Introducing Isla

Fw: Re: mom?

2012-01-17T17:27:00.001-08:00

room 35

--- On Sun, 1/15/12, theresa lutick <tnlutick@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: theresa lutick <tnlutick@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: mom?
To: "barb lutick" <barblutick@yahoo.com>
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2012, 12:46 PM

I have just returned from Waterville..Roland is at Oak Grove Manor, RmCool ST, Waterville ME 04901

The food is lousy there and he has NO telephone in his room and never will. They explained it was impossible to add more lines to that building. Roland who likes anything remarked abt the food. Of course he was such a good cook. Yesterdays lunch was macaroni with a little sauce and broccoli which must have been cooked over and over again...it was all mush. Can't complain in front of Jeanne since she would want to take him home and there's no way I would ever want that. Had to get it off my chest...no more

Just called Dot. She will be moved to a rehab to-morrow but does'nt know which one. Could,nt get the one she wanted near Mary's. Dot will let me know after she moves. What a shame that had to happen!

I must go unpack. Did you get the box? How's my honey? Still keeping up with all her activities? We're having a very cold spell with six inches of snow at the ski areas. They are happy. Love ya, Mom

From: barb lutick <barblutick@yahoo.com>
To: mom <tnlutick@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 10:13 AM
Subject: mom?

Hi mom

whats happening?? I guess you must be spending lots of time with Roland??? be in touch... barb

2011-05-20T11:29:00.001-07:00

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2011-05-19T06:12:00.001-07:00

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2011-05-18T06:41:00.001-07:00

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my account wa hacked, do not open attachments from me

2011-05-17T16:10:00.001-07:00

sorry about this, Barb

2011-05-17T08:57:00.001-07:00

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Skiing Photos

2010-04-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some skiing pictures from back in mid-March. They could have been today, April 22nd, however the ski area is closed. Shouldn't someone tell mother nature the season is over?

Vacation @ JTree

2010-04-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

For our spring break we headed out to Joshua Tree National Park for some hiking and climbing. We managed to avoid another week of snow in Tahoe and found some really nice weather toward the end of the week. Here are some photos from the trip.

Skiing@Three: The spoiler

2010-02-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we haven't posted in a while. Well here is a spoiler for the upcoming Academy Award nominee "Ski @ Three" starring Ms. Isla. Hope you enjoy. Please let us know and we will send you the feature length film (46M).

Click on this link for the short spoiler (8M)
Smaller Spoiler Download

Trailer

Trailer Link

Larger Trailer Download

Father's Day Fun!

2009-07-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

A few final Hawaii photos.

2009-05-12T05:08:00.000-07:00

Isla showing us the Hula dance.

Mom and Dad having a wonderful time in Kaui'i while Grandma Katy, Granddad Den, Ol' Uncle Alan and Aunt Judy watch after Isla.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2009-05-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to the zoo too.

A day at the beach.

2009-05-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

All ready to go. Thumbs up!
Enjoying a float in the Pacific ocean.

A few pre Hawaii photos

2009-05-12T03:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pre-Hawaii photos. We had a few really nice days and got to the beach to train for our trip. Here Isla is sporting a look not seen since the early eighties.

Cousin Liam was a bit less retro and quite happy to keep the water coming for the sandcastle creations. Our friend Pawel braved dirty diapers and all to babysit Isla and let Barb and I have some time to exercise together.

Here Isla is ready for the last day of the ski season at Diamond Peak. She ended the season with a huge day, eight runs. She was able to stand and ski on her own this season. We started to learn pizza and french fries too. Next season should be a really good year (snow permitting).

Hawaii Pictures coming soon...

2009-05-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a teaser. More to come soon...

2009-02-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

Finally an update. We are all doing very well though Barb and Isla were sick most of last week. It was a beautiful Saturday today but we are bracing ourselves for a couple days of rain (snow level at 8000ft). That ought to be lovely for the skiing. :(

Here are a few recent pictures. At the beginning of February we celebrated Chinese New Year with the many other families who have adopted Asian children. Her is a picture of Isla with two of her good friends.
Two weeks ago one of Isla's good friends stayed with us for a whole week while her parents traveled to Taiwan to adopt her little brother. Both of them did very well especially since neither had spent so much time with another kido before. Here are a couple pictures from that time.

First Day Skiing

2009-01-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

Isla had her first day on the slopes today. She surprised both her parents and was able to ski a bit without us holding her. We didn't think we would get much further than putting on the skis and trying to walk a little, but she proved us wrong and insisted on taking the chairlift four times and didn't want to go when it was time for lunch and nap.

A quick dress rehearsal at home.Off we go...

Isla skiing!!!

Isla and mom taking in the view from the chairlift.

Apres ski treat in the making!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

Hope your Christmas was merry! We visited family before the holidays, so we spent our Christmas at our home and with friends. We have been enjoying the wonderful wintery weather!!

More New England and birthday celebrations

2008-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

Isla had lots of fun visiting grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends while in Maine and Mass. She especially enjoyed meeting her new cousin Gemma and playing with her cousin Edie. Isla also seems to have a special affection for her uncles as you can see in the previous post's pictures.

We are now getting lots of snow. Isla loves sledding and is very proud of her first snowman.

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Isla's birthday!

Isla's Birthday pics

2008-12-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Isla's birthday party yesterday.

New England visit

2008-12-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here are some new pics. Text to come...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2008-11-28T21:27:00.000-08:00

Finally, an update.....

2008-11-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

Isla is having a great fall season, helping mom rake leaves,dressing up for her first Halloween, going camping, and visiting grandparents.

Havin' Fun

2008-08-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

We are all well. We had a bit of a computer problem for the last month but we are now back in business. Love to all, Barb, Will and of course Isla

Noelle and Charlotte visit

2008-07-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Sorry it has been so long since the last post. I have posted three in a row, so check below this post for a couple more new blog entries.
Over the forth of July weekend a couple of Isla's friends came to visit. Charlotte is the big sis' and Noelle is lil' sis'. Both of them are great and Isla had a wonderful weekend with them (though she thought the fireworks were a little too late to keep).
The final picture is of Isla in her Wimbledon best. She was pulling for Rafa (if you couldn't guess).

