Shopping with Ann, the Island, and more eating Day 12

I can't believe that as I write this post it is less than 12 hours until we will be *hopefully* off our first plane and about to board our next plane.  We have truly treasured our time here.  We have learned so much about this country, its people and its culture.  We have met incredible people who we will at the very least exchange Christmas cards with one day, but hopefully get to see each other in person from time to time as well. Obviously, we are most incredibly grateful for our sweet T.  She is a beautiful addition to our family.  We are grateful that Life was chosen for our little girl.  We are so grateful that God led us to her in His perfect time.  We are so excited for our son to meet T tomorrow (sort of).  Tomorrow will be a 36 hour day for us as we gain 14 hours.  Whew, I feel tired just thinking about it.  Since it is almost 11:00pm and the alarm is set for 5:30 I should really start telling you about our day so I can get to sleep.

Before I share about today I want to mention something I forgot from last night.  Our daughter cut her first tooth yesterday 1/28/13.  We were eating dinner and I put my finger in her mouth as I do many times a day (because my fingers are chewing toys) and I felt something that wasn't a gum!  How exciting!  God's timing is perfect because her teeth will be coming in right as she will transition to good milk from her A
unt A!  Actually, if any grandparents are reading this and can pick up one small can of formula we would appreciate it.  Just get what you think looks good.  We are literally going to use every single bit up on the plane home and if I remember from M we phased into the momma milk slowly.

So on to today's post...

This morning we were able to be slow and relaxed knowing that our first commitment was not until 10:30.  We ate breakfast with our guide which was interesting and fun.  She is such a beautiful woman.

Here is T at 10:07.  She loves to fall asleep right before we need to go somewhere.

At 10:30 we were in the lobby ready to shop with Ann.  Ann is an amazing woman who sends care packages to children for families while we wait and also takes families shopping while in Ch*na.  We were able to book her with another family.  It was quite an experience.  With care packages and shopping trips combined, Ann has worked with about 10,000 adoptive families.

First we took a subway to the wholesale market.  Ann is fast and can weave in and out of people so quickly.  Our crew of four adults and two babies and one stroller was not as quick as her.  We had some close calls when the other mom almost didn't get on the subway and when it appeared an escalator was eating the stroller, but we eventually made it to our first stop, getting traditional dresses for T.  Knowing that Ann was getting us a good price motivated us to get MANY dresses.  Basically, one in every size!  We also got some other gifts and things for T there.

Not a great photo of me, but it does capture the shopping experience.

Then it was on to look for pearls and jade.  We needed to take a taxi to get these things.  Ann grabbed one for us and we got in.  Suddenly there was a police officer there and then another came and there was very loud conversation.  It was quite scary as we didn't know what was going on.  It turns out it was illegal for the man to park there and he was getting a fine and ticket.  He was also getting points on his record and he has almost used all of his points, so he was not a happy man.  We gave him a big tip.  Once at the market, we were able to get T some pearls for her wedding day.  They are VERY good quality at a very small price.  The pearl market is huge and very interesting.  Ann goes to special shops where we imagine she gets super incredible deals because she agrees to take many people to them quite frequently.

This is after the officer asked our driver to step out of the van.

Pretending to know what I was doing shopping for pearls.

The jade we got is a "family ball."  We really wanted to get one of these here and are so excited to display it next to our ET head rest.

After we wore Ann out she left us and we were on our own in GZ.  We ate lunch at KFC.  It felt good to sit for a few minutes.  Then we began navigating our way to the Island... without a guide.  I am happy to say that we made it on our own.  I am sad to report that we all stunk when it came to bargaining.  Ann would not have been impressed at our total lack of good deals. 

The picture menus worked and Brandon got just what he ordered.

The people in one direction.  There are so many people everywhere in the markets.

We were able to go to the special photo spot that all adoptive families go.  Of course Miss T was sleeping in the Ergo so Daddy and T got to pose together.  Sadly, we don't have a photo of the 10 (or more) people who were also taking a picture of Brandon and T as I was.  I guess they are pretty cute!

Classic pose

One more zoomed in. 

Hubby loves cars and this one is apparently a neat one! We have seen many unique and expensive cars here.

what can happen when you mix up ss and cc

After our shopping was done we knew we needed to get back to our hotel by 4:30 to pick up the visa... yep, that is right, we shopped from 10:30 to 4:30!  We tried and failed to get a cab so we wandered and waited.  Finally, a very very old and creepy looking van pulls up and offers us a ride.  We asked how much and then bartered the worst deal ever getting home from the Island.  The van looked worse inside than out.  Brandon videoed some of the trip.  If we would have gotten into any sort of crash we all would have flown out of there so quickly.  Luckily we made it safely back to the hotel.

Our guide was in the lobby with the visa so we officially have everything we need to get T to America!  Yahoo!!!

So thankful for Elsie.  We could not have navigated this adoption or city without her guidance.

While we were in the lobby we ran into our new friends who also live by the Lake.  We decided to go to dinner with them.  We ended up back at Tekila.  This time I ordered chips and pico.  It was super fresh with tons of cilantro and onions and I treasured every bite.  Yummy.  After dinner we returned to the hotel only to leave again for a cheaper ice cream run to McDonald's.  We were able to eat outside and enjoy beautiful weather.  We hear there is a heat wave at home right now too which will make re-entry a bit easier.  While sitting outside we were approached by a couple of people looking for food.  We purchased food for a couple of families.  We think they were in need, though we are not totally sure.  We then prayed with and said good bye to our new dear friends.  It is a joy to know we will see them again.

The crew at dinner.

McDonalds

Outdoor dining.

Back in the room we were gearing up to pack when we noticed that Grandpa Tom was on the computer.  We decided to Skype a bit and then packed and packed.  Our checked bags are still way under weight.  Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE our rolling duffel bags?  I wanted to show you a photo of where we stored them in the hotel.  Others had huge suitcases sitting in their room, but not us.  Ours rolled up and fit on a shelf.

The two rolling duffel bags are on the left.  The hold a ton, weigh nothing, and store easily... I think Eagle Creek should hire me to promote their no matter what collection!

PLEASE PRAY for us tomorrow as we begin our journey home.  Anytime you think of us and lift up a prayer, I am sure we will need it!  Here is our request about the flights with the times that we really want prayer.  Specifically pray for our flight home connections (times are converted to CST)
At 7:50pm on January 29th we fly from Guanghzou to Hong Kong.  We are scheduled to arrive at 8:55 in Hong Kong. We only have 55 minutes in Hong Kong to go through security and take a train to another terminal.  Please pray that we make this connection as this is our flight to Chicago and missing it will greatly mess up our travel home.  PLEASE put these times in your phone and pray for us to be on the plane for Chicago when it takes off at 9:50pm CST.   We have been told that the HK airport has free wi-fi so if we don't make our connection I will update the blog with our plan and prayer requests. Once in Chicago we have a little over 2 hours to get through customs and to another terminal to make our last connection.  Please pray that we will be in our final destination city at 3:20 on the 30th!
Also pray that we will receive a  bassinet seat so we don't have to hold T on the 14.5 hour flight.

Thank you and good night from GZ!  It is now 11:52... really time to get some sleep!