Flight Information

For those who are interested, our flight will arrive Tri-Cities on Saturday, March 1 at 3:33pm The flight number is Northwest 3097. We are looking forward to coming home!!! Now I am really going to nap! See you soon!

Last Night in Guangzhou!

It's a good thing the internet is free here at the Victory Hotel because I'd be a little PO'd if I were paying for it! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...it's a little finicky, like me!

There has been much drama over the past 48 hours, but I am happy to report all of the issues regarding our INS troubles have been resolved! By INS troubles, I am referring to the fact that someone in Memphis, Tennessee dropped the ball...AGAIN! Long story short is that Lily's US Visa approval was not wired here as it should have been nearly a month ago and they were going to make us stay into next week. Our wonderful facilitator, Helen, must have pulled some strings because we were able to take our oath and we have Lily's passport in hand, Visa and all. Hurray!

Today we visited a Folk Arts Museum...beautiful and educational. It is housed at a former temple to the Chen family, who must have been pretty wealthy and powerful here in Guangzhou! On our way there, Helen pointed out a lovely restaurant that specializes in SNAKE! No thanks! We then made our way over to a pearl market, which was five floors of everything pearl, jade, amber, gold...need I go on? A real ladies paradise! We picked up a couple of baubles for the girls when they get older and we came back to our hotel. Then the real fun began as we hit the streets of Shamian Island looking for bargains. And bargains we found as we stumbled on a store that was moving and the shopkeeper wanted us to help move the merchandise...right back to the USA! I'm not sure if I have misplaced some of our clothes, but everything fit in he suitcase with room to spare. I'm not sure how this worked out.....

Well, I am going to sign off now as we have to be ready to leave the hotel at 5:30 am and it's already after 2! A quick shower and a quick nap and I'll be as good as new! We have truly enjoyed our time here. China is not at all what I expected it to be. It is rural and cosmopolitan, ancient and new, deeply rooted in traditions of the past but also focusing on the future. She is certainly a proud and friendly nation and I am honored to be bringing one of her daughters home with us. Thank you all so much for following us on this journey of a lifetime. Thanks for your many thoughts and prayers...we appreciate them more than can ever be said. We hope you'll continue to follow our story as we close this important chapter and move on to the next. We will be faced with many challenges, but the joy we've already been rewarded with makes all of the hassles, frustrations and the agonizing wait so incredibly worth it.

We love you all and can't wait to introduce you to Lily XiCheng DeBraal!!!

Ga Ga for Guangzhou!

We love Guangzhou! Shamian Island is such a quaint little place tucked between the shores of the Pearl River. It has old ties to the British throne and therefore the architecture is neo-classical, not chinese. We got up this morning and took Lily to her medical exam, which she passed with flying colors. The doctor asked me to sign a form and Lily dazzled him with her remarkable penmanship when she insisted on affixing her signature to the form in chinese! The weather is lovely...in the 60's with a nice breeze. We ate lunch at a little joint called Lucy's, which is popular with adopting families. What I loved was being able to sit outside in the sun! (Can't do that at home...it's snowing! Thanks for the weather report, Stephanie!) I do have to admit that I'm starting to miss iced tea, salad and milk. We've been fairly careful with what we've eaten and so far our strategy has paid off...knock on wood. Tonight we're having Papa John's so we'll let you know.

Lily's first plane ride went well...she was a little irritated that I insisted she wear her seat belt so she should be real fun when I strap her into a car seat! We were served an authentic chinese box lunch on the plane, which Lily devoured. (The rest of us only picked at it.) Her favorite part was the little packet of hot pepper relish. Mom, you would have loved it! We had to hide our packets from her because I wasn't entirely sure what it was. She made the universal sign for "I've got to pee" so she and I made our way to the back of the plane. She went potty and proceeded to touch every surface in the bathroom including the toilet! I told our guide to tell her how gross that is and she told her she never touched the toilet...hmmmm. She finally fell asleep about two minutes before we landed!

We are staying at the Victory Hotel here in Guangzhou. We are in a Japanese suite, which means the bed is on the floor...a big hit with both girls. Pete took the girls to the park while I did paper work with our guide, Helen. She informed me that she got a phone call from the US Consulate and they have not recieved our updated approval from the INS yet. Imagine that! She took one of our copies of the approval and will drop it off tomorrow so we'll see if that is sufficient enough for the US government.

