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Time to Head Home

2009-07-12T21:19:00.005-05:00

Sun. 7/12/09

We’ve had a great week. We’re all a little sad to leave, but it’s time to go home. We enjoyed our time at the beach, golfing, eating meals in the dining room, playing with Jenna and Sarah, and talking to friends and family.

Our most memorable Ruttger's moments of 2009:

Sarah - giving “high fives”, learning to “fist bump”, hugging all the kids, falling asleep 4 times in the dining room during supper, playing in the water and sand at the beach, learning to putt, eating a chocolate ice cream cone without a bib right before supper (thanks Aunt Cheri), sharing a king size bed with Jenna for several nights and then getting it all to herself!

Jenna - splashing with her friends at the beach, going down the BIG slide at the beach, looking for shells and rocks at the beach, writing notes to boys, getting kissed on the cheek by William (he’s 7), getting her own food at the breakfast and supper buffets, going to Kid's Kamp every day, making a tie dye shirt, and learning to use a hula hoop, sharing a king size bed with Sarah for a couple of nights and then deciding to sleep in the roll away bed instead.

Margaret - hanging out at the beach with our family and friends, having time to read a book, watching Jenna and Sarah have fun at the beach interacting with all the kids, playing golf, taking the annual photos in front of the fireplace and on the swing, watching the hummingbirds, hearing the loons, playing bingo, shopping at the resort stores, sleeping on the pull out couch.

Tim - playing with the kids, talking to friends, going to the beach, playing 5 rounds of golf, going to Auntie M’s to get a mocha, going to the Elvis show - NOT!, and feeling sick the last morning.

Last Day at Ruttgers!

2009-07-11T21:18:00.003-05:00

Sat. 7/11/09

It’s our last full day at Ruttgers. The kids are going to spend the afternoon at the beach with their Aunt Cheri and Aunt Tami. Tim and I are going to play golf with Grandma Linda on Alec’s 9.

Sarah fell asleep during supper again! The beach wears her out every time. Tim and Jenna love eating ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Tonight is the “Woodstock Festival” with music and dancing. It should be fun.

“Mad Science” & Golfing

2009-07-10T21:18:00.001-05:00

Fri. 7/10/09

It's Jenna's last day at Kid's Kamp. Mr. Dude, the “mad scientist”, will be showing the kids science tricks. After lunch, they’ll go swimming at the indoor pool.

Cheri is coming over with a friend and her kids to see the mad scientist, too. We’ll bring Sarah and meet up with her for the performance. Cheri is taking Sarah to the beach this afternoon so Tim and I can go golfing while Jenna is at Kid's Kamp.

Tim and I had fun golfing. The golf course wasn’t crowded at all. I hadn’t picked up a golf club since last year at Ruttgers. I actually got a par on the 2nd hole!! We lost lots of balls and found lots of balls. I think we came out ahead!!

We picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp and took a couple of photos in front of the building. They got rice krispie bars for a snack today.

We headed back to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win any money. I picked out two unlucky cards. Couldn’t even win loser’s bingo.

“Tie Dye” Day

2009-07-09T21:17:00.001-05:00

Thurs. 7/9/09

It’s “tie dye” day at Kid’s Kamp today. Jenna wore the tie dye shirt she made last year. She’s pretty proud of it. It’s the first time she’s worn it because it’s still kind of big. Jenna is excited to make a new tie dye shirt this year. After lunch, Kid’s Kamp is going swimming at the indoor pool. Jenna loves the water and is very excited to go!

Today, the weather is cloudy, cool and windy. Not a good day for the beach. Tim, Sarah, and I hung out at our cottage. Sarah played with the toys in her backpack and snacked while Tim and I did a little reading and relaxing.

We went to the putting green after we picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp. It's cool and windy. Jenna had fun putting, but her sister kept getting in her way. Sarah had fun waving her putter around her head and chasing golf balls around the green.

Jenna Goes to the Island & Carnival Day

2009-07-08T21:16:00.007-05:00

Wed. 7/8/09

Tim went golfing with the guys on “The Lakes” 18 hole course. They started at 7 a.m.

Sarah and I dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp. They’re going on the pontoon boat to the Island this morning. We’ll pick her up at noon. It’s carnival day from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Sarah and I went to the kid’s playground. She had fun swinging, going down the slide, and playing in the sand.

Jenna wore her Dr. Seuss hat. She made it at Kid's Kamp.

Sarah and Jenna had fun playing games at the carnival. They won lots of candy.

Dad Goes Golfing

2009-07-07T21:16:00.004-05:00

Tues. 7/7/09

Tim went golfing early this morning with a couple of other guys. They went out on Alec's 9 and were back in time for breakfast.

We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp and then went to the playground. Sarah had fun playing in the sand, climbing, swinging, and going down the slide. This kid loves to be in constant motion!!

After lunch, we headed to the beach. Sarah couldn’t wait to get in the water. She played for awhile and then needed a snack break.

Kid's Kamp had a sand castle contest at the beach. Here's Jenna
and her friends with their entry.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win anything. Had a good time talking with friends.

Day at the Beach

2009-07-06T21:15:00.002-05:00

Mon. 7/6/09

We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp at 9:00 a.m. She knows a couple of kids from last year so she was O.K. with us leaving her. We’ll pick her up at 3:00 p.m.

Tim and I spent the day at the beach with Sarah. She was afraid to put her toes in the water at first. Sarah’s probably never seen a lake before in her life. It didn’t take her long to overcome her initial hesitation. She loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand. The day was warm and the sun was shining.

After we picked Jenna up from Kid’s Kamp, we all went back to the beach. It's a beautiful day! Spent the rest of the afternoon watching the kids play in the water and talking to friends.

We’re Headed “Up North”!

2009-07-05T21:14:00.001-05:00

Sun. 7/5/09

Jenna and Sarah opened their last “Countdown to Ruttgers” gifts from Aunt Cheri after breakfast. They got cute stuffed animals. Sarah got a moose and Jenna got a kitty. The new additions will be traveling to Ruttgers with us.

Tim and I are both frantically trying to pack suitcases and all the other “stuff” needed for a vacation “Up North”. Why did we leave the packing until the last day? We’ll never learn!!

We were hoping to leave at 1:00 p.m. and finally left a little before 2:00 p.m. The traffic wasn’t bad. We arrived at Ruttgers around 4:00 p.m. We’re in Cottage #744 this year. It has a bigger bedroom with a king size bed, a much larger living room with 2 pull out couches, 2 bathrooms, and a large deck. We love it!

We unpacked the car and moved into the cottage. It took us awhile to get everything put away. Jenna is excited to explore. Sarah is just looking around and taking it all in. We wonder what she's thinking. We've only been home for 3 weeks and we're off again on vacation. Sarah has adjusted really well to all the changes that have been thrown at her in the last month.

We head over to the dining room for supper at the main lodge. Our dinner reservation is for 5:30 p.m. We love the breakfast and supper buffets. We have a window table again this year. We enjoy looking at the lake while we eat. This year there are hummingbird feeders hanging outside the windows.

1 Day to Ruttgers - Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T19:32:00.004-05:00

Sat. 7/4/09

We still haven’t packed a thing for vacation! I’ve got a packing list 4 pages long and keep adding to it. The kids are “off the wall” today. It's hard to think about packing while trying to keep Jenna and Sarah occupied.

We were invited to a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration. We'd love to go, but it doesn't start until after supper. We decided it was better to keep the regular bedtime routine the night before leaving on vacation. Hopefully, we'll be invited next year.

The countdown to Ruttgers gifts are an Atlas for Jenna and a MN sticker book for Sarah.

2 Days to Ruttgers!

2009-07-03T19:32:00.008-05:00

Fri. 7/3/09

Tim has the day off from work since the holiday falls on Saturday. We have lots to accomplish today. First stop is Target to stock up on supplies for our vacation. We also need to work in the yard. The weeds are taking over!

We haven’t packed a thing yet, but I’ve been busy making lists. Hopefully, I’ve remembered everything we need.

The kids opened their gifts from Aunt Cheri. They got crayons and cute little notebooks.

3 Days To Ruttgers!

2009-07-02T16:27:00.002-05:00

Thurs. 7/2/09

We’re leaving for vacation on Sunday. Jenna has been counting down the days until we go to Ruttgers Resort on Bay Lake. I think we’re all excited to go. I’m looking forward to eating the breakfast and supper buffets in the main lodge. No meal prep or meal clean up. We only have to worry about making lunches.
It’ll be nice to see the same families that we’ve gotten acquainted with over the last couple of years. Jenna can’t wait to go to the beach, play with Grandma, go fishing with Aunt Lynne, go to the beach, play with her friends, go to the beach, go swimming with Aunt Cheri, go to the beach, go to Kid’s Kamp, and go to the beach!!

Tim is hoping to relax and play a lot of golf. Last year, he played with a couple of the other dads and had a great time. I’m hoping to relax, hang out at the beach, play a little golf, and look in the shops. We want to take the kids on the putting green. Jenna has her own clubs and we brought along a plastic putter for Sarah. Tonight the kids get Ruttgers t-shirts from Aunt Cheri.

4 days to Ruttgers!

2009-07-01T16:25:00.002-05:00

Wed. 7/1/09

It’s a little warmer today, but still no sun. The kids played in the back yard. Jenna likes having someone to play with even though Sarah is 3 years younger. She likes showing off and doing things that Sarah can’t do – like sitting on the top of the climber. Sarah is a daredevil. She tries to do whatever Jenna does even though she doesn’t have the coordination to do it. Sarah has more bumps and bruises than we can count.

Whenever Sarah gets in trouble, she points to one of her many “boo boos” and makes a sad face. She lets us know in so many words, “Look, how can you get mad at me when I have so many bumps and bruises!” We wonder where she learned how to do that? Just one of the many mysteries we’ll never know about.

Tim took the kids to the playground when he got home from work. Jenna swung from the monkey bars the whole way for the FIRST TIME EVER! She was so proud of herself!!

It's 4 days to Ruttgers! The girls opened gifts from Aunt Cheri tonight. It's a puzzle for Sarah and "Go Fish" for Jenna.

The Countdown Begins - 5 Days to Ruttgers

2009-06-30T16:23:00.005-05:00

Tues. 6/30/09

This morning, we had a play date at the park with five families from our church. The temperature was barely 60 degrees with a stiff wind blowing. Luckily, we were dressed in long pants, long sleeves, and jackets. I was still cold!! It’s the end of June! What happened to our warm weather? The kids didn’t care about the cold. They played well together for over 2 hours. We took a short time out for lunch and then the kids played some more.

