My First Love

I fall more in love with this little guy each day. His strength on this trip is something to admire. Mike and I have never been so proud of him. Every morning when I wake up, I feel like I just love him more then yesterday. He has been an amazing and caring big brother. Mike and I are so proud that we brought him with us and that he has welcomed his sister so willingly into our family. He told me the other day that he will always have someone to play with now on Christmas morning. What a sweetie...oh, and he is just so handsome too. I cannot wait to get him home, fed, and rested so those "brown bags" (he calls them this) disappear from under his eyes.

The Beautiful White Swan

The fish above in the pond are HUGE and Harrison loves them. The waterfall below is in the lobby. It really is stunning.

The trees are so gorgeous. The branches are a maze and the trunks so huge. They take my breath away and I would love to let the Minnie Mr. climb up one.

The hanging moss reminds me of my beloved Sea Pines.

In between the two pools is a lovely rose garden. Jack would love to see how huge the roses are. There were so many colors.

The path in between the pools.

The tree backed by the beautiful river.

The pool waterfall.

Little Mrs.

Lisa,

Did Emma get the package Harrison sent her? It was a late Christmas goodie package and I sent it before we left. It was to be there in 10 business days so you should have received it by now.

P.S. Harrison told a family the other night that he was going to Australia next year.

Shamian Island Sculptures

The Island is filled with wonderful sculptures. I wish that my camera was working better because without bright lighting, I cannot get a focused shot. Walking the Island is so nice and we have really enjoyed strolling along the river. I keep trying to get Mike to order Papa Johns, grab a blanket, and lets go down to the river front (right outside hotel door) for a picnic. There are so many local families that do that do just that and it looks like so much fun!

Piper's Medical Exam

As part of the required adoption process, the children all have to go through a "Medical Exam" on Shamian Island. Mike and Harrison stayed home since only one parent was required and I had seen pictures of how packed it got in the exam rooms. The exam itself was a silly. We got held up and had to stay later because the "doctors" did not see Piper's strabismus. The paperwork all said post surgery, but they still didn't understand why they were not crossed. Three doctors were called in and all were fighting. Piper was screaming and they were trying to pull her eyelids open. On top of that they thought she could not hear because they were squeezing a dog squeak toy by her ear and since she was screaming her head off she was not reacting. The whole experience was very concerning, but I heard that almost everyone else's went well.

On the way back to the hotel right as I was about to get upset and cry, I came upon a dead rat. That distracted me so much because it was huge and I had to step on it that I ran across the street and was completely distracted. When I got back to the hotel before I could even mention the rat, Harrison told me that he had a dream that Nannie told him that she sent Poppa (Mike's dad) into the hole in the ground to get the rat (we had seen a rat running into a hole the night before). I asked Mike when Harrison first told him that and he said that while I was at the medical appointment, Harrison woke up and told Mike about his dream. When I told Harrison about the rat that I had to step over, he was so excited because that was the rat Nannie sent Poppa to get. Of course knowing my mother and my father-in-law, I have no doubt it was my father-in-law that would find it oh so humorous to place the dead rat right in front of me and my mother encouraging him since I am so hard-headed and told her that the "signs" had to be obvious!

Good Morning Guangzhou

We arrived yesterday and the moment I went past baggage claim, I knew that I was in love. The reason???? I could see my shadow. Yes - there is sun here! We even passed a few palm trees on the way to the island.

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The plane ride was uneventful - thank goodness! Sissy played and slept on my lap the entire ride and Harrison came to sit by us too. We landed with my arm around my little man and my other arm holding my little girl to my chest. It was just perfect!

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I had really prepared myself to hate the White Swan. I had heard so many negative comments about it, but when we got up to my room I was in love. We have a river view and it is stunning. The hotel has changed the bedcovers to lovely white down or silk covers and with the beds pushed together we have plenty of room. Unfortunately, I fed Piper a bunch of spinach and she has had two terrible accidents on the bed. The White Swan workers are the best and have been wonderful about changing out bed covers.

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Today we went to a Buddist Temple and then walked the island. I do not have too many people pictures, but here are a few from the day. We also had a great dinner at the Italian restaurant.

Goodbye Zhengzhou

We leave the Henan province today. I am up early trying to get us ready. So sorry that I missed a post yesterday, but have a pretty bad cold and stayed in bed all day. We have a 2 hour flight to our next stop and I will check back in there.

For those of you that have asked, Piper's birthday is July 5, 2006. I brought some 24 months that fit except for in the arms, which are too short. The legs are also a bit long. She has also worn some 2T dresses that fit well and are a little long. I think she just has a big torso and head and small legs. Her legs are also very muscular.