Saturday, January 19, 2008
We are in Beijing -1/19/2008
We arrived Beijing on time. The 2nd part of the flight ride was very nice. The new airplane is Airbus 330. It has TV monitor right on the back of the seat in front of you. You could select any movies from a list. You can also play games. Unfortunately, some of us were very tired. Both Berthold and Anna had their movies running, but they slept through the whole thing. Sue, Joshua and Toby were awake. Food was OK, but not great.
We arrived our hotel 10:45 pm. As soon we checked in, the boys took their showers in their own room. They went right online to chat with their friends. Toby was eager to update his blog. Anna was wide awake again. We let her watched a Disney movie, took a bath, eat some noodles. She finally fell asleep now.
By the time we settled down, it was too late to eat anywhere. Room service menu was not very appettizing. Berthold and Sue went out to get some quick snacks and boxed noodles. Berthold still remembered most of the places. We can't wait to go out again tomorrow....
Got to get some sleep now. We heard it will be snow tomorrow.....so our plan to go to Great Wall may change. We did not want to go to Great Wall anyway, but Anna complained that she had never on the Great Wall yet.....
Good night or good morning...
We arrived our hotel 10:45 pm. As soon we checked in, the boys took their showers in their own room. They went right online to chat with their friends. Toby was eager to update his blog. Anna was wide awake again. We let her watched a Disney movie, took a bath, eat some noodles. She finally fell asleep now.
By the time we settled down, it was too late to eat anywhere. Room service menu was not very appettizing. Berthold and Sue went out to get some quick snacks and boxed noodles. Berthold still remembered most of the places. We can't wait to go out again tomorrow....
Got to get some sleep now. We heard it will be snow tomorrow.....so our plan to go to Great Wall may change. We did not want to go to Great Wall anyway, but Anna complained that she had never on the Great Wall yet.....
Good night or good morning...
On the airplane -1/18/2008
It is January 18th 4:30 pm some where on our route from Detroit over Alaska to Tokyo. We have no idea where we are, all we know we have more than 8 hours to go and we feel that this flight already is taking forever. Flying coach class with Northwest is just a special experience. Sardines must have more space in their tin cans than we have and they don’t deal with flight attendants running around. When they ask if we wanted a newspaper weI had the choice between 6 or more Japanese newspapers and the Financial Times in English. We were delighted. The dinner choice was chicken or beef. But by the time it was Sue’s turn, it was only chicken left. But, we got a good deal and that is all that counts. This trip is about XinXin and not about us.
Anna is very pleasant and lovely. She was excited about the food and exclaimed a few times how delicious it was. We have to admit, it wasn’t too bad. She must have liked the presentation in all these different little cups and bowls. She was sitting with us all the time and playing with her toys, giving us occasional hugs and kisses. Yesterday she admitted that she is a little nervous about the adoption. She had mentioned this before but she never told me why. Yesterday she finally said in a very low voice that she is worried that XinXin loves Toby and Josh more than she does. (Note: She is not afraid that Josh and Tony love XinXin More than they would love her. She is afraid that XinXin loves them more. What an interesting thought process this is.) It took all her courage to say this. We talked about it and we think she feels better now. But, she asked Daddy already twice today if he loves her. When he says yes he gets a big hug. What a brave little girl, this process is taking all the courage she has but she knows that the outcome will be a good one. She will have a sister.
Right now, she sits a few rows behind us with her new friends. She is very fond and caring about Amy, the 3 ½ year old. They watch some movies together and do other things. She hasn’t connected too much with eight year old Sarah. Sarah is more the quiet type and a very nice girl. But, this is typical for Anna. She loves the younger ones that she can care for and mother them.
Toby and Joshua sit together separated with two seats away from us. They are so independent. Joshua is awake and watching Ratatouillie(?) right now. He loves the noise cancellation headphone. Toby has been sleeping most of the time.
That’s it for now; we return to our boredom and see if we can catch a nap.
Anna is very pleasant and lovely. She was excited about the food and exclaimed a few times how delicious it was. We have to admit, it wasn’t too bad. She must have liked the presentation in all these different little cups and bowls. She was sitting with us all the time and playing with her toys, giving us occasional hugs and kisses. Yesterday she admitted that she is a little nervous about the adoption. She had mentioned this before but she never told me why. Yesterday she finally said in a very low voice that she is worried that XinXin loves Toby and Josh more than she does. (Note: She is not afraid that Josh and Tony love XinXin More than they would love her. She is afraid that XinXin loves them more. What an interesting thought process this is.) It took all her courage to say this. We talked about it and we think she feels better now. But, she asked Daddy already twice today if he loves her. When he says yes he gets a big hug. What a brave little girl, this process is taking all the courage she has but she knows that the outcome will be a good one. She will have a sister.
