Oh the joy of jet lag!! It really makes me feel crazy when my body feels awake when it is just not supposed to!! We all crashed hard around 9:00pm. I woke up from a dead sleep at 3:00am WIDE AWAKE!!! Ethan was awake around 3:15 and then Jon Jon woke up around 3:30. Joey and Grace are snoozing hard. Below you will find the "List of POSITIVE THINGS" I composed while wide awake to keep my mind off of being upset about now being able to go back to sleep.
:) POSITIVE THINGS :)
- I am so happy to be in my own bed and not in a hard China hotel bed!!
- I am so happy to hear planes flying over my house right now and I AM NOT ON THEM!!!
- I am so thankful to have three beautiful children in this house, together at last!!
- I am thankful for big boys who are crazy about their little sister!
- I am so thankful Grace made it through the trip home without getting sick!
- I am so thankful we made it home with all of our luggage and that we made our connecting flight!
- I am so thankful I made it through another China trip WITHOUT having to use a squatty potty!!
- I am so thankful to be in a place where I can drink tap water from the sink! Oh yes, I just had to stick my face under the kitchen faucet like a kid and drink! It may be city water and not yummy well water, but it sure beats toxic China water!!
- I am so thankful to be in a place where I can speak freely about Jesus and not have to worry about someone telling me how many children I can have!
- I am thankful to be blessed with so many frinds and such a precious family!!
- I am so thankful our little girl is sleeping in the bed we made ready for her!
** Update **
Ethan went back to sleep at 8:00am and Jon went back to sleep around 11:00am. Joey and Grace are still asleep. I have unpacked suitcases and have been washing clothes ALL DAY and there are still more! How in the world did we end up with so many dirty clothes. I think they are multiplying. :)
I sure hope I sleep tonight! Actually, I hope we all sleep. Wow, this could get really crazy if we all end up on different sleeping schedules!! UGH! :)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
24 hours ago
24 hours ago we woke up and left the hotel to board our plane for the airport. We made it through the many check in and security lines. Thankfully, we had a pretty uneventful flight. Grace and Jon Jon napped alot of the trip. Ethan was awake the ENTIRE 15 hours watching his tv and playing games while enjoying his sodas. He is going to need detox from the amount of television he has watched on both the airplanes and in the hotels and from the incredible amount of soda he has been able to consume during this trip!! Jon Jon enjoyed the meals and snacks on the plane ride home. He grabbed the menu from the seat pocket as soon as we got on board so he could plan his selections! Grace did not get sick at all!!!!!!! Thank you Lord! We are so very grateful for your prayers. She was able to just relax and fly without getting sick!! We made it from Hong Kong to Detroit on a smooth flight. We were able to go through immigration and the adoption paperwork line pretty quickly and easily. We then picked up our luggage and made it through security quite quickly. We were at the airport in the immigration /security area at a very slow time. Thankfully no big crowds and lines to deal with. The TSA/ Border Patrol people were very nice and kept congratulating us. It was quite nice after all of the airline staff on the international flight had been rather rude. We were able to recheck our bags and make it to our connecting gate very quickly. We even had about 45 minutes to spare!! Nothing like our experience with Jon Jon where we had to run the entire way , got stopped at every point and barely made our flight to Memphis! We landed in Memphis around 4:40pm. Again, we had a smooth, uneventful flight. Both boys and Grace slept about 2 hours on the flight. We were blessed by friends and family at the airport to welcome us home. We were so excited to see all of you there. Thank you so much for taking the time to greet us at the airport! It was so kind of you to bless us by being there. We cannot tell you how sweet it was to see your faces after such a long journey! It really made the boys feel special to see people waiting for us. They have been excitedly talking about since we got back to the house. :) Thank you so much for bringing us and all of our stuff home from the airport. Thank you for taking care of everything while we were gone. We appreciate your help so very much. We arrived home to find our kitchen full of groceries!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness!!!! Words cannot express!!!!! I cannot tell
you how much that made my day!!! I had already gottn my grocery list written while I was on the plane. I will admit I was dreading getting out after we got home to go pick up a few necessary things at the grocery. It was so incredible to come home and find those things already in my house!!! Thank you does not even seem adequate enough to express my gratitude to you guys who put all of that together!! I am so thankful and blessed beyond words!!!!!!
