Post Pizza Hut

OK - So it is my turn to type a little. I'm understanding that people are still able to view our blog even though we can't so I'll add some info about our day yesterday after lunch.

Pizza Hut next door was an adventure. We usually try to avoid eating at familiear chain restaurants when we're away from home, but this was quick (and not your average everyday Pizza Hut). Ron tried some funky clam chowder with a pastry baked across the top of the bowl. Our pizza wan't too wild but definitely not what we're used to.

After lunch we met in the hotel lobby at 1:30 for our first tour. We had a lovely young guide who took us to the Hutong Village at the center of the city. We were escorted through the area and told of the history of this very old and precious part of Beijing. Our fist stop was at a drum tower. We climbed about 70 of the biggest steps I've every climbed, but when we reached the landing we were rewarded with a very impressive drum show. These drums were played during the daytime (on the hour, I think) and during the night a bell was rung from a second tower on the opposite side of the courtyard. We were able to take some aerial photos overlooking the Hutongs before we carefuly made our way down.

Hutongs - 4 small homes built together around a courtyard - together they are called a quardringer (sp?). The Hutongs were built during the reign of a Mongolian emperor and still, the residents of this area are rich in the heritage and traditions of their ancestors.

After the drum tower, we walked to the bell tower (didn't climb this one). Here we were invited to participate in a traditional tea ceremony. It was delicious. We were taught about the "smelling" cup and the "tasting" cup. We were shown how to correctly hold the cups as well:

Women -- Hold the cup with the thumb and index fingers on the sides and middle finger supporting the bottom. Flare out the ring and pinky fingers to symbolize the beautiful feathers of the phoenix bird.

Men -- Sam position but curl in the last two fingers to show strength and power.

We were presented with samples of a jasmine tea (to improve eyesight) and a sweet black tea flavored with a rosebud (good for memory). The were wonderful and just what I've been needing becuase my throat is terribly dry (I think from the motion sickness patches).

From there, we walked a couple of blocks to where the rickshaws provided transportation for the remainder of our tour. We were taken down extremely narrow alleys and were given a small gilmpse of life in the Hutongs by visiting two of the homes.

We learned a bit about the construction of the homes as well and the belief in fung shui (sp?). Also, the nuber of beams above the entrance is telling of the wealth of the family living there (we were shown a two beam home and a home with no beams). Just for reference, the emperor has 12 beams.

The threshhold of the home also serves a great purpose in keeping out ghosts. Apparently the ghosts hop. And, a deeper/higher threshhold at the gate will block many ghosts from hopping inside.

We learned about the meaning of the plants and koi in the courtyards. Bamboo represents long life. Pomogranate trees represent many children. And, the fish are a symbol of wealth.

This was a very interesting tour. We're very glad we went in spite of the rain. I wonder how much longer the people there will be able to continue their traditional way of life. Some of the buildings have already been destroyed in recent years for "improvement" projects (i.e. widening of roads). The area is somewhat protected now by the government, but there is also quite a lot of evidence of modern day influence.

We'll have to pause here...photos and more about yesterday and today when we return from our next tour.

Hope all is well at home.

Love - Beth & Ron

Again - typos...but no time for proofreading. Hope you are able to understand a bit about our experiences thus far.

A quick lunch before a tour.

Time was short before heading out so we went for the Pizza Hut, which is right next to the hotel. We shared some pizza and I had a clam soup with a pastry baked over the top of the bowl.

World Travelers

Travel Highlights

Mark and Gail showed up at 4:00 am to take us to the airport. We were able to switch our seats so that we could sit together. Wheels up at about 7:40 am. In flight we were seated next to very nice woman named Dawn. We shared a little of our story and found out she was headed back to LA where she lives and works. Other than a little pop spill the first flight was good.

When we arrived at LAX we had a long commute over to the next terminal for All Nippon Airways. When we got in line to check in, I think maybe God sent a man over to us and he told us the flight was over booked by 40 tickets. 40 TICKETS!!! He pulled some strings and routed us over to a club check in. Thank you to that wonderful man. After going through security again we were getting a little better at it but still had a bunch of stuff. What a long flight. The seats are not designed for people of my stature. We tasted a few new things and pass on a couple of others. I don’t know why seaweed would be used, maybe it is a health food thing.

