Thursday, June 8, 2017

“God is good all the time…and all the time God is good!”

We Got To Play Today…

Hi Everyone,

I’m sorry for the late post. I had some vision issues tonight that make my eyes super sensitive to light and looking at a computer screen simply wasn’t possible. So here I am updating a bit late, but here nevertheless.

Please know that we are reading the guestbook and love to hear from you all. It’s so fun to see friends from near and far on that list. Even some friends we only know through our blog over the years. Truly it is a joy to see so many of our friends and family there.

Lucas decided to try a fork this morning at breakfast. Everywhere else we eat is chopsticks, but we do have option of forks at breakfast and Jonathan and I choose that option. It’s just easier and faster. Well, Lucas decided to be brave and try one too this morning. I think it would be safe to say that he liked it.

I must share my favorite English translation from today. The toaster at breakfast is labeled “bread heater” and boy did it make me laugh when I read that. Now mind you, the bread slices are labeled “toast” and the muffins and cakes next to it are labeled “bread”. I can’t imagine putting the “bread” they have labeled like croissants and chocolate muffins in the “bread heater” as they call it. I think it would rather cause a mess.

After breakfast we had some quiet time in our room to just relax before we started playing for the afternoon and evening. It felt good to be mellow after yesterday’s driving day. At lunch time we went across the road to the mall’s food court and tried another new restaurant. This one was a soup and noodle place. It was good too. Boy was it hot though! The big bowls came out with the broth literally boiling when they sat it in front of you.

After lunch we headed for West Lake which is the bi tourist attraction here. It is a beautiful park and has some traditional Chinese structures for sure. The gardens are extensive and it’s just simply soothing. The boys were mostly drawn to the fish in all the water. After walking around for a while, we went on a boat ride on the lake. The lake is about four square miles they said. It is about six feet deep throughout the lake, but the mud at the bottom is about four feet deep. About every five years they dredge the bottom and “make an island” with the mud so they can keep using boats on the lake. No one is allowed to swim or fish in the lake except one company that can harvest the shrimp, fresh water crabs and some fish in the fall. The breeze on the water felt good as it was a warm sunny day today.

We came back to the hotel and went back to a noodle house we found the other day. It says Hong Kong style and it doesn’t really have all that many noodles, but but that is the name of the restaurant. It was a good meal with too much food. For the first time, Lucas didn’t attack the meat we provided. He went for the rice primarily. I think he is finally ready to eat more “normal” and believes the other stuff will be there. I had to smile, because I always hit that with the eating out too. At some point I just want some basic rice, vegetables, fruit and a bit of meat...more like we would eat at home…nothing fancy.

Our final activity today was a show on the West Lake. The Chinese people are very proud of how many dignitaries, including Barack Obama, came to see the see the show during the 2016 Summit held here in Hangzhou. It was impressive. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but that was when my eyes decided they didn’t like the light anymore which made it hard for me to see a lot of it. The boys loved it though and Lucas exclaimed with excitement multiple times. I thought he was going to jump up out of his seat he was so excited. While I didn’t see a lot of it, I did enjoy the music. It was all live music with a variety of instruments. Some were traditional Chinese instrument and others like the violin and piano were not. The amazing thing to me is that they were all on boats coming in and out of the “stage” (ie lake) in front of us. Oh, there were several very talented singers too. I was struck by the traditional ballet numbers done in about four inches of water. I can’t imagine being those dancers. There was a mix of Chinese choreography, traditional ballet, musicians and some type of martial arts. They were on stage in the water…always about few inches under the water to be specific, except for the floating boats for the musicians. The lights were brilliant all around the lake…well the section of the lake set apart for the show. My favorite part was the huge fan than rose out of the water and had multiple designs. It really was an incredible show.

We will be traveling tomorrow to Guangzhou, so our post may be late again depending on how the travel goes. Just keep checking and I will get it up and going as soon as possible.

Blessings,
Brandy, Jonathan & Lucas

P.S. Lucas is starting to talk more now. He just needed a few days to feel safer with us all. I don’t think there will be much sign language in his world. His hands are awkward with it and it is clear that he has not had to use it. His Chinese sign as they referred to it must have been just pointing . Anyway, when he mimics words he is quite clear. This will be a very different language process for us this time. Webster and Connor better get their verbal skills in high gear for this brother!