Time To Go Home!

It is 8:00 P.M. here in Guangzhou and we have just finished packing for our departure in the morning. We are so excited to see the kids we can hardly hold still! Kari is fast asleep...a happier little girl probably does not exist at this moment...tomorrow when Lily sees Daddy...then she might give her some competition for that title.

Today was a lazy day...walking around the island and visiting with other adoption families until it was time to go to the US Consolate for the swearing in ceramony and to pick up Kari's visa. The swearing in is always very cool and brought tears to my eyes.

As I sit tonight and think about the whirlwind trip we have been on I have many memories...arriving in Beijing the first day and wondering if Zhou would actually be there or would we be alone in China (he was there of course). Walking on the Great Wall and then into palaces where Emperors ruled. Walking on the square where many many students died in a protest to their goverment. Eating at a Sizzler! Hilarious when you think about it. I recall the plane ride from Beijing to Kunming...crammed into our seats like sardines on a plane that looked like it had last been cleaned in 1985. TRAFFIC IN KUNMING. That is actually more of a nightmare than a memory...it was like one of those horror movies that you got dared to go see and then could never get out of your mind. GOTCHA DAY...a wonderful memory that will hopefully never fade. Watching the face of a terrified little 2 year old as her new parents tried to warm her up and show her love. I get tears thinking of the day. She was so timid at first...then after awhile she began to play with me and now...she sings all day long, waives to everyone and is so playful. She played for about 2 hours today with Lucy and Emily, the girls that run China Life...the store where we bought most of the gifts. Those 2 girls were wonderful and Kari loved them. People would walk by and tell us that she was the happiest baby they had seen. Of course we went and said goodbye tonight to Nate's new girlfriend Amy. We also took lots of last minute pictures...but there are none to show you because everything is packed away.

I hope that you have enjoyed our blog and that it has given you a little tast of what this wonderful trip has been like. Our family has grown a lot during the last 2 weeks...we have had baby Kari, then our new little granddaughter, Pyper and just before we left, my sister Katie had baby Joshua.

We look forward to seeing all of you soon...and thank you for all of your support.

Gregg

Becky and I are homesick...Kari is doing wonderful and we just want to take her home so that she can see her brothers and sisters and get to know them. We had a nice day today walking around the island here and going to the zoo. Kari loved the zoo...as you can see, she was pointing at every animal and yelling at them. She had a blast. While we were there we went to an animal show where she had a lot of fun with Uncle Zhou. The show itself was less than stunning, but I guess entertainers have to start somewhere! It was so boring that we laughed so hard we nearly cried. "Come and see the amazing standing monkey"! was what we kept saying should be there advertisement...I am sure that you had to be there to get it, but ask me about it when I get home...I will go into more details. The zoo here is beautiful and is located right in the middle of a city with 10 million people...you could drive right by it and not know it is there...it has high rise apartments on nearly every side.

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner at a Thai food place called Cow and Bridge...it was very tasty until it came to desert and Becky ordered what was supposed to be a banana split...but they called it "three colours" and once we tasted it...we realized that ice cream is not there specialty...once again it nearly brought us to tears and the poor wait staff was trying desperatly to understand why we were laughing.

As the night wound down we had one of the local shop girls come and check out Nate's website...we are doing all we can to promote his band here...Amy is the girls name (pic attached) and she is now a big fan of "Soldiers Of Yesterday". She wants to be Nate's girlfriend already.

Well....off to bed.

Gregg

Sunday in Guangzhou

The days are beginning to run together and I didn't realize it was Sunday until midday. We started off by heading to a museum for about a 45 minute visit. After we piled into our Mercedes Benz bus and went to the pearl market and then visited the jade market. Thankfully it is nearly Chinese New Year and so most of the shops are closed. Once the markets were done, we headed back to the hotel for lunch and naps. Following naps, it was time to hang out with Lucy. She runs one of the local shops and we became friends with her 2 1/2 years ago when we adopted Lily...we spent a couple of hours just visiting and playing. We have purchased all of our gifts and souveniers from her. She has become like family to us...and of course we have invited her to come and live with us and so when we return we will begin to work on obtaining the correct paperwork for her to come to the United States.

