Friday 11/30: Touring Mutianyo Great Wall and Summer Palace

Just now getting to post this!  Our internet has been down throughout our whole hotel since 7 last night!

We had an awesome day!  We all went to sleep Thur. night between 6-7 and slept well.  We were warned that the beds would be small and hard, but after a 24 hour day in the airports and 2 plane rides, the beds felt great.  Breakfast was included at our hotel (the Jian Guo) and was great!  It was a huge buffet with Chinese and American food. Kyle and Seth have already mastered using the chopsticks!   We all had a great breakfast knowing we weren't going to have any lunch today.  Our driver, Mr. Zhang, and Theresa met us at 8:30 to leave for our tours.  The driving is crazy in China.  There is no right of way, lots of beeping, and swerving in and out all over the streets. Pedestrians look like they are playing frogger trying to cross the street.   I've never seen anything like it!  We found a whole new meaning to close call several times, but it was considered normal!  And, truly, we felt safe.  I'm surprised we didn't see more accidents or dented vehicles, but it is very important to the drivers' livelihoods NOT to have accidents. 

We headed first to the Mutianyo Great Wall.  Theresa taught us lots of history and explained several things about the Chinese culture.  One of the interesting things she told us was that one of the ways the government controlled the enormous amount of vehicles in Beijing was to limit the days that a person can drive.  She explained that the last number on the license plates indicated what day of the week that a person was not allowed to operate their vehicles! Public transportation is very cheap in Beijing to encourage it's use.

We saw lots of sights on the way to and from the Wall:  the Birds Nest and Water Cube where the 2008 Olympics were held, lots of  groups of homes, a little boy hanging off the back of a bicycle going down the road, lots of homeless dogs, and 55 gallon drums on roofs to heat the bath water.  None of the water in Beijing is drinkable by the way.  To brush our teeth we use bottled water.  We have a washcloth over the faucet to remind us not to drink the water! 

After about 1 1/2 hr we arrived at the Great Wall.  We chose Mutianyo because we wanted to take a cable car up to the Great Wall.

 I can't even begin to describe the magnificence  of it all!  It was just an incredible view and the weather was perfect for November!  It was cold, around 34 degrees, but not windy like we expected, and we were bundled just right!  It was very sunny and clear, and just simply beautiful!! 

Our guide Theresa.

Looking back at where we came from!  Most of the hike was downhill, but had a steep climb at the end!

We walked about a mile and went through 8 watchtowers.  To get down from the wall, we did this.....

Rode a Toboggan! 

It was so fun and took about 5 minutes to get down!!  We had such a great time!

Next, we toured the Summer Palace, which is where the royal families spent their summers to rest and entertain.  We walked about a mile there and saw all the beautiful buildings and lake. 

We ventured over to the same food court again tonight for dinner and enjoyed more Chinese food!  Thankfully they have pictures and we just point to what we want!

Tonight in our hotel they had light up night and then a chorus of children singing Christmas carols. Be still our heart!!

It was really an awesome day!  We are so excited to be here!  We are going to the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and on a Hutong Tour tomorrow.  Only 3 more sleeps until we see Emily!!! (just realized I needed to come back and fix this.... I had wrote two earlier since I had posted this the next day!)

Note:  For those new to blogging, you can click on our pictures above and they will open up larger on your screen!

Ni Hao from Beijing!

We made it! The flight was long as expected, but the individual tv sets on the back of the seats helped pass the time!  We all watched movies, played battleship, Othello, and Solitaire, and enjoyed watching the flight path on the screen.  Unfortunately none of us got much sleep, and are ready to crash right now!   We were met at the airport by our guide, Theresa, who has already given us a history lesson on Beijing, as well as lots of interesting info about the Chinese culture.  She is awesome!  She got us checked into our hotel tonight around 5 pm. We then  ventured out on our own down the block to a food court area on the 5th floor of a shopping plaza to have Chinese food!  We watched as they handmade our noodles in front of us!  So neat!  We were quite the entertainment trying to then EAT those noodles with chopsticks, but it was good!

We meet Theresa tomorrow to head to the Great Wall!  It will be a busy day, so we are all headed to bed!  So happy to be here knowing how close we are to Emily now!

Ready to leave for Pittsburgh!

I'll try to add more pictures tomorrow.  It's loading very slow! 

We Leave Tomorrow!!!!

From the beginning of this process when we were asked, When will you bring Emily home?, we've always answered that we were praying to have her home for Christmas.  Well, we serve a mighty God!  He will have our sweet daughter home with 2 weeks to spare....and we are ready!!

 

Thank you, Lord for choosing Emily out of the 147 million orphans to be OUR daughter, and for choosing US to be her family!

Next post.....Beijing!!

 

New pictures!!!

more days! 

AND...... Blessed with new pictures of Emily!!  We sent her a celebration cake and just received new pictures!  Oh my goodness...I can't wait to GO!!!  We love this little girl so much and can not wait to see her!  :) 

The Countdown begins......

more sleeps until we leave for China!



Our bags are all packed!  Wow, that was a lot of work.  We are all getting so excited!  It's just so hard to believe it is finally here!  We first saw Emily's little face on Feb. 18 and got pre-approved to adopt her on March 1st (Seth's birthday!).  Its funny to realize that it has been a 9 month 'paperwork pregnancy' by the time we will meet her on December 3!! 

We've had several similar questions lately, so I'll answer a few of them here.

Does Emily speak any English??  No, and we don't speak Chinese, so we will certainly have the expected challenges in communicating while dealing with typical toddler behavior.  We will also use some sign language to help!  Plus, Emily will likely need speech therapy due to her repaired cleft lip/palate, so it may be difficult understanding her when she does learn English.  One day at a time!!  :)

Has Emily been in the orphanage?  We don't think so based on the information we have.  We think she was at the House of Love in Guilin first and has been in foster care for the last 2 1/2 years.  Often, China sends the kids back to the orphanage for a week or so prior to the adoptive parents coming.  We are praying that she didn't have to go there.  That makes us even more anxious to GO get her!!

