It's hard to believe it has been a week already! The time is flying by and I can't imagine my life without my little Zha Zha! Her Chinese name is Xia and the orphanage told us her nick name was Xia Xia pronounced She-ah, She-ah (say it really fast!) It almost sounds like Shah-Shah and she loves it! Now, our group all calls her Zsa Zsa as in Zsa Zsa Gabor! She responds to that name and will squeal and smile ear to ear when you call her this!
We had a great weekend! Saturday morning, our group visited the Museum of The Mausoleum Of the Nanyue King. It was really neat! After viewing the exhibition room of nothing but ceramic pillows, we now understand why our beds are so hard at the White Swan! Apparently, they believe this is luxurious, while we are all making appointments with chiropractors upon our return! The Mausoleum of Nanyue King (137BC-122BC) was discovered in 1983. It is the largest king's tomb of the Western-Han dynasty ever found in the southern part of China. We actually climbed down into the burial chamber and saw some of the artifacts buried along with the mummy and it was quite impressive! Next, Tracy and Judy took us to a shopping plaza which specializes in Jade, Porcelain, and gifts unique to Guangdong Province. One of the most famous things Guangdong is known for is their porcelain. I bought Abigail a beautiful ceramic vase hand painted by an artist who shares her name Xia. They decorate right there in the store and it is amazing to sit and watch them work. Emily bought Abigail a CD of Chinese Music so that she is not lonesome when she comes home! Tim talked the bus driver into making an unscheduled stop at McDonalds and boy did they taste good! We needed a little junk food after eating all the prime rib, filet mignon, and spaghetti this week! :)
Emily has spent the majority of the weekend in the pool and has made several new friends who are also here in China adopting new siblings! It is amazing to see all the families with new little Chinese children! At breakfast, there are over 100 babies at any given time with their new parents! We are all truly blessed and it is amazing to see God's hand in making our families complete!
The girls are doing great! They are both crazy about each other and Emily is not at all jealous! I am still on Cloud Nine with all of this! Our travel group is so much fun and many of the Special Needs families have been reunited with us! Tonight we had a group dinner here at the White Swan's American barbecue. It is amazing to see how much the girls and our one little boy are thriving with a little one-on-one attention and love! Okay A LOT of attention and Love!
It's hard to believe we will be on our way home in just a few days! The time has gone by so quickly and thank you to all of you that have written or called! (Stacie, your phone bill is going to be outrageous!) But it is so much appreciated and is helping us not be too lonesome for home! I hope your Emil's birthday party goes well today and that the rain holds off! We don't have that problem here in Guangdong as it is HOT, STICKY, and STEAMY!
Jamila, Emily wanted me to tell you she misses you so much and can't wait to play with you! She is doing great and really loves China! She wishes you were here though!
It is midnight here in Guangzhou, China and as I go to bed, I know there are several of you stalking DHL and waiting for that referral call from your agency today! The April 27th group here at the White Swan wanted you all to know you are in our thoughts and prayers and we are so happy for you! It seems like just yesterday, I received "The Call!" What a wonderful ride it has been and it is hard to believe it is coming to an end here in China. We are all packing up our suitcases which will be collected tomorrow evening! We head to the airport bright and early on Wednesday! Tomorrow, we jump the last hurdle in the adoption process which is the US Consulate appointment and the swearing in ceremony where I will receive the baby's visa to come home! We have had a wonderful time in China. Not only did I receive a beautiful blessing in Abigail, but I have made new lifelong friends with this travel group! What an awesome group of people here! We will really miss one another! Emily is quite fond of everyone too and goes and visits the other parents when we have some down time! Once again she spent most of the day in the pool and had a great time with Zoe.
This afternoon, our group met and took group photos and the infamous "Red couch photos." It went well and was not as stressful as I thought it would be! Abigail just sat there and took it all in! She is so curious and a real "Nosy, Rosy!" We are meeting again tomorrow to take the entire group photos which include many of the Special needs family who were out touring this afternoon. We have all bonded so closely and it is so neat to see everyone's children progressing so well in such a short time.
We are eager to come home and see everyone but at the same time a little sad to leave China. I am sure Danny's Bagels and the local merchants will be sad to see us go as well! We all just adore Lucy who runs the first store on the street kitty corner from the White Swan called Chinese Life/Lucy's. She is so sweet and a very good business woman. We all take our laundry to her and she is looking forward to meeting all of you traveling soon! :)
Thanks so much for all the prayers, emails, and kind words! I have waited a long time to bring Abigail home, and I wouldn't change a thing now! To the late June families who are in the same boat the May 31st families were in and missing the cut-off by a day and all I can say is hang in there! It will happen before you know it and it will be perfect as God intended it to be!
Thanks for following along our journey!
Love,
Kathy, Emily, and Abigail