Right now, she sits a few rows behind us with her new friends. She is very fond and caring about Amy, the 3 ½ year old. They watch some movies together and do other things. She hasn’t connected too much with eight year old Sarah. Sarah is more the quiet type and a very nice girl. But, this is typical for Anna. She loves the younger ones that she can care for and mother them.
Toby and Joshua sit together separated with two seats away from us. They are so independent. Joshua is awake and watching Ratatouillie(?) right now. He loves the noise cancellation headphone. Toby has been sleeping most of the time.
That’s it for now; we return to our boredom and see if we can catch a nap.
On the way to China -1/18/2008
We have a few more minutes before we start boarding. Yesterday night we decided to leave very very early since the weather was not good and we were supposed to meet another family in Detroit. At 11 PM we decided to leave between 1:00 and 1:30 AM. It ended up being 3:00 AM because of many unplanned issues like library books showing up that needed to go to the drop box, MP3 players that were not cooperating, ideas about changing our packing pattern, a sudden unexplained drop in motivation and many other things. But we were lucky and made it to the destination in about 5 hours. Usually it would take three but it was 19F and winds blew at time with 30 to 40 mph. However, with some patience we made it and the kids slept all the way.
The family that is traveling with us for portions of this trip has a 3 1/2 year old daughter Amy and an 8 Year old daughter Sarah. .It is a pleasure to have them with us. Their parents are Gregory and Joanne. They were so kind to let us park our car at their house (10 mile off the airport) and even arranged to have Joanne’s sister Nancy drop us off at the airport and take our car back. We will have a similar travel schedule as Greg and Joanne and will spend some time in Hohhot and Guangzhou together. But flight schedules and hotels are slightly different.
Anna is very happy to have some playmates along for the trip. But as always she focuses on the younger one. “Mother” Anna loves to take care of younger ones. Somehow she reminds me so much of Oma (Grandma). If I wouldn’t have the papers to prove that Anna is adopted, I could swear she is part of this family in every which way. At other times she reminds me so much of Joshua at every step of her growing up. Sometimes she is just like another copy of him.
The family that is traveling with us for portions of this trip has a 3 1/2 year old daughter Amy and an 8 Year old daughter Sarah. .It is a pleasure to have them with us. Their parents are Gregory and Joanne. They were so kind to let us park our car at their house (10 mile off the airport) and even arranged to have Joanne’s sister Nancy drop us off at the airport and take our car back. We will have a similar travel schedule as Greg and Joanne and will spend some time in Hohhot and Guangzhou together. But flight schedules and hotels are slightly different.
Anna is very happy to have some playmates along for the trip. But as always she focuses on the younger one. “Mother” Anna loves to take care of younger ones. Somehow she reminds me so much of Oma (Grandma). If I wouldn’t have the papers to prove that Anna is adopted, I could swear she is part of this family in every which way. At other times she reminds me so much of Joshua at every step of her growing up. Sometimes she is just like another copy of him.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thursday Night
It is 10:00PM. We are still working to clean up the house and tidy up everything. Slowly we calm down a little bit. We plan to leave between 2 am and 3 am - much earlier than originally thought. The weather has turned to ice and snow, just in time for us to enjoy the ride to Detroit and make it a little longer. We pray that everything goes well. We know that Jenny (XinXin) is waiting for us. She knows that she is going to be adopted but we don't know what she thinks about it.
Anna finally admitted that she is a little nervous. But, she really wants to get her sister soon. Toby and Josh are eager to go to, but not so eager to pack and get ready ---teenagers.
Bert
Anna finally admitted that she is a little nervous. But, she really wants to get her sister soon. Toby and Josh are eager to go to, but not so eager to pack and get ready ---teenagers.
Bert
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Two more nights
Two more nights to go! I am so mentally ready, but physically we still have some packing to do yet. Berthold and I did some last minute shopping tonight. It seems never end. We always found things we could use or need. It is time to go now or we will be more broke.
We are so glad that there is another Michigan family, the Szalai's, traveling with us. They live in Detroit, just 10 minutes from the airport. We will meet them on Friday morning at their house. Then two of their friends will drive us to the airport. We are so grateful that they let us to park our car at their house. The Szalai's will adopt a boy from Inner Mongolia too. After Tokyo, they will go to Guangzhou, we will go to Beijing. Eventually we will both meet in Hohhot. Because our visa issue, we did not get the same appointment day with the Consulate in Guangzhou as the Szalai's. Initially, I thought I would not be able to travel with them. I am glad things all worked out. We can't wait to meet them. They have an 8 year old and a 3 year old traveling with them too.
