We probably will not take any pictures until later this evening, so we will fill you in on our journey from Hong Kong to Nanchang which was yesterday. We passed through the Hong Kong/China border at about 8:00 AM and arrived at the airport at about 9:30. Our flight to Nanchang didn't leave until 11:20 so we had some time to kill.

The airport was really small and a group of Americans obviously stood out. Catie was a big hit with the locals and one young Chinese lady, probably about 20-years-old, really took a liking to her. She was all over Catie, stroking her hair, commenting on how beautiful she was, and speaking with her in English and Chinese. This young lady fussed over Catie for probably 15 minutes and then was gone. About 5 minutes later she was back. She had gone to one of the airport shops and bought Catie a jar of olive vegetables which our guide, Matthew, said was a symbol of long life! The young lady then gave Catie a white bangle bracelet she was wearing, loved on her some more, and then was gone. We thought about how amazing and generous these people are. We also had a small Chinese boy, about 2-years-old, come over to our group and start playing with Catie. Numerous times during our wait at the airport, Chinese women and men would come to us and try to communicate with us about Catie. They were all so nice and friendly!! We then boarded our plane at about 11:20 and landed in Nanchang at 12:20.

Alright, back to the 19th... After we finished filling out and signing different forms, we had some free time so Catie and I went to a small grocery store near the hotel. Since I don't read any Chinese, the only items I felt confident buying were Pepsi and Oreo cookies. The people in the area were friendly and all wanted to speak with me and Catie. It was kind of cold today, so we only had on light jackets. Several of the older ladies, and even one man that we talked with, got onto me because they didn't think I had Catie dressed warmly enough. I didn't have to speak Chinese to get the message. You should see the way these kids are dressed; they look like little Eskimos. Some of them remind me of the little kid, Randy, in the movie "A Christmas Story." Some are dressed so heavily they can bearly lower their arms!

We had to go to a couple of government offices to pay some fees and finish some paperwork. After that we went to, of all places, WAL-MART!! You talk about a freaking madhouse! I have never seen so many people in one store in my life. It was like a beehive in there! We made our purchases and headed back to the hotel to crash.

Denise now here... it is about 9:30 PM here. Like Roger said, today was mostly all paperwork day, but, I will fill you in on the children. Carlie is doing well. She is slowly warming up to us. We actually caught a few smiles today, but she is soooo serious.

You can tell by just how she studies you, her eyes never leave us for long, and the expression on her face is as if she is not quite sure she can trust us yet. She is still a little stiff when we hold her, like she is not totally relaxed with us yet. But all this is ok and we have only had her for a little over 24 hours. Catie is doing very well being a big sister. She has had a few minor meltdowns, but I think it has mostly been due to not having a good nap.

Just to let ya'll know... we are getting ya'lls e-mails, and it has been GREAT to hear from everyone!!! I am including a few pictures from yesterday and a few from today... One of the photos I have included is Catie with her new friend, Lauren.

Lauren is from Boise, ID and her family are here with us also adopting their 2nd child. Catie & Lauren have hit it off big time - great playmates for each other!!

Until tomorrow...

Love,
The Ellisons