Oct. 5th - Our last full day in Beijing

This morning we did not have to get up as early.  We had breakfast in the dining room and then met in the lobby at 8:30am.   First off to the zoo to see the Pandas.  That was the only part of the zoo we were going to tour since our day was pretty full and the zoo is very big.  It was raining most of the morning.  The last couple of days have cooled off a lot - we have actually been a little cold.  The pandas were so cute.  We caught a group of them at their morning feeding - they looked so playful as they ate their bamboo.  Some just lazing around on their back with their belly pilled high with bamboo.  They were so cute - Madelin really got a kick out of watching them  I did learn today that only baby pandas have white and black fur.  When the panda gets older their white fur turns brown.  I did not know that.

Off to the Summer Palace.  This was probably my favorite spot so far.  It was so beautiful and the pure size of it I just cant wrap my mind around.  When we first walked it you see this massive lake that was man made.  We got onto these beautiful dragon boats and sailed across the lake the Palace - which was so beautiful.  We will add pictures so you can see.  We walked up to the top of the palace which included which felt like about 600 stairs and the view was breathtaking.  We ended up walking back thru the long corridor which was amazing.  We of course learned more about the different emperors and their wives and concubines.   The emperor also had the most beautiful boat I have ever seen - he had it made to go fishing on.  However he made the boat out of marble which made it very, very heavy, in fact it was so heavy that it could never be taken out because it would sink.  I thought that was so funny!!!

We then stopped at Uncle Nelson's house - his wife Nancy and his son Tom invited us for a snack and to visit.  There are so many high rise apartment buildings in Beijing.  He lives on the 11th floor in a very nice apartment.  In China it is customary to take off your shoes - but you usually have something on your feet like slippers.  His apartment had a long hallway the first right was a spotless kitchen with a stove with two gas burners and then a little bit of counter space and under the window was a small sink.  They also had a decent size fridge.  They don's usually have ovens in a standard apartment or house.  His flat was spotless.  There was also a small bathroom the next door down from the kitchen.  At the end of the hallway there was a large narrow living space.  They had a dining room table that fit four, a couch and two chairs alone with an entertainment center type built in.  He had lots of books on his shelves some were albums that families had sent him of the children he has helped bring home.  There was one book called When China found America - this one gave him a chuckle.    Then Tom showed us his room - it was spacious with a large bed and a desk and night stand.  They must like snoopy because he had a few things snoopy in there.  Tom is 14 years old and also plays a traditional Chinese instrument.  Cant remember the name - but have the name at home.  Across from his bedroom is the laundry area where they have a washer and a nice counter space.  Nelson and his wife let us see their room as well - again very spacious with a nice size bed and entertainment center.  All the bedrooms had large windows in them.  They also had a nice size bath off their bedroom.  No bathtub here!!!  Off the nice living room area they had a wonderful enclosed balcony that had plenty of room.  They do not have dryers here so they usually hang dry all their things on their balconies.   They treated us to some very yummy treats cookies and pastries.  And his son Tom gave us a wonderful show with his traditional Chinese instrument.  Nelson said that he started playing when he was about 3 years old.  It was so wonderful that they opened up their home to us and a treat that we will not forget.

Then back to the hotel for lunch - today was peking duck!!!  They way they eat thisis very interesting.  They take a tortilla like shell - which is made of wheat, it is see through, then you load on the duck which I think is roasted then onion and cucumber and then a brown sauce and then you fold it up kind of like a burrito - but it is much smaller.  This was a hit with the group.  Of course all Madelin wanted was dumplings.  That is her favorite.

Then we had about 1.5 hours to rest and start packing.  We met downstairs again at 3:00pm to go to a local tea shop.  They actually tell you about the history of tea and you get to sample about 6 different teas.  We always find this so interesting.  Madelin seemed to enjoy herself as well.

