Last Days in Guangzhou

This will be our last update from Guangzhou as we leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 6AM (it's 4PM Friday afternoon as I write this). I doubt there will be anything worth updating, but who knows. On behalf of our family, we want to say thank you to all of our many friends who have been so supportive of us through this entire journey. As many of you know, Charleen and I have not always been aligned in our thinking on this matter. However, I always knew that Charleen's heart was right in wanting to do this, and I always want her to be happy. Now that we have Carlee Mei, I can't imagine life without her. I cannot wait to get her home for all of you to meet. She is so petite, about the same size as many of the one year old babies. But she has so much personality and keeps us in stitches most of the time. She loves to laugh, makes some of the funniest faces, and acts likes she's known us forever. She doesn't back down to anyone, I guess her will and determination over compensating for her size. She reminds me of the little chicken hawk from the cartoon with FogHorn LegHorn. I can just she her strutting around spouting out "I'm a chicken hawk and I'm gonna get me a chicken" even though the chicken is 5 times her size. It has been a great bonding time for all of us with her.

We look forward to seeing you all when we get home!















Babies lined up, ready to go to dinner, our last night together with our group














The Goodmark family - from Texas, back for their second baby. Their first, Ashley, brought a lot of fun to the trip as she is a sweet little 6 year old. Steve's parents traveled with them so we all got to know them as well.














On the right, Jason & Amy with new daughter Nico. They are from Minnesota. Jason is one of the guys I took the trip downtown with. When everyone else had light jackets on, Jason was fine with a t-shirt. The first time I saw him and asked him if he was cold, he remined me that he is from Minnesota. Say no more!

Jeffrey with new daughter Nancy on the left. Jeffrey's wife had to say back as her father is seriously ill. He was able to keep momma updated daly using the internet.

Victor & Linda with new daughter Marcella in the center. They are from California. Victor is of Chinese heritage and speaks it well. He is the other guy in the infamous "Guangzhou Taxi Ride."















Brent & Carolina with new daughter Olivia. They are from Michigan (Brent is an executive with Chevy)

Heidi with friend Lucy holding Heidi's new daughter Mia. Heidi is from Manhattan and is a violinist and works at the Manhattan Conservatory. Heidi is a student who traveled with her to help with this undertaking. Heidi is a new single mom with this adoption,














Berg's with Skip & Susan, our new friends from Louisiana and their daughter Jewel.














Our guide Kelly receiving a gift from our group for her daughter. Kelly has been such a wonderful guide and has been like family to us all. The guides tend to be working most of the time, making sure all is well for all of us. We all did include Kelly in our dinners, having her sit at one of the tables as much as she could/wanted to.














Berg girls with new friends CoCo & Vicki, two of the young ladies we met at one of the little stores close to our hotel.














This is what I like to refer to as Zephyrhills Bottled Water, China Style.














Jimmy, Charleen and Carlee Mei Berg at the American consulate. After being gone for two weeks, it sure was nice to see that flag. Makes us proud to be Americans (and Republicans).


















Strolling around downtown we came upon this French built Roman Catholic Church














Marker at the church














Charleen with our new friends Judy, Danielle, and Kevin. Each of the people we met have taken an American name to make it easier for the Americans to remember.














CoCo with Carlee Mei. We asked her if she has ever had CoCo Puffs. She's never heard of them.














Amanda, Judy, Danielle, Jamie, Rebecca Lynn, and Kevin, our last visit with them before we go home. Several of the young ladies we met swapped emails with Charleen and our girls as they want to know more about America, all hoping to come there some day. We left our mark here teaching them all about Elvis. They all say "thank you very much" as customers leave the store. So I explained to them that if they say "thank you, thank you very much" the Americans will know that they know about Elvis. If the west is going to continue to influence the east, they need to know some of the good stuff and know that we don't all listen to Rap music.