We are in China!

We made it safe and sound to Beijing yesterday afternoon. Thank God for a safe and uneventful flight. It was the longest 14 hours of my life! We are currently staying at the Capital Hotel and it is absolutely beautiful. We probably could never afford to stay in a hotel of this caliber in the USA.

We all are somewhat jet lagged. We went to bed around 8:30 last night and were up by 3:00 this morning. I don't understand since we didn't really sleep on the plane nor did we take a nap when we checked in. I'm hoping tonight will be a better night.

We started early this morning with a tour in Tienanmen Square and Forbidden City. We almost felt like movie stars with the way the Chinese people were looking at us. I really noticed them staring at Jake and commenting and pointing. I couldn't figure out why they were so interested in him. After touring we went to lunch at a real Chinese family home. A retired hospital worker started inviting people into her home two years ago and serving lunch. It was truly authentic. Her home was very modest and she had a turtle for a pet that just roamed her house. The food, what we ate, was good. Dave is starving! He has only eaten some white rice, actually he's eaten very little white rice. I think we all may loose some weight on this trip. I really thought Jake would have tried more, but he's turning his nose up at everything.

After lunch we took a Rickshaw Tour (a man riding a bike pulling us) in a small section of Beijing. What an experience! We drove through what looked like alleys. We really are spoiled Americans! These people live so modestly. Some people don't even have their own bathrooms. There were so many smells and I didn't recognize any of them. I've never seen so many people in one city. The Chinese people drive like maniacs too! HOLY MOLY! You really need to try and NOT pay attention to the road. I wonder how many accidents or wonder how people get hit in one day. The automobiles are sharing the road with bike riders. There are probably more bike riders than automobile drivers. There is no such thing as "right of way." It's pretty much who can make it first.

After our rickshaw tour, we went to a silk factory where they walked us through step by step how silk is made. Very fascinating. The kids really got a kick out of the silk worms. The guide let each of the kids take one home. Afterwards we were given a shopping opportunity, which of course I couldn't pass up! I bought Rachel two adorable Chinese outfits, shoes and a pearl necklace and earrings which I will put away and give to her for her 16th birthday.

After the silk factory, we went and saw an acrobat show. Absolutely amazing, what we saw of it anyway. I think jet lag set in for most of us because we could barely keep our eyes open. What I did see through my slitted eyes, was truly spectacular. The acrobats were so brave and the stunts they did were so dangerous. I don't think Jake saw much of it at all as he pretty much slept through the entire show.

Following the acrobat show, we went to dinner at the Peking Duck. We were really hoping for KFC or McDonald's at this point, especially Dave. I tried duck for the first time! I don't think I would eat it again. Very fatty and greasy. Jake wasn't fond of it either. Honestly, I think it may be the spices they use that really isn't appealing to us. Eating with chopsticks is quite a challenge. I should use them every day because I get tired of trying and I just give up and stop eating. A great way to loose weight for sure! I may have to buy some chopsticks and use them at home.

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. We have to meet our guide by 8:30 and travel to a Jade Factory, and then we are going to the Great Wall. We are looking forward to seeing one of the "Wonders of the World". Following the Great Wall we are going to the Living Hope International Orphanage. We brought candy to share with the children since they don't get much of it. After the orphanage, we are going to the Olympics site! The Olympics is being advertised everywhere and lots of people trying to sell you Olympic souvenirs.

Well, I'm getting heavy-eyed, so I'm closing for now. I will update again when we arrive in Changsha, Hunan province on Sunday. We miss you all! Only 3 days till Rachel!

Two more days...

We are leaving for Beijing, China in two days! I got horrible news this morning that China had an earthquake that hit Sichuan, China which is about 900 miles from Beijing and 600 miles from Hunan which is where Rachel's orphanage is located. The earthquake was felt all the way in Pakistan and Thailand. The death toll is at about 5,000 at this point but is expected to climb. I feel so horrible for the people of China. I feel so selfish because I keep hoping that this won't affect our trip. I have so many mixed emotions this morning and my stress level has about reached boiling point. I know God is in control and I know we are going to bring our little girl home.

