Gotcha Day Video

A short video from Gotcha Day on July 5th.

A quiet day

It's Wednesday evening here so thought I would do a quick update. We had a free day today so Journey and I stayed in the hotel room and she slept most of the day after sleeping 9 hours last night. She is running a slight fever and is fussy when she's awake. I think she is getting teeth on both the top and bottom. She definitely wants to be held and she wants you to hold her standing up, and she really is persistent in letting you know she is unhappy when you don't do what she wants. She goes to bed very easily at night and is a sound sleeper, for which I'm greatful. We have a very small room and usually have the tv on when she goes down and she doesn't fuss at all. We hope that continues. Doug took her on a couple of walks inside the hotel today to give me a break so they are having some good bonding time. We are enjoying getting to know her personality even though we could do with less wailing. She has the most beautiful black eyes and long lashes and such a sweet mouth, which we are looking forward to seeing smile one of these days. Can't wait for all of you to meet her.

We ate at Pizza Hut last night and it was pretty good. Then we went to Walmart - OMG! It is 3 stories and had more people in it than any Walmart on Christmas eve in the US. You wheel your carts from floor to floor by using an escalator with no stairs, just a ramp that locks the wheels in place to prevent hundreds of run-away carts. I'm hoping we don't have to go back there ;o)

Doug had a good laugh this morning. Journey has hardly eaten anything since we got her, so last night I bought some baby food fruit that I thought would appeal to her. I was feeding her this morning and she was doing well, eating about 6 spoonfuls and drinking some water. All of a sudden she just upchucked this orange applesauce-carrot concoction all over me. A lot more came out than went in! I was stunned and it took Doug by surprise, too, and then he started laughing. He was trying very hard not to, but just couldn't manage it. It was pretty funny, especially when I just handed him Journey and went to take a shower. He wasn't sure how to protect himself from another explosion. Such a great way to start the day.

We will have another easy day tomorrow and Friday and then leave for Guangzhou on Friday night. Hopefully Journey will be feeling better soon. Please continue to pray for her health and her transition to us.

Gotcha Day!

It's Tuesday about 1pm here and we have taken care of all of our official business for the day and Journey is now officially ours.  Our Gotcha Day was on Monday and we met her for the first time at about 4pm.  Picture this:  A small room with little air conditioning and very hot, 2 or 3 other families also receiving their children, none of which are very happy, me soaking wet from sweating, Doug getting the camera ready.  They bring in Journey and she looks exactly like her picture.  She decides she's not as happy to see us as we are to see her and starts wailing.  I finally take her and she and I walk around the room for a bit and she moves from wailing to whimpering and occasionally wailing.  She's not too sure about Doug and decides I'm the lesser of two evils.  We are only at this location for about 30 minutes (it seemed longer), then we head back to our hotel for the "Harmonious period."  I say that with tongue- in- cheek as it is anything but harmonious, but it is supposed to be the time we get to know each other and decide if we want to adopt her.  We will have to give an answer to the officials on Tuesday morning.  She does quit crying pretty quickly and does well as long as we are holding her, but only if we're standing up.  We go to dinner at the hotel restaurant and she won't eat and doesn't want us to eat either.  We pass her back and forth trying to give each other an opportunity to shovel some food down so we can leave.  I'm sure the other restaurant customers were happy to see us go.

When we returned to our room, we all had a shower and got ready for bed and it was only about 8pm.  I fixed Journey a bottle and she did take it and was fast asleep by 8:30.  We were prepared for a sleepless night but she was so exhausted that she slept until about 5:30 this morning.  I actually woke up before she did as I was asleep about 2 minutes after she was the night before.  On top of all the trauma of being with people she doesn't know, I think she is also teething as she has a slight fever.

