Happy Birthday....

Can you guess what this is??? If you guessed scorpions at our lunch restaurant, then you were right!

Today was our final day with the kiddos. This morning was spent playing and snuggling with the kiddos, which is easy to do. Saying goodbye is not. A couple of the babies have been sick and running fevers. Today the little boy with the unrepaired cleft palate and lip received an IV. A few of the team members were a bit freaked by the IV in the head, but that is typically how they give it to the babies here. We convinced them to take the nine day old to the hospital this afternoon, as his tummy is quite swollen and hard. He has some severe issues, so please keep him in your prayers. This was the first day they let anyone hold him, and Tracie received the honors. I'm not sure we would've notice his change for the worse if we hadn't been allowed to hold him. Also, the four newbies to our team got to add their handprints to the vine we created last year. Underneath each handprint is the team members' name in English and Chinese.

One really special thing that happened today is that two girls we met on the streets last night actually showed up to help at the orphanage today (pictured with us below)! Can you believe that? Again, they had no idea something like this even existed when Anna explained it to them last night. They were so sweet with the kids, and say they plan on coming back regularly and emailing us update. The more locals that know about these kids, the better. The girls are even coming with us to church tonight. Yep, that's right, we're going to a youth Bible study tonight. I won't be posting until Beijing tomorrow, so check back for an update.

This afternoon was the birthday party we throw for the kids. The nannies decorated the room and we provided the cakes. They also brought all kinds of fruits and all kinds of party favors. The kids had a great time and were stuffed. Then came the goodbyes, which was warm, along with a few tears. One nanny even gave all us women a pair of jelly shoes. They are such giving people here. We also all received a framed jade picture, which is representative of the area.

Sadly, the cribs did not arrive today, but the director will send us photos when they do. We did present them with 20 quilts for the new beds that one sweet lady made back in the states. We really appreciate all who supported this effort, and are disappointed we weren't able to get photos of the kiddos in them, but that is the way things go here in China. Things are not always predictable!

We have an early flight tomorrow. The airport in Chaoyang is only open one day a week, so should be interesting. Stayed tuned for details of the experience....