Less than 24 hours left!

We flew into Nanning this morning and I love it here. First of all, instead of being in the single digits with the wind, it's in the mid sixties!

Nanning is famous for their fruit, poultry and sugar cane. It is just so beautiful. There are palm trees everywhere and just lots and lots of greenery and flowers.

Our guide took us to a grocery store where we loaded up on on Oreos, chocolate milk, 4 bottles of water, a liter of Sprite, noodles, a baby bottle, tissues, candy, gum, white milk (Tastes gross!!) and shortbread cookies~ all for $6 US dollars!! Ha! Try to do that at home!

Some of our group then ventured out to walk the streets a little more and check out a department store. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to get out.

When we checked in here at the Majestic Hotel, Alena's crib had already been delivered to our room! It's hard to believe that after all of this time, she will be sleeping (hopefully : ) in it tomorrow!!

I have to take a few minutes to pack some necessites to bring with us tomorrow. We meet at 10:00AM to do some paper work and then we go get the babies at 3:00!

Sophia is having the time of her life here. She amazes me at how she soaks up the sites. Whenever we are on a bus or plane, she just stares out the window. She has enjoyed every minute of our trip so far, with the exception of the food. That has been tricky!!

I look forward to tomorrow's update!!

Love,
Jenni

Hello from Beijing!

We're here and we're really tired!! Our flight turned into a 17 hour one with a stop in Alaska! We got checked into the Plaza Hotel in Beijing at 11:00 last night.

Today we toured Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. All are unbelievable!! Such a great experience, but it was FREEZING!

The photo of Soph and I shows what 17 hrs. straight on a plane will do to you! The rest are from today's touring. We traveled here with a great couple, Bill & Cybil who are from NJ. They are here to bring their daughter, "Amie" home!!

Tomorrow we fly to Nanning in the morning and then Monday we get Alena!! Today we got a report from her foster family~ she just sounds so awesome!

Love,

Jenni

Ready!!

Good thing I took the day off!! Packed all morning, did a dry run of fitting the luggage into Denise & Rich's Pacifica :). Ran to Target for last minute purchases, met Denise for a nice lunch, packed some more, picked Soph up from school, went to the chiropractor, dropped her off at mom's to decorate a Christmas tree, picked up some more last minute purchases, packed some more (see a theme developing? LOL ). Ran to the mall for a wattage converter, Denise picked up our luggage to avoid me packing some more, picked up dinner & Sophia, did some things around the house and visited with Bernie and Tracie who will be taking care of the pets and the house!! Phew....it's been a busy day, BUT WE'RE READY!!
We can't wait to start the bonding process with Alena and look forward to sharing our joy with all of you when we return!!

Sophia is so sweet. She got up this morning and wrote the above note to Santa & Mrs. Claus and left them some Playdoh creations she had made them. She amazes me sometimes!!

Here's a bit of what we'll be up to! :
12/14 Depart JFK at 3:30 flight 982 Air China
12/15 Check into Plaza Hotel, Beijing
12/16 Tour Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tian An Men Square
12/17 Fly to Nanning and check into Minyuan Xindu Hotel
12/18 Go get those babies!! (Gotcha Day)
12/21 Tour of Qingxiushan
12/23 Fly to Guangzhou and check into White Swan Hotel
12/24 Tour Chen Family Temple
12/25 Babies' medical exams & Visa pictures
12/28 Fly back to Beijing and catch flight to JFK!!
12/29 Arrive at JFK 1:30PM, flight 981!!

Christmas in China

SUCCESS!!
Fred and I spent the day in NYC yesterday. 1st stop was USCIS and we were able to get our final documentation done, no problem. We dealt with the nicest, most compassionate man there. There are still wonderful people in this world!
Next we were off to the Chinese Consulate for our Visa's. Everything went smoothly there as well.
We did some Christmas shopping in Times Square and visited Rockefeller Center. It was a long day, but very nice.
Our flights were all booked today. We officially leave on the 14th out of JFK and we will be back on the 29th!
We will be spending Christmas at the beautiful White Swan in Guangzhou!! I bought the girls Christmas dresses from The Children's Place to bring over with us.
I keep thinking how perfect the timing all is. We will certainly never forget our Christmas in China and how appropriate that Alena get to spend her first Christmas in her homeland, but with her forever family. We will be home in time to see the New Year in and to celebrate Alena's first birthday with loved ones on January 7th. Thank God for his timing.
Love to all and PLEASE follow us on this blog! We look forward to reading your comments each day!
Jenni