Family of 5

Family of 5
Family of 5!

Friday, July 4, 2008

The Great Wall

We had about a 1.5 hour ride out of the city to reach the portion of the Great Wall that we would be visiting. You had to walk a gauntlet of aggressive merchants from the parking lot to the base of the mountain. After all of the walking we did yesterday, it was nice to ride a ski lift up to the ridge line rather than scale the mountain side on foot.







We saw a most unusual creature sunning itself on one of the Wall's walls: must be a rare species of Chinese iguana.



















Here are three other strange creatures who were there, too! Although most of where we walked today were stairs, this portion was actually a flat surface.

Here we are along with the Sanders Family from Illinois. We parted ways this evening, but we will see each other again in Guangzhou.








Coming down from the Wall was also a thrill: a winding toboggan run!! (Yes, we ALL did it!)

We ate lunch afterwards--the picture would look like the other food picture: a large lazy Susan covered with different dishes.

Tomorrow we have an EARLY rise and flight to the province where we will be for the next several days. You can be praying for us in the 6-8 p.m. range Friday evening!

Hope you all have had a good 4th of July. I guess you could say we "celebrated" by eating American pizza (Pizza Hut) tonight! Everyone just thought it sounded good to them. Now we're packing (again!) and will try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Enjoyed reading your comments from yesterday. Thanks so much for your faithful thoughts and prayers. (PR)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I was there!!! But the story goes........maybe when I am older. I enjoy reading your blog!
Love,
one of the Hoosiers

Anonymous said...

The photos are magnificent. The way you captured the wildlife was amazing! We will be praying for you this evening.
We love you,
Melanie and Daniel

Anonymous said...

We enjoyed looking at the pictures this morning. What an exciting adventure! We will pray for you as the sun goes down this evening. Tim Reeves

Anonymous said...

Wow! What sights you have seen & what memories you have made. It is amazing to share this adventure with you by blog. As the day nears when you will receive your dear son & brother, John-Nathan, our hearts are in prayer for you & in praise to our Awesome God. "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance." What joy! What a walk! Love A. Genie & U. Larry

Anonymous said...

Dear P, C, and J and soon J2b,

It was great talking to you on the phone shortly on the Forth of July. We praise God for your safety and for the pleasant time touring Beijing. You brought beautiful memories to me..We are praying for your upcoming excitment when you see John Nathan. Safe trip to Taiyuan..we are hungry for more pictures..God bless more..

Paul, Robin and Angela Joy Bahna

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pic of that leviathan. The boys were very impressed that Mrs. Celinda donned it on her shoulder! We will be remembering you to the Father of the fatherless (Ja 1) as you make your trip this weekend. China will be coming to us tonight (fireworks!). Happy 4th, The Wortmans

Jen said...

Hello to the 3 - soon to be 4 of you!
We are enjoying following your journey from this side of the world. Sydney is thrilled to see a Chinese Iguana - this is one of the new animals she has learned recently. All the Underwood clan has gathered in Chambersburg for the holiday, and we'll be praying for you this evening as you fly one step closer to the joyful time of meeting John-Nathan. Much love from all of us,
Jen, Dan, Sydney, Adelaide, Steve & Jean

Kim & Dave said...

We will be praying for you!

Love seeing the pics of your great adventure.

It is amazing to me to think about how much little John-Nathan's life is going to change for the better....& he doesn't even know it!

How fast was the tobogan ride? YIKES!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures at the Great Wall. Hope you have now landed at Taiyuan. The time now is so close for John-Nathan to be in the arms of his new family. We love you.

Mom/Grandma
Dad/Grandpa

Tabitha Abele said...

P,C,& J ~ We love the pictures. We are praying for your travels tomorrow and pray that everything will go as planned. May the Lord bless your time in China. ~ Mike, Tabitha, & Madalyn Abele

Anonymous said...

Only a few more hours now...
We stood in line yesterday behind a famiy who just recently returned from China with a baby girl. Made us even MORE excited knowing our friends would soon have their own little one.
Much love from the Reeves Family

Anonymous said...

Less than 3 hours to "gotch day" when so many lives will be changed. I enjoyed reviewing the blog process from your first entry to today. Neat memories. Stay safe and keep looking up.
nl & kac