Caleb, Dylan and Nathan are going to just fall in love with Alyssa Li MacKinnon.

Today has been a long, exhausting day. First of all, Alyssa slept really well – she went to bed at 7:30 and slept until 5:30. She was up at 5:30 for the day. Chris and I were both up earlier than that, though, as we haven’t fully adjusted to the time change.

We went to the gov’t office today to finalize the adoption which is really great but to be honest we were so confused as to what was going on and everyone speaking Chinese that we didn’t really know if was final until after all was said and done. There were many other families there as well from a different group so we were all trying to get passports for the babies, notorizing documents and finalizing the adoption. The good news is….Alyssa is officially ours!!

Chris and I tried to go to the grocery store but we didn’t give ourselves much time and I got side tracked by all the great baby shoes so in the end we only got bottled water and a bag of Ritz crackers. We haven’t been eating lunch because the days are so busy but we are usually starving so I was hoping to stock up on snacks while at the grocery store. We will try again tomorrow! I think we are going to the super Walmart tomorrow, too. Should be fun! I haven’t bought ONE thing yet (besides food) so I’m really anxious to pick up neat stuff for the boys and for Alyssa. I promised the 3 boys some “Chinese looking” necklaces and some cool dragon stuff.

Alyssa hasn’t been feeling well since we got her yesterday and she had a fever last night and was sweating all night. Finally, this afternoon, Yulin (our agency director) took Alyssa and I to the Hotel Medical Clinic but they thought we should go to emergency at the hospital. Well…let me tell you that was one experience I hope I don’t have again! First of all, the taxi ride there was INSANE! The drivers swerve ALL over the road as fast as they can and in the midst of all this are people walking and people on bikes jumping out in front of the cars. Horns are constantly blaring.

Anyway…we finally make it to the emergency and it’s unreal. I can’t really explain what it was like in an email but there were people everywhere and of course I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. They made us go in a room and put a thermometer in Alyssa’s bum for 3 minutes! Haven’t they heard about the ear thingys that take 5 seconds? So here we are sitting with Alyssa on her belly with a thermometer sticking out her bum and there are at least 4 other toddlers getting big needles in their bums all right there in a room the size of a bathroom. All the babies were screaming. Next we went to another room and tried to explain Alyssa’s symptoms (thank goodness for Yulin – she’s fantastic!). The doctor told me Alyssa probably had bronchitis but what they were prescribing her was very strong (Yulin told me this).

Luckily I had gotten a prescription for Zithromax before leaving PEI so we are going to give her that and hope she starts feeling better soon. She has been completely lethargic and we can tell she’s not herself. To make a long story short…we are safe and sound back in the hotel and Chris is now trying to trick her into taking the medication. We only have 3 doses to give her and she’s already spit most of the first one out! He’s singing to her right now and giving her a bit of milk hoping she won’t notice if he slips in a little medicine!

I’ll tell you about our food experiences later…we are really exhausted and I have to go make bottles and stuff. CBC is supposed to be calling us within the hour for a phone interview and we want to have Alyssa asleep by then.

Below are some photos of our day! We have many more but these are some of the highlights! We made sure to get lots of Daddy today as Alyssa is finally going to him. Thank goodness because my arms and body are getting so tired! She WILL NOT let us put her down but of course sometimes we just have to and she screams.

When she’s really upset she keeps chanting “yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…” over and over.

I will try and write a bit more tomorrow because we had a chance to talk with her orphanage director but I don’t have time to go into details right now!

Also…thank you everyone for sending us the beautiful guestbook messages and emails. It REALLY helps us feel connected to home and makes the time here much easier!

