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Monday, August 31, 2009
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FW: We are now a family of three!!!!
My message seems to have bounced back...in case it didn't post here it is again. We're heading to sign the official government paperwork that will make Clarissa ours officially as far as China is concerned!!!! Last night went pretty well. She slept (keyword= she..we watched herù0 from about 7:30pm until midnight, then up for a bottle and a diaper change, and back to sleep until around 5am. Anyhow...here's the original post. More to come.
Not too much time, but I wanted to post a few pictures of our beautiful little girl Clarissa. It has been a very, very long day for everyone in the Lauzon family. After many tears, and much looking for her caregiver we got her to take a bottle (or at least part of one) and then she finally cried herself to sleep on the bed with Mommy. I don't think that she likes either of us much yet, but she does tolerate both of us. We even managed to get a smile or two between tears. Hopefully she'll be able to sleep for a while. I'll write more later, but I think that the pictures say it all.
More later.
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We are in Nanchang!!!!
In just a couple of hours we meet Clarissa!!! We thought that we would be nervous like crazy at this point, but we are both quite calm and relaxed. This hotel is beautiful!!!!! The one in Beijing was nice, but this is beautiful! I'll hopefully download some pictures (including ones with Clarissa!!!) later.
You should see the way they drive here!!! Wow, Beijiing was nothing compared to what we saw on the way to the hotel here in Nanchang.
Anyhow, more later....
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You should see the way they drive here!!! Wow, Beijiing was nothing compared to what we saw on the way to the hotel here in Nanchang.
Anyhow, more later....
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Gotta love the "Dirt Market"
Another excellent day in Beijing! We went (upon Bob's recommendation) to a place called the "Dirt Market" today (actually called hmmmm what was it again....Pinjiangxian....that's probably not quite right, but it's close....I think...I'm too tired to look it up. Yulin arranged for a bus and a guide for us. Seven of us in a full sized bus...we were like rock stars. It was...well how best can I describe it???...I guess I would say think of the biggest flea market that you have ever seen and imagine it on steriods. It was HUGE!!! They sold anything and everything. I did lots of bargaining so we got some great deals. "What's that? You want 100 Yuan for that? I'll give you 10. No? Ok see ya....What? 50? Ok, I'll give you twenty. No? Ok see ya.....What? Ok 20 it is."
Tonight Yulin took us for dinner, except instead of her and the nine of us we were...hmmm how many were we???? 24 maybe??? A whole bunch of others arrived today. I can't imagine that. We leave the hotel at 5:30am.....A freakin' M!!!!.....to head to Nanchang. Wake up call for 4:30am!!!!! Tomorrow is THE DAY!!!!!! The day that we have been waiting for. It has been so long....hard to believe that we finally meet Clarissa tomorrow. We are very, very excited. When I write tomorrow night...assuming that I will be able to...we will be with our little girl! WOO HOO!!!!!! We're praying for things to go as smoothly as possible, for us and for her. We are going to do everything that we can to help her through this huge uplifting of her world, with lots of love, caring and understanding. Say a prayer and wish us luck. Until tomorrow.
I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now!!!! (the last time that I'll ask that because starting tomorrow I will know exactly what she is doing)
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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Day 2 comes to an end (part 2).....
Wow!!!!!!!! I'm sitting here trying to describe our day and all I can come up with is WOW. As hard as it may be for some of you to believe. I am speechless. Trying to find adequate words to describe what we saw and did today is very difficult.
After breakfast we took a walk to a place recommended by Yulin called the Yong He Gong temple. It is a huge complex of buildings that were built in the 1700's. There were many, many people burning insense (insence, incense....they all look funny too me, and I'm too tired to think about it...you know what I mean...) and praying. Looking at these old buildings and the details in the workmanship, it just simply amazing. We sat on a bench at one point and just soaked in the history. There were many, many people there but there was this strange feeling of calm and peacefullness. Inside one of the temple buildings there was this 100+ feet tall statue of Buddha that was carved from a single sandalwood tree.
Next we walked to the Drum tower and Bell tower. Both old, old buildings with very long, very steep stairs to get to the top. As hard as it will be for you to believe, at the top of one tower was a huge bell, and at the top of the other were some drums!!! We saw a demonstration by some drummers that was very cool.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped for a cold TsingTao beer (or two) at a funky little bar that was attached to a restaurant.
