Infamous White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou

This is the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. We were lucky enough to get a room with a view of the Pearl River and got to watch boat traffic going up and down the river, daily and nightly. It was a great hotel, and was great to 'relax' and enjoy a little American-ized hospitality from the hotel....

Where we travelled in China.....

Here is a map of China, which will give you an indication as to where we travelled. We flew into Beijing, spent a couple of days there (Forbidden City, Great Wall, etc), then flew down that first Monday to Nanning in Southern province of China. Stayed there for a week, and flew to Guangzhou (about an hour flight), stayed there for two nights, and then back up to Beijing. Some of the families visited Nanchang and Hubei, which is a little more north of Nanning (and from what we heard, not as nice).....

Guanxi province

This is a map of the province that Bella is from. We flew in and stayed in the city of Nanning (about 3 hour flight from Beijing).

different view....

You can see that the patch of grass is not that large, and it is surrounded by hospital buildings. We take comfort in the fact that we do not believe she was left unattended...alone..for too long...

Bellas found place

As best as we can tell, this is the patch of grass that Bella was left on, under an umbrella....will post different angles, showing that it is right in front of ER area, which was great...

family photo in Nanning

Our last night in Nanning.....this is in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel.....

Back to work......School....

Well it is Tuesday afternoon...and we have slowly got back to 'reality'.....for the most part, we were zombies most of the weekend......trying to get adjusted to the time change........was more difficult for Zach, Tina and I then for Bella....she didn't have much of a problem, except she'd go down a little earlier...Felt bad for Zach as he got SO tired; literally falling asleep at dinner....But, last night, he got back on schedule, and seems to be doing well......Think it also helped that we left weather in the 70's in china and came home to weather in the 70's (and 80's) in Massachusetts.......Course, Tina has already got Bella out shopping.....that didn't take long now, did it???? Work has been fine for me; helped that I could check emails from china, even if i was 12 hours ahead.......Have to travel end of May, so will see how Bella does with me gone....should be fine.....she definitely is getting more and more comfortable at home, and is warming up to the 'non existent' dog, Loki....good news is that Loki can't be bothered with her, except when its time for dinner, and he camps out under the high chair.....things we took for granted with a 6 year old that we now have to revisit....high chairs....nap time...diapers.....car seats......but, wouldn't change it for the world........Not sure if there are still any readers out there, but will work on gettng some pictures posted of us now that we are home......Good to be home.......picture above is an attempt to get about a dozen or so kids on a red couch at the White Swan hotel for a group photo......yes, they were fussing....crying.....but it was fun

went on forever......

seems like the rows of Chinese students in their uniforms went on forever.....MOST seemed disinterested in the morning exercises.....

Chinese school.....

In Guangzho, we came across a LARGE group of children coming outside for daily exercise....was neat to see all of them in their uniforms, particpating in their morning routines........

pool time....

Bella LOVES the pool, and we took advantage of swimming every chance we got.....looking forward to warm summer days....!

Nanning park

One of the towers we climbed at a park in Nanning....offered an incredible view of the city and countryside.......

airport travel.....

another day, another airport....! Zach loved to ride on the luggage carts provided at the airport...Here he is with Bella as we prepare to depart from Nanning to Guangzho.....In China, EVERY airport provides free luggage carts....Reality set in at Newark, where they whack you for $3.00 per cart........

Zach feeding fish

there are tons of gorgeous parks all over China...lots of them have HUGE gold fish that you can feed....when you throw food in, its a feeding frenzy for them.....here Zach feeds some of the fish

For those still reading the blog.....

I am going to post some miscellaneous pictures for those still interested in the blog....will try and provide updates now and then as to how the family is doing, as we sloooooooooowly get back into reality...

Red Sox......

Sunday morning.....5 30 am.....SLOOOOOOOOOOOOWLY getting caught up on sleep...Friday was going through the motions, zombie like....Zach had Flag Football that night, and actually was excited about it....Not a lot of sleep for everyone Friday night, as adjusting.......MISSED the exciting come from behind Sox win.......Saturday, Tee Ball parade for Zach.....then my family came down......Bella was great with everyone...took a while to warm up at first but then did fine......has tendency to gravitate to the men easier.....went to my brother and brother in law, no problem.....Eventually warmed up to the ladies.....Was very excited that she warmed up to my niece, Brittany, as Brittany is so excited to have Bella in our family....She is 12 and a sweetheart, and had fun with Bella.....Even my 6 year old 'rough and tumble, man's man' Spencer, took a shine to Bella....held her and kissed her (and blushed a bit).....was cute........very nice relaxing day.....Bella fell asleep at 5, and didnt wake up until 5 15 this mornin.....Zach fell asleep at 5....woke at up at 12 30 at night, had a snack, and went back to sleep....Yours truly watched the exciting Sox game........was dozing on couch, and called it a night at 8 PM!!!! can't remember going to bed that early, but feel great today, and getting caught up.......Tina's family comes down today, weather is incredible....and all getting situated and adjusted........Nice to be home......nice to have great weather.....friends....and family.....and nice to watch the Sox beat the Yankees.....!

...."what a long, strange, trip its been"......

It is Saturday morning, 5 30 a.m.....Whole Walnista household is wide awake, including Loki.....We are trying to get back on our schedule, which meant that yours truly did NOT stay up and see the Sox come from behind win over the Yanks last night......Bella is having a little difficult time 'adusting' to American time (and her crib)....but, she is doing great.....we are happy to be home.....Loki came home yesterday, and we eagerly anticipated the first 'meeting'.....He came in, walked past her, and plopped down on the floor......hasn't given her much of a thought, except when she eats, and drops food from the high chair....In his mind, he's got a new best friend, who will gladly 'share' table scraps with him.....Bella, on other hand, isn't too sure what to make of him.....she cant take her eyes off of him..needs to know where he is....but, when he comes close, snuggles in a bit....shes not crying, which is good, and we try and have her reach down now and then to pet him.....We are back in our 'normal' routine now....Zach had Flag Football last night; missed the first 2 practices, but had it last night with his buddies AJ and Alex...seemed to have fun.....looked well organized....Today, Tee Ball parade at 9:30....then my family will come down for a bit to meet Isabella.....and Zach has tee ball game at 3 PM.......Tomorrow, Tina's family will be down.......She seems to be doing fine meeting new people....We introduced her to both our neighbors, and last night at Football, seemed to be entrhalled with our friend, Bill......I was kind of a 'zombie' yesterday, going through the motions....both Zach and Bella took great naps, and I should have joined them.....we know Monday will be crazy here....Zach back to school....me back to work.......Will take a little getting used to, but we will all be fine.......Before our trip from Beijing, we were in Guangzho, where Tina definitely primed the Chinese economy.....that Wed before we left, had developed a 'new' strategy.....as ALL of the shops near the White Swan hotel know when Americans are in; and when they are departing....We were leaving that day at 10 30...soooooooooo time for some bargain shopping.....Basically, I would take out some YUAN's and tell them that is all i had left....Example...they were asking 100 YUAN for an item we were looking at (about 12 dollars).....I took out a 50...said it was all i had...they said, sorry, not enough....proceed to walk out...they try to negotiate some more....take 50 out again, say im broke...leaving today...this is it.....sure enough, they take it......granted, we think we get a great deal, getting it for half....but we ALL know that the little Chinese 'heirloom' they just sold me was mass produced, and probably cost them 5 yuan......!!!! anyway, we did get some things for our house.....they did an incredible job of taking a picture of Zach and Bella and 'etching' it in a small piece of slate......we also had their chinese names and american names written on wall hanging.....all and all, was fun to pick up some stuff, but couldnt get too much do to weight limit of suitcases when you travel....If you go over certain weight limit for in China flights, will cost ya $50 dollars....luckily, Tina is a phenomenal packer, and switching items around in suitcases, it was a non issue......I will post some info about the famous 'Red Couch' pictures in Guangzho that all babies get taken.....our flight to Beijing........and getting from Beijing to Newark in a little bit, along with more photos of the family.......