We are now home. It has been 24 hours since we woke up and started our trip home! It is SO GREAT to be back home!! I am thankful beyond measure for God watching over us and bringing us home safely. It was a great trip and I am glad it is behind us. We are so thankful to begin our new life as a family of five with our baby girl finally home with us!!!
you how much that made my day!!! I had already gottn my grocery list written while I was on the plane. I will admit I was dreading getting out after we got home to go pick up a few necessary things at the grocery. It was so incredible to come home and find those things already in my house!!! Thank you does not even seem adequate enough to express my gratitude to you guys who put all of that together!! I am so thankful and blessed beyond words!!!!!!
We are now home. It has been 24 hours since we woke up and started our trip home! It is SO GREAT to be back home!! I am thankful beyond measure for God watching over us and bringing us home safely. It was a great trip and I am glad it is behind us. We are so thankful to begin our new life as a family of five with our baby girl finally home with us!!!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Airport!!!!!
We just landed in Detriot!!!!! We are so happy to be in the US!!!!! We are waiting on our LAST flight and should be in Memphis at 4:40pm. Keep praying. We are almost there!!!!!!!!! :)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Leaving Guangzhou
This morning we ate breakfast. We then went to the lobby to have a travel group picture with all of the families with us. We then all went and prayed together. It was a special time spent with people we now share a special bond. We have been blessed by the company of these dear people!!
This afternoon we will receive our visa that will allow us to take Grace back to the USA. Once we receive the paperwork and the visa, we will take a van ride to Hong Kong. We will fly out of Hong Kong tomorrow headed for home!!!! We are very ready to head home. We are so anxious for all of you to meet Grace. She is finally feeling better and we are starting to see her personality. She is quite stubborn and spunky. She is eating again and really moving around more. She is interactiong with the boys. SHe enjoys watching them and leading them around. Last night she was trying to do flips in the floor with them. The boys are so happy to walk around with her and do what she wants. She is bossing them around already!
Please pray as we take these last parts of the journey home. We are quite nervous about the van ride today. It could take up to 3-4 hours. We are praying she will not get sick. We are also praying she will not get sick on the plane. Tomorrow, we will fly from Hong Kong to Detroit and then Detroit to Memphis.
I am not sure if I will get to post again before we take our flights. We will see you all very soon!!
This morning we ate breakfast. We then went to the lobby to have a travel group picture with all of the families with us. We then all went and prayed together. It was a special time spent with people we now share a special bond. We have been blessed by the company of these dear people!!
This afternoon we will receive our visa that will allow us to take Grace back to the USA. Once we receive the paperwork and the visa, we will take a van ride to Hong Kong. We will fly out of Hong Kong tomorrow headed for home!!!! We are very ready to head home. We are so anxious for all of you to meet Grace. She is finally feeling better and we are starting to see her personality. She is quite stubborn and spunky. She is eating again and really moving around more. She is interactiong with the boys. SHe enjoys watching them and leading them around. Last night she was trying to do flips in the floor with them. The boys are so happy to walk around with her and do what she wants. She is bossing them around already!
Please pray as we take these last parts of the journey home. We are quite nervous about the van ride today. It could take up to 3-4 hours. We are praying she will not get sick. We are also praying she will not get sick on the plane. Tomorrow, we will fly from Hong Kong to Detroit and then Detroit to Memphis.
I am not sure if I will get to post again before we take our flights. We will see you all very soon!!
This afternoon we will receive our visa that will allow us to take Grace back to the USA. Once we receive the paperwork and the visa, we will take a van ride to Hong Kong. We will fly out of Hong Kong tomorrow headed for home!!!! We are very ready to head home. We are so anxious for all of you to meet Grace. She is finally feeling better and we are starting to see her personality. She is quite stubborn and spunky. She is eating again and really moving around more. She is interactiong with the boys. SHe enjoys watching them and leading them around. Last night she was trying to do flips in the floor with them. The boys are so happy to walk around with her and do what she wants. She is bossing them around already!
Please pray as we take these last parts of the journey home. We are quite nervous about the van ride today. It could take up to 3-4 hours. We are praying she will not get sick. We are also praying she will not get sick on the plane. Tomorrow, we will fly from Hong Kong to Detroit and then Detroit to Memphis.
