Hello to everyone. We had a great day today. We climbed the Great Wall of China. It was fun and very very hard. But, I made it to the top with the rest of my family. I wish all of you could have seen Elizabeth climbing. She was quite a sight. After charging up as many stairs as she could manage (or at least we felt we had better give her a break), Mark carried her to the top and then I carried her down. She fell asleep on the way down. We then went to eat and to Tianamens Square for a brief outing. We are getting are sleeping down much quicker then last time. In fact, I think Elizabeth is already adjusted. The girls fell asleep about an hour ago, Sam too. Jacob looks like he might have as well.

We get our boy tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. Mark and I just look at each other and smile. I think we are both in shock. I can't believe it is happening. I cna't believe we are in China again.

Here is the update I have on Ri:

1. He is called his full name, not Ri. It is Liu Ri Chen.
2. When he was abandoned, nothing was left with him.
3. He has never been in foster care.
4. He has been sick due to diarrhea and low fever (we knewthat)
5. He has never suffered from bronchitis, pneumonia, measles chickenpox, or skin conditions (though we know he had pneumonia after his surgery)
6. He does not have any birthmark or abnormal marks
7. His enterogastric function is relatively weak (I have no idea what that means)
8. He is not allergic to any meds or food
9. Hemainly eats rice and formula 4 times a day. He likes steam eggs and rice with vegetables.
10. he mainly eats congee and noodles, he has 3 meals a day and snacks three times a day. He is not a picky eater.
11. He drinks from a bottle. He cannot use spoon or chopsticks
12. He sleeps by himself in his own crib. He gets up at 6:00 am and naps between 11:30 and 1:00. He goes to bed at 8:30
13. He goes potty by himself and wears diaper at night. He does not wear split pants
14. He is not afraid of anything particular
15. He is attached to 4 caretakers in his living area
16. He can say easy words such as bye bye and the names of his playmates
17. He is comforted by holding him or giving him his favorite food or toys
18. He is relatively quiet. He is sometimes aggresive towards other children and pushes them.
19. He isin postsurgery condition and is small boy

So that is our update. Enjoy the pictures from the great wall.

continuation of our beginning

Well, I wasn't able to continue posting because everyone came in. After the good night sleep, we headed to the front desk to catch the shuttle. Everyone was suppose to be there at 9:00am. We then discovered that the 2:30 flight was also cancelled. The next time was 10:30, which I was excited about. Yes, I did say excited. I thought it would be perfect for Elizabeth. I figured she would sleep most of the flight.

Have you ever heard the saying.... "the best laid plans..."? I'll tell you more later. Since the flight was not scheduled to leave until 10:30 and we were not scheduled to leave the hotel until 6:00, we decided to be a little adventurous. Mind you, Mark and I have never been to New York City, we have never tried to manage our ways around any place like it before. So we were somewhat clueless and a little nervous (ok.. a LOT nervous). Our plan was to figure out the best way to get to Ground Zero. It was between Ground Zero and the Statute of Liberty. Ground Zero won out simply because of the history it has made on our nation. Not that the Statute of Liberty isn't history, but this was something our kids had lived through. So, we caught the shuttle for the airport, then caught the Air Train from the airport and traveled to the subway. From there, we figured out how to take the subway to Ground Zero. What an experience. All the time, I couldn't help but remember we had a plane to catch and here we were walking the streets of New York City, not having a clue what we were doing! I have to laugh. We are nuts. Elizabeth loved the travel part of it. She LOVES the Air Train! She enjoyed the subway, for the most part. She fell asleep on my back and then woke up in the subway and screamed for a few minutes. Enough for Mark to suggest us getting off for a little while. But we stuck it out and she calmed down.
Ground Zero was not at all what I expected. I am not sure what I expected, but that was not it. Emily is very upset that it has become a tourist trap. We were in awe of what must have happened that day. But, we had a plane to catch and so we didn't stick around New York City long. We kind of felt like National Lapoons' Vacation. We caught everything correctly and made it back to the hotel in time to have dinner. Then we rushed to get our things and then caught the shuttle back to the airport to stand in line to get seat assignments. We managed to get 3 in a row and 4 in a row, so we were thrilled.