A quick change of flights in Tokyo and again security. Here our group of five was led by a teacher returning home Chicago. Thank you nice lady. We were very tired on this flight. We tried to stay awake but were unable. When we arrived in Beijing we found our bags and then we found a driver waiting for us holding a sign. A quick drive to Jinglun Hotel and check in. The nice thing is complementary internet service so we can stay in contact. Thank you all for the nice comments on our blog. I think later in the week when we start to miss home more they will be even more appreciated. time for a little nap and them we are off on a tour. Thank you to those of you who can call my parents and keep them informed. I know they will not get tired of phone calls as they become grandparents again.

We know you want photos everyone ;)

Here are a few pictures from today. Dad, thanks for taking the first couple this morning and for getting them to us already. And, thanks again for the ride to the airport.

Parking Ramp

Heut and Epstein Families (notice Lexi's shirt).

Take-off...leaving MSP




Setting up Shop at the Jinglun Hotel ("home" for the next 4 days)

Half way arround the world

We have arrived. We have been traveling since 4:00 am Tuesday morning. It is now 10:07 pm Wednesday and we are in our hotel room. Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it. We need a bite to eat and sleep. Good night.

Packed and ready for bed

After several attempts, both big bags are full plus a little. Just a couple of pounds over, I think we'll sinch up the belt a little maybe that will help. This time it seems to be more about weight than space. Like it or not we are done packing and repacking. Off to bed to catch a few winks before the alarm goes off at 03:00 in the am. Good night all thanks for all of your support and prayers. More good news to follow. Ron

Video test

Well Here is our test of video posting. Sorry the content isn't more entertaining, but it served the purpose. Ron

Itinerary

For anyone interested, here is what our daily schedule looks like:

May 29
Depart MSP 7:15 a.m.

May 30
Arrive in Beijing 8:05 p.m.

May 31 - June 2
Sightseeing & Shopping in Beijing
Stay: Beijing Jinglun Hotel
No. 3 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue
Beijing 100020, China
Tel: 86-10-65002266

June 3
Fly to Guangxi, Nanning City
Stay: Guangxi Wharton International Hotel
Tel: 86-771-21118888, plus room number

June 4 -- GOTCHA DAY!
Shopping (for baby supplies in the a.m.)
Afternoon to Civil Affairs Office to Meet Hope

June 5
Return to Civil Affairs for Adoption Registration and Notary

June 6-7
We'll wait for Hope’s passport and notary documents to be ready on Friday.
Shopping & Sightseeing around Nanning

June 8
Pick Up Paperwork

June 9
Fly to Guangzhou (a.m.)
Stay: White Swan Hotel
Shamian Island, Guangzhou, 510133, China
Tel: 86-20-81886968

June 10
Guangzhou Folk Art Museum, Six Banyan Buddist Temple, and Porcelain Store

June 11
Hope’s Medical Exam and Visa Photos for US Consulate

June 12
Submit Final Paperwork to the US Consulate

June 13 -- HOPE'S 1st BIRTHDAY!!!
US Consulate Oath Ceremony
Pick up Hope’s Visa to the US
Celebration Dinner

June 14
Depart Guangzhou 9:15 a.m.
Arrive MSP 8:30 p.m.

A Series of Lasts

We are checking things off the list of "to-do's" now as we prepare for travel. It is so surreal to think that we are going to be holding our daughter in 12 days! We've had our last day of work. I've said "goodbye" to coworkers and students until next fall. We've been visiting with friends and family for the last time before we take off. We have purchased our last gallon of milk for a few weeks. We did our last pre-travel geocaching over the weekend to boost our numbers (we got up to #249 so we could find our milestone #250 in China). Ron and Ella have had their last haircuts before Hope comes home. We'll go to church for the last time on Sunday as a couple. We are about to have our last weekend as "Beth & Ron," before we become known as "Hope's Mommy & Daddy." It is all just so incredible.

Here are a couple before and after photos of Ella. She is so pretty in full coat, but she is so much more comfortable with her summer cut. We're sure going to miss her while we're gone. She's not spoiled at all...I promise. :)

Saying "goodbye" to my fellow rock star terps at school this afternoon was emotional. It has been a pleasure this year ladies! ILY!