In Guangzhou, we will meet more other families from the same adoption agency. They go to different province to pick up their babies.
Two more nights...if the weather is not good, we probably leave early tomorrow night. Can't wait!
We are so glad that there is another Michigan family, the Szalai's, traveling with us. They live in Detroit, just 10 minutes from the airport. We will meet them on Friday morning at their house. Then two of their friends will drive us to the airport. We are so grateful that they let us to park our car at their house. The Szalai's will adopt a boy from Inner Mongolia too. After Tokyo, they will go to Guangzhou, we will go to Beijing. Eventually we will both meet in Hohhot. Because our visa issue, we did not get the same appointment day with the Consulate in Guangzhou as the Szalai's. Initially, I thought I would not be able to travel with them. I am glad things all worked out. We can't wait to meet them. They have an 8 year old and a 3 year old traveling with them too.
In Guangzhou, we will meet more other families from the same adoption agency. They go to different province to pick up their babies.
Two more nights...if the weather is not good, we probably leave early tomorrow night. Can't wait!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Almost packed!
It is not easy to pack for five people considering that we will be two extreme weather zones. In Hohhot, average temperature at this time of year is -20 to 0 degree C. In Guangzhou, the temperature is about 60 - 80 C. Berthold and I spent the entire weekend to get all the essentials. I think we are 80% packed!
Toby and Josh are working hard to prepare for their mid term tests. We are so proud them on keeping their good grades. All A's so far!! Way to go, boys! Their little sister is also doing well in school. However, her favorite thing is swimming. Unfortunately we will have to miss some of her swimming meets.
We are all excited about going to China. The boys will take their computers and home work with them. Besides homework, they will also work with their Robotic team through internet on programming their robots. Their coaches and mentors are so understanding and encouraging on the situation. They will miss being there physically, but hopefully they can still contribute as much as usually do.
There have been some tragedies in school and in our communities. We pray for those who lost loved ones. We hope faith giving them strength and courage to deal with their difficult situations.
We also ask our friends and community to pray for us as we take our journey to bring Jenny home.
Sue
Toby and Josh are working hard to prepare for their mid term tests. We are so proud them on keeping their good grades. All A's so far!! Way to go, boys! Their little sister is also doing well in school. However, her favorite thing is swimming. Unfortunately we will have to miss some of her swimming meets.
We are all excited about going to China. The boys will take their computers and home work with them. Besides homework, they will also work with their Robotic team through internet on programming their robots. Their coaches and mentors are so understanding and encouraging on the situation. They will miss being there physically, but hopefully they can still contribute as much as usually do.
There have been some tragedies in school and in our communities. We pray for those who lost loved ones. We hope faith giving them strength and courage to deal with their difficult situations.
We also ask our friends and community to pray for us as we take our journey to bring Jenny home.
Sue
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Can't wait!
We finally got everything all set to go - except packing that is. We got our travel approval on 12/31. That is Berthold's birthday. We received Anna on his birthday too. I had wished that I could receive Xinxin on my birthday - which is 1/14.
It is like giving a birth to a child. Mother always forgot the labor pain quickly. You talk about these pains afterward like someone else's story. We now seem to have forgotten all the pain of waiting, the pain of paper work and especially the pain we had experiences last two week as we deal with the situation of lost paper work for Jenny by our government. We have very emotional few days since we got the travel approval. In order to adopt Xinxin and bring her home to USA, we need to complete all the China domestic paper work with Chinese government. We also need to go to US consulate in Guangzhou to do her immigration work. Unfortunately, Guangzhou could not find her pre-approved visa application. I spent an entire day calling the national visa center and trying to contact our local USCIS office.....we finally have travel dates now!!
In less than a week, we will be on our way to pick another precious daughter. Can't wait.
It is like giving a birth to a child. Mother always forgot the labor pain quickly. You talk about these pains afterward like someone else's story. We now seem to have forgotten all the pain of waiting, the pain of paper work and especially the pain we had experiences last two week as we deal with the situation of lost paper work for Jenny by our government. We have very emotional few days since we got the travel approval. In order to adopt Xinxin and bring her home to USA, we need to complete all the China domestic paper work with Chinese government. We also need to go to US consulate in Guangzhou to do her immigration work. Unfortunately, Guangzhou could not find her pre-approved visa application. I spent an entire day calling the national visa center and trying to contact our local USCIS office.....we finally have travel dates now!!
In less than a week, we will be on our way to pick another precious daughter. Can't wait.
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