iLeonard

We made it HOME!

Doug — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 10:11:00 GMT

Hello from HOME SWEET HOME!!

We traveled ALL day Saturday, all flights were on time, uneventful, and pretty much painless considering how long they were. Lyric slept a lot for us which made it easy for us. The hardest part was saying goodbye to our new friends Matt, Laura, and Sean at the Chicago airport as they had to catch another flight home to Kentucky. We miss you guys already and can’t wait to see you all this summer. Sean, give me the rock dude! J

We came home to welcoming arms of family and friends. My friend Joe started it off, picking us up in my freshly washed van, loaded with refreshments, snacks, and gifts for Lyric. Thank you Joe and Karen. Laine was first in line when we arrived at the house, waiting on the driveway for hugs and we couldn’t wait to squeeze her. I jumped out of the car so fast, as I was hugging her I thought, did I put the car in park? I think she grew a foot in 17 days. All the neighbors were out ,waiting to catch a glimpse of the new kid on the block. One of my neighbors (Ryan) even had mowed my lawn. We missed Ferdinand Lane, the hood, and can’t wait to hang out and get caught up with everyone. Ryan, thanks Bro!

My in-laws (Mom, Pops, Karen, and O) made signs welcoming home Lyric, had streamers and balloons in the house and had even stocked the fridge for us. Within the hour of being home, I was embracing a beef sandwich and enjoying a nice glass of cabernet (yeah baby)!

It was a warm welcome home, thank you everyone!

Laine was very excited to show Lyric the house, and stated repeatedly the offer that Lyric could sleep in her room with her. Lyric took Laine up, and they both zonked out around 10pm. It was too cute! Laine is proud to be a big sister and fills the shoes well!

Mar was up at 2am, myself at 3, and Lyric and Laine 5. The next few days we will try and get adjusted to CST. I will try and post some pictures of the girls later today and the steak that Pops is going to cook for me!

Thanks again to everyone! Mar and I are sooooooo blessed!!

Doug

Goodbye China!

Doug — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:10:00 GMT

My last hello from China……...Hello!

We are packed and ready to go!

Today, the 3 families left here, spent a day at a big garden. It was nice to get out of the hotel and try and get our minds off the countdown to come home. On the way back to the hotel, our guide offered to take us to a place that sells DVD’s real cheap so we said sure. We got a few Disney DVDs for the girls and I picked up Avatar for a $1.50. Let’s hope it works.

It’s time to say goodbye, goodbye to China. As much as we miss home, family, friends, and Laine, it’s bitter-sweet to be leaving. We have a deep love and appreciation for China. They have blessed us with two beautiful daughters, a simple” thank you” just doesn’t seem appropriate. China’s people have been patient, courteous, and kind to us (accept that one homeless dude in Beijing). It’s a beautiful country, and Mar and I commented to making sure the girls are educated about their birth country. They should be proud to be from China. We will for sure someday bring the girls back to visit.

We leave the hotel at 7am tomorrow to catch a 3 hour flight to Beijing, have a 2 hour layover there, and then saddle up for a 13 hour flight back to Chicago. Mar and I have been talking through the game plan and running through the play book all day. It’s time to execute. I know I start out with a glass of wine, not sure what Mar is doing! ;)

I will try and post when we get home.

I want to say thanks to all of you for keeping up with us and showing your support. We look forward to seeing everyone in person, talking about this journey face to face, introducing Lyric to you, and getting caught up with what we missed in your lives. You have dealt with my goofy humor and bad penmanship. Thanks for putting up with me! I want to thank my in-laws for watching and taking care of Laine, I’m guessing you’re looking forward to a little peace and quiet right about now. Thank you Ryan for taking care of my house and cat and removing all the old beer from fridge, it’s nice to know I will have space for some new fresh beer now. J Thanks Joe for taking care of the transportation, at least make sure I have enough gas to get home from the airport! A BIG THANKS to my brother Dennis, he built the site, without him, I wouldn’t be writing right now. I have not just been able to keep up with you, but I have been able to document this time in our lives. I will now someday be able to show our daughter how she came into our lives….how cool is that!

