Megan Li

About Time I Posted!

2007-04-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

I guess I am a bad blogger now that we have returned home. So by popular demand I will start blogging here again. At least once a month, if you are lucky maybe once a week. The following pictures are some I took the on Thursday. I was trying to get a good shot to send out on her announcement.

Things have been going really well. Megan is such a good baby. She is happy. She smiles and giggles. She has really started to move. She loves the freedom of being on the floor. She is rolling from her tummy to her back. From her back to her tummy. She is also sitting up. We still have to watch her because she is not super steady yet. She also waves bye, bye and has clapped her hand together once. We are playing pat a cake often.

Sleeping is the best. For nap time I turn on her music, lay her down. She fusses for a few minutes and then is off to sleep. Going to bed for the night is not as smooth. She will cry until she works herself really up when we lie her down. We have been putting her in her swing. She swings for few and them once she is asleep we put her in her crib. We will work on getting her to lie in her crib and go to sleep at night. The best thing is that she sleeps. all. night. long. She goes down between 8-9 depending on how long her nap is. She then sleeps until 7:30- 8 the next morning! I can't tell how happy that makes me!!

Sunday she will make her first appearance at church. Her grandma will be so excited to show her off.

She brings us more joy then we could have ever imagined! We have been blessed beyond words!

We're Coming Home!!

2007-04-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

In 7 hours we will be heading home. (We almost weren't!) Sorry no pictures tonight. Things have been hectic.

The day started off great! We did the group and red couch photo. That was fun with 11 babies, most who could not sit up very well. After that we went for lunch at Lucy's and then went strolling around this beautiful island. The weather was beautiful today and I love that we are able to just walk and walk.

On our stroll today we found a Christian church. It sounded like they were having choir practice. They were singing hymns in English! We stopped at a corner bakery and got a ice cream. This whole time Megan was napping.

Next it was off to the US Consulate. That is were the fun began. The guy came out to have us take the oath. (painless, you just repeat after him basically saying that to the best of your knowledge all of the info provide on your paperwork is true) He said that he had some bad news. The way he said it we thought he was joking. We thought he might say those crying babies are forever ours or something like that. No! He told us that the Consulate in DC had been having computer issues since Monday and that of the 55 families there only 9 of the visa were ready! No visa, no travel! After a lot of stress we received the call at about 9 that the visas are ready and Genie is on her way to pick them up! (Love FTIA and especially their in country coordinators!!! After all of the other agencies had left the Consulate we were the only ones still there. Genie and Tracy were working hard to get the staff to stay and try to get the visas printed.)

Our luggage has been picked up and we think we have everything we will need in route. Chuck has gone down to make sure that the bill is taken care of and to spend the little bit of Chinese money we have left.

We have had the best time while here. We have experienced so many wonderful things and made some great friends. It is bittersweet to leave the birth country of Megan.

We will arrive in Indy at 6:09 pm on Northwest flight #1011 from Detroit. We can not wait to see everyone and to introduce you the best little thing that has ever happened to us!!

God is good!

Chuck, Wendi & Megan

Happy Tuesday!

2007-04-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Daddy bought Megan a stroller. She thinks it is nap time whenever she goes for a stroll.

We (Chuck said I should say I) were messing around.

Megan "helping" me blog!

Not much to report today. We woke up to rain so our trip to the Botanical Gardens was cancelled. The group went shopping for jade, but we opted not to go. The group said that is was very expensive, so it looks like we did not miss anything.

Chuck ran out to pick up something that we had ordered. While he was out he said that he was talking to a woman. During the course of the conversation he told her that he was tired of living in a hotel. She said that she could get him a companion for the night. He said it took him a few for it to click what she was saying. He was like no, no I have a wife and baby at the hotel. We both were quite shocked!!

Megan is currently down for the night. Tonight I put her in her crib, pulled it by the bed and sat by her until she went to sleep. We both would really like her to be able to fall asleep on her own.

She is really starting to eat! I am not sure how much she should be eating, so we are winging it. Today she had a bottle (formula & 4 scoops of rice cereal) then a couple bites of scrambled egg. She had a small bowl of cereal mid-morning and then another bottle for lunch. She had a bottle around 3:30 and then ate half a jar of bananas around 5. About 7:30 she had some more cereal and then a bottle. Want to fill up that belly so she sleeps through the night!

