August 13, 2010 Beijing: Last Update on Kate & New Photos, Climbing The Great Wall

This morning as we were buzzing around getting ready for breakfast before venturing off to The Great Wall with our CCAI Travel Group, I decide to quickly check my email.  We have been so busy here that I have literally barely checked an email since we arrived.  When I am on the computer which is usually very late at night when the rest of the family unit is snoozing, I am trying to update the blog and then never leave a minute to check emails.  But this morning I glanced at a very full inbox and right away I noticed that I had an email from my sweet friend from the Mooncake Foundation, Dan Zhang.  I had emailed her before we left for China asking a few questions like...is Kate still wearing diapers, is there a particular kind of toy she likes or food that she enjoys, will the Nanny that brings her from the orphanage be one who has been caring for her so that she might be able to answer more questions about Kate for me, etc...

 

I was overjoyed when I saw the email from Dan which I am including below...along with 2 new pictures!!  These will be the last photos that I will get of Kate in the Orphanage because tomorrow is Gotcha Day...she will become part of our family forever!  Dan said in her email that Kate and another another little girl, Yu Xing Rong, will be coming with a Nanny from Yulin to meet us in Xian.  They are leaving at 7:00 am Sunday morning and should arrive in Xian around 2:00 pm.  Wow!  That is a long ride for them...but the Orphanage in Yulin is in a completely different part of Shaanxi Province than the city of Xian.  Xian is the capital of Shaanxi Province and the adoption paperwork is always processed in the Provincial capital.  Because Yulin is so far away, we will not be able to visit there.      

 

It ends up that the new family of Yu Xing Rong (soon to be Grace) is in my travel group and it has been so neat to meet them.  They are a sweet family of 4 about to be 5.  Rebecca and Wayne have two children Rachel (16) and James (13).  Since they are in our travel group, we will be able to spend some time with them and Grace...I am thinking that this will be comforting to Kate and possibly ease the transition.

 

There is one Nanny, her name is Tian YanXia, who has been holding Kate in many of the photos we have received.  Dan said that she really wanted to come see Kate off to her new family...but she was too shy to ask the Orphanage Director if she could make the trip.  When I read this...it brought tears to my eyes.   Just thinking about the love that this sweet caretaker has had for my daughter means the world to me.  I want to hug her and thank her in person for caring for our daughter when Kate literally had no one in this world.  How do you thank someone for holding your child in a soft and loving way, or speaking to your child with gentleness and compassion, or smiling and playing with your child...all of these are actually not requirements of her job at the Orphanage.  They are above and beyond and I can only imagine what they have meant to sustaining our daughter.  

 

So, we leave the hotel bright and early in the morning at 5:30 am to catch a 8:30 am flight to Xian.  We will probably get to Xian around 10:00 am and have a little time to go to our hotel and unpack some of Kate's stuff...clothes, diapers and lots of toys that Caroline and I picked out to bring!  Then we are supposed to head over to the Civil Affairs Office where we will get Kate.  I believe that it is within walking distance to the Hotel where we are staying.

 

Please keep praying for Kate to feel security and peace when she meets us.  I am sure that she will be very confused and scared and as it begins to set in that she is not going back to her familiar environment, I expect her to grieve this loss tremendously.  I can only think she will feel completely abandoned tomorrow...which is so ironic considering that we will celebrate tomorrow as our Forever Family Day.  

Also, please pray for sweet Caroline.  This child is an absolute angel.  Every family in our group has been amazed at how happy she is ALL OF THE TIME!!!  And actually, she is happy MOST of the time!  She is such a trooper.  If you could have seen her today on The Great Wall...you would not have believed her.  She climbed as far as Sean did...the two of them - father and daughter...climbing The Great Wall of China!  It was truly a most beautiful and emotional sight for me...as I watched from behind!   Gailie and I climbed almost all the way to the top of the section we visited...but we tuckered out and decided to rest and enjoy watching Caroline and Sean bound their way up this great marvel of China!

 

I am so sleepy now...so I am heading to bed since we have such an early morning.   I want to write more about our visit to The Great Wall...it was truly spectaular...so much better than I had imagined.  The magnitude of it was just overwhelming...and we had a beautifully clear (and hot) day so you could see for miles. I will post a couple of pics of The Great Wall and hopefully, I can add more later when we are in Xian.  

 

 

Email from Dan Zhang:

 

Hi Sally,
  
I'm sorry to reply you so late. I hope you will check your email before you went to pick up JingMei.
 
I phoned the YWI president, she said there will be one nanny of JingMei's room will go to Xi'an tomorrow.
They will leave for Xi'an at 7.00 am by bus. If the weather is ok, they should arrive Xi'an  around 2.00 pm.
 
There's another nanny named Tian YanXia in JingMei's room want to see off JingMei in Xi'an, but she's too shy to ask the president. She told me Jing  Mei likes something can make lights or sounds.
 
You might need dipers for JingMei, because she's not potty trained yet. In the YWI she usually wears a cloth diaper. In the picture she's not wearing her diaper because she starts to cry while she's sitting on a potty seat. She was picked up from the potty seat.
 
There's aslo another girl named Yu XingRong will also be adopted tomorrow. She's a big sister in the YWI, she can be a really sweet sister sometimes. So maybe she can also help JingMei with the new environment. I know a lot of younger kids adores her. I will attach one picture with both Yu Xing Rong and JingMei.
 
There's 2 pictures in the attachment. Fisrt one from left is Yu XiaoLi, JIngMei and Yu Xing Rong. Next one from left is Yu Xiao Yu, Nany ZhangCaiXia, YuXingDan( the little girl) , Nany Tian Yan Xia, YuXingRong, Nanny Zuo Ting'E, JingMei and a new nanny( I forget her name).
Btw, the woman in the picture I send you last time named Ma XiaoNing, she's the pharmacist in the YWI.
 
It's such a pity I won't be there tomorrow. Give JIngMei a big hug for me!
I gonna go to bed now.
 
Good night!
 
Zhang Dan