The China Connection

Busy week

We've had a busy third week home, but are all beginning to get settled in. Charis is doing well, though her teeth are coming in everywhere making her a little fussy....very unusual for this child! On the other hand we have Lyndsay who is having a better week. Not devoid of challenges, but at least improving. On Friday she had her hair cut, it turned out very cute and I think she really liked having the extra attention that came with it.  We did a photo session with she and her sister mid week, prior to her haircut. It was very interesting with a nearly four year old, a two year old and a 6 month old puppy...who is also very good. I've attached some of these. The new haircut shots will come next time, as time didn't permit us to do any after Friday. Charis' new words of the week are ball and Jie Jie (big sister). She is close to being able to run and still has little use for the dogs who want so badly for her to play with them. She is scheduled this coming week to go to the doctors for her well check and to see how she is progressing. Certainly no problem eating! This little girl can put away some food and literally does not know when to stop, so we must determine when she has had enough. The beachball-like belly usually is a pretty good indicator. Much to our delight we haven't found anything she won't eat and are able to give her very healthy food because of this. There was a time that Lyndsay would eat alot more variety, but as time goes on she has become more choosy in her eating habits. We certainly don't encourage it, but try to find healthy foods that she likes rather than stir up a new battle. Interesting enough this week she actually requested spinach. I had a clamshell package unopened so I cooked it for her (of course it shrivels to a small amount) and she ate the whole package. I was shocked....pleasantly this time! LOL  She also surprised us by allowing the dentist, who Bane was seeing for some work on his gums, to look in her mouth and see that they were doing okay. This is a big deal for her, as she still has some serious issues with people she doesn't know being in too close a proximity to her.   Monday we had a playdate with Patricia Cercopely and her three daughters from China. WIllow their youngest came home about 6 months ago from the same orphanage in Xiamen. They seemed to enjoy running around outside and playing together. The weather was glorious and we took full advantage! I've attached some of the images from our day of play as well.

           

Playdate with Chinese Sisters 

 

 

Lyndsay, Charis, Willow and Piper

 

Piper, Willow, Charis, Lyndsay and Sage

   

Sage, Piper, Willow, Charis and Lyndsay

  

We all survived the two week mark!

Though this past week had a rough start, with Lyndsay's challenges escalading, by mid week all her undealt with anger, jealousy and a whole host of other emotions running rampede came to a head and like a festering wound, burst open finally bringing healing and relief. (Sorry for the graphic description, but this is a very accurate description!)  We spent what seemed to be an eternity in her room on the floor in a full body lock until she got it all out of her system and was in a position to begin coping again. Unfortunately for us, this is not the first time we've dealt with this kind of rage with her, so we knew it was coming (it was in full force in China) and knew how to handle it, though not pleasant for either of us. The good thing is once we've taken this step, she is so much better afterward and in the days to come.

Having said all that, we have had a rather peaceful end to our week. We even took the girls to Tweetsie Railroad on Saturday, a small local theme park for young children. We just allowed Charis to take in all the sights and sounds, so she would not get too overwhelmed. I took her on the merry-go-round once, but only sat on the bench which of course only went around, and she watched Lyndsay behind her on a horse. She didn't seem to mind that, so later she went on a tiny boat ride with Lyndsay and though not sure, she didn't get at all upset by it.  It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the break.

Charis is doing great. She seems to be in the early stages of learning to chew her food, something she didn't know to do at all just a few weeks ago. She is getting more and more steady on her feet and discovered what fun it was to be able to back up to a little stool and sit on it. This fascinated her and she did so repeatedly and was delighted with herself. Her fine motor skills have improved, as she has learned to pick up bits of food and feed herself. We don't do this too often since she really needed alot of work on eye contact with us while eating, so one of us feeds her and we require that she look at us while doing so. Otherwise she can easily fall back into an orphanage pattern of zoning out and staring  into space while eating. Very mechanical. She is still needing work on the attachment and bonding process, as we noticed she will want us to pick her up frequently, but then wants down quickly. We recognize this as a sign of needing to bond more and attach to us, as this would be behavior she might show a nanny or stranger. So we are doing more holding, whether she wants it or not, I've used the hip hammock some more and I'm rocking her at night, though she's totally content for us to just lay her in the crib.(another orphanage issue). Other then these couple of issues she is doing very well, and is so good and content. She eats well and entertains herself, though she likes to play with Lyndsay when she decides it is time to be the positive big sister and not tease her.

