David's thoughts

Sandy and I met for lunch the other day and then went to get the Visas to travel to China. Things are starting to seem like they are really getting close! It took quite a while to do that paperwork. I also put together a Power of Attorney for each of us while we are in China, but I enjoyed doing that with Sandy. It gave me a sense that we will have our children here before we know it; I'm very excited!!! I'm looking forward to meeting them for the first time and bringing them home and welcoming them into our family.

Shopping

It's too bad that I absolutely detest shopping. I'd rather go to the dentist. Unfortunately, I have to stop procrastinating and start shopping for our two new sons. BingHui is a size 5, and I'm guessing FengHong wears about a 10-12. I need to assemble a wardrobe for them to take to China next month. We get to pick up the boys the first day we arrive in China, and then we stay there with them for almost three weeks. Consequently, I need to purchase at least a few weeks of clothes for two children. A carseat for BingHui is something else I need to research and buy soon. I also have to buy a few things for myself for the trip. Ugh. This requires more shopping. I need some kind of legging or stretch pant (no zippers or buttons) to wear on the plane, and a spring jacket. I finally had to throw out my light-weight jacket last year, and I haven't replaced it yet. And slip on shoes for the airport and airplane ride. I wear sneakers normally, but they will be too constricting on the plane. I'm supposed to bring gifts for various people (the guide, orphanage director etc.) too. What can I bring to them that they can't purchase themselves right there in China? I wish I could get away with just giving money, like I do at Christmas, but apparently the gift giving tradition is an important part of their culture. Again--I wish I enjoyed shopping.

Visa and POA

David and I met for lunch this afternoon, and then we spent the rest of the day completing our Chinese Visa application and executing a Power of Attorney for when we are out of the country. We want to give Linda and Victor the ability to make decisions in our absence if needed. Filling out the Visa form at AAA took almost 90 minutes! I had to "teach" the agent how to do the form; I have studied the document online at great length and I filled out a practice form at home. I also completed the Visa application this summer when Austin went to China. In addition, David invested quite a bit of time putting together the Power of Attorney form. A POA form in NY is now 9 pages long! We are happy that David can prepare some of our legal documents, and we don't need to pay for a lawyer too. While we were at AAA, we also checked out electric converters. I think we decided just to leave all electrical appliances at home. I already planned on having bad hair the whole trip. My biggest concern is the battery for my camera. I don' t know how long a camera battery will last, and I might want to recharge it. I do have a back-up battery though. That might be enough. Yes, I'm getting completely caught up in minutia now. That is how I'm passing the time these days. People talk about how the "wait" for the adoption is excruciating; obviously other people don't have my talent for wasting time on all the little details.

Chinese New Year

Last night we went to Linda and Victor's house for dinner, and we celebrated Chinese New Year (a little early). Victor cooked a multitude of delectable dishes, and we discussed various New Year traditions. It was a blast. I also found out that the entire family wants to come to the airport to welcome our sons when we arrive home from China. Of course, I did warn everyone that we will all be tired and probably cranky. The boys might even be miserable and not in the mood to meet anyone new. But it's sweet that the family wants to great the children upon arrival. Everyone is getting excited for our trip. We decided not to bring our cell phones to China and only communicate by email. I can check our email once a day from the hotel lobby or an internet cafe. If there is a true emergency, Linda and Victor will have our power of attorney to make decisions and take any necessary action. I also found out from Daniel that I need to buy a booster car seat for Ben. NYS law requires a car seat device up to 80 lbs.!! Yikes! One more thing to add to my list of things to do. I made a few copies of our house key today so that I could leave a few behind for people to check on the house. Unfortunately, the new keys don't work. So back to the hardware store tomorrow. All these little details take up so much of my time these days. I was on hold with an airline today for over an hour (really) to find out if they offer a discount adoption fare. The airfare roundtrip Rochester-Beijing-Rochester for each one of us is cheaper than a one way ticket Beijing to Rochester--and we need two one way tickets. I found out that yes, most airlines have adoption fares, but they are a percentage (65%) off the fully changeable fare. There is no discount off of the restricted nonrefundable fares. This means that the discounted price is still double the cost of just buying a restricted ticket. Bummer.