My apologies to everyone !! We have been so busy with life , that I have'nt had time to blog, and every time I find I can do it, I either forget the digital camera cord or the battery on the laptop is dead. So so sorry, it has taken me forever to update you guys.
I like to think of you all as my blog obsessives, he he he.... Know that I love you guys and love the comments, its great.
Well we are home and getting acclimated to a routine and our home. Eli is doing really well, he loves for me to hold him just all the time, and I understand that this is good and it promotes the healing with regards to bonding and attachment. My arm, however, is about to drop off, but I have noticed that I am a lot stronger on the left side because of this.
Today we hung up a baby swing on the porch for him and he just loves it. I think it might be the first time he has ever swung on a swing.
For all of you in the process , take it from me , that one of the best things that I got in China for myself, ended up being an absolute delight for Eli. Our driver and guide in Beijing bought Hamid and I a Chinese music CD that we heard on their cell phone ringer and on the car radio. I fell in love with it and played it on our lap top in the hotel often. When we got back home to the US, I put the CD in the car to hear it and I got such a surprise out of Eli! He stopped sucking that one finger of his and he perked up and dazed a glance at me then started laughing and clapping his hands. After a while he would look out of the window and start clapping and laughing, while the music played. Hamid and I have two differing views on this. Hamid thinks that he recognizes the words in the song, I however think that he recognises the music from the hotel and it gives him a sense of familiarity. For whatever the reason, I highly advise you all to buy at least one Chinese music CD for your baby to enjoy. Eli perks up and laughs and just has a ball every time we take off for a ride in the car with his tunes that he loves. I need to get a video of him, he is so funny.
We are having a ball with little Eli ! I will keep updating sooner than later.
Bye for now,
Nour
Friday, March 9, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
We Made It !
Ok, everyone, we are HOME! what a nightmare the trip was for me. I don't like flying anyway and to take a 25 hour trip after getting only 4 hours sleep the night prior was murder on me! I wish I could sleep on at least one of the planes we flew on. The baby slept pretty well on all three plane rides, and Hamid did a little. He was feeling bad and came down with a cold and headache on our way, poor guy.
We got to the airport 30min. late , but what a special welcome we had! No one knows but I got teary eyed on the long walk to that Welcome Home sign you all made for us. Thanks to everyone for the welcome home at the airport, it felt so good, only a long foreign trip like this one , can make you really appreciate home. Inside I felt miserable though, because of sleep deprivation and headache, so please know that I am a lot more fun when rested and I also am so thankful for friends like you guys to be apart of our family and life.
We all came home with all our loot and went straight to bed, all of us. I fed the baby, and Diane and my mom had prepared us dinner. Thank You ! Well I woke up this morning at 1:30 and could not get back to sleep, everyone else is awake too now. Hopefully we will get into the U.S. time frame soon.
Eli just loves his room, he sits in the baby bed and stares at the pictures on the wall for a long, long time. He also likes talking and laughing to the stuffed animals in his bed. He is so cute.
Bye, Nour
We got to the airport 30min. late , but what a special welcome we had! No one knows but I got teary eyed on the long walk to that Welcome Home sign you all made for us. Thanks to everyone for the welcome home at the airport, it felt so good, only a long foreign trip like this one , can make you really appreciate home. Inside I felt miserable though, because of sleep deprivation and headache, so please know that I am a lot more fun when rested and I also am so thankful for friends like you guys to be apart of our family and life.
We all came home with all our loot and went straight to bed, all of us. I fed the baby, and Diane and my mom had prepared us dinner. Thank You ! Well I woke up this morning at 1:30 and could not get back to sleep, everyone else is awake too now. Hopefully we will get into the U.S. time frame soon.
Eli just loves his room, he sits in the baby bed and stares at the pictures on the wall for a long, long time. He also likes talking and laughing to the stuffed animals in his bed. He is so cute.
Bye, Nour
Monday, February 12, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
One Day Left in Guonghzo !!!
