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We are finally home. It has been a rough couple of days. On the 10 hour flight from Beijing to Seattle, Darci slept only 2 hours and was irritable most of the other 8 hours. The rest of the flights (Seattle to Atlanta and Atlanta to Nashville), Darci slept-thank goodness!!! We were greeted on arrival by several friends (Tanya and Faith, Sharon, Tracy, Kristen Denmon, and Kristen Riley, Sarah and the boys). Darci was a little overwhelmed and a little scared-how many changes she has gone through in her little life!!!  But she warmed up quickly and by the evening was having a good laugh with her new friends. The first night was a rough one as we both were confused on what time it is (the so called jet lag). Darci cried for about 4 hours that night but the next day (after a 4 hour morning nap!!) she was having a great time with Sharon and Tracy (I was taking a much needed nap!!). Last night was a little better and I think each night will get a little better as we adjust to the time change. As this is my last blog-I really do appreciate everyone’s support and kind words. When I was struggling in China it was great to read encouraging words from home. This blog  and the replies will also be a great treasure to Darci when she is older, as it not only records her adoption story but also the great family and friends that care about her deeply.

Well today was a hot one!!! You get either sun and humidity or rain and humidity; today it was sun and humidity!! Diane, Darci and I headed over to Shamian Island, what a cute place. The buildings are English style architecture, mostly yellow in color and great sculptures! We had a great American meal (which we all were craving) at a place called Lucy’s. Then we headed back to the hotel to go to the American Consulate. That was an interesting cab ride back to the hotel from the island, in that we realized that Darci had pooped all up her back and because she was on my lap it was also on me. It was also very fragrant, the cab driver even rolled down his window!! Going to the consulate, Darci was very stylish in her red and white dress, with red, white, and blue bow (which she would not keep in). We were brought into one room where Darci and I were called to a numbered window, in which I signed a piece of paper. Then an American working at the consulate discussed the citizenship process for the children. Then the parents had to take an oath stating that all the paperwork we had filled out on Sunday was truthful. So you might think that she is a citizen, not yet. She will travel on a Chinese passport and when we reach Seattle and they stamp her passport in customs, she will officially be a US citizen. So on July 3rd, at around 8am central time, be thinking about the newest US citizen!! This will be my last blog for awhile as we travel to Beijing on Friday (arriving around 11pm) and then we travel home on Saturday at around 9am. Tracy C thanks for the offer about the stroller but I bought a cheap  one here and will use to travel home with-so I will already have one at the airport. As for PF Chang’s unless one can pick out the animal and then have them kill the food on the premises, I will have to pass (I have gotten a little snobbish in my Chinese cuisine)!! Thanks Kristen for checking on the house and turning on the air conditioning!!! Really looking forward to being back in the states on Saturday!!!!

Today was another free day. Not much happening today except my paper work got accepted by the American Consulate (just one step closer to coming home). Tomorrow is the day we go to the Consulate and get sworn in. Unfortunately no cameras are allowed. Today we just spent around the hotel. However, this evening we went for a dinner cruise on the Pearl river. The food was typical Chinese (as you can imagine for someone that does not like Chinese food-I am getting a little tired of it, so yes I frequent McDonald’s at least once a day), but the views of the city were great. They light up many of their buildings and bridges, so it was very pretty. Darci however was a little fussy as it was almost her bedtime but on the whole she had a really good non-temper tantrum day!!

Today we had a glimmer of sunshine, although Darci’s mood was rather thunderstorm like!! We went to the park today. It was unbelievably busy with retired folks doing their thing (exercise, ping-pong, singing). It was really interesting. In this park I am really a minority, no other non-Asians in sight. So it made it really bad when Darci threw a temper tantrum. She was inconsolable, so I just let her scream. Needless to say I got many stares and even some grandmas tried to get her to calm down, which did not work. She eventually fell asleep-thank goodness!!! The afternoon temper tantrum was not as bad, but of course it was in public at McDonald’s. She wanted some corn that she saw someone else eating and I had not bought her any (I had bought ice cream). Needless to say I went and bought her some corn. This evening was rather quiet, no temper tantrums. However, we all met in the lobby to get our pictures taken (the children dressed in their Chinese costumes. Tomorrow is another free day-I am running out of things to do, maybe the park again?