Today has been a FANTASTIC day! We have seen such a change in Alyssa, it is truly incredible! She started her antibiotics last night and I guess they are starting to work because she is definitely not as sick! Her fever is gone and she is much more alert. She is becoming quite a daddy’s girl and they have been enjoying a lot of time together today. This is kind of nice for me because we went on a major shopping spree so I needed plenty of arm room for all my “treasures”. Alyssa has been smiling today and I even had her laughing!!! She is sitting up on our laps and looking around and shaking her rattles and even babbling. Chris and I can’t believe the difference in her. For the last 2 days she has not made a sound except that “yeahyeahyeahyeah” chant when we put her down. She hasn’t moved hardly at all…she would simply lay against us. Today, though, she is acting like a very happy, normal 15 month old! I believe all your prayers are working!!!

We went to the Embroidery Factory today and it was amazing. Their work is incredible – so detailed. The ladies had pictures on their tables and were making exact copies of them with their thread. The colors and shading were exact! Downstairs there was a shop and of course I had to buy some things. I won’t tell you everything I bought because some of it is for all the ladies in our families. We want it to be a surprise. I did buy a beautiful 2 piece outfit with matching slippers for Alyssa. Caleb and Dylan – we did try and find some dragon designs but they didn’t have any. Dad got some really cool pictures of tigers that we can enlarge for your room though! You’ll love the pictures!!

Next, we were off to Wal-Mart for some great deals. The Wal-Mart sort of looked like ours but was set up a bit differently. Here is a list of what we bought at Wal-Mart for about $50 Canadian dollars: 2 outfits for Alyssa (both are 2 piece), 1 pair boots (Alyssa), 2 pairs of shoes (Alyssa), 2 Chinese children’s DVDs, Harry Potter DVD, a huge bag of different Chinese treats like chips, cookies, etc for the boys, a bag of milk candies for the boys, Huggies diapers, Kleenexes, pair of slip pants (for our niece Molly) and a rattle (Alyssa). I have added a picture below of all the stuff. I thought it was a great haul!! Oh yeah…included in this haul was a suitcase to carry it all back on the plane! Not bad, eh?!

After our big shopping trip, we got some take-out from KFC and came back to the hotel. The food was actually quite good although the chicken was way too spicy for me. It was nice to have “normal” food again. Now we are just enjoying Alyssa. We are just so thrilled she is showing some of her personality and her fun spirit. It’s around 5:00 pm here so we may take her down to the pool for a quick swim before supper.  

I think Chris wants to add some stuff too…he had some fun experiences today while I was shopping.

Hi Chris here.
Imagine coming all the way to Changsha, China, and being able to say, “I went to Wal-Mart!” Tammy wanted to shop there with the other women, so I decided to have some fun with Alyssa:) We went for a stroll around the plaza looking at different things, when we ran into some exciting Chinese people. As you can imagine, Caucasian people look a little out of place walking around with a Chinese baby, so, naturally, the people here stare and wonder what you are doing (many have come up and pulled at Alyssa already, concerned that we should be dressing her warmer, or just to say hello to the baby). Before leaving for China, Family Outreach International provided us with a Chinese script card that says “This is our adopted daughter”. Well at the plaza today, these people came up wondering what I was doing with this little girl. Since I couldn’t speaka da language, I showed them this card and they were all smiling and talking amongst themselves as if to say, “Oh, this is ok then!” Their group included a little girl just a little older than Alyssa, who came over to Alyssa and gave her a little chocolate egg treat. Alyssa smiled SO BIG, I almost thought I was in China or something:)

Anyway, I asked if we could take a picture (below) and they happily obliged. I thought it was a blessing for me (an affirmation from the Chinese people that what we are doing IS ok!); also a blessing for Alyssa (a great memory and a great story to tell about some people from China who cared enough to brighten her day as a little girl) and a blessing for those of you who may decide to adopt from China someday (God works through events just like this. What are the chances?).

Alyssa has stormed our hearts beyond words. I seriously feel like we have won the lottery of a lifetime. Children give us so much purpose and so much love. I am amazed at how my own boys can out-love and out-forgive me, and even more amazed that this little girl who was left to be found, has been placed into MY hands and is already out-loving me. People have said that Alyssa is so lucky to have us. In truth, however, it is we that are lucky to have this angel from heaven. And to think that I almost stayed home. Wait until Caleb and Dylan meet her. Their own little sister.

