We're off to Nanchang!

In about an hour and 15 minutes we will be headed to the airport to fly to Lily's province. We are going to head down to breakfast now...as if I could eat anything. I actually did get about 6 hours of sleep last night, but I was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:30 this morning! I guess I'm a little excited.:o) We'll probably post again after we get there and we'll have lots of pictures later!

The Day Before Lily!

I can't believe we are getting Lily TOMORROW! I am still in a state of disbelief. This is real. Tomorrow we will be a family of 3. I have pictured this day in my head for nearly 3 years, and I still really have no idea what it will be like...other than me crying a lot! Our flight leaves Beijing at 10:50am China time and will be about 2 1/2 hours. We are supposed to have time to check in to the hotel and get unpacked before we go get the babies. I found out today there are 10 families going to our province. All of the families have been assigned a number to help the guides keep track of us (they call out the family numbers every time we get back on the bus after sightseeing to make sure we are all there). We are family number 8...which means we will be the 8th family to get their baby. We've been told we will be called one at a time and each family will have a brief amount of time with their baby before the next family is called. I know I will be a wreck just watching all of the other families getting their babies...I can only imagine what I'll be like when they call us! Hopefully we'll be able to get some good pictures and video to post...assuming one of the 4 of us has their wits about them at that moment! We'll post them the first minute we are able. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our trip to the Great Wall today. (We also went to the Jade Factory today. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would and did a little shopping for Lily there too!)


The four of us at the base of the Great Wall


Robert and his mom walked all the way up to the tower. That is one steep climb!


The part of the wall Robert and Jewell climbed.

China-Day 2

We've had problems accessing our blog, but we're still here! (And no...our luggage is not!) We've had no luck with the airline. They have no idea what happened to our suitcases and don't seem to care too much about it. I've been doing pretty well until today, when I realized, I am getting my daughter tomorrow and I have nothing for her...no clothes, no pajamas, no bottles, no toys, nothing in which to carry her. I know all of these things will work themselves out, and once we have her in our arms, it won't really matter much. But putting all of that time into getting everything together, all of the things I wanted for her, and it not happening the way I imagined...makes my heart hurt. But we were able to get a few things for her at a local store here. And the best news...our wonderful friends, James and Allison, offered to go over to our house and get some things to FedEx for both Robert and Lily. How were we ever blessed to have such kind people in our lives? God made sure our paths crossed for times such as these I'm sure. So soon, Robert will have more than 1 pair of pants to wear and everything he needs, and Lily will have HER things! Thank you, thank you, thank you James and Allison!

On to the trip! Yesterday was a FULL and exhausting day. We left the hotel at 8:30am and didn't get back until close to 8:00pm. We started off at the Tian'an men Square. It wasn't nearly as scary as I had anticipated. Sherry, our guide, made sure to mention that we were not to ask her about anything political while we were there and not to take pictures of the guards. It was very crowded and I think I only noticed 2 guards (I guess I was expecting there to be tons of them all over). We were there for maybe 45 minutes and then moved across the street to the Forbidden City. It was interesting...the history of the City is quite fascinating, but that place seemed never ending! We'd pass through one gate into a huge open area, move on to the next gate and there was another huge open area. It went on like this for what seemed like forever! Once we finished there we were off to lunch...Chinese food! (We've had pretty much the same exact meals at different restaurants the whole trip so far.) Then it was on to the pearl factory where we learned about how pearls are made, how to tell the different qualities, etc. I'm not a big fan of pearls, but we did make a little purchase for Lily for when she gets a little older. Then it was on to the Summer Palace. After walking through there for about an hour, and with it being so hot and humid, and all of us being exhausted, we took the dragon boat back rather than walking. It was nice to sit for a little while! Then it was on to the silk factory where we learned about how silk is made and how they make it into comforters. By this time I was so tired, I really wasn't interested at all. And these factories have sales people who are like vultures! They follow you around everywhere and if you even look interested in something, they ask if you like it and want to buy it and practically start writing it up! (Much different than home where it's practically impossible to find anyone to help you!) Anyway, after that it was dinner and then finally back to the hotel. Here are a few pictures from our day...


