We made it to Hong Kong!!!!

Our flight was looonnnngggg but uneventful. We got a cab ride to our hotel (which cost about $30 more dollars than it should - darn it) and probably the funniest part of our trip so far was hearing "that no talent a** clown, Michael Bolton" on the cab driver's CD player. We need to find an alternate way to hook up our computer (I am running on battery right now) since Chris proceeded to blow up the APC surge protector approximately five minutes after we checked in. Nice. We will be looking for an Apple store tomorrow. Thanks for all of the positive vibes you have sent our way - so far it is working! We'll be in Hong Kong for a couple of days, then we head to Nanchang to meet Hannah!
:)
FYI - we are twelve hours ahead in China.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something pink and something blue.

As I pack these items to take to China, it occurred to me that several of the items we are taking with us tell a story of their own. Now, certainly EVERY item has a purpose, but the ones that stick out to me are the ones that bring back a memory of a moment or a person. And forgive me, this may be the product of too many emotions and anxiety during this exciting time. So in an effort to capture this, I have put together a few examples of what I am talking about:

Something Old: 2 bright yellow Mickey Mouse ponchos
Memory: Back in 2003, Clay, Ashley, Chris & I were on a Disney vacation and we had plans to spend New Year's Eve at Pleasure Island. The B-52s & Joan Jett were going to play so we were all looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it rained. Well, rained is putting it nicely. It POURED. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe before the party and ran to the nearest Disney shop (you know that wasn't far) and purchased these lovely bright yellow ponchos. Once we get to the gates of Paradise Island, we see that they are taking our tickets and handing out the same lovely ponchos FOR FREE. I wanted to go back to the store and return our newly purchased 11.99 EACH ponchos, but by that time there was a line and did I mention it was POURING. So we proceeded to ring the New Year in grand style. Wouldn't you know I held onto the receipt for several months with the intent of writing a letter to Disney explaining the situation and hopefully receiving a refund - but then I came to my senses and I have these lovely ponchos to prove it.

Something New: Red Envelope necklace
Check out this awesome necklace. Vici, Gary & Greyson were kind enough to buy it for me. It has the characters for "Mother" & "Daughter" in Chinese on the mother of pearl charm and the corresponding English words on the silver charm. Isn't it beautiful? I plan on wearing it every day in China. Thank you so very much.

Something Borrowed: 1 Fancy Schmancy Cell "that I can't figure out how to turn on and that better work in China" Phone
Friend: Dwight, a coworker of Chris's has been kind enough to lend us this phone so that we can make phone calls to all of you at 6:12 am because "hey it's 8:12pm over here, isn't that cool?". Just kidding we'll call at 6:45 am. hee hee... Now remember, you can thank DWIGHT for this.

Something Pink: Breast Cancer Pin
In memory of Chris's Mom I am bringing one her breast cancer pins. I know that she would have given anything to meet Hannah in person, and Lord knows we wished the same, but it was not meant to be. I like to think of it as Hannah already has a guardian angel looking out for her and keeping her safe. This little pin is just my way of keeping her close while we are so far away.

Last But Not Least Something Blue: Blue Writing Pen Made in the US of A
I wish I had a chance to take a picture of the gifts we plan to bring to China, but as I am quickly finding out, there are not enough hours in the day. My mother was kind enough to volunteer her assistance with the gifts to China and while I wish our agency would have allowed her to be more creative, they will be absolutely perfect. Thank you so much for this and for all you have done for us during this long, long, long process. It means the world to us - and besides, its not easy having the gestation period of an elephant. :)


Now take care everybody... next time you hear from us it will be from China - keep your fingers crossed that we can figure this blogging thing out in the land of the rising sun. Hannah here we come!

:)

Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your envelopes!

It has come to our attention that there is a bill that has been in process for a while that would increase the adoption tax credit to $15,000. For those of you that know us, we have saved for this adoption step by step and this increase would be a tremendous help.

