We were up until around 3 AM last night unpacking, talking, and just marveling at actually being in China after years of anticipation. We were both starving when we got to the room. Thankfully the hotel has 24 hour room service. The employees here at the hotel speak very little English so it is at times a bit of a comedy of errors being understood. After being passed around to several employees they finally sent a person up to our room so we could point on the menu at the items we wanted to oder. We each ended up getting a hot dog and french fries. We suspect that cost us $15 but the price sheet for the mini bar says a single coke costs $20 so we are hoping for the best when we see our bill. The bed in the room is lower to the ground than we are used to and is quite hard, but we both slept like rocks last night.

This morning, we woke up at 7:15 and met Glen and Lynda for breakfast. The hotel's breakfast buffet is, in a word, amazing. It is very similar to the type of breakfast buffet they have on cruise ships. There was a mix of western and Asian breakfast options, including omlettes, rolls, dumplings, fried rice, congee, bacon, sausage, cereal, juice, vegetables, etc. Today was a designated free day so we decided to go for a walk around the area of the hotel. The Chinese people are very warm, with most greeting us with a nod of the head or “Ni Hao!” which is Chinese for hello. In the immediate area of the hotel we found an outdoor public fitness area with a variety of exercise equipment. When we happened upon this at first we thought it was a playground for children and then we realized that no, this was for adults as there were such things as rudimentary elliptical machines and the like with adults exercising away. We also found a western style shopping mall, restaurants, and retail stores. One of the striking things in our experience so far has been not how different everything is here, but how similar. There is a strong western influence in Beijing, at least what we have seen of the city so far.

A Local Resturant!!



Some differences we have noted are that pedestrians need to exercise exceptional care as you definitely do not have the right of way here. Workers at most businesses do not have a name on their ID badge. Instead they typically have a number along with their job title. It has been interesting seeing western restaurants and products available as easily as they are over here. We made a stop at a grocery store and bought 2 gallons of spring water as we have been warned not to drink the water over here.

After a short break back in our hotel we met in the lobby to enjoy ham & swiss sandwiches, french fries, coke , Heineken beer & lovely pots of Jasmine Tea! Lynda and Julia enjoyed their first tea service in China! All they were missing were their fancy tea hats! A tea-for-one pot of tea cost about $10 (for one pot). And, the waitress infused the tea leaves three times for Julia but Lynda reached her limit at 2 pots. We are a bit surprised to find out how expensive tea is over here!

Local Tea Room

On our way back to our rooms we perused the gift shops, picked up some post cards, purchased 12 stamps (for a little less than $1 each). We had a conversation with one Chinese Gentleman employee who told us he taught himself English. He was quite the character explaining something about not hesitating when considering any purchases and three legged frogs are unusual thus lucky. Through our conversation with this man we learned that one amongst us is blessed with an unnatural ability to interpret broken English...Lynda is our own personal “Chinese Whisperer” – like the horse whisperer or the dog whisperer... Where Julia heard “I like to touch my toes, bend my knees, where long sleeves & I like vests” Lynda heard “I taught myself English by learning individual words like, pants, shoes, vests, arms, etc.” Or, When Julia heard “Large group of people exercising at one time causes earthquake” Lynda heard “when America dropped bomb years ago it weakened the ground”. Or, when Julia heard, “good for body turn green.” Lynda heard “Jade is a great stone to wear because it heals your body from the inside and in turn wearing Jade is good for the stone because over time your body oils will smooth out the Jade for a softer/prettier stone.”

Now, Lynda's interpretation prowess did not occur until after she had her 7 hours of rest & four cups of coffee. I know this because the very first conversation she had with a local she swears the dude on the phone asked her “What kind of Dachshund do you have?” but we found out later that was our guide Michael asking “Are you the family here for the adoption?”

Speaking of the adoption, we will be meeting with our guide at 9AM in the hotel lobby tomorrow (Sunday morning in China, Saturday night in the States). I doubt we will get much sleep tonight. Tomorrow is the culmination of over 6 years of prayer. Our dreams of being parents are becoming a reality. Praise The Lord! And, the angels sing “Halleluiah, Amen!” God is good!




At the mall!
Chinese Brides

Public Exercise Equipment

We are safely in Beijing! The plane ride over was obviously very long. We were pleased by the selections of free movies (and free wine/beer) ... Kings Speech, Space Battleship Yamato, The Tourist, Gulliver Travels and much much more). Our seats reclined just enough so our foreheads were not knocking into the seat in front but not at all enough to get comfortable.

Once we arrived at our destination we waited for almost two hours for our guide to pick us up. Needless to say we were confused, exhausted & agitated. We had no yuan to make a phone call so luckily Dad took charge and found some English speaking Chinese girls, working at a tour desk, who allowed him to use their desk phone to call our guide- the mix up was that our guide had our old itinerary which had our flight landing one hour before it actually did.