Summer fun

2008-07-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent pictures from the local pool. Isla has been having a lot of fun jumping and splashing around in the kiddy pool. She has also taken an interest in big walls. In this case it is our big passive solar wall with the river rocks. She hasn't made it off the deck without some parental aiding but it looks like she may soon be able to get the first move. The final photos are of an unidentified flower in our garden. It definitely isn't a local variety of flora and will soon be removed.
Note that there is another new blog entry below this one...

First family camping trip...

2008-07-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back we went on our first family camping trip and tested the new van. Here are a couple pictures from the weekend. Love to all, the Jones'

Camping in Yosemite

2008-06-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.
We have finally updated the blog with some new pictures. Barb has been really good about talking pictures recently so we should be able to keep them coming for a week or so...
We just picked up our new family camper van. On the way home Isla and Dada stopped (briefly as it turned out) in Yosemite for a frolic through the ElCap meadows. Mama couldn't make the trip since she is in a class all week.
Isla did really well considering it was about eleven hours driving in two days. We can't wait to have our first full family camping experience this weekend.
Love to everyone, the Jones'

Pictures from India

2008-05-26T20:47:00.001-07:00

Baba is on a business trip in India. I am currently in Bangalore (Bangaluru) India but got to travel to the city of Mysore over the weekend. Mysore is famous for a palace that once was the residence of the King. After visiting the palace we went to the zoo. Here are some pictures from both. Love and miss you all, Baba

Photos from the spring

2008-05-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of recent photos. All is well here. Isla is still amazing us on a daily basis. Without further ado, here she is...

I have places to go!!!!

Helping mama with the yard work!!

Don't bug me until I have read my paper, had my coffee, and finally, eaten my blueberries!!

16 Months

2008-04-20T16:30:00.001-07:00

Isla is 16 months old today! She has been learning all kinds of new things lately and understands more words than we care to count. She says a half a dozen words too.

It is hard to believe we have been back from China for only 3 months now. We say that because we cannot imagine our lives without Isla and even though the days go by so quickly now, it feels like Isla has been in our family since the day we decided to adopt 3 years ago.

Here are a few more recent pictures (the tricycle picture is from this morning - thanks Aunt Mary and Grandma Dot!)

Finally more photos from the wedding

2008-04-20T16:05:00.001-07:00

First Set of Pictures from Jackson

2008-03-31T14:13:00.001-07:00

Here are the first pictures from Jackson. Many more will be coming.

Pictures from early March

2008-03-24T08:23:00.001-07:00

We are back home after our week long vacation in Palm Springs. Everyone had a good time there but Isla did seem especially pleased to get home and play with her toys (possibly something to do with the 9 hour drive).
Grandma T had to fly back home yesterday. Isla really had a great time with her and I am sure wants her to come back as soon as she can. Walking just isn't as fun without Grandma T's helping hand!
Here are a few pictures from early March, just after Grandma T arrived. Love to all, Mama, Baba and Isla

GmaT and Isla practicing walking.
GmaT and Isla stepping out for a bit of fresh air.
Isla down at the beach. No swimming yet!
Isla and Baba on Baba's birthday.

More fun at the pool

2008-03-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

We had another fun day to finish out our week in Palm Springs. Isla got to go swimming twice today, once with her new friends Jack and Lily and then again with Baba back at our rental.

After a full day she had her night time bottle with Grandma T. She had a great time with her grandma and will miss her since Theresa is flying back home tomorrow. We will start our drive back to Tahoe tomorrow as well. Hope everyone is well. Love, Mama, Baba and Isla

JTree explorers

2008-03-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today we all went to Joshua Tree National Park. Thanks to the G-parents who babysat and allowed Mama and Baba to climb. Isla also tried her hand at climbing (though it wasn't quite 5th class).

We went on a hike around the Real Hidden Valley. Isla took a ride on Mamas back.

Family Photo
Isla, Mama and SSGK (Squeaky Shoes G-ma Katy)
Isla pointing out things to mama.
Some of the scenery
This was from yesterday, but I thought it should be posted. Isla jumping into the pool and baba catching.

Pool time

2008-03-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Water's great! Everyone come in the pool!"

It has been great weather the last couple of days. We have been enjoying the pool and pool side lounging... Isla especially. She is walking all around, pushing balls and carrying every ones shoes (some kind of infatuation with shoelaces).

She has started to say a few words. Only the close relatives will understand them at this point. Actually her 'bye, bye' is pretty understandable though you would swear she must be from Georgia.

We are here for three more days so we will try and update once or twice more. Love to all, Isla, Mama and Baba

Everyone in the pool.

Isla and Mama splashing.

Isla and Grandma T.

Isla preparing to lift the beach ball.

Zen Isla meditating and balancing on the beach ball. Mama is just there in case the wind blows her down.

Finally new pictures...

2008-03-15T12:34:00.001-07:00

And more to come. We will add more pictures and text to go with it soon. Love to all, Baba, Mama and Isla

Isla's first time in a swimming pool.

Everyone hanging out at the dinning room table.

Isla and Grandad Denby, making contact.

Isla strutting her fashionable outfit.

She is walking on her own!

2008-02-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

Isla started walking on her own the last couple of days (sorry no pictures yet). She of course falls down a lot but she will now walk by herself from our living room to the kitchen (which entails a couple corners usually).

Since she is now past the walking milestone I am thinking of waxing up the kids skis! Just kidding. :)

Skiing over presidents day

2008-02-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from this last week. Last weekend was beautiful and we got out skiing on Monday (presidents day).

In other news Isla has three new teeth as of a week ago. She is still drooling and pretty cranky at times so we think more molars will come soon. She now understands 20 or so words including Peek-a-boo, Doggy, Bear and "more". She knows how to sign more and gets the hang of using it when eating but I haven't seen her use it without us asking if she wants more. If she is babbling and I ask her to "tell us more" she signs more. Cute.

