Travel Journal - Day 10

Hello from Guangzhou! It's awesome here and we are having a great time. The hotel is just gorgeous and we are feeling quite ritzy here. There is a picture of the famous waterfall in the hotel - we get to sit and eat breakfast right near it on our right, and to our left is a beautiful view of the Pearl River. We feel like celebrities. There is a ton of security here due to terrorist threats. In some ways it makes you feel safe, in another it's unnerving because you know why they are here, and because there is so much of it. Trying not to think about it too much and enjoy our last few days in China.

Abby woke up quite crabby today, but after her new-found favorite breakfast, she was all smiles. She grabbed a croissant off my plate and started sucking on it. It falls right apart in her mouth, and she held on that thing for dear life. She just sat and ate that thing for an hour and a half! LOL Guess I'd better start stocking up on croissants! After breakfast, we had to take the babies for their medical exams. The US government says this is a requirement. I was a little nervous due to the scabies issue and because all the babies in our group are sick. It wasn't an issue, so we're free to spread scabies in the US if we are so inclined! LOL She still is soo small - she weighed 15.5 lbs with her clothes on. We also had visa pictures taken of the babies. After that, we had more paperwork to do (what else is new), but it didn't take long and we were free to spend the afternoon doing whatever we wanted. I have a shopping partner-in-crime, my friend and fellow adoptive mom, Maria, and we had a ball. Kim, my mom, Maria and Nick all went and hit the stores big time. The stores are really fun - all the merchants talk to you and try to get you to come into their stores. When you do, they show you all different things and will give you better prices the more you buy. I bought Abby some clothes - stuff from BabyGap and Gymboree for $3-5, and some Chinese outfits she can wear on holidays/Chinese New Year. My mom bought Abby a Chinese dress for her birthday which is soooo pretty and we bought lots of other goodies. Tomorrow we are going to a Temple where they bless the babies. I've seen pictures of it from other adoptive families and it looks beautiful. We'll get more shopping in too, I'm sure. Tonight we ordered pizza and went into Nick and Maria's room since they are staying in a suite, which is huge! LOL It was fun - just brought the babies up and we all sat around eating and chatting, and it wasn't Chinese food, so we were thrilled.

Also, I forgot to mention that Maria and I had sent our babies care packages in the orphanage, and enclosed disposable cameras after we had received our referrals back in September. We requested that they take pictures of the babies, nannies - anything that we could get our hands on. We received them back, and Nick dropped them off today and got them developed. We just got them back. They only took pictures of the outside of the orphanage, with the babies bundled up in walkers. I don't care - it's again, another piece of her history. There are pictures of her with her nanny, and we actually can spot the other babies that were adopted by the other families in our group. Priceless, just priceless. I may not have many answers for Abby about her life "pre-us", but I try and get every little bit of information that I have. It's hard to see those pictures of her at the orphanage, but I feel blessed to have them. We're going to make copies for the other families as well.

So, we're enjoying our time here. By the way, my mom and Kim want to say hi too! It's crazy to think that our trip is almost done. I am dying to get home, but it's sad in a way too. I love China, and it's people. They gave us our daughter and I am forever grateful to be able to raise this beautiful little girl. I'll post again tomorrow with more pictures. Thanks to all of you for emailing and just telling Scott or my dad, etc. that you are reading the journal. Makes us feel great for all the support we have... Abby has no idea of all the love that is waiting for her around the world - and in that sense, yes, she is a "lucky baby".

All my love Scott and Evan - "the girls" will be home soon. Miss you more than I can ever say...hugs and kisses to you from China.

xoxoxo Mommy and Abby Grace Si Hua.