We are home and Happy 3rd b-day Meili!!!

first... spell check is not working and I did not proof...
Hi everyone!!! It is 3 am - I have been up since 1 am with Lili as we are both suffering from lovely jetlag...can't wait for the nauseus feelings to hit in the morning :)
Our last day in China went well. We feel very lucky and fortunate to be able to leave China. The country is in a mess now because of the terrible weather and the closed airports. My thoughts and prayers go to the two wonderful families who were with us in Beijing and are still in Hunan Province (and don't know when they will leave) because of the weather delays!!! I am so, so sorry for you all!!! The train stations and airports were crowded with millions of people hoping to get home for their national holiday... we were told that 1.5 million people were waiting at one of the Guangzhou train stations wanting to get home and don't have food, beds, or heat (there is not heat in China past a certain latitude line - because it is mostly warm - this is one of the reasons we were so cold all of the time). I feel truly blessed to live in this amazing country where we can warm our homes and drive from state to state without having to catch a train or plane... or ride a bus for 5 days.
Anyway, back to our last day...
We had the red couch picture (posted previously), packed our bags, went to lunch and off to the US Consolate to obtain Lili's visa and take part in a ceremony where we raised our hands and promised all of the information we gave was true. For many this ceremony is silly but I really get emotional as I raise my hand - it is the end to an emotional process (well not quite the end as we now have to readopt Lili because Scott did not travel-if anyone who has done this has pointers or advice- please sent them my way)!
After the Consolate appointment (ended at 4) we were dropped off at the airport (around 5:30)for our 9pm flight. It was a bit long but worked out fine. The long, long, long flight with a 2 year old went as well as can be expected. She slept some, cried some, and walked around some.... We arrived in LA at 5 pm on the same day we left and took the advice of my dear friend (Tracie L) who told me it is best to stay in LA and get your feet again... this was wonderful advice.... she helped us get a wonderful room at Marriott (thank-you)!!! It felt so wonderful to take a hot shower, brush our teeth with tap water, drink water from the sink, and sleep. The next morning (yesterday) we were off to the airport at 5 am, caught a plane to SLC and then on home. We had several friends at the airport to meet us as well as our sweet family. It was fun to see Scott, the boys and Meili. It only took Lili a little while to warm up to them all.
We spent the afternoon together and unpacked my bags. My parents came with Leslie and her kids and spent some time with us in the evening... we really enjoyed that!
Meili struggled some but she will come around.
Thanks to all of you for following along! We appreciate your love and support! Also, thanks to all of you (you know who you are :) ) for doing so much for my family while we were gone - I owe you all big time!
Today, January 31st, is Meili's b-day. I'm going to make a mad dash to Target when they open so I can pull some sort of a bday together for her... I can't believe she is 3!!! Also, it was hard to get over how tall and grown up she is!!! We are so lucky and blessed to have been given 5 special children - we love them all!
Thanks again!!!

Day 12

We were eating dinner last night at Lucy's discussing our trip and can't believe it is over!!! When it started it felt like it would never end. We have had a magnificent time together and can't wait to reunite with our family!!!

Yesterday, we had a slow day while our guide had a very busy day. She took all of our groups paper work to the US Consolate to have them examined and okayed for our kids visas. All went well - while she was at the consolate we were told to stay in our room in case she needed to get a hold of us... we did a bit of packing.

We went to a pearl market in the afternoon to shop. I did not buy anything as the prices seemed ridiculously high. I think this is a place where the guides typically bring their American adopting families and the stores raise the prices knowing that... prices were similar to prices in the states... still searching for my old pearl ring that went down the disposal... someday. :) (Scott... hint, hint.....)

Last night we busily went from shop to shop trying to pick up last minute odds and ends and then went back to Lucy's ... this is an American like restaraunt that Mckenzie loves - it serves warm apple pie with ice cream and she loves it!!! And then ended the evening with more packing.

Today, we have the group red couch photo at 10:30 (I'll put the photo on after we take it) and then my luggage needs to be ready at 2 and then at 2:30 we leave for the US Consolate office to do the oath ceramony and pick up Lili's visa... then off to the airport - pretty unbelievable!!!

My camera's battery was out yesterday so I did not get any photos. We will take some in the next couple of hours and post them to this.

