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!