We are in Nanchang

Jet lag has set in. Tyler slept for 10 hours last night!!! He rocks! Unfortunately, his brothers were not so kind. Alex was up at 2am (after 7 hours of sleep), and Michael close to 3am. I think Michael may have gone back to sleep if Alex was sleeping too. We had Alex lay down, but he just could not get back to sleep. That meant that Ruben and I could not sleep either. We did get 6 hours of sleep though, so I guess we're doing pretty well. Tyler woke up at 5:15 am, and we started our day. We were down at breakfast by 6:30am. The hotel had a buffet of mixed American and Chinese cuisine. The kids had a bowl of cereal. Tyler did not like his, but his brothers had 3 bowls each! Tyler did not like the bread with jelly, or the plain bread, or the ham, or sausage, or crackers, or cheese. We finally got him to eat watermelon! So that was his breakfast.....watermelon and milk. I had noodles, rice, sausage and bread pudding. I know....strange combination. After breakfast, we took a short walk, and then headed to the airport for our trip to Nanchang.

View from our hotel in Shanghai. If you look, you will see beds set out on the rooftop, with 2 men still sleeping.

Another view from our window of Shanghai
A chinese tube of toothpaste. This pictures proves that yes, we are taking pictures of absolutely everything!!

A street cleaner in Shanghai

At the Shanghai airport. Who are all those people taking pictures of?? Must be someone famous!

It's us!! We were a huge hit at the airpot!

Alex was especially popular, as you can see from his fan club! He took everything out of his backpack and told his new friends about each item. Two of the young girls spoke some english, the rest just laughed and followed along. He was in his element and was quite the entertainer. This went on for about 30 minutes! (I also noticed a number of older women coming up and touching his hair)

The airport was very interesting. When they announced the flight, all the people rushed the gate. There was no group or row numbers being called, or any kind of system at all. Eveyone just shoved their way to the front, and if you did't move, you got shoved aside. It was the same getting off the plane. No one waits for the row in front of them to clear, they just push their way forward. We noticed this a lot, but it's not done in a rude way, it's just their way.

By the way.........even with all the chaos, I've never seen a plane boarded and everyone seated so quickly.

The flight to Nanchang was uneventful. Shanghai was interesting, but I really feel a connection to Nanchang. I know Lily has never been here, but it is the capital of her province, and it's where we will meet her and spend our first week together.

This ferris wheel is one of the largest in the world. Takes approximately 25 minutes for one revolution.

Sleep finally caught up with Michael on the way to the hotel!

At the hotel, Tyler fell immediately asleep, so Ruben stayed with the kids, while I went with the guide to the little store down the street. Thought the kids would like a treat. They were very excited to learn that China has Oreos!

We have 2 rooms. This hotel does not have connecting rooms, but our rooms are at the end of a hall, and there is a door that closes off our end of the hall from the rest of the rooms. Works nicely as now the kids also have a small hall to run down!

View out our window.

That evening we went to a really good Chinese restaurant about a 1/2 block from the hotel. 5 bottles of water, a fish dish, a pork dish, and fried rice cost us only $12 !!!! And there was so much food we couldn't finish it all..........what a deal! Tyler did not eat any of the food. He had 2 peanut butter crackers and, of course, watermelon!

Tyler had to use the bathroom at the restaurant, and this is what we found....squatty potties! Tyler refused to go and held it until we got back to the hotel!

Well..............only one more sleep and we meet our daughter! I'm surprisingly very calm. We were told that we will meet her around 4:30pm in the hotel lobby. I've been thinking about her foster family this week and wondering what they are feeling. It must be terribly difficult for them to say good-bye. This is going to be such a hard time for our sweet girl, so please pray for her transition.

The next time you hear from me, we will be a family of 6!