Last post from China

We are in the Ramada Inn Hotel at the Shanghai Pudong Airport. I was able to up load the photos for the last couple of days. Yesterday morning we past on doing the Reed Flute Cave tour. We have just done so much on this trip we were ready for a break. Plus we had to travel from Guilin to Shanghai yesterday. It's nice to know we are on our last leg of our journey home. By time we are home we'll have been in the airports 14 times and traveled over 16,000 plus miles and half of that with a one year old! Lets give credit, where credit is due! China has been an awesome experince. We have seen so much and were able to experince real life China. We would walk the streets at night and mingle with the locals..our favorite thing was to just sit at the local outside resturants and order the local noodle dishes and just sit and watch the people. The night life in China is busy! But with the population in the big cities, and the highrise apartments by the thousands, the locals are all out and about. We will have lots to share with Jade as she grows. We will miss the friendly people of China. But fare warning, dont try to do China without a guide and driver for getting around. Not many Chinese speak English. Even in our 5 star hotels we've been staying in. You ask for a towel and receive a pillow. You ask for a highchair, and watch the waiter go stow it away! 16 hours and Jade will become a U.S. Citizen! Signing off from China! WOW, it has been amazing!

Sorry no photos

I tried posting photos with the last two post, but for some reason it wont let me. I'll try again tomorrow night from Shanghai. We leave Guilin tomorrow at 1:00 pm and head to Shanghai for the night, before our big flight home on Sunday.I don't know where the time has gone, but it has been a whirlwind of adventure. We have been on the move and Jade has put up with it all fairly well. I'll miss China and its people, but we're looking forward to being home and establishing a routine with Jade.

Longsheng Rice Terrace Fields

Today we took a 2 1/2 hour drive north into the country. We went to see the Longhseng Rice Terrace Fields. It was a long and winding road up into the mountainous region. Once up on top of the mountain, we had to get out and hike the rest of the way up to the rice fields. Yah, that was fun with the baby! Not! So we hired a "basket lady". A Zhuang minority tribe member that lives in the local village there on top of the mountain where the farmers work the fields. 40 years old and she hiked to the top with a baby on her back. She out did us! The view was breath taking. It was beautiful and very Serene. We could have sat there all day and just starred out into the vast rice fields with the mountains behind them. But Jade wouldn't allow that, LOL, so we started our 2 1/2 hour drive back to the hotel. That was one way to see the "real China". The country side is beautiful. Its so hard to describe what we have seen and experienced on this whole trip. China is so different from what we know. But the people have all been very friendly.

Li River Cruise

Thursday we went on the Li River Cruise. A 4 1/2 cruise down the Li River on a large tour boat. The scenery was absolutely beautiful with variegated cliffs and odd shaped crags that towered all around the river. The river and scenery was like, well...like places you only dream of going. The photos will never do it justice. This in the most photographed and painted area in China. Its also famous for inspiring many poems and songs. At the end of the boat cruise we arrived at Yangshou. A small village big on tourism. We walked down Yangshou West Street which is filled with crafts made by the locals. Our driver picked us up and whisked us off to another park about 20 minutes away called Shangri-La. Another very beautiful place. After that it was 2 1/2 hours drive back to our hotel.

Jade

Onto Guilin

Airport stop # 9 takes us into Guilin. It was only a 45 minute flight from Guangzhou. (OMG! I don't know how were going to do a 15 hour flight with Jade!) We arrived at our hotel after a one hour drive. Jade was tired and crabby so we laid her down for a nap, and the boys went swimming. The heat and humidity is awful. We are in a subtropical climate. We had a "day of rest" today, so tonight we went out and explored the "real China". The population is only 700,000 here. We are back to getting the "panda in the zoo" looks. There were open meat markets everywhere. Whole duck heads, turkey feet, eel, squid, and I don't want to know the rest. We braved it though and ordered some Guilin Noodles and fried corn on the cob, dumplings, and some sort of mini pies that Jade was pointing at when we walked by. Something that she was obviously familiar with. Tomorrow we do the Li River Boat Cruise. A 4 1/2 hour ride through the beautiful mountain side.

