Home at Last!

Well, we made it home Saturday morning with no more hitches and our luggage magically arrived ahead of us on the "cancelled" flight . My first impressions of Iowa after being gone 2 weeks (seems much, much longer) - Iowa is really, really green and there's nobody here!

I believe its Sunday night now - don't know where Saturday went! We're all a bit jetlagged to say the least. Still doing laundry, putting stuff away and trying to toddler-proof the house.

Thank you to everyone who made this adoption and travel possible. We're eternally grateful.

Jill

The Long Journey Home

We got up on Friday at 4 a.m. and finished packing when the porter arrived at our door. Actually, we weren't quite finished and it was all pretty hectic from there on out. We just managed to get on the plane in Guangzhou, again something we would never had navigated without the indispensable Nelson. In Beijing we were happily able to upgrade to Economy Plus and since the flight wasn't full, got a free seat for Stefani as well. That made the long flight far more comfortable.

In Chicago, clearing customs and immigration was about a 2 hour process. The girls were starving and it looked like we had just enough time for a happy meal before heading to our gate. As it turned, we had LOTS of time. Our flight was delayed 5 times and then at 10:00 pm. Chicago time, that's 11:00 a.m. Saturday Beijing time and about 31 hours of travel, they canceled our flight. Papa Al and Shannon headed off to customer service and came back with a hotel courtesy of the airline. At least we had a bed to sleep in, but wow! was Air China ever a superior airline! Everything went smooth as silk, their planes have a lot more leg room (go figure) and the flight attendants are far more courteous. Ok, now I'm just complaining.

Anyway, here we are still in Chicago. We'll be heading back to the airport in an hour. Hopefully we'll be home by noon. Don't know when our luggage will arrive though, since it was checked through to DSM. Yep, that's right. I've got one remaining diaper and we all slept in our clothes. It's been a loooooong journey home.

Jill

Last Day in Guangzhou

This morning we visited the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall and a nearby park, which I again do not recall the name of.  I personally remember it as the "Park with so many stairs leading to the Five Goats statue."  There's always a lot of stairs at the park, so remember it having a lot of stairs, well, if you've been there, you know what I'm talking about.  :)

This afternoon we got the traditional photos of everyone on the red couch, then set ourselves to last minute shopping and plenty of packing.  I always have a hard time packing, but now I'm really challenged.  What are we going to need with us on the many flights?  And the Chinese rules about carrying on liquids are different - everything has to be checked.   We've bought so many "souvenirs." gifts and lots of Chinese things for the girls.  I think we'll be leaving a lot of nonessentials with the White Swan ...    I sent Shannon back out to buy another suitcase in hopes of actually getting everything in a bag.   See you soon!

A Memorable Day

Today Nelson was turning in our paperwork to the consulate and getting all the visa "stuff" in order. The rest of the group had some other things to do, so we wound up with a free day and decided to retrace our footsteps from our last visit to Guangzhou in 2001 when we adopted Kati Mei. We taxied downtown to Liu Hua Hu park, a mammoth 96 acres complete with a lake, amusement area, playground, model farm ... the whole bit. Kati got to ride on all the rides they wouldn't let her on when she was just 11 months, and both girls enjoyed the playground equipment. We took Kati's picture in all the same places, then walked a couple of blocks from the park to The China Hotel, where we stayed in 2001. This was after about 3 hours at the park, and its HOT here. We had arranged to meet the rest of the group at the Mei Jing restaurant, or "the snake restaurant" as we affectionately call it, but by the time we got to the hotel, we didn't feel like walking anymore at all and I wasn't exactly sure how to the get to the restaurant after 6 years. Happily, the attendant hailed a cab for us and gave instructions as to where we wanted to go, and in just a few minutes we joined the group in picking out our dinner. We came up with a snake, some crocodile (I didn't think I'd like that, but it was good) shrimp, and the standard plate of broccoli and tofu for Mary and Nelson. :) It was delicious! What a fun day to celebrate our girls!

Worms for Dinner

Today was massive amounts of paperwork for the consulate ... will be again tomorrow morning. We had an awesome Cantonese lunch and headed out for some sightseeing to the Flowery Pagoda and the Chen Family Museum.

