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!

1st Day in Beijing!

We made it! We arrived Beijing at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, local time. The Beijing Airport international terminal just opened last month. We arrived to a gorgeous airport ready for the Olympics. And the best thing was there was not a single line for immigration. We really feel covered in prayer as this first leg of the journey has been just about picture perfect. Our BLAS (Bridge of Love Adoption Services) guide, Vivian, met us at the airport has not left our side. She's wonderful! We're staying at the Capital Hotel of Beijing. It's been newly renovated and, well, it's just the best here. We feel very spoiled! We got a good night's rest and got ready for our first big day in China, Friday.

We awoke to a great breakfast buffet and ran in to the other family joining us in adoption, James and Amy. Together, with our guide Vivian, we set out for a VERY full day. We started at the local jade factory. We learned about the origination and hand-made production of jade and jade products. We toured their showroom and I got to buy a beautiful jade carved bracelet. :o)

The next stop was on to see the Great Wall that morning. It was overcast with light rain, but it was perfect weather for climbing this monumental Wall. It's crazy steep and it's steps are so varied in height. It's a hike for the most seasoned athlete! Randy, Elizabeth, and I made it to what they call a Hero Card. That means we climbed enough to get some credit! Wow. Elizabeth got lots of applause from the locals. She and two other little boys made the hike. We enjoyed this gorgeous mountainous part of Beijing.

After the Great Wall expedition, we toured a Cloissone Factory where they handmake the elaborate Cloisonne enamal vases. This work is incredibly intricate from the pounding out of vase structure to complicated iron art, paining, and firing of the final product. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch upstairs of local Beijing cuisine. Yum-o on the lazy susan of dishes!

After touring the Cloissone Factory, we traveled to tour the Summer Palace. Words and pictures can't begin to detail the expansion of these palacial properties. We tourned the entire palace area and even took a dragon boat ride back to the front gate at the end. The Summer Palace has the world's longest..."outdoor hall" for lack of better word at this point. We seem to walk for miles.


When we finished the Summer Palace, we then toured the Heaven Sent Silk Factory. This is where they handmake the silk products (scarves, linens, apparel) from the tiniest of silkworms. We got to wet and tear apart silkworm cocoons and see how strong and substantial the fabric is. We were walked thru the entire process and sure have a new perspective on silk!

We finished the day at 7 p.m. and returned to the hotel after 2-hours in traffic. The commute was long, but did get to see a lot of the Olympics venues being built. Jet lag had set in and all three of us were asleep by 8:30 p.m. Day two was to be equally filled with excitement and awe!

Almost There...3/4 Of The Way!

Well, we just arrived Tokyo, Japan. The flight was great. Long, but very smooth. Our section was full of families with small children, so we settled in real well. We got a glimpse of what it's going to be like traveling with a 15-month old for 13-hours! On the other hand, Elizabeth has been super. It's her first plane ride, so it's exciting to listen to her say things like "I'm ready for take off!" and "Wow, look at that". She's really experiencing everything through those expressive brown eyes. It's 4:15 p.m. local time and we're waiting in the lobby of American Airlines' Admiral's Club. Boy, is this nice. No bottled water, but all the tea and soda you could ask for. We board our final flight to Beijing in about 2-hours. We're flying Japan Airlines and arrive Beijing at 9:00 p.m. local time, Thursday. We haven't slept too much, so we'll be ready for that hotel room! It's amazing how time seems to stand still while you're flying across the planet. Well, time to board the tram to the other terminal.

Getting Ready To Fly!

Wow, it's crazy now! Been a very busy week of getting our house ready for the boys' stay here with Papatoe and Nana. I'm staring at 3 empty suitcases for us. It will get done! We fly out Wednesday, May 7. We're flying American to Tokyo then connecting to Japan Air to Beijing. That puts us in Beijing at 9:05 p.m. May 8. The next two days, we get to see the Great Wall, Tian'an men Square, Summer Palace, and the Forbidden City. That's so we get over that jet lag! On May 11, Mother's Day, we travel south to Guangzhou where we will remain until we leave. On May 12, Monday, our little XiaoMei will be delivered to us. That's technically Mother's Day in the United States. Wow, what a gift. We will remain in Guangzhou until May 23. We will have a one-night layover in Tokyo. We arrive back to Texas May 24!

As exciting as this is, it's still seriously tugs at my heart on leaving my boys. We will Skype almost everyday. We have web cams. So, hopefully this will ease our missing each other. Thankfully they will also be in school to pass their days. They will have lots of fun. We just can't wait for the day when we return to China as a family of 6. Love!

Blessings Abound

Wow, we are humbled with hearts full this week. Sunday, our friends gave us a wonderful baby shower for Rachel. It's hard to describe the feeling of it all. The greatest thing is that the room was filled with amazing friends, family, and even our neighbors (who are great friends, too!). To see the room filled with moms, dads, grandparents, children galore, it was bliss. The Benekes, Cantwells, Lunas, Sassers and more roasted hot dogs, brought loads of food, arranged the official baby cake, and decorated in beaucoups of pink complete with ladybugs! It's about impossible to thank everyone and to even know all they have done. It was something to write all those thank-you notes this week and get to go back to each gift looking at the thought and sentiment sent in each one. I can say we are truly overwhelmed and find ourselves lacking in the proper vocabulary to really verbalize this experience. I was reminded that this shower was not about us, but about Rachel and all about God's great love and provision. Wow, this little girl is about to have her world turned around!