We've Arrived in Nanning!

After about 4 hours of sleep, we were up again, ready for our flight to Nanning. We went down to the restaurant for breakfast where we met up with Shawn and his family. As we were eating, the other family adopting a baby from Thea's orphanage sat down at a table next to us. They are Steve and Beth from Minnesota. After 3 years of waiting, they received a referral for an 11 month old baby girl. They just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and this will be their first child. How awesome is that???!!!!! I am SO EXCITED for them.

We will be meeting up with one last couple who toured Beijing first - Gordon and Haruyo. Haruyo is Japanese and this will be their first child as well. Their baby girl is from a different orphanage, but we will all get our daughters at the same time.

Our flight from Guangzhou to Nanning was uneventful, which is a great thing :) Kam sat with Shawn and played games. Although Shawn can't hear and Kam doesn't know sign language, it hasn't stopped them a bit! They are great for eachother. Hey Brody, Kam says thank you again for the fun stuff for the plane ride. He has been sharing with Shawn. Shawn was actually giggling really loud when Kam shot candy out of the Wii candy dispenser.

Once we got our luggage, our guide, David, met up with us and took us to our hotel. It was a short drive - about 30 minutes. The hotel is okay - rated a 5 star in China. That equates to a 2.5 star in US (according to Mark). Our room is a nice size and we have two bathrooms. There is a beautiful park right outside and we're anxious to take the kids to it.

We haven't been settled in for long and Kam is already bored and driving us bananas!! He's asked to swim 50 times. He's also starving (we all are!). And the food we brought is in Thea's suitcase (go figure)!!! . . . lost somewhere between home and China. I sure hope it arrives soon.

No official plans for tonight, other than rest. I think I could sleep for 20 hours right now. I've probably averaged 4-5 hours a night for the last week.

We meet David in the lobby in the morning to go to Wal-Mart. That will be fun. Mom and Mom - remember that experience? Kam does. He immediately asked me if everyone was going to touch his hair again :) After Wal-Mart, we relax for a bit.

We get to meet Thea tomorrow at 3:30pm at the Civil Affairs Office. That is 3:30a EST on Monday - YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

On another note - THANK YOU to everyone for the awesome e-mails. You really have no idea how much fun they are to read while we are here. It is something that we look forward to every night. Kam wants to respond to his friends tonight and hopefully I can respond to mine as well. For now, I need to take a nap!

Signing off for now,

Kari

We're in Guangzhou!!!

24 hours after leaving our house for the airport, I am sitting in the hotel room in Guangzhou, China. We're here for about 7 more hours, then we fly to Nanning. I should be in bed!

Our airport experience didn't start out so great. We arrived just shy of two hours before departure, only to wait in line for 1 hour, 10 minutes for our boarding pass. The agent told us that we lost our seats and that our bags might not make it on the plane. We went straight to the gate and Mark pouted the ENTIRE way, mumbling under his breath that we should have left the house earlier. We ended up with seats in three different areas of the plane (and it seats over 700 people!!). Kam was a little upset and Mark asked everyone around him if they would switch seats. As soon as he talked someone into doing it, our names were called over the loud speaker. I had complained to every flight attendant and ticket agent in sight that I didn't want to be separated from my son for a 13 hour flight! I don't know who noticed or helped us, but we ended up in the best seats EVER (best coach seats, anyway :)). We had the three seats right in front of the TV, with no one in front of us, just the bathroom. We had lots of leg room and Mark only had to walk two feet for the bathroom (those of you who know him well, know how important this could be on a 13 hour flight! ha, ha!) After getting settled, Mark started giving Kam the speech on how we shouldn't complain and get upset about things so easily, because often they work out just fine!

Kam was an angel - best 8 yr. old traveler I know. A flight attendant came up to us as we were leaving and asked him how old he was. He told him that he was very mature for his age and that he was so impressed with him during the flight :)

When we arrived in Tokyo, for our flight to Guangzhou (2nd leg of the flight, 4 more hours), we met up with another family who is adopting a daughter from Thea's orphanage. The mother, Lisa, and I have been corresponding via e-mail over the last couple of months. Lisa and her husband, Chuck, have a 7 year old son, Shawn, who is traveling with them also. Shawn was adopted 2 years ago from China, just like Benjamin. Lisa, Chuck and Shawn are all deaf. The daughter they are adopting (she will be named Sophia) is 5 and she is deaf as well. We've been told that Thea and Sophia are best friends. We are all so happy that they get to leave the orphanage at the same time.

I was very excited to meet Lisa, Chuck and Shawn. They are an awesome family and we have been able to communicate just fine. Kam was the "welcome wagon", as usual, and stuck to Shawn like glue. He pulled out his DS, his DVD and his Chinese money. He gave Shawn some money and tried to show him how to play his new DS game. Shawn is tiny like Benjamin and is absolutely adorable. I'm so happy that he and Kam will be together for this trip.

We arrived in Guangzhou a little early, but unfortunately, one of our luggage did not! The suitcase I have for Thea, with her clothes, babydoll, books and toys, was not on the plane. We had to file a compaint and we're hoping to get it sometime on Monday. Our China coordinators have already contacted me and will work on it.

Well, I better get to bed. To our family - we are safe and sound in Guangzhou, China. Please give the kids kisses and hugs. We will post photos tomorrow. I don't have the energy right now to get that done.

