Signing Off from Guangzhou

This may be our last post until we are home. They are picking up our luggage in about an hour and a half and then we begin our journey. We are headed by train (1:52 departure) to Hong Kong where we will spend night. Then very early tomorrow morning we will venture to the airport to depart on Delta 156 at 8:20am. We will change planes in Tokyo and then arrive in Seattle around lunch time on the same day. So weird. After a short 2.5 hr. layover we board Delta 432 for the final leg to MSP. We are scheduled to arrive there at 5:00 for anyone who would like to see us off the plane.

We love you all. Thank you for allow your prayers and support these past few weeks. It has meant so much to read your comments and emails. Keep sending those happy thoughts that our flight home goes well. If you know me at all, you know my stomach is in knots about it.

See you on the other side of the world...at HOME!



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Last Day in Guangzhou

This morning started out with a treat. We met our new friend Jordan and went shopping. Jordan used to own a shop on Shamian Island. We remember him and his store from when we stated on the island for Hope's adoption trip. He has sadly had to close his shop because business has slowed so much due to the closing of the White Swan Hotel. He now has an office on the west side of the city and sells some of his things there. He also offers his services as a guide and takes families out for whatever their need. It was fun to spend the morning and part of the afternoon with him.

We started out with a trip on the Metro! This was a highlight.


Jordan took us to see "real life China." This market was an experience! I bet almost all of the locals here had never seen Americans, let alone a family like ours. We got some looks! The were many comments and questions. Everyone was very gracious, kind, and wonderful.


I really thought Ron might try some of the delicacies. Didn't happen this time, though some of it looked and smelled very good.





Everyone needs bottled water.


1000 Year Eggs - preserved in an ash and salt mixture to stay fresh without refrigeration...for 1000 years





Love this picture!


Walking to Jordan's Office - I was feeling as bit like the buildings we're closing in. It is amazing to experience the population density of this country!


Jordan's Place - He wrote names for the kids. Hope made a picture for him to keep. He and his wife treated us to cold drinks and snacks,too.





Jordan's Wife


Pearl River Outside Jordan's Building


Heading Back on the Metro


Our guide, Lucia, stopped by this afternoon with Luke's visa and immigration paperwork. We now have the coveted brown envelope and can travel home. :)


Our new friends from Illinois took a taxi from their hotel on the island to come have dinner with us tonight. It was wonderful to spend one more evening with them.


Jason and Benjamin


Terri, Hope, Beth


Hope and the Boys


This was apparently what we ordered for dinner. It was quite comical because NOONE there could speak English with us. We had asked our guide to write down some of the things we like to eat, but we showed it to the ladies at the restaurant and they quickly told us no and crossed out sweet and sour pork. Hahaha - we took a menu and ordered by pointing to pictures.


This is what came to the table. We liked the noodles and broccoli. All the meat had bones and was very tough. Alas, we tried. (P.S. Luke loved it. He'd probably still be there eating if we hadn't wrestled him back into the stroller.)


What a great final day. We are so blessed to have met these new friends and can't wait until we can see them and get our Jiangsu boys together again.

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Consulate Appointment and Lazy Afternoon

This morning we were up early! At the beginning of our trip in Beijing, we were up by 3:00am just because we hadn't adjusted to the time change. This morning we needed an alarm to wake us at 5:30. We had an early CA this morning. We left the hotel at 7:50 so to get all FOUR of us showered and finished with breakfast, we had to be up with the sun. We made it, though I know we'd have all preferred a more relaxed breakfast. Tomorrow is a free day though so we can allow for that.
Here we are ready to leave to take our oath.




Outside the Consulate - no electronic equipment is allowed, so we were instructed to snap this picture quick and get the camera back in the bag. The US Consulate office is on the 5th floor of this building.




Our appointment went very smoothly. There were only two families this morning so we were in and out in a half hour I think. The other family had a healthy 16m. old sweet little girl. They were first time parents from Austin, TX. In a city of 12 million, it is nice to meet another family that looks like ours. We don't have the comfort of our travel group with us this time around. Anyway, we were in the consulate office on time for our 8:30 appointment. We heard some instructions about applying for SS numbers and protecting our very important sealed brown envelope of citizenship papers, etc. Then, we all raised our right hands and swore that the information we provided was all true to the best of our knowledge, and that was that. Welcome to America, Luke. :) Our new son will now become an American citizen when he passes through customs in Seattle on our way home.
Now for the story...We had some running around to do after our appointment. We had to return to the Chen museum to remedy a broken necklace from yesterday. We had to stop by the medical building to pick up Luke's translated medical report. And, we'd asked if we could stop at a supermarket to do some shopping for some things for our trip home. We purchased some more noodles to make with our hot pot in the room, water, baby wipes...essentials. We also picked up a stroller for Luke to use in the airports, and an extra suitcase to pack our gifts in for the trip home. On our way out we noticed some not so sweet aromas coming from the stroller...you fill in the blanks here. Mr. Luke Heutmaker is now down one size 18m navy blue onesie.




