July 26, Hot, hot , hot

Things are winding down here in Nanchang as we leave for Guangzhou tomorrow. It has been tough to venture out for long because of the heat. It is 110 degrees here today and not a dry heat We only thought it is hot in Arkansas in the summer. The big event of the day was a visit to the Teng Wang Pavilion. It was so hot Laura broke out into a serious sweat. Of course it didn't help that she had to carry Abby around with a slight fever, she had 102 degree temperature. We have two nurses in our group and they told us not to be too concerned, but it's hard not to be. We haven't been criticized by the Asian women for not haing her covered, I suppose because of the heat. We are stronly encouraged to keep the babies covered with hats and umbrellas. The Chinese women have beautiful skin and we were told it's because they do not get in the sun and they use a beauty cream that has pearls in it. This pavalion is the largest in the province and is six stories tall. They had a lot of interesting crafts for sale and are especially known for their porcelain. We actually made some of our first major purchases and still spent less than $80US. We are collecting gifts from China and the Nanchang to celebrate Abby's gotcha day for her next seventeen years. We got her some porcelain geisha figurines and tea set made here in her home province. We want to get her a pearl necklace for her in Guangzhou.The big question is how we are going get all this home?

Abby is down for a nap and seems to be feeling better after some Motrin. Even not feeling well she wanted to walk the halls. She loves practicing her walking. She is also saying Momma and

the toy we bought her at Wal-Mart she wanted plays Old McDonald Had A Farm and she sings

e-i-e-i-o. It's so cute it melts our hearts which is good because most of the remainder of the time she is so strong willed about everything. We only thought Blaine was strong willed as a toddler.

She continues to tease Mark with feeding him and even playing some peek-a-boo games with us but then just when we think we've made progress she still won't go to him. Today at lunch he ate french fries diped in watermelon and congee (a rice soup of sorts) Abby created just to please her. We even tried making her jealous by him holding another baby and that didn't seem to phase her.I think he would walk across burning coals right now if she would take to him. Keep praying.

Tonight we are going to a fountain and lights show and eating at Pizza Hut. We're actually excited about that. Then we'll finish with a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies. Everthing here is cheaper at Wal-Mart I guess because it's all made here. I don't know if we mentioned it but what an experience that is. It's two stories and you go from one floor to the next by a magnetic escalator that locks in your cart.