Let’s Start at the Beginning…

If I’m gonna tell you a story, I really should start where the story started. So, here goes.

We finally arrived at the Beijing Holiday Inn around midnight last night…which actually felt like noon since that’s what time it would have been back home. Very hard to adjust to that! As Daddy got settled and organized the luggage, guess where I headed? Anyone? I bet Meggie knows…
…yep, right to the Internet! In my defense, my cell phone wouldn’t work (didn’t know I had to sign up for international roaming to use my cell phone in China) and I wanted to let the kids know we had arrived safely in Beijing. And while I was at it, I sent the Megster a blog post.

This hotel is really nice and – thank you, God! – the air conditioning is SUPER powerful! I was actually cold last night…and that NEVER happens! A few pics of the digs for those who care…

…well, the beds (which are quite comfortable) and the flat screen TV anyway. That was the extent of the evening. I finally got to bed around 2AM Beijing time…and we were up and at ‘em at 6:30AM for a L-O-N-G day of touring. Maybe that e-mail and blog stuff should have waited…

We headed out around 9:30 AM. I thought our guide, Sindy…

…said to meet at 8:15, but apparently she said 8:50. Oops…could have slept a bit more. There are 16 families in our group here in Beijing, then Sunday we will split into three smaller groups (our smaller group has seven families in it) to go to the Provinces and get our babies, then we’ll reunite with everyone in Guangzhou. It is a great group of people and an interesting mix of stories. We are having a BLAST being surrounded by so many people! Since we didn’t meet up with families until Guangzhou (the last half of the trip) for Carson’s adoption trip, it was just lonely. This is a nice change.

Meggie, you would be having so much fun this time…one of the moms brought her 24-year-old daughter as her travel companion and you two would have hit it off great. Her name is Erin (mom is Ann) and she is just adorable and reminds me so much of you!!

We were commenting on the bus on how different so many things are in China. For example, this…

…just wouldn’t happen in the States. Isn’t that a hot mess?!?! Looks super safe, too.

We headed first to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. To some of the families in our group, the history of the Forbidden City and the architecture kept them spellbound. To me? Well, it was a crazy hot day stuffed in cramped quarters with tons of crabby, hot, pushy Chinese people. Sound spellbinding?! NOT!! Just a few pics…

…starting with Sindy (and Derek, her friend who came along to help her organize all 37 of us) as we got ready to head out. As we started across Tiananmen Square…

…it occurred to me that the people with the umbrellas were pretty smart. Great way to create shade in a large open area. Guess what I just happened to grab out of the van when Grandpa B. dropped us at the airport?

An umbrella!! Since it was raining when we arrived last night and it looked like it might rain today, I threw it in my bag at the last second this morning. Not only was I much cooler, but I looked downright brilliant that I was prepared to beat the heat the same way the locals were.

This is the best crowd shot Daddy got. Can you imagine being bumped and pushed (personal space does NOT exist in China!) in 95 degree heat with 80% humidity with this many people?! To say it was rough for me would be an understatement! Blecchhhh!

A pic of Mommy and Daddy in the Forbidden City…

…and the adorable little local girl who was flirting shamelessly with Daddy when we grabbed some shade in one of the buildings. (Actually, that’s a bad angle…she was very cute in person!)

After what seemed like 100 years in the Forbidden City…but was actually about three hours…we headed to lunch as a group. Sindy took us to a nice restaurant where the meal was served “family style” as we call it… …and they just piled the platters of food in the center of the table on the lazy susan. I can proudly say I tried everything on there except for the shrimps (not a seafood fan), the cauliflower and broccoli dish (hate ‘em both) or the dirty-dishwater-looking soup. The funniest thing was the plates we ate from…

…but I didn’t feel like that pic gave you a good perspective of its size. So I compared it to a familiar object…

…my very compact cell phone. Yes, we were given platters full of food and expected to eat that food out of the equivalent of a saucer. Too funny!

After lunch we headed to the silk factory. We took no pics but it was pretty interesting. We got to see the process of silk making from literally start to finish…but then the heavy-handed sales pitch began. The sales people literally stalked us and followed us around the showroom. If you, God forbid, touched ANYTHING they thought you were gonna buy it and wouldn’t leave you alone. It was like playing tag, running away from them! Yikes! A few families purchased some things and then we headed to my favorite part of the day…

...the rickshaw tour of Hautong City. (Might’ve spelled that wrong…sorry!)