Bella and the Walnistas...are....HOME!!!!!

It is 12 40 AM, EST time...States Time.....We are IN OUR HOME!!!!! LONG LONG LONG trip, but everyone did fantastic....details will follow tomorrow, but flight from Beijing went great.....Bella sleeped for almost the entire flight....we were incredibly lucky.....flight was to depart at 3 45, but was delayed about 45 minutes...no big deal,, made it the time on the other end....We boarded about 3 15...Bella fell asleep at about 4....slept til 630...woke up, had some supper...played with us for an hour or so, got tired again.....around 9, fell back to sleep and i woke her when we got to Newark......we were excited.....no fussing...no crying......no passengers looking at us, in disgust, shaking their heads (come on, we ALL dread when we see babies on our flights, dont we????)......Newark was a nightmare...not customs or anything, but the flight....was supposed to depart at 8 45 pm......got delayed til nine...then, we sat on the runway until 10 15...!!!! so, instead of landing at 10 or so, landed around 11 15.....then, taxi service FORGOT our car seat....yup, Bella's first car ride in states, and it was 'illegal'....Anyway, as our bodies are telling us its 12 45 PM, we are pretty awake now.......but , wanted everyone to know our journey to GET Bella has ended, but our journey as a family of FOUR has just begun.......will post details and catch ups tomorrow...love to all

Might be last post of the trip...???? not sure

Okay, it is about 8 20 PM, Tuesday night.....We just had a big dinner with all of the families......luckily, it was right across the street from the hotel, as it POURED rain....first time the whole trip that it rained......kind of bitter sweet.....we are here for a few more days, but pretty hectic travel schedule....tomorow, we meet in the lobby at 10:30 a.m.....ALL of the families and babies get pictures taken.....then, it is off to a Temple for the Chinese Monks to bless all of the babies....From there, it is lunch, then to the consulate to get sworn in as the babies parents, basically stating that everything we indicated in our documents is true.......we are then off to Guangzho airport, where 27 families and babies fly about 3 hours to Beijing....we get in mid evening to Bejing, and stay at hotel near the airport.....we catch some sleep and have the morning free on Thursday......our flight is at 3 45 out of Beijing on Thursday, but with that many families travelling, we assume we will be at airport fairly early for the flights....right now, Bella is sound asleep, Zach is watching a movie, and we are packing yet again......trip has been great, but getting tiresome living out of suitcases........Today, was a 'free' day; the guides and doctors took all of our paperwork to the consulate, and everything went smoothly....We got up, had a phenomenal breakfast downstairs (American and Chinese fare), and then hit the streets to do some shopping......we mostly bought things for Zach and Bella......we really didn't get much for ourselves, except things that we can hang up at the house, etc....Was nice walking around Shamian Island, which is where we are......had an early lunch, then walked around some more..(and had a nice iced coffee from Starbucks here in the a.m...they warn you about Ice, but I say be damned; dying for iced coffee, and figured it was safe at Starbucks...so far, so good)......in afternoon, Zach, Bella and I went for a swim....Bella loves the water; Tina had some down time to wander about........beautiful here, but we are ready to begin our journey home.......For this hotel, you pay for internet in 24 hour slots, so our time ends tonight at 9:40 PM China; 9 40 EST a.m.........so, will try and post a comment or two when we get to Beijing before we depart......Hopefully, can sneak another one in before we depart...If not, will definitely post sometime on Friday, 4/20 when we are home, safe and sound....Thanks for all who have followed our journey, and shared this incredible experience with us.....We are truly blessed to have great family and friends who took an active interest in our bringing Bella home....It has been over 2 years since we started this, and seeing her every day, it seems like she has always been a part of our family......We know that the 2 years was worth the wait, and that Bella was meant to be with us.....She looks a little like Tina and I (got my chubby cheeks for sure)...idolizes her big brother (and shares similar traits as he does).....So, the reason for the long wait, is that they just hadnt 'matched' a Bella yet for us, and they certainly got her right......And now she is a Walnista for the rest of her life, and we could not be happier......Love to all.....

"gotcha day", April Ninth...

As we have some time now, I thought I'd post some information about 'Gotcha' day......as previously stated, we left Bejing early on Monday, April ninth and flew to Nanning City. There, we were met at the airport by our travel guide, Glen (about 27 years old; incredibly nice guy; great great sense of humor; lots of fun; speaks English well).....Anyway, we load up on a small van to take us to the Majestic hotel in dowtown Nanning....We check in, relax as best we can, knowing that we were getting our babies that day......we try and eat in the hotel restaurant, but no one is really that hungry......At 2:30, we meet in the lobby to head 15 minutes to another hotel....At that hotel, there is a reception area, where the orphanges will bring our babies....As stated, there are 4 families with us: myself and Tina (getting Bella, 11 months); Jackie and John from NH (getting Roma, who turned one on 4/10); Jimmy and Nancy (Vineyard; getting Laina who is 8 months), and Carmen from Long Island, travelling by herself, who is getting Jianna (who is 21 months)....We all go into this room....kids toys, etc...and wait........we are told that 2 of the 4 babies are there, and waiting for the other 2 (come to find out, it is Bella and Laina).....shortly after 3, we are told that all of the babies are there.....they bring in the babies, one by one.....Roma was first...She was in Foster Care, and the Foster mom was there, sobbing...very very close to Roma...Roma was very cute......next baby is Jianna, who did cry at first, but was okay with Carmen...She is the oldest....21 months........next was Laina, the youngest and a cutie....!.....last, but certainly not least, was Bella......Our hearts melted as soon as we saw her...she was handed to Tina; no tears.......just a smile..(only tears were from yours truly)...then to me....again, no tears...little hugs....little hugs for Zach....did not cry ONCE that first day....incredibly emotional day.......we stayed there for about an hour, as the foster care and care givers stayed with us......then, we all went back to our hotel on the van....by then all the kids had quieted down.......we relaxed in our rooms, and eventually met up for dinner....all of us excited, and emotionally drained......On 4/10, we had to go to 2 offices to get paperwork notarized, signed off on, and had interview with the orphange directors.....had to answer personal questions about education; promising never to abandon or abuse our children, etc. We were also able to ask questions about our babies directly to the caregivers......We found out that bella went to everyone, except the director....was very happy baby in the orphange.....Always sucked her thumb (we wanted to make sure it was nt a nervous habit cuz she was with us; when you meet her, u will see that there is either food or thumb in mouth), we found out about eating and sleeping habits.....if there were anything she liked or disliked....that her and Laina were in same orphange at same time.....that she loved playing with other kids...........after all was said and done, 4/10 became the day we officially became Bella's parents.......So, 4/9 is gotcha day; 4/10 is the day we became parents........Best thing is we stayed in Nanning from 4/9 until the following Monday, 4/16....Most families go to Guangzho earlier, but due to trade show, we couldnt....In all honesty, we preferred it this way.....Nanning was extremely relaxing....gorgeous parks, and we only had 4 families/4 kids with us....many groups had 12 to 15 families/kids with them, which makes it difficult to do tours, go out to dinner, etc....We became close with this group, and glad that all worked out......as beautiful as Guangzho is and the 'island', it is also more pricey here, as it caters to a lot of businessmen.......okay, off to spend some money.....post more later

Thanks for the updates...

