Our Hotels in China....THEY SO ROCK! WHOOOOOOO!

For all of you who know me, you know that I am a TOTAL hotel snot!  It is precisely that reason why I  am so delighted to see the places they picked out for us.  I only had to have them change one hotel (we requested to change to the Holiday Inn below - the one they picked was not so good).  Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy seeing where we are staying.  It is crazy, they are all so big and have at least 4-5 restaurants in them.  The Holiday Inn one is connected to a mall which will be great since that is the hotel we first get Mia in.  :)

Our first two nights are at Renaissance (a Marriott Hotel) Beijing Hotel.  Below are some pictures:




The 3-7th night is at the Holiday Inn in Nanjing Aqua City.  It looks more like a Westin than a Holiday Inn.  Pictures below:

The 8-13th night is at China Hotel (a Marriott Hotel) in Guangzhou.  Pictures below:

The last night is at Langham Place in Beijing.  Pretty swanky!  Too bad we will only be here for 5 hours.  Pictures below:

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Mia is coming, Mia is coming, Mia is coming - THIS YEAR!!!!

It is with ecstatic joy that I am sitting down to write this blog post.  We have received word from China that we are to be in China December 9-24 to FINALLY be united with our sweet Mia.  The schedule is as follows:

Date	Time	Activities
10 Dec  (Fri)	11:30pm	Arrive by AA187.
11 Dec (Sat)	8:00am	Visit Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, take pictures of Olympic Park and climb Ju Yong Guan Great Wall.
12 Dec (Sun)		Fly to Nanjing by MU2802 (10:30am-12:10pm);
13 Dec (Mon)		Meet adoptive child.
14 Dec ( Tue)		Bus to civil affairs office to do paperwork;
15 Dec (Wed)	9:30am	Visit Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yet-Sen’s & Museum of Silk Embroidery.
16 Dec (Thu)	9:30am	Visit Xuan Wu Lake.
17 Dec (Fri)		Fly to Guangzhou by ZH9678 (16:15pm-18:35pm).
18 Dec (Sat)		Have a medical checkup and fill the forms for the consulate (all paperwork got in States & China needed).
19 Dec (Sun)		Bus to Shamian Island for Sunday sermon;
20 Dec  (Mon)		Bus to clinic to check on TB test results and go shopping at pearl wholesale market.
21 Dec  (Tue)	9:00am	Guide will go to US consulate to submit paperwork.
22 Dec (Wed)		Bus to US consulate to take the oath.
23 Dec (Thu)	2:30pm	(1)   Guide will pick up visa package from the consulate; (2)   Fly to Beijing by CZ3111 (19:00pm-22:10pm).
24 Dec  (Fri)		Fly back to States by AA186  at 6:55am.

As you can see we get home on Christmas Eve.  That means Mia's first morning here will be Christmas morning!  I am pretty sure she will think she hit the jackpot!  :)  Hopefully she will not expect presents everyday.  That said, she will always be our gift.

So super excited!  I cannot wait for everyone to meet our sweet girl but most of all I cannot wait to FINALLY hold her in my arms.  It is crazy to think that after 5 and a half years of waiting we leave in 2 weeks and in 2 weeks and 3 days we will have our little girl!

So, this Thanksgiving, there is much to be thankful for!

Katie Makkai - Pretty

Love this!  It has nothing to do with adoption but I wanted to post because like many of my amazing friends who are raising smart, amazing and strong little girls, I too want to raise my Mia to know it is NOT all about the outside but what is inside that really counts.  I am not saying I do not like and appreciate "pretty".  I love pretty things, I just think it is important that it not be the only thing and not the only message our girls hear.  Fair warning, there is one swear word.  I hope you enjoy!

BTW, I recently read that Katie is almost 90% blind and almost deaf.

January 2011 - Seriously? Ugh!

We got an update from our adoption agency regarding our expected travel.  It appears that we are not going to make the December travel cut off (no one is allowed to travel to China for adoption after Dec. 9th - according to our agency).  That means we will most likely travel January 6th - 20th.  People keep asking me if I am bummed?  YES!  Of course I am bummed and you can add a grouchy on to that as well!  I have waited so long to meet Mia and I literally feel like I am going to crawl out of my skin if I have to wait any longer.  These last few months have been A LOT harder than I thought they would (and I knew they were going to be rough).  It is very difficult to think that paperwork is what is keeping me away from my little girl for six months since our referral (which is how long it will be if we travel in January).

On to a brighter note, this is how the travel schedule will break down.  We will spend the first 2 nights in Beijing and then go to Mia's province where they will bring her to our hotel room on the 3rd day.  We will stay in her province for another day or so and then go down to Guangzhou where we will stay until all the paperwork, doctors appts. etc, are all finished up and the adoption is finalized.  We are told the weather in Beijing that time of year is like Chicago would be here in the US.  I am all about seeing the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square (we are required to visit both) but NOT with weather like January in Chicago.  GOODNESS!!!  Ugh.  The province where Mia is now seems to be a lot like it would be in North or South Carolina, that I can handle.  Where we spend most of our time is in Guangzhou, and we are told the weather there is like Miami!  WHOOOOOOOOOO!  I can REALLY handle that!  :) 

The really hard thing is, we found out the inner country travel in China is way more strict with their luggage restrictions.  That said, I am only allowed to check one bag and it can only be 40lbs.  That means I have to pack for weather in 3 climates, meeting a new child, all the medicine they recommend bringing, gifts for the nannies and adoption officials and I have to do that in one bag weighing 40lbs?  Um, yeah right!  HA!  Not sure how that is going to happen, but I am sure I will figure it all out.

