So Long from China - Please Leave A Comment for Ella!!

So long everyone - we leave China in exactly 24 hours from now, at 9pm on Friday, March 9th and I will not have time to post tomorrow as our internet access expires in the morning. Evan and I went to the Guangzhou Electronics market today and Evan got a bunch of DS games (Jordan, take note of this). 20 games and a Revolution memory card/adapter for $$$, well lets just say we got a good sale. The big event today was that we took the oath (just affirming that all of the information we have given is true etc)! This was our final step which allows us to bring Ella home (we received her Chinese passport and Visa to enter the US). When she lands in the US and we pass her through customs (Non US Citizens Line), she will then officially become a US citizen (she'll also retain her dual Chinese citizenship). Then there is the matter of just some ongoing paperwork back home (Social Security #, official birth certificate etc). We also had dinner and shopping with our friends Mike and Jill, parents of Maya, who are just terrific people that we love hanging out with even though the jokes are usually at my expense - there is a salesperson here named Dong - I'll try to snap a picture of him tomorrow but suffice it to say he could sell cars in the US real well. Well Dong got the best of me on a few purchases early on in the trip and we've all had a lot of fun with this. But in closing, and speaking for Ella, we know that she wants to thank everyone who has followed our journey to bring her home. We will be absolutely certain to save these memories forever, including all of the wonderful comments we have received from all of you. It means so much to Laura and I that you all could be part of our adventure and more than that, will be a big part of Ella's childhood. She is so lucky. So if you could leave a comment for Ella, we would really appreciate it. We're definitely not done - all of you should look into starting a blog on blogspot -we'll keep this going after special events (like Ella's baptism and first birthday weekend- we've learned that its such a great way to communicate and create/share memories, plus I will help with some of the technical aspects). Thanks again everyone - So long from China, but we can't wait to get HOME!

Red Couch Day Today - 9 Pictures Below

It's freezing here everyone. Todays high was 58 or something with a low of 50, but that is cold for Guangzhou (we are on the same latitude as Key West, FL). So, we have been enjoying the White Swan for the better part of the day, with only a quick excursion out to Lucy's - a neighborhood bar/grille that is both decent and cheap ($20 on average for a meal for the three of us and you dont leave hungry)! And tonight, we are waiting on Danny's Pizza and Bagel (quite a combination!) The highlight of the day was the traditional Red Couch pictures. I am attaching pictures below showing Ella with us, our local representatives from CCAI (adoption agency) and the other babies from our travel group. Oh and they are dressed in traditional Chinese outfits and Ella looked adorable. Tomorrow morning Laura gets a massage (she is thrilled) and then we head to an electronics market to buy Evan some DS games if we can find and then come back to be sworn in at the US Consulate - its the final piece of paperwork needed before we start our trip home Friday (morning USA time). So tomorrow's update will probably be the last until we get home. Well take care everyone - a short note today but not too much going on - Enjoy the pictures of the babies.

Todays Blog -Guest Starring Maya McFee - Read On...

They told us we would have some down days in Guangzhou and we definitely attest that there has been much free time. So today was a completely appointment/paperwork free, 60 degree (cool for here) day. So what did we do - more shopping of course! Here are some pictures of our excursion today. First we have a picture of the main square with McDonalds and KFC having large billings. Then we have a picture of the Pearl Market - we went again today - the place (and the prices) are addicting. Next Up are Ella and her friend Maya all bundled up for the cold weather outside the Carrefour (like a Target) that we visited today. It was the first time we really got to bundle the kids up - CUTE! Maya becomes more prominent as the next two pics are pictures we weren't sure we would get. You see, over the course of the 2 weeks here, because they are just exceptional people and we have a common thread in that Ella and Maya were from the same orphanage, we have become great friends with Mike and Jill McFee, who live outside Charleston, West Virginia (close to Ohio border)and Maya, who is incredibly precious and beautiful, was not allowing Daddy to hold her until today. So you can see a beaming Mike holding his new daughter and the happiness shows. It was a powerful moment for us - you can hardly imagine what Mike and Jill are feeling right now! Ella gets back into the pictures with me (for all of you who say Ella seems to be bonding so well with Laura and Evan, here's proof that she takes to me too...OK Mom's in the background prompting that smile...but we are bonding just fine!) Oh and Ella made progress today too. She took a bath without screaming! So good news all around - these open days arent too bad after all! Tomorrow, we stick areound hotel as our guides get Ella's Visa approved for travel to the US, where she becomes a citizen! The next day, we go to the US Consulate to be sworn in and the day after we head home. Oh speaking of home, we got our travel arrangements confirmed today after some confusion, but hopefully that wil be our last scare of the trip, one which despite the uncertainty, has exceeded all of our expectations --- thanks to ELLA. OK another quiet day tomorrow - I will continue to post.

