Phillip J. Noth

New Blog

2010-05-15T18:50:00.006-05:00

For continued happenings of the Noth Family, see my new blog:
www.nothhappenings.blogspot.com

Cosley Zoo and Playground

2010-04-02T15:51:00.001-05:00

Today we went to Cosley Zoo. The kids really liked looking at all the animals. Then we had a nice picnic lunch and stopped at the playground for some fun. I think it was PJ's first playground experience, he really had a blast!

Family of Four!

2010-03-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

Coming home we left the hotel at 5:00 AM via bus to Hong Kong. I didn't get much sleep the night before so I was tired and was trying to sleep, but wasn't successful even if it looks otherwise.

It was a first for us to be in Hong Kong and it seemed strange to be on the left side of the road and the driver on the right side of the vehicle.

Here is a shot of us waiting in the Hong Kong airport.

Passing time on the plane.

Family of Four!

Last Day in China

2010-03-18T07:56:00.001-05:00

Well, this is my last blog from China. We are mostly packed and just going to bed. We'll be up and out the door at 4:30 AM, that is 3:30 PM Thursday for you in CDT. The only thing happening today was that Bill went and picked up the Kid's visas from the US Consulate, the 3 of us families had the entire day to ourselves.
Pictures are of Bill swinging PJ, lunch at Lucy's, Al Cormier and PJ (they are now good buddies), the tree Greg and PJ are standing in front of is 150 years old, and the ladies at the restaurant tonight had fun holding PJ and showing him the fish (there is an aquarium in the floor where they are at in the picture.
I'm not sure when I'll blog after getting home, so much depends on how tired and busy I am.
We hope PJ will sleep tonight, I think he suspects something important is happening. Pray for a good transition for him.

Talk to you all soon!

~Judy

St. Patricks Day

2010-03-17T07:47:00.001-05:00

This afternoon the 3 kids were all together while Becky and Jamie were blowing bubbles. It was really fun watching them have a good time. I will say that David Cormier has a LOT of energy. It seemed he was running nonstop, not just this afternoon but this morning when we were trying to do the red couch photos, he wanted to keep running! Who knows, maybe he'll be a marathon star someday.

For dinner we went to Cow and Bridge for some good Thai food. Being it was St Patricks Day, the guys wanted to drink green beer. However they don't have green beer in China, so the drank beer out of green bottles instead. :^)

US Consulate

2010-03-17T07:40:00.001-05:00

This afternoon was our trip to the US Consulate. Cameras and cell phones are not allowed inside so there are no photos in there. Greg and I were the first family called to the window. They simply looked at our passports, had Greg sign a paper and then we sat down and waited for the other 50 or so families that were there. Many of the people we have been seeing on Shamian Island this week were there too. After everyone was done at the window, they had us raise our right hand and say something like, 'I solemnly swear that the information I have provided to the US Government is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and ability'. That was all we had to do. Everyone cheered.

Tomorrow Bill will go back to get the kids passports with the visa, and our mysterious brown envelope. We call it mysterious because we are not allowed to open it, we simply are transporting it to the immigration people at customs in the airport at home and we are told it has all the paperwork needed to get our child's citizenship paper.

Wednesday part 3

2010-03-17T07:30:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple extra pictures I thought you might enjoy. The boat looked interesting out the window where we took the red couch photos. The other photo is of Lucy's where we have been going for lunch, it is cheap and very Americanized food.

Red Couch photos

2010-03-17T07:24:00.001-05:00

As you may remember, adoptive families will go to the White Swan Hotel for a Red Couch Photo. Today was the best day for everyone to do that. At one point we had finished the photos but Bill sat on the red couch and before we knew it, all 3 kids were around him, it was really cute. Bill is very good with the kids.

Wednesday Breakfast

2010-03-17T07:20:00.001-05:00

I thought you would all enjoy a cute photo of PJ at Breakfast. He seemed to be posing for a picture, so I took one. Soon after I took the first one, he started playing Peek-a-boo, so that is the second picture.

