Ups and Downs

I guess it's been a while since we have updated our blog.  A lot has happened since we have been home, some worthy of mentioning and some definitely not.  We have been home for 4 months, and one thing is for sure, being the parents of six children definitely keeps us busy.  The meals, the dishes, the laundry, the school work seem to never end.  It is definitely challenging but if you ask any of the 8 of us, we wouldn't do anything differently.  A common question we get from the kids is, "Do you think we will adopt anymore babies?"  Our response, "Who knows?"  After the last year we have learned that no and never are words we don't commonly use when it comes to adoption, family, and God's plan. 

So I guess everyone wants to hear how the kids are doing.  Davidson is such a joy to be around and has become quite the entertainer.  Just mention Gangnam Style and he starts the dance.  Today we ate lunch out, and before we could finish, he had every waitress in the restaurant smiling and laughing.  Sorry if you were there and got less than stellar service.  I must admit that his laugh and his smile are very infectious.  It's hard to ignore him once he gets going.   He loves his brother and sisters, his grandparents, but most of all his Mama.  He can't get enough hugs and kisses from her.  She certainly doesn't mind.  I'm not too bad either, especially if I'm headed out the door.  If someone mentions leaving the house he is coming along.  He turned two this week.  He seemed to enjoy his cake and opening presents.  It took him a few tries to learn to blow out his candles, but he got the hang of it.  I had a really cute video to put here but for some reason I can't get it to work.  Maybe I can add it later. 

Ming Yu seems to be adapting to a new family, culture, and language fairly well also.  It is definitely harder on her, but she has made great strides.  We seem to resort to electronic translators less and less these days.  She enjoys our food, and has definitely learned the importance of shopping!!!  It hasn't all been pretty as some of you have witnessed, but with frequent talks with Lauren about what it means to be a daughter, what it means to be a sister, and what it means to have unconditional love she seems generally happy to be here.  She has started taking piano lessons, and is playing a song at church tomorrow morning.  She, her sisters, and several friends have been practicing Mighty to Save.  They plan to sing it at church soon, with the chorus in Chinese.  She asks lots of questions about Jesus, that frankly I don't always know how to answer.  Imagine spending almost 14 years of your life being told that the Bible and its stories are just fiction, then ending up in a home where Jesus is talked about and worshipped daily.  The Chinese are very prideful people, so she struggles to let go of her Chinese beliefs in order to accept our American ways and beliefs.  It's probably not much different for us as Christians as we have a hard time letting go of our earthly desires, in order to accept God's plan for our lives. I know God will work it all out in time.  In the meantime we are enjoying watching Ming Yu and DiDi experience many "firsts" - like cheese, grass, play doh, Six Flags, Easter, riding a bike, trips to the aquarium, stormy weather causing several days without power, concerts, youth group activities, birthday parties, and many more that so many of us take for granted every day. 

We had planned on a few more "firsts" this summer, but as we have come to expect, God had a different plan.  Our first family beach trip will be postponed this summer, as we found out last weekend that we will be making a return trip to China much sooner than expected.  No, we won't be bringing any new children home this trip, but in the end I'm sure we will see many that we would love to add to our family.  During August we will be spending two weeks in Beijing at Hope Healing Home, one of the care centers of the New Hope Foundation.  The doctor and director of the orphanage needs to travel out of the country, and has asked us if we could come care for the babies in her absence.  She is the one who coordinated all of Davidson's care when he was sick as an infant.  Needless to say we are thrilled, and thankful that God has called our family to care for even more orphans, if only for a short while.  We are travelling as a family.  It may be difficult for the little ones, but no one wanted to miss this trip.  We all pray that this is the first of many return trips to China.

Overall, it is pretty exciting in the Ayres' house these days.  Summer is coming.  The new kids are settling in to their new environment, as the "old" ones are getting used to new routines. Most of all we are thankful for the blessings God has given us and for the fact that he continues to use us in his Kingdom.