Cable Car Ride--Mutian Yu section of The Great Wall

Nathan on The Great Wall

The Great Wall

We visited the Mutian Yu section of the Great Wall this time and took a cable car to the stop. We enjoyed it so much more than the last time when we went to the spot where the wall is wide and most of the tourist go. This section is in a beautiful little town set in the mountains. This section sits high in the mountains and is, of course beautiful and amazing. We had lunch in town and it was in an atrium. The food did not dissapoint. It is as good as I remember.

We still had to do quite a bit of climbing to get to the top of the hill where the cable car began to take us the rest of the way up the mountain.

Inside a parapet.

We enjoyed the enclosed cable car ride!

Vickey climbed the wall like a champ! She has been a big hit everywhere we go -- probably because she is always smiling ear-to-ear. A funny thing is that everyone seems to love her coat and she gets lots of comments on it.

The cable car station. This was such a pretty little town!

Nathan's Favorite Part was the cable car ride.

The wall in the background is unbelievably steep!

This is the most awe-inspiring landmark I have ever visited. Its impossible to capture the grandeur of it with photographs. It goes on forever.

So far we have had an amazing trip and have received so many kindnesses from people. The airport in Beijing waived all our overweight luggage fees. They kept sending us to the VIP lines. We have had great drivers and impromptu guides. We have been so blessed!

Photos from Beijing --Forbidden City

Views from within the Forbidden City. We had a great visit there. It was sunny and chilly but not too cold.


The Bird's Nest Stadium that was built for the Olympics

The Day Before

We leave tomorrow for China. As fate would have it we all three have the flu and feel terrible. I still have to finish packing and go to the store to get the food items. I have given up on the hope of cleaning so we can return to a perfectly clean house.

The up side is that I don't have the energy to be nervous.

Our Travel Itinerary!

Jianna's Sixth Birthday!

We received some new pictures from the orphanage! These were taken in November 2010.

We ordered a cake and had it delivered to Jianna Ai Pei for her 6th birthday on November 16th. Here she is holding the cake box.

The cake reads, "Happy Birthday Ai Pei". It was decorated beautifully!

It appears they had the cake at the primary school she attends. Maybe at recess?

We Leave In Less Than Two Weeks!

I found some pictures of Ai Pei on the Fuling Kids Website. These were taken in July 2010!

Our Consulate Appointment is on January 19th and we are leaving on January 5th!

Making Plans

We don't have our iternerary or Consulate Appointment confirmed yet but we expect it any day. In the meantime we are doing much to prepare for our upcoming trip. I've been looking at flights and hotels until my eyes ache. The very good news is that it is less expensive to travel this time of year and that is going to save us a bundle.

Putting in our leave requests makes this so much more real. We are getting so close!

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!

We got our travel approval. Our agency asked us if we wanted to travel in January or the end of February. REALLY? You had to ask???

We are so excited!

Another Step Completed!

We asked about our Article 5 today which was submitted on November 4th. It seems like it has taken a long time for it to get here. This was the message I received:

"Your article 5 was picked up on 11/18, and forwarded to the CCAA on the same day. It takes the CCAA 3-4 weeks to issue the TA."

So we are on to step 8! We are almost done!

STEPS AFTER LETTER OF APPROVAL TO ADOPT:

1, SUBMIT YOUR I800 TO USCIS (SUBMITTED 10/05/10)
2. WAIT FOR PROVISIONAL APPROVAL FROM THE NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER(NBC)
(2-4-WEEKS) (OURS WAS RECEIVED ON 10/23/10)
3. NBC FORWARDS YOUR I800 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (ABOUT A WEEK)
4. AWAIT LETTER FROM NATIONAL VISA CENTER STATING THAT YOUR FILE HAS BEEN
CABLED TO GUANGZHOU (ONE-TWO WEEKS)
5. YOUR AGENCY WILL WALK YOUR LOA AND DS230(CHILD'S VISA APPLICATION) INTO THE
CONSULATE AT GUANZHOU. (THIS ONLY HAPPENS ON MONDAYS OR THURSDAYS)
6. WAIT FOR THE ARTICLE 5 (2 WEEKS)(Received 11/18/10)
7. ARTICLE 5 IS WALKED INTO THE CCAA IN BEIJING. (11/18/10)
8. WAIT FOR TRAVEL APPROVAL.(TWO TO FOUR WEEKS)(AFTER THIS WE CAN GET A
CONSULATE APPOINTMENT).