Shopping Trip/Zoo Visit/Trip Home Problems??

Yesterday, was a fairly quiet day, with paperwork in the morning to arrange for Ella's Visa to travel home to the US (and application for her Social Security Card and Citizenship to the US as our daughter - yeah!!!). We did, however, venture out to the Pearl market and shopping area (the pictures do not do it justice) and were successful in purchasing a pink pearl necklace for mom as well as a mikimodo (sp?) pearl necklace for Ella's wedding day (hmm...talk about planning ahead)- We also had dinner at McDonalds! The pearl market was in the middle of a shopping area in downtown Guangzhou that was absolutely huge - I will post some pictures of this tomorrow along with pictures from our trip to the zoo today. I will say the adventure of the day had to be catching a cab home. There are no lines in China and lets just say there werent enough cabs and the ones that were there werent particularly fond of picking up non Chinese. We were turned down by several and outhustled by many aggressive Chinese to the point where we didnt know how we were going to get home - it was just me, Laura, Evan and Ella in the middle of the city where noone could understand us. Scary for a while (about 30 minutes), but finally managed to get on a cab and make it back to our hotel. Oh yeah, in addition to the pearls, Evan got a really cool pair of Pepsi shoes - yes that is right - Pepsi Sports is a brand of tennis shoes/sneakers in China. They are real cool and not cheap ($50 regular price). Ella is doing wonderfully and had an OK time at the zoo today (I say OK in relative terms - compare Ella's expressions to the Camels and you'll understand what I mean!). In terms of zoo's the Guangzhou Zoo was OK, they did have a panda and lots of animals though it could have been more clean and some of the animals/buildings looked as if they weren't in the best of shape. Fight Home - We tried to confirm China Southern flight back home today and were told that our paper ticket numbers did not match the numbers in China Southerns system. If this is not fixed by tomorrow, we will not have a flight home. We have had trouble with this itinerary before (on way here) and are extremely disappointed with our travel agency - JC Travel and have left them messages in additon to leaving our adoption agency in Colorado messages (they were the ones who recommended JC) - I think this will work out tomorrow, but I was extremely mad that the agency has made numerous mistakes with our travel. And until this is resolved, we cant be sure we'll be on the plane. I will have an update tomorrow. With the taxi delay and the continuing flight saga, coupled with our other misadventures, we wonder what is next. The only thing that has gone like clockwork is ELLA - She is so CUTE and getting more attached to mom every day. Thanks Everyone - see you soon - leaving you with a pair of pictures - Ella close up and schoolkids in China - imagine these uniforms at home! Oh heck, imagine the kids all lined up in order like this (haha).

Trip to Yangchun, Ella's Hometown

Today was a fantastic day as we journeyed away from Guangzhou, China (pop 10 million) to the city of Yangchun (pop 1 million) about 3.5 hours away to visit Ella's orphanage. I think the first thing that surprised us is a modern freeway system that brought us to Yangchun without really travelling any "back" roads that I think we imagined. No doubt, there were farmers and families working the fields and buildings, some pretty and some run down, but aside from the plethora of buses, mopeds, bicycles and motorcycles, the scene wasnt that much different from home. Especially the billboards and exit ramps - I guess you could say it was a surprising mix of modern conveniences with old world customs - China is really coming of age with perhaps the best analogy for our Woodstock friends being the continuing transformation of Bells Ferry Road. OK enough of that. The highlight of the day was definitely seeing Sandra King, Ella's caretaker from New Zealand - Sandra doesn't do it singlehandly - she employs a staff of 18 that cooks, cleans and watches the kids - keeping it at a 4 to 1 ratio. We were so impressed with Sandra's operation beforehand, but I have to tell you after meeting her, I was absolutely awed. She had heard through her US secretary, Cindra, about Ella's escapade in the Buddhist temple and when we were sitting down for lunch, Sandra was astonished at the gratitude of the Chinese people and mentioned that is why she loves the Chinese people - It was absolutely touching. We also got to meet again the director of the orphanage (Mrs. Wu - pronounced Yu), who has raised countless kids at the Yangchun orphanage over 13 years. She comes to the states every 4 years for a reunion and I think the results speak for themselves - she does a fantastic job overseeing the entire orphanage operation - the babies usually end up being very well adjusted from everything that I have read on the Yangchun kids Yahoo Group - and some couples on this trip that previously adopted from Yangchun. Oh, they called Ella, Ting Ting at the orphanage - I have some footage that I will share - but the nurses and one of the older girls exclaimed - "Ting Ting" when they saw Ella. It was so cute. And the whole while, people looked at us the entire visit - you see Sandra is the only foreigner in Yangchun. It's just not a place for westerners, but it was great. I am attaching some pictures to this post. Aside from going to the orphanage, we went to the hotel where Ella was found (for lunch at that - yes it was a respectable establishment!) and to the bus station where Maya was found. So another day down, the countdown to return home begins - we will be home in a week from now, barring any delays. We can't wait to come home - Dawn - also Laura told me to tell you she will call when we land in LA at about 8:00 or 9:00 your time Friday night. She is down at the playroom of the hotel (sponsored by Mattel as this hotel caters to adoption families) with Ella and Evan now. (Late breaking news - Laura came back and said that Ella just wanted her to stay with her while playing the whole time - she is so excited!) Tomorrow's itinerary includes Visa Travel paperwork in the am and then a trip to the Pearl Market in the afternoon. Laura and Ella already each got beautiful Jade pendants (life saver shape) and now I need to research Pearls for them - Mom is getting a pink pearl but I heard there were nice black pearls and more. Any suggestions as comments would be appreciated.

