This morning, we skyped with Nick and Alex, Grandma and Grandpa Pruett, and Grandma and Grandpa Bradley. They couldn't see us but we could see them and Rylie was laughing and smiling at everyone.
Our guide Penny met us in the lobby this morning to look at our paperwork. We double checked all the English portions to make sure our information was correct. Everything looked good so we now have a stack of documents proving that Rylie is our daughter. We left to see The Temple at 9:30 with Penny and our driver.
Penny is a very good guide. She gives us good information and is very sweet and helpful. We are very THANKFUL that she was our guide this time. Having a good guide makes all the difference.
She took us to the oldest and most beautiful Buddhist temple in the city of Fuzhou. It had a very high pagoda but she said it is only opened on Buddha's birthday. Penny said her family is Buddhist and they have to go to the temple on Buddha's birthday. She was very informative about the temple and her beliefs. There were monks at the temple and there were a lot of people offering incense. Ryan broke the rules and took pictures of the Buddhas. I was confused because there were all these different Buddhas for different things. I guess whatever you are having problems with you find the Buddha that deals with that and that is who you worship.
I am THANKFUL that the God I worship is not made of jade, bronze, and something else I can't remember. Although they were beautiful, I am sure they cannot even compare to the glory and splendor of the true God of Heaven. And our God came to the earth as a man. We know Jesus is real and alive and we can worship Him forever.
We asked Penny if our driver could take us to the WanDa plaza after the temple. It was only 11:00 a.m. and we didn't want to be stuck at the hotel for another day. She said they could take us and we could find a taxi to take us back. We had a card in our pocket from our hotel that said in Chinese, "Please drive me to Lakeside Hotel".
WanDa plaza was great! I am THANKFUL for McDonalds and for H & M and (although I hate to say it) Walmart. Rylie slept for about two hours in her stroller while we shopped. BTW, she loved the chicken nuggets and fries at McDonalds. She is much daintier than the boys and dips her fry very carefully in the ketchup and eats slowly. We spent a long time at Walmart buying some more Coke Zeros, noodles and milks for Rylie, books for the boys, another suitcase since we can check another bag for Rylie, and a Snickers bar! We also took some pictures of some very interesting things which I will do my best to post and caption here.
We got lots of stares and people stopping to talk about us. We did not find anyone who spoke English and never saw any other Americans or Europeans. Everyone is very friendly though.
After Walmart, we decided to go the WanDa Department store which was six stories of everything you can imagine. We need more clothes for Rylie so we thought that would be the best place. Big mistake. No one spoke English. We didn't understand how to pay. It was a total disaster! So we headed to H&M, found super cute clothes, and had no problem paying (and it turned out cheaper than the WanDa). BTW, we tried to buy her a sleeper and more pants at Wal-mart but all they had was super thick snow-suit type clothing and split pants.
We finished up our visit with another trip to Starbucks. The Earl Grey Latte is amazing. Ryan had a Cafe Mocha. Rylie had a milk we had bought at Walmart and some crackers. She made a huge mess but she was happy. Then we just had to grab a taxi and head back to our hotel before it got dark. Easier said than done!!!!
I guess everyone was getting off work and off school so it was very busy outside. There were lots of people lined up for the bus and heavy traffic. We were standing on the side of a very busy six lane street but the scooters don't just drive on the street- they drive everywhere. So we were avoiding scooters and bikes and trying to flag down a taxi. We finally got one to stop and showed him our card that said where to take us. He read it and said no. Then drove away. So we stood for a few more minutes and another one stopped. Same thing. We were starting to get a little nervous. Finally, a taxi pulled up and said yes! We were happy! We piled our stroller, Rylie's pink backpack, and our H&M shopping bag in his front seat. Then we piled our red suitcase from Walmart and our other backpack in the backseat and all three squeezed in. It was a very exciting ride and the whole time we were hoping he would actually take us back to our hotel.
Obviously, we made it back to our hotel and came upstairs to drink our cokes and eat pringles and noodles and a snickers for supper. Rylie got so excited when we got back to our room and started running around and laughing and playing with us.
It's a long post but I have to end by saying that we are so THANKFUL for our three blessings from China- Nick, Alex, and Rylie! They are each so unique from one another and each so special. We are thankful for our parents. We could not have done this trip without their help! We are thankful for everyone who has helped us out in so many different ways and especially for those who have been praying for us and for the boys. We know God has protected us and provided for us every step of the way. Happy Thanksgiving from China! We can't wait to be home. One week to go...
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