Countdown to Samantha

We are now inside 3 weeks from when we will engage on our final stage of this journey. Although we are just starting to put together the things that we will be packing for ourselves, Shirley has been busy pulling together everything that we will need outside of the clothes we will be taking. The picture on the right shows some of the essentials that we feel are going to be absolute necessities.

What you see are a number of souveniers that we will be taking to hand out while we're there - Canadian flags, pins, pencils, any low cost items with Canada on them that we can hand out to people that we run across in our travels. You will also see some things that will be gifts for the people in the orphanage and other people who have been involved in Samantha's life or are helping us through the adoption process. Things such as maple syrup and ginseng teabags are unique to Canada and apparently are well received.

Then there's the stuff for Samantha. Very little in the way of toys - stacking cups, rattle and a couple of stuffed animals are about all we are taking in that respect. The rest are the necessities - diapers, bottles, formula, blankets, creams, medications... The list goes on. Basically we look at it as if we were going into isolation for 2 weeks and need to take the necessities with us. Who knows when we will get time to buy the things we need, and if we would be able to find what we would need if we have the time. We would rather take too much than be stuck needing things we can't get. The other thing we're taking is 2 small books, "The Wong Family" and "The Penner Family". These are soft-covered books with individual pictures of each member of our families (thanks everyone for your patience while we took pictures). Samantha's joining the whole family, so she might as well get to know everyone, and that includes Rusty!

Yes, there are a few things there for us. TP, snacks, thermos's, flashlights, etc.. We are probably packing way too much, but based on experiences of others who have traveled before us, we're covering our bases.

The other things that we need to pack are the wonderful gifts provided by the Penner family at Christmas 2005, when the traditional gift exchange was replaced with purchases for the orphanage in China.

The picture on the left is a carry-on of that theme. Shirley was scanning the Robeez baby shoe website when she noticed that they have a program called "Heart and Sole" supporting the needs of infants and children in need. This also includes supporting their international adoption customers, and providing for the orphanages. Shirley sent a very heart-felt email to the people at Robeez describing our plans, what the Penner family had done, and questioning if Robeez would like to participate and make a donation. After a brief phone call with Shirley, they agreed to send us an assortment of 50 pairs of shoes in sizes from 0 - 24 months.

This was far more that we could have imagined, and we thank the kind people at Robeez for their generous gift. We're sure these will be welcome to the Chinese orphanage and the foster home where Samantha is currently being raised.

Itinerary for China Travel

The planning continues, and we have now received our itinerary for travel in China. We were able to book our tickets using Air Canada points, and decided to book a separate seat for Samantha on the way home. As much as we're sure that between the two of us we'll want to hold her the whole time, we're hoping that there'll be a couple of times that she'll fall asleep and we can lay her down.

We decided during our planning that we wanted to get into Beijing a few days early to try to get ourselves acclimated. With a 12 hour time change, the jet lag and time adjustment could take a bit of time. The last thing we wanted to do was arrive in country and have to start parenting right away. We also decided that, although there are a number of tours planned for us during the time in China, our main objective is to ensure we focus on getting to know Samantha. We may take the tours, but we'll play it by ear.

Barring any unforseen changes, this is how our trip is going to unfold.

June 13 - Depart for Beijing
June 14 - Arrive in Beijing
June 15 - Acclimation Day
June 16 - Acclimation Day (ok...so there may be some shopping)
June 17 - Travel to Chongqing
June 18 - Civil Affairs Office - we are united as a family
June 19 - Civil Affairs Office - adoption registration, notarization, passport
June 20 - Off day - tours: Chongqing Zoo (pandas) and shopping
June 21 - Off day - tours: city and E Ling Park
June 22 - Pick up passport, travel back to Beijing
June 23 - Off day - have Samantha's visa photo taken
June 24 - Off day - tours: Great Wall
June 25 - Samantha medical, Canadian Embassy (visa appointment)
June 26 - Off day - tours: Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City
June 27 - Off day - tours: Hutong, group Beijing Duck dinner
June 28 - Pick up Samantha's visa
June 29 - Travel home

247 for Lunch

Wow...what a great weekend we had.

Saturday was the 2nd time that we were able to get together for lunch with some of the families of Group 247 - our travel mates throughout the adoption journey. These have turned out to be absolutely fabulous people, and will help make this a totally memorable trip - as if we really needed anything else. We all seem to get along really well, although Ron can see himself aligning with a couple of the guys for sure - little brown (green in China) bottles come to mind. And Shirley will surely be coordinating with the other mothers to make sure everything we will need, and much more, will be packed. Amazing how we fall into our stereotype roles.