Thanks for the posts......! Surprise that a Kenyan won yet another marathon....thanks for the update, Andy; and surprise to hear sox got the game in; as thought it was a wash out there.......good to see........Weather, once again, is gorgeous here.......they had a laser light show going on last night that Zach and i watched.....as it is a free day today, going to breakfast, gonna grab a Starbucks coffee afterwards (no Dunkins', but will definitely take a Starbucks....), then walking around this little island/penninsula.......hang out at the pool for a bit.......big dinner tonight at the hotel....this hotel has hosted many famous dignataries, and many many American families adopting........Appreciate the feedback on the blog.....we can definitely keep it going when we get back, especially to post some comments on how Bella is adjusting to 'American' life and food.....dont think she will have problem in the food department.....Plus, need to let everyone know how a 13 hour flight with a 11 month old goes.....can you say Childrens Bendadryl 'cocktail' for all kids???? Saw some neat things in Guangzho to buy....course, Zach wants everything; Tina did order some special things for the kids.....Can get a nice wall hanging done with Zach and Bella's name in English and in Chinese, that looks great......oh well....off to Breakfast and walking around....post more later...

If its Monday, must be Guangzho....!!

Another day, another Chinese city...!!! Today, Bella took her first plane ride....us, and the 3 families we were travelling with departed Nanning for Guangzho....It is about an hour plane ride......We left around 10 30, got in around 11 15.....meet other families at the airport, and departed for the world famous White Swan Hotel in Guangzho......it is located on a little man made island, right on the Pearl River.....it is a 5 star, luxurious hotel.....VERY Amercianized....and beautiful....Zach was thrilled to see all of his little buddies here......Bella did fantastic on the plane ride (as long as she had food in her.....if anyone is noticing a trend, yes, Bella loves to eat, and yes, she is eating her way through China...and our bank account....!!!).....We checked into the hotel, grabbed a sandwich, and then had to take Bella with a few other families to get her Visa photo, and then to a Examination office nearby...they give a quick exam to make sure everything is okay, weigh her (19.4 right now, but growing fast..!!!)...clean bill of health...has a little rash on her face, but our doctor travelling with us states it is mostly due to the heat/humidity, and advised to use an ointment on it.....back to the hotel, where one parent had to do some paperwork....Tina did that with some of the other wives...I took Zach, Bella and Jianna (our friend Carmen is travelling alone, and asked if i could watch her 21 month old with Bella...told her fine), down to the pool......pool is great......right on the river.....winding pool, with a water fall...Zach swam with his buddies he met....I watched Bella and Jianna in the kids pool, with another dad and his daughter.....then, pizza party to celebrate the end of the paperwork....!!!! Tomorrow, the guides take all of the paperwork over to the Consulate for us....we have a free day......which is nice, as 1) we could use it; 2) the hotel is gorgeous.....3).tons of shopping in the area (have not bought much keepsakes; except for 'junk' for Zach........Normally, families spend about 3 nights at this hotel; we are only here for 2 as huge trade show coming into town, and the hotel rates skyrocket.........so, want to get us in and out before the show......its fine with us, as we had a great time in Nanning...this hotel IS a little more expensive than the others......and we just want to get home with our babies......Our room over looks the Pearl River, and at night, you can see dinner/cocktail type boats crusing up the river, all light up....Across the river, is the hotel and nightclub area, so they are light up......Looks fantastic, with all colored lights....We heard music, and there was a laser light show going on from one of the bridges...Zach loved it.....It is nice to just relax a bit....recharge........There are 27 families travelling altogether in China 137 (which is our group)....When we were in Beijing, we mostly split up into 2 groups.....then, when we went to get our babies, split up in multiple groups, with ours being one of the smallest (at 4 families...)....its cool to see everyone back in one place..meet their babies.......find out about their adventures....it sounds like we went to one of the nicest areas of all of the families..most families went to large cities (4 million to 10 million people); some in poor areas.....one groups hotel had NO a/c...no pool......we were lucky....City we went to was about 1 million......hotel was nice...pool and ac, which is needed, as very very humid.........Hard to believe this part of the journey is coming to an end, but our adventure with Bella is just beginning.....She turns 1 on May 1oth.....right now, she has 6 teeth....4 up top, 2 on the bottom...Eats everything you put in front of her.....Sleeps great....has a wonderful temperament...goes to everyone......CAN get loud; loves to 'squeal'.....is saying da da......trying real hard to say Zach....loves, loves watching big brother, as he makes her laugh....always looking for him.....stands on her own, no problem....walks pretty darn good for quite a few steps, then plops down.....should be walking regularly when we get home........can't be more pleased with the entire process......Everyone we have spoken with who has received kids on this journey seem to be doing well....some kids had difficult times adjusting, others no problem whatsoever.......All and all, this blog does not do justice to the entire trip....adoption process........everything.......it is over whelming.....tiring.....wonderful.......exhilirating......and not half as stressful or tiresome as i thought it would be......and......there IS a Starbucks down the street from the hotel....FINALLY a strong hot large cup of coffee tomorrow......this area CATERS to Amercians who adopt....EVERY store knows when we got in....how long we are here for, etc....good news is there a tons of 'baby' shops, and souvenir type shops, so negotiating is encouraged.......Letting Tina out on the streets tomorrow could prove to be very very costly....!!!! We have internet access til 9 45 tomorrow evening, and then may not be able to sign on again until we are home....will post more during day/night tomorrow.....thanks for all who have followed our journey, and who have shared their well wishes....it means a lot to us, as we are homesick.......love to all......

Moving on again

Will post today's blog entry later on tonight....time for dinner....just wanted to say that NOW we can read the comments........caught up on them; thanks everyone....!!! today is our last night in Nanning...has been INCREDIBLE....last dinner here......then 10 30 flight to Guangzho......about hour flight from here.......we get the babies checked out medically (think its a basic quick exam), and get their visas at the Consulate......most families spend more time in Guangzho, but due to a large trade show, we are only there Monday, Tuesday, and fly out Wed night.......we actually have preferred remaining in Nanning....lot to do and see...and absolutely gorgeous here...weather mid 70s..today was 80!!

It is now 9 Pm......we depart for the airport tomorrow at 8:30 to catch a 10 3o shuttle to Guangzho......It has been an incredible stay in Nanning...people have been great....area is beautiful.....lot to see and do....today, went to a famous Mountain outside of the city......It overlooks the city and offers an incredible view.......they have a tower, Elephant and Dragon Tower, that you can climb up.....they name the tower to protect them from the largest and most powerful animal on Land (Elephant) and from the largest and most powerful animal from the Sea (Dragon).........Park was very nice....we walked with the babies, took photos with some of the elderly ladies, who got a huge kick out of the babies....then, on to lunch...one of the 'go alongs' (a travel companion that is not adopting, but is assisting a family, 'dared' to eat some local delicacies, which equated to a bumble bee....some worms....a small scorpion...and a beetle......straight out of fear factor.....When then went onto a Flea Market.......very big...noisy....congested, but fun........LOT of live animals for sale...chickens.....fish....turtles...bunnies...then lot of local fare....Zach continued his whirlwind shopping spree (talked him out of his billionth Transformer-like toy), and got a cool leather/rope Chinese bracelet.....some 'gem stones'..........was very very warm today...close to 80....we can back and took Bella and Zach to the pool........Bella is ALL set for "Mimi's" pool this summer.....LOVED the water, and had a blast.........!!! we had a great stay in Nanning....very relaxing......right now, finishing up packing.......onto Guanzho......should be nice there as well....hoping to have internet access to continue our journey.....tomorrow is Monday....hard to believe we are almost coming home........as great as the trip has been, miss our home....our bed........can't wait to introduce Bella to all.......best wishes from Nanning...next post, Guangzho

SCREAMING Bella.......