I am not sure if I will get to post again before we take our flights. We will see you all very soon!!
This morning we ate breakfast. We then went to the lobby to have a travel group picture with all of the families with us. We then all went and prayed together. It was a special time spent with people we now share a special bond. We have been blessed by the company of these dear people!!
This afternoon we will receive our visa that will allow us to take Grace back to the USA. Once we receive the paperwork and the visa, we will take a van ride to Hong Kong. We will fly out of Hong Kong tomorrow headed for home!!!! We are very ready to head home. We are so anxious for all of you to meet Grace. She is finally feeling better and we are starting to see her personality. She is quite stubborn and spunky. She is eating again and really moving around more. She is interactiong with the boys. SHe enjoys watching them and leading them around. Last night she was trying to do flips in the floor with them. The boys are so happy to walk around with her and do what she wants. She is bossing them around already!
Please pray as we take these last parts of the journey home. We are quite nervous about the van ride today. It could take up to 3-4 hours. We are praying she will not get sick. We are also praying she will not get sick on the plane. Tomorrow, we will fly from Hong Kong to Detroit and then Detroit to Memphis.
I am not sure if I will get to post again before we take our flights. We will see you all very soon!!
happy anniversary
Today Joey and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it. It has been such a crazy journey. Since we never really give each other anniversary gifts, it is funny that again we have ended up celebrating our anniversary by adding another cute little Chinese kid to our family as our anniversary gift! We laughed when we celebrated our 10th anniversary bringing Jon Jon home. I cannot believe we are back 4 years later. It is just crazy the things God calls us to do. It has been a pretty cool journey so far during these 14 years. If someone had told me 14 years ago we would travel around the world to create our family, I would have told them they were crazy! And to think I swore I’d never may you! What a way to celebrate…driving through China on our way to take our girlie home! I love you! I sure am glad I have you to drive me crazy each day!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
update
Grace seems to be getting a little better. She has been able to take some water and hold down a cracker. We gave her some ibuprophen and tylenol. Her fever seems to be going down. Please keep praying. She has got to get better! Seeing her so sick is scary and just breaking our hearts!
God provides
a man named John and 44 lbs of luggage....
God always gives us just what we need when we need it. I am always amazed at how God will provide things big or small. He knows exactly what we need! We had two experiences of God's provision on the night we flew from Nanning to Guangzhou. The first happened when we met a man named John as we were waiting for our delayed flight to Guangzhou. He came and sat by us as we were waiting for our flight. We began talking with him. We then stood with him in line as we were waiting to board the plane. As we were waiting, he and Ethan were sharing celebrity photo opportunities as Chinese people came up to them to have their pictures made with them. Ethan gets so embarrassed each time but he has really been a good sport and taken a picture at every request. As we were waiting in this line, it became really crowded and hot. People were pushing and at that point Grace began vomiting. She just could not stop. At this point, John suggested we move out of line and walk up to the area near the boarding door to get closer to the air vent. We did. As we were trying to help Grace, he went over and talked to the airline people IN CHINESE and got them to let us go ahead and get on the plane first!! This was so incredible. We did not even know he was doing it. It was so very kind of him. He also helped us get a wet cloth and a cup of ice when we were seated. He could do all of this because he spoke the language! Another cool part, his seat was in the row behind us. We were so thankful for his kindness. How awesome of God to send us exactly what (who) we needed just when we needed it!! HE is so faithful!!
Another awesome provision was a special promotion for luggage weight. We had known the restrictions for luggage were a bit more for in China flights than the international flights. Therefore, we had packed according to the smaller, in China restrictions. The only probalem was that I thought we each got 44 lbs of luggage. I did not know that kids only go 22 lbs of luggage. UGH!! We had packed for all 6 of us to have 44 lbs. Therefore we were 44 lbs over. We tried to add more to our carry on luggage to compensate for the difference. However, the scales in our hotel were not reliable so we were kind of guessing about the weight. As we were driving to the airport, our guide, Mary told us that we could have 44 lbs of luggage EACH today because of a special promotion the airline was having. She said she had just looked it up on the internet before we left the hotel. She laughed and said it was kind of odd because the airlines do not do that very often. We just knew it was God taking care of us! Wow, I am so thankful HE takes care of the little things!!!
