ENGLISH

Here are some words/phrases that Madison is saying:


Watch TV
Calm down ( she hears this a lot;)
Let me see( every time I take a picture of her she says this)
Potty
Thank you
Good morning
No touching
Swim
Hair, nose& ears
Help
Brush my teeth
Daddy,mommy, Morgan, & McKinley
Paw paw
Ketchup ( we gave her some in china & she wants it on everything!) even grapes..yuck
She said " fork" last night for the first time

She puts an " A" on the end of a lot of her words. I know that in a few months I am going to miss hearing her say words in half English half Cantonese;)


Madison is now bowing her head & closing her eyes when we say the blessing, it's a very sweet thing;) McKinley has taught her the " God our father" prayer


She knows the colors yellow & purple but still keeps getting the others mixed up. She also can count to 10 in English. She sings several nursery rhymes in Cantonese but now she will sing " twinkle twinkle little star" & " Old McDonald" she will start off singing them in English & then halfway through she's signs in Cantonese;)


I've had several people ask about her night terrors . She has not had any night terrors in over a week! She slept good last night but the night before she woke up twice, she's doing much much better but still has nights where she doesn't sleep through the night. Today she woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:50AM & would not go back to sleep !

So while David & Morgan are at church this morning me & the " Little's" played with some playdoh

This was taken with my phone, so it's not good:(

 

Then we had a little "photo shoot"

 

 

I am telling you, McKinley was born to be a big sister!She is so good with Madison, although I am ready for the "new" to ware off:) She wants to pick her up & do everything for her all day long!
After that, we went outside to ride scooters & bikes:

 

Then we played with puzzles:

 

AHH! And it's only NOON....I'm tired already:~) Happy Sunday!

 

WEEKEND WRAP~UP

Another week down & it has been a pretty good one. Friday was the busiest day we have had since coming back from China. Madison had an appointment to get an EKG done (just to cover everything, nothing was found). That is one thing I like about our Dr...he is very proactive and just wanted to give her a full check-up.  David said she did great. He took her to the Dr while I went to Grandparents Day at school with the girls--their Grandparents couldn't come back since they were just here. :(

Back to Friday, the girls got out of school at noon, and it was my Birthday so I took Morgan & Madison to the mall and David took McKinley on a little father/daughter lunch (I think she is going to need a lot more of this one on one with David & I).  Then we all met up at the mall...we only lasted 2.5 hours (three kids at the mall was a little harder than just two).  So we went home and since it was my bday I made all the girls put on their fall clothes so I could take a few pictures...They all act like its torture to get pictures made so I pulled the ''It's my day, so do what I want" card. I didn't get any REALLY good ones, but a few turned out OK.

Sorry I cannot figure out how to make this bigger:)Oh, how I wish I was more Techie! 

And in other exciting news David & I finally got around to cleaning out our garage...riveting I know!!

We moved into this house about 6 weeks ago, but we have kinda had a lot going on. :) So this has been on my "to do" list for the last 2 weeks, I know it sounds crazy but I feel so much better now that

the garage is cleaned & organized!

 

Tomorrow I am going to post about how Madison's English is coming along, I'm sure you all can't wait for that, but It is really more for me to remember than anything:)

 

One more week staying home from church YaY!Well not yay that I'm staying home from church ,but yay that its the last week I am staying home . I  have an AMAZING pastor & can't wait to get back to

church to hear him preach:)So please join me in prayer that Madison will do well next week when I attempt to take her to church. I don't think she will  sit through the whole service so I am going to try to keep her with me during the worship and then Morgan works in a preschool room on Sunday nights anyway, so I am going to put her in the room with Morgan and hopefully she will feel comfortable. I will let you all know how that goes next week:)

 

 

Blessings,

Melissa

DR. Visit

Maison did AMAZING at her DR. visit today!! They had to draw more blood because her veins are so small that they could not get all they needed the last time( she is in the 5-7 percentile in her weight). At the last visit she screamed and then proceeded to scream an hour AFTER we left. But today she was such a brave girl:)

Notice she wanted a band aide for her smurf too!

