So Much That's New

M. has so much courage. In the past two weeks she has experienced a mind-blowing amount of change and new experiences. Who could blame her if she was a complete mess? But she's not. She's adjusting. Slowly but surely-and happily, she's adjusting to us and each new environment in which she's placed. As far as we know, this girl had never been on a plane, seen white people, heard English, been in a house, slept in a bed (among many, many other things) before these two weeks. She's now done all of these. I'm so proud of her!

After only about ten minutes with mom in the room, she fell asleep in her own bed, in her own room. Has she EVER slept in a room without other people? We'd tend to doubt it. Again--she did GREAT! She did finish the night with us. J. woke up (for good) at about 2am and heard M. fuss a little sometime in the early morning hours. She didn't want her to freak out alone, so she brought her into bed with us--where she's slept soundly. We're actually going to have to wake her up now.

And so will begin M.'s first full day at home.

M.'s First Hours At Home

We were REALLY happy with M.'s first evening in her new home. The boys did SOOOOO well with her. They were great to watch. They were very careful not to overwhelm her and were very gentle and tender with her. We were amazed at the number of smiles and giggles she gave them each so quickly. Our son, J., is still thrilled to report that he got a KISS from his Mei-Mei. (little sister.) She actually went exploring a little with her brothers walking off into other rooms and playing a little--without mom or dad around. Did the pictures and Skyping pay off? It sure seemed to! She seemed more comfortable with them right off the bat than she's been with most strangers--including other children in China.

It will still take a lot of adjusting, patience and learning for all of us--but we're off to a great start.