Sorry!

My apologies for not posting sooner. As you can well imagine, Christmas has been very hectic around here. We never reached that point of "whew...we're done"...we were wrapping presents until 2 AM Christmas morning. We had a very abbreviated display this year. We are normally a 2-tree family with the tree in the family room being the "family" tree and the onle in the living room being the "formal" tree. We only got the family room tree up and didn't even get the LGB up and running this year. Simply too many unknowns with how Anyssa would react and we also did not want to overwhelm her any more than she already was.

We all went to church at 5:00 for the family service. Anyssa wore her first dress (probably EVER). I dressed her and when mommy saw her, she (mommy) cried. She is a beautiful little girl. She did well at the service and when we got home we got jammies on and got ready for bed.

Anyssa's kindergarten teacher gave her some "reindeer food" in a little plastic ziploc bag...basically some Quaker Oats and she put some glitter in too. You're supposed to sprinkle it on your front porch so Santa will know to stop at your house. Again, we had no idea what her thinking on all this was. So...we decided to see how far she would go. We sat her down and explained slowly that tonight, Santa would be coming and would deliver her a present. She got kinda puzzled looking as if to say "here?". Yes, I said...I told her that I let Santa know that Anyssa lived here and to please bring her something because she was very good. I wish I would have had the camera ready because she looked like the Home Alone kid. We got her! She was in for the whole routine. We took her to the computer and went to the NORAD Santa-tracking website and watched him bounce around Michigan into Canada. I showed her on the map where we lived and that he had not been here yet. We went downstairs and put the magic reindeer food out, wrote a note to Santa and left out some cookies. I told her that if she wasn't asleep when he got here, he might not stop. Needless to say, going to bed was pretty easy on Christmas eve.

On Christmas morning, she was up at about 8 which normally would be good except for us still wrapping the presents at 2 AM. No problem...we all went downstairs and would you believe it? Santa had indeed stopped and left her some gifts. He even knew that Dora the Explorer was her favorite character because all of the toosy-fromsies were Dora themed. Wow! She got a toy cell phone (so she could leave ours alone) and some markers and coloring stuff...basic stuff that most kids might turn their noses up at but because it was new to her, it was great. She also got a game for the Wii (which we just got but have not yet hooked up.)

Here is our family picture from church. I'll post more shortly!

School time

Wow...time sure flies. Seems like we just got Anyssa a month ago and now our baby is starting kindergarten! Oh, wait...it HAS only been a month. Time flies when they're so little. Anyway, Anyssa is registered for kindergarten and will be starting when the Christmas break is over in January. Yesterday, the kindergarten teacher called and spoke with Laura and she invited Anyssa to attend the holiday party today. So...she went! She fit right in started doing crafts with some of the other kids. It turns out that our Godson Chima is in her class! We're sitting in the back looking at everyone and all of a sudden, there's this kid waving at us. How cool! We met a couple of the moms, too. I remembered back when our neighbors kids started going to school, they got new friends...the parents of the kids their kids were in school with. Well, I figured that these were the people we would probably get to know over the next few years. They SEEMED like they were younger than us, but I have no idea how THAT could be... :-)

Anyssa on YouTube

I posted a little video that Laura made of Anyssa doing a little song and dance that she learned in China. If anyone has any idea of what she's singing, let us know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwsWpgb4Uk0

Life continues...

Sorry for the delay in getting a post up. Just like the plate spinner on Bozo's Circus, I've been busy making sure none of the plates hit the ground! So far, so good...  :-)

Anyway...where are we. We saw Dr. Ochs and found out that Anyssa's lead levels are down significantly. Still a little ways to go, but moving in the right direction. Today she had her first dental appointment and all looks good. We had our appointment at school and the registration for kindergarten is moving along nicely. She should be starting kindergarten after Christmas break (yes...I still call it Christmas break...not "Winter Break", "Holiday Break" or any of that other PC stuff). I think she will do great. We took a tour of the school and she looked intrigued. We stopped at her classroom to peek in. There was a substitute teacher that day and she invited us in. No hesitation from Anyssa...she walked right in. The kids came over and all said "hello". I think she is more than ready to enter a social setting like school. We are both extremely pleased...looking better than we planned, although I'm not sure exactly what we had planned.

Anyssa went to her first birthday party last weekend. It was Dylan's birthday (he live across the street) and he was turning 5. The party was held at a McDonald's at the Playplace. When we walked in, she just looked around. Slowly, she moved towards the slides. When Dylan's older sister Hailley came over with a couple of friends and invited her to play, that was all she needed. She climbed into the tube montrosity and several minutes later, she popped out of one of the slides at the bottom, smile literally from ear-to-ear. There was a 7 year old girl named Abby who played big sister to Anyssa and hung with her all night...even getting her over to eat and including her in everything. I think she needed that time with other kids...hanging around with 2 (slightly) older people like me and Laura can probably be a drag.

Today, she helped Laura and Miss Dawn make cookies. Carol from church made her a little apron, which she was still wearing when I got home from work, just like mommy. Mommy said she was a big help. I could tell from Anyssa's smile that she had fun, too. One note...I'm old fashioned and prefer if kids address adults with Mr., Mrs. or Miss. So, our neighbors Dawn and Mike are "Miss Dawn" and "Mr. Mike". Laura agrees with me so we'll take this as far as we can. Oh...the cookies were great!

Today, she let let Laura film her doing a song and dance routine that she obviously learned in China. I will upload it to YouTube and post the link later. It's so cute!

Of course, here are your pictures for the past few days



Anyssa and Abby at Dylan's birthday party.




The 2 cookie monsters!



Ear tubes are in

Today was "surgery" day. I put surgery in quotes because it's really a procedure...no cutting involved. They called us last night and wanted us at the hospital at (ugh) 6:30 AM. Laura and I were up early and got dressed. I started the truckster to get the heat blowing (it was 19 degrees this AM with a wind chill at 0). When we were ready, we grabbed Anyssa from a sound sleep, put her coat on her, wrapped her bare feet in a blanket and bolted for the truckster. Got to the hospital and got checked in. The procedure went smoothly. We barely had time to relax in the surgical waiting room when they were calling us to recovery. All in all, it took about 10 minutes. The doctor said that there was a small vacuum behind the ear drum that he released. He vacuumed out a small bit of fluid and inserted the tubes. When we got to her room, she was kind of awake. They put her in Laura's lap and took out the bed. Anyssa slowly gained consciousness and about an hour later, we were back in the truckster heading home. Of course, we were inside just long enough for the engine to cool completely down so we bundled up for a couple of miles until it was blowing warm.

In my opinion, if you ever need to go to the hospital for anything, you want to go to Edwards Hospital. It is more like a luxury hotel that offers health care than a hospital. Coffee in the waiting room? You have to select from about 8 different styles/flavors...unless you prefer tea, that is. Then you only get 6 to choose from. You put your choice into the coffee maker, select your strength and wait for about 30 seconds. It's extremely nice. Yes, the coffee is all I can comment on because other than the staff, that's all I can comment on. Oh...the staff was great too.

