Our Last Group Outing in Chongqing

Cathy needed a break from the blog tonight so I am substituting for her this evening. Today was our last group outing in Chongqing. This morning we all gathered in the lobby and departed for Eling Park. Eling Park is the highest point in the city with some spectacular views of Chongqing. Unfortunately, it was rainy and overcast and visibility was very poor. I was very disappointed because Chongqing is absolutely enormous. I wanted to see it from that vantage point because it is high rise after high rise with many more under construction. Our tour guide calls the city a "concrete forest" because of all the high rises. They go on for as far as you can see and truly is hard to comprehend--think Chicago downtown times 1000. Despite the rain the outing in the park was very interesting. It was very pretty and had some neat landmark's. Mao had a house in the park where he held up during World War II and there was a neat museum. The museum outlined the Three Gorges project, which is a huge damn, that is displacing approximately 1.3 million people. After an hour or so the kids let us know that it was time to head back to our hotel so off we went.

We returned to the hotel and spent a quiet afternoon hanging out in the hotel. We got take out from an italian restaurant and Maeve and I took a nice walk in the garden on the 10th floor. We all also were able to sneak in naps.

It has been a long week here in Chongqing so we decided to invite all the families and our guides to a pizza party in our room. We ran down to the Pizza Hut, which is right next to the Starbuck's, and brought some pizzas back to our room. It was a great way to spend the evening. We all needed to socialize and blow off a little steam. Many of us have been so focused on adjusting to our children that it was nice to really spend time with other adults having fun. It really turned out well and we were all able to share our progress this week.

Well tomorrow is our last day in Chongqing and I think all the families are ready to move on to the next leg of our journey. We have all heard of the great experiences that people have in Guongzhou and the White Swan and we are all looking forward to it. I think Cathy is excited about the shopping.

If you would like to view more pictures of our experience in China please click on the link in the upper right corner entitled, "More China Pictures" and then select, "China Day 7."

Taking it Easy

Today we decided to take it easy and stay at the hotel. Maeve is feeling much better, but she needed a day with less excitement and more nap time! Maeve was having a lot of trouble keeping her formula in, so we switched her to soy formula and that seems to be helping. Little by little she is doing better.

There is a mall attached to our hotel, so we went for a walk. Other than that, we just played in the room and rested. We all needed a slow day.

Tonight, Maeve finally started grieving. She has been through a lot and it finally all hit her. We worked through it and hopefully each day will get easier for her. We talked to her big brothers, Collin and Brennen, on the phone today and they are ready to give her lots of love when she gets home.

Tomorrow we are going to the highest point in Chongqing to get a great view of the city and to learn more about the 3 Gorges Dam. We should have some great pictures to post tomorrow. If you would like to see some pictures of Maeve playing, you can click on the "More China Pictures" link and then click on the "China Day 6" folder.

Going to the Zoo!

Today we had an outing to the Chongqing Zoo to see their many panda bears. Maeve is still fighting a cold, but she still had fun seeing all of the animals and pretty flowers at the zoo.

It was amazing to see panda bears eating bamboo just a few feet in front of us! They really are cute animals. One of the pandas gave birth to twins, which is very rare. Unfortunately, the baby pandas weren't out today. But, we got to see mom and grandma.

We also saw something you would never see in a U.S. zoo. A bear stood on it's hind legs and would dance in a circle to get you to give him soda! People were pouring soda down to him and he would catch it in his mouth!

Maeve is starting to trust us and bond to us a little bit more each day. She gets a big smile on her face when she sees mommy or daddy. She is just so sweet.

To see more zoo pictures, click on the "More China Pictures" link and then on the folder entitled "China Day 5."

It's Official!!

Today was the second day we were waiting for...going to the Civil Affairs Office to make our adoption leagal in both China and the U.S. After a family picture and a swearing in, it was official! Maeve is our daughter forever!!!!

To celebrate, our group went out to dinner for some spicy Chongqing food. Maeve tried her hardest to sit in the highchair, but she is such a peanut that she kept sliding down. So, she sat on my lap and had some steamed eggs...a favorite of Chinese babies.

Maeve continues to be such a happy baby, inspite of the cold she is coming down with. We are hoping it won't be long before she starts the grieving process that is natural for her to go through. It won't be much fun, but it is necessary.

Everywhere we go, people comment on what a smiley baby she is. It amazes me that a tiny baby in her situation would have such a joyful spirit. I guess the angels we prayed for God to send took good care of her and made sure she was happy. Her big brothers, Collin and Brennen never let a night go by without praying for baby Maeve. God heard all of their prayers.

To see more pictures from today, click on the "More pictures from China" link and then click on the "China Day 4" folder.

Our Beautiful Maeve!!!

Words cannot explain the joy we feel today! We FINALLY have our beautiful, smiley Maeve in our arms!

After arriving in the absolutely crazy city of Chongqing (it's the largest city not only in China, but also in the world...32 million people!!), we had just one hour to do more paper work and get ready for the babies! We were all rushing around in a state of delerium.

After the paper work was finished, we were told to go back to our rooms, wait for our luggage to arrive, and then come back to the conference room. Well, Dave and one of the other dads headed for the lobby with their camcorders and cameras to catch the girls arriving. Dave took one look at a sweet baby being carried in by an older gentleman and said to the other dad, "That's my daughter!" He could tell it was her right away because she has Collin's chin and Brennen's big smile.

