A Month at Home!

To describe this past month with Evian at home in a blog post...impossible.  To sum it up in a single word...ABUNDANT! 

 I am reading through each and every "water/life/Evian" verse from the list that is scribbled in the front of my Bible.  This morning's verse gives God ALL the glory for what He has done in blessing us with Evian!

Isaiah 35:1-2

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be GLAD,

the desert shall REJOICE and blossom like the crocus;

it shall blossom ABUNDANTLY

and REJOICE with JOY and SINGING."  

Our family has been very full with GLADNESS, REJOICING, JOY, and SINGING at our good God's ABUNDANCE!  This morning I walked into Elianna & Ember's room and found them snuggled together on Ember's bunk talking about modern day miracles.  They were trying to calculate how many days that we waited for Evian to join our family!

 Truly, those years of waiting have melted away compared to the fullness we are experiencing together now.  Here is a fast forward picture of our transition to home, to 3 girls, to a family of 5...

...lying in the hammock, sleeping in, splashing & laughing during bathtime, really splashing & laughing in the kiddie pool, family walks, visiting the big girls at school, Grandpa & Grandma Stott visiting, lots of neighbors/friends/family stopping by, sitting on the deck, shots, naps, watching the big girls play basketball/softball/tennis, pushes in the swing/a puppet show/a picnic lunch at parks, 2 cookouts with church friends, 2 baby showers, 2 graduation parties, a day at the Minnesota Zoo, going to church, the farmers' market, the fire station, a bike ride...

 Even those moments that we try to enjoy in slow motion and want to last forever are so full...

...seeing Evian lift her head up after a nap with a bright eyes-closed mouth-open smile, hearing the all out giggles coming from Evian's bedroom as all three girls play together, seeing Elianna and Evian simultaneously open their mouths while Elianna aims a spoonful of squash toward Evian, hearing "Honey, look!" and seeing Evian high above my head balancing on Daddy's hand, opening the bedroom door and seeing Evian in her crib on all fours ready to crawl one of these days, running to look as Ember proudly shows me the latest trick that she and Evian can do with a cuddle blanket, running to get the camera when the girls declare that Evian is sitting in the tripod stance for the first time...

 And for a more basic update...

...Evian had a well-baby check up complete with shots, blood work, and stool samples.  She has been very healthy!  She even managed to dodge the flu bug and pink eye virus that hit our house in the past two weeks.  Another reason to be GLAD!  Evian is a great sleeper, she goes to bed by 8pm sleeps later than the rest of us.  She's a two nap a day baby, but we've found her to be pretty flexible when we're out and about.  When we brought her home a month ago, she had only drank formula mixed with rice cereal from a bottle.  Now, she eats all kinds of vegetables and fruits and loves them all.  Evian is gaining strength every day.  Where she used to slump down when sitting or collapse when stood up, she is way more stable.  She rocks forward and back on all fours and wants to crawl so badly.  In the mean time, she wriggles her way toward whatever toy is in her sights. 

 As you can see, we are very GLAD at God's hand in bringing Evian home!  She is "blossoming ABUNDANTLY" and Elianna, Ember, Russ and I are REJOICING!  Thank you for sharing in our JOY!

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Day ??? - WE ARE HOME!!!

The trip home was 3 flights, 13 hours in airports, ~ 9000 miles, 15 hours in the air, many bottles, diapers, and walks.  (Pic above is before going through immigration line in MSP airport- Evian is now a U.S. citizen!)

We were greeted by dear friends, Pete & Erica Lehner who picked us up from the airport.  When we got home Elianna and Ember were ecstatic!  For the rest of the weekend, the big sisters have learned Evian's tickle spots, smiles, cries, pushed her in a stroller and swing, and are very glad to entertain her.  It will be hard for them to peel away from their new little sister and go to school tomorrow.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us throughout the trip and now as the transition to MN begins.  We are jet-lagged but joyfully resting in God's grace over our family. (Pic below is minutes after we returned home to Woodbury.)

Day 15 - Homeward Bound!!!

Our time in China is coming to an end.  Yesterday we had our appointment at the US Consulate where US immigration takes place.  Each family signed one last document, and then all 37 American families, adopting a total of 40 children, raised their right hand and repeated an oath stating that all of the information that we presented to the US government on behalf of our child is correct and true.  The woman who led us in the oath explained that in 2009, 3000 Chinese babies entered the US as adopted immigrants.  Praise the Lord that these children have homes and families!

