Going Home and HOME!

Waiting in the very hot train station in Guangzhou

On the train.....that was a nice change from the usual air travel. Headed to Hong Kong for the night.

Picnic in the Hong Kong train station

Our group picnic

Susi becomes a U.S. Citizen in Seattle, Washington. To my adopting friends, if you can avoid entering in Seattle, I sure would. They are completely disorganized in immigration, short handed, and we waited for hours. Ridiculous!

This was a nice treat when we finally processed and got to our connecting gate. My nieces were there to greet us and fly to Phx with us!

On the plane, finally going home! Graci, Susi, and cousin Charlen.

After we arrived home we had a nice family dinner at our favorite mexican food restaraunt. We almost left gracefully but not quite. We had two melting down before we could get out of the restaraunt. Susi, because she had only slept 3 hours in the past 27 hours(and her parents were silly enough to take her out to dinner) and Kamby because she thought she would copy Susi. Then everyone thought mommy should carry them all since I was carrying Susi. It was quite the sight, but we had a great meal in the to go boxes we took home.

Susi is loving being home. She is exploring all the toys and fits right in with all the littles. She loves her big sisters and enjoyed her cousins today.

Brady 9

Happy girl! She can climb up on the trampoline by herself and bounce her little bottom.

Well, it was sure a long journey home but all went well. It was so different traveling with a four and five year old instead of babies. I have not done that before. It was so much easier! We calculated that we had visited 8 airports, taken 8 flights, 9 cities, 1 train, countless buses and vans, 4 hotels, and many waiting areas in 2 weeks. We were trying to calculate the miles traveled but we are still too tired to think that high. Whenever we had trouble persevering we just looked at Susi and told her she was worth it all. Susi is such a happy and well adjusted girl. We are learning that our angel has a stubborn side and is quite ornery! She also knows how to cry on command and shed tears when told no firmly. She has just loved all her brothers and sisters. She has given kisses and hugs to everyone and called them all by name. She is also sleeping wonderfully and enjoys going to bed with her sisters in the 'girl' room.

Photo Day and The Red Couch

Photo Opp

Can you tell Susi loves her new sunglasses!

Red couch photos

Susi getting ready for the group red couch photo

It was a little harder to get everyone on board for the picture. These are the 6 cuties who joined their forever families with Susi (and Xander's mom because he had no intention of sitting on the couch). Left to right -Sydnee, Brendan, Susi, Xander, Chloe, and Sophia

Our lovely travel group of 6 families!

Our family with our wonderful guide, Helen.

Three of my five favorite girls!

My and my girls!

Beautiful Graci Jia

Beautiful Susi-Yue

Ready for a swim after so many pictures

We went to the US Consulate this morning to get Susi's visa. It was pretty uneventful but always nice to have done because it is the last step to getting to go home. Fun day of shopping and swimming as this will be our last full day on the island. We leave tomorrow for Hong Kong and I will probably not post again until after we our home. Please pray for traveling mercies for our girls (and mom and dad) as we begin the very long journey home. As we have made wonderful friends here and had a great experience we are ready to be together with all our kids and fully complete the Brady 9. Praise God everone is well and Susi is adjusting beautifully!

Panda Bears

Our view at breakfast

On our way to see the panda bears

Heading into the Giant Panda Center

Worth the unbearable heat to see these magnificent creatures

Our family with the panda bears

After a long, HOT, day at the safar park we are heading to the pool. The girls with their White Swan Barbies - Mama Barbie adopts a baby from China

Susi loves swimming! The pool was so nice to cool down.

On our way back to our room after swimming

Yesterday we went to the safari park and saw many animals but the highlight was the panda bears and koalas. It was so miserably hot! About 150 degrees and 250% humidity! I have never sweated so much in my life, it was all worth it though to see the pandas. The girls had a great time. I am feeling better but not totally well yet. After the park we went to Mcdonalds for lunch. Words can't express the busyness at Mcdondalds. The amount of people in one place is just mind boggling! I couldn't take a picture because we couldn't hardly move let alone get a camera out to take pictures. Today Lee and Alyx went to a Buddhist temple and a museum while the girls and I stayed back and played at the hotel. We had a fun time in the Swan room (playroom). Now we are off the have Susi's tb results checked and go to lunch.

Guangzhou

Sweet Sisters

Best Friends

Silly Girls

Medical Clinic

Susi at her medical exam, she was a trooper

We are staying on a beautiful island, it is hot though, so everyone got fans

We made is safely to Guangzhou. Our hotel is lovely and the island is wonderful. We walked to the clinic this morning for Susi's medical exam, it was all good. I, mommy, have been sick all day, so it has been a hard day. Plus we didn't get in until midnight last night and we slept a short while before getting up for the day. Tomorrow, I am praying I am well enough to go the safari park and pearl factory. Please pray no one else gets sick.

Visit to Si Ping

Best Big Sisters

Graci was having fun taking pictures out our hotel window

Susi and Graci having fun on the slide at the KFC

Snoozing on the 2.5 hour drive to Siping

Siping Social Welfare Institute -Baby/Toddler room

Susi with one of the ayis that remembers her from when she was in the orphanage in 2009

Siping SWI baby/toddler room

Siping Center - where Susi spent the majority of her baby and toddler years

Siping Center

Siping Center

Siping Center

Siping Center

Our family with one of the nannies at the Siping center and the assistant director to the Siping orphanage

After our visit to the orphanage and center we went out to lunch and Susi taught us how to use chopsticks. She is really good!

Susi's finding place -The People's Republic Hospital lobby

In front of the orphanage

We have just had a wonderful day full of surprises and many blessings. We drove to the city of Siping, where Susi was born and found. It is about 2.5 hours from Changchun, the capitol of Jilin province. First we visited the orphanage where Susi was placed after her original surgery and recovery. One of the nannies remembered her and called her by name. We spent some time holding and playing with the babies and toddlers. We were hoping to spend more time at the orphanage and get to play with the older kids but there was another event going on and that was not possible. After our visit to the orphanage we went to the Siping Center. A wonderful foundation that cares for high risk kids that need to be much more stable before returning to the orphanage or being adopted. Susi spent most of her babyhood and toddler years at the Siping Center. It was such a blessing to take her to visit, they not only totally know her but they had tons of pics of her as a baby. I was able to download them and she will have a whole baby album! This is unheard of with my younger kids. I have so few pics of them before they were adopted. But Susi will have pictures, memories told to her, and people that have known here since she was just days old. It is so awesome! I can't wait to bring her back to visit when she is older. After the center, the assistant orphanage director took us out for lunch. We ate yummy Chinese food, dumplings and various other delicious entrees. This tasted especially good because we have been on our own for food for the past few days, that means we eat KFC and Pizza Hut. If I don't have someone to help me order, I stick with what I know. After lunch we went to the hospital where Susi was found just days old, back in 2006. When we walked in, the nurses ran right up to us to see if we needed help. Then our guide explained why we were there and taking pictures in the emergency room lobby. As usual, we caused a spectacle and everyone was staring and laughing at us. We are getting used to it though and now find it kind of fun to be the entertainment. It has been a big adjustment for Graci, she is trying so hard to take things in stride and be flexible. But everyone keeps talking to her in Chinese because they assume she understands. She keeps looking at me and asking what they are saying to her, so I tell her to talk to them in English and they just start cracking up. So she shrugs her shoulders and moves on. She is such a trooper! She has even handled people touching her, which is very common here. People will squeeze her cheeks or pet her head or face. The first time it happened I thought she was going to freak out but instead she looked at me and said "why is that man petting my face?" LOL!