Arriving on A Jet Plane Saturday

WE ARE HOME! We landed DFW at 9:16 a.m. Saturday getting the "honor" to wait in immigration for a solid hour. Unlike China or Japan, DFW Immigration had no lanes for priority-special cases. A good hundred strong, we waited. Rachel and Elizabeth were so wonderful to wait patiently. We finally got to approach an inspector only to be escorted to a detaining office where more paperwork and processing is performed. Didn't matter we were a honest family waiting with a baby. We were to wait with everyone else. The odd thing was that when they finally did get to our paperwork, they only stamped it 3-times and sent us on our way. Seriously folks, nothing logical or streamlined in today's DFW immigration experience. OK, rant over. Ha ha.

We breezed through customs with baggage and finally saw the EXIT sign. Boy, did that look good! The doors opened and we were greeted with great "Hoorays!". Wow! What a great surprise to see everyone! Noah, Simon, Nana, Papa & Grammy, David & Abby, Becky & Zoey, Robert & Lisa, and DeLynn! Thank you all so much for waiting for us! Words are truly inadequate to share how our hearts are filled with friends who delight in coming to a busy airport on a Saturday morning. We won't forget that celebration.

We arrived home to another celebration that Nana and the boys put together with balloons, surprises, and colored paper-chain decorations along with a Sasser Welcome basket! It was great to see our boys grinning so much with excitement. Coming together again today was so tremendously joyful. We are thankful for this day the LORD has truly made.

Leaving On A Jet Plane Friday

Wow, we were really on our way home! We checked out of our Guangzhou hotel Friday morning and were on a shuttle to Guangzhou airport by 11:30 a.m. Our guide, Bob, really took great care of us. He walked us in to ensure all our bags were checked all the way through to Dallas and walked us to security. We were aboard Japan Airlines at 2 p.m. and had a really good flight thanks to the crew. The JAL staff made sure we had the best seats and constantly checked on us to make sure Rachel and Elizabeth were having a good flight. That was so nice. In fact, we found our Japan overnighter nice altogether. We spent one night at the Hilton Narita and enjoyed the rest before our BIG Saturday flight back to Dallas.

After a 8 a.m. breakfast, we were aboard a really crowded morning shuttle to Tokyo-Narita Airport. Wow, I knew Japan was expensive...but two meals in Japan was one week in China. Ha ha. After walking a good mile through Narita terminals, we arrived to gate 77 where we enjoyed a short break. They had a play area for kiddos. We were the first to board and had almost the entire middle row on aisle 22. The plane departed at 11:30 Saturday local time. Our flight of 12 hours officially began...

As much as we could, we prepared ourselves for a tough trip knowing that Rachel loves to sleep on her back. So, suffice it to say we were holding our beautiful but fussy Rachel XiaoMei the entire way. And, since she's a daddy's girl, Randy was a trooper. But thankfully knowing we were officially going home, made each passing hour that much closer.

Have Passport Will Travel

Today we completed our last task! We had out US Consulate appointment in downtown at 3:00. We waited for a very short while and were soon sworn in by a US Consulate officer. He, himself, has adopted twice from China so it was nice to receive his sincerest congratulations. Not any pomp and circumstance, just a formality. But we're celebrating! Since no cameras were allowed, we took a quick snapshot of Rachel as soon as we returned to our hotel room. She's holding her Chinese passport and seated next to her packet of documents that will assure her of US Citizenship status once we land in Dallas.

Tonight we shared our last dinner with the Pophams at the local Lucy's restaurant. We had ice cream at the local deli. Elizabeth had coconut. I had ginger, and Randy & Rachel had mango. Yummy.

We're all packed and ready to board our flight to Tokyo tomorrow, Friday. We will spend one night in Tokyo. We fly Saturday to Dallas. That means we arrive DFW Airport at Terminal D on American Airlines fight #176 at 9:05 a.m. Saturday, May 24 Dallas time! Pray for our flight...Miss Rachel XiaoMei does not like to sit still any longer and that 13-hour flight is making us somewhat anxious! :o)

To quote Elizabeth: "Tomorrow's the big day! It's going to be short, right?"

A side note and prayer: We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of 5-year old Marie, daughter to Steven Curtis & Mary Best Chapman. It was their own stories of adoption from China that God used them to bring us here. Please pray for this darling family as they grieve. Lots of Love and Hugs from China.

