Walmart Excursion

Our big excitement for the day was an excursion to Walmart to purchase formula and cereal for the babies. What a crazy place! Imagine going into your local Walmart the week before Christmas and finding that the labels are written in some language you can not read and the items have been rearranged all over the store. And, when you act out what you are looking for the people giving you a big smile and nodding their heads. At the same time, people are nudging their friends, whispering into their ear, and then looking over at you. Others are looking at you with concern. Yet others, are trying to discreetly follow you around the store. We found most everything we needed and quickly proceeded out of the store. Before doing so, we had to figure out exactly what we owed. The people in line were giggling and standing on their tip-toes to get a good look. The trip exhausted us, but that is okay...We left with sandwich bread (sold in packs of 9), formula, cereal, water (can't use the tap water here except to shower), cough medicine (Morgan is doing his nighttime coughing thing), Chapstick (very dry air or dehydration because of lack of water in our room), PEPSI, and candy from China for Morgan's classmates and friends back home. The Walmart was two stories so, we rode on an escalator with our baskets to get to the second/first floor. Pretty cool! It was a funny experience that we will never forget! We came back to the hotel for the best pb & j sandwiches that we have ever eaten. We are excited about tomorrow as we get to go to Pizza Hut - first chain restaurant we will have eaten since being in China...Can you tell, we are not eating much. I have already kicked off my diet and am sure I have lost several pounds.

Finally! A Family of Four!

It is official! In the eyes of the Chinese government, Rylee is officially our daughter! Today was a day filled with lots of emotions!! In the morning, we completed our final paperwork and in the midst of all of the final documentation, we thought that we were not receiving Rylee, but rather another child as her picture on the document did not match others. But God is good and it is her! (Remember the birth mark on her hand? Isn't it just like God to use a mark that some would see as a blemish, to confirm this was his child for us?) We were able to confirm that this was the child God had promised us it was by the birthmark on her left hand.

OK, so back to the good stuff.....We left at 11:30 to meet our babies (18 babies for 18 families....what an adventure). Luckily, we were the first family in our group to meet our child (Mike didn't see it as quite so lucky as he did not feel prepared with either the video camera or the digital camera). As you can tell by the pix, I think he did just fine. Rylee was less than thrilled - I think it was in response to my emotional breakdown. It took her awhile to calm down - Mike came through and got her to relax. Although it was sad to see her cry, it was good as she knows how to cry, and to see how attached she had become to her caregivers. Many of the other children in the group were fairly stone faced and we have not heard a peep out of them. During the transition, the women that handed her over to us came over to her with tears and tried to explain to her "Mama, Dadda, brother". They left crying. Well, we asked who these women were and they told us workers at the Civil Affairs office. When we returned for our 3 hour paperwork marathon, they were actively seeking us out. Once they found us, they checked on Rylee. They seemed pleased. Well, it just did not add up for us why they kept looking for us. Mike was relentless in tracking down our guide to help us find out who they were, as we just sensed that there was more to this story than just workers in the civil affairs office. Mike was able to speak to the women through our guide/translator, and come to find out, they work in the orphanage that Rylee lived in. They were not her nannies, but they did say that they were close to Rylee and knew her very well. They left crying and got us going again...We have taken our oath that we will provide her a good, loving home and all the opportunities available and received our adoption certificate. So, it is official, she is a Reagle!

P.S. Before we were able to get this posted, as promised our guide brought the director of the orphanage and several of the workers by our room. We had one last chance to ask them questions, and they had one last chance to hold and hug on her. Needless to say this was both an extremely happy yet extremely sad time for us. It was comforting to us to know that she feels safe with us as she did not cry this time when they left. Good Night!

Oh.. did you want to see pictures?

She is already laughing with us and went right to sleep tonight. She seems to be very healthy. Rylee is able to crawl and is pulling up and standing up against things. Sweet dreams!

Big Day!

