I Feel Your Pain

I know, I know. There has been nothing on the blog lately. You keep checking and still nothing appears. Believe me, I feel your pain. I did it for three years, following adoption trips to China, before it was our turn to go. You're going along just fine, checking the blog each day for the newest adventure, and, suddenly, it feels like the ride is over, and it's time to get off. You're addicted, and you want more, but you're getting nothing. Now we're on the other side, and I know how it is for the returning travelers. It's not a matter of getting back to regular life, it's trying to find a new normal with a lot of jet lag thrown in. You're exhausted and want to do nothing, but mail starts coming, the grass keeps growing and everytime you turn around it's time to make something to eat for someone who doesn't want to eat anything you make. All the while you are reminding yourselves that you've only known each other for X number of days so, really, you're doing remarkably well. And, we are. Maryn is a brave girl, trusting us to take care of her more and more each day. We are blessed. She wants her mama in her sights at all times and loves her baba to make her laugh. We're still rough around the edges, but there is progress for all of us each day, and it's a beautiful thing to witness.

The top photo is the newest one we have. The bottom photo is one that was sent to us while we were waiting to travel. Look at that smile. Most of you had to wait until we met Maryn to see our beautiful baby. We knew she was adorable, and now you do, too.

Living Life

We're making strides working on a new normal, and this is what it looks like. She's doing a good job sleeping at bedtime and getting a nap, too. We aren't, but at least our camper is happy. We are attracting attention when we go around the block with the dog in the early evening, so sometimes it takes us a little while to make it out and back. It's wonderful to see how delighted everyone is to see her sweet face. Tonight we were later than we wanted to be, and we were hungry so Tom said, "Remember this while you're out there: don't talk to anyone." : ) The last three nights our neighbors have been so kind to have made us dinner, and one more is coming tomorrow. What a relief that has been. Eating is a bit of a challenge so by the time dinner rolls around, it's nice to warm up a delicious something that someone has already labored over. I have to give Maryn tons of credit because she is a very willing taster. Most things get rejected, but she gives them a try. That's more than most people would do. Somethings are good one day, not the next. The one thing that remains constant is the love of noodles. She wants Ramen noodles three times per day and eats the whole package. I try adding this and that to it and every now and then something slips past quality control. People say not to sweat the meals because she'll come around to eating what we're eating, and we aren't eating Ramen noodles.

I'm falling asleep here as I write, so it's time to go to bed. I've been lasting till 3 a.m. and getting out with Toby at 5:30. The problem is the earlier I get up, the earlier she gets up because she checks to see if I'm still sleeping in the bed, and if I'm not there, she gets up. Only a few short hours to go till she sends her periscope up.

She's an American Girl

We're home. We flew all night with a fantastic girl who waited until just after the wheels left the ground to fall asleep and stayed asleep the whole long leg of the trip. Flying at night was good planning on our part, and we want full credit for choosing our flights so wisely. Upon entry into the country, her passport was stamped with a temporary resident stamp awaiting her final paperwork for citizenship. An American girl. Our dear friends Sandi and Bruce picked us up at the crack of dawn this morning, and Maryn was not shy about meeting them. We came home to a driveway covered with Welcome Home Maryn messages from the kids in the neighborhood. You gotta love that, and we did. Thank you so much for the welcome. That was such a special treat to come home to. Sandi and Bruce filled the fridge with a variety of foods including watermelon and Ramen noodles. So far it's been noodles for breakfast, noodles for lunch, and I'll bet at dinner we'll hit the trifecta. Tomorrow night dinner will arrive at 6 p.m. from one of our neighbors. They have really rallyed around us, and it makes us feel great to be able to bring our daughter to a neighborhood filled with wonderful, caring families. Toby was well loved in our absense, and she and Maryn are getting to know each other, very cautiously on Maryn's part. She doesn't realize that Toby's only interest in her is as a potential food source, that is, one that has the potential to drop food on the floor.