Picture says it all........!!

Princess Bella.....

Bella in a Chinese silk outfit outfit our friend Carmen bought for her in Nanning (she bought a red one for her little girl, Gianna)....

Moon Mountain

Known as Moon Mountain in Guangxi province due to the hole in the middle....photo by Zach

Inside the caves....

A view from inside the caves, another photo courtesy of Zach......

Paying respects.....

At the caves, one would light 3 incense sticks in front of this statue to pay respect. Zach took this picture of our friend John doing this.

....Pictures......

Replica of a Chinese farmers hut at the caves.....

Big night out....!

When we got back from visiting Laibin, the other familiies weren't back yet.......we decided to venture out on our own with Jim and Nancy and Laina; and the social worker who flew down to meet us, Pat.....as much as we love Chinese food, we decided a little taste of Americana is what we needed tonight.....so, we loaded up the strollers, and headed downtown Nanning (about 15 minutes from our hotel to the shopping area....)....GORGEOUS night....about mid 60s.....nice and comfortable......So, we ended up at Pizza Hut (which is not like America pizza hut.....very nice...beer and wine......nice sit down)....anyways, we are waiting out front, and its Saturday night...by a mall.......tons and tons of people...teen age kids.....A group of teenage kids approached us, and in very good broken English, asked if we could sing happy birthday to their friend, as she was turning 15.....so, we broke into song, and they LOVED it...!!!! they were laughing and smiling, asking where we were from......about our two babies....next thing we know, we look up, there is about 3 rows deep of Chinese people, all giggling with us...looking at the babies....felt like being an American Rock Star in China.....all the Chinese people loved saying 'hello' in English and giggling.....we got sooo much attention, it was funny....When we got into Pizza Hut, there was a group of young student teachers from Canada.....we chatted with them briefly; they are in China for a month, and like us, needed a little good home cooking ...(okay, it is Pizza Hut, but damn did it taste good with a cold Bud...!!!).......Bella was at her BEST tonight...playing to the crowd...laffing...giggling.....eating EVERYTHING in sight........we think that the weather helped......nice lesiure dinner...nice walk back to the hotel...she smiled the whole way home...got her home......changed her into her pjs, out like a light....!!!!! Every night in Nanning we've eaten at the hotel; it was nice to go out at night....especially on a Sat night....most times, we get odd stares from the locals...tonight, being that it was a young crowd, they were very intrigued by us, and loved chatting...asking questions...and most are taking English in school....one girl is travelling to New York and Florida this year with her family......All and all, a very nice night.......

Bella's birthplace...."Found" area

It is about 5:30 in the afteroon.....we just got back from a long van ride to see the area where Bella was born (and where she was abandonded). We are in Nanning City, which is very close to the border of Viet Nam, and is Southeast China. We drove with Jim and Nancy (and Laina) to Laibin City, which is about 2 hours north of Nanning. Going through Nanning, we noticed that there is very well to do areas, where they are building luxury condos...high rises......one thing we noticed, that due to the humid climate, it is very very green here.......once we got out of nanning and on the expressway, we were completely in farm/rural country.....We went for about 2 hours, not seeing too much....In my mind, I expected Laibin to be a VERY rural farm village....but, when we got off the exit for Laibin, we were surprised that it was very well built up....fairly large city (maybe size of Worcester???).....and seemed to be expanding.....Yes, there were VERY poor sections, but was not what I expected....It seemed to be similar to Nanning, but on smaller scale, and less populated...(and more low income)........We went to the 'found' place of Bella first......She was left outside the Emergency Area of the People of Laibin Hospital.....we were 'pleased' to see the abandonment spot....VERY high traffic......safe........Small grass area.....right in front of the ER....They said that she was left under an umbrella.....that she was 'about a half day old', so she was born and basically abandonded......It was nice to get some 'closure' as to where she came from......We then moved onto where Laina was 'found'....All Jim and Nancy had for info was that she was left by a Furniture Mart by the train station.....We drove there, and it was in a VERY poor...run down section...there were housing that was very low income......the Furniture mart was beautiful, and Jim and Nancy are taking comfort in the idea that she was born in one of the low income 'project's'..the mother knew she couldn't take care of her, and thus, dropped her off at the highly travelled Furniture Mart (which seemed geared to middle to upper class)......It was nice to see this for both of families, even if it was a long day..We also drove past Laibin Social Welfare Institute (the orphange)....we were not allowed to go inside, nor could we take pictures from OUTSIDE of the van....had to take pictures from inside the van....Even that was questioned by officials, who came over and asked what we were doing...it was a large building on a main street....there is an outside area in the back that the kids could play at.....other than that, a non descript apartment style building.......Zach, per usual, did great...Bella, per usual, ate the whole way up, slept the whole way back.....!!! We are here for one more day (Sunday), and tomorrow we are visiting a very large mountain area, close to the city and a famous 'flea market', where we hope to get some trinkets representing this area......When we got back from the trip today, we were all hot....tina took Bella upstairs.....Zach and I took a walk.....Zach bought two lolllipops for 1 YUAN (7.75 YUANS equal a dollar), and I bought an ice cold beer for 3.5 YUAN (less than 50 cents).......When we were waiting for our trip this morning, we noticed red carpet rolled out...numerous official looking cars....large stretch limos....BMW"s.....much to our chagrin, we were NOT travelling to Laibin in style....the Prime Minister of Viet Nam is visiting, and actually staying at our hotel...i guess that speaks well for our hotel....We depart Monday morning for Guangzho, which is less than an hour flight from here...We go to the Consulate.....Get visas for the babies.....and get them checked out, medically....supposed to be very quick, and we are staying at the famous White Swan hotel for two nights, which caters to American Families adopting...guess great shopping in the area, and some "american style" restaurants....i love chinese food as much as the next, but craving a good old fashion juicy Burger, with an ice cold beer...(that and a damn drink with ICE in it...!)....more later...

Laibin

Today is Saturday, 4/14......We are off to Laibin, which is where Bella is from (and where she was abandoned). We are travelling with our friends, Jim and Nancy, who live on the Vineyard. Their little girl, Laina (8 months old) is from the same area. Both Bella and Laina were abandonded in or near Laibin and raised at the Laibin Social Welfare Institute. We decided to take an hour ride to visit this area to get an idea as to where she is from, and possibly see the abandonment spot. We won't be able to go into the orphanage, but hope to take pictures outside. We will post updates when we get back later on.....it is hard to believe that it is Sat.....you completely lose track of time when you are here.....all days run together....and going back and forth with the 12 hour difference (checking in with folks back home), makes you realize the difference.....example....8:40 at home at night; 8:40 saturday morning.....will be INTERESTING when we get home.......we arrive at 10 PM at Logan; which our body will tell us is 10 AM China time.......least we got weekend to try and catch up......We hear a major nor'easter is moving in late sunday for Mass........we are hoping that our driveway doesn't flood, and we come home to water downstairs....but what can ya do......roll with the punches.........this trip puts a lot in perspective.....somethings you can control; others you cannot.....Just got to take it as it comes.......We have now had Bella for five nights, and she has slept GREAT every...single..night...(thank god)....yesterday, took a late afternoon nap, so stayed up a little later (went down about 9 30 but was content to play in her crib til she fell asleep).....her and Zach both slept to about 7 (as did mom and dad.....Dad had a glass of Great Wall Cabernet, watching the only english station, HBO......)....well, off to Laibin.....willl check back later on......Sports fans, what is the latest with who the Pats are eyeing? no news over here...although the doorman at the hotel, asked us in broken english, if we knew Yao Ming.....guess they think that all of us in US live close by.......didn't have the heart to tell him, so said yes, that we grab coffee now and then, and talk Chinese politics....not sure he bought it.......

