Days 11 & 12- Consulate Appointment and trip to Hong Kong

Well, the Consulate appointment proved to be a piece of cake. We were in and out in no time. Over a loud speaker we heard, "Would the parents of Chen Fu Mei please come to window number 32." Kevin and I were the first ones called to the little window where they ask you if all the info you've provided is correct. We arrived with our group, and of course, people were everywhere, so about a half million of us all took an oath together by raising our right hand saying all the paperwork we have provided is accurate and legal. Then we were called one family at a time to a window to complete everything. That was it. No questions asked. We were expecting it to be much different. I thought they would ask questions like why are we adopting, why did we choose China, etc. Nope. It kinda felt like we were just another number. At any rate, I am so glad to be getting my daughter out of here!

After that we went back to Shamian Park to take some pictures and explore a little more. We ate lunch with our group at a restaurant called Lucy's. Mostly a menu of western food. A lot of people really rave about this place. It was okay....we got cheeseburgers that were pretty good, but not like home! We crashed early after getting back to the hotel. I think I was still tired from the zoo excursion.

So today is Thursday, March 29 and it's about 1:30 in the afternoon. We are going back to the Consulate at 3:00 to pick up the children's visas and then taking about a 2 1/2 hour road trip to Hong Kong. They say Hong Kong is beautiful, but I'm not sure we'll see much of it. I figure it'll be nearly dark when we get there and we fly out of China tomorrow morning. Woo Hoo!!! Also, they say everything is more expensive in Hong Kong. I think years ago they sort of separated themselves from Mainland China. So for now, we're packed, I'm blogging and Maggie and Kevin are napping. On a sad note, I found out this morning that my uncle has passed away. He was the last sibling my mother had. His service is on Friday and we won't be home until Friday night. This makes my heart heavy for my mom and his family. He was my favorite. Please lift them in prayer.

I may or may not get to do a blog post tonight. So please continue to pray us home! For safety and our health (so thankful we have not been sick from anything thus far) and for Maggie as she meets everyone for the first time. Oh yes, we had another breakthrough yesterday! Every morning we have breakfast here in the hotel. And every morning the servers ask if we need a highchair. Have I mentioned she won't sit in anything but my lap? :-) Anyhow, the girl pushed a highchair up to our table and I turned to Maggie, pointed at the seat and she nodded "yes"! Hallelujah! I got to eat breakfast without getting greasy food dropped in my lap. She did also get in the stroller for a few minutes yesterday, but that's because we bribed her with ice-cream. So anyway, I'm still nervous about our car ride home, but I guess if I've survived this foreign country for 2 weeks and found that I have physical strength I didn't know existed in order to carry around our princess, I can surely survive a car ride home. Here's several random pics to share. She'll sit with Ronald even if she won't sit with dad, lol. Also, the pic of us getting on the elevator is to show you the cute panda on her tush. She has on her pink "squeaky" shoes as well. Too cute! Love to you all from Guangzhou. Next stop- Hong Kong!

Day 10- Xiangjiang Zoo

What a day! We've had a day of subways and lots of walking around a very big zoo. We said good-bye this morning to a few of the families in our travel group as they were departing for Hong Kong and will be headed for the USA tomorrow. The rest of us had a free day, so we took the children to the zoo. We had a lot fun, but we're sooo tired! And yes, I carried the princess on my hip most of the day. I am sore all over! She actually did do some walking around, though. Running is really more like it. There's a few pics here from today. She's constantly in action and is usually waving to a camera or a person followed by blowing a kiss. The pic where she is holding up her fists is something her daddy is responsible for! He's taught her to make a face and "put up her dukes". So now she just randomly does it. One of the pics with daddy is of them clowning around and the other is her brushing his hair.

So tomorrow (Wednesday) is our appointment with the US Consulate. Hopefully it will go quick and painless. Thursday we will pick up Maggie's visa and head to Hong Kong where we fly out Friday morning for the USA! I'm so ready to get home to my babies, MY bed, MY shower and MY coffee maker. A home cooked meal is at the top of my list as well! I'm so glad my kids are off on spring break next week from school. I plan to rest and be at home with them and find our new normal with a 2 year old. God timed their break and this trip perfectly!

