Zai jian China! Hello USA!

Well here she is ready to go. This is a go-go girl too! I picked up white scrunchies for her today. A couple of people asked me to pick up a pair for their China sweeties, so I thought I would expand her collection. Tracey, another mom, and I snuck out after breakfast for last minutes buys. We LOVE Andy's shop. The prices are great. I picked up last minute gifts for the boys. (No...I'm not going to say what they are.) and books for Anna Lin. Andy's has great beginning Chinese books with pictures and words in both Mandarin plus English. This has helped us with the language barrier since I can point to the pictures. Also bought her a pen to go with the notebook I bought her last night. She hasn't seen it yet. This will be a last resort for keeping go-go girl busy. It's beautifully covered in a red Asian fabric. I know she will flip because she loves to scribble in my notebook with my pen, and write & write & write on paper. I love this kid!

Last night I received a great present from Anna Lin...a totally unsolicited bear hug! She even told me to put my arms up before she did it. She hugged, hugged, and hugged some more. Then gave kisses on cheeks. What a sweetie she is. It is amazing how far we have come. She now seems more open to learning English. I felt she was holding back some, but since yesterday she has been trying new words right & left. Right now she is watching her last episode of the Monkey King's Journey to the West. We'll have to find a DVD somewhere. Maybe China Sprout will have it. (www.chinasprout.com).

She has been wonderful today during all of the packing. Ric took her on a last trip to the Deli Shop for an apple bun for me. This allowed me to pack presents without a jealous 4 year old watching. We leave in two hours, go to our US Consulate swearing in ceremony for AL, then off to McDonald's for a late lunch before going to the airport. Our flight is 9 pm. When we arrive in LA it will be 7:50 pm the same day. Wow, where will the day go! I think every family was glued to the TV last night watching the Guangzhou English channel CNN news. So, we have packed our carry-ons appropriately. We're hoping LA won't be too insane. We have a 4 hour layover, so maybe that will work out well for us.

I have a request for all of our great friends out there. Several of you have indicated that you would like to come to the airport to greet us. Knowing what I know so far of Anna Lin, I think it is best for us to meet only my Mom and kids there. This is a really big day for her, with lots of changes, plane rides, etc. I want to keep it as calm and simple for her as possible. It will be interesting to see how we do with the car seat on the drive home. (Boys, I'm really hoping you will help with this. Give her lots of encouragement, show her you're buckled and then high fives when we get her in.) Xi Xi, (shee shee) one of our guides explained to her that she needs to buckle up on the plane and do what mommy/daddy says. While we will be worn out, the big thing is AL's adjustment. Noah asked if we will go out to eat. I told him that it would be best for us to order out. Maybe Chinese from The China House. Then she can have her noodles. Or we can do pizza for us, since I know for sure I have ramen noodles at home. As long as she has noodles without any extra thingies in them life is good. Thank heaven we will be able to drink out of the faucet!!!!!! No more water bottles.

Zai jian! Hasta Luego! Ciao! See y'all later!

Angi