Fwd: Home at Last! - from dennis

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dennis Drake <drakedad3@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 1:12 AM
Subject: Home at Last! - from dennis
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com


We are home!  It has taken me a bit of time to write; but we made it just fine.  I'd like to forget the last 3 days and never do them over again, but we did make it just fine back to Dallas.  Dawn's sister and her husband along with their daughter met us at the airport; and they brought along Samuel and Anna with them.  Chloe slept a lot on the flights, so she smiled at everyone and was in a decent mood.  And it was GREAT to see Samuel and Anna again.  Since that time, things have gone from "great, we're home" to "Oh, God, help us get through this jet lag."

I've heard of jet lag before but that term does not do it justice.  The words "jet lag" always brought up images of a slow airplane to me; but now I know what it's like first hand.  After connecting flights from Guangzhou to Shanghai to Chicago to Dallas - all on Wednesday the 23rd, we still have not recovered.  I'm sure those of you who travel frequently know what i mean.  Going to China was "uncomfortable" in the sense of the flying hours and the layover.  But coming back was wretched in terms of getting over it.  In general the flights went fine, aside from some minor glitches; but somehow our bodies did not agree.

On Thursday, Dawn woke up to take Anna to school, then went to the grocery store for a few things we were out of.  She came home and started sorting through clothes for Chloe, and then got hit suddenly with an awful stomach bug.  She laid in bed miserable and was not able to eat again until mid-day Friday.  Same day, I woke up with a terrible sore throat and just a general feeling of heaviness.  It kind of felt like I'd been on several planes for 1-2 days and had to clear 3 airport securities, U.S. customs and immigration, and had a run-in with a non-compassionate security supervisor who did not appreciate the fact that I forgot to remove my shoes for the security check (Chicago).  And the way i felt Thursday has not completely gone away yet.  My throat aches, i feel like i have a cold now, and all the while during our adjustment period, Chloe is having the same feelings and possibly worse.

Think of being uprooted from everything you are familiar with - after you have been left on a street and passed through a police station and orphanage and foster care.  Taken from your country ... from its familiar sounds, sights, smells ... only to be newly planted on the other side of the world in a house with large amounts of grass everywhere, strange sights & smells, new caregivers, new siblings, new friends .... you get the idea.  Let's just say that Chloe has in general felt lousy and has let us know about it.  She will come to us seeking comfort; but will NOT be left alone to play.  This is all very normal and expected; but MAN has this hit us hard.  REALITY.  As Dawn has said several times to keep our perspectives in place - "Dorothy, you ain't in Kansas right now."  If there was ever a time when I know that I need to "suck it up and drive on" - I know it's now; but I hope no one ever goes thru "jet lag" like this ever again.  Instead of "jet lag" - I would suggest a better term would be "jet ban."  No more jets.  I might market a T-shirt with a jet on the front and one of those red circles with the line through it.

Okay, so while Dawn was throwing up everything in her stomach and I was generally feeling horrible, our oldest son Nathan skipped classes & came home from college for a couple of days to see Chloe.  If it hadn't been for him, I may not have made it through Thursday.  He hung around while I was taking care of Chloe, watched and waited until she warmed up to him and then took it from there.  By the time he left on Friday he had fed her 1 meal, several snacks and played with her while I was walking around the house trying to find out why everything was still moving.  I think someone referred to this as "vertigo."  THANK YOU NATHAN!!

Dawn has not instructed me on how to post from the actual blog and she & Chloe are crashed out right now; so I'm gonna hope that the pictures of Nathan and Chloe show up okay on this post.  I'm sending it via email to the blog site just like we did in China.

I do have pictures of Samuel and Anna with Chloe as they have invested time with her and she is warming up nicely to them.  I'll get them off the camera and post them later.  Samuel is a hoot with his new little sis!

Special thanks to our family for the help while we were gone and for all of you who continue to pray for us.  We could not have done this by ourselves.