Sarah fell asleep on the way home from the park. I carried her into the house and put her on the sofa. She slept for an hour and a half. Jenna fell asleep, too. It’s so nice to have quiet time in the middle of the afternoon!

The vacation countdown begins - 5 days to Ruttgers! Aunt Cheri sent Jenna and Sarah gifts to help them countdown to Ruttgers. Today they received candy and "magic growing" socks.

Finally Bought Flowers

2009-06-29T16:21:00.001-05:00

Mon. 6/29/09

Jenna, Sarah, and I went to Dundee Nursery to buy flowers today. I bought red geraniums, white alyssum, and some purple flowers (the name is escaping me). I’m only filling one planter, a hanging basket, and the whiskey barrel this summer. I never seem to find the time to spend outside with the flowers. The tomatoes have already been neglected. They’ve been crying for Miracle Gro since we got back from China.

My patience with the kids was shot about an hour after lunch. Sarah needed attention about every 5 minutes. Jenna was in a “naughty” mood. She didn’t want to listen to anything I had to say.

I got the flowers planted this afternoon. Thankfully, Tim came home to help with the kids. They keep us constantly on the go.

We’ve been working on Sarah’s table manners. Every meal is a constant repetition: small bites, chew with your side teeth, chew with your mouth closed, use your spoon and fork. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Sarah is only 2 ½ and it takes time for her to learn new skills and change old habits.

Finally Worked in the Yard

2009-06-28T16:19:00.001-05:00

Sun. 6/28/09

Sarah had a mini tantrum getting dressed for church today. She didn’t like the outfit I picked out for her to wear. I got it in Guangzhou, China. It’s really cute – red and white gingham checked top with matching pantaloons. It has ladybug buttons and pockets. I don’t think Sarah liked the pantaloons. During her tantrum, she ripped off two ladybug buttons, so she had to wear a different outfit.

Tim and I finally got a chance to work in the yard. The kids enjoyed playing outside. Tim dug up some barberry bushes that weren't doing well. We were glad to get rid of them because of the thorns. We hope to transplant potentilla bushes that need more sun. I started pulling weeds without my gloves. Got a hold of a stinging nettle plant and got tiny blisters on my fingers. Ouch!

Jenna and Sarah quarrel every day. We can’t wait until they can get along better. The big question is HOW LONG will it take??

Jenna seems to be acclimating to her big sister role a little better the last couple of days. She’s been helping Sarah tie her shoes (when Sarah will let her), wash her hands (when Sarah will let her), and hold her hand going down the stairs (when Sarah will let her!). It sure takes time to change behaviors!

Ice Cream Social

2009-06-28T07:50:00.002-05:00

Sat. 6/27/09

We went to the Burwell House Festival in Minnetonka with Uncle Bill, Aunt Tami, Aunt Cheri, and Grandma Linda. Jenna had fun blowing bubbles and making a spin art picture. Sarah enjoyed looking at the bubbles, but had trouble blowing her own. The best part was eating ice cream. Jenna got a chocolate cone, Tim got a vanilla cone, and Margaret got a dish of strawberry. Sarah got a dish of vanilla, but enjoyed sampling all three flavors. Everyone enjoyed listening to band music while we ate our ice cream.

After the festival, we drove to Uncle Bill and Aunt Tami’s house. Sarah was very excited to meet their 2 cats. She followed them all over the house and kept saying, “Meow, Meow”. Needless to say, Lily and Phoebe were not as excited to meet Sarah. We feasted on grilled chicken, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! After supper, Jenna and Sarah amused us. We sang some kid’s songs. Sarah was very quick to catch on to the main lyrics. She enjoys being goofy and making people laugh.

A Beautiful Day

2009-06-28T07:47:00.003-05:00

Fri. 6/26/09

It’s another beautiful day today. We go outside to play. The girls ride their bikes and I pull weeds. My flower gardens are a total disaster. I haven’t spent any time outside and it shows. Yikes!

After lunch, we need to head to the clinic to get Sarah’s mantoux test “read”. At the clinic, the nurse tells us that Sarah’s arm is fine. We visit Jeannie, one of our favorite nurses, so she can meet Sarah. Sarah and Jenna give her some high fives.

By the time we get home, Tim’s home early from work. The girls get their swimming suits on and waste no time getting in the pool. Tim and I sit in the shade and actually get to talk and relax. It’s a beautiful day. Sarah is still tentative in the pool. She mostly stands in one spot and plays. She doesn’t like to stray too far from the edge of the pool. Tim takes her hand and walks her around in the pool. After awhile, she gets a little braver and ventures around the pool on her own for a little bit.

Tim’s Birthday

2009-06-28T07:46:00.002-05:00

Thurs. 6/25/09

I finally slept well last night. The alarm clock woke me up. Sarah doesn’t get up until 7:30 a.m. What a surprise! Jenna gets up at 7:45 a.m. They’re both sleepy heads today.

After an early lunch, we head out to the grocery store. This is my first time grocery shopping with both of them by myself. Things go pretty smoothly. The girls get to sample a cheese stuffed pasta noodle. They both love it and want more.

After the groceries are put away. it’s time to go outside to play. The girls ride their bikes around the cul-de-sac. After playing for awhile, they want a snack. We go inside to cool off. I wrap Tim’s birthday presents. Jenna makes a card for her dad. She signs her name and Sarah’s name to the card I bought. We’re all ready for Tim to get home.

Tim comes home from work with 2 cakes! Good thing we didn’t make him one. He opens his cards and presents. We go out for supper at Culvers. For dessert, Tim and the girls get vanilla custard with hot fudge sauce. YUMMY!!

Lunch with Daddy at UHG

2009-06-28T07:45:00.000-05:00

Wed. 6/24/09

After breakfast, Jenna wants to help me make brownies. She puts on her apron and finds her favorite whisk. She asks if she can crack the eggs. This will be her first experience. She does a great job and only gets a tiny bit of shell mixed in with the eggs. She fishes it out with a spoon. She’s very proud of herself.

Today, we’re going to UHG to eat lunch with Tim. We’ll bring the brownies as an early birthday surprise for Tim. Jenna wants to dress up for her lunch with dad. She puts on her new dress from China, a necklace, a bracelet and a barrette in her hair. I find a cute dress for Sarah to wear. She also wants a necklace, bracelet, and barrette in her hair. I put a lunch together for the three of us and we’re off to UHG.

Tim greets us. The girls are excited to see him. They run and skip down the wide hallway to the cafeteria. We meet Karis in the lunchroom. She adopted a little girl from China last November. Her daughter is 7 weeks older than Sarah. We surprise Tim with the brownies. They’re delicious! After lunch, we go upstairs to Tim’s work area. Sarah is very curious and runs into offices and cubicles. She doesn’t have any fear of the people or surroundings. Tim introduces Sarah to his co-workers. We visit with people until Jenna and Sarah get too wound up. It’s time to go home. Tim needs to get back to work. Sarah falls asleep on the way home.

Sarah Goes to the Pediatrician

2009-06-26T06:34:00.002-05:00

Tues. 6/23/09

Sarah has her first pediatrician visit today. Hope it goes smoothly. I brought along a couple packages of rice crackers in case they’re needed as bribes. Snacks usually come in handy during times of stress. Jenna has a play date with Andy during Sarah’s doctor appointment. She’s excited to go to his house to play with him and Willow, the family dog.

The first hurdle during Sarah’s exam was getting her to take off her shirt, shorts, and shoes so she could get weighed. She wasn’t keen about it at all. Out came the rice crackers as a bribe. We walk down the hall and Sarah gets weighed on the baby scale. Back to the exam room to get measured for height. Sarah balks at stretching out on the table. Back down the hall to the height measuring station. Mommy shows her how to stand with her feet up against the wall. Sarah decides it’s O.K. to get measured. Back to the exam room again. Sarah balks at getting her head measured with a tape measure, so daddy gets his head measured first. Sarah decides it’s O.K. to put the tape measure around her head. Sarah gets her rice crackers and munches contentedly while we wait for Dr. Green.

Dr. Green greets Sarah with a smile. Sarah is a little wary. She’s wondering what’s going to happen next. Sarah doesn’t like getting examined. She wants to put her clothes back on, especially her shoes. Everything checks out O.K. While Dr. Green talks with us, Sarah dresses herself and then explores the room. She wants anther cup of water (she’s already had 2) and has fun scrunching up the cup.

The nurse comes in to give Sarah a mantoux (PPD) test. Remember those “shots”? It’s not really a shot, but the needle goes in just under the skin. Sarah doesn’t like it one bit and cries. She gets a band-aid to cover the puncture mark. I’ll need to bring Sarah back into the doctor’s office on Friday, so it can be “read”. The last stop is the lab. This is the hard part. They need to get samples of her blood – lots of it. The phlebotomist has trouble getting the needle in her vein. Sarah doesn’t like this strange lady poking her arm. She screams long and hard as 5 vials of blood are filled. It seems to take forever. I’ve got Sarah on my lap and have to hold her arms, legs, and shoulders still. It’s not easy. Sarah is a strong kid. Finally, it’s all over. Sarah gets another band-aid and 3 stickers. I hand Sarah another packet of rice crackers to eat.

Are We Back In Guangzhou, China?

2009-06-23T21:57:00.008-05:00

Mon. 6/22/09

The weather today reminds me of Guangzhou, China – very hot and steamy! Made the mistake of telling the kids I'd take them to Greenwood Elementary School playground this morning before I realized how hot is was outside. Feels like we're in a sauna. It was hard work pulling both kids in the little green wagon. We were all sweating by the time we got to the playground. Found a little shade tree to park the wagon under so the kids could have a snack of goldfish crackers and water. They don't look super excited in the photo, do they? Kind of looks like they're thinking, "Our crazy mom dragged us to the playground in this miserable heat. We wanted to stay in the house where it's cool." We stayed at the playground long enough to swing, go on the teeter totter, and take a couple of photos. The slides were too hot to slide down. Took the neighborhood path back to our house because there’s more shade. Jenna walked most of the way home, so I didn’t have to work as hard just pulling Sarah. We spent the rest of the day inside the house . . . . . ahhh, gotta love air conditioning. Jenna put in a Winnie the Pooh video after lunch and Sarah fell asleep in about 2 minutes.

Tim pumped up the new green swimming pool and filled it with water. The outside air temperature should be hot enough to warm the water up by Tuesday afternoon. The girls were very excited to see the pool getting filled up. Jenna can’t wait to splash around. Don’t know if Sarah has ever been in a pool. Guess we’ll see how she likes it tomorrow.

