Guanglan has landed

Well, it's the middle of the night and Rachel is fast asleep. She had a very rough first couple hours. She was there already when we arrived at the appointment. At first she was OK holding my hand and even being held, but once she figured out her auntie was not staying, she freaked out. She had just left her foster mom that morning -- the same woman who has raised her from the age of 2 months, even longer than we'd thought. The grieving process is going to be rough.

However, after doing some more paperwork with our guide back at the hotel, during which she cried to go back home, I took her for a walk in the lobby. I think she thought we were leaving at first, so she was in a good mood, and then we ran into the other Holt family in our province, who were getting ready to go to supper in the lobby restaurant with their cutie. Rachel tried to DRAG me into the restaurant, so after popping upstairs to tell Daddy we were going to try to eat, we went back and got a table.

She instantly transformed -- she ate up two little bowls of soup, a plate of fresh fruit, and a good portion of my noodle dish. All the while she was flirting, teasing, and finally REALLY smiling. Her mood continued even back up in our room, where she showed new interest in the little toys and gadgets we'd brought. We waited a little while then Skyped with Lillian, Grandpa and Grammie, and while we were talking, she fell asleep on my lap. She woke up a little while as I put jammies on her, but went right to sleep between us in the bed. (We did too, which is why we're now wide awake in the middle of the night!)

We're preparing for lots of mood swings, and it may be tough today when we go back for the finalization, where she'll see an auntie again. Her grieving may take a while, but at least we know she can be comfortable with us. She is so darling, and it tears your heart to see her so sad, but she has a big capacity for love.

The other photo is what the check-in line at the Beijing airport looked like at 6 a.m. before our flight. Our guide was our hero, though, as she made the process smooth for us.

But the big news of the day...

...was the update on Rachel Guanglan we received after orientation this morning. While some families received multiple photos, we received just one, but in that photo we see how much she's changed since the much earlier photos we'd seen of her. We also received updated measurements, which if correct could make fitting into her 4T clothes a bit tough, let alone the handful of 3Ts we brought.

We leave Beijing early Sunday morning and will meet her Sunday afternoon in Xi'an. That's now less than 19 hours away!

Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square/Silk

Today's activities continued our theme of lots of walking, and we enjoyed the opportunity to see the Forbidden City, which we had not visited previously. We also walked along Tiananmen Square and visited Yuanlong Silk.

More photos

Here are a few more photos from the Great Wall and Olympic park, compressed to allow mobile posting...

Great Wall and Bird's Nest

In 2008, we climbed the Great Wall at Mutianyu. This time, we went to the Badaling section, which is probably the most popular and commercial section. However, we arrived early, and it was bitterly cold, with strong winds, so for us there were no crowds to fight. The views were beautiful, as the air was sharp and clear. We decided to skip the cable car and walk up the steep beginning section, which was tiring but fun. Our guide, Sandy, did not join us on the Wall -- I think she thought we were a little nuts, given the temperature.

Because we went to the Olympic park after the Great Wall and lunch, we were not with a larger group. It was just Sandy, a driver, and the two of us. She told us interesting stories about the building of the Great Wall and some of the legends that surround it.

We ate lunch at a Cloisonne factory -- not the same Cloisonne factory we visited in 2008 -- then headed back to Beijing to visit the Olympic park. The Bird's Nest and Water Cube are as spectacular in person as on TV. We were able to go inside the Bird's Nest, where a winter sports festival was going on. The Water Cube is under renovation, but the outside view was lovely.

We walked A LOT today, so we might feel it tomorrow during the orientation session!

(p.s. We tried to post more photos, but mobile posting limits attachments. Maybe we'll have more luck in Xi'an.)

First morning

We tried to stay awake as long as we could last night, but we were both pretty much out of it. We did succeed in our short outing to the grocer to get bottled water, snacks and a pair of gloves for Kari. Later we also Skyped with Grammie and Lillian. But then we were out, until about 3 a.m., when a raging caffeine deprivation headache woke Kari up. A few baby aspirin later, we were back asleep until 6 a.m. So jet lag may not hit us as hard this time.

We arrived at the new terminal at Beijing Capital International Airport yesterday afternoon. Two years ago, in January 2008, it was still a couple months away from opening, so it was a new experience for us. It is a gorgeous terminal -- we definitely could see the influence of the Olympics on its design and size.

This morning we had a great breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. Chinese hotel breakfast buffets are incredible, as they offer choices for all palates. You can get western food or more traditional Asian breakfast fare -- or both, in our case!

Now, off to the Badaling section of the Great Wall (a different section than we visited in 2008) and the Olympic village. We'll check in again after our excursion today. (Incidentally, we can't open the blogger site from this hotel, but can post remotely by email. So we have no idea how the posts are formatting -- a good excuse if it looks sloppy!)

Countdown begins in earnest

Today is my (Kari's) last day at work before travel preparations must begin in earnest! We'll be in China very soon, and meeting Rachel on Jan. 24. Thank you, Grammie and Grandpa Austin, for staying with Lillian while we're overseas. The anticipation of meeting Rachel is overwhelming, but it's really started to affect me in the last few days that we will be away from Lillian for the longest time -- by far -- since the day we met her. I don't think I've been away from her for more than a day and a half in two years. Conflicting emotions -- but we are confident that it will all be MORE than worth it in the end.

Lillian's 2009 Christmas photo blog

Lillian's 2009 Christmas photos include two of the many she took, plus one that she posed and instructed Mommy how to shoot. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

We are approved for travel...

...now we just wait for word from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou about our requested appointment date, so we will have our exact travel date very soon. The Consulate is closed for Christmas, so we'll hear next week.

Thanks to all for your prayers and encouragement. Merry Christmas!

Waiting for Travel Approval

We are hoping to travel to China to meet Rachel Guanglan in January, which would be exactly 2 years after we met Lillian Weihe. The only thing we are waiting for is formal travel approval from China, which would then allow us to set up our appointments and make travel arrangements. We've been told if we don't initiate travel by late January, we'd have to wait until at least late February, as Chinese New Year is on Feb. 14 this year. Appointments are not made in the two weeks CNY is celebrated. Here's hoping for travel approval SOON!