Faith Makes Five

OK, So I'm not so good at this blogging thing.

2008-02-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

Hello from the far off reaches of Virginia!
I'm beginning to think I'll never be a daily, or even weekly, blogger. Still, I refuse to give up.
Much has happened in the last six months. Most importantly we are all healthy and happy.
Connor is in the ninth grade and doing well. He plays center on the school's basketball team. At 6'3"+ he's the tallest boy on the team. He and Chris continue to be active in Boy Scouts. Chris is the Scout master again, and Connor is now a Life Scout which means the next step is Eagle Scout.
Glen is in the third grade and, like Connor, has proven himself to be brilliant. My non-biased opinion, of course. Anyway, Glen is homeschooled again for this semester and will rejoin his class at Grace in the fall. He is almost five feet tall (4'11" to be exact) and taller than most of his peers. He has a new dog named Sushi....really, he calls her Sushi. She keeps him busy and he loves her very much.
Olivia has gotten so big. She turned two in December and is 35 inches tall. The pediatrician estimates her adult height will be about 5'10"! Like her brothers, she's a genius. She has a great vocabulary and keeps us on our toes. She's a happy well-adjusted little girl.
Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

Pigtails

2007-08-08T10:51:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited! I was able to put little, and I do mean little, pigtails in Olivia's hair. The guys didn't like them - said she looked like a martian - but I don't care. I'm thrilled that I can put pigtails in my daughter's hair!

What do you think? Too cute, right?!

So Much For Weekly Updates...

2007-08-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or does time just fly by these days?! Obviously I've not updated in the last two weeks. Sorry, Taylor.
I'm here now though so here goes....
The kids are well. Connor and Chris are preparing for Boy Scout Summer Camp. They'll spend next week in the Shenandoah Valley. Lucky ducks!!
Olivia, Glen and I will hang out here and get some work done. We'll also have some fun going to the pool and playing games. We may even have a bike ride or two.
Glen is ready for school to begin. He misses seeing his friends and he's looking forward to being a third-grader!!
Olivia has been active and sassy, as usual. She's constantly moving and "talking." Her newest word is, "Miiiiinne!" Said with a frown on her pretty little face. She is not shy about telling us what she wants. Fortunately she recovers quickly when she is told, "No!" ;-)
Chris' Mom, sisters, and step-dad visited us last month so I'm including some pics from their visit. We really enjoyed having them here. Maybe it can become a tradition. Hmmm.
Food for thought, Debbie. :-)

Can you belive it's been over four months?!

2007-07-15T17:09:00.000-04:00

That's right, it's been four months, two weeks, and six days since Olivia was first placed in our arms! Time has really flown by and Olivia has changed so much. She's grown bigger

and she has more hair now. Kim is loving the hair bows!

She's full of personality and she's actually quite strong-willed.
She is now a confident walker (and runner), she's eating almost anything placed on her highchair, and she's learning new words and communicating effectively most of the time.

She LOVES to squeal loudly. Glen will tell you that's not much fun for the rest of us. :-) She loves her brothers and the feeling is mutual. She's pretty attached to all of us and doesn't always feel comfortable with others holding her. She is, however, a social butterfly from a distance. She likes to wave and say, "HI!" to people, even if we don't know them.

I will make an effort to update this blog at least weekly. It seems some of you (Hi Taylor! ;-) enjoy looking at it and feel a little disappointed when there are no new pictures posted.

That's it for now. Enjoy the pictures

In Him,

The Buchanans

Just a Quick Update...

2007-03-23T11:50:00.000-04:00

Hello all. We are very busy and doing well at the Buchanan house. Olivia continues to adjust to her new family/life. Our main difficulty is sleeping. She wakes up several times a night and really dislikes taking a nap. She feels afraid and needs a little reassurance and then she goes back to sleep usually.

The boys adore her. I am often found de-escalating arguments over who should hold her or feed her. Strangely, they never fight over diaper duty...they leave that to Mom and Dad. :-)

My mom is in town this week. She was excited to get to met her granddaughter. Olivia has charmed her and they have become fast friends.

