Thursday, July 17, 2008

We got her....and she's Perfect!




Well, it was the BIG DAY. Our guide, Willy told us that we would be meeting Yang Fu Gui at 10 am at the Provincial Civil Affairs Office. Even with all the anticipation, we were so tired the night before that we slept like rocks. This is usually the night that I cannot sleep. Like the night before Christmas as a child , the night before you get your child is full of dreams, excitement and topped with a little bit of nervous anticipation. The what-if's all surface..... nontheless, you are so excited that you cannot sleep. Thank God, that this night I had no choice, my body gave out and I slept. Willy told us the night before that he thought our daughter was probably already in this capital city of Changsha, staying in a hotel with the director of the orphanage. In the morning we were supposed to leave by 9:30 am but our private bus was 10 minutes late and I was worried that she would get there before we would and would be waiting for us. Being late to get your child is like being late to your own funeral. We got there on time and waited in the receiving room, sitting on beautiful wooden benches, cameras ready, staring at the doorway. And then it happened, just as I imagined it and dreamed that it would....this most beautiful soulful eyed child walked through the door by herself and looked at all of us. This moment in time will be with me forever, as I'm sure it will be in all of ours who were there. Then she gave us the most beautiful little smile ever and walked to us. I picked her up and hugged her and then David and the girls joined in....she was surrounded by us and all the love we have been waiting to give her. She is darling, happy, smart, affectionate, loving, beautiful.....and so much more than words can describe. She is more than anyone could ever hope for in a little child, I can't believe God would love us so much that we would give us the privielege of being her parents ....especially after we had been blessed 4 times before.

When we had gotten there that day we still didn't have a name picked for her. The kids have really been lobbying for Hayley. I had other names in mind and so did David, but they almost convinced us since they were so adament in their request. But this child was clearly not a Hayley. We knew Quinn would be part of her name but first or middle, we were undecided. Lorrie looked at me and said in a whisper, "She is so beautiful....she is not a Hayley." And then Leah popped into my head. It was a name that was on our list but near the bottom, but when I said it outloud, David and all of the girls said "Yes, that's it!" So she is now known as Leah Quinn Weik and everyone of us are totally in love with this little girl. We still can't believe she is ours!

Skipping ahead



As you can well see, I am finally catching up on posts. Several attempts at using the laptop in our room and two business centers...were unsuccessful. So much happened during our 2 days in Nanchang that it will take much time to post it and I know you all want to know about Quinn. Sooooo, I will post tomorrow about those 2 days and move on to the main reason we came to the People's Rebublic of China

I almost forgot....a sleepy dinner in Beijing...



Just to back up ....on Saturday night, Jessica wanted us to be her guests for dinner at a beautiful restaurant in Beijing. At night it was illuminated by dozens of big red lanterns and it was truly a magnificent setting. Jessica ordered several dishes to share and also some soups for the children and David. When the food arrived, all the children were fast asleep....the older girls with their heads on the table and Zoe snuggled on David's chest, and oh yeah, the big guy was fast asleep too. They slept through the meal and crankily woke up just enough to get in the car and back to the hotel room!

Sunday....More Beijing...Hello Nanchang



Well, today Jessica picked us up at the hotel in her Honda CRV. This small SUV typically seats 5 people, We squeezed in 8....typical Chinese style! No carseats, seatbelts, kids sitting on adults' laps in the back seat. Real safe stuff especially when everyone here drives like a maniac. We did a little car tour around Beijing seeing Tianemann Square and the Forbidden City with Mao's big mug shot on the front. We would have had to park a mile away and walked back to the sites in 95 degree weather, so we settled for seeing these from the car. David, Lori and I have all been there before and these places have little significance for our girls at this point in their lives. They truly wouldn't have gotten it. We wound up at a nice little restaurant for lunch that Jessica was familiar with and then went on a Hutong tour. A Hutong tour consists of riding in rickshaws with a bicycle driver in the front. They drive through the back alleys wheresmall residential areas exist; small primitive homes reminiscent of old Beijing. It took 3 rickshaws to cart us around ...these poor drivers who were small, older Chinese men were carting us larger Americans around...we really must have been a funny sight! We took a tour of one of the traditional courtyard homes and finished the ride. Back to the hotel, loaded up our suitcases and then off to the airport for our flight to Nanchang in Jiangxi Province. Of course, the airport stuff is never easy and in China it's 10 times worse....the crowds, the pushing, and dragging suitcases and 4 children...well, you get the picture....The flight was about 2 1/2 hours and we arrived in Nanchang at 8;30pm. Here we met our guide Bruce Yu , who is an expert at Heritage tours and friends with the director at Abbey's orphanage. In China, everything is about connections and money....enough said. He drove us to the hotel and we crashed for the night.Everyone's prayers are working because our girls who are ordinarily very well behaved children have been extraordinary behaved children. They have been real troopers even when we adults have been on the verge of a meltdown.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Good Morning China!



