For Your Reading Pleasure...

This is a sign located at each of the checkouts in our local grocery store. Published on our site for your reading pleasure.

And in case you can't read it, here it is....

"Awording to the bank's pwescription , for the secuwity of yourbandcard plesse sign the same nameas the obilgate signature in the back of the card For any query,you can contact the bank.Thank your for your coopration."

Translation...they want you to sign the signature line of your credit card. And if you have a problem with it, contact the bank. One would think that a huge grocery store chain would be able to locate a person capable of proof reading things before they post them. That must be asking too much. After all, this IS China.

Hangzhou Family Vacation Pictures

I started this post in the next entry down. (A First Time For Everything) So...scroll down, read the next post, and then come back to this one. Otherwise this entry won't make as much sense. Sorry, I can't figure out how to change the order of the entries.

Some of the pavilions on one of the islands in Xihu (West Lake.)


We spent our second day hiking these mountains. Hiking in the rain all day, we started at the arrow on the right and went to the arrow on the left. I have no idea how far it was (as in miles) but it wasn't just trails/paths it was lots and lots of stairs. At least more than 1000 we did. But what's really amazing is not that we (Michael and I) did that. But that Gabe did every single one of those steps by himself. That's a lot for those little legs. We were so proud of him becuase he wanted to do it!


A view of the lake and the "Melting Snow On Broken Bridge" from the mountain. Seriously, that's the name of the bridge.


Baochu Pagoda. In the distance on the top of the mountain. First built in AD 963. Amazingly the original did not contain an internal staircase. A engineering feat for something that tall. Less than halfway through our hike. A look back at the ground we had covered so far. A great view.


Chuyang Platform is just visible in the distance on the mountain hillside.

Here we are inside a park containing "Huanglong Dong" or Yellow Dragon Cave. This place is famous for its never-ending stream of water spurting from the head of a yellow dragon several meters down into a pool below.






If you look at the first picture in the "A First Time For Everything" entry you will see the nice first class waiting room at the Shanghai train station. This picture of the waiting room at the Hangzhou train station. It's not first class, it's everyone else. This room was chaos!


Well that's it for now. I have been trying for over an hour now to get more pictures into this entry but it isn't happening. And it's late, I am tired. So I am heading off to bed soon. Hope you enjoy what I was able to get posted. But before I go, there are two things I wanted to mention.

First, there is a family that we have connected with and been praying for over the last year. They live in the States. They recently lost their 3 year old daughter, Anna, to cancer. I won't take the time to go into all of the details. But please, please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. Their faith in our Father has never wavered. In fact it has been stronger than most people I know, even over the last 14 months as they fought an awful fight. Thanks for your prayers!

Secondly, there is no official word still on if we are staying or going. I am getting more anxious and less patient by the hour. I feel like I keep saying this but, hopefully we will know something soon! Goodnight.

A First Time For Everything

This past weekend we went on our first family of four vacation. We visited the city of Hangzhou, which is south of Shanghai. Here is a little information on Hangzhou. The city’s history can be traced to around 8,000 years ago. The city was developed around a lake called Xihu. Which, translated into English means West Lake. The lake is 1,606 acres. For you MI people that is around 2/3 the size of Gull Lake. And for AL folks it's roughly 1/27 the size of Lake Martin. (Ha! Not much of a reference point.) For you MO folks, sorry to say I have no good comparison. Anyway, the lake is located at the city's center. Numerous small canals run off the lake and the city was built with its buildings on the edge of those canals. Back then, the canals were used as roads. All the buildings faced the water so the passers by could visit, see each other, and shop. Unfortunately, most of those buildings are long gone, but you are still able to get the general idea.

We had a great time on our vacation even though it was raining off and on most of the weekend. Hopefully we will be able to go back for another visit when it won't be raining. We took over 120 pictures while there for 2 days. I can't put them all on this sight. But I will put up a few of the best. For those of you with Facebook, I put them all on my page. Check them out if you want. Here are a few...

First Class waiting area at the train station. Open, clean, quiet, overall very nice.


Michael and Maddox on the boat ride to the islands in the lake.


Jessica and Gabe waiting on the boat.


Gabe said he wanted his picture taken with his leg up on the rock because, "I look good." Then he said Maddox needed to be in the picture, "So he can look good to." This picture was taken on one of the islands in the lake. The islands name is "Chong Er" which means Endless Romance Here.


A view from the island. In the background is "Leifeng Xizhao" or Evening Sunlight at Thunder Peak Pagoda. Rebuilt in 2002 after the origional collapsed in 1924. The foundation dates back to AD 976.


Now you can scroll back up and finish reading the previous post. (Hangzhou Family Vacation Pictures) Sorry for the confusion. I am technology challenged.