Tuesday - September 11

We were up at the crack of dawn this morning! Hearing the alarm go off at 6 AM was not fun! Got the kettle boiling straight away fro my very necessary coffee! Got my shower and made my coffee so I could get ready.Then we woke up the boys while Kevin was getting his shower. Waking them up before they are ready to get up does not make for happy campers! Finally made it for early breakfast and got everything ready to leave for our consulate appointment at 8:30. Amy drove us in her car so we were very comfy. Got to get sworn in with the AWAA Gansu family today. We were the first family called up so we were not there for very long. After we got back to the room we let the kids play for awhile and then it was nap time. Jonathan had his first big melt down. He cried and screamed for 45 + minutes before he finally fell asleep. He was so tired. I can't believe he fought it for so long. Poor baby.
Kevin went to the 7-eleven and got some more bread for sandwiches for lunch. Can I say how much i love Jif to go?! We also had some Lays cucumber potato chips to go along with it.
They started getting stir crazy mid afternoon so we went to the outdoor playground on the fourth floor. Jonathan finally figured out the slide and had fun. They also checked out the swings for a short period before we went to the the other 4 families who were heading to Hong Kong today after they got their brown envelopes and children's passport with their US Visas. We will not get ours until tomorrow around 4 pm and then we'll be heading to Hong Kong via private van.
We met another AWAA family today. They were in Beijing and came into Guangzhou yesterday. They got their daughter Lan Lan yesterday and had their civil affairs appointment today. They will be here for the rest of their stay.
It was sad to say good bye to our travel buddies today. They have been a great group and very supportive. The kids have all played well together. We wish them all safe travel, a great bonding and attachment process and good health. Hopefully, we will all be able to see one another once again in the future. I wish the same for the first group we traveled with 4.5 years ago. I truly miss them all. They are all family to us now. Once you have gone through this process together there is a special bond that will last a lifetime just like the invisible red thread that draws us to China and our children.
Thank you Lord God for all your many blessings. I thank you for my dear family and friends but most of all for the gift of salvation which you so freely gave.
Love to you all. We are trying to keep them up a little later tonight so we can sleep in in the morning. Hopefully we will be going to breakfast a little later and then spend time packing before leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.

Lisa

Waterfall in outdoor garden on 4th floor playground

Figuring out the slide

Saying goodbye to our friends in the lobby

Aliza, Madison and Andrew

Enjoying a Green tea frappaccinno after roasting at our consulate appointment

Jonathan enjoying the last Oreo crumbs on his plate after lunch

Monday - September 10

Off and running to an early start this morning! Had to meet at 7:50 this morning. All the families except ours had their consulate appointments this morning at 8:30. Amy dropped them off at the consulate and then took Jonathan and I back to the clinic to have his TB skin test read. We were in and out real quick without problems. Then we went back to the consulate to pick the others up to go back to the hotel. 
We all met downstairs again at 10:30 for our group picture. Everyone dispersed and did their own thing after that.
We decided to go to the park fo walk around.The hotel has the two largest parks in the city nearby. Liuhuahu park and lake is on the other side of the Dong Fang Hotel which is to our left. We went through the walkway under the street and up the other side to the park. It is huge but the less hilly of the two. We were only able to take in about  1/3 of the park today. It is breathtaking and had lots of shade that helped. 
McD's was our friend at lunch today. After that it was nap time. 
We ate some local cuisine for dinner tonight in one of the hotel restaurants called Food Street. We sat with a couple from Tennessee who adopted a daughter from Fujian. They went with Holt International for their adoption. Had a wonderful time getting to know them. We had some beef and noodles, dumplings and Yangzhou fried rice and oolong tea. Even Andrew ate some of the beef noodles! I was the only one eating the dumplings. Everything was absolutely yummy! I'm still using chopsticks to eat my Chinese with. Getting a lot better. 
We have our consulate appointment in the morning at 8:30 so we'll be in the lobby at 7:50 to leave. Traffic is pretty heavy until around 9 and then picks up again around 4 pm. Tomorrow will be a sad day. We say good by to the other 4 families. They head out tomorrow at 4 PM for Hong Kong and fly out of Hong Kong on Wednesday morning. We have really enjoyed getting to know the families. We'll still get to see Jamie and Karen and their kids in Greensboro and at church but we may never get to see the other families again.  Hopefully we'll be able to correspond with them still in the future so we can follow the progress of all the children.  Both the kids have had their baths now and brushed teeth so we'll be getting to bed soon. Morning will come soon enough. We have 1 1/2 days left here before we leave for Hong Kong and home. I will be happy and sad at the same time. I love China and it's rich culture. It is the homeland of both my children. Hopefully, we'll be able to return some day.
Good night all.
Lisa

All the families in lobby of Hotel Marriott China, Guangzhou

Andrew taking a rest break.

