Beijing Day 2 pics  

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Very busy day today....VERY, VERY tired...But it was really a great day. The weather was beautiful again. We went to the Great Wall, Hot Pot lunch, Living Hope Orphanage and Kindergarten, Chinese Acrobat Show and Pizza Hut for dinner...I'm pretty exhausted and don't think I'll write much tonight; we have to get up early to pack and head to the airport...Flying to Nanning where we will get G on Monday morning (Sunday night at home) I'll try to fill in some stories tomorrow, but here are a few pictures of our day...blessings ~ d

















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Touring Beijing (a few new pics added)  

Friday, February 27, 2009

Ni Hao! We've spent most of day 1 touring Beijing...It's been a gorgeous day...highs in the mid 40s, which seems cold, but the sun has been shining and we've been very comfortable (MUCH better than the weather when I was here in August 05 and it was a sweltering, humid 95!--Somehow the Forbidden city seemed much prettier this time since I wasn't miserable in the heat!! :-) We had lunch at a dumpling restaurant and it was wonderful--very fresh and delicious. There were no forks available, so we all got a 'learn or go hungry' lesson in using chopsticks...we were doing fine, and then they finally brought some forks to the table. (I declined on the fork offer and managed with the chopsticks...when in China, you know?) After lunch we went to the Olympic village and walked around the Bird's Nest and Watercube...It's GINORMOUS...much bigger than I imagined from seeing it on TV. I was a little disappointed that we didn't go inside either place, but they were pretty enough from the outside.








After returning to the hotel in the mid-afternoon, I asked our guide, Lisa (very sweet and knowledgable) if there was a teahouse nearby...I was thinking in our couple hours free before dinner, I would go and enjoy a cup of Chinese tea...she offered to take me and J came along as well. We ended up taking a taxi to a nearby Carrafore store (she said it's a French Wal-Mart) and there was a little tea shop inside. After they prepared and served us a sample of some high-quality green tea and a very delicious almond and green tea pastry, I bought a small package of each. J tried and liked both as well...he's a good, adventurous traveler! As we were leaving the store, Lisa pointed out a barber shop across the street and said he could get haircut for only about $2, but J declined. (Not sure if he was afraid of what the result might be or he just didn't want a haircut...either way is fine...I didn't want to push the good, adventurous traveler farther than he wanted to go!)









We're leaving in about 30 minutes for a traditional Peking Duck dinner...I think that's all that is planned for the evening and then we'll be in early. We're staying a the 'Kingwing Hotspring Hotel' and so if we have some extra time tonight, I'm going to check out the hot spring spa (if it's free, that is... :-)







Just three more sleeps until we have G!!! (That's the most important part, of course) I spent the whole day looking at Chinese men (okay, that doesn't sound quite right!)...what I mean is, I kept asking myself, "is that what my son will look like when he grows up? or maybe that one..." I wanted to hug and kiss every toddler child I saw today as well (S is quite glad I refrained from actually doing so, although I did take a few pictures)
Just can't wait to get to G...it's getting close! On a funny related note to what my son might someday look like, on the way back from the tea shop Lisa asked me if S was from Asia...I said, no, Kentucky!...she was very surprised and said that if he were walking down the street here in BJ, everyone would assume him to be Chinese. (Many of you have seen the picture I have of S when he was a toddler that I think looks just like G, so I guess I wasn't surprised by her comment...it was just kind of funny! ) I'm guessing it's his Native American heritage that contributes to looking a bit Asian??









Oh and I also received some fabulous news this morning as we were eating breakfast at the extraordinary breakfast buffet (where, again, J proved himself to be adventurous trying many new dishes)--My very best friend, who's on her 4th Chinese adoption journey, received her LOA call today!! Praise God!! So she's just about 6 weeks behind us in getting her beautiful boy! CONGRATULATIONS!!








It's about time to go to dinner...I'll try to post more later or tomorrow! Thanks for the comments and well-wishes and especially the prayers...we appreciate each and every one of you who is following along. more to come ~ d

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We Have Arrived!  