Genie let us know that Megan's visa to the US has been approved. We were not worried that it wouldn't be approved. We will go to the US Consulate tomorrow afternoon to receive the visa and to take an oath.

We love reading all of your comments. Cathie Genie said to tell you, Penny & June Hi!

Tomorrow will be our last day here. We should be very busy tomorrow. We will be doing the famous red couch picture in the morning, I will post photos of that.

As you start your day it is off to bed for us. Good night.

Monday Happenings

2007-04-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

We had to take care of some official business this morning. Our first stop was to get Megan's picture taken for her visa. The next stop was for her official medical exam.

While there her hearing and eyesight was checked. They checked her over to make sure she had no rashes or fever. She was weighed and measured. The only measurement I can remember is her weight. She is officially 17.7 pounds. Chuck is busy with a bottle so he can't look up the other measurements.

After that a bunch of us stopped by The Station for lunch. From the picture I bet you can guess how it got its name. Chuck ordered a vanilla shake that he said tasted like sweet milk. I said maybe the Chinese version of a vanilla shake is to add vanilla to milk and shake it up!

We are getting ready to head out again. We need to drop off laundry and then are meeting Paul, Wendy and Reagan for dinner at Lucy's. I also need to get a traditional dress for Megan's red couch group photo which is scheduled for 10 Wednesday morning.

Hope everyone got their picture fix!!

Monday Happenings Continued

2007-04-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

On our way back to the hotel we passed a couple that was out having their wedding photo taken.

Good News

2007-04-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

The good news is.... we are back in the picture business! Everyone needs to give Paul a big Woo Hoo for fixing us up!

Megan getting ready for her first flight. She did really well. It was a hour flight, lets see how well she does on a 13 hour flight. Should be fun!

Megan in her Easter onsie.

Enjoying dinner at Lucy's.

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the bad news. It looks like the memory is full on our computer, so we can not download any pictures. I know, I know. We are trying to find someone in our group that can help us delete some things without messing everything up.

This morning we went to the Folk Art Museum. It was very nice. It was outside with beautiful open building that had stone carvings. There were artifacts on display and lots of nice areas to walk.

After that we went to local mall for pearl shopping. Quite the experience. We walked into this little store and they literaly had bags of pearls sitting around the store. You then choose the shape and color of pearl you wanted. They strung the pearls together while you waited. One lady in our group spend 6500 US dollars there!! Not us.

We ended up at the famous Lucy's for a late lunch. It was decent. You hear so much about it that you have to try it.

Matt & Chuck went on a supply run this evening. Matt could not find the type of formula he needed for Candace around here. They ended up taking a cab to a shopping center. Chuck said it was an underground shopping center. He said they were the only Americans. He said they had the empty bag of formula and keep stopping people on the street. They would show them the bag and the people would point for them to go further down the street. Finally they saw a police officer and he wrote down the name of the store they needed. Chuck said it was quite the experience!

Megan continues to do very well. She ate more from a spoon today. She had some scrambled eggs this morning. Mashed potato's from Lucy's and then some cereal before bed tonight. Last night she only took half of her bottle and was up at midnight starving. That is the first time we have had to feed her in the night. Not a habit we want, so tonight I keep trying until she took the cereal.

She is quite the character. At Lucy's Chuck was letting her gum a french fry. He thought she was done and took it out of her mouth. She was not finished and she let him and everyone else know. She did this loud squeal to let him know she was not done. We love you babe, but the squeal will have to go!!

Tomorrow we go for Megan's official medical exam. I am excited to see how much she officially weighs. Each hotel scale says something different.

Hopefully we will get the picture deal worked out. If not we will continue to post.

Have a great Easter!! We wish we were there.

Greetings from the White Swan

2007-04-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

We have made it to our final destination. The flight was good. Megan had no problem. She smiled and talked most of the way. Toward the end of the flight she took a bottle and went to sleep.

Her personality is really coming out today. She is a character! She has been blowing raspberries and squeling with delight. She has even been fighting Chuck for the remote control.

The hotel here is very nice. We have a view over looking the Pearl River. Across the river everything is lit up and there are decorative boats on the water.

Tomorrow morning we are going to a museum and the shopping for pearls.

Sorry no pictures tonight. We can't the batteries to hold a charge long enough to download the pictures. Hopefully there will be photos tomorrowr.