Pete bought each of the girls a slightly creepy looking chinese doll with a little baby on her back...Sophie is lovingly mothering hers and Lily is absolutely beating the trash out of hers. I wonder what that means.....

Only two more days until we fly the (un)friendly skies on Northwest Airlines. Hopefully my seating stategy will work and we'll have a whole row of seats to ourselves. Otherwise, I feel really sorry for the poor sucker crazy enough to put himself between us and the chinese tasmanian devil!!!

Movin' On Up!

Today is our last day in Xian. We are moving on to Guangzhou this evening to complete the American portion of our adoption. First we will visit the Starfish Foster Home home here in Xian and then have some lunch at Pizza Hut before heading to the airport. I want to say that we have treasured our time here in Xian...it is the closest thing to a hometown Lily will ever have. We have seen many interesting things and met many AMAZING people. We cannot say enough about the staff here at the Sheraton. They have been super with both Lily and Sophie. The chinese people are very kind and gracious, except the crabby old lady at the Muslim Market.

We look forward to the next chapter of our story and hope you do, too!

Snow Day in Xian!

We didn't do a lot today...just hung around the hotel. Sophie worked on her schoolwork and Pete and Lily took a walk to give her a little quiet time. Lily took a three hour nap this afternoon...I think all of the running around is wearing her down. Sophie and Pete watched a movie while Lily slept and then we all went down to the restaurant for dinner. Have I mentioned that Lily and Sophie are celebrities among the staff here? They are all very good with both of the girls...speaking Chinese to Lily, but always very careful to include Sophie. A couple of the girls in the restaurant got both girls a gift for CNY...two crazy cars that light up and turn around and play a loud, crazy song. They remind me of those crazy lowriders in California that jump up and down and go side-to-side. I had to put one of them up high as it was making me a little nuts...guess which one.

Our travel companion, Robert, was pretty ill last night so please send a little prayer his way and continued prayers for our good health are appreciated, too!

We want to give a "Shout Out" to our faithful readers and comment posters...Kaley and her class in Orlando, Emily and Chris in Vero Beach, the Tennessee Toppings and Stewarts and everyone else in out there in cyberspace. Please leave us a comment when you read...we will print them when we get home and put them in Lily's "Baby Book."

Enjoy the pictures of the girls and their new friends!

PS. Dad and Gail, we finally got Lily to give up her coat from the orphanage. We didn't want to push her , but she willingly gave it up and put on the coat you sent and then we had a really hard time getting it off of her !

Lily Loves Her Dumplings!

Tang Dynasty Show

Here are some pictures of the show we saw...it was really beautiful! Sophie took some of these pictures,too!

What a difference a day makes!

We woke up this morning and threw the curtains back expecting much of the same (smoggy) sunny weather. But alas, that was not meant to be as it is SNOWING! We were supposed to go to the Muslim Market today, but it is outside so I'm not sure if we'll go or not.

Yesterday, we toured a Jade factory and saw a Buddist Temple and the Wild Goose Pavillion. Then we hit McDonald's for lunch. I had a Big Mac, just to say I did, and it was good. Even the special sauce, Kaley! The french fries were great, maybe even better than ours in the states or maybe we were just craving some western food. When we got back to the hotel, Pete took Sophie swimming and Lily and I had a good, long nap.

In the evening, JoJo took us to a dumpling banquet and Tang Dynasty Show. The Tang Dynasty dates to 600 AD and was one of the most prosperous times for China. The show was excellent with beautiful costumes and interesting instruments I have never seen before. One number was entirely percussion and I thought it should be entitled "Asian Stomp." We enjoyed it so much we bought the DVD so Lily can see some of her culture as she grows up.

Maybe we'll go back to WalMart today if we can't go to the street market. I was looking forward to the bargaining, though.

Terra Cotta Warriors

Here are some bonus pictures of the Terra Cotta Warriors!

I love Xian in the Springtime!

