Emails and Comments

Just a note about contacting us in China. We LOVE to hear from our friends and family while in China. It really helps us feel connected to home when we get your emails. Our blog has a comments area at the bottom of each post. That is one way to connect. However, we really prefer getting emails if possible. We should be able to post to the blog in China, but we probably won't be able to view our blog or comments in most regions in China. I believe blogs are blocked so you can't view them in many areas in China. You can email us on either of the binanderson ones and we should be able to get your messages. If any of our friends viewing our blog needs our email address, please call me or post yours in the comments, and I will email you the information. Thanks for all the prayers many have offered for our family and will continue to cover us in China.

Birthday Marathon Week

We are getting really close now. We can officially start saying, "We leave on Thursday!" No more "We leave a week from..." or "The week after next..." We have had a busy week finishing up many parts of our life. We had our last lap swim, last Wednesday evening church, last couples Bible study and today is Harry's last golf meet - Praise The Lord! Last day of school is next Monday so summer is gearing up just as we plan to step out of the US for a couple weeks.

This week has been all about Birthday parties! I took Alex and a friend to Chuck-E-Cheese Wednesday for a morning filled with everything a kid could love - games, rides, pizza, freedom, candy and prizes at the end. Although I view Chuck-E-Cheese as adult torture, we had the place to ourselves for the first 2 hours and had a great time!
Today we had 7 lovely princesses to our home with siblings and moms for a princess tea birthday party for Lily. We all had a lovely time drinking lemonade and eating a kid-inspired lunch of hotdogs, chips, grapes, watermelon, cheese cubes and carrots. They loved it!

Tomorrow night we head to my brother's for another round of birthday parties and to a local park on Sunday to celebrate my grandma's 99th birthday! We also have a few graduation parties to stop by. We are going to be really sick of cake by next week.

May 23, 2005

Three years ago today, Harry and I were waiting anxiously in the Civil Affairs Building with 6 other families in Guangzhou, China. In the room across the hall we could hear little voices laughing. A few of the dads sneaked their video cameras to a crack in the door to get the first glimpse of our daughters. After a 30 minute wait that lasted almost forever, the orphanage staff brought the first baby in. "Anderson" they announced for the beautiful 11 month old Gang Chun Fei who would soon be know as Lily Fei. All of us were crying as they placed Lily into my arms. Today we will celebrate Lily's Family Day, the day she officially become part of our family. As her 4th birthday approaches, I can't believe how much she has grown. Princesses, Barbies, and Pink everything has found a home among the Legos, cars and Transformers. We love you Lily and thank God daily that you are part of our family. Happy 3rd Family Day!

44# checked & 11# carry-on

Packing. PACKING. PACKING!! It's taking over my thoughts, energy, our bedroom and spilling into our bathroom. Luggage stacked in the corner with various travelling paraphernalia that we've borrowed from different friends and family (Thanks everyone!). Sacks of toiletries to be gone through (can I live 2 weeks without this mouthwash or, more importantly, will this small deodorant last 2 weeks?). A growing pile of medications ("yes, I know that you haven't had that in years but what if..."). It's really the "what ifs" that cause all the problems. My mind is very creative at imagining possible scenarios and the devastating consequences if I did not bring THIS crucial item. For instance, I have 4 snack choices for Lyra, but what if she doesn't like the selection and not love me because of it!

I had always stressed out when leaving on trips until my mother taught me a valuable lesson: No matter where you go, if you forget something, you can usually find a Walmart nearby. Now, don't get me wrong, they do have Walmarts in China but somehow I think they might sell different products. Having all instructions in Chinese only adds to the challenge.

To make packing more complicated, we are travelling on several In-China flights. Chinese airlines have much stricter standards than the US flights. Absolutely no liquids or gels are allowed in carry-ons due to added security for the Olympics. Checked luggage is limited to 44 pounds and carry-ons to 11 pounds - they can actually weigh your carry-on in the airport! Eeek. My dad gave us an old laptop to take with us and it alone weighs 8 pounds without any of the connections!

So as I find my stress level rising, I realize I need to give this over to God . . . again. He has taken care of every detail for this adoption, will he really leave us in China without a plan? In His big picture, does it really matter if we have to do more laundry in our hotel room or run out of shampoo? With every step, I seem to have to try it on my own first before realizing God had us covered the entire time. Jesus, help us keep it simple, draw from Your strength, and cherish your plan for our family without the unnecessary "baggage" I keep trying to add.

