"Playing in Nanning"

Ni hao! (Hello)

Well, another day in Nanning! Last night went a little better for Bethany. She was sad and cried a little at bedtime, but settled in to sleep after awhile and slept the whole night again. She showered with me this morning (Becky) and we began another day together!

Let me back up a bit and tell you about our adventures yesterday and last night. In the morning, we did adoption finalization paperwork. Our guide, Glen, then took us to Wal-Mart again for a few supplies (we let Bethany pick out a backpack and a few toys) and then stayed with us through lunch time, which was at Pizza Hut (yay!! western food!!). Then we were on our own!! Just enough time to explore without getting ourselves into trouble!! :) Anyway, after resting at the hotel for the afternoon, we and the Grimaldis ventured down the street a ways from the hotel looking at the street side shops and restaurants, trying to figure out where we might attempt some dinner. We found a city park and stopped to hear someone singing a little concert; however, when the westerners arrived with their Chinese babies, the singing stopped and we promptly became the center of attention! Our friends' daughter was in a snuggly, and the locals were very interested in seeing how the baby was "hanging" from her mother. We continued on, not wanting to draw a crowd for too long...We actually ended up finding a cute Chinese bakery where we found some goodies, and then headed back to the restaurant by the hotel that Glen had taken us to the night before.

Pictures from today...

Beautiful gardens decorated for the Chinese New Year that is coming up...

This morning Glen took us to a place in Nanning called the "Green Garden" because of the beautiful plants, trees and greenery there. It is the highest point in Nanning. There are also statues that represent all of the minority groups living in the Guangxi province. It was very beautiful and warm. Bethany enjoyed smelling the flowers with mom and touching the statues. She is very content and loves being held. She takes her pink backpack with her whereever we go! We also spent some time at what we would call a large "coi pond." There were hundreds of fish, some quite large, waiting to be fed. Bethany enjoyed feeding the fish immensely and kept saying (in Cantonese, of course), "look at all the fish - they're everywhere!!"

I doubt you've ever seen a coi pond this big... epsecially with fish this large in it...

The Grimaldi's mastering

the art of chopsticks...

We asked for forks and they brought one.

They said it was the only one they had in the whole restaurant!

After lunch with Glen and our driver at another local restaurant, we are back at the hotel again for the day. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo, which should be another educational adventure. At this point Dan and I are getting very homesick for the boys. Please pray for us and for them. When we talk to them, they are starting to miss home and us as well. They are being very well-cared for, but this is the longest they have been away from home and from us, so it is a huge emotional strain on all of us. The tears come easily for both Dan and I when we think of them, but we know this is an important time for us to be spending in our daughter's homeland, bonding to her. We must stay in Nanning until we get her passport on Friday - Saturday morning we fly out to Guangzhou for the final immigration paperwork and her visa, which will take about a week.

One last thing I want to share...Bethany has been very interested in the picture album we've brought of her brothers and our family. She has me tell her the names of her brothers over and over again and tries her best to repeat them. She already can repeat some English words, and I have been trying to give her some sign language to use as well. She also really likes the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star," and will sing it perfectly (the tune, not the words yet) on her own. It is precious. God is really answering some many prayers for us while we are here. We really appreciate all of the love, support, prayers, and encouraging comments we have received via email and our blog. It really sustains us in those moments of fear and sadness. You are a large part of God's provision for us in this journey. Thank you!!

Dan hanging out with some beautiful Chinese women at the entrance to the restaurant. ;)

Lots of love,

Becky (and Dan)