Our hotel lobby at the Grand Crowne Hotel in Beijing

Family selfie in Tiananmen Square with the entrance to the Forbidden City where the emperors lived in the background

Famous portrait of Chairman Mao over the entrance to the Forbidden City

Mae overlooking part of the Forbidden City

Image recreated from in front of the Tree of Happy Couples from our trip in 2009

A Country Rich in History

Apologies for not blogging last night.  We were exhausted after a long day at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. 

Friday the 20th:  Our day started with a great breakfast buffet at our hotel.  As I type this this morning, I can't wait to go have breakfast again this morning. (and I didn't have time to finish this entry and post it before we went to breakfast and left for the day)  The coffee is the best we've ever had.  We all rated the coffee a 10/10. It is seriously better than Jamaican Blue Mountain that is served on most Caribbean cruises.  Anyway, enough about the coffee.  After breakfast, we met the rest of our tour group in the hotel lobby to meet our guide and load the bus for our tour.  There are currently 32 people in our group, and we are adding more today that didn't arrive until yesterday.  After about a 15 minute ride to Tiananmen Square, we had to stand in a long line or queue as our guide kept calling it.  It was like waiting in line for a popular attraction at a US theme park.  I say this not to complain but to help you understand how popular of tourist destinations these historical sites are.  During our tour, our guide was a wealth of information.  She told us about much of China's history.  After the tour, we loaded back on the bus to head to a lunch buffet and a jewelry store that specialized in Chinese pearls.  We headed back to the hotel after that and had dinner on our own at one of the restaurants in the hotel.  The food has been better than I thought it would be, but I am ready for something spicy.  Much of what they serve in this area of China is sweet.  After dinner we decided to go to bed.  

Group photo at The Great Wall

Maelin and Rylan conquering The Great Wall (no zoom)

They were beasts

It's tough climbing

 

Mailing and Rylan in the same location zoomed in

Picture taken from the same spot

Have I mentioned that it's hot here?

CCTV headquarters building

I thought it looked cool

The kids having lunch together

Saturday the 21st:  As you can see in the pictures, we went to and climbed The Great Wall today.  You really can't describe the feeling you get climbing it.  The history behind it, the age of it, the size of it...we were all just in awe.  Maelin made the most of it.  She and Rylan climbed further than I think anyone in our group did.  After The Great Wall, we went to a jade store where Maelin got a beautiful bangle.  Then we were served a family style lunch.  It was a great time to get to know some of the people in the group.  The group is really pretty great.  Everyone is so nice.  We had an afternoon acrobatic show for entertainment followed by a Peking Duck dinner.  

We have another busy day tomorrow.  I'm not sure if I'll write about it tomorrow night of the next day.  I apologize for the haphazard writing about these past two days.  I'm tired and it's bedtime.  Ha!  

 

Just in Time

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

Our trip to China hasn’t gone as planned, and we’re not even to China yet. I’m writing this in the Tokyo airport. Were we originally scheduled on a connecting flight in Tokyo? No. Let me start from the beginning…

Tuesday morning we were in Lubbock. We slept in because we knew we had about 24 hours of straight travel that would start with our first flight out of Lubbock at 5:25 PM that afternoon. We piddled around after we ate lunch. Then we loaded up to head to the airport. My mom’s place is on the way to the airport so we stopped by to see her before heading to the airport. She gathered us up and prayed for us before we left. While she was praying, I got a text message from United Airlines. The info contained in that text would completely wreck all our plans for getting to China.  It was extremely stressful to the point I was ready to cancel the whole trip and reschedule it for a later date. The text said that our 5:25 PM flight from Lubbock to Denver was delayed and wouldn’t depart until 10:01 PM. 😬  This would make us miss our connection to LAX and ultimately to Beijing. We went to the airport to see what could be done. The ladies at the United counter were sweet, but they really offered no assistance. I went to the Southwest counter to see if they could get us to LAX in time to make our United connection.  Nothing. We went to the American counter.  Nothing.  We called our travel agent. She was out of the office. She did the best she could without her computer in front of her, but nothing.  At this point our best option was to just take the delayed flight to Denver and see what United could do for us when we got there. We had time to kill so we went back to the house. On the way to the house, I decided to call United customer service hoping they could help. After about an hour on the phone, the lady on the other end worked a miracle. She booked us on new connections. She got our rooms comped in Denver, and now we’re just a 4 hour flight away from being in China. We’re still going to get to Beijing on the 19th like originally planned just much later in the day. We’ll still get to join the tour on the first day. All is well!

You might be asking yourself at this point why I titled this entry “Just in Time.”  

We got the last 5 seats on the new connecting flights just in time.

