Travel Journal
March 23, 2013
We had a much quieter day today. After a leisurely breakfast (this place has really good food! The chocolate croissants are worth the flight...well, almost), we gathered ourselves together for a shopping trip to the local store. (For those of you who know where we went, no giving it away! It will be a "Dayna Goes to China" question soon.) It was quite the adventure, and we found some flavors that were, well, a little unusual.
Annie took a nice long nap this afternoon while Dan & Dayna checked out the swimming pool. Alaina was able to catch up on some Bible Study and have a few quiet moments to herself. We woke Annie up so she wouldn't sleep too long. Turns out she's not so happy about waking up as she is at bedtime.
We spent the later part of the afternoon walking through a local park. It was pretty busy since today was a Saturday. We've encountered people openly staring at our family before, but there were times at the park that it was a little unnerving. We might try going back on Monday when there might not be quite so many people. Dan did buy a small bottle of bubbles (we brought some from home, but they don't have a bubble wand inside) and introduced them to Annie. It took her awhile, but she started to warm up and enjoy popping them (from the safety of Mom's lap.)
After the park, we joined the other family in our group and wandered to another hotel to have some jiaozi for dinner (steamed dumplings.) While there, we ran into a group of ladies who run an organization called "Gracie's Room" that trains nannies in local orphanages to care for and nurture the babies. This group of women (2 Americans and a Canadian) were so helpful and were able to answer a lot of questions for our families. We have been a little disappointed by the differences between our Gotcha experience with our girls. We've come to realize what extraordinary care and love Dayna received from her nannies. Not that Annie wasn't loved, but the little touches that came with Dayna are the exception and not the norm. For example, we did not receive the clothes Annie was found in, nor were we given anything special from her orphanage. (Dayna's orphanage gave us a lovely book so she could see what her first home looked like.) These women seem to have such care and compassion for orphans. Take a moment to see what they're doing here.
A few highlights of the day:
• Annie is slowly warming up to Dan & Dayna, and will even reach out from the stroller to hold one of their hands.
• Annie has an uncanny sense of who is pushing the stroller. She will fuss and fuss if her dad or sister push, but as soon as Alaina takes over, she's fine.
• She also is starting to occasionally push herself off of Mom's lap to get down and join the action.
• Once again, bedtime was full of giggles and silliness. This is the time of day where we really see her personality start to shine through.
Prayer Requests:
• For Annie to continue to become more comfortable with Dan & Dayna
• For Alaina's foot and ankle to withstand the walking
• For Dayna to continue to adjust to being a big sister
Praises:
• Continuing to unwrap the layers that make up this little person
• Sleep!
• Our health is withstanding the stresses of the trip
A walk in the park
Bubbles!
Christmas in March
Mmm...numb and spicy flavor
Nana made us matching jammies
Phew! At least it's not pork gelatin!
Pretty girl