Safe and Sound and Somewhat Sane!

CLOSE-UP on the SWING

I cannot believe it has been so long since I've posted.  Believe it or not, this is the very first time I have been online since we arrived home over 1 week ago.  I just finished going through over 300 emails:(  Yuck!  I have received quite a few menacing calls and emails requesting I get off my rear and do some blogging.  I'm touched that so many people followed our travels!  As I started off saying , though, I am NOT a writer and I don't like being near the PC if I can help it, so these posts may be fewer and farther between.
Let me start with a little catching up...
Our travel home was, thankfully, uneventful.  The 13 hour portion ended up falling during Quinn's natural bedtime so she slept about 11 hours of it:)  The only problem with that was that she was rarin' to go when we arrived home after midnight!  We were shocked and touched that Chris' mom, the boys, and 4 of our dearest friends were waiting in baggage claim for us at midnight bearing a pint-sized American flag for Quinn, a bouquet of flowers, and some balloons.  Our friends took pictures and video.  I'll try to post the pictures when I get them from them.
Quinn and the boys acted as if they had just been apart for a while, not as if they were meeting for the first time.  They hugged and played together all the way home and played some more once we got home.  No one wanted to sleep!  Quinn was almost immediately at ease in the house.  She sat on the couch and played and laughed.  She watched our dog, Maggie, with curiosity, not fear.  She followed her gu gus around the house and slept in her own room in her crib without hesitation.  Below is a picture of the most amazing surprise when we got home.  My aunt drove several hours to set up our dining room as an elegant Chinese restaurant.  We now own all the necessitites to make a wonderful Chinese meal...even down to the bamboo steamer!  Now we can make Quinn's favorite bao-baos:) 

The boys were totally smitten with Quinn from the moment they laid eyes on her.  Owen's first comment was, "She's even shorter than I thought she was and her hair is soft."  Colin's first remarks were about how cute she was and if he could carry her:)  They continue to be enthralled with her (most of the time).  They wheel her around the house on her riding toy at top speed as she squeals with delight.  They tickle her and wrestle with her and play fun games such as 'jump off the sofa" which we typically would not allow.  They also read books with her and cuddle with her and they even got her out of her crib once using a step stool...yikes!  If the boys are not around, I get the inquisitive shoulder raise and "Air gu gu?"  The only time the boys clear the room is if Quinn is crying, which isn't often.  The first time she wailed about something, Owen was quite concerned..."What's WRONG with her?"

 

There have been so many touching moments in our home over the past week, I'll just list a few of our favorites...
- Night one-Owen said his prayers and before I could even ask him the ritual question "What do you want to thank God for today?', he said, "I already know what I want to thank God for today. I thank God for Quinn."
- When asked which Colin liked better for Christmas, his trampoline or Quinn, he replied, "Quinn, of course.  She's a real, live person!"
- When Colin accidentally hit Owen with a ball in the face, Quinn told Colin off in Cantonese and her finger wagging, then promptly ran over to Owen and hugged him and kissed his cheek.
- When the boys and Chris were having their first wrestle-mania since we'd gotten home, I tried to keep Quinn occupied in another room, but once she heard the commotion, she ran in squealing and piled right on top of them.
-From day one, when Quinn wakes up she yells, "HI MAMA" or "HI BABA" until we come in to get her.
-Every single time Maggie walks by, Quinn says "Hi Gee-Gee!" (her best attempt at Maggie.)

-When I was tucking her in one night, I whispered "I love you" and she whispered right back, 'I lu u."

Here are a few of the LOW-lights since we've been home...
- Day one home- I came down with a vicious bug that left me in bed with fever, aches, pains, etc.
-Day two home- Doctor visit and antibiotics! Quinn awake from 12:30am- 7am.  She and Chris enjoyed many cups of pretend tea, cartoons, and books while mom slept away her illness.
-Day three home- Chris back to work a full day,another bug hits both Chris and me, Quinn awake from 1am-5am.
Day four home- Quinn falls down the entire flight of stairs (while being supervised, I'm ashamed to admit.)  Scariest fall any of my kids have ever taken.  Landed head first on a plastic toy at the bottom of the stairs and got a goose egg triple the size of the one in China.  Thank GOD she was ok, but we were all shaken up for a while afterward. Chris works another long day.  Quinn awake 3-5am.
Day five home- Everyone is well...sleeping all night...aaahhhhhh!
Now on to the Christmas fun...
Our friends brought some finger lights for the kids...they were such a hit!  Check 'em out!

Christmas morning was interesting!  The boys were so excited, but Quinn was still snoozing at 7:30am.  We decided to wake her up to be a part of the action.  She was whiny and overwhelmed.  You can see how thrilled she was about her new tricycle:)

 However, after an early nap, she was back to her fun and playful self!  Her absolute favorite thing to do is swing.  Chris took her out for the first time and said he had never seen a child as thrilled as she was to be on a swing.  She laughed and squealed and smiled and did not want to get out for over 30 minutes.  Chris finally pulled her away, but you better believe she asks to go out even when we're letting Maggie out in complete dark!

