Saturday, December 6, 2008

We Made It to Beijing




Well, after flying over the Pacific for 11 hours, then 4 more from Tokyo to Beijing, we finally arrived in China at 11pm on Friday night. The way we figure it, we lost a day somewhere. The flight was uneventful and everyone was uncharacteristically calm. Your prayers worked! We were totally exhausted and couldn't keep our eyes open on the last leg of the flight, but that made for a good night's sleep.
Today, Saturday, we had a full day of touring that began by getting up bright and early for breakfast then off to The Summer Palace in freezing cold weather. We were warned that it would be cold, but this is way colder than we thought. We wore thermals, heavy snow jackets, hats, snow gloves, scarves and boots and we were still cold. It was below freezing at about -2 degrees celcius. But we all agreed that the best part of the day was climbing the Great Wall. It was such an amazing sight as pictures can never fully describe the total immensity of this man-made structure stretching along the top of a mountain range that goes on as far as the eye can see. Needless to say, climbing all those steps at such a high elevation was no easy task. On the descent, we were so tired, our legs were shaking. A curious occurance to report was that three different Chinese people asked if they could take a picture with Courtney as she was all dressed up in colorful winter clothes, quite the contrast to all the Chinese natives in their black. We could've made some money by charging them...maybe a summer job for Courtney?

Tomorrow we go to a worship service only for travelers, see the Birds' Nest, Tianneman Square, and The Forbidden City. Then we board another airplane in the evening for a one hour flight to Jiangsu to pick up Sophie. Our guide, Rosa, promised that we'll meet her at 1:30 pm on Monday. Can't wait! We're getting a little nervous, but excited at the same time. It's weird to think that in less than 2 days we're going to have to start changing diapers and warming up bottles again!

Thanks for the prayers and comments! We feel connected, even across the Pacific. Love all you guys! And yes, we'll cover Sophie from head to toe with everyone's kisses. Wish you were here!

4 comments:

strandfam said...

We are so so very happy for your family! How wonderful to see you in China together! We are praying for you, and rejoicing with you in this very special and unforgettable time of your lives! What amazing memories you will all be able to share! God is good, and I Thank Him for all He has done and is doing in your lives!
Sending you love,
The Strands

Sog said...

Glad to see you all got there safely and it looks beautiful. I'm so excited for you all. Hope you're having a great time. I'm still praying you're all healthy. How's the cold and the ear thing on the plane? Not much longer, and since you lost a day it's even closer. So are you 14hrs ahead? Update as often as you can, I'm checking this often. I even have a favorite on my phone where I can check it:)Talked to mom and she sounded great. Doctors say she's doing fine. She's excited that you're picking Sophie up too. I read your past blogs and commented. Good stuff! Eat some really scary stuff, take pictures of it for documentation and tell me how it was;) Love you all and can't wait to see more pictures.
Love,
Sog

Naomi said...

It feels like just yesterday since we were there on the wall with shaking legs!! It is so exciting to follow along with you and I hope to tune in on Monday to see pictures of your lovely girl.

Enjoy every moment, there are some wonderful and amazing things to see there. We are looking forward to going back again in the very near future.... Lord willing!!

Love and prayers for you,
Naomi

Joanie said...

You all look so very happy. i know she going to be a very lucky little girl to have all you for a family . glad you got there safe.it looks like you are having a great time . cant wait to see more photos of all of you when you get sophie. your in my prayers always .

Joanie