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Hello to anyone who is still looking at the blog. I am a terrible blogger, but just want to let everyone know how grateful we are for all your support and words of encouragement. After emerging from incredible jet lag (32 hours from the hotel to our front door) Wen's first haircut, first Halloween and numerous doctor /dental appointments, tests etc...we can report that Wen is in excellent health and is doing great! He has started school and is in an English Language Learners program. He was placed in first grade and is thriving. He loves our pets, his sisters, Spongebob and the Wii. Halloween was a riot. I know he had absolutely no idea why he was dressed up in a silly costume and going door to door asking for candy, but he loved it. He is a great kid and we are very lucky to have him in our family.

The World Famous Red Couch

Our Last Day in Guangzhou

It's our last day here at the White Swan and we are packing up and getting ready to fly home. Sorry that we haven't posted more. We have been very busy every day going from the breakfast buffet, then on to Starbucks for our afternoon Frappucino then we have to come back to the hotel so that we can rest up before ...you guessed it...dinner. They are going to have to roll us out of here.

Seriously, it has been a great trip and everyone is doing really well. Liza has a new boyfriend. His name is Joey and he's three years old. He and Liza are pretty tight. Wen passed his medical exam with flying colors and is doing great. He is in constant motion and into everything. We were telling him to sit down so much that we started chanting SIT DOWN NORM (for all you Mizzou fans). He also does some impersonations now. His favorite is of me. He puts on my glasses, shakes his finger and in a very nasal, Fran Drescher type voice, he yells "DON"T TOUCH." He thinks this is really funny.

Everyone has enjoyed our time in China, but I think Merrie most of all. So at ease and lighthearted. It has been wonderful for Tom and I to watch. We were so worried that this was going to be a difficult trip for her and it has turned out to be just the opposite. This has been a fantastic experience for our family and we will have wonderful memories for years to come. We have met so many incredible children and parents. Amazing people with amazing stories. It's truly an honor to know them.

Thank you again to everyone for your encouragement and continued support. Home soon!

Tom And Jeremy (Joey's dad)

Group Photo

Liza and her new boyfriend:)

More Wen

Medical Exam ~ All is Well!

The White Swan and Shamian Island ~ Guangzhou

Five Rams Statue ~

Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou

Mausoleum of Nanyue King

Mausoleum of Nanyue King
























Entrance to the Tomb
of the Nanyue King

Xi"an Children's Welfare Institute

Xi'an Children's Welfare Institute





Our last day in Xi'an we went to visit Wen's orphanage and say goodbye to his friends and caregivers. We took Wen to the Lotus Super Center (Chinese Wal-Mart) so that he could take some food to the children. He told our guide that his friends had told him what to buy for them so we let him do all the shopping. Coke, cookies, crackers and candy...and lots of it. There really are no words to describe our visit at the orphanage. So many beautiful children with so little hope. Many of the children are severely disabled and we were told by the director that they will never be adopted. I thought of Jake and knew that we were meant to visit this place.

More of the Terra Cotta Warriors

Tom and new friend at the Terra Cotta Horse and Warrior Pit #2.

Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum

More Photos of the Terra Cotta Warriors Factory and Museum

TERRA COTTA WARRRIORS

TERRA COTTA WARRIORS:

The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province by local farmers drilling a water well 1.5 miles east of Lishan (a mountain). This discovery prompted archaeologists to proceed to Shaanxi Province, China to investigate. The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang, Shi Huang means the first emperor) in 210-209 BC. The purpose of the army was to help rule another empire with Shi Huang Di in the afterlife.

The figures vary in height (6ft–6ft 5in), according to their role, the tallest being the generals. The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.

BIG WILD GOOSE PAGODA

Big Wild Goose Pagoda was first constructed during the reign of the Tang Dynasty Emperor named Gaozong in the 618-907 period. From that period, the ancient building used to collect and preserve all the Buddhist materials from India by the hierarchy of Xuanzang. Xuanzang was a scholar, traveler, translator and a famous Buddhist monk during The Tang Dynasty. He traveled to India, birthplace of civilization of Buddhism. He stayed for 17 years and traveled across more than 100 countries to obtain Buddha sutras, figures and relics. Later he became the superior of a monastery of Da Ci’en temple by the Tang dynasty in the period 628-683. He ordered the heirarchs to translate all Sanskrit sutras into Chinese language which was totaling around 1,335 volumes. He governed the building of pagoda in preserving the memorable Buddhists civilization history.