Still no pictures

My Photoshop Elements 5 is missing so Dallas can't load it to my new computer. Don't want to add more pictures until I put them in that program. We will give it the weekend, I might have to take drastic measures if it is not found before Monday.

All is well. The boys are back in school. They like most of their classes. Nicholas is having a hard time getting up at 5:45 every morning but hopefully it will get easier. He has always been our child that required the most sleep.

Julia started preschool yesterday. She was so excited, she walked right in and didn't even tell me goodbye. Once reminded she did come back and give me a hug. When she came home we heard about everything Pam(her teacher) said they couldn't do. They couldn't climb the slide, they couldn't play in the kitchen, they couldn't play with blocks, etc. She met a new friend, Paige. She liked playing with Paige. This will be a great experience for her. She really needs to be around other kids and in a preschool setting. I really should have put her in last year but wanted that time with her myself.

No plans for the holiday weekend. We do have lots of cleaning to do. So maybe that will be on the list. Plus there is always baseball practice.

Grace continues to do well. She still primarily wants me. I took her to the pediatrician Monday. Wasn't real happy with him so we are trying to decide whether to let the current pediatrician run all the tests she needs or try and find a new pediatrician. I have never been thrilled with the child's practice here but they were sufficient. We were really spoiled in Florida. We had a super pediatrician that had a personal interest in all our kids. I had already considered leaving this practice upon completing Grace's adoption. So Dallas and I are discussing what we are going to do. We got some recommendiations for pediatricians in the area. It wouldn't be as convenient but we would like to have more confidence in the kids' doctors.

Hopefully new pictures will be added soon.

Still no pictures

Today is Day 3 of me having a new computer. I can actually use it now but don't have photo shop loaded or my email program. So I still can't load the pictures on my camera to my computer. STill waiting on Dallas. He is doing the best he can, there just isn't enough time in the day. School started Monday. Nicholas had baseball practice last night, Zachary tonight, and Julia's open house was tonight. Plus we are still so tired and are in bed by 9:00 which is a good thing since now we have to be up by 5:30 to get the kids ready for school.

China Tidbits

1) Dallas found what appeared to be a listening device in our hotel room in Beijing. The nightstand had a fake drawer. For some reason the top drawer came out and below it was what looked like a listening device. Didn't want to mention this while we were still in China.

2) While in China only 2 glasses and a hotel mirror got broken. We only had to pay for one glass. Two out of the three items were broken by Zachary. No surprise there.
The mirror was broken in the hotel with the listening device. Guess they weren't listening too hard or we would have been charged for it.

3) Shrimp are served with their heads still attached. Gross! Can't say any of us tried them and Zachary and I love shrimp. We all stayed away from most meats. We called them mystery meats and it wasn't worth the chance of getting sick.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

I still have so much to share but the last few days we have been getting adjusted to the time and getting ready for school. The first day of school is tomorrow. I believe we bought the last school supply today. Pickings were slim this year. I had to go to three stores to find everything and the lists were small.

Grace is doing great. She has slept in her crib in her room the last two nights. Last night she fell asleep about 9:30 and woke up at 7:20 this morning. We were very pleased. She still cries whenever I leave the room. She loves taking a bath with Julia. She still loves to eat.

Julia is definitely having jealousy issues. It is getting better but she wants to do everything Grace does. She wants to wear diapers and sit in a high chair. In time this will improve too. Julia starts school Thursday. She will be going 5 days a week for a half a day. I think it will help the situation a lot.

Dallas got me a new computer today. Dallas thinks my old computer needs a new motherboard. It didn't go to China with us but has been on the blink for a couple of months now. We told Kristopher if he wanted to pay to fix my old computer he could have it. The new computer(not a Dell but a Gateway)didn't cost much more than it will cost to fix the old one. Once Dallas gets my new computer set up I will post more pictures from our trip.

Settling In

It is good to be home! Sorry I haven't posted before now. My computer is dead. Right now it is in about 10 pieces on the kitchen table. Dallas is trying to fix it. I don't think he will be able to but I guess it is worth a try.

I left off in Hong Kong. We left early Wednesday morning for the airport-too early. We had to wait for Continental to open to check our bags. The Hong Kong airport is very nice. We ate breakfast at Burger King, went to the Disney Store, and waited for boarding.

The flight went pretty well. Grace did extremely well. The kids in front of us were horrible the whole flight, though. The parents sat in first class and the nanny sat in coach with the kids. The baby cried the whole time and the other 2 kids were very loud. The food wasn't so good. We were almost to Newark and Zachary threw up a couple of times. Dallas and I were feeling pretty sick by the time we arrived in Newark,too.

When landing in Newark we had to go through Immigration and Customs again. We had to go through the foreign immigrant line due to Grace. Fortunately it went pretty quickly and then I had to go to the immigrant room so they could officially stamp Grace's passport. This only took a couple of minutes, too. She became an official U.S. citizen when our plane landed in Newark.

We had a few hours to spare so we grabbed a bite to eat and started our wait. They kept delaying our plane. We double booked a flight in the morning just in case we didn't get out Wednesday night. Finally at 9:00 our flight departed. What a relief! At this point we had spent 7 hours in the Newark airport and we were all ready to get home. We were exhausted!

We landed in Raleigh about 11:20. They had closed the gate out. We had to go down a staircase that was an emergency exit and through the loading zone. It was very strange. Then they said there was a power outage and they didn't know how we were going to get our luggage. Fortunately it did arrive a little later. We loaded the car and headed home.

After five hours sleep, we were up and ready for a new day. Grace had her appointment with the doctor who will be doing her palate surgery at 2:00. It is at UNC hospital in Chapel Hill. We waited for 2 hours to see the doctor for 15 minutes. He is going to try and do her surgery in November. There are several other doctors who need to see Grace before surgery. We agree the sooner they can do it the better. This is the time she is learning to talk and she can't form a lot of words the right way with an open palate.

Today we are all feeling much better. Everyone got more sleep last night. Did I mention it is great to be home?

I will be posting more pictures. I am going to wait to see if Dallas can fix my computer because I would rather load them to my computer instead of this one.

We are Home!

Just wanted to let everyone know we are home. We arrived close to midnight last night. I will post more later. It is so good to be home!

One last post

I am so excited! I got to see my blog for the first time in 2 weeks. I guess it isn't blocked in Hong Kong.

Since I decided to make another post I might as well mention the hotel room. It is very neat. Small but elegant. The potty and shower are behind glass doors. Both rooms are small. Very hard room to describe but pictures will follow in a couple of days.

Now I really must go to sleep. We are in 2 rooms again. I have the 3 youngest and they are long gone. I have been typing the dark as not to wake them.

Goodnight, Hong Kong!

We Have Arrived in Hong Kong

We are now in Hong Kong. Where, oh, where do I start? What a day we have had. The morning was pretty uneventful. Bought a couple more souvenirs, ate lunch with the Andersons(one of the other couples using our agency). Lucy's again. It is really the only place on the island to get Western food. We weren't that hungry so Dallas and I just had onion rings.

