Things have been going so good for Little Miss Liberty! She has been exploring the wonderful, beautiful and BIG world! So many "FIRSTS" for her! Every day is a new experience for her. Whenever we are out, I think, "I bet this is the first time she's been to a place like this!" We were at a grocery store and she was so excited to see so many watermelons! It was so adorable. Her english is coming right along. She's about 50/50 when she speaks. 50% English and 50% Chinese. So we are having a much easier time communicating. We have a friend who teaches ESL who is going to work with her this summer. We are super excited and appreciative for this!
Many times people ask me how she is adjusting and we honestly have to say that it has been a pretty good experience. It is difficult when she does something she shouldn't and we are not to be able to explain why she shouldn't do it. Like why she has to hold my hand in the parking lot or why she can't play with a knife. We tell her why but she doesn't understand why. Then we feel bad because we just have to force her to do it or not do it. I know it will come with time. But it is hard.
She eats well. She sleeps well. She plays well. AND she repeats well!! Going back to the "why" issue, sometimes we say to her "sshhh" like when she is interrupting adults or talking way to loud in a quite place. So now if she is talking and someone else talks, she tells them "sshh!" It is so hard not to laugh because it is so comical! Or she will tell me, "time out?" Kind of like when I ask her if she wants a time out when she is misbehaving. From the mouths of babes!
Moving on to her health. She has been as healthy as can be since she got here. Her physician told us she had more vaccinations than an US born child. So thank China for being on top of that! We also found out that there is nothing wrong with her leg. (She has a funny walk sometimes) but she is just flat footed. We can deal with that. But we did have an appointment with her cardiologist and he performed a Cardiac Cath on her. We were informed that she needed to have surgery sooner...not later. Most babies with the condition she has go through the corrective surgery at 6 months old. She's almost 5!
When we went in for the Cath, she was so enthralled by all of the attention we thought she'd be fine when separated from Mama so I told then to skip the oral Versed. Boy, did I make a mistake! When they took her from me, she was crying and screaming, "MAMA!!!MAMA!!" I thought I would die! And the "Worst Mom of the Year" goes to....ME!!! I told my mom that she will always get the versed before hand! When she woke up, she would not even look at me for almost 2 hours. She was ticked at me for leaving her. After a bit, she forgave me and was such a good girl during recovery. She is such a busy little girl, I thought it was going to be very hard to make her understand some how that she needed to lay flat for 6 hours! I know from experience, some adults can't do that after a Heart Cath!
The Cardiac Catheterization didn't really show anything they weren't expecting except her right coronary artery comes off her left coronary artery instead of coming off her aorta. This causes a slight problem because her pulmonary stenosis sits directly behind this area and the right coronary artery rides across the aorta. :( He said he hasn't ever seen this before.
This week we went to see the cardio-vascular surgeon that will be performing her corrective surgery. He is such a nice guy and comes very highly recommended! We have the upmost confidence in the team at Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. He explained everything to us and told us that once he gets in there, he will determine if they are able to fix the pulmonary stenosis (blockage in the artery going to the lung) or if he will need to put in a conduit from her right ventricle to her pulmonary artery. If the latter happens, she will have to undergo another surgery later in life because the conduit will not grown with her. :( We are praying they don't have to put in a conduit! That will be the 5th time she will have to be opened! :(
We are so blessed that she is having her surgery here in the US. First, because we love these doctors and they know exactly what they are doing. Second, the staff at Advocate Children's Hospital are remarkable! I am not exaggerating when I say from the minute I walked in until the minute I walked out, every single person I came in contact with was super nice and professional! I was so impressed! And third, I know Liberty, although in pain, will have her family who loves her by her side comforting her and caring for her every step of the way!
Prayers on May 23rd and for the recovery weeks that will follow are much appreciated!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
A hard-boiled egg and some happiness
Hello! It's been awhile since I wrote. We've been a bit busy so I thought I'd catch everyone up.
