What a little food and a lot of love can do ....

Here is Alyana.

At 19 months, she is a beautiful , healthy and happy little girl ( touched off with a little spice, of course).

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." Ancient Chinese Belief

Hi Everyone,

I have been working on this slide show for a few days however, Photoshow has not been very cooperative.I think I have finally managed to get some clips together.

A month ago today we met Alyana for the first time. She was a scared, tearful, hot and undernourised little girl. In one month she has managed to gain 2 pounds and has moved from not being able to sit up on her own to almost standing by herself.

Amazing really!

We can't imagine a day without both of our children. Aly and Ben bring so much happiness into our lives.

We are very lucky.

Hope you all enjoy the photoshow.

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This crib has waited a very long time for this little girl !

We're Home and Planted ......

Here are a few pics of Alyana's homecoming ......

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Ben and Alyana getting to know one another.
He is wonderful with her and she thinks he's pretty awesome .....

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Alyana asleep in her nursery

A picture that we've been waiting to post for a very long time.

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So, that concludes our journey to Alyana.

At times it seemed like this little one was never going to get here and then all of a sudden, there she was.

More beautiful than we could have ever imagined.

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" Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away "

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Our "Gotcha" moment with our little angel. She was a little sad and confused for a while.

Hello from New Brunswick!!!

Hey all! We made it home!! So great to be in our own beds. Alyana is doing great and big brother Ben is doing awesome. Mom and Dad are still jet lagged but coming around. Lots of folks at airport to meet Miss Aly - Thanks for the fabulous greeting! We will post some more pics of the home coming tomorrow (after we find the cable in all the unpacked goodies) to give you all a look at Aly's first few hours at home. Thanks for following along with us on our trip and for all the kind words you sent our way while we were half way round the world.

Ciao for now,

JP, Andrea, Ben and Alyana.

Make your own | Click to play

Greetings From Toronto .....

That's right ........we said Toronto .....your eyes are not playing tricks on you ......

Daddy and Aly waiting for the flight home

Departure Board Schedule

So ................

If a picture is worth a thousand words than the one BELOW says it all ......

Jet lagged and weighed down with luggage JP, Aly and I boarded a shuttle that took us to the airport very early this AM ( 3 hours to be exact).

We figured we might as well hang out and wait for our flight instead of waiting at the hotel.

Just 40 minutes before we were to board, this is what the departure board had to say ..........

We are now back at the hotel and are getting ready to have a snooze, afterall, it's past our bedtime in China.

Hotel Life, ya gotta love it .....

This is hotel #6 ( in the last two weeks)

Keep your fingers crossed that we get home tomorrow :)

Private Message for Ben:

Hey Bud, we will be home just as soon as the airplane can fly. You have fun tonight with Jude and we will call you later today !
Love you loads !

Toronto is a beautiful Canadian City!

Hi Everyone !

Never thought we'd be so happy to get to "the Big Smoke" ( a.k.a Toronto) .

We touched down at about 3:20 pm local time and Miss Alyana did fabulous on the flight.

She stayed up a couple hours past her bedtime (so much activity) but when she went down she slept for about 6 hours! She stretched out over one and a half seats while her Mom and Dad crammed into what little was left of the third seat.

We got to the hotel inToronto at about 6:30 pm and all of us were sleeping by 8:00 pm. So, despite the fact that it is currently 2:00 am and we're all up (jetleg is great...) we are doing really well and can't wait for the final leg of our journey later this morning ( around 8 am).If the snow holds off in NB today we'll be touching down at 11:05 am.

We are really excited to see everyone but "jumping-out-of-our-skin" excited to see Benjamin.

Here are a couple more pics for you to have a look at while we get ever closer to our own comfy beds.

As we have said before, this has been an amazing adventure and we are thrilled with our sweet daughter.

A few ladies having a chat while they wait for their bus.

We won't miss this!

The NB'er's waiting in Beijing airport for their flight home.

Our flight's on time !



Mom and Aly enjoying the flight.

We're over Canada ....hooray !

So close ......yet, so far away.

Momma and Aly preparing for touch down in Toronto.

(you can see how much the pressure change with descent bothered our girl)

First sleep in Canada.

Getting rested to go see her brother tomorrow.

This is one our last posts from China.

Wow, what a great trip ( although JP reminds me that it's not over yet- the airplane ride will certainly be memorable that is for sure !!).

We are looking forward to returning home and can't wait for Ben to meet his new little sister
( pox in all). We are sure that she will fall in love with her big bro right away.

Alyana is beginning to feel better. One of the people traveling with us is a MD so she had a good look over on Aly today and figures she is on the mend.

She still is cranky and continues to have a fever though.

Oh well, we'll break down the 13 hour flight to Toronto into 1 hr "bite size" pieces ( in other words, each hour that passes with bring us one hour closer to home).

Just in case, however, say a little prayer for us .......:)

If we don't get to post again, we want to thank you all for joining us on our journey to Alyana.

Your posts in the guestbook have meant a lot to us.

We can't wait for you to meet our daughter. She sure is awesome.

Despite Montezuma's Revenge , Chicken Pox and teething, we wouldn't trade her for the world.

She is, we wholeheartly believe, the little girl that we were meant to welcome into our life, our home , our family and most importantly our hearts !

Last Private message to Benjamin: Bugsy Boy we are coming home really soon. While we type this you are on your way to school and in only 2 sleeps you get to come meet us at the airport! We are really proud of you for how well you've looked after Jingles and Fletcher while we were away. And we are even more proud of how well you've behaved for Judoo and Jessie. We love you zero beyond!!!

