We're in Fuzhou!

We arrived this evening at 8:45, after a 2 1/2 flight from Beijing. Sawyer slept the ENTIRE way. I think he was exhausted because he climbed all the way to the top of the Great Wall this afternoon! Michael and I both wimped out (me before him), but Sawyer was determined. As I waited for them to come back down from the mountain I must have had my photo taken at least 10 times with various groups of people touring the wall. None of them spoke english, but they would just smile, take my arm and gather around while one of them took the photo. I can't imagine why they would want some stranger in their photos, but it was hysterical! It was an amazing view and we got some fantastic photos. Too bad I still can't upload any of them. I'm getting so frustrated -- it says it's uploading and it takes forever, then gives me an error message telling me to try again later. So, I'm not going to give up and I'll try again later. At least I can post now using English menu prompts. THANK YOU MARCY for taking the time to email us a solution!

We were scheduled to get Oakley tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm, but our guide notified us when she picked us up at the airport that we'll be going to the Civil Affairs office at 11am to get her. My stomach is doing flip flips knowing that we'll have her in less than 12 hours!! We're staying at the Lakeside Hotel and our room is beautiful. I can't wait to see the area in daylight. It gets dark here at about 6pm, so we didn't get to see much on the drive in from the airport.

This has been such an amazing experience so far and we've loved every minute. Alison, our guide today, took us on a tour of Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City. This country is steeped in history and we were soaking it in.

I'll do my very best to try and get some photos posted. I know you are as anxious to see them as we are to share them.

Thanks to everyone for the comments -- it makes us feel close to home while we're so far away and we are overwhelmed by the support and well wishes. I hope I can get some sleep tonight but my mind is racing with the thoughts of Oakley. This will be her last night in the orphanage ... the only "home" she's ever known. Please pray for us tomorrow as she meets her forever family for the first time.

Love to you from Fuzhou!

We're Here!!

It was a LONG flight .... a really long flight, but we finally made it. Poor Sawyer. He sat next to a sweet Asian couple on the flight from Newark to Beijing and the man threw up the entire flight. He started before we even lifted off and continued for the next 13 hours. So, the flight may have seemed really long to me, but I can't imagine how long if must have felt for that poor man. Sawyer collected barf bags for him and the wife, who didn't speak a word of english, gave him all of her husband's meals. The airline meals ... that's another story.

I thought we might not make it to the hotel. I'd heard stories about the driving, but it's absolutely CRAZY to experience it. Bicyclists, cars, pedestrians all fighting for the right of way. Horns are blowing non-stop, but noone seems to be irrate or upset. One car came perpendicular across four lanes of traffic to get to one of the toll booths and we were literally an inch away from the car driving parallel to us. Mike joked that he was going to knock on his window to say hello.

We had dinner this evening at a local restaurant and we were the only non-Asians in the place. Trying to order our meals was an experience in itself and the waiters spoke no english. We selected our entrees from some poor-quality photographs so we had no idea what we were ordering. We sampled all three dishes but still have no idea what we ate. I'm guessing that one was some kind of squid or baby octopus (it was chewy), one had seaweed and some kind of delicacy fungus, and the other had chicken and something slippery in it. Three meals, plus a beer, a softdrink and a bottled water costs us 56 RMB -- that's a whopping $7.57. And the waiter refused to take our tip and actually chased us as we were leaving to return it. Sawyer is LOVING Beijing and everyone has been so friendly.

to Sullivan and Hagan

We miss you both terribly and as soon as we can get our photos to upload, you'll be able to see pictures from China. It's only 8pm and we're all heading to bed because we didn't get much sleep on the plane. Love you guys SOOO much!! I'll write again tomorrow after we tour the Great Wall.

love, Mom

ohmygosh ohmygosh!!

I still have SO MUCH to do!! We had our final travel meeting with our agency this evening and I am methodically checking things off my list, but I still have quite a way to go.

We had a whirlwind of a weekend with five soccer games and our neighborhood yard sale. Let me tell you about this yard sale -- it was AMAZING!! I received so many donations from family and friends; I'm talking a garage packed full of boxes and bags -- clothing, housewares, furniture, linens, electronics. You name it, we had it! I can't believe I didn't take any photos but I was a little overwhelmed by the site of it all.

I started organizing and pricing Friday afternoon and envisioned an all-nighter. To the rescue came my good friend Holly. Truly, I don't know how I would have managed without her. She stopped by to deliver some goods for the sale and stayed until nearly 11pm helping me organize and price -- she was a machine and a TRUE friend!! Thank you, Holly, from the bottom of my heart.

