Time at Home

Well, its about one week since we regained consciousness from the 16 hour flight home and things at the Kennedy household are progressing.

Easter was an exciting time for us all. We made our first visit to church as a family and received a rousing round of applause as we entered the sanctuary! Everyone at Sunrise knew we had longed for the day we would be joined together with Savannah and they really made us feel special when we arrived. Savannah did very well during the service and only helped Pastor Carter with his prayers once!

After church we made our way to Ann Marie's parents house for lunch with her parents, grandmother and brother. Joey was overwhelmed with Savannah and loved playing with her on the floor and painting Easter eggs! Our only problem was Savannah did not want to take a nap because she was having so much fun playing with the eggs!

The last part of our Easter road trip led us to my sisters house for a cookout. Savannah cried all the way there and only fell asleep when we turned in the driveway! She was a real trooper though and made the rounds with my nieces and seemed to enjoy it all!

This week has been a bit of a struggle as Savannah's respiratory problems have resurfaced and she had a doctors visit on Tuesday. We now have a dose of antibiotics to treat the congestion and a slight ear infection. Hopefully by the weekend our little girl will be her giggly self again!

Thanks to everyone keeping up with us through the postings and I promise to get a new one each week for some time to come! Isn't the internet great! Till then.....

Michael (back at work), Ann Marie (loving the Wiggles) and Savannah (pick me up) Kennedy


Ann Marie's Mom

Ann Marie's brother Joey

Pastor Carter from Sunrise Methodist in Holly Springs

Mike's nieces Rebecca and Jennifer holding Savannah

Mike's father

Alive and Kicking!

Okay, I know the song references are over the top, but that is the song that came to mind as I am sitting here watching Savannah play in her Exersaucer this morning. I think Simple Minds (the group) must have had this moment in mind when they wrote the title to that song!

Okay, I know I missed the BLOG entry for the past couple of days, but I have to tell you that a 15 hour flight on an airplane across 12 time zones can catch up with you really quick! So here is the catch up entry for the past couple of days!

Monday morning in Hong Kong came bright and early after a long night of packing and repacking! Savannah hit the sack about 9:30 and Ann Marie and I followed a little after midnight. The night fairy was good to us and we all got a good nights sleep before the big flight. The alarm went off at 5:30 am and we were off and running!

We all met in the lobby of the hotel at 7:30 am for our walk to the airport and check in at Continental. All went smoothly, except that our friends Paul and Catherine were selected for the groups random luggage check! Not to fear as Paul was allowed to go to the front of the line after security found nothing but dirty clothes and baby items in the bags! They must be immune to the smell of dirty laundry as the officer never cracked a smile! After clearing customs we all hit the Burger King for a good American breakfast with coffee! Soon enough it was time to load the plane and 10 anxious families from the United States started off on the long journey home!


The plane ride, although long, was very uneventful (thank goodness!). Except for one set of children who without proper supervision ran wild in the plane for 15 hours and a couple of spit-up maladies around the cabin, all was well. Savannah made it through the flight unmedicated (Ann Marie as well!) and in good spirits! When we touched down in Newark we felt a huge weight lifted off as we were almost home! Then came customs! Not to say we have it all wrong, but it could be a lot better! After clearing customs and having to pay for a cart to move the luggage 150 yards (yes, it was only $3.00 but in China it was FREE!) we sent the luggage off to the next flight and were greeted by Ann Maries Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom waiting for us with pizza, water and some items for the baby! What a welcome sight! We gathered up Paul, Catherine and Zoe and had a feast right there in the terminal. By looking at the photos, it looks as if “like father, like daughter” holds true in the Marcus household in regards to pizza! Many thanks to the Buonanno’s for providing the welcome wagon in New Jersey!

After departing from Newark Savannah was a little crankier on the way to Raleigh, but who can blame an 11 month old who just made a trip half way around the world for being a little cranky, nevertheless we made it into Raleigh on time and made the long walk to the escalator to find our families! To our surprise we found more than family, there were close friends and co-workers there to greet us as well! We are truly blessed to have people who care about our family so much as to take time after a long day to meet us at the airport. Again, many thanks to you all for the warm reception!

It was so overwhelming to see our friends and family bond with our daughter that even I shed a tear or two! Being home was one thing, but being home as a family meant then world to me. We then loaded the happy families into the van and truck for the ride back to Holly Springs where we settled in for the recovery.

Monday night Savannah did not sleep very much, so neither did we. Tuesday we worked on a couple of hours of sleep and a couple of naps during the day and made it a lazy day to gather as much energy as possible. The food prepared by Ann Maries mom and our friends Karen and Chris really came in handy, thank to you both! We all sat down and watched the hockey game last night with our next door neighbor “Uncle Dick” and the bedded down for our second night which went much better!

