Pictures!!!

Meili

Well, the day finally came! We met our beautiful daughter this afternoon at the civil affairs office here in Hangzhou. We left Beijing very early this morning, checked into our hotel and then had lunch and a short nap. At 2:30 we hopped in a cab to go meet Meili.

It's almost impossible to explain what the day was like after that and exactly how we were feeling. It was just unbelievable to finally have her in our arms! She seemed a little shy at first but didn't cry at all when we were first holding her... almost seemed more curious about who we were. By the time we finished some initial paperwork and left to go back to the hotel we were getting smiles and giggles from her. She did NOT like getting into the cab - it was the only time she almost cried. (Maybe that's because she took a 4-5 hour car ride here this morning.) We walked to a grocery store to get stuff for supper and we attracted a lot of attention on the way.

When we got back we fed Meili and then tried putting her to bed. That's when she seemed to get a little bit scared. She didn't like the crib at all, in fact, didn't like being put down anywhere. We let her cry for a while but it didn't think it was so nice for our neighbors. So Henry built towers with stacking cups over and over, knocking them down until Meili finally tipped over in exhaustion. She and Henry are sleeping on the bed right now. It's SO cute.

I'll try to have my sister post pictures on here. The first picture is in the taxi, heading back to the hotel and the second is Meili spacing out while Henry was building stacking towers. We'll post more soon!

Tomorrow!

We leave for the airport tomorrow at 5:15 AM. Our flight to Hangzhou is from 7:55-9:55 AM. Someone from Bethany will meet us at the airport and bring us to our hotel. We get Meili sometime in the afternoon - someone is bringing her to our hotel. We can't wait! We hope to be able to post pictures soon! See ya, we're off to enjoy our last night together in Beijing!

Flipping and Climbing

Yesterday we went to the Beijing Zoo and to a Chinese Acrobat show. We already saw the zoo this summer but they have dogs so I REALLY wanted to go back. There were lots of really nice dogs but the best ones were the two Pekingese dogs that looked like Simon and Otis. We also saw the pandas and lots of hilarious monkeys.

The acrobat show was AMAZING! We saw people flipping each other, others jumping through hoops, many spinning plates, and one lady contorted her body while balancing various objects on her feet, head, and hands.

Today we went to the Great Wall at Badaling. It was cool and really COLD!!! We're guessing that the temperature was between 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit plus some really cold wind. We did a lot of climbing which warmed us up a bit We also toured a cloisonné (enamelware) factory today which is where all kinds of cool vases, plates, etc. are made. Expensive stuff to buy!

Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing. We'll be visiting Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, and doing a hutong tour by rickshaw. Half of the Bethany families are leaving tomorrow morning to get their kids and the other half leave Tuesday with us. It's hard to believe that our time here in Beijing is almost over but we're excited to go get Meili! Don't know when we'll post
again… perhaps from our next destination, Hangzhou. We leave Tuesday morning and get Meili that afternoon. Hopefully we can figure out how to post pictures by then!

duck brain...

Hello everyone! Today's update includes more food and more sightseeing notes. Yesterday afternoon we did some shopping at the Silk Market and the Pearl Market. One of the best finds was a tiger hat for Meili. It's SO cute! "In Chinese folklore, babies wear this hat on their first birthday in order to catch, between the tiger's ears, all the heavenly goodness falling from the sky." We're a few months late for Meili's birthday but we got it anyway!

After the Pearl Market we went to what's considered one of Beijing's best roast duck restaurants. The duck was DELICIOUS! Our China friends will remember making the pancakes with the duck, sweet sauce, and green onions. Our server last night also showed up two other ways of eating duck. It was so good! Most interesting part... at the end of the meal they brought the duck's cooked head out to the table. Apparently it's one of the best parts. Henry didn't want to try it so I went for it. (He ate duck feet this past summer and I didn't so it was my turn to try something new.) It was... interesting. Not slimy like I thought it would be, but not my favorite Chinese food item. It is good to try new things!

Today we walked to Jing Shan Park. It's located just behind the Forbidden City. It's way up on a hill - built with the dirt taken out when the moat around the Forbidden City was dug. From the park we had a bird's eye view of the Forbidden City and Beijing in general. We could also see the mountains off in the distance. It's sunny and somewhat clear today and the view was just stunning. We walked to Tian'anmen Square next, hoping to go into Mao Xedong's mausoleum. His body is on display at certain times but it was already closed for the day. We'll probably go back tomorrow morning.

The other Bethany families arrived last night. This is their free day. I wonder what time they all woke up this morning. Tomorrow we start our group sightseeing and events by going to a Chinese acrobat show.