We are enjoying our time here, but are ready to be back home! I cannot stand to be away from my children this long and the daily phone calls make me both happy and sad.

Tonight we prepared all of our paperwork for our embassy appointment and so tomorrow will be a relaxing day. We are going to go to the zoo so you can look forward to pictures of animals in tomorrows blog.

Hope to see you soon!

Gregg

Guangzhou!

We have made it to Guangzhou...our final leg of our journey to bring Kari home. It is Saturday morning 7:15 A.M. here and we are getting ready for breakfast and then we are off to get her medical exam done.

As for yesterday...we started off at the pool and despite the sexy swim caps, swimming was not a hit with Kari...probably because the water was just a bit too cold and I am sure that it is one of many things that she has not seen yet in her little life. Once we recovered from swimming...we went to the hotels playground and this was a hit! She has no fear of slides...she went down them on her bottom, laying down on her back, laying down on her tummy and even ran down them and tried to run up them. I would say that one of her favorite things to do is sing. She sings all the time. She is also very good at minding her parents eventually. She is enjoying testing her new limits and is quite good at head buts and has a mean yell that she does. The family that we are traveling with has predicted that she will play football and set all kinds of records as the first female linebacker to play varsity football in Ohio.

Today I am keeping it short as we arrived about 10:30 last night and I am still groggy. We did get Kari's passport yesterday...something that we were not sure was going to get done and so we are very happy.

Well...off to breakfast.

Gregg

Thursday February 8th/Kunming

Since most of you are in the throws of winter...let me start by telling you that the weather in Kunming has been in the 60's all week. I know that wasnt very nice, but my dinner last night had a chicken head in it and quite frankly I would take the zero degree weather and american food. But once again, Becky and Kari seem to love the food. The food in this part of China is very different from where we are headed tomorrow, where the food is more traditional chinese.

Today we started off by visiting Kari's orphanage, it was a very nice place, much nicer than where Lily was. It had a seperate medical building, housing and school. All of the rooms had very nice wooden cribs or beds and each one had a down quilt. It was extremely clean and they had a large staff that seemed to care very much for the children. We met one of Kari's caretakers and she let us take her picture. Just before we left, several of the women yelled out the window to Kari "Xi Weihong" they yelled her chinese name and waved out the window...Kari turned and waved back to them with a big smile on her face.

Next stop for the day was the hotel, where as you can see, Kari had a lot of fun playing with the laundry basket. While she played in the room with Becky, setting off the alarm, smearing potatoes all over the furniture and all other kinds of fun things, I went with Zhou to get lunch...brace yourself because this is the highlight of Kunming for me. We went to PIZZA HUT! I was never so happy, even on Christmas morning. After a wonderful meal, it was nap time. Once we woke up, we took Kari over to the park and to the amusement park rides...she loved it...she rode every single one of them and we felt like rock stars...evidently they dont see a lot of 40 year old americans riding kiddy rides with chinese children. We had people come and watch everywhere we went and they would take pictures...I can just here them now..."guess what I saw today at the park...and I got pictures"!

Once playtime was over it was time to go eat again... :( . We went to another Chinese place, they called it hot pot...and as I mentioned in the opening paragraph...it was not such a hit with me.

Well, it has been a wonderful day and Kari is doing so well, she gives mommy and daddy kisses. She loves to play, she is extremely rambuctious and goofy. I can't wait to see Lily and Kari together. She sings constantly and I am sure that she will be trying out as the lead singer for Nate's band as soon as she learns english.

Off to bed.

