Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Princess and The Peas

Reagan has never wasted food before. She always eats anything and everything and she eats it GONE. Yesterday that changed.

So I was washing out bottles and little baby spoons and in general more pastel plasticware than any household should contain, when I heard a soft plop. Then another. Plop.

I glanced over at my cherub, strapped into her high chair just feet away. She smiled her cherub smile and waved her hands around, a sure sign of her happiness in life. Ah, bliss. Here I was, content in my motherhood, loved by the perfect baby, partnered with the perfect husband and all that rot. Then plop.

This time I caught her. My little princess was gleefully tossing her lovely green peas over the side of her high chair tray. She picked them up carefully with her dainty fingers and then sent them soaring to their deaths not unlike crazy people in barrels going over the side of Niagara Falls. She leaned over the side of her chair in order to watch their fall from a better angle. And then she laughed wildly.

It was the laughing that got to me, I think. I said, "No, Reagan. Don't waste your peas. Eat them, Baby Girl." That caught her attention. She stared at me intently, ashamed of her waste and the mess it made. She ate two peas with an expression of true repentance on her little face. There. Point made. I went back to scrubbing.

Plop.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

More pictures!!

We're updating Flickr tonight so have a look see when you get a chance. At some point, we'll start uploading videos as well because as hard as it may be to believe, Reagan is even cuter in action than she is in still shots. At least she is to us, her doting parents.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Life With Reagan

Reagan is currently pulling all of the trash out of the office trash can. My favorite cat in the world (who has since gone on to kitty heaven) used to pull dirty socks and underwear out of the laundry room in this same fashion. Reagan is working against my inner Cleaning Goddess. We've gone over the importance of putting trash in the proper place about 100 times...today alone. I'm not sure she's grasping the concept.

In other news, Reagan Ru slept last night. I mean, really slept. We put her down around 8:45ish and she was up at 9:30 and we put her down (finally!) at 10:30pm and did not hear a single peep from her until 8 this morning. I rolled over, all cozy in my consecutive hours of sleep and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the clock. Something must be HORRIBLY wrong! My baby doesn't sleep like this! I raced into her room and sure enough she had just woke up. She rolled over and looked up at me as if to say, "Well, what do you know? This crib isn't a medevial torture device after all. It's actually quite nice in here and if you're lucky, I'll take my nap today, too." And, she did, by the way. She slept nearly two hours and I got all sorts of stuff done and then took my own snooze.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

For The Sheer Cuteness of It...

So We're Home...

In case you couldn't tell from my last post, we're alive and at home. I'm heading to bed now because jet lag is killing me. We're forcing ourselves to stay awake as much as we can during daytime. Poor Reagan. She's a wreck but she's powering through with us. My kid is a champ.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to the airport to greet us. I expected a handful of die hards but so many, many people showed up and it was like a little party and made us feel so loved and welcomed. You all rock my world!!

Matt Harader rocks my world, too. Not only has he been one of my most treasured friends for over a decade now, but he handled all our blog problems while we were away and I really appreciate it. His wife and kid ain't half bad, either.

I'll try to write on here when I can. I don't know if anyone will be interested in life AFTER China. If Reagan does something super cool, I'll let you know. You can assume she will because she's my child after all.

Answer Me This...

A few questions I had time to ponder on our 30+ hour journey home...with an 11 month old...

Why do airlines request our "help" with window shades? When we were preparing for lift off, every single airline we flew said, "please help the captain by opening your window shades for take off." Now, this concerns me. Is he using MY window to backup the plane? Does he use MY window to check the weather or spot flocks of birds? I mean, what is that about? Does he not have a window of his own? Does he need extra lighting? I'm so confused. I'm offering the naming rights to one of Reagan's stuffed animals to the first person who offers me a reasonable answer to this question.

How many times must we endure security? We were searched in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and again in Chicago. Now, we never left the airports except on airplanes. Where do they think we accessed the bombs? Where did we buy the poison? Danny even had to hand over Reagan's CHEERIOS (thank the good Lord she was asleep during this traumatic moment) so they could be X-rayed in Chicago. I had to WAKE up my sleeping child (sacrilege, IMHO) so they could pat her down in case we'd strapped explosives to her or something. Unreal. The terrorists need not kill themselves for our country to fall. They need only to wait while our airline security personnel slowly send each and everyone one of us to the funny farm...without sewing scissors, obviously. Safety first.

