Gotcha, Mei-Mei!

At Civial Affairs office at 10 am. The babies had been travelling for four hours and was already there when we arrived.
Fan-Fan cried for a few minutes but was never hysterical, and then got her very intersting (and noisy) toy. And big sister Olivia was a big help. We had also sent a few pictures to the orphanage of ourselves, whitch they had showed her. So she must have recognized us. But of course it's scary for the babies and they were all terrified. They were also very hot with four layers of clothes under the huge padded jacket and trousers. Vera-Mei had made a poo and it wasn't a new one. We had to change nappy and trousers on the floor.

After a bath at the hotel she started to show her personality. A little quiet but confident. She can walk but is is week and can't strech her back when she sits or stands.
Olivia is a bit jellous but very proud and caring. I'm so glad granny is here with us. She and Olivia have just been to the swimming pool and now, when Vera-Mei is sleeping, they are playing in grannys room. It helps a lot.

The orphanage staff with all our gifts: seven walkers, one air conditioner, two big bags of clothes and one with toys.

They hadn't used the camera I sent them, nor had they given Vera-Mei the stickers and the cuddly toy. I guess we have to be thankful they showed her the pictures. They refused to answer any questions about the orphanage, they wouldn't even tell us the name of Vera-Mei's favourite nanny. But they were grateful for the gifts and have promised to take pictures of the air conditioner and send to us. Up until now there hasn't been any heating in the babies bedroom, according to the manager. An winter in Hunan can be cold ad humid at the same time, so this was very welcome.

h

Allt har gatt bra i dag. Vi var nervosa pa morgonen, men det var skont att fa barnen sa tidigt och slippa ga och vanta som nar vi fick Olivia (pa eftermiddagen). Vera-Mei har gett oss antydan till leenden och verkar trivas hyfsat i vart sallskap, men emellanat ser hon ocksa ganska ledsen ut. Inte undra pa! Jag trodde hon skulle bli upprord nar vi traffade barnhemspersonalen for att stalla fragor, men os somnade i stallet. Nu har hon sovit i nastan tva timmar. Lilla gumman! Olivia ar en stor hjalp, jag tror det ar tryggt for henne att se ett "bekant" ansikte.

Lunchen pa restaurang gick ocksa bra, liksom badet. N vantar en lakarundersokning och efter det ar det snart middag.

Tank att efter all denna vantan har vi antligen fatt var lillasyster! Det kanns pa samma satt som nar vi fick Olivia - fran och med nu blir allt bara battre!

Dan fore dan

At the Great Wall yesterday.
It truly is an amazing constructure. The wall goes right at the summit of the mountin. Just imagine the workers carrying all the stone!

The birds nest.

Fagelboet, som ska anvandas till invigningen av OS i Peking nasta sommar.
Pa vag till Changsha.


All the donations we brought from Europe. Several friends have contributed and the gift contains more then 130 pieces of clothes and shoes. In addition, a huge bag of toys. And this evening, our local guide "mr Smile" (they all take western names and some are a bit special) took me to the local babies' stuff shop and to the electricity shop. Thanks to generous money donations I was able to buy seven walkers (gastolar) and one air conditioner, whih makes both hot and cold air. I thought I was going to buy a radiator but they don't believe in it here, apparently.

Ok, time to get some sleep (hopefully through the night) and tomorrow is the big day!

Och det ar svart att tro att det ska bli sant. Forra gangen var vi sa fokuserade pa det som komma skulle, den har gangen har vi fullt upp med Olivia och annat ... visst ar det spannande, men inte alls lika odesmattat som for tva och ett halvt ar sedan. Daremot kanner man igen sig mycket i de som blir foraldrar for forsta gangen. Oron over att inte lyckas blanda den perfekta vallingen, eller om fyra blojor kan vara tillrackligt for en timmes utflykt, till exempel!

Dags att ga och lagga sig. Mats och Olivia (som for visso sov bade pa planet hit och pa bussen fran flygplatsen) snarkar redan. Jag forsoker halla mig vaken en stund till och hoppas pa en sammanhangande period sedan i stallet.

Wish us good luck tomorrow!