Here are the confused Americans, weary from travel and anxious to assume horizontal posture...


We ended up on a small bus with 2 other families who had been picked up at a different terminal. One of them originates from Texas. Both families are here to adopt their daughters and they will leave Sunday to fly to their prospective families. The ride to our hotel was surprising to us all- at night at least, the roads, buildings, green exit signs, digital information boards over the interstate all looked like home. They are even driving on the same side of the street. We were expecting vastly different sites and today was not the day we would experience much except fatigue.

We got checked into our hotel with the help of our friendly guide. Our room is very pretty. The bed is much lower to the ground than what we are used to back home. And there are only a handful of hangers to hang our small wardrobe. Matt and I just ate our room service hotdogs and french fries and it was delicious. I would go as far as to say it was as good as the yummy New York hotdogs we indulged in a few years ago. We think the total for our two hot dog platters comes out to be $15. Lets hope we arent mistaken. The room mini bar has single cokes for $20 each so we will stay away from those. Here's a few pictures of our room. Notice the playpen bed waiting on our son!! We are set up and ready for Zachary's arrival!









We were told tonight we would be leaving for the orphanage at 9am Sunday! We cant wait! We are the only family from our agency staying in Beijing so we are excited to meet other families (from other agencies) who will be going to our Gotcha Day too! Exciting times!!

As we write this, we are sitting in the Seattle/Tacoma airport right next to the Duty Free store< which has Julia salivating like a rabid wharf rat at the sight of Clinique, Lancome, and other notorious brands. I pulled her out rapidly as i saw our money dwindling by the twinkle in her eyes. What a long strange day it has been already. We got up at 0500 and set about taking bags downstairs. Dad arrived at 0600 and took us to the airport. We arrived at around 0710. We cleared TSA around 0800 and we got scanned by the new full-body scanners. Matt ended up having his left arm felt up after they thought they saw something in the scan. After TSA, we went to Popeyes Chicken for breakfast and during that time, Glen and Lynda arrived. We got on the plane around 1015 and left the ground in Atlanta at 1053. We had a pretty uneventful flight until we were over Montana. At that point the head stewardess got on the PA system asking for any medical personnel to report to the back of the plane. Matt went to help and ended up helping take care of a girl who was having a panic attack and had gotten overheated. Matt ended up talking to the pilot who wanted his advice about whether to divert to the nearest airport or continue on to Seattle. The girl was stable so Matt advised to continue on, which we did. Long story short, the girl was fine and we got 10,000 Delta Skymiles given to us for Matt's efforts. So, now we wait for the next phase of the journey. More when we reach Beijing!

Adoption Update

A few days ago we made final payment for inter-China travel (hotels, airfare, excursions, etc.). Our next goal is to make sure we have all our paperwork organized & make plenty of copies!! And, we are beginning the arduous task of packing! We are only able to carry 44 pounds each. Which we are finding difficult because we are bringing snacks (for us and Zachary), clothes/toys for Zachary, and a few gifts (and packaging)for very special guides/officials. My hope is that Matt will allow me to use some of his suitcase for my makeup and hair products! LOL!! I know, I know, I need to pick the necessities but it is so hard for me to do! :))

Wanted to make you aware that our little Nacho has made his show business debut. Check the first 30 seconds of the video below (after the advertisement) and see Nacho in his little clown outfit.


The Giant vs Cobra-WCW Heavyweight title by TSteck160

Well, actually, it is not Nacho...but it could be a long-lost brother or cousin...or something...

Earlier this week two of my good friends Monica & Tricia hosted us a baby shower. We got to show off Zachary's room to our friends (and my Mother & sister). The invitation read "The room is ready, the time is near. A new little boy will soon be here!"

And, Yes he will! :)) we can hardly stand ourselves! Thank you to all our family and friends for helping us celebrate this very special time in our lives!

Here are a few of the beautiful decorations Monica & Tricia created for us...


In all the excitement, we forgot to take a group picture. However, there were more cameras there and I can't wait to see the pictures and get them scrapbooked for Zachary's baby album!

We have been so busy! And, there's still a laundry list of things for us to accomplish before we leave for China! Aunt Camille (Julia's sister) spent the night after the shower and created vinyl cut letters for Zachary's wall! She is simply amazing at the things she creates with her Cricut! Thank you Camie! We LOVE the wall quote & can't wait to sing the nursery rhyme with Zachary! "Twinkle, twinkle, Litte Star..."

Also, my (Julia) Mother & Father gifted us the rocking chair that they used to rock my sister & me. It has very special meaning for our family and I am beyond words with emotion that it now sits in my son's room! I will forever cherish this rocking chair!

Also, here are a few updated pictures of Zachary's room...

