There is no place like home!

Thankfully, we arrived home late last night, after a 4 hour hold up in Tokyo. We are still tired, but so so happy to be at home. Getting in our own bed last night, was as nice as winning the lottery! Thank you all for your prayers.

Miss Lilly is loving her new house. She has been exploring all over the place! There is one picture of her right before we left China, and one of her playing in her room today! Everything is great so far!

Last few days in Guangzhou.

Hi everyone! we have enjoyed our last few days in Guangzhou. Today we did some shopping and took Lilly to the pool. She did not want to get in but had a fun time trying on her bathing suit and taking pictures. She also brought me two rubber bands and a brush today. That translated into " I want piggy tails". She doesn't have much hair so I tried my best and she was thrilled! I can not express how ready we are to come home. We miss Lauren and Landon, our house, our bed, our pets, everything and everyone. Please everyone pray for us on the flight home. We have no idea how Lilly will do. She is not fond of seat belts, I tell you that! I can't wait for you all to meet her. She is so sweet and good.. You are all going to love her!

Arrival in Ghangzhou

HI all! We arrived in Ghangzhou on Saturday. We love it here! It is close to paradise. It actually is more like a resort and actually feels like we are on a vacation. The hotel is called the White Swan, and it caters to adoptive families. There are two pools, and a playroom with toys for the adoptive families. The hotel is on an island. Our room overlooks the lake. BEAUTIFUL!
Lilly is doing better everyday. I can't even describe to you how sweet she is. She is quiet and shy, but also talkative and active. She draws beautiful pictures, and she is super smart. She listens well, and has a funny sense of humor. We are blessed beyond measure to be the parents of this angel!
Lauren is updating the blog for me. For some reason there is a block on the blogger site. So I might not be updating as much as usual.
We are having fun! Home soon!

The Park?

Well today we went in search of the "park" we were told about. I guess in China a park is not the same as in America. We were let out at the "park". All we saw were flowers and a walkway. No slide, no swing, no sand, just flowers...FUN! I guess we will wait till we get home to go to the real park and have some fun. So we walked around awhile. It was 100 million degrees! We did go to Starbucks. It was good. Yin enjoyed Oreos, and we enjoyed coffee. Then just to waste time we took a golf cart ride around the lake that we toured yesterday. After that we had lunch at a Pizza Hut. Then we saw a Toys R Us. It was so fun to watch Yin's face light up when she saw all the toys. The Toys R Us here, is small. Very small. Wait till she gets home!

All is well and good! We fly from here to Guangzhou tomorrow at 11:00, so we will be there around 2. Hopefully it will be more fun than this place!

New clothes!

WE CHANGED CLOTHES!

Thank God! I have never been so excited in my life! I know that is stupid, but it means to me we have conquered a major milestone. It's not just about the stinky clothes, it's about her trusting us enough to allow us to change her. It's also about leaving a small part of her past behind. She did not necessarily want to change, but she did not cry either. So all is well! Thank God for Baba! He changed her, I was too scared to upset her. She will do about anything for Baba.

Also the picture above is her blowing bubbles out the window. She loves it! When she saw me taking the picture, she said "CHEESE" : ) We are heading to the park soon! Thanks for all the prayers. Keep praying because I am sure there will be more issues ahead.

Here and there.

e
r

This afternoon we went to Haagan Daz for Ice cream. It's so funny to watch her try new things. She loved it of course. : ) Baba told her he does not share his ice cream with many girls. Oh and we shed one shirt...yah! She had on two, so we got rid of the pink one. Maybe a little each day? She also liked getting her picture made with Ronald McDonald. I tried a Big Mac today and it tasted the same.

The picture of the large building is our hotel. The round part at the top is a revolving resturant. The picture of Starbucks is for my dear friend, Janelle, so she knows if she ever gets brave and brings her son, Camden, to China she can still have her coffee. : )

Tomorrow is a free day. We might get brave and take her to the park if it is not 100 degrees. Later!

Touring the Tea Garden and West Lake

Today we toured the Tea Garden. The tea plants are grown on the mountain side. The city we are in, Hangzhou is known for good tea. They showed us how they pick it, then prepare it. We got to try some. It was good. I bought some if any of you want to try it when we get home. She told us it has many health benefits. After that we walked around the West Lake. It is beautiful! There are wooden boats you can take out, and many people were flying kites. It was a beautiful day today. Overcast and cooler than usual so we enjoyed our walk around the lake.

Yin is fine. She acts very distant when we are in public. I am not sure why. When we are in the hotel room, she is talkative and active. We are ready to get to Guangzhou. We are going out exploring later, so I will post more then.

((HUGS))