Tuesday part 2

2010-03-16T08:08:00.001-05:00

We did some of our shopping in this mall. It has got to be the biggest mall I have ever seen. The picture I took is only the center of the mall, there are many hallways leading away from it and even more hallways leading off of those. A person could easily get lost in there! This photo is of us ladies and our Guide Ann. Dan Szynal came with us and took the photo. Greg and Al stayed behind with the boys so that naps could be taken. The last photo is the entire group having dinner at an Italian Restaurant, MMM good.

Hope you all enjoy your Tuesday, it is almost my bedtime. (Did you remember or notice that time didn't change in China on Sunday because they don't observe Day Light Savings time.)

~Judy

Tuesday March 16

2010-03-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

Not a whole lot to blog about today. After we got up and had breakfast we needed to stay in the room a couple of hours while Bill went to the US consulate to apply for the visas. We filled out the paperwork yesterday but they like families to stay in the room just in case there is a problem with the paperwork. After that we did a little shopping on the island. On our way to Lucy's for lunch we saw this statue, I must have missed this one when we were here adopting Alicia. I love the statue, it is a lady playing the violin and some kids following behind her. PJ seemed rather scared of the statue, it would have been so cute to see him "blending in" with the statues. Further up the path we came across these school kids doing some kind of drills outside. After lunch some of us went shopping off island with a guide we hired from the area (she has a website called red thread china). She is a very nice lady and knew exactly where to go to find good deals. We all found what we were looking for and paid 1/3 or 1/2 of what we would have spent in the island. To get there we walked through the Qing Ping market. The items there are used for medicines or soups. Anyone care for some dried lizard? We walked passed a section where people were selling pets (yes we verified they were for pets). So I had to take a picture of the cute puppies. Our shopping guide said they cost 300 Yuan which is equivalent to about $50.

Dinner pictures

2010-03-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

I just looked at my sent mail and saw that I didn't attach the pictures so here they are.

Dinner

2010-03-15T08:44:00.001-05:00

For dinner we walked to the other side of the island (4 blocks maybe) and ate at a French restaurant. It was very good food. One of the dining areas was a train car, so we ate in there.

We plan to do more shopping tomorrow.
Good night from China.
~Judy

Tomb

2010-03-15T08:42:00.001-05:00

After the temple we went to the original site of a king. It was interesting. The body was covered in Jade because they believed that the jade would prevent the body from decaying (it didn't work). The swords are about 1500 years old if I remember correctly, they didn't look much like swords though.

Temple

2010-03-15T08:36:00.000-05:00

After lunch we went to do some touring. We stopped at a temple and saw several buildings and people. Before we walked in, there was an old lady that took an interest in Phillip. I wasn't able to communicate but I think it was just one of those things when you see a baby somewhere and you go to the baby and smile and say something nice because the baby is cute. She didn't stay long. We took a minute to relax and the boys took the opportunity to run around. They were sharing leaves with one another, it was really cute.

Monday March 15

2010-03-15T08:30:00.001-05:00

Today after breakfast all 3 families walked down to the medical place to have the kid's TB test looked at. I am happy to report they all passed! After that we had a paperwork meeting because tomorrow is our US Consulate appointment. We then had 2 or 3 hours on our own. Greg, PJ, and I went to a shop called Judy's. The lady goes by Judy because her Chinese name sounds a lot like Judy. From there we went to Lucy's for lunch. We just sat down and the Cormiers showed up so we all ate together. While we were waiting for our food, a lady got Greg and Al involved in a game of Hacky sac. (There is a park right out the back door of the restaurant and since we were sitting out there on their back porch, it was easy to get involved with a game.) They didn't do all that bad considering they don't play that game.

Safari on wheels

2010-03-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

The next part of our zoo visit was going on a safari train ride that took us by some animals with no boarders between them and us except the train we were on. The boys slept threw about half of it because it was nap time and they were exhausted. Annie didn't sleep until the van ride home.

