Beijing Rickshaw/Hutong and Chengdu

Yesterday was our last day in Beijing. We spent the morning Skyping and packing and the spent the fternoon touring the old Hutong part of China. We ate lunch at a local restaurant.

rode in a rickshaw

throughout the Hutong area of China

and visited a local Chinese family in their home.

Then we rushed directy to the airport only to end up having our flight delayed (about an hour at the airport and then almost 2 hours sitting on the runway). We didn't arrive to our hotel last night until 11pm.

This morning we met the other family that is adopting through our same adoption agency. They are adopting a 5 year old boy. We are assuming that our boys know each other! We had breakfast with this couple, went to a local supermarket where we got a full tea tasting ceremony served to us right in the middle of the store



ate lunch at McDonald's, went to the bank to exchange our $ and are about ready to go out for dinner.





We leave for the orphanage tomorrow morning at 8:30am for our 9:30am appointment. It's the day we've been waiting for. Andy has spent the last hour and a half counting and organizing all of the $ we need to take tomorrow as well as double (and triple and quadruple) checking all of our paperwork. I've been organizing things for Caleb (snacks/toys) and gifts that we are expected to give to the orphanage directors, nannies, etc.
I'm not sure how to even put into words how we feel. It really depends what minute it is. Our emotions vary from excitement, to fear, to nervousness (seriously, I can NOT believe that I have not thrown up from nerves yet), sadness for the loss and fear that Caleb will likley be facing, to homesickness, to relief that our wait is almost over, to freak-out-ness that we're adopting a 4yr old boy that we've never met and speaks no English, to "I can NOT believe we're in the middle of China!" to just about every other crazy extreme emotion that you can think of. Mostly we're just thankful to be here and be so close to having Caleb.