Day 2

Good morning from Beijing! Right now it is 6:20am in China and we have only been awake about an hour so we must be getting used to the time difference a little. Yesterday was a full day of sightseeing! Our guides really ran us hard but it was fun. It was May 1 here and a national holiday, so lots of Chinese people from other provinces were in Beijing to see the sights with us. It was extremely crowded with people, cars, and buses everywhere. We took tons of pictures so we'll try and get a slide show that you can view if possible. We still cannot access the blogsite from China because it is blocked, but our friend Arianne is helping us get these posts and pictures up so you can see them. Today we will go to the International church service. We have to bring our passports because Chinese nationals are not allowed to attend. Our guides will not be able to go in with us! Kind of sad---but that is how it is here. After church and lunch we will spend the rest of the day at The Great Wall and getting ready to meet Abigail (Guo Jin) tomorrow.


The Chinese people are beautiful. It has been so amazing to watch them just go about their day to day business. In a city with so many people it can be quite chaotic! Yesterday we experienced what I would call a Chinese fire drill with the traffic! I thought maybe we should all get out and run around the bus to add to it. There were cars everywhere, going literally every direction possible and no one was moving. Then all of the sudden buses, cars pedestrians all figured out away to start moving again. I was amazed, and so thankful we weren't driving! All of us Americans on the bus were laughing and taking pictures in disbelief! I have to say the Chinese can really make some order out of chaos with their driving, honking and almost running into one another but they all seem to get where their going without hurting anyone.When they honk at each other, it never seems to be in a with a mean spirit as I have seen in the big cities in the U.S. They just honk and move on to let them know they are there.

As John said above we ran hard yesterday and took a lot of pictures. Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City which are right next to each other. It was amazing standing there, looking around and thinking of all of the history there for this country. I don't think I've ever been around so many other people in my life! It felt like coming out of a big concert only it went on and on. It was an eye opener for this small town gal! I have to say John and I had our hands and eyes on the kids at all times!

We ate lunch and toured a pearl store, after Tienanmen Square the Forbidden City. After the Pearl store we went to the Summer Palace where the Chinese Emperor and his family used to live. It was beautiful! I could have spent more time there! The gardens and lake and river ways were beautiful! We took a little boat ride out to it on the lake there, it was really pretty.

Our guides took us by the Olympic village from the 2008 Olympic games! That was so neat to see. We got to see the Bird's nest and aquatic center where Michael Phelps made Olympic history! It was neat being there,after having watched it all on T.V. Rather surreal! Needless to we were all tired last night and slept very well. We can't wait to see the Great Wall today and the International Church Service. Our hearts are gearing up to meet Abigail Rose Guo Jin tomorrow! WOW, how do you do that?!?!?! We have prayed and prepared for this moment for 4 years now! I can't believe she is almost officially our daughter! Well I need to end this. Blessings to each of you from China!