Day 17 - Sunday

E woke up early but thankfully didn't wake up G.  We had some sweet moments with her while everyone else was asleep so that was a good start to our day.  

We got everyone ready and down for breakfast with plenty of time to eat today.  Ryley dropped his juice bottle and it broke all over the table.  He ended up slicing his finger on a big shard of glass too.  It wasn't too bad of a cut and didn't need stitches or anything.  We got it cleaned up and a bandaid placed with the help of the hotel staff.  They were very helpful although we had to ask them to mop up the floor and clean up the table after waiting for it to happen for a while.  They did give Ryley a box of fancy chocolates to say they were sorry though so he thought it was all worth it!  He was happy as a clam to have a box of chocolates all to himself.  The staff made sure to come by to help us open our juice bottles after that too.  I guess they thought he was trying to open the bottle and that's how it broke.  He actually just dropped it because it was slippery and all wet after sitting in the ice where they serve it.  

We saw another family in the restaurant that we had met briefly at the medical appt yesterday.  We will hopefully go to dinner with them sometime. They're here adopting their 6th child (the 3rd adopted child).  We have much in common and they were very helpful with suggestions on dealing with E.  We talked with them for quite a while and ended up being late to meet our guide in the lobby!  It was OK though - we didn't have to be anywhere at a specific time today so it wasn't a big deal.  

Went to the pearl and jade market but it wasn't just pearls and jade.  It was everything imaginable.  There were shops on the outside and then a huge mall with several levels on the inside as well.  We stuck mostly to the inside since there was a little air conditioning.  

Our guide took us to a 'trusted' place to get pearls from.  They had every color of pearl and bead possible.  Giant bags of them filled the store all along the floor and the walls.  

I wanted to get a pearl necklace for each of the girls for their wedding days ( a common tradition in the Chinese culture).  We got to pick the size and color of the pearls and then pick the grade too.  We chose 4 strands that were pretty good quality (not the most expensive and not the cheapest either) of the small white pearls.  From those 4 strands we had 3 necklaces, 2 bracelets, and 4 sets of single pearl earrings made.  Each daughter will have a necklace and earrings and I will have a bracelet and a set of earrings.  I have one extra bracelet that I guess we'll give to our favorite daughter.  We'll have to wait and see which one that turns out to be, I guess.  ;)  The ladies actually make the necklaces and bracelets and earrings for you right there after you pick out the strands.  It was very interesting to watch.  Their hands moved so quickly you couldn't even tell what they were doing.  They separated each pearl and tied a knot in between them and then made the correct length for each piece.  We picked out clasps and the design of the earrings too.  

After we got our items we headed off to the jade store.  We had to take an escalator up to the next floor to get to it.  Our guide was concerned about letting one of the kids take a stroller up the escalator but M and R had been doing it for a couple of weeks now and we felt confident in their abilities.  It would have totally been fine too if this mall didn't have the stupidest layout at the top of the escalator EVER!  They had a huge pole right in the center of of the walkway right as you get off the escalator.  Kind of like the poles you would find on the side of the street where they don't want any cars going up onto the sidewalk.  The strollers fit through OK but you had to line them up perfectly.  Unfortunately M didn't realize that until she was already there and stuck.  I was right behind her along with some other people and we all got stuck.  I was able to walk backwards down the steps to keep from running into her along with R or C who was next to me (I can't remember who!) but the lady and her daughter next to us seemed totally perplexed as to what to do and started freaking out!  NOT HELPFUL!  M was already scared to death and didn't need these crazy Chinese people pushing on her and screaming in Mandarin at her.  Thankfully Josh had just gone through ahead of her and was able to immediately turn around and pick up the stroller and get M out of there.  She ended up with a huge bruise on her leg and some serious jitters from the adrenaline but everything and everyone else was fine.  The baby in the stroller (G, I think?) didn't even seem to realize anything had happened!

We got M calmed down and headed over to the jade store.  M had been asking for a jade pendant the entire trip (and actually before we even left for China!) so we looked into getting her something here.  We definitely wanted to get something for E as well.  We found a pendant with a tiger carved into it for E and a tiny little snake charm carved out of jade for M.  She hasn't taken it off since!  I was also able to get a circular pendant for myself.  I have a very sweet husband!  This kind of place is definitely not his thing (or the other boys for that matter) but he went along with us without complaint because he knew it was something M and I wanted to do.  

