We're home! Plus more China days...

Yes, we're home, deep into dealing with jet lag, unpacking, and trying get our new routines going.  It's a little harder to just drop everything and nest when you have three other kids to deal with, but my mom and sister have been a HUGE help.  6PM is like death warmed over when you're feeling jet lagged, and even if you are too tired to eat, there are other little people in the house who seem to need something to put in their mouths.  :)

So, jet lagged, but needing to get caught up before I forget everything, here goes.  I'm shooting for coherent right now...


Day 5, December 27

We asked our guide about visiting a church on Sunday, but the only one she knew about was a Chinese church, and she seemed a bit confused when we asked about when the service started.  Between still feeling sick and not wanting to crash a Mandarin service with a little baby, we opted for a quick trip to the store instead.  We thought about visiting an international church, but the service was in the afternoon during nap time.  The highlight of the day was our return from the shopping plaza--the metro system in Nanchang had just opened up on Saturday (like, brand new, never used before), and our guide was eager to try it out.  It was so easy to use!  We resolved to try the metro system in Guangzhou, and ended up returning to the shopping plaza that evening for dinner.  We celebrated 13 years of marriage with dumplings, pepperoni pizza, and a scoop of ice cream from Hagen Daz.  It's been a crazy ride, but each year is better than the last.  I'm excited to see what this year will bring.  :)

Day 6, December 28

And just like that, our stay in Nanchang was over.  Our schedule was very different from other families due to the passport office being closed on Friday.  We had the option of staying in Nanchang or going to Guangzhou early, and looking back, I'm glad we opted for Guangzhou.  Our hotel in Nanchang was nice, but we were in a single room with two (twin) beds instead of one king-sized bed.  Titus loved crawling around, but there just wasn't much room for him to roam.  With the metro right outside our hotel, our food options opened up considerably, but I was ready to go.  My one regret is that we weren't able to visit the orphanage, but I hope to return someday with the kids, and maybe we can visit then.  We were able to pick up some porcelain teacups for the kids, so that will be a nice reminder of our time there too.  We took a bullet train--very nice, and with western-style toilets!--and the only downside of the trip was that Titus hardly slept at all.  Our guide met us at the train station and got us checked into the China Hotel.  We got settled into our very nice suite (especially compared to our room in Nanchang!) and headed to bed.

Waiting for the train.

Here it comes!