Ellie celebrates Independence Day

Ellie has been a busy, busy girl this summer. First, she had a visit with a couple of her "sisters" (other girls adopted from China) at a picnic at the local park, and there she caught raindrops on her tongue with a friend.













The Little Empress has evolved into quite a little traveler and tourist. Over the 4th of July weekend, with some friends from South Carolina, Ellie saw the sights in and around the Nation's Capital.



















We even spent a very hot July 3 at Gettysburg, touring the battlefield and meeting "Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock" (who Ellie called "Ronald McDonald!"). The Empress is becoming quite the history buff! (Dad's being a history prof may have something to do with it.) Through it all, Ellie showed her unique spirit.

An Empress's Easter Extravaganza

 
 
 
 

Easter was a blast for Ellie. Easter eggs were everywhere! She went to her first Easter Egg hunt sponsored by our church, then colored eggs at home with Mom, Dad and neighbor buddies Jessica & Jordan, then went to Essex, MD to have Easter dinner with her Daddy's relatives and played outside with her cousins. She's staying busy! 

The Empress and the Extended Family

In March, Ellie got to meet her extended family in Georgia: Her "Grammy" Hazel, her Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bob, and her cousin Meghan. She was also welcomed by our close friends (and surrogate parents) Ian And Sandra in South Carolina. The Little Empress was a bit overwhelmed at times by all the people so eager to see her and touch her; but she was a trooper through it all, including a LOT of driving, a couple of hotel stays (which occasionally fished up unpleasant memories), and new names and faces to learn, culminating in a 10-hour haul home from SC. She was even delcared an honorary member of the "Class of 20??" of Southern Wesleyan University. Heady stuff!

She was also the guest of honor at (another) shower, this one thrown by some ladies in our church. More goodies, more new people! It's just exhausting.

New Year Photos

Greetings from Katie,

Here are some photos from the Valley Adopt Chinese New Year celebration in Harrisonburg.

Things are still going quite well here. Ellie is adjusting very well to her new home and definitely knows who her mommy and daddy are.

She still won't let anyone at church hold her yet, as I think she feels she will be handed off again to someone else; Ellie does very well in the church service, and others in our congregation have remarked on what a joy she is to have there. Some ladies in our church just had a shower for us on on Feb. 25. Ellie enjoyed helping mommy tear paper off the gifts and enjoys the new toys, books and clothes she received. She even insisted on putting on one of the lovely white knit button down sweaters she received. I shared her scrapbook with some of the others there, and they really enjoyed looking at it.

So far she is a very easy child to raise. She is picking up more and more words every day. "Where are you?, There you go!, Chelsea, hush!, and Bye bye are some of her favorites to say. She also knows: nose, ears, chin, belly button, knees, legs, foot, toes, socks, shoes, mommy, daddy, potty, and of course, "No."

She is truly a blessing to us and brings us much joy! We just love her so very much!

Happy New Year! (Gong Hay Fat Choy!)

The Empress Elizabeth Xiangbing wishes Happy Chinese New Year to all her devoted subjects around the world. She is now officially a citizen of the United States of America, having received her Certificate of Citizenship (complete with a letter of welcome from President Bush) and that badge of Americanhood, a Social Security Number.

Ellie was graced with a visit from her new aunt Cathy, uncle Lou, and cousins Sheri, Megan and Haleigh, along with her great-aunt Katie. A good time was had by all.

Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Ellie's First Christmas

We spent a quiet Christmas at home, just the three of us. Ellie had a great time with her new toys, and so did we! She received a set of blocks, some super-size Lego's, and a Winnie the Pooh as big as she is!

We went to a candlelight Christmas Eve service at our church, and Ellie did great, watching everything, listening to the carol singing, and seemingly enjoying the experience. She was one of the best-behaved children there!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

LFCC Press Release

My school, Lord Fairfax Community College, kindly wrote up our story for a college press release. You can read the press release at this address:

http://www.lfcc.edu/News/Releases/051221_release_morganchild.html


The press release includes pictures, and they did a great job!

Enjoy.

In other news, Ellie is now calling our dog by its name, Chelsea (though it comes out more like "Chewsheee!"

New Photos!

And now, for all of Ellie Bing's fans, more photos of an increasingly photogenic little girl. Not much news, as we've been snowed/iced in for most of a week, but we ventured forth to Wal-Mart and the mall this morning to get professional photo portraits done and to pick up other bits and bobs.





Ellie was a trooper, after some coaxing allowing some photos to be taken by the photographer without pitching into tears, then putting up with the mall crowds with good grace (aslong as she had her stash of Cheerios, which seems to be her version of the cure for a rainy day!










The Empress's warmest holiday agreetings to all. Note the photo of the family lighting the Advent candles at church last Sunday. She did great!

Settling In. . . .

We're at home, becoming a family at last. The photos say it all. Ellie Bing's first encounter with snow was . . . curious and wary. She actually fell face first once, but she didn't cry at all when Daddy picked her up and "dusted" her off. Snow is something she'll have to get to know well here in Northern Virginia.

The Empress sends her exalted greetings to her devoted subjects everywhere!

We're Home!!!

We're finally back after a whirwind of flights, hotel rooms, real Chinese food, the glorious metropolis of Hong Kong . . . and more Ellie.

Here are photos from Guangzhou. Chinese school children who saw me and yelled "hello!" Ellie in the Shamian Park, and looking out at the beautiful Pearl River.

Enjoy, and we'll continue to post from time to time, so watch this space!

The Empress is Out of Her Shell!

