New Discoveries

Well it's been a while, but we have been a little busy.  It's been 2 1/2 weeks since we arrived home.  We have been trying to create what we are calling "the new normal."  If our life were a fairy tale I would be typing how perfect everything has been since we have been home, and how we are living happily ever after.  I wish this were the truth but Disney is not yet planning a movie based on the Ayres.  The variety of emotions that we have experienced has been endless. 

Except for learning to sleep, Davidson has adapted perfectly.  He is a joy to be around.  He entertains.  He snuggles. He plays with his siblings.  He still loves his Mama more than anyone else, but we all are moving up the ladder.  With a little help from Melatonin, he is sleeping much better now too.  Last weekend we were able to visit one of Davidson's roomates from MBHOH who now lives in Madison.  I really feel like they remembered each other.  We feel so blessed to have him.

Ming Yu has been a little more difficult.  She has had plenty of wonderful moments, and we feel just as blessed to have her.  However, her adjustment has been not quite as easy.  I try to put myself in her shoes, and to be honest, I can't.  She lives in a country for almost 14 years then a couple of strange Americans come, take her from her comfortable surroundings, then bring her to a country with different food, different smells, and a completely different culture. Oh yeah, did I mention that those people don't speak the same language?  How can anyone expect her to be anything but overwhelmed and scared?  She doesn't yet know that in the long run she will be better off in a Christian family rather than in an orphanage in China. She doesn't want to hear how "blessed" she is to have been adopted.  She wants to go back to China!!!  Last week she never said that, but I'll just say she did everything she could with the hopes that we would put her on a plane and send her back.  We obviously didn't do that.  What did we do?  We prayed...a lot.  Last week tested our faith more than anything has.  We knew, however, that God didn't bring us this far, to forget about us.  We called on friends and social workers for assistance and advice.  We are thankful for the advice we received, but in the end our reliance on God is what got us through.  We prayed for God to soften her heart.  We prayed that God would teach us how to handle this situation.  We prayed for patience and understanding.  We prayed for sympathy toward our daughter when it would be easy to just be angry.  Countless friends were praying along with us, and late last week things started to change.  We then had a great weekend and our week is improving day by day.  We interact. We laugh. We talk through iPhone translators and charades.  Ming Yu has really started to open up.  She has been to classes with her sisters.  She spent the night with her cousins at her grandparent's house.  She seems to even enjoy church despite the language barrier.  She is exploring her new world in so many ways, and it is wonderful to watch.    She is working hard to learn English and will only rest when she gets 100% on her lessons.  She may not love us as much as we love her, but we are definitely growing on her.  Last week I would have said we were light years from the point we are at right now.  God, as always, had a better timeline.  It is still not a perfect world in our house, nor will it be any time soon.  However, this week we are praying prayers of thanksgiving for what God has provided.  Even if we go through another challenging week, we can rely on the fact that God will be there with us every step of the way. 

I have to share a story that just makes us laugh.  Apparently, our Chicken feet post made an impact.  Today I got a call from Greg Allred.  He and Susan wanted to come by and bring Ming Yu a gift.  Maggie and Rebecca started giggling because they knew what was coming, but were sworn to secrecy.  Greg walked in later with a cooler that he gladly presented to Ming Yu.  What was in it?  Of course, a bag of frozen chicken feet! It was certainly the most interesting gift we have received.   My next order of business is to find a recipe for preparing chicken feet that will be acceptable to Ming Yu.

Also, please be prepared to see a white Acadia going down the road with bubbles blowing out a window rolled down in the 40 degree weather!  That is exactly what happened today, when I, Lauren took Ming Yu and Rebecca with me to the optical on Broad Street.  When was the last time your teenager got excited over a small bottle of bubbles?  Sweet, sweet moments that make us laugh and just enjoy being together keep happening multiple times a day.  Ming Yu started blowing bubbles in the car and thought it would be more fun to roll down the window and share bubbles with Broad Street and Third Street, all the way to Chick fil a!  Rebecca claimed tonight that she had more fun today than ever and just loved it when her new sister spread the love of bubbles with the city of downtown Gadsden with country music blaring on the radio. (Ming Yu chose the station!) My country-Chinese girl is enjoying life.  Please continue to pray for her heart as she learns to love her new family.