Happy Halloween! Thought you would enjoy a couple of pictures of the girls on their first Halloween. They were lambs, surprise! and Mom and Dad say they had a great time and seemed to have really gotten into the spirit of Trick or Treat. They did have some help from honorary big sister Kabrynna who was happy to show them how it was done:)

I'm (Mimi) back in NYC so will try to get more pictures posted now that I doesn't have two little distractions!

Here's a few more pictures taken later on Saturday - Another Slideshow -- aren't they just too cute!

The Shower - (This is the Mimi again) We are trying something different with pictures of the Shower for Mom and the girls as having so many slide shows seems to be causing problems for some folks when trying to view the blog. Let's hope this will work better and if so, I'll likely go back and change some of the earlier slide shows. You will just need to click on this link. When you have finished watching the slideshow you can use the Back Button on your Browser to take you back to the blog - Shower Slideshow.

This is the Momma Not the Mimi - Dirk and I want to thank everyone for all of the messages, phone calls, thoughts and prayers during our adoption process, trip to China, and welcome home. Words cannot express how much we appreciate everything you all have done. What a great homecoming, it was such a surprise and we were so excited to see everyone. We are so fortunate to have such great friends and family. Come out for a visit, the girls are looking forward to meeting all of their new friends.

All is well with Mom, Dad, and the girls. Everyone seems to be adjusting to Texas Time and the girls have slept all night for the past two nights (except for a few brief times when they just needed a bit of patting:) They have been out to visit Dad at work, to the clinic to see where Mom works, lunch at McDonalds and even to Hobbs shopping. They seem to enjoy riding in the car and most often fall asleep. I'm including more pictures we've taken --

These are pictures taken Sunday night -

First trip to the barn -

Having fun at home -

HOMECOMING - There was quite a crowd waiting at the Lubbock Airport with balloons, signs, cameras and cheers when Mom, Dad, and girls arrived -- even one of the local TV stations was there to cover the great event! After many hugs, kisses, tears, and cheers we were all off to Seminole - minus all but one bag as the luggage did not arrive with the passengers. The First Baptist Church had a great Welcome Home sign that we all enjoyed (pictures of that will come later) and when we all got to the edge of town traveling to the girls new home there was quite a crowd waiting at "Chubbies" (a local restaurant) - what a welcome home! There were signs and cheers all along the way and a police escort all the way home.

The house was all decked out for the Homecoming, complete with Christmas lights and yard decorations -- Christmas surely did come early this year to the Lindsey home. Waiting at the house were more well wishers including the Seminole High School Cheerleaders and great friends.

More surprises were to come -- first the girls' room, Tamera and Sonya did a "little" more decorating while Tara and Dirk were in China and it is adorable! Then it was off to the back yard where there was a new swing set, guard for the trampoline and two of the cutest little pink cars, the girls loved it. How very special to live in such a great town! There were also enchiladas, queso and chips that we all enjoyed, especially Tara!

I (Mimi) apologize for the delay in getting this posted, been a little busy playing with these two little darlings, but know everyone has been patiently, or not so patiently waiting for these pictures -- enjoy! and I've got more to add.

Day 1 in USA - They're Home!! -- at least back in the USA. Plane landed in LA around 7:30 pm California Time (9:30 pm Texas Time) Saturday night and the trip went well. They were able to have seats for the girls, were in business class, and they slept for 10 hours of the flight. Of course, they felt like it was morning rather than night when they landed so I'm not sure how well everyone slept last night. Tara was looking for food, anything NOT Chinese and the girls were chattering away - IN Chinese :) See ya all soon!!!!

Last Day in China (Day 18) - Well, they're off on the long journey home! Their flight was scheduled to depart China at 9:00 pm Saturday night (8:00 pm Saturday morning in Texas) so they've been in the air almost an hour, however I have not been able to confirm that the flight left on time. I spoke to Tara and Dirk around noon their time and they had not had the best night and were not looking forward to the long flight home. Hope seemed to have been very restless and cried at lot all night - could she have sensed a very big change in her little life? and both of the girls have some congestion, especially Faith. They've got cough syrup, antibiotics, and benedryl with them but it seems to be very difficult to get any medicine down either of the girls. Say lots of prayers that their trip will go smoothly and safely and that they will all finally be home very soon.