Tonight we went for dinner with Yulin and some of the others from our "Ottawa Crew". Just before we left the hotel we saw Adrian and Debbie (another Ottawa Crew couple) arrive from the airport. They are heading early tomorrow morning to meet their little girl in Mongolia, and they were fried from the flight, so they decided against joining us. We will see them again on Friday when we get back to Beijing. The restaurant was a beautiful place, and Yulin ordered us all kinds of stuff. She warned us before we got there that it was a bit more expensive than the night before (which was around $5 per person).....it came to a whopping $10 per person. Food in the restaurants...outside of the hotel of course..is really cheap. I am getting TsingTao at the grocery store for 50 cents a can!!!! It has me thinking of moving here.
Two more sleeps until we meet Clarissa!!!! I wonder what she is doing right now!!
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After breakfast we took a walk to a place recommended by Yulin called the Yong He Gong temple. It is a huge complex of buildings that were built in the 1700's. There were many, many people burning insense (insence, incense....they all look funny too me, and I'm too tired to think about it...you know what I mean...) and praying. Looking at these old buildings and the details in the workmanship, it just simply amazing. We sat on a bench at one point and just soaked in the history. There were many, many people there but there was this strange feeling of calm and peacefullness. Inside one of the temple buildings there was this 100+ feet tall statue of Buddha that was carved from a single sandalwood tree.
Next we walked to the Drum tower and Bell tower. Both old, old buildings with very long, very steep stairs to get to the top. As hard as it will be for you to believe, at the top of one tower was a huge bell, and at the top of the other were some drums!!! We saw a demonstration by some drummers that was very cool.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped for a cold TsingTao beer (or two) at a funky little bar that was attached to a restaurant.
Tonight we went for dinner with Yulin and some of the others from our "Ottawa Crew". Just before we left the hotel we saw Adrian and Debbie (another Ottawa Crew couple) arrive from the airport. They are heading early tomorrow morning to meet their little girl in Mongolia, and they were fried from the flight, so they decided against joining us. We will see them again on Friday when we get back to Beijing. The restaurant was a beautiful place, and Yulin ordered us all kinds of stuff. She warned us before we got there that it was a bit more expensive than the night before (which was around $5 per person).....it came to a whopping $10 per person. Food in the restaurants...outside of the hotel of course..is really cheap. I am getting TsingTao at the grocery store for 50 cents a can!!!! It has me thinking of moving here.
Two more sleeps until we meet Clarissa!!!! I wonder what she is doing right now!!
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Day 2 comes to an end...what a day!
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Friday, August 28, 2009
Biiiiiiiiiiiiig stretch!!!!!!!!
Day 2 begins!!
Just getting up from a much needed sleep. Our first night went well.
Thanks to those who let me know that my post worked! Please keep in mind that I can't check to see how things look when I post....so if it looks funny at any point that's why. You should also keep in mind that there will likely typos galore since I can't get the hang of this teeny tiny keyboard. Maybe I'll start dictating to Carolyn and have her type it (ummmmm.....that's one of those 'let's not share this with Carolyn' comments....what's that Honey??? Me???Nothing...just surfing...)
I can't wait to see what I wrote last night because I was so fried I can't remember at all. I'm sure that it was good though ;-)
So time to shower, head to the buffet for breakfast, and off to do some walking. What are we seeing today again??? Oh ya, we're going to see an old, old temple.
I post more, with pics later..
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Just getting up from a much needed sleep. Our first night went well.
Thanks to those who let me know that my post worked! Please keep in mind that I can't check to see how things look when I post....so if it looks funny at any point that's why. You should also keep in mind that there will likely typos galore since I can't get the hang of this teeny tiny keyboard. Maybe I'll start dictating to Carolyn and have her type it (ummmmm.....that's one of those 'let's not share this with Carolyn' comments....what's that Honey??? Me???Nothing...just surfing...)
I can't wait to see what I wrote last night because I was so fried I can't remember at all. I'm sure that it was good though ;-)
So time to shower, head to the buffet for breakfast, and off to do some walking. What are we seeing today again??? Oh ya, we're going to see an old, old temple.
I post more, with pics later..
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We are in China!!!!
Anyhow, we are exhausted so it's time to try to sleep.
I'm not sure if this will actually post properly since I can't get into the site to check. Maybe someone could send me an email to roblauzon@hotmail.com to let me know.
