The girls ready for the day- they had no idea what was in store for them this morning. A huge thank you to my good friend, Fannie for the adorable outfits...they were perfect for this day!
She's 50% serious as can be and 50% total goof ball! :)
At the medical exam building they have this vending machine...only in China!
This is the room where we had pictures taken for the girl's medical exam. I believe these are the pictures they use for their visas and certificates of citizenship as well.
Getting ready to head upstairs for the medical appointment.
Waiting to be seen.
A little apprehensive.
Still smiling...
There were many adoptive families there for the very same thing as us. We had to visit three rooms- 1)general check-up
2) height and weight
3) ENT
We then had to have the girls get a TB test done- they did a blood draw for any child 2 and older. They wouldn't let you in the room- they just took the child and brought them back out when done.
Kristin and Russ and their beautiful daughter, Elliott. I think she looks like an angel!
In the ENT office. We had this guy for Lena's medical exam too and he just cracks us up because when you tell him the child is deaf- he takes this squeaky toy and squeaks it by each ear and then thinks they can hear because they turn their head. He clearly doesn't realize how observant deaf children are and the fact that once he squeaked it one time, Macie realized he had something in his hand...so when he moved it to the other hand, she knew there was something over there. ;)
We were surprised that Macie did so well and that Maeleigh was not doing so well. She does not care to go to the doctor apparently.
Just checking height and weight. Macie was staying cool and Maeleigh was a mess.
The general check-up. He asked something about her mental development. I just said- she's deaf..she can't hear, but she is otherwise healthy and like any other child.
Maeleigh's general check-up.
I don't have a picture of the girls coming out of the TB test. Both were crying, but Maeleigh screamed SO loud while in there. I bet those poor nurses get beat up with all the kids they see. Maeleigh was one very mad little girl!
While waiting for all the families to finish up, I had the pleasure of meeting some more adoptive families. These two I was so anxious to meet because I had advocated for these two boys, both who happen to be deaf too! God is showing off here this week- there are 6-8 kids we know about in Guangzhou this week who have been adopted who are deaf or have hearing loss. That is incredible!
The above boy is Anthony with his sweet mom, Nicole and they are from Michigan- we hope to connect again with them in the future. The boy below is Max and his lovely mom, Kristen. Kristen and her husband adopted two adorable little deaf boys and they are also first time parents. All three boys were in a care home together. I love how God brought them to their families at the same time and also at the same time we would be in China. Max has quite a story- his file had randomly hit many agency lists at one time. That rarely happens- it was some sort of glitch. I had advocated for him and a family with our agency locked his file. This mom had contacted me- she was with another agency and was adopting his best friend and hoping to adopt him too. The family that had locked him released his file and are now matched with another little boy. The rest is history. God knew that two boys would come home because of this and which boy was to be in which family. His plans are best and always amaze me.
It didn't take too long for the smiles to return! SO tough! They were having fun with dad, Evan, and Lena while waiting for me to do paperwork with our guide and the other moms.
All their paperwork is ready for Tuesday's consulate appointment!
So proud of Evan and Lena- they are doing such a great job in their roles as big brother and big sister!
Lena is really bonding well with Maeleigh- it's so cute. And Evan adores them both for different reasons.
Later that afternoon we took a cab and went to one of our favorite places in Guangzhou- One Link Plaza. It's a huge shopping center where they have store after store and floor after floor of shops that each sell a specific type of item.
They have shops all along the outside of the building too. There was a costume shop and a shop with all Christmas decorations and another with little motorized vehicles for kids.
These people were pulling these motorized vehicles out of the boxes and assembling them right there.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...sort of.
We've heard Christmas music in the park in Nanning and now this!
When we adopted Lena we had found a shop that sold knock-off Legos for SUPER cheap. They weren't exactly the same, but they were of just as good quality (not like the drug store Legos at home). Well we found another shop like it this time and Evan was so excited to spend some of his spending money his grandpa had sent him. He got so many Legos for so cheap! We will take them and the directions out of the boxes to bring them home and just toss the boxes to save space. What a score! We got a kick out of how they called Star Wars Space Wars and changed Chima to Ghima to avoid trademark infringement.
Saturday night we went to dinner at a favorite Mexican restaurant here in Guangzhou (a little taste of home) called Tekila's. We went with Kristin and Russ and enjoyed getting to know them better!
After that, it was time for baths and bedtime. Macie has been having a hard time with bath time and bedtime, but it is at least pretty short lived. She is getting better with teeth brushing at least. Sometimes her getting upset at bed time makes it a bit hard for Maeleigh, but all in all she is doing great! Please keep praying for both girls' hearts, their transition, and for their TB tests to come back clear and for us to get our visas on time on Wednesday afternoon so we can head to Hong Kong that evening. Overall we had a great first day in Guangzhou! We really love it here in Guangzhou!
Thank you for the updates! We have been praying for you! Beautiful pictures!
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