They will arrive in Los Angeles around 6:00 PM Saturday night (seems crazy to think they will arrive almost 3 hours before they leave :) and will then have to be processed though customs and immigration where the girls Visas will be stamped and they will be official US Citizens. They will be spending the night in LA and will leave there around noon Sunday to fly into DFW and then the last leg to Lubbock. I (Mimi) will be joining them at DFW and will hopefully be of some help getting them and their stuff from one terminal to the next (and hopefully get a peek at those new grandbabies). They are SO ready to be home. Jet lag will definitely be an issue as Tara and Dirk have been living 13 hours ahead of us for the past three weeks and the girls have never known anything else - night is day and day is night, should be interesting for a few days.

Thanks to everyone who has been following this long, somewhat hard but very rewarding journey to Hope and Faith. I (Mimi) will definitely continue to post to this blog for the next week, including the rest of the pictures from China and some from their homecoming and life in the Lindsey family. I am hopeful that Tara and Dirk will want to continue to post at least periodically to the blog to keep everyone informed about how the twins are doing and how they are growing and adjusting to their new lives. Tara and Dirk have tried to keep up with the many messages everyone has left and they are looking forward to being home and being able to spend some time reading and rereading everything. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated more than you will ever know and are what has gotten them (and all of us) through this very long and sometimes painful process. Good things come to those who wait and I think the wait has been well worth what we've all received. Two new little lights are shining bright in the Lindsey family and three bright stars are shining bright in heaven.

Day 17 in China - Today was the last full day for Tara, Dirk, and the girls to spend in China. It is also the day the girls were sworn in as US Citizens and get their American Visas -- only one more step, having their Visas stamped in the US and setting foot on US soil and they will be official, sound pretty good to me!

They also had their Farewell Dinner with the group, not to be confused with their Farefell Lunch on Saturday:) Mom and girls wore matching traditional Chinese dresses and Dad has a special Dragon jacket -- they were the best dressed family there! Unfortunately we have no pictures because the camera batteries died :( The group has exchanged email addresses however and have all promised to share pictures so hopefully we'll see them yet. The China Team has also taken many pictures throughout the process and will have a CD for each of the families before they leave on Saturday.

When I spoke with them it was Friday night in China and they were trying to pack, Tara said everytime she put something into the suitcase one of the girls would promptly remove it so it's becoming a pretty slow process. The girls were still up and having a great time, I could hear them in the background chattering away and singing up a storm. They seem to be learning more English every day.

I'm hoping they can get some pictures sent before they leave China and if so I will get them added to the blog as soon as possible but Saturday will be a busy day. They must have luggage out by 11:00 am, the Farewell Lunch, and then leaving for the airport around 3:00 pm. Their flight leaves at 9:00 pm Saturday night China Time (8:00 am Saturday morning Texas time). Many people who adopt from China request twins but of course most don't get them. Some of the families in their group have been asking them why they were able to get twins. Dirk told them they had thousands of people praying for them, guess those prayers were answered because I think they've got the best. Just keep those prayers coming cause we've still got to get them home. Look out Seminole, the Lindseys will be home soon and Dad says his little darlings are hellions :)

Day 16 in China - Today the China Team look everyone's paperwork to the US Consulate to apply for the girls' Visas. Mom, Dad, and the girls had to be available in case they needed to reach them for any additional information so they spent the morning in their room. This was probably a good thing as Tara wasn't feeling well when she got up and it gave them more family time too. They did go with the group in the afternoon to a museum. They have not been able to send any pictures and as I was traveling from NYC back to Texas on Thursday, didn't get a chance to beg them to send some -- sorry.

Tomorrow they will go with the girls (and all of the other families in their group) to the US Consulate's office to have the girls sworn in as US Citizens. No cameras allowed in the building so we won't be able to see that important step. Only one more full day in China and then it's back to the good old USA.

Day 15 in China - The Pictures - don't think there's much that can be said, it's amazing to me to see pictures of the girls just a little over one week ago when they became Hope and Faith and to see them now -- wow! and enjoy!!

