Gotcha Day!

We have Harper and she is just precious!!!!  She is very serious and interested in everything.  We made it through the Civil Affairs Office with no tears (from her or me!).  Everything went very smoothly.  Because Harper's orphanage is about 8 hours from Guangzhou, we were one of the last families to meet our child.  It was actually very calm and quiet at the Civil Affairs Office.  About 20 families were leaving just as we arrived.  When we got to the CAO, we could see Harper in another room.  She looked out at us and seemed to possibly recognize us from photos we had sent to her. She is very inquisitive, so maybe she was just wondering who we were. 

After a few papers were signed, we were allowed to take Harper from the orphanage nannies who brought her to Guangzhou.

We brought a few toys with us and Harper immediately latched on to a pink rattle ball.

We asked the nannies when Harper had last eaten, and they said 11:00.  It was nearly 4:00, so we offered her a bottle.  She drank it all within 3 minutes!

After a few more papers were signed, we were ready to go!  We took our first family photo.

Back at the hotel, we played for a while.....

Posed for some pictures...........

Then took a quick shower..........

We played a bit more and when Daddy started to make a bedtime bottle, Harper was too sleepy to wait.  (Notice the pink ball! She clung to it all night!)

We couldn't be more pleased with our precious little bundle!  She is very calm and sweet.  She is interested in everything.  It appears that she has not eaten much real food.  The nannies said they fed her congee (an oatmeal like porridge) and soup.  The nannies also told us she has 16 teeth, so we tried giving her a few solid foods tonight.  She seems to like tasting them, but is unsure what to do with the food once it is in her mouth. She really enjoyed chewing on a slice of an apple, but didn't appear to know how to swallow it.  Something tells me that daddy will be introducing her to donuts in the morning! 

Thank you all so much for your prayers!  I think Harper is doing as well as possible under the circumstances.  Other than a small heat rash, she appears to be very healthy!  We are so thankful for this blessing!

The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou

The Garden Hotel is wonderful!  We have a huge suite.  They provide so many unexpected extras at this hotel!  The service is top notch.  We have been here for one day and already they have delivered a complimentary fruit platter and also some fresh roses!  Not only did they have a crib waiting for us, it also had a nice gift basket in it with many baby products and a stuffed panda.

We have a large bedroom, a fantastic marble bathroom, and a huge living room with a TV, couch, table and chairs and a desk.

Shawn's favorite part of the hotel is the breakfast buffet!  It is a huge spread with every imaginable breakfast food on it.  Shawn's favorite -- the chocolate covered doughnuts.

One less orphan

Tomorrow is our "Gotcha Day".  We will leave the hotel at 3:10 tomorrow afternoon to go meet Harper.  We will spend some time talking with the orphanage staff and then Harper will be ours forever!!!

While I am super excited to meet her, I am also worried about how she will handle this stressful time in her life.  We will be taking her away from all that she knows.  She's really never even been away from her orphanage and I'm sure she will be frightened.  The director of her orphanage will bring her on the 8 hour trip from Chaozhou City to meet us at the Civil Affairs Office in Guangzhou.  There will be many families there, all meeting their children for the first time.  It is a very hot (not air conditioned) building and is packed with people creating a very chaotic environment.  This excerpt from Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen probably sums up the way Harper will be feeling tomorrow.

You look around you.  You are in a remote place in the middle of what seems like nowhere in particular.  You have no maps or signs to tell you where you are.  Suddenly, you are surrounded by strangers, all of whom are overjoyed to see you.  These people smile, laugh, and talk loud and fast, and they act as if you can understand them.  They touch your hair, your face, and your shoulders, and they hug you repeatedly.  You notice they have a peculiar odor.  They dress differently from anyone you have ever met.  Their language is unintelligible and sounds like gibberish.  You have no clue how or why you are here.  You have no idea if you will find your way back to your former life.  You feel hands beginning to remove your clothing, and there, in public, these strangers dress you in new garments.  Some people appear to be assessing you, sizing you up, looking at your hair and teeth closely and noticing any moles or scars on your body.  You are given strange food and invited to play unfamiliar games.  You are handed a container of a strange liquid and encouraged to drink.  Everyone continues to laugh and smile and act as if this were a perfectly ordinary and normal situation.

