Though it felt like we were saying "goodbye" for almost 3 months, we had so much fun spending time with our favorite people and exploring our favorite places!
If our "zai jian" to you is not posted on here, it doesn't mean that I don't remember our last meal or conversation with you, or that I didn't cherish your sweet words at our goodbye party. It simply means that I was so caught up in the moment, that I didn't capture it on camera... that's all! I can't possibly express how much it meant to us for you to take time to create a goodbye page or to stop by the day we left, and everything in between. We will always remember and cherish our China friendships!
NAN HU PARK WITH LORI AND BELLE
Lori has been raising Belle as a single mother in China for about 5 years and Belle and Emily are about the same age, so needless to say, we related to them very well! We loved spending Sunday afternoons at the park together. Earlier this year, the orphanage requested that Belle come back, so we didn't get to see her as much our last few months in China, but we were so grateful the orphanage allowed Lori to take Belle for the weekend and we were able to spend the day at Nan Hu Park, one of Emily's and Belle's favorite places to play, ride different rides, and eat cotton candy!
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| Belle and Emily |
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| Teacup Ride! |
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| Lori and Belle |
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| Bouncy House! |
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| Cotton Candy! |
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| This little giraffe was fast! We had a hard time keeping up with them and they almost knocked a few people out... but they didn't! |
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| Belle and Emily on the bus. Belle is looking at the Memory Book Emily made for her. :) |
WEEKEND WITH THE SIMMONDS
When we were asked to spend the weekend with the Simmonds kids, we were excited to have the opportunity to spend some last minute quality time with them! I didn't get any pictures of the older 2, Jolie and Isaac, but I enjoyed hanging out with them, too! It was fun to hang out with them and chat about their upcoming transition back to The States also. Here are a few shots of the talent show the littles put on for me. :)
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| Lily |
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| Daniel |
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| Daniel, Emily and Lily A job well done! |
This is the family Emily stayed with with while I was having knee surgery. Emily loved having Willow around and Julie and Adam both treated Emily like she was their own. They took great care of her and I always knew she was in good hands when she was with them. Julie was always willing to watch Emily anytime I needed her to and I'm most certain I would not have survived China without them! We loved spending Tuesday nights at their house, going out for Sushi, and play dates at the playground. Julie and Willow headed back to The States for the summer a couple of weeks before we did. This was a hard goodbye, but we just know we will see them again someday!
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| Emily and Willow at the playground. |
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| McDonald's Delivery... yum! |
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| The 4 of us. |
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| Love these girls! |
THE TOILET RESTAURANT WITH AMBER
Yes, the Toilet Restaurant! We had heard so much about this place... how bizarre it was to eat while sitting on toilet seats and eating out of soap dishes and... more that you probably don't want me to describe. But we also heard they had great food! Pasta, quesadillas.... in China. Yes, classy, I know... but I would forever regret not checking out this place if I didn't go! This place was on our bucket list for about a year and we honestly didn't think we were going to get to mark it off, but yay, we did, and I'm so glad we got to do it with Amber! Amber is a Jones, too, and she fits right in like she's one of us (or she would probably say like we are one of her). When my family came to visit, she went with us to The Great Wall and it was like we'd all known each other our whole lives. Amber was like Emily's aunt in China and she was always willing to help out if I needed it. We miss Amber already and are glad we got to experience the Modern Toilet and a picnic with her before we left!
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| Just so... random! |
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| Yummy pasta! |
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| Yep, she's sitting on a toilet! |
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| A booth with sinks, shower heads and bathrobes...? |
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| Pretty day for a picnic! |
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| Yummy hot dog. As you can tell, Amber was the one with the camera. Wish we would have gotten more pics of her! |
LINDA AND JOY
Linda was my Chinese teacher and her daughter Joy is Emily's age, which worked out so nicely! We enjoyed spending time with them outside of school and going on trips during holidays. Linda is a great friend and sister. She always checked on me to see how I was adjusting to China, constantly asked how she could pray for me, and was always available if I needed help communicating (which was often!) Joy and Emily played so well with each other and we plan to keep in touch via Skype so Joy can practice her English, Emily can practice her Chinese, and so they can continue to develop their friendship. So fun to have friends on the other side of the world!
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| Emily and Joy swinging at a random restaurant that we didn't actually get to eat at because they were hosting a wedding party. |
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| Joy and Linda at "Hey Yo!" creating their own yogurt concoction for the first time! |
"Tiger" was one of my students my first year in China and I just love this kid! His mom was always so kind to us and would sporadically show up at school with huge gifts for Emily "just because". Tiger did not go to our school this past year, and I think the last time we saw him (before this picture) was back in September at his birthday party. We tried to make plans to see him a few times the last couple of months, but it just never worked out. I was really sad that we were not going to be able to say goodbye to him, BUT, the last week we were in China, we just "ran into him" at the mall in a city of 8 million people! I almost cried. It was the coolest thing.... what's really funny is that we passed each other on the escalators and neither of us saw each other, but his dad recognized me and I heard him call Tiger's name. Just a hunch, but I don't think there are many people named Tiger, so I did a double take and it was my Tiger! So after we went down the escalator, we turned around and went back up! The poor kid probably thought I was crazy because I was so excited. I am so grateful we ran into him. Love cool God moments!
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| Tiger and Emily |
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| Oh, and the day before school was out, I arrived back at my classroom after our Field Trip to find a gift hanging on my easel that said, "To: Emily From: Tiger's Mom". So sweet! And it is NOT a short drive out to our school. Sad I missed seeing her, but once again, so grateful for the opportunity to see Tiger one last time. :)
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
These were the girls that we said goodbye to several times because we just weren't ready to accept that the other times were goodbye! Megan and Emily clicked early on in Kindergarten, have been doing ballet together on Saturday mornings and have become great friends the past 2 years! You will see Joy again in these pictures and you will also see Molly, a friend we met through a fellowship who is also from Texas! We are hopeful we will see her again one day, too. And of course, while the girls were having fun, we moms enjoyed each other's company and good conversation, also!
  this is the final draft!  Love these ladies!   
JEAHNA AND HER FAMILY
Emily and Jeahna also became really good friends right off the bat and have been doing ballet together the past 2 years. Jeahna's parents are also teachers at our school and they lived in our apartment complex. Emily went home with Jeahna every Tuesday while I had teacher's meetings. This family was always available if I needed somewhere for Emily to go. We always felt like their door was always open and I only dream of being as generous and hospitable as they are! I loved learning about their Filipino culture and trying new Filipino dishes. They have relatives in Texas and we are hopeful they will come for a visit one day!
   
The Lauron Family
"ZAI JIAN ZHONG GUO, WOMEN AI NI".
(SEE YOU AGAIN, CHINA, WE LOVE YOU!)
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