Journey To Katie

Last night in China.

2009-12-31T06:15:00.001-08:00

This is our last night in China. We will miss China but we are ready to get home and get into a routine. Katie is still doing great. She has her little moments and it is usually because she didn't get her way like mom didn't carry her and made her walk. Typical little 3 year old. She is so smart and really seems to understand what we tell her to do or not do. She is starting to repeat words that we say to her. We have enjoyed shopping in China but I really need to get out of here and stop shopping. So far everything is fitting in our suitcases including the new one that we bought for a whole $15.00 US which would have cost over $100.00 at home. Today we took pictures with the other family before they left around the hotel. They headed back to indy this afternoon. After they left we walked over to Lucy's (which has a lot of American food) and had lunch. Then walked down by the river one last time and took some pictures of the girls. This evening our guide made arrangements for Papa Johns to deliver pizza to the hotel. It taste just like home. Yummy!!! This evening we picked up our laundry and took Katie's stroller back and are finishing up packing. I can't wait to get home and have our pictures printed out. It looks like we got some great pictures. Happy New Year to everyone and we will see you when we get home.

Dave, Karen, Madison and Katie

Just a few more days...

2009-12-29T06:03:00.000-08:00

Well it is around 7:30 pm here in China. It feels like we have been here forever. We only have a few more days here in China. We are enjoying Guangzhou. There a lot of other adopted families here at the White Swan besides us so it is nice to get to know others and their kids. Today we went to the US Consulate to take our oath and finalize our adoption as far as the US is concerned. So by China and the US we are now officially Katie's family. Today we tried to venture to the other side of the river in Guangzhou and we got extremely wet. It was barely raining when we left but the time we got across the river it was pouring. We we walking and had umbrellas but still got really wet. We got to see stores that sold roots, mushrooms and such that it used for Chinese medicines. We also got to see a place that had chickens that we killing them for food. Not a pretty site. We also got see vendors selling dogs and cats. There were the cutest little kittens and puppies in cages but they were out in the rain getting wet. I felt bad for them. It is amazing how the animals are just out in the middle of the road areas in cages. It is a very trusting place. It was funny I went to take a picture of these cute kittens in a cage and the man with them got upset and said no pictures. Then he said no flash. Not sure what he thought that I was going to do with the picture. Tonight our guide took us to a Chinese Catonese restaurant close to the hotel. It was really good. We had fried rice, noodles, a beef type meal and sweet chicken. It was served on a lazy susan so we all shared it. Katie was using chop sticks. All of the girls at the restaurant and our guide was saying how good she used them at her age. Our guide has a 6 year old son and she said that he just started to use them. I figured that they used them from the beginning here. We tried to give Katie chopsticks in Changsha but she acted like she didn't know what they were. She used them the whole time for her meal tonight.

Tomorrow we will be going to the City Zoo where they have a panda bear. You can't come to China and not see a panda. We were wanting to go to the animal safari where you can feed some animals but it is alot more expensive and take 1/2 a day and they are calling for rain again tomorrow. The City zoo only takes a couple of hours to go through and doesn't cost much. We didn't want to drive all the way to the Safari and spend the money and get wet. Especially after getting so wet today

Last night we bought Katie some squeaky shoes. They are really big here and alot of adoptive families buy them. In the sole of the shoe there are squeaky things like those in a dog toy or something. So when the child runs or walks they squeak. Katie gets a big kick out of that. They are only $4.50/pair here. The squeakers can also come out when you don't want to hear the noise anymore. Thank goodness. Katie loves shoes. She likes to try them on in the store and if you buy her any then she brings them back to the hotel and puts them all away in a cabinet in the room. When she come back she takes them off and puts them away in there as well. She is very organized. That will be very different in our house. Maybe she can keep our house picked up. Hopefully we won't rub off on her with our lazy style. We bought the girls Chinese silk dresses in Changsha at the silk factory and here we bought them some really cute Chinese shoes that match pretty good. In the next couple of days we will put them on the girls and take some pictures around the hotel.

