Catching Up

I guess I have some catching up and a little clarifying to do. We haven't had internet troubles, we have just been annoyed that we are at a five star hotel and have to pay for internet access. I kept thinking I would go down to Starbucks and get online for free there but it's not looking like that's ever going to work out. I called my mom, who called TJ and gave her some highlights to post but it's not nearly as fun without the pictures. Besides. literally playing the "telephone game" caused a few things to get mixed up in the relay. But it's all good...I'll correct them as I go along.

Allie's allergies acted up pretty good in Shandong so when we first got to the hotel in Guangzhou Emily and KayLi & I went exploring while he rested a little. We discovered that the China Hotel Marriott has a beautiful tea garden. So the girls posed for a few pictures for me while we walked around.

We also discovered a little playroom. KayLi absoultly LOVED this blue bouncy cow. She bounced all the way across the room and laughed harder than we had heard so far. If you happened to have an extra blue bouncy cow...I know I little girl who would love to have it!

Ok, I know two girls who would love to have it!

After Allie woke up we headed out to do the real exploring. We hadn't ventured far from the hotel when we went in a 7-11 to get a few bottles of water and found these tasty looking varieties of Pringles. If any of you are in the mood for some seaweed, clam or shrimp flavored Pringles I know right where you can find them.

Yesterday was the most stressful day of our journey so far. In the morning we had to leave the hotel early to go get the medical exams for all the babies. As all the families with their new children were meeting at the breakfast buffet, all we wanted to do was hear everyones stories of how things went in all the different provinces. Instead, we were rushing through the buffet, knowing we were going to take our children to get poked and prodded...just when they are beginning to trust us.

KayLi did fine until we took her shoes off. She really like her shoes! When we went to the ENT room, the doctor had to get a different doctor when she looked into KayLi's left (cleft side) ear. I was a little concern until the doctor said there was just a lot of ear wax. KayLi never even whimpered as they examined her ears and then removed more earwax than I have ever seen! I hope it releaves some of the pressure for her. The doctor said only her right ear is infected. This is the ear that you could smell infection in, so I wasn't surprised. It breaks my heart that she has been on antibiotics since Monday (gotcha) and here it is Saturday and it's still infected. I had hoped it would have cleared up by now. At least she doesn't mess with it as much. So maybe it's at least a little better.

Since KayLi is over two years old, she had to be TB tested. It was excruciating to watch her get stuck with a needle when she wasn't over the trauma of having her shoes taken off. We will go back tomorrow (Monday) and let the doctor read the results...I'm sure she's fine. I was so glad when we were able to take her outside and walk around a little while we waited for the other's to finish. It was also the first chance we had to visit with a few of the other families. It is amazing how different everyones experiences were. Even those who went to the same province, all had their unique stories to tell.

After the medical exams we headed back to the hotel and had a "paperwork party" to get our immigration paperwork in line for our side of the border. It lasted over three hours! When it was finally over, my brain was so fried, I literally couldn't remember my room number. I had to go back to our guides room to ask them what it was. One mom told me at dinner that she was shaking when it was finished! So many of us have had issues with immigration over the last four years that we are all scared to death to have any problems at this stage of the game. In my heart I know God will see us through this last major task but it is unbelievably stressful! I'm so thankful that our guides are very experienced and have a handle on everything.

On a lighter note, we all went to a Japanese dinner tonight that was very nice. I wish I had thought to take some pictures of us. At first we thought we would be sitting around the table, on the floor. But their was room for our legs under the table...you just feel like you are sitting on the floor. The food was very good but Allie said it wasn't as authentic as he had been hoping for. After such a crazy day it was nice to sit in a tranqual environment and enjoy a relaxing meal.

At the end of our super stressful day, we went back to our room to rest for some sight seeing the next day. When we went into our room we all stared to take off our shoes. When we did we kinda lined them up along the wall and it was so cute to watch KayLi sit down and take her shoes off and line hers up with ours. After just going through the shoe removal trauma at the medical exam, it was so sweet to see her happy about following our lead and willingly taking them off. Now she likes to line them up there if we don't put them in the right spot.

We watched Daddy Daycare to unwind before calling it a day and I think KayLi had the best seat in the house!

Now that we have internet access in our room again, I'll post about todays sightseeing tomorrow. It's after one am and I'm exhausted! One last thing...KayLi has soooo gotten over her fear of the bathtub. In less than a week she has already learned to not just tolerate it but LOVE it! She had so much fun playing in there tonight!

Love & Blessings from Guangzhou China!!!!