Jet lag

It's 01.40 am and the whole family is wide awake after a few hours sleep. I can't remember having this big trouble before. And Olivia is just as bad. We have been trying to get back to sleep for an hour now and decided to try this approach instead: Go up for 30 minutes and then try again. Last night I was awake from 1 am to 5.30. When the alarm clock rang at 06.45 I felt more like dead.
The reason to go up that early was the Great Wall. My mother and I went with most of our adoption group. It was a cold, windy and sunny day. We took a short walk on the wall and then sat down on the lee side and enjoyed the warm sunshine and the peacefulness. Olivia and Mats stayed in town, they went swimming, ate junk food and took a nice long nap.
We had another typical Chinese lunch (sorry, already getting tierd of the Beijing kitchen) and then went to a market I have never been to before. It is as big as the Pearl Market but mostly visited by the locals and not so caothic, the isles are wider and the sellers not so aggressive. We will definitly go back when we return to Beijing. I bought some scarves and necklases, cheep of course, but bargaining is difficult and somehow I feel fooled.
Next time a will bring the children, because they had a lot of nice clothes and shoes for children but the sizes never match.
After dinner I fell asleep when I put Olivia to bed at 8. And though I feel very sleep deprivated I am not sleepy. I truly hope I can get a few more hours tonight and to be able to sleep better tomorrow night. Because on Monday we will meet our next daughter!
We travel to Changsha tomorrow morning and will do all the paperwork regarding the adoption during the afternoon. We will have an early dinner and after that it's supermarket time, to buy nappies and other baby stuff. Later in the evening I will go with the local guide and spend the money friends have donated, on behalf of the orphanage. I look forward to that! They want an air conditioner (but I think they meen a radiator) and walkers.
Now I will drink my tea, read a few pages and try to go back to sleep again.
I will try to fint the time and write tomorrow. If not, wish us luck on Monday!

Forsta dagen i Beijing

Vi besokte Tempel of Heaven och Pearl Market, som planerat. Enda inkopet blev en bla armbandsklocka, som jag lovat Olivia nu nar hon ska bli storasyster. Men vi ska handla mycket mer nar vi atervander till Peking nasta vecka!
.
We are quite a spectacle - a cute Chinese girl together with us horrible long noses! And she doesn't speak Chinese, very strange.
Mats Chinese collegue Fang, who we met yesterday, said exactly what Mats and I have noticed before: Olivia looks Chinese, but all her gestures and acting is Swedish. No matter the looks, it is obvious she isn't brought up in China.
Olivia ar rena proffset pa restaurangerna.

Parken vid Tempel of Heaven. Massor av pensionarer tillbringar formiddagarna med att dansa bugg till kinesisk musik, gora tai chi, utova olika sporter, spela musik och sjunga, och att trana pa utegymmet.

Proud big sister to be - but not o Sunday, we will recieve the babies on Monday.

Olivia packade sjalv sina gosedjur innan vi lamnade Sevenoaks.
Pa Landvetter innan motgangarna satt igang. Men allt ar glomt nu!
Sa har glada var Olivia och mormor nar vi antligen satt pa planet mot Beijing.

I eftermiddag ar det valkomstmote. Det ska bli spannande att traffa de andra familjerna. Vi har redan mott min gamla bekant Anette, som tillsammans med sin man ocksa ska adoptera sitt andra barn. Vi hamnade i samma grupp av en tillfallighet. Vi hoppas nu att Ia och deras Nora, som ar nagra manader aldre, ska bli kompisar.

Utegymmet igen.

Vi ar framme

We have arrived in Beijing after a challenging journey - everything seemed to go wrong - but finally it's time to go to bed. Its half past three back home but we are very tierd. Olivia has decided not to stay with Mats and me, she only wants her granny and has moved in with her next door. Wow, we are soon to be parents of two, but just now it feels like a holiday with granny as a nanny!
Tomorrow we're heading for the Pearl market and the Tempel of Heaven. We will also visit Tiananmen square (Himmelska fridens torg) and the Forbidden city.

Resan var inte helt smartfri. Det borjade med att vi knappt kunde checka in eftersom Olivias efternamn var felbokat av resebyran. Sedan funkade inte Mats guldkort (var biljett till laungen och business class) och efter det medgavs inte uttag pa vart visakort nar vi skulle betala kontanter och resechecker ... ar det bara vi som inte vet att nar man koper valuta hos Forex, sa raknas det som bankomatuttag! Nar vi forsokte betala 30 000 pa en gang blev det tvarstop. Ganska stressande. Nar vi hade provat fyra olika kort inklusive ett av Mats foretagskort med en rejal kredit, vi stod dar i en halvtimme, yppade tjejerna pa Forex att detta hander ofta for att vanliga bankomatkort har en sparr som inte medger enskilda uttag pa mer an till exempel 15 000. Sa vi delade upp uttaget pa tre och da gick det.
Hur som helst, vi lyckades uppgradera oss till Business class och sov gott pa vagen hit. Vi har varit ute och atit med nagra fran Mats jobb nu och nar klockan snart slar halv fyra hemma ska jag stanga av datorn och ga och lagga mig. Hela Peking gungar, kanns det som!

