Chambers Updated Arrival Time!!

Phil and Jennifer just called from Houston. They will be arriving on the LATER flight. Continental Airlines Flt 1414 arrives at Birmingham International Airport at 8:28 pm. Please gather outside of the security check near the entrance to Concourse B to meet them.

Ok, THIS IS MY FAVORITE!

The girls officially became US citizens today. We went to the US Consulate's Office, raised our right hand and swore that we didn't falsify any documents...and that was that. Now it is homeward bound! I'm going to bed now to sleep for 3 hours before I have to get up at 4:30 am, get the twins up and onto the airplane and travel for 24 hours with my new babies who are still adjusting to their new parents and all the new sites and sounds and both have ear infections. Don't you want to trade places with me? The more insane thing is that I wouldn't trade even if you took me up on it. I am so their Mommy!
See you soon!

Mammaw and Granddaddy are tickled pink with their new granddaughters

They keep threatening to take one home with them. We'll be sure to frisk them before they leave the house to go home!

Pictures with our Chinese facilitator, Lily

This is our Chinese facilitator with Lifeline. She has been such an amazing help to us in adopting the girls. I was so excited when she showed up for pictures in the sundress we gave her as a gift for helping us (even though it is covered up by babies in this picture :). She will forever be special to our family.

Our travel group

These are the people we traveled with all together in Guangzhou. The day we arrived in Guangzhou, there were 28 other groups that adopted children checking into the hotel. This hotel is the equivalent of a maternity ward for birth parents. It is so amazing to look around and see all of these children being loved on by their new parents who will cherish them for the rest of their lives.

The infamous Red Couch

It is customary for all the babies adopted from the same orphanage at the same time to get their picture taken on this red couch at the White Swan Hotel where most adoptive parents stay on the last leg of the journey. So these are Lily and Kate's roommates for the last year. We have really enjoyed getting to know their parents and will keep in contact with them in the future hopefully for a reunion!

We get a warm welcome from the Chinese people

Everywhere we go, the local Chinese people stop and smile and point to the twins. They seem genuinely happy for us and hold up 2 thumbs and say, "Double Happiness." It is so sweet. This is us holding the girls up for some passerbyers to see from the tour bus. I just love the way they treat us on the street. It is so nice that they allow us to share our joy with them.

We took a dinner boat cruise yesterday

Not quite as romantic as previous cruises without 2 one year olds, but fun in a whole new way! The girls really were fasinated by all the lights and wind on the balcony.

...but pulling her hair is so much fun!

That would be Kate pulling Lily's hair, but Lily gets her licks in too. They are really interacting with us so much during playtime. Kate likes to look at books and Lily likes to practice picking up small objects off the floor. But what they really like to do, is crawl all over us when we lay down.

I do love my sister...

Ok Mom, drop the camera and give us the bottle now

The faces that Kate makes

That tongue wags when she is really thinking or happy. If you pick her up giggle at her or bounce her up and down, the happy tongue comes out and she kicks her legs. It is so cute!

The faces that Lily makes

She loves to be held overhead and then kissed on the neck. Her smile is irresistable!

We have confirmed our flights home!

We will be flying from Houston on Continental and arriving in Birmingham at 5:28 pm. You are all invited to come out and see the girls! They may be totally overwhelmed and shocked after such a long flight and seeing a party of white people for the first time, but we are excited to show them off. If you can come, be sure to check this website before you leave as our connection time in Houston is really tight and there is a slight chance we won't make it. When we board the plane, we will call the Boyds and they will post when we are arriving because the next flight gets in at 8:30 pm.

We leave here with mixed emotions. It is nice to have this family bonding time and get to know China, but we really miss our family and family. Friday we will be driving to Mobile for my Mammaw's funeral on Saturday. Please pray that the girls will handle all of this moving from place to place and meeting new people well while they are under so much stress with all the changes they are undergoing.

Our last documents to fill our after 14 months of paperwork!

Our last form-filling out session to adopt the girls! It took two of us to fill out the forms. Phil did Kate's and I did Lily's. The adoption is officially finalized. Lily and Kate are ours for forever! :)

The Lord given and He taken away. Blessed be His name.

On this day, my sister called from home to tell us that my sweet Mammaw went to be with Jesus. She was my mom's mother (my mom is the one here with us). She was 95 yo and lived a great life, but the day was filled with such mixed emotion from extreme grief to happiness over the innocent smiles of our babies. Trying to process this is overwhelming. After many tears and questioning, i have truly begun to see God's hand in this timing. I can feel the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Mammaw was an amazing woman about which i could tell a thousand stories (most of which would make you laugh and some of which could not be repeated in public :) She embodied the title of Mammaw more than anyone i could ever imagine. From home cooked breakfasts, to spoiling us, to putting all her grandchildren through college and providing us all with our first car, to having the most hilarious sense of humor, and finally, to pointing me to Christ in her own Mammaw Bootsie way. I'm so glad that i was able to still crawl into her bed with her and snuggle like i have done for the last 35 years just before we left for China. Of course, she still said in a pretend annoyed way, "Hold still, Child!" The really neat thing for me was that at about the same time she died, Kate giggled out loud for the first time for us as I was doing the Mammaw Bootsie voice for her in an effort to entertain her on the plane. The girls may not meet her here on earth, but will hear stories about her as they grow up.

yeah! we are done without tears!!

