Last guess added

Tomorrow is Gotcha Day, so this will be the last name guess I add.

Alysee Joy: (After Gma Alice...but pronounced Ah-lyse') Mom Laverne

Lots of good guesses! Dare I say if someone has it right? I think not!

Name guesses...still trailing in

Here are name guesses from the Morgan's before you get AJ.
Malea: Anne Joy (or Annie for short)
Krista: Amy Jane
Tanya: Allison Joy (Allie for short)
TJ: Amy Joy
Bob: Army Jeep

Army Jeep...that's nice, Bob! =)

Angela Jean: Angela
Allison Joy: Jenny and Angela
Andrea Joy: Janet
Shelley - Annabelle Joy
Dayle - Annica Joline
Neeley - Atlanta Jorgia

among the living....

Well, here it is 6 am in China... I have been awake since midnight...hmmm. I could blame the jet lag, that is a legitimate gripe, but actually i think it is the 9 hours i slept before midnight that is the real culprit.

I spent our glorious first day in china... sick. Not sure if it is from food on the airplane, or just plane getting a flu bug. But, none the less.... i was wretching for about 6 hours off and on yesterday... soooo much fun. You know, I absolutely hate getting sick. Period. But I have found out that after my abdominal surgery... throwing up uses muscles I am not yet prepared to use. OUCH. So my advice. dont have gall bladder surgery and dont get sick in china!

It is saturday morning here. We are getting up and around and will be meeting the other families that are here in about an hour @ breakfast. Today we will be heading to Tienamen Sq/forbidden city/summer palace and a few stops along the way. We have seen these before but it will be great to see Jordan as he see it through new eyes.

Jordan of course is chronicling his food expereinces, so I will mostly leave that to him unless less of course, he slacks and does not write in the blog. So stay tuned for more of his foodions (food opinions).

We miss all of you at home and are praying for you guys. Sophie... you being a good girl for grandma? We trust the Lord has you all cared for in his best way and look forward to talking with you soon.

For those of you who are tech minded. download Skype and set up your account. My skype account is paul.lyman2009 we can chat over the internet or even use video chat. We had a great video call with Ty & Ana & isaac at 3:15 this morning...

That is it from me for now.. I hope you all have a great day! stand by for pictures at the end of our day!

Jordan's Judgments on Foreign Foods

Hello my name is Jordan, I am the child of Paul and Beth Lyman, to be precise I the former last child for 15 years until I was Usurped by Sophie. The last time my parents went to China they took my sister Lindsey. She was an excellent addition to the trip, doing everything from helping with the baby, to blogging to keep the rest of us updated. BUT… through all this fun stuff going on around her there was the ever present doom cloud of food. She hated it, refused it, shunned it (ok a little over the top but you get the picture). Soon she had supporters at home and the rest of us were wondering, “Could it really be that bad?” Well you’re in luck. This time my parents elected to take me along instead. During our stay in China I will provide you with the details of all the foods that I consume the duration of the trip. I intend to not only survive on rice and some vegetables but to try anything that comes into my path. Be it stomach, liver, eye or insect I vow to eat, at least taste most of it (there will be no thought given to any reproductive parts, some things our good Lord just didn’t mean for us to eat).
I will start off with the food on the planes though there is not much to say about it.

Portland to Tokyo-First, a fairly good meal of roast beef, chopped potatoes, assorted cooked vegetables, and a package of Oreos. Second was an ok meal of fried rice, tropical fruits, and a little later rock solid ice cream. All foods could be consumed while enjoying your own small TV monitor + headphones where over thirty movies were at hand or your choice of hundreds of songs.

Free day...day of rest...and no, it's not Sunday

Sophie...looks what's on our pillow this morning...a flat Sophie! You are traveling with us!
We woke this morning to sunshine and CLEAR SKIES! Amazing...we didn't see this much sunshine in the whole time we were in China last!
Had the awesome breakfast buffet...Postcard off to Sophie...Jordan went exploring on the streets by himself (Paul said he IS 17 now!)…A restful morning…people watching on street below.
Remember the hole across the street last time? They were just putting in the foundation. Now...



Just got back from lunch with John Davis. Cindy couldn’t come, but we a had an awesome lunch at a Sichuan restaurant (more info to come with Jordan). Looking forward to going to the Beijing International Church Sunday…John said that the Bentley’s go there and maybe we can meet Levi…some of you may have read their story “Saving Levi”.

If you could, please pray for Paul. He is not feeling great…Probably a great deal of the strain from travel yesterday. Plane seats do not lend themselves to much comfort. Hoping that this extra day here will be good before the sightseeing begins tomorrow!

Travel day

Here we are, happy and ready to go! Paul...playing with the camera, deleted more photos we had from the start, and when we wanted to take more of Jordan, the cabin was dark for "sleep phase" and didn't want to use the flash. No pictures from the end of the trip! Too...UGH!

We began our day in Portland about 7 a.m. and ended the travel day...26 hours later. Northwest was a great airline...very decent food =). Our seats were at the very back of the plane...Paul and I had 2 side seats together, and Jordan was couple rows back on an isle. The screens in each seat in front of you had a wide variety of movies, music, games, and maps to follow the plane's journey.

Flying over Alaska...was absolutely beautiful! The sun hitting the white mountain peaks and the icy water.
Keeping tabs on WHERE we are at.
Airbus
We landed in Tokyo an hour ahead of schedule, but left 3 hours later than scheduled. We boarded and taxied out to the runway...all the time hearing a clunk, or metal scraping on metal sound, which made me uneasy! We powered up and began takeoff, then backed down. Captain said he aborted take-off due to an indicator light on the brakes system, and that we were going back to have it looked at. First, they said it would be an hour’s wait and that we would all be staying on the plane. It was then extended to 1 1/2 hours and we could get off if we wanted. Paul and I got off, and Jordan stayed on the plane and stretched out on 4 seats to sleep. After 2 hours off the plane, (3 hours late) we boarded once again. The occasional clunk was still there, but we took off and landed safely in Beijing at 12:30 a.m.

We thanked God for the AWAA guide, waving her little sign, who was there to meet us as we left the airport. We were wondering if we were going to have to make our own way to the Hotel. It was a frigid 10 degrees outside, but we had a nice warm ride in a van, on deserted highways, to the hotel. Had showers...then crashed!
Do these beds look familiar, Lindsey, Dad and Mom? We opted for 2 beds, instead of the one we had last time, where I slept in the middle of Paul and Lindsey. Paul didn't want to be in the middle and take the chance of being elbowed or bumped. Well, this doesn't work so well...It's the same size as the one big bed, just 2 of them pushed together. One by itself is not really great for two of us...it's slightly wider than a twin. So now, with these pushed together beds, I am still in the middle...and there's a break between the two.

Passing the time in Portland

Here we are, sitting around in the Portland Airport. We have about a half hour left before boarding that giant bird, they call an airplane. I must say, that I marvel at every take-off that we can even travel in this manner! What crazy people it takes to invent some things! Also, very thankful for the person who invented the wheels to go on luggage....what a gal (or guy)!

A few last guesses we have received for AJ's name:

Alexis Joy-Faith
Jewell (for a middle name)-Rick
Amy Jane-Krista

News tidbit
Jordan doesn't want to live in Portland or anywhere this rainy(let's just see how picky one gets when you need a job!)

Signing out....till Japan...
Beth