Lihuhuahu Park Map

Sunday-September 9th

Today was a day to kick back and take in some of the local sites. After breakfast we all met downstairs and got on our bus. We went to the Guangdong Local Folk Art Museum at the Chen Clan Temple. There were different artist practicing their art. The first room had a gentleman painting with only his hand. He was making beautiful paintings. We got one with pandas and bamboo and got a free bookmark with it. I'll hang the picture somewhere in our house. It's a small one. Will have it framed and then decide where I want to put it.There were bone and ivory carvings, ornate wood work and jewelry design, and something that looked like clay figures that were framed. We also saw gorgeous embroidery wall hangings that were exquisite. I've done embroidery and I know how much work went into those wall hangings and how delicate the stitchery was. The entry way and in other places had teakwood carvings. The heavy front doors were painted with warriors to protect the temple and to keep evil and spirits out.
After the temple, we headed over to Shamian Island. Boy has it changed since we were last here! The large hotel, the White Swan, closed 2 years ago. This is where everyone took the red couch pictures and a lot of other adoption families have stayed at in the past. The island is where everyone used to have their consulates in the past. There were many shops that catered to the adoption families. They did not have near as much in the stores as they used to. However, they were willing to barter more since they do not have near the traffic they did previously. We did find a Subway on the island and decided to eat lunch there and finished up at Starbucks. It was so hot, I got a green tea frappacinno(sp?)It was heavenly! The kids wanted to keep tasting so I think I only got half of it!:)
It has definitely been hotter here than the last time. You walk outside and are almost instantly drenched in sweat. 
Walked around some last night and ate peanut butter sandwiches in the room for dinner. So glad we brought the Jif to go peanut butter!
I think we have pretty much finished any shopping we need to do. Time to get the kiddos to bed. Lights out at 8 PM for all of us. We have to be in the lobby at 7:50 tomorrow am.
Lisa

Temple Door

Temple doors at Chen Clan Temple

sweet baby boy

inner courtyard garden.

hanging out in the room

Teakwood carvings at entrance

Chen Clan Temple

Saturday - September 8th

Today was Jonathan's medical appointment. He passed with flying colors and didn't even cry when he got his TB skin test. He did flinch but Mama was holding his arm pretty tight. We'll have to go back on Monday to have it read. Everyone else will have their consulate appointments on Monday. Ours will be on Tuesday since Jonathan is over 2 years old and had to have the TB skin test. They have a new place to perform the medical exams now. It was very nice and clean and lots of space. The place we went with Andrew was on Shamian Island and was very small and didn't look very clean. Jonathan saw the general doctor first and then had measurements done. He was 16 kg! Andrew was a lot smaller at his visit. After measurements, Jonathan saw the ENT and then went for his skin test. 

It was time to go shopping next. Got some bread, milk, juice, dried fruit, chips and diapers. Had peanut butter and honey sandwiches and chips for lunch. Went exploring after nap time and decided to eat dinner here in the hotel. Didn't want McD's again. So we splurged a little and got pasta and boys split a ham and cheese sandwich.Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Kevin is starting to feel a little better and the boys coughs are better. We are still dealing with typical sibling rivalry and jealousy. Thank you for all your prayers. We feel them everyday.

Lisa

Medical Clinic

Amy waiting for us all to finish and give her the paperwork back

The boys hanging out at the clinic

                                                 Where one goes, the other must go!

                      Outside friendship store in Guangzhou. Just finished our shopping. 

Friday - September 7th

Today's the day we head to Guangzhou. I have very mixed feelings about leaving here. This is my son's birthplace and home. He has lived 3 1/2 years here. He knows the language at least the beginning of this vast beautiful language. One day I hope to be able to bring him back to his homeland and the city he was born in. I am so thankful for his parents who gave him life and the knew they would be unable to care for him 6 months later. They placed him somewhere near the orphanage where he could be found. My heart breaks for his mother. I know that had to be the hardest thing she has ever done in her life. He is such a sweet loving person. He shares his food and kisses freely with his Mama. He also loves his daddy (BaBa) and older brother, Andrew.
 
