Orphanage Visit

We made the long drive to Guiping today. Obviously the purpose was to see the orphanage where Maya spent most of her life, but we also greatly enjoyed the drive there. The countryside is amazing, with dramatic mountains jutting out of the valley and the most red, fertile soil I've ever seen. Every inch of space is being used to grow crops. The setting may be beautiful, but the people here live very primative, hard lives. Lily said, "Your daughter's life would have been very different here. She would work all day in the fields, not be educated and would most likely marry in her early teens."

We saw water buffalos pull ploughs through fields and whole families wade through the rice paddies in their wide straw hats. We saw pigs being carted to market and a man carrying an unbelievable load of chickens. Lily said, "This is the real China, not what you see back at your 5 star hotel." We also saw a man walking down the road completely naked as a jay bird. Poor Madeline turned 10 shades of red. Lily said, "THAT'S not the real China, that's just a crazy man!" Maya was great on the long bus ride. I hope she likes long plane rides too!

This was taken either when the bus broke down, when the bus ran out of gas, or maybe when we got lost. We wondered if we'd ever make it to Guiping! The bus driver also got lost on the way home. His wife was in the front seat with him and they seemed to be having a heated discussion. I'm pretty sure she said, "I told you we should have stopped and asked for directions!"

To the Davis family: We saw your beautiful daughter, Xia Lu today! The orphanage director called her foster mother and she was waiting for us when we got there. Xia Lu was understandably shy with all of the Americans taking pictures, but I can assure you, you will have no trouble falling in love with this little girl! She is so precious, looks healthy, and her foster mother seems wonderful. I'll e-mail you later!

Maya Qiu Ju sitting at the front gate of the orphanage where she was abandoned as a newborn. She was so tiny, only 4.9 pounds and was found by a local family early in the morning and taken to the police station. Lily said she's certain she was abandoned simply because she's a girl. Apparently abortions are very easy to get here and are encouraged in cases of unwanted pregnancies. That is why giving a child up for adoption is illegal. The government feels it's unnecessary because a mother should have taken care of the matter early on. In the countryside they are now allowed to have two, but second daughters are not wanted. Lily said in this area young boys outnumber girls 7:1.

This is a view of the front gate from the road. I can't imagine the thoughts of whoever it was that left her here. I couldn't help but look around and wonder if they hid beside a neighboring building and waited until someone found her, or if they just walked away and didn't look back. I do know that they have missed out on a precious gift. I can't understand their life anymore than they can understand mine. I wish they could know how much their daughter will be loved.

The man in the photo is Mr. Gan, the director of the whole Social Welfare Institute (there's a senior citizen's home across the courtyard from the orphanage), and he is the one who named Qiu Ju. The woman is Mrs. Wei, the director of the orphanage part of the SWI. While we were there, she carried Qiu Ju, but when I walked by, Qiu Ju reached out for me to hold her. As she handed Qiu Ju to me, Mrs. Wei smiled, patted me on the back and said to Qiu Ju, "Mama". We were asked to not take any pictures inside the orphange, but I can tell you that it was especially difficult to see the tiny newborns laying on the hard boards in their cribs. The nannies seem kind and hard-working, but there aren't enough hands to go around. Maya's only been with us 3 days, but we already can't imagine her vibrant personality in this dismal setting. One thing we have noticed about her, which is heart-breaking, is that when she's upset, she doesn't wait for someone to comfort her. She comforts herself almost immediately with the quick thumb in her mouth. Her referral information, at age 6 months, said, "She is a very obedient baby and will not cry to affect adult's work." You can't teach a 6 month old obedience. She just learned that when she cried no one was coming to comfort her. I'm amazed that through it all--her tiny birth weight, her abandonment, her life in an institution, with all those knocks against her, somehow she managed to thrive. This little girl is a survivor and we're so proud of her.

The directors took us out to eat at a local restaurant. There's a little more to this chicken then we typically see. We also had "pig tail soup". Madeline has a bit of a tummy ache tonight. Still, I thought the luncheon, which they insisted on paying for, was a very kind gesture by the directors. Mrs. Wei especially seems to know these babies so well. She was so happy to see that Qiu Ju will have a big brother and sister. I showed her Abby's picture and she said she's very beautiful. When we got on the bus, Mrs. Wei stood outside and waved until we were out of sight. It was a long day, and we're all exhausted. Tomorrow we go to a local museum. Just two more days until our flight to Guangzhou.

