Visa Issued Resolved - Going Home

At about 7:30 p.m. local time, we received a phone call and the great news from our CCAI representatives, Grace and Kathy, that Duo Duo's passport's visa had been issued! Praise God!

Grace and Kathy brought up the passport and visa package at around 7:45 p.m. They told us that the consulate was able to figure out the system glitch. Again, praise God! They were so happy for us and hugged us. They were worried about the situation. During our conversation, Kathy said that she believed that it was power of prayer that brought the visa issue to a resolution. Indeed, God has used the situation to testify about his power and might.

We shared to Grace and Kathy of how Simon's grandma would always pray when facing an obstacle or trial. Grandma prayed when she brought Selina and Simon to the U.S. over 40 years ago having limited English and never having flown on a plane. God is really good! We really rejoice in Him! Duo Duo can now go home with us!

And, thanks to the many of our friends and family in Guangzhou, Houston, Memphis, England, and other localities who have been praying for us. We firmly believe that the collective prayer support and God's goodness helped resolved our situation.

We are now packing to go home. We pray that God will give us safe travel back. And, by God's grace, this should be our last posting here in Guangzhou. Again, praise God! Praise God!

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for a safe return home without any additional hiccups. And, pray that Duo Duo will do well (and not be too fussy) on our long flight home.

God bless you. Zaijian (goodbye) from China. We'll see you back in the States.

Last Day In Guangzhou & Oath At US Consulate

After breakfast, we went with one of our friends Vania and did a little shopping around town. Just like Chongqing, the traffic is crazy here in Guangzhou. Cars dart back and forth squeezing in between cars. Pedestrians walk right in front of the cars with little or no fear of getting hit. We were amazed that there were very accidents despite no semblance of following any rules. We figure that no one every gets fined for jaywalking.

This afternoon, we went to the US Consulate to take our oath. The US Consulate is about a 35 minute bus ride. There is an US Consulate office on Shamian Island, however, it does not house the visa department. All 14 families from CCAI (9 from the Chongqing group) attended the ceremony including several other families from other agencies.

During our ride to the consulate, we were told by our CCAI representative that there was a problem with Duo Duo's visa. Apparently, the computer system was having problems reading her face on the pictures thereby not allowing the consulate to issue the visa.

When we first heard of this apparent "bad news", Simon recalled how his grandma would lift everything to the Lord in prayer. We asked members of our group to pray together for God's divine intervention. Several of our group members are devout Christians. So, we gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate office and offered a short prayer for God's provision.

Even after our prayer, we still felt anxious. Several of our friends of our group offered their reassuring comfort and support. But, then we reminded ourselves of the verse in Philippians 4, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." We know that God is in absolute control and He has a reason for this delay. We just need to put our complete trust in Him.

After the ceremony, one of the consulate officials spoke with us. He assured that they were working to resolve the problem and would work through the night if necessary. They hoped to resolve the issue by 7:00 p.m local time and get us the passport and visa this evening. At the very latest, they would get it to us by tomorrow morning. We have a 9:30 a.m. flight to Hong Kong.

We can already see that God is at work. The consulate was very kind and reassuring. The first thing that crossed our mind was that we would be stuck in Guangzhou for another day. But, it appears that we should be able to leave with the rest of the group. Nevertheless, we still need to lift all of this to the Lord in prayer.

As we reflected on the situation, we realized again that God often allows us to experience trials in order to strengthen our faith and to give testimony of his loving provision and glory! Our confidence is in Him!

Visa Application Approved

About 11:15 a.m. today local time, we received word from our CCAI representatives, Grace and Kathy, that Duo Duo's visa application was approved by the U.S. Consulate. Tomorrow, all the families will be going to U.S. Consulate office to take the oath and receive our child's visa.

Later in the morning, we had our "Red Couch" group photos of the families and the babies. It was quite a scene trying to get all the babies to sit still for a group photo without their parents holding him or her. One baby started to cry. Another followed. Even, Duo Duo got into the act. When we were in Chongqing and had our group pictures, our friend's baby son Logan fell asleep during the middle of the session. He laid there sleeping like an angel on the couch pillow while the other babies were crying and screaming.