Everyone says coming this direction is much harder on you, and I have to agree. We're tired, but we're going to try to tough it out until 10:30 p.m. The travel experts tell you to stay awake until midnight in the time zone where you are, but we can't stay awake till midnight on New Year's Eve, so that's not going to happen. I want to lay my head down as I'm writing this, but I must resist.

Maryn is napping right now in her own bed in her own home. What a heartwarming scene. Hope it works for going to bed later.

Goodbye Guangzhou

We're headed home, and it feels good.  Don't care how long the flight is, we'll eventually get to a place called home.  We took the trip of a lifetime, and it has made our lifetime a trip.  I'm a mom.  We've got a long way to go, but we're going to give it all we've got to be the best parents we can be to our daughter who deserves that and more.  Thank you, God, for showing us how to get here and for knowing it would work out this way even before we were born.  Thank you to Maryn for the courage you have had to show for one little 8 year old, and for the courage the future will require.  Thank you for your willingness to let us in to your life.  Thank you to our family and friends who have supported us all along.  Thank you to Children*s Hope Internat'l for making it your mission to bring families together.  Thank you to our neighbors and church family who have been so enthusiastic about Maryn's arrival.  Thank you, Bruce and Sandi, for taking care of our home and loving our sweet little Toby in our absense.  Thank you to all of you who have followed this leg of our journey.  It's been fun to have an audience with whom to share our little darling.  We'll see you soon on the other side of the world.  

Play By the Rules

No bugles allowed in the park! Strictly prohibited.
Sure, it's called riding paradise, but you can't even perform a variety show while on the ride. What's up with that?

And Then There Were Three

Only three families remain from our travel group.  We are all on the same flight tomorrow.  The rest have gone on.  A few went to Hong Kong yesterday to spend today at Hong Kong Disney.  Others went to Hong Kong today for an overnight before flying home tomorrow, and others are probably home by now.  Our turn comes tomorrow, and we are ready.  We had to entertain ourselves today, so we walked back to the park with the amusement rides.  Hit the merry-go-round, bumper cars and two others, one of which left Tom with a large bruise on both shins.  I caught it on video, but I was so distracted by filming that I didn't see it coming, not that I could have done anything about it.  It was a perfect example of how living behind a camera inhibits actually experiencing life.  I'm sure it was all Tom's fault, as he probably wasn't following the posted rules.

We had our last dinner in the hotel restaurant, and we have one more breakfast buffet in the morning.  We are going to have our guide tell Maryn she won't be seeing a buffet when we get home.  Good thing we probably put a pound on her while we were here because when we get home the choices will be fewer than she has experienced in this new life, and that's going to be hard for her to accept.  We have learned that she doesn't like a lot of things, but she does like watermelon, grapes, fried chicken, ramen type noodles with broth, boiled eggs, some dinner rolls but not all, and she can make short work of a crab leg and shrimp.  Don't think she was getting much crab or shrimp before, but she knows how to get to the meat of the matter.  Oh, and she likes MacDonald's french fries.  Can you believe I'm saying that?  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I asked Tom if he wanted me to take his picture eating that food, and he said, "Absolutely not."

We did much of our packing this afternoon, and it won't take long to finish it tomorrow.  That will be after we sweat through our t-shirts and shorts in the morning with another walk.  We'll add those things to the dirty clothes bag, clean ourselves up and zip the suitcases shut.  What a wonderful sound that will be.

A Day of Milestones

A kiss may be just a kiss but not when it's from your newly adopted 8 year old.  Then it's a milestone and a heartwarming, fireworks deserving sort of occasion.  She offered a kiss to me this afternoon so I took it on the cheek and she accepted one in return.  When I asked her if she'd give one to Baba, too, she was happy to pucker up.  I saw tears in his eyes, and the two of us shared what a huge breakthrough it was.  When we got together later with the rest of the people in our travel group, I shared the word with one other person, and the good news spread through the group.  We've all watched most of the children change right before our eyes over the days we have been together, and it's a wonderful thing to witness. 