I guess that's it for now. We're having a WONDERFUL time! We'll post again when we can. Internet access is somewhat inconsistent - we've not been able to post pictures on here and Henry can't get into his email at all. Apparently an earthquake near Taiwan last month made some internet sites really difficult to get into.

location, location, location

We've been at our hotel for about 24 hours now and we're right in the middle of things! Take a 15 minute walk to the east to visit the Silk Market.... walk 15 minutes to the West - Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City... 10 minutes west - the Night Market with all sorts of yummy, interesting, and somewhat disgusting things to eat (at least by American standards). For example: fried silkworm pupa, fetal bird on a stick, fried scorpion, centipede on a stick, and a variety of things that are still moving on the tray. We choose strawberries and hawthorne apples covered with sugar glaze. YUM!!!

We're here!

Hello everyone. It's our first post from China. It's around noon on Wednesday for us, which means Tuesday midnight back at home. So far, we've had several WONDERFUL meals - one of the best was at a tiny little mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a seating capacity of 9. It was AWESOME! We've been visiting with friends (Lynn, Wayne and Lorraine), been scroll shopping, been awake at 4AM each day, and LOVE being in China again.

Two great things about the 13 hour Detroit to Tokyo flight over here: Henry had two emergency exit row seats to himself and I had a row of three seats behind him to myself. It was GREAT!

Our friends left this morning for Thailand and so we're heading over to our next temporary home which is the Beijing International Hotel (http://www.bih.com.cn/enviews/). We'll be there until Monday morning. The other Bethany families in our group will be arriving sometime on Thursday. We're excited to have a few days on our own to explore this awesome city and find more good food! We'll post again soon!

And they're off!

I just dropped Liz & Henry off at the airport. Here's what may be the last childless photo of them!

See you in a few days!

Well, we're about to shut things down here in G.R. This will be our last post from the U.S. We'll be heading out to the airport around 6:00 tomorrow morning and should arrive in Beijing around 9:30 Monday morning (G.R. time). That will be 9:30 PM Monday in Beijing. Not looking forward to that 14 hour flight. Maybe we can get emergency exit row seats.... Anyway, probably post again after a day or two in Beijing. Blessings everyone!

Intinerary

We received our itinerary over email yesterday. Looks like we are traveling with 30 Bethany families!!! That's a HUGE group. Here's what our schedule looks like:

January 22-24 Visiting with friends in Beijing

Janaury 25-29 Time with Bethany families - Chinese acrobatics show, the Great Wall, Cloisonne Factory, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Hutong Tour, and free time

January 30: GOTCHA DAY!!!!!! AM Fly to Hangzhou, PM - GET MEILI!!!!

January 30-Feb 4. Paperwork in Hangzhou, Sightseeing planned: West Lake Cruise, Six Harmony Pagoda, Tea Plantation, possible visit to Meili's orphanage in Wenzhou, free time

Feb. 5 PM Fly to Guangzhou

Feb. 5-8 Paperwork, medical exam, consulate appointment, pick up visa, and free time

Feb 9 Fly home

Wenzhou

We've recently joined a yahoo group of all people who have kids or are in the process of adopting kids from the same orphanage as Meili. It's so great to hear stories and see pictures from those who have been there recently. We've seen pictures taken in December of groups of toddlers in the orphanage. Is Meili in one of the pictures? We can't tell. All of those kids have hair. The pictures we have of her we think are from July and she doesn't really have any hair. I just can't wait to meet her in person!!!

Packing makes things seem a little more real... like this is really going to happen. We're mostly done... one big suitcase and one small one. I only woke up three times last night to add things to the list. Yesterday we weighed the suitcase that has all of Meili's stuff and a little of mine - it's already over the weight limit... and we're packing light. Oh well. The last load of laundry is calling, and we have some cleaning to do. I can't believe we're leaving TOMORROW!!!

READY!!!

I hold in my hand one American passport (mine) and one Canadian passport (Henry's) - each containing a valid China visa!!! They came via FedEx this morning! I woke up early, knowing they would be coming. I laid in bed, wiggling my feet with excitement until I heard the rumble of a delivery truck outside. I ran downstairs and grabbed them off the front porch. It's the last official paperwork we needed before we could go! We're ready!!! (Now just a lot of cleaning, laundry and more packing to do.) Two more days!

I love my class!

We had a fun party at school today! Kids brought books for Meili - favorites from when they were little. They gave us a beautiful wood toy box (which I assembled tonight.) We ate wonton soup, chow mein noodles and fortune cookies. One special gift was a dress they decorated for Meili. Each kid put their thumbprint and name on it. It's SO cute. I'm going to miss them when we're gone. But Meili is a good reason to go! You guys are GREAT! (Thanks Lynn and Jill!)

When we are there...

Some have asked what our schedule will be like once we arrive in China. Here's a possible list of the way things will go when we are there.

