A quick recap of the past two days in Guangzhou. Yesterday was a great shopping day in Guangzhou. We went to the Pearl Market and like so many things here, it was not what we had imagined. It was located in a huge 5 story mall. The area we were in was filled with jewelry stores of all kinds. Some of the jewelry was finished but most of it was unfinished. We were fortunate because as I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the moms in our group works for a jewelry store. She was very helpful when it came time to evaluating the pearls. She told us what to look for and what to avoid. We were able to pick out a few things for the girls that will be lifetime treasures.

Also in the mall was a store that sold DVDs. This was a real highlight for Mike....he referred to it as “DVD Heaven”. Every title just 2 American dollars! He bought 11 DVDs....some that are very recently released! He wanted to go back today but time ran out!

Today we completed the final phase of our adoption process in China. We went to the American Consulate to complete the process for getting Allyson’s immigration visa into the United States. When we land in America she will be the newest American citizen! Frankly, I understand why illegals sneak in. Doing it the right way takes a lot of time and effort!!

Tomorrow we come home!!!!!!!!!

I have really loved our time here but I'm ready to come home. I miss Ashlyn so much it hurts. Our wake-up call is 4:00 am on Thursday in Guangzhou. We arrive in Dallas at about 4:30 pm after about 23 hours of travel time.

For all of you following our journey, thank you for your e-mails, thoughts and prayers....they really have kept us going.