Fall Break

The boys went to MeMa's to meet up with cousins on Fall Break. That left me home alone with a toddler for several days. It's been a long time since I've done that. We talked a hundred times on the toy phone. She's working on the word 'Hello' which will be her fourth after 'Momma' (that includes anyone in the family), 'Uh Oh', and 'Mup' (as in 'pick me up'). We enjoyed many tea parties with dollies and teddies. It's so sweet that she's gotten over her fear of stuffed animals and is nearly over the fear of real ones. She even giggled this moring when the schnauzer licked her on the face. We spent hours singing in the porch swing, even in the rain. It was nice to be able to focus just on her, but it was hard to do anything else like cooking or emailing. Now, I'm so glad to have the boys back, and we're trying to get into a routine again. I wonder if we ever will.

Sleep? I remember that.

I remember what it's like to sleep all night long and wake refreshed the next morning. I remember what it's like to wake up to nurse a newborn and doze back off for a few hours. I also remember the occasional night with a wailing baby that won't be comforted, but those were few and far between. Now, we sleep with a toddler at our side who cries in her sleep. She's happy when she's awake and she throws tantrums in her sleep. Last week several people suggested we try sleeping with music playing. She slept much quieter, but it's hard for us to get used to. One night, the cd kept waking my hubby as it sounded like his cell phone ring. Another night, we accidentally had it set to repeat the same song - Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It starts out with a bang then ends softly. I think I woke up every time it repeated. Last night, we woke up to her sleeping screams at 3:00am. We'd forgotten to put on a cd. So, we were half asleep and trying to remember how our son's cd player works and the first two cds were scratched and sounded like a broken record. On the upside, once we figured out how to play the music, Annalyn quieted back down. Pray for rest. It's a sweet treat we miss. Pray for peace for Annalyn. All the stress of a new life seems to be coming out in night terrors.

ps. This picture was taken in Shanghai. See the very thin matress and very thick, pure silk comforter? Nope, didn't try to bring one home. Maybe she'd sleep better under silk.

Rags to Riches

I am totally overwhelmed by the 'showering' of gifts upon Annalyn. Thanks to the ladies at church and the grandmothers and the aunts and friends and even strangers, Annalyn is certainly the best dressed girl in the county. She has gone from not having a thread to her name to having the wardrobe of a princess.

I've been trying to comprehend the photos from the orphanage. The part we were allowed to see (the gardens mainly)and in the published photos are lavish. One would think this 'model orphanage' is well kept and modern. Then I look at the photos taken by the nannies with our disposable camera. At first I only noticed that they were close ups of her and didn't really show the environment at all. But, as I've looked more carefully in better light, I see that there is a background that they probably were trying to hide. The paint has been chewed off the 'fence' or big play pen. The paint has flaked off the walls. A rotary telephone and mini fridge on a shelf have their cords dangling down the wall. There are very few toys. The children look blank.

What must she think? Annalyn has lived in that room as long as she can remember. Now, she lives in a house with a family who waits on her hand and foot. She has more toys than she knows what to do with and more clothes than she can possibly wear. Cinderella!

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48 So much has been given to Annalyn, I wonder where this is going. I wonder what God has in store for her life. I wonder why she was chosen and what His plans are. I'm so thrilled to be included in them.

A Month After Gotcha

It's always annoyed me a bit when blogs I'm following suddenly end at the trip home. I understand it now. You turn into a zombie when you walk through your front door. You try to jump into your normal life, but 'normal' no longer exists and has to be reinvented.

In the past month, we've watched Annalyn turn from a passive baby doll into a playful, scheming, fairly ordinary toddler. She's gone from not crying at all that first week to crying when she doesn't get what she wants. She's gone from frantically eating everything available to signing 'more' when she's hungry and 'up' when she's full. She's gone from playing only with stacking cups and a book to playing with anything her brothers will teach her. She's gone from being terrified of anything that looks like an animal to playing with stuffed animals and tolerating dogs and donkeys in her presence. She's gone from falling over sitting up unsupported to walking across a room before she falls or grabs onto someone. She has gone from being a child in an orphanage to a child in a family.