Ear problems
We had a nice Christmas. Brooke done well opening the gifts. She loved to tear the paper. She was not to interested in the gift. She only wanted the paper and the boxes.
Courtney had a great Christmas also. She enjoyed helping Brooke open hers.
I am still not feeling well. I have went two weeks with ear problems. I have had much pain in my ears. The pain has eased some. There is so much fluid in my ears that I can not hear. The right ear is feels like I am under water. It is very uncomfortable. I have been on two different antibiotics and it is not working. It has mostly been in the day time that I have had to deal with this. Last night I had terrible problems with my ear. I woke up with pain and my ear is stopped up. It is very strange. I have been in bed almost all morning. Brooke slept terrible last night so that is not helping things. I think if I could just hear then I could handle the pain.
That is pretty much what has been going on in our home. Other than that we are doing good. Brooke is still a Mommy's girl.

Merry Christmas
Just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. This is going to be a fun Christmas for us. Brooke is doing so good. She is such a sweet baby. She loves us all so much. She still does not sleep through the night and that has been really hard. I was only getting about 4 hours of sleep at night. Kevin has been off of work this week and he has been a dear. Last night Brooke slept much better and I was able to get more sleep.
Brooke is a big Mommy's girl. She wants me all the time. I can't even begin to describe the love I have for Brooke. I feel she has been here all her life. I guess deep down she has. I have carried Brooke in my heart for 15 months. Many days was hard waiting for her. All that seems so long ago. Brooke is truly a blessing from God. She has filled our life with sunshine. I know many say she is a chosen child, but I feel God chose us for her. I look at the whole picture. Brooke needed us, but we also needed her.
Courtney is so in love with her sister. Courtney has prayed for many years for God to give her a brother or sister. She is so thankful that God gave her the desires of her heart.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Denna

We are Home
We are home. We got off the airplane in Birmingham and was welcomed home by many of our wonderful friends. Our friends and family that met us looked so beautiful. I was so thankful to see all of them. It was a wonderful moment. Brooke went right to my mom. She then reached for my dad. She loves my dad. It was so amazing how she went to my family. It was like she knew who they were. Brooke would not let many other people hold her. She let my dad hold her with no problem. Of course that made my dads night. We found out that Brooke will let men hold her, but not women. Some of our friends went to my parents house to eat some snacks and Brooke would let the men hold her, but not the ladies. Bro. Cornwell got to hold her. Brooke went to him. She cried when Sis. Cornwell held her. Brooke would let my dad hold her more than anybody. She is a big Mommy's girl so if I am around she wants me. When it comes to her granddaddy she would reach out for him even if I was around. Kevin and I got to thinking about how strange it is for Brooke to let the men hold her but not the woman. We got to thinking back to our gotcha day and there was a man that came with the babies. This man was holding Brooke a good bit and he would wipe her nose and just seemed really in love with Brooke. I know that Brooke had many nannies. I just figured that her nannies were females, but maybe this man was her nanny. I am going to try and find out who this man was. He was Chinese, but he was a bigger Chinese. Most are very little, but this man was not. If this man did take care of Brooke that might explain why she likes my dad so much. Brooke met her Grandma Hardin and Grandpa Hardin and went right to her Grandpa. Brooke would not go to Grandma. It is going to take some time. I know in time she will love everybody.I am very glad that L.D was better when we got home and that he got to see Brooke.