In the afternoon, we took an excursion to the Pearl Market. We took a 15 minute taxi ride, and it cost about $1.50 US for all us. At the market, you can purchase pearl necklaces at wholesale prices. It was nice getting out of the hotel.

For dinner, we went to a very nice restaurant that specializes in dishes for Northeast China. One of our friends is from that area. We ordered and shared 10 dishes, and it was fabulous. And, the price of the meal was incredible. Each of us paid 40 RMB's which is about $5 US. Probably, in the US, you would pay about $20 to $25 US per person.

This will be probably be our last night out given that we'll need to pack tomorrow evening and we have an early flight on Thursday morning.

Visa Paperwork and Child's Medical Exam

In the morning, Simon and one parent from each of the other families completed the visa paperwork for the U.S. Consulate office. It took about an hour and half. At 3:00 p.m., each of the babies had their medical exam. Duo Duo wasn't too happy about seeing the doctor. Along with the immunization record and the medical examination form completed by the clinic, all the documents will be delivered to the U.S. Consulate tomorrow morning for processing. If all goes well, we will be receiving the baby's visa on Wednesday.

We spent the rest of the time shopping and walking around Shamian Island. The island is fairly safe given that there are a lot security folks around and that U.S. Embassy is a block away from the hotel. In addition, there are several mom and pop shops selling all sorts of souvenirs. You can do well if you bargain with the shop attendants - you can get a really good deal! And, if even if you are not a good negotiator, you will still get a fairly good deal. Things are relatively inexpensive given all the fierce competition in the area.

In the evening, we decided to take it easy and rest in the hotel room. We have really enjoyed our stay in China. Nevertheless, we do look forward to getting back home. It's tiring living out of our suitcases.

City Tour of Guangzhou

Today, we took a sightseeing bus tour of Guangzhou. Guangzhou is the capital city of the Guangdong Province located in southeast China with over 13 million inhabitants. The city is considered one of the key financial and commercial centers in China. As we drove around, you could see many banks and financial institution. Guangzhou was one of the first Chinese cities to be opened to foreigners. So, there is a more western flavor in the air. More people speak English. And, according to our tour guides, there are over 47 McDonald's in the city. By the way, there is even a Papa John's Pizza place very near our hotel, and they do make deliveries!

Our first stop was to a Buddhist Temple called Six Banyan's Temple. The temple was built over 1,450 years ago. In the center of courtyard, there is a Flower Pagoda tower that stands about 57 meters high. What is unusual about this tower that it leaning to your right as you face the tower from the entrance - a Chinese version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in northern Italy.

Next, we visited the Old Chen House. This house is considered the best preserved Qing Dynasty building in Guangdong Province and was built about 100 years ago. The house featured lime sculpture and colored porcelain on the roof, stone carving and wood carvings all over the house, brick carvings on the wall, different kinds of Cantonese folk arts, exhibitions in each room including ivory caring, Qing dynasty furniture, embroidery, Chinese paints and sculptures of Qing dynasty life. According to our tour guides, the surname Chen is one of the most popular names in the Guangdong province. Chen happens to be Simon's mom's maiden name.

Finally, we went to the Provincial Art Crafts store. This store is one of the largest art crafts store run by the Guangong government. The store has a large selection of colored porcelain ware, jade ware, pears, embroidery, silk, bone carving, and traditional clothes. Here, we bought some souvenirs including a nice jade necklace for Duo Duo. Jade is a very popular precious stone among the Chinese people.

We returned back to hotel around 1:00 p.m. and decided to all take a cat nap. Later this evening, we'll be taking Duo Duo's visa photo, and we'll be having a group dinner at a Thai Restaurant nearby.