I'll try to post again this weekend sometime. We're going to be BUSY packing! We have our travel meeting tomorrow morning at the CR Edina office. We'll be filling out paperwork and writing our signatures until our hands ache I'm sure. And, I bet we'll have a little bit of last minute shopping to do. Hopefully everything will fall into place and we'll be on the plane with everything we need on Tuesday. Until next time everybody...

The Good Things In Life

I’ve had a couple of frustrating things happen over the past few days and I have let them cloud my afternoons. What can I say? I’m a “fretter.” I’m still processing some of it so I’m not going to spend time explaining everything right now. I’d prefer to document the good things of the past two days. And, when I say good, I mean YEA! Check it out:

** Our passports are back safely with our Visas. WHEW!

** I picked up our plane tickets.

** We’ve learned that we can wire a portion of our fees, so we don’t need to carry that cash with us during the trip.

** We have two suitcases in our living room ready for packing.

** Ella is going the the groomer on Sunday night and will have a little Monday spa day (shower and shave/summer cut). She’ll feel so much better.

** Ron is getting a haircut tomorrow night so it will be short and he’ll be ready for the HOT Guangxi sun.

** We learned tonight that Hope’s foster family received her/their care package (not sure when it arrived, but they have it). I hope they’re enjoying all the goodies. That means that Hope has seen a picture of us!!!

** WE’LL HAVE HOPE IN OUR ARMS IN 18 DAYS!!!

The good things far outweigh the bad and sometimes I need a little reminder of that. Thanks for the support everyone. We’re almost there!

Sweet dreams - Beth

P.S. And, I helped bust a pot smoker in the bathroom at school. HA! :)

Happy Mother's Day, etc.

There is so much to do and say that I don't know where to begin. First of all...

* "HAPPY (belated) MOTHER'S DAY!"...to our mothers. To them we owe so much, and yet they expect so little. From them we can learn so much, and they wait patiently for us to be ready for teaching. There are no words adequate enough to thank you for your love, patience, guidance, and care over these past 30+ years. Grandma Gail and Grandma Linda, we love you.

Also - a very special "Happy Mother's Day" to the other mothers (babies home or still waiting) with whom we've shared our adoption experience. I am so thankful for the network of support we've found through our on-line community. I am grateful for the support, encouragement, and knowledge shared by these wonderfully intelligent women and feel so blessed to have 'met' them during the course of our journey. I know that many of us will be in touch for years to come. I love you.

And - one more special greeting and "Happy Mother's Day" to all of our good friends and extended family who are mothers. You have seen us walk this path of hope and to Hope and we thank you for everything you've done for us along the way. You've laughed and cried with us, listened to our story, hugged us when we needed support, and now you're preparing to see us 1/2 way around the world. We love you.

To hear those words, "Happy Mother's Day," spoken in my direction yesterday gave me waves of goosebumps. Me? A mom? Really? Then I looked at Hope's picture and thought a quiet "yes." Yesterday (well, pretty often, but more yesterday), I also thought of Hope's birthmother. What an amazing gift she shared with this world...a little girl she will never know. How can one person's sacrifice bring such immesurable joy to another? We will always be grateful to this woman for making the amazing choice to love her daughter and to deliver Lin Ke Xuan to a place she'd be found, thus beginning the China end of our red thread. Now also we remember Hope's foster mother. When we first meet Hope, and when she grieves, this is the woman she'll remember. Again, we are thankful for her care and love and pray that she is well and that she knows her foster daughter will soon be joining a family who will love her forever.

* Hope was 11 month's old yesterday! I can't help but wonder what she looks like now. Think she still has all that hair? Babies seem to change so much between referral and gotcha day. I just can't wait to see her.

* We'll be flying home as a family of 3 -- 1 month from today!

* We finalized our flight arrangements with the travel agent today. I'm very excited to say that we'll be traveling with one of the other families in our group. It will be wonderful to have familiar faces with us on the planes. Here is a sketch of what our flights look like:

5/29/07 - Depart MSP to LAX (7:15 a.m.)
LAX to Narita
Narita to Beijing
We'll leave MSP at 7:15 a.m. on the 29th and arrive in Beijing at 8:05 p.m. on the 30th.