God always gives us just what we need when we need it. I am always amazed at how God will provide things big or small. He knows exactly what we need! We had two experiences of God's provision on the night we flew from Nanning to Guangzhou. The first happened when we met a man named John as we were waiting for our delayed flight to Guangzhou. He came and sat by us as we were waiting for our flight. We began talking with him. We then stood with him in line as we were waiting to board the plane. As we were waiting, he and Ethan were sharing celebrity photo opportunities as Chinese people came up to them to have their pictures made with them. Ethan gets so embarrassed each time but he has really been a good sport and taken a picture at every request. As we were waiting in this line, it became really crowded and hot. People were pushing and at that point Grace began vomiting. She just could not stop. At this point, John suggested we move out of line and walk up to the area near the boarding door to get closer to the air vent. We did. As we were trying to help Grace, he went over and talked to the airline people IN CHINESE and got them to let us go ahead and get on the plane first!! This was so incredible. We did not even know he was doing it. It was so very kind of him. He also helped us get a wet cloth and a cup of ice when we were seated. He could do all of this because he spoke the language! Another cool part, his seat was in the row behind us. We were so thankful for his kindness. How awesome of God to send us exactly what (who) we needed just when we needed it!! HE is so faithful!!
Another awesome provision was a special promotion for luggage weight. We had known the restrictions for luggage were a bit more for in China flights than the international flights. Therefore, we had packed according to the smaller, in China restrictions. The only probalem was that I thought we each got 44 lbs of luggage. I did not know that kids only go 22 lbs of luggage. UGH!! We had packed for all 6 of us to have 44 lbs. Therefore we were 44 lbs over. We tried to add more to our carry on luggage to compensate for the difference. However, the scales in our hotel were not reliable so we were kind of guessing about the weight. As we were driving to the airport, our guide, Mary told us that we could have 44 lbs of luggage EACH today because of a special promotion the airline was having. She said she had just looked it up on the internet before we left the hotel. She laughed and said it was kind of odd because the airlines do not do that very often. We just knew it was God taking care of us! Wow, I am so thankful HE takes care of the little things!!!
PLEASE PRAY
Grace is very sick. She became very ill as we were about to board the plane leaving Nanning for Guangzhou. (Another post will come later to tell you about the kind man named John from Austraila who lives in China who helped us board the plane early and get her out of the hot, pushy crowd. We know God placed him in our path to help us at just the moment we needed him!! It is always so amazing how God sends us just what we need when we need it!!)
As we were waiting to board the plane, we were stuck in a huge crown of people who were pushing. Grace had done so well riding in the van for one hour to the airport. She had fallen asleep and the nausea patch we put on her was working. She began to vomit repeatedly as we stood in line. She continued vomiting the entire flight. She was continued to vomit all night. We know there is nothing left in her. We were up with her all night. She did not rest much.
This morning we had to go to her medical exam. She felt awful! She got sick again this morning when we arrived in the lobby to meet the other families to ride over to the Island for the exam. She endured the exam. While we were there, we were told she had fever. Our guide took us to the pharmacy to buy some Chinese stomach medicine. We are giving it to her now and hoping she will feel better. She cannot even hold her head up. We are trying to give her some liquids. She is not keeping anything down.
PLEASE PRAY!! We know that if she does not get well, they will make us go to a Chinese hospital for fluids. Please pray she will begin to keep her food down and that the fever will go away. She has just got to feel better. Last night was very scary. She is a very sick little girl. We need her to get well NOW!
Thank you in advance for the pryaers!!!
As we were waiting to board the plane, we were stuck in a huge crown of people who were pushing. Grace had done so well riding in the van for one hour to the airport. She had fallen asleep and the nausea patch we put on her was working. She began to vomit repeatedly as we stood in line. She continued vomiting the entire flight. She was continued to vomit all night. We know there is nothing left in her. We were up with her all night. She did not rest much.
This morning we had to go to her medical exam. She felt awful! She got sick again this morning when we arrived in the lobby to meet the other families to ride over to the Island for the exam. She endured the exam. While we were there, we were told she had fever. Our guide took us to the pharmacy to buy some Chinese stomach medicine. We are giving it to her now and hoping she will feel better. She cannot even hold her head up. We are trying to give her some liquids. She is not keeping anything down.
