China Journey

Hong Kong Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Today we traveled to Hong Kong. We are one step closer to being home. Tomorrow is a doctor appointment; lunch with great friends and Friday is home! While we cannot wait to get home and are sooooo sick of living in hotels we are petrified of the long flights home. Our flight today was one hour and Zan wanted nothing to do with it. Major meltdown! To sum it up = we are hosed!!!!! It would not surprise us in the least if the airline makes a pit stop halfway home and asks us to get off. ... read more

Red Couch Picture Day! Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 We did the red couch photos today. Zan looked quite dapper in his little black outfit ☺ One major problem…as with many other things on this trip, the time it was scheduled for….Noon = lunch and nap time. This meant we were going to be on borrowed time before a meltdown would occur. We tried feeding early so to avoid the “I’m hungry, feed me now” meltdown. While he didn’t “lose” it, he was not interested in the slightest in sitting for a photo ☺ All in all he did well and then it was off for a nap. The afternoon was shopping. We purchased a few little trinkets that we could give to Zan on “Gotcha Day” for a few years to come. At 5pm we received ... read more

March 7, 2011 This morning we had our consulate appointment. The big day…the day we take the oath!! The US consulate used to be right next door to the White Swan hotel, which is why all the adoptive families stayed at the hotel and which led it to become famous for the “red couch”. Now the consulate is about a 40 minute drive away. In my opinion, another hotel might be a better choice...you could always get a red couch for pictures?. We say this because the hotel is not really set up for little ones!!!!!!! Our travel group and another group (children under the age of 2) (2 and over are scheduled for the next day, everything is delayed by one day for them due to a mandatory tb test) arrived at the consulate. I ... read more

Guangzhou March 5th and 6th, 2011 We are in love with Guangzhou – we are on a tiny island, warm air and cool breezes coming off the river = a welcomed change!!! The hotel…the famous White Swan is a madhouse and kind of odd. It is swarming with adoptive families and then you have the business men (and not many are friendly). Our guide for this leg of the journey is Joselyn, she is very kind. Saturday after breakfast we walked to the medical clinic to get the kids required medicals completed. It’s a requirement required by the US for the entrance visa. It involved lots of waiting in a very small room with other large groups of adoptive families. After an hour and a half of standing in lines it was our turn: 1) Ear, ... read more

Guangzhou March 5, 2011 We have reached Guangzhou…what does this mean besides one step closer to coming home and better weather? We have Internet and e-mail back!!!!!!! ... read more

Passport March 4, 2011 We have his passport…yay!!!!!!!! Tomorrow it is off to Guangzhou. Hmmm, a 2-hour airplane ride at bedtime…should be interesting. So far it has snowed in every province we go to…gosh we hope it doesn’t snow in Guangzhou…forecast says it should be in the high 60’s…here’s hoping!!!!! ... read more

Free Days March 2 & 3, 2011 Today was a free day for all as our paperwork was being processed. The city we are in is not very kid-friendly, actually it is quite new to the whole adoption scene. Example, most places only had one highchair…really? Our excitement was walking in the bitter cold to Wal-mart for exercise. It of course snowed here also which slows the city down. Zan loves baths so we took him to the kiddie pool…liked it!!! We see swim lessons in the future!! ... read more

Registration Day March 1, 2011 Today we went back to the registration office to complete our adoptions. It is official, we are Zan’s parents!!! Then it was off to the notary office…climbed 6 stories in a very smoky building to present gifts, more paperwork have our family photo with an official and back down 6 stories. ... read more

Gotcha Day Feb 28, 2011 A day of mixed emotions. While this is a fantastic day for us, we know this is one of Zan’s worst. We woke early this morning, not quite believing that after years of paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, more waiting, more paperwork that “it” is really happening. The families receiving children this morning gathered in the lobby (some were scheduled to receive this am and others in the afternoon - depended on how far away the orphanages were). We arrived at the registration office, a building on the outskirts of Zhengzhou, just a couple minutes ahead of the kids, who were being driven into the city from Luoyang. The van pulled up and utter excited chaos was for the next hour. Out of the van came the three children. First was Linda’s ... read more

We are in Zhengzhou Feb 27, 2011 Today we transitioned from Beijing to Zhengzhou. The "move" went smoothly and painlessly. Our group is very entertaining and supportive. We arrived to some good news. We were originally scheduled to meet the children tomorrow afternoon, but it was moved up to the morning! So we won’t have to have an agonizing morning pacing around waiting. ... read more