Our Trip: Day 3 (Well, Sorta'...)

Yes, I'm cheating on my day numbering again.  Don't judge the girl with jet-lag.

 

We're off to The Great Wall in half-an-hour, so I have to keep this short.  Unfortunately, the Wifi at our hostel doesn't want to cooperate with our laptop, so I'm only able to post from the shared computer (which means no pictures).  Hopefully we'll have a better connection in Shanghai.  I will track down good Wifi for Gotcha Day pictures; don't worry.

 

Yesterday we ventured out on our own in Beijing.  I was so excited that we were able to find our way around.  The subway is super easy with signs in English.  You can get anywhere for about $0.30 - seriously!  We visited Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City.  There was a lot of security because of a government event.  It was a bit unsettling at first, but we quickly discovered that the crazy hoard of policemen pretty much ignored us. 

 

The Forbidden City is big...really, really big.  We walked and walked and walked and walked.  It's beautiful, but also big.  Li'l Miss was a rockstar there, too.  Everyone wanted a picture with her.  I'm not kidding.  Old people, young people, kids, EV.RY.ONE.  Some people came right up and asked; others just casually inched as close as they could toward us and then started snapping pics.  Li'l Miss liked it for a bit and then got overwhelmed.

 

We walked home and stopped for lunch along the way.  We found a Chinese fast-food place.  It was okay, but I'm looking forward to more authentic food.  We were going to be daring last night...but then Jeremy voted for McD*nalds.  Really.  Our second real meal in Ch*na, and we ate at McD*nalds.  Total cultural immersion fail. :)

 

The jet lag is getting a little better.  We actually slept until 5:00 instead of 3:00 this morning.  Maybe we'll make it past 6:00 tomorrow.  I am thankful that we were able to come a few days early to adjust before we pick up Li'l Man (which is on MONDAY MORNING, by the way).

 

Alright...off to convince my child that she needs to wear more than her Cuddl Duds to The Great Wall.  I will figure out a way to post pictures soon.  Promise.  

 

We are having an awesome time.  Thanks for praying!  

Our Trip: Day 2-1/2

So while I technically missed Day 2 (due largely in part to the 16 hours that vanished somewhere over the Pacific Ocean), I'm going to cheat and call this Day 2 since it's still Wednesday back where we started this adventure.  I meant to post last night while it was still Wednesday in Beijing, but, after 23 hours awake, I was seriously struggling to think straight (and to keep standing up :).

We had a short flight from SoCal to San Francisco.  (Yes, friends, I survived the tiny plane.)  Then we hopped on a 747 for a 12-1/2 hour marathon over the ocean.  All in the all, the flight went very well (United Economy and all).  I knew we were going to survive when the first movie on the schedule was Ice Age: Continental Drift.  My mom and Emma popped on their headphones, and the first hour-and-a-half flew by.

Funny story here...after about 15 minutes of intently watching Ice Age, Emma was happily curled up with a blanket and her lovey.  My mom suddenly turned to me and said, "This movie has a lot of music but not much action."  Ummmm...that'd be because Channel 8 was eighties music, not the Ice Age soundtrack.

Between Ice Age and the fact that a four-year-old can sleep very comfortably on the floor in front of the seats on a 747 (drop the tray tables and you've got a really cozy sleeping spot - just sayin'), we did pretty well for the first five or six hours of the flight.  About Hour 5, you're starting to think that you've accomplished something and traveled really far...then you realize that the really far you've traveled is about the same as the really far you have left to travel.  

With three hours left, we were all ready to get off the plane.  At that point I shoved my child under seats and told her GO TO SLEEP suggested that my sleepy girl take a short rest to help time pass more quickly.  We all fell asleep for a little bit and then we landed.

Our guide was waiting for us at the gigantic Beijing airport.  (We LOVE Ping.  He's awesome.)  He drove us to our hostel, where Li'l Miss and I had our first adventure in public potty-ing.  (She just had-to-go-right-that-second-before-we-could-check-in.)  There was a western-style toilet, but no TP.  Along the wall were three holes that I thought were Bidets. Not so much.  (I know, I know, three Bidets for one toilet is probably a bit excessive.  We're taking serious get-lag here.)   They were definitely squatties, and a young Chinese lady definitely came in and used one while Emma was finishing up. 

