Wednesday, February 7, 2007

We all enjoyed sleeping in this morning as we did not have any morning appointments. Lottie woke up happy this morning cooing and talking to herself. She then snuggled with mommy who was still in the bed too. Daddy made mommy some coffee with French vanilla creamer and then the day was rolling!!! We played with Lottie here in the room before going down for breakfast. Lottie sat on the bed and played by herself while mommy dried her hair and daddy went down to get us a table for breakfast. Lottie watched as mommy put on make-up and especially liked mommy brushing her cheeks with the blush brush!!! Lottie is doing better taking her bottles of formula and drank 3 during the day and half a bottle before bedtime tonight. She also had some rice cereal as well as lots of puff snacks and even her first cheerio!!!! She will try to eat anything she can get her hands on- edible or not!!!! And she is starting to get her hands on more and more things. It has been fun to watch her personality emerge. Each day she is less inhibited and more animated. It has been a beautiful day here in Guangzhou. Battle bought two new pairs of shorts at one of the little shops. Shannon is just sweating in her jeans and long sleeve shirts.

Lottie is enjoying her new stroller. We strolled by some of the shops and actually found the entrance to a beautiful park. We did not have time to explore the park but hope to return as it was beautiful on a lake in the center of the city with peddle boats and scenic views. We loaded up on the bus this afternoon and went to pick up our adoption decree which was finalized yesterday. We then went to the police station to apply for Lottie’s passport. Lottie had fallen asleep in Shannon’s arms on the bus and so her passport picture was taken with her eyes closed. She stayed asleep until we returned to the hotel and finished her nap in the crib – about a 2 1/2 hour nap! She woke up and we met the group down in the lobby to walk to dinner. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant that is typical for southern China. They cook and eat anything that has 4 legs or slithers or swims. This restaurant had tanks of fresh fish, shrimp , lobster, eels, turtles , and any other kind of creature you can imagine. Our guide brought us up to the tanks to pick out our dinner!!! They literally pull the lobster out of the tank to weigh it, and put it in a bag to take to the chef to cook!!! There was also a table to pick out your choice crocodile meat!!! The chef prepared all the food and the waiter brought it to the table family style. Oh, I forgot to mention the basket of snakes!!!. Yes, they prepared one large snake for our group to share!!!! When in China, do as the Chinese do!! We are trying to learn about the culture. The funny thing is the eating habits must be inborn as Lottie was sitting in our lap at dinner and the next thing we knew she had a piece of snake in her mouth!!! She also tried to get the chicken as well. The most tasty of all though was the crocodile. It had a really nice flavorful sauce. The chicken was pretty normal except it was served with the head on the plate. The fish was served the same way. The Chinese say this is the best part. We drew the line at anything too crunchy or rubbery, so no heads and no snake skins!!!

We returned to the hotel after dinner and Lottie was very playful and talkative. We saw her crawl for the first time and even attempt to stand on her own unsupported!! She will be walking before we know it – maybe even before we get home!!! She drank about a half a bottle of formula before going to bed. After a bedtime story and some lullabies we laid her in the crib. She cried initially, but less than 5 minutes and the she was off to dream land!!! She is such a joy to watch as she explores this great big world one day at a time.

We miss you all so much and cannot wait to introduce you to this precious child!!! We are comforted with the words of her lullaby – He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands!!!! As much as we miss you, we know that that our Very Big God has both you and us right in the palm of His hand even though worlds apart!!! Be in prayer for us as we make preparations to possibly to travel to Lottie’s orphanage town of Dianbai. It is about a 4 hour drive from here. We hope to leave here Friday morning and spend one night in Dianbai. We will have a driver and a guide to take us there. We hope to visit her orphanage as well as walk through the small town and maybe see the finding spot where her birth mother placed her to be found when she was only two days old. We also hope to see the beach as Dianbai is a beach town near the South China Sea. Yes!! We have a little beach girl , so we would love to have pictures of “her” beach that we can share with her later as we will spend much time at the beach as she grows up on the other side of the world!! We also look forward to seeing the Chinese countryside and the rural towns between here and there. We have only been exposed to the big cities and most of China is very rural , so we would like to experience this as well. So , please pray for our safety as we travel and our health as we are away. We will probably have one more update before we leave and then we will be out of touch as they may not have internet connections in this area. Things have gone so well so far and we know that you have been interceding on our behalf- Thank You!! Thank You, Thank You!!!!! Enjoy the pictures of our petite beauty – our little peanut as we affectionately call her!!!