Day 2

Hi all! We got to talk with the boys! That was wonderful. They are having great time and Brooks already wants to spend his birthday money! Brooks - dad said he didn't care! Today, we had our orientation meeting with Shiyann. She was telling us what to expect when we get our children (there are 10 families travelling with us, but to 4 different provinces, I think). She was also telling us about writing down questions to ask about our children. We need to start thinking about them. I have a short list, but another mom on our trip has a list of 40!
After the meeting, we ventured out with a couple from Georgia. They also have 2 boys at home, are naming their daughter Hanna, and decorated her room with butterflies! We walked and walked until we finally found a department store and a pizza hut! The pizza was delicious - just like home. Then we decided to follow our map and find the McDonald's and KFC, just to say we did. We had been looking for an open air market, but hadn't found it. We'd seen several small areas where people had stuff set out, but nothing big like we'd been told. Then we stumbled upon it. It was so much larger than I've ever seen, with so many people. I didn't think that I would get to go to the Bridge Festival, but I found it in China! We stayed and shopped for a little over an hour and then we had to leave to get ready for an acrobatics show. We were sorry to leave. We really wanted to shop more. In our hour or so we were there, I'll bet we didn't even see 1/4 of everything there - probably less. We had just made it to a section that was really hustling, when it was time to leave. It is only open on the weekends and with going to the Great Wall tomorrow, we don't know if we'll have time to go back. Tonya and I are really hoping though!
The open air market had tons of Chinese artifacts. We picked up a Buddha statue, a fan with pandas on it, a compact mirror with the great wall on it, and a bracelet for Hanna. We looked for dragon statues, but didn't find one yet. Boys, we will still look! We also bought of lily shaped shoes like the ones women with bound feet used to wear - they are silk with butterflies embroidered on them. Jerry got good at bartering. There were asking $80 for our buddha statue and he got it for $15! Supposedly it is a 150 year old relic.
There is a couple with us from Oregon who have a daughter they adopted three years ago and they are adopting a son now. We're hoping Katie and Hanna will like playing together when we get to Guangzhou. They look like they may be the same size.
The acrobatic show was really neat. At one point they stacked 4 people on top of each other's shoulders! They amazed us with their gymnastics and flexibility skills. Then they showed us how to pack 13 people on one bicycle and still peddle in a circle! That's funny because we've seen several people riding on one bike in the busy traffic!
Boys - we love you more than our pizza hut we had today! We'll try to talk with you again tomorrow! Can you believe we get to climb the great wall?! Who do you think will get to the top first, mom or dad?
A note for Mr. Thompson - You need to get over here. There are six hundred million women your size or smaller!

We made it!

We are finally in Beijing! We are staying in an amazing hotel. It is absolutely beautiful! We ventured out tonight, just the two of us, and found a Chinese restraurant. We ordered some chicken and bowls of white rice. Well - we only ate the rice! The chicken was cut into cubes, but it still had the skin and bones! I did try one bite, but couldn't do anymore - I had to spit it out...sorry mom I know you hate that, but I couldn't help it! Jerry wrote some on the plane that I'll share with you and then more from me!
The plane ride is interesting. About 2/3 of the people are Chinese, so we already feel like the minority. The food offered is both western (American) and Chinese. I chose roast beef and mashed potatoes. Jennifer went with the chicken stir fry (poor choice).
We are flying over the arctic ocean. We passed really close to the north pole (I took pictures!). The temperature is minus 50 degrees! We are flying 540 miles per hour. When you lift the window shade, you can see how frosted the plane and windows are. One doesn't realize just how much of the earth is covered by ice until you see if first hand. We're flying over ice as far as the eye can see.
We've met Karen and Eric, they are also adopting from Shenyang. Go figure, they are naming their daughter Hannah Shen! The couple sitting across from us is adopting one year old twins from Nanjing.
We are anxious to get Hanna, but scared of her reaction to us. I think she will be very scared. We're currently half way and it seems like we've been flying forever. We have great seats. We're behind the bathroom wall, so we have way more leg room than most. Plus we can stand comfortably whenever we want. (We also got to sit together and our new friends didn't). Six more hours and we will be there. It's taking about fourteen hours. We're coming to get you Hanna Jo!
Being around all of the Chinese people makes me feel big. They are so small and thin. We just ate a snack of noodles. We both ate with chopsticks (dinner tonight too!).
Another neat thing about this plane ride is that it never got dark today. We left at 12:50pm Chicago time and it's now 10:50, and it's still bright outside. The outside temp right now is minus 75 degrees - we're passing over the mountains of Siberia and we're travelling 556 mph.
OK - back to me! The flight was pretty good. We successfully watched one movie, but I don't remember the name. Something about a little girl who went missing in the park. We ate 2 full meals, lots of drinks, and 2 snacks. They treated us very well. We're going on not much sleep. I didn't sleep well at home and then not well on the plane either. I'm really hoping to get good sleep tonight. Tomorrow we only have an orientation meeting and an acrobatic show in the evening. I'm sure we'll venture out more. Jerry isn't one for sitting around.
We have encountered several people away from our hotel that do not speak English. It is a bit un-nerving not being able to communicate, but pointing, smiling, and head bows are working fine.
Boys - We miss you very much! We saw a giant model of an allosaurus at the Chicago airport and took pictures for you. We thought you'd really like it. Brooks, can you believe we only ate plain, white rice for dinner??! You'd have loved it. We hope you are behaving for Mamaw Albaugh and having a wonderful time. We can't wait to see you. Make sure Mamaw Albaugh takes you by the house...there are a couple of surprises on the counter! I love you more than Chocolate and Strawberries! Mom and Dad!
A note for my fifth hour class. I am as far away from Tabi's political campaigning as I can get. That feels great!

