Welcome Home!

We've been so busy since we've been home, but we thought we would post a quick update. We arrived home last Friday tired, but safe. There are pix with the kids and the fun "Welcome Home" balloon bouquet provided by Aunt Allison and Uncle Kurt, thanks again guys!

The kids are settling in well together, C.J. loves playing with "Her Tommy"and the boys have a lot of fun riding their bikes. William has mastered his two-wheeler, almost within seconds of mom taking off the training wheels. Tommy took a pretty good tumble from the tricycle, and has been nursing a couple of skinned knees. He has learned the word "ouch!" But still loves to go get it out of the garage and ride with his big brother in our circle.

Rick and I are adjusting to the increased family size, things are fun but a little crazy. It took mom almost an hour to get the kids ready and out the door this a.m. Once we dressed, found socks, shoes, brushed teeth, it had started to rain and had to cancel the trip to the zoo anyway. Went and had lunch with Dad instead!

Thanks to all friends and family for your support, we appreciate the good wishes of everyone!

Rick and Shauna

Last day in China! Sept 11

We arrived in Beijing around 10:30am yesterday, after checking into our hotel, our guide picked us up, and we headed out to see the sights. First to Tianamen Square, the largest square. It had decorations celebrating the Olympics, and Paraolympics, which are still going on. We got some great pictures, and enjoyed looking around. On a funny note, our new little four year old has to constantly go niao niao (pee pee), and this was no exception. There are not public restrooms on the square, so our guide suggested that since he was a little boy, he could go in the flowers. So Tommy got the honor of peeing on the flowers at Tianaman Square. I can't wait to tell him about that when he is older!

Next, we walked across the street to the Forbidden City. It was so beautiful, many of the buildings have been restored, and it was really amazing. Luckily for us, there were restrooms! We walked and walked, it is huge. Tommy was a trooper, and handled the day very well, considering he was a very tired boy after rising so early for the plane.

After sightseeing, our guide walked us down the famous "snack street" home of such delicacies as centipedes, silk cocoons, and lamb testicles...yummy! We saw these funny drinks that made us think of William, it looked like a Slurpee from 7-11, but it was smoking! They had dry ice in the drinks, it looked kind of cool.

Our guide recommended a famous restaurant for Peking Duck, which we wanted to try. It wasn't in the area she had dropped us off, so after a while of looking around, we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back, we actually accidentally found it. We walked by a sign with the name on it, Quan Jude Roast Duck Restaurant, but no restaurant. Just a toy store. So I got to use one of the Mandarin phrases I learned "Naer you fan-guan?" Where is the restaurant? She kept motioning next door, which was just another shop. She finally motioned around the corner, so we rounded the corner, and there was the restaurant for Peking Duck, Rick and I laughed because it had this giant goofy looking duck out front. We said "of course, it is the one with the duck!" Makes perfect sense! We did have an excellent dinner, worth the effort of locating it!

Today, up bright and early, we headed to the Great Wall. WOW! We had a beautiful day for a climb, and climb we did. Rick made it to the top of the mountain, yay ba ba! Tommy and mom only made it half-way. Tommy was struggling with the steps. No building code back then, some are 2" rise and others are about a foot and a half! It was pretty steep going up, and it took Tommy and I longer to come down! He had to be carried part of the way on my back! There were tee shirts indicating "I climbed the Great Wall" I want one that says "I climbed the Great Wall while carrying a grumpy four-year old!"

We have packed and are ready to go home! We accidentally had the most expensive meal of our entire trip downstairs in our hotel. We went to the same restaurant where our breakfast buffet is, and figured it would be a place to get a simple dinner we can have an early night. They also had an evening buffet, so we said sure. It turned out to be even more expensive than the Peking Duck! Moral of the story, ALWAYS ASK THE PRICE! We were trying to use the last of our Yuans, so I was curious when Rick had to pull out the credit card! They don't have kid's meals, and charged Tommy full price. Beer was included, not milk though! Oops for us, oh well, we leave tomorrow, so we're done dining out for awhile! Looking forward to just eating at home.

We love you William and C.J., see you tomorrow! Love you!

Mom and Dad

It's official, September 9 Day 10

Well this day started off with a trip to the famous 'Red Couch'. We got a couple of really cute pictures with him by himself and then with all of us. Before we went to the White Swan hotel, Tommy and his mom were practicing William and C.J.'s name. He is getting really good at them. After the pictures, we were off to the U.S. Consulate for the official swearing in ceremony. It sounds impressive and with all the preparation it took to get this far, the actual ceremony was very anticlimactic, with one exception, at the end, he was officially ours in the eyes of the U.S. government. The actual ceremony was very short. The official asked us to raise our right hands and swear the the information provided was correct to the best of our knowledge and then she said we were done. So much for pomp and ceremony. Tommy becomes an official U.S. citizen as soon as we cross the U.S. border. We still have to go through immigration in SF but that should go quickly. Well we are off to Beijing tomorrow morning (4:45 a.m.) so we are signing off for tonight. We'll see everyone in a couple of days. We love you William and C.J. and we will be home soon. Luv Mom and Dad.