At 2:00 we were picked up and went to the White Swan for pictures. I should have taken more but like Dallas says we have a red couch at home. It has been so long
since I have seen it I had forgotten. Then on to our Visa appointment. The U.S. in China is 100 percent nicer than the one in Russia. We had to show our passports and Grace's to prove we were who we said we were. A lady gave a short speech and then we raised our hands and swore all our information was correct. We then recieved Grace's passport with visa and mysterious brown envelope. We were free to leave the country. Yipee!!

Now here is where the adventure begins. Connie our guide decides we are going to make the 5:00 train. She quickly loads a different bus to take us to the train station and the Andersons will stay on and she will take them to the airport. So anyway, we are off to the train station. Fortunately it is not far. We go running in the train station with our 2 huge bags, 3 medium bags, a double stroller, and a carry on each. Connie has on high heels and is dressed to go out on the town(I know this is unrelated information but it is so Connie). We weren't really pleased with her. But back to the point. Here we are these crazy Americans running through the train station. Connie tells us to go up the escalator and wait for her. We manage O.K. but the sweat is already pouring off plus we are soaking wet. I forgot to mention it was pouring down raining when we left the consulate. Connie comes up with our tickets and points us in the right direction. We are off. First stop customs. When there is 7 of us it takes awhile to fill out all these forms. We finally make it through customs and have to go down an escalator. I have a 15 pound bag on my one shoulder, a 5 pound bag on the other shoulder, Grace in my arms, and am pulling a 45 pound suitcase(a bike is on the inside. I did O.K. on the up escalator but going down is another story. My large shoulder bag got stuck on the suitcase and we almost tumbled down. The first angel was put in my path. An asian man who spoke very clear English asked if I was O.K. My answer at the time was "I don't know". I really didn't. He said not to worry he would hold the suitcase up for me. So with his help I made it safely to the bottom. This could have been a disaster.

They are already boarding the train, so we get in line. The next adventure comes when we try to board. The lady sends us in the wrong department. We have all these suitcases and are blocking the aisle. Dallas is telling me to sit anywhere and I am arguing with him. The line is getting longer and longer. Of course everybody is staring at us. Finally I do just sit anywhere and Dallas starts throwing the luggage above us. You feel real safe when a 40 plus bike is overhead with nothing to hold it in.

The kids and I cram into 4 seats and Dallas sits beside us. Whew! We made it. We get about halfway there and Julia has to go potty bad. Dallas takes her to the potty. Guess what? It is a squatty potty. Julia absolutely refuses to use it. Dallas said he doesn't think she understood what to do. I have avoided public potties the whole time we were in China. When she came back all she could talk about was there was no seat. So I tell her she will have to wait. It soon becomes apparent(sp)that she can not wait. So I have to dig in my huge bag with Grace in my lap and a table in front of me for a diaper. I finally find one and get her to come stand on my bag and I slip a diaper on her. Another problem solved.

Now it is Grace's turn. We are almost to the station and Grace starts screaming. Of course everybody is staring at us. Guess they have never heard a baby cry. Who knows why she was crying. Grace is a very determined little girl and if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it she has a tantrum. When this happens there is nothing you can do to console her.

Finally the train stops, we manage to get all our kids and bags off. We have to go up another escalator and through customs again. At least once up the escalator we can open the stroller. What a relief! It takes awhile to get through customs. The girls were in the stroller and the custom officer asks me which one was this(holding up Grace's passport). I thought it was pretty obvious.

Our next angel appears when we walk out of customs. Dallas and I were worried about how we would get to the hotel. We tried to switch hotels but it was too late. A man walks up to me asking if we need a ride. He has a minivan and can fit all of us and our luggage. I told him to ask Dallas. We don't know this guy, who he works for, and we are just going to go get in his van. He speaks fairly good English. Dallas says he is fine so off we go. We barely fit in his van but he turned out to be a nice guy. Dallas and him talked sports on the 45 minute drive to the hotel. Whenever you tell a Chinese person you are from NC, they always say near Micheal Jordon. I prayed the whole time that this guy was actually taking us to the hotel and he did.

This is the best hotel, yet. We would have loved to stay here a couple of days if we weren't so eager to get home. It is beautiful. It is attached to this huge shopping mall. It says they are outlets but their prices don't appear to be outlet prices. We weren't interested in shopping anyway. The suitcases are full.

We did need to eat dinner. It is now about 8:00 and we are all starving. So where to we go but to McDonalds. It was the best meal I have had in 2 weeks. The biggest drink I have had with a meal in 2 weeks. It was delicious and we topped it off with ice cream. I forgot to mention in China and here you can get corn with your combo instead of french fries. Corn just doesn't do it for me.

We then came back to the hotel to get the kids to bed. Our flight leaves at 10:25 but we want to catch the 6:30 shuttle. We are leaving way in advance but we would both feel better being at the airport.

Once again, sorry to go on and on, I just wanted to get all this down while it was fresh in my mind. Here's hoping to a good flight tomorrow. I can't imagine Grace on a 15 hour flight. I am thinking she will do worse than Julia did on her flight home from Russia. I felt like I was living through a nightmare with Julia, I am sure it will be the same tomorrow. But at least we will be home.

One more thing. Hong Kong looks beautiful in the dark. Lots of modern tall buildings. I am sorry we won't get to see it but now is not the time. On the way to Hong Kong there were beautiful mountains but such poverty. People were living in shacks with the roofs falling off in ankle deep water. You would see children and adults working hard in the fields. There is so much more poverty here than at home. You just can't imagine how these people live. These places would be condemned in the states. When we get home I will see if any of my pictures came out.

Lesson learned today...Never take the train with 5 kids, 5 suitcases, a double stroller, and 7 carryons even if it is the nicest train station you have ever seen.

I am extremely happy to say ....Next post Fuquay Varina,NC. Only a day away.

This is really it

The bell hop will be here in 15 minutes to get our luggage. We came with 4 bags we are leaving with 5. Not bad considering we got 2 bikes. We were able to buy really big bikes for the suitcases here for 10.00. I am leaving one of my other suitcases. I wish I hadn't given away now because we may be near the weight limits.

Things I forgot to mention earlier. We will not miss the heat. Here you are hot all the time unless you are in your hotel room. The temperature is around 100 and the humidity is around 100. It is much hotter than Florida. You are sweating all the time. The shops aren't air conditioned,they just have fans. We can't wait to be in the climate we are used to again.

We will miss all the friends we have made here. We all have a special bond especially Pam and Rick who we were with in Fuzhou. It has been nice talking to so many people and learning about their children.

Next stop Hong Kong!

Goodbye,China!

Last night we went on the river cruise with the other families with our agency. It was fun to see the city lite up. Lots of buildings light up at night. We have heard the food makes you sick so we stuck with rice and cookies.