We raised over $1,600!! Can you believe it?!?!? That more than covers the increase in airfare and hotel accommodations we are incurring because we are travelling by ourselves and thus, didn't qualify for the group discounts. God is so good and we are blessed by the generosity of our family and friends. I was exhausted Saturday evening -- wheelin' and dealin' is hard work! Jennifer and Tim, who are adopting a little girl from Guatemala, came by Saturday evening and loaded up everything that was left for their yard sale next month -- good luck guys! So after I cleaned up, I showered, got in my pjs and was in bed by 9pm. Not a single piece of luggage packed (sigh).

But on Sunday, I packed Oakley's bag, organized all of our medications (we look like a pharmacy), and created my packing list, which I will post upon completion. I spent most of this evening getting schedules, contact lists, medical release forms, and notices to the schools mapped out for Sullivan and Hagan, who will be staying home with family and friends while we travel to bring their little sister home.

So, for all of those who want to follow along, here's the Curd Family Travel Agenda. We are so excited, nervous, anxious, elated .... there's a lot of emotions going on over here!

Thursday, May 24
We begin our journey to China at 5:50am!

Friday, May 25
Arrive in Beijing at 1:45pm and check into our hotel, the Temple of Heaven Beijing (Zhongcheng Holiday Inn)

Saturday, May 26
Have breakfast at the hotel
Tour Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City and Great Wall
Fly to Fuzhou and check into Lakeside Hotel

Sunday, May 27
Have breakfast at the hotel
Meet Oakley at 3:30pm!!!

Monday, May 28
Bus to Civil Affairs office for registration

Tuesday, May 29
Shopping and visit Xichan Temple

Wednesday, May 30
Bus to Fuzhou Zoo

Thursday, May 31
Bus to a forest park

Friday, June 1
Fly to Guangzhou and check into the White Swan Hotel

Saturday, June 2
Have breakfast at the hotel
Take Oakley's visa photo
Oakley's medical check-up

Sunday, June 3
Go to church

Monday, June 4
Tw0-hour river cruise

Tuesday, June 5
Bus to US consulate to take the oath
Prepare passport

Wednesday, June 6
5am Wake-up Call
Fly to Hong Kong
Fly back to States
ARRIVE HOME WITH OAKLEY!!

For those of you who know Michael, did you notice how many bus trips we'll be taking? Do you remember how carsick he gets in a vehicle if he's not driving? I bought lots of Dramamine, which will unfortunately, completely knock him out. But I figure I'd rather have him comatose than heaving out a window. Poor guy .... it's going to be interesting, to say the least.

PLEASE keep us in your prayers as we prepare for the journey of a lifetime. And say special prayers for Sullivan and Hagan, who are both trying really hard to be brave and understanding!!

I SHOULD be Packing ....

I should be packing ... at least Oakley's things, but instead I'm playing with my new camera!! Mike and the boys gave me a Canon Rebel XTi for my birthday last week, and I'm thrilled with it. I can zoom in much better now and I can't wait to use it in China to capture the beauty of Oakley's homeland.

So ... to test the quality, I'm posting new photos of Oakley's room, complete with window treatments.

We booked our round-trip flights to China on Wednesday. We will depart in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, May 24 (5:50 am) and will return, with Oakley (I LOVE saying that) on Wednesday, June 6 at 9:59 pm. We still don't have all the in-China travel confirmed because they are on holiday through May 7. As soon as they return, we should have our itinerary confirmed.

Here's what we know so far:

May 24 - Depart the US (from Newark)

May 25 - Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon

May 26 - We'll spend time the next few days sightseeing in Beijing and adjusting to the time change

May 28 - GOTCHA DAY! -- travel to Fuzhou (capital city of her province, Fujian). Meet Oakley, our baby girl, for the very first time!!

June 4 - Visa appointment at the US consulate in Guangzhou

June 6 - Travel home (via Hong Kong)

As soon as we have our confirmed in-China itinerary, I'll be sure to post it. I haven't packed the first thing yet, but I'm accumulating quite a pile of "stuff".

WE HAVE TA!!!

I received the call from our agency Friday morning at about 11 and the rest of the day is a blur. We will soon have Oakley in our arms!! After months of waiting, waiting, waiting, now we race to get everything done before we travel. Our agency has requested a consulate appointment in early June, and based on which date is granted, we expect to leave for China on May 23, 24, or 25. That's less than four weeks away! Once the date is confirmed, I can begin to make accommodations and plans for Hagan and Sullivan, who will remain here with family while we travel. It won't be easy to leave them but my little sister, Marla, has offered to keep them. We are comforted by the fact that they'll be in safe and loving hands while we're halfway around the world.

