Sunday in Guangzhou

Today we went to church which was a very cool & moving experience. The church was a Christian church which is one of the few governent permitted Christian churches. The service was half English & half Chinese. We then had reservations for some fancy Thai restaurant which Lance & Claire decided to forgo. I'm glad I tried it, but not again. We then had some shopping time & I'm getting good at negotiating. There are many gifts to be had upon our return. Can you actually believe I bought a diaper bag? We took lots of pictures in our hotel, which is beautiful. Tomorrow our guides go to the US consulate to drop off our final adoption paperwork, so we are to stay in the room in case the consulate has questions. Tuesday we actually go to the consulate & get sworn in as her parents! Wednesday, it's on our way to Memphis!
Jesse, I hope you are having a great weekend & just a few more days until we come home with your sister! We love you very, very, much! Dad got you something very cool today......You'll have to wait & see what it is!

Love, Gretchen

The Day We Got Claire

(Click on the picture to get the bigger version.)

I was looking through the pictures that we've taken since we got here and saw this one I took when Gretchen first got to hold Claire. I'm sure she didn't post it because she is so modest. However, you can see the love and emotions in her eyes. This moment was not like going through child birth... but it was just like going through child birth. Claire might just have gotten a bigger present in Gretchen being her mom than we got in her being our daughter. -Lance

On the Way to Church...

We're Safe & Sound in Guangzhou!

Well, Claire made it through her 1st plain ride without a fuss. We were stuck in the airport for about 6 1/2 hours & not a peep. We got to the White Swan at 1:30am & were up at 6:30 am. The White Swan is of course gorgeous & all the shops around here are great. This city reminds me a lot of Savannah, GA. with spanish moss trees & all the french influenced architecture. We had a busy day today, starting off with Claire's medical exam. She passed with flying colors, but the doctor kept saying "small baby" & that she was very small for her age. We'll see what our pediatrician says about this when we get back to Memphis.

We went to a tebetian temple & a jade factory today after the exams & then to a tea house that all the moms tried all these different kind of teas. Someone is getting a really cool gift from there!! Tomorrow we go to a Christian Church (translated in English I believe) & then I have no idea what. I'm beginning to lose track of days. We found a restaurant called Lucy's that Lance loves because they have great hamburgers & rice, ect.....

The pediatrician in our group gave Claire an exam tonight & said all is well, but it appears that Claire spent a lot of time on her back. We are changing that of course! She found her mongolian spot on her lowere back ( normal for asian babies), found her birthnark, & said that everything else is fine. She said to see what Claire is doing in 6 weeks & then take her to our pediatrician to ee if he should change her birthdate.


Claire's 1st plane ride! Jesse, Claire saved you her chinese snack!
In front of a Tibetan Temple. Very neat & full of incense & people offering fruits to the budda.
This is Claire being held by Whitney, 10,who is here with her dad to get her sister (5 year old Lainey from Bejing)
These were some of the Budda's. They were enormous, as you can see by the size of the monks below!
I will post more tomorrow. Amy, sorry, but I haven't found any tofu yet......
Jesse, have a great weekend & have fun at t-ball practice. We love you very much & Claire sends lots of slobbery kisses! To Jenny, just 3 weeks! Wooo hoooo!!!

To everyone else, thanks for all the great e-mails & posts! We love you & miss you all!

We're off to Guangzhou!!

Well, we're off to the last leg of our trip! We look forward to to the food, shopping, & warmer climate. It's supposed to be in the 70's & 80 while we're there. Claire is still doing great & Lance right now is re-packing so we won't have to pay as much in penalties as we did on the trip over. (I have a huge overpacking problem) Please keep us in your prayers as we fly & travel a lot today. We will stay in Guangzhou until Wednesday. Then it's back home for that dreaded trip.

This is a foot picture of all the babies in our little travel group here in Changsha. The picture didn't go exactly as planned. We'll try again in a couple of days!
Claire right before bedtime! She loves playing on our bed until her bedtime, then it's to the crib she goes. It's so cute to see her in her crib sucking her thumb intil she falls asleep.
I'll post in a day or so as soon as I can. Also, thanks to everyone for all the posts, e-mails, & words of encouragement. We can't wait to see you all upon our return & see precious Claire!

PS....Dear Jesse, We can't wait to see you next week! Please continue to feel better & do great for Nana & Grandma! Have a great Spring Break! We all love you so much! Take good care of Braxton or us too!

Love, Mom, Dad, & Claire!!

More Changsha Delicacies.....

Unappetizing to us I know, but these are some if the things they love to eat here! The fresher the better they say.

Touring Changsha

Today is our last full day on Changsha so we toured the acedemy where Chairman Mao studied & took a trip to a local market (where, I might add, we paid 10$ for carry on luggage). Claire's doing fabulous & just takes whatever we do with ease. She will eat anything. Just like her brother I suppose!
Claire at breakfast & Gretche & Claire using the Baby Bjorn for the first time.
This is our entire travel gorup with the babies!
Lance with his pal, Confucious.....
This is the food for sale in the local markets. This, I believe, is eel. To my vegetarian relatives, sorry, but I just had to post this stuff!

A Trip To Claire's Hometown

Today we took a 2 hour van ride (each way) to Claire's hometown of YiYang City. She did excelllent the entire trip though it was long for the babies. We were very hesitant about taking this trip for many reasons, but are now glad we did. We were able to see Claire's orphanage, meet her nanny, see her abandonment spot, & see her city. We will show Claire these photos when she is older & able to understand.

