Thanksgiving - a day late

Chris has really gone above and beyond to make a special Thanksgiving Dinner for us. He and Tim got up bright and early to start cooking the two 15 lb turkeys. Roe and Roy made wonderful side dishes to go along with the turkey. They really went to a lot of trouble and I am so thankful.
Lilli cried some last night - She is probably overwhelmed with all the new faces and new sights. We had her in our room last night - a good thing being that her crying probably would have woke everybody up. She is having a great time playing on the floor with all of her new toys and family. Savannah has been a great help in getting her fed and clothed. Lilli can't crawl yet, Chinese people do not put babies on the floor so they never learn to crawl. They go from sitting to walking. We were all showing her how to crawl but she just looked at us like we were crazy.
We had a great dinner with the whole family, Roe, Roy and even Andrew's girlfriend Lindsay. She was kind enough to bring over chocolate covered strawberries. Andrew must have informed her of my addiction to chocolate.
It was the best Thanksgiving ever!! We have something VERY special to be thankful for this year.

Trip Home

We were up at 3:00 am to catch our ride to the airport, our flight was at 8:30. After the short trip to Hong Kong we had a two hour layover. Hong Kong is very beautiful by the way. Very green, mountainous and the water around the island was clear. We caught our next flight - Hong Kong to Newark at 11:30. This was a 16 hour flight. The only thing that kept our sanity was having the bulkhead seats with the bassinet. Lilli did not want anything to do with laying in the bassinet but it was great for storing her toys, food, etc. We tried to sleep during the flight, mom was able to sleep some and Lilli slept for about an hour but it was a VERY, VERY long flight. Lilli cried some but when I walked her around she settled down. The toughest part for her was the decent. I think her ears were hurting her and I forgot to keep a bottle out for her to suck on while we were landing. We landed in Newark about 1:35 for another two hour layover. I'm glad we had that much time to get through customs and immigration. We had to wait in the foreignors line to give the brown envelope to the officer. I was very nervous hoping that we wouldn't have a problem getting Lilli into the country. The officer was not very friendly so I was even more nervous. After about 10-15 minutes he stamped her Chinese passport and said we could go. Yahoo, Lilli is in the country. I don't remember much about the flight from Newark to Charlotte - I don't think I have even been so tired. We have now been up about 30 hours. I do remember it was a very small plane and Lilli was very cranky - who could blame her after such a long day.
Tim, Andrew, Roe and Roy met us as the airport. We needed two cars to get all of our baggage. I was anxious to see Lilli's reaction to Tim and Andrew. She had a great smile and went to both of them right away. We have two videos of the encounter - Roy and mom and I can't wait to play them back.
When we got home Gordon, Chris, Savannah and Christopher were there to greet us. Roe even made pasta for our dinner. We will have our turkey dinner tommorow - after a good nights sleep.
I truly enjoyed my time in China but there is no place like home. I am so thankful to everyone who has made this experience better and brighter than I could have imagined.

Consulate Appointment

The day we have all been waiting for has arrived. We had the consulate appointment today. I dressed Lilli in red, white and blue. I took pictures beforehand as no cameras are allowed inside the consulate. The ceremony was very short. They first called us up and we had to show our passport and the baby's face to the person behind the window to make sure we were the right people. After everyone had done this, the consulate person (not sure of title) came out and we had to take an oath for the babies. We then received the brown envelope that allows Lilli to come into the US and we were done. We are officially ready to come home. We had strict instructions not to open the envelope and give it only to the immigration officer in the US. When we got back to the hotel we started packing - we had to be up by 3:00am the next morning for our ride to the airport.

Buddhist Temple, Massage, and River Cruise

We had a busy day today starting out at the Buddhist Temple. The temple was nine stories tall and very beautiful. The Buddhist pray by burning incense and bowing with their hands clasped. I am not sure what the incense signifies but they have burners thoughout the temple. We also had our babies blessed by the monks. We all took our shoes off and sat on a carpet infront of the statues and monks. The monks started chanting and banging a drum. It was a very short ceremony and the guide said the monks are happy to give the blessings to children who would otherwise still be in an orphanage. After the temple we got foot massages. Only 15 dollars for a 90 minute massage - it was great!!! Mom babysat Lilli while Edith and I went. At night we went for a boat cruise on the Pearl River. We had a boat just for Holt adoptions. The lights and blitz of the buildings and bridges was incredible. They have an array of colors and designs. We also had Papa John's pizza onboard!! Lilli loved the breadsticks.

Medical exam and Red Couch Photo

We took the babies for their medical exams today. They took temperature, weight, height and looked at her ENT. There were three different stations and it didn't take long. Lilli was sleeping when we got there and she did great throughout the exam. She didn't cry, she was just looking around wondering what was going on. We had lunch with another mom and baby at the Thai restaurant again. In the afternoon we dressed the babies for the red couch photo. It was chaos, I'm not sure how they took a group picture, there were babies going every direction. Lilli did really well, she sat next to Lexi who fed her Cheerios the whole time so she was happy. She was even able to sit up the whole time without falling over. I was very impressed. After the photo we had a tea party in the hotel. They had lots of sweets and delicious desserts. The babies looked so sweet in the traditional Chinese clothes. The other Lily is doing much better now. Her parents took her to another doctor - the fourth one and he gave them some antibiotics. She is more active and we even got some smiles out of her. By the way, I'm not sure if anyone has been sending comments, unfortunately I can't view them. Blogger is very tempermental and sometimes it is difficult to even post. I hope everyone is able to see the pictures and see how adorable Lilli is.
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Church and Zoo

We went to the Shamian church this morning and it was packed. I was amazed at how many Chinese are practicing Christianity. There was a lot of singing - even in English. The people were so very friendly and welcoming to newcomers. After church we went to the zoo. It is quite large but the animals are kept in very, very small cages. The panda was inside its' cage and we couldn't see it - very disappointing. The babies loved seeing the animals running around. In the monkey exhibit they even had a family with small children inside the cage feeding the monkeys. It did not seem very safe or sanitary. After the zoo we went to a Thai restaurant on Shamian Island - it was very good but very crowded. We really like Shamian Island - it is very quiet and very western.
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Visa Pictures, Pearl and Jade market

We got Lilli's visa picture made today. We also walked around the shops close to the hotel. We are getting much better at bargaining. In the afternoon we headed to the pearl and jade markets. Pearls are a big commodity here and the jade is very beautiful. At night we took a taxi to the local Pizza Hut - it was just like home.
Lilli is really blossoming. She is now rolling over at will and loves to play on the bed playground we made her. She can almost pull herself up to sit and loves for us to stand her up while holding her. She will eat anything I give her. I have tried all types of baby food and she loves it. Apples get a funny reaction from her - she shivers and blinks her eyes as if the apples are really sour. It is very cute. I can't believe how blessed we are - she is so happy and healthy.
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