Chris Here… I’ve been letting Tami do all the talking for us, and I’ll still let her. But I thought I’d say hello and let you know what’s on my mind this evening. (Don’t worry. You can find Tami’s daily journal below.) I’ve also been behind the camera most of the time. Partly because I feel comfortable there – behind the scenes – and partly because Amy doesn’t want me to hold her anyhow. And that’s okay. Amy is making huge strides! You can see it in the micro-analysis. Little things here and there. You’ll see it in one of the photos we took right before bed tonight… Ashleigh, Austin, and Miss Amy sitting on the bed (mommy is watching nearby and REALLY enjoying the break!) playing together for the first time. (Mommy here – decided against posting photo of kids playing; Austin was already in his pj’s and I didn’t want to embarrass him!) I can tell the next week is going to be difficult as our time here drags on and we long to return home – but we’ve got lots to see and do. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back on another post. But then again, maybe not. You can always look for me in a photo, or just no that I’m lurking behind the camera!
now it's Tami...
I am kinda looking forward to my daily down time; after the kiddos are in bed and I can really relax for the first time all day. I hear four people snoring and I think that is always good news! Soon there will be five…
Another day brings new adventures and new challenges. As Chris eluded to above, we have seen so much progress in Amy today; it is truly a miracle unfolding with each sunrise. That said, there are also a few little thunder showers through our day, but a rainbow soon follows.
The plan this morning was that Chris would “wear” Amy in the carrier at Yue Xiu Park; of course, plans are bound to change. I got to the point this morning after nearly 30 minutes of intense screaming (not me!) that I said it is most important for Amy to know we are here to meet her needs. So I wore her again today.
The park was absolutely beautiful! We met so many kind and smiling Chinese people today. So many were curious about the Americans with the Chinese daughters. The thing I enjoyed most about our visit to the park was the opportunity to show the Chinese just how thankful I am that we were able to adopt Amy. I will never know exactly what they were saying or thinking, but a smile says a lot that words never could.
After the morning at the park we decided to try a local Cantonese restaurant. I had already hit the point where I felt there was NO WAY I had the strength to carry Amy anymore, so I politely forced her to walk. No tears and she really seemed to enjoy it! Those little legs walked about 6 blocks to our restaurant!
After lunch we tried to lay Amy down for a nap. It was at this point that I had MY biggest breakthrough of the day. I have struggled with how to determine if her cry is because she is a two year old throwing a tantrum or if it is the cry of a little girl needing love and affirmation. As I stepped out of the room for a moment (leaving Chris with Amy), to regain my composure while she cried, I asked God to help me know what to do. I went to check my email and a mom who has adopted from China and was following our journey on this web site had emailed. (You know who you are!!!) She mentioned how she would walk around singing to her daughter who was having a tough time attaching and how singing and making eye contact was so helpful in establishing a bond.
I saw this as an answer to my prayer and I went back to Amy. I opened the door and her cry almost immediately changed tone. It went from what I now know as her “I am really ticked off” cry to her “I need you mommy. Love me” cry. I swooped her up and cradled her like an infant and sang to her. She fell right to sleep and slept for two hours!
(I know – I am long winded again… I can’t help it! We had so many amazing things happen…)
Tonight we spent some time just walking around Shamian Island in Guangzhou as a family. We shopped a little at our favorite store – Jordan’s. He is SUCH a wonderful, kind and honest shop-keeper. He is certainly a man of integrity!
For dinner we opted to break open the peanut butter and bread and have a light supper. Amy did great! She sat on the bed and let me feed her a container of yogurt (Joy L. – We DO love that stuff!!!) and she ate some crackers. She just watched Ashleigh and Austin talk and play (and fight) and took it all in. She played ball with Ashleigh and enjoyed her first bite of ice cream!
Austin was a little sad tonight. He said he missed his friends SO much! And that he REALLY misses his teacher, Mrs. Jordan. He loves you all (I know you are reading this!) and is anxious to see you all again soon. He and I just spent some special time talking about how blessed he is to have such wonderful friends and teachers. He even said he loves his pastors and misses them, too! He never ceases to amaze me; crazy wild-man one minute and the next he is the most sensitive and tender-hearted little boy.
Well, I do believe that is all for now. I bought the kids matching outfits today at Jordan’s! Guess what color??? Orange!
Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Hall’s class – Today we ate lunch at a traditional Cantonese restaurant. It was an adventure! As we were walking to our seats we passed by a table that had GRUB WORMS in bowls! Still moving!!! Yuck! We did NOT try anything yucky like that; we did enjoy some yummy fried pancakes, shrimp fried rice and chicken satay (on a stick).
Our family in front of Guangzhou city statue of 5 goats in Yue Xiu Park
new Chinese friends admiring our beautiful Amy-Hui