Why is it that we paid thousands of dollars for the privilege to fly in their hunks of metal but the airline could not provide a few simple services, even those we requested weeks ago? Want a bassinet for baby? Well, you must request that when you pay for the tickets. Done. Want a bassinet for baby? Well, you also need to ask when you get your boarding passes. Done. And at the gate. Done. And when you see the flight crew. Done. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. We don't have a wall bassinet available. You really should have asked for that when you called your ticketing agent. We do have this crummy, ol' floor bassinet which also doubles as my gym bag. Perhaps you'd be interested in that?" OR what about the headphones and arm rest controls? I've yet to travel where everyone in my row had working headphones and controls. You'd think they could fix that. And don't get me started on the "food." Good grief. I won't be flying again for a while.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Home Sweet Airplane...

This is our last post from Guangzhou, China! If we have time, I'll post from the Hong Kong airport. We haven't been there in several years but if I remember correctly they have wireless. If not, we'll see you on the other side of the planet!

Today we're going to the gorgeous park across the street from our hotel. Then we're going to dress up our little baby girl and head over to the American Consulate. We'll raise our right hands and swear to love her forever (gee, that's tough) and then she'll be on her way to being an American citizen. I've already filled out her application and turned it in. We'll pick up her VISA and come back to the hotel for MAJOR packing job we have to do. The consulate appointment yesterday went without a hitch. Thank you for the prayers on our behalf. This was the last roadblock and we cleared it. Woot!!

Tomorrow we'll be boarding a plane to HK, then to Chicago and FINALLY Kansas City!! We're so excited to be home! I can drink straight from the tap if I want to! And we'll live in more than a hotel room. I won't do my dishes in a little plastic bowl which doubles as a Raman noodle container. Such luxury! We're ready to be home for sure. And I will have more than 3 pairs of pants and two skirts to choose from for clothing!! (This is imperative considering how much dried drool is on the clothes I'm currently wearing). Options are nice.

This entire experience has been amazing, emotional, challenging and glorious. I am so grateful for this precious gift. Reagan is absolutely the perfect fit for our family. She even likes jazz and is beebopping right now on her Daddy's knee, shoving Cheerios in her mouth, keeping rhythm in Starbucks.

Sorry we don't have time for more picture updating. You'll just have to wait for the real deal on Friday! Hope to see you all in the airport. Jenn and Blakely have airline details if you need them. Hopefully we won't be delayed. If we are, go home, by george. We understand and you'll get to meet our little princess later. She's gonna be around for awhile.

Love you!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

HRH Reagan Ru

Reagan is doing so much better. Thank you for your prayers. She still has a cold but in my uneducated opinion, she's sounding better and coughing less frequently. Plus last night she slept the whole night through with only one little squeal. I rubbed her belly and whispered to her and she was out again. No Benedryl or anything--just natural exhaustion. Her rash/bug bites are gone and we've seen doctors who say she has "sensitive skin." Oh, joy.

Reagan went swimming for the first time last night and absolutely LOVED it. Her little swimsuit is covered in butterflies and she loves it, obviously. She cracks us up because she doesn't know things that our high-tech American babies certainly know by this age. For instance, Reagan thinks the buttons on the phone are to be picked up. She's constantly squeezing at them, trying to hold them like Cheerios. She doesn't understand the concept of buttons. Can you imagine a 10-month old in the US not knowing about buttons??!! She doesn't get the TV at all but likes the noise, I think. Mostly she wants to be held and loved on. Danny is in her favor again. She loves him and yesterday when he came back after being out for a little while she got very excited and bouncy and grinned up at him.

Today our guides are representing us at our consulate appointment. I must make this short because I need to be in the hotel room in case they call with questions. This is the appointment that could be in jeopardy due to our immigrations paperwork problem right before we left. I think I blogged about that. Anyway, pray for us!!

Thanks for your comments/prayers for our friend who lost her daughter, Julia. We so appreciate them on her behalf. She looked better today at breakfast. I hope they let her take Julia home to be buried but I don't know how that works or if it's possible at all. Anyway, thank you.

We love you!! See you in a couple of days!

New pictures


Reagan giggling, originally uploaded by dannylisakai.