We were really hoping to be home for Sawyer's Confirmation and Finals Week at school, but it looks like we're going to miss both. Mike and I actually discussed postponing travel for a week but we truly feel that this is God's timing. We trust that everything will work out just the way He intended. Sawyer will also make Confirmation when we return and our church has granted permission for Shelby to remain his sponsor, even though he'll be at Boot Camp and will, more than likely, not be able to attend. Sawyer's fellow confirmation candidates will stand up with him as proxy in Shelby's absence. He may be able to take some of his finals prior to travel and he can make the others up when we return.

We also found out on Friday that our Shaohannah's Hope Grant Request was declined. Shaohannah's Hope is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping prospective adoptive parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption by awarding financial grants to qualified families already in the process of adopting. They receive hundreds of grants per month and simply cannot fund each one. I will admit that receiving TA on Friday totally trumped this bit of disappointing news, and as Hagan pointed out, "We probably didn't get the grant become some other family needed it even more than us." Out of the mouths of babes.

We began our adoption fundraising efforts with our neighborhood yard sale last June and it looks like we'll wrap up our fundraising efforts with our neighborhood yard sale, scheduled for Saturday, May 19! We feel fortunate to have another opportunity to raise funds this close to travel. I've been cleaning out closets and cabinets and have a growing inventory of items to sell. We'll also be soliciting items from family and friends who may want to get rid of unwanted items and donate them to the yard sale.

THANK YOU to all who have supported us in this journey of faith through contributions, prayer, friendship, compassion and understanding. We will keep you updated as soon as we know more and will post our travel itinerary when available.

Tomorrow I make my packing list!!

While We Wait ....

I'll admit that most days, it's really hard not to be totally consumed with our adoption journey. But Sunday was a beautiful day and Michael and I took Hagan to Keeneland and enjoyed a glorious afternoon at the track.

We LOVE Keeneland. It's a place like no other ... steeped in tradition, fast thoroughbred horses, fine food, and yes ... a little gambling.

A good, clean, wholesome, Sunday afternoon with the family, right?!?

We cashed a few winning tickets, but really, it's not about the betting for me (although I WAS the big winner for the day, coming home with $40 more than I brought). It's more about the atmosphere, the people watching, and the whole experience.

Hagan had a wonderful time, despite the fact that we were part of a business function and he was the only child in the Keeneland Room. I marvel at how he can be so comfortable in most any setting and with most any group of people. He gets that great quality from his Dad.

It's not often that Michael and I get to spend one-on-one time with the boys and we need to make an effort to do it more often. They're MUCH more enjoyable when they're not bickering with one another. They each have their own interests and it's wonderful to be able to foster that. Horses are Hagan's thing ... always have been, always will be.

He was in horse heaven, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

A Room for Oakley

It's not quite finished, but here's a little preview of Oakley's new room. The window treatments aren't in, her memory board needs a little more adornment, and I still need chairs for her little table. But we've made a lot of progress!

Her Daddy put up the chair rail, painted the old hutch and painted her walls. He had to put four coats of the pink paint on ... yup, FOUR coats! I love the colors, and although the room still looks a little stark to me, once we get her window treatments up, I think it will all come together.

Her dresser was the first antique I ever bought. I found it in a little shop downtown when I was in high school and I refinished it myself.

And I spotted the hutch in a little Mom & Pop Diner one day when Mike and I were having lunch before we were married. Although it was being used to display antique dishware, the owners let us buy it right off the floor. We finished lunch, unloaded the hutch and carried it out of the restaurant as we left. It was covered in many coats of paint and Mike stripped it and refinished it. It graced our dining room when we first married, and it's been used in Sawyer's room, Hagan's room and Sullivan's room to store books, puzzles and games. Now it's painted again, and it stores a variety of Oakley's treasures, including her hat boxes!

These are a few of my favorite things:

• the framed photo of Oakley and Caeleigh on her nightstand - Thanks, Karen!
  
  
• her pillowcase with her name on it
  
  
• her monogram wall hanging -- I found the cute pink matted frames and used my Creative Memories supplies (cutting system and monogram sticker letters) to create a monogram wall hanging.
  
  
• pom poms - on her duvet cover and sham -- on her lampshade -- and you'll see more pom poms on her window treatements
  
  
• her memory board -- made to cover a little door that provided access to attic storage. This door used to really scare Sullivan and we had to cover it up with a piece of furniture. I decided to create a memory board that fits perfectly in the door frame. Once I add polka-dot fabric covered buttons, it will be complete!

Without futher ado ... Oakley's new room. Now we just need Oakley home to fill it with love and a little girl's laughter.