Last Day in China

Today is our Last day in China.. Can't wait to get home and see all of you Vernonia people.. Just thought for a last hurrah we'd post a bunch of pictures. The roast pig is the one we spoke of earlier.. Not too appetizing, but very much a delicacy here.

Today we are just kinda taking it easy. This afternoon we are going to the wholesale market for some different items like leather and kids clothes and decorations. Kinda fun I guess. All we can think about now is getting on the plane and getting home..

Lots of love to all of you and much thanks for all of your comments and observance of our trip. It made it so much more special.

KIDS,,,, we can't wait to hold you. We love you so much. Friday morning!!!

PS All of you planning to come to the airport, our flight comes in at 8:05, but then we have customs. I would not plan to arrive until at least 8:45 and maybe 9...

Love,
Stephanie

It's Official

Finally!!!!! It's official. We're thrilled to say that everything is complete. We have sworn in and now received her passport and visa. YEAH!!

Today, I was sick and so not much accomplished except the Consulate Appointment. At least this is all complete. We have one more full day here and then one full day on the airplane and then we get to see all of you again. :)

The one photo is the traditional "red couch photo". We have one with Natalia also. The photo of the park is just down the street from where we're staying.

Looking forward to seeing all of you,,,, now back to my bed.

Love to all,
Stephanie

Today our agency completed the primary part of our paperwork at the US Consulate. We may have a little signing for tomorrow, but for all practical purposes, our paperwork is complete.

Tomorrow we will go for our swearing in ceremony at the Consulate. We will get Jenna's passport, and we will be free to go. We are so excited that we will be headed home on Friday.

Today we picked up a Webcam so we can get a little more real time feedback. I wish we had done this at the outset, but better late than never. You can see some of the stores we visited in the pictures.

Here you can also see the meal we had last night. The group meals that we have had, have way more food than we can eat. Two nights in a row we have sent food home with our guide. We had a mix of chicken, beef, fish and vegetables. We tried most things, except for the fish.

Tonight we went to a Western style restaurant name Lucy's. The food was decent, but still not home. Jenna ate an entire bowl of mashed potatoes, and a bunch of noodles. Natalia, I think Jenna will be real competition with the noodles when we get home. :)

There is also a picture of us checking out the pool. It was a little disconcerting since it was on the top of the building, windy, and even though there was a walkway before the edge of the building, it felt like it would be easy to fall off. Very weird feeling.

Thanks again for everyone's supportive words and loving comments. We again thank God for safety, and pray He will bring us home.

-Shawn

Examination Day

Today is the day that we had our routine physical examination for Jenna. Everything went fairly well and one more step out of the way.. :) Tomorrow our Dr. will take our papers to the consolate. If we don't hear anything negative by 10am we will be finished and just need to give an oath on Wednesday.. We're thrilled that the Lord has brought us through all of these processes and that we are getting so close to being able to come home..

Also, in our pictures today, you will see two great things. A dead cockroach on the street and a little gecko lizard we saw on a building today while walking. YUCK!!! Those of you who know me very well know how much I hate both of these things. :)

We'll send another posting tomorrow when we know for sure that everything is final.

Much love to you all and please keep up the notes to us too. We love to hear from you all and check our notes just as much as you are checking our notes to you.

Love,
Stephanie

Sunday September 15th

Hello you all,

Today is Sunday September 15th and it is now 3 am for you, so you're just getting ready to get up for church.. We had some touring today and some paperwork. Tomorrow we have medical trip and visa photos for babies, then some more shopping. Kinda fun!

You'll see in the photos today a picture of green bean pie offered at the McDonalds here. Not something we cared to try. Oh, and speaking of not-something-we-really-cared-to-try-.... was the roast pork we had for dinner. I was excited til I found out it was the whole pig staring at us, and only about 12 weeks old. :( Not our favorite dinner, but a delicacy here... :) We just smiled and resisted the temptation to partake.

Jenna is still having a little trouble sleeping at night. We think that she is used to sleeping with other babies and maybe feels alone in bed. She cries out about every 20-30 minutes. We have just been letting her cry herself back to sleep and this seems to be working.