Danny and Lisa have uploaded some new pictures! Enjoy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84389878@N00/tags/guangzhou/

Monday, July 16, 2007

No promises

Adoption is just as risky as giving birth, I think. There are no guarantees. In Changsha I thought my baby was so sick. And she is. She's got a horrid cold, is teething and has various allergic reactions to things (including latex nipples so we've switched) and is susceptible to bug bites/rashes from heat and bed bugs and who knows what. However, she does not have scabies which was a worry and she does not have bronchitis. After arriving in Guangzhou and meeting back up with the rest of our group, I've realized just how healthy our girl is. Some babies have open sores, blisters, and horrid respiratory infections. Others are very malnourished, behind developmentally, etc. No one knows what life is going to throw at you. You just scoop up your baby and deal with the surprises because ultimately it doesn't matter, she/he is yours and we face what we face as though they were born to us. Please be in prayer for one of our families in particular. A single mom and her sister arrived for her daughter, Julia. They had their precious little girl 5 days before she died. I won't go into their private story here. We held a memorial service for her yesterday. I think God wanted her to be loved and cared for by her mother. He didn't want her to die in an orphanage. Our hearts are sick for this mom. She's experienced the most wonderful high and the most tragic low all in one week. Please ask Father to comfort her and hold her tight. She rides on the bus with us surrounded by squealing, laughing, crying babies and her own tears slide silently down her cheeks and I don't have words for her but I have prayers and I ask that you do, too. Thank you.

Reagan passed her "examination" with flying colors. The medical exam is a free-for-all basically. Dozens of parents and babies crowd into the hot medical clinic and go from room to room having various parts of our babies examined. It's quite perfunctory and assembly-line like. Reagan has a scheduled appointment on July 26 with the international adoption clinic to check her out for real. We did this exam for adoption purposes only.

Guangzhou: Adoptive Family Paradise

Guangzhou makes up for Beijing big time. First of all, it's a quaint, little town of 10 million. It has an easy to use subway system, blue skies and lots and lots and LOTS of newly-formed families. We've taken to Guangzhou and are glad that we get to end our time in China here. I don't know where to begin. I apologize for being off line for so many days. We've been in a whirlwind of paperwork (2 hours' worth yesterday alone), shopping (ahem…this isn't a requirement, this is a sickness of mine that I've just decided to indulge in) and exploring this town and our hotel's complex. We can pay $13 a day for Internet access or we can do the cheap way and go to Starbucks once a day for free access and an ice mocha. You can guess which we've chosen. You may not hear from us as much but we have more cash for squeaky shoes and once you've seen these things, you'll understand our decision. We're at the DongFang Hotel which is super fancy and we feel pampered and well rested and just taken care of in every way. We are not a novelty here which is nice. In Changsha which is a smaller, more out-of-the-way town, we stuck out. People stopped us everywhere to gawk and take pictures. Here, in the city where ALL Americans must come to get our children's VISAs? Well, we're just one of the crowd. It's nice to walk around without all the stardom. It's blooming hot here but we're careful about sunscreen and hats and mostly going out in the mornings and evenings. We've spoiled ourselves by eating MickeyD's and Papa John's. I know. I won't touch McDonald's in the States but abroad is another story. We've also enjoyed some excellent Chinese fare and Danny ate spicy Hunan food till he was literally sweaty and red-faced.


We spent some time on Shamian Island today which is a haven for adoptive families because that's where the famous White Swan Hotel is and all families are required to go there for their baby's medical examination. There are dozens of little shops which specifically target bargain shoppers like us. We….ummm…we bought an extra suitcase to bring home all our treasures. We purchased various items for Reagan to give to her as she gets older including the cutest "Made in China" t-shirt and a soft panda and a dragon puppet and a silk outfit and…well, you get the idea. We had some fun. It's so great to spend money on Reagan that I nearly forgot to spend money on myself. Nearly.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Hubbas aren't for everyone…yet

Years ago Jenn babysat for a family in Colby, Kan., who used the word "hubba" to describe a pacifier. When Kagen was born we all latched on to hubba as being worlds superior to binky or paccy. I can't even spell paccy. Anyway, no offense to those of you who use those other words but we Farrar Wellmans are hubba people. However, Reagan isn't even remotely interested in hubbas. I brought three in varying colors and styles and she hates all of them. I pop it in her mouth and she pops it out and looks at me like…"What's the point, Mom?" I think she's so focused on food (more on this in a moment) that hubbas are just a waste of good sucking skills. Why suck plastic when you can suck plastic that squirts formula or apple juice into your mouth? I had high hopes for the hubba's power over my child. I dreamed of her satisfaction and contentment with hubba in mouth. I haven't given up yet but for now we've called a truce.