Tonight we went to a Acrobat show which was at 5:15pm. Once we parked we walked about 6 blocks to the show and on the way he showed us a kindergarden - as we were walking by we noticed that some kids were in there.  I asked Nelson about it because it was Sunday evening - I thought that was very strange.  He told us that a lot of children actually go to school 5 - 6 days a week and actually sleep there too.  He said that families are very busy working and some people don't have a grandparent to help watch the children so they end up putting the kids in a school for long periods of time.  Very sad to us - but I need to remind myself that just because we do something one way does not mean that it is right.  We all have different ways that we live our lives - this one just happened to shock me.  We had a wonderful evening and these kids are just amazing at what they can do with their bodies.  We found it hard to watch at some points as they were bending and moving around.  It was painful to watch but at the same time we could  not keep our eyes off of them.  This was probably Madelin's favorite part so far.  She had a smile on the whole time.  We met a wonderful group of women from Sydney Australia - they were great.  The group of women have been friends for years and years and every year they pick another country to visit and explore.

Then back to the hotel to finish packing - we have a very early flight to Nanchang.  Our bags have to be all packed and ready for pick up at 5am. 

We get the babies tomorrow around 4pm.  Hard to believe this is finally happening.  Tonight will be a hard night to sleep I am sure.  Tomorrow our lives are forever changed.  We are praying that all girls adjust well.

Oct. 4th - more touring.

Well today started out less eventful then yesterday thankfully.  Madelin is feeling better - still very congested - which we are now starting to wonder if it is from the think smog.  Of course we all wake up about 3:00am ready to go for the day.  So we have been trying to force ourselves to go back to sleep.  Today we met in the lobby 7:30am with a full day of touring ahead of us.

First stop the Jade Factory.  Stopping at the factories are my least favorite thing to do.  It is like high pressure sales with about 10 people breathing down your neck.  But we also know that we want to get something for our girls because Jade is China's most precious stone.  In fact all the Olympic medals were made with Jade.  So each medal had either gold, silver or bronze with Jade on every singe metal.  Our guide told us that hundreads of years ago the emperor always carried Jade with him.  It was always something he had in his hand.  It was actually used as a sort of currency back them.  We ended up getting a pendant for each girl with the chinese symbol of double happiness on it.  Then I got a jade bangle (bracelet) for myself - these are very expensive but it is tradition to hand it down from generation to generation.  Due to expense we will have to purchase a second one on our next trip so both girls will get one years down the road.

Then off to the Great Wall.  This is always an exciting day for us.  The Great Wall is truly a must see for everyone.  Madelin had made two goals at the beginning of summer.  One she wanted to climb to the top of the Great Wall and the second she wanted to learn how to swim so she could swim by herself in China.  And now we can say that she has accomplished both.  This part of the Great Wall is not what you would expect.  It is straight up and all stairs!!!  The climb is very hard - all the stairs are different sizes and the slope is so steep.  Most of the group made it about 1/2 way up the first main climb.  Madelin and Greg made it up to the top to the first main town.  I still cant believe she made it that far.  The weather was pretty cloudy so our views were not always the best.  The the pure beauty of this place is breathtaking.  The rest of us were waiting toward the bottom and then all of a sudden it started to rain and really hard.  I was so worried about Madelin and Greg because they both did not have a jacket.  But they finally appeared and not sure how but they were relatively dry.   It was very crowded here today also - but today is the last day of Holiday so the city should clear out tomorrow.  The Wall is about a 4o minute drive from our hotel thru the country side.  We drove thru small towns.  They use every piece of land they can to farm.

We then drove to another site - we cant remember what it was called.  Something like Heavens Palace?  Again this place was masive. The only thing that we can remember is that the emperor was the only one allow there for the ceremony.  There was tons more but Greg and I both cant remember a darn thing.  How depressing is that.  Guess we need to start drinking a tea we learned about - that helps with memory.  But the funny part is that I cant remember what the name of the tea was either.  Ha Ha.  It is getting late I guess.

