We’re Coming Home!

China Time:  Friday, December 31 8:20 am

Guangzhou

Today’s the day!  We’re finally heading home.  It’s a mixed blessing.  We can’t wait to get home, to return normality (what little you get with my family) into our lives.  But we also don’t want to leave China.  It is so amazing here.

At ten, we leave the White Swan for good and head to the airport.  Our flight leaves at 2 so we have a long time.  Then in Beijing we’ll, hopefully, we’ll meet up Lia and Julie.  We have a four hour layover and then we take flight and go all the way to LA!  We meet up, again, with Russell and Jamie and then head HOME!  We will arrive at 6:45 am on January 1, 2011.

I will update you soon.  Talk to you later.  Happy New Year!

God Bless,

~Kristen

Finally at White Swan

China Time: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 11:00 pm

Guangzhou

Today we finally arrived in Guangzhou.  We have been waiting so long to be here.  First reason, we’ve heard about the Swan for 6 years and couldn’t wait to see it for ourselves.  Second, our parents have been telling us not to buy anything until we got to Guangzhou so we didn’t have to carry it around.  This means that now, we can shop!

Today was easy.  A little bit of shopping in the afternoon and meeting up with Addy’s family before bed.  Tomorrow we’re going to the American Consulate and then a TON of shopping.

Sorry I don’t have much to write about.  Nothing really happened today.  Dad’s still feeling bad and Jai had another meltdown tonight.  Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more tomorrow. 

Have a good day.  See you in less than a week :D

God Bless,

~Kristen

XiXi’s Day

China Time: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 11 pm

Qinzhou

Today was a pretty easy day.  We went to visit XiXi’s orphanage and then went to see the place where she was found.  Afterwards, we had a brief rest at the hotel and then went to the beach.  At the beach, we decided to go on a dolphin watch.  It was all amazing.

Like I said, first we went to XiXi’s orphanage.  It’s about 5 minutes from our hotel.  There, we got to meet the director, XiXi’s nurse, and XiXi’s foster parents.  She had really wanted to meet her foster parents, but once we got there, she wanted nothing to do with them.  I’m not sure what happened.  She really wasn’t herself.  Then, to top it all of, she got a nosebleed right in the middle of it all.

Even though XiXi wasn’t happy, the entire trip was made worth it during that meeting.  First, the director gave us baby pictures of XiXi.  Most of you know that when we adopted XiXi she was almost five years old.  Because of this we don’t have baby pictures of her.  Well, that can’t be said anymore.  Once we get home, I will scan them on to the computer and put them on Flickr so you can all see.  The second thing that made this whole trip worthwhile was when they gave us information so that we could contact Shu Shen (I’m not sure if that’s how you spell her Chinese name.)  Shu Shen was XiXi’s younger foster sister and she used to talk about her all of the time.  We have had no way to find out whether or not she had been adopted or where she was.  Today they told us that she had been adopted and was living in America.  They were able to give us her address and the names of her adoptive parents.  XiXi is so excited.

After the visit, we went to lunch and then back to the hotel.  We had a two-hour break at the hotel.  Most of the girls played, but Dad and I slept.  It was very relaxing.  After our break we headed to the ocean.  There were many, many rocks that the girls could climb on and they had so much fun.  Amby told us that there was a boat ride we could take out to see dolphins.  They had told us there was a 50-50 chance of seeing the dolphins and the boat ride was pretty costly.  I didn’t think it was worth it and neither did Mom.  But, the girls really wanted to go, so we did.  Dad stayed back to rest, though, because he’s still a little out of sorts.

The boat ride was amazing.  I can’t believe I had thought it wasn’t worth it.  It wasn’t like the dolphin watches I’ve been on in the US for several reasons:

1.      The boat was just a little motorboat, not a “dolphin cruise” like home.

2.      The dolphins here are white, not black.

3.      The boat gets really close to the dolphins

4.      The dolphins play tricks on you

What I mean by “play tricks on you” is that they’ll be swimming right to the boat and then they’ll go underwater so you can’t see them.  You look towards the other side of the boat, expecting it to swim under.  Then, all of a sudden, you see it on the first side swimming the opposite direction.  Or one will pop up in front of the boat, about ten yards away, so you turn to get a picture.  Next thing you know, there’s another one behind, 4 feet from the boat.  I was so much fun and I got so many great pictures.  My only regret is that Dad didn’t feel up to coming with us.

With the dolphin watch finished, we headed back to the hotel.  For dinner, we were all too lazy to go out to eat.  So, instead, Mom, L and I walk 2 blocks to McDonald’s again and then brought food back.  It was nice to be able to lie around for a while.  I was able to watch a movie and do all of this on the computer.

Tomorrow we head to Guangzhou, where we will meet up with Addy and her family.  In order to do that, though, we have to get up pretty early.  So, with that, I’m heading to bed.  When I talk to you tomorrow, I will be in Guangzhou.  So have a good day.

God Bless,

~Kristen

Reliving the Past

China Time: Monday, December 27, 2010 11:50 pm

Nanning and Qingzhou

My dad got e-mail from my grandmother today.  She asked if I could put the town we are in up at the top of the post because it was confusing sometimes.  Sorry if that’s true for you as well.  I will do that from now on.  By the way, love you, Grammy!

Well, today was a fairly simple day.  First, we slept in.  Not a lot, but more so than we have been recently.  We left the hotel between 10 and 10:30 and headed down to the People’s Park.  This park was the place where Mom and Dad first connected with XiXi.  We went down into the park and just looked around for a little while.  About 15 minutes after we got there, the girls spotted rides.  We rode a pirate ship, a rollercoaster that spins as you ride it, and one that takes you upside down.  When Mom said it was time to leave, Xi was not happy in the slightest.  By the time we were finished with the rides we only had a few more minutes before we had to be back at the hotel to meet Amby, our new guide.  In those few minutes, we went down to where Mom and Xi had fed the fish 4 years ago.  We have the cutest picture from back then.  We went down and found the exact spot the picture was taken in and took a new one.  I will have them both up on Flickr soon.

