Last Day...Last Post...Yea!!!

This is our last post from China. We leave the White Swan at 5:30am (4:30pm your time)for a long trip home. The was the nicest day we have had in China. It was about 70 degrees and beautiful. We did have a scare at the consulates office as we awaited Emma's visa. There was a computer problem and only 8 out of 55 visas came through. We were one of the lucky 8. Everyone will have to stay another day or possibly two. It has been a nightmare for our coordinator Jeane who is wonderful. There was an outside chance that more would come but there were no guarantees.
We arrive on Northwest at 7:30pm on Thursday. Thanks to everyone who sent posts and emails. It really kept us going.

Rainy day in China

Good Morning Everyone

We woke up this morning to rain and it has not stopped all day. We have been couped up in the hotel almost all day and it has been quite boring. Our guide did take us to a Jade store and a supermarket. Wal-Mart doesn't seem so bad after all. We ate dinner at our favorite place..Lucy's. Laura is shopping now despite the rain. She is a shopping machine.

Emma is coming into her own and she is eating like crazy. She cries between each bite or drink. We think she probably didn't get much to eat at her foster home. Tomorrow is our last day and we leave early Thursday morning for our long trip home.

Medical Exam Day

We had Emma's exam today and she passed! Now once we get our visa we are good to go! With clothes on and the scales bobbing, they told us she is 16.4 pounds. She and Ellie were the same weight! We think Emma is smaller..it's hard to remember. She is making strides every day. She gets the giggles when we hold her hands to stand up. She can sit up for short periods of time before she tips over..she gets a good laugh out of this too! We are enjoying how peaceful and beautiful the island is compared to Nanchang! We found a new restaurant that we hadn't eaten at on our previous visit. Getting closer to our trip home! Goodluck to the girls and boys track teams! Fire up!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Today was the first Ellie and Mommy outing. We went to the museum and then to the pearl market. The pearl market was great~we got Ellie and Emma a strand of pearls to be given later in life for a special occasion. It was amazing to watch them string the pearls and knot in between each pearl. They would talk to us as they did it..without looking down! People we were with spent tons here. I'm not a real "pearl" person, but did take advantage of it. Our guides took us to a certain store that was very reputable and would not raise the prices for Americans.

Everyone we meet thinks Emma is younger than 9 months. She still smiles and giggles a lot. Today she sat up several times for about 30 seconds before she tipped over. Today she ate noodles chopped up and bits of bananas. She is figuring out that food is good and squeals until we give her more. I'm putting eggs in her congee..she is finally figuring out the spoon. She sucks her thumb throughout the night and when she wakes she waits until we get up before she makes a sound. I'm sure this will change soon!

Tomorrow she has her medical examination. We weighed her on the scales and she is 14.5 pounds. We will see how close we are tomorrow at the exam. I think the size of her head makes it look like she is heavier than she is! :) My camera was on the wrong setting today so the cute pictures I took, didn't turn out..UGH!

Happy Easter Everyone!

We made it to Guangzhou

We finally made it to the White Swan and it is a wonderful place. We had pizza delivered and it was great. We went to a shop called Lucy's to buy a stroller and Lucy remembered us from 3 years ago. There was a picture of my buddy Tim from Louisville with Lucy in her shop. We never thought we would be back here. This place will be fun.

Emma cut her second tooth yesterday. It is amazing how she has changed in just one week. Happy Easter to everyone. We are headed to bed...

Heading out!

Well, we leave in 20 minutes for our last leg of the trip..We are excited to get to Guangdong..that is where Ellie was born. AND the shopping is great!! It is beautiful here today. The beggers are out in force today! One shoved his cup in my chest! Well, I'll post some pics real quick. HOpe everyone is doing GREAT!
Love
The four of us!..

Ready for our next stop..Guangzhou

Hi All...

We finished the next step in paperwork and we received her Chinese passport. The picture on the bus is of her new passport, you can tell she was quite excited. The province of Jinagxi is known for their handcrafted porcelain so went to a market area where the bartering began. I am not sure how people are going to get all of their purchases home.

We made our daily trip to the fast food area where I got picked for about 1000.00 yuan (about 120.00US) at McDonald's. Live and learn. We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow at noon. It will be nice to get to warmer weather. We have less than a week and we will be home..start the count down. I want ice.......