Hello everybody,
I have not gotten in touch because I have been so busy with the baby. We are having alot of fun here in Guonghzo, it is so pretty , it reminds me of a mix of New Orleans and South Carolina at the same time. There are alot of British style buildings. Today we went to zoo. Tonight we will go on a river boat Cruise with dinner included. I have to remember my dramamine!
We have one more day left then we will be on our way home. If any of you would like to meet us at airport, I would love that and of course I want to show my new son off. We will arive at 4:30 pm on the 14 th of Feb. ( Valentines Day ) What a great day for delivery!! !!
I will try to post some more pics soon . I did not pay for internet service at our hotel in Guonghzo because I found this fabulous little coffee shop called Blenz Coffee, and they have free internet for those with lap tops and also two systems for those too lazy to drag their lap tops with them to the coffee shop. Eli is being so good right now he is sitting in his stroller with a bottle watching me type. What a good boy he is! Ok well most of the time. OOh, he just fell asleep, life is good.
I have been told by our guide that we have our last official documents to sign for the baby's visa to the U. S. We already got his passport and everything seems to be a done deal. Now for the flight home, Oh No, that is going to be very interesting and I am not looking forward to it at all. Eli does not like close quarters. Please pray for us and thank you for praying.
Bye, Nour
I have not gotten in touch because I have been so busy with the baby. We are having alot of fun here in Guonghzo, it is so pretty , it reminds me of a mix of New Orleans and South Carolina at the same time. There are alot of British style buildings. Today we went to zoo. Tonight we will go on a river boat Cruise with dinner included. I have to remember my dramamine!
We have one more day left then we will be on our way home. If any of you would like to meet us at airport, I would love that and of course I want to show my new son off. We will arive at 4:30 pm on the 14 th of Feb. ( Valentines Day ) What a great day for delivery!! !!
I will try to post some more pics soon . I did not pay for internet service at our hotel in Guonghzo because I found this fabulous little coffee shop called Blenz Coffee, and they have free internet for those with lap tops and also two systems for those too lazy to drag their lap tops with them to the coffee shop. Eli is being so good right now he is sitting in his stroller with a bottle watching me type. What a good boy he is! Ok well most of the time. OOh, he just fell asleep, life is good.
I have been told by our guide that we have our last official documents to sign for the baby's visa to the U. S. We already got his passport and everything seems to be a done deal. Now for the flight home, Oh No, that is going to be very interesting and I am not looking forward to it at all. Eli does not like close quarters. Please pray for us and thank you for praying.
Bye, Nour
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Eli's passport
Hey everyone its me Big brother Hamid. My mom told me I could put up a post before we leave to Guonghzo. Well my little brother Eli was not so big when we got him but now I think he has gained some weight, I think he likes the rice cereal a lot. Well the best tour guide I think we could ask for miss Nancy just came in the hotel room as I type this and gave us Eli's Chinese passport. As we wait on our Hawaiian pizza in the hotel room Eli is taking a nap.
See ya
Big brother, Hamid
See ya
Big brother, Hamid
A Short Note Before We Fly to Guongzho
Ok, again we fly out tomorrow to go to Guongzo for a week. We are so tired of flying ! This will be our last flight inside the country before we fly home on the 14th. I can tell you that I do not want to get on another plane for a very long time.
The baby is doing well, we found out that he weighs exactly 17 lbs. which is not alot for a two year old. His legs and arms are very floppy and have very little muscle tone. He is used to lying on his back only for sleep and will not move from that position all night. Other than these minor things, he is very healthy, smart, and looks just like me. Ha Ha.
Well, both of my boys are asleep and I am so sleepy too. Once we are in our next destination for a week, I will write and send more pics.
See you and thanks for the prayer, I need it.
Nour
The baby is doing well, we found out that he weighs exactly 17 lbs. which is not alot for a two year old. His legs and arms are very floppy and have very little muscle tone. He is used to lying on his back only for sleep and will not move from that position all night. Other than these minor things, he is very healthy, smart, and looks just like me. Ha Ha.