Till next time,

Doug

PS: The next time thing meant, like the next time I see you, not the next time we come to China and adopt, we are done. The adoption tubes are tied. Mar and I look forward to seeing what else life has in store for us. I’ll probably blog about that too.

2 days and counting!

Doug — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:40:00 GMT

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Mar and I have been laying low for the most part the last couple days.

Yesterday morning we took group pictures on the famous red couches here at the hotel. For people that don’t know it, this hotel is well known for adoptive families to stay in while processing paperwork through the U.S. Consulate here in Guangzhou. It is a tradition while staying here to take pictures on the red couches in the hotel. Last night, we had a final group dinner at Lucy’s down the street and said goodbye to five of the families in group which left for home early this morning. There is an annual adoption agency picnic in Indiana scheduled for July, we look forward to meeting back up with our new friends there this summer.

Today we had our official U.S. Consulate visit. Lyric’s visa was approved and Mar and I took the oath of citizenship for her with about 15 other adoptive families. She will be a U.S. citizen when she touches ground in Chicago Saturday, pretty cool. Mar even decked Lyric out in red, white, and blue for the occasion.

All Mar has been thinking about the last couple days is poop, Lyric’s that is. She’s been concerned with her about that, especially since she had surgery on her butt when she was 8 months old. She doesn’t think she goes enough. We even visited a clinic which is located in the hotel the other night; they gave the poor child like 4 enemas. I felt pretty bad for her. We requested our facilitator to call the orphanage to verify that they didn’t have to do anything special on a regular basis to address this or help her. They advise no assistance was needed, Mar and I are not quite convinced of this. All in all, Lyric is very happy and doesn’t show signs of discomfort until she needs to go potty and then she normally cries. Mar keeps saying “I just need to get her home” and I couldn’t agree more!

Mar and I picked up an extra suitcase and a new stroller today in preparation for the trek home Saturday. They have a tour of some local gardens scheduled for the 3 families left tomorrow, I’m not sure if it’s gonna happen though. A cold front came in during the night, it’s in the 50’s now and been raining all day. We would be content with just spending the day packing anyways.

2 MORE DAYS AND COUNTING!! We are soooooo ready to come home!

Hugs and kisses,

Doug

Pearls, Jade, and Buddhist Monks

Doug — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:47:00 GMT

Whats up Peeps!

It’s been a relaxing 2 days.

Yesterday, we went to the Pearl and Jade markets. Mar did her thing and came out gleaming ear to ear from both places. We did some more shopping in the afternoon just around the hotel. With the ladies all smiles from the day’s purchases, the men’s request for Cuban cigars and a visit to the bar in the evening was easily granted. Let’s just say the boys were moving a little slow this morning, we had a good time! ;)

Today we did a little more touring. We started out at a Buddhist temple. It was absolutely beautiful. A monk even blessed the babies, it was pretty cool. We then visited a folk arts museum. Even though Mar and I had been there before with Laine in 2005, it was still nice to see again and it let Lyric burn off some of her energy (she has a lot). After we got back, we had to walk up to the examination clinic to get her TB test read from the other day. It was negative, so the only thing to do is to submit paperwork to the U.S consulate and take the oath of citizenship with her on Thursday. Tonight we all just ordered pizza, left the doors to our rooms open and hung out in the hallways. It was good for the kiddoes and relaxing for the parents.

The next 2 days are pretty much free days for us with nothing planned. Five out of eight families in our group have their consulate appointments on Wednesday and leave to go home on Thursday. Our appointment is Thursday with 2 other families because our travel was planned a little last minute. The three families left, including us, all leave China on Saturday.

I feel like we are in the home stretch. We are ready to come home. We miss our beds, house, family, friends, Ferdinand Lane, and steak. Ok, I know the steak thing sounds a little weird but I was thinking about one today. Of course, we miss Laine the most!

Write at ya soon,

Doug

Medical Exam - Shopping - Interesting Dinner

Doug — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:37:00 GMT

Howdy All!

Today started out meeting back up with our group at breakfast. Most of them got in late last night so we never ran into anyone yesterday, although we are all staying in the same hall and wing of the hotel. All the babies are as cute as can be and the new parents are gleaming. It was great to meet back up with everyone and hear their stories from their provinces visited and share ours.