I haven't put much in this blog yet of Scripture, but am going to recommend that you take the time to read Psalm 139 in the Bible during the next few days as you get time.  It is an amazing description of how detailed our Creator is and a much needed reminder that He loves us JUST like we are.  Thank God that Chloe was formed with a cleft lip and palate ... or we would not have her right now. I'll leave you to think on that for awhile.

dennis

Fwd: Dennis thoughts on Tuesday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dennis Drake <drakedad3@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Subject: Dennis thoughts on Tuesday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com


Well, today is Tuesday and we leave China tomorrow for home!  I wish i could say i am as enthusiastic about leaving now, like i felt yesterday.  But i got out on my own yesterday - away from guides and other tourists and just walked the streets near part of the canal that surrounds our district near the hotel.  The canal is fed by the Pearl River which is very much alive with fishing and commercial industry supporting Guangzhou.  But around our hotel they made it more visually appealing.  I was trying to get away from all of the Western influence if possible and see the real city.

I walked across a bridge that went over the canal into some streets that were alive with family businesses.  I'm attaching some photos to give you an idea of the atmosphere.

The most amazing thing i stumbled into was a medicine market near the canal.  There was shop after shop of families setup in what we would call a flea market atmosphere.  No doors on most businesses, just a space with 3 walls and medicinal herbs and other "commodities" spilling out all over the streets from their storefronts.  Everything was alive and out in the open.  I went again this morning and plan to take Chloe with me in the stroller this evening.  I want to see if there will be musicians setup and other artists out marketing their skills, etc.  I cannot say how much I enjoy this type of culture.  It is so authentic, genuine, real and alive.  There are no English speakers that I've found in this medicine market.  Buying here is a challenge, but the store owners have found an easy way to communicate and most of them just hand me a calculator.  I would put in the amount of Yuan i wanted to spend and point to the item i wanted - or they would put in the Yuan value and show it to me on the calculator.  But i don't even know what I'm buying.  So far I've bought some Saffron, which is supposed to relieve stress I think, but I'll have to read about it on my own to see how to use it.  Then this morning I bought some Ginseng roots - about 1/4 of a pound I am guessing (roughly 100 grams) for 35 Yuan (~ 5 dollars).  I don't know what to use them for yet, but they are so popular here I wanted to try them once we get back to the states.  This medicine market is apparently quite a business, and some items get very expensive for an average Chinese laborer whose family needs medicine.  But this is a busy place so somehow people are buying the herbs, etc.  Much of the Chinese thought is preventive also from what we have learned. 

There are other things to buy near the medicine market, such as food.  I saw some small places where families were selling chickens that they roasted on spits, as well as other meats.  There were a couple of bakeries I saw where I was tempted to buy some bread or muffin.  I wasn't hungry so i passed on the idea.

I passed by many unique family businesses where they were sorting seahorses on the pavement, or scorpions (large and small).  My ignorance is pretty great so i couldn't tell you what the seahorses or scorpions are used for; but there was great care in the sorting.  I watched for a minute (did not want to be rude and stay long time), but could not figure out the criteria for sorting.  There were live snakes, not like snakes I've seen in the U.S.  Not sure if poisonous or not.  There were fish, crabs, turtles, all kinds of things.  I know that turtle soup is popular in some cultures; so maybe that is what the turtle was for - but other than that, I'll have to learn more about the purpose for all the items.  All I know is that I love the culture.

No, these people do not think like we do; but we do not think like they do.  This has been my foremost thought while out among the people.  I have grown to love and appreciate their spirit, their ethic of hard work and patient endurance of poor living conditions.  Conditions we would not tolerate because we think we need so much to make us comfortable.  These people are resilient and adaptable.  For enjoyment after much work we see them playing a form of hackeysack, or many sit down around a barrel or table outside on the street to play cards or mahjongg or some other game.  They live in polluting and adapt to crowded cities.  It is a lesson for me that I will always remember.  It is also an encouragement to me so that Dawn and I will not allow our daughter to forget who she is.  She is and always will be a Chinese girl.  We will teach her the truth that we know, and will encourage her to seek her own way when she is older ... to pursue her heart and to find the gifts God has blessed her with.

