Terra Cotta Warriors and the Xian City Wall: June 12th

The Terra Cotta Warriors was something we had been looking forward to seeing for a long time. I'm so glad we made it happen this trip. They were really impressive!! But seriously, the whole idea behind them is a little wacky!! Definitely glad I don't have to worry about building myself an army to protect me in the afterlife :)

We started the day with another impressive breakfast buffet. We were going to need our strength for this busy day! At this breakfast buffet we even got to have omelets made. And Ava got milk at this buffet!! She was a happy girl.

Our first stop on the way to see the Soldiers was a stop at a factory to see how they make the soldiers. We started in a courtyard area where there were soldiers, some without heads, that you could take pics with. Us adults had a great time with that however, they freaked Ava out!! And I mean freaked her out. I have never seen her so scared of anything in her life. As soon as we stepped inside to the factory, there were more soldiers that were being worked on and Ava was done with this! So her and I along with Micki went to find the van so that I could grab her blanket to hopefully comfort her a little more while the rest of the group went through the tour. Ava did calm down when she realized I wasn't going to make her go back in. She was fine in the show room with the little soldiers but still did not like the larger ones.

The Terra Cotta Warriors are made out of a clay that is naturally found in the mountains around Xian. They used molds to make the statues. The statues are hollow inside. The original molds used for the real Soldiers did not have a face so that each face could be made differently. Once the statues are made they are set on drying racks. Once dried they are fired in the kiln. The lady told us that it takes about 3 days to fire the statues and then about 3 days for the statues to cool before they can be removed.

Next we left to go to see the real Terra Cotta Warriors. We even got to meet the farmer who had actually discovered the warriors when he dug a water well. It sounds like the farmers job now is to shake a lot of hands :) There are currently 3 separate pits of soldiers. The first one being the biggest and the most well known. They are even still excavating both pit 1 and 3. When the soldiers were originally found there were not many that were still in one piece. The emperor had the workers dig trenches and work completely underground. He didn't want anyone to know what he was up to. The workers then covered these trenches with wood beams and a fiber mat. However, many of those beams collapsed, breaking the soldiers. So that leads to the very tedious job of excavating the pieces and then trying to put the soldiers back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Then they try to put the soldiers back in the place where they were found. Not a job that I would want.

I thought it was very interesting that when the soldiers were first found they were all painted very intricately. I had no idea, I just thought they were all the green/black color that you see now. It sounds like once the coloring hits oxygen the colors don't last very long.

For lunch we ate at a restaurant near the soldiers. Again delicious. We also were given the chance to sample several different teas. Last trip we came home with jasmine tea but we went through it quickly. This trip we knew that we wanted to purchase more tea. We bought Oolong Tea here and will most likely buy more before we leave China.

By the time we were done with lunch it was already 4pm. At that time we headed into the city to see the City Wall. The Wall was built in 1371 and renovated in 1984. This is the wall that surrounded the original city and now contains the old city. The wall is very wide on top. Many people were on top walking or riding bikes. Micki said that the wall is about 8-9 miles all the way around. The original wall contained 97 watch towers and 4 entrance gates (one from each direction). The entire wall was surrounded by a moat. This was really a cool site. It's hard to believe and understand the history in China. I mean in 1371, the United States hadn't even been discovered yet!

Our evening was pretty low key. We were tired! We did head out to get some Kentucky Fried Chicken. Not the same as in the states but still good. Ava was falling asleep before she finished her food. We had to keep waking her up to get her to finish eating first. Of course on the walk back to the hotel she crashed. It's amazing how children can crash so hard, so quickly, and in the strangest positions.

Once we got Ava settled, us adults decided it was time for a glass of wine to unwind. We took care of that and were still all in bed by 9:30pm! Time to rest up for another busy day. Tomorrow we head to Wuhan...where Ella is from. We are so close to finally getting our girl in our arms!! Excitement is not enough of a word to describe the feeling!

Train Ride to Xian: June 11th

Today was a new, fun experience. Riding the Bullet Train from Beijing to Xian. Just getting to the train station was already an experience!! You have not experienced rush hour traffic until you have experienced rush hour traffic in Beijing!! It seems like a free for all with people weaving in and out in what seems like a hap-hazard way. But we are told there are very few accidents. Hard to believe since we saw lots of “almost accidents” every day. However, I will say that there seems to be many unwritten rules of the road that everyone just seems to follow. And where driving in China, your car horn is your best friend.