Please pray for Harper.  It breaks my heart to think about her being taken away from the only "home" she has ever known, driven over 8 hours to a foreign place, and then handed over to three people who look nothing like her.  I am hoping and praying that her nannies and nurses at the orphanage have prepared her for the transition.  I am praying for her little heart, that God will comfort her in all of this transition, and that we'll be able to meet her needs during this stressful time.

Guangzhou!!

We made it to Guangzhou ..............barely!  I'd read about the driving habits of the Chinese people, but it didn't even begin to prepare me for our journey from Hong Kong this morning.  We were told that the drive would take 3.5 hours, but our kamikaze driver, Tim, got us there in just under 2 hours!  Shawn could see the speedometer, and most of the time we were cruising along at 150 km/hour.  That is 94 miles per hour!  Did I mention that much of the time we were in the city, in a construction zone, and he was talking on his CELL PHONE???  We came up on an accident where a large construction truck had slammed into the side of a bridge.  All traffic was stopped.  But no worries--- Tim just drove down the shoulder!!!  At least he slowed down to 80 km/hr for that part!  My Chinese reading ability is very poor, but I'm pretty sure the sign said DO NOT ENTER! 

I couldn't make eye contact with Ashley during this ride, because I knew we would both burst out laughing.  About one hour into the drive, I found myself thinking, "How many Bee Gees songs does this guy have on his playlist?"  Ashley must have been thinking the same thing, because she sent me a text that said, "Tim sure does like the Bee Gees!"  After we got safely checked into our Guangzhou hotel, Shawn burst into a rousing rendition of Stayin' Alive that got us all pretty tickled. 

We are having a great time in China.  We ventured out of the new hotel and found a market, a 7-11 convenience store, and a KFC.  This afternoon, we hired Ann from Red Thread to take us shopping and show us the area.  She owns a business that sends care packages to children in orphanages, and also works as a personal shopping guide.  She's going to show us the best shops and teach us her best bargaining tips. 

Tomorrow, we get Harper!!!  I'm not sure what time yet, because we haven't met out adoption guide.  I'll post again later tonight when we have more details!

A day in Hong Kong

Today we went to Ocean Park in Hong Kong.  It is an amusement park with some zoo animals and an aquarium.  We rode the cable cars to the top of the park and the view of the harbor was great!

We loved the stingrays and the penguins.

 

The highlight of the park was the panda exhibit!!  

We had a great time today at Ocean Park!

Hong Kong!

We made it to Hong Kong!  The long flight was from Detroit to Hong Kong and lasted 15 hours.  I didn't think it was too bad, but Shawn was pretty restless by the end of the trip.  We had personal TV's for each seat, and the movie selection was fantastic!  There were also games and music to keep us busy.  Shawn didn't sleep on the plane, so we think he has been awake for about 26 hours now.  I will let him sleep and blog more tomorrow after some sight-seeing.  That is-- if I can figure out how to post this.  Everything on my screen is now in Chinese, so I'm trying to remember how to publish to the blog!  I'll figure out how to change the language tomorrow after I've had some sleep!

China Travel Itinerary

Aug 9      Leave Kansas City

Aug 10    Arrive in Hong Kong

Aug 11    Tour Hong Kong

Aug 12    Travel to Guangzhou 

Aug 13    Meet Harper   

Aug 14    Complete adoption

Aug 15    Apply for Harper's passport

Aug 16    Free day

Aug 17    Ashley returns to US

Aug 18    Medical checkup

Aug 19    Sight-seeing at the Safari park

Aug 20    Pick up Harper's passport

Aug 21    Free Day

Aug 22    Apply for Harper's visa, take oath at the American Consulate

Aug 23    Pick up Harper's visa at 3:30 p.m. then leave for Hong Kong

Aug 24    Return to US and Harper becomes a US Citizen