Tuesday,
May 31
Isabelle is doing great and we are too. Hard to believe
she has been with us now for 24 hours. In that time she
has had a 4.5 hour nap, eaten several times, rolled over and
over, made kissing and clucking sounds, burped, laughed when
tickled, smiled a ton, and already enriched our lives in ways we
will never be able to express.
We went out to dinner last night, outside the hotel, and tried
some authentic Chinese food. Some things I wouldn't be
able to describe but many that look like stuff in the States but
are peculiar to this area. There was something that looked
like collard greens, some pork that looked like bbq, there were
dumplings that we could all recognize but they were served in a
spicy soup-type sauce that (for my family in Shiner, Texas)
reminded me of 'picnic stew.' The non-adventurous eaters
in this family, all of us, are having some difficulty adapting
but mostly we find something out of the numerous dishes that
looks and tastes familiar and eat that exclusively. I
think maybe Tori has discovered the joys of the Lays Stax potato
chips, I enjoy Chips Ahoy cookies, and Stefanie has found some
snacks she likes. We were told yesterday that Isabelle
likes some finger foods but when we gave her small bites of it
yesterday she coughed it up so we are sticking with the Chinese
formula that she was on at the orphanage.
Last night was very rough. Isabelle laid down in her crib
and fell asleep and did not wake up until 7:00 a.m. I
meant it was tough on Stefanie because she got up at 5:00 a.m.
and had to wait 2 whole hours for Isabelle to wake up.
Believe me that was harder on Stefanie than you can imagine.
There may have been an "accidental" loud noise or bump of the
crib but our little girl stood her ground and stayed asleep.
So far so good on the sleeping and eating... more to come on
whether that remains the case or not.
Today was a big day because we went back to the Civil Affairs
and received the Chinese government official documentation that
Isabelle is ours and that her name is now Isabelle YangTing
Leist. We now have two official documents stating that she
is ours: the agreement between the orphanage and us and
the adoption certification between us and the Civil Affairs.
The rest of the time we are here in Nanjing is for shopping,
tours and waiting for Isabelle's passport which we will receive
on Friday, 3 June.
Some great news is that we got pictures of Isabelle in her
orphanage and with one of her caregivers. The unfortunate
news is that we will not be able to travel to the
orphanage because the director said there is construction
ongoing and that would preclude us from enjoying the visit.
It would have been an eight hour round trip so that gives us a
little more time to spend together here in the hotel or learning
more about Nanjing and the Jiangsu province. We were able
to discuss another thing that has been on our conscious since we
decided to adopt and that was to donate something to the
orphanage that they needed. The director told us that they
need an air conditioner and a washing machine so we will be able
to buy those here and leave them at the Civil Affairs and the
next time the Huai'An SWI director is in Nanjing (should be soon) he will pick it up and
bring it back to the orphanage.
Isabelle and I took a short nap, about 2 hours, and then all of
us went to another Chinese restaurant where Sophie again ordered
for us and we had some good chow. The city center is
really cool here because they have a European style walk through
market and tons of neon lights. The best being two fire
breathing dragons on the side of a building.
Please continue to pray -- it is working. Isabelle has
fulfilled God's promise that you should ask what your heart
desires. |
Beautiful gate created thousands
of years ago.
One example of the lights in the center of the city.
Warming hearts on two continents.
Two of the most beautiful girls on the planet
together in China.
Her lips disappear with the smile
but her four teeth appear.
Taking a break with Isabelle before tackling the world. |
