Last night our daughter ate her first Amercian cuisine (at least with us): french fries! And yes, smothered with ketchup! We had a very tiring day yesterday...we packed up and traveled from Changsha to Guangzhou. It was Charis' first ride in an airplane. She did great! Before we got on the plane, she told our guide that she was a little afraid. We have been holding her hand all week, but as the plane began to take off, as I reached for her hand, she pushed me away and held up her other hand to tell me "no." She wanted to do this one on her own. She also had a very difficult time telling our guide goodbye...no tears again (on her end of things...at seeing her reaction, I cried enough for both of us). She just couldn't say goodbye...very similar to the orphanage departure. She carried her difficulty in her eyes but what a strong girl she is. I suppose she has had to be pretty tough and as a result, she is very brave. She misbehaved for the first time in the airport in Guangzhou...nothing major, but it was a test. She dropped something she was carrying a few times and I finally caught her out of the corner of my eye doing it on purpose. So, I took it away. Then she did not want to hold my hand anymore. After a few attempts at wiggling away, a firm "no" and placing her hand in mine very intentionally, she got the idea and was fine from then on. I think she had about as much as she could handle that day...it was one of many final partings from everything she has known that she must make. I am very proud of our little girl. Today was wonderful. First of all, I know all of you are enjoying the 20 degree Chicago weather...well, it's probably around 80 degrees here in Guangzhou! Who can have a hard time in that kind of weahter this time of year? We all got a great night of sleep last night (and we needed it!). in the morning, I could tell right away that Charis looked 20 pounds lighter. After breakfast we had her medical exam...at this point we are wondering if she really has been burned. We are thinking more in the direction of a cell division problem during development. But the doctors wouldn't change any diagnosis at this point...it doesn't matter to us anyway...but for her sake, we will have everything checked out at home. Charis told the guide that we were gong to make her look like an angel. This isn't anything we have said to her, so the orpahange staff must have talked to her about this. We had the guide tell her we think she is beautiful right now and that we love her so much. I looked right in her eyes as the guide spoke the words for me. We just want her to know that we love her just the way she is. Of course we will do whatever we can for her according to what she desires, but how we want her to know our love is beyond skin deep. Her face is quite scarred...she has several spots, much like cafe au lait spots...brown in color, round for the most part. Many are on her face but they are also on other parts of her body,,,including in her ears. Speaking of ears, I don't think she has ever had her ears cleaned! This is the one thing she HATES...me cleaning her ears...and I really haven't been able to get in there. It's funny and I try to make it fun. We walked around the island today holding hands...all three of us. She wanted Scott to carry her a few times...and she got a horsey ride on daddy's shoulders...she loved this! She went through our things pointing to Scott's stuff saying, "baba," then pointing to my stuff saying, "mama," then to her stuff saying, "Yue Shu." Yue Shu is her Chinese name. Other times, she will point to her things and say, "Charis." She is accepting things little by little and we are trying to give her lots of space and time and love. The pace was slower today...I think it was the first time Scott and I actually relaxed since we left Chicago. And as I said before, it was a wonderful day. All 3 of us just really enjoyed being together. We were a family today. Oh, a really cool thing happened earlier today. We have been praying with Charis before we eat our meals. She holds our hands but I think she has been a bit self conscious about us doing this. Well today she reached out for Scott's hands before eating to initiate our prayer time. So cool! I can't wait for her to know and understand our God. It will come. The Lord has been so present with us and we thank Him for keeping us safe and for leading us in this journey. He loves Charis so much and we know He is working in her life. Scott said that God led him today to "believe in her, too." Scripture tells us that "God is for us." So we need to be "for Charis." We need to believe in her and be for her. Not that we weren't, but we are thankful for the Lord's leading and encouragement in this. Tomorrow we visit the Zoo while we wait for Charis' visa and citizenship paperwork to be processed. Keep praying for all of us and for Faithy and Josiah. Scott's mom's birthday is Monday so if you see her, tell her "Happy Birthday!" I am using the hotel computer so I still cannot send any pics...hopefully we will get our battery charger soon (a new one is on the way). Much love to all of you! Only 6 more days and then we will be back home.