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Today was a free day but it is hard to be free when it is raining Siamese cats and Chinese crested dogs!! Between the smog and rain, I do not think that I have seen the sun since Nashville. This afternoon we went to a very cute island, called Shamian Island. It is where most adopting families have stayed (at the White Swan). However, the island is having a lot of construction, so the adoption agency thought it would be better not to stay there. But it is a really cute place. It reminds me of what an English colony, like Bermuda would be like. We spent only an hour there and I wish it was longer. If we ever get a nice day I will probably go back. We then went to the pearl and jade stores and spent about 2 hours there, that was way too long!!! Darci is a good shopper (just like her mom and grandma) as long as we are moving. I have thought a lot about my mom today (she died 15 years ago today), I hope that I am half the mother to Darci as she was to me. Darci is very funny in that she talks to herself all the time and not always quietly. The last 3 nights she has fallen asleep in my arms, I think that we are getting use to each other. Tomorrow is another free day, which I hope is a rain free day. I am ready to come home and get into a normal routine.

Well today was a quiet day. I am still trying to get in the mode of being a Mom (I think this will take time!!). For instance today we went to the park. We were suppose to leave at 10:30, I was running late because we had a slow moving morning. I never thought about bringing anything for Darci, like water (and it is very humid in Guangzhou so you need to drink a lot of water), diapers, or my camera. Thank goodness there are other parents that are more prepared, in some ways I might say over prepared!!! The park was really nice. It had many different types of flowers, it had boats you could rent and take out on the park’s lake, and it had an interesting play area-more for the adults. The adult play area was made up of steel types of equipment that you might see in a gym. There were weight type machines for you arms, ski machines, bike and rowing machines. It was an outdoor workout area!!! Next to it there were ping pong tables where the locals were competing against each other. In the afternoon Darci and I spent 1.5 hours filling out paperwork. Diane has left for a couple of days to go see the Terracotta Warriors, so I was not quite sure how I was going to fill out all the paperwork for the American Consulate with Darci in tow. Darci was amazing, she sat in her stroller for the 1 1/2 hours without any complaints, actually she was rather entertaining. She talked to herself, played with her shoes and was just a great little gal!! This evening many of us went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. When you entered the restaurant there were live animals (ducks, snakes, fish-see pictures), they were going to be some one’s dinner but not mine-I stayed away from them, I would rather have not seen my meal when it was alive!!! Tomorrow we are off to a pearl and jade factory, more shopping!!!

We left Nanchang yesterday for Guangzhou (you might know it as Canton). As you can imagine I was nervous about the flight. It did not help that we rarely see the sky (so much fog/smog) and it was raining. However, it was a very smooth flight and it was only 1 hour and 10 minutes. There were at least 5 families from my group and then many others that were on the flight with their new children (all American families that are adopting must go the Guangzhou to complete all the American paper work). You might think that the flight could be very noisy with lots of crying, surprisingly it was a very quiet flight. Darci did fairly well on the flight, she got a little antsy at the end but she did great!! We also met up with the other 11 couples from my adoption agency that went to other provinces to get their children, so we have a fairly large group but it was great to re-meet them and their new children. Today was the Dr’s visit. It was chaos. So many people, American and Chinese trying to be seen by the doctors. There seemed to be little order to the madness but in the end it went pretty quickly. You saw 3 different MDs: one for the medical exam, one for the ears/nose/throat exam and one to do heights and weights. The MDs and nurses spoke little English-so a little hard to ask questions. However, that was OK with me as I really did not have any medical questions about Darci-she is doing great. The one concern I did have was she weighed now what they told me she weighed at 12 months (21lbs). While Darci is small she does not look malnourished, so I question the 12 month weight. Darci also eats really well, so she will catch up before I know it. After this was done we headed back to the hotel. Darci is really opening up, while there are still times that she cries (like any normal 15 month old), she will quiet quickly. Her personality is also coming through. She is a little goofy at times, she has the best smile!! We took a bath tonight and it was the first time I was brave enough to really wash her hair. She did great and never shed a tear (more than I can say about her mom when she was little). I gave her a bottle (she is very attached to her bottle) and tried to cuddle her to sleep. In the past she has not really let me cuddle her. Tonight she let me hold her until she fell asleep, it brought tears to my eyes, to think that she now trusts me enough to let me do this. I feel very lucky to be able to have this experience with such a special little girl. Well tomorrow Diane leaves for couple of days to go see the Terracotta Warriors in Xian. It will be an interesting experience for me, because it will be the first time for me to be on my own with Darci. We are to go off the a park tomorrow and then fill out MORE paperwork in the afternoon!!! It has been raining here in Guangzhou for about a week, so hopefully it will stop tomorrow so we can go to the park or I will have to go shopping!!