Today, after breakfast I have a couple of shops I want to run to for last minute purchases. At 1:45 the bus will pick the Andersons and us up. We both need to have our luggage ready. They are flying to Beijing right after the U.S. consulate and we are taking the train to Hong Kong. We will go to the White Swan and take pictures. When you adopt from China everyone has to get red couch photos at the White Swan. It is a tradition. At 2:45 we head to the U.S. Consulate. We have to swear all our paperwork is truthful and show our passports. We will then get Grace's passport with visa and the mysterious brown envelope. Julia had a brown envelope. Under absolutely no circumstances are you allowed to open this envelope. It is to be given to U.S. Customs when we arrive in Newark.

Immediately after the ceremony we will go to the train station. We are hoping to catch a 5:00 train, if not it will be 7:10. Then we will have to find a way to our hotel once we reach Hong Kong. We will overnight in Hong Kong and leave at 10:25 a.m on Continental to Newark, N.J.

This will be our last post from China. Don't know if there will be any posts from Hong Kong or not. We have enjoyed sharing this adventure but everyone is ready to be home.

There are so many things we take for granted. Clean water is probably the biggest thing we all miss. We can't drink the water,use it to clean cups,or even brush our teeth with it. We, also, miss being able to talk to our friends and family,having a yard to play in, being able to drive anywhere we want, diet coke(well that's just me), the smell. It smells like China here. The air in U.S. is so much cleaner. We are tired of bartering for everything we purchase. We miss going to church on Sundays. We miss our nice soft bed.

I asked the others what they missed and these are their answers. Dallas misses BBQ,baseball, and golf. Nicholas misses baseball and golf. Zachary misses his house, his room, and his bed. Julia misses Chase. Kristopher misses comfortable beds and popcorn(I miss that,too).

Grace is a wonderful addition to our family. We will always have fond memories of Russia and China. The China experience was much better but we are blessed to have both our girls.

I have lots more pictures to post. I will post some more when we get home.

Goodbye from China!

Riding Bikes

You see people here riding bikes everywhere. They are riding on the road with the crazy road traffic. Lots of times they have very heavy loads.

On the Street

You don't even want to know what this man is pulling. They are baby pigs. Not alive and probably someone's dinner.

Stringing Pearls

Panda Bear

Monkeying Around

Mountains on the way to Airport

The Emu

Taken on the way to the Airport in Fuzhou

River in Fuzhou

Beach on the way to the Airport from Fuzhou

Sorry these pictures are so out of order. I have a few more I want to post from Fuzhou.

View from Roof

Dallas and all His Kids

Pool

In the edge of the picture you can see the pool rail. That is the edge of the roof.

Dallas and His Girls at the Pool

Sunday, August 19

Where did I leave off? In the morning we went to the zoo. Everybody else with our agency opted out. It was extremely hot but the kids had a lot of fun. The monkies and the Panda Bear were the highlights. They also had goats, horses, deer, tigers,rhinos, elephants,etc. The tigers were extremely thin. Maybe the don't like the heat.

In the afternoon we completed all our paperwork.It took about 2 hours. We met our friends Pam, Rick , and AJ for one last dinner. Pam and I shopped a little. Street vendors line the roads by her hotel. Pam and Rick were going on a cruise so Dallas decided he wanted to call this couple I had been emailing with that was from North Carolina. We called Sherri and went up to their room for about an hour. They are from Charlotte. They brought their 3 kids with them to adopt Cami. Cami was adorable and is alittle younger than Grace. It is neat sharing experiences with other people and seeing their little ones. Dallas had a good time talking to her husband, Mark, too.

We got back to the room and let the kids put their bathing suits on to go the pool for about an hour. I have never seen such a pool. It isn't very big but it is on the roof. The very edge of the roof. If you are scared of heights you would not be able to swim. It is only 9 floors high but it seems much higher when you are looking over the edge. The boys were laughing because on the railing of the outside of the pool(edge of roof)it says do not cross the railing. Kind of a no brainer. If you cross the railing you are going down. There is no kiddie pool so Dallas took turns taking both girls in. Grace is a little fish. She wanted to go under the water. Dallas got tired of her trying to go under and drinking the water.

I slept until 6:30 today. Just when we are getting ready to leave I get used to the time schedule. Today one of us has to stay in the room in the morning because our guide is taking our paperwork to the U.S. Embassy. She will call if there are any problems with it. The rest of the day is free until 5:45. We are going on the dinner cruise. We have been told not to eat any food on the dinner cruise. The boys want me to take them shopping and I still have a few gifts to buy, too.

Group Photo in Lobby of Lakeside Hotel, Fuzhou, Fujian

Bob, Katherine and all of us before leaving for the police station.

Now I really must go. I just love taking pictures. I do not leave the room without it.

Julia and Bob

Julia loved Bob. Bob was our driver in Fuzhou. He was great. He has a son about Julia's age.

Grace's First Plane Ride

Fuzhou to Guangzhou

The Main Attraction at The Zoo

This picture was not taken at the zoo. It was right before we left for the zoo at the White Swan Hotel. We had a choice to stay at the Victory(where we are at) or the White Swan. The White Swan gives you a special going home barbie. It is a caucasion(spelling is wrong) barbie with an asian baby. While I would have loved the barbie it wasn't worth the price. The rooms are smaller, it is very crowded, and it is much more expensive. Sorry, got off the topic there. Yes, we really were the main attraction at the zoo. You really do get used to the stares and just smile or ignore them.

I have so much more to write and lots and lots of pictures to share but I don't have time now. We have to be at the White Swan at 2:30 to complete 2 hours of paperwork. There is one form I have to sign then I am going to take the kids to the playground. Dallas will complete the paperwork. We are supposed to meet Rick, Pam, and AJ at Lucy's for dinner at 4:30. We were fortunate enough to run into them when we were at the White Swan today. They were able to go to the Christian Church today. We are looking forward to hearing all about it. We would have loved to have gone too but were already scheduled to go to the zoo. When our guide was late we were about to find the church. Connie showed up so we did go to the zoo. Everyone else with our agency opted out. We were glad we went even if we were the main attraction.

Sorry this post is so hodge podge. Trying to write alot in a little bit of time. Will write more later.

P.S. If you notice Grace is now allowing Dallas to hold her. We are very thankful for this. It gives my back a much needed break.

Zachary at the Zoo

Alexa, I know you are jealous. Nicholas and Zachary had so much fun feeding the monkeys.

Saturday, August 18

After breakfast, Grace had her medical exam. She was not happy to say the least. There were 3 stations. Her height and weight were recorded, an ENT looked at her ears,nose, and throat, and then a doctor looked at her body. Once it was our turn it took about 10 minutes. It is not a very thourough exam. It is required by the U.S. government in order to get her a visa to the U.S. Before we went to the medical exam we had to stop by to get a visa photo taken. Grace did well with that.

After that we were free for the day. First, we walked around Shaimin Island. That is where our hotel is located. It is so nice to actually be able to walk around. There are sidewalks and a nice park. There is a nice playround we would like to take the kids to today or tomorrow. There are a couple of restaurants and lots of shops. So much more to do that we can do on our own. Everywhere you go here you see American couples adopting.

