This Is Really Happening...

It is about 30 minutes before we leave the hotel for the Civil Affairs Building to meet Anna. It is so hard to believe that this is actually happening, NOW! We are thrilled beyond words, mixed with a little nervousness.

My main concern is that she is not scared and she "likes" us. I am not worried about the "taking care" of her aspect, but rather her being afraid of me. I have loved her for a long, long time, but she has no idea that I even exist...but she will very shortly :-)

We are praying that God continues to be with us and will help us and Anna bond appropriately. We are so blessed to be where we are.

Boys,

It is almost time to get your sister. We can't wait to see her and can't wait for you to see her too. Talk to you in the morning! Much love, hugs and kisses.

Thanking God for bringing us this far and sending love to my Anna, Parker, Jacob and Carter

Our First Day in China...

Our first day in Guangzhou was quite an experience. We tried to sleep when we got in last night, thinking that we would sleep about all day...but we didn't. We were only able to sleep a few hours and was up at 5:30 am for the day.


We went to the hotel breakfast where I ate fried rice, fried noodles, fruit and a danish. I also had orange/mango juice and a coffee which was super strong, even for me. It was more like an espresso, but not. Rodney had fruit, cucumbers, danish, fried onion cake and orange juice.

We then tried to exchange some money for our adoption fees. Our hotel would only exchange $300 a day/room. So we had to find a bank. We found the Guangdong Development Bank and decided to give it a try. Thankfully everyone tries to be helpful. The guard got us our ticket for the window service and the teller at the window was more than helpful. We really are at their mercy right now. We don't know where we are, the proper processes and are just winging it. We got our needed fees exchanged and some spending money for the day.

We started walking around looking at some area shops. They are really wanting to sell their goods, but no one is rude, just persistent. We met a couple of shop owners that we especially nice and helpful. We saw one of the ladies later on in the day and she was excited to see us and waved. And no, we didn't buy anything from her, but she just seemed to have a sweetness about her.

If you know Rodney, this was just funny to me.

The weather here is thick! The temperature is not really that hot, but the air is so heavy and thick. The humidity has to be like 250% !!! By the time we walked around half the island and returned to the room, my shirt was sticking to my back. When you walk outside it is like walking into a sauna room. We started getting hungry, so we ventured back out for some food.

After walking around looking at several menus, we ended up back at the hotel in the restaurant. I had a club sandwich, which consisted of ham, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes, and fries. Rodney had a ham and cheese sandwich and fries. I know, it wasn't very adventurous but we just couldn't find anything that really appealed to us. Tomorrow we will have more guidance and hopefully find something that we like.

We went to Beatrices and a 7/11 store. We purchased total 3 bottles of water, a huge 2 gallon of water bottle, 2 - 2ltr Sodas (Coca-Cola and Sprite), bread, cheetos, snickers, cup of noodles all for about $6. We came back to the room and took a nap. I can't see blogger here, so I just hope things are formatting okay.

This is the scene from outside our bedroom window. We hear birds throughout the day. We call the birds "monster" pigeons. They are huge.

Tomorrow is the day. About 13 hours until we meet Anna. We are to meet Connie, our guide, in the hotel lobby at 2:00 and head for the Civil Affairs Building. She said that we would be there about 3 hours. It will be a long afternoon I am sure, but we are praying that God has prepared her for us and us for her. She has no idea what is in store for her tomorrow. Leaving everything that she has ever known, placed in the arms of complete strangers.

Carter, Jacob and Parker

We only have a couple channels here and the movie channel has shown Star Wars all day long. We haven't found the McDonald's or Pizza Hut yet, much to your daddy's disappointment. I hope that you all are having a good time. We posted some pictures of our day. We love you three very much and will talk to you soon!

Waiting for tomorrow and sending love to my Anna, Parker, Jacob and Carter