Well we only have a few more days here and we will be back home. We are ready to get back home and get into a routine. Katie is a very good girl and is very funny so she should fit in quite well. Right now she is playing with her baby by the bed quietly. She is a good sleeper but it is sometimes hard to get her to that point. Last night she climbed up in the bed between Madison and Dave and fell asleep. We just left her there instead of moving her to the baby bed that is in the room. Her and Dave shared the bed and Madison moved over to sleep with me. The beds are not any bigger then a twin bed probably so it will be nice to get home and stretch out in our King size bed.

Hope that everyone is doing well. I willl try to email again before we leave. See you all soon back on US soil.

Dave, Karen, Madison and Katie

Karen's feeling better!

2009-12-28T06:15:00.001-08:00

Greetings everyone,

Well we had Katie's TB test checked today and it came out fine so no x-ray or having to stay for treatment. Right now both kids are crying after playing. It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. I'm not sure if this was mentioned earlier but Katie does not have a cleft palate just a cleft gum so we have been blessed with good health for her. As some of you might know Karen was sick here for a few days but she is feeling better now and starting to eat again. This has been an amazing trip with a great education of the history of the people and government and country. After seeing the number of people here we can almost understand the one child policy which they are relaxing now. They say that the children that are left at the Civil Affairs bureau are mostly from the country people now. Our guide told us that if she and her husband were to have a second child her husband would lose his job and they would be fined $35,000 US and his boss would be fined as well for not controlling his employees which I'm glad we do not have that in the States. We went to a budist temple today and that was very interesting and our guide told us that the budist would be happy to bless our family and our child but we kindly tuned her down but we did watch them blessing the fish they bought from the market to release back to the water. You could buy incense at the door to burn in the incense stands. They are which in traditions here and Maddie read about some of them before she came and answered the guides questions which really surprised her. Still very interesting. Well it is one in the morning at your place and I understand we had a little snow and the Colts lost so not a tough day all the way around.

Katie can ask now "how are you doing?" and says "HI" still to almost everyone she sees. We have the afternoon free a nd we go to the zoo on Wednesday and the Consulate tomorrow to make Katie an American citizen. 4 more nights and we will start our journey home via 4 different flights.

Take care everyone and our love to you all,
Dave

I've been sick...

