"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."
-Agatha Christie

Gotcha Day!

This morning we met Denise down in the lobby to go get Cara. We met her at a little before 9:00 am, so it was right in the middle of morning traffic. We wove in and out of traffic and were inches from other cars as we headed to the hotel where we were to meet Cara.








We were brought to a conference room to fill out paperwork prior to receiving our daughter. We filled out and signed several pieces of paper. One was information about us, one was a guardianship paper for the next 24 hours until the adoption is finalized, there were a few others, but I'm not sure what they were. I was shaking so hard I could barely sign them! There were three other couples in the room waiting for their children as well.

The children arrived as we were filling out the paperwork. They would not let them in the room until we were done, but our guide, Denise brought B out where the children were, so he got to meet her first. B says he has film of her singing and dancing out in the hall, so that will be fun to watch. B got to bring her into the conference room. What an awesome big brother. They are friends already! Cara came right up to us and knew who we were. I wish the picture wasn't so blurry of her meeting us for the first time.

She liked her dolly from Aunt D and LOVED the strawberry/banana Gerber Puffs. She was thirsty and wanted water right away. She is very sweaty, but that is because of her heart condition. What a little ham! She is flirty and likes to smile and play. The orphanage director gave us a bag with diapers, formula, a book with pictures of Cara, a DVD on her orphanage, and a chop with her name. Cara also had the things we sent to her in her care package. She definately know those things are hers because she points to them and says, "Mine!" in Chinese. Cara's nanny was there so we got a picture with her.

When we left, Cara spotted her nanny out in the hall and that's when she started to cry. She cried for a little bit, but once we got out in the car she was fine. We gave her a toy Kai Lan telephone and she played with that all they way to the grocery store. We bought some water, diapers, and snacks. We pretty much just walked down the aisles and whatever she pointed to we threw in the basket. She wanted some puff things that looked like oyster crackers, crackers, and hard candy. Then we went across the street to buy bananas. She REALLY wanted apples. She will be surprised. When this kid gets home she'll have apples coming out of her ears!

We got back to the hotel and she ate a packet of crackers and almost two bananas. She really loves to draw on the magnadoodle and play ball with B. We changed her and put her down for a nap in her crib. She played with the doll quietly for about 45 minutes and is sleeping now. She looks amazing sleeping there so peacefully. I can't believe she's mine.

We learned some things about her today from Denise and the orphanage staff. Cara was born in the year of the pig, but it was also the year of the golden pig, which only occurs every 60 years. Apparently that is very special and there were a lot of babies born in 2007. We also found out the true meaning of her name. "Ao" is for the Olympics. "Huan" is for the Olympic rings. The orphanage hopes she will always show the spirit of the Olympic Games. She is indeed a very special girl and I feel so honored to be her mom.

Day 1 in Shanghai

Day 1 in Shanghai

We arrived in Shanghai last night at 9:00 pm. I tried to write a blog entry from SeaTac but I couldn't get on the internet. We flew from Seattle to Beijing, had a two hour layover, then flew from Beijing to Shanghai. Navigating the airports was actually pretty easy; a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Our guide, Denise was waiting for us at the airport and we headed to the Everbright Hotel. We were so thirsty since we hadn't exchanged any money, so we exchanged money in the hotel and went to a Chinese version of a 7 Eleven for water and beer. We ended up going to bed around 11:00 pm China time. I was exhausted!! I never slept on the plane because the seats didn't recline. Sitting straight up for 11 hours is not condusive for sleeping!

This morning we went downstairs for the buffet and met Denise in the lobby. We went to the bank to exchange our money for tomorrow. Then we left for a bit of sight seeing. We took the metro to Nanjing road, which is a huge shopping area. We didn't do any shopping; mainly just looking. I tell you, though, if I wanted a counterfeit watch, bag, or DVD it would have been a snap. Every ten feet there was someone trying to sell them to us. At the end of Nanjing road is the Bund. It's really just a walk along the river. There's not much there to do other than look at the river and people watch. We walked a bit and Denise took our picture in front of the Oriental Pearl Tower, which is the tallest tower in Asia. We could have taken an elevator up into it, but I didn't really want to find a taxi, cross the river, and go up inside. The picture works for me. We walked back to the metro station and took the metro back to our room for some time to relax.