Adoption Day!

Last night we took Qiu Ju to the hotel pool. She'd only been with us for a few hours, but she seemed game, so off we went. It was certainly her first time and at first she looked very tentative. I think her first splash was accidental, but she decided she liked it and after that she really went to town.

When Qiu Ju woke up this morning, she stood in her crib and I saw her little chin start to quiver. As soon as she saw us, she smiled and has been great all day. We gave her a bottle and went downstairs to breakfast. It was fun to see all of the other families and hear how their nights went. We are an extremely fortunate group because everyone is doing well. David said we're too easy!

We all met in the lobby of the 14th floor for the official family adoption photo and to get Jin Qiu Ju's little footprint.

Qiu Ju's seal of approval. With older children, they have to sign their name saying they're happy with their new family and want to be adopted. I hope that if Qiu Ju had a choice in the matter, she'd say yes!

The kids are so in love with this little girl. They have been very helpful and she obviously is eating up all of the attention.

Abby picked out the cozy flannel for this quilt and Adam and Madeline tied it right before we left for our trip. Little Qiu Ju loves it. I don't think she's had many soft things in her life, because she rubs the fabric with her hand and just seems to appreciate it so much. It's going to be hard not to spoil this girl!

Today was the official adoption day. We are now legally Jin Qiu Ju's parents. We all first took the bus to the notary's office for some signatures and then back to the Civil Affairs Office for more signatures and the adoption interview. They asked us, "Are you satisfied with this baby?" We both choked up a little said, "absolutely yes." After the interview, we were able to ask questions of the orphanage director. Lily translated for us. When we walked up, the director, a woman, started to laugh and told Lily, "This one is SO active! She wants to be a big girl, not a baby. Don't feed her many bottles. Just one at night, maybe one more time in the morning. You can't feed her solids fast enough." She also said that QIu Ju understands both Mandarin and Cantonese (bilingual at not even 11 months, yes, we're very proud!) and that she loves to try and sing along with songs from the TV and radio. Just what this family needs, another entertainer!

The big question we wanted to ask was about her foster care situation. The director said that she's only spent a few weeks in foster care and that she was returned to the orphanage the last week before we came "to help her attach to you." She said that there was a big brother in the foster family which helps us understand her attachment to Adam. This family, apparently, is a very experienced foster family who have had 5 different babies with them and already have a new one in residence. This really helped me to feel better. I didn't like the thought of a family grieving over a daughter who'd been with them for months. Although, I'm sure they miss her, she was with them for a short time, and they're accustomed to babies coming and going.

The director then presented us and the Corbetts with beautiful embroidered handbags. Inside was the best gift of all--about 50 pictures! Half of them are general photos of scenes around Guiping, and the other half are just of Qiu Ju. they are all dated and her earliest photo was taken at 2 months. I'm not sure it the director's info about foster care was entirely correct because I saw one picture, obviously in the orphanage, with the date of June 30th and the rest were in a foster home with dates up until just three days before we met. At any rate, we know that she has spent the great majority of her young life in the orphanage. This makes me even more amazed at her great development. I really think she'll be walking before she turns one in September. That's incredible for an orphanage baby. She is such an absolute joy. Tomorrow will be a long and emotional day as we go visit the orphanage. It's a long bus ride and I know there are mixed opinions on if it's healthy to bring them back, but I think someday she'll appreciate seeing pictures of her abandonment site and photos of the nannies who have given her such loving care. Lily did warn us that sometimes the foster family will be there waiting for us and that can be pretty emotional. Again, even if it's difficult, I think we'd like to meet and thank these people had tell them in person that we will love and care for Qiu Ju. I hear Qiu Ju waking up from her nap, so signing off from China!

Maya Day Photos

This is sweet little Grace, the first baby to be united with her new family. Her mother, Lisa, made us all laugh when she told us that she learned to say in Mandarin, "Come with me and I'll give you candy." Notice the lollipop in her hand.

Next came Julia, who wins the best hairstyle contest with her 3 bouncy pigtails. She has three brothers, one just a few months younger than her. They'll be in the same grade in school. Instant twins!

And the girl we've all be waiting for--Jin Qiu Ju! She has since gone to all of us, but she just wanted Dad at the Civil Affairs Office.

