Homeward Bound

Well this is our last night in China. We are so ready to get home, too bad we have to endure that long plane ride to get there. We found out that two other families are on our same flights to Tokyo and Mpls. One family is from Mankato, MN and they adopted a special needs child. They have a daughter who is 4 that also was adopted from China. The other couple is from Lincoln, NE. Both families are terrific and I'm sure it will be great help.

The US Consulate was packed with people who are adopting. The same was true for the clinic where the medical exams were done and this hotel as well. It's very sad to see all these children leaving their country. Hopefully all or most will come back at some point and perhaps even make a difference in the living conditions in rural areas.

This whole experience has been much better than I imagined. I am certain now that I want to bring Grace back sometime when she's old enough to understand.

Almost Done

The appointment at the US Consulate went well and all is in order to get the babies visas. Tomorrow all the parents and babies go to the US Consulate to pick them up and for the swearing-in ceremony. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the building, so we'll have to settle for pictures in front of it.

We had a fun day of shopping at a local mall. It's quite different that american malls. All the stores are very tiny and bargaining in expected. Grant found a pair of shoes and when he asked for his size (US 12), the clerk laughed out loud. Apparently there isn't much call for that size here.

Grace had a good day as well. We have one more day of antibiotics. She's sleeping better too. Jeff was dancing with her today while I was mixing her bottle and she thought that was histerically funny.

Sunday

Sunday was a day of sight-seeing. We went to the Chen Temple which was a kind of museum and also had beautiful gardens. We then went to the supermarket for more diapers and then to lunch. Both the guides (in Wuhan and Guangzhou) have been wonderful. They speak english very well and make sure we have everything we need and go where we need to go.

Grace had a better night last night. I think the antibiotics are working. We've been giving her gerber prune/apple juice periodically (which she loves) because some of the babies have been constipated. We'll I'm not sure if it was the medicine or the prunes, but today she had...well let's just say she's definitely not constipated. She made such a mess we had to get a new bedspread and blanket on the bed. Grant was totally grossed out.

She's still a bit cranky (I'm not sure if it's the bronchitis or the medicine) and will fight sleep sometimes, which she didn't do when we first got her. She refuses to eat any type of solid food. We've tried many things and she won't take any of it. I'm not too concerned, she'll eat that when she's ready and she drinks her formula mixed with a little rice cereal very well. She loves the stroller and loves to just go places and look around. One of her favorite things it to lay by us on the bed and play with our faces.

Tomorrow morning our guide will take our documents to the US Consulate for final approval. In the afternoon, we go shopping.

Guangzhou

Well we got into Guangzhou late last night. This morning the babies all had medical exams and the doctor said Grace has a touch of bronchitis, which may explain the rather tough couple of nights we've had. She wakes and screams, doesn't want the bottle, and we can't seem to get her calmed down. The other parents thought she might be having night terrors from being separated from her foster family. But now that we know she has more than just a cold, that might be the problem or at least part of it. We got some antibiotics from the pharmacy and it seems to be helping already. She took a good nap this afternoon.

We took our laundry to a little shop right next to the hotel and they let us borrow a stroller for the rest of our stay for free. Guangzhou, at least this part of it anyway, is much nicer than Wuhan. There are beautiful trees and plants everywhere, there is a park close by and the hotel is right along a river. It's quite humid here, but so far not terribly hot. We ate supper at Lucy's Cafe about a block from the hotel - the guys had steak and they said it was fantastic. We can even buy cola light here (the equivalent of diet coke in the US) where we couldn't find it in Wuhan.

We got our paperwork completed today for the appointment at the US consulate on Monday. The hotel here has a play room and they gave us all Barbies with little chinese babies compliments of Mattel.

We're all starting to miss everyone and home terribly, can't wait for you all to meet our Grace. We're in the home stretch now.

from Jeff

Yesterday I saw some countryside for the first time. I think you could buy all the farm machinery in southern china for about 20 dollars. The main form of power is water buffalo. Many of them around walking the streets, if you can call them that. I saw a guy trying to run across a rice patty to cath a water buffalo that got away I could hear him cusing at him in chinese. The driver said that someone hit a farmers dog along the road and the driver had to pay 2000 yuan 1 dollar is about 7 yuan. So I made the joke that if I was farming that I would have a bunch of dogs. Canola is the current crop it is blooming now. They have a long growing season so they can grow more than one crop a year. The people here waste nothing so most of the motorized vehicles on the road look like it would take all day to get them started and not make it across the road. I saw where Grace was left yeaterday it was a good thing Tammie was not there horrible is not a strong enough word. I cant even think of how to describe it It was about 10 times worse than the elevator in Gladstone. Raw meat laying on the counter full of flies no refridgeration dirty dogs and water buffalo in the street, very small about the size of a single garage. It was much worse than I expected. The orphanage itself was impressive from the gate but the rest was very cold and dirty and poor. They do the best they can with what little they have . The director told us they had 21 healthy babies and not to worry about them because they will get adopted. But they have so many special need children that need more than they can provide. Polution is a problem but it seems that living conditions and poverty are improving.It was very clear that Grace is unbelievable lucky.

Qichen County

Jeff went to Qichen County today with our guide and 3 other parents. They visited the orphanage as well as the places where the babies were found. It was quite an experience. The area is very poor so the living conditions are not good. The orphanage does the best they can but they have limited resources. We got the names of Grace's foster parents, but we did not get to meet them.

Meanwhile Grace, Grant, and I had a good day of just lounging around the hotel and a little shopping. Grace loves to go places and look at all the sights. Everywhere we go, people stop us and smile at the babies. Our guide told us that most people here are happy that these babies are being adopted by Americans. They say she is very lucky, but I think we are the lucky ones.

We went to McDonald's for lunch. Grant said it was the best big mac he ever ate. We also had Pizza Hut take-out for supper, so it was an American food day.

We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow at 6 pm. Thanks to all who are sending emails. It's great to hear from home.

Smiles

Grace continues to smile alot and giggle. She is happy and content most of the time, except at 2 am. I wonder if that is when she misses her caregiver most. She seems to enjoy being taken about. We walked to KFC for supper. She absolutely hates taking a bath.

Today we went to a museum and saw a concert. It's amazing how much history this country has compared to the US. Wuhan is very crowded and the air is full of smog.

Tomorrow one person from each family can go to visit the orphanage in Qichen County and also go to where the babies were found. It is a 3 hour drive one way, so they told us not to bring the babies. Jeff will go for our family, Grant and I will stay at the hotel with Grace. Friday we go to Guangzhou.

Also wanted to let you all know that I am unable to read any comments that are posted to the blog from here. In fact, I cannot view the blog as you do. I don't know why. Anyway, I can receive emails, so if you wish you can email us at the address on top of the page.