2009-12-27T05:42:00.001-08:00

Greetings from China. Sorry that I haven't posted lately. I have been sick. I started getting sick in Changsha the last couple of days and I thought that I was getting better. The night that we got in Guangzhou and I got really sick. My stomach was upset, I had diarhea(sp?) and had major sweats. It scared me being so far away from home in a foreign country. The day after we arrived in Guangzhou Katie had to go to the clinic to have a medical physical, 5 shots and her tb test. I was so sick that I couldn't make it. Luckily it was ok for only one parent to go with her. Our guide her in China Helen was really concerned about how I was feeling and she asked several doctors at the clinic what I could take. They recommended an anitibiotic which I was already taking that the doctor from home sent as well as a granule that went in warm water. Ancient Chinese potion I think. It was very chauky and tasted like malox or something. I am better today but still not eating much. Nothing sounds good. Guanhzhou is amazing. The hotel The White Swan is on an island and is surrounded by two rivers one being the Pearl river and I can't remember the other one. The boats on the water are all lite up, the buildings are are lite up and the have lazer lights of different colors in the sky. The trees have red Chinese Lanterns in them that are also lite up. It was a beautiful site. Katie is doing well but she has gone from Maddie's shadow to unseparable from Mommy. Right now she is whinning by my side as I am typing. She looks so sad. She is wanting to sit on my lap. She is a sweetheart and just a ball of fire. She has absolutly no fear at all. At the White Swan it is known as the adoption hotel. There are several families here from all around that have adopted kids of all ages. The hotel has a playroom that was furnished by Matel. It is neat to see all of the kids playing in there together and to hear all of the families stories. Most of the kids are somewhat shy and don't get too far from their parents but Katie is all of the place jumping on people, helping the other kids and throwing balls. The other family that is here with us from Noblesville has adopted a little girl that is 16 months old and they have a little girl that is 9. Her and Madison have become inseparable and get along really well. Mia (the 16 month old) is a little quiet and doesn't get to far from her mom Jaime. Katie is constantly taking toys to her or giving her a ball to play with. If she gets too far from Jaime and looks sad Katie directs back to her mom. It is so cute. At first Katie was a little forward and scared Mia but they are starting to become little friends. Katie has found a boyfriend names Samuel. He is a cute as can be and has an outgoing personality like Katie. Today we went to a place to look at pearls. The tradition in China is that the parents give their daughter a pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings to her to wear on her wedding day. It was such a good deal so we bought a set for Madison and Katie to give to them later. We got two real pearl necklaces, 2 bracelets, and 4 sets of earrings for $100.00 US money. What a deal. We also went to a Folk Art Museum. They had some beautiful items like scrolls that were hand painted. When we walked in the guy was painting the most amazing pictures with just his fingers and fist. What talent. Tomorrow we will have to go to have Katie's TB test checked. So far it looks good so we shouldn't have to have any type of xrays done. Tomorrow we will also be going to a government center where we will be able to purchase Jade and Chinese tea sets. We have found some neat treasures to bring home for us as well as gifts. We will have to purchase another suitcase to fit them all in to come home. We have had a busy day today so we are just hanging out in the hotel room trying to get ready for another busy day. We are excited to see more of Guangzhou and the island. We have had some great guides at each city and will carry a special part of them in our hearts forever. Our guide Vicky in Changsha gave us her email address and asked that we stay in touch. We all had tears in our eyes when we said goodbye to her at the Changsha airport. She also said that she would forward our pictures of Katie later to her orphanage. I wondered if they would be interested or we could even do that. That will be neat to keep in contact with someone here in China. I will try to post more tomorrow and stay in touch more since I am feeling better. It is just really busy here and by the time you hit the hotel room you just want to crash. Hope all if well in Indy and hope that everyone had a great Christmas. For a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas I think that they decorate and say Merry Christmas more then we do in the States. Love from all of us over here in China.

I added some pictures from the Great Wall. I don't think I posted any earlier. I hope you all enjoy them!

She is a complete Joy!

2009-12-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

Hello. We are still having a great time. A little language barriers but other then that not too bad. She has more of a language then we were expecting. We were told with a cleft palate that she wouldn't have much language. We were told yesterday by the orphanage that she just has a small hole in her palate. Boy we sure don't see anything. She talks a mile a minute. She understands our guide really well and responds to her. The guide will tell her to hold Maddie's hand when we are walking and she reaches up and holds it. She is a very good girl. She is such a character and doesn't stop laughing. She follows Maddie everywhere and does everything that she does. She even repeats some english words when we say them to her. We are still having problems with the potty. She doesn't go in her clothes either. She has gone on the potty for us 3 times. Lately she cries when I try to pull her pants down and put her on the toliet. Our guide talked to her this morning and she went for us then. She still has the same clothes on from the orphanage. I have tried to take her clothes off and change her but she just takes them back and puts them back on herself. I am sure that it is a comfort for her but hopefullly she will change her soon. We are going to try the bath tonight and see if we can get them changed then. Last night she slept in all of her clothes including her shoes.