Barb and Rick's daughter, sweet Qiu was next. She has a sister, Min, just a year older and also adopted from the Guangxi province.

Here we are with the Corrbetts and "Summer Fun". She just turned one year old and is also from Guiping.

Back at the hotel, Maya explored her new surroundings and checked out these strange new Americans. She is a delightful baby.

How can you not love this smile? We never expected such a social baby on our very first day. We are all smitten.

Abby you will absolutely love your new sister.

Adam waited a long time for this girl and they took to each other right away. I'll be curious to know if there was a brother in her foster family. She seems to prefer the boys. Madeline and I are trying hard not to take it personally. We owe her foster family a debt we can never repay. This baby was obviously loved and was ready for her forever family.

We felt that there was a baby girl in China who needed us, but I think we needed her too. So many prayers have been answered today. Goodnight from a very happy family.

Maya Day Journal

As I type, there is the sweetest little baby sleeping in the crib next to me! What a day it's been! It was so hard to concentrate on anything this morning. David took us to a big store where he helped us pick out Chinese baby board books. Thankfully they're written in both English and Mandarin. We got KFC for lunch (spicier than the U.S. version), and got back to the hotel at about 1:30 with two more hours to kill. Lyle and the kids started the Chronicles of Narnia movie and I went for a walk.

Our group met in the lobby at 3:30. Talk about nervous energy! We boarded the bus, many people already with video cameras rolling. The Guangxi Civil Affairs Office is located on the 4th floor of the Lottery Hotel, kind of a funny name for the place where we'd meet our daughter. As soon as we got off of the elevator we heard babies crying. We realized that there were several groups meeting their babies today. As we were walking down the hall, I looked into one of the rooms and saw Grace, a darling little 2 year old whose parents, the Cairneys, are in our travel group. I knew that's where our babies were, but I felt so nervous and shaky, I didn't poke my head in to look for Qiu Ju. While we waited in another room, Adam and Matthew, another 12 year old boy in our group, went down the hall with their video cameras. Adam ran back excitedly yelling, "I saw Qiu Ju! I saw Qiu Ju! She's so cute!" What a fun thing for Adam to be the first to see her! He asked Madeline if she wanted to go peek in the baby room, but she said she wanted to wait for the official baby presentation ceremony.

A woman from the Civil Affairs Office came in and gave a very sweet speech, thanking us for adopting these babies and telling us that our two countries will always be connected through our daughters. She asked us to please love them and to be patient with them as they make this great change in their lives. She then introduced the orphanage directors from the three different orphanages where the 5 babies came from.

The big moment came next. The nannies started bringing in the babies! Three of the little ones in our group are 2 years old, so it was easy to tell which was Qiu Ju. She was brought in last, looking so tiny, but still very much like her referral picture. Her hair has gotten longer and is very soft and sticky-up. She was wearing a "Hello Kitty" tank top and baggy pink shorts and was sucking her thumb. David first called the Cairneys to the front to meet little Grace. We've gotten to know these families and to see adorable little Grace walk right into her mom's outstretched arms was such a special moment. Next they called Leah whose baby, Julia wins the prize for the best hairstyle--three bouncy pigtails! Next they said, "Jin Qiu Ju. Lyle and Eileen." We stepped forward with Adam filming and Madeline snapping pictures. A man handed her to me and she came right to us without a fuss. She seemed to be intent on looking around at everything. After a couple of minutes, she started to cry and reached out for Lyle. He took her and she clung to him for dear life, but wouldn't take her eyes off of me. She apparently wanted Lyle to hold her and me to talk to her. Within minutes we saw her first smile. What a doll! She started to suck her thumb again and put her head down on Lyle's shoulder. David said they had just woken her up. The other two families got their babies, which frankly I missed because we were totally focusing on Qiu Ju. We snapped a couple more pictures and then we were being escorted back to the bus. The whole thing couldn't have taken more than 20 minutes.

On the bus, Qiu Ju did some more shy smiles and chewed on her little teether toy which we'd sent in a care package to the orphanage. The kids were so enamored with her and she calmly took everything in. Once we got back to our room we put her down on the bed and saw her CRAWL! Yeah! She smiled more, showing her 6 little teeth. We made her a bottle with the formula that the orphanage director gave us and Lyle snuggled up to her while she gulped it down. We put her back on the floor with some toys and just watched as she played. She has great dexterity and is very limber. She seems to really like the boys, wanting to go to Adam and Lyle. Madeline and I are trying not to be offended. She crawled over to the full length mirror and pulled herself up! I held one of her hands and she took a few little steps to me! When she was first handed to us, she seemed so tiny and floppy, but she's strong and seems to be developmentally on target. What a blessing!

