Last Day in China

We finally had a slow morning where we could just chill. We woke up  after 8am, thank you Jesus! Grabbed breakfast with Chris, and the he headed out for an adventure with one of the guys, while the girls and I hung out and packed.

After breakfast our hotel has this amazing after fall and garden area with a coy pond. We headed out there for a bit and fed the fish and hung out with our friends.

We ran over to Starbucks to get our Guangzhou mugs, and then started the arduous task of packing up all the crap. Much of which Naomi had so graciously strewn about everywhere. She’s the cutest little terrorist.

While we were doing that, daddy was off having a crazy adventure of his own. He went up to the very top of the Canton tower, one of the tallest buildings in China. It’s one of the top 5 tallest buildings in the world.

So of course my husband had to go up it. And then once on top, he thought it would be a great idea to do a drop zone ride at the top of it. He’s crazy, but he loved it and had fun. When in Rome/China.

We have all our luggage packed and will catch a bus to Hong Kong with two other families. We’ll have to go through customs, and it’s a long drive, so we won’t be in until late tonight, and then early we will head to Disney! Woo Hoo!

Just wrapping this up before heading to bed in Hong Kong. Quite the adventure getting here! Two rounds of customs. Pretty sure the Chinese Jason Bourne drove our van. About 100 mph the entire way, swerving in and out of lanes, no cruise control, very jerky. But we arrived.

I could write a whole blog post on bathroom experiences with the girls. Two words for EvaKate: squatty potty. With a five year old. The end. Also, China doesn’t have changing tables. So I’ve changed Naomi in my lap in a bus, van and car. On a bench in a mall. On a chair in a medical office. Standing up on an outing. Outside a restaurant by the kitchen. I’m like a ninja diaper changer at this point.

Hong Kong is amazingly beautiful…wish we had more time here! Also, our first experience with driving on the wrong side of the road.

Looking froward to Disney, but not to saying good bye to good friends in the morning, and again in the evening. I remember around the time we started this adoption process, one of my biggest prayers was for more real, authentic, deep community.

It’s interesting that the giant leap of faith God was calling us to, would also be the way He would choose to answer that prayer. I’m so grateful for the people that this process had bonded us to, both adoptive parent veterans, adoptive parents we’ve walked through this process with, and the people that have supported us so much and cheered us on as we walked through it. It’s quite literally made it possible.

I’m getting a bit anxious about returning to normal life too. I’ve figured out how to parent Naomi living out of suitcases and going from appointment to appointment, but figuring out everyday life seems like another hurdle. I’ve also really enjoyed having Chris around all the time. It can be hard with him traveling, and then our hectic lives. It’s been amazing to totally nail this thing with teamwork. Will miss having my other half around when we get back.

Life has seemed to sort of stand still while we are in China. We’ve been blissfully isolated from the shootings, and political insanity that has dominated the American media. It’s been really nice. I have so many thoughts on culture and worldview I hope to have time to process and share in the weeks to come. As always though, it generally boils down to love.

It’s what got us in to this, gets us through and makes everything all right. The Beatles nailed it…all you need is love. Can’t wait for love to make us a complete family!