Safari Park Trip

We decided to go to the Safari Park when we were originally planning the trip with Heritage. It was the best "attraction" thus far. We boarded a train just inside the gate and rode through the entire park where the free-roaming animals were. Up close and personal is how they keep them here. The only things behind a fence were the tigers and bears. We actually saw wildebeest with no lion chasing them - I thought they always came with a lion close behind...maybe that's just on TV.

Hope is really starting to mesh in with the rest of us - Jenn has always been her favorite, but she is really laughing a lot with the rest of us and does these really cheesy - cheeky - teethy smiles every now and then. She is very calm, but we'll get her out of that soon enough. She lets me do just about everything with her without fussing - I do all the bathtimes with her and she actually kicks her feet the entire time. Rylan spends a lot of time carrying her around while we talk to people at the breakfast buffet - she is quite used to him as well.

Hope ate 2 or 3 chewable things at breakfast, but wasn't impressed with the effort it took. We'll have to try feeding her real food when she is a little more hungry.

Just got off the phone with the airlines and it looks like there will be seats for us to get home on Friday!!! Hurray - pray that we make the flight (7 open seats on the same airplane)!!! Yet another blessing.

Oh yeah, Grace swallowed a penny on Saturday that we've been praying about as well. We can stop praying for that and start thanking God for his goodness in all things. We certainly weren't looking forward to going to a Chinese doctor to find out where the missing penny was. Maybe this Chinese paper money isn't such a bad idea after all.

All Aboard.......

On a hiatus from Iraq..........

Lots of Giraffes

Our cute little monkey!

Hadyn, Keep your hand flat and open.

Two cuties

Hadyn said, "Dad, if you let them chew on your fingers it doesn't even...

OOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!"

About 35 buses of school kids pulled in just after we got there - every one of them said hello to the boys and smiled.

These guys weren't as happy to see us.

Rylan won the stare down - I backed away from the fence.

Graciecakes and Hopie almost slept through the rides

First merry-go-round while they played Christmas music!

Two more cuties

Hey Mom, there's Dad again.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Get em boys!

Pigeon and Spring Rolls - no I'm not kidding. See if you can find the head --- we did.

Say cheese - Gracie loves her toy camera we found on the bus

Calm down, it was empty. The waitress said the drinking age is "probably 18 or 20 or something like that."

We saw Elsie getting off a bus on the street as we were walking home. She was our guide when we traveled for Grace. Great to see her again.

Church and Starbucks Nov 16

We went to church this morning and there were so many people worshipping, that they had to put chairs outside. There are a lot of young people at this church service, mostly people in their 20's. We got to speak with a lot of them afterwards and it is great to fellowship with all the Christians here in China. We then went with our group to the electronics market and toy market. The boys bought lots of movies and Curran and Hadyn each bought a Mr. Bean doll at the toy market. They even had a huge Christmas market and were playing Christmas music. We have gotten to see much more of Guangzhou this trip and really have been busy.


Church in Guangzhou

We kind of stand out

It was great to see so many Chinese people worshipping

The service is in English and Chinese

Hopie loves going to church

Starbucks

This feels like home

Hadyn is going to be up all night

The Red Couch Picture and Medical Exam

We had the famous Red Couch picture at the White Swan Hotel today. It is always fun to get all the babies together and attempt to get a picture with the least amount of screaming possible. Hope is pretty mellow, unless you try to get her to crawl, give her food on a spoon or any Chinese person comes too close to her - then she lets out shrilling screams until we pick her up. We have met some great families here and it is always great going as a group to things. We all had our medical exams for all of our babies and it was a zoo. Lots of babies screaming and long lines of parents in a hot sweaty room trying to get in the next line and get out as quickly as possible. Hope survived the torture and is one chubby, healthy baby. She is really beginning to warm up to Mike now and lets him carry her around, but our guide Bob just looks at Hope and she starts screaming. Grace has been doing really well with having to share the attention and it has been wonderful having the boys here to play with both Hope and Grace.




Hope loves being outside and riding in the stroller

Sisters

No one is looking at the camera

Trying to get the red couch picture it took lots of attempts

Everybody smile

Hopie on the red couch

Our Group Picture From Heritage Adoption Agency

The boys being asked to be in another picture

Gracie by the pool

Time for Hope's medical exam

Hope is healthy and she gave the Doctors lots of screaming

Meeting Sophie Nov. 14

We went to the Xin Hui orphanage and met Sophie and Mrs Feng the orphanage director. She is such a caring lady who really loves all the children in her care. She doesn't speak English, so we had our guide interpret for us. The boys got to play with a few of the children outside in the courtyard and on the playground. Mrs Feng said Sophie goes for physical therapy, but her progress has been very slow. She was able to look at us and make eye contact and definitely knew we were there. She is still very weak and they have been trying to get her strong enough to sit up. It was wonderful to be able to hold and feed her. I know she is getting great care where she is and you could tell Mrs Feng loves her. At one point we were both in tears as we just watched Sophie drink her bottle as I fed her. We continue to pray for a miracle that Sophie's mind and body will be healed. We pray Sophie will receive the knowledge of Christ and someday she will be in glory with a new body rejoicing in the goodness of our Lord. It was so great to be able to visit Xin Hui and now I will be able to picture where Sophie is and know she is being loved and cared for.

Helping Sophie sit up

Feeding Sophie with the cleft bottle

Mike with Sophie

Xin Hui Orphanage

Miss Grace at lunch

Hadyn eating corn on a chopstick

Rylan eating a chicken foot

Orange chicken with the head included

Grace asleep at lunch

Mrs Feng and the assistant director with all of us

Back at the hotel and time for bed

Gracie is loving her new sister

Looking sleepy. Grace sucking her thumb and Hope sucking those two fingers