After playing for about a half hour, she started rubbing her eyes, so I wrapped her in a blanket and she snuggled right in and went to sleep. She appears to be very healthy, but does have a rash on her neck, which Lily said is very common and is most likely heat rash, and she does have some sore-looking mosquito bites. Her head is a little asymetrical, but I don't think it's too bad. She is such a doll and we couldn't have asked for a more wonderful first meeting. To finally hug and kiss this little girl whose picture we've all memorized was one of the highlights of our lives--definitely up there with the births of Adam, Madeline, and Abby. It feels so right to have her with us. SO, now you can go to the next page to see some pictures!

Abby, you will LOVE little Maya Qiu Ju and she is going to love you! You did a great job picking out the fabric for her blankie. She already seems to like it. We miss you Abby and can't wait to see you again! Love, Mom and Dad

July 23--Nanning

No, the Great Wall is not in Nanning, but we finally have our computer working again and I wanted you to see how crowded it was on the wall.

The meals have been very good and the kids are game to try the chopsticks. Here, the kids (and yes, I'm including Lyle in that) are ready for a chopstick race. The challenge was to see who could be the fastest to pick up a piece of Peking duck, dip it in the special sauce and then eat it. I believe it was a draw. I am totally chopstick impaired.

Split pants are worn by all the toddlers here. At the airport in Beijing, we were waiting in line behind a woman and her son who looked to be about a year and a half. Without warning, he squatted right next to us and went to the bathroom on the marble floor. The mother obviously saw but didn't seem the least bit bothered. From what I've heard, our babies have been in diapers, but who knows, little Maya may be a split pants wearer.

This was our view flying into the Guangxi province. It doesn't do it justice. It is absolutely breathtaking here. Our guide mentioned that he likes the quieter pace of living in a small city like Nanning. We asked him how many people live here and he said, "Oh, about 6.4 million". Apparently, it's the Chinese equivalent of Mayberry.

Look what we found in our room! We got updated information on Qiu Ju today. The most surprising bit of info is that she has spent time with a foster family! This is fabulous news, but it may make her transition even harder. Her foster family reports that she loves to eat congee (thankfully they have that here at the hotel) and that she loves to play with toys, watch TV and play on the floor.

They listed no dislikes but wrote that she is very sensitive to mosquito bites and has pollen allergies. Does she sound like our daughter or what? David said we'll meet in the lobby tomorrow at 3:30 and, "by 3:50 you will be holding your baby." Later today he's taking us to Walmart of all places to help us buy Chinese baby supplies. Should be interesting! I should mention that the heat is something else here! Out hotel is next to a beautiful lake and park. We walked around the lake today and came back totally drenched. It's interesting to see the people here. We've been so impressed with the active social groups that the older people seem to have. From our hotel window here on the 14th floor, we can see large groups of people doing Tai Chi in the morning and circles of women who appear to be in their 60's doing hacky sac. Can you imagine that in the U.S.? In Beiiing, there were people playing a raquet game kind of similar to badminton but with a heavier ball. The game seems to be more artform than sport, and each of us got to try it. You should have seen some of our around-the-back and under-the-leg moves. We bought a couple of paddles and the ball and the kids have been practicing. We'll try to update later tonight, if not, next entry will be Maya day!

Who would have guessed that Wal-Mart could be such an adventure! Besides the yellow smiley faces there wasn't much that felt familiar. The smell was not pleasant, but we became used to it. Our guide David and Lily, our adoption agency's China facilitator, helped us pick out formula, baby snacks, and baby food. It's funny because none of us are first time parents, but everything is different here and we want to make the babies as comfortable as possible. We also decided to buy a fold-up stroller because it's so hot here and holding the baby all the time would get uncomfortable. We were told to avoid the Winnie the Pooh stroller, so we picked out a blue plaid stroller that looked sufficient. When we got home and opened the box, we found Winnie the Pooh with the odd phrase, "Fish will be fish".

