Blessing From The Father

Isaiah 30:18

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.

This is our families heart song right now. We definitely know that God's hand has been in this adoption from the beginning, but never did I expect God to bless us in the way he has with Miss Kaylee. Friends and family have said to us what a blessed little girl she is. I think it is the other way around. God is using this little girl to bless us all in ways we cannot even fully see yet.

Yes, it has been an adjustment to four kids. The first week was rough getting our body clocks (especially for Kaylee) adjusting from China time to Florida time. Yes, it is hilarious at times (I think) discussing middle school issues followed by changing a diaper and stepping on cherios all the time. God surely has a sense of humor. As we finish out our second week of being home, we can sense Kaylee feeling more comfortable and see the boys just falling in love with their new sister. More than once watching the boys with Kaylee has brought tears to my eyes.

We also have felt so blessed by all of you, our friends and family. Thank you for supporting us in this transition time. Whether it was my mom who had my favorite meal for me when we returned to the friends and family who joined the celebration at the airport. From phone calls to meals and your prayers and gifts from far away. We really appreciate it and cannot wait for everyone to finally meet Kaylee. Iv'e always heard it takes a village to raise a family and we believe that is true. You all have been our village, God's hands and feet serving us in our time of need. We thank God for putting you in our lives.

On to fun pictures and videos of the first two weeks at home with Miss Kaylee!

Kaylee's New Trick Video

Big Brother Hayden meeting Kaylee at the airport.

Grandpa and Nana meeting Kaylee at the airport.

The Baroni Bunch reunited...

Birthday girls...Kaylee with Stacie and Hadi with Jill. Hadi was adopted from Ethiopia by our dear friends Scott and Jill. The girls' birthdays are one week apart.

Kaylee with her three big brothers and Hadi with her three big brothers

Mmmm...I sure do like my first birthday cake.

Kaylee having fun taking apart the diaper cake made by Grandma.

Grandma and Kaylee...

Brandon hopped in the crib with Kaylee...

Big Brother Colton having a special moment with his sister.

All dressed up for church with Hayden...

Kaylee with Aunt Whitney and cousin Campbell

Kaylee with her three cousins...Emerson, Macie, and Campbell

Sights of Guangzhou, China

Our trip to China is coming to a close and wanted you to see a few sights of our final destination,, Guangzhou, China. It is a very Westernized city with a lot of influence from Hong Kong (based upon proximity of about 75 miles away.) Guangzhou is the third largest city in China with an approximate population of only 13 million people. The population of the province that Guangzhou is in is about 40 million people...all those people fit in an area about the size of the state of New Jersey...

A few pictures and short video clip for your entertainment:

Is is a restaurant or pet store video clip?

Alley Sigthseeing part 1

Alley Sightseeing part 2

The entire travel group for one final picture together.

One of the first areas that we visited was Shamian Island...it's not really an island per say, but a very nice section of town...about a 5 block by 5 block area. As Stacie and I walked through this area, it looks very much like Charleston, SC...it also is a little bit of a tourist trap...lots of little stores appealing to all the international families adopting from China.

One of the few churches that we have seen in China. This church is on Shamian Island.

Stacie and Kaylee down one of the side streets on Shamian Island.

What place would not be appropriate without a Starbuck's coffee.

Big Southern looking trees...

Inside the famous White Swan hotel on Shamian Island. We were told this is where foreign dignitaries, like the US president, stay when traveling to the Southern part of China. In years past, this is also where most families that were adopting would stay. However, the hotel is undergoing renovations, so we ended staying at the China Hotel (Marriott)...very nice hotel as well.

Another interesting tree on Shamian Island...you can notice the wonderful greenery that was immaculately kept.

Entrance into a park where they were holding the Chinese Latern festival. This festival culminates the end of the Chinese New Year. It is believed the latern festival is a celebration to cultivate relationships between people, families, nature, and higher beings that were responsible for bringing the light back each year. The day we went to the park was not the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration...that occurred on February 6, 2012. The park was pretty packed the day we went...we were told on the last day of the festival it would so packed it would be a little dangerous for us especially with Kaylee...we listened. Because this is the year of the Dragon, it was extra colorful.