6/14/07 - Depart Guangzhou to Narita (9:15 a.m.)
Narita to LAX
LAX to MSP
We'll leave Guangzhou at 9:15 a.m on the 14th and arrive at MSP at 8:30 p.m. on the same day)

* OK and lastly, please take a peek at these dresses! They are so sweet! Ron took me out for a little shopping yesterday afternoon. We've been looking for red, white, and blue, dresses for a couple of the special appointments we'll have while we're in China. I can't wait to see them on our little girl!

Hope's Slide Show

It is time to move Hope's show out of the header and into the archives of regular posts to make way for new and updated photos soon. Stay tuned!

Gushing...

It was a month ago today that we first saw Hope's picture. I can't believe it has already been that long. It feels like yesterday. She is just so cute! I can hardly stand it. My arms ache for her. I know everyday we are closer to bringing her home, but...I'm tired of being close. I want to be with her. I want to pinch her toes and tickle her tummy. I want to see her smile and hear her laughter. I want to watch the world through her eyes as she grieves her foster family, and discovers her new one. I want to experience her wonder every day as we learn about each other and what life will be like in the Hoot Home as a family of 3 (+Ella...can't forget the 4-legged furry family member). I want to introduce her to the amazing family and friends we have here waiting to celebrate her arrival. I just want to pick her up and never let go. I thought I'd share a couple of our pictures from referral day (4/9/07) so you can help us re-live this awesome experience. There is nothing like it!


I got the call at work at about 11:30. I was prepared! I had lined up a sub for my after school work. I brought my glasses because I knew once the call came, so would tears. And, I brought our call sheet so I could take good notes!



Ron and I met, left one car in Woodbury and drove to the agency office in Edina together. We must have been in a hurry or something because this is how he parked when we got there.

Here are a couple shots of "the moment." I apologize for the blury pictures. We didn't really take time for camera instruction.


A couple more from when we got home. Proud Mama & Baba -


Here are a few of the other fun reactions we caught on camera. Proud Grandparents, Aunts, & Uncles -

Travel Date

Wow, things are really starting to move fast now. Today I received a phone call from our social worker and found out that we will be in China in three weeks. Our appointment in Guangzhou is on June 12th, this is the day that we finalize having Hope join our family through adoption. That is just one day before Hope's first birthday. I smile all day. We need to be in Beijing by May 30th. That is this month! We really have a lot to do now. Gotta run, the lawn mower fuel tank is cracked and we are going to meet the Kern family for dinner (remember baby Lucy?). Bye.

It's in the mail...

I thought I'd share a couple of things that we've been taking care of since our referral.

We finally decided after some heming and hawing that we were going to try to send a care package. We discussed this so much pre-referral and had sort of decided we weren't going to try because the general feeling is that the CCAA discourages this process, and our agency does not assist with care packages in any way. Then after referrals came we talked even more about it and investigated more possible options. There are services that you can find on the internet that will provide care packages, take care of assembling the package, find what to include, draft a letter/translation if you want, and take care of delivery to the orphanage, etc. These services in my opinion, though convenient, are pretty expensive. Well, then we found out that our daughter is in the "Grace & Hope for Children" foster program and we know we'll get some information from them, so we thought, OK, maybe we don't need to do the whole package thing with sending one-time-use cameras and praying for them to be returned to us used so we could have some pictures of her time there. In the mean time, I also posted a couple of notes to some of my on-line groups asking about successes that others have had in the past with the delivery of care packages. To say the least, the response was hands down in favor of sending something. YES!- send a package! And so began the scramble. We looked up a couple of things on-line for ideas and for Chinese character labels for our family photos we sent, did a little shopping, and slept with the beloved blanket and puppy for three nights before putting them in the box with all the goodies. Here is what we eventually came up with: 2 outfits for Hope, the blanket and puppy, stacking cups, board book, soft tag book, photo album (with labeled pictures of us, Ella, both sets of grandparents, and our house), two cameras with her referral photo taped on them so hopefully her foster family will take pictures of her in their home and with their family, a WI picture book, a bracelet I made for the foster mother, and a very simple "thank you" card I made (we decided so late to send the package that I didn't think we had time for a letter translation). All we could do was pray first that the orphanage received the package, and then that they would pass it on to the foster family. Well, I tracked the package. We sent it on April 28 from our post office here and the tracking site says our package was "delivered abroad" on May 5 at 4:00 p.m. I hope it made it to the right hands. If not, we can rest easy knowing we tried.
Here's the loot -