There's a couple of things I keep forgetting to share....one is that it didn't take Maggie long to start calling us Mama and Daddy. Well, actually daddy in Chinese is "Baba". Anyway, one of the sweltering hot days that we were in her province and trying to find shorts for the guys and I had carried her all I could, I sat her down in a store. She didn't like one bit and started crying. I was hot, sweaty and not having a lot of sympathy in that moment. When the crying didn't work, she said "Mama, Mama!". Kevin and another mom with us turned around and together said, "Did she just call you Mama?". Don't worry, I picked her up after that. Another day we were enjoying one of our bumpy bus rides (not really) and Maggie and Kevin were monkeying around as usual. By the way, she seems to play with him a lot more than she does me even though she doesn't want him holding her. Anyway, she was trying to get his attention and he was ignoring her on purpose, so she just comes out with, "Baba, Baba!". We both were so surprised...and overjoyed!

I may have already said how blessed we've been to be with such a great group of families while we've traveled, but I'll say it again anyway. They're all Christians, we all have unique stories and believe it or not out of 9 families 5 of them have been to China at least once to adopt already. For one family from Texas this is their third time in China to adopt! Wow! I've been told adoption is addicting, but I didn't really believe it until now. I'm not sure what God's plan is for the Dyes with future adoptions, but I have witnessed first hand how we are called to care for the orphans in their distress (James 1:27) and how God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6). Last night, almost all the families had their kids out on the playground and before we left we had a time of prayer for our travels, our children both here and at home, for our new children's biological parents and for the kids who have to have surgeries or other medical procedures when getting back to the states. It was a precious time. A time we're so thankful we were a part of. Love to all from Guangzhou and Goodnight <3

Days 8 & 9- Shamian Island

Boy my days are really running together now! I'm trying not to get behind on keeping this blog each day so that a bunch of events don't run together. Sunday was one week that Maggie has been with us. She's went from a very shy and scared little girl to a smiling little monkey. I'm wondering if she thinks she's on vacation :-) I also have to say that she is so much more beautiful in person than any of the photos we have of her. She's absolutely perfect!

So Sunday was Shamian Island day. We attended a Christian worship service in Mandarin-English. It was held in an old chapel inside the park. The house was packed! There were people even standing out the door and in front of the church. They were able to listen to everything thru the outside speaker system. We recognized all the praise songs and the sermon topic was "Do you know Jesus?" It was wonderful to hear God's people praising him in another language.

The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping around. We got several neat things for Maggie and our kids at home. The best part was that everything was soooo inexpensive. Well, I tried to use a little tough love with Maggie to try to get her in the stroller. I finally got her in it, buckled and on the move. The bad part was she still screamed her head off the entire time. I let her cry at first but she was so upset I thought she might throw up. Yep, she won that battle once again. Please help us pray she will get used to things quickly. I'm still very worried about our 2 hour drive home from the airport in a car seat. She's pretty strong-willed. Our other children will be with us for the drive home as well. I'm a little afraid she will traumatize them!

So Monday was a trip back to the medical exam place to check the TB skin tests. Everyone passed with flying colors, yay!!! From there we went to a museum. I really don't remember the name of it, but everything was beautiful and Maggie enjoyed walking around in the courtyards. I'm surprised at the amount of attention she gets from the Chinese people here. If she notices they're staring at us she starts to wave and blow kisses. Too cute! And of course, the people love it. I've attached a few pics of Maggie in the courtyard and a couple from our room. She loves to play peek-a-boo from the bathroom. After the museum most of us went back to Shamian Island for a little more shopping. We ran out of time on the first day and this time we could take all the time we wanted.

