After a day like today, it is so hard to know where to begin! I will say that I got my first pang of home sickness when I checked my blog and for some reason I could not get my comments to open but I could see that there were 6 or so comments and it was torture! But tonight I figured it all out and it was so wonderful to read your words. Prayers have definitely been answered as the whole group is in good health and having fun. This is an amazing a welcoming city.

I'll try and give you the play by play as I remember it, what a remarkable day. We started the day at 8:00 on the tour bus with Jonathan. He is out guide and loves to talk on that microphone and give us little factoids. We stopped at the jade factory first which was very interesting. We watched a few demonstrations and then they quickly move you into the state run gift shop. One point I found interested as they say most of the men do the carving and most of the women do the polishing, because they say women have more patience! When you go into the gift shop of course they want you to buy the most expensive things. They were singing the praises of the jade bangles saying things like it has health benefits, it will bring you long life and prosperity, you pass it down for generations...then they pull out the big one...you can buy one for your adopted baby to pass through the generations. Hmmm, that almost got us, but then one of the dads with us said quietly to us of course, "If there so great then where is yours?" Great questions I thought.

At this point we are chipper with not to many signs of jet lag and we head on the bus towards the Great Wall of China! One of the neatest things about this trip has been to watch these moms and dads parent the children that have come along on the trip, all the siblings of the girls to be adopted. They have all been so adventurous and eager. As we approached the gates to the Great Wall we passed a little brick wall on the side of the road and one of the moms said hey look it's the great wall of china! And her son looking at the brick wall on the side of the road said with a tone of disappointment "That's just an old every day wall" I don't think he realized she meant the huge mountain in the distance. :) There are few words to describe what it was like to be climbing that wall. I thought of all the people that died building it, and all the people who have been there. I kept telling myself and anyone that would hear me, "We are at The Great Wall of China" as if saying it over and over will help it to sink in. We had a few adventurous souls that had the determination of warriors to make it to the top. I however was amazed at how difficult it was to climb! There are over 1,000 steps that vary in size where you can make large high strides up hill and then maybe a few short strides. Words won't do the view justice so I'll have to figure out how to post pictures. (still having some issues with that...)

We had lunch at the "Friendship Store" and actually saw a large America World group. We were all pretty hot and tired by that point and it was great to sit down and have a meal together. They serve it family style which which was fun. It was interesting to try and figure out what we were eating. We also took a stroll through "The Sacred Way" which is the path leading up to the Ming Dynasty tombs. It was a peaceful place with willow trees and statues. The kids had fun taking pictures in front of the huge warrior statues and we discovered that one of the signs read "please do not climb on the very old Chinese relics" after we had already taken a few pictures of one of the kiddos on the camels back. Oops. We had a little fun with that of course.

At this point we were weary travelers but we had a nice drive back into the city. The jet lag is sinking in and everyone looks a little tired. Our next big event after stopping by a carpet factory and the bank, was the Kung Fu show. Which was not at ll like what I thought it would be! It was an amazing ballet of sorts with a beautiful story line about a little boy whose mother takes him to a Buddhist monastery were he can train to become a warrior monk, skilled in Kung Fu. This young man goes through many trials of training and being tempted by earthy things. After putting aside his earthy desires he reaches an "enlightened" stage. The artistry was amazing. The opening scene was particularly poignant as the young mother and son arrive at the monastery and they circle around each other and run back into each others arms as they try and say good bye, and just as the little boy is distracted with his new playmates the mother quickly leaves the stage leaving his pack behind. The boy realizes she is gone and he tries to look for her. One of the other young boys picks up his red pack and hands it to him and he looks back forlorn as they walk into the monastery. This scene evoked so much emotion in our group. More than I ever could have realized. A few minutes in the show during another more serene scene the little trouper sitting next to his mom who was sitting next to me started to cry. He said "It was just so sad when she left". He then put his head in his mom's lap to be comforted. Later on another one of the moms brought up that same scene and said, that is how my daughter is going to feel. Not only when she leaves that orphanage, but that experience of being left is deep inside of her. All of these families will experience the deep river of emotion that was portrayed in that scene. Being with them today, I know they are prepared.

After that very emotional experience we walked in the rain to the Peking duck restaurant just a block or so away. You should have seen us at this point. We sat in the room with two large round tables, no one saying a word. We looked at the dishes on the table, most of it unrecognizable. We giggled deliriously as they brought out the duck, head and all. Which was delicious by the way. Zombie like we all went back to the hotel. On everyone's minds...tomorrow is the day I will meet my daughter.

This experience has likened that of when I traveled to the hospital where my sister was having their first child. We all wondered, what will she really look like and what will it feel like to hold her for the first time?...that last moment before she comes into the world and changes your life forever. Well, their little girls are already in the world, but indeed their lives will never be the same. This experience is not mine to have, but it has been such a gift to share in this journey.