Well today was a free day and it rained all day. This area of China is having horrible flooding, many people out of their homes and some lives lost. Luckily where we are it only rained, no flooding. I had heard that some people’s children (not in my group) took over 18 hours to get to Nanchang to be united with their new parents because roads were washed out. It also looks like the rain is to continue in this region and as we fly out tomorrow for Guangzhou (which is further south) I hope that we will not have any issues!! With the rain today I was not really looking forward to the day as Darci REALLY likes to be outside, that is where she is the happiest. So the English person in me came out and I and Diane packed up Darci and headed out to an indoor mall. You could just tell the looks on the local peoples’ faces “crazy Americans”!! We ate at a McDonald’s, which is not any different then the ones back home. But it struck me as funny that we were eating at a McDonald’s in China and jamming to Ricky Martin. Darci loved Ricky Martin, she danced, smiled and even had a good laugh!! She was very funny and cute!!! She refused to take a nap so the afternoon was a little rough at times. However, she has hated getting a bath but this afternoon we started playing with the water in the bath tub and eventually she ended up in the tub and had a great time; she did not even know she was getting a bath!! On a more serious note the other single mom (the mom is originally from India and is rather nervous)in my group took her daughter to the clinic today because she was congested. They told her that her daughter had a heart murmur. She came up to my room shortly after the visit, and was very upset, as I would be also. We all have a MD visit on Saturday and I am going to go with her to support her (she has no medical background) and answer any questions she might have as I am sure she will have more questions after the visit. How scary to be in a foreign country, not speak the language and have a sick child. The little girl is not blue, even when she cries-so that is good!! However, she is very quiet and a little pale. Hopefully, it will be nothing. Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou fairly late, so I do not think I will be able to blog until Saturday

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This morning Darci woke up fairly early (6am) and as she does not like the room very much we went out and took a walk. We found a different route that does not take our life in our hands when we cross the street. We travelled along a very busy street and I decided to take one of the side streets and came across a very nice surprise, a shopping courtyard that had music piped in with several elderly chinese folks doing their daily exercises. They were so in tune with each other, it was beautiful to watch. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures because I did not want to offend them but it certainly was a special moment for me (not Darci she was fussy, not enough action for her). There are about 5 other couples that also traveled to Nanchang. Thy are all so very nice and many of us are having the same issues with our children and it is a great support group!! There is a couple from Franklin, TN that are in my group and their daughter and Darci are about the same age, so hopefully we can get our daughters together when we get home. Many of us headed off today to a park called the People’s Park. It was very interesting in that there was many things going on. In one corner there was music and exercise, in another corner there were people playing a board game and then there was an area with water in which they inflate a ball a person gets in the ball and tries to stay up while on water (see photo). Darci is coming around a little each day, today we not only had a little smile but we also had a giggle!! However, that was short lived because this evening she had a temper tantrum that lasted over 1 hour. Thank goodness for Diane, I gave Darci to her and took an ice cream break! When I got back she was still crying but at least not a temper tantrum crying. We played with bubbles and that seemed to be the trick!!! She was very quiet and ended up over by one of the beds, Diane and I were talking and all of a sudden I hear a thump, she had fallen because she fell asleep standing up (no wonder why she was so quiet!!). I am really enjoying reading all the kind responses, it makes me feel closer to home!!!