Chinese Military

Chinese Military training we 'stumbled' across during ne of our walks......

Ya Ling Caves (and how Bella ate her way through them..!)

Today we took a short journey to the Ya Ling Caves in the mountains about 35 minutes outside of Nanning City. It was a peaceful ride through the country, and got to see a lot of farm land, and incredible mountains (Zach took some great pictures...)....Before you go to the Caves, you visit a small recreated village, depicting how the farmers in this province live.....It was very interesting to show how simple they live, and what they need to do, utilizing primative tools, in order to survive....from there, you light 3 incense candles and place them at the foot of a large Buddah-like statue and say a little prayer, and bow three times....The caves were incredible......Polar Caves in NH got nothing on these....All of the guys on our trip (myself, Jim and John; and there is Carmen, a woman who is travelling all alone but has been doing great, and helps that she has a 21 month old that sleeps about 12 hours a day....no fussing, and is a joy); all tried out our Snugglis today.....Loaded with the children in front, we were ready to attack the caves.....Up and down rock stairs, it was about an hour walk through the limestone caves....throughout the tour, a guide will have lights shine on various formations in the caves, indicating what the locals had named them......such as limestone formations that resembled two men playing chess.....Dragons....Lions.......husband and wives....very interesting....Zach thoroughly enjoyed it, but kept trying to take pictures, in the dark.......Bella did fantastic for the first 2 thirds of the walk, content to be facing out of the Snuggli, taking everything in (wait to everyone meets here....VERY VERY nosy).....(side note to Jim, Tracy, Brittany and Spencer: we now know what you mean about the 'second child'......we think we got the female Spencer......very very active...!!!).....when the other children started dozing off, we thought it time to switch Bella around so she could lie on her stomach and nap......NOPE.......only thing that could quiet the shrills in the Cave was to keep a chip in her mouth at all times (smoky bacon Pringles seemed to do the trick).....when it got quiet, and the guide was about to point out an interesting formation, little Bella would let you know she's still there.....pop a chip in the mouth, buy yourself a few more minutes....like feeding the meter.....when we were approaching the last of the steps, heading up, is when she decided to doze off......Tina took her at this point, and we exited the Caves....They closed a gate behind us, and we all gathered to wait for the bus....it was then we noticed that we did not have our camera......Our guide was getting the van/bus, so we had to convey, in broken English, that they needed to open the gate for us to retrieve our Camera...they finally conceeded, and myself and another lady (who is travelling to assist her friends), ventured in.....mind you, during the tour, they have colored flourescent lights that light up now and then, or small lights mounted on the rocks.....at this point, all is turned off....they were kind enough to provide us with a small flashlight, and we fumbled up a few rock stairs, til we noticed a silver shiny object, that luckily was the camera........Zach was pleased, as he was the official photographer today...(all pictures that I post later are ones that Zach took himself, NO help whatsoever....).....Back to the hotel for some lunch, and relaxation....Bella is napping now, so Tina and Zach are taking a walk.........For those friends of Zach who are reading this (Evan....Jocelyn...Helen...Brittany...Spencer...Alex...Julia..Bryan and Matthew....Gerrianne...AJ...Nick and Alex......Mrs. Maguires class.......and anyone we may have missed), Zach wants to say hi and that he misses everyone.......This is a once and a life time trip, and we are blessed to be on this journey, and blessed with a very healthy.....very happy.......daughter......For those catching up on blog posts, I finally converted this to English, and noticed that I had one post (labelled GREAT WALL) as a draft, and not published.....So, I re posted it.......

Zach's pictureof Bella.....

Bella had her first Oreo the other day on our walk....I tried several times to take a picture of her with the chocoloate all over her face, but it never came out......Zach took the camera, and on his FIRST try, got the above picture........could be a budding photographer in the family.......he has been taking a lot of pictures with his camera, as well as our digital camera.........another good night of sleeping for everyone last night.....all of us crashed around nine....Tina up first...then me....Zach.....and last but not least, Bella......it is Friday morning.....weather looks to be humid again...as previoously mentioned, off to the mountains and caves this morning, then back to the hotel. They are possibly arranging trips for us to the cities/areas where the orphanages are from...Bella and Laina are both from Laibin orphange; the other 2 babies are from a different part. We may travel tomorrow to Laibin with the other family to see where Bella was from.......on some information we received from her, it was stated that she was left on the grass, under an umbrella, by a hospital in Laibin.....we could possibly see that area.....We realize that the mom did this so that Bella could have a better life, and we are confident that we can provide that to her. hope all is well in Mass.....any snow???? Sanjaya STILL on AI? Is Dice K undefeated?

Chinatown Dragons......

Riding the Dragon at the park.......

Dad and Bella at the park.....

Parks.....sleeping babies.......party in the hall...!

Today we went to the Nanning City People's Park, which is about a 5 minute walk from our hotel....it is a gorgeous park, with ponds, plenty of trees/shade.....a small amusement park......old fort......we went as a group, but we ended up breaking off by ourselves to go to the amusement park (we are the only ones with an active 6 year old in the group)......Its amazing how much power of persuasion a 6 year old has over you.....having a small fear of heights, next thing I knew I am in a rather high Chinese Ferris Wheel, overlooking the city........My immediate thoughts were that we'd get stuck up thre, much to Zach's delight.......All ended fine, and we proceeded to go on more rides......mini roller coaster that spun.......a tilt a whirl type ride....and the best.....a large 'circle' that you sit in and pedal it around this large track....course, pedals weren't big enough for Zach to pedal, so here dad is pedalling like crazy.....before we got on, we noticed a small silver pedal.....i smiled, pointed at it and said 'brake'....the operator grinned...and nodded.....so off we went....less than half way around the track, a winded dad stopped pedalling, turned to Zach and said we need to take a break...(i thought to myelf, how long is this track???)...Zach put his foot on the silver 'brake' pedal, and off we went....!!! Yes, the damn ride was electric, and I did NOT have to pedal the whole time.....after the park, back to the hotel for some lunch and a quick swim.....we then went with another lady on the trip to Wal Mart to stock up on some supplies (mostly munchies for Zach and Bella, who SNACKS as much as he does), and some beer and wine for the families back at the hotel...(4 altogether, including us)........after we got back to the hotle, we had an impromptu party in the hall......all of us are on same floor, and have rooms next to each other....we opened our doors....put blankets on the floor for the kids....had munchies...some wine....beer.....very nice and relaxing.....kids had a ball.........Bella was the life of the party...laughing....giggling.......when we were at the area of Wal Mart, we got Zach a cheese pizza at Pizza Hut......'real' Chinese food for lunch and dinner is starting to wear thin on him..so he relished the pizza.....Tina and I both said that we WOULD love to have a nice steak dinner one night........Anyway, tomorrow it is off to the 'caves'......guess they have caves that are similar to the Polar Caves, so taking a trip out there......should be fun.......

