Shamian Island

 

Sunday, June 23rd (Day 8 in China)

Shamian Island is a place I've heard so much about since starting our adoption process.  This is where the White Swan hotel is located where many adopting families stayed during their time in Guangzhou.  It's currently being renovated.  Shamian Island is very quaint, with cobblestone streets.  It is filled with  shopping, restaurants, and beautiful architecture. 

 

 

 

Our guide Lily helped us get a taxi and took us out to the island at about 10:00.  We told her some of the spots that we wanted to see, and she briefly showed us around. 

Our first stop was to attend church.  The service from 10:00-11:00 is in Chinese, and the service from 11:00-12:00 is in both Chinese and English. We were there for part of the Chinese service, and about half of the English service.  We were the only Americans in church (that we could see), and we got a lot of smiles and stares. They were very welcoming! We could really feel God's presence that morning.  It was such a moving experience singing praise and worship songs in China, and while holding our daughter whom we have prayed so much for.  We met a sweet Chinese couple sitting next to us and they were so proud to tell us they were Christians.  Caroline loves watching and staring at other children, so she enjoyed watching a little girl on the row in front of us during the service.

 

 

It was amazing singing "We Fall Down" in this church! 

 

 

 

I have watched China's Lost Girls over and over again through this whole adoption process.  Lisa Ling does a wonderful job following several families over to China, and telling their stories about adopting their girls.  This statue was mentioned in the documentary.  I couldn't believe I was standing next to it! This used to be how adopting families were depicted.....older couples traveling over to China to adopt a child.

 

After church was over, we headed over to Lucy's for lunch. This was a restaurant that I've heard so much about from reading other adoption blogs. They have American food, lots of American memorabilia, and they played 80's and 90's pop music (Tina Turner, Duran Duran, etc.).  One important thing for other adopting families to know is that you pay for refills.   We ordered sweet tea with one refill each and half of our bill was from all the tea we drank!



Caroline was quite comfortable.
We can work on table manners later.

 

 

I can't get enough of that smile!

 

 

I ordered a hamburger for lunch.  I took a couple bites....Bo says I'm a picky eater, and I'm starting to admit that he's right.  The french fries and onion rings were really good, though. 

 

 

 

We were then off to explore the island. 

We saw several people doing Tai-Chi.

 

 

One of the many statues on the island.

 

 

It was such a pretty day!

 

 

This was the statue I was determined to find.  I have seen a photo of this on so many blogs! It is called "Lingering Music."  Caroline was trying to hold the hands of the children.  It was precious! We got quite a few stares while we were taking pictures.  You can see some of the people in this photo.  They loved watching our little girl.

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the many beautiful brides we saw posing for photos.  Our guide told us that brides buy three different wedding gowns for their wedding.  I've read that the brides have a photo session, and display the photos in an album at their wedding. 

 

 

Hungry, anyone?

 

 

 

This is Jenny, the owner of "Jenny's."  My friend Kelly told me about her when she was here adopting Bella Mei.  Here's a photo of us buying some more "squeaky shoes" for Bella Mei.  They have tons of them, at a great price! Jenny and her family are Christians, and she has such a sweet heart.  We bought several gifts for Caroline....gifts for us to give her to celebrate her next several birthdays. We also bought some gifts for Brin and Savy that I know they will love.  Jenny has a photo album in her store filled with photos she's taken with other adopting families.  It was really neat to see! We were there on a Sunday, so we had the chance to meet her precious son.  He was trying to talk to us in English, and it was just too cute! I loved his peace sign in this photo!

 

 

 

 

She had tons of squeaky shoes and traditional Chinese dresses.

 

 

Chinese are very cautious about protecting their skin.  We saw women carrying umbrellas everywhere, rain or shine. 

 

This is the White Swan Hotel mentioned earlier.  This is where I wanted to stay at so badly! When I emailed them back when we got our referral asking them when they would be open, they told me sometime in the fall.  From the looks of it, I doubt that's the case.  We've seen several people who are here in China adopting their second, third, and even fourth child.  Several of them have referred to themselves as "White Swan" people (meaning they've stayed there while adopting their other children).  Who knows?  Maybe we'll be able to stay there some day. 

 

We shopped 'til we dropped!

 

 

 A funny thing happened while we were strolling the streets. I told Bo that I'd like to come here and do this again. He said "Sure, we'll come back." I thought, "Wow...that was really easy!" He thought I meant that I wanted to come back the next day. What I really meant was coming back one day to adopt. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us.

 

 

Saturday!!

