Gotcha Day!

Well, here we are 7 hours from our Gotcha moment and it still feels very surreal.  This little person is sitting here in our hotel room.  He doesn't know us and we don't know him and honestly it is weird!  Here is how the day went…

 

We met in the lobby at 9:30am.  There were 6 families that got their children with us and 3 that waited until the afternoon and were brought the babies here at the hotel.  We were #3 in drop off.  All the families were waiting in an office building and when we saw a mini-van pull up everyone would get ready and then wait and see who it was and then as soon as we knew who was coming that family would get to the front and everyone would start photographing.  It was nuts.  This is different for us, because with Luke we were all by ourselves (kids and parents included) and it was very quiet. 

 

When Mack arrived his two nannies carried him in.  It was our turn to go to the front of the line.  They were talking Chinese to him telling him "mama" and "baba".   When I reached out for him he turned back to his nanny and wouldn't come, but Dave was able to take him without any problems.  We held him while we finished our paperwork and he mostly watched all the activity around us.  He warmed up to us and really never cried.  The special moment for me was when the nannies were getting ready to leave and they came to visit with us.  Our guide stood with us for about 20 min while we talked.  They gave us a gift.  It was a photo album of pictures of him at the Kaifeng Social Welfare Institute where he has been for his life of 19 months.  We flipped through the pictures and they told us who the other children were and who the different workers were.  We all cried.  I told them thank you and they told me thank you and how much we appreciated each other.  They told me that he was a stinker.  That he would get into everything and that he was funny.  I'm anxious to see his little personality peak through the doors of insecurity, they are starting to even this evening.  He had a best friend…there are several pictures of her in the book.  She was adopted to the states also.  I love knowing all this and having had this conversation especially since it is unlikely that we will be going to visit his orphanage.  Our group is too big and it is to far away for everyone to visit their orphanages.  After we visited it was time for them to say goodbye.  They were bawling (not Mack) the nannies and they were precious.  Two beautiful women (notice pictures) that cared for this little baby boy with a messed up little mouth since he was there at 2 days old.  I loved them and hugged them and we stood and waved while they waved back wiping tears all the way out the door.  I will never forget that.

 

Now we have been back to the hotel this afternoon and we played and got on Skype with kids.  It was midnight for them and they were very tired!  Mack fell asleep for 3 hours.  Dave worked out and I finished "Choosing to SEE"  Mary Beth Chapman's book.  We got him in the bath and put one of our outfits on him and continued to asses the situation.  He has bug bites all over him.  This is common.  His lip looks good.  It is a bigger repair than Luke.  So I feel like it's more noticeable, but Mack has the inside repaired and it looks great so that is different and a blessing.  The one thing we weren't aware of is how bow-legged he is.  Dave has already been on Web MD.  Of course not a major concern but something else to think about.  It doesn't slow him down, he is running all over the place.

 

We are looking forward to coming home. Even more now!  Love you all, Missy

Off to Zhengzhou!

Hey everybody…it's Missy!  Just wanted to say Hi and give Dave a little break with the post.  Today we flew from Bejing to Zhengzhou, the province where Mack is.  9 families traveled with us.  There were 19 total families with us in Bejing so it feels smaller and yet when we traveled to Luke's province it was us alone so this is very different!  Wednesday morning when we were leaving Peoria at 5am and I was talking Dave's ear off already he turned to me and said, "You need a friend!"  I thought that was so funny, but I have plenty of people to talk to now having spent 4 full days with them and they are all wonderful!  I can't wait to meet all their little people after hearing the stories of why, how and who they are adopting!

 

We will be leaving the Hotel at 9:30am to drive to meet Mack.  I have to admit, I don't have the same fears as I had experienced when I met Luke.  I do have some, but I think I'm just trying so hard to remain aware of everything going on around me and take it all in that I've allowed myself to relax a bit.  I'm really tired and don't feel "ready" to go for it, but I will!