Toddler Shower!

My coworker gave me and Lyra a wonderful "Toddler Shower" over the weekend. It was so much fun to relax, enjoy great food and celebrate Lyra's adoption! Lily ran out of her bedroom after I got home with some important questions, "What color was the shower, mommy?" I asked her, "What do you think we did at the shower?" Lily answered enthusiastically, "Scrubbed your hair and had lots of bubbles! Was it pink?" She was mostly right - it was pink and I did get some bubbles to entertain Lyra with in China!
Here we are viewing the video I found of Lyra on the China Care site. Words like "what a pistol" and "she will fit right in" were mentioned. Thank you Deb and Sandi for putting this on for me and to the rest of my coworkers for your support of my family.

Earthquake Relief Fund

I am adding a link to the side if anyone wants to give to the China Earthquake Relief fund. It is run by Half The Sky, an awesome organization that helps the orphans of China. They announced Ford will match all funds given to this fund. Anyone who feels led to give can click on this link to help out.

China Itinerary

Our In-China itinerary has been finalized. We leave on June 5th to fly to China on NorthWest Airlines. Almost 24 hours later, after brief stops in Detroit and Tokyo, we will arrive in Beijing, China at 9:30pm on June 6th. We are very excited to see Beijing as we travelled through Hong Kong on our first trip, skipping Beijing entirely.

We will stay in Beijing 3 nights at the Zhaolong Hotel. We hope to see the Great Wall and the China Care home in Beijng where Lyra spent time before and after her surgery in December 2006. We will be travelling with 8 other families in Beijing but will split up for the next portion of the trip.

On Monday, June 9th, we fly to Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province and stay 4 nights at the Shanxi Grand Hotel. Tuesday morning we will travel to the Civil Affairs Building to meet Lyra! Wednesday will be spent on paperwork. Thursday we will visit the Taiyuan City orphanage. Friday we will pick up Lyra's paperwork and passport and travel to Guangzhou that afternoon.

All adoptive families end up in Guangzhou. This is where we will also meet up with the rest of our travel group in Guangzhou. We are staying 5 nights at the White Swan. Woo Hoo!! This is where we stayed last time for the entire trip. We are looking forward to frequenting the shops and restaurants is this very familiar area. They also have a wonderful playroom for the children at the White Swan.

Wednesday, June 18th, we will board a plane in Guangzhou at 8:20am. 22 hours later, we will be home at 6:20pm the same day. It will be a very, very long day! It will make our anniversary the longest day of the year (which happens to be June 18th)!

China Earthquake

As most of you have heard, China had a horrific earthquake last night (Monday afternoon for them). It was centered in Sichuan province and many, many have been affected. Lyra's province is 2 away from Sichuan. I have not heard of any report of damage in Taiyuan City or Shanxi province where she is located. However, please be praying for the millions affected by this devastating disaster.

Consulate Appointment Confirmed!!

Our agency confirmed our appointment with the US consulate in China on June 16th at 9 am. This means our projected travel dates of June 5th to June 18th are confirmed. We are currently reviewing our flight options to and from China. Very long, no matter which one we choose! However, we are so thankful to be at this stage! I'm a little bummed that we have to wait 5 weeks to travel but it really will work out well for Harry and the kids. We will be travelling over the busiest week of our year. Every June I brace myself for..."the busiest week ever". Starting June 11th, we have Alex's birthday, followed by Lily's birthday, my niece's birthday, my FIL's birthday, my other niece's birthday, Father's day and finishing the week on June 18th with our wedding anniversary! Normally Bible School falls in there, also! This year we will be in China, probably wishing to see our family during this busy, festive week but thankful to have our new daughter.

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!

It's official!! Travel approval arrived at our agency this morning. I just got the call a few minutes. We have tenitive travel dates of June 5th-June 18th! This will work perfectly for Harry since his last day of school is June 3rd. We are waiting to hear from the American consulate in Guangzhou, China to see for sure when our appointment is so we can buy plane tickets! We will go in through Beijing with 3-4 other families, then on to Taiyuan City by our selves and finally meet up with the group in Guangzhou.

Care Package Received!