Waiting for Sarah: "Look after orphans and widows." James 1:27

Home Sweet Home...

2007-03-18T21:28:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-16T04:46:00.000-06:00

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......

2007-02-15T07:24:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-02-14T08:30:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-13T07:44:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-13T02:36:00.000-06:00

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???

2007-02-12T06:31:00.000-06:00

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.

Day of rest and relaxation....walking around Guangzhou

2007-02-10T07:35:00.000-06:00

Sarah and Olivia really seem to like being together. They were not in the same room and we have no pictures of them together from the orphanage but they seem to know eachother. We also have been told a couple times that they look a bit alike. Sarah wants everyone to know that SHE is MUCH older (6 weeks!)

Sarah can nap literally anywhere. Whether it is on her mom or in her stroller (here), she is a good sleeper. Dave is having fun with the number of people here who have told him that Sarah looks like him. This has happened a couple times with Chinese people here.

A little more on the cuisine. We went to a market called Qing Ping near Shaiman Island. This picture shows dried snake.

Here are some live scorpions. They were being picked up with chop sticks!

This is a pile of bags of turtles. This whole street was filled with turtles of all sizes. You see a lot of dishes on menus with turtle as the main ingredient.

We are just amazed at how God's hand is clearly in this adoption. From Sarah's personality to her looks, she is a Cronk and was born to be a Cronk. She fills a void that existed in our family and we are so blessed to call her our daughter. We can't wait to get her home to her Ge-Ge (big brother), Ethan and her Jie-Jie (big sister), Grace. We know they will all get along well.

Sarah's First Visit to a Park

2007-02-09T07:21:00.000-06:00

Today was a down day, with no appointments scheduled. Instead, the whole travel group visited a beautiful park in Guangzhou. The Chinese really do things up when they decorate--lots of red and gold. I think things are "extra" fancy now because Chinese New year is coming up soon, on the 17th of February. This next year is the year of the "golden pig," which is considered extra lucky. It seems that a lot of people plan their weddings and births for this year. We have seen a lot of fancy decorations and many people are shopping to prepare for parties.

Sarah had a great time at the park--she seems to have a great time whenever we're outside. I wonder how she's going to like the cold Minnesota weather after being used to the warm weather of Guangzhou (it was 87 today!)?

There were a lot of sculptures made out of bushes at the park--here is one I thought Ethan and Grace would especially like. It's a mama penguin feeding her baby! It reminded me of March of the Penguins.

Look at this sweet little girl! Sarah has become quite attached to me...she cries when I leave the room and reaches for me. I have to say, I've become quite attached to her too...

What a happy baby!

This whole experience has been way "more" than I ever expected or imagined. More emotional, more overwhelming, more fun, more impactful... I knew that it meant a lot to me, but I had no idea how much. When they placed Sarah in my arms, I cried such ugly tears! This baby I had been planning for (filling out countless papers, talking about, praying for, decorating for...) for over two years was finally "real." I couldn't believe it! I knew I would love her, but I just didn't know how much and how fast. The experience of adopting versus giving birth is so different, yet so similar. We had to work much harder for this "birth" than our first two--but the result is the same. A baby who needs us to protect her, love her and care for her. And parents who would do anything for her... She has completely captured our hearts... I can't wait to get home and have her meet her big brother and sister. They are going to be just as in love as we are!

Thank you so much for all your comments and e-mails. It makes us feel like you all are on this trip with us. We love each and every one of you and we can't wait show Sarah off!

Love,
Rebecca

Sightseeing in Guangzhou

2007-02-08T08:28:00.000-06:00

Rebecca and Sarah with Bob, Jenny and Olivia Gerleman outside the Subway station.

Bob and I ate sugar cane from a street vendor. It was actually really good.

Sarah and Olivia on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel.

Bob thought he saw a crosswalk...wrong! He and Olivia got stuck in the middle of the rode much to Jenny's dismay.

These are the nuts that the bike-roaster sells. These are drying in the sun. There were thousands!

Merchants in Guangzhou

2007-02-08T08:15:00.000-06:00

This man was delivering rice somewhere.....on his bike.

Who doesn't have a burner built into their bike so you can roast nuts for sale??

The man under the tree sold Bob and I our sugar cane.

No idea what this guy was hauling.....but look at the load and yes that is a bike!

