Leaving China

Today is our last day in China. We signed up for the sight seeing this morning because we weren’t leaving town until 4:30 this evening. However, once we got on the tour (the three families that were still willing to get out), we discovered that our brains just couldn’t take in anymore. Our first stop was a Buddist Temple called Six Banyan Temple and there were different Budda’s throughout the place but I couldn’t tell you anything about it. All I heard was ‘Whawha, whawha, whawha’. Carter really needed some run time so, sadly for those poor people actually there to worship, he ran all over the temple. Most of the people loved it but I’m sure he was interrupting some. The one thing that really stood out to me was the amazing architecture and the fresh flowers placed everywhere.

Hard to see in this photo but Carter is chocolate covered from face to belly along with lots of dirt? not sure how he got so dirty at the temple. I appeased his melt down with chocolate after one of the monks had given him a hard round piece of candy that I had to take away.

After the temple we went to the Chan House, which was an ancient meeting house and school house for their clan. Chan is the Chinese counterpart to Smith. The carvings all over the house were created somewhere else and brought to the current location and put together. That part blows my mind that they can do all of that in separate pieces and place them together like they were created as one piece. Currently the place is used as a fold art museum. Guangdong Province has four main crafts – Ivory Carving, Bone Carving (mainly Camel), Embroidery and Porcelain. The intricate work is incredible!

The last thing we did on that tour was visit a ‘Provincial Market.” It was actually a government owned gift shop where you aren’t able to bargain like you can in the street markets. We weren’t impressed.

This lady and her friend wanted photos with Carter. He wasn't thrilled; especially after she had tried to take him out of the stroller and he was buckled in.

By the time we returned to our room, Carter was melting. We couldn’t get either of the little ones to nap and we were just stressed. It was an ugly day all around for personality traits to be seen. J We survived two weeks together in a hotel room with no major disasters though!! At 4:30 we met our guides downstairs to get Gracie’s passport with US Visa and the ‘brown envelope’ that we couldn’t open but have to hand over to US Immigrations. Wahoo!! We can officially take Gracie Lin home! Once we had paperwork in hand, we had our luggage loaded in a Toyota minivan and were driven back to Hong Kong. It was probably the most comfortable travel vehicle we’ve had then entire trip. We checked into the Regal at the Hong Kong airport and they put us in this huge suite. Where was this room in Guangzhou? Needless to say, it went to waste since we walked in, put the kids to bed, showered and went to bed ourselves. We fly out tomorrow morning at 9:30 to Detroit, MI and then on to ATL arriving at 5:30PM. GOING HOME!!

The Suite

Good Night Hong Kong

US Citizenship

US Consulate Day – Today was the day that our entire trip was booked around. We had to meet in the lobby at 7:45 this morning. (This was when we were thankful for McDonald’s and Starbucks – grab and go!) We went to the consulate to take the oath for Gracie. You aren’t allowed to have a camera – just like we were in the US. All of our families stood as a group and raised our right hands to take the oath of citizenship on our babies’ behalf. I have no idea what we said because unexpectedly, I was overwhelmed with emotion. That frequently happens to me during certain patriotic events but I didn’t expect it today for some reason. Afterward, they called us up one by one and a gentleman looked over our paperwork, signed and stamped it then another lady gave us a quick little interview with random questions about our adoption. All she needs now is feet on US soil. That will happen in Detroit around noon on Saturday, October 22!!! That was it – back to the hotel for lunch and naps. As of today, I think Carter is over this whole trip. He is having a rough time. Pray for him that he can hold onto his trouper attitude for another 65 hours!!

God has blessed us with three amazing and gorgeous kiddos! I'm so overwhelmed with joy!

