He's STILL at it!

We've been home for a week. Our last expense was paid more than a week ago. At our last meeting (about a week before we left), our social worker told us we were on the bubble for the increased adoption tax credit. She sort of advised that we go ahead with the adoption because the court wouldn't recognize her as an heir as it stands should anything happen to us before re-adoption takes place; in other words, she seemed to feel that we had better readopt sooner than later.

She seems to have changed her mind on that advice. She is advising we wait until 2006 to set our court date. That works out in our benefit monetarily AGAIN. We get nearly $5000 more in tax breaks if we do that.

I think God's making way for a little sister, just like we were hoping.

Now I understand why they are "killer whales"

Charissa was up from 1:30 to 3 last night and I thought I was sleep-deprived...

(Reuters) Sleep-deprived mothers of newborn babies should spare a thought for bottlenose dolphins and killer whales.

A study has shown the young of those two species do not sleep at all during the first month of life. They are active 24 hours a day -- and their mothers have learned to cope.

"Somehow these seafaring mammals have found a way to cope with sleep deprivation, facilitating rather than hindering a crucial phase of development for their offspring," Dr Jerome Siegel, a neuroscientist at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), said in a statement.
Siegel and his colleagues said the developmental pattern they discovered in the dolphins and whales is different from all other mammals.

As the calves of both species grow, their sleep gradually increases to adult levels.

"Their bodies have found a way to cope, offering evidence that sleep isn't necessary for development and raising the question of whether humans and other mammals have untapped physiological potential for coping without sleep," Siegel said.

The scientists, who reported the findings in the journal Nature, believe the newborns' lack of sleep has several advantages. Their constant movement reduces the danger from predators and helps maintain their body temperature until they develop greater mass and blubber.

It also enables them to swim to the surface frequently to breathe and helps their body and brain to develop.

The scientists observed two adult killer whales and their calves at SeaWorld in San Diego, California and four dolphins and their offspring at the Utrish Marine Mammal Research Station in the Black Sea region of Russia for five months after birth.

A different mindset

Before anyone makes a judgment concerning the Chinese based upon what little I've told you so far about our daughter, let me "make this perfectly clear," as Nixon is reported to have said: they are not monsters. The people who abandon their babies do so out of desperation. Many do so with the hope that their children will have a better life than they would if they kept them. For us in the US, that is absurd; for many of the Chinese, that is life. They need sons to take care them in their old age. Daughters will care for their husbands' parents. They have no Social Security system. They rely on each other.

Also, some of the babies are the products of unwed mothers. Again, there is no WIC to help out. If families won't, the girls are stuck trying to make a way for themselves and the babies. Some of the babies have notes with them--the parents asking someone to care for them. One note that our local guide told us about was particularly wrenching and it came from an unwed mother. Her note was essentially, "Whoever takes care of my baby, in my next life (reincarnation + Buddhism, remember) I will be a pig or a chicken or a goat--whatever you need me to be for you. Just please, take care of my baby."

In contrast, we in the US fight abortionists and carry the "righteous armor" for children, but then we complain when they're loud in public places (especially in some churches, irony of ironies) and ignore them when they're nearby. (I'm including myself here.) In contrast, the Chinese will run over you to get to children. They play with them and talk to them and cuddle them. For pete's sake, we were in a FIVE-STAR HOTEL AND RESTAURANT with these babies and the waiters would stoop to pick up dropped silverware and toys for them and their parents. Try that at most five-star restaurants here.

So I have to wonder who really has the problem.

Little blessings along the way

All adoptive parents--especially international adoptive parents who have little information about their children, I dare say--want any information they can get about their children's lives before they came home to stay. For this reason, I've been combing the Yangchun photo sites for any glimpse of our little girl as she grew in the nearly eleven months before we got her. A few days ago, I hit pay dirt. I have a copy of her finding ad. It contains a picture of her when she was only a few days or weeks old. I used the finding ad to almost confirm that the first picture is Charissa. In it she is about two months old. The expression on her face made us suspicious; the finding ad confirmed it as much as it probably ever can be confirmed. (And need I mention the hair?)

The second image is a no-brainer. It is from March of this year.

Note: as I review, I see that the pics flip in spite of my efforts to keep them in order. I'm sure you can tell the difference, but I wanted to be sure you knew I could. =)

A little information

For anyone who has been wondering about how our trip went, what happened, etc., I apologize for being so lax in giving info. Jet lag plus baby lag has gotten to me. I can't concentrate long enough to really give details about anything yet. I hope soon I will be able to.

