These are pics from my walk around the city of Guiyang.

I spent an hour or so just walking around our hotel and taking some photos of Guiyang.  Guiyang is in the Guizhou province, the second poorest province in all of China.  Guizhou is very mountainous, the tall, pointy kind.  On one side of the road you will view what looks like to be a slum area and then on the other side of the road you will see what looks to be comfortable housing.  Guizhou is known for their silver jewels and their many different minority groups. Guiyang is considered to be a small city, boasting only 3-4 million people total.  We feel as though we are in New York City.  There are horns honking all the time and the traffic is a steady stream of buses, taxis, bikes and mopeds.  My journey took me to a little park where I observed ladies dancing, elders playing cards, what looked to be a street dentist set-up, men singing and playing musical instruments, fortune tellers, a Chinese yo-yo demonstration - I took it all in and I hope to one day be able to answer Maddox's questions about the city she was born in, tell her what it was like.  We also visited Wal-Mart yesterday.  Wal-Mart in China is always an experience.  Picture Wal-Mart on a Saturday and then multiply the crowd by ten - it is simply an experience.  This particular Wal-Mart is located underground.  And, to get there from our hotel, instead of crossing the street, which would be a total risk of your life, you take an underground tunnel.  The tunnels that go under the street are filled with vendors selling anything from food to clothing to shoes to phones.  So, all this to say, I love being here in the city where Maddox was born.  It is "real" China.  I will post pics later!

Maddox is officially ours, a Drafts at last.  Today we awoke and ventured down to breakfast, our first official outing as a family of six.  Our adoption papers stated that our girls must be dressed alike (shhh, don't tell Ryan it really wasn't a requirement), so they were and MK was more than thrilled that she and Maddox were "twins."  Maddox is T.I.N.Y.  She might way 16lbs wet.  Maybe 17 on a good day.  She came to us in three very puffy layers.  When we first held her in all of that puffiness, I thought, "Wow, she is bigger than I thought."  Then we came to our hotel, de-layered her and found the real Maddox - a little skinny-minnie.  And, we know why - she doesn't particularly care to eat.  She would have nothing to do with her bottle last night.  We tried cold milk, very hot milk - nothing was interesting to her.  So, we, in typical Drafts fashion, gave her pizza.  She loved it!  However, we went down for breakfast this morning and she ate a few bites of this and a few bites of that - pushed away the congee, preferred the sweeter rolls, pancakes but she would only take a few bites of each.  And milk?  Nothing.  She could care less about a bottle.  Hopefully this will change and we can put a little weight on her soon.  Either way, she is a keeper.  She goes to Ryan and I both equally without reservations.  She LOVES the children.  She and MK were playing together at the Civil Affairs Office today and she reached over and grabbed MK's hand so they could hold hands together and rock.  MK adores her.  Colin can't get over how cute she is.  Pryce is the entertainer.  She has babbled some and even picked up the phone today and said what we think sounded like, "Hello?"  She is not quick to smile but we have seen it a few times....we have even heard a few laughs.  She is a sweetheart and we all agree she is a keeper!

Today, just like MK's Gotcha Day, was all too surreal.  We spent our day mostly relaxing and prepping for our big moment with Maddox.  The time finally came and we boarded a bus with another lady who is adopting a baby girl too.  We all went to the Civil Affairs office in Guizhou.  Very remote.  On the way, we saw a man being arrested.....had to throw this tidbit in as it made quite the impression on the boys.  The guys was very aggressive and his girlfriend kept trying to let him out of the police car he was being held in.....it was a scene to say the least.  We walked into the office, three babies were waiting, not one of them our Maddox.  Finally, I heard them say, "Hua You Ren....she is here!" and all of a sudden there was a lot of loud talking and pictures snapping.  Maddox's foster family included her foster mom and dad, a foster sister and brother-in-law as well as a 6 year old foster child.  They were all so glad to be there.  The foster mom kept talking to us and smiling and jabbering away.....I wish I knew what she was saying.  Her gestures spoke mounds and she quickly pulled out a backpack that contained a lot of photos of Maddox over the past few months.  There is a lot of writing on the back of them that I cannot wait to have translated.  The children were oh so glad to meet their sister.  They quickly began giving her Gerber Puffs and talking to her.  I do not think we saw a smile the entire time though she did eat a lot of the puffs.  Then the moment of truth came, it was time for the foster family to depart.  That did not go well.  Maddox began to cry.  And cry.  And cry.  Nothing was soothing to her.  Thankfully it was soon time to leave the Civil Affairs office and she calmed down.  Our night, thus far, has been quiet.  We ordered "Za" from Papa Johns....the boys request....and Maddox loved it.  And now we are off to bed!  Good night from Guizhou.....

Hopefully the blog is working????  We are having to do a different method now that we are in a different section of China.  This is something we expected and thankfully Ryan is pretty computer savvy :)  Last night was another peaceful evening once we all settled in.  In fact, we had to wake the children up for breakfast.  No Pop Tarts this morning :)  Instead, we had a variety of pastries and pancakes and bacon and french toast and croissants as well as cereal.....in other words, we ate like kings/queens.  We are anxious to do a bit of exploring around our hotel, then we will rest for a bit and then.....MADDOX REN!  As we ate breakfast this morning, there were several statements said to the effect of "this is our last breakfast as a family of five" and "wow, tomorrow we are going to need two baby chairs" and "I wonder what Maddox will want to eat, do you think she will like donuts?"  We are all anticipating her arrival.  Ryan said yesterday, "Beth, we are going to be parents again tomorrow!"  Chills.  Excitement.  Uncertainty. We have prayed for her heart to be open to us.  We trust that she will feel our love.  I do wonder what she is doing right now.  How is her foster family celebrating her big day?  We will see.....

Until then..... 

Here are a few pics from our last day in Hong Kong...  We're working through some technical difficulties blogging here in Guiyang.

Ngong Ping Cable Car, Hong Kong

We arrived safely in Guizhou.  The hotel is beautiful and though we are in the poorest province in all of China, you wouldn't know it by the looks of the hotel. We are all wired and sleep for us is nowhere in sight.  The children have been such troopers and they have enjoyed every moment of today.  Today....we decided to venture out on our own.  Yikes.  It was so much fun.  Just us.  No one to help us, we felt as though we had conquered the world.  First we had to figure out the subway system.  We left our hotel in the first subway that donned Mickey Mouse windows.  Then we boarded yet another train into a section of Hong Kong and took a 25 minute cable car ride over the South China Sea and arrived at our destination, a mountain top village.  There, we climbed to the top of this big Buddha statue.  We enjoyed taking in the sounds and smells of the village.  Then, we meandered our way back to our hotel, retrieved our luggage and began our journey to Guizhou.  Our guide got us all checked in the hotel and will pick us up tomorrow at 4:20 to go meet Maddox.  MK was so excited when she saw the crib set up in our room for Maddox.  All day we have made comments to one another about it being our last dinner together as a family of five or we wonder if Maddox will cry or MK wanted to know if Maddox would go to co-op (funny the things that come to her mind out of nowhere).  While in Hong Kong, we couldn't help but notice the little girls at Disney as well as during our tour today.  They are all so precious!  There is one distinguishing factor between MK and the little girls who live in China.  Care to guess what it is?

Until gotcha.....