Back to China: Tuesday - September 11

We were up at the crack of dawn this morning! Hearing the alarm go off at 6 AM was not fun! Got the kettle boiling straight away fro my very necessary coffee! Got my shower and made my coffee so I could get ready.Then we woke up the boys while Kevin was getting his shower. Waking them up before they are ready to get up does not make for happy campers! Finally made it for early breakfast and got everything ready to leave for our consulate appointment at 8:30. Amy drove us in her car so we were very comfy. Got to get sworn in with the AWAA Gansu family today. We were the first family called up so we were not there for very long. After we got back to the room we let the kids play for awhile and then it was nap time. Jonathan had his first big melt down. He cried and screamed for 45 + minutes before he finally fell asleep. He was so tired. I can't believe he fought it for so long. Poor baby.
Kevin went to the 7-eleven and got some more bread for sandwiches for lunch. Can I say how much i love Jif to go?! We also had some Lays cucumber potato chips to go along with it.
They started getting stir crazy mid afternoon so we went to the outdoor playground on the fourth floor. Jonathan finally figured out the slide and had fun. They also checked out the swings for a short period before we went to the the other 4 families who were heading to Hong Kong today after they got their brown envelopes and children's passport with their US Visas. We will not get ours until tomorrow around 4 pm and then we'll be heading to Hong Kong via private van.
We met another AWAA family today. They were in Beijing and came into Guangzhou yesterday. They got their daughter Lan Lan yesterday and had their civil affairs appointment today. They will be here for the rest of their stay.
It was sad to say good bye to our travel buddies today. They have been a great group and very supportive. The kids have all played well together. We wish them all safe travel, a great bonding and attachment process and good health. Hopefully, we will all be able to see one another once again in the future. I wish the same for the first group we traveled with 4.5 years ago. I truly miss them all. They are all family to us now. Once you have gone through this process together there is a special bond that will last a lifetime just like the invisible red thread that draws us to China and our children.
Thank you Lord God for all your many blessings. I thank you for my dear family and friends but most of all for the gift of salvation which you so freely gave.
Love to you all. We are trying to keep them up a little later tonight so we can sleep in in the morning. Hopefully we will be going to breakfast a little later and then spend time packing before leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.

Lisa