Day 7 - Chinese Adoption Process Final

Our journey in Chongqing is now complete. All paperwork has been finalized with the Chinese government and the adoption is official. On Saturday we fly to southern China (Guangzhou) to complete our paperwork with the American Consulate.

Our last day in Chongquing was a "free" day. We had no required appointments, no scheduled tours, and were able to just relax a little. The entire country was observing a national holiday, and we witnessed several different types of celebrations in our local area. It was good to experience more of the Chinese culture so we can later share it with Joshua.

A few pictures that reflect some of our experiences in Chongqing:

We toured the Three Gorge Museum. It contains a 3 wall panaramic view of the 3 Gorge Dam project. In an effort to get off of coal produced electricty, China has built a huge dam to capture the waters flowing out of 3 gorges. The water will be used to produce electricity and is estimated to provide over half of the current electricty used today. The down side of the project is that waters will rise an estimated 10 meters and will put large portions of cities/villages underwater. A total of 1.3 million people are being moved out of low lying areas in preparation for the completion of the dam in 2009. Joshua's town of Fuling is in the process of relocating over 50,000 people. His orphanage is on high ground and will not be effected.

While at the museum there was a local artist who paints with his mouth due to having no arms. He is amazingly talented and painted Joshua's name on one of his paintings of Fuling. This will be a great treasure to pass on to Joshua as he grows up. God is able to use each us for great things, no matter what our circumstances are.

Randy, Joshua, and our guide Michael. Michael coordinates most of the adoptions in Chongqing. He has a great heart and has help us emmensely. Those who may be coming to Chongqing for adoption will be blessed to have him as your guide.

The summer Olympics will take place in Beijing. We some of the Olympic village and stadiums while in Beijing. However, it seems each city has it's own way of celebrating their country being the host of the world Olympics. This is a countdown clock in the 7 story mall that is a part of our hotel.

Joshua and his hotel crib. Last night we put his crib in the bathroom and turned the shower on to fill the room with steam. He has been getting congested at night and the steam helped.

We thought we would forego a stroller while in China. Afterall, Chinese babies are very small. Well..... Joshua weighs in at over 30 lbs at age 20 months. Michael said "he is a big boy and you should use a stroller." We took his advice and it has turned out to be a thrill for Joshua too.

Mom getting Joshua ready for another day of adventure