A Few Extra Pictures

These are a few of our favorites that we wanted to add in. One is of Jodi's adopted grandfather who just happens to be her friend Keith's grandfather! He has been so kind to Jodi. The other one shows our "shy" little daughter putting her head in Keith's lap. They are so funny together. Yesterday at the clinic, Keith would bring over a toy for Jodi who would then shake her head "no", point to the toy basket, and send Keith back over for another one. Talk about hard to please! As her future husband, he has his work cut out for him with our opinionated daughter!! We plan to Skype with the other family so that our children can stay in touch. They share everything and save seats for each other on the bus.

The picture of me is by one of the many many great statues throughout Guangzhou. The last one is of wonderful Baba teaching his beautiful daughter how to dance. Talk about precious moments!! Love to you call.

On the home stretch

Today was another nice day. It's hard to believe we are heading home soon. We are grateful to say the least! We went to a beautiful park and also to some kind of temple (unsure of the name..... we'll have to get back to you....:) ) The architecture was different than in Beijing with very intricate carvings. In one of the pictures from the temple, look for the Chinese worker who was watching us tour around!

We participated in a wonderful tradition with the other families who adopted from the same agency. We had a picture made on the red couch with our children dressed in their traditional Chinese outfits. This has evidently been going on for years. They were precious and unbelievably there were no tears. We have met some special families and feel privileged to have had this opportunity. This was in the lobby of our hotel which is quite beautiful. Tomorrow we go the consulate for our final appointment. It is all coming to a close! We love you and are grateful for you all.

Great day in Guangzhou

We've had a great day today and God has really blessed. She had her required physical and behaved very well. We had one glitch with paperwork which gave me heart failure but the staff there was very nice and we pray it got ironed out. Our hotel is beautiful with an indoor waterfall and plenty of koi to look at. Jodi is fascinated with them. That is her and Baba at the top of the waterfall. We are right on the river which is really pretty. They have plenty of areas to walk along or just sit and enjoy.

Mom and I had fun shopping today and are amazed at the bargains. We got her some great shoes and a Chinese outfit. I know we're very biased but we think she looked absolutely beautiful! We also visited a great store whose profits support orphans. We had a wonderful Cantonese dinner with our Great Wall adoption group. We have now met 4 other families who adopted from other provinces and have enjoyed getting to know them.

We will be touring tomorrow and look forward to that! David and Donna, thank you for your incredibly kind message. We are glad you now have your daughter and well understand the challenges! We pray that all is well with you and feel that God definitely intended for us to meet! Take good care. To all of our other loved ones, we love and miss you. Can't wait to be home!!

Only by the grace of God

We are so happy to say that we made it safely to Guangzhou yesterday. We are unhappy to say that the day was incredibly difficult. Our daughter does not like to fly and she made sure others knew it. She was OK when the plane first took off and then started wailing!! Nothing like having eyes staring at you as your child screams uncontrollably!! Fortunately the stewardess was very kind and helpful but Jodi was a handful the whole day. We thought it was very interesting that she chose to wear the outfit from the orphanage for our plane flight. We think that the transition was very frightening for her because after 2 weeks the hotel had become our home. Even this morning she was screaming and crying uncontrollably so that we missed breakfast. We wondered what alien had taken over our little girl. As of this moment, the sweet one is back but we know it could change at any moment with her strong will and all of the transitions she is making. We have been praying for God to soothe and comfort her and for His guidance in how we can best help her.

Now for the good part! Guangzhou is really beautiful and a nice change from the big city. Fred felt like it reminds him of Savannah with the foliage and architecture. The 2 cute pictures are of Jodi and her "boyfriend" (which he now calls himself!). They hug and today she had her head in Keith's lap on the bus. He told her he was going to really miss her! How incredibly cute is that?? The other pictures are some of the incredible sites right outside our door. We went to a market today where the young man in the picture was painting with the side of his hand. It was really amazing and he has quite a gift. We had German food today which was quite good and Kelly if you're reading this, they have a restaurant that only serves snake! I'll bring you some leftovers. :) Love and hugs to you all and we covet your prayers as we continue to learn as parents.

