St Mark in the house!

At last we are reunited with the Brunos. We arrived in Guangzhou on Monday evening after a very troubling plane ride. Seems Jeremy was beyond his tolerance for lack of sleep but couldn't drift off due to the excitement of the terminal and the turbulence on the plane. The only quiet time we had was when he stopped to inhale before unleashing the terrors of hell a bit longer. People stared which didn't help my cause as we had nothing to offer him for consolation except to pass him back and forth in an eternal struggle to find just the right position that would allow him to rest comfortably. We managed that as we were touching down at our destination around 10 PM. Fortunately he pulled off an Eli-like stupor where nothing could wake him -- we successfully picked up our bags, met our rep, took the 45-minute ride to the hotel and got him into bed without too much more trouble. Originally I thought he was experinecing trauma of leaving "home" which meant we'd be in for a long trip to America, but I think Angela was right in that it was sleep related instead. Hopeully he'll do OK on the trip home -- we leave Saturday morning (Fri, 5:30 PM EST) for a short trip to Hong Kong and then the long trip home.

Tuesday we joined two new couples from Denver (both had older adopted children, 2 and 4, and one was a boy) to head for the doctor's exam and fill out paperwork for our upcoming appointment with the US Consulate. The doctor poked and prodded to examine Jeremy's scrotum cyst which brought on hysteria on his part. I kept telling him to kick the doctor or pee in his face as I would have done likewise if poked and prodded there, but apparently Jeremy does not understand all English yet. He does respond to his new name and seems to understand some phrases that are repeated often -- like "No, Jeremy" and "Put that down, Jeremy." We think he also understands "Come here, Jeremy" although we're not entirely sure as it typically leads to chasing a giggling boy down the hall.

That afternoon the Brunos rolled into town. We reunited for an eat-in delivery at the hotel from Danny's Bagels. I don't know who "Danny" is or what his nationality is, but he has made the most American-like food we have had since arriving in China. Angela and I split a "cheesesteak pizza" while the Brunos had steak sandwiches and noodle soup. After lots of comparing of trips to our respective cities for our adoptions, we called it a night. Bedtime was about 8 PM and we typically sleep through to 6 AM on top of a 2 hour nap each afternoon. I think Angela and I enjoy the extra hours even more than Jeremy as we are usually wiped as each day comes to an end.

Today (Wednesday) we met the Brunos for breakfast. The White Swan hotel excels on this free breakfast buffet and typically I lead the table (or at least I'm in a close tie with Angela -- yes, Angela -- ask Scott if you don't believe me) at comsumption. Today I awoke to a fever though and left breakfast to a bowl of Cheerios and some tea. I'm just getting up at 2 PM from a long rest in bed to make this entry. Jeremy and I were near some caged parakeets, but I think this fever is not related to those avian critters.

On our wanderings around the small island where the hotel is located, we came across a Catholic Church, Our Lady of Lourdes. It comes complete with a Marian grotto and a beautiful, although small, sanctuary that is in dire need of repair. Plaster is falling off in virtually every part of the building and it has a run down look with wood benches, although it did have lovely kneelers. We stopped in long enough to pray for a few minutes and show Jeremy the stations and the tabernacle. He was just a bit fidgety so we will have our work cut out for us next Sunday! An old lady smiled at us as we genuflected on our way out -- it was comforting to see that the faith exists in some unlikely places. We noticed that they offer daily Mass at 6:45 AM. We're not sure if Jeremy would be up for that kind of outing or if the Mass would be valid -- I've heard a lot about state-run churches, although I tend to think that if we went in good faith, it wouldn't be held against us for participating is a Mass that wasn't sanctioned by the Vatican. We've got two mornings left to decide what to do.

This evening we plan on dinner out with the Brunos again (Scott posted from my laptop this morning and made sure to unlock his blog if anyone wants to catch up on posting there). Tomorrow is our appointment with the Consulate where we take an oath and receive the final adoption papers along with citizenship papers for Jeremy that go into effect as soon as we touch down in Newark. We have enjoyed our stay in China, but cannot stress enough how much we long to get home and back to a normal routine. Even a long flight with an infant cannot deter us from our desire to get back.