Well hello Chongqing

So first let me say that getting on the internet takes a couple of steps and a lot of patience here.  I've only been using my iPhone to blog and therefore, only iPhone pictures so I wouldn't have to wait to upload the good ones from my camera.  All that to say, some of my pictures on here aren't the best but no worries, I've got better ones for the scrapbook. :)

Ok, so today was another good day but honestly, each member of our family sort of hit a wall.  We haven't had this kind of together time in a while.  4 airplanes, 4 airports, 2 hotels, 15 different restaurants, 32 lines to wait in, at least 7 hours of car time, and about 37 gross public bathrooms in the last 5 days will stretch your love of togetherness time.  So we have had a few moments today where if could have all gone to separate rooms in our house, we would have.  But we could not, so we took some deep breaths, (maybe rolled our eyes), and carried on.  We also laughed which always helps.

These two were oh so glad to have some time outside this morning.  

They were not so glad to get on another airplane. 

But then they remembered we were going to Chongqing, where James is, and they were happy.

So glad to have this guy by my side on this journey, and in life.  He makes things so much better. 

Also, so glad to have read this on my boxed airplane lunch.  It made me laugh.

'Warm tip- Take care of your meal when we meet turbulence. With love with you!'

Get ready...I may start using both 'warm tip' and ' With love with you' on a regular basis.

Ok, are you ready for this?  Cause I was not...

There was a crib in our room when we opened the door!! Gasp!!! It's really really really real.  Really.  Really.  Real.

We were tired and I really wanted to make a turkey sandwich and go to bed.  But since that was not an option we left the hotel to find food.  And we found a wild and crazy city.  Chongqing is a city of 8 million people.  Just in the city.  Since it's also it's own province, there are a total of 32 million in all of Chongqing.  Our guide, Michael compared the landscape of Chongqing to San Francisco and the climate to Houston.  I did not bring enough summer clothes- it is very warm and humid.  

Driving in to Chongqing.  The buildings just keep going and going.

View from our hotel window.

Hotel lobby.  Our hotel is right downtown and it is really hoppin' down here.  We saw a little bit of everything in our 3 block walk to the store.  

Watermelon anyone?

These were next to the oranges in the grocery store.  No English on the signs so I have idea what they are.  Anyone?

I looked up from the mystery fruit and saw... My good friend Martha with a large section of home goods in the middle of this crazy store. Crazy!  I've got to take more pictures of this store.  It was so packed with people and had Everything you could think of - nice watches to bananas, diapers to roasted ducks, crystal wine glasses to canned beer.  It was like a Costco shoved into the size of a small Piggly Wiggly with what felt like several thousand people shopping at the same time.  Although there was one idea if like to bring back to the States...

Tv's to watch while you wait in line but wait, it gets even better.  They just play continuous Americas Funniest Home Videos type clips of what looks to be mostly Americans falling down.  Pretty funny.

In between our hotel and the grocery store is a mall with at least 3 but maybe more floors.  If I were here to shop, I'd have it made.  Crazy cool stores everywhere.  While we waited for our Papa Johns pizza (don't judge- we have eaten nothing but Chinese food for 5 days), the girls and I found this store with hand-sewn stuffed animals.  They were in HEAVEN!  I may or may not have promised a reward for good behavior at te end of this week.

Now, I'm up typing about our day while everyone else sleeps.  I want to remember each part of this special trip.  What a difference a day makes!!  This time tomorrow night our family, our life as we know it will be so much different.  Thank you so much for your prayers...we are feeling so blessed.  Please pray for James in these next few days as they will be so difficult for him.  He is leaving all he's ever known and I'm not sure he's been prepared at all for this enormous transition.  At the same time, we feel confident and ready to help him transition and can't wait to show him how much we love him.  

Our guide said we will do paper work at 10 am, eat lunch, go to store for anything we need, and leave our hotel for Civil Affairs Building at 2pm.  So sometime while you sleep-.between 1:30-3 am (central time) - we will be meeting James. Wow!  

It is really here.

Really, really, really here.

So many thoughts and feelings, hopes and concerns.  

'Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father...'-James 1:17.

It's really here.