Safely in Hong Kong

We are safely in Hong Kong and are beyond exhausted !
 
We have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow, then leave at 5 am Friday morning for the airport.  
 
This will be my last blog post until we get home.
 
Blessings, Angela
 

Headed to Hong Kong today!

The picture is from this morning at breakfast.
 
We are packed and ready to go to HK! Another step closer to home!
 
Please pray for our long flight on Friday. Alexa seems to have a little motion sickness.
 
We greatly appreciate all the prayer support! Thank you!
 

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Happy Birthday Baba and Consulate Appointment

Hi everyone,
First, a BIG happy birthday to my hubby! He is home holding down the home front while I am here getting the girls. A big thank you to my sister who made a cake and sent it over! :-)
 
Yesterday we had a full day of shopping on Shamain Island, then went on a cruise on the Pearl River with one other family from our travel group.
 
Today we had to get up super early this morning for our Consulate Appointment. After the appointment our guide took us to the Pearl market to buy pearls to put away for Alexa  and Avery's weddings some day. The other families wanted to go back to Shamain Island again. This afternoon we hung out in the room. I started the packing process, the girls played and Robert napped.
 
This evening we had dinner at an Italian Restaurant, which was pretty good. We had heard there was a Hagen daz ice cream place across the Street, so in celebration of Baba's birthday, we made the long trek over there for dessert. We sang happy birthday to Baba, in a combination of both English and Chinese, while we ate our ice cream.
 
Tomorrow we finish packing then leave for the train station at 3 pm for our 530pm train ride to Hong Kong.
 
We are on the home stretch and we can't wait to get back home!!! 
 

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More pictures

 

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Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2013

More pictures

 Sun  Aug 25th

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Sightseeing in Guangzhou

 We went out sightseeing today with the three other families in our travel group. It was Hot! There were fans throughout and everyone stopped at the fans and didn't want to move!
 
After sightseeing we all had lunch together at a Chinese restaurant.  After lunch we had some down time at the hotel, before we met in a meeting room to organize our applications and paperwork to apply for the girls Visas to come home.
 
Now we are hanging out in the room watching "The Pleasant Goat" cartoon with the girls.
 
Tomorrow we leave the hotel at ten am to shop at Shamain Island.

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In Guangzhou

Last night we arrived in Guangzhou. By the time we got settled into our room, it was almost midnight. We were all exhausted!
 
This morning we met the guide and two other families to go to get the girls their medicals. This allows the girls to come to the US.   Now we just wait for the TB blood test results.
 
 The rest of the day we are on our own. We explored the hotel, had lunch and relaxed at Starbucks for awhile. We also found a few shops and bought a couple Chinese kids DVDs. It is a rainy day, so a great day to stay inside and watch the dvd's.
 
The Garden Hotel is huge! There is a Sbux across the Street. There is a McD, Pizza Hut, Subway and many other restaurants nearby.
 
Someone asked if the girls will eat American food. When we go to Pizza Hut the girls share either a noodle or fried rice dish. Avery  shovels the food in as fast as possible. It is hard to explain, but just imagine a vacuum cleaner hose. She eats every single noodle or grain of rice on her plate. Then she asks for pizza!
 
Alexa tried the pizza, but doesn't seem to like it. She takes her time eating. Alexa eats a lot less than Avery. She definitely prefers Chinese food.
 
When we go to KFC or McD both girls like nuggets and fries.
 
The girls continue to get a long well. :-)

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Last day in Kunming

Today we leave for Guangzhou! Another step closer to home!
 
This morning the girls slept in until almost 730 am, which is a record! We worked on packing, then went to Starbucks for brunch. The girls shared a chicken apple Panini sandwich and Robert and I both got a ham and cheese croissant. Yum!.
 
While we were in Starbucks, the song "Georgia on my mind," started playing. What are the odds we would be on the other side of the planet, feeling homesick and that song would come on? :-)
 
We leave the hotel at 4 pm for the airport. We have a 720 pm flight to Guangzhou and get there about 920 pm, so it will be a late night. The girls have their medicals tomorrow (Saturday), so I don't know when I will be able to update the blog again.  Probably Saturday afternoon or evening.
 
7 days from today we leave for home! We are so. Very. Ready. For home!

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The Minority Village, Thurs 8/20

Today we went to The Minority Village.  It is a tourist spot that recreates the different ethnic minorities villages.  It was very interesting!  We spent about 2 and a half hours  there.  Afterwards the guide took us to another authentic Chinese restaurant.  It was dirty, no refrigeration for meat and you sit on small wood stools.  If you know me well, you are probably laughing now!  I only eat at very clean chain restaurants in the US!  This was my second meal eating with chopstix!  I would only eat vegetables and rice for obvious reasons!  The girls ate everything: Mushrooms, pork/bacon, seaweed, taro root, red peppers, and tons of rice.  