This is Tina…

…our guide for this portion of the tour. She treated us like simple-minded kindergartners and her English was horrible. (I guess it was English…I could barely understand a word she said!) She had a cute personality, though, and did her best in her awful English to tell us the history of this city. I don’t know why this city is important enough for us to tour it…in my defense, I couldn’t understand most of what she told us…but we were amused to hear that this small city has 96 bars in it! Ninety-six! Why would such a small city need so many bars?! How drunk ARE the people in China?!?!

Meggie, you would have been proud of me…I had an inspired idea. You know how everyone always stared at us in China and it drove you crazy last time?! Well, this time it has gotten a bit more irritating…they photograph us like we’re celebrities or zoo animals or something. I decided (this is where you’ll be proud of me) to photograph anyone who is photographing us…sort of give ‘em a taste of their own medicine. I’ll post ‘em all and see how many we get. Here is the first…

I mean, really…those are nice cameras and they were waiting on that corner like they knew we were coming! A small taste of celebrity paparazzi…uggghhh!!

Erin (the 24-year-old I mentioned earlier) noticed this sign over a bar as we walked to dinner…

…and I couldn’t resist taking a picture. Isn’t that a hoot!?!?!

Meggie, these are for you. When you get your first apartment some day, I would NOT be surprised to see a tablecloth like this on your kitchen table…
...since they were made of sequins! How comfortable would that be to eat on?!?!

This sign… …made me think of you, too. Don’t recognize it? Maybe this will help...
…yep, Starbucks! Unfortunately, since we were heading to dinner, I didn’t have time to go in and have a drink in your honor. I will next time, I promise!

Dinner was at a typical Beijing restaurant. It was not as nicely displayed as the lunch was, but it was our opportunity to eat like the locals and with the locals. I was quite distressed to realize that they didn’t have a fork in the restaurant…I had to eat noodles with chopsticks! (It wasn’t pretty, so there will be no pictures of that.)

So that’s it. We spent 10 hours in the awful heat but we sure crammed in a lot of sights! (We are all wondering if Sindy is trying to kill us all so she can have tomorrow off…)

Those who have followed my blog since Carson’s adoption trip may remember I ended every post with a picture of the kids together. Since I miss ‘em so darn much, I’m heading back to the archives and will send you off with some of those old pictures. Here’s the first… …which was actually the first picture I ever took of my kids together! Check back tomorrow for pictures from the Great Wall!

No Pictures Yet...But We're Here!!

After 30 hours of traveling...which included three different planes, layovers in Seattle and Tokyo, and a frightening ride to the Beijing Holiday Inn (geez, they have NO regard for traffic laws, plus it was raining)...we're here!! No pictures yet, though...sorry, it's 1AM here and we have to be up at 6:30AM! So a quick update and I'm headed to bed.

The flights were great! On the international legs of the flight (Seattle to Tokyo and Tokyo to Beijing) we had seats in the middle section of the plane where there are four seats, but no one else sat with us. It was AWESOME! We were able to stretch out and I even put the armrests up and laid across three seats to sleep on a couple of occasions. While the multiple layovers added time to the trip, it really was nice to get out and stretch our legs.

We got through Immigration and Quarantine with no problem. You should see it, though...most of the airport personnel wear masks. Guess they're afraid us filthy foreigners are gonna give 'em swine flu!

Off to bed I go...haven't had a decent night's sleep since Sunday night, actually, and I'm pretty tired. Tomorrow our group is going to Tiennamen Square and the Forbidden City...EXCITING!

Missing my kids like crazy...kisses to you both, Meggie and Carson!

Four more days 'til Gotcha!!!

Help!

Blogger is being really dumb right now and isn't letting me edit posts the way I want. The last paragraph at the bottom of the post below is not supposed to be all one paragraph. I've been trying to edit it for the past hour and it is not working at all!

I know my mom wants me to blog for her, but after today I'm not very happy! If you know what the problem is and how I can fix it, please let me know!

I'll try to do my best to blog, but the last post took me over an hour to do! When my mom calls, I'll tell her and we will figure something out!

So help if you can! And stay tuned in for future China posts! (:

- Meggie

Off We Go!!

