Poem

From Dear Abby's column today, a request for a reprint of a poem that had appeared in her column before:

The author, Edna Massimilla, wrote it after her daughter -- a child with Down syndrome -- was born.

I have always found its message to be very moving and, when I spoke to Edna, she told me it was written to emphasize that every creation is for a purpose. She's in her 90s now and still writing poems and songs -- especially for children with disabilities. Read on:

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth.

It was time again for another birth.

Said the Angels to the Lord above --

This special child will need much love.

Her progress may be very slow,

Accomplishment she may not show.

And she'll require extra care

From the folks she meets down there.

She may not run or laugh or play,

Her thoughts may seem quite far away.

So many times she will be labeled

'different,' 'helpless' and disabled.

So, let's be careful where she's sent.

We want her life to be content.

Please, Lord, find the parents who

Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away

The leading role they are asked to play.

But with this child sent from above

Comes stronger faith, and richer love.

And soon they'll know the privilege given

In caring for their gift from heaven.

Their precious charge, so meek and mild

Is heaven's very special child."

******************

While we feel quite confident at this point that Lily will overcome all of the delays and difficulties she is currently facing, this poem gets to the heart of why we decided to take a "risk" on a special needs child. After three years of agonizing waiting and frustration God showed us that we were actually the ones with special needs. That we had hardened our hearts to His beautiful and wonderful creation. Once we allowed Him to repair our hearts we were finally able to receive the precious gift He had in mind for us. Lily is exactly what the poem says "so meek and mild" and she is most definitely "heaven's very special child." We are extra special blessed in understanding that God guided our path in such a way as to allow us to choose this little girl for our very own, simply out of the faith and love He put in our hearts.

Lullabies and Laughter

The last couple of days have really seen Lily coming out of her shell. She went from being a nearly silent baby to babbling her fool little head off the other night. I can't even give an adequate description of the transformation we are witnessing in her. I will give it a shot, though.
Lily is rightly named for a flower. When we got her she was a tiny little transplant. She was long and spindly like a little plant that was growing and growing but had no sun to make it strong or nutrients to sustain its growth. She was wilted without water and no roots to anchor her.
We have spent the last few weeks pouring love on this little wilted girl and we are so blessed by God to be able to watch her come to life.
As the days and nights have gone by I had been searching for the right song to use as a lullaby. Lily - in spite of her supposed poor hearing - definitely responds to music sung to her. She doesn't really respond to music on the radio, but if you sing to her you get her attention. The right song came to me the other night. I just sing the chorus because it pretty much says everything I need it to say. I sing it as a prayer for her and a prayer for me, and it is such a beautiful picture of adoption.

Bind us together
Lord, bind us together
with cords that cannot be broken

Bind us together
Lord, bind us together
Lord, bind us together with love.

Info. Update

A lot of people have been asking so I wanted to let you all know that Mike and I are planning to stop at Target and Sears tomorrow and register. I think we are finally starting to get a handle on what we need and what Lily is going to need, sorry all of this has been in reverse order, but that's just the way it works with adoption I guess:-)
Also, Lily's full name is Lily-an Xiao Hua Thoreson. We know it's a long, slightly complicated name but we really wanted her to be able to retain her Chinese name. Xiao Hua is pronounced like sea-yeow wa and means "little flower". I sure she will hate us when she starts kindergarten and has to learn how to spell her name, but oh well, parent's perrogative.
We are starting on our 5th full day at home and things are going well. Lily seems to be adapting quite well. I think it will take her a coupe of weeks to realize that this setting is permanent. We did so much traveling and moving around in China, every few days there was a dramatic change in scenery for her. So the longer we are at home the more I think she will relax and come out of her shell. Overall she is a very content and peaceful little girl. She also seems to be quite a serious thinker. Her little eyebrows come together and she just has this intense look of concentration when she sees or hears something new. Yes, she is hearing things and seems to be hearing more everyday, which is amazing! We are very anxious to get her evaluated and find out exactly what is going on with her ears.
Oscar (our 4 legged baby) is adapting to her very well and has already established himself as her protector. She is pretty indifferent to him, but she will smile when he licks her face.
All in all, we couldn't ask for a better transition from travel to home.