 

 

Madison is doing much better each day. I said a few days ago I can now "see the light at the end of the tunnel" and that light gets brighter & brighter each day:) She still has some challenges but for the most part things are SO much better. I can hardly believe we have been home for 2.5 weeks!

 

They past 2 nights she has slept through the night.. ALL NIGHT LONG !yay!

I am hoping that we can start getting out a little next week ( staying at home all day, everyday is driving me INSANE).

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

This and that

We have had a very low key weekend, we are still not getting out that much with Madison. I am SO ready to go back to church tomorrow but I know that it isn't what's best for her right now, so we plan on staying home 2 more weeks before going back. Madison had been 6 nights without an night terrors until last night....She had one but it wasn't as bad as before, so please keep praying that they go away completely. She also had not had any major tantrums during the day until today :( She had one that lasted close to two hours!  But other than that, she has been doing really well.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend:

 Lots of outside fun!

She even got her first manicure from her big sis!

I hope everyone has a great Sunday tomorrow!

Melissa

A DAY IN THE LIFE.... PICTURE ADDITION

I thought I would take pictures throughout our day and just do a post of a typical day around here. We are all sill trying to get in a routine as a family of 5!!

   Eating bfast... she did not like the powdered donuts :)

 A little ipad and book time

As you can see Madison LOVES her car seat and going to pick up girls from school.

Morgan found Madison sitting in this little tiny box.

 On the verge of losing it...

Playing with some Lego's

 

We went to school & ate lunch with McKinley & daddy even met us there too!

After school today I made all the girls put on their ALABAMA outfits to take a few pictures ( I didn't have 1 photo of all 3 girls together) Well you would have thought I told them they were all getting a beating....All 3 of them whinnied! But once they got outside I think they had a good time.

My three Crimson Tide girls!

BROKEN

That is the word that keeps coming to my mind as I  think about David & I over these past 10 days. So I decided to look up the definition (disclaimer: me looking up something in the dictionary will probably NEVER happen again).  BROKEN : violently separated into parts :damaged or altered by breaking: having undergone or been subjected to fracture : being irregular, interrupted, or full of obstacles *disrupted by change :made weak or infirm.

Broken- It is such a negative word and trust me when I say, if you are in the process of being broken IT IS NOT FUN, but when you come out on the other side closer to God and you start to see the beauty from the ashes  you realize that maybe, just maybe it wasn't so bad. The Lord is teaching us so many things about Himself through this adoption, things that I could have never learned if not from going through this myself. I know David shared this on Sunday but for those of you who don't go to our church I will say it again, How many times do we throw tantrums  kick, scream & hit at God  when He asks us  to do something? He loves us and wants to give us this amazing life but we push Him away Just like Madison is screaming & pushing us away when all we want to do is love her & hold her, We just want to give her a future that she would have never gotten in China. But she misses her old life, even as bad as it was. We too, act this way with God & would rather stay in the "pit" of our old life, when all He wants to do is give us a hope & a future, If we will just stop pushing Him away. Now in my head I have known this concept for a while but man oh man, now I have a vivid, visual picture of this that will forever be ingrained in my mind. If not for the brokenness, I wouldn't be able to grasp this like I have.


Please don't get me wrong, I haven't figured it all out & I have certainly NOT handled these past 10 days with grace & dignity like God would have wanted. I have cried plenty "ugly" tears. But yesterday I felt all the burden, stress, clouds, even the brokenness I have been feeling being lifted off of me. When David got home yesterday I looked at him and said " we CAN do this" up until about noon yesterday I wasn't so sure about that. The Lord is hearing your prayers & mine and He is giving me these little glimpses of hope throughout my day that Ive been praying for. So thank you all again, for the prayers. Our heavenly father is answering!