More of sweet Sarah!

2007-02-07T07:46:00.000-06:00

This is actually Olivia! She is the daughter of Bob and Jenny Gerleman. She and Sarah enjoy getting together to play.

This is a normal face for our little girl. She is really showing off her great personality. Recognize that smile from her referral photos?

Sarah has, as they say here, seven "pieces" of teeth. She will have nothing to do with solid food yet. That is as close as we have gotten.

Another great face. Sarah is sweet and very affectionate.

We feel so truly blessed to be here with Sarah. God has richly blessed us again. We were rewarded with two wonderful kids in Ethan and Grace and now they have a little sister who will fit right in with them. We are enjoying getting to know the other people who have adopted as well. I am amazed at how good all these little girls are. They have been with us for a little over 48 hours and are all emerging with fabulous personalities. We can not wait to get home to share Sarah with you all.

A few things that we ate for dinner: Before and After

2007-02-07T07:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, we ate snake! we picked out a big fat Python!

Here is what the snake looked like cooked. Tasted like Chicken.

Here is the lobster we had......

it tasted like lobster.

Here is the crocodile we ate.

What we did not have for dinner on Wednesday

2007-02-07T07:16:00.000-06:00

Our guide, Amy, took us to a Cantonese restaurant tonight. Cantonese believe in eating FRESH food.....meaning you pick it ot while it is still alive! Here are a few things that we did not eat.

Grubs....live and kicking

Water bugs that were swimming!

Turtles!

Eeels

Still sleeping sound but....

2007-02-06T16:50:00.000-06:00

but Sarah wound up needing to be in the middle and not in the crib.

Tuesday Evening

2007-02-06T06:13:00.000-06:00

We went over to have dinner with our new friends Bob and Jenny Gerleman and their daughter Olivia. Upon seeing Olivia, we saw a new Sarah. She had a great time playing with Olivia and was a real clown for us all. Sarah can now stick out her tongue and make the sound her Dad taught her! She was also almost doing back-flips out of Rebecca's arms. She will no doubt ride roller coasters with Ethan and Rebecca.

We have really enjoyed getting to know the Gerleman's and appreciated the time we spent tonite with them and our girls. We look forward to a friendship where we see our girls grow.

Sarah doing flips off her Mom's lap!

Sarah flying in the air!

Sarah is a little concerned as Olivia swiped her ball!

Day two-Lifetime Journey continues!

2007-02-06T01:21:00.000-06:00

Rebecca gave Sarah her first bath with us in the kitchen sink.
She was really good for it and actually seemed to enjoy it. The other amazing thing was that Sarah went to bed last night at 7:30pm and we had to wake her up at 8:30am!! She is a very sound sleeper.

Our little darlin's ticklish spot has been found! She was giggling as Daddy tickled her. It definitely does the heart well to hear her laugh and see her smile.

More of our girl with Dave. The other photo is of Sarah with one of her nannies. We to do our two interviews today and they were there. We had a lot of fun playing with the nannies and seeing how they interacted with Sarah. Sarah is skilled in the walker!

Sarah and her beautiful Mama. During our interviews, one of the officials mentioned that Sarah looks like Dave. This the third person now to mention that on this trip. My reply was that they had done a great job matching her to our family. We are seeing Sarah break out of her shock a little. She is still a bit quiet and cautious but is truly curious and sweet. She likes to fall asleep on Rebecca and loves to ride in her new stroller. (Yes we broke down and got an umbrella stroller). Although, the first thing to really make her smile was the time she got into the carrier that Dave's friend Anne Longworth loaned to us. She loves being close to her Mama just like her big sister Grace. We have more official meetings tomorrow in the afternoon. The place we are staying in here is actually very nice. We are in an apartment that is bigger than our first house. We are able to stretch out and relax and play. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers. We are greatful for the emails and comments here on our blog. We have felt your prayers and know they have made a huge difference in our adding Sarah to our family.

More Gotcha photos!!

2007-02-05T05:28:00.000-06:00

Rebecca still has the "baby touch" as she rocked little Sarah to sleep. The other pictures are of Rebecca and Sarah in our room eating and of Amy (our Guide on the left) and the people from the Orphanage.

GOTCHA!

