Gotcha Day!

Gotcha Day!
















First Dinner With Us!
















Such A Doll!


















After a 2 hour flight from Beijing to Nanchang, we finally got to meet our little Jenna today. During the plane ride, the flight attenants all wanted to take pictures with Madison - she is s bit star now.

At first, Jennna cried a little when I took her from the Director, but it didn't take her long to settle down. Once we gave her a bottle with water in it, she was fine. Unfortunately, she wouldn't let anyone else hold her, including her big sister and that caused some hurt feelings. But, after we all (me, rick, grammy and poppy) talked to Madison about how they attach and that it will take some time, she was somewhat okay.

After we left the Civil Affairs office, we went to Walmart to pick up some school supplies, clothes and toys for the kids at the orphanage as well as formula since I didn't bring any with me. She was holding on to me for dear life the entire time we were at Walmart.

After returning to the hotel, we had approximately one hour to freshen up and get downstairs for supper. During that one hour, Jenna warmed up to Madison and held her arms up to Madison to carry her - that just made Madison's day. She carried Jenna on her hip until we got to our table. She is such a good big sister. Jenna was not really interested in the formula but loved the conjee and watermellon the waitresses brought to her. While eating her conjee she became a comedian making faces at Madison while eating - she was so cute!


Tomorrow, we have to go back to the civil affairs office to more paperwork and then we can rest for a few days. We are all still having trouble with the jet lag.

Check out the new photos we posted of Gotcha Day.

Will post more tomorrow.

Teresa

Touring in Beijing

Peiking Duck Dinner!
















Our time clocks are still off a little. I woke up a midnight thinking it was time to get up. Hoewver, it was only midnight. After tossing and turning I looked at the clock (the sun was up) and it was only 5:30 a.m. Madison woke up shortly thereafter and started playing with moon sand right away.

We all boarded our bus around 8:30 and from that point on, we were praying for our lives. The chinese do haved traffic laws, but the do not follow them. Pedestrians do not have the right of way here - so, we just knew our driver was going to hit someone before we could get back to the hotel. One lane roads often turned into two to three lane roads. If the driver didn't drive fast enough, the car behind us would drive in the median to get by. We could stick our hand out of the window and touch the automobiles going by - very scary!

We shopped at the jade market here in Beijing but the prices were quite high. Hope to find jewelry at a much more reasonable price when we shop in Guongzho.

We walked up the Great wall for about an hour before Madison and I were too tired to go any further. We didn't realize how steep the Great Wall was until we started climbing it. the scienary from the higher parts of the wall were just spectacular. The only thing we didn't like was all the peddlers getting in our face and asking us to buys something, post cards, toys, scarves, et cetera. They would not take no for an answers. I did purchase some post cards, the original price was $20, but by the time we ending our bargaining, we got two packs for $10 - not bad.

We had dinner at nice restaurant with a gift shop beneath it. We had Duck for dinner which was awesome. It was so juicey, we think it was deep fried.

Our plane leaves around 10:00 a.m. in the morning - we will finally be able to put our arms around Jenna by the end of the day tomorrow. We are all so excited! That wait has been gruelling but I must say, we have learned a lot through this process. The tours were long and tiring, but learned lots about chinese history.

We are so glad to be in China and are enjoying every minute of the time we are here. Can't wait to get to Nanchang and learn more about the Province where Jenna was born.

We have posted new photos in the photobucket - take a look.

Will post again tomorrow night with photos of our "Gotcha Day"

We greatly appreciate your prayers!

Take Care, Teresa

Touring in Beijing

Madison is now our STAR! Everyone wants a picture with her!
















We had a vert full day today. First, I woke up at midnight thinking it was time to get up only to find it was only 2 hours after we went to bed. So, then I dosed in and out (which has been my typical sleeping pattern for the past few months) until about 5:40 when we all woke up for the day. Madison is full speed from the time her feet hit the floor - her first priority was to play with the moon sand.

We had an awesome breakfast this morning. When then boarded a bus that took us to the Forbidden City - we were not sure if we would make it in one peice or not. The chinese do have traffic laws, but none of then, including our bus driver, obeyed the traffic laws. Also, pedestrians do not have the right of way - we just thought for sure our driver was going to run someone over before we could make it back to the hotel. As you can see by the photo we took while in the bus, one lane roads actually turn into two to three lane roads. If you are not going fast enough, the traffic behind you will drive on the median just to get by you and cut you off. Thank God for my Scopalamine Patch.

Both of the moms from the two other families in our group left presents (V) on the plane. The landing in Beijing was a little rough but surprisingly enough we did okay.

I think between the Forbidden City and the Great wall, we must walked at least 20 miles today. We had some very unusual sites to see as well - lots of babies and toddlers being help up to urinate with split pants on - seemed we were being mooned quite often.

