Day Three or....One Day to Go!!!

Another fabulous day in Beijing!  Our morning started off bright and early; we were on the bus at 9am for a one hour ride to the Great Wall.   On the way to the Great Wall we stopped at a jade factory.  Jade is one of the precious stones that they mine in China, so it is everywhere.   I enjoyed learning about the different types and colors and weights of Jade, as well as the meaning behind the artistry of the various pieces they make (all culturally, spiritually and historically based).   After the tour they gave us 30 minutes to shop… definitely not enough for me.  But Brian wasn't complaining J  The Great Wall is another one of those places that I don't think words or pictures can describe.  It was just breath taking. The weather was absolutely perfect:   sunny and brisk/cold.  This was good since we hiked the wall---probably several thousand steps, if I had to estimate--for a good 50 minutes or so (that was just on the way up).  No one else in our group ventured to go as high as we did, but Brian and I couldn't resist.  Not only was it spectacular viewing, but the higher we went, the less people there were so more peace and space to enjoy God's wonders.  (Plus…it was a great leg work out!)   The vastness of the wall and the work that went into developing it, are just unbelievable.  You can't understand it until you see it in real life.  As I was climbing I focused on appreciating all those souls who gave their time and often their lives to build this structure that now so many of us can enjoy.  On our journey down we met another couple who is adopting…they get their girl on Monday.  They were from Indianapolis!  On a side note, it is an interesting experience being a minority.  Sometimes people will just stop and stare at you.  We have had random strangers take our pictures when we are doing a group picture.   It seems lots of people want to talk to you and learn where you are from or why you are here.  Today when we were at an enamelware store/factory, one of the sales ladies asked why we were here (very friendly, mind you).  When we told her we were adopting she said "lucky girl."  I replied, "we think we're the lucky ones."  Oh, and the shopping in the enamelware shop/factory was fabulous as well.  People take such pride and put such labor and detail into their artistry…it is something to be admired and appreciated.  We had a fabulous lunch at this family style Chinese restaurant/banquet hall.  There were a lot of buses and large groups there;   I think that because they have a lot of tourists they take a western approach to the cooking.   The food tasted just as it would at an American Chinese restaurant.  It was fabulous.  The only thing that none of us really liked, and only a few( including Brian) tried was the full fish (head, eyes, fins and all).  Bri said it was not very good…I couldn't get past the way it looked at me.  They also had this rice-based alcohol on the table for trying.  When in Rome….so we all tried it.  I can only compare it to Saki…which I think is disgusting and tastes like rubbing alcohol. But we all got a kick out of the experience of trying this Chinese alcohol. Last we went to The Summer Palace.  As opposed to being in The Forbidden City, this is where the Emperor would go in the summer.  Here at the Summer Palace, the Emperor would only have about 1000 concubines (as opposed to the 3000 he would have at The Forbidden City)!  Again, the history, detail and beauty of these places are spectacular. The Emperor really lived large, and that is an understatement.  We were there right at dusk, and it is on a lake, so you can imagine how beautiful the entire experience was.  The pictures give you some sense of it all. Tomorrow is a BIG DAY, although no one needs to be reminded of that!   We fly out of Beijing around 11 am, arrive at Nanchang 2-3 hours later, and then at 4:30….we MEET LUCY!   Can you believe it?  The day is here!  So the next blog I post should hopefully have pictures of our sweet girl!   I am not sure how quickly I will get them on the blog, since I don't know yet about wireless access at the new hotel we will be in.  Plus, who knows how busy I will be with getting to know our sweet daughter.  But I will do my best!

Day 2!!