The above post is from earlier this morning and boy has things changed since then. Madison put on a swim suit and got in the bathtub. Katie proceeded then to take her clothes off and put on her swim suit. They had a ball in the bathtub. Unfortunately the pool is closed because they are decorating for the Chirstmas Eve party. I have included some pictures of her and Madison in the bath. I gave her some shampoo and she put it on her hand and scrubbed her head real good. She then took cups of water and dumped them on her hand to rinse out the shampoo. She then scrubbed her body with a scrungie with body was on it. As young and tiny as she is she sure does take care of her self. I am sure that is what they have to do in the orphanage. The orphanage did an amazing job with her. While they were in the bath I hid Katie's clothes from the orphanage. She finally put something different on and left her hair down. She looks like a totally different little girl. She loved the tennis shoes that I put on her. The mirror in the hall way doesn't show her feet and she kept raising up her foot to see it in the mirrow. She loves to wear sunglasses and everytime I take her picture she has to come and look at it on the camera. She laughs when she see herself on the camera. Katie is finally going potty for me. I was saying it wrong in Chinese and now she seems to understand me and if she has to go she will go to the toliet and start to pull her pants down. She is a very smart little girl. She imitates everything that we do and later on will do it again. She has the brightest little smile and a laugh that just warms your heart.

Today our guide took us on a tour of the Ancient chinese University. It's where people used to study Confusionism. It was beautiful and peaceful. I can see how they could study there. There is a newer University so this University is just used as a museum now. Tomorrow we will be going to the Embroidery Factory. That should be pretty interesting. Vicky our guide said that we could buy some things there. Changsha isn't a tourist area and they don't have any souviniers but the Embroidery Factory would be a good place to get items from Katie's Province of Hunan. After our tour of the University our guide Vicky took us to an area to get lunch to bring back to the hotel. It had McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut. All the way to China to eat American food. How sad is that. We decided to get KFC. It was really good and Katie enjoyed the chicken nuggets and french fries. Katie is a good eater. She eats anything that is put in front of her. Except for broccoli. She turned that down at dinner tonight. Madison got a fruit dish at dinner and her and Katie shared it. Madison tried Dragon fruit. She really liked it. It looked like white kiwi fruit with a bright pink rine. Katie has a little bit of a cold since we got her so we have been giving her Triminic D cough and cold. Everyone knows how bad cough syrup usually taste and she takes it like it's nothing. She seems to be sounding better.

Well it's 8:10 pm and both girls are wiped out on the floor. They have played hard today. There is a play room on our floor and Madison and Katie have gone down there several times today. Katie likes to slide down the slide. There is also a small bike with training wheels (which are pretty loose) that she likes to ride. she puts her feet on the pedals and pedals the bike. I think if the training wheels weren't so loose she would ride it by herself. She likes her daddy to help her with that but he can't have his hands on the handle bars. Katie is older acting then what she is. I haven't seen too many 3 years olds that can dress themselves, clean themselves, wash and rinse their hair and intimidate everything that you do. Katie likes to take her play cell phone and pretend she is taking pictures of us. It is so cute. She puts the phone up close to her eyes, so much that her eyes cross. Tonight for bed as been really easy. No tears and she wasn't sad at all. She laid down on the floor with big sister Madison and fell asleep watching Frosty the Snowman.

Well I could go on and on about the trip and Katie but I really need to get to bed. I am going to attach some pictures. Tomorrow I will try to attach a small video so you can see Katie's cute personality. Everyone is asleep right now so I don't want to make too much noisy.

Love to all.

Karen

Katie Huffman is IN THE HOUSE!!!!