Wal-Mart in Nanning has three floors. There's kind of a combo moving sidewalk/escalator that gets you from one floor to the other. There were so many people there and an amazing number of employees. David helped us pick out some DVD's of popular Chinese kids shows. One TV there was showing a DVD called, "Chinese Kids with a Gifted American Child." They showed a tree and underneath was written "tree". So far so good. Next, they showed many trees and underneath it said, "fortress". The gifted American child has issues.

We went swimming tonight in the gorgeous outdoor pool. I think we're going to play a card game and then hit the hay. For the first time last night we finally slept through the night. Besides some intestinal distress and a mysterious rash on Lyle's feet, we are all doing well. We've met everyone in our Guangxi travel group now and it seems like a wonderful bunch. There is such a feeling of excitement and camraderie. Tomorrow is the big day! We'll have to find something to do to keep busy until 3:30. Let's hope we can sleep tonight! We'll post pictures as soon as we can--they'll probably be up your time Monday morning. Until then, bye from China!

We love you Abby! Tomorrow we get your little sister!

July 22--Beijing/ Nanning

We are in Maya's province of Guangxi! Flying in, the scenery was absolutely stunning--so green, with dramatic mountains and winding rivers. We feel like we've stepped into an ancient Chinese painting. It's so beautiful. Our guide, David, met us at the airport. He's a total crack-up. He reminds us of an asian version of the Martin Short character, the Wedding Planner, in the movie, "Father of the Bride." Our hotel is gorgeous and of course, we noticed right away that there is a CRIB in our room! The bad news is that we aren't getting the babies on Sunday, but not until Monday. After 15 months, I suppose we can wait one extra day!

We're having issues with our laptop, so I'm in the business office here at the hotel. Once we get the baby, we'll somehow find a way to get pictures on the website for everyone to see. In the meantime, I have so much I want to say about our trip so far. The last few days have been amazing. It's an odd (and probably good) experience being a minority. I've been amazed at all the attention that is paid to Madeline. I expected that maybe in the smaller cities, but not in Beijing. Our guide, Odette, said that there are two reasons that Madeline is being followed like a celebrity. First, she said most of the people at the big tourist attractions are not Beijingers (as she calls herself), but are from the countryside. She considers anywhere besides Beijing and Shanghai "countryside". The second reason, which I found ironic considering the purpose of our visit, is that, "The Chinese love little girls." If we didn't have issues with the language, I think I would have delved into the obvious contradiction.

It was so interesting talking to Odette. I asked her if a person from the countryside could come and make a living in Beijing. She said it would be incredibly difficult and that they would have to be highly educated. I asked her if an orphan could make it in the city and she said simply, "impossible". When I was on the plane to Beijing, I sat next to a woman who currently lives in Arizona, but grew up in Shanghai. I talked to her about our adoption and showed her our information on Jin Qiu Ju. She said that anyone looking at Qiu Ju's surname would know she came from the countryside. "Jin" means gold and she said that you could tell it's a country name because, "it's trying too hard to sound prosperous." Lyle said like naming a mobile home park "estates". "That's it exactly," she said.

All over Beijing there is construction going on for the 2008 Olympics. Odette expressed her views on the Olympics in this way. "There is a man who wants to have a big face to appear very powerful and important. He hits his face very hard many times until it swells. That is what Beijing is doing. We need many things more than we need stadiums, but we will hit ourselves to look important to the world."

Odette's English was very good, but we had to concentrate on what she was saying to understand. Still, we had several miscommunications. When we booked our Beijing tour, I spoke on the phone with a Chinese man who went by the name of Frank. He also e-mailed me several times. When we arrived at the airport and saw Odette and a man holding a sign with "Eileen and Vernon" written on it, we just assumed this man was Frank. We even said, "You must be Frank, " and called him that repeatedly. Yesterday morning, Odette was a few minutes late meeting us and we tried to converse with "Frank" only to realize that he didn't speak a word of English. Obviously this wasn't the person I had spoken to, just our driver. Lyle said that maybe when Odette heard us say, "You must be Frank," she just thought we wanted them to be honest. Who knows, but we still call our driver Frank. Frank is a man of few words who lets his car horn do the talking. Driving here is like nothing we've ever seen. Pedestrians and bikes do not have the right of way and lane changes can apparently happen at any time with no warning. The obscene gestures and road rage you'd see in the U.S. at any one of Frank's maneuvers don't seem to be acknowledged by the other drivers at all. Their driving techniques are the same and we all seem to move along in a state of organized chaos.

