China Update #8

Ni Hao everyone! So, this morning started out with a bang...we took a 4 year old to a history museum. Enough said, right? We were all excited for the zoo - thankfully we hadn't figured out how to say "zoo" in Chinese so Levi was clueless- but we woke up to rain so when we met our guide she said "I think we go to museum today because raining."  Really though, he did marvelous, all things considered.  Thankfully there was a stroller available that he was happy to sit in for a good portion of the time.  Plus a super cool treat was getting to see a live traditional music performance.  Things did get pretty rough at the end while I did some shopping in the gift store and Andrew was keeping track of Levi.  The tricky part in public is that we're not ready to let go of his hand for fear he might run off, yet having his hand held constantly is quite frustrating to him.

I'll interject at this point, one thing was made clear today, the enemy would like to corrupt and even steal the bond of unity between Andrew and I.  You know, walking through new, emotional and challenging situations with your spouse can really draw a couple together in a profound way.  Throughout this whole trip and particularly the last few days we have been such a team in this and a constant encouragement to one another.  Yet today we fund that unity threatened when faced with a couple challenging moments.  I'm praising God because we both quickly realized the frustration we felt was not really for the other person and that we must stand together.  The remainder of the afternoon was excellent but I'd just ask that you be praying on that point for us.

So, back to our day....we came back to the hotel room around lunchtime and Levi had some noodles (kinda like ramen- very popular here).  Andrew and I ate something....maybe an apple or a cliff bar, I can't remember. Meals have been pretty much non-existent for the two of us the last 3 days.  It seems to be the most challenging time for Levi so eating in the room is the best option.

This afternoon was great.  We decided that we'd focus on losing privileges as a discipline tool.  For example, Levi kept standing on the desk chair so the chair was set aside.  Legos were thrown so it was time to put the Legos away.  I'm not sure how much it's sinking in but it's stopping the immediate behavior (most of which is dangerous) so we'll go with it for now.  We had lots of sweet playtime together and opportunities for positive reinforcement.  Today he learned the sign and word for "more" and "eat".  He has learned the words "good boy" and "hello".  He repeats English words and short phrases often.  And he's learned to sit at the table while eating. We are really thinking learning English is going to come quite quickly.

We spotted a McDonalds on the way home from the museum today right by the exit of our favorite park so we decided to try it for dinner.  The park is more like a series of sidewalk trails that meander about a half mile or so in length.  Another of the adoptive families joined us which really made us a sight to behold.  We walked through the park and seriously people gawked at us.  In fact we had our picture taken several times - a couple times incognito and even once professionally with some kind of movie star looking woman.  I asked her to email me the picture but we'll see if she understood me.

Let me just say McDonalds has never tasted so good in my life....and if you know me well, you know I do not eat there of my own free will.  Levi LOVES French fries!! And ketchup...he and his sister are going to get along very well in that! He even ate a couple chicken nuggets.  We'll have this boy transitioned to a healthy fast food diet in no-time! ;)  The meal was by far the smoothest we've had yet with Levi.  Afterwards we even had an ice cream treat.  Levi seemed to love the taste of it but he had no clue it was going to be freezing cold until I out the first spoonful in his mouth. Poor guy!  In China, drinks are not served cold typically so he is not accustomed to the temperature.  In addition, his cleft palate maybe sensitive to extreme temperatures.  We'll have to have ice cream training sessions once we get home.  I'm sure Wade and Chloe will help participate in that!

Once again he was thoroughly worn out because after bath and "Goodnight Moon" he snuggled into bed and fell right asleep.

Andrew ran out to Walmart - which is not totally Americanized because they close at 8pm- to get a stroller and few other items.  So it was my first night putting Levi to bed by myself and he did wonderfully!

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement! It is seriously so normalizing to hear from home.  We've actually been able to pick up a wifi signal in our room this afternoon so we really enjoyed reading comments and such.

Love to you all!

R & A