Welcome to Guangzhou

We finally made to Guangzhou after a three to four hour delay due to heavy fog in Chongqing. After a two hour flight during which we were served a light Chinese lunch, we arrived around 3:45 p.m. local time. Unlike many of the U.S domestic flights, most of the Chinese domestic flights serve a full meal and drinks (at least two to three times during the flight). It was nice having a meal instead of the standard peanuts and pretzels.

Duo Duo did pretty well on the plane. She was not too fussy, although at the end you could see that she was straining while our plane was descending. We figured that Duo Duo was not pooping since we had just changed her diaper a few minutes earlier. We suspected that she was not use to having her ears plugged up due to the decompression. After landing, she was fine. Aside from the occasional scream, it seemed that all the babies did pretty well for their first flight.

Speaking of decompression, Simon related a story to several of the CCAI familes of how when Jonathan was four years old, he told Helen that his ears were broken and needed to see a doctor during a flight from Memphis to Houston. After they landed, he told Helen that it was okay; the ears were fixed and he didn't need to see the doctor any longer.

After picking up our luggage, we were met our by Grace, our CCAI Guangzhou representative. Thankfully, no one was stopped by the customs officer for carrying beef jerky this time around!

The trip to the hotel was another 45 minutes. We checked in at the White Swan Hotel located on Shamian Island on the Pearl River. When we walked through the door, we saw several other families with their adopted child. Most of the China adoption agencies including CCAI use White Swan Hotel due to its proximity to the U.S. Consulate office and its nice amenities. Our room is very clean and includes a baby crib. Our room faces the river. At around 9:00 p.m., we saw a laser light show along the river banks. It was pretty neat.

Tomorrow, we will have a city tour and some other planned activities. On Monday, we'll be completing our Visa paperwork. And, by Wednesday, we should be official - the legal parents of Elizabeth Marie Xue Duo Lin!

Some people wonder why the adoption trip takes over two weeks. Part of the reason is that the U.S. Consulate will not issue the baby the entry visa until the all adoption paperwork is in perfect order on the Chinese side. It takes about 4-5 working days for that to occur on the Chinese end. After that, we can then complete the visa paperwork. Within two days of completion, we are then granted the baby's visa. When you take into account the travel time back and forth from the U.S. and the weekends, it brings you up to about 14-15 days.

Well, we have another busy day tomorrow. So, we better get some needed rest.

Group Picture & Farewell To Chongqing

This is our final posting from Chongqing.

At around 4:00 p.m., we took our group pictures in the hotel lobby. Also, we took pictures of the moms and dads and the 4 Chongqing babies that were in the original group picture below.

Our stay in Chongqing has been very good. The service at the hotel, Empark Grand Hotel, has been excellent. We really enjoyed the daily breakfast buffet which included both traditional American breakfast items such us eggs, bacon, and toasts, and Chinese breakfast items such as congi, soy milk, and Chinese buns. The restaurant provided us high chairs for the babies which helped a lot. The hotel also provides money exchange service which makes it very convenient for us in that we don't have to worry about going outside . In addition, CCAI arranged for our laundry service with an outside vendor. The lady came by a couple of times this week to do our laundry. The price was not as inexpensive as we might have thought. But, the quality of service was outstanding. All our shirts, pants, and underwear were very neatly pressed and packaged.

In general, things here are relatively inexpensive. You can have a very good dinner for less than $10 US. A bag of grocery items costs less than $5 US. A bus ride is less than 50 cents US. Tonight, several of the couples are going to a seafood restaurant which should cost less than $15 per person.

Overall, the weather in Chongqing has been rather mild. The temperature is like Houston ranging from 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, most of the day has been overcast. According to Marie, our CCAI representative, there is only about 1000 hours of sunlight a year. Maybe, that's what explains why the people here have such white complexion.

As for the traffic, it's a bit crazy - maybe not so different than Houston. The drivers here are very aggressive. The concept of right of way is a bit foreign to them. Finally, you have to be very careful if you are pedestrian. There is no such thing as right of way for pedestrian when walking along the street. Cars will plough over you if you are not watching out.