Brooks turns 10!

Well, not officially! We had his birthday parties over the weekend since we will be in China for his real birthday. He had a wonderful time and got lots of $$$. He got a guitar - and he has been looking forward to that for a long time! It is hard to believe that he is 10 already. I remember the day so well...calling Jerry from the hospital and telling him that Brooks would be here soon! The Yankee's swept the world series and I watched while I was in recovery! Jerry was so nervous, he put the video camera in the bag still taping!

His soccer team didn't fair too well on Saturday. They experienced their first loss as they got beat 5 to 0! They are now 2 to 1. He plays next on his 10th birthday! I hope that brings him luck!

Reese's football team won and Reese scored a touchdown! He was so excited. He even got a flag during the game. He is so proud of his trophy!

around 36 more hours!

Can you believe we leave in about 36 hours?! We have our suitcases packed and are just trying to sit still to see if God will tell us something we've forgotten! He's spoken twice so far - at least I believe he has. This morning he told me how to fix my computer (the wireless function had gotten shut off) and where to find a bill I needed to pay. I was stressed about both things last night and this morning, I just knew the answer to both!



We will try to update as soon as we can when we get to our hotel in Beijing. It may take us awhile to figure things out though ;) We'll try our best!



Please continue to pray for our family. We've never been away from the boys this long and even though we know we are leaving them in capable hands, it is still unnerving to leave them. 16 days is a long time. Pray for Hanna and her bonding to us. We know that she is going to be upset and grieve her loss. She is quite loved at the orphanage and it is the only home she has ever known.



Thank you everyone for your support. We love you all! Jennifer

AHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHH

Oh my gosh...we leave in less than 10 days! I am so scared. I hope that is natural and I hope all goes well. Someone needs to scream for us - and Prayers please!

Reese's Team Wins! Brooks's Team Wins!

Both of the boys played today! Reese didn't get a flag, but his team won and he had fun. Brooks' scored 2 goals helping his team win 6-0! He had a blast. This was only his second game and his dad was very proud of him! He played hard and went after it! Congrats boys! Enjoy these pictures I've taken over the past few days.

Mom and I got Hanna's suitcase packed! It was so fun looking at all that pink and deciding what we should bring with us! When Jerry and I get packed, I'll post a picture of our luggage. We are trying to take everyone's advice of packing light! I hope it works out.

WOW - 13 days!

We are leaving in just 13 days! We got our itinerary today, we have plane tickets, and the bank has our money! We are just waiting on our passports (we had to send them to DC to get our Chinese Visas!) and need to pack! I can't believe that in just 18 days Jerry and I will be hugging our beautiful daughter. It feels just like a dream. God is so good to us. We feel so blessed that He is trusting us to parent not only our two wonderful sons, but now this beautiful little girl. We are so blessed! Jerry and I are fighting over who gets to hold her first! You'll have to watch and see, but I'll bet most of you know who is going to win this fight! ME! I told him that it was only fair since he got to hold the boys first!

Brooks is very excited about his birthday. He is getting to have a few friends over next Friday night and the family party is on Sunday (3pm!). He is playing soccer for the first time and is doing very well. He had his first game last Saturday and he scored a goal! It was wonderful. I caught it on video, but no real good pictures. I asked Joe Boswell where he was going to be, but Callie had a game at the same time ;) I can't believe my baby is about to turn 10. We are so proud of him. He is doing very well in school and got a very good report card today. We love you Brooks!

Reese is jealous that Brooks gets to have his birthday while we are gone. He thinks Brooks is getting something cool and he isn't! Reese is playing football and doing well. He really enjoys it. He hasn't scored yet, but had a really nice carry last night. He said he blocked very well! He is also doing well in school and he got a good report card. He must have a good teacher ;) It is funny to hear him call me Mrs. Long when we are at school! Reese, you're our best bud! We love you!

Gotta go start packing! I'm going to China!