We are home and Anyssa can hear. They say she can hear better but we don't know that yet. Only time will tell. We have her admissions appointment at school tomorrow and back to Dr. Ochs to have her TB test read on Friday. Oy! WE hope all goes well with the school because we won't have her hearing test done for about 2 weeks. They'll have to rely on the doctors word and the fact that she responds to sound that she can hear.

Back to the doctor

Tomorrow we head back to Dr. Ochs for Anyssa's follow up visit. We are not sure what he's going to tell us, but we hope he'll be able to complete the vaccination section of the school registration papers. Surgery for ear tubes is Wednesday and then the registration appointment on Thursday. Cross your fingers. Christy (the school principal) said that she thinks Anyssa will do great in kindergarten. I think so too, but then again, I'm biased. It will be good for her to be out of the house in a social situation with kids her own age. Her English is coming along, albeit slowly. I just think of that radio commercial for Rosetta Stone where they talk about how kids don't LEARN a language...they ABSORB it. That seems to be the case.

One funny thing I gotta tell you. I took along an issue of Popular Mechanics to read on the plane and I told Laura that I was going to bring it with to the Great Wall. I told her to take my picture with it and I would send it to the editors...they post pictures of people reading the mag in interesting places. Well, the other day I got a message form the assistant editor...she said they were interested in publishing my pic! No word yet, but if all goes well, you'll all be able to see my mug in the letters section of a future issue of PM!

Anyssa got her first taste of a midwestern winter. When it snowed the other day, Laura and I took her downstairs and plopped her in front of the window and raised the blinds. Classic. The mouth opened and the eyes bugged out. Man! She's seen snow on TV but we don't know if she ever thought she would experience it. I went out to shovel while mommy got her dressed. Then we all headed to the neighbors who were building a snowman. It didn't take long before a snowball fight started...she had a blast! I do have to say that I need to work on her arm...she throws like a girl ;-)

Yesterday we went to the Bass Pro Shop to see the Christmas village they set up. We didn't wait in line for Santa because we didn't think she would know what was going on. I can see it now...half an hour in line, going to see the big guy and her freezing in her tracks. We just stood by the side and Santa waved at her. The big smiles came when she got to climb on the quad-runners and the boats! Those are some pictures to send back to the orphanage!

I'll let you all know how the doctor visit went. Maybe we'll swing by Jim's studio again if he's around. Anyssa like looking at the press and the art!

Getting ready for school...

Our visits to doctors in order to complete the kindergarten registration process is almost complete. We need to return to Dr. Ochs on Tuesday and have him determine which vaccinations she will need. On Wednesday, Anyssa will have surgery to place ear tubes. Apparently she has fluid buildup around her ear drum (complications from the cleft palate). They say that what she hears now probably sounds muffled which could explai why she has trouble with hard letter...T and K specifically. On Thursday, we have an appointment at the school and will hopefully have her registered for kindergarten. She will also be assessed by the ELL teacher and determine what she will need to help her learn English. Sounds easy but this has been a pain to try and get data that you would be building over 5 years ready in 2 weeks. She had her vision test today and passed fine...no glasses needed at this time.

One more question...is it normal for a 5 year old to show you the contents of his/her mouth after chewing food but before swallowing? My guess is yes, but it never hurts to ask!

Where do I start?

I am so glad that I never claimed to have all the answers when it comes to parenting or raising children. I would be forced to eat those words if I had. I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what is going on in the brain of a 5-year old. If Anyssa had been born to us, we would have some idea of her personality and where she was emotionally, but with her coming to us from a foreign country, not speaking our language and having built up a personality developed from her surroundings in an orphanage, I simply don't know. I've mentioned some of what we've been experiencing to other parents and their response is something like "that's not because she came from China, it's because she's 5!" That might be, but is still difficult to deal with.

If anyone has the answers, please fill me in. What is it about bedtime that suddenly gives kids a burst of energy that Olympic athletes would envy? Why does she want to throw pretty much everything? Why does she pick the weirdest battles to fight? She is picking up English...at least she seems to understand more of what we say. If she could convey what she is dealing with or feeling, even if it was just "I don't wanna!", that would at least let me know where she is coming from. It's a total hit and miss. I pray for guidance and know that this is simply the beginning of a new life for us all.

I put up the Christmas tree this weekend and today we all helped in decorating it. For awhile, anyway. After about 20 minutes, Anyssa was pretty much bored with it so we called it a night. We're going to have a simpler Christmas this year. One tree (instead of our usual 2), probably no train around the tree, and simpler decorations. I wonder if she thinks that this is a year round event...the Christmas season was in full swing when she arrived here. Hopefully by next Christmas, she will be more grounded and a tiny, itty-bit more mature than now. I am more realistic that to assume that we were going to have a Currier and Ives type holiday this year.

Anyway, the above comments represent the reason that I haven't posted much this week. I will try to post more frequently as the holidays progress. Stay tuned!

A Day to give Thanks

Roger and I want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for, not only today but always. Anyssa and Roger are watching the Macy's Day parade while I write this. It is wonderful to be home with our family and friends and looking forward to our first Thanksgiving with Anyssa! She is such a blessing and is adapting better in many ways than we thought she would. Our challenges continue to be the bedtime issues and learning to communicate better. We believe she understands much of what we say and we've all learned to use sign language (our version, at least!) to all get our points across. She pushes the envelope every chance she gets!! Typical of a 5yr old, I'm sure.
Anyssa made her first appearance at church last Sunday and did quite well. Our good friend, Miranda, stayed with her in the nursery and Roger and I were able to attend the service. Anyssa even came up to the altar for a blessing during communion, then ran back to the nursery with Miranda! After the service, people came to the nursery to meet Anyssa and she hung with Amy, Lauren and Miranda as the adults visited! It was so wonderful to be back at St. Benedict's and for the warm welcome we received. Our church family is a true blessing!

Roger went back to work this past Monday, so Anyssa and I are trying to get into a routine. But we'll get there. Anyssa has had several visitors this week. Sunday night, she met her cousin Tyler and her Aunt Toni, as they came for dinner (we ordered Chinese, go figure!!) and her Uncle Al, that she met earlier at church, joined us too. By the end of the evening, she was showing off how her cart wheel moves and just being silly with Tyler! Yesterday, she met her cousin Allie and saw her Aunt Vicky again. The three of them worked on the kitty puzzle that was a shower gift and they had so much fun, laughing and giggling! Allie also played the piano while Anyssa sat next to her and joined in at times. It was so great to see them connecting! Was sorry Daddy wasn't home to see. Later in the day, our good friends Joel, Renee' and Amy came to visit. Anyssa met them at church, so after only a few minutes, she and Amy were playing together, or should I say, Anyssa was running around, wanting Amy to chase her! They spent a good part of the visit playing with stickers and the plastic food that our friend and neighbor, Dawn, loaned us. She loves playing with the pretend food, dumping it on the family room floor and designing all kinds of meals!

