First Day

I finally have time to take a minute and write about our first day with Selah. First of all I need to tell you how absolutely wonderful Lifeline has been. This process is made so much easier when you know that every detail is taken care of by your in-country staff. Now to tattle on myself......I forgot to bring extra visa photos of me and Jeremy. Totally my fault as it slipped my mind. However, Miko to the rescue. She easily took us down to the small shop and hooked us up with new photos! 

Now back to our first day. We woke on Monday morning bright and early at 6am. Jeremy and I struggled to get back to sleep. We stayed up until 11:30 Sunday night (after having been up for over 40 hours) but still woke early.

We went to breakfast at our beautiful hotel and enjoyed the Christmas music still playing. Good old American Christmas music by Bing Crosby and others. Becca enjoyed her breakfast of waffles, pancakes, watermelon, pastry roll, and cereal. She enjoyed it!

I ate some and so did Jeremy. We still had several hours to kill since we were not meeting Selah until after 2pm. Oh the hours dragged on. So Jeremy decided to let Rebecca experience Trust Mart in Guangzhou! That is the same thing as Walmart, right down to the Great Value name brand. And the special Oreos.

And the dried whole duck.

Or the bulk items that are not all that different.

And who could resist a photo with Pleasant Goat?

She was not impressed this......

All in the basement of Walmart.

We came back from shopping and Becca had some crackers with Nutella for lunch. We opted out! We were not hungry.

Our guide met us in the hotel lobby and she had her driver take us to the Civil Affairs office.

We were the first and only family there for a while. We did not know but Selah was already there in a separate room. We had to check over documents to make sure they were accurate. 

Then they brought our daughter out to meet us. It was quite different than when we met Mariah. Selah was very quiet and reserved. She did not hug us and we felt a little resistance when we were told to go ahead and hug her. 

A couple of photos from our day.

We were told how lucky she was to be adopted just three days before aging out. We feel that we are the blessed ones for adopting her. It was all very fast. We didn't sign a single paper there! She left with us and we went to the grocery store to get her a few things she liked. She had a lot of trouble trying to decide on something. She finally found some noodles and I recommended some fruit.

Our guide asked her what she wanted for supper and finally the guide talked her into pizza. So, we walked to Pizza Hut for supper. This was Selah's first taste of pizza! She seemed to enjoy it! She is starting to enjoy Rebecca.

Many games of UNO were played with all four of us. It was funny that when Selah laid down a Draw +2 it should have been Rebecca to draw the extra cards. Selah laid her hand on the deck and wanted Jeremy to Draw +2! We all chuckled. She gets her Baba! He is a jokester and she can hand it right back.

We have noticed that Selah has decided not to use chopsticks. It is interesting because she has no idea how to use silverware. She tried many times today to try to pick up a piece of sausage this morning at breakfast. She did succeed! 

I tried to help her bring her bowl and plate over to the table for breakfast and she made it clear she would do it herself. Just imagine no one ever being there to help you for 14 years then all of the sudden you have a mom who wants to do this. She will soften with time I am certain. 

I now have to admit that I am having a tough time keeping my eyes open. I am so tired. The lack of sleep is catching up with me. I have not slept well in many nights. It began several nights before we left. I'm not sure I'll make it to see the new year here in the next five hours.

Please pray for our other kids. My Ben is using his nebulizer for breathing treatments. He is coughing terribly if he does not use it. He will be fine, I'm just a momma who worries. 

Kyle and Micah are doing well. Micah has a cold but is fine. Mariah is doing well. I laugh because my mom told me that she is so funny! When we Skype with the kids Mariah feeds Jeremy, me, and Becca her special pretend cookies. She is enjoying capturing as many stink bugs as possible and watching them in their new "home".

We still eleven days here in China. We ask that you pray we all stay healthy. We also pray for our sweet Selah. She has a very long way to go. We are well aware of her struggle and it will be difficult for her as she realizes she has left her friends and everything. She needs time. We will wait forever for her. 

God has been so good to us and has richly blessed us. What we lack in worldly possessions we have in priceless treasures.