Whatever Happened to the White's?

We haven`t gone anywhere we're still here just been a little busy

Happy New Year's Everyone!

This has been some kind of a roller coaster ride, and time seems to be slipping by awfully quick. We have only been home just over a week although it seems like we've been here forever with our little angel. Christmas went by in a blurr, all the visits, phone calls, and emails we've been quite busy. The visits have been great with all kinds of folks, some as even as far away as Tracy's cousin from Ottawa! Its been great to have everyone over and visiting with us. We're still getting use to the whole parenthood thing, but for us, it seems to be quite easy with such an easy going little girl, we've been truly blessed. Madi loves the car but not so much the build up to getting there. You know what I mean, the big bulky clothing that we make her get dressed up in so that she is warm and that awful car seat....not Madi's favorite by a long shot, but I yet to come across a child that enjoys them.

Madi is doing great! So far no attachment or bonding issues, she is just so happy and fits in so well. We have found that once she warms up in a room filled with family and friends she will then allow herself to picked up by others. However she will definitley not allow Tracy or I out of her sight. Of course when she is tired she only wants Mommy and Daddy, so this makes us feel good. This little girl has touched alot of hearts over the past month and the tears of joy that all of you have shed has really touched Tracy and I. There is such a sense of community and family with you all, it has made it so much easier with Madi with such support.

New Year`s Eve has a different twist on it this year. Friends of ours, Bryan and Angela, are coming over and we`re going to just have a nice quiet evening at home celebrating the New Year and hoping for quicker referrals....come on January, right guys!

We want to extend a BIG Thanks out to all of those that gave the many gifts for Madi, although she`s not quite an age where she is able to appreciate the gifts we sure do.....oh but she does like the sound of the paper though...lol.

Friends of ours gave us a card and on it of course is a little poem, thought to share it with you all and we send this out to all the folks that have little girls or are getting little girls.

Having a daughter means loving
more than you knew you could love.
It means giving
more than you knew you could give.
It means receiving
so much more in return...
Having a daughter means knowing
that whatever else
you did or didnt do,
you gave the world something beautiful.

Just a nice little poem that so accurately describes what it is to have a daughter, a daughter born into our arms and hearts.

Here`s some pics and video of Madi enjoying some time with our family!

Madi, always smiling and clapping her hands with happiness!!



Even with a runny nose you can`t knock her down, again always smiling and interacting!


My parents enjoying and holding Madi for the first time.

Tracy`s Mom enjoying some time with Madi. Check out that smile! Is she a happy little girl or what.

Opening gifts with Poppy and Nanna White

Opening gifts with Pappa and Nanna Cameron

The little drummer girl

Tracy and I are not quite sure how we'll top 2007 in 2008 but we're going to try.

We do hope and trust that you all have a wonderful New Year, and may 2008 bring for you great prosperity!

Christmas.....

Ok it's quite early I just rocked Madi back to sleep. I never thought that having to get up at 4AM to rock a little girl to be so rewarding, but it is. It has been a tough past few days Tracy and I have ben both sick and we never made it to my Mom & Dad's for our customary Christmas Eve Dinner and gift exchange. This is not how we planned things to work out but just like everything else we've dealt with over the past month we simply roll with the punches. This parenting thing seems to come pretty easy for Tracy and I, and perhaps some of that is attributable to such and easy little girl we have. Don't get me wrong there has been some challenging moments but in the end all seems to work out. You know the past month has gone by like a whirlwind, it really truly seems like just yesterday when Tracy and I were sitting down in a goverment office peering at our daughter's picture for the very first time. It's very profound to have experienced what we have to have visited a civilization that is thousands of years old and that it is this civilization that our dear precious Madi comes from. We know that there will be someday a time when Madi will question where she came from and we hope to be able to bring her back so that she can experience China first hand with the understanding that she'll have as she grows up. For now though we will enjoy her, love her and provide for her the very best that we can. On her little shirt it says "Best Present Ever" to Tracy and I there has never been a greater present. We both agreed this year that we would not stress about getting each other gifts instead we would sit back and honor the true meaning of Christmas this year. That it is a time of giving and not receiving, that it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus not the commerciallizatin that western civilization has made it out to be. Last night it hurt us to be so down and out sick to not have been able to enjoy our families company and it is these times that I challenge all those of you that are still following our blogspot to just take a moment and reflect back on 2007, cherish the moments with freinds and family as once time has gone by it cannot be taken back.

