Tuesday and the Tengweng Pavillion

Tuesday morning we took a tour of the Tengweng Pavilion. This pavilion is one of the most famous in China. The original building was built in 653 AD during the Tang Dynasty. The pavilion has been destroyed and rebuilt 29 times. It was most recently rebuilt in the late 1980s after being destroyed in 1926 during the chaotic warlords era. A famous poem was written about it shortly after it was originally built, which school children still have to memorize today.

Lily at the start of the day
Us at the pavilion

Alex makes some new friends

Have I mentioned how hot it is here? This fan was a big hit with the kids.

A view of "new" Nanchang from the Pavilion. We are staying in "old" Nanchang. The new section of the city was built just 10 years ago. Prior to that it was rice fields.

Another wonderful and inexpensive lunch. We had our own private room and private waitress. The meal for 3 adults and 4 kids including bottled water was $12.

That evening we ate dinner in our rooms. Here's Lily eating her first PB&J sandwich. She loved it!

Lily's day...........Lily slept fairly well Monday night. She whimpered a couple of times, but calmed right down with a quick pat. She got restless and cried around 6am. At that point, she wanted to lay in my arms. She slept and cried on and off for about another 45 minutes. Once awake, she had a pretty good morning. There's less crying and sadness when we're out and about. Everything we do is brand new to her. Sometimes she gets a little overwhelmed and wants to be held, but mostly, she just takes it all in. She cried a little falling asleep for her nap, and woke up very sad. The afternoon was not good, as she wanted to be held and whimpered a lot. All the stimulation probably doesn't help. As the day wore on and her brothers woke from their naps, she perked up. Although she still stayed close to me, she liked watching the boys. She's still very attached to me, and will turn her head if Ruben talks to her. She won't go to him, but if he picks her up and walks with her, she does fine.

She went to sleep that night with very little crying.

Things we have learned about Lily:

- She is not a huge fan of chocolate. She will eat the inside of an oreo cookie, take only one or two bites of the chocolate, and then hand the rest to me.

- Her favorite food is rice. She eats it for every meal, including breakfast. She's also a huge fan of banana bread!

- When I get her dressed in the morning, she checks herself out in the mirror, pulls on her clothes and examines the pockets. I don't believe she's ever worn underwear (she came to us in split pants), and pulls on that too.

- She is very attached to her squeaky sandals. She even sleeps with them on. Monday night she kept kicking Ruben which made them squeak in the middle of the night. Ruben insists she was trying to push him out of the bed!

We want to thank everyone for all your comments and emails. Even if we don't have time to respond, we do read them all and appreciate your kind words and prayers. We ask for continued prayers as we near the end of our week in Nanchang and get ready for the move to Guangzhou. We've seen the Lord's hand in this entire adoption journey and know he will continue to work in Lily's life as she adjusts to her new family.

Thank you!