Fun in the (hot) sun

This is how Leah spent part of her afternoon here in Beijing yesterday. I just love the look of pure joy on her face. She was the only kid there and ran around sticking her feet in all the little water falls.

Yesterday we spent the day with Joe's brother Steve and his wife Lucy. They were both such gracious hosts and took us out again for some really delicious meals. Steve also let me use his internet connection at his office to log into my blog and also let me call my Mom on his cell phone to wish her a happy birthday. It was really nice to hear her voice. I am so glad that we came a day early to see them.

Leah has been a really great kid so far, even with the lack of sleep. Actually, last night she did a bit better and got a whole nine hours of sleep in. Of course, it was between the hours of 4 pm to 1 am (sleeping through dinner - do you know how hard it is to use chopsticks with a sleeping 40 pound kid in your lap)? I took a one & a half hour nap yesterday afternoon and then slept last night from 9 pm until Leah woke up at 1 o'clock. Like someone mentioned in a comment earlier, I think I am pretty much running on pure adrenaline right now. Hopefully I won't crash and burn anytime soon.

This morning we will be meeting up with the rest of our travel group (I think about eighteen people) who all arrived late last night. We will be checking out of the hotel at 9 am then heading over for the tours of the Great Wall, Tianamen Square (sp?) and the Forbidden City. After that we are flying out at 8 pm for Nanning, the city in the Guangxi Province where Maya is. We should be meeting her sometime tomorrow. The next time I post I should have pictures of all of us together (and some pictures of our trip to the Great Wall).

Thanks for all of you who are leaving comments. It is so nice to read all of them while we are traveling! Again, Happy birthday MOM! Hope you had a great day! Oh and Sheila, don't forget to pick up the Harry Potter book that was delivered to my house - hope you enjoy reading it and don't tell me what happens!!

YUM-O

Are you hungry for a fried snack at a local Beijing food stall? Hmmm, somehow I never thought that seahorses, cocoons or crickets were considered a snack! ;)

We have arrived!

Actually, we arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon. Leah was wonderful on the flight over, but only slept about three out of the thirteen hours. Luckily, she did in fact catch up on some sleep while at my brother-in-law Steve's home. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky as far as sleep is concerned and have had hardly any shut eye since leaving New Jersey. Hopefully I will be doing better tomorrow morning when we meet up with the rest of our travel group and visit the Great Wall.

We arrived in Beijing one day early to spend time with Joe's older brother Steve and his wife Lucy. Last evening they treated us to a wonderful dinner at a local restaurant which serves one of my favorite dishes, Peking Duck. We also took a quick peek at some of the construction going on for the 2008 Olympics.

I hope to update again soon, next time with more pictures. Hope everyone is doing well. The day after tomorrow should be Maya day - how exciting!!

The picture above was taken outside Steve's apartment EARLY this morning. Out of 15 million residents of Beijing, there are 8 million bikes on the road.

Also, don't mind any typos - I am sleep deprived, you know!

Donna of Beijing Adventures - I can't seem to find your phone number, so sorry that I haven't called. Since it is already late Saturday morning, I will probably miss you this time around. If we are ever in Beijing again together, then I will definitely look you up! :)

After all

After all the thinking, contemplating and praying about adoption...

After all the signing paperwork, getting physicals, bloodwork, background checks, social worker visits and fingerprinting (twice)...

After all the elation of sending your paperwork half way around the world...

After all the talking to our five year old about what it means to be a big sister...

After all the worrying and waiting...

After all the joy at receiving a referral...

After all the painting, sewing and cleaning to make the nursery look perfect...

After all of this, we are finally on our way to bring our daughter home.

Thanks for coming on this journey with us. We are on our way and will post from China soon.