This link talks about the bill and gives links for contacting your representative and senators. I'd like to remind you that something that is snail mailed is equal to about ten people emailing, and something that is faxed is equal to about five people emailing. So, if you can, then please choose to snail mail or fax a letter instead of email. But, if email is the best you can manage, then that would be great, too.


www.rainbowkids.com/2005/08/news/adoption_bill.chtml

Thanks!
:)

Finding Ad

Here is Hannah Mei's finding ad. She is the one in the middle. These ads are run in each province's newspaper after the babies are found in an attempt to give the birth parents one last chance to claim them. The ad says that "...she is a girl whose birthday is 7/5/05. She was found on 7/12/05 at the gate of Qianshan orphanage. She has black hair and big eyes." Just one more piece of her past.
:)

Hannah Update

We got an update on Hannah that we were not expecting! The photos & measurements were taken on March 10, 2006.

Her height is now: 25.5 inches (up from 23.62 inches)
Her weight is now: 15.8 lbs (up from 12.39 lbs)

She is sitting and standing, however, she is not walking or talking yet. (we're sure that will change:) She has been in foster care almost all of her life and she sleeps in a crib by herself. She does not have any teeth yet. That means that we have not missed her first words or first steps. Isn't that wonderful?

:)

Locked & Loaded

It has been an eventful week - we received approval for our frequent flier mile travel, our Chinese visas, our in-China travel itinerary and Hannah's lap ticket for the return flights back to the US. Everytime I wanted to post a new development, something else came in the mail! Here's a little bit of what I know thus far:
We found out that there are 12 families traveling in our group (a nice large size). Not all have daughters in the same orphanage, but I think we are spread out between just two orphanages that are not that far apart.

Our itinerary is as follows:
April 19th: Leave for China (connection through Chicago)
April 20th: Arrive in Hong Kong
April 20th - April 23rd: Rest & Tour in Hong Kong
April 23rd: Leave for Nanchang province, fill out more paperwork and RECEIVE HANNAH!
April 24th: Adoption Registration, Notarization & Passport Application (takes five days to receive passport)
April 24th - April 30th: Relaxing, Touring, Loving, Hugging, Playing, Feeding, Changing, Sleeping (yea right) with HANNAH
April 27th - Receive Notarized Documents (fingers crossed that they are correct)
April 28th - Receive HANNAH's passport (fingers double-crossed that it is correct)
April 30th: Leave for Guangzhou
April 30th - May 6th: Stay at the famous White Swan Hotel
May 3rd: HANNAH's physical & visa photo taken
May 4th: Consulate appointment
May 5th:Take the oath at the U.S. Consulate
May 6th: Leave for Hong Kong
May 7th: Leave Hong Kong for the U.S.
May 8th: Arrive home with HANNAH!!!!!!

That's what we know so far!
:)

Sweet, Sweet Miles

Virginia at US Airways, if you can hear me... YOU ROCK!

We have an itinerary that uses OUR MILES, I REPEAT USES OUR MILES that lands us in China one half day before the rest of the group and we leave one day after the group. I guess stalking US Airways for the last week has paid off! Can you get in trouble for stalking a company in the state of North Carolina? Nevermind, that is all behind us now. Now we all must cross our fingers, toes and eyes that CCAI (our adoption agency) approves our itinerary. Upon approval, we can book the tickets and that is one less headache to deal with.

:)

Goodie Box to China

Since things have sped up recently we figured it would be a good idea to get the goodie box we were preparing out so it gets to China BEFORE we do. We included a pink stuffed bunny, blue blanket, photo book with some pictures of us, small plastic rings, disposable camera, socks (we heard that this orphanage needs them) and candy for the nannies.We have been sleeping with the pink bunny and small blue blanket ever since we got our referral. That way it will have our scents and, of course pet hair.


Speaking of pet hair here comes Domino...Hey Kitty. Wait, wait please don't lay there, I am trying to pack the box.


Yes, I am talking to YOU! Who else do I call "Domino"? Get! Shoo! Yes, you are a handsome cat but you have to move... Oh no, wait not you too... well there goes my productivity for the day, I guess I'll finish it tomorrow.

CONSULATE APPOINTMENT!!!!!!!

Even better news! We now have our Consulate Appointment! Our appointment is set for May 4, 2006. That means we need to be in Hong Kong on or before April 21st! We will get to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary in China - that's right ten, wonderful years! Who could think of a better anniversary gift? Now I am off to see if the 100,000+ miles I have will come in handy! Wish me luck.