2007-02-05T04:38:00.000-06:00

We are pleased to introduce our beautiful little girl. Sarah was united with us at 4pm in Guangzhou, China. She is now 30", has seven teeth, and weighs 20lbs. She has been doing well but seems to be a bit overwhelmed. No real crying, she is just taking in everything and only Daddy has gotten a smile.......

Only One More Day...

2007-02-04T05:34:00.000-06:00

Today was another busy day in and just outside of Beijing. Quick fact: Did you know that Beijing, the capital city of China, is only the third largest city in China? It has 13 million people, and 9 million bicycles! There are over 1.3 billion people in China today...

Today we started out at 9:15, with a church service. It is a private, Christian church that operates out of the 21st Century Hotel in downtown Beijing. Only foreign Passport holders can attend the services, thus our guides had to stay in the bus. It was a bilingual service, with the pastor speaking Chinese and an English-speaking interpreter. It was one of the most moving Church services I have ever attended--awesome message!

After church, we visited a government-run jade factory. Some of the carvings were unbelievable (see the huge tiger above)! It's Chinese cutom for a mother to wear a jade bangle bracelet until her daughter turns 16 (or when she marries), and then to pass it on to her daughter. We bought a beautiful traditional green bangle for myself.

After lunch, we drove to the Great Wall. We went to the lesser-visited entrance and were amazed by the beautiful, HUGE wall. I climbed to the first watchtower--up 311+ very steep, uneven steps! It was very foggy (and smoggy!) all day today, so the pictures didn't turn out too great.

After the visit to the Wall, we went for another traditional chinese dinner and are now back at our hotel to pack for our trip to Guangzhou tomorrow!! I can't believe that tomorrow at this time we will have our daughter. We have to meet in the lobby at 6:30am to travel to the airport. After a 3 hour flight and a 1 hour bus trip to the Guangzhou hotel, we will have about 2 hours before we travel to the Civil Affairs Office to get Sarah. Our official "gotcha time" is 4pm. It's so hard to believe that, after 2 long years, our wait will finally be coming to an end. As one of our fellow travelers put is so well when he introduced our group to the church this morning, "just as Christ has adopted us into His family, we are now adopting these sweet young babies into our families..."

I am so excited for tomorrow, but also very anxious and a little nervous! I feel much the same way I felt right before Ethan and Grace were born--worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it, excited to meet them, and wishing the time would go by faster...

We will definitely post some pictures of the sweet-pea tomorrow...I can't wait to see what she looks like! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that the Gotcha moment goes well and that Sarah adjusts well to us and us to her.

I'll leave you with one funny picture from today--here is a truck that passed our bus today on the way from the Great Wall--look at all those cow butts! The truck driver got a kick out of all the americans laughing at his truck, and he kept honking at us... Until tomorrow...

Sightseeing-Beijing Style

2007-02-03T06:40:00.000-06:00

We are thinking that rating is on a scale to 10!!

See what we mean????

Dave in Tienamen Square.....nice pose!
Dave and Rebecca at the Summer Palace or was it a swamp????

We had a long day of sightseeing and getting to know the people in our group. It was a great day. We are all very tired and anticipate a good nights rest. We went to a pearl factory, a silk factory and the Forbidden City in addition to the sights above. We had the infamous Peking Duck dinner tonight as well. We will be off to church, a jade factory and the Great Wall tomorrow. Sarah will be with us in 48 hours!!

First full day in China

2007-02-02T01:19:00.000-06:00

Wow! There are a lot of bikes and a lot of people here in Beijing. Here is a picture of Dave outside Carrefour (Wal-Mart) near the hotel. We went on a shopping spree buying water, more water, coke and more water. We passed up many of the more interesting culinary offerings including;
various types of animal stomach, turtles (live and to eat), snails, and seaweeds. It was a nice day making new friends and getting used to the time change. In addition to Carrefour, we went to the new Silk Market (a large flea market). Dave was eveyone's best friend as he moved through the vendor aisles. Rebecca frustrated many as she would negotiate hard then leave. One person chased her down and sold her make-up that started at $50s for $2. Rebecca is in her element negotiating. We go sightseeing tomorrow and Sunday and then off to Guangzhou to get Sarah Monday.

WE ARE IN CHINA!!