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Yay!! We touched down in Beijing after 24 hours in the air (or in connecting airports) We are at the hotel now and doing some quick emails and going to bed! I think I only got about 3 hours of sleep Tuesday night and about four 20 minute naps in the past 24 hours that we've been flying...so I'm kinda pooped! (But I intentionally stayed up as much as I could on the plane, so that I could transition to China time easier...we'll see if that works!)


Tomorrow''s touring starts at 9:00 am (8:00p Thu at home) and we'll see T Square (too tired to look up the spelling), Forbidden City, Olympic Village, Peking Duck Dinner...Saturday will include Living Hope Orphanage tour, The Great Wall and Chinese Acrobat show...Maybe a few other things I can't remember right now.


We miss everyone already (especially A & E!!) Thanks for your continued prayers while we travel!! Keep 'em comin'!!


Here we are at the start of our trip:


Time to get some much-needed sleep!! See you tomorrow!! blessings ~ doreen

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It's Finally Happening!!  

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

UPDATED 2/24

We finally got our itinerary this afternoon:
Depart for China: Wed 2/25
Arrive in Beijing: Thur 2/26
Tour Beijing: Fri 2/27 & Sat 2/28
Travel to Nanning, Guangxi: Sun 3/1
GOTCHA DAY: Mon 3/2 (that will be Sunday evening for those of you at home)
Province Paperwork/city tour & hopefully a trip to Qinzhou SWI: 3/3-6
Travel to Guangzhou: Saturday, 3/7
Tour and Rest: 3/8-9
Medical Exam/Visa Pics: Tue 3/10
Consulate Appointment: Wed 3/11
Swearing In: Thu 3/12
Travel to Hong Kong: Thu 3/12
Depart for home: Fri 3/13

We're due in at 4:15 on Friday, 3/13 (email me if you want details...we'd love to see you at the airport)

It's early morning (just after midnight) on Wednesday, 2/25 (travel day); we leave for the airport in 6 hours!! I can hardly believe it's finally here. We've worked and prayed and waited and planned and finally, God's time for us to travel to get our son is nearly here. I've been too stressed and too busy to really be emotional and contemplative over what is about to take place, but even sitting down for these few minutes to post our schedule has helped me realize I'm not just packing for a big trip...Our lives are about to change. We are about to fulfill the call that God placed on our hearts more than 15 months ago. We are humbled to be chosen for this great adventure!

We got word a few days ago that the foster family had been notified of our arrival...so even now as I'm running around packing and preparing and repacking and praying...G is on the other side of the world waiting for us...He knows we're coming...I pray that he's happy about that although understandably also probably apprehensive and uncertain about what lies ahead.

I would appreciate your continued prayers for us as we travel and for G as he meets us and also, especially for A & E who are staying home and are quite sad that we'll be gone for so long. We're all prepared to talk with them (and see them via video) on Skype and that will make it a bit easier (for everyone) but still, we've never been apart so long and we're all going to miss each other terribly.

I'll do my best to post pictures and events and thoughts each day, although I've already got writer's block just thinking about it (I know you only want to see pictures anyway, so I'll try not to stress too much about the quality of the content)

Thanks for following along and being excited with us as we finally complete this portion of our journey...many blessings ~ d

----

Travel Dates Confirmed: leaving Wed, 2/25 (7 more sleeps); returning home Fri, 3/13
details to follow..... :-) D

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We're Leaving on a Jet Plane...(almost)  

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sorry to have not shared this sooner...like a couple days ago when we got 'the call', but Praise God...Travel Approval has arrived from China. Basically this means they sent a letter inviting us to come get our child, but then our agency had to request a US Consulate appointment and our travel dates all hinge on that appointment date. Well, the first few days they wanted are already full, so it's looking likely that our consulate appointment will be on Monday, March 16 which means we would need to leave for Beijing on Wednesday, March 4 and would get back home on Wednesday, March 18. These dates are tentative and won't be confirmed until at least Tuesday or possibly Wednesday as the US Consulate is closed on Monday for President's Day (Yes, even in China...go figure...but it IS a US holiday and they are a US office...) There's still a slim possibility that we may get a March 11 consulate appointment putting us on a plane to China on February 25, but I think this is less likely.