Liberty is fitting into our family as snug as a bug in a rug! She's sweet and sassy. She's funny and adorable. And she's a bit bossy. But so is everyone else in this family! :)
She is learning so much! We took her to a pre-school screening to see if they could give us any ideas if she was behind at all. It's difficult because she knows her numbers, colors & shapes in Chinese but not English. But as far as they all could tell after modifying the tests, she's doing great. She got an A+ for social skills. We thought that was funny because since we have had her, she has been a little social butterfly. She says, "Ni Hao" to everyone she sees and wants to be friends with anyone.
She has learned how to ask for help instead of grunting. She has also mastered saying Thank you. I must say, it is so cute! She can count to 10 and knows the ABC song...not perfectly but she's getting there. Potty training is coming along. She is just too busy to take the time to go but she will let me know she needs a dry diaper. She has a book with common pictures in it like an apple, an elephant, a flower. She can name them all in English but a few...like X is for xylophone. Really?? They couldn't have used x-ray?? or I is for ink. How about ice cream?? Maybe I should write a kids book. haha. :)
My mom, Paulette mom-in-law Carolyn, my Aunt Mary, Sisters Lori and Donna and my life long friend Debbie had a shower for me. It was so nice. Liberty got a lot of learning tools, LOTS of clothes and a few special gifts like a blanket with pics from our China trip on it. (Thanks Holley). It was especially nice to see all of the love for Liberty. She was in heaven from all of the attention. It really touched my heart.
Since we have been home we took her to the pediatrician. She got caught up on her immunizations. (Not a happy girl). We also took her to the pediatric cardiologist and he performed a cardiac Catheterization on her to get a road map for her upcoming surgery. She was a trooper! They didn't find any huge surprises which is a blessing. But they are going to have to modify a part of the surgery because she has one deformity they haven't seen before. That's OK. We knew she was special. Maybe she'll be in the text books. :) We are planning the surgery within a few weeks. Send up some extra prayers for her. :)
The day before her heart catheterization, I was copying and re-reading all of her medicals reports from China. I came across her routine from the orphanage. As I was reading her schedule, I noticed for breakfast, it said she ate oatmeal and boiled eggs. I had not given her a hard-boiled egg before so I thought I would feed her dinner and then make her one. I told her I had a treat for her if she ate all of her supper. I am sure she was thinking it was ice cream (her favorite) but when I placed the egg in front of her, she picked it up and was kissing it and saying "Oh my goodness!!!" She started dancing in her chair. It was the cutest thing ever! Here is this little girl who probably LOVES these eggs and hasn't had one for 2 months. She was probably thinking," What kind of place is this? They don't even have boiled eggs??" I could not get over how excited she was about a hard-boiled egg. It melted my heart and reminded me once again how one small act of kindness can mean so much!
Thank you again, God for allowing us to raise Little Miss Liberty! We love her so much!
Liberty is fitting into our family as snug as a bug in a rug! She's sweet and sassy. She's funny and adorable. And she's a bit bossy. But so is everyone else in this family! :)
She is learning so much! We took her to a pre-school screening to see if they could give us any ideas if she was behind at all. It's difficult because she knows her numbers, colors & shapes in Chinese but not English. But as far as they all could tell after modifying the tests, she's doing great. She got an A+ for social skills. We thought that was funny because since we have had her, she has been a little social butterfly. She says, "Ni Hao" to everyone she sees and wants to be friends with anyone.
She has learned how to ask for help instead of grunting. She has also mastered saying Thank you. I must say, it is so cute! She can count to 10 and knows the ABC song...not perfectly but she's getting there. Potty training is coming along. She is just too busy to take the time to go but she will let me know she needs a dry diaper. She has a book with common pictures in it like an apple, an elephant, a flower. She can name them all in English but a few...like X is for xylophone. Really?? They couldn't have used x-ray?? or I is for ink. How about ice cream?? Maybe I should write a kids book. haha. :)
My mom, Paulette mom-in-law Carolyn, my Aunt Mary, Sisters Lori and Donna and my life long friend Debbie had a shower for me. It was so nice. Liberty got a lot of learning tools, LOTS of clothes and a few special gifts like a blanket with pics from our China trip on it. (Thanks Holley). It was especially nice to see all of the love for Liberty. She was in heaven from all of the attention. It really touched my heart.
