Officially a family of eight

After crying (or screaming would be more appropriate!) herself to sleep last night, Peyton woke up ready to play and has been very happy all day.  She is really latching on to her big sister, and Madison is being a great sport about it and carrying her around and pretty much doing whatever Peyton wants.  She seems very comfortable with all of us, and readily calls us "Mama", "Baba" (Chinese for Daddy), "Guh Guh" (Chinese for big brother) and "Jie Jie" (Chinese for big sister).  She is sitting in my lap right now playing with a phone and a water bottle and proudly sporting a hoodie she found in her bag.  She seems to be a girly girl and really likes her clothes and her hair clips!  She dances and skips and makes all sorts of silly faces, including one that is exactly like Tyler's standard silly face.  Those two are going to be quite the pair!    Today we went back to the Civil Affairs Office to complete the paperwork, conduct the '"interview" (which consisted of an official asking our names and ages and whether we are "satisfied with the baby") and finalize the adoption.  Peyton was very wound up!  We were the first ones at the office, so we got finished quickly; and our guide then took us to the local supermarket.  As you can see from the pictures ( http://chinatrip2010.shutterfly.com/28), that was quite an experience!  We stuck to the more tame choices but did end up with some turkey flavored Cheetos (Carson's choice)!  After that, we explored the wholesale markets before enjoying a fantastic lunch.  The pictures of the seafood in tanks were made at the restaurant, including the one of the live alligator!  Again, we stuck with the more tame choices -- although one dish did have some odd looking tentacles in it.  After lunch, we toured the Tomb of the Nanyue King -- got to be sure the kids get a little education since they are missing school!  We were able to go into the actual tomb which is right in the middle of the city and was unearthed about 25 years ago when construction began on an apartment complex.  Judging from the items found in the tomb, the Nanyue King was quite wealthy and important!   Tonight we are going on a cruise on the Pearl River.  Should be fun!  We should be worn out by the time that's over and will hopefully get a good night's sleep.  We are still waking up in the wee hours of the morning and having trouble getting back to sleep.  A full 8 hours would be wonderful!

She is here!!

And she is adorable . . . and spunky!  We were waiting at the Civil Affairs Office when she literally jumped into the room.  She warmed up to us quickly and was feeding us M&M's in no time and posing for pictures.  It wasn't until we were wrapping things up with the paperwork and getting ready to leave that she started to cry.  She tried to be brave, but it was all just too much for her.  She sobbed all the way back to the hotel, but our guide was able to calm her down after we got to our room.  The tears started again about 30 minutes later, and she tried her hardest to open the door and make her escape.  She finally gave up and decided maybe it would be fun to put stickers all over us.  Apparently it was since she started laughing hysterically!  For the past two hours she has been absolutely wild -- dancing, taking pictures, trying on all of her new clothes, tickling everyone, pushing us down on the beds, climbing on the furniture, making crazy faces, shining a flashlight in our eyes and grinning and laughing.  I think she might make Tyler and Reagan seem calm!  Oh my!!   New pictures have been added to the Shutterfly site -- http://chinatrip2010.shutterfly.com/28

Detour for pictures

We can't access the blog from here, so I've been posting by email; but I'm having trouble with pictures.  So, I'm going to try this -- http://chinatrip2010.shutterfly.com/28   Hopefully we can upload pictures to that site and everyone can get to them that way.   I will post links here when we add pictures.   It's 10:45 Monday morning, and we leave at 2:00 pm to meet Peyton!!

Guangzhou at last!

After our unexpected trip to Arkansas, everything else ran pretty smoothly.  We discovered that XNA is a very nice airport; and if you are ever in that area, we highly recommend the Wingate hotel!  We arrived in Chicago a little before eight, and Mama Martha and Will Will (my parents who are traveling with us) got there from Memphis shortly after that.  The flight to Shanghai boarded on time, but we sat on the runway for almost an hour (which meant we were on the plane for close to 16 hours, but who's counting?), so we were late arriving and missed our connecting flight to Hong Kong.  American had already re-booked us for a later flight by the time we got off the plane, and we arrived in Hong Kong around 9:15 -- exhausted but happy to be there!  We were also able to change Peyton's return ticket when we checked in for our first flight.  Yes, my first big "oops" as a mother of six was forgetting to bring our child home with us!  In my rush to get our tickets changed on Thursday night, I forgot that her ticket was booked separately from the rest of ours; so hers wasn't changed.  She was coming home with us -- just going to a different airport by herself!  Probably not good for the bonding process.  The very nice staff at the check-in counter at XNA got that resolved for us, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief!   Today we explored the mall beside the hotel in Hong Kong then took the train to Guangzhou.  We are staying at the same hotel where we stayed on our last trip, so we are in familiar territory now.  Unfortunately, there is construction going on all over the island, so many shops are closed and things are just very different.  We walked around a bit this afternoon then walked over to the Qing Ping market and the pedestrian mall to show MM and WW what China is really like -- scorpions, tentacles on a stick, and all!    Haven't heard from our guide yet, so we don't know any details; but we are scheduled to meet Peyton tomorrow!  Hoping to get settled in and get a good night's sleep so we'll be ready.

Back on track

We made it to Chicago, and our flight is scheduled to leave in an hour. 14.5 hours of fun!

Off to a rocky start

Our flight to Chicago has been cancelled, so I have spent hours on the phone rearranging our schedules. We are leaving now driving to Arkansas where we will catch a flight to Chicago in the morning and (hopefully!) still make our connection to Shanghai. All prayers for an uneventful journey from this point are more than welcome!

Let the countdown begin

The tickets have been bought, the rooms have been reserved, and packing has begun!  We will leave on Friday the 8th (6 days from now!!), arrive in Hong Kong on the 9th, take a bus to Guangzhou on the 10th, and meet Peyton on the 11th!  Much to do between now and then.   Obviously, this picture has nothing to do with our trip.  I'm just practicing posting by email and seeing how the pictures work.