To Guangzhou...

We started out the morning fresh. I felt so at peace walking through out Kawloon park this morning while so many people gathered for their Tai Chi. We all got a good night sleep. Unfortunately, Andrew has gotten an ear infection. And later in the day Jordan's pork sausages he had for breakfast didn't sit in his belly for long. But within minutes after tending to those concerns, we were off to the train station to Guangzhou. The train was smooth and went fast though it was 2 hours. We saw a lot- we are amazed by the levels of poverty and wealth. I know that is present anywhere, but it breaks my heart to see. The average house sleeps many and averages 800 sq ft and Shell was saying the average income is 120 yuan per month which is about $20. After going through customs (again) we were off by taxi (not really sure it was a taxi but the guy did a good job getting us to our hotel!) The "taxi" driver talked as i do to people who don't at first understand me, he just repeated the same thing over and over until I nodded. I did eventually think I understood much of what he was saying and was thankful he was showing me certain area we did not want to be but much of this area is nice. This is the place adoptees need to come before they leave the country so we saw many families here today. And at last, Shelly, Madeline, and Eli! What a great first impressions of this boy. He just jumped right in with the boys and played well. We went to a park...they played soccer and catch with some baseball gloves...they seemed to be the hit of the park with audience members taking pictures. A couple even stopped Andrew to take his picture- he wasn't quite sure why and why the woman wanted to pose with him. This city has beautiful parts to it, it is an island right along Pearl River. Again, completely American, had subway for lunch/dinner. And just lots of playing while Shelly and I got caught up. Tomorrow it sounds like we may be headed off to a Safari Zoo. Andrew and Jordan have already dozed off from the busy day. This hotel is very nice. I will post pictures later as my phone is charging. Of note, I haven't been able to figure out how to dial out on my phone from this place...it must use something different, I'll figure it out by week's end I am sure.
Peace.

Park Day

What a beautiful day it was. We had an interesting time sleeping last night. Once again, Andrew seemed to run away with the most time. But it seems to not matter once the sun comes up. We ate an early breakfast...very American style cuisine though there were other choices. Mid morning we ventured to the park...wow! Were we lucky! It was just gorgeous. We know Grandma Sue would have loved the flowers and the birds. This park has so many things to do...I loved watching the people all over do Tai Chi. Jordan certainly loved the turtles. Andrew seemed to like running around with a bunch of kids at the playground area. It's an amzing thing being the minorty here. The people are so friendly. I wish I could at least attempt some of the language but so far english seems to be known enough by most to communicate what is needed. And, figuring Jordan and Andrew do not need their worlds completely flipped upside down, we ate at McDonalds for dinner tonight. We are now going to lay down. The train will take us to Guangzhou tomorrow at 10:30 am. We want to head back to the park before leaving and then pray for us, we need to take a taxi to the train station- these drivers are dangerous!

Love to all...and kisses and hugs.

J,AJ, and Mom

We made it!

The best part about today was when we landed safely. The hardest part was when we were talking to dad because we were trying not to have tears. - Jordan

the best part of the day was talking to dad on the skype. the hardest part was not having a pool.- Andrew

Well, there you have it from the 2 polar opposite children. I think we are all a little over tired at this point...finding a position to sleep on the plane was interesting. Andrew wins with the most time- about 7 hours, followed by Jordan with 4-5 and a distant third Mom with none.

This place is amazingly populated...I cannot imagine this type of living. I made sure to point out to the boys the skyscraper like looking buildings that are basically one room homes. I have to say it seems quite dirty...busy. When we passed a wooded like area, Jordan cried out "there's a place we can take a walk Mom". I hope to find a park (saw one for a second driving through town- smack dab in the middle of town) and I am sure we will do some shopping tomorrow. Then it is off to the train on Saturday to meet the Waalas- I cannot wait for that! Jordan really needs some company though Mom and Andrew sure are trying hard to put a smile on his face...Andrew doesn't have to go out of his way though, as seconds before i sat down he screamed for me to come in to the bathroom where the bathtub was overflowing! And that wasn't why he yelled... he wanted goggles followed by showing off how he could do push ups in the tub while the sides overflowed. Yes, a smile on Jordan's face!

Here are some pics on the plane ride...what beautiful boys!

Preparation

We are pretty much set for the trip...Bella and Tuffy will be missed. It's a wet rainy snowy day in Kewaskum. We can't wait for warm weather when we are there...we saw 80 and sunny on the weather forecast!

March Madness

Tomorrow marks the first day of March. This means we are on our final stretch before our trip to China. Why China? Because we will be getting a new cousin. Our Aunt Shelly and Uncle Dave have adopted a boy from China. They already have 5 children so this will be 6! One of the 5 is already from China- Mia. She has been with them for 2 years. Elijah is the boy they will be adding to their family. Eli will be in kindergarten when he comes back to the States.

We are going to be meeting Aunt Shelly, Cousin Madeline, and new cousin Eli over in China. Mom figured we may never get this chance again. It makes us excited and sad at the same time. Excited because we have never been there. Sad because we know we will miss our Dad, family, and friends. We wanted a way to let you know how we are doing on our trip. We hope to blog daily. We also hope to skype people that we know while we are there.

Here is what we know so far- we leave March 11th. The trip on the airplane will take 15 hours. The town we will land in is already 14 hours ahead of us. We will let you know when we get there!