Another Day with our Mei Li :)

We had a tour today in Shanghai. We went to the famous Bund and it was amazing!! The city on one side of the river is Old Shanghai and the city on the other side of the river is the new Shanghai. It truly is a beautiful city!!

We went with another family and their little one, and after a short tour of the Bund, we made our way to the aquarium. The kiddos enjoyed it. Mei Li was a little afraid, at first, of all the fish behind glass. She has never seen anything outside of the walls of her orphanage, so she had to test things out and make sure it was all okay. It doesn't take her long, though. Mei Li is a very high-spirited, outgoing little soul. So, she was ready to run before long. I have to pull her back and hold her more than she would like. Although, I am thankful she reaches for mommy most of the time. She loves to be held by me. But, her little foot has a pretty bad wound on it that we are trying to get to heal, a pressure ulcer caused by her brace at the orphanage, and I let her walk very little. I'm so worried that her wound will get worse. Her little foot turns on its side when she walks (as she had surgery for a club foot a few years back) and she literally walks on her ankle. That is exactly where the wound is. Mei Li is a little firecracker who doesn't like to sit still for long. She is loving and lovable and loves to be held by mommy, but trying to keep her off her feet with her high energy is a full-time job. That is why my blog posts have been less since we got her. And, thankfully, we just got a stroller!!!! This little happy bundle we call Mei Li is pretty heavy in these arms unaccustomed to holding a little person!!! Haha!!! I will now have great biceps! And, as much as I'm running after her to keep up, this is best weight loss program on the market!!! :)

Have I mentioned how crazy we are about this precious little person??? She is so smart and so sweet and so full of mischief!!! She is sleeping well (although it takes her a while to go to sleep. That seems to be the time that she grieves for her friends and her nanny at the orphanage whom she calls "orphan mommy". She cries quietly for a while every time she lies down to sleep. I lie next to her and console her and tell her I love her, not to worry and that we will take very good care of her. After a little while, she cries it out and falls asleep.) Once she falls asleep, she sleeps all night. She loves to brush her teeth, take showers, she goes potty and tells me every time she needs to go. She truly is an amazing little girl!!! We love her very much!!! Oh, and have I mentioned Mei Li eats like a champ??? OH YES, she does!!!! :) She also loves her Big Sis, too!! She kisses her and shares her snacks!!

Anyway, I need to try to get little missy down for a nap so I gotta scoot!! But, just wanted to update and let you know how it goes!!! It goes GREAT!!!! :D

Mei Li is OURS and We are Hers!!!!! :)

Mei Li and Mama

The girls snuggling and playing with sleep masks

Mama feeding Mei Li. . . Mmmmm. . . noodles!!!!

Waiting for our ride! Windy!!!!!

Baba, Jeh Jeh and Mei Li!!!!

A kiss for Baba!

Today has been the most amazing, blessed and awe inspired day of our whole journey to China, so far. . . and rightly so. Today, our beautiful little girl who was born in our hearts was finally placed in our arms. We were not sure what to expect. We are from the other side of the planet, we look different, smell different, and we certainly sound different from anything she has ever experienced. The orphanage has been her "home". The other children have been her family. The orphan mommy (nanny) has been her only mama she has known. There is no guessing how a child is going to respond to all of the trauma of this change.

We heard Mei Li before we saw her. Her vibrant, happy voice bounced down the hallway to greet us before we saw her little smiling face. Then, she appeared. As soon as she saw us, she yelled out, "Mama!!! Baba!!! Jeh Jeh!!!!". She came right to me, sat in my lap and kissed me on the cheek. She grabbed the Gerber Graduates and went to town eating. She drank her apple juice and was delighted that Minnie Mouse was on the cup. She was all smiles the entire time we were at the Civil Affairs Building. She told her orphan mommy "Tsai Chen" (goodbye), and we made our way to the van to go back to the hotel.

Since we have returned to the hotel, we have had a fashion show of all of the new outfits we brought for Mei Li. She would grab one and start stripping her clothes off. She has played, run around the room. . . she is a firecracker of energy!!! Mama is pretty worn out! :) But, in a GOOD way! She is SO happy. Her favorite item, it seems is her toothbrush, strangely enough. She has brushed her teeth so much, we had to hide the toothpaste. Haha!!! She eats like a CHAMP!!!! She has pee-peed in the potty about 5 times. She is an absolute angel!!! She calls to me when she needs anything. "Mama, gore lie!!" I have learned that phrase very well. It means "Mama, come here" . When Geoff and Anna Grace ran out to pick up a burger at the McDonalds, she immediately starting asking where they went. I took her to the window and she pointed out saying "Baba, Jeh Jeh.. . Gore lie!!!" (Daddy, Big Sis, come here!) :) She is already attaching to us and is understanding who her family is. Praise the Lord!!!!! That is HUGE!!!!!

