Last Day!

We were looking forward to the Safari Zoo today but it rained again today so Rebecca, our guide, said we should visit one of the biggest malls in Asia the Grandview Plaza. It was big all right and beautiful. On the 6th floor there is an amusement center sort of like a mini county fair in doors. Very impressive. We played games and went on rides. On the 5th floor is an ice skating ring. Little did we know Ya Fang had no problem ice skating. Her athletic abilities are amazing. Dale cannot wait to take her skiing!

Enjoy our pictures. One is of Ya Fang helping our friends Danny and Emily from Alabama feeding their baby. The others are Ya Fang on ice skates for the first time! Very easy she said. The last is us leaving the mall.

We leave tomorrow for Maui. It was such a fantastic journey to receiving our third daughter from China. I must say if you are thinking about adopting an older child, think no further. We had no meltdowns during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ya Fang is truly God's blessing.

P.S. Ya Fang's best friend Niu Niu is available. She was with Ya Fang on "Gotcha Day." She is beautiful and very sweet. You can e-mail me if you are interested.

(Photos of YaFang & NiuNiu on Gotcha day - click here.)

Consulate Appointment

Not only did we have the consulate appointment today, but we also did the swearing in ceremony all in one day!!! According to our guide, the US Embassy decided to close early tomorrow so they moved the swearing in this afternoon. If we had known that, we would have made our airplane reservations to come home on December 31. We did go on the internet to see if there were flights, but no avail. We went on the boat ride on the Pearl River. We went on this cruise in 2007, however this time the boat was bigger, the Chinese food great, and we watched a juggling act which was very entertaining. Tomorrow more shopping and the next day, weather permitting, we go to the famous Safari Zoo about an hour from Guangzhou. Almost everyday since we have been here we have had rain.

Four-Day Countdown

This morning after our daily buffet breakfast at the White Swan Hotel we went to the medical center to check on YaFang's TB test results. The size was bigger than norm so YaFang had take a chest X-ray. The X-ray showed her lungs were clear. Thank God! We will have to take the film back with us to Maui with the rest of our packet. We spent the rest of the day at a beautiful botanical garden with our guide Rebecca, another couple from Montgomery, AL, and their 17-month-old daughter. The weather was beautiful. The first day we have seen blue skies since we left home 12 days ago.

Free Day

YaFang surprises us every day. She is organized and gets after mom for not putting things away. Our guide was in our room and she asked "Who made this mess?" YaFang learned to dance and did gymnastics in school. She proudly showed us her moves. She also has a fantastic singing voice and loves art. We are very blessed.

Today, our friend Sandy traveled three hours by train to spend the day with us. We met her in Hunan when we adopted Maile. We've stayed in touch with Sandy throughout the years. She is such a beautiful young woman.

Medical Examination Day

Ya Fang had no problems with receiving the vaccinations. She had four shots total plus a TB test. Eye test went well. Doctor noted that her teeth has cavities which is understood. What we were very surprised to find was Ya Fang's heartbeat is normal. She didn't have the irregular heart beat that was reported as her special needs. The first doctor looked at her past medical report and had to called in the heart specialist to confirm that Ya Fang's heart was indeed beating normally. Can't wait to go home to get our doctor's opinion.

Farewell Guiyang

Ya Fang cried! As our guide walked us to the security point at the Guiyang Airport she had a sad face and was very quiet. Aggie talked to Ya Fang and was going over the next seven days of our journey. Dale and I were trying to do everything to comfort her. I can just imagine what was going through this beautiful little girl's mind. To make things worst, our plane was delayed. She spent about an hour looking out for the airplane. What was funny though I needed to go to the bathroom. Ya Fang accompanied me because she knows I do not like squatty toilets. Before the airport we went to the museum and there were no western toilets. I motioned which way should I squat. She went down and squatted forward and backward and said either way! Anyway, she found a western toilet and pointed a thumbs up with a smile! We finally went into the airplane. Ya Fang was very curious making sure she went over the rules and regulation of an airplane. From then on her personality changed and she was our happy little girl again.

Day before Christmas!!