Well, both of my boys are asleep and I am so sleepy too. Once we are in our next destination for a week, I will write and send more pics.
See you and thanks for the prayer, I need it.
Nour
Monday, February 5, 2007
He is legally mine as of today 10:00 AM
OK,.... Well this has been interesting to say just the least! I am now a mother of two sons legally and it feel great.
We signed the last of the legal documents at the Civil Affairs Office today and the Civil Affairs agent looked at me and congratulated me while shaking my hand. It was a very emotional and sombering feeling that I don't think I have ever felt before. I gave her my gift and of course thanked her and took a deep breath.
Right now the baby is asleep and I have a min. to write to you all. Last night was our first night togethr and it was a night mare. The baby woke up about 4 times and would not take a bottle any at all. He screamed and poor Hamid couldn't get any sleep. Part of me actually enjoyed this because it reminded me of being a new mom home from the hospital with a new baby.
Eli's cleft lip and also his pallet looks really good. His pallet looks like it has closed about 50% since I saw the pic of him at age 13 months. His lip looks so good you almost cannot tell. I am reminded when food comes out his nose though, but the good thing is that it only comes out of the left side.
He is so cute and a huge snorter. Hamid and Eli have fun snorting back and forth at each other.
Well, I am on cloud 9 and I thank God!
Nour
We signed the last of the legal documents at the Civil Affairs Office today and the Civil Affairs agent looked at me and congratulated me while shaking my hand. It was a very emotional and sombering feeling that I don't think I have ever felt before. I gave her my gift and of course thanked her and took a deep breath.
Right now the baby is asleep and I have a min. to write to you all. Last night was our first night togethr and it was a night mare. The baby woke up about 4 times and would not take a bottle any at all. He screamed and poor Hamid couldn't get any sleep. Part of me actually enjoyed this because it reminded me of being a new mom home from the hospital with a new baby.
Eli's cleft lip and also his pallet looks really good. His pallet looks like it has closed about 50% since I saw the pic of him at age 13 months. His lip looks so good you almost cannot tell. I am reminded when food comes out his nose though, but the good thing is that it only comes out of the left side.
He is so cute and a huge snorter. Hamid and Eli have fun snorting back and forth at each other.
Well, I am on cloud 9 and I thank God!
Nour
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Gotcha Day
Well we have the baby!!! And my mom is feeding him right now. We just got back to the hotel with Eli about 1 hour ago. I'm going to put some pictures up for yall.
See ya,
Older brother, Hamid
See ya,
Older brother, Hamid
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Yeah!! We are in Nanjing
Well we just got in last night at about 6:00 PM and met our new guide Nancy at the airport. We are now in Nanjing and I will be getting a new brother tomorrow morning. Our hotel rooms are vary nice when we came in to it there was a baby bed for Eli and of corse my mom started crying. Well today we are going to do some site seeing with miss Jodi and Coach Brian. You can see there blog site at ( jailynhope.blogspot.com ).
See ya
Excited Hamid!!!
See ya
Excited Hamid!!!
Friday, February 2, 2007
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Day Two
Ok, its 5:00AM and I woke up and again can't get back to sleep. The good thing is that Hamid is still asleep, and I got 2 more hours of sleep this time. I found this private little nook on the second floor where I can look down from a balcony area that I sit in and watch the main desk/entrance. This hotel for those of you interested in staying in Beijing for a few days, is quite nice, but strong wifi access is only hidden in this little nook area.
Yesterday was fun! I walked into the buffet breakfast at our hotel , which is Kingly!!, and saw a lot of Chinese and some European faces looking at me. As I looked for Hamid, a lady approached me and said, are you Nour, well guess who! It was Jodi from Texas in the process for Savanah off the SN list! They had pinpointed out Hamid because of all the Alabama gear and knew he had to be my son. That was great, so of course we had a two hour breakfast, buffet style, and caught up on travel talk.
