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.

What an arrival!!

Wow.  Just wow!!  Those are the only words to say when I think about our arrival home last night.  We arrived in Birmingham last night, January 5, at 10 pm.  We knew that our family would be there and we expected a few friends who told us that they were coming.  As we walked up the terminal we were completely overwhelmed by what we saw.  We could hear clapping and screaming, and as we got closer we saw over 100 of our friends and family ready to welcome our newest family members home.  Unbelievable.  I'm not going to name individuals because I will certainly forget someone, but to those of you who were there, we are so thankful to you for making our night so special.  Those of you who wanted to come but could not, we are thankful for your prayers and support too.  Ming Yu, who acted quite shy throughout our trip, started beaming the closer we got to the reception.  I had not seen her smile the way she smiled last night.  I was afraid that she would be overwhelmed but it was exactly the opposite.  As she was met by her MASS of balloons and flowers given to her by John and Kendra (I know I said no names), she stood there like a princess getting picture after picture.  It was exactly what Lauren and I wanted and exactly what she deserved.  She normally will not have her picture taken.  She normally doesn't like hugs, but last night was different.  She welcomed each as she was welcomed by so many friends and family.  She stood and talked to her sisters, cousins, and new friends just like they didn't speak different languages.  God is amazing.  Davidson stayed close to Mom, and he did great through the endless hugs and kisses.  It is hard to believe how well he did throughout 25 hours of travel.  He had to be held almost every part of the trip, and of course Lauren did that holding 95% of the time (that may be a low estimate).  She is completely worn out, but so thankful to hold him in her arms that she didn't want to put him down. 

As we arrived home Lauren and I were so thankful for what happened next.  We weren't sure how Ming Yu would react, but we were fairly certain that we wouldn't see what we saw.  Maggie started introducing Ming Yu to her new home, and they began talking and laughing like they had been sisters forever.  They looked at Ming Yu's picture albums and then our family albums.  They ate noodles and cupcakes.  They stayed up until after 3 am, but we were not about to stop what was happening.  Ming Yu talked more to Maggie last night than she did to us in 3 weeks.  The smiles and laughs just kept coming.  All Lauren and I could do was shed tears of joy.  We had been praying that God would prepare Ming Yu's heart for her family.  We never doubted that he would do just that.  We were just waiting for his timing.  As always, he timed it perfectly. 

We begin the next phase of our adoption journey now.  I am still amazed at what God has done in the past 10 months.  I am more thankful to Him than words can express.  I can not wait to see what He does next...

Coming home

Our almost three weeks in China are drawing to a close, on one hand it seems like it has flown by. On the other I feel like I've been here an eternity.  From home I miss holding my biological children and singing with them before bed. Believe it or not I miss my work, I miss my bed, I miss running and the peace that it brings to my brain, I miss my church, being able to drink from the sink, being able to jump in the car and get to anything I need in 10 minutes. I miss being able to send a text to anyone to ask a question or offer encouragement.   I miss coffee with Lauren after getting the kids to bed every night.  There are so many things that I miss about the US, but honestly I will miss things about China as well. China is the birthplace of my two newest children.  It is the only country that they have ever known. Davidson won't remember it, but Ming Yu has spent almost 14 years here.  She loves her country, and she is sad to leave it.  It makes me miss it with her. I will also miss the families who we have met here while they were adopting children. Adoption brings children into families, but it also brings families together. I am so thankful that on our trip we met Robert and Pam Frederickson and their two precious newly adopted daughters.  We spent multiple meals and shopping trips together, but most of all we laughed and talked and enjoyed getting to know each other. Right now, we are hotel neighbors and it is easy to get together. When we return to the US we will be in Alabama, while they will return to Maryland. Through emails and Facebook we can keep in contact, but that is nothing like sitting around the table watching our daughters eat Chicken Feet or some other Chinese "delicacy." I will miss getting to spend every part of the day with my children. When I get back home, work will resume and all of the business that goes along with managing a family of 8 will too. I'm thankful for the time that Lauren and I have gotten to spend together with our newest family members. I am also very excited to bring them home to reunite us all together as one big, happy family.

Tomorrow we will begin our 24 hours of airports and airplanes. We've never travelled on an airplane with a baby, especially for that length of time. Please pray that he is calm during the trip. Pray that God will also calm Ming Yu's fears of leaving her country to start a new life in the US. We've never been a family of 8, so pray that God will give everyone patience as we learn how to all get along. We land in Birmingham at 10pm Saturday night. I know it's a crazy time, but we would love to have our kids welcomed by anyone able to come.   We are excited to introduce our new son and daughter to everyone who has supported us through our adoption journey.  And for those of you coming, I'll take a Diet Dr. Pepper and Lauren a Diet Coke!!!! (with ice)