Susan came to take us to the airport at 1 pm. We got to go through 1st class security and then found a Coke Zero for me, Coke for Kevin and Andrew and milk for Jonathan. We had some snacks for the boys and we had a granola bar for our "lunch". Our flight was delayed for an hour. The lounge was not air conditioned so we were rather warm. We took a bus from the gate to our plane and then we finally got to take off. Got to Guangzhou 1 hour late. Amy, our Guangzhou guide, met us there and took us to our hotel. We are staying at the China Marriott. It is the best one so far. I love the shower and the beds. The kids will have fun here. It will be hard to keep them from playing in the bathroom with the shower door and the sliding door into the bathroom. That seems to be there favorite play toy!

Tomorrow morning we meet Amy to take the kids for their medical exams and then shopping for supplies we need. 

Off to bed.

Lisa

Thursday - September 6th

Hello all. Today is our last full day in Nanjing. We got to sleep in a little and have a later breakfast. We met Lily in the lobby to do some more sightseeing. We first went to a Chinese drug store to get medicine for  Kevin's sickly GI system. Next we walked on to the Zhan Yuan Garden. It had a lot of steps to try to negotiate a stroller on. Made for interesting travel around the gardens. It was very crowded with other tourists, mostly Chinese. We were very much the minority.  It was very hot and muggy again. We were very thankful for any breeze that we caught!

The gardens were beautiful and  there were several nice water gardens. We even got to hear a a young lady playing flute.
Kevin and Andrew went back to the hotel after we left the garden. Lily, Jonathan and I did a little shopping in the market area behind our hotel. I found a carry on size suitcase for Jonathan. Hopefully, it will make it home without falling apart. I also found a scarf and pocketbook that I think I can use with the dress I bought for the gala.We didn't actually go into Confucious Temple but we did take a peak in from the outside. We went back after that to check on Kevin and eat lunch.
While Jonathan was napping and Kevin was resting, Andrew and I caught went for Mommy/Andrew time. We walked down to the mall and got our Nanjing travel mug at Starbuck's and then we went to Coldstone. Andrew got rapsberry pink lemonade sorbet with M&Ms and sprinkles and waffle cone crushed up in it. I went native and got green tea ice cream with brownie and pecans and waffle cone. It was absolutely fabulous! They also have some neat water fountains at the mall and musical instruments in them for decorations. Dropped Andrew 
We all walked through the market area near the hotel that night and had dinner at McDonald's.
Tomorrow morning we'll be packing and getting ready to fly to Guangzhou.
Lisa

Confucius Temple is behind the smoke. Kind of difficult to see. 

Dragons on wall

Friesen family at Zhan Yuan Garden

Flute player at the garden.

One of the McD's in Nanjing

Andrew and Mama at Coldstone

Fountain at mall

Bonsai trees at Zhan Yuan Garden

                                                               Caves at Gardens

Wednesday September 5th

Got to start off the day a little later today. It's a beautiful sunny day, hot and humid. Took a van ride to the old city wall to Nanjing. We went through one of the beautiful Ming City wall gates into Xuanwu Lake Park. We walked around and took pictures and then took a tour cart around the park, it's very big! We saw a lot of lotus plants with gorgeous delicate lotus blossoms. There was also a statue of Lotus's Lovely Lady. We got out in one spot and fed the koi. Had to stop Jonathan from trying to eat the fish food himself! The temple's here are very colorful and beautifully designed. It is so sad that they worship a god who is not alive. 

Later we rode to the Yangtze River and the double bridge. Train on one level and cars on the other. The river divides the city into two sections. The northern side has 2 districts and the southern has 9 districts. We were staying in the southern half. The northern side is where most of the industries are located. The Yantze river also divides China into the north and south per our guide, Lily. At the bridge they had a master artist working. He was painting the inside of glass balls and small bottles. It was very tedious and delicate work. He uses a curved brush and a magnifying glass. They were exquiste but pricey. I would have loved to have one but didn't want to pay the money.After we got back we crashed for a while and then ordered room service. It was quite tasty. We has Yangzhou fried rice, tomato and egg soup and a ham and cheese sandwich. The boys were playing together much better tonight. Had a tougher time getting Jonathan to bedtonight. He was having way too much fun.

Lisa

                                                                   Lotus's fair lady

Where we fed the Koi

Shipyard on Yangtze River, 30 meters deep at this part

Top of the Yangtze River bridge tower