Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and The Silk Factory.

Today was our last day in Beijing. It was so hot with very little moving air. As we set out to the square it was unbelievable to me just how many people there were. It doesn't matter where we go or what time it is, there are always masses of people. Anytime you walk past shops of any kind people are in your space trying to sell you something. They don't care that you don't understand Chinese, they will talk to you anyway. Most of the time it will take at least 4 no's before they will finally walk away. It also doesn't matter that our tour guide is speaking, they will still just start talking to you. 

Our first stop today was the T Square. Below is Lydia (our tour guide) giving us the history. She is such a wonderful guide. I have zero retention so I recorded several of her talks. Her English is excellent. 

China's National Museum. We did not visit here. 

Our second stop was The Forbidden City. The masses were much worse here.  Air quality in general is so poor, add to that the congestion of people and 3/4 of them smoke and you feel like you can't breathe. 

The buildings were really beautiful. 

This is Danielle and John. They are from New Jersey and have 2 bio kids. 2 boys. This is their first adoption. Their little girl, who they are naming Lilly is 7 and they will meet her Monday. John and Brian got along famously. 

This is Jill, her daughter, Kiana and Jill's mom, Sharon. They are from Wisconsin. This is Jill's 3 adoption. She also has 3 bio kids, all boys. Kiana was adopted from China in 2002 and 2 years ago her and her hubby adopted a little 8 year old girl from Ethiopia. 

This is Carl, Beth and Jack. They just joined our group today. They are from Baltimore. This is their second adoption. They adopted Jack 2 years ago when he was 2. 

This is the original bed of the once Emperor of China. 

These next few pics are in the Imperial Gardens in the Forbidden City. 

Brian and me with our tour guide, Lydia. 

I found these placards today and just had to get them. 

I bought JG 2 articles of clothing from the silk factory. Brian has all the pics from there. It was really amazing. They showed us how the silk worms evolve and then create the silk. These 2 pieces of clothing are 100% silk. They are much more beautiful in person. I am hoping the bottom one will fit her for her dedication at church. 

I just think these little cars are so hilarious. You will see them all over the city. 

There was something so sad I just have to mention b/c it really moved me. We were walking back to the bus and this long stretch of sidewalk was peppered with people trying to sell us everything from flags to hats and so on. But then there were all these people about 20 feet apart sitting alone pan handling. But these pan handlers weren't like anything I had ever seen. Several had missing arms, or seriously deformed legs or arms. One man looked like he might have been a dwarf and had such a horrible deformity in his back his shirt couldn't cover the lump. But the one who struck me the most was a man who had been burned all over his face, chest and torso. He was also missing his left arm and he clearly had not been taken care of very well. I found myself weeping, yet he was singing, not just asking for money. He could sing. I thought here is a situation that with my eyes seems so helpless and hopeless but he is still doing what he can. And his can was full of money. Whatever he was doing was working.

After just these few days here and all I have seen, all the poverty, all the hopelessness and all the darkness in people's eyes I am so thankful to know Jesus. It also inspired me to be mindful to keep my hand and heart open to what God has for us after this adoption is final. It can't suddenly be about me b/c we bring JG home. I have to admit, after being here only 2 days I decided I didn't want to do this again. But, its not about me. Its about God. Its about His glory and not my own. So, I will seek Him for the next step and trust Him. Who knows, it may not 

So, its 9:19pm and our flight is at 11:20am tomorrow morning. We fly to Nanchang and at about 4:30pm we will meet our girl. I have butterflies even as I write this. It is so close. Please pray for us. Please pray I have no anxiety b/c I can't take anything for this flight. I don't want to be out of it before meeting her. Most of all, pray for JG. Tomorrow her whole world is going to fall apart and we won't be able to explain anything to her. Pray our emotions remain in tact and that facial expressions and affection will be enough to comfort her as she grieves her loss, which is HUGE! 

Thank you for walking with us. We are beyond thankful for you. 

Blessings.

Visiting one of the seven wonders of the world.

Our day started very early again. I woke up at 4 and just laid there willing myself back to sleep to no avail. By 430 B was awake so it was game on. Time to get ready for our first day of sight seeing. Today's site was one of the seven wonders of the world, The Great Wall. It was pretty amazing. And despite how steep it was and my completely unnatural fear of heights I climbed all the way to the third tower. It was incredible. Brian actually did it twice. 

Good morning! 

Squatty potty. If I ever have to use another one again, it will be too soon. 

Since 2000 couples have been coming and adding a lock to signify their marriage. They then throw away the key signifying their commitment cannot be undone. Pretty cool.

About to get started. Lets do this!

The second tower. I considered stopping here. However, I figured you don't come 7,000 miles and not go all the way.
And before anyone says anything, I know...its 4,000 miles long but three towers was the group goal. 

Isn't that incredible?!

B climbed up into the third tower. He was pretty proud of himself. ;0)

Showing on the map where we climbed to...I can't quite reach up that high. 

Whew! And we're done, hot sweaty and exhausted. Next stop...

The Jade factory. 

This entire thing was made from one piece of jade. It only costs $61,000 and that includes shipping. 

This is the family ball. This one has three layers, all made from one piece of jade. We bought one but its smaller. Brian was fascinated with this ball. It signifies a good and happy family.

B said you're supposed to rub buddha's belly for luck. HAHA!
(Did you notice my jade bracelet? I will pass it to JG when she gets married as is custom)

A jade carver. 

