Mia Xin did unbelievably well on the flight. I was so nervous, but luckily, she fell asleep in the Ergo carrier and slept almost all of the flight, only waking as we landed. We met our new guides and finally got checked into our new hotel sometime after 8;30pm.
Guangzhou is totally a breath of fresh air, compared to the cities we have been in. It is at least 25 degrees warmer, way less smog and has much more to see and do....oh..and lets not forget the most important things.....there is a Papa Johns, Starbucks and Mc Donalds with a very short walking distance of our hotel...WOO to the HOO!!!!!
We woke this morning and met down in the lobby with some of the other families to do a personal shopping trip with one of the local shopping guides here in town. She is very well known by adoptive parents who travel here and want to shop...REASONABLY!! I contacted her weeks ago and booked her to take us around this morning. We got some great deals..jewelry, custom Asian dresses for Mia, shoes,pearls from the Pearl Market, souvenirs...we loaded up..and hardly spent much at all. Came back after several hours of shopping and had lunch at one of the delicious Chinese Restaurants in the hotel. Daddy headed downstairs for a paperwork meeting to get Mia's Visa prepared while Little Miss and I hung out alone to do more "bonding". We are slowly getting to know each other. Little by little, we are learning her likes and dislikes, her fears and her joys...
She is the sweetest little girl, who when she smiles, just sends my heart over the moon. This week has been an amazing testament to the love and adoration that these families have for their children. We have watched every ones children just blossom and come alive from the love of having FAMILIES. I shutter to think what would have happen to these children, had someone not been looking for them, searching them out and praying for them. There are so many others like them...all around the world, without families..who may never experience the love that comes from someone wanting them. And so I will urge you..if you EVER thought or talked about adopting, if you ever felt the nudge to even consider it....DO IT!! Don't worry about the details...they will all work themselves out. If you research the process, you will see how easy it is to be done. Everything will fall into place and it will happen....IF you want it, in your heart.
Sure, at first, the details of the process scared the hell out of us. I knew that I would be doing most of the paperwork, and that was extremely daunting. But with the help of an amazing Adoption Agency and meeting others going through the process, it was an easy task and worth every paper cut. Heck......I WILL HELP YOU!!!!:-)))))
Tonight, we are settled in for the evening and are pretty much thinking it's going to bea Papa Johns delivery night. Ohhh, how I am craving some pizza!!!!
Tomorrow we will head to take Mia's Visa photo and the go to have her Medical Exam. All adoptive children must pass all aspects of their physical in order to enter the USA. There is also the option of having her vaccinated to get her "caught up" to US standards, but our agency has provided us with a notarized waiver that we signed to waive all vaccines here in country and wait to have them done by our local Doctor back home. They feel it is best and safer to have them done once back home..and we are all for it! Heck...the way we see it...she is not going to enjoy the visit..but it HAS to go better than her Chinese Hospital visit to have plastic removed from her throat!!! (Uggghhh....I still cringe when think about that whole deal)..
Missing you all and praying to be able to have Face book unblocked soon.....It is so hard to not be able to hear from friends..
enjoy a few photos from our day.....
