Introducing Guangzhou

Well, we made it to Guangzhou.  We are at the final stage of our adoption!  To the left, we have a picture of mama looking annoyed.  I don't know why I look annoyed in this picture.  After everyone boarded, we ended up sitting on the tarmac for over an hour and then I really was annoyed!  We were fortunate though.  China in-country flights are known for being very late or being canceled at the last minute. We heard a story from a family here who had their in-country flight canceled causing them to have their gotcha time at 11:00pm at night.  Our longest delay has been just over an hour and we haven't missed a connecting flight yet.


         

We arrived on Friday afternoon and spent some time lounging in the pool.  Here Chris and Norah are both squinting into the sun, but with the opposite eye.  Like father, like daughter!

We visited Shamian Island.  Well, hello pretty, green lady.  This is the nicest exterior of any Starbucks I have frequented! The Island has beautiful colonial architecture and bronze statues throughout.







The statue to the left and below is of a violin teacher with her students following behind.  It is a popular spot for adoption families to photograph their new child.  The missing spot is just asking for a child!

We also visited the Pearl Market and the Jade Market.  The Pearl Market sold all kinds of other beads and crystals as well.  It was amazing to see jewelry and cords for pendants sold in such mass quantities.  The Jade Market had rows and rows of vendors selling jade in all shapes and sizes.

Five stories of jewelry

These pictures do not do these massive indoor markets justice.  You have to go see for yourself! By the time we got to the pearls, Norah was getting ready to leave, so I do not even have a picture of a pearl vendor.  Just imagine bags and bags of pearls in all sizes with various fresh water colors.  

The next day, we went to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to process Norah's visa application. This is the whole reason we are here!  We were unable to take a camera inside, so the only picture I got was taken by our Holt contact here in the city.  We should pick up Norah's visa this afternoon and we will be free to leave China tomorrow.

We have spent a fair amount of time at this park.  It is just a few minutes walk from our hotel.  We love the scenic view and a chance to stretch our legs.  The parks that we have visited in China have been incredible!

The roots on the trees here look like something out of The Hobbit

There were beautiful paths throughout the park 

The lilies looked like they were on steroids!

The humidity has not been good to my hair.

This palm was bent providing the perfect seat.

I have had trouble getting a good internet connection, so it has been hit or miss for blogging.  We will post more pictures once we are back home.  Tomorrow we say good-bye to China.  We are anxious to be done with the long twenty-four hour trip ahead of us and extremely excited to see our girls at home!  Please pray for an uneventful trip back and for the huge adjustments to come for our entire family.

Waiting for the elevator