Bye for now,
Kari

Here are a few more photos from our first day of travel:


We're almost to Tokyo - YEAH :) From there, a 4 hour flight to Guangzhou.

The Peters Family - Nora (family friend traveling), Lisa, Chuck and Shawn.
Kam with his new friend, Shawn, at the Novotel Airport Hotel.
View from our window in the Novotel.

"A Man Came From Across the Sea with a Package Wrapped Just for Me"

Just a few minutes ago, I received the best going-away gift! An e-mail was sent from the US post office, confirming that a package we had mailed to Thea was received at her orphanage. This particular package was REALLY important to us. I created a digital photobook for Thea – 54 pages and almost 60 hours later, to be exact - Pages full of a story about her forever family. I made a page of each of her siblings and a description of them and a short letter from us. I made pages showing our home, her grandparents and her extended family. I included a picture of the United States and then showed her pictures of our four seasons. A wonderful family friend (THANK YOU Jenny!) translated all of the English to Mandarin and wrote on each page so that the nannies could read it to her. I’ve never spent more time creating something in my whole life. Now that I know she gets to see it before meeting us in person, everything seems perfect. One of my biggest concerns for Thea was how scared she must be. I prayed that this book would help her with the transition. I will post a couple of photos of the book tomorrow. We also mailed her a little sundress and lip gloss.

Only a couple of hours left until we are on our way to China! After waiting so long, it is hard to believe it is finally here.

The important things are done, the not so important are not. Pack camera – check, pack I-Pods and DVD – check; pack all necessary chargers, batteries, USB cables – check; buy Thea a toothbrush and other toiletries – check; pack snacks, M&M’s and beef jerky – check; Kari give herself a manicure and pedicure – nope :)

The luggage is by the door and things are pretty much in order, except sending out the link to our blog. That is my task for the next hour – letting friends and family know how to follow our trip. That brings me to a thank you! If you are reading this, thank you for your friendship and support. It means a lot when we are so far away to read “hellos” and encouraging words.

Well, I’m off. Time to get everything packed in the car. I’ll post again soon. The next time, we’ll be on the other side of the world.

New Photos and Measurements!

Our China coordinator e-mailed today with Thea's updated measurements and photos. At 9 years old, she is almost exactly the same size as my 6 year old niece, Helana :) 48.5 lbs. and 47 inches tall. She sure looks a lot bigger in these photos. Isn't she beautiful!

The kids were all thrilled to look at these pictures. Almost time . . . . for a family of 7! Yikes :)

Dialogue with Thea!

The countdown is on and the frenzy has started. I am an emotional basketcase (just like I was with all of my kids two weeks before I was blessed by meeting them). There is officially no guarantee from me what my reaction will be when you talk about our trip to China. All the normal (what I consider normal, anyway) fears, questions, anxiety and everything else rolled up, start to creep in as the days get closer. I'm no longer calm and collected, I am UNPREDICTABLE :)
Tonight I was sitting at my computer, working on last minute paperwork for the adoption, and I received an e-mail from our China coordinator. As I read it, I started sobbing (usual occurence these days). It could not have come at a better time and as I cried, I smiled the whole time. I cannot wait to meet my daughter :)
Instead of describing it, I am just going to post it:

Hi Mark and Kari,

I was on the phone talking to Beiliu SWI's director assistant. In the middle of our conversation, he told me that Thea just walked in the office. I was so excited and asked if I could talk to her over the phone.

She has this cute voice. I asked her questions and she was able to answer clearly.

Here was our conversation:

Sabrina : How old are you, Qiu Xiang?
Thea: 9

Sabrina : Do you go to school?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: What grade are you in?
Thea: 1st grade.

Sabrina: Do you know how to write words in Chinese?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: Can you write your own name?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: Do you have friends in school?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: Do you know how to do math?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: Can you add?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: What is 1+1?
Thea: 2Sabrina : What is 2+3?
Thea: 5

Sabrina: Do you know how to subtract?
Thea: YES! (she was very proud that she knew the answers for the math questions)

Sabrina: What is 3-2?
Thea: 1

Sabrina: What is 6-4?
Thea: 2

Sabrina: I had 10 apples and ate 8 of them. How many apples do I have now?
Thea: 2

Sabrina: Do you know your mommy and daddy are coming?
Thea: (silence, I did not want to press the issue. so I went on.)

Sabrina: Do you know how to sing?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: What is your favoriate song?
Thea: (silence. I think she does not want to sing to me.)

Sabrina: Do you have school today?
Thea: Yes.

Sabrina: Is school over now?
Thea: Not yet.

Sabrina: So, you are back to have lunch. Have you had lunch?
Thea: Not yet.

Sabrina: Go ahead. Go eat. Thank you for talking to me.
Thea: ok.


She is a well behaved child. She was on the phone for quite a long time with me. I just want to share this experience with you.

The orphanage director will try to take photos of Thea's school for you.

Have a wonderful day!

Sabrina :)

Happy Chinese New Year!

We decided to wish Thea a Happy Chinese New Year by sending her a cake. We used a service in China who does this for adoptive families, waiting for their children. We arranged for the cake, our family photo and two disposable cameras to be delivered to her. We were completely surprised when we received an e-mail saying that when they delivered the cake, they asked the Director to take photos. Here are our newest photos of our daughter :)

Happy Valentines Day!!!