Jennifer

Home at Last

Sunday morning here in beautiful, sunny Wisconsin!! It is so good to be home. We survived the 14 hour flight from China - Lily seemed to handle it the best of all. She hardly made a peep the whole flight. We even managed to get a good night's sleep the first night home. Spent the day unpacking yesterday and trying to figure out what "routine" and "normal" are going to look like for us now.
It was so wonderful to come home to chili in the crock pot and fresh cornbread, a stocked fridge, and a table full of gifts for Lily-an. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends who made our home so warm and comforting to come home to.
To all of our China friends - we hope you all made it home safe and sound. We look forward to hearing from all of you in the days and months to come, and seeing all the kids blossom.
Lily seems to be adjusting well. I am totally amazed by how easily she has adapted her sleep schedule. She loves the fresh air - we went for a short walk in the sunshine yesterday and she was very animated and excited. I have to say I love the clean fresh air myself, after all the smog in China, it is a much welcome change.

Jennifer

Coming Home!!!!

Yes, we waiting to board our flight.  We are at the Hong Kong Airport and will be boarding within the hour.  We are ready.  This trip has been very trying in many ways.  It has drained us physically and emotionally at times.  I don't there is anyway to plan for it.  You just have to go through it.  We did, we won the race and now we are coming home with Lily-an.  She is doing great.  We can tell she is stressed and anxious but she is holding in there.  It has been trying the last few days for her but we work through it and keep going.  We know we are in for challenges when we arrive home.  It will be very unsettling for her.  It will require time for her to adapt to her new surroundings.  The good thing about that is we will be familiar with it and we will be relaxed and we hope she will pick up on that.  We are looking forward to seeing our friends and "family" in Mayville.  We probably will be spending the first few days sleeping and adjusting and hopefully Lily-an will adjust to the different hours.  There has been so much that has happened on this trip.  Don't even know where to start.  The blogging was only part of what the trip was like.  We hope it gave everyone reading it a peak into our trip.  Jennifer and I experienced a lot.  We felt like fish out of water.  The food got old and we didn't have an appetite the last few days.  Here at the airport, we each got a sandwich and it was good.  The coffee wasn't even all that good but it worked.  Starbucks would get to expensive if we went everyday.  All in all, it was experience that we enjoyed.  Would we want to do it again, at this time - no.  We may change our minds in the future but right now, no.  Well, this is the last blog of the trip and of the adoption.  We don't know if we will continue the blog or not.  May start a new one.  We will keep everyone informed as to what our plans are.  From the bottom of our hearts, we thank everyone for everything they have done for us during the last 4 years.  Yes, 4 years.  Hard to believe.  The support has been fantastic from so many people.  First we thank our Lord for guiding and sustaining us during the good and bad times.  We owe everything to him first.  Second is our family and friends.  We have so many friends that we don't know where to start.  Our families have been great.  Even if they do live 500 miles away, they have done a lot for us.  God is good.

Last Day in Guangzhou

One last update before we leave for Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.  Today we had our consulate appointment.  Very quick and simple.  They verified who we were and then after that everyone took an oath and that was that.  We are done, literally.  One more night here then one is Hong Kong then back home.  We are doing ok.  We are ready to come home.  Lily-an is doing great.  Again, improvements everyday.  We will take whatever she will give.  She is our little trooper.  That is it for now.  Will try to post while in Hong Kong when have a few more minutes.  We are getting all packed and ready tonight that way tomorrow we don't have to worry about it.  Take care everyone, until next time.

