YES! We are home!

We are so glad to be home with Sloan!  God has blessed our family in many ways and we continue to awe at His goodness.

Last day and reflections on China!

Today is our last day in China!  After 13 days, we decided to brave the city and ride the subway. Plus we were out of diapers and we needed snacks for the plane. So we took the Metro, and headed out to the nearest grocery store called Taste.  Sloan loved the ride!  She started squirming in Josh's arms and I knew she wanted to hold the bar like we all were.  Sure enough Josh lifted her up so she could hold the bar too and then she stopped squirming and was content! 

This mall was the most upscale we had seen with six stories.  Because I was carrying the groceries in my backpack, I decided to carry it China style- in the front!  As we were walking through the mall, I kept telling the boys, "Look at me!  I'm trendy!"  It is pretty efficient though!  You can access your stuff so easily!  Kale and I laughed over how people would react if we did this in the U.S.!  I challenged him to try it the first day of middle school!  We decided to eat lunch at McDonald's. Kale was impressed with the greaseless nuggets and made a comment that they eat healthy here even at McDonalds. 

Kale and I were talking about the trends of China we've seen while here: middle aged men with their shirts rolled up to their chests and their bellies hanging out, teenagers with skinny jeans and loafers, women in short dresses, women carrying umbrellas to protect them from the sun, people carrying their backpacks in the front, and mostly men smoking cigarettes everywhere.  Other interesting things about their culture include:  not being able to drink the water, using the squatty potty, the food vendors in the street, the crazy crowded driving with horns honking constantly, the healthy fruits and veggies, and the delicious food! Something that amazes me about China is that we've been to three of the largest cities in China with massive amounts of people everywhere and they all seem to live in harmony with one another. For example, I never saw any offensive gestures on the road, and I never saw any dirty looks if we accidentally bumped into someone. The two American teachers we met in Jinan said they'd feel safer raising kids in China vs the U.S.  It's illegal to own a gun in China, and the crime for mugging people is very harsh. It was all so interesting to live in another culture for two weeks, but we are ready to come home!  

After the mall, we took a group picture with all of the families because many of them were leaving today. One of the families from Racine came up to me and said, "I know you've waited a long time for her, but she is the perfect fit for your family - so active and full of energy!"  

Then we went to play at the hotel park. We found a basketball court and paid $25 yuan (divide by 6 for $) to use the basketball for an hour.  Sloan wanted in on the action and ran around the court chasing the ball and crying because she couldn't have it!  The boys gave it to her a few times and Josh lifted her up for a shot!  

After hoops, we grabbed some supper. Sloan got a hold of a sugar packet and put her thumb and forefinger on it like she had observed how to tear it. Then when that didn't work, she tried to bite it!  She is VERY observant!  

Then we hit the pool and Sloan let us take her in this time. She let us all hold her and when the boys had a breath holding contest she made the hand gesture to come here. 

We head out tomorrow at 5:50 a.m for the longest travel day ever:  a three hour flight back to Beijing and then a 13 hour flight home to Chicago! 

U.S. Immigration and Boat ride!

This morning,we had our U.S. Consulate appointment so Sloan could get a U.S. visa with her Chinese passport to allow her to travel to the United States. Because of the additional paperwork, when she steps on U.S. soil, she becomes a U.S. citizen.  

After that, we went to a huge park across from our hotel.  We decided to go on the paddle boats. Two of us could paddle at a time so we all switched off.  Even Sloan wanted to paddle and she mimicked our leg motions!  She also wanted to help Josh steer and kept grabbing for the control.  I love how she wanted to participate and get in on the action!  The boys then went on a water ride very similar to the log ride at Great America. Sloan saw the boys on it and she wanted to go on that too by pointing at it and trying to get out of our hold.  

We walked on a pretty path with a lot of trees and even saw some tall bamboo. We also noticed a black wolf or some kind of dog by the edge of the woods. That kind of freaked Kale and I out!  We've noticed a few other stray dogs throughout the trip.  

It was so humid out so Kale got some kind of grape soda which he said was the best soda he ever had, Wren got an orange one and Sloan and I got popsicles.  It might have been Sloan's first one!  She was a mess, but not giving it up til it was finished!  Normally she is a very neat eater!  Sloan fell asleep on the hike, which was good because we can never get her to relax enough to take a nap!  