2007-02-01T08:37:00.000-06:00

Well we are here! After a 12 hour flight from MSP to Tokyo and then four more hours from Tokyo to Beijing. We were expecting our "Guides" to meet us but there were not at the airport so we got to experience a local entrpeneur; Private car used as a taxi. I did not see any posted speed limits nor did our driver. He got us to the hotel quickly! We are both beat but glad we got in a day early. We are going to do a little sightseeing and shopping tomorrow. The rest of our group arrives tomorrow evening. They are probably all either at the airport or flying now. W e will update daily. Keep Sarah, Grace, Ethan, everyone who is watching them, and us in your prayers.....please.

We are leaving the 31st of January!

2007-01-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

MY MOM AND DAD ARE FINALLY COMING TO GET ME!!!

We are set to take off on the 31st of January. Here is a snapshot of what we will be to:

January 31^st- February 17^th

v Wednesday, Jan. 31 Depart for Beijing

Flight: NW 19

v Thursday, Feb. 1 Arrive in Beijing

Flight: NW 11

Arrive 9:10pm

v Saturday, Feb 3 Beijing Sight-Seeing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden

City, & Summer Palace (Lunch & Dinner Included)

v Sunday, Feb 4 Church service & Great Wall (Lunch & Beijing Duck

Dinner Included)

v Monday, Feb. 5 Morning Flight to Guangzhou

Afternoon - Meet Sarah Lian Cronk!!

Civil Affairs Appointment

v Feb. 6- Feb. 10 Paperwork, Sight-seeing, & Shopping

v Feb. 11- Feb. 13 Fill out Consulate Forms & Medical Exam

v Wednesday, Feb. 14 Consulate Appointment 9:00 am

v Thursday, Feb. 15 Pick up Child’s Visa

v Saturday, Feb. 17 Depart from Guangzhou

Flight: NW 10

Connect to NW 20 Tokyo to Minneapolis

Arrive 11:05am (MSP)

TRAVEL IS BEING HELD UP!!!

2007-01-17T22:47:00.000-06:00

Our agency sent us an email today saying they now do not know when we will be going. They are hoping it is around the 1st of February but honestly have no idea. We will keep you all posted. This continues to be frustrating. The group before us had their girls at this point. Groups from other agencies with the same referral date have their daughters now.......ugh!

TRAVEL ANNOUNCEMENT!!

2007-01-15T14:42:00.000-06:00

We received an email from our agency letting us know that we should be leaving January 25th!
Finally!! We are excited to go get our little girl and bring her on home. Our return is supposed to between the 7th and 10th of February.

Translated Growth Report!

2006-12-12T20:49:00.000-06:00

Growth Report for Lian Hai Bin

In early days of being admitted Lian Hai Bin, female, was admitted to our institute on November 17, 2005 upon approval of Civil Affairs Bureau in Lianjiang City. Upon her admission, the girl wore a baby suit with red flower design and was wrapped in a towel quilt. She was in a paper box, and there were some worn clothes in the box. Medical staff in our institute carried out a physical examination for her. At that time, the girl was 50cm in height, 3kg in weight, 33.5cm in head size and 31.5cm in chest size. She had little hairs and big eyes. She was a healthy newborn. According to her development and the condition of her umbilical cord, the medical staff estimated that the girl was born on November 17, 2005. She was then named Lian Hai Bin.

Her development

Physical Development

Age (month)	Height (cm)	Weight (kg)	Head Size (cm)	Chest Size (cm)	Number of teeth
1	53	4.0	34.5	34	0
2	56	4.5	36	36.5	0
3	58	5.2	38.5	39	0
4	60.5	5.8	40	40.5	0
5	63.5	6.0	41	41.5	0
6	65	6.5	41.5	42	0
7	66.5	7.0	42.5	43	2
8	68	7.6	42.5	44	4

Lian Hai Bin has a routine life and develops well under the excellent care of the caretakers. She has a regular routine schedule, and is fed with Jinding brand milk powder. She is given supplementary food since she was six months old. The supplementary foods include yolk, rice porridge and mashed fruit. She defecates and urinates normally.