I’m tired. Seems to be a constant theme. Wish I could sleep more than a couple of hours at a stretch. I’ve been getting up around 5:00 a.m. every morning. Sarah is also an early riser. She’s usually up between 5:30 – 6:00 a.m. Makes for a very long day.

St. Barnabas Church Welcomes Sarah / Happy Father’s Day!

2009-06-22T21:29:00.003-05:00

Sun. 6/21/09

This morning, Jenna and Sarah posed for pictures in the front yard before we left for church. At church, everyone welcomed us back with great enthusiasm. We’re very blessed to have such a warm and caring church community. Sarah wasn’t fazed one bit by all the people and new surroundings. She took it all in stride. She greeted people with “Ni Hao” and both kids did some “hi fives” with David Helgen. The snack after the service was more of a meal today. The kids were in heaven munching on fresh fruit, cookies, and sandwiches. Sarah had 3 bowls of fruit! Hope she doesn’t think we eat like that every Sunday!

Sarah rebelled against a nap today. She cried and refused to settle down after lunch. Tim and I should have given up after 30 minutes, but we persevered until all three of us were worn out and upset.

Happy Father’s Day! We celebrated “dad” with homemade and store bought cards and presents. I traced Sarah’s handprints on a colored piece of paper and folded it into a card. Jenna created a “book” for her dad. She drew pictures of all the things they enjoy doing together. She spent a couple of hours putting it together. Jenna is getting to be quite a good artist.

Running Errands

2009-06-21T21:22:00.002-05:00

Sat. 6/20/09

We ran a couple of errands this morning. Took back a couple of things I bought for our trip that I didn’t use – ear planes and motion sickness wristbands. I’ve been unfortunate to suffer from motion sickness my entire life. It’s mostly triggered from riding in the car, but I wanted to have something for the plane just in case . . . .

Our neighbors, who are Chinese, told us about a Chinese grocery store in St. Louis Park. We were hoping to find some of the snacks that Sarah and Jenna liked while we were in China. We found the store after a couple of wrong turns. We stocked up on rice crackers and cookies. Should last us for a couple of weeks.

Took the kids to Greenwood School playground after supper. Jenna and Sarah had fun swinging and playing on the slides and teeter totter. It’s a great place for them to burn off some energy. Makes them sleep better, too.

Musical Beds!

2009-06-20T21:15:00.002-05:00

Fri. 6/19/09

You guessed it . . . none of us got a good night's sleep last night. Sarah woke up at 1:30 in the morning. She woke up Jenna, too, since they’re sleeping in the same bed. Tim and I decided to put Sarah in her OWN BED for the first time. She initially resisted, but we took turns rocking her until she fell back asleep. She slept the rest of the “night” in her bed. Tim slept on the floor in her room in case she woke up. I slept with Jenna in her bed.

The four of us went back to the rummage sale at Holy Name Church on Thurs. evening. I had to twist Tim’s arm a little bit to get him to go. We were lucky enough to buy a Little Tikes big slide. We happened to be walking in just as a family was dropping the slide off as a donation. We also got a kid's bike (don’t know the proper name for it) that attaches onto the back of an adult’s bike. Tim can attach the extension to his bike to carry Jenna. I can pull Sarah in the burley with my bike. Tim pulled both kids in the burley on Wed. and said they’re VERY heavy. A couple of days ago, Jenna weighed 36 lbs. and Sarah weighed 27 lbs. Wouldn’t doubt that Sarah weighs more now since she eats more than I do at every meal!

Sarah loves to sing. We’ve been singing songs to her and she’ll sing back part of the song. We’re amazed that she can pick up the tune so fast. Sarah also likes to play the little kid’s keyboard.

Sarah Goes To Her First Garage Sale / Nap Time Fiasco

2009-06-19T06:19:00.003-05:00

Thurs. 6/18/09

After breakfast, the girls and I drive to the rummage sale at Holy Name Church. It starts to sprinkle on the way there. It’s raining pretty hard as I get the stroller out of the car. I’m having second thoughts now, but we’ve gotten this far, so might as well get a little wet.

Once inside the church, we head for the toys and kid’s clothes. Jenna finds a large stuffed giraffe. I find a couple of dolls for Sarah to look at. She picks a baby doll with the pacifier in its mouth. She won’t let go of it so I can put it in our bag. Have I mentioned she can be very stubborn and strong willed? I let her carry the doll around the room and hope she doesn’t set it down. A couple minutes later, the baby doll is missing its pacifier. I locate it under one of the tables. Sarah still doesn’t want to give it to me to hold. Both girls find a pair of sunglasses that they want to get. I trade the baby doll for the sunglasses.

I look through the kid’s clothes and find a couple of cute things to buy. We head over to the book room next, even though we have enough books to start our own library. I can’t resist . . . the books call to me. I want to expose the kids to as many books as possible. My wish is that the girls grow up to love books as much as I do.

We head for home. It’s getting hot outside. It’s almost time for lunch. Lunch goes smoothly. I feel like I'm running around the kitchen trying to keep up with food demands. It's a good weight loss method because it's hard to eat while standing up.

The day was going fairly smoothly until nap time. It pays to NEVER MAKE ASSUMPTIONS when things are going well! Since I want to establish a daily routine, I was very firm about both of them taking a nap. If you’re a parent, you understand how tough it is to be consistent in the face of adversity - namely 2 small children :)

Neither Jenna nor Sarah wanted to settle down for a nap. Sarah had a major meltdown. Have I mentioned that she’s a champion at throwing tantrums? She goes into the classis tantrum mode of screaming, crying, kicking her legs, waving her arms, and throwing her head back. Jenna went into the other bedroom to get away from all the noise. After screaming for over an hour, Sarah finally started to get tired. It was kind of comical to watch her eyes slowly drift shut as she’s screaming her head off. She starts to fall asleep and lists sideways, but then jerks herself awake. She’s very determined not to fall asleep. The next thing I know, Sarah and I are both waking up from a short nap. I feel exhausted. Wonder how Sarah feels?

I’m so glad to see Tim when he gets home from work. He’s tired, too. It’s hard work establishing a new routine. For supper, Tim grills hotdogs. It’s quick and easy. We eat chicken noodle salad with grapes and mandarin oranges courtesy of a neighbor - Thanks Wendy!

The kids are in bed by 9:00 p.m. They should be tired. We’ve got our fingers crossed that they’ll sleep through the night. Heaven knows, Tim and I are tired and we need to get a good night’s sleep.

Friday: A good night’s sleep was not in the cards!

Tim Goes Back to Work – HELP!

2009-06-19T06:18:00.005-05:00

Wed. 6/17/09

Today is Tim’s first day back at work in 3 weeks. Got up early to have coffee with him. Girls got up by 6 a.m. Tim left for work at 6:45 am. It’s going to be a busy day with the girls all by myself.

The day goes by in a blur of activity: Jenna watches a video . . Sarah plays with the kitchen dishes . . . we eat breakfast . . . Jenna draws and colors pictures . . . Sarah plays with the Aquadoodle . . . we eat lunch . . . the girls nap . . . I work on the blog . . . the girls get up from their nap . . . we play outside.

I’M TIRED! Wasn’t smart enough to rest while the girls were sleeping. Feeling pretty grubby, too. I forgot to shower while Tim was still at home this morning. Don’t want to leave Sarah alone with Jenna while I’m in the shower. No telling what could happen.

It’s 4:15 p.m. and Tim is home! I’m excited there’s another adult to help amuse and supervise the kids. He takes them for a ride in the burley. We eat supper. It's chicken noodle soup, buttered noodles, salad, bread, orange slices and monster cupcakes. Thanks, Mary! The girls love the oranges! After supper, Tim sits down in a chair and falls fast asleep. I take the girls to Greenwood Elementary School playground in the burley. If I felt grubby this morning, now I’m way beyond grubby – YUK! When we get home from the playground, Tim is just waking up.

It’s been a long day. It’s tough adjusting to a new routine. Tomorrow will hopefully be easier.

I’ve been remiss in thanking two of our neighbors who were invaluable to our family while we were in China. A SUPER BIG THANKS to Don for kitty sitting. He came over twice a day for two weeks to feed Lucy and Abby and keep them company. Another BIG THANKS to Bing for mowing our grass and watering the plants. It’s great to know we can leave the country and not worry about our kitties or the house and yard.

Thursday morning, I want to take the girls to the Holy Name Church Rummage Sale.

No Car Seat Tantrums Today!

2009-06-17T20:41:00.001-05:00

Tues. 6/16/09

We went for a car ride this morning. There were no tantrums with the car seat! Sarah did have a mini meltdown when daddy took the goldfish crackers away from her as we were getting ready to leave. Her mouth was full of crackers and she started to howl. She wanted to finish them off!

Drove to Kohls to return some shirts and shorts that I got for Sarah. Guessed wrong on the sizes - too small! Also wanted to look at a couple of things for Father’s Day and Tim’s birthday. Both kids were good in the store to start, but got antsy the longer we were there. Jenna started to run in circles and Sarah was quick to imitate her. Got a couple of smiles from other people shopping when they saw the 2 girls.

Abandoned the idea of going to another store. Had initially thought about going to Walmart, too, but decided not to push our luck with the kids. Got home in time to prepare an early lunch.

Put the kids down for an early nap. They had other ideas. Napping wasn’t one of them. Took about an hour for them to wind down and fall asleep. Once asleep, they didn’t want to wake up. Tim woke them after 2 hours. Sarah kept falling back asleep and wasn’t happy that her dad kept waking her up.

Tim gave them both a bath. First time they were in the tub together. They had a blast playing with all of the tub toys! Thought we’d save time and just put them in their pajamas even though it was only 5:00 p.m. Jenna decided she wanted to blow dry her hair for the first time. She’s getting to be an independent girl (sometimes).

Ate leftovers tonight. Several families from our church have been generous about preparing us meals for supper. We’re very grateful for everyone’s help as we slowly transition back to “normal”.

Everyone is tired tonight. It’s a combination of jet lag and the weather. We’re hoping to get a good night’s sleep without an early morning wake up call from the kids.

When Will We Sleep Through the Night? / First Play Date for Sarah

2009-06-16T07:15:00.005-05:00

Mon. 6/15/09

Sarah woke up in the wee hours of the morning today (1:15 a.m.), which meant mommy got up, too. We went downstairs for a little milk and banana bread. Sarah wasn’t planning to go back to bed, but I persuaded her to head back upstairs. After much tossing and turning, she fell asleep again an hour later. Since I wasn’t sleepy, I worked on the blog. Both kids were wide awake at 4:00 a.m. I lay down with them to curtail all the giggling, tickling, and goofing around. After much pantomiming to “go to sleep”, they both nodded off around 4:30 a.m. I fell asleep with them. We woke up 2 hours later.

