We're Home Sweet Home!

Whew! We made it!! I stopped blogging in Guangzhou as we no longer had free internet access from the room. I quickly sent a few emails from the business center and that was it. Now that we had adoption papers and a Chinese passport in hand, we could go to Guangzhou.
It was warmer there and we did have access to a lot more shopping right around the hotel. Rebecca was a trooper on the plane as always. Her first plane ride! I cried as we took off because as I held her in my arms, I thought, "wow, she really is ours and she is leaving WITH us!" It was a thrilling moment. Please note, that all of our intracountry flights were either on time or early and the planes looked new. Service was fantastic. So many things about China surprised me in that way. Things were better, nicer, more wonderful than imagined.
The days in Guangzhou flew by really. We submitted the paper work to get a travel visa for Rebecca and after a getting her photo taken and a brief physical we basically had free time. We toured a family compound and an active Buddhist temple. We also had a delightful dinner at a local restaurant with someone from the Bible Church. David called the concierge and gave the name/directions of the restaurant for us. The bell hop handed the Chinese note to the cab driver and off we went. We were the only Westerners in the place and certainly the only ones with a baby, so we were quite conspicuous. Nevertheless, in general, the Chinese love babies and the wait staff payed quite alot of attention to Rebecca and the meal was wonderful.
David also told us about the wholesale markets in town, so we saw where the Chinese shop owners buy the goods they sell to us! It again was quite an experience of local culture where we were definitely the minority. We always felt safe though and moved about the city with confidence and had fun.
We shopped at a local outdoor mall and found an inexpensive suitcase, to replace the one that kept malfunctioning on the way over among other things. We even saw a pet market where there were lots and lots of puppies, ducklings, chicks, rabbits, pet food and pet accessories. That was quite fun.
Friday was the big day. We went to the US Consulate where our paper work was checked once again, they verified that we were who we said we were - Rebecca too, then we took an oath. That was it. Our babies were welcomed to the US and we were on our way!
Off to Hong Kong for one night, then the flight home. We had a bulk head seat and a bassinet for Rebecca, so she basically maintained her schedule all the way home. We had an awesome welcome committee greet us at the airport where Miss Rebecca proceeded to charm everyone with her engaging stare and even a few coos and giggles. I thought she might be her quiet, pensive self in the car seat on the way home, but no. She giggled and laughed the entire way home. Something about it was very funny to her!
This is really a very brief overview of our last days in China. There are so many interesting side stories that would take a long time to write and long time for you to read, so I hope we get to share these with all of you in time. We took over 300 pictures and who knows how much video?
We are so glad to be home. We miss our travel group because we really bonded as one big family, but I think everyone is glad to be home. Rebecca continues to be a delight and shows us how to go with the flow and not worry about anything. She's adjusting beautifully and helping us do the same.