Shopping for souvenirs in a wholesale market can be fun.
Shopping for souvenirs in a wholesale market with all five of your kids can be not so fun. Let's just say that while it was fun to ooh and aaah over so many different things, tantrums can be thrown. You may even witness the mother of all tantrums involving a child laying flat on their face on the floor...yes, a floor here in this country...refusing to get up. Imagine all the locals crowding around the two Caucasian parents and Caucasian grandmother with four Asian kids looking either cross, irritated or embarrassed and one Asian kid on the floor.
Lesson learned.
In retrospect it would have been a better idea to leave the kids back at the hotel to swim with their Daddy and go shopping for them by myself...
Upon return we were too exhausted to attempt a lunch out, so we grabbed some savory pastries from the deli and went back to the apartment for the kids to rest and to wait to hear the results of Natalie's blood draw to check for TB.
No news was good news!
By the time everyone was up, moving, and in a pleasant mood, it was time to meet in the lobby for our group photo. We've only known these folks for a few days now, but somehow it seems so much longer. I suppose there is something to this intense time that causes bonds much more secure than your casual acquaintance mode.
**Yep...I forgot silk outfits for my kids. I guess I let it slide when I heard that the White Swan is closed and we would have to forgo our red couch picture. Thankfully my amazing friend's equally amazing daughter saved my bacon and had sent me the adorable Chinese character dresses for my girls. Combined with the boys' Chinese character tie shirts, they at least were matching.**
We then ran back up to the room to change back into the clothes from earlier in the day and had just enough time to snap a shot of the kids in pink and brown...specifically the girls in their flip flop shirts.
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| thank you julie for your sweet gift for natalie! |
Then it was on to the Pearl River dinner cruise.
While the meal was edible, we certainly didn't go for the food.
For our family it was all about the lights...
The kids were memorized by the riverfront with enough neon and LED light to power a small US city.
If I heard, "Look at that [building, boat, bridge...]" one time I heard it 100.
Their excitement over the sights made the lackluster meal worth our time.
Balloon animals didn't hurt either.
Oh, and there was the clown that juggled limes, daggers and then went around spinning a soccer ball and letting others spin it for a while too.
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| caleb *may* have thought that was pretty cool |
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| reaching for the bridge we were going under |
4 comments:
Praying for your mamma's heart as Natalie learns to let you in. She will, and I know you know this. It is still hard. What an amazing mamma you are taking her lead ... one day at a time. We never made it on a Pearl River Cruise, how did that happen? Looks like the kids enjoyed the sights. :) As much as I have loved watching your journey in China, I am can't wait to see your "We Are Home" post very soon!!! (and those precious girls on those amazing bunk beds. Still want your husband to come build us some) :)
I am guessing who laid on the floor? I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall! Cool lights on the river! Sorry the food wasn't so great!
So been the mama with the Asian darling throwing tantrum on the floor while shopping!
I didn't realize you and Vicky traveled together. She is a friend and doesn't live too far from me. I have followed both of her adoption stories. Her girls are so precious.
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