Red Couch Wednesday

The tradition here in Guangzhou for adoptive families is to get the classic photo of the kiddos sitting on a famous red couch at the popular local hotel, The White Swan. If you were to even Google the White Swan red couch you might see over 3,000 hits. We strolled over about 11:30 this morning with our little girls dressed in traditional Chinese dresses. James, Amy, and Marossi joined us as this has been a journey together, so it's really important to get the girls together.

Not that it promises smiles for the camera! Rachel did NOT enjoy having to sit still on a foreign couch. So we got better shots with her prancing around the floor. Elizabeth joined in by posing in her own choice of dress and shoes. She's looking forward to wearing them to her last day of school, too. It was a sweet time that we are very glad we did. It's a double scrapbook entry for sure.

This morning at 10:30, our adoption guide, Bob, phoned to confirm all of our documents are in good order for our US Consulate appointment tomorrow, Thursday. This is yet another milestone, the official "green light" for our final formalities! Tomorrow at 2:45 we will depart for the consulate. This can be a long process because after our appointment is the swearing-in cremony where Rachel XiaoMei begins her US Citizenship!

We spent the remainder of the day having lunch from a local deli and finishing up shopping errands. Randy and the girls went for another walk. And we finished downloading the boys performance at church; it looked GREAT. Super job Noah and Simon! Thanks to everyone who said hello via Allicam, too. We're ready to start packing tomorrow~

Umbrella Included

Now we know why our hotel rooms come with complimentary umbrellas. Rain has finally arrived Guangzhou. It's the rainy season anyway, but we sure haven't seen a drop until yesterday. Today it really came down...the day I decided to get all the last errands complete, of course. Randy enjoyed a day in with the girls as I walked to and fro on the island. And since Rachel isn't crazy about her hairbands, I actually grabbed one for myself! After the third time of drying my hair, I welcomed hairband status.

We got a GREAT surprise this morning. Simon and Noah were in our church's children's choir production on Sunday, and Noah had a speaking part. We missed it being here. But in our email inbox this morning, we received a link from Mike Barnett of the entire show plus "Allicam" Interviews with our friends! Elizabeth liked watching her friends sing, too. As her friends sang, Elizabeth sang and acted out the moves, too. Sweet. Thanks Mike, I just put on mascara when we launched it! :o) Noah, Simon you looked great! Thank you for sending us messages! And thanks Alli for reporting LIVE!

Rachel has REALLY come along. People told us "just wait until you have her a week." They were right. She is acting like our little girl with giggles, unlimited crawling, great appetite, playful, and actually beginning to walk. Have we mentioned her shoes yet? She LOVES putting on shoes. Hers and ours. :o)

And the bath is a SUCCESS! Randy really worked with her by gradually introducing her to the water. By the time she was fully in, she no longer noticed and just splashed and smiled. Yeah, another milestone! She also loves to walk and often crawls to the door waiting for me to take her for a stroll.

Tonight she had her favorite chicken congee (cooked down rice-porridge), noodles, and veggies. We enjoyed another dinner with James, Amy, and Marossi. We're going to miss them soon. It's been a wonderful time spending this journey with this sweet Oklahoma family.

But we are so anxious to get home to our own family and celebrate! Three more days until we board our flight back.

Finding Rachel Finding Us

Early this morning, Monday, after a 2 1/2 hour drive south to En Ping in constant rain, we were warmly greeted by Rachel's orphanage director. The director drove out to meet us at an intersection in town. We then followed her through the back roads and dirt roads to arrive to the En Ping Social Welfare Institute (Enping SWI). What we found was a very nice place. We were greeted by all the staff including Rachel's two caretakers. Several other workers were nice enough to say hello and hold her once more. The director presented us with two handmade palmtree fans especially from Southern Guangdong. We will keep these as warm reminders of her beginning.

This orphanage was very gracious with their time. Turns out, it's not only an orphanage, it's also an elderly care center (like a nursing home). There are over 300 senior citizens on two floors with the children on the 3rd floor. Right now, they only have 6 children. We got to meet each one. We saw everything from where Rachel slept, to where she played, to meeting her "best friend". Her "best friend" is 3 years old and was wearing one of the new dresses we brought from Texas. Randy's Mom and friends from her church-building group handmade over 30 dresses and shorts for us to donate to Rachel's orphanage. The director was very pleased to show us the dresses fit perfectly and will be put to good use for many children. In all, the SWI has an outdoor feel because every room opens to a beautiful courtyard. So, it was truly a pleasant place to visit. Every worker had a smile.

