We're HOME

After a 30 hr travel day we arrived home safely. At one point we were convinced we would have to stay over a night in Newark but we made it to the gate by the skin of our teeth.

In Newark we had to de-plane, go through immigration, go to a different dept. for Ty's immigration, claim our luggage, go through customs, re-check our luggate, pick up boarding passes that should have been issued in Beijing, go through security and walk a mile to the correct gate. (We only had 90 minutes for all of that)

It was a lot of smooth talking, fast running (literally) and the kindness of many people in the security line that allowed us to move ahead of all them that allowed us to get home last night.
The ironic part is once we got on to the plane the attendant shut the door and then we sat on the runway for over an hour waiting for our turn to take-off.

Our trusty airport driver James Odom (and Dawson) picked us up a little before midnight and promptly drove us to SONIC for the best ever Strawberry Slush. Thanks James for all the shuttling. The Odom Family starts their 2 week summer vacation trip tomorrow and they have a blog if you want to follow along.

Ty did awesome on the trip home. He slept during a lot of the long hours. At one point I looked over and David had taken down both of the tray tables and laid Ty across them with a pillow under his head. I think he must have slept there for 4 hours or so. I thought it looked a little uncomfortable but the longer I looked at him the more jealous I became that he actually was horizontal.

Ty seems to be adjusting well to his new surroundings. I wonder if he wonders how long we will stay here. After two different hotel stays I wonder if he "gets" that this is his home. He's very curious and has had fun examining all the toys and rooms of the house. He's been a little spooked by the cats in the house. He enjoys them when they are outside and he can see them through the glass but when they are up close and personal he is a little skiddish.

Everyone else returns tomorrow. So we are resting up and trying to get our body clocks switched back over. All of our eyes popped open about 6 this morning. None of us are accustomed to getting up that early but we went ahead and by noon we were all dragging. So we took a little nap this afternoon and now I'm ready to go back to sleep. I think the nap made things worse instead of better. But you know what? We're HOME and that's all that matters!!!!

(By the way we are having some serious phone issues so if you need us then you'll have to call our cell phones.) We believe that lightning may have struck our modems and Vonage device.

Last Full Day in China

We started today out with a leisurely breakfast and a little last minute shopping. About 3:00 we went to the US Consulate for the swearing in ceremony. It was such a beautiful site to see so many adoptive families finish the paperwork process. The man in charge of the ceremony asked how many second time adopters there were. Then third time and then 4th time. There were two couples there adopting for the 4th time. One of which is Stefanie and Chris over at NiHao Ya'll....she is also pictured at the bottom of this post.
Cameras weren't allowed at the consulate so we had to take pictures of our new American here at the hotel lobby.

After the ride back from the consulate we went to have a celebratory dinner with our new friends The Cotters. (see below)

After dinner we walked past the White Swan Hotel to have an ice cream treat. Then we walked around in the White Swan and ate our cones. The waterfall in the White swan is very pretty.

Then we came back to the hotel to see if we could stuff appx 17 days of shopping into our 4 bags. We've almost got it all in.....we are definetley much heavier going home than when we started out.....We leave EARLY in the morning for our first flight but we'll be home before Friday is over in TX. HALLELUJAH!!!

Wet Wednesday

This morning started off with a quick breakfast and a walk over to Starbucks. They don't have my "usual" Tall White chocolate Mocha so I asked for a regular mocha and said "more sugar, more milk, less coffee" Apparently that did the trick because she knew the look and she said," You want whip cream too? Yes?" OF course YES!!! It was a real treat.

Then we all settled back in the room to wait for our consulate appointment to be through. Our guide Leila submits all the paperwork but we have to be in the room "just in case" there are questions to be answered while she is at the consulate. The boys had hoped to go swimming but the rain began shortly after dawn and has continued all day long.

During this wait time I found a little book I had brought from home. It was a Lift-a-flap book. Ty and I spent a long time lifting all the flaps over and over again. I didn't care. It was some real quality time for both of us.
After a quick lunch at Lucy's we left with the Cotter family to find the "toy market" We had never been here but heard about it. Basically it's a 7 story mall with about 200 booths on each level. Each booth sells something different. I believe this is where you would go if you own a giftshop or small store. I think most people buy in bulk here. One booth might have all stickers, then the next booth would have all hats, or all backpacks.....It was really interesting. The funny thing is there were very few toys there. I didn't find much we couldn't live without.....but it was a great way to pass an afternoon.

