Mon 9/01 - Today is the day! Families now travel to the province that their child is in. There are 5 other families beside us who are travelling to the same province. We arrive at the province around 10:30 a.m. and are met by another guide at the airport. Again, all arrangements have been made and all we need to do is pick up our luggage from baggage claim and follow her to a waiting mini-bus. The ride to the hotel takes about an hour. Our new guide briefs us about what to expect. After checking in to the hotel, we can have some time to rest and freshen up and then... we are to meet in the lobby at 2:45 p.m. to go to the Civil Affairs Office to meet our baby! No one even mentions being tired - no one looks tired - the excitement is too high! After unpacking, we head to the hotel's restaurant. The seating overlooks the lobby. One of the other couples calls us over and tells us that they just saw a group of parents enter the hotel with their new babies! Oh, we wish we had seen them! After lunch, we head back to the room. One of the hotel staff arrives with a crib and bedding, stroller, and baby bath tub. We try to take in that in just a few hours that crib will be holding our new baby daughter! We head down to the lobby with gifts in hand for orphanage director and nannies. Led by our guide, we leave the hotel to cross the street to the Civil Affairs office. The "street" is a busy road with 3-4 lanes in each direction and with a highway overpass down the middle. While I will cross any road to get to that Civil Affairs Office, the thought enters my mind that we must cross this same road to get back to the hotel - this time carrying our precious baby! The Civil Affairs Office is on the 26th floor and all families can not get on the express elevator at once. Along with another family and one of the guides, we wait for the next elevator. Other visitors to the building arrive and get in front of us when elevator arrives! We need to wait again. This time, determined to get on the elevator, we position ourselves right in front of the doors and get on! As we get off on the 26th floor, we hear babies crying! We hurry in to a scene of what appears to us to be confusion and noise. I keep looking for my Lydia. The officials are calling out the babies' Chinese name and since 5 of the 6 babies were from the same orphanage, all have the same last (which is given first) name. To our western ears, the babies' Chinese names all sound alike. A few of us mothers look at each other in bewilderment - we can't tell what names are being called out amidst the crying. Michael focuses the video recorder on one baby across the room. The baby is not crying but sitting quietly in a worker's lap. "That's our Lydia," he says quietly. "Michael, are you sure?" He just smiles and keeps recording her. Suddenly, someone calls out her name and we go forward and hand them our paperwork. A worker hands us Lydia. She doesn't cry - we do though. She holds on to my shoulder very tight with one hand and with the other hand, she grasps her identification card hanging around her neck. I try to read the identification card but she will not let go - the letters are Chinese but I see her birthdate clearly written on the card. This is our Lydia. Her hair is shorter than in her pictures and her face not as round. She has two small barrettes in her hair - one pink and the other blue. We can't stop kissing her. She is alert and keeps watching all the other babies who are screaming! It is time to leave and we head back down the elevator and to the road. We begin to pray aloud for the Lord's protection. We make it across the first part and under the overpass. Most of the group gets across the last section but I ignore the rule of "don't look, don't stop, just keep walking". Michael is having too much fun video taping the whole thing! Trapped in the middle of the road, I decide that the best tactic is to smile and wave and shout out thank you to the drivers. It probably works because I look so ridiculous. Just when I think we are out of harms way, someone shouts to watch out for the motorcyclist who is riding the wrong way down the shoulder of the road. Once safely in the hotel, we all go to our rooms to spend time with our new baby. In about an hour, we are to meet in one of the hotel conference rooms to go over the official paperwork to be handed in tomorrow. Our group has grown very close. One of the moms gives me a stack of diapers since I had brought ones too small. I give her a stack of bottle liners. Lydia still has not cried but turns down her mouth a little like she is going to. During her first diaper change with us, huge tears stream down her face and she opens her mouth to cry. But no sound comes out. During the paperwork review meeting, she sits nicely in my lap. Our guides review our paperwork and then give us something we never expected - photos of our baby in the orphanage. We are also given a copy of the newspaper with the advertisement listing her as an abandoned baby and giving parents/relatives the opportunity to claim her. We hug her tighter after looking at these. Time to give her a bottle. Our guide gives us a package of the same formula she has been raised on. Back in our hotel room, we prepare her bottle. The tap water in China is not potable and must be boiled. Our hotel room has an electric kettle for boiling water. She takes her bottle well. But that means another diaper change - this time as the last, the tears come. She again opens her mouth to cry and ... sounds come out and she is crying! Crying never sounded so good! She calms down quickly. It is time for dinner and we take our new baby to the hotel restaurant. We still can't believe that she is ours! Some of the other families are in the restaurant too. All the babies have calmed down now and seem quite content. After dinner, it is bedtime. I think the parents are as tired as their baby! Lydia goes to sleep quickly and without any fuss. Either we are expert parents or this is the calm before the storm!