Josh also found some wood carvings to add to his little collection at his office.  He got one for his brother (his new business partner!) as well. 

This one was ready to go home after all the shopping!

We noticed that E was being awfully calm and quiet.  I went to check on her and found that she had a pretty good fever going.  She didn't have any other symptoms though.  

The kids were fascinated by some of the things for sale there.  Lots of pretty jewelry and amazing carvings.  These ones were made of something that looked like amber but I'm not positive about that.

We were scheduled to go to the Chen Family Temple and folklore museum after the market but we really needed to get E back to the hotel and check her temp and get some meds in her.  She felt VERY hot.  So we decided to split up.  Everyone drove over to the temple and we dropped off Josh, M, S and C there and then the driver took E, G, me and R back to the hotel.  I was very impressed with R - it was his decision to come back to the hotel with me and help me with the girls.  We didn't even ask him to do it.  We gave all the kids the option of going to the temple or coming back with me and he volunteered to come back just to help out.  What a good young man he is turning into!  He's been doing much better with E all day and I think our little talk from last night helped a lot.  I didn't give much detail about what we talked about but I did share a little testimony of sorts to him that I know E is supposed to be in our family and that Daddy and I didn't jump into this adoption without lots of prayer and confirmation that it was what was right for our family.  I think the Spirit really touched him as we talked because I could immediately sense a difference in his demeanor.  I also let him know that Daddy and I were having a hard time dealing with E as well but we had a choice to make in how we reacted to her.  I think he felt like he wasn't alone in this situation and that it wasn't as out of his control as he had thought.  He could control his actions and that made him feel a little better.  

Anyway, I digress.  We got the little girls fed with some leftover Subway from yesterday and got some meds in E.  Her temp was only 99.9 but she felt much hotter at the market than she did by the time we made it back to the hotel.  She didn't like it at first and ended up spitting it all out and all over me!  This is not my first rodeo however and I had only given her a little bit to test her reaction so she got the full on medicine giving treatment after that.  I had been just cradling her in my arms and trying to give it to her but that was obviously not going to work with this girlie.  I laid her down and restrained her very loosely but enough that I knew she would get angry and scream then shot that medicine right in at the back of her mouth.  She had to swallow immediately and couldn't spit it out at me.  Score one for the mommy!  Then I got them both down for a nap at the same time - a first for this trip!  Momma is on a roll!!!  R watched TV for a little while and played on the iPad while I laid down and relaxed for the first time in two weeks.  He and I both needed some quiet time to ourselves and we had about an hour or so.  It was wonderful.  He even shared a piece of his precious chocolates with me!  

Daddy and the other kids got back from the temple and had a good time too.  I think they enjoyed their respite from the girls as well.  We ended up snacking for lunch that day and planned to go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  We had to wait around for a little while in the hotel room because our laundry was due back and we had to be there to pay the guy.  We had done laundry twice before this (once in Xi'an and once in Nanjing).  Xi'an was about 5 days worth and cost us around $120 US money!  (They charge per piece and a family of 8 has lots of pieces!)  It came back very crunchy and didn't smell clean at all.  It had obviously been dried outside on a line and just smelled like the city.  YUCK.  Nanjing was also about 5 days worth of laundry and cost almost $200 US!  It didn't come back as crunchy as had in Xi'an but it didn't smell clean either.  I was anticipating the same quality and probably an increase in price when we got our laundry back in Guangzhou but it ended up being the cheapest of all the cities AND it smelled like it had actually been laundered.  So nice to have clean smelling clothes again!  

After the girls woke up we decided to go check out the hotel playroom.  E's fever hadn't returned and she seemed to be feeling pretty good.  

