Last Post from Beijing

For our last outing in Beijing we went to an Acrobatic show. It was fantastic! The best thing we have done so far. That is saying a lot since have seen some pretty amazing things.

This is the outside of the theater.



Before the show this lady went around selling ice cream. That is Kevin standing by her. He is 7'1" and has been quite the attraction. Everywhere he goes the Chinese want to have their picture taken with him because he is so tall. He has gotten a big kick out of it.





Tomorrow we leave for Nanchang. We will arrive there at 1pm tomorrow. After we arrive we will go shopping for baby supplies. Then on Monday we will go to get Megan at 11:00. It still doesn't seem like it is real. So if you are still up at 11 pm on Sunday night think about us.

We are not sure what the internet connection will be like in Nanchang. If we are not posting it is because we can not get access. Don't worry there is always e-mail!

Well folks that is it from Beijing. We have had a great time!

Beijing Day 3 - Part 2

Some of the boys in our group decided to buy these hats. Everywhere we go people are hanging around us grabbing our arm to buy things. Almost everything is one dollar. I did not post this picture, but a Chinese man came up to us and said that he liked Matt's hat (Matt is in the red jacket) and then asked for a photo. So we have a photo of our friend Matt with 4 Chinese people. Pretty funny!



Here we are entering The Forbidden City. We were greeted by the "royal" family.


It was really amazing to see all of this. To imagine what it took to build all of this hundreds of years ago. At one time The Forbidden City had 9000 rooms! Today there are only 8000.



This is Ellie. She is 4 yrs old and from Evansville. Her mom keeps telling her this is where she was born, but she does not seem to care. She thinks all of the touring is boring. Her little sister is from the same orphanage as Megan. She is one tough little girl. She got sick on the plane over and was sick the first day we were here that she had to go to the hospital. Our guide (I can't say enough great thinks about the FTIA guides) took them to a hospital. The doctor was not western and wanted to do all sorts of test on Ellie. Her parents did not want that and the guide stood up to the doctor for them. They said the guide and the doctor were exchanging heated words and they finally left. They said it was horrible. It was dirty and there was urine all over. The second hospital they went to there was not a western doctor so they left. The guide called FTIA in the states and was told to go to a SOS Hospital. I guess that is a international hospital. At first the doctor said she was too sick and he would not treat her, but Dale insisted that he give her an IV. After the second IV she was much better. As you can tell by the picture she is all better now. Very scary!!



We are now off to an Acrobatic Show. I will post pictures from that when we return.

Yesterday morning we could view the blog and the comments. Today we can only post and can not view what is posted or the comments. So if look good remember we are winging it. Even though we can't read the comments keep them coming. We are hoping that we will be able to view them soon. If you really need to reach us send us an e-mail. We are checking e-mail at least twice a day.

Beijing Day 3

Today has been a great day. The weather was much better. The sun was shinning and it was much clearer. The only down fall was the wind. We started off the day with a stop at Tian'anmen Square. It was amazing to think that we were standing in the same spot so many lost their lives back in 1989.




This group of soliders was there for a photograph. So we joined the fun and snapped a couple of pictures.



Everywhere we go there is excitement for the Olympics. There is so much construction going on to prepare. We don't see how they will get all completed.



After that we headed to The Forbidden City. It was a short walk from Tian'anmen Square.

Beijing Day 2 - Part 3

I thought you might like to see our home away from home. The shower in the room is quite interesting. It is bumped out into the room and has a glass front. We have all started called them the peek a boo showers.




This is a billboard outside of our room. See UPS is worldwide. Dale are you ever going to race the truck? (If you don't follow Nascar you won't get it!)



We are on able to see several sets of apartment buildings from our room.



Not the best picture, but this the never ending line of rush hour traffic. This was taken at 7 pm and it was still bumper to bumper. All I can say about driving in China is that lanes are optional and if you give the driver next to you an inch he is coming over!



