5.04.2008

Tomorrow is Gotcha Day!

It has been another exciting, interesting and exhausting day as we began the day at 4:00 a.m. to catch our flight to Nanjing. Our flight was pushed back to 11:oo a.m. due to the rain and wind of the previous day. At 10:00 a.m., we found out our flight was cancelled, but our fast acting and very efficient guide Michelle, got us on a flight that left at 11:10. So no harm done. :-) Prior to leaving Minnesota some friends that recently adopted from China told us that the best advice they could give us was to go with an open mind. It has been great advice and I must say the entire traveling group accepted the twist and turns of the day extremely graciously.

Tomorrow we meet Bei for the first time!!! We are so excited and somewhat nervous to see the culmination of our dream (which feels like it has taken a lifetime to reach!). We are not sure what to expect but we are ready for anything and our guide has given us many helpful tips. Tonight she took us on a walking tour around our hotel area and we visted a local supermarket where she helped us purchase food and beverages that Chinese children are accustmed to and she believes they will enjoy and add comfort as they experience this major change in their young lives. She also gave us comfort in telling us we would go to the store again with our children and they will not be shy in telling/showing us what they want.

We gained some degree of confidence in Beijing as we saw many adoptive parents from the USA and Europe with their new babies and the children seemed very content and at ease in their new envirionments. Our tour guide in Beijing, Jerry, also shared his experiences with us regarding his guiding of adoptions and he many children are happy and comfortable within a couple days, often by the second day.

Oh, and for those of you that heard me complain about Dan insisting on a Suite, well it has been the best money spent. We have a beautiful two room, two bathroom suite which will give Bei lots of room to play. We hope to be spending alot of time down in the pool area because Nanjing is very hot and humid and we think it will be a fun area to bond.

Finally, the name.......we are still struggling with his name. We all know him as Bei and we are conflicted about changing his name but we also want to be thoughtful about his future in America. I guess you will all just have to stay tuned to find out the final decision.

1 comment:

stephLAgwca said...

hi liz!! we are all so excited for you, dan and bei! can't wait to see your beautiful family photos!

stephanie and leigh anne