November 30



Getting ready for bed!





Enjoying my time with aunt Mary!



We have met our daughter

November 29, 2010 Meeting Marie Ling

Today was the big day and wow what a day it has been! We reported to the civil affairs office at 9:00 and waited until 9:40 to meet our little one. She came right up to me and said "Mommy" and let me give her a big hug. I got pretty chocked up and had difficulty speaking at first. I couldn't believe our new daughter was finally right in front of me. She seems quick and quick to smile. She repeated many English words said to her and was excited to look at our family pictures together. We had a few tears when we left the two women from the orphanage, but the rest of the day went well. This afternoon we made a trek to the grocery store for bottled water and Marie Ling happily held hands with Mary and me. The hotel even sent up a birthday cake for her(our guide told the woman at the front desk we were meeting her on her birthday)! We are having fun getting to know each other inspite of not knowing each other's language. Much can be said with gestures and example and our little hand held translator gets the point across when needed. We are all exhausted from an emotional day. Thanks to all for your continued prayers.

Sunday Night

It is late Sunday night and Mary and I have arrived at our hotel in Xi'an.  (It is very fancy.)  I cannot believe that I will be meeting our daughter tomorrow!  It seems so surreal.  I am very tired and need to get some rest.

November 27 Beijing

November 27 Beijing

Hello All,

This morning we met the other family travelling to Xi’an to adopt. Karee and Rodney have four and are adopting a fifth, a little one who will be two on Christmas. They brought their sixteen year old daughter with them and we will share a guide and stay at the same hotel in Xi’an. Very nice folks!

Our first stop this morning was to a government owned and operated jade factory. We learned how to tell the good stuff from glass and from the cheaper, softer form of jade. Some of the carvings and some of the jewelry were incredible.

Next we visited the amazing, the incredible Great Wall and we climbed up to the first watchtower. It was such a steep and crowded climb and the steps were so uneven! Some were four inches high and others were twenty inches! Many also were dipped and worn. It is mindboggling to think of the hard manual labor it took to build this seemingly endless monstrosity without the help of modern equipment. Not bad considering it was built hundreds of years ago!

Our last stop was at a cloisonné (enamel) factory. What a detailed and labor intensive process it is. A flat copper wire is shaped on a copper vase or base to create an intricate design. Paint made with a mineral powder is used to fill in the design and each of six layers is fired before it is sent to be polished by three different stones. I wanted to bring home a couple of the big vases, but I’ll have to wait until I win the lottery.

Our trip from Seattle to Beijing was just over twelve hours and it was after 11:00 local time when we got to our hotel room. Nonetheless, I woke at 5:40 and couldn’t get back to sleep as I starting thinking about how soon I will be meeting Marie Ling. Several times today I was startled when I realized where I am and why I am here. My mind races with questions, concerns and possibilities. We are supposed to meet her Monday afternoon!

Friday Nov 26 in Beijing

Mary and I arrived in Beijing a few hours ago.  There is a 13 hour difference in time from Ohio.  The plane ride was long and I am very tired.   I had an opportuintiy to Skype with Mike and the kids.  We all enjoyed seeing and talking with each other.  Tomorrow morning,  Mary and I are going to see the Great Wall.  Good-bye for now.

Happy Thanksgiving

My sister Mary and I are off!  We fly to Seattle and then on to China.  Here we are leaving at the Cincinnati airport.

Packing Day November 24

The list of things to do is still long and we leave in less than 24 hours! I am practicing how to download pictues from our new camera. Here I am in our kitchen pointing to Xi'an on our world map.

The adventure begins!

This electronic journal is being set up to record our journey to China to pick up Marie Ling. Let's see if this works right.