 

After we arrived here in Zhengzhou Dave went to the bank with the guide to change money.  After that we walked many blocks in pouring down rain to the Wal-Mart.  We bought snacks, wipes, a few toys and a ping pong paddle.  There are ping pong tables in the recreation area and Dave and another family bought paddles and are going to play some.  We also ate dinner with the two families that we went to Wal-Mart with.  We found a Sichaun Chinese Restaurant and had to point to pictures to order.  These people were very adventurous (CaliforniansJ) and ordered jelly fish and squid!  Most everything was very good and of course family style so we got to try everything. 

 

Love you all and miss everyone so much!  More later,

Missy

Olympic Fever

Today was a full day.  We slept well, although we were up early, at around 5:00a.m., because we are still adjusting to the new time zone.  We went down to breakfast (if you want to know what I ate today then just read yesterday's blog entry) and joined our group at 8:00a.m. to start our tours.  We drove about one hour to our first stop.  It was a government certified/operated jade factory.  It was interesting to see items actually being made, although not interesting enough to cause us to buy anything.  Sorry, girls and ladies, no trinkets this time around.  From there, we drove about 30 more minutes to the base of an entrance to The Great Wall.  Our guide took us to a "real" section---"real" in the sense that it did not have any elevators or escalators--only your "physical factors" to propel you up.  If you want to know how that went, check the blog from earlier this morning, which was actually sent from the top of The Great Wall.  Suffice it to say I thought I was going to die and had to buy a t-shirt to replace two sweat-stained shirts I had been wearing.  Getting passed by two 3-year olds only made the experience worse.  After that experience, we headed to another traditional Chinese lunch and shopping at an enamel vase factory--sorry everyone, no gifts here either.  From there, we head to the primary sites of the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing.  The facilities were built in a newer "ring" on the outskirts of Beijing and are as impressive in person as they were on television.  Things are actually quite close together--the athlete's housing is within a few blocks of the Water Cube, which is within a few blocks of the Bird's Nest.  There were lots of people just milling about, which is all we really did, even though I think tours are possible.  From there we progressed to a local theatre for an acrobatics show.  Think Tommy Bartlett's meets Ringling Bros Barnum Bailey Circus meets Cats meets Robin Hood Men in Tights in a sticky, smoke-filled movie theater and the show will come into perspective for you.  After this experience, we headed back to our hotel and had for quick meal before returning to our room.  The dinner experience was marked by a crazy lady, who we are told, had just eaten three plates of shrimp before spewing/throwing food in anger.  We only saw her wolf down four bananas--I tried not to make eye contact because I did not think I could outrun her if she chose to attack.  We are back in our room, about to go to sleep, because we leave at 8:00a.m. Sunday morning to fly to Mack's province.  We hope all o fyou are doing well.  Love, Dave and Missy 

Sir Edmund Nicholson

This is me at the highest point we could reach of The Great Wall. I was told there was a Starbucks up here. I got news for you--capitalism has not reached this far. I am a 41 year old, balding, slightly pooched, guy who is sweating like a pig. I cannot breathe and my chest is pounding. If I had to make choice, I would rather get hit by a truck, have a kidney stone, and a cystoscopy, and a knee surgey, all at the same time, than climb these steps again. I am heading back down--time me. If I do not blog again in 45 minutes, please call Great Wall 911 and tell them a stinking (literally) American has dropped to his knees somewhere on the Great Wall. Kids, I love you.
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Sir Edmund Nicholson

This is me at the highest point we could reach of The Great Wall. I was told there was a Starbucks up here. I got news for you--capitalism has not reached this far. I am a 41 year old, balding, slightly pooched, guy who is sweating like a pig. I cannot breathe and my chest is pounding. If I had to make choice, I would rather get hit by a truck, have a kidney stone, and a cystoscopy, and a knee surgey, all at the same time, than climb these steps again. I am heading back down--time me. If I do not blog again in 45 minutes, please call Great Wall 911 and tell them a stinking (literally) American has dropped to his knees somewhere on the Great Wall. Kids, I love you.
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Tour Day

