Guangzhou Day 13 - Last Day

Hey, me again :>)  Today was an interesting day, but aren't they all?  We went to Shamian Island to do some shopping, and of course have lunch at "Lucy's" (famous for it's western food in the adoption community - they serve sweet tea in huge mason jars :>)  The kids were done shopping after about 15 minutes, so we did what we could, then headed to the park and let them play on the play ground.  They had a lot of fun, and we learned that Andrew is quite adept at climbing, jumping, sliding, ...  Here are a few pictures.

And then there was lunch at Lucy's.  We have two very different eater's among us now and it is hard finding a place that will satisfy both of them.  Hannah was very content with her burger and fries, Andrew not so much (though the fries seemed to be OK).  Of course it didn't help that he had a minor melt down just before our food arrived ...  Hannah now prefers Western food to Asian food; Andrew, of course, heavily prefers Asian food and noodles of just about any kind seem to be a favorite.  Here are a few pictures from lunch.

After lunch we said goodbye to 2 families who headed out today, then put the kids down for a long-deserved nap.  After nap time, it was time for "you yong", that's swimming in Chinese :>)  Unfortunately, the children's pool is still closed, but we had fun in the "big" pool.  Andrew was definitely feeling more comfortable with his swim ring and with me today, as he was jumping unafraid from the side of the pool into my arms - Lois was able to catch a couple of them on video.



A very trusting position ...



About the only place Hannah would sit on her ring :>)  Though today, she did walk with mama up and down the first three stairs into the pool.  This is quite an improvement.

We finished the day having dinner with some (now) dear friends who only live about 30 minutes from us -  how amazing is that!  They have adopted an 18 month old little girl, and Andrew has really enjoyed being around her (and all the other little girls).  You may remember that he had a younger foster sister in his home, so he is really drawn to other little girls (and he calls them "mei mei", which is little sister in Chinese).  We hope to see more of the Grubbs once we get home.

Andrew is quite the singer; in fact he likes to sing almost as much as Hannah does.  He has a favorite song that he sings all the time; according to Molly, it is a fairly traditional Chinese children's song.  The difference is that Andrew is also a bit of a ham, so it was fairly easy for Mama to talk him into singing it while I took some video :>)  So I leave you with Andrew's rendition of his favorite song.

Tomorrow morning at 10:30, we start our journey home.  We will take a van to our hotel in Hong Kong (more expensive than the train, but *much* less hassle - and with 2 young ones in tow, we are all about less hassle these days).  Spend the afternoon in Hong Kong (or as much of the afternoon as the kids can take), then head to the airport on Friday morning for our 11:00 flight to Chicago.

It has been quite an amazing experience these past 2 weeks; watching Andrew begin to adjust to us and his new life is both exciting and humbling.  He is quite the trooper - I can't even imagine all that he must be feeling and trying to process.  He has left everything and everyone he has ever known and has willingly (OK, sometimes unwillingly) accepted us.  He is an amazing little boy and we are truly blessed to be called his parents.  Have a blessed day - and maybe say a quick prayer of thanks for your family :>)