Brian and I woke up this morning about 4 a.m.   We were happy to have gotten a good 8 hours of sleep.  The room is very comfortable.    We headed to the gym (what else are you going to do at 5 am) and then headed to the buffet for breakfast.  I must say that Brian is much more adventuresome than I when it comes to trying some of the foods.  I did try some miso soup (not a fan) but Bri seemed to like it.  Mostly the food was good, with lots of western options (omelets, bacon, hash browns).  We headed to Starbucks after (of course!) with one of the other American couples, and their college- aged daughter.   We took a nice stroll around the city and got to know one another.   One of the bellhops at our hotel is very friendly…always trying to talk to us about things in America or the best places to go around our hotel.  This morning we learned of a grocery store nearby (called "wonderful" in English) where we can get the "best American pop tarts" (if we understood him correctly). Not sure that we will be taking him up on that offer.  But good to know anyway!  The rest of the day was full of adventures.  The weather did not cooperate, as it was very cold and very windy.  We estimated that with the wind chill it had to have been in the lower 20s.  We took a bus to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City . Tiananmen Square was as I imagined, but The Forbidden City was much more than anticipated.   There were a lot of street vendors trying to push their products on Americans.  We learned to say "bouya,,bouya"  (not sure of spelling, but this is how it sounds).  This means "no thank you."  Brian has difficulty with this and it seems the vendors could sense this, as they always flocked to him.  We all got a big kick out of it.  At one point I heard Brian say (as a woman was pestering him for money) "where is my wife?" wanting me to deal with her.  I just let him go and enjoyed the show J (see picture) Words really cannot describe The Forbidden City, and I really don't think the pictures do it justice either.   It is so vast, so beautiful, so detailed and so rich in culture and history. Our guide, Catherine, is just a wealth of knowledge and I feel we learned so much about China today (she is the one in the pictures with the blue flag).   There are 18 million people that live in the city of Beijing alone, which is only the 3rd most populated in the country (Shanghai is the second with 22 million)---hence, everywhere we went it was very crowded.  Driving in this city is similar if not worse to driving in NYC….quite a scary experience.  We next went to the Olympic Village and saw the water cube and the stadium where the opening ceremonies took place. (My mind is so tired right now the name of it is escaping me..the fish bowl??)  Although we enjoyed seeing the village, it was so darn cold, and after walking for 3 hours in Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City, we just wanted to get inside and warm up…. So we headed to "Dr. Tea"—this fantastic and gigantic tea room in downtown.   (see picture)  We got to sample lots of different teas and learn all about the medicinal and ritualistic value of tea.   For example, they only fill their tea 7/10 full in the cup; the empty 3/10ths is representative of the friendship shared over tea.  Last, we went to the theater for an acrobat show.  It was quite interesting and again full of the culture and artistry of China.  I would love to fill you in on all the detail, but I am so tired that I must sign off…. Brian is already snoring.    Even with all the hustle and bustle of the day, Lucy was never far from our thoughts.  Only 2 days!! Good night (really, good morning for you) for now…

Day 1!

We are here!   Yes, after a fairly uneventful (thank you God) flight from Newark to Beijing, we have arrived.  I thought the 13 hour trip would be worse, but the plane does a lot to accommodate folks on these long trips (note:  I can review Julie and Julia or 500 days of Summer for anyone interested).  A few highlights of our first day: ~A very intimate mass with Fr. Dave at Newark airport right before boarding.   Wouldn't you know that 10:30 on Wednesdays mornings is one of the three times during the week they offer mass? Brian and I couldn't have been more grateful or felt more blessed to have had our own personal mass before flying out.   We told Father the reason for our trip and he included specific prayers for Lucy throughout the entire mass.    ~Making it through Chinese customs and temperature control/quarantine area without a glitch.  Yes, we are still healthy!   Keep praying!  ~Meeting our most wonderful guide, Catherine.   She was born in Beijing but has been working with our agency for several years.  She has the kind of personality that you like immediately; you just want to get to know her better.  She has a warm smile and is filled with all kinds of helpful information.    For example, here in China they refer to girls that come from our Lucy's province (Jiangxi) as "spicy girls."  She says that often they have personalities with a flare …hence the reference.  I loved this!  We also met two of the families that we are traveling with.  They too, are getting their girls from our orphanage.  The excitement and anticipation is so evident in all of us.  ~We got updates on our girl.  For example, we now know for sure that she has been in foster care and can say "dad" "sister" and "goodbye".  This is good news!  It means she has been getting lots of personal attention that will hopefully help her with this big change that is about to happen.  It does make us sad as well, because the life that she has known and the people she has come to trust will soon be gone from her life replaced by people who look and talk and sound different.   For this we feel awful.   We also learned that she is "active, outgoing and not shy in front of strangers."   She likes "watching other kids play."  We were told that 4:30 is THE time on Sunday!!!  ~Our hotel is quite swanky… 5 star right in the middle of downtown Beijing.  Brian and I went walking tonight in the chilly 30ish weather.  There are so many people and their sense of personal space is very different than ours. Traffic is chaos and there are street vendors at every corner selling trinkets and copycat items. But everyone so far has been very friendly and accommodating.   I am writing this at about 7:45pm Beijing time from my hotel room.  But, alas, the wireless signal is too weak in my room to get a connection and I am too exhausted to go down the 9 floors to get the wireless access in the hotel lobby.  So I will send the actual post tomorrow.   For now…..sleep…I have been up for 28 hours and can barely think.  And I must get my beauty sleep to meet our girl in 3 DAYS!!!!

