Gotcha Day Anniversary

Elizabeth always likes to view this video of Gotcha Day.

Pumpkin Festival

We visited the Pumpkin Festival in Katy, TX. As you can see from the picture, Elizabeth is dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Vacation In Orlando, Florida

Selina had a medical conference in Orlando, FL and Helen and the kids went with her. This is the second time that the boys went to Orlando, and Duo Duo's first time. Unfortunately, Simon had to work; it's year end for his firm.

Everyone had a great time and enjoyed visiting the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Sea World. Jonathan and Joshua bought Duo Duo a little Mickey Mouse toy. How so sweet of them!

Maybe in a few years, our group from Chongqing can have a reunion of Orlando. That would be so nice!

Bluebonnets In Texas

Yesterday, we went out the Brenham Texas to see the bluebonnets in full bloom. Brenham is small Texas town about 80 miles northwest from Houston and is known for the bluebonnets and ice cream. Blue Bell Ice Cream is headquarterd in Brenham. We had lunch at a local restaruant call Must Be Heaven. We eat some deli sandwiches topping off with a slice of homemade pie and some delicious Blue Bell ice cream. We took a stroll around main street visiting several of the local shops and antique stores. We headed home back to Houston for the baseball game. Simon's sisters was given some near the dugout tickets to the Astos games against the Florida Marlin at Minute Maid Park. The weather was just absolutely beautiful - 70 degrees.

Spring Break In Colorado

Helen, Jonathan, Joshua, and baby Elizabeth went to Colorado for spring break accompanied by Simon's sister Selina and Simon's mom. Unfortunately, Simon was not able to go.

We arrived in Denver on Saturday, March 15 and were able to meet up with Alan and Xiaoli Polonski and their one year old Yanzi. Alan and Xiaoli were part of our travel group 1274 in Chongqing. We had a great time visiting and catching up.

Later, we headed to Vail, CO which is about a 2 hour drive from Denver. We stayed at condo and had a fantastic time. Selina's high school friend and her husband live in Vail, and we were able to spend some time with them.

The boys took snowboard lessons and had a dandy time playing in the snow. Even, Duo Duo got into the act. She loved playing in and touching the snow. See the bump on nose; that's from scapping on the ice. Ouch!

In Houston, it's very rare that we get snow. So, it's a real treat for us.

On our way to the airport on Wednesday, we were able to visit CCAI. The picture on this posting is with Joshua Zhong, the director of our adoption agency. He and his wife Lily started this agency back in 1994 and have placed over 7,800 children from China. We are so glad that we had the opportunity to meet with them and visit the office and the staff.

We are glad to be home now.

Happy Birthday Duo Duo!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth - 1 year old.

Special Singing Lotus Flower Candle purchased in Chongqing, China

Elizabeth in her Chinese vest and hat.

Re-Adoption

On Friday, February 8, 2008, we went to San Antonio to complete the re-adoption process. A friend who also had adopted a baby girl from China recommended that we go through this attorney in San Antonio. It worked out very well. Not only was the process smooth, it was relatively inexpensive. Simon took a day off, and we drove up to San Antonio and back on the same day.

Duo Duo continues to do well. She is now walking and can even climb up the stairs. She babbles and is accustomed to eat table food. She likes mangoes, rice, and goldfish. She has acclimated very well to life here with us.

Welcome Home Baby Shower

Baby Elizabeth (Duo Duo) has been with us in the U.S. for more than two months. We can't believe it. How time just flies by.

The day before New Years Eve, Duo Duo was admitted to the hospital due to a high fever and shortness of breath. We found out that she contracted the RSV virus which effects one' respiratory system. Helen stayed with her for two nights. After receiving breathing treatment, fluids, and antibiotics, she was discharged on New Years Day.

Duo Duo is acclimating very well to life in the U.S. She does like to eat table food of all sorts such as chicken, watermelon, yogurt, mandarin oranges, and rice gruel. Of course, like most American kids, she prefers to eat junk food such as ice cream, Cheetos, potato chips, and french fries. We try our moderate her intake of such unhealthy food.

When we were in Chongqing, Duo Duo was already standing and crawling. A couple of weeks ago, she started taking her first steps! Today, she's walking about 10 steps.

Duo Duo loves her brothers. When they come home from school, she screams and flaps her arms. Duo Duo also greets Daddy with a big smile when he walks through the floor after returning from work.