OK, since we haven't gotten any pictures yet for today I thought I'd make a nice collage of 'my' favorites that we could look at until we got something new. Sooo I decided to buy a new photo editor program I've been reading about, went to their website,gave them my credit card info, and downloaded the program. Isn't the Internet great, you don't even have to go to the store!! I've gotten addicted to ebay too :) they've got great Hair Bows and we now have them in EVERY color!! Anyway, back to my story --- I thought I'd start with some of the Gotcha Day pictures, I love them so much - Tara and Dirk look so very happy and those little girls look so scared at first but then just seem to know that they've finally met their Mom and Dad. Anyway, I dump all of those pictures into my program and start seeing lots of pictures I hadn't ever seen before. I was so excited! Only thing I can figure is that when they sent me these pictures that day, between the excitement of getting to see these two little darlings, trying to hurry up and get them posted to the blog so everyone else could have a peek too, and knowing I had to run to get to the airport I just must have missed them. Anyway, I forgot all about the collage and just did another side show. I've included those first pictures we all saw that day (they're some of my favorites) and then the 'new' ones too. Now, I know you are wondering about the cat picture, you see that IS the first picture I saw when I first downloaded the pictures Tara had sent me -- I thought oh no, not another cat, we wanted kids!!

Day 15 in China - Well, as you can see, no new pictures for today, at least not yet.

Tara spent most of today with the China Team (those people traveling with the group from their adoption agency) completing and going over paperwork that will be submitted tomorrow to the US Consulate to finalize the US part of the adoption. While she was doing that Dad was looking after the girls :0 Now, they've been telling me that when the girls are in public they are pretty quiet and somewhat shy, it's only when they are in the room with Mom and Dad that these great little personalities come out. HOWEVER, Dad decides to head down to the business center to check a little email and the girls decide to show their stuff!! Hope seems to have not really liked for Dad to not be playing with her so she does one of her temper tantrum numbers. They were also in an area around some of the other kids and Hope, being her sweet self shares the toys and is very nice but sister Faith starts gathering up all of the toys and hitting everyone on the head with them. Sounds to me like they're getting to be regular kids -- love it! They still keep Mom and Dad laughing most of the time, think they have some very proud parents?

The China Team threw a Pizza Party for the whole group during the evening and we've learned that the girls DO NOT like pizza -- guess Tara and Dirk may be ordering pizza more just so they can get a bite to eat:) They did have noodles, rice and meat that the girls ate so they didn't go hungrey. There is a Kentucky Fried Chicken place across the street from the hotel so that's giving them some relief from Chinese food and it seems the girls love chicken nuggets, but not mashed potatoes. I heard Tara ordering up an extra large mashed potatoe so she was guaranteed something to eat. Guess those little girls are really quite the eaters!

Mom and Dad say they still have the best dressed kids but she isn't looking too hot these days. Seems that early in the trip she burned up her curling iron and hasn't been able to find another one to buy -- I thought she looked just fine in the pictures but of course we've all been really checking out those girls anyway.

When I last spoke with them Faith was sound asleep but Hope was still up chattering away. I've been trying to get her to say "MiMi" and she will but then points to her sister because Mei Mei means "little sister" in Chinese -- guess I'm gonna really confuse those two, oh well.

I know there were a few pictures taken today and thought they were going to send them on to me but I haven't seen any yet and as it is now almost 2:00 in the morning, I guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer. Tomorrow they have a trip to a museum and that's about all. Let's hope they can snap a few more photos and get them sent so we can get our 'fix'. Can't wait until Sunday, only 4 more days to go!!

Day 14 in China - We now have pictures (also for Day 13, check below)!!

It was nice to meet back up with the entire group, those who were with Tara and Dirk in Nanchang and the rest of the group who had been in Nanning getting their new girls. The rest of the week will be spent finishing up with the US part of the adoption process.

The girls slept well in the new hotel but Faith did a lot of coughing during the night and Tara wasn't feeling great either this morning as she had a sore throat. She said it's almost impossible to give the girls medicine as they promptly spit it right back at you, hopefully they will be feeling better soon.