We did receive some additional information about Megan today. She has been removed from her foster home and now back at the orphange to transition to us. We found out the name and age of her foster mom. The foster mom has another child in her home also. You will never believe this..... our friends Patty & Andy (who live in like 15 minutes from us) is the foster child that has been living with Megan. Can you believe it? Our sweeties will get to grow up together. It also said that Megan is active and very attached to her foster mom and likes to play with other children. Get ready girls your new playmate will be there soon.

That is all for today. We are very tired so it is off to bed for us.

Beijing Day 2 - Part 2

After the Great Wall we headed off for lunch. It was actually pretty good. The one item we were not brave enough to test was the fish. Looks yummy doesn't it?



The last stop of they day was at the Summer Palace. This is where the emperor spent the summers.




This was made special for the emperor with a marble floor. At the time they did not realize that the marble would make the boat too heavy. The boat did not sink, but it is unable to float.




Our trip back to the hotel took place during rush hour. It took us over an hour and a half to get back. The traffic is crazy! We ended the night by ordering from room service. We had cheeseburgers and fries. Sounds like lots of families ordered that tonight!

Beijing Day 2

We started the day out with our daily trip to the hotel buffet. Not bad. We can get fried eggs or a denver omlet. They is a variety of fresh fruit, breads, sausage links, ham and they when have Cocca Rice Crispies! Plus all the traditional Chinese breakfast dishes.

Then we headed out for the Great Wall.



From the picture you can tell it was cold today. Not only cold, but windy and periods of rain. Chuck ended up buying a stocking cap and gloves for each us before we headed up the wall.






Chuck made it to the point where he was given a card stating that he climbed the Great Wall. Not me, after the first area I gave up and waited for him to return.

Beijing Day 1 Continued

Next we headed off to lunch for an authentic Chinese meal. Interesting. We had no idea what we were eating, don't think I want to know.



While there we sat a table in front of a stage. A show was put on of traditional dance. They did a dance with bamboo poles where they danced between the poles while they were being moved. The exciting part was that they pulled people from the audience to come up and give it a try. Matt and Andy were two of the lucky ones. We don't have pictures of it, but we did get a video.


Next we went to the Chinese Ethnic Garden. The garden was so so. While there we did see where the opening Olympics will be held. You can see it in the background. It is called the Birds Nest. (The haze you see is not fog, it is the lovely smog)



This is a typical business.



Tomorrow it is on to the Great Wall. We are looking forward to it.

Beijing Day 1

Our first stop today was at the Temple of Heaven.



This is just after we entered the temple area. Before we entered we were offered many thing by the street vendors. Four Rolex watches for $5 anyone?



We are standing on an area where you make a wish and it is suppose to come true. I was like what should we wish for... our wish is coming true!




We have been hanging out with two couples. This is Lynn and Matt. They are from Greenwood.



This is Andy & Patty. They live in Franklin Twp. Our girls are all from the same orphanage, so we know we will be spending lots of time together.

Greetings from Beijing

We made it! It is currently 6:30 am Thursday as I type this. We arrived last night about 9:30 pm and finally had our luggage delivered at 12:45 am this morning. We were so tired and thought it would never arrive! All I can say about the flight is that it was long, very long!

I can't say much about Beijing yet. We went down bar street on our way to the hotel last night. It is exactly what it sounds like. Row after row of night clubs. It is very close to the US, Australia and French embassy. Our guide said it we wanted to venture out there one evening that most people there speak English. You know us, we won't be venturing there!

The smog is terrible and it smells of pollution. We are on the 17th floor and can not see any further then maybe 1/2 mile. It is one busy city, we could hear the traffic all night and also the construction equipment. They are building everywhere. We are hopeful that we will be able to see some of the Olympic building.

Today we will venture out to visit the Chinese Ethnic Gardens and the Temple of Heaven. Everyone we have meet so far have been very nice. It looks like we are going to have a fun travel group!