For dinner we went to another Cantonese restaurant where Kati was delighted to find sandworms on the menu. I've been telling her they eat worms in China and daring her to do it for a couple of months now, so imagine her delight at the opportunity! :) I didn't really think that through, though, because of course she wanted all of us to eat worms. So ... most of us tried one. That was enough. They didn't taste like chicken. They didn't taste like much of anything, so they weren't really bad, but ... they were worms! Kati ate quite a few just to show off. Mary and Nelson were having nothing to do with it. Too bad, it's not every night worms are on the menu!

Jill

Arriving in Guangzhou

This morning we flew to Guangzhou and are now at the White Swan. After a quick lunch at Lucy's we took the babies to the medical clinic for their consulate exam. We had a delicious Cantonese dinner up the street and are now in the room trying to figure out which bag we put what in. The extra traveling this trip is definitely more challenging that way. :)

Tomorrow we have paperwork in the morning, then some afternoon sightseeing. Isaac should be arriving around 9pm tonight. For now, I believe I'll get some rest. Traveling days really wear me out.

Jill

Last Night in Changsha

Tonight is our last night in Changsha. We had a lovely Cantonese dinner and then the girls all enjoyed a freezing cold swim in the hotel pool for one last time. Tomorrow morning we fly to Guangzhou, where Isaac will join us at the White Swan. Kati was totally excited to hear he is coming, but I'll bet Jane is moreso. I cannot imagine doing this without Shannon or Kati. Well, gotta get those bags packed. I also cannot imagine how we're going to get all the stuff in our room back into the suitcases!

Miao Miao Gets Baptized

Father Lee Hong Wei just delivered Stefani's baptism certificate to our hotel and I've posted a picture of him with us. He is the priest who did the baptism for us. Gotta Go!
Jill

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Today we went to mass at the Immaculate Conception church here in Changsha. It was so beautiful. A 400 year old church, and so awesome to worship with the people here. They were so friendly and wonderful. One of the priests, the one who speaks very good English, agreed to baptize Miao Miao after the mass. What an awesome gift to do so in her home province. Unfortunately my camera died just when we arrived and I left the hotel without batteries so they are no pictures of the ceremony, but it was beautiful and memorable. Tonight we're going to taxi back to get her baptism certificate, so perhaps I'll have it together then and we can get a picture with the priest.

By the way, mass is much the same and in some ways different. "Amazing Grace" is unmistakable in any language. But its the first time I've been to a celebration of mass that ended with fireworks! :)

Back at the hotel Shannon and Kati went shopping while Miao Miao and I played in the room. That was the best gift of all. She seems to have decided I'm okay after all and spent lots of time trying to get her ponytail holders into my hair. She is funny and smart and absolutely delightful, and I am so grateful to the many people who have made this possible.
Jill

Kati the Adventurer

This morning we went to another park, which I again do not recall the name of. I'm not even sure what day it is most of the time! :) It was just beautiful, with many different replicas of the major history and landmarks of Hunan Province. We loved it. The real joy was towards the end when we came upon a trolley ride. G'pa Wayne - eat your heart out! Kati was the first to ask about riding, but Papa Al was a close second. Kati the Adventurer was the first one out of the gate. She loved it. Papa Al and Nelson took a turn as well. So fun!

Now Kati and are back at the hotel doing homework while Shannon and Miao Miao are out shopping, so I'd better get off the net and tend to homework.
Jill

Our Water Babies

This morning we went to another beautiful park (I don't remember the name already). Kati was delighted to discover there was a dinosaur egg exhibit! How delightful! We didn't get to the Beijing museum so this was a really nice surprise for her. We also ran into many busloads of school kids coming to the park for a field trip. They all shouted "Hello!" and "Good Morning!" with perfect American accents. Kati got lots of attention. It was pretty fun.

Next we went to a museum housing the mummy of the wife of the Marquis de Dai from 193 B.C. and a huge amount of artifacts found in her tomb. It was very interesting.

After dinner we took the girls to the hotel pool. Kati has always been a water girl, and we discovered our new girls are as well. The 3 splashed and played until their lips turned blue.



Miao Miao is a little sprinter. She loves to walk and she gets away FAST! I think it's time to break out the harness. She is more and more comfortable with us. It's astonishing how fast both of the girls are adjusting to their new families. Such tremendous changes in so little time!