2009-12-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

Katie is officially ours. She is adorable. When we got to the Bureau and walked into the room Katie was standing there with the nanny and the orphanage director. She was so cute with her pigtails sticking straight out like pippy longstocking. She didn't know what to think of us and the nannies were wonderful at helping her to get used to us. The orphanage brought with her several items from the care package that we sent her. When we walking in she was holding the bunny that we had sent her. We had a rough start at the Bureau especially when the nannies left the room. She was very sad when we tried to talk to her and when her nannies left the room she was crying pretty hard. I felt so bad for her. We just tried to stay back . She found the sunglasses in her backpack and put them on her face and started to laugh. She loved the play CD player with princess music on it. Once we got back to the room Katie had a few moments of sadness. We brought out bubbles and balloons and she started to play and laugh. She hasn't stopped laughing ever since. She has the most contagious laugh. She laughs so hard at just about everything she does. We had lunch down in the restaurant in the hotel and Katie ate everything that we put in front of her. She is a very good girl. When we were at the Bureau she sat on our lap the whole time and was very quiet. She adores Madison. Our guide Vicky asked Katie is she like her big sister and she said YES. Katie likes to dance to music. We asked the nannies not to come back to the Bureau because we felt that we would be taking a step backwards. They agreed not to come to the Bureau. Katie refused to change her clothes. I have had her bottoms off twice and she has taken them both times and put them back on. She is a very smart girl. Once we did the bubbles once she took the bubbles and opened them up and began to blow them. She thought that was really funny. She picks up thing very quickly and seems to already be repeating some English when we say it. The evening is whining down here and everyone is getting tired. Katie is getting kind of quiet and her bottom lip is sticking out. I am sure that she is missing her familiar surroundings. Our guide took us to the local market to get some soft drinks and snacks. It was quite the experience. We bought some tangerines that are really good. Madison and Katie have shared about 4 of them now. Tomorrow we will visit the Chinese Ancient University and on Thur we will go to an Embroidery Factory. That sounds really cool to me. Our guide said that we would be able to find some neat items there to purchase, Oh yeah regarding her cleft palate. It is either minor or not even there. She opened her mouth wide and let us look at it. I couldn't see anything at all. The Bureau called the orphanage before our adoption was final and asked them about it. They said that it was a small hole. I guess the Bureau thought that we would change our mind because of it. Like we came all the way here to turn back without her. That is it for now. Thanks for all of the prayers.

CHANGSHA!!!

2009-12-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

We are now in Changsha. Our flight from Beijing to Changsha was delayed 2 hours due to fog in the Changsha area. Changsha is totally different then Beijing. When we were driving in from the airport it looked like what we would call the slums of Indy or even worse. Once we hit the hotel it was totally different. The hotel is absolutely gorgeous. The staff here actually speaks good English so that makes us feel more comfortable. I would love to visit the area that we saw before the hotel. It was a massive area of small wholesale shops that sold everything. I can just imagine what you would find there.

We were told that we would get Katie at 9:30 tomorrow morning which is 8:30 pm Indy time. We are to meet our guide Vicky downstairs at 9:00 am and go to the Bureau which is 15 minutes away to receive Katie. I asked how far Katie's orphange was and she said that Huai Hua (totally different then we have been pronouncing it) is 6 hours away by car. She said that Katie and her caregivers were already here in the area because they would have to leave the orphanage at 3:00 am in order to get here by 9:30. It is good to know that they are here and safe but then on the other hand it make me more anxious to see her. Our guide Vicky said that the Orphanage staff was here last week for another adoption and they were telling her that Katie is excited to be adopted. They also said that she was a good girl and likes to play with other children. We will receive Katie at 9:30 am and then we will have to return to the bureau at 2:00 pm in order to do all of the adoption paperwork. Vicky said that it shouldn't take long since we were the only adoption.

The other family that we are traveling with headed to Inner Mongolia this morning and they received their new daughter this afternoon. By the post on their website she is doing very well. She is all smiles in the photos that they have posted. That is great considering that the last updated photos that they received of her from the orphanage she was crying in every one.

Vicky our guide told us that the Adoption Agency has set up two short tours for us while we are in Changsha. One is to the Ancient University and also an Embroidery Factory. She said that they Embroider Factory is a great place to get sourviners from Changsha.

I will send more for posting as soon as I can after we get Katie tomorrow. I know there are several of you out there that are anxiously waiting. Thanks for everyone that is following our journey and all of the people that have come together for us to help with my parents while we are gone. It sounds like they are getting spoiled while we are gone. Not sure they are going to want us to come back.

