GOOD BYE CHINA!

Last night we arrived very late in Beijing. We got into out hotel room and settled by around 12:00 midnight. Emma slept the whole plane ride and we had to wake her up when we got to the airport. She did very well. Although is is afraid of flying. She does not like when the plane is taking off. She covers both eyes with both of her fore arms. It is just so cute. She will than start sucking her finger with her arms still over her face. She fell asleep very quickly after that.

Today is going to be a very busy day. We were going to see Tienemen Square but, half the group didn't want to go. I was so disappointed. That is one of the places that I really wanted to see while in China. Erik and I might take a quick walk there on our own this morning. It is about a half hour walk. If we can do it and have the time, I really want to go. After that we head to the airport. I can't believe that the trip is coming to an end and that we will be heading home in just a few short hours. There are so many emotions, I really can't wait to get home but, every little step in this process in emotional. As I said before, we are taking Emma away from her culture and the only life that she has known. I know that she is going to do very well but, You just can't help feeling sad for her.

Yesterday in Guangzhou we had our last few hours there. The weather was warm and humid. The perfect day. I ran around and ot a few last minute things. We decided to skip the Zoo. I just hope that I won't regret it someday. There was just to much to do to get ready. We hurried around getting packed. We had to be ready by 2:40 and then it was on to the Consulate appointment for our swearing in ceremony. This is where Emma becomes legally ours. It was a nice ceremony, very short, but you like it that way. They swear all of the babies in at the same time. Emma becomes a legal US citizen when her foot touches the ground in Chicago. Just another emotional event. I jsut can't wait to get a picture. I am just hoping that it is not to crazy getting through customs.

We are off to the airport at 12:00 noon China time. I can't wait to see everybody there.

GOOD BYE FROM CHINA!

MORE PICTURES FROM GUANGZHOU

LAST NIGHT IN GUANGZHOU

As much as I can't wait to get home and settled back into life again, a part of me is sad. I am sad to leave this wonderful country. The people here are so nice. I feel like I'm leaving a part of my heart here in China. This is Emma's country and something for her to be so proud of. She has an incredible history to be very proud of.

This has been an amazing trip and I can't wait for my fellow Panda's to experience it. You will have the time of your life. Treasure every moment, take in every site, smell every smell, talk to the people, they are very interesting and have a lot to share. Engulf yourself in their Provence and get as much information that you can. It may be the only chance that you have.

Guangzhou is the vacation part of the trip of the trip. Don't get me wrong, there are still schedules that we have to follow but, we have a lot more free time. The shopping is great. There is one store that you don't want to miss, that is A Gift From China. 100% of the proceeds go to the orphanages. They have the most beautiful gifts. I bought Emma's Christening dress there and many other things. It is beautiful. The gifts are not the typical tourist gifts. If you want the best squeaky shoes, I would recommend Sherry's. The prices aren't the greatest but, they do have the cutest ones. I forgot how many pairs I am up to. Actually I am embarrassed to admit how many I bought.

Tonight most of our group went out to eat. We went to an Italian Restaurant. It was really nice and the food was good(not Giorgio's) but, it was very welcomed after all the Chinese that we have been eating. It was nice to share this last night with most of our group. We had a very nice walk a long the river to get to the restaurant and just as nice of a walk back. People are always out socializing, walking around and just enjoying themselves. We got back to the hotel around 8:00 and put Emma to bed. Now I have to pack. We leave tomorrow after we have our swearing ceremony. Emma will legally be ours by US standards. We get her Visa tomorrow. Now we will be able to leave with her. When we touch down in Chicago and puts her foot on the floor, she becomes a legal citizen of the US.

We fly back to Beijing tomorrow. We will get in really late and then have to get up early. I think they are squeezing in Tienanmen Square before we have to get on the long flight home. We leave Beijing later in the afternoon. We will arrive in Manchester Wed. at 9;24 pm. So if I don't get to post again, I will see you all when we get home. I can't believe that we are coming home in two days. The time has gone by so fast.

Oh, one other thing, we took a trip to the pearl market today. WOW! I did some damage, won't say how much but, lets just say I got myself the most beautiful set of pearls. I just love them.

Well, signing off from Guangzhou. Thank you to all of you who have followed my blog. It's nice for the support. I will continue the blog when we get home. It might be a few days but, keep checking back.

BUDDIST TEMPLE BLESINGS

Today we went to visit a Buddhist Temple. It was such peaceful place. We were offered to have our babies blessed by a Monk. Most of the families decided to have it done. As we walked into the temple we had to take off our shoes. Only one parent was aloud to enter with the baby. We knelt down in front of three Buddha's. The Monk proceeded with the ceremony. He sang and went on to bless our babies. He sprinkled water on the babies and the parent holding them. It was a real nice ceremony. I felt that we needed to do this for Emma before we left her country.

After we left the Temple we went on to the Jade store. I won't even go into what we(I) bought there. We got some really nice pieces of jewelry. After that we went to have lunch. From there we had to be back at the hotel by 3: 30 for the famous red couch photos. We got back from shopping and we had to get Emma in her traditional Chinese outfit. We headed down stairs to get the pictures taken. It went very well. We had 10 babies to take a picture of all at once. Can you imagine trying to get that many babies to pose all at once? Well, the babies did very well. We got to take a lot of pictures. They sat there for a good amount of time before anyone cried. Emma is the second one from the left in a maroon dress. She just sat there and wondered what was going on. She even sat there for a little bit after all the other babies were gone

After the photos we had some free time. A few of us choose to go on a dinner river cruise. It was a wonderful time. We ended up with only 4 families. All the tables were right next to the windows so that you had a wonderful view. I can't say that the food was anything great. It was just more Chinese food(I want Mexican and Italian)I didn't eat anything but two pieces of pound cake. It was a very warm night. We went to the upper deck and all around you were buildings lite up in the night sky. The breeze was so warm and humid. It felt very tropical. When the cruise ended we had to head back to the hotel. Emma was really tired and we had to get her to bed. The photos are kind of all over the palce. I can only post 5 at a time so there really is no sequence. ECG Girls, I had tp take a picture of Emma in her beautiful Chinese onsie that some of you made. I brought it to China just so I could do that. Thank you. One of the other pictures is from the pizza part that we had and some of the babies are sitting on the bed.