At last we did make it safe in sound at that train station. What a busy place!! The Beijing Train Station is home to both the regular trains and the bullet trains. Our escort for the morning was a different escort and you could tell just by the look on his face that he was worried about all our luggage! As soon as we got through security with our passports and tickets he went to find us a porter to help with our luggage. That turned out to be a brilliant idea! We would have struggled getting every piece down the ramps and escalators to get to the platform. We even got to go with our luggage and porter and got to load the train before everyone else. The seats on the train were great! Much more roomy than an airplane and they recline back a lot more than seats on a plane. We felt pretty special in first class seats for the trip. For the train ride we were offered free snacks and water. We also took snacks with us since the train ride was going to last for 5 hours.

While on the the train we relaxed, enjoyed the scenery, read books, and I wrote a couple of blogs. Ava played and read books but didn't ever take a nap. We didn't know what to expect with a train that went almost 180 mph. But it was a smooth ride.

After we arrived in Xian, our guide Micki picked us up and took us to our hotel. She is very sweet!

Micki explained to us that the population of Xian is about 10 million (approximately the size of New York). The city is divided into 2 parts. The part inside the city wall is the old city and the part outside the city wall is the new city.

On the way to the hotel we decided that evening we would try a local cuisine called the hot pot and then would go down town to see the musical fountain. So we had about an hour at the hotel to relax and get cleaned up before it was time to go out for the evening.

The hot pots were so good! You start with raw veggies, meat, eggs, tofu, and noodles. The waitress came around and light the fire under the hot pots so that the water would start to boil. Once it was boiling then you could start adding whatever ingredients you wanted and wait for them to cook. The hot pots were so hot that this process didn't take very long. While you were waiting for your food to cook you went to the spice and sauce table to mix up sauces to dip your cooked food in. One of my favorite meals so far!! Yummy!!

Funny story; while getting situated at the restaurant and adding chairs to the table so that we could all sit down, I was helping Ava to get situated and wasn't paying attention. When I went to scoot back to sit down I didn't realize that Micki had moved my chair over to give me more room and I fell right to the floor...super gracefully I'm sure!! I was laughing so hard, as was my family, but Micki felt horrible. I tried to tell her it was fine but I could barely getting words out while I was laughing so hard. LOL!!

After dinner we went to see the Big Goose Pagoda. While there we saw lots of gorgeous statues that were made from the same clay as the terra cotta soldiers. And Ava's favorite was seeing a really large TV screen on the the ceiling of one of the buildings that was showing ocean animals. The last thing we saw before bedtime was the musical, dancing water fountain. I was a lot like the bellagio fountains. Ava loved it but also was crashing fast. So we called it a night after that.

The Great Wall and The Forbidden City: June 10th

This day did not start out well for me. I woke with a temp of over 103 degrees. I didn't feel terrible but I knew something was going on to cause my temp to rise like that. At this point I was panicking. I know that I am a mom myself and a grown woman, but I quickly sent a message to my mom to Skype to help me determine what to do. I needed an antibiotic quickly. Luckily she received my message and did Skype call me within a matter of minutes. She suggested that I call Holt to see what they could do to help me out. Then she played the mom card and also suggested that I stay in the hotel for the day. I did not like this advice but immediately knew she was right. As soon as we hung up I gathered the information to call call Holt in Beijing. There was a contact person number and the Holt office number. One went through but no one answered. The other number didn't seem to work. At that point I emailed all the Holt people we had worked with to see what they could do to help. In the meantime my mother in law came to the rescue! She had brought an antibiotic for just in case and allowed me to take it. Seriously, I think she saved me! At that point I still didn't know what to do about the day. I knew I needed rest but I hated missing any thing on the trip. I may have seen these things before but I had never seen them with Ava. I was really struggling. I also knew that I had to beat whatever was happening to my body because soon I would have 2 little girls to run after and that would take all my energy. I decided to go eat breakfast with my family and then would decide based on how I was feeling. At breakfast I took my antibiotic and Tylenol. As the Tylenol kicked in, I quickly began to feel better. At that time I decided to go with everyone for the morning and then would come back to the hotel for the afternoon to rest. And if it was ever too much I knew the van would be close by and I could go in and rest.

Breakfast buffets in China are quite the assortment of food from eggs and bacon to rice and congee to pastries and it seems everything in between.

