Thursday, August 5

This will be the last time we can blog before coming home. This has been a good experience and we are grateful for the opportunity to spend time in the country where our children were born. Our traveling begins Friday evening at 5 pm from Guangzhou to Hong Kong on a bus for 3 1/2 hours. We will spend the night in Hong Kong and leave for the airport at 5 am Saturday morning. We will then fly from Hong Kong to Tokyo then Tokyo to Detroit where Levi will become a US citizen as soon as we touch ground. We should arrive in Raleigh after 7 pm and then drive 2 hours home. It will be a long trip but worth it. Hopefully we will be able to sleep part of the way. Levi likes to be moving so the travel may be a little difficult on him. Pray for us as we make the journey home.

Today (Thursday) we went to the Consulate and took an oath for our adoption. We are thankful to get that done and we should have Levi's passport and visa tomorrow afternoon. We will be glad to have everything done and get packed up.

Thanks for all your prayers and support for Levi's adoption. We could not haave made this trip without our family and friends. Keep praying for us in the days to come as we adjust to being a family of four.

The pictures included are some of the things we have done the past few days. We were able to have dinner with many of the families we have come to know and it was lots of fun. These are also pics of Levi at Shaiman Island Park looking at the statues.

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!