But I do remember that the story I tell won't be my story; it is Charissa's story. With that in mind, I will start at the beginning tonight--with the beginning of HER journey. This is what we know...

Charissa was found on July 18, 2004, along side of the road that runs in front of a post office in Yangchun. We can't be sure that she was born in Yangchun. All we know is that she was found there.

On a rainy day a couple of days after Gotcha Day, a friend went to Yangchun and took several pictures of her finding place. I have posted some of them here. This is where her story--as much as we know--begins.

Another accomplishment!

Charissa ate from a spoon without much of a fight this evening!

Only Brennan

Brennan was present this morning when I changed a rather full diaper. He did better than his brother or his uncle, actually. Later, when I mentioned I needed to do a load of laundry, he offered to do a load of laundry for me. I explained to him that if he would watch his sister, I'd do it; after all, she'd thrown up all over a couple of things this morning. He looked kind of disgusted, but he still preferred to put in the laundry over watching his sister; I just needed to "cover it up."

"If you're sure," I said.

"That kid," he said. "More comes out than goes in."

This is just one reason why we love John and Ann, cont.

I offered to send Brian's weights to John; here is his reply:

Thanks, but the way she was hanging onto that bowl I am going to need a steroids and a personal trainer to match her strength.:) She held the dogs bowl with both hands and I pulled her across the kitchen floor, I had to pry her fingers off of it.

This is just one reason why we love John and Ann

From one of the parents who was in our group. You'll understand at least one reason why he and his wife are a couple of our favorite people:

We still cannot get Maureen on solid foods, but she does go for the food in the dog's bowl. I had a tug of war with her over the dogs water bowl, which she nearly won (I will have to start lifting weights) - so the plan is to fill the dogs bowl up with Baby food and see what happens. :)

Our first "major accomplishment"

Charissa learned to wave bye-bye today!

We thought our past few days have been rough

While I've been dealing with a moody daughter the past few days (I know, I know; this is only the beginning), others from our group have been dealing with much more...uh...unusual issues:

We made it back to Swampscott minus one suitcase but that was because we left it at the airport so at 6:00am Friday morning after a sleeplessnight for us all we went back to Logan to fetch it. All ended well.We have been having a bear of a time with the jet lag as well. Livvy has been getting up several times during the night. Last night was a bit better but I am only letting her sleep for short bits during the day until we can get some sort of schedule down.

Well I don't know about anyone else but the heat this weekend was just not necessary. As you all know Jose is a very calm individual but I think he almost lost it this weekend. Sunday morning around 7:00am he took our three Scottish Terriers to the woods for a pre heat walk. Unfortunately the skunk they ran into had the same idea. Today is Tuesday and I must say after multiple bathes we are much less stinky. Still I did not have the heart to tell him what he smelled like on Monday morning as he went back to work....I guess the harmonious period truly is over. (My comment: the Harmonious Period was a period of history that the guides described to us during one of the tours that we had right after we got our children. Jen latched onto it and has used it ever since to describe what is going on with us and our babies.) Anyway, he is beginning to smile if not laugh about it now.

Lavinia has her checkup tommorrow. I will report what the outcome is. I miss everyone
and hope we can all get together this summer this time.

Jenny

Here we all are together this morning at church! 

Home at last: some paradoxes

I'm pretty wiped out, but a couple of things I had to share:

1. Chinese folks are great folks, but watch out for the driving. Scary. The one who has the biggest car and the loudest horn has the right of way. Pedestrians, you're on your own.
2. We stayed in a 5-star hotel with a restaurant to match. In all this elegance--waterfalls, art, streams, and wonderful dining--the conversations of the adoptive parents (their numbers are now legion) are as follows:

"Did your baby poop yet?"

"No. Yours?"

"No, not yet. Hey, ________! How about your baby? Has she pooped yet?"

"Yeah! Whoop! Whoop! And it was like granite/it was all over the place, too!"

All this and no one misses a bite, turns green, or otherwise.

And of course, if someone answers "yes," someone has to ask how it was accomplished. Then you get into everything from Karo syrup to suppositories to enemas.

And people return to the buffet for seconds.

Cousin Emma gives Charissa a hug. Too cute! 

She likes her Uncle Richie, too! 

She really fell for Bart! The oldest and the youngest together. 

Here is when she went to Grandma. She was very content being passed around. 

Here they come through the gate to greet everyone. Note the smiles on everyone's faces. 