Today we are again lounging around the house and getting Savannah back on her schedule for naps and eating. She is adjusting to the time very well, eating like a champ, and loves her new puppies that are very protective of her already!

Ill close today with a big THANK YOU to everyone for taking the ride with us the past few weeks and months. We are so happy to be back home and have our daughter and cannot wait to see you all and share our little bundle of joy. That’s it for now, so you know how the ending goes, till then…..

Michael (downstairs nanny), Ann Marie (upstairs nanny) and Savannah (the nap master) Kennedy

The long way home....

Okay, I know that you now have the old Supertramp song in your head, but the title just seemed to fit! If you cannot remember the words, here is a little help!

When lonely days turn to lonely nights; you take a trip to the city lights
And take the long way home
Take the long way home
You never see what you want to see; Forever playing to the gallery
You take the long way home
Take the long way home

Well, the long way home is now in front of us and we could not be more happy about it! Do not get us wrong, we have loved every minute of our experience, but we miss our family, we miss our puppies, we miss our friends, and according to Ann Marie she misses ice water and fresh vegetables! (mine is sweet tea and chicken salad from moms!)

Today was a very uneventful day for us. While everyone else went out to explore Hong Kong, Ann Marie and I stayed back at the hotel and prepared for our journey home. The day started with coffee and quiche at the coffee bar in the airport which was delicious! Then we walked around and purchased some additional souvenirs and such for all our friends.

After lunch we hung out in the room letting Savannah get in her afternoon nap and we started unpacking and the things in the bags from Guangzhou for more efficient packing for the long trip home. Dad #2, just in case you are reading this....bring the truck! We have 5 pieces of luggage plus our 4 personal items! We look like a couple of Sherpas in Nepal trying to move this stuff around!

When everyone returned from Hong Kong, Paul, Catherine, Ann Marie and I stepped out to a steakhouse for a really good meal before the long day ahead and then topped it off with some Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. What a meal!

Tonight we are in the room packing to meet the requirements for the airline, and with the stuff we purchased, that is not easy! The baby is asleep (for now!) and we are beat, but we are a family and we would not take anything for that!

Oh, check out the sister site to this where Scott Lloyd has stored our video! We just sent him a new one that is sure to please everyone! WE PROMISE!

Well, that's about all for tonight. Like I said, it was a pretty dull day around here, but this is not the end of the story. Ill update the BLOG for a few more days (minus tomorrow, I mean we are flying 16 hours with a 12 hour time difference, so I may be a little tired!) and then go once a week for a while so everyone can see how Savannah is adjusting the her new house, her new grandparents, her new puppies and all the other new things in her life in North Carolina. So with that I will end as I always do, till then....

Love to all,
Michael (aisle seat), Ann Marie (window seat) and Savannah (middle seat) Kennedy

Departure: 10:25 am Monday morning - Hong Kong, China
Arrival: 7:22 pm Monday night - Raleigh, North Carolina
Continental Airline - change in Newark, NJ

Sometimes we never learn....

Hello from the Hong Kong Airport Regal Hotel! The countdown is getting smaller and the longing for home is getting greater! We have loved our time in China, but the time has come to return home!

Today we got off to a rocky start with everyone in our group splitting up leaving for different destinations on the island, some going to Disney, some going to the Po Lin monastery, and then some of us just making our own plans. Well, we fell into the latter group along with two other couples and at this point we think we made an unwise decision (Chris & Heidi can relate to this one!) in picking downtown Hong Kong as our destination of the day! We really only wanted to ride the train and view downtown, but then again the best laid plans can sometimes go astray!

Around lunch after a couple of failed departures (one I burned my hand with hot water and another when the hotel would not exchange the Chinese Yuan we had for Hong Kong dollars) we made our way to the Express Train to downtown Hong Kong. True to most all stories we have heard the train delivered us to downtown from the airport in about 20 minutes. The ride is unbelievably smooth and even at high speeds is very quiet! With three couples, three babies and one three wheel stroller (okay, one four wheel stroller whos fourth wheel kept falling off!) in tow we all headed down the streets of one of the busiest cities in the world! It was crazy! We visited just a few blocks around the train terminal due to the baby factor, but man was it intense! We saw so many high rises, so many people and a whole lot of money in a very small area. The mall that we visited was not your every day run of the mill mall, rather is was populated with Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and any other store you would expect on 5th Avenue in New York! The guys let the girl walk around for a little while and "window shop", but luckily the urge to purchase anything was outweighed by the responsibilities we gained a few days ago in Guangzhou. I mean, a $100 baby sleeper and a $500 pen are not necessary items these days!

We the proceeded to walk around a little more to find something to eat, but little did we know this would be such an adventure! We really wanted some simple cuisine due to our longing for home and the fact that we had three babies which would make an upscale restaurant a bit of a pain, so after a few wrong turns we found "The Union Bar & Grill". The food was excellent, the staff was friendly and they played Frank Sinatra the whole two hours we were there! A good time and good conversation made the time fly!

