One Week With Grace

Thanks for all your sweet comments and well wishes. Grace's fever broke today, so that was a relief. I, on the other hand, have not felt much improvement. The only thing I've had today is ginger ale and a few crackers.

Yesterday, our guide took our group to the LIWAN plaza to shop. The area of the city reminded me of Times Square in NYC.


This morning, Rebecca took us to see the Botanical Gardens. I basically sat on the park bench rather than exploring, but it was still a pretty area to see. Grace especially loved the water fountains. It has been foggy and rainy every day that we've been in Guangzhou, so it was fun to pose in front of these photo areas that show the gardens on a beautiful sunny day.








You'll notice that Grace is crying in all pics of the 3 of us. She has become very possessive/protective and does not like anyone else other than me or Scott holding our camera! :) She also does not like Scott to hug, kiss, or touch me in any way. If he puts his hand on my shoulder, she pushes it away. I don't have any snapshots of just Grace and Scott because she won't leave my side. But we were able to get her to fall asleep in Scott's arms (after she cried herself to sleep). We're making progress day by day.

Grace continues to make us laugh with her bright smile and contagious giggle. We adore her. The hardest part of the transition has been getting her to sleep for naps and bedtime. I have to walk her up and down the halls with her sitting in the carrier. Sometimes it takes many laps to get her asleep, and my back will be killing me. I then have to quietly enter our room and lay down with her on top of me. This isn't always done successfully. Once I lay with her for awhile, I can usually slide her to one side and get up. This process usually takes 1-2 hours, meaning that I don't have much time for anything else before I crash myself.

It's crazy to think that today marks one week since we first held our little girl in our arms. We feel like we know her so well already. When I look back at pictures from last Monday, I can now see such improvement in Grace's eyes and expressions. She really was experiencing grief and shock, and I can see that more clearly as I've compared pictures from then and now.



She rarely ever stays still now, so I've had a hard time capturing as many pictures as I did last week. But here are a few....you'll notice that everything is a phone. :) And she sounds like she's having full conversations when she makes her calls. We believe she has a pretty good vocabulary, but she never talks enough in front of Chinese-speaking people for us to get a translation.

We're so ready to come home. Just a few more days. If I think too much about missing Carter, the tears start falling. I'm a little overwhelmed at the transitions ahead of us, as the first two weeks at home are often the hardest for adopted children. Throw in jet lag and a completely flipped schedule, and I know we'll all be zombies. But God has carried us this far, and I know we have so many friends, family, and blog readers praying for us and supporting us. Thank you!!

Okay, time to start making laps in the hall. :) We'd love prayers for a restful night of sleep and for my body to return to normal.