Then, it was time for dinner at Dawn, Mike, Connor and Evan's house, who live behind us. This was her first visit to someone elses house and she walked around, checking things out first, before settling in to hang with Connor and Evan. She was also intrigued by their pet Guinea pig, Pekachu (sp?) and got to pet him while on her lap. Since our cats continue to hide in the basement (they're afraid of her, rather than the other way around), she enjoyed getting to pet him and watch him eat his green pepper. The boys turned on Sponge Bob and she sat between Daddy and Connor on the couch, settling in to watch a few episodes. She looked extremely comfortable! Then it was down to the basement and there she found the Simpsons pinball machine. With Daddy watching, she easily figured out how to play! She also played air hockey with Connor and Evan. We wonder what she must think of all this. The giggles and big smiles said it all. It was a very busy day and after a little bit of prodding, she fell fast asleep and didn't wake until 7:30 this morning. We give thanks for these little victories.

Heading to my parents for Thanksgiving dinner. My Mom is an awesome cook (hopefully I can be as good as her someday). This will be the first visit to Grandma and YeYe's (Chinese for grandpa and that is what Anyssa calls my dad). We give so many thanks that we can all be together today. Roger's brother, Bob, is out of the hospital and will be joining us also.

We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and we are so thankful for our family and friends who love and support us. Blessings to you all!

Love,

Laura, Roger and Anyssa

My favorite signs

As you are probably aware, sometimes Chinese doesn't translate very well into English. I snapped a picture of some of the more interesting signs throughout our travels...here are some of them.




No horns or car bombs, please!

 

Welcome...have a seat, spread your legs and we'll be right with you.
Specializing in those areas where the sun don't shine...



Uh...OK.

 

How do you know your capabiltiy if your brain is diseased?





That was close...I thought I was THERE!



Friday evening

We saw Dr. Ochs today and all looks pretty good. He is pleased with what he saw and read. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight which I guess is pretty good. He wanted to do a blood test, but when we were done in the office, the lab had closed for lunch for a half  hour. No problem...since we were just a few blocks away, we paid a quick visit to Mr. Pollock's studio. Anyssa got to meet her "Uncle Jim" who was VERY excited to meet her. I had been talking to Jim about doing "birth announcements" about 5 years ago so he's been aware of the entire adoption journey for quite some time. We hung out until the lab opened, then walked back to the hospital. There is a blood test for adoptees that is pretty intense...they drew 5 viles of blood from her little arm! She whimpered a bit, but didn't cry...she's a brave little girl.



Me & Laura in the Forbidden City



After the doctor, we passed by Wrigley Field to see the park painted purple for the NW/UI game tomorrow. Being a Sox fan, I still have to admit that I like Wrigley Field and it looked pretty cool in the new colors! Once we were back in the burbs, we stopped by to give Anyssa her first tast of McDonalds. One happy meal, please. She seemd to enjoy the cheesburger and when it came to soft drinks, she preferred water. After that, we stopped at American Sales which, for those of you who don't know, is one of those seasonal stores that has pools, patio furniture and swing sets in the summer and switches over to Christmas in the fall. As soon as she saw the giant inflatable Santa outside, her eyes bugged out of her head! She had a blast looking at pretty much EVERYTHING in the store. I actually experienced something that I had thought of during the adoption consideration process years ago...viewing and reliving things that I considered mundane through the eyes of a child. It was amazing to look at the lit up trees and the little animated houses and ornaments and lights and wreaths and everyhting that I had grown accustomed to seeing and see them as I hadn't for many, many years. I don't want to think of it as reliving my youth through Anyssa, but rather to use her as an excuse to stop, take a breath, open my eyes and look around for a few minutes. I know there will be challenges ahead but so far, I can say that I am enjoying this trip known as parenthood.

I wish we had new pictures to share, but truth be told, we simply aren't snapping them as much as when we were in China. I will go ahead and post a few from the trip and hopefully you can enjoy those until we get a few new ones.



Anyssa in the airplane home!



Dr. visit

Today is Anyssa's visit to Dr. Ochs, a pediatrician who specializes in international adoption. We're not sure exactly what to expect...we also need to get some paperwork filled out so we can begin the registration process for school.  Since Dr. Ochs office is a couple of blocks down from Jim's studio, we're planning on stopping by to say HEY to Jim and show Anyssa the printing process and how he does his art.

Up until last night, the sleeping process had gotten better. She had been going down with less hassle and sleeping through the night. Last night, she fell aslepp on Laura's lap while I was out. When I got home, we took her to her room, changed into PJs and attempted to put her down. There was resistance and soon the screaming began. Laura was in our bed this morning but said that she did not get in until 2:30. Anyssa was wide awake and wanting to play. This time is truly going to be a test of our patience and especially for Laura...I go back to work on Monday. Since the temperatures have cooled off, the outside time is limited so running her around is kind of tricky. I took her to Best Buy and Home Depot yesterday and she seemed to enjoy it, but obviously, it wasn't enough.

I'll fill you in on the doctor office visit later...

Challenges

The adaptation continues. I know how hard it is for me and Laura to adapt, but I cannot imagine exactly what Anyssa is feeling. Laura and I are home and speak the same language and are back in our original time-zone. For Anyssa, her world TRULY has been turned upside-down. Her body-clock seems to be the hardest thing to adjust. Laura has to lie down with her is order for Anyssa to get to sleep, and then she'll wake up later...fully awake. It can takes several hours to get her back down. If it were warmer, we could take her to the park and run her around, but the weather report says it's going to start to get even cooler. Today, we have a couple of doctors appointments to take her too and then maybe a shopping trip. We just have to get her out of the house. I'D go stir crazy here!

My brother has an infection in his dialysis fistula so it looks like he's going to the hospital for a few days. PLUS...his cat is sick and may need to go the vet for a few days. It's not my job to question why God does what He does but rather to accept the challenges he places in front of me. I believe that He knows what he is doing and I have to accept that this is part of the larger plan. This is my last week off of work so I need to spend as much time with Laura and Anyssa as I can now. Today looks like it will be busy for me...I just pray that Laura and Anyssa can tolerate my being pulled in several directions.

Name change

As you may have noticed, I've changed the name of the blog to reflect the current situation.

Anyway, the challenge continues. Anyssa is slowly making the transition to American life (she had her first trip to WAL-MART yesterday!), however, it's gonna take some time for her very young body clock to completely adjust for the 14 hour time difference. Going to bed can be challenging so we try and tire her out and don't enforce naps right now. She's been waking up at 3 and not going back to sleep so THAT's an issue.