Next stop Confucian Temple - this place was built by an emperor after confucius died.  Confucius was a Chinese Philosopher who taught his students the value of honesty, fair dealing and respect for the law.   Once again massive in size and very beautiful.

Can you tell that history is my thing?  Not!!!  I usually go straight to the gift shop - but here there is not a gift shop.  

More swimming of course.   This night we ordered room service in our room.  We have ordered just about every night fried rice with egg and then something else too.  We had not had a problem up until last night.  When the meals arrived the rice and egg dish was different it had onion in it - which is not a big deal because we all love onion.  However we took a couple of bites and then realized that the onion had not been cooked.  The biggest no no for a foreigner (westerner) to do is to eat a vegetable that is not cooked!!!  So we immediately called room service back and asked for a new dish of rice and egg.  But about 45 min. went by and nothing.  We we called again - but still nothing.  Then Greg said lets just order a new one so he called and ordered a new one but we finally gave up about 8:40pm.  The language barrier can be difficult at times and this was one of those time.  

The next morning we told Nelson about what had happened - the next thing we know we have two ladies at our door one with money and one with a large plate of fruit - both saying how sorry there were for the mistake.  It was very nice of them to do that. 

Day - Oct. 3rd Touring in China

Well the morning started out a little scary for us.  Madelin had a hard night - she has a pretty bad cough and is congested so it is hard for her to sleep.  She kept telling me how hot she was - which she was really sweaty but had no fever.  I ended up getting up at 5:00am to get ready and then all of a sudden I heard her crying - I run into the room and she was completely soaking wet - her hair was dripping with sweat and she was like a rag doll.  We tried to get her to drink as much water as possible but she just was limp and could not even hold up her head.   We were very concerned as she sat/laid on the couch as her eyes kept rolling back in her head.  Greg ran to get Uncle Nelson our guide.  He came to the room and said we were going to go to the hospital.  Greg and I are panicked as we run around the hotel collecting what we need to go to the hospital.  All I kept thinking is prepare yourself because I have had a few friends that have taken their kids to the Chinese Hospital and I have heard it is very scary - nothing like what we are used to.

We gather all our stuff and scope Madelin up and start heading downstairs.  In the elevator Nelson says he has decided he wants to try and get her to eat before going to the hospital.  At first I was a bit irritated because I have never seen my daughter this way and I was so scared - it really seemed like something terrible was wrong.  So we head into the dinning room - where we are the center of attention because I am carrying this limp child in with her ams, leg and head hanging down - not to mention she is soaking wet.  Nelson says to me I think her blood sugar is low!!!  We must get sugar into her right now.  He gave her a big bowl of congree (rice porridge) and started emptying sugar packets in it.  Then filled a glass of water and filled it with sugar - we started to spoon feed her these two things first while Nelson went to fetch more sugar.  He brought back to the table taste with tons of jam, a danish covered in frosting, orange juice and watermelon.    After spoon feeding her the congee and drinking some orange juice she started grabbing food herself and shoving it into her month.  Over just a few minutes her color started to come back and then she started to sit up on her own and the strangest part the sweat was all of a sudden just gone.  She was back!!!  It was so scary - we have never had a blood sugar issue before.  But after emailing home to a few friends they all emailed me back saying these things can happen during travel.  Yikes!!!!

Madelin and I were going to stay at the hotel but she insisted that she go touring with the rest of the group.  So into the van we go.  First stop Tian'anmen Square. This week is a holiday in China - which means all the tourist sights are jam packed with people.  We wish that we could explain how many people were at each of these sites.   We tried to take pictures to show you but I dont think a picture can even show what we experienced this day.  It was so crowded it was very hard to take decent pictures due to the crowds.  There we beautiful flowers everywhere some left over from the Olympics and others for National Day - China's Holiday.  The space is masive and truly a site that everyone should see.   The crowds were so big that Greg had to carry Madelin on his shoulders for long periods of time because she was getting trampled.  It really was a bit scary at times - we were just in this sea of people - moving along just hoping that at some point you could get out.

