Airport Pics

We weren't sure how it was going to go at the airport. You had been social the whole 2 weeks we had been together, but after 25 hours of traveling???? I was exhausted, your daddy was exhausted. You should have been cranky and scared of all these new people! Once again you surprised us! Everyone there got a kiss and a smile. Here are the pictures!

Trey Bug was ready to meet you!!

Anna made a banner and Mary Ella and Rhett came from Mississippi!

Some of the cousins

It's sooo hard to wait!

Mommy and the ugly cry!

Trey is happy to see us!

Meeting your sister and brother

Trey gave mommy and daddy lots of hugs!

Meeting the cousins

Kissing Eli

Smiling at Baby Rhett

Smiling at Oma

That's one happy Gigi!

(Look at Anna)

Still happy

Sweet girl!

You even liked uncle Ranjo!!!

Hannah Loves you!

You think she's funny!

We're all so happy you are home with us!!!

Last Day in Guangzhou (March 14, 2012)

We got up this morning and Skyped with Shaw Elementary school to see your sister's 2nd grade program in real time! She did such a good job with her speech about China! We even got to talk to some of her friends from school after the performance!

We had breakfast on the 30th floor (why mess with a good thing) and headed to the streets to take some pictures and pick up some snacks for the long journey home. On our leisurely stroll we were approached by some police officers and and asked to present our passports. I was a little taken back by this (on the paperwork that was filled out they wrote my name by the word alien), but of course you won the officers over by making kissing noises, smiling and waving and saying bye,bye! What a cheesy girl we have!!

We went to TrustMart (the equivalent to Walmart) to get snacks. While we were there I realized I was going to have to potty before we got back to the hotel. This is not good, especially not at TrustMart! We checked out quickly and headed to the close by "fancy mall" called Friendship Store where I got to experience using the "squatty potty" for the 2nd (and hopefully the last) time on the trip! It is tricky to say the least!

We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town. It was delightful! Yum, yum. We stopped by the 7Eleven on the way home to get something sweet again. There is a 7Eleven on every corner around here. When we got back to the hotel we discovered that you LOVE Oreos! We are now ready to bring you home, Grace Elizabeth! We will blog about the trip home when we get there! We're praying for a compliant traveler!!!





















































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Consulate Appointment and Shamian Island (March 13, 2012)

We got up early, Skyped and had a quick breakfast before heading down for a very important appointment. We have no pictures (they don't allow cameras). You know for several months when you asked me how the adoption process was going, and I said were waiting on an appointment..... This was that appointment! A group of 8 families went up together armed with some very important paperwork. A lady (American) had us all stand and raise our right hands and repeat after her ( pretty much that all the information given was, to the best of our knowledge, true). We were then called up to a window individually, a lady went through the paperwork, and we were done. Someone from the agency went back the next day to pick up Gracie's visa and the paperwork we will present in Chicago at customs. When the person at customs opens it, she will officially be an American citizen!!

That evening we visited Shamian Island. This is where all people who adopted from China used to stay at a hotel called the White Swan (it is currently being renovated). We saw some landmarks that people have talked about including Lucy's, Amy's and Jordin's. I think the island is really suffering without all of the families staying at the White Swan. Our guide said that many of the shops have had to close. When our buses pulled up, shop owners were there to greet us. We FINALLY found a stroller to buy, helped their economy with some serious shopping and had dinner with Gracie's new friend Lila. They were so cute together! Again we were exhausted when we got back to the hotel, but we refrained from sweets tonight!








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Day at the Guangzhou Zoo/Pearl River Dinner Cruise (March 12, 2012)

We had another busy day today! After the big kids went back to the medical center to have their TB skin tests read we headed to the zoo! It was a better zoo than Tulsa or Little Rock in our opinion. We took a tram ride around the zoo to get a general overview(when you decided to take a short nap), then we walked around and looked at what we wanted to. Luckily someone from our group who decided not to come sent their stroller for us to borrow! This made the zoo much more enjoyable for mommy and daddy! We saw lions, tigers, zebras, monkeys, giraffes, kangaroos, and of course, PANDAS! We got better pictures with our other camera (all these pics were taken with the iPhone. You loved the zoo! We were teaching you how lions roar and you got a bit carried away! Before we knew it all the lions were roaring!! Ha! People were rushing over to see them roar!

When we got back to the room, we fed you and put you down for your nap since we had some big evening plans. Daddy and I watched The Help during your nap (he didn't even fall asleep)! We got you up and ready and headed downstairs.

We all loaded up and headed to the Pearl River, got on a boat and went for a little cruise. One lesson we learned...if you are in China with a large group of Chinese people and someone announces the buffet is open, GET OUT OF THE WAY! You WILL get run over! We saw lots of pretty lights along the river, had dinner with Gracie's friend Han (she's moving to Michigan), and watched a clown juggle to a Ricky Martin medley. We were tired when we got back, but wanted something sweet again, so we made a trip to Haagen Dazs and ate some yummy overpriced ice cream!!


















































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad