There were three…

This is the last day of being a family of three.  It is so hard for us to believe.  There is a lot of emotion that goes along with that, but I think the one felt by all of us the most is the excited anticipation of meeting Chloe.  

Yesterday we flew from Beijing to Taiyuan, the capital of Chloe’s province.  Chloe’s province is the Shanxi province.  The flight was only about one hour so it is very close to Beijing.  For this flight we went to the domestic terminal at the Beijing airport which was very different than the international terminal.  I am not exaggerating when I say we saw less than 10 foreigners including us the whole time we were there.  We got checked in with the help of our guide.  Then we went to the assigned terminal.  The lady had told our guide that the flight was very full.  We were sitting at our terminal and it was about 5 minutes to boarding time and there were really not many other people there.  I said to Kevin, do you not think it is odd that the flight is full and yet we leave in 20 minutes and no one is here.  (Remember we are in China and there are people everywhere)  Kevin went off and checked and sure enough there was a gate change.  I’m not sure if they had been making announcements about that or not.  So we ran down to the other gate which was overflowing with people waiting to get on the plane.  Thanks goodness we did not miss our flight!

There was a guide waiting here to take us to the hotel.  Our hotel is very nice but the room is not quite as big as in Beijing.  They have a little crib in here for Chloe which is more like a rocking basinet.  It is actually pretty funny.  We are pretty sure that this would not pass any sort of US standard.  Kevin and I are thinking that she could very easily crawl out of it.  And since it sort of swings, may actually be kind of dangerous.  We may ask about it, but you know what they say… You get what you get and don’t throw a fit!

We walked to the supermarket yesterday, which is very similar to a New York City supermarket.  They had many familiar products.  We bought a bag of Lay’s potato chips that were Texas Grilled BBQ Flavor.  We thought it was so funny we had to buy them.  The label has both English and Chinese on it.  They were really good!

Today we will do a little sightseeing.  We are looking forward to exploring the area Chloe comes from.    

Traveling and Touring

I hope this blog entry works as this is the proud Grandpa, entering photos received by the Edens earlier today and I have never posted here before. So, here goes.

Hanging out at DFW airport

Caleb, relaxing on the plane

Renaissance Beijing Hotel; really nice

In front of The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City

Caleb with his Chinese admirer

Paparazzi - They all wanted a photo of Caleb

with his blond hair and blue eyes

Cloisonne factory; ancient hand craft of firing

enamel over copper vase with intricate detail

Kevin and Caleb at The Great Wall

Kim and Caleb at The Great Wall

Master Chinese finger painter teaching Caleb

Beijing Olympic Stadium "The Bird's Nest"

Notice the poor visibility. They call it haze. Kevin calls it polution. The guide said they hadn't seen the sun in three weeks.

We're Here

We made it to China!  Our trip here actually went very well.  Our flight leaving Chicago was delayed 2 hours, but since we were flying straight to Beijing, we didn't have to make any connecting flights so it was ok.  We hung out in the United Airlines Lounge which was very comfortable.  I was surprised actually how quickly the 13 hour flight passed.  When we arrived in Beijing, our guide was there to great us.  It all worked very smoothly.

One of the things the agency told us was to be flexible while we are here.  We have already had to deal with this.  The first thing our guide told us when we got here is that we will not be getting Chloe until Tuesday July 26, instead of Monday July 25th as planned.  So, our Gotcha Day is one day later than anticipated.  Bummer.  We will do some touring in her province on Monday instead.  So, that's not so bad.  And as Kevin and I keep saying, we have waited 4 years what is 24 more hours. 

Today we did some touring in Beijing.  There are two other families from the agency here, so a group of 9 of us toured.  We went to Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City, The Great Wall and to Olympic park.  We did a ton of walking and it is very hot and extremely humid here this time of year.  It was also really hazy out today.  Many of the locals are treating Caleb like a Rock Star.  He sticks out with his blond hair and blue eyes.  Many groups came up to us and asked if they could take a picture with the cute boy.  Caleb was such a trooper.  Many times it was in big groups and so one by one they would come and take a picture with him.  Some friends told us that may happen and we had prepared Caleb for it.  He was such a good sport!  Occasionally they wanted the whole family.  I was also really proud of Caleb today because he was such a trooper.  He woke up 3:00 a.m. because of jet leg and time changes and then we toured all day and as I said before walked a ton.  He did great.  I thought he might lose it on the Great Wall because it is very steep and lots of very tall stairs and did I mention extremely hot and humid.  He was about to have a melt down, we said just to the next house and then we got there and had oreos. That revitalized him and he was able to make it back down.  At the bottom of the Great Wall, there was an artist painting with his fingers.  It was really neat art and he called Caleb over and showed him how to do it.  What an exciting day. 

Tomorrow will just be a travel day to her province.  We fly there and there should be another guide to meet us.  We are anxious to see the area she is from.  And of course very excited about the big day.  I hope to post some pictures soon.

Getting Close

I can't believe in less than 12 hours I will be on a plane on my way to China!  We are so excited.  I almost feel like I could pop.  I had been fairly stressed out until Monday night.  I got almost all of my packing done Monday night and since then I have felt a calm and contentment that I have not had for some time.  Thanks to those that prayed for my sanity, it is definitely an answer to prayer. 