To top things off, I have an inner ear infection which has caused me to feel dizzy and have tingly feelings in my head! I knew something wasn't right and finally went back to the doctor Saturday morning. They are treating me with zithromax, a five day antibiotic, and hopefully it will be knocked out of me before getting on our plane Wednesday early afternoon.

Dave was given a baby shower on Friday by his friends at work. What a wonderful gesture. Most times men are forgotten when it comes to things like this. A co-worker named Denise, made a cake resembling a Johnson & Johnson baby powder bottle. What a talented woman! It was beautiful and tasted great too! Hopefully I can post a picture at some point! We received a very generous gift card for Babies 'R Us and a cute brag photo book. We really appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness.

McHugh Associates, Inc. had a nice little shower for me last week. We received 5 outfits, dreft (baby laundry detergent), baby bottles, wipes and gift card to Babies 'R Us. They got a cake from one my favorite places, Baskin Robins! I love their ice cream cakes! The gifts will come in great use and we really appreciate everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness.

My mother in-law and I spent part of Saturday cleaning and organizing Rachel's room. I bought the cutest butterfly mobile to hang from the ceiling over her crib. It is absolutely perfect in her room. Rachel is one loved little girl already! She has so many great things that were bought for her last year for my Adoption Shower which was in March of last year! A whole year ago all these wonderful things were bought for her and now, she will be using and playing with everything in just a few short weeks.

This may be my last post before we leave for China. I really hope you all will continue to follow our journey. We heard that China will be blocking Blogger due to the Olympics, so a couple of Dave's co-workers will help us out with updating our blog while we are in China. We will email them our updates and photos and they will update our blog. Hopefully it will all work out so we can keep you posted on our travels.

We love you all and truly appreciate your love and support during this most amazing journey. Please pray for our safe travels, bonding with our daughter, safety and health.

Love,
Dave, Sherry & Jake

Itinerary

May 14th - Flight to Beijing
May 15th - Arrive in Beijing
May 16th - Visit the Palace Museum, Forbidden City & Tian-anmen Square. Rickshaw Tour.
May 17th - Visit Great Wall, Pass by Olympic Site, Visit Living Hope Training Center, Chinese Acrobat Show
May 18th - Visit Summer Palace. Fly to Changsha
May 19th - Registration Office to Pick Up Rachel!
May 20th - Registration Office for Paperwork
May 21st - Sightseeing - Yuelu Academy
May 22nd - Visit Embroidery Factory
May 23rd - Rest or Orphanage Visit
May 24th - Flight to Guangzhou - US Consulate is there!
May 25th - Sightseeing & Shopping - Chen Family Museum & Pearl Market
May 26th - Medical Check, Visa Photos and Paperwork
May 27th - Baby Group Photo at White Swan
May 28th - United States Consulate - to take oath and receive Rachel's visa
May 29th - Coming HOME!

Whirlwind

Dave and I returned from a relaxing weekend. We were a little bummed about the resort we stayed at in the Poconos, but I realized that we were there to relax, celebrate and enjoy some time alone. We had plenty of that! I think we need a weekend away with the just the two of us at least once a year! I hope I remember that next year.

I am home today and tomorrow where I'm supposed to do laundry, catch up on house work, organize, pack and shop for last minute items needed for China. Well, I spent an hour and half cleaning my laundry room! Why?! I have so much to do and I clean the laundry room. In the middle of cleaning my laundry room, my friend, Heather, called and I told her what I was doing. She says that I'm nesting! LOL! Of all things I'm supposed to be doing and I'm cleaning the laundry room.

I started washing some of the baby's clothes that I'm taking to China for Rachel. So strange to be washing such small clothes again. I held up Rachel's little white sock and showed it to Jake. Jake says, "now Mom, make sure you don't mix them up with my socks!" LOL! Yeah, I'm sure it's difficult to tell his size 11 men's socks with her little itty bitty white socks. I will need to keep them separated so that doesn't happen again! LOL!

LHAA forwarded us a tentative itinerary for China. We are going to be very busy people for the two weeks we are in China. The great news is that we will get Rachel on May 19th! OMG, that is only 11 days from today. I can't wait to feel her and hold her next to me. I really hope she takes to us. I know it will be very traumatic for her in the beginning, but I hope she feels the love that we feel for her already.

