She's here!

At airport in China...heading to the US for the 1st time!

We drove to Reagan National Airport yesterday with our dear friend Tracy (who will be hosting for the 4th time in the coming weeks).  I'm a verbal processor so it was great to have her along to talk through my nervous ramblings.  Davison, bless his heart, had to focus on DC traffic and he did a great job of that!

Alexis' flight was delayed a few times, but our girls were awesome waiting at the airport.  We even had time to have desserts with some of the awesome staff of Living Hope International.

Waiting on the (smokers) terrace.  If you look closely, you'll see the Washington Monument to the right of D's head.  Reagan Airport is so cool because you can get so close to the runway!

 Why is there no picture of Tracy? Dah!

Tracy and I commented to each other several times, "Can you even imagine how brave these kids have to be?"  Can you even imagine?  How brave, strong and resilient are these kids?!

There are no words to describe the moment when we met Alexis.  I will be forever grateful for Tracy who was there to capture it.  Tears were a flowin':

While I was meeting Alexis for the first time, she pointed to my mouth.  I thought she was pointing to my cavity - yikes!  But she was actually pointing to the gum in my mouth. :)  She is very observant.

Welcome to our crew, Girlfriend!

Alexis only came with the things in her backpack so there was no baggage claim.  We headed home.  We stopped for gas and to use the bathroom and were home by 9pm.  Long day, but Alexis never complained once.  I was IN AWE of how well she traveled.  She reached out her hand to me and let me lead her all around...amazing.

Emily reads some Chinese phrases on the ride home.

My parents kept Mr. Mess for us while we were in DC.  It was fun to come home to them and introduce them to Alexis.  Alexis immediately sat in my mom's lap.  She would run across the room and jump into my mom's lap.  

Everyone loves Grandma!

Grandma had a bowl of noodles ready for Alexis when we got home.  After snacks, we were all exhausted so we quickly got ready for bed.  Alexis was eager to show us that she can dress herself and brush her teeth.  While she is here, she is sharing a bedroom with our two girls.  She willingly got into the bed and I thought we were doing great, but as I got up to leave, she began to cry.  Real tears.  So I sat back down with her and rubbed her back.  I tried to leave a few minutes later...more tears.  It came to mind that Living Hope asks that we treat the host children the way we treat our "own" children.  I would never just walk out of the room if one of my kids were crying.  So I sat back down with her and assured her she was okay.  It was heart wrenching.  Can you even imagine what this sweet child of the Living God was thinking about?  She was snoring within 10 minutes. I snuck to my bedroom and didn't hear another peep from anyone until 8:30am.  Thank you, Lord.

Day 2 (switching to bullet points in no particular order):

• Alexis is absolutely precious.  Whatever I do with my kids, she wants done to her.  I kiss someone's cheek, she wants her cheek kissed.  I brush a kid's hair, she wants her hair brushed.  She stands next to me in the kitchen...eagerly watching me cook, do dishes, etc.  She offers to help and stands within a foot or two of me all the time.  She could hardly wait to put towels into the dryer tonight. 

• She is SO MUCH more affectionate than I imagined.  It occurred to me today that she is like a Golden Retreiver who has no concept of his size.  This child is 9 1/2 years old and wants me to carry her as if she were a 1-year-old.  It is incredibly dear.  I wish I had unlimited arm strength.  She reaches for me to pick her up like my 2-year-old does.  She wants to hold my hand or D's hand.  She hugs Davison whenever he walks into the room.  I know hardly anything about adoption, but in my opinion, this child seems very capable of attaching to a family.  She is so warm, loving and eager to please.

• She has not attached to our kids as quickly as I would have thought.  The language barrier is very hard.  Emily tries, but K has struggled to connect.  Alexis is very attached to me.  Wants me to go to the bathroom with her (but not watch her) and wants me to sit next to her for all activities.  If I walk into another room, I usually hear "Mama!" from her within 30 seconds.  Btw, she was trained to call us "Mama" and "Baba."  She says those words ALL THE TIME.

 

The girls share a love of beads

• Things she likes:  Legos, beads, cutting paper, going down the slide in our playroom, washing her hands, playing in the water, trying on shoes/necklaces, dancing, listening to music, being silly, milk, fruit, noodles, eggs, chocolate, Cheez-Its.

She loves Legos!

• Things she is NOT into: cats and dogs, television (boo...working on that because Mama needs a break), meat, grapes, being alone.

• We had a woman from Taiwan come to the house this morning to speak to Alexis in Mandarin Chinese.  It was such a gift.  The translator was able to ask A a few questions that I had and tell her a few things also.  I learned that A is cold in our house...easy fix. The translator said that she can tell that A has developmental delays.  She said that she had to repeat simple instructions to her several times.

• My understanding is that A has spina bifida, a congenital heart defect and developmental delays.  She has a significant scar near her tailbone and one down the center of her chest. She has had at least 2 surgeries.  She has trouble with balance, and I hold her hand to go up and down stairs.  She tires easily. 

• She urinates frequently.  Very frequently.  Is this normal?  Am I giving her too much to drink? She seems really thirsty.  UTI or diabetes?  Am I overthinking this?  Is this normal for her diagnoses?  Follow up needed on that.

• I think she could benefit from glasses or an eye exam.  Her eyes don't seem right to me, and she really struggles with depth perception.  She likes to hold hands when we're walking because she easily trips.

• She is very funny.  She loves to laugh.  She sings to herself sometimes..adorable.  She thinks Harrison is hilarious and likes to laugh at his antics.  She makes goofy faces sometimes and she likes to kid around.  

 Learning about our automated trash can

•  In many ways, it feels like having a newborn in the house.  It's hard to describe, but for those of you with newborns or if remember having a newborn, you can probably relate.  You feel like you're running in circles...trying to survive...forgetting to eat lunch...reheating your coffee 15x...crying because your heart is so filled with love...not really resting even when asleep, etc.  It is every range of emotion and physically and emotionally tiring...and all worth it.

• The hardest moment since Alexis' arrival came early this afternoon.  Harrison had just gone down for his nap.  I put a show on for the girls, and I was eager to sit down and blog. I uploaded the airport arrival video to the blog, and Alexis pointed to it and wanted to watch it.  Less than 3 seconds into the video, she was sobbing...moaning...tears streaming down her face.  I turned off the video and called the Chinese translator who is in NC and available to call anytime.  She spoke to Alexis over the phone and A just sobbed and sobbed.  The translator said that A misses her caregivers and it's just a lot for a little person to process.  She encouraged me to just hold her and reassure her. So I closed my laptop, put my arms around her, the girls got her some Starbursts, and we did beads while watching a show.  And then I sobbed.  Not sure why.  I am so in awe of this child's strength, and I'm so grieved by all that she's missed by not having a forever home.  We sat and wiped each other's tears. 

• We attended a friend's "backyard splash" birthday party today, and I have some awesome photos from that but they're on Davison's phone and he's gone to bed. Alexis was overjoyed to get in the baby pool and play on the playset.  She's incredibly willing to try new things.  It was very fun to be with her!

• We could NOT do this without the support of our friends and family.  Thank you all!  

• Things we need:  PRAYER.  So many of you have prayed for us.  I've gotten so many encouraging texts, FB messages, etc.  THANK YOU.  PLEASE don't stop.  We could also use some bead sets if you have any that you don't want.  Last thing: Lewis Ginter  Botanical Garden one-day passes.  I'd like for the whole family to go together.  I'd put Harrison & Alexis in a stroller because it's a lot of walking.  I think she'd love a day in the gardens and they have an amazing Lego exhibit that I think she'd love!

• Thanks for reading.  More when I can post!

 

Headband and necklace!