Organized chaos could be used to describe our experience yesterday at the Great Wall. It was an incredible mass of humanity moving up and down the wall. The bottlenecks were a new experience for us. The pushing wasn't done maliciously and as a matter of fact, many people smiled as they shoved me aside. The tunnels were narrow, but usually they were mericfully short. Claustrophobics need not apply! I felt particulary bad for one British woman with twin boys who looked to be about 4 years old. The boys were screaming hysterically in one the tunnels and their mother kept saying, "it's o.k. We're almost there." She looked at me and said, "We're not accustomed to this. How about you?" No, not really. During one particularly bad bottleneck, a policeman in a central corridor pulled Madeline and me out of the crowd and pushed us into a completely empty corridor--apparently the foreigner passage. I felt badly because the British woman with the twins had Asian features and she wan't pulled out of the crowd. I was happy to see them later in a restaurant which catered to foreigners. The boys looked none the worse for the wear.

At one point on the wall, I was surprised to see a hand grasp the top of a turret. I almost expected to see a grappling hook and invading Mongol. A leg came over next and I realized that I recognized the sandal! It wasn't an invading nomad at all. It was Lyle! He claims that he saw someone else do it and he thought it was a good way to get out of the crowd. He sent Adam and Madeline over too, but I braved the bottleneck.

When we were in the Hutong the other day, the woman there asked Odette why were adopting one of China's orphans. Odette said she told her, "They have pity for the little girl and mercy in their hearts." Lyle and I both felt uncomfortable with that explanation. It makes it sound like we're making a difficult sacrifice. We tried to explain that we feel so blessed to be able to do this and feel like just as our older 3 children have each added something special to our family, this little girl will also be a blessing and a gift. To say we're here because we feel pity dosen't adequately express our feeling at all.

We've found that many things which we assume are universal, are really not. Odette mentioned that she studied accounting in college, but hated it. "But," she said, "it wasn't my choice." We, of course, asked whose choice it was. She said that in China your major is chosen for you by your high school principle and parents. She studied English on her own time. The other day, driving down the road, we saw a man up high fixing a telephone wire. What was unique about this was that he was standing in the bucket of a bulldozer, raised to its highest level. His legs were splayed out on either side of the bucket and he had no safety equipment whatsoever. Lyle mentioned to Odette that in the U.S., if that man was injured he could sue the company that put him up there. Odette seemed baffled by that . How could he win money? He's there willingly doing a job--a job that probably pays next to nothing, but he's undoubtedly glad to have it. It's really a different world here.

When we were at Tiananmen Square, Odette mentioned that she was in high school during the student protests, but if she had been older, she thinks she would habe been one of the protestors. She said the majority of Chinese had no idea what happened there, but learned of the tragedy afterward from foreigners. The guards at the square, she said, are not Beijingers, but men recruitted from the countryside. The government wants them to have no connections in Beijing and for them to feel strong allegiance to their employer. It seems like an incredibly boring, not to mention hot job to stand out there in their green uniforms all day, but I suppose maybe it beats working in the fields.

We've realized here that the melting pot of America is really an amazing thing. No Chinese person in the U.S. would get the stares that we get here. In Beijing, we talked with only 3 other Americans. One was a beautiful Asian girl of about 13 who told us she was here from Michigan at a culture camp for Chinese-Americans. Another was a woman and her father, coincidentally also from Michigan. They were both eating popsicles and from Lyle's past experience we knew that popsicles in China are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. The father said, "This is a green bean popsicle, and you know what? It tastes just as bad as it sounds." We all burst out laughing. It had only been a few days and we already missed having others around who could completely understand us.

Just a couple of hours ago, we met one of the other couples who is adopting. They seem very fun. I believe there will be 5 families all getting their babies on Monday. Tomorrow night will be the last time that Jin Qiu Ju, with her less than prosperous surname, will sleep in an orphanage. I once read an eloquent letter written by a Chinese woman to the adopted daughters of China. I copied it for Maya to read when she's older. It said in part, "Although we may never meet, we are sisters. The Yangtze flows through your veins as surely as it does mine, but you are no longer grass to be walked on. You are American girls now and the future is yours."