Today they traveled into Guangzhou for the girls' medical visit. This is required before the US will allow them to enter the country and a part of the adoption process. Hope weighed in at 22 pounds but Faith cryed so much that they weren't ever really able to get her weight -- Tara says Hope didn't cry a bit. The girls are just waiting for 'Doc' Tamera to check them out! She probably gives suckers anyway:) While in Guangzhou they did a little shoe shopping(all girls loves shoes don't they?)and enjoyed visiting Shamian Island where the infamous White Swan Hotel is located. The White Swan is where so many families stay when in China adopting that it is often referred to as the White Stork. Then it was off to the Pearl River for a dinner cruise. Tara said the food was good, what she got of it, as the girls really helped themselves to Mom and Dad's plates. After they got back to the hotel they had to order room service but they waited til the girls had gone to sleep so they wouldn't have to share that food too!!

Michelle and Bailey talked to the girls Monday night and sang to them, Hope joined in with her own little song although no one knows what she was singing:) When I spoke to Tara and Dirk this morning Faith was still sleeping and Hope was glued to the TV watching Chinese Cartoons. Tara said she had no idea what was being said but Hope seems to really enjoy it.

Day 13 in China - We now have pictures ---

Today Mom, Dad, and girls traveled from Nanchang to Dongguan where they will be until they leave for home next Saturday. The girls had their first plane ride and enjoyed it. Tara said Faith was the comedian on the flight and kept everyone entertained, especially the people in the seats behind them. They say the girls are now acting like they've been theirs forever and that Hope is just like Rachel and Faith is just like Madelyn -- with a combination like that what more can we ask for? :-) Dirk says there's no question, they've got the prettiest girls in the hotel.

Looks like things are looking up in the food area as this hotel even has an Italian restaurant. And the room service menu sounds interesting too as they've ordered room service -- Tara is getting Peking Duck Quesadillas with guacamole and jalapenos (that's really East meets West I'd say:) and Dirk was able to order a steak. The girls were getting steamed vegetables and rice and I'll bet Mom and Dad will share as well.

There are pictures to come later as they will need to get settled in their room and put the girls down for the night. It will likely be late tonight our time before they are able to send them but when I get them I'll post them right away. Tara is apologizing in advance for no hairbows in these pictures as it was too difficult to juggle bags and babies on the trip and keep those hairbows on. Sounded like the girls were running around the room giggling and checking everything out and were most pleased to discover a large mirror in the bathroom -- they seem to really like to look at themselves.

Not much to write about today as most of the day consisted of traveling and were waiting for their bags and room service when we talked.

Day 12 in China
UPDATE - Look what I found on my email!!

Today they visited the Tengwang Pavilion, built during the Tang Dynasty. They did get pictures of the girls there. They also visited the porcelain market where they did a little shopping and then on to a large shoe store that has squeaky shoes. Tara said they just weren't too cute so she's waiting for the 'good' store in Guangzhou where she plans to load up. They discovered today that they were only a few blocks from a KFC, yes that's Kentucky Fried Chicken, so you know where they had dinner-- Tara said it was wonderful!

Tomorrow they get the remainder of their Chinese adoption documents and then fly out in the afternoon for Guangzhou, about an hour or so flight (and the girl's first). They will then travel by bus to Dongguan, about 40 miles south of Guangzhou where they will spend the rest of their time in China. Usually families stay right in Guangzhou where the American Consulate is located and where they complete the US side of the adoption and get sworn in as American Citizens but there is a very large international trade fair that happens twice a year in Guangzhou and there were no hotel rooms available.

The girls will be leaving their birth province Jiangxi on the first leg of the long trip HOME. I know Tara and Dirk have tried to get pictures and mementoes for these little ones so they will always have something to connect them to their heritage. Nanchang, where they have been for the past week is the capital of Jiangxi, it is a city of around 3.7 million (considered a smaller sized city by Chinese standards). It is known as an industrial city where there is much food processing, paper manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and metalworks. It is also known as the porcelain capital of China. Ford Motor Company is currently setting up a manufacturing plant there.

Sounds like the girls are really coming around, giving Dad High Fives and they love to play "pretend" where they pretend to give Mom or Dad something and then take it back and giggle uproariously. They can kick, pinch, and push each other with the best of them and when they don't get their way will have an occasional tantrum. Seems that they are acting like regular kids so I guess they've decided these folks are going to keep them after all so they don't need to keep up the 'best behavior' act -- seems they've decided to keep Tara and Dirk too cause they're calling Tara "Mama" and Dirk "Papa" or "DaDa". I do believe they're feeling like a Forever Family.

