Tuesday, November 29

OUR ITINERARY!!!!

The Travel Agenda for Guangdong Group

Dec 8 (Thu):
Linda will pick up Campbell family by UA851 at 15:40pm at BJ airport. Then, check into Holiday Inn Central Plaza, Tel.: 01186+10+83970088; Fax: 01186+10+83556688).

Dec 9 (Fri.):
9:00am: Meet in the lobby on the first floor of the hotel to go to Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, a pearl place and Summer Palace.

Dec 10 (Sat):
7:30am: Put your check-in bags on the left outside your door;
7:30am-8:20am: Return your hotel room key and have breakfast;
8:30am: Meet at the same place to go to a jade place, Great Wall and have lunch at Da Yi restaurant.
Fly to Guangzhou by CZ1309 (17:45pm-20:40pm) and check into White Swan Hotel (Tel: 01186-20-81886968; Fax: 01186-20-81861188).

Dec 11 (Sun):
Have breakfast at River Garden Coffee shop on the first floor (6:30am-10:00am).
10:45am: Walk to a nearby church to have a Sunday sermon.
12:00pm: Have group lunch.
2:30pm: Go to Civil Affairs office to meet your babies.

Dec 12 (Mon):
8:30am: Go to civil affairs office to do the registration.
5:30pm: Group dinner.

Dec 13 (Tue):
Free day.
5:30pm: Group dinner.

Dec 14 (Wed):
9:00am: Go to Family Chen’s Temple.
12:00pm: Have group lunch.

Dec 15 (Thu):
9:00am: Go to Guangzhou Zoo.
12:00pm: Have group lunch.

Dec 16 (Fri):
9:00am: Go to a baby stuff wholesale market or a department store for shopping.
5:30pm: Have group dinner.

Dec 17 (Sat):
8:00am: Go to a photo shop to take baby’s visa photos and have a medical check-up for the adoptive child.
2:30pm: Go to a local museum (King Yue’s Tomb).
5:30pm: Group dinner.

Dec 18 (Sun):
10:45am: Guide will take you to a nearby church for a Sunday sermon. You will be on your own for the rest of the day.
5:00pm: Group dinner.

Dec 19 (Mon):
Guide will go to send visa documents to consulate in the morning. One parent of each family will have to wait in the room from 11:00am to 12:00pm, in case additional information is needed.
3:30pm: meet on the second floor of the hotel to have group photo.
4:30pm: Have pizza in your room for dinner.
6:15pm: have a river cruise (two hours).

Dec 20 (Tue):
2:30pm: go to US consulate to take the oath.
6:00pm: Group dinner.
From 8:30pm to 9:00pm: check out but keep your room key.
9:00pm: Put the check-in bags on the left outside your door.

Dec 21 (Wed):
4:15am: wake up call.
5:30am: go to airport to catch flight CZ301 at 8:30am from Guangzhou to H.K. . Then, catch UA896 at 11:40am to fly back home.

Cullen & Helen at the Party



Sunday, November 27

Happy 9th Birthday Cullen!

Today is Cullen's birthday! I can't believe he is 9 years old. Wow!

We celebrated today by having lunch at Olive Garden. We then went to Nanny and Pop's house for a party! Mom and Dad, Nanny and Pop, Aunt Heather, Grandma Carol, January and Mark Tracy, baby Helen, and Cullen were there. We ate way too much and had a great time! Grandma Marcia didn't feel well so she and Grandpa Norm couldn't be there. We missed them, but gave them a call afterward.

I can't believe how fast time has flown. I don't think Kieren is going to be allowed to grow up too! I just want to keep Cull and Kier this age forever. Well, maybe we can get past the diaper stage for Kieren!

Happy Birthday, Cullen!!! I love you!!!!

Saturday, November 26

We Really Are Going To China!!

Wow! It's official now. China has given us permission to travel!

Friday, November 25

The Veterans and The Virgin

What do you do the day after cooking a HUGE meal, making a pig out of yourself, and having to clean the kitchen three time? SHOPPING!!!!

After Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, I suckered my mom into letting Cullen spend the night. I had a good reason. SHOPPING!!!!

At 3:45am this morning, Andy and I drug ourselves out of our warm bed for the traditional Christmas shopping extravaganza! Andy was a virgin shopper at this point. He was very curious why Heather and I would willingly get up at such an un-Godly hour to go out in the cold and fight with thousands of caffeine-hyped, sleep-deprived maniacs over a toy. Yet, he wanted to go this year.

