The Club

Everyone was really anxious to get to the White Swan Hotel yesterday. Beijing was a hard trip - the hotel is not particularly warm and welcoming - especially for a large group with a lot of kids, a the city is grey, cold & cloudy - and we were there for a lot of days. Coming to the White Swan for most of us is a little like coming home. This is the second adoption for all five families, so we have all spent some time here. It is also the last stop before home. Getting here is a little like belonging to a very special club! We were happy to be here - and started off our stay with our own first attempt at a "Red Couch" photo...

The shirts we all wore were made by Angel - one of the moms in our group. The front says "Where there is faith, there is hope" - as all the kids in this part of our travel group are from the Project Hope list. The back is a map of China with the scripture "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me" - perfect!

Having breakfast at the White Swan is like joining the private club of those blessed by China adoption. With the recent slowdown of non special needs referrals, I was concerned that there would not be a lot of families here. It was so nice to see lots of adoptive families at breakfast this morning - both new babies (whose families have waiting almost 4 years for them) and older kids. The other private club experience is eating at Lucy's - the american style restaurant next door to the White Swan. We joined the Glass family there for lunch - it was great! I had one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've eaten here.