This afternoon, we tried to do the traditional red couch photo at the White Swan Hotel. The White Swan is where families have stayed for years in Guangzhou when they are adopting. It has been threatening to close down for many years for renovations. Now that we have arrived, it actually did close two months ago but the restaurant and lobby are still open apparently. Oh well. When we arrived, there was a private party going on and they wouldn’t let us crash to get red couch photos! So here are all of the families on the stair case. I know we are missing the Hagerty family but I'm drawing a blank on who else is missing.

We did get to see a fun show that was hired for the private party. I’m sure they loved that we were surrounding it! ;) Gracie Lin love this; she was just patting me to the beat of the music and bouncing. Carter on the other hand was clinging to John and shaking. Poor baby!

So, we got a plum couch photo with 10 of the babies.

Gracie is kind of in the middle in bulldog colors. I love that everyone picked different colors and styles of dresses and it just reflects all of the different personalities of these precious little girls. Big smiles from Magnolia and Leah! All joining amazing families!

After most people returned to our hotel or to dinner, the red couches were free so we at least got a few photos there. We did get a great photo of Stella, Gracie Lin, Aubrey and Magnolia. One very sweet one of kissing cousins – Gracie Lin and Aubrey Mei. Look at those sweet faces!

After all of the excitement, we had a very western dinner of burgers and fries at Lucy’s with Lucy and Eric, Kathleen and Sharon and Sue and Robert. We did a little more shopping damage before heading back. I don’t think I actually learned anything new today except maybe more about our newfound friends who will be headed back to the states with their baby girls this weekend as well. Now I hear lots of snorting behind me so I think I will join them.

Showing off my skills!

For Jody and Winston :)

New Day in a New Place

New territory to explore! We are having fun exploring a new area but are missing our previous home in Nanchang. First of all, in the last hotel, we were all on the same floor so we had hall parties every night! That meant people to help entertain us as well as entertain and help us watch Carter! Guangzhou is very different – much more big city feel. It is much more Western as well. I’ve seen at least three McDonald’s and there is a Starbucks in the Hotel complex. We were given forks at lunch time today – unheard of! J There is a metro station below our hotel. We had a nice dinner down the street this evening but it didn’t compare to the amazing food we’ve been having. I think we may be biased as well because Nanchang is near our daughter’s birthplace…

This morning we went to Shamian Island to have Gracie Lin’s photo taken and medical check for her US Visa. After that we were free to explore the Island a little. I have to explain that it isn’t really an island as you would imagine it, it is a piece of land that has a canal or moat around it separating it from the rest of the city. The French and English, I’m pretty sure she said both, had ownership of this property which is why it is separated. The architecture is very different and there are banyan trees!! It reminded me of a combination of Boca (of course) and Charleston because of the architecture. We had fun shopping for little satin outfits for Gracie Lin and I got Carter a pair of squeaky shoes. He is having the best time in them! Parker bought some kind of flute that he’s been entertaining us with.

Interesting sleeping habits... We were told we got babies last week that they all would sleep on their backs. Girls in China are placed on their backs on a special pillow to flatten the back of the head for pretty ponytails. They really do make a pretty ponytail head! So I was to hold Gracie Lin for 15-20 minutes after she falls asleep then lay her on her back. That worked for the first week and now the transition to crib isn’t going so well. Each night she seemed to feel more and more freedom to move around in her sleep. Starting last night, it became impossible to transition her to the crib. First of all, I don’t think she has ever slept in one. Now that she is side and tummy sleeping, she doesn’t want me to lay her down on her back. So we’ve had some battles over bedtime which I didn’t expect to fight until we got home. One hour tonight was the falling asleep process between the two little ones. I watched Gracie as she feel asleep on her tummy, in the crib, clutching her snugglie (from Ella Claire) and she has the same routine she had lying against my chest. She’s going to do just fine after a little while!

Babies nap time today. Carter even layed down his head in the middle of Mickey Mouse he was so tired; and when I said, it's time for sleeping music, he said 'Noooooo (it got softer and softer)'. Night, night.

