I have begun my new blog at http://www.lakeshoreladies.com

I will be posting there from now on, rather than my China blog. It's kind of sad, in some ways - I've been on this blog for two years now. But I'm also truly thrilled that we are home, we are settling, and I can start fresh with a new blog for journaling from home.

Of course, I will be keeping this blog online indefinitely, and will be printing it out and digitally archiving it for future reference. I also plan to expand on the blog on the new site, with additional pictures, etc. I hope everyone keeps up in the new spot; it's been very nice to have the support of family and friends, and you all are precious to me (even if I haven't had time to say so recently - I'm wiped!)

So, my dear Eleanor Zitao - you're home. Welcome home. Welcome to your new life with us, and welcome to your new family.

Yesterday was Eleanor Zitao's first day of kindergarten. She spent the morning with me at the university while I taught my undergrads and tutored in the lab, and I accompanied her to kindergarten in the afternoon. I have to say that I rather preferred the kindergarten section of the day.

We had debated putting her straight into first grade (since she was a first grader in China), but at this time of the year, I felt it was just too much to ask. I walked around the school with Eleanor on Monday, to give her a feel for the place, and the first graders were busily reading aloud in English. And they really did seem huge in comparison to little Zitao (who isn't much bigger than Gennie). There was no way she could feel comfortable in there right away. Her math skills are excellent, though, so I don't worry at all about that aspect of her education. I'm hoping to give her some extra practice with the math, so she doesn't lose that in the easier class. And if she catches up quickly, or even surpasses her peers, it's much nicer to push her forward a grade rather than holding her back.

Ms. Omer, the kindergarten teacher, is the kind of kindergarten teacher everybody would love to have. She's gentle, firm, and controls the children well without having to use harsh words. She's the right kind of teacher for little George, who wore his batman cape to kindergarten yesterday, and was having a hard time keeping his hand down because he had a lot to say about everything. (When he couldn't monopolize speaking time, he decided that poking his neighbor might be a good idea. Poor George got sent to the blue table - horrors.)

Eleanor was quiet and serious, as she usually is when she's in a new place or situation. She breezed through the "color this many jellybeans" exercise - this kid is well beyond coloring jellybeans - and proceeded to color an entire picture red, while the other kids drew pictures of lollipop trees and rainbows. The way her hands were moving as she colored, I could tell she was nervous. And coloring an entire picture red would take a long time, during which nobody would bother her - a good thing at that point. Anyway, none of the other kids could write their names in Chinese characters... she was one up on them there! (We have some great pictures of Eleanor's here at home - I apparently have a triangle shaped body, and a really big red heart or a really big red belly button - it's hard to tell which. And crazy hair, which I already knew about, of course).

They went to an assembly, and recess, and watched movies about hatching chicks (they are incubating some eggs these last weeks in kindergarten). I got to visit with the ESL teacher, who will be pulling Eleanor out for English practice at 2:00 every afternoon. The ESL teacher adopted a 13 year old from Russia some time ago, so she's well versed in older child adoption, and in English language acquisition. She told us to expect a number of years for true fluency, which I'm not terribly worried about. Zitao is getting along fine, even after two weeks. And Eleanor LIKES recess (what kid doesn't). She finally started to smile out there. And she smiled even more when Sarah came to claim her little sister at the end of class. They get to ride the bus home together - big, independent kids that they are. (I had to beat the school bus home, so I could be there to greet them on the other end. Eleanor was looking behind her in puzzlement when she saw me at the bus stop - how did Mommy DO that? She was just at school, and didn't get on the bus with us... hmm... magic.)

"Magic" about sums it up - everything still feels surreal. Of course, that could be the fatigue talking, too...

This past week has been full of all kinds of doctor visits. Monday morning, we went to the pediatrician, who ran blood tests, gave her shots, and took urine and fecal samples to check on her kidneys and whether she was carrying any unwanted parasites. While the needle pricks weren't the most reassuring way to start a doctor/child relationship, at least her tests all came back as normal. She did have a trace of blood in her urine, which may just mean she's fighting off a virus of some sort (we were told to expect that whenever she has a cold, etc.) Anyway, her kidney function came out fine, and her blood pressure was also good, which was reassuring. We were given the contact information for the kidney center at Children's Hospital, just in case we need anything in the future from them for Eleanor's glomerulonephritis.

We also had an opthalmologist appointment on Friday, to follow up on Zitao's failed vision screening in China. Fortunately, they are able to determine prescription strength without any behavioral participation during testing (very nice), and that was helpful, since Zitao was very quiet and visibly nervous about seeing any more doctors after that first visit!

Eleanor Zitao is seeing a whole new world in all kinds of ways - here she is in her brand new glasses:





I admit that I resorted to bribery to get her to pick out some frames. She was fine for the opthalmologist testing, and even having dilating drops put in her eyes. But she was NOT going to cooperate with putting on glasses frames. So we took a walk, bought some chocolate, and went back. I scolded her gently in Mandarin (which got a couple of interesting looks from passers-by), and told her she'd have her chocolate once she tried some glasses, which she DID need (I could see the "Yeah, according to YOU!" look in her eyes as I said that). Amazing what a little chocolate will do for one's disposition. She picked out a cute pair of blue frames, and I think they look good on her face. (They were also the one and only pair she would put on, so it's fortunate that they DID work!) When we went back to have them fit, she smiled as she put them on, and I saw the "aha" moment right away. So that's why mom's been torturing me all day.... so I can SEE!

Eleanor has been settling in well to our home routine. She has, of course, had her moments of testing us, to see what happens when she refuses to eat her rice and roasted porkchops (but chows down on the broccoli, go figure), and what happens when she pouts and says "no" to mommy's request to do something, etc. And what she has found out is that her parents won't let her eat whatever she wants all day (she'd eat nothing but fruit roll ups and tortilla chips if she had her way - typical kid), and that her mom will pick her up and move her to where mom wants her to be, whether or not she's whining about it. Darn - and here she was hoping it'd be Disneyland. Oh well.

On the other hand, we've seen her obvious pleasure in simple things, and that has been a joy to watch. She loves our cats. She loves that there's an entire pantry full of things to eat, and she loves being held as she explores the various brightly labeled cans and boxes. Zitao has been to the park across the street several times, and thinks that's pretty neato-keen, too. And she likes that she has the top bunk now (Sarah and Gennie switched rooms - Sarah decided she needed some space, and I don't blame her - Eleanor is pretty high maintenance as a roommate, so Eleanor is sharing with Gennie, now). I've enjoyed watching her play with baby dolls, as she walks them in a little pram, holds them close as she "feeds" them play bottles, and dresses them in layers and layers of clothes (like the babies at the Chinese orphanages). She's been so enamored with dolls, which is fun, since neither Sarah nor Gennie care much for dolls (Sarah is much more of a stuffed bear sort of person - and Gennie likes stuffed blue rabbits and friendly dinosaur friends). And as Grandma Jean and Grandma Joanne both know now, Eleanor really likes to talk on the phone. "Ni hao, ni hao! Hello! How are you?" (This is usually followed with an enthusiastic recital of the alphabet). "Wo ai ni, I love you! Bye bye!"

