day 2

Another interesting day.
Mckenzie woke up and 2 am local time and could not sleep. Finally at 6 am she went to sleep but I had to wake her at 7. Neither one of us felt right but we did not have a choice so we got ready and went to breakfast. While at breakfast Mckenzie's jet lag caught up to her and she threw up. (Kristin, she now joins with your Korea story). After breakfast we all loaded a large van and went to a jade factory. The smells bothered Mckenzie so we spent most of the time outside sitting on the steps in the nice, smoggy air. It was nice just to sit down and visit. (fyi...the picture of Mckenzie and the large piece of Jade only cost $189,999( i drove her nuts because I constantly chased her around with a plastic sack. By the time we got to the Great Wall I realized that she was just fine. We made it to the 3rd tower... I would have only gone to the first one without her. She had a ton of energy and kept encouraging me on. (she'd say... come on mom, think of all of the calories we are burning... or mom do you feel the tingling in your legs - that is our muscles getting a good workout) I don't remember the wall being so steep but it is and the steps are so uneven (the really tall stairs kill you) and with the light snow (slippery) and me being out of shape, was a bit (quite a bit) challenging :). So glad she pushed me :) We had more people ask her for her picture. A lady from the Philippians was with her son and she stopped us to ask for a picture with Mckenzie. i thought she wanted us to take a picture of her and her son but she let me know that was not what she had in mind... so bizarre. (for those of you traveling to Beijing it was cold but not too cold. we wore thermals and did just fine - gloves with hand warmers are the key) Oh, we used the squatty potty at the Great Wall... had to mention that :) very different.
We drove by the Olympic buildings. They were amazing... especially the twisty one (I'm tired again) and we also saw the 2 new buildings that are connected at the top (not for the Olympics)- absolutely amazing - apparently they just connected them within the last 2 weeks)
After the Great Wall we headed to the Cloinosse factory. We had a yummy Chinese lunch served with french fries (???).
Our group decided to against going to the Summer Palace so we headed back to our hotel. This worked out well because Gayle and her daughters met us again. She is definitely one of the ways Heavenly Father is sharing tender mercies with me. She was such a comfort to me (even though we did not talk much about Ryan) and helped me so much. I was really struggling today as we came back to the hotel. I feel really sad about Ryan and feel guilty for being here and actually enjoying myself and sad that I am not there for my parents and then at the same time I feel so guilty for not being 100% consumed with thoughts of sweet little Lili because I know that she is and will be such a huge blessing to our family... anyway thanks for the therapy. I really am ok... I'm just so grateful for Gayle and for her taking care of me when I did not know if I could do it. We went shopping at the Pearl Factory. I did not buy any pearls (it is a huge store like the Silk Market yesterday) I did get some really cute jewelry for Mckenzie and I to share - once again Gayle thank-you - I don't like to spend $ on me. After shopping we went to a really fun restaurant. I think the name was the Hot pot ... or something like that (remind me please, Gayle)... It is a traditional Chinese way of eating. We sat at a table with a hot pot in the middle filled with broth and seasonings. We ordered different meats, veggies and noodles and you put them in little by little to cook and eat and put more in and eat... very, very good!!! After dinner we went to Cold Stone for some really yummy ice cream :)
We are all packed and ready for tomorrow. We leave for the airport at 9 am - fly out at 11 and arrive at 1. it is a 1/2 hour drive to the hotel. We are suppose to receive her in the afternoon across the street from our hotel. Her diaper bag is packed with lots of toys, treats, blanket, bottle, etc. i can't believe the time has finally arrived. I will post photos as soon as she lets me.
I hope all is well wherever you are. Love, Melanie (Mckenzie wants to post really bad but she falls asleep as soon as we get in - hopefully she will soon - thanks to her friends for the e-mails - she loves them!)