All around Chongqing (and other Chinese cities from what I understand), there seems to be a lot of building activity. Skyscrapers, high rise apartment's, and new roads are being built all over the city. You can really see the effort on the part of the Chinese to modernize this country. Indeed, China is and will be a force to be reckon with.

Finally, we have to compliment on the quality of service provided by our wonderful CCAI representatives and guides, Marie and Anita. These two have been extremely helpful, and they made our stay here very smooth.

This evening, we're packing and preparing to head to Guangzhou tomorrow morning. There, we will be finalizing our adoption on the U.S side.

Dianjiang Orphanage

This morning, Simon and eight others went to Dianjiang to see the orphanage. It is about 2 hours by car from Chongqing. It's not very often that people are able to see the orphanage in China. Sometimes, the orphanage is located 8-10 hours from the main city which does not allow adequate time to visit the facility and return on the same day. Other times, the orphanage does not permit outside visitors. We're very fortunate that Duo Duo was from Dianjiang, and they allowed us to visit the orphanage and the surrounding area.

Dianjiang is a small size city. It's not like Chongqing which is much more urban looking with skyscrapers and shopping malls. In Dianjiang, there are more bicycles and mopeds bustling around and small mom and pop shops up and down the street which is what you typically envision when you think of a city in China.

When the group arrived at the orphanage, they were met by the orphanage director. She's the one that we met on Gotcha day. Simon and the group took a tour of the facility. The orphanage rooms are located on the fifth and sixth floors of the building.

On the fifth floor, the group saw the infirmary, the sleeping quarters, and the various play rooms which were separated by the age of the babies. Simon was able to visit with one of Duo Duo's primary nanny. All the nannies seemed to provide good loving care for all the children. According to the director, the orphanage is only home to babies up to 2 years old.

Currently, there are 19 babies in the facilities and 48 others that are in foster care homes. Simon asked what happened to the babies that are not adopted and that are more than 2 years old. The director indicated that these children are moved to another facility sponsored by the state.

On the sixth floor, the group saw the bathing area where they allow the babies to swim with a flotation device and the kitchen.

When one of staff members was told that Simon was Duo Duo's father, she shared that her daughter used to come visit Duo Duo almost everyday after school. Her daughter told her mom that Duo Duo was one of the most beautiful babies. What a flattering comment! But, honestly, we would like to think that all the babies in our group are very beautiful! We are beautiful in God's eyes.

After the tour of the facility, the orphanage director took the group around where each of the five Dianjiang babies were found. Duo Duo was found in front of public utility office which is about 25 meters from the orphanage. The others babies were found in close proximity of the orphanage and/or in an area with a lot of traffic (orphanage gate, nearby park, traffic circle, bus station). Although we all agreed that abandoning a baby is a terrible thing, we acknowledged that these parents had enough human compassion to place the baby where he or she would be found very quickly. When Helen and the other gals were getting their massage, the helpers told them that many of these babies come from poor families, and don't have access to birth control. These families had little choice but to have the State take care of them.

The group thanked the orphanage director and the nannies for taking good care of our babies. Simon donated a bag of baby Tylenol that Selina had given us. Simon also gave a bag of M&M's for the staff and nannies.

Simon and the group got back safely at about 1:00 p.m. local time.

At 4:00 p.m., the entire group is going to have a group picture. Right now, we are busy packing for our trip to Guangzhou tomorrow morning.

Thanksgiving In Chongqing

Happy Thanksgiving from Chongqing, China!

Simon often says that we should not just give thanks on Thanksgiving day but everyday for God's daily provisions. But, this year in particular, we are very thankful for the good Lord in providing us Duo Duo. She is bonding to us well.

Yesterday, while Helen was out with the gals getting their $10 massage, Simon took care of Duo Duo by himself. Simon had to go to the photo kiosk to develop the pictures which were taken at the orphanage with our disposable camera that we had mailed earlier to Dianjian over four weeks earlier. You could tell that Duo Duo loves to go out. Once Simon put on her little coat, Duo Duo started kicking and smiling. While walking around, Duo Duo's eyes would dart back and forth checking things out. She loved to be outside!

