Almost done! Our last post from China...

So, this will be our last post from China. The people of China have a special place in our hearts, not only because they gave us our daughters, but, because we love them, and want them to know who it was that lead us to our daughters - Jesus. Our guide in Guangzhou is going to church and reading the bible and wants to become a Christian. We talked to her a little bit today about it when we visited the Six Banyon Tree Temple. We will pray for her to completely understand, and will leave her our email address if she has questions she would like answered - pretty neat she would want to talk about it at a Buddist Temple!!

Today was our consulate swearing in ceremony. We went to the US Consulate, and acknowledged that all previous information submitted was true to the best of our knowledge, and they said congratulations, you have your new children. They gave us Allie's US VISA so she can enter the United States, and also, a packet to be opened when we go through customs in DC tomorrow evening.
YEAH!!! This time tomorrow night (our time), we will be on our last flight home!!! We can't wait!!

After the consulate appointment, we went to the White Swan and took the famous Red Couch photos. Enjoy a few pictures from the day...

Our free day in Guangzhou

We started our day at breakfast at 8:00, then had to be in the room from 9:30-10:30 to be sure all our consulate paperwork was OK. Our guide called around 10:50 to say all had gone well, and we are all set for our swearing in ceremony tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. So, after we got the good news, we headed out to do our shopping. We got squeaky shoes, and Chinese outfits for the girls red couch photo, which we will have to do tomorow sometime.

We also found a couple of really cute dresses and a few other small souveniers for the girls as well. We had lunch at Starbucks, and had a great mango frozen drink with our lunch. After lunch, we went back to the hotel to cool off a bit, then hit the shops again for a few more things, and to exchange a few things as well.

It was terribly hot today, the humidity is awful!! You step outside, and you are wringing wet!! So, after this bit of shopping, we came in to cool off again, then headed to dinner at the Cow & Bridge Restaurant. Our food was really good! After dinner, I started packing up a little, since we leave at 5:30 Friday morning, and tomorrow is a busy day of touring, pictures, and the consulate appointment. Enjoy some pictures from our day...

In Guangzhou

Yesterday was a very long day!! We had to be up at 4:45, packed, had breakfast at 6:00 and left for the airport for our 3 hour flight to Guangzhou. Allie didn't like the seatbelts at first, and wanted to be able to be up. After a few minutes, when the plane started moving, she was excited to see how things outside were moving past us so quickly. As we took off, she just wanted to watch out the window. It was sort of sad to know that we were leaving the only place she has known as home - the place where she was born and spent the first 3 years and 8 months of her life. We are happy though, that she is ours, and tht soon we will be on our way home with her. We can't wait for everyone to meet her - she is quite a character, and has the sweetest smile.

She is saying a few words in English now. When she picks up her cell phone, she says, "hello" - so cute, then she carries on a entire conversation in Chinese.

We landed in GZ just after noon, picked up our luggage and met our guide. She sent us on to the hotel and she had to wait for the other families to get in. We had a couple of hours to get out and explore to find the shops we visited last year. We did a little shopping, then headed back to the hotel to get ready for Allie's medical appointment, and VISA picture. She weighed exactly what her paperwork said as of November last year, 31.5 pounds. She has grown several inches since then, though, and is 37.8 inches tall. So, she is 9 pounds heavier than Emma, and is 4.5 inches taller - about right for 14 months older. After all this, we went back to the hotel to gather up our documents so we could finish up the paperwork. I went to do the paperwork, which took a little over 2 hours, while Bobby, Josh and the girls played and walked around the area some more.

After we finished up the paperwork, we headed to Lucy's for dinner. Lucy's is a place that has some western choices in foods, as well as other items more familiar to adoptive families from the states. Enjoy the pics from our very busy day!!

Two weeks with Allie, and our last night in Dalian

Today is two weeks since we received Allie at the Civil Affairs office in Shenyang. She has not been very shy anyway, but she now seems totally at ease with us, and is such a joy to have as our daughter. She and Emma are doing better than we expected them to, so we are very blessed. We prayed a lot for both of them and their adjustments to each other, and our prayers were answered. They seem to be normal little sisters now - both a little jealous, and both learning to share.

Tonight, we had dinner at a very nice restaurant across the street from the hotel called Papa's. Bobby has been eyeing a rib-eye steak on their menu board all week!! The girls had great spaghetti, Bobby had the steak and Josh and I had roasted chicken that was wonderful!! The girls were given a little stuffed animal, and I got a red rose at the end of the meal - nice touch! There was even live entertainment, a really good singer performing while we ate.

We have enjoyed our time here in Dalian, but we are ready to move on to Guangzhou, and we leave at 6:30 am tomorrow morning. It is a little bit sad, just as it was with Emma's adoption, to be leaving the place where our daughter was born, and the only place she has ever known. We are happy that she is now ours, and will be going home with us though!!

Only one more day left in Dalian!!

This morning, we went across the street to Victory Plaza, a big open area with lots of vendor tents, restaurants, and open space, and let the girls blow bubbles. Then, we walked back to the Children's Park and let the girls ride a few rides. They did really well, and Allie loved the rides. She didn't want to get off. When we left there, we stopped by a nice supermarket and bought some drinks, some noodles, and some bread from their really good bakery. The smells in there are wonderful!! Enjoy the pics from our day...tomorrow, we pack up, and first thing Tuesday morning, we head out to the airport to go to Guangzhou for the final steps in Allie's adoption, then home next Friday!!

Our shopping day in Dalian

Last year when we adopted Emma, we bought two things for her to have when she is grown in her province - a set of pearls, and a tea set. Today, we shopped for those things for Allie in her province. We found a beautiful tea set, and a lovely set of pearls as well. We will put these away and keep them for gifts on her wedding day. Of course Bobby says they can't get married!! : )

Happy Birthday, BaBa!!

Bobby celebrated his birthday in China this year! We celebrated with cake and dinner at the Thai restaurant again. The girls loved the cake! Emma had eaten a lot of the icing off by the time Allie woke up from her nap. Allie quickly caught up with Emma feeding her! Bobby thought it was pretty good too.

We had cake first, then went to dinner. BaBa carried both his girls down the block to the restaurant. When we got back, Josh was pretending to cry, and Allie was telling him in Chinese "It will be OK GeGe" She was so concerned - she kept rubbing his arm, and his head, and talking away so softly in Chinese - too cute! She loves her GeGe just like Emma does. I sat down on the floor, and they both came snuggling mommie - two sweet girls (most of the time : 0 )