 Look at that beautiful smile :)

Here is the chart that we have been using to help communicate things we want her to do & she gets to put a sticker on it after she completes the task.



In closing...
Laura Story sings this song that I have loved for a while but when I heard it this morning while taking the girls to school It spoke to me in a whole new way. I will leave you with the lyrics.
Have a blessed Tuesday!
Melissa

BLESSING:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
comfort for family, protection while we sleep
we pray for healing, for prosperity
we pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

all the while You hear each spoken need
yet love us way to much to give us lesser things

'cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
what if Your healing comes through tears?
what if a thousand sleepless nights
are what it takes to know you're near?

what if trails of this life
are Your blessings in disguise?

we pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
we doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
as if every promise from Your Word is not enough

and all the while You hear each desperate plea
and long that we'd have faith to believe

'cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
what if Your healing comes through tears?
and what if a thousand sleepless nights
are what it takes to know you're near?

and what if the trails of this life
are Your blessings in disguise?

Hanging in there

We are still taking it day by day over here. We had a really good day yesterday, David went back to work for a couple of hours in the afternoon and my must be honest & say I was a little nervous about being home alone with Madison...It's crazy, because I have been more nervous & stressed out with her than I ever was with Morgan or McKinley. This is truly like having a newborn, a 4 year old NEWBORN.

Anyway, back to our day, a friend came over and brought her daughter who is only 3 months younger than Madison. It went really well, Although Madsion doesnt really know how to play with other kids, but I know that will come eventually. Anyway, Sara made some pictures on cards for me and I put them on the wall to show Madison what we were doing (bath, brush teeeth, bed time, car etc) We are trying anything we can at this point since the communication barrier is so hard.When it was time to go get the girls from school I walked her over & pointed to the car & told her we were going to go pick the girls up, she happily go into the car with NO fits..yay!

Also, yesterday morning Madisom got out her backpack that came with her, she wanted to wear a dress that was hers so she put it on & wore it all day, but she also found a little letter in her backpack. Now David & I had went through that backpack in China & did not see this letter anywhere. She was so excited when she found it. We scanned & sent it to our friend at church to translate for us.. We found out it was from her "sister" in the foster home. Her foster parents had a bio daughter who looks to be about 8 or 9. It was sweet & heatbreaking at the same time.

The letter read:  To MinYue"s parents (Madison's chinese name)

Greetings!

I am MinYue's older sister.  I have only one wish that I hope you can treat her a little nicer.  I tell
you a secret that MinYue need to have a warm bath for a half hour everyday.  She can not eat shrimp
because she is allergic to it.  I hope you treat her really nice and yes you must!

MinYue older sister,
Xin Yuan Lin


Tear jerker, right? That leads me to believe she wasn't treated very well in her foster home.
last night was another REALLY LONG night. We started bedtime at 8 and then the screaming, hitting & kicking began for 2 hours, she feel asleep at 11 and then started the night terrors at 1, then was up again at 2:30.  She really doesn't fall asleep until about 4am every night and then i get up at 6:30 to get the girls ready for school...this is explains my 2-3 hours of sleep a night.

Keep the prayers going, please.  I will leave you with this link someone sent me while we were in China it is very helpful in understanding what adoptive families go through, the timeline doesn't seem to be the same for us but we are definitely experiencing all these things she mentions.  If you are adopting I highly recommend you click on the link below.

Blessings,
Melissa

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2012/08/21/the-truth-about-adoption-one-year-later

Dr visit today

Today was Madison's Dr appt. She did very well until they drew blood, her arms are so little they only could get 1 tube of blood (and they needed 4) so they had to poke her in the other arm as well. They could not take all the blood they needed so we have to wait 10 days & go back. I have a feeling that when we go back she will pitch a very big fit because she will know what's about to happen. That is Sept 25th at 9 so I welcome your prayers:) when she starts to cry over something she doesn't know how to calm herself down (and she will not let us hold/ touch her) so it just escalates into a full on tantrum which lasts for at minimum an hour. So she was still screaming 45 minutes after we had left the Dr office. Along with 2 more rounds of blood work she also has to have a EkG done. He prescribed her some meds for her Eczema and she has to take Zyrtec daily.

