Gotcha Day!
As you all can imagine we are very busy parents with 7 children and we are working on updating the blog as often as we can.
Madilynn Min McClurg
Day 3
Another Free Day:
The gluttons for punishment we are we decided to walk to the park today. I hear that it is beautiful. It is very hot and humid but the need to get out of the hotel and pass some time is greater. I am getting very nervous and excited to finally meet my daughter but remember all too well how amazing it is to finally hold the child you have loved for over a year but how it can also be the worst day our daughter may ever have. It was a very hard day for our last daughter and I am very scared. Nothing hurts as much as not being able to console your child and make things better. We did not know at the time but we entered the park from the back. This is reflected in the pictures.
The gluttons for punishment we are we decided to walk to the park today. I hear that it is beautiful. It is very hot and humid but the need to get out of the hotel and pass some time is greater. I am getting very nervous and excited to finally meet my daughter but remember all too well how amazing it is to finally hold the child you have loved for over a year but how it can also be the worst day our daughter may ever have. It was a very hard day for our last daughter and I am very scared. Nothing hurts as much as not being able to console your child and make things better. We did not know at the time but we entered the park from the back. This is reflected in the pictures.
Day 2
Free day!
Today we decided to try to find the walking street that we can see from our window. Looks like a nice walk and we need some supplies. It is always nice if we can figure out where everything is before we have a child that may be very unhappy to help make our trips as short as possible. There are many nice items in the shops but it is hard to buy too much knowing that I will have to carry a child and all of our suitcases on my own through the bus station and airports. We found the grocery store and a few children's shops.
Need to exchange money again!
Day 1
First day of travel but it turns out to be 2 days with no sleep. 13 hour plane ride to China, not too bad. When we arrive at the airport we meet our guide and take the subway (3 transfers) to get to the bullet train station. On the first stop with all of our suitcases we all do not make it on the train leaving Cheryl behind. The guide and I rode to the next stop, got off the subway, and returned to Cheryl only to try again. She is just standing against the wall waiting for us all casual eating a sucker like "No big deal". The rest of the transfers went well and we were at the train station about an hour and a half later. We took the bullet train to Hefei arriving about 3 hours later. I have such a hard time sleeping when I travel but by now I am off and on. When we arrive at the Hefei train station our guide takes us to the Holiday Inn. It is about an hour drive by taxi. It is a nice hotel but all we want is to shower and sleep.
Recap on time: 13 hour plane ride, 1 1/2 hour subway, 2 hour wait for bullet train, 3 hour train ride, 1 hour ride from train to hotel = 19 1/2 hours of travel to get from home to our hotel. This is bad enough but we have also travel forward in time at some point in all of this so our days and nights are all mixed up.
2 days until we take custody of Min!
Recap on time: 13 hour plane ride, 1 1/2 hour subway, 2 hour wait for bullet train, 3 hour train ride, 1 hour ride from train to hotel = 19 1/2 hours of travel to get from home to our hotel. This is bad enough but we have also travel forward in time at some point in all of this so our days and nights are all mixed up.
2 days until we take custody of Min!
Travel To Cina Tomorrow!
This week has been very emotional. We are very excited to finally be traveling to meet our daughter but at the same time very worried and heart broken to leave our other children behind. Even when you know your children are with someone who loves them more than life its self; it is not mommy and it breaks your heart to see them sad and worrying that you are leaving them and may not come back.
Waited until the last second to pack because I have been trying to make sure that every possible issue that may come up was taken care of before I left. NOT POSSIBLE! Its OK because this time I am packing very light (the plan that did not work out). We have adopted 3 other times and have learned that less is better and washing is not so bad in a hotel room or that shopping opportunities always come up to fill in what we forgot that we may need. I was hoping for 1 medium suitcase that turned into 1 large and 1 carry on. I packed for Min with a few different sizes of shoes and clothes, toys, crayons, wipes and pull ups just in case and then a few different choices of clothes and shoes for me. I also packed Ramon noodles and oatmeal for those days that we did not feel like going out to find food or shopping. You never know if the children are going to be up for it the few days after Gotcha Day. What is our happiest day ever can be very hard on them. They also are not used to public so can be very overwhelmed. This seemed to fill the large suitcase and I still had the blankets and hats I crocheted and the nanny and guide gifts. This is where the carry on came in. I just will leave the orphanage gifts in the bag and I am down one bag to bring home. I bought the bags that "shrink" everything smaller and still need more room! Oh well, it is what it is and I will find anything I need in China... maybe I really just do not need it.
Hope I can sleep, It will be a very long day tomorrow.
Waited until the last second to pack because I have been trying to make sure that every possible issue that may come up was taken care of before I left. NOT POSSIBLE! Its OK because this time I am packing very light (the plan that did not work out). We have adopted 3 other times and have learned that less is better and washing is not so bad in a hotel room or that shopping opportunities always come up to fill in what we forgot that we may need. I was hoping for 1 medium suitcase that turned into 1 large and 1 carry on. I packed for Min with a few different sizes of shoes and clothes, toys, crayons, wipes and pull ups just in case and then a few different choices of clothes and shoes for me. I also packed Ramon noodles and oatmeal for those days that we did not feel like going out to find food or shopping. You never know if the children are going to be up for it the few days after Gotcha Day. What is our happiest day ever can be very hard on them. They also are not used to public so can be very overwhelmed. This seemed to fill the large suitcase and I still had the blankets and hats I crocheted and the nanny and guide gifts. This is where the carry on came in. I just will leave the orphanage gifts in the bag and I am down one bag to bring home. I bought the bags that "shrink" everything smaller and still need more room! Oh well, it is what it is and I will find anything I need in China... maybe I really just do not need it.
Hope I can sleep, It will be a very long day tomorrow.
Confirmation of travel date!
We will be leaving on June 19th at 7:40 am, flying 7295 miles to Shanghai China and then traveling another 293 miles (hopefully by train because it is another 5 hours by car) arriving in Hefei the day before we take custody of Min.
14 days until we travel!
14 days until we travel!
Travel Date!
We take custody of Madilynn Min McClurg June 22, 2015. We have not confirmed the date that we will leave for China but the estimated date is June 19. This will give us one full day (China is 12 hours ahead of us) to get caught up on sleep and settle in before we take custody of Min. Our US Consulate date is July 2, 2015 and then we are on our way home! I will try to keep updated on the blog if possible, last adoption from China I was not able to access the blog.
The best July 4th gift ever!
The best July 4th gift ever!
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