Where does the time go???????

I can't believe that today is our last day in Changsha! It has been an amazing 10 days, with the highlight being Miss Kaelin Bing Wen! We are completely in love with her and it is as if she has always been ours! She is such a unique little individual, too! She is a girl who know what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it! Her personality has blossomed so much since she was placed in our arms it is almost miraculous! She even says, "Mom Mom and Ada (her own version of dada)! She is eating well and likes scrambled eggs, porridge, toast, and rice! She will only eat from chopsticks and will have nothing to do with a spoon or a fork! What did we expect, she is Chinese after all! We have been having such an incredible time here in Changsha! The city is bustling with over 10 million people and we are definitely a minority here, and a true spectacle at that! We went shopping today with some other families in our group, and when we go down the sidewalk we look like an American Parade, what with all of the strollers, backpacks, and babies! We don't exactly blend! We just can't get over how clean the city is and how unbelievably friendly everyone is towards us! No wonder Kaelin Bing has such a wonderful and sweet disposition! Yesterday we visited the Yuelu Academy and walked around the campus for a while. It was truly beautiful and so scerene! The day before yesterday, we visited the Hunan Embroidery Research Institute and learned all about silk embroidery. It dates all the way back to over 2,000 years ago. The embroidery work on display was truly breathtaking! It is evident from these works of art how hardworking, talented, and patient the people of Hunan are! We felt very proud that these are Kaelin Bing's people and hope that some day she will posses these same qualities!
I have got to get busy packing! Our room looks like a tornado went right through it! Actually, a tornado did go through here, and her name is Baby Bing! I have no idea how I am going to fit everything we have bought and what we came with into two measly suitcases and still stay under 44 pounds a piece! I was joking with Gary that Baby Bing probably thinks this is her new home! She has no idea something even better is waiting for her! I probably will not post until we arrive in Guangzhou, tomorrow, so I will say "Zai jian" for now! Love, Di

More Pics!

What day is it?

It is so easy to lose track of time here! We always seem to be asking each other "What day is it?! It is hard to believe it has already been one whole week since Gotcha Day! Kaelin is getting more and more of a personality as the days go by! She truly is a wonderful baby with such an amazing disposition! She is beautiful, happy, curious, healthy (after a round of Zithromax for an ear infection), and of course smart! She amazes us every day with everything she does! She even has such an adorable little sense of humor too! She thinks everything is funny and always has a smile for us!
We visited a gorgeous park yesterday and got to interact with many of the people there. The people of Hunan are so incredibly friendly and polite to us! They love to have there picture taken with us! How cute are the ones with the little boys with the slit crotch pants! We carry around a translated card with us to explain why we are here. When the people read it and understand that we are adopting this little baby girl we are holding they show such gratitude and shake our hands and say thank you! Today we are going to the silk embroidery factory and then going to a restaraunt for dinner tonight near our hotel. I typed this entire post with li'l Miss octopus arms in my lap!

Pictures!

WAL-MART!

You have to see it to believe it! I will post more later!

Kaelin Bing Wen is Officially Ours!

What a big day yesterday was! Kaelin Bing Wen is officially our daughter! We spent half the day at the hot and humid Civil Affairs office doing more paperwork and taking care of different fees. We just couldn't be more excited about our new baby girl! After we got back to the hotel Gary and Bing and I ventured out in search of diapers, wipes, formula as we did not go to the Chinese Walmart as planned yesterday. We were out of everything! The market was about a 10 minute walk and we were stared at the entire way! I guess it's not an everyday thing to see an American couple with a Chinese baby walking down the sidewalk in Changsha! Not to mention how Gary stands out a bit being 6'3! We totally had to guess and go by pictures on the packages because, naturally, everything was Chinese! Today we are going to Walmart to get some more things for Bing! I will write more later!

More of our Beautiful Girl!

WE GOT THE HAPPIEST BABY! Kaelin Bing Wen is an absolute delight! We are just amazed with her, too! She is sitting, crawling, smiling, and babbling up a storm! Everything about her is beyond perfect! We had the most incredible day yesterday! After arriving in Changsha we barely had enough time to get unpacked a little, get our diaper bag packed and then we were on our way to get our Baby Bing! The bus ride alone was quite an adventure! There are NO traffic laws in Changsha! There are 10 million people in this city and they are all out and about! There were at least 3 instances where it's a miracle we weren't involved in a serious accident! When we arrived at the Civil Affairs office, the babies were already there waiting for us! We walked in and took an elevator up to a conference room and when we walked in all of the babies were right there! Since we hadn't had any updates on Bing it was actually hard to pick her out, but Gary and I spotted her after a quick scan! We knew that dark eyed little one sitting in her nanny's lap was our Baby Bing! It was very chaotic to say the least as before we could be given the babies we had to do more paperwork! Once that was done, Micheal, our guide from GW started naming families! We were the 4th family to be called and all at once she was placed into my waiting arms! Talk about love at first sight! Gary and I can't even begin to put into words how we felt at that moment after waiting for sooo long! We just stood with our precious daughter and bonded instantly! We just can't believe how much we loved this beautiful baby we had just met! Honestly it was no different than the moment you see your baby after giving birth, only this pregnancy lasted over 3 years! By now it was so hot in the room that everyone was just dripping with sweat! It was seriously about 105 degrees in that room! After we all recieved our sweet bundles of baby goodness, we were able to meet with the orphanage director and our baby's nanny. We asked some questions while Michael, our guide, translated. Then we were given the most priceless gifts! They included Bing's original finding clothing, a small red gift bag filled with her finding ad and a beautiful handmade chop (stamp) with Bing's name engraved on it! We also recieved back the cameras we had sent in the two care packages all completely used up, I can't wait to get the photos developed! We also got back her lovey we had slept with and sent and another suffed bear along with a beautiful baby blanket! We are truly grateful to Chenzhou CWI and the love and care that they have given our precious daughter! They are a Half the Sky orphanage and, wow, it really makes a difference! Baby Bing is living proof!
After about 2 hrs we all loaded back on the bus and took the death defying drive back to our hotel! Bing fell asleep on Gary's shoulder about 2 minutes into the trip, so cute! We couldn't wait to get her back to our room and take her all in! Aside from more paperwork, we have been in our room just loving on and being totally mezmorized by our new little miracle, Kaelin Bing Wen!! This morning we will do more paperwork and then we will go shopping for some things for Bing!
Finally, We would like to say how much we love our five kids waiting back home! Justin, Marie, Adam, Sarah, and Marcus, we can't wait for you to meet your new adorable baby sister! We miss you and WE LOVE YOU! Mom and Dad xo

We Have Baby Bing!!!!

It has been a very long and hot hot hot day! But we are absolutely in love and Kaelin Bing Wen Allen is perfect in every way! She is a happy, bouncy, beautiful baby! I will post more later!

We Made it to Guangzhou!

Right now we are at the Hotel Novotel Baiyun at the airport in Guangzhou waiting for our flight to Changsha in the morning! We have been flying for over 18 hrs, but we are not that tired because we slept on the plane a lot and it is really daytime for us! Here are a few photos to tide you over until we get our precious little Baby Bing! OMG, We will be holding her in just 14 1/2 hrs!

Bon Voyage'

This will be my last post from home! My next post will be from China! We are beyond thrilled that this is finally happening! We are packed and ready to go! Thank you to all of our friends and family for all of your well wishes and support! We couldn't have gotten through all of this without you! Since we will be getting Baby Bing just a couple of hours after we arrive in Changsha, I will post pics as soon as it is humanly possible! What a whirlwind it will be! See you in China!
Love,
:)Di and Gary