Shopping and Consulate Appointment

Yesterday was so much fun! We had no official adoption business to take care of, so our guide took us shopping at the jade market, pearl market and for traditional Chinese dresses. We bought a strand of pearls for each daughter (including Myla Grant) that we plan to give them when they are much older and hope they will someday wear on their wedding days. Adair also picked out some lavender pearls for a bracelet for Emalyn and her. It's amazing the deals that you can get here on pearls. I'm anxious to see what they appraise for at home. Our estimate is that they are six or seven times more valuable than what we paid!

Millions of options!

Adair LOVED touching and straightening all the strands....she's definitely our girly-girl!

It was so neat to watch them turn loose strands of pearls into

necklaces with individual knots.  They have quite the technique!

One of the girls' finished necklaces and matching earrings.

One of Adair and Emalyn's bracelets with matching earrings.

At the jade market we bought a small jade heart to have made into a pendant for Emalyn when she's older since jade is such a big part of Chinese culture. We also found a great deal on traditional Chinese dresses, so we got Adair two and Emalyn two...matching, of course.

Emalyn's jade pendant.

The markets were really neat and a jewelry makers paradise. It wasn't a really nice place, but all of the store fronts had rows and rows of beads, metals, etc. You could find any and every type of jewelry supply there.

Inside the jewelry market.

After the market we walked down 9th street where there were tons of Chinese shoppers. It was a little like an outdoor mall with open storefronts. We saw lots of traditional Chinese lanterns on the street and many true Chinese dishes on street cars and in restaurants.

Crowded street.

Notice the traditional Chinese lanters.

The Rooster Man...apparently he's been around for 30 years and is essentially famous in Guangzhou.

Meat...

More meat...

For dinner last night, we met our new friends George, Sharron and Alexis for dinner at Lucy's on Shimian Island. It was a treat to visit a place everyone who has adopted from here visited, especially those that came when the White Swan was the common place to stay. The food was better than most of what we've had and the company was great! Adair fell asleep in the stroller as we walked to dinner, so she missed the meal, but Emalyn had fun. She wasn't fond of the dishes we ordered, so she had leftover fried rice that we had with us instead. After dinner we stopped by a local store and bought a set of chop sticks for each of us with our names on them and a few small gifts.

Today was our consulate appointment.  It sounds very formal and official and important, but it didn't really feel like that at all.  Basically, we took an oath to swear that (to the best of our knowledge) all of our forms and documents were accurate and legitimate and then turned in some forms to finalize Emalyn's appeal for US citizenship.  The best part of the consulate appointment is that 24 hours afterwards, you recieve your child's visa to travel to the US and are officially done with the business necessary in China and can head home. Yay!  We are so close!

After our consulate appointment we picked up some snacks for the trip home, grabbed lunch and stopped for ice cream.  Emalyn had her first taste of ice cream and wasn't too sure what to make of it.  She seemed to like the taste, but couldn't figure out why it was cold.  They don't eat much cold food here, especially at Emalyn's age, so it's no surprise that she had mixed feelings about it.

Why is this food cold?!?

Okay, maybe it was good!

Loving her ice cream!

 

We did a little packing this afternoon during nap time, then played for while before heading out for the Pearl River cruise.  Guangzhou has many bright, colorful lights so it was fun to see them from the river.  It was very cold and rainy, but the girls really enjoyed this outting.  They both stood in the window for the majority of the ride looking out at the lights on the buildings and bridges.

Loving the lights.

Adair didn't mind a little rain to get a better look.

Mommy, Adair and Emalyn.

Multicolored television tower.

Daddy, Adair and Emalyn.

Close up of the tower.  Isn't it cool?

Tomorrow we will spend the majority of the day here and then take a van to Hong Kong late tomorrow afternoon before flying home on Wednesday morning.  I can't believe tonight is our last night in China!  Emalyn will be in her home in her own bed in just a couple of days! 

She continues to do well and seems to be coming out of her shell more and more each day.  She is a very happy little girl and blows our minds every single day.  She is giving us alot of eye contact and reaches for me constantly, especially when someone else tries to talk to her or pick her up.  We are making great progress in the right direction.  Hopefully our trip home and settling in at home will help her continue to bond and to trust us.  Thank you for continuing to pray for her, Adair and for us.  Your support and prayers make all of the difference.

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