Counting Down....

So we just got settled in our new hotel to be closer to Meili and just went out for a little stroll. This is an awesome area. Wish we could've stayed here the whole time we were in Beijing. There are a couple of malls within walking distance and it's just a nice area. A little less congested....still definitely in the city but it seems more removed and there are more places we dare explore. The weather is absolutely perfect today. I can barely even feel the humidity and it's just a perfect temperature. We are now just waiting for the phone to ring. Meilin is coming to pick us up to take us to Beautiful Harbor for Meili's little party. We are nervous, yet excited, and a little emotional. It's all so crazy and surreal and amazing at the same time. I know that once we meet our sweet baby, i won't be blogging about this area so i wanted to just write a quick note about how much we like it here.

More From Beijing

Today was an awesome day! We left downtown pretty early since it is quite the drive to the Great Wall. The countryside was beautiful!! It was incredible to see the mountains and the breathtaking terrain as we inched our way towards Mutianyu, which is just 1 of 5 different places where you can visit the wall. We decided to walk up instead of taking the cable car. It was very hot and muggy but we loved it. It is over a thousand steps and we actually did most of it twice. Needless to say, we earned our lunch.....and maybe a trip to the laundromat :). It was absolutely gorgeous today. As you can see from the pictures, we were out of the smog and the sky wasn't so bleak. This is what we were hoping China would look like. The history behind this Great Wall is fascinating and it was really amazing to be standing on such an iconic structure. It was also fun to see people from all over the world visiting. Our guide was telling us that many people in China come to visit Beijing and a lot of them come from provinces that have never seen a "westerner" and they are fascinated with them. Today we were stopped and asked if two children could have their picture with us. The kids were so darling. Russel even talked Donald Duck to them and had them in big giggles. Now they are going to grow up thinking that's how westerners talk. :)

We had an authentic Chinese lunch again today at a little place that seemed off the beaten path in the middle of nowhere. The foliage and forestry is so thick in that area, it's hard to see if anything else is around besides the road. Anyway, the food was very good and we even tried a couple of new things (vegetables of course, no mystery meat for us) and it was all very good. We also stopped at a jade factory today and a cloisonne factory. Both factories were very interesting and we got to watch as the people were making the beautiful art pieces. Of course, they got a bunch of our money too. :)

Lastly, we stopped briefly at the Olympic Park. It was pretty cool to see all the different buildings they built. They even have a hotel that is about 4-5 towers in length and it is shaped like a dragon. There was lots of kite flying going on at the park and that was really cool.

We decided to stop by a pizza place tonight for dinner. It was actually very good. We also got some new ideas for pizza at home......chicken/corn/blueberry is one combination, tomatoes/corn/raisins, and crab/pineapple......I bet the kids will be begging for more :)

Tomorrow is Meili's birthday and we can hardly stand the wait. We will be moving hotels in the morning and might try to go to Summer Palace if we have time before going to a little birthday party at 3:00.

1st Day in Beijing

We made it in to Beijing late last night. The flight was long but uneventful. We tried to stay awake most of the time so that we would be ready to sleep when we arrived here but nonetheless we still didn't sleep much last night. We met our tour guide this morning at 9:00 and headed out for a very full day. We stopped first at Tianneman Square, then onto Forbidden City which when on and on and it was hot and humid but at least overcast so it wasn't unbearable. Actually I think it's always overcast here because of all the smog. Forbidden City was cool and shed a little more light on what China was like during the time when it was ruled by Emperors. We also got to have our picture taken by the "couple tree." It's good luck for a long happy marriage. :)

We then did a tour of Hutong which is the older part of the city and it was cool. The streets are so narrow that we had to tour around in a little buggy pulled by a bicycle.

Next we stopped for a real Chinese lunch. Much to our great pleasure, no scorpion or duck heads were served. It was good and the chicken dish was very similar to Chinese that we would eat at home. We did a quick little tour at the Silk Factory which was pretty fascinating to watch the process start from the worm right up until they are weaving the silk into clothes or rugs or comforters.

Then to finish off the day we went to a Chinese Flying Acrobatics Show. It was amazing to say the least. It was the part of the day we enjoyed the most. We wish we could've recorded parts of it or taken pictures to share with the kids because they would've loved it. Anyway, that's it. We are tired and need some sleep. Russel is taking a quick nap before we head out to grab a bite to eat for dinner with the couple we toured around with today. Then we start all over again at 8:00 a.m. We are one day closer to seeing our baby and that is really where are our hearts are right now. Being here makes us realize how much we really do love Logan and especially the blue sky. We miss our kids very much but we continue to send little messages back and forth and actually was able to skype with them last night......um well actually 2:00 a.m. here but we couldn't resist the little text we got asking if we were in bed or if we could skype :) So we are counting down the days until we get little mei mei in our arms and then counting down until we get to be back home with the ones we love.

