Last Post From China

This is it. My last post from China! It's 2:30 pm on Thursday here, which means 12:30 am on Thursday for you all. 

We are currently packing up, in about an hour we will leave Guangzhou by van and head to Hong Kong. 

We fly out of Hong Kong late Friday morning and due to the time difference arrive in Chicago at almost the exact same time. Talk about jet lag!

I want to take a minute to say thank you. Thank you so much to both of our parents for keeping the boys. You literally put your lives on hold. We could not have done this without you! We miss the boys so much but knowing they are in such good hands has made it easier! 

I also want to thank everyone who has been following our journey. We have been completely overwhelmed at the response this blog and Penelope Mei's story has gotten. They comments have been so appreciated, we have read every single one! 

As the first part of this journey ends, a new one begins. A new way of life as a family of 6. We could not be more excited to have our whole family together at last! 

One more thing I need to say. We have had so many kind words and nice things said about us during this process. While I completely understand where the sentiment is coming from, we could not be less deserving. We are certainly not better than anyone else for doing this. We are not heroes and certainly not saviors, I'm pretty sure Jesus still has the market cornered on that. We give Him all the credit for this. 

The truth is, we are parents who wanted a daughter. It just happened our daughter was on the other side of the world. What else could we do but go get her? 

Penelope Mei on the other hand, she is the brave one. 

In her short life she has experienced more loss than most of us will ever know. First she lost her birth family. Then she lost her nanny and her friends at the orphanage, the closest thing to a family she had ever known. 

Now she is losing her birth country. 

She was handed to people who look different, sound different, and smell different. 

She could have chosen to shut us out. 

Instead, she is choosing joy. Over the past 10 days, we have been watching her come to life. She is an absolute treasure!

Penelope Mei is not the lucky one folks. We are the lucky ones! 

So on day 15, only one more sleep till we board a plane to bring Penelope home for good to her forever family. 

Be patient with us as we adjust. This will be another huge change for her. We don't know yet how long it will be before she understands that we're the real deal. That we're here to stay. That we're mom & dad. 

Until then, we may stay close to home. Or we may get right back into the swing of things. We're going to try to follow her cues and do what's best for her. That may mean we're the only ones to hold her, feed her, and change her diapers. It may look like we're babying her more than a 2 year old should be babied. But after 2 years without anyone to feed her, hold her, change her- I think she deserves a little babying, don't you :). 

Safari Park

3 post day then I'm all caught up!!

So how does one follow up becoming a US citizen? With a trip to the zoo! The safari park was less than an hour from our hotel. 

It was really fun. They have a safari ride reminiscent of Disney's Animal Kingdom, but without all those pesky regulations. This equals the animal safari of your dreams! 

Can you find Penelope and Gabe?

Signs in China are hysterical! O

Penelope was happy waiting for our turn on the safari. 

I think I must have been completely squishing her in this picture. 

As we got to each animal area there was a cast member standing on the side of the road throwing meat to the animals to get them to interact. Hilarious and effective! 

They even got the hippos to come out of the water!

Not exactly what I had envisioned for Penelope's first character interaction, but we couldn't pass up the corny fabulousness of it!

Penelope actually was quite interested in the animals. Such a change from the aquarium last week. Was that just a week ago? Feels like a life time ago!

That's right, you can feed the giraffes here!!

Pandas! We saw real, live Pandas , beautiful. So cool. 

Also we saw fake pandas. 

Who, like everyone else, loved Elijah!

What a great day!!

This is our last night in Guangzhou. Tomorrow we will pack our bags and leave for Hong Kong. We spend one night there the fly home on Friday. We are so close to getting home we can almost taste the pork burgers!

We're Coming To America!!

Today was big. It was THE day. The day the whole adoption trip is based around. Our US consulate appointment.  Today Penelope became a US citizen. Ok, technically she becomes a citizen when her tiny little feet touch the ground in Chicago on Friday, but this was the important part. 

We had to leave early so she wasn't that awake to model her USA outfit. 

Rocking our Tawny custom bow! First of many I'm sure! 

Perking up! 

After breakfast our guide took us to the US consulate. No phones allowed. In fact we could only bring our passports, official paperwork, and diapers and wipes in a clear ziplock bag. 

Again, so many people waiting in long lines outside the building. Chinese citizens hoping for a chance at a US visa. Again, there was a separate line for adoptive families. 

Once we were inside with the other families, a group of us all stood, raised our right hands, and swore the oath for our children. 

I totally cried. It wasn't even that official, more like a DMV office, but that wasn't the point. This was it. What every second, every signature, every tear was leading up to. This moment. As of this moment, it was official. 

All of these children have now been recognized by the United States of America. 

Penelope Mei from IL

Joshua from Colorado 

Elijah from Colorado  

Austin from Atlanta 

Emma from Memphis

Mila from Delaware

Miranda from Tennesee

Emily from ?? (Sorry can't remember)

Kai Shawn from Beijing

Josiah from Maryland 

Emma from Indiana

Ava from Pennsylvania 

Orphans no more. Now all sons and daughters with loving families! 

Shamian Island

Yesterday was Tuesday, February 26th. We basically had a free day, we needed to be back in the room to get Penelope's TB test results in the afternoon, otherwise we were open. 

After breakfast we took a cab to Shamian Island. 

Shamian Island is a part of Guangzhou that has a rich history in China adoption. The US consulate used to be on the island along with the White Swan hotel so all adoptive families stayed there. 

As is life, things change. The consulate has a new location off the island and the White Swan hotel has been under renovation for years. adoptive families generally don't stay on the island anymore but it is still a popular place to visit and shop. 

Beautiful architecture with almost a southern feel. 

Weather was perfect for walking around and enjoying the day. 

So about these statues. This is not an official adoption milestone, but it is. I have read blog after blog, seen picture after picture of other families at these same statutes. 

Finally it was my turn. With my daughter. Another emotional, 'I can't believe we're really here' moment. 

Usually you stand your baby between these last 2 kids. Um yeah, my baby can't stand yet. Still cute :). 

She's found her tongue! 

We had a chop made for Penelope with both her Chinese and English name. It's a hand carved stamp. Beautiful, truly a treasure. 

Jason modeling a funny hat. 

 This lady liked Penelope. Or more likely, she liked how much we bought from her shop. You can bargain here so Jason had fun. 

One last try. She didn't stand but other China mamas, this shows you how tiny she is. A head shorter than the statues. 

Back to the room for a ready and to wait for the phone to ring. Our guide Jocelyn called us with the good news, Penelope's TB test was negative. One more hurdle cleared! 

We ate dinner at a restaurant here in our hotel with Vern, Terry and their boys. Terry and I agree, is is kind of like summer camp. You become very close with people very quickly. 

Back to the room where we face timed with the boys & Mam and Bamp. Penelope put on a show smiling, laughing, and playing peek a boo. 

We miss the boys so much! We are almost to the point of counting down the hours!