Other than that, life goes on. She's gradually tasting American food...raisins, and BANANAs!! We have no idea her experience with bananas, but when she saw a bunch hanging from our little banana holder on the counter, her eyes bulged and she got excited, pointing at them. She ate 3 the first day! We are now trying to get her to maybe 2 a day. I will give her credit...she does at least TRY most foods to determine if she likes them or not. Surprisingly, she HATES Coke and Sprite. Again, probably no experience. She tasted my Sprite and got this nasty look on her face...she couldn't make it to the sink in time to spit it out. We'll see how long THIS lasts!

The next challenge...pizza.

      I REALLY like this one of both of my girls!                        Mommy and Anyssa in Guangzhou

Working through some things

Sorry for the delay in posting...it's taking considerably longer to shake the jet lag from the trip back. We went to bed late on Thursday and we all slept until almost noon. Good, right? Wrong. Anyssa did not want to go to sleep at her usual time and had a minor meltdown. Eventually she fell asleep. I got up to go to the bathroom at 3:00 and saw a light from her room. Laura was in there saying that she heard Anyssa crying. Whatever she was doing, it no longer mattered...she was wide awake. After many failed attempts to cajole her back to bed, we tried a little to be a little firmer. That led to a TOTAL meltdown. Laura finally crawled into bed with her and I guess they fell asleep. At least THEY did...I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep at all. I am literally running on vapors. Anyssa is in the shower now as I write this. Hopefully, she will go down a little easier tonight and STAY asleep.

Here's a shot from our front porch after pulling in from the airport.

Home at last!

Yes, you read that right...we are home. The house was decorated by Tish, Dawn, Vicky, Allie and Laura's mom. Welcome home indeed. This will be a short post...so much to say and just not enough energy to type it all.

This is definitely going to be a process. We're guessing that a lot of her actions/reactions have been bred into her at the orphanage. She can be a very mature little girl and in the blink on an eye, she's a 2 year old. We had a couple of meltdowns on the plane. VERY noisy! She drank a lot of water so every 20 minutes I was taking her to the bathroom.

We have to work hard on what we will accept from her...destructive or violent are not the words I would grab, however, there seem to be a couple of flashes of that every now and then. Again, more on that later. We want to discipline her, but on the other hand, I don't want the only words she hears from us to be "NO."

It's going to take quite some time to download the camera. Once the pics are in, I will put a bunch on the blog so patience, everyone!

Good night...thanks for all the prayers and support.

Last post from China

This may very well be the last post we have from China. We are borrowing a laptop and we will need to return it later this evening. We will be meeting Bill in the lobby in a few minutes to pick up Anyssa's visa. We're pretty much packed except for our toiletry stuff. We will have an extra early wake-up tomorrow so we can shower and get dressed in time for our 6:30 shuttle to the airport.

Time flies! Back from the lobby with all of our paperwork. Everything is a go. We just need to pack, sleep, ride, customs (China out), customs (Hong Kong in), flight. Simple, no?

OK then, one last picture. Anyone who knows me will understand...it needs no explanation. Special thanks to our guide, paperwork handler and good friend Bill who has contacts everywhere!

Next episode....The Ride Home.

18 hours and counting...

Just 18 short hours and we will be on-board a van traveling to Hong Kong to catch a flight HOME! You never truly understand the impact of the word HOME until you are on an extended trip that you simply cannot wait to end. We are ALL more than ready to return...China is a nice place to visit, but like Vegas, 16 days is WAY TOO MANY!!

We went to the US Consulate yesterday. All of our paperwork was approved and Bill is heading back there today to pick up Anyssa's visa. After that, we're done. Well, done until we have to make the border crossing into Hong Kong and then again when we hit our point of entry at O'Hare. Apparently there are 2 checkpoints at the Hong Kong border...one to leave mainland China and another to enter HK. It's a 3 hour bus ride at 6:30 AM with a cranky 5 year old. Go ahead and say it..."welcome to parenthood."

We have a 14 hour plane ride ahead of us. We hope that we all can get a little rest because even though we land at around 11:30 AM Chicago time, it will be about 1:30 AM body clock time. That will probably hit Anyssa the hardest. Not sure what she's gonna be like then but I imagine she'll be pretty overwhelmed.

We have a couple of people left to shop for. We are heading out in a few minutes to wipe that out, then back to pack. We are on a tiny island that is very pretty. The are lots of trees and beautiful walkway down the center of the island. We will have to post some pictures later. There are a lot of little souvenir shops named after the proprietors (Susan's Shop, Jordan's Shop. etc..) that sell all kinds of kitsch. We went to Susan's shop to look around and got into a conversation about her cat. Anyssa gother first experience with a cat and did not show any signs of allergies, so we are optimistic that she'll be OK at home. We met her husband Dong (no jokes) and the next thing you know we were sitting around their tea table sipping tea for an hour or so and talking about life and politics. It is inevitable because when you mention Chicago, they think of Obama. We mentioned the recent elections and he knew that "Nancy out" so we figured that he as pretty interested in that kind of stuff. We will be heading back there later to say goodbye. Very fun experience!

OK folks...to the stores!

Google is down

Monday morning and Google is down which makes it a little difficult to access g-mail. I've hopped on my regular SBC account to send this out. 

Anyssa just had her TB test examined and all looks good. At 2:00 today, we have to go over all of our paperwork with Bill to make sure that all of our "T"s are crossed and "I"s are dotted for the US Consulate. That appointment is tomorrow. We have faith that all will go well.

We are heading out to do some souvenir shopping now. We are on a small man-made island n Guangzhou...quiet, little traffic and a very relaxing feel to it. We are trying to find a few things that are better than the plastic Chinese crap stuff...THAT you can get anywhere.

Sunday night

I would like to follow up with the earlier post I made. Anyssa is doing much better. BU seems to help a lot. When she starts to do something wrong, we yell BU! and she usually stops. If she is doing something she shouldn't, we yell BU HAO! which is BAD!. If SHE is bad, we yell BU HAO WA WA! which is BAD GIRL! She seems to enjoy hearing the NO like she finds some comfort in the limits we are setting for her. We KNOW this a very, VERY rough time for her and she is pulling through like a trooper, but we need to be sensitive to her needs whether she knows what they are or not. I'm not really surprised to hear myself say (or think) this, but I feel such a love for this little girl that I had no idea was possible. It literally tugs at my heart and it bothers me that I don't always know what she wants or needs. We tell her PAPA AI or MAMA AI which is Papa or Mama loves you and she repeats it so we know that she knows that. She has also learned how to kiss which is always a sweet moment for us all. We will all get through this transition although it will take some time and not always be smooth. We KNOW that this is the path that God has led us too and we are more than willing to walk that path. We have faith that God has brought us all together for a reason and we are indeed a family. We do a big hand sandwich with her and tell her we love her. I know she knows.

It will all be OK. Thank you God...for everything.

We're here...everything is OK!

