today was the official adoption day. as far as china is concerned,Sarah is now our daughter. we hang out in Nanjing until Friday. we should receive her passport on Thursday. poor baby was crying on her adoption photo, taken yesterday. she cried last night too. she slept well,and woke up really happy. she has really taken to juergen. she walks very proudly with her tall daddy by her side. she doesn't reject me, but she doesn't want me either. that's hard emotionally, but both boys were the same way. i understand how hard it is for a child to bond to more then one parent at a time. they call the Nanny's mama in the children's home. she loved her mamas, and i am just one more mama.she has never had a daddy, and this papa is about as good as they come. she also seems to adore Philip. its wonderful to see the two of them together. the only problem is Thomas also wants to be the big brother. she doesn't seem to care much for him, or any one else in the family. I'm sure in time she will love us all, it is just a matter of time. she is the cutest little monkey!
after the adoption, we went on a tour outside the city to a farming village. at a farming museum, i fell and may have broken my left arm. i need to make a trip to hospital for an x-ray. i am in some pain. i can only type with one hand, so that is why there are the typos
some other news is Nicole got e-mail from new york,she has a publishing agent, they think her writing has potential! i m so proud of her!

I think the ice has already melted on our little Sarah sunshine! She is laughing and smiling. She loves having her dad through her up into the air. She also gave me a great big kiss on the check. Nicole, Mom, Philip, Thomas and Sarah just headed outside to blow more bubbles. Those bubbles have been the total hit! I brought allot of bubbles for the orphanage, but to be honest with you, I'm not sure they will last until our visit (I think we will visit on Thursday but this needs to be confirmed). We meet our guide for a real Chinese dinner In about one half hour. I hope I can pull Jessica away from the room. She doesn't seem to be feeling too good. Tomorrow we sign the final adoption papers, and I think we will go on a tour of an old Chinese village near Nanjing. Sarah loves to be out seeing new things. She has not gotten the chance to see much outside the orphanage. She seems to be eating it up! She is very smart, and even when she cried it was not for the Nanny's, but for her teacher. I think she will bond very fast to us because we are teaching her new stuff, and she wants to learn so badly!!!

Brothers are OK too!

That's my Dad!!!

We were picked up in a large van by our guide Michael. He speaks very good English and is very good at what he does. We waited about 10 or 15 minutes for Sarah to arrive at the civil service office. She arrived with the chief nanny and she was really afraid. She is very tiny, and very beautiful! We didn't rush her. We wanted to just give her a chance to warm up to us. We first played with the magna doodle, and then with the bubbles. She was fine until I tried to hold her. Then she cried pretty hard. Her tears really got to Nicole who also began to cry. I managed to keep my head straight. I know that if they cry, it generally means they were well cared for. She was loved...this is very clear. What is also clear is that she is very smart. She tried to get her nanny to take her back to the children's home. She said they could go get other children to also come with us! After finishing the papers, we went to take the official 'parents with child' picture that is part of the adoption process. She cried through this as well. Finally we left without her nanny, and she also cried.
When we returned to the hotel, Mom took care of the other kids while Juergen and I walked to KFC with Sarah and Michael. Juergen carried her and she cried a little, but also seemed fascinated by everything around her. She has hardly been out of the orphanage and all this was new to her. Yesterday I found a street that sells toys. We first went there. I asked her if she would like a doll. Juergen first didn't think this was a good idea but Sarah thought this was a very good idea. The doll was the ice breaker. We sat in the restaurant dressing and undressing the doll. She loved this. She also said she needed to use the toilet. I took her, and she managed to sit on the toilet all by her self, no problem. When we left the KFC, she was holding my hand. As we walked on the street, I picked her up and held her. She loved this, and even sang me songs. She was getting very tired, so we returned to the hotel. We tried to put her down for a nap, and the tears returned big time. Finally she fell asleep in Juergens arms. She seems to go to both of us, but she is sad. It will take a few days, but I'm sure she will be OK. I'm so grateful my Mom is here to keep an eye on the other kids. I will write more later. She has a broken heart, so please pray for our sweet Sarah. She is so wonderful! She is absolutely wonderful!!!

We have to be down stairs in 45 minutes. I need to get Jessica dressed, and pack a bag with some toys and snacks. I did not sleep much. I pray for Gods grace and help. I'm sure I was not well rested for the birth of any of my children. Pray for us.