Today was very rainy, wet and cold so Chris and I decided not to go on the tour of the University. We were supposed to go see a thousand year old University but we decided to go shopping instead. We bought some great shoes – China has very fun shoes with cool designs, decorations and colors. The shoes were only $6/pair.

I have been asking our tour guide about unique gifts for Caleb, Dylan and Nathan so this afternoon she took us shopping downtown. It was such an awesome experience…we really saw the Chinese culture. The place we went to was called a shopping street and it’s miles of stores along a street. There are no vehicles, just lots of people shopping. I found some really neat things for all our boys but I won’t tell…it’ll be a surprise for them! For lunch, our guide took us to a little side restaurant down an alley and all along the alley were outdoor food vendors. They had the raw food sitting out front and you told them what you wanted and they cooked it right there. We had BBQ beef on a stick (very good), spicy squid on a stick (not good), deep fried chicken on stick (very good), Chinese noodles (way too spicy for me), congee soup with duck eggs (it actually tasted good if you could get past the egg thing), stinky tofu (totally disgusting!!) and fish balls (taste was good, consistency was not good) . This was a true Chinese meal and it was so cool to at least see what they like to eat and how they cook it. We took some photos and video footage to show you when we get home.

Anyway…Chris and I are both tired and we have to pack for tomorrow. We are flying to Beijing tomorrow so now I have to find more room for all the “treasure” I bought! Not looking forward to packing again!

By the way….our GOTCHA MOMENT was caught on video thanks to Chris and Scott (the most amazing web guy ever!) has posted it on our website. It’s under “Radio and Video"

I can’t believe half the trip is already over. Time is flying and I’m glad because I really just want to get home and settled. I miss my boys!!!!!

Enjoy the photos!

Today was a day of traveling. We spent the morning packing everything and trying to squeeze way to much stuff into our suitcases. We had to leave for the airport just after lunch and the rest of the day consisted of bus rides, waiting at the airport, plane ride, bus ride and then finally at 8:30 pm we arrived at our hotel in Beijing. Talk about tired!!! Alyssa was a fantastic traveler. She was laughing and entertaining everyone on the plane. The only time Alyssa cries is when we try to put her down. She is still very nervous in that regard…when we lay her down to change her or try and sit her on the floor or bed she becomes very frantic and upset. The second we pick her up she calms down and is happy again. Other than that, she has not cried at all. She is the most content baby I’ve ever seen! (knock on wood). When all the other babies are screaming she’s just sitting and looking around and wondering what all the fuss is about!

We have been trying to get Alyssa to use her legs a bit more as they are very weak…like jello! Today we had her “walking” while holding onto her hands and she did really great. We have it on video and she looks so cute. At first she was scared to try it but she’s getting more used to it!

Chris and I are excited to be in Beijing…Yulin assures us there is better shopping and restaurants here! Chris says I can’t buy another thing because there is absolutely NO where to pack it. I may just have to buy another suitcase! It’s not like we’re going to be in China again anytime soon! Give me a break!

Tomorrow we have to do more paperwork for Alyssa’s Immigration papers. We received her passport and official adoption documents. Very exciting!

There’s not a whole lot more for me to write as today was pretty boring…I am also tired and have to unpack now. Chris and I are enjoying China but we are so anxious to get home to Prince Edward Island…even with all the snow! We can’t wait to see you all and especially you Caleb, Dylan and Nathan! We hope you are being good boys! Only a few more days until you come to the airport to greet your little sister!! YAY!!!!!

Chris, being the ever wonderful video man, caught Alyssa on tape the first day we were able to make her laugh. She is so adorable. You can see the video clip here on our website under Radio and Video. Enjoy! Caleb, Dylan and Nathan…get ready…she is a fireball and loves action!