We all then, with babies in hands, walked down about 4 blocks to the visa medical examination office. It started out pleasant for Lyric with just a simple pose for a visa picture, but I remember this place last time we were here for Laine and knew things would take a turn for the worse very soon for her. In fact, I think I spotted claw marks on the wall from Laine when we were here in 2005, but I can’t be sure. I can tell you this, Lyric is brave and tough as hell. She was poked, prodded, received a TB test (which burns pretty bad) and although she cried, she gritted her teeth and took it. I hated to see her go through that!

After we were done, I had to meet our facilitator to fill out immigration paperwork for our up and coming consulate appointments. It took almost 2 hours and sucked. Lyric was just waking up for a nap when I finished so we headed out for lunch and some shopping for the afternoon. Although, this area is beautiful, the whole island is under construction. Every street is getting new pavers and quite a few of the buildings are under repair. With just the little bit of drizzle that we had today, it made quite a muddy mess.

For dinner our facilitators offered to take us for some good Cantonese. Only one other family in the group and us took them up on the offer. We then walked down the block to the restaurant and walked in. There were about 25 fish tanks in the large lobby which contained many different creatures including beetles. We bravely sat down and let out facilitators order for us. Dinner was surprisingly wonderful. I even tried a Guangzhou delicacy…….Pigeon! Maybe I’ve been in China too long, it was pretty good. The most shocking thing of the evening is when Lyric grabbed a pair of chopsticks and starting using them. Mar can’t even use chopsticks right. Our facilitators were even blown away by this and advised most children don’t start using them until they turn 5. Check out the pic, that’s all her with no help from us.

Mar and I did a little more shopping and then put Miss Busy to bed. This girl has a lot of energy and keeps us on our toes! I’m guessing she has never really been out anywhere so everything is new to her. Although she’s wearing Mar and I out, I’m happy to see she’s ready to put things behind her and take on the world. It’s obvious that she is in love with us as much as we are with her.

Tomorrow, Mar gets her chance to go crazy……we are heading to the pearl and jade market in the morning. What’s the chance of them having a bar in the middle of the store just like Beijing? I’m optimistic!

Doug

Hello from Guangzhou!

Doug — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:59:00 GMT

Hello from Guangzhou!

We took a 4 hour plane ride yesterday from Changchun to Guangzhou. Lyric was a rock star and slept about 3 out of the 4 hours. Let’s hope the 17+ hour flight home next Friday, which includes a plane change in Beijing, is just as painless.

We got checked in around 5pm and were starving so we hit Lucy’s for some grub. Lucy’s is an American cuisine restaurant which serves many beers from around the world (yeah baby). I gulped up some fettuccine alfredo, Mar had a daiquiri, chicken fingers and French fries. We were happy.

Later in the evening, after Lyric and Mar hit the sack I decided to go for a walk. I bought Cuban from the cigar shop and just walked around to see what’s changed here. We are on a little island which is part of Guangzhou right on the Pearl River, so it’s pretty scenic. At one point, a cute little local girl offered “you like massage”….funny, I didn’t see a massage place anywhere, my muscles are a little sore from the flight. After mulling it over for about .000001 seconds I passed up on the offer (you didn’t think did ya? Come on people!). I do somehow think Mar owes me a back massage now though, right?

We should meet back up with our group this morning which all flew to Guangzhou yesterday as well. Lyric has a medical exam and TB test scheduled this morning, she needs this to obtain a visa to travel to the states.

Guangzhou has changed a lot but there are still quite a few stores which will have the pleasure of meeting the Leonard’s this afternoon!

Lyric is keeping us busy. Everything is new to her. She is very inquisitive and wants to touch and investigate everything.

Mar is bugging me to head down for breakfast.

By for now,

Doug

Leaving Changchun

Doug — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Hey Folks,

So yesterday we spent the morning back at the civil affairs office and notary and completed the adoption for Lyric. YEAH! Other than me making a couple trips to Wal-Mart we spent the day just hanging with Lyric. Mar and I ate at one of the hotel restaurants last night (they have two). We thought we ordered a fried rice dish with veggies; it came out with beef stomach and some other kinda gamey meat which made the hair on my neck stand up.

