Wednesday,
February 8, 2012
DAY
FIVE
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and
faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in
their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by
the world." James 1:27
"My family, adopting these children, it is not
optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not
what I am doing to "help out these poor kids." I adopt
because God commands me to care for the orphans and the
widows in their distress." (Kisses from Katie pg. 73)
One step forward!
We began our day with the same somber little face, with
shoulders hunched over and downcast eyes, but while at the
Embroidery Museum, Ellie began to open up a bit. I was
wearing her in the Ergo, and she began to initiate some
interactions. She became quite playful and even broke out
a few smiles and a couple of giggles! It was music to our
ears! And when she smiles, her whole face smiles! Such
joy! Of course the embroidery, though amazing, could not
compare to what we were witnessing with our daughter. We
had asked to go to the museum as we had wanted to purchase
a piece of embroidery for Ellie as this is what her Hunan
province is known for. We also were prepared to do some
shopping for 2 friends. Unfortunately, though, we left
empty handed as the prices were ridiculously high.
Probably a little more than double from when we were there
in 2006. And the prices were not cheap then.
Amy knew we were disappointed so, she took us to a little
shop a short walk away, where the selection was better AND
the prices were quite a bit better. So we left with 5
pieces~ 2 for ourselves (AnnaClaire's piece had gotten
knocked over and broken, so we wanted to replace hers) and
3 for friends. Our girl continued to be quite playful in
the shop, and as we walked to lunch she began cooing and
babbling and even "singing" a little bit. Except for the
giggles in the Embroidery Museum and a few giggles with
the bubbles yesterday, these were the first happy sounds
that we had heard come out of her little mouth! It truly
made our day!
We enjoyed a delicious lunch with Amy. I told her that the
ONLY time we eat well here is either at the breakfast
buffet or when she takes us to eat and orders for us. And
this lunch did not disappoint. I cannot believe what a
GREAT eater Ellie is~ she ate beef, eggplant, green beans,
rice, orange slices and dumplings. All I can say is that I
hope this continues when we get home, because I have 2
very picky little girls already. And that is enough. After
lunch Amy walked us to a bookstore, as I wanted to look
for a book for a friend and also for a few books for
Gracie. Unfortunately, Catherine, we were not able to
locate a coffee table book of Hunan, so we struck out
there, but I was able to find a few books for Gracie.
After the bookstore, we walked back to the hotel,
listening to Ellie sing. As soon as we walked into the
hotel, though, the singing stopped and Ellie pretty much
clammed right back up again. We did enjoy that sneak peak
into her little personality while it lasted, and boy is
she CUTE! (and she's the snuggliest thing EVER, which of
course has me completely won over) I can also tell that
she is going to be an imp! Previously during out meals
Ellie has sat quite still and not moved much at all. But
today at lunch she was grabbing for everything, banging
chopsticks on the table, wiggling all around, dropping
things to the ground, and the like~ all this done while
sneaking sideways glances over to me. All perfectly normal
for a 21 month old, but it was a side of Ellie we'd not
yet seen.
After we got back to the room, Ellie drank a little bit
from her bottle and fell right to sleep. Seems that all of
her playfulness today wore her out! And I am pooped, too.
We did quite a bit of walking today and with wearing
Ellie, too, it tired me out! Our guide Amy said she was
impressed as, "normally the Americans do not want to
walk." Since we had such a nice lunch out, we're going to
eat dinner in the room tonight and also try to get to bed
early, as we have an early start for Chenzhou SWI
tomorrow.
Along with today's photos, I've also included a bath shot
from yesterday. Last night's bath went better than
expected. Other than some crying initially when we put her
in the tub, Ellie did calm down and "tolerated" her bath.
Small steps. And we'll give her all the time she needs.
After all, we have a lifetime together. Little by little
she is giving us glimpses into her sweet little
personality. And good things come to those who wait,
right?
|
First Bath
All Clean!
Big Smiles!
I Like It Outside
Buying Embroidery
Happy Year of the Dragon - Dolton Hotel |
