Well, first things first: We are nowhere near the "earthquake" zone!!! Yippeeeeee and as Robert says, "PRAISE THE LORD" !!!!! As a matter of fact, not even near a cyclone either! Our journey has been very protected and blessed of God so we anticipate a very safe and uneventful exit as well which can't be soon enough!!!!! It is Tuesday morning now, we have just finished up breakfast and our guides Lineker and wife Amy are meeting with the Consulate on all of the families behalf. Unless there is a question and we have not heard from them, the consulate appointment is final, finished and there will be nothing left to do except to receive the final documents, pack, sight see a little more and get ready for the long ride home!!!!
Yesterday was Mary's medical exam....really, it boils down to taking all of the children to a clinic to make sure that anyone traveling to the U.S. has a clean bill of health which will complete the Visa process. As long as we had to stand and wait, and wait (2 1/2 hours), Mary did remarkable. One little meltdown and that was of course, around the time of her nap anyway, so she was out at the time we had to wake her up and see the doctor!!!!!
After that, we strolled out and just mosied around the island, and it was nice to just....relax as a family. Mary is really adjusting and bonding with Robert better every day. We can't wait to get home so that we can ALL be on a schedule and not have to anticipate another bus ride, or documents....it's really all so stressful and Mary can sense it as well. So when we got back to the hotel, Robert and I just decided to hang in the hotel the rest of the day. Since Mary didn't really get her nap in, we thought we'd just play hard, bond, eat in and chill. Worked out great!!!! The three of us had a blast pouncing on each other, loving on each other, tickles, hugs, laughs.......was just amazing and time flew by and I really do believe it was the most productive bonding times for all of us!
Then.....the door bell rings.......and its our dinner!!!! For just 124 Yeun, (about $$ 18) we got a cheese steak, turkey sub, two fries, and two chips, plus the delivery charge - awesome! Robert and I just can't wait to eat our french fries when Mary (or the 'princess' as we refer to her now!) just picks up one of the french fries, promptly sits her self down and eats them as if they were her own!!! SHE LOVES CARBS! And bacon......and ....sausage and noodles. Not much on fruit, or veggies, she does NOT like anything COLD! Yep, Robert and I had a nestle ice cream bar and she just looked at it. She would hold the stick and hand it back to us as if it were a grenade!!! - Cool, more for mommy!!!!
Mary doesn't talk, but is starting to speak some kind of something?!?! yet she understands what we say, very, VERY well! It also seems that as she gets more comfortable with us, her (for lack of a better word) 'phrases' are becoming more frequent. They are spoken softly but matter of factly and yet when she gets ticked, girlfriend has a set of lungs!!!!
Bath time is now a really fun time for Mary - and they told us 'chinese children don't like baths'. Well, maybe they need to add some cool "No Fear" bath toys, bubbles and two parents who really know how to have fun with kids and any chinese child would be diggin' it!
We're off to Starbucks for mommy, the room to confirm that everything went well with the Consulate and off to a really beautiful park! Oh - by the way in case I didn't mention it, Robert and Mary presented me with a BEAUTIFUL MOTHER'S DAY GIFT Sunday morning! I received a beautiful card and watch which was also a graduation gift. What an incredible way to spend your first Mother's Day - in China with your new baby and awesome husband!!!!
We will try to post before our long 24 hour flight home, leaving 9am Thursday morning from Guangzhong, to Beijing, to Chicago and back to Nashville!!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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