Our guide for the day, Lydia, was the same guide we had in Beijing that last time we were here. We had requested her but weren't sure if we were going to get to see her. It was so good to see her!! We learned that since we last saw her, the strict one child policy was raised and she had her second baby girl by the end of 2013. We were so excited for her! So now she has a 12 year old and an 18 month old daughter. Lydia's 12 year was in school for the day still as their summer break didn't start until the beginning of July. Lydia's mom was at home caring for her youngest daughter. I wish we would have asked if her mom lived with them, but we assumed she did.

Our morning tour started with an hour plus drive to The Great Wall. The long drive was nice though so that we had time to visit with Lydia. She explained things to us about the Chinese culture and in particular some rules in Beijing. One of the policies she told us about was how they reduced the number of people driving during the week to get to work. Every day of the week there are 2 digits which are not allowed to drive. So for instance if your tag number was L55566 and the digits for the day were 6 and 8, you would not be allowed to drive because your tag number ended in one of those numbers. We asked how this affected people who had to get to work but Lydia explained that no one really complained because the public transportation systems were really developed in Beijing which still allowed you to get to anywhere you needed to go. The other policy that we thought was really interesting was “ownership of property”. There are mostly apartment buildings in the city so we asked if there were any single family homes which people owned. Lydia first said yes but as she explained the ownership of this property it was not what we think of ownership in the United States. The government owns everything. So you can pay for a long term lease, 60-70 years, and if you can't pay for it all at once then you take out a loan from a bank and for it like a mortgage. But for our understanding that is not ownership because the government still owns the land and the apartment. Once the length of the lease is up it goes right back to the Government to re-lease the apartment again.

Our first stop of the day was at The Great Wall. It was raining when we got there so we were glad that our kind van driver let us borrow umbrellas while we were out exploring. Using the restrooms at The Great Wall was our first experience with squatty potties as well as no provided toilet paper and soap to wash your hands. We had prepared for this and luckily had toilet paper from the hotel and hand sanitizer. I don't know how many times while we were in the restroom I told Ava, “don't touch anything!!” She did great actually but when we went to use the restroom again before we left she began crying and eventually said that she did not like those bathrooms because they were dirty and stinky! I couldn't argue with that! LOL!

The Great Wall is just amazing. It spans 4000 miles and took 2000 years to make. I can't even understand those numbers! Ava was intent on climbing the stairs as far as she could. Since it was raining, this made the already difficult to climb stairs, slippery. So we all took it nice and slow. The stairs are so steep and uneven. Some of the steps are short and some of them seemed to be as big as Ava. No matter, they didn't seem to slow Ava down too much! We climbed to the second tower before turning back around. We didn't want to take Ava farther and I knew I was pushing my luck as it was. Ava seemed to love The Great Wall and I was so glad to be able to experience it with her.

After The Great Wall it was time for lunch. We stopped at the Jade Factory (the same one was had stopped at during our last trip) for lunch and a tour. I still didn't have much appetite by this time but everyone else really enjoyed the family style food. Lydia took care of ordering everything and when she realized that Ava wasn't eating much she also ordered her french fries with ketchup. Ava and the adults enjoyed them!! We took a short tour of the Jade Factory after we ate lunch. The artists working that day were demonstrating how they carved the Happy Family Ball. This is a ball in which they carve details onto the outside but the coolest part is all the different layers which create more balls inside of each other. After the tour, we shopped. My mom had requested that if possible I picked up a Jade pendant for Ella. She had bought one for Ava when she came with us last time and she really wanted to have one to give to Ella as well. Ava's zodiac symbol is a rabbit and Ella's is a snake. This is very cultural thing for China, and we love that! We also bought a Happy Family Ball as well as a horse carved from Jade which Ava picked out. These will be some great souvenirs from China.

At this time, I knew my body was done and I didn't want to push my luck so the van dropped me off at the hotel so that I could take a nap while the rest of the crew went to the Forbidden City. I was glad that I did head back to the hotel because I slept for about 3 hours while they were out. It sounded like the rest of the group enjoyed the Forbidden City. It's hard to imagine the history there since the United States is basically a baby compared to the length of history in China. It was also reported that Ava did great again this day and was a trooper throughout all the tours and walked most of the day except for the last little bit.