This morning, we went to old town Chongqing where there are many antique, arts and crafts, and clothing shops. Here, you could bargain on the price. We bought a couple of beautiful Chinese outfits for Duo Duo and some things for the boys. Also, several of us bought an interesting novelty item - a small statue of a little boy that urinates when you pour hot water over its head. You physics geeks can try to figure out this phenomenon.

Next, we went to visit Chongqing People's Square. This pagoda looking building is the famous landmark of Chongqing. During WWII, Chongqing became the temporary capital of National Republic of China after the fall of Nanjing. We had a group picture taken in front of this edifice.

Later, we had our Thanksgiving lunch at a nice Szechuan restaurant. Since Chongqing neighbors Szechuan province, they share many of the same spicy dishes. Instead of the traditional turkey, we had duck. By the way, the platter did include the duck's head. This reminded us of the scene in the movie A Christmas Story where Ralphie and his family had to go a Chinese restaurant to celebrate Christmas dinner after the a pack of dogs ravaged the turkey. When the waiter brought out the duck platter with the head still on, the mother started screaming and said that the duck was staring at her. Then, the restaurant owner calmly took a cleaver and chopped off the duck's head. End of story.

Finally, in the evening, we received our adoption papers for our US Consulate appointment next week. Tomorrow, we'll receive the baby's passport.

In the morning, Simon will be joining a small group to visit the Dianjiang orphanage which is about a 2 hour drive away. They do not recommend the babies to go on the trip in that it might cause a bad reaction. So, Helen and Duo Duo will stay around the hotel. We are starting to pack for our trip to Guangzhou on Saturday.

Chongqing Zoo

The group went to the Chongqing Zoo for some bonding time with our children. As you may know, China is famous for the Giant Pandas. The zoo is home to four of these Giant Pandas. The pandas love to eat bamboo. Marie, our tour guide, told us that a panda on average can eat about 44 lbs. of bamboo per day. That's a lot of bamboo!

Chongqing is called the "Mountain City" because it's very hilly. It reminds us a lot of Colorado. Just walking around the zoo, you could feel the elevation. By the end of the tour, your legs were tired from climbing up and down the terrain.

Duo Duo is doing very well. She cries when she's hungry. She cries when she's wet. She cries when she's tired. She acts just like a normal baby.

This afternoon, several of the ladies are going for a massage, and the guys will be taking care of the little ones. We are fortunate that we have had parenting experience before. Most of the couples in our group comment of how calm we are when Duo Duo cries. It seems that some of the guys are stresssing out being first time dads. Well, it was same way for us when Jonathan was first born over 15 years ago. We think most of them are doing a great job being parents for the first time.

Shopping Tour In Chongqing

Today, we spent time getting some needed rest. We took a late breakfast about 9:00 a.m.

In the afternoon, we took a short tour of the shops around the hotel. First, we went down to the underground tunnels. Just like downtown Houston, the tunnels were full of shops, restaurants, eateries, entertainment venues, workout facilities, etc. There were even a couple of massage shops. Our CCAI representative told us that the massage shop is one of the favorite "hang outs" for the locals. She told us that you can get a one and half hour massage for about 60 RMB's which is a little less than $9 US. Helen and some of the gals have decided to take an excursion later in the week and leave the babies for the husband to take care of.

Next, we went above ground and looked around the city square. There were several shopping malls and department stores surrounding the square. Our guide even showed us where the Starbuck's, Hagen Das, KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's were located in the event that we got tired of eating Chinese food.

After the tour, we went to a local bakery and bought some Chinese pastries and some Chinese birthday candles. These Chinese birthday candles are very unique in that it will blossom into a lotus flower and play happy birthday when you light it. Later, we went to a local bookstore and bought some souvenir books of Chongqing and the surrounding area.

We went back to the hotel to get ready for a group dinner outing at one of the well known seafood restaraunts in Chongqing. It's should be very good!

