It's GO TIME!

The balloons are here:

The crib is not:

And in 30 minutes we leave to go from a family of four to a family of five.

Thank you to everyone back home and everywhere who has been sending prayers and good vibes our way.  Please pray for quick healing for our little girl.  We love you!

Nanning

We arrived in Nanning a little late last night.  Our girls are great travelers, but even they were pretty weary from the long days of airports and airplanes.  As we were dragging them and our tons of luggage through customs for what felt like the 10th time in two days, I looked at P and said, "There are easier ways to have children."  But, not our children.  Our children came to us through stacks and stacks of paper, from thousands of miles away.  They came from our hearts, and this is how we come to be a family.  And like I've said the last two times, the trip to meet them is far from a vacation.

After making it through line after line, we were met by our guide, Glenn.  Our driver is actually the same driver we had for Emmie's adoption trip.  We headed off to the Nanning Marriott.  Glenn informed us that this is actually an extremely busy adoption week and time in general because of all of the closures for different holidays, and because CCCWA is closing to upgrade their computer systems.  As a result, lots of families are trying to get their adoptions done now to avoid the risk of being pushed off for a long time.  He told us that we will be meeting Francesca at the Civil Affairs office with probably 12 other families.  We were honestly a little sad that we wouldn't be meeting her in our hotel room as we did with Emmie.  Glenn gave us a report from the foster family about Francesca.  It reiterates over and over how much she dislikes strangers.  Honestly, this makes me nervous.  Glenn helped us check in to our hotel, went over our itinerary with us, and we called it a night.

This morning we headed down to the breakfast buffet at the hotel.  I wasn't ready at all for the flood of emotions that hit me when we walked right to one of the tables that we tried to eat breakfast at with Emmie.  I say "tried" because for most of our adoption trip with Emmie, she was so unbelievably sad that she wouldn't let us sit anywhere to eat.  P said he remembered sitting there alone while I took Emmie for a walk so she could look out every window for her foster mother.  Emmie said that she doesn't remember anything from being here before.  P noted that he has a lot of sad memories at this hotel, and I do, too.  It's cathartic for us, though, to watch Emmie sit here happily eating bacon and telling her little sister, "You know, Rosie, they met me in Nanning, too!"

This afternoon we headed out to a new mall about 10 minutes away from the hotel.  For those of you who have stayed here before, things have changed a lot.  The Walmart next to the hotel is gone.  The mall that was attached to the hotel is gone, too.  The entire area is under massive construction.  The little strip of restaurants behind the hotel is gone, too.  We miss the old stuff and especially that crazy Walmart, but the new mall has plenty.  The first floor has a lot of neat food shops and a Whole Foods-type supermarket.  The mall was really decked out for Christmas, but mostly with a Garfield theme.  We were laughing because Garfield seems so 80's to us, but here you couldn't turn your head without seeing a Garfield Santa or a Garfield next to a Christmas tree.  Outside the mall there is a huge Christmas tree, and even the tree topper is Garfield.  Rosie just said, "Who IS this tiger everywhere?"

Garfield celebrating the season with a huge sub by the
Christmas tree.

Rosie:  "I love this tiger."

On Santa's lap in Garfield's house.  So weird.

In Garfield's house.
"Mama, quick!  Take the picture!  He's getting heavy!"

The girls climbing the walls waiting to meet their little sister.

This is how much wine I'd have to drink to feel calm on the
Eve of meeting our third daughter.

Tonight we packed Francesca's little backpack full of things we hope will bribe her to like us.  Or, at least come with us without kicking and screaming.  Or, maybe come with us WITH kicking and screaming.  Either way, tomorrow is the day.  Sad, happy, or otherwise, we become a family of five.   I pray that she's not too afraid, and that her little heart heals quickly.  She doesn't know it yet, but she's got a forever family who loves her to the moon and back already.

Hong Kong to Ding Ding

Today everyone woke up in decent spirits (Rosie and I at 4am as it seems the time change is affecting us the worst).  Rosie's busted nose looks like she was punched in the face, making us a bit nervous as we are going to be meeting some Chinese officials in just a couple of days to take another of their children into our care.  Oh, did I not mention that Rosie busted her nose?  She did.  On that beside table that is always between two double beds in a hotel room.  The one that just looks like it's going to bust your kid's face on the corner of.  That one.  Rosie was on the bed reaching for the phone to make one of her zillion pretend phone calls to the US and her hand slipped and her nose hit the corner of the table.

So, busted nose aside, we headed back to Tsui Wah because it's familiar to us and delicious.  We feasted on noodles and eggs and rolls and mystery meat and P even had a fried fish filet.  Fried fish for breakfast!  Yum!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day in Hong Kong.  The temp was probably about 60 or so, it was bright sun and breezy.  We headed to Kowloon Park, where we took Emmie on Rosie's adoption trip.  It was amazing how much of the park Emmie remembered.

After Kowloon Park, we headed down to stroll the Waterfront area.  It was absolutely gorgeous and perfect.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport for the final leg of our journey to meet our daughter and sister.

This is about when the emotions start to get big and real and--honestly--scary.  Emmie and I were all cuddled together on the plane and she was telling me how excited she is to meet her little sister.  She asked me what I was thinking, and I told her the truth: "Emmie, I feel really nervous."  Just like the sweet, tender girl she has been since that day in the Nanning Marriott when she wiped my tears, she said, "Oh, Mama.  Don't be so silly.  You don't have to be nervous about meeting your own daughter!"  And with that, off we flew to Nanning.  Or, Ding Ding, as Rosie calls it.