The director then drove us to Rachel's "FINDING PLACE"; where as a baby she was discovered before being brought to the orphanage. On February 25, 2007 Rachel was left as the newest of newborns in an area where a kind stranger found her and was immediately cared for by the orphanage doctor. Experiencing this finding place left us with a myriad of emotions, and we are grateful for our true little miracle, because she truly is. Her finding place story is her own to share some day.

On that note, they also say it was raining that day just like today. As we returned to our room around 2:30 local time, we were startled by the emergency alarms going off countrywide. This was a somber reminder and moment of silence for last week's earthquake in Sichuan province. Thus giving us a quiet, reflective day altogether. We are thankful. We are blessed beyond measure.

An Orphanage And A Finding Place

Monday, 19 May at 7:00 a.m. we will drive for 2-hours, 100 kms, south to Rachel's orphanage. They are allowing us to visit. We now hear that they also know the place where Rachel XiaoMei was found. We get to visit that site, too. In China adoption, the finding place is very important. It is the first stepping stone from where our daughter was "born".

A very wonderful side note, one of the local store owners on our Shamian Island, Jordan, told us his father is from Rachel's same small city. He was so sentimental and gave us a lot of information on the city and its local country dialect. It was after our conversation with him on Tuesday that we decided to go. How could we not now?

We look forward on reporting on our day tomorrow. Please pray for safe journey and ample time to take it all in. :o)

Little Pearls

Today is Sunday and we spent the day thankful to the LORD for his great provision here. We toured another garden but cut the stroll short because the stairs were just too much for stroller-bound babies. The gardens here are more like preserved forests full of bamboo, lotus, enormous trees, and assorted plants and flowers. The park we toured today had the Guangzhou famed goat sculpture. Guangzhou means city of the goat. An old tale tells of a goat bringing rice in his mouth from afar to end the famine that struck this city centuries ago.

After the park, we shopped the local "Woo"-Mart again picking up assorted candies for the orphanage we will visit tomorrow, Monday. Thereafter we drove down the street to a the Mei Hua Pearl Company. It's there that we shopped for fresh-water pearls that were hand strung while we waited. It is said that Guangzhou is the province for the pearl. People fly from Beijing to shop for pearls here. I was very happy to have the opportunity to have two special sets made for Elizabeth and Rachel. When they turn 18, they will receive a matching necklace, bracelet, and earrings. I enjoyed a set too from my sweetie as an early Christmas gift. It's amazing how little you pay here for such extravagance. It really was a nice and special experience; one I was waiting for. Now I just wonder what the day will be like when we get to present them to our daughters. :o)

Since we must get up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow, we'll say goodnight for now, but will post one more thing about the orphanage. Love!

Saturday In Full Bloom

Today we started our day early to get Rachel XiaoMei's physical examination done by the local doctor here. She checked out fine in all areas, although we have learned she does NOT like to be still for any exam whatsoever. Randy liked that she just clung to him. :o) She really is a Daddy's girl. She allows us both to hold her, but she sure likes her Daddy best!

After the doctor's appointment and getting visa photos for her, we drove to another downtown Guangzhou park. This time we visited a local botanical garden really festive in Olympics decoration. We toured this park for about 2 hours and shot some lovely photos. Rachel XiaoMei and Elizabeth really enjoyed it all and didn't get bored once! The park was in full bloom and full of steep slopes. The rose garden was really impressive. Rachel was most smitten with the Koi fish. Elizabeth loved the water misters!

We followed our very long and humid but really nice stroll with a true Cantonese lunch at a restaurant village on site. Rachel and Elizabeth played swords with chopsticks. Rachel let me feed her with chopsticks. She loved all the meats, veggies, and rice. Satisfied with that meal, we returned to our hotel to do some more paperwork for the consulate.

Tomorrow we visit another local park and enjoy a peaceful Sunday...complete with more shopping! This little island is dense with shops for adoptive families to enjoy.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My! Rachel Goes to the Zoo

Rachel XiaoMei made her first trip to the zoo today. We visited the Guangzhou Zoo in downtown. It's a walk in the past for zoo-keeping (think Dallas circa 1970), but the girls really liked the animals. We started our day early by talking to our boys and Nana via Skype. That's been great. Each day we Skype home to see and talk to our boys. Hi Simon! Hi Noah! We posted some pictures of the animals for you!