She is still not a full blown walker, but she is progressing each day. Recently she started increasing the walking distances. She regularly walks 15 or so steps between us and furniture. Today she even put in a record 25-30 step walk.

Ok. It is snowing here again. We expect another couple of feet. Hope everyone is well. Love, Mama, Baba and Isla.

Gotta wear shades...

2008-02-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

Since the sun finally decided to shine a bit around here we went out and bought Isla here first pair of shades. We didn't find anything for a 13 (almost 14 month) old but with a pair of croakies to tighten them on these seem to do the job... and are cool.

In other news Isla officially now has five teeth and two more just about to to come through. We thought she was only working on her next two top teeth just on the side of her two front teeth. Yesterday we noticed something else coming in in the back and today she has her first molar (or at least that is what I will call it).

Hope everyone is well. Love, Isla, Mama and Baba

First time on a swing

2008-02-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures of Isla on a swing. She almost immediately started laughing and was pretty upset when I finally took her off the swing. Sorry the pictures aren't so good, but they were taken with my phone.

Chinese New Year Celebration

2008-02-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from the Chinese New Year celebration that we attended a couple weeks back. After the show all the kids ran around the stage area. Isla was most interested in that part of the evening, even tried to run a couple times too.

Saturday morning ski

2008-02-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

We had a fun morning yesterday. It was our first weekend back with full sunshine. We started the day with a ski with our friend Chris. Isla was fully ready with her shaded goggles on!

Isla Ready. Check.

Chariot Ready. Check. Mama ready. Mama? Are you ready?

After our ski we sat down for lunch at the Free Heel Cafe with the Cameron kids. Isla was the only one brave enough to try the gerber lunch surprise.

Wow, now that is a treat.
Isla in green pea bliss.

China orphanages need help

2008-02-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

As you may know Southern China is experiencing horrible winter weather. Many places that do not ever see snow have been hit with snow and freezing rain for nearly one month. The orphanages are being hit hard as prices escalate and supplies run out. Here is a link to an exceptional US agency/charity that provides support to orphanages and can immediately provide assistance to many of the affected orphanages. The site has good descriptions of the problems each orphanage is having and what items they are requesting.

Half the Sky Update

More snow!!!

2008-02-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

We awoke to three new feet of snow on Sunday. I guess February didn't want to let January have all the fun!

Isla is doing great and exploring new things daily. We had been reluctant to bring her into the snow just yet since the climate here is so different from where she is from in China. That reluctance may have been unnecessary though since she liked being in it a lot on Sunday.

One small step for Isla, one giant leap too

2008-02-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

Isla rebounded well from her first set of immunization shots here in the US. She surprised her baba and momma by having an extra energetic afternoon after a slower than usual start to the day.

Our good friends Ed and Sue came over and Isla decided go all out strutting her stuff... literally. She took her first independent steps today. She would start from one of us and take up to five steps to reach the other... or go for the all out body lunge.

Tomorrow morning she should be able to walk in another couple feet of fresh snow. We think this may finally be the last of the storms for a while (a week maybe??). Hope everyone is doing well. Love, Isla, Momma and Baba.

PS Momma says that Isla says "Go Patriots". Baba abstains.

Isla styling the new ski hat from Tyler. Thanks Tyler!

Isla playing with her good friends Ed and Sue.

More Pictures from the Baby Shower

2008-01-27T22:02:00.001-08:00

Couldn't fit these pictures on the previous post.

Isla playing with her new toys.

Isla before bed time after a happy day!

Isla Baby Shower

2008-01-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks again to Julia, Maxine and Jen for hosting and putting together a wonderful baby shower. And also thanks to everyone for coming, it was wonderful to see you all and introduce you to Isla!

Thank you very much for all the generous gifts.

Julia's house was the perfect place to have a gathering of adults and kids and the selection of delicious things to eat was well... delicious.

Here are some pictures from the day!

Isla giving her puppy some loving kisses.

Isla showing momma how easy it is to stack blocks

Macho men at the baby shower.

Olivia the gift bearer

Isla and family opening gifts

A couple pictures

2008-01-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple from this evening. Hi to all Isla's friends! Love, Isla, Barb and Will

First Week Home

2008-01-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

We are just at the end of our first week home. What a great week it has been and a great week to get through!

Isla has done really well with the time change. It was very hard at first keeping up with her through the nights but as of last night she finally slept through the night... even though her parents didn't manage too. Baba is still trying to adjust to the time change after the night shifts and momma was so worried since Isla wasn't stirring that she kept checking on her. Ha!

We took Isla skiing for her second time today. No, it is not what you are thinking. We went for a short cross country ski and Isla followed in the Chariot. She still seems more stunned than happy in the Chariot but she doesn't cry or protest and sleeps most of the time and gets out happy and refreshed.

This is Baba's favorite picture of Isla and Momma to date!

We had her physical this week and all was well. Not too much else to report new. Oh, just tonight she started to feed herself crackers! That is huge since as of two weeks ago she would not put anything but her thumb in her mouth and had never had solid foods.

She is still marching her parents around the house (though we have put the squeaky shoes aside so she walks without stomping every step). Her parent think (and hope for their backs sake) that she will be walking solo in a couple weeks time.

Hope everyone is well. Love from Isla, Momma and Baba.

First Days Home

2008-01-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

We are slowly getting settled into our new routine! It is challenging to get used to a new time zone along with so many other changes!! During the past few days, Isla has been slowly adjusting. We are ALL hoping for a more typical night of sleep tonight.

We have tried to expose her to more sunshine during the day to assist her adjustment, but as you can see from the pictures, "sunshine" has been hard to come by. Isla seems interested in the snow, however, and tolerates the cold well. She had her first ride in her "Chariot" today (thanks SSGK). She mostly looked stunned, but I think she will eventually enjoy it.