Motion and Intellectual Development

Lian Hai Bin has normal intellectual and motion development. At the age of one month, she could blink on hearing the bell ringing. She breathed normally. She was able to make some throatiness besides of crying. At the age of 2 months, she was able to follow you with moving head from one side to the other. She could listen to the music quietly and being disgruntled with the noise. At the age of 3 months, she was able to hold her head up while lying on the stomach. At the most moment, her hands were open or held loosely. She could suck her fingers. At the age of 4 months, her hands were open mostly, rather than being held. She could hold the toy in her hands. She liked to pull her clothes to cover her faces. She had haven’t deflected her head to one side like before. At the age of 5 months, she could turn her head upon hearing some sound. She was able to roll over from back to side. She could make some strident wow. She has gradually shown her likes and dislikes. If she didn’t like to drink the milk, she would refuse. At the age of 6 months, she could turn over her body. She was able to sit for a while with the support of a pillow. She could hold her head up. She was able to grasp the objects before her with two hands. She could make some simple sound loudly, such as “ma” “da” “ba”. At the age of 7 months, she could stand with her hands holding onto support. And she liked to caper upon being held. She was able to distinguish between acquaintance and strangers. She could express her emotion, such as using crying and laughing to express her likes and dislikes. Right now, she is at the age of 8 months, she can sit well with something support. When being hugged by the adult, she would grasp your hairs or clothes firmly. She is getting more curious, trying to get things that are out of her reach. She can make some different voice.

Medical History

Lian Hai Bin has not had a serious disease since her admission. She sometimes gets cold and suffers from fever, running nose and etc. But she recovered soon after medical treatment. Sometimes she gets diarrhea, but she recovered soon. She has no history of allergies to medicines.

Immunization

Lian Hai Bin has got vaccinated in a timely manner according to the children planned immunization program. She has been vaccinated with BCG, TOPV, DPT, MV, JEV and HBV.

Sender: (illegible)

Social Welfare Institute of Lianjiang City (seal)

Aug. 18, 2006

State of Growth of Prospective Adoptive Child

Name: Lian Hai Bin Sex: female DOB: November 17, 2005

POB: Lianjiang City, Guangdong Province

Health history: healthy.

Routine schedule: Gets up at 7:00, naps at 11:30, goes to bed 21:30. She usually takes a nap for 30 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon.

Her meals: 4:00, 8:00, 13:00, 17:00, 21:00.

Defecates once or twice, urinates routinely.

Eating:

Kinds of food: milk powder with brand of Jinding made in Guangdong, Huaishan rice flour. Supplementary foods: fruit juice, rice porridge, mashed noodles, and so on.

Volume: milk 210ml, 5 times.

She easts supplementary foods at: 10:00, 14:30.

Personalities:

Favorite activity: sit in the go-kart.

Favorite toy: toy blocks.

Where is she???

2006-12-02T22:15:00.000-06:00

Here is a little information on where Sarah is today. She is in the city of Lianjiang which is also known as Liancheng from what I have read. It appears as Liancheng on this map. It is in the lower left hand corner of the map. We anticipate traveling in the next 6-9 weeks. We will let you know as soon as we here.

Basics	Economy	Official Contact Information
Area : 177,900 km2	Agriculture : bananas, longans, lychees, oranges, pineapples, rice, sisal hemp, vegetables	Provincial government office address : 305 Dongfeng Rd M, Guangzhou, Guangdong Sheng
Capital and Largest City : Guangzhou	Animal products : abalone, fish, oyster, pearl, seahorses	Telephone : (86)(8)313-8114
English meaning of name : Eastern Expanse	Foreign direct investment (2003) : US$19 billion	Website (Chinese) : www.gd.gov.cn
Major Nationalities (2000) : Han 99%, Zhuang 0.7%, Yao 0.2%	GDP (2003) : 1345 billion yuan	Website (English) : www.gd.gov.cn/index_e.asp
Organization : 21 prefectures; 121 counties; 1710 townships	GDP per capita (2002) : 14,976 yuan	Transportation
Population (2005) : 110,000,000	Industry : electric power generation, electronics, food processing, garments, household appliances, metallurgy, plastics, textiles	Airports : Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), Shenzhen Baoan International Airport (SZX), Zhuhai Airport (ZUH), Shantou Airport (SWA), Shaoguan Airport (HSC), Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA)
Population density : 618/km2	List of desired foreign investment projects : unavailable	Highways/railroads : 1689 km of highways including 562 km of expressways; 4 major rail lines run through the province, including the Shenzhen-Guangzhou line connecting Guangzhou with Hong Kong
Weather : hot, wet summers; warm, dry winters	Mineral resources : coal, iron, germanium, kaolin clay, peat, pyrite, quartz, tellurium	Major seaports : Guangzhou, Huangpu, and Shihang (serving Guangzhou); Yantian, Shekou, and Chiwan (serving Shenzhen), Gaolan and Jiuzhou (serving Zhuhai)
Special note: Guangdong contains three Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou.