Gregg

February 7, 2007 Kunming

Wow...I am not sure where to begin...we had an amazing day today...but I guess I should start with yesterday since I didnt write. We spent the first 2 hours of yesterday applying for Kari's exit visa and then we went to Super Walmart...yes, I said walmart. I must say that a walmart in China is nothing like ones in the states. In fact I nearly threw up as we walked through the meat deptartment...if you would like to know more about it...ask me when we return..for now I dont want to relive it! After Kari's nap we took her to the beautiful park across the street, it is huge and goes on and on...it reminds me somewhat of golden gate park in San Francisco. We got lots and lots of strange looks from the people. It is not common here to see US citizens with Chinese children...when we go to our next city...they are much more used to it. We also went to a traditional Kunming style restaurant for dinner. I ate things that I never knew even existed and I likely will never eat them again.

Today...we started our adventures at 8:30 this morning as we headed out to the Stone Forest which is located about 90 minutes out of Kunming....it was tremendous and while there is only a few pictures here...we took over 200 throughout the day! When we were done with the Stone Forest we ate more local food :( Mommy and Kari loved it...Daddy is losing weight! I think I would kill someone if they were walking by with a pizza! After our lovely lunch it was off to see another site...called Jiuxiang area...it was beyond words...it started with a descent down into a gorge where we boarded boats and paddled up the waters...looking hundreds of feet up at incredible formations and vegatation. Once that was done we walked into the most amazing cave I have ever seen...I cannot describe it in words...again...you will have to see the pictures, however even those will not do it. I would have to say that it outranks Niagara Falls (which I love), The Grand Canyon....anything that I have ever seen. It was unbelievable...I wish that you could have all been with us. It was not even very crowded...it is somehow not well known. Once we completed the walk/hike...it had taken at least 2 hours and we had to climb up 300 steps to get out! After that you took a ski lift through the mountains back to the top. Then on our return we took small roads through the mountains winding through numerous small villages and seeing parts of China that I am certain not many westerners ever see.

The one negative that I have for Kunming is the traffic...it is outrageous and I am certain that if someone either drove in a single lane or dared to use a turn signal they would be arrested. I have not yet taken any video of it...but maybe tomorrow I will....you truly cannot appreciate it until you see it. My sister Julie would have a nervous breakdown within the first 5 minutes!

Kari is doing so well...she was just so funny today...walking and laughing and yelling inside of the cave...imagine how her world has changed in the last 48 hours!

Thanks for reading my longwinded daily blogs.

Good night.
Gregg

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Gregg and Becky's daughter, Ashlie had her first baby, Pyper. Ashlie, Andy and Pyper are all doing well.

Pyper was born Monday, February 5th at 11:24 am.

She was 7 lbs, 3 oz, 19 inches long.

She has red hair like her parents.

Congrats, Stroman family!

We have our beautiful baby Kari. She is a wonderful girl! She has not cried all day...we are so happy. She has been playing and giggling and she loves the goldfish snack crackers. We would like to ask everyone to please say a little prayer for her...she is sick with a cold and we also are not so happy with how her chest looks. She had her heart surgery here in China in march of 2006, so nearly a year ago and her breast bone appears to have not healed correctly. We will be very anxious to get her to our heart doctor upon arrival back home.

Having said all of that...she is still behaving wonderfully...and I think that she is going to be able to hold her own with Lily. She just looks so beautiful...I cant squeeze her enough. We called home earlier and Lily spoke to her on the phone and told her to come home now.

I have attached a few photos of Kari for you all to see

Sunday Feb. 5th Beijing/Kunming

This morning we started off at in the famousTian'an Men Square..the size of the square is nearly overwhelming in person. We then walked over to the Forbidden City...we could have easily spent the entire day touring here, however we had much to do so we only walked through...we did get a picture of the Emporer's throne. Next stop was a silk factory. Next up...lunch...which was at The Hard Rock Cafe...yes, we got the t-shirt. That wrapped up our stay in Beijing and we headed for the airport and Kunming. The smog in Beijing was terrible...dont look for athletes to break any world records in the 2008 Olympics...I will be amazed if the athletes can just finish their events without coming down with a cough!