PLEASE PRAY!! We know that if she does not get well, they will make us go to a Chinese hospital for fluids. Please pray she will begin to keep her food down and that the fever will go away. She has just got to feel better. Last night was very scary. She is a very sick little girl. We need her to get well NOW!
Thank you in advance for the pryaers!!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
day 5 nanning
We woke up on this last morning in Nanning after a good sleep. Grace did well last night and did not vomit all day!!! Yippee Jesus!! We are so thankful!! We went to breakfast this morning. She was a little anxious, but not as bad as before! After breakfast we went with our sweet guide Mary, to Peoples Park. It is a beautiful, huge park in the middle of the city. It was a lot like Central Park in NYC. There was a little bit of everything. This was the first day we tried to put Grace in the stroller. She screamed at first! We were able to calm her and she became content riding in the stroller as long as one of her brothers walked by her stroller and held her hand the entire time. :) The boys happily complied! They are just crazy about her. They like to do everything for her. She is now letting them. She even let them dress her this morning. It was so precious. They were being so gentle and delicate. (I know that won't last long!! The wrestling is sure to begin!!) I am trying to savor this time of happiness among siblings. I know it will not last!!
The park was such a wonderful cultural experience for the boys. They got to see so many aspects of Chinese culture in just one stroll around the lake. They especially enjoyed watching the people dance and play instruments. They also enjoyed feeding the Chinese fish.
We are now back in the hotel preparing for our departure this afternoon. We will be heading to Guangzhou tonight. We are so thankful to be nearing our last leg of this journey. We are ready to get home. Hopefully in Guangzhou we will have wifi and will be able to use the Whats App on the Iphone so we can utilize free texting and chat with you back home!! We will let you know if we have it.
Hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks so much for the prayers!!! We know they are being heard!! We appreciate you all and love you so very much!!
We woke up on this last morning in Nanning after a good sleep. Grace did well last night and did not vomit all day!!! Yippee Jesus!! We are so thankful!! We went to breakfast this morning. She was a little anxious, but not as bad as before! After breakfast we went with our sweet guide Mary, to Peoples Park. It is a beautiful, huge park in the middle of the city. It was a lot like Central Park in NYC. There was a little bit of everything. This was the first day we tried to put Grace in the stroller. She screamed at first! We were able to calm her and she became content riding in the stroller as long as one of her brothers walked by her stroller and held her hand the entire time. :) The boys happily complied! They are just crazy about her. The like to do everything for her. She is now letting them. She let them dress her this morning. It was so precious. They were being so gentle and delicate. (I know that won't last long!! The wrestling is sure to begin!!) I am trying to savor this time of happiness among siblings. I know will will not last!!
The park was sucha wonderful cultural experience for the boys. They got to seee so many aspects of Chinese culture in just one stroll around the lake. They especially enjoyed watching the people dance and play instruments. They also enjoyed feeding the Chinese fish.
We are now back in the hotel preparing for our departure this afternoon. We will be heading to Guangzhou tonight. We are so thankful to be nearing our last leg of this journey. We are ready to get home. Hopefully in Guangzhou we will have wifi and will be able to use the Whats App on the Iphone so we can utilize free texting and chat with you back home!! We will let you know if we have it.
Hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks so much for the prayers!!! We know they are being heard!! We appreciate you all and love you so very much!!
The park was such a wonderful cultural experience for the boys. They got to see so many aspects of Chinese culture in just one stroll around the lake. They especially enjoyed watching the people dance and play instruments. They also enjoyed feeding the Chinese fish.
We are now back in the hotel preparing for our departure this afternoon. We will be heading to Guangzhou tonight. We are so thankful to be nearing our last leg of this journey. We are ready to get home. Hopefully in Guangzhou we will have wifi and will be able to use the Whats App on the Iphone so we can utilize free texting and chat with you back home!! We will let you know if we have it.
Hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks so much for the prayers!!! We know they are being heard!! We appreciate you all and love you so very much!!