February, Mother Goose Tea Shower
These are some of the decorations at the tea shower. Notice the clock- it was standing still because, when taking tea, time stands still so you can relax and enjoy each others company!

My first Baby Shower was held at a dear friends home (The Queen of Tea Fancy Nancy B.) for a Mother Goose Tea. What a lovely afternoon with my friends and several pots of delicious tea (scones & tea sandwiches of course)!

I've never seen this before & I love the idea so much that I am filing it away for the future. The white flowers were sitting in blue colored water and gradually through the tea party they got darker and darker blue! They were beautiful!

I warned everyone before the tea officially got started that I was likely to cry my way through it- tears of joy!! And, unexpectedly Fancy Nancy's dear husband came in to take our group picture and said to me, "You are the Mother to be..." And, rather unexpectedly (for he had not been warned) I just bawled!! The ugly cry- - chin quivering and I was chocking back sobs of joy!! I never realized that tears of joy can look very similar to tears of sadness! LOL, anyways, poor Mr. B he was taken aback and started asking questions that I was not able to answer (hrough my bitting of my lip to attempt to stop crying) so my Bestie, Connie sitting right next to me, did not skip a beat and answered Mr. B's questions just as I would have! I was grateful for her words when I was unable to speak. And, I am sure Mr. B was grateful for Nascar because he quickly retreated to the race! :))

And, to continue my story, here I am, crying my way through the presents- - after 10 years of prayers and tears I am finally about to hold my little son. And, being able to look back and see God's plan for us is so awe inspiring I tear up for all the Blessings God has showered us with. PTL (Praise The Lord!, and the choir says- "Amen, Hallelujah")

Being a table full of scrap bookers- there wasn't a guest without a camera. This picture makes me smile. This Shower was heavily documented and I am itching to get it scrapbooked!

Thank you to all my dear friends who helped ring in the beginning of this new season of Motherhood with me! I raise my tea cup to you all! "Cheers"

Adoption Update
Today we got our tentative itinerary for China. We arrive in China, get essentially one day of rest and getting used to being in China and then the craziness hits. We tour the orphanage and get Zachary on our third day in country. After that, the days are filled with a variety of activities, including a tour of the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, a trip to the Beijing Zoo, and various shopping excursions. These jaunts are intermingled with pitstops for various paperwork matters, medical checks, and the like.

We bid adieu to Beijing after two weeks and then fly to Guangzhou and lather, rinse, and repeat, this time for the US Consulate. After a few days in Guangzhou, we fly out to Tokyo (we hope!) and then on to Minneapolis, where, Presto-Change-o! Zach becomes an American. Then back home to Atlanta and a whole different life.

We are so excited and can't wait to pull out our suitcases and start packing! There's a lot to think about and a few more bits and pieces that we need to gather before we leave. We can't wait to meet our son!!!

Adoption Update

Yesterday we received our confirmation travel date and purchased our Domestic flights to and from China! Hoot hoot!! We are so excited!! We will travel from Atlanta to Seattle the Seattle to Beijing. On our trip home we will fly from Guangzhou to Tokyo. Then Tokyo to Detroit. Then, Finally Detroit to Atlanta. OMG! That return flight home is going to be exhausting. However, we did book our son a seat so we will have a little extra room for him to stretch out.

On a side note, we will be in China for my 40th Birthday! Another answer to prayer- I'll be a mother before I'm 40! :)) Maybe by just a few days, but it is still another prayer answered! PTL (Praise The Lord)!

This coming Tuesday, good friends of ours, Monica & Tricia are throwing us a Baby Shower. I noticed on her blog she posted a few pictures of the things she has created for the shower. I am just i awe of her creativity and the love that she is putting into her creations. Take a look at her blog for pictures...

http://mybusybusylife.blogspot.com/

This Monday we received our final piece of paperwork necessary to schedule our appointment at the US Embassy in China! We quickly scanned the document and sent it off to our agency. The appointment will determine our travel dates. Thus we are all anxiously awaiting news from our agency!

Scrapbooking the monthly calendars has helped me keep up with all our activities! Looking at the month at a glance is awe inspiring for how much we have accomplished.



Also, I have finally put all our family pictures in the photo books that we are bringing to China with us for Zachary. Take a lookey...

Adoption Update

We have had a VERY busy week preparing for our trip to China. Monday we went to our County Health Department to get our CDC recommended vaccines. We ended up having to get Typhoid, Hep A, Hep B & the Flu Shot. Four days later and we both are experiencing a little redness/swelling/tenderness where we received our flu shots. Other wise we are doing just fine!

Wednesday we were fingerprinted for our I-797 update. And, this is the final piece of the puzzle that will get us to set our travel date stage! We are so excited and every day that passes gets us a little closer to our son!

Monday we are expecting our passports & visas to arrive. We will anxiously be waiting FedEX to ring our doorbell!