Then off to the Forbidden City - again this site is truly amazing - the size of it is truly mind boggling.  It takes several hours to walk thru the grounds.  We took about two hours our guide said if you wanted to see everything it could take two full days.  There is so much history here it is hard to keep all the stories straight.   The courtyards are breathtaking and the architecture of the sturctures are amazing.  We saw the emperor's living quarters, garden, library, courtyard for events, eating area, thrown - the list goes on and on.

The other thing here that makes my head spin is that everything has a meaning.  Turtles mean long life, cranes we think are prosperity, lions are a symbol of power.  All the buildings have ceramic animals on the roof line to protect the buildings against fires and the number of animals varied depending upon the importance of the building.  Only the emperor's buildings could have nine animals.  So we spent all day counting the number of animals on each building.  The stories and the endless meanings just go on and on and on.  One thing we have learned is that we really need to study more of China's history so we can pass this down to Madelin.  Her knowing her heritage is so important and we want to be able to share this with her.

After hours of walking we headed back to the hotel for a Chinese style lunch and then of course Madelin was off to the pool for a couple of hours.

The evenings are free so we can do what we want.  We have been ordering our meals in and then heading to bed about 9:00pm.  Of course we are still waking up at 3am ready to go for the day.

Greetings from China - writen on Wed. Oct. 1st

Hi Everyone - well we made it to Beijing yesterday (actually two days ago) about 3pm.  The flight was really long and a hard one - it must be age because neither of us remember struggling with the flight that much on past trips.

Madelin did pretty well for the most part.  She did get sad about 1/2 way thru - I think at that point she was ready to get off the plane.  She cried a little saying how she missed home and wanted to go back.  But over all she did great!!!

That is until we landed.  Okay for those of you that know our family well you know that we have never experienced throw up with Madelin in all four years we have been together.  Well I can now say we have experienced it!!!

So the flight lands - everyone gets up and crowds the aisle.  I am standing in the aisle trying to get my bag out of the over head along with the other 5 thousand people.  Madelin says Mom - I turn around and she puts her head on my chest.  I thought she was just tired and then all of a sudden she starts throwing up.  I was covered from the neck down along with the seats, floor, some of our bags and the unlucky couple in front of us.  Thankfully they did not speak English so I had no idea what they were saying to me!!!  Ha Ha

She seemed to feel great after that.  I on the other hand am a sympathy puker - I hear it, smell it, see it - then I am in trouble.  So I had a very hard time - I could not change my clothes until we got to the hotel.  I think that was the best shower I have ever had in my entire life!!!

We are staying at the same hotel we stayed at 4 years ago - so we feel like we kind of know where we are.  Nelson our guide picked us up at the airport and drove us here.  It was very funny to watch Nelson and Greg trying to get our luggage in his tiny car.  Madelin was in heaven because this was the first time she got to ride in a car without a seat belt or car seat.  Mom was nervous to say the least.

It is very warm here - and the smog and humidity is very heavy.  We ended up getting a suite so we could have a little more room - which has been really nice.

We did have a man at the hotel that was very curious about us.  In the elevator he kept looking at me then at Greg and then at Madelin then back to me and so on.  Finally he said to me is she yours?  I said yes she is my daughter.  He looked very puzzled and then said that is very strange because she looks Chinese!!!  Then Madelin said yes we are Chinese Americans.  We walked off the elevator and I could not help but laugh - I looked back one more time before the doors closed and there he was shaking his head trying to figure the whole thing out.

We ended up going to bed about 7:30pm last night.  Madelin was still on the move but Greg and I were very tired.  Greg slept a little on the plane but I could not sleep at all.  Everyone slept well last night.  I did not think the beds were too bad here - but Greg said he woke up a lot because he hurt from the hard bed.  If he things these beds are hard - he is really going to feel it in Nanchang - those were the hardest beds I have ever been on.