Some short videos from today. The streets of Nanjing, China

We all tried to get out and see the big Confucius Temple that is very near to here. I think because it is the weekend, it was super crowded and they piped in loud music. Jessica (being autistic) was totally overwhelmed. I brought her back to the room while everyone else went on ahead. To be honest with you, the crowds are a bit overwhelming for me too. We will be here a week,so hopefully I can see it another time.
We get Sarah in about 15 hours. I'm trying to figure out how I feel about this. I've been so busy trying to get over the jet lag, and make sure my other kids are feeling OK. I've been trying to take in the environment,and figure out this rapidly evolving society called China. This place is not going to look the same in 5 years, it's changing! I've been noticing the beautiful children (mostly boys) on the street. I wonder what it will be like to walk down these same streets towards the McDonald's in 24 hours. Nothing will be as it is today. Today I know who I am, and I understand the balance of things. Tomorrow everything will be out of balance. My world and her world will be shaken. We will again need to find out how to integrate this person into our lives. And just like China, Sarah will be unrecognizable in 5 years.I'm sure they have told her her family will come in the morning. She has probably just eaten her last dinner in the orphanage. They are probably trying to get her ready for her last night in a room filled with other orphans. Tomorrow she will sleep in an over crowded hotel room, but she will have a family. I hope she can dream well. It will be hard for me to sleep. I've dreamed way too long!

First I want to say Happy Easter. There isn't any sign of Easter here. It's Sunday, and the shops are all filled with teenagers buying the same sort of stuff you would find in a US shopping mall, only at relatively cheaper prices. They have the t-shirt shops, shoe stores, nail salons, and tattoo shops. They all look like they want to be China's next Super Star. They seem to be buying the whole Western marketing thing. We didn't see too many western tourists, just materialistic Chinese. There is a McDonalds on Every other corner, and a KFC on every corner. Juergen has already bought Häagen-Dazs, but that's still over $2.50 per scoop! Absolutely ridicules!!!
China is racing forward, but sometimes I think its too bad if what they are racing for is the American way of life. Nothing in the USA is built to last. It's also sad to see all the people who do not have the money to buy a Big Mac. You see it in their eyes and in their dress. They stand out on the street,and watch the others consume over priced ice cream, when you just know these people do not have the money for the basics. The gap is getting wider and wider. I didn't notice this gap in Shanghai, but it is clear in Nanjing. I'm not criticising China. I hate the gap I find in many American cities (and European cities). I just hate the idea of Chinese young people thinking Nike Shoes, and designer jeans are going to make them happy. It's just stuff! Stuff will never make anyone happy.

Here are some photos from the hotel breakfast, and a short walk around the hotel. The area has some very good shopping. I found out I can not use my bank card to get money. I even went to the Bank of China. You need a credit card, and I only have a debit card. Juergen has a credit card, and so does my Mom. We will be OK, but you should be warned you can only get cash with a credit card. Raise your credit too, so you don't run out of money! More later.

I’m very tired sitting here in my very small room in the Mandarin Garden Hotel in Nanjing. It was a bit of an adventure getting here. The bottom line is we have way too much luggage. We had 7 pieces plus 4 carryon’s, and my Mom had 3 pieces. The train station is crazy! We hired porters to help, and they charged us a pretty extorted fee! Then we didn’t have transportation from the train station to the hotel in Nanjing. So again we got robbed by some porters, who led us to two cars that were not licensed taxis. Then we paid the porters thinking they were the taxi drivers but they ran with the money. We then could hardly pay for the real drivers… We finally made it to the hotel, but it was kind of crazy! We will manage to ditch at least 3 of the bags in Nanjing (Juergen has been saying this for weeks – he was right). These three are mostly gifts for the children’s home, nannies, etc. I think we will also hire a van to take us back to Shanghai. The train ride was fine, but getting on and off the train with all those bags was ridiculous!
Nanjing looks like a Chinese München! It is a very cool, very old city! Heidelberg is so small and quaint compared to this happening town! Wow is this place nice. We get a tour tomorrow. I think I’m going to be very impressed!
I am not impressed with the Mandarin Garden Hotel. They put us in some very tiny rooms (that looked ‘quite’ different than the pictures on the internet). We managed to upgrade one of the rooms so we actually all have beds. (you must recall that Juergen found this web site with the super deal for these rooms. Hmmm …. You get what you pay for?).
I’m glad Nanjing is such a great city. Our guide will pick us up on Monday at 8.40 and at 9.00 we will meet Sarah. Tomorrow we are going to check out the neighborhood which I understand is awesome.