We left for sight seeing and first went to a jade factory which was very educational we drove up and I promise you every employee was in the parking lot waiting for us. it was very strange to me, I asked my guide and she said they are ready to work and show me the place. I took it that they don't stay everyday and all day? We drove in and they all parted to let the car park, then they watched us as a lady waited for us at the front door. After we entered they began to follow in with alot of Chinese chatter. It was strange and interesting to say the least. We were taught the whole process of different kinds of jade and were shown how its made into art and jewelry. Of course I bought some!
Next we went to another factory/shop where they taught us of the emperors interest and order for the invention of cloisonae. Again it was a step by step guide from beginning to end of how they are made and the history of the art. Of course I bought two vases! They are just gorgeous, but not too cheap. Hamid keeps reminding me that this is not our pleasure trip, but I just couldn't help it, Hey! I'm a woman and you live once right.
Last we went to the famous Great Wall. Enough said.
We then drove an hour back to go to an acrobatic show and a famous peking duck dinner of China and I got sick in the car so we went to hotel. We both were zonked and fell asleep, China time, at 8:00 PM. I feel just great today and Hamid must still be asleep, so we are doing good and I can't wait for our buffet breakfast to begin!!
Surrounded in Gods Love!,
Nour
Yesterday was fun! I walked into the buffet breakfast at our hotel , which is Kingly!!, and saw a lot of Chinese and some European faces looking at me. As I looked for Hamid, a lady approached me and said, are you Nour, well guess who! It was Jodi from Texas in the process for Savanah off the SN list! They had pinpointed out Hamid because of all the Alabama gear and knew he had to be my son. That was great, so of course we had a two hour breakfast, buffet style, and caught up on travel talk.
We left for sight seeing and first went to a jade factory which was very educational we drove up and I promise you every employee was in the parking lot waiting for us. it was very strange to me, I asked my guide and she said they are ready to work and show me the place. I took it that they don't stay everyday and all day? We drove in and they all parted to let the car park, then they watched us as a lady waited for us at the front door. After we entered they began to follow in with alot of Chinese chatter. It was strange and interesting to say the least. We were taught the whole process of different kinds of jade and were shown how its made into art and jewelry. Of course I bought some!
Next we went to another factory/shop where they taught us of the emperors interest and order for the invention of cloisonae. Again it was a step by step guide from beginning to end of how they are made and the history of the art. Of course I bought two vases! They are just gorgeous, but not too cheap. Hamid keeps reminding me that this is not our pleasure trip, but I just couldn't help it, Hey! I'm a woman and you live once right.
Last we went to the famous Great Wall. Enough said.
We then drove an hour back to go to an acrobatic show and a famous peking duck dinner of China and I got sick in the car so we went to hotel. We both were zonked and fell asleep, China time, at 8:00 PM. I feel just great today and Hamid must still be asleep, so we are doing good and I can't wait for our buffet breakfast to begin!!
Surrounded in Gods Love!,
Nour
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Diane
Diane, I can't get through to you for some reason. The email address you gave me, the computor will not accept. Email me at starbucksismybestfriend@yahoo.com and then I can do a reply. I don't know why this is happening now?
First Day in Beijing
Hey to everyone, Hello to a few people first, Hey Diane, Uncle Samir, and Ferielle, Auntie Kat, and of course Karla, I got your emails. I will write back because its free and my cell phone is so expensive.
Ok, it is now around 3 in the morning and I woke up and can't get back to sleep. I know it has to be the time change, because it happened last night too. It does make for a good quiet time to do things like this on the laptop.
Just to brief you all on our trip thus far, we had a great day yesterday with our guide. We went to Tienanmen Square for as long as we could tolerate it. With the windchill factor it was about 1 degree Celsius. After that we saw the Forbidden City, which our guide gave a great account of historical fact to us about the dynasty of the different emperors. It was great ! We then met our driver who patiently waited two hours by the car for us. Jerry is such a nice guy and a good driver !! Its crazy on the road, you have buses, bicycles, people and cars all mixing up in the road in a confused mess! Its fun for us just to ride around!