Last Day in Beijing

We made it! We fly out in the morning and feel ready. We went back to the Pearl Market today and were better prepared for the aggressive salespeople. Mind you, these are sweet little Asian girls who run these booths and grab you by the arm. If you make a low offer, they'll say dramatically, "You're killing me, you're killing me...." It's quite a show! We went back to the fun park with the ball pit today but all Jodi wanted to do was go fishing. She was very pleased with herself when she caught a little fish in the inflatable pool! We also included a picture of her unique napping style. She resists lying down so she falls asleep leaning against the chair and then Baba puts her in the bed. What a character!

We've included a few last shots from our time in Beijing. It has been a privilege to be here. Baba and Nye Nye are playing balloon volleyball with Jodi here in the room, one of the few things we found to get out here energy!! God bless and we'll be in touch soon. Time to start packing.......:)

Fun at the Park

Hi all loved ones! We are counting down our last few days in Beijing and are ready to go! We have loved being here but 2 weeks has been a long time with limited activities for a 4 year old. We feel so blessed to have seen the incredible sites here. We leave on Saturday to fly to Guangzhou which is where the American Consulate is located. The climate there is similar to Miami and we're looking forward to the warmer temperatures. There are also playgrounds and a pool to keep our little ones occupied so this sounds very good to us. We are running out of fun ideas for the hotel room.

This is our cutiepie at a beautiful local public park. It was so neat to see the community activities such as Tai Chi groups and a group that was singing and dancing. There was a small amusement park for the kids but with their excitement you would have thought we were at Disney World. This was the first time Jodi and her little buddy had ever been on a ride. We especially loved the picture with gun toting Jodi and her Baba. They especially loved the huge inflatable castle and showed no fear in climbing and jumping. We have really enjoyed getting to know the other family who have adopted Jodi's buddy from the orphanage. They have been so kind to our little one. They are from Mobile so we look forward to a reunion with them and are discussing an arranged marriage! :)

We realized we haven't said much about Jodi's physical health and wanted to update you on our observations. We do see several surgeries ahead as she has a little extra thumb on her right hand and a strange growth at the top of her back. She also has a bulge about mid back and her right ear is smaller than the left. To our delight none of this seems to negatively affect her function but we are very curious to find out what is going on with her. We continue to thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Now for a few responses to questions.... Peter, she measures 11 inches from shoulder to bottom! Janna, thank you so much for your offer! She could definitely use lightweight pants, capris, or skirts for warm weather. She wears a 4T in bottoms and a 5 in tops. One more thing, Mom and I had a manicure yesterday and were stunned to find it cost us 5 dollars each including tip! They did a great job and were so nice. Love and hugs to you all!!

The Dragon Lady's Summer Palace

After a night of play, which ends up in front of the computer winding down with Disney's "101 Dalmatians", we started this day with a trip to the Summer Palace. This was the Empress Dowager "Cixi's" Summer getaway when the weather was TOO hot in the Forbidden City. NICE & COOL!!! Can understand why they might want to retreat to this location! The walkway beside the lake was laden with a different painting on the inside and the outside of this tunnel like structure every few steps, which was VERY impressive to say the least.
Little Miss Jodi loves all the attention she's getting, even from her new "extended" family that we get to share in these trips with. She makes us laugh a lot, and can be a challenge at times as she exerts her independence. She's good at asking for things, and doesn't fuss too much when the answer is no, unless she's tired or very sleepy. She is also good at sharing whether it's a meal, a drink or a treat. She likes to help too!! She helped me bring back our dinner last night from Subway carrying one bag while I carried the other. When she's not RIDING in her "new" stroller, she loves to help push it along. She has "wowed" us on several occasions... She's good at throwing away her trash, folding her clothes, and putting things away, which was obviously taught to her at the orphanage. She is a big HAM! It's funny to watch her imitate us, and also neat to see things about ourselves that she has in common with us. Just a great reminder of the Hand at work...

As I finish this up -- the other three left for the market to pick up some things for dinner some time ago... Now I've got to try and catch up with them, or should I say find them!?!?! --Fred

The Temple of Lama

Today we went to see a beautiful Buddhist temple that is now open to the public. The architecture was again amazing and they had one Buddha that is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being made out of one piece of sandalwood. It was at least 3 or 4 stories high! This was followed by attending a tea ceremony which the adults really enjoyed... the kids, not so much..... The teas were incredible and tasted richer that anything we had ever had.