Here We Go....

Well, for the most part we are ready to get on that plane!! We have all the stuff from the Eagle Project packed up and ready to go and all of Meili's stuff is packed....and nanny gifts, and guide gifts, etc. There's a heck of a lot of stuff we are taking that thankfully we get to leave there.

We have our flights booked. We leave Wednesday the 28th at 5:00 and reach Beijing at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday! It'll be a long flight but also very exciting. We tour around in Beijing for a few days and are still working out the details but plan to spend a couple of visits with Meili. Her 3rd birthday is on Sunday and we are hoping it works to bring her cake and have a little party. Our itinerary is a little messed up right now. They first told us we would be meeting her in her province on August 2......when we got the itinerary it has us down for picking her up on the 3rd and flying to her province on the 2nd. I questioned my agency and they weren't sure why the difference. They are looking into it and hopefully we will get the final itinerary SOON. We also requested to move hotels in Beijing. Meilin looked at where the hotel was and said it is about 1-1/2 hours from where Meili is. We are trying to get this changed with our agency but haven't heard back yet. We have also requested for our flight to Taiyuan (where we pick up Meili) to be moved to a later time as currently it is 1:30. Since there is nothing much in Taiyuan, we would like to spend as much time in Beijing as possible. They are probably ready to strangle us!!

We are so excited yet at the same time have very mixed feelings. It's very hard for us to think about what Meili is going to go through and also our hearts break for Enoch as she will be left without a best friend. To Meili, these people are her family and although we have had months to fall in love over and over again with her, we will be strangers to her. She is very shy...especially around strangers and so the adjustment is probably going to be hard on her. We are forever grateful for these two ladies that have been able to somewhat prepare her for what is to come. She has our pictures and the nannies talk to her everyday but really what can prepare a 3 year old to go through all that she will? She will miss her Chinese family, there's no doubt. Hopefully the love we feel for her will help ease that pain and eventually fill that void. We feel so blessed that even though she will be far away from everyone she's loved and known, we will be able to stay in touch with them, send pictures, and even visit. We have made a little photo album to take with us. It has lots of pictures of our family but more importantly lots of pictures of the people she knows and loves. We hope that combining these two families in a little book for her, she will be able to see that we love these people too and that in a way, we are just joining together in the love that we feel for her.

What an amazing journey we are about to embark on. Meili, we love you dearly and can't wait to be holding you in our arms. See you soon sweetheart....

Here we Come Sweet Meili Girl!!

We FINALLY got our travel approval on Friday. We were so surprised and totally excited. A batch of TAs had come in earlier in the week on Tuesday and we really thought our TA was coming. Heidi even called on Wednesday when the WHOLE family was home and we were all screaming and jumping around when the phone rang. Then much to our total disappointment she had called to inform us that our TA had NOT come in and that the CCAA had informed her that no other TAs would be coming that week. Um....an email probably would've been less dramatic for us :) The agency never calls unless it's BIG news and until then it's never been BAD news. So we were pretty disappointed but she told us the CCAA did think our TA would be sent the next week sometime. So on Friday when I saw her number come up, I tried not to get my hopes up.....but it was awesome because the CCAA even surprised her when our TA came in that day. So anyway, we are waiting to see if we get our consulate appointment confirmed for August 10 and then we can book our flights. We should find out on Monday. If we are able to get 8/10, we will leave most likely on July 28 for Beijing.

Meilin is just getting ready to leave for the states so she went and saw Meili one last time. She sent us some adorable pictures. She told us that when she asked if Meili could go get "her pictures," Meili put Daddy as the first one and said "baba" (daddy in Chinese). Meilin also says she calls Abi "mei mei" which means little sister in Chinese. She said she has so many little sisters at the foster home, that must be why....but Abi was beaming ear to ear. Meili can call her mei mei forever if she wants.

Going Crazy Waiting for TA....

We are officially going insane. We are still waiting for our travel approval and yesterday there were many TAs that came through and some even had Article 5 dates later than ours. We are thrilled for these families but are sad we weren't in that batch. All in God's hands and I guess we haven't learned enough patience yet. So I have decided to try to focus on other things and I realized I hadn't updated the blog with the Eagle Scout Project. Josh did a wonderful job. He conducted the whole fundraiser dinner/bake sale/talent show. It was a huge success. We had such awesome support. The bake sale alone raised over $600.00. People were so generous. They really opened up their hearts to these orphans. We had a slide show also that added a really nice personal touch and also a supply table that showed exactly what we would be purchasing with the money. Overall, Josh raised $3295.00!! It was awesome. Here are some pictures from the event. We are so proud of Josh....Way to go!