Once they got back to the hotel, they were hungry so we headed out to get some supper. We went to a restaurant called the Macau Kitchen. My appetite was finally coming back so I ate a decent amount and it tasted so good!! They had spaghetti and meat sauce on the menu so we ordered that for Ava. Ava was so tired by this time that I had to fight with her to keep her awake until she ate some dinner. Once she did start ending she got a little bit of a second wind that helped her make it til bedtime.

We went to the Night Market after dinner. What an experience!! This is just a place to observe, not to eat for us Westerners. They serve things like fried snake, spiders, squid, and pretty much every other gross thing possible. Who would eat that?!! Everything was raw on trays until you purchased it and then they would fry it up for you. Yuck!! Even the locals seemed to think this market was some sort of challenge.

Our last adventure of the day was to head to the market to purchase some snacks for our train ride the next day. We bought large bottles of water as well as some nuts and crackers. Along with the food we brought with us we figured that would get us through the day.

Then it was bed time. We were exhausted!!

Travel Day to Beijing: June 8th- 9th

Our day began very early in the morning, 4am to be exact, on Monday to get to the airport in Omaha to start our first leg of our journey to meet Ella. Matt's parents arrived in Omaha on Sunday so that we could all travel together. Our sweet friend Laura offered to take us to the airport so that we didn't have to leave any vehicles at the airport for 3 weeks. Yes, she is a very sweet friend. We got all checked in our flight left Omaha at 6:30am and took us to Detroit. From Detroit we boarded a very large plane which seated 2, 4, and 2 across the plane. Things were smooth sailing most of the way. It's a long, long plane ride and we didn't hesitate to get up and walk the isles or stand in the isles to talk to each other. We also made frequent trips to the bathroom with Ava to avoid any accidents.

Ava did fantastic! Seriously, we couldn't have asked for her to do any better. She was happy, took several naps. She feel asleep in my arms as we were boarding the plane and sleep for the first 45 minutes. Then later in the trip she took a longer nap. We even had an extra seat next to us, so she was able to sprawl out and sleep on the plane. Perfect!! Otherwise, she watched a few movies; Penguins of Madagascar, part of The Incredibles, and Disney Nature Bears; colored, read books, and played with toys. She was a great trooper! We couldn't have been more proud of her.

The airline provided a lunch shortly after we boarded and then snacks throughout the trip followed by dinner shortly before landing. They also provided complimentary wine and beer. Don't mind if we do!!

The trip for me was great until about 7 or 8 hours into it...then I began throwing up. I felt ok at that time so I thought maybe I had just eaten something that I shouldn't have or I got motion sick. But I quickly noticed that I had a temp as well, although I couldn't tell how high my temp was at that time. I quickly lost my appetite as well and didn't eat for the rest of the trip. I then threw up one more time shortly before we landed. Yuck!! It was not a fun trip. As we were preparing to land the stewardess made an announcement that after landing; anyone who has been sick, had a fever, or respiratory illness would need to go through a medical clearance...”oh great!!” However, at that time they made it sound like they were just evaluating people for ebola. I thought, I should be fine because I haven't been to Africa at all, right??? And honestly at this point, I felt a lot better but could tell I still had a temp of some sort. After we unboarded the plane, I thought to myself that I would just put on my best front because nothing was going to stop me from getting to my daughter. As we made our way to customs I could see the medical exam/quarantine area. Here we go... But immediately they called me over to be examined...dang it!! I later found out from my family who had to wait an hour for me that just prior to the exam area was a quick temperature scan of some kind. So apparently anyone who has a little elevated temp would get called into the exam room. I had to go back by myself, which was kind of terrifying but luckily I could still see and hear my family once I was in the room. There were 3 nurses in the exam room all with masks covering their faces; none of them able to speak English. Each time then needed to communicate with me they would call in another guy who only spoke a little English. Luckily we were able to make it work. As soon as they took the old mercury thermometer out from under my arm the nurse reading the number gasped. That's not a good sign! I asked her what it was and she said 39 degrees Celsius...what does that mean?!! I later found out that was close to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. So they made me take my temp again. After the second time was too high they began asking if I was feeling poorly, had any dizziness, or any respiratory distress. And then told me that I needed to rest for a little while to see if that helped to bring my temp down. I told them that I was feeling fine but that it was super hot in their room which wasn't helping matters. So then they gave me a stack of papers to fan myself with...Thank God! By this time I also had on a mask and felt like I was getting hotter by the minute. Fanning myself definitely helped to bring my temp down. Finally they took my temp for the 3^rd and final time. I'm not sure what it read at that time, I was just thankful that I was going to get out of there with my family. Before I left they made me sign a paper saying that I hadn't been to the Middle East or South Korea. Apparently, there has been an outbreak of MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) in China from people coming from these areas. Now, if we could have started with those questions maybe we could have avoided all that. Who knows, but they finally let me go. In the end, the guy who was helping me did say that he hoped that I understood that this was their job and they have to protect their country. Well absolutely I understood that! I was just glad the entire situation ended the way it did. As I excited I told them that I definitely understood as I was a nurse in the United States. And then told them thank you and to have a nice day. Thank you Jesus for getting me through that situation!