We all hit the wall today... but it wasn't so great... (Sorry for the bad humor but I told you we were tired. We've been working on that joke all day.:) ) The other pictures are Jodi practicing her moves when hounded by the paparazzi. Actually these are her new friends in the hotel lobby who are so sweet to her when we come through every day. We also have a picture of Baba's new discipline technique to keep Jodi in her seat. What do you think? Actually she was loving this and told him to do it over and over!! We are still having our challenges with our very stubborn little girl but this is followed by very sweet moments that we wouldn't trade. Tomorrow we head to the Summer Palace and love to you wherever you are right now!

The Forbidden City

What an incredible day!! We got to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, both of which were amazing to see. The architecture was so beautiful and we of course loved hearing about the history. The stroller was a huge help as she was very content in it so we could really enjoy the experience. As you can see by the picture, she also enjoyed pushing the stroller like a big girl! The trees in the garden were wild looking with their gnarly branches. We also got to see the Emperor's living quarters which looked so tiny compared to what we have now in our bedrooms. What a privilege to see all this! We went to an authentic noodle house for lunch afterward and the food was unbelievable. We ate until we could eat no more! Mom, Fred, and I are of course thinking of Dad today on his birthday and know that he is smiling down from heaven at his granddaughter and the experiences we are having. We honor his memory today.

Our daughter is a true comedian. In the restaurant she was putting on her coat backwards and laughing hysterically. She has so much joy (most of the time... when she's not tantruming on the floor....) and keeps us smiling. I guess it's plain to see we are very proud parents. Things we have learned about Jodi: She is NOT a morning person (fits right in), she loves to joke and play, she loves to draw and color, loves her dolls and changing their outfits, is very stubborn and opinionated, wants to be independent, loves chicken wings and chicken nuggets, does not like spicy food!, is very affectionate, and loves to learn how to do new things. It is a thrill to learn more about her every day and we thank God every minute for her even during the meltdowns. Our love to you all!

Pearl Market and Aquarium

Today we went to the Pearl Market which is many many merchants who are ready to haggle with you for their merchandise. The minute we got off the escalator, they were on us!! The merchants would literally grab you by the arm to come to their booth. We are not good at haggling over prices so we probably could have gotten better deals but we did get some adorable clothes for Miss Jodi. She has a definite opinion on what she likes and doesn't like!

Jodi is presently wanting to be held and carried most of the time which is not an easy task considering she weighs almost 40 pounds! It's hard to say "no" when you know that she missed out on that as a little one. We decided to buy a stroller today to save our arms and backs!!

We went to the aquarium with our new friends. What an experience! I felt like I had run a marathon when we got out of there because she ran from display to display. Jodi absolutely loved it there! Mama and Baba were exhausted..... We feel like she is bonding well with us which is such a blessing and so important. We feel certain that your prayers are making all the difference. Also thanks to your faithful prayers, we are all feeling better! We love and appreciate you so much. Heading to the Forbidden City tomorrow!

The Olympic Site

Today was a free day so we joined our new friends at the Olympic area. Pretty exciting to get to see everything!

The Bird's Nest is a very impressive piece of architecture and the Water Cube is huge!! The park was very crowded and we were one of the main attractions. It was really interesting to see how much we were stared at. People would literally stand there and watch us for a while! They were taking pictures of us and one boy and his friend asked to have a picture made with us. I don't know if it was my blonde hair or if it was because there was a big group of Americans with Asian children. We thought about setting up a donation area to have pictures made with us!!!

Our daughter loves to sing and we decided she's a genius because she knows Frere Jacque (sp?). Actually her friend sings it too so that must have been one they know from the orphanage. At the Olympic site, they were playing the Chinese Olympic song. Jodi and her friend both burst into song which was so cute.

The pictures today are showing what a little ham she is. I gave her the new scarf and hat and she proceeded to pull the hat down over her face. Our own little "Cousin It." Too bad Fred and I aren't silly like that.....:) We discovered at lunch that Subway here does not have the 5 dollar footlong!!

We have a prayer request as we are all feeling a little under the weather with congestion and coughs. My mother in particular is struggling with a cold. Thank you in advance and love you all so much!