yup she is AWESOME

Yup she is just AWESOME, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, VERY SASSY and PERFECT in every way. I promise I have a long blog coming just cant ever sit down to type it all out. Libby is doing great - beyond great! THe boys think she is such a fun little sister - except when she is telling them what to do or telling on them (*which I just love).

She is started to get much more at ease with strangers around (no more crying when someone new enters our home but still alittle unsure). Thank you all who have dropped delicious meals, gifts for Libby and all the texts. I promise I will return emails and calls one day ....maybe 2 years from now when all my kids are in school. Love you all!

Happy, Busy and tired

we are doing great! Libby and her brothers are just having a ball. Joshua wakes up asking "wheres libby" comes home from school running into the house looking her to give her kisses. Ty loves her because she feeds him without asking or stopping :) and Drew has a new best friends (we actually refer to them as "the twins" because they are never apart).
We are still fighting jet lag - we wake up around 1am and now JOshua is waking up too because he hears Libby and we all go back to sleep around 4am GOOD TIMES! Libby is still extremely afraid of females but is LOVING me. We are only introducing immediate family females right now to try to build trust with them first. She really goes into total panic shock mode when she is around females - so sorry to all my friends out there dying to meet Libby we are going to be pretty strict with this especially due to all issues I had with her in China I dont want to her to lose trust with me. If I havent text, return emails or calls - sorry I am never around my phone (4 kids under 5 years old are keeping me beyond busy).

Home Sweet Home and fun jet lagged....

we made it home after a long 37 hrs (2 hr sitting in bus waiting on visas, 2 hr sitting at train station, 2 hr train ride to Hong kong, 1 hr bus ride to airport hotel then 19.5 flight home) Libby did awesome until the last 30mins of the flight to nashville. we arrived to a HUGE group of family and friends - i think now more than ever joe and i appreciate and value our families and friends more than ever. seeing our boys finally was so emotional they have grown so much!
libby is doing AWESOME! just jumped right in with the boys - seriously like she has never spent a day apart. our boys LOVE her!!! this is the most relaxed she has been and she truly cant stop smiling. i will post pics soon. love each of you

Coming Home

I am making another guest post, but just want to encourage you all to specifically pray for the Mabry's as they fly home. I just called the airline to get specific flight information for Brooke's parents.

They "should" have flown out of Hong Kong an hour ago, but that flight has been delayed. So far, that delay will not affect their connecting flight once they arrive in the states. Please pray for calm for the 3 of them as they wait for the flight to leave Hong Kong, and pray for a sense of peace once they begin the 15 hour flight home.

Looking forward to seeing Joe, Libby, & Brooke in Nashville tomorrow afternoon.

Brooke's Granddad

Just wanted to let everyone know that Brooke's grandfather (Joanie's Dad) passed away this afternoon. Please be praying for their family as they mourn and make arrangements. Joe & Brooke will be getting Libby's visa this afternoon and taking the train to Hong Kong tonight. Please pray for a sense of calm for Brooke as she has to make this long journey with a very heavy heart.

The Countdown

We are packing right now!!! we have our red couch picture in the morning, Holt is getting Libby's visa for us between 2-4 and we will be taking the train at 6pm to Hong Kong and FLYING OUT FRIDAY at 9:15am. As of right now the typhoon looks like it is not going to hit Hong Kong directly - thank the Lord. Libby is just really taking off and we are loving it. She is a stinker - its awesome. She HATES bows as you can tell from her pictures. We did the Zoo and Safari today which was absolutely wonderful - perfect weather, cool animals and took up the whole day so the day went fast.

We can't believe we are about to finally head home. This journey I can't even begin to process it or put into words. To think about what we have been through in a week and where we are now is truly amazing. It has been the hard and greatest 16 days of my life and i am forever grateful that God allowed me to go down this road. This afternoon I was holding Libby and didn't even realize that I was humming the children's song "Our God is so good" - that could pretty much sum up our journey here in China...while rocking my girl at the zoo I sang and cried
"Our God is good, so strong and so mighty there is nothing my God could not do"
It really is that simple - and I am thankful. See ya soooooooooooonnn!!