Lily's turn!

Now this is a new way to look at the tympanic membrane. Anyway, not complaining, they moved us through fast. Lily weighed 18 lbs and Katie weighed 17 lbs 11 oz. They were 69 and 70 cm long. Both were 10 % on the American chart! They are fitting in the 6-9 month clothes, but hopefully just for 3-4 more weeks as they are drinking a lot. They are eating a little more each day. I'll try to get a picture of us feeding them, it is really cute. :)

Katie did a great job and Mommy got to be the mommy instead of the doctor this time!

Now this was a great feeling. I didn't have to think at all. It brought back all those memories of working in the ER at 3am wishing I could be the mom instead of the doctor. It was a crazy appointment with 3 stations (ENT, medical, vital signs) that we has to move through along with about 50 other families. It was hot, we were all sweating, the girls were zoned out by all the sites, but they did great.

The waiting room

Time for their first medical exam (well really second if you count mommy's exam)

Finally...we just closed our eyes and waited for it to be over.

I'm not sure if the poor man sitting next to us will ever fly again. I take that back, with a little therapy and PTSD meds he should be fine.

...and when we were bored...

...there was always granddaddy's hair to suck on.

So what did we do on a 2 hour plane ride with twins?

We looked out the window (this is Lily).















We laughed (this is Kate).

Let's go to Guangzhou!

We are in the airport on the way to Guangzhou finally! Praise the Lord for baby carriers. How do we decide who gets which baby? Whoever has the sturdier carrier (blue) gets Kate. We don't call her Kickin' Kate for nothin'. As you can see, Lily snuggles in close with lots of hugs while Kate wants a piece of the action. Trust me, those girls got whatever they wanted on this first plane ride! I have to say that leaving Chongqing was filled with happy and sad emotions for us. I know we will be back one day to show the girls all of the wonderful sites of their birth province.

Lily gets to know Mommy's face

Kate gets tickles from Mammaw

Touring in Chongquing!

We did get to see some of Chongquing, the province of the girls birth. But as you can see...most of the time on the tour bus we weren't really able to look out the window. We sure were taking in the sites, though! Mammaw and Granddaddy took pictures for us of the sites outside the bus. They are such a big help; we couldn't have made it without them! Mark and Lisa we hear you got your travel approval to get your twins...our advice is to take someone along!

6:00 am - this is how we look

They've got us beat from the get go. One of us is sleepily enjoying the morning's energetic smiles while the other is rushing around making bottles and getting fresh diapers.

The fruit of one day's labor

Sorry for the delay in writing, we've been in survival mode. For example, this is one of the two trash cans in our hotel less than 24 hours after the cleaning lady's last visit. The day flies by and we fall into bed at the end happy, exhausted, giving thanks and praying for a good night. The girls are sleeping pretty well during the night (once we get them to sleep - they want to be held, walked and loved on for 20-40 minutes prior to sleeping). Both wake up crying at least once and we can usually get them back down in 15 minutes. I'm sure it will all change once we get home and jet lag sets in, but we are enjoying the sleep for now!

Our first swimming lesson

We decided to brave the pool today, figuring it could only be half as stimulating as the Walmart experience (it may be years before i try that one again with both of them.) I really thought Kate would love the pool and Lily and I would be sitting on the side just watching, but no, Lily smiled more than she has since we got her. She loved it. It really made her snuggle in and giggle with us. Kate was fascinated with licking, blowing zerberts on my face and the bubbles in the hot tub. They really are just as the nannies in the orphanage told us there were. When I asked what their personalities were like they both said "Lily is gentle." So I had to ask again to know what Kate's was like and the looked at each other and giggled and just said, "not so gentle." Now we know what they were talking about. She will mow right over her sister like a summo wrestler while poor Lily just looks at me with a furrowed brow as if to say, "Aren't you going to do something about this, Lady!!"

Playtime!

Every morning we play on the floor for a couple of hours. The girls are really coming along. Take a look at that pincer grasp, Jill :) Now I've just got to get her to put that Cheerio in her mouth! Kate found her voice today. Two days ago, all Lily was saying was, "Mama," (to any inanimate object). Now Kate has discovered "Mama" as well and likes to squeal it over and over. It really melts my heart, even though she probably doesn't know yet that I'm the one. Floor playtime gives my aching and tired body a break. It is really crazy to think how Phil and mine's life is completely changed forever. But it is even crazier that I am so happy about it. I never imagined it would feel so much love for these little girls.

