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Home
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Itinerary
• Day
1
Leaving!
• Days
2-4
A 15-hour MRI and the Glass Wall Hong Kong Bathroom!
• Day
5
Refusing squat potties
• Days
6-7
Whoops, the trunk won't close
• Days
8-9
"Hip, Hip, HUBEI! Only 1 more day!"
• Day
10
GOTCHA!
• Days
11-12
Behind the Hokies
• Days
13-14
A visit to Elizabeth's finding spot, and the path her birth mother
took that day...
• Days
15-16
The 'Finding Ad' and leaving her Province
• Days
17-18
Ni Hao from Guangzhou!
• Days
19-20
Last days in her homeland through a little girl's eyes
• Days
21-22
I'm Coming Home
• Day
23
We have arrived!!!!!!
•
John
Meets Elizabeth
•
First Month as
a Family of 4
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Special Update
•
The past 1.5
years
•
Happy Birthday
Elizabeth!
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O C T O
B E R 2 3 - 2
4
"Hip, Hip, Hubei!!!, only one more day!"
Yesterday, "Moi" stayed in the Hong Kong hotel room
recovering from a bug, while "Pa" went touring with
the group. Pa had a great time of fellowship with our
travelmates. Touring included Victoria's Peak,
Aberdeen Fishing Village, Stanley Market (the 2nd time
for "Pa") and a dim sum lunch.
The rest did wonders for me, and thanks to advice from
our 'on call' Physicians I started on Cipro. (Thanks
Bonnie and Bill!) I could tell almost immediately that
whatever I had was responding to the antibiotic. I am
so thankful that I can enjoy the first days of getting
to know our Elizabeth without sickness or concern of
giving it to her.
We were instructed to have our bags out in the hall of
our Hong Kong hotel at 7 AM this morning and arrived
at the airport in plenty of time to catch our 11:30
flight to Wuhan, the capitol city of Hubei Province.
We have now arrived in Hubei and the moment we touched
down, it was surreal to know we were in the Province
of our daughters birth. Our group has been wonderful
and seems to gel together a little closer each step
along the way. We exited the plane in mass, and once
through all the China checkpoints were greeted by a
smiling face with the sign "Welcome CCAI families!".
Our guides here in Hubei are top notch. They are
gentle and kind, but persistent if necessary in an
effort to look out for CCAI families best interests.
On the bus ride to the hotel which took over an hour,
Our guide Joanna gave us an overview of what to expect
this next week. If all goes as planned, we get
Elizabeth TOMORROW!
We have learned a bit more about her early days and
life over the past year. Born on November 13, 2004,
she was found 4 days later at the gate of the HanChuan
City's nursing home. We have the man's name that found
her and it looks like our guide will be able to take
us to her exact finding spot sometime this week. She
was found wearing a layered pink cotton outfit, and
wrapped in a white blanket with blue animal prints on
it.
She has been in foster care from the very beginning
and there are 4 people in the foster family. Mom, Dad,
older brother, and older sister. The Foster family
calls her "Xiao bao" which means "Little Treasure". I
can't think of a better way to describe our gift!
We also learned she is "potty trained"!! Evidently, at
11 months this little peanut goes on the potty! We
understand from reading her report, that she is 'held'
over the potty and when given the 'signal' she
....goes! I hope we can get her 'signal' correctly
translated ;)
We arrived at our hotel after a fascinating bus ride
through Wuhan Hubei. The poverty in this part of China
is undeniable. To see the life most lead here makes us
ever so thankful for our freedom and our One Nation
Under God.
When we walked into the hotel room, there sat a crib
with simple bedding, and a beautiful pink fresh rose
in a vase next to it. It was at this moment the
reality of what is about to happen hit us most. Our
new daughter would be sleeping there in less than 24
hours!
We had a bit of a "scare" after we settled into the
room. We thought we were just overheated from the long
trip ,, but noooo, the hotel considers this the
'Winter' season and turns the heat on!!!! Our room was
almost 80 degrees and when we opened the small window
(note NOT plural) the smog and pollution was so thick
it made it even harder to breath. The room smells of
cigarette smoke which is something we also take for
granted in the States. When we tried to call down to
the desk and tell them about the room temp, this is
what they sent up to us ...
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But, Joanna to the rescue. Our sweet guide went to
bat for our group (all of whom felt the heat) and as
of 10 minutes ago...we were informed that the hotel
had turned back on the air conditioning, We will wait
to see how accurate the hotel info is. There is a
rumor that the Chinese management of this hotel think
Americans keep the rooms too cool for the babies, and
so if they shut the air off, they can control the
temp. hummm. (Note: the air quit working about an hour
after it started, or, was turned off by the hotel).
We had dinner in the hotel dining room, and it was
very touching to see all the other couples dining in
our group on the eve of becoming parents, some for the
first time, and several for #2 or more. We decided to
pass on the "spicy Pig's stomach" and went for more
mundane fare.
Tomorrow, all of our lives will change. I think of
Elizabeth's Foster family this evening as they are
most likely well aware that this is her last night
with the only family that she has ever known. The
sadness they must feel as they have grown to love
their "little treasure" over this past year and
knowing they will likely never see her again.
I think of Elizabeth, and her life is about to be
turned upside down. New people, a new language, a new
land.
I wonder who, and where Elizabeth's birth Mother is
and the circumstances around such a heart wrenching
decision.
I think of our own lives and the addition of another
life into our home and how blessed we are that God has
entrusted her to us.
Until Tomorrow... |
Floating restaurant at Aberdeen Fisherman's Village
Asian bagpipers at Victoria's Peak
Just before boarding flight to Hubei
Where's Waldo?
Our plane to Elizabeth's province
Hip, Hip Hubei! Our travel group at takeoff.
One of our guides - the one beside Ivan
Sweet Joanna handing out water on the bus to our hotel
Not exactly Wellmont or J.C. Medical Center
Streets of Hubei |