David tried to figure out a way to bring this 3D picture of the Lord's supper in his carry-on but I"m thinking it's over the size limit.

Ty took a little nap after the shopping and unfortunately we had to wake him up just an hour later. It was not a pleasant experience and we hope to not repeat that again any time soon. But doesn't he look so sweet sleeping?

We walked down to 7-Eleven to get a few drinks and snacks. Then we stopped by a souvenir store and David did a little bartering. Have I said I hate the bartering? David doesn't seem to mind it and the store clerks actually seem to enjoy it.

Just one more full day and we'll be on our way....One more post to go....Good night

A FUN Filled Day

Someone likes a little mirror time in the evenings....

Today's adventure started with a trip to the Carrefour. (French Wal-Mart) But to me it feels like Dollar Tree on steroids. Everything is so cheap(yes usually cheap quality) But it's so fun to see all the neat stuff. We had a good time browsing and looking down all the aisles. The store is at least two levels and it's all underground.

Zane tried out the ripstick until he nearly knocked a woman over who was squatting downon the left of the picture. The Cotter boys, Luke and Logan tried out the plasma cars. Yes, the same type of plasma cars that Santa brought last year that came with a much larger price tag than these in China.

This has to be the Impluse shopping at it's finest. The wheels of the buggy lock and you just ride down the ramp. It moves at a pretty good speed so we couldn't pick up everything on the first trip and manage to get it into the buggy.We rode up and down this escalator at least 3 times trying to get everything we needed into the buggy.

This may be convience packaging at it's finest..... Cereal with the milk attached to the box.

Zane turned up his nose at the salted, dried fish.... I'm sure it was fresh.....

After shopping we walked over to a PapaJohn's pizza place. I had never seen a dine-in restaurant. But oooh the pizza and breadsticks were good. Ty got a new red truck from Carrefour so David opened the package from him. This may have been the first meal we have seen him only eat a little. I think his mind was on the truck instead of the pizza.

After a quick stop back at the hotel to unload all of our "treasures" we left for the Wildlife Safari Park. It was really nice. A little on the hot side but the animals didn't seem to mind. The first part of the park was a train ride through the "big" animals and then we walked through the rest. Zane got to throw bananas to the elephants and Ty and I got to feed a baby white tiger.(For about 3 seconds)

The place was not crowded at all and we basically had all the time we wanted to see the animals. David commeneted that this has to be the best "zoo" that we've ever been to. I would agree the animals seemed so free and natural. Not a lot of cages and bars.

Our favorite had to be the monkeys at the very end. It was a huge group of them. There were so many babies and their mothers trying to take care of them. There was one baby monkey who kept climbing on this metal ferris wheel type thing. He was a little bitty fella. And everytime he would get on the wheel she would go over and pull him off. Then she would take him far away, but just as soon as her back was turned he was off to the ferris wheel again. Poor Mama, we must have watched her pull him off 10 times. I can relate, I can relate....

It was a long hot day but a very fun one.

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Monday

This morning started early with first getting a picture taken for Ty's medical exam. Then we walked down to the medical exam office for a quick check. It is just a screening before allowing people into the US. We noticed at breakfast though that his stitch was beginning to look a little infected. So after the medical exam we walked down to the White Swan Hotel where they have a medical clinic inside the hotel. We were quickly seen and the doctor removed the stitch and bandaged it back up again. He was given another 3 day round of antibiotics. It looks much better now. We did a little souvenir shopping and then went to the Cow and Bridge Thai restaurant for lunch, where we enjoyed some sweet and sour chicken. I am fairly certain that we aggrivated the hostess there. We asked for a napkin and she said they don't have any napkins. Then told us that the napkins are 2 yuan a piece. Which is about .30 each. We were very glad that no one had a serious spill it could have cost us 10 bucks in napkins.
We spent some time walking around Shaiman Island and seeing a lot of the old buildings that were built by the British. This old cathedral is now vacant.

The view from the rooftop pool looking out on to Guangzhou. Ty, David and Zane cooled off this afternoon at the hotel pool. I was really regretting my decision not to bring a suit. It was very hot and humid(much like Houston) But I had a great conversation with another adoptive mom from Iowa. She is here adopting her second daughter who just turned 10.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We walked through a local restuarant to see today's fare. Anyone hungry for....

