On a lighter note... St. Patrick's Day Chinese Style

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It is a huge deal for my husband's family. Gee what more could you expect from some one named Patrick Shannon? We thought that St. Patrick's Day probably had not migrated from the Emerald Isle to the shores of China. Patrick's parents, Denny and Judie joined us on this trip like they did on the last trip. So we packed a couple of things for Grandma Judie to celebrate with today. No corned beef and cabbage, but at least we have some shamrocks! The girls gave Grandma Judie our little surprise last night. Poor Annie, she is going to think her new family is crazy with all the green! The girls even picked out a green hair bow for her today that is covered in shamrocks.

On A Personal Note

Very few people outside of my immediate family and some close friends know about my faith. Part of this is probably being Lutheran and part of this is probably being German and part of this is that it is not something that I am comfortable discussing with people I don't know well. Of the two of us, I am probably the more traditionally religious person. Why am I bringing this up? Well it is a little over 5 am here on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. It is also the day that Annie joins our family. And our journey to Annie has been complicated to say the least. Few people outside of family and close friends knew about Annie in the beginning. Why would we want not to scream it from the tree tops? The last 9 months have been a trying time for our family. We have faced new a job, the break in employment when moving from one academic institution to another, selling a house that is still being renovated and finishing it up to put it on the market, selling a house in down market, a spouse working 900 miles away, finding a new job in an economy that stinks, you get the picture. So our journey to Annie has been about FAITH. And I capitalize FAITH because that is all it could be. It is not a small faith. This required that we heed the call from God and follow on FAITH. And the conversation I had with our Pastor and Parish Nurse sums up what we have been doing. This has been one of those times when you hear the call and you know you are being led but you kind ask, ok God, now what??? Well in 5 hours, our now what arrives. Please keep our family and Annie in your thoughts and prayers this morning.

Beijing

We had a fabulous time in Beijing. The first day we went to the silk market and several other stores and then on to the acrobats. The acrobats were amazing! The next day we went to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square was closed for the Peoples Congress Meeting but we did get to walk the length of it. This morning we flew off to Hefei bright and early. The airport was interesting. Yesterday was the first day of the no liquids rule in China. It was mass pandemonium trying to go through security. We made it to our plane with no time to spare. But, because of the security delays, they held the flight and we were actually some of the first people to board. Tomorrow is the big day when Miss Annie arrives. We will post tomorrow evening. Here are some photos of our time in Beijing.

We made it!

It is now 7:02 am on Thursday 14th in China. We made it! We got in yesterday afternoon after a long plane ride. The girls were troopers. The girls went to bed at 7:30 and we followed at around 8:30. We made it until 4:40 this morning when we all woke up! We will post more this evening.

We leave tomorrow bright and early!

Tonight, we are going to stay at an airport hotel so that we have an easier time getting to our 6:30 am flight to BEIJING!!!! We get Annie on St. Patrick's Day! WOOHOO! We are on our way!

Packing, packing, packikng...

It is amazing what you think you need to take with you and then you realize it just won't fit! We are slowly wading through our packing list. And, a word to the wise, don't ask a 5 year old on what they want to take with them...

We're leaving on a jet plane...

We bought our tickets last night. We are leaving on 3/12/08!!!
Here is our tentative schedule:
3/12/08 leave for Beijing
3/13/08 Arrive in Beijing
3/14/08 Tour Beijing
3/15/08 Tour Beijing
3/16/08 Leave for Hefei and meet Annie (maybe)!
3/17/08 Meet Annie (maybe) and finalize adoption (maybe)
3/18/08 Finalize adoption (maybe)
3/19-20/08 Hanging out in Hefei
3/21/08 fly to Guangzhou
3/26/08 Consulate appointment
3/27/08 pick up passport
3/28/08 train to Hong Kong
3/29/08 Leave Hong Kong for the USA