Eleanor is very excited to start school; she asks me every day how many more days it will be until she starts "xiao xue" (elementary school). I hope it will meet her expectations - and I hope she's not expecting something that won't happen (like a majority of Chinese kids, or lots of Mandarin-speaking folks). At least school will be somewhat familiar format-wise, since Eleanor did attend 1st grade in China. And thank goodness for the Chinese schools in Boulder - where there WILL be lots of Chinese kids and Mandarin-speaking folks.

I am not finding very much time for anything lately (surprise, surprise), let alone blogging, but I am soon to close this blog chapter, and will move my journal to a new space online. I want to focus on all of my girls (not just my Chinese babe), and upload some pictures of Gennie's birthday, and the girls with their Easter egg stashes, and talk about Sarah's writing, and Genevieve's queenly decrees, and everything that I adore about all of my children. I like journaling every so often, and want to create a better venue for an ongoing blog. So - very soon - my journal will be found at http://www.lakeshoreladies.com

I'll post here when it's live, and will have a link from lakeshoreladies.com to this journal, as well. :)

Sarah and Eleanor were painting in their nightgowns before bed tonight; I liked this picture of Eleanor Zitao. :)

"HEY, MA?" is something all of our neighbors are probably very familiar with, now. Eleanor picked it up from Genevieve (who else), and Eleanor has been using this particular method of getting my attention all day, and is a new honorary member of the Very Loud Club. Although Sarah was getting tired of it by the end of the day ("Here she goes with the "Hey Mas" again, Mom..."), I was really enjoying it. Zitao has been busily exploring her world, and she's been calling me to show me everything (hence the frequent use of "Hey, Ma?"), and it's been so fun to experience all of these firsts with a 6-year-old who really appreciates things!

One thing I can tell you she appreciates a LOT is food. She's been eating practically all day every day since she's been home, and I've been letting her have free rein. Of course, Sarah and Gennie have been following suit to some degree, but I figure they're all growing girls, and there are some unusual circumstances this week. Eleanor is eating all kinds of things, and since she weighed less than Genevieve a week ago in Guangzhou, she needs it. She's been drinking quite a bit of soy milk, too, which she seems to prefer to the regular skim we usually have around. She likes to play at feeding Dave and me, and enjoys being able to give and receive food treats in this way, with lots of exaggerated politeness, "Xie xie, Mama." (Thank you, Mama.) "Oh, no - xie xie Zitao!" (Giggles...)

Usually, once I respond to her "Hey, Ma?" she asks me to pick her up (well, she doesn't really ask - she stretches her arms up and smiles). She is definitely going to get me into shape this way! Then she points in the direction she wishes to go (usually towards the pantry), and she laughs as her gullible mommy bounces her on a hip and takes her wherever she wants to go. Her birthday is coming up next month - shall we get the empress a sedan chair, perhaps?

All three girls have been spending a lot of time outside, which has been good for their bodies and spirits. Eleanor thinks the play equipment in our back yard and at the park across the street is pretty neato-keen. Her joy is so evident during these times, that it makes everyone else around her happy, too.

It has been an emotional roller coaster, though. A couple of evenings ago, she had a very rough night, and she wailed and cried out loud for the first time since she's been with us (until now, she's had silent tears). I held her, and then her Baba, and she finally went to sleep. It was so hard to see her grieving, and I know it's probably not the last time, but I'm glad she is letting out her feelings. During the day, she's been a sunshiney little girl.

We've been inventing our own communication system to some degree, since my Mandarin isn't fluent, and her English is, of course, just emerging. So we have kind of a pidgin Mandarin/sign language/facial expression/English-learning thing going on. She parrots us a lot, and I don't think it will be long until she's a fluent English speaker. (I want to get her enrolled in the local Mandarin Chinese school soon, too, so she doesn't lose her Mandarin). Her Baba has been impressed by her already knowing the alphabet in English (we believe this is a recently acquired skill, as she was asking me about letter names only a few days ago, and today she was drawing them on the patio with chalk and naming them in English), and her ability to do math well beyond what most first graders can do. We feel lucky that she's learning so quickly.

Sarah and Genevieve have been adjusting to their new sister well, too. Genevieve has been having the harder time; I think she probably feels that her space has been invaded a bit - Eleanor is a very similar size despite being three years older, and has needed additional "babying." But I think Gennie is realizing that she is very loved, and is still my baby girl. And as Eleanor comes out of her shell, Gennie is finding a fun playmate, too!

And of course, I love the "Wo ai ni, Mama" (I love you, Mama) that Eleanor has been freely expressing lately. That and hugs and kisses have been coming unsolicited, and with sweet smiles. Between that and snuggles from my two other darling girls, what more can I ask for? Life is good.

If you are trying to get out of China and back to the U.S. (which, after two weeks of traveling with stressed-out small children, sounds REALLY good), I don't generally recommend taking the bus. I'll start from the beginning with this one.

We had an excellent guide from Heritage while in China (Kathy), and she was incredible about helping us with every detail before we even asked. She even found us the holy grail in China - pull-ups for Genevieve. We were sure that when we ran out that we were toast (and we had declined taking the Clark family's pull-ups, since they were going to give them to the orphanage, and how on earth can you take pull-ups that are going to be given to orphanage children?!). We were in China with a little kid who had totally gone south on potty-training because of the stress of the trip, and we were going to be at the Ladybug Corner laundry in Guangzhou for the rest of our trip, every single day, because we couldn't shove another pack of pull-ups into our luggage if we had used a crowbar. And wouldn't the hotel and restaurant staff love us, too - as our youngest daughter peed on everything she sat on. And NOBODY finds pull-ups in China. But lo - Kathy did! She could find ANYTHING! Kathy was awesome.

Kathy also found us a great alternative to taking the express train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong - the EEBUS. The bus went from Guangzhou directly to the Hong Kong airport. Well, almost directly. You have to stop in Shenzhen (border city before crossing over into Hong Kong), to go through customs and switch vans (because Hong Kong uses the British drive-on-the-left system). It was also cheaper. Cool. We wouldn't have to worry about taxis in HK, and it sounded great. Genevieve was also free of charge, since she was only 3 years old. We need to e-mail Kathy so she can warn the next families, though - the bus sounded great, but we had a few issues come up!

Well, we made it to Shenzhen, and got off the bus. And there we stood, trying to figure out where we were supposed to go, until somebody started yelling at us in Mandarin to get out of the way of another van which was backing up (so we herded the children and carted our luggage up to the office, which rather reminded me of many Greyhound stations in the U.S. - and it was equally as fun). We were told to unlock our luggage and hand it over to a guy who really looked like a bad guy from the movies or something. Scowl, greasy hair, fought with the agents at the desk (with much yelling and rude gesturing) before taking our now unlocked luggage into his van. Swell - here's our friendly van driver, taking our stuff to who knows where, while we wait in the bus station. He drives around to the other side (and I'm hoping we actually get to see our stuff again), while we enjoy the bus station restrooms, Gen gets sticky watermelon juice all over herself, and Eleanor Zitao aims badly in the squatty potty and has pee soaking her left pant leg. We also get to fill out more forms about who we are, where we're going, where we've been, and I attempt to copy our passport info at the counter while my children run in circles, screaming like banshees.