After our daily breakfast downstairs, we were off to the zoo. Elizabeth was seriously wanting to see the elephants, because elephants start with "e" just like "E"lizabeth. :o) Of course, the main attraction to be seen were the Pandas. We toured for about 2-hours seeing everything from a dog to a panda. Yes, a dog. Or rather, dogs. Won't go into those details. Thankfully, Elizabeth thought the puppies were cute. Rachel was really into seeing every animal. She seemed fascinated and content the entire stroll.

At last near the end our our journey, we found the elephants but not a one was out. However, as Elizabeth passed one of their doorways, it's like they decided to come pay her a visit. A large Asian elephant with long tusks came out and put on quite a show. We've never been so close to an elephant before.

The lone panda of the park was thankfully interested in staying out in his cage for us to take a few pictures. He usually hides we hear. So, we have a snapshot of our first and only panda.

Returning from the zoo, aka HOT SAUNA, we changed our hotel room. We've been on an upper floor that hasn't been renovated like the rest of the hotel. We stuck it out, but could endure no longer. China is still very much a smoking country, so we moved down to a less smokey floor. Our room is bright and chipper now. We like it! Although, we're still "serenaded" by the aviary of peacocks outside our window. Our suites are located across from a primary school with a bird aviary on top. Just so you know, peacocks are nocturnally LOUD. We've learned to sleep through them mostly, although sometimes they sound like the baby crying.

To break in our new room, James, Amy, and their wee one, Marossi, are joining us for Papa John's pizza in our room tonight. Pizza party! Tomorrow we're off to have Rachel's medical examination performed. After that a tour of a local park. Monday we're going to visit Rachel's orphanage. It's a very neat story we'll write about later this weekend. We're excited. Lots of love!

Look Mommy, No Hands!

Each day brings new boundaries for Rachel XiaoMei. Being so accustom to limits, like she needs permission to move, she now realizes she can crawl all over, laugh loudly, and eat most anything. She was only use to drinking from an open cup, so introducing a sippy cup was a challenge. Last night we tried a straw. After about 5 attempts, she grabbed the concept! We laugh at seeing our one year old enjoy a true 'glass' of juice.

Today, Thursday 15 May, we visited the Chen Family Temple here in Guangzhou. It's an ornate garden and house that is filled with wood, ivory, rice, etc carvings from centuries old tradition that simply boggle the mind. And 'house' hardly describes this place. We toured for an hour and then drove over to the local Guangzhou restaurant for true Cantonese lunch of mackeral, rice noodles, shrimp dumplings, pork buns,pineapple chicken fungus (mushrooms), etc. Rachel XiaoMei loved the vegetables.

Elizabeth and I had a stroll alone today to buy her a chinese purse and have some chocolate ice cream. I asked her "So do you think you'll remember this China trip forever?" She replied, "I can't remember yesterday!" Oh, little one, that was funny!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub Rachel's in a Tub!

We gave Miss Rachel XiaoMei her first bath last night. We wanted to wait over a day so not to startle her more. All these new smells are scary enough without being dumped in a foreign tub. The orphanage took excellent care of XiaoMei. She was very clean and in a new outfit when we received her. She does NOT like baths too much yet. :o) She had another good night of rest.

This morning, Wednesday, we had a quiet day taking a few strolls. I hit the local Starbucks this morning and found it a great local oasis; LOL. At 3:30 we met our guide, Bob, to go apply for Rachel's China passport. It was a quick trip downtown and took only 20 minutes. Our adoption agency and guide are seriously great at getting us in and out of these places! We also received our offical certificate of adoption nicely presented. All of our China adoption paperwork and formalities are complete. It's now just a matter of the documents being processed for our US Consulate appointment next week.

Just finished giving Rachel her 4pm rice cereal meal. Her schedule actually includes 2 breakfasts in which case Randy wondered if she was a 'hobbit' considering she likes 1st and 2nd breakfast. :o) She's darling. Elizabeth is a real treat to have on the trip enjoying playing with and helping her new sister.

Tomorrow we're going off-island for a family temple tour and lunch in authentic Guangzhou. Looking forward to that! But looking forward to returning home more to see our Noah and Simon and family!

We Are OK!

The earthquake that hit in Sichuan province is well north of us. It was devastating for many as it also had several significant aftershocks. We are much too far away to even feel a tremor, but we feel for those thousands who were not as fortunate.

We are thankful to be protected and well cared for in Guangzhou. Today we had interviews and notary sessions that finalized our adoption. Rachel XiaoMei is now ours officially in the eyes of the government. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we start the process on applying for her passport.