Mark and Kay, my brother and sister-in-law, will be arriving this evening. This is their first visit and we're excited for them to meet Olivia. I'm sure she will love Uncle Mark and Aunt Kay as much as Connor and Glen love them.

Chris has been on a couple of job interviews. Our plan is for him to get out of the Marine Corp in September but actually begin a new job in August. We know that God will open the appropriate doors and close the others. He has been so good to us and we know we can trust him with everything, including this. We'll share with you His plans for us as soon as He reveals them to us.

I'm including pictures of our three beautiful kids. Connor enjoyed holding Olivia while she slept. Glen was watching TV while wearing his Chinese outfit. The pic of Olivia and me was taken on the first day she went to church. The other pictures were taken while she was trying on some new clothes...little girl clothes are addictive!!

Take care and God Bless.

Olivia Walking

2007-03-14T23:14:00.001-04:00

I remember 3 weeks ago when she could barely walk the two feet between the beds in the hotel room. I guess all those laps in the hotel are paying off.

Mommy and Olivia enjoying some time

2007-03-14T20:04:00.000-04:00

Feeling human again

2007-03-12T05:50:00.000-04:00

Besides an inevitable awakening at 4:30 every morning, we're pretty much back to normal. Olivia is thriving here. She has a new best friend... Dakota (our dog). Lets just say the relationship is symbiotic and centers around meal times.

Two more Thursdays!

2007-03-07T09:18:00.000-05:00

We are SO excited to get home. We are a bit aprehensive of the trip though. Our travelling (bus, plane, and automobile) will start at 6AM on Thursday March 8th and end at around 8:30PM the same day. So in one way the flight is only 14.5 hours. Unfortunately, at about 8PM on Thursday (1/2 hour before we are supposed to arrive at our house), we will cross the international date line and it will become 8PM on Wednesday again! That's right. In all, from the time we leave the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China to the time we walk through the front door to our house in Quantico, it will take about 27.5 hours (subtract 11 for the time change)! Here is our itenerary in Eastern Standard Time:

Leave White Swan: 5PM Wed 7 March

Depart Hong Kong: 11:50 PM

Arrive San Fransisco: 11:33AM Thursday 8 March

Process through US Customs - Olivia becomes a U.S. Citizen

Depart San Fransisco: 2:00PM

Arrive Washington Dulles: 7:01 PM

Introduce Olivia to everyone who shows at the airport 7:15-7:45

Arrive home: 8:30-9:00PM

Go to bed: 9:01PM

We can't wait to see everyone.

For those who are already addicts, here is your Olivia fix.

Red Couch Photo

2007-03-06T03:52:00.000-05:00

Tickle Baby

2007-03-06T01:06:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful laugh.

Ham Sandwich

2007-03-05T20:23:00.000-05:00

Actually, it's BBQ pork... but it was obviously made by a ham.

Does This Look Like A Boy To You?!

2007-03-05T00:27:00.000-05:00

Normally I wouldn't be bothered by one person asking the sex of my baby but when 4 people refer to my girl as a boy it begins to get under my skin! Did I mention she was dressed in a shirt with flowers on it, jeans with flowers on them, and shoes with pink bows on them?! Just to make sure it didn't happen again, I tortured my child by putting a head band on her the next time we went out. That will show them!! ;-)

Two BIG steps today

2007-03-04T07:36:00.000-05:00

First big step... Olivia is crawling a bit around the room. I have a bit of video, but no pictures. Sorry. The second big step is the stroller. Boy do our backs feel better. She hated it at first... OK, so she still hates it, but as long as the wheels are turning, there's little complaint. If she seems angry, she is.

I added the gotcha video to a private group at youtube. Here is the link (http://www.youtube.com/group/FM5). Once you register and log on, you can request to join this group. If there any response, I'll post more.

Shop until the baby drops

2007-03-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

'nuff said.

Into the White Swan

2007-03-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

We have only a few days left here in China. Today we made our journey to Guangzhou. THE most important thing that happened today is picured here. That's Olivia... sitting on the floor... with nobody touching her... AND SHE IS NOT CRYING!!! Isn't that great! (the answer is yes in case you're not sure.

