Day 14

This afternoon Jess and I ventured out on our own, back to some shops we had done on the pearl shopping day. We had no problems getting there or shopping, but when we tried hailing a cab back, 3 drivers refused to take us once they found out where we wanted to go, so strange! So, Jess being way more adventurous than me, bargained down a ride on a moped rickshaw thing (like the one on bottom of collage). My life definitely flashed before my eyes. No helmet or seatbelt and apparently he can avoid all traffic laws like red lights, driving between lanes, speed limit, etc. It was one heck of a ride. The closest I will ever get to a motorcycle :) Jess mostly laughed at me the whole time. I told her it was still better than the hospital experience and boy am I glad it didn't put me back at the hospital.

We rushed back to get this group photo before our Pearl River Dinner cruise. 7 kids adopted this week by 5 different families from our agency. There are a lot of other families here in our hotel, but they have not been part of our travel group. We say goodbye to one of the families tomorrow afternoon.

At our table on the boat.

The Chinese buffet looks a little more like a free for all.

 

The food wasn't very good, but the view was worth seeing.

Avery is certainly more fun to hold now. She leans toward me almost completely, I can tell she still has her guard up a little, but it's so different from a week ago! And she looks me in the face now instead of quick glances. yay! She was a snuggle bug tonight ;)

The Garden

Our hotel has some incredible hidden (from the city streets) landscape. Today was the first opportunity we had to explore. After breakfast (with views of the waterfall) we went out for a photo shoot of Avery in her new silk dress :) This is just a sneak peak of my girly girl. She has stared throwing off her hats but so far he headbands have stayed put!

 

Day 13 Shamian Island

(I added some pool pics to day 12 post)

 

Today, we traveled a short distance to Shamian Island.

Shamian, previous known as Zhongliusha or Shicuizhou, is an elliptic sandbar in the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese... The mansions there form the best preserved Western Europe style building complex in China. Forty-two out of 150 buildings are counted as the most exotic ones, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical, in Guangzhou...Since the early 2000s, the Island has become well known for many Western couples who reside there, seeking to adopt Chinese babies and young children, most of whom are orphaned and female." It was also the former location for the Consulate of United States in Guangzhou. (travelchinaguide.com)

 

We walked around, entered a game of the Chinese version of hacky sack and some Chinese dancing and shopped.

Shamian island has a much different feel about it. It reminded me a little of Savanah, GA with the architecture and trees and sculptures. The humidity here is insane. I knew it would be bad, but wow!
There were brides and grooms everywhere getting their portraits taken. I can't imagine how hot they felt.

 Owen is doing his best to bring the Harlem Shake to China ;) Avery is catching on.

 

 She is getting steadier on her feet, but she didn't really like being with these sculptures.

She doesn't fuss much, but when she does, she is loud :)

I know, I know, welcome to mothering a girl :0

 

We've all been feeling well and sleeping great. My body isn't hating me for the hard bed or carrying Avery around. PTL! Thanks for the prayers! Tomorrow is a free day. Jess and I might do a little more shopping during naptime and then in the evening we have a group photo and a dinner cruise.

Day 12 - the Zoo

Ha! My last post said 4 days to go. Really it's 5. I thought today was Tuesday already. Wishful thinking ;) Anyway, the Lord is good. Time away with Owen was just what I needed. I LOVE being with Avery, but it feels stressful right now. EJ has been so amazing and really caring for her so much. I could be tempted to feel guilty for getting away this morning, but really he didn't want to go to another zoo. It was a nice morning, but I am so glad she didn't go. It's so humid and hot here that it would not be helpful with her issues. Now he and Owen are out at the pool while Avery naps. There is even a little bit of sun peeking out.

The Guangzhou Zoo

We rode through the whole zoo on little trams, first. Then took about 1.5 hrs to walk back to spots we wanted to see. These 3 are becoming inseparable so I tagged along with their families. (we prayed for friends for Owen- God provided more than we could have imagined)

This dragon art is made entirely of butterfly wings!

The mosquitos were biting, none of us brought repellent to the zoo. Someone suggested a banana peel? So I busted out my banana from breakfast buffet, split it up between the kids and we all rubbed peels on our legs :) As if we aren't a spectacle enough ;) It did the trick, well, that and we moved away from the pond area ;)

My fav pic of the morning. A real smile and not because I asked him to turn around and smile. He just did!

As hard as this is, I am SO thankful Owen is here. He is already talking about whether we will come back for another child or go to a different country. (sorry grandma, we won't ask you, I promise) It's going to take a lot of convincing me ;) I can't wait to show you the group photo. The Lord is doing a beautiful work.
We spent most of the afternoon and early evening at the hotel pool. There are a lot of pool rules, but the kids still manage to have fun.

 Avery came down after her nap :)

She is really starting to move around more. EJ keeps asking me why I want to encourage her so much before our 15 hour flight :) It's crazy to watch her b/c in a lot of ways she is a 2 year old trapped in a 1 year old's body. We can tell she is on the verge of so much more. Each day we see big progress.

 

 The 3 kids on the right are siblings, here adopting another brother and sister! They joined us for dinner at a Chinese Tai restaurant with an English singing Chinese band ;)

A New Day

It's a new day here. That always helps! 4 more to go!