Mom and Dad... I've been thinking of you a lot and missing Ryan a lot too - I hope you are doing as best as you can - he'd want it!!! I love you and can't wait to see you soon!!!

Day 10

Today we went to folk art museum. It was a wonderful suprise here in Guangzhou. The architecture was unbelievable - I will try to post a photo that shows the beauty - the walls of the buildings contained many, many figures carved from stone.
After we visited the museum we came back to the hotel and did a little shopping. It is exhausting to shop here as we are constantly having to barter and get the best deal - so much easier to just see the price and decide to either buy it at that price or not.
The White Swan has a play room for the children. We spent a few hours there letting Lili get some of her energy out. There was a darling little 4 1/2 year old girl playing in there with her parents. She and Mckenzie hit it off and she loved having Mckenzie run after her. (This little girl is one of the older children that was recently a nsn referals - her parents requested ayap and were surprised when she was so old -they are thrilled with her - Mckenzie left thinking we need to adopt a 4 1/2 year old - I had to remind her that she has a 5 year old brother who will do the same things) (I've also included a photo of Mckenzie and Lili on the elevator - she was funny - I let her walk on and she backed up to the corner just where Mckenzie and I do... she is very observant)
I forgot to mention this while in Beijing.. and just remembered... Scott and Tavis need to get ready for an expensive photo shoot... Mckenzie decided while we were on The Great Wall that it would be the most wonderful spot for her engagement photos :) and then a wedding in Hawaii... :) It was just a little girl talk :) She does realize that she would be a very spoiled girl to have this happen but she did think it would be cool.
We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner with our group. They ordered - hold on to your stomachs - pigeon - it is a popular dish here and our guide loves it - they (everyone but myself and my girls) loved it - I offered the pigeons who make a mess on Scott's car at work but I don't think any of them took me seriously - but we do have a new option for the problem downtown TF- maybe a new business venture :) - roasted pigeon...mmm.... They served it all cut up with the heads still on it - the head is the most sought after piece - and they ate every head at our table... ohhh.... Everything else was delicious!
Lili giggled hard this evening as we were walking down the hallway. She was eating a dried banana and dropped it on the floor - she thought that was so funny - she is a ham. I had a lady (who owns a local shop) ask me why we would adopt her, if we knew of the hemangiomas a head of time and that if Lili lived with a family here they would not let her go outside (this was only her opinion and not all people here) I got a bit defensive and a nice mother from Pleasant Grove, UT stepped in and helped me - she is a mother of 12 and is here adopting a little boy with a cleft palate - has another child with a c/p and a few deaf children. It was nice to speak to someone so close to home - she was very passionate that all children deserve a home regardless of their special need... and the other lady backed down.
It is hard to believe that we begin packing tomorrow. We have to have our bags ready Tuesday morning. Mckenzie said that she is excited to return to her life but will miss being here in China - I agree. We have had a wonderful time with each other!!!
Tomorrow our guide goes to the Consulate office for us. Hopefully, all of our paperwork will be okayed.
To Kara and Lisa and families - I am so sorry that you are stuck in Hunan!!! I can't believe you are still there and can't get out!!! I hope all is well with your children and that you receive some miracle soon to help you get out of the province (and that your families at home will be okay a few days longer). I have missed having you here with us and I'd love to see a photo of your darling children. and to hear about all of the details of your children. I think we take for granted the easy life that we have (I know I do)- it is hard to believe that there is no way to travel out... unbelievable! Good-Luck!!!
I hope all is well with everyone! We are doing well! See some of you soon! Melanie, Mckenzie, and Lili