I will try to post again tonight with picture from today's adventure.

Only 4 more night until we meet Megan!!

Itinerary

March 27(Tue) Leave Indianapolis Flight 1448H 1126 A
Arrive Detroit 1239 P
Leave Detroit Flight 25H 220 P

(Please remember from this point on we are 12 hours ahead of Indy time)

March 28(Wed) Arrive Tokyo 420 P
Leave Tokyo Flight 11H 620 P
Arrive Beijing 925 P

Staying at Zhaolong Hotel (4 nights)

March 20(Thu) - March 31(Sat) We will be touring the Great Wall, Summer Palace,
Temple of Heaven, Chinese Ethnic Culture Park and
Forbidden City. We will be attending Acrobatic
Show on Saturday afternoon.

April 1(Sun) Leave Beijing Flight MU5174 1040 A
Arrive Nanchang 100 P

Stay at Gloria Plaza Hotel (6 nights)

April 2(Mon) Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Jiangxi Province to receive Megan!!!!

April 3(Tue) Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Jiangxi Province
to complete adoption. Go to Notary Office to
complete notarization procedure.

April 4(Wed) - April 5(Thu) Tour may be arranged and will be optional. Free time
available if not touring. Pick up notarized paperwork for Megan.

April 6(Fri) Pick up passport for Megan.

April 7(Sat) Leave Nanchang Flight CZ3536 215 P
Arrive Guangzhou 345 P

Stay at White Swan (5 nights)

April 8 (Sun) Tour may be arranged and will be optional. Free time
available if not touring.

April 9 (Mon) Have visa picture taken and medical exam performed
on Megan.

April 10 (Tue) FTIA coordinator submits the visa application
documents for us to the US Consulate. Tour may be
arranged and is optional. Free time available if not touring.

April 11 (Wed) Have the group-oath taken at US Consulate. Receive Megan's visa.

April 12 (Thu) Leave Guangzhou Flight NW10 820 A
Arrive Tokyo 140 P
Leave Tokyo Flight NW12L 410 P
(Remember we are now back on Indy time)
Arrive Detroit 250 P
Leave Detroit Flight NW1011L 500 P
ARRIVE HOME!!! 609 P

International Flight Dates

It's true we are really leaving! We fly out Tuesday, March 27th and will be returning on Thursday, April 12th. FTIA is working on our in China arrangements, so I will post again when I have more information. Still can't believe that in less then two weeks we will be.... leaving on a jet plane!!!

New Pictures of Megan!

We received these pictures today. They were taken on Wednesday, March 7th. It might be hard to see, but she was crying! Talk about heart breaking!! Hard to believe that was less then a week ago!!

Travel Approval

I just found out that our adoption agency, FTIA received travel approval for our group today. Yeah!!! The next step is for our agency to get an appointment for us with the US Consulate. They said it should take a couple of days to have that. Once we have that we will have travel dates. Nothing definite, but our agency is estimating we could leave the last week of March. We could be leaving in about two weeks! WOW!!

So much to do, good thing I have been spring cleaning this week.

Megan's Feeding Schedule

Megan's Feeding Schedule

One week after referral we are still flying high on baby love! We received some additional information from FTIA today. Here is the e-mail:

Hi Chuck and Wendi,

Just wanted to let you know that the orphanage sent us confirmation on several eating schedules for the babies. They confirmed the following:

Cen Li Qing

She takes the mixture of formula and rice cereal as her main food, 4 times a day, 210ml each time. She takes eggs, noodles, vegetables, etc as supplements. She has breakfast at 7:00am, lunch at 11:30am, snacks at 3:00pm, dinner at 5:30pm.

Have a nice afternoon!

Diane Bousman
China Coordinator
Families Thru International Adoption

Referral Call

At 1:58pm Thursday, February 1,007 I saw on caller ID that it was FTIA. I knew this was "the call." Diane asked if I was sitting down and did I have something to write with. Of course I did! I had been waiting 15 months, 2 weeks and 3 days for this! Diane then said "I have a baby for you." She went on to say there was a large age range in this batch and we had received a little one.She then states she was 7 months old today! I can not even put into words what I felt at that moment.