Reagan is not used to lots of food and we see that in every mealtime. She throws herself at the bottle and snorts and snorts and sucks it down like if she stops for air, it will disappear. The whole time she eats her eyes flick around at us as if to say, "Go ahead. Just try to take my food. You'll pull back a bloody stump that's what." We've decided it's best not to test her on this threat. We pull the bottle out and encourage her to breathe, once again going over human dependence on oxygen and then we let her go to town again. She also loves Cheerios, rice crispies, rice (both steamed and fried) as well as watermelon, cantaloupe and bits of croissant. She hasn't any teeth yet so I make the pieces super small but she loves to daintily pick them up and gum them down into a nasty mush before consuming them.

At dinner last night, it hit me. We're those people. We've crossed the line. Our baby sat in the restaurant's high chair and threw all sorts of food items over the edge on to the floor. She reached for things on the table. It's become habit to sit down and start identifying and moving possible weapons further away from her reaching hands. I can hold an adult conversation while mashing up melon, scooping flung socks off the floor and cooing baby talk out of the corner of my mouth. I personally don't have time to eat as much anymore but that's not really a bad thing. When we left, there was destruction everywhere. We're those people.

Be careful what you wish for…

Ok, so I won the popularity contest. Hands down, Reagan is a mama's girl. Naturally you assume this makes me very happy. I mean I'm selfish and like things my way and my ego needs stroked pretty much hourly so a baby loving me best is fabulous for me, right? Well, right. In so many ways, right. However, I'm in love with my husband, turns out and it's sad for me to see him rejected by a daughter he adores. Ru tolerates him but mostly she wants me. Plus my back hurts so badly. If she glances in my direction, my lower back heaves a big sigh and braces itself. She's got a cold so she's clingy and sweaty and produces the most amazing amount of green snot I've ever encountered in a human. It's very reminiscent of Ghostbusters. We got some real sleep last night by putting HRH in her stroller for the duration of the evening. She's now snoozing in her crib but when she starts to cough as we know she will, we'll have to get her vertical again. She coughs and cries and makes more snot. Despite all this, she's also very charming and FUNNY. She stands up and bends over at the waist and waves at Danny from between her legs. She adores being upside down. That wasn't on my list of things to ask her nannies but it should have been: "Is Reagan of the bat or opossum family?"

So she's sick and we'd appreciate your prayers. She's also teething and she chews on absolutely everything. I have teething rings, orajel, etc. I suspected she'd be teething and Jenn gave me a lifetime supply of bibs to contain the drool. I think if it were just the teething, we'd be ok. This sickness is what makes me so frustrated. We can't go to the doctor here but will wait for Guangzhou. Friends in the States did research for us and we now know of some western docs we can visit once we get there. Please pray for us as we fly tomorrow. Ru's never been on a plane and we've never been on a plane with a baby. Should prove interesting.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

No Pictures? Just Kidding...


It looks like Danny was able to upload some more pictures after all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84389878@N00/

Slow Internet = No Pictures

Lisa wanted me to pass on some information to everyone. Unfortunately, the internet connection in Changsha is extremely slow and expensive. In Lisa's words, "We're paying for slower than dial-up internet." That is why there have been no new pictures lately. Lisa assured me that there are plenty of pictures/video being taken, they are just unable to share them right now. The Wellmans will be in Guangzhou on Saturday and hopefully the internet connection will be better there.

Even though there are no pictures, Danny and Lisa still need your prayers. Ru has been sick. You may have noticed a runny nose in some of the pictures. She hasn't had a fever but has been sweaty with lots of snot and coughs. They are going to wait and see a Western doctor in Guangzhou on Saturday. Ru has to pass a medical exam or they will have to stay in China longer.