"Ok, but how was the trip?" you ask. Well, I'm glad you asked.

Here is Kim entertaining Olivia at the airport in Changsha.

After that photo, a bunch of stuff happened that I'd rather not remember, much less talk about. Let's just say if I knew she would be OK, the little one would take the plane ride in the cargo area.

Then we got to Guangzhou. This is Olivia saying "Get that camera out my face" (ala Nacho Libre).

This is Olivia playing with Kim's hair on the way to the hotel.

This is the hotel.

This is the view from our room in the daytime.

This is our view at night. (No that's not the same boat... well, it could be, but it moved. All the boats move here... except the big red one that you can't see in these pictures.)

Goodbye Changsha - Hello Guangzhou

2007-03-02T07:39:00.000-05:00

Much has changed in the last 24 hours. Olivia is becoming more confident and the grins just keep coming. Olivia likes to tease Kim by biting her own toes which always draws a reaction worth a giggle or two (Yes that is food on her chin. I was feeding her... no, not her toes).

Last night I (Chris) was treated to dinner at a local restaurant by the parents of a foreign exchange student who is being hosted by Lisa. Thanks, Doris. Your parents were wonderful hosts, and I really enjoyed the "Long Happiness" restaurant where we ate. They were very thoughtful and ordered me a steak just in case I didn't like the local cuisine, but there was no need. I loved everything. We had cold boiled chicken, smoked fish, octopus soup, fish head porridge, chilli pepper salad, baked fish, meat dumplings, and many other things I don't really know what they were, but they were all delicious. Kim really wanted to go, but Olivia's table manners are not really very good yet, and it was close to bedtime before we left. She was especially sad to have missed it when I told her what delicious food we ate.

Today we went to the museum in Changsha where they have artifacts from several tombs that were dug here thousands of years ago. This is what Olivia looked like for most of the time at the museum: This is the lady that they found in the tomb as she looked over 2000 years ago:

This is her now (makes me think of a Budweiser commercial from a few superbowls back):

This is her stomach:

There is more of her to view upon request.

Tomorrow morning we leave Changsha for Guangzhou where we will spend the next 5 days. Guangzhou is the last stop in China before we return home. I am interested to see how Olivia does on the short plane ride, and with the change in scenery. Speaking of my favorite daughter... here are some more pictures...

Lastly... post a response, please. It is great to read words of encouragement and to feel like our freinds and family are with us on this journey.

Thanks,

Chris, Kim, and Olivia

This One's For Taylor

2007-03-01T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hi Taylor. Here is a photo of Olivia wearing the beautiful scarf you knitted for her. She loves it. I think the long strings tickle her and make her laugh. :-)

We miss you all. Tell your parents, sisters, and brother we said, "Hi!"

Love,

Mr. Chris, Mrs. Kim and Olivia Faith

Embroidery?

2007-03-01T05:50:00.000-05:00

Hello from Changsha. We hope you are all well. We are fine here and seem to be getting better each day!
Today we went to the Hunan Embroidery Factory. Hunan Province is famous for it's embroidery, especially it's "magic" two-sided embroidery. The picture of the piece with a woman in it is an example of the art with a different scene on each side. They also have pieces with the same scene on each side which are done concurrently.
We were able to see the women working on different pieces during our tour. They work in a room without the lights on so they will not effect the choice of thread color. This way the embroidery is more realistic looking.
It's hard to imagine, but some of the pieces take years to complete. Our CCAI rep, Daphne, told us of one piece that took 6 people four years to complete!
An example of a large piece is the life-size Mao that Olivia and I are standing in front of. The picture of the man in a chair is not a photograph, it's another piece of embroidery work! It was really amazing to see the artwork which obviously required tremendous skill and patience. I've never scene anything like it.
Olivia's motor skills are improving daily. She's just about mastered the pincher grasp and she took four steps on her own today! She will even cruise a foot or so away from us. Doesn't sound like much but, believe me, it's progress.
Tomorrow is our last full day here in Changsha. We will receive the adoption decree and Olivia's (Chinese) passport and then it's off to Guangzhou Saturday afternoon. We're all excited to get to Guangzhou because we should have more flexibility there.
We love and miss you all.
In Him,
Chris, Kim, and Olivia

Connor and Glen,
Only six days (China time) until we get home. Can't wait to see you!
We love you more infinity!

