Shoes

Some of Mara's shoe creations.....

Shopping

Mara is a great shopper. She rode in her stroller and ate snacks like a champ while Katie and I shopped at the Leather Market. I bought a purse and Katie bought a few things. Tomorrow we have her TB test checked and head to the Pearl Market.

Physical Day and TB test

Today we went for Mara to have her physical and TB test done. If you have never been to Guangzhou for this, I will just tell you it is madness. We had three stations to go to; height/weight (27 pounds and 35 inches tall), ENT, and medicine/surgery. We had to do the ENT part twice, because the first time they said she passed the hearing test. (They squeaked a toy near her ear and in her line of sight). Mara most definitely cannot hear. She did very well with the TB test. We go back on Monday to have it read.

We were able to momentarily have pigtails today. They did not make it through the day, but it was a good start.

Tomorrow is a free day. I see shopping in our future.

Leaving Wuhan in the Morning

We head out tomorrow for Guangzhou. We are excited to start the second leg of the trip. There are 8 million people in Wuhan, but yet there was not much for Katie and I to do near the hotel. I hope Mara is a good airplane traveler. The flight tomorrow is only about 1.5 hours.

It is official!

I officially signed the adoption papers! I was asked why do you want to adopt her. I said because we love her and she makes our family complete. They looked at how many children we had, and looked at me very perplexed. They can have only 1, and I will have 5 in my home.

We are learning more and more about Mara. She can look so serious, and then she cracks herself up. She is very observant. She picks up on things very quickly. She has great problem solving skills, and good fine motor skills. She likes books, photo albums, and the magna doodle. She cannot hear us.

We did notice that she does not like to share with others. This should be fun when we get home.
We have three more days in Wuhan. We are exploring the area around our hotel. I did ask if there was a Subway near here. I had to explain it was a restuarant not a train. We did not find it, but Katie did have a Starbucks coffee.

Mara Min

I had prepared Katie and myself for the worstcase on "Mara Day". Outside the room we could hear a baby crying loudly, and I thought that was her. I was wrong. Mara was playing when I arrived. She looked at me and I hope she recognized me from the albums we sent.She was led to me and did not fuss. She loved the lamb that I brought for her. (We are still waiting on the "other shoe to drop").

The foster family did not have heat in their home, so Mara was dressed in many layers. (A coat, 2 heavy sweaters, a vest and a sweatshirt, 3 pairs of pants the outside pair was lined.)

She is a very smart little person. She is able to get her wants and needs across. I have started teaching her simple signs (more, ball).

She is not feeling 100%. She has a little cough and she did throwup in the night. She is not running a fever. The orphanage did send medicine for her. We will continue to watch her and give her plenty of fluids.

Great Wall and Wuhan

Our group went to the Great Wall. Katie and I decided to do the "easy" side. Let me tell you it was not as "easy" as you think. It was obvious that it had been rebuilt, but the steps were still very steep and uneven; some were 2 high others 4 high. The 4 high were up to my knees. It was fun and later we had a traditional Chinese lunch. I am attaching a photo of the fish we were served.

We made it to Wuhan, Hubei. It is a busy city. I do not think that they see many Americans here; just by the curious looks we get. They do have a Starbucks and McDonalds.

We meet Miss Mara tomorrow at 10:30. I am beginning to get anxious/nervous. Pray for her little heart as her world is going to be turned upside down.