Oh, and yesterday Shawn spotted a Starbucks. The first Starbucks since we got to China and this one is right behind our hotel in the middle of poverty... :) A sight for sore eyes to say the least. I've been indulging every since.

Love to all and we look forward to Friday..

Stephanie

Now in Guangzhou

So we have finally gotten to Guangzhou. This is the last leg of our trip. We are excited to have gotten this far, and are enjoying ourselves.

We are excited to have gotten this far, and are also looking forward to being back with all the other kids.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Guangzhou. Here is Jenna eating a pickle on the plane (yuck!).

Also, here is the other family we have been traveling with.

Today we leave for Guangzhou

Today is the day we get on the plane and we head to Guangzhou to complete our paperwork. Yeah!!

Everything is going well. Jenna had a fussy night and was up several times, but we don't know why and she seems fine now. :) She can wave, give kisses (something I tried to do with Natalia for at least 3 months), say "baba" and also clap her hands. It is so fun to watch her grow and change already.

Friday is our return day - September 21st. For those of you planning on coming to the airport, don't rush to get there right at 8am because we have to do some customs papers as soon as we get off the plane. :(

Until tomorrow then..... Thanks all of you for your interest...

Hey kids, what do you think Jenna is doing in this last picture.. :) Maybe this is why she was so fussy last night.

Love,
Stephanie for all

The Museum of the Mummy and Embroidery Factory

Hello all,

Today we visited the Museum in Hunan here dedicated to a mummified woman that was well-known here in China. Her husband was a government official that helped establish the city. According to their records, she died over 2000 years ago and then was burried in a tomb with a lot of expensive artifacts and statues so that she would have them for her future life as servants and possessions. :) Anyway, her body was so preserved that they made a whole museum exhibit to her. Her organs were there preserved 2 years ago when we were here, but have since been removed.

Then we visited the embroidery factor becauses Hunan-Jenna and Natalia's home province- is known for their silk embroidery.

Also, Jenna at lunch today.. Grandma can't take enough pictures. :)

Love to all,

Stephanie

PS. Keep up the responses. We look forward to reading as much as you do.

September 14th Morning

Here we are again trying to put up some pictures for you all to enjoy. Yesterday mom and I made a trip to Walmart again and finally decided to purchase a stroller. We are walking a fair amount and even though I brought a sling to carry her in, it is very hot and much more comfortable to push her.. :)

Our guide, Vicki, is quite helpful and we are really growing to appreciate her. She helped us order a true Chinese dinner last night and it was really good.

Mom continues to take lots of pictures, so you can all have many to enjoy. We love you all and will try to post more later. We are leaving now to go to the Embroidery Factory and then to see the museum with the mummy.

The pictures I'm posting today are 1) Jenna sleeping this morning that the kids insisted on seeing 2) A little girl we met from the states last night that was adopted from the same orphanage as Jenna 10 years ago 3) Mr. Happy-the Bellboy from downstairs (I'll just let you figure that one out) and 4) Shawn and I getting ready to board the elevator.

Have a great day and thanks much for your continued prayers.

Love,
Stephanie

September 13th in Changsha

Hello to all! We are still in Changsha until Saturday. Having a great time, but kinda relaxed compared to last time. Tonight we will go to a restaurant with some different food. After dinner we are going bowling with a few other families right here in the hotel. Tomorrow we will visit the embroidery factory. I want to purchase something from the factory since both of our Chinese babies are from the same province - Hunan- and this is what this province is known for.

We are travelling with a great doctor. His name is Josh and he is here for his second adoption. He adopted a little girl - 14 months- with no fingers on one hand. Josh is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. He is a very sweet man and has been very gracious to us.

We are anxious to get to Guangzhou. We are a little concerned about our luggage since we can not be over 45 pounds for each person. This will be a little tough. Hopefully we won't have to pay any overweight charges. :)

Let's compare Jenna with Natalia's China pictures. Kinda fun. What do you think? Are they sisters, or maybe cousins?

Looking forward to seeing all of you soon,
Much love and care
Stephanie