Our final day in China and the long trip home.

So it turns out that I am not very good at updating everyday on the blog.  But I did want to write down a few things, partly to remind me of things and partly to help others to know what to expect. 

Thursday we stayed at the hotel to pack and rest and for Silas to work on homework.  We had to wait for the babies' visas to arrive about 4:30 pm.  Thankfully our guide was able to get us a late check out so we did not have to wait around from noon until 4:30 in the hotel lobby.  At the right time we all met in the lobby, said goodbye to each other and the guides, received our visa and immigration package, and loaded up in our own private, nice, new minivan.  We were on the road by 4:45.  The driver must live in Hong Kong because his steering wheel was on the right side of the van.  It was a quiet ride. 

After a couple of hours we got out at the customs building.  We had to get out and go through the building on foot and meet the driver on the other side.  The agent at our line kept looking at me and at my passport picture.  I was starting to get nervous, trying to think what they could do with me and 2 kids.  She called another person over, who also kept looking at me.  They talked a little, and I got more nervous.  She finally asked me if I had any other documentation. Thankfully I had my wallet with my drivers license in it.  She looked hard at it and finally decided it was ok and let me go.  We met the driver on the other side and continued on about another 1 hour to the hotel.

On the ride to Hong Kong, I was struck by how many people live in this country, more than a billion, and I get to take this one little person home with me.  I do think it is a miracle that God put us together so that Steve and I get to be her parents.  How could we have found this one precious little soul in the midst of masses of people?  I was feeling so thankful and overwhelmed. 

The next morning we went plenty early to the airport which is connected to the hotel.  I was glad we had plenty of time because it is a huge building and we had to wait in line to check in, and then through security, and then again through customs.  The airport is a mall too.  There were dozens of shops.  I succumbed to a Piglet purchase from the Disney store. 

Our plane left late.  But we had a full night's sleep at that point so we were doing ok.  And I was so impressed with the staff at the airline.  They took the initiative to come tell us that we were leaving late and also came to me to ask to help me get the stroller packed up for the flight.  They also came and invited me to board ahead of the long line. 

The very long trip home does not need to be written about.  I have no meaningful advice I can give.  I would rather give birth multiple times rather than repeat that ordeal.  Rachel hates seatbelts and confinement and she and I both got super tired before it was over. 

Then we had issues with flights leaving Chicago, but we made it.  I was very thankful for a 5 minute visit with a family from our adoption group that we happened to see in the Chicago airport (even though they had left from Beijing and we left from Hong Kong).  I needed that hug! 

As expected (see seatbelt comment above) Rachel did not appreciate the safety of the car seat.  She screamed until we stopped at McDonald's and got her some ice cream.  Then she was ok until about 10 minutes before home.

I will save the home blog for another day, hopefully tomorrow.  We are doing well. 

We're finally home!

Glad to be home.  Now it's time to figure out our new normal.

Rachel has been smiling at Caleb (her 16-month-old brother) and her cats (Snickers and Abby) and her dogs (Cali and Haley).

Now it's time to try to get some much-needed rest!

Headed home!

We are at the Hong Kong airport.  Our bags have been checked.  We made it through customs and security.  We are at the gate waiting to board our flight home to the U.S.

UPDATE #1:  The flight left Hong Kong an hour and twenty minutes late.  Sarah, Rachel, and Silas are en-route to Chicago, but they will only have about an hour to get through customs and immigration and then catch their connecting flight.  Please pray for some restful sleep on the long flight and that everything goes smoothly through customs and immigration.

UPDATE #2:  The connecting flight from Chicago to OKC was canceled.  (Wouldn't have made the connection anyway because it took so long to get bags from baggage claim before going through customs.)  Then the next flight to OKC was canceled.  We finally (after hours on the phone and/or waiting on hold with reservations agents) got them booked on a different airline.  The flight is supposed to leave at 20:10 and get in at 22:25.

UPDATE #3:  Got on the 20:10 flight.  Plane left the gate about 30 minutes late.  Should arrive OKC around 22:45.

Final days in Guangzhou: Shaiman Island, toy mall, riverboat cruise, consulate appointment, and a walk in the park ...

Travel tip: Some families have great wifi in their hotel rooms, but mine is spotty.  I discovered if I stand in the doorway of our room or out in the hallway, it works really well most of the time.

As Silas has already said, on Monday we went to White Cloud Mountain.  It had a paved road going gently up the mountain and there were many local people there out walking.  The students were on a break for the upcoming spring festival (Chinese New Year), so there were quite a few students walking in groups being silly, pushing and teasing each other, just like our students.  There were also a lot of older people walking and some were dancing together in some of the little areas off the main road.  It is so nice to see the retired people out doing community activities and exercising.

The weather was perfect for the walk.  Rachel fell asleep in the stroller for most of the way up.  This is a tropical region, so there was an abundance of trees and flowers.  It was lovely.