Papa Johns & River Cruise

We went on a river cruise tonight with our travel group (25 families) and it was so much fun. We have all gotten so close during our travel time together. it is just truly amazing watching these little chinese babies and toddlers just bloom into such happy kids with their forever moms and dads. Libby is doing so great with me now even letting me carry her in public and she wanted me mostly on the river cruise. she loves her little friend, Lucy from Knoxville, TN. Holt order everyone in our group papa johns - we are so homesick but that hit the spot tonight. I am pretty sure this was libby first time on a boat and she loved every minute of it. When the wind would blow she would hold her hand out to touch it and want me to do the same and smile the most pure smile i have ever seen. She would then try to catch the wind and eat it which made us both laugh so hard. I truly love this little girl with all my soul - exactly the same way i feel about josua, ty and drew. its like she has been in my heart and soul forever.

Random Funny Things that have happened in China

Libby is doing great with me and joe. TB test was fine and we are counting down the days to fly back to the good ole U.S.A. Please pray that the Typoon that is schedule to hit Hong kong Friday morning does not prevent us from flying out - I would DIE if we could not leave here fri and so would my parents! Joe and I decide to share some of the "funny" things that have happened to us in china.....ENJOY!

1. Watching Joe panick in Beijing airport when our flight to Libby's province was delayed again and the Chinese lunch did not settle to good with his hmmmm "stomach". Total sweats and running around looking for a bathroom (*also no air in the beijing airport and we were in the basement packed with thousands other chinese travelers). Once he finally found a bathroom the only toilet available was the famous chinese squat toilet. Good times!

2. Our guide's name in Beijing was "woooo." We just had too much fun saying it. WOOO WOOO like rapper ludacris' song. And no matter what we asked woo's response was "itsss ok-a" ex. "Woo is the food good here? itsss ok-a" "woo where should we meet you? itsssss ok-a" "woo are we going to be to fly out of Beijing to Taiyuan tonight? itsssss ok-a", "woo is this pollution/smog or fog? itsss ok-a". So now we say it all the time to each other.

3. I got about (not even) halfway up the the 1st part of the great wall and realized fast that I was afraid of heights and almost fainted.

4. A chinese man approached Joe and asked him where he was from in America. Joe said Tennessee. Then the man asked him all about the memphis basketball team and asked if he knew any of the players, joe said no that we live in Nashville. The chinese man was quiet for second thinking he was about to asking about either the titans or famous country music singer but then he said "ohhhhhhh miley cyrus" seriously? miley?

5.Libby is not fond of anyone who is Chinese which makes it hard leaving the room. She won't eat chinese food - just wants to go to the american diner (lucys) orders fries, eats beef jerky and dances to music (*which the best i can decribe is like Delilah After dark radio station)

6. We were getting into a cab in front of our hotel room and it was packed with people behind us bc it was lunch hour also trying to get cabs. I jumped in and Joe of course had Libby and he was a little big for the cab and wasn't watching and tagged his head getting in. Everyone in line started laughing and pointing at him - I was crying I was laughing so hard.

7. Libby sitting in her chair at dinner and pulled her legs up while exposing her underwear. Joe runs to her immediately and pulls her dress and legs down saying "libby don't show your ladyness." Then turned to me and said " i don't know what to call it". I almost fell on the nasty floor i was laughing so hard poor Joe just doesn't know anything about girls.

8. We are the new Modern Day family....since Libby would only go to Joe the 1st week and is so attached to him so she calls both of us "momma" which drives Joe crazy. She will point to me and say "momma" and then point to Joe says "momma." Joe keeps saying I AM DA-DA. Its really funny public when she is running to Joe screaming with a big smile "MOMMMMMAAA." Definitely gets some looks from the locals.

9. Joe finally got some free down time and was so ready to chill out and watch one of the only english speaking channel (we get 2 channels HBO and China CNN) and HBO has been playing nonstop old 80s movie (so Joe's boy). Except for this time (his only downtime0, it was playing the movie "Milk" the shawn pen gay rights movie.