Tonight after dinner we thought we would let her play in the pool a while with McKinley to tire her out a little bit before bedtime. We were up again last night till 1am with another tantrum/ night terror. Please continue to pray that these stop and that she will start to sleep through the night. We are going on about 3 hours of sleep a night & it's making my already emotional state even worse. I ran into a church member at the Dr today & she came up & said "how are y'all doing "& I just started bawling.... That's just how I am these days so if you happen to see me in Walmart crying just ignore me :) I went to buy some groceries yesterday & cried off & on walking down the isle.

I will leave you with a few pictures of our little China doll having some fun!

KEEPING OUR HEAD ABOVE WATER...

That is what we are trying to do at the Whitten house now a days. Let me start with the positive...Madison has really enjoyed being around Morgan & McKinley and they both think she is adorable. They all play well and the older girls do a wonderful job of helping out.  Most of the time, I would say 80% things are going great and Madison is laughing and playing and being such a sweet girl BUT the other 20% is REALLY bad.

Madison has been having these tantrums that last anywhere from 1-3 hours long. We never experienced this in China as Madison never once "lost" it on any level until four hours into the flight back to the states.  Not only does Madison thrash around and scream but we also never know what is going to bring them. We can tell when she is about to get upset and yesterday we were able to back her away from the cliff so to speak and she didnt have an episode until 3 am and that was after David sat with her for 3 hours in her room because she wouldn't sleep. Tonight it all started because I told her it was time to take a bath (which she always enjoys) and then for the next hour she was kicking, hitting, and screaming.  It is not pretty and to be completely honest emotionally draining. I know this is normal and many people say this can last from a few weeks to several months (by the way, we are hoping for the weeks!). Madison also HATES being strapped in a car seat (please pray about this because that is making life a wee bit hard right now with getting the girls from school, etc.).  In China, kids are never put in car seats and so for 4 years Madison has been able to stand, sit in laps, etc. so again, being buckled in is something new and strange.

I feel like I should share all of this for two reasons:1) because I said I wanted to be honest & authentic about this journey and 2) because I read hundreds of blogs while we were going through this process and 99 out of 100 only shared the happy, great, positive side and I really think it would have benfited me to read the "real" stuff that happens on a daily basis right after you return home. I realize that each child is different and my story will not be the same as everyone eles's but a lot of the struggles are the same based on people we've been talking to. Dont get me wrong, we have had some great moments with Madison and I love her to death.  She has a wonderful personality and really does fit well into our family but the reality for us right now is this  LIFE IS HARD. 

But sometimes God asks us to do hard things, and He will get us through these days I'm sure of it. But I also must be honest and say that when were are in the midst of the storm it feels pretty helpless & hopeless.  We also feel bad for Morgan and McKinley because they have to hear all the screaming and we worry about them too.  We all knew going in this would be hard but we don't want them to be scared or upset along the way.  So far they just say the crying gives them a headache but still, it must be hard on them too. 

In the days to come I will share some of what we have learned about Madison, the orphange she was in for two years, and the foster home she spent time in as well. We recently connected with another family online who adoped a 5 year old girl from the same foster family that Madison spent two years in and believe it or not, Madison and this other girl were actually in the same foster home, at the same time.  Imagine our surprize when we received a photo of their adopted daugther standing with her foster home family and seeing Madison in the picture!!!  This other little girl was 5 at the time and Madison looks about 2 which means the photo was taken shortly after Madison went to live with this family.  The mother of the other little girl has shared with us her experience, the similarties in our children's behavior, and the stories her daughter has shared about the home she and Madison spent time in. It truly is a small world and such a God thing that our paths would cross. 

