June 23, 2012

DAY TWO

Beijing - Day 2

We have had another FULL DAY of activities.  I decided our guide must be giving us extra practice in being exhausted, considering all of us in the group may find many exhausting days in the future, once we get our little sweeties!!!!

We left the hotel this morning at 8:30 and headed toward the Great Wall of China.  We made a stop at the Jade Factory on the way.  OH, MY......what beautiful things there were there!!!!  We left with two jade bangles, which we will give them for their 16th birthdays. 
OOPS.....I may have to go back and delete that last sentence, because I have a feeling both girls will have seen this blog before they turn 16!!

It was an enjoyable drive to the Great Wall, but once arriving, even though we had an Ergo carrier to put Molly Kate in, we both realized that there was no way either of us would be physically able to carry her up the steps any distance.  So, Roger graciously agreed to wait at the bottom while I made the effort to make my trek up the wall.  For those of you who know nothing about the wall, there is no such thing as climbing to the top because it goes on forever from where we were.  Also, the steps on it are not uniform.  In fact, many of them were knee high on me, and they are so steep, that there were places that I could literally lean forward and tough my nose to the step in front of me.  I was SO proud of myself to make it to the first landing, after considerable huffing and puffing.  After resting a few minutes, though, I decided I wanted to go up just one more level.  I could have climbed farther, but I was proud of how far I had made it----478 steps!!!!  I might add that I climbed the more challenging side!!!   Coming down was no piece of cake.  By the time I was two-thirds of the way down, my legs felt like rubber bands!!!  It was an overall great experience, though, and I'm so glad we were able to visit one of the seven wonders of the world, and actually climb it.

After leaving the Great Wall, we went to eat lunch----you guessed it----at a CHINESE restaurant! :)  We then headed to the section of Beijing where the 2008 Olympics were held.  It was amazing to see the complexes constructed for the competitions, as well as apartments, hotels, etc., also built to accommodate the athletes and visitors.  Our guide said it was all paid for the following year, just from the tickets sold for the events.  WOW!!!

Our final stop for the night was to see a Chinese Acrobat Show.  Even though I think all of us in the group dozed off at least once during the performance, it was a PHENOMENAL show!!!!! 

I have to brag on Molly Kate.  We all got up this morning around 6:30 to start the day.  She was good as gold all day, with not one minute of fussing or crying, and that was without a nap.  She fell asleep around 5:30 during the acrobat show.  She did wake up long enough once we got back to the room for us to romp and play on the bed for a few minutes, but she rolled over and fell back asleep.   She is lying like a little frog on one bed right now, and Roger is sawing logs on the other!!!! 

I know that all of the things I've been sharing each day are not really what this blog is supposed to be about.  The BIG event is coming SOON, though!!!!!  We will be leaving Beijing in the morning(Sunday here) and flying to Zhengzhou, the capital city of the Henan province where Callie Beth is.  We will go to a government building on Monday morning, and the director of the Jiaozuo Orphanage where she is now will be bringing her to us around 10:00 AM.  This process is different from when we adopted Molly Kate.  She was brought to us at the hotel.  PLEASE pray for Callie Beth.  It breaks my heart to think about her being taken away from the only "home" she has ever known, driven over an hour and a half to a foreign place, and then handed over to two people who look nothing like her.  I am hoping and praying that her nannies and nurses at the orphanage have prepared her for the transition, and that Molly Kate's presence may make it easier for her.  Also, please pray for the nannies and nurses who have cared for her in the orphanage.  I know they are happy that she is being adopted, but it has to be sad for them, too, to see a child leave whom they have loved and nurtured since she was just a tiny baby.  Adoption is one of the most WONDERFUL things in the world----there's no way to understand what it does to your heart, unless you've experienced it firsthand.  But there are also aspects involved in it that are very bittersweet...

Until tomorrow.....

Vicki :)