Oh, what a difference a few days makes. As of Saturday, she was sad, watchful, wary of us (though she consented to let Daddy hold her and tote her around). She continued to launch nuclear tantrums at bath time, at changing time, when we took her into the hotel playroom (she HATES that place) . . . most any time she wasn't in daddy's arms or asleep (at least she does THAT all night, like clock work). On Sunday, she woke up a new person, and left us breathless: she eats, she walks under her own power, she talks (though we don't understand a syllable), she sings softly to herself, she smiles, she LAUGHS hysterically.
Ah, bliss.
She has even (slowly) begun to warm up to Mama Katie, consenting to let her feed her, change her diapers, bathe her (though not without a principled cry, which soon fades into contented play in the bath). Now don't get the wrong idea; Daddy is busy too: toting her around, in a Hip Hammock or a borrowed stroller. he does his bit.
In an hour we leave for the United States Consulate, where Her Majesty will receive her visa (her permission -- as if THAT were necessary) to enter and permanently reside in America, her new realm. Tomorrow, it's on to Hong Kong, our last stop and her last look (at least for a while) at her birth land. The following day, we fly home to America, and Virginia.

Gotcha photos!

We're Back....

We've been gone a few days because we've had our hands full with the little empress. What a pair of lungs this child has!!! It has been very hard for her and us for all the many changes the past few days. Her shock - our awe!!! We have been overwhelmed with it all, and we are very tired, however we have much to be thankfull for. Elizabeth is very heathly, just a bit on the thin side. She sleeps all night and is eating for us. We thought she would be sick, but instead Curtis is sick. Fortunately someone in our group gave him some antibiotics.

The group we are with has been very supportive. There are 22 families, most of them from Michigan.

We saw the province she came from. It's very poor compared to Beijing and Guangzhou. Guangzhou is very warm. We had to buy some tee shirts because of the weather.....sunny and pleasantly warm....temps in the 70s.

We tried to upload photos however, our camera battery just went low. We will post photos on our next post.

Crashing the "Forbidden City"

Ni hao from Beijing!

Yesterday we were taken to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was beautiful weather, as you can see, a bit cool but bright, great photo weather. It was all very impressive, and reminded us of the deep culture that our daughter will continue to enjoy as her birthright, regardless of her U.S. citizenship.

A highlight of the day was a rickshaw tour through some of Beijing's "hutongs" -- tiny alleyways that preserve the flavor of old Beijing (before the recent modernizations began to make the city look a lot like Vegas). It was indescribable, so I won't try to describe it. Let's just say we saw a city that probably few tourists see, and got "up close and personal" with some of these marvelous and friendly people.Today (Tuesday, November 22 -- we're 13 hours ahead of EST) is the last day that Katie and I are non-parents -- sometime this afternoon (early morning for most of you) Zhang Xiang Bing will be handed over to us in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, and will become Elizabeth Xiang Bing Morgan. More as we have opportunity (i.e., once we've overcome the shock!)

Curtis & Katie Storm the Great Wall Nov. 20

Ni hao! (Hello!)
Well, we've been in Beijing for just over two days, and have decided we love this city. The people are very friendly and know a lot of English. They are pleased (apparently) by our ham-fisted attempts to speak Chinese ("xie xie" -- pronounced like "sheeye sheeye" -- "thank you"). They smile constantly (as well they should -- we've spent a lot of money here!) Yesterday (the 19th) we visited the Summer Palace of the Emperors. Today we were taken to visit the Great Wall and were truly amazed -- pictures don't do it justice. We also visited a "cloisonee" factory and ourchased a few "treasures." Tomorrow it's off to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Watch for more pictures!

Zai Jian (goodbye!)

We're Here in Beijing!!!

Greetings everyone! We arrived in Beijing yesterday (or was it today??) Anyway, in our time zone it is Saturday the 19th. Our flight over was smooth enough, especially as, due to the airline overbooking, our seats were assigned to us and a Chinese pair. Suddenly we were "bumped" to Business class! It was pretty neat--we could recline our seats, we had fliet mignon for dinner, complimentary everything . . . We pitied our poor traveling companions, stuck in "steerage" eating beans and franks!!

So we arrived relatively rested (we actually slept part of the way) and arrived in Beijing at about 3:30 pm their time (2:30 AM EST) on Friday. We were met by Joy, a Bethany representative and taken through the worst traffic I have ever seen to our Hotel (where I am writing this). It is very comfortable, and we are meeting the other families in our travel group. Several of them are back for a second (or third!) adoption. Beijing (at least what we have seen so far) is VERY modern and Western (lots of McDonalds, Pizza Huts, etc.) but at Joy's suggestion we ate at a place called "Beautiful South" which featured real Cantonese cuisine. It was awesome (though we passed on the braised shark's lips).

We are having a GREAT time so far, and my next post will have photos.

Watch this space!

Packing for Departure Day, November 17

Just a quick note to all of our friends eagerly awaiting the Empress's advent. Pictured here is a pair of shoes (they light up!) that will be (probably) her very first pair of her very own. They reside in an open suitcase, still being filled with all manner of things we think the three of us will need on our very long journey to and through China and then home. The other photo is of her very first piece of luggage, a "Hello Kitty" backpack that doubles as a "roll-along" bag. It isn't empty; it holds a green cloth bunny, a bag of goldfish and various other necessaries for the Chinese girl-on-the-go. That will be her "carry-on" luggage! A Chinese co-worker tells me that the character for Elly Bing's name (Xiang) contains an element representing flight. "This girl's gonna fly!" We know that is true, in every sense.