Since we have been home we took her to the pediatrician. She got caught up on her immunizations. (Not a happy girl). We also took her to the pediatric cardiologist and he performed a cardiac Catheterization on her to get a road map for her upcoming surgery. She was a trooper! They didn't find any huge surprises which is a blessing. But they are going to have to modify a part of the surgery because she has one deformity they haven't seen before. That's OK. We knew she was special. Maybe she'll be in the text books. :) We are planning the surgery within a few weeks. Send up some extra prayers for her. :)
The day before her heart catheterization, I was copying and re-reading all of her medicals reports from China. I came across her routine from the orphanage. As I was reading her schedule, I noticed for breakfast, it said she ate oatmeal and boiled eggs. I had not given her a hard-boiled egg before so I thought I would feed her dinner and then make her one. I told her I had a treat for her if she ate all of her supper. I am sure she was thinking it was ice cream (her favorite) but when I placed the egg in front of her, she picked it up and was kissing it and saying "Oh my goodness!!!" She started dancing in her chair. It was the cutest thing ever! Here is this little girl who probably LOVES these eggs and hasn't had one for 2 months. She was probably thinking," What kind of place is this? They don't even have boiled eggs??" I could not get over how excited she was about a hard-boiled egg. It melted my heart and reminded me once again how one small act of kindness can mean so much!
Thank you again, God for allowing us to raise Little Miss Liberty! We love her so much!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
It's the little things in life!
It has been two weeks now and things are looking a bit different. We are settling in pretty good. Getting into a routine, experiencing new adventures and... learning what a "time out" is. :(
Our youngest son, Sam, says it is so hard to watch her sit in time out but we explained to him that we can't have no rules today and then start rules in a few months. We have realized that she had to fight for anything she wanted in the orphanage so that is what she does here when she doesn't get her way. I guess that is the way it is with any child, right? :) She is such a cutie and Sam is right, it's hard to see her sad.
She is really learning the routine of the day. After dinner, she always says "Dae-o" and "Conga" which means "bath" and "sleep". She is right! That is our routine for the night. :). She is going on 3 nights in a row without waking up, AAHHH! now THAT is a blessing. :) A full nights sleep makes the works of difference for us all!!
She is so smart and learning so fast. This week, along with getting better at Twinkle Twinkle, she is trying very hard to sing the "ABC" song. She only has bits and pieces of it but she is getting there! We have a friend who teaches the ESL kids at school that told us she would work with Liberty all summer! YAY! We are also still trying to get Liberty into the pre-school program at the school. I think it would really help her. I am pulling every string I can grasp to get her enrolled. Say a little prayer!
This week was filled with so many "little" blessings that I don't think I can list them all. But one that really stands out is today. Brandon went to the city to run the Shamrock 5K so Liberty and I drove to Dunkin Donuts to get a few! First blessing was that we made it there and back without any tears or whining about the car seat. WHEW! When we got back to the house, I let her sit on my lap to eat our donuts. As she was eating her little munchkins, she had the biggest "powdered sugar" smile on her face. I was thinking, "she is so happy about these little donuts!" It just meted my heart to see how happy she was about something so small. It's moments like this one that I wish anyone who is even thinking about adoption could see. I mean, it was a donut. But there she was, sitting on HER mama's lap, in HER house, with HER donut. It was just awesome.
Later, we attended my great-nieces birthday party. I knew that she had never been to anything like it. so she was either going to have a great time or be shy and scared and just watch.
When we got to "SPARKLE", the place where the party was, she had her nails painted. The girl told her "Don't touch it" (wet nails) and so she was holding very still. After her nails were dry, she got down and another little girl was going to have her nails done. Liberty placed her hand on the little girls arm and said, "Don't touch it. " It was so funny.
