Update #2

(This is Marie's friend Patty........sorry the update is so late, Marie sent it a few days ago apparantly but it was lost in cyberspace! Photos will follow.....)

Saturday, June 27the, 4:43 am.……Guangzhou/Garden Hotel Whoaaaaaaa!!!!

I last wrote in the wee hours of Thursday morning, China time. Today is Sunday here and so much has happended since I last wrote. Thursday morning we woke up to get breakfast at the buffet before heading back to the civil affairs building to finalize the adoption. I wish I had the video camera to capture the look on this child’s face as we walked through the doors to the dining area. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened and she gasped ever so quietly. It fills my heart with joy to witness so many first experiences for her. She didn’t eat much, just some fruit and noodles. We took a taxi to the office and signed a few more papers. Then our guide instructed us both to stand as the government official entered the area to ask Xiao Xiao if it was truly her desire to be adopted by us and then myself if I was willing to adopt Xiao Xiao and would I care for her and not abandon her. The official handed us the very special adoption certificate encased in a red document binder with our photo we had taken the previous day. She explained to Xiao Xiao that she was a very lucky girl because in only one month she would no longer have been able to be adopted. At this point tears filled her eyes and I couldn’t help but do the same because I realized how lucky I was to have not missed out on such a beautiful child’s life. After the adoption process we drove back into the area where we took our photo together and went to the notoray office. We walked to the 5th floor to finish the paperwork. I received 15 folders consisting of 5 different documents. As the guide had me carefully review all of our information within each of the documents, she showed me XiaoXiao’s parents’ death certificates. This was pretty hard for me as I thought about her unimaginable loss. I saw the letter her Grandfather wrote giving the orphanage custody of her and the guide assured me I could keep a copy of all the letters. When everything was finished we had our picture taken once again in front of the Chinese flag.
As we left the guide asked what we would like to do for the rest of the afternoon and I said…….SHOPPING, and not at Wal Mart’s. I asked her to take us to a good department store where she could find some good quality Chinese fashion. I also wanted to buy some books for her to read at home. The cab driver didn’t want to take us down a narrow alley so he dropped us off to walk a while to the bookstore. I asked our guide, Sarah, to please have XiaoXiao pick out some books to take home. XiaoXiao said she didn’t like to read fiction but was more interested in books that improve character. She found a book by Dale Carnegie who is very revered here. We spent a few minutes checking out an electronic device that helps younger children learn English. It had a small video screen that plugged into the side of the book-type case. I really liked it but felt it was too childish for Xiao Xiao. Upstairs we looked at several DVD’s but our guide pointed out a section of DVD’s that had both Eng/Chin subtitles and came with study guides to learn the language. She found the neatest case filled with old Oscar winning movies such as Roman Holiday, which happens to be one of Brandon’s and my favorite movies. It came in a very large case but I had to get it. I knew we could have many hours together watching those old classics.
Then we headed on our long way to ask several different people where we could find a Pizza Hut.