It is 2:30 in the morning and Brooke is wide awake. I hope we can get her on our schedule soon. I tried to keep her awake today.
We are so thankful to be home. We are very tired and exhausted. We all came home with a sinus infection or some type of bug. That has not been to fun.
I have so much to tell you, but I can't do it tonight. I am so sorry I did not get to email home much. It was not cheap to use the motel computers. We were also pretty busy so I did not email much.
God was very good to us on this trip. I felt the saints prayers. The plane ride over was wonderful. Coming home was a little different.
Brooke is starting to cry so I will have to finish this story later. Sorry. Be back tomorrow.
Well I am back, but it is still morning. Brooke will not go back to sleep. I guess she is still on China time. Back in China it would be day time now. I hope we can get her on American schedule soon. Lack of sleep is tough. I hope I can stay awake in Church tomorrow.
Back to the trip home. I was sick and felt terrible. Brooke was sick and had a very high fever so she wanted me the whole time. She did good on the flight. She slept most of the time, but was not a good sleep. We flew from GZ to Tokyo. When we started to land my ears started killing me. They did not hurt on the way over so this was new to me. The pain was unbearable. I had so much pressure in my ears. It felt like my ear drum was going to burst. I tried chewing on candy, but the pain was to much. I ended up passing out which left me very weak. I had no strength to get off the plane. I guess I looked like I was drunk, because I was staggering all over the place. The flight people knew at once something was wrong. They were so kind and helpful. There was a cripple person that was suppose to be using a wheelchair and the flight attendant told the crew that I needed it more than the cripple. He told them to get another for the other person and they made me sit in this wheelchair. Of course I felt so bad that I did not know what all was going on. Somebody from the crew had already called a ambulance. I kept telling them I am fine. The would not listen to me. They did not want me to take the next flight. They wanted me to go to the hospital. Their thought was that the next flight was so long and they did not want to have to turn the plane around. Kevin does not get stressed easy, but this time his stress level was about maxed out. Brooke was screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. Courtney was crying because she thought I was dying. Kevin did not know what to do. He was so afraid that we were going to have to spend the night in Tokyo. Kevin tried telling the people that I have a low tolerance to pain and that the pressure and pain in my ear was just to much. We finally had them convinced that I would be O.K. They would not let me walk to our next gate. They had to wheel me and I am so glad they did. It was a long way to the gate. The airport was huge and it would have been a long walk. The lines was very long, but with me being in a wheel chair we were able to go in front of all the lines(which was nice) We probably cut a hour wait time. We ended up having to talk to a manager of the airport. He really did not want me to take the next flight. By the time we got to him my color was back and I was feeling much better. He said he would leave the decision up to the pilot. The pilot had to come talk to me and we had to explain my low tolerance pain to him and tell him the same story. He thought it would be O.K. Kevin and I did much praying because we still had two more landings. God helped me. I did have pain, but I could handle it. One flight attendant told us that when you are sick that it is much worse landing. Over all the flight home was not bad.
Like I said earlier we had a great welcome home comity. My yard was also fixed up pretty. There was a huge Welcome home sign in the yard. A tree had streamers and bears hung all in it. Our porch had balloons and welcome home signs everywhere.
Thanks to Diane and mom for all the decorations.
My mom had to spend the night with us, because Brooke was wide awake and Kevin and I had been awake for 36 hours. We slept very little on the plane. I was running 102 fever that night and could not hold my head up. I had no energy to pick Brooke up and Kevin did not either. My mom was a angel.I love and appreciate her so much.
Today I have felt better. My fever broke during the night. I am still weak and have a bad cough, but I am thankful to be home. If I can just get Brooke on our schedule it will be a great help.
I am going to try again to get her to sleep. Maybe I can get a few hours of sleep before church.
Denna

Hello Everyone! I just received pictures from Denna & Kevin!! I have uploaded all the pictures, so you can view them at either the picture page, or the Home Page of the website. I thought I would post the small email that came with the pictures. Enjoy! ~Amy

"Here is some pictures of our sweet girl. She has bonded great. The second day she was bonded to us. She loves to be held. We are very thankful for how well things are going. love you all. Continue to remember us. The Hardins"

This is Amy again! I received the following email this morning!! Congrats Kevin, Denna, Courtney & Brooke!