Isla is really seeming confident in her new home. She loves walking (with both hands held). We have a perfect area to do "laps" and Isla continues to improve her endurance while testing the endurance of her parents. She is also able to sit and play on her own for short periods. This is a great improvement as now we can actually prepare meals or fold laundry while she is happily playing.

Isla is finding her carseat and high-chair quite interesting. Luckily, she seems to be getting used to them. Her appetite continues to be good, and her new favorite is sweet potatoes. The canned mandarin oranges seem to be an ok substitute for the fresh ones in China. And cheese flavored crackers are really fun to crunch with Isla's front teeth!

Tomorrow is our first appointment with our pediatrician. Better get some sleep while we can!!

Love to all,

Isla, Barb, & Will

Back Home!

2008-01-19T03:57:00.000-08:00

We made it home! Isla did amazing on the flights and seems to be handling the lack of sleep really well.

Isla and baba are currently passing the night hours with some bottles and play time. As to be expected Isla started waking up when we finally got to go to sleep. Mom will be taking the day shift so she is currently sleeping.

We got home and found that our neighbors cleared all the snow from our house while we were gone. A huge help. Thanks!

We haven't taken any picture except for the one with Isla and Mom outside her new home. We were really surprised to see that she seems completely comfortable here. She is crawling more than we have seen before and smiling and laughing readily. We promise more pictures soon. Love to all.

Isla and mom hanging out in Hong Kong waiting for the 'big' flight.

Mom and Isla playing during flight.

Baba and Isla sleeping in San Fransisco.

Last post from China

2008-01-17T05:33:00.001-08:00

Well this is our last post from China. It makes us sad to leave but was are also very happy to bring Isla to her new home. The last three weeks where amazing to say the least. We went from traveling in rural China as childless climbers to parents!
Today we all went to the US Consulate where Isla received her Chinese passport with a visa for the US! We included a picture of her investigating the passport for correctness.
Sorry but we did not take many pictures today so there are only two for the blog. Isla is sharing the chair with her friend Leanna who is also from the Guangdong province and met her family on the same day.
We have lots of packing up to do now for our early departure! Can't wait to introduce you all to our new daughter! Next post will be from home sweet home!
Love,
The Jones'

Late Pictures from Day9 with Isla

2008-01-16T16:25:00.001-08:00

Sorry to not have posted the pictures last night but I was too tired to stay up and do it. We cannot believe that today is our last full day in China. We are sad to leave... but also excited to see everyone on our court and finally have a home cooked meal. It will also be fun to have Isla meet all her new friends. Eventually we will tour the states to see some of the far flung locations with people following the blog... maybe we will even get to meet Ethan and his sister some day.
I will be sure to do one more picture update tonight then I think the next pictures will be posted from home. Sorry to have not responded to any of the comments that have been posted to the blog but we cannot access them from China. We'll get to that when we are home.
Love to everyone, Isla, momma and baba

Visa approved!

2008-01-16T07:09:00.001-08:00

We are happy to announce that Isla has been approved for a special Visa that entitles her to become an American citizen upon her arrival to the USA! The only procedural item left for us to do is to pick up her passport and Visa tomorrow. There is also a ceremonial swearing-in for her at the US Consulate.

She continues to delight and amaze her parents (oh, and, wear them out)! Today, Isla decided that soccer is a pretty fun sport. She began kicking a bag as we walked her, and found this quite entertaining! Her focus has shifted to the gross motor area, but she also enjoys practicing her oral motor skills. Every day, she is making more sounds and trying new foods. Cheerios have become her absolute favorite!

Mom took a break today and went to get a massage. I opted for the small foot bucket and back/spine massage. What I did not realize was that this would be 2 hours of bliss. Good thing I did not choose the LARGE foot bucket (yes, it was an option). I have had great bodywork, but this was exceptional!! Feet soaking in herbs & salt while neck and back massaged, then feet done, legs done, etc. etc., I thought we were done twice, but there was always more. And then I was led to another room with a massage table and had full body with a combo of shiatsu and Thai massage. I feel like a new person!!

Some of our new friends have begun to leave for home. Today, we said good-bye to the "Scarey" family, including their newest daughter who met her new, ( and not really scary) family, at the same time as we were meeting Isla. We are sorry to see them go, but we are lucky enough to be meeting new people, some of which have children from the same place that Isla is from!

Sorry, no pictures right now. We will post them in our morning. Only one more day in

China

!!!

Love, barb, will, & isla

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Olympic training 101

2008-01-15T07:39:00.000-08:00

Today was our eighth day together as a family. Isla is now smiling and laughing often, eating from a spoon like she always knew how, eating bigger portions and trying to walk. Yep squeaky shoes have taken her to another level of delight. For those of you who do not know squeaky shoes you soon will since Isla will not leave home without them.

We knew she could cruise around in the crib a little but when she got new shoes that squeak when she steps on them, she started dancing around the crib. We started to walk with her a little and soon we were off to the races around the room. I think the floors will need polishing and the carpets replacing when we leave the room!

We spent most of the day hanging out with Isla in the hotel room getting over the long journey we had yesterday. She was all fun and games until we attempted her afternoon nap. At that point it was a wiggling struggle to return to walking laps around the room. In the end sleep prevailed but not after a long battle with youth.

Tomorrow is our first appointment at the US consulate. Our guide will go on our behalf to submit the paperwork. For some reason she also thinks she can arrange to have us swore in (a ceremonial thing all families have to do before they give out the visa) so we may complete the process here tomorrow. It is hard for us to believe the time has gone so quickly and that we will be returning home in only three days.

We feel this has been such an amazing trip. Not only have we begun our life as a family we have also met so many wonderful people and seen some beautiful parts of China. It will be sad to leave.

Ok, enough with the text. Here are some more pictures to keep you up-to-date with the athlete training for the Beijing Olympics (marathon walk).

