China - Day 5

We figured out how to download pictures.  And I know the real reason you checked out the blog is to see pictures.  So here goes….

Here are a couple from our first meeting.

Second day, officially ours!

Daddy and Stella at the Imperial Palace.

Please note the style happening behind Sean and Stella.  Chinese people all have a very unique sense of style.  No one really dresses alike.  The people watching is phenomenal! 

Tonight as I laid in bed next to our new daughter, I was overcome with the sense of gratitude.  I get to be her mom.  I get to watch her grow from a cute little girl to a tween girl navigating friendships to a teen girl navigating her future and beyond.  I get to be her mom.  What an amazing gift I have been given.

Today we saw more and more of her personality.  We also learned more about the care she has been given.  We stopped at a mall for lunch and had to go up escalators.  She was able to handle that with ease.  This means someone took her someplace with escalators and most likely, more than once.  This is significant because many orphanages don’t have the capacity to do that just because of the volume of children or the location of the orphanage.  Also, this evening after her bath, I put lotion on her.  She stopped me and did it herself.  Someone loved our girl enough to put lotion on her.  She knew what to do.  She knows how to brush her teeth, swish and spit.  I am so thankful for the care she has been given. 

Tomorrow is a big day for our girl.  We are fortunate to be able to visit her orphanage as well as her finding spot.  Many parents don’t get this gift.  But it may be difficult for Stella/Cong Cong to see her friends again.  She assures us she wants to go back and say goodbye and take treats to her friends.  I hope it won’t be too much of a sad thing for her.  I know she was loved while she was there, but I’m pretty sure she feels loved with us too.  Now, if only we could all speak the same language.

The language gap doesn’t stop her from yelling at us loudly in mandarin, be it happy or angry.  The child isn’t shy.  I’m also a little worried that she has no fears.  Actually, my real worry is that neither she nor David has any fear, and they are both loud unless they are getting into trouble.  I’m pretty concerned they will be the dynamic duo of mischief around our house for some time.  Once they speak the same language we’ll really be in trouble.

All in all things are going well.  It isn’t perfect.  We just adopted a 5 year old child.  But Sean and I are both pretty amazed at how well she has handled this entire experience.  Plus, she is lucky, Sean and I have some experience with this adoption thing.

Signing off for now.  Please pray for our girl tomorrow.