Here she is!!!

2006-12-01T15:52:00.000-06:00

Well, here she is!! Sarah Cronk. She is a gorgeous girl. A little history on Sarah: She was born on 11/17/2005 in the city of Liang Jiang in the Province of Guangdong. This is in far southern China, just one province north of Vietnam. Things of note in her bio: she is attentive, sleeps deep (Mom likes this one), laughs out loud (Dad likes this one) and can be obstinate (Grace says "just like me!"). Her brother Ethan saw her picture and said she was "perfect". We ask that you join us in praying that God would now prepare her for us and us for her. Our prayer is that when she sees us she knows that we are her parents. We truly are thankful for all the emails, prayers and calls. We will continue to keep you updated here.

Stork Alert!!!!

2006-11-30T14:32:00.000-06:00

We expect to receive our referral tomorrow. Rebecca spoke to our agency (America World Adoption Association) and they have it! Sarah (Lian Hai Bin) was born on 11/17/2005. She is the cutest girl in her group.....of course (in our opinions--which are totally unbiased)!! Overachieving at an early age. We will post photos tomorrow!

Thinking about our family and world....

2006-10-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

As we continue to wait, one other thing has really been on our heart and in our prayers daily. Dave's cousin Jamil is serving in Iraq (he's a doctor in the emergency room), and he has kept us up to date on life in Iraq. We realize that we are very blessed where we are. The kids made pictures for him tonight. Those are on there way to Iraq tomorrow with a little care package. We miss him and will continue to pray for his safe return. Please keep Jamil, his wife Betsy and their two children Emily and Ben in your prayers as well.

Adoption Bible Verse

2006-10-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a great verse that we believe rings true. It is from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 43:5-7
"5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Rebecca in China- July, 2004

2006-10-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

The decision

2006-10-24T19:29:00.000-05:00

We're Dave, Rebecca, Ethan (7) and Grace (almost 5) Cronk. Almost two years ago (in November 2004), we decided to start the adoption process. Wow! Time has flown by until now. We are still waiting for Sarah and cannot wait to make the trip to get her and bring her home.

Because he grew up in a family who helped Cambodian refugees in Lowell, MA and hosted an exchange student from New Zealand, Dave had always thought of eventually adopting a child from another country. I, on the other hand, hadn't given the idea much thought. We were blessed with two biological children, and I didn't think I wanted another. However, just as with anything else in my life, God had another plan!

In July 2004, I went on a two week mission trip with our church to teach English in a small (33,000 people!) village in western China called Shangri-La (just on the edge of Tibet). This, of course, was after I had announced several times that I had no interest in visiting Asia... However, God (and a few people from church!) kept pushing me to go on this trip. While I was there (we visited Beijing, Kunming and Shangri-La), I saw quite a few young children (usually boys) begging on the streets. It was at this point that I called home and told Dave that it made me think of adoption. Then I promptly forgot about what I had mentioned to him. He, however, hadn't forgotten... That day he went online and had a packet awaiting from one agency when I got home. In the meantime, during our last three days in China we toured various sites in Beijing. We had the same bus driver all three days. On the last day, he picked us up at the hotel wearing a Steven Curtis Chapman t-shirt. It turns out that, whenever SCC has adopted his three daughters from China, he calls this bus driver! So, when I got home and saw the SAME picture of SCC on the brochure Dave requested, I figured God wanted to tell me something...but I still didn't want to listen.

We spent the next several months talking and praying. I kept trying to deny the obvious signs... We wound up going to an adoption seminar in October of 2004. It was there that we believe God made it VERY clear that He had chosen another child for our family--and she was in China! However, I still argued a little with God (I guess I'm a little stubborn...). I thought that maybe we should just have another child...then, in October 2004 I found out that I needed to have a hysterectomy--it was as if God was saying: "No...I'll close that door so you know I'm serious about China!" Finally I relented and we officially began the process (the "paperchase") in November 2004. Since then, we've been praying for our sweet little girl who's waiting for us somewhere on the other side of the world...