We're On the Way!

After a major flurry of activities, we left home a day early and spent the night at the Westin in Atlanta. Now, we're waiting at the gate to board our flight to Shanghai. From Shanghai, we will fly to Beijing where we will spend several days.
Squirt thought she was going to China too!

Mom, Doug and me at the South Bend airport.

Mom & Dad's touching farewell. :)

We're just leaving Mom here until we get back from China. She rather enjoyed the leg and foot massage!

Our chariot awaits. We're boarding!! The next time I post will be from China.

Packing

I was hoping to sleep in this morning but no such luck. I woke up with all kinds of packing scenarios whirling around in my brain.

As we have been buying stuff for the trip, we have been throwing it in my roll-aboard suitcase. That is, anyway, until the suitcase was overflowing. Then we filled up Maddie's little crib in our bedroom. I just can't believe how much stuff we have to take for a kid - bottles, bibs, diapers, wipes, the little sucky thingy for her nose, and the small pharmacy for all of the "just in case" scenarios. To keep the volume and weight down, we split the list with Kris & Shawn but it's still a LOT of stuff!

We have been told that we can buy diapers and clothes in China - especially since we don't know for sure what size she's in now (it's hard to tell under those layers and layers of clothes in her pictures). However, we do need a few outfits and sleepers to get by until we get to the store after we receive her. And, we have so many cute little outfits, it's difficult to resist the urge to take them with us! As for diapers, we can buy those in China as well but the quality is not the same as what we have in the US. So, we have to take some of our diapers to use during travel to avoid messy accidents.

Holy cow - Doug just discovered that seats on our flights out of South Bend tomorrow morning are dwindling so we may have to fly to Atlanta tonight! Since we are flying on his Delta employee benefits, we fly standby if there is room on flights. Our flight from Atlanta to Shanghai is wide open, but getting from South Bend to Atlanta may be tricky in the morning.

Good grief - what am I still doing blogging??? I MUST get busy!

Getting Ready to Go!

Wow - it's been a busy few weeks... haven't had time to blog lately so I have some catching up to do! We finally got our travel dates and itinerary confirmed. Thank God for my dear husband - when it comes to travel, paperwork, and all the other last-minute detail-oriented stuff, he's taking care of it ALL. All I have had to take care of is getting the nursery ready, packing, and making sure we have everything we need for Maddie. Of course, that has meant doing some shopping - much to my dismay (NOT)!

I'm not the only one who has trouble resisting all the cute baby clothes. Last week, Doug came home from working in Atlanta with another outfit. It is pictured below. I'm thinking we'll dress Maddie in that before we get on the Delta flight from Shanghai to Atlanta and that should secure us an upgrade into business class. (Fat chance, but it certainly doesn't hurt to dream!)

We have a friend who will be house sitting and taking care of the critters for us while we're gone. Dee - thank you so much for doing this for us! We think Red & Squirt will have a much easier time adjusting to the baby because they don't have to be uprooted while we're gone.

Here is a summary of our itinerary. Doug, Mom, and I will fly out of South Bend bright and early on Tuesday morning 2/24. After more than 26 hours of travel time we will arrive in Beijing Wednesday evening (China time). We will spend a few days in Beijing, sightseeing while we begin recuperating from the jetlag and adjust to the time zone that is 12 hours different from here. While in Beijing, we will visit the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Olympic Village, and see an acrobatic show.

On Sunday 3/1 we will fly from Beijing to Nanchang. That afternoon, we will receive Maddie! OK - even as I type this, I'm having one of those fleeting moments of reality setting in. It still seems so surreal most of the time. I just CANNOT WAIT to hold my daughter!!

We will stay in Nanchang until Friday 3/6. During that time we will complete the adoption procedure for China. We will then fly to Guangzhou where we will wait for things to be finalized by the US Consulate. During down times, we will be spending lots of time bonding and getting to know our daughter. We will also have time in both Nanchang and Guangzhou to do some shopping and sightseeing. We will return home on 3/11.

Below are some updated photos of the nursery now that shower gifts have been put away.