Trying fried rice. She has been trying so many things that I'm sure she has never had but she eats pretty much everything. She is getting a little face rash today and I don't know if it's from all of the new foods or heat. Maybe we'll slow down on the exploring food to see how it does.

Move to Guangzhou

Good Night Nanchang

Thank you Sissi for all of your history lessons!

Thank you Evelyn for taking good care of us!

Twelve Families - thirteen new babies

Wow! Today was much harder than I even expected! Before leaving Nanchang, I checked my email and had an acknowledgment from a friend that, yes it is hard to take your child away from their birthplace. I started to cry right away! I cried on the elevator as we said goodbye to the room we got to know Gracie Lin in. I cried on the bus as we drove away from the hotel where we met her and then I cried on the plane as we flew away from her city and now I’m crying again as I rethink the day! As we drove to the airport, Evelyn was telling us that the people of Nanchang think that these girls have been dropped into a honey pot and that they will speak English perfectly, which is obviously a big deal. As I sat there with my feelings of inadequacy to raise a China daughter to know her heritage and feel like we made the best choices for her over her lifetime, those two things made me feel some better!

Again, WOW! After flying for the first time and not having a lot of nap time today, Gracie Lin got to Guangzhou and wanted down! She has been playing a little more each day but she wanted down and just crawled away from me as quickly as possible. Maybe she was just tired of me because she had been physically attached to my body since 10AM. Either way, I’m thrilled to see that after this crazy day, she is feeling so confident about exploring the new room!

John and Parker are out bringing us McDonalds for dinner. Should be interesting to say the least but it will be a nice change from what we’ve been eating and it will feel somewhat like home, although we only eat there about 2 times a year. J

Last Day in Gracie Lin's Home Province

This is our last full day in Nanchang. Gracie Lin’s passport will be here at five o’clock today! Yeah!! Tomorrow morning we leave our luggage outside our doors at 9:30AM and then depart for the airport at 10:30. In a way it feels like we’ve been here for months but our nine days really has flown by so quickly! I think I could visit different cultures for months just to soak it all in! I love the people in China! They are always so friendly to us. We have had terrific service everywhere. The main downside to me is that so many people smoke. We were really fortunate until the last two days that there weren’t smokers on our hall.

Today we went for a walk by the river and then to the zoo for a couple of hours. It was great to be outdoors again and the weather is terrific! Carter has a great friend next door, Victoria, who is seven and she has a little brother who is three. She is good at chasing him around and is a huge help to us! We were warned that the zoo wasn’t very good but we thought it was actually pretty nice. Not as many trees and landscape that we are used to but it was much nicer than I expected.

When we got back from the zoo, the Turner’s suggested that we go out for lunch to a great restaurant we had eaten at a few days ago. Dave & Cary Williams joined in as well. Evelyn hailed cabs for us and called a head to order the meal for us. We had a great time eating the pepper steak one last time before leaving this town. Jenna is an amazing pepper eating woman!!! It was such a fun time and such great food. Our meal as a family cost 100 yuan which is about $16. It will be hard to go home and head Chinese food in the states! The meals are so inexpensive (except for the hotel) especially compared to our $130 laundry bill for the week!

I think tomorrow will be very emotional considering we are leaving behind our babies home province. This country is so beautiful! The climate is very much like Atlanta, GA. The ground is red clay and much of the vegetation is the same as we have at home. Gracie Lin should feel right at home in that sense. She is already a Southern girl! Sissi told us today that Southern girls are beautiful and that some of the signs of beauty are a watermelon seed shaped face and a small mouth.

There's our beautiful girl!

Victoria and Carter

Too cute not to share.

Zoo entrance

Gorgeous Jaguar

I think this was the best part of Mr. P's day!

Quiet Day

A great view of the lake in the Park

Nanchang is home to many varieties of Orchids - this wall tile represents just one of them. They had these tiles all over the park. This is for you Mimi.

Looking up at me from her sling.