On the hike, we saw a huge soccer stadium!  We also saw some 50 year old men biking with five 100 pound bags of concrete in the back for some project they were working on. We have seen this manuel labor quite often in China!  Josh is always amazed, points it out to me, and takes a picture!  Something else we've noticed in China is how many people smoke!  People are smoking outside and even inside some places!  Wren always covers his face and sticks his head in his shirt when we come near it!  

People at the park were very friendly. They love to use their English and say hello to us.  Kale always gets a kick out of it because of how it sounds, Hel-loo! I told him I'm sure they get a kick out of us saying nee-how for hi and she-she for thank you.  

Another friendly gesture was when a little girl offered a grape to Sloan and of course she took it because she is Miss Snacker Extraordinaire! We taught her the more sign in sign language and she picked it up right away and now uses it quite regularly! We also taught her to say hi and when she did we all clapped and smiled and she did the same! 

We ordered Papa Johns pizza for supper and then met up with all the families at the hotel outdoor playground to hang out one last time! 

Shaiman Island!

Today we all got up at 5 a.m. to watch Kale's baseball team streaming live on ESPN through Josh's phone. They were playing in the Great Lakes regional championship in Indianapolis. If they won, Kale would get to rejoin them to play in the Little League World Series in Willamsport, PA. Unfortunately, despite a great effort, they lost and Kale and the team's season is now over. It was fun for Kale to watch his team play on ESPN.  

Today we went to Shaiman Island. It's an island full of shops for Western tourists.  We got to put our bargaining skills to good use!  After Josh would start bartering, the clerks would retort, "I gotta run a business."  After one particular negotiation for items for Josh and Kale, Kale told Josh, "You've been watching too much Pawn Stars."  

Shaiman Island is also famous for the White Swan Hotel where all adoptive families used to stay until the U.S. Consulate moved locations. 

Kale and Wren have been watching badminton on t.v. and today we saw some badminton live in the center of the island.  

We had lunch at Lucy's which is a 50's diner which served Western and American food. It's the first time Kale's cleaned his plate in two weeks. He said he ate the best grill cheese he's ever had!  

After shopping, we went swimming at the outdoor pool back at the hotel. It was very humid out!  The weather here is like Florida.  We got Sloan to sit by the edge and kick one foot in the water. She still wasn't sure of the water despite her confidence in many other things. 

She loves to strut down the hall on the way to the big breakfast buffet thinking this is how we really live. I better get my cooking game on when we return home! 

 

Food, folk art, scroll, Master Chen, and shopping/flea market!

At breakfast today, we noticed one food that Sloan doesn't like. Otherwise she has been eating everything we put on her plate even the weird foreign looking fruits they have here. She even eats the stuffed breads here. They like to stuff their rolls with fruit or beans. We bought Kale some plain buns and he bit into one and Wren asked all hopeful, "Are they the best buns you ever had?"  Kale just dropped the bun on the table with the bean stuff showing inside.  Sloan's fave foods are boiled tomato and hard boiled eggs. Josh offered her an olive which is his fave food saying, "Let's really see if you're a daddy's girl."  She took a bite and spit it out. 

We started our day with a trip to the folk art museum. It had beautiful detailed architecture and really pretty trees.  The museum used to be a school to train children to take the Emperor's test.  We saw carved ivory sculptures, beautiful embroidery, a Buddha statue and the boys were excited when they saw a statue of the real Master Chen!  We also saw a man using his hand to paint some really neat paintings.  We bought Sloan a scroll with her English name at the bottom, her Chinese name written in Chinese down the middle and her gotcha date and birth city written in Chinese on the right and the folk art museum written in Chinese down the left side. We thought we could hang it in her room.  

Next we went to what our guide called a toy market but it was more like a flea market. It was inside and each vendor had a very small space to sell their merchandise with a narrow walkway.  Many of the things sold there you could buy back home. Sloan didn't want to sit in her stroller so Josh carried her the whole time.   