Our little fashionista already has two closets full of clothes! All the hanging clothes are 6-12 month sizes. The two tubs on the top shelf of the big closet are 18 month clothes. Obviously, we're not hurting in that department!!

Much to our delight, our Sit 'n Stroll was delivered this week. I was concerned that it might not make it in time, but it got here - just like everything else along this journey... all in perfect time. You would think that I'd quit doubting that things are going to happen in time!! The only thing that we are still waiting for now is our new debit cards and we are praying those will be here today or Monday. (long story - I'll explain that one at another time)

We will be taking the Sit 'n Stroll with us to China. It converts from a stroller into a carseat/airplane seat. While we're not crazy about taking an empty carseat to China, this will save us big-time when we come home. That way, Maddie will be able to sleep comfortably (we hope) on the return international flight.

Dear family and friends - we ask for your continued prayers while w are on this trip of a lifetime. We will keep you updated through this blog as often as we can during our time in China.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Baby Maddie

More Baby Showers

On Friday evening, 2/6/2009, Gloria and Megan, two of my very dear friends from work, hosted a baby shower for us in Gloria's log cabin. The cabin was very cozy and we had a great time. I am truly blessed to work with such a wonderful people! Thank you Gloria and Megan for a wonderful evening. You guys are the best!

Gloria (a.k.a. Martha Stewart, Sr.) lit the walkway to the cabin with these candles. It was beautiful!

These girls know me well - the set me up right next to the fire in the cozy cabin!

No, the wicker bassinette was not a gift. Just another one of Gloria's many touches.

Thank you my dear friends and teammates for all the gifts, tips, advice, and love. Thanks also to Spencer for taking the photos for me at the shower! To see more photos from this shower and the next one, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/WorkAndFriendsBabyShower.

On Sunday 2/8, my wonderful girlfriends Susan and Kim hosted another baby shower for us at Susan's home. They invited all of my girlfriends and we had a great time.

Thank you Susan and Kimmy for the day of reminiscing and reconnecting with old friends. I love you guys so much! Baby Maddie is lucky to have Auntie Susan and Auntie Kimmy in her life.

Note to self: Before the next baby shower or party or gathering of any type, buy Susan a bigger martini shaker so she can enjoy the party rather than play barmaid all day!! :-)


What a wonderful variety of gifts we got! We won't have to buy diapers for a long, long time! Thank you, every one of our dear friends, for your generosity.


Jennifer Glass made this quilt in the photo below. The colors and textures in the quilt are exquisite. Four years ago when Jen and Greg (I work with him) brought their beautiful daughter Maya home from China, Doug and I decided it was time to start our journey. We never imagined this would happen, but Maddie and Kya are both from the same province as Maya! Thank you Glass family for your inspiration!

In addition to the two baby showers over this past weekend, we had a company dinner. We shared a table with Greg & Jen Glass and I'm sure the rest of the table was completely bored by our conversation. We talked about China, babies, and travel all evening. They had lots of pointers for us. We will be staying in the same places and seeing the same sights that they did four years ago.

Maddie - we are one blessed family! In the whirlwind of all the activities this weekend, it became abundantly clear that your Daddy and I are not the only ones excited about you coming home to live in the US. Everyone around us is celebrating right along with us and is so very eager to meet you. Our friends and extended family are as eager as we are to know you. There is so much love here for you and we cannot wait to share that with you in person!

As you start your day today sweet baby, may you be safe and surrounded by people who love you... people to whom your Daddy and I owe a huge debt of gratitude foror taking such good care of you until you are placed in our arms. Only 16 more sleeps and we'll be together at last.

With all our love,

Mommy & Daddy

Travel Dates!

We got our travel dates Friday afternoon. We will be leaving 2/24 - that's only 16 days away!!!! Since we are traveling on Doug's pass benefits, it will take us a little longer to get there so we are leaving one day before the rest of our group (10 families in total). Our projected return date is 3/11. Now it's getting really real! Soon, very soon, we will be loving on our little girl in person! This weekend is a whirlwind of activities so I'll post more later.

Travel Approval!!!