10. In Tayiuan, our bathroom was 3 clear shower doors and a wall of mirrors. Libby would not let joe out of her sight 24hrs a day. I will have to admit as much as I was heartbroken over her constant rejection it was almost worth it watching Joe daily do this crazy "shower dance" trying to make sure Libby did not see any of his manhood.

11. While touring the Jinci Temple in Tayiuan, we looked behind us at one point and had about 30 families following and taking pictures/videos of the us.

12. Joe having a Mom moment after libby was demanding him to hold and carry her everywhere he turned to me and said "i just need a moment to myself I am so tired of her wanting wanting wanting everything from me. I just need a "break" - hmmmm welcome to being a mom honey!

Somebody Loves Momma!

there are no words --- i think the pictures explain it all. Love yall thanks for the prayers!

cue bono

"ITS A BEAUTIFUL DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

Libby has started to come out of her shell with me and other kids - she is such a happy girl. She loves little boys which will be nice when we get home! We met up with my yahoo travel group (about 15 families at Lucys) for dinner which was so fun finally meeting people i have emailed with for about 3 months. We have gotten close with another family who came with their 3 bio. children (2 boys and 1 girl). Libby can not get enough of Logan (their 10 yr old son)- she just giggles, plays with him and bosses him around all over the playground. She loves the playground and can do everything from sliding to swinging. When another child ran into her, she just bounced right back up and kept going.

This morning she woke up happy and was a little unsure of me at first but that only took about 10 mins to get over. She and I walked together to b'fast and went through the buffet line and smiled at me everytime i got her food. Once we got back in the room, she was allllllll about "momma" and I was loving every minute! She brushed my teeth, we played hide and go seek and tickles. It is sooooo good. We are leaving at 10am for her TB test results. Ok, I have to cut this short...some little girl is yelling for MOOOOMMMAAAAAA!!

Lil' Stinker Libby Xiao

Little improvements today...Libby let me walk with her (without Joe) through the b'fast buffet line this morning and gave me a big smile when i got her eggs, of course she ran into Joe's arms afterward like a long lost puppy but i will take it. We are starting to learn that she is a completely different child in the room than in public. After b'fast she let me play with her for about an 1 hr (thank you lord) in the room. She is a little stinker and VERY spunky - not looking forward to the teenage years. She likes to boss us around in the room and showing me just how she likes things to be :)

We went shopping in the jade and pearl market this morning. Its amazing what shopping can do for the soul. Joe got Libby some pearl earrings to give her on her 16th birthday and a beautiful fresh water pearl necklace to give her on her wedding day (yes he is totally whipped by this little Chinese princess). Joe was so sweet and got me some gorgeous earrings and pearl necklace. He said that it was the most deserved "push" present ever since Libby has been so anti-mommy.

Let me just share a little about my amazing husband! He is so patient and loving with Libby. It is hot here and Libby is the only child here that won't ride a stroller or carrier so Joe is carrying her about 8 hrs a day and hasn't complained once. He is such a wonderful Daddy. As much as my pride/heart hurts when libby chooses him over me, it does make me very thankful that she has those strong arms to run to and be wrapped in. There is just something so special about a Daddy's love (*hmmm learning/seeing alot about the Lord's love and the gospel). Joe has not gotten mad at me once when I am throwing my tantrum over libby not wanting me or missing the boys (this happens a couple times a day) - just gives me a hug and lets me cry. I feel so bad for him because he has libby and me to make happy - who both want opposite things to happen. He is handling it like a pro - he has not even had one "mabry tourettes" moment! I love him so much and could not have done this without him. Welllllll maybe if i had come without him, Libby would have HAD to bond with me -kidding kidding!

Keep the prayers coming - feeling them and appreciate them more than you can ever know. I can get emails but cant access facebook or any blogs. See yall in 5 days (i am doing the happy dance that I am in single digits countdown to home). Skpeing makes me really homesick so i am trying to avoid it right now but maybe later in the week. Love you all!

