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