Visit to Isla's hometown

2008-01-15T00:37:00.001-08:00

Visit to Isla's Hometown

Yesterday was a big day for all of us! We traveled over 3 hours each way to YangXi. Around noon, we arrived at the Social Welfare Institute(SWI) or orphanage where Isla spent her first year. The director met us and was very gracious in giving us a tour. We got to see Isla's first crib and meet her friends in the neighboring cribs. We also met the nannies who took great care of Isla! They seem to be very loving and genuine. Isla was slightly interested in them, but we were happy to see that she prefers staying with her parents. Her nannies told us Isla loved their rocking horse, so we put her on it and she actively rocked back and forth. She loved the movement. After our initial tour, we went out for a local feast with the director. YangXi is by the sea and is known for its seafood. We were served local oysters and fish, along with 5 or 6 other dishes. The soup included some unidentifiable meats and/or organs, but our hosts were polite enough to give us westerners only the broth, which was quite tasty. The local vegetables include taro, a very sweet root vegetable like a sweet potato, but purple in color. We ate in a private room with a table with a big lazy susan. We also visited a beautiful park in YangXi. We have included pics of the pagoda in the park.

After the outing, we returned to the SWI. I had told the director that I work with special needs children, so she allowed us to go back in to see some of the special needs kiddos. Unfortunately, they seem to spend most of their time in their cribs. We asked what they could use at the SWI and the director mentioned equipment for the special needs kids. Later, we will let everyone now how to contribute if you would like, as we are going to buy some walkers and other equipment to donate. We also saw the medically fragile babies, some with feeding tubes and IVs. They looked well cared for, but the IV poles were rusty and all the medical supplies look ancient. Hopefully, we can donate some equipment that they can really use.

We had a long drive back "home" and we were so happy to be in our room again. Isla looked like she felt so comfortable and began playing hard, laughing and crawling all over us. She wore her first pair of squeaky shoes and loves kicking down her feet to make noise. She shows such joy in practicing all her newly learned skills. Isla is now getting into high kneel and coming to stand. Her favorite is to crawl over our legs while we hang out on the bed. After our big day, Isla slept very soundly!

More to come!

Barb, Will, & Isla

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Today we visited the orphanage where Isla lived for her first year

2008-01-14T07:13:00.001-08:00

Today was another amazing day. We visited the Yangxi Social Welfare Institute (SWI) which is where Isla spent her first year. We have included some of the pictures we have from the town and the orphanage. Even though the drive was 3 hours each way, Isla did well and seemed very comfortable with the experience. Before we went we asked our guide about how kids usually react and she described how they would not be comfortable with the nannies holding them after they attach to their new parents. This turned out to be true for Isla too. She did allow the director to hold her during lunch but gladly (with open arms) came back to her parents.

We will try and catch up and write more about the experience tomorrow. When we returned to the hotel Isla was the most playful and talkative we have seen to date. She crawled all over us and laughed aloud as she played. We have included a particularly silly bath picture. Love to all, Isla, Mama and Baba.

No Scheduled Activity Day

2008-01-13T07:22:00.001-08:00

We passed on the zoo visit today so that we could have a day off from scheduled activites. It was good to sleep a little later and have a day to enjoy without having to plan for anything. Isla is doing really well sleeping at this point. She has woken up in the middle of the night each of the last two nights but goes back to bed without too much effort and then sleeps through until the morning.
The most difficult thing we are finding is getting her to go to bed before 11pm! She is a night owl! After her bath she takes one more bottle and then is really happy and active (of course her bath is still more of an aerobic activity than a soothing wash).
This afternoon we went to a local market just off of Shamian Island. The street you pass through is dedicated to selling all things for pets... and that is Chinese pets which can be a bit more exotic at times. We included a few of the pictures from the market for you as well.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the Yangxi Social Welfare Institute (SWI) where Zi Shao spent the first 12 months of her life. It will be a long day with 7 hours of travel. We may not have a chance to blog before we go to sleep. We will post more pictures when we can. Love to all, Isla, Mama and Baba.

First Taste of Ice Cream

2008-01-12T06:30:00.001-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from the current day. After lunch today we made a stop at the deli which has ice cream. Dad got the Taro flavor (quite nice) and Isla really enjoyed it as well.

What's going on here.

2008-01-11T21:16:00.001-08:00

We haven't had a chance to write much recently, mainly because we are too busy having fun! The last couple days have been great! On Thursday, we did some sight seeing with our guide Rebecca. We went to the Sun YatSen Memorial Hall and to the Chen Family Mansion. Sun YatSen was the president in 1921 and is considered the father of modern China, (the Republic of China). When YatSen died, Chiang Kai Shek became president. Mao then came to power and changed the country to the People's Republic of China.

At the Chen's, there are some beautiful rock sculptures and other amazing art works. We bought a scroll there and had it printed with Isla's name and a poem in Chinese characters. We also got ourselves an incredible painting that has sand in some of the paints to give the picture texture. After walking the grounds, and viewing the art, we stopped at a tea shop. We were lucky enough to be the only customers, so they prepared us 6 different teas to try. Isla insisted on being part of the tea ceremony and enjoyed sipping some Rose tea. (She can't wait to join the afternoon teas with Chris P and the girls).

Friday was a very special day. After breakfast with all our new friends here at the hotel, we went to a Buddhist Temple. Isla was blessed in a short ceremony by a monk. She was enthralled with his chanting and drumming! We then climbed up to the top of the temple (9 stories). Isla, luckily, seems to be ok with heights!

We went to the playroom in the hotel once, but mainly play here in our room in the afternoons and evenings. Baths continue to be a highlight! Isla is quite the wild woman in the water. We got to bed very late last night because she was in such a playful mood after her bath. She is learning so many new things. Dad/baba taught her to blow raspberries in half a minute. Yesterday she learned how to give kisses and high fives! Last night, she was so proud of herself when she figured out how to hold a toy in her mouth and let go with her hands. And then, dropping it from her mouth was really funny! Isla has the greatest laugh, and she is starting to babble a bit too. At this point, she is spending more energy on her verbal and fine motor skills rather than her gross motor skills (yes, this is mom the therapist talking). She can crawl but does not choose to do it often. We know she can pull to stand because she did it her first night in the crib (but we have not seen it since). Oh, she is also exploring foods and enjoys checking them out with her hands. Her favorites are scrambled eggs, potatoes, steamed green veggies, and cheerios.