Mammaw and Granddaddy have their turn

Babies and blankies

We are trying to get them attached to their new blankie and babies. Lily's got the idea, Kate still doesn't quite know what a baby is. But Kate came knowing how to play with toys; Lily just figured it out today. Both girls crawled yesterday! They are now pretty good sitters, too. We finally got both girls to eat something besides a bottle today! I almost cried when Kate took her first bite, I was getting worried. Karen E, you are a hero...the rubber spoons you sent with me were what did the trick. That is how it finally got Kate to put anything in her mouth besides a bottle! They are both, understandably, grieving the loss of their nannies and the orphanage. It is hard to watch, but I am glad to know that they were loved. Throughout the day they cry out for no reason and when we are trying to put them to sleep, sometimes they just cry out when they look at us. As if to say, "what is that 4 eyed, big nosed creature?" We see improvements, though, and can get some of the greatest, loving stares deep into our eyes followed by a smile and a snuggle. It is hard to keep on top of who is needed what and making sure both are emotionally coming along the same. Today was the first day that they both woke up crying and I (jennifer) was the only one around. It was so hard to not be able to comfort both! I was so relieved when my mom walked in to the rescue! I think i could really do this twin parenting thing well if we could move into the Marriott where there is room service, turn down service, laundry service and my parents have a connecting room! (oh, yes, in my twin dream world, there would also be daily physical therapy for my back!)

Picture with the Pandas

On Tuesday, which was our first full day with the girls, we spent a lot of time together. Phil slept through the night and Jennifer didn't sleep much at all. Every time one of the girls would whimper or roll around, Jennifer would wake up. Those motherly instincts just kick right in. Phil woke up about 6:30am and decided to take a quick shower. We are learning that it is humanly possible to take a 2 minute shower. Who ever knew that you could soap, shampoo and condition in 2 minutes flat? Once the girls woke up, it was game on. We fed them their bottles in the morning and they both drank their formula great. We knew they were tired after their 10 hour bus ride on Monday to the city of Chongqing. After bottles and diaper changes, it was bath time. Phil, by the way, changed his first diaper ever. By God's grace and abundant mercy, it was only a wet diaper. Jennifer changed Kate's which was filled with many abundant blessings. Ah, dodged the bullet this time. Jennifer climbed in the bathtub with Kate first and she loved the bathtub. Later, Phil climbed in the bathtub with Lily and she did great also. These girls like to primp. After putting them in their cute outfits, we went to breakfast. Besides a 2 minute shower, we are learning the Art of 2 minute breakfast. It goes something like this "Phil, quick, eat that food so I can give you this baby! But Jennifer, munch, munch, I already have one baby, munch, munch, and this bacon sure tastes good. (5 minutes later) Do you think they could warm up my breakfast? It has gotten cold."
After breakfast, we took the girls back to the hotel room for their morning nap. While they were napping, Granddaddy and Phil went to McDonalds for some burgers and fries. At 230pm, we loaded up with the rest of the group to go to the Zoo in Chongqing. There, we saw some Giant Pandas. It was a hot day so most of the pandas were relaxing inside but two of them came out to say hello to us. The girls did great in the carriers. The carriers are great to build eye contact and attachment between us (you would be proud, Leigh Anne). After the zoo, we went to Walmart. As a group, we decided to donate some items to the orphanage. We bought them a DVD player and some walkers. We made a trip to Walmart to buy some more diapers and formula. It was very similar to those in the U.S. except for the chicken feet and duck heads (not the pants) in the meat section. We returned to the hotel and wrestled, sang, rocked, patted, bribed, walked and pleaded with them to go to sleep. Eventually, they both fell asleep and you would thought we had won the Michigan Lottery and the Pulizer Prize in the same day. As we realized it was 9pm and we hadn't eaten dinner, we "ducked" down to the Hotel chinese resaturant and ate some fried rice and hot and sour soup. It was a full day but a wonderful day to be together as a family. We know, by God's grace, there will be many more wonderful days and years ahead of us. Thank you Lord for entrusting to us these wonderful girls. They have been made wonderfully and fearfully in your image and by your loving hands. They are perfect!

To the ends of the earth goeth Walmart

We have them right where we want them

A Great Hair Day

Wouldn't you want to take these girls home? Guess what? We get to! They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Jennifer and I are definitely beholding true beauty.
(Of course, they seem to be more beautiful when they aren't crying. :) )

Sleeping beauties

I know they will stay beautiful, but will they stay asleep? I really hope so. It has been an emotionally draining day, but exhilarating!! They went to sleep in 5 minutes flat. So did Phil...some help he is. Wasn't the whole twin thing his idea? Hey Kay, they are loving these blankets you knitted. I'm using them to tell them apart. Kate is in the hot pink and Lily the soft pink. Please pray that tomorrow will go well. I can tell we are going to be tired, but very happy!

