Beijing!!

The world travelers made it to Beijing!  Holly sent me pictures of her "long version" of their travel adventures in her journal that's typed out below- too much for her to type on a phone.  Enjoy!  -Jeannie

Feb 7/Feb 8

Our 15 hour flight to Shanghai didn't get off to the best start, as there were problems with cargo papers and we left an hour late.  The Captain assured us a few times during the delays that we would be close to our scheduled arrival, but I realized several hours into the flight when I began counting down how much longer that nope- we were an hour behind our scheduled arrival time, which would be cutting an already short connection really close.  

The flight itself was hard at times, with Matt's ear being miserable till he took pain medicine, and just with it being hard to sleep on a plane sitting up, no matter which way you try it- leaning on each other, using a neck pillow, laying on the food tray.  And of course we kept imagining the flight home with Allie.  But it was a neat experience to be on a plane with almost all Chinese and the flight attendants were all so kind.  The food was pretty good and they gave me gluten free meals.  I watched a couple of movies and read a little.  Matt and I liked watching "Planet Earth" towards the end and then they asked anyone with connecting flights to call a flight attendant.  Ours looked a bit concerned at our schedule and sent us up toward the front of the plane to get off sooner.  

We bolted when it was time and made it quickly through the 1st checkpoint only to wait at the baggage claim for our one checked bag, which they told us at RDU would be checked through to Beijing, but told us at Boston we'd need to pick up and recheck.  We would also need to check our carry on suitcases for the China domestic flight.  We waited and waited for our bag and then as we were the only ones left standing, decided to hope it got checked through and hurried on to try to make our flight.  

We had no idea where were in the Shanghai airport and couldn't find info, but it wasn't crowded so we got help quickly and once again, got looks of concern and were told we better hurry.  We ran to check in, where they kindly rushed through and said just to carry on our luggage.  A man came up and told us he had been looking for us and calling... oh yeah, so they guy walking around the baggage claim calling out something I couldn't understand that sounded vaguely like "Beijing" really was trying to help us.  Whoops.  Again they told us to hurry and even security tried to get us through quickly.  We ran to our gate and got in the back of the line of the last folks boarding the plane.  Whew!

This flight ended up also taking off an hour late due to backup on the runway, so we were looking at a 1am arrival in Beijing.  Quick flight and we headed to look for our bag.  Matt felt confident it would be on the claim for our flight, but as more folks grabbed their bags and we kept looking, we had doubts.  Again, we were the last ones left and no bag.  

We had spotted our guide Flora through the glass window and told her the situation.  We went to a baggage inquiry area and tried to explain but their English wasn't great and they didn't understand.  And we were tired!  At one point one of the guys stuck a phone in front of my face and looked at me expectantly.  All I could say was, "What?" till I noticed he wanted me to talk into Google translate.  Matt was so tired he could not find our tag for the checked bag, which was in his pocket as he eventually discovered.  Finally they said our bag was at Terminal 2 across the airport.  Or it was there, because then he said through Google translate that there was a customs problem and we needed to go to Terminal 2 and call the phone number he wrote down.  

Enter Flora, who thankfully was able to waslk us the long way to Terminal 2 and talk to the right people.  Sliding glass doors opened and we were told Matt should go in only and should bring his passport.  The doors closed and I made small talk with Flora, while wondering what might be happening with Matt.  Then, magically Matt appeared with our bag in tow.  My hero!  We walked out to a frigid pick up area (oh yeah, when we got off in Beijing and expected a warm covered walkway to the airport, we were suddenly blasted with cold air and instead, had a shuttle ride across the tarmac.  That was unexpected!) where our driver got us and took us to our hotel, which is super nice so far.  We checked in around 3am and went to bed, with plans to postpone visiting Allie till the afternoon.

On our way! First stop-Boston

We made it to Boston. Easy, short flight. Goodbye with the kids was a little tough this morning....at least for some of us!  Gray got a big kick out of me crying and gave me lots of hugs and told me knock knock jokes that made no sense. Thanks to Robyn for getting them to school. Think they will be just fine. 

We had lots of talks last night (mostly Julia) ranging from the outrage at it taking so long to adopt Allie ("I mean you get her one day and then you have her...WHY do you have to stay so long?!?") and frustration at China's view that boys are better luck than girls ("But WHY do they think that way?!  I just can't believe that every single person there thinks that!"). I assured her that is not the case and we got into many more details, most of which she didn't quite believe me about. She has been busy making signs and decorations and gifts for Allie. Can't wait to introduce these sisters to each other!