Had a couple of minutes this morning so, figured I would update you...Mike is downstairs right now handling some of the pre-paperwork and fees. It is a relief to finally be handing off all of this money that we have been carrying around in money belts. Morgan is dressed and ready to go! We will go to the Office of Civil Affairs this morning and then return again later this afternoon to work on the necessary paperwork. They anticipate that the return visit will take about hours. Nanchang seems to be very different from Beijing. Have not left the hotel yet and have not seen much in the light of day - our hotel window opens up onto an apartment complex. Leaving the Beijing airport was just as interesting as going into customs. The man taking our tickets prior to security seemed very sharp with me and snapped at me to stand behind the counter - I had stepped aside slightly to let Mike get in next to me. During security, they found all our bottled water and opened everyone of them up to smell - looking for amonia, alcohol, not sure... It has been eventful :o) Until later...Still weighing whether or not we should post pictures of Rylee or make you all wait...

A message from Morgan: Today we get Rylee and I am excited about getting her. And I can't wait to see her. It is fun here. My legs are tired.

Pictures

Okay, I guess there was internet congestion last night. Had everything posted in a matter of minutes this morning. I have been up since 3 am. Morgan and Mike slept in til a few moments ago. Off to Nanchang tonight - keep your fingers crossed that the new hotel has a converter with a three prong attachment. If not, we will not have access to our laptop/internet.

Amazing Race Family Addition or Adoption from China

Okay, we are not sure where our adoption application went - China or CBS (network of the Amazing Race). This has been absolutely crazy! Today we went to the Beijing International Christian Fellowship-Amazing Experience. Morgan was able to take his first Lord's Supper today. First time and in a country such as China - Pretty cool! Before entering, you must show your passport as Chinese nationals are not allowed to attend. So, our guides were required to stay outside. Mike spoke with a man at the church and he explained that the underground Christian church is thriving. We will explain more at a later time. From church, we went to Tiannamen (sp?) Square and the Forbidden City. That was a crazy experience. It was here that Morgan became a superstar. Many, many people stopped and asked to take pictures with him - kids, women, and men. Not sure what he really thought, but he was polite and gave them all his big cheesy grin. The Forbidden City went on and on and on ...we have never walked so much in our life. I think someone said that we had walked nearly 10 miles today - another family has been wearing a pedometer. Yesterday, she clocked us at about 5 miles. The kids are keeping up and still going strong! I will post a picture of the kids (not all are in the picture). Traffic is interesting as you will see as well. A visit to a pearl (freshwater) shop was our last stop in Beijing before heading to the airport. We flew from Beijing to Nanchang where we will stay until Friday night. Tomorrow is the big day and will be quite emotional - Look what was waiting for us in our hotel room when we checked in a few moments ago. Look for pictures tomorrow!

Day 1

Ni Hao! Sorry about the lack of pictures...We can't get them to load for some reason. That doesn't mean that we won't get them up later. Tonight, I am too tired and have tried five times - we will try again once it settles down and we have time in our hotel room. Today, we began the day at 7:30 am with a trip to a Jade factory. From there, we went to Great Wall. It was much more packed with people than any pictures show! This was a great thrill for Morgan! He and Mike climbed to the first tower. At the top, some teenage girls took pictures with Morgan and had a bit of a conversation. He loved the wall and was so proud of how high he climbed. From the wall, we went to a shopping area and restaurant. We have pictures that we will post later of the delious dishes - fish head and all...Morgan and I just ate rice and savored some Coca Cola! We made our way to the Forbidden City, but ended up detouring to the Summer Palace because of the time and the hours of operation at the Forbidden City. We walked and walked at the Summer Palace to ride a marble boat. Once we got there, we found out it was not operating because of a lack of water...So, we walked and walked some more! Then, we crashed in on the home of an American doctor living with his family in Beijing. There, we had barbecue. It was a marathon day, but good to experience the sights, sounds, and smells. There are a little over 14 children with our group and they are all troopers! Tomorrow, it is off to an International Church, Forbidden City, and the airport to fly out to our respective provinces. Another long day in store! Good night from Beijing!