First - to answer the questions from the last post: The guy in the white robe is the monk who blessed the babies, I mentioned him in the comments. And no, he doesn't smile. And no, not all of the families from Children's Home are from the Twin Cities or even Minnesota. Craig and Gwen are from southern Minnesota and Rick and Antinette are from the Seattle area. I was going to ask them how they found Children's Home, but never got around to it yesterday.
OK - on to the original post that I wrote:
Hey everybody. I cannot tell you how homesick we are. It is really tiring to be living in hotels for 2 weeks. We saw someone eating lasagna on the TV this afternoon and I almost cried. They try to do American food here, and Guangzhou does it better than Hefei, but it's still not the same. They put egg and cured beef on the club sandwiches for instance. It's okay - but it's not a good old fashioned American club. We've both lost 10 pounds here! Nuts.
Our guide/translator in this city is Molly. She went to the US Consulate for us this morning and said that Maggie's American visa has been approved! Yay! They're going to let her into the country. We just need to go to the consulate tomorrow to pick it up and do some kind of oath. Then we catch a van to the airport at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and we are out of this country by 8:30! It has been a great trip, and the people here are wonderful - I just really really want to go home.
Anyway - we went out shopping today with Craig, Gwen and Julia. We bought Maggie a Chinese outfit for pictures this afternoon. (we'll post them as soon as we make them) We also picked up a pair of dress shoes for her that squeak when she walks. She thinks they are very cool. Her walking has improved 100% since last week. She's still a little wobbly, but being up and moving around has really helped. The squeaky shoes will definitely help too, the more she moves the better she gets.
We have the funniest video to show you guys when we get home. Funny as in disturbing. I was feeding her noodles for dinner last night (what else?) and she starts smoking her spoon. Yup, big old drags off of it. What the heck?!! I asked her "who have you been hanging out with?". She was in a Social Welfare Institute, so she was surrounded by people of all ages, and I think there may have been a few smokers. The most disturbing part of the whole smoking incident was when she pulled down the collar of her t-shirt to take a drag out of her trach-tube. Nice. My baby girl smokes out of her neck. We have some work ahead of us. It is really hard not to laugh when she's doing this. I know we should not be encouraging this - and she will do anything for a laugh - but we can't help it. She's an odd little thing. Odd as in adorable, precocious, funny and sweet.
I suppose you're all jonesing for a pic by now...hold on.
OK, I found a few pics that we have taken in the last day. This first one she is showing that she is related to Uncle Davin. She came into the bathroom to poop and brought a snack. Hey - it was going to take a while! I'm serious, she was actually pooping and eating at the same time.
This is us trying on her tights this morning. Oops, time to go shopping. I'm wearing a sweater because the AIR CONDITIONING in this hotel is too cold. I took it off and just wore my SHORT SLEEVE T-SHIRT shopping. (just rubbing it in)
And finally - her squeaky shoes. Her pants were falling off her behind and she was running around making her shoes squeak. You guys should meet this kid - she's funny. Wow, her legs look really short in these pics - she could be a Polack!
OK, time to wake up Maggie and Bryan and go get our pictures taken. Bye for now!
Original Comments from Post
Re: Almost Done Here! | By Davin on 2/6/2007 |
I remember a scene from "The Bad News Bears" where a bathroom door is accidentally opened to show a kid was eating a bucket of chicken while sitting on the pot. Nasty! It's 6:15AM, snowing and it's -4 degrees. The roads are bad with accidents and some schools are closed. Nonetheless, Minnesota misses you both! That smoking behavior is amazing! I'm so glad you two don't smoke. She's just a tiny girl, isn't she? When I se the pictures of her alone, she seems bigger - until I see the picture of her in your lap! I'm glad the last few steps are going gracefully. When you get home Thursday, let us know when (Friday, Saturday) it's cool to come over and meet the new family member - after you guys settle in and rest. Cheers! |
Re: Almost Done Here! | By Lori on 2/6/2007 |
She will fit right in with the rest of the kids in this family. Odd behavior is completely acceptable if not expected out of the rest of them. I am just hoping she forgets all about smoking out of her trach tube in the coming years. Thanks for all the stories We miss you guys!!! I am so anxious to see all of you. |
Re: Almost Done Here! | By Auntie Loie on 2/6/2007 |
She looks happier, more enthusiastic, and more relaxed with every batch of pictures. Hope Rachel (my granddaughter) can meet her sometime soon. |
Re: Almost Done Here! | By Beth on 2/6/2007 |
Snack food in the bathroom icky, next time give her a magazine.The trach thing is disgusting, it's sad that people still smoke with a trach, remember that Uncle we had from the island, didn't he have a trach and smoke??? And one more thing if her pants are falling off her butt does that mean she has no butt like the rest of us? |
Re: Almost Done Here! | By Joan on 2/6/2007 |
Thanks for the update. I'm anxious for you guys to be back also. Have a safe trip back. |