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who make us, and we are his;
we are his people, and he sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psa1m 100

Oh, how our group is such a sight to see.
Lord, please help all those who stare, know your love is why we are here!
EJ and Avery are staying back at hotel today. I am excited to spend time with just Owen. yay! He has been such a trooper, but I miss him and I know he is frustrated with things.

Day 11

Today, felt like the longest day of my life.

After a rushed breakfast we ALL headed out to a local shopping "mall" for the traditional pearl and jade shopping. I have to laugh at this picture, b/c my smile has to be so fake. At the time I thought I was going to get sick or pass out. I am not handling the humidity plus smells. So many strong food odors that my stomach just doesn't like. Not to mention I am still not eating enough to feel 100%.

Needless to say, we got a strand of pearls for Avery for when she is older. It has become a tradition with adoptive families to get "wedding pearls" I suppose that's what these will be for although it's so far away and seems like a lot of pressure. I will save them for something special :)

 Beck and Owen completely overwhelmed by this ice tea promo, which was crazy loud and very different.

Our van. The 5 families includes 10 adults and 15 kids!!!

 Owen's buds - Elliot and Beck

 

The many silly faces of Avery - oh what a Fogarty child ;)

 

 We also stopped at a museum. Honestly I was done!

So were most of the small kids and it started pouring down rain.

It really was a beautiful place!

This artist was showing how he paints with just his hand. Mostly the side of his hand. Amazing!

 

 

 

We all got soaking wet on the way back to the bus. EJ and I spent all afternoon at the Children's Hospital with Avery. It was not helpful and we regretted it, but our guide was so very very helpful and we greatly appreciate her efforts on our behalf. Please pray we didn't pick up anything new while we were there. Oh, this is so hard! God bless the USA :)

Day 10 - Adoption Medical Appointment

Yesterday, all the Lifeline kiddos had their medical appts which is necessary to get visa for US

Avery did great. The waiting was not nearly as painful as I imagined and all the families enjoyed getting a chance to know each other.

Our girly has super strong abs. Two nurses tried to get her to lie down for a height measurement. They eventually gave up ;) It was pretty funny. It's really only b/c she assumed it was related to her sore bottom, so she was not giving in easy.

After naptime we joined the older siblings at the pool.

 Avery was content to watch with her feet in

EJ's first HUGE ramen bowl.

These are VERY common, especially on our train ride.

Hence the constant slurping and strong odors.

 Dinner at Tekila - yes, a Mexican restaurant. I skipped the margarita for fear of the ice, but I really could have used one. Is it time to come home yet?

The Waldman's continue to be such a blessing to us. They watched Owen for a LONG time, while we took Avery to see a Dr.

 

Update

We arrived safely to Guangzhou last night. Our plane sat at the gate for an hour making us quite nervous, but we eventually took off and landed safely. Avery did great on the flight. She is so quiet and observant. She feel asleep the last 30 minutes of the flight and slept through the very noisy landing. She has been through so much this week. Just as she is beginning to get comfortable and more outgoing we take her through another new experience.

She is allowing us to hold her more easily. The first few days she leaned away from us very stiffly. On the plane, I could tell she was sleepy, but she refused to lean back on me or let me rock her or hold her close. She actually fell asleep sitting up on my lap and then I gingerly leaned her against me. The good news is she falls asleep FAST and sleeps soundly!
Last night for the first time, she grabbed me around my neck and squeezed me while I was carrying her into the overwhelmingly large hotel lobby (very decorative) almost like a shopping mall. Such a great sign. She is still not favoring one of us over the other and doesn't make a fuss (yet) when she is alone for a second in hotel room.

I am feeling much better. Thank you for praying!!!
Neither Owen nor I touched the airline food so at 9 PM they ventured out to the Subway. Owen was pumped.

Don't be fooled by this picture. I could only stomach about half this and that was my first real meal in 24+ hours. Didn't taste very good last night, but I just ate the leftovers and it was fine. Must have been my sense of smell throwing me off :)

 

 

Avery is doing a little better too. We had her medical appt (for visa approval) this morning. The Dr was able to give us some cream for her sore bottom and suggested we stick with rice foods for awhile. The orphanage led us to believe that she was on no special diet. I think she was only given a bottle and maybe some rice porridge. Although she can pick up small bites of food with fingers and feed herself. Alas, so many things we will never know or understand.

There are 5 American families here in GZ and we will travel around as a big group this week. I can't tell you how awesome it feels to be in there presence. What a blessing. I almost cried when I saw The Waldman family we met in Beijing. Plus now we are all meeting each others new kids. So exciting!

Hopefully I am back for regular blogging :)

Please Pray

Yesterday was a really tough day. Avery and I are having stomach issues, as a result she is having diaper issues. She cries so very hard when we change her. It's awful. EJ has basically taken care of everyone for the past 24 hrs.
We leave for Guangzhou in 4hr. There is a US medical clinic we will visit when we get there. Praise the Lord.

I am pretty weak and nervous to have to endure the airport and plane. Please pray.

We are so ready to come home!

Oh Dear

We are in trouble ;) This little face is too much!

We got pics emailed to us from the orphanage! Another answered prayer!

Please pray for her belly with currant diet changes. Did I mention she LOVES cheerios?