We showed back up at the Lubbock airport for our delayed flight to check in as they were closing down the checkin desk. We got checked in just in time.

We got the last five seats on the transfer shuttle to our hotel, as opposed to having to wait 30 minutes for another one. Yes again, we got there just in time.

The fact that this all started during Meme’s prayer means this entry should really be titled “Just in HIS Time!”  I don’t know why this happened, but honestly, I’m glad it did. As Anthony said in the aforementioned quote, “Travel isn’t always pretty…But…It changes you.”  I find that to be true with every trip I take. We find that to be true with every trip we take. We haven’t even started yet, but I already feel so blessed.

Perfect Fit

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect match than what God gave us. Rylan, Keelan, and Maelin are getting along great. They have bonded well, and they love playing together. Kala took some pictures last night of the kids together that I have posted below. In some of the pictures they are packing Easter eggs with candy for Keelan's pre-K class. I will continue to post pictures frequently, so keep checking. I hope to get some pics of the whole family soon. Have a great week!

Sorry...No Pictures yet!

Friends and Family,

I realize it has been a while since I posted, and I'm sorry. Let me catch you up as to what has happened since my last post. I appologize that we don't have any pictures to upload yet. I will get some of the kids together and post tomorrow night! :)

On last Wednesday, China time, we had our American Consulate Appointment where we received Maelin's passport with immigrant visa. At that appointment we were "sworn in" as her parents with a large group of other adopting parents. There were tears and cheers! It was a great moment just like the birth of a new child. We were supposed to leave immediately after the appointment to go to the airport and catch a plane to Beijing, but we were informed that our flight was delayed 2 hours due to weather. So, we left Guangzhou at 8:55 for the 3 hour flight to Beijing. We didn't get to sleep until a little after 1:00am on Thursday. We got up the next morning at 7:00 to get ready for the trip home. The trip was LONG to say the least, but Maelin was an absolute doll the whole time. Thanks for all of the prayers. It has been amazing to see God at work throughout this whole process. He has taken care of all of the details.

We got home late Thursday night, and the kids were already asleep. We didn't let that stop us from giving them a huge hug though. :) Friday morning was better than any Christmas morning ever! The kids were so excited to see her. It was amazing to have our whole family together. Maelin is really adjusting better than I thought she would. She likes to play with her new brother and sister, and the feeling is mutual. She let all of the grandparents hold her the first time they asked and was happy about it. Friday she had a doctor's appointment where she got 5 shots and a TB test. She also had 2 large surenges of blood drawn. She cried but was a trooper. Saturday, she ran some fever due to all of the shots, but we had to go to Lubbock and do some shoe shopping for church on Sunday. All went well in Lubbock. We got her some tennis shoes and dress shoes. We also got the girls matching Easter dresses. They are so cute together! She cried when we dropped her off in the nursery this morning at church, but we were told that she only cried about 5-10 minutes. After that, she played with all of the other kids and had a great time. We took her into the church service, and once again she was an angel. The kids have played this afternoon and are really bonding. This experience has truly been a blessing. If God tells you to do something, DO IT! Otherwise you will miss out on blessings.

Pictures tomorrow. I promise!

Daddy's GIRL!!!

Okay, maybe I won't go that far, but I got to hold her many times today! She wanted my approval for everything she did. When she did something funny, she made sure I saw. Wow, what a difference from 2 days ago. Although, she wanted mommy to cuddle with after nap time.

Like I said in yesterday's post, we did not have much to do today. We waited around for our guide to call us and let us know if there were any questions with our paperwork. There was only one little problem. When the guide pre-filled in some of the medical papers for the previous day's medical exam she wrote down that Maelin's special need was that she is allergic to meat. In our part, we said she has phenylketonuria (PKU). We had to go back to the doctors office to correct the form, which took about 10 minutes, and that was it. So, today we had a lot of free time. We played at the park, we walked around the hotel, and we walked through some more stores. Let me rephrase that, we walked through some of the same stores again. Maelin really wanted a little toy cell phone that we saw, and we bought that for her. It was only $1.50. She loves the thing, but I am ready to throw it away. It is loud!

I am running out of things to write about other than we are ready to come home. We miss everyone sooooo much-especially Rylan and Keelan! Maelin is really showing us her personality now. It is so wonderful! We are so blessed. All three of our children really make us proud.