Our hostel is really cool.  (See, Heather, no worries.) It's right in the middle of an authentic Chinese neighborhood.  There are a bunch of young people here who very sweetly helped us drag in our pile of bags and laughed when Jeremy offered them a tip.  (Although I did hear a few muttered comments about the fact that we'd packed bricks.)  Everyone thinks Li'l Miss is a rockstar.  Possibly because we're the only crazy parents who choose a hostel when traveling internationally with a four-year-old.  

Our room is small, but clean and cute.  All three of us shared a king bed last night (which was oh-so-comfy), and my mom had a private single room.  Today we're off to explore downtown on our own.

I can't believe we woke up in China this morning.

Our Trip: Day 1

6:28am: Excited, scared, nervous, anxious, thankful, and headed to the airport!

The Big Day

Four hours of flying time down.  Thirty-one to go.

The three of us - and our 200 lbs. of luggage - arrived in California Thursday evening.  We have had an awesome weekend filled with special memories (and a few things we'd rather not remember...more on that later).  My little brother is now a married man.  Crazy. 

The wedding was wonderful.  Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day, about 79 degrees when the wedding started.  (Yes, my Midwest friends, that really says 7-9 degrees.)  My little flower girl looked adorable, and the bride (my new sister, Laura) was stunning.

The ceremony went well.  Matt and Laura had asked Jeremy to officiate.  Unfortunately, he started feeling a little gross after the rehearsal on Friday.  He fell asleep Friday at 3:00pm and slept until 6:00am Saturday morning.  He woke up pale, lightheaded, and feverish.  I spent half the morning frantically wondering who you call in for back-up when the pastor gets sick the morning of the wedding.  Thankfully, he felt a bit better by the afternoon and managed not to throw up...until 15 minutes after the ceremony.  (Yup, Jeremy making a quick exit during family pictures would be one of those moments we'd like to forget.)

The only snag in the ceremony was that a certain-flower-girl-wh0-won't-be-named decided that she was parched right in the middle.  Her mother (who definitely won't be named) tried very hard to ignore her as she loudly whispered,

"Mom, I'm thirsty."

"Mom, I'm really thirsty." 

(Emphasizes her point by pulling on her lower lip with both hands.)

"Mom, I'm SOO-PER thirsty."  (This part may or may not have actually been whispered.)

Whose kid does that in the middle of a wedding, anyway?

Thankfully most wedding guests are awfully forgiving when you're four and looking pretty adorable in a poofy white dress and ringlet curls.

Matt and Laura said I do with a flourish.

The beautiful day turned into a beautiful night.  We had a blast at the rehearsal.  Li'l Miss danced...

...and danced...

...and danced...

...and danced...

...and danced.

She pretty much had a blast.   

I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to be part of Matt and Laura's special day.  The wedding was gorgeous, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for them as Mr. & Mrs.

As for my crazy Li'l Dancer...she stayed on her feet until almost 10:00 and crashed hard when we got home.  She slept until midnight, when she woke up...puking.

I so hope I'm not next.

The Things I Might Have Said...

I haven't been blogging this month.  Life has been oh-so-crazy, and my mind has been going in a million different directions.  (Packing for 29 days, 4 climates, and 5 people is really not easy.)  If I had taken time to post, there are many things I might have said.

I might have said that Li'l Miss created an adorably cute mini-version of our family using her math manipulatives.

Yup. that's us.  Li'l Miss, Li'l Man, Li'l Dude, Mommy, and Daddy.

I might have said that we got the awesome opportunity to have dinner with a sweetie from Li'l Man's orphanage and his wonderful family.

This adorable little guy used to sleep two cribs over from our Li'l Man, and they're less than two weeks apart in age.  I can't wait for our next dinner date, when both boys will be running around together!

I might have said that we went to the fair (yes, AGAIN) with one of my bestest buddies from college and that our little cowgirls had a blast together.

I might have said that we went camping with our good friends, and that we survived a whole weekend with three girlies in the wilderness woods.

I might have said that Li'l Miss is suddenly 4 going on 14 and that she had a blast at her friend's Fancy Nancy party.

