Sunday,
February 28, 2010
It is Sienna Eve as I write this, and fireworks celebrating the
Lantern Festival are going off all around us. In fact we have
been watching or listening to them all over the city since we
finished dinner. I think they will continue late into the night.
We feel very fortunate to be witnessing this very special finale
of the Chinese New Year.
The most important thing to tell you is that our time to meet
Sienna has moved to 3:00 tomorrow or 1:00am central time for
those of you following along from the U.S. Of course we wish it
was earlier, but since she has a three-hour car ride from
Hengshan, maybe this will be better for her. We will pray she
naps in the car! And, if she is up celebrating like the rest of
China tonight, she can sleep in!
We had a very low-key day today. Ainsley has been excited to go
to the hotel pool so we did that this morning. Since this is
mostly a business executive hotel, we were the only ones there!
From there we set out for the local Carrefour. This would be
equivalent to a VERY large Wal*Mart or Super Target. It was a
beautiful day here, and another great chance to see the local
hustle and bustle of downtown Changsha. Ainsley was a hit as she
strolled the streets with us. She is not quite sure what to
think of all of the attention. She just smiles and tries to be
polite. Our taxi driver had an entire one-way conversation with
her tonight and she smiled politely and did the head nod with
confidence!
I am enjoying Jeff’s rock star status at the hotel. We are
getting the VIP treatment. I am guessing it is because we are
the only Americans here.
I think every employee knows our names. My favorite doorman
calls me, “Mrs. Jeff!”
We met our guide, Michelle, and the other four families in our
group for dinner tonight. They are all staying at The Dolton so
we had a chance to see this famous hotel for adoptive families.
It is decorated beautifully for the New Year. Ainsley had her
first lazy-suzan dinner of many on this trip.
We had some of the local dishes including the traditional dish
for The Lantern Festival. As many of you know, Hunan is known
for spicy cuisine. Michelle ordered one of their local dishes
toned down for our group. Well let’s just say even the Cajun’s
in our group thought it was HOT HOT!!
I am apologizing to Sienna right now for the way we eat. I am
going to have to take some Chinese cooking lessons for her to
spice it up!
My first impression of our guide is that she is going to be
wonderful. She was so thoughtful and encouraging as the talked
about what to expect over the next few days. I had the chance to
share with her a little bit about Sienna’s journey to us. Her
response was, “this is obviously God’s plan for your family.”
WOW!!
So, I close this last post before I am officially the mom of
three little girls with a hopeful heart. I am encouraged to know
that no matter what happens tomorrow, that I/we were called to
this little girl. Perhaps this is not the path that Sienna would
have chosen for her life. But, God did. And, one day we will be
able to share with her how much she was wanted and loved even
before the day we saw her beautiful face, and touched her little
hands.
Thank you for cheering us on, for praying for us, and for
believing that miracles do happen.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” ~Ecclesiastes
3:11
Blessings from Hunan,
Diana |
Lanterns on every light post in Changsha!
Dressed up for Chinese New Year!
At the Carrefour with the last minute holiday shoppers
The infamous split pants
Lazy Susan Dinner on Sienna Eve |