Our agency notified us today that the CCAA has updated their website indicating that we have been approved for travel to China... WOOHOO!! Another milestone down. We should know our travel dates by the first of next week. Based on the travel dates of others who also got their travel approval today, we could leave anytime between 2/19 and the first week in March. Our best guess is that we will traveling closer to the end of this spectrum.

On a not-so-happy note, Grandma Karen (Doug's mom) fell on the ice yesterday and hurt her back. Please pray for a speedy recovery for her. She will need a healthy back to be able to fulfill her dreams of spoiling her granddaughter!

Below is a link that I found to be very interesting and insightful. It was written by an adult adoptee. Family and friends, we share these links to give you some food for thought and with hopes that it will give you some insight as well, as you will be and already are such an important part of Maddie's life. This article may or may not be relevant for Maddie as she grows up, but Doug and I want to be as prepared and educated as possible to support our dear daughter when the "tough stuff" comes our way.

"I Don't Want Adoption to Define My Kids" The author of this essay talks about adoption defining her as a person, just as her race, her religious background, and her many other life experiences define her. We are all shaped by those varied life experiences and circumstances in which we are placed - things that bring us extreme joy or deep pain, people who touch us deeply, challenges over which we claim victory or admit defeat. Doug and I will strive to raise Maddie in such a way that she can embrace each of those events that shape her life.

We have learned that when we are faced with adversities - betrayal; loss of health, love, a dear friend; vulnerability - we can choose which path to take. One path can have us paralyzed by fear, hurt, and anger, and forces us to build walls. However, by embracing these adversities as gifts, we can head down a different path. On that path we are forced to grow, to learn, and to embrace new ideas. God never gives us more than we can handle and it's up to us to decide how we will react to each adversity. The reward for choosing the second path is enlightenment.

Our prayer is that Doug and I can be examples for Maddie so that she learns to choose that second path with each of her adversities. We want her to be secure enough with us to be able to express herself and to talk to us about the "tough stuff" as she grows up.

Sweet Baby Maddie, in just a few short weeks you will be placed in our arms and all of our lives will be forever changed. We thank God for choosing us to be your parents.

With all our love from half a world away,

Mommy & Daddy

Baby Shower #1

Saturday night, our friends Chuck and Tawna threw us a baby shower. Chuck did all the heavy lifting and Tawna brought her "A Game" in the creativity department. This shower/celebration was with our crazy cruising friends - the gang we spend Memorial Day, Labor Day, Nagy Pool Party Day, New Years Eve, and many other fun times with each year.

Not only was this a baby shower for us, but it was also a celebration for our friends Kris & Shawn. They're travelling when we do to bring home Baby Kya. Kya and Maddie are both in foster care and being supervised by the same orphanage. Kris insisted that she didn't want a shower so there were a few activities to raise some money to contribute to their travel fund.

I'm not normally a fan of shower games, but Tawna had some doozies and a good time was had by all...

Activity #1: Family Feud - Doug's team vs. my team. He had the girls on his team and I had the boys. The guys did well but the girls won so Doug got the gift - cute little onesies.

Activity #2: Wii Cow Racing - a tournament where each contestant had to buy a slot on the board. The winner split the money with Kris & Shawn. Those cows ran for all they were worth and no scarecrow was safe...

Activty #3: It's never a party until Chuck outdoes his antics from the previous party. Saturday night was no different... he didn't disappoint. One of the fundraising activities for Kris & Shawn's trip was tucking bucks in Chuck's diaper. This is wrong on so many levels!!! But hey, as long as it's for a good cause... (Oh, and you won't catch me wearing that scarf EVER again!!)


We got some wonderful gifts. Grandma Karen made a Daddy Apron for Dougie. The pockets contain air freshener, a stuffed donkey (hmmm... she does know her son!), diapers, rubber gloves, baby washcloths, and wipes. Oh, and notice the nipples!! It's so adorable...


Thank you to all of our wonderful friends for the beautiful gifts and for celebrating this journey with us. We love every one of you and can't wait to introduce you to Maddie. We pray that when Maddie grows up she will have an amazing and diverse group of friends just like we we do.





To see more pictures from the shower, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/ChuckTawnaBabyShower.