I am truly amazed at the fact that PJ is mostly potty trained. He manages to keep clean and dry most of the time. I think I just need to get him to the point where he can let me know he needs to go to the bathroom with some kind of sign language. He has only had an accident a couple times since we got him because we were away for to long and he couldn't hold it long enough. Today he kept dry all day because I brought him to the bathroom a couple of times while we were at the zoo. He has woken up each morning dry and goes to the bathroom when I set him on the toilet! Wow this is going to be sooooo nice!

Hope you all have a nice Sunday! (I am going to bed now since it is very late here in China.)

~Judy

PANDAS!!

2010-03-14T09:19:00.001-05:00

And the highlight of going to the zoo was to see the pandas! They have a lot of pandas because the earthquake in 2008 in central China destroyed the area that held many pandas so they transported them to Guangzhou. After the Pandas it was lunch time.

Xiangjiang Safari Park (zoo)

2010-03-14T09:12:00.001-05:00

Today we went to the zoo. It was so much fun! It was in the upper 70's Fahrenheit and funny thing is that everyone was wearing long sleeves and some wore jackets! We were very hot. We started PJ out with a jacket on because everyone one else was wearing them and the kids are used to being bundled up warm all the time. Eventually we took the jacket off because PJ was getting hot.

More giggling

2010-03-14T09:01:00.001-05:00

Yesterday while I was blogging I took this picture of Greg and PJ. It was so fun to hear PJ laugh! Greg was lying on the be throwing a squeaky rubber ducky he got from one of the shops here and when he caught the ducky, he made it squeak. PJ of course thought that was hilarious and really laughed loud! Later that evening the guys went for their foot massage (something adoptive families do while in Guangzhou). Ladies went the next night (as I write this we just got back from ours). LOVE those foot massages! With all the walking we did at the zoo today, it was a really good day for a massage. Also on this post is a picture of our breakfast buffet area at our hotel.

Shopping

2010-03-13T04:31:00.001-06:00

Today we took a cab ride to go shopping off island. The Cormiers were looking to find an instrument that is called an "R-WHO" (I don't know how to spell it but that is how it sounds.) Becky plays the violin so she was able to pick it up pretty well. After that shop we walked down the street for a while. There sure were a lot of people out! It was like a swarm! PJ didn't like the crowds and really wanted to get away from it all! As soon as we were in a cab to go back to the hotel, he was perfectly quiet.

I think I mentioned David's frostbite on an earlier post. He was examined by a doctor in Taiyuan and they said there was no threat of losing any toes. They said he still had circulation and to keep them warm, dry, and give them room. We were happy to hear that. David is from a northern city in Shanxi and they had a very bad winter this year.

Hope you all enjoy your Saturday as ours is almost over.

~Judy

Construction on Shamian Island

2010-03-13T04:20:00.001-06:00

There is a lot of construction on Shamian Island because they are getting ready for the Asian Games I was told. This mound is just down the street from our hotel door.

Clothes line

2010-03-13T04:18:00.001-06:00

Something we need in US apartment buildings is what is in every apartment building here in China is a way to hang up clothes outside the window or back porch. People here don't own or use a clothes dryer.

Lunch

2010-03-13T04:12:00.001-06:00

I will say that I am very happy to be on Shamian Island! Everything feels so much like home with the buildings and going to Lucy's to eat. My stomach wasn't handling the food in Taiyuan very good but the food at Lucy's is very American. While we were there some people in the area were playing hacky sac. They were of all ages and were very good at it. Both PJ and David sat on Al's lap while we were waiting to order and were having a good time. It was really fun to see them smiling and laughing together.

Medical exam part 2

2010-03-13T04:00:00.001-06:00

Since the kids in our travel group are over 2 years old, they are required to do a TB test. Our guide, Bill, was the "bad guy" and held the kids for it. This is the part PJ didn't like.