So, here I sit...it's 3:30AM and we have not been to bed. What was the point? So much to do, so little time. But now the kids are at Grandma and Grandpa's, the checkbook is balanced, the bills are ready to be mailed, and the bags are packed! So after one LAST blog post, I'm heading to shower and we're OFF TO CHINA!!

Since I hear that blogging is blocked in China, I'll be posting drafts from my e-mail, then the Megster (Hi, Meggie! LOVE YOU!! Missing you already!) will be editing them and posting them to the blog. Hopefully it'll work. This is a trial run.

Last Wednesday, Meggie, Carson and I headed out to shop for the China trip. Before heading to Target, we went out to breakfast...
...so Meggie could make an organized list.
Carson spent a while thinking how he could be helpful...
...and figured THIS was his special skill!
What a goof! We had a great breakfast -- well, except for poor Meggie...
...who not only has celiac disease (meaning no gluten in her diet anymore) but also has lactose intolerance. She's so irritated with this restricted diet and despises having to remember to take her Lactaid. Poor gal!!!

Anyway, we spent a couple of hours in Target, spent way too much money, and headed back out to Meggie's car with the stuff. When I sat in the front passenger seat, I noticed a horrible, awful thing...

...Meggie left the headlights on! And, yes, the battery of her car was dead!!

So we were stranded IN THE RAIN with a wigged out Carson...

...in a small compact car. Joyful!! Thankfully, Daddy wasn't busy at work and headed out to our rescue. It was so funny...Meggie kept asking, "How grounded am I?" Lesson learned, Teenager! (And, no, we didn't ground her!)

We got some great stuff for Molly...but I'm gonna make you wait to see it until SHE sees it. (That's only fair, right?!)

So my next post will be from Beijing, China!! (GULP!) Pray for safe flights...and that Daddy and I don't kill each other on that wonderful 15 hour leg from Seattle to Beijing!!

Off we go!!!

Yes, Folks...










...panic is setting in today!!

Meggie has continued to comment on how calm I've been lately...well, that ends NOW!! I think I was calm because I had other things upon which to focus. (Wow, that was VERY grammatically correct of me. Juliette would be so proud!) But now those things are handled and all that's left is packing, cleaning the house, and boarding that plane on Wednesday morning. AAACCCCKKKKK!!!!

Last Thursday we had our travel conference call with Josh, the owner of our adoption agency, and the six other families in our Travel Group. While most of the info wasn't new to us (having been there, done that), we were quite sad to hear that China is not allowing visits to the orphanages due to the swine flu scare. To me, going back to where Molly has lived most of her life provides very necessary closure and I find it very upsetting that we are going to be denied that closure on this trip. I need to wrap my brain around this disappointment before we get there or it will truly ruin my whole trip.

So, off I go. The kids are still sleeping (the bums!) and Daddy's at work, so I need to make the most of the quiet and get some things handled. It'll be a whirlwind couple of days until we leave for the airport at 5AM on Wednesday. Wish us well, keep us in your prayers...and check back in for updates.

***********************************************************
Hi all! It's Meggie. I've noticed that the top pictures and words have an odd space thing going on. I'm going to try an fix it, I promise! If you don't see anything wrong with it, please let me know! I don't know if it is this computer that makes it look different, or if it is messed up.

Feeling Much Better, Thank You!

While nurses are notoriously NOT the best patients, I have been trying to take it easy. The problem is that I know I have to be back on my feet and ready to run in eight days, so I'm pushing myself a bit more than I should probably be doing (bite your tongue, Gina!) in an effort to get my body ready for this China trip. Despite a few setbacks and a possible infected incision, I truly feel like I'm over the hump and heading toward a quick and complete recovery.

We got our final travel arrangements today. We leave next Wednesday at 9AM and will arrive in Beijing on Thursday evening at 10:30PM...after a layover in Seattle, Washington, that is. We will spend a couple of days adjusting to the time difference and touring Beijing, then we'll be headed to Zhengzhou, Henan Province on Sunday, August 2nd. Gotcha Day will be the morning of Monday, August 3rd...which will actually be Sunday night in the U.S. We will then spend the rest of the week in Henan Province, flying to Guangzhou on Friday evening, August 7th.

