Ana's Baby dedication at Thompson Station Church

Today we dedicated our Ana Mei to the Lord. We didn't get too many photos but here are a few. Josiah also had his Chinese outfit on. It was a special moment.

Ana and Josiah

Josiah is such a good brother. He loves Ana and sure can make her laugh. Here they are having some fun at the park.

Ana's welcome home shower

Ana's welcome shower 031
Originally uploaded by kmseiden.

I can't believe we have had Ana Mei home for one month! Things are finally getting to a normal pace with having 2 very active kids. Ana's been sick but is much better now. This is a photo from her welcome home party at TSC. Ana was such a social bug and thanks again to everyone who helped out. If you click on the photo you can see tons (more than you might like to look through) of photos of the shower. Just a note, the cake was fabulous - check it out and if you are local and interested - check out one of the photos is Lisa's business card or email me.

We're Home!

Josiah and his new sister (on the naughty mat, where else!) Two southern kids eating grits and eggs!
















We are so glad to be home with our complete family. The trip was somewhat difficult but the aftermath of jet lag has been worse! Ed, Ana, and I have all been quite sick and praying Josiah does not get sick too. Real jetlag is hard do describe or understand unless you have experienced it. We will post more when we recover but wanted to post some. Again, for those of you who have prayed for us, we are grateful!

Waterfall Inside the White Swan Hotel

Ana Days 11 & 12 055
Originally uploaded by kmseiden.

Well I cannot believe it is our last night and final post before we fly home. We will be getting up at 4:30 am tomorrow to start the long trip home. We fly back to Tokyo, then one lay over in the states and then home sweet home! It has been incredible. We had our appointment at the US Consulate today to take the oath and now everything is completely final. Ana Mei is a Seidenkranz and in our forever family!

Looking forward to seeing everyone again and please pray for our safe travels and our health. God has been awesome to care for us and we know He has heard and answered all of your prayers. We are overwhelmed. As a final note, for those of you who would rather read details of the trip instead of seeing tons of photos, I apologize. With my hand, it's been hard to type long posts and this has really been my thing to do not Ed's so we just stuck with the photos. Love and blessings to all!

You can click on the photo to see the last two days of pictures. Click view slide show next to the Ana Days 11 & 12.

Eating Broccoli!

The only foods so far Ana doesn't like is ice cream and watermelon. We thought everyone might get a kick out of this photo. We ate at the Cantonese restaurant and it was good again. Everyone cannot believe how much the two babies from Foshan City eat for the other 9 babies pretty much only take bottles.

Most of the photos today are from the park down from where we are staying, but I cannot get flickr to work tonight so I'm just posting a couple here. Ana Mei woke up around 6 am so we got out early to see the happenings in the park. It was fascinating to watch the people dancing, doing Tai Chi, and playing badminton so early in the morning. We sat outside a cool coffee shop which had great lattes and watched life in Guangzhou, China.
I went to an upscale mall today with some friends while Ed stayed with Ana. Imagine that, Ed opting out of shopping! It was upscale but the prices were great compared to USA. I bought 2 cute tops and a skirt (for me) all for $22.50 US dollars! We also ate at the McDonalds. It was tasty but no diet coke.

It's hard to believe we only have 2 more full days here. It's been a great experience but we will be so glad to be home with our whole family! Have I said that before? Love to you all!

Fun on the dinner cruise!

Ana Day 9 047
Originally uploaded by kmseiden.

Today we went to the toy market and that was very interesting. We thought we might not live through the taxi ride, but we made it. Crossing the street scared me even more. Ana Mei was a trooper along with her friends Mei Li and Kaia. This shot is on the dinner cruise. We were having a great time. It was nice and breezy on the top deck. We had a fun day. 4 more sleeps till we fly home!

Not to sound vain, but I'll go ahead and let anyone know that if you're following us and in Franklin or Nashville, you're welcome to come see us at the airport. We fly in Sat. Sept 2 at 5:36 pm. Just thought we would let you know. We will be so tired but so happy to be home and see familiar faces!

(I'm sure those of you following know this by now, sorry to be redundant . . click on the 2nd photo to see all of today's photos. Click view slide show to see all)

White Cloud Mountain Trip

Ana Day 8 051
Originally uploaded by kmseiden.

Today we went to the White Cloud Mountains. It was a four hour tour. It was beautiful and interesting but it is so hot here. Our clothes were soaking wet and hair too. (except Ed's ; -) Ana was a trooper but she tuckered out on the bus ride back. It was hazy today so the scenic photos are not very clear. Once we got back to the hotel we had a huge thunderstorm. It didn't phase Ana one bit. She fought sleep for about 3 hours and is finally taking a late nap.

Everyone in our group (11 families) decided to go for pizza tonight so we have all ordered Pizza Hut. What a treat. Ed and I never do this at home! Last night we ate at a wonderful Chinese restaurant here in the hotel with our friends, the Chesbros. The girls did great. No broken plates! Yes, Mei Li has broken a plate at breakfast and Ana Mei broke a plate and glass at the Tai restuarant the other night! These two are live wires!

Tomorrow is a free day until the evening cruise. I'd like to do some more shopping of course, but for those of you who know Ed very well, not sure if I'll be dragging him along again. The days go by pretty fast but I still cannot wait to be home. I miss my Josiah like crazy! It's so hard being away from him. Miss you mom and dad too!

Just click on the photo for Day 8 photos