She knows about us!

Adele from "Blessed Kids" sent us an email confirming that Ai Pei received the birthday cake and her presents! This means that she knows that she has a family! I don't know why, but this makes me very happy. We sent pictures with the cake also just in case she didn't get the package we shipped to her from home with the photobook.

So she has seen us. I wonder if she will always remember the day that she saw the pictures of her new family. One of the unusual things about older child adoption is that a child will be able to remember the first time she sees her parents. I so hope that she gets the photo album with all the pictures of extended family and our home and pets.

So now maybe the orphanage staff is talking to her about meeting us and flying on an airplane for such a long journey and trying to prepare her the way that we are talking to Nathan about it.

Nathan Plays With Puppies

The weather was close to eighty degrees here today! We spent some time outdoors playing with puppies. The puppies are seven weeks old now and so much fun.

Nathan decided to roll across the front lawn. I love watching him play with puppies.

Jianna's Sixth Birthday

Ai Pei had her 6th birthday on November 16th. I never imagined last year that we would be missing this birthday as well but, alas that is the way of international adoption. We sent her a cake and presents so hopefully she received them okay in China and is enjoying them. I picked up a little cake and we remembered her birthday here.

It made me sad. Birthdays are milestones that remind me I am missing so much of her young life. I pray that wherever she is, she is feeling loved and cared for.

Next year, baby girl...

Four Years With Nathan!

Four years ago today a beautiful baby boy was placed in our arms. We are so blessed!



Here are some pictures of our Together Day.

Letter from National Visa Center

We received the letter from the NVC which is step 4 in the process indicated below! This is really happening!!!

Provisional Approval from USCIS

We received our provisional approval today. Here are the steps we have remaining. I am sad that it looks like we aren't going to be able to travel in December after all.

1, SUBMIT YOUR I800 TO USCIS (SUBMITTED 10/05/10)
2. WAIT FOR PROVISIONAL APPROVAL FROM THE NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER(NBC)
(2-4-WEEKS) (OURS WAS RECEIVED ON 10/23/10)
3. NBC FORWARDS YOUR I800 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (ABOUT A WEEK)
4. AWAIT LETTER FROM NATIONAL VISA CENTER STATING THAT YOUR FILE HAS BEEN
CABLED TO GUANGZHOU (ONE-TWO WEEKS)
5. YOUR AGENCY WILL WALK YOUR LOA AND DS230(CHILD'S VISA APPLICATION) INTO THE
CONSULATE AT GUANZHOU. (THIS ONLY HAPPENS ON MONDAYS OR THURSDAYS)
6. WAIT FOR THE ARTICLE 5 (2 WEEKS)
7. ARTICLE 5 IS WALKED INTO THE CCAA IN BEIJING.
8. WAIT FOR TRAVEL APPROVAL.(TWO TO FOUR WEEKS)(AFTER THIS WE CAN GET A
CONSULATE APPOINTMENT).

LOA!!!

We finally received our Letter of Approval! This means that China has completely approved our adoption! YIPPEE!!! Now we are able to send her care packages and she will hear for the first time that she has a family.

Not This Month

It looks as if we are not going to get our letter of approval this month. We really are going to be cutting this close if we are to get our travel approval by November 21st.

This weekend we are having a garage sale, partly to clear away some of the clutter and partly to raise some money for our trip. Part of that "nesting instinct" makes me want to purge the house of all unnecessary items.

Updated Pictures

These are from a few months ago. We had to get them from our agency again since our computer crashed.



Ron and I think she looks mischievous in these pics. We might have another strong-willed child on our hands. Jianna is from Chongqing in the Sichuan province. The ladies there told us that they are known for spicy food and spicy women. Some adoptive parents refer to their girls as "spicy girls" and they seem to have that character.



It looks to me like someone was trying to get her to smile and she is refusing. I laugh at the lively gleam in her eye as she enjoys being uncooperative. I guess we will have to wait to see that smile.