Homeward Bound!

We spent today packing up and purchasing last minute necessities for the long trip home tomorrow. This has been an incredible experience that we will always cherish. However, we are ready to come home to be with Joshua, Katie, and the rest of our family and friends. In addition, Scott is tired of watching ping pong on ESPN world. We are leaving Guangzhou tomorrow morning to fly to Hong Kong. Although we arrive in Hong Kong at 12:30pm, our flight to Chicago doesn’t depart until 5:45pm! Then, we fly15 hours straight to Chicago (where Caroline will officially become a US citizen) and then take another flight to Raleigh where we will arrive around midnight. It’s going to be pretty brutal, but we’ve armed ourselves with Cheerios, crackers, and other “Caroline calming” snacks.

Happy to be headin' home!

This is what we hope Caroline will look like during the flight from Hong Kong to Chicago! On another note, Caroline has made a lot of progress physically since Gotcha day on August 20th. She can now sit up on her own, has PLENTY of energy, and is quick to smile.

Finally Done!

At 4:00pm this afternoon we took an oath at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou which officially completed our adoption process. Currently, Caroline is still a Chinese citizen, but she will become an American citizen the moment her passport is stamped in Chicago! Tomorrow, we will say goodbye to many of the families in our adoption group. The rest of us fly out on Friday.

China is known for pearls, jade, and porcelain and we have enjoyed visiting great shops for each while here. Our adoption agency has been really helpful in that they have recommended the most reputable stores to visit. CCAI brings these stores a lot of business, and so the owners make sure they take care of the adopting families. Today, prior to our U.S. Consulate appointment, we visited a pearl wholesaler. We had fun learning a lot about freshwater and saltwater (Mikimoto) pearls. They assist clients in selecting their pearls and then string them up right on the spot.

Friends & The White Swan Hotel

Today we received word that all of our paperwork has been approved! Tomorrow we take an oath at the US consulate which is the official last step before families begin flying home. As you can see in this picture, Caroline is making many friends here that she will miss when we leave. This is Sarah Beth and she came from Illinois with her family to adopt a little sister.

One thing we haven’t mentioned much in previous posts is how nice the hotel is here in Guangzhou. Needless to say, it makes things easier when you’re staying at a five star hotel! The White Swan hotel sits right beside the Pearl River on Shamian Island. This picture is of the interior atrium area.

There are several pools at the hotel, including this one that overlooks the Pearl River.

We figured we needed a picture with Caroline wearing some Carolina blue. All our Wolfpack friends got quite excited seeing her in her beautiful red dress a few days ago!

Physical Exam and More Touring

Last week (August 22nd), our adoption agency (CCAI) provided a doctor to examine each baby in order to identify any health issues that might need either immediate or long term attention. The doctor identified that Caroline has a cleft palette (hole in the roof of the mouth). As part of the USA paperwork, an official physical exam is required of each baby, and Caroline’s appointment was at 3:30pm this afternoon. The doctors indicated that she does have a “level 2” (out of 3) cleft palette which will require surgery to repair, but afterwards Caroline should be just fine. CCAI has been on top of this unexpected “special needs” condition and already has a health addendum ready so we won’t be delayed coming home.

Caroline didn’t particularly like the appointment, but was smiling and chatting soon after it was over.

We spent part of the day touring a 1500 year old Buddhist temple. The architecture was beautiful as seen in this picture of an ancient pagoda in the middle of the complex.

The families were given the option of attending a Buddhist blessing for their babies. Of course, we respectfully declined and stayed outside (John 14:6).

Caroline getting ready for bed after a tiring day

Red Couch Day

A well known China adoption tradition is taking pictures on the red couches at the White Swan Hotel. All the babies in the adoption group are dressed in beautiful Chinese dresses and placed together on one of the red couches. We have an unusually large group of 17 families…so yes, 17 babies all together for a picture! This is Caroline getting ready for her picture (we start to tear up thinking about prom night 16 years from now!).

This is the group photo just before the baby to the right of Caroline fell behind her. The next picture below is Caroline’s reaction---mad as a hornet!

Caroline is not happy…and the chaos continued for another ½ minute while all the families took pictures!

After the red couch photo, we all went all to a Thai restaurant called Cow and Bridge. We have met some really great families and ate at the same table with many of them. Amy is really starting to become quite the food connoisseur. Apparently, Caroline already is as this picture shows!

We also spent a few hours today preparing the USA paperwork for Caroline’s visa which we will receive on Wednesday. Here’s Caroline thinking about everyone she’ll meet back home when all the paperwork is done!

On to Guangzhou!

