We're Home!

I am finally posting that we are home! We arrived in Detroit about 3:30pm yesterday and didn't get home until about 6 because it took forever to get through immigration and customs and then over an hour and a half home! It didn't help that our plane got a flat tire in Guangzhou and we had to wait on the runway for an hour and a half while they got a new tire and fixed it! Of course this made us miss our connection in Tokyo! We were able to get another flight, thank God! Bing was good for the most part during the long flights, but we did have a bit of a rough time half way through our second long flight as we were introduced to her evil twin! We think she was for the most part just scared and confused and bored! We did the best we could to console her, but were almost ready to kiss the ground when we finally landed! I posted a pic of her feet touching the ground in the US for the first time! Our kids were so happy to see us, especially their new sister! They were so worried about us because we weren't on the flight we were supposed to be on and the airlines would not tell them where we were! They were so relieved when we finally emerged from the Northwest terminal! Of course I cried, as I knew I would! She loves her new brothers and sisters! I have so many more pics to post, but they are all on Marie and Sarah's cameras! As much as we really loved and enjoyed China, it is sooooooo good to be home with our sweet little baby girl! She is currently snoozing in the pac n play in our bedroom! Poor little thing is so exhausted as we have had so many visitors! Gary and I both keep close to her as she is a bit overwhelmed and nervous, especially around the dog and cats! At first she was horrified over our dog but now she is tolerating him and watching every move he makes and is fine just so long as he keeps his distance! He is so good,too, he knows she is upset and has no problem steering clear of her! The cats, well they are curious and she is too, but also would prefer they keep their distance as well! The first thing I did when I got home was take a big drink right out of the kitchen tap! We had burgers for dinner and then went to bed! I will post more pics soon of her with all of her brothers and sisters! Our whole family is in love!
PS. Don't worry about that big pool in the background in a couple of the pics! We have every safety precaution possible for when she is walking! Aside from locked gates, and alarms we are installing a Katchakid. Of course, there is no better precaution than never taking your eyes off of your child for even a second! Being the mom of 6 happy and healthy kids, I know this is the most important precaution!

Last post from China!

It is almost 11pm in China and we are soooooo tired! Our bags are packed, 3 carry- ons, 1 laptop bag, and 4 big suitcases! We have to have the checked bags outside our room by 4:30 am because we are leaving our hotel at 5:30 am! We were so worried this morning that our flights would be delayed because of the typhoon that hit Guangzhou last night, but everything is on schedule as far as we know! I posted a couple of pics of what it looked like right outside our hotel this morning! Poor Gary had to wade through it to get our laundry and buy baby wipes and two more suitcases! Good thing we got those typhoid and hep A&B shots! Then this afternoon we all took a 40 minute bus ride to the American Consulate and Bing got her Visa and as soon as we cross the border into the US she is an American citizen! I posted a pic of her posing in her red white and blue!
We have had such an incredible time here in China! It is so hard to put into words what it is like here. You would really have to come and experience it for yourself to get the full understanding of the beautiful land and wonderful people! I guess if I had to choose just one word to describe China it would be "humbling". These beautiful people have nothing, and I mean nothing, yet they are so polite, happy, and friendly! They are so incredibly hardworking, too, as we have learned that many of the girls work 12-14 hours a day in the shops around the hotel earning only 50cents per day! We have gotten to know quite a few of them and I wish we could adopt them all! They are all in their late teens and early twenties and absolutely adorable! They even got me some birthday presents and presents for Bing! As poor as they are, they are the most kind and generous people we have ever met! We have gotten quite a few of their email addresses and are going to keep in touch with them! Gary and I were sitting and talking after Baby Bing fell asleep tonight and we both agreed that we will never be the same after we leave China! We have so much yet we still always seem to want more! We can honestly say that we are changing our mind set and will be truly thankful from now on for everything that God has bestowed upon us! I was so bugged that I didn't have time to get my new rugs and window treatments for my newly painted kitchen before we left, but now that just seems so stupid and trivial!
We have enjoyed every single second of being in China! Even though we miss our kids, Justin, Marie, Adam, Sarah and Marcus, our dog, Storm, and cats, Tigger and Fiona,and the rest of our family, we will have a very hard time saying goodbye to Kaelin's homeland! As I laid her down to sleep tonight I got teary thinking that this was the last night that she will sleep in China. It is our prayer that she will love her new life and that her birth mother will somehow feel a sense of peace that the baby girl she gave birth to is being so very loved and cared for.
We have truly had the trip of a lifetime and the best and most incredible part is that we are bringing home our precious baby girl, Kaelin Bing Wen! We will always love China and all of it's people! When Bing is older we plan to come back and show her what a beautiful and amazing country she is from! I have to get up in 4 hours and I haven't even gotten to sleep yet! Goodbye from Guangzhou, Guangdong! See you in the good ol' USA! Love, Di

It's a girl thing!

More Pics of Bing!

We tried to do the famous "Red Couch Photo" yesterday, but it was a complete disaster! We did manage to get a few good ones of Bing alone, but that was it! All of the babies were crying, and Bing was the worst one of all! It was so not like what I had envisioned in the last 3 years! Then my camera battery died and Bing conked out for good and would not wake up! My travel buddies took a lot of pictures and will send them to me! You are not missing anything, trust me, they were murder! Bing screamed like she was being stuck with a pin! God help us when we go for her immunizations!

The many faces of Baby Bing!

She passed her medical exam!

We are almost done in Guangzhou! Baby Bing passed her medical exam with flying colors! All we have left to do is get her Visa at the American Consulate tomorrow and we are coming home! We have a little more shopping to do, as I would still like to buy a few more gifts for our friends and family back home! It has been hard because not only do we have a new baby that crawls everywhere, it is so frickin hot here it is hard to go out for long periods of time! After a while it gets tiring what with all of the bartering over the same crap in every shop! We did get some good stuff though! Now we have to figure out how to lug it all home with us!

More Pics!

We went to the zoo today and boy was it hot! We could only stay 1 hr because the temp was around 100 and so was the humidity! We nearly melted away! Baby Bing had sweat dripping off of her and since she will not take water from a bottle I was having to give her mouthfuls from the cap of the water bottle! There was only one panda and his habitat was very sad, only a small cage with a little pool of water!
This is why I hate zoos! Many of the animals had very small habitats especially the dophins, positively heartbreaking!
We shopped again, today! We have made friends with many of the store owners and they love Baby Bing! They give her free stuff because she is so cute! They are always saying "Lucky baby, Lucky baby! The truth is, we are the lucky ones! Lucky Mama and Baba!

Shopping in Guangzhou!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post again! We were so tired last night when we arrived here, we got some dinner in our room and went bed! Then the internet has been giving me fits! This is the first time I have gotten it to work since we have gotten here Kaelin Bing Wen has been such a little trooper! She was so good for her very first plane ride, and slept part of the way! It was so very bittersweet to leave her province, knowing that she would not be back for a very long time, if ever. We do feel bad that she will not live in her province and know her people, but we know that she will have such a beautiful life with her new family in the US. The people of Hunan have a hard life. It is poor and the people work very hard every day just to put food in their mouths and a roof over their head. They literally live on top of each other too, the number of high rise apartment buildings is staggering! Kaelin will never know this hard life, she will always have more than she could ever want or need and most of all she will have a family that loves her more than anything! But we will always tell her about Hunan and the wonderful people who live there! We went shopping in Guangzhou today and got a lot of great deals! It was totally awesome! I will post more pictures tomorrow!

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