is starting to show us each and every day how much more that she can do. Today while we were in the meeting she was sitting with Julie on the floor and started crawling with the other girls. She is even pulling herself up and trying to take some steps. She is a real sweetheart. I keep telling her that besides her mother and sister she is the cutest girl ever. Noah is my tough Guy. We Love you all , have a Blessed day. Talk to you as soon as we can. May the Lord Bless you.
Jason, Julie & Hannah
PS : Thanks for your prayers, all of the girls are healthy at this time.

Ethnic Park - Bed and Bath time

It is Thursday afternoon here in Nanning and we have already had a full day. For those of you who know Julie and how she normally functions in the morning you may be surprised to hear that she was up and dressed before 6:00am. That is exciting for me, but I am not sure if it will continue when we get home or not. For some reason even after being here for a week our bodies still have a difficult time adjusting. It seems like we sleep really well until about midnight and then it is restless sleep from then on. Either way it is a good way to get started early. When Hannah woke up this morning she just sat up and looked for us but without crying. It seems like she is getting more used to us each day. She is starting to put her arms out to show us when she wants to go to one or the other of us, and seems to be more playful and free to laugh more often. She is however still having some problems with her stomach. If you could be still praying for that we would appreciate it. Other that that she is a very pleasant and sweet little girl who likes to laugh out loud - Just like her sister. We had the pleasure of talking to Noah and Abbey on the phone today, it was a real joy to us to hear their voice and to know that they are having a great time with their grandparents. Hannah also enjoyed hearing their voices. Please be praying for Kaylee and Lydia - two of the little girls that were also adopted from Hannah's orphanage as they have been started on Antibiotics for Bronchitis. This morning we went to a local Museum and Ethnic park to learn about the minority people of China. It was really interesting to learn about their cultures and to see some of the ancient artifacts that have been collected. It was a very beautiful park , we had the opportunity to see several couples getting their wedding photos in the park. Tonight we are having a group dinner at 6:00 PM and then tomorrow we will be finishing up some paperwork and flying to Guangzhou in the evening. I just want to end by seeing if anyone noticed Hannah is already suporting her hometown team!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hannah Says Go Bucks. We may not being able to post tomorrow as we will be packing up and flying at around 6:00 tommorrow. We will post as soon as we are able to. Thanks for all of the prayers and encouragement through the emails. We miss and Love you all. May God Bless You.