The agent behind the desk asks me in Mandarin if I speak Mandarin, I say "yi dian" (a little), and she rattles off something unintelligible to me, I tell her in Mandarin that I don't understand, and she tells me in halting English that we have to buy another ticket. Why? Because Gennie "looks" to be 4 or 5 years old. Oh, well, that's easy to prove wrong - so I show Gennie's passport, which clearly shows her birthdate as April of 2003. She's 3. The agents argue, "But it's 2007, so she's 4," I say, "Yes, but it's only March, she's not 4 yet." We continue in this vein, while I actually write out dates, pointing out the month, holding up three fingers, but no dice. They want 150 yuan if we expect to actually get to Hong Kong. So I pay it - I only had 160 yuan left to begin with, so we were lucky it wasn't more. Grrr, I was mad (especially since I heard one of the agents speaking in Mandarin about how the Americans didn't know what was going on "mei guo ren bu ming bai" - yeah, no kidding). And we wait in the bus station to be called to our van, with kids soaked in various sticky and stinky juices, and we haven't even gotten to the long part of the trip yet.

Thankfully we did get to the van (which had our stuff intact, as I found out while unpacking yesterday), and the driver got us to Hong Kong safely, scowly face and all. I gave him my last 10 yuan. I got Genevieve wiped off, and Eleanor into clean pants. And we went to a nice restaurant in the Hong Kong airport, where we were served by a friendly waiter who brought us dim sum and brought Gennie her plain noodles on the house after she wouldn't eat the noodles with beef and sauce.

Diane was wonderful about attending Gennie on the loooong flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco, as what little sleep I got was essentially involuntary. I was wiped out. Sarah and Eleanor were wonderfully well-behaved, and sat with their Baba. We arrived in San Francisco in the early afternoon (so weird that you actually get in earlier the same day with the time difference), and met my family there. Here are some great pictures from my Aunt Diana. It was so great to see my folks for a little while before catching our last flight.

On the plasma screen at the airport - apparently our folks could see us coming out of customs this way. I'm deciding whether I like that or not... in some ways it's nice, in others, it's kind of Big Brother (or, in this case, Big Grandpa). Of course, we're being watched on camera by somebody just about everywhere we are in the airport, so at least our family benefited from the cameras this way.

Grandma greeting her grandbabies - including the new one!

With my mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa Hill).

Eleanor Zitao with her Ponka (my grandfather, her great-grandfather)! I really like this picture of them together.

Talking, smiling, laughing, gabbing. Wish my family were closer - they came to SFO from Oregon just to see us for a few hours. Thanks, Mom, Dad, and Grandpa. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Diana were at the airport, too - fortunately, they live in the Bay Area. It was so good to see everyone. We love you guys.

We're smiling big, considering that we're about to get on yet another plane and have already been awake for longer than we cared to calculate. Fortunately the kids slept on the plane from SFO to Denver, and were good in the car from the airport home, too.

When we arrived home, Zitao ran around the house yelling, "Mama! Ni kan!" (Mama! Look!) She loves it here, and we're settling in nicely. She was afraid of the cats at first, but now laughs and pets them gently, saying "Hao xiao mao" (Good little kitty). She is asking for hugs, actually wants me to carry her around the house (big turnaround from Mommyzilla), and we've been playing a lot of hide-and-go-seek around here. It's so sweet to hear her little voice calling "Mama? Mommy?" as she searches the house - then squealing with laughter when she finds me behind a door, in the closet, etc. We also need to go the grocery store ASAP - we're out of Eleanor-friendly foods. She continually explores the pantry with me, tasting things, and giving me looks that say, "You people EAT this stuff?" Fortunately, she hasn't been picky to the point of having nothing to eat, and chowed down on roasted chicken, salad, ramen noodles, strawberries, and watermelon at dinner last night. She likes scrambled eggs in the morning with some orange juice, and she likes yogurt. She doesn't like to drink milk, though, so we'll have to work on that for the sake of calcium intake. (We'll probably get OJ with calcium added).

Next Monday is her first pediatrician appointment (fortunately, we already have her added to our insurance), and I'm going to try to get her in to see an opthalmologist, too. (I can't believe nobody noticed the eyesight issue before - she walks around squinting, poor kid!)

I hope to update every few days with reports from the home front. I feel very happy and blessed - it's all strange and new, and yet feels "right," like she's always been with us. I love all my daughters.

We made it home, it was a really long day (more like day and a half - about 36 hours of traveling with three kids - it was as fun as one might imagine).

I'll have stories soon of the trip home itself, including being fleeced by the bus company in Shenzhen (the border city in China before reaching Hong Kong). So glad we made it out of there; it could have been a much worse situation - but they did relieve us of our last yuan.

The children are bathed and snug in their beds, and the empty bed that has been waiting is now warm with a sleepy little Chinese girl.

Time for me to do the same - shower and bed are waiting - it's really good to be home!

Some of you noticed the blog had disappeared for a day - it was a server issue on the U.S. end, and the internet connection in Guangzhou has not been particularly robust in comparison to the other hotels we've visited, either. It's functional enough, though!

Yesterday was our last day of touring; we visited Yuntai Park, which was absolutely gorgeous. The huge dragons and other fabric sculptures were unique - I don't think I've ever seen a park like this. I personally preferred the plants - it was lovely to see all the green (since spring is only just starting in the Denver area)!

We also visited the International Toy Market, which was okay, but probably most interesting for the fun dodging traffic.

Today we go the consulate for our oath; we drive for a half hour to raise our hands and say "Yes," and then we're DONE! Tomorrow we leave early to catch a bus to Hong Kong and then our flight to SF. Bay Area folks: we get into SFO at 1:50 p.m. (PST), and leave SFO for DEN at 6:15 p.m. Hopefully you don't mind pointing us in the right direction when we get there; I don't think we'll be particularly "with it" at that point! :) We're looking forward to seeing you.

Anyway, here are some pictures from yesterday in Yuntai Park - it really was lovely.


Our family in front of the dragons (of course, you really should not meddle in the affairs of dragons - for you are crunchy and good with ketchup)...

Dave and the girls crossing the plaza...

Shopping is an interesting experience in China. Everything can be negotiated (some people find this fun; I prefer to know up front what I'm dealing with, part of my planner personality, I guess). I also don't like feeling like I have to talk somebody down from an obviously elevated price they give foreigners; I don't know who is getting cheated in the end - them or me. I think I may look kind (or stupid), and they decide to take their time in coming down to reasonable levels.