Tue 9/02 - After breakfast, we meet in the hotel lobby to board a bus to take us across the street to the Civil Affairs Office (thank you Lord!). Being family #1, we are interviewed first - what is our profession, how many children do we have, why are we adopting and why from China, and what is our educational plan for our new baby? Our photo is taken with Lydia and in a few minutes, we are presented with the official adoption decree. From China's viewpoint, Lydia is now ours! We give the interviewer a present and after all the parents are interviewed, we all board the bus to go to the police station. {Note: most adoptive families give a present to the orphanage director, nannies, and various officials. Typical presents can include t-shirts with team names, baseball caps, Bath & Bodyworks items, candy. The only requirement is that the items not be stamped "Made in China"!} Family #1 is called and we go forward. We present our passports and adoption decree. We show them Lydia and we are compared to our photos. After a brief interview, we give the police official a present. After all the families go through the same process, we board the bus and go to a notary. Again, we go forward first and are interviewed. Our guide acts as our translator. We verify that all information is correct and promise to never abandon Lydia. After all the families are interviewed, we board the bus and it is on to ....... Walmart and all of its crowded and packed 6 floors. In this city, very few people speak English. I not only brought the wrong size diapers to China for Lydia but clothes as well! I try to pick out some clothes for her but have trouble with sizing. Everything is in Chinese! A sweet Chinese woman comes up to me and shakes her head when she sees the clothes I have selected. She helps me to find some that will fit Lydia. After the clothes department, we head down the escalator WITH the shopping cart to the grocery section. We buy more formula and baby cereal. I also need to buy some gentle face cleanser for myself. The store is so crowded and Lydia is beginning to fuss. I can't figure out what is face soap vs. lotion/moisturizer since everything is in Chinese. I finally see an item that has English on it - face soap and pore minimizer. I soon wish I had not put the item in the cart. Some people look at it and then stare at my face to examine its condition! Once in the check out line, we become even more the focus of attention. Then Lydia finds her voice! She begins to shriek, not cry, but shriek! What do you do when you are a foreigner in another country and your new baby from that country starts to shriek? Keep smiling! The check out process is interminably long! The cashier is checking each bill for counterfeit. We meet the people behind us and show them a card which explains in Chinese why we are adopting. The husband gives us the thumbs up which means he likes what we are doing. The teenage girls waiting at the next checkout giggle and keep waving at Lydia. When the cashier begins to check us out, she starts talking to us in Chinese. Suddenly, a young woman who speaks excellent English comes up to translate. The cashier is telling us that it will take us a long time to check out and asks if we want the items put in bags and if so, there is a cost for the bags. Others waiting in nearby lines come over to see what we are buying and to watch the cash register for cost. Meanwhile Lydia keeps shrieking. I promise to myself that I will never again complain about shopping in a U.S. Walmart! After we finally complete our purchases, we collapse onto our seats in the bus. The other families look equally haggard. Back at the hotel, we eat lunch and then nap until the next morning!
Wed 9/3 - Much more relaxed day today. Our guide takes us sightseeing to a pavillion overlooking the river in the city. The Great Wall of China had bested my walking boot and it has become more painful to walk with the boot than without. I am glad to finally be in both pairs of shoes and walk very carefully! We are beginning to enjoy meeting the people of Lydia's province. At the pavillion, we meet a sweet young woman and her husband. Lydia turns her head when she hears Chinese spoken in a soft manner. Sometimes in the hotel elevator, people get on and speak loudly or in a harsher tone and she does not respond. But as this woman speaks to me, Lydia leans towards her as if she wants the woman to hold her. Lydia did the same thing yesterday to the woman behind us in the line at Walmart. Today we are getting to see more of Lydia's personality. When she is tired, she sucks on her sleeve or corner of her blanket. She also covers her eyes with one arm when she does not want someone to look at her. She does this especially when she wakes up in the morning. Today is the first day that she did not cry when dressed or diapered! And most important, we are beginning to get more smiles from her. But as the day goes on, she is getting more and more cranky and keeps pulling at her right ear. We are going to start her on antibiotic for possible ear infection because we are flying to Guangzhou the day after tomorrow.