Last Phone Call from China

Carolyn called last night to let us know that they were turning their phone back in. By now, they are resting and all packed up, ready to come home. They will leave the White Swan at around 5:30 this evening (our time), fly (I believe--although it is a VERY short distance) to Hong Kong around 8:30, then leave for Chicago where they will arrive around 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. 14 hours on a plane with a baby should be interesting.

So now we look forward to the big reunion tomorrow night at CVG!

Countdown to Homecoming

Carolyn has called the past couple of evenings with nothing really new to report. Charissa (nor any of the others) have advanced beyond their bottles yet. They have enjoyed China very much but are beyond ready to sleep in their own beds and share Charissa with all of her friends and family.

Right now they are preparing for their next-to-last night in China. The paperwork is taken care of; it's just a matter of waiting. Patiently waiting.

It's me!

Charissa is sleeping and Dad is nursing the beginnings of a cold, so here I am.

I just dropped of the laundry while Brett went to swim. We haven't taken Charissa yet. I'm wondering how she'll do. She doesn't care much for a bath, but maybe this will be different; after all, I'm not washing her hair.

We have more pics. I hope to load them later today at the cafe. Right now I'm in the back of one of the little stores that does laundry--and that doesn't narrow it down much for anyone. EVERY store does laundry here, but they do a SPECTACULAR job.

Heard from the Huffs of Grants Lick yesterday. They made it home with their little one safely in tow, but one of the squeaky shoes wasn't so lucky. Oh, well, Valerie H., I got her shoes and so she's set for next Sunday!

I need to go pick up shirts that we had made. Looking forward to being home, in spite of the fact we're having the time of our lives. I need friends and family. It's been a long haul without them, but it's been worth it considering what we're coming home with!

Take care, everyone, and we'll see you shortly!

Brief Message from Carolyn, 6/18/2005, 9:26 PM

First, remind me to tell you the Buddha story. Hilarious.

Second, our girl is sleeping. She's happy mostly, but moody some. She doesn't want anything but a bottle and nothing but milk and just the right amount of rice in it. Picky, picky.

And she has all this great hair I want to fix and I can't even get my hands in it!

******Follow-Up******

Let's see how this does. On a freebie dial-up. Really slow and annoying, but it's not $5 for 15 minutes!

The Buddha story: When we were going to the temple the other day, Connie the guide took time to explain who Buddha was. She explained the belief, etc., then she said, "And to explain what he look like, he look a lot like Brian." The whole Guangdong group is now wanting to rub Brian's belly for wealth and good fortune.

Charissa is sleeping. Problems with her teeth make her cranky (she has 4 with about that many more on the way), but she's generally a happy girl. She loves Brett as her toy, Dad as her playmate, and me for everything else. She doesn't go for me so much that she ignores the others, but she does like me pretty well when she's tired or hungry, in particular.

We're hitting the riverboat tonight for a cruise. $11 each person for the cruise and buffet. Not bad.

Hit our first meal that we didn't care for after we left the Buddhist temple. Dimsum (sp?) is not for us, but I can't tell Charissa that considering that is part of her culture.

Brett is swimming with a couple of the little guys in our group. We haven't taken Charissa yet. She's been runny and rattly, so we're afraid of making her sick.

Waiting for the 23rd. We've about had enough of Guangzhou, as much as we're enjoying. Sounds as though we did hit the luck. Everyone from Jiangxi is complaining about the accommodations. We have nothing to complain about. It's been gorgeous in that way.

Oh! Dragon Boat was yesterday! We got to see a bit of it, anyway. TONS of folks were out to watch. We felt a bit out of place. Charissa, I'm sure, was comfortable, though. Folks were staring, especially since Brett was pushing the stroller. We got lots of grins.

People are accepting here. And talk about folks who love children! Charissa gets all sorts of attention, just as the others do. Babies and children are valued beyond my expectations, by far. Makes the situation even more sad.

Must go. A girlie will be waking shortly and I have a few things to do.

Message from Carolyn, 6/17/05, 3:55 AM EDT

Howdy all! WE'RE HERE!

I know that's old news, but so much has been happening that I feel as though I've missed out on a lot of sharing. While Dad and Charissa are having some bonding time (aka mutual nap time), I thought I'd hit the cafe to give a little bit of a personal update.

This isn't going to be easy.

