We're Going Home!

We are now officially finished with our adoption! Yesterday we went to the US Consulate to pick up Qi Fu's passport and Visa and swear our oath. And now we are heading home after a 2 hour train ride to Hong Kong. And speaking of Hong Kong, this city is amazing. We opted to not spend a day here, but maybe someday we will make it back here to explore. But, our hotel here is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in and that includes the Hilton Time Square and the Ritz! It is very modern with lots of chrome and frosted glass - very posh...I love it!

Today is a day of mixed emotions for me. I am so happy to go home - especially to see Lilly, but it is so sad to say goodbye to people that we have become so close to in such a little bit of time. It is amazing how quickly you bond when you share such an emotional journey together. We have cried, laughed, complained, toured, and eaten with our group of families everyday for the last 2 weeks. I am thankful that we are all on the east coast so that we can have reunions and get togethers. And "yahoo" for the Internet and facebook! Makes the world a lot smaller.

Now we are on our way to the airport to begin our 19 hour journey home. It should be an adventure that we will never forget - especially considering we will have a very active little boy to try to keep in a seat! And I am not happy because there was a mix up with our seats and I have a window seat - I know a lot of people like that, but I am an aisle girl all the way. We'll see what we can negotiate...

See you all in a little while:)

Photo on The Red Couch at the White Swan

Guangzhou and The White Swan

Well, we finally made it to Guangzhou and the White Swan! The White Swan Hotel is amazing. It is the mecca for adopting families from the US - the place is just crawling with us. It is really neat to meet families from all over the States and to be reunited with our friends from Beijing. I am amazed at how many people are here for their second or third adoption. Maybe we will be back in a year or two...

We are on the last leg of our trip and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are so ready to be done! We have all really enjoyed our trip to China, but it sounds so good to go home, see our Lilly, get Emmett started on his new life, and not eat out for a very, very long time (especially Chinese food). Last night we went to the "American Buffet" for dinner and we were all so excited. They even had chicken nuggets and mini-cheeseburgers!

Yesterday was our last paperwork day! We (ie Eric - I am, so sick of papers that he took over the task) did the papers for Emmett's Visa. On Thursday we will go to the consulate for an oath taking ceremony and then we will be COMPLETELY finished with the adoption. YAHOO! We also had to take him for his physical yesterday. He was not so happy about that. Actually, he was doing fine because our friend Vipa (she is the woman that is on her 4th adoption and who is super prepared) kept giving him some cheerios. But, when they left he broke down - not because of the impending exam, but because his supply had dried up!

Well, that brings me to the next topic - Emmett's mooching ability. I am not exaggerating when I say that he gets goodies from people all the time! All he does is go up to them and smile and they give him whatever he wants. It's like he has some mystical power or something. Yesterday alone he got cheerios (from Vipa), a tomato from a lady at the park, a barbie phone from a vendor, 4 flags from some man in a store, a box of blocks from the girls in the Holt office, a balloon from another mom, and of course candy from random strangers. I think that completes yesterday. I tell you, he is a charmer so you better hang on to your valuables when we get home or you will magically find yourself giving them to him. Man, I sure hope he uses his powers for good and not evil as he grows up :)

Emmett and two of his friends spent some time at a playground after their physicals. It was so cute to watch him climbing up and going down the slides. You would never guess that he has anything wrong with his feet - they do not limit him in anyway. We also got to see a Chinese school in action yesterday as we walked around Guangzhou. They were out in their courtyard practicing something. We did not know if it was for some type of performance, or if they were doing a gym class of sorts. But they were standing in formation reciting and dancing. There were a couple of girls that kept looking at all of us and smiling and covertly waving. I think they enjoyed having an audience.

Another great thing about being in Guangzhou is the shopping. Hannah and I spent the afternoon going to a lot of fun shops. We did our first bargaining and it is kind of addicting! Hannah even got into the act. And we met this really nice lady. Her name is Ju D. She told us she has been a Christian for four years (pretty rare for China)and that it was some Americans who told her about it. We talked with her for about an hour and during that time another American woman came in to tell her good-bye. So, obviously she makes friends all the time. We exchanged e-mails before we left and she actually had a whole book of people's e-mail addresses. It will be fun to see if she keeps in touch!

Our Days At The People's Park In Nanning