EEL?

Water Beatles?

Silk Worms?

We didn't go the exotic route. We opted for a new Italian restaurant that has just opened on the island. It was very good. Can someone say Ceasar Salad, Lasagana, and Pizza? Yum Yum

Every time we have ordered Ty Apple Juice this is how it comes out. It looks somewhat like a tall beer. However it tastes like freshly juiced apples. It's actually rather tasty.

I don't know if I've talked about this or not but...... this boy can eat. I mean serious eating. We are usually all finished and he's still going. I know he ate more tonight than I did.

We had a few "firsts" last night. He said his first word to me that I really knew what he meant. I took something off his hand and said "Yucky" and he said "yucky" right back to me, very clear. Also, David has taught him to give kisses and I got one last night before bed and then another one again today.

Sunday

STOP: Before you read anything else.... LOOK who I"m holding!!!!! This is our first picture together. (Someone may need to remind me of this when he wants me to carry him in the house from the Garage, like someone else I know.)
We spent our first full day in Guangzhou by taking it easy. First we loacted the breakfast buffet and saw a whole room full of adoptive parents and babies. It was such a heart warming sight. I even met NiHao Ya'll at breakfast but Ty was still coming down the stairs with Zane so I only got to meet Shepherd and she didn't meet Ty. Maybe tomorrow. After breakfast we called down near the White Swan and went to a church service. It was really neat to experience. However, I guess I had just decided in my mind I was completely over my illness. After about 20 min in the close confines of the church I began feeling very nauseated. So we had to leave "quickly" We headed back to the room and rested a little. Ty watched another episode of NiHao Kai Lan and Zane played Mini clips & Webkinz on the hotel computer.

"Daddy pick me up, I"m ready for church"

After resting we decided to try out Lucy's restaurant for lunch. We had burgers, fries and onion rings. Zane had a quesadilla with picante sauce. It was really good food. I think I needed the protein, (right Mom?)

Zane wanted this picture to be posted for Taylor, Brad, and Owen.

As we walked back to the hotel a little mob of school children formed around Zane and asked him for his autograph. The teacher explained that today was their outdoor class and they seemed to be trying to learn English.

Ty is equally as skilled with chopsticks and a fork.

Tonight we took a boat cruise on the Pearl River. Dinner was served on the cruise and after eating we walked up to the top deck to look out at the scenery. This city is very modern with many skyscrapers and lights. We met up with the Cotter family from OR and they have 2 boys a little younger than Zane. They have adopted a little girl that is 4 years old. Zane had a great time playing with other kids.

Ty is really enjoying his little bathtub boats. He really likes taking a bath. He defintley doesn't fear water like Mia did. His injury is geting a little better but still seems pretty red.

Oh Sweet Victory

We left Guiyang today to travel to Guangzhou. After staring at the same 4 walls for 4 days it was time to get a move on. The Howard Johnson was unlike any other HoJo we've ever seen but even a 5 star hotel can get old. There were 60+ channels on the TV but only 4 in English. I have watched more sports in the last week than my whole life. The problem is the sports are necessarily current. The US open was on a continual loop with sporadic pool and ping pong matches mixed in. If I have to see Tiger Woods win one more time.........
Some times we would see a sporting even that we didn't recognize so it was fun to try to figure out the rules of the game. Zane and I watched one match of something that resembled two men on a platform slapping each other until one of them fell off. We think we could even participate in that sport.
Our departure time was at 6:00 p.m. and check out at HoJo was 2:00. So with 4 hours to burn we went ahead the airport. There wasn't many places to go with all our luggage. The time didn't go quite as slowly as anticipated. Ty made good use of his time.

We said goodbye to our guide, Jane and boarded the plane. Jane explained to Ty that he was going to ride on an airplane and fly like a big bird. Then when we spotted the plane and showed him his eyes got really huge. It was quite funny.

Saying goodbye to Guiyang.....

PLaying peek-a-boo over the seat at Zane and I....

Now we have made it safely to Guangzhou and are settled in the Victory Hotel. We are so glad to be here. The room is much bigger and the halls are much longer to play ball in. We brought a beach ball and the highlight of the day is running and kicking it up and down the halls. Hopefully tomorrow we can find some outside places to run and play. Lets hope we don't have any more trips to the hospital though.