We are praying we will get to visit the orphanage this week to see where Mei Li has spent the first 4 years of her life. There is no guarantee as of now. But, if overwhelms to to know that there are 150 million orphans (such as our precious Mei Li has been until today) in this world, and they all need "Mamas and Babas". It breaks my heart to think our sweet Mei Li could have grown up in an orphanage and never known a family. And, the outcomes for children who grow up in orphanages are heart-breaking. They are considered the "unlucky ones" in society, so for the chance to have a good education, or marry into a good family is slim to none. We may not be able to change the futures of all 150 million, but we can make a difference for at least one!! And, I'll let you in on a little secret. The "real blessing" is on "us". This little precious one has already blessed our hearts and changed our lives for the better---and I have had several conversations with the Lord today thanking Him for this incredible opportunity to love and be loved by this wonderful child!!! She is ours and we are hers. . . and we call her daughter.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy of our morning, and a video is on its way soon!!

Our Beijing Pizza Hut Experience

Waiting on our food and our poor waiter in the background. :)

Our Seafood appetizer to accompany the Milk Tea

Tapioca pearls in the Milk Tea

Our Personal Pan Pizza for the family.

Our fruit juices that were OH so sweet!

I know we are already in Shanghai on this journey to our daughter, but I just have to share a funny experience we had in Beijing. One would think that going into a Pizza Hut and ordering a pizza and coke would be a simple experience, right??? Well, I wish there had been a video rolling of our Pizza Hut experience in Beijing. It is proof that even the most simple things become almost impossible with a language barrier!!!

We decided on our last day in Beijing to grab a pizza. So, Pizza Hut, it was!! We went in and sat down. The menu was all in Chinese, but they had pictures. And, pictures are a foreigner's best friend! We were limited to the options with pictures---and, we knew there was no way we could ask for something different. So, we found a picture that looked like something we might enjoy and went with it! Then, we pointed to Coke, and the waiter shook his head. "Kuhla out", he said. I then saw that they had the famous "Tapioca Milk Tea", so I pointed to that picture. The waiter shook his head again and pointed to his watch and held up 2 fingers. They didn't serve the milk tea until 2, and it was 20 'til. So, we scanned the various fruit juices for Plan C, and picked. Now. . . that was not "so" hard. The pizza came out, and it was just slightly larger than a personal pan pizza. I believe I may have laughed out loud. A personal pan pizza for a family of 3!!! :) Ah, what the heck! We made it work. . . and it was delicious!

Since we had fairly good luck with the pizza, and we were still a bit hungry, I got bold and decided to go for dessert and order that milk tea (since the 20 minutes had passed! ;). That was when the real fun began. The dessert was not problem. Point and order, plain and simple. But, when I pointed to the milk tea, the waiter hesitated and started speaking Chinese and flipping through the menu. He began pointing at various food items, and I pointed back to the picture of the tea and said that was all I wanted. He flipped back and spoke more Chinese. Geoff decided to help me out and pulled out his Iphone with his new Jibbigo App on it (that translates Chinese to English and vice versa and is voice sensitive). He held it up for the waiter to speak into and a look of shock and fear colored the waiter's face. He refused to speak into the phone. Geoff then began trying to explain that it was a translator. Then another waiter walked up to help out and see what the confusion was. Geoff was still trying to explain for them to speak into the phone, I was telling them just to forget the tea and get the dessert, and our poor waiter still looked like Geoff had asked him to disrobe and tap dance. It was at this moment that a wave of hysteria overtook me and I began to laugh and couldn't stop. Those poor guys probably thought I was laughing "at" them. I wasn't. I was just laughing at the insanity of the situation---one that should be so simple. It turned out, after a long game of charades, that you had to order an appetizer along with the milk tea. There were specific appetizer choices that accompanied it, but of course it was all in Chinese. So, I just pointed to different pictures until I landed on one that he shook his head "yes" to.

We finally got our order in and the food came out. It was good, but I'm not sure worth all the effort. Haha!!! The whole scene reminded me of something from Seinfeld. And, I'm still curious what the waiter thought Geoff was asking him to do with the phone! Ha!

And, so there you have it. . . the White's Pizza Hut Adventure in Beijing!!!

MORE GREAT NEWS!!!!

I know that the blog updates have come in a flurry today, but there has been MUCH good news!!! Here's some more!!!

Okay, so since we've been in Beijing, I have not been able to access my primary email until today. When I finally got in, I saw a post from Angela with Ladybugs n' Love that she had new photos and an update on our sweet Mei Li!!! The pics are of her celebrating her homecoming with her friends in the orphanage with the cake we sent her. The smile on her face is priceless as are these photos capturing her moment of celebrating her new family!