Good Bye Nanchang!

2007-04-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

After we picked up Megan's passport we went shopping at a porcelain shop. While there we were swarmed by people wanting to see the babies. These ladies thought Megan was the cutest! She wasn't so sure about them holding her.

Look I am sitting up! She can only do it for a second, but that is a start.

The boys ran out and brought in KFC for dinner. Megan sucked on the chicken leg bone and loved the mashed potato's. Grammi and Grandpa looks like you will have another one wanted to join you at MCL.

She took another bath tonight. I go in the tub and held her. She was upset, but nearly as much as the last two times. I found out from those went to the orphanage that those in foster care where given sponge baths. That explains a lot!

Tomorrow we fly out for our last destination in China, Guangzhou. Good night from Nanchang.

2007-04-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Megan is feeling better today. I think she might be teething. No fever and she is chewing on everything.

Chuck and Megan taking a morning nap.

This Patty and Katie. Katie is Megan's foster sister.

While the boys were doing paperwork we headed for the playroom.

I can tell Megan is use to being in a walker. She was very happy when I put her in this.

Yesterday many took the trip to the orphanage. We choose not to. The trip was long. It was about 3 1/2 hours one way. We were really torn on weather to go or not. If Megan had lived at the orphanage we definitely would have. We were told that the orphanage building is very nice. It is new. The babies are in a room with 6-8 cribs and there is one caregiver for each group. The caregiver lives with the babies, so they receive constant care from the same person. We were told that it was very sad. There are about 30 babies in the orphanage. Most of them were lying in cribs. They were bundled so much that their arms were not moving and had about 5+ blankets on top of them. They said their clothes were dirty and the orphanage smelled. The children needed their noses wiped and the nanny's did not seem concerned. She said one baby was crying and she touched her face to comfort her. She said the baby turned her head looking for the comfort and wanting to be fed.

After hearing the account of the town it makes sense why the babies are so bundles. Some of the areas there were so poor that the homes did not have windows.

Her daughter was also in foster care. She said that the area is worse then any slum she had ever seen in America. She almost wished that her child had been in the orphanage instead of living out in the community.

We can tell that Megan was well cared for. She is healthy and very happy.

I guess in another group there has been a disrupted adoption. I will not go into it here. I will share it personally once I return home. When children are not accepted by their adoptive family they are no longer eligible for intl adoption. I was sobbing as I was telling Chuck the story.

When you hear the number of children being adopted from China you think that it is so many babies. For every handful of babies leaving there are hundreds left behind. I hope that some day we can come back for more babies. If you can't tell I am having a very emotional day. I am so sad for all of the babies that I can't take home.

The mental image is enough for us. I don't think my heart could have taken seeing it first had. Eventually we will get some pictures and someone has video. A huge Thank You to everyone who had a hand in helping bring our Megan home!!!!

Okay enough sadness. Let's talk about Megan. She is changing so much already. She reaches and holds her toys often. She is currently trying to feed Chuck the toy phone! Her neck and back get stronger each day. She is trying really hard to sit up. When we sit her up with the pillows she is now trying to pull herself forward. She is not sure about other people. She just stares at them. It is hard to get her to smile when others are around.

We have gotten some clothes questions. I suggest 6-9 mo clothes. I guestimated wrong on her weight. I think I said that 7 k was 13 pounds. It is actually 16, so she is on the line from 3-6 mos to 6-9 mo clothes. Her bonnet is a 0-9 mo and is just about too small. I love her bonnet, so if you run across one that is a 9-12 mo please buy it.

I need to run. We out this afternoon to pick up her passport and then we are going to a porcelain shop. I promise next time the post won't be a downer!

I Like Pizza!

2007-04-05T04:12:00.000-07:00

Chilling out, ready for bed Wednesday night.

Grandma does this outfit look familar?

Megan has started reaching for her rattle and shaking it around.

Chuck and Andy made a Pizza Hut run tonight. Megan keep looking at me eating, so I tried to give her some. She loved sucking on the crust. When I took it out of her mouth she was not happy. Look out Uncle Brent!

Our little hunny has been cranky today. She is not feeling well. She is currently running a fever 100.8. She just had her first dose of Tylenol and is currently sleeping.

Tomorrow we will go pick up Megan's passport. It might be a long night so I should go get things together.

Megan Today

2007-04-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Notice her 2 bottom teeth in the next picture.

