USA Bound!!

These pics were taken Wed. on the balcony of our hotel room. We were dressed in our patriotic colors for the consulate. I'm not sure if they appreciated the colors or not, but I did have half the office huddled around our window to get a glimpse of our beauty. I'm sure it was completely because of her stiking good looks...and not because she's an absolute clown (and a loud one at that!!) lol... Either way, they seemed to enjoy her and we should get her Visa today! I wish I had a dollar for everytime someone has called my girl a "spicy girl" this trip :) Yep...she is very spicy!!







She started posing for me....twisting and turning in different directions. SO funny!




She wasn't mad...just giving me another angle to photograph :) Very impressive cutting of the eyes though!


Gracie has done great. We haven't had any grieving at all, which concerns me a little. She has been happy ever since the "flip" in Walmart on the first day. She has seemed to settle a little, although I never expect her to be completely calm. I can't wait for the two girls to meet! I am a little concerned for the adjustment period, but after that, I think we'll be great! Wesleigh went to pre-school orientation Wed!! I hated to miss it!
Here's a pic my mom sent me:

Boy do I miss that little teacup!!!

They are both supposed to start Monday, but I'm going to give them a week or two to bond with each other before I send them. I am already so thrilled that I made the call to register them both!! Those 3 mornings a week are going to be HEAVEN!! Wesleigh has done so great while we've been gone! She loves to skype and if one of us is missing when the call starts, she immediately asks where we are. She loves to see Gracie on skype too.

Wesleigh looks so small when I see her in pics and on skype! Gracie outweighs her by about 5 lbs! While we were at the consulate, our guide picked her up (I think just to see how much she weighs!). She could not believe it! Then this random older woman who had been standing there watching us picked her up because she wanted to see :) She groaned and put her down! lol...Gracie didn't mind one bit that some random woman was lifting her.

I can definitely see signs of attachment to us. When she was playing on the playground the last time, she kept looking for us and waving...making sure we were still there. (Funny, since we're the ones having to make sure SHE is still there!) If Richard hugs and/or kisses me, she has to get one for herself. Wesleigh does the same thing...so cute! Last night, Richard popped a "blemish" on my nose and Gracie thought he was being ugly to me. She immediately came to my side and started staring him down. When he gave me a kiss, she started smiling and wanted one for herself.

She is understanding more English, for sure. She knows her English name, she knows the word "sit", and she knows "pick your feet up" (as in, stop dragging them on the dang ground when you're in the stroller!!). I am sure there is alot more, I just haven't seen absolute proof of it. She can count to 3 on her own and repeat the rest. She has started learning the ABC song, and loves for me to sing the "Itsy bitsy Spider" (she does the hand motions). Honestly, I think she will be easier to understand than Wesleigh pretty quick!

Alright...since I'm the only one awake this morning, I'm rambling. I just woke up for the last time in Guangzhou!! As much as I love this city...I am SO ready to leave it!!! I can't get on that plane soon enough! We will take the train to Hong Kong tonight and stay the night there. We then get up the next morning and head for home!!! I can't believe I have only 1 more night in China!! Whoo Hoo!!

We have spent a total of a month in China over the past 2 years! What an experience! One that I never expected to have in my lifetime. We feel so blessed to have been called to add these two sweet girls to our family. I cannot wait to see how everything settles into place. Never in my life did I expect to be the mother of 5!! That number is still overwhelming to me...but I am so blessed!!

I don't think I will be posting again from China, so this is it!! The end of journey #2. Thank you for all of your support and kind comments throughout this trip....they mean so much! I get a huge kick out of sharing our journey with you.

I leave you with this:
If you have ever thought to yourself "I think I would like to adopt" or "I wish I could do that"...DO IT. Nothing worth having in this life is easy. There is nothing more worthwhile that you could do with you resources of time and money. Nothing more rewarding than having another child call you Mama. This journey to Gracie Joy was a journey of faith. It did not make sense in the physical...money was tight...time was tight...I already had four children. I cannot imagine, however, the blessings and joy we would have missed out on had we not listened to the call!

I never want to live my life and at the end of it look back and say "I missed it. I missed the one thing I was supposed to do with my life". If you have not seen the video Richard and I made on adoption for our church, please watch it (It's on my sidebar). It is our heart.

Love you all...Goodbye from China!! See you in the USA!!

Long Way From Petco :)

It's naptime! yay!! I'm at the computer downloading pics from the past couple of days and chowing down on some of the most amazing sweet and sour chicken from Cow and Bridge!! I had it the other night when we ate there and my hubby was kind enough to go pick some up for me today again!! Yummo!!

Yesterday we ended up at the pet market TWICE! We went with some new friends in the morning and then again with our group in the afternoon. What else do we have to do? And Gracie is usually pretty good in the stroller. Here are some pics from our two adventures today:




Braden, this picture of the chipmunks are for you. No, we did not buy you a pet!!


