Guangzhou!!

Our group - leaving Zhengzhou

We made it to Guangzhou!  It was an **exciting** airplane ride with LOTS of turbulence, but we arrived safe and sound. Gemma decided yesterday that instead of being glued to me outside the  hotel room, life is not so scary and she wants to walk. Everywhere.  It is pretty adorable to see a tiny little 18 pound girl holding your hand and keeping up with a group of 20+ people walking through an airport. She was glowing with excitement as her little legs were pumping along as fast as they could go.  We had to say goodbye to Vivian and Rita at the airport, and it was an emotional goodbye for me.  I could have taken a minute to just sit and cry my eyes out over all that had happened this past week..but it was on to our gate. 

We left the hotel in Zhengzhou at 12:30pm, and by the time we got the to Marriott in Guangzhou, it was 8:30pm.  Needless to say, my 2, no wait 3, children were literally running laps in the Marriott lobby.... it is hard to be too upset as they really have been troopers the whole trip.  But we were greeted by 2 new guides, including Jocelyn who had been with us three years ago with Evan, so once again, it was nice to see another familiar face.

First airplane ride - no car seats in China so lap child appears to be our safest bet :/

We are here in Guangzhou to complete the US side of the adoption - Gemma will have a brief medical exam for the U.S.on Monday, children over 2 will have TB blood draws :( , we will have an official appointment with the U.S. Consulate on Thursday, and we should receive her immigrant visa on Friday, so we can leave for home on Saturday.  All this work here means she will be a U.S. citizen when her little feet touch American soil. :)

Tomorrow is a half day of touring and shopping - hopefully we will get some better family pictures without our coats on!

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