The boys prized Santa gift was a trampoline.  They are having a blast on it and they've been very nice about sharing it with their little sister from time to time!

 I cannot finish this post without adding some holiday pics!  Chris' office had a little Christmas event that we took Quinn to.  She was not at all intimidated by the noise.  She enjoyed clowning around with her brothers!

 We also went to the Christmas Eve service at church.  We knew it would be Quinn's naptime and, sure enough, she slept through the entire service after a brief protest during the Gospel reading.  (Owen later reported how embarrassing it was that Quinn cried in church....maybe this will be a good tool to help HIS behavior in church:)  The most miraculous moment of the service for me was during the Prayers of the People.  Since we first saw Quinn's face on February 1, 2011, I have prayed for her health, safety, and happiness during the prayers for those in any need or trouble.  I was suddenly overcome with emotion as we reached the prayers for those in any need or trouble and here I was holding my sleeping angel on my lap, healthy, safe, and happy.  God answered my continued prayers!  We are so incredibly blessed to have this precious child as our daughter.  Our family has bonded in a way that can only be defined as God-Ordained.  All of the waiting and wondering, all of the anxiety and sleeplessness has been worth it.  None of us can imagine our lives without Quinn and we have only been together a little over a week!  We can't wait to share more stories of our time together as a family of five!

LAST DAY!!!!

Today was our final day in Guangzhou.  We have called this city home for 2 straight weeks!  We met another adoptive family from the US in the elevator this evening.  They had just arrived.  We spent 10 minutes giving them the run-down of the city-where to shop, where to eat, where NOT to eat, which streets to check out, and which streets to steer clear of.  We are so thrilled to be leaving, but are sad to be leaving the only home Quinn has known.  Now we will be heading to a place where NO ONE speaks her language, very few people look like she does, and the food stinks (compared to what she's used to.)  She'll have lots of love and I feel certain that our little brainiac will adjust quickly, but I feel for her just as I am cheering to go home.  After packing everything this afternoon, I got so excited, I poured a glass of wine and we had a dance party in our room to "Born in the USA", "Rocky Mountain High", and "American Girl."  She LOVES music and dancing so she had a blast getting her groove on:)

This morning we had our final tours.  We started with the Buddhist temple Five Banyans.  It was beautiful as you can see.

 Then we headed to Five Rams Park.  Goats are esentially the mascot of Guangzhou, and , as Jack told us, they are worshipped, despite the fact they are also eaten:)  This sculpture was huge, carved out of 150 pieces of marble.  The rest of the park was stunning as has been everything other park we've seen thus far.

 This is a banyan tree like I've been referring to in many posts.  There are some around Guangzhou that are hundreds of years old.  This one is tiny compared to some we've seen, but it exemplifies their beauty and majesty.

 Then we headed to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall.  He was what I consider the 20th century version of Abraham Lincoln.  He had a profound impact on China.  A pretty cool man, I think:)  Many historical events have taken place over the decades at this hall.  There were many class groups touring while we were there.  It's like going to the Lincoln Memorial or something similar.

 Now that we're ready to leave our home away from home, I'll show some pictures I've taken over the weeks of the Garden Hotel.  For anyone who thought we were in the middle of nowhere, nothing could be further from the truth!

 View from our room at sunrise

 And at night

 The spectacular lobby

The desk area where we've spent many hours skyping and blogging

TOP FIFTEEN THINGS WE MISS ABOUT HOME

(We couldn't narrow down to 10:)

15. Napkins and knives at lunch and dinner

14. Not being stared at on the streets

13. Clean air and everything thing else clean when you don't live in a big city

12. Clothing options-we didn't bring enough warm clothes so the repetition is getting old

11. High speed Internet that is not censored

10. TV, DVR- and we don't even watch that much TV when we're home:)

9. The peace, quiet, and tranquility of our backyard and neighborhood

8. Driving- not 100 miles an hour and honking our horns every two seconds

7. Dessert-China is not known for sweets

6. Our BED!

5. Public toilets with seats, toilet paper, soap and paper towels

4. WATER- drinking it from the tap, at restaurants, in ice form, to brush teeth with, to wash food with so we could eat salads and fresh fruits and veggies

3. Church and being around Christians

2. Our friends

1. OUR BOYS, OUR BOYS, OUR BOYS

TOP TEN LIST OF WHAT WE'LL MISS ABOUT CHINA

10. The value of a $

9. Tea with every meal

8. The mental break we've had from work and daily routine

7. Housekeeping

6. Exporing new sights everyday

5. Learning something new everyday

4.Meals ready-esp at breakfast

3. Great food

2.Guangzhou weather

1. Having one-on-one time with Quinn

Whew....signing off from Guangzhou...next post from the good ole US of A:)



White Swan and Lu Ming

 Sunset view from Baiyun Mtn area

We started our day with a trip to the US Consulate.  We said our oath on behalf of Quinn for citizenship and turned in some paperwork.  We'll receive our sealed envelope of documents from the Consulate tomorrow.  This ppwk is what we've been waiting for in order to leave.  Once we arrive in the US, we'll turn in the sealed envelope to Immigration and we'll receive Quinn's certificate of Citizenship sometime later in the mail.  That simple!  Ha!  If only everything else thus far had been this simple:)