Last night, Darci received her first bath-she was not a big fan of the bath!!  She is really good at going to sleep, she actually likes her crib more than anything-I think that she sees it as a safe place for her. Today we ventured out to a plaza area. We took our lives in our hands!!! They have torn up all the sidewalks and unlike at home there are no alternative routes so you walk on the uneven dirt and rocks. If that is not hard enough with a buggy you have to try and not get hit by the mopeds or motorized bikes that ride on the torn up side walks. I have been the only one brave enough or maybe stupid enough to do it but it is the only time that Darci is not upset, she loves riding in the buggy!! It is also a humbling experience to be a minority in a country and not be able to speak the language. Me and Darci get many stares but the Chinese people are very nice and I was even asked today by a Chinese man if she was my daughter. I thought that maybe he was going to tell me off but he was just curious, it was the first time that I have been asked about my daughter that I could officially call her my daughter (she officially became my daughter yesterday). Darci’s mood today is not unlike yesterday, mostly crying!! However, there are few tears! She is a strong willed little girl who wants her way. Unfortunately, she has a mom that does not really know what her way is yet. I do feel lucky even though there have been many tears because she is right where she should be for her age. She walks, likes to feed herself, and babbles. I can not say that about some of the other children. Most of them have attached to one or both of their parents (at this point Darci does not really want much to do with me-occasionally she will even turn her head away when I look at her). However, some of them that are older than Darci will not even stand on their own, do not feed themselves, nor do they babble. I have had several parents comment on how normal Darci is. These other children were raised in an orphanage, while Darci was raised in a foster home-I think this has made a world of difference. I do see some rays of hope, today she actually put her head on my shoulder for just a second, until she realized what she had done. We also saw a little split second smile. I have to be grateful for the small steps when they occur,as at this point they do not happen often. I have attached some pictures. The group picture is of some of us at a Pagoda in Nanchang, the rest are of Darci.

Well it has been and busy and interesting couple of days. We flew to Nanchang on Sunday, it was about a 2 hour flight and mostly bumpy-I think I am due some smooth flights!!! It is a little cooler but still very humid in Nanchang. Nanchang is mostly an industrial city, surrounded by mountains, and farm land (mostly rice). The farm land is mostly where these children are from, and Darci’s orphanage is about 3 hours from Nanchang. Once we arrived in Nanchang (there are 6 families that traveled here) we were brought to the hotel to unwind (like that was really going to happen). At around 3:45pm we headed over to the civil building where the babies were being brought to by the orphanage directors. 4 of the families were receiving their children from one orphanage and me and another couple were receiving our children from a different orphanage. We walked from our hotel to the civil building by crossing a busy street. While that might sound easy, it was not!! The Chinese may have traffic laws but I really think that they might be suggestions and not laws!!! Once we got to the civil building we went to the large room where the babies from the first orphanage (not Darci’s orphanage) were waiting. There were a lot of tears and scared children in that room!! After about 45 minutes we found out that the van carrying Darci was an hour away. So back we went to the hotel, crossing that busy street to wait a little longer. We went to our room and about 1 hour later we received a call to come to a conference room in the hotel. As I was walking down the hall I heard a child crying and she has not stopped much since then!!! Actually they handed her to me and she was very scared and tearful. We stayed in that room a while and then went upstairs to our room. She cried most of that evening but there were a couple of moments when we actually got her to smile!!! Bedtime was not too bad, she would not lay down so she fell asleep sitting down in her crib, I eventually was able to lay her down and she slept all night until 6am. Today we went back to the civil building (luckily we all got in a van and did not have to cross that busy street) and did some paper work. Darci cried most of the time there but once we got back in the van she quieted down. We then headed to the notary and some more crying and then eventually to WalMart-where she was quite content!! We are now back in the room resting quietly!! OK that would not be true-she just woke up, so a little crying is in order!! Leave it to the pediatric nurse to have the irritable child and no drugs!!!! Well I best sign off for now.

Well we are finally here in China. The trip went well, the flight was a little bumpy but I survived!  Today we went to The Great Wall, Forbidden Palace and Tian’an men square. They all were very interesting but very hot and humid! Tomorrow we are off to Nanchang (yes yet another airplane ride!!). I will get Darci sometime in the afternoon.

Well it is hard to believe that the time has almost come for me to leave for China. I will leave on June 16th spend the night in Seattle and then fly to Beijing on June 17th. I leave around 9pm (pacific coast time) and arrive 11:50pm Beijing time, on June 18th. June 19th is spent seeing some of the sights (Great Wall of China, etc). Then June 20th we leave for Darci’s province in southern China. I will either get her that afternoon or on that Monday. We will stay in the city of Nanchang for about 1 week then travel to Guangzhou for the remainder of the time. We will leave China and arrive back in the states on July 3rd!!

April 6th-Good News!!! Found out about Darci today.

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