Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Peking Duck dinner and 2 very special new friend!

Before I start with what we did today, I will say that Alexander woke up at around 2 AM.  Because he feel asleep while we were out and was carried all the way to dinner and all the way back to the hotel, he had already slept 8 hours!  We all were awake for a while and after the guys were long back to sleep I had figured out how to enable the memory card reader on my computer!  I am so thankful.  Thanks Sandra for giving me pointers!
So, I finally was back to sleep at 5 AM and had to be out of bed and ready to go by 7:15 AM. 

We went to a fast breakfast in which Grace ordered and we ate.  The food was good but the soybean milk I did not care for!  After breakfast we went to the Forbidden City.  OH MY!  It was HUGE! 

 The gardening was beautiful!

 These big pots gathered rain water to use in case of fire!

 The painting on the buildings were amazing!

 The pictures don't even begin to show the size of The Forbidden City.

 This is carved wood that is then painted.

 This is a beautiful light.

 Going to the bathroom in China will strengthen your leg muscles!

 The goal is to throw money to land on the square piece in the middle of the water.  If you are successful, you will have good luck.

 Guess who was successful?!?!

 These arches are the exit of The Forbidden City.

 This is a moat that is wrapped around the entire Forbidden City.

Just when I thought we had reached the end, there was another huge section.  It was neat to see the different buildings and know what they were used for and to see the way each one was painted differently then the one before or after it.

After we were done with the Forbidden City we went toward The Summer Palace.  On the way there Jeff started not feeling well.  We ate and he slept in the chair for a bit.  When we awoke he was much better!  Grace's friend Maggie joined us today just before the Summer Palace.  What a delight that these two young ladies are!  They loved us, especially Alexander.  They were so sweet and kind to show us their city!  The greatest thing I will say about them here is "blessed be the tie that binds."

Since Jeff was not feeling well, he and Alexander took a ride to The Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace amazed us.   We saw and the beauty of the land and water that surrounded us!   The workmen ship of the Maker of the land and water is nothing less then perfect.  The gardens were stunning and the buildings had many unique features.

 Many people wanted their children to pose with Alexander.  He was such a good sport about it.

 Notice the split pants, and no diaper or underpants.  This enables the children to just squat whenever and where ever they need to go to the bathroom. 

This is a long bridge.  Notice all the paintings.  Each one is different.

 Grace and Maggie were such fun to be with!

And a US $1.00 toy brought "Mr Kaka" to life!

 We took a short walk back to the train station. 

 These carts all had different kinds of food.  Those that I recall are fruits, nuts, sweet potatoes, and unknown meat on a stick. 

Notice that this man has no arms.  He does he art with his feet.

 We said goodbye to sweet Maggie and took the train and a short walk to dinner. We went to a Peaking Duck dinner that was amazing! 

We rolled ourselves back out onto the street and then walked back to our hotel.  We shared a gift with Grace for helping us!  She has been great!

Now at 9:43 PM, I am the last awake and having trouble at that.  As for now.... good night!

Praying for a great night of sleep.  Off to the Great Wall Tomorrow morning!

A great afternoon and early evening out... now 2 of the 3 of us are asleep!

I am wide awake!!!  The guys are sound asleep!  We just got back to the hotel.  I had great plans to download pictures from my camera's... and guess what?!?!?  No camera cords!  That is right... none... zilch... nota one!  Jeff thinks they will turn up... I am sure they will not!  I know that I didn't pack them and I am oh so puzzled how they got out of my sight, to not be packed!  I just want to cry!  Any Rumor Queen friends out that are in China or soon will be that have a Canon Rebel?  Can I borrow your cord to download pictures with?  If we can't figure out anything else, Jeff will email me some from his phone, so I can post them!
Ok... enough about that!  We met our dear guide in the lobby of our hotel and we walked to             Tian anmen Square.  There were billions of people there... ok... maybe not billions but there sure were a ton.  Since this week is a holiday in China, people travel to Beijing to see the things that we intend to see while we are here!  We saw guards, and police, and naked bottoms of toddlers who wore split pants.  No diapers for these little ones.

We were there for a long time as we were waiting to see the lowering of the Chinese flag and the raising of a new Chinese flag.  Alexander was so so tired that he sat on the ground and was fast to sleep.  After the wait, they just lowered the flag.  We were leavng at the same time as the mass of othe people there.  We managed to not get separated.  That could be because Alexander was carried all the way to dinner.  He woke up when we got there, but was fast to sleep again.  He then was carried the rest of the way back to our hotel.  He was on his bed and back to sleep 30 seconds ofter he hit that pillow.   

Tomorrow we leave at 7:15 for breakfast, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and a Peking Duck dinner!  Busy day, but great to fellowship with Grace!  What a blessing that God worked it out for her to our guide!

Ok... so now I am not wide awake.  VERY TIRED and MUST SLEEP!  Good night for us... and good morning to you!