After the picture, we went back to the hotel to meet Amby.  We checked out of 2 of our 3 rooms because Dad hasn’t been feeling well, so he stayed and slept while we went out to eat.  I think this was the funniest restaurant we’ve been to so far.  Amby said that this was the first time our waitresses had seen westerners and they were extremely excited.  They continually giggled and laughed. It was so much fun to watch them.  The actual meal was good.  Not the best, but we certainly ate our fill.

When lunch was over, we went to the registration office in town.  We got to see the very room where Mom and Dad first met XiXi.  Again, we had a picture from that room of Xi on a green horse in front of a black couch.  We found the horse and the couch and took another photo.  Then, we went out to the back courtyard and played on the playground equipment for about half an hour.

After visiting the office, we headed back to the hotel to pick up Dad and to check out.  Then, we went on a 2 hour-long car ride to Qingzhou.  And now, here we are.  We took some time to check in and get settled, but then Mom and all of us girls went out shopping.  It wasn’t personal, though.  We went shopping for clothes for the orphanage kids.  It took us hours!  Then, after we had picked out a bunch of clothes, we headed up to the cashier.  Mom’s credit card wouldn’t work, of course, so she had to go and get money.  She and L left while the rest of us stayed with the stuff.  It took them at least 45 minutes because they couldn’t find an ATM that would work so they had to go all the way back to the hotel.  The whole thing was a mess!  Thank goodness it’s over.

We had a nice little dinner at McDonald’s because it was the closest thing there was.  Now we’re all back in the hotel and much happier.  No more arguments at the moment and everyone seems in a better mood.  It’s a wonder what a little taste of home can do.

Pray for Dad.  He’s really not feeling well and I’m afraid he’s going to miss out on tomorrow.  We don’t think it’s anything serious, but he’s missing out.  Mom says he’s allergic to China because he’s gotten sick every time they’ve come.

Well, I’m heading to bed. Tomorrow we will be visiting Xi’s orphanage, so wish us luck.  Have a good day.  Be safe and trust in the Lord.

God Bless,

~Kristen

Pandas and Shopping and Flying, oh my!

China Time: Sunday, December 26, 2010 11:20 pm

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas yesterday.  I thank God for sending us his son so we may one day spend eternity with him.   I want to here all about your day.  What did Santa bring you and your family?  Did you spend your day with relatives or just your immediate family?  I’m curious.  Of course, I would love to have spent mine with my grandparents and cousins, but spending it in China with my immediate family was a pretty awesome experience.  Our Christmas present this year is coming here (surprise surprise J,) but Santa did bring us each a little something.  The three older girls got a $25 iTunes gift card.  Cait got the Harry Potter Lego DS game and the Harry Potter Lego set.  The little girls each got a DS game and a Claire’s gift card.  The girls are all really enjoying their games and I’m sure the iTunes will be used shortly.

Today was fun but sad.  We began our day by going to the panda-breeding center.  Then we traipsed off to the local market street to do some shopping.  After that, though, we had to say goodbye to our friends as we headed to the airport.

At the panda-breeding center we got to see most of the levels of a panda’s growth.  First, we saw adult pandas.  They were cute but wouldn’t even acknowledge us. They can get up to 300 pounds because all they do is eat and sleep (just like Americans.)  Then we went to the cubs.  A panda cub is somewhere between 1 and 4 years old.  They are not quite as big as an adult, but they’re about 150 pounds and follow the same living habits.  After hanging with the cubs for a while, we went to see the yearlings.  A yearling is a panda that is less than a year old.  They are so cute!  The trainers were in there with them and the pandas would come up to them and ask to be held.  Then the trainers started to run around.  It was adorable because the pandas followed.  They were the cutest things ever.  I have a video up on Flickr (or it will be soon) so you can see it.

At the center, we also saw peacocks, red pandas and swans.  The cool thing about the swans is that they were black.  Black swans are really rare and aren’t usually seen in America.  I was fun because you could feed them.  I put some feed on my hand and they ate right out of my palm.  It was a great experience.

After a quick lunch, we headed to the market.  I didn’t get anything because we’re waiting until Guangzhou to get most of the stuff so we don’t have to lug it around all over China.  I did, though, get a sucker made of hand-blown sugar.  It was shaped like a snake and was AMAZING.  It lasted forever, even with my sisters’ help.  Walking around the market was fun.  We got to see all of the different kinds of things they make and sell and it was really cool.

Unfortunately, after we left the market, we headed back to the hotel.  There, we had to say our goodbyes.  Luckily, we will see both families again soon.  Addy and her family are coming to Guangzhou and will be staying in the White Swan Hotel with us.  That means we’ll see them in 3 days.  Lia and her mom are heading to Shanghai but live in Ohio.  We found out they we fly the whole trip together from Beijing to LA and then from LA to Cincinnati.  I’m already missing them.

Being away from home is definitely taking its toll on the family.  Today at the breeding center, Jai broke down and started crying.  She said she wanted to go home and couldn’t be comforted.  She also had a melt down tonight and because of that, Xi started to get irritated with her and threw her own fit.  Arguments are not occurring as often as they do at home, but they’re starting to show up more and more.  The little girls (including Cait) are ready to go home.  I think Meg is too.  I’m starting to miss my friends, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave.  I will be so glad to see them when I return home, but I could stay in China forever.

Well I’m heading to bed.  Have a good day.

God Bless,

~Kristen