Den röda tråden

An invisible red thread connects those

who are destined to meet, regardless of

time, place, or circumstance.

The thread may stretch or tangle,

but will never break.

Chinese proverb

...

...

På söndag får vi veta vem som håller i andra änden av tråden!

On Sunday we will learn who holds the other end of the thread!

Sista dagen i Sevenoaks på ett tag

... we leave for Sweden tomorrow afternoon and on Wednesday ... for China!
I have packed all the donations for the orphanage and I reached my goal: I filled our biggest suitcase! More than 120 pieces of clothes, plus shoes, socks, bibs and hats. And 53 toys! Good quality toys are expensive and hard to find in China, and as a report from little sister's orphanage made last summer said there wasn't a single toy there, I'm very happy we made this. And the donation doesn't stop here, friends have also given money which I will buy nutritious formula for when we are in Hunan.
I have been packing and planning most of the weekend. Mats and Olivia have been to the driving range, they have been out for runs in Knole Park (Olivia in the stroller), they have been busy constucting a wooden weel loader and playing.
Olivia aslo went to Max birthday party yesterday. It was a jungle party, and Olivia was wearing leopard pattern trousers, a leafy top and her new (Lily May's old) fake fur coat.
Prettiest of them all, of course!
Octopus - bläckfiskar är ett av Olivias favoritdjur just nu, jämte dinosaurier, tigrar och hajar.






Djungelparty när Max fyllde fyra år i går. Olivia var förstås snyggast av alla i leopardbrallor, djungelmönstrat linne och fuskpälsen som hon fått ärva av Lily May, en annan flicka som också är adopterad från Kina.

Fish pond - the Swedish way to get hold of your goody bag. Olivia is helping out behind the hanging.

Partyt var kul ända tills alla ballonger klipptes ner och några stora pojkar stampade på dem tills de smällde. Olivia har aldrig gillat höga skarpa ljud och smällande ballonger är extra otrevligt. Hon blev glad först när hon bjöds in BAKOM skynket av Max pappa, för att hjälpa till att fästa påsarna på metspöt.

Pappa och Olivia sätter ihop en hjullastare av trä. Perfekt sysselsättning en sen lördagseftermiddag.
Söndagsmorgonen inleddes med färgläggning.
Olivia i garaget på lördagskvällen, när hon och pappa grillade. En fördel med gasgrill är att det inte osar så mycket. Tvärdrag i garaget räcker för att vädra ut och vi kan grilla året om.
Grillmästaren himself.

I morgon bär det av till Sverige, och på onsdag är destinationen Peking!!! Det ska bli så roligt. Vad vi har väntat på detta.

Jag har nått mitt mål och fyllt vår största resväska med kläder och leksaker till barnhemmet. Vänner har också gett mig pengar att köpa välling för i Kina. Många har varit enormt generösa och det känns extra bra att kunna ge ordentligt, eftersom vi vet att barnhemmet är mycket fattigt och att det inte kommer att bli fler internationella adoptioner därifrån. De flesta barnen som är där nu kommer att få växa upp på institutionen.

Än så länge har jag mest packat donationerna, men i kväll ska vi ta tag i våra egna grejer. Vi får se hur mycket som får plats. Eftersom Mats ska åka vidare till Finland på vinterkonferens med skidåkning direkt från Sverige måste vi till råga på allt ha med hans skidkläder också. Det kommer att se ut som vi flyttar tillbaka till Sverige!

Oj, klockan går, jag måste fortsätta mina förberedelser, snart kommer Olivia hem från skolan och då hinns det inte med så mycket. Hohn är väldigt hjälpsam med alltför pigg på att sortera om i mina högar!

Thailand and the orange stripe belt

We got Mats back from Glasgow alright. He was clever and caught an earlier flight, but it turned out to be delayed ... he was here just in time to put Olivia down, anyway. After that, we celebrated our anniversary with lojromstoast (cant be explained, must be tasted) and some good white wine.
The taekwondo session was a success. Olivia was tested and she got the new belt. She is so proud, and we had to repeat the testing and changing-belt-ceremony four times when we got home.
By the way, who in Thailand visit us almost every day?
You, and all the rest of you, are very welcome to post comments. I do appreciate it!

