I feel good! danah nanah nanah. SO good! dun-dun...SO good! dun-dun ...

The past three days I have been in Guangzhou with John, Sonia, Vickie, Christy... and Buddy. Oh, sweet Buddy. It was a fabulous weekend; any days spent with family are days well spent. Indeed.

Our trip began Friday evening. I took Mikelle and Abby along. They wanted to go and do some shopping and I don't mind the company. Buses are interesting, and work so wierd here. There are so many stations, so many locations. I don't know that I really understand them, but... all the same, we got on a bus friday night expecting to be in Guangzhou within an hour to an hour in a half because we had made the trip before, we thought we knew what to expect. Well, we didn't and about 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived at our bus station. Ni zhidao shen me? We loved it! We saw the city at night, which is really quite something. It's beautiful, all lit up, and Guangzhou is just a HUGE city. There is so much to see. Plus we had a great discussion on the way up, Abby and I. She's funny. Every now and then she will ask at very odd times the most random questions, but they're not just silly, quick answer questions. They're the type of questions that provoke a ton of thought and require a lot of thinking, you can't just shoot out an answer. I think one of the questions she asked me on the way was "What is a character or personality trait you want your spouse to have that you just could not, or would have a really hard time living without?" "Uhhh, I don't... umm, well....uh, hmmmm. Let me get back to you on that Abs." Sheeesh louweeesh! Hard question right? It started a great conversation. Anyways, that's Abby for you. I really love her, I do. It's good to have to think about those things and get your wheels turning.

So we finally got there and poor John and Sonia were expecting us around 7 prepared dinner and were waiting up and we didn't even arrive until close to 9:30, and we had no way we could communicate with them. But sweet John and Sonia made a delcious home cooked meal for us. Sonia made a noodle dish that was so yummy. I loved it, I plan on learning and putting my new culinary skills to use when I return. Then there was a potato dish, and John made a curry dish that lit my mouth on fire. And he would do that! :) Little Buddy is their new dog. He is a .... it spaced me now that I want to put that knowledge to use. I didn't think it would matter that I knew what kind of dog it was, and now that I want to remember, I can't. That's alright. Not important. What's important is that... I am not a dog person. At all. Never really have been. Jennah was a good dog, and they'll always be a little soft spot for her but unless its a cute little puppy, I don't generally do the dog thing very well. They smell, lick, poop, shed, bark, annoy, make messes, cost money, etc. However! This little dog was JUST too good. He hardly made ANY noise, didn't lick, if he did shed, it didn't end up on any of my belongings, and above all... he puts up with constant abuse from those two little girls and I gotta hand it to him. He is just a good dog. I think we ended up getting along just fine. Plus he has cool kicks and wears a bow in his hair.

Abby and Mikelle took the spare, John and Sonia got Christy this time, and I got to sleep with Vickie :) John warned me that she wets the bed on occassion, and the first night... we were good, dry as could be, no problems... but I spoke too soon. Second night I woke up in a puddle. :) Mmmmmm. It was fun though. She is such a doll, with SO much attitude. Sonia taught us how to make Onion pancakes for breakfast. Way good. Their like crepes with a twist. We had a great morning with John. He took us to a few places to shop and look for some specific things. Simon, his friend who we went to dinner with a while back during my first visit to Guangzhou to see them wanted to treat us to lunch because I was back with friends :) He is such a sweet guy. They are such nice people here. He took us to a really nice restaurant where they serve Northeastern food, which is where he is from. We had a nice visit. So sweet, and he was all game for a night on the town too. :) Sonia took us in the afternoon to the pearl market and to another shopping center. Guangzhou is sooo huge. I can't believe how big it is. There is so much to do and see. It is crazy.

That night, we made dumplings with Sonia! Best Jiǎozi I've had in China thus far! Hands down, and she taught us how to make them. Dumpling parties will be a reoccurring event wherever I reside once I return. Dinner wrapped up, we kicked John and Sonia out for a date night, cleaned up dinner, played with the girls a little bit, then put them to bed. The idea was to go to bed ourselves soon after but of course we ended staying up a while chatting. We had a really great gospel conversation. One of those conversations that make you realize just how complex this gospel is, and just how much there is to it. It makes me feel like I know nothing, which isn't all too inaccurate because I really don't. There is so much to learn, always.


*I'm grateful for families