The biggest news in China right now is the ramped spread of Hands, Mouth, Foot Virus which has taken the life of over 20 Chinese children. I didn't know this virus could be deadly. I spoke with my pediatrician today and they explained that it is a virus and doesn't normally cause death. It's very important to keep the child hydrated which could have caused the death of these children. The virus pretty much needs to run it's course which means there is no medication to treat this virus. I pray that we are not affected by this disease while we are in China. We will be very cautious with our hand washing hygiene.

I will update our blog with our itinerary when all is confirmed.

Busy Bees...

Well, our minds have been in a whirlwind this week with all the planning and packing we need to do. There is so much to think about. I feel so overwhelmed, but it's a good overwhelming feeling. I'm definitely not complaining! We've been waiting so long for this and God has finally opened the doors for us.

Our 14th wedding anniversary was yesterday. Hard to believe that Dave and I have been married for 14 years. My mother in-law reminded me that 11 years ago around this time we found out we were pregnant with Jake and now we are heading to China for our daughter. We announced on Mother's Day that I was pregnant and just a few days after Mother's Day this year, we will have our new daughter in our arms!

In celebration of our anniversary and our upcoming China trip, Dave and I are going away this weekend for some much needed alone time. We haven't been away without Jake since he was a baby. Jake has stayed a night or two away with my in-law's, but Dave and I haven't gone away by ourselves. We are headed to the Poconos to one of those all-inclusive resorts. Hopefully we will get some much needed rest and continue to work on our to-do lists. We should be able to come back in full swing and prepare for our trip.

TRAVEL ITINERARY

We are definitely flying out of Newark, NJ on May 14th at 12:10 PM. We decided to go out of Newark because it is a non-stop flight to Beijing, China which is where we will spend a few days sight-seeing. You can't go to China without some sightseeing! We will arrive in Beijing at 1:50 PM on May 15th. We basically loose an entire day due to the almost 14 hour flight and the 12 hour time difference. It's already 8:35 PM there now!

I don't know much more than that at the moment as we haven't received our complete itinerary yet. We may not get that until the end of next week sometime. I know that we depart Beijing on May 29th at 3:45 PM, but we will need to get to Beijing from Guangzhou which is another flight since it's about 1200 miles. We arrive back in Newark at 5:30 PM on the 29th. We are getting back the day we lost in the earlier part of our trip! I'm sure jetlag will set in rather quickly!

I think we will meet our daughter for the first time on either day 3 or 4 of our trip. Once Rachel is in our arms, she will be with us for the remainder of the trip! I am so looking forward to that. We will be able to continue seeing her country with her for the remainder of our time in China. I really plan to take lots of photos and notes so that I can share them with her. Going to your childs' country is such a great benefit as I will be able to share our experience of her country and culture with her in the future.

I will keep you posted with more information as we get it. Stay tuned...

2 WEEKS!!!!

LHAA called me this morning and told us that our consulate appointment is May 27th. Which means we are leaving May 14th for Beijing. This is so hard for me to grasp! We have waited so long and in about 2 1/2 weeks we will have our daughter in our arms. Reality is finally setting in. We will return home on May 29th as a family of 4! Holy Moly! There is so much to do and think about. Where do I begin?

Please continue to follow our journey. We do plan to update our blog while in China!

WE GOT TA!!!

Living Hope Adoption Agency called me around 10:15 this morning to announce that they received our Travel Approval from China. God must have heard my prayers! I dreamt last night that we received our travel approval and while eating breakfast with Jake this morning I said to him that I think we may hear good news today and we sure did! OMG, it's surreal. I can't believe we are going to China for our daughter.

Our agency will call us on Wednesday to give us more details about when they think we will be going to China. It should definitely be in May and they are thinking more like mid May. OMG, that's only about 2 weeks away! We are going to China! Thank you God!

A Poem Sent by Living Hope Adoption Agency

KISSES IN THE WIND

(The Waiting Child's Lullabye)

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.

You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.

But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...

Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.

I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.

But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.

And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh

Still Waiting...

