Yong enjoyed the flight, and played with his small airplane most of the time.

When lunch was served he decided to go sit on Daddy’s lap and stayed there until we had to fasten seat belts on the way into Guangzhou. It was raining when we arrived, and has rained off and on since.

There are 9 other families here using Holt to adopt children. We met each other in Beijing and are now together here in Guangzhou staying at the White Swan Hotel. It is good to see the other families and the children that they have adopted. The children range in age from 15-months to 5-years-old. Some of the children are adapting well; but others are struggling. Or is that some of the families are adapting well; but others are struggling?!

The White Swan Hotel is a beautiful hotel on Shamian Island in the old part of Guangzhou. Our room is on the 14th floor. It is a small room, especially with a roll away bed and a crib. We have a great view of the shopping area with a slight view of the Pearl River.

Paul and I have a king size bed that is just as hard as the beds in Beijing and Hangzhou. There is an attendant on every floor that pushes the elevator buttons for you and holds the door of the elevator so you can get out. The attendant will also get you anything else that you need. Inside the hotel there is a beautifully landscaped waterfall and a pond with lots and lots of koi. The bottom floor of the hotel is filled with shops that sell all sorts of art, clothing, and anything else adoptive parents might need. There is also a playroom on the bottom floor filled with toys from Mattel. The United States Consulate used to be close to the White Swan but moved a few years ago. This area is still set up for adoptive parents. Outside the hotel there are all sorts of small shops and restaurants. There is even a park close by.

The Holt group ate dinner tonight at a Thai restaurant that was about a 5-minute walk from the hotel. There are about 30 people in our group so we usually take up three large tables at a restaurant. Then, with the new children added we are quite a large group. It was a fun evening getting caught up with other families and meeting their latest additions. It had stopped raining when we walked to the restaurant, but on the walk back, it started in again. By the time we got back to the hotel, everyone was very tired and Yong was having a meltdown. We put in the CD we had of children’s songs in Chinese and he started singing along with the first one. He calmed down and went to sleep listening to the music. I think we have found a key to helping Yong.

I think I should explain about some of the photos. When we were at the Great Wall I dropped the camera three times. I know, I know, it was not smart to have it around my neck, especially with mittens on. I didn't think that anything had happened to the camera until I tried us look at the photos I had taken with it. I discovered that the only function I have left on the camera is to take pictures in the auto mode. I am grateful that I have that left. If we have time we may look for another camera here. If not, e-bay is always a good place. Until then, I don't have zoom or wide angle capability. Please bear with us.