We decided to have a real lunch so we went to Lucy's. It is the western restaurant you hear everyone talk about. Dallas, Kristopher, and I had hamburgers and fries. There were almost as good as home. Zachary and Nicholas had baked potatoes, Grace and Julia had scrambled eggs. It was very good.

Back to the hotel for some shopping. We were all going to go shopping with Ann. For a small price she will take you shopping in the city. Not something I wanted to verture out to do on my own. All of us were going to go but we quickly realized it would be too hard for all of us together. So Ann gave the taxi driver directions to take Dallas, Nicholas, Kristopher, and Julia to the Electronic market. They had a good time and came back with several Game boy games for 7.00 each. They also stopped at McDonalds for ice cream. Ann, Grace, Zachary, and I first went to the toy market. It was 5 floors of stores. Similiar to the art market we went to in Fuzhou. It was packed with people and there is just store after store of goods. If I had realized how good of deals I was getting I probably would have bought more. I did get Julia and Grace little panda pocketbooks and little stuffed animals. The stuffed animals were .50. If I had been quick enough to figure that out at the time I would have definitely gotten a couple more. It was very overwhelming. Don't tell Dallas but I got the cutest hairbows. In order to get the wholesale price I had to buy 50. 20 was going to cost me more than if I bought 50. For 50 little girls hairbows it cost me aobut 10.00. Not bad at all. Zachary got a cool remote control car for 5.00. Our last purchase there was t-shirts. I was able to get the kids Beijing Olympic tshirts and Kristopher a Guangzhou Hard Rock tshirt for 2.00 a piece. They are knockoffs but none of us care. There isn't even a Hard Rock in Guangzhou. We think there used to be one here but not anymore.

Next stop was the pearl market. Fortunately Grace had fallen asleep by this time. She was in a baby carrier so it was much easier for me to carry her around. The Pearl Market was the same kind of place.There were at 3 floors of stores that looked like they all had the same type of pearls. There I purchased lots and lots of pearls. Amazing deals. I have heard their value is almost 10 times great when appraised in the U.S. I hope Ann did a good job picking out mine for me. I told her about how much I wanted to spend per necklace and she found the right ones for me. This took awhile because they had to restring all the pearls once we decided which ones we liked.

Time to get another Taxi and head back to hotel. We arrived back at the hotel at 6:45. We were planning to meet the families from our agency at Lucy's for dinner at 6:30. As soon as we walked in the hotel, it started to pour down rain so we decided not to meet them. It was about a 10 minute walk. The rain soon stopped so Dallas ran to Seven 11 and got ramon noodles and pringles. They are packaged differently but taste very similiar to home and everyone likes them. Grace can eat a whole one but herself and they are a good size.

We just hung around the room the rest of the night. By 9:00 Julia and I could not stay awake any longer so we went to bed. Dallas put Grace to bed before the boys and him went to their room. I have no idea what time they left. As long as we are in the room Grace will now go to Dallas and play with everyone. Outside of the room she still clings to me. Dallas was able to change his first diaper yesterday.

I slept in a little later today,5:30 so I don't have time to post any pictures now. We are supposed to meet the group at the other hotel(about a 10min walk)at 9:00 so I need to go get ready. If I have time I will download my pictures and post before we go. If not I am sure I will have time tonight.

Saturday, August 18

We went to bed later last night so I was sure I would be able to sleep later this morning. No such luck. It is now 4 somthing. We are back to sleeping on boards. I don't know why the Chinese like to sleep on something so hard. If you dived into your bed you would get hurt.

Yesterday morning we met a man from Chicago for breakfast. He was an elderly man visting his fiance and her child. He said that he has been trying to get her visa for a year and was rejected. There is no appeal process so he doesn't know what they are going to do. He has been here 6 times this year to visit her. The problem is that she is more than 20 years younger than him. The government doesn't believe they are a real couple. It was very interestin talking to him.

Our hotel is very nice. We are actually in Guangdong,Guangzhou. Unfortunately our 2 rooms aren't connected here. I am in a very nice suite. Dallas is in a regular double room. The girls and Nicholas are with me and the others with Dallas. A computer comes with the room so we have not connected my computer yet. Therefore no pictures until this afternoon or night.

We have to leave the room early today. Our guide is to meet us in the lobby at 10:15. Breakfast is included at all our hotels so we will need to eat before we leave. Since lunch is usually snacks we don't want to miss the breakfast buffet.

Grace was not particularly thrilled with her first plane ride. She did better than I expected though. I had to hold her the whole time. No surpise there. She cried several times but I was able to calm her down.

Now in Guangzhou

We have arrived. It was a short uneventful flight. We are glad to be here. At the airport we met up with our new friends from Beijing. It was great seeing them again. Their new daughter is beautiful. Her name is Maya Grace. We are using the same agency so will be together for the rest of our time here. They are at a different hotel but it is a short walk. We couldn't see much of the island because it is dark but are ready to explore tomorrow. Our Medical exam is at 10:30 then we have the afternoon off.

I have to admit it was sad leaving Fuzhou today. Our guide and driver were so kind. I teared up saying goodbye to Katherine. We hope to keep in touch through email. Also, it is the closest to Grace's home that we were able to get. We are taking her away from everything she has ever known. I really hope we can bring her back when she is a teenager. There is so much for her to see and learn.

Time for bed! I will post more tomorrow. It is great to be on the homestretch. We have truly enjoyed our time here but we do miss home.

Goodbye, Fuzhou!

This is it! We will be going down to the lobby in about 30 minutes. The bags are packed and ready to go. We have added two large bags to our luggage. We are definitely not traveling light. We do have an empty suitcase. If it doesn't fit in Bob's car we will leave it here. Otherwise we are going to put a few of the kid's backpacks in it and check it at the airport. We may need it for souvenirs in Guangzhou. There is supposed to be great shopping there. We have arranged to have a local take us shopping and bargain for us. She is very inexpensive and we have been told she saves you more money than you pay her.

Grace is playing so much better today. She even let Dallas hold her once. I think she is realizing we aren't so bad. Julia and her play really well. Julia does have a tendency to get too excited, though.

See ya in Guangzhou!

One More Sister Picture

The Hotel Pool and Bowling Alley

View from our Room

Did I forget to tell you we are in the mountains?

Cool Picture of Nicholas

Our Hotel in Fuzhou

Our hotel,The Lakeside, is the tall building in the front.

The Black Tower

You can see the Black Tower in the background. Very Important building in Fujian. There ia a Black Tower and a White Tower.

At the Museum with Katherine

The Art Market

Laundry

When we arrived in Fuzhou we had to get some laundry done. Katherine called someone to the hotel to pick it up and clean it for us. It was much cheaper than the hotel. We received it back on Wednesday. It was like getting new clothes. Since then the boys talk about how they are going shopping and getting new clothes. Our clothes have never looked so good even when they were new. The picture is of the shirts and socks.

