Good evening from Hefei, Anhui!
I willtry and recap as much of today as I can... when we got to the rooms where the babies were, I recognized Ellie right away because of her hair. It is WILD!! The orphanage director was holding her and all three babies were very calm. (Our other travel mates are couples from Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.) Ellie came right to us and she looked so big! we than realized that she had four layers of clothes on, the last layer resembling a snow suit. (It was 72 degrees) She was just a pool of sweat. (The Chinese beleive that many layers of clothing will prevent sickness) One of the babies in our group is 17 months old and when her nanny passed her over to her parents, the nanny started crying and so did the baby. It was such a bittersweet feeling- I know they loved the babies so much. The nanny had to leave the room because she was so upset. This only made us realize how much they truly love these little girls and they do the best job they can with the very few resources that the orphanges have. Ellie so far has not cried, I know that she must be in total shock. She loves Bailey's hair and reaches out to try and touch it.She is VERY petitie, maybe 16 pounds. She can sit up and roll over, she can bear wight on her legs but would rather just sit and babble. She has eaten very little since we got her, but that is to be expected. She slept for a couple of hours this evening but is now up for play time.

The city where we are staying is the capital of the province. There are three million people that live here, yet they call it a rural area. Many dirt roads and lots of poverty. Friday the other couples will go and visit the orpahanage. I am going to stay at the motel with all the babies. I may regret my decision not to go, but emotionally it would kill me and I am better off not to be there. It is two hours one way on a dirt road, very poor orphanage with a well that is starting to dry up and no money for another one. They have been hauling in water for quite a while.

Today we go back to the government office for our official interview and then it is a free day to just play and giggle. (or maybe even a nap!) We will post more pictures this evening.

Thank you all for the wonderful comments. what an awesome thought to be half way around the world yet feel so much love and support from you.

P.S. In these picures Ellie has on split pants, once you are potty trained you wear these without any underwear and just go to the bathroom anywhere. Imagine Bailey's suprise when at the grocery store yesterday a little child just squated and peed. And yes, one of the pictures below is of a squatty potty. Most nice restraunts and hotels, airports, and some offices have western toilets, but the majority are squaters. The four star squatters even have toilet paper!)

I think I will try and get Ellie back to bed now.

God is great and life is great!!!!
Gretchen

TODAY @ 3PM ON FEB 7TH 2007 WE GOT ELLIE AND IT WAS A VERY EXCIING MOMENT FOR ALL OF US. WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE CCAA IN HEFIE, THE 3 BABIES WERE ALL READY IN THE ROOM SO WE SURPRISED THEM ALL AND ENTERED WITH TEARS OF JOY. WE DID TAKE A LITTE VIDEO BUT I AM NOT TO SURE IF I CAN GET IT ON THE SITE. HERE ARE SOME PIX OF TODAYS MOMENTS.

STEVE

Good evening from Beijing! We arrived here safe and sound after a very long day! Our trip over was great. We are finally posting now because we have had trouble with the internet connection.

Today was busy! We started at the Ming Tomb, followed by a trip to the jade factory. Then off the Great Wall (truly amazing) and a then the silk factory. Beijing has 15 million people in the city and I think we saw them all either riding their bikes or driving in cars. I will never complain about traffic again!! Traffic lights are just a suggestion, and blinkers are obsolete. We have great memories from our ride today!

Bailey is like celebrity over here. Her blonde hair has caused quite the stir. She has had her picture with many locals and the boys all give her the thumbs up sign. She even received a free peice of jade and a peice of silk. People just smile and stare at her. It is great, but I am not so sure that she thinks so.

We fly to Ellie's province tomorrow morning. we hope to have her by early afternoon. Please pray for us as tomorrow is monumental.

We will post pictures later.

With love from China,
Gretchen

We are mostly all packed and ready to go on our journey! Our China itinerary arrived yesterday- we have a fun-filled two weeks with many sightseeing excursions and government appointments. Ellie will be brought to us on the 6th. (that will be the evening of the 5th here - China is 15 hours ahead of us.)

We land back in Boise at 6:55 pm on the evening of the 17th- feel free to meet us at the airport. We would love to see everyone. (United flight 6508)

I can hardly believe the time is here- WOW! Thank you all for following along. The prayers, phone calls and well wishes are so appreciated!

We fly out Saturday at 6 am and land in Beijing at 3:30 pm on Sunday. What a day that will be!

We will post from Beijing.

Until then-
Gretchen

In case you haven't heard, WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!! We received our travel dates today. We leave on the 3rd of February, get Ellie on the 7th, and return to Boise on the evening of the 17th.

Our first full day is in Bejiing where we will tour the Great Wall and the Meng Tombs. Then, it is off the the province where Ellie is at. We will stay there for 8 days, and then off to Guanzhou where the American Consulate is for the final few days.

The excitement around the Hill household is incredible. It is almost like a dream. Bailey said that if we have to leave during the middle of the night don't forget to wake her up! (I hope she knows that we would never forget her.)

I have thought about Ellie's birthparents a lot today. I can't imagine what they went through the day that she was born. I know that they loved her enough to leave her where she would be quickly found. May they know in their hearts that she will be cherished by so many people; and what immense joy she has already brought to her new mom, dad and sister!

I will update again when I know some more travel details.

Hugs to everyone!
Gretchen

I hope tomorrow that I can post with our travel dates- we have been patiently waiting for a number of days now. A representative from our agency contacted China today to see what is going on- we will see what happens!

Brr- it has been cold here. I feel like we are back in Montana.

I hope to post soon with some great news!

Take care,
Gretchen

Happy New Year! What a great start to 2007 with the Boise State Broncos making Idaho proud!! What a game- Steve had a great time in Phoenix. It was well worth the trip.

We celebrated Bailey's 8th birthday on Friday. We had a great time with a Sponge Bob Pinata and a trip to the movie. It was great fun had by all.

We are STILL waiting for Travel Approval from China. We were expecting it 2 weeks ago- this has been a great lesson in patience! I am guessing that we will go to China the beginning of February.

Hope everyone's New Year is off to a wonderful start. We are thankful for all that we have- especially family and friends!!!!!!

Love to all-
Gretchen