Hey Sherri, I saw the Starbucks but we were on our way to lunch, which was authentic Chinese food. They brought about 7 dishes of food out for us at a private table in a private room in the restaurant. I asked our guide why we were in a private room and she said that the air was not good quality, interesting I thought, but ok whatever. After eating we got to the door to leave and our driver races to have the car ready and waiting, he is so attentive to our needs. This special treatment is dangerous for me, I am enjoying it too much.
After this, we went to a place that was not on our tour package but our guide said that presidents of the US are always taken there because its such a nice place to learn about how silk was made in China, since China is famous for silk. I have to tell all of you behind me in the process that it is worth it! They take you through a step by step in the factory style of how they make the worm /pupa and of course the following silk, after which you can go upstairs and actually purchase silk things of all sorts. Diane, you would have loved the shopping. Hamid got to take several pupas in their ca coon with the silk in raw form around them. Its cool.
We are definitely going to need a nap tomorrow!
Nour
Ok, it is now around 3 in the morning and I woke up and can't get back to sleep. I know it has to be the time change, because it happened last night too. It does make for a good quiet time to do things like this on the laptop.
Just to brief you all on our trip thus far, we had a great day yesterday with our guide. We went to Tienanmen Square for as long as we could tolerate it. With the windchill factor it was about 1 degree Celsius. After that we saw the Forbidden City, which our guide gave a great account of historical fact to us about the dynasty of the different emperors. It was great ! We then met our driver who patiently waited two hours by the car for us. Jerry is such a nice guy and a good driver !! Its crazy on the road, you have buses, bicycles, people and cars all mixing up in the road in a confused mess! Its fun for us just to ride around!
Hey Sherri, I saw the Starbucks but we were on our way to lunch, which was authentic Chinese food. They brought about 7 dishes of food out for us at a private table in a private room in the restaurant. I asked our guide why we were in a private room and she said that the air was not good quality, interesting I thought, but ok whatever. After eating we got to the door to leave and our driver races to have the car ready and waiting, he is so attentive to our needs. This special treatment is dangerous for me, I am enjoying it too much.
After this, we went to a place that was not on our tour package but our guide said that presidents of the US are always taken there because its such a nice place to learn about how silk was made in China, since China is famous for silk. I have to tell all of you behind me in the process that it is worth it! They take you through a step by step in the factory style of how they make the worm /pupa and of course the following silk, after which you can go upstairs and actually purchase silk things of all sorts. Diane, you would have loved the shopping. Hamid got to take several pupas in their ca coon with the silk in raw form around them. Its cool.
We are definitely going to need a nap tomorrow!
Nour
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
We are here!!
Well we made it !!! Thank you guys for all of your prayer, we needed it!
For those of you interested in the details of flight, it goes something like this... we left our home at 5:00 AM and began flight at 8:00 AM to Detroit, where we connected our next flight to Tokyo which took around 16 hours, that was just horrible !! because I am one of those people who cannot sleep on a plane. Next time I am medicating! We connected to another flight which took us to Beijing. The connection there in Japan was a fiasco, because we all had to go back through customs and bag checks , security checks etc. a long walk as a group like mice channeling through a maze of glass walled corridors only to go from one plane to another. Crazy I thought, but hey, who cares as long as we get on the next plane before it leaves. The next flight took around 5 hours. We got to Beijing on the next day, (30th on Jan. ) at around 9:30 PM China time.
We got our luggage and walked into a crowd of Chinese people all holding signs with different names on them. We saw our guide only because she called out to us. I have to say it was kinda fun , we sorta felt famous or something, with everyone looking at us and calling to us to come towards their signs as if they were all happy to see us. They were the first happy faces I had seen in the last 30 hours, I can tell you!
