White Swan Pictures

Here are some pictures taken as we left the White Swan Hotel for the swearing in ceremony at the US consulate. A new family poses at the top and the bottom is the famous "red couch" picture. It is tradition that all the children pose together for a group photo before going to the consulate appointment. Herding cats is a little easier, I believe. Marie is the little one in white on the lower right. She tried to climb off her cushion repeatedly and hit the girl next to her a few times but for the most part, she was a good model.

White Swan Pictures

At Home

Here are some pictures from our second full day at home. Our night last night was fitful; poor little peanut is 12 hours ahead. She also has a front tooth coming in. And a cold. Needless to say, it was a difficult night. Probably didn't help that her mommy is a little hovering and doesn't allow her to just fall asleep by herself. But she is learning to let Marie be. You can see Jim is working hard at bonding with Marie; have you ever seen such intensity?
The flight was surprisingly easy. She slept a great portion of the time. The man across the aisle from us took her picture as he got off the plane in Chicago. Marie became a US citizen as we cleared customs. Aunt Heidi and cousins Sydney, Shelby and Luke helped the 6 hour wait go quickly with a airport visit. Sydney was proud to hold her new baby cousin and she did very well. Shelby was adamant that she is not Marie's little cousin but a "big cousin" because she is 5. Luke mooched leftover cheerios. It was so nice to see family after such a long time away. Then we took the last short flight to Traverse City. We arrived home to family and friends egerly waiting at the airport with pink balloons and gifts. Hailey and Hannah, Marie's 3 year-old friends, stayed up late to greet Marie. They said Ni Hao and had left flowers and groceries at the house. Jim's family greeted us at the airport as well and taped the entire event. Marie didn't take to the carseat or crib at first but now she thinks they are allright.
We are all doing great - tired but loving every minute of it. Marie is a joy, as you can see from the pictures. Now let's see if tonight she sleeps through the night!

Mao's Revenge?

We have delayed our flight to Monday. Here in Hong Kong I got food poisoning and our room looks like a dysentary ward at a hospital. As Marie has been sick and tired too we decided to wait a day. Jim is a hero...it has not been pretty. Fortunately we bought our tickets with adoption fares - not sale fares - so changes do not have a fee applied. We are at the Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong till Sun night your time.
We will have the same itinerary as before just one day later. We have been trying to call family and no one is home. You might get a phone call if we can reach anyone. I can lie around now without anything coming out either end so Jim has run to the McDonalds in the airport to give himself a much needed break. Marie is taking an early nap as her schedule is all messed up too.

Guangzhou

We all have colds. Marie gave them to us as her welcome gift. So today we spent a lot of time getting her better. I stayed in the room with her sleeping on my chest so she could breathe, Jim ran around trying to get the things we needed. She actually went to the hotel clinic and they told us she has a cold- give her cold medicine. So we did! Tonight she and I sat in the bathroom and steamed, we vaporubbed and aspirated. I gave her a good dose of cold meds and I think most of it actually got swallowed.

Our pictures show how we have had quite the day today, even with the illness. One thing you can't tell from the pictures is that Marie went through 3 outfits by 10am. She was a busy girl this morning. At dinner I said that I feel like I have formula over everthing I own. We also got a phone call this morning from home - thanks Charles! I was in shock at a familiar voice and could barely talk! Nice to realize that home is getting closer!

The first picture was a gift to us from the hotel. Every family that adopts and stays here receives a Welcome Home Barbie. This is quite the baby-filled place. Everytime you get in the elevator you get to exchange stories and admire the new baby of another couple. It is so much fun to be here as everyone is happy and excited to go home.
The next one, with our cutoff heads, is from two nights ago. Marie wanted to make sure everyone in Nanchang was aware of the Michigan victory over Notre Dame.
After that are some pictures of the medical exam. That was interesting. Basically there wer 3 stations. They just looked at every nook and cranny on her and measured everything. She was no thrilled as this meant a lot of strangers holding her. More on that later.
Last is the night view out our window. Actually we can't get a picture of the entire view as it is quite the picture window. But you can see how nice it is.
Tonight we had a traditional Chinese dinner with the majority of the families. The food was awesome. Jim ate everything andMarie had rice, steamed bun and cheerios. Later he and a few other new Dads are meeting. They realized that in China one can have a cuban cigar and I believe they are going to partake in a celebratory new dad cigar.
So, the holding. She won't go to anyone but me without crying. Not just a few tears either. She was with her foster family till Sept 1st and then was back in the orphanage till last Sunday. Sunday she had a 3 hour bus ride and then was left with these strangers - us. So we decided to not push it and basically I end up holding her a lot. We put her in the carrier and I get so excited to have my arms back! She's gonna hate the carseat. So just be forewarned. She only started touching Jim today and will smile at others but she makes you work for it.