They're on their way!

Thanks to Mary, we have this photo taken at 4:30 A.M. ,as Karen and Brian headed to the airport! They left their car -- with new baby seat installed! -- at Mary's.

One Week!

Yes...the day has finally arrived!  One week from today we will be meeting Lucy for the first time!  Sunday, December 6th is the day that she will be brought to our hotel by some of her orphanage workers!  What a wonderful day that will be!!!  We are a bit disappointed that we will not be able to travel to her actual orphanage so that we can see where she has spent the first 11 months of her life.  But word has it that they are not allowing anyone to the orphanages due to H1N1.

Below is our itinerary.  We leave in 3 days!   Please keep all of us in your prayers.

Dec 3 (Th):  Arrive in Beijing 3PM their time (3am our time)

Dec 4-Dec 5 (Fri-Sat):  Tours to the Great Wall, Summer Palace and Forbidden City

Dec 6 (Sun):  LUCY DAY!!!  Fly from Beijing to Nanchung(a.m.)  Receive Lucy at hotel (p.m)

Dec 7 (Mon):  Go to Civil Affairs Bureau to complete adoption registration (Jiangxi Province)

Dec 8-Dec 10 (Tu-Th):  Tours and free time, plus some paperwork stuff

Dec 11 (Fri):  Fly from Nanchung to Guangzhou

Dec 12: (Sat): Visa and medical exam for Lucy

Dec 13(Sun):  Tours and free time

Dec 14(Mon):  More visa stuff for Lucy

Dec 15(Tues): Group oath taken at U.S. Consulate

Dec 16(Weds): Receive Visa for Lucy at Consulate

Dec 17(Thu):  Fly Guangzhou to Beijing (10am-1pm) Fly Beijing to Newark (dep 5pm)

HOME!!! Cincinnati!!   10:30 pm on the 17th.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Travel Approval!!!

Yes!!! It is official!!!  We have out dates for travel!  We will be leaving December 2 and returning December 17th.   What a blessing that we will be home with our girl in time to celebrate Christmas and her birthday. We have not gotten all of our inter-country travel arrangements yet, but are hoping to get those tomorrow.   We will fly into Beijing first and then fly to the province Lucy is in (Jiangxi) a few days after that.  Our Consulate appointment in Guangzhou is December 14th. This is when it becomes official that Lucy is our daughter! 

My life has been ruled by one list after another the past week or so;  I imagine it is only going to get worse.   It just seems like there is so much to do.  I am questioning how this could be, considering we have had 4 years to prepare! The picture above is some of the items that we sent to Lucy; we have been informed that she should have received everything by now.  You will notice the letter that we wrote for her (translated into Mandarin), as well as a pillow that was made with our picture on it.  It comforts me to know that maybe as I write, this pillow is laying by her side as she awakes from her nights sleep.

We will be going to NY next week to spend Thanksgiving with Brian's family.  When we return, we will be leaving three days after that.  How busy and exciting life is going to be for us! I can't wait!  Thank you for all the prayers.

Just Waiting....

I thought I should post an update, as I know many of you are curious and have been asking.  And as the title of this post suggests, we are (again) just waiting.  The photo is Brian on Halloween.   We loved sitting by the fire and thinking about how next year at this time Lucy will be with us.

Throughout the years, I have always thought this time in the journey (when we had received official confirmation of our Lucy and were just waiting to travel) would be very difficult for me.  Knowing my personality and demeanor, I really should be anxious...but I am not.  For some reason, I feel strangely calm.  I attribute this to the many prayers that I know Brian, Lucy and I are receiving.  Don't get me wrong, we think about Lucy constantly and I probably dream about her every night.  I get tearful when I think about that moment when she will be placed in our arms forever.  But I trust that God is looking over her, and that keeps me at peace.  So thank you for all of your prayers.

We have sent  a package to Lucy. It has new jammies, stuffed animals, a blanket, a camera (that hopefully workers will take pictures on for us), and a letter from Brian and I.  The business we used to do this (Red Thread) will also be getting us updated photos and information on our girl.  So hopefully I can share those with you soon.   We also have located Lucy's "finding ad" and have someone sending that to us.  This is the posting in the paper seeking Lucy's biological parents. This process has to occur before they can deem a child abandoned.  This will be the youngest photo of Lucy that we will probably ever have.  So I hope to share that with you soon as well.

We have our Visas and are now just waiting on approval from China to be able to travel. The approval should come in the next 2-3 weeks and then we would travel 2-3 weeks after that.  We will continue to keep you posted....