The Caldwell Connection - Adventures In Adoption and Parenting

Today started out much better as we didn't sleep in and got to eat a wonderful breakfast in the hotel! Waffles, eggs, potatoes and even cereal (cocoa puffs!!). It was wonderful.

 

We went to an amazing church service this morning. It was held at a theatre and sponsored by the International Beijing Christian Fellowship. The service was full- standing room only. It was very international with people from all over the world. It reminded me of our time worshipping in Ethiopia. What a beautiful picture of the body of Christ. The message was wonderful and encouraged us to do whatever we do as we are doing it unto the Lord- a very encouraging and challenging message.

 

After church we went to a jade store- they had beautiful jewelry and statues carved from jade. We found a tiger carving we liked....it was only 44,000 US dollars!! Wow! We didn't buy anything but everything was very beautiful.

 

Next we ate lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant. It was our favorite by far. Finally some egg rolls- or something like it :) Then we shopped at a store attached to the restaurant. It reminded me of a flea market and a store back home called Dogpatch.

 

Then we were off to the Great Wall of China. This is what I had been most looking forward to during our site seeing, but unfortunately the weather today was extremely overcast with a little rain, so the visibility at the Great Wall wasn't the best. But, it was still as impressive as I imagined it being. Unbelievable! The steps are literally straight up and down at many points. The view is beautiful, even with the clouds. Zack hiked up quite a bit more than me, but I still went fairly far. Coming down is just as challenging as going up, and both of our legs were shaking afterwards :)

 

Then we went to a very quaint tea shop for tea tasting. We had a traditional tea ceremony, where a beautiful Chinese lady showed us different types of teas, how to prepare them, and then poured us a sample of all of them. It was wonderful! The tea is much better than what we drink in the US- it doesn't even need any milk, sugar, or honey. However, it is also quite expensive- $20 for a small box.

 

It was time dinner after the tea tasting. We were all hoping for something other than Chinese food, but it was not meant to be.  Chinese once more! But this time they brought out a surprise- french fries!!! I was so excited- they really hit the spot.

 

Tomorrow we leave Beijing- at 4:30 am!! Wow that is early! We fly to Nanning and should meet Emmie sometime around noon or shortly thereafter. We are super excited (and I am somewhat nervous). We have been told to expect that she will cry somewhat at first, but I have packed animal crackers, fruit snacks, suckers, and a few small toys to hopefully make the transition easier :) Please be praying!! Tomorrow our lives will forever be changed by this sweet girl!!

 

Some pictures from our second day in Beijing......