Danielle started a blog herself. So please check hers out, of course from her perspective!
http://www.huffsdueeast.blogspot.com/
Thursday, April 30, 2009
We've Been Shanghaied
Not really, but couldn't resist using Shanghied. I always associated that term with some that was "taken" by someone, maybe I am completely wrong.
We made it to Shanghai last night at about 5 pm and the flights were very uneventful and Jessica did great. I think she is a better traveler than her mom and dad combined.
After arriving at the airport we cruised through immigration quickly then on to catch a taxi to downtown. The hotel web page said it was a quick 40 minute drive, but that was not the case last night. The problem is that today is May 1st, in other words a country holiday, and with Shanghai having over 15 million people I think everyone was either headed into or out of town for the long weekend. Our taxi ride took us just under 3 hours. However, we made it no problem, got checked in, took showers, Jess and I watched a movie and we were out.
It is now 6 am and we are all wide awake and taking yet another shower. Breakfast starts at 7 and from there we will be out and about doing the tourist thing. I do have to say that our hotel "The Bund Riverfront Hotel" is a pretty great place. Nice rooms, great staff and looks to be a great location. From our room we can see the Pearl Tower and The Bund area of Shanghai. So I think this morning we are going to walk over to the Pearl Tower and then to another skyscraper to tour it.
We will post pictures this evening.
We made it to Shanghai last night at about 5 pm and the flights were very uneventful and Jessica did great. I think she is a better traveler than her mom and dad combined.
After arriving at the airport we cruised through immigration quickly then on to catch a taxi to downtown. The hotel web page said it was a quick 40 minute drive, but that was not the case last night. The problem is that today is May 1st, in other words a country holiday, and with Shanghai having over 15 million people I think everyone was either headed into or out of town for the long weekend. Our taxi ride took us just under 3 hours. However, we made it no problem, got checked in, took showers, Jess and I watched a movie and we were out.
It is now 6 am and we are all wide awake and taking yet another shower. Breakfast starts at 7 and from there we will be out and about doing the tourist thing. I do have to say that our hotel "The Bund Riverfront Hotel" is a pretty great place. Nice rooms, great staff and looks to be a great location. From our room we can see the Pearl Tower and The Bund area of Shanghai. So I think this morning we are going to walk over to the Pearl Tower and then to another skyscraper to tour it.
We will post pictures this evening.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Still Getting Bags In Order
It always seems like we are last minute. Here it is 10:30 at night and still adding odds and ends to the bags. Weighing and reweighing, the pound limit for baggage in China is 44 lbs, so with two in country flights we have to make sure we are OK. So far so good, so we are stopping. Now just completing last minute copies of documents and trying to find pictures of the nanny that brought Jessica to us. As we are headed to Maoming and Jess's orphanage we want to ensure we have pictures so we could meet the woman again.
Needless to say it is going to be difficult getting "good" sleep this evening but we will give it a go.
Next time we visit should be from Shanghai on Thursday/Friday.
Needless to say it is going to be difficult getting "good" sleep this evening but we will give it a go.
Next time we visit should be from Shanghai on Thursday/Friday.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
We Would Still Be Waiting
As a side note, when Danielle and I started on the road to adoption it was 2005. When we applied to adopt Jessica it was March 2006.
After we applied for the initial adoption, Danielle and I began discussing the possibility of adopting a child with minor special needs. When we talked to our original adoption agency about the possibility we made the switch to special needs and were immediately matched with Jessica.
If we would not have made the switch to special needs we will still be waiting to be placed with a child. In other words, the process to adopt a non special needs child from China is taking over 3 years. 3 YEARS!!!
We are truly blessed to have been lead to special needs children and have adopted two daughters by the time we would have originally adopted one.
Both Jessica and Kate are heart babies, meaning they have heart conditions that require surgeries to repair. Jessica had her heart surgery in November 2006 and is now a healthy growing child. Kate is scheduled for her first meeting with the pediatric cardiologist on the Monday after we get home. From that appointment we will begin the plan for Kate's surgery and moving to getting her on the right track.
It amazes me every time I think about the timeline that Danielle and I have been on.
We are very blessed.
After we applied for the initial adoption, Danielle and I began discussing the possibility of adopting a child with minor special needs. When we talked to our original adoption agency about the possibility we made the switch to special needs and were immediately matched with Jessica.
If we would not have made the switch to special needs we will still be waiting to be placed with a child. In other words, the process to adopt a non special needs child from China is taking over 3 years. 3 YEARS!!!
We are truly blessed to have been lead to special needs children and have adopted two daughters by the time we would have originally adopted one.
Both Jessica and Kate are heart babies, meaning they have heart conditions that require surgeries to repair. Jessica had her heart surgery in November 2006 and is now a healthy growing child. Kate is scheduled for her first meeting with the pediatric cardiologist on the Monday after we get home. From that appointment we will begin the plan for Kate's surgery and moving to getting her on the right track.
It amazes me every time I think about the timeline that Danielle and I have been on.
We are very blessed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Shanghai
Danielle and I spent the weekend talking about how we never thought we would ever go to China even once, let alone twice. It is interesting how you are called to something or moved to something. For us adoption was that calling we couldn't ignore.
Now it is so awesome to be planning a trip to Shanghai. We are really looking forward to exploring on our own, we went to the bookstore on Sunday and picked up a couple of travel books and travel maps of Shanghai and bit by bit our trip is coming together. For the most part all of our adoption time is already planned and set once we get Kate, so we are enjoying the "planning" phase of the first two days.