Wow, I knew this would be hard, but I didn't think it would be this hard. It's only been a week and a day since the CCAA received our Acceptance letters. I guess I was hoping for the best case scenario. Again, we are stilling waiting for a TA (travel approval) which can take one to four weeks to receive. Can you tell I'm a little impatient? Patience was never one of my strong points. LOL.

Strange thing is that things feel so calm. Usually we are so busy and running around with Jake's activities and whatnot. We've actually been home a little more. The one thing that is keeping us busy is Jake's baseball. He is playing for an all-star baseball team called the Collegeville Blue Sox. This is his second year playing for the team. The team practices two nights a week and plays either double headers on Sunday's or an all weekend tournament. Jake pitched two innings last Sunday against Fleetwood and he did a great job! He only walked one batter in two innings. At this age, the coach's only allow them to pitch so many pitches or innings so that they don't burn out their arms at a young age. They are playing their first tournament this weekend in Reading. They will play two games on Saturday and depending on how they do will depend on when and how many games they play on Sunday. We have to be in Reading by 7:15 AM Saturday morning. Don't these people believe in sleeping in a little on Saturday? Geesh, we have to get up earlier on Saturday than we do for work during the week. So crazy!

Dave and Jake put Rachel's stroller together last week. I forgot what it looked like since my shower was in March 2007. Actually, mom even bought the stroller much sooner than that! I almost forgot about all the wonderful things we received at my shower for Rachel. My family and friends gave me the most wonderful shower with a Chinese theme. I still recall every detail. The wonderful thing was that my mom and sister came up from North Carolina to share in the day which really meant a lot to me.

I'm still looking for some special artwork for Rachel's bedroom walls. I haven't seen anything that really caught my eye. I've tried looking online, but I'd really like to see it in person before making a commitment. I'm sure the right piece will come along.

I hope you all are enjoying this blog. I'm really enjoying sharing this journey with everyone. I know there isn't much going on at the moment, but hopefully I will have some great news to share with you when we receive our TA!

If you haven't posted a comment, please do. I love reading them and Rachel will one day too!

Love you all!

Today...

Still no news about Travel Approval (TA). I want so badly to get news that we will be traveling to bring our daughter home. It's so hard looking at her photo and wondering whether or not she is being cared for properly. I want to kiss her bald head good night and whisper in her ear how much we love her. It's truly hard to believe that this little angel in the photo belongs to us. God is good!

I think this wait really places doubt in our minds about caring for our daughter. I worry that I won't be able to shield her from all the negatives that may come her way. There are many people who don't understand why we went to China to adopt a child. We get the question constantly about why we didn't adopt domestically. The people who make these comments are just naive to the process and how adoption works. Most adoptions that take place domestically tend to be "open" adoption which means that the adoptive parents stay in touch with the birth parents. This is something that Dave and I struggled with and didn't think we wanted to be burdened with. Again, it's a personal preference. Also, you hear such horror stories about birth parents coming back and wanting their child back and I know our hearts couldn't handle that. I don't want to worry every day about whether or not the parents might come back. When you decide to adopt domestically, your picture and profile are basically put into a database with thousands and thousands of couples wanting to adopt and you hope that your profile sticks out enough that a birth parent might choose you. It's really a luck of the draw with domestic adoption. It could take just as long as Chinese adoption or longer.

With China adoption, something just spoke to our hearts about these children, especially the little girls who are abandoned because Chinese families prefer little boys. See, having a son is kind of like an insurance policy for parents in China. A son (and his wife) are responsible for taking care of their parents when they become too old to work and care for themselves. A daughter would be married off who then, along with her husband, would become the caretaker for her in-laws. So with a one child policy in most provinces of China, a boy is preferred. This of course forces families to make the choice to abandon their child if they are a girl or are physically or mentally handicapped.

Times are changing in China and China is becoming more lenient with the one-child policy and they are advocating that girl's are just has good as boys, but thousands of years of history and beliefs will take generations to change. So, in the meantime, these children need homes that will give them the love and care they deserve.

So, I am hoping that I will always have the right words and wisdom when negative comments come our way. Maybe I can educate them and turn them to adopting a child from China or any child for that matter.