We went out for a special dinner Sunday night to celebrate the end of our family of three and prepare for our family of four.  Caleb picked the restaurant and picked Macaroni Grill.  We had a wonderful time.  Kevin wrote Caleb the sweetest note about our family and his new important responsibility of being a big brother.  As I read the note tears ran down my face.  It was such a special time.  We also gave Caleb a gift.  We gave him a nice camera so he could take his own pictures while in China.  He also has a journal to hopefully write down some of the exciting moments while we are there.  I can't wait to experience China through his eyes. 

Here is a brief summary of what we will be doing.  We fly into Bejing and arrive on Friday.  We will tour Bejing on Saturday.  Then on Sunday we fly to her province, Shanxi.  We should meet Chloe on Monday July 25th, our Gotcha Day.  We will stay in her province until Friday completing paperwork and some tours.  We fly to Guangzhou in Southern China on Friday.  This is the location of the Us Consulate and is where we will complete all of our US paperwork.  We will also do some touring there as well.  Then we fly home on Thursday Aug 4th.  Pretty exciting!  We are planning and hoping to be able to update the blog while there especially after Gotcha Day.  We look forward to sharing this awesome experience with all of you.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. 

Getting packed

We've been trying to get packed.  Anything that is going to China goes into Chloe's crib.  All this stuff is just stuff not even clothes.  When we fly in China we are allowed one checked bag to 44 pounds, one carry on and one personal item per person.  I sure hope it all fits!  Good thing Caleb's and Chloe's clothes are small.  I made a Walmart run today and seemed to buy everything because I could not make up my mind what to get.  I don't think it will all go but, I got things just in case. 

I sure have been stressed out these past few days.  I don't remember these kind of feelings before Caleb.  But then again this is a completely different experience.  I've been stressed about the trip.  I'm worried about what Caleb is going to eat in China.  He is such a picky eater.  I bought a bunch of snacks today at Walmart.  The good part about packing those is it won't come home and then I can have room for souvenirs.  I've been worried about Chloe on Gotcha Day.  We have been trying to prepare Caleb for that day.  Explaining to him that to her we look different, smell different, talk funny, eat funny foods and we are going to want to be in her personal space.  And she will be taken away from the nannies that have been caring for her for the last year and a half.  This wonderful day for us may be very traumatic for her.  I worry about traveling in China, but feel thankful that they have guides to help us while we are there.  I worry about entertaining 2 kids for 2 weeks in a hotel.  And most of all, I worry about the transition when we get back home.  All of this worry makes me think about the passage in the Bible in Matthew 6:25-34, that tells me not to worry!  Not doing such a good job with that.

One Step Closer

Today we got one step closer to our adventure of a lifetime.  We received our travel itinerary today.  It is exciting to see it all written on paper.  It looks like we are going to be staying in some nice places.  They have a few tours planned and one thing I am excited about is a trip to the Guangzhou Zoo where we will hopefully see pandas.  We have our final travel meeting tomorrow to ask any remaining questions.
 
One of the things we have to bring are gifts for different people from the orphanage and officials.  We need at least 6 girl themed gifts.  Any ideas?  If anyone has any, please email me.  I've been looking for something that seems uniquely Texas, but so far everything seems to be made in China.  Do you think they can buy Texas stuff there?  And remember it needs to be small and light weight so as to not take up much room in my suitcase.

People keep asking me what Chloe's room looks like.  It looks amazingly similar to Caleb's nursery!  We are using the same room, furniture, bedding etc.  Kevin is calling this second child syndrome.  We are making it hers by putting wood letters on the wall that spell her name and while we are in China we are hoping to buy some kind of unique Chinese art to hang on her wall. 

I am a swirl of emotion.  It is so exciting, but on the same token a little scary too.  I guess it is like any pregnant mom/dad for the first time when they don't really know how dramatically their life is going to change.  Except, I have had a child and I know how dramatically this will change our life!  I have also been feeling an immense amount of stress.  From arranging travel details, getting things ready to pack, preparing to be gone from work for an extended period of time, etc.  So to help cope with the stress (as if I don't have enough to do already) I made an appointment for a massage and pedicure.  I got a gift certificate for my birthday from my brother and his family and I figured this was just what the doctor would order!  So Sunday afternoon I am going to be in relaxation mode.  A good way to start a vacation!

Getting Ready

It sure seems like I have a lot to do in the next 2 weeks before we leave.  I am thankful that the final government paperwork seems to be completed.  That is a huge relief because now I can stop calling government offices to kindly ask that they get our paperwork approved and sent to the US Consulate in China.  Now I can focus on more important things like getting packed!

So, it's hard to know exactly what to pack for a 2 week trip on the other side of the world with a 7 year old and a toddler.  I am a little concerned about entertaining a toddler in a hotel room for 2 weeks.  The adoption agency will be planning some touring for us to do while we are there to hopefully help with the cabin fever and entertainment.  We have been blessed with some friends who have recently adopted from China.  They have shared their stories, pictures and helpful travel tips.  We are extremely thankful for their friendship and advice. We should be getting our travel itinerary soon and will have our final travel meeting next week.  Hopefully this will tie up any remaining loose ends and start easing some of my pre-travel jitters. 

I cannot express how much I love this child that I have not even met.  It seems so odd to love someone so deeply that you have never met and really do not know much about.  I don't know what her favorite food is or favorite toy.  I've never heard her laugh or cry.  I've never seen her smile or frown.  But yet, none of that seems to matter.  She is going to be our daughter and it just seems so right.  She already seems to fit so perfectly into our family.  Thank you God for this awesome blessing and experience.  I know many of you already love Chloe too!  And we are thankful for that because I am sure we will need much love and support when we get back and adjust to our new life together as four.  Please continue to keep  us in your thoughts and prayers.