And we're blessed with yet another strong-willed child

Yes, what we had suspected all along has come true--Grace has a strong will. We have seen glimpses of it from the beginning--little things would happen and Dave and I would give each other "knowing" looks--what we knew is that eventually this would emerge. Dave and I are no strangers to strong-willed children, that's for sure. So I guess she will fit right in! She's thrown a few fits here and there, but the "Big One" was tonight in the playroom--Grace, or Atilla the Hun as we call her affectionately, feels that all balls in the room are hers and will fight whoever challenges this. After she refused to share, we put her shoes back on and whisked her out of the room quickly to which she screamed all the way up 12 floors and a while in the room. But she got over it and was smiling as if nothing happened. We say to Grace, "Bring it on, Baby!" Today we visited the Chen Family temple and a really pretty park. This afternoon all of the adopted children wore their traditional Chinese clothes and took pictures on the famous red couch here at the White Swan. We posted a picture of Grace in her beautiful pink Chinese dress. The sun actually shone today and there was no rain which as so very welcomed. Many groups go home tomorrow--wish it were us, but only 3 days to go!

Buddhist Temple

Today we visited a Buddhist temple and learned alot about the religion--there are many buddhist gods that are worshipped for different things. For example, one worships the happy buddah for have a happy life and the buddah of mercy to ask for the gift of a child. It was interesting and the temple was beautiful with banyan trees in the courtyard. After our tour, our whole group went out to eat at a Cantonese restuarant and sampled many different foods--all extremely delicious. I could eat like this forever. Grace threw 2 tantrums today--she is acting more and more like a 4 yr. old and getting more comfortable with us. We gently insist that she do what we have asked her to do (such as put on her jacket or sit in the high chair) and she eventually does it. She definitely has a strong will, but it has always, so far, ended in compliance. We praise her when she is compliant and reassure her over and over of how much we love her when we discipline her. 4 more days to go!!!

Shopping.....again

No pictures to post today--we were tired of lugging our camera around. Today we had 6 other families join us --they all flew in from their provinces yesterday. No matter what province you adopt from, you have to do the last leg of your trip in Guangzhou. The reason why we have been here the whole time is because this is also Grace's province. We all went to the Jade Market and the Pearl Market---more jewelry than I have ever seen in my life. Mom, you would call this Heaven. I'm not that into jewelry, but getting out is always fun. This afternoon, Dave had to do some official paperwork, so Grace and I went walking around and got some ice cream and dropped off our laundry. We then went to the hotel playroom where Grace decided to pee pee in the middle of the floor--she has never had 1 accident since we have had her and she seemed quite mortified that it happened (as did the family that was playing right beside her at the time). She does drink constantly, as if she was never given anything to drink in the orphanage. We are trying to curtail how much she drinks, but drinking out of her sippy cup seems to have become a comfort thing for her. About 4 families that I know of have gotten food poisening--I'm a little scared, so keep praying. 5 more days to go after today----can't wait to get home to our kiddos!!!!

A Most Interesting and Bazaar Chinese Market

Today we went to the market where one can see the weirdest things: chinese remedies in the form of dried whale stomachs and toad sticks; dried mushrooms, seahorses, sea urchins, lizards, etc... We even had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing a poor rat meet his demise--they blowtorched him--I looked away, but was aware of it happening from the smell. There were many live animals as well: puppies, kittens, ducks, chicks, chipmunks, rabbits, fish, turtles, scorpions--all in cages, buckets, bowls, tubs--whatever. I was completely in awe, but Dave didn't like it so much. Later this afternoon we met up with 2 other families who adopted girls from the same orphanage as Grace--one from Boston and one from Spain. The girls were all friends and enjoyed playing together. We exchanged info. so we can keep in touch. It is still raining here--it seems the sun never shines. However, Grace is a shining blessing and takes the place of the sun anyway!