I want to thank you all for your continued prayers...this past month has been easy, peasy compared to the several months that preceded it and I have just felt the calm and peace of God knowing that things were finally progressing as they should and we will soon have G in our arms. If we travel on the dates I originally told you (3/4-18) we should have 'Gotcha Day' on March 8th or 9th...THAT MEANS WE WILL MEET OUR SON IN LESS THAN A MONTH FROM NOW!! I've been absolutely giddy with delight and joy knowing that it's almost time...I saw that precious face in a photo some 17 months ago and we've been actively pursuing him for more than 15...That's a LOOOONG pregnancy, let me tell ya...like nearly elephant gestation!!

But don't let me fool you...I'm also more than a little anxious even after planning and preparing for so many months, I'm thinking, "I'm not ready!!" "The house is a mess!" "I can't remember what to do with a 3 year old" "No more evenings curled up in bed watching 'House' and reading adoption blogs on the internet" "WHAT HAVE WE GOTTEN OURSELVES INTO!!" ?? :-) But, of course, I know exactly what we've gotten ourselves into...into just what God asked of us, that's what.

I spent the morning at church celebrating 'Orphan Awareness'...telling a brief bit of my motivation behind this adoption and singing a song that has quickly become a favorite (Sara Groves' I Saw What I Saw)...it was a precious morning...I spent this evening with my closest friend who is waiting for LOA for her 4th adoption (please joing me in praying that she gets news this week) and we lamented over the slowness of both of our processes this year, but also talked about things to come in just a few short weeks for both of us...it was a precious evening...Amidst the uncertainty of what our exact dates are or whether things will go smoothly as we finish out this process, I feel very calm and at peace. I can only attribute that to our faithful God who is holding me and to the prayers of the faithful lifting us up...it has been a precious weekend.

I'll be sure to let you know when we get the confirmation of our dates...blessings ~ D

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Strength is Rising....  

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

We're coming up on a month since our LOA arrived and have been waiting (patiently--YAY!) for our Travel Approval. There's this urgent anticipation bubbling up in my soul that our news is close....VERY CLOSE. I awoke this morning to one of my favorite songs playing on my alarm clock and thought it very appropriate as it has been a tremendous source of strength to me over the past many months. (You can listen to it here--Lincoln Brewster's 'Everlasting God') The song is based on Isaiah 40:28-31 (Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord), which I shared with you a few months ago as both the verse God gave me as G's 'life verse' and which I had also claimed for myself to give me strength to wait...It's precious to me. So...it was playing this morning when I awoke. What a beautiful message and I pray that it is a sign of good news soon to come!

I'd love if you'd join me in the prayer that our Travel Approval (TA) has been completed and is on it's way to our agency. One of the other families we will be traveling with NEEDS to finish the trip by March 10 because her Home Study is expiring. If we can get a US Consulate Appointment (CA) by March 9, then she will not have to spend the extraordinary effort or expense to renew this document. We need to receive our TAs this week in order to request the CA and to give our agency time to make our travel arrangements and get us to China around the 24th of this month (just 2 weeks from today) so that we can finish the process prior by 3/9. God is mighty and this would certainly be a walk in the park for Him to accomplish--I pray that it is within His will to allow it to happen and that the evil one would be bound and prohibited from messing with our files.

Please continue to pray for G--that he would be patient as he also waits (we've been told that he is excited about getting a new family and that he continues to ask when we are coming; so even at 3, he's not exempt from the pain of the wait) and also pray that God would continue to prepare his heart for this transition.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support...Soon, dear friends, SOON we will be united with our son! Love, D

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