a day in Shenzhen

We leave soon for the airport to fly to Nanning, but I wanted to take a bit of time and post a few real pictures of China! We went to a park today called "Window to the World." It was pretty impressive and we had a great time. Once again, Olivia could have been one of the main attractions. (We were the only American tourists, at least that I could tell.) I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of it, but while Olivia was checking out the giant bunnies, a woman ran over and knelt by her side to get a picture with her. Several people did it, and it cracked us up. I have heard other adoptive families talk about this type of reaction to American babies, but it was still funny to experience first-hand. Another woman tried to get a picture of her little girl with Olivia, but both girls were too shy to stand next to each other. Too bad - it would have been cute!


2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. Lucky Olivia - she loves "buh-ees." She was so excited when she saw the life-sized rabbits.


She also loves "wah-er" so this fountain was a favorite spot, too.


Brendan's favorite:


I guess I don't have a favorite, although I am loving all the palm trees! And these are perfectly sized for taking pictures of little ones!


Well, it's time to pack up and head for the airport. Tomorrow we meet Cora. As far as I know, she is also on her way to Nanning today. (Wow - sleeping in the same city tonight - we are so close!!!) I wonder what she's thinking. I don't know that she's been outside the orphanage, and this is probably the longest trip she's ever taken. (It's 3 hours from Guiping to Nanning.) We are so excited to meet her. I am having the hardest time comprehending that we will be handed a complete stranger who will be our daughter forever. This doesn't seem real!

and we're here!

We're in China! It was rough getting here. From flight delays to the actual flight to the transportation to the hotel... Put simply, I am relieved to have arrived safe and sound.

Today was a good day. We left the room around noon to go find lunch and a pair of shoes for Olivia. (She took off one of her shoes sometime during the chaos last night, and we didn't realize it until after we checked into the hotel.) We found a nice mall and had Papa Johns for lunch. It was awesome, and I've never been so happy to see a Papa Johns restaurant. We found a pair of shoes, too.

It's rainy today, but the area here in Shenzhen seems beautiful. (from what we could see from the cab ride to the mall) Our hotel is posh and feels like home (JW Marriott). The bellman wanted to inspect the room for us when we got in at 4:00 this morning. (Yes - 4:00am) We gave it a 2 second glance and explained it was gorgeous. We were more than satisfied. The staff is great - super helpful and accomodating to us non-Mandarin speakers. Everyone adores Olivia. I was warned to expect a lot of attention because of her, and the predictions were correct. She mostly stares at them, but occasionally smiles back and says hi.

Tomorrow we leave for Nanning, where we will meet Cora. I am grateful to have had a lazy day today, to adjust to the culture and the time difference. And lack of sleep. It just does not seem real that in a couple days we'll have another daughter. It has been hard getting here. We have been so distracted that we haven't had time to think about it - the reason we're here.

It's now around 8:00pm and we're ready for bed. If we hadn't just woken up from our four hour nap, we'd just call it a night. (probably not going to help the 12 hour time change adjustment)

I know you'd probably like to see pictures of us in our new surroundings, but we haven't even gotten the camera out yet. So here are pictures of our hotel. cheater




Oh! I forgot to share about one of our biggest blessings along the way... While waiting for our flight out of Detroit, we noticed a family with a young girl, evidently adopted from China. This family came up to us to say hi, because we were the only ones in the airport with a child, and their daughter was hoping to meet other kids on the flight. I asked the little girl if she was going to China, and if so, what she was going to do there. (I had an idea!) Yep - she was going to get a new baby sister (who actually turned two today!) This family was even seated in the seats directly in front of us on the flight. It was so much fun to share in the fun of us both adopting. We will be staying in the same area once we get to Guangzhou and are looking forward to meeting each others' newest family members!

That's about it for now. We'll have more to share from Nanning! Much more!

and we're off!

I'm going to try to sleep tonight... My mind just keeps coming up with things to do! It doesn't even seem real that we'll be boarding a plane to travel halfway around the world, where they will hand us a complete stranger, who we will call our daughter. I just can't get my head wrapped around it! We still have a long ways to go to get to her, but each step is a step closer!

We meet Cora on Monday, March 21. Adoptions from this orphanage usually take place around 3:00 in the afternoon, which will be about 3:00ish (I don't have my time zones straightened out yet. Oh let's be honest - I probably won't even bother.) in the morning here. She will be in our arms by the time your alarms go off! Crazy!!!