What have we missed....?

It is almost 5 PM, Wed, 4/11.......We have been here almost a week.......only news we get is from the internet.....but, did find out that........Sox are in first place...Dice K is 1 and 0....Sanjaya is still on Amerian Idol (????)......Tiger lost at Augusta, in spite of playing in the final group......Larry Burkhart IS the father.........Food has been great here......discovered that food in Nanning, where we are now, is MUCH better than Beijing...even Tina agrees......Incredible dinners and lunches....we laughed at first, as they were initially giving 'french fries' with the dinners (not that very good...), and we asked one of our guides, why? They said that everyone in America eats french fries....we said no need to keep doing so........but, they try and change up the dishes...rice....low mein/noodles......spicy dishes.....chicken...pork...seafood......it has been great.......side note to my friend, George, you would LOVE it.......!!!!! Zach, unfortunately, is having a tough time.....can only Chinese food so many times....i did discover McDonalds..Pizza Hut...and KFC a little ways down the street...(yes, near that traditional Chinese shopping store, Wal Mart)...think may treat him tomorrow for a break........We have been dealing with the language barrier fairly well......Tomorrow, we think we are going to do some more sight seeing....Guess there is a big mountain nearby that offers incredible views....there are polar type caves to explore......and, of course for the ladies, there is Shopping.....!!!!! amazing HOW cheap things are here.....we got Zach a little carry on bag (for all the stuff he has accumulated..and will get more tonight for his birthday), for less than 10 dollars......We do miss having ice, but have been warned not to risk having a drink with ice in it.......All and all, the group we are with are fantastic.......we believe we will remain in touch with several families.....especially the one on the Vineyard.....Can't hurt to have Vineyarders as friends.........Hope folks dont mind these 'rambling' posts....but get caught up in the day.....the excitement of being in China....the new baby, and its nice to express our thoughts and feelings to friends and loved ones......

First Dolphin Show.....

Zach, Mom and Bella checking out the Seals and Dolphin show at the Nanning Zoo...

BIG Brother taking care of baby sister.....

.....Snap the picture already.....!!!!

Four Babies from our group.....

Following are the four babies that are from our group....from left to right...
Lianna.....Roma....Gianna.....Bella.......sounds like an Italian Law Firm....

More pictures.....hope folks dont mind

Here we go Red Sox....!!!!

Bella's day at the zoo.....Zach's 6th birthday.....

Today was a big day for us in Nanning....weather was gorgeous....another great night of sleeping for all......had breakfast in hotel.....and being that it is Zachs birthday today, dad decided to 'go for a run' to the local Wal-mart, praying he would NOT get lost...(no street signs in English)....as the major mode of transportation in Nanning is motor bikes and bicycles, took my life in my own hand, running down the street.....should have seen everyone looking at the crazy Amercian with salt/pepper hair and iPod running down the street....!!!! Found Wal Mart no problem...navigated my way through the store and got Zach some presents for his birthday......we are having a little party for him tonight at dinner, and the other 3 families we are travelling with all got him some presents, which is very sweet....Zach has been super....hasnt asked for anything for his birthday, and knows we will celebrate it when we get back...AMAZING how cheap things are here.......can get Transformers for about 3 or 4 dollars (vs 10 to 12 in States).......Then, the whole group went to a fantastic zoo about 20 minutes from hotel.....was really nice......spread open...not crowd......but lots of animials....hippos....asian elephants....panthers...lions...tigers...crocs.....seal and dolphin show.....was great way for Zach to celebrate his 6th birthday......for a bottled of water....can of coke....and a ice cream cone, it cost 11 YUAN (which is less than a $1.50 US).......had lunch in restaurant by zoo.....was great.....know back at hotel....Zach is a little disappointed as we were going to go swimming, and a guy Jimmy that is on the trip with his wife Nancy (very nice couple....from Martha's Vineyard, too!!) were going to go swimming with us...they adopoted a really cute little girl, Lianna.....she is 8 months, and actually is from the same orphanage as Bella...but, they are working on the pool....so, it is closed for now...hopefully, will be fixed today or tomorrow......the other 2 girls adopted in our small group are from other provinces.......In Nanning versus Beijing, Americans definitely stick out a lot more.....everyone stops to look at you....but get used to it....It is Wed, and we are here until next Tuesday...it actually is much slower paced than Beijing..more down time......i think they do that on purpose...get to know your babies...spend quality bonding time...one on one time..it has worked out great thus far.....mommy and Zach are out exploring the hotel a bit...they got pool table..ping pong...arcade....Bella is taking a nap....Dad is sipping an ice cold Budweiser that he bought at Wal Mart (they sell beer..wine....hard liquor....at WalMart...!!!).....we got some great pics from the Zoo that we will post later on.....weather report said cold and snow in Mass??? it is humid and about 70 here in Nanning.....yesterday, woman said something in Chinese to Tina because bella's legs were exposed...told her she should be in long pants and a sweater....we laffed as we were in shorts and Tees.......more later....best wishes to all......

Daddy's little girl.....

The good news is that Bella is definitely daddy's little girl.....the bad news is that she's daddys little girl!!!! Yesterday, she would ONLY go to me...she would hug, kiss and play with Zach....but daddy was only one who could carry her...pick her up....hold her......she wouldn't go to anyone else, making dad have to eat the old 'one hand method'.....Between that and swimming in a freezing cold outdoor pool with my son, dad was pretty wiped yesterday.......but today she is gravitating a lot to Tina and Zach.....another great night of sleep for her......she was thrown off her schedule yesterday (usually naps around 1, but we were out at 'super Wal Mart as a group...an interesting adventure to say the least...!!)....Store is huge...two floors...and amazing what you can get there for cheap....It was cute....a couple of the ladies in our group who took a shine to Zach bought him some Transformers to give him today for his birthday....yes when you read this, it will actually be his birthday in China......we think we are heading to a local zoo, which will be fun, and hope to get him a birthday cake tonight......it has been an incredible journey, and we are relishing every moment spent as a family....watching her adapt to us......seeing how much she loves us (especially Zach.....he got the very first kiss from Bella and at last count, per Zach, she has given him 6 kisses, but none yet to daddy.....Zach gets a kick out of that, of course)....there has been a little jealousy on Zach' part, which is understandable, but he has been super.....He seems to get a little jealous at the end of the day/night, as he gets very tired....so that it is understandble......We all are back on a normal schedule of sleeping..In Beijing, we were constantly on the go....non stop...here in nanning city, it is less structured...more family down time, which is great........NOW, if I can just find a damn good cup of Coffee.....Dunkins? Starbucks.....NOPE.......okay, off to breakfast......then meeting downstairs at 10 for the zoo.....hope to post some more pics.......

The Family......

Pictures taken this morning from getting adoption papers notarized.....This is on the van going to the office.....!

Bella's first night.....

This is a picture of Bella her first night at the hotel....we are working on posting pictures and getting more updated....so far, things are going great for us......!

The Wall,,,,,

Views of the Wall........

Climbing the Great Wall

Picures from The Wall...!!

China pictures

Zach and his friend Nicholas, a little boy from Korea, at the Great Wall

First night.....couldn't have gone better!!!!