All the families in our travel group (see picture) left Nanchang and flew to Guangzhou this afternoon. The flight was somewhat difficult as the plane was packed with people and not well air conditioned. Add 17 babies to the mix and you can probably imagine the chaos. Caroline did great though…we just had to keep filling her with her new favorite food, Cheerios. We just arrived at the White Swan hotel and all three of us are pretty exhausted. As soon as we laid Caroline in her crib she fell asleep. This hotel is awesome so we will plan to include pictures in an upcoming post. We have a really busy day tomorrow as we start the USA paperwork process, so we are going on to bed now.

Although we were excited to be headed to a new city, we were sad to say goodbye to our Nanchang CCAI reps (James, Evelyn and Vivian). They did such a fantastic job in guiding us through the China paperwork maze, serving as tour guides, and working as our interpreters.

Caroline wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to send us messages so far. It is so encouraging to hear from friends and family back home!

Passport Day!

Today we traveled to the Provincial Registration Office to get Caroline’s China passport. With her passport now in hand (shown in this picture), the three of us can fly to Guangzhou tomorrow where we will spend the next week getting all of Caroline’s USA paperwork completed. Caroline is still a Chinese citizen, but will officially become an American citizen when we land in the US on September 1st.

Caroline's official adoption certificate

After we picked up Caroline’s passport, we decided to go porcelain shopping. Jingdezhen (which is just a few miles northeast of us) is world renowned for authentic porcelain that is made from locally found clay that is rich in feldspar. The elegance of the designs and the depth of color are truly outstanding. James, our CCAI rep, directed us to a well respected store where the owner was waiting to assist us. She was very proud of her collection and courteous to deal with.

Caroline and Mommy on the bus

Rock Stars?

While spending time at the zoo and walking the streets of Nanchang today, you would think we were rock stars (Scott prefers pretending he is a pro basketball player). Unlike in Hong Kong, the people of Nanchang are not used to seeing Americans because the city is not typically a tourist destination. So everywhere we go people stare at us, and many start trying to speak with us. Neither of us knows any Chinese except that “hola” means hello (actually it’s “Ni Hoa”, but you get the point). So, CCAI has provided us badges to wear that explain in Chinese that “we are Americans and are adopting an abandoned child and we promise to love and care for her always”. The reaction from everyone who reads it is the same…they give us a genuine smile and a big thumbs up.

Here is an example of people wanting to speak to us and get a close look at Caroline.

It is not usual to see babies and small toddlers wearing split pants. Caroline wore them at the orphanage as well.

Believe it or not, we are eating Chinese once each day (even Amy), although all of the meal pictures we post indicate otherwise! This is Caroline’s first trip to McDonald’s…she loves french fries just like Joshua and Katie.

Rest/Tour Day

Over the next few days, we are simply waiting for the China legal paperwork that we completed Monday to be processed so we can obtain a passport for Caroline. So, we have some time to explore Nanchang and gain a little better understanding of the Jiangxi province where Caroline is from.

One crazy aspect of China is how traffic works. It took us a while to figure out that other than obeying stoplights, the rule of thumb is whoever is in front has the right of way. So, if you cut in front of someone, you have the right of way. Horns are just a natural part of driving. We’re going to video this phenomenon tomorrow as it is too difficult to explain in words. Tonight we walked a few blocks to dinner and thanked God for providing us safety when we got there. This picture is of Caroline and Amy soaking up the ancient Chinese culture in Pizza Hut.

Nanchang is divided into two sections by the Gan Jiang river. One side is almost 2,000 years old, while the “new” side has been built up in the last 5 years (shown in this picture). The government has made it very attractive for private developers to do business. In addition, China has the fastest growing economy in the world, so you can imagine the incredible construction that is going on in the larger cities (we’re thinking Beacon Street Far East division).

However, after viewing the booming new development, it is easy to overlook the fact that the Jiangxi province as a whole is one of the poorest areas of China. The strange thing is that these two different social classes often live side by side. For example, this picture is housing right next to our hotel (the only 5 star hotel in Nanchang). The area Caroline is from is an even poorer agriculturally based region.

Today, our adoption group also toured the Teng Wang Pavilion which was first built in A.D. 683. We watched musical and dance performances on the top floor and walked around in the beautiful gardens.

Dreaming of North Carolina (at Chapel Hill). This is for all of you "Wolfpack Li Dixon" fans.