Day 11 in China - For those of you who have been wondering about the WalMart, I'm including a few pictures I found on another site that were taken at the Nanchang WalMart -- very interesting, and yes those are snakes at the pharmacy!!

Today the Lindsey family visited Peoples Park. As it was Saturday, all of the locals were out enjoying the great weather. This is a huge park that includes kiddy rides, a play area, and even a zoo, unfortunately Mom and Dad didn't know about the zoo until they boarded the bus after the visit - that would have been a fun thing to do with the girls. Dirk said there were people everywhere, kids skating and playing, choirs and musicians entertaining, and elderly people getting their exercise (Tara said they were kicking their legs high in the air - wow, maybe I need to get into some of that:-) There was also a small lake in the park where they had these large balls that kids could get inside and roll around in the water - you will see that in one of the pictures. Right in the middle of the park was a bee keeper with bees swarming everywhere!

After the park, they were taken to a new area of Nanchang that is just being built. Where the 'old' Nanchang is very crowded, Dirk said this area has very few people yet but many high rises and new hotels -- VERY modern. They were also taken to an area to see the world's highest ferris wheel but the smog was too bad to be able to see it.

The remainder of the day was spent playing with the girls. When I spoke with them, Faith and Hope seemed to be in rare form. They were playing "tickle monster" with Dad and giggling like crazy! Faith talked to me on the phone, said "Hi" and then that's all I understood. Tara said Hope had thrown a little (or not so little) temper tantrum a bit earlier, kicking and screaming because Mom was making her share some flash cards with her sister. Tara said it was the 'Terrible Twos Times Two' - wonder what it's going to be like in a few more months when they really do turn two!! Dirk says the girls are VERY smart!! Fuzhou, where the girls are from is known for it's playwrights, authors, scholars and he knows the girls will be brilliant!!

Oh, Tara was able to have spaghetti for lunch, she said it was soooo good - just spaghetti and tomato sauce! but the ice cream dessert she had after had a green sauce on it that tasted like cough syrup so she just had to be content with the spaghetti.

Tomorrow they will be doing some shopping and getting ready to leave Nanchang for Guangzhou and Dongguan on Monday where they will spend their last week in China. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Day 10 in China - GO RED RAIDERS!!



yes, Dad's getting them ready for those football games already! And Mom says they should fit into their cheerleading outfits too!

Day 10 included a visit to an art museum and more play time, and of course lunch out at another of those nice Chinese Restaurants Tara loves so much. They are finding that Faith is the more adventurous of the two but they are both little scrappers. They are also really good eaters, couldn't get enough of the spinach tonight at dinner - Tara says they're never gonna get that at home! The girls are really little chatter boxes, they seem to have quite the vocabulary, unfortunately Mom and Dad have no idea what they're saying. They are trying to pick up a few English words and promptly repeat "Thank You" and call their ducks "Quack Quacks" (perhaps that’s just because Chinese ducks speak the same language as American ducks?).

Oh by the way Lisa, Dirk says you can be the first to paint their nails :-)
For all of you De Leon folks, watch out next year at the Peach and Melon Festival, the girls LOVE watermelon and are already in training for the Seed Spitting Contest!!

I've again broken down this group of pictures into different slide shows so we'll hopefully not crash anyone's computer. Don't believe all of these were actually taken on Day 10 but I'll add them to today anyway. Included are also pictures of some of the places they've visited over the past few days and pictures of some of the other families in the group. Also lots of pictures of just playtime, they are just adorable and can't wait to get these little girls home!!!!

Day 9 in China UPDATE - We've got pictures!!! I've broken them down into three slide shows because there are lots and they're adorable, just sit back and watch the show!!!!

More info about the events of the day are added below the slide show.