Tomorrow starts the long way home. Rylan, we need you to show us one of your short cuts. We don't have our consulate appointment until tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. After that, we go straight to the airport. Our flight from Guangzhou to Beijing leaves at 6:55pm and arrives at 9:45pm. A guide will pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel which is about a 30 minute ride away. We will stay the night in Beijing and go to the airport the next morning. Our flight from Beijing to San Francisco leaves at 12:40pm and arrives at 9:04am. We get there before we leave! HA! The flight is about 11 and a half hours. We will go through customs, claim our bags, and check-in for our day of flying Southwest home. Our Southwest flight out of San Francisco leaves at 2:25. We get back to Lubbock at 9:40pm! We are not looking forward to the process of getting home, but we are ready to be home. Denver City motto, "Whatever it takes!" Have a great Tuesday everyone!

The Infamous Red Couch

The White Swan Hotel has an infamous "red couch" that has been used for years for photographs of the adopted children in your group. Our group consists of us and one other couple, so Maelin is in the photo with the little boy the other family adopted. His older sister who was adopted from China several years ago, also wanted in picture.

Today was a GREAT day! The day started with Maelin's doctor visit. She did great. She never cried. Thanks for the prayers. God is good! We finished at the doctor's office at about 9:00am and had the rest of the day to ourselves. We finally finished all of the shopping we needed to do. Thank the Lord! We ate lunch again at the Italian restaurant. It really is so good. I would compare the pizza to Luigi's in Midland. Yes, it is that good if not better, and it is a good place for Maelin to eat. They have a grilled veggie plate that she really likes. She is all about the food. She eats non-stop. I have pictures of her eating an apple and some low-protein cereal.

I went to bed a little depressed last night because she still doesn't really like me, but today was GREAT! We played a lot. I tickled her, she let me lift her out of her stroller several times, and just before bed she said, "Whoa eye knee-I love you!" I needed that for sure.

Another great thing about today is that we are that much closer to coming home. We have enjoyed our trip here very much, but we have had enough. WE ARE SOOOOOO READY TO COME HOME!!! We miss our children very much! Rylan and Keelan, we will see you Friday morning when you wake up!

Tomorrow will be a pretty much boring day. We have to wait around by the phone for our guide to call and let us know if the people at the American Consulate's office have any questions with our paperwork. If all is good, we have a free day again. A part of me thinks that this process could be shortened, but we can't control it.

Familiar Faces

No disrespect to the Chinese people, after all God gave us one as our own child, but it was nice to see some "big nose" people today. "Big nose" is the term Chinese people use to describe westerners. All visas for Chinese children going to the U.S. have to be applied for and received here in Guangzhou, and our hotel is a popular hotel that many agencies use. So, we have been able to visit with several adopting families today. The other family in our group is from Iowa. They are a lot of fun to hang around with; we had a blast today. I wish we could bring them home with us as well. Keelan would love their 6 year old daughter. I have a picture of Maelin with their daughter on today's post. We started the day with an excellent breakfast buffet in our hotel. I have a pic of Maelin eating her favorite fruit-watermelon. In fact she is holding it out for me to see with a smile on her face. Then we, along with the family from Iowa, went with our guide to the Chen Family Temple. The Chen family was a very wealthy and powerful family many years ago in the Guangzhou area. They donated the money to build this temple. I have a picture of one of the huge doors below. We also got to see some embroidery artwork by some famous modern artists. I have a picture of a piece of artwork below, that I wasn't supposed to take-shhhh don't tell, that is all hand made embroidery. Our guide told us that it takes up to five years for the artists to complete one piece! After the tour we shopped, and we shopped, and we shopped. We also ate at a very good Italian restaurant close to the hotel. Maelin had grilled vegetables and a fruit plate. She ate very well! She loves grilled zucchini and grilled eggplant. Tonight for dinner we went to Lucy's again. It is just easy to find stuff for Maelin to eat there. Walking back to the hotel this evening, Maelin fell asleep in her stroller. I am going to finish this post and then we are all going to bed. Maelin has her medical exam tomorrow. Everyone start praying now that she doesn't freak out. We were told by the nannies at the orphanage that Maelin doesn't like nurses or doctors. It should be interesting! That is all that is on the agenda, so I am sure we will do more shopping tomorrow as well. Y'all know Kala! Have a great Sunday everyone. I wish we were there for church. I really have missed that! Rylan and Keelan, Maelin still looks at your pictures every day. She is ready to see her guh guh and jie jie! We love you and miss you!

Also, the area around our hotel must be a popular place to take professional photographs. We saw several "photo shoots" today. I included a photo of a girl doing a photo shoot not far from our hotel. She was in a beautiful red dress.

