Friday, February 27, 2009

Strength and peace please…

This afternoon after Liana’s nap, I gave her
some juice. About the time I realized her lips
were blue, her pull-up Leaked and wet us both,
so we dashed to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
I sat her on the potty while I grabbed a fresh tee
shirt. When I got back she was outwardly shaking.
We jumped in and got a quick warm shower. She
loved it and played in the water. The minute I
turned off the water and opened the shower curtain,
the shaking started up again.

Guy got home about the same time, so he
grabbed pajamas for her while I wrapped
her warmly. She quit shaking, but her lips
did remain blue for thirty minutes. She
immediately went back to playing, but Guy
and I called the doctor. We knew something
wasn’t right. Our pediatrician conferred with
a cardiologist who stated that heart babies
sometime turn blue when they are fighting
infections and running a fever. She is presently
being treated for an ear infection.

We were told to observe her and call
again if the need arises. Thankfully
we go to see her cardiologist on Monday
at 2:00. We are so ready to find out
something about her condition! This issue
keeps us looking to God who promises to give
us strength and peace.

“The Lord will give strength unto
His people. The Lord will bless
His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

In my morning devotion, I was meditating
on scripture about not being anxious. God
was preparing me for this afternoon.

Busy bonding…a big blessing!

The second week has been BUSY. We are really working on bonding
issues. I feed Liana a bottle two to three times a day. If she does not
want a bottle, we simply sit still and I hold her. Today I hugged and
held her for an hour after she woke up. It was such a tender moment
that we both truly enjoyed!
We want to say that we had a very sweet welcome
from our family at the airport when we returned
from China. Thanks to our son Jeremy, our son Chris
and Samantha, who will soon be our daughter-in-love,
my sister Angela and most of her family for coming
late at night to greet us. The smiles, squeals, and thrills
will never be forgotten. We love you all and look forward
to telling Liana what a special moment we shared!

homelife

(For those following our blog…
delayed homecoming report due to sickness…)

After leaving China on February 11 around 8:00 a.m., we traveled
safely to the US and arrived in Chicago at 4:30 in the afternoon,
on February 11, an hour or so after eating breakfast. Ha! It’s so
strange how you fly into the day you just spent traveling.

Liana slept about eleven of the fourteen hours from Beijing to
Chicago. Praise the Lord! We are so grateful for the prayers of
family and friends throughout our journey! Guy was sick the
entire trip home. He was miserable with flu-like symptoms.

We moved quickly through Customs and baggage claims. Then
it was on to Immigration to get Liana processed to enter the U.S.
We had about three minutes to make our flight to Birmingham.
We were walking as fast as we could, Guy with three carry-on
pieces, while sick with aches and a fever, and me carrying Liana.

We rode a tram and finally located our terminal. We knew the
plane was either waiting on us, or they had already left without us.
Wearily Guy went to the counter and quickly discovered that our
flight was delayed until 9:30 that evening! It was so disappointing,
but God was in control. After contacting family and friends, we
went and got something to eat at McDonald’s. Liana ate chicken
nuggets and absolutely loved the sliced apples in her kids meal.

She really enjoyed walking around the airport terminal and told
everyone she passed, “Bye- bye!” She is a bit too friendly. It is
common for orphans to learn to show out to get attention.

We arrived in Birmingham at 12:30. We got home about 1:30. We
visited with Jeremy, Chris, and Samantha for a little while. Then
we got showers and got in bed at 3:00 a.m.

By 2:00 in the afternoon, we were at the doctor’s office. Both Guy
and I had a flu-like virus with various infections, so we were both
put on an antibiotic. Liana got sick a few days later and had a fever
along with an ear infection. I think we actually got sick from her
germs. She had a cold and a rattle in her chest when we first got her.
So the first week we all just slept and ate and slept some more.

Monday, February 9, 2009

February 8, 2009

I awoke this morning with joy in my heart as I listened to our sleeping toddler breathing deeply in the crib beside me. What a privilege this is to mother our precious gift of love! Fangying has been adopted into our forever family, just as we have been adopted into our Abba Father’s family. I have always known since my salvation that I am loved by Him both deeply and unconditionally, but I am growing in my understanding of this truth as I daily minister to our darling child.

Is she perfect? Absolutely not! Does she always obey me? No way! But that does not cancel the uttermost passion that I have for her, and the total and unwavering commitment to meet her every need, and the encompassing desire to nurture her and assure her that she is safe and she need not fear me ever leaving .



Food Photos Playtime Shopping


Today was a free day, so we ate, shopped and took lots of photos. Then we played and we ate again. What an exhausting day!! Fangying operated on limited naptime. She did great under the circumstances. We are so ready to get her home and be still.
We leave in two days! We can hardly wait. We have missed our family and friends.

Liana ready for the day!!

Morning Laughter



Chinese man living out monument at Mall





Bottle feeding fish big attraction at Mall Strip

Liana and BaBa chillin
PLAY TIME; OH YES!!!
Mattel Toy Maker and the White Swan Hotel have a good thing going in that they have a playroom set up for children to play with toys. Liana had a hard time deciding what to do first.













Meal time happy time (tonight any way)



Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Getting to Know Guangzhou


Today was a wonderful day for us all!
Fangying is really warming up to Baba.
This morning we went to an interesting
museum. It’s an amazing architectural
structure! Outside was a lovely garden.
Fangying loved the flowers. Inside were
some colorful, ancient porcelain pieces,
as well as lots of antique wood furniture.
Mama’s favorite part was the display of
embroidery stitched artwork that looked
like paintings. They were very impressive!

Off to the Museum

Paul, Margaret and Christine Wang

Happy Families!
Look MaMa!!!



Look BaBa!!!




Lovely ancient porcelain pieces




Garden






Antique furniture

Public wedding place

Family and friends
In the afternoon we shopped and ate at
Pizza Hut. Yea! What fun eating familiar
delicious and familiar food! Mama enjoyed
shopping for Fangying. She took a brief nap.
Shopping mall



Shopping is hard work!!

Margaret and Christine

Rondi and Jada
We took a Pearl River boat cruise. The pictures
tell the story…

River Cruise Dinning

Love those noodles!!

River Cruise सिघ्ट्स.