Sisters

Our New Friends

Grace and AJ- both came from the same orphanage. They were in different foster homes so we don't know if they ever saw each other or not.

Thursday and Friday

You were going to get a lot of pictures but the internet connection is so slow it doesn't look like that is going to be possible. I will try again later and if it doesn't work I should be able to post them in Guangzhou.

Yesterday afternoon we didn't do much. The boys went to the pool, a notary came to deliver paperwork, and we ate dinner with Pam, Rick,and AJ. I did begin the packing process,too. I haven't decided whether to leave a suitcase here or not. We really don't need it anymore but I like it and would rather take it home. With the bikes we have so much stuff, though.

Zachary ordered a hotdog for dinner last night. It is the biggest hotdog we have ever seen. He said it tasted like a real hotdog but he wasn't fond of the mayo that coated it. Grace had a few bites and seemed to like it too.

Today we don't leave until 3:00. We go to the police station to pick up Grace's passport then we go to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7:20 to Guangzhou. Katherine said she would take us somewhere if we wanted but we decided to just hang around here. It gets tiring climbing in and out of the van in the heat. Plus we can finish packing and maybe the kids can go to the pool one last time. I don't have many pictures there and I would like to take a few more.

We have really enjoyed our time here in Fuzhou. It has been much better than we anticipated. It was like being on vacation. It will be sad as we fly to Guangzhou tonight. We are leaving behind all that Grace has ever known. One day we would like to bring her back to visit her orphanage and foster family but we don't know if we actually will. Her orphanage city is much more remote and would take 6 hours to get to from here. I don't know if I mentioned it before but she traveled by bus to get here.

Goodbye, Fuzhou. We will hold many fond memories of our time here.

Thusday Morning

Today, our journey began at a Musuem. I believe it was a musuem of the history of Fujian-the province we are staying in. The reason I saw I believe is sometimes you just don't get the whole story through translation. If you ask the boys one thing about the musuem they remember it would be the tombs. There was a male and female body in water and I would assume preservatives in a glass box. We believe there were real bodies thousands of years old. I will have to ask Dallas if he understood who they were. Behind them were their wooden tombs. These tours are kind of funny. They are interesting but you can't quite follow everything. Some is due to the translation and some because it is so hard to grasp a different culture.

After the musuem we went to the Art Market. It is not at all what you would think an Art Market would be. It was a 3 story mall. The stores are very tiny. We don't wonder around we just go where our guide leads us. Katherine(our guide)says that it is where small time vendors come to buy things in dozens to sell at their small shops. Don't see how their shops could be any smaller. Guess she is talking about quanity not size of shop. Anyway, there is a special rock that can only be found in this province. I will have to look up the name once we are home. Once again, the translation is lost on me. We were able to get all the kids rocks carved with heads of their year. Like Kristopher's is a monkey, he was born in the year of the monkey. Grace's is a rooster so at the top of her rock is a rooster. Then, the boys saw the man hand carve their Chinese names on the bottom. It can now be used as a stamp. She said he was the only one in the art market that is able to carve his own stones. It was pretty fascinating. Next to the jewelry store. Of course we pass ten jewelry stores before getting to the one we are going to. There I was able to get some jade necklaces, glass bracelets for Julia and Grace(Grace already broke hers),and a necklace for me that I love. Then on to a special wood store. This wood is only made in Fujian province. I purchased 2 small combs for the girls. We were concerned we were going to run out of money before our next stop and the boys would never forgive me if I let that happen. We had more at the hotel but Katherine said not to carry too much with us.

Walmart would be the next stop. Debi,you would love this Walmart unless you are looking for clothes. The selection is not good and the two of us would not find anything to fit us in China much less Walmart. Are you ready for the boys' purchases? They are so excited and had been talking about it for days. Nicholas and Zachary(thanks to friends and relatives)had some spending money of their own. They bought fold up bicycles. I have to admit they are very cool. Here they are about 40.00. In U.S. they are over 350.00. What a deal! Of course now our amount of luggage increases greatly but it is so worth it. They will be great for the park or going to Florida. Katherine found us some tote bags that they would fit in and I am going to wrap them with clothes. Hopefully they won't get banged up too much. That reminds me, I need to figure out how to make more luggage tags. Dallas was leary about letting them get these bikes but to me it is the coolest souvenir ever. Why get a bunch of trinkets when you can have something so neat. Here everybody is riding them.

Our last stop of the day was lunch. We were going to take our guide and driver to Pizza Hut but after our expenditures we were alittle low on cash. I don't think Bob wanted to go to Pizza Hut anyway. He said parking was not good there. Bob doesn't speak English so we know this by translation. So off to McDonald's we go. Unfortunately by this time my camera is dead so no pictures of the cool McDonalds. It was two story with a very small playground on the second floor. Basically a little kiddie slide on a foam mat. Grace loved it! Lesson learned-don't walk on foam mat with shoes on. McDonalds' employees get very upset. Bob and I were waiting for Katherine and Dallas to bring our food up. The girl first got on Nicholas and I. We stepped off, then she started on Grace. Grace gets upset when I take her shoes off. Bob told her something and she left us alone. Julia loves Bob. She even ate lunch with him. Food was good. McDonalds is McDonalds in any language. Funny thing is that they have a picture menu. Of course us Americans use the picture menu,well the Chinese do too. I guess the food names don't translate well. As we are leaving McDonalds Bob backs up in to a person. I guess they were O.K. because both parties went on as if nothing had happened. The driving really is crazy here.

Believe it or not at this point in the day it is only 12:15p.m. You get alot accomplished in a little time here. We had almost arrived at the hotel when we saw an accident. It must have just happened. There was a lady lying on the road still on her moped. A car was sitting behind her. There were a lot of people standing around but aren't sure that anyone was really helping her. I don't know what happens here when there is an accident. I hope help was on the way because she didn't look good. She was pretty immobile. Someone in the car said it looked she had a broken arm. Katherine said please don't go past this gate when entering the hotel area. Walking, bike riding, and driving here is unexplainable. It is one of things you don't understand unless you see it for yourself. Crazy doesn't even begin to accurately describe it.

Grace is taking a nap. She has done much better today. She is becoming quite the character. I am sure Julia and her are going to keep me very busy. Grace is still very much a Mama's girl. She has been laughing and giggling at the boys and Julia alot today. I know I have said this before but this girl can eat. She is going to give Zachary a run for his money.

Well, guess that is enough for now. The boys and Dallas are at the pool and I have begun packing. We are hoping Pam and Rick may want to meet for one last dinner, tonight. They go off with their guide in the morning, too, so we don't see them until the afternoon. We are glad they are on our flight to Guangzhou. Now if I could just find someone taking the train to Hong Kong with us.

I will post some pictures later. My camera battery is still charging.