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you!

Chris, Tracy, Madi and Ben.

Settling In

Ok, so we are finally getting over some of the jet lag and Madi is even adjusting quite well. Have I mentioned how great of an experience this has been? Maybe I did but I had to mention it again. We will still be maintaining our blog as we know so many of you have woken up over the past two weeks and enjoyed it and made it part of your daily routines. I know it won't be as exciting but if you would like to check in once in awhile and see how Madi is doing we'll be here and I'm sorry if I was mushy over the past few weeks but little girls melt their daddys' hearts. Through this blog Tracy and I not only wanted to keep you all to update as to where we are in China but to share the feelings and emotions that are behind the scenes that are so very often hard to put to paper. We have enjoyed very much posting and recieving al the wonderful comments. As we left China I took some photos of Beijing here are a few. Very interesting architecture One of the many pedways that exist throughout the city A toll booth - China style Traffic - China Style and yes this vehicle did break down and smash into the guardrail, the ony only accident we seen the whole time we were in China We'll miss China but oh what a welcomed site this was! Madi at home resting soundly in her own bed. Madi Meeting out dog Ben for the first time.


So here wer are back in Moncton at home in time for Christmas. We really couldn't ask for a better present! Madi is everything we ever wanted!

From our Family to yours we would like to extend to everyone a Very Merry Christmas this year and a Happy New Year.

Chris, Tracy, Madi and Ben

HELLO MONCTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, here it is 3AM in the morning Tracy, Madi, and I have been traveling since yesterday(Wednesday at 7PM) 30 hours it took to get home.....yes I know leave it to the White's to complicate an arrival. We only got into the airport at 1AM this morning. We would like to Thank all those that showed up at 10PM....now we would like to apologize...sorry about that but you know us we are always up for the long way around. We did not expect anyone to stay but a special Thanks to those that braved the late night! The greeting home was SUPER and it was nice to see our family's and friends at the airport. It brought tears to both of us. Our Mom's & Dad's, you are guys are AMAZING and VERY SPECIAL people! Everything you have done for us not just over the past 2 weeks while we've been away but over the past 30 some odd years. We now understand so much as we have now become parents. This has been an absolutely amazing experience and with your influence on both our lives becoming parents has been so much easier.

We are so glad to finally be home. Madi loves our dog Ben and I don't think we have ever seen her so excited! She will fit right at home here in Moncton. I'm feeling so much better and we would like the folks at Christ's Church for all your prayer support while we traveled. This meant a lot to Tracy and I to know that we had such a support group back home in Canada.

Tonight or this morning should I say we will settle into family mode...finally after almost 11 years of trying to make this family complete it has really happened for us. Dreams do come true and prayers are indeed answered so never loose faith or hope on whatever your hearts desires and you WILL eventually be blessed.

Now Ange, there are no pics tonight as you did get see Madi tonight...so am I forgiven this time? We will post more pics and videos as we get closer to Christmas and what a special Christmas for us.....no words can truly describe how feel but one that does come to mind is WOW.....Goodnight all!

The Whites - Chris, Tracy, Madi and Ben!

Last Night in China - Goodbye China....

Well this will be our last post before we get back home to Canada and the last time we will be online until Friday morning from home!!! This morning we toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, after some lunch we went shopping at the Silk Market 5floors of shopping. (Heh Bryan wouldn`t the girls love us after a week here! Never mind Dick`s Sporting Goods in Maine). Here a few pics that we took today.