Those were the words that Zoe uttered as she opened the drapes this morning and looked outside. David and I were laying in bed and we laughed, as it was so cute but so poignant. Here we were back where it all started for her and our other 3 daughters. How wonderful to be back where they were all born and to have them here to on the journey to get their sister. All of the girls are literally euphoric to be here but seem very casual that everyone looks like them! We thought that would be amazed by this ,but they don't seem to be affected by this aspect. Our guide showed up at 10 am to take us to the Great Wall. We had a small private bus with a driver and our guide, Jenny who suggested that we go to an area of the wall where most foreign tourists don't go. It had cable cars that took one up to the top of the mountain where you could get out and climb the wall and look at the beautiful views. Each car (think enclosed ski lift) took about 4 people up, so we used 2 cars. We then spent a glorious couple of hours on the wall and afterwards were bombarded by stall merchants who all want to sell you something. We did buy a few things and David bargained for 5 pink t-shirts that had a picture of the Great Wall to give the girls. 5 shirts for $5.00! These merchants are aggressive and will stand in your path and not let you move past them! We left the wall and drove to a really nice restaurant and had a really delicious lunch. We all love Chinese food and could eat it 365 days a year, so eating in China is heaven for us. The bus ride was about 1 1/2 hours each way and we had such great sights of the way people live in China. The old and the new, the beautiful and the not so pretty. But we loved it all.

We have made a safe landing



After literally 24 hours of traveling, we landed safely at 9:30pm in Beijing. That was 3 planes and two layovers, but we are none worse for the wear and we are all in one piece. The children did phenomenally, much better than we or anyone could expect. They did a good amount of sleeping when it would have ordinarily been their bedtime and of course, as good parents, we helped them out with a little bit of Benadryl. That one leg (Minneapolis to Tokyo) was a killer for me though....I could not get comfortable to get a good chunk of sleep. But again, we all made it and we are all very happy to be here. Jimmy who is our dear friend from Florida, arranged to have his daughter Jessica pick us up at the airport and she brought a friend as we needed two cars. I had this brainstorm that we would stay at a traditional Chinese hotel. When we got there, after traveling down dark alleys with just one lightbulb at each little shack, we decided that it was a little too traditional for our taste! It was very old and beautiful, but with small room air conditoners but very musky and complete with all the smells of wood and incense. All the smells you imagined if you read Memoirs of A Geisha. LOL.

We then navigated into the center of the city and found a nice hotel, checked in and all had showers and a good nights sleep. Even if it was 1 am by now!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

1 Day to Take-off

It is 8:22 am and I have so much to do that I am immobilized. I have completely packed a wardrobe for 7 people for 15 days in China. Today is the day to pack everything else, from duct tape to toothbrushes and medicines for "just in case" situations. I have it all assembled on the dining room table but now the job is to squeeze all of "that" into backpacks and into the suitcases with the clothes. I am a little nervous but doing quite well considering that in one week, we will have a new daughter and sister and that we are going on the National Geographic version of an adoption trip. The children are all excited and we can't wait to see their reactions of being in China for the first time that they can remember. I just can't even imagine what they are going to think! What is really exciting is that my friend, Lorrie from Florida is flying up here today to go with us. She came with me to adopt Zoe, so we have this adoption trip bond thing going. LOL
We so appreciate that she is doing this for us and for the sacrifice her own family will be making for her to come with us. She has 4 at home, all adopted from China as well. So she can fully relate to our craziness.

Quinn in the dress we sent her

Quinn in the dress we sent her
Patiently waiting for my family