It's Official!

***I just realized that one of my last posts did not get sent from China. I wrote this the two days before we left -- Thursday night, May 6th. It has the long-awaited red couch photos that everyone has been asking me about.

We've had some questions about the other babies, too. In the red couch photo from left to right are very outgoing and active Josie, 9 months, who always kicks her legs and waves her arms (her birthday is four days after Abigail's); very happy and social Porter, 18 months who always liked wave at us and visit Abigail (his cleft lip will be repaired in the United States); Abigail, 9 months and smart Erin, 22 months, who had already learned to say please and shook her finger 'no' in China (wearing the traditional outfit from her province in Inner Mongolia). One of the hardest parts of the trip is leaving families and their babies with whom you've formed a bond.

We are home now and things are going pretty well. I'll have to post more about that and our flights which Abigail and Natalie handled really well later -- still unpacking and trying to get organized tonight. (Delayed from planned organization by Abigail, who woke at midnight and thought it was daytime. She's back to sleep now.)





Thursday, May 6th

After loading 3 tour buses of American adoptive families from the White Swan Hotel, we arrived at the U.S. Consulate to sign papers and take the group oath. The appointment we feared we would miss has now come and gone without any more snags.

All efforts are on finishing shopping and packing as we leave out at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Somehow we gain a day and arrive in Louisville 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.

Yesterday morning we took our red couch photos, another sign that it is almost time to go home. Every travel group who stays at the White Swan gets their children together on the red couch for a group photograph which is not as easy as it seems. Abigail was all smiles in the beginning (of course, this is the photo I posted) but by the end she was wailing and in tears -- no morning nap and too many camera flashes! With Natalie's travel group, we had to get 13 babies to sit still on the couch -- no easy feat!

Natalie loved getting all dolled up like her sister. Jack, a very outgoing salesperson in a local shop, set us up with matching outfits and even dug and dug in a bag of shoes until he found some big enough for Natalie. The shops specialize in baby sizes.

Later that afternoon we visited the Six Banyan Temple where a chanting monk blessed the babies as all the families kneeled. Abigail was big-eyed watching with curiousity.

Natalie was eager to light incense and bowed three times for what the Chinese consider their three lives -- the past, the present and the future. She also tried and tried to throw a coin into the urn so she could make a wish. She got a little boost by getting on her dad's shoulders.

I just tried to get a decent picture of Flat Stanley in front of the temple, because I knew the kindergarten at my school was depending on me. The bad news is that I forgot to take Flat Stanley with me for the optimum photo shoot -- the Great Wall. Well, at least I got a photo in China.

We stopped by the government store which we were told would have quality souvenirs, but didn't see anything very different from what's in the souvenir stores outside our hotel. Abigail who used to just keeping to herself is getting very alert and was reaching out toward the shelves in this store. She did get a hold of a box of chopsticks which were wood, thank goodness.

We told our guide that the girls (the big sisters) love noodles so she drove us way across the city to a Noodle Factory. The girls got to watch them make long noodles, dumplings, etc.

The bad news was that we had to dish out and then eat the long, slippery noodles with chopsticks -- no forks. They did help us dish them out as soon as they saw how inept we were at this. Near the end of our meal they finally brought us a ladle for dipping out noodles. The noodles were very thick and doughy, but tasty.

But what made the biggest impression was the heat. By the end of the meal, we were all sweating profusely and even noticed Chinese people fanning themselves. When we got there the restaurant was empty, but by the end of our meal it was full. Helen explained that on the first few hot days of the season, the air conditioning is not working well yet. We all left overheated and with whiny, sweaty babies. Of course, Abigail did eat her whole bowl of steamed egg.

Tonight Helen called in an order to Papa John's for us and pizza never tasted so good.

Now we are preparing for the trip home. When we brought Natalie home, she slept on all the flights except the one from Cincinnati to Evansville, which was so short it didn't matter. But we think Abigail is going to be a different story. On our hour-long flight to Guangzhou from Nanchang, she wanted to be on her feet with me holding her up and looking around. She did not even want to sit down. She is much the same way on the buses -- very alert, wants to stand or reach for things. If she does get tired, she can't get comfortable and arches her back and cries.

We're working on strategies for the flight home. We hear the 7-Eleven across the street has goldfish crackers and meltaways, baby snacks. I'm going to pick up a few new baby toys at the shops. We'll need a few more ideas. We'll only be on the planes for a total of 18 hours!!