We weren’t able to take too many photos today…we did take a lot of video footage of the city and of the home dwellings. It is so different here… a large home in China is about 500 square feet!!!!! There are so many people in the cities though (4 million in Changsha and 15 million in Beijing ) that most people live in very tall apartment buildings. The units are very small!

Below is a picture of us with one of our guides Grace! She was the one who took us on that unique shopping experience yesterday! She is really great! Our other guide’s name is Vicky and she was equally as wonderful. They are both so knowlegable and speak excellent English! We are afraid to go anywhere without them!!!!

I can’t believe we are on Day 9 already. I guess the time is going pretty quickly. Chris and I FINALLY had a full nights sleep last night. We didn’t wake up until 8:30 am – this is the first night we were able to sleep past 3:30 am! Even Alyssa slept until then.

We got to go to the Panda Bear Zoo today. It was so great! First of all, we actually had a sunny day here in China!!!! For the last week the weather has been rainy and wet. Today, though, was a beautiful, but brisk, day. The Pandas were so cute. I’ve added some pictures below!

We were scheduled to go the Silk Factory today but Chris and I decided not to go. Part of the factory is closed and the whole trip takes about 3 hours. We decided to explore Beijing a little (stayed within 2 blocks of the hotel, of course! We’re not that brave!). We found a Sizzler restaurant and had our most delicious meal yet in China! Chris had a t-bone steak and I had pork spareribs with baked potato! Alyssa pretty much ate anything she could get her hands on! She loves rice and watermelon and she also loves to hold onto bread. She is always taking bites of the bread but immediately spits them out. She won’t let us take the bread away, though, so we just keep cleaning her up:)

Next, we went to a 5 story department store. We bought a stroller but it was so crowded we didn’t stick around for long! In the stores here, you have to show the sales lady what you want and she will write up a slip. You aren’t allowed to take your merchandise with you. You then go to the cashier and pay your bill (taken from the slip) and then you go back to the department to pick up your items. A tad confusing, especially when no one speaks Chinese. Luckily I had read about this on someone else’s website so I kind of had an idea of what the sales lady was trying to tell us. Chris, on the other hand, was totally confused but that’s not unusual! Hee Hee

Tonight we are going to a local Chinese restaurant for Peking Duck…I guess this is supposed to be the most popular dish in Beijing. Beijing used to be called Peking. We’ll let you know how it tastes! Not as good as a burger and fries, I bet! Or a pizza with the works. Oh well…it’s all part of the experience!

Enjoy the photos…what kind of pictures are you interested in seeing? Pictures of us with Alyssa or the city and landscape? I’ll try and send a bit of both.

Let me begin by saying HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY LAUREN (she's our niece!) :)

Today was a fantastic day! We traveled to the Great Wall of China today and it was so awesome! The day was very clear, blue skies so we had great views of everything. It was also very cold and windy up in those mountains!!!! We decided to get a nanny for Alyssa today as it was an 8 hour outing and quite cold. She had a great day with her Chinese nanny so everything worked out well.

The Great Wall was quite a site. We have included some photos below. The climb can be quite steep at some parts and with all that wind blowing, we were sure we were going to blow over! One side of the Wall is not very tall at all and I was terrified to look down (I'm not so great with heights!). I felt like the wind would blow me right over it! Anyway...we made it to the top and took lots of photos and really enjoyed the majesty of it all. All along the walk there were vendors yelling at you to buy their souvenirs. They loved to barter and Chris and I are trying to get the hang of it. I am such a sucker though, I find it difficult to say "no". I think we managed to get some deals but I know on some items I was suckered. Oh well... not to bad for our first time. We are heading to the market tomorrow where I hear it is crazy with bartering and the vendors following you around so I’m glad we got a little taste of it today and now know what to expect.

