Welcome to Beijing!

Our agency does a great job of keeping us busy the first day here. There is no time for jet-lag! We began with a delicious breakfast buffet at the hotel. We were glad we ate well because the meals that followed in the day left something to be desired!

We met our group at 9:00 to board our pink bus. We headed to the Hutong Tour first. Hutong are the ancient style of homes which are build around a courtyard. There used to be many thousands of these homes, but they have slowly been torn down to make room for high rise apartments and office buildings. The main drawback, as our guide shared with us, about this old style of living is the communal bathrooms.  We felt bad for the rick shaw drivers, as we were quite a heavy load for their little old bikes. Our guide told us that the Chinese ride three to a rick shaw, but for Americans, only two!

We enjoyed a tour of the silk factory. We ended up buying a comforter for our bed. They sucked all the air out of the bag, so it will pack pretty flat for us to get it home. 

After lunch at a traditional restaurant, we headed to Tienamen Square. We made our visit brief because it was so cold. The wind was whipping. It was kind of miserable. We boarded the bus and headed to The Forbidden City. We hurried through because we were so cold! It is an amazing place. I always think it is fun to watch the Chinese people enjoy looking at this part of their history. It is obviously a big deal to them to have a chance to visit such a historic location. 

We were happy to see our warm hotel, but we decided to head out again so that we wouldn't be tempted to take a nap. We joined another family in our group, the Zittles, to visit the Wang Fu Jing shopping district. It made us think of Las Vegas. Lots of very high end stores and lots of lights. We ended up eating at a steakhouse. We enjoyed the company, but the food certainly wasn't anything to write home about. After dinner, we visited the night market. I'm not sure my nose will ever be the same. That was quite an olfactory assault! We bought a fried star fish, some fried scorpions, some fried cicada bugs and a fried seahorse. I have heard it said that anything tastes good fried. After last night, I do not agree. But it was fun...definitely a memory maker. Kimberly freaked out a little when she realized that a scorpion leg was stuck in her braces!

It was such a fun, full day. The kids have done a great job of embracing the adventure. Even though they are fighting jet lag, they have been pleasant and cheerful and willing to try new things. I am so proud of them.

Our group is awesome. I am excited to get to know each family better. In total, there are four little girls who are returning to their homeland to add a brother or sister to their family. The Zittles were here just a few months ago to adopt their son, and now they are returning for another boy. Their son was at Swallow's Nest, where Isaac has lived for most of his life. When they were here before, they were able to see him and love on him. So neat that they have met him.

Moriah was pretty quiet yesterday, but she seems to be handling things well. She loves having rice for every meal!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers for us. We appreciate it so much!