We go now to the U.S. consulate in a few minutes and this will probably be my last post here in China.

Dennis thoughts on Saturday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dennis Drake <drakedad3@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 1:51 AM
Subject: Dennis thoughts on Saturday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com
Cc: "Dawn (gmail)" <drakefam5@gmail.com>


During our last night in Hangzhou (Chloe's home city), we went with the Fannin's (Deacon's folks) to eat at the Family Garden restaurant in Hangzhou, and Todd went down to speak with the waiter and point at a picture menu so we could order what we wanted.  He pointed to sweet potatoes since Chloe loves those, and then finished ordering sweet n sour pork, green beans, fried rice, and other dishes.  The first thing the waiter brought to our table was a plate full of sweet tomatoes (instead of sweet potatoes).  They had sliced up tomatoes for us and topped it with heaps of sugar.  It was a great moment for a laugh, and we just let it go and ate them.

Speaking of food, Chloe's diet has grown and we try to add an item to her food experience as we can.  So far, she consumes cheerios by the heaping bowlful ALL DAY LONG!  She will play in the mornings without needing food, but once breakfast is served there seems to be no stopping unless she is playing or napping.  This girl has quite an appetite and from all we have read this is a very good thing - so we are doing all we can to encourage it.  She also likes egg custard, scrambled eggs, eggs sunny side up, congi, sweet potatoes (haven't found a regular baked potato to offer yet), fried rice ... and who knows what else to come.  Once her palate is repaired she may be on her way to being like me where just about anything that is consumable will be eaten no matter what the food item.

We arrived late last night (18th) in Guangzhou which is where the U.S. consulate is located.  Dawn is keeping me straight as there are lots of details and procedures we have to follow.  Our guide is posting the events of each day to the families so we know what to expect and what money to pay where as we are taking steps and getting closer and closer to coming home with our adopted daughter.  Dawn has 2 children to keep up with while I'm just watching one ...  yep, the first would be me.  I've seen lots of neat trees, butterflies, lizards, and all sorts of things to stop and look at with Chloe while she constantly reminds me that we still have work to do before we can play.  I found this neat looking life size metal pig that one of the many tradesmen molded here.  I was looking it over and considering buying it for Chloe's room but Dawn encouraged me to think of something else.  I think someone mentioned that Chloe was born in the year of the rat anyway so I'll keep looking.  We actually had someone in one of the shops here offer to make Chloe a "year of the rat" name portrait with the Mandarin letters for Chloe's name.  I think I'd rather have the pig.

We sure are living an easy life here and are getting spoiled with eating and sightseeing.  This is the plan we are following with our guide but life will be much less vacation oriented when we bring Chloe home.  For now, this is definitely the trip of a lifetime.

Even more pictures from Tuesda

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:53 AM
Subject: Even more pictures from Tuesda
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com

More pictures from Tuesday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:25 AM
Subject: More pictures from Tuesday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com

Goodbye to China

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:24 AM
Subject: Goodbye to China
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com
Cc: drakedad3@gmail.com


Today was our last day here in Guangzhou.  We spent the morning finishing up our taking pictures, shopping, packing, and Chloe and I played in the Swan Room.  The Swan room is a play room here at the hotel provided by Mattel.  It is an open space with toys and kids.  Chloe loves to play there and especially watch the older kids play.

This afternoon, we headed to the US Consulate, had a quick ceremony and received Chloe's visa to enter the US.  When we are in Chicago for our layover she will officially become a US citizen. 

We spent the evening at a wonderful Italian restaurant and are now holed up in our hotel packing everything.  Luckily we bought an extra suitcase here, and i just have to balance the weight amongst them.  Of course, Chloe is helping out by getting into EVERYTHING I set out.  And Dennis is helping out by generally getting in the way :)

We wake up tomorrow at 5 am, and will be checking out of the hotel around 6:45. 

