Day ?? in Nanchang!

When I woke up this morning, I didn't even know what day it was. Is it Tuesday...or is it Wednesday??? I had no clue. Then I figured it out. Wednesday. Today is Wednesday. So then what day is it at home? Tuesday evening. I was trying to figure it out so we could facetime with the boys. They were at Mimi and PawPaw's house for supper. It is so great to be able to talk to them two times a day. I don't know how I would be able to make it through these two weeks without talking to and seeing them. I miss them soooooo much!!!!

We did the usual....went downstairs for breakfast. Let me just say for all of you that don't know me that well. I am a VERY picky eater. VERY!! This week has been hard for me. I will be happy to never, I mean NEVER, eat a bowl of cereal again! *sigh* I am not adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. No thank you! ;)

Mary met us in the lobby at 9:00. I had told her earlier in the week that I would like to see a nearby village. So that's exactly where she took us today. The village wasn't too far from the city.

 An elderly lady let us walk into her home. This is her kitchen.

 And this is her living room.

 There is no electricity in the village homes and no running water.

 

It was quite interesting to see.

 

Next, we went to another park. This park was less crowded today than the park we visited yesterday. That's probably because it was quite cold and had rained earlier in the morning. And the wind was crazy! But we did get a few pictures.

 I loved these people! They were singing songs together. They had such a love for music. You could just tell. And there were quite curious about JuJu(Aubrey) and why we wanted to adopt her.

 



After the park, we walked to the Temple.

 Our guide, Mary, and her friend Wendy. They are both so sweet!

After the temple, Mary walked us to Pizza Hut. It was AWESOME!! Like I said, I am very picky! And this was no ordinary Pizza Hut.

Yes, that was a picture from Pizza Hut. After lunch we came back to the hotel for Aubrey's nap and some play time. Aubrey has started repeating some words we have been saying. She also brought her photo album to me. She can say Mama, Dada, Ethan, Bradley and Carter. Yay!!! :) It has been a great day! Only a few more and then we are off to Guangzhou!!

People's Park

Let me just start by saying....thank you Melatonin for a good night's sleep. It was amazing!!!

Mary, our guide, took us to People's Park today. No words, pictures, or video will do this place justice. It was absolutely amazing!! I found myself very emotional today as we walked through the park. This is no ordinary park. We spent about two hours here. I could have stayed all day. I loved it! This park definitely showed the culture here. The people here really embrace life. So much dancing, singing, playing games, etc. It was truly amazing to experience. Definitely unlike anything you would see in the US.

We have lots of video, but I was having too much trouble loading it. I'll try again another time.

After People's Park, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things we needed. And then we ate Papa John's for lunch. Oh, it was awesome!! Jeremy and I were both so happy to have some good food. And Aubrey loved it!! Probably her first time having pizza.

We came back to the hotel for naptime. Aubrey was back to her happy, giggly self. It's so great to see her that way. But it does make me sad to see the way she is out in public. I know it will take some time. I'm just enjoying her little personality when she is with Jeremy and me. She is such a litte chatterbox!

More sightseeing tomorrow! :)

It's official!! We have a daughter! :)

Today has been a great day! We spent the morning finalizing all the paperwork for Aubrey to become OUR DAUGHTER. After three hours and three different offices, she is ours!

Our morning started bright and early....again. But not because of Aubrey. She slept all night. I was so surprised. I just can't quite adjust to this time difference. We had breakfast downstairs this morning. Then we came back to the room to facetime the boys. I miss those three munchkins soooooo much!

Our guide, Mary, met us in the lobby around 8. I just have to say, Aubrey is definitely not herself when out of our hotel room. I don't even know the best way to describe it. She is very attached to us. She doesn't utter a single sound when we are in public, even when she is spoken to. She just stares. But the minute we walk back in our room, she is all smiles and giggles again. This is where she is most comfortable. Ok, back to our day. We went to three different government buildings today. We said goodbye to the orphanage director. He was a very nice man. He kind of reminded us of one of Jeremy's grandpas. He was talking to Aubrey and tried to see if she would go with him. She didn't want anything to do with that! Sure did make this mama feel good! :) We signed lots and lots of paperwork, took our pictures, had our interview, promised to never abandon her, and applied for her passport. Whew! What a morning!!

 



We were back in our hotel room around lunch. She was all smiles before we were in the room for a minute. She went straight for her toys. I fixed her some noodles for lunch. Girlfriend can eat!!! :)

We spent our afternoon playing with toys!

 

She loves all of her toys! They are everywhere!!

And of course, she had to have a nap with mama and baba(daddy)!

This little girl is truly amazing!! She is so brave, full of smiles, lots of laughter. She is just precious! And I thank God for her! She has come so far already after being placed in my arms yesterday afternoon. She went from a scared little girl to a little one who just ran up to her daddy with arms wide open ready for a hug. I can't wait to bring her home to her brothers.

Gotcha.....Forever and Ever!!!!

Everything is going well!! Aubrey is doing great! She is such an amazing little girl!! We couldn't be happier. We are very tired tonight so I will just post pictures. I will tell about Gotcha Day when I have time. Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. Keep them coming! :)