Today was a big day of tours.  But before I get to that, let me tell you that my prediction came true.  My prediction being that Melissa would be awake before me because she went to sleep so very early.  At about 4:00a.m. she QUIETLY WHISPERS, "Do you mind if I turn a light on and make some coffee because I want to get up at 5:00?"  Or, it was something basically like that.  So, by 6:00a.m. I was in the hotel excercise room watching traditional Chinese opera and desperately searching for something I could understand.  Which lead me to CNN China, which lead to the sports segment, which lead to the "World Play of the Day".  Imagine my shock when the announcer indicated the "World Play of the Day" involved Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays!  The twist, however, was that Ben hit a foul ball down first base and cracked a lady in the noggin.  To add to the drama, they showed Ben then hitting another foul ball down first base and the same lady fielded it like a professional!  To cap it all off, she then stopped another line drive from Carl Crawford shortly thereafter.  So, in reality, they announced that she was the "World Play of the Day".  See what I have to write about when Cole, Shelby, Piper, Bill and Linda are not with us?

First, let me say that the buffet breakfast was as fabulous as ever.  Even though we are in a totally different city, the meal really did not change.  Or, perhaps I cannot change.  I chased a bowl of cereal (oats, bran, sunflower seeds, raisins, no milk) with white toast, 4 pieces of bacon (limp), a side of fried rice, steamd carrots and celery, and a bulbous green vegetable of unknown name and origin.  Massive amounts of pineapple juice and cofee as thick as maple syrup--which was good because my head was pounding from lack of caffeine and lack of sleep.

We then spent the day on tours.  Just imagine Melissa (or little Bill as I think of her) networking with every family in from our agency and every family from an entirely different agency.  By the end of the day, everyone knew who the super-friendly gal was and I actually heard one lady refer to me as the "quiet one--off to the side there".  I am not totally positive, but I think she already has us travelling to California to visit new acquaintances.  We spent the whole day touring with our group, starting in the Hutong Village.  The village is really some of oldest existing living quarters in Beijing, basically 8 dwellings surrounding a common area with a well (think of a pound sign).  The fun part was riding a rickshaw to get in-and-around the village.  Our guide was number 0231 and I am pretty sure he could have dropped Lance Armstrong like hot potato.  We then made a brief stop at a silk shop where silk worms at work, thread being produced, quilts being made, and lots of bedding, carpets, and clothing on sale.  From there, we had a traditional lunch and dance show for one of the ethnic minorities (Dai, I think).  Food was good, dance was okay, and highly confident the lead girl dancer was not a girl--no girl has abs that solid.  From there we headed to Tiannamen Square (political capital) and the Forbidden City (think Mulan).  Someone pegged our day at 8 miles of walking.  It was good, but we are very tired.

Right now, we cannot read any of your posts.  So, please do not think we are ignoring you.

 

Safe and Simple Travels!

Just a quick update to let you know we have arrived safely in China. We arrived at our hotel-Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing around 2:00pm China time (about 1:00am Illinois time). So, we pretty much been awake for almost 24 hours straight. As I write, it is now 9:00pm in China (8:00am in llinois). I am feeling good and Melissa has been asleep for a couple hours. This, is not a good thing, as she will likely wake me up in a few hours wanting "to talk"--as if the three words I already gave her on the 14 hour flight are somehow insufficient for her emotional tank. We have met a few families that are part of our agency's group--some from St. Lous, some from Mt. Prospect, some from Conneticut. Tomorrow, most all of us will tour Beijing-Forbidden City, Tiannamen Square, Hutong Village, Olympic Birds Nest, which should be fun.

Be patient with the blog. It will be "boring" compared to prior trip because Cole, Shelby, Piper, Bill, and Linda provided most of the writing entertainment and sadly they are not here this time. Also, apparently China has blocked Blogspot, so the updates will be brief and potentially without photos. I do not think even NiteCruzer can solve this one.

Love to all.
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