Smiles!

What does Noah Benjamin do in his free time? Play with our shoes. He loves to wear our shoes..any size.

Speaking English...and Chinese Baby Talk. He can say ByeBye, Hi, Sissy, Mama, Baba, Dada, and See Ya. He waves and blows kisses....very cute. Zachary taught him baby sign language for More Please when he wants another bite of something. He's very smart!!
Open the cabinet...
Playing with the phone...
Sucking his blankie. He has decided he wants it back.
Climbing into the highchair. Tonight at dinner, he leaped out of my lap to climb into his highchair.

Tomorrow is our last day in Guangzhou and we leave very early on Friday morning (your Thursday night). Pray for us as we pack and get ready to leave for such a very long trip. Pray we don't get sick and all stays well for the flight home. Missing my babies at home but sad to leave China as we won't come back for a very long time.

Yuntai Bontanical Garden and Family Chen's Academic Center

Good Morning, Benny! He woke up this morning happy and didn't cry for me. He played with his blocks on the bed until Daddy got him dressed for the day. Yes, Ben allowed Daddy to dress him and change his diaper.
The Yuntai Bontanical Gardens was so beautiful. I took many, many pictures today and wish I could share all of them with you. Notice Mr. Noah Benjamin is in his stroller. Not happy about it at first but he slowly comes around and relaxes in the heat. Did I say heat? Yes, it is soooo hot....like sweat dripping off. We are just happy to be here and enjoying our time in China. Notice the Olympic decor?

We also visited the Family Chen's Academic Center. It's really not an education school like it sounds. Actually, it was an academic center for the Chen family but now it's a "museum". Notice the carvings. Absolutely beautiful and amazing.



Little sweet Abby pushed Benny around in the stroller until he fell asleep. He really likes her and she is very sweet to him. He was in his stroller a good bit today. We walked around the island and ate with our group at a different Cantonese Restaurant. Again, little buddy ate in a highchair...but forgot the camera again. He will sit in it if I allow him to climb in it by himself. Sharla took some cute ones of him putting his face in his bowl. He has the prettiest smile and so lovable.

Tomorrow, we have a free day as our guide, Susan will go to the US Consulate appointment for us. On Thursday, we ride the bus to the US Consulate to take the oath. Friday morning, we fly home. Soon we will be home!!

Fishy fishy sippy cup!

Yes, little Ben tossed the sippy cup in the water at the White Swan. Swim sippy cup, don't sink!
Daddy saved the day as Joel B was holding his legs so he wouldn't fall in...
Benny watches Daddy get it out...rascal...
and now he's very happy. Why couldn't he smile like that during the sofa pictures,huh?

Today we ate lunch with the group at Pizza Hut and at dinner at the Ristorante La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant. Ben sat in a highchair!!!! Yippee for Mommy. Well, he was wiggly and sat backwards but that was a start. I didn't have my camera so Sharla took one for me...and will send it to me soon..his first time in a highchair.
After dinner, Daddy Joel decided he was going to take him in and put him to bed while I picked out fabric at Hebe's for his quilt. I left them while he was crying..and crying. Remember, Benny is always on my hip....since 8 days ago? After I returned to the room, Joel said he cried an hour before falling asleep. I hope that he is cured of his obsession with Mommy. God's grace and peace if he is not. This time will pass. I do love his closeness and his cuddliness. It's just...well...I'm very tired. It's sooooooooo HOT here and that Snuggly is super hot. He's sleeping peacefully now. We love him so much and can't wait for everybody to meet him.
And surprisingly, Ben has given up his Blanky rag. Can't figure it out. One day, he decided that he didn't want it. Remember how attached he was to it, always in his mouth? He has had a harder time going to sleep, I think because of not having it but when I give it to him, he throws it down. Bless his heart.
Again, thanks for all your posts and emails. We do get to read through the emails but the computer is soooo slow to respond. If you posted on our website, we can't see your message since we can't see our website..but we know that you left a message there. We will be able to read them when we get home. We are able to read the blog posts just fine. Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement. It means so much!!!