Thank you to all our dear friends for your support: for praying for us, for listening to us/me whine about the waits, for cheering us on! We are so blessed.

More to come...!

18 days...

On Monday, we received TA. (Hooray!) We waited 18 days from the time our article 5 was picked up and sent to Beijing. Today, we received our consulate appointment; we are scheduled to meet our daughter in... 18 days! Tonight that seems like a million years away, but I'm sure we'll be there before we know it.

We know our daughter is somewhere inside this building. (But not for long!) The process to get her ready to meet us should be underway! Even if they're not doing anything yet, the date we meet her should have been passed on to her caregivers!


Oh, this waiting has eaten me up - especially recently! And all this time, Cora has had no idea what's about to take place. She has no idea that she has a crazy mama and (quite a bit more level-headed) daddy that are unbelievable excited to meet her. She has no idea that she has a pretty cool "big" sister ready to take her under her wings (for good and "bad" - I'm sure.) She has no idea that she has grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins that cannot wait to welcome her into our family. We wait with so much anticipation, and she is none the wiser. (Lucky her!) Cora, you are coming home!

guess the gotcha!

I remembered to grab my phone at about 8:30 this morning. (I wanted to have it close-by, just in case the agency called with any new information!) As I checked my phone, I saw I had 2 new voice mails!!! My heart started to pound, assuming one of them had to be from the agency, since I don't get many voice mails. I was wrong - no TA yet!

I know someday we won't remember life without Cora. Right now, I cannot imagine life with her! I stare at the face of a baby, but we'll be bringing home a toddler! I wonder what she looks like, what is her personality like, what she can do, how she and Olivia will interact... (I wonder how long it will take to get out of the house in the morning!) We are so excited to meet this little person and find out who she really is!

And for now, I wonder when our "Gotcha Day" will be. I have an idea... What do you think? We know it will be a Monday, but which Monday will it be??? Hmmmm....

Now since blog posts without pictures are boring, here's a fun one of Olivia. (I wonder what other crazy ideas she will come up with once she has a buddy!)

my imaginary friend

That's what Cora feels like, lately - my imaginary friend. Of course we talk about her, dream about her, plan for her, and SHOP for her, but sometimes it feels like we're just "making her up." Our attempt to get an update for her was unsuccessful (so no new pictures), and my hopes of bringing her home before Olivia's birthday seem foolish, now. We will probably travel later than that. (Why is it that I always hope for the best, but then also expect the best?) She seems so far away.

The great news is that TODAY, we received I-800 approval! (I LOVE getting mail from the Department of Homeland Security!) It's those documents that come and make the dream of bringing Cora home seem a little more like reality.

So now we wait for the NVC's "blessing," then it's back to China to wait for travel approval.

Another step closer!

Now onto talking about Olivia... Just shy of two years old, she finally realized how to climb out of her crib. (Last night was the first time we lowered the mattress. Hard to believe, huh?) We heard the thud and ran to the door. Sure enough, my child was NOT in her crib. As we fixed the bed, she played peek-a-boo. Showing off, because she was pretty proud of herself.





She's awesome.

my canadian "bestie"

In this day and age of the world wide web, we’ve been blessed to be able to connect with a family who is adopting a little boy from the orphanage where Cora is from. This family is from Canada, and I never would have known about them without the help of a yahoo group. (When Cora is older and reading this, I’ll probably have to explain what a “yahoo group” is, because I’m sure it will be outdated by then, right?) We received referrals for our children on the same day, and it was so much fun to share the joy of “meeting” your child for the first time with someone going through the same emotions. What a connection! I think this mother and I would have been great friends, anyway, even if weren’t adoptive moms. She’s a pretty great person, and it’s been fun chatting back and forth these last few months. I feel so blessed!

Our children have grown up together! At this point, we know so little about our daughter, but I do know that this little guy is a part of her past, and that’s pretty precious to me. Our children are close in age, so we’ve wondered if they are friends. (We hope so!) We may never know that, for sure, but we’re going to believe it to be true!

This family just got to experience “Gotcha Day” today with their son. I am so happy for them! It is exciting to see pictures of him finally in their arms. (And wow – is he a cutie!) I love to follow the journeys of other families traveling to pick up their children, but this time it’s a little more fun (maybe because it’s a little more personal?) On top of that, we know that our trip will look somewhat like theirs, so it’s like getting a sneak peek at what our journey is going to look like. Pretty cool, “eh”?

Well, congratulations, dear friend! The fun has just begun! You’re on my mind and in my prayers these next couple weeks!