In the middle January, we did receive Duo Duo's citizenship certificate. After that, Helen went to the Social Security office to apply for her number. This Friday, we'll be heading to San Antonio for our re-adoption appointment. After that, we'll receive her Texas birth certificate.

On January 20th, several members of our church hosted a welcome home / baby shower party for Duo Duo. There were over 20 ladies who attended this event. Everyone had a lot of fun. And, there was plenty of food.

Christmas In Katy, TX

We celebrated Baby Elizabeth's first Christmas in Katy, TX. All the Lin family members got together for the Christmas Holiday including Simon's brother Steve and his family who drove in from Austin, TX.

On Sunday, we went to Second Baptist Church and attended a traditional Christmas service. The music was wonderful, and Pastor Ed Young gave an inspirational message. We were also impressed by all the Williamsburg gingerbread houses that were displayed around the church lobby. They even brought in a snow machine. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the snow. Even, Elizabeth got into the action. She was very fascinated by the snow.

On Monday afternoon, Simon and the boys took Elizabeth outside and played in the driveway. The temperature that day was around 70 degree Fahrenheit. Elizabeth loved going outside. The boys pushed her around in her little scooter and buggy car. She was laughing and smiling and having a dandy time.

On Christmas day, we opened our presents. At first, Elizabeth was more interested in eating the wrapping paper than playing with her new toys. Later, we went to Ocean Palace to eat Chinese Dim Sum. It was delicious.

A Week Later

It's been more than a week since we have returned from China. All of us including baby Elizabeth have finally acclimated to the time change.

Baby Elizabeth (Duo Duo) seems to be adjusting well. She likes her room and all her new toys! Over the last few days, she has been sleeping through the night which is really a good sign.

Duo Duo responds well to strangers. We have brought her to church over the last couple of weeks and she doesn't mind being held by several of our church friends (as long as she is not too tired). Last week, Helen brought Elizabeth to Selina's office. Again, she responded well to all the new people. Also, it was first time that she ever interacted with a Hispanic or African American person. In Dianjiang, you don't see too many foreigners (whites, African American, or Hispanics). She seemed to react very well to everyone.

Baby Elizabeth loves to go out. Several times, Helen has taken her out to shop at Wal-Mart and Katy Mills Mall. She gets very excited every time that you put on her coat.

Our boys have really enjoyed having a baby sister around. They love to play with her although at times she can get very squirmy.

Duo Duo has also responded well to the boys. She gets very excited every time that the boys get back from school. She starts smiling, flapping her arms, and kicking her legs.

Simon returned back to work last Monday. It was a hectic work week for him catching up on all the e-mails, following up on sundry issues, and preparing for a meeting with the CFO on Wednesday.

Helen has been busy getting ready for the Holiday Season - putting up the Christmas tree and ornaments, making Christmas cookies, and writing Christmas cards.

Many of our friends from our travel group have written to us via e-mail since our return. Like many of them, we miss the fellowship and camaraderie. We can't exactly explain this phenomenon, but there is tremendous bonding that occurs during those two weeks among the families. We are like a big family. We look forward to the day that we get together again; we'll be laughing, crying, and reminiscing about all our experiences during those wonderful two weeks.

Home To Houston

At around 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning, we checked out of the hotel. After a quick breakfast, we (including 3 other CCAI families) boarded on the bus to the airport. Our flight to Hong Kong was scheduled to depart at 9:30 a.m. We checked our bags and went through security and customs without any issues. Thank God!

Our flight to Hong Kong was about 35 minutes. In Hong Kong, we would be catching our connecting flights back to the U.S. Three of the families (Chen's, Lim's, and Lin's) would be on the same flight to San Francisco on United Airlines; the other family (Chan's) would be headed to Los Angeles.

In Hong Kong, we had about a two hour layover. We said goodbye to Mike and Tammy Chan and family as they were headed back to L.A. on a different flight. We grabbed a quick lunch and boarded the plane.

The flight to San Francisco was about 11 hours long. We arrived around 8:00 a.m. local time. The flight was without any major incidents. It was just very hard to sleep on the plane. Baby Elizabeth (Duo Duo) did fine. The only downside was that our video projection screen on our side of the aisle was not working, so we weren't able to watch the movies. No big deal.

Upon arriving in San Francisco, we went through immigration and customs. Again, we had no problems getting through. Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your prayers. We said goodbye to Peter and Janet Chen and their family and Phong and Vania Lim and their son Logan.

Our flight to Houston was smooth sailing. We arrived in Houston around 5:00 p.m. local time. Simon's mom and uncle came to pick us up. We got back to the house around 7:00 p.m. Praise God for his protection.

