Two Journeys Together

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our second journey to China.  Today, like most of my time here, I am in a thoughtful place.  Today, I am watching my daughter...my oldest daughter...the sweet little girl who turned my life around...the little one who returned joy and hope into my grieving heart.  She is 7 now and fluttering about with her dearest of friends...a friend who is more than a friend.  Hard to define a connection that began so long ago in their own orphanage...

on the day they both met their families...and one that brought them back again together to meet their sisters.

There is a lot that need not be said, but is simply felt.  How sweet they are together... when they first saw each other again in Hong Kong, they left us chatty adults and found a quiet corner, sat down and were arm in arm, hand in hand.

So much they have quietly experienced together.  And on this second journey... I really don't have the words...watching them take it all in...sometimes with anticipation and excitement...other times quietly and reflectively....others emotionally....Whatever it has been, it has been good.  So good.

And here we are wrapping up another time together...We have said our goodbyes to our friends, Chris, Kate, Nina and their new little Stella.  Nina (Li Na) and Graceanna (Li Xian) have said goodbye ten times with hugs, promises, and pleads not to be separated.  We are crammed into the little van outside the hotel, ready to leave, ready to pull out of the hotel drive and suddenly Gracie is bounding out of the van door and rushing back in where Nina is standing watching and rushes to her with a leaping hug.  Two journeys. Two incredible journeys...

Summer Palace

Bare with me...I used an app to write my posts and it lost all my content somewhere between ipad and Blogger.  Boo.  So, for now, I will post some pictures.  Thoughts later.  In short, wow.

After our grueling hike and awe inspiring morning at the Great Wall, we took a long drive to the Summer Palace.   We arrived to a mingling of Beijing "fog" and a fine misty rain.  It was cooling after the morning heat of the Great Wall and made for scenes saturated in brilliant deep colors and set off with a misty film.

 

Gracie Reaches the Great Wall of China (and we do too)

It finally happened. 

Goodbye Guangzhou, Hello Beijing!

An early morning flight brought us to Beijing in time to get settled in our hotel room and head out on our own for a little wandering around the city...

Leaving Guangzhou...

Visa.

Visa. Sigh.

And isn't she just the bee's knees? Mama thinks so.

July 26th: THE Red Couch and Other Crazy Ideas...

It is a great idea. I love the couch. I love the couch pictures. They are infamous amidst the Chinese Adoption community. A few of these infamous pictures are perfectly crafted with 5-10 beautiful sweet babies sitting happily on a deep red couch posing for the camera and smiling from cheek to cheek. The rest of the pictures look something like....this....

Now, don't get me wrong. I am a BIG supporter of the red couch picture. It is tradition. It is perfectly lovely no matter how many sweeties are on that couch and no matter if it is all smiles or if it outright rebellion with tears ensuing. I am a supporter because it is a beautiful little reminder of the precious little ones who have entered our lives and it is a bit of a final celebration...a close to a very special time...a coming together...oh yes, and it is funny. It is funny to watch and participate in attempting to get a group of babies to happily pose for a picture. How fun is it to watch daddies dance about to induce laughter from their little ones while moms try to keep them looking in the right direction. It's just good crazy chaos that I wouldn't trade for anything.


And while the crazy chaos is fun, I think we came away with a few winners....it probably has more to do with the beautiful group of girls in these pictures...of course, I am partial. Very proudly partial.