We are very proud to have been chosen as Claire's parents so we can give her the great life & opportunities she deserves. Here are just a few of the many photos we took today...... This is one of the streets in her hometown.
This is Claire's crib. Notice the close proximity of all the other cribs. She did look to have a super warm quilt though!!

This is the nanny that took care of Claire since 3 days old. She was very happy to see her & kept saying "lucky baby." She also would touch my hair & laugh!!??? This is a picture of the orphanage from the outside.

Claire sleeping on the van ride back to Changsha. Tomorrow we go on more sightseeing & I'll post more then.


Thanks to everyone for all the encourageing e-mails & posts! They've really kept us going!
Love, Gretchen


PS...Jesse....1 more week til we get to kiss your cute face & you can meet your sister!!!

Another wonderful day!

Today was another great day. Claire was perfect & we're just waiting for the storm.....She just has such a grace about her. Today we went to an embroidery factory. Changsha is known for their embroidery & we saw the ladies at work & bought some handmade embroidery items for Claire. Tomorrow we take 1 1/2 hour trip (each way) to the orphanange where Claire was brought. I hope to plost tomorrow. If not, it will be soon as I can! Love, Gretchen

Swimming Pool Sign...

This is what we are dealing with...

You may have to click on the image to read it.

More Claire Pictures!

Hi everyone! Claire is down for her morning nap so I thought I'd download 2 pictures from this morning's bath. She loved her bath! She ate everything we gave her this morning including congee, steamed egss, purreed broccoli & carrots, & mashed banana! When we got back to the room, I just laid her down & she went to sleep! So far she has given us not even a whimper. I'm sure this is the calm before the storm!
I will post more tonight of our day today. After lunch, I believe we are going to tour Hunan & shop. Claire is badly in need of smaller clothes.

I can't believe she needs clothes! Her closet is full of 12 month clothes! Oh well!Have a great day everyone & I will post again later!
Love, Gretchen

More Claire pictures from Gotcha Day!

Claire has been mesmerized with the photo album we made her! Notice, Jesse, she is looking at the page with you on it! She can't wait to meet you!
She sat on our bed for most of the day & just sat & played. She is barely sitting up by herself! Look at the wild hair!
Shortly after being placed in my arms. She loved the toy giraffe we showed her!
PS...The beds here are as hard as the countertops...no kidding. We hope tp be more used to it tonight! Tomorrow we tour the city of Changsha. We will post in the evening after Claire goes to bed!
PPS.....Most of the food here even Gretchen won't eat! We are all starting to crave American food...& it's only day 4!

Jesse, we love you so very much & Can't wait to see you. Hope you are feeling better & hope you get to go to school Tuesday! We love you!

Mom, Dad, & Claire

We Have a Daughter!!!

Today was one of the greatest days of our lives. We awoke after very little sleep & got Claire at 9am this morning. We were ushered into this round room full of parents all waiting for their babies. We were told to sit down & wait. Lance noticed Claire coming in with the nanny right away. We were the first parents called & she came right to us. She is beautiful!!!!
One thing we noticed right away was how small she is. She is the size of a 6month old. She is in 6month clothes & foot size of a newborn. We have a pediatrician in our group coming from Beijing Friday & she will tell us if she thinks she is really 10 months old. She smiled & took in everything. She has not cried yet (we know that is coming though).
Our first pictures as a family of 4 after Claire was just put in our arms (Jesse not shown due to being 6,000 miles away)
We are truly blessed!!
Lance & Claire for the 1st time! She had no problems coming to him at all!
This is right after receiving of the babies outside of the travel group with the 3 of us.....Carla (from Yakima, WA), Gretchen, & LeighAnn (from Prattville, AL) All the babies did fine & did not cry much!

This is later in the day at the same civil affairs office. She became legally ours today!! As of today, whe is content with just sitting on our laps & just playing or making the cutest noises!

One more day til Claire!!!

We have had a very busy last 2 days. We went to a Chinese Acrobatics show which was really amazing! Lance & Gretchen right before checking out of the Beijing Hotel.

This is Gretchen in her "Happy Place", a pearl market just outside of Beijing. She is pictured here with one of the very helpful workers! Many pearls will be brought home!
Here is our travel group...some of them.....This is right at the beginning of The Great Wall of China. We walked up to the top in ice & snow!
Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts & prayers. We will wake up & get Claire 1st thing tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures of the newest Hollingsworth!!!!!

Hello Beijing!!!

Hello from Beijing! After 12 hours in Chicago airport & 12 1/2 hours to Beijing, we are here & safe & sound! This will be a quick post as we are on our way to a Chinese Acrobatics Show with our group. Our hotel is fabulous with really hard beds (no box springs). Today we went to a really tall mall & then to KFC for lunch! All the people are so helpful & friendly!

We will post later with more ino. Tomorrow am we climb the Great Wall & have lunch outside there. We fly to Changsha, Hunan tomorrow afternoon & get Claire first thing Monday am! Please continue to keep us in yout thoughts & prayers. We should have many more pictures tomorrow as we haven't taken many yet!

Off we go & I will post soon!
Love, Gretchen

Off to get Claire.....very slowly!

We left this morning out of Memphis at 6am & arrived in Chicago at 7:15am.....We are stuck in Chicago due to the weather....We should leave around 4:25pm. The flight is about 13 1/2 hours long, so please keep us in your prayers!!! We should be arriving in Bejing Friday evening around 7 or 8pm.
Hopefully the next time I write will be in Beijing!

Thanks to all our friends & family for the calls, visits, & prayers for us over the last several days!!
Love, Gretchen