We woke up on this last morning in Nanning after a good sleep. Grace did well last night and did not vomit all day!!! Yippee Jesus!! We are so thankful!! We went to breakfast this morning. She was a little anxious, but not as bad as before! After breakfast we went with our sweet guide Mary, to Peoples Park. It is a beautiful, huge park in the middle of the city. It was a lot like Central Park in NYC. There was a little bit of everything. This was the first day we tried to put Grace in the stroller. She screamed at first! We were able to calm her and she became content riding in the stroller as long as one of her brothers walked by her stroller and held her hand the entire time. :) The boys happily complied! They are just crazy about her. The like to do everything for her. She is now letting them. She let them dress her this morning. It was so precious. They were being so gentle and delicate. (I know that won't last long!! The wrestling is sure to begin!!) I am trying to savor this time of happiness among siblings. I know will will not last!!
The park was sucha wonderful cultural experience for the boys. They got to seee so many aspects of Chinese culture in just one stroll around the lake. They especially enjoyed watching the people dance and play instruments. They also enjoyed feeding the Chinese fish.
We are now back in the hotel preparing for our departure this afternoon. We will be heading to Guangzhou tonight. We are so thankful to be nearing our last leg of this journey. We are ready to get home. Hopefully in Guangzhou we will have wifi and will be able to use the Whats App on the Iphone so we can utilize free texting and chat with you back home!! We will let you know if we have it.
Hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks so much for the prayers!!! We know they are being heard!! We appreciate you all and love you so very much!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
day 4 nanning pool
The boys enjoyed another afternoon at the pool after we returned from the zoo. It was a great way to cool off while Grace took a nap. I took the picture from our room window on the 8th floor.
a request please
We know there are so many of you checking in on us each day. If you do not mind, please take a second and leave a comment. The purpose of this blog is not only to keep in contact with you at home, but also to help us keep a digital journal/ memory book for Grace. I really think she would love to see this when she is older. I think it will help her to know that she was loved and prayed for by so many before she even made it to her new home. We did the same thing for Jon Jon when we made the journey to bring him home. He enjoys looking back at it. I know Grace will as well. Thanks so very much!! Love to you all!!
lynn ><>
lynn ><>
day 4 nanning am
Grace slept well again last night. She only woke up crying out a couple of times. She soothed easily and went back to sleep. We began our day with breakfast downstairs. Today she did well going downstairs. She was anxious, but I do not think it was as bad. She ate some breakfast while sitting in Joey's lap. After breakfast, we went to the Guangxi Zoo. We have been a little apprehensive about this excursion since we knew it would involve a 30 minute van ride. We purchased the sea sick patches to try to see if they would help. We are so thankful it worked. She actually kept her food down and did not get sick on the way to the zoo. Praise the Lord!!! Thanks so much for the prayers!! We know they are working!!! Please keep praying. Many more trips to go before we land in Memphis! We spent a couple of hours at the zoo. We enjoyed the animal shows. The shows were quite good. They were more like circus acts than just little shows at the zoo. The boys loved going to the zoo. Grace seemed to enjoy the time spent there as well. Hopefully, this will mean lots of enjoyable days together at the zoo once we are home. :) We returned from the zoo with an uneventful ride. :) Praise the Lord AGAIN!! Both Grace and Jon Jon took naps in the van on the way back to the hotel. We are now just hanging out in the room eating snacks and playing. Grace has interacted with the boys a bit since we returned to the room. She has actually vocalized a bit. She pushed Jon Jon away when he got a little closer than she wanted him to. She was saying something to him. She semmed to be using some strong words for him! It was good to actually hear her little voice. We look forward to hearing it more. :) It is still so hard to watch her stay so closed off to us. We know this is because she continues to grieve all she has lost. We know this will pass in time. It is just hard to see her hurt and not be able to "just fix it." We know we are offering her a better life and in time she will see we are her family. We just have to wait for her to realize it. God has been reminding me through this experience of how we often grieve for the things we think we have lost as He waits with something so much better for us if we will just trust Him and accept it! I know how my heart breaks for Grace as I long to show her how much I love her and want to be her mommy. I know God looks at me that way when I do not just simply trust Him in all things. Please continue to pray. We know your prayers are helping so much. We will head to Guangzhou tomorrow night (Friday around 6am your time). Have a great day as you wake up and read this. Much love to you from China!