This was so cute! Gracie loves all the animals. There was an old grandmother standing to the side watching them. She would wince and make noises when Richard would let the puppies bite on his fingers. It was so cute. I should have taken a picture of her :)


The medicinal market is right by the pets. There are blocks and blocks of stores selling crazy stuff like this:
dried snake...anyone?


lizzard on a stick?


How about dried seahorses or fish stomaches? Our guide told us the dried frogs are used in desserts!!!! UGH!!! So thankful I haven't ordered dessert anywhere!!


So...what could these two pretty girls be doing on this street?


sorting LIVE scorpions with chopsticks!!


This is someone's apartment. There were lots of literal "hole in the wall" homes like this.


I love the little China cups in these bird houses.




Right next to the pets and medicine is the "food" street. The smell on this street was unbelievable! I do not care to go there again!! Anyone hungry????


These are across the street from the meat. Awaiting their fate!


Here are some...ready to eat. These were actually in a very busy shopping area.


I just had to take a shot of this store. It is in a mall of sorts. Can you imagine trying to buy anything in there? Some of you think Marshalls is bad!!!!




We have taken Gracie to this park 3 different times. She loves to play and is so coordinated...much better than Wesleigh. We have to guard both exits because you never know when she'll make a run for it!! Yesterday, though, she seemed to do much better. She can be sweet but she'll also pinch the fire out of the kids if you're not careful!


We finished up at Lucy's with a big glass of iced tea!! It comes with a little container of simple syrup so you can make it sweet!!! Boy was it good!!!!!!!!!! I'm so sad I didn't know about it until now!!

And...to finish the pics...a funny of Richard. She can actually put a small ponytail in his hair :) So funny!!


I am about shopped out and also out of money! One thing I have really enjoyed this trip is talking to the people here more. I think with 4 kids here last time, I didn't really have a chance. I was also never by myself. This trip, I have gotten to know some of the shop owners...met their children, and enjoyed giving them some business. It has been fun.

We had out consulate appointment today. It was good. Miss G is all decked out in her red, white and blue! I have pics...but will have to post them tomorrow. We check out of the hotel at 2:00 and are on our way at 3:00. We will ride the train to HongKong and spend the night there. Friday morning we will be on our way to the US!!! I am so ready to be home. Living out of suitcases for 2 weeks is getting old...and I miss my other kids in a bad way!!! Almost there!!!

Holla!

Have I shared what my favorite Chinese word is? "holla"...as in the slang of holler :) It means "ok", and Gracie Joy says it all the time.

These pictures are from yesterday. We actually found the pet market today and I have some pics, but have a headache and don't see me downloading pics right now.

I love all these different faces of Gracie:








You have to keep a firm grip on this chick at all times! She has gotten away from us a few times and we have had to run to catch up with her! This time, she hopped up on this bench with this random guy!! He just looked down at her and laughed.


Another favorite Chinese word is "lala". It means "look". I also hear this about a million times a day :) When Richard isn't around she says "baba Lai?" Which means "where's baba?".






My last favorite Chinese word is "waaaaa" You'd have to hear it to get the intonation right. It means "awesome".


Yes, Richard has officially lost his mind. He spends his evenings coloring...not really with Gracie!!! He gets frustrated because she doesn't color in the lines and she messes up his pictures :) lol..... God, help me!!! Have I mentioned that it's really time for him to go back to work!!!


2 more sleeps in Guangzhou, then 1 in Hong Kong, then 28 hours of travel, then HOME!!

More of Guangzhou

We have spent the last couple of days touring both with our group and also on our own. There are tons of models all around the island. It is fun to watch, but amazing that there are SO many!



Yesterday, Richard and I set out to find the pet market. We never found it, but enjoyed wandering on "the other side of the river" :) Here is a look at life on the other side:






Lots and lots of tea.


All of a sudden, we found ourselves on an incredibly busy street. I couldn't believe how crowded this shopping area was.






A side alley.




We ended up in the medicinal market. There were all kinds of crazy things there. We are supposed to go back tomorrow...maybe I'll have the stomach to take pics of it all :)


Today we went to a part of Guangzhou where they held the Asian games. It was a very wealthy part of town and very interresting to see.




We went to the Chen temple. We had gone here last time, but didn't know it by this name. I pulled out the big guns today...Tomcat on the iphone :) Yes...it was a hit. Everyone in the place wanted to know what she was saying "hello" to! lol...


My husband, the hottie. This is the second time a young girl has asked to take a picture with him :) I never noticed last time how tall he is here in China. Pretty cute :)


I am actually getting tired of taking pictures :( It is now very humid here and we are to the point that we're seeing alot of the same things. I will try to get some more pics of Gracie tonight. 3 more sleeps in Guangzhou!!!