She was then in line to get her hair done. All of the little girls had long, light colored hair. They were getting braids and pony-tails with bright colored hair spray. When Liberty got into the chair with her dark-haired pixie cut, the girl said, "And what are we going to do with your hair?" (sweetly not in a rude way) She put two little pig tails on top with tulle ribbons around them. Liberty was so proud of her mini-pig tails! "Piao-long!", she said! (which means beautiful)
They got a little lip gloss and a star on their cheeks and headed to the dress-up room. After choosing their outfits, we blared the music and they held a fashion show with an actual cat-walk! The first
time through, Liberty had no idea what to do so she just stood there but after watching the other girls, the second time through she was dancing up a storm!
They got to do a little karaoke afterwards. The other little girls all knew a certain Disney song which, of course, Liberty didn't know so I just shut her mic off and she went to town, singing her own song.
I loved watching her as she sang and danced and played dress-up right along the other girls without being shy or scared or caring what anyone was thinking about her language that sounded so different.
She had a total blast!!
It's the little things that we are getting to share with her and watch her experience that I wish I could just inject into other people's hearts so they too would take a chance on adoption. It's so precious!
Thank you Lord, for leading us down this path and taking us on this journey!
PS. Hat's off to SPARKLE! in Bourbonnais! They did a great job with Liberty and with the party! Awesome girls and an awesome place for little girls to have fun!
Our youngest son, Sam, says it is so hard to watch her sit in time out but we explained to him that we can't have no rules today and then start rules in a few months. We have realized that she had to fight for anything she wanted in the orphanage so that is what she does here when she doesn't get her way. I guess that is the way it is with any child, right? :) She is such a cutie and Sam is right, it's hard to see her sad.
She is really learning the routine of the day. After dinner, she always says "Dae-o" and "Conga" which means "bath" and "sleep". She is right! That is our routine for the night. :). She is going on 3 nights in a row without waking up, AAHHH! now THAT is a blessing. :) A full nights sleep makes the works of difference for us all!!
She is so smart and learning so fast. This week, along with getting better at Twinkle Twinkle, she is trying very hard to sing the "ABC" song. She only has bits and pieces of it but she is getting there! We have a friend who teaches the ESL kids at school that told us she would work with Liberty all summer! YAY! We are also still trying to get Liberty into the pre-school program at the school. I think it would really help her. I am pulling every string I can grasp to get her enrolled. Say a little prayer!
This week was filled with so many "little" blessings that I don't think I can list them all. But one that really stands out is today. Brandon went to the city to run the Shamrock 5K so Liberty and I drove to Dunkin Donuts to get a few! First blessing was that we made it there and back without any tears or whining about the car seat. WHEW! When we got back to the house, I let her sit on my lap to eat our donuts. As she was eating her little munchkins, she had the biggest "powdered sugar" smile on her face. I was thinking, "she is so happy about these little donuts!" It just meted my heart to see how happy she was about something so small. It's moments like this one that I wish anyone who is even thinking about adoption could see. I mean, it was a donut. But there she was, sitting on HER mama's lap, in HER house, with HER donut. It was just awesome.
Later, we attended my great-nieces birthday party. I knew that she had never been to anything like it. so she was either going to have a great time or be shy and scared and just watch.
When we got to "SPARKLE", the place where the party was, she had her nails painted. The girl told her "Don't touch it" (wet nails) and so she was holding very still. After her nails were dry, she got down and another little girl was going to have her nails done. Liberty placed her hand on the little girls arm and said, "Don't touch it. " It was so funny.
She was then in line to get her hair done. All of the little girls had long, light colored hair. They were getting braids and pony-tails with bright colored hair spray. When Liberty got into the chair with her dark-haired pixie cut, the girl said, "And what are we going to do with your hair?" (sweetly not in a rude way) She put two little pig tails on top with tulle ribbons around them. Liberty was so proud of her mini-pig tails! "Piao-long!", she said! (which means beautiful)
They got a little lip gloss and a star on their cheeks and headed to the dress-up room. After choosing their outfits, we blared the music and they held a fashion show with an actual cat-walk! The first
time through, Liberty had no idea what to do so she just stood there but after watching the other girls, the second time through she was dancing up a storm!