This was the extent of Aly and Momma's sight seeing the last two days

This is Miss Aly's last night sleep on China soil ( at least for awhile) .

Hi Folks !

Alyana is a sick little girl today- she has the pox, teething and has a cold on top of all of this . She is quite cranky and feeling miserable. Who would blame her ...

It hasn't been that long ago since I had a bout of chicken pox so I can kinda understand the hell she is going through.


We are trying to keep her comfy, hydrated and occupied. It's a two person job today.


It been a tough few days for Miss Aly. We can't wait to be home.

Not to rush the trip but there is nothing like your own comfy bed on days like today.

She's even a CUTIE when she is all broken out ........

Poor sweet girl !

Hey all. A couple shots from yesterday. JP's stress day. He learned that if bartering was an olympic sport, the Chinese would be a shoe in for the gold medal. Armed with a shopping list as long as his arm he went off to do the haggling while Momma kept Aly safe indoors while she exploded with the pox. Yesterday was her toughest day but already today part of her happy self is coming back to life. Not a minute too soon as we're fast approaching departure time. Can't wait!

JP heading off to a day of shopping.

This picture doesn't really do the pox justice. They look a lot worse in person. You really can't touch any part of her body without feeling the bumps. Poor Alyana...

Afternoon in China ....

While Aly Cat rests I think I'll post a few more pictures as I have lots of time on my hands today.

It sure was great chatting with Ben today. We called him at 6:30 am and he was just getting his bath for bed. He is a little under the weather today. Let's hope it is because he is tired and not because he is getting sick. It would be awful to be so far away from our little man if he is sick.

Jude is doing a great job with him and we are so thankful that she took on the job of playing , in Ben's words, weird Mom for him the last 2 weeks. I hope JP finds something special for her while he shops today ;).


Despite Alyana and her pox, the trip has been one of the highlights of our lives. The country is awesome, so much to see and so much to do, it is overwhelming. There is something to look at at every corner. Unusual food, sights and smells. We hope to return when Alyana is old enough to appreciate it.

We are travelling with a wonderful group of families from all across Canada and 4 of them are from NB. Soon these little girls will return to extended families all over Canada that are anxious to catch their first glimpse of them. They have yet to experience all the love that is about to be showered upon them.

Yes, we are lucky families , that is for sure !

Interesting Picture-Old and New
Part of the Forbidden City

A street sweeper-notice the broom

Bicycles are everywhere here ( although becoming less common everyday as people prosper)

This one is for my TEAM
The Chicken Made It !
Hooray !

Triplet Boys

We met these boys , who were quite wired, by the way, at a restaurant a few days ago.
God Bless their parents !
They loved the Canada Flags that JP gave them .

Summer Palace Picture

A bicycle repair lady who set up shop on the street corner


but this picture .......

this is the best picture from China ......

Miss Aly Cat!

As you can see, she will fit right in at the Sketti table on Sundays-yapping with everyone else.
Oh yeah, and don't worry about the sketti being too hot Grammy.
She is a spicy girl after all !

Yippeee - We're Cleared for takeoff!!!

Hey Everyone !

Good news, we are coming home as scheduled! (Friday the 19th of January).

Can't wait to see our Bugs! It's been a long time without him.

Alyana has broken out EVERYWHERE with chicken pox. Poor girl!

Mommy and her are staying home today while JP goes shopping. He's looking a little green just thinking about it *hehe*.

It might be just as well that JP shops today as he is a better haggler than me.

Here are a few more pictures ....and ....here's a picture of our Poxy Girl for you all to enjoy!

Even with everything that she has been through this week, she's still pretty happy, most of the time.

Here is a picture of Alyana at her medical for immigration
( he is checking out her rash)

A smiling chicken pox baby

JP haggling at the bottom of the GREAT WALL
" You're Killing Me"

Still working on getting these pictures out there over the www. The hotel charges by the hour for internet usage.... hmmm...

** Private message for Judoo... you don't have to tell Bugs about the next part yet. Wait until we are sure what is going to happen**

So, we went to do the immigration medical for Miss Aly today. Just when we thought our spate of bad luck had run it's course, we find out Alyana has chicken pox. Well to be more accurate, it was confirmed that Aly cat has the pox. A few of the babies have it. That's not the most troubling aspect... We're still waiting to see if they'll make us stay longer in the country to let the ilness run it's course. This has us a bit bummed out to say the least. Not that we're not enjoying the sites and culture (Montezuma included), we just really want to get home to our Bugs. Anyway, we should know more later today about our fate on this front and really it is completely out of our hands at this point. We just have to hope the doctor will allow us to jump on the plane on Thursday as scheduled. We'll keep you posted for sure but it could mean we have to wait until Sunday to leave China. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Here are some more pictures we managed to get up loaded.

Ciao for now.

JP

Cool shots from the Great Wall of China

Yes, the chicken made the trip. Here's the proof ( notice the backpack)
Could this chicken be responsible for Alyana's pox?? Hmmmm ......

Sometimes I'm happy Aly hasn't taken to Daddy as much as Mommy!

Yes, there is even a roller coaster at the Great Wall

You take your life in your hands when you ride it but it was very very cold and the babes had had enough !

Miss Aly sporting her lovely new hat that Daddy bought her at the bottom of the Great Wall.

Mommy and Aly safe and sound in the comfort of their hotel room after the bus ride from %^&$!

Happy In The Hotel