Red Sofa Pictures

Daddy and Noah Benjamin wrestling. Yes, he tried getting away but laughed and laughed out loud.
Our travel group!! I'm already starting to think that in a few days, we will go our separate ways. I love these little ones like my own...and the parents are pretty cool,too. :)
The Red Sofa picture...well..as you can see...didn't go so well. All of them were crying but sweet 6 year old Abby...she tried helping them not to cry. Bless her heart. Look at our Ben bending his back in his cute Yunnan embroidered Chinese outfit.

All caught up....

Take a look. I've posted all the pictures from Friday,Saturday and Sunday. Joel will journal later about the museum but other than that, enjoy all the pictures..Take a look and scroll on down.

Sunday on Shamian Island

Holding hands with Daddy. We are making progress...precious.

After church, the boys played more Hacky Sack and then we went to lunch at the White Swan Delishop...delicious.

Benjamin loves the fish at the White Swan and actually sat with Daddy awhile...until he saw me.
We just had to take this picture..Ben's Gallery!

In the afternoon, Ben and I shopped and Joel and the boys went with the group to a museum. He took lots of pictures so I will allow him to share those details later.
Enjoying dinner at a Cantonese Restaurant as we sit with Abby's family. Can you see her little face beside Zachary? Dinner was really tasty. Notice Ben is still not in a highchair. After a meal, I normally have rice all over me. We are thanking God that he is eating great now!!

Details of the church service.....

This morning we went as a group to the 11 am Chinese-English service at Christ Church (a sanctioned three-self church) on the island. What this means is that a church "registers" with the government to have a building they call a Christian church. It is illegal to meet in homes but ok to meet in a church building. It appeared that the original building was built in 1865, around our Civil War period. The building had been renovated and was very nice but small. Our group was too large to fit into the tiny church that was packed already. We all sat in the 'overflow' building watching the service on screen. It was an amazing experience. All the times we have been on Shamian Island for our adoptions, we had never visited the church. We sang songs in English (How Beautiful) and Chinese. Actually, we just listened to such a beautiful sound as the local Chinese people sang songs of worship to our Heavenly Father.
The sermon was about being a "watchman" for each other. The Chinese preacher would speak and then someone translated in English. After the sermon, two Chinese people shared their testimonies of how Christ had changed their lives.
Benjamin was a trooper being such a good boy through a 1 1/2 hour service.

Yuantong Temple

Last week while in Kunming, we visited the Yuantong Buddhist Temple. This is the entrance to the Yuantong Buddhist Temple. Our guide did not have it scheduled for us but we wanted to take the boys. It was very close to our hotel so we caught a taxi by ourselves. As we entered in the gate, our hearts were so heavy. The beauty of the architecture and the landscaping was breath- taking but....
the lost souls broke our hearts. There were people there of all ages but the most heart breaking moment was when we looked around and mostly saw older people having no hope and eternal life.

Shortly after we entered the gate, we smelled burning incense and saw smoke. People were bowing three or four times in all directions, asking for blessings for themselves and their family, living and the dead.
Many bowed to this multi armed statue.
Notice the amazing carvings on the wood. In the middle of the area, men were building this beautiful building. Most of their prayers are related to money and health. They are living their lives now with no comprehension of eternity, building buildings and 'working' their way to blessings for themselves and their family.

Joel B was the photographer most of the day and got this great picture of these two monks. Many live inside the temple.
The saddest moment of all was meeting this man. He stopped and talked to us in Chinese and was so friendly. We wanted to take the boys to the temple to help them better understand the need for Christ for millions of souls in China. Joel B said afterward that he is so happy he is growing up in a Christian family. He thinks what he saw that day was "dumb' and that believing in Christ makes more sense.

Lord, show us how we can share the gospel to so many lost people in China. Thank you, Lord for giving us our HuiHui. Help us to guide him as we teach him about you.

Minority Village

Last week on Thursday, we visited the Minority Village. It is like an exhibition that recreates various villages representing the Chinese ethnic groups. The costumes were amazing.

In one of the villages, a man creates clothes, jewelry and other things out of tree bark..yes tree bark. He is world famous. Joel surprised me with a beautiful bracelet made by this man. I so wish I would have taken his picture. He looked so much like a Native American.

Several people thought that Benjamin could be from the Miao group. Below is a building that appears to be a church building in the Miao Village. Can't wait to research more about it.