Day 9 in China - The Lindsey day started early today as it seems Hope is a very early riser! For the past two mornings she has gotten up at 5:00 am and it sounds like she really isn't a morning person, just an early riser! They are preparing for their day and getting ready to go down for breakfast, Tara says breakfast has suddenly become her favorite meal of the day, she can get all kinds of 'normal' food . I've advised Tara and Dirk that we are on the brink of a riot and need pictures ASAP to calm the natives so Tara will try to get some sent this morning before they leave for another group trip and will definitely send by the end of the day (that means pictures posted for sure by tomorrow morning Texas time!!) As we were talking on the phone I could hear the girls chattering in the background, Tara was interpreting for me, seems the twins are trying to teach Mom and Dad some Chinese! More later --

UPDATE - Well, obviously Tara found an opportunity to get to the business center to get some pictures sent, aren't they great? I'm hopeful that everyone is able to see them; I chose to include everything she sent so we could all get a good idea of what fun they are all having over there, even though some are a bit dark.

The group trip was a visit to an ancient Chinese temple but seems that they weren't able to spend much time seeing the sites because all of the locals were too interested in seeing and being seen with those celebrities called "The Lindseys"! Between the twins and Dirk's height, they were quite in demand for being touched, patted, a hand shake, even a thumbs up but what they were most interested in was having their picture taken with Mom, Dad, and the twins. Everyone wanted to be photographed with "The Lindseys".

The rest of the day was spent playing with the girls and oh yes, they had a seamstress visit their hotel room where they were all measured for some new 'outfits' -- guess we'll just have to wait and see what that's all about -- somehow I just don't see Dirk in those Chinese pajamas :-)

Update to Day 3 - I received the pictures from Day 3 (Great Wall etc) a couple of days ago but haven't had a chance to post them, had more important pictures to get posted, so I've now added them to the site. You can view them on Day 3 in China.

Day 8 in China - Well, as you can see, no new pictures!! Not for lack of trying but there seems to be a problem getting Tara & Dirk's laptop connected with a network cable, wireless seems to work great but the hotel doesn't have wireless so we still don't have an easy way to get info and pictures. Tara has promised to get back to the Business Center and will send more pictures tomorrow.

We'll just have to do with 'words' and use our imaginations a bit. Seems that after that initial period of crying, the girls have really taken to both Mom and Dad now and are going great! They had their meeting at the Chinese Civil Affairs Office where they asked if Tara and Dirk were happy with the girls (I THINK they said yes :-) and their names, occupations and ages and that was it. They are now just waiting for the girls' Chinese passports and they will be finished with the Chinese side of the adoption.

Dirk also said the girls had experienced a monumental milestone in their little lives today --- a visit to WALMART!!! They went wild with shopping and spent 280 rmbs (that's about 35 dollars US). They checked out the fresh fish market in the store and Dirk says they really mean FRESH! the fish were alive and in tanks, jumping out of the tanks and flopping all over the floor. The girls kept pointing to the fish and other food and trying to tell Dirk and Tara something, unfortunately they have no idea what. They enjoyed the fish show and moved on to the toy department where they got some dolls, toys, coke, water, and snacks. They say people come up to them everywhere staring and smiling at them and some even come up and shake their hands. We knew the people of China are very appreciative of families adopting these babies and are quite taken with seeing twins.

Back at the hotel they visited a play room set up for the children. Tara says the girls' personalities really came out and they've been different ever since. She said they really had a great time playing together and the girls laughed a lot and loved the balls to jump and play in. Seems Hope might just be left handed as she was throwing balls with her left hand -- however she was holding her new baby doll with her right hand so who knows. Both of the girls seem to really love playing with their baby dolls, Hope tries to put her bib on her baby and Faith likes to cover hers with a blanket. Sounds like they were well loved and nurtured during their time with the foster family.

Dirk seems to continue enjoying the Chinese food but Tara is really missing some good old American fare. She wants a steak and loaded potato, Mexican food, good hot sauce and chips and ICE in her cup! The girls continue to be great little eaters and Tara says while they will eat the rice cereal and congee, they really prefer regular food and love all types of fruits. Dirk said he saw every type of fruit and vegetables imaginable in Walmart so maybe they've been exposed to a variety.

Tomorrow they will be doing some site seeing as a group but Tara couldn't remember where. They will also be doing more shopping and will visit the porcelain shops, Nanchang is well known for their porcelain. They said the others in their group are all very nice and all of the other babies are adorable and are younger than the twins who seem to be a real hit with the group and everyone else at the hotel. Tara says of course none of the others are dressed as cute as theirs and no hair bows! can't even tell they're girls ;-)

Tonight Hope wasn't feeling well and was a little fussy but Faith was enjoying her new toys. She also was trying to get into Dad's billfold -- she's a fast learner! Mom and Dad are having a great time getting to know their little ones but Dirk says he's ready to get these two little Chinese girls home to Texas!! I know we all are ready for that too. They've promised they will send pictures tomorrow from the business center. They did have an opportunity to check the blog earlier today and read all of the great messages from everyone, they were very happy to hear from so many -- keep those messages coming.