Our boys, Jonathan and Joshua, were happy to see us and their new baby sister Elizabeth (Duo Duo). Duo Duo seems to be adjusting well to the new environment.

We are getting over the jet lag and the sleep deprivation. Simon will be back to work on Monday.

Visa Issued Resolved - Going Home

At about 7:30 p.m. local time, we received a phone call and the great news from our CCAI representatives, Grace and Kathy, that Duo Duo's passport's visa had been issued! Praise God!

Grace and Kathy brought up the passport and visa package at around 7:45 p.m. They told us that the consulate was able to figure out the system glitch. Again, praise God! They were so happy for us and hugged us. They were worried about the situation. During our conversation, Kathy said that she believed that it was power of prayer that brought the visa issue to a resolution. Indeed, God has used the situation to testify about his power and might.

We shared to Grace and Kathy of how Simon's grandma would always pray when facing an obstacle or trial. Grandma prayed when she brought Selina and Simon to the U.S. over 40 years ago having limited English and never having flown on a plane. God is really good! We really rejoice in Him! Duo Duo can now go home with us!

And, thanks to the many of our friends and family in Guangzhou, Houston, Memphis, England, and other localities who have been praying for us. We firmly believe that the collective prayer support and God's goodness helped resolved our situation.

We are now packing to go home. We pray that God will give us safe travel back. And, by God's grace, this should be our last posting here in Guangzhou. Again, praise God! Praise God!

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for a safe return home without any additional hiccups. And, pray that Duo Duo will do well (and not be too fussy) on our long flight home.

God bless you. Zaijian (goodbye) from China. We'll see you back in the States.

Last Day In Guangzhou & Oath At US Consulate

After breakfast, we went with one of our friends Vania and did a little shopping around town. Just like Chongqing, the traffic is crazy here in Guangzhou. Cars dart back and forth squeezing in between cars. Pedestrians walk right in front of the cars with little or no fear of getting hit. We were amazed that there were very accidents despite no semblance of following any rules. We figure that no one every gets fined for jaywalking.

This afternoon, we went to the US Consulate to take our oath. The US Consulate is about a 35 minute bus ride. There is an US Consulate office on Shamian Island, however, it does not house the visa department. All 14 families from CCAI (9 from the Chongqing group) attended the ceremony including several other families from other agencies.

During our ride to the consulate, we were told by our CCAI representative that there was a problem with Duo Duo's visa. Apparently, the computer system was having problems reading her face on the pictures thereby not allowing the consulate to issue the visa.

When we first heard of this apparent "bad news", Simon recalled how his grandma would lift everything to the Lord in prayer. We asked members of our group to pray together for God's divine intervention. Several of our group members are devout Christians. So, we gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate office and offered a short prayer for God's provision.

Even after our prayer, we still felt anxious. Several of our friends of our group offered their reassuring comfort and support. But, then we reminded ourselves of the verse in Philippians 4, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." We know that God is in absolute control and He has a reason for this delay. We just need to put our complete trust in Him.

After the ceremony, one of the consulate officials spoke with us. He assured that they were working to resolve the problem and would work through the night if necessary. They hoped to resolve the issue by 7:00 p.m local time and get us the passport and visa this evening. At the very latest, they would get it to us by tomorrow morning. We have a 9:30 a.m. flight to Hong Kong.

We can already see that God is at work. The consulate was very kind and reassuring. The first thing that crossed our mind was that we would be stuck in Guangzhou for another day. But, it appears that we should be able to leave with the rest of the group. Nevertheless, we still need to lift all of this to the Lord in prayer.

As we reflected on the situation, we realized again that God often allows us to experience trials in order to strengthen our faith and to give testimony of his loving provision and glory! Our confidence is in Him!

Visa Application Approved

About 11:15 a.m. today local time, we received word from our CCAI representatives, Grace and Kathy, that Duo Duo's visa application was approved by the U.S. Consulate. Tomorrow, all the families will be going to U.S. Consulate office to take the oath and receive our child's visa.

Later in the morning, we had our "Red Couch" group photos of the families and the babies. It was quite a scene trying to get all the babies to sit still for a group photo without their parents holding him or her. One baby started to cry. Another followed. Even, Duo Duo got into the act. When we were in Chongqing and had our group pictures, our friend's baby son Logan fell asleep during the middle of the session. He laid there sleeping like an angel on the couch pillow while the other babies were crying and screaming.