We had a great time playing in the room today, many of the childhood standards: piggybacks and giddy up horsey among them.  What you have to remember is that these are wildly entertaining to someone who has made it past her 8th birthday without ever having played them before.  The favorite game right now is something we call hucheelai.  We asked our coordinator if she knew what something that sounds like that means, and, if I remember correctly, it's something like I don't want to stand up.  It involves us picking her up off the floor by her arms  You wouldn't even dream that something like that could be such fun, but it certainly is.  After several rounds of that we spend the rest of the afternoon saying, "No more hoocheelai," because I'm telling you it's hard to quit once you get started.  Give it a try.

This afternoon at 3:00, we all loaded onto two buses and rode to the American Consulate breezing past the long lines of people without US passports waiting to get to the correct windows to request visas.  Once inside they matched our faces to our passports and to the faces of the children we adopted.  A very nice woman spoke to us, and she even announced that there were a number of August birthdays to be celebrated in the group.  She then read the names of the children born in August.  When she read Maryn's name, all eyes in the room turned in our direction, and she may not have understood why, but she had a big smile when everyone said, "Yay!"  What a nice touch from a government worker.  She told us what would happen when we landed on American soil with our kids, and then we raised our right hands and swore or affirmed that all the information we had presented was true to the best of our knowledge.  But the best thing she said was, "Your work is done."  All the paperwork, all the updates, all the fingerprints, etc., It was quite a moment, and it makes me tear up just thinking about it.  No pictures from the occasion because you aren't allowed to take cameras inside the building, but the memory of it is etched in my brain.

Some of the families departed after today's ceremony.  The bus stopped at the train station so they could catch a train to Hong Kong.  Although it's hard to say goodbye, at this point nothing sounds sweeter than your own voice saying goodbye.

Today's photos were taken on Shamian Island.  The US Consulate was located there until recently, and that's where the White Swan Hotel, a current and former mecca for adoptive families, is located.  The physical examination is done on Shamian Island and there are many shops there catering to adoptive families and anyone else who has $ in their pockets.  Bargaining is expected and encouragement to come into the stores should be expected by you as well.

The Things We Do For Love, Part 2

Oops, forgot to attach the photo from today.  Enjoy!

The Things We Do For Love

Today we had to wait in our room for an hour to see if the phone would ring regarding our kid's visas (notice that's a lower case v). No news was good news, and we had no news. We can go home when the time finally arrives, and gee, ma, we all wanna go home.

Tried the pool again today. No go. Someone is going to have to break it to Maryn Da Qing that swimming lessons will be on her social calendar when we get home. She's got to be water safe. Perhaps she'll do better in a pool with a zero depth shallow end she can walk into. Now if we can just get passed the challenge of putting the swimming suit on. Can you take swimming lessons in shorts and a t-shirt? After the pool, Baba gave her a mani-pedi for a little close time, and she loved it, here and there giving him instructions on how to do it right. This girl is all about the beauty thing. The first thing she does every morning after the toidy is to wet her hair with a comb and get it clipped back. She sees me put lotion on my face, and she wants it to. She's using eye cream these days and tonight after her bath, she got my deodorant out to put on. I had to let her know she didn't need it to go to bed. I thought maybe she'd be a sporty girl, but right now it looks like she won't want to break a nail.

Highlight of the day: We were walking down the hall to the elevator this morning headed to breakfast, when we heard "beeeyoutiful" come out of her mouth. Isn't that a great first word in English? Beeeyoutiful. The word for the day, and we've been saying it repeatedly since.

Taking a Dip

It worked, she got in the pool this morning without hesitation!  Didn't move off the ladder, but we are thrilled with such progress.  She even put her face in the water a lot and enjoyed it when Baba put water on her head repeatedly. 

 

We had to go back to the site of the medical exam to have the TB test read.  That resulted in a chest x-ray which looked fine.  As of July 1, the TB test is a new step in the neverending process of paperwork.  She passed, and we won't be stuck here.  Good news.  Tomorrow we have to hang out in the room for an hour to hope we don't receive a phone call telling us there is a problem with the rest of our paperwork.  An hour in the room, yikes!  Just kidding, it's just that we don't want to miss a minute in the pool with our Chinese fish.

