Guangzhou...Continued

Yesterday we had to have Rachel's pictures taken for her visa and we had our appointment for her medical exam. That was an experience! First we had the pictures taken and of course Rachel fell asleep! Poor thing! We are trying to wake her up and all these flashes were flashing in her face. After the pictures were taken we walked next door to the clinic! We walked into this clinic and it was full of people...persumable sick people since they are at the clinic! We were escorted to the back which was a room for adoptive families and it had 3 stations. The first station was a look over where basically the doctor listened to Rachel's heart, looked over her and had me sign. I have no idea what I signed considering that it was all in chinese! Next we went to the ENT. I mentioned to the doctor that she has been pulling at her ear, but she said it was just wax and no infection. Then we moved to the height and weight station and they also took her temperature under her arm which was normal. Rachel was 29 inches long and weighed 20 lbs. I was sure she weighed more than 20 lbs. since my arms are about ready to fall off most days after holding her. LOL! She is very healthy. The one doctor called her a "budda baby". I thought that was really funny.

The clinic was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. As we were walking back, we mingled a little with the locals. We saw a couple of couples who are getting married and having their photos taken. I learned that the photos are taken a couple of weeks prior to the wedding. The brides were beautiful! We saw some of the locals exercising and playing games. We also saw the military practicing self-defense. I took a couple of photos before I got yelled at. I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to take photos. We passed by a school and the kids were so happy to let me take their photos. They were thrilled to practice thier english with us. They were very cute!

Today was basically a free day. The only thing we had to do was be in our room by noon and wait for Helen, our Facilitator, to call us. She was taking our paperwork to the US Consulate this morning for approval. Helen called around 12:4o and told us that everything was okay with our paperwork and that tomorrow we will have a 2:45 appointment at the US Consulate where we will take an oath and we will receive Rachel's visa! We will be leaving Thursday for home! We are so ready to come home. Living in a hotel becomes very old! I hate the idea of washing and sterilizing bottles in the bathroom.

We basically just walked the island today and did some additional shopping. Most of the stores seem to carry pretty much the same stuff. They all tell you that they will give you a "special" price. So funny. There is a Starbucks here on the island, so I've treated myself to latte yesterday and frappacino today. It's just too hot to drink coffee. Honestly, I haven't had real cup of coffee since we've been in China. I could really go for a Dunkin Donuts coffee with sugar and cream! Not the healthiest, but I love it!

Rachel is really growing every day that we have her. When we received her last Monday, she couldn't sit up on her own. Now, she totally can sit up on her own. She can't get to a sitting position, but at least she can sit now. She can wave and hi and bye, which is so adorable. Her upper body was very week last week and already we see a huge improvement. When she's sitting in the stroller, she can grab hold of the front bar and pull herself forward in the stroller. She loves to shake her head no and she always seems to do it at the most appropriate time. If Rachel hears music, she will start moving her body. We are learning more and more about her every day. I still think she is having some sort of night terrors. She wakes up and will scream and she is inconsolable for about 15 or 20 minutes. It truly breaks my heart. She will still cry out during the night and whimper a little. I know it's completely normal considering what she's been through. I just hope that God will give her peace and comfort within. I hope she knows that we will love her forever. I just hate hearing her cry out that way! It's very heart wrenching. When she's awake and with us, she is so comfortable and happy. Everyone is always commenting how happy she is. I just hope it gets to a point where she is happy and comfortable while she's sleeping.

Jake is having a blast and he's really enjoying his sister. He loves to hold her, but she gets quite heavy after a bit. I get tired! LOL! He does like to push her in her stroller. He looks like a proud big brother when he's pushing her. The girl's here can't believe that he's only 10 years old. He's taller than most of them! LOL. While we were walking along yesterday, we saw a couple of locals playing hackie sack and they had Jake join them. It was really fun to watch. Jake was dripping wet with sweat when he was done. It's so hot and humid here! I don't think Chinese people sweat! They always look so dry compared to us! LOL. Jake is down enjoying the pool with his buddies.

We have met so many people here at the White Swan. So many families adopting Chinese children. It's so wonderful that these kids are given homes. People constantly tell us how nice it is that we are giving these orphaned kids homes and that it's great we are helping them. Honestly though, I'm the one who feels privileged and blessed!

We are leaving to come home in 2 days. I'm so excited. I feel like we've been away forever! We left as a family of three and returning as a family of four!

Love,

Dave, Sherry, Jake & Rachel