How long will you be in China?  We will be there 15 days. We are going to Beijing to tour first and to try to get adjusted to the time difference as China is 12 hours ahead of us.  We are all really looking forward to experiencing Emily's country!  Our flight leaves from Pittsburgh on Wednesday AM and connects in Newark.  We will arrive in Beijing on Thursday at 3:00 AM our time which is 3:00 PM Beijing time after a 14 1/2 hour flight.  While acclimating to the time change, we will tour the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and silk market. 

On Sunday, we will fly to Emily's province, Nanning, Guangxi.  She will travel 5 hours likely by train to meet us on Monday, Dec 3 with the director from the orphanage and usually a nanny or two.  From that point on, she will stay with us. She will officially be adopted and OURS on the 4th.  We stay in her province until Friday. Dec 7, to get her birth certificate and passport.  Once we have those, we will fly to Guangzhou where the US Consulate is located. Emily will need to have a medical exam to ensure her medical needs match what was listed on the reports we received, and to have a TB test.  We will also apply for and get her VISA to travel to the US.  As soon as we have that in our hands, we can leave!  We will travel to Hong Kong on the 12th and fly out on the 13th.  We will be home very late on the 13th since we will lose 12 hours.  As soon as Emily's little feet touch the floor in Newark, she will be a US citizen! 

For those of you so led, please continue to pray for us!  Please pray for our safety as we travel, for us to stay free of sickness and specifically for Kyle to stay free of his migraines, for Emily's heart to mend as she goes through this huge transition, for her to learn to trust us, and for her foster mom who so graciously took care of Emily knowing that someday she would be adopted.  Thank you for your prayers.  We are truly feeling them and have a peace that only God can provide!  

Wo an ai, Emily!   3 more sleeps!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow!!  Where did the last 2 weeks go??!  We have so much to be thankful for today, especially our family and friends who have been so supportive throughout this whole process. We love you all and appreciate your prayers and encouragement so much!

Thank you to everyone at Laurel Eye.  It was surreal walking out yesterday knowing I wouldn't be back for awhile.  Thank you to ALL of the doctors for allowing me this time off knowing your schedules will be more full, my administrators for your guidance (thank you, Jolynn and Joe!), Jenn for notarizing those stacks of documents for me and keeping my schedule straight, and the staff for their support!  I am so blessed to work with such an amazing group, and John and I can't thank you all enough for your love and prayers! 

Thank you to all the BTDT adoptive moms who have answered my numerous questions over the past 9 months!  You are all such an amazing support system and an encouragement to me! 

Thank you to our friends and church family.  What a blessing it was to be covered in prayer last Sunday.  We so appreciate your prayers as we journey to bring Emily home! 

And, thank you especially to our family....for supporting us, celebrating with us when we reached each milestone, and encouraging us through each step.  Thank you mom, dad, and Heidi and Bryan! Thank you especially, Janeen (I love you sis!!) for the daily phone calls, texts and countless advice sessions.  I am so blessed!! What would I do without you all??!! 

I was talking to someone on the phone yesterday, and she was wishing us good luck and safe travels.  She ended our conversation by saying, "I'll be praying for you.  You have a safe trip and GO bring your girl HOME!!"   Those words were music to my ears and brought tears to my eyes.  I can't wait to have the opportunity to show Emily what HOME is.  Yes, this thanksgiving, we are definitely BLESSED!!! Love you all!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  6 more sleeps! 

Travel plans are made!

It's been a busy day!  We woke up to an email this morning from our agency.  It was our CA (Consulate Appointment)!!  This is our last step in China before we come home. Although we would have loved to travel a week earlier, we chose a CA of Dec. 11th due to holiday travel at Thanksgiving and my work schedule.  That means that we leave for China in.....19 days!

Here's our itinerary:
Wed. Nov. 28  Leave for Beijing, China  (will arrive Thur. due to the time difference)
Nov. 29-Dec. 1   Tour Beijing
Dec. 2   Fly to Nanning, Guangxi- Emily's province
Dec. 3   Emily Day!!
Dec. 7   Fly to Guangzhou
Dec. 8   Medical Appointment
Dec. 11 CA and apply for Emily's visa
Dec. 12  Pick up Emily's visa and travel to Hong Kong
Dec. 13  Depart from Hong Kong to HOME as a family of five!

International flights are bought!  In-country flights, hotels, guide service, ground transportation, and sightseeing is taken care of by our agency.  Whew!  Glad I don't have to do all of that! 

19 Days and counting......

Look what we got!

Yeah!!!  Waiting to hear confirmation of the date for our Consulate Appointment (CA) which will determine when we leave!  We should have a preliminary itinerary the next time we post!! :)

One More Step to GO!!!!!

Our Article 5 was picked up on Thursday, so we are officially in the wait for TA (Travel Approval)!!  We've been busy looking at flights, getting things laid out to pack, and doing last minute projects around the house.  There's not enough hours in the day right now, but it's all good!!!  :)  We have been sooooo blessed by family and friends!  Thank you for all the wonderful clothes, books, toys, toddler bed, etc, etc that have been given for Emily.  I am watching my beautiful little niece tonight and have enjoyed watching her play with all of the toys.  Makes me long for Emily.....oh, I can't wait to GO!!  We got her new curtain up in her room, so once I can see her bed again, I'll post a picture!  Right now it is covered with stuff to pack!  Next time I write I'll be announcing TA~  YIPPEE!!!