No News is Good News....Right?

Well nothing to report on the libby love. I had to do a paperwork meeting today for an hour and Joe said she could not stop laughing, talking and playing ....that is until i walked in the room total shut down again. However, I am so thankful to be back with our 24 couples travel group. I am just hanging out with the group (which is nice to have someone just to talk to since libby won't have anything to do with me) and I am getting to love on their chinese babies so I am getting my fix.

Medical was CRAZY and so hard BUT Libby did call out "MMMMMAAAAMMMMAAA" and i ran to her like a mad woman. She let me hold her with Joe beside us for about 15mins. She got 5 shots and we get her TB test results on Monday. We went to lunch afterwards and we had some good interaction with silly play but she is still totally wanting Joe all the time. I told a couple of people that "i think i am completely libbys bitch (ha) I feed her, help her with all immediate needs (like opening candy, toys etc., thrwoing her trash away and she throws the wash cloth at me to wash her and then runs into Joe's arms for love and snuggles". The bad thing is Daddy will have to go back to work on monday ----- and she wil HAVE to adjust to momma. So until then I am just hanging out in China missin my boys at home.

Half Step Forward, 10 Steps Back

Libby woke up this morning like a deer in headlights when she saw me....so needless to say we are back at square one if even on the square. I had Joe leave to exchange our money for the dr appt. He was gone about 15 minutes, and Libby screamed at the door the entire time. She would not let me touch her or anything. So far everyone in our holt travel group, their children have bonded with the mom over the dad -so its me and the dads chillin' together. Oh well...

On a happier note, I love GZ. Its so nice and very adoption friendly. Even though this really sucks for me - God is still so good because look at what I found...Ahhhh, thank you lord for STARBUCKS!!!!

Improving a little

It was a LONG day of traveling and Libby could not even stand for me to look at her much less touch her which made traveling really hard. Taiyuan was a hard city to be in with a "special needs" child LOTS OF stares. I have attached some pictures of some the looks we got daily - this was at the airport. When we toured the Temple, we had almost 30 Chinese people following us and taking our pictures - it was so funny. Our guide told us that they don't understand why we would adopt speical needs girls. Needless to say we were ready to leave the city. We got to GZ around 2pm and she is actually turning a tiny corner. She is letting me touch her if Joe is holding her and I am the only one who is "allowed" to feed or help her which is started to help with the bonding.

We went to eat at Lucy's (American diner) tonight with our travel buddies Wren, Tanya and Barbara. Libby did great and even got a little jealous/concern when I was playing with Wren which made my day. It was nice to just eat some american food and relax alittle. We have our dreaded Medical Exam tomorrow which I have heard awful things about :( Please pray that all blood work comes back good *a little concern because libby has a nasty cough that we cant get rid of and we get her TB test done tomorrow. Also pray for her little body because she is getting between 8-11 vaccines all at one time tomorrow.

I am loving all the amazing comments - you just dont know how much they mean to me. I have felt your prayers tonight and I am thankful for each of you.

On a another positive note, we are finally able to change her clothes with some tears but nothing like before. She is still hoarding her gotcha day jacket EVERYWHERE we go but I can live with that. Also when I took a shower tonight, I shut the door and Joe said she looked around for me and then went to the door (i am attaching a pic). The little things are worth big celebrations here!

Nothing has changed

Well, I wish i could say libby is doing better with me but she is not. She seems to fear all females but me more than anyone. She loves Joe and cant even be away from him at all. On a funny note, Joe is finally getting a taste of what is it like for me at home with the boys trying to shower or go to the bathroom by myself.

We fly out today at 11:30am for Guangzhou and I cant wait to leave Taiyuan. I am ready to be with other adoptive families and plus that means we are finally on the last part of this trip. I miss the boys more and more every hour. Pray that I will not take Libby's rejections personal and that I can somehow figure out a way to show her that I am here for her.

