The Journey Begins...Beijing

Well we have been in Beijing for 2 days now. We have tried to be a little adventurous on our own. Yesterday a group of us went to the Temple of Heaven. If my understanding is correct, the emperors would go here to worship for a good harvest. Very interesting, powerful and beautiful. Once we got back to the hotel, jet lag caught up with us and we crashed. Needless to say, Tommy and I both crashed soooo early, we both woke up around 2:00am and couldn't sleep. Thankfully HBO is in English and we watched a movie until we fell back asleep.

Today we had our orientation and the updated itinerary for once we get to our province and then on to Guangzhou. We learned all of our babies are still doing well and we will receive them Monday morning. By the way, today is Lil Bug's birthday - she is 9 months old. I can't wait to get her in my arms.

After the orientation, Tommy and I and another family headed out again on our own. We went to a "flea market" a couple blocks from the hotel. Ooohhh the treasures we wished could have bought, but the restrictions on a luggage weight kept us from buying anything.

We got back to the hotel in the early afternoon and with nothing better to do for a couple of hours, took another nap. These naps are getting to be a habit, atleast for the next couple of days.

This evening we went to see the Flying Acribatic show with our agency guide. WOW!!! AMAZING!! This show is awesome, I hope any families touring Beijing have the opportunity to see this. We had such a good time.

When we arrived back at the hotel, a group of us decided to head and try authentic Chinese cuisine. Some dishes were really good, others were okay, while one was completely not what we expected but still okay. Tommy would have preferred the delivery from Pizza Hut again.

Once I have a little more time and can figure out how to post a slide show vs umpteen million pictures, I will post the pics.

Well I really need to get some sleep. We have to get up early to go to the Great Wall tomorrow.

Introducing our little Baby Bug!

Tommy and I would like to introduce you to our daughter, Kaitlyn Jorja (BabyBug).
She is sooooo adorable. I love the hand on the hip thing (just like her momma). She is dressed in Tommy's favorite color and I think she has his cheeks. We think she is absolutely beautiful. Our excitement is overwhelming. Here is what we know:

Name: Fu Le Yue
DOB: 01/12/07
In orphanage: 01/14/07
Orphanage: Fuling SWI, Chongqing Province
As of May: Height: 25", Weight 12.87 lbs

From what I could decipher on her developmental report: She is a deep sleeper, holds her head up while laying on her stomach, she can roll from supine to prone position by herself, grabs toys that are near her hand, visually follows moving toys, looks for dropped toys, laughs, active, fond of listening to music, has a ready smile (just like her daddy), likes to play with toys.

We got the call yesterday at about 1:30pm and I could not find Tommy. I keep hitting redial on the phone and can't figure out why he wouldn't pick up. Then I finally remembered he was getting a massage. So I go to where he is at, beat on the massage therapist's door so she will let me in. At first they were very worried that something was wrong. I calmly walked over to him and I tell him the news by saying "your daughter was born on January 12th". He gives me this completely blank look that was priceless....waits a few seconds then yells out "You Got The Call". Yes dear, I got the call. Then he cried. So funny and cute - he can't jump up and down like I did because he doesn't have any clothes on. I was completely worthless at work so I went and got a mani/pedi and chilled out for a couple of hours.

And, as you can tell by our picture - we are Clemson fans and she will be wearing a lot of ORANGE. Can't wait to get her home and take her to the games.

The stork has landed!!!

Well the day we have been waiting for (for 2 years now) has finally arrived. We received the call at about 1:30pm today with the information about our daughter. It is very little information at this time, should have more tomorrow and pictures!!!!

She was born on January 12, 2007. Her name is Fu Le Yue(Lee You Foo). She is in the Chongqing province in China. We will probably travel mid-September to get her. We will be changing her name when the adoption is final to Kaitlyn Jorja Leyue Kelly.

That is all I have for now. I will get more posted (hopefully) tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us through this journey. Your caring and friendship means the world to Tommy and I.

Referrals may be on the way

Well I am now on pins and needles and not getting anything accomplished at work. Little rumors have it that referrals are on their way. Hopefully I will hear something by end of this week. I really don't want to have to wait another weekend.

Welcome

Welcome to my attempt at a blog. It seems everyone has one now - so I joined the masses. We'll see what happens. I know I won't blog often - too many other things to keep up with, but this will atleast keep family and friends in the know. Waiting, Waiting, Waiting, seems to be the current answer to all the questions. At least we know we are NEXT in this long journey for our daughter.