(Yup, that'd be what she does now when I ask her to pose.)

But...I didn't say any of those things.  All of those posts got lost amidst the floor-scrubbing, list-making, Target-raiding, goodbye-saying, cookbook-alphabetizing craziness that comes with getting ready to fly across the ocean and meet two members of your family for the first time ever.

Although I didn't take time to say those things, there is one thing I had to stop and say.

We're outta' here!!!  We'll be in California this afternoon and Beijing next Wednesday!

It's Official!!!

Life has been crazy-cray over here: painting, shopping, freaking out over the 10,000 tiny things I forgot to put on my list (like, um, toothbrushes for the boys).  BUT...I had to take a minute to share that WE HAVE PLANE TICKETS TO CH*NA!!!

We got confirmation of our Consulate Appointment last night (woohoo!), so I was able to book tickets this morning.  Living 2,000 miles away from my family, I have booked plenty of plane tickets.  But, I have to tell you, I think I almost puked about seven times while I was making our reservations this morning.  It didn't help that I had to book three separate reservations through three separate means (four roundtrips with real money, one child-in-seat one way with miles, one child-on-lap one way over the phone).  Stress.ful.

 We had an awesome friend donate miles for Li'l Man's one-way ticket home.  (We love you, world-traveling friend.)  Li'l Man's one way cost almost exactly the same as an adult roundtrip ticket, so getting it for free was huge.  (And, riddle me this, why does a child's roundtrip ticket cost less than a child's one way?  Yup, Li'l Miss totally got a cheaper ticket than Li'l Man.) 

So, let the countdown begin: 26 days until we get on that plane (if I spelled all our names correctly on the reservations, that is ;).

Almost There

I just had to take a moment to make sure everyone knows that it is officially October.  We meet our boys next month.  I have to say that again because I can't shout at the top of my lungs on a keyboard.  We meet our boys next month.  I honestly can't believe it.

At this point, a week after Travel Approval, we should have our hotels booked and a flight to Ch*na on the calendar.  Unfortunately, we ran into a little bump last week.  (A bump?  In this process?  No way!  I can say that with a smile at this point.  Seriously.  I'm smiling.)  In order to schedule our appointment with the U.S. Consulate in Ch*na (which is the last tiny step after getting TA and before booking plane tickets), a family has to have current fingerprints for U.S. Immigration.  We have been fingerprinted before.  In fact, we've been fingerprinted twice.  (If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might remember our last way-too-early trip to be fingerprinted.)

Fingerprints for Immigration expire after 15 months.  Ours expired last Monday.  Yup, that'd be the exact day we got our Travel Approval.  No fingerprints = No Consulate appointment.

Thankfully, we'd already scheduled a new fingerprint appointment for last Wednesday.  We'd been told that the two-day lapse would be no big deal.  Because, you know, most people don't get their Travel Approval on one of the two days in fifteen months that their fingerprints are expired.  (Insert dripping sarcasm here.)  Oh, just wait, this bump gets even more interesting.

We went to our fingerprint appointment on Wednesday.  After our appointment, our fingerprint results had to be sent to our Immigration Officer who then had to send our renewed Immigration approval to the U.S. Consulate in Ch*na and our U.S. adoption agency.  With that new approval in hand, our agency would be able to request our appointment at the Consulate in Ch*na.  (That last tiny step I mentioned above.)

(If you're confused at this point, it's totally okay.  I'm feeling confused, and I've been trying to explain this to people all week.)

I got an email today saying that our Officer had received our fingerprint results and forwarded our approval along to the appropriate parties.  Good news...except for one little thing.  Ch*na is celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.  So the Consulate where we need to schedule that ever-so-important appointment?  Yup, it's closed until Thursday or Friday.  Oh yeah, and they're also closed for Columbus Day on Monday.

I'm still smiling.  Really.

As much as the OCD planner in me wants to have tickets bought and hotels booked, I can live in the uncertainty a little longer.  Because we've come so, so far.  And we're almost there.  (And, amazingly, plane tickets have actually gone down $100 since the last time I checked.)  Regardless of whether we receive our appointment date this Friday or next, we are still going to Ch*na next month.

And I'm pretty stinkin' excited.