Sept 20, 2006

Three years ago today I was doing this:




Within a week, I was seeing this:



And now, I have this:



Happy 3rd Family Day Jami!!! We are so lucky to have you.

Memorable moments in my trip to get Jami:
- Our plane flt from Detroit to Tokyo.....it took off on time. It flew 5 hrs to the North Pole. Then, it developed a hydraulic leak & the pilot thought it best to return to Detroit. So, we basically took a 10 hr flight to no where. When we got ready to land in Detroit, we were on an isolated run way......fire trucks & emergency vehicles were standing by & we were instructed on how to assume the "crash" landing position. Fortunately, we landed without incident. We deplaned (it was now past midnight)...they gave us each an overnight kit & bussed us to a local hotel. Free room, free meals, & a bus ride back to the terminal at noon the next day.

- Because of that delay....we were delayed by 1 day until we reached Nanchang. We missed our actual Gotcha Day. 10 min after we checked in, our guide showed up, ready to go to Civil Affairs. When I adopted Lindsi in 2003, our flt from Beijing to Nanchang was delayed because of bad weather. When we landed, We got the news that our babies were at the hotel waiting for us. I had about 10 min that time to get ready as well. I guess I'm just a mom who experiences Fast labors.

- When I met Jami, her nanny pretty much handed her over & disappeared from site, although I knew she was on the same floor & just around the corner. Jami was not a happy camper. The next day we went to sign all of the papers. Jami was still not a happy camper & her nanny tried to be scarce. I could tell it was killing the nanny though to see Jami so unhappy & upset. We ended up all riding down in the elevator together. I let the nanny hug & kiss on Jami one last time, & then she & the asst dir walked quickly down the street & around the corner. As I climbed into the van, I happened to glance back & I saw the nanny sobbing into the asst dir arms. You never know & it's one of the biggest reasons why I send pictures of Jami back to the SWI 3-4 times a year. I've had some very sweet replies from them too.

- On the morning we were leaving to go to GZ, we went to pick up Jami's passports. Another family was with us. Their daughter's passport was at the counter, but it was determined that Jami's passport was unwittingly left locked in the safe, of the region directors locked office, who was away from the province at a business conference. It was Fri...he was due back mid week. We had the last consulate appt before everything shut down for the trade fair. Our guide sent us back to the hotel & told us to pack for our flt to GZ...she would stay there & either meet us at the hotel or meet us`at the airport. 10 min before we were to leave for the airport, Jenny ran in with a passport for Jami. They'd had to pull so many strings & fortunately, everything is done in email. It basically amounted to pulling a congressman out of a session meeting to forward an e mail he was copied on back to the local office in Nanchang, so they could create a new passport. It was a MIRACLE that we got out of Nanchang in time.

The rest of the trip was relaxing after all of that......

My friend Blog Lori will be meeting her new daughter this week. Follow along.