Juergen’s comments: Wow, now I get to write on this blog (my first lines)! I was thinking of correcting all the latest posts that Amy did about me … just kidding. They are mostly true :-) . The train ride was truly an adventure and I feel a little naïve to have tried this on our own. The tickets were about 50 Euros for all of us but we had to pay another 150 Euros (a lot of money in China!) to bail us out of there (details above). So it is like they say when they do crazy commercials on TV in the U.S.: “These are trained professionals. Don’t try this at home… “. But it was absolutely worth the adventure. If I was just by myself I would be a lot more daring to go out and about here but with a big family you have to play it safe.
We still cannot access our blog here in China since it is one of the servers blocked by the government. So we are posting these stories ‘blind’. Hope it all comes out ok.

Cool Slideshows

Juergen, Jessica, and Thomas slept in today while the rest of us went to breakfast. They had an impressive variety of both western and Asian food. Mom tried the kiwi juice, but only drank half of the glass. She said it tasted canned. I guess she is use to her kiwi juice being fresh squeezed (just kidding). The kids are getting really good at using chop sticks.

Getting over jet lag in Shanghai. Today we go to Nanjing by train. Soon we will be in the same town as Sarah...and we are getting so excited to have our sweetheart!!!

We were all just too tired to go out tonight. Jessica fell asleep about 8pm, and I hope she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night. Mom played sudoku (thank you Dianna), and Nicole did some writing. Juergen and I took the boys swimming. I took a sauna afterwards. I was a little nervous because I was alone in the sauna. It was very hot (I'm unsure how hot). At first I laid down. When I felt myself falling asleep (jet lag kicking in), I sat right up! I sat paranoid, staring at the clock. I was just too afraid of falling asleep, and basically dying from the heat! I'm sure Juergen would have come looking for me, but if you're traveling alone you may want to be careful! Now I'm extremely mellow! I think I'll sleep very well! Tomorrow we take the train to Nanjing.

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Juergen and I took a trip alone to the shopping mall. Mom babysat..having a grandparent along was a very good idea!!! I realize Shanghai is probably the most modern city in China, but man is this place cool!!! It's very clean (apart from the air that you can cut with a knife). The mall was very big. Much bigger then anything I've seen in Germany. We wanted to eat lunch, but Juergen didn't want Asian food. They had Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai,and Koran food. I would have chosen the Koran food but he wanted pizza so we passed it up. After hunting an hour for pizza, we gave up and went to KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The place was packed with young people. There seems to be a very large middle class here. Juergen stood in line, and he was about two times as tall as all the people around him. A group of school girls stood behind him and giggled. I wanted to take a picture of him, but a security guard stopped me. I think it's funny I could not photograph my own husband. We are all still pretty tired. It's questionable if we will make it to the circus tonight. If we don't go tonight perhaps we will manage it next weekend! I only ordered the tickets, I don't need to pay for them unless we show up.


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Some photos so far from today. mom and I went out to find coffee...I know, I know,I look like I needed it!!! Juergen took Philip, Nicole and Thomas to the pool. It's like a sauna in there. I could hardly get a photo because the lens kept fogging up. I can not drag Jessica out of her room yet. that's pretty typical for her. she needs a few days, and then she is ready to go, go, go!!! I ordered tickets for the Shanghai world circus tonight. Moms down for her first nap, I think she got up too early. More later!

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Hi!!! I'm reading my guestbook. Thanks for being here with us! I just love the power of the Internet. My mom is talking to my dad on the skype phone. She has been up for 5 hours. She said I look like something the cat drug in! "Thanks Mom"! But she is probably right! I actually slept through the night. I was tired before I came! I need a few days. Until then, I hope Juergen doesn't take my picture. I'm not sure what we will do today. I understand Juergen wants to take the train again. It only does its top speed during the day ( in other words it was too slow last night). Juergen and Mom took the kids down to breakfast this morning. Jessica didn't want to go, and that was OK with me. I just need to find a Starbucks. I would make my own coffee, but Philip drank all the bottled water!

Hi! I still can not read my blog, but I can read my guest book. If you want to say hi to us, or make a comment we can read...leave it on the guest book! Juergen took the magnetic train to the airport to pick up my mom! It travels super fast! It generally takes a taxi one whole hour to get from down town Shanghai to the airport. The train only takes 8 minutes. Nicole went with him. She was not feeling good, but she didn't want to miss a chance to ride on this train. It was actually built by German engineers.
It's almost bed time. I'm hoping we can sleep through most of the night. Tomorrow we hope to explore some of Shanghai. It should be pretty cool!