Our rickshaw. We went to visit historic Beijing. 

The owner of this house, woman on the right, has had this house in her family for over 120 years.  One of the chairs in that room was over 100 years old. 

Beautiful love birds. 

Tomorrow is another day of sight seeing and lunch with the China staff from our agency. We are looking forward to that. Although tomorrow also means we are just 36 hours and one more flight away from meeting our girl! Please pray for calm spirits and an accepting heart. Its hard not to be nervous. Thank you. Blessings.

Observations and an Update on JG

It is incredible to me just how hard you sleep when recovering from jetlag. B and I laid down at 2 and awoke at 530. But when I looked at the clock I was sure it was 530am. Once I realized the actual time I was astounded. I had dreamed and felt like I weighed 200 pounds while trying to get up.

So, just some quick observations during our day and a little bit of the night on the town. I already talked about all the staring. It didn't get any better when we went out this evening. While looking around in most stores few people know the meaning of personal space. They will follow you around and stand a foot away, literally. Its very odd. 

There are these market places that sell everything and anything you could want food wise and anything else. But lets talk about the food. Everything is on a stick. And I mean EVERYTHING!!! Scorpions (some are still moving), octopus, bug, crabs, the list goes on and on. The smell is so strong and the people behind the carts are all trying to yell above each other in the hopes you will come and buy from them. 

I am sad I don't like the people or the city more. But I can't worry about that. I will continue to choose joy knowing where it comes from. Also, focusing on the objective. To be united with our daughter. 

Another thing is people are just so forward. They start yelling at you and trying to ask you questions. On the way home from dinner B and I just kept walking. We didn't want to be rude but there is no helping them understand you aren't famous and you don't have anything to give them. 

As we made our way through downtown it was dark and looked like New York (well at least the pics I've seen). 

The worst thing though, was no toilet paper in some of the public bathrooms or worse yet, only a hole in the floor in which to pee.  Luckily, I was warned about this and had kleenex at the ready. Whew. 

Downtown. In about a 2 mile radius there are 3, count them 3 malls.  And we are talking 5 levels of shopping and eating at each. 

Do we have this in America? ;0)

I was not going to ask someone to take our pic. See McD's in the background. 

As I mentioned earlier, the traffic here is insane. What's more insane is  that there are just as many bikes/scooters/motorbikes on the road. No helmets, nothing. And I am not kidding when I say, you are taking your life in your hands on those roads. Plus pedestrians have no right of way here. They will totally run you down and not even look back. 

Market place...see the octopus hanging over the side. You've never smelled anything like it. 

And of course...My man's main place to make life happen for him. :0)

And the best way to end the evening, an update of on our girl. She is still 23.5 pounds and 33 inches. Very sad, though. They shaved her head. I guess that is their way of getting her ready. We also got a ton of info on what to expect while in her province and info on her foster parents.

So, last update for today. Tomorrow we meet our group at 830am and we go to The Great Wall. I am looking forward to that. Trying to enjoy every moment but the truth is, I am just "getting though" b/c Sunday is when things will get really exciting so stay tuned. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. We CANNOT do it without ya! Blessings.

On our way to Jenna Grace, Day 1 and 2

It is Thursday at 1:44pm and we are in BEIJING!!!!!!

I had every intention of posting something on our layover in Newark but our first flight was delayed so once in Newark we only had enough time to eat and it was time to go. 

Our flight to Beijing was LONG! Brian and I didn't sleep any more than an hour. Even with drugs. It was hard not to be frustrated at that b/c we were just hurting by the end of it. When we finally landed, waded through customs, waited at baggage claim and were picked up I was cooked. I made it 10 minutes in the car before I passed out. And it was probably a good thing b/c the traffic was terrifying. 

We got settled at the hotel, showered and hit the bed HARD. We both slept so hard that when I woke up I figured it was morning. NOPE! Only three short hours had passed. But we were awake and decided with the time difference it was probably a good thing. We finally went to bed at midnight. Sadly, we only made it until 4:30am. I went to the gym, got in a work out and we hit breakfast. It was amazing. Finally. The airplane food stunk!!

Anyway, I'm just now realizing how boring this post is. Sorry. We were finally able to face time with our kids and see they were doing fine without us. And allow me to interject how thankful I am to have the friends I do. They pick up the slack every time and for that we are so grateful!!!!

This morning we went exploring and we had barely made it out of the hotel when this couple came up to us asking if we were American. I said we were and she said, "Oh your hair is so beautiful." They walked and talked with us for 15 minutes. They were both art students and their English was very impressive. 

We went in several malls and walked through one outdoor market. We spent the whole time being stared at. Especially me. I thought I would get used to it, but the more the morning wore on the more unnerving it became. People would stare and then talk about us with whoever they were standing with (or so it felt). For the most part, the people don't seem that friendly. Well, except for this one guy who asked Brian if he was a celebrity, b/c of his goatee. That was funny. 

So, now its time to nap and try and get our body's to line up with China. It is surreal being here. Tomorrow begins all the sight seeing and meeting the rest of our group. I am hoping that will divert people from staring so much. In just 3 and a half days we will meet our daughter. I am so hoping I can post pictures by then. So far, we have not had much luck with the whole internet thing. 

So, be patient and keep checking back for updates. They are coming and I promise will be better than these. HAHA! Oh, and keep praying b/c God knows we still need them. 

Blessings.