Today, we couldn’t be cooped up any longer and wanted to let Lyric stretch her legs a bit. We walked around a really nice mall and then went to Wal-Mart and stopped by a Pizza Hut to pick up lunch which we brought back to the hotel. After naptime our Facilitator Tracy had scheduled a little sightseeing for us. We went to the Manchurian Palace. This was really cool for us. During my last semester of school, which just ended a couple weeks ago, we studied about the last emperor of China. Mar and I even watched the movie (parts of the movie were even filmed there), this was the palace which the last emperor lived in after being booted from the Forbidden City. Although it was windy and a little cold Lyric seemed to enjoy herself and was proud to show off her new parents. We got to the end of the tour and were looking through a gift shop, then...wait, what’s that warm sensation? Yep, I was anointed by Lyric. She pee’d all over me and the gift shop floor. After Mar got us both cleaned up we were headed back to the hotel. We decided to just stay in tonight and ordered some noodles through room service and gave Lyric a bath. We needed to pack anyways.

We leave Changchun in the morning for Guangzhou, about a 4 hour flight. We are very excited about this. It’s in the mid 80’s there, we’ll be reunited with our travel group from Beijing and we are familiar with the area and know where to find FOOD! Don’t get me wrong, Changchun has treated us well; it just will be nice to throw on some shorts, do a little shopping, and chill with our new friends we met in Beijing. If I remember correctly, there is a nice cigar shop in the hotel that sells Cubans, it deserves a visit from me! I must say I will miss our facilitator/translator here, she flies back home tomorrow to Beijing as well. Tracy has been really fun and took care of business with all the officials and paperwork. I heard voices getting raised a few times during the process, she stood her ground and made it happen. We are very grateful for her!

Let me tell ya, Lyric has really started coming out of her shell. She has been very active, seems to have a witty personality and loves to throw her smile at us. She LOVES Mar, runs around the room and yells “MA MA” and won’t let her leave her sight. When we leave the hotel, she is vey uptight and it takes her a while to relax but she never loses a grip on one of us. We are relieved she has taken a liking to us so quickly I just wish she understood she has nothing to worry about from here on forward, in due time.

Laine, I know you might not understand either, but we are almost over the hump and halfway through with this trip. We miss you. Concentrate on driving grandma and pops nuts, we will be home soon Babe!

Well, the girls are sacked out and I should join them. I will write from Guangzhou!

Doug

I am twice blessed!

Doug — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:35:00 GMT

Thanks everyone for your well wishes! I am truly blessed twice! Lyric is a beautiful, sweet and

wonderful girl! She already says "ma ma" which melts my heart everytime! It's easy for her to say mama because of all the nannies in the orphanage but I know and hopefully soon she will too that I now am her mommy! Nothing can describe how I feel now that my family is complete! I look forward to joining Laine at home and beginning our lives together!

We could have never made it here without the support and love of all our friends and family and for that I will forever be eternally grateful!!

Love to all,

Mar

Gotcha Day!!!

Doug — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:23:00 GMT

Gotcha Day!

We have Lyric……she is awesome!

She is a trooper and I admire her strength. Her day started out on a bus with her nanny at 6am. She then put her toughest face on and was handed over to strangers in a different city. She held it together and didn’t even cry as scared as I know she was.

Mar and I kept it together as well. Ok, ok, everybody that knows Mar has no doubt. She’s a natural, a pro, and I’m proud as hell to call her my wife. I kinda had a chat with myself, cause I do that, and really wanted to try and hold it together, so not to scare Lyric anymore then she already was. I did well and kept the lump in my throat at bay.

After meeting Lyric, we spent the next couple hours doing paperwork, verifying documents, going to the notary, and even visiting a professional photographer for official photos. We got back to the hotel a little after noon and woke up some grandparents, Auntie Dougie, and baby cousin Carter via Skype to introduce them to Lyric (like they were sleeping). Lyric needed a nap, so our facilitator and I went to a Wal-Mart here to pick up some things and Mar stayed behind. When I got back, I joined both of them for a quick nap. We then headed down for dinner and we all had noodles (kinda like chicken noodle soup but no chicken). Lyric is a good eater; I think she ate as much as I did. Mar gave her a bath when we returned to the room.

