The Great Wall of China

We had a full day today. We started out by going to the Jade Factory  - there were amazing carvings and jewelry.  It customary in China for the mother to have a jade bangel and wear it all the time on the same wrist as the heart.  When her daughter marries she is to pass the bracelet along to give her a long happy life full of love.  So I got a beautiful bracelet - on loan until Lily gets married.  Gee we have only had her for a week and we are already thinking of her marriage:)

Which brings me to my next point - We have had Lily in our lives for a full week!!! We have run the every gamete of emotions and have fallen in love with her more and more each day.  

Yesterday and today are getting a little bit more challenging.  It's all Baba.  Baba has to carry, hold, sit with her everywhere.  It kind of makes me chuckle becuase he doesn'

t get to eat a meail in peace anymore:)  Tonight Ken took the boys for a swim and a workout :)  and I put Lily down for bed and she literally screamed bloody murder for 45 minutes. I even walked around the hotel looking for Ken but couldn't find him. I lied with her and rubbed her face but nothing I would do cut it.  My heart hurts for her - I know this is much more than she just wants her dad and is going to scream until she gets it.  I h

ave 2 theories - 1.  this is her first male relationship in her life (almost all workers at the orphanage are female) or 2.  The director of the orphanage is almost always male and they come in and visit and play with the children while the women do all the caring for so the man comes out as the play guy. 

Either way she definitely has an attachment with Ken although we need to make sure it stays healthy because Ken has to go to work on day and she will be with me.  A saleslady came up to us today on the rare occasion that I was holding her and asked her if I was her momma and she said no but there's my BABA.  Hmm nice! We just need to be patient with her as s

he so

rts through her little feelings. In the past week her life has been turned upside down and she is dealing with it the best way she knows how. She has attached well to all of us but just a little too much to Ken:) We'll help her work through it over the next couple of weeks and months. I think life will be a little easier once we get home and into a comfortable routine.

Finally, today we went to the great wall - wow!!!!  It is an amazing site to look at.  You have this sense of awe while you are on it - it reminded me a little bit of the Pearl Harbour feeling. Where you know this is a very special place and many have lost their lives here - a

n amazing piece of history.  It is very steep and exhausting.  There are parts of it where it feels like you are climbing a ladder.  The boys and I went up to the first watch post and back.  It took us about an hour.  When we came down my legs were quivering for awhile after - definitely a good workout. 

On the way home we drove through the Olympic City - that was also very neat.  We saw all the apartments for the Olympians, the stadium, and the bird's nest (part of the stadium built out of plastic materials that looks similar to a bird's nest???)

It was a long day but very fun!! Tomorrow morning we have off but are heading to the Beijing Zoo in he afternoon.  Tomorrow evening we are meeting our friends Becky and Yi for dinner - it will be nice to see some familiar faces from home - we are getting a little homesick!