Well, we left our house at 4:30am and picked up Aunt Heather, veteran shopper. Heather and I have been doing this "shopping thing" for about 4 or 5 years now. We have it down to an art! On the way to Wal-mart (don't like to shop there, but they would price match anything), Andy's training session began. As directed, he dropped us at the door, parked the van, and had a brisk 14 degree walk! Heather and I headed for TOYS! Heather and I do divide and conquer. She went down one side of the stack, I went down the other. First one who finds the target, grabs it and yells for the other. By now, Andy was in the store. His next job was to grab a cart and get to the edge of the toy department and wait. Heather and I were moving along, grabbing the loot, and shoving our way through the unbelievable crowds. Once we were within throwing distance of Andy, we would launch everything through the air for him to catch and put in the cart. Hmmm... Guess I should have told him about that part of the job. Once the initial look of "Oh, SH**!" left his face, everything worked like clockwork! I knew I forgot to tell him something! After making a lap around the store, Andy decided he wanted to try the shopping part. He is no longer a shopping virgin! So through the check-out lines we went and out into the freezing cold!!! Next stop: Tim Horton's. Heather's baby said it needed a bagel and hot chocolate. Never argue with a fetus!! Can you believe it was only 5:30am?

With snack time over, we headed for K-mart (not a favorite, but they had three of the items on my list). They opened at 6am. Same procedure as the last store. Andy is getting into the groove! The front of the store was like a ghost town! Everyone was in the toy department (of course). One of my items was sold-out, but we found everything else plus a few additional gifts. Time to move on! Check-out wasn't too bad. As Heather and Andy payed, I picked up a rain-check. Let's go to the next place.

By 6:45am we are sitting in front of Wal-greens. Yes, you read that right. Why? Lipstick, of course! Actually, the lipstick is for our guides in China. We were told to give Revlon lipsticks, among other items. They were on sale for $.99 each. What a steal! We all had a good laugh watching the insane fools line-up in 16 degree weather in front of a Wal-greens. What could be so important that they were fighting for first in line...at a drug store?!?! Once the manager opened the doors and the crowd shoved its way in, we left our toasty car (in Princess Parking) and wandered in. We were out within 15 minutes. Onward!!!

Next stop: Target! By now, Andy is handling things really well. Drop the women at the door, park the car, take a brisk walk, grab a cart, and find the women in the toy department!! Andy's first response to the check-out line in Target? Holy Crap!!! Ah, virgin shopper! Well, we grab the loot and meander through the store. Why hurry? It's only 7:30am and we have everything we need in the cart. At 7:40am we get to check-out. There is no line, of course. Heather and I are pros! We know how to time these things! Five minutes later, we head for Bob Evans for breakfast. The place was packed so we ended up at Cracker Barrel (YUM!). Not bad, it's 8am.

After a wonderful breakfast, we head back to Heather's house. We haul all of her goodies into the "gift room" and then go shopping online! Yep! We are still shopping!! We had to order two of the items we wanted because the store was sold-out. No big! They will be here around December 1st. Andy had his fill of shopping so he headed for home with all of our stuff, and Heather and I went back out SHOPPING! Last stop for the day was Meijer. Heather's great-niece works there. We weren't able to get the diapers that were on special, but we did get some other things! Of course, Kieren got a new outfit and matching hair clips!!! (I hope she has hair!!!) So, shopping adventure over, we headed back home. I got home at 11:15am.

Our shopping day has only taken 6.5 hours. We have ALL of Cullen's and Kieren's presents. We have Andy's mom and brother finished. We even bought a couple of things for us. Andy only whined twice. He said he had a good time and really enjoyed his "job". I think he wants to go next year too! Hmmm...

Monday, November 21

YAY!!!

I had a wonderful surprise today!!! Our plane tickets came!!!! Yay!!!! I wish they were "real" tickets, but e-tickets will do! Kieren's ticket is weird. It is a letter from the travel agency that you give to the ticket counter in Hong Kong. God I hope it works!!!!

If You Can't See It...

Okay! Beirut is no longer in my family room!!! WOOO HOOO!!! Most of the dust has been removed. There is still a small pile of rubble, but that will be gone this evening. The carpet guy comes tomorrow to measure and then our new carpet will be installed on the Monday after Thanksgiving!!