The playroom isn't much but the kids loved having a space to play and be wild for a bit - especially the boys!  We noticed the two walkers right away and thought G might like them.  Her nanny had told me that she loved the walkers at the orphanage.  We stuck her in one and she just sat there.  She never even tried to move it around.  She was not impressed and definitely didn't like it.  She did like the little electronic toy that fit on the tray.  It played some songs like Twinkle, Twinkle, Old MacDonald, and Happy Birthday.  Twinkle, Twinkie I totally get, but Happy Birthday?  Random.   

There were three of these rocking horse type toys and E immediately hopped on one and stayed there for the bulk of the time.  She loved these and was content to play on them for the longest time every time we went to the playroom, which was about 3-4 times.  

I almost got a smile out of her!

The boys LOVED this castle playhouse and pretty much spent the entire time running around it, locking each other out and jumping off the top of it.  They needed this castle so badly!

The playroom was not very big but we were the only family there when we got there so we let them live it up as much as they wanted. M was obviously very thrilled with all the toys in the playroom.  She was 'too old' for everything for a while but eventually got up and played with the boys a little.  She also played with the little girls too.  

This is the most I saw of S the whole time we were there.  He loved that castle!  

He'd come out for a little bit to play on the rockers though.  

R thought it was hilarious that S couldn't get down with him on the back.  

Josh had to go even it out a little. 

 E wasn't thrilled about sharing her rocker with S though.  She tolerated it for a little while though.  

 She also enjoyed the crazy electronic toy from the walker.  The batteries must have been dying in it too because not only did it play the most random selection of songs but they were crazily out of tune off and on throughout the song.  Pretty funny but also pretty annoying.  We quickly found the 'off' switch!  One thing we've noticed about E is that she does everything with her middle finger - points, feels things, pushes buttons, etc.  I know the middle finger doesn't mean the same thing in China that it does in America but it's still kind of weird to see her throwing it around all over the place.  

 G was much happier once we got her out of the walker (she really didn't spend much time in it at all - maybe 5 minutes) and she was able to explore a little.  

She loved the rockers too and has really good balance on them.  This girl can rock!

S was having a blast hiding from R and slamming the door on him.  

His laugh when he gets all excited is THE BEST EVER!

Another family ended up coming into the playroom after a while to so it was nice to talk to another family.  They didn't have any younger children, only their adopted daughter who was around the age of our girls.  

After a couple of hours in the playroom E was feeling warm again so we decided to head out and get ready for dinner.  We decided to go to Tekila, an "Authentic Mexican Restaurant".  We weren't sure what to expect but we were ready to try anything that wasn't Chinese food, although I guess technically this was still Chinese food.  

E wasn't a huge fan but the rest of us enjoyed it!  The cheese is weird here in China though and they don't serve chips and salsa.  That can't be authentic!  I went with some chicken enchiladas that weren't the best I've ever had but they definitely weren't the worst and I was not complaining!  I could read almost everything on the menu so I was happy!

Josh got a big ol' burrito and said it was good too.  

G ate some canned congee.  It looks awful but she loves it.  I couldn't ever bring myself to try it!

S had some quesadillas and french fries with lots of ketchup.  The Chinese LOVE their ketchup.  It is everywhere.  So weird.  

 M had some tacos and liked them a lot. 

C had some chicken nuggets and said they were OK. 

I think R had chicken nuggets too but somehow I didn't get a picture of him.  Bad mommy moment.  

I couldn't give E any more medicine before we left for dinner and she was getting warmer and warmer.  I ended up finishing up my dinner quickly and then heading back to the hotel on my own so I could giver her some more medicine.  I don't know why I didn't just bring the medicine with me!  

After some more medicine she perked up a little but was obviously tired.  Everyone else got back and we hung out for a little while together. 

We had a huge suite at this hotel but it only had one bed.  They had to roll in two fold up beds into the living room for us and then one kid had to sleep on the weird curved couch.  This left us with very little floor space in the living room.  The kids had to sit on this bed which was right in front of the TV to watch it.  

One thing that I didn't really worry about before we got to China was the fact that we would have three kids in diapers.  I don't know how I managed to miss that fact but it didn't really dawn on me until we actually had three kids in diapers.  I feel like all we do is change diapers!  It's crazy!

Bedtime was fairly uneventful and we all slept pretty well.  Tomorrow - the zoo!