Day 6 - Ancient City of Pingyao

Today we opted to get out of hotel room and do some sight seeing.

We drove about 2 hrs (traffic makes all drives feel long) to Pingayo.

 

"Pingyao is a county in central Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It lies about 715 kilometres from Beijing and 80 kilometres from the provincial capital, Taiyuan. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial centre of China. Its history dates back 2,700 years and is one of the best preserved ancient cities in the known world. It is still inhabited by 50,000 residents ..." Wikapedia.org

 

EJ really enjoyed learning about China' 1st bank.

He took lots of pics for his banking co-works back home.

 This is Anna, she has been our guide all week. Including the official adoption procedures.

Avery did well considering it was hot, she only took a short nap in the carrier and probably too much stimulation for her :( Sightseeing always seems like a good idea, but in reality it's exhausting and Owen isn't that thrilled either. Oh boy, do we get lots of stares!!!

 Mim, do you notice her bracelet :)

We witnessed some pretty remarkable changes in Avery today. She is coming out of her shell. We got some belly laughter, funny faces, more movements and she even cried on two occasions. While the crying is difficult on us, it shows that she is learning to trust us.

If you can't tell by the pictures, she is a tiny thing. At 23 months she is wearing 12 month pjs and 12-18 month clothes. The shoes we brought (4 and 5) are all much too big. She isn't walking so the shoes don't really matter.

We are choosing to focus on the great strides she making and the positives we see, but in all honesty her delays are heartbreaking. The effects of institutional living are true and evident in our precious girl. Please pray for EJ and I as we grieve over what she likely endured these past two years and give praise to God who saw it fit to give her a family.

On a less serious note, Owen is thoroughly enjoying the buffet breakfast here, where he can load up on cereal (of all things). I am also making the most of this meal, although I can not get used to their coffee (super strong). We are mostly making due with 2 meals a day and snacking on things we brought from home for the 3rd meal.

We have decided not to visit Avery's orphanage as it would be a 5 hr drive each way. We didn't get the feeling we'd learn anything new by our visit. We are sad not to see her home city and the placed she lived her first two years. We have asked the orphanage so email us a pic of the outside to have to show her when she is older, we'll believe it when we see it. After the changes we saw in her today, I am thankful for this decision. I think it may have set her back, to go.

1 more day here then we fly to our 3rd and final destination!! Where we will be with lots of adopting families :)