First off, THANK YOU to everyone who sent your well wishes emails....we have received them all....!!!! we are SOO thrilled to share our journey with you, via the 'blog'......okay.....first night.....wow....did it go great.....!!! after our last blog, we stayed in the room...played a bit...gave her a tubbie.....then we met everyone downstairs for dinner.....she didn't do great taking a bottle, but did great eating table food....!!! after dinner, had to do some papework, and zach was exhausted.....Zach and i came upstairs.....he fell asleep a little after 8....Bella, Tina and I played a bit....she was just happy to be held......we tried to put her in the crib alittle after 8, but wasn't ready yet....she played some more....we put her in a little after 8:30.....she didn't cry.....complain....everynow and then, would pop her little head up, look around, and plop back down....(we have noticed that she is very very nosy...looks around the restaurant...wont miss anything.....and.....tina heard the waitresses comment in chinese that shes nosy...mmmm, just like her mom????).....a little before nine, she was out cold.....sleeps just like Zach did....on her tummy,...bum up in the air......well......its almost 7 am here....and she JUST woke up.....!!! didn't get up ONCE the whole night....9 to 7, no crying...no waking up.......and when she got, she is very happy...sitting on the bed with Big Brother, who is thrilled this morning..(yesterday, he was over tired, but we chatted this morning before Bella got up and all he kept saying is he is so glad he is with us...how much he wanted to meet her....how cute she is..how much he loves her...yes, that will change...but for now, he is excited....and i just heard him tell Tina not to put her milk in that cup..she likes the other one!!!).......today, we go back to the hotel they brought her to (about 10 minutes away) for a small ceremony..then we have the day free......spend it relaxing...maybe go for a swim...nanning city is much 'nicer' than Beijing......warm and humid...although we do stick out more.......people stop and stare......I am smiling as i write this as i hear Zach giving her a bottle and telling Mom what to do.....!!! Thanks for everyones warm thoughts and wishes...for now, best communication is via tina's yahoo account.....! (FYI:...Bell is a huge thumb sucker...we hope to log in with our laptop today and post pictures...)

We have baby Bella !!!

Okay....deep breath......the LONG LONG wait is over...today at around 3 15 Beijing time, 3:15 EST time, we received Bella....I will post details later on.....but, quick summary...(and we are nervous about a melt down later on) she is HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY....she immediately took to me, Tina and Zachary.....has not cried.....she has been with us for a little over 2 hours now, and is just happy to be here....she is giggling, smiling....and has NO problems with us picking her up.....she likes to 'walk' with people holding her hands....Zach has 'walked' her around the hotel lobby, and she loved it.....it was an emotional day.....but, we are all doing good...all happy.....(we will let you know how the night goes!!)....not that we are biased at all, but boy is she a cutie....we will post pictures as soon as we can......everyone goes through life changing moments.......your first kiss....graduating high school or college....your first job....getting married...loss of a loved one....birth of a child...Sox winning world series (okay, threw that in for all new englenders!!)...this trip...this process...this journey...has been a life changing moment....I have no problem admitting or stating that i teared up when Bella was given to us.....we are lucky to have her....as Jerry Maguire stated so elequenty....'she completes us'.....we love Zach more than anything, now he has a sibling....so far, he has been great......he is helping Tina give her her first bath with us right now, and is SO excited......this journey has been long....tiring....emotional.....stressful...but seeing her..holding her...kissng her for the first time, i would not change it for the world....okay...sorry for the sappy post this time around....Phew.....what a day.....April 9th will forever be know as 'gotcha' day......that is what the Adoption agencies refer to the day you get your baby......this will always be a special day for us.....We are signed in via the hotel computer, so not sure if we can access our email account from home....and we cant read posts here......so, if you want to email us, best to email tina's yahoo account......tmwalnista@yahoo.com this webpage is in Chinese....so, I hope that this post is in English???? can someone confirm?

we will post more info about the trip from Beijing to Nanning City (Guangxi province, about 3 hours south of Beijing)......Okay.....thanks to all our family and friends for the support and love these past few years...

Great Wall

Today was a packed day.....9:00 a.m. met in lobby for bus trip out to Jade and/or Pearl Factory on way to the Great Wall.....Zach has made some friends on this journey, and we were very proud of him.....He asked if he could ride on the other bus, without mommy and daddy, with some of the other boys and the families that he met on the trip......(all of us are in same group and staying at same hotel, so we know the families...).....everyone said it was fine, and a mom and dad who adopted a little boy from Korea, Nicholas, (a little over 5) said they'd keep an eye on him....so, off he went.....we met up with them when we got to the Great Wall and he was having a BLAST.....didnt miss us as much as I missed him.....he is growing up SO Fast....anyway.....bus went to Jade factory.....very nice, and then on to the Great Wall....wow....was there traffic going to the various viewing sites, as it was a gorgeous sunny day....in any event, we had about 2 hours or so at the wall...climbed up as high as we could go....very very steep, but incredible view....we were at the part of the wall that Nixon visited when he came to Beijing many years ago....Zach brought along 'Flat Stanley' from school (a cut of a little boy that is supposed to travel the world)....we took numerous pictures of him at the wall, much to the wonderment of the local Chinese.....EVERYONE would stop and stare as we held Stanley up by the wall, or posed him in pictures.....they would smile...point........Tina and I thought of mass producing the Flat Stanleys and selling them......figure if they can sell us watches with MAO on it, we can sell Flat Stanley...! after the wall, went out for a late lunch....everyone was somewhat wiped....but, it was good....had shops there where Zach picked up a few things...he had a blast....then off to the Chinese Acrobat show on way back to hotel...INCREDIBLE......men and women performing feats that were amazing.......Zach had a lot of fun.....this is our last night in Beijing for a while, as we head out to Guangxi Province tomorrow morning (city of Nanning) to meet and receive Isabella.....we get into Nanning around 1o:30 am, and they will bring Bella to us in the afternoon sometime.....everyone is nervous and excited...there will be 3 other families travelling to this province with us....Zach is very very excited about tomorrow and is sound asleep now in anticipation of the day....Tina and I are doing great....tired, but great....lot to do...see....we are actually looking forward to getting to Nanning for several days, not just to get Bella but to have some down time as a family in the hotel....Beijing is TOOO crowded, with over 1 million residents in the area......good luck to them in 2008 for the Olympics.....Needless to say, this will be our last post without our daughter...!!! Next time you hear from us, we will have her with us in what we can only anticipate will be an emotional day....for those who know Tina and I well, she is calm, steady person....I, on the other hand, will be an emotional wreck.......Hope this email finds family and friends all doing well and wishing everyone a very Happy Easter.....oh yeah, one myth that I have believed in my entire life was shot down.......the Great Wall of China CANNOT be seen by the astronauts in space......just an urban legend I guess.....

Emperor's Throne

It has been said that during a particular day in
Winter Solstice, at high noon, the sun shines
directly into the Palace, through the openings and
shines directly on the Emperor's Throne. It has
also been said that a LARGE pearl hangs over the
Emperor's Throne, and anyone who attempts to
sit in the Throne who does not have royal blood,
the Pearl would be released to crush the impostor.
We tested this theory, and much to our surprise
Tinas familymust have royal blood somewhere
down the line.....we'd like you to meet Emperor
Zachary......

Imperial Palace and the number nine....

In visitng the Imperial Palace yesterday, we were told that the number nine is very significant and lucky in Chinese culture. One can determine what palace houses the emperor by the number of mythical Chinese animals/carvings on the building. Above shows nine mythical Chinese figures, which represents the residence of the emperor.....good news for us, our 'gothca day' the day we meet and get Isabella is April NINTH.....here's hoping for some luck as well.....

for those who have seen the movie, The Last Emperor, all through out the outter and inner court of the Forbidden City is where this epic movie was filmed. For those who haven't rented it, two thumbs up for it.......great movie.......

