Highlights of our itinerary!

US to Tokyo leg - 12 and 1/2 hours in duration (in coach...!)
Tokyo to US leg - 11 hours 40 minutes (coach again)

Want to meet Amy before we go home and sleep the jet lag off? Put on your "Anxiously Awaiting Amy's Arrival" button and come to the Norfolk Airport. Please conceal all champagne bottles and flutes, as this IS an airport. Check with us for our return flight info if you are interested.

Chinese New Year: Starts January 29 - Year of the Dog

Chinese New Year (Chinese: 春節, 春节, Chūnjíe; or 農曆新年, 农历新年, Nónglì Xīnnián), also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, i.e. the day of the second new moon after the day on which the winter solstice occurs, unless there is an intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year—in such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice. (The next time this occurs is in 2033.) The Chinese New Year period ends with the Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the festival.

Legend has it that in ancient China, Nian ("Nyehn") was a man-devouring predator beast that could infiltrate houses silently. The Chinese soon learned that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, and they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of color red domestically. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations.

Celebrated internationally in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered to be a major holiday for the Chinese as well as ethnic groups such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong) and the Vietnamese (see Tết), who were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of religious and philosophical worldview, language and culture in general. Chinese New Year is also the time when the largest human migration takes place when Chinese all around the world return home on the eve of Chinese New Year to have reunion dinners with their families.

Update on Amy

Date of report: unknown
Date received: today
Accuracy and reliability of report: "While we are happy to update you with current info, we cannot confirm that the info provided by the orphanage reps is accurate or correct..."
Hmmmm!?!

She's 21 lbs, 27"long, her foot is 4.29", she has 2 bottom teeth, she can sit and stand, and she has been in foster care since 12/3/05.

Silly Sonogram

Changes to this blog

1. I've removed some junk from the upper right of the screen and added some links
2. I've changed from "membership only" to "anyone can post a comment". I hope this makes it less confusing.

Oh! Finally Finally Finally Soon we'll know when we go!

Dear Friends,

We are happy to report that today we received travel permission for our Guangxi families. As you know, we must coordinate between the U.S. Consulate (for Consulate appointment availability), Chinese Provincial officials (for the various adoption appointments necessary) and air carriers (for flight availability to and from China). We are doing this work now and hope to have a preliminary travel schedule for the group by mid-next week.

Our goal, as we are sure is also yours, is to arrange to unite each of you with your children as quickly as possible and practical. Because of the New Year holiday schedule celebrated throughout China, the earliest possible arrival for your trip would be on or after the second week in February (February 5th or later). With this time frame in mind, we have requested Consulate appointments for February 16th (and several alternative days during the following week, if necessary). Please remember, however, that the Consulate’s schedule fills up quickly, changes daily, and is limited in size. We believe that, because of the New Year holiday, February already is and will continue to be a very busy month. We will do our best on your behalf.

As soon as Consulate appointments can be confirmed, we will forward an itinerary by e-mail to you. Again, we hope to be contacting you by mid-next week with a more definite tentative schedule. As always, we thank you for your patience and understanding.

Enjoy this article! (If you read Mandarin) OOOPS! (If you read CHINESE) Thanks Auntie Louise for teaching me that Mandarin is spoken only

Click on the image to enlarge, if you like!

Tonight we chose to eat dinner at Yamato in the Great Neck Shopping Center. After returning home from a great day of work, I received the most insulting, offensive email from the agency with which we have entrusted this adoption process to. In other words, we needed a lift.

We chose Yamato, because in addition to great food, we receive the warmest welcome in town. Kevin the sushi chef told us that he had seen an article on adoption in the newspaper from China. Kevin found the article and Ken read it to us. It mentions the statistics on the availability of chinese orphans and percentage of Americans adopting the orphans. The information is spot on with what we know.

Yamato is like a home away from home and we cannot wait to bring Amy there to be spoiled by Ken, Auntie Yen, Jane and Kevin.

This is agony.

Letter from agency regarding travel:

Dear Friends:

Late last week, we wrote to you explaining the issues surrounding timing of your trip to China to be united with your children and complete your adoptions. We had hoped that travel permission might be received soon which would allow for the possibility of a trip to China before the break for Chinese New Year (approximately January 28th through February 5th).

Unfortunately, as of today, this travel permission has still not been received. Additionally, there is now not enough time remaining (before the New Year) to accomplish everything necessary to plan and complete your trip.

Therefore, your departure for China is most likely going to be early February. We will know more precisely just as soon as travel permission can be received and the Consulate appointments confirmed. From our information, we do know that travel permission documents are being prepared. However, the processing and timing required to complete the documentation, obtain all appropriate signatures and approvals, mail the permission documents, and wait for their arrival can not be accurately predicted for us to give you any more precise information.

We realize that you are anxious for news and are patiently awaiting the scheduling for your trip. We understand these emotions and will do everything that we can to update you as soon as possible.

We received Amy's finding ad today

We hired Research-China to recover Amy's finding ad. Wow, here it is.

Since 1999, the orphanages in China are required to run a provincial advertisement for children that are found and brought to their orphanage. These ads contain information about where and when the children were found and which orphanage is caring for them.

Amy's suitcase is packed and ready to go!