Special thanks goes to our son Jonathan who has helped us load the pictures on the blog!

Adoption Registration Office & Exotic Restaurant

Today, Duo Duo (baby Elizabeth) seemed to be adjusting much better. Before we went to breakfast, we gave her a bottle of formula, and she gulped it down. It seems like her appetite is back which is really a good sign. We played with her and she was smiling and laughing.

During breakfast, we visited with several of the other families. All of us seemed to have shared the same experience of the child going through the grieving process.

We found that one of our friends had to take their daughter to the hospital earlier in the morning with an apparent ear infection. The baby was fussy all night and would not go to sleep. By God's grace, the doctor found no infection. It was just a clogged ear full of ear wax which was quickly taken care of.

After breakfast, Simon went to take care of the orphanage fee and registration fees.

In the afternoon, we went to registrar office to finalize the adoption process on the Chinese government side. Both parents and the child had to attend. After taking the family picture and signing the documents, we were officially declared parents of our baby!

During our time at the registrar office, we did run into the Dianjiang orphanage director again. She is actually the one who gave Duo Duo (as well as all the other children) her official Chinese name. We all thanked her, and she said goodbye to each of the six babies being adopted from orphanage that day. She gave Duo Duo a final kiss and waved goodbye to her. We hope that one day we'll be able to take Duo Duo back to China and visit the orphanage and the director and the nannies. They did such a wonderful job in raising her these past nine months. We owe a lot to them.

In the evening, we went out to dinner with our friends Phong and Vania who are from Chandler, AZ. They adopted a little boy, and he's really cute. We were really glad that we went with them because Vania is the only one among us who speaks really good Mandarin Chinese. Any ways, we found a nice restaurant at a nearby mall, and it was quite exotic. Even though all four of us are of Chinese descent, we decided to pass on the snake dish, the roasted bumble bee dish which the waiter indicated was a favorite delicacy among the children, and stir fry pigeon dish. We ordered some regular dishes, and it was delicious and relatively inexpensive. We paid about $8 per person for a high class restaurant - a pretty good deal.

After dinner, we went back to the dinner. We gave Duo Duo a bath. This time, she enjoyed her bath. She liked playing with the plastic toys that Simon had purchased from the grocery store the night before. After drinking some milk, she fell asleep peacefully.

First Night

We could tell that baby Elizabeth was frightened. When we were in the conference room, she was the first in the group to cry. You could sense that she knew that something was not right. She kept on looking around. You tell that she has a very keen awareness of her surroundings.

At the orphanage, her nick name is "Duo Duo". So, we started calling her by this name.

When we got back to the room, she kept on crying. We tried to pacify her. We held her and touched. We walked around the room. We played some soft music. But, nothing really seemed to work. We remembered in our training that it would take some time to bond. We had to be patient.

At first, when Simon held her, she cried even more. At the orphanage, we figured that she had very little contact with men given that most of the caretakers are women. The deeper voice may have frightened her.

While Simon went out to get some groceries, Duo Duo seemed to have calmed down. She played with some of the toys that we brought. She smiled, and she even ate some Cheerios.

After bathing her, the doctor came by our room to check her out. Everything was normal with the exception that she had some congestion from a mild cold. He told us to give her some Tylenol and that she would be fine.

At about 8:30 p.m. Duo Duo fell asleep peacefully. We thank the Lord for giving us this very precious gift.

Gotcha Day

After the orientation session, several of the families went to a nearby grocery store to pick up some items. It reminded us a lot of of the Asian grocery stores in Houston with the exception that no one speaks any English. When you ask a store clerk in Mandarin Chinese whether he or she can speak English, you get a funny look or stare.

Then, we went back to the hotel and waited for the phone call from Marie. At the orientation session, Marie told us that she would call us when the babies arrived.