Kati has discovered that babies can be very dangerous. Miao Miao has smacked her good a couple of times and got her in the eye once, and today Rachel bit her pinkie finger like it was a chicken nugget. She's decided to keep a little more distance and a close watch on these dangerous babies!

Kati wants everyone to know she has all 5 Beijing Olympic Fu-Wa mascot dolls, Ning Ning, Bei Bei, Ying Ying, Huan Huan and Jing Jing. They're soooo cool.

So much more to say, but I've got to get some rest.

Miao Miao Shines

This is Jill again. Poor Shannon is exhausted - looks like he's run a marathon and I bet he feels that way too! Miao Miao hasn't given him much of a break in the last 48 hours. :-)

This morning we went to a park at the site of the old Changsha city wall and gate, about 600 years old. I love Chinese parks and gardens - so beautiful! Then off to the Hunan Embroidery Institute, which was also quite interesting. Back at the hotel Kati and I went to a nice quite lounging area to work on homework while Shannon attempted to get Stefani to nap - not an easy feat as she really fights sleep. But he did succeed! Then Kati went swimming in the hotel pool with Papa Al. Back in the room, G'ma Mary arrived with bubbles - oh, that was a fun game! Stefani was laughing and running around the room with Kati.

At dinner she became braver still, walking all over the restaurant with me trailing along next to her. Back and forth between Shannon and some slightly further away point, over and over and over again. She is quick, too. After dinner Kati and I took her "walking" (running, really) through the hotel so Shannon could get a half hour's peace. She played "Where's Kati?" with great delight.

Tomorrow we have a park and a tomb to visit - that should prove to be interesting. I've taken sooooo many pictures. The history and stories and sites are amazing. Still, I think Kati and Stefani are far and away the best thing about China.

Settling In

Hi, this is Jill. Shannon laid down to try to put Miao Miao to sleep and fell asleep himself (she's still awake). We're settling into a routine here in Changsha, with a group breakfast at our hotel, which is very nice, (both the breakfast and the hotel) then a group tour. Today we toured the 1000 year old Yue Lu Academy and adjoining Confucian temple. Nelson is fantastic guide, very knowledgeable and upbeat, not to mention great with the kids.

Miao Miao is getting more comfortable with myself and Kati but has a strong preference for Shannon. She's stuck to him 24/7. So as you can imagine, he's exhausted. He's doing an awesome job. He's doing all the carrying and diaper changing, and I get to do all the feeding to help her build trust with me. She is indeed a "Spice Girl." Last night I was feeding her some bamboo shoots and when I tried them, they had quite a kick! She's coming out of her shell a little more each day and warming up to all of us. The Chinese lessons are really paying off. While my receptive language stinks (I know just enough to pay for our purchases), my baby commands (eat, sit, you want this?, you're safe) she understands and I think that's making it easier for her. In the room Miao Miao plays the throwingall-the-toys-out-of-the-crib game and says "Bu yao!" (don't want) in her cute little voice. It's adorable, but she's got quite an arm and you have to watch where she's chucking those toys!

Kati says having a sister is harder than she thought it would be, but she's managing to enjoy her China vacation in spite of the crying and, as she puts is, "stinking soggy diapers." She says she really likes China and is going to move back here some day. We told her she can go to Beijing University if she keeps her grades up. :-)

Jane and Rachel are doing very well. Rachel is an active, into-everything adventurer, so Al and Mary have been invaluable in giving Jane those much-needed breaks.

All in all it seems the girls are transitioning into our families quite nicely and we're enjoying learning all about them. We have a week here in Changsha while the girls' passports are being processed.

STEFANI is HERE!

This morning after flying in from Beijing, we traveled to complete the first part of our paperwork and to get stefani. Her name that she goes by is Miao Miao. She is absolutly wonderful. Excellent personality, wonderful giggle, and great smile. She stands and cruises but seems timid to walk. When we met up with her and the nannies, she cried a great deal. Jill's ability to speak to her in Chinese made a world of difference. By the end of the night she was drinking milk and eating tofu and noodles. Kati loves her sister so much.

We have been extremely busy running from place to place for paperwork and sight seeing with our wonderful guide Nelson. After finalizing the adoption in Changsha today, I will need to get Kati back on some type of school schedule. The traveling is very exhausting. Jane and Rachel are doing very well. Rachel is a very adorable child, happy and outgoing. Jane and Isaac are very blessed.