Our Gotcha Day went well. It was very different that what I thought it would be. We took a bus to the Cival Affairs Office. The babies was already there when we arrived. The building had no heat so the babies was very bundled up. The babies was in walkers when we walked into the room. Kevin spotted Brooke right away. I wanted to hold her right then, but of course I had to wait. Brooke was chewing on her name tag. They called out Qian Wen Bo and I went to get her. She did not cry at first. She looked at me like what are you doing. I hugged her, kissed her and held her, for a few minutes. She started to cry. Courtney tried to talk to her, but she cried even harder. My heart was hurting for her. She has a cold and a terrible cough. She cried so much that her nose was pouring. I gave her to Kevin and she still cried. Kevin said" Do you have a passey?" I did. I gave her the passey and she stopped crying and she calmed down. We met her nanny. The nanny said that Brooke was very stronged will and did not like it if anybody took something she had. (uhOH) One Nanny tried to get Brooke back, but she would not go to her. She clung to her daddy. I thought it was sweet. We came back to the motel and Brooke played with her toys. Brooke is very tiny. She is not walking. She crawls just a little. She has not teeth. She has hair and she is very cute and adorable. We love her so much. Courtney loves her to. Courtney is having a hard time dealing with why she cant hold her. We tried to explain that Brooke is scared and that she will get to hold her soon. I think our day has been great.
Most of the babies are sick with a cold because they had a snow where they were at, and lost power for a few days. SO they all got colds. Brooke and Courtney is sleeping now. I wanted to email everybody. I will try to post pictures if I can figure it out. I am using the hotels computer now.
Yes we ate at Mcdonalds and Pizza Hut. It was so good. The best meal we have had in days. Courtney is getting good at talking Chinese. We have had many street vendors that would try to sell us things. Our guide told us how to say no thank you in Chinese. Courtney would say" Boo shay shay to the vendors and they would start laughing at her. They thought is was cute. Courtney has had so much fun. People has stopped her to take their picture with her. It must be her hair. Of course it is because she is American and pretty.
Well goodnight. My minutes are running out. I Love and miss you all. Keep us in your thoughts. The Hardins

WE ARE IN CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mood:  happy
Hello Everyone!!! This is Amy, and I just received an email from Denna!!

We made it here. We are sorry we can't call home. our callingcard is not working. We have had so much fun. The plane ride was not bad. We have really had fun. Today we went to Forbidden City. It was so cold. We about froze. Kevin has done great with eating. He loves most of the food. We ate with a Chinese /family today. It was pretty good. Courtney is having a blast. She speaks Chinese to the people and they laugh. She has had several stop her and want a picture with her. We took a bicycle tour today and we feel so blessed to be in the states. The bike ride was fun, but we got to see some pretty hard times that people are having. Very sad. We hope our calling card works in Chongjing. We are going to the Great Wall tomorrow. It is suppose to be cold. We are ready to get Brooke. Tomorrow is our anniversary. Well I have so much to say but I am using somebody else's computer so I will go. I love you all so much and miss you. Please don't forget to pray for us. We still have awhile here in China. I can't wait to come home. Courtney does not like the food. I am kind of tired of Chinese food to. We have had it for every meal except breakfast. We ate Peking Duck tonight. Courtney LOVED it.
Well goodnight. I love you. Denna, Kevin, and Courtney

leaving soon.
Mood:  happy
I just wanted to say we have finally reached the end of the wait, and the day is finally here. This is our last night at home without Brooke.Thanks to everybody who has prayed for us. Continue to pray for our health and safety. We leave in the morning.
We hate leaving our family. God has helped me to rest in the fact that even though we are so far away from home, God is with us in China and he will be with our family here in Alabama. I took comfort in God being with Brooke because we could not be there. I know God will do the same for us and our family.
I will try and send some messages and pictures to Amy to post if I can. Amy is working on putting a song on my site for us. Hopefully she will be able to do that soon.
There is a few things I want to say to some people before we leave.
MOM and DAD, Try not to worry about us. God will take care of us. Thank you for all your support the past year. I love you guys very much. Mom I know this is hard on you with us leaving, but please take comfort that God is with us. We are not just anybody going to China. We are God's people and He will take care of us. Be strong and know that even though I am thousands of miles from you, you will be in my heart and mind and I love you. The time will fly by very fast.

Diane, Thanks for everything you have done for us. I love you. Try and keep my mom busy while we are gone. She needs you.

