Day 12--Consulate Appointment, NAPS, Island Shopping, Pearl River Cruise

It is our last night in Guangzhou.  Tomorrow afternoon we will travel by train to Hong Kong, where we are staying at the Disney Hollywood Hotel.  I have to admit, we are pretty excited about seeing a bit of Hong Kong Disneyland, but it wasn’t our first choice!  Really!!!  There was very little available in Hong Kong for any kind of reasonable price, and the Disney hotel was actually the cheapest of our choices.  So we are looking forward to our brief stay there!  Even more we are looking forward to coming home.

Our time in Guangzhou has been busy.  Each day has been filled with activities, which definitely helps the days go by more quickly, but it also has some drawbacks as well.  Both girls are tired—maybe even exhausted.  Maggie has taken two naps today, and she needed them!  Sarah Beth has had one and enjoyed some quiet time this afternoon.  We are looking forward to getting them home and into a routine.  Our days are probably going to be a lot more structured than we are used to for a while, but that is ok.  I am actually looking forward to it!

Maggie’s preference for Tim has continued today, but he and Sarah Beth left the room for a little while this afternoon to give us some time alone, and it went well.  It wasn’t picture-perfect, but we colored together, she let me put lotion on her, I tickled her, and we played.  The truth is just that this is all new for her.  She was in a room with 20 babies and two nannies.  She has no idea what a family is or how it works.  Because she was older than the other children and in the same room so long, we think she has been used to being in charge.  She demonstrated this at our orphanage visit, and as our guides have interpreted what she says for us, it has also been evident that she is a tad on the bossy side.  She is testing our love as well as the boundaries we set right now, but she will find that we are in this for the long haul.  We aren’t going anywhere!

This morning was another big step in the adoption process.  We went to the U.S. Consulate where we took an oath on Maggie’s behalf stating that all the information we had submitted regarding her adoption was correct.  It was a pretty special moment.  As we entered the building, there was a very long ling of Chinese citizens waiting to get in, so that they could get visas to enter the U.S.  We are blessed to live where we do.

I was also reminded of this blessing as we were shopping on Shamian Island later in the day.  We went to Jenny’s Place.  Jenny is the sweetest lady.  She noticed my cross earrings and said, “Oh, you are a Christian?!  I am too!”  She pulled a jade cross out from under her shirt.  She was very proud, and showed me the various Christian things she had in her shop.  She was very, very nice.  We were able to get many things there—some that I had not seen anywhere else.

Tonight we went on a Pearl River Dinner Cruise.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect—especially when the other family told us they had been told by our agency not to eat the food.  Then I saw the boat, and my worry grew a bit.  It was kind of dirty, but then I reminded myself that most things in China are.

We boarded and found our table.  The girls were antsy because they knew we were supposed to eat, and we were seated right next to the buffet table.  This was our first dining experience without having Maggie in a baby seat since they had none.  It started with her flinging her sippy cup across the table and nearly knocking over my warm 7-Up.  Ha.  We knew we needed to get this girl some food!

The ok was given to go to the table, and it was a mad dash.  Literally.  People were pushing, cutting, and less than orderly.  Our guide in Shanghai had told us that everyone in China wants to be first.  She was right!  We got right in the middle of them because we had two hungry little girls.  We went for the fried rice and noodles.  Especially since we fly home soon we do not want to get sick at this point!

They loved it! Maggie’s favorite is definitely the noodles.  I think she is adorable while she is eating.  Plus she is still!  When she isn’t eating or asleep she is on the go!

While we ate, the sun went down and the lights on the bank of Guangzhou came on.  I had seen pictures, but they really don’t do it justice.  When we finished eating, our guide, Simon, who we love, took us up to the top of the boat to see the lights better.  It was breathtaking, and, evidently, a little magical.

As we felt the breeze blowing our hair and looked around us at the glowing lights, Maggie decided to hand out hugs and kisses.  She began with Tim, then gave them to me, and then to Sarah Beth.  Any reservations I had about that cruise melted away.  It will be a wonderful, special part of my China memory!  There could not have been a better place for her to lean over and hug my neck and give me a kiss.  It was perfect!  And they were the sweetest kisses.  She gave them over and over again.  The sweetness of it outweighed even the beauty of the lights around us.

We headed back down to the lower level for a show.  It was funny, and the kids enjoyed it, but the clown was a little creepy, and the whole show was set to “Living La Viva Loca.”  Just a little weird. 

As soon as we saw the clown we thought that Maggie would be freaked out, but she loved it.  She laughed and giggled and waved her balloon around.  Sarah Beth wanted them to do it again when it was over.

For what started out as a questionable evening, it turned out perfectly.  There was some craziness mixed in with sweetness.  We left hungry, but our hearts were absolutely filled to the brim. 

I can’t wait to share the sweetness of this girl with the rest of the family.  You are going to love her to pieces just like we do.  To everyone praying for our family, thank you!  Your comments are priceless.  Knowing what others have gone through is simply something that is beyond helpful.  I know, like so many things, that when we get to the other side of all this, the difficulty will seem a distant memory.  Those kisses though. . .the memory of them will last a lifetime!