Only A Few More Days

Hello everyone.  Everything is moving along.  We are enjoying what time we have left- well, the best we can.  We are bored and ready to come home.  Not even the food is good anymore.  Doesn't matter if it is Italian, a burger or whatever, we just want to be home.  To have our own kitchen or our bed.  Lily-an is doing good.  She is doing better and better.  We are having fun with her.  She is a happy baby, unless you don't feed her.  We are at a Starbucks right now.  At least the coffee is good.  Today our reps took all of our paperwork to the US Consulate and everyone is good to go.  Tomorrow we go to the consulate and take an oath.  I don't know what it means but that is tomorrows only thing.  Then on Thursday we get Lily-an's visa and then after that we fly out to Hong Kong at 4pm.  We will spend the night there and then fly out late Friday morning.  Now it is just wait to leave.  We are finding things to do.  You really can't do a lot in the hotel room and it isn't set up to live in.  At least there are some tv shows we can watch.  Not everything is in Chinese.  Today we did the tradition of taking pictures on the Red Couch at the hotel.  That was fun.  All the babies, families and then the group.  Most children did great.  It was fun.  That is what the pictures are of.  Lily-an is bonding well and we are seeing improvement everyday.  She is smiling more and more.  Our little bundle of joy.  She is a blessing.  It is so peaceful to watch her interact, watch her sleep.  What an experience.  We are both blessed to experience this.  She is bringing us so much joy.  I don't think there is any words that can express any of it.  It has been a treat.  We are just enjoying visiting with other families here.  It is fun to see all the little babies and children here.  We don't feel like the white elephant in the living room like we did in Beijing or Zhengzhou.  Very friendly here.  We bought a stroller the other day because our backs were getting sore from carrying Lilly-an in the carrier.  She calms down and really enjoys it.  We figured if it lasts for the duration of the trip, that is fine.  She is happy in it.  She even fell asleep yesterday in it.  Yesterday we went to the Pearl Market.  It took us about 1/2 hour and realized it was time to go.  To much pressure to buy things and how do we know what is real or fake when it comes to gems or stones.  Everything look real but is it.  You walk in to a store and there are 3-4 people offering and trying to sell you.  You tell them no and even more people come to you.  We had enough.  So we walked out and headed down the street to a department store.  We were able to buy pj's for Lily-an.  She did good.  After a few hours out, we took a taxi back to the hotel and enjoyed the day.  We are doing well and look forward to coming home.  Until next time.  Take care and enjoy the photo's

Another Nice Day!

Good morning everyone.  We had yet another nice relaxing day here.  The temperature was cool with a nice breeze.  Feels real good.  Must be the cold from coming in.  Now we will be about 80 during the day here for the remainder of our time.  We just relaxed today. Did some shopping.  Sat by the riverfront at the hotel.  No complaints here.  Lily-an is doing great.  She was calm all day.  Took an afternoon nap and she was good to go.  She is tired and is getting ready for bed.  Has only been getting up for a brief time during the night now.  She is feeling more and more secure.  She knows she will be fed and it will be enough to fill her up.  She loves ice cream.  Yeah, they have ice cream here and she will insist that she gets it if we get a cone or an apple pie with ice cream.  And don't try to short her.  She knows when the plate is empty.  There isn't any fooling her.  She is getting stronger and stronger everyday.  She was able to hold her head up today and is doing great.  We are doing some simple exersises with her and some strength training.  She likes it and smiles and laughs at it.  We try to make it fun.  She has been our ball of joy. She likes getting a bath before bed.  Tonight she was getting one and all of sudden there was this rumble like thunder and the bubbles started to appear.  It was quite funny and smelly.  It seems to soothe and relax her to give her a bath before bed.  Tomorrow we are going to go to the Pearl Market.  They sell real pearls, gems, silver and other precious stones.  They are very inexpensive.  We thought we would go.  Get a chance to get out for a few hours and sight see.  Guengzhou is about 12.5 million people.  It doesn't seem like it where we are at.  Kind of secluded and quiet.  It is a nice way to end a long trip.  We will be finishing up the last 2 appointments we have  over the next few days with the US Consulate.  So our schedule is really light and it gives us time to enjoy here.  The hotel is nice and quiet on our floor.  There are many adoptive families here so it is kind of neat seeing all of them.  We will get to take our picture on the infamous red couch.  That will be all the babies in our group.  Should be interesting.  It is kind of a traditional thing they do.  I had best close.  My battery is about dead on the laptop so take care everyone and talk to you soon.