They got to do a little karaoke afterwards. The other little girls all knew a certain Disney song which, of course, Liberty didn't know so I just shut her mic off and she went to town, singing her own song.
I loved watching her as she sang and danced and played dress-up right along the other girls without being shy or scared or caring what anyone was thinking about her language that sounded so different.
She had a total blast!!
It's the little things that we are getting to share with her and watch her experience that I wish I could just inject into other people's hearts so they too would take a chance on adoption. It's so precious!
Thank you Lord, for leading us down this path and taking us on this journey!
PS. Hat's off to SPARKLE! in Bourbonnais! They did a great job with Liberty and with the party! Awesome girls and an awesome place for little girls to have fun!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
It's been a week!! :D
Well, it's been a week since we have been home and our world sure has changed. We have gone to a family of four with the youngest at 15 to a family of 5 with the youngest at 4! There's no more sleeping in or a quick trip to the store. No more jam sessions for Damon in the basement at 10PM or Sammy having a group of kids over till midnight watching movies. But we would have it no other way!
A lot has happened in a week! Liberty is in her new home, in her new bed, with her new family! She loves being the center of everyone's world! She has had many visitors who have been been anxiously awaiting her arrival. Her grandparents, aunts, cousins friends, neighbors. We joke that she is going to start thinking every time the door bell rings, she is going to get a gift! :) One of our very elderly neighbors was outside yesterday while we were doing Po-Po's (bubbles) and our neighbor said, "WOW! she's gotten big since the fall!" and as she got closer she said, "She's Chinese!" I explained to her that we adopted her from China. I think she was thinking of a different neighbor but it was so cute when she realized Liberty was Chinese.
We have taken a visit to our favorite pizza place, Monical's, and she loved it! I guess she is a true Myers if she loves Monical's Pizza! :) She also loves ice cream and bath time! She has discovered the bunnies that live in our yard (and tear up our yard, grrr!) We sit at the window and watch for bunnies. She gets so excited when she spots one. It's a whole new world for this little girl! She is getting used to it and figuring everything out.
We visited the park for the first time and she loved the see-saw. She was even a little dare-devil and tried letting go. I think my hair is going to get even more gray!! :)
She loves playing with her brothers and all of their friends who have come to see her. No one can stay away. I think it's great that so many people love her so much and want to meet her.
She has been adjusting very well as have we. The boys understand that after 8pm it needs to be fairly quite in the house. They also understand why I am in bed at 9pm. haha We think the hardest thing so far is just being tired. We have a routine and try to give each other breaks. When Brandon goes back to work.... and the kids go back to school, I'm on my own. I'm a little nervous about that but I think by then, she'll understand a bit more english and we will understand one another better. We are so luck that Brandon got to take 6 weeks off and I get to take 12. (Shout out to the co-workers :D)
When we got back to the US, the local paper called and wanted to do a story about Little Miss Liberty. We agreed because we thought it would be neat for Liberty to have later in life. We also thought it would be an opportunity to share our story and maybe give someone the little push they might need to choose adoption. Needless to say, we were shocked when she ended up on the front page of the paper, "above the fold" my husband pointed out. It was such an amazing article! (besides calling Damon, Mason.) Our hope is the article has inspired another family to give adoption a chance to change a child's life forever!!
One last little bit of "twinkle" for you! We have been singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to her since we were in Guangzhou. A few days ago, we were driving somewhere and she hates the car seat. So I asked her to sing for me. I couldn't believe it when she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!" Of course, it was not perfect but I was so amazing at how quickly she learned that song!
We always knew she was brilliant! :)
A lot has happened in a week! Liberty is in her new home, in her new bed, with her new family! She loves being the center of everyone's world! She has had many visitors who have been been anxiously awaiting her arrival. Her grandparents, aunts, cousins friends, neighbors. We joke that she is going to start thinking every time the door bell rings, she is going to get a gift! :) One of our very elderly neighbors was outside yesterday while we were doing Po-Po's (bubbles) and our neighbor said, "WOW! she's gotten big since the fall!" and as she got closer she said, "She's Chinese!" I explained to her that we adopted her from China. I think she was thinking of a different neighbor but it was so cute when she realized Liberty was Chinese.
