Sunday, May 15, 2011

Happy Sunday to everyone back home! We are trying to wind down a VERY wound up Emma Claire!!! She is laying in bed with Jason and singing many of our favorite songs we love to sing with our kids at bedtime! She is so precious, as she tries so hard to repeat everything that we sing. We have a little singer on our hands! We can't wait to hear the house filled with ALL the voices of our children! It will warm our hearts hearing Jesus Loves Me being sung by the little ones! It is 9:30 here and we have had another full, but enjoyable day! We have met so many WONDERFUL families while being here. Many have mentioned they have been following our story on My Adoption Website! We LOVE hearing that others are enjoying the site, it has been a HUGE blessing to us as we reflect on our days here in China.

Today we visited a beautiful and VERY old Folkart Museum. The carvings on the outside of the building were absolutely breathtaking. They were sculpted and painted using a very old technique. There were many other beautiful artifacts in the museum, including some breathtaking embroidery that could be mistaken for photographs. The accuracy of the detail is unbelievable. There were also amazing carvings from ivory and stone. Our guide mentioned that many of these techniques of te past are becoming a lost art here. She told us the younger generation is not patient enough and they want money quickly. They are not interested in taking the time it would take to make the beautiful things. We bought a couple of bracelets and a small painting from a man who used the side of his hand to create beautiful pictures with ink. It was difficult to enjoy the museum fully, as it was not air conditioned and we had 90% humidity today. IT WAS AWFUL!

We then headed to a HUGE park to visit the famous rams that were believed to deliver the seeds for growing the grains of rice. It was too humid to fully appreciate this too, we had to climb MANY stairs to reach the top to see the goats. Jason & I were both drenched with sweat, the air was so thick and dense. We walked back down and bought some cold waters and tried to cool off for a minute before boarding the bus. While waiting for the other families to come down, I put Emma up on a rock to take her picture and she was mobbed with teenage kids who wanted to take her picture and have a picture taken with her. It was very cute and Emma smiled sweetly and cooperated for all the pictures being taken. They were saying "she is so cute" in their best english. It was fun! Our guide told us that they think Emma is a very beautiful girl. We were also told by her that Emma was probably spoiled because she is a beautiful child and they treat children with beauty differently than others. Well, let's just say this shows with Emma! She is VERY used to getting her way! She is quickly learning what NO means and has a cooperative spirit about her. There are so many things we already love about her. She is just opening up to us in so many ways. We feel VERY blessed, as there are many families who have children who are struggling with all the changes. God is so good! We prayed specifically that Emma Claire's heart would be open to us and God has just revealed Himself to us in a special way through our daughter, Emma Claire. We are so grateful that we serve a mighty God who makes ALL things possible!

We took naps today, and some of Emma's panting (nervous, heavy breathing) has diminished. She doesn't seem quite as scared to fall asleep. She is snuggling up at bedtime and not pushing us away. All of these behaviors show us that she is trusting us more and more each day! PRAISE GOD!!!

After naps we met our group for a Chinese meal of fried noodles, rice, pea pods, broccoli with garlic, sweet and sour pork, dumplings, sizzling beef and Chinese pancakes. All of the food was delicious!!! Emma loved the dumplings and the potatoes from the beef dish! It is served family style on a lazy susan which is always fun! We had a wonderful time of enjoying a good meal with good fellowship. I will say that when we walked into the restaurant there were buckets filled with snakes, turtles, blood worms, frogs, and tanks filled with fish and as we headed up the stairs there were bunnies in cages!!!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!! Yes, my head went there and so did everyone elses......WHAT IF????? Our guide assured us that we were safe with her! THANK GOODNESS!!! I'm still worried about those bunnies! After dinner we hit some of the shops here on the island and bartered hard for some REALLY GOOD deals! This is my kind of shopping! For those of you who know me well, you know I can drive a hard bargain! The shopping was pleasant and all the shop owners are very happy to have your business. We stopped for a Starbucks and just enjoyed walking around the streets and visiting with other adoptive families.

Tomorrow we will go back to the medical clinic. along with 4 other families and have Emma's TB test read. She has had no reaction to the shot, so we are pretty sure she is in the all clear! Thank you Lord! We may try to venture off the island with some of the other families and go to the pearl market and the pet market. That should be interesting!!!

Signing off and wishing you a beautiful Sunday with your family!

Avarie, Evan and Ella~ Only 5 more sleeps and we will be HOME!!!!! We can't wait to see you!!! We bought you something today!!!! Have a great day with Grandma and Grandpa! We are so proud of you for being so good! We pray that you will have a great week and that it will go by quickly for you and us! We can't wait to get home and hug you!!!! LOTS of kisses and hugs from China for you!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!! Emma Claire says "Ni' Hao"!!!!!