Trying to adjust our body clocks backwards 13 hours to Minnesota time has been hard. Our bodies tell us to sleep in the afternoon and stay awake during the night. The kids nap after lunch for an hour or two. They’d sleep much longer if we’d let them. It’s hard to wake them up from a deep sleep. Sarah kept dozing off again. Same thing happened after supper. Tim had to keep waking her up. Both kids went to bed at 9:00 p.m. without much protest or goofing around. We’ll see what time they wake up tonight/tomorrow.

A friend came over with her 2 kids for a play date this morning. Her boys are the same ages as Jenna and Sarah. They brought a cake to celebrate Sarah’s arrival. The play date was a success. Everyone had fun running around in the back yard and playing in the sand box. Not sure if Sarah ever played with sand before. She liked getting the sand washed off her feet when she was done playing.

We enjoyed Sarah’s cake after lunch - Thanks Wendy! Sarah couldn’t keep her fingers out of the frosting while I was taking photos. She’d stick her fingers in her mouth to lick it off and go back for more. Sarah likes to keep her hands and face clean while she’s eating. She uses her napkin a lot at every meal. Must be something she’s been taught by her foster family.

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been home for 3 days. It seems much longer. Sarah is more animated every day. She chatters and sings constantly in Chinese. She likes to play with the doctor kit, draw on paper and the Magna Doodle, play the kid’s piano, dance, reorganize the refrigerator magnets, and play with the kid’s food and dishes. We really need to watch her when she’s got a pencil or pen in her hand. She likes to draw on things she shouldn’t be drawing on - like books, arms, and legs. She’s curious about how things work. She isn’t interested in watching videos or T.V.

Tuesday, we plan to take Sarah in the car seat again. Can’t wait to see what she does. Any guesses?

Learning Experiences: Sharing and Adjusting to the Car Seat!

2009-06-15T21:06:00.003-05:00

Sun. 6/14/09

Remember yesterday’s blog where we were hoping the kids would sleep later? Well, it didn’t happen. They were up at 3:30 a.m. Tim got up with them while I slept longer.

We thought of going to church today, but quickly abandoned that idea. Didn’t think it would be a good idea. We're still sleep deprived and Sarah hasn’t been in the car seat since her ride home from the airport. She didn’t like it then and we figured she wouldn’t like it now. Maybe next week would be better for church . . . .

After breakfast, I took Jenna and Sarah in the back yard while Tim slept. I managed to wash the patio table and pull some weeds while the girls played. I spent most of my time “helping” the girls learn how to take turns using the slide. Of course, that was the only toy (in a yard full of toys) they both wanted to play with.

I’m amazed at how quickly Sarah is picking up English. She seems to understand most of the things we say to her now. I’ve been pantomiming to help her understand my words. She talks a lot in Chinese and is now speaking some English. These are the English words she speaks: more, please, thank you, Jenna, mommy, daddy, meow, bye bye.

To help Sarah adjust to being restrained in the dreaded car seat, our goal is to take her for a ride every day. So, after a short one hour nap, we decide to go to the grocery store. As we’re carrying Sarah to the car, she begins to struggle and cry. It took both of us to get her strapped in. I felt like we were abusing her. She can squirm and arch her back like a pro. We quickly abandoned the idea of going to the grocery store and decided to drive around our neighborhood. She wailed and kicked for 15 minutes (seemed like an hour). In that space of time, she managed to put a couple of good scratches on her face and legs. As she’s screaming and crying, she announces that she needs to go potty. Since Baker Park was close by, we pulled in and used their facilities. We took the kids to the play area. Sarah slowly calmed down with the help of goldfish crackers and water. She was very interested in watching all of the kids play. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the park. Jenna learned how to use the zip line and had a blast. Poor Tim was running with her every time she “zipped”, since she isn’t tall enough to get off the bar herself. Sarah was very cooperative getting back into the car seat and fell asleep on the ride home.

In three weeks, we’re going up north on vacation. The car ride is 2 ½ hrs. We’re hoping Sarah will be adjusted to the car seat by then. We don’t relish the idea of a screaming child the entire ride. Hopefully, today “cured” her of her car seat phobia.

The kids were tired when we got home from Baker Park. Jenna and Tim fell asleep before supper. Sarah almost fell asleep at the dinner table. By 7:45 p.m., both kids were fast asleep. We’ve got our fingers crossed that they sleep until 7:00 a.m. Tim and I want to get to sleep “early” to catch up on our beauty sleep.

I’m trying not to fall asleep while I’m writing this blog entry. Time for bed. It’s almost 9:15 p.m.

Margaret

Our First Two Days at Home

2009-06-14T14:08:00.007-05:00

Fri. 6/12/09 & Sat. 6/13/09

Forgot to mention Sarah’s reaction to our cats on Thurs. night. Shortly after we got home, Abby & Lucy came to greet us. Sarah took one look at them and started to slowly back up. Not sure if she’d ever seen a cat before. She’s fascinated by them and follows them around the house pointing and calling out “meow, meow”.

One of Sarah’s favorite activities is playing with the kid’s dishes and play food. The first thing she played with was the tea cups and saucers. Sarah likes to put the food on plates or into the play refrigerator. She talks and sings to herself in Chinese as she plays. Tim recorded her as she was talking and singing. We want to get it down on video in case she forgets her Chinese language.

We’ve taken the kids on a couple of walks around our neighborhood in the burley. They both love it. It’s been fun to take an evening stroll and introduce Sarah to our neighbors.

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon outside so the kids could play in the back yard. We have lots of big plastic toys – a climber with a slide, a small slide, 2 teeter totters, and 2 kid’s play houses. Sarah loves going down the slide and climbing back up it. She’s a very active kid, just like Jenna.

We made pancakes tonight for supper. Jenna loves them. Judging from the photos, Sarah seemed to enjoy them, too. We’ve been working on her table manners. She’s used to stuffing her mouth so full of food that she can’t even chew it. She ends up spitting it back out. Same thing when she’s drinking beverages. She likes to gulp down the whole glass in one big swallow. It’s been a battle to get her to slow down and eat one bite at a time or take a small sip of liquid. She’s getting better at it every day.

It was bath night at our house. Sarah is still adjusting to sitting in a tub full of water. She fusses getting her hair washed. We know she’s used to giving herself a sponge bath with a wash cloth. After the bath, the kids had a dish of ice cream. Don’t know if Sarah has had much ice cream. Dairy products aren’t a big part of the Chinese diet.

For our bedtime routine, we’ve been reading 2 books downstairs and then going upstairs to bed. We sing a song and then give hugs and kisses all around. Tonight, Jenna decided to take her shoes upstairs. Of course, Sarah had to do likewise and then decided she wanted to wear her shoes to bed. We told her “no” and she had a major tantrum. Tim tried his best to soothe her, but she worked herself up into quite a state. After crying for 15 minutes, she threw up ice cream on herself, Tim, and the bed sheets. There was a silver lining to it though, because the two of us were able to bond a lot more. Sarah let me clean her up and rock her while Tim put clean sheets on the bed. The rocking seemed to soothe her and she fell asleep in my arms. I tried twice to transfer her to bed with no success. She woke up both times, took my hand, and pulled me back to the rocker for more rocking. The third time was the charm. Hopefully, she’s down for the night. It’s now 12:30 am.

Tim and I haven’t been getting enough sleep. I think we’ve been averaging about 2-3 hours each night. We put the kids to bed and stay up to get things done around the house and have some quiet time to ourselves. The kids are still waking up around 2:00-3:00 am every morning. Tomorrow, we’re planning to let them nap for an hour in the early afternoon so they sleep longer at night.

A BIG THANKS to everyone that’s provided meals or will provide meals for us. It’s so great to have supper without the meal preparation as we’re adjusting to our new family dynamics and trying to get settled into a daily routine.

I also want to give a super big “THANKS” to my brother for updating our blog and posting photos while we were in China. There would have been no trip entries without his help. We were able to send him our blog info and photos via e-mail. We were so bummed out that we couldn’t access our own blog during the trip. While we were in Beijing, Tim talked to someone from the U.S. about our blog. He was told that China’s government had curtailed access to all blog sites.

Margaret

P.S. We’re hoping to put additional photos on our blog. Check back to the earlier entries in a couple of days for new photos.

Our Long Journey Home to MN!

2009-06-13T02:00:00.020-05:00

Thurs. 6/11/09

It’s our last morning at the Victory Hotel in Guangzhou, China. Woke up at 4:15 a.m. Called the front desk to cancel the 5:00 a.m. wake up call. Still got the call at 5 a.m. while I was in the shower. Luckily, Tim was up to grab the phone before it could wake up Jenna and Sarah. We pick up our boxed breakfasts from the front desk when we check out. Had time to sit down in the dining room for 15 minutes to eat a little of it. No one is very hungry. We take the rest of it with us on the bus. It’s raining on the way to the airport and starts to pour once we got inside the terminal. The rain hammers down on the glass ceiling and makes lots of noise. Tim and I remember it rained 4 years ago when we left Guangzhou, too.

Our plane leaves Guangzhou at 10:00 a.m. The flight to Beijing takes 3 hours. The Barths and Anderson's are on the same flight. We check 3 suitcases and carry on 5 backpacks (Jenna & Sarah each have one) and 3 bags! We go through a security check with our luggage. There's no temperature scanning that we're aware of at the airport. We sit and wait for our flight. All of the kids have a snack.

Jenna and I have window seats. Tim and Sarah are across the aisle. When Tim puts the seat belt on Sarah, she screams bloody murder. She’s probably never been restrained before. Two flight attendants run over to see what’s going on. They offer her a dinner roll and she willingly takes it off their hands and stuffs it in her mouth. Once done with the roll, Tim attempts to seat belt her in again. More screaming!! Sarah ends up on Tim’s lap during take off and landing. During the flight, she manages to kick a full glass of orange juice off her tray table. Luckily, the juice lands in the magazine holder and Tim ends up unscathed! Good thing, too, because he doesn’t have a change of clothes in his carry on bag.

We pick up our luggage and transfer it from the Domestic to the International terminal. We ride the tram between terminals. A couple of guys give up their seats so I can sit down with the girls. Good thing because the tram is not a smooth ride. At the check in counter, we find out that we have 3 seats together and one across the aisle and up one row. Our pleading to change it falls on deaf ears. Same thing happened on the flight over. Tim had to sit behind us. It didn’t work out very well.