I'll attach a couple of pictures...more to come.
Attention all humans. We are your photos. Free us.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
At the Ottawa airport!
We are waiting for our flight from Ottawa to Toronto...then on to Beijing we go. I will post more later today....or will it be tomorrow? It will be Friday afternoon when we get to Beijing. I'm hungry!!!! Wish us luck for a good, loooonnnnngggg flight. Not much time...off we go. I'll post some pics later. I am hating this tiny keyboard on this notebook...my fingers are too big.
later
later
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Zero days!!!!!!!!
Our countdown clock says "000" days until we leave for China!!!!! I guess we are as ready to go as we can be. If we didn't pack it...and we need it...we'll buy it.
One thing that I will be buying in Beijing is a light/flash for my camcorder. I can't find mine. I suspect that I left it in my desk drawer at work (don't even ask...) and I'm not driving there at 8:15pm. Hopefully I'll be able to find the right kind in Beijing.
I think that the bunnies and the bird know that we're leaving...I'm sure that I've seen a few dirty looks thrown my way by them all.
It's hard to believe that after such a long, long, looooonnnnnnnggggg wait, the time is finally here. We are going to China to meet Clarissa!!!!! We are going to soak in as much as we possibly can while we are there so that we will be able to share her culture with her as she gets older. I am going to take all kinds of pictures....until I get a flash I guess that they will be taken in the daytime. Maybe I'll just buy a good quality digital camera...we'll see.
It has been a very busy day...almost time for our last night's sleep in our own bed for over two weeks!! I will do my best to post often.
I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now?!?!?!?!?!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right....not only is today the day before we leave for China, but it's also our anniversary. The day I became the luckiest guy in the world! I love you Honey!!! .....Now GET PACKING!!!! HE HE HE
Ok....so we're still not quite packed, but we're getting there. Another few days and we'll be done everything that we need to do to get ready to leave tomorrow.
Why the picture of Mickey Mouse???? Well, in addition to the million things that we need to do....we also spent yesterday trying to locate the remains of a mouse that died somewhere in our car. Alright...let me take a couple of steps back. On Sunday we found some "evidence" that a mouse had been in the car. So thinking that it was living in the garage I did the "smart thing" and left the car outside the garage (in the thousand degree heat) and set a trap inside the garage. Monday morning I head to garage to collect and dispose of little Mickey. Hmmmm.....no mouse. But I thought that mice loved Swiss cheese!!!! I remember the cartoons...mice were always eating Swiss cheese!!!! So disappointed, I headed off to work. Since Carolyn was staying home...I got to take her little car instead of the van. Another warm day, and on the way home I started to smell something rotten.
Yesterday, it was much, much worse. It was at this point that I knew why we didn't catch a mouse in the garage.......it's because he's dead somewhere in our car!!!! So we look, and look, and look.....no mouse. Soooooo we brought the car back to the dealer (it was there this week for an oil change) so that they can take the dash and whatever apart to find it, and do what they can to get rid of the smell. The car stayed there overnight...they are having trouble finding it I guess. Hopefully we'll get the car back today.
Sooooo back to China...I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now?!?!?!
One more day, and one more sleep in our own bed....the off we go!
Happy Anniversary Honey!!!! I love you!!!
NOW GET PACKING!!!!
Ok....so we're still not quite packed, but we're getting there. Another few days and we'll be done everything that we need to do to get ready to leave tomorrow.
Why the picture of Mickey Mouse???? Well, in addition to the million things that we need to do....we also spent yesterday trying to locate the remains of a mouse that died somewhere in our car. Alright...let me take a couple of steps back. On Sunday we found some "evidence" that a mouse had been in the car. So thinking that it was living in the garage I did the "smart thing" and left the car outside the garage (in the thousand degree heat) and set a trap inside the garage. Monday morning I head to garage to collect and dispose of little Mickey. Hmmmm.....no mouse. But I thought that mice loved Swiss cheese!!!! I remember the cartoons...mice were always eating Swiss cheese!!!! So disappointed, I headed off to work. Since Carolyn was staying home...I got to take her little car instead of the van. Another warm day, and on the way home I started to smell something rotten.
Yesterday, it was much, much worse. It was at this point that I knew why we didn't catch a mouse in the garage.......it's because he's dead somewhere in our car!!!! So we look, and look, and look.....no mouse. Soooooo we brought the car back to the dealer (it was there this week for an oil change) so that they can take the dash and whatever apart to find it, and do what they can to get rid of the smell. The car stayed there overnight...they are having trouble finding it I guess. Hopefully we'll get the car back today.
