Home At Last

We have been home for 2 months and it seems that Camryn has been a part of the family forever. She has adjusted well to life in America! I have been able to stay at home this summer and work from the house and that has been such a blessing! One of the side benefits of working for your husband! Camryn is very smart - she is using sign language to communicate, but already understands what we are saying in English. She is sleeping well and likes most food. We have reduced the bottles from 5/day to 3/day, but she doesn't seem to mind at all - she really enjoys eating! Since we have been home, Camryn has learned to scoot on her bottom, pull herself up to standing and is army crawling across the floor. I believe she will soon be crawling, if not walking. Oh and she loves Sydni and Dalton! She lights up when they are around. They both have been a great help with her. Sydni is always wants to feed her and put her to bed. Sydni took a babysitting course in June and she has babysat for us a couple of times. Camryn is now also taken with John! She loves to wrestle, play and tickle with him. For awhile, she didn't like it when he kissed her because of his mustache, but she's loving on him now! Camryn has experienced her first birthday, first birthday cake, first ice cream, first Royals game, first swimming pool trip, and first car seat (which she acts like she's been in since birth!) Oh, and she used the potty! After we had been home for a week, I remembered that in China they sit babies on the potty and they don't use diapers. I sat her on the potty and she knew exactly what to do! We have since taught her the sign language for potty and she makes most b.m.'s in the potty. We are not pushing this or expecting no accident - we still use diapers. We just hope to keep the general idea in her mind, so complete potty training may be easier down the road.

God's Hand at Work

The 2 weeks in China was a faith-building reminder that our God is a loving God that holds us in the palm of HIs hand. Too often we go through our busy, normal days and when things happen that are a blessing from God we are quick to say, "Well, that was lucky!" As I look back on our China trip to pick up our new daughter, I am reminded of more than one situation where God's Hand was a work and He was in control. For example, ... * We traveled 30 hours each way on our trip that included multiple layovers and multiple carrier changes in airplanes and buses. There were no delays, missed flights or problems. In fact, because Mom was in a wheelchair we were the first in line, we were able to change seats to accommodate her leg and we had attendants take us through the airports through the back elevators. What a blessing! God is our Protector! * We were in a foreign country for 2 weeks with 2 children, 3 adults and a new infant daughter. Not one of us got sick. We even ate the fruit in the hotel rooms! God is our Healer! * Camryn's adjustment to her new family was nothing more than a God thing! She had a period of grief the first night and the second day. By the second day, she was attached to me as her mother/caregiver and was very obvious in her preference. When she was hungry or tired she only wanted me. We were prepared for attachment issues that never happened. God is Compassionate. *The process for matching families with a child is a little different in China than other countries. In China, they take pride in matching the child's personality to the families. I believe that God had a Hand in it. Camryn could have been our natural born child. She fits in our family perfectly. One of the things that we enjoy doing as a family is camping and hiking. The first week we were in China, we asked the guide to take us to the mountains. We hiked all afternoon in the humid heat. Camryn loved it! She sang, she talked, she laughed at the kids. She loves to be outside! God is All-Knowing! *The second week we had to go to Guangzhou for the final paperwork. There was only 1 other couple that was in our "group" with our guide, Peter, and really the only other Americans that we talked with. We mentioned that we were going to make a appointment for Dalton with the doctor at the White Swan because he was coming down with pink eye. The lady told us not to bother - she had a unopened bottle of pink eye medication with her and she would give it to us! She always carried one with her because her boys got it so often. God is our Healer! *And most amazing of all, we were able to find out about Camryn's first year of life. She was abandoned the day she was born and taken to a foster home that day. She was never in an orphanage situation. The family that fostered her was a family of four from a rural area. The foster mom was a stay at home mom, with a 14 year old daughter who was learning English in school and an 11 year old son. What are the odds that she would have been placed in a home situation identical to ours? As soon as you meet Camryn, you realize that she is very comfortable with people and has an engaging personality. For 2 years, as a family each night we prayed that God would keep her safe, that she would be loved and taken care of and I know that many others were praying the same thing. God is Good! God hears our prayers and works all things for His Glory!