Stinkin' Cool...Stinkin' Cold!

It was so cold today that we bundled little Cory up in multiple layers to keep him warm. We quickly figured out that we didn't need to be worried about keeping him from freezing. This little guy is a matchbox! He almost immediately fell asleep when we got on the Great Wall and didn't wake up until the last 5 minutes or so of our sightseeing. As you can tell, Cory hasn't quite developed an appreciation yet for being on one of the Seven Wonders of the World! We do know that he has a healthy appreciation for his Mommy and his Meat though! In fact, as soon as he woke up, he raised his head, looked at Mom and said,"Ma-Ma...meat!" We all just started laughing. All of us really are aware that this little boy has truly added so much joy to our family! God has blessed us with a new addition to the family that couldn't have fit more perfectly if we would have chosen from a book of personalities! We praise God everyday for how amazingly the Bickfords prepared Cory for his new home! We are looking forward to coming home and can't wait to share the blessing of this heaven sent angel!

During part of the day, when we were on the Great Wall, the wind was blowing in one direction and then 10 minutes later it began blowing the other way! The cold whipped at our faces until the stinging sensation felt like little knives stabbing into our already numb faces. The thrilling realization that we were on the Great Wall of China quickly distracted us from the pain of numb fingers and faces. The way that we managed to continue enjoying ourselves was by constantly reminding each other that this was a once in a lifetime experience and we should make the most of it!
Did we mention that there were a lot of stairs? I know that some people imagine that the Great Wall stretches in a straight line across China, but that is definitely not the case. The first thing we noticed when we got on top of the wall, was the rising and falling of the path. The twisting, turning, rising, and falling proved to be an excellent workout! At one point, each individual stair came up to the top of my Mom's knee! Merriella had a very difficult time climbing these!

As much as our family has enjoyed this trip, we are ready to come home. Our stomachs are quite past ready to have American food. We are exhausted and anxious to sleep in our own beds! I also think that our family has had enough airplanes for some time now! 7 is quite enough for the 18 days that we have been gone! We can't wait till we are back in the United States and get to share our stories with you in person. Most importantly of all, we look forward to sharing our newest addition with you! God Bless and thank you for following our journey to get Cory! Thanks for your prayers and support! We love you all and will be home tomorrow!