One Step Closer to Home

Today we travelled to Guangzhou. It was a long flight. Almost 5 hours. Danielle did wonderful on the flight. She pretty much hung out and did what every 4 year old does on a 5 hour flight - got busy with everything she could!

It was a smooth flight. Since we ended up getting to Guangzhou earlier than our guide expected, he ushered Danielle and I to the medical appt today instead of waiting until tomorrow. This worked to our advantage for 2 reasons, first, we were the last appt of the day, so we did not wait at all in the clinic. If we would have participated in the original appt. we would have waited along with 37 other families. The wait would have been hours. Second, this now means tomorrow we have a free day to explore the city. It looks like Vegas outside our window. The lobby of the hotel has an entire wall with a gold (18kt) mural. There is high rise after high rise and they are all lit up. We are excited to explore tomorrow...oh, but there is still this typhoon thing. The locals are not so much worried about it. They say it is "mysterious" - no way to know if it will hit here or not, so they simply ignore it. We'll happily play that game.

So Danielle went from the airport to her physical exam. This is a requirement by the US government before they will grant citizenship to an adoptive orphan. You need to have your medical check up at least 2 days before your Consulate appt in order to complete the 48 hour TB test. She walked into the clinic with me and immediately started to whimper. Clearly she has had her fair share of doctor's visits from her heart condition. She knew instinctively this was not going to be as fun as the plane ride. She made it through the triage without loosing it, but then when we were escorted to a side room for the 5 vaccine shots she needed, it was all tears. Yuck, 5 shots is tough. They poked her in both arms and both legs, plus a tb test in the lower arm. I swear after her being sick last night, and then the trauma of the shots today, I was getting a little worried that she might try to run screaming down the street as fast as she could to get away from this blond woman who is absolutely torturing her! But NO - she was all smiles and hugs within minutes. She is unbelievably resilient. Avery could take some serious lessons from this tough chick.

If you think I am painting an unreal picture of how wonderful Danielle is, you are right. She has exceeded Greg and my expectations exponentially. We are so blessed to be touched by this young spirit. We know she will bring such love and new adventure to our family. .