HOWEVER, Beirut is not gone. It has been relocated. How did we move it? We opened the family room window, removed the screen and tossed everything outside! What can I say? If you can't see it, it doesn't exist! I'll deal with it in the Spring!!!

Saturday, November 19

Turkey Day Prep

Okay, we are going to my parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner next week. We had dinner here last year and it was great! But with Beirut still in my family room today and my mother saying we have too much to do before we leave, we have decided to have the meal at my folks house.

I liked having Thanksgiving here. Why? Well, Cullen could play with his stuff without having to haul it all over to Nanny and Pop's house. I didn't have to get showered until my mom walked in the door. I didn't have to worry about the dog having a potty break on the floor because he was mad at us. I didn't have to worry about the cat getting in the garbage and then sharing it with the dog! I could tell people what to bring! I could guarantee the house would be clean for two whole days!! I didn't have to get up so darn early to fix the dinner we will be eating at my mom's house! Confused? Let me explain. I will be cooking the turkey, the dressing, the gravy, the broccoli, the rolls and the pumpkin pie. All of these lovely, scrumptous foods will have to be cooked and packaged correctly so they can be hauled to my parent's house for us to eat!

Okay, Mother! How does this make life easier for me????

Friday, November 18

Packing

We have started packing for our trip. Everything fits if we don't take any clothes for us!! Actually, the portable drug store and baby gear take the most room.

Everyone keeps asking why we are taking so much stuff. We don't know if Kieren will be sick when we get her. We don't know if she will get sick (like most of the babies do) while in China. We don't know if we'll get sick while we are there. I know there is a Wal-mart in Guangzhou, but do we know if they will have what we need? When in doubt, pack it all! We also don't know what Kieren will be eating. It could be just bottles. It could be 1st foods. We don't know until we get her. So we are taking one container of formula, a dozen little plastic packs of 1st foods, rice cereal, and baby snacks. We also have a couple of little plastic bottles of pear juice (for constipation issues). Don't forget we have to have bottles w/ different types of nipples, baby spoons, a couple of little bowls, a snack holder, and bottle brush. We also are taking some toys for Kieren so we don't get bored!

We have to pack clothes that can be layered for us. Beijing is darn cold this time of year!!! We will be there for a couple of days so we have to have warm clothes. We won't get Kieren until we get to Guangzhou so we don't have to take winter clothes for her. We also have to pack warm weather clothes for all of us. Guangzhou is HOT! Kieren's birth city is Yangjiang City. It is located on the equator. I can see some major sinus problem coming on!!!

Cullen has his own suitcase. I have one and so does Andy. We each have a carry-on. On the way back, Kieren will have a suitecase too. (Hey! We have to bring home all the stuff we buy!) I just hope we can fit everything we have into these bags! We have packed everything we can at this point. We can't really pack our clothes until the day before we leave. Let's hope it all fits!!!

Thursday, November 17

Beirut In My Family Room



Okay, Thanksgiving is in one week, followed by Cullen's birthday parties (one for his friends and one for family). We leave in less than three weeks for China. We will be gone for two weeks. Christmas is three days after we get home. We are planning a kid's party for New Year's Eve.
Hmmm... I think we are going to be busy removing Beirut from our family room this weekend!

How do we handle stress?

How do we handle stress? Hmmm... Let me count the ways:

  1. We shop!!! (I know we forgot to buy something for the trip.)
  2. We cook. (Well, sometimes.)
  3. We shop. (Cullen needs a new _______ .)
  4. We eat chocolate! (Hello?! Duh!)
  5. We have aggression release therapy!!! (Otherwise known as "Beirut in my family room".)
  6. We shop. (Heather made me buy it!)
  7. Some of us clean. (Hey! I'm not THAT stressed yet!)
  8. We watch stupid movies! ("Hey dude! Where's my car?")
  9. We find ways to irritate each other. ("I'm not touching you!")
  10. We shop. (There must be something we still need!)
  11. We keep checking emails! (Guilty as charged!)
  12. We sit on the couch with the dog and one or two cats, a BIG pile of blankets (MAN IT'S COLD!!!), and think of really good come-backs for the people who have annoyed us this week!
  13. We shop!!! (Sandi, want to go to the outlets?)

Give Me Strength!!