Package on the way -

The other major mailing of the month was our visa applications. They needed to get to the China Consulate in Chicago. It is so scary to place your passport in the mail. Yikes! So, I've been tracking that package as well and the site says that it arrived at the courier location this morning at about 11:30. She will then take our passports to the offices for the stamp and send them back to us. We should have them safely back in hand by early next week. Just one more thing to worry about right? ;) No photos of this part. How exciting can a FedEx store be anyway?

Shower #4

Yes, you read that correctly...#4. It is hard to believe that is true. Because this process has taken so long and because our time frame has become so extended, we truely just had our fourth shower. Our first was a year ago (May 2006) from my co-workers. Then the Hatcher side of the family had one for us hosted by my mother's sisters (which I'm so thankful for because my grandmother was able to be there last September). Third, was a huge gathering in honor of our little girl at church last fall (October), and now we just had number four. Our good friend Jody hosted a shower for us on Sunday afternoon (with the help of her awesome mother, Joan, and her little cutie, destined to date our daughter someday BTW, Isaac). I had an awesome time. I couldn't believe how many people came! It was such a cool group of people, too. My friend Keri was there who has been one of my best friends since early childhood. We grew up across the street from each other, we graduated from high school a year apart, and we were maid-of-honor in each other's weddings. A great number of my friends from high school (class of '93..go B-W!) were there and it was a blast to see them all again. Then, two of my college roommates came over from my days in Eau Claire! I was super emotional when they arrived (but I guess if you know me at all, you know that is not a stretch). Our new friend Holly came who is in our travel group to China. Her family is waiting for little Ava (who has even more hair in her pictures than Hope!). They are only 3 minutes away in Hammond, so we are very excited to have our girls grow up together. Then, there was the signing crowd...My dear friend Wendy who I started my ASL classes with, and three co-workers made the trek to farm country as well. OH...and I musn't forget the 3 young ladies who came to offer gifts to their new friend Hope also. Our God-daugters Lauren and Hannah were finally introduced to each other and played so well together for the afternoon. I'm thinking those two need to get their little dolls together again. :) And Tessa came with her Mom to hang with the girls for the day. Thanks for joining us and thank you also for the noisy toy (the new Mom said with a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice). :) It was such an unbelievable day for me. Ron and I are so blessed by the friends we have. What more can I say? It is pretty amazing to feel so loved.

Here's the crowd -

Proud Waiting Grandmas -

One of my favorite shots of the day -

And more (you can always click on the photos to see them enlarged a bit) -

A Giant Step Closer

Our TA arrived today!

Our updated I-171H arrived today!

Now we wait for our appointments to be made in China. When they are set, we will know when we have to be in the country. It won't be long now. It is looking like we'll have most of our girls by their first birthdays!

Now, if we could just find a bank somewhere in the midwest with new bills in the vault, I might be able to sleep tonight.

Not all is quiet...

No real news for us today. I was hoping. Maybe tomorrow for our TA? Some families announced the arrival of TA's today so I'm hopeful.

News for others you ask? YEA!!! The CCAA has finished matching through LID's of Nov. 1, 2005! CONGRATULATIONS to all the families seeing photos of their new additions today! It is nothing short of amazing to be handed that picture and to know that the moment you've been praying for and dreaming of for the past 2 (give or take a couple) years has finally arrived. I just finished reading my 200+ email messages and announcements in my "in" box. I can't wait to see pictures! Blessings to all of you. AND, a special answered prayer to announce as well...remember there was a family in our travel group that did not receive a referral last month? Their referral arrived today. We don't have details yet, but I wanted to thank all of you who prayed for them and to let you know that your prayers have been heard!


Ta Ta for now (and maybe a big TA for tomorrow too?) - my pillow is calling (more like screaming) my name.