Shanghai Nights and KFC

We made it to Shanghai!! We chose to take the High speed Train instead of the airplane so we could see the countryside. WOW there is alot of poverty on the country side. But it was very interesting to see. One of the most interesting things we saw was farmers using handtools to farm the land. I am not sure if it was because of what they were growing or not but it was neat to see. Of course we would only see it for a brief second because the high speed train travels at 320 miles per hour. It was so fast! Alot of my pics didn't turn out because of the speed. Another thing is there will be no more pics while we are in Shanghai due to the fact that they dont have Wi-Fi at the hotel... only cable hook up. All of our pics are on my IPad. :( So sorry!!  But as soon as we get to Hong Kong, I will post all of the pics we take of us meeting Run Run for the first time.
We asked our guide, Jack, about Zheng Yi Run's name. He said it is pronounced Cheng Yi Wren. We thought this was funny because now she can be our little birdie (wren) and her English name is Liberty (li-BIRD-ty) haha.
We had a great meal tonight. We found a KFC. Although it took us a long time to order, those mashed potatoes were the best I have ever had!!  We need a Monicals's pizza or some Texas Roadhouse Fed-Ex'ed to us! We were starving today. Once we get Run Run, maybe she can order for us! Brandon actually has been doing great speaking Chinese when needed, like tonight. He said to the KFC girl, in Chinese, "Excuse me, Can I ask, do you speak english?" She smiled and went to get another girl who spoke English. As we were waiting for our food, we were brought back to the days of Hardee's when all the girls would scream their orders back to the cooks. It was so loud and then adding the Chinese language to the situation made it even funnier. It is such a harsh, loud language. And you wanna talk about line-jumping!! These people would for sure get kicked out of Six Flags. Everyone just cuts and pushes you out of their way. And no one goes off!! I told B that I will probably blow at least once before we leave. I was already run over by a wheel chair. Needless to say, we are having a good time and realize it is just cultural differences that we are not used to.
Tomorrow is the big day!! Our appointment got pushed back to 12:30 though. We have all of our gifts and money ready. We have her bag packed with toys, stickerbooks, sippy cup and snacks. We are nervous but excited to start the next part of our lives with her as a part of our family! As of tomorrow, the Myers will be a family of FIVE! Love you all and keep the prayers coming! I can feel them!

We conquered th Great Wall!

Today is day 3 in Beijing. It is very cold and windy here today.  We are getting to see so much but we are so tired! :) We both agree that we can catch up on sleep Sunday night so we did all we could today.
Today we visited a Jade factory. Here they take the stone and create all kinds of beautiful items. Necklaces, statues, earrings, and Family heirlooms. We purchased one of the family heirlooms. It is so cool! I truly love all of the history behind everything in  China. As our guide says, " In China, There is a reason for everything."
We then traveled to The Great Wall..... AND WE CONQUERED IT! We went as far up as we were allowed. 2872 steps to the top and back down. Umm, yes my legs are sore!! We agreed there should be a medal given to those who make it to the top! (I got a sweatshirt! Haha)
As we were climbing, I would think, "I can't make it to the top" but then I would see someone older walking down so I had to keep going! We were so glad when we reached the top. What beautiful scenery!
We traveled to the Olympic City and saw the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube from the 2008 Olympics. It was really neat to see it for real. But not a lot to do except take pictures.
After freezing our tails off taking pics, we went to the largest Tea House in Beijing for a tea tasting. B was a good sport about it since he really doesn't like tea. We tried, Jasmine, Olong (black dragon), Pu'er (pure), and fruit tea. Pu'er is supposed to be the most valuable because it is only found in China and it is rare. We didn't like it. We bought some fruit tea. Yummy! It will be good hot or cold!
After that we went to the Chinese acrobat show. AMAZING! Just when we were amazed by something, it would get even better.
Now we are back in our room for a much needed night in the hotel. We are beat!
We leave for Shanghai tomorrow on the Bullet Train. Excited for the new adventure and to see the countryside of China.

We are famous!

