There's No Place Like Home

We are all so thankful to be home. Our first night back in our own beds, complete with pillowtop mattresses, down comforters and soft pillows, felt like heaven compared to the cement slab twin beds at the White Swan Hotel (I'm still puzzeled by their 5 star ranking). Aubrey has been adjusting very well to her new surrounding and addition of 2 more brothers. She smiles most of the time, is playful and mischievious. She is still not a fan of Daisy and has recently caused me to have back spasms with the constant holding and picking her up. She now has to cope with the dog because I am in too much pain to continue toting her around. Dave, Chris and Nate have been wonderful with helping me.

In the last week she has learned over 60 words in English and is using phrases correctly. Her favorites are "find shoes", "brush your teeth", "find ge ge", and "I love you". She is no longer afraid of the grass and is running all over the place. She loves being outside with the boys and has proved to be fearless. She loves going down the slides on Nate and Chris' laps and will blow me kisses as she runs to follow them for another ride.

She will scream "Ma" if I'm not giving her my undivided attention just as any 3 year old would. Her smiles of discovery and joy have made the entire 2 and a half year wait and 14 days in Guangzhou worth every second. China may have some distressing customs, but without them we would not have our little girl.

Just a Few More Signs

After 17 hours on airplanes and another 2 standing in lines at security check points and immigrations we finally got to our van. We braced ourselves for Aubrey's displeasure at being buckled into a carseat for the first time. She did not dissapoint. She cried on and off for the entire 3 hour drive from Detroit to our house. As Dave and I thought we would not be able to stay awake in the last 30 minutes it began to rain. As we approached the final few miles the sun came out and we were blessed with a brilliant rainbow for the final leg of our journey home.

A few days after being home I recieved an email from a stranger. A friend had shared our blog with her, as both had adopted from China in the past few years. This person, Connie, was very disappointed that the orphanage had denied us Aubrey's memory book. Connie has become involved with the Half the Sky charity since her return from China, and she made calls on our behalf to her contacts over there. Currently, Aubrey's memory book has left the orphanage and been sent to the Civil Affairs office. We are praying for GWCA to have our guide Kelley pick up the book and have it sent to us. GWCA representatives have stated they need to clear it through the CCAA. I don't know why the memory book would be important to the CCAA, but it would mean the world to Aubrey some day when she begins to ask questions about where she came from.