I hope your foster family did something special for you today. You can be sure that we'll be celebrating with you next week! Mommy and Daddy will find you some cake or ice cream or some other yummy treat in Zhengzhou, and we have lots of gifts for you when you get home. The best gift of all is your new big sister! Saying goodbye to her this morning was very hard for Mommy, but thankfully Gemma was having too much fun with her new toy and with Grandma to get upset. What a relief---it would have ripped my heart out to leave her in tears.
We're at DIA now, waiting to board the first leg of our loooong flight.
Sheng ri kuai le, An Yu Xiang! Happy birthday, little Guy.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Butterflies
My stomach hurts. Like it used to on the morning of trial. Or just before the verdict came back. Or the eve of the bar exam.
No, that's not it exactly. It's a mixture of that feeling and the one I used to feel as I waited for the doorbell to ring the night of a first date. I am giddy with anticipation.
It makes sense. I have been preparing for weeks and "cramming" for the past several days. Pages of checklists have been whittled down to the last few items. Articles, books, and blogs about infant/toddler attachment, orphanage care, travel, "swine" flu, sightseeing in Beijing, tainted baby formula, etc., etc. have been read, re-read, committed to memory. Bring on the final exam! I'm ready. Nervous, but ready.
I have also spent many hours staring at my Guy's picture, dreaming about him day and night. I have washed his clothes, folded them, laid them out, refolded them, held those clothes to my face, to my heart, and gently rocked, imagining his small, warm body wiggling within them. No doubt, the morning of Gotcha Day, I will pace in the hotel. I will glance at my watch, check my water-proof mascara, reapply my lipstick, pat the passport holder around my neck, open it repeatedly to be sure the passport and cash are there. I will fuss over the red gift bags for the adoption and orphanage officials, each containing a pen and pencil set, a token gesture of thanks and goodwill. I will pace some more and check my watch again. I will jump and my stomach will drop to my ankles when the phone rings in our hotel room--the signal to meet our group downstairs and board the bus to our children. I know this; I have done this all before. I will sit in a room on the other side of the world until our names our called. Then by some miracle, a total stranger will enter that room and hand to me the realization of my hopes and dreams. And we get to keep him and take him home and love him forever.
As I embark on this second magical journey of our lives, I am leaving the other love of my life behind. I have never been separated from Gemma for more than 3 days. That was one time, to attend my dear friend Jenn's wedding in Virginia and steal a romantic getaway with my husband. Although we had a blast, and Jon and I desperately needed the time alone, I felt like I had left my arm somewhere. It was that unnatural to be without my Gemma for so long. The thought of 18 days away from her is unfathomable. We'll survive it, though. I do think it is the best arrangement for her (she'll be spoiled by her grandparents and lots of friends while we're gone), for the baby, and probably for Jon and me, too. This trip will be exhausting and Guy will need our full attention.
Thank goodness for Skype!
No, that's not it exactly. It's a mixture of that feeling and the one I used to feel as I waited for the doorbell to ring the night of a first date. I am giddy with anticipation.
It makes sense. I have been preparing for weeks and "cramming" for the past several days. Pages of checklists have been whittled down to the last few items. Articles, books, and blogs about infant/toddler attachment, orphanage care, travel, "swine" flu, sightseeing in Beijing, tainted baby formula, etc., etc. have been read, re-read, committed to memory. Bring on the final exam! I'm ready. Nervous, but ready.
I have also spent many hours staring at my Guy's picture, dreaming about him day and night. I have washed his clothes, folded them, laid them out, refolded them, held those clothes to my face, to my heart, and gently rocked, imagining his small, warm body wiggling within them. No doubt, the morning of Gotcha Day, I will pace in the hotel. I will glance at my watch, check my water-proof mascara, reapply my lipstick, pat the passport holder around my neck, open it repeatedly to be sure the passport and cash are there. I will fuss over the red gift bags for the adoption and orphanage officials, each containing a pen and pencil set, a token gesture of thanks and goodwill. I will pace some more and check my watch again. I will jump and my stomach will drop to my ankles when the phone rings in our hotel room--the signal to meet our group downstairs and board the bus to our children. I know this; I have done this all before. I will sit in a room on the other side of the world until our names our called. Then by some miracle, a total stranger will enter that room and hand to me the realization of my hopes and dreams. And we get to keep him and take him home and love him forever.
As I embark on this second magical journey of our lives, I am leaving the other love of my life behind. I have never been separated from Gemma for more than 3 days. That was one time, to attend my dear friend Jenn's wedding in Virginia and steal a romantic getaway with my husband. Although we had a blast, and Jon and I desperately needed the time alone, I felt like I had left my arm somewhere. It was that unnatural to be without my Gemma for so long. The thought of 18 days away from her is unfathomable. We'll survive it, though. I do think it is the best arrangement for her (she'll be spoiled by her grandparents and lots of friends while we're gone), for the baby, and probably for Jon and me, too. This trip will be exhausting and Guy will need our full attention.
Thank goodness for Skype!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Travel dates!
