Gladdie--Day 11--The Wonderful, Heartbreaking, Beautiful Story


The last full day of our China trips are always #bittersweet. We want to absorb as much of the culture that we can while not stressing ourselves out before our BIG day of travel. As Simon mentioned earlier, it's so #bittersweet.

If I think about it too much, I might start to weep. This is Gladdie's last full day in her birth country...the country she's lived in for 7 years. The language, food, people, and smells that she's used to. This is the last day she will experience all those. We are blessed that each of the other Gs have been able to re-visit the land of their birth. But who knows what the future holds? We have no idea if Gladdie will ever have the opportunity to return to her birth land again.






Thus, it's #bittersweet.

We awoke late and had a leisurely breakfast at the amazing hotel buffet.



We lingered and fed the koi both in the upper AND lower ponds.





We had some nice downtime in our apartment, starting to pack and trying to relax.







Mommy went out alone to purchase a new piece of luggage and do a *little* shopping at H & M across the street.

We sent daddy out for some Chinese McD's for lunch.





We took a walk to a new/different part of Guangzhou in search of last minute souvenirs/gifts.






We played some apartment living room basketball.




We watched some Chinese cartoons and whatever else looked interesting to a certain someone.





We went to the pool one last time (this was the hottest day since our arrival!).









We went to a familiar restaurant for our last dinner in GZ. They were even showing Star Wars on one of their TVs. It was meant to be.







And we got the girls 1 last faux ice cream cone from 7 Eleven on our walk back to our apartment.

Now, the girls are bathed and in bed; most of our bags are packed and ready; we have returned the stroller we borrowed to the concierge; we have ordered a luggage cart to be sent up at 4:45 am; we are pretty much ready to go.



But part of me doesn't want to go. I think part of that feeling might be due to the fact that the REAL work of adding Gladdie to our family really begins once we get home. But I think mostly, I'm nostalgic for her sake. Trying to take it all in so that I can tell her the wonderful, heartbreaking, beautiful story of how she entered our family.






I don't want to miss a thing!

So, please keep us in your prayers. We have a super early morning and 17+ hours of travel time PLUS jet lag to contend with once we arrive back in the states.

This #goingtogladdie journey is really just beginning. We covet your prayers for many more days, weeks, months to come. We will love sharing how Gladdie transitions into our family.

We will love sharing the wonderful, heartbreaking, beautiful story of the #Miller6Pack.

Comments

Unknown said…
Praying for you all and will continue to do so...and Amy, Happy Mother's Day!!
Unknown said…
Praying for you all and will continue to do so...and Amy, Happy Mother's Day!!

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