Spring is here

Olivia and Isabelle's dad Erik, who visited us from Houston, Texas, the other day, play tennis with Olivias lazer swords.
In this post I explain to my Swedish friends how a trip to Bluewater (normally 20 minutes) can take almost 1,5 hours and how traffic congestion makes me totally loose the shopping mood. I will aslo tell that spring is here - they still have snow back in Sweden, some daffodils will make them so envious! And, of course, I will tell about my packing. The bedroom floor is full of piles of clothes and toys for the orphanage, most of it kindly donated by friends here. Hopefully there will be some space left for our stuff!
This afternoon Olivia will be tested for her orange stripe belt in the taekwondo. She is thrilled!
Olivia hjälper mamma att dammsuga.
Det var kul att få tillbaka sin gamla bil, som Sienna har lånat i ett år. När Olivia fick den var hon ungefär 15 månader och nådde inte ner till golvet. Jisses vad hon har växt!
Våren är här! Träden har börjat slå ut, krokusarna blommar och maskrosorna likaså. Om en månad kan det vara sommartemperaturer i södra England. Det är faktiskt ett härligt klimat här.
Jag har varit på Bluewater i dag. Det rä ett stort köpcentrum 20 minuters bilfärd härifrån, men det är ju inte för inte de kallar M25-an, motorvägen, för världens sttörsta parkeringsplats. Det tog mig nästan en och en halv timme att komma dit! Jag tappade fullständigt lusten att leta vårjacka. Jag köpte en kofta och en tröja till Olivia, som hon ska få ha när hon går på djungelfest hos Max på söndag.
Nu är det snart dags att hämta den lilla stumpan hos dagmamman och köra henne till taekwondon. I dag ska hon testas för nytt bälte. Hon är mycket förväntansfull och har övat slag och sparkar här hemma hela morgonen.
Själv är jag egentligen mest sugen på att sätta igång och packa. Det blir en hel massa grejer till barnhemmet, mina vänner här har varit enromt generösa. Hoppas vi nu bara inte åker på att betala övervikt på planet. Badrumsvågen har gått sönder ... vi kanske får försöka låna en. Kan bara tänka mig hur sur Mats skulle bli om det väger för mycket! Vi får resa lätt, helt enkelt.
I dag är det min och Mats bröllopsdag, förresten. Fyra år sedan festernas fest! Vi ska fira lite lugnt här hemma i kväll, när Mats har återvänt från Glasgow.

Switching to English

A lot of friends here in Sevenoaks and around the world have asked me to write in English, especially now when we leave for China. I have decided to write at least half of the text in English in the next few weeks, and we'll see how it goes. I hope all of you in Sweden don't find me to snobby now ... But it is also good practising for me. Please excuse my spelling.
Olivia still suffers from her cold. The temperature seems to rise in the afternoons and she has been quite poorly the last few hours. She was fast asleep at 7 pm. I really hope she will be fine on Thursday, when it's taekwondo again. She loves it and was devastated she missed last week. Mr Simmons, the coach, even sent her a postcard wishing her to get well soon, and he promised he will test her for the orange stripe belt on Thursday even though she doesn't have the three pieces of sticky tape (dan?) required. Olivia was utterly flattered and proud.
The visa problem seems to be solved. I made a phone call yesterday to make sure they now have everything they need. The lady who answered the phone said "which nationality passports?". "Swedish". "Ahaaaaa, everything is okay, it's been sent to the embassy". So we are a bit calmer now. Mats will collect the passports on Friday.
Mats is on he's way to Glasgow and will return on Thursday evening. I have invited a few friends for dinner tomorrow. It's a bit boring spending to many evenings alone in front of the telly. But I shouldn't complain, I had dinner with my adoption friends at a Thai restaurant yesterday. We used a babysitter for the first time as Mats had a business dinner. It worked very well and Olivia was happy with the arrangement, as long as I promised to come back. The babysitter is a 15-year old girl, daughter to a Swedish lady here in Sevenoaks, so she speaks reasonably good Swedish. I wonder way we have waited so long before we started using babysitter? It has all been about me, not about Olivia.
Well, time to do some more preparations and "to do-lists". I haven't started packing yet. Will do that in the weekend. My friends here have been amazingly generous and contributed a lot to our donation to the orphanage. I just learns that little sister's orphanage will not be a part of the international adoption program anymore, as it doesn't qualify. That probably means it's too poor to produce babies healthy enough to show to the rest of the world. And no international adoptions means less money in to the orphanage, and in the long run even worse conditions. So it feels very important to give a lot now when we are there.