Lyric is very quiet and seems to be just taking things in. She loves Mar already and follows her around the room unless I interrupt her with a tickle, cookie, or something good to drink (I’m working it). She is very engaging and seems very comfortable with us. The only time she cried today was when they forced her handprints on some official documents. Mar and I have been so blessed, Laine was so easy and it seems so far, Lyric is taking that same path. She has a cold, between her and Mar, my stock tip of the week is Kleenex.

She fell asleep a few minutes ago, sucking her thumb and cuddling a teddy bear. She seems at peace with everything and to say the least, we are too!

Thanks to all the love and support from all our friends and family. We can’t wait to bring Lyric home to meet everyone.

Doug

We are in Changchun!

Doug — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:02:00 GMT

Hello from Changchun!

We made it! Mar and I were met by our facilitator/translator at the Beijing hotel this morning. The 3 of us then caught a flight to Changchun, the capital city of the Jilin province.

It’s very different here from Beijing. First off, its cold, probably 32 but feels like 10! It was about a 30 minute rural drive from the airport here. The town looks just like Chicago does in the winter, cars and streets are kinda dirty, and there is a grey overcast. Our facilitator has never been here before and was probing the driver for local information. This province borders North Korea and has a Korean influence, with that being said, the driver offered to take us for special dinner popular in this province, dog!! We politely declined. Once checked in, we went to check out the hotel restaurant, guess what’s on the menu, dog, along with many other creatures. Another thing that we noticed quickly, there are no other foreigners here. We walked around trying to find a bank to convert some money and people were really staring.

The hotel is, well, it will do for 4 nights; I’ll leave it at that. We were spoiled in Beijing. We did end up eating in the hotel restaurant this evening. With the help of our facilitator we avoided danger and ended up with a really nice dinner and were treated like royalty.

Tomorrow is GOTCHA DAY! We are scheduled to leave at 8:15am to receive Lyric. Mar has bugged me twenty times while writing this blog about what outfit we should bring to put Lyric in tomorrow (uhh, the warm one) Oh yes honey, that one will be great! Needless to say, we are anxious and can’t wait to meet her!

Laine, daddy misses you…the giggles, and even the whining.

To the crazy Grandmas….I will post something when we return from the civil affairs office which should be around noon here, 11pm your time.

Hugs to all,

Doug

Forbidden City - Leaving Beijing

Doug — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:10:00 GMT

Morning folks (or evening)..

Its 4:15am here, Monday morning, we’ve been up since 3. As you can tell we are still struggling a bit with the time change. However, other than Mar’s cold, we feel pretty good.

Yesterday, we spent the morning walking the Beijing streets and checking out a few malls and markets. In the afternoon we toured the Forbidden City where all the Chinese Emperors lived. When we arrived our guide went off to buy our tickets. While she was gone some 4 foot 4, one legged, 80 year old, homeless dude freaked out on me. He got all bent when I wouldn’t give him any money, poking me in the chest, cursing and screaming at me. I kept telling him that I don’t understand you and he finally left. I guess my appearance isn’t very intimidating. I’ll get a tattoo, new facial piercing, and hit the gym when I get home. Other then the beggar dude it was a beautiful day, almost 70 degrees. Although Mar and I had been here before, it was still very exciting to see again, it’s a must see while here in Beijing as well as the Great Wall.

We then took off to see the birds nest and water cube where the 2008 Olympics were held. I can tell China, Beijing, and its people are very proud for hosting the games here and it’s venues that were created for it….and they should be. The birds nest and water cube are pretty neat to see in person and the engineering and structure are very impressive.

We then killed time at a tea shop before seeing an acrobat show. There was a little girl in the show, the age and size of Laine, and some of things she did just flat out scared me. I wanted to yell and her and put her in time out, “what did I tell you about stacking all the chairs in the house and doing a hand stand on them, huh? That’s a big no no!!”