Some people are just dear to begin with, others are very aggressive about showing you everything in their store. I enjoy Michael's Place, if anyone knows their way around Shamian Island enough to know what I'm talking about. He and his wife have been very kind to our family, and fair in their pricing.

Today we walked around outside of the island, and saw more of what I would consider "real China." Shamian Island is like a garden paradise, and very geared towards the foreigners who have influenced the place so much. But just across the bridge are the people of Guangzhou going about their business in the usual Chinese way (of course, they too have been influenced by the foreigners, but it is not as blatant as Shamian Island's sort of China-ala-Disney surreal atmosphere).



We strolled down a street that included some very interesting Chinese pharmaceutical items, including longan, dried seahorses, dried starfish, dried snakes, mushrooms of all shapes and sizes, various seeds, nuts, dried plants, herbs, dried sexual organs of deer (why take Viagra when you can eat this stuff - okay, I can think of a few reasons), and many things I couldn't identify. Apparently the Chinese can't identify everything readily either, so it was labeled accordingly. Kathy told us about everything and what it was good for; Sarah decided the scorpions were a bit much for her, though.



Chinese markets always feel so busy and vast to me. So much stimulation, color, and items for sale are packed into one small area, which is further packed with hundreds of Chinese people, and even more packed with the small things one hardly notices (or really wants to notice). And of course, as you walk dazedly through the mazes of alleyway storefronts, you have to watch for bicycles, scooters, minivans, and other vehicles that would just as soon plow you over as stop (they all drive with their horn, you have to listen for it and jump out of the way!) We walked through the pet market, which housed many critters of every description. Many were in quarters that were far too small and overcrowded, and some were obviously unhealthy (although many looked okay, too). And while there were fluffy friends in their cages waiting to be purchased, the strays wandered nearby looking for scraps; a sad juxtaposition of the desired with the undesired animals of the city. I did see many very well-kept aquariums in the pet market, though, which I appreciated, with clear water and happy inhabitants. (Although many of the stock tanks were overcrowded, there were some gorgeous display tanks that included live plants and crystal clear water).



We also saw the juxtaposition of the well-to-do and the ignored humans of the city; there were huge shopping malls with many nice items, and just outside were the beggars (most of whom had disabilities) heckling for a yuan or two. They are quite aggressive about their begging, and while I wouldn't have minded giving them a meal and some yuan, we had been warned that some beggars wait for an open purse to take the opportunity to grab and rob you of as much as they can. So I guiltily avoided eye contact, and quietly hoped they would find food and warmth in some way without my help. After finishing a little shopping (we left with some children's DVDs in Mandarin and some socks), I herded the children into a taxi, since they were also disturbed by the attentions of the men poking them and asking them for money (as if gold would fall out of Gennie's hair), and held on for dear life as usual as the driver honked and swerved in the traffic. The taxi driver also took us on a longer ride than we had expected, until I asked him in Mandarin to please stop and let us out!

We have two more days in China before we take a bus to Hong Kong and fly to San Francisco and then home. I feel sad that our trip is ending so soon, and yet very glad to be going home and settling in. I will miss some things in China - the herbal tea, the sweet people, the Chinese grandmas, the incredible history, the gorgeous faces of the China natives, the delicious food. The red lanterns, the plants and birds. Even some of the unique smells will be missed. But, I am looking forward to drinking water out of the tap, to eating uncooked vegetables, to breathing in the clearer air, to people who know what a line (queue) is (shoving through the airport is tiring and tends to make you weary of people). I know Sarah and Gennie are tired of being grabbed (literally) for pictures, and I am personally looking forward to crosswalks, true non-smoking areas, and not feeling crowded in all the time. I guess I'm just a country mouse missing her Colorado home (which the Chinese would consider a TINY little town - under 5 million is small in their book)!

I know that Eleanor Zitao will further grieve her homeland when she arrives in Colorado. We have only had two weeks in China, and while there are many things we love about this country, we already ache for home. I can only imagine how this little girl will feel when the initial culture shock prolongs into weeks and months. Hopefully I can provide her with the basic comforts of familiar-ish food, and the sounds of her language via DVD, CD, and my lousy Mandarin attempts. We'll definitely need to stock up on the ramen noodles, watermelon, tomatoes, and rice. We'll also need to try to get her to eat something OTHER than those things! I'll get her enrolled in Chinese school - I really hope she can retain her language as she learns English. I'm also hoping it might inspire my other daughters to learn another language as well... guess we'll see how that goes!

New life, new home, new place in mama's heart... all waiting for her to decide to embrace them. I see a little more of her opening up every day.

Today was a better day. Thank you to everybody who has posted in the comments section during our trip, and to those of you who have e-mailed me. I don't always have time (or a reliable enough internet connection - in Guangzhou in particular) to respond, but I want you all to know that we love you and that seeing your support really, really helps.



Eleanor Zitao had her pre-visa medical appointment today. All children being adopted have to be seen by a doctor before being allowed to enter the U.S. Really, it's a pretty cursory glance; the docs are frankly more interested in making sure that some terrible illness isn't brought into the U.S., rather than a thorough examination of the child. Guangzhou has enough children being seen every year that an entire section of this Shamian Island clinic is designated for adoptees.



We did have one interesting development come out of her visit to the doctor - here Eleanor Zitao is seen holding a paddle used to block one eye during a vision screening, as she talks with one of the clinic docs. She's nearsighted, and has never had glasses. Poor kiddo - that explains some of the furrowed brows we've seen as much as her being worried about anything! The computerized prescription estimator thingamabob says that her vision isn't too bad (it isn't as bad as Dave's, and it's waay better than mine), so she won't need coke-bottles like her mama, but a trip to the eye doctor is now on the list of to-do's when we get home. Anyway, she'll be the first of our daughters to take after her parents when it comes to lousy vision!

And yes, she is small. She's taller than Gennie, but not by much (the doctors commented on what a nice, tall girl she is - for a Chinese girl, that is!), and she actually weighs less than Gennie. We need to get some food into her! The pants we bought her here are okay for the time being, but they're too short in the leg, and too big in the waist. Reminds me of some other daughters of mine, just a bit more extreme in this case! She's still requesting the "xigua" (watermelon), which is wonderfully healthy and full of vitamins, but not particularly fattening!



Eleanor has been getting more and more comfortable with us (yes, even with Mommyzilla) day by day. Today was a more relaxed day, which helped everybody's disposition. Getting out of the hotel room really helps, especially since this girl is into EVERYTHING. She's never been around so much stuff at one time, and everything she's been exposed to has been shared property. She picks everything up, and tries it. It's like having a much smaller child in some ways, except she does respond to redirection a bit better, and I've been trying to let her know what belongs to whom (ni de = yours, wo de = mine, Sarah de = Sarah's). She loves looking at pictures on the computer, and identifying people and things in the photos.

