Guangzhou (Jan 7)

We have made it to the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou!!😃 This morning after breakfast we had a little bit of time to get things packed before our guide drove us to the airport. He gave us Myla’s passport and made sure we had all our luggage checked and the right tickets. This was Myla’s first flight so I was a little worried about how she would do. She has been a little timid lately, but this morning she was much more quiet and very clingy to me and more less to Aaron. I think she was scared and realized she was leaving. I would love to be in her brain right now! So much change, confusion, and fear! Poor thing!!😕 On the plane, she seemed excited to sit in her own seat. She didn’t like the seat belt at first but eventually forgot about it. (In China they do not have car seats, so she always sits on my lap! So I wasn’t sure how she would do with sitting by herself) When we get back home I’m sure that will be a fun adventure!!) at take off she was a little startled but as soon as we were in the air she fell straight to sleep and slept the entire flight until we landed!! After we got our bags we met our final guide, Judy who took us to The Garden Hotel. This is a pretty famous hotel for adoptions. Most families will stay here if they are adopting a child from China. It is VERY large with a big lobby full of different stores and restaurants. There is also a big playroom for the kids to have fun! We got upgraded to a suite here so it is so nice to have a little more space!!! Judy took us to a really yummie Chinese restaurant just a few blocks away. We ALL ate very well and Myla showed off her chopsticks and noodle slurping skills (we didn’t know that she knew how to use chopsticks!😃) we just hung out in the room for the rest of the evening playing and coloring.

For the most part Myla is doing so well! (Especially for all that she’s been through in the last few days) She has only cried a few times and that has been when it’s time for bed. She will cry for just a few minutes and then calm right down. She’s very outgoing and we are beginning to see her stubbornness come out. She and Liam I think will be quite the duo when they get together!! She is picking up English quickly and likes to repeat what we say. There is still quite a language barrier but she is a quick learner. She knows mommy and daddy and all the kids names too! This morning we did FaceTime to the kids. When she said Owens name he said “ha she just said my name!!!!!”

The kids love her!! They like to FaceTime and talk to her. She sneezed and Owen says “aw I just saw her sneeze for the first time!” It will be so fun when they get to meet each other for the first time!!! They seem to be having a blast back home but do we sure miss them!! Looking forward to getting these last few days over with and back home.

Tomorrow is her doctors appointment and tb test. Apparently it’s a US rule from the consulate that we are not allowed to be in the room with her while they perform that test. (I guess they have concern we will switch the results) so I think that will be hard on her and us! So please be thinking of us tomorrow morning/evening. Once that is finished, we plan to do a little shopping and sight seeing in the afternoon.

Thank you all for all your sweet comments! You are the best! We can’t wait to get back home so you can all meet her! We think she is a doll and definitely think she completes our family!! We are still in shock that she is finally with us! We are just so blessed!!

Last two days in Guiyang (Jan 6)

Howdy y'all!!! I hope you are all enjoying the “brisk” Indiana weather right now. As I write this I have the window open in our hotel room because the thermostat apparently wants to keep increasing the temp. Last I checked it was 29 degrees Celsius and rising (too stinking hot for me). So I shut it off and opened the window. Now it allows me to hear all the sounds of Guiyang. One of which is a truck playing “it’s a small world” as it drives around town. I know what your thinking…why on earth would they have an ice cream truck going this late at night? Thing is it’s not the ice cream truck…it’s the trash man! Yup you heard me right, the Trash Man! Too funny!

Anywho, what have we been up to these past two days…well yesterday we had to go back to the welfare center to finish the paperwork. We got there around 9:30am and left around 12. After a quick lunch our guide, Jacky, took us to the local historical landmark in Guiyang called Joshua’s Pagoda. It’s apparently about 400 years old. It’s really pretty on the outside but it’s currently being renovated so you couldn’t see much. Then it was back to the hotel for an afternoon nap, dinner, and then some play time with Myla before heading to bed.