In the afternoon, we took an excursion to the Pearl Market. We took a 15 minute taxi ride, and it cost about $1.50 US for all us. At the market, you can purchase pearl necklaces at wholesale prices. It was nice getting out of the hotel.

For dinner, we went to a very nice restaurant that specializes in dishes for Northeast China. One of our friends is from that area. We ordered and shared 10 dishes, and it was fabulous. And, the price of the meal was incredible. Each of us paid 40 RMB's which is about $5 US. Probably, in the US, you would pay about $20 to $25 US per person.

This will be probably be our last night out given that we'll need to pack tomorrow evening and we have an early flight on Thursday morning.

Visa Paperwork and Child's Medical Exam

In the morning, Simon and one parent from each of the other families completed the visa paperwork for the U.S. Consulate office. It took about an hour and half. At 3:00 p.m., each of the babies had their medical exam. Duo Duo wasn't too happy about seeing the doctor. Along with the immunization record and the medical examination form completed by the clinic, all the documents will be delivered to the U.S. Consulate tomorrow morning for processing. If all goes well, we will be receiving the baby's visa on Wednesday.

We spent the rest of the time shopping and walking around Shamian Island. The island is fairly safe given that there are a lot security folks around and that U.S. Embassy is a block away from the hotel. In addition, there are several mom and pop shops selling all sorts of souvenirs. You can do well if you bargain with the shop attendants - you can get a really good deal! And, if even if you are not a good negotiator, you will still get a fairly good deal. Things are relatively inexpensive given all the fierce competition in the area.

In the evening, we decided to take it easy and rest in the hotel room. We have really enjoyed our stay in China. Nevertheless, we do look forward to getting back home. It's tiring living out of our suitcases.

City Tour of Guangzhou

Today, we took a sightseeing bus tour of Guangzhou. Guangzhou is the capital city of the Guangdong Province located in southeast China with over 13 million inhabitants. The city is considered one of the key financial and commercial centers in China. As we drove around, you could see many banks and financial institution. Guangzhou was one of the first Chinese cities to be opened to foreigners. So, there is a more western flavor in the air. More people speak English. And, according to our tour guides, there are over 47 McDonald's in the city. By the way, there is even a Papa John's Pizza place very near our hotel, and they do make deliveries!

Our first stop was to a Buddhist Temple called Six Banyan's Temple. The temple was built over 1,450 years ago. In the center of courtyard, there is a Flower Pagoda tower that stands about 57 meters high. What is unusual about this tower that it leaning to your right as you face the tower from the entrance - a Chinese version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in northern Italy.

Next, we visited the Old Chen House. This house is considered the best preserved Qing Dynasty building in Guangdong Province and was built about 100 years ago. The house featured lime sculpture and colored porcelain on the roof, stone carving and wood carvings all over the house, brick carvings on the wall, different kinds of Cantonese folk arts, exhibitions in each room including ivory caring, Qing dynasty furniture, embroidery, Chinese paints and sculptures of Qing dynasty life. According to our tour guides, the surname Chen is one of the most popular names in the Guangdong province. Chen happens to be Simon's mom's maiden name.

Finally, we went to the Provincial Art Crafts store. This store is one of the largest art crafts store run by the Guangong government. The store has a large selection of colored porcelain ware, jade ware, pears, embroidery, silk, bone carving, and traditional clothes. Here, we bought some souvenirs including a nice jade necklace for Duo Duo. Jade is a very popular precious stone among the Chinese people.

We returned back to hotel around 1:00 p.m. and decided to all take a cat nap. Later this evening, we'll be taking Duo Duo's visa photo, and we'll be having a group dinner at a Thai Restaurant nearby.

Welcome to Guangzhou

We finally made to Guangzhou after a three to four hour delay due to heavy fog in Chongqing. After a two hour flight during which we were served a light Chinese lunch, we arrived around 3:45 p.m. local time. Unlike many of the U.S domestic flights, most of the Chinese domestic flights serve a full meal and drinks (at least two to three times during the flight). It was nice having a meal instead of the standard peanuts and pretzels.

Duo Duo did pretty well on the plane. She was not too fussy, although at the end you could see that she was straining while our plane was descending. We figured that Duo Duo was not pooping since we had just changed her diaper a few minutes earlier. We suspected that she was not use to having her ears plugged up due to the decompression. After landing, she was fine. Aside from the occasional scream, it seemed that all the babies did pretty well for their first flight.