Most of the way

Wowza.
We made it most of the way, ie, to Hong Kong.  Door to door, it was over 24 hours of travelling.  Here we are when we left:

In Chicago:

On the aircraft to Hong Kong:

Stripped down to t-shirts because it was 95 degrees on the plane.

Right after arrival:

Not bad, you say for 24 hours of travelling, right?  You probably say that because you can't see the dried tears from Rosie's epic, insane meltdown laying on the floor at the end of the jetway.  The meltdown that made the pilot say, "Wow, I'm so happy I'm beyond that stage."  Um, thanks buddy.  Fortunately for him, I held my tongue because he flew us safely for ninety-gazillion miles.  You also say we look pretty good because you can't smell the throw-up in Emmie's hair, likely from a combination of evil airport and airplane food.  Just keepin' it real, my friends.  Keeping it real.

So, backing up a bit, because I can't seem to ever write anything in order.  The past few days have been utter insanity trying to get ready.  The girls were due for a transfusion (which is an all-day event for us at the hospital) the day before we left.  This was great for the girls because (as one of my fellow thal mamas put it) they are now all "tanked up" for the trip.  But it meant that I couldn't get any trip prep done on Wednesday.  P and I ended up being up pretty much all night before we left doing last minute things that would have been done that day.  P even hand-delivered Christmas cards to our neighbors after I ran out of stamps in the middle of the night.  Which, of course, woke up their dog and probably their whole house but, what are you going to do?  They got their card.

So Grampy picked us up at 6am in "The Beach Car" as the girls call it and we were off.  Rosie asked twice if Nana was on the roof of the car, and Emmie told Grampy he was sure to get a ticket because he was driving too fast.  Sort of typical conversation for our family.

Our flights went pretty smoothly.  As I eluded to, Emmie got sick on the long flight, but I really think it was from something she ate.  We got an early reminder of the "Clothing Police"-style women we are likely to encounter in China.  The woman sitting next to Rosie spoke no English, but kept gesturing that I cover up Rosie's arms because she must be freezing on the plane.  Mind you, when we got on the plane I called my mom to say goodbye and I told her it was so darn hot on the plane that it was possible I'd fly all the way to Hong Kong in just underpants.  But this woman was certain Rosie needed more clothes and blankets, even swaddling Rosie her own blanket because the one Rosie had on her wasn't enough.  This woman even took it upon herself to rearrange Rosie while she was sleeping into positions that seemed more comfortable to her.  Rosie groggily fought her off and even seemed to take a few swipes at Airplane Mama in her sleep.  Rosie was a hot, sweaty mess by the time we arrived in Hong Kong.  Maybe that plus the lack of sleep is what precipitated the tantrum at the end of the jetport.

We smell bad and made the pilot pity our parents, but we are still happy.

We had no problems getting to our hotel and were so happy to see an abundance of holiday lights on our ride into the city.  As soon as we opened the door to the hotel room in Hong Kong, Rosie said, "Where's Yiman?!!?!?"  Like she was going to be in here and yell, "Surprise!" when we opened the door.  I think we are going to have to work on explaining how the meeting of their little sister is going to go a bit more clearly.

We cleaned up a bit and everyone was feeling good and hungry so we headed out to Tsui Wah, one of our absolute favorite HK-style restaurants.  We had noodle soup and chicken wings and plenty of sweet, hot milk tea.

After dinner, we strolled down to the waterfront to get a better look at the holiday lights.  Let's just say that our concern that there would not be a lot of holiday festive decorations was quelled.  At least in Hong Kong, they do it up really nicely with tons of lights and decorations.  The girls sang Christmas carols as we walked along the Avenue of the Stars.  We guessed what Francesca might be doing now, and it makes me sad to think that in a few days, she is going to be terrified out of her pretty little mind, losing the foster family it sounds like she is very attached to.  But, I know in my mind that while her foster family loves her and takes care of her, that it wasn't a permanent solution for her.  We are.

I'll be home for Christmas

Literally.  As in, landing at Logan International Airport on Christmas Day.  What a present.

As with all things adoption, moving through the last steps of the process has been unpredictable.  It's like every step is a cliffhanger and you just hold your breath waiting to see what is going to happen next.  Our Article 5 was expedited and issued on November 20 and picked up on November 24.  We figured we had a few weeks before our TA arrived, so we were completely shocked when it arrived just a week later on December 1.

We were faced with scheduling around holidays, CCCWA closures, and transfusions.  It basically came down to travelling right now, or waiting until January.  While right now may not seem perfect because it is changing our holiday season, we decided to leave as as soon as possible.   For us, it didn't feel right to leave Francesca in China for another month just so it didn't disrupt our schedule.  Plus, it fit in perfectly with the girls' transfusion schedule.  So, while we will be missing a few of our usual holiday things, we are hoping to trade them for new and different ones.  But the tree is trimmed, Santa is still visiting after we return, and on Christmas Day we will come home with the best gift ever.

Who could wait another month to kiss this sweet face?

Rosie pretend helping to put little sister's crib together.

Emmie really helping to put little sister's crib together!

Singing carols and decorating the tree.

Look who I found under our tree!
(That lovely pink stocking in front was purchased on Shamian Island on
Rosie's adoption trip.)

This kid LOVES Christmas.

So now we find ourselves in that now-familiar whirlwind of getting ready on nearly last-minute's notice to go half way around the world.  To meet a little person who we have never met, but love so much already.

See you in China, sweet girl

I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I just want you for my own

More than you will ever know

Make my wish come true

Baby, all I want for Christmas is you