Another Scare Today - Finding Ad Pitcture...

Not Ella. Let me explain. Today, we received a copy of Ella's finding ad (the ad placed to attempt to find the girls parents. The translation stated lots of hair (yes), long face (no way) and bigger mouth (not really). It wasnt until I got back to the room that Laura realized the girl advertised as Ella in the ad (her Chinese name is Hua Tuan) wasnt Ella - Ella's picture was above another girls description (found July 06). Everything will turn out OK - if Ella's parents wanted to find her, they would have done so, however we'll let the orphanage know tomorrow - its still quite a scare - we have been told that a correction will publish, but that Ella will not be taken from us (Still scary - Another scare). Well, we had a great day today - the pictures below show some of Ella's activities - playing with her friend Maya and with Mommy. She had her medical exam and it turned out normal - 17 lbs and 67 cm height. We need to put her on amoxicillin for the rest of the trip (upper respiratory infection). We bought her a stroller and also developed some pictures from the orphanage taken before we got her. Tomorrow is a big day - we take a 3.5 hour bus trip to YangChun, Ella's hometown to visit the orphanage and her place of abandonment. We are excited to learn more about Ella's heritage so we can share it with her and have some time to spend with her caretakers. Even the pictures we received from the orphanage show Ella laughing and having fun. We think we are really lucky with the match - definitely made in heaven (for us and well worth the wait). I'll report some more tomorrow late as it'll be a long day in YangChun. Sunday is Pearl Market and Dim Sum dinner. Mom, what kind of pearl did you want (pink?). OK - enough for today - we went to dinner with some other travel families tonight and continue to share in a great experience - we are ready to come home, though (after this bad weather passes we hope). Stay well everyone - we miss you all and keep posting - you have no idea how it keeps us connected! Thanks and we'll let you know what turns up in regard to the ad with the wrong picture.

We Almost Lost Her

Well today was an interesting day - Thursday, the first of March will go down as the day we almost lost Ella (well not really) but it was scary. We took a tour of Guangzhou today and stopped at the city's largest Buddhist temple/pagoda. It was truly beautiful and while we were touring around, a lady came up to Ella, only Ella, and seemingly wanted to hold her. Instead, she literally took off with Ella directly to pray and explained (in Chinese) to our tour guides that Ella was destined to be blessed by Buddha (I guess). It was weird and I have some on video - I guess a compliment. One thing for certain, our Ella has a ton of personality and it shows. She is never shy and always smiling and laughing - she is so comfortable with all of us and has been since day 1, really. Amazing - some of the other families are having a more dificult time transitioning - Not us (so far - knock on wood). She is truly an angel (as are the other babies, in time...). We also did some shopping today - bought two Jade pendants for Laura and Ella. Got another stroller and a Rolex watch for me (OK a nice fake Rolex - guaranteed for 5 years or until we leave China, whichever comes first). Food is getting a little better and really I have never seen Laura this at ease. She isnt rushing to organize or clean or anything - I'm worried home is going to turn to shambles (maybe not - but you get the idea!). Tomorrow more paperwork and then Saturday the orphanage trip are on the horizon. Tomorrow is one week too and one more to go - yeah!!! Until then....here are some more pictures from today