Tracy Madi and I in the square with the countdown to the 2008 Olympics being held here in Beijing


A view of the square


The Forbidden City


A courtyard within the Forbidden City


.....Tonight we celebrated our stay in China and bid our farewells. I think I said it once before in a previous post but this is a bitter sweet farewell. First of all it is through this journey that Tracy and I have become parents to our precious daughter Madison. We have also made friends of which we shared very profound moments - becoming parents through adoption here in China. We were speaking with another couple today and we both felt the same way, that we share something very special between us, something that adoptive parents can only trully understand....haven`t quite been able to put words to paper on it but anyone that has been through this exeprience probably knows what I am talking about. The bitter part of this is that there is a little tug at our hearts that says we are taking Madi from her homeland and this does bring sadness to our hearts but we will give her what she would never find here being left as an orphan....Love, a Home, a Mommy and Daddy, and the support of our own friends and family back in Canada....ok now that I have stopped being such a mush ball I`ll be able to continue. Here a few pics of the families that travelled with us.







So I guess this is it China, goodbye for now, we will return someday with Madi to show her where she comes from this amazing country called China.......

See you all tomorrow night! 10PM at the Moncton Airport.

Chris, Tracy, and Madison

Day 12 - 2 More Sleeps Everyone!!!!!!!

In case you didn`t know we are so excited that in 2 more sleeps we will be on our way home....yaaaaay!!!!

Today was a full day for Tracy and Madi, I stayed back at the hotel to rest and recoup from what we think is pnemonia - not fun stuff to begin with, try having it in a foreign country 8000 KM`s away from home.....well with some prayers said last night I`m 150% better today even though I felt better I opted to rest today. Another miracle for us in this `big adventure` of ours is what we`re calling this one. I gotta tell ya I was figured I was going to be seeing the inside of a hospital last night. Anyway botom line is I`m now getting better........

So while I rested at the hotel today Tracy and Madi visited the Silk Factory and the Pearl Market with the rest of the group. Tracy really enjoyed the day and found the Silk Factory to be very interesting. She did mention that she could have very easily maxed out the credit card at buying up all the beautiful silks. It`s pretty amazing what worms can make! The Pearl market was alot of fun as well as her money did not last very long!!!! Gerald(Tracy`s Dad) would have been very proud of all the bargains she got today!

Tomorrow we will visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City and then another large market called the Silk Market. I`m not sure why they call it that as you can buy just about anything there, anyhow it should be quite a jam packed day and with me feeling so much better I will be out and about tomorrow! Tracy is sorry that she did get any pictures but having Madi she had her arms full. So instead we are going to show you some other photos that we have taken along the way......

This is it a chinese 'squatty'

This is Me and Tracy along with Yulin the Director of FOI(our adoptin agency) and Emily our new friend from BC who came here to China to get a new sister. Emily herself was adopted 3 years ago here in China

.......and goodness we cannot forget a pic of our little Madi....now doesn't she look comfy!! Tracy took this one tonight

Anyway off to bed as we have a big day ahead of us, we'll see you all very soon!

Chris, Tracy, and Madi

Three Days to Go!

Today was mainly uneventful, we are counting the days until Canada! 3 more sleeps for us....I'm still under the weather and we're just going to hang low for the next day or so. We unfortunately will not make it to the Great Wall, but that's not what we came here for now was it. Our prize , our precious little Madi is all we really longed for. The other stuff would be great to see and experience but our main focus is to get well for the plane ride home and to remain healthy.

We went to the doctor today and Madi made out pretty good, she is still somewhat timid around strangers but she warms up after awhile. She checked out pretty good has a slight cold but what toddler doesn't. Besides that we're hanging in there and wait impatiently for Thursday December 20th to arrive!

Tomorrow we are just going to hang around so I can get some much needed rest so here's a little video just to keep you interested.

Oh in case you are wondering Tracy says it's Tuesday in the video but it's actually Monday...she's just wishing the week away so that we can get back to Canada...

Chris, Tracy, and Madi

No 'Great Wall' for us today....

Sadly Chris still wasn't feeling well today and wasn't up to going to the Great Wall today. Madi wasn't feeling well either so we layed low. Chris is feeling a bit better, he actually went down at lunch for a bite to eat and Madi is doing great now too - thanks to Sheri for giving us some meds to make things flowing again...lol!

