Good byes

Julia's tummy was still upset, so mom and her stayed at the hotel, I went to the Acrobat show, it was REALLLY good, not Circe de Soleil good, but VERY, VERY good.

Julia is still dealing with the runs, but we are packed up, extra clothes to change her on the plane,and in an hour we head out to drive to the airport, then around supper time here, we board a plan to Vancouver. Once there we have to go thru immigration then wait for our connecting flight to Edmonton, there is a few hours inbetween, but we hope there are no major delays, I would much rather have time to kill in a terminal than be dashing thru an airport in a panic with lots of carry on baggage and baby...

My pocket is full of animal balloons to use at ticket counters, and check ins to "brighten" their days and hopefully keep us moving. I have tried to be the first through the lines with our group to check in so that I can do the balloons. We never got any of our bags weighed so far, and we had our in-china luggage definitely overweight. Not sure if the balloons worked or not, but, regardless I like doing it and bringing smiles to their faces.

It has just been the last 3-4 days I have felt adjusted to China time, not sure what to expect with jet lag, but it will be all good.

We are ready to go, and be our family of 4, but the time has been amazing. So many "ups" and the downs(sickness, no Great Wall, and not able to visit orphanage) have not been anything we will regret or has been too much of a downer. God is GOOD.

Now to engage the plane trip....

T Square and Forbidden City

Today was an odd day. first, it is our last full day here.I found by the end of this excursion I was feeling quite emotional about the fact we would be leaving. We soooo want to be home, we are missing Katie soooooo much and my Brother and Sister in Law are AMAZING in taking care of her, they have been such a gift to us, but it is time to become our family of 4. It was also odd in that I did the stuff today solo. Julia had a huge diaper blow out at breakfast time, so we decided to keep her in and I would go. It was cold and windy today, for that alone, was a good decision. She is certainly wiped out. I got back from the 9:30-1:30 jaunt and she had napped 2 time already and is still sleeping, so it was a good call. LONG time in the airplane tomorrow, hope she will be runs free...
Me in T Square.

Guards training in the security areas between T Square and Forbidden city
Entering Forbidden City.






One of the thrones inside one of the MANY buildings.

First sights upon entering Imperial Gardens in forbidden city. Some trees well over 300 years old!!!


More from Garden.

Forbidden city is quite a sight to behold, we only covered about half of it, it is a city within the city, MASSIVE, so many stories about what happens in there, what certain things stand for, ceremonies attached to each area...so rich in history...

On our way out Dave(one of the dads) was bartering for a book and the polic came by to tell the busker to leave, Dave got the book, then I went to get one and the Police said no, so we went to leave then out of no where there is shouting and the buskers husband??? comes up and slaps the police officer and yelling and screaming. I am not sure if I got it on tape or not, I ran my battery dry with all the footage of the day so I haven't uploaded yet, it is recharging, but 3 police came and were restraining him... so an eventful end to the trip.I did get a book a few minutes later and other busker came by, tried to short be 10 Yuan in my change, so we had a little talk, and I got all my change, he then tries to sell me another book...despite the language barrier he understood what I said, I wasn't buying again from someone who tries to cheat me. I played it up saying to him, "You insult me with your rude actions, Me no buy again from you" all played with a hurt and disgusted look on my face. Heh it was fun. Overall they are pushier in some areas more than others, but are harmless, and it is fun,mostly...

Tonight we get Julia's visa, hopefully take in a show, sleep and then the trip home!!! can't wait to be with family, jet lag and all and celebrate Christmas with them!

Silk Factory and Pearl Market, plus some fun party times

What a full day. We started out by going to the Silk factory and we learned about the the life of a silk worm and got to see how they processed the silk and made silk comforters etc as well as see amazing silks. The quality is so nice, we ended up buying some gifts for the girls and family there, I was excited to find one that I will use in my magic act. I am working on Bian Lian, Chinese Opera Face changing trick. And this will become part of that act, so I was jazzed.We also got a couple of silk comforters and top line silk duvet covers(matching) for the girls beds,this was an unexpected purchase, but will be a lasting memory as well as serve a practical function as they are easy to clean and warm.