Pictures

Day 9

Hi! Sorry for not posting for a while. We are now in Guangzhou which is right above Hong Kong. We will complete the last step to the adoption here with the US Consulate. Our paperwork gets reviewed on Monday and on Tuesday we take an oath and receive her visa. And then on Tuesday evening we will fly home... arriving Wednesday around noon... pretty hard to believe.
Lili is doing really, really well. She is full of smiles and laughs and she is babbling a lot. She is very busy and is starting to test her boundaries.
Before leaving Nanchang we had to order our favorite rice and fruit plate. I have included a photo that shows where, what and how we ate for the last week. Nanchang was great! The flight definitely tested me. First, the plane was 2 hours late and then we sat on the really hot plane for an hour while they de-iced it. Lili had had about enough about an hour BEFORE we got on the plane... :) Luckily the plane was full of lots of babies and new families - we were about the only family with a child near the terrible twos age... and that is kind of how she acted on the plane - but, it is over and we are still surviving - so we are ok.
It was wonderful to land in Guangzhou. We are here with lots of families from the US and there are some families with our agency here so this makes it nice. Our guides are wonderful here!!! Our local guide met us when we got off the bus and offered to get us dinner - I felt bad having her go get something for us but after our long, long day there was nothing anyone could have done that would have helped more - it was so nice!!!
This morning we went to get Lili's medical exam. She weighs 23 lbs (dressed) and is 30 inches long. Last time the exam was kind of a joke but this time around they were much, much more thorough (not sure if it was because all of the kids with us are special needs or not) It took quite a while but she was pretty good for us. We also had to get her picture taken for the visa and to do our paperwork for the US Consulate. So, we did lots and lots of adoption work today - it feels great to have it almost done.
We had down time here and there and spent most of it looking in the little shops all around the hotel. We ate at Lucy's (serves American food) for lunch and at the yummy, yummy Thai restaurant for dinner (Tracie L. I made everyone share your Hello Kitty dessert - it was yummy :) I was a bit worried when they brought it out - what a funny mold :) )
Lili is having a hard time sleeping. I wonder if this is when she grieves. She tosses and turns all night and will cry in between. She also has a really bad cough- I can't get it under control - the doctor said that her lungs sounded ok but I swear I can feel the rattles - so any suggestions would be great - I don't have cough medicine here (only a Chinese cough medicine that I don't know what it contains and I feel so bad each time I give it to her because it smells sooo disgusting)
We hope all is well there and are so grateful for everything being done to help us at home!!! Thanks so much!!! We will have the internet now until we leave on Tuesday - so keep e-mailing us.
I can't figure out how to add pictures so I'll see if I can send them to Scott and have him do it...
XOXO Melanie, Mckenzie, and Lili

Day 7 (by Mckenzie)

Today we went to the Peoples Park it was exquisite! Green everywhere! Gigantic, green trees created a large tunnel, while a stream quietly passed through. We saw some elderly men doing traditional exercises as we passed by looking like frozen tourists. Next, we went to a humongous market. We looked around but all we bought were posters for the Chinese New Year which starts on February 7th (this year) and goes for 7 days. Each year the date changes and is determined by the lunar. Again, we went back to the hotel to spend more time together. Lili only laughs at things I do and likes to whack me with a spoon and starts giggling. She also likes hitting spoons against glass. She laughs when I flip a rubber band across the room. We also flipped coins and laughed. She actually likes me now, but once we leave the room it is back to mom for her!!! In our room we have a window that has a tall and wide window seal that she enjoys climbing on. She is saying more words and is becoming more curious. Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou - talk to you then! Love, Mckenzie

Day 6

Lili woke up with a croupy sounding cough this morning. It is not too bad but I hope it does not get worse. We met our guide in the lobby at 10am. We did a lot of touring around the city and saw a lot of beautiful sites. Nanchang has many different rivers and a large man made lake. One of the rivers divides "New Nanchang" and "Old Nanchang". Our guide says that new Nanchang will soon be where the city is most popular... the apartments are very expensive but the traffic is much, much less. Nanchang is remarkably different than Changsha (where Meili is from) - Nanchang is more upscale (in comparison to Changsha-we are still in China) and Changsha appears to be a much poorer city with a lot more farming... Nanchang is definitely more modern but not as modern as Beijing. The population of Nanchang is 4.5 million people - the traffic is just as scary - it is unbelievable how well the cars, pedestrians, bikes, scooters, etc can all share the same lane and share with people coming straight at them - it is like a game of chicken all of the time... what car will get out of the way first...??? - they barely slide by each other each time. We saw the tallest ferris wheel (their English translation is sky wheel) in China - it is the 2nd tallest in the world - it is 160 meters (we think meters) high... unfortunately (not) the sky wheel is closed during the winter months (it puts the one at Disneyland to shame - I can ride any ride but not a ferris wheel)

We are back at the hotel early again today. Our guide did help us get some food today and that has been great - we were getting tired of rice :) We look forward to seeing how Lili opens up this afternoon/evening.
We hope all is well! Mckenzie,Melanie and Lili