Our guide is just great, her name is Penny she is standing in the lobby of the hotel waiting for us to go sight seeing now. She and Jerry the driver picked us up from the airport and even took us to a small shop to get some soda and other things on the way to the hotel.
Today the driver and Penny will take us to the Forbidden city and who knows? I need to go now and I will write later more. Right now I have a migrain and need medicine before we leave.
See ya,
Nour
For those of you interested in the details of flight, it goes something like this... we left our home at 5:00 AM and began flight at 8:00 AM to Detroit, where we connected our next flight to Tokyo which took around 16 hours, that was just horrible !! because I am one of those people who cannot sleep on a plane. Next time I am medicating! We connected to another flight which took us to Beijing. The connection there in Japan was a fiasco, because we all had to go back through customs and bag checks , security checks etc. a long walk as a group like mice channeling through a maze of glass walled corridors only to go from one plane to another. Crazy I thought, but hey, who cares as long as we get on the next plane before it leaves. The next flight took around 5 hours. We got to Beijing on the next day, (30th on Jan. ) at around 9:30 PM China time.
We got our luggage and walked into a crowd of Chinese people all holding signs with different names on them. We saw our guide only because she called out to us. I have to say it was kinda fun , we sorta felt famous or something, with everyone looking at us and calling to us to come towards their signs as if they were all happy to see us. They were the first happy faces I had seen in the last 30 hours, I can tell you!
Our guide is just great, her name is Penny she is standing in the lobby of the hotel waiting for us to go sight seeing now. She and Jerry the driver picked us up from the airport and even took us to a small shop to get some soda and other things on the way to the hotel.
Today the driver and Penny will take us to the Forbidden city and who knows? I need to go now and I will write later more. Right now I have a migrain and need medicine before we leave.
See ya,
Nour
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Some Itenerary Details For China
Hey there everybody, particularly... ( Kim, Laine, Sherri, Jodi, Amber, Auntie Kat ) and everyone else. I hope I didn't forget somebody. I am so excited you guys are coming along on this trip with us. Jodi, however is literally coming with us and I know how excited they are in preparation.
We have one more day before we leave for China, and I believe we are ready. We have our visas, and all our documents in nice water proof packages for the government all nicely prepared for me by Karla, my social worker. Thanks Karla, you did a good job.
Our flight will be a very long one, we leave early morning Monday and don't arrive in China until the night of the following day. We will be going through Tokyo. Too bad I can't do any shopping. After getting into Beijing, we will be able to go to bed, as it will be late at night when we arrive.
The next and first day there, our guide will pick us up and take us to lunch and then we will be able to visit the Great Wall of China and then Tienanmen Square.
I will post more info as it comes. Again , thanks for all of your prayers and love.
PS. Sherri, I forgot to answer you about Eli's size. I was told that he is probably about 26 lbs. He could be heavier or lighter. You know how it is going on two or three photos. He does seem to be getting plenty of nutrition though. Fat cheeks don't lie. Also I was told to pack some diapers in the 26 lb. range .
Nour
We have one more day before we leave for China, and I believe we are ready. We have our visas, and all our documents in nice water proof packages for the government all nicely prepared for me by Karla, my social worker. Thanks Karla, you did a good job.
Our flight will be a very long one, we leave early morning Monday and don't arrive in China until the night of the following day. We will be going through Tokyo. Too bad I can't do any shopping. After getting into Beijing, we will be able to go to bed, as it will be late at night when we arrive.
The next and first day there, our guide will pick us up and take us to lunch and then we will be able to visit the Great Wall of China and then Tienanmen Square.
I will post more info as it comes. Again , thanks for all of your prayers and love.
PS. Sherri, I forgot to answer you about Eli's size. I was told that he is probably about 26 lbs. He could be heavier or lighter. You know how it is going on two or three photos. He does seem to be getting plenty of nutrition though. Fat cheeks don't lie. Also I was told to pack some diapers in the 26 lb. range .
Nour
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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