We know this trip from the planning stages to each day has been covered in your prayers.  Please continue to pray for us.  Tomorrow will be an incredibly long day for each of us.  Pray for health, safety, flights that are on time, short lines in security, immigration and customs, that Chloe will sleep, and anything else you can think of.

We leave at 9:30 am from Guangzhou, land in DFW at 10:10 pm, and have a total of 18 hours of flying time and 7 1/2 hours of layovers. 

Monday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Subject: Monday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com
Cc: drakedad3@gmail.com


We are winding down here in Guangzhou.  Today was just a day of waiting, see Dennis' post.  Once we got the all clear we headed out to finish our shopping.  We got to talk to Anna and Nathan. And we also went swimming. 

Chloe is getting much more comfortable with us and that means she is also testing us to see what she can get away with.  She has figured out how to twist around in her stroller and stand, she has discovered the cords to the computer. you get the idea.  We are also learning she is a people person, she loves to wave at people at breakfast, in the elevator, at the stores.  She really gets excited when she sees one of the families we are traveling with.

The pictures are from this evening at an impromptu party in the hallway.  I was sitting at the door feeding Chloe, Deacon and Rachel, these little "bun" type crackers Dennis found at the store. 

Tomorrow will be filled with pictures taken at the red couch, a tradition here at the White Swan.  We will dress our new children in traditional Chinese outfits and take their pictures on a red couch in front of the beautiful water falls here in the hotel.  Every group that comes through takes that same picture.

Then we will pick up the things we've ordered, work on getting everything to fit in our suitcases, and then late afternoon take care of the last order of business. 

We wake up very early Wednesday morning.  All three families leave Guangzhou between 9 and 10 all heading in different directions.  We fly to Shanghai first, then Chicago and finally HOME! 

You can start praying for us now that all three of us do well on the flights home, especially the long one.  That we are able to make all our connecting flights with NO STRESS.  I am working on lightning our carry ons.  We've had 4 flights now, and we each had 2 carry ons/personal items.  The last flight we added Chloe and a stroller and it was hard. 

I don't think I mentioned our adventure flying from Hangzhou to Guangzhou.  So....it was us and the Fannins, so 4 adults and 2 kids in strollers.  We arrived at the airport around 6:30 for a 7:55 flight, when we checked in they tried to talk us into checking our strollers but we were adamant that we wanted them until the last minute.  We had not eaten dinner, but  decided to go ahead and go to security and get something closer to the gate.  Once there we discovered that food places were not plentiful. So the moms and babies planted ourselves at the gate and sent the dads to find food.  I took Chloe to the bathroom thinking I would change her and take care of my business.  BUT there was no changing table and no stalls that would fit me and the stroller, so we changed the babies in the chairs and took turns watching them.  At about 7:20 they announce that the bus is there for our flight.  Yes you read that right we needed to take a bus to our plane.  The dads were not back, and we were not sure if there would be a second bus.  So we get up and try to figure out how to accomplish getting all of us in line.  Thankfully the dads are coming down the escalator, but they are frustrated because they had had a really hard time finding food.  We get in line, and find that we will be the last ones on the bus, we cram in to a standing only bus.  And HANG ON!!!!!  I was at the door with Chloe and just knew as soon as the doors open I would be trampled, but I was able to quickly get out of the way. 

Hopefully we won't have that experience again, but my packing goal is for Dennis to have a backpack and me a purse/diaper bag combined.  Hopefully that will hold everything we need and help us not have so much to carry. 

more pictures from Sunday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Subject: more pictures from Sunday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com

Pictures from Sunday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Subject: Pictures from Sunday
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com

Sunday in Guangzhou

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Subject: Sunday in Guangzhou
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com
Cc: drakedad3@gmail.com


Chloe is turning into a sleepy head.  God has really blessed this mom, I was afraid that I would have an early riser with Chloe, but that is not the case.  We woke her up around 8 this morning so we could head to breakfast.  Very good sign!

