Exploring

After some much needed quiet reflection time during Ellie's nap, we were ready for an adventure so we set out with Mark and Jodi and LuYana in search of Shaiman Island and a famous Adoptive family go to restaurant call Lucy's.  It is fun being in GZ now because since all families adopting from China end up here, I know a lot more about it from pictures and blogs of other families who have gone before us.  :)  Mark celebrated a 'big' birthday ;) on Friday but was caught up in the transition from Luyana's province to GZ as well, so we had a celebratory dinner.

We found Lucy's!  

The birthday boy and his beautiful wife.  So thankful that we get
to experience this all with them!

This gem of a statue was outside the restaurant.  The guys were a
little too eager to take a picture with it... ;)

They were far less eager about their visit to the public bathroom in which they found these entertaining signs: 

In case there is any confusion about what type of man the restroom is for

No comment needed... ;)

And though I know this post is already pretty long because it is a catch up of a couple of days, I wanted to share some of the fun sights from our walk to the island.  It is a couple of blocks from our hotel through winding streets full of little shops.  The area we went through is mostly a pet market so there were all kinds of animals and pet supplies.

It is amazing what they can haul around on a bicycle!  

All in all, being in GZ has been a very welcome change.  We are with friends in a place that is more used to Americans and can speak English much more reliably and overall just feels more welcoming to us.  We have had several people stop and ask us about our daughters and have overall let us know that they think that it is a good thing that we are doing.  We still have some exploring to do and some time to spend here, but I find myself looking forward to it more than I did in the province and I am thankful for that.  Thanks for following along and offering all of your love and encouragement along the way.  It has been so good to feel all your prayers as we have experienced the ups and downs of this trip!