We also visited the Jade Factory today... China is well known for it's beautiful jade which they make into jewelry and carvings and lots of other neat things. The jade necklaces, earring and bracelets were very expensive but I managed to find some small pieces within my price range. The most popular color is green which means happiness. I found a very pretty bracelet that is pink and green. Pink means love and of course, green means happiness. The Chinese ladies wear the bracelets on their left wrists because they believe it will keep them healthy and happy. They wear it on the left wrist because it is closer to the heart.

The whole group went out for another delicious Chinese meal today. By the way... the Peking duck last night was very tasty! We had many other dishes and all of them were good. The tables in the restaurant are very large with spinning things in the middle. The waitresses just keep bringing out dish after dish and everyone at the table rotates the spinning disk and helps themselves to whatever they want. We probably had at least 10 different Chinese dishes. It is really good, too! They serve a lot of vegetable dishes, lots of rice, soup, and meat dishes. You have to drink either beer (most popular choice), coke, sprite or Chinese tea.

We arrived back at the hotel around 6:15 pm (we left this morning at 9:00 ) very tired but very happy. Alyssa was glad to see us which made us feel nice. The nanny said she was a great baby and very quiet. She was a bit quiet after we got home but it didn’t take long to get her laughing again! The three of us spent a pretty quiet evening hanging around the hotel and sticking close to our room. Chris and I are exhausted from all that fresh air.

It is now past 9:30 pm and we are watching Alyssa play in her crib. The nanny let her nap from 4:30-6:00 pm so she is not tired for bed yet. We have also discovered that she will play quietly in her crib without crying. This is the ONLY place we have been able to put her down

Another whirlwind of a day! Every day seems to be a marathon of adventure…there are so many places to visit and so much shopping to do. Actually, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think I’m all shopped out! EVERYWHERE we go there is stuff to buy and people hollering to you to buy their stuff. It is really exhausting!!! Today we did get to experience the market and bartering and I think we did pretty good. We were told the “rule of thumb” is to never pay more than ½ of their asking price. Which means you have to start bartering below half of the price to have something to work up to. For example, I wanted a pair of NorthFace waterproof snow pants for Caleb and the saleslady said 180 Yuan (approx. $23 Cnd) but I got her down to only 80 Yuan (about $10 Cnd). The key is to walk away….when they say “no, price too low” we say to them, “okay, bye bye” and leave and they follow you down the hall and say “okay, okay,okay…but only for you” They always say “but only for you”…Yeah right!!! I got two Rolex watches for only $5 US. Bartering can be quite fun but is very tiring. Sometimes you just want to be able to look around and not be bothered but this does NOT happen in the market!! Be prepared to be bombarded!

We are supposed to go to another market tomorrow called the Pearl Factory but I’m not sure if we are going to go. For one thing, pearls are very expensive and I’m not really too interested. The rest of the market is pretty much the same as today and like I mentioned earlier, I’m getting all shopped out! We also have NO room left in our suitcases!

Today we had the children’s medicals done and the doctor said Alyssa was doing quite well. She is a bit under weight but he was not really concerned. She is eating well now so that’s the main thing. She weighed 9.5 kg (is that about 20 pounds or so?) and was 79 cm tall. She is quite tall compared to the rest of the babies. All in all…it went well and we were pleased the doctor thought she was doing okay.

Chris and I and Alyssa just got back from seeing a Chinese Acrobatic Show and it was fabulous! Alyssa was yelling and laughing – she was so excited she didn’t know what to with herself. The show was very interesting and the acrobats were amazing. Most of them were young teenagers and did things I didn’t know was possible. I will try and post a few pictures (I have to see how they turned out).

Both Chris and Alyssa are snoring away and I’m frantically trying to get the update done. Sorry about being late with yesterday’s update but something was wrong with our email. I can’t believe we only have 2 days left in China before traveling home! We really love China and will be kinda sad to leave here. The people are so friendly and love to practice their English with us. The Chinese people seem to adore all the babies which makes you wonder why there are so many abandoned. The Chinese gov’t did a survey last year to find out what the Chinese people thought about foreigners adopting Chinese babies and 90% of the population surveyed thought it was wonderful. When you are walking in the streets with your baby many people will give you the thumbs up.