Today we visited the Safari Park.  It is like a Fossil Rim Wildlife Park and Dallas Zoo combined on steriods.  They are famous for their Panda exhibit and Koala exhibit.  The animals were beautiful and there wasn't just one or two of each, but a dozen or so.  It was a really nice morning, but very HOT!  We learned that Chloe does not like to be hot, we found some ice cream to cool her off. 

The rest of the day was spent napping, playing, and shopping. 

We only have two days remaining in China.  Monday our guide will take all our paperwork to the consulate, so we just stick around here to get the "all clear".  Then we will get some laundry done (not $90 worth), hopefully finish our shopping list, go swimming here at the hotel. And then start the big job of packing for home. 

Oh and Anna you will be glad to hear that I finally bought shoes that fit Chloe so she does not have to wear the black ones anymore. 

Pictures and other blogs to follow

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 19, 2009 at 8:53 AM
Subject: Pictures and other blogs to follow
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com


Here are the blogs of the other Dillon families traveling with us.

www.journeytodeacon.blogspot.com
www.myadoptionwebsite.com/rachel/

Fwd: Update from Guangzhou

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Subject: Update from Guangzhou
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com


We arrived in Guangzhou late last night.  Chloe did ok on the plane but it was bedtime and she is not always the happiest on the plane.

We are heading to breakfast and then to medical exam, will update later. 

Fwd: Even more pictures

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn Drake <drakefam5@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Subject: Even more pictures
To: drakefam51.chloe@blogger.com


Our expensive laundry, packaged nice and neat.

And riding the boat

More pictures from Thursday

Interesting pictures from West Lake

Completed adoption phase in Hangzhou

From dennis:  Today we completed the adoption phase that we needed to finish in order to take Chloe out of the city of Hangzhou. We received 3 documents after paying 4,000 more Yuan (roughly 590 U.S. dollars) at the Public Notary Office.  We now have official certificates for Chloe's birth, abandonment, and our adoption of her. 

We have learned to value air conditioning highly.  It is a high humidity percentage here with the temperature around 90 degrees today.  Most public offices we have been to keep the doors open to the street and do not run air conditioning very much.  So, next time we are in the U.S. and waiting at a doctor's office it will not be a big deal at all sitting in the A/C in a smoke-free building without bus exhaust blowing into the windows and doors.  Our hotel room is air conditioned so we are very well set when we are not out doing paperwork or eating, or seeing the town.

If I ever find myself wanting to complain about Dallas traffic or heat, all i will need to remember are these busy, crowded cities in China.  I am now more thankful for the clean air and environment we have in at least the majority of Dallas.

Changing subjects, at breakfast this morning at our hotel, i noticed there were 2 different kinds of milk.  Probably regular cow's milk, tastes the same as in U.S. - at least to me.  Then another pitcher had a slightly darker milk and it was Soybean milk.  Curiosity got the best of me and i got 1/4 of a glass.  I sat down and considered letting Chloe drink some; but we decided we didn't want to experiment and possibly get her sick if she'd never had it.  So, I drank it and discovered a new favorite for me.  Taken quite by surprise at how good it tasted, I'm going to talk to some locals here to see if we can negotiate shipping costs to the U.S. so I can set up a soybean milk stand outside my house and make additional income.  Or I'll investigate making it here in the states and try to undersell everyone else!  :)  Nice to dream anyway ...

Thursday

Well today was a little bit more laid back.  We headed out this morning to get our final paperwork completed and then headed to West Lake for a boat tour.  It has been very foggy today so it was hard to see far.  As Dennis mentioned it was very very hot.  We stopped at a Dairy Queen to eat lunch but discovered they only served ice cream, so we went next door to Papa John's and had pasta, then went back for ice cream. 

At Papa John's we met the talked to the first American's we've seen other than the families traveling with us.  They were here studying Chinese at the local university.  Hangzhou is considered a resort town for the Chinese and many vacation here, we've seen people from Japan, Germany, Italy, etc, but few Americans.  And very few people speak any English, in Beijing a lot of local people knew a little bit but that is not true here. 