Medical Exam

2010-03-13T03:58:00.001-06:00

Today was the day for the required medical exam. PJ took it pretty good.

Travel Day

2010-03-12T08:54:00.001-06:00

Today was mostly a travel day. We had breakfast at 8 AM. PJ's favorite thing for breakfast has been watermelon. After breakfast they played together tossing a ball. They are still working on their throwing skills but they sure had fun. There were smiles and laughter! Both boys seem to have worked through a major portion of their greif. Then we went and bought PJ one more pair of shoes for about the equivalent of $6 US dollars. We had a quick lunch and then off to the airport to go to Guangzhou (US consulate is in Guangzhou and that is where we get PJ's visa). PJ is using the toilet somewhat. He will go when I set him on it but he hasn't "asked" yet. That is a picture of me walking back to our gate after bringing him to the bathroom. Then there is the picture of our guide, Bill, holding him. And a picture of Becky and David Cormier. For dinner we went to Lucy's Bar and Grill on Shamian Island in Guangzhou..... oh thank-you! I had a grilled cheese sandwhich and my stomach handled that very well.

I can't remember if I mentioned anything about the beds here or not, but the one in Taiyuan was like a slab of cement! I think I have bruises from it!! The bed here in Guangzhou is much softer. Well it is very late on Friday night and I need to get some sleep.

~Judy

Jiaocheng

2010-03-11T07:50:00.001-06:00

Here are some images of Jiaocheng where PJ is from.

funny signs

2010-03-11T07:48:00.001-06:00

We saw some amusing road signs on the highway today. This one says "Rear end collision, need space". We figure they probably meant "no tailgating". There was another sign that said, "blockspot" which we interpreted as "Blind spot".

Truck

2010-03-11T07:41:00.001-06:00

Have I talked about the traffic here in China yet? It is rather chaotic they way they drive here. It seems as if street signs are more of a suggestion than the law. I have seen people drive (a short distance) on the wrong side of the road, you honk your horn just to warn people you are there (the driver honked every vehicle we passed on the highway), and if you want to turn left at an intersection without traffic lights, you just start driving and force people to stop for you. So when I saw this truck with people riding in the back, I wasn't at all surprised.

LvLiang City

2010-03-11T07:35:00.000-06:00

Once we got to LvLiang City we stopped an asked several people how to get where we needed to go. After asking several people, we finally found our way. We were only there for 5 minutes, if that, and then we left.

Going to LvLiang

2010-03-11T07:32:00.001-06:00

We stopped at KFC to pick up some quick lunch on our way out of Taiyuan. Before we left, Greg bought some snacks and a beer at a local snack shop across the street. Turns out that passengers in a car can drink beer in the car. And isn't that little face just so cute!!!

~Judy

Adoption day

2010-03-11T07:28:00.001-06:00

Today was adoption day. We did the paperwork in the same room as Gotcha Day, even the notary public was there. (For Alicia's adoption the notary public was a separate building from the civil affairs office.) While we were doing the adoption they threw another wrench into the works.... we have to drive to LvLiang city to get PJ's passport which is a 2 1/2 hour drive away in one direction. There goes any wishes of touring the ancient city we heard about. I guess we'll have to come back when the kids are older for a heritage tour.

Yesterday (Wednesday) at breakfast

2010-03-10T15:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday while eating breakfast a man approached our table (white man, not chinese) and said something about the bears. (Greg had on a Bears pullover.) The man used to live in Chicago but is now living in Atlanta. He asked to take our picture and he then took our email addresses so he could email the pictures to us. He is here on business.

It took a bit longer to get PJ to calm down last night but I think he fell asleep by 9:30 PM, It is currently going on 5:30 AM Thursday and he is still asleep.

~Judy

Wednesday

2010-03-10T07:44:00.001-06:00

Today was spent mostly at the hotel. I got out for about an hour when we went across the street to the mall. I bought an outfit for PJ, shoes, crocs, socks, and another smock. This is a smock he is wearing in this picture, it is the Chinese version of a bib.

