sprite is a universal language

We had a two hour delay from Shanghai to Guangzhou but was pleasantly surprised to see that Chaning and her foster family were on the same plane so we were able to spend a little time playing with her.  She is still not freely coming to me but who can blame her.  I probably look and sound like some crazy lady from the USA.  I can still see her watching me all the time and smiling.  She is very nervous. When she left her Auntie and fsister yesterday, they said she told them she would be back.  This is going to be such a huge transition for my little darling but I see how much love she has and feel that she can transfer that love and happiness into our family.

Tomorrow is the BIG day.  We will meet at the Civil Affairs office around 2 p.m. That will be 1 a.m. for those back home.  She will then be handed to me. (tears)

Today, the foster mother will bring her so she can see me again.  I hope to show her the hotel palace where she will be staying for the next two weeks.  I finally slept until 6 a.m. this morning and my head cold seems to be slacking off a little.  I will try to rest as much as possible today.

More pics from our first day with Chaning and her party

Jen a/k/a our guide Jessica

If you have met my sister-in-law, you will understand why when we got off the plane in Shanghai that I thought Jen had flown in from CO to meet us.  Our guide, Jessica, looks just like her.  Her mannerisms are very similar in nature as well.  Jen, I have found your long, lost sister in Shanghai.

More pictures and update on entire day below this

This is what a day of shopping does to old people;))...hee, hee!

Shopping, Acrobat Show and Goodbye Party for Chaning

Today we started out at around 5:00 a.m.  Skyping friends and family back home.  It was so good to see my babies faces and yours too, Matthew, Tim, Tonya and Amy.  We spent the majority of our early morning trying to obtain a converter that would not blow up our electronics.  Let me just say that when you bring Joan C. with you, well...she is relentless.  We have power for our chargers now.  We are minus one hair dryer and a fan.

We left our hotel around 9 and decided we wanted to visit fabric stores, antique markets and electronics.  It was so overwhelming and not to mention extremely populated in each place.  It rained on us all day long so you can imagine how many near misses we had with umbrellas to the eye.  Foster and Chase are professional barterers now.  These boys have had a blast and I don't think the shop owners have met quite a bargainer as Joan.  I could hear her five stores down hollering lower prices and then see people chasing her down the aisles with a calculator.

We tried to eat at a dim sum house inside a bazaar that we were at but the lines were unbelievable.  Did I mention that it was raining and there were fifty million umbrellas?  We chose to get in and out of McDonalds.  Who, by the way, has delivery guys on motors and bikes.  You have to see it to believe it.  It is something to experience the amount of people, cars and bikes in one place.

We left the markets and headed to a local tea room where we did not partake on tea but was whisped through the alley ways of the area.  Did I mention that it was still raining?

We then were taken to the Acrobat Show at a local theatre.  If you are ever in Shanghai, I would highly suggest seeing this show.  It is absolutely crazy to see what these people can do with no safety measures. Yikes!!!  I had to close my eyes and cringe several times.

After the show, 6:30 p.m., we were driven to Chaning's house where we were greeted by around 20 people who were there to say goodbye to Chaning.  Many had prepared a table of food and brought gifts for her.  Chaning greeted me at the door and said hi mum again.  She was a little nervous to see me.  You know I have that effect on some ;) but she quickly brought me my bowl and eating utensils so that I could make a plate. It took a little while but she then decided she would sit beside me.  We have a girly girl on our hands.  She opened one of her gifts and it was a beauty make-up set.  She helped me put it together and then we took turns putting our lipstick on each other.  Many people were at this party that are foster mothers to kids who are about to be adopted or will be put up for adoption soon.  Let me just take this time to say that these people absolutely love these kids and want so bad to know where they are going to see how they progress years from now. If you EVER get the opportunity to meet them, please do.  Even if you only have one parent meet with them after you receive the child, you will want to do that.  These people can offer so much information about your child's past, habits, likes/dislikes and it gives them a huge peace of mind to know that you are going to love them.