Sheri, Shayna (Sheri's daughter), Madi and I went for a walk this morning as it was beautiful and we went to the market to pick up a few things. I got Madi some baby food as she isn't eating much solids yet. So far she loves the carrots. There wasn't a big selection to choose from unfortunately. After lunch Chris and Madi went down for a nap while I washed laundry...NOT FUN!!!! Madi is still sleeping but she'll be up soon for supper. She didn't sleep much today so she was very tired.

Tomorrow we take the babies to the Doctor's to get a check up and then have the rest of the day to relax. Tomorrow night we are going to see the acrobats - I'm really looking forward to it. If Chris is feeling better on Tuesday we may look into hiring a car to take us to the Great Wall and Jade Factory as the schedule just has us down as shopping and going to the silk market. If we go to the wall on Tuesday then we'll go to the silk market on Thursday morning and then fly home in the afternoon. So we still may be able to get all the site seeing done that we want. (sorry Dad - so far we haven't come across any watches...but I'm still on the look out!)

I don't have any new pictures to share with you so here are just a few we've taken over the last week. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be 1 week since we received Madi. It seems like she's been with us forever. She is so comfortable with us as we are with her. Parenthood is AWESOME! Miss you all and can't wait to see you in 5 days!!!!!YEAH!!!!

This picture is just like her autie Tina - my parents have a picture of my sister sleeping in almost the same pose - leg up to the side...hmmm....do we have another gymnastic on our hands?

Here's Madi and Daddy having a snuggle after their nap.

Summer Palace & Panda's

Don't worry, it's not a 'mushy' post tonight...I'm just too tired to really think about anything more than the facts! I've got some bottles to wash before I go to bed. We have a VERY full day tomorrow starting at 9am with a 2 hour bus ride to the Great Wall and a stop off at the Jade Factory. We'll only be back to the hotel around supper time. Please keep Chris in your prayers that he is well tomorrow so he can do the wall and actually enjoy himself.

Today was a beautiful day here in Beijing. It was kinda sunny...I think as sunny as it gets here with all the smog! It was a very full day - but very enjoyable...well, at least for me (Tracy), Chris unfortunately is still under the weather so stayed in bed most of the day as we were both up most of the night. We had to do some paperwork this morning and then I went to the supermarket with a couple of the girls to pick up some water and a few necessities. When I got back Madi was sleeping with her Dada. We had just 30 minutes before we had to be ready to head out to the Summer Palace so Chris decided to stay behind to rest and Madi stayed with him. We didn't want to wake her up to get ready and I think Chris secretly wanted some Daddy and Madi time :o)

The Summer Palace was great, I can just imagine how beautiful it is in the summer when all the trees are full and flowers are blooming. After that we went to the zoo to see the Panda's eating. I got a few pics but they didn't turn out very good because they were in glass enclosures and it was kinda dark so the flash was reflecting off the glass.

We love you and miss you all and can't wait to see you next week!

This picture is a view of the private temple at the Summer Palace. It was used by the women to burn incense for their loved ones and there is also a ballroom where the 'dragon lady' held her birthday party every year. We didn't go up as it was a very steep climb and we were on a time crunch to get to the zoo by 4:30pm to see the Panda's feed.

This is one of the views of a lake at the Summer Palace, there is an open corridor that you can walk along the coast to take in all the wonderful views - at the end of this corridor is the marble boat. This is the marble boat where the 'dragon lady' liked to have breakfast. We weren't allowed to go onto the boat so we've just got a side view picture.

Now here are the Panda's! They are so cute! I just wanted to get in there and snuggle. They are such beautiful animals - much better in person than on TV!

Hello Beijing.....again.

Well wasn't that just interesting for Madi's first flight we may as well been on a ride at the Bill Lynch Midway, that had to be the roughest flight to date.....holy cow. Next flight....Canada bound!

So, we said our goodbyes to the folks that looked after us in Nanchang, Jiangxi - Mary our guide was wonderful, she really looked after us. Kudos to FOI they really know who to pick to look after the groups they bring to China.

It was somewhat a bitter sweet day as here we are taking Madi away from her homeland yet we're heading home to give her a life in our home and in our hearts giving her opportunity abound, to never be left abandoned again. We hope to be able to bring her back here someday once she understands how she came to us.

