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Hello
Everybody made it home at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning. They are all safe and sound. They thank you for your prayers. CyLynn woke me up with her squeaky shoes. Both girls are fully equipped with them things. Thank you everyone.
Cade

Last few days

Hello
They are still okay. The last few days they have been doing all the paperwork in Guangzhou at the US consulate. They will touch down in Dallas at midnight on Thursday! I am so excited to meet this new little girl!
Cade

Strollers and Mexican Food

12/15/12

What a combo! CarLynn loves her stroller, and that is so nice for us! She rides in it everywhere and even sits in it in the room! She went with Dad and I to a Mexican food place today and it was AMAZING!!!!! Except for the Chinese waitress, I almost felt like I was at home! This morning CarLynn had her medical screening and a TB test. Our guide was really good to get us there early before the other families. She was able to complete all of it very quickly, unlike CyLynn which took a couple of hours, when we adopted her. There were lots and lots of American families with special needs kids at the medical center. This afternoon, Dad had CyLynn and CarLynn. They found two play areas in our hotel, one inside and one outside. There is also a waterfall and garden behind our hotel, with some ponds containing lots of goldfish in them! The girls had a lot of fun! Mom and I went to get a foot massage. It was very relaxing! They not only massaged our feet, but also our backs and necks! Tomorrow we are going sightseeing and shopping! CyLynn is having a difficult time not being the center of attention. She wants everything that CarLynn has, or to be doing what she is doing. She will get better with time, but it’s difficult for her. If you would keep her in your thoughts!

Blessings,

Callie

Safe

Hello
My family made it to Guangzhou safely. Guangzhou is where the U.S. consulate is. While they are there they will work on CarLynn's citizenship. Callie said that CarLynn did good on the plane, which is saying something because I know that CyLynn had a bad time her first plane ride. Continue to keep them in your prayers as they reach the last stop of there trip.
Thanks
Cade

O Happy Day! Well, bittersweet

12/12/12

 

CyLynn is ready to come home today! She misses her brothers! We visited CarLynn's orphanage today. It was a true test for her! We debated about not going because we haven't had her too long.  We were also worried that she would be upset if she saw her caretakers. Our guide assured us we would not see them. She seemed to be adjusting well, so we decided to go. CyLynn got sick on our way to the orphanage, but we continued on our way. We arrived and were greeted by the assistant director that brought CarLynn to us. CarLynn went to her for a few moments, then wanted to be back with us. We went to see where she stayed at in the orphanage. When we arrived in her room, all three of her nannies were there! CarLynn wouldn't go to them at all, she hardly wanted to be in the room! The room held 17 beds that were close together and the kids were in bed at 11 in the morning! As we left the room, her best friend, who was being held in the picture, was crying and screaming! He was more upset at her leaving than she was! She was only upset today at being in her room, that she once lived in. CyLynn has slept a lot today and is finally feeling a little better. Hopefully the rest of us do not get it!

 

Blessings,

Callie

Gotcha Day!

12/10/12

CarLynn is finally with us! She is so precious and bright! She is very inquisitive of things and orderly. We sent her a box earlier this fall and she has a few of the items we sent her that she doesn’t let out of her sight- her purse, her bracelet, and her doll. Our Wal-Mart trip was eventful. CarLynn grabbed a Snickers bar of which she wouldn’t let go. We ended up with Snickers for her and some Chinese chocolate candy for CyLynn. We also saw raw meat sitting on ice in the store. The workers opened the meat packages to pour them out on the ice! CarLynn’s first meal with us showed her great appetite. She had no trouble shoveling food into her mouth! In the evening, we were privileged to go to a Chinese dwelling. Our tour guide allowed us to visit her house where she lives with her parents. It is most common to live in apartments. They don’t have elevators and she lived on the fifth floor. The apartments she lived in were only 16 years old, but appeared to be 80 years old! They were really run down and poor. Going up the outside stairs, there was firework trash left. She told us they use them for funerals and weddings. Her father was very grateful to have us come visit and enjoyed sharing opinions about the comparisons of our two countries.

Travel to Hefei

12/9/12

Our trip to Hefei was interesting. We took the train from Shanghai to Hefei. It was a three hour ride, including several stops along the way. One of the gentlemen that sat next to me said that this train was the fastest and smoothest. It was a lot less hectic than getting on a plane. We got on the train 20 min. before our departure and there was no one on the train! We thought we might be on the Twilight Zone! About five min. till, the train filled up! It was a very nice and smooth ride. When we arrived at Hefei, we waited on our tour guide to pick us up. She never showed up! We became quite the attraction at the train station! Mom had at least ten Chinese people come up to her to help her. There was one young gentleman that spoke good English and was very generous. He tried calling our next tour guide, but were unable to get any help that way. He was able to find our hotel address and write it in Chinese. We then took a taxi to our hotel. We called our tour guide from the hotel and she met us. She is very nice. We are so excited to get CarLynn! We will get her this morning and on Wednesday go visit her orphanage.

Sightseeing in Shanghai

12/8/12

What a day! We took the Big Bus Tour around Shanghai for the day. It was a good choice! We were able to see different things in Shanghai at our own pace. We would catch the bus when we were ready to go to the next stop. We toured the Buddha Temple, the Bund, and the Yu Garden. At the Buddha Temple there were many statues and many people worshipping at each one. There was also incense being burned to bring the spirits to the temple. We observed a lady there who was painting only using her hands. She painted with black ink and created different scenes of China using her hand and fingernails! At the Bund, we were at the riverside of . We saw a mural on the side of the wall made of flowers. The flowers were each in their own flower pots and were of different colors and types. At the Yu Garden, we ate at the most famous restaurant for dumplings. There was a super long line to eat there! We ate chicken and shrimp dumplings upstairs at that restaurant. While traveling to that area, we were a small group of a zillion people, so it seemed. The architecture of the buildings was very intricate, reminding one of the old world China. Afterward, we rode the bus around Shanghai. One thing we have been amazed at is the seasonal decor around the city. There are decorated trees all over as well as seasonal songs in our hotel!

CyLynn & Callie

Safe

Hello
I just wanted to let everyone know they made it safely to China. Callie has sent me two emails. They arrived at there hotel 9am our time on Friday. Exhausted but safe. Callie told me this "We made it and had a scrumptious breakfast of noodles and rice! Your favorite! LOL! Breakfast reminded Mom of the White Swan, but not quite to me! CyLynn is anxious to get CarLynn and come home. That is all she talks about! She is ready to open her gift that barks! LOL! We are going on the Big Bus Tour to see the Pearl Tower, Yu Garden, the Buddha temple, and the Bund." haha. Sounds like they are having fun. Thanks for everything. I will continue to update this as I get emails from them.
Cade

Ready, set, go!

Hello!
Thank you for all of the support, it has been a fun journey. CyLynn has grown up a lot since we got her 2.5 years ago. She is 5 years old now. She is so excited to go to China to get her little sister! Dad, Mom, Callie, and Cylynn are going on the trip. Please pray for them as they leave the house on early Thursday morning, very early morning. I will be here in Vernon, being occupied by all of my senior duties and in the midst of basketball season. We are all excited for this oppurtunity, and we ask for all of your prayers.
Cade