This morning we got up and went to breakfast - lots of curious people there.  Its amazing to me how many people they have working in one place.  We had 6 people that would check on our table - so we pretty much had a staff member the whole time we were eating.

Then we all went for a walk and then to the local grocery store to pick up some drinks and some flip flop like shoes so he can take Madelin to the pool.  We then came back to the hotel and Madelin and Greg went swimming while I worked on setting up the computer.  If you want to use the swimming pools here you have to wear a swimming cap.  Madelin thinks that is the coolest thing.  Greg on the other hand has said I am not allowed to take pictures of him with his cap.  Total bummer!!!  Ha Ha.

The bad news is that Madelin is sick.  She woke up with a stuffed nose and now is loosing her voice.  I have some meds with me but not tons.  She is sleeping right now.  Her spirits are up even though she does not feel the best.

The rest of our travel groups should be here in the next half hour.  I plan to go downstairs to meet them.  Tomorrow we start touring.  Can't remember what we are doing tomorrow.

Tonight we are going to take Madelin bowling - they have an alley here in the basement.  It is the same hotel we stayed at with our first travel group.  It is bringing back a lot of memories.

We are so ready for Monday to come.  We just want to meet Molly.  Please keep up the thoughts and prayers.  We are so excited and of course very nervous.  We just hope she adjusts well to our family.  Madelin is seeming a little more excited about getting her sister.  Although she did ask me this morning while I was laying in bed with her - she said Mom you and I make such a great team why do you want to adopt another kid?

We will update more as we can.

Kari, Greg and Madelin

WE ARE LEAVING FOR CHINA!!!

We finally got our TA (travel approval) on Sep. 18th and then we requested our Consulate appointment that night for Oct. 14th.  Our consulate appointment came back on Sep. 11th - but Oct. 14th and 15th were full so our consulate appointment is now on Oct. 16th.

We Leave here on Tues. Sep. 30th and fly thru Chicago and into Beijing arriving on Oct. 1st.  Uncle Nelson is going to meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel.  The rest of the group will leave their cities on Oct. 1st arriving on Oct. 2nd.  We will tour Beijing for four days then leave on Oct .6th to Nanchang where we finally get to meet our daughter.  Then on Oct. 14th we will fly to Guangzhou where the US Consulate is and this is where she will get sworn in as a citizen of the US.  Finally home on Oct. 18th.

We are very excited for the trip.  Missy moo is getting excited I think too.  We will celebrate her 5th birthday in China one day after we get sissy.  

We did get some bad news last week.  Our daughters orphanage has confirmed that she has been drinking one of the brands of formula that has been tainted with the Melamine (plastic).  She was taken to the hospital a few days ago for testing and we are told that she is fine for the moment.  We are very concerned for her and the other children.  We have been meeting with a few doctors in our area trying to get a medical plan in place for when she returns.  All of them are concerned at this point.  This is very serious - the Melamine has been causing kidney failure along with a ton of other problems.  We know she is going to have to have a series of tests done when we get back and sounds like this could be on going.  The whole thing is very sad.  Please we are looking for many prayers for our daughter and the rest of the children in China that has been effected by this.

Yippee - we got our referral yesterday.

Monday afternoon just about the time I was trying to put Missy Moo down for a nap the phone rang.  It was one of our travel partners.  She said have you got the call?  I said what call?  She said the call?  I said no have you?  She said yes they just called us and we have a baby girl!!!  At this point I start shaking and I am thinking oh my gosh it is finally time.   We hung up and I called DH immediately but could not get thru.  So I waited which felt like about an hour which in reality it was maybe one minute.  Then I called a good friend of mine.  I told her oh my gosh our travel partner got their referral!!!  She said did you?  I said not yet!!!  We both started to cry.  Then all of a sudden the other line rang.  I said I have to go it is them.