When Monday evening came we had a breakthrough! She's actually let Kevin pick her up! Wouldn't you know I didn't have either camera with me? We got ice-cream and French fries from a McDonald's next door and headed for the playground at the hotel. We blew bubbles for a long time and she finally decided to swing and slide. During all the fun and running around she ran to straight to Kevin with her arms out. After that, he was toast! They spent the next hour with her running past him (thinking she was being sneaky) and he would scoop her up as she burst into laughter. Thank you, Lord for those moments :-)

Tuesday we have a free day and we're thinking of going to a zoo with a couple of other families. Wednesday is the big day for our Consulate appt. We're getting closer to coming home! We can't wait to get there! Love to you all from Guangzhou, China <3

Day 7- Medical Exam

Well, we made it to Guangzhou. It was way past everyone's bedtime when we got here, but it feels like we're in heaven compared to where we were! We are at the China Hotel Marriott and it is soooo nice. Our last hotel in Guiyang was most likely the best for that city, but Guangzhou is probably what I would picture Vegas to look like. Everything is big and lit up and it's so clean. They have warm weather year round, so all the flowers are in bloom and smell great. Everyone is Chinese, but they speak very good English. We are in good company as there are tons of American families here completing their adoptions. Needless to say we are much more comfortable here with these surroundings. There are plenty of Western restaurants to eat at and guess what the best part is? There's a Starbucks in the hotel! Yes, in the hotel! All we do is go down a few floors and place our order.

So today was Maggie's medical exam as well as the other children in our group. We were taken to the Guangdong International Travel Healthcare Center. Let's just say it was more of a nerve racking experience than a medical exam. There were masses and I do mean masses of people there. About half were Americans with their Chinese children and the other half were all Chinese. The actual "exam" consisted of a check of height, weight, vision, hearing, listening to heart and breath sounds and a TB skin test. So here's how this went....we were herded in like cattle to different stations where all these "tests" were done. Height and weight were taken so quickly I don't even think it was accurate. They told us she weighed 24 lbs. which I find unbelievable. She is tiny and I mean a tiny girl. The vision check was shining a regular flashlight in her face to see if she turned from it, the hearing check was a woman squeaking a toy to see if she turned toward the sound and the Dr. listened to her chest, measured her head and looked over her skin from head to toe. The last thing was the TB skin test which we go back to gave read on Monday. You know what my girl did at all of these stations? Screamed her head off! She did not want to be taken from me for one second. She thrashed and screamed so much for the nurses trying to get her weight that the girl finally had to weigh herself and then weigh again while holding Maggie. And yes, she had everyone's attention that was in our group. I hated that she got so upset, but I am glad to know we are attached. Even when the Dr. did her exam and tried to soothe her with toys, nothing worked. The poor guy just shook his said and said, "Ohhhh". Lol. We've seen so much of her personality come out. She's very shy for the most part, then again she's got a stubborn streak! She's precious no matter what. When she plays with her toys or when we're walking somewhere she sings to herself. I have no idea what it is, but it's heaven to us. She is more of a typical 2 year old than I thought she was at first.

After our exams, the guides took all the families in our group to lunch at a Cantonese restaurant. For us, and most everyone else, it was not good. We all were polite of course. I'm sure they just wanted us to try something out of the ordinary. Maggie pigged out! Evidently she is used to most of the food they served us. Hopefully she'll take to mashed potatoes, chicken and some Uncle Ben's when we get home! So tomorrow we go to Shamian Island. We've heard so much about it, so I'm really excited. We also get to attend a Christian Mandarin-English church service. I'll be sure to post on what that's like.

So here's a pic of some of our snacks. I just think the Chinese labels make it look kinda cool.

