Celebration continues

When we first came home, I wondered whether we'd be able to continue in the spirit of Christmas or whether jet lag, adjustments, and the "after Christmas blahs" would hinder our celebrations. I am happy to report that the celebration continues, and we are filled with the joy and wonder of the season. To force ourselves to get back on Ohio time, we have kept ourselves active in the evenings. Last night we visited the Festival Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. Mayana was fascinated with the lights; the rest of us less so ... it seems that the zoo hasn't kept up with its usual high standards for the event. But the weather outside was awesome.

Today we attended church in the morning and enjoyed the rest of the day at home. This evening has been particularly joyful, as we made a gingerbread house while listening to Christmas carols.

I am taken aback by all the carols and songs that Mayana knows! She has a very good voice and can carry a tune so well. She sings for us the following songs in kind of a half English, half Chinese: "We wish you a Merry Christmas"; "Jingle Bells"; "Joyful, Joyful" (I want to know what words she's really singing on this one!!). She also sings "Happy Birthday" in clear English and in Chinese. She sings "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" a little Happy New Year ditty in plain English. And she sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" in Chinese. I'm sure there's much more in there we haven't tapped yet. She sure isn't shy about singing for the camera. Her enthusiasm is contagious! When I figure out how to post a video here, I'll get you one.

Grace, Lia, and Mayana had some great play time today. Lia said, "I'm glad that Mayana is my sister... .but she is a little bossy." Bossy? She doesn't even speak English yet! Watch out.

How is communication? Well, it's sure interesting! She talks to us in Chinese (Cantonese, that is) and we try to understand from context and the little bit we're picking up. It would be easier if it were Mandarin. That's for sure. But she is understanding more and more. We, on the other hand, are slow learners ... Mayana must think we are really dense since we can't seem to repeat her words with right tones. But she just giggles and laughs about it.

What was her first sentence? Well, this will tell you a bit about her. We arrived in Cincinnati and exited the plane. Just inside the airport I noticed that her pink jacket was not on her, nor was it anywhere that I could see. I asked her, using sign language, where it was. She shrugged and looked at me clearly saying, "I have no idea." Then she pointed to the plane. Grace ran back to the plane, where Tom was awaiting a bag. They looked through the plane to no avail. When they got back, Mayana unzipped her backpack, and said, "Here it is!" pulling out her jacket and laughing uproariously. (Little stinker!) So it was hard to praise her for her good English!!

Now, when she picks up a phone, she says, with such a cute accent, "Hello. This is Mayana." She says simple things like, "Tickle Daddy!" She seems to track some of our conversations and most of our simple instructions (but we are still pointing and signing.) Since she is willing to repeat almost everything they say, the older girls have been putting her on the phone with their friends. She will repeat, "Hi, Joc-lyn. How are you?" etc...."

I really didn't think we'd be having this much fun this early on. Usually the first week is simply survival mode. (And earlier today, even, I thought that Mayana had decided that she was Kayla's daughter rather than mine! She didn't want to have much to do with anyone other than Kayla, and she kept pushing me away. Kayla came up with a good temporary solution -- spend the night with a friend -- and that has worked well for the time being.) Plus, we have been very blessed to have several meals made ahead for us by Sonya - who is a great cook - which takes some of the burden off in the evenings.

Prayer request -- Please pray for wisdom for us about how to bond with her, particularly in light of her strong preference for Kayla. It reminds us of her strong preference for Helen while we were in China. We want the whole family to be together, all enjoying each other, and we want to particularly focus on the parent-child attachment and bonding during the next few weeks, before life gets back into the normal routines. This is a whole new ball game -- attaching to a child who is so perfectly happy to be independent and who can meet most of her own needs. Thanks for your prayers!