We're going to China!

Hey all! We are so thrilled to be heading to China to bring home our little girl!

A little Ruthie update. She is now a staggering 18.5 pounds ;) and 2 years old. She loves books and her play phone and the real phone. Ruthie is babbling quite a bit, though she still doesn't have many words other than more and Mama. She definitely knows how to assert herself and make herself known. Her foster family said she has recently learned to unsnap her onesie and remove her diaper. She is very clever and has, four times this past week, done this, ran to the bathroom, and actually used the potty. Those of you who know me best may recall that potty training is the bane of my mothering life. If my fifth daughter wants to self-train, I'm all for it! You go, Ruthie V.!

While I will not be on Facebook for the duration of our trip I am hopeful to update my blog each day, so peek back here and hopefully you'll get the first glimpses of our trip and of our darling daughter.

Our itinerary looks roughly like this:

May 10 1:45 am, leave Newark, NJ
11 May 5:30 am : arrive Hong Kong (3.5 hr. layover)
11 May 12:20 pm: arrive Beijing
11 May 3 pm: check into hotel
11 May 4 pm: MEET FOSTER FAMILY - walk from our hotel to their home
11 May 4:15 pm: MEET Ruthie! (The timing of this translates to what would be 4:15 am of May 11. China is 12 hours ahead of  our time zone.)
7 pm: walk back to hotel, hopefully Facetime with our girls back home

Friday:
9:30 am Drive to Mutianyu Great Wall with Ruthie & foster family
10:30: CLIMB IT! (Guys! We are climbing the Great Wall of China!!!)
12:30/ Have lunch at local Chinese Restaurant
2 pm Drive back to Beijing
3:30 : back to hotel to rest/get gifts for family
4-7: Meet Ayi (Ruth's Chinese Nanny) and play. Eat dinner, put kids to bed


Saturday:
9:30 - visit with foster family
11: Visit Forbidden City
1: Visit Lama Temple (a working monastery)
3-7: back home for kids to play. Visit with another foster family/eat dinner.

Sunday:
8 am: Ruth's foster family will bring her to our hotel to drop her off with us. We will be escorting her from Beijing to Nanning. Please pray (your Saturday night, May 13) for this transition. Ruth has been lovingly cared for by this family for over a year now. They are all she knows. As another mama recently reminded me, tears are good!

11:55: Fly to Nanning, Guangxi


Monday, May 15:
Civil affairs office (this is normally when we would meet our child, I'm not sure what this day will look like for us)


Tuesday May 16
Finalize adoption paperwork. This is what is known in adoption world as "gotcha day", the day she legally becomes our daughter.


Wednesday, May 17
Free day, no activities planned


Thursday, May 18
Free day, no activities planned


Friday, May 19
Hotel check out, transfer to airport. Fly to Guangzhou (just an hour & 20 min flight)


Saturday, May 20
Medical check and Visa paperwork check


Sunday, May 21
Free day, no activities planned


Monday, May 22
Visa medical report pick up, if needed


Tuesday, May 23
Visa appointment and Oath taking ceremony


Wednesday, May 24
Free day


Thursday, May 25
Visa pick up


Friday, May 26
Go HOME! Flight leave 9:55 am, fly to Hong Kong. (90 min flight and 6.5 Hour layover)
Arrive in Newark, NJ at 9:35 PM. My sister, Stacy, will pick us up at the airport and drive us the 2.5 hrs home!




We are hoping to see as much of China as possible on our free days. It is hot, humid, and rainy this time of year in southern China, but we are hopeful that it will be bearable and we can absorb as much of the Chinese culture as possible.