Praise the Lord for Lucy's

We started the day off in Hangzhou. Again, we had breakfast at the hotel. After that we got in the van to go to the airport. Our flight was delayed after we got in the plane. We had to say out on the run-way for 20 minutes before we took off. Maelin was very good the whole time. By the way, she snacked the whole 45 minute ride to the airport and pretty much the whole flight as well. I think she is going to want to eat when she is nervous. She was not happy when we left the hotel. She knew we were leaving, and it wasn't until about an hour ago that she came out of her shell again. Our flight was bumpy the whole way to say the least. The fasten seatbelt sign never went off for the 2 hour flight. Maelin had to go potty while on the flight, so we had to disobey that rule. I didn't eat on the flight because I wasn't feeling well, but God is good. We made it to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is not nearly as beautiful as Hangzhou, but it is nice. Our hotel is much better though. Once we checked into our room, our guide took us and another family from Iowa on a tour around the area of our hotel. She showed us different restaurants, shops, a convience store, and a place where we can get some fruit for Maelin. After the tour, the other family wanted to go eat at "Lucy's." It is an American style bar and grill. After we ate, the general concensus at the table was "Praise the Lord for Lucy's." The food was good and just what our western tummies needed. Maelin had steamed rice and a fruit salad. Kala had a club sandwich and fries. I had a cheeseburger and fries. Kala and Lori, the mom from the other family, are going to go get massages at a massage place not far from here after the kids go to sleep. I hope Maelin doesn't wake up while mama is gone, because she will scream until mama gets back. I don't have any pictures of Guangzhou yet, but I have a few from the ride to the airport in Hangzhou. I have added pictures of the beautiful medians along the road, and of the stop light. The stop lights count down so you know how much time you have. Great idea! I also got a picture of some of the homes that I talked about earlier. They are 3 and 4 story single family homes. Oh yeah, I have included a few of Maelin as well. Rylan and Keelan, we miss and love you very much. I am sorry we didn't get to talk to y'all on the phone this morning. We will try again tomorrow. Have a good weekend, and be good in school next week! Wreck 'em TECH! Sorry about the spelling. Spell check is not working at the moment.

You Burn...You Buy

First of all, I would like to appologize to Matt and JoEllen. I borrowed your title and some of your writing for today's post. Today started just as all of the others while here in Hangzhou-breakfast in the hotel. Again, Maelin ate a lot of watermelon. We waited around in our hotel room until it was time for Veronica, our guide, to pick us up and take us to the silk museum. While we were waiting, I was lying on the bed on my stomach and Maelin started playing with my hair. She also tried to stick her hair clip in my ear. OUCH!(see pic below) At 9:30 Veronica took us to the silk museum. Hangzhou is also known to have some of the best quality silk in China. After learning more than we ever wanted to know about silk, came the instruction on how to distinguish real silk from fake silk or polyester. Our "instructor" told us that you can't tell by touch or sight. The only real way to tell the difference is with the burn test. He pulled out a lighter and lit a piece of polyester on fire. It only took a few seconds before it started to burn. The smoke was black. He pulled out a piece of silk and ran the lighter over it for about 10 seconds and it didn't burn. He pulled a few threads of silk off of the fabric and burned it. The smoke was white and smelled like burned hair. He said that is the only way to tell the difference. So, he said when you go out to buy silk, take a lighter and perform the burn test; but, beware "YOU BURN, YOU BUY!" Then, he went on to say you can risk that our just buy your silk here where you know it is real silk! They know how to sell here. We looked through the silk store, then it was time to go back to the hotel. We ate lunch, Maelin took a nap, and mommy and daddy packed for our departure to Guangzhou tomorrow. This afternoon, Veronica came to our hotel to bring us the laundry we had done and fill out some paperwork. We also had her translate the note her birth mother left with her when she was abandoned. This is the translation in it's entirety: "Born on October 4, 2006 at 5:35 am. We name her WenWen. She got a PKU from birth. The treatment a year costs 7000 Yuan. May need 10 years of treatment. She is taking different formula which can get from the hospital. It's better to take her to the hospital again to recheck. We lover her so much. I am a common laborer. I can't economically afford her treatment. I hope you are a loving person. Please keep her, lover her. She is very smart, cute, and a very thoughtful and loving baby. She can go to university if you could control her sickness. Thanks for your big heart." We were in tears when we heard these words for the first time. It was obvious that her parents loved her very much. When all of the paperwork was done, we came back and finished packing. I went to McDonalds to get our dinner, and now we are getting ready for bed. Guess what, Maelin wants to play. She loves bath time right before bed and talks the whole time. We can't understand a word she says, but it sure is funny! (Meme and Pa, we need to borrow your bath tub every night until we get in the new house) After I finish this post, we will be going to bed for the night. We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow to finish the adoption on the U.S. side and get Maelin's visa. We love you all and miss home very much. Maelin told Veronica that she wants to play with kids. Get ready Rylan and Keelan. She wants to play! God bless!