Alexa was like a new child today!  For whatever reason, the guide was teasing her and telling her if she wasn't good that he would take her back to her Foster village.  She said, "No, I am happy!"  I was shocked, but in a good way!  She laughed and smiled all day!  It is so nice to see her finally coming out of her shell!

After lunch, we went to a Govt run Jade store.  The guide said that this is where chinese people shop, so it is not touristy and expensive like most places.  They also give you a certificate that the jade is real.  So many of the tourist places have fake jade.  A bought a couple of the more inexpensive, but still very nice pieces for Avery and Alexa for a birthday when they are older. 

Now we are back at the hotel just hanging out.  The girls really seem to love each other.  They play very well together, which is awesome!

Tonight we meet the guide at 6:30 to go out for chinese food again.  :-Z

On the way back from the Stone Forest

More Stone Forest Pictures

Robert climbed up the "dragon tail" rock

The Stone Forest

Hi,

It has been a long couple of days, fun, but long!  Sorry for the delay in posting.

Yesterday (Wed) we went to the Stone Forest.  It is about an hour and 40 minutes away.  We drove through some beautiful mountains, saw very old farmer villages, and tons of vegetation.  It was so beautiful!  The stone forest was awesome too!

After the Stone Forest, which was a ton of walking, we had lunch at a very authentic Chinese restaurant run by some of the farmers.  The meat just sits out in the open.  They serve grasshoppers, worms, and very small fish fried whole.  The girls gobbed up the little fish like they were potato chips!  Robert tried one and said it tasted like old fish.  They also did not have any forks, so this was my first meal eating with chopstix!  I am not very good at it, but was able to shovel some food in! :-)

After lunch, we went to a Minority Museum and walked some more.  This museum has very old artifacts from all the different minority groups in Yunnan.  The difference in this museum is that you can touch all the items, pick them up and they don't scream at you, LOL!  Some of the items are even for sale! We found out that Alexa is from Yi minority group, so I bought a few items for her from the Yi group.  It was a lot of fun, but exhausting!

After the museum, we came back to the hotel and rested awhile.  I was worn out, so Robert went around the block to KFC and brought it back for our dinner.  It was a nice relaxing evening.

Pictures from Tues eve 8/20

We had dinner last night at Pizza Hut.  The service was horrible and it took forever to get our food. They brought us plates and silverware, so Robert started pretending he was taking food off everyone's plates. A pretend food stealing spree ensued and everyone was laughing, even Alexa!
 
What we are learning about Alexa: she is definitely an introvert, she is very self sufficient and very smart. In the huge backpack she brought, she has school books, a protractor for math, and a water color paint set. We have also learned that she will need breaks from her crazy sister Avery. Avery was doing a weird Dance down the hotel hallway. Alexa followed behind, just shaking her head, LOL! I am sure the longer we have her we will see more of her personality.
 
Today (Wed) we are going to the famous Stone Forest. It is just under an hour and a half away. We are supposed to go to a show this evening which shows different minority groups dress, dances etc.  It is from 8 to 10 pm tonight, so I probably won't be updating the blog again today.
 

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FW: More pictures from 8/20/13

I  am still having problems emailing directly to the blog.  It keeps getting kicked back, so if there is duplicate posts....sorry!

Another picture of the girls at the pet market.
 
Dog with the beard was sitting in front of his owner's store.  He looks Chinese, doesn't he! ;-)

Alexa's Adoption Day, Tea Room and Pet Street

Today has been a busy day.  We left for the Civil Affairs office at 8:20 am.  The orphanage representative was quite late, so it took forever to complete the paperwork.  Then we went to the Passport office to apply for Alexa's passport. 
 
Alexa had been doing very well, but as soon as she saw the lady from the orphanage, she started withdrawing again.  :-(
 
After the passport office, our guide took us to a Tea Room run by the University here.  Yunnan is the only place in the world that produces a special Puer tea.  We tried all sorts of different kinds of tea.  The best tea was one that was 21 years old.  You buy a round solid piece of tea and are supposed to keep it for your child until their wedding, then serve the tea to everyone at the wedding.  Very neat. 
 
We came back to our room for a short time, then walked to KFC for lunch.  After lunch we did a little shopping, got the girls ice cream, then found a "pet street" where they were selling dogs of all kinds.  I thought it was a good chance to get the girls used to dogs, since both girls told the guide that they did not like dogs.  Turns out they do!  Avery was a little hesitant, but Alexa went right over and pet several dogs. 
 
We walked a LONG way back to the hotel and have just been resting and hanging out.  There are toys all over the place and the girls are having fun playing together.  
           

Oops!

