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| A view from the Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square. |
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| Another view from the Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square. |
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| I bet you can guess which of Karen or Phil insisted on having this photo on the blog. |
Sunday, August 22, 2010
More pictures from the Forbidden City
More photos from our journey
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| This is the traditional Chinese house we visited. This is man who painted the fan we purchased. |
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| We took a rickshaw ride in Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. |
Traditional Chinese home, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City
Aug. 20, 2010
Our tour guide, George, kept us very busy today. We started out in a rickshaw, riding through Beijing neighborhoods. We were able to go into the home of a family and see what a traditional home looks like, which was fascinating. The family did a lot of calligraphy and drawings just as a hobby, but we were able to buy a fan that a man had recently hand drawn. From there we went to Tienanmen Square. From Tiananmen Square we walked to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was HUGE and so beautiful. Most of the buildings were built in the early 1400s.We were able to hear lots of historical facts from our guide.
Our tour guide, George, kept us very busy today. We started out in a rickshaw, riding through Beijing neighborhoods. We were able to go into the home of a family and see what a traditional home looks like, which was fascinating. The family did a lot of calligraphy and drawings just as a hobby, but we were able to buy a fan that a man had recently hand drawn. From there we went to Tienanmen Square. From Tiananmen Square we walked to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was HUGE and so beautiful. Most of the buildings were built in the early 1400s.We were able to hear lots of historical facts from our guide.
We toured with another family from New York who is here to adopt their little girl. They have been great company for us. We are getting ready to eat dinner with another couple who is adopting a little boy. They did not tour with us today because they were able to go to the foster home of the child they are adopting! We just briefly spoke with them, but they also told us they got to meet their little boy today (which is very unusual - usually this does not occur until their "Gotcha Day"). We are so excited to hear more details at dinner about their little boy and the experiences of today.
While today has been amazing and wonderful, we are still anxious to get to Madison's province and hold her in our arms. We have one more day of touring here in Beijing, then we have a day of traveling to her province. The following day will be our "Gotcha Day" - when we get her.
Please feel free to leave your comments - we are going to use this as a journal for Madison so your comments would always be welcome.
--Karen Nixon
Photos from our first day
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| This is our first meal in Cbina. |
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| This is some fruit we bought at a local market. We don't know what it was, but it certainly tasted good. |
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| This is our hotel. |
Thursday, August 19, 2010
We're here
Phil & I left for our adventure on Wednesday morning @ 6:41 & arrived in Beijing at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon (but that is 1:30 a.m. in the US). We are 13 hours ahead here. Once in Beijing, we meet our CCAI rep (agency handling our adoption) - his name is George. He gave us some basic tips & our plans for touring tomorrow then left us on our own.
Phil & I had the bright idea to go out walking around the hotel. We were surprised to see that we were the ONLY caucasions walking around in this area. Needless to say, we got a few stares. We also had our first experience with bartering with a local - after we figured what we actually paid, he won!
We paid $7 for a few pieces of fruit. Hopefully we will better understand the exchange rate as the trip progresses. We also had our first real meal. We ate at the hotel (which is a Holiday Inn). There was quite a bit of authentic food but we found plenty of things to try & enjoyed most everything we tried. Our goal is to blog each night when we get back to the hotel so there should be a new blog post each day.
--Karen Nixon
Phil & I had the bright idea to go out walking around the hotel. We were surprised to see that we were the ONLY caucasions walking around in this area. Needless to say, we got a few stares. We also had our first experience with bartering with a local - after we figured what we actually paid, he won!
We paid $7 for a few pieces of fruit. Hopefully we will better understand the exchange rate as the trip progresses. We also had our first real meal. We ate at the hotel (which is a Holiday Inn). There was quite a bit of authentic food but we found plenty of things to try & enjoyed most everything we tried. Our goal is to blog each night when we get back to the hotel so there should be a new blog post each day.
--Karen Nixon
Sunday, August 15, 2010
We're going to China!!!!
Everything has been finalized and we will be heading to China on Aug. 18 at 6:41 a.m. This is quite a hectic time in the Nixon household, but we are very excited. Our plans are to be able to send posts to our friend, Steve, who has graciously agreed to post for us (no blogging in China), and we will also have some pictures each day.
