Church and Yuntai Gardens

Last night went well other than the temper tantrum in the taxi on the way to Shaiman Island. I simply tried to turn Hudson's book right-side-up. Well, just look at the picture, and you can guess how that went over. . .Not.Very.Well. Next time, Hudson can just admire his book upside down!

We enjoyed dinner with Nikki. We all agreed on Chinese since we had Nikki to help us order. She also admitted that she prefers Chinese food over Western but that she would eat anywhere. We were glad we opted for Chinese as it was delicious. We had fried bean kurd with spicy sweet and sour sauce - pretty good. Fried rice and sweet and sour chicken as well as broccoli with garlic - scrumptious!

Church was wonderful. Although the service was in Mandarin, we recognized many hymns - the choir entered the sanctuary to Amazing Grace and Blessed Savior was another. We said the Apostle's Creed and spent time in silent prayer in a sanctuary full of Chinese people - truly beautiful. Nikki said the sermon was about choices in our lives. The scripture was Peter 1:3-4. Nikki didn't say much after the service, but when I questioned whether she felt the service was helpful for her, she replied that she didn't understand and still felt very confused. We hope to spend a little more time w/ Nikki on Wednesday as it is a holiday - the Dragon Boat Festival- and she has the day off from work. Please continue to pray for God to work in her heart.

Today we visited the Yuntai Gardens and although it was beautiful, it was also miserably hot and humid - again. As you can see Christopher and Ethan are none too thrilled with this sightseeing. Oh, and this photo was taken near the beginning of the tour. Hudson only wants to be carried - ok, maybe that's not asking too much, but he also wants to be held standing up that is unless you are in a car. Don't dare sit down on a shady bench to take a break from the sweltering heat or sit on the sofa in your hotel room. No sir - he will have none of that! We tried Debbie and Darren's stroller - yesterday at the park, Hudson tolerated it for a half hour, but today, he pitched an absolute screaming fit. We finally took him out as he would not calm down. We have a carrier which we use daily, but it is just so HOT. I am open for suggestions or advice. Anybody????

We are really enjoying our stay here at the Garden. It is a lovely hotel - the rooms are quite spacious, the breakfast buffet which is included with your room is excellent, and McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hagen Daaz, and Subway are all within walking distance. We are really glad we decided to stay here.

Ethan loves to ride up and down these escalators - by himself. He pretends he is travelling alone. It's so cute and every time we return to our room, he opens the door and then we have to knock or ring the bell and then he lets us, his visitors in. Ethan has had a wonderful time and he and Hudson have been playing together much more these last 2 days. Hudson calls out "gu gu" for big brother. Still is not saying many English words - only Chinese. Today for lunch we walked to KFC and brought it back to our hotel. Hudson enjoyed chicken nuggets, corn on the cob, french fries, and tangerine - a little nutrion in there I hope!

Some special messages…..

For Fulton (and Bandit)

Hey, buddy! We miss and love you so much. Thanks for being the "man of the house" while cousin Sheri was there and have fun with Mr. Drew as you two keep all the girls straight :) See you Friday!

For Katie, Lilly, and Ellie. . .

Mom and Dad miss you SO much. We love you and can't wait to see you on Friday!

For Shelby (and Callie too)
We miss you and love you very much and look forward to our reunion on Friday. Thanks for helping out with things at home!