Gotcha Tait!….

Tait is so funny at bedtime.  She sleeps all night but her bedtime routine is pretty funny.  We always read to her including her favorite book, the Jesus Storybook bible.  Its the only book that I translate into Chinese – the rest we read in English.  I do have to go on record that it is not an inerrant translation….  it is a limited mom’s chinese translated version but she likes it very much and REQUIRES it every night.  After I read to her, I tell her it is time to go to sleep.  Some nights, she goes to sleep in the chair.  Some nights she goes to sleep in the bed.  One night, when I checked on her, she was wearing her sunglasses.  One night, she was sleeping with binoculars.  Last night, when we checked on her, her light was on and a running Gameboy was in her hand.  She was fast asleep.  God is so good though.  He knows just how badly I need my sleep.  I am thankful to have a precious daughter who goes HARD all day and then sleeps like it at night.  We are blessed beyond measure to be entrusted with this little girl.

Here’s a few pictures from this week….

A typical breakfast before her dental surgery Thursday. Now she can eat crunchy things!

This girl loves a party!

Price & Tait

My girls

She was SO happy for Gillian to paint her nails...

She loves to paint

Leaving the hotel - Bye Beijing!!!

Saturday was the big day as we traveled back to Shanghai.  Tait did a great job on the trip – although it was a little boring for her.  We thought she would be excited to fly but flying was just an added accessory for her.  She was more happy to check out every button on the plane – especially the flight attendant button…  She is not used to wearing seat belts, not used to keeping her seat upright and her tray stowed, not used to much that limits or controls her movements.  She did stay in her seat like a little angel (once she could undo the seat belt) and snacked, colored (a little on the plane when I wasn’t looking), listened to music, slept and really accomplished more in a two hour plane ride than I can get done in a week.

The kids have enjoyed her greatly although it was difficult the first evening.  Everything is so new and overwhelming to her – sometimes I think she’ll come out of her skin.  There is so much going on inside her little head I wish she could tell me.  When she gets overstimulated, she just starts yelling and throwing things and jumping from toy to toy.  She’s not angry or upset, just excited and manic.  We’ve started to uncover some of her past through playing with dolls and it breaks my heart to see.  This little precious was desperate for a family and for unconditional love.  Pray that she will soon come to understand that the security and peace she feels in our family is something that is not going to change or disappear.

Please continue to pray for us that we’ll parent her in a godly and patient way.  It is so new for us to parent a 6 year old who has never had discipline.  She is like a toddler in a 6 year old body.  She just doesn’t know right from wrong.  It is mind boggling to me and we are MAJOR child proofing the house like REAL FAST!    Gillian and Price are precious to her and she already loves them and loves when they play with her and praise her.  She wants to please but sometimes she just can’t get it right.  I’m that way with God so much.  I just fail sometimes – but I get back up and He forgives me again and again.  I thank Him for the example He set for me and pray every day that Tait will see Jesus and His forgiveness in each of us.

Arriving at the airport (doing it herself, OF COURSE!)

Smiling for mommy!

Dad's taking too long to check in

Playing Brick Breaker on Dad's phone

Ready to take off!

Checking out the in flight tunes

Finishing off her "Finger licking pork flavor" potato chips

A quick nap before arriving in Shanghai!

Happy reunion.... why does Mom keep crying????

“I can do it myself”.  I told Todd I was going to get a t-shirt printed for Tait that says this phrase.  Whether it is washing her hair, brushing her teeth, eating breakfast, carrying her bag, or climbing the Great Wall of China, Tait Withers can do it herself!    Today was another great day….. EXCEPT for the fact that we found out she gets very carsick.  Forgetting all the things a mother does when she has a small one (like shlepping an extra 25 pounds in additional clothing, wet wash cloths, barf bags, etc.), Tait surprised us on the way out of town with an extra big case of carsickness.  Whew!  What a mess – we all sort of froze at first including her.  Then we worked it all out, stripped her in the car, washed her up at our friends’ hotel and I bought some new clothes for her down the street.  On to the Great Wall we went! Up, up, up on a cable car to the wall.  She loved it!  “We’re flying”, she said!  We had a great day and were exhausted from chasing her.  Every time we would hit a “straightaway” in the wall, she would haul off and sprint as hard as she could.  Yeesh – that girl is fast!  It was such a fun game no amount of pleading would stop her.  Ha!  Once we reached the alpine slide which is a giant toboggan ride she and her dad took off.  Half way down the mountain, I caught up to them because a man who was afraid to go fast was barely moving in front of them.  “Kuai yi diar!!!” she was screaming at the man.  “Go faster!  Go faster!”  I realized then that after 44 years without gray hair, I was soon to have my first….    Here are some pictures from the day.

Waking up after a great night's sleep!

Ready to go to the Great Wall!.... forgetting to tell us she gets carsick

Our newest family member on the Great Wall of China!

Holding her hands so NO ONE could hold them..... that girl!

One of her serious moments with mom....

Off to supper!

The end of another wonderful day!

This is right after we met her this morning

I have much to say and little energy to say it.  As the day winds down, we are all exhausted.  I don’t think any of us slept well last night and we were up at 5:00am to get Tait at 7:30am.   We have had an absolutely wonderful day.  Tait was so brave and has done really well with us.  All your prayers were felt.  God was so merciful to give us a day filled way more with laughs and fun than tears and sadness.  Here are a few pics until I can write more!  I need to run.  Tait is reading dad a book and I want to hear it.  Oh one quick story about her so you can understand just how fun she is.  We took her to a noodle shop and she was so happy.  She immediately announced that she wanted us to order the entire menu.  Dou yao, she said (I want it all).   In the middle of dinner, she fussed at both Todd and I for not slurping our soup loud enough.  She demonstrated a loud slurp and would accept nothing less than a loud slurp from us….  this is a special little girl and we are so blessed to have her… -Judi

She warmed up to us so quickly. Thanks for the prayers!

After leaving the institute. She was exhausted from the whole thing.

Styling mom's glasses

She loved her new bookbag full of stuff and is really little miss independent!

After she hiked up her dress and tried to wade in the fountain, we realized she wanted to swim

Swimming in the hotel pool. She would only leave after I promised we could return tomorrow

She has been journalling her first day by taking pictures. So precious

She LOVED her noodles.

We now have our itinerary for this week.  Tuesday  Sept 7, we leave for Beijing in the morning.  Todd has a business meeting around lunch and I will explore the area around the Westin where we are staying.  Wednesday, Sept 8 at 8am we go to the Beijing Children’s Welfare Institute to pick up Tait.  After we pick her up, we head to the Civil Affairs office to do the first set of paperwork.  The rest of the day Wednesday we will get to know her and just spend some time with her.  Thursday, we plan to drive to the Great Wall of China for a little hike and hopefully some fun pictures.  Friday, Sept 10 we  get her  Adoptive Registration Certificate, Notarization and apply for her passport.  Because our home is in country, we are then allowed to return home to wait for her passport.  Families visiting from the US are required to spend more than 10 days in Beijing until all the paperwork has been processed.  We will return to Shanghai Saturday morning for a wonderful family reunion with Gillian and Price and the beginning of a new season in all of our lives.  Thanks be to God for His grace and love to us all through this time.  Please pray for Tait that she will not be fearful and that she will have a peace that is more than any of us can understand.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of  love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6,7