Thursday morning

It's Thursday morning here. Just one week before we can come home! I am anxiously counting down the days.

Yesterday we went to see the Terracotta Warriors. It was colder than we thought it would be, and the bus didn't have heat. We bundled Emmy up with clothes and coats but ended up wrapping my scarf around her little legs. It was amazing to see the warriors and to think about how old it all was. Our guide gave us lots of information about the history of it all. The number of warriors itself is impressive but to think of all of the work that went into something that was just going to be buried under the ground and then the 700,000 workers were killed to keep it all secret.

Emmy didn't sleep any on the bus either way. She didn't seem quite herself most of the day. She didn't eat as much as usual and wasn't quite as playful. She still has a little congestion but not enough that I would even call it a cold. I am praying that today she will seem a bit more perky.

We missed lunch due to our outing, but upon our return to the hotel, Mike went to the store and bought lots of snacks. Emmy really likes the rice chex we brought with us, but we haven't found anything she seems to like as much. Mike bought something called "Bugles" but they don't taste like the ones I remember putting on my fingers as a kid. She wasn't a fan of those. He did find lays potato chips though, but she hasn't tried them yet. We are trying to find some more fruit that we feel is safe but haven't found any yet other than on the breakfast buffet.

Emmy took a short nap with no fussing. She did whine a little today as I was trying to get us off of the bus and had set her in the seat while I was getting the stuff together. I don't know if she thought I wasn't taking her but she held up her little arms and whimpered until I could pick her up. She also cried tonight when we were visiting our friends. We aren't sure if it was something she saw when their little girl was flipping channels or what ,but it just breaks my heart to not know what's wrong. I can only begin to imagine all that is going through their little minds during this time. Strange people all around you who can't understand a word you are saying but also you can't understand anything they are saying.

In all the craziness There was a sweet moment today while we were out where she grabbed the hand of the little boy "John" that was also in her class at the orphanage. It was very short but very sweet. I am hoping it is comforting that they still see a familiar face.

After a bath we had dinner with friends and a little play time before bed. She didn't cry at bedtime but did whine a little. She sleeps great, and we are so thankful for that as we know the adjustment to east coast time will be quite a transition.

Today is another free day. We are just waiting for them to process our children's passports so that we can head to Guangzhou. Evidently we will get them right before we leave for the airport on Friday. I am trying to appreciate this time here when we are waiting and spending two-on-one time with Emmy, however, I find my heart just wanting to be home with her and our whole family. This is part of the process and the journey so I am leaning into our Father to keep me going. There are so many blessings we have seen during this trip that we are continuously reminded how His hand is over us. He continues to carry us and never leaves us. How grateful we are!

We hope you all are all doing well as it looked like there was some cold weather coming in.

Below is a sweet video of Emmy playing with her daddy.