Sooooo back to China...I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now?!?!?!
One more day, and one more sleep in our own bed....the off we go!
Happy Anniversary Honey!!!! I love you!!!
NOW GET PACKING!!!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Only a couple of days to go!!!!
We have both now finished work before our trip. My last day was today. I got some last minute things done, but the best part of the day was lunch with the boys...Marc and Dave. Ga Ga Patates...if you don't know where it is...hunt it down and try it. Theeee best freakin' fries in the NCR (that's National Capital Region for all you "non-government" types.....not to say in any way that there is anything wrong with not knowing what NCR stands for). Carolyn and I send all our best thoughts to Marc and Anne-Marie for the birth of their child...any day now. Since I won't be here to say it..."Félicitations mon homme!!"
Soooooo back to me.....yep...I'm done work for 6 weeks. SIX WEEKS!!!!! WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!
What's with the Simpson's theme???? I don't know.....don't ask me. I'm just running with it. Don't question it...just come with me for the ride. It just seemed to happen. I'm finding ways to pass the time during the last stretch to us meeting Clarissa.....we can't freakin' wait to meet Clarissa! Errrrrrr....I mean.....we can't wait to meet Clarissa!!! I will cherish every second of the THIRTEEN hour flight that will bring us to her. We sooooo can't wait to have her at home with us where she belongs. Almost. Soon. We are going to be a family soon!!!
Hmmmm I wonder if I can squeeze in a golf game between now and Thursday...is anyone off???? What's that Honey??? Ummmm...nothing...I'm just reading the paper...
Shhhhhh let's not mention the whole golf thing to Carolyn.......
Soooooo back to me.....yep...I'm done work for 6 weeks. SIX WEEKS!!!!! WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!
What's with the Simpson's theme???? I don't know.....don't ask me. I'm just running with it. Don't question it...just come with me for the ride. It just seemed to happen. I'm finding ways to pass the time during the last stretch to us meeting Clarissa.....we can't freakin' wait to meet Clarissa! Errrrrrr....I mean.....we can't wait to meet Clarissa!!! I will cherish every second of the THIRTEEN hour flight that will bring us to her. We sooooo can't wait to have her at home with us where she belongs. Almost. Soon. We are going to be a family soon!!!
Hmmmm I wonder if I can squeeze in a golf game between now and Thursday...is anyone off???? What's that Honey??? Ummmm...nothing...I'm just reading the paper...
Shhhhhh let's not mention the whole golf thing to Carolyn.......
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Last weekend lounging at home without Clarissa...
We're just hanging at home watching some shows with a nice glass of wine. The next time that we're home on a Saturday night Clarissa will be with us. Woo hoo!!! Next Saturday night we will be in Beijing!!!
Carolyn completed her last day of work for a year yesterday.....I now have my own personal lil housewife!! Errrrrr....ummmmm....uhhhhhhh I mean she's now a stay-at-home Mom! I have one day of work left on Monday.
Are we packed yet??? Uhhhhhh no. Well we do have a bunch of stuff spread out all over the floor and Carolyn has filled one suitcase with Clarissa's stuff (I think that it weighs around a hundred pounds, but we won't tell Carolyn that yet). We'll get there.
I played my last game of golf for a while this morning. Other than it getting quite warm during the last few holes it was great weather. We would have been done before it got too warm but we had this foursome in front of us that was very slow, especially this tall guy wearing an orange shirt with a hat. Oh...wait a sec...the other half of our group was in front of us....and now that I think about it I think that John had his orange (oh excuse me...not orange, it's Sienna...silly me) "Bogey Knights" shirt on. Now that I think about it, it must have been the group in front of the group in front of us that was slow. Ya...that's it.
Soooo back to Clarissa....she now officially has about 5 times the amount of clothes that I do. They are everywhere!! I see pink no matter what direction I turn. Oddly enough that is not a bad thing at all. She will be here soon. I have noticed Carolyn looking at my closet space though, I figure that it's only a matter of time before she comes home with a portable clothes rack that she will set up in the garage for my stuff....hmmmm better not give her any ideas.
