Ni Hao to all our Viewers! When we first got the girls a week ago, we had our day planned to respect their schedules. I don't know what has happened, but we seem to be putting so much into our days and nap time is suffering. Arisson seems to be a little off schedule, but we are enjoying our time so much. This morning started off with our breakfast. Arisson seemed a little crabby. We have decided that she really isn't much of a morning girl. Now, morning here is evening there, so when we get there, maybe she will be a morning person. After breakfast, our room was being cleaned, so Jason and I, and Arisson, too, of course, took a little walk in the garden/park area close to our hotel. Many people were doing their morning exercises, like Tai Chi, badminton, and this hackey sack thing. They also had school children gathered for what looked like to me some type of a flag ceremony. I would say there were a couple hundred children, or so. I was watching these 2 boys messing with each other in line. Little troublemakers :)
We went on a little site seeing trip to the Yun Tai Garden and the Chen Clan Academy (Guangdong Folk Art Museum). We were at the gardens for about an hour and about the same at the Folk Art Museum. Let me just tell you that it is only the beginning of April, and it was rather balmy today. I am so thankful we aren't traveling in August. You people that have done just that and survived, wow! There wasn't a lot of shaded areas in the Gardens. The gardens were very beautiful. When we walked in, it looked like Disney World because they had these Mickey/Minnie characters in the garden. They are there because this is the year of the Rat. You will see from the pictures that Jason is wearing the Snugli today. He is giving me a little break. Arisson liked seeing her mommy that way. We walked around and took pictures. When we reached the exit they had a little stand for souvenirs. We bought ourselves some ice cream cones. I guess I need to mention that the Chinese meals don't have anything like dessert at the end. I have been desiring something sweet for a long time, and this ice cream hit the spot, especially because it was so hot.
The Folk Art Museum was beautiful, and I am sure I didn't do it justice with my picture taking. Since Jason was the Snugli man, I took pictures. I was getting reprimanded every once in awhile by the Snugli man. The Museum was both inside and outside. There were rooms that had artwork, but you were walking outside to get to them. There were statues all over the place that were pretty cool. I know we didn't see all of the museum, but I really have no idea what percentage we covered. We just kept walking. There was one room that had ivory carvings that were really detailed and there was also these microscopic carvings. I am just in awe of their craftsmanship. At one point we sat down to give Arisson her bottle. While she was eating, Jason spotted some live lizard thing. I think I know where Aidan gets his creature fascination from.
When we returned from the outing, we had a few hours until we needed to walk to the Medical examination. We needed money, so the plan was to go to the bank, go grab a quick lunch and then go to the medical exam. We were at the bank for over an hour. The tellers seem very thorough and I know that adds to the long wait, but come on! Jason, who lives from meal to meal, was pretty antsy. We didn't get our lunch, and got back to the hotel with only about 15 minutes to spare. The Medical examination, unlike the bank, was not very thorough and was very quick to go through 3 different stations. Arisson weighs a whopping 16 pounds with clothes on :) She is just a petite lady. She only cried at one station, I think. Two stations really checked out her strawberry, and wrote something down, but clueless as to what they wrote. The language barrier can be a little scary and frustrating at times. Especially when it is medical things, I like being in the States so I can ask questions, or at least know what is being said.
After the examination, we came back and Arisson had a bottle, while Jason ran out to get something to eat. I was happy to drink my agua and eat a fiber bar. When Jason got back, I had to go meet with Bob for a paperwork meeting. We filled out paperwork for 2 hours. It is a little nerve wracking to fill this stuff out, especially since one little mistake could hold everything up. I am counting on leaving here on Friday...we want no mistakes. Bob said that in all the years Sunny Ridge has done the adoptions they have never left a man behind, I don't want to ruin their record. When I returned, my heart melted. Arisson saw me and she was so excited that I was back. She missed me! When I picked her up she was acting giddy and silly. I am loving each day now as a little more of her personality comes out. As I am writing this she is in her crib talking up a storm. Jason just told her that she may be letting too much of herself out of her shell right now. It is late, and she didn't get much more than a few cat naps today. Perhaps this is why she isn't our spunky morning girl.
We went out to eat with the Sobecki's. We were really going to eat something exotic, but snake and turtle were so expensive. The menu was fun to go through. Pig intestine with pickle, Sliced swan meat with vegetables, Jelly Fish soup, and the list goes on. We ordered pigeon, shredded eel, goose, and some type of a pork dish. The pigeon, of course arrived with the head on the plate. The eel actually looked like some type of worms. In the front of the restaurant, they have tanks, and tanks of all their fresh foods. We got some pictures. They had everything like silk worms, toads, snakes, turtles, water beetles. It was pretty cool. We shot some video of Greg feeding the pigeon head the wormy looking eel. I was laughing so hard, I think I cried - these kind of tears are more like me. The pigeon was pretty good, although Lisa said it tasted like soap. Angelina was fussing, so Lisa took her home early. She left with a cheek full of pigeon. $5 bucks says she spit it out ;) The eel was really good. The goose wasn't anything special. I really liked the pork dish. It had spring onions, cilantro and ginger in it. Yumm-o, but not very daring. The wait staff were not very good with the English language, so we had to just wing it. I wished they had a sampler platter.
Arisson is starting to be a little silly girl. She laughs, and smiles, and makes a lot of noises. In one week, Arisson has gone from a little scared peanut to a sweet little firecracker! God picked out the perfect daughter for us! With all of the families that we are traveling with, you can see how the families are just really perfectly made. Everyday the girls and the one boy show more of who they are. I am excited to stay connected with the families and see what the future holds for these beautiful children. We really have bonded as a group, and I know that I am going to miss them so much when we return. I suggested that we should all live in a commune, but I don't think there were any takers.
Three things I miss:
1. My kids at home
2. My front loader
3. Chocolate milk
Three things that are becoming a drag:
1. The bottle making process because of the unsafe water
2. Living out of a suitcase
3. My hair - I don't know what is going on with it! |