I've attached some photos from Tweetsie Railroad

 

Catching up on photos

There was so much to see during our short time in China, that I can only give you a glimpse of how spectacular a Country it is. Though we only saw a tiny part of it, we know that there is so much more to see when we one day return with our girls to their homeland. We've recently learned that one of the most important ministries to Bane and I, Andrew Wommack Ministries (through whom we attended a local affiliated Bible college, a branch of his Colorado based Charis Bible College) will be going to China in a couple of years. Yes, this is where Charis gets her name (which means Grace) from. Who knows what the Lord might have us to do, I'm sure we will at least support them in this worthwhile effort. While in Guangzhou we met with the daughter of a local missionary family to learn about their efforts in China, it was great to hear what they were doing to help the local families.

I have finally gotten a chance to resize some of the images for the website. I'm needing to replace most of what was originally added due to the hugh file sizes, which I had no way to reduce while on the road. We hope you have enjoyed following our journey.  We will continue to update the site as we have time to do so. 

   

   

   

We didn't get to see much of this from Lyndsay except in spurts, so I'd better share what I do have

 

Playing on the bus with Daddy

      

Maddison, trying so hard to be friends with Lyndsay with little success       Charis signing for more!

   

 A Preschool building in Fuzhou with colorful mosiac tile artwork

 

One of two teahouses we visited in China, the other in Beijing. Sampling various Tea available

 

What trip would be complete without visiting the local Walmart

 

Dad wheeling Charis down the flat escalators         Some common street scenes

 

           

It's not uncommon for Americans to draw a crowd especially when you have a Chinese child.Our guide was not with us so it was difficult to understand what they were saying, but we could tell they were giving us the thumbs up!  The little bit of Mandarin I do know helped alot,at least I could tell them we were from Mei Guo "Beautiful Country" America.

  

The locals gathered to playing music and sing together in the park

 

Local fisherman in the Lake

 

 

The dynamic duo ran out of gas....quiet, such a lovely thing

 

Local artistian, writing characters on the sidewalk....with water

  

A woman selling fresh fruit outside of the ferry going to GuLangYu Island

Home for a week now

Saturday we successfully past the one week mark of being home from China. We are all getting back to our normal sleep patterns now and I'm slowly catching up on some much needed sleep, as one of the girls had me up throughout the night...every night for many days. Lyndsay is still having issues with all the changes, but getting back to a routine is helping. Today she tried for at least a few hours to revert to being a baby again, thinking she could get more attention, it was short lived when she had to eat room temperature baby's mashed peas for lunch. She then decided she wanted to sleep in Charis' crib, so we accommodated her. She quickly realized that she couldn't do much of anything in there and is too concerned with what everyone is doing and where they are at every moment to want to stay in there for long.  She told me that all she could do is twiddle her thumbs. I'm happy to report that we have our nearly four year old back tonight.

Charis is still doing great, her legs are growing stronger daily. This is apparent with her faster stride and even dancing.  She's getting better with the potty now, and claps when she is done her business and proclaims "Good Girl" (one of the few things she can say). She is a marathon sleeper, one night during our readjusting to the time change, sleeping for 15 1/2 hours straight. The following night though look out, she was VERY rested and decided at 1:30 in the morning to use her crib as a trampoline, until about 3:30 in the morning. She had a ball and began laughing at her new discovery, not bothering anyone or getting upset at all, until she finally went back to sleep.

After dinner tonight she had a banana milkshake, showing her approval by clapping and declaring "ummm" then signing for more. She mimics EVERYTHING that her big sister does. This is a challenge, since Lyndsay thinks it's funny to teach her undesirable things or annoying behaviors. Saturday we took the girls to a local park to play, they seemed to enjoy that and the weather was lovely. It is probably the first time Charis has been on a swing or sliding board and she thought both were great. Slowly she is warming up to the dogs. They have both tried so hard to play with her, but she would start to cry if they got too close. Now she tolerates them being close, but not touching her or in her face. She even petted Sozo the other night with a bit of help from me and didn't mind it. Before long she will have a whole mouthful of teeth, as many are breaking through at the same time. Even with the obvious discomfort that this brings, she is typically in a good mood, wakes up well and seldom cries. If you do hear her cry, half the time you can count on seeing Lyndsay close by (or running the other way). 

 We have been so blessed to have them in our lives. Each day is an adventure (and a challenge at times!), but when they flash one of those ear to ear smiles, we know that we wouldn't change a thing.

I'm still working on more pictures, but they will come....soon I hope!

        Can't I pick just one?Who can swing highest?        Two beautiful girls by beautiful fall mums. Yeah! The End....for today.