From The Waiting Child

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you'd chosen me.
I'm happy for the baby,
yet inside I"m aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by,
"Does no one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.
I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd seen your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no-one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.
Can this be true? I'm almost six!
And there are infants here you see?
But then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

by Debbie Bodie

The big brother

This is the last weekend we will be able to see Riley before we leave for China so Scott went and picked him up from school. They had a little conversation between them then and had to share it with me. Scott had already been discussing our leaving to pick up Drew to Riley again, and he wanted to tell me what all was said while Riley was still listening. He said "he knows we're leaving Wednesday to go pick Drew up and that we'll be gone for 14 days". He said "Riley said he's excited to get his brother home." I said ,"well that's great!, now you know he won't be able to talk like you do or like we do." Riley said, "yeah, I know all that stuff too. He then asked,"will you still love me?" (Which rather floored us) We told him "OF COURSE, Always and Forever, no matter what, that would never change." He seemed content to hear this and said ok. We later explained that Drew may be scared at first and asked if he would help him out. Scott said,"you know Riley, that he might be scared to sleep by hisself since he sleeps with his family there now,will you sleep in his room with him?" Riley replies,"yeah, OR he can sleep with me in my room, he can just come in there and wake me up." That would be wonderful if it pans out that way. (However, I plan to co-sleep with Drew for a while as he is used to sleeping with his foster mother).

We have our final detailed itinerary!!

We just received our final itinerary today with hotel arrangements, tours, schedule, fees, etc.
Looks like we're staying at the Wangfujing Grand Hotel in Beijing which is located across the street from the Forbidden City. While in Urumqi, we stay at the Hoi Tak Hotel, which is a 5 star hotel. Then in Guangzhou, we get to stay at the very famous 5 star hotel The White Swan which is located on the Pearl River. This hotel is rated as one of the best there and so adored by adoptive families. Looks like all 3 have swimming pools, so I hope Drew will like that. Also looks as they all have a spa too! Oh yeah, momma's getting a massage too. Bring it on!!

Flying our lives away

We have our flight arrangements, just waiting on a couple of seat assignments still. We leave Wed. Mar 26 (2 days before my b'day) from St. Louis to Chicago at 9:37 a.m. From there, we leave at 12:35 p.m., arriving in Beijing on Mar. 27 3:05 p.m. (Interesting how the time changes everything, eh?) For our flights back home, we leave Guangzhou on Thurs. April 10 at 9:15 a.m. to Toykyo,Japan getting there at 2:30p.m. We leave from there at 4:40p.m. , to Chicago arriving at 2:19 p.m.-U.S. time. Then, we fly to St. Louis arriving at 6:11 p.m. Guess what the big kicker is? It's still Thursday April 10!!! Talk about pulling an all nighter...good thing my old body is used to the torture from working swing shifts. Here are some more interesting figures I wanted to share. I just found out that from the start of our flying adventure from St. Louis to Chicago, to Beijing, then onto Urumqi to get Drew, then to Guangzhou-that the total air miles we rack up is 10,388 miles! That's all before we even get to leave China to come home. However, coming home, it will be a total of 8,358 miles just to St. Louis. Gee, too bad we don't invest in some frequent flyer miles.... Did I also mention that on the last two flights I was on, I got air sick? Man I hope this isn't going to be one big pukefest. Drew will be so grossed out!! haha Let's hope those scopalamine patches work!!

Legacy Of An Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you

Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?
Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love
~Unknown

Another conversation

Tonight Riley is staying with us for his normal Wed. visit. Well earlier today we rec'd gifts for Drew-which were 2 picture frames. One was magnetic with a baseball field, and bases, home plate that held the pic in place; the other was a nice voice recordable frame. Riley thought this frame was just the coolest. He had to record his voice a few times on it. The last message he recorded was of him whispering,"Kimber, I love you and Drew too." I could barely make it out after he told me what he said. Wasn't that the sweetest? We explained to him that we would be leaving in 2 weeks to pick up Drew. I got a calendar and showed him all the dates and so on. He said ,"you mean you have to be gone for 14 days,why?" I told him that he would see me next Wed again but wouldn't see me after that until we got back with Drew. He just sat there smiling the whole time.

Ever heard of Urumqi, China?

Now you can officially say you have! It is pronounced as Oo-roo-moo-chee. It is in the most northwestern part of China. See if you can find it on the map. Look at all the countries it borders too. This is where our son Drew is from. He currently lives with a foster family during the weekends and at night, while attending a preschool type program at the Urumqi CWI (orphanage) during the day.