They’re scanning for temperatures at the Beijing airport, but we walk by with no problems – or so we thought. As we’re heading for the end of the security check-in line, a security person motions for us to follow her. I look at Jenna and she’s hot and sweaty. My first thought is, “Oh my God, Jenna’s got a temp and we’re going to be quarantined in Beijing!” Lo and behold, it had nothing to do with our temperatures. We were shown to an empty VIP security line and were through the checkpoint in no time flat! Not sure why we got the special treatment. Maybe it was because of the kids or maybe we looked like something the cat dragged in. Whatever it was, we were grateful.

We have a long walk to get to our gate. The kids are good about carrying their backpacks. Tim checks on seat assignments again and manages to get a seat across the aisle from ours. Once on the plane, he’s able to change his seat so we can all sit together. Our seats are in the middle of the plane in the second to the last row. Not the greatest seats, but at least now we’re all sitting together. The plane is packed full and leaves Beijing around 4:00 p.m. We’re finally on our way to the U.S.A. by way of Chicago, IL. The plane is very cramped. There’s no legroom to stretch out and get comfortable. The people in the row ahead of us have their seats tilted back before we even sit down - definitely not Minnesota nice!! Jenna and Sarah have to climb over the seats to get in and out. The food they serve during the flight is definitely not worth mentioning. The longer we’re on the plane, the more we can’t stand the smell of the food. Sarah was the only one that could stomach eating the last meal that was served.

We were all sluggish and tired when we finally touch down in Chicago. Jenna and Sarah were able to sleep pretty well on the 12 hr. flight. Tim and I caught lots of short naps. The Chicago airport is very busy. People are moving quickly in every direction dragging their luggage behind them. We have to keep our eyes on the kids so nobody mows them over.

We go through Customs first and then U.S. Immigration. Tim presents Sarah’s sealed U.S. Consulate documents to the Immigration official. After a quick review of her passport and documentation, she becomes a U.S. citizen!! We catch the tram to get to our connecting flight to Minneapolis. Another Security checkpoint is ahead. They aren’t real picky about our luggage and we’re through in a flash.

We’re all tired. The gate for our flight is at end of the concourse again!! By this time, the kids need help carrying their backpacks. They can’t walk in a straight line anymore. They’re bobbing and weaving through the terminal. Tim picks up Sarah. Of course, Jenna wants to be carried, too, but that isn’t going to happen. We have our hands full with all the carry on stuff. The last security checkpoint is very thorough. One of our bags is given extra scrutiny. It’s full of things we purchased in China. They finally decide we aren’t trying to bring in anything lethal and we’re waved through. We pick up food from McDonalds on the way to the gate. Our layover in Chicago is 4 hours. We could have tried to catch an earlier flight, but we weren’t sure how long it would take us to get through Customs and Immigration. As it happens, the earlier flight was delayed 40 minutes. We could have made it, but we’re grateful to have some time to regroup and take our time eating.

The flight from Chicago to Minneapolis leaves around 8:30 p.m. and takes an hour. I happen to sit next to a young woman that was adopted in Hong Kong 22 years ago. We have fun talking about her experience and ours. We enjoy two sunsets tonight- one in Chicago and one in Minneapolis. The flight is over before we know it. The Mpls. airport is virtually deserted at 9:30 p.m. The quiet is nice after the mayhem in Chicago. We’re met at the luggage carousel by our family. It’s Uncle Bill, Aunt Tami, and “Grandma” Linda! It’s really great to see familiar faces. We’ve been traveling for over 24 hours. We’re tired, but exhilarated to be home with Sarah! We get home at 10:30 p.m. When we walk into the house, it looks different to me. I guess we’ve been living in a hotel room for too long.

Hope you enjoyed reading this long winded entry. Finally had time to sit and write while the kids are asleep. It’s 1:30 a.m., but Tim and I aren’t quite sleepy enough to go to bed yet. We’d like to thank everyone for all your good wishes and prayers on our journey to adopt Sarah.

Stay tuned for more info and photos!

Margaret

Our Last Full Day in China!!

2009-06-10T21:45:00.003-05:00

Wed. 6/10/09

Today we started packing our suitcases. Wow, I don’t remember buying all this stuff. After an hour or so of shuffling things around we had to go and finalize Sarah’s Visa at the U.S. Consulate office. The area around the U.S. Consulate has some very modern looking buildings with new skyscraper construction. There was a lot of security. No cameras, no water, no cell phones, etc. After a few signatures and a swearing in ceremony, we were finished. The last hurdle is to go through Immigration at the Chicago Airport Immigration office. Then Sarah will be a U.S. citizen.Our group met for our last supper at La Dolce Vita (Italian restaurant). It’s comforting to have pizza and pasta after all the Chinese food. We thought it would be easy on our stomachs before leaving for home. We look forward to seeing everyone when we get back to the Minnesota!

Power Shopping & “Red Couch” Photos

2009-06-10T17:46:00.004-05:00

Tues. 6/9/09

We took our time at breakfast today. Margaret and Jenna did some power shopping while Sarah and I went to Starbucks to hang out and have coffee. Can’t wait to make my own mocha at home! We met up at Subway to get a couple of BMT sandwiches for lunch. They tasted great!!

In the afternoon, everyone in our travel group met at the White Swan Hotel for the traditional “Red Couch” group photos. Sarah was the only kid that wasn’t dressed in traditional Chinese clothes. It wasn’t for lack of trying. We tried to put a Chinese dress on her. She put up a fuss and started to cry. Then we tried a Chinese pajama outfit. That didn’t work either. We went to the hotel early so Molly, our guide, could talk to her about putting on a Chinese outfit. Molly talked to her for 15 minutes, but wasn’t successful either. Sarah ended up wearing her favorite orange panda t-shirt from the Great Wall of China. We took lots of group and family photos on the couches and by the indoor waterfall. Don’t know if we got any photos where all of us were looking at the camera at the same time. Oh well!!

On Wednesday, we go to the U.S. Consulate office to finalize Sarah’s Visa and get her passport. It'll be our last full day in China.

Jenna & Sarah Tell All

2009-06-09T20:28:00.007-05:00

Mon. 6/8/09

Jenna's thoughts:

The thing I liked the most about our China trip was meeting my little sister, Sarah. I love her a lot. It’s fun to play with her. We like to run around the hotel room & up and down the hallway. We like to tickle each other on the bed and have pillow fights.

It’s hard to share my mom and dad with a sister. I know she’s smaller than me and needs their help a lot, but I’m not used to sharing their attention. I feel mad and jealous a lot!

I liked walking on the Great Wall of China. It’s a neat place. It was really hard walking up all of the steps. I got tired. We had to stop and rest a couple of times before we got to the top. I was kind of scared climbing back down. It’s really steep and the steps are all different sizes. I’m glad mom and dad held my hand on the way down.

A couple of nights ago, we went to a Thai restaurant for supper. It was taking them a long time to bring out our food. I was playing with my chopsticks and put one of them in my mouth. I found out it’s not a good idea to put a chopstick too far down my throat. I spit up. Boy, was I embarrassed!

I like visiting China, but I’m ready to go home. I can’t wait to see my friends. I miss Lucy and Abby, too. It’ll be fun to show Sarah around our house. I wonder if she’ll want to sleep with me in my bed. Hmmm . . . guess I’ll have to wait and see about that.

Sarah's thoughts:

I’m not sure what happened to me a week ago. One day, I was living with my foster family and the next day I went home with some people I didn’t know. I’m still mad about it. Sometimes I’m scared, too. Why did my foster Ma-Ma and Ba-Ba send me away? Everything is different now. The new people are pretty nice, but I don’t understand a word they say and they don’t understand me. It makes it hard to tell them what I want and need. I’ve been kind of naughty when I don’t get my way. I cry and throw tantrums. My foster family spoiled me and gave me everything I wanted. My new family doesn’t understand that. They don’t spoil me. It’s really frustrating! I hope I can get them to change. I’m going to keep on trying. We’ll see what happens.

I like Jenna, my Jie-Jie (sister). My daddy is nice, too. I like it when he feeds me and takes care of me. I’m not too sure about my mommy yet. She seems O.K. My sister and daddy seem to think she’s nice. I haven’t decided yet.

I really like to eat. I have kind of a big tummy. Most of the clothes that my new family brought for me are kind of small. What’s up with that? When it comes to clothes, I’m particular about what I wear. My mommy and daddy try to get me to put on clothes that I don’t like. Boy, I cry and wrestle around with them to stop. I have a couple of t-shirts that I like and that’s about it. They bought some Chinese outfits for me, but I don’t want to wear them. Molly went shopping with us, so she could talk to me and ask me what I liked. I told her I didn’t like any of the dresses or outfits in the stores.

I really miss my foster family, especially when I wake up from naps and go to bed at night. It makes me cry. Once I start crying, it’s hard to stop. My daddy tries to make me feel better. My mommy tries, too, but I don’t like her touching me when I’m upset.

P.S. Our group went to the Yuntai Gardens to sightsee this morning. It’s a beautiful place. They have a big waterfall, a small lake with fish, a conservatory with beautiful plants, and manicured gardens. We liked the huge clock made out of flowers by Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. There are lots of life sized cartoon characters for the kids to see. There were many gardeners working diligently to maintain the lawn and gardens.

It was pretty hot and steamy when we first got to the gardens. Chinese people bring umbrellas to keep the sun off them. An hour later, it started to sprinkle. The rain felt kind of nice, but made it more humid. Good thing we brought our umbrellas, too.

Finally a Day of Rest!!

2009-06-08T07:34:00.006-05:00

Sun. 6/7/09

No big plans for today. After breakfast, we headed to the playroom at the hotel. Jenna and Sarah had fun playing on the slide, rocking on the horses, and kicking balls around the room. We had the place to ourselves. Sarah loves to imitate her big sister. When she saw Jenna slide headfirst down the slide, she couldn’t wait to try it out for herself. She’s a daredevil.

We took a leisurely walk around Shamian Island later morning. We see people of all ages playing badminton every day. Some of the small parks have play areas for kids, some have benches, and some have exercise equipment. We’ve noticed that most of the people exercise in the evenings when it’s cooler.

At night, many of the buildings are lit up with neon colors. One of the buildings near our hotel projects advertisements on the entire building. It’s got to be 20 stories high!!

Late this afternoon, one member of each family met with Molly to finish up the last of the adoption paperwork. Hallelujah!! Margaret is the paperwork person in our family.

