Today we climbed the Great Wall, and again, it is HOT HOT HOT in China! After the Great Wall (incredible scenery, by the way), we had lunch (the food here is SO wonderful) and then did some quick shopping. I am really loving the bartering. John doesn't like to barter as much as I do, so we have a good system worked out: I barter, he pays! Ha!
Tomorrow we leave for Nanchang. We'll arrive there about 2pm, have a quick meeting and then Sadie will be placed in our arms. I'm scared and I think I want MY mommy!!!!
Bye all, and the next time we write, we'll have Sadie. Hopefully I'll be able to share pictures with you too.
We got Sadie on Sunday evening about 6pm. She was placed in our arms and didn't even cry a bit. She was wearing split pants - the Chinese don't use diapers-they simply train the children to "go" when they are placed over a toilet!- Anyway, I was holding SAdie about 20 minutes into first meeting her and I feel something wet on my toes. I looked down and Sadie let loose, peeing all over me and the wooden hotel floor! All the other six couples who were adopting got quite a charge out of that!
Nanchang doesn't have as much of a city feel as Beijing. It is a huge city, but much more "third world" conditions than we saw in the parts of Beijing we were staying in. It is still extremely hot here, but I think I'm gradually getting used to it in some ways.
Tomorrow our adoption group has the rare chance to visit the orphanage that our daughters came from. Mary Ellen, you can BET I will take my camera...I hope I can even hold or kiss or wave to little Jacqueline. (By the way, my mom and dad think your website is great - they play the little song all the time!)
We leave Nanchang on Friday the 8th and will fly to Guangzhou for our last few days of paperwork before heading home. We will be met in Guangzhou by John's sister Sarah. It will be so nice to see her and for Sadie to meet her aunt.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and good wishes. We haven't given up on posting pictures and hope to do so soon.
Earlier in the day we took a two-hour bumpy bus ride to visit Sadie's orphanage in Fuzhou City. The city itself is very nice and seems more modern than Nanchang, where we are staying. The orphanage was very nice. Clean, lots of happy looking kids. One classroom sang us the "ABC's" What a treat that was. I got to see Sadie's room and meet some of her caretakers. Seeing her room and her crib was very emotional for me. Mary Ellen, I showed the orphange director Jacqueline's picture and asked to see her. He said that she wasn't at the orphanage because she is with a foster family. You may have mentioned something about that to me earlier.
Today is a "free" day for us. We did a bit of grocery shopping, took some film to get developed, did some laundry and are just generally hanging out. Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou, and I've heard the hotel we are staying at is more like a resort. That will be nice!
It was nice to get to our five star hotel, the White Swan in Guangzhou, and to see John's sister Sarah. It was great to have a third pair of hands to help with Sadie. John and I were both feeling pretty rough and ended up going to the doc. I was diagnosed with bronchitis and John with a sinus infection. We got meds and by the next day were both feeling much better...in fact, I was able to enjoy my Big Mac and fries at McDonalds on Saturday night. In the week and a half that we had been in China, that was only our third evening meal. We pretty much existed on breakfast only while in China. The White Swan was a beautiful hotel with indoor waterfall, two outdoor pools and wonderful shopping in the area. I purchased many souveniers to give to Sadie over the years, including several traditional Chinese outfits.
Our time in Guangzhou was spent finalizing paperwork, going to doctor appointments for Sadie, and at last, getting her visa. We flew from Guangzhou to Bejing on the 12th, and then began our journey home on the 13th. The Tokyo to Chicago flight was a long one (ten hours) and Sadie only slept about two of those hours! She was pretty good, and we were able to entertain her until the Chicago to Minneapolis leg of our journey. In that short distance, she got all her screaming out of her system, and finally fell into a dead sleep when then airplane wheels hit the runway on landing in Minneapolis.
At the airport we were greeted by the most wonderful party. Over 30 family members and friends were there to welcome us home, and it felt so good to be embraced by that warmth. Sadie took it in stride and even went so far as to let several people hold her before she wanted Mom or Dad. Thanks to all of you who made that evening such a special one...I will never forget it, and Sadie has tons of pictures and video to remind her of it!
We are settling in just fine here at home, and trying to establish a routine for Sadie. For all the trauma and upheaval she has experienced in the last three weeks, she is doing SO WELL. We have a happy, beautiful baby, and feel unbelieveably blessed. Thanks so much to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers. We love you!
