Sunday

We slept great last night. Madi's belly is still on EST, so she woke up very hungry around 1:30 a.m. We didn't have much to eat in the room, so we broke into the super-size bag of Cheerios we brought for Charlie. After about twenty minutes and a dose of melatonin, she went back down. We all slept in until 6:00 again. We are feeling more normal everyday.

After breakfast (Shanghai noodles again--pictured), we walked on the pedestrian street despite wet weather again. We saw some cool things. There was one area on the road where one man set up shop to sharpen people's knives. Another man was repairing umbrellas. Another man was giving haircuts right there in the street. There was hair flying everywhere and people crowded around observing the action.

At 10:00 a.m., we ventured across town in a taxi to St. Peter's Catholic Church. Madi, our safety patrol leader, was not very pleased that seat belts aren't mandatory here and rarely seem to be working in the taxis. We were given an inaccurate mass schedule by the hotel and showed up halfway through mass that was taking place in French. It didn't matter what language though, mass is always so beautiful. We were intrigued that we climbed three flights of stairs to get to the sanctuary. Madi was also fascinated that a group of small children holding candles led the procession of gifts to the altar. You could see that she was just drooling to help them.

Friends of ours from our travel group with Daniel, who came to Shanghai to adopt their daughter last year, recommended a nearby noodle restaurant (thanks Dee and Daryn:) We went there for lunch today. We love Madi's sense of adventure when it comes to the food here. She's not been afraid to try anything. She's been eating some spicy things too and took a liking to vinegar on her noodles today. It really is fun for all of us to try these new things together. Today Madi finally said, "I love China!" It was good to hear. She seems much more like herself today--a little more outgoing and talking to more people. Sleep does wonders.

Our room dilemma worked out beautifully. We had kindly inquired at the front desk about the rooms, and the sweet gal, Spring, behind the desk volunteered that there were larger rooms on the floor without additional cost. Problem solved. We just moved into the larger room and it's great:) There still is zero drawer space, but the luggage fits up on the windowsill so it's all off the floor. There is more of a living room situation with a loveseat and coffee table so the kids will have more space to play together in the room. It is a much more comfortable scenario for the rest of the week. We have unpacked pretty much everything possible and we are feeling much more settled now. Madi helped me prepare all of the gifts for the orphanage nannies, civil affairs personnel, etc.

Our guide arrived this afternoon from Beijing. She has asked that we meet her in the lobby tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for Charlie. I am disappointed that we won't get to see the orphanage, but she checked with them and was told that there is a flu going around and they do not want visitors. She said that some families are required to go to the orphanage for Gotcha Day and some are not. We might try to see if we can still arrange a visit later in the week. We are not sure if it will happen though, and we are not sure that it would be good for Charlie. We'll see.

We have everything in place now...we just need Charlie. Hard to fathom that this time tomorrow, we will finally have him in our family. We can't wait to share that moment with you.