This is one of my favorite pictues.

There is so much happening that I know my post are all over the place. Last night Megan made her first trip to McDonald's. We went with Matt, Lynn & Candice. They took one cab and we took another. The bell hop let the drivers know we were together. I can not put into words how the driving is. No one has the right of way. There a bikes, people, mopeds and cars all on the rode. They basicly turn on their signal, honk and go were they want. Matt & Lynn's cab driver did not know which Micky D's to go to. Our cabbie pulled up beside him almost ramming into him to get his attention. He then yelled at him and took the lead. The cabs wanted to pass some cars so they went into on coming traffic to do it!! Chuck though the cab ride in Egypt was bad, he said China is worse. We did make it to Micky D's in one piece. The food was good. I guess McDonald's is the same everywhere. We ate there about 3 US dollars. Lynn was so freaked out that she would not take a cab back to the hotel. We walked which was about 20 minutes. The walk back was really nice and the girls enjoyed it. At least I can say I experienced the cab ride.

Once we returned back Genie (our guide) asked if anyone wanted to see the doctor. Since Lynn freaked me out a bit by saying she was not sure it was diaper rash Megan had we had the doctor come. Lynn thought it might be a parasite.

The doctor said that it is old diaper rash. Very severe. She has some sores that are scabbed over. The doctor said that she is healthy, happy and a pretty girl! Couldn't have a doctor make a "house call" for $20 at home.

Megan was cranky this morning. No smiles and she was very fussy. Her tummy was hurting. Once we got our first dirty diaper our happy girl was back.

She is taking her bottle well, but has not eaten anything else we were told. We have tried congee (rice that is boiled to dealth), noodles and scrambled egg. Tomorrow at breakfast we will try a steamed bun and steamed eggs. She did let me put some pieces of my bread in her mouth at lunch. I am not worried about the eating because she is taking the bottle well.

Both of my babies are napping. I should run and make some more bottles. Tonight we are having a group dinner out.

Nanchang Pictures

2007-04-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

Pagoda Tour

2007-04-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today Megan is in a 6-9 month outfit. This is before we went down for breakfast.

We walked to see a Pagoda (not sure if I am spelling it correctly). Megan had her first stroller ride.

The current Pagoda was built in 1989. They have had to rebuild it 28 times. If that isn't persistant I don't know what is!!

This is the Heng Feng group. We were missing two families. The Smith Family and Rossners did not join us this morning. While there we were able to take in a performance. It had local dance and music.

There was a viewing area all around the Pagoda. This is a picture of the garden.

While we were there we were approached by a Chinese woman. She said that Megan has a nice nose and a good complextion. That is our translation anyway. Then two men who spoke english came up to us and asked if all the people there with babies were adopting. They were very happy that we were. They said we were a good couple.

I will post some random pictures of Nanchang next.

Shopping

2007-04-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

You'll never guess where we went shopping yesterday afternoon.

For $18 we bought 4 bibs, 2 pair of shoes, baby shampoo, 2 bags of formula, 2 tubes of Colgate. We also purchased 4 large bottles of water, 2 bottles of Fanta orange and 2 cans of Cola Light (Diet Coke). Not bad.

Do you like Megan's first pair of shoes. I wasn't sure what size to buy so I purchased two pair. The smallest size fit. It is Chinese size 11. I shared the size 12 with Megan's friend Candice. She is 15 months.

Alison asked about the tags. Yes, everything is in Chinese. There are lots of American products and those are in both English and Chinese. Same with the signs, lots in both languages.

I have some pictures of Megan from yesterday. I will post them later.

Adoption Day

2007-04-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here I am getting dressed for my adoption day. Today I am wearing a 3-6 month outfit. I really suck my bottle down so I might move into 6-9 month clothes very soon.

While Mommy and I were hanging out in the lobby Daddy keep taking our picture.

Finally we made it on the bus and away we went to the Civil Affairs office.

When we got there we had our first official family picture taken. The they took a picture of me for my passport. After that we met with an adoption official. Mommy and Daddy had to list their occupation, say why they wanted to adopt a baby from China and what my education would be. They said I could have as much education as I wanted. Let's see if Daddy is still saying that if I ask him to pay for my masters!