Here's a pic of Tracy, Madi, Mary our guide and I. This was taken in the foyer of the hotel we stayed at in Nanchang...yes it was 5 stars all the way.


Not much really to report as today was spent getting packed and jumping aboard a plane and getting back to Beijing. Tomorrow however we will be doing some paperwork first thing in the morning. Then we will be going to the Summer Palace. Later on in the day towards supper and feeding time for the Pandas we are off to the Beijing Zoo! Should be an interesting day.

Madi is doing awesome we could not have asked for anything more. She is now starting to respond to her Canadian name where we had been calling her Yi-Xuan we now use Madi and just about everytime we have her attention. Tonight we also had a break through, for the past couple of days Madi has been calling me Dada, well tonight while we were getting settled in she looked at Tracy put her arms up and said "Momma" we both had a tear come to our eyes. Leaps and bounds seems to be the way we're moving.....did we say we LOVE being Mommy and Daddy!!!!

The Whites are now one more step closer to home we cannot wait to get back to Canada and share our precious little Madi with everyone. You are all so wonderful, like yourselves reading our blog we sincerely enjoy reading each email and comment that you send us. Keep them coming.

Here's a family picture to enjoy see you all next week!


Just in case you're wondering...yes we are One Happy Family!

Chris, Tracy, and Madi

Day 4 - China is Real.....

Well we left the hotel this morning and made our way to a village outside of the city of Nanchang. This hit close to home for most of us for the reason that perhaps each of our daughters could have ended up growing up in one of these places. Profound to say the least......take a look at what we saw today, you will get it once you see these pictures. Looking up the village street,
our hearts go out to these people and as bad as it looks they are all smiling..... The man above invited us in to look around at his house.....this is what we saw... Sparse living conditions but they seem to have all that they need. I guess we all need to be thankful each and everyday for what we have.... After the trip out to the village we went to look at some Porcelain. As we all know China is famous for it's porcelain production but it's particularly the porcelain that comes from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi which is most famous. This is the capitol of procelain production in China. Here's some of the Porcelain we purchased today We're all doing good. Madi is becoming more use to us and has really warmed up towards us. She loves touching our faces and loves to laugh and giggle. We are so trully blessed. Last night she went down for the count at 9:30 and slept until 7:30 this morning. She has three naps a day one in the morning one just after lunch and one late in the afternoon each for about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs, this seems to be working so if it's not broken don't fix it...right? I treid to find an online manual for these precious little gifts from heaven and there doesn't seem to be any around....lol. Oh almost forgot pics of Madi, right Ange!!! Just after breakfast this morning... Mommy and Madi taking a nap...ahhhhhhh..... oh and how about another video....enjoy...

Day 3 Comes to an End

It's almost bedtime for us so here's is a post to end the day with as I know you all look forward to our blog each day. We now have the video thing worked out so bear with us.... Today we went to the Tengwang Temple. This temple was first built in 650 AD and then subsequently rebuilt over 20 more times being destroyed each time. The last time it was destroyed was in 1922. It was only rebuilt in 1989, it it still close to the original design of the time. Tengwang Temple Part of the Water Garden at the Temple ome of the amazing design and artwork that exists inside the temple We finished up with a show that was put on by all a group of women who ended the show playing some instruments. When they started playing Madi's ears perked up and it was as if she was understanding what they were singing. The chinese ladies playing their intruments The rest of the day was given to us to relax and continue the bonding with our children. FOI our adoption agency goes to great lengths to ensure that they give an appropriate amount of time each day to allow the families to grow with one another. Yulin and Bob have a very rewarding job. It has to be very touching to see so many families brought together....Thanks FOI for this! Later today Madi and Dad decided to take a little nap, unbenounced to me there was a photo shoot..... So day 3 ends and tomorrow we venture out to rural China where we will visit a town that is famous for its Porcelain production.

Here's a little video of Madi and Mom....enjoy

Good Morning - Day 3 - VIDEO ADDED...I think let me know

Well, I guess I forgot to post a picture last night with our last post I almost forgot you folks back home do not have a view that we do LOL....so here's a couple.