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting again...we are indeed without a laptop so we're borrowing a laptop from the family that we met through Sunny Ridge...the Coyne family. We were with them in Beijing, we split up to get our kids, then we met back up in Guangzhou.

We had a fun time on the flight out of Chengdu...first, for whatever reason, they booked us on a flight out at 5:20 PM. We got to the airport good and early...3:00. Over 2 hours with a 5 year old in an airport...OY! Well, we boarded the plane late and sat. And sat, And sat. At almost 5:45, they announced that we would be delayed an hour and they brought the food and beverage cart. We ate dinner in the plane at the terminal. At around 6:15, we taxi out to the tarmac and sat. And sat. We had to have been 5th or 6th in line to take off with a landing in between each take-off. We got airborne fine and landed a little rough, but Anyssa did not have any reaction one way or another. We landed close to 9:00, had to wait for our shuttle and by the time we got settled in our room, it was after 11:00 PM! We had to be up early for Anyssa's medical exam and TB shot.

Well, jump ahead to today. Today, the honeymoon has officially ended. Anyssa has been a brave trooper through all this...almost TOO brave. Today, after breakfast, we were going to take a walk. We left the hotel and as we started to walk hand-in-hand, she stopped. She fought us and lay down on the ground. We tell her either "walk or you get carried." Well, she got carried and she started to meltdown. Crying like never before. We went back to the room and put her on the bed and sat with her as she cried for another 15 minutes. We have all been struggling with communication but obviously, Laura and I have each other, but she has no one to relate to. Bill, our guide, said it is especially difficult to communicate with her because she speaks a unique dialect from the region she is from...not straight Mandarin. He taught us "BU" which means NO...which we could have used a week ago. Today, we went to a nice park area and as we were leaving, she got away from me and started run. It's a game to her...she runs and we chase her. Fine and dandy until she ran into the street. I freaked and grabbed her. I tired to yell at her but she was laughing the whole time. If you saw how traffic is here, you would realize how especially bad this is. It may sound bad, but we are more than ready to get the heck out of this country. We are all going stir crazy here waiting for things to happen. Just WAY too much free time in an unfamiliar setting for us all.

Tomorrow we get her TB test checked out, then free time. Tuesday, we have free time in the morning, then we take another city tour. Wednesday, we have free time until 3:30 at which time we go the American Consulate to take the "oath" which we undestand to be more of a "do you swear that you did not lie?" thing. Provided we make it that far without a hitch, we head back to the room, pack and prep for our bus trip to Hing Kong at 6:30 Thursday morning. Then, a 14 hour plane ride home and we're back!!

OK, folks...that's it for now. Pray extra hard for us that this whole Consulate business goes smoothly. Once we get her visa, we are done. Then home. Home...what a wonderful, beautiful word.

Update from home

Hi everyone - Toni again. Roger sent me an email saying he had to give Emily back her laptop, as they were leaving Chengdu. So, we may not see updates as frequently as before. As I write this, they should already be in Guangzhou. It seems amazing that in 5 more days they'll be back here with their precious new addition! (who is cute beyond words). Looks like Mom and Dad are doing really well - as we all knew they would!!

Pandas!

Today is our last full day in Chengdu. We started the day with breakfast...they don't even ask anymore...they know we are "1 coffee, 1 tea". Anyssa has a daily bowl of congee and has recently started liking bacon. Since breakfast is a buffet and it's free, we spend about 45 minutes of quality family time while the smiling girl servers (who are all named "Trainee"...go figure) bring us more napkins.

We met Emily in the lobby, loaded up in the van and headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. It is the largest breeding area and sanctuary for giant pandas in the world. The panda is the official symbol for Chengdu. I have never bothered to put together a bucket list for one reason or another, but today I would be able to add, then scratch off holding a panda. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I found we were coming to China. Granted, you have to make a donation (RMB 1000 yuan), you only hold him for about a minute and only the person who is paying gets to go in. They take your camera and snap a bunch of pictures. It's kind of a psyche-job. They keep smearing honey on his paw to keep him busy as he's shuttled between laps. Not a bad gig if you ask me! His fur is really coarse and thick. I had to grab his ears because they look so freakin' cute! They have pretty good size claws to which is why you had to look in the trees sometimes to find them. They told us that pandas used to be carnivores, but as their environment changed and meat became scarce, they turned into vegetarians eating only a specific type of bamboo called "arrow bamboo". So I wondered that if evolution works so well at helping adaptation, why did they stay a bright BLACK & WHITE?? There does not appear to be a good answer other that God has a sense of humor. He also likes red and you can see from the picture of Laura and Anyssa and the red pandas.

After the panda sanctuary, we stopped at a silk brocade factory. Chengdu used to be a stop on the silk road so there is still a factory here doing the silk weaving by hand on looms. Amazing art and really interesting how it takes 2 guys to run the loom...one to toss the shuttles back and forth and 1 to pull various ropes to adjust the silk threads to create a pattern. This was my first experience at dealing with a squirming 5 year old. Who would have thought that a 5 year old would find a silk museum boring? It seemed pretty cool to me! Anyway, I knew there would be changes and this is one I'm learning to handle. Oh, she was good, just constantly pulling to go somewhere else. She liked the patterns too, she just chose to view each one for 3 seconds. We got 2 nice panda brocades that are framed...very affordable prices. Since the pandas are the local symbol, it seemed appropriate.

We are all going stir crazy in this hotel room. We check out at 2:00 tomorrow for a 5:00-ish flight to Guangzhou (oy, who made THESE plans?). We will probably go for a walk again just to get some air and see the city one last time.

I have to tell you something weird I was thinking yesterday. We were debating what to do for dinner so we chose to eat in the lounge on the 25th floor of the hotel. There is a large bar and instead of eating tables, there are sofas and chairs and coffee tables to sit by and eat. At 5:30, no one was there so we pretty much had the run of the place. Well, as we are sitting in a little glass alcove of plush sofas and eating noodles and dumplings, I looked at Anyssa. I was thinking of the princesses yesterday and looking at Anyssa thinking "she is like Cinderella". Here is this kid with NOTHING and suddenly she is sitting in a lounge on the 25th floor of a luxury hotel, eating dumplings and biding her time until she flies home to America. It's funny how life works.

The princesses of China

This is an interesting factoid that Evelyn taught us in Beijing that we did not know. You all know that China has the 1 child room, but that only pertains to the Han people. Of course, the Han people are the majority at 95%, so there is a pretty major impact on the population. Well, Evelyn is 25 and she says is one of the first of the "1 child generation". Apparently, other than the obvious, there has been an unforseen result of this. Since there is only one child, the parents and grandparents only have one child to spoil and apparently, they get SPOILED. So spoiled, that none of them know how do do basic housework or cook or other basic housekeeping chores. Instead, these spoiled kids have become the ultimate "me first" generation to the point where all they seem to care about is fashion, being seen and material goods. No...not quite like American teens...it's a little more than that. They frequently marry and divorce...the divorce rate among them is sky high becasue of course, no one knows how to maintain a house or children. That's what has earned them the nicknames the "princes and princesses of China". Today, we got a chance to see that first hand.