Yellow. Porche. Convertible. Day 9 Sept 8

The car is for William. We always play a game, spotting all the fast cars we can find. Sorry, buddy, there are no Mustangs here, but we did find this Porche, just for you! We miss you, and love you, see you soon!

Today was our Consulate Appointment, and our Visa application was approved with no problems! We will pick up Tommy's visa, and have his official oath taking ceremony tomorrow.

Today was spent exploring the Island. There are several statues in the gardens here, and Tommy is fascinated, he walks up to them, and tentatively touches them. I'm not sure if he's seen anything like them before. The Island is very beautiful, with a European influence in architecture. Due to the tremendous amount of rainfall here, it is lush and green. We have seen at least a dozen sets wedding pictures being taken here.

We went to the White Swan hotel to explore today, it has a beautiful lobby, with the waterfall and very large fish pond inside.

Tommy had his first Oreo today, loved it! There are very few things he doesn't like, broccoli for example, but Oreos were definitely a hit!

Rick and Shauna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARRETT! Day 8, Sept 7

Happy Birthday Garrett! We miss you!

Today we went to the Safari Park, which was really great. Part of the park you view in a tour via the road, similar to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. The animals are right there, no fences. At least around the big cats and bears, there is a little moat. I think they could cross it if they really wanted to! There were so many animals, lots of little babies too. Several baby elephants, and many others. Tommy particularly liked the elephants, and the emus (not sure why, but he was absolutely fascinated!) The pandas were a hit, of course, as were the white tigers. C.J. would have loved the pandas, and William would have loved the big cats. We wish you guys were here. We miss you more every day! Keep being good for Aunt (Ayi) Allison, we'll be home soon. I'm glad William is feeling better, thanks Al. We'll be calling for Garrett's birthday :)

The weather cooperated, no rain until dinner, but so hot and humid here!

We were able to do some shopping today, and off to our new favorite haunt, Lucy's, for dinner. We got caught in a rainstorm, but luckily had the umbrellas with us this time.

We finally found a movie station that plays English movies with Chinese subtitles. We are watching Shanghai Noon, Tommy is a big Jackie Chan fan! He is watching, and giggling. He gets up, does his moves, runs around, goes back to watching.

Shauna & Rick

p.s. 1st day in Gongzhou, Day 7 Sept. 6

We've already posted today, but had such fun going out to lunch, we thought we'd do another. We found a fun western restaurant, Lucy's, where we had our first cheeseburger and fries. It was great! We finally found something that will fill this boy up...we ordered beef noodles for him, but he wanted what we were having, and ended up sharing our cheeseburgers and fries and loved it!

We got stranded at the restaurant during a quick rainstorm, but were laughing at the diehards outside. Long after the rest of us had come inside to wait out the storm, three old guys were not going to let a little rain interfere with their beer out on the patio. They were all under umbrellas, and continued to order another round. I really admire their tenacity! Lucy's was fun, and not a bad place to be stuck during a storm.

Lesson of the day: NEVER, NEVER leave hotel room in Gongzhou without the complimentary umbrella!

We also found a Starbucks, and are looking forward to a good cup of coffee :)

Take care,

Rick and Shauna

In Gongzhou, Day 7, September 6

Hi all, we've made it to Gongzhou after Tommy's first plane ride, and trip out of his province. The pictures are of us having tea with the Susan, the director who oversees all adoptions in Heilongjiang Province. There is a picture of Tommy on this first trip, he loved the planes! He traveled very well, enjoyed the in-flight meal and snack. He can eat a lot!

The Victory hotel is very nice, and Shamian Island, where we are located near the U.S. Consulate, caters to many adoptive families, so it is a welcome change from the remote northern province where we have come from. Lots of friendly faces, and children for Tommy to play with! I've heard there is even a Starbucks nearby! I am still having a hard time coming up with a "Coke Light". They have become popular, I'm told, so are often sold out of the small grocery stores. The hotel room is larger, with more room to play. There's a picture of Tommy and Rick playing cars on the floor. Tommy loves cars as much as William, they will have a great time!

We had the medical exam today, there's a picture of a very unhappy boy at the clinic. He didn't like it at all; then we readied the paperwork for the U.S. Consulate appointment on Monday.

We're headed out to find some lunch, thanks for following along with us!

Love and miss you William & C.J....love, mom & dad

Day at the Park Day 5 Sept 4

Hi all,

No official visits today, just a day on our own in Harbin. We thought we'd tell you a little about where we are. First, we're in the Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang means "Black Dragon". It is in northeast China. We are very close to Russia, in fact, the only other non-Chinese at our hotel are a few Russian tourists. Very few people speak English here.The hotel information book in our room is printed in Chinese, Russian, and English. Since we are so far North it gets dark around 7:00pm, and light around 4:00 am.

