Day 2 - It's Official

It's official!  
This morning we got up, ate breakfast, and then met our guide at 9:15.  She took 
us to the civil affairs office where we signed the paperwork and made it 
official with inking our thumb in the red ink.  They proceeded to ask us 
questions about caring for her and then we went to the notary office where we 
signed some more paperwork and answered the same questions.  It only took about 
an hour to do both and that included driving.  For those of you who haven`t been 
to China, the driving is like something I have never seen before.  I gasped so 
loud within the first minute of being in the van that he turned around to make 
sure I was ok.  Cars coming at you in all directions... want to turn left, ok 
just go, turn right in front of a car, no problem.  People on scooters 
everywhere!  They park wherever, however, block people in, its CRAZY!!  Im 
thankful to be back in the hotel and somehow I managed to not get car sick!  
After our two appointments our guide took us to Walmart.  It is 3 stories and 
they have people stationed in different departments to help you.  The "fresh" 
food is eye opening and NOT for the weak stomach.  Stuff I had never seen before 
and quite frankly I don't care if I do!  HA :) I'm trying very hard to be 
adventurous and to embrace the experience, but I think I'm failing.  I'm a 
creature of habit for sure and the whole food thing is very challenging for me.  

Chloe has handled everything very well.  She played yesterday, ate well, took a 
bath without any complaints and went to bed like a champ!  She slept this 
morning until almost 8 when we were making more noise to wake her up.  She ate 
some eggs and a little sticky rice for breakfast and even drank some milk.  She 
rode in the van without any problems today and no complaints.  She did want Jeff 
to hold her when we were in some of the buildings but other than that she acted 
like it was all no big deal.  She is not speaking (Chinese words) but makes a 
hum sound frequently and tries to say stuff but it is more of a sound than an 
actual word.  We knew all of this ahead of time though so we are anxious to get 
her home and get her started in therapy. We are the only family this week that 
is adopting so we are looking forward to going to Guangzhou on Friday and 
hopefully meeting some other families.  Not having anyone, anywhere that looks 
like us is weird... but gives us more of a understanding of how she might 
feel... we look different, talk different, and we are total strangers to her.  
We are resting in the room now and will go out later for a walk in the park and 
to eat dinner at a local restaurant.  The hotel provides a breakfast buffet in 
the mornings that has everything from danishes, to eggs & bacon, boiled eggs, 
soups, noodles, and even chicken feet.  There was all sorts of stuff that I was 
afraid to look at but the selection was quite large.  Yesterday we skipped lunch 
and ordered Papa Johns for dinner.  One medium cheese pizza was $21!  I thought 
that was a little much but since they deliver it to the hotel door maybe not.  
Thankfully I have a piece of pizza saved in the fridge if dinner is not ok.  :) 
I'm telling you I think I brought more food with me than clothes... ha!
Keep the prayers coming! Pray for continued peace and ease for Chloe and us and 
for our kids back home.  I am a little home sick and I have 13 days to go so I 
need to let go and let God!  He has carried us this far, he will carry us 
through to the end.  We are incredibly blessed that God has chosen us to be her 
parents, and although the road won't be easy, we know He will be with us every 
step of the way.  
I read this this morning and thought it might help someone else too...
Don't worry.  God is ALWAYS on time! TRUST HIM!
Much love to you all!
Jeff & Katie