China Day 13

This will be short and sweet tonight. We are all exhausted! 

Sweet Jin Fu Yun (she goes by her full Chinese name) woke up a little hesitant but was soon smiling, laughing, and bossing her siblings around in Chinese. For breakfast, she ate an egg, watermelon, oatmeal, pound cake, and two glasses of milk. She can put some food away! 

We spent the morning in the hotel playing  for awhile, and then we all went to the grocery store/department store/Walmart like place next door to let our new daughter pick out some snacks and a new toy. She picked a Barbie type doll, seafood flavored chips, yogurt, and gum.

I have never taken a child in public in their pajamas...until today! My sweet Jin Fu Yun did not want to put on any new clothes his morning. We barely got her out of the clothes she came in last night. She was finally enticed by the bath. But changing clothes again this morning was not on her agenda. Sadder than the pajamas in public though, is the fact that she will not put on a new pair of shoes, even though the ones she came in have given her blisters. She points out the owies, lets us put band aids and medicine on them, but will not try on any different shoes. This is painful for us to watch...she hobbles around in the shoes. But we just try to hold her as much as possible and will keep trying to slowly gain her trust. Some habits, even painful ones that are not good for us are hard to break. I'm sure there is a sermon illustration there somewhere. 

This afternoon we had to return to the civil affairs office to finalize the adoption. We had to promise to never abandon or abuse our daughter. And the one that gets me every time...we had to answer the question, "Are you satisfied with this child?"  We put our fingerprints on some papers and then we officially became Jin Fu Yun's parents in the eyes of the Chinese government. 

We were worried about going back to the office today bc we knew that the nanny would be there and Julia is very attached to her. The nanny was once again wonderful. She walked up to our Jin Fu Yun and spoke softly to her. Our sweet girl began to tear up but the nanny encouraged her, and she turned around and melted into my lap. Her tears did not last long. I could tell she was trying to be brave. She ran up to the nanny a few times during the few hours we were there, explaining something in Mandarin. But she always sought me out after her conversation, consistently saying, "Mama" in her sweet little voice. When it came time to say good bye, she waved to the nanny, whimpered a little, then took her picture with my phone. This was way different than 24 hours prior. On the bus, I even got an unsolicited kiss from her. It was a beautiful time. 

Our little man is continuing to do well. Each day he cries less, covers his face less, diverts his eyes less, and makes us fall in love with him more. Remember the sweet couple from Dothan that we mentioned was here with us? Well, he is a Doctor and he listened to little man's heart and lungs tonight. I have been concerned about his cough, but he said his lungs sounded good. This was great news and it eased my mind a bit. 

Carter, Jackson, and YouYou continue to be great older siblings. They have been so helpful in this transition time. 

Other than missing the comforts of home, we are all doing well. Twenty one days is a long time to be away...but we are thankful to be on the down side of our time now. Only 8 more days, 2 more hotels, one long van ride, and 5 more flights to go!