It is a Great Big Wall

Ok so pictures just don't do it justice. What an amazing site. No wonder it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. So we got there and had to take a cable lift up the mountains (I, Shelley, was scared to death going up. We had another family from Bethany riding up with us and they have a little girl named Anna (adopted from China over four years ago) and she kept saying "Scott if you move too fast in here we will all fall and be doomed" over and over so that was NOT helping my nerves. But it was worth the few minutes of fear to see something so marvelous. And let me tell you Stairmaster has nothing on the Great Wall. It was a work out and a half. The steepness of the steps was horrifying. We saw a couple of people slip down them. CRAZY. Scott decided to venture further than me and as soon as he left me I was surrounded by people talking to me in Chinese and taking my picture. I started to get a little nervous because I was on this great big wall by myself, people speaking some foreign unknown language taking my picture. I can see why celebrities get sick of the paparrazzi. Scott got a little upset because they didn't want his picture as much as they wanted mine and if they didn't take my picture they stared. But I tried to smile and represent America well.

Going back down the mountain wasn't too fun for me either. Scott loved it. I told him NOT to move. He got a picture of me that I think shows my fear well. I truly enjoyed climbing the Great Wall but I really enjoyed my feet hitting solid ground again. After we got off we went to a authentic Chinese/Jade Factory Restuarant. I enjoyed it ....Scott did not. So we are having Pepperoni Pizza for dinner tonight.

We get Anna in less than 24 hours from now. It is hard to believe. I have been very emotional today thinking of her and that in less than a day she'll be with us forever. WOW is all I can say. Next post our family will have grown by one.

Thanks for the comments. It really makes us feel like we aren't so far from home. Please continue to leave comments. We are reading each and everyone.

Love

Scott and Shelley

Here is the picture of me in the cable car (and this was near the bottom)

I thought I would share a video of what we saw when we flew from Detroit to Tokyo. This is also practice for us for when we put the Gotcha video on here. We went to the Chinese Acrobatic Show tonight. It was very good. They are very talented. Still no Jet Lag. The other two couples here are amazed because they both have had jet lag pretty bad. It might hit us tomorrow. We'll see. We go to the Great Wall tomorrow!! I'm so excited. I know it is going to be beautiful. Hopefully the weather will be like it was today. It was very nice. It warmed up and really wasn't very cold. We are having pizza tonight for dinner. Shiyan thought it was a good idea not to try anything to different (food wise) for a day or two. So pizza it is. We did have rice for breakfast this morning. We had other things as well. A funny story. At breakfast, the only drink options weren't things Scott could drink so I tried to ask the waitress for bottled water. She finally brought a menu and I saw Coke and Sprite. So I ordered one. After we finished breakfast, the manager of the buffet came and talked to us and asked if it were common for Americans back in the US to drink sodas for breakfast. She had never seen that before. Also while we were in T-Square a woman came up to me and started talking and talking. Of course I didn't know what she was saying so finally Joy told me that she wanted my picture. She said that many Chinese have never seen foreigners before so she said that'll happen a lot. As we walked through the Forbidden City many people took our picture. We felt like we were famous. So that is all for now. Check the post below this one for pictures from T-Square.

Day 1-Beijing

Wow is really all I can say. We are having a wonderful time. Absolutely no jet lag!! We both slept from about 11:30-7:30. I woke up around 5:30 and checked the clock but then went right back to sleep. Here are some pictures of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Sqaure. Breathtaking and awesome. Enjoy the pictures.

Shelley

Our bums are numb but we are here

We have never been so happy to be off a plane. We have now been up for 29 hours straight. Well Scott got about 2 hours of sleep but not me. All of our planes were on time, easy take off and landing and the best part all of our luggage made the trip with us :).

We got some really cool video of the Alaskan mountains. They were incredible. We are going to put that on here tomorrow which will be later tonight for you all.

We found out from our guide that we are going to T-Square and Forbidden City tomorrow morning. We meet our guide at 9:30 after we have exchanged money, showered and eaten breakfast and somewhere in there got some sleep. Because here it is 11:00 p.m.

Oh and the beds are rock HARD!! but not as hard as the seats on an airplane .....and tonight I don't think that'll be a problem. Two more days till we get our baby girl. Of course I cried on every flight because we were getting closer and closer to her. When we touched down in Beijing we both cried because we were in our daugther's homeland.............FINALLY.