Carolyn completed her last day of work for a year yesterday.....I now have my own personal lil housewife!! Errrrrr....ummmmm....uhhhhhhh I mean she's now a stay-at-home Mom! I have one day of work left on Monday.
Are we packed yet??? Uhhhhhh no. Well we do have a bunch of stuff spread out all over the floor and Carolyn has filled one suitcase with Clarissa's stuff (I think that it weighs around a hundred pounds, but we won't tell Carolyn that yet). We'll get there.
I played my last game of golf for a while this morning. Other than it getting quite warm during the last few holes it was great weather. We would have been done before it got too warm but we had this foursome in front of us that was very slow, especially this tall guy wearing an orange shirt with a hat. Oh...wait a sec...the other half of our group was in front of us....and now that I think about it I think that John had his orange (oh excuse me...not orange, it's Sienna...silly me) "Bogey Knights" shirt on. Now that I think about it, it must have been the group in front of the group in front of us that was slow. Ya...that's it.
Soooo back to Clarissa....she now officially has about 5 times the amount of clothes that I do. They are everywhere!! I see pink no matter what direction I turn. Oddly enough that is not a bad thing at all. She will be here soon. I have noticed Carolyn looking at my closet space though, I figure that it's only a matter of time before she comes home with a portable clothes rack that she will set up in the garage for my stuff....hmmmm better not give her any ideas.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
One week from right now will be the night before we leave!!!!
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!! We're going to China in a week!!!! I'm freaking out!!! I can't breathe!!!! My hands are shaking!!! Are we ready???? Can we really do this??? I'm scared!!!! Our world is about to completely change!!!!
HA HA HA HE HE HE HO HO HO!!!!!! We sure are going to China in a week!!!! I'm not freaking out at all.....bring it on!!!!! I can breath clearly now...!!! My hands are as steady as can be!!! We are sooooooooo ready!!!!! I'm not even going to dignify that question with an answer!!!! I am soooooooo not scared!!!!! Our world is about the completely change for the better!!!!
I CANNOT wait for us to leave to meet Clarissa. I CANNOT wait for us to get home with Clarissa. I CANNOT wait for us to experience every single moment between those two moments.
Me and my girls...oh ya baby!!!!!!!!
Sooooooo back to the whole seat booking thing.....we bought a third seat for the flights back. When I looked online at our booking we had our seats confirmed for all of our flights except for Beijing to Toronto. Now of course this is the most important of all of our flights to have our seats together. Sooooooo, I call the travel agent who booked for us to ask why. He told me that the airline only pre-books 65% of the seats and they had reached that limit. So I asked when we could confirm our seats. He told me that we could confirm them 24 hours before the flight. So I asked him what the odds were that we would get 3 seats together. He told me that there was a 50-50 chance. Well, of course this was not acceptable to me. I explained that the only reason that we booked the third seat was so that we could all be together and have the extra room (since Clarissa is only 10 months old we technically didn't have to buy a third seat). I explained that if were split up, we would end up using only two of the seats anyhow....in other words throwing away the many dollars to have the third seat. He told me that there was nothing he could do.
Soooooooo I phoned Air Canada. After being on hold for a while, I told the lady who answered that we were travelling to China to adopt, and... (fill in the info from above). Well she told me to hold on for a minute. She came back and told me that we had seats 23 A, B, and C. I said "really??? As simple as that???" and she said "Yes, all your agent had to do was call and explain why you were flying and we would have confirmed the seats right away. That's actually one of the exact type of reasons that we hold the 35% of the seats.
Soooooooo for those of you heading to China, if you run into the same situation just call Air Canada (I assume it would be the same thing with other airlines), explain the situation and you will get your seats. Now the only question is....will we actually get our seats????