First of all, what a BEAUTIFUL daughter we have. She is pleasant and lovely and she seems to be bonding to all of us quite well. She is, however, showing a bit of a preference for Mom. We are all having the time of our lives watching her experience. She's a joy!

Our first few moments with her were a little frightening, I will say. When they handed her to us, she was so limber that I was concerned she might just shut down on us for quite a while. She looked at us as though she was confused--and I'm sure she was--and she didn't offer to lift a finger for much of anything. None of the babies cried, so we didn't have that to deal with, but I almost wished someone would just so I could be sure that she was OK.

Brian left in a few moments to pay the orphanage donation and Brett and I played with her some, but she didn't respond much to anything then--even to Brett, the kid who can get kids to do anything. It wasn't until we had our family photo taken and we left the room to go to the elevator that she turned on. By the time we got to the elevator, she was a basket case--crying screaming, and slapping Brian for all she was worth. Believe it or not, that was a relief.

When we got to the bus, she calmed down and watched each individual car, bike, and pedestrian pass. We watched in awe as what we take for granted fascinated her.

We returned to the room, and Brett turned on the magic. He propped her up on the bed and talked to her and made noises; actually, we all did, but he was the first one to get a hint of a smile.

To make a long story short, she has progressed to the point where we're seeing her personality shine. She's a quiet one, but she's a lot of fun, nonetheless. She tires of being held; she isn't used to it, after all. When we put her on the floor, she laughs and rolls and babbles. Today she cracked herself up squealing. It's amazing to see the changes that have taken place in just a few days.

On to the sights...

Today we went to the Buddhist temple in Guangzhou. I wanted to tour; our guides wanted the monks to bless. We weren't thrilled; apparently we were the only ones who weren't. While everyone else was taking in the blessing ritual, I was concentrating on the true God. To be honest, it turned into one of those moments when I felt especially close to Him, probably because I was so determined that Buddha wasn't going to win!

Our view from the White Swan just happens to take in the Pearl River. From our window, we can watch the divers go in for pearls. It's a neat experience, but how in the world those boys can go in that nasty river, we have no idea. We also watch the boats come and go. They have the boats that I remember being in our elementary school books, so that's kind of neat. The also have unbelievable river traffic. It's no safer on the river than it is on the road here!

Lots more to say, but I need to move on. Thanks to everyone for the prayers. The journey has been every bit as amazing as we had expected, and a lot of that is because of the people. For starters, Brian--Mr. I'm-Not-Emotional--has gotten me twice. First, as we were going into the Bureau of Civil Affairs to get Charissa, he said, "Now when we get her, don't start crying because you'll get her going." Well, if you know me, that's like asking the river not to run. When they handed her to us, I couldn't help myself. She looked at me and did just fine. BRIAN was the one who nearly fell apart. And yesterday, when he was lying there, watching her sleep, he asked me what took us so long to decide to do this.

See you later! We're waiting for Thursday!

Still walking through the park and enjoying a finger snack! 

Here's Charissa going through the park. 

Not sure where this is, but it looks beautiful. Look at how attentive she is! 

Here they are back at the hotel. Bottle time again! 

Daddy giving Charissa a bottle. She likes her bottle! 

Another picture with Brett. Notice the "Waiting for My Little Sister from China" shirt. Waiting no more! 

Here she is with big brother #2! 

Another picture of our beautiful little girl! 

Here's a nice picture. Isnt' she beautiful?! 

This must have been "the moment." Notice how red Carolyn's face is. :-) 

Message from Brett, 6/14/05, 2:11 AM EDT

Subject: hello from china

hey just got done eating and i found the internet cafe. how has everyone been doing there. brennan and goober behaving? i miss everyone there but i'm having the time of my life. we will be sending the pictures soon. we're getting them copied to a cd so one of the guys in the group can send them to ya because it would be a whole lot easier than using them here because as i type a guy is having trouble with that for the same reason we're here. its very humid here. it makes kentucky look like not humid, the heat's not bad at all it's just yea very very humid. charissa is getting used to us. she likes walking around and being active. she doesn't like to sit still that much, that's when she gets grumpy. i got the first smile and giggle out of her and after that she took off. this mornin was a little rough but now her mom and dad are out shopping so yea she's probably asleep by now. the hotel is very nice. and the people are too. i will check back either tomorrow or the next day, or mom will send the pictures before that. she is very healthy and everything so no worries. she is officially ours by the way the paper work for that was finished this morning about midnight your time, noon our time. so we'll talk to you later and tell everyone we miss them and love them.

later brett

"We Got Her!"