Day 7 in China - GOTCHA DAY!!!
These are the beautiful Lindsey Twins, Faith Marie and Hope Marie
Update at bottom of this post-


This has been quite the eventful day (and night for us back home waiting for the pictures)! When they got the girls, Dirk has Faith and Tara has Hope. And you can see the girls aren't too happy to be there! Tara said they were very scared and cried loud and a lot but after they got them to the room they settled down and seemed more content. They have really taken to Dirk but aren't too sure of Tara just yet. Tara of course immediately dressed them up and they all went for a stroll through the hotel. Hope has the big white bow and Faith the smaller blue one (Tara says they don't seem to mind the hair bows at all, good thing too!) They talk to each other and share cheerios and like to hold hands. They seem very happy to finally be with their Mom and Dad who seem to be quite taken with them too!!

They have not gotten their computer hooked up yet in the room and Tara couldn't get to her email so please bare with them regarding messages until we can get this latest technical difficulty worked out -- Mimi has to return to NYC today so it might be tonight or tomorrow before we get that done. Please continue to send comments and well wishes as they will be able to see them soon.

Aren't they beautiful!!!!

UPDATE: Another conversation with Tara and Dirk - the girls are doing great, still seem to be more comfortable with Dirk but are warming up to Tara. They've had dinner and are great little eaters, especially Hope who seems to like everything! They are potty trained and drink from a sippy cup. They interact with each other very well and share their toys, at least for the most part -- but NOT with Dad! (Dirk tried to pick up one of their toys and Hope promptly spanked his hand :-) They are enjoying watching their Cinderella video but Faith seems more interested in her cell phone (takes after Mom and Mimi already!!) They weigh in at a big 22 pounds and are 32 inches tall - Tara says their 12 month clothes fit fine but thinks they may be in 18 months soon, especially if they keep up their eating habits. They love to go walking and want to hold your hand, very tight. They loved their bath and were getting ready to go down for the night. They took an hour and a half nap earlier and slept very well in their cribs, but we'll see how that holds out for the night as they are accustom to sleeping with their foster mother. Mom and Dad say "they are perfect and beautiful", they are VERY happy and excited to finally be able to hold them in their arms.

Tara and Dirk have taken lots of video but we will probably have to wait until they return before we get a peek at those -- hopefully there will be more pictures tonight or tomorrow. I'm signing off and headed to the airport, enjoy those pictures!

Day 6 in China - Well, the last day btt (that's before the twins) is coming to a close for Tara & Dirk. They met the rest of the families from their group and "enjoyed" another great Chinese lunch. They also learned that they will be getting the girls at 11:00 Tuesday morning (that will be midnight Monday night for us). They leave very early tomorrow morning for Nanchang where they will meet the girls so were off to bed.

Technology is wonderful, they spent time today at the local Starbucks sipping coffee and checking their email, reading all of your great messages and best wishes. Don't forget that you can send them a message from the Blog by clicking on one of the Comments links and then select Anonymous as an identity. This way you don't have to get a log in. Don't forget to leave your name etc at the bottom of your message. We have also been talking with them by phone most every day. It's much easier and cheaper to call China with a calling card but calling from China is much more expensive.

Tonight they enjoyed a Western Buffet (that's not a cowboy buffet, just American :-) They were able to have steak which made Tara very happy! They have finally sent the "missing" pictures from Day 3 but I didn't see any pictures taken from the top! Guess we'll just have to wait for those certificates but I have heard there is a lot of counterfeiting that goes on in China so who REALLY knows. I will post these pictures later today.

Only one more sleep for Tara and Dirk before they get the twins and we won't even have to do that -- time is wonderful when they have to wait through a night and we'll get to see them (through pictures) before we go to bed tonight. They have promised they will call and send pictures as soon as possible after the get the girls so I will post as soon as I have them.