Today was a hard day. Really hard. Really really really hard. Amazingly, Zitao seems to be bouncing back better than I am. I'm feeling absolutely worn out and emotionally drained. We met Zitao's foster family, and they are incredibly beautiful people. I understand why Zitao would miss them. We also got to meet the new little girl who now gets to enjoy their love, since our adoption of Zitao made a space in their foster group. She's a sweet little one with a cleft lip, and so our adoption touches her little life, too - I know she will be cared for so well by these people. Here they are, with Zitao and the little one taking her space (but not her place - she's irreplacable).


A family photo:

Zitao's foster father took a day off from work just to meet us, and I'm sure that was a sacrifice for him. He and his wife are dear people who were so welcoming. We spoke briefly, and we thanked them for all they had done to care for her these past few years (she joined them when she was about 4). They thanked us for adopting her, and asked us to take good care of her (which of course we promised to do). And they smilingly introduced us to their newest foster daughter, who was toddling happily around the place. Zitao had some tears, and her foster father began to cry. In Chinese culture, crying is frowned upon for men, so I know he loved this little girl dearly and his heart hurts to see her go. His wife had tears starting to come as well. I wiped away some of my own, and we were ushered out quickly by the assistant director, who I'm sure was trying to avoid a scene. They did get our contact information, so hopefully we'll receive a letter from them soon in Colorado.

We were taken out to lunch by the orphanage director, who expressed thanks for the donations we provided the orphanage (with some help from other adoptive parents)! We delivered all of the care packages directly to their intended recipients. :)

Here we are, leaving the orphanage grounds, Zitao holding her new sister's hand:

Interestingly, Zitao has been doing better since seeing her foster parents. Maybe she has decided we're not kidnappers. Perhaps it did her good to see us all together. She is speaking more English, and I'm speaking more Mandarin. She points to things and says, "Yes!" when she wants something, and she repeats me when I name things for her. It is obvious that she loves her new sisters, and she prefers her Baba's hand when out and about. She knows I'm the pushover, so she asks me for candy. She does respond to "bu" when she needs discipline, so that's good. (And she joins me in counting when Gennie is pushing limits - "One!... Two!.... Thlee!" - she's great at imitating my warning tone of voice, too!) I've been getting more smiles lately, and I don't feel quite so much like the invader of her world. It was an emotional day for everyone, but ultimately very worth it.

Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou, for our last stop in our journey before returning home. Guangzhou is where we get the immigrant visa from the US Consulate for Zitao; she becomes a U.S. citizen automatically upon returning home.

Today was a day of learning for us - learning about Eleanor Zitao's hometown of Hefei and its people. We visited several places that gave us a more complete idea of what Hefei is really like. First, we visited the memorial temple of Lord Bao, an official from the Song dynasty who was known for his excellent moral character and judgment. His hometown was Hefei.

Zitao decided her Baba's was a good hand to hold for most of the day today. It was very sweet to watch the girls with their daddy - he had a small girl on each hand for a good part of the day.



The temple is surrounded by a beautiful park, which includes this lake (Lake Baohe). Genevieve and the other girls fed the fish in the pond later on with some stale bread. We also visited their small gift shop, and bought a few things (one notable item was a book of photos of the Hefei area).

Zitao has been dragged all over creation in the first few days of being with us; with each new day, her face brightens a little more. She is usually rather somber walking around town with us; she has never had these kinds of experiences before. She is ANYTHING but somber at the hotel room, though, and she is truly darling as she follows me around repeating words and laughing at my Mandarin. She loves helping me wash things.... I wonder how long THAT will last! I love playing with her hair and dressed her in her new clothes today, too - I wonder how long she'll be patient with her mommy fussing over her, too!

After visiting the temple of Lord Bao, we went to a local bookstore and shopped for children's books. We found several that were written in English and Mandarin with both pinyin and Chinese characters. Eleanor has been enjoying thumbing through them, and they are serving us well in terms of language learning, too. She is becoming more vocal about repeating what she hears, and she's not as afraid to let us know what she wants as she was in the beginning.

We were tired and Gennie was grumpy, so we ordered room service for lunch. After lunch, David and Troy (Troy and his wife are also adopting through Heritage) went shopping for the orphanage. They ended up buying a new washing machine and 100 pairs of children's shoes to donate (yay)! We had served as transport for infant blankets from Love Without Boundaries, and brought along some school supplies from the U.S. as well. It feels good to be bringing them some much needed items. We visit the orphanage tomorrow, and will hopefully also meet Zitao's foster parents (most likely just her foster mother - her foster father likely will be at work and unable to meet with us). I expect it will be a good, but emotionally difficult day tomorrow; I hope that Zitao is okay. We will be bringing her sisters along to put her more at ease.

Speaking of emotionally difficult, we also had a chance to see and photograph Zitao's finding place today. The Hefei bus station is within walking distance of our hotel. This is the building where she was abandoned as a newborn, with a bag of formula and a bottle.

When we went inside, Kathy saw my expression (I was fighting back tears), and was quick to reassure me that Zitao remembered none of this. I nodded quickly and said, "I know, I know," and quickly got back to snapping pictures, hiding behind my camera lens. It was good to see in many ways - it was cleaner than I had expected, and it was quiet when we visited. There were many pillars inside, which I'm sure made it easier to leave a baby unnoticed during a busy time. Although Zitao may not remember (consciously, at least) being left, I'm sure her birth mother does remember very well, and I ache for her loss. Still, I'm glad to have the pictures to show Zitao someday, when the questions are asked and she is trying to piece together what we know about her history. Hefei is where Zitao was left, and I hope she remembers that it is also where she was found. And I believe that everyone who has found her has loved her well. I feel honored that we have been chosen to love her forever.



After leaving the Hefei bus station, we walked to a street market nearby. This is where families come to meet their everyday needs for food and supplies. Mamas buy fresh meat (butchered that morning - chickens butchered while you wait, yum), and vegetables to cook for the day's meals. You can buy herb medicine, the right kind of live eel to cook for pregnant women, rope, shoes, steamed buns, you name it. There was even a station to have your blood pressure checked by doctors in the alley. You have to keep on your toes, as always - motorbikes regularly streak up and down the alley at breakneck speeds through the crowds.



Genevieve was treated like a movie star, as usual (Ta shi hen piao liang! = She is so pretty!) Believe it or not, she's actually getting a little tired of the attention (usually she's quite happy to have the spotlight squarely on her - even better, an outlet for LOUD sound). Zitao isn't used to the stares, either, and I'm getting a little tired of people assuming that we don't understand them. (Several people have asked Kathy whether I'm somebody's mother, and I always try to answer before Kathy can with "Shi. Wo shi ta de mama." (Yes. I am her mother.) Inevitably this is cause for surprise from the person asking, and they turn to their neighbors to talk about the "mei guo ren" (American) who can speak a little Mandarin. I can't really be angry, though - they all are very sweetly interested in us, wish us well, have offered to give us things to remember them by (one woman in the street market wanted to give us a meal!), and have only wanted a picture or to stroke Genevieve's hair for a moment. I did find it fairly funny that a group of teenagers with pink and blue hair and ripped jeans and spiked jackets found US to be the weirdos worthy of a stare, though!