Hello From Guangzhou

We arrived in Guangzhou last night- flight was late.  We got to the hotel about 10pm and that was way to late.  The flight was 1/2 delayed.  Lily-an did great until about 15 minutes before landing.  We got a supper during the flight of rice and potatoe with bun, vegetable and a pickled something or another.  You should have seen Lily-an.  You ever seen a fish flop on the ground wild and out of control, well that is the best way to describe Lily-an when she saw the white rice.  She went nuts.  All we could do was laugh and of course, give her white rice.  She was all over the place.  This went on for about 15-20 minutes.  Oh, and don't even think of taking it away.  She would have nothing of that.  So, we didn't eat, but she did.  She took the flight well.  Nothing like a bunch of sardines in a can.  It was so packed tight it was uncomfortable.  The flight was about 2 hours.  Long enough.  Other than that 2 hour mess, we are doing great.  The weather is about 90 degrees with about 75% humidity.  They are talking of a cold front coming through in a few days so the temp is supposed to drop to the low 80's.  That will be a nice temperature but they say it's going to be cold.  The air is better and cleaner.  Still can't drink the water.  Bottled water gets old after a while.  We are looking forward to washing our own clothes and drinking out of the tap.  Laundry is expensive in Beijing and Zhengzhou.  Here it seems to be less.  There is competition among local business so there is discounts.  Still, we will be spending about $100 on laundry.  I won't complain, other families will be spending 2-3 times that amount.  It's those little things we take for granted that we miss here.  We are enjoying it though, however, we are ready to come home.  I can't believe there is a Papa Johns here.  I think we will be having some pizza tonight.  There is an American restaurant where we can get a burger and fries, an Italian restaurant and even a few 7-11 stores.  Very touristy here but at least if we need something, we can get it quickly.  Everyone is very friendly.  Here at the White Swan Hotel there are many families who are adopting.  I quit counting.  Today we had to go get a physical, part of the process, for Lily-an and it was crazy busy.  I think there were 50 adopting families there.  All these children.  What a treat.  It went quickly.  We were in and out in under an hour.  It's kind of a cya thing they do.  Make sure everything matches up.  Lily-an was a trooper.  She has been adjusting well.  We are fortunate to have a nurse midwife in our group and we have been able to ask her some question and get opinions and she has been very helpful and only has confirmed out thoughts and questions.  We are on the right track.  Lily-an is coming out of her shell today one again and is bringing us much joy and happiness.  We are seeing little changes from a week ago that are wonderful.  She is playing with teething rings where as a few days ago she had no idea what to do or even pick them up.  Now, she plays with them and more.  We borrowed them so we will have to return them but it is helping now and she is playing.  She is starting to giggle and laugh now.  Even a little is great.  She is more focused and tuned into us now.  Sorry, no pictures to post but should have some tomorrow or the next.  There is a really nice park next to the hotel so we are planning on going over there tomorrow.  So much going on and so little time to write, so, had best go.  Take care and check back later.

Heading Out

Today is our last day in Zhengzhou.  We are ready.  The last few days have been wonderful.  Lily-an is adjusting well and we are to her.  She is "talking" today and is smiling more and more.  She enjoys being held.  We are giving her as much holding time as she wants.  She tells us when she is done.  It is a pretty big miracle we have here.  We are just starting to fully realize that.  The more and more time we spend with her the more she lets us in.  She is starting to come out of the shell.  Zhengzhou has been interesting.  The people we have met have been very friendly and they speak and understand English.  That is nice.  It is time though.  The next few days will be busy in Guangzhou.  Paperwork for the most part.  Start with a physical tomorrow and then just doing some paperwork everyday until Tuesday.  After that 3 days of relaxing and then back home on Friday.  That is the week.  The last 3 days have been good.  Most of the children are doing very well with their new families.  Some of the adults and few of the children have gotten sick.  Jennifer and I haven't.  We have been careful of what to eat and only drink bottled water.  A 16 oz bottle of water is about $2.50 here.  We were lucky and able to buy 1.5L at Walmart for about .40. So that worked.  Everything you drink here is expensive.  Water or Soda.  Then they always take 15% for a gratuity on everything.  So far this week including laundry and some meals here our bill is about $140.  Not bad from what I have heard others have spent.  There is no laundry mats here.  If you want it done, you have to have the hotel do it.  It cost about $6 for a pair of Jeans.  That is one thing we will be very happy to do at home.  We miss it.  All is good otherwise.  Time to finish packing.  Our flight leaves about 8pm local time and we will be arriving in Guangzhou about 10:20pm tonight.  It might be a difficult night for all the little ones.  Don't know what internet is like in Guangzhou so the postings may be slow.  It was free here but do not know about there.  Take care and will post again soon. Mike and Jennifer