Thur 9/4 - Michael tirelessly works to get Lydia to smile! He was the one to get the first real laugh from her. Because Lydia gets overwhelmed by too many people, he makes sure he always runs interference between her and well-meaning waitresses - he tells them "Daddy's girl!" The first few days we were concerned that Lydia was not eating enough because we did not know what to give her! Unconsciously, we were feeding her as though she were an American baby and trying to pick out foods from the buffet line at the hotel restaurant that looked familiar to us! Once we started giving her the more local type food, she began to eat more. Congee, fish, and rice are her favorite. Today our guide took us about 30 minutes outside city to "countryside" to a village. She explained that in China, there is only city and village and about 75% of population lives in villages. Weather is dreary and rainy making main walkway through village muddy. Although this is not the village that any of the babies in our group are from, our guide said that this is a typical village and similar to the one that our babies probably came from. The houses are simple structures without running water. The villagers are friendly and gracious and we are invited into two of the homes. We only see a total of 4 children - 2 babies and 2 toddlers - all boys! Our guide has brought some snacks for the village children and offers the cookies to them. She explains that the poverty is why the one-child policy is so necessary and consequently, why so many babies are abandoned. It is a sobering trip!
Fri 9/05 - We begin the third and final leg of our China visit. All U.S. families adopting from China must go to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to obtain a visa to bring their new child into the U.S. In Guangzhou we will meet up with the other 10 families who traveled to different provinces. We have become especially close to the familes in our province. This is a "test" flight for travel with our babies. Each of us is anticipating what it will be like to travel the 24+ hour flight home. Lydia does fairly well and we arrive in Guangzhou just as a severe thunderstorm hits. We are met at the airport by another guide who once again handles all the travel arrangements to the hotel. If the other hotel accomodations were wonderful, this one is stupendous. Rumors abound that there is a Starbucks nearby. We are beginning to count down the days until we bring our new baby home!
Sat 9/06 - Sometime during the early morning hours, Michael became pretty ill, probably due to something he ate. All of the adopted babies and children in our group are scheduled to go to a medical clinic for health exam to verify that they do not have any communicable diseases. Michael is too sick to come with us. In the hotel lobby, I see the other 10 families and their precious adopted children which include older children, preschoolers, toddlers, and babies. One family is adopting a 12 year old boy. He is friendly and greets us - he especially loves to rub the heads of the babies. Lydia and I board the bus with the other families and head to Shamian Island. At the medical clinic, Lydia is photographed and briefly examined. Our guides handle all the paperwork and ensure everything is properly documented. After the clinic, we board the bus for shopping at a department store. This store has several floors and much nicer than the Walmart. We are still short on clothes for Lydia and I pick out some outfits and a baby carrier. It is easy to overspend here since you leave the items you want to purchase with a sales lady and then you bring slip with cost of item to cashier. By the time I am ready to check out, I have several slips of paper, one of which Lydia grabs and begins to tear. After I bring the slips to the cashier and pay for the items, I have to go back to various parts of the store to retrieve the items from the different sales ladies! One of the cashiers helps me retrieve all my purchases and then its down the escalators and on to the food part of the store to get more diapers, wipes, and formula. I am starting to develop some arm muscles again but it is still tough to navigate through the store carrying a wiggly baby and packages and trying to be careful of my foot. Back at the hotel, we find that Michael is still no better. After putting Lydia down for her afternoon nap, I head to our guide's room to join the others for a paper party. This is one party I had hoped to miss! For the next 2 hours, our guides go over all our official paperwork. Everything must be signed and placed within a folder in the prescribed order. When it comes to inserting the homestudy into the folder, I place all of our 4 copies: original, addendum, re-evaluation #1, and re-evaluation #2! Tomorrow our guides will hand carry these documents to the U.S. Consulate in preparation for our Consulate appointment.
Sun 9/07 - A relaxed morning which is good for all of us. Michael is feeling a little better but still not wanting to eat. It will be a few days until all paperwork is finalized and we have Lydia's visa. Today we are going to a Folk Art Museum and a Tea Shop. Michael graciously comes even though he is still not feeling too well. Lydia woke up happy today. Michael taught her "patty cake" and she loves the clapping hands part. Later in the day, Lydia takes a long nap which lasts into the evening. And this while a severe and very prolonged thunderstorm rages outside! While Lydia naps, Michael and I keep the children at home updated with e-mails and photos. After she wakes up, we head down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. A band walks around the restaurant taking requests and playing mostly '70's music. Michael wants to suggest "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" or "I'm Proud To Be An American". Hoping to avoid an international incident, I suggest something tamer. Lydia loves the music and claps and smiles. What fun!
