Almost Home

December 10, 2010  Last posting from Guangzhou (Canton) in China!

Hello one last time from our hotel room in Guangzhou.

There was absolutely nothing scheduled today so they day has crept by. We set up two "playdates" with Maddie, Rachel's 7 year old daughter. This mornng Mary and I took Marie Ling, Maddie and her new little brother Yuting (Christian) to the playroom for over an hour so Rachel had time to do some packing and take a bath in peace. This afternoon Mary and Rachel are with the kids so I could have time to pack and be prepared for the last leg of our Chinese odessey. I have done all I can do to be prepared for tomorrow including packing some chewable benedryl for our little lady on the plane!  I have saved a couple new coloring books and actvities so she has some new things to entertain her on the 14.5 hour flight from Hong Kong to Detroit. Pray hard that she is cooperative and that the snow predicted in Ohio and Michigan come after we get home.

One family left at the crack of dawn this morning and another will leave the hotel within the hour. Before the Smith family headed to Beijing and on to Walla Walla, WA I took Marie Ling down to their room to talk with Ellie for a few minutes. Ellie as I have said before was adopted from China last year and still speaks mandarin. Together we looked at a few family pictures. I am trying to prepare Marie Ling as much as I can for meeting the rest of the family and Mowgli the family dog. I have seen mixed reactions from her to dogs here in China. Having pet dogs seems much more common here in Guangzhou than it did in Xi'an. Ellie and her mom told us that most Chinese people have a strong bias against those with dark skin. I wanted to make sure that Marie Ling knows that Matthias and Magdalena are darker than Mike and I because they too are adopted from another country. I question strongly her knowledge of global geography, but thought the fewer surprises she has the better. We sent a care package to her in September and I was pleased to learn that she received it and was allowed to look at it right away. Thus she has seen pictures of the family for a few months. Understandably, at this point, she is much more interested in looking at the few pictures that she brought from the orphanage than she is inn looking at the photos I brought with me.

There is but one step remaining in this endless process of jumping through hoops; this afternoon our guide is to go back to the consulate to pick up our children's passports with a visa to enter the US pasted into each. When I see Elsie to get the passport and visa, I have a list of things I am going to ask her to talk with Marie Ling about: 1. getting up in time to be in the hotel lobby at 5:30, 2. a 3 hour drive to Hong Kong, 3. a long plane ride followed by a second shorter flight, 4. not kicking the seat of the person in front of her, 5. not screaming out on the plane and 6. the fact that the long plane ride  will include a night of sleep. Do you think one little girl can remember all of that?  If this whole trip is comparable to labor, the flight home must be likened to the actual delivery. The poor little thing has so much new being thrown at her; it is amazing she is doing as well as she is.  This morning she cried sad tears, not angry ones, for about twenty minutes. She did not want to be held. I simply sat next to her and rubbed her back gently. For months I longed to come to China and to meet our new daughter. Now I long for the day when we can communicate easily with each other. Thank God her capacity to learn English is much better than mine is for learning Mandarin. Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

A belated birthday wish goes to my cousin Cece and a special Birthday hug is sent to our nephew Liam in Alexandria, VA!

More when we are on American soil!