Lisa wants everyone to know that they are okay and they love your comments. They just can't respond right now. Please keep them in your prayers.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Forever and Ever Amen

Reagan RuXian Farrar Wellman is officially ours. We had our civil affairs appointment today complete with promises to love her forever and our agreeance that we were "satisfied" with her. To seal the deal we each red stamped our right thumb over our signature and then Ru got to red stamp with her right foot which she thought a hoot and a holler. The Civil Affairs office was just like yesterday except this time instead of entering with nervous anticipation, I was carrying a squirmy 10-month old who believes with all her might that my glasses are there for her crushing pleasure.

The rooms are hot and reek of smoke. Everyone smokes here, did I mention that before? My baby has a rattly chest and the sneezes and these people are smoking on her. I wish they wouldn't smoke inside but what's a girl to do? So we avoid it as much as possible. We forked over cash and gifts today and feel loads lighter. I still can't believe they're going to let us leave with this amazing baby. Every moment she shares a new delight with us. You'll get to see them soon. Danny has recorded her every movement and we'll strap you down and force our baby videos on you as soon as the jet lag wears off.

Anyway, she's ours.

Our Marriage is Doomed

Well, I've always heard that having a baby with someone brings you together. I beg to differ. Our marriage is on the rocks and I blame this kid.

First off, she's adorable. We don't want to share her with each other at all. It's getting ugly here in Changsha. Let me give you some examples from our day.

We wake up and Ru is all cuddly and smiley and wants to squirm around on us. So we fight over which one of us needs to get showered first and thus leave the warm aura of baby time. We go downstairs to breakfast and fight about who gets to feed her and finally compromise by splitting out the time. We try to snap on her carrier extra fast so the other one can't get to it and clamp her on. Ru watches all of this with a bemused look on her face. She knows we're crazy about her already. We saw so many smiles today and lots of giggles. She does that Indian Chief thing with her hand over her mouth and I can pat my hand over her mouth and she'll make the sound. She knows how to clap and gets all proud of herself and throws her hands up to show just how amazing she thinks she is. All of this is either for our entertainment or (and this is my theory) an attempt to be even more adorable so she can watch her parents' continuous competition for her affections. Thus far we're in a tie but I'm hoping to pull ahead tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Gotcha Day


IMG_4202, originally uploaded by dannylisakai.

Here is a link to all of the pictures that Danny has uploaded from their first day with Reagan.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84389878@N00/tags/gotchaday/

More Ru Info


Here is some more info about Reagan Ru from Danny and Lisa.

We just weighed Ru and she weighs 16.5 lbs. Size 9 months is fitting perfectly. She is sitting up by herself. Her muscles are very strong. She isn't crawling yet, but she likes to walk if we hold her hands. She's perfect. She loves to play with her feet and fingers. She has a plump belly. She didn't have any diaper rash or scratches or anything. She was taken care of very well in her orphanage. We're so blessed.

They took excellent care of her plus they gave us the clothes she was found in, her finding ad (which we'd already purchased), a chop with her Chinese name on it, a map of Chenzhou City and Hunan, the 2 disposable cameras we sent (can't wait to get them developed), her blankie, the family photo album we sent her. They kept it all and she loves that blanket very much. You can tell she's had it for a while. They had her in clothing for a 24-month old so she was swimming in her little outfit but we gave her a bath and put her in some 9mos outfits that fit.

Tao Tao!!

Jennifer, we can't go to the orphanage though others in our group will visit SWIs that are closer to Changsha than Chenzhou City is. However, I got to talk to one of the nannies and the director today. Tao Tao is doing really well and he's walking with a baby walker. They immediately recognized him and smiled and it was so obvious they adore him. I'm sorry I can't hold him for you but I firmly believe he's in good hands. I asked if he was in good health and they assured me he was. They know you're coming!!

I have to crash now. Gotta sleep while Reagan sleeps but I just
wanted you to know how the mission went. :)

We have Ru!


IMG_4229, originally uploaded by dannylisakai.