A Relaxing Day

Today was a relaxing day.  We spent most of the day sitting around and spending quality one on one time with Lily-an.  We saw her come out of her shell today.  We had her giggling and smiling.  She was happy and content with us today.  Spent a lot of time with eye to eye contact with her.  She really is full of life.  We just have to work on bringing that out.  A little bit at time is great.  We will take that.  Everyday will be better and everyday she will let us in to her world.  She has that spark in her eye now that we saw in her pictures.  She did not want to take a nap today so she was out by 7pm.  We hope she sleeps most of the night.  Last night, she had us up for about an hour.  She settled down at about 3am and slept until 7:30.  That was nice, that meant we slept until 7:30.  We have completed all paperwork here.  It is nice to have the next few days to relax and spend that much needed quality time.  Tomorrow we will be walking to a park that is about 5 minutes away from the hotel.  It is nice and quiet and will be a nice way to spend a few hours outside with Lily-an.  We are looking forward to it.  We are winding down from the day.  Getting used to being parents.  It is a good thing.  We are truly blessed.  Lily-an is showing and teaching us a lot.  Today was a great day.  She is starting to trust and feel safe with us.  We know it is only a small step but it is starting.  We know this process could take several weeks or months but today was a great day.  She was smiling a lot today.  Took her out for a stroll and she really was looking around.  Looking at the trees, building, bikes and scooters going by.  She seems like she is focusing in on things more than the last two days.  It's great!  Tomorrow will be a fun day.  We will relax and spend that time that is so desperately needed.  Until tomorrow, take care everyone.

It's Official

Good day everyone.  Well, today it is official.  We did the adoption registration which finalizes her adoption here in China.  The notary makes it official.  It has been a very good day so far.  Lily-an is sleeping comfortably and we are relaxing in our room.  We are getting her schedule right and keeping her on it.  She is doing well.  She is bright, alert and always looking around.  After the 3 1/2 hour crying episode during the night, today is going so much better.  We didn't hear what she was trying to tell us.  Now, we get it.  She is content so far.  We are very blessed.  After 4 years it is finished.  Now, a new chapter.  As we sit and watch her while she is sleeping we realize how precious she is and how great is our God.  He has fulfilled his promises.  Some days we wondered, but we hung in there and it was worth it.  All of it, is worth it.  Today, we are going to a place called the Lotus Center.  It is like a 3 story shopping mall.  We would like to get a few things for the rest of the week.  The Walmart that is 3 blocks away doesn't have a whole lot.  It is definately not like the one back home.  The thing I will say that is positive, the workers are very helpful and every 1 or 2 isles has someone there standing to help you find what you are looking for and they do speak some English.  Actually, a lot of people here speak some English.  Better than Beijing.  The smog is no better and we have been advised of what to expect after we get home.  We have been told that Guangzhou is not any better.  We leave for there on Friday night at 8pm and arrive a little after 10pm.  We are done with all paperwork here so that gives us 3 days to bond and relax.  Had best close.  Have a great day everyone!

Long Night

Well, it's about 5:00 a.m. here and we finally have a happy baby!  She did fall asleep fairly early last night, around 8:00, but was up again at 1:30 a.m. and not happy!!  After 10 or 15 minutes we figured out she had a really nasty gas bubble, she was happy for a few minutes, and then she started her angry cry.  You can tell what kind of afternoon I had yesterday while I was waiting for Mike to get back from shopping for formula and cereal for her - I already know her angry cry quite well:-p Checked the big three - diaper, hunger, pain.  Diaper was wet, so changed that, but it just pissed her off more.  One in the morning isn't a normal feeding time, but her whole day was messed up yesterday so we tried a bottle - wanted nothing to do with it.  She was not in pain, she was obviously very angry - I sure you will all get to know that about her soon enough:-)  This little girl definitely knows what she wants and doesn't want - and last night she didn't want us!  So lots of walking and rocking, walking, and rocking.  She likes singing and humming -that calmed her down for a little while, but she refused to sleep, and she would eventually wind herself up again.  Tried a little bit of cereal, and that just seemed to piss her off to, back to walking and rocking.  By 4:30 she was pretty much inconsolable to anything and of course Mike and I are both beyond exhausted.  In a last ditch attempt to at least try to do something, I tried giving her the cold cereal we had mixed up earlier. What do you know - she is actually a little piglet.  The problem before was that we weren't feeding it to her fast enough!!!  No playing around with food for this one.  She is serious about her eating.  She ate two bowls of cereal and topped it off with half a bottle of apple juice - which she wouldn't have anything to do with earlier.  So now she's happy and back to sleep - so is Dad:-)  Mike is catching on fast to the world of babies:-)  I'm goint to try and catch a little sut eye now too.  Later Jennifer