It is day 2 here in Beijing,China. We had an incredibly busy day but we are loving every minute of it! Today we had breakfast at the hotel and actually had some good "American"stuff.  Then it was off the Tinenaman Square but we were not allowed "on" the square because there are some governmental meetings going on and the government buildings are right next to the square. Then it was into the Forbidden City. So cool! Who knew this place went on and on forever? So much history and tradition to learn about. Our guide, Jack, is filled with tons of information. We are so lucky to have such a great guide!
After the Forbidden City, Brandon agreed to go out on a limb and have lunch with a local Chinese family, in their home, cooked by the mother. Now THAT 'S authentic Chinese living! She taught us how to make Chinese dumplings. Oh how delicious !!
We then took a Rickshaw tour of the Hunan (?) alleys. This is the older neighborhoods of Beijing. Made us really realize how "over the top" us Americans live. There were 3 generations in a 3bedroom home.
We also visited the Temple of Heaven. So interesting to learn about these places.
Then we had the famous Peking Duck dinner which B and I didn't enjoy so much but we tried. The last item on the agenda was the Red Theater and the Kung Fu show. This was really fun to watch. Some incredibly talented people!
Tonight we definitely will sleep well!
PS. I said we were famous because we had two different people come up and want to take their picture with us because we were American. It was funny!

We made it!!

Well we made it! We are in China! The flight was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  We sat next to a man who lives in the US but is originally from China. After talking for a bit, we shared that we were headed to China to adopt a little girl. He was so grateful for this and praised us for our decision. We explained that we are really the ones who are lucky. We get to get to have Run Run as a part of our family.
When we got to Beijing, we met our guide, Jack, he is super nice and full of knowledge about Beijing. He told us that one day for lunch he wants to take us to the home of an authentic Chinese family and they will make us "real" Chinese food. I agreed but Brandon is nervous. :) It will be a once in a lifetime experience!  Tonight we were on our own so we walked down the main strip where our hotel is and found a huge indoor mall. Not too exciting because all of the stores are the same ones we have in the US. But we ate at Pizza Hut. Interestingly, Pizza Hut here is a higher end restaurant. I tried a peach hot tea from a recommendation from our guide. It was so good!!
So far the city is really cool and I cannot wait to see what is in store for tomorrow....
PS The only negative is the smog and the matresses are so hard...Wheres my Sleep Comfort?? :)

The cherry on top!

As we are preparing to leave this morning, I checked in on our little Zoey. She is the little one we had to pass up adopting this past summer. She is the other little one in China who holds a piece of my heart.
 Zoey not having a forever family has always been the one little splinter in the wonderful joyous event of adopting Run Run.
But once again, God is so good...ALL of the time! We found out this morning that Zoey has been matched with her forever family! I didn't want to start my crying fest this early in the journey but the flood gates have opened before I have even left my house.
I praise God today for all of His wondrous plans that I cannot see. I love you,Lord!!

We are ready to go!!

Its time to travel and there is a huge snow storm going on. We have everything packed and ready to go. Now we are just hoping that our flight will not be cancelled. There are so many emotions going through our heads. Fear, anxiousness, joy, excitement and every other emotion one could feel!

We have had so many prayers and blessings from so many people! We are so lucky to have so many people that already love our little Run Run! The next time we post, we are hoping we will be in Beijing! :)

It's time to travel!

After all that we have been through...all the waiting, the ups and downs, the anticipation, the defeat, the heartbreak and the joy...... It is time to travel!  We have received our Travel approval and will be heading to China real soon!
One would think that we would be ready. Not physically but mentally. But I told my husband the other day, "I'm not ready!" He said, "How can you not be ready? We have been waiting 6 years!"
It is a strange feeling but it's the truth. Some of these feelings come from the fact that I am not a good traveler. I get achy,cranky and restless. Some of it comes from fear that she won't bond with us. Some of it comes from my fear of being a "girl" mom. Silly, I know. But it's the truth. I just pray she feels the love that has been bursting out of our home since we first saw her face. Little Run Run. :) Even when I think of all of my fears and doubts, future struggles we will face, I know it is worth it.
It is worth is because we are giving this little angel a true home where love will surround her.
It is worth it because she will have a family where she is accepted unconditionally.
It is worth is because she will feel protected and safe from harm.
It is worth it because even though it has been very, very difficult for us with many bumps in the road, we are being faithful to what we feel God has led us to do.
The seed in my heart that was planted when I was just a little girl, is now ready to be harvested.
Thank you God, for allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful thing.
It's time to come home, Little Run Run! :)