After we got back to the hotel, Mar and I were hungry so we headed out for dinner. We walked around a few blocks, mustering up the courage to walk in to one of the places. We finally decided we’d walked long enough today and strolled in some local joint. They had pictures on the menu so we were in luck. I ordered a beef dish and Mar ordered a chicken dish, big surprise (she always eats chicken). The food came out in these oven heated stone dishes…and they were hot! The food was very good and burned my mouth on every bite. I bet that stone dish would give you 3^rd degree burns this morning! We were beat and crashed around 9pm.

We leave today for Changchun, the capital city of the Jilin province. We are one day away from Lyric, maybe it has nothing to do with the time change why we can’t sleep. I’ve been watching the weather, it’s a little cooler there, lows in the 20’s high around 41.

We did get informed of a schedule change yesterday. We will be leaving Changchun for Guangzhou on Friday, 3 days earlier then we anticipated. We are cool with this. It’s in the mid 80’s and we can shop, shop, shop there!

I tell ya, Beijing is an AWESOME city and so are the people (other than one homeless fella). Mar and I spent many hours just walking and walking, seeing the malls/stores, and engaging with the locals. I look forward to someday coming back and bringing the girls.

I will try and post something when we get checked in to the hotel in Changchun. Lets hope the internet service is this good!

Doug

Jade -The Great Wall - Summer Palace

Doug — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 21:45:00 GMT

Hello and Happy Easter!

Its 5am Sunday here, legs are sore from the climbing, touring, and exploring Beijing yesterday!

We met up with 7 other families that are here to adopt as well and are with our agency, including our new friends Matt and Laura that shared the plane ride with us, and we all hopped on a bus at 8:30am ready for a full day.

Our first stop was a jade factory. Mar’s eyes lit up and it took every bit of self control for her not to buy anything and maybe a little coaxing from me. Everything seemed a little over priced and I assured her we would score some deals in Guangzhou. We better or I’m gonna hear about it.

Second stop, The Great Wall! Although it was a little chilly, we stretched out and started marching. It was awesome! The last time we were here, August 2005, it was just too hot to explore. This time we were able to tackle a good part of it. We joined up with another couple, Kevin and Kelly from Kentucky as well, and took on the east section. Most people head up the west part of this wall so we were able to avoid the chaos and crowds by choosing this side. We were stopped by quite a few people on the way that requested to take their pictures with us, especially the blonds Mar and Kelly. At one point, Kevin and I started talking about pimping them out (just for pictures, people!) charging everyone a dollar, “step right up! Take your photo with some hot blond American girls”! We would have made some pretty good beer money and Mar would have been famous!

With shaky legs, we crawled back on the bus and were told we were headed for some place to have lunch. Mar and I had worked up quite an appetite so were excited until we pulled in the parking lot. Oh no, I recognize this place and we starved the last time we were here. Let’s just say the cuisine was a little exotic. So Mar and I decided to be troopers, wiped away our frowns, and headed in as I secretly stashed a bag of fruit snacks in my pocket. We sat down to a Dim Sum style lunch and the plates started coming. To our surprise, nothing to crazy, some chicken and pork dishes, noodles, rice, soup, it was all very delicious. This restaurant is tied to a huge cloisonné shop. Mar again was chomping at the bit to drop some converted American dough! I assured her we would find some good deals in Guangzhou. We better or I’m REALLY gonna hear about it!

Bellies full, we headed out for The Summer Palace. Mar and I had been here before on first trip but don’t remember it being quite this crazy. It’s a holiday weekend here in China so lots of people were out and it was crowded. Check out the videos and keep your ears open, hear those birds? No, those aren’t birds. They are these annoying slide whistle thingys that after 2 hours my normal laid back, easy going, and very calm personality was on edge. Needless to say, I didn’t get one to bring home for Laine.

We got back to the hotel around 7:30pm. Mar has acquired a cold here and being out in the wind all day didn’t help it, so she rested in the room while I went out to find dinner. There is was, with its gleaming, bright, pretty red lights…..Pizza Hut Baby!! I know we’ve only been here a couple days, but I broke down. It’s hard to have to shovel down Chinese food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The pizza wasn’t good but it was good enough. I tried a bottle of Chinese Cabernet I picked up at the 7-11 hoping that would make it better. I’ll be sticking to Chinese beer. Mar took some vitamins and we tucked in early about 8:30.