Five families met for supper tonight at Lucy’s. Tim and I split an order of sweet & sour chicken and you guessed it - french fries! Jenna ate spaghetti. Sarah ate two ears of corn on the cob and egg & noodle soup. After supper, the kids enjoyed running around the park by Lucy’s. There’s a large open area with trees, shrubbery, and planters full of flowers. One of the older kids picked off a flower petal for her mom and pretty soon all of the kids were plucking off flower petals. One of the planters got a little bare looking . . . . oops!

We picked up our laundry on the way back to the hotel. Many of the small shops take in laundry for the tourists. We’ve been told it all ends up at the same place to be washed. When we get back to the room, we see that two of Margaret’s shirts and her pajama bottoms have yellow stains on them. What’s going on?? Guess we’ll have to complain tomorrow. Good thing it’s almost time to head home! We didn't bring that many clothes on the trip.

Everyone in our group is counting down the days left in China. On Monday, our group plans to go sightseeing at Yuntai Gardens. It’s a 20 minute bus ride from Shamian Island.

PLEASE POST COMMENTS TO OUR SITE. We absolutely LOVE reading them. It makes us feel like we’re not so far away from home. Thanks to those that have already posted. Hoping to hear from everyone soon!

Visa Photos & Medical Exam Day

2009-06-07T09:18:00.005-05:00

Sat. 6/6/09

Loaded up on food at the breakfast buffet again. The kids eat their weight in watermelon and noodles every day. Jenna prefers to eat her food with chopsticks most of the time. I can’t seem to get the hang of using them. Sarah isn’t picky. Whatever can get the food to her mouth the fastest is her preferred method.

The dreaded medical exam day has finally arrived! Jenna and Samantha stay at the hotel with Peggy, Diane’s sister. There’s no need for them to come with us. They’ll be much happier watching a video. Four families meet Molly in the lobby at 9:15 am. A new family flew into Guangzhou yesterday afternoon. This is their second adoption, too. Their older daughter is 4 yrs. old and is from Hunan province. This is the same province that Jenna and Samantha are from.

We all walk 2 blocks to get the kids’ photos taken for their visas. We’re done in 5 minutes. We walk one more block and we’re at the Medical Exam Building. It’s 9:30 am. We seem to be the first group here this morning. Hopefully, we’ll get done quickly. Oh, I forgot . . . we’re in China!! Nothing gets done quickly here. Surprise – no temperature checks today. What’s up with that? We sit and wait. We pass the time talking with the other families and swatting mosquitoes. Another group of 6 families come in and they get to go first. Bummer! Finally, it’s our turn. There are 3 stations to go to: Ear/Nose/Throat; height/weight/temperature check; and checking out internal organs and listening to the heart & lungs. Sarah passes all of them with no problem. Next come the dreaded shots. We sit and wait and wait and wait some more. Finally, our turn comes. Molly talks to the nurses about the shots. Sarah understands what they’re talking about and tells Molly “no shots” and starts to cry. It’s really hard to watch her getting stuck 6 times. She gets two shots in each leg and one shot in each arm. She cries for a couple of minutes. We distract her with candy and goldfish crackers. She stops crying and starts to chow down on the snacks. Sarah is one tough kid!! We have to wait 30 minutes to see if she has a reaction to any of the shots. Thirty minutes later, we leave the clinic. It’s 11:45 am. We were at the clinic for 2 1/2 hrs!

Back at the hotel, we hang out in the hallway with the Barths. The kids are running around. Jenna is practicing her sommersaults on the hard hallway floor. Sarah imitates her and tries a sommersault, too. She tries to tuck her head and rolls sideways. It’s pretty comical. Jenna watches Samantha doing back ward flips with her dad. She holds onto her dad’s hands and walks up his legs and does a backward flip. Jenna soon masters that skill with Tim. Sarah sees big sis doing something new and wants to try it, too. She doesn’t have much luck walking up Tim’s legs. She's too wobbly. Tim helps her out. Remember, this kid had 6 shots about an hour ago. She’s a trooper!!

After lunch, Jenna and Sarah are chasing each other from one bedroom to the other bedroom. All of a sudden, we hear Sarah screaming. She put her hand in the hinge side of the door when Jenna was shutting it. Four fingers have crease marks on them. I grab a cold beverage out of the mini refrigerator to ice it down. We don’t think any fingers are broken because she can move them. She cries for a really long time. It’s hard to comfort her with words because she doesn’t understand us and we don’t understand her. We call Molly to see if she can stop by and she calls the front desk to send us up some ice. We take Sarah out for a walk to distract her. It seems to work. She plays with the ice bag and calms down. This has been a really hard day for Sarah. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a calmer day for all of us. The rest of the afternoon passes uneventfully, thank goodness.

We meet up with 3 families for supper at La Dolce Vita (Italian place). They have great pizza and spaghetti. We order the vegetable soup for Sarah. She likes it a lot. Jenna eats most of the spaghetti (Sarah got a little bit) and then wants to eat our Margherita pizza, too. Both kids are bottomless pits. Maybe if we quit feeding them they wouldn’t have so much energy. It’s worth thinking about . . . .

The kids are finally in bed around 8:15 p.m. They fall asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Tim and I haven’t quite figure out why the hotel has thick comforters with no sheets on every bed. Remember it's very hot and humid here. We're guessing it’s because people keep their rooms very cool with the air conditioning. Just another of life’s mysteries.

Gotta get to bed and catch up on my sleep. It’s almost 10:30 pm. More paperwork is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Finally, the two I-800 families catch a little break. We have less paperwork to do here since we did more in the U.S. We’ll get to meet the other two families that flew into Guangzhou today.

Shopping for Jade and Pearls

2009-06-05T20:42:00.005-05:00

Fri. 6/5/09

Got on the bus at 8:30 am for our sightseeing and shopping excursion. The first stop is at the Six Banyan Pagoda (Liurong Temple) to have the children blessed. We were here four yrs. ago with Jenna. It’s a beautiful place. The temple was founded in the Song Dynasty (AD 420-479). The main attraction is the Flowery Pagoda, which stands in the center of the temple. The Octagonal Pagoda is 57 meters tall. There are half a dozen very large, tall gold Buddhas scattered around in different “halls”.

Our second stop is at a store that specializes in jade. We bought a jade necklace for all of the “girls” in our family as a keepsake. Decided to buy the traditional round circle of jade with a hole in the center on a red thread. Sarah got the smallest circle (nickel size), Jenna got a little bigger circle, and Margaret got the biggest circle (quarter size).

Our third stop is shopping at the Pearl Market in the basement of a mall. Oh my gosh, what a rabbit warren of small shops! There are pearls of every size and color imaginable. Each shop seems to specialize in different colors of pearls or style of pearl jewelry. The people in each shop are busy stringing necklaces and making earrings. Luckily, we had Molly along to help us talk to the shopkeepers. None of them spoke English. Tim bought a small smiling Buddha carved out of jade. We managed to leave the mall without buying any pearls.

The weather is hot and sticky again today. We bring bottled water with us every time we leave the hotel. We love the new backpack because it has two pouches to hold our water bottles. We spend time every day boiling water and refilling the bottles. We have a small refrigerator in our room to keep the water cold.

Supper tonight was at Lucy’s again. I think this is the third time we’ve eaten there in 5 days! We ordered noodles and rice for the kids and french fries, garlic bread, beer and coke zero for the adults. Not the most nutritious supper, but it tastes good! We love sitting outside on Lucy’s back patio. Tonight, we sat in front of a couple of large fans. It felt great to have cool air blow on us and keep the mosquitoes away. Jenna and Sarah have lots of mosquito bites. They seem to prey on the kids more than the adults. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to bring mosquito repellent with us.

Jenna and Sarah are bonding more each day. They were laughing and giggling getting ready for bed. It’s great to see Sarah smile and hear her laugh. Whatever Jenna does, Sarah imitates it. It’s pretty comical to watch. We’re guessing that Sarah will want to sleep with Jenna in her bed once we get home.

Saturday morning is the medical exam for Sarah. We’ve been dreading this visit. Due to our I-800 paperwork status, Sarah is not exempt from receiving vaccinations. The rules changed a couple months before we started our paperwork. Don’t understand the reasoning behind the rule change. Obviously, the people making the rules don’t have adopted children. We were really hoping Sarah wouldn’t need as many shots since she’s almost 2 ½ yrs. old. Molly told us three days ago that she would need 4 shots!! Then yesterday, Molly found out Sarah would need 2 additional shots!! We thought about splitting them up (3 and 3), but if Sarah develops a temperature after the first 3, she won’t be able to get the last 3 until her temperature is normal. Timing is critical, so we’ve opted to get all 6 shots at once. It’s going to be a really tough day for our little girl!! Hopefully, she won’t develop a temperature from any of the shots. If she does, we won’t be able to leave for home on Thurs. 6/11.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Margaret

More Exploring and Shopping on Shamian Island

2009-06-05T20:38:00.004-05:00

Thurs. 6/4/09

We wandered around Shamian Island again today. It’s a beautiful place – very lush and tropical with lots of trees and greenery. We head west in the morning to cover some new territory. Found a few shops we’d never been in before. The Island is very interesting. There are large whimsical bronze statues on many of the street corners. Every day, we see beautiful girls dressed in bridal gowns getting their photos taken. Don’t know if it’s for commercial purposes or if they’re really getting married.

Sarah’s meltdowns are now shorter and not as intense as before. We think she’s becoming more comfortable with us. We’ll see how today goes. We’re so glad that Molly can talk to her. Sarah is very verbal in Mandarin Chinese and understands everything that Molly says to her. Sarah loves to sing and dance. We videotaped her singing to herself the other day. We hope to get more songs videotaped in the coming days.

Mom and Jenna enjoyed some time together this afternoon. Mom had promised that she would take Jenna shopping for new sunglasses. Jenna has a dozen pairs at home, but none of them were packed. They went shopping with Diane, Samantha & Peggy. Meanwhile, Dad tried to get Sarah to take a nap. She had other ideas, so I decided to give her a bath. Judging by her reaction, it appeared to be her first bath in a tub. She just stood in the tub and looked at the water. After a few minutes, she started to splash a bit. We rinsed and she was ready to get out. Entire bath took less than 5 minutes. The two of us went on a walk with the stroller and within 5 minutes Sarah was fast asleep, head bobbing as we walked along the cobblestone sidewalk and streets.

We enjoyed supper at a Thai restaurant called the Cow and Bridge. Food was great, but a bit more expensive than the other restaurants on the Island. They didn’t provide regular napkins, but gave us wet wipes instead. We were charged for each one! Next time, we’ll know better and bring our own.

On Friday morning, we’re going sightseeing and shopping.

Tim

P.S. Hope you enjoy the photos of Jenna & Samantha with their new Panda sunglasses!

