We're having some technical problems - bear with us.
Today was our last day in China. I am very ready to come home, we all are ,but it is quite bittersweet for me. I will forever be grateful to the people of China for taking such good care of our daughter for the past 9 1/2 months. I have enjoyed my time in my baby's homeland and the kind people of China. I think of Jaida's birth mother often and pray that she knows her child is loved beyond words. I will forever be grateful to this woman too for giving me the privilege to love this sweet soul and to be able to call her my daughter. We leave tomorrow am at 5:45 for Tokyo,Detroit, Atlanta and finally Augusta! When the wheels of the plane touch down in Detroit Jaida will be a US citizen! Praise God!!!! Please pray for our LONG 30hrs. of travel and for safe return. We will need it!!!!! Thank you for allowing us to share our journey to our daughter with you. The thoughts and prayers have been so appreciated and we thank you all. We love you and we can't wait to see you soon and to introduce you to Jaida Ruth. Goodbye and Goodnight one last time from China! Love to All! Amy
Today we shopped,yet again, and stopped at Starbucks for a frozen drink. It was a piece of home in there and I really needed that! Our oath at the American consolate was this afternoon. It was in a big room with about 100 families and we had several business things to do for her visa and such and then they spoke to us as a group and we then took the oath. I was not expecting it to be emotional but it was! To look around that room and see so many families God had created ,in not the traditional way, but in a very beautiful unique way was breathtaking! We finished the day with dinner at Lucy's, a famous restaurant where they serve a variety of foods, some American.Three couples left tonite for home and 3 more tomorrow am.We have one, yes one, more day here and then we head for home. Please pray for safe travels and that the NW Airlines strike does NOT keep us from getting home! Yes, we are flying NW!!!!! Love to All! Amy
Today was our consolate appt. which our guide does for us. We had to have 1 parent stay in the room in case he had questions but all was fine and we have one more official thing to do tomorrow and then we are free to go! There are several in our group leaving tomorrow nite on a 9:30 pm flight, how we so wish it were us, and then some leave the 1st and few along with us on the 2nd. We shopped today and Will was in his glory with all the bargaining!!!! (Mom and Betsy, just think about the Merchandise Mart... WSH) I just want to fade into the woodwork when it starts. It is amazing how they all swarm you and try to get you into their shops. Most shops have the same things so I am not sure how they make money! We did the famous red couch picure today with all the babies. This is something everybody does here at the hotel when they adopt. We had all the babies on the red couch and they were all screaming and falling over. It was really quite cute. Check out the pictures. Then we had a group picture done. Julia and Jaida wore their matching silk dresses for the pictures. Sam wanted nothing to do with Chinese attire and instead chose to get a toy "transformer" from the SevenEleven store. One thing is for sure, Jaida is NOT going to be a model-she kept shaking her head "no" during the pictures and crying! After that traumatic experience we went swimming again and then ordered dinner from a restaurant that has American food. It was really good-mac and cheese and pizza and potato skins!!!! Then the kids watched a video and now all 3 are sleeping---AHHHHHH!!!! Oh my, I have 3 kids! We thank the Lord for these 3 beautiful gifts and his grace and mercy. Lots of Love to All! Amy
Ok, I am back, sort of, to the land of the living. WOW, that was NOT fun. A lot of people in our group have been sick and it lasts about 12-24 hrs. Please pray the rest of us don't get it especially on plane ride back!!!! Today we went to the Chen Family Temple which had a lot of cool carvings and statues, all very intricate. Then we went to the "mall" to shop for jade and pearls. We got a couple of things but you all know me, I LOVE a bargain and you can't bargain there. Will told you how big Jaida was, which once again reiterates what great care she had. She continues to flourish and EAT, EAT, EAT! She has 2 little teeth popping up on the bottom and so she has been a little fussy but she is really a very good baby! She is a huge DADDY'S GIRL and Will is loving it! All of the babies seem to have taken to the Dads. The baby that was sick is a little better but please continue to pray for Madison. They have had a rough time. The White Swan is so beautiful and we are enjoying Guangzhou much better than Nanchang. That was hard being there for 5 days. We are ready to come back though. We miss everyone and we want to eat and drink and brush our teeth the USA way. The Chinese people are all so nice and receptive. Well, we are going to the pool now. The kids swam most of yesterday and Jaida loved it too! Then we are going to hit the streets for some shopping! Love to everyone and we will see you soon! Amy
Amy is sick so I am filling in. Yesterday was a travel day so sorry no news. We went to a porcelain shop in Nanchang where the porcelain is known for beauty and quality in the Jiangxi province. we picked up some silk dresses that were handmade and they are beautiful. Julia really liked hers and Jaida's. Jaida did great on her 1st flight (daddy was holding her) and we arrived in Guangzhou and the White Swan hotel around 8 or 9 pm. Guangzhou is cleaner than Nanchang and reminds me of Savannah GA with its street layout and scenery - big old trees mainly. We went to have Jaida's medical exam today and she weighed 18 lbs and was 28.5 inches long, the biggest baby in our group of 9 girls. We all went swimming today in the outdoor pool and had a great time. Amy went to finish some adoption paperwork around 2:30 and came back feeling horrible. She stayed in bed rest of pm and will hopefully be better tomorrow. Sam and I went to dinner at Lucy's Bar and Cafe and had some great fried chicken fingers, an ice cream sundae and some quality male bonding time.
Keep the prayers coming - we are experiencing them and are constantly reminded of God's grace. What an awesome God we serve!!! Love to all, Will