Brett called just after 6:00. They got Charissa around 4:00 this morning (our time). She was sleepy and a little fussy. (She even tried to sleep during her passport photo.) Brett said she was the only one of the babies to throw a big fit. The "mystery girl" in the picture we saw last week is NOT Charissa. She looks a lot different and is lighter than she was in the earlier pictures (posted in the April archives). She is even lighter than they said she was, which we expected to happen based on other families' stories. She is healthy and was sleeping when we got the phone call. She can't sit up by herself yet and doesn't like to be laid down (just like her oldest brother was!).

Remember the big changes in store for this little girl. She hasn't been away from the Yangchun Social Welfare Institute since she was 3 days old. This morning's bus trip to meet her new family in Guangzhou was her first big trip. Of course, by the time she gets home, she'll have more air miles logged than some of us! There is an Internet cafe not far from their hotel. No doubt we'll be getting an update in the next day or two. They are hoping, too, that they can send some pictures but are concerned about being able to connect the USB cable. (In other words, don't be disappointed if we don't get pictures right away.) Weather today, in case you were wondering, was 93, mostly cloudy, and muggy.

This has been an amazing day for all of us! Now to get our girl home next week.

No News

We didn't get a Sunday report from China, but we assume all is well and they are in Guangzhou. We're expecting THE CALL around 4:00 tonight.

Today is Brian's Birthday

We got the report from Carolyn earlier today on their day in Beijing. It was a full and exhausting, yet still incredible day. I'll divide it into segments.

Visit to the Great Wall

They were due at the Great Wall at 8:00 in the morning. Carolyn said that she didn't make it to the first tower (evidently there are a lot of towers as you climb a hill/mountain), but Brett made it to the top--one of only 4 in their group--and got some wonderful pictures. (Perhaps I'll get some in a couple of days and have a chance to share.) After that it was a visit to the Cloisonne factory (which Carolyn said is not overseen by OSHA), then for the main event of the day (no, the Great Wall wasn't it).

Dinner with Ting's Parents and Friend

The first thing Carolyn said was, "Now we know where Ting gets it." The Lus are some of the nicest people they have ever met. They met at the hotel and Mr. Lu (who Carolyn mistook for Ting's friend--aka "the translator") immediately found them and knew them. Carolyn began speaking to him and he laughed, realizing that Carolyn had mistaken him, and Mrs. Lu came up beside him. As they went up to the hotel room to exchange gifts, Carolyn said Mrs. Lu unloaded gifts for them. There were Cloisonne vases, a bull for Brian and Brett, and a rabbit for Carolyn. She had crocheted a cap and a sweater for Charissa with apple buttons. (Mrs. Lu didn't know that she collected apples...another sign that God's hand is weaving everything together so perfectly.) They had gifts for them, as well, and exchanged gifts for and from Ting.

The Lus paid for the taxi, the subway, and dinner. They went to Tian'anmen Square and got some pictures (see the Great Wall comment regarding pictures). Carolyn said that the food is "wonderful" in traditional Chinese style. "They bring and bring and bring." The Lus want the Reids to return and visit their hometown. They spent four very memorable hours together. Carolyn told them that aside from getting Charissa, this will be the highlight of the trip.

Brian had an unforgettable birthday.

Schedule Update

Tomorrow morning it's back to Tian'anmen Square with the group and the Forbidden City, then a flight to Guangzhou in the afternoon.

They will finally get Charissa at 3:00 Monday morning (our time, obviously).

Update Overdue

Carolyn called earlier to report that they were in the hotel room and sounded "very tired." The bed, she said, was solid but I don't imagine they cared. Saturday's agenda includes the Great Wall and dinner with Ting's parents.

The Eagle Has Landed

The Reids are now in China, having arrived at 7:33 AM. We now await the first phone call.

China Digest

Greetings, all! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Rich, Carolyn's brother, and I'll be posting her reports she sends via e-mail and phone. I got to take them to the airport this morning. They left on time and arrived at O'Hare ahead of schedule. However, they had a 4 hour, 45 minute delay due to plane servicing, so they are currently boarding for Beijing, due to arrive at 6:22 AM Friday morning. (For simplicity's sake, I'll post all times as EDT, even though it's an easy-to-deal-with, 12-hour difference.)

Apparently Brian slept, Carolyn freaked (small plane), and Brett loved every minute. In fact, Carolyn said, "We saw Wrigley Field, and I thought he was going to jump out." What a great graduation present!