I don't know what to tell you. She's perfect, obviously. We can't find a darn thing wrong with her except she has a cold but we expected that. We've already administered a baby dose of tylenol cold medicine. SHE LOVES THAT MEDICINE. Oh, she wiggled with glee and sucked the syringe dry. Strange kid. She seems pretty infatuated with us, too. Lots of nose pinching, mouth exploring, finger holding going on here. She hasn't cried yet so we're expecting her to figure out that her nannies are gone and they've left her with two white giants any minute. :( Thank you for your prayers. We can feel your love and Father's love. I sang kumbaya to her in the civil affairs office. Just whispered it softly in her little ear and we've told her wa ai nee (I love you) about 100 times already. She adores her little keys. She went right for the red key and sucked and sucked and gummed it to death. Of course she loves red. She's mommy's girl. :) She hasn't any teeth yet but is so close. We can feel them under the gums. We've turned up the AC in here so mommy and daddy are sweltering but now she isn't shaking or cold. She's a Hunan spicy girl and they LOVE the heat. So...I guess we're officially parents because without thinking we just wanted her to be comfortable and so what if we're not? Who cares. Ru is happy and that's all that matters.

We'll post more on Flickr later. We've taken (and this isn't Lisa exaggeration) 50 or so pictures and several videos and we've had her all of an hour. We think she's pretty darn cool, basically. :)

We love you! Can't wait to be home to show off our positively ADORABLE daughter!!!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Last Lasts, First Firsts

Last Supper (which was really good, btw. Excellent fried rice, bug-free ice and the fried chicken/fish/mystery meat was quite tasty. I ate a lot of it followed by a Dove ice cream bar. I'm fat and happy tonight.


Last shower.

Danny shaved his face. I shaved my legs (close your mouth, Blakely) for the last time before we get Ru.

Last bus ride (this actually happens tomorrow at 5:50am but you get the idea).

Last night together without a baby.

Last post on my blog.

Last time I use conditioner in my hair.

Last time I….ok, I could be taking this a bit too far. I just feel like time is spinning faster and faster and we can't get off the roller coaster. We purposely got on but now it's very scary.


Let's think about Firsts.

First time I packed a diaper bag.

First time we're in China, our daughter's birth country.

First time I bought Reagan something special (pearls).


And tomorrow will bring a whole host of Firsts. Firsts I've dreamed about for years and years and now they're happening to US and to Reagan.


Good night from Beijing! We love you!

Now THIS is China

Ok, I feel better about China today. First of all, it wasn't one thousand degrees with four hundred percent humidity and that always helps. Secondly, we left the city today. We also worshipped this morning with other believers from literally all over the world. I can go into greater detail when we're home. We even took video of the experience. It was so amazing and I get teary just thinking about it again. Father's people are everywhere! Danny estimates we had 500 others with us this morning in our auditorium in the bilingual service and downstairs in an all English service there was at least that many. So cool.


So back to the weather and the countryside. It was cooler and moist still, of course but COOLER. We were in the mountains and everything was so green and misty and old. And we rode out to The Great Wall and that's not something one does every day. Danny climbed and climbed. I don't know. Maybe 450 million miles or so? I went about 10 million and stopped. You can translate that into non-Lisa language and get the idea. We both got t-shirts that say we climbed The Great Wall of China though I don't think Danny thinks I deserve mine. I did climb it…I just chose to stop before oxygen masks were necessary, that's all. He came back, over an hour later, drenched in sweat with a sweaty backpack on his shoulders and wanted to HUG ME. Yeah, right. I think I got some good videos and Daniel, obviously, took amazing photos. He's such an artist. We'll need more walls soon so we can display all his work/our travels. I stood on The Wall today and thought of my baby girl just a two-hour plane ride to the south. WOW. Life is good.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Cairo and Beijing: same shopping style

You probably recall our stories of shopping in Cairo. Our guide took us to place after place. She sat around sipping tea with the owners while we were left to fight off pretty, young girls who wanted to sell us everything under the sun. Then our guide got a cut of whatever we purchased and we left for the next "purge the Americans of all their money" shop 2 blocks down.

Well, it's the same gig here. Our guide is worlds nicer and believes in Father so she point blank told us not to buy what we didn't want, to sit down and enjoy their AC while others shopped if that's what we wanted. So that's nice. However, the young, pretty girls are all the same and they work on commission. We've been to the Pearl Market and the Silk Museum. Today is the Jade Factory. Sigh. At least here we know what's coming because Sherry (our guide) warns us. In Cairo, Sherin and Makmut just drove us over and handed us off like sacrifices to the retail gods. We didn't buy a darn thing from the Silk Museum. What's the point when one shares a house with cats? We did drop some cash at the Pearl Market but I think I might have actually purchased MORE if they'd just left us alone. I finally got so irritated, I just started saying no to everything so we could get out of there. Good grief.