We are in Beijing!

1st I will start by saying that Alexander was not as excited when we told him he was coming to China as we thought he would be.  He cried at first, because he was excited to spend time with my parents and with Jeff's parents.  He was really worried that Jeff's parents would be gone before we got back home.  Now, all is good!  He is excited to be here and ready to see the sights!

We left KC at 6:55 last night and few to LAX.  We had a 5 hour lay over before boarding our plane to depart at 1:35 AM.  That is 3:35 AM, our time!  We all slept, but certainly not as long as would have in a bed.  We arrived in Hong Kong at 7:30 this morning and then flew into Beijing at 12:15 PM.

We gathered our bags, went through Customs with no problem... to be greeted with a sign that said our names on it.

 

Grace will be our guide for today and tomorrow.  We came to our hotel and checked in, and are resting for a few hours before we go sightseeing.  Here are a few pictures of our hotel.

 
We have to cram a lot into a few days.


I received an email from our agency that we will be getting Myah on SUNDAY at 2 PM.  That is 1 AM in Missouri!  That is a day before we would get here!  We are so excited!

That is it for now.

We are leaving very soon and there is much to pray for!

It is hard to believe that we will be getting Myah in 10 days!  We have waited and prayed for her and are oh so thankful for all that has taken place in the last 13 months.  Some of it was good, and some scary.... but through every step of the process we have seen the hand of God so obviously placed!

The current time is 4:54 AM!  I have been waking up during the 3:00 hour for many nights (only a few have I not).  Rarely do I wake up and easily go back to sleep.  After laying in bed for a while I typically get up and come to the living room and look at adoption blogs.  Tonight (or this morning) I decided that I really should post on my blog rather then look at other blogs!

We are about to head to China and while I am oh so excited, I also have many things that are specific prayer needs that I ask you to please lift up to the Lord on our behalf!  Soooo.... here they are (listed in no particular order)!!!

1) Pray for Myah.  In 10 days we will be taking her from the only home that she has ever known.  Her nanny's love her and while I don't know that a baby of her age really understands love, I am sure that she will not know what to do when they are not there!  Pray that God supernaturally prepares her little heart for her new family!

2)  Pray that we are ready for Myah.  She will be experiencing many emotions and feelings.  Some children "shut down", others cry, others sleep.  Some children will only want to be with one parent.  I have read a lot and talked to many people to prepare myself for what we might face.  Please pray that in the midst of whatever Myah will experience and go through that we will have a peace and calmness that can only come from the Lord Jesus!

3)  Pray for our health!  We will certainly be tired when we arrive in China.  We have a few days in Beijing to get used to the time difference and explore the sights of China.  Pray that this time will enable us to get good rest, so that we are not run down and more apt to get sick.  We have stocked up on OTC meds of many kinds.  Pray that we don't have to use any of them!

4)  Pray for the many details of the next few days!  We have lots to do before we can leave!  Pack, clean the house, pay the bills.  Pray that we can get this all done in a timely manner so that when we leave on Monday, I will have a peace knowing that every thing is done!

5)  Pray that our airplanes all take off and land when they are supposed to and that every piece of luggage arrives where it is supposed to, when it is supposed to!  We are traveling on several different flights and staying in many different cities. 

6)  Pray for rest and good sleep on the airplane.  Our international flight leaves in the middle of the night.  When we board that plane we will be very tired.  Pray that we can get comfortable on the plane and will be able to sleep for several hours on the plane.

 7) Pray for our boys that will not be going with us!  My parents and Jeff's parents will be staying with them.  Pray that they do ok with us being gone for so long and that Poppy and Mimi (both of them) will have enough stamina to keep up with them! 

8)  Pray that we have patience as we go through the steps of the adoption process.  We are traveling with at least 3 other families.  Pray that as we hurry up and wait for each step, that we do so with grace.  Also pray that everything goes smoothly with each step of the adoption process!

9)  Pray that our children are able to easily handle the changes in our family when Myah arrives home.  Samuel will not be the baby anymore!  Pray Myah bonds to them and that they bond to her.  Pray that we are able to give each of our children the individual attention that they need!

10)  Pray for the bonds and connections that we will have with the other families traveling with us!  I have been communicating with the other families for months.  Pray that the children that are traveling with our group will have a good connection with each other too!

11)  Pray that Myah is able to sleep on the long flight back to the United States and that the rest of us can sleep too! 

12)  Pray that we are able to be a testimony for the Lord while we are there!  Our walk and talk needs to be a reflection of Jesus.

I am sure there are other things that I have not listed.  I am thankful that God knows our needs and that he will be directing our paths. 

As we travel, feel free to travel along!  Oh... one more thing.  Pray that our cameras and computer work.  We want to be able to communicate with our family here and share our journey with all of you.

Now... I think of few more hours of sleep would be good!  Tiredness... fall upon me!  Good night!