I know this gets old, but another great day here in Xian! Believe it or not, the sun came out and we saw some blue sky! It felt like a fresh Spring day. Today we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors...one of the biggest highlights of our trip, next to Miss Lily, of course. I have been looking forward to seeing these infamous soldiers for a long time and they did not dissappoint. For those who don't know about the terra cotta army, they were created by the Emperor Qin, who needed an elaborate army to protect him in the afterlife. He used over 7000 craftsmen to dig several giant pits and they made over 6,000 lifesize terra cotta soldiers, officers, generals and horses to guard his tomb. It took 38 years to construct and after the project was completed, the emperor had all of the craftsmen and workers thrown into pits and buried alive to protect the location of the tomb. The amazing thing about this army is that it was only discovered in 1974 when a group of local farmers were digging a well. Emperor Qin is best known for starting the Great Wall and uniting China into one nation, instead of 7 separate countries. He was hated by his people, though, and after his death they pillaged the army, stealing their weapons to overthrow his regime. These soldiers were created 200 years before Jesus was born...WOW!

After the army, we visited Walmart! Another WOW! Three stories of rollbacks and low prices!!!!

I was very impressed at how clean and neat the store was, even the meat department where you could get squid, stingray and a variety of snakes to serve for dinner! We bought some Budriser, diet coke and bottled water. A couple of snickers bars and Lay's potato chips made it into the buggy, as well. Miss Lily picked out a new pair of sneakers at Walmart and it was obvious by her reaction she has never had a new pair of shoes...just for her. She told everyone she met about her beautiful new shoes and she put them on as soon as we got back to the room. She strutted in front of the mirror and closed herself in the dark bathroom so she could see them light up! When she was done with that, she put on her new pair of pink mary jane shoes (rolled back to $2!) and would not take them off until bathtime!

She continues to delight and amaze us...she is still talking a blue streak and just opens herself up more and more everyday. She delighted the crowd today by feeding Sophie peanuts with her chopsticks! Big sister loves the attention, too! We have our moments, of course, as Miss Lily is very high energy, but overall I think things are going very well. It is priceless to hear Lily yammering on and on in Chinese to us...she has no clue that we don't know what she's saying. We just smile and nod. She is picking up some English, too. Local people will ask her name in Chinese and she now responds in English "Lily!" She tells us "Let"s a go!" when it's time to go somewhere. Communication is good, between our charades and the Chinese we've learned. We definitely know how to ask her if she has to potty, if she's hungry and how to tell her she's full!

Again, thanks for all of the comments. We love reading them, so please keep them coming. A special "Ni Hao" to Mrs. Dunford's class at Miller Perry Elementary School...Sophie is learning a lot, but misses her friends. To Molly, Mattie and Eli...Thanks for taking good care of our kitty and fish!

Tomorrow we will see the sites within the Xian City Wall...the Drum Tower, the Bell Tower and the Wild Goose Pavillion. We also get to eat lunch at McDonald's, so it should be yet another great day!

Sophie has met her match!

Call me crazy, but I thought Lily was supposed to be the quiet one. She's not. She does not stop talking from sunup to sundown. The only problem is that it's in Chinese. We have no idea what this kid is saying and she has no idea that we have no idea what she's saying. But she talks on ...and on. She can really let us have it, too. Pete took a Coke away from her today and she really gave him the business...IN CHINESE! I thought it was kinda funny, but it is only a preview of what is to come. She will let loose an oriental tirade, but then follow it with a smile and a giggle and that makes everything alright. For now.

Let me also clarify WHY Pete took the Coke away from her. I'm guessing she has never had unlimited access to beverages, so she wants something to drink all the time! She has probably peed 100 times in 3 days because we let her drink so much. Well, it didn't take long for the caffeine and sugar to kick in and the mouth started running faster. We knew it had to stop before her head flew off, so Pete made her surrender the Coke. (Thank you, Pete!) She is also an eating machine...everytime we go down to the lobby, she heads straight for the restaurant cuz she's hungry! She ordered the kids burger last night at dinner and a burger as big as her head came out. She wolfed half of it down and told the server that she wanted a box so she could take the rest to the room and eat it later. Some day she'll realize that we'll give her three squares a day and sometimes the occasional Coke.