Wednesday

I am a little late with my post this morning. It is 5:00a.m. I was trying to send some pictures of Pam,Rick, and AJ to their family. They didn't bring a computer. I have to make the pictures really small and at times they still won't upload. That was the case this morning so I will have to try again later.

Yesterday, we went to the Xi Chian Temple. It was very interesting. Lots of incense, chanting, monks, beautiful buildings,etc. Grace and Julia both took an apple off the altar. Kids are allowed to eat the holy fruit. Statues of Buddha were in several rooms. One room it looked as if a young couple may have been receiving a blessing. All the monks were kneeling and chanting with the young couple in the back. Katherine, said Grandparents come once a week to pray but people her age come once a year because they are too busy.

Next we went to the Tea Musuem. It was a small musuem of a famous man. I think he may have started this tea factory. Then we went in a small room Three types of tea were prepared for us. I was surprised the boys liked it. We were given instructions on how to make the tea and how to hold the teacup. Grace particularly liked the tea.

On to the dress maker. We were able to choose out of a book of over 100 fabrics material for the kids to have traditional outfits made. Julia and Grace are getting butterfly dresses-one pink and one red. Zahary and Nicholas chose fabric for outfits too. I loved the fabric Zachary chose,it was an Olympic fabric. Katherine called us later and said it wasn't available. We should get these before we leave on Friday. They are handmaking them for the kids.

We then went to West Lake Park. It is a huge park with amusements,boats,and a zoo. We can see it from our hotel window. Katerine basically just ran us through it. By that time we were all soaked with sweat and were ready to be done anyway.

About 11:30 we arrived back at the room. Slim Jims, chips, crackers, and trail mix for lunch. Julia and Grace took a nap while the boys went to play ping pong. Later we met Pam and Rick at the pool. Dallas and Rick took a taxi to get KFC for dinner. We all ate together in the boys' room. It has been so nice having them here and getting to know them better.

Grace had a rough day. I think part of it is she is having gas pains. I couldn't let her down for more than 15 minutes all day. She wouldn't cry as long as I held her correctly. She did have her first bath and wasn't very happy about that. We are thankful she is still eating and drinking very well. I am sure she is still trying to figure out what is going on and grieving for the ones she loved.

Daily 4:30 a.m. post

I was sure I would be able to sleep past 4:30 a.m. this morning. It is just not to be. I even stayed up until 9:30 last night. It is nice to have the quiet time but it would be nice to sleep later too.

Grace is doing extremely well. She is bonding more and more with me. Zachary is a close second. She still doesn't like Dallas to hold her. I have heard not to worry too much about that while in China. Just get through your time here and work on that once you get home. So that is our plan. She really is a sweet little girl. She is laughing more. She,like Julia, has some funny expressions and lets you know what she wants or doesn't want. She is eating very well. She loves bananas,eggs,noodles, bread, and french fries. She discovered ketchup last night and loved it. We still have not been able to get a good look at her cleft palate. I believe there is a pretty large opening but can't see for sure. It appears she has at least one rotten tooth, too. A.J.(Pam and Rick's son)does,too so this must be common for cleft palate kids.

Julia still isn't sure about having a little sister. She loves playing with Grace but doesn't like that Grace gets more of Mom's attention. She is being more active and testing her boundaries. Perfectly normal but can be exhausting at times. I believe in time they will be best friends.

The boys are all doing well. Nicholas had his stomach issues yesterday. He was much better by dinner time. He has problems at home about once a month so we weren't too concerned. He just has a very sensitive stomach.

Our snacks and medicines have been very useful. Lunch usually consists of slim jims,nabs,and chips. The breakfast buffet is pretty good here and is included with oru room. Last night we ate at the hotel restaurant and it was good, too. It is a western restaurant. Dallas still wants to try Pizza Hut and KFC one night, too.

I will try and post some pictures from The Summerplace and The Forbidden City. I never did get around to posting them. I may post some more of our Amazing Grace, too.

Our first family photo

Wake up Nick!

Our Day

Today was a pretty laid back day. The boys went bowling and played in the pool. We met Pam, Rick, and their new son A.J. for dinner. It was great talking to them. This is the second child that they have adopted from China. Their little boy is adorable and seems to be adjusting well to his new mom and dad.

Here are a couple of pictures from our day. Thanks for the dress, Debi. It looks great on Grace.

First Family Photo minus 2

This photo was taken a few minutes after Grace became officially our daughter. Too bad the other two kids weren't with us.

Another Post

Sorry to be boring you with another post. There just isn't much to do this time of day without waking everyone up. I can blog or go in the bathroom and read a book. There is no comfortable chairs in the bathroom.

Fuzhou is so different than Beijing. We are really like it here better. Fuzhou has a population of about 2 million. Still a big city but a much slower pace and not quite as many people. The air is better too even in the hotel room. I had difficulty brieving in Beijing especially in the hotel room. We love the hotel we are staying at. There is more for the kids to do and more choices of restaurants. Katherine our guide is fantastic. She even called last night to make sure Dallas had no problems going to McDonalds. She also arranged for someone to come and pick up our laundry. I think they were abit surprised at the quanity of laundry we had. With 6 of us we had accumulated quite a bit since we left the States. It came to around 100.00 but we figured that wasn't bad. It was a third of the price the hotel would have charged. I know there were 21 shirts in there and probably the same number of shorts,underwear,and socks.

On the plane ride to Fuzhou it was a little uncomfortable. I sat behind Dallas with Zachary and Julia. That won't happen again. Everyone was staring at us and trying to touch Zachary and Julia. A boy behind Zachary did talk a little English with him but then he kept standing up in his seat and just staring at Zachary. Zachary didn't know this was happening. Fortunately Julia went to sleep so people then left her alone. Definitely gives you a feeling what it is like to be the miniority.

A Day of Rest

Yesterday, after we finished the paperwork we rested in the room. Julia was much better and ate dinner with no problems. I am sure it was the ham pizza. I would have not let her eat it. The guide told us yesterday not to eat the pizza but it was already too late. Dallas went out and got McDonald's for dinner. It was delicious. We do appreciate the Chinese food but we really needed a break from it. It is hard eating when you don't know exactly what you are eating. The texture and smell is different than what we are use to. And we are all in constant fear of getting sick. Kristopher is the most paranoid of all.

Grace had some Congee last night and really seemed to enjoy it. She did have a couple of french fries, too. I believe she liked the Congee more. Congee to us looks like a thick rice soup. Think Grits with whole pieces of Rice.

There were two reasons we decided on Grace as her name. The first being we wanted the whole family to agree on the name and like it. Grace Meilin was the only name we all liked and agreed on. The second reason being that she is a Grace. When we look at her we see Grace. We came very close to naming her Hannah Grace Meilin Braxton but as we were walking out the room to sign the papers it became clear that she was indeed our Amazing "Grace".