Our guide is not back from Datong with Al Cormier yet. What an interesting day trying to order lunch with nobody that speaks English. We decided to go to the restaurant in the hotel. We pointed to a couple of things, that was easy. However we also wanted to get steamed egg which we know they have but we couldn't find a picture of it on the menu. We had maybe 6 or 7 ladies standing around our table all wanting to help but both they and we were frustrated. Becky then said she had a English-Chinese dictionary in her room. She went to get it and when she came back, it was a little easier. I am still not sick, but I do tend to get a little upset stomach when I eat the local food. I am looking forward to going to Guangzhou where we can eat at Lucy's Bar and Grill for some American food.

Tomorrow morning is our adoption day. I think Bill said this was the first time he has ever had a family that had more than a day between Gotcha day and adoption day.

Phillip is still grieving for his foster family. It comes and goes. He had a pretty long nap, so that is good. It seems that when we go out in public, he is happier. But maybe he is distracted with everything going on around him. We are praying for the Cormier's, their son has a couple of toes with frost bite.

It is going on 10 PM and I am exhausted. Good night.

~Judy

Wednesday

2010-03-09T20:39:00.001-06:00

I just realized I said Tuesday morning on my last 2 posts, it is WEDNESDAY. Oh well...You all know what I meant.

~Judy

More Tuesday photos

2010-03-09T20:32:00.001-06:00

The last picture is PJ taking a very short morning nap. That top layer is a smock that kids wear here, it is like a bib.

Tuesday Morning

2010-03-09T20:29:00.001-06:00

Here we are on Tuesday morning. I couldn't resist taking a picture of PJ fast asleep. After I took a shower look at what I found! He was quietly sitting on his Daddy's lap. Greg said he didn't fuss or anything, just sat up and put his arms out.

Paperwork

2010-03-09T15:47:00.001-06:00

Just after getting PJ we had paperwork to do!

PJ

2010-03-09T15:45:00.001-06:00

More pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

Arriving at Civil Affairs

2010-03-09T15:44:00.001-06:00

Here we are arriving at Civil Affairs where we are about to see PJ. And the other picture is just moments after he was handed to me.

Walking after lunch

2010-03-09T15:21:00.001-06:00

For lunch we ate at a place called "Discos",it is Taiwan's version of Kentucky Fried Chicken according to our guide. (Sorry no pictures). After lunch we took a different route back to the hotel and I saw this sign. I have noticed in this city that the big streets have bike lanes. I hope you can see the sign clearly enough.

More shopping pictures

2010-03-09T15:13:00.001-06:00

We saw this cutie at the mall. We eventually got her to say "Ni Hao" (that means Hello). And if memory serves me correctly she also said "Ji Jen" (I don't know the spelling but that is how is sounds and it means Good Bye). Here is a picture out our hotel window. With the sun shinning we noticed there are Mountians in the background.

Tuesday Morning

2010-03-09T15:03:00.001-06:00

Tuesday Morning we woke up to sunlight! That seems to be a rare thing here in Taiyuan. Knowing we had our placement appointment in the mid afternoon, we didn't have time to go anywhere for touristy stuff. We all went shopping across the street at the mall I mentioned yesterday. I bought some shoes that I put in for the orphanage donation and some smocks. We have noticed that little kids have smocks on when eating at a restaurant.

Gotcha!!!

2010-03-09T03:41:00.001-06:00

Just a quick blog just in case some of you can't sleep and are checking the blog. I can post more either later today or tomorrow. We went to meet Phillip and when we walked in the door, there he was!! He has been crying a lot sense we got back from the civil affairs office but Greg went to the mall across the street and bought some toys and is playing with him now. He seems ok for the moment.

~Judy

Monday Dinner

2010-03-08T06:52:00.001-06:00

For dinner we went for Peking Duck again. It is very good and affordable food. These ladies also served us yesterday for dinner. We were a sort of an amusement for them because Becky and I are clumsy with chopsticks. The brought us forks last night but we didn't want to use them, we wanted to practice using chopsticks. Tonight they didn't even offer forks, maybe we are getting better?