Tonight we went to an authentic dumpling restaurant...Shaanxi province is famous for their dumplings. We went with the Bargers and their little guy, Joseph, and we were the only westerners in the joint. And it was a pretty big joint. There were no chairs to speak of...only sections of giant logs to pull up to the tables. The adults ordered chinese beer (to kill any germs) and many plates of different dumplings. We enjoyed our dinner and the floor show...oh yeah, we were the floor show. At least you'd think so the way every person in that placed gawked and stared at us. I think I must be a freak or something the way these people stare. Lily attracted the attention of an older Chinese (duh!) couple. She knew they were watching her and proceeded to entertain them with her: 1. Appetite and 2. Charm. She really worked the crowd with the spectacular use of her fork, chopsticks and even the serving spoons to get the food from her plate into her mouth. Half way into the meal, the server brought out these small yellow packets of napkins. Lily watched to see if everyone used their napkins, then collected the unused napkins in their fancy yellow packets and stuffed them into her coat sleeve. (She also collects the small round paper coasters from the hotel restaurant.) The server brought our bill for the entire table: $20 for four beers, 5 plates of dumplings, 1 plate of some gross beef dish and 1 order of eggplant! We paid and left real fast!

Tonight is the last night of the Chinese New Year holiday. This is a BIG deal for the locals. The fireworks and firecrackers started early this afternoon and continue even now, well past midnight. And we're not talking Kingsport fireworks, we're talking Disney fireworks. This must be what war sounds like because fireworks are going off in every direction, as far as the eye can see. And we're on the 11th floor so my eye can see a long way! There is a row of restaurants and pubs across the street and the employees are setting off fireworks, too. Sophie looked down and saw a little fire they had set to burn the firework garbage and she yelled,"Mom, look how dangerous that is...one of them is going to set his head on fire! At least he won't have to go back to work."

Check out Sophie's new friend, circa 1984

XianYang Social Welfare Institute

We visited Lily's orphanage today...what a humbling experience. Our guide explained to Lily that we were going to visit her friends and teacher and nannies to say goodbye and she said she wanted to stay with her Mama and Baba. JoJo told her we were just visiting and that she would come back to the hotel with us when we were done. She said that would be okay with her. When our van pulled into the parking lot, the windows flew open and her nannies and classmates called out to her. She waved frantically and immediately ran to the front door. We posed for some pictures and she was off, up the stairs and into her old classroom. She was surrounded by her teacher and friends who were so happy to see her. You could tell she was a little confused with all of the attention. She sat at her old desk and the children all sang us a few songs. After the songs, Lily passed out lollipops to her friends and they all stuffed her coat pockets with little mementos. We then visited her room and looked at the cribs and posed for more pictures. Sophie noticed a Green Bay Packers stuffed man in one of the cribs, so it has to be a good place! When it was time for us to go, the children all gathered together and said "Goodbye" in English. Right in the middle of the group was Lily, waving goodbye. The director told her to come on, that she was coming with us and she followed quietly. We got more pictures of other kids who are waiting for their forever families and left. She was very quiet on the ride back, barely making eye contact with any of us. When we pulled back in the hotel driveway, she perked back up and hasn't stopped talking and laughing since.

I really don't know how to sum up this experience...for once, I am completely speechless. I only know that I will say extra thanks to God tonight for my family, for our incredible good fortune and for bringing us together half a world away.

Lily and her Forever Family!

We had a great first full day with Lily. She slept soundly, but thrashed in the bed big time. I suspected she still slept in a crib, which was confirmed by the director of the orphanage when we met up with her to finalize the paperwork. I was so worried she would fall off the bed and hit her head on the nightstand. I was so incredibly exhausted that I didn't hear her when she, in fact, did fall off the bed and slept the rest of the night on the floor! My heart stopped beating a minute when the director asked Lily where she slept, but she came through for us when she told her she slept with Sophie!

We met the facilitator early this morning to go back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the paperwork. We met with the notary who asked us some questions about our intentions for Lily's education and future. He also made us promise to never abandon or abuse her and then he approved everything. He made a point of telling the interpreter to tell us he was very happy to see that Dang Xi Cheng would be living with a family who so obviously loved her. We got back in the van and went to the Police Station to apply for her Chinese passport. We stopped at a chinese grocery store to buy some bottled water and we were the main attraction. These people have no problem staring and gawking. Sophie set off the detector on the way out and I prayed that she did not stuff something in her pocket. (She didn't!) Did I mention that the police and military guys are everywhere? We got the !#*? out of dodge and came back to the hotel. We discovered a new little spot to have lunch...it looked like the employee cafeteria (and maybe it was!) but the food was wonderful and very inexpensive. We were the only westerners in the place and Sophie again attracted attention with her blonde hair.