Old style silk spinning device.



After that we went to the pearl market. Cara and Julia went off shopping and Doug and his daughter and myself went across the street to take in the Temple of Heaven area. Got lots of video. This wasn't part of the trip, but there was no need for both of us to shop and Cara barters well and got some great quality pearls we will gift our daughters with when they get married. The smog was terrible this day, my throat was burning by the end of the day and we did a bunch of walking at the Temple, and we only covered about a quarter of it in an hour and a half, and we were moving. It was cool in we saw some locals doing what we would call Chinese line dancing, and took in some great sights.It will be nice to share this video with the family and it is another of China's cultural attractions so it was a nice bonus.

Julia enjoyed being out at the meal too!


Picture from the other night when we went to get Hot Pot for supper. She was happy to be there!

Eating at the Goodbye China party. We had the party a day early as Yulin was leaving a day early, it usually happens on the last full day.
We had some nice sweet and sour pork, some tasty beef and asparagus dish and Peking duck wraps.


It was a long day as we then went out for lunch, took in another market(which really wasn't necessary imo, it just made for too long a day). We had a bus load of cranky kids and hungry. Julia did awesome, but we packed enough to provide 2 bottles plus cereal to eat, other families weren't as prepared. We had been told half a day out, but it pays to be prepared. At 4:20 we got back to the hotel, she crashed, we then went out for the good bye China supper. Then there was a magic show, which was all done with music in the background, as there is an obvious language barrier. It was fun, the older kids there enjoyed it, it was all pretty basic magic shop dealer stuff, but it was fun. Yulin then asked me to come up and I did a couple of things for the group which was really fun and figured that was the highlight of the day for me, but wait!!! I looked up at the balcony in the restaurant after we had eaten some Bday cake and saw a fellow dressed in Chinese Opera robes and FACE Changing gear. NO WAY, get to see it live, OH YEAH!!!Front row seat , 7 feet from it, it was great. Really motivated me to get home and finish my practice of it so I can perform it. I am one of only a select few Westerners to be able to perform this long kept secret performance art. Got me pic taken with him after. Fun night, but a LOOOONG day.

Thumbs up. Magic is awesome!

Summer Palace

Us just inside the Summer Palace.



Some of the over 40,000 DIFFERENT pictures along the longest corridor in the world.


Concrete boat, part of the history of this place.


In the summer palace.
Lady who gifted Julia with the hat. She took quite a liking to our little Jewel!
Mom and Babe, reading together.

Been a bit since I posted. We had a couple of lazy days, Cara caught a 24 flu bug, it has been going around our group and needed some time to recover, so we opted out of the Great Wall visit. The next day we hung around, did a trip to the mall, got a few groceries and did a McDonalds lunch.

Last nite we had a meltdown, Julia was crying HARD in her sleep. We had had a great day with her, and I believe it was just part of her grieving her loses as she continues the process of bonding and attaching to us, it is good to know what the reasons are, but it broke my heart to see her little heart in pain. We will see how tonite goes. She ahs been sleeping in bed with Cara, we have twin beds int he room, and I know that is really comforting for her, and helps the bonding process also.

Today, Monday, was the Summer Palace visit in the afternoon.It would be gorgeous in the summer, when all the plants were in bloom, but I enjoy looking at the trees as they have so much character, as they "train" as well as trim the trees so you get beautiful shapes. I love bonsai trees, and still hoping I can see some before we leave...time will tell.

The street vendors are really pushy here, and it is one of the places where counterfeit money is used, the vendors will give you fake money for change from purchases or switch out your bill and say it is no good and actually give you not good money back. My magician spirit was roused and I so wanted to see if we could find one who would do this as I had a fun trick up my sleeve to change money, in front of their eyes to something else, but alas I never got the opportunity to do it.