Legal Notice

I tried my best to follow all the rules, but the temptation was too great. I'll leave it up to you to decide just which one I broke.

Today's Beauty

Sweatin' and Splashin'

It's a toss up.  We've been to Rio de Janeiro in January and Guangzhou in August.  It's hot and humid in both places, but I think Rio might have a slight edge in the hot and humid category.  I'm glad we got the word that we should pack like we're going to the equator.  We packed wickaway shirts, but there's nowhere to wick it to.  Those in the travel group who were interested went to a park across the street from the hotel this morning.  Normally we live in fear of the words "across the street" in China, but right in front of our hotel are underground walkways so we only have to fear crossing the front drive at the hotel.  Don't get in anyone's way because this ain't California, baby.  Nobody cares if they're about to find you on the hood of their car.  The park was packed (redundant, I know), with people playing badminton anywhere they could find space or ping pong on the permanent concrete ping pong tables, doing tai chi, playing hackysack, etc.  Something for everyone.  There is a little area of amusement park rides so we gave that a shot.  It started out with Baba buying tokens to ride on the animal thing you see in the picture.  Da Qing wanted nothing to do with it, so our guide gave her a nudge in Mandarin, and she obliged.  After that she wanted to ride that and that and that.  She had to be enjoying herself, but she kept the smile on low.  It's difficult for her to be out in public, but she is hanging in there.  Someday she'll have a blast at Disneyland.

This afternoon many of the families were in the pool enjoying themselves, and we watched from the sideline.  Some were trying to interest her by tossing a balls to her from the pool, and she would throw them back and then retreat.  During a brief rainshower, I took her back upstairs to see if she might have an interest in donning the suit, but there's no way to explain to her that she doesn't have to go in the water if she doesn't want to.  No interest in the pool.  I got in the pool.  Nothing.  Tom was busy signing papers while all this was going on, and when we went to check on him I asked the guide to talk to her about swimming.  Baby step.  The guide came up to our room with us, gave her a nudge in Mandarin, and she put the suit on.  We went back down to the pool, but by now all the families in the group were gone, and there were too many others staring to get too close, a subtle response from her, but we are aware of it.  So the next best thing was the dip your feet in as you walk out to the pool pool.  I know, I know, it sounds disgusting, but it really wasn't as bad as your prior experience is making you recall, and it was a start.  It was like splashing in a puddle, and I think it might be the miracle that's going to get her in or closer to the pool tomorrow.  Tonight she took a bath in her suit with the goggles on (wish I could show you the pictures because they are adorable, but no tub shots on the internet for us) and she was trying to swim in the tub.  The three of us kept saying you yong (like yo yong) which means swimming.  Mingtian you yong (tomorrow swimming).  She seems to be bitten by the bug.  We'll see what tomorrow brings. 

Typhoon No Phun

I forgot to update you on our visitor from the (north)east.  Her name is Coral and she is from Hangzhou.  She was a student at our local university, and she was our first "daughter" from China.  She stayed with us on a regular basis, helping us with our Chinese, calling us mom and dad and just being a joy.  We took a wonderful vacation together before she returned home in March 2008, and we miss her dearly.  She had planned to fly to Guangzhou yesterday and return today, but she couldn't get out of Hangzhou because of the typhoon.  : (  We are all sad because we needed to hug each other again, and she really wanted to meet her mei mei.  To be on the other side of the world, so close and yet so far, is more than a bummer.  We will meet up again someday, and, until then, we'll send her some adorable photos of her little sister.

Joyful Noise

Today was the first morning in Guangzhou.  All the families in our travel group are in the same city in the same hotel.  What a welcome sight to come around the corner at the breakfast buffet and see some of the people we had met in Beijing with their new sweethearts.  Broad smiles on tired faces were everywhere.  A few are having tougher times than others, but we're all proud parents. 