After that ordeal, we made it through customs without any issues and were greeted by our guide to take us to our hotel. By the time we made it to the hotel we were all wiped out! But it was only about 6pm in Beijing. Ava and I took baths and headed straight to bed while the other 3 went out to get a quick dinner before coming back for bed. We all slept pretty solid until midnight and then Ava decided it was time to get up and play. She did however play quietly so that Matt and I could still sleep. Ava fell back asleep a couple hours later and slept the rest of the night. Matt and I both woke up numerous times throughout the night but were always able to get back to sleep. We needed our sleep! Unfortunately, Matt's parents didn't sleep as well as we did. Both woke around 3am and struggled to go back to sleep. That's what I remember from our last trip to Beijing. Hopefully, they'll be sleeping better soon.    

Two Weeks to Go...We're Almost There!!

Visas and passports are all in.  Ticket's are purchased.  Our itinerary is finalized.  Bags are in the process of being packed.  Our will is signed.  We have Yuan currency.  Gifts have been purchased.  Carseats have been bought.  Paperwork is copied and ready to go.  Carpets have been shampooed.  And so many other things I can't list.  Bottom line is...it's 2 weeks til go time!!  We are ready and cannot wait to get on the plane to go get our girl!!

Mother's Day 2015

I am overwhelmed today...overwhelmed that I have been chosen to be the mother of 2 beautiful girls. They are beautiful inside and out; with beautiful loving hearts.  I am amazed at the love our Father has for me.  For so many years this day was one of the hardest to face.  All I wanted was to be a mother and I didn't understand why there were mom's out there who didn't want their children or at least understand the amazing blessing it was to be a mom.  I didn't understand why some people were able to get pregnant so easily while others struggled every step of the way.  I didn't understand why I had to wait and suffer through many years of infertility.   Now, I understand.  I have been blessed beyond my wildest ideas and dreams.  

Last night Matt and I went to the Garth Brooks concert.  One of my favorite songs of his is "Unanswered Prayers" but last night as he sang this song it brought on new meaning.  I was overcome with joy, with tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about what my prayers had been waiting for my children.  Thank God indeed for Unanswered Prayers.   I cannot imagine life with out my girls nor do I want to imagine anything different.  

To my sweet Ava, I love you SO MUCH!  You have the kindest heart.  I pray everyday that as you grow that the world will not change your heart.  Lord knows that the world needs more thoughtful, loving, empathetic people like you.  You can change the feeling in a room just with your smile and laugh.  You, my little girl, are going to take the world by storm.  I know that you will do big things in the future.  Things that will make a difference in the world.  No matter what your future holds, I've got your back and will always be believing in you.  I love you!!

To my baby girl, Ella, I love you beyond words.  I know I haven't met you in person yet, but I feel like I've known you for months already.  You are the baby girl that I've been dreaming about.  You complete our family circle.  I know I keep saying this but I cannot wait to have you in my arms.  As the time gets closer, it seems like it goes slower and slower in some ways.  I want to hurry up the time to get to you and then make it slow down.  You are already one of the bravest girls I've ever known.  You have been through so much in your life already.  I pray for your safety everyday and that God is preparing your heart for us and the big change coming your way.  I know that you will be scared but I pray that you feel how much we love you from the very beginning.  I love you!!

Happy Birthday Ella

This post is bittersweet for me...a birthday is a time of celebrating, I just wish we were celebrating together as a family.  I know that we will be together soon but I hate knowing that we are missing your second birthday.  I pray that you are celebrating with your foster family; eating cake, singing songs, playing games, celebrating you!  I love you so much baby girl and am resting on the fact that we will be together soon.  Happy 2nd Birthday baby girl!!