I think that family picture at the top of this post is the only one we even have of him in his little red, white, and blue outfit. Ah well. There was no way that onesie was coming home with us. We Heuts know how to make memories. :)
The rest of our day was pretty quiet. We got back to our room and bathed the little man while Daddy made the noodles for lunch. Luke took a marathon nap. Hope and Ron tried out the new stroller and went for a walk around the area. A certain big girl is feeling like she'd like a little stroller time again these days. I started packing some of our things. It was nice to get a head start on that.
After nap we had some quality playtime in the room and then decided to go for a walk. We crossed the road to check out the "Guangzhou Friendship Store." Ummmmmm, Yeah...... We did not belong there. It turned out to be a VERY upscale type mall with stores like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Valentino just to name a few. We wandered around a little bit but got some very strange looks and felt pretty uncomfortable so we took our hillbilly family and went back across the road to McDonalds for dinner.
Wen we got back I took some pictures around the hotel so you can get a glimpse of the posh live we've been living for the last few days. This is something else.

The garden Hotel Guangzhou


Under the escalators in the lobby ~


Outside Courtyard ~








Lobby Ceiling ~


Lobby Staircase ~


Front Desk ~


Above the entrance on the inside ~


Happy Kids ~


Happy Family ~


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Chen Family Temple and Shamian Island

This morning we started out by meeting our guide at 9:00 for some sightseeing. We went to the Chen Family Temple. We were here five years ago with Hope. Our biggest memory from being here was Auntie Tu thinking she was so funny by making us all try the smelliest fruit EVER...Durian. Oh my gosh it is so awful. Anyway, the sights were just as breathtaking the second time around. Our guide said the Chen family is the largest surname in Guangdong province. At the end of the Qing Dynasty the Chen family built this structure as a place for the family to study and worship. It was very interesting.




The brochure says these buildings are some of the "best-preserved and most gorgeously decorated traditional buildings in Guangdong Province."








These two guards on the doors are very significant. One must be red and one black. And, when the doors are closed, they're eyes meet on a single spot therefore sealing the doors. If they are switched and their eyes end up facing away from each other, evil spirits and bad fortune can sneak into the building.








This is a section of the wood paneled gate at the entrance. All of the carvings were different and unique. This one shows the banana tree. The leaves are apparently very significant because they are large and symbolize longevity/long life.




This display was in one of the side buildings and shows the process of carving the jade family ball. We have one of these from Hope's adoption trip. They are carved ornately from a single sphere of jade, and each layer on the inside represents a generation of your family.




Hope's name on a piece of rice and put in a necklace charm. Cool Keepsake! Her Chinese name is on the other side.








Daddy with both the kids and all the stuff...such a good daddy and husband! We fought the battle with Luke and the stroller today. It was so worth it. He is a chunk to carry, even with the hip carrier we brought. We may be on a mission to find a stroller tomorrow for the trip home. You can see here his big sister wanted a turn, too. :)




Done for the morning. It was so HUMID today!




Hot and sweaty and chillin' in the a/c on the way back to the hotel.




We got back to the hotel and had some noodles and peanut butter sandwiches in the room for lunch. Again, we shopped at the market and planned for some meals in the room to try to conserve some resources. Eating out every meal for three weeks is a little much for our budget. We'd made afternoon plans to take a taxi to Shamian Island for the afternoon/evening to meet up with our friends we met in Jiangsu who are staying at the Victory Hotel there. It was so fun to be back on he island. It brought back so many memories of our first trip. It is so different to be there now. The atmosphere is remarkably different. We remember waking outside and having almost every family we met look just like ours. This time, the only other adoptive families we saw were in the hotel lobby when we met our friends. At any rate, we were able to walk around, admire the scenery, visit some shops, and eat at Lucy's. The latter of these things we really the goal for our island visit anyway. Yum!
Hope wanted to pose with almost every statue we saw. :)



























Grandma and Grandpa, You might want to print this one. :)




End of a long day.




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