The other fun bit of news is that if we travel the dates above, we will be celebrating Mike's birthday in China!  That should be a lot of fun.  :)

Absolutely Heartbreaking

This is an absolutely heartbreaking story regarding China's One Child Policy and forced abortion.  This story makes me so incredibly grateful for our Mia and the freedom we have here in the United States.

Uplifting Adoption Poems...

Once there were two women who never knew each other

One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

Two different lives shaped to make your one.

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.

One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.

One sought you a home that she could not provide,

The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me through your tears

The age-old question through the years,

Heredity or environment----

Which are you the product of?

Neither my darling--neither;

Just two different kinds of love.

Another....

Not flesh of my flesh

Nor bone of my bone

But still miraculously my own

Never forget for a single minute

You didn't grow under my heart

But in it

Another...

Breath of My Breath

Breath of my breath and heart of my heart I feel that you're truly my own. I don't know how long it will take you to see, But I hope that one day when you are grown... you'll too, know the love you feel for your child. A blessing from heaven above... A task we accept and honored to have. A baby, our new life... to love. And I as your mother, would feel just the same if you had been born unto me. You are part of my heart, and each breath that I take, no more my child could you be. ... If you had grown just under my heart inside my tummy below... For greater my child, you grew in my heart ... as only your mother could know. -anonymous

Another...

A Mother's Love

She left you one morning, She had no choice. In a country of millions She had just one voice. The law made it clear One child would do. To obey it would mean No hope for you. As she laid you down Her eyes became blurried. On saying goodbye Said don't you worry. Another will come To take my place. A mother will come From a different race. She'll hold you and love you As if you're her own. She'll take you away To a brand new home. She then ran away Her heart broke in two. Don't ever forget Of my love for you. -Tom Fisher

 Another...

You first came to us in an envelope

With letters, forms and such

Just two tiny little pictures

With nothing warm to touch.

You grew in our imagination 

A cute one...

With a butterfly kiss and a ladybug hug Sleep tight little one like a bug in a rug.

Another...

Poem from a Birth Mother ON THE WINGS OF A PRAYER I set you free on the wings of a prayer To fly through life in His tender care, You're free from the nest and the ties that are bound Free from the pressures I carry around. If I kept you I'd only be cutting your wings, Not offering the chance a true family brings.

The decision I've made has my heart torn in two, 

But I know what I'm doing is the best thing for you. 

The sky is so vast, the mountains so high,

 Take wing and remember: 

Iove you. 

Goodbye. 

 --LISA BOTE-PHILLIPS, a birth mother

Another...

As you lay sleeping far away as still as you could be... How could you know the joy today this photo brings to me? A few short weeks and you'll be mine, and "I" will soon be "We". How could you know the love I feel? It's something you can't see. So have sweet dreams, my precious babe. Sleep well and tenderly. Some say that you're the lucky one. How could you know it's me?
--- Kris Laughlin

 

Happy! Happy! Happy Birthday Mia!

Today (yesterday for Mia since China is 12 hours ahead of the US) is Mia's birthday!  She is turning 4!

While I am so happy for her and know that birthdays are so exciting for kids, I must say I am really sad I could not be there to bake her cake, sing to her, see her blow out her candles, watch her open her presents, and give her hugs and kisses.  Knowing you have a little one half way across the world that you are so desperate to meet and bring home with you can definitely be tough, especially when there are special things like birthdays to celebrate.

On a happier note, as you know, we were able to send Mia a care package with some presents (see earlier post if you missed them) and a local bakery was able to deliver a birthday cake for her.  Even more fun, the orphanage took some pictures of Mia and her cake (which looks super yummy)!  Still no pictures of her smiling with teeth!  :)  I hope you enjoy the new pictures as much as we have.

Happy Birthday Sweet Mia!

  

Upcoming Birthday!

What do you get a little girl for her birthday when you have never met her but love her with all your heart?  What if that little girl is your daughter?  What if you only had one website to shop from?  

As I was shopping for Mia's birthday package (she is turning 4 on Oct. 12) I went through so many crazy emotions and questions.  Of course we want to get her something she would love and know that we are thinking about her on her special day, but it pains me to say I do not know what she likes and I am completely shooting in the dark.  

Below is a couple of the pictures that Ann from RedThreadChina.com sent us of her birthday package.  She does such a beautiful job and is so kind and wonderful to work with.  We will also hire her as a tour/shopping guide while we are in China.  Right now she is really my only connection to our little Mia.  The little goat (no I never thought I would get my darling girl a stuffed goat for her birthday :)) is a character from a very popular cartoon in China that Mia (currently called Jing Jing) watches in her orphanage.  The necklace has the chinese symbol for love on it.  She will also have a 2 lb. cake (that sound really heavy to me) delivered to her orphanage by a local bakery for her, the kids, and the nannies to enjoy.  Ann has also requested that the orphanage take pictures of her at her birthday "party" with her cake and presents.  If they do, they will send them digitally to Ann and she will send them to us!  I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope we get to see pictures of her on her special day.  Pictures of her right now simply mean the world to us.  We also send her at least one letter a month (and one is also included in her birthday package) which Ann (from RedThreadChina.com) translates for us.  It is so difficult thinking of things to say to a almost 4 year old you never met, have loved in your heart for over 5 years, and yet do not know what she likes, dislikes, interests, or most importantly how she feels about her upcoming adoption.  

All that said, we are getting closer and closer every day with our paperwork and are still expected to travel some time in December.  WHOOOOO!