What a great day...today we met and brought Zoe back to the hotel...she is ours

So yesterday (Monday) we got up at around 6:00 am to get ready to meet Zoe.  We traveled to Kunming with another couple, the Phil and Tara from Maryland are also adopting a 2 & 1/2 year old girl. They are a really nice couple who already have two children.  We met the Vong's in the lobby of the hotel at 8:00 am where our guide Nancy who works with Holt took us to a building in the city to complete paperwork and unite us with out children.  After about 30 minutes of paperwork...there they were two little girls...I was speechless. Sonja immediately went to Zoe.  Zoe was quite and a little shy but otherwise was in a very receptive mood...neither of the two girls cried and seemed to be comfortable around their new parents. Really...it was one of the few moments where I was utterly speechless...after 15 months I really could not believe this was actually really happening...it was a very moving moment. Nathaniel and I took a lot of pictures which we will share when we can...

So today...we went to one of the natural wonders in this part of the country...called stone forest...it was really cool.  Apparently at one point the rock formations were under the ocean and now have left all these huge rock formations which you can tour. We went with the Vongs (Phil & Tara and their new daughter Ada). We spent about 1.5 hours there and then had lunch. Both Zoe and Ada were very well behaved.  It was a great time where we could spend time with the kids. So...it has been a great couple of days and I hope to be able to post more in a few days.  Unfortunately...this blog is blocked in China so Phil lent me his computer as he has a way to circumvent Chinese Internet.  Thanks Phil...more to come....thanks for reading our blog....

Oh...by the way...I wanted to wish my father a very happy birthday...tomorrow would have been his 71rst birthday.  Happy Birthday Dad...I miss you...

Our trip to Beijing...

Due to all the bad weather our flight to Chicago was cancelled last Wednesday with no seat available until Thursday.  So we left Omaha at around 1:00 in the afternoon on Thursday and arrived in Chicago about 2:30 pm. Our flight to Beijing wasn't until 9:00 pm so we had a long wait at the Chicago O'hare airport but we made it through. We then boarded our flight to Beijing for a 13 hour flight to Beijing. When we arrived in Beijing it was about midnight. We got into our hotel and slept.  We were scheduled for our orientation in the morning which covered some basics about the Chinese culture, information about Zoe, etc. There we about eight other families also preparing for their adoption as well.  We met a number of really nice couples. Maybe the most unique family was from my home state of Arkansas.  The couple are Mennonites and brought their 7 children along as well...seemed like a vary nice family. At noon we had an authentic Chinese lunch and then headed to the Forbidden City.  It was amazing.  The Forbidden City is where the Emperor's and Empresses lived so many years ago. You cannot imagine how large and beautiful it is.  We walked from the Forbidden City to Tienanmen Square.  A huge square where many of the large holidays are recognized and it is right across from where Mao Tse Tung rests in his memorial building.  A few things that struck me about Beijing was how clean the city is you see no graffiti and everyone is very friendly.  A few Chinese people asked Nathaniel to stop so they could take a picture with him due to the color of his hair.  Nathaniel was very accommodating...after the tourist stops we came back to the hotel to rest and all fell a sleep, none of us got up for dinner..between the jet lag, long day touring in the sun and the stress and excitement of meeting Zoe did us in...we got up the next morning we repacked (because we could only have as many suitcases that total 44 pounds per person as opposed to the2 suitcases of 50 pounds that you are allowed in the US). We flew out at around 1:00 pm and arrived on China Airlines to Kunming at about 4:30 pm. So at last we are in the same city with Zoe...

went to the Beijing airport (it was built for the Olympics) is is huge...beautifully designed.

If the first time you don't succeed...try, try again!

Nathaniel had a baseball game last night which lasted until close to 10:00 p.m., so Like Jethro Bodine, I was a doin' some ciphering...if we get home by 10:30ish pm and have to get up by no later than 4:00 a.m. I should be able to fall asleep and get 5:00 hours of sleep and still get to the airport by 5:30 a.m. Well it did not quite work out that way as neither Sonja nor I really slept at all....the excitement and the fear of oversleeping pretty much kept us both awake all night long....  

So when we got up at 3:55 a.m. we got ready...dragged Nathaniel out of bed, packed the car, drove to the airport, parked our car, checked our baggage, went through security and waited for our flight. When we were at the ticket counter the American Airlines associate had said that we were lucky that our flight hadn't been cancelled. Earlier flights had already been cancelled so we all breathed a sigh of relief. So, as we find a seat in the terminal within a few minutes the airline employee announced over the intercom that our flight to Chicago had indeed been cancelled due to weather conditions.  So, Sonja waited in line for about an hour so we could get re-ticketed.  The good news is we found another flight, it is a direct flight from Omaha to Chicago and Chicago to Beijing, but no seats available until tomorrow. At least now, we do not have to make a stop in Japan. During the wait, we heard a lady sitting directly behind us asking her husband if he was ok...he was not responding, he was just staring off in space and sweating profusely....so she started to scream for help... a number of people laid him on the floor and sought professional help. In about 5 minutes several EMT members showed up and checked his vitals and then took him on a gurney to the hospital.  Scary and very surreal....we hope he was going to be OK.

So...we will try it again tomorrow. Hopefully without any additional excitement.  Looking at the bright side....Sonja can put the finishing touches on Zoe's room and Nathaniel can enjoy his first day of summer break absolutely doing nothing but being a teenager.

Unfortunately, we lost one of our free days to go site seeing in Beijing...however, today's delay should not impact our meetings with Holt , our adoption agency or for our trip to meet Zoe...we will try it again tomorrow....Thanks for visiting....more to come....
 

Things are beginning to move very fast now....

