We had another good time in Pigeon Forge. We shopped and hung out with the family. We look forward to doing this every year. It is a good way to spend a long weekend before Christmas.
We stayed at Wilderness in the Smokies in Pigeon Forge and had a blast at the waterpark. Celia was a little scared of some of the water slides but she still had a good time. We had so much fun with all of the cousins. It was a great place to stay and we hope to do it again next year!
Celia had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday, September 24th. She had a Hello Kitty cake, which she had wanted for a year, and she got lots of presents from family and friends. She even got a coat and hat from her Nana so that she will be prepared for the winter. Everyone had a really good time.
The second time we went to the fair Celia left her tiara at home. We got our faces painted, rode on another pony and sat on another tractor. Celia couldn't understand why she had to wait a year before she could go back to the fair. We all wish that the fair would come to town more often.
We took Celia to the Wilson County Fair this year and had a great time. She insisted on wearing her tiara all day. She sat on tractors, rode on ponies, motorcycles and in a pumpkin. It is so much fun watching her have a good time.
Today we went to the Nature Center and the girls had a great time watching the baby quail hatch from their eggs. It was amazing. They also worked puzzles, saw snakes and other animals and walked on a nature trail. We had a really good time.
We are in North Carolina visiting Lily, Bob and Danielle. We are so happy to be here. The girls are having a great time playing together. Lily is being so nice to share her toys with Celia. We have been to Discovery Place and the girls had a really good time "discovering" things. They even got to pet a turtle.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
Our Final Itinerary
8/6/09 ~ Flight out of Nashville 6:15 AM
8/7/09 ~ Land in Beijing 1:50 PM
8/8/09 ~ Sightseeing tour to the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square
8/9/09 ~ Fly to Nanchang (Where Celia lives) at 8:05 AM
8/9/09 ~ We will meet Celia at our hotel at 4:00 PM
8/10/09 ~ Do relevant paperwork
8/11/09 ~ Shopping for Celia
8/12/09 ~ Sightseeing to XiangHu Park
8/13/09 ~ Sightseeing to Teng Wang Ge
8/14/09 ~ We will receive Celia's passport
8/15/09 ~ We will fly to Guangzhou
8/16/09 ~ Sightseeing tour to Chen family temple
8/17/09 ~ Sightseeing tour to Yuntai Park
8/18/09 ~ Go to get Celia's Visa photo and her medical examination
8/19/09 ~ Our guide will go to the American Consulate to hand in our documents
8/20/09 ~ We will go to the American Consulate for our interview and to get our visa's
8/21/09 ~ Fly out of Guangzhou and arrive in Shanghai at 11:50 AM
8/21/09 ~ Fly out of Shanghai at 3:45 PM
8/21/09 ~ Arrive in Nashville at 10:38 PM
Hello from Greg and Dana. We started our journey to Celia on July 12, 2005. After many years of hoping to have a child biologically we have found that God is leading us on a different journey. A journey of adoption, just as God has adopted us. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to parent a child. We hope you enjoy going along with us on this journey.