I switched over and it was Mary E from our agency.  She said are you having a good day?  I said yes are you?  She said yes, do you want to have an even better day?  I said of course I do.  She said you have a little girl!!!  Her name is Bo Wan and she is in Jiangxi Province and living at the Poyang SWI.  She is 8 months old!!!!  The conversation did not last long - mostly because they only had limited information because the paperwork still needed to be translated.  She said do you want to come in for the paperwork and picture.  I said yes - then she said I will see you in a few minutes.

I kept trying to call my DH - but he was on a conference call at work.  Finally I could not take it and called his assistant and asked her to place a not in front of him to call hom immediately.  He called home and I said we have a daughter!!! 

We are thrilled beyond words.  And to be honest I think we might still be in shock.  I think when you wait that long 38 months so far from start of paperwork to referral we started to think maybe it was not going to happen.  To be honest I am not sure if I will believe it until maybe we are packing, or on the plane or maybe not until they place her in our arms.

Last night was a blast!!!  One of our travel partners came over with their referral and then a ton of our friends and their families.  We ordered pizza and some of the moms brought desserts and we all just hung out on the deck and visited and of course oohed and aahed over the babies.

After everyone left a good friend of mine called crying and saying did you get referral?  I said yes.  I said I tried to call you but only could leave messages.  She said she had been out at the fair with her girls all day.  Then she asked if she could come over.  I said of course.  I was so excited that they were coming because they were the ones that were missing at our pizza party and I kept thinking about them.  Then her husband surprised us and came over too - he drove all the way from their house (which is about 20-25 minutes away) then his wife and kids showed up shortly after.  It was so fun to have them here!!!

After that we realized that we left our original pictures of Bo Wan at Kinko's.  How sad is that we had our daughter for about an hour and then leave her at the store.  Ha Ha.  By the time I got home it was close to midnight.

Oh ya and the other funny thing that happened was that Missy Moo was so excited about being a big sister - she said mom I am so excited what is her name?  I said Bo Wan.  The she started belly laughing and then stopped and said ya but what are we really going to call her???  It was hilarious.

It was a wonderful day and one that we wont forget.  Now of course we just want to go get our daughter!!!!

 

Referrals are in Europe?

One agency in Europe is saying that referrals arrived today and the cut off is Jan. 31, 2006.  Not sure what to believe yet.  We should have a better idea if it is true in the next few hours.  The bad news is if referrals do come today in the United States - we probably wont get ours because our agency is not open on Monday's and Wednesdays.  How depressing is that???  After waiting almost 31 months what's one more day right?

We had a nice weekend.  Friday we had our adoption potluck here - it was a great evening and the group size was perfect!!!  At the end of the night a few families stayed a little later and we watched part of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  I love seeing all the girls playing together and of course they just keep getting bigger and bigger.  I never noticed how fast time goes until Missy Moo came along.  The years just go faster and faster.

On Sat. we worked around the house and got some painting done upstairs.  Then on Sunday DH and Missy Moo went to the state fair - which Missy Moo was so excited about.  They had a great time and she was all smiles when she got home.

Last night we had dinner with some dear friends of ours Barb and Fred - we host with them when international guests come to our state.  They had 4 Japanese Students and one teacher staying with them.  The boys were in High School.  At first Missy Moo was not too sure what to think of them but it did not take too long before she was flirting and asking them to play with her.  The boys were really great with her (although I think they might have acted the same way even if Missy Moo was not here).  They played down on the play set for 1.5 hours they were playing monster.  One of the boys was the monster and then the others were trying to save Missy Moo from him.  She just thought that was the best!!!  Although the one thing that DH and I got from this was that we will NOT be hosting any boys when she gets a little older.  Could it be possible that I saw my 4.5 year old daughter flirting with all these young men?

It was a nice evening and a pleasure to have met these young men.