Well, I'm off to bed. It was a good day for Zitao (no breakdowns today, which can't be said for all of my children - Gennie is always happy to oblige in that department), and we are thrilled to be here. We'd be even more thrilled if we were better rested!

The last day has been both exhilarating and exhausting, glorious and difficult, happy and very sad. After a very gleeful day of playing with her sisters yesterday, Zitao became withdrawn at bedtime. I came to her and saw that she was on the verge of tears, and told her it was okay. She began to sob, and so I sat for a good half hour with her, just rocking while listening to a Mandarin lullaby CD. During that time, we called our guide in to ask (in better Mandarin than mine) if there was anything else besides missing her foster family that was wrong - and the answer was no. She was just very well loved by her foster parents at the orphanage, and missed them (the orphanage hires older couples to care for groups of up to 6 orphanage children in apartment-style dwellings on the orphanage grounds - Zitao was in this type of housing for the past few years). Zitao came to us in the typical multitudinous layers of clothes that many Chinese children wear. One of her layers was a sweet, peach-colored hand-knitted sweater. Her clothes were clean and her long hair brushed, and her pockets were stuffed with lollipops, and she wore a bead bracelet that I'm sure her foster family gave to her as well. So - she leaves a foster mom who obviously cared about her very much. Another good lady and her husband have taught this little girl what being in a family means, and have taught her how to love and attach. I owe them so much, and can only imagine how they'll miss her, as well. We hope to maintain contact with them somehow (giving them contact information has to be done discreetly).

After crying for a little while last night in my lap, she told me she was tired, and fell instantly asleep once in bed next to Sarah. This morning she had smiles, and ate a lot of watermelon (and not much else) at breakfast. She alternated between quiet play by herself (during which she made it clear she wished to be alone by moving away from whomever approached), and giggling with her sisters, while avoiding me most of the time. Zitao has shown us her smarts, in that she likes to watch Sarah draw and write, and is able to produce amazing copies of whatever Sarah has done. Her penmanship is wonderful for a 6-year-old, too - copying the English words Sarah writes with perfect accuracy! Despite maintaining some distance at times, she allowed me to dress her and brush her hair, and ate a good lunch. We went shopping this morning for clothes, and she had her first visit ever to a department store and her first escalator ride. While I asked her which items she liked best, Zitao just couldn't choose - just way too much new stimulation to process, I think. Her size isn't much bigger than Gennie's - and she's tiny in the waist. Shopping for pants for this girl in America will be interesting! She allowed me to hold her hand as we braved the Hefei traffic (forget pedestrian right of way in China!), but only somewhat reservedly.

This afternoon we finished the legal adoption paperwork at the Civil Affairs office. Zitao came alone with us, while Di watched Sarah and Gennie. The orphanage director was there, and Zitao cried again as the orphanage director reassured her that all would be well. It's heartbreaking to watch her grieve (it makes me cry, too, although I try to make sure she doesn't see me tear up), and yet I know it is a necessary and good thing for her to work through.

After coming back to the hotel, Zitao saw her sisters, and went back to chasing them merrily around the pillars in the hotel lobby before dinner. She ate very well at dinnertime (and laughed at the antics of another adoptee - a 20 month old - as that little one bopped her new parents on the head with a spoon), and held Dave's hand on the way back to our room. Sarah and Dave departed for a swim in the hotel pool, and I stayed with Zitao and Genevieve while they enjoyed a warm bubble bath. Zitao loves the bath, and she is her best self in there. She pretended to pour me a drink with plastic bottles and cups, and then pretended to wash the dishes with her washcloth. This was repeated several times, with her laughing as I pretended to drink the soapy water with much smacking and slurpy sounds (by the way - never actually drink tap water in China, let alone bath water!) She chattered to me in Mandarin, and laughed at her Mama trying to repeat what she said. And she said, "Gennie!" and "Bubbles!" and "All right!" and was just very, very cute. And then she gave me the best gift of my day: she came up close and put her forehead against mine, looked straight into my eyes, and grinned.

The rest of the evening went very smoothly; after I helped her into her pajamas, she followed me around with a disposable camera, and I made funny poses for her and was apparently good entertainment that way. She listened to a story (Gennie's favorite: "Bad Kitty"), and brushed her own teeth. As Gennie crawled under the covers, I saw Zitao's brow lower a little, and I said, "Shall we go watch a movie?" and her face brightened and she followed me onto my bed and pointed to a Wallace and Gromit DVD. She laid on the bed next to me (with Gennie, as Gen was NOT going to miss Wallace and Gromit when Mom was being such a terrific pushover), and Zitao fell asleep while watching.

So, I carried this sweet, tenderhearted, lovely little girl into her bed, covered her warmly, and kissed her little forehead. Today China said she's my daughter, and my heart agrees.

SHE'S HERE! And she's absolutely wonderful. She was quite frightened and unsure of things at the Civil Affairs office, as to be expected, but she has begun to blossom back at the hotel room.

Zitao and another baby from the same orphanage were coming in the door of the Civil Affairs office right behind us. So, we were able to turn around and snap a few photos of the first time we saw her in China.

Here we are, meeting for the first time. She was so petrified, although she was trying to smile at us despite her fear. She had been very well prepared by the orphanage staff, and had brought us a little box of chocolate. I told her in Mandarin that it would be okay, and "bie pa" - don't be scared. We brought her some sweet milk, candy, and rice cookies. She refused all but the sweet milk, which she tentatively sipped on the bus as we returned to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we got some BIG, BEAUTIFUL smiles! She and the other girls started to play happily together, and language was no issue when it came to running around the room and screaming! I'm so glad we brought Sarah and Gennie, they are our best ambassadors.

Playing with their stuffed lovies.

Three little monkeys, laughing on the bed!

So, maybe this family is okay!

Zitao with her new jie jie (big sister).

I'll write more later - for now, I want to get back to my darling new daughter. We are so blessed and happy.

I was so exhausted last night; while I had hoped to post, I just had no energy left to think. We visited the Great Wall, took a tour of the hutong, and watched an acrobatics show in the evening. We ordered room service and put on a DVD; and I fell asleep almost before finishing dinner. Dave even had to eat my dessert for me (I'm sure that bothered him). :) I'm glad that we have been kept as busy as possible during our days in Beijing. It has given us new appreciation for our new daughter's culture and home. So now, we are not only in love with a little girl's face in a picture, but also with her people and her land. It has also helped us adjust to the time difference, and has helped keep us from getting too anxious about big upcoming events - of course, now we're just crazy people knowing that we'll be with our new daughter in a matter of hours. Our guide in Beijing, Lily, was absolutely one of the most special people we've ever met. We hope to stay in close contact with her after we leave China.

