Last post from China!

Hello everyone. After having some technical difficulties with attaching pictures yesterday, we (insert computer savvy husband) have solved that problem.

Here are some random shots from the past few days. The boys are like peas and carrots. They actually have many similarities. They both enjoy eating fish, racing each other down the hallway to the hotel room, playing video games together, and just being boys. They are also both very meticulous (yikes) and it appears that we have another history buff in the family. Guohao is glued to watching war movies on TV.

Yesterday, we took our oath at the American Consulate. It went smoothly, but not so much on the way there. Our van broke down. In the fast lane of the expressway on an overpass. Something about the fuel gauge. So the driver was rocking the van side to side every five minutes, to Guohao's delight, and was continually unsuccessful in getting the van to start. The video game Frogger kept coming to my mind, as cars were flying by us, with an occasional honk. Like we planned on sitting in the left hand lane of a busy expressway while approaching rush hour. They immediately called for another van to pick us up. Now mind you, this is the one appointment that you cannot miss/be late for. The travel home could be potentially postponed. So, needless to say, I was praying (hard) for two things. One - please don't let us get smashed on the highway on the other side of the earth, and two - if we survive, please Lord get us to the Consulate on time. My prayers were answered!

Take note of the picture with the bugs. Those are water beetles. And yes, you can hand pick which ones you would like cooked and served to you. They want it to be fresh you know. Eric got scallops - Bill surprised him, but we found out later that they were fresh from the tank. Eric absolutely loved them, and I think he loved them even more when he found out they had been live creatures about 15 minutes prior to being in his belly. We really enjoyed that restaurant. There were fish in tanks that were just huge, and a live lobster that looked like it was on steroids.

This boy of ours makes messes. Here is a picture of the table after breakfast this morning.

Here are the pictures of our cute (in our biased opinions) kids on the red couch - a tradition amongst the majority of American adoptive parents.

We leave for home tomorrow. We are so excited. We are actually 96% packed already. We have had a wonderful trip here, with the other family, and with Bill. But the best thing of all is that we have a son.

Boy, will I miss Bill. And he is best buddies with Guohao. I asked Bill last night if any adoptive kid has ever talked to him so much, and he said no. (Guohao is the oldest child, and the first older boy that his been adopted through our agency.) He said that he is really enjoying Guohao. We can tell by the way that they interact, and the way Guohao will grab for Bill's hand sometimes when heading out the door. I am getting sad for them to leave each other as I type this. I told Bill I will email him pictures of Guohao growing up. I may just stuff Bill in our suitcase and take him home with us. If only it were that simple.

So, thanks to everyone for following our journey. We love you all, and you have been nothing but supportive of us. Adopting an older child is always filled with a fair amount of uncertainty, and God has given us a beautiful child. Again. I am forever grateful.

Sheri