Day 6- Leaving Guiyang

Today we leave our daughter's home province. We're happy to be moving on, but it's a little bittersweet to take her from all she's known. Our flight to Guangzhou is at 7:00 tonight. Have I mentioned the weather here? We landed in Beijing to find snow and we landed here to find 70 to 75 degree days. The Chinese people have been all bundled up like it's winter and us Americans have just about melted! Mainly since we've walked almost everywhere and I've carried around an extra 20 or so pounds on my hip! :-) Lots of women carry babies in a sling, but with the heat, I figure it's the same as carrying her in my arms. Wouldn't you know our last day here it's only 42 degrees? Our guide, Michael, told us the name Guizhou means "expensive sunshine". Typically it rains a lot in this province and normally they never have sunshine more than 3 days in a row. He was right. The sun definitely shined on us while sight seeing. Guangzhou weather is supposed to be low to mid 70's while we're there also. Kevin and some of the guys in our group went out shopping for shorts. It was so funny the looks we got from the store workers. Not only did they think we were crazy, but most of them didn't even sell shorts! Well, Maggie is starting to come out of her shell. She offers kisses to both mommy and daddy now without being bribed and she is such a monkey at times! We've gotten lots of smiles and giggles since yesterday. She also likes feeling Kevin's whiskers and pinching his chin. Some things we'll just have to work on when we get home! Right now we're in survival mode and daddy will take whatever attention he can get. Keep on praying, though. She still won't let him hold her. Or sit anywhere but my lap :-) Here's a couple of pics from today and one pic from our tour of the Asian village yesterday. These are our guides, Michael and Kathy. They are both college students here are super kind and sweet! Kathy is so little and cute. She reminds me of the Skipper barbie doll. I told her she should come to America. We've also gotten very close with the rest of our group and their children. Everyone's stories are all different yet designed by the Lord for such a time as this. They have all become precious to us. Love to you all at home. Next stop- Guangzhou!

Day 5- Kisses for Daddy

A little bribery never hurts. Daddy got some kisses today with vanilla wafers and French fries. Her little personality has really came out this evening. We were out and about earlier and she was absolutely a monkey! So good to see her smile and laugh. She actually is already calling me mama and while we were in a store this evening, I pointed to Kevin and asked, "Who's that?". She said it was baba (Chinese for daddy). Don't stop praying for us, though. She still won't let Kevin hold her or sit in a stroller. I'm either going to have really big biceps when I get home or my arms are just going to fall off! Today we visited an Asian village that was 600 years old. The weather here today was wonderful about 70 for the high. Tomorrow we will have a little free time and then we fly to Guangzhou where we will spend 7 days for more appointments and getting her passport and visa and then we go to Hong Kong for one night then home sweet home. Please continue to pray for our kids back home, we miss them very much. FaceTime is good but it's getting old. Pray for us as we travel. Love to you all and good night from Guiyang China.

Day 4- She Smiles

Here's a few pics we took just today. The first one is of our Sleeping Beauty this morning. The next one is where she smiled and giggled a little playing peek-a-boo and the third one is daddy getting her to warm up to him a little with some French fries. Well, maybe the pics are all out of order. I'm still learning to blog on this crazy iPad. We have so much to share about our adventures here and plenty of pictures to post, but all that will have to wait until I get home and can upload them on the laptop. There's so much beautiful scenery here in this province and then again in most areas so much poverty. This is one of China's poorest places. We've gotten a lot of stares from people. Here we are...5 American families walking around with Chinese babies. Some people smile and wave, some just get right in your face and stare, some try to talk to you and some even point and laugh. I have to say, little Miss Maggie has got a lot of attention even among the Chinese. They comment on how cute she is and what a lucky baby she is to come to America. Little do they know, we're the lucky ones! Some of the old people get her attention by blowing kisses and waving to us. A LOT of people want to photograph you if you're American! I got a bit harassed yesterday at the monkey zoo. As I'm typing it's 4:00 in the afternoon here and 3:00 in the morning at home. Still so strange. We are going out with our group for pizza at 5:00. That and KFC are the only western places here and trust me, Chinese food gets old after one day! Love to all of you at home. Continue to pray for our safe travels and health. And especially Maggie bonding with Kevin. Also, she won't get in a stroller, highchair or shopping cart right now. I'm really afraid of the drive from Nashville to home. I figure she'll have a fit when I put her in a car seat. Please help us pray for that. Here there is no seat belt or car seat law. Well, good morning to whoever is reading and goodnight from the Dyes here in Guiyang.


This is the Lord's doing; And it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:23