We have taken a visit to our favorite pizza place, Monical's, and she loved it! I guess she is a true Myers if she loves Monical's Pizza! :) She also loves ice cream and bath time! She has discovered the bunnies that live in our yard (and tear up our yard, grrr!) We sit at the window and watch for bunnies. She gets so excited when she spots one. It's a whole new world for this little girl! She is getting used to it and figuring everything out.
We visited the park for the first time and she loved the see-saw. She was even a little dare-devil and tried letting go. I think my hair is going to get even more gray!! :)
She loves playing with her brothers and all of their friends who have come to see her. No one can stay away. I think it's great that so many people love her so much and want to meet her.
She has been adjusting very well as have we. The boys understand that after 8pm it needs to be fairly quite in the house. They also understand why I am in bed at 9pm. haha We think the hardest thing so far is just being tired. We have a routine and try to give each other breaks. When Brandon goes back to work.... and the kids go back to school, I'm on my own. I'm a little nervous about that but I think by then, she'll understand a bit more english and we will understand one another better. We are so luck that Brandon got to take 6 weeks off and I get to take 12. (Shout out to the co-workers :D)
When we got back to the US, the local paper called and wanted to do a story about Little Miss Liberty. We agreed because we thought it would be neat for Liberty to have later in life. We also thought it would be an opportunity to share our story and maybe give someone the little push they might need to choose adoption. Needless to say, we were shocked when she ended up on the front page of the paper, "above the fold" my husband pointed out. It was such an amazing article! (besides calling Damon, Mason.) Our hope is the article has inspired another family to give adoption a chance to change a child's life forever!!
One last little bit of "twinkle" for you! We have been singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to her since we were in Guangzhou. A few days ago, we were driving somewhere and she hates the car seat. So I asked her to sing for me. I couldn't believe it when she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!" Of course, it was not perfect but I was so amazing at how quickly she learned that song!
We always knew she was brilliant! :)
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
We've only just begun...
We have been in China for 16 days. Tomorrow we are headed home. Although, we are SO ready to be back home with our boys and our family, it is bittersweet. This is the land where Liberty was born. This is where her roots began. We pray for her biological family every day... for hearts that will heal and be comforted by the Lord. I cannot imagine giving my baby up for any reason, under any circumstance. But imagine the pain these families go through never knowing what has happened to their babies... never knowing if they are OK, if they were adopted, what they will grow into. The pain has to be unbearable. So we pray that her family somehow knows, she is ok. She is loved, cherished, protected and taken care of. She will always have the best medical care, the best education, the best upbringing we can give her. She will know the Lord as her Savior and the love He has for her. She will know He is always there by her side... along with her family.
We thank God every day that he brought us together with Liberty to be a family along with Damon and Sam and all of our family and friends. The love we have felt from home has been out of this world. It has helped us get through the pain of missing home, the middle of the night tears our little one cried and we didn't know why and increased the excitement for Liberty when she sees how many people have been in the US praying for her, following her story and cheering her on.
We may not know what the first four years of her life contained but we are excited to see what the rest of her life will hold! We are almost home to start the next part of this journey!!
We love you Liberty Jane-Yirun Myers...forever and always.
And Debbie Brumitt....I'm ready for coffee! :)
We thank God every day that he brought us together with Liberty to be a family along with Damon and Sam and all of our family and friends. The love we have felt from home has been out of this world. It has helped us get through the pain of missing home, the middle of the night tears our little one cried and we didn't know why and increased the excitement for Liberty when she sees how many people have been in the US praying for her, following her story and cheering her on.
We may not know what the first four years of her life contained but we are excited to see what the rest of her life will hold! We are almost home to start the next part of this journey!!