Grace slept well again last night. She only woke up crying out a couple of times. She soothed easily and went back to sleep. We began our day with breakfast downstairs. Today she did well going downstairs. She was anxious, but I do not think it was as bad. She ate some breakfast while sitting in Joey's lap. After breakfast, we went to the Guangxi Zoo. We have been a little apprehensive about this excursion since we knew it would involve a 30 minute van ride. We purchased the sea sick patches to try to see if they would help. We are so thankful it worked. She actually kept her food down and did not get sick on the way to the zoo. Praise the Lord!!! Thanks so much for the prayers!! We know they are working!!! Please keep praying. Many more trips to go before we land in Memphis! We spent a couple of hours at the zoo. We enjoyed the animal shows. The shows were quite good. They were more like circus acts than just little shows at the zoo. The boys loved going to the zoo. Grace seemed to enjoy the time spent there as well. Hopefully, this will mean lots of enjoyable days together at the zoo once we are home. :) We returned from the zoo with an uneventful ride. :) Praise the Lord AGAIN!! Both Grace and Jon Jon took naps in the van on the way back to the hotel. We are now just hanging out in the room eating snacks and playing. Grace has interacted with the boys a bit since we returned to the room. She has actually vocalized a bit. She pushed Jon Jon away when he got a little closer than she wanted him to. She was saying something to him. She semmed to be using some strong words for him! It was good to actually hear her little voice. We look forward to hearing it more. :) It is still so hard to watch her stay so closed off to us. We know this is because she continues to grieve all she has lost. We know this will pass in time. It is just hard to see her hurt and not be able to "just fix it." We know we are offering her a better life and in time she will see we are her family. We just have to wait for her to realize it. God has been reminding me through this experience of how we often grieve for the things we think we have lost as He waits with something so much better for us if we will just trust Him and accept it! I know how my heart breaks for Grace as I long to show her how much I love her and want to be her mommy. I know God looks at me that way when I do not just simply trust Him in all things. Please continue to pray. We know your prayers are helping so much. We will head to Guangzhou tomorrow night (Friday around 6am your time). Have a great day as you wake up and read this. Much love to you from China!
Grace slept well again last night. She only woke up crying out a couple of times. She soothed easily and went back to sleep. We began our day with breakfast downstairs. Today she did well going downstairs. She was anxious, but I do not think it was as bad. She ate some breakfast while sitting in Joey's lap. After breakfast, we went to the Guangxi Zoo. We have been a little apprehensive about this excursion since we knew it would involve a 30 minute van ride. We purchased the sea sick patches to try to see if they would help. We are so thankful it worked. She actually kept her food down and did not get sick on the way to the zoo. Praise the Lord!!! Thanks so much for the prayers!! We know they are working!!! Please keep praying. Many more trips to go before we land in Memphis! We spent a couple of hours at the zoo. We enjoyed the animal shows. The shows were quite good. They were more like circus acts than just little shows at the zoo. The boys loved going to the zoo. Grace seemed to enjoy the time spent there as well. Hopefully, this will mean lots of enjoyable days together at the zoo once we are home. :) We returned from the zoo with an uneventful ride. :) Praise the Lord AGAIN!! Both Grace and Jon Jon took naps in the van on the way back to the hotel. We are now just hanging out in the room eating snacks and playing. Grace has interacted with the boys a bit since we returned to the room. She has actually vocalized a bit. She pushed Jon Jon away when he got a little closer than she wanted him to. She was saying something to him. She semmed to be using some strong words for him! It was good to actually hear her little voice. We look forward to hearing it more. :) It is still so hard to watch her stay so closed off to us. We know this is because she continues to grieve all she has lost. We know this will pass in time. It is just hard to see her hurt and not be able to "just fix it." We know we are offering her a better life and in time she will see we are her family. We just have to wait for her to realize it. God has been reminding me through this experience of how we often grieve for the things we think we have lost as He waits with something so much better for us if we will just trust Him and accept it! I know how my heart breaks for Grace as I long to show her how much I love her and want to be her mommy. I know God looks at me that way when I do not just simply trust Him in all things. Please continue to pray. We know your prayers are helping so much. We will head to Guangzhou tomorrow night (Friday around 6am your time). Have a great day as you wake up and read this. Much love to you from China!
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