Home Sweet Home...

Well, we're home! Although we've now been home exactly one month, time has gone by very quickly (sorry we haven't had a chance to post before now...). The flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo (about 4 hours) was uneventful, except for the fact that it was delayed for several hours and forced us to take a different flight out of Tokyo. However, everything worked out well and we arrived in Minneapolis just a few minutes after we were originally expected. (Our Northwest flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis was 12 hours long, but went really well. Sarah didn't sleep much, but we had a awesome flight attendant, Judy, who took great care of us...)

We were greeted by lots of family and friends at the airport--my parents, Dave's parents, my Aunt Mary & Uncle Jim from Milwaukee, Dave's cousin Beth, friends Stephanie Pierson, Jim & Lisa Lyons (who are waiting for their sweet China baby!), Jeff & Ulrika Petersen and their kids Alexander, Nickolas, Lukas and Julia (from China!), and Mark Loftus with son Alex. It was so great to see everyone--we felt so loved to have so many people there to greet us! Sarah was interested in everyone. She practiced her walking and smiled a bit--really well-behaved, considering we had just gotten off of a 12 hour plane ride!

When we got home, we had more friends waiting for us--Penny Loftus and son Josh, as well as our neighbors Ken, Beverly, Kyle, Bryce and Kathryn Kossack. It was a bit wild, but lots of fun. We shared stories and everyone got to know Sarah a little bit. All our friends left that afternoon, Mary and Jim left Sunday morning, Dave's parents left on Sunday after breakfast and my parents left on Monday morning.

Then reality hit.... We were so tired! Trying to adjust to a 14 hour time difference is much harder than it seems--especially when your two kids (Ethan and Grace) missed you so much and want to spend time with you. Add to that a little baby who only wants to sleep on your chest (not at night...), and things get a bit hairy! That first week was really rough. We were all so tired and not sleeping in the appropriate beds... Dave and I were taking turns sleeping with Sarah in the bed in her room and barely had time to talk to each other. Needless to say, tensions were a bit high!

Then Dave took matters into his own hands and decided to "train" Sarah to sleep in her crib. He parked a mattress in the office across from Sarah's room and proceeded to encourage her to sleep--and endured a bit of crying in the process. After about three nights of this, it worked! Sarah began sleeping about 12 hours a night in her own crib. We're now sleeping in our own bed, and moods are much brighter! She takes good naps in the afternoon and seems very healthy.

As you can see, Ethan and Grace adore their baby sister--there are fights over who gets to take a bath with her and who gets to pick out her clothes... She seems to adore them right back, and especially loves to watch Ethan. He makes her laugh like no one else.

A week after we got home, Grace had her belated Birthday party at Wacky Bear. The young woman in charge of our party was named "Sarah," has parents from southern China and spoke some Cantonese! We had to take a picture of her with our Sarah.

Our Winter Baby... I wonder if the adjustment from mid-80's in Guangzhou to mid-20's (and lower!) in Minnesota has been hard for Sarah...

One of my favorite picture...Sarah with Grammy (my mother).

Sarah being fed by proud big sister, Grace.

All in all, things are going even better than we expected. Who knew that we would love another child as much as we love Sarah? Who knew that our family would feel complete with her here? Who knew that the time spent waiting (almost two years!) was just right, even though it seemed too long at the time? God knew all these things... It amazes me to think that God planned Sarah to be in our family before time even began. He knew the road we (and she) would take to lead us to each other. She was created, not in the "usual" way in my womb, but in my heart. She started as a thought ("I've thought a bit about adoption...") to a possibility ("Will this process ever be complete? Will we ever meet this girl we've prayed so hard for?") to a reality... She is absolutely adorable, sweet and perfect. Perfect for us. Had we pushed the idea of adoption out of our heads, or talked ourselves out of it, we would be missing out on this amazing love we have for a third child. Missed out on seeing Ethan and Grace with a baby sister. We would have missed out on seeing our family and friends fall in love with Sarah. I am SO GLAD we answered the call God placed on our hearts. I wonder how many other gifts he wants to give us that we just ignore or push aside, thinking they might be too much work or they aren't in our "plans?" I pray that I can be more aware of the gifts God is giving me--and more thankful...

This experience has been awesome... And we thank each and every one of you for experiencing it with us.

Love, Rebecca

Time to come home....finally and forever!