The 3 of us took a walk before dinner. There is a large retail area right near the hotel that is off the streets...just a large mall area with 50 foot high billboards and neon and ads for everything. Everywhere you look, there are young girls dressed to the nines...the current fashion trend here is the micro-mini with either nylons or leggings, finished off with to the knee boots with high heels. A lot are embelished with fur (fake fur?). I mean, this is Rodeo Drive. Makeup and perfume, girls just strutting around arm in arm wanting to be seen. The boys are a little better but still seemed to have that spoiled air about them. They will not stop if you walk into their path and don't seem to care at all if it bothers you.

Well, according to Evelyn, this has caused the government to really look at the one child rule. So NOW, it looks like if you have a girl, once she turns 4, you can have another child. Sounds like a pretty straight-forward answer...I wonder if it'll work. That is not going to do much for the current group of self-absorbed young people but on the other hand, they will be running the government one day so you never know what that'll mean to the world.

I try and snap some pix tomorrow so you can see the phenomenon yourself.

Back from the store!

Well, today we ventured out on our first excursion as a family (Emily is out today). We went back to the department store...Laura and me and Anyssa makes 3...hand in hand. It's interesting to see the looks from the locals...especially the older folks. We asked Emily about what they think. She said that before the advent of the internet, there was a lot of uneasiness because no one fully understood what was happening and what foreigners were doing with Chinese children. But now, with the internet, they understand more so it is not as strange as it might seem. However, we still must be an unusual sight. I didn't mention earlier because we didn't have a computer, but twice along the way, locals have stopped us and wanted pictures taken with us. Evelyn said they think that Americans are like movie stars. A family of 5 at the Great Wall wanted a picture of each of them standing with me or Laura. Kind of strange but they seemed like fans finding movie stars. Yep...good for the ego :-)

Anyway, we went looking for some clothes for Anyssa because as it looks, we were pretty wrong about size guessing. We brought 5's and 6's but in reality, she could easily fit into some 4's and 5's. Not sure what her aversion is, but she would NOT put jeans on. No problem, pink sweats it is. We went to the store I mentioned earlier and found out that no...designer stuff is not exactly what we are looking for. It's so WEIRD...EVERY department has a buttload of workers. All of the fashion areas have girls dressed in the fashions they are selling to try and sell more. It was kind of eye-popping (and I couldn't help feeling like a dirty old man) but as we passed the juniors department, there were young girls dressed in knee high socks and Catholic-school type skirts and sweaters. Yowser! You really had to keep moving because if you stopped, you would IMMEDIATELY be approached by a salesperson.


The bottom level is a supermarket so we shopped for soda (for me), cookies and snacks for Anyssa and whatever else we could decipher. They have an abnormally large selection of dried, jerky-style...uh, things. You look at some of the stuff and have to wonder what is used to be when it was alive. As I mentioned, the meat department is a total health hazard. I'm not sure if they would let me take a picture, but if you saw it, you would turn into a vegetarian. The raw, open and exposed meat that anybody and his brother could touch (or sneeze on) is a little shocking. They also sell individual cans of beer. I bought a Tsingtao (Chinese favorite) but I've got to go back later and get one of the Chinese Budweiser cans. Kind of a novelty.

OK...here's this posts pictorial section. I think you need to see more mommy/daughter shots, so here are the girls playing with a sticker book and one of them both on the street. See you all later!!

Wednesday morning

I know I told you all that we simply did non know what to expect. There were just so many unknowns and variables that it was impossible to account for them all. I know it is still early in this game, but our prayers seem to have answered to an extreme! Anyssa is so happy and joyful. She loves to be with us and we love to be with her. She is a curious bundle of energy. She found out that there is a little nightlite on our travel alarm clock so she kept turning off the lights so she could use it as a flashlight. She seems to understand almost everything we say.

It's funny...she is so much like her mother. I think she will be a little neat-freak. Jill wondered if that was a hair clip in her hair. Yes it was. As a matter of fact, she puts them in herself. You can see from the picture as she stands in front of the mirror making herself pretty...just like mommy. She also seems to have amazing problem solving skills. She learns from experiences and seems to be able to think her way out of situations. She is g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y picking up the language. She has an upper tooth that came in out of place so she has difficulty with "S". I point at me, she yells "PAPA!", I point at Laura, she yells "MAMA!", I point at her and she yells "Ah-NITH-Ah!". I don't want to say it but things are going better than we could have hoped for.

Today will be an easier day...Emily is doing some legwork for us and will meet up with us in the afternoon. We're going to eat breakfast and maybe go shopping this afternoon. I, I mean WE, want to check out the toy department at the department store. It's like a Macy's only with 5 times the employess. No fooling...they are standing along the aisles ready to help you. In the cookwares section, they have little cooking stations every 15 feet or so all along the aisles. They cook and demonstrate the products. There are like 20 of them...like nothing you'd see in the states. There are TONS of high-end merchandise. It appears that even though the area we are in appears very run-down off the main streets, there are high-end retailers all over the place. It's kind of a paradox...what you see is the high-end glitz but if you peek around the corner, it's very run-down...the other photo is what we see from the window in our room.

Well, we will also be following the elections as the day progresses. One of our guides told us that a lot of people here think "Obama is stupid". I'm not sure what info they get here, but it's interesting that that's the impression they get.

It's Mama's turn

It's Laura and I'm finally sitting down at the computer. Roger has done an amazing job on the blog and we thank all of you following us and praying for us! Things would not have gone so smoothly, this far, without all your prayers and love. Thank you also for the emails. We're so blessed to have you all in our lives. Anyssa is doing great, far beyond what Roger and I could have ever imagined. We've all been nervous these past 36+ hours but she seems to be adjusting great! And I think we are too!! We know we will have our challenges ahead, but we're just taking one day at a time. She has a good appetite and is already taking to things like bacon and chicken sausage (which they serve each morning at the hotel breakfasts). She'll probably be eating American food before we know it!

Roger is falling into the Daddy role with great ease. In short, I think he's an awesome Dad already, but of course I'm biased! My eyes well up with tears each time I see them together. She is already a Daddy's girl, so look out!! She also is very organized and a neat freak, just like her Mamma! We are spending the rest of the day resting and just getting to know each other. We'll leave Chendu on Friday and meet up with the other couple in Guangzhou, who met their 18 mo. old daughter this past Sunday. We're anxious to see them and introduce the 2 girls. It's now 1pm and time for a nap. We'll see how this works today. Love and blessings to you all.