I think Dennis has mentioned the traffic around here, but it bears mentioning again.  Keep in mind that this is a very busy city and we are right in the middle of it.  There are lots of buses, cars, bicycles, scooters, and pedestrians.  But no one really has the right of way, you just go and hope every one stops. It is crazy!  Many times I will be watching out of the van windows and we will be a few inches away from a bus, or there will be a motorcycle trying to go in a very small space between cars. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy in our room, then we went to dinner and are back in our room again.  Our flight from here leaves tomorrow evening, so we check out of our hotel around 2 and will do a little bit of sightseeing and shopping.

Chloe was much more comfortable with us today, she had been a bit clingy but that was not true today, she was very happy.  I believe the only time she cried today was when she was tired and when they were not serving her food fast enough.  She did not eat as much today, but she still has a very healthy appetite. 

Since tomorrow will be a travel day, we may not get to post.  We hope you are enjoying our journey, we appreciate all of your emails, texts, and comments, keep them coming. 

DongSheng Commodity Market

From dennis:  Today we visited the orphanage.  We saw the buildings from the outside where Chloe was taken care of for many months of her life.  We were graciously allowed inside of the administration building where we made payment (donation to the orphanage for Chloe's care).  We were allowed to walk to the playground where Chloe could play with Deacon and other kids for awhile. Deacon & Chloe were recognized by the kids still there, and it was a good reunion.  More of our questions were answered and we found out more information about the place where Chloe was abandoned.  We bought our driver and guide lunch after they agreed to drive us to the place where Chloe was left - we assume by her mother.  I thought we had seen some busy places in Beijing and Hangzhou, but after the long drive to the far Northeastern corner of the city we saw what i thought was an incredibly busy place.  Next to the East Bus Station is the DongSheng Commodity Market.  It is like an outlet mall, only with lower quality cheap items.  You can buy just about anything there for a cheap price tag.  Down the street are some multi-story apartments and lots of people.  We took photos of the market and street -in particular the bushes around.  In one of the areas where there are bushes at the market was where Chloe was found.  It was a sad moment as we thought of the mother and the situation that would cause her to have to leave her girl there.  We are grateful that she was left in a crowded place.  Someone found her and took her to the police station and eventually she was taken the the orphanage.

Chloe's story is not rare at all.  It is so commonplace that it is just part of the culture due to the way the government is handling China's overcrowding situation.  I pray that we are part of the solution, and that Americans will maintain a high value on life, and a growing appreciation especially for the life of the child within his mother's womb.  I fear a decreasing reverence of the sacredness of the act of conception of human life in our country though; but I'm thankful that we do not have the same issues as China.  We have grown to love the culture here in some ways, but are saddened by the seeming necessity to abandon children on streets.

More pictures from Wednesday

Wednesday

Wow, today was a very longgggg day. 

Chloe woke up happy today just because she does not want to be known as grumpy.  She again ate a very large breakfast.

Our first stop of the day was to drop off laundry, we could have had the hotel do it, but we had heard it was fairly cheap to do it at a local store, so we loaded up our 6 days of clothes and took them to the cleaners.  You can imagine Dennis' surprise when it was $90, yes in American dollars.  Luckily Dennis did not choose for us to wear dirty clothes the rest of the trip :) but it is some very expensive washing they are doing for us. 

Then we headed to the orphanage.  It is a new facility and very large.  Our guide told us that it can house about 300 children but currently about 90% are in foster homes.  We met the director and assistant director and a couple of other people there, it was very obvious that they loved the children.  We were told that Chloe was returned to the orphanage last week from her foster family, and the director and one of her assistants took care of her, she actually slept with them.  They were sad that Chloe was very uninterested in going to them.  We were able to walk around outside the facility, play on the playground.  We met several of the older children preschool thru younger elementary age, many special needs.  Yall should be glad we did not have the ability to bring them home, because I do believe I would not have hesitated to say, send them with me I will find a home for them.   

From there we headed to the finding places of Chloe and Deacon, Dennis is going to tell you about that. 