We booked our room at The Bund Riverside in Shanghai. The next big question we have is do we take the high speed train from the international airport then catch a subway connection to our hotel, all while doing this after rolling off the plane with our luggage; or do we catch a cab. We are really leaning to toward the cab.... I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out.
Can't believe we are only one week away from meeting Kate. Danielle and I have been placed with Kate since September 2008, it just takes a long time to get through all the paperwork. Needless to say, it feels like it has been a long time coming. We have her room all completed, Jessica and Kate will share a room. Jessica says she is excited to be a big sister, and I am sure she is, however it will be an interesting change for Jess after we get home and we all get settled.
By the way we are taking Jessica to China with us on the trip. To me it seems that she is really starting to remember things from yesterday or even months ago. I am curious to know how much of this trip she will remember when she grows up. We also feel blessed to have arranged an additional trip to Jess's orphanage when we are in Guangzhou. In 2006 we were discouraged by our guides from making the journey, but Danielle is determined to go this time and she has made it happen. I doubt if Jess has any memories from there, but I guess you never know.
We are going to try to contact the orphanage to find out if there is anything that we could help provide for the children; clothes, diapers, formula etc. Not sure how to make this contact yet, but we are really drawn to making sure we can provide something that the orphanage could use.
Danielle and I are so blessed to be going on this journey a second time, it is truly amazing to think about.
Now it is so awesome to be planning a trip to Shanghai. We are really looking forward to exploring on our own, we went to the bookstore on Sunday and picked up a couple of travel books and travel maps of Shanghai and bit by bit our trip is coming together. For the most part all of our adoption time is already planned and set once we get Kate, so we are enjoying the "planning" phase of the first two days.
We booked our room at The Bund Riverside in Shanghai. The next big question we have is do we take the high speed train from the international airport then catch a subway connection to our hotel, all while doing this after rolling off the plane with our luggage; or do we catch a cab. We are really leaning to toward the cab.... I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out.
Can't believe we are only one week away from meeting Kate. Danielle and I have been placed with Kate since September 2008, it just takes a long time to get through all the paperwork. Needless to say, it feels like it has been a long time coming. We have her room all completed, Jessica and Kate will share a room. Jessica says she is excited to be a big sister, and I am sure she is, however it will be an interesting change for Jess after we get home and we all get settled.
By the way we are taking Jessica to China with us on the trip. To me it seems that she is really starting to remember things from yesterday or even months ago. I am curious to know how much of this trip she will remember when she grows up. We also feel blessed to have arranged an additional trip to Jess's orphanage when we are in Guangzhou. In 2006 we were discouraged by our guides from making the journey, but Danielle is determined to go this time and she has made it happen. I doubt if Jess has any memories from there, but I guess you never know.
We are going to try to contact the orphanage to find out if there is anything that we could help provide for the children; clothes, diapers, formula etc. Not sure how to make this contact yet, but we are really drawn to making sure we can provide something that the orphanage could use.
Danielle and I are so blessed to be going on this journey a second time, it is truly amazing to think about.
Friday, April 17, 2009
WOW, long time no post!
So the adoption front has been verrryyyy slow. I am happy to report it is complete and here is our schedule for meeting Kate. And yes, Jessica is going with us, as she is excited to become a big sister.
4-29 Boise to Shanghai, Shanghai tour on our own from 4-30 to 5-3
5-3, fly from Shanghai to Fuzhou via FM9521, meet guide from CWTS at Fuzhou airport, check in Xi Hu Grand Hotel (Western Lake Grand Hotel), meet Kate in the afternoon.
5-4：proceeding with adoption registration and notary
5-5, visiting Western Lake, and shopping
5-6, visiting Gu Tian County SWI (Kate's orphanage)
5-7, visiting the Panda World
5-8, visiting Xi Chan Temple, picking up Kate's passport, fly from Fuzhou to Guangzhou via cz365 (16：20/17：50), meet guide from CWTS at Guangzhou airport, check into Victory Hotel, Western Building.
5-9：physical exam, visiting Walking Street
5-10：visiting Liu Rong Temple and Liu Hu Lake Park
5-11：applying for visa，visiting the zoo
5-12：picking up visa，
5-13：visiting Mao Nan SWI (Jessica's orphanage)
5-14：resting
5-15：leaving Guangzhou back to the States at 09：34, Boise at 2: 00 PM
4-29 Boise to Shanghai, Shanghai tour on our own from 4-30 to 5-3
5-3, fly from Shanghai to Fuzhou via FM9521, meet guide from CWTS at Fuzhou airport, check in Xi Hu Grand Hotel (Western Lake Grand Hotel), meet Kate in the afternoon.
5-4：proceeding with adoption registration and notary
5-5, visiting Western Lake, and shopping
5-6, visiting Gu Tian County SWI (Kate's orphanage)
5-7, visiting the Panda World
5-8, visiting Xi Chan Temple, picking up Kate's passport, fly from Fuzhou to Guangzhou via cz365 (16：20/17：50), meet guide from CWTS at Guangzhou airport, check into Victory Hotel, Western Building.
5-9：physical exam, visiting Walking Street
5-10：visiting Liu Rong Temple and Liu Hu Lake Park
5-11：applying for visa，visiting the zoo
5-12：picking up visa，
5-13：visiting Mao Nan SWI (Jessica's orphanage)
5-14：resting
5-15：leaving Guangzhou back to the States at 09：34, Boise at 2: 00 PM
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