We left the restaurant and began our trip back to the airport around 5:30 so our entire trip only took 6 hours, but in the process several babies missed naps, didn't get the normal feedings and therefore were a little more cranky tonight than we expected! Needless to say the beers by the pool we had planned were cancelled and appeasement to the children was granted. Its now 9:30 and the baby is resting comfortably in Ann Maries arms and we have learned our lesson.....the hard way! We are just thankful this mistake was made TWO days before we leave for home on a 16 hour flight rather than the day before! Yes Loflins, even those forewarned can sometimes stray from the path!

Tomorrow we plan on hanging around the hotel a little, taking a bus over to Tung Chung for some last minute shopping, and repacking our bags for the trip home. There will be a couple of beers by the pool, but I promise you we will be in bed early so that we can get on that plane bound for Newark, NJ at the proper time! Till tomorrow Ladies and Gents.....

Michael (the bottle maker), Ann Marie (the diaper changer) and Savannah (the new center of attention) Kennedy

One long day

Okay, I know today was not the 16 hour flight that we have coming up on Monday, but it was a long day none the less!

The morning started like all the others at the White Swan with a buffet breakfast that would rival any I have even seen, just with a little more Asian influence! Ann Marie and I enjoyed the morning meal with Savannah dining on her congee while using her “Magic Bowl” to mash egg yokes into oblivion! When we finished I looked like I had gone through an egg farm explosion, only the eggs were hard boiled! I hurriedly brushed off Savannah and myself and we started to whisk away before someone found the mess we had made, when out of the blue a hostess tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Sir, was this your table?”, to which I hesitantly said yes. She then handed me “Magic Bowl” and said “Have a wonderful day!” Boy was I surprised!

We also used this morning to create our famous “Red Couch” photo of all the babies in our travel group. The red couches, famous at the White Swan Hotel, are something of a tradition with adoptive parents so we followed suit. It was a grand time as all the new families were present and all the babies were dressed in their best Chinese dresses. You look at this photo and tell me those babies are not the cutest things in the world!

After the photo Ann Marie and friends went off to finish shopping and I was left along in the room to get the bags packed for a 2:00 pm departure. Savannah went down for her nap at 11:30 only to be woken up by a phone call some 45 minutes later, leaving Dad to pack with one arm while a sleepy little girl clung to the other. Needless to say when the bellboy showed up at 2:00 for the luggage I was still packing! Ooopps!

Well, after narrowly making the luggage cutoff we loaded the buses at the White Swan in route to the United States Consulate where Savannah would finally become a U.S. citizen and we would begin our long trek home. Once at the consulate, we were greeted with a computer glitch in the connection to Washington D.C., so we were slightly delayed. Not too bad, but still any delay in getting back home is a big one!

The bus ride to Hong Kong was a good one, slow, but good! Ben Lin, our guide in Hong Kong is a real comic and had TsingTau beers and soft drinks on board for all the new families to celebrate. Our crossings into the Economic Zone and Hong Kong were uneventful and the busses dropped off the tired, hungry and still enthusiastic group at 9:15 pm. Savannah made the trip with no problem and even downed a couple of bottles along with way. She held her own until about 10 minutes from the hotel, then the damn broke if you know what I mean! A few minutes later we arrived at the Regal and we all departed for our rooms, ready for some rest! After a gathering a quick meal from the airport Spaghetti House restaurant we are now ready to settle down for a good sleep. The baby is in the crib sound asleep, Ann Marie is patiently waiting for the hotel staff to fix her hot pot so we can have water for the formula and I am working on the BLOG so you can all follow our little adventure.

A couple of more days until we leave for home. Monday’s Continental flight could not seem farther away, but then again we have waited many months for our little girl so a couple of more days before we return home should not hurt too badly! That’s about all for tonight. We are going to try and take it easy tomorrow, but if anything cool happens you guys will be the first to know! Till then….

Michael (always the comedian), Ann Marie (spend it all), and Savannah (just give me the bottle) Kennedy

Last Night in Guangzhou!

Can you believe it? We are spending our last night in Guangzhou tonight and will be on the road back to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon at 3:10 pm local time with a brief stop over at the United States Consulate so Savannah can be sworn in as a citizen of the United States! Yea!!!!

Today’s activities started with a great breakfast at the hotel in which both Mom and Dad got to eat their entire plate of food, a feat I am sure will be few and far in between for years to come. Savannah had her staple of congee and some oatmeal and people watched the entire rest of the meal (that’s my girl!). After breakfast Paul, Catherine, Ann Marie and I walked the entire Shamain Island and took in the early morning atmosphere. It was amazing to see the local townspeople, young and old, exercising and playing games. There was tia chi, badminton, ballroom dancing, people using exercise equipment in the park, swimming in the Pearl River, you name it, and we saw it! And believe me, there is no obesity problem here! Ann Marie wanted to tell everyone that she saw someone her Grandmothers age “jogging” in the park this morning and it was inspiring!