As each person left, it was so hard not to cry and somtimes I did cry and they cried as well.  Chaning had teachers, friends, neighborhood kids that will miss her and wish her well.  If you know me, you know I cannot watch Benji/Lassi without crying and I definitely do not do good-byes.  Let me just say, it was emotional.  My little girl was loved by many and if you meet her, you will see why.  Her smile is captivating and very friendly.

Tomorrow, we will head to Guangzhou.  I will meet up with the foster family there and try to spend the next day and a half with Chaning and the family so that, hopefully, when she is handed to me for good on Monday that she is not as frightened as if she had never seen me before.  Let me also say one more thing, and then I promise I will quit writing books, GOD IS GOOD!!!!  He definitley had his hand on my girl and we would like to thank all of those who have prayed for her transition.  Please continue to do so because next week will be hard for her and this crazy, non-stop talking American Mum.

She is a precious tiny princess!

Oh, WOW!  That's how I can simply explain today.  We drove about 30 mins to Chaning's house.  She and her foster mother were awaiting us at the bottom of the stairs.  Chaning looked really excited and said, Hello, Mum but you could tell she did not want to stray far from her China Mum.  We sat and opened her gifts but still could not get remotely close to her.  We decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.  At this point, she would hold Chase's hand but did not want the crazy, endless talking USA mum to get near her.  I would see her looking at me but then when she caught wind that I was looking back, she would quickly turn her head the other way.  The family took us to an Italian restaraunt that was very nice.  We then returned to her home and she and I began to sit down and play with the sticker book we brought.  She picked up so quickly on how to peel and stick and then color the book.  We must have sat there for 45 mins until all the stickers were gone.  She would give me a high five and smile but still no such luck on touching her.  We then proceeded to play with other items.  I asked her if she would sit in my lap and show me her kindergarten book and SHE DID!!!  Within about 10 more mins, I was able to get a little hug from her and kiss her on the cheek.  At one point, she thought her FM was leaving to go outside and she quickly began to move into big tears and screamed.  She loves this family and the auntie so much.  They have taken extremely good care of her.  She is a tiny, tiny tot with a little foot.  She has the prettiest dark eyes and little nose.  Her left side dimple and precious smile just melt your heart. 

We are so thankful that God placed this family in her life and that they allowed us the honor of having her placed into our family.  Just the time spent observing her in her environment today is priceless.  Tomorrow we will tour Shanghai and then return to her house for a goodbye party where we can meet some of her friends.  Saturday, the ffamily will fly her to Guangzhou and we will fly there ourselves.  Sunday we will relax and then Monday afternoon, we will all travel to the Civil Affairs office where the orphanage director will transfer Chaning to us.  She will be considered ours as far as China is concerned after Monday.  This is going to be a hard time for Chaning as she is so attached to her family but I know that she will reattach to ours because she does know what love is.

I will do another post on her fmother's Baby's Home.  She started this home for babies that need medical attention, some very severe, because Chaning showed her that by taking care of them they can be placed in adoption and have a chance to thrive and be happy.  The home was so clean and the babies we got to see were so healthy looking.

Okay, I am done for the night.  We decided at the end of the day that we could travel to the World Expo.  After an hour there, we called our guide to come back and pick us all up. I think the jet lag has hit and we are all tired.

WE MADE IT!

We have made it to Shanghai. We have traveled for 24 hours straight. I did, however, get to hear a voice on the phone once we arrived in Shanghai that said, "Hi, Mum". That brought tears to my eyes. Chaning is ready to meet us in the morning. We will spend the next two days visiting with her & her foster family. ...We have been told they are taking us to the World Expo tomorrow.

Let the horns begin to beep on the streets. Wow, I forgot how busy China can be with all the people. Slept very little last night but feel great. We will leave the hotel around 9:30 to go meet Chaning and her foster family for the first time. Few butterflies in the abdominal area.

Boarding Plane

We are about to board the plane to Tokyo. Please tell me that is it not a bad sign that our congressman was boarding the plane with me, walked up out of no where and said if you need me call me. I told him I better not need him.