We are in Nanjing!

We started the morning early again because we are apparently not capable of sleeping past 4:30am here.  Hopefully that will change once we've got a toddler wearing us out.  

We met at 7:30 am for the airport and went through the most stressful and intense security checks ever.  It's hard to know what they want you to remove from your carry on.  Some people had to remove electronics, some had to remove batteries, some jewelry, etc.  Then they physically wand down every person, except for me for some reason who passed right through.  I guess I look innocent or something.

The flight was short and we landed in Nanjing.  We checked in to our hotel, a Holiday Inn, and unpacked and then took a look around.  There is a huge mall attached to our hotel that has many American stores like H&M, Gap, Nine West, etc.  There is also a Papa John's and a Cold Stone Creamery there that I'm sure we'll be visiting more than once while we are here.  

For the first time we are in the same city as our son.  We are just a few minutes from him.  We have an empty crib sitting in our room and I packed his backpack full of fun toys and books.  We meet our son tomorrow morning.  I really don't even know how to comprehend that we will be becoming parents again so soon.  It's very surreal.  After a year and a half of paperwork and preparation, we will have him in our arms in a matter of hours.

I have no idea what to expect exactly tomorrow, but hope to at least post a picture as soon as I can.  I know you are all excited to see him too!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support over this journey.  We love hearing from you as we are longing for the familiar.  We get just a taste of what Charlie will feel away from everything he knows.  It's tiring and stressful and I hurt for his sweet little heart.

Specific Prayer request:  Please take a moment to thank God for His incredible faithfulness to bring us here and pray that things go as smoothly as possible tomorrow.

Beijing Tour Day 2

Today started out fun as we received our "Red Book" which has information we need to know about our schedule and adoption as well as several new photos of Charlie.  Can't wait to kiss those sweet cheeks in just a few days!!

We then visited Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City with our group, both major icons and very important to China's history.

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the fourth largest city square in the world.  It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.  While it has great significance in China, it was not our most exciting stop of the trip so far.  It was very crowded and, unlike the Great Wall yesterday, Westerners are definitely in the minority.  We had several people stop us to ask if they could take their photo with us.  Very interesting.

Tiananmen square then leads us to the Forbidden City.  The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.  It was amazing.  I can't even describe how large this place is. The architecture is impressive and very indicative to what you might imagine a Chinese Palace would look like.  The palace is now completely empty and open to tourists.  It was actually really hot out and I'm pretty sure I have a nice sunburn from today.

After this, we had lunch and visited a silk factory.  It was so interesting to learn about how silk is made and see some of the beautiful things they make there.  We returned to the hotel and took a little nap and then headed down for dinner at the restaurant hotel.  We're still pretty exhausted and it's difficult to get solid sleep but hopefully we'll catch up soon.  Tomorrow we leave for a morning flight to Nanjing where Charlie is.  Looking forward to getting there!!

Specific prayer request:  please pray for a good night sleep tonight and safe flight in the morning to Nanjing!

Our Red Book!

Ni Hao from Beijing!

We have just completed our first full day in China!  And what an exciting day it was!

I'll start off with yesterday as it was quite a day for me.  I have to admit I was pretty anxious to get on the airplane, for multiple reasons, and it took some great encouragement from some great friends to remind me of our purpose for this trip.  We've got a child waiting for us here and we have to go.  There are times in life you have to decided - do I trust God with everything or not?- And I got on the airplane despite my anxiety.

When we got on our airplane to Beijing we had great bulkhead seats with an empty seat next to me.  Just perfect.  Then a Chinese woman comes to sit in the empty seat with her newborn baby.  Not so perfect.  Turns out the baby slept the entire trip and the woman seemed very sweet.  The flight was exhausting but uneventful and we arrived about 9:45 pm in Beijing.  After walking through a temperature scanner we had to stand in a long line to get our visas checked to enter the country, then onto get our baggage and our guide took us to the hotel.

The hotel is really amazing with soft beds and a wonderful breakfast - even if it did include some unique breakfast items like fried rice and baked beans.

After a few hours of precious sleep, we met the rest of the people in our group this morning and headed off to the Great Wall.  The bus ride was an adventure because apparently no one follows the street signs or stays in their lane.  I just tried not to look out the window.