We will post our travel itinerary as soon as its available.
:)

TRAVEL NOTICE!!!!!!!!!

We are so excited to announce that our group has received our Travel Notice! This comes about THREE weeks earlier than we were expecting. Next step is our Consulate Appointment which can come in as little as five days. There is the remote possibility that we could be leaving for China as early as April 19th.

So, needless to say we are beside ourselves excited. Keep us in your thoughts for the next few days.
:)

Where in the world is Hannah Mei Davis?

Currently, Hannah is at the Shangrao Children's Welfare Center in the Jiangxi province of China. For those who are curious I have included some maps of the country & provinces. And for those who are even more curious I found these interesting tidbits about the Jiangxi province from CNN.com:

The province holds an important place in China's revolutionary history. On August 1, 1927, the capital, Nanchang, was the site of an uprising in the Nationalist army by a group of Communist officers. The rebellion was soon crushed, but Jiangxi became a Communist base and was the starting point of the epic Long March. The scenic Gan River valley helps make the province rich in food and fiber production, and there is a thriving timber industry. The province is famous for its porcelain because of rich deposits of kaolin (china clay) and petuntse (white briquette). Other industries are tungsten and coal mining, oil refining and textiles. It is home to 40 million people.

Why can't I find this product?

Just to give you some insight into my crazy type-A existence... I have been looking for this product for the last three weeks. Why, you may ask? Because I read it on someone's recommended packing list and now it has to be the bain of my existence. I've looked in every kind of grocery, big lot and kitchen & bath stores in our area. Where is it? Doesn't Dawn want to sell this product? Does Dawn have something against North Carolina? Is this another product that I can't get here like Barq's rootbeer? And since I can't find it, it makes me want the darn things even more.

Has anyone seen this product? Or have you used it? Do they even work well? Please stop me before go and buy it online and pay more for shipping than the stupid tub is worth.

:)

Frequent Forever Miles

We just received the request for more paperwork to fill out from our agency. Joy! The interesting thing is that this time we have a deadline. They have asked us to complete, sign, notarize and send back within the next 5-7 days. I like having a deadline - makes me think things are moving along quickly.

Once we finish this "mini-paperwork blitz" then we wait for the Travel Notice. The Travel Notice will be coming from China and can take anywhere from 2-5 weeks. Once we have this notice, then we can request our U.S Consulate appointment. The consulate appointment can take up to 4 business days. Once we have the Consulate appointment, we can book the travel. Sounds complicated? It really isn't if you think that all Chris and I are doing (for the most part) is waiting.

Our biggest quandary is travel. We have been saving up frequent flier miles for the last two years and since we do not know when exactly we need to travel - there is a good possibility we will not be able to use them. Everytime I call the airline to put a "best guess" travel itinerary together, I get the run around. What is the point of these miles when I can't use them at a critical time? Should I just hold onto to them forever? Maybe we can earn enough miles to get us to the Moon.

:)

Consignment, oh how I love thee

Hi, my name is Kim and I am consignoholic.

I am addicted to consignment sales. The season is upon us. In fact, I kicked off the season last weekend. I do not need clothes. I do not need anymore toys. I do not need bottles, backpacks or bibs. I have a room full of them. And still I go. I wake up very early to go. I LOVE the smell of a consignment sale in the morning. Smells like... Peg Perego!

Since we have had a HUGE amount of time to get ready for Hannah and I WAS a girlscout, I have been buying for years now. Always be prepared! I must say, we have gotten some amazing deals along the way. Our baby's furniture was purchased at a community yard sale. Not consignment, but close enough for my addiction. It is in excellent condition. Almost all of Hannah's clothes are consignment (mostly 6-12 months, but that's another story). We've even bought formula at consignment shops (I've checked the dates and they are not past expiration - nice try ;-).

I think I like it because of the BARGAIN FACTOR. I am SAVING MONEY. Aren't I a SMART CONSUMER? Well, maybe not. If I am spending money on things that I really don't need, or my daughter won't use, how is that a bargain? Ahhhh but wait - don't forget the beauty of re-consigning your previous purchases. If you are a savvy consignor, and can spot a Gymboree label at fifty paces, you could stand to make a little profit for yourself. Children's consignment is such a huge enterprise in our area that there is practically a sale each weekend from now until October. My first venture into the re-consigning world is coming soon.