Well we've decided to share Clarissa's site with family and friends....so I'll send out a big "Hey!!!!!" to Grandma and Grandpa (I'm still waiting to find out the official titles...but I must say that Grandma and Grandpa are growing on me....), Uncle Don, Great Uncle Richard and France, Kim and Dave (Godma and Godpa??? Errrrr nope...works with Grand, but it has to be Godmother and Godfather...I'm gonna make you an offer...oops no no no not that Godfather)...and Chelsea and Eric, Michel and Lyne, Marc, Tesia, all of my golf buddies (you know who you are!!!! The best golf buddies a guy could ask for!!!Ummm.....that's cash to be deposited to account number.....), my hockey Red Team boys (you are the best teammates a guy could ask for...I love you guys!!!!!)Suzanne and Julian (the flight from England to Ottawa is probably shorter than to Florida...ummm don't quote me on that....but I think so....and I'm waaaaaayyyyy more entertaining than Mickey Mouse), Michelle and Phil (it has been way too long!!!), Chris and Claude (it has been even longer), and Maureen. Now the question is.....who did I forget???????? I am sure that I forgot someone.....please don't be mad...I'm a bozo, what do I know???? I don't even remember what I wrote earlier in this post because it is gone from view in the box...hmmmm that must mean that I have been rambling on. Ok time to wrap it up. Oh before I do....I have an idea...if I forgot you, send me a nasty (well, not too nasty) email and I'll do a post dedicated specifically to you.....well it will still be about me of course..errrr....I mean about Clarissa......ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!
I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now?!?!?!?!?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Single digits!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, the counter now says less than 10 days until we leave. Woo hoo!!!
It has been hot and humid here the last few days. I think that God is trying to prepare me for the temps in China. Hmmmm, I turned down golf on Saturday AND Sunday because of the heat...I wonder how I will manage wandering around in hotter temps carrying 15 pounds of beautiful little girl around. Ahhhhh no sweat...well ok....probably lots of sweat...perhaps that wasn't the right saying to use. How about "no prob!!"? Ya that's better. I'm climbing that wall no matter what. Errrr....is there an elevator????
As I type this Carolyn is sitting across the room frantically working away (I just out of nowhere whistled and gave her a wink when she looked over.....she then looked at me like I'm crazy and went back to work). Her last day of work for a year is Friday, so she's quickly running out of time to wrap things up. Without a doubt she will get everything done, and it will be perfect....because that's just what she is.
We had a fantastic dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's (I'm still not sure if those are the proper titles...I'm waiting to be told...but they are working for now) place with Great Grandma and Uncle....or is that Great Uncle??? Richard and France last night. Great company, great food....yep, pretty successful venture if you ask me.
Sunny the crazy bird (I really don't know where he gets the craziness from...) has been squawking at me for posting a picture of the bunnies but not one of him, so hopefully now he'll be happy.
I wonder what Clarissa is doing right now?????
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What a great idea that was!!!
Thursday night we were graciously invited for a Chinese food dinner at the beautiful home of one of the couples who we will be travelling with (along with the other Ottawa area couples from our travel group as well as Yulin and Bob). Well, what a fantastic idea it was! Manon, Richard, and Marie-Ève (along with Manon's parents Jacqueline and Pierre-Paul) were wonderful hosts, the food was exellent, and it's safe to say that a great time was had by all! I think that arranging the opportunity to meet and get to know some of the other families before we leave was genious. We all "showed-off" our pictures, shared stories...Manon, and Richard have been through it all before when they went to meet Marie-Ève, so I'm sure that they will be a great source of info for those of us who don't have a clue :-) Also, since four of the families will be on the same flights from Ottawa to Beijing, having the familiar faces as we begin our journey will no doubt help.
Less than two weeks to go!!!
Oh ya, I was going to talk about the plane tickets thing....oh well later....
Less than two weeks to go!!!
Oh ya, I was going to talk about the plane tickets thing....oh well later....
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
15 days to go....and counting!!!
That's right...two weeks from today we will be packed, ready to go, and relaxing. Or will we be frantically running around doing all kinds of last minute things? Yep, I think it will be the latter also. Time will tell I suppose.
Time is a bizarre thing right now. I still find the wait to be agonizingly slow, but at the same time the trip seems to be approaching very quickly. We're two weeks away from leaving!
One of the things that has really helped the time go by is following along with those who are in China right now. I've especially enjoyed and appreciated reading the adventures of Brent, Melanie, and Hailey, and Rob, Laura, and Ella. I think that they have done a fantastic job of telling their stories. Assuming that I am able to post from China (technicalogically or physically), I will aspire to document our journey as well as they have.
Oh did I tell you the story about booking the seats for our flight??? I don't think I did.....next post.....
Friday, August 7, 2009
Clarissa is 9 months old today!!!!!!....I'm havin' cake!!
Yep, our beautiful little girl is 9....months old today! The really, really, really....really cool thing is that when she turns 10 months old she will be with us...or should I say we will be with her...in China. I sure hope that she is going to show us around to all the "hot spots" in Nanchang!! I can't wait to meet her.
