Final Days

We are in Beijing again, Saturday through Monday, Flying in to Tampa Monday evening. We ended up staying 2 extra days to save several thousand dollars on airfare (this weekend after New Years is an expensive weekend to fly we learned). the air quality here is horrible and it's cold. So, we'll be staying in most of the time. As we relax and get prepared to return home, our family wants to thank all of our friends and family who have been with us through this adventure. I know I'll leave some out but want to at least mention a few that made great sacrifices and contributions so we could make this trip:

Karen and Michelle who have been great friends to Charleen through this whole process, helping and encouraging her for 2 1/2 years.
Sandra and Helen at the Methodist School Center who have offered to let Carlee Mei come to school with Charleen so she can continue teaching. I don't think they know what they are in for, but hey, they'll find out soon enough (remember the "chicken hawk?").
David and Wendy Hevia, Amanda's bosses and my good friends. As you may know, they have jewelry store in Dade City and the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of the year for the store. They and their staff made a major sacrifice by letting Amanda come with us, leaving 12/20. We want them to know how much our family appreciates them and want you to know it too.
My bosses, Bud and Earl. As you also may know, we opened our new bank on 12/10, 8 working days before I left for China. Bud and Earl always encourage us to have the right balance in life, putting God first, family second and work third, telling us if we do, everything will work out good for all. Like most people, I don't always do that. Them telling me I needed to make this trip puts that philosophy to work. To them, and all of my coworkers who have had to cover for me in my absense, I will be eternally grateful to them that I got to spend this special time with my family.
We look forward to seeing all of you when we get home.















Jimmy & Charleen in front of the Starbuck's in Guangzhou, China, Friday evening, our last night there. Eat your heart out Pastor Ed!


















She still has not realized how small she is. Here she is trying on Charleen's boots.














Stop! She appears to understand it. Getting her to do it is the next lesson.














What girl doesn't like mirrors.

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.

I learned from Kelly that about 10,000 international adoptions took place each year between 2000 & 2005. 2007 will only by about 6,000 as the Chinese government is implementing incentives to encourage it's citizen's to adopt. Also, more and more people are migrating from the countryside and giving up farming to work in the factories, many of which are built near the coastal areas for product to be shipped out. Their economy and their culture is changing rapidly. The cost of an apartment type of condo unit is rising rapidly
















Bath time! Carlee Mei loves the tub! She's averaging 2 baths a day, sometimes 3, just to get in and play.














Climbing on the table in the play room at the hotel














Ain't she cute?!















Jamie & Rebecca Lynn playing hackie sack. When I first saw this picture I thought they were dancing.














Our guide, Kelly, took the group to her home for lunch. She had asked us a week ago if we wanted to do anything on New Years Day. When nobody responded, I told her we wanted to go to her house. Well, she took me serious and took the entire group there to meet her family (husband, daughter, & in laws). Kelly is a really nice young lady (someone said she is 31) and has been very helpful to all families in this process. There are 7 families in the group, large by normal group standards. She told me that most of the time she has 2 - 3 families, only 5 groups in 07 with 5 or more families.



















Getting ready for group pictures














All 7 children in our group



















Our first family of 6 picture
















White Cloud Mountain tour, watching the fish














Who went to the photography school?














Buddhist Temple incense burning














Inside the temple



















Wishing Tree
















This tree grows along this wall creating a somewhat flat set of roots














Dragon on corner of temple roof.














Little Miss Independent, or "Squeaker Jr." as we have referred to her as (Squeaker was Jamies nick name)














Atop White Cloud Mountain. That's smog hovering over the city of Guangzhou. Makes us really want to come home.














Some of what the newer development looks like in Guangzhou.

Pictures from Ophanage

Well, today (Monday) we got the pictures from the orphanage. The adopting parents send money for a disposable camera ahead of time so the family can have a little history of thier new family member. We were pleasantly surprised, considering some of what we have seen since we got here and some of the stories we heard from the families who went to the other provinces. The Chinese have these facilites that serve as both orphanages and nursing homes, run by the government. We heard that there were about 300 children at this orphanage. These are the best photos we have of Carlee Mei before we got her.