Free Day

Free Day


Yesterday we had a free day to explore Zhengzhou. We were happy we have been here before so we knew we wanted to go to a local park that has kiddie rides and white pigeons you can feed. Our first stop after the amazing breakfast buffet was to the local Carrefour to do our laundry. It is like a laundromat but you pay them to wash and dry everything and then you pick it up mostly folded. Two loads cost about $11 US dollars. That was the same price the hotel would have charged for just two pairs of jeans through their laundry service. We ran into the store for diapers, juice and wipes. Sophie has a virus and has had quite a lot of loose stools and need for change of outfits. Please pray she gets better before our flight to Guangzhou on Friday night.


Once we got back to the hotel we headed to the park with two other families. It is always more fun with friends. My total walking yesterday was only 5.5 miles but because I was carrying Sophie it felt like 50 miles! Thankfully we hailed a taxi for the trip back to the hotel. The park was lovely and all the kids seemed to enjoy the fresh air. We even had Sophie on two different kiddie rides. She was pointing and gesturing so we took her on. There are few if any safety rules for the rides. No seatbelts, kids standing up while the rides are in motion, stopping the ride mid way to let kids on and off. So different from the US. Even Christian and Emily and I were able to ride. One of the rides they gave you a net and you try to catch popping up balls while the ride is in motion. Next we headed to our favorite place in the park, the pigeon house where you can feed pigeons. Conner, Christian and Emily all had pigeon land on them. The pigeons are super neat. The food is only .40 a bag. We bought countless bags and enjoyed photographing them. The trip was complete with Christian and several of the other children trying a hot dog or sausage on a stick. We took the taxi back while Sophie napped in the front pack. We grabbed lunch and then went to the hotel for a rest. Conner headed out to take photos in the later afternoon and then we went to pick up our laundry and to shop at the local mall for some clothing for Sophie. After shopping we headed back so Christian could swim and so I could rest. Carrying her everywhere is the hardest part. Her 30 pounds and my 52 year old arm muscles are not the best combination. She clearly prefers me but tolerates Conner and Emily distracting her at times. She is so sweet but can be fiesty. She lives throwing things and loves to be ticketed. Her smile and giggle are priceless. We can’t wait to introduce her to the rest of the family. So wish we could have brought everyone.


She fell asleep in my arms while I gave her her bottle. She slept through the night in her crib. Today we head to her orphanage and it is the same orphanage where Wyatt spent his first year. When we came to get Wyatt Tim was able to visit the Cerebral Palsy Hospital where he lived but we never saw this orphanage. Hudson spent a few nights here too I believe. We will also get to see Wyatt’s finding spot. Please pray for this trip to not be traumatic for Sophie. We are praying we can meet and thank her nanny’s and foster mom. Thanks for praying for our journey to get Sophie. We are heading to Guangzhou tomorrow evening to start the final leg of our trip. Because our Consulate appointment is a day before the rest of the group we leave a day before them and do a lot of the appointments without the group on this final leg of the trip. We are all bummed to leave before everyone. It just seems like leaving family. Thanks for your prayers as we continue to bond and get to know little Sophie. We appreciate you all so very much.


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