Here is our itinerary:
Aug. 18 - Nashville to O'Hare to Beijing - arrive Thursday, Aug. 19 at 2:40 p.m. (Beijing is 13 hours ahead of us)
Aug. 19 - Beijing
Aug. 20 - Beijing - tour Tiananamen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong Tour
Aug. 21- Beijing- Great Wall & Ming Tombs
Aug. 22 - depart Beijing, arrive in Zhengzhou (city where Madison lives)
Aug. 23 - GOTCHA DAY - we get hold our sweet baby AT LAST
Aug. 24 - Zhengzhou - quiet day
Aug. 25 - Zhengzhou - free time or rest - possible tours
Aug. 26 - Zhengzhou - "
Aug. 27 - leave Zhengzhou for Guangzhou
Aug. 28 - Guangzhou - Madison's medical exam & shots
Aug. 29 - Guangzhou - tour, shop
Aug. 30 - Guangzhou - Consulate appointment
Aug. 31 - Guangzhou - Back to consulate - take oath
Sept. 1 - depart Guangzhou - arrive in Hong Kong
Sept. 2 - Hong Kong to O'Hare to Nashville (arrive @ 6:05 p.m.)
We ask for your prayers during this time for our family. While this is an incredibly exciting time, we are also bringing home a little girl to a completely new world with people who look different, sound different, etc. She will hopefully acclimate smoothly but we also know that there is a chance that this will be a very difficult time for her.
Also remember our boys who will remain home while we travel. Luckily we are blessed to have great family members who have agreed to stay with them. We know they will be very anxious while we are gone, but they know that this is a journey to bring their sister home.
We will not be able to respond to posts while we are in China, but we welcome your comments and look forward to reading them when we return. We look forward to being able to share this with Madison as she gets older.
Much love to you all.
Phil and Karen
Here is our itinerary:
Aug. 18 - Nashville to O'Hare to Beijing - arrive Thursday, Aug. 19 at 2:40 p.m. (Beijing is 13 hours ahead of us)
Aug. 19 - Beijing
Aug. 20 - Beijing - tour Tiananamen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong Tour
Aug. 21- Beijing- Great Wall & Ming Tombs
Aug. 22 - depart Beijing, arrive in Zhengzhou (city where Madison lives)
Aug. 23 - GOTCHA DAY - we get hold our sweet baby AT LAST
Aug. 24 - Zhengzhou - quiet day
Aug. 25 - Zhengzhou - free time or rest - possible tours
Aug. 26 - Zhengzhou - "
Aug. 27 - leave Zhengzhou for Guangzhou
Aug. 28 - Guangzhou - Madison's medical exam & shots
Aug. 29 - Guangzhou - tour, shop
Aug. 30 - Guangzhou - Consulate appointment
Aug. 31 - Guangzhou - Back to consulate - take oath
Sept. 1 - depart Guangzhou - arrive in Hong Kong
Sept. 2 - Hong Kong to O'Hare to Nashville (arrive @ 6:05 p.m.)
We ask for your prayers during this time for our family. While this is an incredibly exciting time, we are also bringing home a little girl to a completely new world with people who look different, sound different, etc. She will hopefully acclimate smoothly but we also know that there is a chance that this will be a very difficult time for her.
Also remember our boys who will remain home while we travel. Luckily we are blessed to have great family members who have agreed to stay with them. We know they will be very anxious while we are gone, but they know that this is a journey to bring their sister home.
We will not be able to respond to posts while we are in China, but we welcome your comments and look forward to reading them when we return. We look forward to being able to share this with Madison as she gets older.
Much love to you all.
Phil and Karen
Sunday, August 1, 2010
In the beginning....
Let me go ahead and apologize now: I know NOTHING about doing a blog, so for you expert bloggers, I'm sorry to disappoint you. This blog will be used to chronicle our journey to the latest addition to our already blessed family -- Madison Liu Sha Nixon. We have been blessed with our two boys, Seth and Taylor, and our little girl, Summar, who passed away from a heart defect in September 2002.