Speaking of decompression, Simon related a story to several of the CCAI familes of how when Jonathan was four years old, he told Helen that his ears were broken and needed to see a doctor during a flight from Memphis to Houston. After they landed, he told Helen that it was okay; the ears were fixed and he didn't need to see the doctor any longer.

After picking up our luggage, we were met our by Grace, our CCAI Guangzhou representative. Thankfully, no one was stopped by the customs officer for carrying beef jerky this time around!

The trip to the hotel was another 45 minutes. We checked in at the White Swan Hotel located on Shamian Island on the Pearl River. When we walked through the door, we saw several other families with their adopted child. Most of the China adoption agencies including CCAI use White Swan Hotel due to its proximity to the U.S. Consulate office and its nice amenities. Our room is very clean and includes a baby crib. Our room faces the river. At around 9:00 p.m., we saw a laser light show along the river banks. It was pretty neat.

Tomorrow, we will have a city tour and some other planned activities. On Monday, we'll be completing our Visa paperwork. And, by Wednesday, we should be official - the legal parents of Elizabeth Marie Xue Duo Lin!

Some people wonder why the adoption trip takes over two weeks. Part of the reason is that the U.S. Consulate will not issue the baby the entry visa until the all adoption paperwork is in perfect order on the Chinese side. It takes about 4-5 working days for that to occur on the Chinese end. After that, we can then complete the visa paperwork. Within two days of completion, we are then granted the baby's visa. When you take into account the travel time back and forth from the U.S. and the weekends, it brings you up to about 14-15 days.

Well, we have another busy day tomorrow. So, we better get some needed rest.

Group Picture & Farewell To Chongqing

This is our final posting from Chongqing.

At around 4:00 p.m., we took our group pictures in the hotel lobby. Also, we took pictures of the moms and dads and the 4 Chongqing babies that were in the original group picture below.

Our stay in Chongqing has been very good. The service at the hotel, Empark Grand Hotel, has been excellent. We really enjoyed the daily breakfast buffet which included both traditional American breakfast items such us eggs, bacon, and toasts, and Chinese breakfast items such as congi, soy milk, and Chinese buns. The restaurant provided us high chairs for the babies which helped a lot. The hotel also provides money exchange service which makes it very convenient for us in that we don't have to worry about going outside . In addition, CCAI arranged for our laundry service with an outside vendor. The lady came by a couple of times this week to do our laundry. The price was not as inexpensive as we might have thought. But, the quality of service was outstanding. All our shirts, pants, and underwear were very neatly pressed and packaged.

In general, things here are relatively inexpensive. You can have a very good dinner for less than $10 US. A bag of grocery items costs less than $5 US. A bus ride is less than 50 cents US. Tonight, several of the couples are going to a seafood restaurant which should cost less than $15 per person.

Overall, the weather in Chongqing has been rather mild. The temperature is like Houston ranging from 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, most of the day has been overcast. According to Marie, our CCAI representative, there is only about 1000 hours of sunlight a year. Maybe, that's what explains why the people here have such white complexion.

As for the traffic, it's a bit crazy - maybe not so different than Houston. The drivers here are very aggressive. The concept of right of way is a bit foreign to them. Finally, you have to be very careful if you are pedestrian. There is no such thing as right of way for pedestrian when walking along the street. Cars will plough over you if you are not watching out.

All around Chongqing (and other Chinese cities from what I understand), there seems to be a lot of building activity. Skyscrapers, high rise apartment's, and new roads are being built all over the city. You can really see the effort on the part of the Chinese to modernize this country. Indeed, China is and will be a force to be reckon with.

Finally, we have to compliment on the quality of service provided by our wonderful CCAI representatives and guides, Marie and Anita. These two have been extremely helpful, and they made our stay here very smooth.

This evening, we're packing and preparing to head to Guangzhou tomorrow morning. There, we will be finalizing our adoption on the U.S side.

Dianjiang Orphanage

This morning, Simon and eight others went to Dianjiang to see the orphanage. It is about 2 hours by car from Chongqing. It's not very often that people are able to see the orphanage in China. Sometimes, the orphanage is located 8-10 hours from the main city which does not allow adequate time to visit the facility and return on the same day. Other times, the orphanage does not permit outside visitors. We're very fortunate that Duo Duo was from Dianjiang, and they allowed us to visit the orphanage and the surrounding area.

Dianjiang is a small size city. It's not like Chongqing which is much more urban looking with skyscrapers and shopping malls. In Dianjiang, there are more bicycles and mopeds bustling around and small mom and pop shops up and down the street which is what you typically envision when you think of a city in China.