Our agency confirmed our consulate appointment for June 9 in Guangzhou! That means we need to be in Beijing by May 28, so we are flying out a couple of days early to get over our jet lag a bit and enjoy the sights in Beijing. We are celebrating Guy's birthday by getting on a plane and heading to China on May 25! After seeing Beijing, we fly to Zhengzhou on Sunday, May 31. Zhengzhou is the capital city of Henan, Guy's province. Guy lives with his foster family in Anyang, a few hours drive north of Zhengzhou(ZZ). On Monday, June 1, he will be brought to ZZ and placed in our arms. The adoption will be finalized there and then we will go to Guangzhou for the last leg of our trip. We were in Guangzhou for our entire trip with Gemma in 2005 and we plan to stay at the White Swan Hotel there again this time. We have so many magical memories of that place and will be making some more. We return home to Colorado on June 11. Thankfully, we have Skype set up so we can talk to and see Gemma every day that we are gone and she is home with her Grandma Judy and Grandpa Jerry. My heart aches to think of being away from her for 18 days.
We also got an update on our LITTLE Guy yesterday. No new picture, though. According to the report, he still weighs 6 kg (13 lbs.) and is 70 cm long at 11 months old!! I cannot wait to fatten him up and watch him grow. The countdown is on. Only 18 more days until we are on that plane, and 25 days until we are holding our Guy...
We also got an update on our LITTLE Guy yesterday. No new picture, though. According to the report, he still weighs 6 kg (13 lbs.) and is 70 cm long at 11 months old!! I cannot wait to fatten him up and watch him grow. The countdown is on. Only 18 more days until we are on that plane, and 25 days until we are holding our Guy...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
TA! T-Yay!!!
We got our TA today!!!!!! That's our travel approval, for those who do not speak IA. (IA=international adoption.) I haven't been this happy since.....well, since we got LOA. And I wasn't THAT happy since...well, since we got our referral. And I won't be this happy AGAIN until...well, until June 1st, when I am holding our beautiful, precious son. I hope we get our CA tomorrow. Oh, right, CA is our consulate appointment. Just learn the acronyms already! Geez.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Our good fortune (the cookies got it right)
Who doesn't open a fortune cookie with at least a little hope that it will contain some prophetic or meaningful message? Usually, though, as with horoscopes, you can count on some vague piece of advice. Or a proverb. For the past three years, everytime I opened a fortune cookie, I hoped it would say something non-specific and optimistic so I could save it to put in our second child's baby book. For 2 1/2 years, no luck. If it wasn't a warning about a new business venture, it was a tired saying that could not be applied to adoption or children such as "a stitch in time saves nine". They all went in the trash.
Until this, the Year of the Ox, that is. We celebrated Chinese New Year by having our South African friends over for Chinese food. Each of us took a fortune cookie. (Yes, I know that fortune cookies are not a true Chinese tradition but in fact were invented by Chinese-American immigrants less than a century ago--but I digress.) The other couple's respective "fortunes" were meaningless or strange. But mine and Jon's read as follows:
"The current year will bring you much happiness." AND
"A long term goal will soon be achieved."
Yes, I realize they are rather vague. But they both could easily be interpreted as predictors that we would soon be matched with our child. Sure enough, the call came about 8 weeks later. These two fortunes will definitely go in Guy's baby book!
Now, here's the strangest and best one of all. Last week, Jon had Chinese food for lunch. His fortune cookie contained the following message, "Your fortune is on its way!" He turned the paper over and on the back was the word "Son" and its translation in Mandarin (pinyin: er zi). That one really blew us away. I don't really believe in this stuff, but COME ON!!! And, yes, it will be in Guy's baby book. Those who know me well have often heard me say that waiting to be matched with your child is like knowing you are going to win the lottery sometime in the next few months or years but not knowing exactly on which day. And Jon and I both know that we hit the jackpot with Gemma. Guy is our "fortune" and he's on his way! We're stinking, filthy RICH!
Until this, the Year of the Ox, that is. We celebrated Chinese New Year by having our South African friends over for Chinese food. Each of us took a fortune cookie. (Yes, I know that fortune cookies are not a true Chinese tradition but in fact were invented by Chinese-American immigrants less than a century ago--but I digress.) The other couple's respective "fortunes" were meaningless or strange. But mine and Jon's read as follows:
"The current year will bring you much happiness." AND
"A long term goal will soon be achieved."
Yes, I realize they are rather vague. But they both could easily be interpreted as predictors that we would soon be matched with our child. Sure enough, the call came about 8 weeks later. These two fortunes will definitely go in Guy's baby book!
Now, here's the strangest and best one of all. Last week, Jon had Chinese food for lunch. His fortune cookie contained the following message, "Your fortune is on its way!" He turned the paper over and on the back was the word "Son" and its translation in Mandarin (pinyin: er zi). That one really blew us away. I don't really believe in this stuff, but COME ON!!! And, yes, it will be in Guy's baby book. Those who know me well have often heard me say that waiting to be matched with your child is like knowing you are going to win the lottery sometime in the next few months or years but not knowing exactly on which day. And Jon and I both know that we hit the jackpot with Gemma. Guy is our "fortune" and he's on his way! We're stinking, filthy RICH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