Exploring Shamian Island

2009-06-04T18:04:00.004-05:00

Wed. 6/3/09

Hallelujah! We (Tim & Marg) finally got a good 8 hours of sleep! The kids have been sleeping well all along, of course. Went down to the breakfast buffet at the hotel. We have the non-smoking section to ourselves. We enjoy eating a leisurely breakfast with the other two adoptive families. The hotel serves both American and Chinese food. We load up our plates every day and go back for seconds and thirds. Both Jenna and Sarah love eating the watermelon. They can’t get enough of it. Jenna is in heaven eating noodles every day for breakfast and supper. Sarah likes noodles and rice dishes. She likes to feed herself. She initially balked at wearing a bib, but now she’s O.K. with it.

Took some photos in the hotel lobby after breakfast. The girls are color coordinated, but Ba-Ba is not (guess he didn’t get the memo). After breakfast, Sarah had another meltdown when we got back to the room. Going back to the hotel room seems to trigger her crying.

We quickly decided to go out for a walk and some shopping with the Barths and Bradshaws. It’s extremely hot and humid today. Everybody’s sticky and moving slowly. We wander into shops to see what they have and wander back out. We decide to go to the White Swan Hotel to cool off. They have an indoor waterfall and ponds with large colored fish. The kids enjoy watching the fish. We take group and family photos in front of the waterfall and on the famous red couches. Sarah loves running all over the hotel. Tim and I tag team on her because she’s constantly moving. She’s very fast . . . if you don’t keep your eye on her she can be gone in a flash. She loves to imitate whatever Jenna is doing. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes not.

By 2:00 pm we’re back at the hotel. Sarah is crying in the room again. We try to distract her and she falls asleep. By 3:30 pm, it’s raining and thundering. We get in the van for our appointment at the police station with the other adoptive families. They need to video tape the kids with us. One more step completed!

At bedtime tonight, we sang songs and kissed good night. This is the first night that Sarah didn’t fuss about going to bed. Yippee!!

On Monday, Tim moved the twin beds together in the kid’s room to make one gigantic bed. He’s been sleeping with Jenna and Sarah.

Gotta get to bed. It’s still thundering and raining.

Margaret, Tim, Jenna & Sarah

It’s Official - Sarah is a Piepkorn!!

2009-06-04T06:48:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

This morning, we went back to the Provincial Office to finalize our adoption. We filled out more paperwork, had our photo taken with Sarah, and spoke to two government officials. Sarah is now officially a Piepkorn!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a Carrefour KangWang store. They have clothes, groceries, books, toys, etc. (think of Walmart). Sarah is a little bigger around the tummy than we anticipated. We looked for more clothes for her. The children’s dept. didn’t have much of a selection. We had fun looking for snack food. Bought Pringles, Lay’s potato chips, Kellogg’s Honey Nut Cheerios, Oreo cookies, Chinese rice cookies, Werther’s caramels, suckers, and Coke Zero. Got back to our hotel after 1:00 p.m. Everyone was hot, tired and cranky. The weather is sweltering in Guangzhou.

While we were trying to eat lunch, Sarah had another melt down. Not sure what provoked it this time. She took off her red tennis shoes (she loves them) and put on the pink sandals she had on when we got her. Sarah screamed for her foster Ma-Ma for over an hour and tried to get us to open the hotel room door so she could leave. Finally, Tim opened his arms wide and invited her to get a hug. She initially resisted, but the second time he opened his arms she ran to him. Sarah wanted to sit in Tim’s lap to finish the lunch she’d started a long time ago. Sarah was pretty exhausted from crying, so she took a nap with Tim and Jenna. She fell asleep laid out on top of her Ba-Ba (dad). He was unsuccessful trying to get her to stretch out beside him. She’s pretty heavy (24.5 lbs), so Tim didn’t have much of a nap.

Tonight we ate supper at an Italian restaurant. It was a nice change of pace. We ordered a pizza and spaghetti. The food was great! After supper, Sarah bonded with Margaret. Jenna and Margaret were in the ladies room and Sarah got scared that her Ma-Ma was leaving her. Sarah grabbed her backpack (she takes it everywhere we go) and headed after them crying for Ma-Ma. She ran to Margaret and jumped into her arms with a big smile.

On Wednesday, we finally have some free time . . . . hallelujah!! We’ve been busy every day completing paperwork and running to appointments. We’re looking forward to exploring Shamian Island and getting in some family bonding time.

Gotcha Day!!!

2009-06-02T21:20:00.004-05:00

Mon. 6/1/09

This morning, Molly took us to the Bank of China to exchange US dollars and traveler’s checks to Chinese yuan. The conversion rate is 6.8 yuan to 1 US dollar. We need the yuan for the orphanage fees today. The bank didn’t want to cash our traveler’s checks all at once, so Molly took us to the White Swan Hotel to see what their rules were for the day. The hotel exchanged all of them for us. We had a stack of yuan 4 inches high, which is a little tough to stuff inconspicuously into a money belt!!

At 2:00 pm, the 3 families in our group walked to the Medical Exam building to be scanned for elevated temperatures. We all brought bottles of cold water to drink before our temps were taken. Everyone was normal (temp wise) and we headed to the Provincial Office at the Government Center for Adoption. Surprise, we were all scanned for elevated temps again before we could enter the adoption room! Our group was the first to arrive, but the room was soon filled with 20+ families waiting for their children.

We waited impatiently knowing Sarah was in the next room. Our turn finally arrived and our passport and documents were reviewed . . . . . and then Sarah was walking towards us!! She has short hair and is wearing a cute pink and white sundress with pink sandals!! We opened her backpack so she could see the books, toys and food. She zeroed in on the goldfish crackers and they were gone in a flash. Molly just informed us that Sarah is potty trained. Wow, what a surprise!! We brought diapers with us. Guess we’ll be shopping for underwear tomorrow. Sarah is a very determined, strong willed little girl. Oh my gosh, that sounds just like Jenna!! We were told that Sarah was spoiled by her foster family. That should be interesting . . . . . .
I
The four of us left for our hotel about an hour later. Our group went back to Lucy’s for supper. This time we were a little more adventurous - stir fried rice and noodle dishes. Sarah likes to eat!! She can put away just as much food as Jenna. She likes to feed herself. She’s very self- sufficient. We took a short walk around the park and then headed back to the hotel. By this time everyone was tired and ready for bed. Sarah had her first meltdown at bedtime. Reality set in when we got into bed and started reading books. She started to cry for mama for the next 1 ½ hours. We knew she wanted her foster mom. She finally was so exhausted from crying that she fell asleep with BaBa (dad). She slept for 10 hours.

We are all anxious to see how things turn out tomorrow. We are exhausted and stressed out. The trip is wearing on all of us. Jenna is doing well. Plans for tomorrow include finalizing the adoption and doing some grocery shopping.

Arrived In Guangzhou, China

2009-06-02T05:48:00.002-05:00

Sunday. 5/31/09

Left Beijing for Guangzhou on Sunday around noon. Flight took a little under 3 hours. Not sure why, but the plane stopped at the far end of the runway to let us off onto the hot tarmac. Temp around 90 degrees. Got crammed onto a bus for a 5 minute ride to the terminal (seemed like a lot longer). Molly, our CHSFS rep, was there to greet us with a welcoming smile.

We’re staying at the Victory Hotel on Shamian Island. We have 2 rooms with a connecting door. Makes it handy to put Jenna to bed early. There are 2 other families from CHSFS staying at the Victory. One of the families traveled with us on our first adoption trip. They have a 5 yr. old daughter, Samantha. It’s great that the kids know each other and can play together.

Ate supper at Lucy’s. It’s a favorite among adoptive families. They have a large outdoor patio with big shade trees. We weren’t very adventurous ordering our food. Got ham and cheese sandwiches with french fries. We’re feeling punchy from jet lag and we haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since we left home.

We’ll try to post photos soon. We promise :)

Margaret, Tim & Jenna (and tomorrow Sarah)

Touring the Great Wall of China!

2009-05-30T08:05:00.007-05:00

Sat. 5/30/09

Today we walked on the Great Wall of China! It’s a unique experience that we’ve been able to experience twice at the Badaling site. Today, the sky was a beautiful blue, the landscape was green, the temperature was in the 80’s, and the wind was howling. Four years ago, we climbed in snow and ice with the temperature in the 30’s and a howling wind. Seriously, the wind gusts can almost blow you sideways. You need to watch every step since no two steps are the same height. There were lots of other tourists to dodge on the way up and down. Jenna did a great job climbing with us. She got a little scared on the way down because it’s so steep.

We also toured a porcelain factory and a couple of the Olympic venues. We saw the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube up close.

We leave for Guangzhou in southern China on Sunday, 5/31, at 12:15pm. It’s a 3 hour flight. Monday afternoon is “Gotcha day” where we’ll finally meet Sarah. We’re very excited!

We haven’t been sleeping very well. Guess we’re still adjusting to jet lag. Hopefully, tonight we’ll all get a good night’s sleep.

Greetings from China by way of Minnetonka

2009-05-29T09:50:00.009-05:00

Friday 5/29/09 (5:00 am)

Title: Can’t Sleep, Might as Well Update Our Blog

Tim here - I think it’s 5 am on Friday (MN time). I’m trying to put some thoughts down from the last couple of days. I’m not sure this will make much sense, since I’m low on brain power, but wanted to give everyone an update on our trip so far.

Jenna and I are wide awake. Two hours ago (3 am), I got out the Ipod for Jenna. She’s watching movies while Marg tries to sleep some more. Rough night with the time change and trying to catch up on all the sleep missed from the long flight from Chicago to Beijing.

Today’s plans are to see Tianiamen Square and the Forbidden City in the morning, eat lunch, and then go to the Panda exhibit at the Beijing Zoo. Several new pandas have been born recently. Jenna, Samantha, and Mandi should enjoy the zoo.

Thurs. 5/28/09 (I think)

Title: Our Flight Ends in Beijing, China!

We passed over the International Dateline enroute to Beijing, China. We jumped 13 hours ahead in time.

The flight was really long . . . . . but we finally made it to Beijing. Yippee! Jenna was great for most of the flight. The last 4 hours were tough. She was so wound up and overtired that she didn’t get to sleep until 10:30 p.m. (MN time). She finally slept for 1 ½ hrs. until the overhead lights came on and woke her up. It was time to eat again. Not sure if we were eating breakfast, lunch or supper at that point in time! None of us slept very much on the plane. We’d take 30-60 minute power naps every couple of hours.