When Nannie and Papa were in China years ago, they brought Jody and me simple jade bracelets. Mine broke a couple years ago but I know Jo still has hers. I'm determined to find another jade bracelet for myself and Reagan, too. I'm just going to be more forceful today and beat these girls off like flies if I have to. Wish us luck.

Beijing takes the prize!

I've been in some dirty places before. London, Los Angeles, New York City, Jakarta, Cairo. FILTHY places. However, I hereby declare Beijing as the winner of the all-time most polluted, littered, downright GRAY city on the planet. A funky yellow, gray haze just floats over everything. Yesterday morning I thought it was a fog. Ha. Fog. No, indeed. That'd be a cloud of carcinogens smothering every healthy pair of lungs it can find. Last night after being out in the funk for right at 12 hours, I took a shower. Danny heard my scream and came running in to discover me pointing at the bathtub floor. It was covered, swirling in gray/brown. I made mud, people. And you know how clean I am, how I sanitize everything. I washed and scrubbed and scrubbed and washed Beijing off of me and today we're gonna go back and out and collect more of it. I should save it and put it in little boxes like they used to with Mt St. Helen's ash. I swear that's what it is.

We went to T. Square. I don't have the energy to Google it to figure out how to spell it but you know the place and I think Matt is uploading a link to our Flickr account so you can see pictures. Our guide specifically asked us not to talk to her about tanks and students and to please, for the love, not take pictures of the uniformed soldiers. If they catch you, they take away your camera, film and/or memory card. And they insist on seeing your passport and quiz you about why you're in their country, etc. So naturally, my husband had to have pictures of this forbidden fruit. He whipped out his gigantic lens and started sneaking off shots while I prayed silently and asked Father to blind the soldiers to my husband's photographic challenges. I'll be lucky if he makes it out with me but I'm thinking if he gets arrested, I may be able to lay down on the flight home because I'll have his empty seat beside Ru and me. Always look on the positive side, I say. We also visited
the Forbidden City and The Summer Palace both of which one can't help but be impressed by. We were disappointed because lots of the structures are under maintenance tarps/scaffolding. Everyone here is focused on the Olympics next summer. In fact, later today (Sunday) we're going to visit the Olympic village and see The Bird's Nest stadium (we've driven by from a distance but this time we'll get up close and get some better pics to share).

I've never been so hot and humid in my life. That says a lot considering I'm from eastern Kansas and I've played basketball on the equator in June in Indonesia. This place is oppressive hot. The heat rose off the sidewalk and swished around us. I could feel it as though it were tangible. It's hard to explain. Also, we felt a breeze probably three or four times in 12 hours of touring. For a Kansan, this is torture in the highest form. When I found wind, I just stood still and let it whip around me for all of 30 seconds and then moved on, always on the hunt for the next wisp of air movement.

At lunch we were reassured that the ice was clean, safe for our "sensitive stomachs" and we should enjoy it. So we did. For the entire meal. Then one of our group discovered an unfortunate (and unfortunately large) beetle who suffered a rather chilly death, nestled in the center of our "safe" ice pitcher. I stopped drinking immediately, obviously, but Danny decided the damage was done and kept on downing ice, cold Coke like we drink bug ice every day. Mostly I'm eating rice, as usual. However, last night I busted out and ate duck which of course tastes like chicken. We have one girl in our group who'll eat anything and we make her taste test stuff like Mikey with Life cereal. So far she's still alive and we follow her lead. Fortunately, she's here with her sister who's also adopting from Hunan so we'll have her tasting skills with us the entire trip.

I should probably stop talking about our adventures thus far. In conclusion, Beijing is hot and dirty and don't drink the ice no matter what your guide says. I'll write on another topic momentarily. Danny says I'm being too negative toward Beijing. I don't really mean to be. I'm always up for a new adventure, a new place. I think being here in the spring or fall would be quite pleasant. The history/architecture are truly amazing. I'm just so hot and dirty and they still haven't given me my baby. Sigh. So I may be a bit on the negative side. Talk to me again in 24 hours.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures that Danny was able to upload to Flickr. Also, Danny and Lisa are unable to view Flickr or this blog from China so they will not be able to see any comments you make. Just send them an email if you want to tell them something.