We will be spending our week in Guangzhou at The White Swan -- the quite famous hotel where most adoptive families stay during this part of the trip. (For Carson's trip, we chose instead to stay at The Victory Hotel where we got a suite for less money than a room at The White Swan. This time, we weren't give a choice.)

We head home Friday morning, August 14th and...after layovers in Tokyo, Japan and Minneapolis, Minnesota and gaining half a day from the time difference...will land in our home state on Friday evening, August 14th, around 8PM.

I will, of course, be blogging daily. If I have trouble blogging from China (which can happen), I will be e-mailing posts to the Megster and she will post them for me...so bear with us. Don't know how much more blogging I'll be doing this week...this surgery has robbed me of what could have been four productive days. So, now we're into planning overdrive.

Check back...

I'm Home...

...and I feel GREAT! Surgery went very well and I'm safe and sound in my own bed. The surgeon said they found numerous stones, including a few in my common bile duct. (That is a very dangerous place for the stones to be, in case you didn't know.) While I was feeling a bit unlucky to have this happen so soon before our China trip, I am currently thanking God that it happened before our China trip and not DURING our China trip.

Thanks for the well wishes and prayers...heading to sleep now that the Percocet has kicked in.

Heading to the Hospital...

Just wanted to let my loyal readers know that the surgeon was able to get me in for 1PM today to have my gallbladder removed. (This is truly a miracle...he was shocked he could get me in so quickly!) We are leaving in a few minutes and I should be back home later this evening.

Prayers, as always, would be welcomed and appreciated.

Twelve more days, Miss Molly Jayne, and your Mommy and Daddy are heading your way...

What Does That Chinese Symbol Mean??

Well, you'll have to read this post to find out!

My friend, Wendy, from Church sent me the sweetest e-mail last night about her daughter, Lily. (Actually, I have two friends from Church named Wendy...so, no, Wendy P. I'm not talking about you here. This is Wendy K.) Anyway, it brought tears to my eyes -- and I'm not typically sappy like that. I am reprinting her e-mail here with her permission.

Brace yourself, this is the sweetest thing you will read in a while:

"Ever since Lily has been able to talk, and understand what it means to pray, she has come up with praying for the "China people." I don't know where it came from, but she has always prayed for things out of the blue...the smart people, the "not so smart" people, the happy people, the important people, the "not so important" people, the little people, the big people, and the "China people" are on her nightly prayer list - EVERY SINGLE night.

Well, a few months ago, we went to see the play "Annie" (back in March) and she started asking questions about kids without parents, etc., and orphanages, and all that. Later that night, when we were praying and she started listing things out, she came to the "China people" and I decided to tell her about Molly...a real "China person," who was in an orphanage, who was about her age, that was going to be getting a new Mommy and Daddy, that Jesus had picked them out special for her, etc.

Anyway, so for a few nights her prayer changed from the "China people" to the "China girl." Then, as she asked more questions about Molly, her prayer changed again -- from the "China girl" to God bless the "China girl Molly." Well, now her prayers have gotten much more drawn out...minutes long, several times a day, she wants to pray for "HER" special China girl friend, Molly, that "she knows that Jesus is sending to her new Mommy, but also to her to be her new special friend."

I just had to share that with you. Lily has found a special place in her heart for your little girl Molly, just through praying for her. Lily has been praying for "China people"...for your little girl...before she even knew about her. It dawned on me this evening to get online and to show her Molly's pictures and her face just lit up. I was wondering if there was any way I could get a printed one of her for Lily to frame in her room. I am not sure what your thoughts are on that. Lily is already trying to figure out what special toy she wants to set aside for her..."

Wow! Isn't that story amazing?! Of course I'll give her a picture of Molly! In fact, I have a 5 x 7 of this shot...
...sitting on my desk, ready to give to Wendy at Church on Sunday.

Oh, yeah, that Chinese symbol? It means "friendship."

The "Ouch" Report...

We got our final travel dates on Monday...and it took until Tuesday to get finalized flights. With Carson's adoption, we had about 5 weeks after TA to prepare for travel and I did the arrangements myself. This time, we only have 2 weeks...TWO WEEKS!!!...and I just didn't want to leave anything to chance. So I contacted Sue Sorrels -- a travel agent who comes highly recommended in China adoption circles -- and asked her to do all the hard work. She was glad to do it.