That's it for now. Please leave a comment. We really would like to hear from you while we are half way around the world.

Love you all,
Scott and Shelley in Beijing China :)

And we're off.....

I can't believe we are finally going to China. It has already been an adventure. We have ran around for the last four days (after having two and half years to prepare) almost nonstop. But we are about to have 22 hours of sitting around. Oh and for those of you counting (we have 13 1/2 hours from Detroit to Tokyo, not 12 like I thought) Woohoo an hour and half more on the plane(hope no one missed the sarcasm in that last sentence).

After much prayer, many tears, countless paperwork and a wait that seemed to never end, we are on our way to our sweet baby girl. I cannot believe it. Our next post will be from our daughter's homeland. I thought you might like to see the bags all packed. I don't know how we did it but I think we managed to pack the entire local Wal-mart and Babies R Us in our bags. :)

I cannot leave here without thanking each of you that have played such an important part in our adoption. You have loved us, encouraged us, prayed for us, listened to us complain about the wait and been there for us so many times in so many ways.

Over 2 1/2 years ago, God put a dream in our hearts. That we would travel half way around the world, to a land we never dreamed we would visit to pick up the most precious gift....our daughter. And now that dream is finally coming true:

Habakkuk 2:2-3 (Contemporary English Version)

"2Then the LORD told me:"I will give you my message in the form of a vision. Write it clearly enough to be read at a glance. 3At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting--it will happen!"

God showed that verse to us and WOW how true it is. God is good. I cannot end without thanking our Heavenly Father who has truly been by our side through every step, every tear, every disappointment, every delay and every joy. GOD IS GOOD.

Love,

Scott and Shelley......and soon little Miss Anna

China Itinerary...it's getting more real

So exciting news. We got our schedule for our adoption. We know what we'll be doing everyday, when we'll get Anna and where we'll be each day. Here is the schedule:

February 5, 2009        Arrive in Beijing.  Stay at Days Hotel &
Suites.

February 6, 2009        Orientation meeting at 10:00 a.m.  Acrobatic show
in the afternoon.

February 7, 2009        Visit the Great Wall and Cloisonne Factory;
Tiananman Square & Forbidden City.

February 8, 2009        Flight to Fuzhou; stay at
Lakeside Hotel.  Receive Anna in the afternoon.

February 9, 2009        Adoption registration and notarization.

February 10, 2009       Free day

February 11, 2009       Visit West Lake Park and Fujian Provincial Museum.

February 12, 2009       Visit Old Town Street and Riverside Park.

February 13, 2009       Receive all the documents.   Flight to Guangzhou; stay at
the White Swan Hotel.

February 14, 2009       Meeting at 3:00 p.m. to prepare for the consulate
documents.

February 15, 2009       Free day

February 16, 2009       Medical exam in the morning.

February 17, 2009       Visa appointment.

February 18, 2009       3:00 p.m.  Go to the consulate to take the oath
and pick up visa.

February 19, 2009       Flight to Tokyo.  Connecting
flight to U.S.A. COME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

So that is our schedule.  We are sooooooooooooooooooo excited.  Only two
more weeks.  Praise the Lord.

Gotcha Day Changed????????

We got an update from our agency that we need to be in Anna's province a day longer so we have no choice but to go a day sooner. So we'll go to the province Sunday, February 8th not Monday, February 9th so I think that would mean we get Anna a day sooner. YEAH but that means we only have 2 days in Beijing instead of 3. Right now they are saying that means we'll miss seeing Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We are going to see if we can skip out on the Cloisonne Factory and go on our own and meet up with the group later. We still get to go to The Great Wall. So we shall see. Only three weeks till we leave :).

UPDATE (TUESDAY):

WE GOT AN EMAIL FROM OUR SOCIAL WORKER AND WE WON'T MISS ANYTHING. WE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE GREAT WALL AND THE CLOISONNE FACTORY SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN OUR GUIDE IS GOING TO TAKE SCOTT AND I TO TIANANMEN SQUARE AND THE FORBIDDEN CITY. SO WE WILL HAVE A JAM PACKED TWO DAYS IN BEIJING. FINE BY ME. THE TIME WILL FLY TILL WE GET ANNA