Our WACAP Travel Group

We feel so blessed to have met such wonderful families through WACAP. Surprisingly, we were the only family adopting for the first time. The other six families were on their second, third and fourth adoption. Amazing families...amazing children...an amazing experience. Of course, no adoption journey would be complete without the famous "red couch picture".

A Heart Full of Gratitude

Though we may never know the circumstances surrounding Sophia's abandonment.  This I believe to be true...that she was loved.  Her birth mother chose life for her.  There is love in that.  She was placed in a public place were she would definitely be found.  There is love in that.  Someone cared enough to write a note with her date of birth and the time she was born.  The note was written on beautiful red paper.  There is love in that.
 
Tonight as I hold Sophia, my heart is full of admiration and gratitude for her birth mother.  At the same time, my heart is heavy as I know her greatest heartbreak is our greatest joy.  I pray that God is able to fill her heart with peace and that somehow she knows that her daughter is safe.  She is healthy.  She is happy.  She is LOVED. 

Dinner anyone?

We definitely stepped out of our comfort zone.  Andy agreed to eat at this Chinese restaurant once, but made me promise that we would not go back.  Yes, it was very authentic and the food was interesting to say the least!  Note the propane tank under the table. 

Six Banyan Temple and Chen Clan Academy

Today our guide went to the American Consulate to complete paperwork on our behalf, as tomorrow is our oath ceremony.  While she was busy, we went with another guide to tour the Six Banyan Temple and Chen Clan Academy.  Pouring rain and a tired baby made for a quick trip.  Nonetheless, it is always nice to leave the hotel and explore for awhile.  Tonight we are going with another adoptive family to a traditional Chinese restaurant on Shamian Island.  Think turtles in a bucket and fish in a tank, all on display for your dinner consumption.  Yum! Yum!

A Little Pink In Our Blue World

Finally, I can put the plethora of hair ribbons I have made to good use. My little girlie is hair follicle challenged, so headbands are a must. Especially, since most of the Chinese think she is a boy. I guess the pink or red in her clothes don't signify GIRL.

Pictures

Oops, forgot to add that if you click on a picture you can enlarge it for better viewing.  You probably already knew this, but I just figured it out :).

Shamian Island

We arrived yesterday in Guangzhou after a 2 hour plane ride.  Surprisingly, Sophia did very well and her ears did not appear to bother her.  We ate dinner at western style restaurant called Lucy's.  The food was spicy and very yummy.
 
Today we had her photo taken for her visa.  She also had her medical exam completed.  She handled it very well (considering it was naptime) until they started pulling and twisting her hand.  A second doctor came in, started talking with the first doctor, and then did the same thing.  We have no idea what they were saying, but they seemed very interested in her hand.   She functions quite well, although her right hand is about 65% smaller than her left hand.  She has all of her fingers however, most do not have all 3 joints.  Her thumb is connected to her other fingers, instead of off to the side.  It looks very similar to a foot.  Nonetheless, she doesn't let it stop her.  She can pick up very small things, like cheerios.
 
Her personality is really starting to shine and I think she is going to be very feisty.  She loves to laugh, smile and swat at people as they pass by her.  She has no problem letting us know when she does not want something.  Likewise, she will squeal with excitement when she really likes something. 
 
In the pictures below, note the lady doing construction in her flip flops. Very interesting. The pictures of the children in uniforms are school kids getting ready for afternoon exercise.
 

People's Park of Nanchang

Today we visited one of Nanchang's largest parks.  The Chinese use the parks as recreation facilities.  Each park contains exercise equipment as well as a large covered pavilion for playing badminton or tennis.  We saw groups of people dancing, singing and just enjoying the outdoors. 
 
For dinner we ate at an Italian restaurant.  The food was yummy and reminded us of home.  The taxi ride back to our hotel was frightful.  Several pedestrians almost became hood ornaments.  The taxi driver would swerve the car at them instead of away from them.  Luckily the people were quick on their feet.  I had to close my eyes most of the ride.
 
Sophia's personality is beginning to emerge more each day.  She is starting to smile and laugh.  She does great during the day, but nights are extremely difficult for her.  She will cry uncontrollably for several hours.  She wants so much to be comforted, but struggles between laying her head on my shoulder and then trying to push away from me.  The first two nights she was so upset that she threw up.  Luckily, the vomiting has stopped. She however continues to grieve and although necessary, it is heartbreaking to witness.  Please keep her in your prayers.
 
We leave for Guangzhou today, the final leg of our journey.  We will be meeting up with 5 other families from our adoption agency.  It will be nice to be together.   

Tengwang Pavilion

China is known for its beautiful temples and pavilions.  Today we visited the third largest pavilion, Tengwang, located along the Ganjiang River.  The view from the pavilion was breath taking, as was the pavilion itself.  We were also able to attend a traditional dance/music performance that was delightful.  The tour ended with a stop at a Chinese restaurant for some local cuisine.  The food was wonderful and the price amazingly affordable.  It doesn't get better than that.

We are officially her parents!

This morning we went to the China Civil Adoption Affairs Office to complete paperwork and take a picture for Sophia's passport.  We were able to meet with the orphanage director and assistant director one more time.  The are both very kind men and very gentle with Sophia.  They went above and beyond in providing us with pictures and information about her.  They provided us with the name of a family from Spain who adopted Sophia's friend at the orphanage.  Both girls were cared for by the same nanny and the orphanage encouraged us to maintain the relationship between the girls.  They also brought the original note that was left with Sophia when she was found. Although we were not able to have the note, they allowed us to take pictures of it and photocopied it for us. 
 
Prior to coming to China, I sent a cake to the orphanage to thank them for caring for Sophia.  They in return, took the cake to the foster mother's home and video taped Sophia eating the cake.  The video is priceless, and they were gracious enough to give us a copy.  They also gave us photocopies of pictures of the orphanage and surrounding area, as well as information about the number of children in care and number of staff etc.  Additionally, the orphanage director provided us his email address as he loves hear from adoptive families.  As we were leaving they gave Sophia a keepsake necklace representative of Nanfeng county.  We are truly thankful to the orphanage for the wonderful care they provided Sophia and the kindness they showed us.   

She's ours!!!

I can't even begin to put into words what today has been like for us.  I can say this, we our in awe that one so small could steal our hearts only moments after meeting.  She is perfect and we are in love with her. I often wondered if that feeling of complete love would be instantaneous, like it was with the boys.  IT IS.  I look in her beautiful brown eyes and know I would give my life up for her. It's that big, that real and that simple.
 
She cried when we first got her, but settled down by the time we left the Chinese Civil Adoption Affairs office.   She played for quite awhile in the hotel room, but then started getting fussy and pulling at her ears.  She threw-up several times before bedtime.  I think she may have an ear infection.  Hopefully we can have her seen by a doctor.
 
We hope you enjoy the pictures. 

The Great Wall of China

We can finally say we have seen one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  The Great Wall was a sight to behold, although the pollution made it appear less spectacular in pictures. We were accompanied on the climb by thousands of other tourists.  Luckily the majority did not climb beyond the first tower.  We celebrated at the top with a group of American military gals based in Korea and several Chinese.  After a round of picture taking we descended the Wall and with shaking legs departed for our next adventure.  This included a tour of a cloisonne factory, a jade factory and a visit to a Chinese tea house.  Of course, no visit to Beijing would be complete without a stop at the sight of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Tomorrow we fly to Nanchang in Jiangxi Province.  We are thrilled that the time has finally come for us to meet Sophia!