No Words Right Now

Enjoy the photos.  There is nothing that can be put into words that describe this moment.  Nothing.  We have been blessed.  God is good!  We are humbled beyond any words right now.  4 years of hard work, 4 years ups and downs, 4 years later; we won the "race".  We have our daughter in our arms.  God, why did you choose us?  Why do we deserve this precious gift?  I don't think either Jennifer or I will ever know the answer to that question until the day we see Jesus.  I don't think I can even begin to understand the "why".  Thank you everyone for praying, thank you everyone for everything you have done.  All thanks and praise to the Lord.  Glory be to God.  Check back later for updates.  Time for some down time.

Waiting

Soon, a family will be getting their child here in the hotel lobby. That will be an awesome event. They are excited. We are to. With two hours we will be in their shoes. We are eagerly waiting for it. We have everything ready to go. Just not ourselves:). God is in control. We are as ready as we can be. He is giving us a great gift today. Will ost again later. Check back, the next post will be with Lily-an.

Sent from my iPod

2 Days in Beijing

We flew into Beijing at about 3pm on Thursday the 22nd.  After being up for almost 30 hours and a 13 hour flight, we were exhausted.  Met a few of the other couples and then disappeared to our rooms.  Up at 3 am on Friday morning and ready to go.  Had a good breakfast then at 9am we were off.  Stopped a few smaller shops then we went to the Forbidden City.  What a place.  Had no idea of how big it really was.  We only saw a small portion of it and we were there about 2 hours.  There were droves of people.  Too many for us.  We enjoyed it and were amazed at the building and designs.  Then, it was across the street to Tiananmen's Square.  Spent a brief amount of time there.  Got a rickshaw ride and all from a different part of Beijing.  Went to a small village are within Beijing.  It was called the Hutong.  Interesting to see it.  By then most of us were tired so we went for a bite to eat and then back to the hotel.  Slept better the 2nd night but, we were up at 4am this time.  Waited for breakfast and then it was off to a jade factory.  Beautiful work, skilled people.  Then, we all went to the great wall. That was neat.  More people there than I could count.  We climbed hundreds of steps and are feeling the effects yet today.  The smog was terrible in Beijing and made it difficult.  You can see that in the pictures.  It isn't a haze but smog.  Later on in the day, we went to Olympic Village.  We the water cube and the birds nest.  That was fun.  Jennifer and a few of the other ladies stayed in the bus and talked.  Again, we were exhausted but wanted to see it.  What a place.  Then, it was off for supper and then back to the rooms.  Slept better, but up at 5 am this time.  Each night is getting better. Today, we flew here to  Zhengzhou.  Staying at a beautiful hotel.  5 stars plus.  Marble, columns, everywhere you look.  Free internet so that is great. We are getting prepared for tomorrow.  We are all meeting at 9:30 am and then it is off to the Civil Affairs office.  We, along with most of the other families, will then pick up Lily-an. It will be a busy 2 days with a lot of paperwork to finish.  Friday we head out.  At least Thursday and Friday are two days we will be able to rest from the busyness of paperwork.  We will get that much needed quality time with Lily-an.  Tomorrow will be a big day.  Will post an update soon with photo's of Lily-an.  It maybe a bit overwhelming but bare with us, the updates may be delayed over the next few days. Check out the photo's from Beijing.  Until next time everyone.