Dave called me immediately from the lobby and said, "They're here!" Unfortunately, our luggage was the last to be delivered, so I was still gathering up a few things. Needless to say, I was in panic mode and just about stopped breathing! (I know that is difficult for most of you to imagine). The next thing I know, my dear husband was walking through our hotel room door to help...I think the dead silence on the other end of the receiver followed by a slam tipped him off that I was about to lose it!

We finished getting our things together and headed for the conference room. When we walked in, all of the girls were in the room already waiting for their moms and dads! Maeve was the first baby I saw and my heart about stopped. She is such a beautiful baby and I knew it was her the minute I laid eyes on her. I said, "Nihao, You You" and she looked at me and gave me the biggest smile Dave and I have ever seen. At last we were looking at our Maeve.

Once all of the parents arrived, we were one by one joined with our daughters. Everyone in the room had to let out a laugh and an, "Awwww", because when I took Maeve in my arms, she looked me right in the eyes and gave me the sweetest smile, as if to say, "It's going to be okay, Mom."

After going back to our room, Maeve continued to amaze us with her giggles and smiles. Then, she took a bottle and fell asleep. I have a feeling that when she wakes up, the smiles will be gone for awhile. But that's okay. We'll see that sweet smile again before we know it.

What an amazing day. Though God may give us our children in different ways, the moment you hold that child in your arms for the first time feels the same...amazing and indescribable. Life doesn't get much better than this.

For more pictures of our day, click on the "More China Pictures" link and then on the "China Day 3" folder.

China Day 2

Our second full day in Beijing was quite the adventure. After our orientation meeting with Holt (at which we received updated photos of Maeve and she still has that beautiful big smile, only now with two teeth!), we set off for Tian An Men Square. I had to pinch myself that I was actually standing there! It's bigger and more impressive than pictures show. Chairman Mao's mosoleum is closed for renovations, so we couldn't go inside. However, just being there was very surreal. It was also fun to see the countdown clock to the olympics just across the street. Everyone in China is so honored and excited to be hosting the next olympics.


Afterwards, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which is where the emperors would go to pray and offer sacrifices. It is probably one of the most beautiful sights in all of Beijing.


Next, we went to the Pearl Market. I had to convince everyone in our group to go there after the Temple of Heaven so that our driver would take us there and wait for us. It didn't take much convincing and we had a blast! I haven't gotten to bargain like that since we lived in Turkey! Needless to say, after just two days, I have a reputation as the resident shopper of our group! It helps to have good friends who told me ahead of time exactly where to shop!


We ended our day with a stroll through "Snack Street." Let's just say that if the visuals didn't put you over the edge, the smell did! Of course, if your idea of a snack is scorpions, beetles, silk worms, or sparrow on a stick, then this would be the perfect place! To see more pictures from our day, you can click on the link to the top right that is entitled, "More China Pictures" and then click on the folder labeled, "China Day 2."

We are now less than 24 hours from holding our sweet Maeve. It's hard to believe, but the next time I post a message, it will be with Maeve by my side. Okay, now my stomach is in knots. I'm not going to sleep a wink. Where's my Tylenol PM?

Our First Day in China

After a three hour delay in Chicago, we safely arrived in Beijing on Thursday evening. Today was our first full day in the beautiful country of China. We met everyone in our travel group this morning and we are very fortunate to be traveling with such a wonderful and fun group of people!

It took about two hours by bus to get to the Great Wall, which allowed us to see a great deal of Beijing, including the grounds of the Olympic Stadium. The stadium, still under construction, is called "The Birds Nest" due to its shape. It will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Great Wall was breath-taking...literally! We haven't huffed and puffed that much in ages! There are parts of the wall that go straight up, but the view was worth every minute of the hike. Being two people who have also had the fortune of seeing the pyramids in Egypt, it was just as mind boggling to imagine what went into the construction of the Great Wall. It's no wonder that it is one of the seven wonders!!!

After leaving the Great Wall, we headed for the Cloisonne Factory and learned all about what goes into the making of these beautiful pieces of art. Much to Dave's dismay, I out-shopped everyone!

We ended our afternoon by taking a bicycle rickshaw tour of the Hutong district. We even got a tour of a family's home. Though it was very modest, the family was extremely proud of their home in the Hutong district which is being increasingly threatened by the construction of new apartment buildings.

We ended our day by going to a duck restaurant with two other couples from our group to try Peking duck. We were told that it was one of the four experiences we needed to have in Beijing. One of the guys in our group was convinced he would get avian flu if he went near the duck, but the rest of us were daring and it was delicious! We even got an official certification of the duck we devoured...not sure why. I guess if there's a duck recall, we'll know the other guy in our group was the smart one.

To see more pictures from our first day in China, you can click on the link at the top right entitled, "More China Pictures", then click on the "China Day 1" folder.

Two more days till we see our newest pumpkin! We can't wait!

ALL PACKED AND READY TO GO!

The past six weeks have been a whirlwind, but our bags are packed and we are ready to go! It's hard to believe that Dave and I leave in 2 days, we will be on the Great Wall in 4 days and we will have Maeve in our arms in 6 days!

Big brothers, Collin and Brennen, are looking forward to spending time with both sets of grandparents, but are very anxious for their baby sister to get home. They have been a big help in getting everything ready.

Our next post will be from Beijing!! Somebody pinch me.