After having Taylor, Phil and I had the discussion about another child. We agreed that if we decided to have another child, we would adopt. Since I was adopted as an infant, this may have been part of the draw to adoption for us. One evening, in the spring of 2008, I began to feel that God was calling us to look at adoption. As I went to work the next day, I walked into one of the schools that I work at and in walked a former teacher with her beautiful daughter (who was adopted from China). I immediately began talking to her about the process. She gave me wonderful advice, great sites to look at, etc. After leaving that school, I was going to a nearby high school. As I pulled in the parking lot, the first car tag I saw was a vanity plate with "ADOPT" written on it. God didn't have to give me any more hints. When my husband and I sat down that evening, I began to tell him the events of the day. His response, "I guess we're ready to adopt," with a big grin on his face.
I'm going to go ahead and address the question we've already been asked numerous times, "Why China, why not America, there's plenty of kids here?" I completely agree that there are many beautiful, wonderful children who need a home in this country. However, we felt that God was calling us to China. There are numerous personal reasons for our decision, but we ask that friends and family understand that we know that we have been led to OUR DAUGHTER, who happens to be in China.
I won't go through all the tedious descriptions of our paperwork trail, phone calls, e-mails, etc. Needless to say, I think this "paper pregnancy" was just as tough, if not tougher than my other three pregnancies. Instead, I will focus on the most important info:
Madison Liu Sha Nixon
Born: Feb. 16, 2009 (they have to estimate her birth date since she was found, as are all orphans
in China, as giving your child up for adoption is illegal in China)
Current city/province: Zhengzhou, Henan Province (central part of China)
Some of the issues that were listed: premature (weighed 3.2 lbs @ 2 weeks old - when found) and some hearing concerns- reports have varied regarding the severity of her hearing issues. Developmental issues are to be expected since she has been raised in an orphanage. We already have the appropriate medical personnel ready to work with her and provide whatever service she may need.
We anticipate traveling to China to get her around the end of August or the beginning of September. Seth and Taylor will remain here with my mom and mother-in-law taking care of them (we are so blessed to have family close by to help us). As soon as I know when we will travel, I will post the info.
After having Taylor, Phil and I had the discussion about another child. We agreed that if we decided to have another child, we would adopt. Since I was adopted as an infant, this may have been part of the draw to adoption for us. One evening, in the spring of 2008, I began to feel that God was calling us to look at adoption. As I went to work the next day, I walked into one of the schools that I work at and in walked a former teacher with her beautiful daughter (who was adopted from China). I immediately began talking to her about the process. She gave me wonderful advice, great sites to look at, etc. After leaving that school, I was going to a nearby high school. As I pulled in the parking lot, the first car tag I saw was a vanity plate with "ADOPT" written on it. God didn't have to give me any more hints. When my husband and I sat down that evening, I began to tell him the events of the day. His response, "I guess we're ready to adopt," with a big grin on his face.
I'm going to go ahead and address the question we've already been asked numerous times, "Why China, why not America, there's plenty of kids here?" I completely agree that there are many beautiful, wonderful children who need a home in this country. However, we felt that God was calling us to China. There are numerous personal reasons for our decision, but we ask that friends and family understand that we know that we have been led to OUR DAUGHTER, who happens to be in China.
I won't go through all the tedious descriptions of our paperwork trail, phone calls, e-mails, etc. Needless to say, I think this "paper pregnancy" was just as tough, if not tougher than my other three pregnancies. Instead, I will focus on the most important info:
Madison Liu Sha Nixon
Born: Feb. 16, 2009 (they have to estimate her birth date since she was found, as are all orphans
in China, as giving your child up for adoption is illegal in China)
Current city/province: Zhengzhou, Henan Province (central part of China)
Some of the issues that were listed: premature (weighed 3.2 lbs @ 2 weeks old - when found) and some hearing concerns- reports have varied regarding the severity of her hearing issues. Developmental issues are to be expected since she has been raised in an orphanage. We already have the appropriate medical personnel ready to work with her and provide whatever service she may need.
We anticipate traveling to China to get her around the end of August or the beginning of September. Seth and Taylor will remain here with my mom and mother-in-law taking care of them (we are so blessed to have family close by to help us). As soon as I know when we will travel, I will post the info.
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