More pics from shower

Here are some more pics from the shower day. The cake was just fabulous and delicious! Kudos to Ms. Billie Gail for it. Don't you just love the pic of me in "the hat". My friend Felisa left this minor detail out of her plans that she told me, when I got there, she proudly exclaimed that I had to wear this thing!! Luckily Riley also volunteered to put the hat on, so I couldn't resist a Kodak moment. I don't know how we got all of Drew's gifts home and into his room, but we made it fit. Here's also a pic after we unloaded all the stuff! Can you find his bed??

Proud moments

I was still thinking about the past weekend with the shower and everything and forgot to mention how proud we were of Riley. I had thought he would have shown an inkling of "sibling rivalry" because of the shower, even though Drew's not here yet. I wasn't sure he would understand that the gifts we receive would be for Drew or not. I had asked him a couple of times through the weekend if he wanted to go to the shower and he changed his mind each time. So I was really wondering if he might see all the presents and think, why does he get all the presents? However, I could not have been more wrong--thankfully. Riley is a true trooper, and a very kind hearted kid anyways. He never once said or acted in anyway envious or sad of all the attention and gifts that Drew got. However, we realize once they are "true brothers" playing, this might all go out the window at times... haha.

Shower Day

Today, we were given an adoption shower for Drew by my very bestests of friends! Man they really worked hard on getting it all together. I almost felt guilty for not being there to help set up-haha. My friend Felisa raided my house of Chinese/Asian decor to use. My mom donated these beautiful Chinese silk bed linens that she bought while in China two years ago which were used to cover some of the tables. Felisa tied chopsticks together with a red ribbon and attached a label that had different sayings and our blog address as party favors. Oh yes, they made me pose with this hat on which to me looked more Vietnamese than Chinese but they didn't mind, they just wanted pictures. We had pictures of Drew everywhere and I made a "Welcome Drew" scrapbook page for everyone to sign for Drew to see. It all turned out so wonderful! You should've seen the cake, it was 3 layers- all different kinds, with red icing decorated with cherry blossom flowers, chop sticks and 2 miniature USA flags and a China flag as toppers. We had crab rangoon, spring rolls, teriyaki chicken on a stick, Asian dip/chips to eat. Man, he made out like a bandit too! He got 3 BIG Tonka trucks, Riley got 1 as well- which was great. He got a denim bean bag and a duffle bag with his name stitched on them from his "grandma" Shirley- she even got Riley one too. He has enough art and craft supplies to make tons of projects; lots of DVDs, booster seats, clothes, an MP3 player, books, toy chest, a table and chair set that matches his room, VTech/LeapFrog learning toys, balls, and much more! I wonder where we're going to put it all, it looks like his room exploded today. I couldn't take pictures with my camera because it turns out I'm a big dummy and had the battery in wrong so it wouldn't work... DUH!! I found this out after I got home and my dh Scott showed me. Whew, I must have been nervous or something..hmmm... Luckily my dear friend and my niece took lots of pics for me so I'll post them as soon as I get them. Well let's see, it's now 17 days and counting til we leave for CHINA!! Drew and the rest of us are so very fortunate and lucky to have such a supportive and caring group of friends and family. I can't wait for him to meet them all!!!!!

Oh yes, have to tell you two more cute stories about Riley that happened today at the shower.
My friends from work had all went together and got Drew and Riley the Tonka trucks. While he was hugging Ms Shirley for his presents, I asked him to thank the other 4 ladies as well. Therefore, he ended up hugging each one and telling them thanks for the truck. When he was done, he acted like he was exhausted ,was ready to run off and said, "Whew, am I done?" It was so cute and he ran around the table to hug them all.
Also, Riley walked up to my friend's mom (whom he doesn't know really well) and said, "Hey, you know I'm getting a brother?" She said, "yeah, that's what this is for."He said," yeah, I know, and I like his room, it's SO cool ."
How cute is that????