We spent the afternoon in the hotel again.  That afternoon Rachel had a fever so we stayed in for the rest of the day.

Tuesday we went to Shaiman Island which was an English and French Concession.  I don't exactly know what that means, and am too lazy to look it up right now, but basically I think it was under English and French control.  It has western architecture and was interesting to walk around.  This is where the famous White Swan hotel is, where many adoptive families in the past have stayed.  The consulate used to be there but moved a few years ago.  This is also where the famous statue is with the children walking behind each other.  Again, the weather was perfect for this outing.

We also spent about an hour at the "International Toy Wholesaler."  This was another large mall, about 6 stories tall.  The stores are little, more like booths, and just packed next to each other.  Sometimes you could not even walk down the aisle because the store had boxes and packing material and products out.  It was a whole mall of stores that were all like the little carts we have in the middle of the walkways at our malls.  There were cell phone cases, toys, novelties, clocks, purses, glittery things.  (Travelers tip: there were some inappropriate things, so don't let kids go off on their own!)  I hear that the higher up you went the nicer things are.  We only made it to the 2nd floor but found gifts for the boys back home.

Tuesday evening we went on a beautiful dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  The dinner was good, the view of the city was spectacular.  The city lights up all the bridges with colorful lights in addition to all of the tall, lit-up buildings.  There was also a performer who was like a clown.  She juggled oranges and knives, spun a soccer ball on peoples fingers and in general acted silly.  See Silas' blog post for more pix.

This morning (Wednesday) we had our very important consulate appointment.  I got teary eyed when we walked up to the building and saw lines of people waiting to get in.  We did not have to wait in that line, though, because we had an appointment.  I was just so grateful to be so blessed to belong to this country.  And the babies our group had with us are so blessed to get to come to the U.S.  (There are just so many left behind......).  I am not saying my family is particularly special, but just that so many people want to come to the U.S., and these few get to.  We truly have a great country.   Anyway, that appointment went well, and we took an oath on behalf of our children.  They will become citizens when we land on the ground in the U.S.

We are now just waiting on Rachel's visa, which we will get tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon.  As soon as we get it, we and another family who has been with us the whole time will travel by bus 4 hours to Hong Kong.  We will spend the night there in a hotel and get on the plane about 11:45 am Friday morning and land in the U.S. about 12:20 pm Friday afternoon (35 minutes later on the same day).  There are a lot of hours in between though (with the 14-hour time change)!  We are flying through Chicago, then we arrive in OKC late Friday afternoon.  Praying for good weather for all of this!  I am ready to get home and start figuring out our new normal.

Rachel has had a fever on and off.  Thankfully my pediatrician let me take some antibiotics just in case, so I have been giving them to her.  When she is happy, she is so fun.  We went for a walk in the park this afternoon and she was walking around watering the plants with her sippy cup.   It was so cute!  But right now she is tired, and doesn't feel good, so she is fussy.

She definitely is preferring me to everyone else.  She doesn't mind having others around, but she holds her arms up to me if she wants something.  Sometimes she lets me kiss her head, other times she lets me, but then she wipes them off.  However, I still have a hard time comforting her when she is upset.

I can't believe we have had her a week and a half already!  Thanks for praying for us, we are doing well.

Silas: A riverboat ride along the Pearl River at night!

Tuesday night, we went on a night cruise on the Pearl River here in Guangzhou.  Each of the bridges there were lit up with different colored lights.  For the dinner on the cruise we had rice and cookies and duck and chicken and other stuff.  We had an entertainer that had balloons in her hair.  She juggled oranges and knives and did cool stuff with a soccer ball.  There were also a lot of buildings with a bunch of lights along the river.  The best one was a giant tower called the TV tower with colorful rainbow lights going around.

The riverboat we road on.

One of the many colorful bridges we went under.

Live entertainment!

TV Tower

Silas: A souvernir mall and a river island in Guangzhou

Tuesday, we went to a mall with toys, games, jewelry, phone cases, small plants, and even head bands.  We got my brothers souvenirs, too.  There were a lot of people selling horses because it is the year of the horse. We ate dumplings, rice, cake, spring roles, etc. at a Cantonese restaurant.

We also went to an island on the Pearl River called the Shamion Island.  I played badminton with a short elderly Chinese man on the island.  There were a lot of statues of people on the island.

Silas: A temple/museum in Guangzhou and White Cloud mountain ...

Sunday, we went to a temple.  The decor is very awesome.  There were a lot of shops there.  The temple is also a museum.  I got a crystal bead like thing that is about 1 inch in diameter with a dragon and my name on it.  We also got to see someone paint a hand painting with only his hand, not even a small brush, just his hand.

Monday, we climbed White Cloud mountain.  I went up to the very top of the mountain with another family.  There was a lot stuff at the top of the mountain.  We even got to see a dragon dance.  My mom didn't go all the way to the top even though she was close so she didn't get to see the dragon dance.