September 3, 2004

Emma at breakfast
Our Travel group leaving for home
Sera on the red couch with Lily & Emma
Emma on the red couch
Playing in the White Swan playroom
Subject: Thank you for all the well wishes..
They have all made me feel so much better! Being in Guangzhou has
helped tons.. it is sooo much nicer here!! We walked into the hotel
and it was wonderful!!! I took a shower yesterday and by far that
is the best shower I have ever taken!! We have already bought tons
of stuff for us and Emma! The White Swan is 100 times better than
everyone says it is. It is so nice to go down the street and have no
one staring at you like you have 3 heads! Everyone is used to seeing
the babies with Caucasion parents, so they think it's great! Our
flight from Guangzhou to Beijing, was fine, but getting there
wasn't. For some reason we were put on a different flight than the
rest of our group. I was a little unhappy about that, but the flight
we were supposed to take was just 20 minutes after the other one.
Our flight was supposed to take off at 8:55 but it didn't take off
till nearly 10:30. I was not happy about this at all, because we
needed to check in at the hotel at 12, have lunch and the medical
exam was at 2:00. We landed at exactley 12:59, at the new Guangzhou
airport which is wonderful, and our luggage was the first off the
plane. Because our flight was delayed, we were expecting our
facilitator in Guangzhou to not be there, since the other families
had arrived about 1-2 hours before us.. BUT they were there!! We
went straight from the airport to get Emma's vise photo, then to the
medical exam. She passed with flying colors and was the only baby
not screaming! We met the other half of our group there.. (the
couples that went to Kunming.) Their babies are all beautiful, but
malnourished and they have had attachment issues. Except
for the little boy, he is adorable.. and such a chunk! Once we
got to the hotel... it was all worth it what we had been through the
past few hours!! The waterfall in the lobby is so calming and all of
the babies are adorable!! We met 2 couples that were leaving that
day and they shared their experience with us. Their babies were from
ChongQing. We had some lunch/dinner, since we were in such a rush to
get to the medical exam, we hadn't eaten yet. Later that night we
ate at the Cow & Bridge (is this what it's called).. the Thai
restaraunt. We didn't eat because we had already eaten earlier.
Yesterday the breakfast buffet was glorious!! After awhile, the
buffet in Beijing was becoming boring. It was more Chinese food
there, but here at the White Swan it is wonderful!! And you can dine
with all the babies!! We met a couple that just sent their youngest
to college, and came here to get twins!! After breakfast, Sera did
school work and Emma took a nap and Claudio and I went shopping. We
ordered chops, and one of those granite etchings, and did some more
shopping. Our consulate appoinment was at 4:30. It was much easier
than I thought it would be. We weren't allowed to bring anything in
except our passports and the baby. The process was very short, and
the guy came in, we took the oath and were done! Seeing all of the
babies that came from other provinces, makes me so glad Emma came
from Beijing and is very healthy. Many of the children are extremely
skinny, and their heads are completely flat at the back. With lots
of love and food, they will all be fine, but we truly got the most
wonderful baby! (In my eyes!) After the appointment, we went to
dinner at Lucys and waited for our visa, which would be ready that
night! Sera went with the other couples on the Pearl River Tour. She
says she's glad I didn't go since it wasn't that great. It was a
buffet style dinner and all chinese food (complete with octopus &
squid) and they all had to push and shove their way through the
line. She said going up the river was fun and getting shots of the
White Swan at night. She and Patti, Bill & Lily went to Lucy's for
dinner after the cruise. Then she came back, and we just chilled and
watched tv for awhile. This morning, we went to breakfast and there
was a journalist and photographer Sera and the Hannon's met in the
elevator last night who was very interested in our adoptions. The
journalist was interested in doing story about it. The photographer
was with us through breakfast and he got shots of all the girls in
our group, and a few babies from Australia. We are going to talk
with the journalist later because he wants to know more about our
story. Pretty neat.. we may just be in a magazine or newspaper!!
After breakfast, we met the rest of our group by the red couches and
took more photos. All of our group left today except Patti, Bill &
Lily and ourselves. It was sad seeing all of them go. Our travel
group has been beyond wonderful and it's amazing to see these kids
transform from Gotcha Day to Today. We will miss them all so much,
and are planning a reunion next year!! After we said our goodbyes,
the photographer went with us and captured some shots of Lily and
Emma and us. We played in the Swan Room for awhile and then went
shopping and picked up the rest of our treasures here in China. It
is so wonderful being in Guangzhou. I love it here. It's been great
here and we will truly miss China, but I am ready to see my babies
at home. Especially since another hurricane is headed to Florida.
Any news on this?? We have CNN and they give a breif talk about it,
but what is going on?? Where is it supposed to hit?? We come home
early Sunday morning, so hopefully it will be gone. Please say a
prayer for my kids and all of our friends and for the Floridian
people. I hope it is not as bad as Charley. We are praying for all
of you in Orlando. We're almost home, the journey is almost
complete, and Emma will be an American once her little feet touch
the US soil in LA!! See you guys soon!! We're almost home!

Lots of love,
Claudio, Nancy, Sera & Emma