I am feeling much better this evening. So is Zane. We are both almost back to normal.

Friday

Just as Zane got over his stomach virus, It was my turn. I woke up feeling crummy and had a very rough day. Fortunatley it the virus only seems to last about 24 hrs. This morning I am feeling much better. We are just praying that David and Ty don't come down with this also.

Today(Sat) we are moving on to our next destination, Guangzhou. We are so excited. We received Ty's passport late yesterday afternoon. Another step closer to home.

Thursday

Ty saw me wearing around the complimentary slippers. So this morning he found himself a pair.

Zane saw this in Beijing and thought it was really funny. It was on the side of a breaker box.

Today has been a very long uneventful day. Yesterday Zane began feeling very ill. So he and I have been in the room ever since. I left for a short time this morning to go down for breakfast. Frankly, I didn’t mind because I was feeling a little queasy myself. I know some of you are thinking well it’s all that weird stuff you’ve been eating. But since we have been here we have eaten very “Western” types of meals.

This morning our guide came by and delivered our notary books and tomorrow we should get Ty’s passport. Then we will be free to leave for Guangzhou. But just in case it’s not ready until later we booked our flight on Saturday. We are very eager to get there because there are many more Americans there. In fact, we have only met one other set of Americans. The people were from Universities in the US and were on a cultural exchange delegation with people from China. They are all in the Criminal Justice department. Each morning we would say HI to them just to here someone speak English back to us. We found out that one of the professors had adopted a little girl from China four years ago as well. She was from University of Arkanasas, Little Rock. She was eager to see our little man the next morning.

So after breakfast David went out looking for some stomach medicine for Zane. We had to call our guide to go with us because charades won’t work this time. Although, we got a good laugh at what might make the store clerk understand. Once the medicine was acquired David, Ty and Jane(our guide) set out on a mission to find a Nintendo DS charger cord. Zane could not find his before we left. They searched and searched without any luck. But David did find COMPUTER CITY……it was a huge 2 story market of nothing but gadgets and electronics. I’m sure he was like a kid in a candy store. He came home with a bag of cables and cords for about three dollars. With all the computer stuff we have here we could probably launch a space shuttle from the hotel.

Ty is really opening up more. He hasn’t had many long “sad” sessions lately. He whimpers a bit when it’s bed time but usually settles in quickly. He is a very sound sleeper so once we get him to sleep we can turn the TV on or talk and he doesn’t wake up. This morning in the elevator David reached over and ”Zerberted” his cheek. He thought that was hilarious and then he took his little hands and turned David’s head around and Zerberted him back. That was even funnier to him.

He and I played for a long time yesterday with a beach ball, tossing it and kicking it back and forth. He let me hold him this morning for a few minutes while I was helping him retrieve a big cheetoh snack from his little snack bag. He stayed on long enough to let me open it and then sat there in my lap while he ate it. It won’t take him long to figure out who the real “softie” is around here.

Sorry I don’t have any more pictures but unless you want pictures of these four walls in the hotel room it won’t happen today. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be feeling better. Thanks for all the comments that have been left. We really enjoy hearing from home, it’s getting a little lonely. We receive all the comments and can even check our email.

A Fun Day

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We had a fun day today. After breakfast we walked down to the park again. We saw some interesting sights along the way. Right on the sidewalk you can see so many interesting things. The pictures show a woman with 2 catfish on a stick, a man having an arthritis treatment, a lady extracting bee wax from a honeycomb, and a lady getting her hair dyed.

There were quite a few LESS people a the park today but still a lot. We found the monkeys we had been looking for. We took a bag of cherries and 2 bananas with us. It was fun to feed them but some of them can be quite intemidating. They growl like dogs when you don't give them what you want. I frankly was a little scared one time and a nice Chinese lady came and scared the big male one away from me. Apparently she comes here often and he listens to her.

We went to WalMart again to try to find Ty some shorts. I brought 3T and they are way to big on him. We roll the waist down 3 times to try to get them to fit him. Then we went to KFC for lunch again. My "chicken" sandwich was a small amount of ground chicken with diced carrots and peas shaped into a patty and fried. The value meal is served with corn and a chicken wing.

This afternoon we have just been resting and getting to know our new little guy. He's really very funny. Zane had been taking him out into the hall to play with little cars