Doctor Day

Today brought a somewhat strange twist of events. Every family has a doctor’s visit to check out their child’s health. Our appointment occurred just before lunchtime, and as the doctor examined Caroline, he and our interpreter were talking a lot in Mandarin. Finally, our interpreter said that Caroline has two problems. First, he said she has a cleft palette which would require surgery when we got back home. Second, she is severely anemic due to malnutrition. We were not surprised that Caroline is suffering from being malnourished because she weighs only 13 pounds and is 10 months old. Plus, she gets extremely excited every time she sees a bottle or some food. However, we were suspect about the cleft palette because she was not having any problems taking a bottle and she was not listed as a special needs child beforehand.

Fortunately, one of the adoptive mothers is a dentist and looked at Caroline after dinner. She said that she’s pretty sure Caroline doesn’t have a cleft palette, but that her uvula is missing (the flap that hangs down in the throat area). She said we should get her examined when return to North Carolina.

Regardless of what Caroline’s condition is, we are so thankful that God chose her for us. Over the next 3 to 4 months, her malnourished condition should improve. In the meantime, Caroline is no exception to the fact that children seem to always cope with things better than adults. She loves playing with toys and is now chattering a lot with us!

With doctor’s appointments and legal paperwork now completed in Nanchang, we will have a couple of days to tour the city before we depart for Guangzhou this weekend.

Caroline smiling for everyone reading her blog.

Tonight, we ate dinner together with all of the adoptive families. We ate Amy's favorite...Chinese food! Let's just say that ravenous Caroline ate more than Amy.

Daddy with Caroline

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today, Caroline officially became a Dixon, and believe it or not, it is Scott’s birthday too! It’s amazing to think about God’s sovereignty…back in the summer of 2004 (before Caroline was even conceived) He orchestrated circumstances for Scott to be listening to the Focus on the Family broadcast about the plight of little girls in China, and over two years later she became part of our family on his birthday.

Today was a busy day in making our adoption official. We had to visit the Nanchang registration office to pay our fees and give fingerprints. Interestingly, part of China’s paperwork included us writing a statement of intent which explains our reason for adopting and a promise that we will never abandon or abuse our child.

After our registration was complete, we met with the orphanage directors. They told us a lot about the Heng Feng Welfare Institute, and we gave them gifts to thank them for taking care of Caroline.

We then went to the Provincial Notary Office for our final interview. This is where we signed the adoption certificate and answered questions to again confirm our legal information and intention. At that moment our little girl became Caroline Li Dixon!

We are really curious to see what type of personality Caroline has. For the first 12 hours, she hardly made a peep and was very observant of everything going on. By mid-day today, she started to chatter and smile a lot. By the end of the day, she was arching her back and kicking her feet when she didn’t like something! Mostly though, she is very sweet and enjoys playing with the toys we brought her. Although she’s almost 10 months old, she is still unstable sitting up. We’re sure Joshua and Katie will have her up and about in no time though!

Gotcha Day!

What an absolutely incredible experience…we now have Caroline! We just got up to our room and she is sleeping peacefully in her crib. The “Gotcha” process was so surreal. All 17 families (46 people total) gathered in the hotel banquet room and the babies were brought in one at a time. When they called our last name, we simply walked over and they handed Caroline to us and took an official picture. We filled out a form which will be notarized tomorrow when our adoption becomes official.

Caroline is so tiny…probably the smallest baby of the bunch. The orphanage caretaker said she is quiet and sweet. While other babies were screaming their heads off, Caroline just sat with Amy and stared at everything going on. We were very surprised when the caretakers gave each family a photo album that shows life at the orphanage.

Our day has been really exhausting. We had to take a 2 hour bus ride across the border to get to Shenzhen (this included several stops for customs and immigration). Our flight from Shenzhen was delayed several hours due to bad weather (we changed gates three times), and so we arrived in Nanchang only 1 ½ hours before the babies were brought in. We didn’t have time to get settled in our room because CCAI needed to give their orientation and distribute baby formula and other essentials. Needless to say, everyone was nervous and tired, but then experienced overwhelming emotion as the babies were brought in. We will write more tomorrow as we need to get a little sleep!

Caroline and Mommy

Caroline and Daddy

The Day Before...

Tomorrow we leave for Nanchang to get Caroline! We spent today touring Hong Kong...this picture is from the laser light show that takes place each night over Victory Harbor. The boardwalk is packed with people watching the show, eating at resturants, and listening to live music.

We visited Victory Peak which provides a bird's eye view of Hong Kong. The south China sea is on the opposite side of the mountain. Some of the pricest real estate in the world is located here...condos sell for $2,000 per square foot and there is a private residence on the market for $100 million.

This is the "sampan" boat that we rode while visiting Aberdeen fishing village...Hong Kong's first dockyard built in the 1860's. This was a really interesting place with lots of boats filling the harbor. The sampan drivers are very skilled at navigating around all the hustle and bustle of the harbor.