In the eyes of China, Grace was our daughter the day after we received her and went back to sign the papers saying that we were satisfied with her and that we would never abandon or abuse her. Tomor row we finish the American side of the paperwork process at the US consulate here in Guangzhou. Then she will officially be our daughter in the eyes of both countries. Crazy awesome. She will be dressed in red, white and blue to celebrate this day. Can't wait to see her in the sweet outfit I first saw back in June.

Today we spent the day with Shelley, Hope Lilan and Kevin Carson at the Safari Park. It was fun but exhausting. Once Hope and Grace warmed up to each other they were so sweet together. I wish we lived closer for them to play with each other.  I put out some very sweet pics of both on Facebook.

Grace continues to have some trouble breathing at night, but only in spurts of time, other times she is fine. I am anxious to get her evaluated to see how we can help her. Poor thing gets so frustrated. She is becoming more comfortable with us, which is great, and sometimes not so great. Today she was comfortable enough to belch several times at us, that was nice :) She is also an avtive 5 year old who likes jumping on beds, etc, which causes some consternation from her parents. We are more than ready to get home and see what life is like on the other side of the world with this princess.

Shelley made the most adorable peg dolls representing each member of our immediate family, and Grace has been lining them up and asking me to point to them so she can say their names. She will definitely know the boys names by the time we get home. Whether or not she will know who is who is another story.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We are doing well here. We have heard of several other families dealing with tragedy and difficulties and know that we are blessed by her relatively easy transition. It has been amazing to see the many families here adopting children with a multitude of needs, from cerebral palsy to paralysis to missing limbs, cleft lip and palate, and large portwine stains. Grace is always concerned for the kiddos who cry or have obvious needs, like the unrepaired cleft lips and a boy with a huge facial portwine stain. She gets a sad little face and says something I don't understand. I try to reassure that it is ok. And it truly is. Because these are the lucky ones. They have found families who will love them and help them to heal physically and emotionally. But there are so many more, over 143 million more. Staggering. Thankful that we can help this one. If you're reading this and want to talk more about how you can do this too, we'd be more than willing to talk to you. But even though adoption isn't for everyone, everyone can pray for these kids and for changes in the way we care for the most vulnerable in our world.

Love to you all. Can't wait to see you again. Three more days in China, then one on an airplane, then home! Hallelujah.