Until then just pray for us.  Bonding, the language barrier, a decrease in the tantrums and how violent they can be, and for Morgan and McKinley as they process things as well.  Tomorrow my parents are also leaving to go back to Alabama so pray for safe travels for them (I have tried to guilt them into staying longer but for some reason my mother thinks she needs to get back to work:) Madison has really taking a liking to them as well and today wanted one of them to hold her often. I think she will be sad to see them leave tomorrow.

You can also pray for mine and David's walk with God because we surely need His strength, wisdom, and patience on this journey.  Thank you so much!

Melissa

Airport pictures

I'm too tried to really post any thoughts today, So i am just going to post a few pictures from the
other night.

Please continue to pray for our transition, Madison was up screaming & grieving from 10:40 until after midnight last night.

                                          This sweet face greeted us :)

                                           My parents & the girls

                                           My sister flew in for the big event!

                                          Morgan went all out with her sign!

                                          She already loves her MOMO!

                                          Our very first family photo!

Settling in..

We are trying to all settle into our new normal:) Madison slept in her new bed last night, she cried for a few minutes when it was bedtime (which ended up being 1:30 am). Yesterday was a LONG day!  David & I had been up for 29hours with no sleep.

Madison has been getting to know her two sisters and her Nana & Paw paw.  My sister even flew in to meet Madison at the airport.

Madison did not like our thick grass, but McKinley got her to get in it to take a few pics.

Morgan was asleep on the couch at this time so I don't have any of her. Although Morgan was the first

person that Madison would let hold her.

McKinley loved her authentic Chinese dress we got her...Morgan, not so much :)

Anyway, today has been a good day, Madison did have one of her Tantrums earlier. She cried, kicked & screamed for an hour and a half.. We are told this is normal and will most likely happen everyday for the first several weeks. Please continue to pray for David & I as we learn how to parent Madison and help her transition into our family.

My sister took pictures at the airport so as soon as she emails them to me I will post them.

Blessings,
Melissa

Difficult trip back so far...

This is Melissa's friend writing.  I got a call from David saying that they landed in Newark around 1:30pm and they made it through customs without any issues.  Unfortunately, the trip itself hasn't gone as smoothly so far!  Madison was very upset during the flight.  About 4 hours into it, she started crying and crying.  It lasted for about 3 hours.  And then a few hours later, she started up crying and screaming again for another 3 hours!  A flight attendant who speaks Cantonese even tried to console her but without success.  They think the grieving process finally started for her, as the reality of leaving the only place she has ever known began to really sink in. During the entire 15 hour flight, they only slept for about 1.5 hours. They are all exhausted and Melissa is feeling very nauseous and has not been able to eat anything.  Please pray that they are able to rest during their lay over and that Madison will be calm for the remaining leg of the trip.

Also, please refrain from coming to the airport to welcome them (not sure if anyone had plans of doing that).  David and Melissa would appreciate just being able to meet their family and get home as soon as possible.  (And this is my own 2 cents, but I would give them at least a couple of weeks without any visitors so they can get settled.)  Prayers are the best thing you can give them right now!  Thanks for understanding everybody!  

Reflections: One Last Post from China!

I've been sitting here thinking about my time in China & how for most of it, I have kinda treated it Iike I do my DVR shows...Fast forwarding through the commercials, just wanting to skip to the end.  But now looking back, I know God had lessons in there for me each step of the way. I need to do better with that, really trying to find the "lesson" He is trying to teach me each day instead of having the "hurry up I just want to learn it & move on" attitude.


I know how I have felt these past 15 days being in a new country where no one speaks my language...the sights, smells & surroundings are all new. It made me uncomfortable, uneasy, and at times really sad. I know that is what Madison is about to feel. We are taking her away from everything that is familiar to her . She will no longer look like the people around her, she will no longer hear the language she speaks or hear the sounds she's used to hearing.  As happy as I am that I'm coming back to America, it makes me a little sad for Madison because her world is about to be in a tailspin. This is why we are going to introduce her to everyone slowly and at the pace we feel she can handle. I hope you all understand.  We appreciate your prayers so much, but for the first few weeks back I will be keeping her at home with me to get her used to her new home & to bond with her sisters.

