Well, it's all come down to this day. This afternoon we are scheduled to go to the American Consulate to obtain Emilia's Visa and to take an oath acknowledging that Emilia is our child. Tom wanted me to mention to all of you that he has jotted down a few words in case the Ambassador wishes him to speak to the group. (yeah right!) Seeing as we are taking this oath with an estimated 30-40 families, his speech will need to be short and to the point (ha!ha!).
Yesterday, we went to D Square Market which is a gigantic outside/inside public shopping center that is pedestrian traffic only. There was a huge 40 foot TV screen in the middle of the square giving the latest Chinese news. The amount of people is just phenomenal!! It makes the Mall of America look like CVS on Forest Avenue!! We got a lot of attention as the obvious outsiders and Emilia always brings people towards us.
We also bonded a bit more with the other two families we are traveling with yesterday. The Limoli, the Staples, and the DePeter families were all out in the hotel hallway (we all have suites that adjoin) with our babies. Picture us all sitting on the floor of the hallway with babies running and screaming; laughing; and playing! Why would we be doing such a thing, you ask? At least one of us had to be in the room from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in case we got a call to clarify any information on our documents. Rather than stay in our individual rooms, we decided to be together and leave the doors to our rooms open so we could hear the phone if it rang. No calls were made to any of us so everyone is set for this afternoon.
Tonight, we are having a banquet all together at a local Thai restaurant to celebrate our daughters, our journeys, and to say thank you to our Chinese MAPS administrator, Aina Ling, as well as to our American Coordinator, Barbara Weisser. Talk about a small world, Barb is from Waterville. Her husband is Dr. Weisser. His office and their home are on Silver Street. Needless to say, we are planning on dropping in this summer to visit with Emilia.
It has been very chilly here in Guangzhou these last couple days (40's/50's), however, I understand that we shouldn't be complaining since it is 20 below with wind chill on your end. Great....
Emilia is once again napping in the hip carrier as we communicate this morning. She is really doing well. She is so very full of personality and spunk! Demure, delicate, and calm would be used to describe another child. Feisty, rambunctious, curious, and adventurous ...that's our girl!!
Our flight for Beijing leaves at 11:55 am local time tomorrow. We'll be heading for Chicago by 2:35 pm (Chinese time) and on our last leg home from Chicago to Portland will have us arriving home at about 10:30 pm. We will hope for on time flights and clear sailing so we can get home as soon as possible. Can't wait to see you all!!
Yesterday, we went to D Square Market which is a gigantic outside/inside public shopping center that is pedestrian traffic only. There was a huge 40 foot TV screen in the middle of the square giving the latest Chinese news. The amount of people is just phenomenal!! It makes the Mall of America look like CVS on Forest Avenue!! We got a lot of attention as the obvious outsiders and Emilia always brings people towards us.
We also bonded a bit more with the other two families we are traveling with yesterday. The Limoli, the Staples, and the DePeter families were all out in the hotel hallway (we all have suites that adjoin) with our babies. Picture us all sitting on the floor of the hallway with babies running and screaming; laughing; and playing! Why would we be doing such a thing, you ask? At least one of us had to be in the room from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in case we got a call to clarify any information on our documents. Rather than stay in our individual rooms, we decided to be together and leave the doors to our rooms open so we could hear the phone if it rang. No calls were made to any of us so everyone is set for this afternoon.
Tonight, we are having a banquet all together at a local Thai restaurant to celebrate our daughters, our journeys, and to say thank you to our Chinese MAPS administrator, Aina Ling, as well as to our American Coordinator, Barbara Weisser. Talk about a small world, Barb is from Waterville. Her husband is Dr. Weisser. His office and their home are on Silver Street. Needless to say, we are planning on dropping in this summer to visit with Emilia.
It has been very chilly here in Guangzhou these last couple days (40's/50's), however, I understand that we shouldn't be complaining since it is 20 below with wind chill on your end. Great....
Emilia is once again napping in the hip carrier as we communicate this morning. She is really doing well. She is so very full of personality and spunk! Demure, delicate, and calm would be used to describe another child. Feisty, rambunctious, curious, and adventurous ...that's our girl!!
Our flight for Beijing leaves at 11:55 am local time tomorrow. We'll be heading for Chicago by 2:35 pm (Chinese time) and on our last leg home from Chicago to Portland will have us arriving home at about 10:30 pm. We will hope for on time flights and clear sailing so we can get home as soon as possible. Can't wait to see you all!!
6 comments:
Hi again, It's getting closer. you will be home before you know it. I'm sure you will be very tired and need much rest. We have enjoyed your journey and thank you for all the news. Your daughter is beautiful and we can't wait to see all of you. Please keep the pictures comming even when you are back. LOVE AUNT JUL
Bonjour à vous trois,
Quelle belle Emilia!! Vous vivez une aventure extraordinaire en ce moment. Vous êtes très beaux à voir ensemble tous les trois. Nous vous souhaitons beaucoup de bonheur. Bon retour à la maison. Nous pensons à vous, au loin, au Canada.
Cousine Line, Roger, Maxime et Lydia xxx
Congratulations on your Beautiful daughter Emilia !! She is so sweet, and such a blessing !!! Please keep updates coming, we are all so happy for you !!! From the scheduling group in xray, Deby, Jill, Heather, Libby...and Rachel of course !!!!!
Hi Renée and Tom!
It's very interesting to follow you and China, and to share all these fantastic moments with you! Your Emilia is beautiful! We hope to see her, and to kiss her soon! We are planning to go to see you and all the family this summer during our vacation.
Welcome back home! We whish you a wonderful life with your daughter...
Claire, Sylvain, Marianne and Frédéric
Oh yes tonight is the night we pick you up. We can't wait. I need to go nap before we go so I will be wide awake. Anyways can't wait to see you guys. Hopefully the plane ride is going ok. see you soon and again thanks for all the updates
Well said.
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