Please pray for Qiu Ju as she makes this huge transition. Our trip so far has all been preliminary. The real adventure will start here in Nanning.

July 21--Beijing

Today was another great day in Beijing. For the first time since we arrived, we saw the sky. The air pollution here keeps the sky hidden most days. We drove an hour and a half to the Great Wall. The landscape around the wall is beautiful and the weather was perfect--apparently most of China thought so also. The wall was very crowded and has a series of narrow tunnels that are effective bottlenecks. The people had no qualms about pushing and Adam said one elderly woman used her cane to leverage her way through the crowd. The wall is incredibly steep and the stairs vary widely in height. It gives us a whole new appreciation for Lyle's partner, Jeff's Great Wall Marathon!

Once again, the kids were photo magnets. Lyle finally waved people away so they could keep moving. We were supposed to meet our guide back down at the bottom at a certain time, but our trip down was taking longer than expected and we decided to take the tobbogan track ride to save time. These cars would make even the most suspect state fair look very safe. Anyway, we made it down in one piece, already 20 minutes late to meet our guide. Unfortunately, the ride dropped us off in an unfamiliar location, and we just followed the crowd hoping it would take us back to where we needed to go. We started to run, worrying that we'd miss our guide, and several determined salespeople jogged behind us yelling, "Hello! Hello! Too long you go! We have ride!" We didn't want any more "Shortcuts", so we pressed onward. Madeline was getting a side cramp, so Lyle put her on his shoulders which caused even more of a crowd as photographers came out from everywhere. Thankfully, we found our guide and headed to lunch and a pearl factory.

In the afternoon we went to the emperor's Summer Palace where we took a ferry boat ride and met some fellow Americans--we've actually met very few. Once again, the kids were asked for many photos. Madeline's face will grace many a Chinese scrapbook. We'll call this photo, "Those darn papparrazzi!"

We had Peking duck tonight for dinner and once again, we came back to the hotel totally exhausted. It doesn't help matters that we're all waking up at 2 A.M. Tomorrow we'll visit the Temple of Heaven and then head to the airport for our flight to Nanning! In Nanning we'll meet up with the others from our adoption group and then meet the babies the next day! It's good that we've been kept so busy because it keeps the nerves at bay!

Abby, we hope you're being a good girl for Granny! We love you! From, Mom, Dad, Adam and Madeline

July 20--Beijing

What an amazing day we had in Beijing! We started with a fun buffet breakfast at our hotel which had everything from noodles to french toast to robin eggs to soup. After breakfast we went to Tiananmen Square. It's humbling to stand in a place where there has been so much turmoil.

You probably can't tell from the picture, but we're sweating buckets. It's really not so very hot, but really humid. Our guide said this is nothing compared with Nanning, where we’ll go Saturday.

We weren't there for more than a couple of minutes before some people asked to have their pictures taken with the kids. Madeline especially seemed to enjoy the fame. Most people were very kind and said, "Your children are very lovely. May I take a picture?" one just grabbed Madeline and started taking pictures. One saleslady rubbed Madeline's face and said to our guide that Madeline was a beautiful Russian girl. We saw other American adults today, but I don't think we saw any American children, hence the Beck kids' celebrity status.

And I thought my last painting project was tough! Everything is so intricate inside the Forbidden City. There were countless rules that needed to followed inside the city and every offense seemed to be punishable by death. You didn't want to tick off the emperor! It was also a good idea to stay on the Dragon Lady's good side.

I figured that turn-around was fair play and asked these adorable school girls if I could get their picture. Their teacher said yes and then she happened to see Madeline over with Lyle and ran and put her in the mix.

Our Mandarin is being put to use and most people seem to understand us. When the kids say absolutely anything in Mandarin, it's greeted with applause and squeals of delight.

At the Forbidden City there was a sign outside the restroom which said, "Five Star Toilet". Apparently Five Stars doesn't even get you toilet paper! Thankfully we'd brought our own in our backpack. We're loving China but are not so thrilled with the squatty potty. On that track, we also saw many toddlers wearing split pants--a look you just don't see in the U.S.

We were the only caucasians in the restaurant where we ate lunch. Everyone openly stared at us while we ate. One woman even put down her chopsticks, turned her chair, and settled in for the show. She found great amusement at my sad chopstick attempts. Finally I asked for a fork and the woman seemed very disappointed and turned her chair around in disgust. Show's over.