Even with Sue searching for two solid days for better deals, we ended up paying DOUBLE for these flights over what we paid in October of 2007 for Carson's adoption. DOUBLE!!!!!! Stupid economy...

Ouch!

This morning, relieved that we have our flights booked and finalized, I was shocked that I woke up at 4AM and could NOT fall back asleep. My mind was racing with things to be done before travel. My dear sweet husband was snoring...but today is his birthday so I couldn't complain about THAT!...so I got up and accomplished a few goals. At 4AM.

Ouch!

As I headed to work at the College of Nursing...at 7:30AM, three-and-a-half hours after getting out of bed but still quite early...I called my Mom to chat. About halfway to work, I started having pain in my upper abdomen. Mom was giving me all kinds of motherly advice and, as I listened, the pain kept getting worse. And worse. I made it to work, crippled myself to the building dealing with TERRIBLE pain, and ended up falling to my knees in the elevator.

I felt like I needed an antacid to settle the pain in my abdomen...but I asked a few people and no one had anything. Then the pain hit me harder. Without giving all the gory details, let's suffice it to say they included me on the floor in the ladies' room, my dear co-workers finding a rickety old wheelchair in a closet and running me to the Emergency Department (Ann pushing the wheelchair, poor Jo carrying a garbage can in case I needed to throw up), and my sweet husband spending a few hours of his birthday in an Emergency Department while I underwent multiple tests.

Ouch!

The result of those tests? I have "several gallstones" and must have an emergency gallbladder removal. Before we leave for China. In FOURTEEN DAYS!!! Are you kidding me?!

OUCH!!

I see the surgeon tomorrow and will hopefully get scheduled for surgery on Friday or Monday. No, I'm not thrilled to have surgery...AGAIN (remember how I just had surgery on April 30th?!?!?!)...but I want to do this quickly so I have time to heal before we board that plane on July 29th.

O-U-C-H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heading For a Breakdown...

...'cause I'm going back to school!

It is in my contract with the College of Nursing that I must start on my Master's Degree by December of this year. So, last night -- literally minutes before Shari from CCAI called to tell us we had our TA -- I was opening the mail and saw that I had been accepted into the Graduate Program of my choice. GULP!

We should be arriving back in the U.S. with Molly Jayne on August 14th...and I start class on August 24th. Good thing I'm at my best when I'm busy. Although "busy" won't even BEGIN to describe my life with a husband, three kids, two jobs, and a part-time Graduate School class load.

AACCCKKKK!!

Fundraising Raffle Results...

Many, many thanks to the wonderful people who donated the awesome prizes for our fundraising raffle and to the wonderfully generous people who donated money to the fundraiser in hopes of winning a prize!! We were able to raise $1,300 with our fundraiser...AMAZING!!!

Before I list the winners, a bit about how the winners were selected. I used what is called a Random Integer Generator that I found on the Internet -- a truly random way to select numbers. For every $5 donated to the raffle, you got one entry. I listed the names in order -- so if you donated, say, $10, your name was listed twice, giving you two entries. Then the Random Integer Generator did the rest of the work.

Does that make sense? I hope so.

On to the list of winners:








Swarovski Crystal "Mom" Bracelet
Random Number - 191
Timestamp - 009-07-11 01:57:01 UTC
Winner - Chelsie C.







Autographed Copy of Kay Bratt's book, Silent Tears
Random Number - 344
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:01:36 UTC
Winner - Epin C.








Lucky Mom and Ladybug Charms on 30 inch chain
Random Number - 123
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:04:20 UTC
Winner - Emily A.










Pirate and Princess Costumes
Random Number - 117
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:05:19 UTC
Winner - Amy B.









Vera Bradley Tote Bag
Random Number - 161
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:05:51 UTC
Winner - Lisa L.








Blog Makeover for Blogspot
Random Number - 145
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:31:13 UTC
Winner - Deb M.






Eight-Pack of Tickets to Regal Cinemas
Random Number - 337
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:06:55 UTC
Winner - Midge C.








7" Sony Digital Picture Frame
Random Number - 212
Timestamp - 2009-07-11 02:07:57 UTC
Winner - Kim H.

I will be e-mailing all the winners privately with details of shipping, etc...but I thought it would be more fun to find out this way!

Thanks again for helping us raise funds to bring Molly home!