But how can you re-consign when you haven't even gone to China yet? Good question! I bought too many 3-6 month clothes and even some 0-3 (don't ask, I don't know why either) and some boy-stuff since Hannah is Hannah. We shall see if my so-called fancy label scouting turns any kind of profit. Honestly, if I make $10.00 - I'll be happy.

:)

Pictures of Hannah's Room

Since we have finally received our referral, we figured that now is a good time to finish the epic project of Hannah's nursery. We are pleased to share the pictures with you and hope you like it as much as we hope Hannah will. Now its time to finish the rest of the house. Ha ha ha.

Since we had a decent amount of time on our hands, we took on alot of little projects in Hannah's room. It seems like everytime we look at something, we see something else we can add. I was inspired by a stripe pattern found in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog about a year and a half ago (you can see the boxes underneath the changing table). I duplicated the stripe on the wall at a large scale. We kept the pattern to one wall this time, since we tried this technique in our previous house and it just was too much of a good thing. :) Each remaining wall is painted with one of the colors from the stripe. For those of you who know me, you may have wondered: where is Pooh? I am a huge vintage Winnie-the-Pooh collector and it would be a natural to decorate Hannah's room that way. Chris and I didn't want a "theme" room, especially since we haven't met Hannah yet, we did not want to impose a theme upon her (although the chances are that she will hate Winnie the Pooh are extremely slim. I mean, who can hate Pooh?) We are giving her a happy, fun room that she can change as she wishes. As you can see the closet is filled with delightful outfits for Hannah, an alarming majority are 6-12 months old. Side note here: if you see me buying 6-12 month baby clothes, please snatch them out of my hand and quickly walk away. I will try to talk you out of it - do not listen. I have a problem and I am seeking help. The image of my daughter wearing rags when she is 12-18 month size is starting to do the trick.


There are windows on two of the walls (pink wall & green wall) so we alternated the curtain color with the wall color. The windows are brand new, top-of-the-line from Pella and are painted a creamy white to match the trim. We applied these cool flower wallpaper-like decals to the walls - I think the white looks pretty sharp against the wall color. I am a huge children's book fan, my fondest memories are ones with my mother reading me stories, singing songs and going to the library. So I featured some books on these picture ledges and plan to rotate them as Hannah's tastes change. We bought the alphabet cards because I really love the animal illustrations on them. Chris made a little ledge out of chair rail to top off the stripes and give the cards a place to sit.


We plan to use the rocking chair to read in every night. The rocking chair came from Chris's Mom so it will be a very sentimental spot. We are in the process of adding tie-backs and blinds to the windows. The tiebacks and the entry doorknob match and are glass flowers from Anthropology - BTW an awesome store. The pink paper lanterns are from the historic society's Japanese Tea that we attended last summer with Chris's Mom. It is a very nice memory from her visit and I'm glad we kept them.

This last picture shows the rest of the room and the mysterious high window. If you look closely, the narrow window on the far right is at the same height as the large window, but for some reason the narrow window on the left is ALOT higher up on the wall. Freaky huh? We think it might have something to do with the original porch's roof pitch,etc. I love the querky details of our home.

Thanks for looking at Hannah's room. She can't wait to have you over for a visit.

Here's More Hannah!

Yes!

Hey Fed Ex! Bring it.

First Glimpse of Sweet Hannah

We are excited to present the cutest little girl in the world!

Hannah's Announcement:

This week IS our week!

The time is finally here. We WILL receive our referral this week! "The stork has left the nest" and is headed to our agency. Chris and I are getting really excited! We will finally have something to show to our friends and family - after they've been listening to us talk about it for over a year and a half. I cannot believe that it has been a year and a half - sometimes it seems like more, sometimes it feels like it has flashed by. One thing is for sure, we would have never been able to get through it if it wasn't for our community of friends and family, some of you have just joined us and others have been here for the loooong haul. Either way, a sincere thank you.

Chris says that it will seem more real to him after he sees her/his picture. I tend to agree. I feel that her picture will do two things: a) give me something tangible to stare at until we meet her and b) give me the need to jump on a plane, any plane headed towards the general area of China. :-)