Earlier today, we left the hotel in Beijing and took a short flight to Hefei. We have checked in to our hotel here, and will receive Zitao tomorrow morning. Tonight we went to dinner with the Clark family, who are also adopting from Hefei, and we're trying to rest in preparation for a BIG DAY tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from yesterday (in other words, what I didn't have the energy to post last night)! The Great Wall was quite simply, amazing. We climbed to the very top tower, which apparently rather few folks manage to do. Even Gennie went all the way to the top, although she had some help from her Daddy's shoulders at times. (Our guide said it was an elevation gain of 880 meters in total - that's a lot of stone steps to climb!)

At the bottom of this section of the Great Wall, we pose for a picture (we decided to go ahead and buy a book that some vendors were selling with photographs of the Wall, that included a portrait of us in front of it).

The beginning of our amazing walk with history.

Here is the great climber, 3-year-old Genevieve, making her way up the steps of the Great Wall of China.

We could see other sections of the Great Wall from where we were.

Inside one of the guard towers. (Sarah and Genevieve were running around, playing hide and go-seek and tag, not quite grasping the concept of who had been there in times past and for what reason - I kept imagining the Chinese guards with their torches in the cold night air, watching for signs of the northern enemy).

Posing with our guide extraordinaire, Lily, at the top of this section of the Great Wall.

Looking down at what we had already climbed. Did I mention I did this with a pack that weighed about 20 pounds? Oh, and Dave did it carrying 46-pound Genevieve most of the way. I carried her a good part of the way back down... should have thought about that eventuality (what goes up must come down, including tired toddlers)!

I love this picture of Sarah; she thought this outing was really fantastic.

Genevieve and her Daddy - Genevieve enjoyed this mode of transport quite a bit on the ascent.

After our adventure on the Great Wall, we sit in front of a stone tablet, which according to Lily (and I'm trusting her on this one) - it says, "You are not a hero until you have climbed the Great Wall." So - here we are, heroes four, with the fifth and sixth helping us with the camera work.

Our next tour was of the hutong district in Beijing - ancient sections of the city that include many centuries-old buildings of the common people. The tour is taken via rickshaw (pedicab), which Sarah thought was marvelous. It was my favorite part of the day, too, but for a different reason (other than the "wheee" factor). The hutong district is full of families living in these ancient stone houses, with no plumbing to speak of. Many families along a particular alley will share a public toilet. There are small shops that look like they might have looked ages ago, vegetables and essentials piled colorfully in wooden carts, and the whole area is vibrant with people who make do with what they have in the most special way. While the streets are dirty and the smell is certainly interesting, the insides of these houses are kept perfectly clean and bright, and the residents are proud of their dwellings. I know this because we were invited into the home of one of the elderly hutong residents, and we felt honored to spent some time around a small table in her living area.

Here are the rickshaws on their way around the hutong. Di and Gennie are up front, and Dave and Lily are in the next.

As we walked towards the home of our gracious host, we passed children doing what all children love - playing in a big ol' pile of dirt.

Our hutong tour guide is on the left (in the hat), and our gracious hostess of the hutong is on the right. She showed us several items that she was very proud of, including furniture which has been in her family (and in this particular home) for hundreds of years, and items that she had made herself out of beads, and other handiwork. We also met her pet cats (she surpasses us with a total of seven cats; I'm sure they get more work than ours do), and several lucky grasshoppers which lived in small wooden cages near the front door. The furnishings were very traditionally Chinese, and she was absolutely dear to invite us in and show us what her life is like. From now on, whenever I think of China, I will think of this woman and her life in the hutong.

After the hutong tour, we went to an amazing acrobatics show. Later, these Chinese lions balanced themselves on a large ball.

This is what I always think of with Chinese acrobats - the ladies spinning dishes on flexible rods. Later on, some other women acrobats performed tricks involving large numbers of people piled high upon small numbers of bicycles. Gave a new meaning to the term "mass transit."

Well, I'm signing off for the evening. My next post will include pictures of us with our new daughter! We meet in the lobby to go to the Hefei Civil Affairs office in about 12 hours.... not that anybody's counting....

I'm about to be a mommy again. (This is the best I've felt 12 hours before gaining a daughter, I can tell you that!)

We had quite the touring day in Beijing today. I'm tired, but wanted to share a few of the hundreds of photos I took today. It was hard to choose which ones to share - it was an amazing day. Our guide, Lily, has been wonderful, and we've been having many terrific adventures. Our driver, Mr. Su, has impressed us no end with his ability to deftly navigate the smallest gaps in the most congested city traffic we've ever seen. The food in particular has been good, but I'm wanting to eat a little less of it tomorrow - our guides love to pour on the fancy multicourse meals, and we've all been stuffed, with food left over on our plates and serving bowls. We all loved the soup we had tonight with bok choy and seafood, even though the prawns still had their feelery bits and eyeballs (it was a little disconcerting that our food was still looking at us, but we laughed about it and were glad we tried it anyway)!

Tomorrow we visit the Great Wall, tour the hutongs of Beijing (ancient commoner homes), and watch an acrobat show in the evening. The next day we fly to Hefei, and then meet our new daughter on the 19th, which makes me emotional to even think about at this point, so I'm just trying to enjoy the days as they come. I've been in awe of this place and its people, and we are combining the most amazing tours of our lives with an amazing life-changing addition to our family. It is truly overwhelming. I feel that China is gifting our family in so many loving ways; we are blessed to be here.

Anyway, here's our day in pictures:

Gennie begins the day with some made-to-order eggs at the hotel's breakfast buffet.

We smile in front of Chairman Mao's mauseoleum. Possibly because we're glad to be on the outside of the mauseoleum, rather than preserved inside of a crystal coffin being displayed to morbidly curious tourists. And that whole being dead part would stink, too.

Genevieve and her Daddy grin in front of an ancient watch tower - perhaps glad not to have been mistaken for invading barbarians, although it was a close call for the guards to have to make.

We were not allowed on Tiananmen Square today, and could only view it from the outside, since there is a large congressional meeting in Beijing today and security had been stepped up significantly. I decided it was probably bad form to attempt to tickle one of these guys to see if they are capable of smiling. I did keep smiling at them anyway, just to see if one of them would smile back. They are very well trained fellows, and look wonderfully sharp in their green uniforms.

This would be the second city in which I've experienced Olympic games preparations. (Salt Lake being the first). Beijing has the fun construction, too, guys (this is aimed towards those family members who also lived in SLC during Olympic prep and know what I'm talking about)! Our tour guide, Lily, was fantastic and very knowledgeable during all of our tours during the day, and also was interested in hearing about what aspects of SLC had improved as a result of the games. We tried to give her hope, but they already have light rail, and their housing prices have gone sky high.

The stares continued today, and the requests for photo ops began. The girls made some very cute little friends this way. The Chinese people are friendly and curious, and once we became used to the unsolicited attention, we had some fun (if somewhat language-barrier bound) conversations.

Dave-man and Chairman Mao.

Our family smiles in front of the Forbidden City.

Genevieve and Di check out some water urns and some beautiful architecture.

