We woke up early this morning for our Consulate Appointment. There were several families going through the ceremony with us. The purpose was for to take the oath that all the documents and information was true. It was our last step in the adoption of YiLin. Our agency guide, Alison, will pick up her visa tomorrow morning and will be off for Hong Kong at 4 pm tomorrow. We fly out of Hong Kong Friday morning.....Thursday night in the states and we will be in Nashville 4:25pm on Friday. We originally told everyone that we would be back Saturday night and that is true if you are on China time.....ooops!
Today was a pretty good day. We spent a few hours at the park across the road with 2 other families in our group. It really is nice park. They have the adult play area which consists of ping pong and badmitten and a very large exercise area with all kinds of equiptment. Then we went to the kids area where they have rides like bumper cars, swings, motor boats for the lake and many other rides. It is pretty cheap too.
Today was the first day in 11 days that I have not cried, so I am doing better. I'm not proud of myself for being so emotional and I am sorry if I have let my family down. It has been a very difficult stay in China for me and I am so very glad to be coming home. I have stopped trying so hard to please YiLin and get her to like me. If I think she will melt down if I try to do something, I just don't do it and walk away and let Jeremy or the boys do it. It seems to keep me from feeling so rejected. Since she doesn't let me give her a bath anymore, my time with her is even more limited. She will tolerate me first thing in the morning if everyone else is asleep. Yesterday, Jeremy put her down for a nap and then he and the boys went next door to watch a movie with our friends. When she woke up and cried, I rushed in and grabbed her telling her I will take you to baba. When we got to the room next door, she had stopped crying and we found out that Jeremy and the boys had moved to another room to watch the movie. So, we ended up sitting with one of the moms and having hot tea....I couldn't believe she stayed in my lap and didn't cry. It was amazing. It lasted for about an hour and then we had to go back and find Jeremy. Yesterday, she also let me peel her banana and help her in the bathroom. I have never been so happy to assist a child in the potty before :-)
Jeremy is so tired. I feel bad for him, and wish she would let me do more. Today, I have seen his patience slowly as he tires more and more. It is the first time since YiLin came to us that I see frustration coming out. He has been more than wonderful....really. He has been so caring with me as I grieve her rejection and so tender with ShelbyYiLin as she grieves the loss of her whole world as she knew it. Our social worker suggested that I use treats to attract her to me and I have been giving her candy and cookies for a quick glance into my eyes and a peck on the cheek. I don't care if I have to bribe her to get a small kiss.....it is a step forward and that is what matters.
The boys have really enjoyed our stay at the Marriott here in Guangzhou. They are totally spoiled here. I have been a terrible mom and letting them have all kinds of junk on the breakfast buffet. Marshall's favorite is the strawberry shortcake and Ian's is the pinnaple muffin buns....pure sugar I'm sure. They have had time at the pool and a short visit at the hot tub.....that ended very quickly when they discovered that the Chinese men do not wear bathing suits in there....EEEKS! Marshall ran out and announced to me that he was scarred for life due to that experience.
We had an interesting dinner tonight at one of the local restraunts. We had frog legs, pork, congee, fried noodles, steamed pork buns, fried rice and shrimp with their heads still on. Then we came back and ordered a Papa John's Pizza..
We send our love to everyone and can't wait to be home Friday :-)
Blessings from the Grimms
Awww! Steamed pork dumplings and frog legs are our favorite! Congee is not that great since it's more like a porridge. My friends said that congee is traditionally something you eat when you're sick, or just as a part of a very old-fashioned traditional meal to help with digestion. ;)
ReplyDeleteStill praying for ya'll - for patience, strength, and that you continue to reflect God's love, shining light into the darkness.
Bless your heart, Mary! Dont feel bad for feeling the way you do and have spells of crying. Its only natural. I think any one of us would feel the same. I know i would! Ive cried just reading all your posts!! You all have been through an emotional thing. Its gonna be hard on everyone at first, but when you all get home and get settled i think everything is gonna be fine. Cant wait for you all to get back and we get to meet Shelby Yi Lin. We have been showing Blakely her pictures and been telling him all about her. Me and Rhonda were talking and said we couldnt wait for Nadalee, Rebas niece, to meet her. We can just see her walking right up to Shelby Yi Lin and being friends with her right off the bat! lol. We could be wrong tho. Nadalee cracks us up! Anyway, Love you all and cant wait to meet her!
ReplyDelete