Last Day in Nanchang

Today was our last full day in Nanchang and tomorrow we head to Guangzhou for the US consulate stuff. We saw a lot of progress with Julianna today. She has been smiling and giggling most of the day. I started blowing kisses at her and she blew some back at me! She also reached out for me a couple of times and she can now sit for several minutes at a time on Ed's lap facing out instead of always being chest to chest with him. We talked with the UAB clinic and they reassured us that this happens all the time. We just have to keep working with her and be patient since her little world has been turned upside down. Her little smile is the most beautiful thing and can light up the room. She just grins from ear to ear. We toured a pagoda down the street with some of our travel group and went to a grocery store. Pretty interesting trying to buy stuff when everything is in Chinese! Otherwise, it was a pretty low key day spent together just the 3 of us. We are very excited to be going to Guangzhou tomorrow. It's a very large city with lots of shops and actual American type food. We will be staying at the White swan hotel which is famous in the China adoption world. We will complete the American side of the paperwork there and come home next Wednesday!

Here are some pics of the last couple of days:

Ancient Anyi Village

Today we toured an ancient, 1,000-year-old village in the countryside. It was amazing to see the workers and water buffalo out in the rice paddies and to visit a village where the people do not even have running water. I told Ed that we in America just don't realize how blessed we are.
We finally got a lot of smiles from Julianna today and some laughs from her too. She still has to be held by Ed at all times. He left the hotel room today for 30 minutes, and she cried uncontrollably until he got back. Even after she was back in his arms, she still cried for a long time. If anybody has any advice on what we should do, please share it in the blog comments and my sister can relate it back to us. Julianna is just so traumatized right now, and we know it will take time. But it's wearing Ed out, and it's really hard finally being a Mom but being unable to hold my child without her sobbing.
Tomorrow we go to visit a local park, and then on Friday we leave for Guangzhou! We're having trouble attaching pictures, so we will try to post some tomorrow.

Getting To Know Each Other in China

Everything is good here in China. We are still getting to know Julianna, and she is going through a lot of grieving. She is definitely a "Daddy's girl" right now and won't let him out of her sight. She has to be touching him at all times. This is really tiring Ed out, but he is hanging in there. She will let me play with her and feed her as long as she is in Daddy's lap. Please pray that she will soon be able to come to me without having a meltdown.

Yesterday we went to the Civil Affairs office and finalized the adoption on the China side. She is OURS in the eyes of China now! We are taking it easy today and not going on the planned tour. We think it would be better for Julianna to stay here at the hotel and not have a lot of stress on her.

Please continue to pray for all three of us. We can feel your prayers all the way over here in China. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

Love,

The Jernigan Family!

Gotcha Day!

Lee Anne and Ed are having some trouble getting Internet access right now. I (Trina) will be updating everyone until they arrive in Shanghai and can regain access. Julianna is now with Ed and Lee Anne. They both have described her as a "little doll" and even more adorable than her picture. We'll be adding pictures to this post as soon as Lee Anne can send them.

Julianna is already sleeping in her crib through the night in the hotel room. She lets Lee Anne feed her and give her a bottle, and she loves to be held by Ed. It seems she is already well on her way to being a "Daddy's girl." So far, they have only had one major issue with her-- bathtime! She hates it!

Lee Anne and Ed both ask for continued prayer in the attachment process. Julianna also needs our prayers as she continues to experience so many changes and sees so many new things in the days to come. Finally, pray for Lee Anne and Ed to have continued strength (emotionally and physically) as they continue on this journey.

We Made It To China!

We are in China now! After about 30 hours of flight time, we made it to Beijing about 11:00 pm last night. We've had a great day of touring Beijing today. We went to Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, the site of the 2008 Olympics, and we climbed the Great Wall. Did I just say we climbed the Great Wall? It still doesn't seem real that we are actually here. We have a great group of people we are traveling with in China.

Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for for years. It's "gotcha day" for Julianna! We'll fly to Nanchang tomorrow, and she should be in our arms tomorrow afternoon around 3:00 or 4:00 pm China time or 2:00-3:00 am Central time (Sunday). Please continue to pray that she'll have an easy transition and will bond with each of us. Please pray that this won't be too traumatic, and that we can calm any fears that she has. Below are some pictures of the day and a look at some of the things we did.

Last Post Before China

We can't believe that after all these years, we are leaving for China in the morning to get our precious baby Julianna. We just had the best send off with all our family there. It meant so much to see everybody before we leave in a few short hours. The Bible verse that has been going through my head all day is Romans 8:28 - All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. His purpose for all eternity has been for us to be the parents of Julianna - a sweet angel born on the other side of the world. We hope and pray that we can be the parents that she needs for us to be. Please continue to pray for us over the next 2 weeks. Here are some specific prayer requests:

-Julianna would know that we are her parents
-That she would quickly and easily bond to us
-That we would know how to meet her needs
-Safety in travel
-Physical health for all three of us
-That God would bless us all with patience, peace, and calmness with no anxiety as we go through this process

Julianna,

We are coming to get you baby girl! We can't believe the time has come and in a few short days you will be in our arms. We are praying for you and that you are able to easily bond with us. We can't wait to finally get to you and kiss those cheeks and lips. May God richly bless you and give you peace.

2 days!

We are now down to 2 days until we leave for China to get Julianna! We have been busy packing and cleaning and baby proofing the house. It seems so "surreal" that this is actually happening. We are continually amazed at the Lord's mercy and grace that is shown to us. Whether through phone calls from friends or one of our neighbors offering to mow our yard, we have received so much encouragement and support. We can't thank all of you enough. We still have packing to do tomorrow. We have all of Julianna's stuff packed in one suitcase and now we have to get my and Ed's stuff into another suitcase. I guess it is obvious who is taking priority. :) We also received another picture of Julianna from the Spanish group sponsoring her orphanage. Here it is:






Isn't she the most precious baby in the world??

We enjoyed a picnic on Saturday that was given for us and 2 other families who already have arrived home with their children. Wanda Shaw, our Chinese teacher, hosted it and we had traditional Chinese food and a big cake. Wanda gave us a very special gift - a picture of Julianna with her name, birth date, adoption date, and province in Chinese. We had a wonderful time even though it was very hot out. I guess that is good practice for the hot weather in China!