Wednesday, August 4

It is Wednesday morning and time is moving slowly. We have to be in our room this morning because our Consulate appointment is taking place right now and we have to be available in case there are any questions. Our guides actually go to the appointment for us which is great. We will go tomorrow for the oath ceremony.

Levi found his play dough a couple of days ago and he is enjoying playing with it. We were trying to save it for the plane ride, but I think he will still enjoy playing with it then, too. A group of us are meeting tonight to try to make it to an Italian restaurant for supper. Folks are beginning to head home today, so we were trying to get together one last time. The trick is catching a cab to get there. The hotel concierge will write down where we are going in Chinese for the driver, but we have to get a cab to startout with. Last time we tried to go out at dinner, we gave up and ate at the hotel. I think I have had enough noodles and rice for a while. No Hibachi buffet in Greenville for a while. Mr. Linwood will have to eat my share!!

We are taking it easy today because of the heat. There are no heat advisories here, but I believe 115 heat index is enough to take caution. We may hit the pool one last time before getting ready to head home (which cant come quickly enough for me). I am thankful for the opportunity to travel to China, and grateful to the people for hosting us, but I am a Mama and I want my family all together again.

Hope is enjoying another week of day camp. This week she is learning about the circus. I thought that was pretty appropriate since next week our home will probably be a circus!

Monday, August 7

On Sunday we went to the Folk Art Museum in Guangzhou. It is interesting to see the different parts of culture for China. It was extremely hot so we did not stay long at the museum because it is outside. Thankfully there were fans in different areas so we could get a breeze. After that we went to the Guangzhou Friendship store for groceries. It is like a 7 story mall with a grocery area on the 4th floor. We just walked around the store because it was cool inside. Levi found the Disney section and loved Eeoyre from Winnie the Pooh (not sure I spelled the name right). Anyway, he wanted one so of course we gave in and bought him a small one. Tammy-I know you are proud that he chose your favorite!

Monday was a free day for us because we were able to do our medical exams last week. Some of the other families had to go back for the TB test check. We were able to go back to Shaiman Island for lunch and shopping. Levi and his buddy, Alex, had a great time in the stores. They were playing instruments in one store so I said we had the Longgang District band. That is the area they are from in Shenzhen City. We also found him a small backpack and he has carried it around all afternoon. He loves bags and this one was special to him.

We are waiting to have our Consulate appointment on Wednesday so it makes for long days. This afternoon we took Levi swimming for the first time and he loved it. He even put his face in the water and before it was over he was jumping off the side to Scott. We had a great time with him.

It is time for bed now and that means another day down. I am counting the days until we are reunited with Hope. She did well this morning on Skype and talked to Levi. I cant wait for all of us to be together. We appreciate getting your emails at crystal.setzer@yahoo.com so keep them coming!

Sunday, August 1

It is Sunday morning here and I have been awake since 5 am. For some reason I am having trouble sleeping. We go to bed early for Levi and I guess my mind and body are ready to get up. Yesterday we went shopping and then out to eat as a group for supper. We were able to find a Subway on the island we were shopping on so we had subs for lunch. It tasted pretty much the same except for the mayo. Levi sticks to noodles and rice but he does like chocolate! The restaurant we went to was Japanese and Levi tried to use chop sticks. We like to watch him with new things because he usually figures it out. He tried and tried then finally put one in each hand and trapped the food. He was so proud of himself. He tried some ice cream and made a face because he is not used to cold food or drink. Mama ended up eating his scoop because you know I don't let ice cream go to waste!

Today we will tour a folk art museum and go back to the Friendship Store for groceries. We have tried to eat in our room a lot to save money. When I get home I will not want ramen noodles, peanut butter bread or cheese crackers for a while.

We have seen such improvements in the children over the past week. Some of them were not sitting up. crawling or walking but are starting to improve. We are blessed because Levi seems to have been well taken care of and he is doing great. He likes to get special TLC especially if he bumps his knee or arm. Yesterday he had a bug bite on his leg and he gave a pouty face like it was killing him. I rubbed an alcohol swab on it and put a Band-Aid over it and it was all better. He is a little dramatic over things like that and it is funny. Scott told Levi that he could not be such a diva.

We can't wait to Skype with Hope this morning. We were not able to yesterday and is seems like forever. She is in such good hands with Tina and Meg, but I just want to squeeze her. At least we are on the back side of things and are counting days until we are home and not weeks.