Today is (supposed to be) our last full day in Bella's province, in her birth city of Hohhot. Tomorrow, we are supposed to travel to our final destination in China - Guangzhou - where we will be until we depart next Wednesday. I say "supposed to" because one of the systems is down here in China that is needed to produce Bella's passport. We are supposed to be receiving them in the morning before we board our 10:40 am flight to Guangzhou; however, as of tonight, the system is still down. So, we will either be going to Guangzhou tomorrow or Friday (hopefully!). We are supposed to have Bella's medical appointment in Guangzhou on Friday; so, obviously that wouldn't be able to happen if we are still in Hohhot, but we have been told we could have it completed on Saturday and it won't lengthen our stay in China. All that to say, please say a prayer we are able to get her passport so that we continue on with getting all the necessary paperwork completed in order to bring our girl home next Thursday as scheduled.
Anywho. Today, Day 6 in China, was one I will never forget, but I'll get to that in a minute. :) After a great night of sleep for Bella, we started out the day as we do, enjoying our hotel buffet breakfast. Bella got a special lift on the way back to the room, her first ride on her Daddy's shoulders:
Anywho. Today, Day 6 in China, was one I will never forget, but I'll get to that in a minute. :) After a great night of sleep for Bella, we started out the day as we do, enjoying our hotel buffet breakfast. Bella got a special lift on the way back to the room, her first ride on her Daddy's shoulders:
We got ready and then were off for the day's adventure: a trip to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. We were told this is something that is very meaningful for families who adopt from here; so, while we were told it would be around a 2-hour ride, we thought it would be worth it. Now, I will say, while the private serenade and feast were something to remember (and something we will be excited to share all about with Bella one day), I don't know that we would do it again if we had the choice. You see, it turned out to be over 2.5 hours there thanks to some inner city traffic, which would have been okay seeing as how Bella and her sweet BFF, Audrey, were absolutely amazing on the trip (they played happily the ENTIRE way, there and back), but it was the bumpiest, most car sickness-inducing ride EVER. The van we traveled in had basically no shocks on the tires, which meant we felt every.single.bump. of the unbelievably bumpy ride, which was often curvy as we drove through the (beautiful!) mountains. I am not one to ever get car sick and I was thisclose to losing my breakfast (and sadly, one of us passengers actually did). It was not fun.
BUT the greatest thing ever happened on the way there: Bella felt comfortable enough with her momma to fall asleep in my arms. Oh my word. It was heaven on earth. She just snuggled in and fell fast asleep, and I almost started bawling (not at all unusual for me during this trip). ;) It was a huge milestone for us, and I cannot say enough how proud I am of our brave girl.
Look at my sleeping angel, in her Momma's arms <3
Once we finally arrived, we were escorted to our own private hut-house-thingy (guess I should have asked what they are called :). We took off our shoes and sat criss-cross around a square table, all six of us (our family and one of the other families we are here with). We were then each serenaded with our own special song, after which we were handed a gift - a blue scarf - as well as a small bowl of "milk tea" that we were asked to drink (milk tea = hot milk, tea, water and salt). We were then all served a meal of kung pao chicken, white rice, potato noodles, and fresh lamb (as in, likely slaughtered that morning). Our sweet facilitator/guide also somehow managed to find some Sprite, for those of us who had mentioned the day before how much we were craving a soda (have I mentioned a time or 100 how much we LOVE our Aggie?!).
What the hut thingys :) looked like that we ate in
Being serenaded
Enjoying the music together
Ready to enjoy some Inner Mongolian food!
After taking in the scene outside for a bit, it was time to head back to the hotel. We braced ourselves for the ride and honestly, it was much better on the way back for some reason! After arriving, we all went our separate ways for our last night (fingers crossed) in Hohhot. Clay, Bella, and I headed back to our room, where Bels fell asleep on me again!!!! We were also able to correct a certain...ahem...bowel issue that has been causing us stress for the last 2.5 days. Praise the Lord! ;) Meanwhile, Clay went out to grab us dinner (now, we are enjoying our authentic Chinese meals and all but sometimes we Americans need a little taste of back home. In our case, in came in the form of...McDonald's. Ha! The irony is, I haven't had a McDonald's cheeseburger in a solid five years (or more). It took me coming to China to get one). I then packed up our things in the hopes we'll be able to head to Guangzhou in the morning, but if not, I'll be writing again from Hohhot tomorrow. I guess time will tell.
Oh, and one more *minor* detail: as I was packing up our suitcases, Bella decided she felt comfortable and confident enough around us to showcase her crawling. Go, Bella, go! We are so proud of you, girl! Next up: we will conquer independent walking, cheering our little lady on all along the way. <3
And now, as we head off to bed, we are doing so to the most glorious sound in the background - our beautiful daughter, singing and laughing in her little crib, just having a jolly ol' time. Two nights ago, she was whimpering and scared. My, how things have already changed for our sweet, sweet baby. God is good, and we are so thankful that He is opening Bella's heart to us. Ours have been cracked wide open to her. <3
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