We draw a crowd where ever we go in public, and one group of 3 ladies took a shine to Julia and ended up buying her a panda hat from a vendor, very sweet, I make her a balloon teddy bear as a token of thanks.

We misheard instructions and thought we could venture off on our own, so we did, but we were supposed to stay with the group, so they sent Faye off to find us(sorry group, but we had fun exploring...).
It was a lot of fun and so much history. I live that about China they have such interesting history and culture.

We were able to go out with our group for supper together and had hot pot( I have had it a bunch in Canada, I don't know why I didn't think to ask about it here, to see if we could get it, as it would be safe food for us...) so that was fun and I broke out the balloon animals and made some for some of the kids who were in the restaurant and for our travel group. Had a blast, totally my element!

Tomorrow is a visit to the silk factory( I can't wait) and the pearl market(Cara is excited!), we then have a "birthday" party in the evening. They have hired a magician and we will have food, etc, should be fun, interested to see what HE has up his sleeve.

It was really nice to get out of the room and explore, and I love walking through the historical areas of China and soaking in the culture, which we could spend more time and more relaxed time doing that. Julia travels well, and is soooo happy and enjoys soaking everything in.

Posting video from Nanchang just before gotcha moments

At the mall in Nanchang. Daddy with Julia in Carrier

Some video from Nanchang

First 7 hours awake in Beijing thoughts

Saying goodbye to her home province...


Asleep on the bus heading to the airport in Nanchang




Waiting in Nanchang airport to head to Beijing
Saturday morning group picture. Yulin trying to get us all together, I stepped out to take this shot :)

First nite in Beijing with Julia, elevator picture
Well the last leg of the race begins here. Baby and I slept well last nite, not long enough but okay. Cara had something that upset her stomach and has the runs, she is resting now and we have taken a few things to try to deal with it, hopefully today will be the recovery day.

Julia and I had our first adventure together today.

With mommy not feeling great I took babe down to breakfast and had a quick bite, then off to Yulin's room to do paperwork.After filling our citizenship papers and trying to get her picture for it( she wouldn't look directly at the camera, made the girls who were taking the pictures REALLLLLY work for it). We finally got a picture that worked. We then went to the lobby of the Presidential Palace Hotel we are staying at for a group picture. Then Cara crashed again, her tummy has not been good today, she has slept most of the day as she was up most of the nite.
Those thoughts above written at the 7 hour mark...now it is later in the day.

After the group picture Cara slept and I got Julia ready to head to the grocery store so we could continue our daddy daughter adventure in Beijing. Hooked into the Snuggli away we went, it wasn't too far, she loves looking up and checking out the tall buildings and soaking in the sounds. We found the grocery store no problem, it was in the basement of a nice mall. Once in the grocery store she was napping, it is soooo warm in nice buildings in China, I think I lost 4 pounds from sweating. So got some water and few odd things and back to the hotel. We much prefer the hotel in Nanchang. Better service, better space, nicer environment. Now this place isn't a dump or anything, it was just that at the Galactic, everyone was super nice, super available and lots of folks to help you, and the room had great features, full fridge, big bathroom, rooms to move. This room has too much furniture and no flat spaces to set up a food prep area, a change area etc. but it will do.

After that trip, got to change her, and feed her for the first time, both her cereal and her bottle. For attachment reasons we have left these areas for Cara, but fortunately she is realizing slowly I am a good guy and she and I are starting to build our friendship.

