July 26th

Hello! This will be our last posted message from China! We're ready to get Annalee home & settled into her life with us! And we can't wait to get hugs & kisses from Walt & Libby! We went to a folk art museum this morning - lots of beautiful displays of hand painted china, wood & ivory carvings. Annalee found a jasmine flower & enjoyed checking it out. She also does a lot of pointing. We've heard her babbling a bit more but nothing we can decipher. We have taught her the sign for "more" as she eats a good bit! She can feed herself easily with fork & spoon. When she wants more, she'll hold up her plate or gesture at the wanted food item with her spoon! She's a full of tricks! We had our American Consulate appt at Noon with about 35 other families - very quick. We swore that all information given by us over the last year & a half is true. When we touch down on American soil, Annalee will be an American citizen! We leave our hotel at 6AM tomorrow morning (Wed) - China time. We have just over an hour flight to Hong Kong & then off to Chicago at 12:45PM. I think you have the rest of the info. We'll land in Baltimore at 7PM Wed Eastern time. Love to all & many thanks for messages, prayers & good wishes. All is well!