When the group arrived at the orphanage, they were met by the orphanage director. She's the one that we met on Gotcha day. Simon and the group took a tour of the facility. The orphanage rooms are located on the fifth and sixth floors of the building.

On the fifth floor, the group saw the infirmary, the sleeping quarters, and the various play rooms which were separated by the age of the babies. Simon was able to visit with one of Duo Duo's primary nanny. All the nannies seemed to provide good loving care for all the children. According to the director, the orphanage is only home to babies up to 2 years old.

Currently, there are 19 babies in the facilities and 48 others that are in foster care homes. Simon asked what happened to the babies that are not adopted and that are more than 2 years old. The director indicated that these children are moved to another facility sponsored by the state.

On the sixth floor, the group saw the bathing area where they allow the babies to swim with a flotation device and the kitchen.

When one of staff members was told that Simon was Duo Duo's father, she shared that her daughter used to come visit Duo Duo almost everyday after school. Her daughter told her mom that Duo Duo was one of the most beautiful babies. What a flattering comment! But, honestly, we would like to think that all the babies in our group are very beautiful! We are beautiful in God's eyes.

After the tour of the facility, the orphanage director took the group around where each of the five Dianjiang babies were found. Duo Duo was found in front of public utility office which is about 25 meters from the orphanage. The others babies were found in close proximity of the orphanage and/or in an area with a lot of traffic (orphanage gate, nearby park, traffic circle, bus station). Although we all agreed that abandoning a baby is a terrible thing, we acknowledged that these parents had enough human compassion to place the baby where he or she would be found very quickly. When Helen and the other gals were getting their massage, the helpers told them that many of these babies come from poor families, and don't have access to birth control. These families had little choice but to have the State take care of them.

The group thanked the orphanage director and the nannies for taking good care of our babies. Simon donated a bag of baby Tylenol that Selina had given us. Simon also gave a bag of M&M's for the staff and nannies.

Simon and the group got back safely at about 1:00 p.m. local time.

At 4:00 p.m., the entire group is going to have a group picture. Right now, we are busy packing for our trip to Guangzhou tomorrow morning.

Thanksgiving In Chongqing

Happy Thanksgiving from Chongqing, China!

Simon often says that we should not just give thanks on Thanksgiving day but everyday for God's daily provisions. But, this year in particular, we are very thankful for the good Lord in providing us Duo Duo. She is bonding to us well.

Yesterday, while Helen was out with the gals getting their $10 massage, Simon took care of Duo Duo by himself. Simon had to go to the photo kiosk to develop the pictures which were taken at the orphanage with our disposable camera that we had mailed earlier to Dianjian over four weeks earlier. You could tell that Duo Duo loves to go out. Once Simon put on her little coat, Duo Duo started kicking and smiling. While walking around, Duo Duo's eyes would dart back and forth checking things out. She loved to be outside!

This morning, we went to old town Chongqing where there are many antique, arts and crafts, and clothing shops. Here, you could bargain on the price. We bought a couple of beautiful Chinese outfits for Duo Duo and some things for the boys. Also, several of us bought an interesting novelty item - a small statue of a little boy that urinates when you pour hot water over its head. You physics geeks can try to figure out this phenomenon.

Next, we went to visit Chongqing People's Square. This pagoda looking building is the famous landmark of Chongqing. During WWII, Chongqing became the temporary capital of National Republic of China after the fall of Nanjing. We had a group picture taken in front of this edifice.

Later, we had our Thanksgiving lunch at a nice Szechuan restaurant. Since Chongqing neighbors Szechuan province, they share many of the same spicy dishes. Instead of the traditional turkey, we had duck. By the way, the platter did include the duck's head. This reminded us of the scene in the movie A Christmas Story where Ralphie and his family had to go a Chinese restaurant to celebrate Christmas dinner after the a pack of dogs ravaged the turkey. When the waiter brought out the duck platter with the head still on, the mother started screaming and said that the duck was staring at her. Then, the restaurant owner calmly took a cleaver and chopped off the duck's head. End of story.

Finally, in the evening, we received our adoption papers for our US Consulate appointment next week. Tomorrow, we'll receive the baby's passport.

In the morning, Simon will be joining a small group to visit the Dianjiang orphanage which is about a 2 hour drive away. They do not recommend the babies to go on the trip in that it might cause a bad reaction. So, Helen and Duo Duo will stay around the hotel. We are starting to pack for our trip to Guangzhou on Saturday.