Mon 9/08 - Today is the day our group is scheduled to appear at the U.S. Consulate to get a Visa for our adopted ones. Somehow I wind up first in the line going through the security check and set off the alarms probably due to one of fasteners on baby carrier. Off comes carrier and Lydia and I get through without any more "bells and whistles". We gather in a central meeting area and wait our turn to receive paperwork. After this, we recite an oath and then it is back on the bus to the hotel. Tonight is our last night at the hotel - we are to leave very early the next morning to start the long trip home. Once again our luggage is collected at night and we must make do with the items in our carry on. This presents some difficulties since the travel regulations in China do not allow you to carry on any liquids regardless of size - meaning no pre-made formula, jarred baby food, toileteries, etc. This is the third go around for us and by now we hold back a few necessities and plan to pack them tomorrow at the airport in our baggage to be checked. We can not wait to get home - we have missed our other children so much. The trip ahead of us seems daunting - 24 plus hours of travel time with our new baby who is prone to shrieking when she gets overwhelmed! We commit our travel to the Lord. During the past 10 days, we have become very close to the other families, especially the 5 we travelled with to Lydia's province. These families have become so dear to us! 4 of these babies were from the same orphanage as Lydia and one of the moms has a picture of the babies taken several months earlier at the orphanage. But the time of parting is fast approaching. Some of us will be on the same flight at least part of the way.
Tue 9/09 - The day of departure has come and our group meets in the hotel lobby to board the bus one last time. One of the families had a delay in their paperwork and their Consulate appointment is not until tomorrow. Still, they get up in the pre-dawn hours to say their goodbyes to us. Once at the airport, we quickly get our luggage to be checked (which had already been delivered to the airport the night before) and jam our toileteries in. We don't have much time for goodbyes now because our flight is leaving soon. Check-in takes longer since we are leaving China with an adopted baby. Paper work and passports are closely scrutinized. Lydia is travelling with a Chinese passport. We are stopped at the security gate and our carry on bags are searched. The dry baby cereal and dry formula in plastic containers seem to cause the security people some consternation and are examined. After this check point, we still have to go through 2 more! We are finally on the plane bound for Tokyo. Lydia does very well - she has a bottle, eats some breakfast and then she sleeps! In all, we will be taking 3 different flights, all with close connection times. When we arrive in Tokyo, we race to our gate and find a huge line. Heading to the end of the line, an airport official approaches us and takes us and another adopting family to the front. This is only one of the many travelling mercies we are to be blessed with. However, this is the flight we have been dreading - it is close to 11 hours long and crowded! Lydia is awake for the first 5 hours. Michael and I take turns walking with her. One of the other families in our group is also on board and we have the opportunity to talk with them while trying to stay out of the way of the flight attendants as we try to rock our babies to sleep at the rear of the plane. Lydia finally falls asleep and sleeps for the rest of the flight! We arrive in Minneapolis on Wednesday, the 10th of September. We are tired but excited! Upon touchdown, Lydia became a citizen of the United States! We head to immigration and wind up in the wrong line! Not good since we have one last connection to make and not much time! Once again, an airport official brings us to the front of the correct line! Immigration officials and airport security congratulate us on the adoption of Lydia! We still have to go through another security check to board our last flight home. All goes well and we board the plane. Passengers around us ask us about Lydia and our adoption. Within a few minutes of take off Lydia is asleep and sleeps through the whole flight! After we land we are just minutes from seeing our other children. They have been waiting to meet her for over 3 years! Soon we are in the baggage claim area and there they are accompanied by Grandpa Ken! (Grandma Toni graciously stayed behind at the house to prepare a welcome home dinner of lazagna and meatballs!) We have missed them so much and their joy is so great at seeing Lydia. Through all the hugs and kisses, I catch a glimpse of some of the passengers - they have stopped and are smiling as they watch the meeting of a new sister with her new family! Lydia is finally home and she is so welcomed with love! God is so good!
Sun 8/31 - Day begins with church service at Beijing Fellowship Church. All attendees must show ID to get in. After church service, we are taken to the Government Jade Shop. Tired of shopping, I just want to get to Lydia's province and Lydia! After lunch, we are given the opportunity to climb a small portion of the Great Wall. Not sure whether I am brave or foolish to climb the Wall in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my foot! The view is beautiful! Once again, we are blessed by the timing of the Olympics and do not experience the typical crowds. After dinner, most of us attend an acrobatic show. We have great seats - too great! Our group is in the first few rows and utterly exhausted from the flights, jetlag, and weekend tour! Most of us have trouble staying awake. After the show, we return to the airport and pack our luggage. Our guides have arranged for luggage to be taken to airport tonight since we are leaving hotel early a.m. We can only keep our carry on luggage with us at hotel. 
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