Weare now in Hong Kong

Friday September 17, 2010 First of all, I forgot to say thank you to Mike Snyder for the awesome work you did for our tickets. We got up early today finished packing, had a quick breakfast and met Jade's mom in the lobby to spend some time with her before leaving.  We came to China with 6 people, 5 small suitcases (the carry on size) and 6 backpacks.  We left mainland China with 7 people, 5 small suitcases, 2 medium suitcases and 7 backpacks and 3 bags and will be leaving Hong Kong with an additional suitcase and no bags.  This is the lightest I have ever traveled.  We did our own washing clothes and hanging to dry for 12 days before having someone else do it.  This is a day to day thing in China, you see clothes hanging out everywhere for everyone to see.  At home I hang some of my clothes out on the line in my backyard to dry in the summer, but only a couple of neighbors can see them.  I am spoiled as I like a machine to do it instead of my hands so it was a new experience.  We got into our van at 10:30 bid farewell to Jade's mom and our guide Connie.  We were in the van for about 2 hours with only one instant of traffic causing us to slow down.  Before we left our hotel, Connie gave us immigration paperwork for the border to fill out.  So I did that (didn't do the departure one because I thought that was for when we left HK to fly home).  We get to the border and all of sudden our driver tells us to get out of the van, go thru those doors and I will meet you on the other side and make sure you have your passports.  So we scramble out quickly, walked into the building.  The nervousness hits Dave and I out of nowhere.  We didn't grab anything but our passports, so the important "brown envelope that we are to guard with our life" is no longer in our processions.  We are standing in line and Dave is saying I really hope we don't need a visa for HK and I am thinking, I really hope they don't question Erin seeing her passport is Chinese with her Chinese name on it so it doesn't match ours.    We sailed on thru without any problems and our driver was waiting for us on the other side and Erin's paperwork was safe.  Praise the Lord.  We arrived at the hotel, get our rooms (2) and go to them.  The first room we open up has a king size bed in it, you can see Erin's eyes getting huge, I told just wait a minute, let check out the other room, thankfully it had two double beds in it.  So my sister and Monika took the king size bed and the rest of us took the other room.  This bathroom is enclosed, so we don't have to worry about that.  We decided to take a walk and find food and another suitcase.  The one suitcase we brought on the Island Thursday wasn't enough.  We had a map, followed it and landed at McDonald's.  Erin decided all she wanted was French fries, ice cream and apple pie, well mommy is along and that is a no-no.  I didn't have any issue with Dave let her have that when she was with him, because he is still trying to bond with her.  So we told her she needed to eat something more than French fries to get ice cream.  She wasn't happy with me, she then tried to order her own food and we told her she had to tell dad what she wanted.  The other girls had already told Dave what they wanted and were sitting down.  Erin didn't want to listen and tried again to order what she wanted.  I stopped the person that was taking the order and said he is ordering.  I told Erin again to tell dad what she wanted.  She had to think and finally pointed to a salad and French fries and orange ice cream float.  I said orange pop and she agreed.  We ate, Jenny complained the chicken was to spicy (she had ate all of her French fries first) and knew she was trying to play me, so I said it isn't spicy for you because you have been eating things that are 10 or 20 times more spicy then the chicken this past 2 weeks and you said you love it.  She gave me her "looks to kill" clear and ate some more.  Erin ate about ½ of her salad and French fries, the rest of us ate well.  We walked to the mall in search of a suitcase.  Each of the girls got money to spend on this trip from our friends Helen and Roberta.  Katie and Jenny pretty much spend it all on Mainland.  Erin and Monika still had some left.  So the two of them brought suckers, Monika let Katie and Jenny lick the sucker a couple of times, Erin ate half of hers and then gave the rest to Jenny.  It is hot and muggy here and Erin had decided to wear a new pair of pants and black shirt she got on Thursday (right now she won't wear skirts/dresses (boys look up them or pull them up ), she won't wear anything light color because it is to hard to keep clean, and she won't wear any loose fitting shirts because people can look down them if leaning forward).  So while walking she started to complain about the heat and wanted to go back to the hotel, we told her sorry, we were going shopping first and then to the park and then back to the hotel, she compiled, the girls didn't care about the heat, they were excited about going to a park.  The park was beautiful and we played there for about 30 minutes.  Dave and Cindy decided to take a little nap while they played.  We told the girls we would go back to the hotel, swimming for a couple of hours before bedtime.  BIG MISTAKE…..We get here and find out no pool…WHAT???? Dave and I were so careful on this whole trip to book hotel with pools in them.  When Jade's parents booked our hotels in Beijing and Guangzhou that was a requirement and we screwed up….I was waiting for Monika to have a meltdown since she was so looking forward to it and she usually the more emotional one, but she didn't.  We decided we would watch some tv and then it was a movie, so all is good.  Thank Goodness….Movie save the night.  The kids have been tired on this trip, they have done remarkable well with everything that this trip has been, yes they acted up at times, they cried on a rare case, they pushed buttons, but no more than usual and considering what this trip has been all about, it been awesome.  WE REALLY REALLY miss our milk.  China milk isn't the same. Dave is being patient with Erin, this is hard for him to see how much Erin is loving us up and she keeps him at an arm length.  She makes small talks with him more now, she ask him to do things for her  more, and she will joke with him when he jokes with her, so there is progress but you can see the longing in him when she is spontaneous giving us all hugs.  She ask (by holding her arms out wide) at night before going to bed for a hug from me.  I did give attempt to give her a kiss on top of her head and she pushed me away hard and had a fear in her eyes, so I haven't attempted that again.  Tonight she decided she wanted to help Jenny take a bath,  She was being to quick and Jenny was trying to tell her to stop.  Erin would stop and then start up again, so I intervene casually and said watch what Jenny does.  Then when Jenny was getting out of the tub, Erin dried her off and was pampering her.  I stayed close by because I just don't know if she would accidently get to rough with her or what, but she did fine and Jenny thanked her. I know we are in the honeymoon stage, thing are going so well for us, this whole trip has been amazing, it would have been perfect if Jade could be with us, but Jade is having a time of her life at St. Olaf.  She is trying out so many different clubs, events, hobbies and so forth, most of these get together once or twice a month and she wants to try everything and see what she likes.  She has met many friends and even got a job on campus.  The adoption process in China has gone so much better than I ever thought it would.  When we got our CA (consulate appt) and were leaving in 9 days, I started to do some questioning thinking, and Jesus kept telling me you can do it, it will work out just wait and see, she is perfect for your family and he was so right.  She is going to bring so much joy and love to your family just like your other 4 daughters do.  She is lying in the other bed sleeping, with her arms above her head, her 8 pink bracelets she got from us in the care package and looks so peaceful and contend.  Jenny and Katie are lying on the floor sleeping just as peaceful and content.  A friend just told me that St. Monica has been watching over us, and that is so true, she has and we are grateful for.