Today was the medical exam for all the children.  Pretty chaotic but reasonably quick with our guide telling us go here, go there in a small space.  We weren't the only families there and the place was packed.  What a joyful noise to hear so much crying and chatter.  That means families have been created and kids are in the loving arms of their parents.  It's a quick can you see which way the hand is pointing eye exam, a look in the mouth, listen to the heart type of thing.  All the kids over age 2, I believe, must have a TB test and that's the only bit of tension to the exam because a positive test requires a chest x-ray and if the chest x-ray shows TB you can't get into the US until the child is clear of TB, about 6 or so months later.  I think we'll be okay because it looks fine so far, but we'll go back on Monday and have the test checked.  All children over age 8 must have their blood pressure checked, and apparently we haven't been getting her too stressed out because hers was excellent.  Shouldn't they be checking the parents' blood pressures?

We have had a lot of interaction with Da Qing today.  She allowed Baba to apply sunscreen this morning, and this evening the two of them had a lot of growling and giggling going on.  He scooped her up a little bit and the two of them laughed hard.  More joyful noise.  When they did her TB test this morning, her eyes were wide, and she looked to us to help her out.  Don't get me wrong, but a little fear goes a long way to help with getting closer.  The escalator was a good source of terror the first couple of times, but she's kind of figured it out so I'm losing that as an opportunity to hold her hand.

Tomorrow we are going to a park at 10 a.m.  The families that have been in Guangzhou the whole trip have already been there and word on the street is you don't want to go on the kid-sized roller coaster.  No warning needed here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Plane to See

I'm sitting in a Starbucks in the bottom of the hotel in Guangzhou.  Put the other two down for the night, grabbed the room key and here I am.  It's quite international in this small space, and it feels good.  I can get out and about with my faced washed, teeth brushed and just shy of wearing my pajamas, since it's 10:30 at night, and no one is staring at me.  Sweet relief.  I loved the roadtrips our guide took us on when we were in Hefei, but we were ready to move on from the city.  The staff in the hotel restaurant were so nice to us because they saw so much of us that I hated to leave them behind.  Took pictures of them and with them on our camera, and one of them even brought her camera on our last night so she could take pictures with us.  I never shed a tear, but this is the closest I've ever come to doing so over a hotel employee.

We left Hefei this afternoon missing yesterday's typhoonish weather here in Guangzhou and getting here with no problem.  Da Qing took it all in stride, sort of.  Imagine this, she flew in a plane today.  What is a plane ride to someone who has probably never even seen a plane in the sky?   She was fine as we taxied to the runway, but when the plane started to lift off, her eyes were wide, and she looked at me to explain what was happening.  Baba was sitting in the middle seat, and she was frightened enough that she allowed him to put his hand on top of hers.  That was huge for the three minutes it lasted.  She's having a bit of a hard time having a man in her life, even having a new woman in her life.  We remind ourselves that she's really only five days old right now, trapped in a big body with an infant's comprehension of all the changes.  Sure, everyone wants a mom and dad, but some of us have to learn what that means.  She's like a toddler in her discoveries, but she's a lot taller, faster, smarter, etc., and it's hard to stay ahead of her.  We are building brain neurons like crazy.  Here in Guangzhou they speak Cantonese not Mandarin so we will have a bit more of a taste of our life without a common language.  It's good practice for when we get home.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the plane ride, but I left the camera up in the room and forgot to load the pictures onto the computer before heading down here.  I'll give you a few pictures from a different day to keep you interested and coming back for more.  Tomorrow she has her medical exam and then we'll shop around Shamian Island.  We are expecting a visitor from the (north)east as well, so you'll want to check back for news on that.  Da Qing has a jie jie.

 

Things Are Going Swimmingly

How cute is she?  I know one of the shots is blurry, but our little tadpole moves quickly, and that's what you have to accept.  Of course, she wants nothing to do with the swimming pool, but the goggles work great for her in the hotel dining room, and we like them, too.

Fitness Fanatic Family

Is this a match made in heaven, or what?  This is not a posed picture.  The girl loves to work out! 