About 2:30 p.m., we received the call. Marie told us to be downstairs in one of the hotel's conference room at 3:00 p.m. Our hearts began to race. We reflected on the long adoption process including all the paperwork, the finances, the prolonged waiting, the travel, and all the emotional energy that we invested. Finally, we said to ourselves, "We are at the finish line!" We thanked the Lord for providing us this little child.

A few minutes later, we went downstairs to our conference room. At around 3:00 p.m., the babies from the Dianjiang orphanage arrived. They were dressed in these cute pink and blue snow suits all bundled up. And, there she was, baby Elizabeth! We could tell her by her big eyes. She was just looking around - her eyes darting back and forth checking out her surroundings.

Finally, we went through a formal ceremony in which each family was presented their child. We also presented our gifts to the orphanage director. And, everyone took lots of pictures and videos. After receiving some further instructions and formula to cover 3 to 4 days, we took baby Elizabeth back to the room.

Orientation Session

Well, today is the big day!

In the morning starting about 9:30 a.m., we had our orientation class with all the 9 families led by Marie, our CCAI representatives in Chongqing. After going through our introductions, we spent time completing the final paperwork for the adoption on the Chinese government side. When we go to Guangzhou about a week later, we'll be taking care of the final paperwork on the U.S. side.

Marie indicated again that we'll be receiving our babies between 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. In our group, the babies come from 4 different orphanages scattered across the Chongqing province. Baby Elizabeth is among 6 babies coming from the Dianjiang County orphanage which is about a 2 hour commute from Chongqing. The other three babies come from orphanages much further away (6 to 8 hours away). These babies spend most of their time either in the orphanage or with a foster family and rarely venture far away. So, the road trip to Chongqing is going to add stress to the child. In our group, I believe that there are 6 girls and 3 boys being adopted.

Marie also spent time preparing us for the child's possible reaction to us including constant crying and screaming and withdrawal. Unlike most of us, these babies experienced a lot of trauma when they were first abandoned eight to twelve months ago. Many of them were able to adjust to the new life at the orphanage or with a foster parent. So, now to be uprooted again, you could imagine the fear and anxiety that is going through his or her mind.

Marie also went over feeding the baby. To help facilitate the transition and provide familiarity, she recommended that we use the same formula (mixture of milk and rice powder). We could also feed her some table food such us rice congi and eggs.

Finally, Marie went over some other topics including the adoption fees, notarization process, laundry service, international phone calls, grocery stores, etc. We figured we spare you all the gory details.

Arrived In Chongqing & Beef Jerky

We arrived safely at the Chongqing. We had no problem going through immigration. However, when we went through customs, Simon was detained. Apparently, the search dog had smelled something in Simon's suitcase. Simon opened the bag and the official checked it out. After examining the bag and asking Simon a series of questions, he let him go.

The other CCAI couples were wondering what had happened. They may have been thinking that we were trying to smuggle drugs or some other illegal substance into the country. It turns out that the dog had smelled the Chinese beef jerky that Stephanie had given to us as a gift the night before. Simon explained, and everyone had a good laugh. The moral of the story is "Don't bring beef jerky when you go to China!".

Marie, our CCAI representative at Chongqing, met us at the airport. We had a brief orientation on the bus to the hotel. She explained that the 9 babies would arrive at our hotel around 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. the next day.

Our hotel room is very nice. Our hotel, the Golden Resources Hotel, is a five star hotel in China which is equivalent to about 3.5 to 4 star accommodation in the States. The hotel room includes a baby crib and a baby tub.

Tomorrow is the big day! We better get some sleep.

Tour of Hong Kong

In the morning, we took a tour of Hong Kong along with 4 other CCAI couples. As we indicated earlier, there will be a total of 9 couples heading to Chongqing. We will be meeting with the other couples either later at the Hong Kong airport or in Chongqing.

This is the first time that we have ever been in Hong Kong. It's a very modern city with a lot of traffic and skyscrapers. By the way, we had to be sure that we looked left when crossing the street; Hong Kong is like England where drivers drive on the left side of the road. We first visited Victoria Peak to see a panoramic view of Hong Kong, and then we went to the Ardeen Harbor and rode on a Sampan (an old Chinese boat) around the harbor. Later, we went to a jewelry manufacturer, and then headed to Stanley market which is filled with a lot of little mom and pop shops and where you bargain for a good deal. We got a couple of nice t-shirts for the boys.

