October 14th: Adoption Day

One amazing and blessed day we had. Of course we were graced with a little Chinese cultural experience as well- a trip to the bank to exchange well we will say a lot of cash. Lori and I went since 1 person is not allowed to exchange that amount. We had to redo the form because we used a dollar sign, the process was astonishing to watch-the inspection and counting of each bill. As an accountant Lori watched very closely and found it all very interesting. Good thing she brought her bag because our fat stack of money would not fit in the money belt. Now the blessing and moment we have all been waiting for. We were at the Civil Affairs Office for about 5 minutes when I looked into the curtained doorway where the children wait. There she was! The lady she was with recognized me right away and graciously pointed me out to her. We were waving back and forth.

From that moment she was such such a peaceful soul. She held tight to the family photo we sent her. She was not scared at all. There was a lot of emotion and small commotions in the room as many families were receiving their children as well.

Tess Xiao Yun is such a beautiful little girl, just like her sister who we couldn't be prouder of.

The director of the Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute was very sweet. She had a genuine love for Xiao Yun. She smiled as she spoke of her saying "she is sweet, and very smart." "She is a good eater, sleeper, everything." She is afraid of "what you call Arbi" and dolls. "If she is upset just give her a snack and take her outside." She gave us a priceless treasure: a baby book of her life. 

We are all so in love with her!

Guangzhou

Not sure if my sides hurt today from laughing or coughing out the sickness I've been fighting. We have laughed a lot today. We had a pleasant train ride to Guangzhou after I almost had an elevator tragedy. The man was really being kind to hold the elevator door opened as we walked through. Only he held the close door button, equalling one huge jolt to the body. Our guide, Matthew took amazing care of us this weekend and Lila captured his heart. Anyone surprised? We were greeted at the Guangzhou train station by Jocelyn who remembered us from our trip for Lila. That was only after Lori was caught smuggling 3 bananas into the Country and was written up by Immigration for it. We decided to actually have dinner tonight and decided to stay in the hotel for it. Lori has decided that the picture books are not doing the restaurants any justice. Japanese hibachi should not be displayed by raw steaks and lobsters. And Chinese menus should not use the word congealed so much. We were adventurous and ate at the Chinese restaurant using the picture menu. The food was delicious and the service and Lori eating with chopsticks kept us laughing. We really should have had a camera or video. Please say a prayer for our baby girls, tomorrow after both their worlds will be changed.

1:30 a.m.

October 12th: Hong Kong Tour

Today began early waking at 4:30 and a delicious 6:30 breakfast where we met our new friends in our travel group. We are once again blessed to be a part of an amazing group of families. Lila just adores Connor and Audrey. We toured the Fisherman's Village, Stanley Market, and Victoria's Peak. We ended with a Dim Sum lunch in Kowloon. We even ventured back to the hotel on the subway. Just before lunch Lila requested we just go home to bed. She settled for Daddy's arms during lunch and woke at 11:30 this evening. Auntie has convinced us to sleep when we are tired. So we are going with it. Lila is such an amazing traveler and is having a lot of fun.

Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong at 4:30 a.m. It was 24 hours from our home to here. Lila continues to be amazing. The hotel as been amazing, great 6:30 am breakfast buffet, beautiful pool and we are all crashed in at the moment.