Anne LiJie Rose Wilson: Travel Journal

Travel Journal

March 27, 2013

We have been so busy tonight, that if we don't all sleep well, it will be a surprise. This morning, only one of us woke up in the proper bed. Dayna wanted to "camp out" and slept in the chair. Annie woke up a couple times in the middle of the night. Alaina tried to hold and rock her for awhile, but the sleeping pill was winning. So the two girls ended up sleeping in Dayna's bed most of the night. It was a pretty fitful night for all four of us, and we're hoping for some good ZZZZs this evening.

After breakfast, we took taxis to the local zoo. It was a perfect day! In the lower 70s. Our Florida counterparts were happy with the warmer temperatures as well. We were expecting something kind of sad like the zoo we saw in Fuzhou on Dayna's trip. This one wasn't quite the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, but it was really quite nice. Dayna was SO disappointed that the panda exhibit was closed. Seriously? We came all the way to China and the zoo has no pandas?

Fortunately, the pandas had simply been moved to a different exhibit. There were two, and they weren't very big, so we suspect they're not full grown yet. They were awfully cute to watch munching on their mid-morning bamboo snack. We were all impressed with how active the animals were. We actually saw the elephants and rhinos running!

Once again, Dan & Dayna did some exploring during nap time and returned with a pizza and some snacks! (We haven't been eating lunch, because our breakfasts have been so big. But after walking through the zoo, we were all pretty hungry.) Then two of us were able to catch up a little on the lost sleep from last night.

We spent the rest of our afternoon wandering through the local park again. Dayna has been such a trooper, especially with her disappointment in Annie's lack of interest in her. We treated her to a ride at the little amusement area at the park. While wandering, we were able to have a somewhat lengthy English-ish conversation with an older Chinese couple. They were quite eloquent, and it was a pleasure spending time with them. It took awhile for them to understand the whole American parents/Chinese children situation, but like most Chinese people we've spoken with, they were happy for our daughters and the lives they will be able to have now that they have a family.

A couple of other notable events happened at the park. Years ago, Dan made a deal with Alaina. In short, Dan will take care of anything that comes out of the back end of our children if Alaina takes care of the top end. To date, Alaina has always had the better "end" of the deal. In almost 7 years, Dayna has never thrown up. It took Annie a total of 5 days! (We're doing another quick load of laundry in the sink tonight...)

We also stopped at the little exercise park. We noticed a young girl who did not look completely Chinese. Sure enough, we looked up and saw a very Caucasian father standing by a Chinese woman in a wheelchair. They were waving at us, so we walked over and started a conversation. Lawrence and Mei (and their 5-year-old daughter Veronica) are from Alberta, Canada. Mei is originally from Zhengzhou, and is suffering from cancer. Last month, she was given only two more weeks to live, and the doctors were not willing to try any further treatment. She (and her family) came back to Zhengzhou for two reasons: to seek alternative Chinese medicine, and to say goodbye to her family if that didn't work. Dayna and Veronica had a delightful time playing together while the adults were talking. While looking thin and pale, Mei had an infectious smile, and certainly does not look like she's dying. They reported that when they got to China, she couldn't even sit up. Tonight, she was sitting, smiling, laughing, and seemed to have enough energy to keep up with her daughter and the conversation. We asked to take their picture so we would be reminded to pray for them. Would you pray for Mei and her family as well?

Probably the biggest highlight of the day (for Dayna and all of us) was when Annie started playing with her in the lobby where we ate dinner. She was lifting her arms and asking Dayna to pick her up. A few times in the cab today, she even scooted off her Mama's lap and into Dayna's (before she caught herself and scooted right back.) Later, they were all out chasing each other through the sitting area and later the hall outside our room. The video isn't the greatest quality, but it shows a little girl who is a lot more comfortable, and a big sister who is finally enjoying some interaction with her mei mei. We have also heard, quite clearly (and LOUDLY!) "Ma-ma!" "Ma-ma!"

Also worth mentioning is that Annie is getting a little better with redirection, and not throwing tantrums so much when she doesn't get her way. She is also following some simple directions (give this to Daddy, where's your baby?, go find Mama...) At mealtime, she is also clearly signing and trying to say "more." We didn't start signing with Dayna until we got home, but Annie seems to be catching on pretty well.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Zhengzhou. It will involve a little shopping and a lot of packing. Vivian (our agency representative, who got engaged this week while we were here) will be picking up our passports. At that point, we're free to leave. We're all ready to leave NOW, but we'll have to wait until Friday morning.

Prayer Requests:

• A restful night's sleep for all of us.

• It seems silly, but we can't find one of our little toys, and it was one we brought to China for Dayna. We've been looking for 4 days now.

• An enjoyable final day in Zhengzhou.

• Mei and her family.

Praises:

• Opportunities to talk with local people and share why we come all the way to China to adopt our children.

• Dayna's connection with Annie, and Annie's willingness to go to her sister.

• Communication is getting easier