Our Adoption Experience

DAY TWELVE: Guangzhou

We made it to the end of our last full day in China! Although tomorrow will be the longest day ever (39 hours long, with the time change), we are now less than 24 hours from being in the air headed back home! This is most likely the last update we will make from China and it may take a few days to post a final wrapup from home, but stay tuned...

Funny thing. After crowing about how absolutely wonderful and trouble-free the weather has been for us on yesterday's post, today was a cold and rainy day all day long, so it was back to jackets and borrowing White Swan Hotel umbrellas. This didn't "dampen" our spirits, however, as we came ever closer to the end of our trip. Today was our final interview and last major step in the international adoption process. This is where we all head over to the American Consulate office and each have an "interview" with a Consulate official to allow for the processing of Shane Fu's visa to allow him to leave China and enter the U.S.A. This step required some of the more meticulous documentation so we were expecting something a bit tedious and lengthy. Instead, it was a painless and quick deal, with only a few questions that were easily answered and a raising of our right hands and saying we promised to take good care of Shane Fu. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the Consulate, so there are no photos of that final "event." The completion of that step allows the visa to be prepared and they are to be picked up for our entire group at 3pm on Wednesday, allowing us all to "escape" and head to our homes with our adopted children!

After that, we got together for some group photos and then it was another lunch out at a "western" restaurant. While Shane napped in the afternoon, Dad hoofed it out in the drizzle through the markets and over to the closest thing we've seen of a "mall" (they seem to call most everything a 'department store' here) to do some shopping. For a Tuesday, there sure were a lot of Chinese people out shopping! He took a taxi ride back to the hotel and then we got ready for our final dinner out with the group. Our fearless leader Helen took us all to a closeby restaurant for...drumroll please...CHINESE FOOD! Everyone ordered drinks, but Helen ordered ALL of the food for our gang of about 30. It works so much better that way, since she knows what's good and then we just ask what it is before indulging. The question is whether or not she's telling the truth!?!

That brings another day to a close and we are so excited to head home tomorrow. We're on our own until 3:00pm when we meet Helen to get Shane's visa, and then pack up, check out (we don't have to checkout until 5:30pm) and off to the airport for our nonstop flight from Guangzhou to LA. We already have our boarding passes and seat assignments, so we're as ready as we can be. Our flight is scheduled to leave Guangzhou at 8:40pm (on 12/13) and arrive in LA at 5:30pm (on 12/13), yet it's close to a 12 hour flight. Pretty amazing. Hopefully given the time, Shane (and us) will sleep through most of the flight since it will be mostly during his normal nighttime sleeping hours. Since we won't arrive in Phoenix till late in the evening, though, it will be bedtime all over again! Let the jetlag challenges begin.

Please pray for our safety and for Shane's adjustment and our recovery. We can't wait for him to meet his brothers and Grandma's and to see his new home!

Today's Pictures:

	<- Another day at the beautiful White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou
We're borrowing a stroller AND an umbrella today. Shane loves both. ->
	<- Here is Shane with his harem. Actually, these are all the babies from our traveling group. Back row: Danielle Brister, Shane Horton, Sophia Dunn-Fox, Grace Whitler, Lian Anderson. Front row: Hannah Bailey, Sarah Haas, Juliana Scheidhauer, Sara Folk, Hannah Bond, Marlo Winters.
All the mom's join the kids. ->
	<- Shane discovers some entertainment in the playroom at the hotel.
The Last Supper. Helen orders up the local cuisine. ->