We are very conspicuous, it is just impossible to blend in! Then I think they wonder why these two westerners are carrying around the cutest boy in all of China!

Traffic here is a nightmare. The roads are shared with all modes of transportation. There are buses battling with bikes, and cars, and the pedestrians cross the street whenever and wherever they want to. There are crosswalks, which are general guidelines, but if you want to cross, you cross. When we go out to a restaurant, we have to cross six lanes of traffic. You just go a lane at a time, quickly.

I've posted a picture of the street outside our hotel. There is no parking other than right in front, which doubles as the sidewalk. I don't know what they'll do when there are even more cars on the road, they just don't have the infrastructure here to handle it. One of the street vendors is selling Moon Cakes for the upcoming Moon Festival, Kurt and Allison, shall we bring some home for you?

Walking around the town is interesting, in addition to the above mentioned traffic, there are street vendors selling all sorts of stuff. They have little stands with grilled meat, not sure what it is exactly. Some smells very enticing, but some looks and smell down right scary! We just look at each other and say, we don't even want to know!

We went to a park today, and there is such an interesting mix of people. There are elderly people everywhere doing their stretching, and exercise. There were some old guys hanging on the rings, and others on the bars, just like kids, it was fun to watch! Then after they're done, they have a cigarette. I've posted a picture of a guy doing his Tai Chi with his wife, it was neat to watch, you can't really tell from the picture, but the guy has his fan in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Everyone smokes here!

One of the things we noticed that was missing from this park, and yesterday was strollers. It is more common for the parents to carry the children, from babies to young children. Of course, with the condition of the sidewalks, and the traffic, I think a stroller would be more of a hazard than a help. I think it's easier to just carry Tommy around!

Tommy is doing well, he can eat more food that we've ever seen! For breakfast he ate noodles, a bun, sweet bread, yogurt, egg, cereal, and juice! He's not that big, but he has a healthy appetite. I'll definitely have to increase our food budget!

That's all for now, we're headed to Gongzhou tomorrow to complete the U.S side of the paperwork.

The Tallest Man in Harbin! Day 4 September 3

Our guide has declared Rick the tallest man in Harbin! I think she's right. Tommy likes to take advantage of Ba Ba's height when we're out. He likes to be carried by Rick or I, everywhere. Which is great for attachment, but hard on the back!

Today we went to Sun Island Park, and Sofia Church. Both were very beautiful. Tommy liked throwing rocks in the water. He had an ice cream, and rode on the carousel.

While he calls us Ma Ma and Ba Ba, his first English phrase was "o.k." Next was "uh-oh". He has been practicing William, and C.J.'s names, while he looks at their pictures.

We finally were able to speak to them today, it was great! The phones have been very challenging here, so it was wonderful to get through, and hear the news of home! Love you guys!

Love, mom and dad

Trip to the biggest Walmart ever! Day 3 September 2

Hi all, we completed the paperwork today for the province, Tommy is ours! We'll finish the rest of the U.S. requirements in Gongzhou in a couple of days. Everything went very well, we were busy signing, and so unable to take our own pictures to post. The director indicated that we would receive the pictures of the proceedings in an album as a gift, which will be wonderful.

We were able to present our gifts to the orphanage director and staff, and they were very happy with the notes we had included with the gifts. We had enclosed handwritten notes in Chinese, giving our thanks for their care of our son.

Yesterday, when we picked up Tommy, the orphanage had put together a very nice album of professionally taken pictues. They had also given him some nice gifts, a souvenir from his home city of DaQing, a backpack with his favorite superhero (Automan), a new outfit, toothbrush and cup, and a bagful of his favorite snacks and treats. I've never seen the Chinese version of Chester the Cheetah!

Today after the paperwork, and the best lunch ever at the dumpling house, we had to make a shopping trip, and there is not alot of choice here, so off to Walmart! Five stories of craziness! We got some fun things, and some of Tommy's favorite candy to take home with us. Walmart is even less ex

We've had several problems with the phones, and finally reached our brother-in-law, in the middle of the night (sorry!). And Allison, listening to your menu, sounds like we're missing great dinners. I would give anything for ribs right now! Can't wait to get home, we miss you all so much!

Gotcha Day! Day 2 September 1

This is our first day in China and we met our son Tommy for the first time. As you can tell, he is a very handsome kid. He has a great personality and is smart as a whip. (I wish I could understand more of what he is saying:) We had our first meal together and he loves dumplings and noodles. We are going to go to KFC for dinner and see if he likes western cuisine. The first picture is of Tommy (he was having some fun in our hotel room). The next is of the adoption agency where we picked Tommy up and the last is a cute one of his mom and him looking at the Coy in the tank at the hotel. On a side note, we are having an easier time with getting our computer going than making a phome call. As soon as we figure out the phone system, we will be calling. Until then, we are checking this site and look forward to hearing from everyone. William and CJ, we miss you and are thinking about you all the time. Love Mom and Dad.