I tried to post this last night, but it wouldn't connect, and I just had to get to bed.  Sorry about the wait for more.  We had clean laundry delivered yesterday afternoon by Peter.  We took our laundry, paid him, said thank you and bye then went downstairs to meet our guide and the driver for a roadtrip.  There was Peter.  From laundry guy to driver in a matter of 18 floors.  Seems like a nice guy, and he did get us safely to and from our destination so that speaks volumes.  Turns out we never needed the seatbelts that weren't in the van anyway. 

Today Maryn's passport will be delivered to our room, and we must pack for our trip to Guangzhou this afternoon.  The US consulate is in Guangzhou and there we will begin to process the paperwork and do the steps necessary for her immigration.  All of the 19 families in our travel group will be in Guangzhou today.  Some of those families we met in Beijing and others have spent the entire time in Guangzhou because their children were in the Guangdong Province.  One of those families has adopted an 8 year old so we are interested to see if there will be any interaction between them or will they want to stay close to their families.  People in Guangzhou are very familiar with foreigners and adoptive families so we should be able to roam more freely with a greater opportunity for playtime.  We'll see if she goes for it.  She just might want to stay in the gym.

Nonfiction Bestseller

No namebrand cafe in the local bookstore, but just down the street is a lovely, ancient teahouse selling talls, ventis and grandes.  Did I get that in the right order?

The Great Wallgreens

There's one on every corner.  Here, too.  Half Chinese medicine, half western style.

San He Tour

Today our guide took us to the town of San He, which means three rivers.  It is an ancient town about one hour from Hefei.  It was extraordinary.  We loved it.  I think we went in a big loop, but, when we came back to where we started, I told Jane she could take us the exact same way again, and I wouldn't know it because I would see something new to look at.  It was exactly the kind of town you would want to see if you were to take a trip to China.  The local residents seemed a little more used to tourists because it is an ancient town that draws Chinese tourists from Hefei.  They were interested in us, but we weren't the same sort of attraction that we are on the streets of Hefei, a city of 3 million people, all of them staring at us.  Our daughter, who goes by the nickname of Da Qing, prefers Jane when Jane is with us, and we understand that.  It was better for her to hold Jane's hand when we toured around with her today because people see us with her and talk about her being an adopted child in front of her and we can appreciate how difficult that is for her.  They assume she was adopted as a baby and we have brought her back to see her country.  With that in mind, they are impressed that she still speaks Chinese, although I think the only way they know that is they see her turn away when they speak to her about being adopted.  When someone asked Jane if Da Qing was her daughter, she kindly said yes. 

 

I wish so much that all of you could have been with us today so you could have experienced it with us.  I'm replaying it all in my mind because I don't want to forget any of it.  Of course, I can use my mind that way right now because our 8 year old darling is napping so I am free to be in my own thoughts.  She is opening up more each day, and getting more lively, but she is used to a routine of napping after lunch and going to bed at 9 p.m., and so far she has not tested those routines.  She hasn't been speaking when we leave our room, but today at lunch, she was talking a little bit in the hotel restaurant.  We don't understand each other, but according to the offical rules of diplomacy and parenthood, we're interacting, and it shows she is opening up.  When we get back to the room, she is giggly and happy, especially when turning the bathroom light on and off.  Let me rephrase that because just saying on and off doesn't paint an adequate picture.   It's really more like onoffonoffonoffonoffonoff.  Well, you get what I mean, but it is simply delightful to her and we are delighted she's delighted.

 

I will try to post a few more pictures of our trip today after this.  The internet connection is a little slow, and I'm not sure how much time I have until our live wire comes to.  Right now I've got to get to the window.  We're on the 18th floor and way down below at a construction site (they're everywhere in China) there are some workers bathing against one of the fences screening the view from the street level - but not from those of us on the 18th floor.  And me with no binoculars! 

We Are Family

Today is Adoption Day.  I know you want photos, and I do, too, but we'll all have to settle for text.  We were picked up by our guide at 9 a.m. and driven back to the same government building where we met Maryn yesterday.  A lot of paperwork in Chinese to sign, a few questions to answer, a family photo, waiting, and we were done.  Limited fanfare.  It might be easier to capture some of the joy of the event on film if the child is a baby, but when she's a new 8 year old who looks frightened by the fact she's back in the same building where her world suddenly changed the day before with a few of the people who changed it, it's not.  That and the fact that the parents don't have any idea what's going to happen next either makes for a business-like event. Next year there will be cake!