God, give me the strength not to strangle my son right now!!!! He just locked my keys in the car and it’s running!!! He is now late for school, is going to miss Chapel, is going to miss the blessing of Operation Christmas Child, will get a demerit, and lose points in class. Thank God we don’t have his sister here yet or she would’ve been locked in the car! He is soooo lucky that the back door to the house was unlocked (there is snow on the ground), but now DH has to drive 40 minutes home with the spare key. UGH!!!! I know accidents happen, but this was pure carelessness. I need to go back to bed and just pretend today was just a bad dream and start all over again. Thanks for letting me vent so Cullen may live to see another day!

Sam

Wednesday, November 16

Soon...

I Just Want To Apologize Now...

All I can say is I am really truly sorry for the poor unlucky people who sit near us on the airplane. We are a quirky family with faults. Hey! No one is perfect!!

I love my husband dearly. I really do! He is a wonderful man, an amazing husband, a beautiful human being, and the world's best dad!!! But OH MY GOD, his snoring will deafen anyone sitting within 12 rows of him on the plane! I suggest you take a different flight if you are supposed to be on ours.

I also want to apologize to anyone having to sit near my son, Cullen. I love him beyond reason. He is intelligent, talented, curious, sweet, generous, and amazing. He will talk your ear off or drive you crazy with his constant motion. Your best bet if seated next to him is to have the flight attendant move you or take a later flight!

Then there's my wonderful sister, Heather. She's pregnant and it's not easy. If she turns green, just get the H*** out of her way!!! Please don't wear perfume, smell like smoke, or have stinky personal odors around her. If you do, get a different seating assignment, take a different flight or prepare to be puked on! We won't even touch on the pregnancy hormone thing! It would give you nightmares.

Let's move on to me. I just want to get to China to get my daughter and anyone who stands in my way will be dealt with soundly!!! And no one had better upset my son or yell at him either!! I know my family's faults, but only I am allowed to acknowledge they exist. Oh, did you guess my faults? I'm total unreasonable!!! Got a problem with that? Then take a different flight!

HOLY COW! We have flight info!!

Holy cow!!! I can't believe we finally have flight information!!! I even paid for the tickets last night!!! HOLY COW!!!! (Please note that I made this G-rated!) Here is our info:

Dec. 7th Flights from Dayton to China (Duration: 16hr 12mn):

10:28 am Depart Dayton (DAY)Arrive Chicago (ORD) 10:53 am
Wed 7-Dec Duration: 1hr 25mn United Airlines 6843

12:05 pm Depart Chicago (ORD) Arrive Beijing (PEK) 3:40 pm
Wed 7-Dec (+1 day) Duration: 13hr 35mn United Airlines 851

Dec. 21st Flights from China to Dayton (Duration: 16hr 46mn):

11:35 am Depart Hong Kong (HKG)Arrive Chicago (ORD) 11:40 am
Wed 21-Dec Duration: 14hr 5mn United Airlines 896

1:15 pm Depart Chicago (ORD)Arrive Dayton (DAY) 3:21 pm
Wed 21-Dec Duration: 1hr 6mn United Airlines 6874

My Sweet Little Daughter, Kieren!



This is my sweet little daughter, Kieren Olivia ChengLi. She was born on March 20, 2005 and is residing at the SWI of JiangCheng, YangJiang City, Guangdong Province, China. We received her referral on October 3, 2005. We will be leaving for China on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 and return on Wednesday, December 21, 2005. I will post our travel information when we get it! I know we will be in Beijing for 2 days and then head for Guangzhou where we will stay for our remaining time in China. Check back for more information!!!

My Amazing Son, Cullen


This is my amazing son, Cullen. He is almost 9 years old. We went to the Columbus Zoo for a field trip this fall. It was so much fun! I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful loving child!

Just Keep Swimming...


I am Sam Campbell and this is my blog. I bet you are wondering why I chose the name I did for this blog. Well, if you are part of the January2005DTC group, you already know. We missed the September cut-off date for our daughter's referral from China by two days. My dear friend Sandi was devistated. We were all pretty upset. To continue on, we needed a mantra. The phrase "Just keep swimming" is from the Disney movie "Finding Nemo". Dori chants this over and over. It means don't give up. It means keep going forward, even when life seems hopeless. It meant keeping our sanity while we waited until October 3rd for our referrals. We are still swimming. We had to swim while waiting for travel approvals that took 6 weeks and that DHL lost for a couple of days. We are now swimming while we wait to travel to China. Why don't you take a couple of laps with me??