Saturday, June 22 (Day 7 in China)

**I'm trying to post this while Caroline keeps reaching for the computer....we'll see what gets accomplished! :)

 

Saturday was basically another free day.  All that was on our agenda for the day was for Lily to meet us for some passport paperwork.  One step closer to getting our girl home!!!

We were on our way down to breakfast and spotted this couple in the lobby.  We have enjoyed talking to them during our stay here.  Here they are with their baby, Chloe.  They are heading back to Beijing to finish up their paperwork, and then they'll be going home to Canada.  They waited over six years for their little girl!

These are some books that Brin and Savy enjoyed playing with and reading when they were babies.  We took it out at breakfast, and Caroline loved it! This is a little blurry, but you can still see her precious expression.  She loved Mickey, just like her forever family!!

 

We brought so many toys for Caroline to play with.  This diaper bag seems to be her favorite! She will not let go of it....

even when we're holding her like this and she's sound asleep!

 

 

Caroline's favorite way to be held. 

She wraps her legs all the way around us. 

She's such a cuddle bug!!

 

 

She's getting much, much better about playing and having tummy-time.  She's even trying to crawl a little bit.  We'll have her crawling and walking in no time!

 

 

We took a quick stroll before going out to dinner. 

 She loves wearing these sunglasses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of these babies are the same age.  It's been so fun getting to know Heather and Samantha! It will be fun staying in tough with them, and seeing the progress of their precious babies! We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.  Yum!

 

Thanks, again for praying for our precious girl.  She is blossoming everyday!

 

Later today, I'll post about our day at Shamian Island.  This was such a treat!

Free Day~ TGIF!

Friday, June 21st (Day 6 in China)

Thursday was such an exhausting day both mentally and physically.  We were ever so thankful that Friday was a "free day."  We had no appointments, no papers to sign, no places we were obligated to go to....we could just spend the day bonding with Caroline.

 

Koi fish in the garden outside our hotel

 

 

Beautiful waterfall! We have a view of this every morning during breakfast.

 

 

We have met several other families during our stay here at The Garden.  We first saw Patti, her husband, and daughter on our Gotcha Day.  We went to Starbucks for lunch that day, and they were in there as well.  Whenever we see other Americans, we can't help but wonder if they're here for the same reason as we are.  Later that day when we saw our Caroline for the first time, they were there seeing their son for the first time! Later, we had the chance to chat with them.  This was their fourth adoption, and Patti said she's not even sure this will be their last! She wants to see where God leads them.  Patti is one of those women who you feel like you've known forever.  She's very comforting, and she seems to know exactly what to say to those who seemed a bit nervous and scared (yet excited).  We have some very dear friends in Sarasota, the Braswells (they are also in the process of adopting from China!!).  We both said Patti reminds us so much of Ty's mother, Cindy.  She lives for the Lord, and it shows!

 

 

The Golden Arches!

 

 

This place was delicious! I recommend it to all the others traveling here!

 

 

I can't get enough of her smile!!

 

 

Chicken Quesadillas

 

 

I love the flower arrangements in our hotel! This one was done today.

 

 

When we first received our referral for Caroline, we needed advice, and fast.  We needed to speak to someone who had dealt with a cleft lip/cleft palate.  Bo got in contact with one of his co-workers in Raleigh, N.C.  He and his wife have two girls who are adopted from China.  One of his girls had a cl/cp when they brought her home from China.  We spoke with him and his wife on the phone to see what it actually was that we were dealing with before we submitted our LOI (letter of intent) to our agency. We felt encouraged after speaking to them, and she gave some advice on what resources are available (Facebook groups, Yahoo groups, books, etc.).  Well....in God's perfect timing, they just so happen to be here in China at the same time that we're here adopting Caroline!  They stayed at our hotel for a couple nights, and I got to meet them and their girls.  Of course I had to get a photo of Caroline with these sweet girls!

 

 

 

 

 We are loving getting to know our baby girl.  She's coming out of her shell more and more everyday.  She didn't know what to do with the toys we brought over from America for the first couple days.  Now she is enjoying her stacking cups, books, and rattles.  She's also smiling a lot more, and will hold out her hands for us to pick her up.  This has been so amazing to see first hand.  The Lord had his hands wrapped around us every step of the way, and I know he will continue to guide us.

 

 

We miss these two so much! They love FaceTiming with their Mei Mei! Caroline loves watching other children, and she is going to have a blast watching these two!! We love you so much, Brin and Savy! ~Mommy and Daddy