gotcha day

i'm back in the hotel business center. not only can i not connect to the internet but iPhoto has croaked on me. i can't upload pictures into the program. i can still load them to the laptop but not into iPhoto. i probably can fix it with some online research but then getting online is a problem. so, keep checking flickr (see link to the right). i'm emailing pictures there a bit at a time. i type blog entries as i go and post them as i get time.

it's ten till 1p on monday here. we did our official gotcha day thingy this morning. having spent the whole previous day with the kids it's not the big deal it is for other folks but we put on a good show anyway. it was hard on joy. she's just getting used to us - mostly just to me at this point (i think she's avoiding dealing with being separated from her foster mom by avoiding having to attach to amy) - and then gets handed back to the chinese nanny's only 10 minutes later to be handed back to us. what made it worse is she fell asleep with me holding her. she awoke with the nannies. but i think she forgave that little injustice and was back to clinging to me. right now her and amy are snuggling in our room. that's the only time amy gets to hold her is after she passes out on me. and she's a heavy kid!

after we finished at the provincial office we immediately came back to the hotel and filled out paper work in a conference room. it was hot, stuffy, and intense. but joy was a trooper. it's interesting trying to interpret 10 months of this kids life to figure out who she is, what makes her laugh, how she ticks and to factor in the chinese translation at the same time.

here in an hour and a half we go back to the office and finish the paper work and get interviewed by the chinese govt. swearing to be good parents. then, oddly, we have nothing scheduled - as of this writing - until wednesday where we tour changsha - and then nothing again until we leave for guangzhou on saturday. it's really starting to set in exactly how long this trip is. and being cut off from home makes it longer. i can't hit my email at work - sorry folks - and the international calling card seems to work fine one day and then it doesn't today. the computer voice on the other end is in chinese so all i understand is - "sorry" - and then a bunch of gibberish ending in no phone call connecting us to our boy. if you're reading this grandma hopefully we'll get you guys called when you wake up monday morning.

so much has happened. i don't even really remember what i've told you and what i haven't. excuse me for repeating myself if i do and for being vague in other cases. i'm also not wasting time correcting spelling for the most part. sorry for that, too. i'll probably get so bored later this week i'll send in posts every 15 minutes.

this will have to do for now. i can get your comments, though! feel free to let me know if flickr is working and to know you're getting this stuff.

love.