Then she provided this information:Name: Cen, Li QingBorn: 07/01/2006Residing at the Hengfeng Social Welfare InstituteJiangxi ProvinceShe then gave lots of other information related to adoption paperwork and such. I barely remember it. All I could think is that I have a baby! Then she said I should give Dad a call and let him know. Dad? Wow!No problem!

I immediately called Chuck. Can you believe his cell went to voice mail!!! I called right back and he answered this time. He knew this was the call he had been waiting for and just couldn't get to the phone quick enough the first time. We were both very calm as I relayed this wonderful news to him.

When Chuck returned home from work he brought me flowers and said "Happy Mother's Day!! Of course I lost it and was overwhelmed with tears of joy! What a lucky woman I am!

Here She Is!!

Megan Li.

Her Chinese name is Li Qing (pronouced Lee Ching). Chucks middle name is Lee, his dad's middle name is Lee and so was his grandfather. It seems that her middle name was meant to be Li.

We are head over heels in love! The information we received is from November. She weighs 16.5 pounds and is 24.25 inches long. She sleeps from 8 pm - 6:30 am and takes a two hour nap around noon. She follows objects with her eyes and is easily scared by sudden noise. She sits up and leans forward on her hands. When she sees her caregivers she giggles happily. We can't wait to hear that giggle

We Have A Daughter!

We proudly announce the referral for our daughter:

Name: Megan Li Bridwell

Chinese Name: Cen, Li Qing

Date of Birth: 07/01/2006

Age: 7 mos TODAY!!

Hengfeng SWI, Jiangxi, China

We are overwhelmed with excitement and joy!Monday we will receive an e-mail with her picture and medical information. Stay tuned...more to come!

Proud Parents: Chuck & Wendi

Our Adoption Story

I have always known that I wanted to be a mom. I feel in my heart that to truly be satisfied with my life that this is a must.

Chuck and I were married May 2001 when I was 30 and he was 29, what some might consider later in life. We knew right away that we wanted to start our family.

When I was in my 20's I was diagnosed with PCOS and knew this might be difficult.

Three months into our marriage I spoke with my doctor and due to my history and age it was recommended I see a fertility doctor.I took the fertility shots with no success. We were told that invitro would be our only option. I began taking the medication and going for frequent blood test. Time after time my sugar came back too high and we could not proceed.

This time was very hard emotionally for me. I can not say enough about how supportive Chuck was. During this time I keep thinking about adoption. Time and time again I keep thinking that I want to be a mom, not just I want to become pregnant. I think during this time God was planting the seed for adoption.

I finally said my heart could no longer take the disappointment of the fertility treatments. I mentioned adoption to Chuck, but he was not ready at this point.I began to research adoption because I knew in my heart that it was the right thing. I began to pray that if this was the plan for our family that God would open Chuck's heart to it. By this time he said he wasn't opposed to adoption, he just wasn't sure.I completely understood this.

I had time since my 20's to prepare for the fact that I may not have a biological child, Chuck had much less time to prepare for this. If you haven't been in the situation it is hard to explain. I guess that you almost grieve for the child that will never be.

After many tears, prayers and heartfelt conversations Chuck's heart opened to adoption.We researched all of our options, domestic adoption, foster to adopt and international adoption. International adoption was our choice.

We prayed about our decision and keep feeling pull to the China program.The road has been long and hard. We submitted our application on March 2005 and our paperwork was logged in to China 10/13/05. When we began the process the wait time from log in was 6 mos, we have currently been waiting for over 15 mos. The wait has been very difficult. We continue to wait, but I know the wait is all part of God's plan for our family. Soon we will see the beautiful daughter He has always had in mind for our family.We are overflowing with anticipation and excitement.