We were able to talk to the director of the children's center at the orphanage and she gave us information about Journey's personality.  She said Journey is "spoiled", which I think means she likes to be held and won't take no for an answer; she climbs all over things and likes to climb high; she's emotional and very intelligent; she's shy and will not go to anyone she doesn't know well.  I think we're in for the ride of our life.  After returning from the Registration office today, she has actually been playing on the floor and talking to herself, both of which she had not done yet.  It's like she knows there is no hope of her going back to her old life so she might as well make the most of the situation.  She has actually fallen asleep on the floor which is why I'm writing this now.  This evening we are going to go to the Walmart shopping center to shop and then have pizza at the Pizza Hut there.  This will be the first western food we've had since arriving in China last Thursday.  I'm really looking forward to it!

The Ming Tombs and the Great Wall

Day two of our great adventure in Beijing started out sunny, warm and humid and then quickly progressed to HOT and HUMID.  We met up with our guide and driver at 9am and drove out to a location about 30 miles north of Beijing for a tour of the Ming Tombs.  The Ming Dynasty ruled from 1368 to 1644.  This is the resting place for 13 of the 16 Ming emperors.  Where the other 3 are is a long story, best left for another time.  The 13 tombs are spread over a 15 sq mile area, so needless to say, there was much left unexplored.  As it turned out, we really didn't see any of the tombs.  Instead our guide took us down a long road, known as the main Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs.  It was part of a 4-mile ceremonial route that the emperor's funeral procession took on their way to the burial place.  It is in fact a peaceful, tree-lined, stone paved "street" with 12 large statues of various animals (some real and some mythical) placed at regular intervals.   The ¾ mile section we walked down ended at a monument pavilion containing a large stone stele covered with Chinese characters extolling the virtuous exploits of the particular emperor responsible for it's construction (imagine that).  As the day was heating up and we still had much to do (even though there were no tombs in sight), we called it good and moved on.

 

After lunch, and a nice 90 minute drive into the lush, green mountains north of Beijing, we eventually arrived at Mutianyu.  This 20km section of the wall was restored in recent times, and is the 2^nd most frequented site along the Great Wall.  By 2:30pm, when we arrived, the sun was shining and the temperature must have been 99+ deg F, so only the brave, desperate and foolish tourists were to be found.  In other words, there were very few people there.  In fact, the local souvenir vendors had us outnumbered by at least 5 to 1.   The approach to this section of the wall is quite steep, so after a rather strenuous walk up a stone paved lane (being harassed every step of the way by the souvenir vendors), you finally reach a cable car which takes you up the final 500 – 600 vertical feet to the wall.  After bravely enduring this portion of the hike/climb in the heat, Debby was ready to call it quits, and retreated to a bench in the shade to "admire" the wall from below.  Having come this far, I pushed on, and climbed the last flight of stairs to go up onto the wall.  I had wanted to see the Great Wall ever since I was a kid and had first seen pictures of it.  I was not disappointed, the Great Wall is an impressive example of ancient engineering, audacity and sheer man power.  As you stand there, gazing in the distance as the wall stretches before you, rising and falling and finally disappearing over the distant mountaintops, you cannot even  imagine the incredible human effort required for such a gargantuan construction project, in the most the most inaccessible of places.  It makes you tired just to think about it.   If you ever get to Beijing, visiting the wall is definitely a must (just try to avoid visiting in July).

 

Sunday morning we depart for Nanning, and our rendezvous with Journey.

Hello from Beijing

We arrived in Beijing on Thursday evening after a very L O N G flight.  Even though it is extremely hot and humid, we have spent most of our time outdoors doing some sightseeing with a guide.  On Friday we visited the Summer Palace and went to a hutong.  A hutong is an ancient neighborhood with small narrow streets and best seen via a rickshaw ride.  Most of the hutongs have been torn down to make room for new modern  buildings but fortunately the Chinese have realized the value of preserving these neighborhoods and are taking measures to make sure they are cared for.  We were able to go into one residence and visit with the woman who lives there.  Her husband's family has lived in that home for 150 years.

 

Today we are going to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.  We are learning a great deal about Chinese history as our guide, Jerry, is very knowledgeable.  I will post some pictures later as my tech guy is out trying to find a fan for me (a hand fan, not electric ;o)  Really, the heat and humidity are brutal.  Even the people who live here are miserable.