I will post some pictures of our great wall adventure and the very tearful and joyous receiving of Miao Miao (Stefani). This experience is amazing.

Blogging technical difficulties

I am not able to view the blog from Changsha but it looks like I can post. I am not sure if we can ready your replies but I am working on it. It is currently 3:00 a.m. and I am trying to blog without waking everyone up. Since my last post we visited the great wall and yesterday we got Stefani. See next post, as it is deserving of it's own.

Thanks for all of the support you have given us.

shannon and jill

Forbidden City/ Mass at Beijing Church/more

Yesterday was another huge day, very busy and very wet. We started the day with breakfast in the Hotel, and then went to the Forbidden City. As we entered, the rain came down. It didn't stop until evening. The Forbidden City is extremely huge - it really is a city built for one. I will try to upload some pics of this soon. We also visited the Temple of Heaven, which is a man made wonder in and of itself. I will upload pics ASAP. There are wonderful stories that go with all of the places we have visited, and will most likely fill in the detailed story part later. The Temple of Heaven is 800 years old and is very majestic.

We went to Lunch and had many wonderful dishes, including pigeon soup. They had pictures in the menue, and Kati and I naturally wanted to try this dish. It was awsome. It was a pigeon cooked in some type of soup. The soup retains the pigeon flavor, and is simply wonderful. Kati loved seeing the head floating around in the soup - how very Cantonese of her!

Last, and most definitely not last, was mass at the oldest Catholic church in Beijing. The church is 600 years old, but had to be rebuild 100 years ago when the Boxers burnt it to the ground during the Boxer Rebellion. Mass goes beyond description. The spirit is so very strong, enough to bring tears to peoples eyes - even if you couldn't understand everything spoken. There is great passion here for Christ. The music was out of this world - very angelic and interactive. Words do not do justice to this experience. I can't really say a lot about details which Li gave me regarding the Church here but suffice it to say, the lay people have a very strong and resiliant faith. The kindness was also simply wonderful. I can talk more of this when I am back.

Kati was completly zonked out when it was time to go to mass, so we let her sleep. Jill was not able to attend the mass which she had so much wanted to be at. I hope there is another opportunity while we are here because it is phenomenal.

Li is considering Vocations - seriously, and it is very moving to talk with him about faith. Tomorrow is "gotcha day" for Stefani. I can't wait!

Arrival in Beijing

We arrived in Beijing around 2:15 p.m. The sun never went down on our entire flight, so I don't think any of us slept more than an hour during the whole airport/ flight time. We awoke at 5:30 a.m. befofe departing on our Chicago flight. All in all, we were awake 28 hours in a row. After arrival in Beijing, our guide Nelson took us to the Redwall hotel to rest. I told him we have a friend in Beijing, Li, and that we might call him to go out for dinner before we called it a day. I know he found it hard to believe we didn't just want to go to sleep but, we are only in Beijing occassionally.



Mr. Li came and got us around 6:00 and we went to Chinese Hotpot. It is an unbelievable meal. In front of you lies a spread of razor thin sliced lamb and beef (raw,), fresh mushrooms of differening varieties, several types of roots, and other stuff of which I cannot currently describe (it is 3:00 a.m. currently). Next to each person there is a pot of water above a flame (this was not an OSHA approved establishment). You grab a few pieces of meat, mushrooms, seaweed, roots, etc, and drop them into your hot pot. when you think it is safe to eat, usually one to two minutes, you pull it out with chop sticks or a fork, eat it, and repeat it. I will post pictures of this tomorrow. I must say, Kati did amazing during this adventure. A seven year old up for 28 hours, walking around the streets of Beijing, and avoiding a major meltdown. She is a real trooper. My mom, Al, and Jane also had a great time. Jane needed a memory card for her camera, and we haggled with a street vendor (which was quite fun) before finally negotiating a price of 150 yuan. I think this is roughly about 20 dollars U.S. Pretty good price for a 1 G memory card, I think.



I am going to sign off and try to go back to bed. We need to get up in three hours to get ready for breakfast and then sight seeing of Tienammen Square and the Forbidden City. We will post again soon. Thanks for all of your support. Two more days until our families become