White Cloud Mountain-December 28

God has been so good to us this trip.  As we walked down the street today, I stepped back and drank in the scene.  Five kids were walking down the street ahead of me, laughing and talking.  Well, actually only four were walking because the littlest Lindquist was being carried by a "ge ge"  at the time.  She planted a "ching-ching" on his cheek and my heart melted.  It is so evident that the Spirit has been at work in our hearts and in Elsa's to bind us together as a family.  Certainly we are not done with the process by any stretch of the imagination, but in His mercy we have a great start!

For our last day in Guangzhou, Connie took us to White Cloud Mountain where we took a cable car ride up to the top to view the city.  The gardens were spectacular and the view from the top was great.  It was somewhat marred by the fog, but with warm temperatures, we didn't care about that!  After walking around the gardens and taking some fun pictures, we headed out to a restaurant.  At the Noodle King, we watched a cook make the special noodles of this area.  It was really fun to watch as he stretched, pulled and cooked them.

Connie dropped us off at the hotel and headed back to the consulate on our behalf.  She returned later in the day with Elsa's passport complete with an American visa.  Accompanying this was a packet that we are not to open, but simply hand to officials of USCIS when we land in the USA on Friday.  After these papers are looked through and stamped, Elsa is officially a citizen of the United States!

We really are excited to get home.  We ate at Lucy's again tonight and enjoyed the American cuisine.  We wake early tomorrow morning and fly to Hong Kong.  After spending the day and the night there, we will board a plane on Friday morning to head home.  Please pray with us that these flights will be good ones for Elsa.  Anything would be better than her first airplane ride!  We assume that with the extra hands she will be easier to keep happy, but it will still be a challenge to say the least.  Thank you all for your kind words and comments.  We are so thankful for all of the support and prayers from all of you.

 The gardens at the base of White Cloud Mountain.

 The rose garden.

 They were ready to go back to the hotel.

 We took cable cars to the top!

 View of the whole city from the top of the mountain. 

 Dinner at Lucy's.

 Taking some family pictures inside the beautiful White Swan Hotel.

 On the famous red couch.

 Massages, yet again.