The sites and sounds of Chengdu

Life in the city is extremely crazy. There appear to be no rules regarding traffic...auto, bike, scooter or pedestrian. It is a total free for all. Cars weave their way through the pedestrians in the crosswalk, bikes and scooters don NOT stop for traffic and although there are a LOT of car horns, no yelling or finger gestures. It's just mutual chaos. And I thought the drivers in Puerto Rico were bad!!

We went to supermarket again today. It is such a trip! For anyone who saw the Chinese Wal-Mart phots, I can assure that yes...the meat department is exactly like the pictures. Slabs of meat just laying out, no covers or anything. I told Emily that in the US, the FDA would shut them down NOW. We are buying Anyssa ramen noodles and cooking them in the room. It is not easy to shop here because not a lot of the locals speak English. I told Emily I wanted some spicy Sichuan food and we stopped at a street vendor. We bought 3 sticks of chicken that they deep fry (mmmm...fried) right in front of you. Then they put some spices on and then you "paint" a layer of crushed peppers on it from a large pan. VERY tender and delicious...spicy, but not hot. You just look a little silly walking down the street carrying sticks of meat. Oh...and speaking of meat, I bought 2 little bags of Lay's potato chips...one is "Italian Red Meat Flavor" and one is "Numb & Spicy Hot Pot Flavor". I'll let you know how they taste.

Here's a picture of traffic, some of the scooter parking and, of course, our little ham.

She's all ours (and we're all hers!)

It is official. We went through the 24 hour "trial" period without a hitch. Then we went to the civil affairs office, did more paperwork, then off to the notary, more paperwork, a promise to treat her as our own and take care of her, a handshake, several envelopes of "donations" and we are a family. The ladies from the adoption center were there to do some paperwork. When the van approached the civil affairs office, Anyssa tensed up. When we walked in and she saw the ladies, she just shut down. She didn't know WHAT was going on. After that was done and they all said good-bye, she was ecstatic! All smiles and acting just like any 5 year old. I think she thought that she was going back to the center!

We had to return the DVD player. Not nearly as easy as you would have thought. Explanations, a thorough examination of the box and supplies, waiting for one manager, then another manager and finally the refund...less a 3.5% service charge because it was over 24 hours (?). Whatever...it simply wouldn't play our original DVD's because of the region coding. They won't even play on Emily's laptop. Of course everything is in Chinese... :-)

Good morning!

It was an interesting first night. We have 2 full-size beds so one of slept with Anyssa during the night. She is very restless! She tossed and turned and then would be very still. In the middle of the night we heard a loud THUMP...she fell out of bed but did not wake up. We put her back into bed and I tucked the covers in tighly so she couldn't fall out again. She is very resilient.

Emily told us that not many children have come out of that social welfare institute. She did a child herself about 12 years ago. She said there are about 70 people there and not just little kids...older kids too.

We will eating breakfast and then heading to the civil affairs office to sign paperwork and make our donations. Then the ball is rolling. Tomorrow we tour Chengdu and YES! we get to see pandas! I asked Emily if I could hold one and she said yes, but expensive...like $175 - 200. Hey...when am I going to get the chance to ever hold a panda again? Hopefully it happens!

Getting ready for bed

This kid will not stop!! Of course I say that with love. She has been bouncing 'round the room almost all day. We all took a walk to buy a portable DVD player (which needs to go back...stupid region coding) and she was starting to look really tired. Nap time! Uh...no. She got her second wind when we hit the room. She will unpack, then repack the backpack. She loaded it up with her books and everything else that will fit and now it weighs like 20 pounds. Doesn't matter...she will sling it onto her back anyway. She has "mama" and "papa" down pat and although we don't speak Chinese, there is something she says repeatedly at times which we have deduced to mean "I need to go to the bathroom". We found one of the local Chinese channels that shows cartoons. We made her some instant noodles and she began to scarf them up while watching the tube. Kids will be kids no matter where they are!

Also, just so you all know, the blog is definitely banned here, so we are just continuously posting. I know you are making comments and asking questions, but we simply cannot read them until we get home. Keep watching for updates! They will be coming fast and furious!! If you want to shoot us an e-mail, we will have a working laptop for the next few days. Use rogostro@gmail.com ... this addy will be good for the rest of the trip.

Laura is getting her ready to shower (yes, she showers) and has her new Hello Kitty jammies ready. She HAS to be tired. HAS to be. I think...

I hate to be a proud parent, but be prepared for many pictures of kid stuff. Jammie pix to come. In the meantime, here is a pic of her wrapping daddy around her finger and one of her eating her noodles.

One more...

What can I say...I am a proud papa!!

At long last, we are parents!

SSIA

Or, in net terms, the subject says it all. After a very nervous night, we got ready and had breakfast for the last time as a couple. Emily picked us up and after dodging a multitude of sccoters and bicycles, we made it to the civil affairs department. Not knowing what to expect, we walked through the doors and there she was!! We met her and she knew who we were. She semed happy until she relaized that she didn't understand what we were saying. Then the tears flowed. But then, she calmed down and all was well. She did indeed have her backpack and I congratluted Valentino on a job well done. She looked at him for a little bit, then carefully put him away in her little back pack. We introduced her to Kai Lan and showed her that it said "loved" in Mandarin on her sweater. We put the little matching "loved" necklace on her and she seems very happy with it. We returned to our room and had our first conversation. After realizing that we just weren't going to understand what we were saying, she marched into the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat...message delivered!! (I let Laura handle that one.) Emily and I headed to the bank to exchange some of our cash into RMB. It's funny how a 1/2 inch stack of dollars turns into a 3 inch stack of RMB!! Lots of pictures of Chairman Mao. When I returned to the room, Laura and Anyssa were coloring and playing with the picture flash cards. She was VERY happy to see me and yelled PAPA as she threw her arms around me. Yes...this was meant to be.

Emily loaned us her computer so this will be a little easier than trying to squint my way through mail on the broken screen computer.

We will be going to lunch in a little bit and then we will meet back up with Emily at 2:00. We need to go shopping for milk and juice and a little portable DVD player so she has something to do on the long flight home. I will let you all know how THAT goes. So far, lots of laughing and smiling.

Chengdu

Laura and I have finally arrived in Chengdu. We left Beijing on a 3-hour flight and landed here at about 1:00 Pm. We met Emily (our translator and guide for the leg of the trip) and she had the driver bring us right to the Crowne Plaza. We found that Anyssa is already on her way to Chengdu from Guang An…it’ about a 4-hour car ride. We will be heading to the government building at 9:15 tomorrow and will meet her for the first time.

Since we’ve been having computer problems, we had limited access to the internet. This will be a quick posting until tomorrow when Emily will bring her laptop so we can do a longer post.

Day 1 of touring Beijing

It was a very amazing day today…too surreal. We went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square this morning, had a wonderful vegetarian lunch, then visited the Summer Palace this afternoon. While we’re both tired, we’re surprised at the adjustment we’ve been able to make as a result of the daylight. Even though we’re 13 hours later, it doesn’t seem like we’re that far off.