This morning Isla had her physical exam. All looks good and she tolerated it exceptionally well. Isla weighs 17.5 pounds. Her 9 month clothes are fitting her now (thanks Danielle and Sharon, do you recognize any of the outfits?).

Isla is now taking a well deserved nap! She looks so peaceful!

Hope all is well with everyone! We will be home in one week now!

Love, Will, Barb, & Isla

Updated picture post

2008-01-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

Finally another update. It feels like it has been so long since the last update since Isla is doing so many new things so quickly. It is really late here (had a heck of a time getting her to go to bed since she was having so much fun this evening) and I am only posting some pictures.

Things are going really well. We did a better job keeping to a schedule today and that helped keep her much happier this evening. The last two days were sightseeing and tomorrow is our Dr's appointment and Visa photo.

Hope all is well with everyone. Love from Isla, Barb and Will.

Bath time!

2008-01-09T05:55:00.001-08:00

Our second full day together was another amazing day. Isla is getting more confident around us and starting to show us her true self. This will just be a short entry with a few pictures since we are tired and don't want to miss our opportunity to get some sleep.

You can see for yourselves how fun bath time is. Tonight she knew it was coming when the bath water started and mom got ready to hop in with her. I was holding, or trying to, as she became a fish wiggling all around trying to get thrown into the water.

Love to you all. Tomorrow we are sightseeing around Guangzhou so hopefully it will be a good picture day.

Isla Day 1: Our family is official

2008-01-08T02:17:00.001-08:00

Isla is now officially part of our family. We returned to The Civil Affairs Office this morning to complete the adoption process!! All went smoothly, and Isla is now our daughter, not only in our hearts, but also on paper.

Last night went well with Isla sleeping 6 and a half hours, then waking for one hour, then back to sleep for another 2 and a half hours. The only one having difficulty sleeping was surprisingly, her baba.

In the morning, Isla had a full bottle, then she played with her stacking cups and rings (thanks Anna and the girls). Isla is curious and observant and is imitating what we do with the toys. We all went down to the breakfast buffet where Isla enjoyed her first bites of yogurt and mashed banana. She also enjoyed playing "drop the toy" game.

It is so great to see her little smile and hear her laugh! She is not too generous with these things yet, but we already see her opening up with us. She recognizes us and will look at us and smile sweetly. She loves being cuddled by both of us!

Right now she is napping soundly!...We will be back soon, hope that all of you in Tahoe and Reno are shoveled out and enjoying the snow!

Love, Barb, Will, & Isla

Here she is!

2008-01-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

We have our daughter! She is fast asleep right now after a very big day for her.

We went to the Civil Affairs office at 2pm and waited for her to arrive. It took 45 minutes for Zi Shao and her nanny to arrive. Being so excited it was hard to wait.

When she came in with her nanny we immediately ran over to them. Barb took her into her arms and into our family. She didn't cry too much and even let me hold her (Barb that is).

We managed to feed her one bottle this evening. After dinner it was bath time which proved to be the highlight for Zi Shao. She loved the bath and even let us wash her hair without any protest.

Ok. We are joining Zi Shao in sleep. Love to all. More to come tomorrow.

First family photo

2008-01-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

More to come!
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Leaving to get Isla

2008-01-06T20:41:00.001-08:00

The wait is finally over. We are heading to the Central Affairs office to meet our daughter. We spent our last hour of parental freedom playing some tennis at the tennis club that is just down the street. I was very late arriving as we needed to change some money at the bank which was a very slow experience and Barb became the hitting partner of choice for a group of local players. I included the picture of Barb with her new tennis friends.

Love to all of you back home. Look for the first family picture arriving shortly.

Yángshuò

2008-01-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

So we are in the final hours and as one of our good little friends from Incline said, only one more wakeup. But first a little more about Yángshuò…

We are very glad we had the opportunity to experience Yángshuò and the Guilin area. Though it is touristy and caters to the needs of many travelers it is still possible to get a glimpse of what rural Chinese life entails. We spent 3 full days in Yángshuò and each day traveled to a different spot.

The first day we weaved through rice paddie ponds on a road only wide enough for the narrow taxi. The second day found us just above a field of onions being harvested by two women, likely a mother and her teenage daughter. And on the third day we climbed Moon Hill and took in some beautiful views.

Yángshuò and Guilin are in Guangxi province which borders Guangdong to the west. In it's recent past Guangxi was an autonomous region and is home to many ethnic minorities. During our stay we met a Naxi, Miao and Xiang (sp?) all tremendously nice people with interesting heritages. We were able to share the purpose of our trip with a few people we met as well. We liked to hear their reactions and understand from their perspective the social reasons that lead to the abandonment of daughters in China.

Our only regret with visiting this area is that we didn't have more time to spend there this trip but we plan to return one day with Isla.

Back in Guangzhou

2008-01-05T17:20:00.001-08:00

We arrived back to The White Swan last night. There is a crib in our room and the stork is due tomorrow!! Will post more later today.

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Yangshuo China

2008-01-04T02:57:00.000-08:00

We will post more pictures of Yangshuo and the surrounding area in a few days, but here is one to keep the blog current. It has been an amazing couple of days here. The scenery is beautiful and the people wonderful. For some it is a tremendously hard life but they still seem to live with a contentedness we seldom find. We are experiencing such different and a diverse part of China and would love to be able to one day take Isla here.

Only three more days!
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Shamian Island... and happy new year!

2007-12-31T18:28:00.000-08:00

Just one more quick update before we head to Yangshuo. Here are some pictures from Shamian Island this morning. We met one of the nicest people at a shop near by the hotel. The people we meet continue to surprise us with how nice they are.

In Yangshuo I don't expect us to get to email as easily so this may be our last update for a few days. Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.

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Hong Kong Mansions and More...