Another friend made in the Forbidden City

I think the U.S. needs some help in this area - we, too, should consider having mystical animals on our rooflines. I think they're lovely (and rather cute)!
The emperor had some very pleasant living areas. One would hope something would suit him in the thousands of rooms available in the Forbidden City (the legend holds that the emperor had 9,999 1/2 rooms, so as to fall just short of the God of Heaven's home of 10,000 rooms, and thus not appear prideful or presumptuous). In actuality, he had less than 9,000 - which surely would put him at the top of the humble list, right?
The Forbidden City really is that - a city! This place is huge!

A statue in the imperial gardens.
We visited a tea shop after our tour of the Forbidden City. I bought a jasmine flower tea that actually blooms into a flower in hot water when it is used - it tastes as heavenly as it looks, too.
After lunch, we visited a silk factory and the Summer Palace. The silk factory was very interesting, and we got to see where the silk was made and spun. The gift shop was a bit of a tourist trap, and the salespeople follow you around everywhere trying to get you to buy things, but I didn't mind too terribly since the store had lovely items. I settled on a silk table runner for our dining room.

This is a view of the long corridor in the Summer Palace. The entire length was handpainted with detailed small murals that were amazing in terms of their depth of color and their sheer number!
Near the Marble Boat in Kunming Lake, Summer Palace, Beijing.
I loved how this building looked with the trees in the background; so many of these places were gorgeous beyond belief.

On the plane. For a really long time!

View from our hotel window

We're in Beijing!

Walking around downtown Beijing

We're waiting for room service to show up here at the New World Courtyard hotel in Beijing, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to say WE'RE HERE! Everything so far is going as smoothly as we could have hoped for. We didn't even get charged for overweight baggage.

We've actually been here since about 11 a.m. Beijing time, (about 9 p.m. on the 14th, Denver time), after having been traveling for over 24 hours straight - and that's not even counting getting to the airport early, having gone to work earlier on the 13th, etc. So, by the time we finally checked in to our hotel, I had been awake for close to about 40 hours straight, and was not really firing on all thrusters, shall we say. :) I had this idea that I'd try to keep everyone awake until at least 7-8 pm tonight before giving in to sleep, but we all involuntarily conked out around 5, and Di woke me up just a little while ago (it's about 11:40 pm here right now). So much for that idea. (Di said she had actually tried waking me before, but that I wouldn't wake - she said it must have been an indicator of my grave need for sleep; I think she just needs to talk to my mom about my high school days).

The girls have been INCREDIBLY good. Genevieve cried once, for about 10 minutes total during the entire journey. Sarah was just Sarah - a happy kid who goes with the flow. We took a United Airlines flight from Denver to San Francisco (it was okay, not spectacular), and a Cathay Pacific flight from SFO to Hong Kong and on to Beijing. The Cathay flight was wonderful in terms of service, but short in terms of leg room. It was a long flight to have my knees against the back of the seat in front of me; I can only imagine Dave's situation (since he's 4 inches taller than I am at 6'2"). I'm guessing it was setup with its Hong Kong clientele in mind, I imagine I'm rather taller than their typical traveler.

Once we arrived in Beijing and through customs, Heritage's Beijing representative, Kathy, was right there to pick us up, usher us to a van, and get us settled (it was SO good to see her face when we emerged from the terminal)! The drive from the airport to the hotel was interesting in and of itself, with a strange juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern. We passed skyscrapers under construction swathed in green, right next to watch towers from the Ming dynasty (which Kathy casually pointed out as we passed on the freeway). After checking in at our hotel, we took a walking tour of the area around our hotel with Kathy. She took us to a noodle shop for lunch (unfortunately Gennie had a temporary breakdown during which she fretted about dropping her chopsticks, and that she couldn't eat soup very well with chopsticks, and that she needed more chopsticks, and she wasn't really hungry for food, but she wanted her CHOPSTICKS - Kathy was very gracious in acknowledging that Gennie was one tired little girl at that point), and we visited the local market to buy some supplies. I'm hoping to get back to the market to take some pictures, it was an amazing place with lots of fresh produce and meat being prepared on the spot. It also felt very festive with the red lanterns hanging everywhere inside.

Everywhere we go I notice that we are the subject of much curious attention from the residents of Beijing. Sarah in particular garners attention for her thick, curly, light-colored hair. Several Chinese grandma types have stopped to touch Sarah's hair and to pinch Gennie's cheeks. I'm trying to get used to being eyed up and down (if we're a novelty here, I can only imagine what reactions we may get in places like Hefei), but I have to admit that it makes me a bit self-conscious!

Tomorrow, we go on tours of Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. For now, I'm going to go eat some food (a funny note - the hotel had their Western menu, but not their Chinese menu, available at this late hour - of course, their "Western" menu included congee...), and then I'm going to hop into bed. Being horizontal sounds SO good right now!

It's amazing that we'll meet our daughter in a few short days; it still hasn't really registered that we're really HERE! (Di and I were discussing that it feels so much like walking around San Francisco's Chinatown, or any place in the U.S. where there's a heavy Chinese influence - it just felt too "easy" somehow to get here, even with the long flight).

Anyway - we're healthy, we're happy, we're HERE, and we're just in awe.

It looks too disorganized to be packing, I know. And what a lot of junk we're trying to pack! You'd think we were going to China, or something. But this is what your house looks like when you're trying to get four people (most of whom need some kind of packing help, we won't name names) out the door while trying to take care of everyday life stuff at the same time.

Fortunately, the status of this mess has improved quite a bit, things have been culled, organized, and put into suitcases. I made a last minute run to Target to buy Sarah some jeans *without* holes in the knees (that girl is pretty hard on her clothes!), and a swimsuit that doesn't give her a wedgie because she's grown six feet since last summer (hopefully I found a wedgie-proof one - she needs to try it when she gets home from school). Dave and I have moved from being dazed and worried to being focused and excited, and we're leaving in a matter of hours for the Denver airport.

Eleanor is probably fast asleep right now (it's about 4 a.m. where she is), and I wonder if she knows we're coming. I wonder what she dreams about. She only has a few more nights until we come, and she's with us forever.

My next blog entry will be from Beijing!!!!

It's been hitting me this weekend that we're really headed to China. I'm so nervous and excited - it's probably a really good thing that I have 15 hours to chill on the plane!

I think I had gotten so used to waiting, that the travel approval really felt like a surprise, even though I knew it was coming.

You'd think that with the number of things I have to do before we leave, that I wouldn't have time to be anxious, but I really am. I know thousands of other families have gone to China, adopted a child, and come back in one piece. I just can't believe that we're going. It's strange and powerful, and I'm looking forward to it and I'm worried at the same time.

And then I look at that little face in the picture, and realize that this gift from China is worth all the nervousness in the world.

Today we made sure we had all the forms we needed before leaving for China. There's a stack for the Chinese adoption procedures, and a stack for the US immigration procedures. The stack for the US procedures is thicker (surprise, surprise), and includes my favorite form: the I-864-W, Intending Immigrant's Affadavit of Support Exemption. What is this form, you may ask? It's a form you fill out to be exempt from filling out a form.

Gotta love America.