Another adoptive mom said that her guide told her when she was getting on the plane... "Remember this is YOUR dream come true, NOT hers. She didn't ask for this, she didn't even really want this." And that is so true.  Madison hasn't been praying for a family from America. She was happy with her foster family here. So I am walking into this next chapter of our life with my eyes wide open to the lessons that my Father is trying to teach me.

Please pray for a safe flight back home and Madison does well on the 17 hrs of travel. Pray she sleeps a lot of that time.  :)

See you all soon!

Melissa

Journey Home!

We are checking out of our hotel to start our 2 day journey home. We take a 2 route train to Hong Kong at 4:15 (am your time) and then a 30-45 minute taxi ride (oh, joy) to the hotel. Then we get up early head to the airport around 8am. Our plane leaves at 10:20 please pray for no delays!

Melissa


**Side note from friend who is putting all the messages into blog form...Just got a text from Melissa that they made it to HK and are checking into their hotel.  :)  They are very happy to have a change of scenery and to just be around more English speakers!  It is almost 8:30pm there, so pray that they get good rest tonight as they leave for a very long trip back in about 12 hours!  

Answered prayers!

We have had some very tense moments over the past 12 hours after finding out that paperwork needed for Madison's Visa was missing!  We called the emergency number for our adoption agency to find out what happened and what needed to be done (without the form, Madison could not leave China with us).  The agency did not have the form, so they had to call USCIS to locate the document and have them get the paperwork to sent to China.  At about 2:00, we got word that the USCIS found the paper and sent it...but we still needed to hear from the Consulate office in China to make sure they did actually receive it AND would be able to get everything processed in time!  

Our guide just called the Consulate Office & confirmed they do have the form they needed & Madison's Visa will be ready at 3:30 today...yay!  Our train leaves at 4:15 but our guide assures us she will get it to us at the train station. :)

Thank you all for praying. Please pray for safe travels!

Melissa

Oh and since it's our last day in Guangzhou, I thought I would take a few pics of what is on the breakfast buffet here everyday... 

What I will NOT eat!

What I WILL eat! 

Long Day!

Well, another very long & somewhat stressful day is almost done. I say "long" because other than the hour we were gone to the Consulate this morning, we've had all day by ourselves with NOTHING to do.  We had to leave at 8 am this morning, which totally messed up our daily routine of killing time.  When we have this much time to kill, Madison starts to act out. She has definitely been testing us again today, and the fact that it's 7:06pm now & we have already put her to bed should tell you enough!

 
David & I are both just ready to be OUT OF HERE! I tell ya, the next time the national anthem is sung, I will stand a little taller & sing a little louder.  ;) I love my country & cannot wait to land in TIA!!  Speaking of that, please be praying about the form they need at the consulate office.  If they do not get that first thing in the morning, they cannot give Madison a Visa & we cannot leave!!!!  And at this point I'm worried David may just go on back without us & leave us here!  ;)  Kidding...sort of!

 

These are chicken feet...some of the meat that was at the buffet for Bfest this morning!  Now do you understand why I've not had any protein in 15 days?  I miss home!

We went back to Shamian Island (yes I've been spelling it wrong) tonight to get our dry cleaning from Judy's . She is a believer who has a store on the Island & is so sweet. She has given Madison a toy every time we've stopped in her store. She said she wants to come stay a week with us in FL and we hope she does one day.  Deidra- we told her we would tell you to stop by and say hello when y'all come! ;)

Well you probably know what I'm going to say next ...We went to Lucy's for some sweet tea!  I have spared you the daily pic of my sweet tea. You can thank me later. ;)  And Madison had chicken wings. I know I've told you how she can eat it right down to the bone (Morgan, I think she may have you beat). Well this time I thought I would take a  picture to prove it.  :)

Outside of the items above, the only other item of note is that Madison got out the photo album that her foster parents sent in her backpack the day we got her and has looked at a few times.  At first we thought it might make her sad or upset, but all she does is look through it and point out all the people to us.  She will look at her foster parents and say "mama and baba," and then look us and say the same.  She will also point to herself and say her Chinese name "Pam Min Yue" and then sometime she will say Madison.  What a confusing time for her for sure, so please continue to pray for her little heart and mind.  One can only guess what she is thinking.