Oh and something else I have noticed here in China is that the buildings are very cold. I don't know why but they keep the heat down. I noticed that many people in the restaurant kept their coats on. Even the hotel is kind of cold.

Tomorrow we get PJ at 3 PM local time, that will be 1AM for you all in central time zone!

~Judy

Porcelain Shop

2010-03-08T06:43:00.001-06:00

In the outdoor mall we found a porcelain shop that was open. The man was very nice and served us tea. He gave us tea that he said was harvested from a tree grown in a southern province. The batch he had wasn't from a 'tree farm' but instead from a tree in a forest. It was very good. He kept pouring tea cup after tea cup. During our visit, he talked some about China history but especially the history of Shanxi province. He was proud to be from Shanxi and to be Chinese. I was wondering if he was doing all this in hopes that we would buy something. After we left, our guide said no he was doing it because it was a chance to share with foreigners (having foreigners in his shop is an extremely rare occasion if not the first time). Now he can go home and share with family and friends what a very unique day he had. Remember I said this place was 'off the beaten path' and there weren't many people back there. We really enjoyed experiencing the local culture like that!!

Monday Afternoon

2010-03-08T06:24:00.001-06:00

After we left the mall, we went wandering around. We stumbled across an outdoor mall that was kind of down the alley and around a corner. Many of the shops were closed.

Lunch

2010-03-08T05:59:00.001-06:00

For lunch we all decided to get some McDonalds. My stomach was very happy about that! The local food has a lot of MSG in it and was making my stomach a little upset each day so I was happy to have a break and get some Americanized food. After lunch we wandered around a very expensive mall to waste time. We were going to go to an ancient city a couple hours away but the roads were all closed due to the snow. So instead we were going to go to a museum--also closed due to the weather. Since we had time, we walked around an very fancy mall that was way too expensive.

Ni Hao from China!

2010-03-08T05:53:00.001-06:00

I should have said Ni Hao on my first post, but I didn't think of it because I was distracted about trying to get the pictures to post.
The air seems so very foggy all the time, but it is air polution due to the area being a big coal producing area. The people here like to honk their horns, it was constant honking during the day. During the middle of the night it is very quiet however. All the people seem nice here and very curious because they don't see a lot of foreigners around.
We got a different room today because the room they gave us yesterday is at the end of the hall and it is the smallest one on the floor. Our guide asked them to find another room for us so now we have a lot more room (for the same price).
Becky and I went shopping with Bill (our guide) while the guys went for haircuts. We found a mall of sorts right across the street and scoped the place out. We will be going back after we get the boys, lots of kids clothes, shoes, smocks, socks, and lots of other things. This 'mall' is like a big open room where 'shop owners' rent a booth to sell their merchandise. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the mall, but I did take the picture of the man out front sweeping the sidewalk. (He quickly decided to go get a shovel as the snow was a bit to thick for a broom.) Then the other picture is the front of our hotel .

My donation

2010-03-07T03:27:00.001-06:00

Here is a picture of the items I bought at Walmart. We are going to get Peking Duck for dinner tonight. Not sure what, if anything is on the agenda for tonight. Maybe nothing. Bill mentioned that we might go to an opera of sorts,more like folk music he said. Unfortunately because of the snow and sloppy roads here today, the canceled the show for tonight because not enough people have bought tickets.

Walmart

2010-03-07T03:24:00.001-06:00

After we got settled into our hotel, we all got in taxis and went to Walmart. I needed to buy some diapers. We also took the opportunity to buy clothes we are going to donate to the orphanage. Greg bought some Chinese beer, I got some crackers and some yogurt drinks that Bill says the kids all like. Walmart in China is a different experience. I can't describe it but it is different that in the USA. Everything in the Walmart here is Chinese items of course.

