China Update #11

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China

On Friday afternoon we flew to Guangzhou to finish up our adoption process.  Saturday morning we (and about 20-30 other adoptive families) went to the health clinic for medical checks including TB blood draws for each child.  That record will be signed off by a doctor in the next day or two then it'll become part of our paperwork for the US Consulate appointment on Wednesday.  All the paperwork we did last week was for the China side and this week it's all for the US side of things.  Yesterday we had a 1.5 hour meeting to get all of our consulate paperwork organized.  At the end our guide, Miko, declared we were FINISHED with paperwork!!! Hallelujah! That has been a long time coming! 

***At this point I just have to put in a plug for our agency, Lifeline Children's Services.  If you are considering international adoption or know anyone who is I cannot more highly recommend them.  From day one when we applied, every complicated step of the way through to this end they have been completely organized and professional yet faith-filled, encouraging, personable people to work with.  Also, now being here and hearing stories of other families' experiences with other agencies I'm all the more convinced Lifeline is the way to go.  

Anyway, getting to Guangzhou was a pretty smooth experience.  Levi did GREAT on the 2.5 hr flight!!! He was so excited to fly and had tons of questions about airplanes for our guide. Arriving at the airport we were met by one of our new guides and ushered to a van to take us to the Garden Hotel, about 25 minutes away.  Our guide, Grace had to stay at the airport to meet 5 more Lifeline families but she assured us the driver would deliver us safely to our other guide at the hotel, Miko.  Well, two hours later we did get there safely....after getting a new bus because our first bus got a flat tire!  Did I mention our driver spoke no English? Yah. This was interesting.  For quite a while we didn't know if he was calling for help or just waiting until someone took pity on us and pulled over to help.  But eventually another bus came for us.  

The Garden Hotel is easily the nicest hotel we have ever and probably will ever visit! At first glance it definitely seems weird to be staying in such a fancy hotel - it's easy to think we could have stayed in a more modest place and saved money on adoption costs.  That may be true...to a point.  The nightly price here is actually extremely reasonable by American standards.  There are also certain amenities which are really nice to have when staying in a hotel for a week....I.e. an American toilet rather than a squatty potty.  You can probably google Chinese squatty potty if you're not familiar with that term or you can just use your imagination.  Anyway, the suite style room, lovely swimming pool and decadent breakfast buffet apparently come with the American style bathrooms.  

I already mentioned the medical visit that we did Saturday morning.  Our itinerary is pretty much set by the guides so we just kinda go where we're told to go.  The afternoons are mostly free time.  This morning was set as a shopping time.  Imagine how your kids would enjoy wandering through a ginormous, non-air conditioned building filled with hundreds of little shops while you tried to pick out a few gifts...that's about how much Levi enjoyed it.  So then we went to the Chen Ancestral Hall which was built during the late 1800s.  It originally provided accommodations for Chen family people when they had to travel to Guangzhou for important discussions and such.  Around the 1960s-70s during the cultural revolution all these old historic buildings were being torn down but some people got together and began using the Chen building as a newspaper or book printing place and managed to save it from destruction. So now it is the largest, best- preserved and most gorgeously decorated traditional building in the province. It now houses many small shops and exhibits where you can purchase and view handicrafts including ivory carving, embroidery, calligraphy and other painting, porcelain, pottery and more.  This was our favorite place.  Levi was a trooper and relaxed in the stroller during our time at the hall.  

Yesterday and again today we spent the afternoon in the pool.  We think yesterday may have been Levi's first experience in a swimming pool.  He was not at all fearful but it took him a few minutes to get accustomed to the feeling of walking around in the kiddie pool which is about 2.5 ft deep.  However, by the end of today he figured out how to hold his breath and go under water...all on his own! We have got a fish on our hands!!

We're enjoying the wide variety of people and cuisine options here in GZ.  Last night we dined at an excellent Mexican restaurant called Tekila.  Yes, that is how they spelled it ;)  and tonight we dined at The Italian Restaurant...which stole the Fazolis logo.  But it was much better than Fazolis.  And it will go down in history as the first restaurant experience we've had with Levi that did not end in a total all-out 43lb kicking and screaming meltdown.  Angry Birds may have played a role in the success...but hey, we'll take it! 

It's remarkable how much English Levi is understanding in just 7 days!  When he is fully immersed in it we think he will pick it up very fast.  

Please continue to pray for Andrew and I.  Today Andrew has not been feeling well - we're hoping its just travelers tummy and not something food related.  Thank you to whomever is praying for my gluten sensitivity- at this point we're considering finishing  (or even starting) a meal a privilege so I haven't really had the freedom to be picky about gluten and I have had no issues whatsoever.  Praising God big time for that!  Please pray that we will choose to receive and practice the patience that the Holy Spirit is always wanting to give us.  Thankfully the intense moments are diminishing in frequency however I think Andrew and I were beginning to max out on frustration so our patience is thin.  We need to continue to work as a team and not direct our frustration toward one another.  

Alright, we've got a big morning at the zoo tomorrow so I'm going to get some sleep.  Love you all!  

Love,

A & R