We went on a tour of the Hutong district which was very interesting. I can't believe how much people pull on bikes. Really, I've seen old women pulling weights equivalent to household appliances. We visited with a Hutong family and when the mother heard we were adopting a baby she pointed to her teenage daughter, rolled her eyes, and with a laugh said, "How about adopting her?"

We're having some computer issues, so I'm just going to save this. We also toured a silk factory and went to an absolutely amazing acrobatic show. Lyle orded an ice cream treat and made us all laugh whe he said, "Wow, I had no idea you could put raisins in a popsicle!"

The kids are doing great. I feel badly that I hardly have any Adam photos up. As I said, the computer is giving us grief and I'm not able to add any more right now. Both kids have been total troopers and haven't complained once. Even the squatty potties are viewed as an adventure!

Abby, we miss you! The people in China would have LOVED you, but I'm not so sure you would have liked all of the attention, so I think Burley is probably a better place for you to be right now! Only 3 more days until we get your little sister!

Love, Mom, Dad, Adam and Madeline

July 18/19 Arrive in Beijing

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We have arrived! We caught our airport shuttle at 4:30 AM and by the time we landed in Beijing, we'd been up nearly 24 hours. The San Francisco- Beijing leg was incredibly long, with the kids asking about 2 hours into the flight if we were almost there. We flew over Alaska and Russia and were able to see lots of beautiful Chinese countryside and farmland from the air. When we arrived, we walked over to customs and got in the very long "foreigner lines". We'd been waiting only about a minute when a man pointed to us and motioned us over to the "Chinese Resident" line where we breezed right through. Maybe we looked particularly tired and pathetic and that's why he took pity on us. Thankfully, our guides were right there after we got our luggage and they drove us about an hour to our hotel. There were so many interesting sights on the way. Beijing appears to be a very clean city with many trees and an amazing number and variety of bikes and scooters. We have a big day tomorrow with Tiananmen Square, Hutong tour, acrobat show, Peking duck feast, and more. I am so tired I can hardly think. It's about 8 PM in Beijing and I think that means it's about 5 AM in Seattle. The one nice thing about missing a whole day is that means we're one day closer to meeting Qiu Ju--only 4 days! It feels great to finally be in her country! We'll update tomorrow with pictures. Dear Abby, (I feel like I should be asking for advice!) I hope your first day at Granny's was fun! Did you go in the pool? I was so proud of you yesterday marching onto the plane all by yourself with such a big smile on your face. Guess what movie Dad watched on the plane today? I'll give you a hint--it has a leopard seal in it! Yep, Eight Below! Now he knows why you had leopard seal nightmares! Well, I'm going to get to sleep now. Be good for Granny and share with your cousins. We'll be getting your little sister soon! Love, Mom, Dad, Adam and Linney

Abby's Solo Flight

Be still my heart. Abby flying by HERSELF! At age 5! We initially planned on taking all three kids to China, but upon further consideration (and a realistic look at airfare for 5 to China), we decided that Abby would enjoy a trip to visit Granny and Grandpa in Idaho.

It just so happened, Jake Haws, whose family we've known since dental school days, was also flying by himself that same day and his flight left just a few minutes after Abby's. So, we took the ferry over to Seattle together.

At this point, I was getting teary! Abby is just so cute and tiny-looking and the thought of sending her on an airplane by herself was a bit much for me! Not to mention the thought that kept eating at me that the next time I saw Abby, things would be different, hopefully better, but different. Abby will never again be the baby of the family!

With all my motherly nervousness, you'd think Abby would be at least a little apprehensive, but no. She was SO excited! In this photo, they had just called her name and said it was time to board!

No big goodbyes. The escort just got the three unaccompanied minors together and said, "O.K. girls, time to board the plane." No "give your mom a big hug," or "Say goodbye," just, "off we go." Probably for the best. I was feeling pretty emotional.

At this point I was working on breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth. What an odd feeling to have Abby on an airplane without one of her parents, doing and saying who knows what!

Thankfully, Seattle to Boise is such a short flight, that Granny was calling me on my cell phone before I had even finished my drive home! Abby has arrived safe and sound! She said she sang to the person next to her! How enjoyable that must have been for them!! Ha!

Tomorrow we leave for China! Qiu Ju, here we come! TOMORROW! Next post, Beijing!