The Forbidden City is awesome. That word does not even come close to describing it. It’s unbelievable that just yesterday we were in Chicago and now here we are wandering around a 15^th century city. The artwork, the garden, the 300 year old + trees…it doesn’t even seem real. Our tour guide is Evelyn is wonderful. She is very knowledgeable and fun and is more than willing to answer our questions as well as take our picture in front of significant landmarks. Tiananmen Square was surprisingly emotional when you think back to what happened there 20 years ago. The picture of Chairman Mao on the outside of the north gate of the Forbidden City is so vivid and lifelike. Evelyn told us that it was from that gate that Chairman Mao proclaimed to the world the birth of new China. His mausoleum is across the square and his body is lying in state in a glass coffin. The building is normally closed and it was today as well.

We’re really enjoying seeing the sites with Patrick and Linda who are the other couple from our agency who are here to get their little girl. We will be parting ways in 2 days only to reconnect with them in Guangzhou with our little girls.

The Summer Palace was equally amazing. We really didn’t know too much about the Palace but as usual, Evelyn filled us in. She told us about the Dragon Lady who was the emperor’s mother who REALLY ran the country. She was not a very pleasant person and apparently is not remembered too fondly by the public. It’s difficult too describe…beautiful buildings in a garden on a lake. That statement really doesn’t do the Palace justice…the pictures will fill in the gaps.

After the palace, we stopped off at a pearl factory where they harvest pearls from the oysters that are gathered from the lake at the Summer Palace. They demonstrated how they get the pearls and opened an oyster in front of us, then gave us the pearls as souvenirs. Because they are also the factory that makes the jewelry, the prices are very reasonable. We bought a little something for Anyssa to wear.

We will be going to the Great Wall tomorrow and will be sharing more pictures in the next day or 2. Thank you all for your prayers and support and we are glad that we can share this journey with you.

And back in the US.....

Hi everyone - it's Toni (from here at home, not China!) Looks like the postings will continue without problems, but I'll keep an eye on it to make sure we all stay up to date. Got a text from Roger, and it sounds like all is good so far. It seems very weird that while I'm having dinner here, they're having breakfast tomorrow morning there.......hmmmm......... They have a full day of siteseeing ahead of them - I'm sure we'll hear more soon!

We're here!!

Well, here it is 4:43 PM (or should I say 3:43 body clock time). We are in China…Beijing to be exact. All is going well…we met our translator Evelyn who is wonderful. We connected with the Coynes (who are also here adopting). As a matter of fact, they are in the room right across the hall from us. We’re running on vapors, but we figured we would let our bodies go with the flow so we’re going to grab something to eat in about an hour and then crash. Tomorrow is the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square! Pictures will hopefully be coming soon.

I must add something about Murphy…you know…the guy with all the laws? Well, Laura’s laptop had been acting up…the display kept going out. Well, we got on the plane this morning and tried to power is up and BAM! No backlight. Therefore, it is impossible to read anything from the screen. Luckily, the business center has a computer center and I was able to connect their monitor into the external monitor port of the laptop. This looks like what we’re going to have to do from here on out.

Sorry if I’m jumping around a bit…I’m running on vapors!

I have to add the surprise we got when we got on the plane. Jinny’s sister is a flight attendant on UA for the flights to Asia. Even though she could not be on our flight, she got word to the other crew members and they surprised us with champagne and a nice card from the whole crew! Fantastic! It even made up for the cramped coach seats we had way in the back of the plane. The 13 ½ hours FLEW by (slight sarcasm). Thank you Jinny and Jackie!!

As expected, the site is blocked so this will be a blind post…I will have no way to see the finished product. Toni has kindly volunteered to be a blog moderator and if for some reason this DOESN’T post, she will get a CC’d e-mail and she will post it. We won’t see the finished product until we get home.

That’ll do it for now. Heading back to the room to shower and get ready to eat.

Welcome to the crazy house!

It's Wednesday morning and we are just about packed and ready to go. Last minute freak out are the order of the day! What's funny is that in our quest to make our checked bags weigh less than 40 pounds, our carry-ons now weigh about 50 pounds each!!

Finishing up and getting ready to load the car...talk to all later.

Ready or not, here we go!

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Heading to O'Hare to be on a 12:04 flight to Beijing. It seemed like this day would never come, then all of a sudden, it's racing down on us. It's 10:16, and despite the fact that I wanted to be done packing by 5:00, we're still finishing up. The hard part is that even though we are each allowed to check 2 50 pound bags on the flights out and into the US, the in-country flights in China only allow you to bring 1 40 pound bag each. That's a little different. Strategic packing and planning on doing laundry seems to be the only ways to go. Most of my clothes are going in my carry-on. Not only do we need to bring clothes for us, we need to bring stuff for Anysaa. All we can do is all we can do...the wheel is turning and you can't slow it down...

Our flight will land in Beijing at 2:40 PM China time...unfortunately, that's 1:40 AM body clock time. I hope we can sleep on the flight. I know jet lag is going to kick our butts...I just want to TRY and minimize it.

OK...signing off for now. Gotta get some sleep. What a trip...we're leaving as a couple and coming back as a family.

Last weekend as a child-free couple

Wow...I can't even comprehend the weight of that statement! How could I? We've ALWAYS been childless. Laura and I had a discussion the other day and I reflected back on everything I've done and everywhere I've been and everything I've experienced along the way. Joining the army and driving a tank in Germany on the autobahn, working full-time while putting myself through school, touring with the Grateful Dead for 8 years, advancing through the ranks at the companies I've worked for, etc. While I have some regrets (not too many) I've done a lot. I think Pink Floyd said it best when they sang "then one day you'll find, 10 years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

Well, I heard the gun and went off on my own. Looking back, it occurred to me that I've worn a multitude of hats except one major one...parent. That's when I realized that this is exactly what I want to do. I want to be "daddy" to a child. In just 11 short days, I will be. We will meet our daughter for the very first time. I have no idea how she'll respond, but I know that God has pointed us in this direction and obviously he pointed Anyssa too. This is how it is supposed to be. I know it. Isn't faith wonderful?

We found out the other day that we will be meeting up with a couple who was in our travel meetings. We will meet them in Beijing and probably go on tours together. Then they fly off to Guiyang in Guizhou Province while we go to Sichuan. They will pick up their daughter and we will all meet back up in Guangzhou. It will be nice to be with other people who are going through the same thing we are. It will also be good for Anyssa to see another child being adopted too although their daughter will only be 18 months.

Today will be the last day of work for both of us. From here it's full on to China. Packing and trying to not forget anything. We have some last minute paperwork to complete so I'll get that done this weekend. Wednesday will be here soon!

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of her room. We still have a couple of pictures to hang and some books to put away, but this is it. I think she'll like it. As you can see, she has a fully stocked closet already. She's going to be a little fashion plate!