She slept great last night in her crib! She was surely tuckered from a long life-changing day. She is eating and drinking well. She loves to be held! Today we shopped at Carrefour for basic supplies and food for us all. Elizabeth was excited about the shopping calling it "Woo-Mart". We have met many families here. It's extraordinary to share this experience with other families from around the world enjoying the same life-altering adoption.

We love you and thank you all for your ongoing pryrs and encouraging comments. They're great 'letters' from home!

GOTCHA DAY! Monday 12 May 2008

We have a wonderful new addition to our Duncan Family! We arrived Guangzhou yesterday easily. We are settled in at the Victory hotel located on a small island which is clearly westernized by thousands of adoptive families! We will post pictures and details on this wonder of an island later on this week.

At 2 p.m. today we departed for the Civil Affairs Office (Guangdong Adoption Registry Center) about 15 minutes down the road. I was expecting a boring office but was greeted with a beautiful center for parents to meet their new children. We waited for about 20 minutes watching other families receive their special babies. The emotions were genuine and surreal. We kept eyeing the elevators down the corridor watching orphanage workers walk in babies and children. At last two pretty workers walked in a few girls. I knew instantly En Xiao Mei had entered the room. They wisked her off to a separate waiting room. We knew in our hearts it was her. About 3 minutes later our guide, Bob, walked over some paperwork. We filled it all out and received our daughter about 10 minutes later. She was placed in my arms by her orphanage caretaker. We just held her calmly and close in a cool, quite corner because it was getting loud and very warm with all the families.

Xiao Mei is quiet and so tiny. She cries quietly, too, so far. We were able to feed her some rice cereal and water. She's on tablefood and juice. She still wears diapers. So far everything we learned about her has come true. Now we pray her body is healthy as we get to know her more. She's asleep right now in the crib. She's got her tushy stuck up in the air just like Simon use to sleep! Precious jewel she is.

We'll spend the evening taking her to dinner to eat baby congee and veggies. We'll take it slow one day at a time so this little girl will begin to love her new family.

2nd Day in Beijing!

After seeing the Great Wall, how could anything else get close to that experience? Well, one walk across Tian'anmen Square, a stroll through the Forbidden City, a rickshaw through a Hutong, and a performance by Chinese Acrobatics gave us a fantastic-filled Beijing day! My jet lag is a bit heavy to truly define our time here today. Words are truly inadequate. The most striking thing to me about Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City is the sheer massive size of the structures and the miles of area these two places alone encompass.

Today was beautiful around 68 degrees and loads of sunshine. Being Saturday the tourists were abundant throughout our travels. With the Olympics months away, Beijing is in a high gear for showing off its colors and pride. We witnessed those great crowds today which could only be appreciated when we had to funnel ourselves at one point through a corridor where there were 200 of us easily in a tiny room squeezing through one tiny doorway with ground threshold beams every 4 feet; trample alert! It made a NY subway look like a football arena of space. We survived and laughed it off.

After several hours through these two locations, we experienced what we believe is the perfect Beijing experience. To save a history lesson, back in the Mongolian occupation, hutongs (neighborhoods with tiny allyways) numbered to many that when linked together they would far extend beyond the Great Wall. Considering the Great Wall is over 6,000 miles, that's a lot of Hutongs. Today, due to expansion and modernization, only 3,000 hutongs exist. Our guide's (Vivian) parents still own one of those rare hutongs. So, that meant we got to enjoy a 2 hour rickshaw touring the hutongs. Cars are too big, so one must walk or rickshaw. Part of the tour is enjoying a local meal prepared by a local resident. We had the good fortune to dine with Ms. Lin who served us the MOST delicious indigenous meal of over 8 dishes of "Lion heads" (lamb and vegetable), steamed dumplings, spicy potatos/peppers, cabbage & tomato, chicken, eggplant, etc. The rickshaw tour was just fabulous in history, culture, and true Beijing living.

We finished our day by taking in an evening performance by a Beijing Acrobatics show. Stunning.

We're doing great but at 5pm we're so sleepy! Elizabeth has been a great trooper taking in the sights, foods, and loads of WALKING. On top of that, she's quite a celebrity. People are always stopping us to look and talk to Elizabeth. We hear 'beautiful', 'so pretty' all day. Many grandmothers stop her to touch her face. Today a policeman strolled by and swooped her up. Needless to say, Elizabeth is extremely shy about it!

It's a beautiful city and we're thankful for this time to take it all in like few can. We say good-bye to Beijing tomorrow, Sunday. We arrive Guangzhou at 3:15 pm local time Sunday. Now the touring is done, so let the children begin!