By the way, our tour guide, Matthew, is a CCAI representative. He did a great job in taking good care of us. He was the one that met us at the airport, got us checked in and checked out at the hotel, served as our translator (for those did not speak very good Cantonese or Mandarin) chaperon, and tour guide, answered all of questions, and sent us safely off to Chongqing. We can see why people like using CCAI for their Chinese adoption. They really have first class service!

For lunch, we had really good Chinese dimsum at a restaurant near our hotel (Regal Kowloon Hotel). It was delicious!

After lunch, we checked out and headed to the airport to catch a evening flight to Chongqing. We can't believe that we'll be united with baby Elizabeth tomorrow afternoon.

Arrived Safely In Hong Kong

After 24 hours, we finally made it to Hong Kong. We left the house around 4:30 a.m. and flew to San Francisco and arrived around 9:30 local time. We were able to meet up with two other CCAI couples that were going to be on the same flight to Hong Kong. The flight was over 14 hours long, and it was hard to sleep during the flight. We were so glad to arrive safely and to get to the hotel for some rest. At the airport, we did meet up with another CCAI couple that arrived separately on a United flight from Chicago.

Shortly after arriving, we were able to meet up with one of Helen's friend Stephanie. Stephanie and Helen were housemates back in their college days in Milwaukee, WI. They hadn't seen each other for over 15 years! We were able to have some tea and catch up on things. It was great visiting with her.

Final Preparations & Baby Elizabeth's Room

Less than 36 hours to our departure date!

We have almost finished packing. We had to be careful not take too much stuff. Although our international flight to Hong Kong allows us to check in two bags, we are only allowed to take no more than 44 lbs. per person on our flights within China.

Helen spent the day putting the final touches on baby Elizabeth's room which included new curtains and a new coat of lavender paint. Way to go Super Mom!

We'll be leaving early Thursday morning departing from Houston IAH. We'll be taking a domestic flight to San Fransisco where we will have a short layover. After that, we'll be heading to Hong Kong on an 18 hour flight.

During the layover, we'll be meeting up with two other CCAI couples who will be on our same flight to Hong Kong. It will be a great time to bond especially given that we'll be together for the next two weeks. All our children are from the same province of Chongqing. We are really looking forward to meeting them.

Finally, please be sure to keep our boys, Jonathan and Joshua, in your prayers. Unfortunately, they not able to accompany us. Auntie Selina and Grandma will be watching over them. Also, thanks to all our friends for offering to help out during our absence.

Group Travel Conference Call

Today, we had our travel conference call with all the couples of Travel Group 1270 and 1274. We are part of Travel Group 1274 with a total of 9 couples, and we'll be heading to Chongqing after a one day stay in Hong Kong. 6 of the 9 couples have children from the same Dianjiang orphanage including our precious baby Elizabeth. Travel Group 1270 which include 3 couples will be departing to the Hubei province. We'll meet up with them again in Guangzhou a week later.

Joshua and Lilly Zhang, the founders of our agency CCAI, were also part of the call. If you did not know, CCAI is the largest adoption agency that specializes in China adoption. They have placed over 7,700 adopted children since their inception back in 1994.

http://www.chinesechildren.org/Adoption/Default.aspx

We were really touched by their words of encouragement and genuine affection. We are so blessed to be part of the CCAI family.

For the next few days, we'll be packing and making our final preparations before our trip on Thursday!

This is my caretaker at the Dianjiang orphanage in Chongqing.

My name is Jiang, Xue Duo (translated "Snow Flower"). I live in Dianjiang Orphanage in Chongqing China. I was born on February 26, 2007. I am looking forward to meeting my new adopted parents who will be arriving in China on Friday, November 16, 2007.

I am very active and I like to listen to music.