Up at 4am…

Today 6 out of the 8 families in our group head out to their provinces to receive their children. The other family left, Matt and Laura, and us leave tomorrow. They have arranged a tour of the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Olympic village this afternoon for us. As much fun as we’re having, we are counting down till Tuesday, when we get Lyric! J

Eat some peeps and color some eggs, happy Easter folks!

Hugs and kisses,

Doug

Good morning from Beijing!

Doug — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:00:00 GMT

Good morning from Beijing!

So last night we decided to just eat here in the hotel. We saw that they had a really nice resteraunt so we headed down. We were the only people in there so they were very excited to take care of us. They immediately won me over by offering a cold Chinese beer. SOLD! So we sat down and looked through the menu which was also in English. Let’s see, sharks fin soup, jelly fish, fungi, fish head soup, stomach, worms, turtles………oh boy. Mar told me to find some chicken and the only dish I saw had a picture included, it still had a beak and feet! So we ordered a beef and noodle dish, it was really really good. Mar was too tired to tackle the chopsticks on the first meal so she ate with the serving fork which came with the dish.

We got back to the room around 7:30 and crashed. We received a call around 8pm informing us that we would be seeing The Great Wall today! We were both up at midnight again and it took a while to fall back asleep. Then some yahoo decided to light fireworks off at 3am this morning down the street from the hotel, we’ve been up ever since. This gave us the opportunity to chat via Skype with some friends and family back home. Laine is having a blast with grandma and is not even close to begging us to come home, so I guess that is good…..I think!

We are gonna grab some breakfast and then stretch out for the Great Wall. I will post pics and videos (hopefully) later this evening.

Hugs and kisses,

Doug

PS: NCH people, I’m on an eggroll finding mission now, I don’t think they have them here (or at least as we know them), but being I’m easily amused it will be fun to hunt for one! Thanks for the well wishes guys!

We made it!

Doug — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:40:00 GMT

Hey Folks,

We made it!

Mar and I just got checked into the hotel. It’s VERY nice!

Flight was pretty uneventful. We did get surprised when we found our seats and discovered we were in Economy Plus, the extra 5 inches was nice and we got our own 4 ½ inch tv. We followed the sun the whole way here so we didn’t get much sleep, even though I tried to force the issue with a couple glasses of wine.

We did meet another couple on the plane, Matt and Laura, from Kentucky. They are with our agency and will be adopting a 2 ½ year old little boy. This is their first trip here and it was nice to chat with them and share our excitement for each other.

Dennis - Thanks for putting together the site for me! I have already uploaded a video! J

Joey “The Goon” – Thanks for the shuttle services Bro!

Ryan – Thanks for taking care of the cat/house. (yes, you can finish all the beer in fridge dude!)

Sorry to keep it short. Mar and I are gonna try and grab something to eat. We are going touring tomorrow, not sure what they have planned for us. Mar and I are gonna try and relax these next couple days before the real fun starts!

Grandma, give Laine a big kiss for us! Maybe we can skype later tonight (this morning for you!)

Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes from everyone!

Doug

Schedule of Events!

Doug — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Here is our schedule while we are in China:

April 1^st - Leave for China!

April 2^nd – Arrive in Beijing

April 3^rd – Tour Beijing

April 4^th – Tour Beijing

April 5^th – Fly from Beijing to Changchun

April 6^th – GOTCHA DAY!!! (We get Lyric!)

April 7^th – Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Jilin Province to complete the adoption. Go to Public Security Bureau and apply for Lyric’s passport.

April 8^th – Free day – Touring

April 9^th – Free day – Touring

April 10^th – Free day – Touring

April 11^th – Free day – Touring

April 12^th – Obtain Lyric’s passport. Fly from Changchun to Guangzhou.

April 13^th – Have Lyric’s Visa picture taken. Lyric’s medical exam.

April 14^th – Submit visa application. Tour and shop

April 15^th – Take the oath of citizenship at the U.S. Consulate for Lyric. More shopping

April 16^th – Receive Lyric’s visa. Last minute shopping!

April 17^th – Coming home! Fly from Guangzhou to Beijing. Fly from Beijing to Chicago.