The Story Of You - Journey To Carmen!

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Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey,
Danny, Sally, Daniel and Carmen!

February 27, 2009
Daddy's Girl!

Well, guess who loves Daddy??? Yep, it’s a brand new day.
Danny tended to Carmen during the night, had one-on-one time this morning while I showered then took her to breakfast by
himself. All of that plus the little “bribes” over the last few days
seem to have worked. She is holding her arms up for him,
snuggling and calling him “Dada”. It is so sweet!!

This is our last day in Nanning. We all went walking this morning,
found an underground mall and a few other little shops. The
temperature has also fallen along with the stifling humidity so it’s
been a super day all around. Also, we just received Carmen’s
passport so she’s ready to come “home”. In Guangzhou, we’ll
start the Visa process and finish paperwork for our Consulate
appointment. I’m typing this mid-day as we catch a 6:00 p.m.
flight to Guangzhou and I will update again from there. I have to
say it’s a little sad leaving where Carmen was born. Of course,
she doesn’t realize what’s happening but we do. Maybe one day
we can bring her back for a visit??? This is such a breathtaking
country with every province being so different from the next.
China is so not what we see and hear on U.S. media. We may not
agree with politics and religion but the people are wonderful and
the country is beautiful. It reminds me of how I don’t think
other countries have a true perspective of the U.S. and we get a
bad rap. In many ways, I’ve learned that so does China. I’m glad
to have this perspective for Carmen one day.
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Hello again! We are now in Guangzhou!! It was a short, one-hour,
,smooth (woohoo!!) flight but took many hours going through both
airports. This was Carmen’s first airplane ride and we hoped she
would do as well as she has on the many bus rides we’ve had (she
likes to sleep on those!). Carmen was a little fussy taxiing (sp?)
down the runway but had fallen asleep before take-off. She slept
most of the time with a few whimpers. We can’t complain. By
the way, she is more of a Daddy’s girl by the hour! I had the
special seatbelt to hold her on the plane but she wanted Daddy!
He can carry her around anytime now and even lay down for naps.
It is amazing at the transformation!!! We are also starting to see
her smiles and personality ---- oh my goodness! She can give you
this little grin/smirk/look that says “I know what you want me to
do and I’m going to make you sweat it out a little longer!” – ha!
We can also see moments of strong-will as well as
MISCHIEVIOUSNESS. She is so, so smart (really – not just proud parent talk) and if I had to guess, very type-A. Everything
has to be in its place, food not wanted goes on the edge of the
plate, containers must have lids on them when finished, she can
untie her double-knotted shoes at the blink of an eye, take the
shoes off and put them back on. She always has to have shoes on
(just like her Mama!). Did I tell you about the lady giving her a
banana and she peeled it before we knew what was happening??
When she’s ready to go somewhere, she’ll pull the backpack off
the bed and push the stroller to the door. We’re just so
impressed for 18 months old and us being virtual strangers. We
know from our education of this process that her personality has
only just begun to open up to us. Every day brings more….

We arrived in Guangzhou at night and it was gorgeous to see it all
lit up. We are staying at the White Swan Hotel which is really
swanky --- especially compared to the last 2 hotels we’ve been at.
It is beautiful…..sort of a cross between The Peabody and
Opryland Hotel. Also, Guangzhou is located on Shamian Island
which is along the Pearl River. If you’ve ever been to the Disney
World complex in Orlando, that’s sort of what this area reminds
me of times about ten but take out the amusement park stuff and
add beautiful historical building and parks. I just can’t describe
it. We checked into the hotel at about 8:30 p.m. then walked
across the street to get Carmen’s Visa photo taken. Then,
everyone was starving so we walked to a restaurant called Lucy’s
which is very popular with the American adoptive families. It
serves REAL American food. I had a grilled cheese, French fries
and sweet tea (no ice) that was to die for!! It was the first time in
over a week that we actually got full. Yummy!!

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was late….hence my late
post. We were able to call Daniel since it was a good time there
and he was pretty choked up and sad wanting us to come home
“NOW”. Lisa shared with us that the last pictures she showed
him were of Gotcha Day and he broke down seeing us love on
another child while he was missing us and wanting us home. That
broke our hearts and I think I cried a good hour after the phone
call. Please pray for our sweet boy and his parents as this
separation is so difficult. I get choked up just typing about it.

Good night for now. Keep the prayers going up and the e-mails
coming in. Again, we sit together each day and read your e-mails.
They make us laugh out loud and cry. It is soooo good to hear
from you all. By the way, there seems to be a demand for
pictures of Danny in his Shania Twain shirt. It’s not going to
happen! You really don’t want it to – ha!!