T Minus 15 hours and counting --------

Day 5 in China - Today Tara and Dirk travel from Beijing to Guangzhou where they will meet up with the rest of the families in their group adopting children. They enjoyed one more traditional Chinese meal at lunch and then it was on to the airport for their flight. Tara says "and I am so ready for a steak and loaded potato right now!" Guess she's having second thoughts about Chinese food and chop sticks being a great way to diet. She is looking forward to Guangzhou where there is a McDonalds next door to their hotel.

October 1 is National Day in China. It is the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. There used to be grand parades in the squares of the major cities in China but today celebrations usually take the form of parties in amusement parks by day and fireworks and grand ensembles during the evening. Most Chinese take the entire week off and celebrate so this week in Beijing has been most interesting (and very crowded). There were only four people in their group and they said their tour guide was great and they have many good stories to tell when they return. Humm.......

Only two more sleeps til Gotcha Day!!

Day 4 in China - Today started with a visit to a Hutong. This is a traditional Chinese community that consists of a small street between two courtyards. They were able to spend time with a Chinese woman in her home. Then it was on to the Silk Factory where Tara says she didn't buy a thing as she was told you can get much better prices in some of the other cities they will be visiting. Next they were off to the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong, in Chinese. It was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties and construction of the palace complex began in 1407 and was completed in 1420. They also visited Tiananmen Square, built in 1417 and was the front door to the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is probably best known for the student demonstrations in 1989.

Day 3 in China - Today Tara and Dirk visited the Great Wall. They claim to have climbed to the highest point in Beijing and have certificates to prove it! What I don't have are pictures as they couldn't seem to get them sent -- wonder if that is just a cover up? I have included some pictures of the Great Wall so we can at least see what they visited and if they ever get the 'real' ones sent, I'll add those as well. They said they were eating only Chinese food and only with chop sticks and plan to be nice and slim when they return home. Are having a great time and looking very forward to next week.

UPDATE - Finally, we have the 'real deal', pictures from Tara and Dirk's Day 3. They visited a Jade Factory, the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, and a Tea House. I've left the other pictures of the Great Wall that should display below these.

Day 2 in China - Today Tara and Dirk visited the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. They also visited the Pearl Factory and had a foot massage and finished up their day with a great dinner of Peking Duck. Sounds like they are really getting into this China thing. They are having a great time! Most of you know Tara is a woman of few works unlike her Mother, and since this is the Mimi not the Momma writing this, I'll add more info about the places they have visited later today. Tomorrow they visit the Great Wall, their tour guide is really keeping them busy! Just a few more days to Gotcha Day -- can't wait!!!

Still waiting for technical difficulties to be corrected in China before we get pictures from Tara and Dirk but thought I would add these of the twins that were received with their Referral. These were taken when the girls were about 1 year old so they will have grown a bit but until we get the real deal next week, you can check these out!

Day 1 in China - This is just a quick update with more to come later -- Tara and Dirk arrived in China today (middle of the night Wed morning for all of us). They flew over the North Pole and were able to get some pictures so hopefully we'll get to see those soon! They were having some technical difficulties with their internet connection in the room and sent the message from the business center of the hotel so hopefully they will be able to get that resolved and get on with keeping us updated and entertained.

Keep checking back for updates as I will post as I get messages and hopefully pictures. And by the way, if you want to send a message to them there is a Comments link at the end of each posting that will allow you to leave a comment and an email will be sent to them as well -- don't forget to leave your name so they know who sent the message.

This is the Mimi Not the Mama posting - I will be posting for Tara & Dirk during their trip and will try hard to stick to the facts as they send them to me without my editorials. But no promises :-)

They're Off!!
Just one slight issue - when they got to Chicago to board the plane for Beijing they had no seats and the flight was overbooked! They were able to get seats just prior to boarding and are in flight at this time. They will be arriving in Beijing 10/4 at 2:25 pm China Time (this is 10/4 at 1:25 am Texas Time). The flight is 13 hours and 22 minutes. Hope Dirk can squeeze those long legs in because they are in center and window seats.

I'll post as I get updates and pictures, hopefully they will be able to send them on a regular basis.

Just one more week til "Gotcha Day" when they get the twins!!

Thought you might like to get a glimpse of
where our girls are from.