Tomorrow is another big day…the Pearl Factory and then in the afternoon we finally get to visit Summer Palace. We hear it is very beautiful so we are looking forward to seeing it and being outside.

I can’t believe we only have 1 ½ days left in China! WOW! In some ways, though, it feels like we have been here forever. I was feeling very homesick today and really missing my boys. Chris has had a difficult time being away from the kids, too. We know the next couple of days will go by very quickly!

Today we did visit the Pearl Market but we didn’t buy any pearls. We just looked around and picked up a few small items. We are always so amazed by the huge quantity of things in the market. Booths upon booths of merchandise…clothes, hats, shoes, purses, watches, jewelry, makeup, knick knacks, cameras, scarves, coats…ANYTHING you want, they have it! Chris and I had a lot of funny moments today bartering but I will have to tell the stories in person. They just wouldn’t be funny if I wrote them down.

Chris and I didn’t make it to the Summer Palace today. Each day is so busy we hardly have time to feed Alyssa lunch or give her a proper nap. Today she was too fussy and hungry and we didn’t have much time before heading to the Summer Palace so we decided to take the afternoon off and hang out at the hotel. We had McDonald’s for lunch and it was actually quite good. We also went to a DVD store and stocked up on DVDs. They were only $1 Cnd each! Most of the movies we got are still in the theatres!!! We got ones like Oceans Twelve, Closer, The Forgotten, The Incredibles, Shark Tale, Million Dollar Baby, The Notebook and lots more (we bought 43!)

Alyssa really enjoys being outside in her stroller so we just enjoyed the afternoon hanging around. It was cold today but it was sunny and overall quite a nice day. Most people who visited the Summer Palace today said it was too cold for the babies and there wasn’t anything to do but walk around for 2 hours. We were glad we stayed “home” and we will get pictures from some of the others who went.

Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing and then we begin the long journey home! It is going to feel so great to be back in Canada!

Below are some of our pictures from today…just enjoying each other and relaxing a bit. We have started Alyssa on McDonald’s food since it’s a family favorite and she seems to be enjoying it.

Hi, Chris here. I thought I would give you all a break from Tammy's shopping escapades! Well, today was our last day for touring, and a busy one at that. After a breakfast we left the hotel and headed for Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. For those of you who need a brush up on Chinese history, click the following link for briefing http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tiananmen.html . I loved being there, as I remember watching CBC coverage of the events. I said to Tammy today, "Can you believe we are standing where this all happened?" To which she replied, "Yeah, I know...what happened?!"” What a hoot. From there we entered the Forbidden City (the residence for the Royal Chinese family, namely the emperor, his family and roughly 3,000 concubines. Sheesh. This place was rich with history - we actually took a piece of the stone walkway that was built in 1406 (shhhh).

Anyway, we're so excited to be leaving tomorrow for home. I am overdosing on Chinese culture, every kind of rice dish imaginable and being worlds apart from family and friends. I remember Stephen Fenton saying in church one day, "They have no idea what they are in for." ”Now I know exactly what he meant…rush here, rush there, Chinese people everywhere, markets, walls, China dolls and nee-how shay-shay wumanchu :) Good thing he didn't elaborate; I think he only told us what we needed to hear at the time!

Leaving Beijing was a little hard, in terms of Alyssa leaving her homeland, but we had Canada immigration officials welcome her to her new home earlier today. That was quite a thing (smile). She’s sitting in the crib beside me skillfully handling her cheerios and babbling like a brook.

A BIG thank you for those who pitched in to help look after Caleb, Dylan and Nathan while we’ve been away, especially Dad and family and George and Lorraine Marshall (Tammy’s dad and grandmother).

We’re almost home. You’re going to love Alyssa.

Chris