Shopping/Sick Day

I love Jin Yu because she confronts her fears. And because I know there was a time when she didn’t have a choice. Jeff Gammage (adoptive father) "China Ghosts"
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

We had a busy, interesting day shopping this morning and then paying a visit to an after-hours doctor tonight. 

This morning we met the famous "Ann from Red Thread" at our hotel, and she took us out shopping and helped us navigate the wholesale jade market. She also helped us pick out some beautiful pearls to give to CC one day. It was a fun time and I am so glad we had Ann to show us around and help us get some pretty pieces for the girls.

Jade is very popular in China. Jade jewelry is a traditional wedding gift, and most Chinese women that I have seen wear a jade pendant necklace or a jade bangle bracelet. The jade bangles never come off their wrists. I had been interested in getting a jade bangle but not for the prices we saw when we were here 3 years ago. Ann took us to some wholesale jade vendors and we looked at the bangles. I found a pretty color and tried to slip it on my wrist. WAY too small. I started looking for bigger ones but they were all the same size. Ann reassured, "Oh, no worry. We make it fit." And with that, a lady took out a slick baggie, stuck it over my hand, counted to three and rammed the bracelet over my hand. My first thought was, "Guess I'm buying this one!" At least I picked a pretty color to "try on." Mom found one she liked but getting hers on was a little trickier. The slick bag didn't work. So a guy brought out a bottle of lotion, then, for extra measure, a bucket of water. That combo with some elbow grease slid it right on. We are both the proud owners of jade bracelets now. I am trying to get used to wearing it all the time, SINCE I CAN'T TAKE IT OFF.

Boys playing a game in the streets where we were shopping.

CC was a trooper on the shopping excursion. She usually does great in the carrier every day but she does reach her limit, and just wants down.

Watching the ladies string pearls for CC's necklace.

After shopping, Ann took us to a great dumpling/noodle restaurant. This picture of her her dishing out noodles reminded us of a foreigner faux pas we made the other night. 

We were eating at one of the hotel restaurants and mom ordered a dumpling noodle bowl. The only problem was that the noodles were endlessly long. As in, it could have been one long noodle in the whole bowl. Mom was fighting with the noodles (and losing) and was just about to give up when a waitress walks by our table and speaks into her shoulder walkie talkie. She said the same word twice and I joked that she said, "Mayday. Mayday". About 10 seconds later another waitress appeared with scissors in her hand and chopped up all the noodles in mom's bowl. We could not stop laughing. 

                                       

"Snakeskin wine". Yes, people drink this.

CC this morning at breakfast. The bib kind of swallows her.

CC's favorite place to be is her crib. She loves to play in it and cruise around the rails, and when we haven't been in the hotel room for awhile, she gets so excited to see her crib again. 

Tonight, we decided we needed to get Kate to a doctor for a fever and cough she has had for 5 days. We had not been worried because she has been acting like her normal little self and has said nothing hurts. But the fever has been persistent and we had almost been through an entire bottle of tylenol and motrin on her. There is a western medical clinic in our hotel, so we went there. The doctor diagnosed her with mild pneumonia and gave us the meds we need to help her get well. Whew. I was starting to get really worried going into our 6th day of fever. The girls had fun playing in the clinic playroom as we waited for the doctor.