 

After yesterday's meeting, our guide brought us back up to the room, and helped us settle in a bit.  After a bath she dressed in the gray skort and sequined T-shirt given to her by the neighbors two doors down.  Not only is the outfit cute, but the skort has a drawstring waist and that's critical right now.  It's all about cinching.  She needs to add a bit of meat to her bones, and I know those of you who know us are wondering how she's going to do that at our house!  We'll do whatever it takes.  After our guide left, she sat on the bed, and I watched her wipe her eyes a few times.  I asked her, "Ni nan guo ma?" (Are you sad?)  She didn't answer with words, and it didn't matter because tears and sobbing followed.  We felt sadness for her, yet we were glad to have tears.  She let us rub her back and tell her, ku ba (it's okay to cry).  We don't do a lot of communicating in Chinese, but I know it was comforting to her that it was okay to be sad and okay to cry, so thank you to our Chinese friends/teachers who taught us this.  It made all the difference in the world.  She fell asleep and took a long nap.  The rest of the day, she was wide-eyed.  We all went to bed at 9 p.m. keeping her usual schedule, and we were ready for it.

 

Today she enjoyed the flashlight we gave her, and we were given many smiles, especially when baba played a modified version of flashlight tag with her.  We were picked up at 9 a.m. for the official paper signing.  Undoubtedly she was comforted to hear Chinese again from our guide, and she stuck close to her when after the signing we went to buy a few toys before going back to the hotel.  She didn't want mama's hand just like we knew it would be.  Two steps forward, one and a half back.  We'll get there.  We had lunch in the hotel - always buffet style - and it's helping that she can point to what she wants.  Not going to see a smorgasboard of those choices at home, for sure, but we'll see what we can do.  We do know this about her, she is a noodle eater not a rice eater like we expected so there's an adjustment.  Our favorite of chicken, black beans and rice is about to make a significant change.

 

I started this during naptime and now we are late for bedtime so I'll finish.  More tomorrow I hope.

 

 

H..E..R..E..'S MARYN!

Here she is!   You've all been waiting to see her.  Our little darling is darling.  Enjoy!

Journey to the Other Side of Motherhood

Her bag is packed.  We're ready to go.  Our coordinator will be picking us up in two hours.  We're ready.  Let's go!

 

See you on the other side.

So This is Hefei

Our travel group left the hotel in Beijing at 5 this morning.  Had a sack breakfast on the bus and sang Happy Birthday to Maryn as we headed to the airport.  We all went through the group check in seamlessly, even the family of 8 with their 9 suitcases.  Some in the group were headed to the same provinces, same cities; others were headed to the same provinces different cities and two families, including us, were headed out on their own to different provinces.  Our flight from Beijing was 120 minutes, so I heard the pilot say.  Our guide, Jane, picked us up and took us to the hotel.  She spent an hour with us gathering paperwork, explaining the process for tomorrow and telling us about the orphanage.  She is so relaxed and confident, and we appreciate her experience so much.  To be correct, perhaps she spent more than one hour with us because she started off by calling someone, named Peter, to pick up our laundry.  He had to wait a few minutes while Jane was on the phone because we tried to tell him "no starch," but couldn't find it in the dictionary.  Jane was on the phone with the hotel kitchen to tell them what to make for us and also wrote it down so we could arrive at the hotel restaurant and just hand them the paper that says grilled chicken,white rice and steamed broccoli.  Don't even think about making that for an arrival home celebration dinner! 

 

Jane told us that Hefei does not have a lot of tourists and foreigners like there are in Beijing so people will look at us, and please don't be offended.  Remember yesterday I mentioned the stir that was created by our large group and the adorable kids traveling with us?  Well, they've got nothing on what Tom and I are getting here.  We walked down the street this afternoon, and she was right.  Stares, pointing, cell phone photos, and an occasional smile.  We didn't go far before we turned back and not just because the road construction blocked our way.  I'm not offended, but I don't love it, and I'd much rather be in the room.

