It’s Thursday. We flew solo today—no other family to hang out with. It was sort of a test for us, and a good chance for us to see how Annabelle would react without Lauren around.
We passed!
It was a pretty fun day, actually. We did all the normal stuff. Breakfast buffet, a cab ride back to the shopping district, a walk under the street to the park. Annabelle smiled a lot today, and seems genuinely excited about our big trip tomorrow.
Kim didn’t get her nails done the other day, so she treated herself to a little girl-time this afternoon. Annabelle didn’t want to stick around and watch, so I showed her how to play Yahtzee on my pda. She didn’t completely understand, but she had fun playing. She jumped up into my arms as we were headed out for the park—that’s a first! She’s been much more likely to hold Kim’s hand than mine. I offered to carry her on my back, and she allowed it, at least to the door…
Annabelle snapped a lot of pictures over the past 10 days. I’ll probably create some sort of album for her. She’s pretty sharp, and like most of our pre-teens, has all the electronic stuff figured out before we do. Kim’s had Annabelle teach her some things about her camera! Here’s a shot of us that Annabelle took. It’s in the park, across the street from the hotel. They’re in the middle of a huge city-wide renovation, getting ready to host the Asian Games in 2010. The work they’ve done just in the last week has been amazing.
We ate our final meal in the Chinese restaurant tonight. Annabelle ordered the honkin’ huge rice noodles again. I don’t know if she’ll ever eat them again. Can we find those in Happy Valley? Our taste buds have had a great time here in Guangzhou, that’s for sure!
Here’s the main thing we’ve been after this week, aside from Annabelle herself. What you’re seeing here is Annabelle’s passport, visa, and immigration papers. We have to give the brown packet—unopened—to the officials at Annabelle’s port of entry. And can you think of a better place to become an American citizen than Newark? She’ll need a new passport, issued by the US gov’t, if she wants to travel internationally.
We already talked to the kids tonight, and Annabelle has been scrubbed and bubbled clean, from the top of her beautiful head to the bottoms of her little feet. Kim and she are headed to bed, and I’m not too far behind. Thanks for praying for us while we’ve been here. We should be home tomorrow night!
5 Comments
Edie · January 28, 2010 at 11:40 am
More tears from me over these entries guys-yikes! Delma and Sadie and I had some shopping ourselves to welcome Anabelle home. See you soon! And I think those big noodles can be found at the Noodle Bowl on College Ave. Almost authentic…Snow and COLD will be greeting you!
Jo Ellen · January 28, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Can’t wait to you return and to meet Anabelle. We have been praying for you each day and I have looked forward to waking up and following your journey. It has been so awesome to watch God anwer your prayers each and every day. So many people have been asking about you. You are so loved. Safe travels my dear friends.
Melinda · January 28, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Alayna really likes her striped leggings. Alayna says, “I love you – give hugs and kisses. I hope you have a good trip home with your mom and dad. Don’t get any scary nightmares.”
The rest of us are just SOOOOOO excited too. love you guys!
Mel
Laura · January 28, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Can’t wait to see pics of the “complete” family!
Been enjoying your posts! : )
Matt H · January 29, 2010 at 12:13 pm
isn’t it just called a “restaurant” there? . . . and what do they call the really fancy dishes? these are the things that keep me up at night.
I’m a little worried that Annabelle’s first glimpse of America will be Newark, NJ . . . you should blindfold her until you get to PA . . . (not in a scary way . . . in a “you’re in for a big surprise” kind of way.
Just my two cents.