2007-12-31T16:15:00.001-08:00

When someone uses the word "mansion" in Hong Kong, be sure to have them tell you exactly what they mean. Our first night was spent at the "Mirador Mansion", specifically, "The Cosmic Guest House". (Ok, maybe this part of the name should have clued us in.). I do not know how to explain it, so we will include a picture here. Although, we were initially worried as we entered, our room was very clean and the proprietors were extraordinarily nice and helpful. And we were able to get some much needed sleep.

The next morning, we started our international experience by sitting ourselves down in a Starbucks and ordering lattes. Not such an adventurous start, but a good adjustment activity. Actually, Hong Kong is a great place to adjust since it feels very European and most everyone speaks English. Also, it is very easy to get around, very clean and organized. We went to Victoria Peak and did a short hike. It is beautiful in the high rise city sort of way. Found a great place for lunch, (more adventurous this time). We could not identify some of the veggies in my dish, however, we enjoyed it all except for the ones that looked like deflated balloons.

In the afternoon, we took a train into Southern China. We arrived in Guangzhou around 6 in the evening. All went very smoothly as the hotel van picked us up. We settled in to the hotel, The White Swan. It is the same hotel we will stay at when we meet Isla and quite a contrast from The Cosmic Guest House. Found a Thai restaurant for dinner.

The thing that strikes me the most here is how nice and how polite everyone has been. Exceptional, really. Ok, off to breakfast and then we fly to Guilin/Yangshou area for 4 days.

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Hong Kong @ Night

2007-12-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

First pictures from Hong Kong. Now to some food and sleep.
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Enroute to China

2007-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

Even getting up at 3am we still just made our flight from Reno to San Francisco. We now have a 5 hour layover in SF before we buckle up for a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. Ugg.

Last bit of packing

2007-12-28T09:10:00.001-08:00

We are finishing packing today. We leave for China tomorrow!
Bottles - check
Baby outfits - check
Camera - check
Diapers - check
Swim diapers - check (?? its 11 degrees outside ??)
We hope that everyone had a wonderful christmas holiday. We did. Thank you to our 'Frosty' neighbors for a great christmas dinner!
Keep checking for more posts. Our next post will include pictures from China. Love to all.

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Travel details

2007-12-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here are our general travel details so everyone can keep track of us. We will be sending family a more detailed itinerary with contact number etc.

29 December - Fly to Hong Kong
30 December - Stay in Hong Kong
31 December - Stay in Guangzhou
1 - 4 January - Stay in Yangshou
5 - 17 January - Stay in Guangzhou
18 January - Fly home

CONFIRMATION STATION!!

2007-12-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

Our dates are now all confirmed! We meet our daughter on January 7th, 2008!!!
Only 3 and a half weeks to go!

Consulate date set, travel dates nearly final!

2007-12-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

We heard back yesterday that our consulate date had been accepted. That is a very good sign that our dates will not change. Here is what it looks like.

Depart for China on Dec. 29th.
Dec. 31- Jan 5 explore Guillin / Yangshuo
Jan 5th Arrive in Guangzhou
Jan 7th Finally meet our daughter!!!
Jan 16th US Consulate appointment
Jan 18th Fly home!

Travel Approval Received!

2007-12-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

Ok. Finally we received our travel approval from China. That was 3 weeks to the day since our agency mailed back the letter of acceptance.

Now with our invitation to travel to China our agency needs to apply for an American Consulate date. Once we get that (should be this week) we will know for certain when we are traveling.

At this point it looks like we will be traveling in the beginning of January and returning by mid January. We had hoped to get Isla sooner but we were not lucky enough to get our approval in time.

Keep your fingers crossed for us. Hopefully we will be in China with Isla in our arms in less than 4 weeks!

How long must we wait!!??

2007-12-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this post will be followed shortly by a post that says "Yeah, we are leaving soon". At this point we are still waiting for the travel approval letter from China. The wait feels longer than the first 2 1/2 years even though it has only been 28 days since we sent the acceptance letter back to our agency.

The good news is that most everyone who received referrals in November now has travel dates and most of them are traveling in early December (we even know of one individual who already has her daughter). The bad news is we haven't received ours yet. :(

I (Will) can't tell you how jealous I am of the families who are leaving this weekend and next week to pick up their daughters. We wish them all a safe journey and that they all find their daughters in good health.

So we will be sure to update the blog as soon as we know when we are going to meet Isla. We are still hopeful we can travel in December but are preparing ourselves for the possibility we will have to wait until January.

Love to all our family and friends. Thanks for all the wonderful gifts for Isla and support for us.

Celebrating with friends!

2007-12-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

WOW! Sending out a huge thank you to all of our friends who celebrated Isla's (soon-to-be)homecoming with me yesterday!! Special thanks to Stacie, Christie, Judy, and Kim for hostessing a magnificent "shower". And hugs to Chef Didier for the scrumptious and beautiful pastries.
We are overwhelmed with your generosity! Isla is so lucky to be surrounded with such loving friends. I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything. It was great to see you all and I can not wait until Isla gets to know all her new friends.

Isla Update.....and waiting for TA

2007-12-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

We are finally getting back to our blog! Several house projects and setting up for Isla has kept us busy lately!! We have made lots of progress and are ready to bring our new daughter home!

We received the packet giving us more information on our daughter back on November 8th. The packet contained a translated developmental assessment and general info about Isla ZiShao. She is described as active, restless, and liking to play outdoors...hmmm, remind you of anyone? Her favorite activity is listed as "teasing others". She sounds perfect for our family! Isla's development looks great. Her assessment was done at about 6 months of age (on June 12th, Barb's b-day!). She is a bit small for her age, but she appears to be growing well. Big thanks to Dottoressa K. for reviewing the medical info and starting a growth chart!

We are now waiting (not so patiently) for our TA (travel approval )from China. Several new parents who received their referral at the same time we did have received their TA and are preparing to travel later this week!! Hopefully, our agency will soon be calling us with our travel dates. If possible, we will leave a bit early to get in some travel within China. The beautiful area with the limestone karsts is just north of where Isla lives. We would love to see that area and check out the climbing. The soonest we could leave is 10 days from now! On the other hand, it could still be another 3or 4weeks. Hope that we hear soon, we want to go and meet Isla ZiShao as soon as possible!