L.D and Nadine, I pray that God will keep you both well while we are gone. Stay encouraged. God is a strength and help in our time of need. Love you

Emily and Danny, Thanks for all your prayers. Continue to pray for us. Don't forget to pick us up at the airport. LOL Make sure you write the date down in really big letters on your calender. Love and appreciate you both.

Morgan City Congregation: Thanks for your prayers and support the past year. We love and appreciate each one of you. Continue to pray for us while we are gone. We will see you soon. Feel free to be at the airport when we come home. I am sure we will be tired, but we would love to see you.

Amy: Thanks for doing the web site for me. I will try and send you some post while we are gone. You can update everybody. Love you.

Bro. Jonathan Thanks for doing the song, even though we did not get it on the site. We will work on that when we get home. If Bro. Cornwell approves we would love for you to sing it our first Sunday home. Continue to pray for us.

Brooke: Mommy, daddy, and sissy are coming soon to get you. I love you so much. I can't wait to hold you and kiss you. I want to write some words to the song that Amy is going to post. These words are exactly how mommy feels.
I dream of you our little one. How big you are, and where you are. The Father has grown you in our hearts, though in another's care. We pray you are safe and warm.
When you come home,I'll hold you close to me. Forever we will be a family. I will tell you the story about Jesus Love. That you are a treasure sent from God above. We will laugh, we will cry,You will never be alone.
Your sister wants to meet you to. She has some things to say. Especially when it comes to dad and how to get your way. She wants to teach you how to count and say your ABC. How to play patty cake and bounce you on her knees.
Perhaps some say you are a chosen child. Don't know if that is true. Maybe it is more likely that God has chosen US FOR YOU.
Hang on sweetie. You will be in our arms soon.

The words to this song is perfect for us. Of course hearing the song is wonderful. Maybe Amy will have it posted soon.
I really don't mind if you sign my guest book while I am gone. I might even get the chance to read it while in China.
Well for now I must go. Love you all. Denna

Baby Shower
Last night I went to Kevin's work. The people who worked for him wanted to do a baby shower. It turned out very nice. We got about 5 packs of diapers and tons of outfits. The outfits was very pretty. I have already packed Brooke's clothes for China, but I think I am going to have to unpack them and pack some of these new clothes.
The group gave Courtney this stuffed dog that has a leash and a house. It is a travel companion for Courtney to take on her trip. Then they gave her a book and a Barbie camera.I thought it was really sweet. Kevin could not believe how much stuff we got. He called me after I got home and said some of the nurses from the unit he works gave us some really nice outfits. I can't wait to see them.
I did not sleep well last night. I was awake most of the night. I dreamed about China, , and about this 7 year old girl from China that wanted to be adopted. Very strange dreams.
I have three more nights of sleep and then we leave.
I can't believe it is so close.
Denna

last Friday at home with out Brooke
Mood:  silly
I just told Kevin that this would be our last Friday night at home without Brooke. Our next Friday at home we will have her. That is a wonderful feeling.
God has been so good to our family. Tonight my nephew Jacob spent the night with us. We bought pizza and played some games. Courtney and Jacob have been so loud and hyper. Kevin and I have been sleepy because of all the Thanksgiving food. LOL
Now Courtney and Jacob are reading my post. (NOSEY NOSEY little children) Now they are laughing.
Good night all my friends. Please continue to pray for us. Pray for our safety and health. Kevin said to pray that
the food will be dead and not alive.(LOL)
Kevin has been reading about the food and how they eat the shrimp alive. I will not go into the details. It is really gross. I told Kevin he will loose weight while we are gone.
We are suppose to eat dinner with two different Chinese families. This should be very interesting. I told Kevin and Courtney we will be O.K if we bless the food. God will help us to survive.
Another dish is Duck tongue. I am not so sure I can handle that.
I thought I said good night. O.K good night.
Denna

1 week
I can't believe that I will be on a plane going to get my baby this time next week. If is finally here.
I got my homestudy update yesterday. I am feeling very good. Actually I am bouncing off the walls. I am so excited.
Denna