Do you remember when you were young and were told to go to sleep the night before something very big and exciting like taking a trip to Disney World or waiting for Santa Claus to drop off Christmas gifts? Remember that feeling…it was hard to keep your mind off of it and at times difficult to go to sleep because so many things were running through your mind. Do I ever remember that!  I must say, both Sonja and I are getting increasingly excited and somewhat anxious. As of today, we have a week left before we begin our journey.  Now it is feeling like crunch time. We are working hard to close up all of our loose ends so we don’t forget something or neglect to do something that will cause unneeded stress when we are gone. Sonja continues to work on Zoe’s room, believe it or not I have not bothered to go up as I do not wanted to place any additional stress on her as she works to get it completed. Sonja has also been shopping for girls clothes.  I can honestly say I am truly out of my element now. I am leaving all the shopping up to Sonja as she has taken the lead on that and enjoys it very much. Must say...it's a lot of pink...

I am very thankful for all of our friends who have offered help, guidance and good old advice.  Although I may not have been taking notes, I paid close attention to all the suggestions and plan to put them to good use. Sonja’s sister Brenda and family brought over a nice doll canopy bed which we know Zoe will love.  Thank you for such a nice gift. I am sure we will find one or two dolls and maybe a toy dinosaur or two resting in the canopy bed.  We have also been lucky enough through e-mail to meet some wonderful people who have been involved in Zoe’s life.  Meilin, Dann and Lisa have been very gracious in sending us both past and current pictures and sharing tidbits about Zoe which not only helps us to get to know her just a little better but helps us in our planning as we prepare for our trip to China.  We really appreciate all the pictures, video's etc.  Most of all, I think both Sonja and I are touched by how much each of them care for Zoe which makes it clear that  Zoe is a very special girl and we are so lucky to have been matched with her.

I am also very thankful for our son Nathaniel. He has had tough three or so months. When we asked him whether he wanted to go on the trip with us. It was a very difficult decision for him. As you know he loves to play baseball and he has really jelled with the coaches and players on his new team.  He ran to the schedule to determine how many games he was going to miss.  Needless to say, it was a lot of games…I think he said around 12-15 games depending on our return.  Talk about kind people, his coach offered him to stay in Omaha at their home for up to two weeks so he could play. How nice is that? Nathaniel really struggled but ultimately decided to go to China. What a tough decision for a 14 year old. But I am glad he had the opportunity to make it. I know when we get there he is going to be wondering how the team is doing and rest assured will be at times wishing he had stayed back so he could play. I know he is bummed because he will not have access to facebook and will virtually have no way to track the success of the Ralston Rams baseball team while we are away.  It is a very good team and a lot of great boys that Nathaniel has become good friends with. 

Finally, we were notified that Nou Nou (Zoe’s nick name) was transferred from Beijing to KunMing on around May 15th.  We were told she was very brave for her first plane flight as she did not cry and did not get air sick. Hopefully it was a fun experience for her. The next few weeks should be very stressful for Zoe as she left the people she knew and trusted, traveled hundreds of miles with new people she is unfamiliar with and now is waiting to meet her new parents.  Although exciting…how scary would that be for a four year old. So a lot to do in a short period of time.  Thank you all for all the well wishes and thanks for looking in and reading our blog….

We are getting so excited….Zoe celebrates her birthday with her friends!!!

Well, time is getting a lot closer now…we are approximately two weeks from traveling to China and to add Zoe to our family.  I have included some recent pictures of Zoe celebrating her birthday. As you can see in the pictures she had a great big cake which looks really good. She also had pizza for dinner as a special treat.  Her birthday in not until the may 21rst, however she will be leaving Beijing to go back to Kiayuan City in the Yunnan province before her actual birthday.  We will meet her in Kaiyuan City.

Now doesn't that birthday cake look great!

Zoe celebrating her birthday just a little early!

Having a "big" peice of her birthday cake!

We also know she received a little photo album that Sonja put together which has pictures of our family she seemed very interested in looking at the pictures.  We hope the album in some small way helps her get a little more comfortable as she is going through yet another very tough transition from what she has become used to and there have been many people who have done an extraordinary job in looking after her, great and caring people she has become to know and love.  So…we have our work cut out for us!!! We are ready!

Zoe looking at the photo album Sonja made for her

All Zoe's friends and caretakers who have cared for ZOE! Great people!

We recently learned some things about Zoe that you might find of interest…

-She loves the color pink

-She likes to wear skirts

-Her favorite fruits are apple, banana, and orange.

-She loves hamburgers and ice cream, and chicken drum sticks and fish nuggets.

-Her favorite videos are Barbie's fairy tales and McDonald's.

-She is very shy meeting strangers and being at a new place, but she warms up soon.

-She speaks everything like a normal 4-year-old, but there are some sounds that she can't pronounce right, "z" for Zoe for example, which is normal for kids who were born with palate defects.

- She is excited about train rides and airplane rides, and the yummy food that she will be served while she rides an airplane.

-Her nick name is “nou nou”

-Zoe says her name more like "joey" than "Zoe." it's very cute. She can say Teitler well!

-Wen Jia" is her official surname, which is named after the prime minister of the nation "Wen Jia Bao," I was told. Only that his surname is "Wen," not "Wen Jia." Double-word surname is rare, but there is no "Wen Jia" for sure, so it's named after the prime minister's last name and part of his first name. Zoe Ann's official first name is "Si Ruo." Si means think/consider and Ruo means seem like/as if. The meanings do not sound meaningful in English, but her name is actually very pretty in Chinese meanings and in pronunciation as well, and it fits her perfectly because she is a cute and pretty little girl.

Both Sonja and I have applied for leaves of absence from work so that we can travel to and from China.  Both companies have been great in working with us on this. The last things we have to do are finish up Zoe’s room and pack.  Otherwise I think we are in pretty good shape.

Anyhow…thanks for following our process…more to come.