Another Day In Changsha

2007-02-28T04:19:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday evening here and we've had another day of bonding. We woke up this morning and went downstairs for breakfast. There we visited with Kim and Blake, and Susan and Shawn. We also tried to feed Miss Olivia but she was more interested in making messes than eating. She had a good time, though.

After breakfast we took a short bus ride to a local department store. It was and interesting trip. The local way of shopping is a bit different than we are used to. If you want to purchase something you tell the sales person who writes up a ticket. You then take that ticket to a cash register and pay. They mark the ticket as paid and then you can go back to the same sales counter and trade the ticket for your merchandise. You certainly get a work out.

We did pick up some shoes and clothes for Olivia but nothing else.

When we left the store it was lunch time so we brought McDonald's back to the hotel with us. Olivia doesn't share Glen's love of McDonald's. Whew!

Olivia had her first play date this afternoon. We, the Peters, and the Newsoms took our girls to the hotel play room. It was enjoyable but the girls didn't really interact.

We've spent the rest of the day just hanging out in the room. We're looking forward to the trip the a local embroidery factory tomorrow.

Olivia is well. She's showing her personality more and more. She's very vocal and active. She seems to continue to bond with us and has shown few signs of grieving. Right now she's tired and calling, "Mama mama mama." Music to my ears!

Take care and God bless!

Chris, Kim and Olivia

P.S.

Connor and Glen

Only 8 more days until we'll be home with your mei mei! We love and miss you!

Mom, Dad, and Olivia

It's Official!!

2007-02-26T22:19:00.001-05:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!
She's legally our girl! We went back to the registration office this morning, answered a few questions, and the adoption was finalized.
We also had the opportunity to speak to the director of Olivia's orphanage. She seemed like a kind woman who genuinely cares for Olivia. She asked that we let her know what we learn from the doctors. She also gave us the clothes that Olivia was wearing when she was found. That was such a nice surprise. Now we have the clothes and the note left by her biological mother so one day Olivia will have something from her.
We are all tired today. Although we went to bed before 7:30 last night, Olivia reminded us that babies don't always sleep well. She was up four times. I think she was waking up and realizing that she was in a new place and felt a bit scared.
God is so faithful and has answered all of our prayers. She seems mostly at ease and is bonding to both of us equally. She's healthy, except for a "throat infection," which is being treated with antibiotics. Plus, it's obvious she can hear some things but we haven't figured out which tones, volumes, etc. to use if we want her to hear us. We know this, too, is in God's hands and He makes no mistakes so whatever the outcome it will be perfect.
We miss you all and we're excited to introduce Olivia to all of her extended family!!

Kim

Bonding and bedtime

2007-02-26T04:57:00.000-05:00

Kim and Olivia have already found common ground... potatoe chips. The international language of love. They took turns feeding each other and cuddling. What a wonderful day.

It's 6PM here, and Olivia just went down to sleep. She started her day very early to get to us, and has been fighting sleep. It seems she needs to be touched to feel secure... which, at this point, is fine with us. :)

Gotcha!!

2007-02-26T00:33:00.000-05:00

This is the first picture we took. Olivia is looking over Kim's shoulder at her nanny.

A shout out to the homies. 'Sup Homies!

Just happy to be here. She is a happy baby from the start.

She does not want to be put down. It doesn't seem like she can hear anything but the loudest noises. Her temperment is very mild.

Welcome to Changsha

2007-02-25T08:43:00.000-05:00

Hi. We are in Changsha, which is the capitol of Hunan province. We were met at the airport by CCAI Reps Daphne and Joanna. They seem very helpful and will remain available to us for the duration of our stay in Changsha.

