What a difference a day makes! Today was a turning point for us. Mayana decided Daddy is quite a bit of fun, so Tom had an enjoyable day with her. Perhaps it helped that we didn’t have an outing today. I don’t know for sure. But we’re hoping it sticks.
After breakfast this morning, we were able to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa and Lia. Although Mayana still couldn’t fully understand the Skype concept, she did interact with Grandma and Grandpa, showing them many pictures and her necklace that she made. It was great to catch up with what is going on at home. Lia seems to be doing well, which is good news. Kayla and AnneMarie are having fun with friends.
We enjoyed a great walk today by the river. Saturday brings out families and couples to the parks, so we were able to see many interesting things, like dancing, singing, and many games of badminton and hacky-sack. The girls really enjoyed watching the dancing! The playground, though, was a bit too crowded to enjoy.
We lunched in the room, played with play-doh, made more bead necklaces, and had our own time of dancing. Mayana was so comfortable with Tom that I was able to go get a massage. (At $10 for an hour it is so hard to pass up!) Tom truly enjoyed hanging out with his “twins.” Grace and Mayana love to dress alike (thank you to Kayla for helping coordinate outfits for them).
Later we danced to Toby Mac’s, “I was made to love you.” How fun to see Grace and Mayana both totally abandoned to the joy of the dance and being all together as a family! I got some great video of it, but we aren't able to post video now.
Tonight we enjoyed a great dinner at a restaurant we had found 7 years ago when we adopted Grace. They still had my favorite item on the menu – pineapple stuffed with all sorts of veggies, chicken, ham, and a Thai-flavored rice. Tasty! We all enjoyed our meal. (We passed on the steamed eel!) We topped the evening off with a movie – Mulan II. (We play it in Chinese for Mayana - she understands a lot of Mandarin, so she can follow along -- and the rest of us read the English subtitles.)
When Helen called tonight, Mayana talked with her and told her, "I had a good day." It's unanimous.
Looking forward to another good day here tomorrow. Maybe I will have a chance to upload more pics, too.
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Our Beautiful Blessing... from China
So many that it brings tears...
Where I used to live!
Mayana Mei Xiang
Our Beautiful Blessing... from China
"Whoever welcomes a little child in My name welcomes Me." Mt 18:5
FAQs
How old is Mei Xiang? -- Adopted at age 8, she turned 11 in December 2011.
When did you travel to China? -- December 12- 26, 2008
Where did you stay in China? --Guangzhou, Shamian Island, Victory Hotel (loved it!)
When were your other daughters adopted? 2001 (age 1) and 2005 (age 3)
Would you do it all over again? You bet! But we don't foresee any more additions to our family (until way down the road when we're up to our eyeballs in grandkids). We certainly want to encourage and help others to bring orphans into loving homes, though!
When did you travel to China? -- December 12- 26, 2008
Where did you stay in China? --Guangzhou, Shamian Island, Victory Hotel (loved it!)
When were your other daughters adopted? 2001 (age 1) and 2005 (age 3)
Would you do it all over again? You bet! But we don't foresee any more additions to our family (until way down the road when we're up to our eyeballs in grandkids). We certainly want to encourage and help others to bring orphans into loving homes, though!
How many still wait?
So many that it brings tears...
China
Where I used to live!
Introducing ....
Mayana Lin Meixiang (may shee’ahng) lived in far southeast China without a mommy or a daddy. She had heard a lot about “forever families,” but until now she wondered if she would ever have one. Forever families usually want babies and toddlers. Now she is delighted to be part of a family and she works hard at learning English so that we can all communicate. Her best friend and other friends were adopted by other US families this past summer. Can you imagine her thoughts and emotions? Her life has changed so much!
Mei Xiang was born in Dec 2000
Two days later she was found near a bank building in a flimsy paper box, wrapped in a towel. Those who found her reported that she was crying loudly – a good sign to them that she would survive.
Time Line
- Feb 2008 - begin paperchase
- 05/01/08 -- Decision to adopt Mei Xiang!!
- 05/09/08 LOI to FTIA
- 05/13/08 - LOI to China
- 05/23/08 PA (Pre Approval from China)
- DTC {Dossier to China} June 20, 2008
- LID {Log in Date} June 27, 2008
- LOA{Letter of Acceptance from China} Oct 31, 2008
- TA{Travel Approval} 12-1
- {Gotcha Day}Forever Family Day 12-15
- {Adoption Day, usually the day after Gotcha Day 12-16
- CA{Consulate Appointment in China}12-23
- Home 12-26
3 comments:
Awesome update!
Very wonderful!
:o) Ash and Hannah
Gotta say I LOVE Toby Mac! He's one of our favorites and you just gotta dance LOL! So glad to hear how good it's going well. We loved Helen but found out as our trip wound down that the days without Helen actually worked better for us as a family as Ke yi was getting really attached to her and she was much better for us without Helen along. Hope the rest of your trip goes fast! Thanks again for the updates :)
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