Random Thoughts

Daddy Here, Mommy is putting Jinji To bed. More bittersweet thoughts. Tomorrow we go the the US Consulate to get her US Visa and then we go straight to the airport. I don't know if we will have time to post any more from China. If we can we will. Our little girl will be leaving the country of her birth. The people that we have met have been very warm and kind. They all have delighted in our sweet natured girl. This is a country on the move, everywhere we have gone there are massive construction projects. The city skylines are dotted with cranes building skyscrapers. Guiyang the provincial capital of Guizhou Jinji's home province by China standards is considered a small backwater, yet it has a population of 3.5million. Porsches, Mercedes and other luxury cars are common place. We shopped at Walmart and could have visited a Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds and bought a Buick which seems to be the most common American car here. The people here are very proud to host the 2008 Olympics. There are many articles in the paper and news about the projects underway. Mark your calendars they start on 8/8/08.

I cannot say enough good things about our agency Holt International. Our experience with them from the first meeting in San Diego nearly 18 months ago until this evening has been wonderful. The staff in Oregon, California and China are pros. Holt is not just an adoption agency, their primary mission is child welfare. They do work all around the world, even in countries where they do not do adoptions. the staff here works with the welfare institutions to train workers and foster parents. If you have any interest in fostering a child please visit the Holt International website(holtintl.org) for $30.00 per month you can make a huge difference in a childs life.

It will very sad to say goodbye to the other parents. We have had our lovely daughters for 8 days and it is a joy to see them blossom every single day. They are more relaxed happy laughing and enjoying their new parents. They all get cuter every single day. I will miss them. you cannot go through what we have without forming a close bond.

We will be leaving China with our beautiful Chinese girl and we will be arriving home with our beautiful American girl. We will raise her as an All American California Beach Girl. But, we will always honor and respect the place of her birth. We look forward to bringing her back so she can explore her heritage.

Many Chinese people have told us what a lucky girl Jinji is and we tell them "no, no we are the lucky ones" and then they smile and say "Lucky Family" That is what we truly are a "Lucky Family".

Love from China,
Daddy, Mommy and Jinji