Beijing

We are exhausted.  Emma is sleeping on the bed right now as yet again she missed her nap although slept on the bus first thing out this morning.  Two days of touring Beijing - yesterday spent at Tianenman Square, The Forbidden City, a silk making factory and a tour of "old town" Beijing with a rickshaw ride.  Today we went to see and hear about jade (China's diamond) and bought some beautiful earrings for the girls (for when they get their ears pierced at 13!!) and a pair for myself that Emma picked out - lavender jade.  We bought jade necklaces in Vietnam and pearls to give to Emma (and now Noelle) when they come of age.  I hope to buy pearls here for Noelle also.  We then went to the Great Wall (western name for it - originally called the "Long Wall" by the Chinese).  Between walking for miles yesterday at the Forbidden City and climbing as far as we could go on  the Great Wall today, we are tired to the bone. We also today got to walk around the 2008 Olympic Village and that was very meaningful to us as on 08/08/2008 when they held opening ceremonies for the games in Beijing, we adopted Emma in Vietnam!  We ended our touring today by going to a fabulous acrobatic show.  Emma has just been such a trooper and is so excited about everything we do.  She has made a friend in a 2-year-old boy named Charlie and he is about the cutest and smartest 2-year-old boy I have ever seen.  He is the star of our group and Emma is a close second - they are the only 2 children with us right now and in 2 days there will be a lot of children!  Charlie is getting a little brother.  One family is getting 2 SN girls and the rest are adopting girls.  One couple probably in their late 40s is adopting a little girl - their first - and I am so excited for them.  I told them the love they will have for their daughter will astound them, as it has us with our love for Emma.  Now we will find out how our love will double, not be divided between the 2 girls (as you have stated Nicole) and we will be astounded and amazed all over again.    :D

I think another reason I love Charlie is because he is smitten with my daughter.  The first thing he said to his mom at breakfast this morning when he saw Emma was, "There's Emma.  Can I go kiss her?"   :)  I think Emma is a bit smitten with him although she is acting like a cougar!  Hee.  I do believe that Cam still has Emma's heart! 

We have had 2 fabulous lunches of Chinese food served at big round tables  I definitely prefer the westernized version of Chinese food.  It is good here, but not as good as in the USA.  But the Chinese sure know how to make a mean pizza!!  lol

Beijing is massive and oppressive, beautiful and interesting.  Neon strobe lights everywhere and huge glistening skyscrapers as far as the eye can see.  People everywhere at all hours    We are encountering friendlier Chinese people, especially our tour guide, George and our busdriver.  George is a young, good-looking man and is going all out to make sure our time here in China is wonderful.  He is very proud to be Chinese but admits there are just too many people.  Hence, the one-child policy, leading to favortism for baby boys and orphanages filled with baby girls....the reason we and the other families are here.  A friend told me a few years back that maybe China didn't "need" us anymore to adopt their children.  China doesn't need us, but these girls do.  They are still here, just being sequestered away to grow up in orphanages and work in factories and to be brides for the males.  The boy-girl ratio is way out of kilter.

Last night Wayne and I looked out of our window to the alley-way and saw a strange sight. Dozens of people milling in and around with cages taking out what we didn't know and doing something to some sort of animal and putting the cages in a truck.  We thought it was something very covert - Wayne went out to check and found out it was pigeons - they were doing something with their feet, but not killing them.  I told Wayne I bet that the people caught pigeons and sold them for money - to be eaten.  Way off in my theory!  George told Wayne and I today that they are homing pigeons - it is a hobby - they will take the pigeons 400 miles away and whoever's pigeon gets back "home" first will win a prize. 

We encountered a LOT of begging the last few days, just like in Vietnam.  One lady with very deformed hands probably from rheumatoid arthritis came up to us and wanted money (very elderly lady) and we gave her some and it made us happy to see her smile.  Most people are just trying to sell trinkets to make money and they pester the heck out of you and sometimes we do give in.  Sigh.

Going to load some photos, get my shower and get to bed.  We have to leave the hotel at 7:15 a.m. to get on the plane to head to Henan.  We have been kept SO busy with sight-seeing  it almost feels sometimes like we are on vacation here and then it hits - we will have a new daughter in just a few days!!  The day after tomorrow at this time, we will have 2 little girls in our hotel room.  It just makes my heart leap to think about it.  I so cannot wait to meet this little sprite.   But yet I am sad to say good-bye to just the 3 of us if that makes any sense at all. 

Thank you everyone for the prayers!!  I hope to post a little tomorrow night, Noelle-Eve.  ;D