Then we went to lunch, our guide chose a traditional Chinese Family restaurant again, where they bring many dishes to the table and place them on a lazy susan.  Chloe was our entertainment.  She was contently eating her cheerios when they placed the first platter and then she tried to climb to the middle of the table to get to the food, unfortunately it was a platter of very tough meat,  BUT the next bowl was fried rice, I told Dennis to scoop some quickly.  She ate two bowls of rice and then 2 bowls of an egg custard,  i was shoveling it in as fast as I could go.  Then she ate a bowl of ice cream and the only reason she stopped eating was because we had to leave.  SO FYI Jacque, we are going to need those 18 months clothes very soon if she keeps up this pace. 

We chilled at the hotel for a few hours then headed to Pizza Hut for dinner. Where yes once again Chloe entertained us.  She was not as hungry, and apparently is not a pizza fan.  But the waitress brought out our drinks late, pepsi and 7 up.  Chloe grabbed Dennis straw and was trying to put it in his glass so we decided to let her have a drink and she consumed almost half of his 7 up.  That is the picture of her with her head in a class, Her facial expressions were priceless.  We had been having trouble getting her to drink, but since that 7up she has had a bottle of water and a bottle of formula. 

Tonight we attended a show at West Lake called "Impressions" it was choreographed by the same man that did the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics.  IT was actually on the lake on a stage they built right under the water, so it looks like everything is happening on the water. 

Well it is 10 o clock here, we are going to sleep soon (yes I have become an early bird). 

The rest of Monday and Tuesday

Chloe did really well on Monday, she went right down for a nap and slept for about 3 hours.  We went walking after that, and she loved riding in the stroller,  We ate dinner at Pizza Hut.  Then we walked some more around West Lake a famous lake in China.  Around 7 we stopped and watch a water fountain show, it reminded me of a fireworks show with the music, but it was all water fountains.

She went to sleep around 8:30 and slept until almost 7 waking only once when my phone rang. 

Once she woke up we learned two important things about her, she wakes up grumpy and she is grumpy because she is HUNGRY!!!!!  Once we figured out she was hungry we headed to breakfast where she consumed about 2/3 of a fried egg, a bowl of congee (a rice soup), cracker, bread, sweet potatoes, cheerios, etc. 

Then we headed to the Civil affairs office, and got the official certificate of adoption, so she is officially ours.  Next we headed to the local police station to get her passport, the only problem was that the guide forgot to tell us they would be getting pictures taken and both babies fell asleep.  They were NOT happy about waking up, and the photographer would not take a picture with them crying.  Very interesting time. 

She fell back to sleep on the way back to the hotel and we put her down for a nap.  We ate lunch here in the room - leftovers and soup.  Chloe woke up around 2:30 - again in a very grumpy mood - again because she was hungry.  She ate a bowl of oatmeal, and more cheerios and crackers for the rest of the afternoon.

At 6 we headed out with two other families to an authentic Chinese family restaurant, much like the one we went to on Saturday.  This time I got a picture - we had fried rice, dumplings, sweet and sour pork, steamed fish, shrimp, two kinds of vegetables, a beef dish - all for 300 yuan, or about $43, and that was for 6 adults and 3 kids.  The pictures are from dinner, one of our table and the other of Chloe eating once again. 

Chloe ate cracker and cheerios, some of the dumplings, rice and 4 slices of watermelon!!!!   Yes we think this girl loves to EAT. 

For the most part today she has been very happy, she is attaching well to both her mama and papa.  We are learning her cry cues, trying to understand when she is tired or hungry (which seems to be all the time:). 

It is now 8:45 and she is conked out in the crib, I'm in my PJs and Dennis is taking a shower, I have a feeling that lights are going out soon around here. 

FYI - just wanted to remind everyone that we can't view the blog from China, but are posting via email.  Nathan is keeping it up for us, and has set it where if you comment we will get it via email, so we would love to hear from you. 

Tomorrow we head to the orphanage, and plan to see a show at West Lake.