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