Thursday Happenings

Thursday, June 21- We met Doris at 9:00 this morning. She said the lady at the notary office had called her the night before and we needed to come by and double check all the paperwork. We loaded up the van and headed out. We finally found the notary office and went inside. They had copies of all our paperwork that we had signed the day before. We went over everything very carefully, several times. It has to be perfect or it could cost extra money and time to get it fixed. When we left there, Doris said we didn’t have time to do the zoo so she took us to the Huguang Huiguan Museum. Everything was so beautiful. The craftsmanship was just amazing. We saw an opera house, the Emperor’s palace and the Immigration museum. There was a gift shop at the end and they the most beautiful artwork and porcelain. Chongqing is famous for it’s banyan leaf paintings so I bought several of these. I also got Lily Mei a beautiful jade pendant. The museum manager gave David an antique coin because he was so interested in the museum. After we left there, we went to the harbor where the river cruise boats leave. We walked through the park there and saw many people selling fruit and vegetables. We were all very hot and tired so we came back to the hotel for the rest of the day.

Lily Mei is still so sad. She seems to be bonding well with us, though. At the notary office, the lady and Doris were talking to her in Chinese and trying to hold her. Every time they did she started crying and held on to Steve. I finally got her to take a bottle this afternoon. I guess I finally got it the way she likes it. She also ate some rice cereal and drank some apple juice. Still no smile, though. We have sang and danced and tried to play, but no luck. She’s a tough audience. She likes to hold the little blue cup that came with her stacking cups. She will not let that cup go. First, she would only hold it in one hand, but Steve showed her how to change hands and now she constantly rolls it over and over switching hands. She won’t play with anything else we brought. She doesn’t like for you to sit her down either. She’s OK if you’re walking or if she’s sitting in your lap, but she cries if you sit her down alone. She also cries if you take her shoes off. Maybe we will see a smile soon. It sure would make us all feel better.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are all so ready to come home. The weather here is gloomy and the pollution is almost unbearable. David and I are both sick with a sinus thing and every time we step outside we are miserable. Thank you all for the emails. Even though I can’t respond to them all, please know we are reading them every day. They make us feel a little closer to home. Our email is sc19045@charter.net

Love,
The Carters-Party of Five