Nanning Government appointments and a trip to Wal-mart!

Yesterday before we met Bethany we visited some places that reminded and tasted like home. I didn't share any of this yesterday since there was much bigger news to cover. We are staying at a very nice state-run hotel. You can see Becky to the left and the view from our room. The street below is contstantly humming at all hours with bus, car, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The mixture proves to be very interesting when you are in it. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. You have to be very careful on foot when crossing any street. It is something amazing to experience. The good news is we haven't seen anyone get run over while we've been here... AMAZING.

Yesterday we shared a cab with our new friends and fellow adoptive parents the Grimaldis. They are here from Washington state. We have rooms next to us and there is a door that connects both of our rooms. That has been nice on multiple occassions. They are a huge blessing and we've been very thankful to share this journey with them.

Visiting the local Wal-Mart proved very interesting. They are "super" Wal-Marts with fresh fish, meat, poultry and many identified fruits, vegetables and animal parts for sale. They are very clean and the biggest difference between those here and those back in the states is that there are employees everywhere! There is another difference, although they speak a different language they are generally eager to help. I wish I could have taken more pictures but I was told by our guide that they don't like that too much in department stores. Above is also a picture of a pie warmer from McDonalds. Those aren't apple or cherry pies in there though! They are black beans! (I think...) We enjoyed a Big Mac and fries which were very much just like back home. You can also order fries or kernel corn for a healthier choice.

Bethany (Hua Hua) loving the dolly that Grandma and Grandpa Hay gave us on the ride to do more paperwork today. Don't worry, there are no car seats and we all lived!

Back where we met her to finish paperwork. We were able to see her nanny once again. It was difficult to do so but the nanny was very helpful once again.


Workers trimming bushes on a busy street. Vehicles were buzzing right by them. Thank goodness they were wearing those vests.

Bethany did really well yesterday, although she would not let us remove her shoes or clothes. She was sooo hot at bedtime, but still would not let us remove some of the many layers she was wearing. At bedtime, everything hit her, and she cried the saddest tears I've ever heard (mom cried too!). We calmed her down after awhile, and she laid awake in bed for quite some time. Finally, sleep came, and she slept soundly the entire night. We still couldn't get her to remove any clothes in the morning, so we kept her in them (although after a very sweaty night, she was starting to smell!). We went and finished the legalities required so that we can now legally say she is our daughter - Bethany Hua Mei Hay. We were able to talk with the orphanage director again and exchange gifts and email addresses. The director, the one who Bethany calls "aiyee" (auntie) talked to her about changing her clothes when we brought her back home. When we parted with the director, her auntie for the last time, Bethany waved bye-bye, we all hugged (mom cried again!-dad almost did too... shh!) and that was it. Bethany whined for about 2 seconds and then stopped. Since then, she's been jabbering and laughing and joking around with us. It's really special!! She also came right into the hotel room and began taking her clothes off, picking out one of the shirts I had laid out for her. The shirt says "good things come in small packages" and that couldn't be any more true in this case!! Thank you, God! :)