January 22 & 23: Spend time with friends in Beijing
January 24 - 26: Free time and touring with other Bethany families in Beijing
January 27?: Fly to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
January 27 or 28: Meili is brought to us at our hotel. She's ours! She will stay with us the rest of the trip.
January 28-Feb. 2: Paperwork, bonding time and sightseeing in Hangzhou, possible trip to Meili's orphanage in Wenzhou
February 3-8: Fly to Guangzhou for paperwork, free time, sightseeing
February 9: Fly home

Getting closer

Now we can start to count down this way...
"This is our last Sunday nap before we leave."
"This is our last Sunday evening at home with no kids."
"This is my last Monday at work." (says Henry - Liz had the day off for MLK's birthday.)
"This is my last ___ choir rehearsal before we leave."

Or we can count this way...
"Only 10 more errands to do."
"Only 25 more things to pack."
"Only 3 hours of cleaning left to do in our house."
"Only $20 left in our bank account."

The first way is much more fun. Henry's on his way to London right now. Hopefully the nice passport man will call him early tomorrow and say that his paperwork has arrived. Henry will be only about 35 minutes away so he can bust over and get it. Once he gets home we can FedEx everything to Washington D.C. and get his Chinese visa. Only 5 more days until THE DAY!

9 days left...

It looks like our consulate appointment will happen on February 7. Early next week Henry should get a call that his passport paperwork is ready - then he will drive to London, ON and will have his passport printed right there. The very next day we have to overnight his passport to Washington D.C. where they will complete his Chinese visa. It's tight but it should work. We're confirmed for a flight that leaves the morning of Sunday, January 21, arriving in Beijing on Monday, January 22!!! We'll spend some time in Beijing - a few days with friends we taught with this past summer and a few days touring with some other Bethany families. Then we'll fly to Hangzhou (the capitol city of Meili's province of Zhejiang) where we will meet and get Meili. We'll be there for a few days to complete paperwork. Then we'll fly to Guangzhou to complete paperwork at the American Embassy there. We fly home on February 9. Just think, in less than a month, we'll already be back... with a daughter!!! Praise God!

TRAVELING!!!

Looks like we might be leaving on Sunday, January 21!!! We're waiting to hear confirmation on our consulate appointment and to make sure Henry's passport stuff comes! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

TRAVEL APPOVAL!!!

It's here! At our house! Our Travel Approval has arrived! Our case worker called this morning to say that our paperwork was coming via UPS and would arrive by the end of the day TOMORROW. Well, thanks to a wonderful friend from church (who stopped by a little bit ago) we have our TA one day early. Now we can apply for visas, start planning travel dates, etc. Only thing were waiting on is Henry's passport. His first application was returned in December. Seems like they thought his face was too shiny in the picture AND there were shadows under his ears. Can you believe it??? He got new pictures taken immediately and we sent them overnight. Now we have to wait for the passport to come. PLEASE HURRY PASSPORT!!!

a letter!

First of all, a little bird tells us that information about travel could be coming in the next few days. Hmm... I can't wait!!!

Second, friends have translated the letter from Meili's orphanage for us. Thanks to Jimmy (parent's neighbor) and Lorraine (friend in China). Here are some of the things the letter tells us about our daughter.

1. Who chose her name and why? "The name was given by the staff and it means to have faith(confidence)."

2. What are her favorite foods and activities? "She eats everything and is not picky with food. She likes to watch TV and to be carried outside by adults."

3. How would you describe her personality? "She loves to laugh, smile and listen to music. She is active."

4. What makes her happy? "Hold her, carry her outside. Play games with her."

5. Is she close to a particular nanny? "She is close to several caretakers."

Letter from the orphanage

Well, we didn't hear anything this week. It's possible that nothing was sent to our agency this time around. We'll just keep waiting. An exciting thing this week was receiving a letter from Meili's orphanage on Thursday. In December we sent a letter introducing ourselves and asking the workers at Meili's orphanage to answer some questions about Meili. We had someone translate and mail it with a self-addressed-stamped envelope. They filled the sheet out and mailed it back! Henry and I were so excited to look at it. We sat down together and opened it up. All in Chinese! Oops, duh!!! We didn't even think about that. Right now my parents' neighbor Jimmy is translating it for us. He thinks he will have it done on Monday. Here are the questions they answered for us. We can't wait to know what they answers are!

1. Who chose her name and why?
2. Has she had any health problems or allergies?
3. What medical treatment has she received?
4. What are her favorite foods and activities?
5. How would you describe her personality?
6. Does she have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?
7. What makes her happy?
8. Is she close to any particular nanny? What is this nanny's name?
9. Was there a note or any other memento found with her?
10. Do you have her finding ad? Can we have a copy?