Chairman MAO....!!!!!

Entrance to the Forbidden City/ Imperial Palace. Pass right under Chairman Mao......LOT of 'vendors' in the Square, selling everything from postcards/pictures of China.....'red books'.....cheap kites.....knock off rolexs......to a Chairman Mao watch, with his hand moving....gotta love the folks of China....!

Saturday.....4/7..Forbidden City...'Parenthood 101"

Well, it is Saturday evening....about 5;20......whirlwind trip continues.....trying to catch our breath a bit.....today, we had a meeting with the entire group of families, and the doctors/social workers that are travelling with us....they went over some parenting tips 101, such as feeding a baby....changing diapers....feeding babies etc.....as there are a lot of first time parents in the group, session proved to be helpful....but for all of us who are parents, we all know that gotta just wing it sometimes...!!! somethings can't be learned by books or teaching...just got to experience first hand.....Zach hit the wall a bit, with jet lag catching up with him....After meeting and lunch, we took bus to Tianamen Square...Forbidden City.......as it was close to the hotel, Tina decided to walk back to hotel with Zach and forgo the tour....Probably for the best, as LOT of walking....and the kids that were in the group seemed bored....tired.....Tina and Zach were able to catch up on some sleep, as we toured the Forbidden City/Imperial Palace....INCREDIBLE how big the entire area is.....Lot of history, and tour guide went through a lot....took some video and pics; will try and upload pics later on........Amazing how congested with traffic Beijing is...tourguide, who is born and raised in Beijing, said that the number of automobiles have grown incredible.....used to be more bikes, now cars everywhere......makes NYC or Boston look like a Ghost town.......makes me wonder..Are they really ready for the onslaught that will come during the Olympics??......besides our travel group who are adopting, seems like a lot of US tour groups in Beijing.......weather has been fantastic.....shorts and tee shirts thus far......welll....off to dinner....its 'family style' dinner.....after hosting a wedding for 400 of our closests friends, nothing for us...!!!! FYI: if anyone wants to 'get in touch' with us, we can receive emails (rtwalnista@comcast.net)........Glad to see on Boston.com that Dice K had a good first showing........tomorrow off to the Great Wall........later...

Oceanic Flight 815.....

It is now a little after 9:00 am, Beijing time, so figured I'd catch up a bit.....for those who don't watch the show LOST, post title may not make sense.....Anyway, we are finally getting adjusted to time change....As mentioned in previous post, yesterday was a long long travel day, but went better than expected....Zach could not have been better for us, even with all of the travelling.....All of the families have been great, and there are some kids Zachs age, too,.....Zach and I went to the pool.....sauna....now getting ready to do some sight seeing around Beijing.....got the video camera and digital camera all charged up.....First time ever travelling internationally, so getting used to the language barriers......But, do the best we can......right off the bat, hit a snag as our first room had internet access, then did not. got up this morning and tried to log on, but could not....had to spend quite some time trying to explain to front desk...sent folks up to the room, still no go....so, ended up changing rooms.......but, all worked out just fine....as everyone says, just go with the flow....nohing a few Tsingtao's cant correct, right???? Feel that after a day of sight seeing, relaxing at the pool/sauna, will be back on track, sleep wise.....oh, FYI, if anyone posts comments to this blog, we cannot access it......We found out that we can post comments and updates, but cannot 'read' the blog......!!! Hope this post finds everyone well........Two more days until we finally meet...and hold...Isabella for the first time......Can't wait.......

Where are here...!!!!!

This will be a QUICK post for now to let everyone know that we have arrived in Beijing, save and sound....!!!! Trip was great....in all honesty, the 13 hour flight just FLEW bye...(yeah, right...!!) In all seriousness, Zach was fantastic on the plane....even if his portable DVD player was inadvertently left on prior to getting on the plane....resulting in NO battery for the entire trip....but, rolled withe punches, made due, watched movies on computer, played games, etc....long, long LONG day...left Mansfield at 5:30 a.m., and with the time change for China more or less was settled in our hotel room at 5:30 a.m, EST time...(yup, 24 Hour of LeMans got noting on us...!!) Hotel is great......we went out for dinner as group last night....crashed at 8:00 PM Beijing time, and course, due to change in time wide awake at 3:30 a.m.....did fall back to sleep.....just grabbed some breakfast, and taking Zach for a swim.....we meet in lobby at around 10.....today, visiting Forbidden City and Tianamen Square.....so far, trip has been great.....and, who needs sleep anyways???? Best wishes to family and friends who are reading this, and will write a longer 'blog' tonight........

Loki....The Masters....Red Sox......ICE!!!!

As I finish up our packing, I am thinking what I will miss during our trip to get Bella.........our dog, Loki, who will be spending 2 weeks in doggie daycare..(yes, he does exist....yes, he does run away occassionally....and yes, ALWAYS comes back)......Tiger at the Masters.....Dice K and the Sox.....and....ICE (been told stay away from ice....only drink bottled water......!!!) It will be whirl wind, exciting, non stop trip......but, as one of our good friends told me, "keep your eye on the prize", which is getting our daughter home.....! As new to the whole blog thing, wanted to test out posting pics, hence our beloved dog, Loki...(contrary to statements made, we love the old dog and looking forward to him meeting Bella).....! anyway, next updates and posts should be when we are enroute to Beijing.....!! (No Tina, we aren't getting rid of the dog...!!)

Do we have everything?????

this time tomorrow, we will be at Logan airport, waiting for first leg of journey to Newark and on to Beijing......NEVER travelled this far, or international before...Good news is that Wide Horizons (adoption agency) handles a TON for you....!!! But, key is to pack lighlty.....tell that to Tina!!! she has actually been good about that......Course, packing for a 6 year old can be difficult.......lets see....GameBoy...check...DVD player...check.....movies...check.....Computer games...check......we know we will forget something....glad that things are cheap in China....i am sure Tina will be helping out with the Chinese economy when we are there...!!!!! Trying to explain go Zach that he will not be able to watch a lot of his favorite shows on the trip.....at least all of the hotels have a pool, and most seem to have bowling alleys??? We are as packed as best we can...have car service picking us up tomorrow at 5:30......get into Beijing on Friday at 1:30 PM China time (1:30 a.m. US)......basically, to the hotel to crash a bit......Stay in Beijing Friday, Saturday and Sunday (sight seeing to Great Wall of China, Forbidden City), and off to Nanning on Monday, 4/9 to meet Isabella for the first time......Easter Bunny came 'early' for Zach and left him a basket this morning, with a note, explaining that he left it as he is proud of him for helping out to get his little sister.....Glad we did this as it made his day....and Bunny was kind enough to leave some computer games which will come in handy on the trip.........!

Little snag before the trip...but all set...!!

Hard to believe only 2 more days til we get on plane for China....!!! Been waiting long time for this, and we know the wait will be worth it once we get our daughter. Unfortunately, last minute changes in travel plans. Tina's mom, who was supposed to travel with us, won't be able to go now due to an unexpected circumstance at home. Everyone is fine, but Helene will be staying home. She will be missed on the trip, and Zach is disappointed but understands.

For those who check this blog now and then, if you do not see any updates when we are travelling it is due to not being able to access the site from China. We have been told that in certain areas, may not be able to sign in in order to update, but we will try our best to keep a running journal of our adventure to get Bella.

We just wanted to say 'thanks' to all of our family and friends for the incredible support we have received throughout this process.....we couldn't have made it this far without great family and friends.....!!!