Apr 3 & 4 - Days in Kunming

Yesterday we came back to the hotel and got take out food to eat in the room. We were all really tired. It was cold and rainy and we decided to go out to lunch and to Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart is not like the States. We then went to Parkson’s a really nice department store and bought a great stroller. We then walked back to the hotel about 100 blocks. It wasn’t that far but it sure felt like it!!! We bought Grace a little pair of cute shoes for $5.00. Today we were up early and it was cold again. We went to the Stone Forest. It was really neat to see all the rock formations. We bought some bags with embroidery work done by the minority groups. We then went to the Orphanage to see where Grace and Mei Lin spent their first 7 months. It is really a wonderful orphanage. Really clean and 60 full time employees and 200 volunteers. We saw 12 babies in the nursery with 5 nannies taking care of them. It seemed like all the children are very well cared for. Many of the staff recognized our babies and came out to hug them. We were given a book of the orphanage with many wonderful pictures and we got a lot of people who knew our babies to sign it. The orphanage was quiet and most of the rooms were empty that we saw. Three quarters of the children are in foster care. Grace had been with her foster family since she was 7 months old. We went into one of the rooms where our daughters had gone for game time and the women heard Graces cough and said we should go see the doctor who is part of the orphanage. I told her I was giving her medicine, but she still wanted us to go see him. The doctor we saw was the same one who saw Grace in foster care. He gave us some amoxicillin and also told us he did not hear her heart murmur anymore. He said he feels the hole in her heart has closed. We are rejoicing in God’s goodness!! The room we were in is where they bring all the babies right after they find them. So it was another neat opportunity to see where our little ones were brought at 1 day old. We were really pleased at all we got to see and know that our daughters were well cared for. It was late when we got back to the hotel and Grace and Mei Lin have been doing remarkably well for these long days. Grace seems to be attaching to us and did not want to go with the nannies at the orphanage. She has been burying her head when someone she doesn’t know comes up to talk to her. Grace’s favorite things to do are laugh, giggle and eat cheerios. We are really enjoying this time getting to know her little personality. She does get an attitude when it comes to not getting her own way, but otherwise she is happy and all smiles.