After that it was off to the notary office. The man there asked Mommy and Daddy to say their names. Then daddy said my name. He then asked if Mommy and Daddy were satisfied with me. He asked if Mommy and Daddy would ever abuse or adbanoned me. They said never. After that we were handed an official form that says Mommy and Daddy are my forever parents. I am officially adopted and part of the family for ever and ever!!

I really love my Daddy!

I can't wait to meet everyone. Mommy keeps telling me that I will have lots of fun people to play with.

Love,
Megan

More Pictures

2007-04-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

It is now Tuesday morning. We still have a happy baby. She went to bed about 8 last night and sleep straight through until about 5 this morning. Yeah! She did wimper a few times, but never woke up. When I leaned over the crib and said good morning she smiled!! Just melts my heart.

She is so happy. She had cried some, but not much. When she has cried we have meet her need and she stops. She lets us know when she is done with tummy time, or ready to stop laying on her back. The only real cry we had was at bathtime. We took a very quick bath.

The picture where it looks like she had pants up to her arm pits is to show you how big the 9 mo Carter pants are.

Today we head back to the civil affairs office to make our adoption official!

More Pictures

2007-04-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

Gotcha Day

2007-04-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Gotcha Day

2007-04-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

Now that you have seen all of the good stuff here is the scoop. We went to the civil affairs office and were taken into a room lined with seats. After we were there for a few minutes the babies came in and the caregivers sat down on one side of the room with the babies. We have pictures of Megan sitting on the caregivers lap. They called families forward in alpha order, so we were first. The looked at our passport and coming to China notice. After all the names were matched up the director of the orphanage handed me Megan. She almost immediately smiled! She is the happiest baby! One the bus ride back to the hotel she was smiling and jabbering and would squeal just a little bit about all the exciting things she saw out of the window.

She seems to be very healty. She had something on her neck it is kind of scaly. We are not sure what it is. She has something mean going on her bottom. I am not sure if it is diaper rash. It is pretty severe. She is slathered with diaper cream at the moment, and if that does not work it on to plan B. She has 2 teeth on the bottom. She is not as developed as the paperwork said. She can not really sit up. She falls over. We have had her laying on bed. She turns her head to get a good look at the action, but makes no attempt to roll over. She is 7 kilograms, which I think is 13 pounds. She can wear the Gerber onsies that are 6-9 mo. They really srunk when I washed them. We have put her in 9 mo Carter pants and they are hanging on her. I should have gone with the size 2 diapers. The tabs on the size 3 almost cross in the front.

We can not put into words how incredible this day has been. Currently she is sitting on Chuck's lap talking to us as I type this.

Chuck needs to run to do paperwork. More to come later.

Chuck, Wendi and finally Megan!

Greetings from Nanchang!

2007-04-01T03:46:00.000-07:00

We made it to Nanchang (pronounced Nanchung) this afternoon. The flight was rough. There were lots of turbulence. I did not think I was going to make it without being sick. The worse part about it was that our guide was seated next to us and I could not talk with her. She and Chuck chatted. It has been quite the experience so far. Defiantly not a tourist area. When we were driving in everyone was staring at the Americans on the bus.

When we arrived housekeeping came up to bring us a crib, stroller and baby bath tub. We then went to a local supermarket for baby supplies. We had to walk about 10 minutes to get there. Once we entered the store it was a little overwhelming. There a lots of American products here. We were able to purchase a package of Chips Ahoy, Oreos and Huggies diapers. Chuck is going to try a new flavor of Lays chips, Texas Grilled BBQ. I will let you know how that goes.

We opted no to join the group for dinner. We ordered room service, which was good. They have a thing for fried eggs here. There was one on my Club Sandwich and also on Chuck's cheeseburger. The food in this region is very spicy so room service may be the norm for us. Quite the adventurous!

We are both very calm about tomorrow. I know that we will both cry tomorrow. We attended a short Sunday service held by one of our group members this morning and everyone was tearing up by the time we left. We are ready. The diaper bag is packed and I put the bottles together. This is her mixture for a 8 oz bottle... 3 scoops of formula, 6 scoops of rice cereal (the brand is Heinz) and 1 scoop of sugar. Yep you heard that right, sugar. A lady in our group said that her first daughter would not take the bottle without the sugar. She said that we will need to wean her off of it.

Tomorrow we will be posting as a family of three!!!

Last Post from Beijing

2007-03-31T04:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-29T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-03-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-03-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-03-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

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.