Introducing....... Cate!!!!!!

I know all you really want is pictures, but a little about our morning. Frank met us at 9:00 and took us to the Civil Affairs office where we would meet Cate and the orphanage director. They were not there when we got there, so we were looking out onto the street to see if we might see them drive up. But when we looked around, Cate was walking in the door with the orphanage director, a beautiful and kind woman. She told Cate who we were and Sophie showed her some things we brought. She loved it all and took to Sophie very quickly! I had a lot of papers to sign and Mom was taking pictures. Our first thoughts, Cate is beautiful and very tiny. Very tiny. I think a 2T, maybe a 3T if we're lucky! She is very curious and scared of nothing so far. She never cried. Not once. When the orphanage director was leaving, she walked away with her, but then came back to us. Thank you for the prayers. We have really felt them.

To My Third Grade Friends

Thank you for all of the notes. I really enjoyed reading them. I hope you are having fun at school. What kind of tests have you been taking? We are having a good time in China. We get Cate today, and we are very excited. I miss seeing you. I can't wait to see y'all. The plane ride was long. At the pool we have to wear a swim cap. I would not let mama take a picture of me! We will show you pictures of Cate soon. Love Sophie

What a wonderful suprise for us to wake up to! The e-mails and comments on our blog are the best part of our day. This morning we sat in tears reading all of the sweet wishes. Thank you all very much. This is our BIG DAY!!

We made it to Hefei!

I don't have any pictures today. We woke up at 5am to get to the airport for our 7:50 flight to Hefei. The flight went very well, but the airport was a different story. Our luggage was stacked on a cart outside and we just had to fight for it! But we got it, and our guide Frank was waiting for us. Hefei looks much different from Beijing, still many high rise buildings because Hefei is the capital of Anhui, but very poor. It makes me sad. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn and it is very nice. Sophie is looking forward to trying out the pool. It is hot and humid here and very smoggy.
Kristin, you were right, China is 12 hours ahead. We love reading everyones comments from home. We will be meeting our guide at 9 am to get Cate. We are nervous but excited. We miss home very much. As soon as we have Cate, we will post some pictures. Please keep us in your prayers.

The Forbidden City

Sophie with one of the performers at the acrobat show

It was amazing to see what they could do with their bodies! We really enjoyed the show!

We leave Beijing at 6:00 a.m. for Hefei. We have had some very full days and have seen a lot, but we are ready to leave. I am very homesick and miss my family at home. We are looking forward to meeting Cate in two short days.

The Great Wall, Jade, and Cloissone

Sophie was born in the year of the dragon, so she is pointing to a dragon. Rion, you are an ox and Pressley you are a snake. Cate is the chicken. I am a mouse!

Mimi and Sophie at the Great Wall

Here we are at the entrance

A jade ship that took 5 years to make!

Polishing jade

Sunday was a big day for us! Christina picked us up at 9:00. The Great Wall was about 2 hours away, and we stopped at a Jade factory on the way there. It was amazing how they made bracelets, and sculptures from jade. It was an overcast and smoggy day, and rained after we left the Great Wall but thankfully we were able to enjoy every minute we were there! It was nice and cool and we climbed thousands of steps! The view was gorgeous. I had seen so many pictures and so many families there but couldn't believe we were actually there! On the way home, we stopped at a Cloissone factory and watched them start out with a copper vase and transform it into a beautiful piece of art. We also ate lunch there. Christina ordered for us but couldn't eat with us, so when the food came out, we couldn't exactly identify what a couple of dishes were. And while we completely trust Christina, we hoped they didn't bring out the wrong thing. One plate was full of what looked like noodles, only a lot fatter, which made them look exactly like worms. The taste was good but we were just too leary to eat much. So when Christina came back, she told us it was pork! We would have eaten more knowing what it was!

We also stopped at a Tea House and sampled several types of tea and she told us what they were used for and how to drink it. Again, we were too tired for supper and went to bed early. We had a fun, full day. Thank you again for the comments and emails. It means so much hearing from our friends and family.

Pictures!

This was part of the silk making process. It was very neat. We watched them take the silkworm out and pull it apart. The bowl has the silkworms in it. Ask Mimi about the silk ties. They would not let her leave and when she finally did she was a nervous wreck! (She wanted to buy a couple of silk ties but the starting price was about $150. They kept telling her but it is pure silk. Mimi said she understood but they were gifts and she couldn't pay that much. They said how much will you pay and Mimi said $10. They said no way! After 20 heated minutes Mimi spent $10!
Mimi bargaining for some pearls-these lady's were very nice and helpful and it was a fun experience. That is Christina beside her. Sophie is in the background- so many places would just give her things and said "gift". Here, they gave her some chopsticks.
Beautiful Chinese lanterns decorating the streets.
Mimi and Sophie at the Chinese restaurant Christina took us to. It was very good!

It was so funny yesterday- the Chinese people can not believe that Sophie is 8 years old. They say she is too tall to be 8 . It started at breakfast- our breakfast is included but they wanted me to pay for Sophie-I couldn't understand them and they couldn't understand me but Christina said that they called her and said that there was a teenager with us, not a little girl. Christina told them no, she is only 8- So funny. Then at the pearl market, everyone would ask how old she was and when she would say 8, they couldn't believe it!

Pearl Market

Today was a shopping day to the pearl market. It was at least 6 or 7 stories high and pearls were just on one floor. We found some nice pearls for very reasonable prices. We also bought some souvenirs. We stayed there until about 4:00 and then Christina brought us back to the hotel. She took us to a Chinese restaurant for lunch and it was very good. She ordered four plates of food and we shared it all. Sophie is really trying to use chopsticks but doesn't have it down yet. We ate ramen noodles and crackers again for supper because the restaurant was closed and we didn't know where else to go. Tomorrow we will go to the Great Wall. I am looking forward to seeing that. We may also go to an acrobat show either tomorrow or Monday night. I cannot download my pictures from today and I hope that I will be able to tomorrow.