Three weeks from yesterday we leave for Beijing....three weeks from today we will be in Beijing. Or will we actually be there three weeks from yesterday even though it will actually be three weeks from today???? Or is it the other way around??? I don't know anymore...but I am willing to bet that regardless of which day is which, 504 hours from now we will probably be exhausted and jet-lagged. Of course I'm sure that we will also be awestruck, excited, and nervous. Nervous is a funny one for me at this point. It is the one emotion that I haven't really felt about this whole journey.....well I have had those brief moments of "holy crap she's going to have a bozo like me for a Dad!!!!", but then I think "but she's going to have Carolyn for a Mom...she's going to be fine". Ok...I don't really think that...just thought that it would be amusing for this post. Well I do think the part about Carolyn....but not the part about me. I'm going to be a great Dad. Still not sure about the whole diaper thing....but isn't that a "Mom thing" anyhow??? HA HA HA ladies don't hunt me down...I was just kidding. I will happily become "Diaperman!!!" (faster than a pack of prunes, stronger than an unattended outhouse, able to hold his breath longer than Houdini...where was I going with all this???) Errrr please don't mention the last couple of sentences to Carolyn...What??? She's going to read this????? Oh....ummmmm.....I looooooooove you Honey!!!!!!
Soooooo ya back to being in China in three weeks. It is getting very difficult to think of anything else at this point. Concentrating at work is becoming a challenge...and I have a million things that I want to get done before we leave. The good thing is that tomorrow morning I will have a great excuse if my golf game isn't up to par...hey.."golf game....not up to par" aren't I a riot?
Looking forward to dinner next week (Chinese food of course) with the handful of other couples from our city who we will be travelling with. One of the couples was nice enough to invite us all to their place. It will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we head to China. I think that Bob and Yulin are joining us for dinner so that will be great.
Also looking forward to what I expect will be our last concert for a while. We have great seats for the Bryan Adams show at the National Arts Centre.
Lunchtime is over...enough rambling for now....
Three weeks from yesterday we leave for Beijing....three weeks from today we will be in Beijing. Or will we actually be there three weeks from yesterday even though it will actually be three weeks from today???? Or is it the other way around??? I don't know anymore...but I am willing to bet that regardless of which day is which, 504 hours from now we will probably be exhausted and jet-lagged. Of course I'm sure that we will also be awestruck, excited, and nervous. Nervous is a funny one for me at this point. It is the one emotion that I haven't really felt about this whole journey.....well I have had those brief moments of "holy crap she's going to have a bozo like me for a Dad!!!!", but then I think "but she's going to have Carolyn for a Mom...she's going to be fine". Ok...I don't really think that...just thought that it would be amusing for this post. Well I do think the part about Carolyn....but not the part about me. I'm going to be a great Dad. Still not sure about the whole diaper thing....but isn't that a "Mom thing" anyhow??? HA HA HA ladies don't hunt me down...I was just kidding. I will happily become "Diaperman!!!" (faster than a pack of prunes, stronger than an unattended outhouse, able to hold his breath longer than Houdini...where was I going with all this???) Errrr please don't mention the last couple of sentences to Carolyn...What??? She's going to read this????? Oh....ummmmm.....I looooooooove you Honey!!!!!!
Soooooo ya back to being in China in three weeks. It is getting very difficult to think of anything else at this point. Concentrating at work is becoming a challenge...and I have a million things that I want to get done before we leave. The good thing is that tomorrow morning I will have a great excuse if my golf game isn't up to par...hey.."golf game....not up to par" aren't I a riot?
Looking forward to dinner next week (Chinese food of course) with the handful of other couples from our city who we will be travelling with. One of the couples was nice enough to invite us all to their place. It will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we head to China. I think that Bob and Yulin are joining us for dinner so that will be great.
Also looking forward to what I expect will be our last concert for a while. We have great seats for the Bryan Adams show at the National Arts Centre.
Lunchtime is over...enough rambling for now....
Monday, August 3, 2009
Pictures too early????
Alright, I know that this is going to sound like a crazy question. Yep, Rob is out of his mind. Is he?? Or is he completely in his mind???? Has he gone insane??? Or is he so sane that it's beyond belief??? Well you be the judge.....but be nice to him because he is just asking a question.
