Last day in Beijing 10/10/09

Today was our last day in Beijing. The days have gone really fast. We have been so busy that the time has flown. This has been a neat city to visit. The people are friendly. There is so much history here. We saw a little bit of that history today. We went to the Forbidden City. This is in the middle of the city of Beijing. It is surrounded by a huge wall. This is where the emperor's lived with their wives and their concubines. It is a huge complex of courtyards and buildings. It is called the Forbidden City, because no one else was allowed to live here. Even the children of the emperor could not live there. They could only visit with a special pass. The buildings were magnificent! The detail and architecture was amazing! This city was occupied by one emperor after another for 600 years. They definitely lived a very self gratifying life!

We had lunch at a hotel that served a "western style buffet". The food looked somewhat familiar, but definitely did not taste the same! We managed to find enough to eat, but it was not our favorite. Jordan and I are voting for pizza tomorrow night.

After lunch we went on a Hutong Tour. We rode in bicycle driven rick-shaws. This was a lot of fun. Huton is a kind of ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing. Homes are built around the alleys. Some are 200-300 years old. This is a very old historical area. The homes are rectangular shaped dwellings with a courtyard in the middle of the home. A lot of them have been torn down, but the government has stepped in to preserve the rest. There are several generations of family members that occupy each. We got to go into the home of a family. The man who lived there was the sixth generation of his family to live there. We got to visit with him and learn about his family and home. This was very interesting and neat to see.

We are getting ready to leave here tomorrow and go to Haungzhou. We are so excited! The day has finally come to meet our daughter. I am a little anxious. How will we communicate with her? Will she accept us and bond with us? I have tried to imagine this moment and how I will feel. I'm sure we will be very emotional. I know that Eden will be gaining a home and a family who loves her, but the reality is she is about to be ripped away from all that she has ever known. I have been praying that she will accept us and have an easy transition. I hope that she will let us love her!


We miss everyone and can't wait to see you!