Farewell to Guangzhou

As long as these last two weeks have been away from our boys, it's also hard to believe that it's already time to go home. On our last day here, it was cold and rainy, so we had to get creative about burning some energy.;) So we spent much time going up and down the escalators

 And up and down and up and down the stairs!

We also had fun rolling the stroller around the room. Amanda had rides, her dolly had rides, and most interestingly, she had a blast giving rides to all of her cars! I think she's going to fit right in with her brothers!

Jack took us for a delicious farewell and good luck dim sum lunch - it was wonderful! We've been so blessed to have him as a guide through the adoption process, as a tour guide to show us the beauty of Guangzhou, and as a friend with whom we've had a fantastic vacation. 

It's been a really emotional day for me. While on one hand I'm thrilled that we'll finally be getting back home to our Austin and Jackson and having our whole family of 5 together at last, I'm also going to miss so many things about being here in China. I'll miss this fantastic hotel, with the amazing daily breakfast buffet, beautiful and comfortable suite (which was soooo worth the splurge, especially since we were here two weeks!), endless escalators and stairs to burn off Amanda's energy (!), and daily maid service (not gonna lie, I've thoroughly enjoyed having someone else make the bed!). I'll miss walking the streets of this city, with the smells of wonderful food from so many vendors and restaurants, the lights and bustle at night, and the friendliness of the people. I'll miss the beautiful parks, with their constant activity of roller-blading, hacky sack, badminton, card and chess games. But most of all, I'll miss being immersed in the culture of our little girl. A part of me is sad that we'll be taking her from the comforts of her language, food, and people. But I also take comfort in knowing that it's God's own plan to put her into our family, and I know that He has great things in store for her. 

So, it's on that note that I'm saying farewell to (and from!) Guangzhou. We head out for our 30-hour journey home at 6:30 am tomorrow. Please pray for a safe, smooth and uneventful trip - see you in the US!