White OUT!

So here we are in Tianjin during somewhat of a mini blizzard. We have not ventured out of the hotel much other than Wim running out to get us some sandwiches last night.  Everyone was tired, but we were up at about 4:30 am Tianjin time this morning.    We had a very nice breakfast in the hotel this morning—local fare like dumplings, steamed buns filled with red bean paste, a noodle soup dish where you pick the ingredients and they cook them. There were also plenty of Western items to choose from—but we can have those at home. It was all very delicious and Josie charmed the crowd.   We checked out the fitness center and pool—the pool is really nice! We plan to go swimming this afternoon after Josie naps (and us too likely).   The big news is that we will get Clara Rose tomorrow. We are working with our guide through several phone calls to figure out how to get our American dollars converted to Yuan for all the paperwork fees tomorrow. The Banks are closed today and the hotel can only exchange $500 American dollars to Yuan. As soon as we get all of this done at the First Bank of China tomorrow morning, we will head to the orphanage to meet Clara Rose and assume custody of her.  We are VERY excited.   Other than that, we are hanging out in our hotel room down to our skives because our room is like a sauna—this is with the heat turned off and the window open as much as we can open it—during a blizzard.   I'll try to post some pictures later today/evening from swimming and our hotel room.   Also, the blog is set up to email comments to me—so we should be able to read your comments that way even though we cannot access our blog directly.  Lots more excitement to come!