No.
Today is the SHOPPING DAY. THE SHOPPING DAY. Today is WAAAAY more important than all that other stuff. I gotta be ready, people.
So. Fast and furious blogging this morning. Ready? Set? Go!
Our driver in Shanghai. Bless him, he wore this same exact shirt every single day. We were in his little white van sputtering around Shanghai from Saturday to Friday. He led us well. We gave him a little gift before we left..... an Alabama "Roll Tide" shirt, a huge bag of Werthers candy, and some American vitamins (they say these vitamins are really hard to get in China, so we are including them in all our official/guide gifts) He would always speak in rapid Chinese to our guide and she would tell us that he couldn't believe how sweet the baby was and how funny we were. Yep, Mr. Driver. You got that right. Thanks for not killing us as you were trying to run over those pedestrians out there.
Max loves to push Sweet Thing in her stroller. He has stepped right on in to the big brother role and is doing it WELL. I didn't even think he knew her name, but he has latched on and loves it. He did say, "Mom! She's kinda like having a new puppy! She's cute and fun to play with!" Um. Okay, son.
This is the face ALL of us were making as we got checked into the Shanghai airport. What a chaotic mess. The check-in lady kept pointing to my luggage and shaking her head. Quit shaking your head, lady. Everything on these two carts is going with me to the next city whether you like it or not. And don't you DARE point at that Vera carry-on and shake your head again. It. Is. Going.
Mary's first flight! Fun!
Boys and the carts. We were sweating profusely at this point and kinda over it.
Guangzhou airport by night.
Apparently, this picture got posted to Instagram. This is outside her orphanage. And by the way, if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram..... it ain't really me. Apparently, my family decided that I didn't have enough to keep up with on Facebook and this blog, so they created accounts for me on Twitter and Instagram. Turns out, I have posted several things..... They keep saying, "Mom, let me just show you how this works...." No. I'm not learning anything new. I've got a few things going on.... like being in China to get my daughter and all!!!
View outside our hotel room.
Another view outside our hotel room.
One fun thing about being in Guangzhou on this second leg of the journey is being surrounded by other families who are adopting. There are a lot of mamas and daddies carrying around precious boys and girls who now have families. It is amazing. We especially are enjoying meeting the other Lifeline families that are here.... several of the moms and I have "met" through Facebook, so it is REALLY fun to get to know them (and their babies) in person.
Time for our Medical Check! This is a requirement on the US side of the adoption.
This is the norm. Me..... peeling off stickers for Mary and putting them where she tells me to. Boys...... playing on their phones.
You see that little girl? She's about to get a medical checkup and she's NOT going to like it. Her Mom knew she wasn't going to like it..... so.... you see that boy on the right? He got scammed into holding her through every station. I did NOT want to be the parent associated with the fear that this checkup was going to bring, so I told Joe, "I think she wants her daddy to hold her." He, of course, was thrilled..... but had no idea that he'd just been set up to be the bad guy. She'll forgive you some day, Joe.
Still happy. For now....
Do you see the floor? I mean....
This place will soon be FULL of families with their newly adopted children. There were dozens and dozens of them. This was another one of those moments that I got a huge lump in my throat. There were children of all ages and special need. But EVERY one of those children..... orphans just a few days ago..... had two parents and, often, a sibling or two cooing over them, wiping their tears, cuddling them after they'd been poked and prodded.... being a FAMILY to them. It was absolutely precious. In the middle of all that CHAOS, it's probably one of the most beautiful things I've witnessed on this journey.
Hey! We know him! (this is the floor of the medical place!!)
Joe: The paperwork whisperer. This is Helen. She is one of the in-country guides for Lifeline and she knows A LOT about the adoption procedures. We do WHATEVER Helen tells us to do. Sit here. Okay. Give me all your passports. Okay. Give me $5,000. Okay. Sign here. Okay. Go down elevator and get on van. Okay. Go in here and buy a silk dress. Okay. I adore her. And, in situations like this, I LOVE being told exactly what to do. We adopters follow directions VERY well. I love me some Helen.
Daddy's explaining to Mary what's about to happen. She's saying, "I don't think I want to."
First stop: ENT. Squeak a duck by her head and she turns to look at it? She can hear. Look in throat. Okay! All done!
Weight check. Skinny little thing.....
She also had her temperature taken and still has a bit of a fever.... They tried to sign us up for some Chinese medicine, but I explained that we had already started her on some American antibiotic. They were okay with that and encouraged us to have her drink lots of water.
Final stop: listen to heart..... doctor had NO comments.... which was good. Mary's medical special need is a heart defect (CHD, VSD). She had surgery here in China when she was three months old, but there's always the chance that trouble might still linger.... and there still is.... but I was glad he didn't have anything to say after listening to her heart. I prayed during this one! Joe was in awe of how still she sat during this heart check..... with her special need, she's probably had this particular thing done A LOT. She knows the drill, smart thing.
Lots of families with their new children! Makes me cry just looking at the picture!
After we all survived the medical, it was time to do a little shopping. We got Mary a beautiful red silk dress..... and a few other things. After all my shopping is done, I'll post a picture and descriptions with my haul.
Mary and I drinking some hot Jasmine tea. She's ready to sleep. How can you tell? Anyone know the signs?
The tea maker.
At 3:00, Joe met the other Lifeline families and our guides to do a little paperwork for the Visa stuff. Mary was asleep, so I stayed in the room. The boys went down to the pool.
And after a delicious "authentic MEXICAN" meal down the street at Tekila's, this is how we ended our day..... a little playtime on the floor.
We are still doing well. We still miss America. We want some ICE in our drinks. And we would LOVE to be able to brush our teeth with sink water. We are excited to get clean clothes today (sent out some laundry yesterday) and to SHOP some more today!!!
Thanks for hanging in there with us! Today is Sunday.... and we leave for Hong Kong on Tuesday. We. Are. Getting. Close.
Love the update!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Jennifer ( dtc fb group)