Sooooo the question is....is two months ahead of travelling too early for us the get pictures of Clarissa? (he says as he looks over at Carolyn across the room while he types this.... he's wondered about this a bit over the last couple of days but hasn't said it out loud yet) Of course I'm not saying it is...let me explain my logic. (ya ya...me....logic....same sentence....what's up with that????)
Firstly, let me say that I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE having Clarissa's picture! I cherish having her picture! I adore having her picture! I look at it all the time! It's everywhere...in my wallet, on the walls of my office, on my desk, on the desktop of every computer that I use.....everywhere. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love her picture....I love her soooooooo much! I can't wait to meet her. Can't freakin' wait!!! But.......
Ok before I get to the "but", let me add that we have done a whack of reading and learning about everything that we possibly can about adoption, including as many of the awesome bl.....sites that we can find of peoples journeys to China, so we have a pretty good idea of the wide range of things that we may or may not experience.
Sooo back to the but. Even knowing all that we know....we know that while we are here looking at her picture, waiting for her, developing a relationship with her, imaging her everywhere around our house, she isn't waiting for us. Even though we know that our package including pictures of us was delivered by Yulin, and hopefully her caregivers may be showing her our pictures...she isn't waiting for us. Even though she is such a huge part of our life....the center of it really....she isn't waiting for us.
How do we prepare ourselves for that? As Bob said...."she's probably not going to like you very much for a few days." We know that, we understand it, we don't question it at all, it makes perfect sense. Still, after two months of looking at her pictures, waiting for her, developing a relationship with her, imaging her everywhere around our house....she isn't waiting for us. How do we prepare ourselves for that?
Now, don't let my ramblings fool you. I have no doubt whatsoever that we are going to get through those hours, or days, or weeks, or whatever. We are going to love her, support her, and do everything humanly possible to make her know that our one goal in the world is to take care of her, and that we will always be there for her.
I'm just asking....is two months ahead of time too much? Ahhhhhhh I still say as I look over at the four pictures of her on the mantle....I wouldn't trade having her picture for anything in the world!
P.S. Roberta, I responded to you question with instructions about posting by email.
Sooooo the question is....is two months ahead of travelling too early for us the get pictures of Clarissa? (he says as he looks over at Carolyn across the room while he types this.... he's wondered about this a bit over the last couple of days but hasn't said it out loud yet) Of course I'm not saying it is...let me explain my logic. (ya ya...me....logic....same sentence....what's up with that????)
Firstly, let me say that I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE having Clarissa's picture! I cherish having her picture! I adore having her picture! I look at it all the time! It's everywhere...in my wallet, on the walls of my office, on my desk, on the desktop of every computer that I use.....everywhere. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love her picture....I love her soooooooo much! I can't wait to meet her. Can't freakin' wait!!! But.......
Ok before I get to the "but", let me add that we have done a whack of reading and learning about everything that we possibly can about adoption, including as many of the awesome bl.....sites that we can find of peoples journeys to China, so we have a pretty good idea of the wide range of things that we may or may not experience.
Sooo back to the but. Even knowing all that we know....we know that while we are here looking at her picture, waiting for her, developing a relationship with her, imaging her everywhere around our house, she isn't waiting for us. Even though we know that our package including pictures of us was delivered by Yulin, and hopefully her caregivers may be showing her our pictures...she isn't waiting for us. Even though she is such a huge part of our life....the center of it really....she isn't waiting for us.
How do we prepare ourselves for that? As Bob said...."she's probably not going to like you very much for a few days." We know that, we understand it, we don't question it at all, it makes perfect sense. Still, after two months of looking at her pictures, waiting for her, developing a relationship with her, imaging her everywhere around our house....she isn't waiting for us. How do we prepare ourselves for that?
Now, don't let my ramblings fool you. I have no doubt whatsoever that we are going to get through those hours, or days, or weeks, or whatever. We are going to love her, support her, and do everything humanly possible to make her know that our one goal in the world is to take care of her, and that we will always be there for her.
I'm just asking....is two months ahead of time too much? Ahhhhhhh I still say as I look over at the four pictures of her on the mantle....I wouldn't trade having her picture for anything in the world!
P.S. Roberta, I responded to you question with instructions about posting by email.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Beeeeeep!!!....do not adjust your computer....this is a test of the email broadcasting system
Let's not tell Carolyn about this whole discussion. What??? She will probably read this???? Ummmm....errrrr....I love you Honey!!!!!!!
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