We then hung out at the airport for another 4 1/2 hours until we loaded. Then we waited 1 1/2 hours on the plane until it actually took off. Elizabeth was awesome and loved it. She was patient and when other babies were screaming, she would point to herself and say "happy". But. ... that quickly changed. Within an hour of the flight (maybe less), she began a scream like no other baby can manage. It was high, piecing and very bothersome to those around who were trying to sleep. We went to the back of the plane to try to excape the stares and give others as much peace and quiet as we could. She kept this scream up for a good hour straight. If we tried to talk to her or me try to let her down, she just got louder and threw her whole body as hard as she could. She kicked and struggled until sweat poured off her head. I looked at Mark and said that I wasn't going to make the next 12 hours! And at the same time realized I had 6 more flights to go after this one. Then I jsut sighed and said I was going to stay in China for good if I lived through this flight. She carried on off and on for at least 3 hours. She would crash because of exhaustion, only to wake up 20 minutes later and start it all over.
But, by the time we were hours into the flight, she seemed to have recovered a little. She didn't sleep much and by 6:00 was completely awake. She didn't start the screaming again until we started the decent. It lasted for about 20 minutes,but she did calm down some.
The other kids had a tough flight too. Jacob was in tears within the first 2 hours because he was so exhausted and couldn't sleep. A sweet gentelman gave up his seat for the kids to lay down some. That was a gift from God. Jacob was able to fall asleep and get some decent shuteye. Sam dozed off and on for several hours, but was quite uncomfortable. All and all, the other 4 were incredible travelers after all we had already been through.
Then we got to China and boarded a bus to get to the airport. We then stood inline for a very long time to get our passports checked. Then we stood in the baggage claim for 1/2 hour waiting on our luggage. We found the one, but no others. Then it took another 45 minutes to get the claim forms completed. All this by our selves. We are becoming quite the experienced travelers! So, by 2:30 am, we were finally in our hotel room.

Saturday morning, Beijing

This is breakfast this morning. Jacob was the first to try this cool fruit. Sam decided to pose so you all could see it. The buffets are incredible here.

well, where do I begin to explain our adventures? First, I think I appropriately called this site Millers Adventures! Wow, what a time we have had getting here. Christy - thanks for updating my blog for me! I have not been able to get to the internet until China.

So, here goes the story. We started out at 3:00 am on Wednesday morning. We waited at the airport an hour and a half to fly to New York. WE arrived there at 8:22 am, only to wait for our next flight (at 4:30) to Beijing. Our luggage was to be transferred by the airlines to the China Air. We waited in the airport until we were able to check in at 1:00. It was then that Mark discovered that our flight was cancelled. Ok, that was the beginning of our journey to China. We had to wait 2 hours to get it all worked out, then we were taken to the Ramada. The airlines were wonderful about it. They gave us 3 hotel rooms and breakfast and dinner buffet for each of us. God was already providing! We were told to check in at 4:30 to findout more details. We were told then that the flight would be at 2:30 the next day. So, we just rested and got a good nights sleep. The really neat thing is that a very dear friend of ours, Jim Conde, was staying at the exact same hotel! We were thrilled to enjoy dinner with him. He was such an encouragment. Well, we all got a great night sleep (which was good because by 1:00 the day of our first travel, Elizabeth was a lunatic due to exhaustion!). Then we discovered that the 2:30 flight was cancelled and we would not catch a flight until 10:30 that night! Ok... let me post this one so that I can catch you all up. I will continue on the next post. That way if Mark and the kids come in, I will at least have a little done.

We made it to China!

Wow.. do I ever have some stories on the absolutely crazy trip so far. I really dont have much energy to post all that I would like. Besides, my blogger comes up in Chinese and I can't really read it to see if I am doing it right ornot. I am hoping this will post. I know that so many are praying and following.

The quick part... we are here, but 6 of our 7 pieces of luggage are not! So, for the 3rd night, we are in our traveling clothes. By the grace of God,, it was Mark and I's luggage that made it, so everyone but Elizabeth can adapt to something.

The trip was very long at periods simply because Elizabeth hit her highest pitches and the fits and screams lasted for hours on end. I think there was a 3 hour period in which she screamed almost non stop. So.. the travel has been a little on the "wild side".

I will give more details in the morning. It is 2:45 am and we have to meet for touring at 10:30 am. We are praying our luggage comes. AGain, only by the grace of God... we are holding it together. ON the bright side, we will have Ri in just over 24 hours.

New York! New York!

Mark warned me and the kids that this trip would be really different than Elizabeth's adoption trip. He wasn't kidding! So, here we sit in New York City in three rooms at the Ramada. We are not flying to China today, as our flight was canceled. Air China has put us up in a Hotel tonight. I love God's sense of humor. For reasons unknown to us, he has chosen to keep us in New York City. We fly out tomorrow at 2:30 PM (eastern) and will arrive in Beijing 13 hours later, which is 3:30 AM Ohio time. Please, pray for Elizabeth, as she is already crying for home and has had her first very long and hard meltdown of the trip.