Just Joe

Libby wants NOTHING to do with me or any female. She only wants Joe 24-7 and it hurts. It does not help that I am really missing the boys and now libby doesn't want me touching her, holding her ---- nothing, only Joe. This is something our social worker prepare us for but it still hurts. It's going to be a very long 8 days until we come home. Please pray that libby will begin to trust me.

Funny Moments

OK a quick post before Libby Xiao wakes up (girl loves the computer and it is impossible to type with her banging on the keypad). She IS IN LOVE with Joe and wants him constantly but she and i actually shared a great moment in the bathroom yesterday afternoon with the bath water. She was finally ok with Joe taking off her shoes and we actually got to change her into PJs but she wanted her coat (Joe calls it her Punky Brewster Coat) right back on. You can see in the pictures our nightly routine of slipping her out of the coat while she sleeps.

I am hoping she will warm up to me some today but not getting my hopes up. It is so sweet to see her tucked into Joe's arms and see the peace and comfort on her face. Yesterday I was watching them feeling a little jealous Joe was getting all the lovin but then realizing that this the first time she has felt the love from a Daddy. It was neat to watch and know exactly how she was feeling because that is how I feel when I am around my own Daddy ---which made me cry because I miss my Daddy watching them. Its Thursday here (praise the Lord) and we are almost at the 1 week left mark.

We are very ready to leave Taiyuan and head to Guangzhou. We love Tanya and Barbara Robinson (our other travel partners)! I don't think I could have done this part without them. Its nice to have friends to laugh with and cry with during these long days. We are joke about "CHINA TIME" - you can look at your watch and see the time and check it what seems like an 1 hr AT LEAST and its only been 3 minutes ha!

On a funny note, every meal we offer Libby Xiao local "chinese" food but she choose Beef Jerky and Cheese. It's what we brought from home and shared my plate of Spaghetti for lunch and dinner yesterday :)

Daddy's Girl

Libby Xiao is loving some Daddy! She wants him 24/7. We did the Jinci Temple Tour today and libby did great...as long as she was holding daddy's hand. I am missing my boys so much I could just break - 7 days is a LONG time to be away from them and it is starting to take a toll on me. I cant even imagine how i am going to make it to 22nd but I look at Libby xiao I know that this is exactly where i should be. It's just hard bonding with her without the boys being here - of course if they were we would not be able. Please pray for our homesickness and missing the boys to decrease because we have a long time until we are coming home. We are about to go to the river to walk around it and play. Tomorrow, we are going to the zoo then we FINALLY fly out of Taiyuan and head to Guanghouz.

Our Little Butterfly

Our little butterfly is slowly coming out of cocoon! After we left the Civic Affairs, it was almost like Libby Xiao had a burden lifted off of her. She was very timided still in the room but calm and let us love on her. We needed to make a grocery run to stock up on some of her favorite snacks. She was so happy for the first time and really bonded with us. With each step of this new found freedom, she would look at us for approval and then smile -which then turned from a small giggle to a full blown sassy walk. Anytime a female gets near her so runs to me and throws her arms in the air and wraps her arms around my neck (yeaaaaa). We started to realize that she was experiencing a TON of firsts and loving every second of this new life. We gave her a wash cloth bath and she cried her eyes out but did let us dress her in something new BUT she had to have the coat that she had on Gotcha Day.

LIBBY's FIRST:
- pretty sure first time to walk out in the public
- she doesnt understand that she has choices and this was very clear at the 7-11 gorcery store. Every time we let her choose she just looked at us with shock but would never choose but would giggle with happiness when we choose one for her and paid for it and gave it to her.
- first time to ride an escalator - she was so unsure of the moving steps and had a tight grip on our hands but did GREAT.
- first time to have unlimited access to a drink, she carries her water bottle everywhere and wants it filled at all time.
- We walked all over the hotel and block, she had the biggest smile i have ever seen in my life.
- She ate great at dinner choosing chicken and watermelon

She really bonding with us and wants us around at all times. She does not like if Joe or i leave the room which we love!! She is starting to curl into my body with i hold her and wants to hold hands. She is just precious. It is truly amazing to watch this little girl that God made perfectly for our family to slow break out of her cocoon and started to really fly. It is just so humbling to walk around her province and look at the individuals here and know that Libby Xiao has a new life waiting for her at home. She can do and be anything she wants to be - truly the sky is the limit. It makes me cry that God has allowed us to be apart of this stepping block for her. I just cant wait to see what we will learn about her today.

