Day 2

Today we visited the Great Wall, toured a jade factory, and rode in a rickshaw and toured an area of "old Beijing" called Hutong. Our guide Forst was with us the whole time. He has really been lovely. He insists on opening all doors for me, and when I opened the car door myself one time....he was almost offended.

We left the hotel and, first went to the Great Wall it really was amazing, especially considering the terrain and that it was all built by hand. It was definitely an aerobic workout too! The steps are not at all even. Sometimes you are stepping up about 2 feet and the next step might be 3 inches.....and it is SO STEEP! I didn't really enjoy going down the steps, but certainly my heart wasn't racing as much as when we were heading up the stairs. Here are just a few of the pictures from the Great Wall.

After we were done touring the Great Wall, we toured a Jade factory. We had lunch there, which was actually pretty good. Our guide ordered all the food for us. There was a couple things that I didn't care for, but overall pretty good.

This is a carving out of Jade....they told us this took 3 years for 2 men to carve this ship. You could buy this for the bargain price of $62,000! Not all things in China are cheap!

 Another Jade carving.

TJ being....well, TJ. If you can't tell, this is a bull showing TJ who is boss.

Here is a picture of us in the rickshaw for our tour of Hutong..."old Beijing"

It was really a great day. The weather here is beautiful right now. The guide told us the best time to visit Beijing is in April or October....so I guess we lucked out!

We are now headed to our adoption orientation, we also have several more tours planned today. We will have another family joining us today.

-katie

The trip over to China

Our trip into China was fairly uneventful. We had just a couple hiccups on the way, but on the whole, the flights we good and almost all the people we have come in contact with have just been so lovely

I'll tell you about the only little hiccups that we had (which were all really very minor)....starting in the DesMoines airport. They weighed our bag and it was over 50lbs...so we had to go buy a small bag at the airport gift shop to carry on with us and pack a few things in that. (TJ got to carry a "purse" with him on the plane) So there we were in the hallway of the  DesMoines airport with our luggage open and repacking things....nice. But it got us under the 50lbs, and we didn't have to pay the $200 fee for having an overweight bag. The lady helping us was very nice and patient which we really appreciated.

Another hiccup, we had our flight delayed by about 3.5 hours in Chicago....so our 5 hour layover became an 8.5 hour layover. Oh well, not a big deal, and it made for interesting people watching.

The most annoying little hiccup on the journey so far......was the very rude man that sat next to TJ on our 13 hour flight. We initially had a very nice man sitting next to us. Then they moved him because there were extra seats. The stewardess was lovely and said that way we could all stretch out a little better....well 10 minutes later, she comes over and says..."There's a man several rows ahead that has a broken entertainment screen and he want to be in an aisle seat so she is going to move him next to us" Well...so much for stretching out right!? From the moment that he sat down next to us he was so rude, complained about almost everything...and then slept almost the entire time and didn't even watch anything on the monitor screen that was the whole reason he moved beside us.....NICE. I might have whispered to TJ a couple times that I wanted to punch him in the nose.....but not to worry....I restrained myself ;-) ....kill them with kindness right?!?!

Anyways.....we are here to get our precious little girl, and none of those silly little "hiccups" matter at all!

Today we are off to the Great Wall. Our guide is very nice...he asked us to call him "Forst." He said "You know Forst from the movie Forest Gump." Better go so we can meet "Forst" in the lobby!

-katie

Almost time

We leave for the airport in approximately 5 hours....I should really be sleeping right now, but obviously I am not. I am so excited to go get our Cora, but tonight I am really struggling with the idea of leaving the other 3 for 2 weeks. Just typing that has brought tears to my eyes.

I have never left my kiddos for more than a couple days prior to this. I have no doubt that my Mom and Dad can handle them....it just makes me sad right now that I will not be the one taking care of them every day. (Mom, if your reading this....I do not doubt for a minute that you will do a great job in my absence, just missing them already)

I am also thinking of Cora tonight. I am wondering at 17 months old....if they have prepared her at all for what is about to happen, and how do you really prepare a child for their entire world to be completely turned upside down. Now I know in the long run, having a family that loves her is the most important thing, but please pray that God is preparing her heart to join our (crazy) family. I am so happy that the time has finally come to go get her, yet I am feeling sad about what she is going to have to go through to become part of our family. Does that make sense???

Anyways....better go rinse my hair color out....yes I am coloring my hair at 11pm, and I have to be at the airport by 4:30am. Don't want my gray hairs to scare our sweet girl....lol! I am totally rambling....the next time I update will probably be from Beijing.

-katie

Countdown...

We are down to 36 hours now, and we will be on a plane heading for Chicago. Then from Chicago to Beijing....I can hardly wait! I am so excited, but at the same time dreading leaving the 3 kiddos at home. I know they will be well cared for...I have just never left them for more than a couple days.

My baby girl is going to be in my arms in 6 days! Just thinking about it makes my heart do little flip flops in my chest! We're coming Cora....I pray that God is preparing your heart for all the changes that you will have to experience to become part of our family. We love you little one!

-katie

Guess who is 9?!?!

This special little lady had a birthday yesterday!

I can't believe my first baby is 9 years old already! How did that happen so quickly!?! She had a great day. The kids are on spring break right now so she got to have her party during the day yesterday. She wanted to go out for pizza and go bowling with her friends....so that is what we did.

She celebrated her special day with these special little ladies.

They had lots of fun...and we (Me, TJ, and my Mom) found it quite exhausting to keep track of 5 extra children in a busy bowling alley....but it was all worth it! Because our girl had a great day, and you could tell she felt so special all day.

Another picture of the group when they had just finished bowling.

Yes, if you are wondering that is an alligator (or crocodile...I don't know the difference). We went bowling at Uncle Bucks in Bass Pro.They have black light bowling, and the bowling balls come back to you via the crocodile's (or alligator's) mouth. They also have shark, and whale bowling ball returns. The kids thought it was great.,,,fun was had by all! Still can't believe my girl is 9....Happy birthday baby!

Oh...thought I would include this....apparently keeping track of all those girls was exhausting for Owen too! We found him sound asleep on the stairs after we got home....he was apparently too tired to make it up all the steps...HAha! Not to worry, we removed him from his precarious position quickly....that is after we first took a picture...HA!



Happy Thursday friends!

-katie

What a great day!

My day just got fantastically better. We got updated pictures of our sweet Cora today! I haven't seen a picture of her since she was 10 months old. And without further ado......here is our sweet 16 months old Cora....

I can't wait to get my hands on this sweet girl! We're coming soon Cora! I think these pictures will help my motivation to pack...HA!

-katie

I should be packing

I wish this is what my suitcase looked like...maybe a little more organized than that. I don't know what my problem is, but I am majorly procrastinating with the packing of the suitcases. Don't get me wrong, I am SO EXCITED to go get our girl, but I just haven't been motivated to pack ANYTHING yet. I did wash Cora's clothes that are going to China with us last week. Since we found out when we are leaving for China...(which is April 6) everyday I have thought....I should start getting things organized, but I still haven't even opened a suitcase.  I have roughly 3.5 weeks till it HAS to be packed....maybe I'll go shopping for some "going to China clothes" for myself. I am sure that will help me procrastinate for a couple more days ;-)

Hope everyone is having a joy filled day.....happy procrastination packing ;-)

-katie