Second Post From China!

2009-12-19T17:23:00.001-08:00

Well it is about 4:30 in the morning her in China. 3:30 pm the day before for you guys. We have been going to bed around 7:30 in the evening so getting up this early we are still getting our 8 hours of sleep. It works out nice because we are not rushed to get ready in the morning. Yesterday we visited the Great Wall. It was an amazing site. Hard to believe that we were actually standing on the Great Wall. The weather was below zero and the winds were very strong and it made it hard to walk. We made it up about two levels but with the winds it was just way too cold. The other family made it here the night before late so it was nice to have someone else during the tour of the Great Wall. They also have a 9 year old daughter and her and Madison have become quick friends. They have so much in common. The girls got cold pretty quickly so our Guide Grace took them back to the van to warm up so we could take alittle more time on the wall. After the wall our guide took us to lunch. When we entered the place is was a factory type place on the bottom and their were women working on pottery type items. The items were started out of copper and then they too small wire pieces and shaped them into designs (like flowers or dragons) and put them onto the object. The pieces were then painted, polished, fired, repainted and fired again. Some were polished down to a smooth finish and others were left with the rough surface. They had items like trinket boxes, vases, plates, animals, etc. When they walked out into the shop area where all the items were for sale. I have attached pictures of the process as well as the actual shop. It was the most amazing thing that I have seen. And to think that those women were making thoses items by hand. We then were taken upstairs to the restaurant. We were asked what kinds of foods that we wouldn't eat. Luckily we all agreed on no fish and not too spicy. Within minutes they were bringing out bowls of several different chinese foods that were put on a turntable in the middle of our table to serve ourselves. The food was amazing. We have really enjoyed the Chinese food here in Beijing. The one thing that I miss back home is a glass of ice with my diet coke. They look at you really funny whenn you order coke (especially a second glass and that you are willing to pay $2.00 for a 1 liter of coke) but they also look at you funny when you ask for some ice with your coke. My dad would by lost over here because he fills his cup up with ice until it overflows. After the lunch we went downstairs and looked around some more at the shops. I couldn't have stayed there forever just looking at these beautiful items. We then were taken back to the hotel. We all opted out of going to the Summer Palace because we were all prettty tired and it was so cold outside. Once you get into the Summer Palace you have to keep walking all the way through and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to do that. Plus with having to travel today to our Provinces then we wanted to get a good nights rest. The girls came back to the hotel to do some swimming. They had to wear swimcaps in order to swim in the hotel pool. They had a great time. They then came back to our room and played some cards and then quickly fell asleep. They were so tired. Today we leave around 10:30 am our time (9:30 pm your time) to travel to Changsha where we will receive Katie. The weather there should be a lot warmer. It should be kind of like Georgia weather. The other family will travel to Inner Mongolia to get their 16 month old daughter. The are not so fortunate with the weater. It is even colder there then it is here. Brrrrr!!!! We should get Katie tomorrow but have heard sometimes they have the child there at the hotel waiting for you when you get there. That would be nice but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I am attaching a few pictures of each event from today but I have lots more to share when we get home. Too many pictures don't travel across the internet too well. We are having an amazing time and the people here have bent over backwards to make our visit so nice. It will be interesting to compare Beijing to Changsha. Everyone take care and I will sent another post once we hit Changsha. Love to all. Karen

We made it!!!