We love you Liberty Jane-Yirun Myers...forever and always.
And Debbie Brumitt....I'm ready for coffee! :)
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
A little piece of home...
Today we traveled to the Chen Clan Historic Home. All of the details and pics are on FB. It was very interesting to hear all about the home. We also traveled to Shamian Island for some shopping. I love how the shop owners let you bargain for what you want. We arent very good at it but it was fun to watch them try to get us buy more and more..."I will give you a good deal!" is what we heard. We bought a few things that we were looking for but we did not find what we really wanted to get. "Adoption Barbie" :( We have heard all about it and where to look but we didnt have any luck. Oh well. Guess it wasnt meant to be.
After shopping, we walked around by the river. It was so calm and peaceful. We were telling our guide how during the day, our parks are usually empty because everyone is working ect. He said that everyone goes to the parks because no one has a yard. Everyone lives in an apartment. Its true. All of the parks that we have been to have been filled with older people playing cards or hacky sack or grandparents with their grandkids. We saw a choir singing and people learning dance. There was one lady doing Tai Chi with a fan. Just so neat to see stuff that we dont see in the USA.
We then went to Lucy's for lunch. It is about as American you can get in China. I had a cheeseburger and fries... and it was heaven! We gave Liberty peanut butter and jelly. She loved it. :)
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and went over all of our paperwork with our guide for our US Consulate appointment tomorrow. Our guide told us that all of Liberty's medical came back good. So no problems there.
We walked around a bit and bought a fruit smoothies for a treat. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful besides Little Miss Liberty's first real fit. She was trying to shove way too many M&M's in her mouth so we told her that she couldn't do that. We tried again and she tried to shove them all in her mouth so we took them away and said no more.She cried and cried and wouldn't let us comfort her. She would cry for "Mama" and I would come by her but she'd push me away. We figured she was calling for her other "mama." :( Poor thing. We felt so bad for her. But soon she was over it and happy as could be.
We hope she learns quickly that we will always be here for her and we love her with all our hearts!
After shopping, we walked around by the river. It was so calm and peaceful. We were telling our guide how during the day, our parks are usually empty because everyone is working ect. He said that everyone goes to the parks because no one has a yard. Everyone lives in an apartment. Its true. All of the parks that we have been to have been filled with older people playing cards or hacky sack or grandparents with their grandkids. We saw a choir singing and people learning dance. There was one lady doing Tai Chi with a fan. Just so neat to see stuff that we dont see in the USA.
We then went to Lucy's for lunch. It is about as American you can get in China. I had a cheeseburger and fries... and it was heaven! We gave Liberty peanut butter and jelly. She loved it. :)
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and went over all of our paperwork with our guide for our US Consulate appointment tomorrow. Our guide told us that all of Liberty's medical came back good. So no problems there.
We walked around a bit and bought a fruit smoothies for a treat. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful besides Little Miss Liberty's first real fit. She was trying to shove way too many M&M's in her mouth so we told her that she couldn't do that. We tried again and she tried to shove them all in her mouth so we took them away and said no more.She cried and cried and wouldn't let us comfort her. She would cry for "Mama" and I would come by her but she'd push me away. We figured she was calling for her other "mama." :( Poor thing. We felt so bad for her. But soon she was over it and happy as could be.
We hope she learns quickly that we will always be here for her and we love her with all our hearts!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Little Blessings!
Today was a free day for us. Jack had some adoption documents from the Medical Center to take care of so we were on our own today. We slept til 8:30 which I thought was pretty late considering we have a four year old in the house now. :)
After a leisurely breakfast, we headed the opposite way of our hotel just to explore a little bit. We found lots of little shops and food places. We werent brave enough to try any of the food from these places. I am sure it would have been fine but coming from a person who doesn like to use a straw that wasnt wrapped, I wasnt taking any chances. Oh there was a man squeezing fresh orange juice at his shop. It looked SSOOO good but he was putting it in what looked like used water bottles...so we passed.