Last night Grace slept in her crib for the first time. She has woken up briefly one time. She is doing so well. The kids adore her. Picture Zachary, Julia, and Nicholas vying for her attention. Zachary wins out many times. There are times she won't let me feed her but she will let one of the kids. She will let me hold her and comfort her but I think she is alittle upset with me for taking her away from all that she loved. She still does not like Dallas to hold her at all. She will play with him and she let him feed her Congee last night. The boys had to start feeding her and then she allowed Dallas to take over.

I still can not get used to the time. I am up every morning by 4:00 a.m. This morning I was up by 3:00 but I passed out pretty early last night. I just could not stay awake any longer.

Today we have a day off from tours and paperwork. It is a relief to have a full day of rest. Our translator,Katherine, said there is a nice garden behind the hotel so today we will walk around there. The boys are planning to go bowling at the hotel bowling alley. Plus, they all are eager to go the pool.

Now that is Funny!

The Orphanage Workers that brought Grace

The one in the purple shirt is the orphanage director. I am not sure about the others. Grace seemed very attached to the one in the yellow shirt. It doesn't look like the person in earlier photos that I thought was her foster Mom but I may be wrong.

Kristopher was the first one to get Grace to smile. He was playing on our bed with her when Dallas took the kids to breakfast.

This one is for you Dad

Introducing Grace Meilin Braxton

It's Official

Last night we all slept much better. These beds are so much better. Not a soft as an American bed but close enough so you don't feel like you are sleeping on a rock. Julia woke up vomiting. Unbeknownest to me, Dallas had let her have Ham pizza he had ordered from room service last night. It looked pretty bad, I was surprised she would eat it. She seems much better now and is playing with her little sister.

We now have 5 kids. This morning Grace Meilin(prounounced Maylyn) officially became our daughter. Yes, we decided she looked like a Grace after all. Grace had a great night. She woke up crying one time but went quickly back to sleep. The kids have had her laughing today. She did get upset again at the adoption office. The orphanage director and a couple of other ladies from the orphanage were there. She was so upset to see them again and just wanted them to hold her. After about 1 1/2 hours of paperwork she became Grace Meilin Braxton. Our guide says Grace means treasure and Meilin means very beautiful.

After our paperwork, we headed to Walmart. Nothing like our Walmart. I could have spent hours wondering around but our translator was in a bit of a hurry. We got some necessities....water, pringles, m & m's, sprite, coke, bibs, a couple of toys, a couple of dvd's, baby milk, and a couple of books. Three floors of bargains, can you even imagine? I hear the meat department is something to see but we didn't make it there.

So now we finally have an afternoon of rest. Dallas is going to get the hotel's car to take him to get some good American food tonight. Our translator left directions for McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut.

Grace is adorable. I am sorry I haven't been able to post pictures. Dallas says it is because the internet connection is too slow but I know that others staying here have posted photos. So we will see if this problem can be fixed.

Our new daughter

I know everyone is waiting for a picture but I can't seem to get one to load to my blog. I will keep trying. Maybe this afternoon Dallas will be able to fix it. We have a very busy morning of paperwork and then we are going to Walmart to buy supplies.

Now to the real story. Our translator, Katherine, picked us up at the airport last night. Our plane was about an hour late. We arrived about 7:30 p.m. She said we would get the child when we arrived at the hotel. We could go to the room for 15 minutes and then go to the conference room where they were waiting. They said the other couple(Pam and Rick) would be getting their child at the same time. A few minutes later she said we would go to the conference room immediately, it was late and they were waiting. Remember we had walked all over Forbidden City in 90 degree weather. We had been hoping to freshen up just a litte. But that was not to be. We went in the conference room, Rick and Pam had already received their son and working on paperwork. ? Grace was over in a corner. Julia immediately went over to her and gave hear a doll. All was well until she saw us. She screamed and yelled at the top of her lungs. They had to take a family picture immediately. Poor child, had no clue what was going on and we had to force her to take a picture. After multiple attempts they finally got the picture. I walked ? Grace around the room trying to calm her down while Dallas did the paperwork. The ophanage director and some other ladies were there but we had no time to talk to them. We will see them today when we sign the rest of the papers. You could tell they did not want to leave our little girl crying. They finally left and ? Grace did calm down a bit. We brought her back to the room screaming. We got her to play a little bit. You could tell she was exhausted so I was able to hold her until she fell asleep. She wants nothing to do with Dallas at this time. She woke up one time during the night but I was able to get her to back to sleep quickly. She is very little but definitely is chunkier than Julia. We have yet to see a smile but are hoping as she gets used to us in the next couple of days that will come. It was not the best way to receive her. Today when she sees the familiar faces it will probably be difficult for her once again.

She, of course, is a beautiful little girl and she will adjust to our family in time. The kids played with her gently last night. If she doesn't want something she makes herself quite clear. She will shake her head or push it away with her elbow.

We got her-Pictures and Story to follow

Fw: Our day

-----Original Message-----

From: Braxton, Dallas <dallas.braxton@stratech.com>

To: 'pvbeachjourneytograce@blogger.com' <pvbeachjourneytograce@blogger.com>

Sent: Sun Aug 12 03:06:54 2007

Subject: Our day



It was a hot one today. Not a good day for the Forbidden City but there we were with thousands of people. Thousands is probably an understandment. The amount of people here is unbelievable. Sorry, back to the Forbidden City. It was huge and beautiful. So much history in space. Word to the wise....go in the fall.



Call us wimps but we had to have some American food today. We had the guide take us to Hard Rock Cafe. First real meal in days. It was absolutely delicious. We treated our guide and driver, too. Our guide had never eaten American food. - don't think she liked it.



We are now sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to Fuzhou. We were surprised how nice the airport is. The boys were excited to get some Olympic merchandise.



Next post Fuzhou. Here we come, resdy or not.



Our flight leaves in 50 minutes at 3:55 pm.

Last night as we were going to bed the phone rang. The airlines had dropped off our stroller. Great news since a double stroller will soon come in handy. We used a travel agent that is very well known in the adoption community- Sue Sorrels. She was able to file a claim for us. We really thought we would never see ist again but it arrived just in time.

We will meet our guide in the lobby this morning at 9:00. We have to be packed and ready to go. We will visit Forbidden City before our flight to Fuzhou. Kristopher did not get to go by Hard Rock. His one disappoinment. We tried to get our guide to take us by there but she can't understand what we are asking. We did pass it one time so we know it isn't too far away. Dallas had thought about taking a taxi there but then we met the couple from Kansas so it was too late when we were done eating. I will just have to find him a t-shirt on ebay.

I still can't load pictures because everyone is sleeping but me. In order to find the camera and cables I would have to turn on the lights.

On the plane to China we met a couple that I have been chatting with by email for months. Their seats on the plane were right behind us. Their son is coming from the same orphanage as ? Grace. We haven't seen them since landing in Beijing. They will arrive in Fuzhou a few hours ahead of us. We are looking forward to connecting with them again. We are hoping our children know each other and will be of some comfort to each other. A.J. will be 4 in October, I think.