We had a little excitement once we landed in Beijing. We were told to stay in our seats while a medical team in white smocks, goggles, face masks and rubber gloves entered the plane. We were all individually checked for elevated temperatures with a scanner device held to our foreheads. We'd heard anyone registering over 100.6 degrees F would be quarantined. Three rows behind us, a college student was scanned repeatedly by the medical team. They finally decided she was OK and everyone was able to leave the plane. We had to turn in a medical questionnaire and get scanned again with thermal imaging as we walked to get our luggage.

The Beijing airport was much bigger than when we were here four years ago. It was expanded for the Olympics. Wow . . . . it was huge!! We were looking forward to seeing Peter, our guide from 4 years ago, but he had a family emergency and couldn't make it. We were bummed. Our replacement guide, Chandler, met us and took us to our hotel. We’re staying at the Novotel Peace Hotel. Our group (three families) quickly dumped the luggage in our rooms and headed off to eat our first authentic Chinese meal.

We went to bed around 8:00 pm. Marg and I woke up every 2-3 hours. I finally got up at 3 am when Jenna announced she was wide awake.

Hi, this is Uncle Bill blogging for Tim, Marg, Jenna & Sarah

Due to the paranoid nature of the Chinese government, access to external blogs has been prohibited from China. Tim and Margaret can't access their own blog. I'll be updating the blog site via their e-mail posts.

Wed. 5/27/09

Title: Our Journey to Sarah Begins

Wednesday morning, we got up at 4:00 a.m. Woke up a sleepy Jenna at 5 a.m. Ate a quick breakfast and packed up the last of our stuff. Uncle Bill got to our house at 5:40 a.m to drive us to the airport. We took a couple of quick photos outside before we left our house. Just think . . . the next time we come home there will be four of us. Our flight from Mpls. to Chicago leaves at 9:15 a.m. No problems on the flight. We happened to meet the Barths when we were eating lunch at the airport restaurant. They were on our first adoption trip. Their daughter is from the same orphanage as Jenna. It’s quite a coincidence that we are both adopting again at the same time. It’s good seeing them. Our flight to Beijing leaves at 12:45 pm. The plane was full and arrived in Beijing at 2:38 pm (Beijing time). I would love to calculate how long the flight was, but my brain is on overload. Take care everyone.

Tim

Oh, Oh - Is Jenna Ready To Go?

2009-05-20T07:26:00.003-05:00

Jenna’s right ear has been plugged for 4 -5 days. She's had a lingering cold, she's been taking swimming lessons, and we think she has allergies to tree pollen. We make an appointment with her pediatrician. Bad news, Jenna has an infection in her right ear!! We get a prescription for antibiotics and pray that her ear will clear up before we fly to China. If you're reading this, please say a prayer for Jenna, too.

So Many Details . . . . . So Little Time

2009-05-18T07:24:00.004-05:00

There are so many things to do before we go to China!! Hope we don't lose our sanity (what's left of it anyway) before we leave the U.S. We're going to need our wits about us on the trip. Keep us in your prayers, please.

Here's our first attempt at packing. We're trying to keep our suitcases light on this trip.

We're Leaving On May 27th!

2009-05-15T07:23:00.001-05:00

We’re leaving for Beijing, China on Wednesday, May 27!! We’re finally going to meet Sarah and bring her home. “Gotcha Day” is Monday, June 1. We can’t wait to hold Sarah in our arms.

Plane Reservations are Made

2009-05-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

Our U.S. Consulate date has been confirmed. It’s June 9. We can make our plane reservations!

More Swine Flu Reported . . . . . Bummer!!

2009-05-11T07:13:00.004-05:00

Another swine flu case has been confirmed in Chengdu, China. Our adoption agency makes us sign a disclaimer document before they’ll give us our TA document. We sign it. We’ve waited over a year to adopt Sarah and we don’t want to wait any longer. Besides, there's no guarantee that things with the swine flu will get better if we wait to travel. They could get worse. We pray that our trip will hold no unpleasant surprises. If you're reading this entry, we'd really appreciate prayers for a safe and uneventful trip to China. Thanks!

Travel Approval

2009-05-08T07:11:00.001-05:00

We receive Travel Approval – TA!! Our adoption agency requests a U.S. Consulate appointment for us in Guangzhou, China today.

Passports Come Back to Us

2009-05-06T07:10:00.002-05:00

Our passports are safely returned to us with our new Visa pages. We now have China’s permission to enter their country.

Another Document Approved! First Swine Flu Case in Hong Kong

2009-04-15T07:05:00.003-05:00

Our DS-230 documents are approved for Sarah's visa from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou.

The first swine flu case has been confirmed in Hong Kong. We hear that all of the people on the plane are quarantined in a hotel for a week. China is requesting that adoptive families stay home.

Best thing about Spring is New Clothes

2009-04-14T21:38:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone. It's spring time in China. We're waiting to get travel approval (TA). We are so ready to travel. We're hoping to get our TA the first or second week of May. Once we receive it, it'll be another 2 weeks before we can actually travel. Our adoption agency needs time to make arrangements for us.

U.S. Immigration Step Completed

2009-04-01T06:59:00.001-05:00

Our I-800 is approved!! This document tells us we can adopt Xin Yu. Now we wait for the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou and the CCAA in Beijing to approve a couple more documents.

We Receive the LOA from China

2009-03-23T06:55:00.001-05:00

Yahoo, we finally receive our Letter of Acceptance – LOA!! We’ve waited 136 days for it instead of the average wait time of 90 days. But it is here, what a relief.

Billing Issues?

2009-03-15T06:48:00.000-05:00

Our adoption agency asks their representative in Beijing to inquire about our LOA. It appears there’s a billing issue that’s been holding it up. We wonder how long it’s been sitting on someone’s desk.

We've decided on a Name!!

2009-03-02T06:47:00.001-06:00

Drum roll please . . . . . The name we've chosen for our daughter is Sarah Joy Xinyu Piepkorn.

Fingers Crossed

2009-02-25T06:46:00.000-06:00

We’ve got our fingers crossed that our LOA will come soon.

Contemplating Names for our new Daughter

2009-01-20T06:43:00.002-06:00

We’ve been contemplating 3 names for our new daughter: Julia, Mia and Sarah. We decide to “try out” each name for awhile and see how we like it. Jenna is definitely set on one name . . . she likes Sarah. We think it’s because there’s a Cera in the “Land Before Time” dinosaur videos that Jenna watches! Wonder what Xin Yu would think to be named after a dinosaur?

Birthday Girl!

2008-12-22T22:56:00.001-06:00

Xin Yu is 2 years old today! We were so sure we’d have her in our arms by now and safely home.

It's getting colder in southern China

2008-12-14T21:22:00.001-06:00

Xin Yu here.
It's my turn to say something! It's getting colder in China, but I wanted to get my picture taken for my mom, dad, and big sister. I sure hope they can come and get me soon. I know they love me a lot and wish the paperwork would move faster. The new adoption rules have really slowed things down.

LID!

2008-11-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

Our dossier has been officially logged in at the CCAA in Beijing, China.

Dossier To China

2008-10-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

Our dossier has finally been sent to China. We are DTC!!!!!!!!

U.S. Immigration Doc's Approved At Long Last!

2008-10-21T22:44:00.002-05:00

We’ve waited another 45 days for our I-800A to be approved after the original 90 days. After almost 5 months of waiting, we finally receive word that our I-800A has been approved!!

More Surprises

2008-09-12T22:42:00.001-05:00

After 2 weeks, the updated home study is completed. But now we find out that Immigration also needs us to get clearances from Child Protective Services in every state we’ve each lived in since we were 18 years old!! The two of us have lived in 5 states. We send out the paperwork and it takes another 3 weeks to get them all back.

Waiting . . . . .

2008-08-30T22:39:00.001-05:00

It’s been 90 days since we sent off our I-800A documents. We haven’t heard anything. On day 94, we get a letter in the mail from U.S. Immigration. We’re excited because we’re sure our I-800A has finally been approved! But no, Immigration is requesting additional information. We are seriously bummed out. We contact our adoption agency to see what’s going on. They contact Immigration and find out that our home study needs to be rewritten to conform to the new I-800 guidelines.

It's August and Xin Yu is growing up

2008-08-14T21:10:00.001-05:00

We received new photos of our little girl. Our little baby is becoming a little girl. We are so excited to travel to China and go get her. Hope our paperwork goes through US Immigration Services quickly.

Mom, Dad, it's my turn to talk. Hi everyone, Jenna here. Mom and Dad have been talking to me about what it means to have a little sister. Hmm, sharing toys? Well maybe I can share some of them. One thing I want to do for my little sister is to hold her when she cries. Sure hope to go see her soon. I found out that I have to get a shot before I can go to China. That doesn't sound like fun. I'll have to think about. Talk to everyone soon. Bye,
Jenna

Home Study Mailed Off

2008-05-27T22:30:00.001-05:00

Yippee, our home study and I-800A paperwork is mailed off to U.S. Immigration. It should take 90 days to get our I-800A approved.

New U.S. Immigration Procedures

2008-05-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

It's May and we've completed more paperwork. We received an update and some new photos of Xin Yu. Here is one of our favorites. We need to get busy again if we hope to have her home by Christmas. But . . . . . new adoption procedures have been put into place by U.S. Immigration since China is now recognized as a Hague country. There will be more hoops to jump through and longer wait times for adoptive families. We hope this doesn't add too much time onto our wait.

Paperwork ... here we come

2008-04-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

We think that Guan Xin Yu will fit in well with our family. We accept the referral and begin the paperwork to adopt her. The first step is to get our home study updated.

We receive a referral. Could this be our Daughter?

2008-03-31T06:31:00.001-05:00

Our journey for Jenna's sibling . . . on March 31, 2008, we receive a phone call from our adoption agency. They have a referral for us. Her name is Guan Xin Yu. She's 15 months old and has a repaired cleft lip. There are 5 cute photos along with medical information. The translation of her Chinese name: Guan is a type of grass in the city where she lives (Dongguan City). Xin means heart. Yu means rain.

We laugh when we find out her birthday is December 22. That’s the same day as Margaret’s birthday and the day before Jenna’s birthday. We figure that God has a sense of humor! December will be a super busy time for our family if we accept this referral. We wonder how Jenna will like "almost sharing" a birthday with a sister. They would be 3 years apart in age.

A Sibling for Jenna?

2007-03-30T22:10:00.006-05:00

It’s March of 2007. We’re thinking of adopting again. We’d like Jenna to have a sibling. We look into the WIC program (Waiting International Children) at our adoption agency. This program has children with special needs and older children. In May, we fill out the paperwork to get started in the program. WIC referrals come to our agency four times per year.