It has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake. Although every day is "Avery Day" (according to Miss Avery); a tired mom put the wrong name on Alexa's gotcha day post. Oops! ;-)

More pictures

I am having some issues uploading to the blog. I can't see the blog, so if I have duplicate pictures...sorry!:-)
 

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Monday eve walk by the lake

 

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Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:57:32 +0800
Subject:
From: faithindad@gmail.com
To: angelab77@hotmail.com

Two sweet girls ready for bed

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, then took a walk around the lake, which is very close by. The girls were holding hands and so very cute together.  Tonight both girls were in the bathroom getting their pj's on.  Avery was telling Alexa a bunch of things in Chinese and kept saying, Mama.  After they came out Avery showed Alexa where to put her dirty clothes.  Now they are playing leapster together.  They are already the best of friends!  
 

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Avery Day!!

We left the hotel at 2:30 pm to go to the Civil Affairs office to meet Alexa.  When we arrived, Alexa was getting out of the van.  So, I met her outside.  She did not cry at all.  She said, "hello."    

The lady that was with her worked for the orphanage and didn't seem to know her very well.   She said that Alexa had been taken back to the orphanage about a week ago.  She said her foster family loved her very much.  She had one foster brother and one foster sister.  She is in 5th grade.  She likes math, studying mandarin, painting, and playing ball.   They said she is not a picky eater.  

Avery magically wanted her mom when Alexa was put into the picture, LOL! She wanted to be with me constantly at the office.

I was very concerned that Alexa did not cry, but when we started to leave the office, she started tearing up and she cried in the car.  She definitely seems to be quiet and an introvert.   I think she keeps her emotions in.  

Now we are back in the room. Alexa has not moved from a chair in the corner.  We have gotten out a bunch of toys, but she has not been interested.  She did start to cry when Avery started playing with a little stuffed dog we brought.  We have two identical ones, and she thought Avery had hers.  We got her dog out of her backpack and all was well.  

Avery has been a great sister, so far.  She offers Alexa toys, food, tries to get her to play ball with us, etc.  Just a couple minutes ago, Alexa finally decided she would eat some M and M's.  There is a crack in her armour, lol!  

We plan on keeping things simple today.  Will just hang out in the room, then eat dinner in the hotel.  

Tomorrow we finalize the adoption.  We leave the hotel at 8:20 am.  Thanks for all the prayers!

Monday morning Aug. 19th

This morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, with some interesting dishes!  I had mashed potatoes, toast, a poached egg, a muffin and spring rolls for breakfast!  Weird, but yummy!  After breakfast we headed to Walmart to buy some water and a few small items.  Then we hung out in the room preparing to leave at 230 to get Alexa.  

Next post will be all about Alexa! :-)

Almost Heaven, Kunming, Yunnan!

It's 330 am and I am awake as usual. So thought I would give a quick update on where we are.
 
 Alexa's province is beautiful! It is mountainous and green! Our guide said every day you experience all four seasons here. Morning is like spring, afternoon like summer, early evening like Autumn and night time like winter. When we got here it was cloudy and in the 60's! Like heaven after being in over 100 degree temps!
 
There is a SBux a half a block away. All the workers were so nice, were so sweet to Avery, brought our drinks to our table, etc. It was wonderful!  There are many small shops. It is a very nice city!
 
It looks like it will rain all week, but the guide says it only rains for short periods of time and then stops. I have rain ponchos for all of us, so we should be all set.
 
In the elevator we met an older American man that said he was a Doctor from Oregon and is teaching at the Medical school here. Very cool!
 
Monday morning we plan on going to WalMart, which is within walking distance. I think the girls and I will need jackets! :-)
 
.We appreciate all the prayers as we get Alexa this afternoon!

Safely in Yunnan province

 Safely here in Yunnan. We are exhausted. We get Alexa tomorrow at 230. More later.

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More pictures

A boring day in Jinan

Today, it is again over 100 degrees with the heat index.  I just don't do well in that kind of heat.  Robert has been out a few times and come back exhausted and soaking wet.  Yuck!  We did go down to the lobby for a while so they could clean our room.  Exciting times, lol! 
 
Attached are a few pictures from today.  The alleyway one Robert took while he was out.
 
Tomorrow we have to meet the driver in the lobby at 8:30 am to go to the airport to leave for Yunnan.  Monday we get Alexa!  I am not sure what time yet, but I may or may not be able to update the blog until Monday night.
 
While Robert has been out, I have really tried hard to bond more with Avery.  She tolerates me for a little while, then goes to the opposite side of the room.  Playing the magnetic paper dolls went well, but then she was done.  I have sang, danced, made funny faces, created things with playdough to show her, etc.  Please continue praying.  I know it has been a little less than 3 days, but it is hard to be rejected.
 
On a happier note, she showered and dressed in new clothes with no problems!  Woo hoo!  She sees I put on lip gloss after I eat, so she has started doing the same with her princess lip gloss. 
 
In Yunnan it is like spring all year long.  Can't wait for the mid 70's so we can get out!
 
Thanks again for your prayers!