Tomorrow morning we meet Denise in the lobby at 9:00 am to go get Cara. I can't wait!

A Present For Dinner

I got home around 7:15 this evening after a particularly stressful day of work. I actually left work at 4:15, went home, got B, took him to football practice, took A to the bank to cash her check, took

her home, ate a quick snack, then headed back to work for math night. By the time I got home I was tired, hungry, stressed out, needed a beer, and I still have packing to do.

A and J made dinner, thankfully, and when I went to sit at the table there was a little box on my placemat and this was the necklace inside! I can't believe they remembered. At one time, I was looking at jewelry on the internet and found a site called lisaleonardonline.com. She makes these super-cute stamped charms with little chinese paper lanterns and you can have them personalized. My family ordered one for me just in time to have it for China. Isn't it cute?!

So nice to have a suprise after a rough day. We leave for China on Friday! I can't wait!

Getting closer...

We're starting to get things ready to pack. What you don't see in this picture is A and B's suitcases to the left completely packed. We cleaned house today so we don't have to worry about that before we leave.

Five days! I can hardly believe it. I'm super excited and having trouble sleeping at night. My mind just races. I hope I can be productive at work this week. I have a lot to get wrapped up before I leave, but I'm not going to lie, my mind wanders.

Our I800 and I800A are approved, cleared through NVC, and have been cabled to Guangzhou. Our agency can't double-check on them, though, because the Consulate is closed on holiday until the 6th. The funny thing is that I got my fingerprint notice on Friday and my fingerprint appointment date is for 10/27/10. Can you imagine if I would have just waited on USCIS rather than getting ahold of Doc Hastings' office to get me a fingerprinting appointment? I wouldn't be leaving for China until December!

Update! Sleepy Baby

I had asked our agency if they would be able to get an update for us for packing purposes. I also asked them to let the SWI know that we would be calling her Cara.

The response was so funny. According to the SWI, she is "old" so she doesn't grow (she's 3). And they could pass on to the nannies that we will be calling her Cara, but since they don't know English, that probably won't work. Too funny! They sent us this picture and the exact same document with the exact same weight/measurements that they sent us the first week of July. We think she's just perfect!

We also received our I800A and I800 updated approval in the mail today. Now, all I need to do is make sure they are at the NVC and forwarded to the Consulate in Guangzhou. Things seem to be coming together nicely!

Our Intinerary!

We received the travel packet from our agency on Friday and our itinerary looks like this:
10/8 Leave US for Beijing
10/9 Beijing flight to Shanghai. Free time.
10/10 Free day in Shanghai
10/11 Gotcha Day!
10/12 Adoption Registration
10/13 Optional city tour
10/14 Optional city tour
10/15 Leave Shanghai for Guangzhou
10/16 Adoption physical
10/17 Free time
10/18 TB test checked
10/19 Consulate Appt
10/20 Go to U.S. Consulate to take the oath
10/21 Receive visa packet
10/22 Go home!

Lots of packing and planning to do in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, our updated I800A and revised I800 still are not at the Consulate. My fingerprints came back as unclassifiable (USCIS officer waited 8 days to let me know). I had to go back to the Dept. of Homeland Security in Yakima and BEG them to reprint me. Good thing our neighbor works there! Thanks, neighbor! Prints were cleared, but when my husband called our USCIS officer to make sure she was going to approve our supplement 3 and issue a new I800A with a new fingerprint expiration date and an updated I800 and forward them to NVC, her response was, "You never asked for that." Huh? Are you kidding me? Well, J called back and talked to our officer's supervisor. Now our new I800A and updated I800 are supposedly in the mail and have been forwarded to the NVC. However, we still do not have those documents in our possession. Looks like its going to go down to the wire on our paperwork!