Count Down

Hey guys!
Only a few hours to go. I can't even describe to you how this moment feels. Even to this moment it doesn't feel real yet. I did get a little bit of a shock when I came back to our room and found that the hotel staff had placed a crib in our room while we were gone.
All I can say about the trip so far is that the other families are the very best part of it. That is the only thing that has been off the charts better than I expected. Everything else I could really have done without. The youngest child in our group will be 11 months old and the oldest will be 5 years. There is only one other family that will be first time parents along with us. Their daughter is 4 years old and she also has hearing loss.
It is hot, hot, hot here and we aren't even all the way south yet! Glad we checked the weather before we left and packed summer clothes for the most part.
We miss you guys so much and we wish you were here to share this with us! We leave the hotel at 9:40 Monday (tomorrow) morning for the Civil Affairs office. Six of our total of 10 families (including us) will receive our children then. Please, please keep us in your prayers, especially for our health (all of us parents) and the health of the children because they are checking temps on everyone at the airports here.
I guess that's all for now. Tomorrow the whole world changes:-) Give my pup a squeeze - I miss my buddy:-(

Jennifer

From China

Hi from China!!!!
Tomorrow is the big day! Can't believe it's here already. Things are going well. Feeling better after the initial exhaustion. The other families are awesome. Two of the other little girls are right around Lily's age. We get the kids around 10:00 a.m. Monday which will be about 11 p.m. Sunday night for you guys.
Alisha -Hope Friday went well for you. Hope you have been talking to Vicky:-)
Can't wait to get home and talk to everyone again! My phone bill is going to be horrendous for the first weeks I'm home just trying to play catch up with everyone.
Got some other emails to send so take care. Hope to post some pictures later tonight of the Great Wall and other things we have seen so far. We will post pictures of Lily as soon as we can.
Keep all of us in your prayers tomorrow. Also pray for our finances. Things are not cheap here at all. Everything is way more expensive than any of us were prepared for. Mike and I are doing o.k., but we have only purchased one "souvenir". Just our meals alone are going to take up most of what we set aside for spending money. All of the other families are in the same boat:-( That's o.k., though, we didn't come here for crappy souvenirs anyway:-)
Gotta go - gotta try and find some supper.

Jennifer

Here We Are

We flew into Beijing at about 3pm on Thursday the 22nd. After being up for almost 30 hours and a 13 hour flight, we were exhausted. Met a few of the other couples and then disappeared to our rooms. Up at 3 am on Friday morning and ready to go. Had a good breakfast then at 9am we were off. Stopped a few smaller shops then we went to the Forbidden City. What a place. Had no idea of how big it really was. We only saw a small portion of it and we were there about 2 hours. There were droves of people. Too many for us. We enjoyed it and were amazed at the building and designs. Then, it was across the street to Tiananmen's Square. Spent a brief amount of time there. Interesting to see it. By then most of us were tired so we went for a bite to eat and then back to the hotel. Slept better the 2nd night but, we were up at 4am this time. Waited for breakfast and then it was off to a jade factory. Beautiful work, skilled people. Then, we all went to the great wall. That was neat. More people there than I could count. We climbed hundreds of steps and are feeling the effects yet today. The smog was terrible in Beijing and made it difficult. You can see that in the pictures. It isn't a haze but smog. Later on in the day, we went to Olympic Village. We the water cube and the birds nest. That was fun. Jennifer and a few of the other ladies stayed in the bus and talked. Again, we were exhausted but wanted to see it. What a place. Then, it was off for supper and then back to the rooms. Slept better, but up at 5 am this time. Each night is getting better. Today, we flew here to Zhengzhou. Staying at a beautiful hotel. 5 stars plus. Marble, columns, everywhere you look. Free internet so that is great. We are getting prepared for tomorrow. We are all meeting at 9:30 am and then it is off to the Civil Affairs office. We, along with most of the other families, will then pick up Lily-an. It will be a busy 2 days with a lot of paperwork to finish. Friday we head out. At least Thursday and Friday are two days we will be able to rest from the busyness of paperwork. We will get that much needed quality time with Lily-an. Tomorrow will be a big day. Will post an update soon with photo's of Lily-an. It maybe a bit overwhelming but bare with us, the updates may be delayed over the next few days. Check out the photo's from Beijing. Until next time everyone.

Update from Beijing

The smog is terrible here. The traffic/people and everything going on seems a little overwhelming right now. Yesterday, we left at 9am and did not get back until 7pm. I think we were in bed by 8. A lot of walking. The vendors are persistant. Today it is off to the Great Wall. I think I will send an email with attachments tomorrow morning before we leave for Henan for an update. All is good. Sleep schedule is screwed up but we are getting "some" good sleep. Just don't like waking up at 3am. Makes for a long day.