I think it's time for an update.
Over the past year and a half she has been coming here for a few months and then going back to China to work. They started the green card process in October, 2017. They chose to do the application through the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China. They thought it might be faster.
She was here Dec, 2017 through March, 2018 and before she went back to China they told us she was pregnant! It was so hard to see her go back to China, but she already had the ticket and had work obligations planned.
In late April, DH went to Beijing with our son. Our son really wanted me to go but I had told him back when this all started that I didn't think I could get on a plane and travel that far. I hate flying and the idea of taking two flights and one of them being 13 hours and then ending up in a place so crowded was not what I wanted to do. I'm not a happy traveler, I don't like cities or crowds, so Beijing is not a place for me. Also, I have been having back issues for quite a while and I don't think I could have done all the walking there. And, not all their toilets are "normal"!!!
Well, I hated to disappoint our son, but I really did not want to do that trip. DH said, "I'll go, you stay home with the dog." And that worked out fine. DH told me that after the very long flight the ride to her parents house should have been 20 minutes on the highway but because of traffic it was 3 hours. I would have been curled up in the backseat sobbing at that point!
DH met her parents, sister and niece. Our DIL had to do all the translating. DH was in a nearby hotel, where he was just about the only English speaker. Our son stayed with his wife and in-laws in their apartment. DIL is a Beijing tour guide so she took DH to all the famous sites and our son's favorite restaurants. DH had a good time but it was an exhausting trip. I have a new appreciation of DH for his doing this for both of us!
Our DIL came back in mid Sept. All of their green card application process has been approved, all she needed was the in person interview. She got an appointment that was too close to her travel cutoff date for the pregnancy. They were concerned that if there were any delays or if a piece of paperwork wasn't proper that she would not have her passport back in time to travel. So they postponed the interview for a few months and they will all travel back to China for the interview and then travel to Beijing to see her family.
She was a beautiful pregnant mom! She and our son are such a wonderful pair and I'm so glad they were finally together. They did what they could to get ready for the baby, taking parenting classes at the hospital and learning the essentials of labor and delivery. In the weeks before the due date of Nov 4th she was cooking up a storm, freezing some of her favorites for when things get very busy.
Our son has been a free lance sound engineer for many years. The past couple of years most of his work was coming from one company that he really liked to work for. In late October they hired him as an full time employee. They know his situation so he already has arranged for time to go to China next year. This matches with their slower season so that works well all around. They are giving him 10 days paid parental leave right now. He loved the independence of being free lance but right now likes the stability of full time employment.
So it's been an interesting year and a half and the result is our new grandson! He was born yesterday and I've posted a pic in the Recent Photo topic -
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/recent-photo-50002-42.html#post2138264 Post #1677 if that link doesn't work right.