Today we are waiting for Evian’s passport to be returned to us with her visa stamp.  We will pick that up this afternoon, head over to the airport in the evening and fly to Hong Kong late tonight.  Early tomorrow morning we will fly back to Minnesota with a layover in Tokyo. 
We’ve prayed all along that throughout this trip we’d walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and that we’d connect as a family and love others well.  Even though we’re separated by continents from Elianna and Ember, God has given us sweet times praying for them and talking via Skype.  We know that airports, long layovers, and long flights are also within God’s tender care for us…along with jetlag and culture shock (no more housekeeping, laundry service, or eating out every day?…we are actually very much looking forward to “regular” daily life at home!).

As I reflect on our time here, I wondered if we did enough to capture the Chinese culture – did we take enough video/photos and buy the perfect gifts for Evian and her sisters?  I started to ask myself if maybe I should have gone along to the orphanage.  I began to feel  pressure to make sure that we did all of the right things in these 16 days to document the first 8 months of Evian’s life - where she’s come from, her heritage, and her culture.

Then the Lord gave me a simple picture.  The other morning I was looking out the window and a beautiful monarch butterfly fluttered by the window, then landed on the bush right in front of me.  It lingered there and while it did, the Lord reminded me that He is all about exchanging old for new,  bringing life out of something that is dried up.  I thought about that butterfly, which was once stuck inside a cocoon until one day when it burst out, colorful, free, beautiful.

As beautiful and intricate as Evian’s past is, it is something we leave here.  Like a cocoon, it is a very unique and precious part of God’s plan and purposes.  We treasure very much Evian’s home land, the dear women who cared for her in the orphanage, and this culture which is so well preserved.  As she grows up, it will be our privilege to share these things with her.  It has been such a gift to experience this place and enjoy the people here. 
Most of all, I am grateful for the unhurried days - playing with Evian, taking family walks, learning what makes her smile and laugh, looking in her eyes while giving her a bottle, holding her while she naps, listening to Daddy splash at bathtime…  We look forward to living in the moment and enjoying all of these things and more with Elianna and Ember too.  
 
 

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Day 13 - Around Town

Evian and I enjoyed our Mother/Daughter day yesterday while Russ was gone all day visiting the orphanage.  We sent him on his way with diapers, baby clothes, and about 15 pairs of shoes (donated by a local shop keeper) to deliver.  The rest of the day we ate, napped, and played. 

It is so amazing to see how much Evian has changed in these 9 days that we’ve been together.  I especially noticed it yesterday when we were playing together.  Now she reaches for toys, holds and picks up her rings, rolls over to get something, and is very interactive.  We’ve been doing “exercises” with her which have really helped.  It sounds funny, but her back and core are so much stronger now.  At first, we needed to totally support her back when holding her.  Now she rests on my hip more sturdily.  Before, when we put her in the sitting position, she would flop backwards immediately.  Now she can sit for a few seconds on her own. 

It’s neat to see her enjoying this new “fun”.  It was very apparent yesterday at the orphanage that for one nanny in charge of 20 babies at once during her shift, the focus needed to be on just meeting the basic needs of the babies as best as they could. 

One activity that Evian is enjoying very much is swimming.  We’ve gradually introduced her to the pool.  She’s definitely not afraid of the water and is having more fun with splashing and kicking.  Some of her other little girlfriends haven’t liked it quite as much.  As adoptive families we are all wanting to be careful to notice things that cause these little girls to be fearful.  We are privileged to love her and care for all of her needs.

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Day 12 - Orphanage Trip

A week ago, Evian was in a crib just like the ones shown.  It is amazing what has happened in just a week.

Today, I, Russ, took a bus trip with some of the other adoptive families to the orphanage in Yangxi, a 3 ½ hour ride from here.    

As I went to the orphanage, I didn’t really know what I’d feel.  As I entered the “crib room”, about 16 kids Evian’s age were sleeping, looking around, and crying.  It definitely was a sober moment.  I felt very glad Evian didn’t have to spend any more time there.  At the same time, though, I felt sad for those other babies. 

In the end, I don’t think everything has sunk in for me yet.  But knowing that we’ve followed the Lord through this process and He has given us a little bundle from China along with our other 2 beautiful daughters is more than we could have imagined.  It was the summer of 1999 as an engaged couple when we were last here in China together.  A lot has happened since then!  We never knew we’d be back 11 years later to pick up a girl to be our daughter!

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