I have been excited to visit the Great Wall, but it was even more amazing than I expected.  Truly one of the most spectacular things we have ever seen.  We were also not prepared for how challenging it would be to climb up!  The stairs are very steep and each step is a different height so it's quite a workout! We found a alternate path down the wall that was much less crowded and very scenic.  We loved sitting at one of the tables near the bottom and just taking it all in.  We were able to pray there and thank God for his creation and for his faithfulness in bringing us here.

We then moved on to a jade factory where they hand carve beautiful jade statues and jewelry.  They showed us all the different kinds of jade and how to tell the difference between high quality jade and imitation.  Some of the pieces were so amazing!  Lunch was at the second floor of the factory and was very good.  Some complained that it was kind of "American Chinese food" but it was right up my alley!

After lunch we went on a tour of Hutong Lane which is a very very old and expensive part of Beijing.    Living there costs an exorbatant amount of money, but the living conditions are far below what we in America would accept.  The homes don't even have bathrooms in them and many of them are super tiny but the history and importance of living in that area is worth much more to them.  It was very interesting to see this part of their culture.

About 3pm we were dropped back off at the hotel and it hit us both that we had not slept much in the past few days like a ton of bricks.  We ordered pizza in the room - called the best Italian restaurant in Beijing - so we'll give it a try.  Then off to bed for some much needed sleep!!

Here are some pictures from today's adventures:

Driving through Beijing

At the Great Wall of China!

The steps were so steep!

Man carving Jade at the Jade Factory

We drove by the bird's nest stadium from the Beijing Olympics!

Riding the rickshaw through Hutong Lane

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It's finally here, we leave tomorrow.  Bags are (mostly) packed, I'm pretty sure we've purchased almost every item Target carries in the last few weeks, we have 10 kinds of hand sanitizer with us and we have Chinese currency in our wallets.  

We're getting on a plane headed to Chicago tomorrow afternoon and then onto Beijing from there.  

There is this Friends episode (queue eye rolling from my friends who know I quote this show far too often) when Chandler is about to get marries and he panics, he gets cold feet.  So his friends tell him to take things one step at a time.  Take a shower.  Get dressed.  Walk out the door, etc. And eventually  he gets married.  Taking everything in at once is just too much, and that's how I feel.   I can't take it all in at once because it's too overwhelming so I'm just trying to take things a step at a time.  Finish packing.  Take Brooklyn to school.  Get to Airport.  And before I know it, I'll be in China and some one will be handing me my son.  

My son.  Still feels strange to say!  We installed his carseat in our car today and I think it's making things even more real for Brooklyn.  We will sure miss that little girl.  So so so much. 

Last night in my discipleship group we had a great discussion about the book we are reading called "Life with God".  One part I particularly loved said

"Life with God is an ongoing, ever-changing, relational adventure.  It is not a matter of being driven through life, stopping every now and then to get out of the car and see the surroundings.  God invites us to climb into the landscape of our journey, to breath deeply with full lungs, to feel blood pulsing through muscles doing what they were made to do, to experience the wonder of having a body with which to see and hear and smell and taste and touch this astonishing world."

I loved it because I feel like most of my life I've only gotten out of the car for a moment, when it's safe to do something new, and then hopped right back in to my comfort zone.  This trip, this adoption, feels like I'm jumping out of the car and running the opposite direction.  I am excited to experience another little piece of this astonishing, beautiful, world God has made and do a little part of what God created us to do.  

And then my D group ladies prayed for us.  They prayed for our safety and for peace and for our sweet little ones.  They prayed for health and smooth roads ahead for us.  It was so beautiful and genuine.  I am so thankful for them and for everyone that has been and will be praying for us.  

I hope to update our blog or Facebook page daily so you can follow along and give a specific prayer request for the upcoming day if you want to pray along with us as well.

Here we go!  Richard Foster also says in "Life with God", "God is always ready and willing to take what we can do in order to accomplish within us what we cannot do on our own."  I can't do any of this on my own and I'm so glad we are not going alone on this journey.  God's already there!