Although for Cara this was her worst day, it was my best, after gotcha day. Julia and I played together, explored the hotel a bit, got a couple little things to bring home, I tickled her, was able to comfort her when she was fussing, and she has fallen asleep in the snuggli with me, and rested so well after the bottle. To be able to hold her that close, snuggle her, and have her soak it in was beyond words, it so filled my heart, and then as we were playing she looked at me, I mean REALLY looked at me, eye to eye connection, and smiled her huge smile, then blew a raspberry at me, I returned the spit (mixed with tears of joy), flying raspberry to her, it was our moment, a significant first step in our lifetime of building that beautiful sacred father daughter bond TOGETHER.So cherished.

Cara was up a bit in the late afternoon so I had as shower, ran some laundry to the guy who will do it for us, did a solo run to the grocery for more water( I couldn't carry that much with Julia during the first run and who knows when we will be able to make another run, things get busy, if we are able to do the excursions. The group went toe the zoo today, seemed like a good time, from teh few reports I have heard so far, Marina and her little one also stayed and crashed her to build up some energy.

So tomorrow will be the great wall and jade factory, if we are up for it, it is a 9-5 day, so that is a lot to bring baby on, and a hopefully recovered Cara, so we will just have to see if we do it or not.

Friday-what is happening

Today is the last day in Nanchang. We will clean up, pack and hang out until 3 pm then head to the airport to go to Beijing. then it will get busy, papertrails, and some major excursions(these are optional) so we will just see how everyone feels. We will connect with the other 2 families from our travel group, and hear of their adventures. Next posts, internet willing will be in Beijing!

Thursday in Nanchang

Well due the weather of yesterday our guide told us our orphanage visit was likely not going to happen, the roads would be too dangerous, and that was the case. We are somewhat disappointing, but we know the timing and events of this trip are in God's hands, so we are content.

So it was mall day today. We went to a nice mall, it was huge, but with one exit, you take escalators up or down but it s all contained inside one building that goes straight up. Today would be a day of just being in China and being amongst the people. It was great, lots of interactions with the locals trying to talk to us, pleased we were adopting, lots of "Beautiful girl" comments about Julia which we heartily affirmed.

We got a couple pieces of clothing for Julia, as nice coat, as the one she came in is not one we want her to stay in, this one is warmer and nicer.

Our morning started at 4:30 with a secret adventure of eating the dragon fruit we bought, and chatting about life as a couple(haven't had much time for that with baby, it was nice) however those whispers got Julia awake early and she ended up being up by 5, then having to nap at 7, didn't nap while we were out so she collapsed once we got off the bus, as the photo shows. We also went to bed early Thursday nite and I got 8.5 hours of sleep, OH YEAH BABY!!!! bring it on! Back to Thursday...

Prior to the mall we went to a porcelain shop. This area is famous for it, so we wanted a piece of that to bring home. First chance to barter, LOVE it. It is such a game. They bring a calculator, punch in a number, you look shocked, counter with a number about half of it or less, they laugh or shake head rigorously no, counter, and back and forth you go. At one point it is good to shake your head no and walk away and they will bring you back and likely "settle" for your last number, and all walk away happy.

We did a mcdonalds run for lunch, wasn't hungry so I never ate, I took some video(got in trouble for it, but it was worth it :) ).

On the way back from the mall the husbands jumped off the bus and we did another Walmart run and walked back to the hotel,about 2 km walk, but it was nice Got some nice video of the August 1 monument, a historical area commemorating 1927 battle.

1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

Also got to walk thru the streets of China, see everything from rich area to poor. The little shops, and you see the laundry hanging out the windows, to unlit, unheated areas that house shops. We walked past poor people asleep on the ground,with a small lid of a box with a few coins in it, to fancy hotel area.

It has been fun walking across the street, I think I totally have the mindset for it and have navigated across, babe in arms, with ease(hearing Cara tense behind us and me saying, just follow our lead!)

And note the best part of the day, in 3 words in that last paragraph...babe in arms!!!

Had an awesome morning in that she let me hold her without her fussing, some time with mom in view, some without her in view, it was awesome, longest holding time so far.So it is a small, but oh so delightful first step towards her coming to accept my love and comfort. YES!!!!