Today was our last day in Guiyang. The past several days have moved quickly. It’s hard to think that in a week we will be getting back on a plane to travel home. Today’s final adventures included a trip to Monkey mountain, which is another local landmark. The scenery is beautiful there, and the mountain is home to several hundred wild monkeys. Jacky did warn us that the monkeys are pretty brazen and are known to steal anything from people. Apparently they’ve been known to steal cigarettes and alcohol from people. Jacky explained that the monkeys even know how to smoke, and when they stole the liqueur they got drunk and fell out of trees. After seeing the monkeys I wouldn’t be surprised at what they can do. Today they’d stolen a bag of sunflower seeds from someone and they were eating them like a pro baseball player does. CRAZY! Our last stop today was at the local cultural center which has on display many artifacts from the minority tribes in China, and they also sell arts and crafts that are still being made by people in the minority tribes. To the best of our knowledge Myla comes from the Bouyei tribe which is the 2nd largest minority group. Everything was so beautiful. I wish you all could have seen the things made by the local artisans. Amazing!

Well that’s all for now folks. It’s time for me to get some rest. Good night!

Monkey Mountain (Jan. 6)

Today our guide took us to monkey mountain. It is a park with a big lake and several paths to the top of a mountain. At the top there is a big Buddhist temple that many visit to pray. There are also several hundred monkeys that live on this mountain! They were pretty fun to see up close! On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Guiyang culture center. We wanted to buy a few gifts for Myla that were from her home province. We are all doing well and she seems to be adjusting well. She has been a little more quiet today than yesterday. She also has attached really well to the both of us. She’s just the cutest! She is picking up English really well! Likes to repeat what we say:) Tonight is our last night here. We will fly to our last destination, Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon.

Video of meeting Myla!!

sorry for the delay everyone, but it took me a while to figure out how to get the video compressed and rotated for viewing on the web.  Here is the first meeting with Myla.  Both mom and dad somehow were able to hold it together ;-D

Myla's infectious laguh

While it’s not the video of our first meeting, I wanted to share her laugh and smile with you. It’s an infectious laugh! :-D

Gotcha Day! (Jan 4)

GOTCHA DAY!!!!  Words cannot express the joy in Anita and I’s hearts right now.  Our cups runneth over!!!!  Thank you Jet for the love you’ve shown Myla and how well you’ve cared for her.  I have a video, but it will take a while to upload and post.  stay tuned!

So I wanted to put a little more information behind the pictures that were posted a little earlier.  Today was our “Gotcha Day” for Myla, but that didn’t happen until around 2:30pm (while everyone in America was sleeping).  So that meant that the entire morning was free for Anita and I to do whatever.  So after breakfast she and I went for an adventure.  Or as Crocodile Dundee would call it a “Walk-a-bout”.  We walked down the main street in Guiyang until we found the park that our guide had mentioned to us.  The park was very peaceful, and it was situated right next to a river in the heart of the city.  It was very nice and there were several people there mostly elderly people doing “exercises”.  I say that because exercise for them could consist of playing cards with other friends, singing Music (an old man was rocking a Brittany Spears style of microphone singing to some chinese music), or using bull-whips.  The whips were probably the most interesting thing because they would use them to spin things that looked like tops.  

After our walk and a quick lunch we took some time to prepare some things for Myla.  A short time later it was time to head off to the welfare center to meet Myla, start the paperwork, and meet her caretakers.  We got there a little early which gave us some time to settle in.  When she arrived it was all I could do to keep the tears under control.  Anita did really well also, but she did look like she was about to jump out of her skin with how excited she was.  She was brought in by the people at the Starfish Foster Home (Jet is the owner of the foster home).  Jet was accompanied by several others.  You could tell that it was difficult for them to say good by to her.  We got to spend quite a lot of time with all of them, but at one point they were instructed someone that it was time to leave.  We also met the principle of the orphanage in Guiyang.  She was a very sweet woman, and our translator told us that after Myla’s adoption she would be retiring very shortly so she was happy to see her go to a nice family.

A short time later Anita and I finished signing several documents and then we loaded back in the van to go back to the hotel.  Anita looked so content to finally be holding Myla in her arms.  The Smits are now a family of 6!

Guiyang touring

Guiyang day #1 - we arrived in Guiyang around 3pm and went to our hotel to drop of our bags.  Then our guide, Jacky, showed around some of Guiyang.  We found a couple shopping malls and a Starbucks (very important).

Guiyang day #1 - after cruising through the shopping mall we walked into a local supermarket.  They apparently have a Walmart, but Anita and I were feeling adventurous ;-).  Suffice it to say we saw some really interesting things.