Boy oh boy!!! We are ready to scoop this sweet angel up and bring her home! :)

Day 2 in Beijing--The Great Wall

Yesterday, we set out with Michael and Mr. Jin (our guide and driver) to hike a section of The Great Wall. Let me tell you. . . "hike" is definitely the right word. It turned out to be a straight-up-the-mountain climb!! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We always fill up on a BIG breakfast here at the hotel. The food, here, is a buffet and is delicious and there is more of it than you can eat! We never know what lunch and dinner will be like, so we always make sure we have a great breakfast. We then, got in the car and headed to The Wall. The car drive, alone, is an adventure in itself. I find myself closing my eyes a lot. SO MUCH traffic!!! And, the idea of personal space and the 2 car-length safety distance that we use in the U.S. is NOT observed here in China. Haha!!! They drive right up and pull right over and I found myself feeling almost nausesous a few times when I thought we were about to wreck. But, Mr. Jin is a pro, here in China. And, we never crashed. Thank goodness!

Also, there are many, many people on bikes and scooters. . . entire families on scooters with little children and no helmets. They ride on the same roads with the jam-packed traffic and cars flying and all over the other cars. I sometimes have to close my eyes. But, it is a way of life for the people here. And, so far, I haven't seen one person on a bike get hit. Let's hope that track record will continue to stand!!

So, on our way to the Great Wall we find ourselves sitting in standstill traffic on the highway. Our guide told us that only a couple of months ago, that same highway had a traffic jam that lasted for 2 weeks!!!!! That was NOT what I needed to hear when we have an appointment to meet our little girl in a few days and have a flight to catch to Shanghai tomorrow. Thankfully, the traffic jam cleared up in about 30-45 minutes. And, we were on our way to the Wall. It was an older section of the wall, and our guide said was a less-crowded section. I would hate to see crowded if that was supposed to be "not crowded". I was surprised to see that The Great Wall in this section was basically a straight-up-the mountain hike, with uneven steps with different depths. Handrails were only on the right side and in some places there was no rail. It would not be out-of-the question for someone to fall off the wall. And, if you did, you would fall down the mountain. And a fall down the steps would be highly dangerous as well. We carefully stepped our way up, holding on to the rail for dear life. BUT, the view. . . the view was incredible!!!! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if there were no smog. It was difficult to see very far, and the view would have been heavenly if the air had been more clear. No complaints from me, though!! I'll take what I can get! And, I was in complete awe on The Great Wall. Geoff took some amazing photos. I hope you enjoy!!!

Tomorrow, we fly to Shanghai to be in our sweet daughter's province. And, we will meet our beautiful girl (and she will be added to our family) on Monday. It's called "Gotcha Day". That's not my favorite term, but it is the day we will become a family of 4!!!! So, we are celebrating our Family Day on the 19th!!! For our friends in the U.S. That will be Sunday night for you. We are a day ahead here. And, what a blessing. . . we were given a wonderful picture of our Mei Li that Lori (another adoptive mommy) took of her this week at the orphanage!!!!

So happy to see that smile! We hope she will smile like that when she meets us :) We will certainly be smiling!

So, until I have more to update, enjoy the pics! And, thanks for following our journey!

Beijing--the first stop on our China journey

The past two days in Beijing have been unbelievable and overwhelming! What a beautiful country China is. The people are warm and welcoming. The Lord smiled on us in a big way when Michael showed up to take us from the airport to our hotel and he informed us that he was going to be our guide and take us all around Beijing privately. We told him we had signed up for the public bus tour, but he said that we had been upgraded. So, we have had private one-on-one guide service in Beijing. He took us to the Summer Palace first (which was beautiful). We were able to ride this dragon boat on the lake, and it was acres and acres of gardens. Then, he took us to the Temple of Heaven. Finally, we went to the Forbidden City. To see these places with my own eyes that I have only read about in books was incredible. It amazes me the work ethic, precision, back-breaking labor and dedication the Chinese display toward their beliefs and traditions. Every site we have visited has sent that message home to me more and more.

Today, we hiked a section of The Great Wall. It was exquisite!! I will write more about this later, however. Geoff has great pictures to upload and I'll do it all at once.

For some reason, my photos are not cooperating and uploading tonight. Geoff has taken so many great shots. I will have him work on it tomorrow. Stay tuned. . . much more coming soon!

Running in Circles!!! Preparation, preparation!!!!

I can't believe that we actually board that big jet on Monday and fly to the other side of the earth!!!! After four years of dreaming and hoping, our little girl is soon to be placed in our arms! She won't be only held in our mind's eye and heart. We will be able to wrap our arms around her. She will be warm. She will laugh. She will cry. (hopefully, she will feel like smiling and laughing when she meets us :)

Up to this point, Mei Li has felt more like a dream to us. A very sweet dream that we pray will recur every night. We imagine her, what she is like. . . much like we do when we think about God and what heaven will be like.

But, that is soon to change for us. After 4 years of living in our hearts and minds, Mei Li is joining our family in the flesh. And, our actual journey begins Monday as we board that plane.

Thank you, Lord! Your promises are sweet and your mercies are new every single day.

We look forward to blogging while we are on our journey! We hope you will follow!!

NOW. . . I'm off!!!! Got to accomplish MUCH today! :)