Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.

I love this quote by Lin Yutang.

How sweet it is to be the mother of two wonderful children! Indeed, I feel blessed beyond any measure. This trip has brought so many unexpected emotions. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for all God’s grace showing through the eyes of my daughters. They are more than I ever dreamed possible.

We’ve stayed near the hotel today and yesterday while our facilitator is busy getting all the necessary documents ready for our departure early Thursday morning.

Today, we had a late breakfast once again in the wonderful hotel dining room which overlooks the Pearl River. I’ve had French Toast every morning……..so good!

After breakfast, we went for a stroll through a nearby park. Lots of Chinese people dancing, singing, playing instruments and games like hackey sack & badminton. It’s so refreshing to see people of all ages outside enjoying themselves and getting exercise in such fun and interesting ways. Not many tourists wander over that way, so we were definitely the minority. The combination of Jada, Ruby and that Asian-looking doll draws quite a bit of attention. They speak to us (in Chinese) and we just smile and nod. Who knows what they are saying?????? :]

Richard loves all the statues around the island and Jada loves to imitate their poses. Makes for a perfect match!!

We had another wonderful dinner with our travel group tonight. No really weird food tonight. Maybe we’re getting better at ordering??? When I ordered the chicken, I made sure to specify “no head or other body parts attached – just bring me the chicken breast”. It worked.

Ruby continues to change with each passing moment. It’s amazing at how much she has changed in 8 days! She laughed out loud several times today and smiles so easily now. She is growing more and more comfortable with us and somehow, we fall more in love with her every day. (For the record, I still can’t believe she’s mine!)

It’s hard to believe our time in China is almost over! We will start packing up tomorrow (Wed) and I have no idea how we are going to get all our stuff back in the suitcases. ha

Today is ‘Freedom Eve’ for Ruby. Tomorrow, we go to the US Embassy and she will become a US CITIZEN! The freedom we too often take for granted will be a precious gift to her and she will be changed forever. She will be free.

Naturally, she is too young to realize the gravity of the moment, but her momma will be smiling and crying at the same time no doubt.

As you can guess….Richard let me do the journal entry tonight because not much happened today.

We ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers. It’s wonderful to know that even though we are thousands of miles apart, God is the same everywhere.

Thanks for all your beautiful posts and encouraging words. It’s been great fun reading all of them and sharing this amazing journey with you.

We will post once more before the Grand Departure.

Much love …….Sheila – Richard – Jada – and Ruby