Guangzhou city zoo

Today we went to the Guangzhou Zoo to see a panda bear--only one lives at that zoo and 10 live at another zoo that is about an hour away. Unfortunately we won't be able to go to that one. We had only been at the zoo for about 40 minutes when there was a torrential downpour. We found shelter, but it continued to rain and rain. We were being attacked by mosquitoes and just decided to make a run for it back to the van (we had to purchase some umbrellas first). Even with the umbrellas, we got soaked--there was some flooding that we had to run through. We got back about 2:00 and have been at the hotel ever since trying to dry out. The stroller we borrowed is still wet, and poor Dave only has 1 pair of shoes which are still wet. We didn't even get lunch--just ate snacks. We are about to head out for some dinner in our wet shoes--I am SO TIRED of this hotel room and so is Grace. It has just been miserable weather--they are calling for rain for the whole time we are here. This would be considered the "rainy season". The rest of the group fly in tomorrow afternoon from their provinces. I'm anxious to reconnect with them and see how their new little ones are adjusting. Grace is still doing great--a real trooper! I miss my other kids!!!!!

Yun tai Garden

Today was rainy, cloudy, and cool--we actually haven't seen the sun in China yet. We toured Yun Tai Gardens today--very beautiful and peaceful; an oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle. The flowers were extraordinary, especially the rose garden. Afterwards we visited the memorial hall of Dr. Sun Yatsen. When our tour was done, our family and our guide went to her favorite Cantonese restuarant and ate the most delicious food. So far we have loved just about everything we have eaten here, but I guess that was to be expected since our favorite foods are Asian foods. So far we haven't gotten sick either--hopefully we can stay well, but everyone who comes here has told us that they got sick at least once. Maybe you all can pray about that too! Grace is still doing incredibly well and continuing to form a bond with us. For some reason in the restuarant today, she did not want to sit in the high chair and only wanted to sit in my lap to eat. We tried and tried--even our guide spoke Mandarin to get her to, but this was very upsetting to her and she continued to refuse. We have to play by different rules than we ordinarily have played with our bio kids--she needs to be a little spoiled right now; I mean, come on---it's not like she has ever been spoiled before!

Still going great--missing home though

Day 3 with Grace, Day 7 since we left the U. S. , Day 9 since we left our other kids. We miss Emma, Gabe, and Hayden soooo much! We're so ready to go home and be a family! Today we took Grace for her medical exam (didn't seem like much of an exam), but they said she was healthy. Then we applied for her passport and visa and we also got official papers that the adoption has been approved by China. Last steps take place on 4/1 with the U. S. consolate--more interviews and have to make her an American citizen. She is still doing great--she cried this morning when a little boy took her ball away. We were glad to see more typical 4 yr. old behavior--she can't possibly always be this compliant. She said more English words today which is incredible considering she is Apraxic and supposedly "nonverbal". She said, Emma, hi, bye, fish, apple, and ear. She loves to point to pictures and have me label them and she tries to mimic almost every word, but these are the words we heard clearly today. Another huge breakthrough is that she is answering to Grace ALREADY! We were calling her ShiShi (pronounced SuSu) since that is what she was called in the orphanage--just every now and then we would combine it with Grace. Since Monday I have been pointing to her picture and saying, "Grace" and today we thought we'd give it a go and see what would happen if we just called her Grace. She responded and has every time since then! She is extremely smart and extremely ENERGETIC and non-stop--into everything! The funniest thing happened in a shop tonight--she was wanting to get down (Dave was holding her) and grab everything and we were trying to tell her no, and the shopkeeper figured she could do better since Grace understands Chinese; so she spoke to her and then Grace, very frightened, tightened her arms around Dave's neck and was very quiet and still. I asked what the lady said and this is how she responded, "I told her that she better be a very good girl or a big owl was going to swoop down and take her away from her new mama and daddy." I didn't know quite how to take that! I guess they do things a little "differently" here in China!