Thursday, April 12, 2007

Today David, Ainsley, and the “traveling grandmas” had planned to go to White Cloud Mountain Park for a change of pace, but there was instead another change of pace as David received a call early in the morning from Shiyan, the adoption coordinator in China, informing him that he would need to go to the US Consulate with her at 8:30am to complete a form that had to be signed and notarized in person in front of the Vice Consul. This was unexpected and required David to be gone for most of the morning since it is about a 30-45 minute taxi ride each way to/from the US Consulate. Despite the inconvenience, this should now clear the way for the immigrant visa to be issued for Ainsley. The whole group will go tomorrow to pick up the passports and visas and to take an oath swearing that all of the documents we have submitted are true and accurate. After this, Northwest Airlines and fellow passengers…get ready for Ainsley Xia’an!!

The “traveling grandmas” took care of Ainsley while David was gone all morning. Ainsley spent the morning eating breakfast, taking a long walk outside in the beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures, and watching dancers and people doing tai chi. Everyone finally got together again around 12pm in the hotel room to feed Ainsley lunch. Then it was outside again in the beautiful weather!

Ainsley really seems to be an “outside” girl! She loves the many sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors and all the activity associated with the outdoors. She seems to get much more quickly bored and fussy if she is stuck inside. (David can identify!) So, I guess it is a good thing she is coming back to Pittsburgh as spring and summer are arriving (supposedly…since I heard it had snowed since we left for China)!

As everyone now sees our departure date nearing, packing has begun, as well as planning and preparation for all that will be required to take care of our additional traveler – AINSLEY! (Some of us – namely the “traveling grandmas” – did quite a bit of shopping, so they have lots to fit in their suit cases!) Our flight leaves Saturday, April 14, at 8:20am, so we will need to be at the airport bright and early. David has already arranged for a car and driver from the hotel to take us to the airport Saturday morning. Everything is falling into place.

“FIRSTS FOR THE DAY”
(some of these may or may not really be the first time Ainsley has done something, but right now they are definitely “firsts” with her new family)

• No “firsts” today (at least not that we could recall) but Ainsley will soon have many very big “firsts” – e.g., first airplane ride; first time out of Guangdong Province, China; first time being in Japan; first time being in the United States; first time meeting Mommy and little brother (dì di), Griffin; etc. STAY TUNED for details of how she handles all of these many, many changes that are soon to come!

The pictures for this update will be a look at the many moods of Ainsley! Enjoy! She is quite expressive when she lets her personality shine!
 

Just one more full day in Guangzhou until we board a plane for our first leg of the long journey back home! See you all soon! Please pray for our safety, patience, and perseverance as we make our way!