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

Here is to hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! There was actually snow in Boise this year, so that was an added bonus. Steve and Bailey spent Saturday sledding with family in McCall- they had a great time. I have been battling the Christmas "crud"; but I feel better today so things might be looking up!

Steve leaves for sunny Phoenix on Friday. He is attending the Fiesta Bowl that the BOISE STATE BRONCOS are playing in on New Year's Day. He is going with a couple of friends, his uncle and cousin. It should be a great road trip. Bailey and I will hang out with gramma Eileen and Aunt Jeanette in Boise.

There is still no word on when we will be traveling to get Ellie. The wait is starting to become quite weary- people warned us that the worst part of the whole process was when you got her picture and then couldn't get her for 6-8 weeks. Well, they were right. At times, it has been almost unbearable, but we have a strong support system and we will make it!!!! We have a meeting with our agency this Thursday, so hopefully we will learn more at that time.

Bailey will be 8 on January 5th. I can hardly beleive it! She has matured so much this past year it is almost scary. She is so excited to be a big sister, and we know that she will do awesome in her new role. Life has been good for her since we told her that both she and Ellie can still fit in Steve's lap. (It was a real tear jerker when she asked if there was enough room in her dad's lap for both her and Ellie.) We realize that this is a HUGE transition for Bailey, but we will make it as smooth as possible for her.

Thank you to our extended family, our church family, and our friends for all of the prayers and warm wishes for safe travel. A special thanks for all of the prayers for Ellie- her little life will soon change also!

Bailey Christmas program

this picture was taken after her 2nd grade Christmas program on Dec 19th.

PICTURES OF BAILEY @ HER CHRISTMAS PROGRAM ON SUNDAY DEC 17TH. PLUS A PHOTO OP WITH HER GREAT GRANDMA EILEEN POTTENGER & SCOOBY !!!