Chicken store story

I just had to share this funny tidbit with you of Riley and his friend Chloe's (who's 5) conversation about buying a chicken. This morning, apparently my dh Scott was talking about buying baby chicks at Orscheln's and so of course they both got excited and yelling that they wanted one. Well Riley called his mom and asked for her permission and she agreed. Then it was Chloe's turn to call her mom and here's the conversation... "Mama, can I have a baby chicken?" "Scott's taking us to buy baby chickens, so can I have one?"(Of course, she's secretly thanking Scott for this grand idea). "Riley's getting two, but I only want one." Her mom asked where he was getting them and Chloe replies,"at the chicken store." I just laughed to myself when I heard her say this, and thought that was the cutest thing ever. The sad part is that she couldn't have one unless she kept it here-of all places. We have no room, no extra time for another pet as we have our dog Katie, 2 kitties, an iguana, and a hermit crab! Scott says we have a small zoo already... haha. Well we ended up with 2 chics and 1 little duckie!

The little helper

Yesterday Scott and I went to pick Riley up from school early due to the snow. Well as soon as he got in the truck, Scott started talking to him about Drew. He told him that we were going to get him in a few weeks. Later I tried explaining that when he gets over here, he won't be able to talk in English because all he knows is Chinese. I asked Riley if he was going to help him learn English, and he just grinned big and said Yeah! He said," he can only talk Chinese because he's from China, but when he comes to America, he talks like us." I just had to agree with him and laugh.

Our itinerary while there

Here are our confirmed itinerary dates:
Wed. Mar. 26...We leave from Chicago enroute to Beijing (we have to get to St Louis first)
Thurs. Mar. 27..Arrive in Beijing approx 14 or so hrs later (it's a day later in China)
Fri. Mar. 28......Sightseeing in Beijing: Temple of Heaven in the morning; lunch at Dai Jia Cun Restaurant, Hutong tour and the Chinese Acrobat Show in the afternoon.
Sat. Mar. 29.....More sightseeing in Beijing: The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tianamen Square
Sun. Mar. 30....Fly to Urumqi, China (Drew's hometown)
Mon. Mar. 31...We receive Drew!! Do adoption procedure (registration/notary) in afternoon
Tue. Apr. 1.......Free day
Wed. Apr 2.......Sightseeing in Urumqi - museum
Thurs. Apr 3.....Sightseeing in Urumqi -Local market
Fri. Apr 4.........Get all paperwork back and complete ACS paperwork
Sat. Apr 5.........Fly to Guanzghou
Sun. Apr 6 .......Free day or sightseeing in Guanzghou
Mon. Apr 7.......Drew's medical exam, visa photos
Tues. Apr 8......American Consulate appt at 9:00 a.m. , farewell dinner
Wed. Apr 9.......Take oath at American Consulate about 6 p.m.
Thurs. Apr 10..We fly home to Malden!!! (Do you believe it will still be April 10th when we back back to the U.S. because we lose a day?.... weird.)

Oops I forgot...

Sorry everyone, I just took it for granted that you've seen the beautiful pics of our Drew. Gee, what was I thinking? So... here it goes.... trying to load them. Hang with me and keep your fingers crossed!!

These photos of Drew were the first ones I laid my eyes on and fell in love. These were on our adoption agency's waiting child list back in Oct 07. Look at those dimples!!

We're going to China!!

Today we received an email from CHI (our adoption agency)that our consulate appointment has been made ( in order to finalize the adoption and receive Drew's visa) and that we are able to finally make our flight arrangements! Yippeeee!!! Therefore, it looks like we will be leaving here on Wednesday, 3/26/08 and coming back on Thursday 4/10/08. We have so much to do before then. Yikes! What a long plane ride it will be. This I don't look forward to at all. I will post when we have final flight times made. The travel agent was out of the office this afternoon so I guess we'll wait til Monday. Wow I'm so excited! The time is finally coming to where I will officially be a mommy. Now that sounds like music to my ears at last. Everyone please bare with me, as I will be a basketful of nerves by the time we travel. Now all I have to do is PACK! What a job that will be. I always tend to overpack, I'm such a clothes horse. I wonder how many lbs our suitcases will end up being... hahaha.

Looks like it's going to rain soon

Today it's quite sunny and pretty outside, however, I'm referring to the adoption shower that my friends are giving me in a week! It appears that it's all coming together quickly. We ate at the Chinese restaurant last night and while there I had to grill the owner with questions about translating the language and everything. I'm probably about to drive her insane. I was there with my friend who is coordinating the shower plans. Looks like we're having Chinese food to eat at the shower too, yay! I'm not sure I'm suppose to know this or not but Fawn (the owner) gave my friend a deal on the food, chopsticks, and fortune cookies...sweet! I didn't realize there's so much planning that goes on for this type of occasion. Who knew? I'm Sooo excited!!!