Arrival in Changsha

We arrived safely in Changsha today. We took a smaller plane here from Hong Kong - traveling China Southern airline. The picture to the left was taken at the gate for Changsha. We met the other family in our group while waiting. They are from western MA and have a 6 year old son. The flight was about an hour - very quick. We are now finally in the Province where Natalie is! We will leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 8:30 for the Civil Registration office and be united with her at 9:30!!! Aina even mentioned the nannies may arrive early with the babies.

After we checked in we spent some time getting settled into our room. The first thing I noticed was the little crib in the corner. It brought tears to my eyes. I can't believe we are so close! I immediately took out the blanket my mom made and hung it over the side in preparation for Natalie. I hope she actually sleeps in it. The next thing I noticed were two cozy-looking twin beds. I asked Andy if he wanted me to take the bed next to the crib and he was very quick to agree!

At 3:30 p.m. Aina and Amy took us to a local market to pickup a few items for our rooms. It was really interesting to look at the groceries with the Chinese labels and try to figure out what was in the package by the picture. We managed to figure out Oreos and Chip Ahoy cookies! We bought some large bottles of water as this is a necessity here. The only time we are to use tap water is to bathe. Other than that, even for brushing our teeth, we must rely on our bottled water supply. We are very fortunate to have clean water at home - something many of us take for granted.

Tonight we will be eating at one of the restaurants in the hotel. Aina has told everyone that Andy is SPECIAL! She is taking personal responsibity for Andy's safety, ensuring he doesn't get into any peanuts or peanut oil. She even had us buy some sesame oil at the store to give to the cook to use when preparing Andy's meal! She's a character and I think we're really going to enjoy getting to know her during our stay.

Well, I'm off to clean up a bit before dinner. Andy is taking a quick snooze - it's been a long day, starting at 3:30 a.m! Our next post will be the one we've all been waiting for! I hope we can sleep tonight - it feels like Christmas! Thanks so much for your prayers!