When we walked into the hotel room we found a crib and baby formula waiting for us. We're so close now...less than 14 hours.

This evening we had fun with some new friends, Susan and Shawn, and Kim and Blake. We went to dinner in the hotel but enjoyed the company more than the meal. We all agreed on Pizza Hut for dinner tomorrow night. :-)

Tomorrow morning we will fill out paperwork for the adoption, then we will be shown how to make Chinese baby formula, and then it's off to the registration office to pick up the babies. We will be back at the hotel by noon and then make a quick trip to a department store for any baby necessities. In the afternoon, CCAI's contracted doctor will be here to check out each baby. Then, finally, we'll just spend some time getting to know our daughter!

We'll post pics tomorrow after "Gotcha"!!!

In Him,
Chris and Kim

Oh...the last photo is the view out the window of our room!

Wait, wait, wait!!!

2007-02-24T23:54:00.000-05:00

Here we are in the Hong Kong airport waiting. You'd think there was no end to it. Our plane was delayed over an hour. Flight CZ-3032 (as you can see). The good news is that there is only one more night that Olivia will be in an orphanage. Don't tell her though... it's a suprise.

Hong Kong Day Two

2007-02-24T03:15:00.000-05:00

Hello from Hong Kong!
We had a lovely morning touring Hong Kong. We went to Victoria's Peak, which overlooks Hong Kong and the harbor. It was impressive, however the ride up there was sometimes uncomftable - narrow winding road and big buses, trucks, etc.!
Then we were off to Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, which is a harbor that provides shelter to the fishing boats during typhoons. We took a tour in a San Pan, a little fishing boat. Our guides told us that some people spend their entire lives on these boats, never stepping onto land.
After our boat ride we were taken to a jewelry factory. We were able to watch some pieces being made before being lead into the showrooms.
From there we went to Stanley Market. It's a semi open air market with many little gift shops.
Then came what Chris would say was the best part of the tour - a dim sum lunch. Being a little less daring than Chris, I probably didn't enjoy it as much as him but it was good.
Now we are fighting the desire to nap until this evening. At 8:00 we will walk down by the harbor and watch the laser show. Our guide says it's the largest in the world. We'll let you know how it is.

Connor and Glen,
We miss you both! Can't wait to tell you all about what we've seen and done.
Have fun and be safe. We love you!! INFINITY!
Tomorrow morning we fly to Changsha. Only 36 hours until Olivia time! Stay tuned. :-)

We made it!

2007-02-23T18:01:00.000-05:00

After the grueling flight in undersized seats, we are finally here and ready to post after a good nights sleep.

The photos are of the lobby of our hotel (decorated for Chinese New Year) and our room.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2007-02-18T19:26:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Boar has begun. We should catch some of the festivities while we're in China.
We arrive in China February 23. On Feb. 26th we will hold our daughter for the first time!!!
After that we have bonding time, various appointments, site-seeing, and shopping until March 8th, when we return home with Olivia Faith!
Check back because we will post photos while we're in China.

The Red Thread

2007-02-11T18:52:00.000-05:00

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

-Ancient Chinese Proverb

2007-02-11T18:49:00.000-05:00

Picures From November

2007-02-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

I'll now try to attach the most recent photos of Olivia. They were taken in early November. She's about 10.5-months-old in these.

Here goes....

YES! Success!!!

Travel Dates

2007-02-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

We have our travel information to and from Hong Kong. We will leave here February 22, arriving in Hong Kong Feb. 23. We don't yet have details of our in-China travel but we know we will leave Hong Kong on March 8th, arriving home the same day.
Our agency did tell us that we will meet Olivia Faith on Monday Feb. 26! We are soo excited!
I'll post more information as we get it.

God Bless.

Trying This Out

2007-02-03T14:22:00.000-05:00

We are creating this blog so that friends and family can share with us our exciting journey to Olivia Faith.
Olivia was born December 19, 2005 in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China. The picture of her in the red sweater is the same one I viewed the first time I saw her face. What a beauty!