Madison is the new attraction for the chinese people. Lots of people wanted to take pictures with her and at first she thought it was pretty cool. But, by the end of the day, she was tired of it.

As much as I love chinese food, I can't wait to find McDonalds or Pizza Hut!

One more day

In Beijing

The jet that carried us from Washington to Beijing!


















After approximately 15 hours on the two planes, we finally made it to Beijing.

I have to give praise to Him. He has answered so many of our prayers throughout this process; the most recent of which was calming my nerves so I could get on the planes and He did! I have been more calm this past week than I have been throughout the whole process. Both plane rides were unevenful. However the videos would not work on the plane from Washington to Beijing. The crew tried for three hours to get it to work and was unsuccessful. Thankfully, we had two DVD players, Madison's nintendo and other things to keep our minds occupied. Though, the last six hours of travel were the longest. The seats were extremely small and there was absolutely no leg room. It could have been a lot worse though, so I will stop complaining now.

Madison met a little friend - 10 month old china doll - who was sitting in front of her. She really enjoyed playing pee pie with her.

Unfortunately, we cannot connect to the internet in our room here in Biejing so I had to get on using the Business Center in the hotel. Rick is working on gaining access in the room and hopefully tomorrow night, after we get back from touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden city, we can post some photos.

We are all very exhausted - we couldn't get comfortable on the plane to get any rest. However, we took a little nap before dinner and are now ready to go to bed.

Just one day and a wake up day before we meet Jenna. Please continue to pray for safe travel (we have to take another plane ride to Jenna's Province Capitol Jiangxi on Monday) and for God to prepare her for our arrival. Madison is still bouncing off the walls with excitement!

I will post again tomorrow night after dinner.

Blessings, Teresa

We're Off!

We start the travel portion of our Journey to Jenna tomorrow, May 17th. We plan to leave Wilmington around 3:00 for an overnight stay in Raleigh. We have to be at the airport by 6:00 Friday morning and then off to Washington and then to Beijing. We are all running on low fuel - having a lot of restless nights. Madison is so giddy she can't sleep either - she is so excited about finally meeting her little sister - she, of course, plans to carry Jenna on her hip like the little mama she is. Please continue to pray for safe travel and for God to prepare Jenna for our arrival.

We would like to say "Thank You" to everyone who has contributing to our effort to get to China. Thank you to everyone who donated items for us to take to the orphanage and the monetary gifts we will use to purchase more items such as school supplies for the kids in the Fenyi Orphanage. May God Bless you all! It is amazing the things we all take for granted like having paper to write on, a pencil to write with that this kids live without on a daily basis. You have all helped enrich the lives of the children in such a huge way. I pray God will continue to guide us and show us how we can to help these children in the future. Most especially, we Thank You all for your prayers as we know first hand that He is definitely listening and has opened many doors for us throughout this journey.

We will post a message when we arrive in Beijing.

Blessings, Rick, Teresa and Madison

IT'S OFFICIAL!

We received our airline tickets, visas and passports in the mail yesterday - it's official, we are traveling May 18th. It seems more real now that we have the tickets in hand - and my anxiety level has shot up 1000%. We are all getting very excited around here and Madison is counting down the days 'til the 18th. I hope this will be an exciting, wonderful, lifechanging experience for Madison and for our family. Please continue to pray for smooth transition for us all and for God to prepare Jenna's heart for us.

Our Intinerary

We are gearing up to travel on May 18th. Please pray for safe travel - we are all a little anxious about the many plane rides.

May 18: UA7120 Raleigh Durham (RDU) Washington (IAD) 843A 948A
May 18: UA 897 Washington (IAD) Beijing (PEK) 1223P 155P (Arrive Beijing on 19MAY)
May 19: Arrive Beijing, Stay at Wangfujing Grand Hotel

May 20: Sightseeing the Forbidden City and the Great Wall

May 21: Fly to Nanchang by MU5174 at 10:50, Arriving Nanchang at 13:05,

Transfer to Jin Feng Hotel in Nanchang; Meet the Child in the afternoon

May 22: Registration and notarization

May 23: Local sightseeing

May 24: Local sightseeing

May 25: Local sightseeing

May 26: At your leisure

May 27: Getting baby’s passport, Fly from Nanchang to Guangzhou by CZ3536 at 14:30, arriving Guangzhou at 15:45, transfer to White Swan Hotel

May 28: Photos for the baby & Physicals for baby

May 29: Visa appointment at 10:30

May 30: Swearing in ceremony at the Consulate, getting the visa

May 31: Fly from Guangzhou to HK by CZ301 at 08:30, Arriving HK at 09:30

May 31: UA 896 Hong Kong (HKG) Chicago (ORD) 1245P 220P
June 4: UA7592 Chicago (ORD) Raleigh Durham (RDU) 1115A 206P