Testing Blog from China!

Hello!  We are just testing to make sure this is going to work!  once we know it did or did not, we will post an update!

 

We go get Chloe in 4 1/2 hours!!!  :)

 

 

Packing Fun

Its nearly impossible to think of the overwhelming task of trying to pack for every conceivable situation in a country half a world away for four people, expecting different climates, keeping track of all sorts of paperwork, bridge two cultures and somehow maintain our sanity...which is why I have left this almost entirely to Kendall. Its part of the basic unspoken understanding we have, she does all of the planning, paperwork, packing, and worrying and I carry everything-simple right? As long as my role is limited to big, dumb manual labor, we have a chance...As I type this Kendall is packing her luggage, having taken care of Avery and Chloe's bag, somehow managing to figure out how to pack clothes, toys, activities, food (snacks and staples to hold us over after some "interesting" meals). My one job in all of this is to take the manly route and pack all things electronic (somewhere Tim Allen is smiling and doing that Gorilla laugh that made him famous), and the list is both quite impressive and somewhat daunting. I read somewhere that the first spaceship to the moon used less technology than a current cell phone-if thats true than we could send a shuttle to the moon several times over (especially with the GPS on Kendall's phone). The list of "essentials" is designed to kill 24 hours on a plane for 3 of us (both ways), while also capturing every waking moment while we are in China and includes (but is not limited to) the following:

DVD player and dvds for Avery
headphones for all
Netbook (how else to continue to tantalize our following with regular posts)-also loaded with kids shows and movies for mom and dad
dvd "sidecar" for the netbook
2 iphones
1 itouch
2 cameras (yes two) and memory cards
video camera
handheld flip video camera
adapter/converter
leapster game for Avery
books (I know, old fashioned but who knows)

Somehow all of thaat will fit in my backpack. Given all the wires and chargers, I can only guess TSA's reaction...please be gentle with the rubber glove and strip search boys...

Alright, I have dodged packing for long enough-I put the over/under at my total packing time at 7 minutes...somewhere Kendall just cursed me even though she doesn't know why yet...she will soon enough.

The Weather in China

As we approach the 96 hour countdown until our departure, we are starting to figure out what to pack, and more importantly what not to bring. The biggest determinant of that will be the weather, as well as the restrictions set upon us by the airlines (suitcases can only be 50 pounds heading into China, but only 40 pounds intra-China...go figure). Our first trip to China was during the summer, where despite being from Hotlanta we spent the better part of two weeks drenched in our own sweat and complaining about the heat and humidity. This latest trip has been scheduled during the winter, and we have watched over the past two months as the temperature in Beijing, Chongqing and Guangzho has been close to zero. Over the past two months I have watched as Kendall has tried on, ordered and taken back almost every coat aand fleece in the Atlanta area, as well as scoured the web for the perfect coat to withstand the cold. My own search was fortunate enough to be limited to one stop in the Virginia Highlands, and to find a NorthFace jacket on sale. Despite our concerns about the cold, we at least had the luxury of only having ot pack for one season...until now. As we are getting closer, we are seeing the temperatures rise in the various provinces, and our arrival will now coincide with 70+ degree weather in both Chongqing and Guangzho, although Beijing and the nighttime will still dip into the 40's. The rise in the temperature is only adding to the panic of what we can and can't bring, and now having to pack for various climates with only 40 pounds available to us seems even more difficult.

On the bright side, Avery has been practicing her Chinese songs for her sister that she has learned in her China dumpling classes, and insists on listening to the CD that teaches us roughly 25 or so Chinese phrases that will be important for communicating with Chloe. I have managed to commit one to memory, brush teeth which sounds something like "Shry La"-obviously he most important one to get down (for the dad at least).

China & Chloe Xueshan, here we come!

We have created this blog in the hopes that we will be able to update from China so you can follow our family's journey to bring home our second daughter and Avery Suqiu's mei mei (little sister), Chloe Xueshan.
It has been almost 5 years since we followed our first "red thread" to China and brought home the absolute joy and love of our lives, our daughter Avery Suqiu. Avery was 10 months and two days old when we first met her on her "gotcha day" on June 7, 2005. Time has flown by and she is now in kindergarten, makes us laugh and keeps us on our toes and is very excited to be a jie jie (big sister) very soon!

Chloe's "gotcha day" is in less than two weeks and we cannot wait for her to be part of our Forever Family! She will be three years old on April 15th, so this will be a totally different experience for all of us and we hope and pray she will feel safe and know in her heart we are her family! Chloe was born with a cleft lip that has been repaired, a cleft palate that will need to be repaired when we get home at some point, and a diagnosis of epilepsy which is currently controlled with daily medication. We are so thankful that once we get her home, she will have excellent care at our amazing children's hospital here! They have a whole "center" that is devoted to the care and continuing care and therapy for cleft lip/cleft palate. We also look forward to having her diagnosis of epilepsy evaluated by their specialists to find out what "next steps" are in her ongoing care.

Over the coming weeks we will keep you up to speed on our progress in these pages and share our amazing journey to add one more member to our family.