We found Friendship Shopping Mall and ventured in. It was so interesting because the whole mall is set up by brand name. Like one floor for men's clothing, was separated by brands...Like Nike, Ralph Laren, Polo ect. It would be easy to shop if you knew what brand you wanted.Kinda different.
So we were on the hunt for a t-shirt for Liberty since it's suppose to be 80 degrees tomorrow We found a mall map and it said the kids clothing was on the 6th floor. We got on the elevator and it only went to 5.
So we got off on 5 and asked someone. They said the kids clothes were on the 6th (showing 6 fingers) floor. We went to a different elevator but never found it. It was strange. Sometimes this language barrier is a pain. :) Especially, when you are trying to tell a four year old to stop doing something and she thinks its a game. Oh boy.... She definately has a stubborn streak in her. :) I figure its because she always had to fight for what she wanted. :( It makes me sad to think about but Im glad she is with us now.
Little Miss Liberty gave us three little blessings today.
First, when we were getting her ready for her bath this morning...(she gets 2 a day because she loves them so!) she went potty on the toilet for us! Its the first time! Trying to teach a child to go potty is one thing but when they have no idea what you are saying, It's a whole other ballgame!
The second blessing was that she sat and watched cartoons for 30 mins today. We arent trying to use tv as a babysitter but she is on the go the ENTIRE time she is awake. It was so nice just to lay with her, Baba on one side, Mama on the other for 30 minutes! But then she was done! I dont think they watched much TV in the orphanage so she has no interest in it.
Our third blessing was after her night-time bath. I had her on my lap and I started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She must have recognized the tune or something and she started reciting all of the nursery rhymes that she knows. It was so adorable! We have it on video but the internet is really slow here and we cant download it to FB or the blog.
It was an incredible day! Simple but filled with blessings. Thank you again, Lord!! Again and Again!
After a leisurely breakfast, we headed the opposite way of our hotel just to explore a little bit. We found lots of little shops and food places. We werent brave enough to try any of the food from these places. I am sure it would have been fine but coming from a person who doesn like to use a straw that wasnt wrapped, I wasnt taking any chances. Oh there was a man squeezing fresh orange juice at his shop. It looked SSOOO good but he was putting it in what looked like used water bottles...so we passed.
We found Friendship Shopping Mall and ventured in. It was so interesting because the whole mall is set up by brand name. Like one floor for men's clothing, was separated by brands...Like Nike, Ralph Laren, Polo ect. It would be easy to shop if you knew what brand you wanted.Kinda different.
So we were on the hunt for a t-shirt for Liberty since it's suppose to be 80 degrees tomorrow We found a mall map and it said the kids clothing was on the 6th floor. We got on the elevator and it only went to 5.
So we got off on 5 and asked someone. They said the kids clothes were on the 6th (showing 6 fingers) floor. We went to a different elevator but never found it. It was strange. Sometimes this language barrier is a pain. :) Especially, when you are trying to tell a four year old to stop doing something and she thinks its a game. Oh boy.... She definately has a stubborn streak in her. :) I figure its because she always had to fight for what she wanted. :( It makes me sad to think about but Im glad she is with us now.
Little Miss Liberty gave us three little blessings today.
First, when we were getting her ready for her bath this morning...(she gets 2 a day because she loves them so!) she went potty on the toilet for us! Its the first time! Trying to teach a child to go potty is one thing but when they have no idea what you are saying, It's a whole other ballgame!
The second blessing was that she sat and watched cartoons for 30 mins today. We arent trying to use tv as a babysitter but she is on the go the ENTIRE time she is awake. It was so nice just to lay with her, Baba on one side, Mama on the other for 30 minutes! But then she was done! I dont think they watched much TV in the orphanage so she has no interest in it.
Our third blessing was after her night-time bath. I had her on my lap and I started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She must have recognized the tune or something and she started reciting all of the nursery rhymes that she knows. It was so adorable! We have it on video but the internet is really slow here and we cant download it to FB or the blog.
It was an incredible day! Simple but filled with blessings. Thank you again, Lord!! Again and Again!
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