Tomorrow we get our visas and leave for Hong Kong early the next day. I will try to do one more post before the big trip home. Thanks for reading and sharing this with us.

World Traveler

Marie has a passport. It was issued to Lin Yi Hong today by the Chinese government. We put it to good use and flew from Nanchang (where the hotel air conditioning was shut off during the day) to Guangzhou. We are staying at the White Swan for the next 3 nights. This is not your average Holiday Inn. Our room overlooks the Pearl River; there is a light show from the surrounding buildings and boats are going by constantly. It is amazing. I am sipping a Pearl River Lager and it taste like a Miller light....not missing much there. We are so happy to be out of the hotel in Nanchang to this paradise. It is amazing.
Marie did well on the plane. She had a bottle as we took off and entertained the people around her. She played a lot with Jim's face and ate a lot of baby snacks. Her schedule is messed up; tomorrow we have to be up and out by 7:45 for the medical exam to get her visa. The next day is the swearing in ceremony. Our trip has been greatly expedited and while we appreciate the money and time saved, it has been very tiring. Every day we have a meeting and its usually confusing and long. Aren't all meetings though? Needless to say, we are so relieved to be at this ultranice hotel for the end of the trip.
Our travel group is great. There are 3 families from Michigan and the others are from Wisconson, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennslyvannia and Georgia. One family brought their young teen daughters and they entertain the babies. The babies all look so different - the shape of their eyes and their cheeks and chins. They are all so cute in their own way. Marie is a charmer with her big eyes. We all just hang out and play with each others babies as we hold our own.
Sorry no pictures today. Our day consisted of the bus ride to and from the passport place, packing, riding to the airport, the flight and the ride to the hotel. Once we got here, Jim had to go to a meeting to do paperwork and I had bath and bed duty. Then I washed the bottles in the hotel sink; can't wait to be in a kitchen again.
See you all soon. Thanks so much for the comments!

Halfway through day 2

You all are sleeping right now while for us it is almost 2pm. Marie is napping. I thought I'd take advantage of the downtime to share some more.

Here are some pictures of our day today. We toured a nearby temple that has been rebuilt and destroyed 23 times. Now it is basically a very nice, somewhat historical tourist trap. The pictures are of that and the area around the hotel.


We are in Nanchang which is the capital of Jiangxi province. It is southeastern China and the population is a million plus. We are here until tomorrow afternoon when we depart for Guangzhou. That is where the
American consulate is located. (The Chinese govt does not want the US to have its consulate office in Beijing.) While Marie is now legally adopted, she does not yet have US citizenship. That is the next step. She will have a medical exam, they take a day to look over our papers and then there is a swearing in ceremony. On the 22rd we go to Hong Kong for the night and then the flight home on the 23rd.
It is very hot here but not nearly as polluted as Beijing. The air was thick and smoggy there. This town is very old and known for its pottery. It is not known for its food. We are both very open to trying new things but we are ready for some home food. Sometimes we eat the western food here but it doesn't taste like you'd expect. Marie, however, is a big fan of cheerios.

We have had so many nice things happen; you can tell the chinese people really do care about these girls and their welfare. Today the orphanage director sent over a small photo album with pictures of the orphanage and also a gift for Marie. Yesterday, when we were in a store, a little girl walked up to her and gave her a flower. Lots of other small things have happened like that. It is very sweet and we are overwhelmed.

Having said all that, we are getting ready to come home!

Day One

Aren't I cute? Here is my dad makingmy formula in the hotel bathroom; he is ready to go home to the dishwasher and safe water. Next is my family when we legally registered the adoption-I am now a Whall. Last is my foot next to the shoe they had on me when I arrived. I do not think it was sized well. Could be worse, the girl nextdoor came with two left shoes.