Introducing Lily Gabrielle Fuxin Chambers

If that is Kate, this must be Lily. Just kidding. This is Lily. She was given to me first and Kate was given to Phil. Even though we decided which would be which this morning before we met them, our initial plan had been to name according to who was handed to us...the one handed to me would be Lily and to Phil would be Kate. So even though we didn't use the plan, that is how it worked out in the end. They both like to be held up in the air and giggle. It was nice to be able to make them smile from the beginning. They are making really good eye contact and even don't mind being on their bellies. Both can get up in the crawling position, but can't really go anywhere. Both can sit, but are a little wobbly. They both like to blow bubbles with their drool. Kate hasn't cried yet, but Lily is a bit tearful.

Introducing Kate Isabella Fujing Chambers

This is Kate (we think). It has been hard to tell them apart. Thankfully, the nanny gave them name tags so we could tell them apart. So far I can only tell them apart when I am holding Kate because Kate likes to kick her legs for fun. This also confirms her name for us, because her American initials are KIC. We can tell a little personality difference, though. So far, Kate is more active. Lily is more quiet. The nannies agreed.

We are a family!

Can you say, "love at first sight!" Wow! What a rush! Now that was amazing. I don't understand how God did that, but Phil and I fell in love with our Lily and Kate in a matter of 5 minutes. We will never forget this day as long as we live. It was unbelievable! Ok, Lily is crying, got to go! More pics after the bottle!

Three more hours!

This is morning we signed a bunch of adoption papers including making the final decision on Lily and Kate's names. We also saw a recent picture of both of them. It was VERY emotional to officially give them our family name as it has so much spiritual meaning to it for us as an adopted son and daughter of our Father. Their pictures were adorable.

This is a crazy emotional journey.
First, we really love China. We like it so much more than we thought we would. I guess I thought it would be similar in more ways to India, but it is not at all. Not better or worse, just very different. The concept of "saving face" seems to permeate the culture on many levels. The people on the streets are helpful and friendly. The food is even more spicey than India. Tony, you wouldn't like it so much. This is sort of disgusting, but is also comes out the other end with a kick to it!

Second, this feeling is so unique. It is not like a Christmas morning experience where you are giddy with excitement. It is more like your wedding day or leaving your home for the mission field. It is like being on a fast train to somewhere exciting to which the Father has called us, but we don't know exactly where the train is going and we were quite happy with the place from where we started. If God had not have lead us so directly and obviously, we would be freaking out right now. Instead, there is a jittery calmness between us.

Third, who are Lily and Kate? Will they like us? Will we like them? Are they similar to each other? Which is introverted? Which is artistic? When will they laugh with us for the first time? When will they snuggle in for the first time? How much will they grieve the loss of their life in Youyang? Will they like kitty cats?

Fourth, why are we here? Has our Father brought us here only to find our daughters or is there more work that He has for us here? We don't feel the need to answer this question now, but it lingers behind many of our conversations.

Fifth, why am I crying? Is is joy? Is is fear? Nervousness? I'm not sure, but it feels good.

Three more hours...

The arrival of the rubber duckies

The hotel gave us gifts for the girls. We had to play with them first to make sure they were good enough for the girls.

Last minute shopping for formula

We walked around Chongquing this afternoon, the province where our daughters live. Today happened to be the Moon Festival in China which is sort of like our Thanksgiving, where families travel to be together and have a family meal and eat Moon Cakes. We ate some Moon Cakes today and thought about being together as a family tomorrow for the first time. The magnitude of this event is really starting to sink in bringing a plethora of emotions that are impossible to put into words. The emotion is not fear, not sheer joy, not nervousness, not even overwhelming love since we haven't met them yet. It is more like a sobering mix of all of the above that keeps your mind trying to figure out what you are feeling. Our lives will never be the same again. The joys of parenting still do not seem truly tangible yet, but somehow there is an excitement that the Lord has so clearly brought us over this last year to the edge of something magnificent and tomorrow is the jumping off point. And jump we will! We praise Him that he has made this decision clear from the beginning just as he did our decision to marry each other. For 2 incredibly indecisive people, we consider this a miracle He has done for us. We move forward in faith, looking back on his blessings in our life and trusting that this is His next loving provision for us...to become parents to Lily and Kate. What an loving Father we have!

Phil eating the brain of a duck

Dad and Phil both ate duck brain. Mother and I did not feel the need. We were born with enough brains ourselves without having to eat those of the lesser species. Ok...we really chickened out (or ducked out, rather).

The Great Wall (and Head) of China