~Judy

Continental Hotel

2010-03-07T03:11:00.001-06:00

Here we have arrived at the Continental Hotel in Taiyuan.

Taiyuan Airport

2010-03-07T03:07:00.001-06:00

Here's an outside shot of the Taiyuan airport as we were walking to the van. The driver of the van brought his 4 year old son along and goodness was he cute! Sorry I didn't take any pictures of him, I was too busy waving and saying "Ni Hao". Check the Cormier blog, maybe Becky will post a photo of him.

Airplane

2010-03-07T03:02:00.001-06:00

So here we are on China Air for our 1 hour flight to Taiyuan. I would have had Bill retake the photo except I didn't look at the picture after he took it. Oh well, I'll try to look better for the next picture.

~Judy

On our way to Taiyuan

2010-03-07T02:58:00.001-06:00

Sunday morning we were up and out of our hotel room by 5:30. We headed off to the Beijing airport for an 8:10 AM flight to Tiayuan, Shanxi province. We found our gate and waited for a short time. The airports here are cold and don't seem to have any heat so we kept bundled up inside. When it was time to board everyone got on a bus and we were taken to the plane and boarded outside as you can see in the photo. The Szynal family had a gate next to ours and went to Shaanxi province.

~Judy

Hotel View

2010-03-07T02:42:00.002-06:00

Here is a view from our hotel room in Beijing.

A Street in Beijing

2010-03-07T02:42:00.001-06:00

Nothing so special about this picture, just one of many streets in Beijing.

Tienanmen Square

2010-03-07T02:40:00.001-06:00

After the Olympic Stadium drive by we stopped at Tienanmen Square. The picture with the building is the Mausoleum where Chairman Mao's body is.

Olympic buildings

2010-03-07T02:36:00.001-06:00

Saturday afternoon we drove by the 2008 Summer Olympic Stadium. The picture with the taxi in it has the water cube in the background but it might be difficult to see.

Dragon buildings

2010-03-07T02:33:00.000-06:00

These buildings are separate but were built close together because they wanted it to look like a dragon. The tall building is the head and the other smaller buildings are the body.

Lunch on Saturday

2010-03-07T02:14:00.000-06:00

After the Cloisonne Factory we had lunch upstairs. (For those familiar with the Cloisonne Factory, the one we were at in 2005 closed and there is a different one open by the Friendship Store).

Cloisonne #2

2010-03-07T02:10:00.001-06:00

Cloisonne Factory

2010-03-07T02:07:00.001-06:00

After the Great Wall was the Cloisonne Factory. Even thought I saw this before, it was still fun to watch them make this stuff. Something I missed last time was when they explained the coloring of the cloisonne is that they fill each little section with color, then fire it, then fill again and fire again. They do that 7 times because the color shrinks in the firing process so that is how many times it takes before it is full with the color. Then there are 2 steps of polishing.

Great Wall Photos #3

2010-03-07T01:59:00.001-06:00

Great Wall Photos #2

2010-03-07T01:58:00.000-06:00

Great Wall

2010-03-07T01:57:00.001-06:00

First stop of fun today (Saturday) was the Great Wall. It was quite cold up there but with all my layers and all those steep steps I stayed plenty warm. It was very pretty up there on the wall looking at the mountains.

Hotel

2010-03-06T21:25:00.002-06:00

Here we are finally arrived at our hotel in Beijing.

Tunnel

2010-03-06T07:05:00.001-06:00

Here is a picture of a tunnel we drove in on the way to and from the Great Wall.

Arriving at the Gate

2010-03-05T17:18:00.000-06:00

Here is Al and Becky arriving at the gate in Chicago and us sitting there waiting. We were all so happy the trip was actually going to start.