We board shortly for the long flight to Shanghai. Hoping we sleep!!  We will get to Beijing finally at midnight China time and meet Allie and her caregivers the next morning. Can't believe it!

Ready to go!

Last day before travel!!!  I am feeling so excited I could jump for joy at times. I have several times in the last year comments such as the China trip being just about survival or "you'll get through it" or sometimes just a general negativity about China itself, but Matt and I are set not to just endure it but to have an awesome trip, in spite of whatever challenges await. It is soooo far out of my comfort zone but I am setting my mind to go with the flow, take it all in, and truly enjoy our daughter's birth country.

The kids have been excited as well and apparently Julia was in fact jumping up and down in Sunday school yesterday. Hopefully they settle down for grandparents!!!  

Today I still have a couple things on my to do list, though I checked off installing Allie's car seat, finishing the 6 page grandparent info sheet, and cutting Joshua's hair yesterday. This morning I got just a few more things from the store and returned the last of the 160ish library books we had checked out last month...still one missing, but not too shabby!

There are so many similarities to end of adoption process and end of pregnancy.  I've definitely been channeling my excited/nervous energy into nesting/house organizing, though if you saw it now, you couldn't tell because keeping up with the daily mess does not work so well for me.  But it's been good to clean out and designate space for Allie and her clothes and books.  Of course, similarly to the end of pregnancy, I am constantly thinking of the first moments with Allie and I have to temper my excitement at finally seeing her with "you know kids are a little harder to take care of 'out here'."  There's an element to the anticipation of a new child that is a bit superficial and doesn't exactly face the 'real life' part of what the process is leading up to.  But for now, I'm practically dancing down the aisles of Walmart and feeling pretty giddy.  Next update in the midst of travel may be slightly more subdued!

Speaking of travel, in case I forget to mention, we decided to just have family meet us at the airport.  We won't have seen our kids for over 2 weeks and want to be able to give them our attention during that time.  But anyone is welcome to meet us back from the airport at our house.  Robyn will have our  house key and someone will let her know when we are on our way.  Guessing by 8pm the 23rd if all goes according to plan.

Please pray for this first leg of the trip:
1) That we would make our connecting flights in Boston and Shanghai...we don't reach Beijing till midnight Wednesday night (11 a.m. Wednesday your time) and would love to not have delays or missed flights along the way that would get us there even later.
2) That our time meeting Allie on Thursday (Wednesday night your time) would go well in that we'd get plenty of time with her and she'd begin to get to know us enough that it would ease her fears on Gotcha Day.
3) That our kids staying here would feel okay about us leaving and have a good transition to grandparents' care.

Preparations

It's been a busy week of continued excitement about our upcoming trip, mixed with a lot of every day stuff that makes it still seem so far away.  I finished up work for awhile this week.  I will miss the kids, but will still have a few weeks to teach them later on in the school year.  It was the end of a very short, but great era teaching with my assistant Sarah, though, as she will have a new baby and not return to the preschool.  So that was sad, as we clicked so well and had lots of good times over the last two school years.

Crazy, but I have been scrambling to plan for the summer before we leave.  The rec camps that are always a hit with the kids and pretty affordable must be reserved in person while we are gone to guarantee a spot, so we've been busy trying to get the kids' input and coordinate schedules so we can let them participate a few times this summer.  I've also been continuing to refine our suitcase packing, unloading, discarding, adding, weighing, labeling, etc.  And (picture above) getting together little notes and bags that the kids can open each day we are gone.  They mostly have special snacks, pencils, stickers, or something like that.  I found some cute fortune cookie erasers I thought were appropriate and some Chinese snacks from a store here.  Hoping it will help them when/if they miss us these 17 days!