Inside the park with all the colorful decorations.

One final stroll around Guangzhou revealed a few more interesting pictures. The epitome of air drying your clothes. I can't imagine doing this at our house with the amount of clothes we go through...there would not be enough space to hang everything.

A final picture to conclude this post...hmm, I sure am hungry...NOT...this was the local butcher just around the corner from our hotel...I like the display technique....iron folding table leveled by a few bricks on the front end...making the most of what you have. Oh yea, one thing this picture doesn't show are the chickens in the background waiting in line to be next.

Spicy Girl

Just wanted to let everyone see the incredible transformation Kaylee is going through. Her true outgoing personality is really showing only after one week.

Our guide in Nanchang said all the girls from that area are "Spicy"...she was somewhat joking with us because of how spicy the food is in the Jiangxi province. She told us to stay away from the local food because our American stomachs could not handle the spicy flavor...we gladly listened to her.

So, I think Kaylee is a true Nanchang Spicy girl...enjoy the video.

Kaylee Spicy Girl Video Clip

Kaylee in her Spicy girl outfit...

Nanchang Rice Village

Hello everyone...

Well it has been a few days since we made a post...we have been pretty busy running around Guangzhou finalizing all of our adoption paperwork with the US Consulate. As of yesterday, we are done with the paperwork and just waiting for Kaylee's US Visa...should get today (Tuesday China time) and then will begin our trek back to the US on Wednesday...yea!

Stacie and I have had an incredible journey and have had an opportunity to see what makes China so diverse and unique. While we were in Nanchang (the capital of the Jiangxi province where Kaylee was born) our guide took us to see a rice village. I had no idea what a real rice village looked liked...from books that I have read and movies that I have seen, my expectations were these vast areas of green lands very distinctively marked into squares with ladies in hats tending the fields. Boy were we mistaken...that is nothing like what I had expected. In China, there is definitely a class system. The rice village farmers are considered almost at the bottom of China lower class. What was also more surprising was the location of the rice village...in the middle of city in a very poverty stricken area.

As you will see from the videos and pictures, it was heart wrenching seeing how some of these Chinese farmers live...but the funny thing, they seemed so content. Wow, it was good for Stacie and I to see what we saw...It reminds me of scripture in 1 Timothy 6:6-7 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it."

Nanchang Rice Village Clip Part One

Nanchang Rice Village Clip Part Two

The local butcher...something tells me I would want to be very nice to this lady...notice the rather large knife she has in her right hand.

The village tap water area that is free for public use. This water is used for cleaning pots and pans. The water is not sanitary to drink.

This field is for vegetables and rice patties. The mounds are where the village people bury loved ones. Yes, it is right next to the growing food.

The village toilet.

The inside of the public toilet. This is called a squatty potty. We have seen a vast array of squatty potties while we have traveled around China...some nice, some not so nice. This one was on the not so nice end of the spectrum. We are sure this one worked but opted not to try it.

Happy Birthday Kaylee

Hello Everyone...hope this posting finds you well.

We celebrated Kaylee's first birthday yesterday. One year ago on February 2, 2011 Feng, Qiu Kang (Kaylee) was born into this world. She was dropped of at the Fengcheng Hospital the same day and entered foster care on February 3, 2011. Stacie and I are so happy to call her our own and have the awesome opportunity to celebrate her first birthday...once again, we are amazed at God's incredible timing...we were matched on Stacie's birthday and we are with her to celebrate her first birthday.

Even though we could not be at home to celebrate her birthday with her brothers, it was a special day. We were able to include the other two families who also adopted and their daughters in our little celebration. It wasn't much, but we were able to sing Happy Birthday, have a little bit of birthday cake, and enjoy the wonderful company of the other two families.

As each day unfolds, we are amazed at the transformation we are seeing before our very eyes with the bonding between daughter and mom and dad. And yes, we are getting just a little bit more sleep each nite...that's a good thing.

Enjoy the pictures and video clip below:

Short video clip of Kaylee's cute personality

Mom and daughter...

Kaylee's birthday buddies...Mimi and Zoe...Kaylee is in the middle.

Kaylee's first birthday cake given to us compliments of the hotel.