Dinner show

2010-03-05T13:35:00.001-06:00

After getting settled into our hotel room we walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant. It was all very yummy and we had a guy perform something fun. You'll have to image this guy dancing around and every once in a while his mask would magically change colors. It was fun. The restaurant was in a large mall and we were walking through much of it to get to the exit. This mall was very different from any in the USA, much of it was small booths. Many people were approaching us speaking English try to sell us something. One lady was trying to show me a book of different purses she had in her store. I wasn't interested so didn't say anything and kept walking. It was amusing though and they assumed we spoke English.

~Judy

Almost there Photo

2010-03-05T13:08:00.001-06:00

I was very happy to see this come up on my little screen on the plane! They turned off our screens just after I took this photo,

On the plane photo

2010-03-05T13:00:00.001-06:00

We made it

2010-03-05T07:51:00.001-06:00

Here were are FINALLY in Beijing. It was a long flight, but we did arrive about a 1/2 hour early. I can't get to blogger here in China, but I can email posts to it. I hope it comes through. The internet connection is extremely slow and I can't seem to get the pictures attached. I'll try again tomorrow.

~Judy

Phillip's Birthday

2010-02-21T13:47:00.001-06:00

Friday was Phillip's 2nd Birthday. Unfortunately we were not home so we celebrated yesterday. Yesterday was also the day we celebrated the Chinese New Year with Alicia's adoption travel group. We had a great time, but sure wish we could have celebrated the day with our son!

Our travel group for Phillip

2010-02-01T19:02:00.000-06:00

Last night, we had dinner at Stir Crazy with our new travel group! Al and Becky brought their 3 daughters; their new son is in the same province as Phillip (Shanxi). Dan and Jamie brought their 5-year-old daughter, their new daughter is in Shaanxi province (that's with two a's). We hope that Dan and Jamie can travel with us, but they are still waiting on travel approval.
Assuming Dan and Jamie travel with us, they will fly into Beijing with us but we will part for 1 week will they go to Shaanxi and we go to Shanxi with Al and Becky. We will all meet up again in Guangzhou for the last part of the trip (6 days).

I-171H arrived

2010-01-09T15:14:00.000-06:00

The I-171H arrived in today's mail.... Phillip here we come!

TA!!

2010-01-04T19:37:00.000-06:00

Today we received travel approval. Now all we need is the I-171H from immigration.

Care Package

2009-12-27T23:01:00.000-06:00

I recently ordered a care package to be sent to our son in China. Starting top left going clockwise:
Blanket, toy (top) and cookies (bottom), red bag to hold items that are his that they might want to send along with him on adoption day, letter and disposable camera, panda, photos of us, clothes. I am excited to get the disposable camera back. I hope the foster family will include photos of themselves taken with PJ, that would mean a lot to us and him in the future I am sure. We hope the foster family will share our pictures with him so that he might get some what used to our faces before we get there. The cookies are mainly a treat for the foster family.

Letter or Acceptance

2009-12-12T16:03:00.000-06:00

Here we are at our agencies office on the late afternoon of Dec 3.

Greg is looking at the updated pictures we received.

Signing the documents. Even Alicia got involved (just kidding).

Letter of Acceptance all done and ready to be sent back to China.

Map of China

2009-12-10T20:37:00.001-06:00

Click on the map to open it larger in a new window.

Updated info and pictures!

2009-12-03T19:25:00.000-06:00

Today was a great day. We received final approval for our son! We are one step closer, now we wait for travel approval which will happen in the next 3-8 weeks. Then we would travel 1-2 months after that.

We got updated info and pictures today:

* Height:70, chest:59, head:48, foot:15.
* Development: normal.
* He likes fruit and biscuits.
* He drinks with regular bottle.
* His language development is delayed due to his cleft lip and palate,he can say Mama.
* He is called "AN AN" in the institute.
* He likes activities outside.
* He naps from 15:00 to 16:00
* He can use toilet by himself(I guess it is Chinese style bathroom).
* He has been in foster care ever since he was sent to the orphanage.

Phillip J. Noth

2009-12-01T19:25:00.000-06:00

See Alicia's blog for Referral and Pre-approval info.