 

Please pray for Doug as it seems he has a pulled muscle in his shoulder and is really suffering.  Fortunately I brought my pain pills as I am usually the one to hurt my back and they seem to help slightly.  Also, because of the long flight and the heat, my hands, legs and feet are really swollen and are not getting better.  Any suggestions?  Email me if you can help.

 

I am having to post this via email as we cannot access blogger directly from China, so I hope it works!

The adventure begins . . .

Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go! We leave tomorrow morning and arrive in Beijing on Thursday afternoon. We plan on seeing lots of sights in Beijing, including the Great Wall. I checked the weather today and it’s supposed to be 104 on Thursday. We’ll feel right at home (well, at least weather-wise), and what perfect weather for sightseeing... We are scheduled to meet Journey at 3pm on Monday, which will be 3am Monday at home. She will be taking a 3.5 hour trip to get from her orphanage to us. We are praying that the trip isn’t too hard on her and she will not be unhappy when she meets us.

Thank you, as always, for your prayers. Please continue to pray for good health for all three of us and that the transition for Journey will be an easy one.

Next update from China.

China Bound

Tickets are booked, camcorder purchased (now to figure out how to use it), drawer and cabinet locks installed (almost), still trying to determine how to fit everything into two suitcases and still have room for our clothes (seriously)…

Our departure date is getting closer. We thought we would be leaving on June 23 but that date was dependent upon confirmation of a visa appointment on a specific date during the week of July 5. That didn’t happen and so our trip was pushed back by one week. We are now confirmed to leave on 6/30 and will return on 7/15. We will be flying to Beijing and spending a couple of days sightseeing before flying on to Nanning on Sunday, July 4th. That is where we will FINALLY be united with our girl. Our Gotcha Day will be July 5th. I think 5 has become my favorite number – we were logged in to China on 4/5/06, Journey was born on 2/5/09 and we will finally get to hold her on 7/5. We will be in Nanning (Guangxi province) until Friday taking care of the adoption process with the local government. On Friday evening we fly to Guangzhou where we will have various appointments for medical exams and finishing up paperwork to bring Journey home. Back to Beijing the evening of the 14th and then catch an early morning flight on Thursday to Dallas. I think the travel time to and from China is about 20 hours each way.

The past three weeks have gone by pretty quickly. Doug and I celebrated our 15th anniversary on May 26th and he surprised me with tickets to see Brooks and Dunn at an outdoor concert in Dallas. I’m not a big country music fan but I became hooked on this duo several years ago when I happened to hear their song ‘Neon Moon’ on the radio. The concert was very entertaining, including the performers. The amphitheater’s record-breaking crowd consisted of hundreds of beer-drinking, hootin’-and-hollerin’ rednecks (not meant in a derogatory way – after all, I am from Montana and I’m blessed to have several lovable rednecks in the family) who started the party early in the afternoon by tailgating in the back of their pickup trucks. Leaving the parking lot after the concert was an adventure, too, one I would liken to riding in bumper cars. Really, it was a pretty great time, sitting on the grass on a balmy Texas evening listening to some good music. Doug did suggest, however, that next time we just buy the dvd. ;o)

We had an opportunity to take a weekend trip to Albuquerque with some good friends the week before our anniversary and had a wonderful time sightseeing there and in Santa Fe. The weather was perfect for being out-and-about for two days and it was extra special for me to visit Albuquerque - I had spent some time there as a teenager after my best friend’s family moved there. It brought back some very good memories.

This past week or so we have been baby-proofing, booking tickets, getting together the paperwork we need to take with us, and gathering all the recommended items to bring for Journey, which are mostly medications. Lots and lots of OTC medications. I think we’ll almost be ready when it’s time to leave…

Thank you for all the prayers and support we have received from our friends and family. Please be praying for Journey – that she will have an easy transition and quick bonding to us, and that all three of us will stay healthy during our time in China