After dinner, we all went to the pool and we wondered if Lily would freak out. She didn't...in fact she took to the water like a little fish! The roof of the pool room is glass and we got a great view of the fireworks. Chinese New Year is winding down and the big fireworks are tomorrow so we may go back to the pool. I set up a little bed for Lily in the floor between our two beds and she went straight to sleep. Not one tear today!

Thank you all for your comments...we cannot respond, but we love reading them. We are having a great time. Tomorrow we will visit the orphanage. We worry about how Lily will react, but know it is important for all of us to see where she spent the first 5 years of her life.

The couple next door have the notary pictures from today and their son is sleeping, so I will get those and post them later. I forgot to put my memory card back in may camera and the pool pictures are on the hard drive of my camera so I will post some pictures from yesterday. I promise new pictures on my next post.

Love to all at home in the good ole USA!

She was worth the wait!

I know no one wants to know any of the details about our flight or hotel room, so we will just skip to the juicy stuff you've all been waiting for. Lily is definitely our girl! She and Sophie are now sleeping soundly together after a long and emotional day.

We got to Xian at about 10:30 am and by 3:30 pm, she was ours. We checked in, had a quick bite and off we went to the Civil Affairs Office. I saw her through the glass doors as we pulled into the parking lot. Once we got inside, there were quick introductions and the orphanage director and facilitator left us with Lily and her nanny. Sophie gave her the stuffed ladybug we got her at the Silk Market in Beijing and Lily gave Sophie some candy. Both considered it to be a good trade!!! The ladies came back and explained that this was the beginning of the "harmonious period", 24 hours in which we could change our minds about her. I knew before we even saw her that there would be no changing of minds! She was quite a bit shorter than I had imagined. Jane's pictures from January made her look so tall, but she isn't much over 3 feet tall. She is quite stocky, however. There is a good possibility she might weigh more than Sophie. She was very quiet and you could tell her nanny was telling her goodbye. Lily spoke very softly to her and it was obvious there was a great amount of affection there. The director and facilitator finished their paperwork and we made our way to the door. Lily came quietly, looking back at her nanny as we loaded into the van. As we drove away, Lily waved at her nanny and it broke my heart to think we had just ripped this kid's whole life apart. She and Sophie rode together in the back seat and it was sweet to see Sophie holding her hand and taking care of her. We went to get Lily's picture taken for her passport and came back to the hotel. This whole time, she was sneaking looks at me, but would look away when I caught her. When we got back to the room, Sophie and she laid on the floor and colored in their coloring books. Lily helped herself to one of the snacks she brought and offered one to Sophie. I was super impressed at how she colored without putting her cookie down. Pete and Sophie decided to check out the indoor pool and Lily put her stuff into her little backpack she brought with her. I could tell she was getting a little sad as she kept fumbling with the straps and then the quiet tears started. She tried to blink them back, but it didn't work and she started to cry a little more. She never actually cried, just deep sobs, and she was really trying to hold them back. I put her on my lap and rubbed her back while she cried. Pete and Sophie came back and we decided to walk to the pool to watch Sophie swim and the crying stopped and hasn't started again (knock on wood). While at the pool, we asked the attendant to ask her if she was hungry and she said yes so we went to the hotel restaurant to get some dinner. All of the employees gathered round her and she just had a big time being the center of attention. Of course, Sophie was right in the middle of it. Lily laughed and carried on and no one could believe she had only been with us a few hours! After dinner, we came up and took a bath. She started to get a little sad again, so Sophie got in with her and they played pass the soap. Lily giggled so hard her cheeks turned red! We put on new pjs and both got in bed and went right to sleep! That is a miracle for Sophie! I am wiped out! I think I made it through today on pure adreneline. It was almost surreal...we've waited so long and bonded with pictures of her and here she is, sleeping ten feet away!

Tomorrow we go back to the Civil Affairs Office to finalize the paperwork, then we wait 5 days for her Chinese passport. Enjoy the pictures and I'll post more on her progress tomorrow!

We're off to Xian!!!

Hey everybody...it is 6am Tuesday here so 5:00pm Monday there...we are about to get on the van to go to the airport to get lily! Can't talk long cuz the bellman will be here to get the bags! By the time you read our next post, Lily will be united with her Forever Family and I can FINALLY take a deep breath (and a nap)!

My legs are VERY sore today, but Pete is feeling great. In fact, he is thinking of moving to China because he has so much in common with the local folk!

Gotta Run!

Love you all!!!!