Here is a promised picture

Ok... I didn't catch the picture before it was loaded into the van. Yes.. we are packed and ready! Yippee. In this picture, there are 7 suitcases to be checked in. Each weighs less then 40 pounds. (China limits are 44 pounds)
These are the "carry on's". Yes, there is a lot!
Yes.. I'm heading to China

update on Ri

For those of you who have been praying and/or wondering, I recieved an update this morning. THe words used were: Liu Ri Chen is recovered and no longer needs fusion.

So.. I think he is doing much better. THank you for the prayers! I am busy packing/cleaning/packing/packing/packing... did I say packing? I will update more later.

please pray for Ri

I just got word that our little son is having an IV due to diarrhea and fever. More then likely he is just dehydrated, but still.. his Mommy is not with him! They give the IV in the head, it just breaks my heart. So.. please just pray for our little guy. Thanks.

5 days and counting

Is it really only 5 days until we leave? Wow, time does fly. Well, I think I have everything in order. I'm in the final stages of packing. How fun is that? Ok - that was suppose to be sarcastic! Fun? Ha! Have you ever tried to pack to go overseas, to a country in which you can't speak their language, to bring home a son you have never met nor know his exact needs and taken 5 children with all the different possibilities of things happening? AND... 2 of the children.... 5 days before we leave... are SICK!!!??? (which only means that I have 3 more who might get sick, STILL!) Golly... it makes packing not such a fun job.

Yep, I mentioned 2 sick ones. Emily has been hit with the hardest cold I've ever seen her have. The tough thing is, she can't miss school. She thinks it is heading into a sinus infection. And Elizabeth has caught the cold. If you have followed along with our journey, you will remember that whenever Elizabeth gets a cold, she generally ends up with bronchitis or pneumonia. Yep, that's right, 5 days until we leave and I have a little girl heading into those very symptoms. Well, I figure God is taking care of us. He is allowing my little one to get sick so that I can treat her before we leave. If she needs on antibiotics, she will be on them for a great deal of the trip. Isnt God good? Oh, in addition to my 2 sick ones, Erin is having difficulty with her foot. Everytime she sits still for awhile and then goes to stand up, she feels as if there is something sticking out of her foot and is in a great deal of pain. Well... isn't our life interesting?

So, 5 days and counting....and praying.. and counting.. and praying. Did I mention praying?? Yep, I am praying! There is so much to pray for. For all my prayer warriors out there... could you pray too? The thought of it all is overwhelming. But, I serve a God that is completely in control and is aware of every hair on my head. I figure He has it all covered. I just need to rest in His presence.

We have our China itinerary. Here it goes:

May 16 Leave at 6:35am and arrive in New York at 8:22am
Leave New York at 4:30pm
(yes, that is an 8 hour layover and a 13 1/2 hour flight)
May 17 Arrive in Beijing (6:00pm - 6:00am Ohio time)
May 18-19 tour the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City and watch an acrobatic show)

May 20 Fly to Fuzhou, arrive at 2:15 pm)
THAT AFTERNOON, RECIEVE RI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 21 - complete the adoption procedure
May 22-May 24 - tour Fuzhou and visit the orphanage
May 25 Fly to Guangzhou, arrive 7:50pm
May 26 - 27 tour Guangzhou
May 28 - visa picture and medical exam for Ri
May 29 - visa application submitted to US Consulate
May 30 - group-oath taken at the US Consulate
May 31 - fly to Beijing, arrive 4:10
fly to LA - leave at 8:30pm (8:30am Ohio time)
May 31 - arrive in LA at 5:45 pm (8:45pm, Ohio time - 12hours 15min)
- leave LA at 10:50 pm (1:50am June 1st Ohio time)
June 1 - arrive at our home airport 6:14 am!!!

Please keep us in your prayers!

Is it Friday already?

Wow. I haven't written since Monday. Time is flying by. Just 12 days until we leave for China. I can hardly believe it. Before I know it, we will boarding a plane. In just 15 days, we will be holding our son.

Erin played her last JV game last night. I am glad the season is almost over. I enjoy it, but I enjoy having our daughter around much more. She has played almost every night for the past 2 weeks. I miss her. She is dressing for Varsity for the tournaments, though. Hopefully she will be completely done on Wednesday. She needs some time to begin working on her homework for China.

Do you remember what junior high is like? What about the drama that goes on with girls in high school? Well, if you think of it, please pray for 2 of my kids who are dealing with lots of things that many of us never dealt with. It amazes me where our culture has come even since I've been in school. It must make God sad to look upon our country. Our kids are bombarded daily with messages that go against the truth of the word of God. Oh how my heart aches for them.

Well, I need to wake my older ones up for school now. If you are a prayer warrior, please pray for the airplane rides for Elizabeth. We are a little bit nervous about how she will do. She has been going through quite a few screaming bouts in the car these last days. And pray for Ri and Elizabeth and the transition they are both about to undertake!