We are exhausted and it is 8:45. The day started well but then we left on the bus to register the adoption = necessary paperwork. We thought we were prepared with a bottle of formula and a bottle of juice except after the meeting the guide took us shopping and we learned Marie won't drink anything cold. So we had a hungry, tired child when we returned 3 hours later. Lets just say that Marie was not the only one crying; thankfully we have some new wonderful friends who have 4 children. They talked us through it and came and helped out. Thank you Mark and Amy!
After nap, we had a plan to do better. Jim has been great with getting the formula, paperwork, baths, etc. Marie is still very frightened by him and he is being so understanding. He said it is ironic that the only child afraid of him is his own. We have tried having him feed her and no way. We will work on it more tomorrow. Needless to say, I had to hold her from 8am to 4pm. My body is tired. We put her in the carrier after her nap and will use it tomorrow. She was much much happier this evening and we hope for a good night.
A lovely little store around the corner collects newspapers and gives parents the original finding ad. This is a tiny advertisement the orphanage must put in the paper when they take in a child with her picture and info so she could potentially be claimed. They gave it to us and made copies too. I left crying at the sweet clerk who helped us. If you ever are in Nanchang, go buy something at Tiffanies. (Not that Tiffany's)

The traffic is unreal. There are no stop signs or stop lights. People drive with no predicability and there are always bikes and scooters barreling down the road. Walking around is scary because of that. Also, people stare so much that it gets really difficult. I know we are white and carrying a chinese baby but from what I can see there are a lot of couples walking around like us- I don't understand the stares. It is not flattering but rather unsettling.

It seems like about 1/3 of the people in the hotel are adopting. There are babies all over. It is interesting to hear where in the world the parents are from by listening to them talk. The hotel rooms have a crib, stroller and baby bath tub. The first night we were here there were only 2 towels and the next day there were 3. At the buffet they have congee which looks like white rice that has been cooked too long using too much water. It is what Marie eats and I am going to have to learn how to make it.

I am off to sleep now that it is 9m. She will want a bottle at 4...that feels soon.

Thank you all so much for the comments. It makes us feel like we aren't half a world away from our family, friends and familiar food.

Here I Am!

What an amazing day! We were told that at 10am we would meet to go over paperwork and we wouldn't get the babies till 10:30-11.
At 10 we go down to the lobby and learn that, as our friend Mick said, "The babies are in the house!" We were hurried into the conference room and lined up along one side. Within 2 minutes, the orphanage director and some workers rushed in with babies- 2 each - and lined them up along the floor. Some immediately started wailing. They had matching polyester outfits that were either blue, green or red. I thought I knew which one was Marie but didn't want to guess and be wrong. There was a little girl on the floor who locked eyes with me across the room 20 feet away and I was hoping that was her. She didn't look away but we just stared at each other. Then our guide Shirley told us that she would call us up and ask us our daughter's Chinese name and birthdate as the orphanage director brought the girl up. Being Whalls, we knew we would be 2nd to last- right before Zimmermans. The first couple went up and we took some polaroids of the family as they got their daughter. As the matching continued, the little one that stared at me sat on the floor waiting and watching. Finally there were 3 left. I knew that the one in red was the Zimmerman baby so I was watching to see which of the other two babies went with the couple before us. As they brought their little girl up, I knew who Marie was and of course, it was the little patient one in green who kept staring at me. Our names were called and we went to the end of the room. I said Lin Yi Hong and 12/03. They handed her to me and she looked at me and nestled in. There she would stay for the next 2.5 hours; crying everytime I tried to set her down. She was clutching a little card, like a business card, with her name written on it and her picture clipped to it. We took a polaroid and I held on to it. She looked at her picture she was holding and the picture I was holding and decided that she liked that. Looking at Jim made her cry at first but we can look at him now without crying. Jim would laugh when her eyes welled up so I guess he is okay with that. He now tries not to laugh as we think that might be scary.
We went back to the room, ate two bowls of cherrios and had some formula. Then Jim ran to the store with some experienced Dads whileMarie went down for a nap. She was trading huge smiles with me from her crib as she was going to sleep so we are doing well. Now we sit and wait for her to awake.

Whall on Wall

Nuff said.