The Famous "Red Couch" Photos

We had our U.S. Consulates appointment on Monday and our oath taking on Tuesday. We received Jades Visa into the States after the oath taking. She will be an American Citizen when she enters onto U.S. soil.
The photos were taken in the White Swan Hotel. This is tradition for every adoptive family that passes through Guangzhou. We had the fortunate opportunity too also be in Guangzhou the same time as some of our friends from our agency. It was so nice to meet the families and their children after corresponding with them since last fall. "I'll miss you ladies."

We are in Guangzhou.

We picked up Jade's Chinese passport Friday morning Aug. 22nd., which completed our paperwork in Fuzhou. Next stop is Guangzhou to apply for her U.S. Citizenship and Visa. It was bittersweet boarding the plane in Fuzhou knowing that we were taking our baby away from her birthplace. But on the other hand we were getting anxious to move on even though we really enjoyed Fuzhou. Arriving in Guangzhou put us at an airport for the 7th time and added another 500 miles onto our travels. Jade did really good on the plane ride but she had her big sister entertaining her the whole ride!(And I mean the WHOLE ride. Poor Allissa, not a moments break.) Allissa and Jeremy have really been big helpers. Saturday morning, Jade had to go through a routine medical exam to guarantee the U.S. she wasn't carrying any infectious diseases into the States. We also filled out consulate paper work and did her visa photo. Later in the day we took an early evening boat cruise on the Pearl River. It was lit up like Las Vegas. But so was Jade. It was a good thing it was only 1 1/2 hours! On Sunday we visited the Six Banyan Temple and Chen Clay Temple. Both are over 1000 years old and the architecture was just stunning. It was really neat being able to tour an ancient Chinese family dwelling after doing much reading on their culture and how they lived with multiple generations under one roof. We also went to the local shopping plaza. Now keep in mind the population of Guangzhou is 10 million people! And we happen to be there Sunday afternoon, which our guide told us was the busiest day of the week, but that it was like this every Sunday. Check out the photos. I have never seen so much congestion in my life. These people have got to be the most patient people around to deal with a crowd like this all the time. It was crazy, not my idea of a relaxing outing.
Jade is proving to be quite the handful. She likes to "play" everyone until she gets what she wants, and of course Daddy is the one to always give in. Mommy on the other hand has to be the disciplinary. It's amazing as much reading and educating myself I have done on this adoption process, how hard it has proven to be to adjust to. Many adoptive families that I have corresponded with for the past year, failed to post their emotional side of things. But we have had our ups and downs, our "did we do the right thing?", "what did we do to our other kids?",(after all, this is a big adjustment on them too), those sort of thoughts that just come and go. It has been an emotional roller coaster for us. And I'm posting this so other parents are aware of all the feelings that one goes through. And I know we're not alone, because there are 3 other families here in GZ from our agency that are having their own roller coaster of emotions going on. But the families that have done this before, assure us things get easier and back to "normal". They also said it is much easier on your home turf where you can establish a routine. We are here in Guangzhou till Wednesday and then we fly onto Guilin. China has been interesting to say the least. It's certainly is another world. And Guangzhou is a completely different ambiance/vibe than Fuzhou. O.K. I've just had fish thrown in my lap, so I'm off. P.S. Lisa, looking forward to signing Jade up for your daycare. LOL

Jade

She continues to do well. I know her mind has got to be spinning right now with all the changes happening to her. Not to mention, English and Chinese both coming at her. She has already picked up a few words including "no". LOL She loves to do things she knows shes not supposed to. She just loves to watch your reaction! Then she laughs at you. She is one smart cookie!

Visit to The Orphanage

We visited the Fuzhou Social Welfare Institute yesterday. We all new it wasn't going to be an easy thing. It was very heartbreaking. The photo with the gate, is where Jade was left when she was a baby. That is the front gate to the orphanage. We toted a suitcase full of supplies for the orphanage children. It was such an honor to be able to hand these children some of the goods we had brought for them. Their smiles will never be forgotten.