Package day?

2007-11-07T07:54:00.001-08:00

Today is the day we expect to receive our package. We will keep you posted.
1:30pm addition: We discovered that we will have to wait until tomorrow (Thursday) to receive Isla's package! We can not wait to learn more about her! Stay tuned.....

Update: We received the packet from our agency yesterday. We have already read it several times. Since I will be away on a business trip through next Wednesday we are trying get everything in order to send an acceptance reply to our Agency.

Where is Isla? Yangxi SWI.

2007-11-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

Isla is in the western Guangdong province in an orphanage in the city of Yangxi. Since receiving our call from the agency on Friday we have gotten many posts and emails from others who adopted from the same Social Welfare Institute (SWI). The information we have been directed to on the web has been tremendous. Knowing where your daughter is and that she is well cared for is great peace of mind... especially when you can hardly stop thinking about her enough to get some sleep.

The Research-China website is a particularly good site for information about the SWI. It even explains why Isla (Zi Shao) was given the last name of Yang Xi while her friends have the last name of Song.

To find Yangxi on a map of China you first need to locate Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province and one of the three major cities on the Pearl River Delta (the other two are Hong Kong and Macau).Once you have found Guangzhou you have found the Guangdong province. If you follow the coastline west you first see Macau at the edge of the delta and will eventually run into Yangjiang which is very near Yangxi.
Yangxi is only a short distance west of Yangjiang.

Introducing Isla Zi Shao

2007-11-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

We can't begin to express how excited we are right now. This is Isla. She was born in the south of China in the Guangdong province on Dec 2oth 2006 and is currently in an orphanage in Yangxi county.

Enjoying a peaceful excursion in the country side.

Isla taking the directors role at the orphanage.

Booked after being caught attempting the V0 crib problem.

We received a call from our agency yesterday at 1pm. I was at work and Barb was at home so we couldn't be together when we learned who our daughter would be. Fortunately we were able to have a conference call though a phone is not easy to hug.

Our agency received a package that contains more info but its all in Chinese and they will need to translate it before we learn more about Isla. This should happen early next week and they hope to have the translations to us by midweek.

It was wonderful share the news with everyone yesterday... and we are still calling more of Isla's new friends and family today.

Update: Sorry to remove the pitures. Once we receive our packet we realized we were not supposed to post to pictures online. Family / friends please contact us if you haven't seen her yet.

What to expect when you are expecting... a referral from China

2007-11-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our best guess is that our referral will arrive at our agency on Monday, November 5th. That is excellent news, but it is going to be tough to not think about it all weekend!

The referral is the first time we get to see a picture of our soon to be daughter (or son). It is a package that contains information about our child-to-be including their name (given by the orphanage), where they are from in China, their age, weight, basic medical info, and of course, a few pictures. Our agency will forward the package to us which will probably take an additional day or two ( in the meantime they will send us an email that includes scans of the pictures).

Our first obligation is to post the pictures on this blog for everyone to see and make a lot of phone calls. After that we will have a doctor look over the medical information that was provided. Once we have reviewed all the information, we will send back an acceptance letter to China and will begin to wait once again.

This wait should be much shorter than before. The next information we will need will be our Travel Approval (TA) from China. That will tell us exactly when we can go to China. This has recently been taking 2-5 weeks to come after the referral has been accepted. The TA will contain one very important date... the Gotcha Date, the date we pick up Isla!

I bet you are asking "So when will that be?" or at least that is the question we think about a lot. Like the rest of this process, we don't know for certain when the gotcha date will be! It is very possible that we will have Isla in our arms by Christmas!

The first pictures of Isla are almost here!

2007-11-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well it has been an exciting morning. I have attached the link to the ChinaAdoptTalk website home of the Rumor Queen. The first news we woke up to was that referrals had arrived in the US and that they would go through the 8th of December (we are logged in as of the 5th of December 2005). As you can guess that was a pretty exciting headline to wake up too.

If you check the site right now who knows what you will see, but as of the last update (#3) the referrals have not arrived. :( RQ_they-are-here

Hopefully we will hear in the next few days and will be able to post some pictures of Isla for you to see!

Welcome - 欢迎

2007-10-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the site of Isla's first (and ours for that matter) Blog. If all goes well we will be posting the first pictures of Isla here by the end of next week!

Needless to say we are excited beyond words at the moment... especially with all of the waiting over the past three years. Yep it has been two months short of three years since we started the adoption process. For twenty-five months, a stack of dossiers has been sitting on a desk in China while we wait for ours to float to the top when our daughters name gets called.

Its amazing to think somewhere in China our daughter is unknowingly waiting for us to come get her, probably from a place we have never heard of and can't correctly pronounce.

From what we know we will be leaving from Guangzhou (bottom of the map) which is just inland from Hong Kong and Macao.

In Guangzhou and the south of China, Cantonese is the primary language, but the majority of Chinese speak Mandarin ("the common language". We have been learning a little Mandarin.

Not far from Guangzhou are some of the most striking landscapes in China. The country side is filled with karsts, giant limestone formations that shoot up from the lush green country side and are only passable from the rivers that have steadily carved routes through them for thousands of years.

If we don't find Isla learning to rock climb around here we may find her further up north.

Beijing is the capital and the second largest city in China (behind Shanghai). It has been the center of China's political, cultural and economic well being for 800 years.

Long before that, in the 5th century BC ,the Chinese had begun construction of the Great Wall to keep out the invaders from the north.

The Great Wall is the largest man made structure, longer than the continental US is wide! It is, however, only a myth that the Great Wall is visible from the moon. This myth was edited from Chinese textbooks in 2003, after China's first astronaut failed to spot the wall from space.

Who knows where we will go and who we will meet to find our daughter in China. All we know is we can't wait to finally meet her and have the chance to be family to her!