After that appt, we got all our gear ready for another trip to Shamian Island to take the traditional picture of Quinn on the red sofa at the White Swan Hotel.  I wish I knew more about this tradition.  All I DO know is that the White Swan hotel used to be THE place for adoptive families to stay when they were adopting.  Now it is closed for renovations, but they have left the lobby area open and there were still many visitors inside. I'm assuming the tradition developed to take a "lucky" picture of the children in traditional Chinese attire on the sofa.  Chris was not too thrilled about completing this tradition, but he humored me so I could get a few photos:)  Notice the obligatory and stunning Christmas tree in the lobby to compliment the waterfall!





SO ELEGANT! ( As we were told her name means in Chinese today)

Shamian Island is beautiful, as I mentioned before.  There are many sculptures scattered around the island.  We thought this one was pretty cool, displaying the changes in the culture of Chinese women over time.  Here's Quinn checking out her ancestors:)











Then we hit a playground at the Shamian Park.  Quinn has NO fear as you can see...she's gonna LOVE hanging out with her fearless older brothers!



After a brief siesta, we headed back out for dinner with Jack.  It was our "Thank you for being so great and we'll miss you" dinner.  We went back to the Baiyun Mountain area and went to a top-notch restaurant on the lake.  I cannot begin to describe the beauty and extravagance of this restaurant, Lu Ming.  We had our own private room.  There were lights twinkling EVERYWHERE!  My pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few, including sunset by the lake.  You can pick out your own seafood here.  Notice this big, bad fish.  No, we did not feast on this grumpy-looking beast, but we did eat sea whelk, a sea snail...not half bad:)



Chris and I are working on our top ten list of things we miss about the US and things we'll miss about China.  I'll report the entire list tomorrow, but the top of the US list are Colin and Owen....one more night and we'll be heading their way:) 
P.S. Chris has been getting on me about not using spell check.  Sorry for all my errors, but it's amazing enough I am writing every day!
P.S.S. I can't delete the following pictures for some reason so here they are again...enjoy! 

BAIYUN MOUNTAIN

Today was the highlight for us as far as touring is concerned.  We hiked to the top of Baiyun (meaning White Cloud) Mountain.  A lot of the hike was on paved paths, but Jack knew a great detour that led us away from the crowds and onto secluded, rocky terrain with breathtaking views.  Living in an enormous city for the past 2 weeks has worn on us.  We are NOT city folk.  Charlotte's about as city as we get, so the fresh air, beauty, and tranquility were a welcome change.  I am a fanatic when it comes to snapping tons of pictures.  I have been good about not posting too many of my scenic photos, but I couldn't help but to add a few this time.  Everything was so beautiful!

Quinn was a trooper in the Ergo carrier.  She typically likes to run around, but you can see that she wasn't too upset this time around:)



There were beautiful monuments and tombs along our hike.  When we reached the top, we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe that overlooked the city.  It was one of those pinch yourself moments it was so gorgeous.  On the way down the other side of the mountain, we happened upon the touristy part of the enormous park.  As you can see, they were getting set up for their Christmas celebration.  It was quite elaborate.  Lights were hanging from every banyun tree and there were Santas and reindeer set up in every nook and crannie.  Christmas, you ask?  As a matter of fact, we have discovered that the Chinese have quite an affinity for all things Christmas other than Jesus:(  They have certainly bought into the commercialism that has become Christmas.  Christmas carols play in the elevator in our hotel.  Every shopping mall has a 20 ft decorated tree in front and there are Santa and reindeer pictures plastered in even the smallest shop windows.  It is really sad to us that a holiday is being celebrated here that has no relationship to the true meaning of the season.  In fact, I think I'll ask Jack if people in general know what Christmas is all about.  I'll report on it.  Despite the hype about Christmas, Chris and I have not felt at all like it's coming up.  We cannot wait to be in our home with our family.  THEN it will feel like Christmas:)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from that part of the park.



Now on to our hilarious little girl...she is ever blossoming into this little person with opinions and personality.  In fact, she has become quite the terrible-twos toddler the past two days.  She whines to me "maaaa-maaaa" when she doesn't get her way then pouts and sulks when I continue to say no.  She won't come when we call her and grins a sneaky grin as she stands firm in her spot.  She wiggles to get down when she's carried then whines to get up when she's taken two steps.  She's really easy, though, compared to some terrible-twos.  We had just forgotten about this stage and didn't anticipate that she'd show this much of herself to us this early on!  She's really attached so we'll take it...whining and all:)  To show her spunk and personality, take a look at the following pictures.  These were taken within 30 seconds...she's such a ham!

Tomorrow we have our US Consulate appt at 8:30 am.  Then we have the rest of the day free.  We'll try to get in a little  more shopping so Friday can be spent PACKING:)  The boys are counting down and so are we!  Love to you all.