Dallas took the boys to the market a couple of times. They walked around in wonder. Very different from our stores. They commented that it was hard to distinguish between whether an item was being sold as a pet or to eat. I am looking forward to going to the Walmart in Fuzhou. I have heard it is quite an experience.

We are on the 21st floor so we have a great view. This morning out of our window there appeared to be yard sales lining the streets. Lots of people selling wares and lots of people looking. We had not seen them before today.

Sorry to ramble on. There is not much to do at 4:30 a.m. when everyone else is sleeping. I can't turn on the lights in fear of waking everyone. We have another long day, they need to sleep a few more hours.

One more thing

I forgot to mention Skype. If you are traveling to China or just have loved ones far away you really should download Skype on your computer. At Walmart you can get a 2 pack of microphones and headsets for 25-35 dollars. Using Skype is free as long as the person you are contacting has Skype on their computer. I was able to talk and see my friend, Alexa, in Florida last night. It was really neat! My sister is also going to download it on her computer so we can talk to her. They will all be able to see Grace before we bring her home.

I left out lots of details in my earlier email. I still think we haven't gotten used to the time change. Everyday we feel alittle bit better but by this time of the night we are all wiped out.

Summer Palace, Hutongs, and Acrobatic Show

What a busy day! We started out at the Summer Palace. This is where the Emperor and the Emperess spent their summers. It is a huge place. It was packed, today. There were some beautiful buildings. We took a dragon boat instead of walking back through. The boys and Julia especially enjoyed the microwave popcorn they sold at the concession stand.

We went to the Pearl Market and then had lunch. Lunch was not very good. We all just ate rice. We did meet a couple using our agency for dinner. They are leaving for a different region tomorrow. We will see them again in Guangzhou.

Visiting the Hutongs was an eye opening experience. We began by riding rickshaws into the hutongs. The Hutongs are common neighborhoods. We visited a man who lived there and his place consisted of 3 very small rooms. His kitchen is not part of his house. The bathroom is shared with 4 other families. He pays about 30.00 a month for rent.

After resting for an hour we headed to the Acrobat Show. There were various acts. We were all too tired to really enjoy it.

I will post pictures later. We are all exhausted and to pack up tonight or in the morning. We are so glad to be heading to Fuzhou. First we will be going to the Forbidden Palace and lunch.

A couple more pictures

Julia is the center of attention everywhere we go. This lady wanted to take her home with her. They are all workers at the Jade Factory. Our guide says it is due to the one child rule. So many people want daughters but can't have them because of this rule.

Our guide is the one coming down the stairs beside the boys. At the Great Wall there was 2 ladies with their daughters that wanted to take pictures of all of our kids with theirs. They were surprised that we had so many children. They thought they were beautiful. So do we!

The Great Wall

We made it to the Great Wall today. First we stopped at a Cloisonne Ware factory. It was pretty neat. They showed us how they were made. We bought a vase to place on the mantle and a Hummingbird for my Mom. It reminded me of her and she would have liked it.

Next onto the Great Wall. It is quite impressive in person. Julia and I didn't go too far up. The steps were steep and uneven. Lots and lots of people there. Dallas and the boys made it pretty high. They were very excited about making it so far.

On the way back we stopped at the Jade factory and ate lunch. It was pretty good. They prepared several dishes and put them on a lazy susan. We were able to chose what we wanted to eat. The kids stuck mainly to the rice. Then, we headed to the rest room. Dee-this picture was taken just for you.

Dallas has now gone down the street to get some water and snacks. Another couple using our agency is in our hotel. We connected via email before we left the States. She called a little while ago and we may meet them later at the pool.

We are enjoying our time here but are eager to get to Fuzhou to get our little girl

As we ride down the streets you see so many people walking, riding bikes,working, etc. I have been thinking good thoughts for them all. It is sad that they don't know what we know.

Construction is everywhere. They are getting ready for the Olympics. We saw where the Swimming Events will take place, hockey, and the Bird Nest.

Marcy-I tried anonymouse, I can't seem to get it to work. Says site has been moved. I have been able to get to a place that let me chose English to make my blog entry but can't always seem to find that place. It is all in Chinese this time.

Thanks for all the comments. I will be posting more pictures soon.

Glad to see that last post worked. It is now 1:06 a.m. We were asleep by 7:30. I still haven't figured out how to see our blog in English. I had some cheats that were supposed to work but they didn't. Sorry about all the typos in the last post. Lack of sleep and not being able proofread once I post.

Thanks for the comments! They are emailed to me so I do get to read those.

Two more days until we fly to Fuzhou. We can't wait to meet ? Grace. Also, I would love picking a name so I can quit calling her that.

The kids did super on the flight. They wouldn't stop feeding us. We got on the flight about 12:30. We had peanuts and a drink, fish or steak and a drink, chicken sandwich and ice cream, another drink, omelet meal and a drink. By breakfast none of us were very hungry. We skipped dinner last night, too, we just wanted sleep.

The posts should get better this afternoon. I will also try and post some pictures.

We are Here

Our trip was pretty uneventful. It is one long plane ride. We were all very glad to get here. We gate checked our stroller that we bought secondhand. We loved this stroller. It was a double stroller and rolled with such ease. At the gate they said go to baggage claim. I told him that can't be true but he wouldn't believe me. So guess what we no longer have that stroller.

Our guide was waiting for us. I went first with the kids while Dallas attempted to find the stroller. The kids and I scanned the crowd for the sign bearing our name. At last we saw Braxton. I explained the situation to her and she understood not a word of what I was staying. She is very nice but it is difficult to communicate.

On to the hotel. We were told a little a Beijing. Zachary was more interested in the cars. The hotel is nice. We had room issues. The representative from our agency admits it is her fault but that doesn't help much. Dallas and I were just too exhausted to tell with it right now. We are sleeping on a box spring with no mattress. I am not joking here, we looked under the sheets. Good thing we are both so tired.

Tomorrow is the Great Wall. I will post some pictures then. Off to bed.

Almost There

We are almost ready. I have a few more things to do. No use going to sleep. I have to get up at 3:30 a.m. to leave for the airport by 4:30. It is still hard to believe our journey is about to begin.

I never thought I would say this but I ironed all of our money tonight. For those not familiar with adoption, we need to take crisp new bills. They are not always easy to find. So sometimes you have to iron them. It didn't work as good as I had hoped.

We had planned to pack light. I did the best I could which wasn't very good at all. We have 4 medium suitcases weighing between 40-42 lbs. We each have a carryon. They boys' bags probably weigh about 10 lbs. Dallas and mine weigh about 15. Dallas' computer bag wasn't in the picture. Plus we are taking a double stroller. Our guides in China probably won't like us too much.

I made a scrapbook for ? Grace's foster parents. It turned out really cute! I just hope it gets to her. I am making little thank you cards for everyone we need to give gifts to. It has ? Grace's picture on the front. I will try and remember to take a picture while in China.

Until next time.............Newark, NJ or Beijing, China, time will tell

It won't be long now

Before Picture


Mom, I'm Ready!


After Picture