As stated above, we are very close to being able to schedule our travel dates. We are still unsure of the time line. However, we both are making uneducated guesses that March 24 or April 2 could very possibly be our travel dates. But, that is yet to be known and we will continue to keep everyone updated!

Today was a fun day for us both! We got up early in hopes of beating the inevitable crowds at Target. Our goal was to get an early start roaming the store. No I did not leave Matt at home. He got his first experience roaming the aisles holding a scanner gun to create our baby registry. And, we picked up a few items along the way. We couldn't resist this "Yeti" t.shirt. We thought it was quite appropriate!And, we picked up this cute little "Ready to Rumble" sweat suit set.
Later in the day we went to visit Zachary's Papi (Ed, Matt's Dad). We had a great time visiting with him. Ed gave us Matt's childhood toy chest to pass along to Zachary. Isn't that so sweet?! We are both excited to share it with our "Z-man". Thank you Papi!! Once we get it set up in Zach's room we will post a picture and share it with everyone. We have no doubt Zach will use it to hold his treasures!

When we arrived home we were pleased to find our fingerprint appointment letter arrived in the mail! Our appointment is set for a week from Wednesday. Also, much earlier today we mailed off our VISA applications. It is all falling together quite smoothly! PTL (Praise The Lord!)

I have been enjoying some relaxing moments in my "craft Lair" :)) scrap booking layouts for Zachary's baby album. My most recent layout highlights our Red Egg photo. Inside the pocket (on the second page) is a journal tag which explains the meaning behind the red egg and describes the making of the picture.

Also, today Matt created a baby registry on Amazon.com for Zachary. It can be found anytime by searching for our names at http://www.amazon.com/babyregistry we have been having fun browsing children books! It's amazing how many are out there! Guess we have been oblivious for a long time and now we are getting thrown right into the exciting world of nursery rhymes, potty training books, cookie monsters, etc.! We have quite a small collection of books for Zachary already. A few years ago Matt joined Zachary into a Dr. Seuss book club. Dr. Seuss is among Matt's all time favorite childhood book series.

Yesterday my parents visited to help assemble Zachary's room. Nonnie & Bop-bop worked hard & we very much appreciated everything they did for us! We certainly could not have accomplished everything as easily and with out arguments, lol. On with the room tour...

Step one. Assemble the crib. My sister has been saving her crib for us. Way back when my Father & brother in law assembled this crib for my parents first grand child Caroline & my Father said it was not nearly as difficult this time around.


Step two. Iron the curtains, Thanks Mom!

Step three. Hang the curtains.


Lots of hard work, a little perspiration & 3 hours later...

The fully assembled crib.

The dressed window & book shelf.

The Dresser in it's place. Hang picture.The dresser was mine as a child. And, the picture above it is of me and my Mother (taken by my Father). On top of the dresser are a few pictures of Matt & his Mother & a Miller Family portrait circa 1972

picture reenactment

We are very pleased with the finished room! It is a happy, sunny room! Four years ago we purchased the bedding accessories and had the room painted. In fact, my Mother-in-law Nancy, helped us pick out the yellow that we ultimately chose for the walls. It is a reminder that even though she is no longer with us, her spirit remains in the little details and her love surrounds us.

There are a few more things to hang up on the walls & a few organizational bins to buy but for the most part it is finished. And, it will be complete once our son Zachary is finally home!

We had a productive weekend! Saturday we went to my parents house & while I registered at Baby's-R-Us Matt went off with John and Dad to a range. I hope Matt released some tension which has begun to settle on top of his shoulders. ;)

Baby's-R-Us was a bit overwhelming for me. However, my Mother, Sister and two nieces helped me navigate through the isles. I could not have done it with out their help. I am amazed at all the options! There's nothing simple about a store that has hundreds of options for something as trite as a sippy cup!

As you have likely already surmised from the picture above, I've added one more page to Zachary's baby album. I've been enjoying a few spare minutes here and there to accomplish my ever growing pile of pictures (all waiting to be scrap booked). I'm not expecting that pile to do anything less than grow faster than my ability to scrapbook them.

Earlier today, Matt came up with an apt metaphor for the situation we find ourselves in. We are making the slow climb up the first hill on a giant roller coaster (with the accompanying click, click, click) Feeling all of the fear of the unknown as we approach the top waiting for the moment that gravity takes over, we throw our hands into the air and scream for mercy!

We do have an adoption update to share. We spoke with our agency today to get much needed help answering our visa application questions and we got a guestimate of travel to China! It is possible we could travel late March however it is more likely we will be traveling in April and home by May. And, we will be gone for 21 days.

In a few days my parents are coming over to help set up the crib and hang the curtain rods. We have brought the crib up from the basement in anticipation of their arrival. And, the nursery is beginning to get some much needed attention!