After those outings, we just hung out. The boys love rolling around with Sloan!  Once when the boys were wrestling, Sloan thought the boys were hurting each other and Kale noticed she had a weird look on her face so they stopped. Sloan then smiled, laughed, and went to join in.  

At 19 months, Sloan is a busy girl and she challenges us all to keep her occupied!  Today, Sloan and I washed her stacking cups in the sink while she played in the water, she drew with a pen, she spread peanut butter on her crackers, and she unsuccessfully tried to put on her bloomers by herself!   I tried to help her but she turned her back to me and sat there for awhile trying to do it herself!  She loves to do things and figure things out by herself!  She's Miss Independent!  

We played at the indoor park today and she loved the slide!  Like all kids, she wanted to keep going up it the wrong way vs use the ladder.  

We had dinner at the hotel tonight and we sat next to a family from TN.  It's the family that has Samuel, Sloan's buddy from the orphanage. Samuel's dad called it the wild child table in his southern accent.  The meal was good!  One thing we've noticed since we've been here is that they bring out the meals one by one so everyone eats piecemeal.  

Medic and Market!

Today we went to a well check appt for Sloan. Nine families loaded up their kids and we walked past the waiting room into a special area for adoptive families.  While waiting, Sloan ran around with her orphanage buddy Samuel exploring.  They both climbed up on a ledge to look down at the city below, they kept climbing up on the scale, and they fought over some toys. The appts were to make sure none of the kids had illnesses before we brought them back into the United States. There were three stations:  Ear, nose, and throat, general exam, and special consultation. Sloan passed all three and is very healthy.  She did a great job with all the doctors. They talked to her in Chinese.  

After the appt, we all went to a supermarket.  We had these puny grandma carts that we shopped around in. Many of the labels and food were hard to decipher but we did recognize some of the labels and bought some Pringles, Snickers, Sun Maid  raisins, Coke and Sprite.  At every restaurant we've been to, we've only seen Coke and Sprite available for soda choices.  

We had peanut butter sandwiches in our hotel room for lunch while it rained outside.  While hanging out in the hotel, Sloan threw a cup at Josh and Josh told her no firmly and followed up with the word bushi which means no in Chinese.  As soon as he said it, she put her head down on his belly and looked up at him.  We chuckled at this gesture. Later, we took Sloan to the park on the fourth floor of our hotel. She ran around on the wet playground equipment with a happy face! 

Tonight for dinner our guide took us to a  Chinese restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. It was a nice walk. She ordered a variety of different dishes served family style on a rotating table.  It was delicious!

  

Travel to Guangzhou!

Today we got up early to travel to the airport for our last stop in Guangzhou. The flight was two and a half hours and Sloan did great for her first plane ride. Kale did good too considering he and I got split up from Josh, Wren and Sloan. Kale had to sit by himself in a middle seat and I was behind a few rows in the middle too.  When breakfast came around, Kale didn't even look to see what was under the hot foil tray. But instead, offered it to a young Chinese guy sitting next to him. The guy was being nice and refused, but when the garbage was being collected and Kale still hadn't tpuched it, Kale offered it again, and he took it this time. Good thing because Kale wouldn't have liked the hard boiled egg soaked in tea, and a doughy roll with apricot in the middle. We shall soon see how Sloan does for sixteen hours on a plane!  That time we'll all be sitting together so we can pass her around. 

When we got off the plane, Josh, Kale, and Wren were in the bathroom and Kale came out laughing and said that Josh asked him how the flight was and some Chinese guy answered him in Chinese so Kale didn't answer. Josh asked Kale the same question again and the Chinese guy answered again before Kale had the chance! 

When we got to Guanzhou,  there were six families from Jinan that we've been traveling with.  We met up with the other families that we left in Beijing who traveled to other provinces to get their children. It was fun to see everyone with their new son or daughter!  Most of the families have other children back home.

When we got to our hotel, we decided to let Sloan try out the indoor playground. She ran around and then ran straight toward the swings!  We pushed her on the swings for a very long time!  She didn't want to leave but we used the old distraction trick!  She also loves to ride the escalator in the hotel lobby and go up and down the stairs.  The other families get a kick out of watching Sloan run around and get all busied up! She always has a smile for someone in the group!  

For dinner, we met up with another family from Virginia Beach.