Sarah is packed up and ready to roll!














Sarah all of a sudden started doing this the other day. With a little help she does great somersaults.

We come home changed. We are now a family of five. We have enjoyed our time in China. We have made new friends, come to appreciate where Sarah was born and most importantly now have Sarah in our family. It is the first chapter in the life of Sarah Lian Cronk that is now complete. There is no doubt that she was born to be our daughter. We can not wait to get home to Ethan and Grace. We know that they will love their mei-mei (little sister).

We are thankful for all the prayers, comments on the blog and emails. You all have blessed us more than you know. We are thankful to the people who stepped in to care for Ethan and Grace while we were gone (Dave's Aunt Mary, Dave's Cousin Beth and her husband Ben, Rebecca's Mom and Dad all the way from North Carolina, and Dave's Mom and Dad. Thanks so much! We know the kids had a wonderful time with you.

Final day for most......

Today was the day we went to the US Consulate in Guangzhou. We got the sealed brown envelope. It has all of Sarah's key documents for entry into the USA! We went through a swearing in ceremony at the consulate as well. Sarah will be a full US citizen once we clear immigration in Minneapolis! We have had an amazing trip and have made friends who will be dear to us for a lifetime. God has once again amazed us in all that he as done. He truly knows all of our needs and surpassed our needs by far through this process. We are exccited to bring our Sarah home! We hope to see some of you at the airport in MSP. We arrive from Tokyo on Saturday the 17th at 11:05am. We leave Guangzhou at 8:30am on Saturday the 17th......




This is our group of people who adopted from Guangdong. The picture was taken in our hotel lobby.










We had a party to celebrate the girls first birthday.
















Sarah would like people back home to know that she can not be pushed around. In fact, since she was the oldest in the crowd she tended to use Orphanage rules.....biggest wins!










Last Supper for now. Sarah and Olivia Gerleman at dinner tonight. We were truly blessed to find the Gerlemans in our group. The girls and parents had a great time together.

Picture for Sarah's fans!!

Sitting with "dada" in the park.














We were told Chinese babies need to be dressed warmly. Sarah reminded us that she is a Minnesota girl and requested that her Mama remove the hat in the 70 degree weather.






Close up of Sarah diving off the bed at Rebecca!














Another attempt to dive off the bed.
















See, we do look alike.

Dinner and a bath!

We had a great evening. We had dinner with our friends Scott and Christina Dowden and their cute little girl Brynn. We ate at a wonderful Italian Restaurant.















Christina, Brynn, and Scott




















After dinner, it was time for Sarah to get clean. She was having fun playing in the water!

Feb 13th--Gracie's Fifth Birthday!

First of all, we wish our beautiful daughter Grace a very happy birthday!!We can't wait for the party at Wacky Bear!















Here is Sarah actually deviating from her standard commando crawl. She tends to favor the commando crawl as Ethan did.




















Lots of fancy decorations have gone up for Chinese New Year. This arrangement is in the lobby of our hotel.















We went to a Teahouse today. This is a place where you can sample and buy teas. My (dave's) favorties were Jasmine and Rose.














Sarah and her Mama in the Teahouse. Sarah is in the carrier....one of her favorite places to be!















Rebecca and Jenny Gerleman with their two sleeping beauties outside the Teahouse.

How cute are they???

Caroline, Marisa, Kylie, Kristin, Olivia, Sarah, and Lottie

Sarah and her girlfriends from the Lianjiang SWI. This picture was taken on the famous red couch at the White Swan Hotel. They are all so adorable and are really coming to life now.

Rebecca and Sarah outside the clinic where Sarah had her medical check-up.
















Everything seems to be new and exciting to Sarah. Look how she is examining this flower petal.














Sarah in her brand new dress.

























Mama and her brown eyed girl.






Time continues to fly. We get more and more excited at thought of getting home to Ethan and Grace. We can't wait to see them and give them lots of hugs and kisses. We also know that Sarah can't wait to play with them. Sarah continues to learn new tricks every day. Not only can she do raspberries but she can also curl her tongue. One of our friends here has said that she is "a girl of many faces". It is so true. She has a fun personality and will fit in well with all of us at home.

Today was a day for the medical exam. Sarah went through quickly and then we spent the day on Shamian Island shopping and seeing the sites. Tomorrow we go to a teahouse. It should be a lot of fun.