Heading home, at last

Thanks to Grandma, we scored first class accommodations for the trip home. This made a world of difference on this trip as we had plenty of room to spread out and move around. Our biggest fear ~ Lily might start to think that we could actually afford to live like this! Princess Lily obviously got in to the high life. Dad spent a good deal of this trip on the floor ~ prophetic his new role as manservant : ) 

Shy boy; curious mom

Although this little boy was obviously nervous about these strange people, his mom was eager to meet Lily and hear a bit about her new home. Mom wanted Lily to meet her son; perhaps he feared that he too would be end up in some far away land with strange white people? 

Feel the love!

The ladies at this antique shop fell in love with Lily (something we encountered often). We visited then several times during our stay, and of course, we managed to spend a bit of money there too : )

Grandma felt this was a brilliant marketing strategy, but I had the sense that people were genuinely interested in and concerned about the well-being of our children. It was not uncommon for people to come up, give Lily a little pinch on the cheek, and then give us a big thumbs up, and with a smile, say "Lucky baby, good baby". 

Pre-travel Check-up

Before we could finalize Lily's visa and bring her home, she had to have a medical exam. It must be a strange sight to the locals to see a group of 20 infants carted into a clinic by a bunch of Westerners. Because of the volume of adoptions (nearly 6000 just to the US last year alone), the clinic has a special area dedicated to the adoption exams. Every day, scores of children file through here with their new parents before finally being issued visas and then traveling to their new homes in their new countries. Interestingly, for the past several years, the majority of adopted Chinese babies have gone to Spain.
 

Lily's first flight

I'm not sure I dreaded any part of this process as much as the flying. I've flown with enough freaked out kids to know that twelve hours in the air can be a very long time for those who would be sitting around us. Our first test came with the flight from Chongqing to Guangzau. A relatively short leg of the trip at about two hours, I figured this would be a good test of what would come later. As with other aspects of this trip, we soon discovered that our worries were unfounded. Lily took her first flight in stride. In fact, within a few minutes of boarding the plane, Lily and mom both were out cold.

By the time we finally arrived home, Lily had seven flights and three countries under her belt ~ quite a travel log for a ten month old little girl who had never been outside of a crib until three weeks earlier! 

Lily's home city

Chongqing is a most amazing city. The largest city in the world with a population of 32 million, it is its own Chinese province. Although there are apartments as far as the eye can see, and probably as many people in this plaza as live in our small city, it never felt oppressive or claustrophobic. Like much of urban China today, Chongqing is full of contrasts where an ancient culture and civilization meets modernization. 

First trip to the zoo

After spending the first ten months of her life within the confines of her orphanage, quickly makes up for lost time. On February 17th, Dad was well enough to get out, and we visited the Chongqing Zoo, home to several pandas. Though it wasn't all that cold, we had to be sure to bundle up the babies as the locals were quick to reprimand those whose babies were seen as under dressed. With Lily looking like a little Michelin Man, we managed to avoid upsetting concerned Chinese grandmas. We're not sure how much Lily actually was able to see, however.

First family snapshot

Moments after Lily joined the family, Grandma (left) Dad (looking quite green around the gills), and a very happy mommy pose with an un-phased Lily Ana.

What could have been.

To help us understand the life our child might have had, our hosts took us to visit a typical subsistence farm outside of Chongqing. While know one can say exactly what life would have been like for Lily, it's a safe bet that it would not have been any better than the lifestyle of the folks who live on this farm. The extended family living here includes five generations, who as we were told, were better off than many. While they have no indoor plumbing or running water, they do have electric lighting. We felt privileged to be able to spend some time with this family, to have at least a sense of what might have been for our daughter and to be able to appreciate fully the life that she now has with us.

The Five Star Life

For a child who had never known more than one set of cloths, air conditioning, or any of the other luxuries we tend to take for granted, Lily seemed to take to it all readily. All the concerns that we had about her adjustment were unfounded. We took this little girl from everything she had ever known, but it was as though she had been with us all along.

A long Day...

For Xiu Huai, it had been a long day, and we were amazed that she held up so well. She, her friends and care givers started the day with a 12 hour bus trip from the orphanage into Chongqing. As far as we know, Lily had never been out of her orphanage, and probably spent very little time even out of her crib, so to find themselves in a strange place and then to have all these strange looking and very excited people show up, should have been pretty scary. But for the most part, the kids did great. By the time we made it back to our room, everyone was exhausted.

Moment of Truth

On February 13th, 2006, we went to bed in Beijing, China full of anticipation about the day to come. First thing in the morning, we would be traveling to Chongqing to meet our new little girl. Needless to say, we could hardly stand the wait, and sleep did not come easily. Over the preceding two years, we had tried to imagine this moment many times. But, at about 4am, Dad woke up with a severe case of “stomach flu”, and suddenly everything changed. Now, the task of getting from Beijing to Chongqing (about a three hour flight) would be a completely different challenge. There was a flight to Chongqing, a trip to the hotel, final adoption paperwork, and finally a trip to the adoption center, and all the while, Dad to be could hardly make it 15 minutes without dire need for a bathroom. One way or the other, we had to make it, and of course we did. And although the moment we met Lily for the first time was not at all what we had imagined it would be, it was still an unforgettable life experience. The moment we met Lily for the first time was magical ~ love at first sight.

Lily Ana Xiu Huai ~ The Journey Begins

After nearly two years of work and waiting, on Thursday, December 8, 2005 we received word from our adoption agency that we had been matched to a little girl. On Monday December 12, we received our greatly anticipated packet which included medical records, developmental information, and three pictures.

Lily Ana Xiu Huai
Born April 13, 2005 in Chongqing Province, China
She was found shortly after her birth, wrapped in a blanket and in a basket, left in the doorway of a school. Her umbilical cord was still attached.

On February 9, 2006, we will embark on the most significant journey of our lives when we leave for Beijing to begin the final process of adoption to bring Lily home. On February 14, we will arrive in Chongqing and meet Lily for the first time. She has been in our hearts for more than two years, but on Valentine’s Day, she will be in our arms.