This morning on the way to school, the kids and I were talking about how we would rearrange their normal places in the car to make room for Allie's carseat.  Joshua immediately declared he was staying put...I think partly to sit next to Allie, but mostly to avoid change at all costs!!  Julia said she wants to sit by Allie too, so we'll have to do a rotation with them.  Gray originally said he really just loved his seat in the back and wanted to stay there and then said maybe he'd get in the rotation to sit beside Allie eventually, but he'd stay in the back at first, "just in case".  He wants to see what she's like before he decides if he wants to sit by her!  "You know allie-gators can be very dangerous!" he says.  :)

Matt has finished up working the last three nights and is has a bit of TLC plans of his own for the kids, in the form of taking each one on a date in the next 24 hours before he goes back to work a few last shifts.  And we've got the 3rd basketball game of the week tonight and Super Bowl with the family Sunday.  It's been good to keep doing these normal things to keep me from getting too antsy or overwhelmed!  Can't believe we will actually be on the plane in 4 days!

Shower #1

I really thought I posted about this, but as I was writing about the party this weekend, I couldn't find it...

So over Christmas, my sisters sweetly asked if they could give me a shower and we agreed on a dinner with mostly family.  We met in Winston Salem at a cute little restaurant in a house one Saturday night.  Almost all of my closest female family and friends were there and it was just perfect.  We enjoyed good food and lots of talking and laughing.  It was such a sweet time and meant a lot to me.

I also loved the beautiful cake and got some really great baby stuff for Allie.  So thankful for all the love and support we have for Allie.

Chinese New Year Take 2 and 3

  
This was such a fun, social weekend as we got to celebrate Chinese New Year THREE times!  Saturday was the culmination of the super exciting party planning done by Julia, my friend Robyn, Robyn's girls, and the girls of my friend Susan who travels to China this week to get their daughter.  It was a mother-daughter shower with a Chinese New Year theme and Julia was over the moon at this opportunity to plan a party with friends.  Party planning is kinda her thing.  :)

Robyn's house was filled with lots of sweet and beautiful decorations and declarations of love for Allie and Maya.  The details were just awesome, down to specific symbolic food with descriptions of each printed beside them.  There was a table for each girl for gifts, a jenga set that guests could write messages for the girls on, a cooler for freezer meals for each family.  I got a little teary just taking it all in.  Robyn instructed the girls to take my coat and Julia reached up to unzip it and take it off me as well.  :)  They had such a good time running around together and doing the different games, eating, chatting, and playing outside.  I enjoyed talking with the ladies that came, though it was busy and hard to get time with everyone.  We have so many wonderful friends who are excited about these girls coming home.  So wonderful to experience!

And we got to go home with some meals for when we get home, some giftcards, and some sweet board books to read with Allie.  If I'm honest, I think it's going to be a little hard to go back to one word to a page books when we've graduated to interesting chapter books around here!  So I'm thankful to have so many wonderful books to help get me back into baby mode!!

Great afternoon with lots of love and support evident.  Thanks, ladies!

Chinese New Year Take 3 was a huge gathering of NC China Adoption families who are with our agency.  It is our third time getting together and it gets bigger each time!  It is always great to be with these families who are sharing these same life-changing experiences.  The kids get along so well...most of the boys played football and the girls enjoyed crafting and playing outside.  The adults progressed around the room checking in on everyone's adoption process status and even got to help make dumplings with our friends from CNY Take 1.  :)  My kids were so thrilled to get dumplings three days in a row!!

Here we are below.  Matt's parents agreed to let us have the party at their house and it was just perfect.  Everything fell into place and we definitely called it a success at the end of the night!  Next gathering we'll have Allie and a few other China kiddos home.  So exciting!!

 

Amazing!

I have been keeping careful track of the adoption expenses, payments, donations and since we have just paid our last bill, I went back through to get the final count and make sure everything was calculated correctly.  When we started this process, $30,000ish seemed crazy and the idea of going into debt that much wasn't the most pleasant feeling, as you can imagine.  I hoped we might raise $10,000, but after our first grant rejection letter, I wasn't even very hopeful about that.  Well here we are at the end and, thanks to grants and wonderful support from friends, family, and even a few acquaintances, we've only had to pay about $7,000--and that is mostly travel stuff, which I didn't intend to raise support for anyway.  Incredible!  Thank you does not seem sufficient to cover the gratitude we feel toward all of you for helping to lift the financial burden of bringing home Allie.  Particularly not knowing what medical expenses await us, it is so great to have most of the adoption costs taken care of.  So many blessings in this process and it makes me go back to what Lisa told us in the very beginning--don't let money be the thing that keeps you from adopting.  So glad we didn't!