We're here

The flight was uneventful except that we had the very, very good fortune of receiving exit aisle seats. HUZZAH. So 13 hours later, we've arrived in possibly the most polluted city on the planet. My sinuses immediately reacted and I'm all stuffy-nosed now. Thank God for Jenn and her magic doctor powers. I'm squirting nasal spray like mad. We're so excited to be here. Our travel instincts kicked in and we have maneuvered our way alright, I think. We've ran into other adoptive families including one with our agency who we've talked to online for the last 6 months. Small world and all that.

Our hotel is super fancy and we're on the 11th floor. This hotel really reminds us of a place we stayed in Jakarta years ago. It's gorgeous and so sophisticated. Well, except we can't drink the water of course. Our guide described Beijing water as having "extra minerals" in it. Ummm...yeah. That's what they are.

We didn't really sleep on the plane at all but powered our way through 5 or 6 movies and a book. We're seriously, seriously considering upgrading to business class on the way home. China is stinking far away from Kansas, in case anyone had doubts about that particular bit of geography. Don't. We're 7,000 miles from home but we're closer to Ru than we've ever been so naturally, we're doing just fine.

Love you all!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy Birthday, USA!

We're leaving for a 4th of July party in a couple of hours. Then we're staying at a motel by KCI so we can just take a shuttle over for our early morning flight. I'll write again when we're in Beijing!

This is really, really it.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

One Thing More...

Please be in prayer for us. Our updated homestudy has to be processed before our consulate appointment. I'm sending it to the KC office today and the man said, "we'll try." But no promises. This could mean a delay in China. No one freak out or call me right now. I'll scream at you because I'm so angry and frustrated with my social worker right now that I can't see straight. Please just pray for my peace and my organizational ability and my ability to release this to Father. Thank you.

Also, please pray for my health. I have a head cold which should make our flights super fun.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Empire Strikes Back

Daddy, I think I forgot how to put up the shield. Care to refresh my memory?

A tidbit from my childhood since it's 2:30am and I couldn't sleep to save my life... is that I'm a farmer's daughter and in our neck of the woods rain was a blessed, mysterious refreshment not to be taken for granted. I still say when our feet have turned into prunes during the walk across a parking lot that, "this is good for the crops." Only, it's not good when it comes at harvest time and it's not good when it washes seeds away or farmers end up with Buicks in their fields because a road washed out and that's where the cars were carried. Nope, that's not good for the crops at all.

It's been a very wet spring and summer here in Ottawa. A huge chunk of the Midwest is under water right now. I was worried about Ru a few weeks ago because China is experiencing flooding and now her new home is, too. Today our roof leaked into our living room and there's water along the wall in the basement. Did I mention we leave for China in four days and the forecast is for more of the same?

So about that shield. Like all parents who truly love their children, our Mom and Daddy raised us on Star Wars and Star Trek. Shields play an important role in both stories and if you don't already know about that, well, I pity you and am sorry your parents didn't love you. That's a shame.

But back to me. Rain is finicky. It liked other fields better than ours. We'd wake up in the morning to ask Daddy about the night's precipitation because even at an early age, we understood its role in our likelihood to get new Cabbage Patch dolls. The Slemps got rain. Nortons? Rain. Other Farrars living just across the road? Rain. Our little patch of desert? Nope. Nada. And when we asked why this travesty occurred, visions of yarn-haired babies slipping away...Daddy would explain that he'd left the shield up the night before. Oops. The shield was up and the rain couldn't get through.

I think the Empire fiddled with our shield generator because I can't get the darn thing to work at all and the rain, sensing our weakness, is attempting to assimilate us.

Lasts Clarification

I've had some concerned friends point out that I will certainly put gas in my car again and that I'll have another haircut after Ru gets here. While I may literally need the strength of Samson to be a mom, I do intend to get a trim now and then. My "lasts" post was just a short list of things we're doing for the LAST time before Reagan is actually here.
We will definitely have date nights again. We've been so spoiled having ten very fun, loving years as a married couple. We know we need to slip away for grown up time and we have friends who owe us YEARS of childcare and we intend to cash in and sneak off.
Anyway, just wanted to clarify what I meant.