Someone shared with me today that she was making a blanket for Charissa and saying a prayer with each stroke of her crochet needles. We appreciate all of the prayers that have been offered for all of them. Keep praying!

Next report will be when I hear from them.

Saddle up your horses!

"We'll travel on, over mountains so high
We'll go through valleys below
Still through it all we'll find that
This is the greatest journey
That the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us far
Beyond our wildest dreams
Yeah, oh saddle up your horses
Come on get ready to ride..."

Thanks, SCC. Why reinvent the wheel when you've done such a wonderful job?

Packing STILL

Is it wrong to pray that an overweight suitcase loses weight without my help? Of course, I've been feeding it lots of chocolate.

Started yesterday to do a countdown, but tech troubles got in the way; besides...

I think this just about says it all:


Dear Families,
The time is almost here! The waiting is finally coming to an end. We would like to wish you all a safe trip. This will be a journey unlike any other you have taken. There will be many documents, meetings, and appointments to keep. But there will also be a little one waiting for you. Try to remember that all the steps you have taken until this point will not matter once you finally get to hold your new child in your arms. Don't let all you 'have to do' get in the way of your enjoying every single minute of your time in China. Try to soak up as much as you can so you will many wonderful stories to tell your daughters in the years to come. We look forward to meeting the newest members of your family and would love any email updates or photos while you are in China. Remember to breathe!!* (*Emphasis mine, especially considering I'm crying right now for no apparent reason; I think it's because I AM trying to breathe and everything has to come out some other way.)

Just a couple of reminders:
*44 pounds is 44 pounds, please don't make the groups (sic) luggage overweight
*check with the airport to know how early you should be at the airport
*Lillian will try her best to be in touch with everyone while you are in China
*we will send a return from China package shortly after you return-don't worry about anything other than getting to know your child and create a relationship with her.

Have a wonderful time!!!
Melanie

Help! Feedback Wanted!

OK, Friends. We need your help. I know you've all seen Charissa's picture. (If not, go to April archives.) Does this look like her to you (four months later)? Please comment! 

Today's itinerary, in retrospect

Today Rich and I went out. We do this periodically--usually closer to Christmas. Of course, this "out" was related to our trip. We had several stops.

Our first stop was at Arby's, where we met Sandy Hamilton. She had promised me a shopping map and she didn't let me down. She pointed out the shopping "hot spots" and gave me the location of some other sites, such as laundry and trading shelves. (These are store shelves where we can leave behind things that don't fit and get things that do.)

We moved on, then, to Jungle Jim's. After parking in the "Okra Winfrey" section, we headed into this HUGE warehouse that is filled with any type of food you can imagine. The folks who work there are experts...experts who had never heard of the one item I had come after--Wisconsin gensing tea. After a bit of searching through the Oriental section, I found that they DID have it. We also found "Horney Goat Weed" and some other eyebrow-raising mixes, but we left with our dignity in some form of "intact-ness." Oh, boy...

Next stop was Ting's house. We stayed with her for about a half an hour and we picked up some items she wishes to send to her parents. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we were supposed to meet with someone else at 4:30; besides, I was awkwardly parked in her apartment building's lot. THAT is another story.

We left Ting's after a battle in her parking lot only to find a bigger battle in the street. I needed to go left in order to go back the way we came. I ended up having to go right just so we could get out; naturally, "right" took me straight to East McMillan Street--home of Clifton and some pretty uncomfortable dealings for two country bumpkins. As we approached the stop light, I called Brian for directions the second time in the afternoon. "I'm on E. McMillan. Get me out of here." He asked Mike, the guy he was working with, how to get out, and he said, "Roll up your windows, lock your doors, and go straight until Gilbert; turn right, then follow it until you get to Elsinore, then go on to 471." WHY he thinks he had to tell me to lock my doors and keep my windows rolled up, I'll never know.

Anyway, we made it. Got to Newport and the Irish Pub, where we were scheduled to meet with Glenna, another Yangchun mom. She had pictures and information from the orphanage. Great stuff. But I called Brian to tell him we were back across the river; actually, I told him I'd made it to the Pub. "THE PUB?!" he said. Mike was still with him and all he heard was, "THE PUB?!" Mike's response: "God love her."

We finally made it back home around 6:45; started packing. Got a checked suitcase that is 54 lbs. I need to put in on a diet to lose about 10 lbs. What I'll remove, I don't know...

FedEx, don't mess up!

Our travel plans are on the way!