We are doing great and very thankful for this time to have one on one with her but we miss our boys. I just cant think about this too much because it is just too hard. love you all and love the comments makes home seem alittle closer! 10 more days until we come home........

It's FINAL!!!!

WE had our final paperwork with China and its offical she's our daughter! Libby Xiao did much better than expected...still lots of little kitten crys and tears but when we left it was like she knew it was going to be okay. She held our hands and even reached for Joe to hold her. Praise the Lord she actually wrapped her tiny arms around my neck when we left the office building. She has not cried once since then (total prayer answered thank you for praying). We still can't get her to change clothes. She completely grabs at them and melts down when we try- we are about to attempt a wash cloth "bath" because she is so sticky from all the candy I gave her at the Civic Affairs this morning :) Then off to the 7-11 to buy her some more yogurt drink that she loves. She is doing great - MAJOR change in her since even this morning. It was so funny we ordered a ton of random "chinese" food for her and all she wanted was her Daddy's french fries --- She is such a Mabry! She is really enjoying the stickers (thanks aunt rae and emma). She is pulling off each one and sticking it on each other just another thing for her to put in her pocket which has about 30 ballons, candy :) SO far a good day

3 AM Party

OK - we have been up since 3am and still going strong! The prayers are working!!!!! Sweet Libby Xiao let me feed her and even smiled at me a couple of times. Its been such a major change - keep the prayers coming. Ali she LOVES her coloring book and makers. She is so smart, she just keeps surprising us every minute. Finally I got to take some of her layers off without too much protest - however, after she went to the bathroom (she is sooooo potty trained praise Jesus!) i took off the final layer of sweat pants which made her cry. She stopped crying once i let her put them in the bed with her (along with about 25 balloons, her medicine boxes, candy, her sweatshirt). ok off to play with my baby girl. Please be praying for her heart at 9am beijing time - 8pm yalls time we will see her caregivers again ugggghh!

My neighbor is posting my blogs for me and she forwarded a few comments, totally overwhelming thanks for the love and prayers.

Gotcha Day = LIBBY TRAUMATIZED

When we arrived at the Civic Affairs the babies were already there, when we walked into the room we saw libby xiao sitting with the one of her orphange workers the moment she saw she started screaming ....and never stopped. They said she was very smart and knew exactly what was happening. Libby xiao went into total shock mode and was screaming body stiff as a board. It didn't really upset us too bad - weirdly it was comforting to know she was loved well and was so attached to her care givers. The care givers gave us a bag of food, yogurt drinks and medicine (baby girl is running a fever and has a nasty cold).

We got her to calm down just a little in the hotel with blowing up balloons and giving her water to drink. She is wicked smart! She gathered everything that the workers left us and took out all the pictures of her from our photo album, wanted me to zipped her coat and then she headed to the door. She cried out for her caregiver and kept pointing to the door (this lasted almost an hour). This was heartbreaking. She really hasn't stopped crying so i finally tucked her into bed and she slowly drafted off to sleep. She is hoarding like crazy already. She refuses to take off her shoes or clothing (i think she realizes that means she is staying). They had her dressed in sweatpants with jeans over that and 3 shirts and a jacket. Right now she is tucked in bed fully dressed with everything she came with tucked tight under the covers with her.

Tomorrow we have our final paperwork with her caregivers AGAIN ugh! i am already dreading her seeing them and her realizing that she has to go back with us. Please pray for our little girl - she is hurting and scared which i don't blame her. Please lift her up in your prayers as we start this new journey. It's so hard not to be able to tell her that we are only here to love and take care of her. Our hearts absolutely love her so much already!!!!!!! She is TINY but long and so beautiful. Thanking the Lord that I finally got to kiss her even if she was screaming her head off while i was kissing her haha!