What a wonderful day. Our guide Aggie and chauffeur took us to Qian Ling Park and amusement park. We walked up a beautiful trail with monkeys all around us. There are approximately 1000 plus monkeys in the park walking freely and begging us for food. Traveling there was an eye opener on how the people just outside the city lived on a daily basis. The streets (or alleys) are one way (give and take) as you slowly drive along. Talk about having to be patient as you slowly work your way along the rough road with locals selling fresh fruits, vegetables and raw meat and oblivious to the traffic that is right in their faces. We took note that in the back of their store is a bed that is probably where they live. Dale was a real celebrity. Many locals wanted to have their picture taken with the "Big Nose Blue Eye" foreigner. That is what they call Westeners. The locals were very nice offering their seat to Dale. He really stood out amongst the crowd. It was a real treat for Ya Fang to experience the amusement rides. It is something she has never done before. The one thing I will always remember is when she asked me to go on the rides with her and dad. I responded "I get sick on rides." She told our guide to tell me to just carry a plastic bag" In other words, there is really no excuse.... just be prepared when you throw up! We leave tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. for Guangzhou. Ya Fang is very excited about riding an airplane. She is a very happy girl and can't wait to get home.

Orphanage Visit

Esther, the orphanage director, has been with Guiyang Children's Institute for 13 years. She is young, energetic, always smiling and you can tell she loves the children. Esther made time for us again so we could ask many questions about Ya Fang and the orphanage. According the the reports the police stated her age as 5 years when they found her. They took her to the orphanage the same day and Ya Fang has been there for almost 5 years. Doing the math and just by her physical appearance we all believe she is no more than 10 years old.The director agrees with this. The facility was well maintained but very cold. The children were happy to see Ya Fang. She was so proud walking around passing out candy that we had picked out and bought at the local Wal-Mart We took many pictures of her with her friends and of her bedroom that she shared with five other girls. Her bed has already been taken over by another child. We learned many of the children choose not to be adopted and want to stay in the orphanage and go to school. Stories about the children being left with no place to go after the age of 14 is not true in Guiyang. Of of respect, we were asked not to share pictures on the Internet of the orphanage. Enjoy the pictures of dad and Ya Fang preparing candies for friends, the director Esther with us and others.

Sick little girl

It started last night when we went to dinner at the hotel. She motioned her stomach was hurting her. We took her back to the room and she started to cry. I thought for sure she missed her friends at the orphanage mainly Niu Niu. I asked her if she did and she said "no." After rubbed her back and gently stroked her hair, she fell asleep. This morning she was coughing up junk. We gave her meds, cancelled our outing to the local park and basically stayed in our room. Ya Fang feels a little better now. The pictures attached shows her sleeping while she was sick. Luckily the day before we bought her a Katherine doll set to play with in the room. She's being busy with it all day. The view from our room is not very spectacular. Tomorrow will be a better day and we get to visit the orphanage. Ya Fang is looking forward to visit her friends. We bought a bunch of candies she said all the children will enjoy.

Our Daughter YaFang

Finally after a year of waiting, Ya Fang is officially our daughter. It was a fun day at the Guiyang Center of Adoption Affairs. The staff were very relaxed and appreciative. They commented how happy they are that we take their children home to our loving families. Ya Fang couldn't sign her name fast enough. She is very happy to be our daughter. Here in these pictures we are just playing around while doing official paperwork. We noticed that Ya Fang is very well mannered. Dale and I observed she goes out of her way to help us and always wait until we all get our food on the table before she starts to eat. Twice I told her it was okay to eat but she said nodded "no." Our compliments to the orphanage staff for this. We are making great progress in the verbal department. She teaches us Mandarin and we teach her English.

GOTCHA DAY!!

Dale and I arrived in Guiyang at 5:30 p.m. after running through the airport in Guangzhou to make our connection. We were met by our guide Aggie. She said we were to meet our daughter at 7 p.m. this evening! No not tomorrow but this evening! Dale and I just looked at each other because we were not prepared.

Well let me tell you that God has blessed us so much. All our fears were put to rest as soon as we saw her. She is so beautiful and so full of love.

Ya Fang came into the Public Affairs Office with her best friend Niu Niu, the orphanage director Esther and her teacher. Esther drove with us to the hotel assuring Ya Fang that we loved her.

She is asleep right now but before she went to bed she took charge of all the new clothes we bought for her folding it the best I've ever seen anyone fold clothes and put them away. She also said "Mommy thank you!"

KOWLOON DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Morning view from our room.

Laser light show at 8 p.m.

Beautiful lights everywhere and Christmas music to get into the spirit.