Christmas Eve

At about 5am this morning, we were worried that this day was going to start off just like last night ended. Kylie woke up crying and it looked as though we might get to experience another round of tantrums. But, she settled down quickly and actually went back to sleep for 3 more hours! Praise God for that extra sleep because she awoke smiling and content -- especially when she got her morning bread roll. After breakfast, she actually fell back asleep, this time on the floor in our room and slept another hour. This was probably drug induced as we have been giving her Benadryl for some minor cold symptoms. Poor kiddo, on top of having her entire existence turned upside down, she also has to deal with a chest cough and a runny nose! No wonder she's a little grouchy at times. Once she got up, we decided to walk a few blocks to the Liuhua Lake park. It is a beautifully landscaped park with walking trails, exercise areas, and quiet spots to escape the hustle & bustle of downtown Guangzhou. Kylie seemed to really enjoy herself and probably walked more than she ever has!

We stopped a few times to snack and rest. She stayed close to at least one of us at all times. We are learning that her adventerous spirit has yet to be nurtured -- we'll work on that slowly and surely.

We did find out that she loves lemon-lime Gatorade. She must be a future Gator!

Another bad translation that makes for a funny picture. This is referring to the "bank" at the edge of the lake; however, given the state of the global economy these days, could this sign be taken a different way? Hmmmm?

Brad & George (aka Kennan & Hank) looking dangerous at the bank -- well, sort of.

Just a couple of shots from the park. It was nice to get outside and experience God's handiwork and listen to His music.

The rest of our day was spent traveling to the passport office to have Kylie's picture taken for her passport. The same group of families from Gotcha day were there doing the same thing -- so it was loud and chaotic again, although not quite as bad as the other day. Kylie did great and took a pretty picture! She seemed out-of-sorts again this afternoon and didn't want to have anything to do with Mama. Each of us has been the recipient of this mood -- we expected it -- but it still doesn't make it any easier when it's your turn. Mama tried to keep her chin up, but it was a hard afternoon emotionally. Then came attempt #1 at eating dinner tonight. Our guide had told us of a restaurant around the corner, so we thought we'd venture outside of the hotel to eat. Clearly this night we were not American celebrities in this restaurant -- we were inhospitably placed at a table in the hallway about 10 feet from the front door. We waited, and waited, and waited for someone to acknowledge that we were even sitting there. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes passed and noone even bothered to take our order! Luckily, Kylie was engaged in something with Kennan -- but, when we finally decided to get up and walk out..... oh man, her light-switch went off and everyone got to see the not-so-quiet side. We had hoped to leave quietly without making a big scene that we were leaving as unhappy customers -- but that plan backfired. So, we tried to quickly whisk her out of the place, all the while just knowing that everyone was thinking we were kidnapping this kicking & screaming child. To top it all off, she had apparently saved all the liquid she had drunk all day for this one moment, so that she could release it into and then out of her diaper onto me. I'm sure one day we'll all look back and cackle (like I'm sure you're doing now), but there was no cackling going on at the time. Then, just as fast as the tantrum hit, it was over... smiles returned and we ended up at another place for a very nice and relaxing dinner (after we changed clothes of course). So, that's it for today. We will rest up for another day of learning to trust each other and to trust God's daily provision. He is so very good!

Hank

P.S.: Thought you might enjoy this bathtime video from a few nights ago.