Here I am knowing that I have so much to do, yet finding it hard to "just get it done." I know that you all know what I mean. WE are all in that spot at one time or an other. For me, I feel like I am in that place frequently. So, I am trying to multitask in this moment, writing an update for you, and trying to import my cd's on my computer so that I don't have to pack my cd's on the trip to China. Trying to eliminate anything that I can. I hate packing stuff around but I can't help but imagine possible scenarios that I will need all of  my stuff and this unfortunate mind game it making it hard to decide what is really necessary.

So...where are we now? This Jones crew is currently in Mission visiting family. Sadly, the day we arrived I came down with some bug and spent most of the visit in doors, snuggled up and blowing my nose. I wasn't too bummed about it, I enjoyed the rest, especially since the day we arrived it snowed 6 inches outside, and that didn't motivate me to want to go out. Amariah had a playmate here, Ariaunna, my cousin's daughter. They are 4 months apart. I must say that you missed out on some of the cutest entertainment ever made these past few days. These two were hugging and chasing each other around the house. Tonight they each put on one of Amariah's boots and were walking around together, one boot on, one boot off. Amariah's favourite toy since visiting here has been a cardboard box made house. he would sit in there for the longest time and play with this tupperware shape ball. He would even sit in this house to watch the t.v. So, cute.

Tomorrow we head back to Vancouver to pick up our visas and tickets. We then spend the weekend in Van and take off to China on Monday, March 02, at 12:50pm and arrive in Guangzhou on March 03 at 11:20pm. We are so excited. We are praying that it will not be a full flight so that we can take advantage of the empty seats with Amariah. Giving more space to play.

We were very thankful this past Monday as our trip felt like it was finaling coming together. We were praying for God's direction and trying hard not to lose heart, then on Monday when we went to a travel agengcy on Broadway, I will have to get the name for you as a recommended place to go, the agents were incredibly helpful and were able to find cheaper flights than we were able to find ourselves on line. Also, this agency was also able to take care of the visas as well.

When we first told the agent that Patrick was American, she said that he would have to go to San FRancisco to obtain his visa, since San Fran is the closest Chinese consulate. Unknown to us, since the Olympics, the new policy is that you must apply for tourist visas from within your own country. This agent was very kind and said that she would make a call to Toronto on our behalf to see what she could do for us. Praise the Lord she was able to apply for the visa for Patrick, but had to send his passport to Toronto for the visa. And since he was American and this was outside of the policy, we had to pay quite a bit more for his visa, but it was less than a trip to San Fran, so we were very thankful for that. I believe that they are being gracious to those unknown to the new policy at this time since it is still fairly new. Thank-you Jesus.

Since being in Vancouver we have accoomplished mant things as well as taken advantage of the fact that we are tourist.

Day1-Feb 18: I ahd my medical examination. I had to be at the medical clinic at 6:30am. I left my uncle's house that morning at 5:15am. I wanted to give myself enough time to find the place since I didn't really know where it was. I had an address, but I had never been there before. I caught the 5:18am sky train out of New WEst and headed for Burrard station in downtown Vancouver. The clinic was about 7 blocks from the sky train station and easy to find. I made it there at 6am. Plenty of time to spare. The exam it self was rather quick. I had made it out around 9:15. I had to wait around to pick up the results at 2pm. I bought a Chai at a near by Starbucks and read started reading a book that I picked up at my garage sale, "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer. Around 10 I decided to head back to the clinic since Patrick was supposed to meet me. Unfortunately, we missed each other, which gave me time to read the whole book in one day. I can't even remember the last time I read a whole book in one day. It felt good, especially since it was a good book. Patrick and Amariah had a father son day, one that was long past due.

Day 2-We mad eit a priority to go to MEC and purchase a baby carrier, one tha twe felt would be beneficial in China. We also checked out the sleeping bags, knowing that we most likely would need to also purchase sleeping bags as our bedding in China. We spent hours in MEC and other outdoor stores in the area. After we exhausted ourselves shopping we decided to head to Granville Island to let Amariah run around. What a great idea that was. He loved it. He loved running after the birds, playing on the play boat and adventuring around the kids market. If you have kids and you are looking for a fun, free place to let the kiddos run around I highly recommend Granville Island. I have always loved going there myself, but more for browsing of the shops, listening to the music and picking up 2 of my favourite treats from the open market, a spinach stuffed bagel and Italian IceCream. This time, however, was the first time that I ventured to all the stuff for kids. I had never realized how much they really had for the kids until I had one. So, yeah, check it out. This is definiately one of my favourite stops in Vancouver.

Day3- We went out to find the Chinese consulate to get visas. Well, it took way longer to find it than we had anticipated, and when we did find it, it was not what we were looking for to get the visas. So, we needed to go back on line and do some more thorough research for Monday. Patrick really wanted to go check out this out door clothing stire in North Van. Since we know how sudden and unexpected the Monsoonal down pours occur in China we really wanted to get rain jackets. We caught a bus and headed that way. Anyone who knows this area knows that North Van can be a day trip in its self, and that is exactly what this turned out to be. We missed one bus and had to wait 45 mins for another, for starters. We found the store, no problems. I was shocked by the outragous prices and refused to spend that kind of money on a rain jacket. After letting Patrick shop around, and changing Amariah's bum as well as having a family meeting in the washroom, we headed out. We had to wait for the bus for awhile and in the mean time had some fun with the video camera. We caught the wrong bus and spent the next 2 hours on the bus, Amariah was not happy and I am sure the rest of the people on the bus weren't either. When we finally made it back to my uncles we were exhausted.

Day4- Took the day off. In the evening my uncle and his girlfriend insisted on taking care of Amariah to let us have some time for a date. For our time out we went climbing at Cliffhanger on Industrial Ave. Totally recommend it. Since I didn't have my gear I was expecting to rent, but conveniently first timers at their gym get free equipment. So, if you are in the Van area, check this place out, it is worth it. The people were totally friendly too. After climbing we walked up Main, holding hands and enjoying each others company. We walked by a man holding a sign saying, "In Need Of Food". My heart went out to him.  So, we stopped and took him to a near by corner store and bought him food. WE chatted with him for a bit. He was homeless, and said that he was going to University, but couldn't afford housing as well. We asked him about his faith in God. He said that he was baptized when he was younger but "religion" has left a sore spot in him. As we walked away we were praying for him and I know that I will think of him often.

Day4-It rained and we took the day off from going out and did research on the internet for tickets, visas and stuff.

Day5- went to town, bought our visas, and  tickets. Amariah got a travel shot, Hep A and we bought a moquito net. I will have to get the name for this place for you too. The people here were super friendly. And they were totally prepared for giving kids shots. They had stickers and as soon as they gave Amariah a shot they gave him a juice box which totally calmed him down. Unfortunatly Amariah just had his 18 months shots the previous week and knew what was going on before they even got out the needle. So, he was crying and screaming before they even got started. The poor guy. I felt so bad for him. After he got the shot I decided that we should let him play in the toy area for a bit before we packed him up in the carrier again. Heading out from the travel clinic we headed for Vahalla Pure where we found some great deals on rain jackets. Then we headed for MEC where we bought some sleeping bags. This day felt successful. Thank-you Jesus.

Day 6- We took Amariah to Science World. Another great place for kids. I could write about our adventures there for awhile. Amariah's fave part was the Disco dancing and putting balls in this tube where forced air shot the balls into the air. Sadly Amariah cried when we had to leave. We will definiately have to bring him back there one day. This day also was they day we went to Mission and you know the story from there.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. We love you all, and hopefully it won't be another week before I update again.

Good verse to meditate on.. Prov. 23:7