As for prayer request, pray for the form to arrive via email or fax to the consulate office ASAP;  for our travels tomorrow; for Madison to travel well; and for a good nights rest tonight.  We will keep you posted as to how things turn out with the form.

Blessings,
Melissa

 

We Need Your Prayers!

We went to consulate today & took the oath.  Everything went well until they called us up to sign a few papers. Then they realized they were missing a paper with our new address on it. The woman said they cannot issue Madison a Visa until they get this form . And if they do not get this form from our agency by first thing tomorrow morning, Madison will not get her Visa tomorrow...which means we will not be able to leave China until she gets it!!  Let's pause so everyone can sense my FREAK OUT!!! Ahhh...now I feel a little better.

We have called the emergency number for our agency & they assured us they will take care of this first thing in the morning. Please, please pray that all of this will be taken care of so that we can get on the plane to HK at 4:15 tomorrow!

Melissa

Video from Shaman Island

If You Need A Laugh!

Well, I am going to give you a laugh at my own expense.  Let me just share a few "Melissa mishaps" that I have had today!   First off, we went back to Shaman Island this morning with our group & did a little more shopping (although now I've bought everything I wanted, so it was really just to break up the day & get out of this stinking hotel).  We ate at Lucy's Again :) & yes, I took another pic of my heavenly sweet tea (it's the little things that I miss, like sweet tea, the food network & HGTV)!  I'm so excited about my FULL DVR waiting for me back home!

Ok, now for the mishaps... We got back to the hotel at 1:30. We made Madison take a 30 minute rest time (because WE really need that) and then we decided to try the pool again.  This is the 4th time we have taken her to the pool with no luck. But today I told David I was just going to make her get in with me. So, we got there & I decided I would take her to the "kiddie" pool first to see if I could get her used to the water before I traumatized her in the big pool. :) She put her feet in & then I got in & sat down.  She sat in my lap and seemed to be happy, so then David got in with us and we were enjoying ourselves...until the hotel attendant came up to us laughing in broken English & said, "This is not for swimming! This is to wash your feet before you get in the pool. This water VERY dirty!"  (see pic below). I was mortified and so was David because of his hatred of feet!  So we got out & headed to the big pool & that's when I noticed that I had put Madison's bathing suit on backwards & she was now wearing a thong!!! I did not take a pic of this, because I just thought that would be wrong. So, that is how my day has been. Just another normal day in Guangzhou, China!  Just two more hours until bedtime which I'm really looking forward to tonight!

As for Madison, she is still eating very well. Food is very important to her. I think she isn't used to getting much, because if we leave any food on our plates she finishes ours too. The other day she had a bowl of dry Cheerios & when she was done there were only crumbs left in the bowl, so she got her water bottle, poured water into the bowl, swished it around & then drank EVERY crumb...it was so sad.  She will also do the same if she has ketchup left on her plate.  She gets a spoon & will eat every bite of it.


Speaking of dinner, it's about that time here so we are going to get ready and see what we are going to eat.  Someone said the pizza was really good here, so we might just do room service tonight.

As for prayer requests...just keep praying for good health, our continued bonding, and for a great day tomorrow.  Tomorrow we go to the Chinese Consulate in the morning and take an oath saying we will not abandon Madison, etc.  We will do this as a group, and it should be pretty quick.  Have a great day, and I hopefully I will have another post soon!

Melissa