 

It's time to go to bed and get a great night of sleep, please, Mr. Sandman.  We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.  Jane will pick us up at 9 a.m.  Don't be late.  While you're all winding down tonight we'll be winding up tomorrow morning.  Four months to complete a dossier, 40 months of waiting and a lifetime of dreaming are about to come together with a little girl in a government building in China.  

 

Please send prayers to heaven and the other side of the world that Maryn's heart and mind are prepared for the overwhelming transitions she will have to make, and that she will come to know how special she is to us.  We're another step closer to meeting Maryn.  God is good, all the time.

 

 

Sheng Ri Kuai Le, Maryn!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!  Today is our little darling's birthday.  Tomorrow we meet.  Originally, when I realized we would not meet her until the day after her birthday, I was bummed, but I realized this way we'll have two occasions to celebrate - her birthday and Family Day.  That's even better.

 

I'm in the lobby waiting for everyone to gather at 5 a.m. so we can go to the airport and on to our provinces.  We were told to be up at 4, but we didn't last past 2:30.  No rest for the excited!  

 

Enjoy a few more shots from yesterday. 

What a Great Day!

Sorry, this didn't posted the other day because it had too many attachments.  These are the events of July 31.

 

We are thrilled and exhausted.  A combination of jet lag and touring today from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Started at the Temple of Heaven, then to lunch where they were informed ahead of time to "bu fang weijing" (don't cook with MSG), then on a tour of the remaining hutong district in Beijing.  Rode in a rickshaw, of course, and that guy had to work hard to haul us around.  I said to Tom, "Isn't it amazing, to these people, this is regular life and to us it's "We're riding in a rickshaw in China!"  Climbed 69 of the steepest steps (that is, until tomorrow when we do The Great Wall) to the top of the drum tower.  More importantly, we all survived the climb down the steepest steps.  After that we went into an ancient alley area nearby where we bought a seal for Maryn that has her American name and the characters of her Chinese name which she can use to stamp on paper.  The guy cut the letters and characters into the stone while we watched.  Too bad the first time around her put the n in Maryn sideways.  Filed off the bottom of the seal and started over getting it right the second time.  Our guides were there to tell him how to do it correctly.  We finished the day at an acrobat show.  I'm eager to get to the gym and limber up so I can try some of those stunts myself.  Piece of cake.

 

Tomorrow we are going to The Great Wall, Forbidden City, and TianAnMen Square.  Today we toured with one other couple.  Tomorrow there will be 36 of us, including 6 children.  Can you believe I'm writing of these places we are seeing?  This is the trip of a lifetime.  We are embracing it and loving every moment.  It's unforgettable . . .  and we're another step closer to meeting Maryn.

 

A Great Wall Indeed

We started at TianAnMen Square this morning with half the city of Beijing and had to wait for quite a while to go inside the Forbidden City.  In the meantime we were a freak show of sorts to some of the natives.  I expected it would be so for the adorable little and not so little blonde boys waiting with us, but what are they doing asking to take pictures with Tom?  Some of the kids in our group didn't mind having their pictures taken at first, but then they made their way to the middle of the group so people would stop touching them.  It's not easy being a celebrity.  Sometimes it even makes you bury your face in your mom's legs and cry.  When the wait ended, we entered the Forbidden City with half of China and shuffled our way to the other side.  Took pictures of the sea of humanity, but it just doesn't capture what real life is giving you. From the Forbidden City we went for Peking duck then a long bus ride to The Great Wall.  It was exciting to get there and more so to climb.  Just wish you could cut your way through the air pollution to see it.  I walked up quite a way and managed to get back down, too, with my legs and my lungs fully functioning.  Check off two of the Seven Wonders of the World, that is if the Grand Canyon is one of them, too.

 

Tomorrow we leave at 5 a.m. to fly to Hefei, and all the families are ready to move on to their respective provinces.  We're hoping for a little down time before Family Day on Monday.  Another step closer to meeting Maryn.