Numbers

Everyone looks for connections with their daughters beforehand...and they so often do exist. The family we sat next to on the plane has 3 children already. They all were large babies and, we saw pictures, they have lots of hair. Their middle child at age 10 grows hers to donate to Locks of Love. And sure enough, their new daughter weighs a lot and is one of the few babies with just a ton of hair!
Ironically enough, I see the connections in numbers. You know that Marie's medical report was written on Jim's birthday, the referral paperwork is dated on Heidi's birthday and we got the referral on Guido's birthday. We left for China on the day in between her cousins' birthdays. The day our paperwork was officially logged in here in China is the same as our voicemail code. It goes on...

The best is in the month since we received our referral, I have been waking up most days at 4am, on the dot. Many of you have heard me share this frustrated and perplexed. When we got to the hotel here in Beijing, we had a note waiting for us with our itinerary in Nanchang and some info on our girl's schedule. Marie wakes at 6am, goes to sleep at 6:30pm and has one nighttime feeding...at 4am.

Amazing!

A Few More Pictures

Dinner with No Forks

and a view of the

Temple of Heaven

Day Two

Here we are at the Temple of Heaven. It was amazing; a quartermile long stretch of parks and walkways leading up to this temple. We took a cab with another couple and had an adventure getting there and back! The air is so bad; a thick haze enveloped the city all day long. Then in the afternoon we went to the SilkMarketplace. Bought no silk but bartered and bought some squeaky shoes for Marie. We also figured out the food court and ate some noodles while using only chopsticks. In the evening we went to the acrobatic show and also met the rest of the group. I was pleased that I could understand the cab driver and the sales clerks with the tiny amount of mandarin we learned. We also have figured out the money. Again, we are exhausted. Tomorrow morning we go to the Great Wall and the cloisonne factory. I think we will sleep a little on the bus. One and a half days left in Beijing!

Wiped Out

I have never been so tired - ever. It is now 9:30 Wed night here- exactly 12 hours later than in Michigan.
We woke up at 4am Tuesday morning for our 6am flight to Chicago (of course, didn't get more than 3 hours of sleep). The flight to Beijing left around 12:30 and we were in the air for 12.5 hours. There were about 9 couples on the flight who were adopting. We were sharing pictures in the airport. The flight was forever. At one point, Jim asked me how long we'd been in the air. 4 hours at that point - 8 to go. We watched Band of Brothers DVD and read and tried to sleep. They did feed us 2 small meals and a bowl of noodles. The best part was flyinig over the North Pole and seeing the ice sheets below. We got through customs fine; Jim was asked if he was a boxer. Then had a bus ride to the hotel and saw parts of Beijing. Beijing is under construction - the entire city I think.We were told that the Forbidden City tour would be very disappointing asmany parts are being fixed up for the Olympics and are not open to public. Every place you look an old building is being torn down and a new high rise is going up. Signs for the Olympics are very common.

Tomorrow is a bit of a free day; we don't have anything till 4. We think we will take a cab to the Temple of Heaven and do some sightseeing.

It was very emotionally overwhelming to be in the airport and on the way to the hotel. First to be here in China is very exciting. But then to realize what is happening in 4 days is breathtaking. We feel so excited and grateful all at the same time. And tired. That flight home will be interesting. We are both a little scared, I think.

We've Arrived!!!

We got in about 2;20 local time. Which, conveniently, is 2:20am your time. We'll update you with more news once we get some rest.

da Plane!

We are almost there - there being on the plane. Friday was our last day at work. I handed over my classes to the guest teacher with tears; walked around school during the last class to soak it all in. The staff said a nice goodbye at the end of the day too. Today I am sitting here wondering what my sub is doing. AWWWW - no control! I guess that is good for me.
Jim strategically went in yesterday (Sunday) to do last minute things uninterrupted. Today we slept in. Evidently we won't do that for a few years.

We depart Traverse City at 6am Tuesday the 12th. Arrive in Chicago and fly directly from there to Beijing. Several other adoptive families are on that flight. Arrive in Beijing at 2:30pm on the 13th. We stay in Beijing till the 16th. Marie joins us Sunday morning 9/17 at 10am. They are bringing her to the hotel and she will remain with us from then on. We begin our journey home on the 23rd when we go to Hong Kong for the night. Leave for home at 1pm from Hong Kong with a long layover in Chicago. Back in TC at 9:30 pm on the 24th.

We understand that we have internet access from hotels so we can update then. I will post some picts too. If you know my ofoto info, you can check there too for more.

We want to say Thank You so much for the million different ways you have helped us. Love to all of you!