This gentleman was painting calligraphy on the ground with water and a sponge on the end of this stick.

Peoples Park

I am so amazed at how well all of these babies are transitioning and settling in with their new families! Sweet little Gracie Lin is very busy today. She has decided that it’s ok to explore the entire room. We are now on ‘little pieces’ watch. She immediately found a coin when she began her exploration. Fortunately, it didn’t make it into her mouth. She has been so busy the last couple of days that it’s hard to get her to sit still for a meal. Since we only have high chairs at breakfast, I try to fill her up as much as possible then.

Jiangxi is known for rice, tea and porcelain. We were fortunate enough to visit some porcelain stores today to purchase the ‘dowry’ for our daughter! J Things like chopsticks and teapots are purchased for girl’s dowry traditionally here. Also on the veil of the bride, they put watermelon seed, peanuts, and two fruits. We have seen and heard lots of fireworks this weekend. Usually they say the fireworks are going off for a wedding. We actually had a wedding party on our floor Friday night and it was very lively. They had a cage out in front of the hotel that looked like a phone both and that was used to set off fireworks inside. Parker LOVED it! Inside the cage makes the sound much more fun.

As a group, we took a walk in a huge city park. There were very peaceful areas, a children’s playground and then a carnival like area. They were even making cotton candy. We have seen lots of men on the streets, playing card games and a game that reminds me of domino’s made from what looks like porcelain pieces. In the park there was a huge stone chess set on the ground. Parks are huge in this city for keeping people active. The government put in outdoor exercise equipment that can be used by kids and adults.

Saturday??

I have photos to upload but it takes forever so I'm leaving it at words tonight; I'll add them later.

What a different day today in Nanchang! What day is it anyway? Tonight the moon is close to being full and we see it from our room. We can see all the way across the city and there isn’t any smog hanging in the air! We can breath freely (most of the time). Out in front of the hotel, there are different light colors that race across the railing of the river bridge and buildings are lit up all over the city. This morning we toured a pavilion that was built in 639 by a Prince who was coming down river for an important dinner – I have not idea what for because I wasn’t good at history and obviously I’m still not. Anyway, he got stuck on the river in this area – it sounded like he hit a sand bar. He met a couple of men who were like self proclaimed gods who helped him make the meeting in an impossible time frame. He built the temple here as a commemoration. It was a beautiful place and something that I counted on seeing in China because of the history I do remember. J

The boys are almost over being celebrities here. They are trying to be sweet when people want a photo with them.

We had another amazing lunch ordered by our hosts. Not only are the meals amazing food but each day we pay about 150 yuan for lunch which is around $23 for the three of us – babies eat free everywhere. We tried passion fruit today, It wasn’t that tasty considering its name. (Not my best photo moment - the little grape like pieces on the plate are the part you eat if you've never had one like me).

After a terrific naptime, the five of us ventured out of the hotel to see what’s around us. John and Parker had scoped it out earlier this week and discovered a market. They took me back there to see. It is a local community market where people were passing thru to pick up the evening meal or just hanging out with their neighbors. It was also very much what expected to see in China and was not disappointed! We saw live chickens and ducks, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as watched a gentleman working on a feather bed. The farmers bring their goods into the markets daily. We have seen a several shops where people have fabric hanging all around the store and they sew custom orders for clothing or bedding. Their sewing machine is right there in the store and they are working on projects. I love seeing these ways of commerce! I want one of these bike they use to transport goods:

Every day we see Gracie Lin come out of her shell a little more. She loves to giggle. She is ticklish on her tummy. She is starting to explore a little bit around the room and check out our mess (with five people in a small space, it’s a mess). She's getting much better with John as well. Tonight, when we were putting little ones down to bed, Carter would say ‘Gwacie’ from across the room and she would say something I didn’t understand. He would then say “Mama’ and she would respond ‘Na-na.’ They went back and fort like this for a couple of minutes. Very sweet!