What amazing day Leon had planned for us! After a leisurely breakfast, we were picked up in a nice AIR-CONDITIONED van! Not only is Internet a precious commodity, but so is air conditioning! Today it is well over 100 degrees, so we were happy to get into the cool van! Jian is a HUGE fan of cars and buses and wants to be OUTSIDE ALL THE TIME! He doesn't care if is 100 degrees, he wants OUT!! He is undaunted by the heat! And he is usually attached to Lizzy's back or front! I can't image how hot she is 'cause this Gaga is HOT, HOT, HOT!

Lulu and Jason, friends of Leon, took us on as family! They are a darling young couple who met in America while attending college in Boston! Their English was  perfect, which was another blessing! Along with our personal guide, Evan, we headed for our day long adventure! Cash was especially excited since he LOVES Kung Fu and had learned some Mandarin!

Our ride was about an hour and a half which was very pleasant because Mr. Jian slept most of the way! Cash and I played rock, paper, scissors, and every other element he could add or makeup for that game!

The day was spent at the infamous Shaolin Temple! What rich history China holds! It was AMAZING! First we went to a "show" where some super talented men did amazing moves, Kung Fu and other things I am most definitely not educated in, however, Cash was on it! He loved it! Jason was so impressed with Cash's interest, he bought Cash a DVD! Lizzy bought the boys some traditional garb that were very beautiful! Cash picked his own garb along with some other "trinkets"!!!!

Our guide, Evan, saw to it that we were not inconvenienced and that we had a fabulous experience, so he did any interpreting we needed, ran us threw the "shortcuts" so we didn't have to wait in long lines, and showed us where the bargains were!

There is a stunning Pagoda forest that has so much history and so a part of the Chinese culture! We definitely were the odd family. The Chinese were extremely friendly to us, some wanting to take our pictures and some wanting to touch Cash. He was so good about all of that! The day was filled with good food, great education and wonderful people to care for us! They saw to our every need so much so that LuLu' parents invited us for dinner. We weren't quite sure how the boys would be. In fact, we thought about declining! In  spite of the sweltering heat, they both had been good all day. We couldn't say no to the dinner invitation. And I am so glad we didn't! It turned out to be the highlight of our day!

We drove about an hour and Jason pulled up to a very clean, modern hotel. We looked like a whole band of worn out orphans when we arrived! The boys woke up and were hungary and still tired from their day! We walked into lots of white marble, sleek staircase and bright crystal chandeliers! We were greated by LuLu's parents and 3 uncles and a cousin. None of them spoke English, so LuLu and Jason interpreted for them and us. Cash knew the traditional  Chinese greeting, so without hesitation, he greeted them in Mandarin (thank you Mimi for those great lessons!) they were VERY impressed! The room was huge with 2 sofas, a TV and a 12 foot round table with an ELECTRIC revolving 'lazy Susan' in the middle of the table!! In our family, we grew up with this smaller scale table set up but they were not electric! The food started flowing like crazy! We found out later that LuLu' s parents had the kitchen open and prepare the meal just for us. (the kitchen was not operational for the hotel, just VIP's)! The food came and came and the table went around and around! Our hosts were good at grabbing what they wanted with their chopsticks, on the other hand, us...not so much. Everything was amazingly delicious! Cash was willing to try EVERYTHING! I couldn't believe it, he is a very picky eater!!! He had a little thin pastry that you were supposed to stuff with a couple of options. He chose shrimp. It had the head and everything else that  shrimp have ATTACHED! I wanted to burst out laughing!!! He took a bite and then I watched him pick the pieces out of his teeth! What a sight!! Now they were even more impressed with Cash! I was soooooo proud of him. He handled himself like an adult! They kept saying how polite he was and how brilliant he was!! Proud Gaga!!! Love that kid!!

The funniest part of the whole meal was this...traditionally, the Chinese toast to each guest one at a time at various times during the meal. Since we had about 6 servers or more, they kept filling our glass so we would be prepared for each toast!! What do I know!!! Well, not much about the Chinese culture, but I like it!!! So they toasted to Mark, we toasted , then Lizzy and we toasted, then Cash and we toasted and me and we toasted. If you emptied your glass for the toast, that meant you really MEANT the toast! So, by the end of the evening, I WAS TOASTED!!! They toasted again and again to Mark and Lizzy and they even toasted to me again because they said I looked young! Ha!!!!

I asked them what they thought of Americans coming to adopt Chinese babies. Jian is clearly considered "special needs" by China standards, so I was curious. They said they loved it and told Lizzy and Mark, they were special and gifted people, which made Lizzy cry so I cried cause she cried!!! More toasting anyone?!?!

One of the uncles, a super nice, jolly kind of man, shared with us that he sponsors 138 children from newborns till they turn 18! There are so many really good heroes in our world and often go unnoticed and unappreciated. What a blessing to be with these exceptional people! It was a night I won't soon forget!!

Every day brings new challenges, growth, patience, understanding and wisdom for this group of incredible people who have adopted and for all the children as well. Can you imagine taking a 2 year old out of his environment, and everything he is familiar with, into a hotel with people you just met!! jeez!! You can see changes in these little ones each day. Jian sat in a highchair  for the first time tonight without having to sit on Lizzy's lap either squirming or screaming!!! Lizzy had her first meal empty-lapped!! PROGRESS!!! Our tiniest baby, Lena, finally came home from the hospital today! Yeah, keep praying! She went from barely being able to hold her head up to jumping on her mommy's lap. She is just 13 lbs and 14 months! She goes back tomorrow for another treatment and IV antibiotics. PROGRESS!

This adoption process has shown me that it is all a PROCESS! It truly takes special people to see it through! Nothing about it is easy. The kisses, the hugs, "ma", "da", the running into your arms, wanting to hold big brother's hand, the smiles that melt your heart, make it all worth it! I look forward to seeing each of our 6 babies and the progress we will all make through this PROCESS tomorrow!!!