A Daddy and Daughter's first glance.....ya I know this one is a tear jerker from Gotcha Day! .....and how about this one, this is what we see when she gets up and looks around each morning..... So there's a couple of pics, we hope you enjoy.... Cindy mentioned about Walmart......well have we got stories for you all. Walking around now that we have Madi is a much more different experience than just a couple of westerners. We have pretty much elevated to celebrity status. Everyone stops to see you and those that speak English enjoy practicing speaking with you. The 1 hr shopping spree turned into paparazzi frenzy. Very few disapprove of what it is that we are doing and we have these great little cards that say on them that we are here to adopt our little girl and all seem to be ok with, so far. Poor Sherri in our group was chastised for not having enough clothing on her little one, but I guess this is a common occurrence. Today is another day and we will share what suprises we come across in today’s adventure. We love you all, Chris, Tracy, and Madi

Day 2 Comes to an End.....

Well, day 2 is over our first full day with Madi has come to a close Tracy is just snuggling her to sleep as I write a post to end the day with, while you folks back home in Canada are just getting geared up to start your days. Becoming a parent is a beautiful thing. I had someone tell me that you have to wait to understand what it is all about, how true they were. I guess having to wait for so long makes these two parents apppreciate parenthood that much more. Tracy and I work so well as a team we seem to be able to read each others minds when it comes to this stuff but I suppose after spending close to 19 years with one another that comes naturally.

Tomorrow we will visit a famous Pavillion of which we will learn more throuhout our visit. Then we are going to be visiting a village which is well known for its Porcelain production. Jiangxi is a well known province for its production of Porcelain. The village that we will visit will be closer to authentic Chinese living so we are looking foward to see what the majority of the popluation lives like.

Later on the week we will get Madi's passport so that we can travel with her. Last week we were counting the days until we got her now we can start counting the days until we arrive back home in Canada. We can't wait to share her with all of you. Hope you all have a great day, see you all soon.

Chris, Tracy, and Madi

Day 2 With Madi

Tracy and I at the Jiangxi Province Center of Adoption Services.





We started out today back at the office where Madi was "born into our arms" (Thanks Krista) This is where we had to go through a very simple interview and also pay our fees, and give gifts to the orphange director and foster mother.

We also had the opportunity to hold Madi's birth note today although we were not allowed to keep it we did get some photos.



We do not ever get to meet Madi's foster mother but she must be quite a lady. The way that Madi is today can only mean one thing that Madi was treated with care and love. In our eyes she prepared Madi for us like no other could have. She sleeps very sound, very rarely fusses and eats, pees, and poops like a typical 10 month old. We are truly blessed to have such a healthy, happy little girl. We then were off to have documents notoraized where our adoption became official today here is a pic of us with that document.



So that makes us official!! Madi is ours, all documents have been signed and she is ours to keep forever.

For the rest of today we are just going to relax and kick back a little. All the stress and anxieties, worries etc are now behind us as Madi is ours. It is like this huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders and now all is good. The butterflies that we now feel are no longer the nervousness of this journey but are of becoming new parents. Wow it has finally happened and it's more than we could have ever dreamed of. We are so in love with this little girl that has been in our hearts for years and in our arms for only 2 days.

Tracy feeding Madi


Chris & Tracy and now Madi!

Madison Has Arrived!!!!! - Updated!

Our new daughter Madison Yi-Xuan White.

Enjoy Everyone!!!







For Tracy and I this has been the most incredibe thing we have ever done as a couple to adopt our little girl Madi. I know that this is only the beginning to a long road of parenthood but we have waited together for over 10 years for the addition of a child to our family.

We are thankful to God as along this journey there has been way too many occurences that happened to be chalked up to coincidences. The way that this adoption has happened including how we arrived here in China so fast with so many stumbling blocks for us is nothing short of a miracle and sometimes it's the small miracles we overlook so very often.

We have quite a busy week ahead with a big day of paperwork planned for tomorrow beginning at 8:30AM we'll try to keep you all updated as to how we are doing but how about a picture of our little angel to end this post.....



Love you All, Chris & Tracy