After taking a short break due to the rain this morning (the first we have experienced since our ride in last Sunday), Paul and I ventured off the island to one of the main shopping districts in Guangzhou. Did we stick out? Yes! Did we mind? No! We actually ate lunch at Pizza Hut since it struck our fancy and the girls told us not to eat anything “local”! Our on trip we took many back roads and got stares and curious looks from many people, but overall we have found the people of Guangzhou very nice and we have received the thumbs up from many of the locals we encounter on our trips around the area. At the shopping area there were so many shops that it reminded us of the local mall, only this was one long street of shops, much like Rodeo Drive in Guangzhou! We didn’t buy anything, but the window shopping sure was fun!

Our final meeting with Helen here in Guangzhou was to finalize our plans for the U.S. Consulate and to present us with a gift which is pictured here. She shed a tear when she told us that she spoke for the people of China when she thanked us for taking these little girls into our homes and giving them a life they would not have in the orphanage. We thanked her for all she had done, we took a group photo and with that we are one last step away from making Savannah a U.S. Citizen!

The last night on the island was going to be spent having a final dinner alone with our daughter and shopping for the many souvenirs that Ann Marie has listed for our family and friends, but things did not go as planned as you may guess. Due to the odd times at which we did things during the day, Miss Savannah missed her nap so she was a bit cranky, at least for a little while. So, while Ann Marie went on shopping, we came back to the room for dinner and play time and all I can say is we had a blast! I have video but do not know if we will get it up in time before we return.

So as we sit here on this last night in Guangzhou, Savannah has finished the night off with a bath and is now snug in her bed between our twin beds and Ann Marie and I are beginning the arduous task of packing for the trip back to Hong Kong. So here is a big Thank You to the people of Zhanjiang and Guangzhou, China for being such gracious hosts and allowing Ann Marie and I to become the family we always wanted to be. When we talk to you next time we will be back at the Regal Hotel at the Hong Kong Airport. Till then….

Michael (Driver of the Stroller), Ann Marie (The Big Spender) and Savannah (Holder of the Magic Bowl)

P.S. For those of you may not have heard, Savannah’s favorite toy so far is an ordinary plastic bowl which she has carried everywhere!

Sights to See for Savannah

Today was a laid back day for the group of 10 (the number of families in our Guangdong travel group). We started the morning in room 1010 early at 5:30 am with the alarm clock of smells emanating from the diaper of one well soiled child! Well, Ann Marie and I could not stand it any longer and the day commenced at 5:30 am with a diaper change and feeding time!

Breakfast this morning was a bit rushed since we were leaving the hotel at 9:30 for sight seeing and shopping, but we managed to get a few pieces of French toast and eggs down before departing. The sightseeing for the day was at the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum in downtown. The Chen Ancestral Hall was originally located outside the west gate of Guangzhou city and built during the 14th to 20th year of the Qing Dynasty (1888-1894).

After the museum we took the bus over to one of the busiest shopping districts in the city to visit one of the stores that specialize in childrens items. What Helen, the group leader, fails to realize after all these years of coordinating these trips is that these adoptive mothers and fathers have been collecting items for the babies since the day they decided to adopt! I am telling you, Ann Marie could not stuff one more item into Savannah's closet (unless her Mom has cleaned that too!). After shopping for a short time we took the bus and the kids back to the hotel for lunch and a nap.

The afternoon for Ann Marie was spent shopping for pearls here at the hotel with a buyer arranged to show them to the families and Velcro and I went for a long walk around Shamian Island, yes, just the kid and I! Moms back really appreciated this move!

Tonight, the adventure-less crowd returned to Lucy's once again for dinner with a few stragglers hitting the Red Rose Restaurant right next door. What can we say, Lucy's serves up a mean meal and the kids love the congee and rice dinners there!

Right now we are preparing for bed with a freshly bathed Savannah and an energetic one at that! Over the past several days many barriers have come down and she is now crawling again, talking (or making noises) up a storm and even spending some quality time with Daddy (even though he has taught her a bad habit, raspberries!). We are a little over 4 days from our return to the United States and cannot begin to tell you how excited we are! We will talk to you all soon and promise to have stories to tell! Till then....

Michael (walking man), Ann Marie (the shopper), and Savannah (the stroller kid)

Do you do windows? I think this guy does! This is not a joke!

Yes, that is a window washer behind Ann Marie. He was suspendedended from the roof with an old braided rope and was sitting on a small board with the board and harness attached to the rope. We are on the 10th of 32 floors, but it is STILL HIGH! But he WAS wearing a hardhat! Oh my!