We arrived in Kunming around 8:30 P.M. tonight. The hotel that we are staying in is said to be the nicest in the city. It is called the Green Lake Hotel and it overlooks a lake (I am going to assume that it is the Green Lake). The city is very beautiful and clean!! I went out for a walk this evening to get some fresh air...something that my lungs were craving. I walked around the lake through pathways and gardens that had musicians placed throughout...everyone seemed to be preparing for Chinese New Year.

We will leave in the morning at 8:30 to go and get Kari...I am so excited. Everything is happening so quickly now and it all seems overwhelming.

Good Night.
Gregg

Feb. 3, 2007 Beijing

Hello everyone...what a day. We started out by going to a jade market and after learning more than I will ever need to know about jade...we headed to the Great Wall. Wow. Never did I imagine that I would be walking on the Great Wall! It was extremely cold, yet still crowded. There were vendors everywhere...it almost felt like they had built the Great Wall right through the middle of a flea market. I am fairly certain that they do not understand the word "no".

After hiking for about an hour on the wall, we traveled to a market where they made Cloisonne, which is an enamelwear. It was fascinating to see how they made it, but too expensive to buy. Well, at least for this cheap American. We had a wonderful traditional Chinese meal for lunch and ate way too much. Then we drove to see the olympic stadium that is being built for the 2008 summer games...they better work fast because it surely does not seem possible that everything will be done in time. Next stop was Dr. Tea...I can honestly say that this was my first tea party...they are obsessed with tea here and this place was huge...if any of you are interested in the proper way to hold your tea cups...just give me a call and I can assist you...when my second oldest daughter Ashlie was in high school and was a cheerleader, I used to tell my friends that I knew way more about cheerleading than any man should! Well...now I can add tea parties to that list!

Following our tea party shindig we went to a theater and saw a Chinese Acrobat show...WOW!! We were really treated to a wonderful day learning a lot about China, its people and its customs. However the best part was dinner...we ate at SIZZLER....no, that is not a fancy chinese translation for some kind of fabulous resteraunt...it was the same as they are or were in the USA...just a regular old Sizzler. So we sat in downtown Beijing eating at a Sizzler and listening to country music play overhead...yes we were laughing too!

Our first full day in China is now over and we are heading to bed (actually Becky is already snoring). I can't wait for tomorrow, our last day here in Beijing, we have an exciting day planned...The Forbidden City, Tian'an Men Square and a silk factory...then off to Kunming to prepare for the next morning when we will get Kari!

I hope that I am not boring you with all of my blabbing...but you all know me...I talk too much.

Well...off to sleep now.

Gregg

Saturday morning, Feb. 3rd

Good morning everyone! Evidently after you fly on a 13 hour flight and jump ahead 13 hours in time...you sleep well. In fact, as I sit and write to you, Becky is still sleeping...she has been asleep since about 7:30 last night...well except for when I woke up at 2 this morning and called home to check on things.

After we have breakfast this morning we are headed to the Great Wall...on our last trip to China we did not come to Beijing and so this will be our first trip to see the tremendous sight.

We are staying at a Holiday Inn...which seems a bit odd to me, however it is quite nice and the service is incredible.

We will take lots of pictures today and many will be emailed to you, likely only one of them will be posted on here. Maybe my incredible daughter will set up a place for me to send all of the photos too! (hint hint Nycole)

Ok, well...off to breakfast...have a great day everyone.

Gregg

Day One In Beijing

Hello everyone...it is 8:45 P.M. here in Beijing and I am ready for bed! The day has been long, starting off with a broken plane in Cleveland...where we sat for an hour while they replaced a starter in one of the engines and finally ending here at the Holiday Inn in downtown Beijing. I have attached a few pictures of our hotel room and a view out the window. As today was a travel day, I wont bore you with all of the details. Tomorrow we are going to see the Great Wall. I miss my kids terribly and cant wait to come home. We will get Kari on monday morning (sunday night there). We are very anxious to finally get our newest child.

Thanks to all of you for your help and support, we could not be here without you!

Good night,

Gregg