Introduction

SO, I think I know how to use this thing now! Today, we have a billion things to do to get ready for the trip. We're leaving next Saturday, May 31. We'll arrive in Beijing on Sunday, and meet Xiufen in the morning on June 2! We hope to take lots of pictures and post them here. This blog will be for Annie and me. My daughter, Annie (number five in a long string of Annies in my wife's family), will have her own.

Xiufen is six years old. Her name means 'fragrant'. We don't know a whole lot about her - all we have is a few documents describing her health and what her caregivers think of her personality, and three small pictures. She lived with a foster family for more than five years of her life and went to live at the Beijing Children's Welfare Institute last June when she was old enough to go to school. In her pictures, she looks like a good natured kid. Despite not knowing much about her, we're pretty confident she'll do just fine!