2009-12-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

Please just let people know that we have made it to China with an uneventful flight. So far everything has gone like clockwork. We arrived in China around 5:20 pm China time which is around 4:20 am our time. We slept for several hours on the plane and once we got off it was only a few hours until bed here in China. The first night was very frustrating. We were picked up at the airport by our guide Grace and brought to our beautiful hotel called the Kuntai Royal Hotel. We were pretty much left at that point with no idea what to do. We were going to venture out but had no clue what were doing. We finally decided to cut our losses and go to bed. We woke up pretty early China time but felt pretty rested. We went to the early breakfast buffet here in the hotel because it is free or at least included. They had a wide variety of things to choose from including some American type food and some Chinese type food. Madison has been amazing during this whole trip. She is trying food that I never thought that she would try. And actually liking it. Today we were picked up by our China guide Grace around 1:00pm China time and midnight our time. We were taken to the Forbidden City which was simply amazing. It seemed like it would never stop. We walked through the Forbidden City which took about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to walk. Beautiful building after beautiful building. I just can't believe how bid this city is and how many people are around all hours of the night. The weather is extremely cold which doesn't seem to stop people from being out. When we were coming back from the Forbidden City all of a sudden our tour van stopped and we all jumped out. We had taken off all of our hats, scarves and gloves in the van so we scrambled to get them back on due to the frigged weather. We walked down a blocked off street through security and right there in front of us was the Birds Nest and other buildings that were from the Olympics. There was a 7 star hotel just a few blocks away that Grace said is where President Bush stayed during the Olympics. It was several blocks long. The traffic is massive here. I can't believe that cars don't constantly run into each other or the millions of bike riders that are on the street and cutting through and across busy traffic to get where they need to be. After we walked the Forbidden City. We were taken to an Acrobatic show at a threatre. It was an amazing show. The stars showed great acrobatic skills as well as balance. This afternoon we had lunch at good ol' McDonalds. I know we can get that at home anywhere. It was the one place that we felt confident ordering food and knowing what we were getting. It tasted just like good ol McDonalds back home. Not sure how much it cost because we just stuck out our Chinese money and she took what she needed. Hopefully I didn't get ripped off. We are now back at the hotel and totally exhausted. Madison and Dave and snoring like saylors over there. I won't be able to get to sleep now. Hopefully my sleeping pill will kick in here soon and I will to (well I must have gotten tired because this is where I left off without finishing the sentence).

Now it is about 3:30 am here in China which is 2:30 pm at home. We went to bed kind of early last night because we were exhausted from our long day so now we are up way too early. The family that is traveling with ndy (On different flights) and got delayed in Seattle. They finally got in late last night so they we be with us for a short while until we travel to our different Provinces to get our little girls. Today we will be going to the Great Wall which should be really exciting. This is an amazing city. Our guide told us last night that it takes 3 1/2 hours to get to either end of Beijing which would take about 7 hours to drive from one side to the other. Beijing is more like a state then a city. WOW!!!!

I am also posting pictures of Katie that we received as we were getting on the plane in NY. About a week ago I sent a cake to Katie's orphanage for her to celebrate her adoption and to say thank you to her caregivers through Ladybugsnlove. The pictures are of her and her friends enjoying the cake. Katie seems to like the cake. The cake is beautiful, nothing like what we have at home. It seemed to be a huge cake but also seemed like alot ate in the end.

This morning (Sat morning China time and Friday evening Indy time) we will meet up with the other family and have breakfast and that wonderful breakfast buffet. Then we will meet our guide at 10:00 to go see The Great Wall and The Summer Palace. Tomorrow we will get on a plane and travel to Changsha in the Hunan Province. I believe that it is only about an hour flight. Katie is from Huai Hua in the Hunan Province so her caregivers will bring her to us in Changsha. On Sun China time (Sat evening Indy time) we will finally meet our new daughter. Katie Huai-Chen Huffman. That is so amazing to think. This whole trip has seemed like a big dream but each morning we wake up and we are still her in China.

The post is being made by a friend that has offered to help since I am unable to get on Blogger. I am hoping that we will have better luck in Changsha but who knows. I may just have to keep sending emails back home for someone to post for me.

Love to everyone and Merry Christmas. I think that is coming up but I have lost track of my days especially the date.

Dave, Karen and Madison