Me and our moms at the Square


The Forbidden City (a VERY small part of it!)


Rick at the Pearl Factory showing us pearls inside of an oyster (eeeewwww!).


A Dragon Boat at the Summer Palace


Robert and I on the Dragon Boat-do we look exhausted or what?!?


Water Lillies


Thomas at the silk factory showing us how they pull silk to make comforters

Day 1 in China

Well, we are getting ready for day 2, but I was too tired to post last night about day 1! We had a really nice day yesterday. It was pretty quiet. We did some sightseeing in old Beijing in the morning and went to lunch after that. We saw some interesting things...including a little boy making use of his split pants right on the sidewalk! In China, kids have "split pants". Parents train them to use the "squatty potties" which are very common here...basically a hole in the ground. Anyway, their pants are split open so they can just squat and relieve themselves whenever and wherever they feel the need. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore! And the street vendors here are relentless! We got on the rickshaws and they were trying to sell us their goods. They followed us the whole way to our final destination and back again. They just don't want to take no for an answer! Our guide told us this would happen and to say "boo-yao" to them which means, "No, I don't want it". That word is going to come in handy. Anyway, after that we came back to the hotel, rested for a bit, went shopping at the Carrefour (which is like a Wal-Mart), went to dinner and then called it a day. I have a feeling this was our only relaxing day for a while with everything they have planned for us this weekend.

We are still dealing with the luggage issue. Robert was on the phone with the airline for quite a while yesterday. They have no idea where the suitcases are, only that they were checked in in Los Angeles to go to San Francisco. We already knew that, thank you very much! Anyway, so Robert is here with only the clothes he came in, plus I had 2 extra shirts in my bag. Lily's bag had all of her clothes, toys, bottles, books, medications she may need and the carrier I was intending on using. Thankfully her diaper bag, diapers, wipes and disposable bibs and washclothes were with my things. The families we are traveling with have been very kind and offered us anything we might need...we are thankful for them! Hopefully it will all get worked out soon. Please pray that they are found and returned to us quickly.

Thank you all again so much for your thoughts and prayers. The luggage situation has put a bit of a damper on things so we are hoping it gets resolved quickly, or that God will grant us peace and we can just move on. We'll keep you posted! Unfortunately, I am not able to read the comments that are being left on the blog. I will read them all once we get home, but you can email me directly and I can get back to you that way.


Our plane that took us from San Francisco to Beijing


Our hotel in Beijing


McDonald's in China!


Travis, Robin and Samuel


Us on the rickshaw


One of the dads in our group playing with kids at the King's Garden daycare/school


Our guide, Sherry

We're Here!

We made it to Beijing! It was a long 12 hours, but we're here. However, 2 of our suitcases are not. Par for the course these days I guess. Hopefully they will arrive on the flight from San Francisco tomorrow...assuming that's where they were left. Robert and Lily's suitcases are the ones that we are waiting for. At least we will be here for a few days to get it all sorted out.
Other than that, the trip has been fairly uneventful. Our guide, Sherry, is wonderful...so kind and helpful. We have a pretty light day tomorrow. We'll be headed to an old part of Beijing after breakfast. It's between 800 and 1500 years old. The roads are too small for cars, so we have to be pulled by a rickshaw...that should be fun! Then we get to come back to the hotel to nap and get ready for our VERY busy weekend. We will be out right after breakfast Saturday and won't get back to the room until after dinner.
It has been great to meet some of the families. I met Robin through our agency. We've been emailing over the past several days. She, her husband and 7 year old son live in Texas. They are here to adopt a 4 year old little girl to be named Lucy. Their son, Samuel, is from Korea. Both of the kids have cerebral palsey. Her husband is in the military, has been to Iraq once and is scheduled to go again sometime next year. What an amazing family. I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with them.
That's about it for now. We're heading out to the Chinese "Walmart" and then an authentic Chinese dinner. Pray for me!!